Presidential

In support of the Gardening Grandmas

We look forward to working with you all!

Folks, if you said that we would still be alive eight years ago, we might not have believed you. After all, every day is a blessing at our age. But we are still kicking, and today marks Grumpy’s eighth anniversary. Some of you old farts probably heard the story of how Grumpy was founded. But the youngins might not know it, so listen up: Eight years ago today, an old geezer named Sweeeeet Ronny D thought to himself, “Oh man, taxes are the worst. Why am I paying taxes to go to nations that will just end up quitting in a few months when I know best how to spend my own money?” And with that, Grumpy Old Bastards came into existence. Over the past eight years, we have kicked everyone's butts and had our butts kicked. Grumpy would not be what it is today without the support of many alliances over the past eight years. Thank you to our former allies: Hogwarts, The Commonwealth, Error 404, Children of the Light, The Golden Horde, Oblivion, Guardian, The Knights Templar, Name Withheld, Black Knights, Mayhem, and The Immortals. Thank you to our current allies, The Knights Radiant and The Sword Coast, for your support. Also, I want to thank the many alliances that we’ve fought over the years because you guys have kept this game fun. Most importantly, Grumpy would not exist without all of the wonderful members that we've had over the past eight years. Thank you to our founding Grumpy members: Aenir, Korben, Goldie, and Ajax for taking a leap of faith with SRD. Thank you to our longstanding members: Sammy, Belisarius, Felandos, Senatorius, Inconnu, Tamer, Trevor, Boysun, Malinok, Sephiroth, AkAk, Rosen, Alex, Lightside, Brumle, Hillbilly, Boxcar Jim, M3, Eragon, Dark Lord, Alrea, Big Boy Tony, Levei, Forethought, Whiskerz, Vasir, and Wolfy for all of your contributions over the years. Thank you to rapmanej, Kieran, and Henrik for your contributions over the past year as new members. Thank you to all of our former members: Warhawk, Master, Don Juan, Jim Beam, Printer, Blackass, Seb, Hodor, El, Blink, Vice, Verlion, Shadows, Alexio, Evulfuson, Hamiltenor, and Namukara. I am especially grateful to Fi for his help over the two years. I am also thankful for SRD, who I’ve very much enjoyed playing this dumb nation sim with and who assembled this wonderful alliance that I am proud to lead. Here is to the next eight years!

Total Eclipse of the Heart Last month, Eclipse celebrated its fourth birthday, but they seem to have forgotten the fireworks! As we're all about having a good time, we at The House have decided to rectify this oversight and throw you the least surprising surprise party ever! Seemingly you all want to swing by our tables and test your luck, so we decided to bring them right to you - with a little flare. Hope you kept those eclipse glasses...this is sure to be a bright affair! The House Declares War on Eclipse and their buddies. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (Turn Around) (Official Video)

The House Always Wins Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and high rollers of all ages, gather around for a short tale of ambition, dodgeball, and, inevitably, the unforgiving laws of probability. Picture this: the cream of the crop in Orbis dodgeball–Average Joe’s, Yetis, and Clown Punchers–all reunited in the glitzy, neon-soaked streets of Las Vegas for the ODOO annual championship tournament. Spirits were high, adrenaline was pumping, and the $50,000 grand prize was in our sights. What could possibly go wrong? The tournament was fierce as millions of spectators from across Orbis watched us all dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge like never before. Fresh off the dodgeball courts, we wound our way through the Strip, all feeling like winners after our incredible performances when the odds were stacked against us. But in a twist that would make even the most stoic poker face crack a smile, we lost it all. Every. Single. Dollar. Lost, in the tantalizing, treacherous temple of chance known as the Casino de Monte-Carlo, run by The Sword Coast and Fortune Teller Solomon Ben-David, who can count cards all day long. As the sun rose over the skies of Sin City, one single, undeniable truth became painfully clear: The House Always Wins. Penniless, pride bruised, and with nothing left but the shirts on our backs, we realized we had but one course of action: disband ODOO and embrace the calling of The House. In The House, the stakes are high, the players are strong, and the winnings? Well, let's just say we're feeling lucky. With a roll of the dice, a spin of the wheel, and a shuffle of the decks, The House awaits your wager. Just don’t bet more than you can afford to lose. After all… The House Always Wins ------- The Orbitite Dodgeball Organization of Orbis is hereby disbanded. The Bellagio, The Casino de Monte-Carlo, The Luxor, and The Venetian are joining forces to form The House. Suits Each signatory acknowledges the sovereignty of each other signatory and agrees not to interfere in the other signatories’ internal affairs, aiming to resolve any dispute internally and in a timely fashion. No signatory shall endorse military, espionage, or political action against another signatory. All in Each signatory shall coordinate with and defend every other signatory against all harm, military or otherwise. This obligation shall be considered optional in the event that a signatory is either attacked or executes an attack as a result of their obligations toward a non-signatory. Counting cards Each signatory agrees to share all relevant information regarding the sovereignty, political and economic interests, and general well-being of other signatories. Cashing out Each signatory has the right to cancel their participation in The House at any time, but must first provide the other signatories with a 72-hour notice of such decision. Signatories agree to be bound by all terms of the treaty during the notice period, but shall no longer be bound by them after the notice period ends. TL;DR: ODOO is disbanded. TKR, Grumpy, TI, and TSC have formed a new bloc called The House. Signatures:

Happy retirement to my dear friend and fellow lawyer,@Canbec! I can't wait to see what you, Adrienne, and Benfro do leading TKR (again)!

Welcome to the twenty-first century!

I couldn't get SRD to join the coalition server this summer. I would be lucky to get him to work on a target sheet.

This is the first time that I have read one of your walls of text FYI.

How could you forget about Oblivion like that?

The boys are back! Dropkick Murphys "The Boys Are Back" (Official Music Video) - YouTube

I call dibs on your offshore.

Folks, if you said that we would still be alive seven years ago, we might not have believed you. But we are still around, and today marks Grumpy’s seven-year anniversary. Seven years ago, an old geezer named Sweeeeet Ronny D thought to himself, “Oh man, taxes are the worst. Why am I paying taxes to go to nations that will just end up quitting in a few months when I know best how to spend my own money?” And with that, Grumpy Old Bastards came into existence. Over the past seven years, we have had a lot of fun kicking everyone’s butts, and having our own butts kicked. Thank you to our former allies: Hogwarts, The Commonwealth, Error 404, Children of the Light, The Golden Horde, The Immortals, Oblivion, and Guardian for their support and helping us become what we are today. Thank you to our current allies: Knights Templar, The Knights Radiant, Bourbon Street, Name Withheld, Black Knights, and Mayhem for taking us in this past summer. Also, I want to thank the many alliances that we’ve fought over the years because you guys have kept this game fun. Thank you to our founding Grumpy members: Aenir, Hammy, Korben, Goldie, and Ajax who all took a leap of faith with SRD. Thank you to our longstanding members: Sammy, Belisarius, Felandos, Senatorius, Inconnu, Tamer, Boysun, Malinok, Sephiroth, AkAk, Rosen, Alex, Lightside, Brumle, Hillbilly, Evulfuson, Boxcar Jim, M3, Eragon, Dark Lord, Shadows, Namukara, Alrea, Big Boy Tony, Levei, Forethought, Ketya, Whiskerz, Vasir, and Wolfy for all of your contributions. Thank you to all of our former members: Warhawk, Master, Zig, Don Juan, Jim Beam, Printer, Blackass, Seb, Hodor, El, Verlion; Blink, and Vice who are either in other alliances or have left the game. I am especially grateful to Fi for his contributions over the past eight months. I am also thankful for SRD, who I’ve very much enjoyed playing these dumb nation sims with and who assembled this wonderful alliance that I am proud to lead. Here is to the next seven years!

Congratulations on a very successful first year.

I am going to have to reject you because you failed to follow the application instructions.