One last shot for Jimmer

It struck me the other day, when reading about Jimmer Fredette's awards, that although "jimmer" is being used as a verb in English, it ought to translate into other languages as well, n'est-ce pas?

I think the real reason BYU didn't make it to the Final Four is because of the conflict with General Conference. I'm just sayin'.

It wasn't Hogwarts

Gandalf could handle orcs, trolls, men and the Balrog, but even he was challenged by high school students!

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Remember, it's not too late to like the "The Lord of the Rings - A Choral Symphony" on Facebook. Check it out!

Product placement

If you haven't heard, filming is underway for the new Hobbit movie. that got me thinking about creative ways movies are financed...
And speaking of product placement (what a smooth segue, yes?)...



My gifted, talented and extremely musical cousin (or cousin-in-law if you want to get technical about it) is one of the creators of "The Lord of the Rings -- A Choral Symphony." She's created a Facebook page to promote it, and would very much like you to like it, too! Go on and give her a "like" on Facebook. Thank you.

Monday sketchbook: History stinks!

I tried and tried to get the caption to work better with the play on "descent." In the end it just felt too forced. Dang! I thought I was on to something here!

And after the fast...

I'm still in awe that my mom liked liver and onions!

Variety is the spice of life

Tell me, when it's snack time, do you sit down and say, "Mmm! Cheerios!" I think not!

I'm lovin' it

Mission presidents have to handle all kinds of issues with all sorts of missionaries. Some are easier to deal with than others.

He may have a point

Here's some background that puts this into context if you're not familiar with the story.

Group sheets

Times and seasons

These are a couple of images from my legal notice page on Zarahemla Times. They may not be gags, but I think they're kind of cool, and seriously -- who ever visits a legal page?*

By the way, we've just started a Facebook page for Zarahemla Times. Go on over and give it a like and share it with your friends! Here's the link.





* But you really should visit if you're planning on doing something evil. Not that you, being the refined reader that you are, would do such a thing, but there are others. Oh yes, there are others.

Monday sketchbook: Sweet 16

For our Family Home Evening we had a discussion about prayer. One of the important aspects of a prayer, we said, was to express gratitude for things we are thankful for. I, of course, thought of Saturday afternoon's game vs. Gonzaga.

Go, Cougs!

Watching over the church

It's true. Some of those deacons can be way scary!

Ed. note: Colorizing was done by one of my able and worthy assistants.

Open. Open. Open.

Spring is almost here, and one of the surest signs of spring is construction cones popping up all alongside the highway. Watch for them!

The Land of the Rising Sun

Like many people, I've been wondering what I can do to help the people of Japan. I came across this on Yahoo!

Below are organizations that are working on relief and recovery in the region.

AMERICAN RED CROSS: Emergency Operation Centers are opened in the affected areas and staffed by the chapters. This disaster is on a scale larger than the Japanese Red Cross can typically manage. Donations to the American Red Cross can be allocated for the International Disaster Relief Fund, which then deploys to the region to help

GLOBALGIVING: Established a fund to disburse donations to organizations providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami.

SAVE THE CHILDREN: Mobilizing to provide immediate humanitarian relief in the shape of emergency health care and provision of non-food items and shelter.

SALVATION ARMY: The Salvation Army has been in Japan since 1895 and is currently providing emergency assistance to those in need.

AMERICARES: Emergency team is on full alert, mobilizing resources and dispatching an emergency response manager to the region.

CONVOY OF HOPE: Disaster Response team established connection with in-country partners who have been impacted by the damage and are identifying the needs and areas where Convoy of Hope may be of the greatest assistance.

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: Putting together relief teams, as well as supplies, and are in contact with partners in Japan and other affected countries to assess needs and coordinate our activities.

SHELTER BOX: The first team is mobilizing to head to Japan and begin the response effort.

The LDS Church offers this:

We have begun providing direct assistance and are actively assessing ways that we can further support the Japanese people and their government during this crisis. The scope of our response may change as additional information becomes available over the coming weeks and months.

Many people have asked the Church how they might assist or make donations to the Church’s relief efforts. Church members or others who wish to donate may do so through the Humanitarian Aid Fund.

At the very least, keep the people of Japan in your thoughts and prayers.

There's nothing like the smell of corned beef in the morning

One of the missionary guidelines is to avoid close physical contact with members of the opposite sex. But what of those elders of Irish descent, those who proudly wear the "Kiss me, I'm Irish" buttons? What do they do? Adapt, of course!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Up in smoke

When I was a kid, my dad "accidentally" started a fire in the vacant field next door when he cut down some weeds using an old metal weed whacker. The metal blade hit a rock, sparked, and started a pretty good sized fire. The fire department came and the whole neighborhood turned out to watch the spectacle. It was pretty exciting, and totally raised my dad's coolness factor among the neighborhood kids.

Singin' in the rain

When I lived in Utah, I found the weather forecasts easy to understand. If it was going to rain, they said that it was going to rain. Rain to Oregonians is like snow to the Eskimos -- there are dozens of words that describe the rain. For example, one recent forecast called for rain, light showers, showers and then a drizzle. It's probably my simple mind, but I like my rain binary: either it's rainin' or it ain't.

Monday sketchbook: Hallmark moments

I'm actually a little surprised that Hallmark set up its headquarters in Kansas City rather than Salt Lake. Think of all the birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions that had to be celebrated in Brigham Young's household alone!

It's a good cause

I think every bishop has someone in their ward just like this!

Special repeat performance

Meridian Magazine normally runs one of my cartoons each Friday. If you happen to pop over there and take a peek, you'll see that there isn't a cartoon from me this week. That's because this is the one I submitted, one I call "Chibi Missionaries":


It's a colorized version of one I ran on here last June. The editorial staff decided to pull it, which I totally understand and support. It just didn't seem proper in the wake of the earthquakes and tsunami.

However, as I said yesterday, missionaries have been on my mind. Especially those who are serving in Sendai and, as of this posting, have not yet been heard from. Having just had a missionary return home, I can imagine what the parents and families of those missionaries are going through.

My heart also goes out to the people of Japan. All those who have been affected by this natural disaster are in our thoughts and prayers!

It's a fault

This is an old gag that's been kicking around for a while. With our most recent missionary returning home this week and a niece heading out next week, missionaries have been on my mind.

Somewhere under the rainbow

I'm sure even Leprechaun clans have their angst-ridden teenagers.

Keep those hot doggies rollin'

This is a little cartoon I did for our office's food drive. Heh, heh, heh!

He's grown a foot or two

I ran this one about two years ago on Zarahemla Times. Elder Z is back!

Monday sketchbook: The final countdown

Somebody's coming home tomorrow!

It kinda goes without saying...

Remember the Animaniacs? They used to have a segment called "Good Idea, Bad Idea." This would be a bad idea.

Sneak preview

• Editor's note: OK, this is scheduled to run over on Zarahemla Times in a couple of weeks or so. So when it does, act all surprised like you've never seen it before. Thanks!

With BYU basketball and the university's Honor Code in the news all over the place, I can't help but think of the parallels between this incident and Alma's son Corianton. Both involved some pretty good individuals who made up a good team, and both had one guy who messed up -- which caused some problems for the rest of the team as well.

I like what Alma did. He pulled Corianton off the team for a while and gave him a little talking to. But later, Corianton was back on the team and doin' his job. He would have been in line to be entrusted with the records if he hadn't gone off on a supply ship to the north.

It's kind of the same thing with Brandon Davies. He messed up. With any luck, he'll be back on the team in the future. He's got a lot of potential.

But what I like even more is that when Alma talked to Corianton, we got a whole lot of pretty cool doctrine. And with Mr. Davies, we've got a lot of discussion going on about standards, values and honor. That's a pretty good thing.

Did it mess up BYU's chances in the conference tournament and the NCAAs? We'll see. But the conversation on character, I think, is more important than winning a few ball games. After all, the scripture doesn't say, "how great shall be your joy if you bring many championship trophies unto me," right?

Hang in there, Davies. We're with you. And go Cougs!

Does anybody really know what time it is?

One of my sons used to have to take early early morning seminary -- the class started at 5:30. He was also one who liked to stay up late. There were days where he didn't get to sleep until his history class!

Fellow cartoonist Arie Van De Graaff ran a similar cartoon just a little while ago, which brought this one to memory. Variations on a theme.

Get it while it's hot

I know I have a tendency to drive around to try to find the place with the cheapest gas. Sometimes that's not the best idea.

Descartes

I'm not pointing fingers at anybody, but have you noticed that there are some people who live only electronically? I'm not talking Tron or even WOW; more like a "I Facebook, therefore I am" type of mentality.

Said the guy who posts cartoons daily on his blog.

Gone in a flash!

Gravel? Salt? Magnesium Chloride? Who needs it? This seems way more efficient to me!