Spin doctoring, the early years

Maybe the Children of Israel wouldn't have complained so much about the manna if it would have come in a happy meal!

Here's the mail

I was reading about secure mail (email) as I walked by the mailroom with a bin labeled for outgoing mail.  No wonder postal workers get stressed, dealing with those emotions all day!

Monday Sketchbook: Let's get physical!

One forgets how heavy those things can be!

Cleaning up the site

Reminds me a bit of one of my missionary apartments...

What did I see?

There are stores that sell all kinds of flavored popcorn, but it's mostly stuff like caramel, ranch, garlic, herb and so on. So why not apricot?

Dress the part

Even though there wasn't "casual Friday," we did –– on occasion –– indulge in the practice of "sliding into P-day."

OYM

We were watching the missionaries at a recent stake event and noticed that there were sisters everywhere talking to everybody. On the other hand, there were quite a few elders who stayed in their seats or visited with other missionaries. Maybe it was a unique situation, but it kind of made me go hmmm...

The family hair line

I overheard this conversation one day and thought it should be recorded...for posterity!

Celebrating the earth

Happy Earth Day! Celebrate greenly! 

Monday Sketchbook: Spring broke? Springs repaired!

I was one who didn't understand spring break. I thought it was just time off that they gave us around Easter so we could do chores.

I must've had pretty smart parents, eh?

Easter greetings!

Happy Easter!

For the particular palate

Actually, this is probably more nutritious than some of the meals I ate as a missionary!

The safety factor

Sometimes it doesn't pay to overthink holiday traditions.

Share the joy!

I seem to be spending a lot of time in the corner lately...

Losing ground

I hate when that happens!

Vandals!

I worry that the chickens look too much like my turkeys.

Monday Sketchbook: Peeps

Passover is this week. We usually celebrate by watching The Ten Commandments.

I debated about running this even as a sketchbook, but if anyone has had little kids and Peeps in the house at the same time, you've probably experienced this holiday, too.

Sunday best

This gag only works one week in April and one week in October, and then it's only if you're LDS.

Primary activity

Based on real life events.

As the hearts turn...

An alternative title to this would be, "Looking for love in all the wrong databases."

Big box office

Ever wish you could unsee a movie?

I read the reviews. I knew going in that it wasn't going to be an epic Charlton Heston/Cecil B. De Mille interpretation of Noah and the Ark. But I wasn't prepared for rock monsters, magic seeds, cannons and bad graphics repeating the story of Cain and Abel! It was so close to being a sword and sorcerer-type fantasy movie, I wish they would have taken it one more step and made that film.

Instead we got a meandering, plodding, abrasive movie in search of a genre that was based on names and plot devices suggested by Genesis, and drew on apocryphal sources for supplemental material whenever possible. Not only that, but Russell Crowe sang. Again! Wasn't Les Miserables enough?

On the plus side, there was Hermione.

A lot of folks have said that after seeing this film, they're going to go back and read the story in the Bible, just to refresh their memories. That could be a good thing, right?

Even here in Oregon, theater goers sat in stunned silence when the movie ended. Seriously: dead silence.

It's not the worst movie I've ever seen. But it comes awfully, awfully close.

For such a time as this

This gag really isn't too far from the truth. There's a lot of pollen in the air around here this time of year. One of my coworkers actually does buy her tissue at one of the warehouse stores and has a stack of boxes she keeps under her desk because she goes through them so quickly in the springtime.

Still feelin' it!

Still basking in the spiritual glow following General Conference? You can relive it, of course by downloading the talks. Or, you can review it with the Conference Recap from the Mormon Cartoonist, Arie Van De Graff! Why, with my Conference Notebook and his recap, you don't even need to wait for the Ensign! 

Monday Sketchbook: Sunday Conference Sessions

Sunday Morning

Sunday Afternoon

Bonus!
I've had a couple of seminary teachers ask if they could use my Conference Sketchbook for their classes. I've made a downloadable PDF that I'm happy to share –– I hope it works! If not, drop me a note and I can email it to you.

Remember, you can download the sessions from the Church website.

Extra Bonus!
What about Scriptures Legacy? Our missionary hasn't said what the next steps are, but it should be available someplace soon! Read what the Church News has to say.

Conference Sketchbook: Saturday Sessions

Saturday Morning

Saturday Afternoon

Priesthood Session

Some of the sessions are already available online!

Take your problems

Yep, time to get off the ol' cartoon page and go watch General Conference!

Waiting for halftime

I look forward to the stuff they broadcast between sessions of General Conference. Not the promos for Granite Flats, food storage and family history websites, but things like the World Report.

This conference, there's a special program being aired: Scriptures Legacy. Not just because it looks like a good show (it's gotta be way better than the movie Noah*, but that's a different story), but also because my son had a hand in its production. He's working as a missionary at the Motion Picture Studio in the special effects department, and he's really excited to have it air. It plays both Saturday and Sunday. Tune in, enjoy, and watch for his name in the closing credits!

Oh, yeah. Be sure to listen to the conference sessions as well!


*But then again, I've had root canals better than Noah!

Standing for something

It's Conference time!

If you –– or your Primary class –– need something to help focus your (or their) interest during the sessions, download Arie Van De Graaff's Conference Activity Packet, available at Sugardoodle. It's also available in Portugese if you have the need.

The Church website also has ideas on how you can prepare for Conference and ways you can invite others to share.

And be sure to come back Sunday and Monday for my sketchbook recap!

You have three chances!

They got in trouble, however, when they played hide and seek!

Celebrate responsibly

There were occasional culture clashes in our mission when the American elders had a tradition of celebrating a holiday that wasn't in the Korean holiday lexicon. Gags that we thought were hilarious were met with blank stares –– and rightly so.

Be careful out there today. Happy April Fool's Day!