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Well, this is certainly an unexpected surprise! Many thanks to @Eurasia for the nomination. My AAR may be going on 5 years old now…my oh my how time flies…I think I’ve taken longer on EfL than all my other slow growth AARs…but I’ve been following Eurasia’s Road of Queens AAR for a while too. Though I haven’t yet been able to get over to the AAR that earned him the showcase from the previous week. Of course there will be a test at the end of AAR!! Extra credit too for anyone who remembers who was the President during the Civil War in the game?!
I should say that it has been a great joy over the last decade + to be part of the forum and to still have some time and relationship with the forum and forumites. A handful of whom I consider friends, a handful of whom I’ve also been able to meet in person (and to those whom I have not, perhaps that day will come). But as the vicissitudes of time wear on, so too does the changes that it brings in one’s life. Some now know that I have published multiple books and been a contributor to academic volumes (though the author seeks the freedom to be independent of the ivory tower) and hundreds of essays and articles and op-eds in dozens of journals, magazines, and newspapers, and now I’ll be serving as head editor for an online journal that I’ve been writing for since my grad school days at Yale (also when I started EfL…where does the time go?). Yet I feel it necessary to be stated here, loud for all to hear, that the Paradox Forum has contributed to those successes through the years of reading and writing here; and it should serve as an inspiration to all aspiring writers that an online forum like this can serve to hone in your craft and prepare you for greater success in the future. Let no one ever mock your evening writing joys and hobby! Writing in AARland and reading in AARland can make you a better writer and, more importantly, a better human. I consider that to be true for myself. Where I am today has roots stretching back to this forum. My first “real” writing efforts, if we call it that, started here. And if yours are also, well, you can go to the moon too!
I might also remind our dear readAARs that we also live in a beautiful and wonderful world. One of the lesser-known secrets about volksmarschall is that he is an avid hiker. The beautiful world of nature can also serve as inspiration for your writing ambitions! Many a times on hikes, in the serenity of the spirit that governs the world, my mind becomes a laboratory of ideas, plots, characters, and imagery influenced by the very beaten paths being traveled. Even in our world of digital technology it is important to get outside and into the wondrous world of Spaceship Earth. Here are just a couple photos of a recent trek that can hopefully inspire you to also search for Eden. @J66185 can rest assured that the next adventure has nothing to do with writing but ascending the tallest peak in Virginia before the autumn season goes away to catch a view of wild ponies too. (It will serve as great inspiration for that Arthurian fantasy novel I want to write…)
These are from Dragon’s Tooth, part of the “Triple Crown” on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. I happened to take lunch on the top of the tooth with the soothing wind to take in the scenery. Theodore Roosevelt was right to make conservation such an integral part of his presidency, in real life and in Empire for Liberty!
Narrow is the path to paradise.
The Dragon’s Tooth.
View from the top.
If it means anything coming from a Yalie, hiker, and published author, I consider Paradox a second home that holds a special place in my heart and I hope it does for you too! My life has certainly been enriched by the AARland community. I sincerely hope yours has been too. And may it serve to ignite that spark of divinity in all of us. To partially quote a famous movie line: "Get busy living."
I should say that it has been a great joy over the last decade + to be part of the forum and to still have some time and relationship with the forum and forumites. A handful of whom I consider friends, a handful of whom I’ve also been able to meet in person (and to those whom I have not, perhaps that day will come). But as the vicissitudes of time wear on, so too does the changes that it brings in one’s life. Some now know that I have published multiple books and been a contributor to academic volumes (though the author seeks the freedom to be independent of the ivory tower) and hundreds of essays and articles and op-eds in dozens of journals, magazines, and newspapers, and now I’ll be serving as head editor for an online journal that I’ve been writing for since my grad school days at Yale (also when I started EfL…where does the time go?). Yet I feel it necessary to be stated here, loud for all to hear, that the Paradox Forum has contributed to those successes through the years of reading and writing here; and it should serve as an inspiration to all aspiring writers that an online forum like this can serve to hone in your craft and prepare you for greater success in the future. Let no one ever mock your evening writing joys and hobby! Writing in AARland and reading in AARland can make you a better writer and, more importantly, a better human. I consider that to be true for myself. Where I am today has roots stretching back to this forum. My first “real” writing efforts, if we call it that, started here. And if yours are also, well, you can go to the moon too!
I might also remind our dear readAARs that we also live in a beautiful and wonderful world. One of the lesser-known secrets about volksmarschall is that he is an avid hiker. The beautiful world of nature can also serve as inspiration for your writing ambitions! Many a times on hikes, in the serenity of the spirit that governs the world, my mind becomes a laboratory of ideas, plots, characters, and imagery influenced by the very beaten paths being traveled. Even in our world of digital technology it is important to get outside and into the wondrous world of Spaceship Earth. Here are just a couple photos of a recent trek that can hopefully inspire you to also search for Eden. @J66185 can rest assured that the next adventure has nothing to do with writing but ascending the tallest peak in Virginia before the autumn season goes away to catch a view of wild ponies too. (It will serve as great inspiration for that Arthurian fantasy novel I want to write…)
These are from Dragon’s Tooth, part of the “Triple Crown” on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. I happened to take lunch on the top of the tooth with the soothing wind to take in the scenery. Theodore Roosevelt was right to make conservation such an integral part of his presidency, in real life and in Empire for Liberty!
Narrow is the path to paradise.
The Dragon’s Tooth.
View from the top.
If it means anything coming from a Yalie, hiker, and published author, I consider Paradox a second home that holds a special place in my heart and I hope it does for you too! My life has certainly been enriched by the AARland community. I sincerely hope yours has been too. And may it serve to ignite that spark of divinity in all of us. To partially quote a famous movie line: "Get busy living."
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I have to say, I missed this for awhile, but if you can, swing on out to Richmond!
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I would love to swing by Richmond but, with the autumn season almost over, I still have some unfinished business in North Carolina and Southwest Virginia over the next week or two!
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As it is that time to once again pass on the showcase, and with the coming release of Victoria 3 which will overshadow the glory of Victoria 2, I will be keeping the focus on another superb Vic 2 AAR. The AuthAAR has received the showcase before, but not for his splendid AAR that is certainly the fantasy of all contemporary neoreactionary Catholics and integralists. @slothinator and his fabulous Annuntio Vobis: A Papal History of Italy covers an underplayed faction in Victoria 2 and brings a quality history book drama to life. We're all used to AARs in Europe, but we're generally bereft of AARs in Europe focusing on the Papal States.
So make your pilgrimage to the eternal city even if you're not Catholic! The AAR has all the smells, bells, and beauty that one could want in a virtual pilgrimage, er, History Book.
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As it is that time to once again pass on the showcase, and with the coming release of Victoria 3 which will overshadow the glory of Victoria 2, I will be keeping the focus on another superb Vic 2 AAR. The AuthAAR has received the showcase before, but not for his splendid AAR that is certainly the fantasy of all contemporary neoreactionary Catholics and integralists. @slothinator and his fabulous Annuntio Vobis: A Papal History of Italy covers an underplayed faction in Victoria 2 and brings a quality history book drama to life. We're all used to AARs in Europe, but we're generally bereft of AARs in Europe focusing on the Papal States.
So make your pilgrimage to the eternal city even if you're not Catholic! The AAR has all the smells, bells, and beauty that one could want in a virtual pilgrimage, er, History Book.
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Congratulations @slothinator, and belated congratulations to both @volksmarschall and @Eurasia! All three very highly deserving recipients.
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Congrats @slothinator!
Congratulations @slothinator, and belated congratulations to both @volksmarschall and @Eurasia! All three very highly deserving recipients.
Thank you all very much. And a special thanks to @volksmarschall for their kind words!
Now comes the time for me to choose a successor and who better than @LPDK 356 with their excellent Song of the Karlings: Karloman's Legacy!!
I was very surprised to see that they hadn't gotten a showcase and am very happy to rectify this. This AAR is a brilliant example of everything you could want from CK2: devious plots and glorious war merge into a captivating scene you can't stop reading. The characters are all excellently written (Betrada is especially good in the last updates) and the story manages to entertain while maintaining a good historical verisimilitude.
So come one, come all to the marvelous world where Karl is out of the picture and Karloman takes center stage!
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