Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 2004 People's FNORD Awards. Without further ado, I give you... Scott Alexander.
*Scott Alexander steps up to the podium and begins...*
It is once again time to honor the people and countries that have done our hobby proud in the last six months. This cycle of FNORD awards is proud to have expanded out of EzBoard micronationalism and to have featured judges and nominees from such countries as Hanover and Morovia, bringing us closer to having awards of a truly worldwide scope.
I would like to thank everyone who helped choose categories and nominees, as well as all the judges, especially Sir Iain for hosting us and Ras Noseworthy, for organizing the first half of the awards. Remember, you're all winners! However, some of you are winners in a more literal sense than others, which is what the rest of this post is about.
Our first category is Achievement in Diplomacy. This year, we nominated the participants in the Argaath Perez Conference, a team that drafted a successful peace treaty between Attera and Babkha and which included Emperor Tzion, Ras Noseworthy, Shah Tahmaseb, Ardashir Khan, and Rakesh Ackbar; Scott Alexander, for his "treaty in a can", and Johanns fonn Klosso, for convincing Cranda, Slobovia, and Northworthy to merge into Arminy, as well as setting up much of Arminy's federal structure. And the FNORD goes to...Johanns fonn Klosso, with honorable mention going to the Argaath Perez team.
Achievement in Constitutional Framework honors those people who were willing to brave the mind-numbing boringness of long complex documents to create a legal framework that would stand the test of time. Our nominees are: the Committee For Hano-Pendronian Unification, which originally looked like a promising winner but whose chances were hurt by the fact that Hanover and Pendronia did not, in fact, unify; the Babkhan Constitutional Committee; and their Atteran counterparts, the framers of the Fourth Crimson Constitution. And the FNORD goes to...the Fourth Crimson Constitution, with honorable mention going to the Hano-Pendronian Committee.
The award for the Best Micronational Website was a little convoluted this year, as only two micronational websites, those of the Kingdom of Babkha and the Republic of Shireroth, were nominated, and there was some concern that the Kingdom of Babkha's website was outside the time limit of the awards. In the end, the FNORD went to...the Imperial Republic of Shireroth, with Babkha getting honorable mention.
Best New Micronationalist gave a whole...new...definition to new, with several of the nominees having over six months' experience by the time voting finally finished. The nominees were Emperor Delphi of Antica, Darius Rugahi of Babkha (despite his not really being "new" new), Jesus Pablo Santiago of Baracão, and John Harvey of Hanover. And the FNORD goes to...Emperor Delphi, with honorable mention going to Jesus Pablo Santiago.
It wasn't a very good six months for Micronational Literature, but two works that really stood out, both done in a co-operative style, were the Burning Sands of Tashbaan in Babkha and the Never-Ending Story in Hanover. The FNORD goes to...Burning Sands of Tashbaan, with Never-Ending Story getting honorable mention.
Micronational Economics are usually the most depressing part of this ceremony, but this time around we have some real achievement to award. Sander Dieleman was nominated for his work in creating the interactive intermicronational PHPBank, Alexander I of Hanover for integrating his country's economy with its forum, and Austi Scot of Shireroth for his work as that country's Minister of Trade. And the FNORD goes to...Sander Dieleman, for the second year in a row, with Austi and King Alexander tying for honorable mention.
Achievement in Micronational News is a category that would have gone much differently had the vote been held just a month or so earlier. The nominees were Eoin Dornan, for the Apollo Furball, Lachlan Powers, for the Inquisitor, and last minute nominee Jack Santucci for his work promoting micronational blogging. And the FNORD goes to...Jack Santucci, with Eoin getting honorable mention.
This season's Best Forum Design FNORD pitted Iain de Vembria andhis transformation of the Treesian EzBoard into Ifreann against non-EzBoard forum master Lachlan Powers and his design of Feianova. And the FNORD goes to...Iain de Vembria, proving that you *can* teach an old forum-type new tricks; Lachlan gets a very honorable mention.
The Tallini Award for Egotism celebrates one of the most obvious parts of the micronational hobby, as proven by our no fewer than four very worthy nominees. Kuralyov, aka Eddie Guimont, founded the country of Guimontia, which he classily named after himself; Prince Kieran of Breuddwyd gave Georgi Tsilis the title of his "henchman"; Jacobus is well known for having a whole menagerie of double logins that support his every project, and Balty Majeed of Babkha adopted a micronational son. Of all of these, the judges decided that the two who best lived up to the high standards of Cesidio Tallini and deserve this special award in his honor are - Kuralyov and Kieran, with Jacobus getting honorable mention.
Best Speaker celebrates the micronationalist who has taken oratory to new heights - or depths - with flowery words and eloquence. The nominees were Scott Alexander, Rakesh Ackbar, and Xavier Cervantes. And the FNORD goes to...Rakesh Ackbar, with Scott Alexander getting honorable mention.
Now we get to the interesting ones. Best New Micronation, like best new micronationalist, ended up having a few countries that weren't new at all. We had Guimontia, which has been already mentioned in the egotism category; Gotzborg, which, though entering the micronational community slowly, has already received awards from Attera and is well known for their beautiful forum design; Breudwydd, the brainchild of Prince Kieran;
Mediterranea, which really shouldn't be in this category at all; and Feianova, the anarchist utopia that almost took Best Forum Design. And the winner is...Gotzborg, with Feianova getting honorable mention.
The Odlum Award for Overall Achievement honors Shane Odlum, first, last, and only Secretary-General of the Republic of Blackrock, and has previously been awarded to Erik Metzler and Abbas Namvari. In looking for an all-round stellar micronationalist to join these names in eternal honor and glory, two names were repeated over and over again - Presidente Alarico Veto Julia of Baracão, who has probably done more than any other to help that country's miraculous resurrection and maintained a cheerful yet inscrutable demeanor in the face of terrible opposition, and King Alexander I of Hanover, who over the course of his reign has given the country an amazing makeover that has solidified its government, brought in many new citizens, and made it one of the most respected names in the micronational world. The vote was close, but the Odlum Award goes to...King Alexander I, with Alarico getting honorable mention!
Congratulations to all winners. The next FNORD awards will be held sometime so that they finish on or around January 8th, Emperor Norton Day, so start doing those epic deeds right now if you want to be recognized next time around.
*Scott Alexander steps up to the podium and begins...*
It is once again time to honor the people and countries that have done our hobby proud in the last six months. This cycle of FNORD awards is proud to have expanded out of EzBoard micronationalism and to have featured judges and nominees from such countries as Hanover and Morovia, bringing us closer to having awards of a truly worldwide scope.
I would like to thank everyone who helped choose categories and nominees, as well as all the judges, especially Sir Iain for hosting us and Ras Noseworthy, for organizing the first half of the awards. Remember, you're all winners! However, some of you are winners in a more literal sense than others, which is what the rest of this post is about.
Our first category is Achievement in Diplomacy. This year, we nominated the participants in the Argaath Perez Conference, a team that drafted a successful peace treaty between Attera and Babkha and which included Emperor Tzion, Ras Noseworthy, Shah Tahmaseb, Ardashir Khan, and Rakesh Ackbar; Scott Alexander, for his "treaty in a can", and Johanns fonn Klosso, for convincing Cranda, Slobovia, and Northworthy to merge into Arminy, as well as setting up much of Arminy's federal structure. And the FNORD goes to...Johanns fonn Klosso, with honorable mention going to the Argaath Perez team.
Achievement in Constitutional Framework honors those people who were willing to brave the mind-numbing boringness of long complex documents to create a legal framework that would stand the test of time. Our nominees are: the Committee For Hano-Pendronian Unification, which originally looked like a promising winner but whose chances were hurt by the fact that Hanover and Pendronia did not, in fact, unify; the Babkhan Constitutional Committee; and their Atteran counterparts, the framers of the Fourth Crimson Constitution. And the FNORD goes to...the Fourth Crimson Constitution, with honorable mention going to the Hano-Pendronian Committee.
The award for the Best Micronational Website was a little convoluted this year, as only two micronational websites, those of the Kingdom of Babkha and the Republic of Shireroth, were nominated, and there was some concern that the Kingdom of Babkha's website was outside the time limit of the awards. In the end, the FNORD went to...the Imperial Republic of Shireroth, with Babkha getting honorable mention.
Best New Micronationalist gave a whole...new...definition to new, with several of the nominees having over six months' experience by the time voting finally finished. The nominees were Emperor Delphi of Antica, Darius Rugahi of Babkha (despite his not really being "new" new), Jesus Pablo Santiago of Baracão, and John Harvey of Hanover. And the FNORD goes to...Emperor Delphi, with honorable mention going to Jesus Pablo Santiago.
It wasn't a very good six months for Micronational Literature, but two works that really stood out, both done in a co-operative style, were the Burning Sands of Tashbaan in Babkha and the Never-Ending Story in Hanover. The FNORD goes to...Burning Sands of Tashbaan, with Never-Ending Story getting honorable mention.
Micronational Economics are usually the most depressing part of this ceremony, but this time around we have some real achievement to award. Sander Dieleman was nominated for his work in creating the interactive intermicronational PHPBank, Alexander I of Hanover for integrating his country's economy with its forum, and Austi Scot of Shireroth for his work as that country's Minister of Trade. And the FNORD goes to...Sander Dieleman, for the second year in a row, with Austi and King Alexander tying for honorable mention.
Achievement in Micronational News is a category that would have gone much differently had the vote been held just a month or so earlier. The nominees were Eoin Dornan, for the Apollo Furball, Lachlan Powers, for the Inquisitor, and last minute nominee Jack Santucci for his work promoting micronational blogging. And the FNORD goes to...Jack Santucci, with Eoin getting honorable mention.
This season's Best Forum Design FNORD pitted Iain de Vembria andhis transformation of the Treesian EzBoard into Ifreann against non-EzBoard forum master Lachlan Powers and his design of Feianova. And the FNORD goes to...Iain de Vembria, proving that you *can* teach an old forum-type new tricks; Lachlan gets a very honorable mention.
The Tallini Award for Egotism celebrates one of the most obvious parts of the micronational hobby, as proven by our no fewer than four very worthy nominees. Kuralyov, aka Eddie Guimont, founded the country of Guimontia, which he classily named after himself; Prince Kieran of Breuddwyd gave Georgi Tsilis the title of his "henchman"; Jacobus is well known for having a whole menagerie of double logins that support his every project, and Balty Majeed of Babkha adopted a micronational son. Of all of these, the judges decided that the two who best lived up to the high standards of Cesidio Tallini and deserve this special award in his honor are - Kuralyov and Kieran, with Jacobus getting honorable mention.
Best Speaker celebrates the micronationalist who has taken oratory to new heights - or depths - with flowery words and eloquence. The nominees were Scott Alexander, Rakesh Ackbar, and Xavier Cervantes. And the FNORD goes to...Rakesh Ackbar, with Scott Alexander getting honorable mention.
Now we get to the interesting ones. Best New Micronation, like best new micronationalist, ended up having a few countries that weren't new at all. We had Guimontia, which has been already mentioned in the egotism category; Gotzborg, which, though entering the micronational community slowly, has already received awards from Attera and is well known for their beautiful forum design; Breudwydd, the brainchild of Prince Kieran;
Mediterranea, which really shouldn't be in this category at all; and Feianova, the anarchist utopia that almost took Best Forum Design. And the winner is...Gotzborg, with Feianova getting honorable mention.
The Odlum Award for Overall Achievement honors Shane Odlum, first, last, and only Secretary-General of the Republic of Blackrock, and has previously been awarded to Erik Metzler and Abbas Namvari. In looking for an all-round stellar micronationalist to join these names in eternal honor and glory, two names were repeated over and over again - Presidente Alarico Veto Julia of Baracão, who has probably done more than any other to help that country's miraculous resurrection and maintained a cheerful yet inscrutable demeanor in the face of terrible opposition, and King Alexander I of Hanover, who over the course of his reign has given the country an amazing makeover that has solidified its government, brought in many new citizens, and made it one of the most respected names in the micronational world. The vote was close, but the Odlum Award goes to...King Alexander I, with Alarico getting honorable mention!
Congratulations to all winners. The next FNORD awards will be held sometime so that they finish on or around January 8th, Emperor Norton Day, so start doing those epic deeds right now if you want to be recognized next time around.
