by Gloria Vanderbrick, Bricklyn Eagle People in the News correspondent
A Rogue Schoolers couple considering the day’s travel plans during their visit to the Realm of Alsbrique in France. Note: all photos in this post based on design and content input from W. Senville with assistance from Dall E-3 AI.
After last year’s integration of the Realm of Bricklyn into the French Republic (as part of France Outre-Mer) there has been a surge in Bricklynites traveling to the French Inland Realms. In part this has been the result of efforts by the non-profit Rogue Schoolers organization.
According to Hans Brickelmann, CEO of Rogue Schoolers, “we’re meeting the demand of Bricklynites from all walks of life to learn more about our new French friends.”
The new generation of Brick Air overseas jets. Photo courtesy of Brick Air.
Brickelmann also noted that “Rogue Schoolers has opened its trips to France to people of all ages, expanding on our traditional base of travelers over 50 years of age.”
Another important factor in the travel boom has been the roll out of Brick Air’s new high speed jet planes, which have cut travel time from Bricklyn to Strasbrick in half — from 30 hours to just under 15.
Thanks to assistance from the Bricklyn Office of Outland Affairs, Rogue Schoolers has informally paired several of its itineraries with those of the Outland “Road Scholars” organization.
Several Bricklynites walking between canal locks, led by their guide Sammy Brickner (wearing her everyday hat and neck wrap).
➤ As reporter of this story, I have to acknowledge my bafflement about the name “Road Scholars,” as participants in Road Scholars travel programs are rarely scholars of transportation, let alone of vehicular transportation. — G.V.
One of the recent Rogue Schooler programs involved a trip to the Alsbrique region of France. As a group of Road Scholars followed almost the identical itinerary, we encourage you to read the informative, yet engaging, trip reports by tour participant Wayne Senville that the Lake Champlain chapter of The Alliance Française has posted on its website. The name Senville should sound familiar to our Bricklyn readers as Mr. Senville also serves as the Vermont-based Outland Liaison to Bricklyn’s Office of Outland Affairs.
Vermont Bricklynites had several opportunities during their trip to meet up with new friends from the Realm of Alsbrique, France. In this initial meeting the Alsbriquians wore traditional attire, while the Bricklynites also wore their own traditional attire.
Bricklynites looking up at Alsbrique’s famous Petit Château Brickingsbourg.
We caught up with Mr. Senville yesterday, shortly after his daily afternoon siesta.
Senville told us he was able to meet up with the Bricklyn Rogue Schoolers group several times because of his status as Outland Liaison. But, as he explained, “because of Bricklyn privacy laws, I was not able to share knowledge of these rendezvous during my trip with anyone in our Road Scholars group. I hope others in our group understand that while I would have liked to have had them meet the Bricklynites, this was just not possible.”
However, as Senville noted, “now that the trip is over, I can share some of the photos I took of the Bricklyn Rogue Schoolers, led by their excellent guide, ‘Sammy’ Brickner.” We’ve inserted several of Senville’s AI-assisted photos into this post.
Fourteen Bricklyn Rogue Schoolers say farewell to the Mad Elaine and several of its crew. The Mad Elaine served as the Bricklynites’ “péniche-croisière” during most of their time in Alsbrique.
Bricklyn Alliance Française members celebrate the dedication of the organization’s completely renovated offices, classrooms, and cinema/theater.
We should also note the active role that both the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Bricklyn Chapter of the Alliance Française has played in strengthening links between the Realm of Bricklyn and several French realms, including the Realm of Alsbrique.
by Mark Tiler Richmond, Politics & Law Correspondentand Paul B. Macro, Business & Economics Reporter
Both sides of the data center moratorium debate have begun mobilizing for the Bricklyn Federal Council’s January 6, 2026 meeting to be held at the Bricklyn Longhouse — a venue used for meetings when a large crowd is expected.
Councilor Bob Senbrick. credit; Bricklyn Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with help from DallE-3 AI.
The data center moratorium resolution, introduced by long-time Federal Councilor Bob Senbrick, would block any applications for data centers for up to two years, during which time the Federal Council would assess whether current regulations are adequate to deal with likely data centers and their impacts. For the full text of the proposed moratorium resolution.
Colorful competing posters are visible on streets throughout the Tri-Partite Realm, having been hammered or stapled in place at a pace usually only seen when Federal Council elections take place. Here are two of the most prominently displayed posters. The first (immediately below) shows a “Mr. Data Center” speaking out against the moratorium resolution. The second highlights data centers as energy guzzlers.
Above poster distributed by the Coalition to Build a Better Bricklyn, a group just formed by the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce to advocate against the proposed moratorium.
The poster below is from the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance which is coordinating efforts by those supporting the data center moratorium resolution. ➤ READERS: Please see the Note from the Editor at the bottom of this page for important additional information about this poster.
To the Editor: My, oh my! Isn’t it too much that the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance, the very group leading the charge against data centers and artificial intelligence, has used a graphic that I’d bet was generated by AI! Admit the truth you tree-huggers, you also love to use AI. — Bartholomew Roberts Fortune, Bricklyn, VT.
To the Editor: On behalf of the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance (BEA), I want to apologize to our fellow Bricklynites about the error we made in not realizing that the illustration we used for our support the data center moratorium poster was generated by use of AI. The illustration was provided us by an excited new member of the BEA. He told us that he had drawn it, and we believed him as our AI proofreader (also a new member) failed to do the required AI check for the illustration.
We’re looking further into how all this occurred. But suffice it to say that this mistake further strengthens our concerns about the insidious nature of AI, when it is now becoming increasingly difficult to tell AI-generated art from art made by sentient people such us Bricklynites. — Jenny Brickdeur, Director of the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance (BEA), Bricklyn, VT.
➤ Note from the Editor:
posted Dec. 29, 2025 Let’s Check the Facts:
In light of the letter to the editor we received and published (see above) from “Bartholomew Roberts Fortune,” along with the reply letter from. Jenny Brickdeur, Executive Director of the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance,, we at The Bricklyn Eagle did some fact checking of our own and contacted both BMr. Fortune and Ms. Brickdeur. Here is what we discovered.
Bartholomew Roberts with his ship, The Fortune, and captured merchant ships in the background. A copper engraving from A History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson c. 1724. From Wikimedia..
Pirating a Name:
To begin with, when asked about his name, Mr. Fortune quickly acknowledged that his real name is Mason B. Blair, and that he used his “pirate” pseudonym in his letter to The Bricklyn Eagle, as well as on other occasions. The name is that of the early 18th century Bricklyn-born pirate, Bartholomew Roberts Fortune.
Seeing this apparent pseudonym being used, we should have questioned the identity of the individual sending us the letter to the editor.
Even more importantly, we should have recalled that a man using this pseudonym had been arrested two years for donut theft — a crime that cuts to the moral fibre of Bricklyn. The Bricklyn Eagle, in its Sept. 30, 2023 print edition briefly noted this arrest in our Police Blotter column (not available in the online Outland-oriented edition of The Bricklyn Eagle).
Mr. Mason B. Blair (aka Pirate Bartholomew Roberts Fortune). Photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 at Bricklyn Police HQ. Arrest for theft of police donuts, a Class A misdemeanor. Police photo prepared with assistance of GPT-4o AI.
Seeking to Trick the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance:
Further discussion with Mr. Blair revealed that just two weeks ago he joined the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance and volunteered to design a pro moratorium poster for BEA, citing his experience as a graphic artist — in fact, Blair has no experience as an illustrator or cartoonist.
Mr. Blair told us that he recruited a friend to also join and volunteer at BEA. This individual offered to help the organization detect the use of AI in text and image. Blair’s friend falsely vouched that Mr. Blair was the creator of pro moratorium (“Eat More Energy”) poster, which BEA subsequently distributed throughout the Realm of Bricklyn.
Payoff for Tricking the BEA into Using the AI Generated Poster:
But most damning of all, Blair told us the scheme was the brainchild of someone from the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce. Blair and his friend were each to be paid 1,000 CuDos (roughly $750 U.S.) as soon as the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance made use of Blair’s AI-generated “Eat More Energy” data center poster. Mr. Blair also knew from his informant that the Chamber would then mock the fact that the BEA was using an AI-generated poster, potentially damaging the credibility of the BEA in advance of the Federal Council’s January 6th meeting.
Tom Brickorti, CEO of the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce. Photo from Bricklyn Eagle archives.
Jenny Brickdeur, Director of the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance. credit: Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance of GPT-4o AI.
The Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce & the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance Respond:
We asked Tom Brickorti, CEO of the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce, to respond to what we learned. Brickorti told us he was “shocked” and could “in no way condone what happened,” adding that “the Chamber will also investigate this bizarre and misguided scheme. What’s we will issue a full apology to Ms. Brickdeur and members of the BEA.”
Ms. Brickdeur told us that she will discuss the matter with the BEA Board of Directors to determine what, if any, further steps the BEA will take.
In the meantime, given the newsworthiness of the above incident, we are leaving posted the images of the two data center related posters, but with an alert to our readers to be sure to view this Note from the Editor.
To the Editor: Thank you for revealing who was behind this sorry whodunit. I should also acknowledge that I’m a small business owner (of Bonnie’s Fudges downtown) who recently joined the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance because of my concerns about AI. But I do have a question for Editor Brickman. Do you vouch that you wrote the Note from the Editor you just published without any use of ChatGPT or other AI? — Bonnie Plater Berensen, Bricklyn Jct., VT.
Reply from the Editor: None of the text in the Note from the Editor was generated by AI. But we did use AI for help in generating our photo illustrations. We’ve explained our use of AI at greater length on our page: “On the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence by The Bricklyn Eagle.”
Councilor Senbrick. credit: Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance of GPT-4.o.
Council President Hilma Plater-Zybrick (center) and members of the Federal Council of the Realm of Bricklyn. credit: Eagle staff photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance of Dall E-3 AI.
The Council unanimously adopted Federal Council President Hilma Plater-Zybrick’s motion to schedule a public hearing on Senbrick’s resolution for Tuesday, January 6, 2026 and request comments from the Chief Prognosticator of the Realm no later than Friday, January 2, 2026.
As Plater-Zybrick noted: “This is clearly a controversial issue facing our Realm. In light of its significant potential impacts, and in accordance with our Constitution’s provision that the Federal Council may request the advice of the Chief Prognosticator of the Realm on any matter the Council deems to have a ‘high likelihood of significantly affecting the future of the Realm of Bricklyn,’ we have requested the Chief Prognosticator provide his written advice on Resolution 25-73 no later than Friday, January 2, 2026.
“Any advice offered by the Chief Prognosticator shall also be made publicly available.”
The Office of the Chief Prognosticator declined to respond to The Bricklyn Eagle’s request to speak with Chief Prognosticator David Bricks.
To the Editor: Not sure why the Council is asking Chief Prognosticator David Bricks for advice. At this point in the process let’s hear what the public has to say. Open discussion shouldn’t be short-circuited by calling for the Chief Prognosticator to weigh in now, no matter how far-seeing the Chief Prognosticator and his staff are thought to be. — Andrea Plater Applebaum, Bricklyn, VT.
To the Editor: I applaud Councilor Senbrick for his thoughtful approach in calling for a two-year moratorium. There’s no need for us to jump into approving massive data centers just because other places are. Let’s do a careful review and then decide the best path to take. — Phillip Tiler Pierson, South Bricklyn, VT.
