1
David Bourke
42
2
Rick Rothstein
35
Ang Lee's film "Brokeback Mountain" = I break all "men-fucking-men" taboos.
3
Rick Rothstein
26
Breast augmentation surgery ~ guarantees men grab your tits.
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Here are the results of our 9th Grand Anagrammy Awards. As usual the standard was very high and it is always worth the wait each year to read and vote for the best of the best. 2006 was a very busy on the Forum with the highest number (over 13,000) of posts since we began the Forum in March 2003. It has been a year of changes with the resignation of Toby as programmer, the appointment of a bunch of forum moderators (Thanks, David, Tony, Chris and Paul) and the assistance of Mey keeping an eye out for rediscoveries. We have had a few new, active members, the most noteworthy being Andrew, but more about him later. A big thanks to all of you who post, vote, help or even just lurk and read the posts. Your efforts make the Awards a worthwhile activity to keep going. 42 voters was a little disappointing, but an improvement on the poor turnout in last Grand Anagrammy. There were several close categories this year, but no ties as there were last year. There were also a couple of highly predictable winners.
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This is traditionally considered one of the most highly prized categories to win, because of the very high standard of monthly winners. Andrew took a small early lead at 12 hours, which he maintained at 24 and 48 hours. David stayed in second place most of the time, with Mey and Rick fiercely contesting 3rd place. The final 24 hours gave Andrew a comfortable margin, with Mey and David tieing for second. |
1 | Andrew Brehaut | 41 | Metamorphosis = Promises a moth. |
2 | David Bourke | 31 | The first lesson on guitar = It hurts one's fingers a lot! |
2 | Meyran Kraus | 31 | The criminal defense attorney = Man hired to set any client free. |
4 | Rick Rothstein | 23 | Religious fundamentalist = Futile rituals in God's name. |
5 | Rosie Perera | 21 | Oral contraceptive = I can protect a lover. |
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This was one of those categories where, in my opinion, the winner stood out befoare voting began. Mey was straight out of the blocks with 16 point lead in the first 12 hours, with one of those flawless anagrams for which he is so famous. He finished 20 points clear of Ellie's December winner, with the rest of the entries never in contention. |
1 | Meyran Kraus | 64 | C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" = We enter a world which is behind that closet. |
2 | Ellie Dent | 44 | Paris in the springtime ~ might inspire painters. |
3 | Tony Crafter | 28 | Zinedine Zidane gets a red card in the World Cup Final = Italians win, French cried, and legend Zizou departed. |
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Topical is always a bit difficult. What was topical in the early months of the year can end up as old or forgotten news by the time the Grands come around. However, a great anagram will always shine through, even when the news is old. So it was with Mey's winner. Mey had first and second place covered right through the competition in this category. The only question was which of these two would win. At the end of Day Two, they were tied. I would have predicted the Iraq anagram would have beaten the Danish cartoon, but the voters thought otherwise. |
1 | Meyran Kraus | 55 | Danish newspaper cartoon angers the Muslims = Seems a plain pen is much stronger than a sword... |
2 | Meyran Kraus | 53 | A question to G.W. that he prefers to ignore: ~ When are these troops getting out of iraq? |
3 | David Bourke | 38 | The KGB's former agent Alexander Litvinenko = Kremlin revenge: Toxin breakfast, long death. |
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Andrew was just one point ahead of View at the 12 hour mark, but pulled clear to be 12 ahead at the end of Day Two. Richard finished stronglty to pass View and to narrow Andrew's winning margin. |
1 | Andrew Brehaut | 42 | The President of the United States of America = Incompetent, hated head of state terrifies us. |
2 | Richard Grantham | 36 | The Austrian neurologist, Sigmund Freud = Genius said a fond mother nurtures guilt. |
3 | View | 34 | William Henry Gates = Get a share in my will! |
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This was one of the closer categories. Scott led at the 12 hour point, with Mey and Rick in contention. Mey and Rick went head-to-head over the next two and a half days, with Mey usually just holding on to a small lead. He made it in with just three points the difference. |
1 | Meyran Kraus | 42 | Microsoft Help and Support Website = Stupid patch! Problem is often worse! |
2 | Rick Rothstein | 39 | The Gideons International = An interest in God in a hotel. |
3 | Scott Gardner | 38 | American Indian = I'm in a rain dance. |
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This was the other cliff-hanger! At the 12 hour mark, Tony had both first and second positions. There was a three-way tie at the end of Day One, with Tony's leading two and Mey joining him. Andrew suddenly came in to contention on Day Two and opened a small lead. The final 24 hours were very close, but ended with Andrew pushing Tony out with the last couple of votes. |
1 | Andrew Brehaut | 42 | A ham sandwich goes into a bar and the bartender declares "We don't serve any food here." = |
2 | Tony Crafter | 39 | "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." Neil Armstrong = |
3 | Meyran Kraus | 33 | Pope Benedict's anti-Islam remarks in that speech have angered the Muslim world = |
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There was a large field this year, as most comptetitors decided to run all their winners. However, I put all my eggs in one basket and ran the one I considered the best. I had a tiny lead half-way through Day One, with one of Toby's rare, but very funny, long anagrams. Toby was in the lead after the first day's voting. However, after 48 hours, I managed to break four points clear and held onto that at the close of the competition. My win here was my 16th Grand Anagrammy. |
1 | Larry Brash | 38 | George W. Bush meets with Her Royal Highness Que... = At the White House, Bush talks with Vice Presi... |
2 | Toby Gottfried | 33 | Six Jewish gentlemen were once playing poker in ... = Back in the 60's, a U.S. Navy ship pulled into... |
3 | Tony Crafter | 24 | ONIONS AND XMAS TREES The family are sitting at... = These inane remarks annoy his wife and daughte... |
3 | Tony Crafter | 24 | An undertaker was working alone late one night. ... = A cardiologist died and was given a very elabo... |
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This was a fascinating competition, especially given the variety of styles here this year. Andrew and David were the early leaders, with the voters favouring humour over ingenuity or literary brilliance. And so it was for the first two days. The final day saw Mike poll very strongly and take the lead with that highly complex and unbelieveably clever anagram, that I thought should have always been the winner. You know it is a tough competition, when the best Mey can do is fifth place. |
1 | Mike Keith | 40 | Five poems anagrammed. |
2 | David Bourke | 38 | 80 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Queen Elizabeth |
3 | Andrew Brehaut | 32 | Genesis |
4 | Mike Keith | 24 | An anagram of the 98 Scrabble letters into four 5x5 squares. |
5 | Meyran Kraus | 12 | Holy Tango of Literature. |
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There are always a couple of afficiandos of this genre who compete here. Rick, who won it in 2004 and 2005, and David, who is always good for a rude one, were the main contenders here this year. Rick opened a good lead after 12 hours and was still ahead at the end of the first day. David's clever graphic of this anagram seemed to tempt the later voters. He was five points ahead after Day Two and seven clear at the close of play. David won three Grands this year, boosting his total to 13. |
1 | David Bourke | 42 | |
2 | Rick Rothstein | 35 | Ang Lee's film "Brokeback Mountain" = I break all "men-fucking-men" taboos. |
3 | Rick Rothstein | 26 | Breast augmentation surgery ~ guarantees men grab your tits. |
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This is always a two-horse race, with Mike Keith's Anagram Artist gathering more votes from those who use anagram software. A breakdown of the voting showed: |
1 | Mike Keith | 61 | Anagram Artist 3.05 for Windows |
2 | William Tunstall-Pedoe | 44 | Anagram Genius Version 9 |
3 | Evans A Criswell | 12 | Wordplay 7.22 |
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How do you pick the best from more than 50 great short anagrams? Not easy, is it? Personally, I was not surprised at the winner here, given it's superb win in the Entertainment Category. Mey was well clear by six points after 12 hours and while Andrew narrowed that gap at times, Mey always kept the lead. |
1 | Meyran Kraus | 23 | C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" = We enter a world which is behind that closet. |
2 | Andrew Brehaut | 18 | The President of the United States of America = Incompetent, hated head of state terrifies us. |
3 | Andrew Brehaut | 16 | Metamorphosis = Promises a moth. |
4 | Ellie Dent | 12 | Paris in the springtime ~ might inspire painters. |
5 | Meyran Kraus | 11 | Danish newspaper cartoon angers the Muslims = Seems a plain pen is much stronger than a sword... |
6 | Meyran Kraus | 10 | A question to G.W. that he prefers to ignore: ~ When are these troops getting out of iraq? |
7 | Scott Gardner | 10 | American Indian = I'm in a rain dance. |
8 | David Bourke | 9 | The first lesson on guitar = It hurts one's fingers a lot! |
9 | Meyran Kraus | 9 | The criminal defense attorney = Man hired to set any client free. |
10 | Zoran Radisavlevic | 9 | Female persons = Pleasers of men. |
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This was much harder to pick who would win here. However, the initial voting followed the distribution of votes in the Special Category. David and Andrew took the lead postions, until Day Two, when Mike came into contention, and, a little surpisingly, myself. Mike held on to beat me by one point. Mike's three wins here this year give him 16 Grands. |
1 | Mike Keith | 21 | Five poems anagrammed. |
2 | Larry Brash | 20 | George W. Bush meets with Her Royal Highness Que... = At the White House, Bush talks with Vice Presi... |
3 | David Bourke | 16 | 80 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Queen Elizabeth |
4 | Andrew Brehaut | 16 | Genesis |
5 | Toby Gottfried | 14 | Six Jewish gentlemen were once playing poker in ... = Back in the 60's, a U.S. Navy ship pulled into... |
6 | Mike Keith | 13 | An anagram of the 98 Scrabble letters into four 5x5 squares. |
7 | Andrew Brehaut | 12 | A ham sandwich goes into a bar and the bartender... = A horse wandered into a bar. Soon the bartender... |
8 | Tony Crafter | 12 | "That's one small step for man; one giant leap f... = Note an immortal phrase, spoken after gallant m... |
9 | Meyran Kraus | 8 | Holy Tango of Literature. |
10 | Meyran Kraus | 6 | Wilfred Owen's Anthem for Doomed Youth |
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Andrew Brehaut. One might argue that Andrew is not technically a rookie as he posted to the Forum and was nominated back in 2003. However, his involvement then was short-lived. In May 2006, he rejoined us and began posting with rapidly increasing skill and great success. Therefore, I consider him to be a rookie, given his high degree of involvement. Andrew won five Grand Anagrammies this year. |
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Scott Gardner and Rosie Perera I could not decide on just one person for this award this year, so I chose two for quite different reasons. On paper, Scott was the most improved, winning ten awards this year. However, his involvement in more occasional. He always makes up in quality for what he lacks in quantity. Rosie, on the other hand, won only five awards, but is very active in the Forum and I think is unlucky not to have won more awards. She had the fifth highest DFE points this year (nearly double Scott's score) which I think demonstates her ability. I believe that she that we will see her win a lot more in 2007. This was Scott's third Grand Anagrammy and Rosie's first. |
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Tony Crafter. Tony had a great year with awards every month, except one, and always had more than 50 DFE points each month. It was an easy choice to make. Tony's was lucky not to win in Medium-Length this year. His win in this category takes him up to three wins in the Grands. |
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Meyran Kraus. No surprise here, with Mey's fifth straight win of the top award. It was another year of records for Mey, with 48 monthly awards, and a new record of 109.79 DFE points. At one point, I thought that he might crack the 1000 point barrier for the yearly DFE points. Mey won six awards in this year's Grands, which gives him a grand total of 33. Mey has promised me that now he has left University and is working, we will see less of him. I believe that when it happens! |
Congratulations to all the winners. Thank you all for voting.