CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

The Cartoon Caption Contest is at a standstill, but you can still check out Blog About Town's map of winners, which is currently the 30th most visited Map Builder map, with over 72,200 hits—and some of them aren't even mine!


Meanwhile, the winner in Anti-Caption Contest 152 (Mick Stevens's car behind Earth on a road) is

"I, Earth Jr., shall now avenge the horrid death your gas-guzzling ways inflicted upon my father."
Mike

My losers:

"My first view--a panorama of brilliant deep blue ocean, shot with shades of green and gray and white--was of atolls and clouds. Close to the window I could see that this Pacific scene in motion was rimmed by the great curved limb of the Earth. It had a thin halo of blue held close, and beyond, black space. I held my breath, but something was missing--I felt strangely unfulfilled. Here was a tremendous visual spectacle, but viewed in silence. There was no grand musical accompaniment, no triumphant, inspired sonata or symphony. The planet was interfering with my Satellite radio."

"C'mon, muthafucka, let's play chicken!"

"No, that's not a Mitsubishi Eclipse."

For the record, that first one of mine is "from" Charles Walker.


Caption Contest 152 is here, while some Anti-Caption commentary can be found here.


THE STANDINGS

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

27 California

22 New York (19 from the Big Apple)

12 New Jersey

7 Virginia (three from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Roanoke)

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania

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)
4 North Carolina

3 Arizona (two from Tucson)
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
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 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

A NEW YORKER'S MAP OF NEW YORK, MARCH 2008

Anyone want to do an illustrated version of this?

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

There's a caption contest break/extension at The New Yorker, but coverage continues here. It's a December buffet!


For starters, some backpatting. Since I launched the Cartoon Caption Contest map about 18 months ago, it has accumulated more than 21,500 hits—some not even from me! It's now ranked as Map Builder's 77th most popular map, situated just ahead of Costa Rica and just behind GPC.


And now for an update about what seems to be a significant change in the contest results. As you may recall, the gender (im)balance among the winners of the first 100 contests was

75% Male
19% Female
6% "Indeterminate" (by me so far)

But the subsequent 23 winners break down as follows:

56.5% or 13 Male
34.8% or 8 Female (34.8%)
8.7% or 2 "Indeterminate" (by me so far)

Over at Anti-Caption Contest 126 (Dave Sipress's Man's Head in a Pseudo-Mondrian), the winner is

"It gets worse. My ass is in a de Kooning."
Mike Mariano

Among the Honorable Mentions is BAT friend Optimus Sub-Prime (wahoo-wah!), with

"This week’s winner: the entries thread itself. Its arc matches almost perfectly that of the cartoon’s subject, so-called modern art. Without the initial burst of creativity. Just several pre-exhausted cycles of self-referential would-be cleverness. Sadly petering out after just four days (decades). Yet we’ll all stand around applauding “the winner,” so as not to appear square."

My loser:

David Sipress (American, b. 1947?). Mandrian, 2007

Very interesting: Dan Radosh reveals the original captions for some Caption Contest Cartoons.


And Andrew McMeels Publishing plans to issue a caption contest-related book in Fall 2008.


Caption Contest 127 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 127 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

19 New York (17 from the Big Apple)

10 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania

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

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

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 Delaware
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 CREEP AHEAD!

This is one of those weeks when The New Yorker doesn't start a new contest, so many of us must seek another object of obsession.

The ever-thoughtful Dan Radosh fills the gap by recycling a James Thurber cartoon for recaptioning and promises to reveal the original caption as well.

I'd be willing to wager that Emily of Emdashes already recognizes it.

She and Radosh have also linked to this interesting profile of Caption Contest winner Fairleigh Brooks of Louisville, Kentucky. Here's the winner that put Brooks on the map.

ADDENDUM And now Emdashes offers an original (and funny) interview between intern John Bucher of Canada and Caption Contest 98 winner Richard Hine of New York. Hine, it turns out was also a nominee in Caption Contest 82 with "It's like paradise for the first few days. But you wouldn't want to live here."


Caption Contest 101 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 101 is here.


THE STANDINGS

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

17 California

14 New York (13 from the Big Apple)

9 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania

4 Connecticut (two from New Haven, two not)

3 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
3 Illinois
3 Maryland (none named Mary)
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio

2 District of Columbia
2 New Hampshire
2 Texas
2 Utah
2 Virginia

1 Alabama
1 Arizona
1 Florida
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Mississippi
1 Missouri
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Oregon
1 Rhode Island
1 Vermont
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!

Good news, Ohio! You've ascended into a four-way tie for fifth place with this winner in Caption Contest #83 (socializing in apartment with giant furnishings):

"You know how it is--first you buy the giant-screen television, then nothing else seems to match."
Janice Sniker (Fremont, Ohio)

Two of the three nominees in Caption Contest #85 (Kennedy High alum Robert Leighton's drawing of a businessman confronting couple in bed) are from the Big Apple.

"How long has this been going on?"
Jeff Green (Brooklyn, NY)

"Oh, no! My best friend and my best friend's wife!"
Mark Campos (Seattle, WA)

"Interested in a threesome? I'll just sit on the floor and sort tax receipts."
Kathy Kinsner (New York, NY)

My loser:

"Work is a nightmare. Can I stay with you for the rest of the night?"

I should've written "...until morning" but otherwise I think my caption stands up pretty well next to the chosen ones.


Over at the Anti-Caption Contest, Dan Radosh is showing the strain of being solely responsible for the competition. He's asked his growing flock of contestants to obey the rules and submit no more than five captions...but I think he might want to change the rules and lower the maximum, too.

Anyway, in Anti-Caption Contest #86 (golfers facing a tank-heavy militarized zone), the winner is

"Whoops--looks like you shanked it into the parking lot, Corporal."
John Tabin

My loser:

Pattonshack

Caption Contest #87 is here. Anti-Caption Contest #87 is here.


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

14 California

11 New York (10 from the Big Apple)

8 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania

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

2 Connecticut (both women, both from New Haven)
2 District of Columbia
2 Illinois
2 Maryland (both women, neither named Mary)
2 New Hampshire
2 Texas
2 Utah
2 Virginia

1 Arizona
1 Iowa
1 Mississippi
1 Missouri
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Oregon
1 Rhode Island
1 Vermont
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone