Beckstrom Buzz

Monday Sketchbook: President's Day

2012-02-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed it way more when we celebrated both Washington and Lincoln's birthdays separately. Now all the presidents are thrown in the mix, and frankly there are some who are deserving of less celebration than others!

Or maybe I'm just feeling curmudgeonly. Bah!

Watch and be ready

2012-02-19T05:03:00.000-08:00

I worry about things like this, don't you?

We meet again, Doctor Jones!

2012-02-18T05:03:00.000-08:00

My apprentice came up with this idea. I worry for him.

That's one small step for man...

2012-02-17T05:03:00.000-08:00

These alien cartoons must be in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of John Glenn going into space. It's a good excuse, anyway...

Lost in space

2012-02-16T05:03:00.000-08:00

Or maybe, "Can't phone home. Please help."

Knowing the day and the hour

2012-02-15T05:03:00.000-08:00

Somehow kids instinctively know which buttons to push.

Valentine's Day celebration!

2012-02-14T05:03:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day can be one of the most miserable holidays in the mission field. There's really no good way to celebrate it (well, except for losing yourself in the work, that is...).

I find it funny that fellow Mormon cartoonist Arie Van De Graaff had a similar theme in his cartoon this week.

Have a happy Valentine's Day!

Monday Sketchbook: Too much of a cute thing

2012-02-13T05:03:00.000-08:00

Ahh, Pinterest. It's like Homemaking Meeting online.

Void where prohibited

2012-02-12T05:03:00.000-08:00

Speak their language

2012-02-11T05:03:00.000-08:00

I almost hate to admit it, but this actually happened in our FHE -- someone used an example from WOW to show the importance of one of the gospel principles. Makes me wonder when we might see missionaries wandering around some MMORPG (if it hasn't happened already!).

Stop! In the name of Love

2012-02-10T05:03:00.000-08:00

As happens quite often in Good Heavens, things turn out poorly for Jack -- bless his heart!

Tough Love

2012-02-09T05:03:00.000-08:00

You get the tough cases, you need the heavy artillery, right?

Signed, sealed, delivered

2012-02-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

As I was thinking about it one day, I found that one of the sisters in Good Heavens, Love, seemed to be underutilized. When I first came up with her, I thought she'd be a sweet little angel who spread love in all its manifestations wherever she went.

Then a couple of years ago, I had a thought.

Love takes a lot of work. Love is tough. So I thought it would be fun to show her in action, kind of like a Navy SEAL for romance. That's what this little series was all about.

That's what it's all about

2012-02-07T05:03:00.000-08:00

It may be a little early in the month for a home teaching gag. I apologize, but I can't hold them all off until the end of the month!

Monday Sketchbook: Life of the party

2012-02-06T05:03:00.000-08:00

A lot of the Super Bowl advertisers aimed to engage viewers on their "second screen," trying to get those folks who watched the game while playing with their iThingies -- those people who were at the party but not of the party -- to follow up their ads with a website. Interesting concept.

Super Sunday

2012-02-05T05:03:00.000-08:00

As a missionary, there were weeks where we would have been happy to have the branch president show up!

Play to your strength

2012-02-04T05:03:00.000-08:00

I know, right?

Groundhog Day revisited

2012-02-03T05:03:00.000-08:00

There are some areas of this planet where rodents are mainstay. So why not celebrate Groundhog Day, right?

Groundhog Day!

2012-02-02T05:03:00.000-08:00

There may be those (of a certain age) among you who think that the "Arnold's Pig Farm" is a reference to the pig from the TV show "Green Acres."

You would be wrong.

My best friend in fourth grade was Barry Arnold, and his family -- I think it was his uncle -- ran a pig farm in Kaysville, Utah. To this day, I can't think of pigs without thinking of my best friend Barry. In a good way.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Pursuing a worthy cause

2012-02-01T05:03:00.000-08:00

There's nothing worse than making an offer they can't refuse, and then having them refuse it.

Littering

2012-01-31T05:03:00.000-08:00

Ah, yes, a variation on the give-the-tithing-to-the-bishop theme. If I ever find myself with a litter of cats, though, I'll know what to do!

Monday Sketchbook: One long transfer

2012-01-30T05:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes aliens and missionaries seem to go hand in hand.

Celebrating the centennial

2012-01-29T05:03:00.000-08:00

The names were changed to protect the innocent.

Have you ever visited the Seminary webpage? It's got some interesting stuff.

Halfway there!

2012-01-28T05:03:00.000-08:00

When I was drawing this, my wife said, "Hey! That looks like an elder from my mission!" When she read the caption, she said, "It IS that elder from my mission!"

I'm not naming names, mainly because every mission has at least one of these.

Big shoes to fill

2012-01-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

I wonder what kind of majors they offer in clown college?

Who's that rap rap rapping at my door?

2012-01-26T05:03:00.000-08:00

Some missionaries are persistent; some people go to great lengths to hide from the missionaries.

As you were

2012-01-25T05:03:00.000-08:00

If this seems familiar, it's because this is a remake of one I did a while ago. I like how this one turned out.

I guess this is a variation of the parent's curse: "You're going to have a kid who is just like you!"

Finals judgment

2012-01-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

High school finals start tomorrow. Be prepared!

Monday Sketchbook: Signs of the times

2012-01-23T05:03:00.000-08:00

The next best thing would be something like an emotional barometer, or perhaps a five-day forecast.

The blessing of good home teachers

2012-01-22T05:03:00.000-08:00

Once when we knocked on the door of one of our home teaching families, their seven-year-old daughter answered it. She was holding a Nerf dart gun at the time; she leveled it, shot my companion in the crotch and announced, "Mom! The home teachers are here!"

His bark is worse

2012-01-21T05:03:00.000-08:00

Our dog, a Yellow Lab, loves the missionaries. He jumps like a kangaroo when they come over, and he's tried a couple of times to get in their car to go to appointments with them (Elder Burningham actually encouraged him to go, too!). His tail is a killer -- he's almost taken out several knees with it. None of those cling-on yipper dogs for us!

One way

2012-01-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

Whenever they tell us to liken the scriptures unto us, I think of things like this.

Beating the January blahs

2012-01-19T05:03:00.000-08:00

I noticed this in the shower the other day -- my hair was having more fun than I was.

Cultural exchange

2012-01-18T05:03:00.000-08:00

The friendly pepper-upper

2012-01-17T05:03:00.000-08:00

I was torn on whether I should include the period after "Dr" or not, because the proper name of the soft drink doesn't include it. That's kind of a silly thing to worry about.

Monday Sketchbook: At least roll over

2012-01-16T05:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's just too cold to get out of bed.

AARPrimary

2012-01-15T05:03:00.001-08:00

I was a guest in Primary a couple of weeks ago, and a couple of the kids told me I was "too old" to be in there.

Let it do something!

2012-01-14T05:03:00.000-08:00

There's a slight chance of snow this weekend. We can only hope!

You'll love what's inside!

2012-01-13T05:13:00.000-08:00

One of the missionary favorites from the Chinese restaurant around the corner was a dish we called "creatures of the deep." I could never bring myself to order it, but I imagine it was something like this.

Milestones in history

2012-01-12T05:03:00.000-08:00

This is an old cartoon I found hiding behind a piece of furniture in my office. Perhaps it should have stayed there!

Sharing the talent

2012-01-11T05:03:00.000-08:00

Just close your eyes

2012-01-10T05:03:00.000-08:00

None of my kids actually said this to me, but I'll bet they wanted to. They were just too nice!

Monday Sketchbook: Leaving, on a jet plane

2012-01-09T05:03:00.000-08:00

Our little Elder B is leaving the MTC today, headed for the Czech Republic. He one who is likely to use as many bad jokes like this as possible.Good luck, Elder!

I have two little hands folded snuggly and tight!

2012-01-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

I went to a fireside once as a teenager where the speaker's topic was keeping the standards. He sang the old Primary song that goes:

"I have two little hands folded snuggly and tight;
They are tiny and weak yet they know what is right.
During all the long hours 'til daylight is through
There is plenty indeed for my two hands to do!"

Then he said if you speak those words with a different voice, they can come out sounding quite naughty. He made us all promise to stick to the nice version -- especially when dating -- "keep your hands folded snuggly and tight!"

Good advice.

Frozen preserves

2012-01-07T05:03:00.000-08:00

Maybe I should just stay away from literary allusions.

In humility

2012-01-06T05:03:00.000-08:00

This explains why my son wants my car.

Why so serious?

2012-01-05T05:03:00.000-08:00

C'mon, what else do you think they'd be playing at the Angry Birds Cineplex?

What's new?

2012-01-04T05:03:00.000-08:00

We're still within the first week of the year. How well are those resolutions coming along?

New Year's Rockin' Eve

2012-01-03T05:03:00.000-08:00

My first New Year as a missionary was in the MTC. We were set to travel the next day, so we were up to see the new year come in. Our celebration was more about being deployed rather than the new year. The second new year was more like this one. In Korea, the real celebration is the Chinese New Year. January 1 was just a reason to get a new calendar.

Monday Sketchbook: Passing the baton

2012-01-02T05:03:00.000-08:00

I saw a survey that said a majority of people expect 2012 to be better than 2011 -- because things couldn't get much worse.

Top Ten, Part II

2012-01-01T05:03:00.000-08:00

5
There are two versions of this, one with Elder Anderson and one with Elder Bahr. Elder Bahr is headed to the Czech Republic in just a few days, and he has a copy of this particular cartoon…in his scriptures!

4
This cartoon is good for me. I laugh and then I repent. And then I laugh and repent again.

3
This was incredibly popular north of the border, eh! Well, at least with this one guy who lives in the outskirts of Raymond, anyway…

2
Oops.

1
I almost didn’t do this one. I'm glad I did!

And that’s the Top Ten for 2011! Thank you for your continued readership and support, and best wishes for a wonderful new year!

Happy New Year!

Top Ten, Part I

2011-12-31T05:03:00.000-08:00

10
I lost the original of this in the Great Computer Crash. The artwork was much, much better.

9
I introduced a new series this year based on interviews with the mission president. This was one of the standouts.

8
Ah, yes, missionaries:

7
For some reasons, zombies keep cropping up all over my pages as well.

6
Sometimes you’re lucky enough to get the timing just right. I think I got lucky on this one — luckier than the missionaries, at least!

Top Ten: Runners Up

2011-12-30T05:03:00.000-08:00

I’m going to cheat with my “best of” list this year.

Usually I run five runners-up before heading into my TopTen. This time around, however, I’m going to have six also rans, ‘cause therewere a couple that I just really liked. Thanks in advance for your indulgence.

Scouts and scouting are favorites of mine. As a Cub Scoutleader, one of my pet peeves is when people try to make Webelos singular.According to the Handbook, the name comes from WE’ll BE LOyal Scouts. Thiscartoon is an expression of that befuddlement.

Thanks to Calvin and Hobbes, and Linus in Peanutsbefore that, snowmen can take on a different dimension in cartoons. The guy whodraws Tundra (Chad Carpenter) haspractically made a career out of it! This is one that I particularly like.

Grammar plays a role in this cartoon as well. I noticedwhile watching BYU in the NCAA basketball tournament, that No. 32 could havebeen an irregular French verb.

One of my (very) small claims to fame is that I may havebeen the first to earn the Genealogy merit badge in Scouting (the counciloffice said I was — I don’t know if they keep a record). As a kid, our familyused to spend the summer in the Family History Library…where we discovered thatsomeone (my grandma) had fudged on a few dates to make parts of our history alittle cleaner, a little more respectable. Didn’t help.

Star Wars and StarTrek references show up in a few of mycartoons. To complete my geek trifecta, I had to include The Lord ofthe Rings (I won’t even mention Dr.Who). First, Gandalf’s other career:

…and the truth behind the ring!

Stay tuned tomorrow for numbers six through ten in the TopTen Countdown!

Countdown: Top Sketchbooks of 2011

2011-12-29T05:03:00.000-08:00

This year I'm adding something new to the year end countdown: the Sketchbook. Some of the sketchbook 'toons have garnered the most attention this year. Here are some of the greatest hits.My General Conference recap was by far the most popular sketchbook topic.

Now the rest, in ascending order.

It must have been a challenge to go to church on Super Sunday in Green Bay.

This was more topical, dealing with policy changes in the U.S. military.

Although this one is a little creepy, it's personally one of my favorites.

Then we get to the back back story of 007.

And who can forget BYU's run in the Big Dance? They only missed out on the Final Four because it conflicted with General Conference.

Tune in tomorrow for the runners up, followed by the Top Ten Cartoons of 2011!

No keys for you!

2011-12-28T05:03:00.000-08:00

All the safety ads tell people to have a designated driver. Wouldn't it be safer to have a designated drinker?

Hazards of banking in the tundra

2011-12-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

I found one more little cartoon that I wasn't able to work in before Christmas.

Monday Sketchbook: Santa's stats

2011-12-26T05:03:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of thoughts about this one. First, he just visited every home on the planet, right? So I'm pretty sure for this month he's going to be at 100 percent. Second, just how old is Santa, anyway? Don't you think by now he'd be a high priest?

The Nephite Christmas Story

2011-12-25T05:03:00.000-08:00