Hail Nastralia!
The once mere pastime of imagining a fictional nation which was headed by me developed by this time into a full blown obsession.
As I look back on it now, the whole resurgence of this pre-pubescent fantasy may have been inspired subconsciously by the problems of my development of a mature sexual/proto-adult security due to the February experiences between John N. and I.
I, no doubt, wanted to regain the feeling of security I enjoyed before then. But I took it another step...rather than just security in this world, I created an impenetrable alternate universe where I ruled supreme and could not, ever, be harmed.
The original Nastralia was a democracy. I quickly created a "mot de guere" for Imperium and wrote about the evolution of the Nastralian Republic, "peacefully", into the Empire of Nastralia. (Shades of ancient Rome not ignored here.)
It was during this time I created the title "Riothamus". I found in old historical documents that this term was actually used in early Dark Age times to designate the King of England. Rio taken from the REX of Latin and Thamus for the river Thames.
Most of the tangible evidence of my obsession with Nastralia was created during this time. I would spend hours upon hours drawing maps and writing histories. Most of these were stored in a loose-leaf binder given to me by John C. many years earlier. The inside pockets of the Mead binder were decorated not only by my illustrations of the Nastralian crests and Flags of Nastralia, made of paper, and stuck on with Scotch tape, but, the Crest of John's impression of his Portuguese heritage was also there, as he had hand-drawn it back in circa 1975.
Because of loss of items through the years due to natural dis-interest or mis-placement, the book-binder and a crude map stored in it, or two, were the oldest physical artifacts of Nastralia.
These were tossed, consciously, into a dumpster in Casselberry in 2003, with all other documentation of this "realm", including every map, treaty, document and history made since...including this year, when much of it was made.
Why?
Koyaanisqatsi has not been kind to my past or to the repairation of who "I am". During the most severe months of Koyaanisqatsi, it seems, in retrospect, much like the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. The Terror was not designed to be a destructive period...but it was thought to be necessary to destroy the "anciene regime" in order to reconstruct a new and superior society. Yes, the republicanism created as a result afforded the genesis for a better society, we now see, but did it have to come at such a cost? This is what now was to be asked about Nastralia.
My parents took note of my increased interest in drawing...though I doubt either of them took a keen interest in exactly "WHAT" I was drawing...I highly doubt that either one had ever laid eyes on any materials of Nastralia, For all it's importance in my life during this time, they never were aware. As in many things, they lived a separate life from me.
The notice of increased time spent drawing was awarded by a gift of a (what turned out to be) good quality adjustable drafting table. From 1981 on, I would use this table for 22 years. It was one of the most useful gifts ever given to me. It succumbed, as well, to the Koyaanisqatsi destruction of February 2003.
During these early 80's times, drawing these maps, and imagining the development of of world empire, I frequently thought..."Why am I wasting my time doing this...It will never amount to anything".
The answer was simple:
"It is not a story for public consumption. It is not to develop into a book or film. It is as an aid in psychological stability. A relatively innocuous stress relief device designed to quickly build up the spirits and exploit as a motivator in various new goals.
The concept worked, but perhaps not the way most would consider successfully.
It lent me to belief I was superior to most all new concepts. I stuck to my guns with almost all opinions, alienating old and new friends.
Feeling "alien" and unrelated to all of humanity, I alienated them, treating them as either temporary playthings or total waste products.
Fast forward a few years...and: Here I am.
The once mere pastime of imagining a fictional nation which was headed by me developed by this time into a full blown obsession.
As I look back on it now, the whole resurgence of this pre-pubescent fantasy may have been inspired subconsciously by the problems of my development of a mature sexual/proto-adult security due to the February experiences between John N. and I.
I, no doubt, wanted to regain the feeling of security I enjoyed before then. But I took it another step...rather than just security in this world, I created an impenetrable alternate universe where I ruled supreme and could not, ever, be harmed.
The original Nastralia was a democracy. I quickly created a "mot de guere" for Imperium and wrote about the evolution of the Nastralian Republic, "peacefully", into the Empire of Nastralia. (Shades of ancient Rome not ignored here.)
It was during this time I created the title "Riothamus". I found in old historical documents that this term was actually used in early Dark Age times to designate the King of England. Rio taken from the REX of Latin and Thamus for the river Thames.
Most of the tangible evidence of my obsession with Nastralia was created during this time. I would spend hours upon hours drawing maps and writing histories. Most of these were stored in a loose-leaf binder given to me by John C. many years earlier. The inside pockets of the Mead binder were decorated not only by my illustrations of the Nastralian crests and Flags of Nastralia, made of paper, and stuck on with Scotch tape, but, the Crest of John's impression of his Portuguese heritage was also there, as he had hand-drawn it back in circa 1975.
Because of loss of items through the years due to natural dis-interest or mis-placement, the book-binder and a crude map stored in it, or two, were the oldest physical artifacts of Nastralia.
These were tossed, consciously, into a dumpster in Casselberry in 2003, with all other documentation of this "realm", including every map, treaty, document and history made since...including this year, when much of it was made.
Why?
Koyaanisqatsi has not been kind to my past or to the repairation of who "I am". During the most severe months of Koyaanisqatsi, it seems, in retrospect, much like the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. The Terror was not designed to be a destructive period...but it was thought to be necessary to destroy the "anciene regime" in order to reconstruct a new and superior society. Yes, the republicanism created as a result afforded the genesis for a better society, we now see, but did it have to come at such a cost? This is what now was to be asked about Nastralia.
My parents took note of my increased interest in drawing...though I doubt either of them took a keen interest in exactly "WHAT" I was drawing...I highly doubt that either one had ever laid eyes on any materials of Nastralia, For all it's importance in my life during this time, they never were aware. As in many things, they lived a separate life from me.
The notice of increased time spent drawing was awarded by a gift of a (what turned out to be) good quality adjustable drafting table. From 1981 on, I would use this table for 22 years. It was one of the most useful gifts ever given to me. It succumbed, as well, to the Koyaanisqatsi destruction of February 2003.
During these early 80's times, drawing these maps, and imagining the development of of world empire, I frequently thought..."Why am I wasting my time doing this...It will never amount to anything".
The answer was simple:
"It is not a story for public consumption. It is not to develop into a book or film. It is as an aid in psychological stability. A relatively innocuous stress relief device designed to quickly build up the spirits and exploit as a motivator in various new goals.
The concept worked, but perhaps not the way most would consider successfully.
It lent me to belief I was superior to most all new concepts. I stuck to my guns with almost all opinions, alienating old and new friends.
Feeling "alien" and unrelated to all of humanity, I alienated them, treating them as either temporary playthings or total waste products.
Fast forward a few years...and: Here I am.