Night 1: The Eddys
For those who have never had the honor to attend, The Editors’ Choice Awards is the Mac equivalent of the Academy awards. Hence the nickname the Eddys. Get it–the Emmys, the Grammies, the Tonies. Oh, the similarities are thick.Thick, I tell you.
And the stars were out last night in San Francisco as the Mac community descended upon the Mercury to receive their accolades. A swank place if ever I saw one, the Mercury was decked out in crystal chandeliers, candle-lighted tables, and enough snobby bartenders and bouncers for any Hollywood gala. In attendance, the Mac elite: from Apple to Microsoft to GoLive (or is that Adobe?), the minds that created the apps and hardware you work on everyday.
The Macworld senior staff presided over the evening, dressed in their finest. Senior Features Editor Jason Snell put on the only suit he owns for the occassion, while our beloved online guru Phil Dyer put on his second (his first, he tells me, is the one called “Birthday.”).
The Eddys is a combination awards dinner/cocktail party, which results in a duality taht creates interesting juxtapositions. While some attendees wait anxiously for the next winner to be announced, others wait anxiously for the next drink to be served. When the bartenders decided to close the bar for a short time, a minor revolt occurred (I may have led that charge) and drink service was restored.
As the event calls for a few awards, I’ll cast my votes for these (you can read about the real Eddys award winners here):
Best Line to Keep A Group From Being Invited Back Next Year: A group from Microsoft who, after winning an award for Word 98, said something like, “We’ve won our award, why are we still here?”
Best Enthusiasm for Hearing Their Name Mentioned as A Nominee: Vivid Details, for their product Test Strip.
Best Line Overheard in a Conversation I Never Should Have Been Listening To: “I don’t care for any human flesh. No, thank you.”
Best Place to Be: (Tie) The back bar, before everyone figured out there was a back bar, and the entrance to the kitchen, because you had first picks at the food.
Best Drink I Had All Night: The red wine wasn’t too bad.
Best Appetizer: Some kind of seaweed sushi thing with soy sauce.
All in all, the party had its moments and its lulls. The general opinion I overheard seemed to indicate that there ahd been better Eddys ,and there had been worse.I just want to thank that kind bouncer for not kicking my ass, like he really wanted to.
Pre-Party | Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3 | Night 4