A nice thunderstorm cruised through last night -- cleaning up the smokey air. The Ospreys are still around, but their young ones are getting big, and they may be gone within weeks.

Sitemeter Sez: This blog had visitors from -- Lggesta, Sweden; Kalispell, Montana (One of several searching the Internet for Lowell Jaeger's book); Somewhere, USA, looking for P-Funk and Flash Gordon; Dublin, Ireland Is that you Eavan, or maybe Roseanne or Rachelle?; Oakland, California; San Antonio, Texas; Vancouver, British Columbia; New Delhi, India; Bend, Oregon; Perth, Western Australia; and finally Cincinnati, Ohio -- reading about homeboy Freekbass.

Remembering my friend George-O at: Theater X-Net

Starring: Ida Rubinstein Belle Epoch Russian/Parisian beauty.
Ida's Places in Paris -- from my first jet-lagged day by the Seine.
Read more about Ida in Sisters of Salome by Toni Bentley

Visit: Michael's Montana Web Archive
Theater, Art, Flash Gordon, Funky Music and MORE!
Spitfires of the Spaceways
UPDATED! Wilma Deering & Dale Arden to the rescue; Bodacious Princess Aura I; Hapless Aura II; The fiery Emperor Ming; The Orson Welles Rumor Debunked; and BOTH incarnations of Jean Rogers!
Read my latest Spitfires in Context essay.

Thanks to Jim Keefe (Visit his Website) -- the LAST Flash Gordon illustrator of the 20th Century, and Flash's first illustrator of the 21st, for his recommendations -- HERE!

Charity Alert: Keep that resolution to click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: The Hockaday Museum of Art is closed for the Labor Day weekend. I'm moving into a house instead of an apartment on Wednesday, so I'm using this time to pack up before the van arrives on Wednesday.

Media Watch: I see there's a movie in circulation about the great photographic model Bettie Page -- it stars Gretchen Mol as the lady who disappeared from the twilight world of soft-core nudies to voluntary obscurity in evangelist Billy Graham's organization. Unfortunately, she still had problems. (Bettie's Wiki Page) Playboy Magazine's Hugh Hefner and illustrator Olivia continue to honor her charisma and talent today. You can buy things from her too on Bettie Page's Official Website. An autographed picture costs 200 bucks, but y'know? SHE DESERVES IT!

A tale of two models: The late Irish McCalla (blonde) also did glamor photography in the 50's. She actually had control of her career, and did the TV version of Sheena before retiring and becoming an artist in Arizona. (Sheena's Wiki HERE) Bettie Page (brunette) did many sessions with Bunny Yeager at Africa USA in Florida. Page was associated with some sleazy characters up North who drew the fearful eye of Hoover's FBI and the Keefauver Commission her way. The main reason her photos were so notorious was because she was such a GOOD model. Similar subjects were done by others in the same racket -- a racket never known for originality.


Insets: Brinke Stevens helped re-introduce Ms. Page to the world when she was drawn as "Bettie" in Dave Stevens' Rocketeer Comic Book circa 1980. Sheena was the star of of Jumbo Comics -- this cover artist is unknown, but Jack Kamen or Matt Baker could have been involved. Robert Webb drew her story inside the mag. (Images/info courtesy of the Grand Comics Database.)