Martin Schneider writes:
New Yorker cover illustrator (and Twitterer) Bob Staake has posted a pictorial tour of his studio. He seems to have designed it with an eye toward convincing intelligent children (or humans of any age) that previous decades were waaaay more fun than today. Staake has a keen eye for old-timey bric-a-brac, which makes it just completely delightful. Go have a look.
Category Archives: Seal Barks
At What Age Can He Vest, Measured in Dog Years?
I got a kick out of “this picture”:http://adsense.blogspot.com/2006/01/meet-our-adsense-engineers-juliana.html of Newton, the friendly golden retriever who spends his days at the Google offices, the place where they make all the magical AdSense algorithms. He belongs to Juliana, who sounds very nice.
Of course the snapshot put me in the mind of Peter Steiner’s “immortal 1993 cartoon”:http://www.cartoonbank.com/product_details.asp?mscssid=3ML4QF8NM64S8L7QGQVEXN0D2PX87555&sitetype=1&did=4&sid=22230&pid=&keyword=peter+steiner+dog§ion=all&title=undefined&whichpage=1&sortBy=popular about the valuable anonymity dogs can find on the Internet.
Rename “The Cartoon Lounge,” By Tonight!
Our former intern Sarah Arkebauer writes:
The Cartoon Lounge has announced a contest in which they ask readers to rename the blog. Entries must be submitted by the end of today, October 3rd, and the result will be posted by the end of next week. More information can be found here.
File Under Awesome: Caption Contest Now Searchable
Good news! The _New Yorker_ website now has a feature that lets you search on past “caption contests”:http://contest.newyorker.com/CaptionContest.aspx! Click on “Caption Archive” and there you are! You can access “every caption submitted to the contest, as well as see all of your captions.” (You will have to register to use the feature.) If you’re wondering what to search on, here are some “suggestions”:http://emdashes.com/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=2&tag=Cartoon%20Caption%20Contest&limit=20.
Flake and Fruhlinger, Two Goofball Geniuses, on Newyorker.com
I’ve rhapsodized about Josh Fruhlinger’s The Comics Curmudgeon, which does to “Mary Worth” what Gawker does to Julia Allison; I’ve raved (as long ago as 2005!) about Emily Flake’s diabolically bee-stung comic “Lulu Eightball.” Now, they’re both interviewed at the Cartoon Lounge on newyorker.com, which is a delightful surprise.
Here’s the interview with Josh, by Zach Kanin; here’s Drew Dernavich in conversation with Emily. My 5,000 hats of Bartholomew Cubbins are off to both of these beautifully warped minds, at all times.
Special Dispatch From Rome: How to Win the Caption Contest
As I while away the hour or two before flyin’ home, I think I’ll take a moment to note that, in an introspective spirit akin to that of some of our caption contest interviewees, recent winner Patrick House summarizes (for Slate), with a light touch and mighty candor, the mental processes necessary to get a viable caption past the discerning Farley Katz—and, of course, others. Well done, Mr. House, and I hope I can persuade you to chat with one of our talented new interns about your experience. Also, a quick note on your statement here:
To understand what makes the perfect caption, you must start with the readership. Paging through The New Yorker is a lonesome withdrawal, not a group activity. The reader is isolated and introspective, probably on the train commuting to work. He suffers from urban ennui. He does not make eye contact. Laughing out loud is, in this context, an unseemly act sure to draw unwanted attention.
At Emdashes, we try to soothe that periodical loneliness with cheerful camaraderie, meandering reflections, selective spelunking, and, between magazines, digital balm for the paper shakes. Won’t you join us? We can’t promise anything, but you may find yourself laughing a little bit louder.
What’s the World Coming to (She Asked Rhetorically)
…if people can’t spot an obvious homage when they see one? You hardly have to be a comics historian to get the joke. B’gosh, Oshkosh.
(Thanks to B.K. who noted this a few weeks ago, and C.T., who also sent me a link—it just seemed too silly to mention.)
On the Internet, Everyone Knows You’re in Dogpatch
Just debuted—real-time snapshots of where in the world people are looking at New Yorker cartoons, and precisely which cartoons they’re looking at. At press minute in greater San Francisco, interest was running high in Frank Modell, Ed Koren, and Leo Cullum. In Dogpatch, a neighborhood where, about a month ago, I became one with an incredibly crowded, jolly, and soprasetta-crazed party for the magazine Meatpaper, it may be another story. You’ll have to keep a careful watch.
“Every Person in New York” Lad Also Fab New Yorker Cartoonist
Gawker and the Post are marveling at Jason Polan today; he wants to draw every person in New York. Who doesn’t? Anyway, it’s most important not to forget this about the energetic Polan: He drew one of what I believe is one of the Cartoon Bank’s best-selling New Yorker cartoons, to wit, “I usually do two hours of cardio and then four more of cardio and then two more of cardio.†It’s the sole cartoon of his that’s appeared in the magazine to date, but what a cartoon! I hope some pretty cash results from this new endeavor, and an extra-large fruit, nut, and vegetable stick, or whatever his whirling heart desires.
Feministing Takes a Crack at the Caption Contest
Two guys are walking down the street and one of them is carrying a blow-up doll. He says…
a) one of the snappy answers the commenters at Feministing came up with for the P. C. Vey drawing in the latest Cartoon Caption Contest, e.g., “The Law Firm of DeadGuy, DeadGuy, RetiredGuy, and OldGuy presents its first female partner”; b) an entry—perhaps, most printably, “I just happen to like knit ties”—from Daniel Radosh’s reliably raucous Anti-Caption Contest for the same drawing; or c) Something hilarious you thought of, but keep in mind entries are due April 27.
Also, if you didn’t see last year’s Lars and the Real Girl, you missed something truly wonderful. Move to Top of Queue, and you’ll never see blow-up dolls the same way again. (Thanks to Katha for the Feministing link.)