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Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 12:50 pm
by Ric
Fellow Micronationalists,

As we meet today to celebrate the past year's awardees, let us first remember the life of Emperor Norton, in whose name we celebrate and commemorate. He, a poor recluse (like us all), managed to achieve respect in the real world as Emperor. He is an inspiration to us all.

A moment of silence in his memory.

Before we start with the awards, I would like to first thank the members of this year’s Fnord Committee – Ardy, Ryker and Craitman – for their work. Whenever there has been a tie, I have broken it (otherwise, I have not voted, only moderated), and whenever either of the committee members have been nominated for an award, they have not once favoured their own work, which speaks greatly of their integrity and devotion to the Fnord tradition.

In the past year, we have welcomed new nations and new people. They have all enriched us. But outstanding among the new micronationalists, we would like to particularly celebrate Nikola Jovanović, who by creating the Kingdom of Coria, engaging in diplomacy across the whole world, and quickly understanding the history and norms of the Micran community, has outshone all other newcomers. We thank him for joining us, being with us, and making our Micran lives more interesting with all his contributions. His cheerfulness and enthusiasm rub off on us, and we are happy to award him most promising new micronationalist of the year.

In 2017, we saw the end of Hamland and Alexandria – very long-lasting nations on this planet of ours, and while we are saddened by their demise, in their stead a new, promising nation has sprung up. Caputia, although basing itself on Hamland and Haifa of yore, has developed a unique culture, with a special take on Micran history. It has wound together missing pieces of the Hammish civil war, the Alexandrian flu (which so tragically killed almost everyone in Alexandria, but luckily did not spread elsewhere), and brought up interesting economic and political simulations. With its neutrality, it has been courted by USSO, Stormark and SANE alike, who are all making Caputia’s capital a diplomatic hub for intrigue and secret negotiations. Thanks to Caputia, the most promising new micronation of the year, there is enthusiasm about well-put-together new nations, and we look forward to many years of fruitful cooperation between Caputia and the rest of Micras.

But we have not only welcomed new people and new nations, but we have welcomed new media. With a heavy dose of satire, but with a parodic skill that allows us to take a step back and think, the Unilaterally Independent has become Micras’s version of The Onion. We are so happy that the Unilaterally independent has come about, and it pleases us to award it the award for journalism.

In terms of economics, the system for economics, as developed by Bijaro del Aghir, wins the award for economics. Economical systems have repeatedly been tried on Micras, and Bijaro’s new one offers something the old ones haven’t – an actual simulation of economy on data taken from events that we – people – collaborately create. We thank him for his contributions and implore him to keep developing this. Perhaps one day, there will be an economical system that meets the test of time.

The advent of the Florian Republic has also allowed us reasons to chuckle over and over again. Its government’s questionable decisions, which are too numerous to all list, have brought the country to absolute ruin. In a war between the USSO and Shireroth, the Florian Republic managed to upset both alliances so much that in the end, both of them – although enemies to each other – found a common enemy in the Florian Republic. The people of Floria then voted to elect a 20-year-old supermodel to the country’s presidency. And while the country was burning, villages were pillaged, and cities under siege from either the USSO or Shireroth, the Florian government announced a rigorous investment in rugby, building stadiums and planning teams across the country. Although we are grateful for the extensive development of rugby on Micras (so much that we are awarding Edwin, the man behind Floria, the Fnord for Sport), we cannot help but award the 'Tis but a Fleshwound to the Florian Republic. For there is no better embodiment of the original Monty Python sketch here on Micras than the very existence and behaviour of the Florian Republic.

This year saw also a first in how well organized we – as a community – could be. The MCS, long known for being unable to have its members agree on anything, suddenly, out of the blue, voted to recognize the Straits of Haifa on the Physical MCS map. What happened, how was this? Barnaby Hands, MCS Council member, managed to rally up almost every single MCS member in days, asking them to vote on a rather uncontroversial piece of MCS legislation. How he did it, I do not know, but he did, and this remarkableness, if I may say so, makes us award him the year’s Fnord for leadership. For there has been no better leadership shown throughout the year.

Culture is what defines a community and, indeed, a nation. It captures the social norms, traditions, and beliefs of a society. In our hobby, we create cultures for a fictional population. No one has captured this better the past year than Josephus has for Nova England. With a clear direction, Josephus has steered Nova England back to Micras, and developed it extensively, so that we, travellers to that land of legends, can easily come to terms with what that country is and how the people are. In particular, the ancient Book of Lance, tells us how Christianity had come to the Micrans of Nova England, and offers and esxpalantion to us all how to reconcile Christianity on this planet with the one on Earth. Accordingly, the Award for Cultural Development goes to King Josephus of Nova England. We thank him for his cultural development, as he has enriched us all with knowledge and understanding of Nova England.

Literature, too, is a cultural expression. In several chapters, we have got to know intimately – sometimes it feels like we know more than we would like – the ways and conditions of the Kalgachian people. Different chapters deal with different people, and this intimate encounter with people, growing so close to us, makes us feel very home in that very strange land – and thus, we have come to understand it more. With the Tales from Kalgachia, Krasniy Yastreb has in his one-man nation made us all Kalgachians in a way, as we feel with the people in the stories, we sympathise, understand, and reflect. No work of literature the proceeding year is in any way equal to this magnum opus. It receives therefore the Award for Literature. We are grateful for taking part in the literary travels to Kalgachia.

With a mighty pen and great oratorial skill, Ardy has codified extensive pieces of history on wikis, through short stories, and his colourful way of explaining Micran history to newcomers on the Discord chat. Without his contributions, our knowledge of history would be much poorer, and indeed, for future micronationalists, even more so, as the collective memory would by then be long gone. Thanks to his Wiki contributions on Micras, future micronationalists will understand the context behind the the abduction of Emperor Nathan II, and its resolution, and how it was involved in the greater Florian War of Lost Brothers. Why did that war come about? The answer is in the wiki. How did the war progress? The answer is in the wiki. What about other matters? The answer is in the wiki. How did Shireroth become a dynastic empire at last? The answer is in the Wiki. But what happened to the Froyalaners and the Haraldites? The answer is in the Wiki. All praise be to Ardy, who receives the Award for History, for having written all of this down.

Ardy has, however, not answered the question of how Micras looked like a few million years ago. That answer was given by our newcomer, Logan, who, by his paedagogical explanation of the geological evolution of the continents of Micras, receives the award for best new idea. In a beautiful way, he has combined the continents of the Micras we know into a Pangea of sorts – careful though to avoid lumping Cibola with the rest, because as we oldies know, Cibola has a completely different origin. Logan, although being a newcomer, understood that, perhaps not explicitly, but intuitively, and by that, his great new idea of continental evolution has ushered a great interest in the geological, climactic and meteorological conditions of contemporary Micras. We thank him for his work.

In terms of art, there has been so much art worthy of recognition, that we cannot in any way agree on one winner. Rather, the award this year is tied between Bijaro del Aghir, Jonas, and Krasniy Yastreb. Bijaro’s almost spamming of the Discord Micras #artistry forum on a daily basis of his new creations puts us all in awe. But most brilliant of his works is The Ballad of Old Lake Morovia, a computer game, in which the player, taking the character of Captain Ismael Hatch, fights against his role as a submissive gangster, and comes to learn, in the end, who really, in the end, rules his life and the lives of his kinsmen. Jonas, on his hand, has created impressive Jingdaoese propaganda, culminating in a Youtube newsreel, that in a old-fashioned patriotic aesthetic calls upon us all to defend the Emperor and fight against evil. Even enemies of Jingdao are taken aback by it, almost feeling compelled to join the Jing cause. Finally, Krasniy, received his share of the award for his impressive blueprint of Mountain Fortress (Specification A). A huge image, it carries so much detail that more than 300 metres below the surface, I can spot a candle burning, a telephone on a desk, and a cluttered mechanic’s desk. We thank all of these for their great pieces of art. May they never stop producing such quality.

Last but not least is our award for overall achievement over the year. Edgard did something most of us couldn’t. He took his baby (Alexandria) away from Micras in the heat of its activity so to develop it in a completely different medium. While many of us thought that was the end of his activity with us, Edgard surprised us all with engaging more in Natopia – developing political parties there – and in Shireroth – but most of all by dealing with the fallout of the Hammish war into creating a beautiful, culturally rich new nation of Caputia, whose activity surpasses many of the long-established nations of Micras. We honour him for these contributions and implore him to keep developing and by doing so, making all of our micronational lives richer, more interesting, and fuller of stories and culture.

Thank you all. Let us now drink. A toast to our awardees!

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 1:07 pm
by Hālian
To our award-winners! (raises drink)

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 1:24 pm
by Edgard
Congratulations to all the FNORD winners! And thank you judges for your work.

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 1:26 pm
by EF2000
Yes, I got two awards!
Oh, I do promise to do things differently this year btw.

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 2:15 pm
by Joe
Congratulations to all winners, and thank you for the FNORD for Journalism! I'm sure an article can be written about the awards when I'm not on a big work-sponsored piss-up!

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 2:46 pm
by Senya
I'd like to thank the judges for awarding me the Fnord for Leadership, it is an absolute honour. I'd also like to congratulate all the other worthy winners this year!

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 3:49 pm
by Craitman
Congratulations to all worthy and unworthy winners alike!

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:44 pm
by Nathan
Congratulations to all the winners!!! :D

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 12:24 am
by Yastreb
I accept my awards on behalf of the secretive but frighteningly insistent muses which channel themselves through me when I come out with this stuff. For the sake of indulging their whimsical floridity I have sacrificed many hours of sleep and postponed several meals, to ensure that their inconveniently-timed torrents of inspiration are committed to text or image while still fully-formed. Most Kalgachi tales are written in a single sitting and although the Spec A Fortress took about two months to put together, None of my sessions on it were under three hours in length (least enjoyable bit to draw: the magazine and munitions hoists which required two full redesigns and took as long as everything else combined. Most fun were the officers' mess/quarters and the chapel).

I believe it is tradition at this point to announce my continued surprise that the wibbling dross I write is considered masterful enough to have won its third FNORD - a sure signal that the rest of you (notwithstanding the fearless Ardys, and more latterly Primos of the sector) have plenty of room to raise your textual game and I hope my work inspires you all to indulge a little deeper in the literary vice. Even if English is not your first language; good plot and character exposition transcends language limitations. There aren't even hard rules to follow... just write the kind of stuff you'd want to read. That way, even if everyone else thinks it's a pile of crap you'll at least have something for your own amusement.

But enough self-aggrandisement...a hearty well done to my fellow FNORD recipents. Well deserved all 8)

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 4:11 am
by Senya
Yastreb wrote:
Tue Jan 09, 2018 12:24 am
good plot and character exposition transcends language limitations. There aren't even hard rules to follow... just write the kind of stuff you'd want to read. That way, even if everyone else thinks it's a pile of crap you'll at least have something for your own amusement.
Tends to be that whenever I have a good idea for Senya it's never substantive enough for a story and I just add it to the wiki page as a subheading instead. Maybe one day I'll muster up enough creativity to do something substantive with Senya beyond just a wiki page.

However, I think your commitment to story-telling in Kalgachia is amazing, the quality of what you write is really good and is always an enjoyable read and I hope that you keep it up! :)

Re: Fnord Awards 2017

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:17 am
by Brian Barry
Congratulations! Always interesting to read about award winners :)