Closet posters

Tying together a couple of recent posts (My bumper stickers & Photos of Sutton, West Virginia, and the Flatwoods Monster Museum), pictured above is a colorful poster by SpaceMonsterKid of the Flatwoods Monster that's hanging in my bedroom closet. Because of all the bookshelves and other furniture, I don't have a lot of wall space in the bedroom itself, so this is helping to keep the closet interior from being too drab.

It's not the only poster in the closet. I also have reprints of psychedelic 1960s concert posters by Bonnie MacLean (below, left) and Clifford Charles Seeley (below, right). They remind me of my hazy recollections of posters that Mom had in her Rose Valley bedroom around the time of being a high school or, more likely, college student. I was put in that bedroom to sleep as a toddler in the early 1970s. I wish I could remember the exact one she had on her bedroom closet door, but there's no chance of that. These come closest to that vibe. And they're also utterly fantastic.

The optimism of 45 years ago: "Doomsday Has Been Cancelled"

• Title: Doomsday Has Been Cancelled
• Author: J. Peter Vajk (1942-present)
• Cover artist: Don Davis (1952-present). The painting is described as "the Earth viewed from geosynchronous orbit in about 2025 A.D. The enormous Solar Power Satellites in the foreground beam clean, inexpensive energy to all parts of the planet, lighting up cities and industries throughout the formerly underdeveloped countries. Skilled hard hat workers in the foreground carry out routine maintenance work."
• Book design: Robert P.J. Cooney
• Publication date: 1978
• Publisher: Peace Press of Culver City, California. It operated from 1967 to 1987. Former worker Irene Holt writes about its history here.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 238
• Price: $7.95
• Dedication: "To Helen, my companion on the journey through the now into the future, for our children who will play in the worlds we build."
• Foreword: This is an except of what's written by NASA astronaut Russell L. Schweickart (1935-present): "The choice, then, is to open the future to new and exciting possibilities for human development or to reject the cosmic invitation and suffer the increasing agonies of the zero-sum game. As Peter Vajk argues so well in this book, the quality of our thoughts and actions in choosing and creating our future will determine the course of evolution, as life begins to emerge from the comfortable environment of earth into the uncertain but beckoning environment of the universe."
• Excerpt from preface: "During the 1960s and the 1970s, it has been very fashionable among intellectual circles to proclaim the imminent end of civilization as we know it. A variety of popular books bearing such ominous titles as Silent Spring, The Population Bomb, The Limits to Growth, Famine 1975, and The Coming Dark Age have portrayed a dismal future of dwindling energy and mineral resources, ever-widening starvation, accelerating environmental degradation , and more stringent social controls, while rivalries between nations become more strident, with more and more countries armed with nuclear weapons. Such scenarios make great headlines, but little fanfare greets the good news which can also be found in abundance, if we listen to softer voices and read deeper than the headlines."
• Curated excerpt #1: "Insofar as material resources alone are concerned, the survival of industrialized civilization on Earth can be assured for a population as large as ten or twenty billion people, at a standard of living comparable to the United States and Canada today for at least several million years, provided alternative, environmentally sound, sources of energy have been implemented."
• Curated excerpt #2: "Solar Power Satellites, based on microwave transmission, would be enormous structures, perhaps five kilometers in width and twenty kilometers in length (somewhat larger than Manhattan Island). Because of the advantages of the space environment, however, such a satellite would be no more massive than a supertanker, about 100,000 metric tons."
• Curated excerpt #3: "This same denial of original sin, the denial of the capacity in all of us to do evil, leads  inexorably to the conviction in the political arena that all of the evils of the world result from the actions and conspiracies of a handful of villains in the system. If only we could identify the particular people who are so corrupt and get them out of office or in jail, everything will be fine, since you and I, or course, are moral and decent and can be counted on to do what is right and good."
• Curated excerpt #4: "A major breakthrough in artificial intelligence, considered likely in the next few decades by many of the leading workers in the field, would likewise expand our philosophy, and deepen our understanding of such difficult concepts as consciousness, intelligence, language, and perhaps personality. If a device can be built and programmed in such a way that it begins to learn from its environment, generating and testing new hypotheses about the world around it, our notions of consciousness and intelligence would surely undergo a Copernican revolution. In the wake of artificial intelligence, we would soon have intelligent robots, stimulating further overhaul of economic theory."

A conversation with ChatGPT about this book

Chris: Briefly summarize the 1978 book "Doomsday Has Been Cancelled" by J. Peter Vajk.

ChatGPT: "Doomsday Has Been Cancelled" by J. Peter Vajk is a book that examines the potential for global catastrophes, such as nuclear war, overpopulation, and environmental degradation, and argues that the world has the capability to prevent these disasters from occurring. The author contends that with proper planning and cooperation, humanity can overcome the challenges that threaten its survival and create a sustainable future. The book is a call to action for individuals, governments, and organizations to work together to prevent global catastrophes and build a better world for future generations.

Chris: Upon reflection, is the book too optimistic about the myriad challenges facing civilization?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I cannot form opinions or beliefs about anything, but I can provide some analysis on the topic.

"Doomsday Has Been Cancelled" presents an optimistic view that humanity has the capability to prevent global catastrophes and create a sustainable future through cooperation and proper planning. While it is true that many advancements and achievements have been made in areas such as technology, healthcare, and social progress, there are still many challenges facing civilization that require urgent attention. For example, climate change, political instability, inequality, and pandemics are all pressing issues that require immediate action.

Therefore, while the book's message of hope and possibility is inspiring, it is important to remember that achieving a sustainable future requires ongoing effort and collective action, and that there are no easy solutions to the complex problems facing the world today.

Chris: The author states that Solar Power Satellites are a potential solution for all of Earth's energy needs. Is that realistic?

ChatGPT: The concept of Solar Power Satellites (SPS) as a potential solution for all of Earth's energy needs is an interesting idea, but it is important to consider the feasibility and practicality of such a concept.

SPS involves placing solar panels in space, where they can receive unobstructed sunlight and convert it into electricity. This electricity would then be transmitted to Earth via microwave or laser beams and converted back into usable energy.

While the idea of harnessing solar power from space has been around for decades and there have been some successful demonstrations of the technology, there are still significant technical and economic challenges that need to be addressed before SPS can become a practical solution for all of Earth's energy needs.

For example, the cost of launching the necessary equipment into space is extremely high, and there are also concerns about the safety of transmitting large amounts of energy back to Earth and the potential impact on the environment. Additionally, there are still technical challenges associated with the development of the technology required for SPS, including the design and manufacture of high-efficiency solar panels, as well as the development of the necessary power transmission and conversion technologies.

In conclusion, while Solar Power Satellites have the potential to be a part of the solution for Earth's energy needs, it is important to approach the concept with caution and acknowledge the significant challenges that need to be overcome before it can become a practical solution.

Chris: Could artificial intelligence speed up the process of making Solar Power Satellites feasible?

Chat GPT: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to speed up the process of making Solar Power Satellites (SPS) feasible by aiding in the design, development, and optimization of the technology required for SPS.

For example, AI can be used to analyze and model the performance of solar panels and help identify more efficient and cost-effective designs. It can also be used to simulate and optimize the performance of SPS systems, taking into account a range of factors such as orbit selection, transmission methods, and power conversion.

Furthermore, AI can be used to analyze and predict solar irradiance, which is critical for the optimal operation of solar panels and SPS systems. This can be achieved through machine learning algorithms that can analyze historical data and predict future solar irradiance with a high degree of accuracy.

Additionally, AI can be used to optimize the placement of SPS in space and predict the effects of space weather on their performance. By using AI to improve the efficiency and performance of SPS, it may be possible to reduce the costs and increase the feasibility of this technology.

In conclusion, while there are still significant technical and economic challenges associated with the development of Solar Power Satellites, AI has the potential to accelerate the process by aiding in the design, development, and optimization of the technology required for SPS.

Chris: Is this sentence reasonable or too optimistic? "Insofar as material resources alone are concerned, the survival of industrialized civilization on Earth can be assured for a population as large as ten or twenty billion people, at a standard of living comparable to the United States and Canada today for at least several million years, provided alternative, environmentally sound, sources of energy have been implemented."

ChatGPT: The sentence ... is too optimistic.

While it is true that there are abundant material resources available on Earth, there are still significant challenges associated with providing a high standard of living for such a large population over several million years. Additionally, the implementation of alternative, environmentally sound sources of energy is a complex and challenging task that requires significant investment and cooperation among governments and industries.

Moreover, even with the implementation of alternative energy sources, there are still challenges associated with resource depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change that could affect the long-term sustainability of industrialized civilization on Earth.

Therefore, while it is important to strive towards a sustainable future and to utilize our material resources in a responsible and efficient manner, it is also important to acknowledge the challenges and limitations associated with achieving a high standard of living for a large population over an extended period of time.

Chris: Were the scientists in the 1960s and the 1970s who warned about the imminent end of civilization correct to be alarmed? Have we failed to heed their warnings?

ChatGPT: In the 1960s and 1970s, a number of scientists warned about the potential end of civilization due to a range of factors, including overpopulation, resource depletion, and environmental degradation. While some of their specific predictions did not come to pass, it is clear that many of the underlying issues they identified are still major challenges facing humanity today.

For example, climate change, which was not as well understood in the 1960s and 1970s, has now emerged as a major global threat with potentially catastrophic consequences. Additionally, issues such as deforestation, air and water pollution, and the depletion of natural resources continue to be major challenges facing humanity.

While there have been some efforts to address these challenges, such as the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement and the promotion of sustainable development practices, many experts argue that these efforts have not been sufficient to adequately address the scale and urgency of the challenges we face.

Therefore, while some of the specific predictions made by scientists in the 1960s and 1970s may not have come to pass, it is clear that many of the underlying issues they identified remain significant challenges facing humanity today. It is important that we continue to heed their warnings and take decisive action to address these challenges if we are to build a sustainable and prosperous future for ourselves and future generations.

Photos of Sutton, West Virginia, and the Flatwoods Monster Museum

In late-August 2020, Ashar and I got out of the house for essentially the first time since the start of the pandemic and traveled to a state park in West Virginia to visit my dad and stepmom, who similarly needed a chance to fend off coronavirus cabin fever (by traveling to an actual cabin in the peaceful woods). 

On the way back home to Pennsylvania after the visit, Ashar and I passed a sign for the Flatwoods Monster Museum, and we immediately knew that we had to leave the highway and see where this very rural West Virginia exit took us. 

The answer was Sutton, a town of fewer than 1,000 people in Braxton County.

And it is indeed home to a monster museum. The Flatwoods Monster doesn't have the same level of notoriety as Mothman in United States urban legends, but it's pretty interesting. The Braxton County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, which would very much like your tourism dollars, describes what a group of teenagers purportedly saw on a night in 1952:

"Upon reaching the site of the crash, the group saw a pulsing red light. Lemon shined his flashlight up the hill, and the group witnessed a terrifying sight — a ten-foot-tall creature, with a head shaped like a spade and what appeared to be a dark, metal 'dress'. The creature’s hands were twisted and clawed, and what seemed to be its eyes glowed an eerie orange color. It appeared to levitate off the ground. A strange, sickening mist hung in the air. The creature hissed and glided quickly toward the witnesses, the group then turned and fled in terror."

Here are some pictures I took at the museum...

The sign says, "Absolutely no Seances."

Sutton itself, which sits on a hillside, was just as interesting as the museum. I wish we'd had more time to explore, but we still had many hours of driving to get back to Dover. These are some of my snapshots of the struggling Appalachian town (I played around with filters on a couple of them.)

Past photography posts

• Sonoran Desert snapshots
• Ephemeral artwork seen on a late-night stroll through Brooklyn
• Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia
• Oak Hill Cemetery in Vermont and Phoenix Cemetery Tioga County, Pennsylvania
• American Autumn (a 2014 photo essay)
• American Autumn 2020
• 2015 York Fair: My favorite photos
• Psychogeography, snickelways of Miami, Arizona: August 2021
• Alpine Road Cemetery (Bender Burial Ground) in York County, Pennsylvania
• Snapshots from a foggy morning at Prospect Hill Cemetery
• Return to Prospect Hill Cemetery
• Mount Zion Lutheran Church cemetery
• Manipulated photos of a graveyard at dusk
• Dilapidated structures of Southern Jersey
• The abandoned Great Barrington Fairgrounds (Massachusetts)
• Creepy & dilapidated structures of the eastern United States, Part 1
• Creepy & dilapidated structures of the eastern United States, Part 2
• Old house in Coudersport, Pennsylvania
• Artsy-fartsy photos from a night on the town with real artists
• Instagram snapshots of Ruins Park in Glen Rock, Pa.
• Atomic Warehouse photo gallery
• Timeline Arcade photo gallery

My bumper stickers

I was never much of a bumper sticker guy until the past few years. I'm not sure what my aversion to decorating the car's rump was. Perhaps I didn't want strangers knowing anything about me. Perhaps I found the endless stickers featuring sports teams, stick figures, colleges, presidential candidates and that kid from "Calvin and Hobbes" peeing to be clichéd. (Of course, Scatological Calvin is incredibly mild compared to the today's tsunami of bumper stickers featuring vulgar and/or hateful phrases you wouldn't want to repeat in front of your kid, your grandmother or you cat.)

But I think the combination of the pandemic, turning 50 and seeing how important public visibility is for vulnerable and marginalized groups unlocked a higher level of What Do You Care What Other People Think? within me. So I began adding stickers to the bumper of my blue Honda Civic.

Unsurprisingly, most of these are directly tied to things I've written about on Papergreat. My passions here are my passions in the physical world.

Pictured above are most of my current bumper stickers. I think this is good for posterity, too, because these are pieces of ephemera that will not last. They can't be put into an envelope for safekeeping. In the unlikely event that they survive many years of Arizona sun and weathering, I'll have to part with them when I eventually get another car. 

Featured bumper sticker themes, as you can see, include the long-gone Brigantine Castle in New Jersey; WNEP-TV's Hatchy Milatchy; the outstanding podcast Fairy Tale Fix; the artist SpaceMonsterKid; Star Trek and now-defunct WKBS-48; and an illustration by Philadelphia artist Hannah Carnes, who goes by iamfartist on Instagram.

I discovered SpaceMonsterKid in August 2020 when Ashar and I took a side trip to Sutton, West Virginia, and the Flatwoods Monster Museum. I was surprised to discover that I've never mentioned that on the blog. I'll rectify that this weekend, because I got some interesting photos during our short time there.

Hans Holzer & hot pink: "The Psychic World of Bishop Pike"

I've been on another Hans Holzer kick lately, mostly due to childhood nostalgia and the urgent necessity for some escapism, but also partly to uncover some of his really obscure 1970s stuff, including some books that aren't about spooks and spirits. (Stuff like The Vegetarian Way of Life, which I wrote about in 2020.) Here's a paranormal one by Holzer that doesn't get as much mention as his ghost books, perhaps for good reason.

• Title: The Psychic World of Bishop Pike
• Cover subtitle: His startling new message from the Other Side
• Author: Hans Holzer (1920-2009)
• Publication date: December 1971
• Publisher: Pyramid Communications, under the Pyramid Books brand. (The book was first published in 1970 by Crown Publishers.)
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 223
• Cover price: $1.25 
• Back cover excerpt: "The name of Bishop James Pike also needs no introduction. Bishop Pike's communication with his dead son, his famous séance on television, his conversion from a psychic skeptic to a believer, his expanding revelations, and his strange and mysterious death in the desert, all made world headlines. ... Here told for the first time is the whole amazing, authentic, and vitally important story.
• About Pike: Wikipedia describes James Albert Pike (1913-1969) as "an American Episcopal bishop, accused heretic, iconoclast, prolific writer, and one of the first mainline, charismatic religious figures to appear regularly on television. ... He was an early proponent of ordination of women and racial desegregation within mainline churches. The chain smoking Pike was the fifth Bishop of California and, a few years before he began to explore spiritualism and psychic phenomena in an effort to contact his deceased son, became a recovering alcoholic."
• Was his death "strange and mysterious"? Strange, yes. Mysterious, not really. Wikipedia does a good job of detailing the sad story. Pike got lost in the Israeli desert, dehydrated, disoriented and died in a fall while trying to climb a steep cliff.
• Dedication: "In memory of a friend who lives on."
• Curated excerpt #1: "The purpose of the visit to Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, had been not so much to contact and free the restless spirit of the late rector as to follow up and, if possible, verify Bishop Pike's experiences. In the process we also succeeded in freeing the late rector from his earthbound status, by allowing him to express himself through Mrs. Meyers and thus relieving himself of the pent-up anxieties and remorsefulness from his incarnate period."
• Curated excerpt #2: "I thanked the Canon and set out for Ena Twigg's rose-entwined cottage. Ena and I had talked on the telephone before, and I had found her a vivacious, slightly opinionated but overall extremely likable person, a far cry from the traditional misconcept of what a medium is and sounds like."
• Curated excerpt #3: "Bishop Pike made friends easily, perhaps too easily, and he took into his confidence people whom he scarcely knew."
• Online reviews: There's really nothing of substance in the Amazon or Goodreads reviews. One Amazon review states, "Well worth reading."
• Criticism: In fact, the only review of The Psychic World of Bishop Pike I could find was within the 1976 book The Death and Life of Bishop Pike: An Utterly Candid Biography of America's Most Controversial Clergyman, by William Stringfellow. He pulls no punches (the bold is mine):

"The exploitation of Bishop Pike by smallness and meanness did not terminate with his death. He had no more than stretched out in his grave hard by the Mediterranean Sea than Crown Publishers of New York saw fit to publish (1970) The Psychic World of Bishop Pike by Hans Holzer, who was identified on the jacket as the 'the country's most notable parapsychologist.' The book is truly without redeeming social value. Unfortunately, Bishop Pike was partially responsible for this posthumous insult. Holzer, who seems to have made a career out of flitting from poltergeist to poltergeist, turned up on the bishop's doorstep one day with the proposal that he make a documentary film about him. Was he told to go fly a kite? No. He was warmly received and in no time the bishop was a captive of Holzer's tape recorder. ... Holzer's talent for invention is considerable but he did not invent his conversation with Bishop Pike. That conversation is reproduced in the book verbatim."

So there you have it. Holzer seems to have crossed a line with this book, especially with his irresponsible speculations (aided by "mediums") about mysteries and even foul play surrounding Pike's tragic and entirely accidental death. Holzer was better off when he was writing about ghosts, bumps in the night and haunted houses — harmless storytelling and modern folklore — than when he was trying to mix parapsychology and bad journalism to write about real people.

But wait, there's more

Many 1970s paperbacks had advertisements on thicker paper stock in the middle. Sometimes they were for book clubs or encyclopedia sets. Many of the advertisements were for cigarettes. The Psychic World of Bishop Pike has a page in the middle featuring advertising for Smirnoff vodka on one side and Eastern Air Lines on the other side.

 

Hail to the king, baby?Or maybe to the Green Man.

The coronation of King Charles III was held today at Westminster Abbey. The Associated Press summed it up nicely: The event was "steeped in ancient ritual and brimming with bling at a time when the monarchy is striving to remain relevant in a fractured modern Britain." The ceremony featured an orb, a sword, a scepter, a crown and some Crown Jewels that are long-ago loot that should be returned to the countries they were plundered from. The was also an appearance by the Stone of Destiny, which sent me down a fun rabbit hole on the internet earlier this week.

One thing that piqued my interest is the extent to which folklore is being used to undergird the continuance of the constitutional monarchy for the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth realms. The British Royal Family reinforced its ancient roots with the official coronation invitation (designed by Andrew Jamieson and shown above). On its official website, it notes:

"Central to the design is the motif of the Green Man, an ancient figure from British folklore, symbolic of spring and rebirth, to celebrate the new reign. The shape of the Green Man, crowned in natural foliage, is formed of leaves of oak, ivy and hawthorn, and the emblematic flowers of the United Kingdom."

But while the general idea of the Green Man goes far back into history, there are complex mythologies about the figure that don't always interwine neatly. And some say the current representation of the Green Man doesn't go back very far at all. An article by William Fischer on Grunge states:

"That the Green Man is widely believed to be a figure from antiquity isn't disputed, but whether or not he actually is an ancient symbol is another matter. The modern perception of the Green Man comes from an article written by Julia Somerset, the Lady Raglan, in 1939. She was interested in the ubiquitous presence of faces made out of leaves in church architecture throughout Europe (per The New Yorker). Her interpretation of those carvings, as an ancient pagan deity of spring that coexisted with Christianity throughout the medieval period, became very popular, but it's been widely challenged by scholars in the years since."

"Most folklorists hold that there was no tradition of a springtime spirit made of leaves, in Britain or anywhere else, and that the church heads were only decorative. On the other hand, some historians have found evidence for the Green Man as a genuinely ancient figure. Whether he's that old or not, the perception of him as such is well-supported by the British press, and so the perception remains."

Perhaps this modern rebranding of the Green Man into a benign figure, like Santa Claus, made it safe and noncontroversial for the Royal Family to use as a theme for the coronation. And it certainly fits well alongside Charles III's stated passion for environmentalism. But watering down this folklore figure and using it as a "mascot" for a royal ceremony does somewhat of a disservice to the mysteries and multiple incarnations of the Green Man throughout world history, which it not just British.

Past posts about the royal family

• Happy birthday, Elizabeth II (2011)
• Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II (2012)
• Update: This royal dog was a Welsh corgi named Sugar (2012)
• The Queen and her children (2013)
• Past and present: Queen Elizabeth II (2021)
• Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor (1926-2022)

From the readers: Whirley mugs, cat plates and Uncle Ted's Ghoul School

Hope everyone has a dandy and safe weekend ahead. Here are the comments you've submitted since the last roundup.

Obscure nostalgia: 1970s plastic mugs from Whirley Industries: Commenting on this 2012 post, Anonymous writes: "I have the cow creamer! Purchased at a local restaurant, early 70s. Also have a 'Hands off!' yellow cup my son found recently while demolishing an old building. Always interesting to see what can be found in long-deserted buildings."

What a great find! I still can't believe the happenstance that led to us finding a shed full of Whirley Industries plastic mugs selling for a penny apiece in York County in 2012. I still have a couple of them — my replacement "HANDS OFF!" mug and a Mister Donut mug that's currently holding Q-Tips in my bathroom. (Don't judge.) 

Also, look at this absolutely wild variation on the "HANDS OFF!" Whirley theme that I stumbled across on the internet. The 1970s, man...

Christmas greetings from author Edna Albert: Geraldine Beattie writes: "I can verify her writing. She was my mother's cousin. I have letter and card written by Edna."

Thanks, Geraldine! Read more about Edna Albert in this post.

Old receipt for Landis Stone Meal Company in Lancaster County: Jim Bennett writes: "On Jan 28, 2012, you posted a blank invoice of the Landis Stone Meal Co. in Rheems, PA. Today, I was surfing and decided to pursue the family name of 'Landis.' I am Howard Landis' great-great-grandson. I remember him very well and, as a child, have been to the quarry. He, his wife and a daughter actually raised my mother because her father (Howard's son) was very irresponsible and the mother's family, who were Plain, wanted nothing to do with the baby. I have a few pieces of advertising from the quarry and memories. Harold and wife, and my grandfather, are buried in a small cemetery on land that was part of the quarry outside of Rheems."

Thank for your sharing that family history research, Jim! It adds a great deal to the story.

The elementary school in the City Behind the Fence: Frank Blackistone writes, "We lived in Oak Ridge from February 1944 to April 1954. I went to Cedar Hill School from 1944 to 1947. We had a great time in Oak Ridge. Looking back on our 10 years, I cannot think of a better place to grow up in."

WNEP-TV staff from 1975, including Miss Judy: Anthony Mascaro writes, "The Land of Hatchy Milatchy, Dialing for Dollars, Bowling for Dollars, Uncle Ted's Ghoul School, etc., were a priceless pastime that made WNEP-TV the local leader in community connected relationships. Growing up in the 1970s and watching these and other WNEP shows was as common on a local basis as watching The Waltons was on a national basis."

Now I want to learn more about Uncle Ted's Ghoul School! I was too young to stay up for that. I am fascinated by all of those regional horror hosts who were popular from the 1960s through 1980s and am already planning some posts on that topic for later this year. Looks like there's a Facebook group for Uncle Ted memories.

Cheerful Card Company can help you earn extra money for the holidays: Anonymous writes: "I enjoy selling and buying things. Cards and gadgets were available. Still remember my ID # ... LOL, that was late 1960s."

Big Boi's special dinner plate: HaeroMaero writes: "I love your plate with your cat's photo in it!! I should do one for my cat, too. Nice blog, Chris! Cheers." 

And Joan very nicely added: "You are THE BEST cat dad."

Aww, thanks. And these are just the outdoor cats. This morning I was downstairs at 5:45 a.m. because there are two stray females who are nursing kittens and always arrive promptly at dawn for their meal (Mamacita & Cirque de Soleil).

We had a crowd of five at the back door this morning, and that included Big Boi. He is now used to eating from his special plate, and he is usually a good boy about waiting his turn. (It helps that he's often very sleepy in the morning and naps until it's food time.) He's doing OK, but it would be really great if he stopped getting into fights with other tomcats. I've been mixing some Fish Mox (amoxicillin) into his food, because it's the only way to get him some medicine for his wounds/infections. He gobbles it right up, so I hope that's helping a little bit. He is getting quite ragged in his old age, and I'm sure he's not going to enjoy it when the thermometer reaches 100 tomorrow, as forecast.

Lamenting what we'll never know about Phyllis J. Stalnaker Harris: CherylP, responding to a suggestion by another commenter that Phyllis' meme was meant to make people laugh, wrote: "I did not laugh. I felt sorrow thinking about how terribly she was treated." 

I agree 100%.

Take a ride with Edwards Motor Transit Co.: Finally, responding to one of the oldest posts on Papergreat, Anonymous writes: "Drove this 4107 [bus] for Edwards back then. Edwards had only two of them, one dedicated to the Greyhound Washington D.C.-Buffalo route, the other dedicated to daily service from Williamsport to Pittsburgh. Good driving and handling coach."

Book cover: "Warriors of Noomas"

• Title: Warriors of Noomas
• Series: #1 of 4 in the Noomas series
• Author: Charles Nuetzel (born 1934). "In retirement he has become involved in swing dancing, a long time lover of Big Band jazz," his Audible.com biography notes. "But more interestingly world travels have taken him (and his wife Brigitte) across the world, to Hawaii, Caribbean, Mexico, Kenya, Egypt, Peru, having a lifelong interest in ancient civilizations."
• Cover artist who drew that toothy creature: Albert Nuetzel (1901-1969), who is Charles' father and was typically credited as Albert Nuetzell, according to the Internet Science Fiction Database.
• Interior artist: Louis DeWitt
• Publication date: 1969
• Publisher: Powell Publications (Powell Sci-Fi) of Reseda, California. The company published about two dozen books in 1969 and 1970, including five by Charles Nuetzel, and then went kaput. Perhaps its most notable publication was 1969's Memos from Purgatory, an updated edition of the nonfiction book by Harlan Ellison that was first published in 1961.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 211 (followed by several unnumbered pages of advertisements)
• Cover price: 95 cents in 1969, the equivalent of $7.80 today
• Provenance: There's a stamp on the inside front cover for Greg's Book Mart (see below), and it's a different Greg's Book Mart stamp than the one I wrote about in 2018. This one notes locations at the Wheatland Shopping Center in Lancaster and the Meadowbrook Antique Market in Leola, both in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Also, the name "Josie" has been written on the first page.
• Back cover excerpt: "In his first thrilling adventure, Torlo Hannis wakes up on the planet of Noomas without memory of any past life, yet aware that he comes from a vast inter-galactic civilization." (Too bad he wasn't wearing a handy Galactitag.)
• Dedication: "To: JUAN SEBASTIAN WEIR. Without whose father's indirect help this book would not have been possible."
• First sentence: "I, Torlo Hannis, was born at the age of twenty-eight, without memory of my past life, without knowledge of the world in which I found myself."
• Last sentence: "The silence is deafening for it leaves many questions unanswered."
• Random excerpt from the middle #1: "The scene which we saw in the distance was beautiful in its primitive savagery. Colorful pennants flew from hundreds of spears around and in the city. Flying grav-disks were engaging in battle in the air along the perimeter of the wall."
• Random excerpt from the middle #2: "Youi began singing a light, delicate ballad, but as if touched with too much liquor, slightly offkey."
• Goodreads review: In 2009, Charles wrote: "I read this when I was hungry for a continuation of [Edgar Rice Burroughs'] sword and planet stuff and it was satisfying. Good swashbuckling adventure."
• Amazon review: In 2013, Keith T. Gibson wrote: "This is basically a cheap knockoff of the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. ... The planet and landscapes aren't described very well, which removes one of the biggest reasons for reading these types of stories, and the story shows no originality, but on the plus-side, the hero isn't mindless, and actually thinks some of the time."

Posing with the back cover of Warriors of Noomas is LP. Technically, her name is Lost Pengin, but the rule is that you're allowed to call her anything that has the initials LP, so I call her Licorice Pizza, natch.