July 8 - Bedtime for Cousin Lee

Cousin Lee is all snuggled up in her nice, soft and comfy bed. The nice cool tradewinds are blowing into her upstairs bedroom through the open windows, where she has a great view of her Pearl City neighborhood and Pearl Harbor. It all makes for one happy hapa. Lee loves living in Hawaii, and she's ready to close her eyes and say aloha o'e to another day in paradise nei. And with her bedroom door locked, no screaming keiki or hyperactive pets can barge in and ruin her mood. :)

May 22 - We Are Na Ali'i... Seriously

Here are some of the students and faculty Ricki Lee works with at Calvary High School of Hawaii in Honolulu, where she teaches English and Japanese as well as coach the three-member cheer team. From left to right are school mascot Ono Grindz the Ali'i Sheep, Ricki's mentor Mrs. Yamashita (aka Tutu Huhu), Ricki, cheer captain Tita Silva and her class-clown boyfriend Jared McMooney. The L in "School" perpetually falls to an angle because the pegs behind the L won't stay put in the concrete, but as an inside joke the administration just leaves it that way to remind themselves and the student body that despite our best efforts to keep up outward appearances, all of us are still imperfect and sinful before a perfect God--but thanks to the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we stand before the Father as if we never sinned.

April 18 - Don't Get Huhu in Ricki Lee's Classroom

Ricki Lee teaches English and Japanese at Calvary High School of Hawaii, a tiny private Christian high school in suburban Honolulu. Tita Silva is the short but spirited captain of the CHS cheer squad, which Ricki coaches. Tita's temper tends to be just as short as she is, and she often makes a fool of herself when she gets huhu (angry) over the dumbest of things. Now she is learning the hard way during detention that you don't do such things in your coach's English class, and she can't blame her Portugese and Samoan heritage for her huhu. Hence the sneer. Bart Simpson isn't the only one, you know.

St. Patrick's Day in Hawaii Nei

Do people celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Hawaii? Why faith and begorrah, of course they do, brah--but with an island twist. Ricki Lee, dressed as an Irish folk dancer, is happily swinging on a vine from the big banyan tree with baby Robbie in tow. Her Uncle Pete and Aunt Della mix shakas with shamrocks on the lawn, joining their daughter Lee (who is "Hapa Irish" through her dad), adopted granddaughter Keisha, Ricki's other son Isaac on the other vine, and the ohana pets Xena the Chihuahua and Lani Girl the mongoose.

November 2 - Late Night HDTV

This should have been posted before Halloween, but I've been busy with work this week and haven't been able to until now. This animated video was made during the summer and is the sequel to a 2009 Ricki Lee & Tony cartoon, Late Night TV. As the name implies, this new one is high-definition and widescreen. Here, cousins Issac and Keisha are watching test patterns while Cousin Lee (Keisha's adopted mom) is sleeping. The keiki (kids) make jokes about Popsicle flavors and donuts while the noise wakes poor Lisa up to a bizarre TV nightmare.

October 22 - A Harvest of Costumes

It's the annual Fall Festival at Ricki Lee & Tony's church--or what some would call a safer Halloween alternative without the scary costumes and gothic enthusiasts--and everyone's dressed up as somebody, including Ricki Lee as legendary Hawaiian singer-songwriter Aunty Irmgard Aluli, Cousin Lee as a University of Hawaii cheerleader, and Isaac as an Angry Bird. Unless you live in or have visited the islands, you might not get the local kine jokes, including Auntie Della's. But have fun fo try, eh? :)

October 17 - Oktoberfest in Hawaii Nei

The traditional German festival known as Oktoberfest is celebrated in Hawaii, too--often at hotels, tourist traps and Lutheran churches. (At churches, though, it may be with root beer instead of the regular kine.) The Ricki Lee & Tony ohana, Lutherans all, are all in the Deutschlander aloha spirit in lederhosen, peasant Hausfrau dresses, feathers in their hats, and haku lei on their heads. Even Lani Girl the mongoose is in the act, holding up a stein full of root beer with her tail. Alas, little Isaac hasn't been properly brainwashed in the Oktoberfest spirit. They'll get him yet. :)

January 23 - Bad Golf Day

From the joy of New Year's Eve to the frustration of being a pathetic golfer: so much for Lee trying to be like professional golfer Paula Creamer. At least she can look like The Pink Panther, right? It doesn't help, though, when your mom and daughter really rub it in. And it really doesn't help if you have an explosive temper on the course like Lee clearly does.  :)

January 9 - Happy (Achoo!) New Year

Happy New Year! Since 2010 I have created Ricki Lee & Tony-themed New Year's cartoons in addition to my Christmas greeting cards. In this year's version the whole extended ohana in Pearl City welcomes you to 2012. Poor Ricki has come down with a cold, but that doesn't keep her from dressing up in her "Breakfast at Tiffany's" best for New Year's Eve. When her cousin Lee complimented her festive white gloves, Ricki angrily fired back "It's so I can wipe my runny nose with them!"

The cartoon was directly inspired by my own bout with a cold--the second one in a month. I myself was laid up in bed for most of the New Year's weekend, and decided to make lemonade out of lemons by incorporating it into the artwork through Ricki Lee.

The whole family as shown clockwise from left to right: Lee, her adopted daughter Keisha, her parents Della and Pete Rogers, Tony, Ricki Lee with her cold medicine and tissue paper, Xena faithfully watching over her mistress, and Ricki Lee & Tony's sons Isaac and Robert (seated).

February 18 - Snow on Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea, an extinct volcano that is the highest point on the Big Island of Hawaii (over 13,000 feet), gets dumped with snow every time winter storms pass through the Hawaiian islands. Nobody expects snow in Hawaii, but Mauna Kea's sheer height virtually guarantees it. Residents from neighboring islands come to the Big Island every winter to ski and snowboard on the "Pineapple Powder".

In this cartoon, Ricki Lee & Tony and the boys are playing in the snow on Mauna Kea. Notice the shaka salute on the snowman's left arm and the lei-covered cross in the foreground, an affirmation of the family's Christian faith (and of my own).