Nichols Says RIGHT ON!

That's because this was the name of the magazine that ran this photo spread.

Yup, everyone should have the same opportunity to make it to space.  Study hard and be a fitness nut, and you'll stand a better chance than I do!

For the record, this is from the June 1984 issue of Right On!

See ya Monday, fellow Trekkers, Trekkies, and Trekkettes!

 

For the Last Time: Hurrah!

From the October 8, 1991 National Enquirer:

We all know how "last" it really was.  See you Thursday!

  

I Think He Looks Sketchy Too

From the July 20, 1993 National Enquirer:

I ain't sayin' that at least once, Princess Margaret or the Queen Mother ain't gotten bombed, but that's between the porcelain throne and their security detail.

See you Monday for more TREKKING WITH CLIPPINGS!
  

Merch Trek, Part 1

Yup, crass commercialism reaches into Trekkies' pockets!

Didn't you buy a lot of bubble-gum packs?  I sure did!

Although I had a lot of the small figures, I never got the JC Penney bridge set.

Did you play this game?  We didn't have Vectrex, or any other game systems.

I must confess that when STII came out on video, I borrowed money from my boss to buy it, paying it back in bits, because Joyce would have gotten mad at me for blowing FORTY BUCKS on a video.

SOURCES OF THESE IMAGES:

• Topps Bubble Gum cards wrapper -- from 1979
• JC Penney Christmas catalog -- December 1980
• STTMP videogame review comes the September 1982 Video Review
• The ST II video ad ran in The Dallas Morning News of November 12, 1982

See you Thursday!

  

A "Weird ESP Experience"! Is There Any Other Kind?

It's from the May 29, 1984 issue of the Star, a wonderful tabloid carried by the convenience-store chain which employed me at the time.

Check out that first sentence.  How does somebody "literally" skyrocket to fame?  Wouldn't it scorch their undies?  And, since Nimoy had over a dozen acting credits before Star Trek, including The  Twilight Zone and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (the latter playing against William Shatner in one scene), how do you define unwarranted "skyrocket"?

End of rant, see ya Monday!

  

Welcome to TREKKING WITH CLIPPINGS!

Yep, fellow TREKaholics, it's another month of stuff I cut out from mags and papers back when there were only a few STAR TREKs.

This is from the January, 1980 Playboy.  Yes, I only bought it for the articles!

For mucho moreso info about STTMP, buy our book These Are the Voyages: Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek in the 1970s, Volume 3 (1978-1980), And don't forget Chapter 14, "The Merchandising Adventure Continues (1979-80)," written by yours truly!

See you on Thursday for more TREKKING WITH CLIPPINGS!

  

Glad to Be in Your August Company

How can it feel like fifty years ago to remember part of August, 1971?

The odd little humanoids appear to be harvesting some sort of seaweed, rolling it into bundles, then unrolling the bundles and hanging fronds up to dry.  Seems like a few extra steps there in the middle.

Above is the cleaned-up version of the calendar page.

Friday, August 13, 1971 was an unlooked-for, momentous day for me.  I was dropped off at a church teen activity night by parents who were probably glad to be free for a few hours.  There I met a girl from Cortland, New York, the cousin of a church friend.  I was 14 and she was 13.  We talked and held hands.  I was allowed to ride along with her cousin's family as they took her to the place her family was staying.  I walked her to the door and kissed her very clumsily.

Yes, Lori was my first girlfriend.  The sense-of-wonder and the commencement of the civilization of this beast (yours truly) commenced here.  Best wishes, young lady, wheree'er ye be!

See you Monday, August 2nd, for the commencement of a month of TREKKING WITH CLIPPINGS!

  

From March 1976, It's DETENTE TREK!

 It looks like a Gold Key Star Trek comic, but it's really from the March 1976 National Lampoon.

The art is by real-life comics artist Alan Kupperberg, famous for Spider-Man and others.

You can tell that President Ford plays Kirk, while Henry Kissinger is in the Spock role.  SOMEBODY tell me who is supposed to be Dr McCoy?!?! 

After a visit from the August calendar page from 1971 and today, join us on Monday, August 2nd, for an entire month TREKKING WITH CLIPPINGS!

 

Julie Schwartz -- American Hero!

 It's one of my eternal regrets that I DID not make it a point to meet Julie Schwartz when he was a SoonerCon guest in November 1992 here in OKC.

This interview with the cultural giant is from Comics Interview #88, in 1990.

See you on Thursday for the last installment of this cockeyed salute to some of the crazy, glorious facets of this spiffy country.

IN AUGUST:  MORE TREKKING WITH CLIPPINGS!

  

From 1986: Superman at War!

This is from Comics Feature #49, November 1986.

A greater fan than I will have to produce Part 1 of this article.  Alas, I ain't got it!

Come back Monday for more illustrations of insufficiency from Yours Truly.