Who's on first?

It's gotta be tough to be a mission president.

Cub Scout conjugation

Our Cubmaster explained to me recently that in the Cub Scout Oath when Cub Scouts say that they follow the Law of the Pack what they really mean is that they have a mob mentality.

Something completely different

OK, this isn't my usual cartoon. I thought I'd share an ad I illustrated for a company in Provo.



The company contacted me through my blog and asked if I'd be interesting in doing a drawing for them. It's not a product I've used or that I'm familiar with, but hey -- I can't say I have any complaints about it, either!

One door opens

With one kid finishing and other one starting, I thought it would be entirely appropriate to post this Explore Provo cartoon that my boss made me draw.

He was a Ute.

Post-holiday depression

Here's a Good Heavens I did last year after someone (probably me) complained that all his Easter candy was gone.

Monday sketchbook: Change of seasons

I thought I was done with Jimmer for a while. I guess I was wrong.

A lot of casual fans get their sports mixed up. It's easy to do. It doesn't help that the two big stars in the two big sports at BYU both have names that start with the letter J: Jake and Jimmer. And they've both got range.

Easter

I've been working a long time on illustrating the Easter story. For some reason, however, I just can't bring myself to do the crucifixion. So in lieu of that, here is a triptych with scenes from Easter week.

Learn wisdom in their youth

Giving Primary kids chocolate is a mistake you'll only make once.

By the letters...

I'm probably the only person who likes these alphabet things, but lame as they may be, I do enjoy them!

By dawn's early egg

I knew this one was wrong from the outset.

Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection. Cavemen celebrating Easter is a total non sequitur. Dinosaurs and prehistoric man were never contemporary. In fact, bunnies and chickens really don't have anything to do with Easter, either. Heck, even the brontosaurus is actually an apatosaurus. I get it.

Nothing about this is true. It's a cartoon. It's kind of silly, and I like it. I hope you can get a kick out of it, too!

Sharing the joy

It may be a few days away yet, but have a happy Easter!

Happy hunting!

One of our favorite bedtime books was I'm coming to get you! by Tony Ross. It's the story of a space monster who tells a little boy that he's "coming to get you!" with a surprise twist at the end.

Monday sketchbook: Repairs made while you wait

I liked this idea at first, but then I thought the reference might be a little obscure and perhaps a little out of character for Nephi. I do like the nod to Lucy's psychiatric booth, though.

The song of the righteous

After about two years of lessons, my piano teacher suggested I take up another instrument. Thanks to years of diligent study and practice, however, I can now say proudly that I am capable of playing several hymns. Most people take two hands to play them. Like the boy above, I can do it with one finger.

It's the little things that count

The same thing doesn't seem to work for elders, however...

Doing your civic duty

OK, I know this year there's an extra couple of days, but I'm a traditionalist!

Dating rules explained

I have this on the best authority.

Look the part

Plug it in

Some days don't you wish there was such a thing?

Monday sketchbook: Listen

A lot of people have their iPods (or other portable music players) at work, listening to music, podcasts, e-books, or what have you. I like to set my iPod on shuffle so I get a mix of things, including the occasional conference talk. It's happened more than once that I've had to stop myself from agreeing out loud at the end!

Message from the dust

We were watching a French movie the other day, Rabbi Jacob (a very un-PC movie, BTW), and there's a part where the main character reads from a Torah. It was the same day that Arie posted a cartoon about texting in Church, and it occurred to me that some of those early scrolls were text messages to our day!

On a two year mission to boldy go where no missionary has gone before

Before J.J. Abrams came along with his reboot of the Star Trek franchise, it was easy to tell the difference: Star Trek was old school and Star Wars was happening. Now we throw in Clone Wars and it's just too hard to figure out!

Where the shadows lie

Ever get those home teaching assignments that you just wonder about?

Happy Birthday!

We just turned three years old! So per tradition, here's the one that started it all a long, long time ago! Enjoy!

One stink to rule them all

My son, who just got home from a scout camp overnighter, said this wasn't fair. Hmm.

Orthanc, the impenetrable

As a missionary, you get to know the standard responses of when people don't want to let you in. One of the most common excuses we ran into was, "The baby is sick!" Although there were many who said (above the noise inside), "No one is home" or "We already talked with you." That's one of the reasons missionaries much prefer to teach people rather than just knock on doors. That and there could be an evil wizard inside. You never know!

Monday sketchbook: Notes from General Conference

Once again I'm including sketches from my General Conference notes. I thought it was great conference, with many good talks and great messages. These are a few of my favorites.

Saturday Morning
Pres. Monson announced three new temples: Ft. Collins, Colorado; Meridian, Idaho; and Winnipeg, Manitoba. He also said that more than 70 tons of supplies have been sent to Japan, and some of the youth there are delivering aid on scooters provided by the Church.


Saturday Afternoon
I may be a geek, but one of my favorite things is the statistical report. The missionary count was as of Dec. 31, so our Elder Z was amongst them!


Priesthood
In Priesthood session, the atmosphere is usually more casual than the other sessions. The tone of this one seemed more serious, trying to get us to be a little bit more diligent. There was more than one message that we need to read about our responsibilities. Pres. Uchtdorf recommended D&C sections 20, 84, 107 and 121.

Sunday Morning
It made me homesick to see the snow outside Temple Square! So many good talks! My favorite sketch from this conference is the Damascus one, but "bedlamites" cries for more attention. That seems appropriate! I also like the one of the kid and the posters in his bedroom: Steve Young, Jimmer Fredette and the Salt Lake Temple (but not necessarily in that order!).


Sunday Afternoon
I always get something a little extra out of Elder Scott's talks. In fact, it was one of his conference addresses that got me to do this blog. Hugh B. Brown's story of the currant bush, which was retold by Elder Christofferson, was one of my mom's favorites (she being a Canadian and all). Elder Holland was great as always, and Pres. Monson's closing remarks were touching.


I was watching a Twitter feed from time to time, and it was interesting to see what was trending. The hashtag #ldsconf was up there almost all day! One of my favorite messages was one that said, "don't tweet during the prayer!"

Conference talks are available on the Church website (but you probably already know that). And fellow cartoonist (and all around good guy) Arie Van de Graaff will soon have Conference-based activity pages available. I think they're usually at Sugardoodle.

P.S. My wife talked me into including this one. She liked the story about the Richfield National Guard, and it's about Korea.

Conference Tips: Bon appetit!

When I was a kid, we always used to have dinner at Grandma's during General Conference. Nowadays we usually have family over for Sunday morning and German pancakes.

My friend Kristin has a tradition of "Conference Cinnamon Rolls." Unfortunately, those need to start the night before (and our oven is on the fritz), but they sound marvelous!

Feast on the word and feast on the food! What a great combination!

Conference Tips: Stir up the gray matter

Yes, it's time again for General Conference!

Busted!

Music, at least secular music, is one of the things missionaries have to give up for the two years they serve. Some have a harder time giving it up than do others.

And, like the president, I'm also pretty sure that Gaga won't be recording with the MoTab any time soon.