{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "Other odd objects found in my childhood room: The Starr Report, published as a special supplement by the Philadelphia Inquirer ...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/135960617983/", "html": "<p>Other odd objects found in my childhood room:</p><p>The Starr Report, <a href=\"/post/110156370938/\" target=\"_blank\">published as a special supplement</a> by the Philadelphia Inquirer<br/></p><p>4 guitar picks (I have <i>never</i> played guitar)</p><p>A 1.5\u201d diameter ball bearing</p><p>A VHS tape of Garbage\u2019s performance at Rockpalast (\u201998, I think, though it could be \u201996), obtained by sending a blank tape to someone from the trash-talk listserv.</p><p>CCG cards: <br/></p><ul><li>Magic, Legend of the Five Rings? Of course! </li><li>Battletech, Netrunner, Illuminati, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle(/Jyhad)? Yeah, I remember playing those.</li><li>Legend of the Burning Sands, 7th Sea, Deadlands, Rage, Spellfire, Wyvern, well, I\u2026 at least remembered those existed. Now that you remind me.</li><li>Star Wars CCG? Star Trek TNG? Well, I guess they were licensing everything they could get their\u2026 okay, yeah, Middle Earth too, that makes sense, and Harry Potter, and original Star Trek. Like I said, they were licensing everything they\u2013</li><li>The X-Files? I didn\u2019t remember that was a game. Or Dune. Babylon 5? I didn\u2019t remember that was a SHOW. <i>Like I said</i>, they were\u2013 Killer Instinct? REALLY?</li><li>On the Edge? What the fuck is this and how do I have at least 3 starter packs worth of it?<br/></li><li>Redemption, Wildstorms\u2026 Clive Barker\u2019s fucking Imajica? Are you shitting me? Everway? THAT\u2019S NOT EVEN A GAME.</li></ul><p>A collection of handsome, frame-ready prints of major bodies of the solar system, courtesy of The Planetary Society</p><p>A surprising amount of makeup<br/></p><p>A newspaper from 1997. Highlights:</p><ul><li>The debut of the B-2 Stealth Bomber (front page, above the fold)</li><li>Human interest article. JFK Jr. is\u2026 <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_Jr._plane_crash\" target=\"_blank\">a pilot</a>?</li><li>An account of a local murder trial involving newfangled \u201cDNA testing\u201d</li><li>Long article, starting on the front and continuing to half a page inside, in which the downward spiral of a former local fire chief\u2019s life into crime and despair is attributed, at extreme length, to his tragic affliction with the exotic \u201cbipolar disorder\u201d. (\u201cAlso known as manic-depressive illness, bipolar disorder takes its victims on an emotional tornado, raising them to godlike highs and dropping them into abysmal pits of depression.\u201d)</li><li>An absurdly long account of a zoning suit involving the construction of an unpermitted garage.</li></ul><p>3 pages worth of printed sheet music for the Cruel Angel\u2019s Thesis vocals. (I can read musical notation at a \u201cdrummer\u201d level - I theoretically understand why a half note and a half rest is different from a whole note, and that notes further up are higher, but how much, why <i>that</i> much, and what the hell the clefs and sharps and flats mean is a mystery. Also, I can\u2019t carry a tune in my natural register.)<br/></p>"}