Sketchbook: One Sunday in Middle Earth

This was a lot of work for very little joke.
 

Didn't he perform at Bilbo's party?

I was watching a training video the other day. There was a typo in the closed captioning — the autogenerated captions apparently didn't understand "Elvis" so they replaced it with "elvish." I dutifully listened to the rest of the video, but my focus was on the sketches in my notepad.

A quick internet search showed that the gag has been done before (mostly as a meme) but only half-heartedly: putting pointy ears on Elvis; Legolas singing Love Me Tender; or throwing in some Tolkien-ish words into some of Elvis' songs.

My thought that the gag should be like Elvis: a little over the top! Singing his songs in Elvish, wearing rhinestone-studded Woodland elf clothes! And definitely not the fat Elvis! I tried rendering the lyrics he's singing into an Elvish script, but part of the fun of the joke is almost recognizing the lyrics.*

When I report back on the training, I'm going to have to say that I may not have gotten much out of it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
 

*If you're interested, we could get into a side discussion on the theory of humor. Any takers?

Maybe there's a copy in the German section?

I struggled a bit with the caption on this one — can I call them Mormon kids? But then I figured that's what they're called at our high school, so I went with it. I figure we all know who they're talking about.

An early sketchbook: We're going on an adventure!

This is probably every mom's fear after hearing Elder Uchtdorf's talk in General Conference.

What an amazing ride!

By the way, I've compiled (and edited) my sketch notes into a downloadable PDF that's suitable for Family Night, seminary, personal study, or helping you fake your way through discussing the talks you haven't had a chance to listen to yet.

Anyone else looking forward to April Conference next year? 

Sunday Morning sketchnotes

There and back again

Today is Tolkien Reading Day, an obscure commemorative day to encourage reading, specifically reading of the works of JRR Tolkien. At the Oregon DOT, we've seized upon this as a day that we can geek out and share our transportation-related messages.

This year we're focusing on alternative transportation — biking, walking, riding the bus or the train. And who better to exemplify this than the Hobbit himself, Bilbo Baggins? In his many adventures he used all sorts of transportation modes. So grab a book and hop on a train and enjoy the day!

And on your birthday, even!

Yes, it's that time of year again when I get on my soapbox to promote freedom of the press! This is Banned Books Week, in which we celebrate the ability to read.

I'm always surprised at what shows up on the lists of books that have been challenged or banned. One of my favorites that's also a perennial favorite on the banned books list is The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien (No. 40 on the banned and challenged classics).

In case you didn't know, yesterday was the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. I wonder if that's why they chose this week to celebrate Banned Books Week?