It's a scream

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Sorry, Linus...

I did have to work a Peanuts reference in here somehow.

Singled out

Free Press

I had a professor at BYU who really encouraged me to draw. Not one of my art professors, but rather a journalism professor, Ed Haroldson. He taught one of my editing classes, and one day he said he had an idea he wanted me to use. This is that idea, and part of a series combining the elections and Halloween.

Monday sketchbook: trick or treat!

Actually I understand that missionaries aren't supposed to go out on Halloween...

Aunt Mary Ellen

My Aunt Mary Ellen passed away a few days ago; her funeral is on Monday. She was always kind and generous, and she was one of those who believed that food is love. She would always load us up with leftovers whenever we went to visit. We'll miss her.

Leaving a mark

This, surprisingly, is one of my most-published cartoons. It's been in at least three different periodicals. I guess there aren't really a lot of transportation-related Halloween cartoons.

Birthday greetings, bro!

I ran this on my brother's birthday way back when. And because today is his birthday again today, it's appropriate once again.

You want fries with that?

When I hung out at BYU's Cougareat (may it rest in peace), it certainly wasn't for the food.

It's time

And once we're done with Pack Meeting, I will be, too!

In memory of Steve Harry

The original caption of this was "Halloween on a desert island." When it was set to go to print, the editor, Steve Harry, said that I needed to change it to "deserted island" so that it would be correct. He said that folks always got that wrong, mainly because of the Gilligan's Island theme song.

Steve passed away last week, so I thought it only fitting to run this -- with the corrected caption -- in his memory.

Monday sketchbook: helping handsPlus bonus material!

I think I drew this about the same time I read Pet Sematary.

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Bonus Material!
Yesterday in church the bishop read a letter from the First Presidency reaffirming the Church's political neutrality. That called to mind an instance that happened just about four years ago. One of our Sunday school teachers apparently "forgot" this position, and passed out campaign literature to one of the youth classes. Well, another teacher (of a different political persuasion) took umbrage at that, and also passed out campaign material. We thought that rather than throw gasoline on the fire, we should take a different approach. So the next Sunday, we came to meetings wearing our Pahoran buttons (see Alma 61). I guess the folks involved got the message because there weren't any more problems after that!

Wait 'til you see what's for dessert!

The closest I ever came to this as a missionary in Korea was going on a picnic in the cemetery to honor the Ancestors...but that was lunchtime and we were with the mission president and his family. We had a lovely lunch amongst the mounds, and got to meet a lot of nice people (and a few soused ones as well!).

Food storage?

I don't know what I was thinking!

Fall classic

I like this because when you get to the punch line you realize you should have seen it coming from a mile away.

Ghost story

Stuffed shirt?

Hmm...

Finger lickin' good

It's that time of year!

Monday sketchbook: Play Ball!

I guess technically this isn't a sketch, but it's not a cartoon with a punchline either. This drawing was used to advertise a coed softball team at work. I kinda like how it turned out.

So, sketch or not, it's October and time for the playoffs!

Sustained

Remember Lisa Owens? Apparently she has a sister, Christi. She suggested drawing this incident from her life. Thank you for the thought. Do y'all have any other crazy sibs?

Post script: Since this incident, Christi has added two more children, bringing the total to nine!

For the Gee Whiz File: Don't tell Ben, but Sam has a cameo in this one!

They're not asking in Eugene, I guess*

*That's Eugene, Oregon, home of the University of Oregon ducks, the only university to have a Disney-sanctioned mascot.

Saved by Graceland

Variation on a theme

Ever notice how many cartoons involve smashing spiders?

Rain is a relative thing...

It's interesting to see the difference in how rain is perceived in Oregon and other places I've been. Before moving to Oregon, I never knew you could cut the grass in the rain. I was totally amazed, being a Utah boy, to see my neighbors mowing their lawn as part of their Thanksgiving preparation!

Stuffed with straw

This is probably one of my first attempts ever at an ink wash cartoon. Not bad for a high schooler, although you can certainly see the Peanuts influence in the kids. Not much of a garden though, is it?

On an interesting historical note (in our family, at least), the scarecrow bears an eerily uncanny resemblance to some bad guys Ben invented when he was about four, the Hay Men. I'll have to dig one up and post it.

Monday sketchbook: ri-i-i-i-ght.

If you look carefully, the word "cemetery" is spelled two different ways in this sketch, one way on the arch and one way on the wall. It's one of those words that I can never remember and I always have to look up. If it ever makes it to a final version, I've got it right.

Gee whiz fact: In the town of Cheney, Wash., apparently their sign crews couldn't find a dictionary. As you approach the cemetery from the east, there are two directional signs. One is spelled "cemetary" and the other is spelled "cemetery." I guess that way they know they have at least one of them right!

General Conference enhancement tips

Thanks to our friends over at Zarahemla Times for this special guest appearance to offer this important reminder for getting the most out of conference...STAY AWAKE!

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Today also marks the debut of my new cartoon blog, Good Heavens. There have been a few scattered appearances of Good Heavens on this blog, but I heard from readers that it was a little hard to follow in this format. The plan right now is to publish Good Heavens on Sundays. They'll still show up on this blog from time to time as well.

And, in case you're wondering, Zarahemla Times updates on Fridays.

Thanks!

General Conference enhancement tips

We usually go out for pizza after the Priesthood Session...but you can't tell me that this hasn't happened!

*By way of explanation to my non-LDS friends, General Conference consists of two general two-hour meetings on Saturday and a special meeting for priesthood holders in the evening. There's a two-hour break between each session -- perfect timing for a barbecue...and, as my father-in-law says, a chance to catch up on the game scores! You can learn more about General Conference here.

General Conference enhancement tips

No, we're not talking Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon, just little pieces of paper with some biographical information. Maybe more like a baseball card...hmm...I wonder what an Elder Packer rookie card would fetch on E-Bay?

*Note for my non-LDS friends: General Authorities are what we call the leadership of the Church. If you really want to know more, try this link.

*Second note for anyone who cares: I kind of know all three of these guys. Elder Kikuchi borrowed some aspirin from me when he was making a mission visit to Korea; Elder Walker is a first cousin once removed, and Elder Zwick used to be my boss at the Utah Department of Transportation.

General Conference enhancement tips

Lots of folks have tips on how to help focus on what's being said in conference. After all, it is eight to ten hours of meeting in two days. One thing that has proved successful is "talk topic bingo." Make up a bingo card with gospel topics, songs or phrases, and mark them off as you hear them.

Note to my non-LDS friends: You can use a variation of this to keep you awake in staff meetings, too!

Conference time!

Way back in early Book of Mormon times, King Benjamin called his people together to give them his final admonitions. In order to speak to such a large crowd, King Benjamin had a tower erected at the temple, and the people gathered with their “tent door towards the temple, that thereby they might…hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them.”

This weekend, millions of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world will turn their tents (or TVs or laptops or radios or what have you) toward the temple as we meet for the 178th Semiannual Conference to hear the word.

As a kid, I looked forward to conference as a time to get together with family. Grandma Erickson would cook up a great meal, and after eating we’d mess around with the Walker and Erickson cousins between sessions. Sometimes we’d take a drive in the canyon and look at the glowing leaves while we listened to the talks as they were broadcast on KSL radio. Those were good times and great memories.

Nowadays, I still look forward to conference, but for different reasons: information, inspiration, rejuvenation…and like our friends the Bybees say, not only can you have “church on TV,” you can go to church in your pajamas!

With all that in mind, these next few days on the blog I’ll have (somewhat) helpful tips to help enhance the conference experience. They should be fun.

Note: For my non-LDS friends, it can still be fun to get a glimpse of our quirks. I’ll have links to help explain stuff…and I know these really nice young men who would be happy to explain things in more detail! And we’ll be back to our regular programming next Monday.

This is what the Church Web site has to say about General Conference

Oh, yeah. This is another one of our "Follow the Prophet" bookmarks, King Benjamin.