The German horror magazine Vampir, which had a heavy focus on movies, launched with issue #1 in October 1972 with a price of 2.5 Deutsche Mark. Here are 10 of its wonderful covers that I found while websurfing recently. They feature Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, The Exorcist, Vincent Price and, perhaps improbably, the Star Trek gang.
"One of the weirdest things about modern urbanism is that we build the opposite of what we like. We adore Europe’s narrow streets, but build skyscraper-lined cities with six-lane roads and sterile shopping malls, that are impossible to walk. Right now, I’m living in a suburb of Austin, Texas. I don’t have a car so I’m entirely dependent on delivery workers and my roommates (who have cars) if I want to go anywhere. Tires, not feet, are the engines of practical reality which makes you feel powerless as a meager human. American society is entirely oriented around the car. I saw this when I registered to vote last week. To prove identity, the form asked for my driver’s license, not my passport. That’s not necessarily a problem, but it reveals how we serve cars instead of making them serve us. I'm increasingly convinced that avoiding scale is a recipe for happiness. Keep a small group of close friends, work with a small team of people, and avoid big companies (yes, there is nuance here). Economically, the notion is absurd. Emotionally, it increasingly feels true."
"The longest resident practice in Commerce was by Dr. Louis W. Seyler, who opened his hospital at 1606 Bonham Street in 1948 and, for over 40 years 'raised almost every kid in the post-war generation.' Whether you got a shot, had a cut finger sutured, a nasty cough, bad cold, etc., his fee was $5.00."Dr. Seyler spent many hours reading medical journals. He would often call a patient he had seen weeks before. 'I found a new medication. Go to “Abie” Cranford’s (pharmacy) and pick it up.' Doctoring was an art, a science and an obligation."
The last one of these was a behemoth entry that took me half a day to assemble, so here's a more modest post to stay on track with sharing all the groovy and insightful comments from Papergreat readers. (Also, ICYMI, we had a bonus "From the readers" post discussing Genesis (the band), jukeboxes and the Philadelphia Flyers.)
Spent a very pleasant evening with Mr. Houghton and other guests. The day has been an exceptionally pleasant one, the only disagreeable thing that happened was my getting caught in the shower while crossing the river in the ferry boat. I was wet as far as it could make it.
