Well, we've wended our weary way back from the 'big shmoke' so it's time (before I pass out from tiredness) for the fústar.org "Irish Blog Awards" special report (Hoorah!).
We (Copernicus, Catherine, Jess, and myself) arrived in the Alexander Hotel shortly after 6.40 before promptly proceeding downstairs to register and brand ourselves as "Team Fústar" (a decision which led to a certain amount of "Are you fústar? Are you fústar?"-type confusion).
Signing us in was none other than Suzy from Maman Poulet who greeted me with a cheery "You posted a comment on my blog this morning!". Indeed I did, and 'twas not long before I'd met a goodly number of other folk whose blogs I often frequent: the mighty Sinéad Gleeson (Sigla Blog), the equally mighty Annette (Thinking out Loud), the delightful (and obscenely young) Kevin & Michael (Disillusioned Lefty), and (of course) the irrepressible Jett Loe & the charming, laconic "Ordinary American" Wayne (Letter to America).
A mere hour and a half later and, under the able stewardship of MC Rick O'Shea, the ceremony itself kicked off – with the intervening period being spent supping nerve-strengthening pints, chatting to Jon Ihle (The Irish Times), and being forced to adopt embarrassingly 'hip' MTV-esque poses by the Times's photographer (an individual who described the info she'd been receiving from fellow nominees as "gobble-dee-gook". Hmmm…).
Jon Ihle asked a few questions about fústar.org's mission statement (such as it is), genesis, and evolution (which copernicus and I fielded in a reasonably articulate and non-idiotic fashion…I think), before going on to enquire if we were the guys responsible for the (Kevin Myers-watching) Cruiskeen Eile. We replied, somewhat guardedly, in the affirmative and Jon (kindly) told us that he'd visited the blog, liked it, and (rather surprisingly, to say the least) thought that Col. Myers himself would love it! I was left pondering whether that was a good thing or a bad thing as I returned to my seat and a fresh pint of soothing stout.
The ceremony itself rattled past in lively fashion, with all the gongs being given out in 45 minutes or less. The winners in the two categories I was nominated in were: the fully deserving Sinéad Gleeson (Best Arts & Culture Blog), and the enigmatic Twenty Major1 (Best Blog/Blogger). Many congratulations to Sinéad and Twenty, and, indeed, to the winners in each category. A full breakdown of the triumphant ones can be found here.
As the gang prepared to leave the Alexander (and head for the swanky, i.e. expensive, surrounds of The Merrion Hotel's Cellar Bar) I managed to…em…'appropriate' one of the gold envelopes, and its contents, from an unattended ceremonial bucket.
Just a little treat for all you lovers of award ceremony ephemera out there.
I was (as clichéd as it sounds) delighted just to be short-listed and had no expectations (whatsoever) of capturing a gong. I've only been at this blogging lark for 6 months, so it was a genuine thrill to be up at the ceremony in such august company after so brief a span. On a humorous/eerie note, I began to suspect that 'capricious fortune' was trying to tell me something about my chances of emerging victorious when the number 13 popped into my life on 2 separate occasions during the night. The raffle ticket (see below) handed to me by Suzy bore the number 13, and my 'queue number' for a late-night eatery where we vanquished our hunger was…that's right…13 again! All I needed to complete a triumvirate of ill omens was to be on the receiving end of a belt from a No. 13 bus as I staggered back to my lodgings. With that I would, surely, have passed into the annals of urban legend…ah well…
Anyway, the post-ceremony drink-a-thon was (as you might suspect) the most fun part of the proceedings, and chats with Jett & Wayne (who were dashing back to Belfast to frantically assemble a podcast), Kevin & Michael (who I tried my best to Re-illusion), Sinéad, Brendan (Running with Bulls), John (Planet of the Blogs), Colm Bracken (In Fact, ah), Catríona (catriona.net), Dick O'Brien (Back Seat Drivers) etc etc., enlivened an already most enjoyable evening.
Well done to Damien, Rick, and all who helped make the event happen. Here's hoping for even bigger and better things next year.
Tired now…must sleep…
P.S: The few photos I took of the event can be found around here somewhere.
Update: Apparently (so copernicus informs me) the bus we took from O'Connell St. to Merrion Square was, in fact, the No. 13. Holy God! I fear I may drop dead from the terror…
Further Update: Once again the nasty Copernicus (some friend he) gives me the fear. He's just pointed out that it's now…cue drum roll…the 13th of March. I'm in trouble…
- Whose 3 prizes were collected by 'his representative on earth'…or possibly him himself. [back]
Dude, you’ll have to update this post. You’ve bizarrely forgotten that the bus we got from O’Connell St to Merrion Square was none other than the 13!
March 13th, 2006 at 1:35 amOh, and I kind of hate that picture you’ve linked to of me on the dreaded No. 13 bus.
March 13th, 2006 at 1:37 amOk will change it grumpy pants…
Was it really the No. 13?! If so I fear I may cack my trews…
Updating now.
March 13th, 2006 at 1:38 amBut herself likes it. Gah. Just finished listening to Letter to America. A triumph of podcasting.
March 13th, 2006 at 1:40 amIt surely was the No. 13 bus. Do you not remember. We ran across O’Connell St after coming up from the Food Hall and I got the driver to open the door at the traffic lights. It was none other than the No. 13. You may remember me saying we needed to get a 13 or a 48; the fates decided which.
Catherine confirms that it was the 13, by the way.
March 13th, 2006 at 1:55 amI don’t remember…
Perhaps I blocked it out. It seems my card is marked…
Balls.
March 13th, 2006 at 1:59 amYou realise it is now the 13th? Have a nice day!
March 13th, 2006 at 2:06 amYou realise it is now the 13th? Have a nice day!
*wails*Waaaaaahhh!
Stop, please! I’m up to my armpits in omens of doom..
Help.
March 13th, 2006 at 2:09 amNice job. And thanks for resisting the urge to post a dodgy photo of my good self. I would have.
March 13th, 2006 at 2:09 amCheers Colm,
I only post images of people at their beautiful best…
http://static.flickr.com/39/111618079_615fbe3d40.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/39/111617789_801a11599f.jpg
March 13th, 2006 at 2:20 amGreat to meet you guys, you would have been worthy winners in the Arts and Culture category.
Love the envelope action!
March 13th, 2006 at 11:54 amGood to meet you the other night. Sorry Myerswatch didn’t make it into the piece - the story just took on a different shape. If I get a chance to revisit the topic, though…
March 13th, 2006 at 12:36 pmPossibly for the best in the best of all possible worlds, Jon. Don’t need the Colonel, resplendent in “pink” on 16 hand charger, chasing us through the Kildare countryside with a pack of hounds and a thuggish gang of arriviste Paddies on horseback.
Nice to meet you Sinead. Congrats on the award action.
March 13th, 2006 at 1:10 pmThanks Sinéad and Jon.
Was a delight to meet the pair of you as well.
The envelope is extremely gold…deliriously gold…wonderfully gold!
As for MyersWatch, well copernicus was genuinely scared (like a little baby) that the Colonel was going to take him out with a WW1 pistol, so it may (as he suggests) be for the best. We’ll keep plugging away in an attempt to aggravate him though.
Enjoyed the piece very much by the way.
March 13th, 2006 at 1:28 pmThe envelope is extremely gold…deliriously gold… wonderfully gold!
What I want to know is, what happened to (Damien’s?) gold-sprayed Barbies…
March 13th, 2006 at 5:01 pmEWI,
Perhaps Microsoft Ireland balked at the price-tag for the gold barbies…or (as seems more likely) Damien discovered that the paint was toxic.
Nothing puts a dampener on an inaugural ceremony quite like poisoning all the winners.
March 13th, 2006 at 5:33 pmWas there mention in any articles about the crowd booing when the MS IT training course was given away?
March 13th, 2006 at 6:40 pm(Should I have not said that?)
There was indeed word of it, on ENN:
It would have been more fun if Rick O’Shea had played the Imperial March from Star Wars every time MS were mentioned.
Dum, dum, dum, dum-dee-dum, dum-dee-dum…
March 13th, 2006 at 10:18 pmWe could arrange to burn an effigy of ‘Sir’ Bill next year, to appease the geek gods.
March 14th, 2006 at 1:00 amHmm…can’t quite see Microsoft pitching in to sponsor that, to be honest…unless Damien has got superhuman powers of persuasion.
March 14th, 2006 at 1:10 amWow. I wasn’t serious about the mention of booing… but they actually reported it. Long live freedom of speech!
March 14th, 2006 at 3:12 pmAll right, enough of this awards carry on. Lets get down to some serious business.
March 14th, 2006 at 4:16 pm