Inspired by this.
What if a sizeable population of Japanese turned Fen on us and we wound up with a faction of Space Samurai?
I'm imagining that their head of government would be a trifecta that holds an equal share of power amongst themselves.
One would be the 'Emperor' - perhaps a member of the Imperial family that turned Fen.  Standard rules of succession apply.
The other would be a 'Shogun' - one who is elected by popular vote and serves a set term in office.
Finally, the Chairman of the Space-Diet.
I think this could be a very excellent setup.  The Emperor is in place for a very long period of time and can help things retain a certain degree of consistency.  Meanwhile, you have the Chairman who is elected by the Senators in the Space-Diet, and thus he represents the politicians - and pretty much the upper-class.  And then the Shogun who is elected strictly by popular vote, thus representing lower-class citizens.  He'll need to keep their needs and desires in mind at all times if he wants to keep his job.
Any two can can call for a vote of No Confidence.  Even on the Emperor himself.  But it has to be two.  The Shogun can disagree with the practices of the Chairman, but the Emperor can say, "Tough, deal with it."  However, if the Shogun and the Chairman think the Emperor is off his rocker then he stands a good chance of being forced to step down and allow the next in line to take the throne... or a Regency will be appointed until such time an heir is available.
No Confidence is decided by both the Legislature and the Populace - both require a majority in order to pass, however slim it may be.
Why both?  Simple.  They learned that even though the politicians are supposed to represent the people, some still tend to look out for number one.  It's a failsafe, and an effective one at that.
Between the three, I imagine that they would mimic the three branches of the US Government: Executive (Emperor), Legislative (Chairman), and Judicial (Shogun).  The only difference I think there would be is that the Shogun will have authority over the military.  Of course, this means that they would be a militant bunch, but then that's how it was for Old Nippon.  However, I see them also being a lot more diplomatic as well.  Kinda like Japan just after it opened for trade.
Also, while they'll mainly hold to the Samurai theme, I can also see them welcoming Senshi and Mecha Pilots as kindred spirits.  Can you imagine Samurai-themed Senshi?  I can, I've seen somebody do the Sailor Senshi as they would look like in the Fuedal Ages.  And it was awesome.  (Funny thought: who hasn't seen Darth Vader drawn as a Japanese Warlord?)
Thoughts?

http://drunkardswalkforums.yuku.com/topic/6839]This thread over in GenChat got me wondering about the advisability of putting actual people into Fenspace. Is it a good idea?

Yes, we've mentioned a few actual rock (and other genre) performers as having toured Fenspace, but those were just one-off mentions; we didn't actually write them into stories. Those JAXA astronauts would have a bigger role than a few musicians - after all, the astronauts work in space. So it would be reasonable to give them supporting roles in our stories.

On the flip side, we aren't asking anyone's permission to use their names. Using elements of other people's works of fiction is one thing - that's a millennia-old storytelling tradition, after all - but using actual other people is something else entirely. (Although there are all those century-old stories about Congressman Davy Crockett...)

So, should we be mentioning real people in Fenspace, or giving them roles in our stories?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ^_^ ^_^
This is just too damn cool. ^_^

Are LPs really so "retro" that people don't know what they are? Especially considering that dance DJs still use them?

http://store.bandai-ent.com/product_p/669198208935.htm]Hare Hare Yukai on vinyl - the thread's subject line is taken from the product description.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

One I posted over on the SJGames forums in response to "What's this manuscript GURPS PSIS that Dr. Kromm mentioned?"

Quote:Would you believe it's a setting where diligent, hard-working psychics assist the police in solving crime? There's PSI, PSI: Miami, and PSI: NY, all lumped together under the title PSIs.

Okay, maybe not. But I'd buy that book.

"Do you know how utterly frustrating it is finding someone who falls into the category of both worth cloning and able to be cloned? Most of the Infamous are just...right out. They're robots, or magical spirits possessing meat puppets, or evil clouds, or sentient rocks. It's really quite depressing."
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

The Rear Guard, by http://www.oldmanluedecke.ca/

"My hands are on fire,
My hands are on fire"

Because sometimes you just need to cast Burning Hands, even if you aren't a first-level magic-user any more.

(The only question now is, would Doug willingly have banjo music in his collection?)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

...But did I ever post DSKS Chapter 3 here on the forums? Or is my alter-ego being evil again by making me think I actually did/didn't do things?
[size=x-small]*Grumbles* ...swear to God some days I feel like a schizo...

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showth ... id=2564759 (most likely NSFW)

In the same vein as Shadowjack's "[Where I Watch] Sailor Moon", a blow-by-blow playthrough of the 2003 PS2 remake of the first Sakura Wars game. Spirit Armor, the guy playing this game, goes above and beyond the call of duty, not only interjecting some awesome humor into the proceedings but also translating all the text in the game himself. The guy's been trucking along for the better part of two years and hasn't yet finished the game, but he's promised that he'll be doing the entire series (which could, uh, take a while).

WITNESS
...Ichiro Ogami evolve from an incompetent ticket-taker into a HOT-BLOODED emasculated incompetent ticket-taker!
...Kanna attempt to solve all her problems with precise applications of violence!
...Iris as she turns into elder being of terrifying power!
...Maria's brutally emasculate Ogami again, and again, and again, and again...
...the terror that is the mad scientist Kohran!
...Sakura stalk display overt amounts of affection towards her commander!
...Sumire... stay the same, really.

If you liked Shadowjack's posts, you'll like this. It's quite long, and occasionally pictures are missing from posts, but it's well worth the read.

You might want to either steer clear or look at http://www.hlj.com/product/aos09164]this. Ayep, that's a die-cast Nautilus from Nadia. So how's the shelfspace?