Two weeks ago I was telling my room mate about my plans to start my own country. (I have most of the government policy all figured out, I now need to figure out it’s economic policy.) The idea was inspired partyl by a “Wired article”:http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.03/kingdoms.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set I happened across sometime ago:

bq. Micronations, also known as counternations and ephemeral states, consist of one or more people united by the desire to form and/or inhabit an independent country of their own making. All micronations have governments, laws, and customs; the main distinguishing factor is whether their citizens want to establish a physical home country and seek international recognition, or whether, as is the case with Talossa, they’re happy just to pretend.

Most of the inspiration came from “Adam Greenfield’s”:www.v-2.org “Minifesto for Virtual States”:http://www.v-2.org/displayArticle.php?article_num=339. The idea has sat with me ever since and it’s an idea that I’ll one day form the cornerstone of my own “micronation”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronation.

So anyway, I was telling my room mate about this idea and not even half an hour later I saw an ad for a BBC 2 documentary called “How To Start Your Own Country”:http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/listings/programme.shtml?day=today&service_id=4224&filename=20050803/20050803_2200_4224_3473_30:

bq. Ever thought about having your face printed on a stamp, a coin or a banknote? Ever dreamt of owning a diplomatic passport, paying no tax, or legalising drugs? Frustrated by the levels of crime, the decline in education and the quality of the health service? How would you like the chance to change all these things and take control of your own destiny? Well fear not. Help is at hand.

Help was at hand! I have to admit, I did feel a bit cheated. This was my own brilliant idea after all. At least that’s what I thought. In my excitement though, I missed the screening times so I didn’t know when it was on. I saw a review of the show, which aired last night, in this morning’s Metro. I’d missed it! *sigh*