Back in February I reported on my many failed attempts at winning The New Yorker’s cartoon caption writing contest. Now there’s one more failure to add to the pile. For Contest #201 (July 27,2009), I decided to improve my odds of losing by submitting two captions. Below is the cartoon (drawn by veteran cartoonist Tom Cheney) followed by five possible captions — two of my ideas mixed in with the three finalists announced this morning.
“My office? Think of an Edward Hopper — but with lots more light and air.”
“Maybe we should do the firings in the basement?”
“They said the complaint box was anonymous.”
“Let’s meet in my office, weather permitting.”
“Hello, Mother? I reached the top. Now what?”
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The winner (which again will not be me) is going to be announced August 24. In the meantime, I found something to support the first caption. It inspires an alternative caption of even greater obscurity:
“Me? Oh, just waiting for that secretary in the blue painted-on dress.”
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UPDATE (08/25/2009): The second, third and fourth entries above were the three finalists. The winner was the fourth caption. I found another Hopper painting somewhat in the same spirit as Tom Cheney’s cartoon, at least insofar as this office also appears to be al fresco: “Office in a Small City” (1953).
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