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Christmas holiday

Away in in a Marketed Manger

Cartoon of a Bethlehem Christmas scene with obnoxious sign

Bethlehem scene with a big sign that says, “See the newborn king here!”

There’s a song/skit I love from Stan Freburg called Green Christmas.

In the skit, it talks about how Christmas is marketed mercilessly. Let’s face it. Most Christmas marketing is just cheesy. Any time you take a meaningful story and use it to sell something, it doesn’t come across as genuine.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that because, well, I don’t want to be cheesy. I like content marketing because it adds value more than sells. But where do you draw the line? When does content marketing become cheesy? When it becomes about the product instead of the customer, I suppose.

Still, that can be difficult to discern when there is a sales quota.

Categories
Christmas holiday

Office Holiday Spirit

Christmas cartoon of a grumpy businessman

Cartoon of a man in a santa suit and a grumpy businessman. The businessman says, “The office is in the holiday spirit. At least it is as soon as I leave it.”

I saw a production of A Christmas Carol last night. It had me thinking of what a modern-day Scrooge would look like. I know there are plenty around modern offices. I admit I haven’t decorated my cubicle or began shouting, “Ho, ho, ho!” yet.

There’s something about the crass commercialism part of Christmas that makes us feel uncomfortable. We take a religious holiday and make it a make-or-break buying bonanza. Even if our office depends upon this commercialism, it makes us feel uncomfortable, doesn’t it. O the avarice!

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children cartoons webcomic

What to do when your hair has a mind of its own

Cartoon of a girl with wild hair

Cartoon of two girls. One has wild hair. The other says, “That’s crazy. Your hair really DOES have a mind of its own.”

Bad hair days can get you down. I feel for people that experience unruly hair. I have memories of those times. Unfortunately, as I get older, that becomes less and less of a problem.

I drew this cartoon when my daughter was experiencing a really bad hair day. She was young enough then to go with the flow. Now when she says she has a bad hair day, I can’t see the difference. It looks as beautiful as any other time. Maybe I’m looking at her with Dad-colored glasses. Or maybe I no longer notice when hair takes control of a poor individual.

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webcomic

Why it is so hard to face our fears cartoon

cartoon of a girl and a monster. The monster is eating someone

Cartoon of a girl and a monster. The monster is eating someone. The girl says, “You see, Roger? This is why I don’t like facing my fears!”

Fears, whether real or imagined can stop us in our tracks. We adults forget that children’s fears are just as real and debilitating to them as any adult-sized fears. They can consume anyone (and either our friends). What do you do?

  • Acknowledge you have the fear. It does no good to pretend a fear isn’t there when it is affecting us. Denying the fear monster doesn’t make it go away.
  • Realize courage doesn’t come from the absence of fear. Many a person has broken through a fear because they chose to be courageous in the midst of their fear.
  • Talk about it with a trusted friend, teacher or pastor. You may be surprised to learn you are not the only one facing that same fear. And acknowledging a phobia or anxiety with someone else breaks the power of the fear monster
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webcomic

How not to fish

Cartoon of two fishermen and a cow

Cartoon of two men fishing in a boat. A cow is in the water. One man says, “Aw! We had steaks last night. Throw him back!”

This seemed like the perfect cartoon for Illustration Friday. This week’s word is “underwater.”