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Dirty History & Hobbies was established as a YouTube channel in the summer of 2023. From November 1979 to July 1993 tabletop roleplaying games were an important hobby to me. However, I made several long-distance moves throughout the 1990s, and did not keep up with RPGs. I continued to play tabletop strategic wargames until 1999, especially Star Fleet Battles. In 2000, I finally got around to attending university; between other time commitments and general dislike for the style of RPGs that had become popular during the 1990s, I drifted completely away from tabletop gaming. However, when the Old School Reference and Index Compilation (OSRIC) was released in 2006, I began to take an interest in RPGs again; although, at that time, it was just as a private return to working on my old campaign world again.
In the mid-2000s, there didn't seem to be a big interest in "old-school" gaming, at least not where I was located; and, I didn't pursue returning to active gaming. As had been true in the 1990s, I was not interested in the newer games that were being played. In 2023 several things happened that made me interested in a possible return to actively gaming; however, two of those things provided the actual impetus for making the effort. Firstly, the OGL debacle seemed to be pushing people into playing different games, including many with a much more "old school" vibe. Secondly, I discovered the game Mausritter, and realized that there were, in fact, newer style games being produced with an appreciation for the "old school" sensibilities. For me, gaming was never really about playing; it was always about producing original content. So, the biggest change I experienced, in 2023, was the rekindled desire to start producing content for tabletop roleplaying games again.
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Biography |
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Matthew A. O'Brien |
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Matt is originally from west-central Pennsylvania. He has lived throughout the United States, coast-to-coast and border-to-border; however, his archaeological practice has focused on the Eastern Woodlands. He spent two years at the type site for the Weeden Island (or Manasota) culture, performing archaeological investigations, developing public education programming, and (sadly) documenting and restoring looted areas. His master's research focused on the archaeology of postbellum African American history. Matt identifies as a diachronic anthropologist and public archaeologist; his archaeological interests include the historical processes of urbanization, the social uses of space in human settlement patterns, and highlighting the importance of the small (< ~5 ha), freeholding, agronomist-technologist, practicing local production, to the future of humanity.READ MORE |
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My MA Thesis |
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External Pages |
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An updated version of the archaeological work that I conducted as the basis for my senior honors thesis. This report was never published for public consumption, although the subjects were also part of my master's research. The neighborhood in which I conducted the original research as been replaced by rental units, although Perry Harvey, Sr. Park is still there. |
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A local history that I wrote, in the form and style of a nineteenth promotional pamphlet. It is a useful piece of environmental and economic history for the general vicinity of Marion County, Florida. |
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This article, from the St. Petersburg Times (June 2005), is a pretty faithful representation of the time I employed 10-13 year old summer day-campers to conduct archaeological work that was reported as part of a comprehensive study of Weedon Island's archaeology. |
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During my time at the Weedon Island Cultural and Natural History Center, my friend and colleague Rae Harper, who was the education coordinator for the West-Central office of the Florida Public Archaeology network, had students from the Seminole Tribe's Ahfachkee School out to work on restoring an archaeologically disturbed area. The area had been disturbed by borrowing soil for the made land project that was initiated when a mixed-fuels power plant was built at Weedon Island.PDF |