You Will Never In Your Life See Anyone As Happy To Win An Award As Chris Garcia Was to Win a Hugo
Posted on August 22, 2011 Posted by John Scalzi 34 Comments
Watch this segment of this year’s Hugo ceremony for proof. Yes, you may have to sit through a brief commercial. Trust me, it’s going to be worth it.
Watching it “live” on ustream Saturday night… You can tell how much this meant to him and it was awesome to see.
Is this the right video? Got past the ad, am two minutes into what seems to be rotating slides largely on In Memoriam: Fans and random worldcon facts.
That is inspirational! His enthusiasm has added value to every Hugo ever awarded and all those to come.
That was entirely awesome.
After reopening the page four times, I got the actual video, rather than the stream. There are days I don’t understand the internet.
@Becca: I got that too, didn’t see the video till I started clicking about on the timeline.
So worth persevering though, lovely to see someone so into what they believe in that they react like that. Virtual hug his way.
Yeah, getting to it was kinda confusaled, but the actual video! It was amazing. I got kinda weepy and wanted to hug him. And also read his fanzine even though I don’t read much SF (and might not get it).
It was a privilege to be there. (I was the first Hugo Escort (yes, they really call it that) in the white dress.)
Yeah, that moment made the awards. That and Silverberg, who had me laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. It’s just beautiful to see someone so overwhelmed by joy.
My friend ended up locating it within the complete proceedings… you can view it (Best Fanzine award) fairly predictably by going to the whole shebang and jumping ahead to time index 01:29:30.
You can just tell that is his dream coming true. Made me happy just watching him.
Awesome. Thank you for sharing. I got all verklempt.
It was awesome. Very sweet and heartfelt.
Not when (and if) I ever win a Hugo I intend to hump it on stage.
I actually hurt myself laughing at Robert Silverberg’s presentation.
Hehe… that was great. Totally made my day just watching him. Thanks John.
That was wonderful. He’s the Roberto Benigni of SF.
I felt privileged to be the one to hand it to him. It is not everyday someone completely upstages James Bacon.
I watched the stream in real time. It was worth it.
I love honest joy.
Oh, that’s adorable. Good for him–and congratulations to him, too!
Chris was up for the award six times before he won it. I was able to go to the post Hugo party to say hi to one of the Hugo coordinators. Chris was still there and gave me a hug. I had contributed to The Drink Tank for its annual Hugo Novel issue. It was great fun. Now I have to figure out what to write for the 300th issue. Please check out The Drink Tank at efanzines.com.
Another person who was lucky enough to see it live thanks to the awesome stream. Watching him lose it was wonderful. Something special about seeing a person get something they want so badly, and openly show how much it means to them. This and Mary Robinette Kowal’s surprise at winning for best short story were my favorite moments of the night :).
Yeah, Mary winning was awesome and I was lucky enough to get to hug her as she made her way to the stage!
Other than winning the rocket, watching Lou win Best Editor Short Form was awesome.
I still can’t believe it. Watching it again, I still get teary-eyed.
Chris
Awwwww, that made me cry.
woot redefined.
Sweet. Made me cry, but in a good way.
I was so happy for Chris as we watched him while providing the text-based text-based CoverItLive coverage (not the UStream video; text-only, including all the Twitter posts that included the #hugos tag).
After the ceremony, I was hosting the Match Game SF game show in the Peppermill, where Chris was a scheduled panelist. I assumed that he wouldn’t be able to make it and we started the show with an Emergency Holographic Chris, but Garcia actually did arrive, holding his trophy. And he was still So Happy and we were all happy with him.
I was also watching the stream, something I wish will continue, I had a blast. My favorite part was Chris sitting down off to the side just staring at the award. Such a pure expression of joy, shock, wonderment and excitement – awesome.
Oh that was so great. Even I got all teary eyed. How nice for him.
Definitely one of the high points of this award ceremony (or any equivalent such as the Academys). It made me realize once again just how much a lot of people have invested in this odd brand of literature; it’s not just words on a page, but a way of life.
How does “Fuck Me Ray Bradbury” come in 4th!!!! I am floored.
That IS impressive. If I ever win a Hugo, I daresay my reaction will be similar.
When he started up on stage the people seated behind me commented that he was a “weirdo”. I look back and they were two gray-haired men with Steampunk top hats on knitting sweaters. Hey, to each their own if you ask me, but man that was amusing! The Garcia moment was great. This was my first Hugo award ceremony, so that was extra special to me. Also, the “F” word is among my favorites, I’m glad he gave it the recognition it deserves!
My face started to hurt from smiling. :) Tears of joy are so rare.
PS: Maybe I should smile more? Ow?
That was wonderful! Dunno the guy but his shock and gratitude were so sweet I started tearing up a little for him – and completely missed that James Bacon was up there with him, despite the fact I used to know him a little back in his Sproutlore days! Totally made up for the pair of them :-D