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Once upon a time – Dec. 26, 1979, to be specific – 14-year-old Robert Ben Madison declared his bedroom in his house on Prospect Avenue to be a sovereign nation, the Kingdom of Talossa. He named himself, King Robert I, as sole resident. Rather than becoming a passing childhood fantasy, the kingdom slowly grew. 

Madison’s friends soon joined his kingdom and began to create a system of government, a flag, media (a handwritten newsletter titled Støtanneu) and, most impressive, their own Romance-based language that has developed tens of thousands of unique words over the last 46 years. By 1995, Talossa had a couple dozen citizens, many of whom participated and created their own political parties. 

Talossa is an early example of what researchers like Chris Roth call “micronations.” Roth, a Milwaukee author who also has studied microstates and separatist movements, says micronations are “usually done for fanciful or hobbyist reasons rather than serious ones,” but motives and types range widely, from avant-garde artist experiments to right-wing militias.

“It allows small people to feel very big and that they’re part of something substantial,” Roth adds. “It’s an escape in many cases.” Some micronations claim a small sliver of land, like Madison did with his bedroom; some are online “cybernations.”

The internet changed Talossa forever. Legions of “cybercitizens” from around the world joined Talossa’s “Old Growthers” (original citizens). Internet infighting led to a separatist group who formed a Republic of Talossa in 2004. It was, to use a Talossan term, ’n aviecă – a slap in the face – to its founder. 

“They … eventually decided they wanted to win all the elections so they just declared themselves the ‘real Talossa’ and deleted everyone’s accounts,” Madison says. It’s an incident referred to as “The Great Theft” in a 194-page report by Madison titled The Kingdom of Talossa.

Those loyal to Madison tried to regroup, but on July 4, 2011, he declared that Talossa was dissolved and “reunited” with the U.S. Being shut out of his kingdom, Madison says, was “the most catastrophic event of my life.”

Talossan Tariffs?

With the tariff wars raging, King Txec says he invited President Donald Trump to submit an oath of fealty to his kingdom. No response on that, or Talossa’s sanctions – refusing to drink American beer – in response to U.S. immigration policy. The monarch says he hasn’t ruled out “counter-tariffs” if threatened.

What Madison calls the “fake Talossa” has continued on, and since last November has been ruled by King Txec I (pronounced Zheck), a public school teacher in Riverside, California, who joined Talossa about 12 years ago after stumbling across a Wikipedia entry.

Talossa claims all of Milwaukee as its territory, divided into provinces and referred to as the Greater Talossan Area. Its cybercitizens even cheer on our local team but refer to them as the Maricopa Brewers, named after the province in which American Family Field is found. King Txec rules about 200 citizens, working closely with the seneschal (prime minister).

“I could never become president, or the king of England, but in Talossa I can write laws. It’s a way to experience things you don’t get to do in real life,” King Txec says. He admits “being referred to as ‘Your Majesty’ is a bit weird.” 

As for Madison, a king without a kingdom, he still calls Talo … uh, Milwaukee home and designs roleplaying wargames like Death in the Trenches, a WWI-inspired strategy title.

A WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) fixture is leaving the station.

Singer-turned-longtime anchor Shannon Sims’ last day with TMJ4 News will be Nov. 5, the Milwaukee NBC affiliate announced Oct. 28. Sims — who worked her way up at the TV station — anchors “Milwaukee Tonight” and “TMJ4 News” at 10 p.m. on weekdays, according to her bio on WTMJ’s website.

“Shannon’s passion for journalism and her commitment to our community have made a lasting impact on TMJ4 and the viewers we serve,” the station’s news director, Tim Vetscher, said in the announcement. “She has been a true advocate for those whose stories need to be told. We are grateful for her contributions and wish her all the best.”

Those contributions of Sims, highlighted in the announcement, included launching TMJ4’s public affairs program, “414WARD”; moderating political debates; leading Project: Drive Sober, which won an Emmy; hosting the first broadcast of the city’s Juneteenth parade; creating “Beyond the Bullet,” a special on Milwaukee gun violence; hosting the 2024 Positively Milwaukee Awards; producing the “PozCast” podcast; and being instrumental in the formation of the station’s diversity and volunteer teams.

1.

ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR

Sometimes I get these nasty headaches, and all I can really do to combat them is down a bunch of aspirin, close my eyes and pray. But one issue, you see, is that aspirin is bad for your stomach lining, so whenever the headache starts – assuming I haven’t just eaten – I gotta get some food in me ASAP. All this goes to say that a few days ago, I was at 3rd Street Market Hall for work when a headache got rockin’ and rollin’. Thankfully, as far as eating goes that was kind of the best possible place to be. As I stumbled through the crowd at the popular Downtown food hall, I had many, many options to fill my pre-aspirin stomach. I landed upon Creta Mediterranean Grill and the humble joy of a gyro. It was classic – tangy tzatziki, juicy lamb, etc. – and just the dose of deliciousness I needed before the aspirin brought some healing to my aching head.

2. Watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

ANN CHRISTENSON, DINING EDITOR

I’ve never watched The Exorcist. I’ve seen only parts of Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street. The Shining affected my sleep, for weeks. But one of the worst forms of damage made to my young psyche by a horror movie is Invasion of the Body Snatchers – a truly terrifying 1978 film that had me convinced that hideous pods filled with alien replicas meant to replace us were growing in my family basement (I was really little, OK?). So lame, and yet. It took some time for me to recover from that. Flash forward to this past weekend. I turn on PBS and what do you suppose is on but Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But it’s not the 1978 version – it’s the 1956 original. (I never knew the ’78 movie was a remake.) This one, in black-and-white, is far less creepy than I remember its remade version to be. It reminds me of The Twilight Zone – weird, kind of campy, and unsettling but not scary. The actors (not anyone I recognize) seemed to take their roles seriously, too. Take this Halloween week recommendation from a confirmed scaredy-cat: Watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the original 1956 film. If it keeps you up at night, you’re even more of a wuss than I am! On Amazon Prime, The Roku Channel and other platforms.

CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Is black IPA the best IPA? I mean, I’m not sure I want this unholy marriage of IPA’s fruity hops and stout’s roasty, mocha-like malt all of the time, but it sure hits nicely this time of year. Brewers have been exploring the niche style since it came back from the dead a bit after the pandemic, and that body of work much more successfully threads the style’s needle than the first iteration of black IPAs in the early 2010s. My favorite of the style, Component Brewing’s Blackest Eyes, will be on tap on Friday at Busby’s second annual Fears & Beers, which includes a Component tap takeover (Oh My Gourd pumpkin spice coffee ale might also be of interest). Many more Halloween doings are in store as well: a tightly curated horror movie marathon with trivia, tarot card readings, a costume contest and eats from Not Bad food truck. 7 p.m.-midnight Friday, Busby’s, 3475 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

EVAN MUSIL, ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

We’ve lost many jazz greats in recent memory: Roy Ayers, Hermeto Pascoal, just to name a few this year. And now, at 83, Jack DeJohnette – a wide-ranging, masterful drummer who could pack quiet intensity into every rhythm, showing flashes and then magnificent bursts of complexity without ever overburdening a tune or losing time. You could point to DeJohnette’s time with Miles Davis during the trumpeter’s electric period, or his critical role in the Standards Trio with pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Gary Peacock (just check out the soloing here!). But I first reached for Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival this morning. Evans makes for a perfect fall soundtrack, and DeJohnette lends such liveliness to this record, the only one he appeared on with Evans.