Mark Fiore is a San Francisco cartoonist and animator whose work appears in the San Francisco Chronicle as well as the Washington Post, L.A. Times and other publications. One recent piece, on the subject of execution, can be viewed at SFGate.com, the Chronicle's website.

It's an animated cartoon set to music, with the childlike style and upbeat music of the short instructional films that taught us proper toothbrush technique or warned of the dangers of crossing the street in the middle of the middle of the middle of the block. Here are some sample frames:

(Dave Sagarin, March 1, 2003).