Juneau Day Message from the Government

In the first ten years of its existence, there were really two Milwaukees -- Juneautown on the east side of the Milwaukee River and Kilbourntown on the west. By the 1840s, the rivalry between the east side (Juneautown) and the west side (Kilbourntown) had grown intense. Much of this was due to Byron Kilbourn who was trying to isolate the east making it more or less a satellite of Kilbourntown. In 1840, the Wisconsin Legislature required Milwaukee to build a drawbridge to replace an inadequate ferry system. Kilbourn and the west siders saw the bridge as a blow to their independence. It all came to a head in May of 1845 when Kilbourn decided to drop the west end of the bridge into the river. An east side mob gathered at the river. Violence was averted for at least two more weeks when an east side vigilante group destroyed two smaller bridges in an attempt to cut the west side off from the south and the east. A skirmish broke out between the west and east. Several people were seriously injured but there were no deaths. After the smoke cleared, Milwaukeeans on both sides realized that they would have to learn how to cooperate and live as one community. The following year, west and east joined to become the City of Milwaukee.The 25th Cosa forever sealed its fate in our great history with the enactment of the following bill:

25 RZ67 - The Juneau Day Act


WHEREAS the Kingdom does not have an official holiday to honor the William Penn of Talossa, the Roger Williams of Talossa, the Thomas Hooker of Talossa; and


WHEREAS the Venerable Solomon Juneau is recognized to be the ultimate antecedent of the Talossan national consciousness, with his firm yet kind leadership of the East Side from 1819 to 1852; and


WHEREAS the Ziu now sees it incredibly fit to honor the great Juneau with a annual holiday;


THEREFORE the Ziu sets aside 28 May as Juneau Day, to commemorate the day where a few battalions of Juneaumen bravely fought against the evil Kilbournites on the two bridges.


Uréu q'estadra så: Matt Dabrowski - (PC-Vuode)


And so my friends and fellow talossens we celebrate bridges burning. And honor a great man in the history of our home soil and a reflection of a unity in a city that later came to be a central hub of beer making and enjoyment, in 1843, housing 138 taverns in Milwaukee, an average of one per forty residents. And some people wonder about us…

The minister of culture wanders off duty done for the day..

Projects of the 41st Government of Talossa

Projects of the 41st Government of Talossa

Now available online, listed for all citizens to view.

At the moment, the page is relatively sparse, with only two or three things per month. While that might exceed expectations, it is below where we are aiming. But as time goes by, new things will enter the calendar and new projects will be conceived. In the future, as well, an extra field will be added to the table to provide a description of those items that are not self-explanatory.

These are early days yet, but even so I want to get our deadlines laid out. This administration will not hide behind obscurity, but instead is taking this step and others to lay out who is doing what, and when. If a deadline passes for an important project, citizens can write me or address the appropriate Ministry, and seek answers. Or if you want to help, now you can see when and with what you could lend a hand! And at the end of the year, citizens and officials will be able to look back and say, "We did this."

Check out what your government is doing for you, at the Projects of the 41st Government of Talossa!

Alexander Davis
Seneschal del Regipäts Talossan

Culture Moment: Our Chinese Heritage

Chinese character support is required to fully view this post. Please PM me if you need help.

When we look at the various arms of our nation, we see a recurring symbol. It appears on our Lesser State Seal (above), as well as in the Greater State Arms, Lesser State Arms, and the arms of his Majesty the King.To many, it's just a strange bit of Chinese that found its way into our country. But a closer examination of the Chinese symbol "賁" reveals that it is analogous to the story of Talossa as a whole.

In Ár Päts (2005), the former King Robert I recounts in a strangely brief fashion the selection of this central symbol of his new country:"Ben had also discovered a Chinese character pronounced 'Ben,' which means 'energetic, strenuous, brave,' etc. For obvious reasons, this character, 'the Ben Symbol,' became our coat of arms."

If you think this glossing over is a strange choice, considering the importance of this symbol, then you're not alone. While a historian and language buff, the young Ben Madison never had much of an interest in Asian studies, eventually preferring to concentrate on early American and Mormon histories above all, and seldom including any tastes of Asian languages in his creation and evolution of Talossan. This is not surprising - Talossan is a predominantly romance language - but it makes it even stranger he would make a Chinese symbol his primary representation.

Many Westerners are fascinated with Chinese symbols, whose pictograms can represent complex and beautiful sentiments in a way that seems more like art than language. Indeed, some people's enthusiasm for characters that they do not actually understand has led them to get terribly mistaken tattoos (such as those described on this blog). So it's not hard to imagine young Ben as a similar dilettante, sitting in a library looking at language books (as he so frequently did) and delighting when he found a phonetic resemblance between his name and one of these magical characters. And like so many others, he seized upon it immediately in his delight.

Chinese characters (or sinographs) are the oldest form of writing still used today, and are employed in various forms by such cultures as China, Japan, and Korea. Originating in small part as pictograms (simplified visual representations of the word) or in the larger measure as ideograms (representations of abstractions) and associated compound words, Chinese characters have an extremely rich and elaborate history that makes it dangerous for the uninitiated to dabble. And so it would not have been a surprise if young Ben had picked a character that meant "annoying brat" or had the double meaning of "tyrant" or something similarly embarrassing. Indeed, with a symbol that can have a half-dozen different meanings, one might almost expect at least one strange use.

But as happened so often in Talossan history, a flight of whimsy proved to be a stroke of brilliant luck, and became indelibly traced on the face of the country.

Ben used the traditional script version of 賁. Made larger, it looks like this: 賁 The symbol is Unicode "U+8CC1," and is rendered in simplified Mandarin as the more stylized "贲." In Chinese, it does indeed mean "energetic," and additionally means "to forge ahead [through adversity]." It has also been used as a surname, most notably by as the pre-enthronement first emperor of Vietnam, Lý Nam Đế (李南帝), who was born Lý Bôn (李賁) and is remembered for his unification of the Vietnamese armies and repelling of the invading Chinese Liang dynasty. Very little to be embarrassed about!

Interestingly, this symbol is also the title for one of the hexagrams (or chapters) of the I Ching. This ancient book used for divination in China can have a wide variety of disastrous results, especially for such a random character. But again, Talossa's luck holds. Hexagram 22, 賁, is translated as "Grace" or "Luxuriance;" as translated by Wilhelm, it predicts for the divinator:
"Grace has success.
In small matters
It is favorable to undertake something."

Favorable to undertake something, indeed!

How many times have we seen a flight of fancy become a solemn tradition in our great nation? The convenient availability of fountain drinks led to the declaration of the importance of Taco Bell and Talossan tradition. The discovery of an old coin became a landmark of "evidence" for the Berber Hypothesis, itself the product of a whim. And the "Ben" symbol, chosen almost certainly with the briefest touch of knowledge by a boy, but becoming the heart of a vibrant nation and her cultural traditions!



This Culture Moment has been brought to you by the Government of Talossa.

Alexander Davis

Seneschal del Regipäts Talossan

Shiny Objects Act: 1/3 of the Way There!

The Shiny Objects Act, 38RZ3, states in part:

WHEREAS it is in keeping with the dignities of office that holders of those offices possess items signatory of their position, marking them with the dignity and power therein, and ...
WHEREAS some of our most important offices have no such item associated with them, entirely out of keeping with their status and dignity, and ...

WHEREAS the office of Secretary of State is responsible for the sacred task of safeguarding democracy itself within Talossa, certifying and carrying out general elections and legislative action, and this office is so important yet so difficult that it is not at all envied, and ...

THEREFORE be it here established that the office of Seneschal, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice shall henceforth be symbolized by totem items of rank. These items will be provided as speedily as possible by the government, with care for their quality and the economics of the matter. Designs and the nature of the items are the responsibility of the government, through whatever channels it deems appropriate.

1. The Seneschal shall wear a chain of office of sufficient ostentation as befits the leader of Talossa, representing the burden of being shackled to the nation's welfare.

2. The Secretary of State shall wield a stamp embossed with the logo of his office, being both an effective and appropriate totem that can be used henceforth.

3. The Chief Justice shall bear a silver-haired wig of reasonable quality, indicating a traditional role as a judge and the flowing locks of Lady Justice herself.

Each bearer of these items shall be required, if they lose their office, to mail them to the King within two weeks, from whom the items shall be passed on to the next holder of the office.

In keeping with this direction, and with the promise of real and immediate activity this term, this Government has ordered a stamp embossed with the seal of the Secretary of State. It should reach him within nine or ten days, and shall be indicative of his office. I thought it only proper to first honour one of the hardest-working and longest-suffering citizens and officials, our Secretary of State Mick Preston.

Alexander Davis

Seneschal del Regipäts Talossan

Seneschal's Address to the Nation 5/2/10

Citizens of Talossa:

As we embark on this term of office, it seems wise to examine the state of Talossa as she is today. It must be said, that the situation is perilous but promising. We are faced with two challenges that are really opportunities.

The Activity Dilemma
We have very many positions, jobs, and agencies within Talossa, both governmental and nongovernmental. This is the result of years of accumulation from a variety of sources.

It has often happened that as each person becomes interested in some unusual quirk, they shape out a new entity to suit them. This often goes over in a big way if the nature of that new office or agency seems to have that unusual and unique "Talossan" quality. Wargaming is a good example: enthusiastically endorsed by a couple of prominent Talossans but received tepidly by a majority of Talossans, it has now become mostly redundant within the government.

Other times, a well-meaning legislator or executive will try to start up interest in something by creating an initiative or office. If someone wishes to invigorate Talossan music, they might create a subministry of Musical Endeavours, for example. But all too often these initiatives fail, and leave behind a stagnant agency.

When we combine this accruing offices with the careful separation of powers found within our Orglaw, as in so many other national constitutions, we discover that many active Talossans are pigeonholed in restrictive positions or snatched up for positions that are unneeded. This saps them of that most precious resource of enthusiasm that is required to keep our country flourishing.

Now, we might approach this by stripping away all of these offices or the separation of powers. And this is indeed a tempting thing, especially for a Seneschal like myself, who has declined to even fill some cabinet positions. But this is only a temporary solution, and doesn't address the fact that Talossa as a creation is in serious growing pains, where new enthusiasm is needed. The better solution is to grow Talossa - in the right way.

This is easier said than done, of course. We cannot simply throw open the floodgates and let in all the cranks who seek political immunity or the angry ones who want to reshape it in their own image. While that would be satisfying as the numbers swelled, it would also yield a Talossa that was not recognizably the real Talossa as it has evolved today. But we cannot be too restrictive, either, or else we could end up a nation of four or five embittered souls, suckling petty vengeances. We need real growth, the right way.

Accordingly, this year we are going to make a determined effort to bring in more Cestours from the GTA. One planned initiative is purchased advertising in the area, which will dovetail with our financial plans to raise more money this year than ever before - and safeguard it once we have it. Further, we are going to reach out hands of friendship and solidarity with other nations, in a way that is both realistic and effective (rather than just passing another resolution).

The Legality Quandary

Another problem is just as pressing, but in a much different way - our ability to prove our legitimacy as a nation.

When several Talossans left to form the Republic, there was little doubt as to the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Talossa. In every way, including legality, Talossa remained intact and continuous - if a bit demoralized. But a few years later, King Ben got into a climactic conflict with the Clippers, and resigned in a huff. The issue became more complicated.

There is little doubt that by Talossan law, the Kingdom remains the legitimate and real Talossa. King Robert I resigned in accordance with the law, with no wiggle room in the matter. Even he acknowledged this for a time, later deciding to declare Talossa "dead" unilaterally. Now, of course, he has decided that he didn't really leave Talossa and didn't really try to declare it dead. But while this holds no water with those aware of Talossan law (or in possession of any sense), nonetheless King Ben retains patent rights on the term "Talossa" within the United States. Lacking comparable size or pull, we must unfortunately endure American patent law for the time being in such public forums as the social networking site Facebook - which has allowed the former King to suddenly start trying to eliminate our presence as best he can.

King Robert I is the villain of this story. Enraged that his creation had outgrown him and its citizens defied him, he fled in a fury, only to later try to rewrite history in his own favour. But he did agree to abide by certain rules, both of our country and of his own - the United States - and we have here an opportunity to seize our destiny in another way, and fight back. And I assure you, we will do it.


The Davis Regime

I have been honoured with the position of Seneschal by my party. And I will do everything I can to take the two issues above and turn them from problems into opportunities. Within the week, things will be done. Within the month, concrete plans and schedules will be posted. Within the term, Talossa will have launched itself into a vibrant era.

Long live the King, and long live Talossa!

Alexander Davis

Seneschal del Regipäts Talossan