After two weeks of nominations and a further two weeks of voting, the 2005 UM Awards have now drawn to a close. My thanks to everyone who has participated, either by nominating or voting, and congratulations to all those who made it to the final vote. There can however only be one winner for each category, and now it is time to announce the winners.

Best Member Blog
Total Votes: 56 - Nominated Blogs: 7
Winner: Disinterested (13 votes) - Runner Up: Burnside (12 votes)

Best Member (Male)
Total Votes: 97 - Nominated Members: 9
Winner: Burnside (23 votes) - Runner Up: SaRuMaN (15 votes)

Best Member (Female)
Total Votes: 114 - Nominated Members: 10
Winner: Seraphina (25 votes) - Joint Runner Up: Lilaburrows/Daughter of the Nine Moons (16 votes)

Best Topical Thread
Total Votes: 58 - Nominated Threads: 4
Winner: Sera's Graveyard Experiment(25 votes) - Runner Up: Miracles in your life(12 votes)

Funniest Member
Total Votes: 83 - Nominated Members: 8
Winner: Moe Eubleck (24 Votes) - Runner Up: Snuffypuffer (17 votes)

Best Member Signature
Total Votes: 74 - Nominated Members: 8
Winner: Janiel (28 votes) - Runner Up: Burnside (14 votes)

Janiel


Burnside


Best Member Avatar
Total Votes: 73 - Nominated Members: 6
Winner: Burnside (20 votes) - Runner Up: Seraphina (16 votes)

Burnside


Seraphina


Most Annoying Member Avatar
Total Votes: 77 - Nominated Members: 7
Winner: Lilaburrows (23 votes) - Runner Up: Goddesswhispers (13 votes)

Lilaburrows


Goddesswhispers


Most Original Username
Total Votes: 90 - Nominated Members: 9
Winner: TaintedDoughnuts (18 votes) - Runner Up: Dancing Dumplings (15 votes)

Most Bizarre Member
Total Votes: 90 - Nominated Members: 10
Winner: Moe Eubleck (25 votes) - Runner Up: Ashley Starchild (19 votes)

Best Member Quote
Total Votes: 76 - Nominated Members: 3
Winner: Kismit (30 votes) - Runner Up: Seraphina (29 votes)

and last but by no means least, the highly coveted:

Member Most Likely to be an Alien
Total Votes: 85 - Nominated Members: 9
Winner: Moe Eubleck (21 votes) - Runner Up: Ashley Starchild (18 votes)

Congratulations to all our winners.

Special Awards

In addition to the above, this year we have a few special awards to hand out. These can not be obtained through voting, and are therefore much harder to get.

UM Chess Tournament Champion 2005

This award is for the winner of this years UM Chess Tournament which also ends today.

The award goes to Talon - who succeeded in topping the tournament scoreboard while managing to get through all his games without losing a single game. Congratulations.

Special Contribution Award

This award goes to two members who initiated one of the most helpful and appreciated threads on the UM forums. Those who want a new avatar graphic and need someone to help make one for them know where to go - and it's thanks to these two individuals that the Animated Avatar Workshop exists today.

The award goes to TheBarMan and UniversalAbsurdity for founding the Animated Avatar Workshop and giving up their free time to help make free avatars for members of this forum. Thankyou.

Community Appreciation: A Special Mention

This brings me to the last of the awards, although not quite an 'award' as such, the awards give me the ideal opportunity to offer a special mention to the group of members who have contributed the most to this forum, and are responsible for the success enjoyed by Unexplained Mysteries over the years.

I'd like to offer my sincerest thanks to the Moderators of UM for their continued help and giving up their free time to maintain what is the largest paranormal discussion forum in the world - no mean feat. There are at present just 8 moderators succeeding in keeping the peace on a 20,000 member strong forum - and doing one hell of a good job of it too.

And so a big thankyou to both the moderators of the present:

Magikman, Tommy, Kismit, Thistle, UniversalAbsurdity, Fluffybunny, Burnside and Subtemperate.

and to the moderators of the past:

Kira, Phantom, Althalus, Aslan, TheOracle, Mentalcase and Blood_Angel

and also to our Debate Organisers who are doing a fantastic job on the debates board:

Lottie and Disinterested

Thankyou

Congratulations to all the winners.

I second the awards handed to the moderators. You guys absolutely rock and make the UM experience one of the best on the net. Keep up the work

All the best guys.

Congratz Disinterested, Burnside, Seraphina, Moe Eubleck, Janiel, Lilaburrows, TaintedDoughnuts, Kismit and Talon (for chess tourney)!!!

WooHoo congrats to all who gained an award, but also congrats to every single member here.... you all rock

Yay, Congrats to all the winners and runners-up!

Congratulations to all the winners! A big Thank You! to all who voted for my freaky cat....

Congrats to all of the lucky winners, with my only concern is that third doesn't come up as a mention here... no bronze? *cough*

Well done to all

Congrats everyone!! Its because of people like you that I love spending time on here!!

Woohoo! Congrats everyone, and especially me.


!

freaking cool!

Congrats to all the winners!

Congratulations to all those who won. And kudos to those who were nominated.

Good job on winning the new title, Janiel.

LilaBurrows, you were very deserving to win the worst avatar. Although because you changed your avatar, it's not the correct one posted. Could you post your avatar pic, so we can see what we voted for?

Disinterested best blog!! So deserving, congratulations my wub!

Congratulations to Seraphina for achieving best female member, having the best topic overall, having a freaking awesome avatar and excellent quote!

Way to go Moe for not only being the funniest member of the board, but also the most bizarre member, AND an alien!

Janiel i think the award for author of best signature is a understatment. You've created so many sigs in the past year, not only excellent ones for yourself but also for many other members, including several for myself, so no one deserves that award more.

Excellent username TaintedDougnuts!!

Way to go Talon for simply blowing away the Chess Tourney, an incredible performance and indeed, thank you for the learning tips.

Kismit excellent quote and, along with all my fellow compadres, Fluffybunny, Magikman, Thistle, UniversalAbsurdity, Tommy and Subtemperate thank you for being the best darn mods on the net!!

And of course without TheBarman and UniversalAbsurdity i could not have even thought of winning best Avatar or being nominated for best signature. All i've done is choose the image, they have taken this image and made some amazing things out of it. And of course, not just me, they have delighted many many members for their contributions. Thank you.





I want to thank you all for voting for me for the Best Member, but i don't think it's quite deserving.
Really, this award could have gone to one person only. Without him, we wouldn't even have a website to share our common liking for the unexplained mysteries, and by just looking at the incredible sucess of the site should be enough to award him the best member, because as far as i know, along with dAz he has moderated and built this site from the ground up.

Maybe a very special award is needed, for SaRuMaN for creating one of the best darn websites on the entire net, and more than that, for being such an awesome guy too. Cheers!

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Congrats to all members who got nominated and won!

I really can't believe I won best blog though. I kept expecting BurnSide to jump ahead of me!

There it is!!
Thanks hon.

I want to add that i found it rather strange that not only did you win this award, but you had so many votes for BEST avatar!
Wouldn't it have been strange to win both.

Stranger things have happened I reckon......

Here we thank the patience of the mods: here we thank they that keep the commandments of Moe, and the faith of MOEness. Here we thank and hearken many congratluatory handshakes and embraces for those others who bear such jazzy new titles, here we jiggle to the grooves of the runner ups and other nominees.

Then shalt thou call Moe Bizarre, Funny and Alien, and Moe shall answer; Moe shalt cry.

Be not deceived; Moe is not mocked by being labeled "alien" : for whatsoever a Moe soweth, that shall we also reap. For they that barks like the dog, hearkens furballs like the cat and grazes like the cow ought to be medicated , but they that soweth to wholesome jazzy groove shall of the UM reap such titles. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall all reap such UM awards if we avoid excessive consumption of the ale and reef.

Now , Sing, O UMers; and be joyful, and jazzful; and break forth into singing, O dance the samba!!! : for the Moe hath comforted his people with laughter and hath made many a poster's eyeballs roll wholesomely!!

We thankee kindly. You have put gladness in Moe's heart, more than in the time that Moe's stores of yaks and camels increased.

Thank you one and all for the many votes. I shall endevour to bring many more years of Seraphina orientated goodness. As you all know, I am a person of few words *coughs*....honestly, I am...and so I shall make me acceptance speach short(ish).

A thank you to all those who voted for me, as I know my name was one that could very easily have been lost in the pile among members who have contributed a great deal to this forum down through the ages You have brought great and fuzzy joy to a currently very sickly Seraphina

I would also like to thank the Gord, who taught me much in the way of sarcasm, and who made me the biting whit that I am today No doubt, my ability to be a snappy little puppy is one of the many things that has kept my name in people's heads so long, despite many spells away from the forum

Thanks also for the overwhelming votes for best topical thread Sarcasm truly was in abundance that night

Congratulations all the winners, and runner-ups, and of course losers

I'd like to congratulate all those who won this year...way to go guys(Sera...Im still looking for your crown sweetie)

But,I would like to say a huge thanks to those who nominated and then voted for me...you guys know who you are(wish I did... )you are great...thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Is this not called a Hat Trick?

Well done everybody!

And thanks to anyone who nominated me or voted for me. You made me feel good and you made me smile.

yay congrates to all the winners


mabey next year will be my year







alien:)

Next year aliennobasoure, next year..

Winner: Kismit (30 votes) - Runner Up: Seraphina (29 votes) It's really is nice to be alongside Sera in the win, and Saruman, need I tell you again that you do rock

CONGRATS!

Congrats to all.

*has just noticed that the best avatars and best signatures aren't actually very good at all*

And in his acceptance speech, Moe manages to guarantee his win for 2006.

Congrats all, well done.

Congratulations everyone




True Burnside, very true.

^ I agree, great website, Saruman.

Congratulations to all participants/winners and thank you to whomever had nominated/voted for me. Well done!

Congratulations to all the winners you all deserve your awards and it is indeed true that Saruman and all the Moderators do a fantastic job around this site, keep up the good work and thank you!

I would like to thank all the voters for not voting for me. Much like the Buffalo Bills, the Atlanta Braves, and Susan Lucci, I managed to get into final voting in no less than five categories, and not place higher than second in a damned one of them. I believe this in itself is a grand achievement, and something I'm not ashamed to say I'm proud of. For it is an honor to be nominated. A priveledge to win. But it is a special achievement to fail so spectacularly, on so grand a stage, so many times.

I am not bitter, oh no. For I have gained a place in all your hearts in another way. Let my failure be a beacon to you all. A light that shines in the darkness. I implore you all, heed my words, and let my losing streak continue into the future. Let Snuffy's Collossal Failure become an institution here at UM. I know I can do it, with all your help, my faithful chilluns.

Congrats to all the winners. Now, I want to see what your sigs are gonna look like with your new titles lol

See, I am not the most Bizzarest of them all, (nor an alien), Moe is! Moe IS! Guilty as charged on both counts. LOL

Here is an award for SaRuMan...

And something for all of the other winners...

I would like to echo Burnsides sentiments, also, although truthfully, there could be no greater reward and/or award than to know that you are the creator of one of the most popular paranormal sites on the internet. Congratulations Saruman, your hard work and dedication are greatly appreciated.

Wow gj moe . three awards .

Thanks to everyone for your kind words, and also to Me Again for the award, I wondered where those unicorns had gone.

Loser

Wow, a special mention, thanks SaRuMaN, although I think I speak for both myself and UniversalAbsurdity that all the credit cannot be given to us.

The other animators; Triniant, _Hailo_, Jeremy Rumbolt, Scorpius, cerberus, Dan'O and Jesus_Freak are all worthy of mention and it's with everyones time and effort that the Animation thread is what it is today.

Congratulations to everyone who received an award, and thanks again to SaRuMaN, dAz and all the Mods for making and maintaining our favourite forum so well

Allow me to offer my congratulations to the winners, and condolences to those that didn't (myself included).

Just be aware- I got nominated twice... I will only work harder to win next time...

Bwahahahahahahahahahahah *continue evil laughter until choking on own tongue*

Seriously, all those that won deserve it... though I really liked Lila's blinking cat... moreso than the cat eye, or the robed cat with lightening. Always made me smile

Congrats to all the winners! I could have won all of those!



































Just kidding, I stink!

Congratulations to all the winners and all thise short listed also.. Me_Again who gets that Voodoo doll of Saruman in your prize section?

you do NOT STINK i do

There is something odd about two people arguing which of them stinks more

Perhaps they have infiltrated Top Secret documents from Saruman, regarding next years awards categories?

No I stink.

Guys, there's plenty of room for you to both stink.

This is why we love BurnSide so much- his compassion, his understanding... his never failing ability to be encouraging and sarcastic at the same time.

Stewey, I could not see any sarcasm in Burnsides reply but I could see compassion, understanding and encouragement.... maybe I am not looking hard enough?

Compassion:
It's okay guys, you're more than welcome to both stink.

Understanding:
It's okay to stink, we wont judge you.

Encouragement:
You can both stink here.

Sarcasm:
You both stink!



All rolled into a nice little ball.

Damn...he's perfect!