I Miss Grognardia

Simlasa · December 27, 2014, 06:52:09 PM

Quote from: The_Shadow;806344He had some good content, but his style of turning a phrase was pure Poindexter. Bet he's got a nasal voice and a nervous habit of clicking the button on his pen when he speaks.

That's how John Wick strikes me.
I see Mr. M more as the old guy who holds court at the coffeehouse... a loveable blowhard who sometimes actually knows what he's talking about and is still connected enough to be relevant.

Matt · December 27, 2014, 08:00:36 PM

Quote from: The_Shadow;806344He had some good content, but his style of turning a phrase was pure Poindexter. Bet he's got a nasal voice and a nervous habit of clicking the button on his pen when he speaks.

Well, I did find the constant use of "mind you" and "the hobby" a bit annoying, but mainly it felt like he was trying to be academic rather than conversational in his posts and sometimes it came off to me as pedantic.

Zak S · December 27, 2014, 11:38:33 PM

James is not some stereotype--he's just a shy dad.

Shawn Driscoll · December 28, 2014, 12:29:47 AM

I'm not an OSR person at all. But I did subscribe to his blog because we both played the same old games.

Just Another Snake Cult · December 28, 2014, 02:01:17 AM

One of my parents recently fell gravely ill, and I can only imagine how much more stressful this already nerve-wracking and life-disrupting situation would be if I had a BIG PROJECT due and hordes of internet gerbilheads and glue-eaters calling me a "Thief", "Lazy", "Con-artist", etc. -so I've developed a lot of sympathy for him lately.

And he was a good writer- I used his Edgar Rice Burroughs stat-ups for my Labyrinth Lord game, and his book reviews introduced me to some great stuff.

talysman · December 28, 2014, 02:13:18 AM

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;806395One of my parents recently fell gravely ill, and I can only imagine how much more stressful this already nerve-wracking and life-disrupting situation would be if I had a BIG PROJECT due and hordes of internet gerbilheads and glue-eaters calling me a "Thief", "Lazy", "Con-artist", etc. -so I've developed a lot of sympathy for him lately.

Same here. When I had a death in the family, he sent me a pivate message with words of support. And that was AFTER Grognardia went dark.

He's a way better human being than some of his detractors.

Justin Alexander · December 28, 2014, 03:46:09 AM

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;806395One of my parents recently fell gravely ill, and I can only imagine how much more stressful this already nerve-wracking and life-disrupting situation would be if I had a BIG PROJECT due and hordes of internet gerbilheads and glue-eaters calling me a "Thief", "Lazy", "Con-artist", etc. -so I've developed a lot of sympathy for him lately.

My mother got sick and died while I was trying to get the crowd-funded Legends & Labyrinths produced despite my original artists flaking and (later) my printing company going out of business. It's... not fun.

For those missing Maliszewski's game-related blog output, you should know that he's an active contribute for the games column at Black Gate magazine.

It is, unfortunately, more reminiscent of the Grognardia during its latter days (when it became increasingly about navel gazing at oddities of the '70s and early '80s) instead of Grognardia in its prime (when it was about exploring the paths abandoned at the dawn of the industry).

Arkansan · December 28, 2014, 04:00:53 AM

I really enjoyed reading through the older stuff on his blog, less so the later period when it seemed to be mostly reviews. I don't really give a shit about the whole Dwimmermount thing, I would read his work again if it were like the earlier Grognardia stuff.

Tetsubo · December 28, 2014, 11:23:19 AM

I really enjoyed Grognardia and I *loath* OSR games. I do miss it.

Matt · December 28, 2014, 05:05:46 PM

Those columns on Black Gate seem to be mostly rewrites of stuff he posted on Grognardia. How 'bout that.

TristramEvans · December 28, 2014, 05:14:15 PM

Quote from: Tetsubo;806442I really enjoyed Grognardia and I *loath* OSR games. I do miss it.

Well, if you're like me and enjoying the blog had zero to do with actually wanting 99% of the products being discussed, then I highly recommend checking out "Realm of Chaos 80s" blog. Its Grognardia for Warhammer.

Bren · December 29, 2014, 08:57:46 AM

So based on the responses, it was only me who read the title and thought

Miss Grognardia

was the winner of an OSR beauty contest.

Matt · December 29, 2014, 10:41:07 AM

Quote from: Bren;806697So based on the responses, it was only me who read the title and thought

Miss Grognardia

was the winner of an OSR beauty contest.

I'd hate to see the losers.

Akrasia · December 29, 2014, 03:49:13 PM

I'm surprised by how little I miss Grognardia.

I used to check it out regularly 2009-2011, but the quality of the posts declined, and my interest waned.

Even so, I was always impressed at JM's ability to pump out long posts almost daily.

Ratman_tf · December 29, 2014, 04:29:26 PM

Quote from: Justin Alexander;806402It is, unfortunately, more reminiscent of the Grognardia during its latter days (when it became increasingly about navel gazing at oddities of the '70s and early '80s) instead of Grognardia in its prime (when it was about exploring the paths abandoned at the dawn of the industry).

I think there was only so much material to mine on that topic.

I Miss Grognardia

TristramEvans