Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Coverage Resumes

There's some catching up to do, so....

The winner of Caption Contest 171 (Gahan Wilson's butcher with kickline display of meat) is

"I'd suggest you keep them away from the gingerbread men."
Vincent Coca (Staten Island, NY)

That's a first win for the Shaolin!


The winner of Caption Contest 172 (happy head on Easter Island) is

"Guess who's getting voted off the island."
Michael Vorenberg (Barrington, RI)

This third win for Rhode Island ties the tiny state with Al Franken-lovin' Minnesota!


The nominees in Caption Contest 173 (Tom Cheney's businessmen hauling loads of moolah) are

"Who would have thought they'd actually give money to a bank!"
Michael Jensen (New Rochelle, NY)

"At the next bailout, let's also ask for a pony."
Lynn Tudor (New York, NY)

"Did you send your thank-you card to Congress?"
Harvey Kaslow (Pasadena, CA)

Yes, that's at least Lynn Tudor's fourth nomination after Caption Contest 80, Caption Contest 117, and Caption Contest 120 (a win).

My loser:

"I used to sell strip steaks, but they cleaned up their act."

You like??


The nominees in Caption Contest 174 (Harry Bliss's little man, big bird with worm in beak) are

"I want to live at my dad's."
Sean Delaney (Stanardsville, VA)

"No, thanks—I only eat them on reality shows."
Sean Lee (Brooklyn, NY)

"Am I in your dream or are you in mine?"
Joe Sherlock (Omaha, NE)

My loser:

"I appreciate the gesture, but I'm just not into you."

The winner of Anti-Caption Contest 174 (Harry Bliss's little man, big bird with worm in beak) is

The Worm: "Please, my little elven friend, stop gaping and get me out of this bird's mouth before it eats me!"
Ed

My loser:

"Go ahead and PECK me to death, starting with my balls! That would still be nothing compared to what that ganef Bernie Madoff did to me."

In Anti-Caption Contest 175 (Drew Dernavich's person in hybrid sports getup), the winner is

"Him? This is my idiot friend Steve. He used to be... are you wearing a fucking yarmulke?"
Hubert

Nothing from me on this one.


Caption Contest 176 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 176 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

30 California

28 New York (24 from the Big Apple)

13 New Jersey

9 Virginia (four from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke)

8 Illinois (six from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

7 Massachusetts

6 Connecticut (two from New Haven, four not)
6 Pennsylvania

5 Maryland (none named Mary)
5 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 Rhode Island

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Utah
2 Vermont
2 Washington

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Parodic The Gothamer illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Coverage Continues

Um. Uh-huh. Clears throat. Thank you. Thank you. This is such a surprise! I'm not sure what to say, but....Takes out pre-written speech. I can't tell you how exciting it is to finally win one of these things after so many years of trying. Pause. I just want to say that this shows that, if you try hard and you don't give up, you can get recognition! And I feel like I'm in such good company in Anti-Caption Contest 172 (Lee Lorenz's happy head amidst Easter Island statues). I mean, over there is

Standup comedian, off-panel: "You see, black people carve statues like this, and white people carve statues like THIS!"
Francis

and over there is

"Kill him."
Deborah

and there was even

Why the long faces?
xjvpastor

and

"This is Obamahead land. No McCain heads allowed."
J.D.

And to think that all of them lost to my anti-caption:

"What the fuck are you smiling about? It's World AIDS Day, asshole!"
David F

And finally, I'd like to thank the one person who inspired me more than anyone else: Larry Kramer. Thanks, Larry. I'l continue to do what I can to get your Lost Horizon on DVD soon!


In Caption Contest 169 (Leo Cullum's bandito businessman), the winner is

"What makes you think I wouldn't be up for sushi?"
Neal Svalstad (El Cajon, CA)

So thanks to the man from El Cajon, California hits 30 and beats New York as well as Illinois.


California and New York face off again (with Michigan) in Caption Contest 171 (Gahan Wilson's butcher with meat shaped like kick line), the nominees are

"I'd suggest you keep them away from the gingerbread men."
Vincent Coca (Staten Island, NY)

"It's not disturbing until someone wants to buy them by the ounce."
Steve Arrowood (Oceanside, CA)

"I did the choreography myself."
Donovan Reeve (Ypsilanti, MI)

My loser:

"I used to sell strip steaks, but they cleaned up their act."

Thoughts?


Caption Contest 173 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 173 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

30 California

27 New York (23 from the Big Apple)

13 New Jersey

9 Virginia (four from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke)

8 Illinois (six from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

7 Massachusetts

6 Pennsylvania

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Maryland (none named Mary)
5 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont
2 Washington

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Satirical "Eustace K. Tilley" illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Coverage Continues

It took a while for Dan Radosh to post the results of Anti-Caption Contest 170 (P.C. Vey's businessman with turkey) but, when he did, Deborah was quick to let me know that I'd garnered an Honorable Mention with

"I'm on my way to get a breast implant. Wish me luck, dawg!"

The winner was

"Yeah, that's the thing with Rate My Professor, you never really know who's trashin' ya. TurkeylovingRacist1956 could be anybody."
David John

I had no such luck in Anti-Caption Contest 171 (Gahan Wilson's butcher selling meat shaped like a kick line), where the winner was

"I don't know, lady. I just fucking work here. Do you want one or not"
JohnnyB

and one of the Honorable Mentions was the great Broadway pun

"So you want one...singular...shank section?"
therblig

and my losers were

"Pleased to meat you!"

and

"If you don't think the world is fucked up, just take a look at the numbers of each of these anti-caption contests.

"This one is 171, the one before it is 247, the one before that is 170, and the one before that is 168!

"It reminds me of when the contest went from 141 to 143 to 143, but it's worse this time around.

"Anyway, what'll it be?"

"It depends. What's today's special?"

"Tenderloins."

"Of course. Then I'll have those."

"I'm sure you already do, my lovely. I'm sure you already do."

"Oh dear!"

In Caption Contest 168 (Tom Cheney's weirdly long arm of waiter), the winner is

"Please try not to stare at his disproportionately short right arm."
Chas Kikel (Cleveland Heights, OH)

Seems like an anti-caption, doesn't it?


In Caption Contest 170 (P.C. Vey's businessman with turkey) the nominees are

"I am useless until I have my morning turkey."
Corey Lowney (Wappingers Falls, NY)

"I was actually hoping for a boy."
Antonia Boyette (Los Angeles, CA)

"I miss the cash bonuses."
Robert Becker (Northford, CT)

Compare that third one with my loser:

"It's part of my severance package."

Caption Contest 172 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 172 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

29 California

27 New York (23 from the Big Apple)

13 New Jersey

9 Virginia (four from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke)

8 Illinois (six from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

7 Massachusetts

6 Pennsylvania

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Maryland (none named Mary)
5 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont
2 Washington

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Satirical "Eustace K. Tilley" illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

The winner of Caption Contest 138 (P. C. Vey's marriage counselor with water tank) is

"Get naked, jump in, and make this marriage work!"
Trent Swanson (Anchorage, AK)

That's the second win for Alaska, where, I imagine, Swanson is never far from frozen food.


In Caption Contest 140 (Gahan Wilson's covered wagon heading toward spotlights through a passd), the nominees are

"Forget Oregon. I'm going to Vegas."
Shyam Jha (Tucson, AZ)

"There's red carpets in them thar hills!"
William Binder (New York, NY)

"Indian casino. I'd say Comanche."
Jeremy Voas (Phoenix, AZ)

Interesting that this Western-themed cartoon has two nominees from Arizona. My loser:

"What did we do before E-ZPass?"

In Anti-Caption Contest 141 (Drew Dernavich's angel with big bat wings), the winner is

"Yeah, and 20 gigs more than the white!"
Heather

My losers:

"There are some things even a utility belt can't reverse, Robin."

"What do you mean, there's no Halloween in heaven?"

Caption Contest 142 is here, while Anti-Caption Contest 142 is here.


And congrats to Dan "Anti-Caption" Radosh on making Time's Top 25 Blogs.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

25 California

20 New York (17 from the Big Apple)

12 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania
6 Virginia (three from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville)

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Illinois (four from Chicago—two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Maryland (none named Mary)

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Arizona
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

The winner of Caption Contest 137 (Gahan Wilson's shrink with patient doing semaphore) is

"And when did you first come to believe that your conversations were being recorded?"
Katherine Warwick (Pasadena, CA)

That's the 25th win for first-place California, the 2nd win for Pasadena in 7 weeks, and—get this—5 wins for California in only 8 weeks!


In Caption Contest 139 (Leo Cullum's lion lying by the remains of a doctor, with a convertible in the far background), the nominees are

"If he wasn't an internist he is now."
Matt Charron (Charlotte, NC)

"Tasted kind of mediciney."
Andrew Naidech (Chicago, IL)

"I still have room for a second opinion."
Julie Schuman (New York, NY)

My loser:

"The ones in the convertibles tend to be a little burnt, but you can't beat the convenience."

In Anti-Caption Contest 140 (Gahan Wilson's covered wagons heading for spotlights), the winner is

"They're called Conestoga wagons because--uh-oh, air raid."
TGGibbon

My losers:

"Why do I have this ol' shit-eatin' grin? 'Cause for once we ain't behin' the manure wagon!"

"Why do I have this ol' shit-eatin' grin? 'Cause for once we ain't behin' the manure wagon--we're behin' the orgy wagon!"

Caption Contest 141 is here, while Anti-Caption Contest 141 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

25 California

20 New York (17 from the Big Apple)

12 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania
6 Virginia (three from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville)

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Illinois (four from Chicago—two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Maryland (none named Mary)

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio

2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Alaska
1 Arizona
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

The winner of Caption Contest 135 (P. C. Vey's couple arriving with lit bomb) is

"It's great to see you, but we can only stay about fifteen seconds."
Stefan Martula (Houston, TX)

Congrats to Stefan Martula, who moves Texas into a fifth-place tie with Connecticut and Illinois, with five wins apiece.


In Caption Contest 137 (Gahan Wilson's psych patient using semaphore), the candidates are

"Yes, I understand. Many of my patients have difficulty talking about sex."
David Amory (Mercer Island, WA)

"Great! Next week we'll work on your fear of Morse code."
Thomas Brennan (Garrison, NY)

"And when did you first come to believe that your conversations were being recorded?"
Katherine Warwick (Pasadena, CA)

My loser:

"You see? It's healthy to joke about your flagging manhood."

In Anti-Caption Contest 138 (P. C. Vey's marriage counselor showing large tank to couple), the winner is

"'There is water at the bottom of the ocean.' That lyric is as true today as it was in 1984 when I wrote it, and there's your proof. Same as it ever was. That's why I know this marriage can be saved."
R.K.

My loser:

"Spitzer...McGreevey...Paterson...hahahahaha!"

Caption Contest 139 is here, while Anti-Caption Contest 139 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

24 California
20 New York (17 from the Big Apple)

11 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania
6 Virginia (three from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville)

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Illinois (four from Chicago—two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Maryland (none named Mary)

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio

2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Alaska
1 Arizona
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

California resumes its winning ways in Caption Contest 134 (Jack Ziegler's couple in bed wearing protective suits):

"Next time can we just get flu shots like everyone else?"
Matthew May (Westlake Village, CA)

In Caption Contest 136 (Drew Dernavich's businessman with vulture), the candidates are

"Janice, hold all my calls. Indefinitely."
Peter Bruno (Rutland, VT)

"Could you order me a B.L.T. on whole wheat with a side of carrion?"
Wayne Martorelli (Lawrenceville, NJ)

"Let me guess—the lab results aren't good."
Jacob Kono (Jersey City, NJ)

My loser, which is very close to Wayne Martorelli's entry:

"I'll have a regular coffee, a danish, and a bloody carcass."

Dang!


In Anti-Caption Contest 137 (Gahan Wilson's man doing semaphore on couch), the winner is

"If your old bitch dead mother could see us now! Me with not one, but TWO flat screen TeeVees and you dancing around like an idiot on that couch of hers. Not to mention using her prized place mats for fun. I hope she's roasting in Hell."
SK

My losers:

"Oh, I get it now! You're parking your 'S' on the couch again.

"I'm sorry I took so long figuring that out. I was having trouble interpreting your left arm position, you see--it's like you have an accent in semaphore!

"Anyway, that was a fun diversion. So thank you!"

Caption Contest 137 is here, while Anti-Caption Contest 137 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

24 California

20 New York (17 from the Big Apple)

11 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania
6 Virginia (three from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville)

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Illinois (four from Chicago—two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Maryland (none named Mary)
4 Texas (two from Houston)

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio

2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Alaska
1 Arizona
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION CONTESTS CONTINUE!

Before sharing the latest in caption/anti-caption contest winners, losers, and nominees, here's a message from Chrys Wu, who's got the enviable job title of Editorial Curator at WNYC:

The New Yorker's cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff, is looking for a few good Thanksgiving-themed New Yorker-style cartoons and I thought you and your readers might be interested in entering the contest.

Make a drawing, give it a caption, and submit it to <http://www.flickr.com/groups/cartooncontest/> on
flickr. Mankoff will choose his favorites and discuss
them on "The Leonard Lopate Show" on WNYC on the day
before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Submission deadline is Nov. 14 at noon.

For more information, please see:
<http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2007/11/21>

And, of course, Dan Radosh has started his own anti-contest for the worst Thanksgiving cartoon possible.


So. The big contest news is that New Jersey has broken its dry spell to become the third double-digit state in the Cartoon Caption Contest, thanks to Caption Contest 116 (Gahan Wilson's alien cartoonists):

"On what planet do you imagine this would be funny?"
Eva Liane Foster (Princeton, NJ)

That's the first New Jersey winner since Caption Contest 88, and the first from Princeton!

The nominees in Caption Contest 118 (Paul Noth's angels on eggs) are

"Why did you think angels had wings?"
Sonya Erickson (Denver, CO)

"It's not the tedium. It's the uncertainty."
Hope Witte (Chevy Chase, MD)

"I always figured Hell would be less ironic."
Ben Snyder (Charlottesville, VA)

My loser:

"When I feel blue, I simply remind myself that it's much worse for the penguins."

And in Anti-Caption Contest 119 (Danny Shanahan's man in crib), the winner is

There once was a man like an infant?He was a real jerk and skinflint?I put him in bed, oh bed bed bed bed,?bed bed bed bed bed bed infant.
jdt

My loser:

"I can't believe that, after the horrible things this man did to me and our children, and the millions of lives he destroyed in every corner of the planet, he can still, somehow, sleep like a baby. But now he must die!"

Caption Contest 120 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 120 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

20 California

17 New York (15 from the Big Apple)

10 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania

4 Connecticut (two from New Haven, two not)
4 Illinois (three from Chicago, one from Lake Bluff)
4 Maryland (none named Mary)

3 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio
3 Texas
3 Virginia

2 District of Columbia
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Alaska
1 Arizona
1 Florida
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Michigan
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION CONTESTS CONTINUE!

Another week, another winning woman! In Caption Contest 114 (Drew Dernavich lifeguard perched next to high lifeguard tower), the winner is

"He's the lifeguard during high tide."
Jennifer Shelly (New Braunfels, TX)

And so, on a day when many people are filing their late taxes, Texas takes on a third winner, right in between Austin and San Antonio.


In Caption Contest 116 (Gahan Wilson's alien cartoonists considering a cartoon of an alien on a desert isle), the nominees are

"It would work better with an alien."
Don Hill (Corvallis, OR)

"It's just not funny if she looks so sexy."
Randy Dreyfuss (Los Angeles, CA)

"On what planet do you imagine this would be funny?"
Eva Liane Foster (Princeton, NJ)

So hey: Maybe New Jersey will finally make it to the double digits.

My loser? I went with verbosity:

"This will be perfect after a couple of changes. First, change the
setting to outer space. And then make the central figure an astronaut."

And I note that my anti-caption

"I know I'm new at this, but don't you think a caveman would be funnier?"

was also in the ballpark. (And I note that Emdashes recently asked New Yorker librarians Jon Michaud and Erin Overbey about the magazine's cartoon editors with nary a word about aliens.)


In Anti-Caption Contest 117 (circus ring in living room), the winner is

"Well, sir, PETA made us release the animals. OSHA made us get rid of the trapeze, ring of fire and so forth. The health department closed down the concessions because of trans-fats. The carney workers went on strike. I'm afraid this is all that's left. But, you know, 'step right up!' and all that."
JohnnyB

My losers:

Bil Keane: Behind the Panels [props to stcoleridge]

"Don't worry about all those people watching us with their computers. This isn't 2001: A Space Odyssey, and nobody can see our lips moving anyway."

Caption Contest 118 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 116 is here; this round's winner will snag a copy of clever writer A. J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically!


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

20 California

17 New York (15 from the Big Apple)

9 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania

4 Connecticut (two from New Haven, two not)
4 Maryland (none named Mary)

3 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
3 Illinois
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio
3 Texas
3 Virginia

2 District of Columbia
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Alaska
1 Arizona
1 Florida
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Michigan
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION CONTESTS CONTINUE!

Let's hear it for Brooklyn women! The winner of Caption Contest 113 (Harry Bliss hotel maid with gun outside door) is

"Oh, now you want to talk, when all week it was 'Do Not Disturb.'"
Diane Ferraro (Brooklyn, NY)

So second-place New York keeps pace with first-place California, while poor New Jersey wallows in third place, winless since Caption Contest 88.


In Caption Contest 115 (Leo Cullum's man in radiation suit in bar), the nominees are perhaps more distinctive than usual.

"Ever have the feeling you forgot to turn something off?"
Preston Thomas (Chicago, IL)

"The way I see it, I'm the miner and you're the canary."
Melissa Muntyan (Tampa, FL)

"Trust me, background radiation—it's the new secondhand smoke."
James Gamble III (New York, NY)

My loser:

"Are you sure there are no peanuts?"

In Anti-Caption Contest 116 (Gahan Wilson's cartoonist aliens), the winner is

"Ha! That’s brilliant! Of course we’ll run it - thanks for submitting! Do you have any others?"
Deborah

My losers:

"I don't care what Mr. Shawn would think. You're fired! And by the way, where did you get your turtle neck? I'm starving!"

"I know I'm new at this, but don't you think a caveman would be funnier?"

"Looks like you had a great vacation! So why the big frown?"

John Bucher of Emdashes interviews Caption Contest 111 winner David Wood here.


Caption Contest 117 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 117 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

20 California

17 New York (15 from the Big Apple)

9 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania

4 Connecticut (two from New Haven, two not)
4 Maryland (none named Mary)

3 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
3 Illinois
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio
3 Virginia

2 District of Columbia
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Texas
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Alaska
1 Arizona
1 Florida
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Michigan
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone