This morning I woke up to the wonderful and very unexpected news that Southern Vision had won the single Lammy for which it was nominated, the Brainiac Award. This, for me, is huge, as I’m sure you can guess. The even more remarkable thing is that I won only by one vote; behind me were James of Cinema Sights and Sam of Duke and the Movies, both tied with the same number. I won’t be modest here, I’ll be honest: they both deserve it more than I do, and seeing as I only won by one vote, it’s as much their award as it is mine.
However, since it seems I have won by one vote, I owe you all a huge thank you. Everyone who voted for me, even everyone who didn’t. Just everyone who reads my posts, whether every day, once a week or only once in a while. It still means something. It means something big, something I can’t articulate properly and fully: it means these posts, my writing, my words, my feelings, are of worth. They mean something. That’s the greatest honor. That’s the thing of which I’m most proud. That’s what makes the effort worth it.
Winning a Lammy is no small achievement. You have to have people on your side, people who read your work and enjoy it and think you’re worthy of the win. It seems some of you do think I’m worthy, which is a hell of a thing. I’ve only been blogging for a year. This is the first time I’ve been eligible for the Lammys. To have actually won something shakes my world. I live in such an isolated place at the bottom of the world, where there’s really nothing at all to do but stay at home and type, or watch movies. The weather is consistently and reliably awful, so I don’t get out much except for work or to visit friends. I stay at home, write and watch film after film, and it seems finally this unexciting routine has got me somewhere. It’s been a hell of a blogging ride so far. It’s had its ups and downs, its triumphs and pitfulls. It’s been fun, exhausting and wonderful. But Mr Hagelmayer, it’s still not over.