Winning?

SA Blog Awards Badge This is a sticky post.
There are other posts below this, but they are less sticky and have already become unstuck. Scroll down to see the pile of other posts which have slipped further down this page.

Yes, it’s that time of year again when I ask for your assistance in promoting my blog in the annual South African Blog Awards, this time being the 2011 version of these wondrous, infamous and occasionally contentious accolades.

There will be other blogs out there vying for your vote, so why should you vote for me?

Here are some reasons you might feel are good enough for you to put cursor to that VOTE button and left-click:

The Sob Story

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, 6000 miles… has been a finalist for each of the last 26 years in various categories of the SABAs. It’s become such a big thing is our household that the first words that my little boy ever said were: “Dad, have you won a Blog Award yet?”. The first word that my daughter came out with was “Feck“, but soon afterwards she also asked about the Blog Award thing as well.
Admitting consistent failure to one’s children is the hardest thing a father can ever do and I have to do it (and here, I pay homage to my daughter’s vocabulary) every single fecking year.
Your vote can change this.

Variety Is The Spice Of Life

For many years, the Roman Empire was built on the belief that Oregano was The Spice Of Life. Only upon Julius Caesar’s ascension in 49BC did it become apparent that Oregano was actually a herb and was therefore patently ineligible for the title “The Spice Of Life”. Variety, popular among the middle classes at the time, made a bid for the vacant post and – despite not being a spice either – took the label and has never relinquished it since.
In celebration of this fake historical fact, 6000 miles… has been offering you variety like it was going out of fashion.  So far in 2011’s 339 posts (this is 340), we’ve done gardening advice, passed comment on the London riots, infamously got mildly annoyed with Lewis Pugh, mourned the demise of a Cape Town pastime, noted the contents of fruit salad and helped save ickle baby turtles (sort of).
And that’s just a tiny snapshot (2%) of the vast array of variety we’ve brought you this year in honour of  Emperor Julius.
(My sources tell me that you’d best get used to that term, by the way, ok?)

I Pointed Out That Chris Von Ulmenstein Had Parked Illegally In The CTICC Car Park

This, I have been told, is the clincher for many of the food and tourism bloggers out there. But that is not why I did it. I did it because heinous behaviour such as this should be publicised and roundly ridiculed. Irrespective of the danger I was putting myself and my family into, I plunged deep into the truth and was singled out by Ms von Ulmenstein for a Sour Service award. I felt duty bound to respond. Rumour has it that she was going to start parking outside my house until I removed the disabled bay.
There will be, I have been told, bad blood.
A South African Blog Award is all that will take the bitter, bitter taste away.

If you can come up with any other reasons as to why readers should vote for 6000 miles… as their favourite blog of 2011, please feel free to let me know. In the meantime: Vote, Comrade! Vote! And share this post far and wide: twitter, facetube, even by iMessage if you know anyone else on it.

Spread the word.
Share the wealth.
Be the difference.

2010 SABAs – who to vote for

Despite an understated (ie. I didn’t do anything) campaign, 6000 miles… is honoured to have been shortlisted as a finalist for not just one, but two 2010 South African Blog Awards. Unfortunately, it seems that both nominations are in the same category, which should split my vote nicely and allow others a chance to win.

The category in question is Best Post on a South African Blog and my posts that have been shortlisted are:

Dear Uruguay – an open letter to that country in which I explored the somewhat irrational reasoning behind the apparent South African hatred of all things Uruguayan during the recent (and epic) FIFA World Cup.

And Popular Cape Town Website Gets New Look – which was really just a brainfart, but which, for some reason, many readers took as being some sort of parody of popular Cape Town website 2OceansVibe.com.

Should you wish to vote, you can do so by clicking here or on the big icon in the sidebar on the right, which will remain there during the voting period. Then select the post (preferably one of mine) you wish to vote for (and see my other recommendations below), scroll down to the bottom for the verification bit.
You can vote once per day per email address throughout the voting period – so do.

Despite the fact that the blog has done really well in terms of visitors this year, I’m not expecting to win at all – it’s just nice to be read. I do appreciate the nomination and shortlisting, which means that I’m already in the top 10. In fact, since I got two spots in the top 10, I guess that means I’m top 5, right? Bring it.
Hopefully it will be a fair and transparent process this year, aside from my plan to smear each of my fellow contenders in the Best Post category with some sort of dirt. Once again, the Awards have already been coated in a nice sticky layer of controversy which has upset a few people (several of whom coincidentally didn’t make the cut), but you can’t please all of the people all of the time: “h8rs gotta h8”, or so I’m told.

I haven’t had a LONG look at the LONG list of finalists yet, but there are some that stand out immediately as being obvious choices and which I would like you to consider voting for in order that they can go up on stage to collect an award alongside me.

Up front, I’m going with Bangers and Nash for the Exclus1ve Best Entertainment Blog.
In Best Politics Blog: Jacques Rouseau’s Synapses.co.za
Miss Moss in Best Design Blog (sponsored by Havana Club Rum)
Joyanne’s Portfolio Collection Travel Blog in er… Best Travel Blog (sponsored by Kulula.com)
And for the “Ogilvy Microblogger of the Year” (ie. Best Twitter Stream) Mandy Wiener

All of which I nominated and all of which I will be voting for.
Consider yourselves endorsed.

Please feel free to add your suggestions (together with your reasons) in the comments below.

UPDATE: Must see video from GottaQuirk – Hitler doesn’t get nominated for the 2010 SA Blog Awards .
(sorry Geoffrey – I saw this and thought of you…)