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Congrats Stuyvesant, I can't think of anyone else who could deserve this award more for both quality and quantity of comments. :)
 
Congrats, Stuyvesant!
 
coz1, I think that instead of incite (encourage or stir up (violent or unlawful behavior)) you possibly meant insight (the ability to perceive clearly or deeply). ;)

Or maybe not - Stuyvesant's ability to see past my screens, read my mind and point out things I had put in my work that even I had not seen... frequently incites me to frenziedly work harder (and to buy thicker tinfoil for my hat). So maybe both. :laugh:

If you have read or received a Stuyvesant post then you know what it is to enjoy a conversation with a good friend and a worthy intellect. If you want to know HOW to make a comment in an AAR, go read his for an example. It is not as easy to do as you might think.

I've always enjoyed getting a comment from Enewald, and so too from Stuyvesant. Two great nominees!
 
Stuyvesant is an excellent choice. very well deserved.
 
coz1, I think that instead of incite (encourage or stir up (violent or unlawful behavior)) you possibly meant insight (the ability to perceive clearly or deeply). ;)

Or maybe not - Stuyvesant's ability to see past my screens, read my mind and point out things I had put in my work that even I had not seen... frequently incites me to frenziedly work harder (and to buy thicker tinfoil for my hat). So maybe both. :laugh:
Indeed, I'd blame spellcheck but your explanation speaks much better. ;) I can also "blame" him for pushing my characters at least as far as I have myself, if not harder. :)
 
Belated congratulations to Enewald and Stuyvesant. The latter I see commenting on my AARs from time to time and his comments always bring something new to the table. It's a double-win to have a reader like him - you have a follower who would rather swallow a fork than to comment on your AAR with an empthy phrase :)
 
Thanks everyone! I will admit to a bit of embarrassment (which explains why I haven't shown my face here earlier): last week, my presence on these forums was, well, rather non-existent, for some dull weather-related reasons that I won't go in to. So, I will humbly accept the award and take it not so much as a recognition of last week's accomplishments, but rather as encouragement to put my best foot forth this current week.

I've been around AARland for quite a long time now (longer than I care to think about, frankly). Originally, I was drawn in by the promise of a drunken AAR by MrT (One Bourbon, One Scotch, and One Beer), but by the time I had finally registered, that particular 'experiment' had naturally come to an end. But oh, the stories that I found: Heagarty's Tales of the Gluttonic Knights, Storey's Three Countries One Goal. And more and more. I could spend the next day pulling up links to older and more recent AARs I've enjoyed, and I still wouldn't have done more than scratch at the surface. So let's move on. :)

When I first registered, this was basically a forum for EU2 (and the original EU, but in my mind that was wholly eclipsed by the sequel). But then, Paradox started to add other games: Victoria, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, and the AARs followed and diversified... There was (and is) so much goodness in so many guises: comedy, deep narratives, gameplay AARs, AARs that would painstakingly chronicle an entire game, AARs that would take a brief span out of the game and create a rich tale around it... It was like a giant all-you-can-eat buffet and it was all free! Best of all, you could interact with the people writing those tales, tell them what you liked, speculate what might happen next, even suggest what they should do... I've always felt that leaving a comment was the least I could do, since it's the only currency AARland has, but I realize now that commenting was itself part of the payoff.

I've slowly come to the realization, over the years, that I buy Paradox games primarily to better enjoy the writing in AARland. Don't get me wrong: I play the games, enjoy them immensely, but if I'm honest, I spend more time reading about them than playing them. And that's fine with me. I've drifted away from the forums a few times, but I've always come back. I might not have the ability to read as I used to (having a two-year old daughter who refuses to go to sleep before 10 really wreaks havoc on my computer time ;)), but when I do, I try to make a point of commenting regularly, and to make those comments be relevant to the AAR (thank you Ikarases, for your praise. I know I'm not the most prolific commenter, but I'd like to think that the quality can sometimes compensate for the lesser quantity).

This is getting to be a rather long post and dreary Real Life is interfering: it's time to get some sleep before tomorrow's work day. So I'll leave this rather abruptly here. I'm going to read and see what's going on and when I pass this award on (begrudgingly), I'll leave some more links to current and past works that I think deserve your attention. :)

Thanks again and see you around AARland!
 
belatedly, congrats to Enewald, a great and regular commentator in this parish.

But most of all to Stuyvesant. At the risk of embaressing him (or reminding him why Klim Voroshilov was king of the Volga), what I'll add is his are the sort of comments that, as Director, says, make you write better. He clearly spends time on composing them, links material together, can be extremely funny. Its the sort of comment that doesn't just keep you writing but makes you think about how you write.

well deserved indeed :cool:
 
Well deserved! Congratulations, Stuyvesant!
 
Congrats, Stuyvesant. I would have stopped writing long ago if you hadn't kept commenting, and in such an effective manner. I hope you'll keep doing so once I resume my AAR :).
 
Well, it's Sunday evening and time to pass this award on to another deserving commenter... <Sigh>

I want to thank everyone again for the wishes and the often eloquent praise (regardless of how misinformed it is ;)). I enjoy reading and commenting, and to hear back from the very people whose work I follow is especially appreciated.

A few more AARs I've been enjoying before I pass off the torch. First off, as far as narrative is concerned, I know of no better current example than Tufto's EU IV AAR House of Ivy, which brings together a cast of diversely flawed characters and plays out against the backdrop of an Ottoman rise to power that is more tragic than triumphant.

Another EU IV AAR, and a very different beast, is CatKnight's Random World Order. A game in which CatKnight lets the RNG decide which country he will play, and then lets a good old-fashioned die decide after each five-year stretch whether he'll continue or change to a different locale. Highlights include a successful run as Morocco that saw the country extend from the Atlantic all the way to the Nile Delta, and a 25-year stint in Lan Xang, erm, not being able to accomplish anything with a tiny country surrounded by more powerful bullies neighbors.

Finally, I'll mention tnick0225's CKII AAR A Random Game - A Gameplay Mega-Campaign. Inspired by CatKnight's EU IV undertaking, he set himself a similar task for Crusader Kings. The main difference is that he plays in set 50-year chunks, but we've still been all over the map with entertainingly mixed results. He's just getting ready to take the helm of a heretical Zoroastrian holdout surrounded by a Seljuk horde, a powerful Shi'ite state in Iraq and a monstrous Saudi(d) empire stretching from Anatolia, to Egypt, to Arabia, and also including large chunks of Persia. Should be fun... :)

Now, even I'm starting to realize I've hogged the limelight long enough, so without further ado, I pass the baton on to volksmarschall! Active as a commenter across many different forums and diligently tending the flames of one of two Victoria AARs still running. Congratulations!