Sunday, November 19th, 1974

I wrote another letter to 16 Magazine as well as my pen pals letters.

Terry, myself and Dwight went to see THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK as planned. The flick is 3 hours long! It's almost sure to be in my Top 5 this year. The film really started me thinking about how crazy some people really are.

So many politicians. Some police. The people in general! If only we could stop it but no...I'm starting to wonder if there's any hope at all for the human race.

NOTES: THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK was the third of 4 increasingly pretentious films starring the intense Tom Laughlin (and most of his family) as a half-Indian "guardian" for a reservation school, preaching peace while using violence to fight prejudice and injustice. It was overlong, underacted and preachy but it really was the best of the films with parts being quite well done. Laughlin grew more and more eccentric over time. His next Billy Jack picture was an odd comedy-drama remake of MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON with Billy Jack in the Jimmy Stewart role. It would have its world premiere in Cincinnati! He'e been threatening to make another one ever since. 

Saturday, November 16th, 1974

I had a marvelous dream last night. When it was over this morning I felt like I had actually lived it!

Someone tried to siphon the gas out of Dad's car today! Well, we discovered it today. If he's smart he won't put it back in that crazy garage.

A shocking revelation. Linda Blair does actually smoke! Ahhhh, disillusionment.

Saw part of Patty Duke's movie BILLIE. Always liked it.

At 4:30, Terry, his Mom and I went to see THE STREET FIGHTER. We saw it all right but I think I'd like a regular X-rated (sex) movie much better. This thing had some of the most ridiculous, senseless and impossible violence I've ever seen on-screen. Those were the "X-rated" fight scenes. The ending stopped with the revelation of a sequel which I declare now I WON'T see. In fact I think I'm swearing off kung-fu movies. I'm really into beauty more than violence these days. And a message. That's what I'm expecting from THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK tomorrow.

The new Bruce Lee flick is called THE GREEN HORNET and it's rated PG. Bruce never indulged in senseless ruthlessness. He always had purpose and style.

Got the rest of the new books including the 3rd annual RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER.

I passed up the serial DON DAREDEVIL RIDES AGAIN in favor of WHERE EAGLES DARE with Eastwood and Burton.

Our telephone finally got fixed today.

NOTES: This just in--in the latest tie-in to 2012, I have a new DVD of WHERE EAGLES DARE sitting behind me on a table right here. Still haven't seen DON DAREDEVIL RIDES AGAIN (although I bet I could find it easy enough on the Web). It stars TV's Festus, Ken Curtis, as an ersatz Zorro.

Rudolph was an annual comic book that came out in the fifties. DC had recently revived it in its oversized tabloid format and this was the 3rd year it had been released. Much fun with Sheldon Mayer art!

THE STREET FIGHTER starred Sonny Chiba, previously the star of kids sci-fi flicks in the sixties and later a cult favorite lionized by Quentin Tarentino. There WAS a sequel. I didn't see it.

Friday, November 15th, 1974

Doug was back today. He's been off sick.

Phone's still out (since yesterday).

More Apes tonight. Then I watched Dean roast Kojak. Earlier I got to see "Tomorrow is Yesterday," one of my favorite STAR TREK episodes.

I've decided to see THE STREET FIGHTER if Terry can get us in. It's not actually rated X. It seems to  be rated U.

The comic store up by Twin Fair is going out of business.

I did some checking of Erlanger on a topographic map provided by Jay. Neat!

NOTES: Dean Martin's career during this period had settled into a weekly "roast" format where he hosted an often mega-famous roster of celebs who made merciless insulting fun of each other and the "Man of the Hour." In retrospect, it was kind of weird but there was a perverse delight in seeing such legendary stars on a regular basis. About the only old-timer who never showed up--for obvious reasons I suppose--is Jerry Lewis.

Thursday, November 14th, 1974

A good day at school mostly. Most people were crazy about my poster. Coming home, I planned to catch the Eastern but due to complications I ended up about freezing as I walked back to catch the Rosedale I could've caught just outside school. Boy!

We almost didn't get into the movie because the girl in hot pants said we couldn't be admitted because we should be in school. We explained it, though, and I guess she believed it because we got in. GOLD wasn't as good as Roger's other "gold" film but it wasn't bad.

Terry says we'll see that X-rated kung-fu flick this weekend. His mother's agreed to take us. In 2 weeks, Bruce Lee in KATO! That's all we know but whatever it is we aren't gonna miss THAT! Nuh-uh!

Picked up some new books and mags while we were over there.

And another thing. We were blessed with the first (tho small) snow of the season.

Watched CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES again on TV. They also showed a 15 minute featurette that took the apes from the first movie to the TV series.

NOTES: Wish I could remember what that poster/collage was.

To catch the Eastern, I had to walk 5 blocks as opposed to the 1 and a half to catch the Rosedale. Missing the Eastern, I had to walk 3 more to get to another Rosedale stop.

I don't recall much about GOLD at this point beyond the saturation TV advertising at the time. I see now it was based on a book by Wilbur Smith who would still be a big seller all through my bookstore years. GOLD was directed by Peter Hunt whose first film remains a favorite even now, 1776!

The "X-rated kung-fu flick" was Sonny Chiba's STREETFIGHTER and KATO turned out to be a few episodes of THE GREEN HORNET from 1967 badly edited together for big screen release. 

Wednesday, November 13th, 1974

The buses are back! That didn't take long. It seemed actually as if I was dreaming when I awoke to a conversation about it.

It was very cold today and snow was actually expected. Even more snow is expected tomorrow when we get off early and I expect to see GOLD with Roger Moore.

I started writing THY SAVAGE GRAVE, the new Arkon story. I don't know. I may scrap the beginning and begin again. I like the idea, though.

Tried to avoid IT but failed. Too bad.

Some really heavy winds this evening!

NOTES: Whilst all of this was going on, the number one song in the US was Bachman-Turner Overdrive's stuttering rocker "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet." The group grew out of The Guess Who. I liked these guys but they weren't favorites. In recent years, former Guess Who members Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings have reunited and do this number in concert.

Tuesday, November 12th, 1974

I actually managed to get on base a couple of times in Kickball, today.

Finally got the French mag at school so I now have 5 new pics of Linda! He had a French language comic with ASTERIX, too!

Since I had to catch the cab home again, I actually beat Dad home for a change. Riding cabs seemed almost routine today.

Watched BANDOLERO again and "Shore Leave" on STAR TREK.

Picked up some cool old movie ads from newspapers (64-66) thrown out at SS tonight!

Finally finished my collage poster.

NOTES: I didn't realize it at the time but this was the last day I'd need the cabs to get too and from school as the buses were back by morning. 

Kickball, as you may know, is baseball without a bat, using a basketball or other large ball. Like volleyball, I was sometimes unexpectedly good at it. 

I often wondered why they suddenly had decade old newspapers thrown away at the office but they sure were cool. (And yes, I still have them.)

BANDOLERO was an okay western flick with a big name cast headed by Jimmy Stewart, Dean Martin and Raquel Welch. I had obviously seen it a couple of times by this point but remember nothing about it now.

ASTERIX was a French comics character I had read about and even seen a few books in English featuring him at Kidd's Book Store. In time the strip would become an absolute favorite of mine in spite of the fact that every attempt to make it successful in the US failed miserably. Internationally, the albums remain constantly in print and sell extremely well. In recent years there have even been a number of big-budget French live-action adaptations...never translated into English, of course. Most recently in the news, aging ASTERIX artist/co-creator Alberto Uderzo passed the torch to new creators who will now carry on the traditions!

Monday, November 11th, 1974

Well, I did it. Took a cab up to Doug's and then walked with him. Looks like I'll be doing it for  while, too. After school, I went to his house and called another.Got home just about the same time I always do. I was real nervous at first. A lot of people didn't even show up today!

Cincinnati buses are still running at least. I found out which bus goes to the Valley Cinema. I may go this weekend. Maybe not.

I practically finished my poster. It's good but I don't know that it's exactly what he wanted. Now to figure out how to get it there. It's not due 'til Wednesday.

Terry says he's got about 39 pics of Barbi to sell me. He says some are nudes so I don't think I'll be mentioning the sale to Mom and dad of it goes through.

The size of the daily PEANUTS strip was reduced today to conserve paper! Boy! I may have to stop collecting it! Sure messes it up!

I watched PETE 'N' TILLIE on the telly. Eh.

NOTES: Cabs were much cheaper in those days and around here the only way you could get one was to call one so until the strike was over, that's what I did.

PETE 'N' TILLIE was an acclaimed 1972 comedy drama starring two of my favorite performers, Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett. I found it to be the worst kind of boring soap opera dramady. In fact, I consider Carol to be one of the funniest people ever and yet can't recall ever enjoying her in a feature film.   

And so it begins--the shrinking of the comic strips. I looked at a newspaper in a waiting rooma  couple of weeks back for the first time in over a year. I literally could not read the text in the word balloons! Pointless.