CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION CONTESTS CONTINUE! It's one of those crazy weeks when The New Yorker takes a pause, but that doesn't mean that maneuverings over Caption Contest #59 (man on phone looking at phone faced with symbols, not numerals) aren't taking place at this very moment!

Harry Effron of Briarcliff Manor, New York is a local favorite with "The hours here are obscene." As mentioned last week, Harry's gotten an endorsement from Dan Radosh. He's also received the approval of Tron-loving Emdashes. And that's not all: He's a second cousin of Gothamist's Jake Dobkin!

But so far no New York Stater with an address outside New York City has won the caption contest. And California does have a tendency to win. Which partly explains why I think Marcus Ewert of San Francisco is still very much a contender with "Let me call you back in an umlaut." Yet...there's scant evidence that Marcus's nomination has energized an online posse of his own.

Amidst this East-West rivalry, Carol Cason of Dublin, Ohio comes across as the Middle American underdog. I've found no online campaigning for her caption, "Oh, sorry. I forgot about the time difference." And Ohio has only won one contest so far. But perhaps the Buckeye State is due. We'll find out soon enough!

Meanwhile, Dan Radosh went ahead and picked a winner for Anti-Caption Contest #61 (doctor checking pulse of giant hand). It's RichM with

"I tried to call earlier, but your phone appears to be a cardboard prop." [Submitted on the off chance that the doctor is not the one who is supposed to be saying what's in the caption.]

My loser:

"Hm. God is dead."

with apologies to theophylact, who beat me online with

"Looks like Nietzsche was right; I can't find a pulse."

In other cartoon caption contest news, Ken Fuson of DesMoinesRegister.com saluted Tim McDaniel, the first Iowan to win the contest, with "Fuson: Iowan thinks, types, wins! And stirs jealousy."

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state, represented using a map format here.

12 California

7 New York (all New York City)

6 Pennsylvania

4 Massachusetts

3 New Jersey

2 Illinois
2 New Hampshire
2 North Carolina
2 Texas
2 Utah

1 Arizona
1 Connecticut
1 Georgia
1 Iowa
1 Maryland
1 Minnesota
1 Mississippi
1 Missouri
1 New Mexico
1 Ohio
1 Oklahoma
1 Oregon
1 Rhode Island
1 Vermont
1 Washington, DC

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone