Babs' interesting or amusing web links

Among the links in common with Barry's set is the one for LEGO, which is pretty neat. Years ago, some of my friends, some of them possibly even reading this now (and you know who you are) pooled their Lego sets together and filled a steamer trunk with them. They would play with their Lego at SF Cons and build some amazing and often heavily fanciful contraptions. It was a blast to have that much Lego to use, although I never really got to use it. I have no idea where that collection is now.

Romkey (romkey@Apocalypse.Org)
kjc (kjc@apocalypse.org)
zonker (zonker@apocalypse.org), who offers up a link to the USPS and their zipcode stuff.
Gub, (who is such a sweety.)
Mark Mason. Those of you Senior House folks might find this amusing. Here's a picture of Stev. Mark has other pictures. I realise this is like a traveler's slide show for some of you, but I actually know now or knew better some of those in Mark's pictures.
Mark, I like this. I thank kjc for this one, too. ROTFL.

Among the weirdest people I knew in those days was Don Hopkins. He used to be able to tie a Gummy Worm into a box knot. In someone else's mouth. No hands. (That would be cheating.) I haven't spoken with him in years, but he seems happy in his life now. I always remember him as one of the silliest people I've ever known. Don's got a bunch of opinions. I cannot *wait* until he digitizes the rock climbing story. Only Don. Sport Death.
Here's Strata's page. She's famous to me for the way she uses her voice, and her eloquence and articulateness, even often during some really trying times. I wish she still lived Back East, but it didn't agree with her.

By the way, in Strata's list of music in her cd player for April 3, she lists old MIT friends of ours, Jim Meuller & Sharon Horovitz of Southern Rail. As far as I know, they're still endlessly on tour.

The Talk.Bizarre Wasteful Archives. If you don't know, you don't need to know. TINC.

Look folks, I can't make these people up. This is all true, but odd.

Those of you who care, someone has put together the beginnings of a very nice webpage about the late, great singer-songwriter-guitarist (and big brother to Mike Ochs who founded the Michael Ochs Archives some of you have seen photographs credited to over the years) Phil Ochs (Dec. 19, 1940 El Paso, TX, to April 9, 1976 Far Rockaway, NYS). The first song of anyone's that I heard and retained as a small child was one of his earliest songs. Those of you with an interest in Ochs or in topical folk-protest music should lend some support to this person's effort. It looks good so far and he's asking for more contributions. I'm sure it interests more than a small circle of friends, even though the war is over. He never would say which troops he was over there entertaining.

Now, I happen to feel that this Tom Grant creature is an absolute, retarded *git*, and I don't blame Courtney, who remains very protective of her late husband, in trying to shut this twit out. His so-called investigation is so transparently wrong if you know anything about their lives before their marriage and during it, and especially if you're aware of Kurt's constant physical pain and various illnesses, as well as his probably lifelong fight with depression. If you've listened to what Kurt himself said about himself and about his life and his health in so many different places he's been quoted, including some of his references in his own lyrics, it becomes obvious that he was not happy, and that the thought of dying young wasn't at all a new one to him. I would not be the least bit surprised if the OD in Rome just after his birthday was just yet another suicide attempt in a long line of attempts.

Someone who gets so close to dying and suffers lingering health effects from the attempt is going to feel so much worse than what drove them there in the first place, that it makes sense that they would attempt it again, and perhaps using a more effective, more permanent method for a sure death. This is exactly what Kurt did. For anyone who knows anything serious about suicidal tendencies and suicides up close, this is obvious. Tom Grant is way out of his depth here.

As to Courtney, she had a whole life before she ever wrestled Kurt to the ground that first time. She had her own band and they weren't nobodies. For anyone, as the author of the above link asserts, to say that Courtney is making her career off the bones of her, well ashes of (let's get it right, folks: Kurt was cremated and his ashes are at home) her late husband is absurd. Sure, she had his undying emotional support, but she didn't just pop up into the music scene the day they started dating or the day they married. She's got too much experience under her belt for her to have sprung up like a mushroom in the music world because Kurt pissed his blessing on her. Come on, folks.