The new winner: Jan. 25, 2013

The winner:

"I think it's a sign of increasing polarization."

-- Phil Clutts of Harrisburg

The runners-up:

"I thought all the big flakes were in Washington."

-- David Pruett, Mooresville

"Must be one of those 'Middle of the Road' flakes!"

-- Tom King, Charlotte

"You can always expect a snow job when politicians are present."

-- Carolyn Hudson, Columbia, S.C.

"Look! It's Grover Norquist!"

-- Steve Chaffin, Charlotte

Thanks for all the great captions.  I have to add that there are many weeks when after I've drawn the picture, I worry that I've made one so strange that no caption could possibly make any sense of it -- a worry this week in particular.  I'm happy to say you readers have proven me wrong again.

Here's just a few more of the many good ones we received this week:

"Let's chill, no election for two years."

"Big flake. Yours or ours?"

"Just one of those climate change flakes."

"Shouldn't that be back in DC with the rest of the flakes?"

"They say no two flakes are alike!"

"He'll fit right in. A big flake who's not where he should be."

"I guess there will always be coldness between the two parties."

"So THAT's what comprom-ice looks like."

"Guess how long you can bask in the inaugural glow?"

"I'll suppose you'll characterize this as a blizzard and demand millions in disaster relief."

"The debt ceiling's snow joke!"

"Time for another snow job on the debt ceiling!"

"Since when did anything become too big for us to ignore?"

Feel free to join a discussion about the winners, add more captions of your own, or let us know your favorites by clicking the 'Comments' link below.  Please join us again Monday, Jan. 21, for a new cartoon caption challenge. -- Kevin Siers

Comments

[suzanne & co.]

Great one Phil...Carolyn was a very close second for me.....loved it!

[Carolyn]

Thanks, Suzanne. Phil, congratulations on a very clever caption.

[Cat]

Still laughing, great job!

[Bill]

Good one, Phil!

[Bill Barnes]

Congrats to the winner. In all humbleness, tho, I thought mine was at least good enough for a mention..."Three flakes ponder global warming." Makes me wonder if my submission got sent to the wrong place or perhaps didn't pass muster with the editorial board.

[Kevin Siers]

As I said before, the captions above were "just a few" of the many good ones we received. Sorry I can't get all of them in. But, also as we say every week, this comments section welcomes those extra entries.

[Phil Clutts]

Thank you, fellow “captioneers.” Let’s enjoy a three day break before the “cutthroat competition” begins anew :<). Kevin, thanks for giving us all a chance to exercise our brain cells, look at the lighter side of the gritty political world, and “prove you wrong” again.

[Ross Levin]

Great one Phil and kudos to all mentioned! Speaking of flakes, us "captioneers" (thanks for that Phil) should all get together, and include Kevin of course!

[Phil Clutts]

Thanks, Ross. I had a similar thought. It would be fun to get together if we can get past the logistical hurdles, like communications coordination, eligibility criteria (i.e., open to any contest fan?), and meeting venue. Kevin probably won’t want to keep the comments section open indefinitely while we kick around the options, so somebody would have to coordinate the effort through e-mail, Facebook, or whatever. I don’t have a Facebook account, and I’m reluctant to publicize my e-mail address because I have been the victim of some nasty anonymous letters after having had letters published in the Observer Forum.

Anyone wishing to pursue this further could volunteer to be the coordinator or provide his/her e-mail address and suggestions to you or me by US mail. My address is 7664 Cotton Street, Harrisburg, NC 28075.

BTW, I would be interested to know what past winners have done with their original cartoon artwork prize(s). They’re kind of a difficult size for framing.

[Carolyn]

I get my prizes custom framed and have them hung in my house. It's not cheap but it is worth it to me. A thin black frame looks great.

A gathering would be fun. If you have a coordinator, he or she could set up an extra account on gmail, yahoo, etc. The account could be listed in the comments in the form: captioneer at gmail.com. This would prevent a lot of spam. It could also be closed after the volunteer has everyone's address. Another option would be to ask Kevin to forward email from those interested.

[Kevin Siers]

I have a hard enough time forwarding cartoon art to winners in a timely fashion. You don't want this organizationally-challenged cartoonist in charge of forwarding emails.

[suzanne & co.]

So, I too have framed the artwork, black frame same as Carolyn...we started with custom frames from Michael's but my husband who was a first time winner in this family of captioneers came up with a cheaper version of framing.... by cuttting it with a razor to fit the closest size frame and looks professional too..I'm not on facebook, nor do I care to be...though technology allows us this wonderful outlet of using our brains come every Monday morning...if this wasn't available I would be mailing via the ol' post office way....I am not an organizer by any means, my closests will test to that...I enjoy the anonymity of this contest but wouldn't mind putting a face to the name...seriously it would have to take too much time and planning for me...and I do use my extra time on this wonderful caption contest...enough said!!!!

[Ross Levin]

I'll see if I can get something organized since I brought up the topic. I'll see about getting a public page together with maybe a couple dates to choose from to meet at a central CLT spot. Date will be based on most response, and those that want to come can show up! That way the anon can stay anon. Stay tuned.

[cheap nfl football jerseys]

Congratulations to the winners. In all humility, but, I think I at least enough to mention... "Three piece of thinking about global warming." Let me doubt my submitted sent to the wrong place or not qualified editor committee.