Tag: birds

Categories
holiday

Happy Hallow-Reformation Day!

A flock of birds flying from a cornfield to some trees

Happy Halloween(or Reformation Day)! Yesterday on my run, I encountered what must have been hundreds of birds. As I ran by a cornfield, I heard dozens of wings flutter and a flock took off for the safety of some trees. If it was darker, it would have been a perfectly spooky end of the day.

As I jogged along, I saw and heard more birds. They were chattering while trying to stay warm and dry. I thought about the upcoming winter. The number of birds will be dwindling soon as the cold and short food supplies will test them all.

We experience cycles of life, testing, and death all the time. The days are getting darker and colder where I live. Yet, in six months, it will be a time of rebirth and renewal. It will be a little reformation of the world around us.

Stay safe tonight! Know that no matter how dark things appear, no matter how many ghosts and ghouls come knocking, there will be brighter days ahead. Instead of being part of the dark, be part of the light. May you have a little reformation in your soul and be renewed today.

Categories
church cartoons

New Cartoon: When the Important Becomes Urgent

cartoon of a pastor in a pulpit, looking at a bird in a nest. The pastor says, "I propose we fix the roof!"

I’ve been around church buildings long enough to know there is always something to be fixed. There is always a roof to be fixed or a boiler to be maintained. There are always potholes in the parking lot or an unsightly stain in the fellowship hall. How did that stain get way up there anyway?

Those things are important for the life of a church. I heard the story about a church that had plenty of money in reserve but feared using any of it to maintain the church. A board member was shocked when he learned passerby’s thought the church was abandoned. I wonder if they had a nest on the pulpit?

I drew this for the November 2016 Church of God Ministries e-newsletter.

Categories
webcomic

Bird and Cone Head Inked outline

inked in illustration for a bird and cone head at a bus stop 

I’ve decided to pursue this illustration and see where it ends up. The boy looks like he’s lonely in spite of the characters at his bus stop. Maybe if I finish the illustration, he’ll be ready for the school bus.

Categories
animal cartoons

Birds of a Feather

Amazingly enough, Karl, Ken and Kevin always came up with the same ideas.

 

I’ve been working on getting an MBA. You may ask, “You? An illustrator and designer?” Yes. One day I woke up and realized if I was going to be successful in business, I should know a little more about it.

In my organizational behavior class, we’ve been talking about groupthink. It brought to me reminders of George Orwell and “1984.” Groupthink is when people within a business legitimizes their decisions because everyone wants to get along and think the same way. A company thinks their decisions are fool-proof, only to realize later they were actually foolish.

I thought of a flock of birds all chirping in harmony. Sure, it sounds pretty, but once in a while, shouldn’t one of the birds pipe up and say, “Wait a minute! Is this the best tune for this occasion?”

Creativity can suffer under groupthink. We’re all victims of it. It’s hard to see a book without paper pages. It can be difficult for a business used to printing paper books to try electronic publishing. Publishers can cringe whenever an author embraces self-publishing and questions the old model’s legitimacy. Yet, technology marches on and is challenging groupthink in some rough ways.

What are some ways you escape groupthink? How can you challenge the status quo today?

Categories
Adobe Illustrator animal cartoons cartoon gag cartoon relationship cartoons single panel cartoon webcomic

A Duck’s Dream

Cartoon of two ducks. One says, “Why can’t you support my dream of moving to the desert?”

Happy birthday to a lady who has put up with my crazy dreams over the years. Don’t worry, Honey, we’re not moving to the desert.