Judge — December 29, 1906 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Tired Humorist Refuses to Get Gay Over the Old Year" This page features a satirical essay mocking the tired tradition of writing humorous New Year's pieces. The author complains that creating "funny" Year's End content feels obligatory and exhausted—the same stale jokes recycled annually by lazy humorists. The illustration shows a street scene labeled "A Chesterfield," depicting everyday urban life with children and a dog, serving as visual contrast to the forced gaiety expected in holiday writing. The essay argues that humor about time passing and new beginnings has become clichéd. The author deliberately refuses to participate in this worn-out convention, instead offering straightforward, "saddish thoughts" rather than manufactured hilarity—a meta-joke about the predictability of holiday humor itself.