Interview - FOR NATE! =)

[siriain]

@ Andreas: are you still interested in writing for the Fireball? If so you need to give me a valid e-mail address so that you can be signed up.

mziff: Have you had time to complete the final draft yet?

[mziff]

finishing it tonight. should have it up with in the next few days.

[mziff]

DRAFT 2
being emailed to my professor a bit later. This should be the final draft, maybe with a few minor changes, but this is what ive got so far.



In the following, I interviewed Nathan, First Ruler of the Bovic Empire of Natopia. It is set in story form depicting a history of Natopia along with the answers to some questions that I posed. All of the following is from Nathan’s point of view, in very close to his original words.
I, Nathan, am one of the 3 original founders of the Bovic Empire of Natopia.
In August 2002, my friends and I were bored during a new student orientation for high school and we doodled an imaginary city on the back of a hand out. The city floated on clouds and had advanced aerospace technology. It also had a unique fascist totalitarian eugenics regime that executed "undesirables" and presidential succession was achieved officially through assassination. However the more "micronation-y" Natopia was set up in September.
I did this because I had a lot of time on my hands and I really enjoyed playing SimCity.
Natopia was first all off-line. Classmates were given ranks and titles and even formed rival nations. The World Domination Society and Emilyland were Natopia's first enemies, but the WDS eventually became an ally in our war against gravity. Natopia was a novelty that was a bit of fun for imaginative freshmen. The first Natopia Day, August 23, 2003, was even celebrated with a real life party with upwards of 15 people attending to celebrate Natopia.
The idea for Natopia came from many different places. Mostly from classes in school I'm taking. Early inspirations included the American government for the original Republic during freshman year civics class. The Holy Roman Empire was a basis for the first incarnation of the Sovereign Natopian Empire during a medieval history class. Athlon was first based on a Crusader State culture, but then evolved into a Greek themed culture after I took a Greek art class in college. The new Bovic religion taking root in Hazelwood is based on voodoo after curating an exhibit on Haitian voodoo. Natopia has had so many constitutions we can hardly be called a stable nation! Each new one changed when I had a new whim to fulfill. It has been rewritten so many times…Many different parts came together to form what we have now.
A fun, yet important part of Natopia is The Ministry of Silly Walks. It was created when Natopia adopted an economy. Due to the technology, the government held all the money and distributed it out via salaries. Not all citizens held government jobs, so to get the money to the people, I set up the Ministry as a type of welfare system. Basically free money and a little bit of cultural development. Another part of fun part of Natopia is the Natopian Institute for the Promotion of Primate Literature, or NIPPL. It is the "citizens only" discussion forum. Matt Ziff came up with the idea of a Natopian institution to research the "infinite monkey theorem." However, another citizen, Tom Mills, devised the scandalously appropriate acronym.
The Butter Cow religion came about from the Natopia Day tradition to have a party "in real life." After the parties declined in popularity, and due to the nearness of dates, I took some friends to the Springfield Illinois State Fair and they always have a Butter Cow sculpture. Because it was an "official" Natopia Day outing, the Butter Cow was adopted as a mascot for Natopia in the same way Malarbor is the mascot for Shireroth. Butter Cow continued as a news mascot until, because of a constitutional crisis, Natopia collapsed. Athlon seceded from Natopia and adopted the Butter Cow as a divinity to bridge the cultural gap and declare itself the successor to Natopia. When Natopia was reformed and annexed Athlon back, the Butter Cow religion came to the forefront of Natopia and was organized into a Catholic-style hierarchy as the Dozan Bovic Church. With myself as leader of both the church and Natopia, soon I fused the church with the state, which violated the many years of official Natopian secularization.
Citizens of Natopia we some what sporadic, I never really "got" people to join... perhaps one of the problems with long term activity. People just sort of trickled in... some from other nations, others from out of no where (of course those people just could have been using fake names). I've made it a personal policy to not kick anyone out of Natopia. But there have been some I've wanted to. Natopia progressed most quickly in the very early days with Tasneem, Ryan and myself. Since Tasneem and Ryan were my friends in real life but lived too far away to hang out with, Natopia became our primary forum of communication and thus an explosion of Natopian culture. The Free Juice and Bagels Party and the legislative Frenzy are legacies of this time. Natopia was never really a success per say. I don't really know, it was just kind of a general plateau of existing. I always remember that every time Natopia slows down to a crawl, within a month activity always picks up. If it didn't we wouldn't be here for 7 years.
After Natopia slowed, restoring it was really a no-brainer. It had been a part of my life for so long and I was still involved in micro-nations so there was no reason to not restore it. Allowing it to collapse and have Athlon and South Mehlville secede provided a very interesting historical element however and Natopian history fully embraces the collapse, calling it the Dark Ages, which I think adds a sense of realism to the nation.
When Natopia was first settling into the Micras sector, I wanted Natopia very diplomatically involved. However as time went on I had less time to keep up with other nations and the nations Natopia was closely involved with closed up shop. Our dealings with the MCS have always been favorable. In the past, we have had many comments by other nations, and I need to say that I fully endorse being called not serious but awesome. I allowed Natopian culture to grow naturally, instead of imposing a "cookie cutter culture" on it such as German, Roman, English, etc. When the population was mainly teenagers, the culture developed into that "immature" track. We have one of the most unique cultures out there and I would rather have Natopia's awesome unserious ness over way too serious with a lot of activity.
I really enjoyed some special parts of Natopia, my favorite Natopia was Tasneem. She was one of the very first to join in high school and stayed for several years. During some of the slower times when I considered ending Natopia or annexing it to another nation, she always kept me on track and kept Natopia independent. .It was a sad day when she left, she brought many good times to Natopia. Tasneem is now happily married and graduating Michigan State this upcoming spring. My favorite time was the one successful Summer Arts Festival we had. We had participants from several nations and filled the Library with some really nice works of art and literature, something I have always fancied being one of Natopia's strong points. A lot of Natopia’s own citizens have work submitted to the library through this day including Monkey Wrench, a one-act play by a former citizen, Zechariahs Azilin (Z).
Recently, the throne of Natopia was abdicated and my friend Konrad V Z (kvz) has taken over. He will be coroneted on October 10th, 2009. Why would I give up my throne of 7 years strong? Simple answer, no time anymore because of grad school. By abdicating and showing that I am willing to let someone else shape and guide Natopia, perhaps it will encourage immigration. Natopia is, after all, named after me, it may not encourage people to join and think they can implement their own ideas. Konrad was chosen as my successor because he has acted as my Regent for many years and has been an extremely loyal and dependable citizen. He has been active and involved in Natopia long enough that I trust him with something I have spent nearly one third of my life on.
Natopia will go forward, as it always does. With a change in leadership and the return of valued old citizens, I have high expectations for Natopia. I hope that soon Natopia can blossom into the active and powerful nation it deserves to be.

[siriain]

Super. I've now published it here: apollo-fireball.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-nathan-interview-with-nathan-of.html with various minor edits, which you are free to incorporate, if you wish to, in your final submission.

[Nathan]

oh i like the title

[Emperor Konrad]

Excellent work!

[mziff]

great job! thank you, I would have liked to write it similar to that, but my professor didnt like that... haha

[siriain]

Pity. Thanks for the compliments though.

So what did your professor want in the end?

[mziff]

She liked that as the final, so thats what i got. Thanks for the article, my first published work =P

[Emperor Konrad]

Get an A?

[mziff]

no grade yet =P

[Emperor Konrad]

Lets hope for an A then.

[andreasthewise]

Oct 24, 2009 9:29:02 GMT -6 siriain said:

@ Andreas: are you still interested in writing for the Fireball? If so you need to give me a valid e-mail address so that you can be signed up.

Now Apollo Aurora is up I've been snaffled for them sorry.

[siriain]

Ah, but have you considered that with the Aurora, you have to wait for the editor to publish your literary masterpieces, whereas with the Fireball you can publish them instantaneously or at a specific time in the future?

[mziff]

GOT A NEW DRAFT! its still in the works, i sent it in to be reviewed again, but this should be the last draft before the final, considering its due in a writing portfolio on or before the 15th...


Have you ever wondered what it was like to run a country, to be in charge of a nation of people, and to decide the fate of a population? Since most people will never have these experiences for themselves, people have created countries knows as micronations. What is a micronation? Wikipedia defines it as:
Micronations — sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects — are entities that resemble independent nations or states but which are unrecognized by world governments or major international organizations. These nations often exist only on paper, on the Internet, or in the minds of their creators. Micronations differ from secession and self-determination movements in that they are largely viewed as being eccentric and ephemeral in nature, and are often created and maintained by a single person or family group.

I interviewed Nathan, First Ruler of the Bovic Empire of Natopia, a micronation now located solely on the internet. This is in story form depicting a history of Natopia along with the answers to some questions that I posed. All of the following is from Nathan’s point of view who is one of the 3 original founders of the Bovic Empire of Natopia.
In August 2002, my friends and I were bored during a new student orientation for high school and we doodled an imaginary city on the back of a hand out. The city floated on clouds and had advanced aerospace technology. It also had a unique fascist totalitarian eugenics regime that executed "undesirables" and presidential succession was achieved officially through assassination. However the more "micro nation-y" Natopia was set up in September.
Natopia was first all off-line. Classmates were given ranks and titles and even formed rival nations. The World Domination Society and Emilyland were Natopia's first enemies, but the WDS eventually became an ally in our war against gravity. Natopia was a novelty that was a bit of fun for imaginative freshmen. The first Natopia Day, August 23, 2003, was even celebrated with a real life party with upwards of 15 people attending to celebrate Natopia.
The idea for Natopia came from many different places, from classes in school I'm taking, and early inspirations included the American government for the original Republic during freshman year civics class. The Holy Roman Empire was a basis for the first incarnation of the Sovereign Natopian Empire during a medieval history class. Athlon was first based on a Crusader State culture, but then evolved into a Greek themed culture after I took a Greek art class in college. The new Bovic religion taking root in Hazelwood is based on voodoo after curetting an exhibit on Haitian voodoo. Natopia has had so many constitutions it can hardly be called a stable nation!
A fun, yet important part of Natopia is The Ministry of Silly Walks. It was created when Natopia adopted an economy. Due to technology, the government held all the money and distributed it out via salaries. Not all citizens held government jobs, so to get the money to the people I set up the Ministry as a type of welfare system ( Basically free money and a little bit of cultural development). Another part of fun part of Natopia is the Natopian Institute for the Promotion of Primate Literature, or NIPPL. It is the "citizens only" discussion forum. Matt Ziff came up with the idea of a Natopian institution to research the "infinite monkey theorem." However, another citizen, Tom Mills, devised the scandalously appropriate acronym.
The Butter Cow religion came about from the Natopia Day tradition to have a party "in real life." After the parties declined in popularity, and due to the nearness of dates, I took some friends to the Springfield Illinois State Fair and they always have a Butter Cow sculpture. Because it was an "official" Natopia Day outing, the Butter Cow was adopted as a mascot for Natopia in the same way Malarbor is the mascot for Shireroth. Butter Cow continued as a news mascot until, because of a constitutional crisis, Natopia collapsed. Athlon seceded from Natopia and adopted the Butter Cow as a divinity to bridge the cultural gap and declare itself the successor to Natopia. When Natopia was reformed and annexed Athlon back, the Butter Cow religion came to the forefront of Natopia and was organized into a Catholic-style hierarchy as the Dozan Bovic Church. With myself as leader of both the church and Natopia, soon I fused the church with the state, which violated the many years of official Natopian secularization.
Citizens of Natopia are some what sporadic, I never really "got" people to join... perhaps one of the problems with long term activity. People just sort of trickled in... some from other nations, others from out of no where (of course those people just could have been using fake names). I've made it a personal policy to not kick anyone out of Natopia. But there have been some I've wanted to. Natopia progressed most quickly in the very early days with Tasneem, Ryan and I. Since Tasneem and Ryan were my friends in real life but lived too far away to hang out with, Natopia became our primary forum of communication and thus an explosion of Natopian culture. The Free Juice and Bagels Party and the legislative Frenzy are legacies of this time. Natopia was never really a success per say. I don't really know, it was just kind of a general plateau of existing. I always remember that every time Natopia slows down to a crawl, within a month activity always picks up. If it didn't we wouldn't be here for 7 years.
After Natopia slowed, restoring it was really a no-brainer. It had been a part of my life for so long and I was still involved in micro-nations so there was no reason to not restore it. Allowing it to collapse and have Athlon and South Mehlville secede provided a very interesting historical element however and Natopian history fully embraces the collapse, calling it the Dark Ages, which I think adds a sense of realism to the nation.
When Natopia was first settling into the Micras sector, I wanted Natopia very diplomatically involved. However as time went on I had less time to keep up with other nations and the nations Natopia was closely involved with closed up shop. Our dealings with the MCS have always been favorable. In the past, we have had many comments by other nations, and I need to say that I fully endorse being called not serious but awesome. I allowed Natopian culture to grow naturally, instead of imposing a "cookie cutter culture" on it such as German, Roman, English, etc. When the population was mainly teenagers, the culture developed into that "immature" track. We have one of the most unique cultures out there and I would rather have Natopia's awesome unserious ness over way too serious with a lot of activity.
I really enjoyed some special parts of Natopia, my favorite Natopia was Tasneem. She was one of the very first to join in high school and stayed for several years. During some of the slower times when I considered ending Natopia or annexing it to another nation, she always kept me on track and kept Natopia independent. .It was a sad day when she left; she brought many good times to Natopia. Tasneem is now happily married and graduating Michigan State this upcoming spring. My favorite time was the one successful Summer Arts Festival we had. We had participants from several nations and filled the Library with some really nice works of art and literature, something I have always fancied being one of Natopia's strong points. A lot of Natopia’s own citizens have work submitted to the library through this day including Monkey Wrench, a one-act play by a former citizen, Zechariahs Azilin (Z).
Recently, the throne of Natopia was abdicated and my friend Konrad V Z (kvz) has taken over. He will be coroneted on October 10th, 2009. Why would I give up my throne of 7 years strong? Simple answer, no time anymore because of grad school. By abdicating and showing that I am willing to let someone else shape and guide Natopia, perhaps it will encourage immigration. Natopia is, after all, named after me, it may not encourage people to join and think they can implement their own ideas. Konrad was chosen as my successor because he has acted as my Regent for many years and has been an extremely loyal and dependable citizen. He has been active and involved in Natopia long enough that I trust him with something I have spent nearly one third of my life on.
Natopia will go forward, as it always does. With a change in leadership and the return of valued old citizens, I have high expectations for Natopia. I hope that soon Natopia can blossom into the active and powerful nation it deserves to be.