JANUARY 1, 2008 - 2:20 PM
And now a fanfare loud enough to be heard in McCarthy, where this week's honoree Mark Vail lives. Mark came up with a caption that fit the drawing, enhancing comic momentum with his playful use of sound. Then, before we can hit the brakes, the trenchant final phrase looms up in our windshield like a bull moose, and slams home his point about the inability of the Democratic Party in Alaska to act as a counterforce to the Republicans.
Theoretically the "Two-Party-System" allows for competition in the political marketplace. However dubious this idea may be in the real world, it hasn't got a chance in Alaska, where the opposition has been measured by political scientists as between Mach .25 and Mach .33 ("Mach"of course is short for "Machiavelli" the standard unit for measuring political swack.)
DECEMBER 24, 2007 - 2:03 AM
While we're waiting for the annual rollover of the digits of a new year, I thought I'd find a way to thank those of you who have supported this weird little feature by putting your wit, whimsy and passion into your captions.
And the Angel of Satire appeared before me and said "You must build a great hall, where all can celebrate the accomplishments of NTT overachievers." And I considered my carpentry skills, and I was sore afraid. And I spoke unto the angel, saying " Surely, thou kiddest!"
"I kid thee not!" replied the angel, and a flame appeared on his brow, whereupon the smoke detectors in the house set up a great keening, as like unto souls in the depths of the very pit of Hell, for I do faithfully change their batteries.
DECEMBER 18, 2007 - 5:40 PM
I do these drawings every week without a clue as to what you folks will come up with. Often I wonder "Is this the one? The cartoon for which there IS no Caption? And every week you all bail me out.
This week we feature a dandy contribution from Jeff Manfull.
The "Animal House" reference works great both as a characterization of Alaska's political climate and as a way to account for many of the elements of the cartoon. Remember the horse? That could be the moose toward the back. And nothing says "Bluto" like Vic Kohring.
Thanks Jeff I feel MUCH better now!
I won't be around next week, but stop by this space Tuesday for a NAME THAT 'TOON SPECIAL EDITION!
DECEMBER 11, 2007 - 5:41 PM
I thought that this was a cartoon about the weather, and possibly what role we play in warming it up.
Mary Minor set me straight. With the feasting season upon us, Mary seized the moment to strike a well-deserved blow to our worship of what Tom Wolfe described as the "Starved to near perfection" ideal of beauty.
Her breezy "you look fabulous" opener is a disarming set-up that gives the "crystal meth" closer a formidable sting.
There IS an upside to our weight- worried culture. Come the floods of Global warming, we'll look smashing in our bathing suits.
pete
DECEMBER 4, 2007 - 3:52 PM
Surprisingly none of us but MARY SOMMERS recognized our own down and out former celebrity Seymour of Anchorage. A harsh lesson on the fickle and fleeting nature of fame. One minute you're a civic emblem, the next you're just another example of everything that's wrong with moose these days.
Mary's inspired take on the image had that satisfying feel of an airtight solution. Topical, witty and even poignant, it's a beautiful realization of a cartoon's power to compress meaning and information, and deliver with humor.
There were many inspired takes on this image. In addition to the two fine runners-up, I'll confess to the guilty pleasure that I took in Chuck Hoehn's vision of that goody-two-shoes, Rocky the flying squirrel ralphing up the nuts he'd been storing for the winter. And Mary Minor's notion of the hazards of drunken moose Karaoke reminds me of Woody Allen's description of an event as 'The most amazing thing you could ever see, with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats'.
NOVEMBER 27, 2007 - 2:06 PM
Winning Caption: Sarah Palin's new initiative to combat global warming involves using the State's newfound wealth to fund innovative and exciting ways to drop sand bags on Kivalina.
Let's welcome Adam McCullough of Anchorage to the NTT Weekly Winner's Circle.
Our new captionmaster stands erect with pride at our elaborate awards ceremony. The wind riffles his hair as Van Morrison serenades the crowd with the Wassilie/Minor update of The Alaska Flag song.
The nonexistent cheers of the nonexistent crowd rain down and the nonexistent spotlight picks him out atop the ornate yet nonexistent NTT podium. It suddenly strikes him that it just doesn't get any better than this. A lifetime of striving has brought him to the pinnacle of pinnacles. It is all downhill from here.
NOVEMBER 20, 2007 - 2:11 PM
After an extended dry humor spell (sorry!), the ever-so- smooth CHUCK HOEHN brings back the top NTT honor this week to that little humor-mongering hamlet Haines .
Chuck's adroit use of the absurd was what
made this caption the choice. That the holy hermit would ask for the Daily news, of all papers, and even know of the Weekly World News, makes one wonder if this guy really has been up there that long.
In fact, now that I think about it, he looks uncannily like a guy who cut me off in traffic on 36th Tuesday...
The guru's shock and dismay at the tidings of discomfort that the climber has gone to such improbable lengths to deliver mirror the disorientation and dismay of many Alaskans as they wonder just what the hell has happened to our brave and hopeful little state.
NOVEMBER 13, 2007 - 4:47 PM
VERN NUSUNGINYA emerges as the voice of reason this week. This is a rare instances when a pun goes beyond just being clever and really pushes the idea of the caption forward. The word "assembly", as a verb means "to put together" and as a noun it is the group the Mayor must work with to make our city the best Anchorage it can be. How neat can you get?
Nice work, Vern.
Next week: Sentence diagramming and cartooning. Don't miss it!
Pete
NOVEMBER 6, 2007 - 2:16 PM
Spotted owl pot pie recipe-check
Tree hugger repellant-check
Yup'ik feminazi jokes-check
Fairbanks correspondent MARY MINOR turned craft and imagination into a finely honed instrument of satire. From the humor of spotted owl pot-pie to the absurd-yet- plausible idea that we might hear about Yup'ik feminazis from He Who Has No Shame, Mary packed the perfect items into the Limbaugh survival kit.
But wait, I hear you cry... surely Rush wouldn't dream of packing a survival kit without his oxycontin.
Well heck, that's the whole reason he'd be up here in the first place. He's going REALLY cold turkey.
OCTOBER 30, 2007 - 2:54 PM
Once again our friend from Soldotna, Vern Nusunginya returns with a wickedly pointed caption that makes you laugh and think "Ouch" at the same time.
The idea that "The Captain" would be running an elevator in 2007 is no less logical than his running an oil tanker in 1989. Which is funny, but also has me a little worried.
Vern... are you starting to think like Exxon?
Let's keep an eye on him!
See you next week, when we investigate the rumor that a Southeast Alaska cub scout illegally accepted $20.00 for helping Vic Kohring across Franklin St.
Not accepting cartooning gratuities yet,
OCTOBER 23, 2007 - 2:38 PM
So compact, but so potent. This is a lulu in my book.
Leo has obviously been around long enough to know too well the song of the gloomy oilbird.
It's a doleful, repetitive call that goes: "I'movertaxedI'moutofhere, I'movertaxedI'moutofhere". In fact the oilbird is the only animal that defends its territory by threatening to leave it.
Having identified the song, Leo dryly lets the spastic motion in the image inject the word "dance" with a shot of deflating sarcasm.
Maximum minimalism, elegant stuff.
signing off,
Pete
OCTOBER 16, 2007 - 4:46 PM
Sweat glistened on my straining cortex as... ( eewwww! sorry.) Scratch that. Let's just say it was tough to choose a winner this week. It came down to two completely opposite entries, the caption above , and Cowboy Vern's nifty "Trick or retreat." line. The decision came down to a humdrum level, when it occurred to me that Bruce's line fit the drawing with a slightly better-tailored edge. Congrats to Mr. Bruce, and isn't political insulting more fun than political consulting?
The judgment of political cartoons went uptown recently when Judge John Sedwick reviewed a variety of clippings submitted by Vic Kohring to support a request for a change of venue. Among the numerous items carefully considered in weighing the validity of Kohring's argument, cartoons from the Frontiersman and the Daily News. In his lengthy decision rejecting the request, Judge Sedwick was obliged to do something cartoonists hate to do: explain their gags. Which might be why he later came down so hard on on the Seattle lawyer in charge of the defense team.
OCTOBER 9, 2007 - 5:08 PM
And now, a deafening round of explosions in honor of ERIC DOWNEY who slyly and dryly found a phrase that functions on both the surface and the metaphorical level of this cartoon.
As for the budget, we can look forward to piercing shrieks, howling whines,and bursts of indignation. But when the last acrid whiff of gunpowder wafts into the October Sky (thanks Cowboy) my guess is we'll get more whimper than bang from the assembly when they finish the budget. And superficial burns bordering on a light tan for the mayor.
Those of you who were wondering what became of ADN canine commentator Curmudgeon will be glad to know that he is back on his territory, er, beat.
OCTOBER 2, 2007 - 2:41 PM
Once again, Clayton Awe found the sweet spot. His caption neatly disects what's wrong with this picture, the lack of limits. Nice parallel, Mr Awe.
We'll reel in another edition next week, a record corruption seaon means unlimited bag limits for us, too.
Pete
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007 - 7:01 PM
Following the true folk process, Name that 'Toon guest judge Jimmy "Shortneck" Pribilof took a chunk of inspiration from an entry by Leo Wassilie, shortened it, added in the last lines from a Mary Minor entry and then sang the whole thing as though he wrote it himself.
In the judge's decision handed down Saturday morning, Pribilof said he was forced by excellent work done by both contestants to take the extraordinary step of mashing up their entries.
"Leo took the story into new territory with his focus on the state's role, or perhaps it should be said, lack of a role in uncovering of this festering sore. And of course Mary's tightly written final couplet fit beautifully at the end. It would have been a travesty to leave it out of the limelight."
SEPTEMBER 18, 2007 - 1:07 PM
It's short, it's inventive, beautifully adapted to the drawing, and by invoking the children's movie series "The land Before Time" it even raises a wisp of nostalgia for our young state's lost innocence.
Wow, the more I think about it, the better this caption gets. Take a bow LEO WASILLIE!
And a note to the sharp-eyed and sharp-witted Tim Kelley. Thanks for the observation about the re-usage of the prehistory theme.
It's inevitable that certain devices will be used and used again. But Tim has a point (I think I mentioned that he's sharp....) this one is getting a little tired. I am chastened, I feel shame,
SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 - 3:58 PM
Our man in Soldotna, VERN NUSUNGINYA delivered a tight little knot of analysis that has to be one of his best efforts yet.
His caption lays bare a brutal paradox of the primary: The mission of taking down opponents on your own team for the right to challenge the true opponent in the general election. It's like having a rumble in the locker room before going out to face the opposing team.
In the case of the Dems vs.Ted, this amounts to committing fratricide to earn the privilege of committing suicide.
Which proves that while Democracy may not be the most orderly form of government, it is the most entertaining. And this in spite of the fact that we have no royal family.
SEPTEMBER 4, 2007 - 5:04 PM
Let's all pretend we're not jealous of the seamless way BRIAN DOLLERHIDE changed the subject to what he wanted to talk about. Instead of musing over the oil tax at center stage, he recalibrated his trebuchet (thanks, Mary) and scored a direct hit on the perps who orchestrated this farce.
With a masterful revision of the last line of "Hey-diddle-diddle" Brian gets us to glance away from the impaled cow just in time to see the corrupt characters making off with our fine china. Which means we need a special session to see what else is missing.
While we're looking, let's not forget to check the medicine cabinet. I have a hunch the sleeping pills, Viagra and aspirin are missing.
AUGUST 28, 2007 - 4:37 PM
Oh the pain! The agony! So many terrific captions, so much to consider when evaluating them! But heck, I'm the decider, so here goes.
In an excruciatingly close, photo-finish win, ahead by a nose, by the skin of his teeth, hanging in by his fingernails
and, let's not forget, by only a hair's breadth, we're featuring the above caption by STEVE GRUHN of Anchorage.
Steve redefined the context of the drawing and brought the whole focus back to state politics. The idea of Maggie on the lam to escape association with the herd of Republican elephants on the Dept. of Justice treadmill is funny, pointed, and neatly wraps two matters of public interest into one.
AUGUST 21, 2007 - 4:13 PM
I owe you folks an apology. After I put this drawing up, I had cartoonist's remorse. It was a fun drawing for me to do, but when I looked at the finished piece, I saw little chance it would elicit much response. It seemed so... I don't know... innocuous.
Fortunately, CLAYTON AWE, of Anchorage, didn't get the memo on how little there was to work with. Instead he found a hilarious and scathing way to explain the origins of the bird that was as imaginative as it was devastating.
That sizzling sound that you hear in the background is coming from many of the Tim Kelley entries. Tim was hot as a Mat-Su wildfire. What happened Tim? PPT Bird steal your Pekingese? And then there were wicked entries from Leo, Cowboy, and both Marys. And some creative drollery from the NTT Haines correspondent Chuck Hoehn.
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