Wildlife: Mama Whitetail and her two fawns were climbing up the mini-mountain with the "F" painted on it above Lakeshore Drive this morning.



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Theater, Art, Flash Gordon, Funky Music and MORE!

Weather: Wintery, but dry -- it was very dark until Noon..

Charity Alert: The Hunger Site -- Click to help feed critters, people, and other useful things

Media Watch: A Date With Judy (1948) was on TCM last night, following an interview with it's star -- the gracious Jane Powell, who looks wonderful as she approaches 80 years old. There were stalwarts from MGM's Central Casting Department, doing what they did regularly -- Wallace Berry was the gruff ol' dad, Carmen Miranda was her goofy effervescent self, and Xavier Cugat pretended he was some kind of Latin stereotype, rather than the classy guy he really was.
The movie was full of 40's-style faux "Teenage" stereotypes that resembled "Archie Comics" more than anything real. Elizabeth Taylor was stunning as dark-haired "Veronica." Jane Powell was "Betty" all the way, even if her character's name WAS "Judy." Leon Ames played a lookalike version of "Mr. Lodge," i.e. "Veronica's" father. Jane Powell's brother even had a beanie like "Jughead." Liz Taylor's brother was an incomparable leading-nerd. He even led an all-nerd singing group, which was pretty embarassing to see and hear.
Neophyte Robert Stack only partly resembled insufferable "Reggie."
Stack was the mutual love-interest of both "Betty" and "Veronica," even though he wasn't a teenager -- he was supposed to be a GI Bill college student doing a summer job as a soda-jerk at his uncle's malt shop -- which was a lot like "Pop Tate's" place in "Archie's" small town of "Riverdale."


The long-running "Archie" series (below) started in 1941,
replacing "Madam Satan" (above)in Pep Comics.
Harry Lucey originally drew both features, and was followed by
the very capable Bob Montana and Al Hartley in later decades.

Wildlife: Four Whitetail Deer were on the hill overlooking the junction of Foy's Lake Road and Buckboard Lane last night. I hope they were continuing to the west. There was another body about half a mile to the east on Foy's Lake Road this morning.



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Weather: Wintery, but not too bad -- just above freezing, snow in the mountains, evaporation of frozen gunk on the roads.

Charity Alert: The Hunger Site -- Click to help with a half a dozen projects.

Media Watch: OK -- I finished Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak. Let's see now -- Pulp-fiction entrepreneur Edward Stratemeyer came up with the concept, and wrote the first few scenarios for the series.
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and her sister Edna took over his successful syndicate of popular fictional characters when he died suddenly in 1930.
The extremely prolific Mildred Anderson Wirt Benson was the first ghostwriter who filled out Stratemeyer's outlines under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. As the Great Depression deepened, Mildred took other work rather than take a pay cut from the Stratemeyer syndicate. A man named Walter Karig wrote three Nancy Drew books, Nancy's Mysterious Letter, The Sign Of The Twisted Candle, and The Password To Larkspur Lane. (Yeah, I read most of the original series -- coincidentally THESE are the ones I remember most.)
Mildred returned to the syndicate until after WWII, even though she became a full-time journalist in Toledo, Ohio and wrote potboilers under other pseudonyms.
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams' role in her syndicate continued to grow into the 50's and beyond. By 1960 she was not only Nancy Drew's editor, but her main writer too. She cultivated an image of being the sole creative force behind the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew in the mass media, even though it wasn't exactly true. After thirty years and more of overseeing every one of their books into print, I can understand her perspective. Before her death in 1982, Harriet faced Mildred Anderson Wirt Benson in court, as part of a lawsuit between Grosset & Dunlap and Simon & Shuster over the right to publish new Nancy Drew books. ("I thought you were dead!")
Mildred's only gain was public acknowledgement of her efforts in writing Nancy Drew's popular mysteries for almost twenty years. She never made more than a few thousand dollars for her work with Stratemeyer.
Interview with Melanie Rehak


The REAL Nancy Drew
30's illustration from
Bob Finnan's Nancy Drew Site

Wildlife: Firehouse Pond is FROZEN OVER. All those Golden Eye Ducks have moved up to Middle Foy's Lake.



Visit: Michael's Montana Web Archive
Theater, Art, Flash Gordon, Funky Music and MORE!

Weather: Dark and cold this morning, but the snow started falling -- helping to melt the black ice on the roads.

Charity Alert: The Hunger Site -- Click to help feed somebody.

Media Watch: I took a break from Nancy Drew's creators to read The Planets by Dava Sobel -- it has SOME current scientific information, but contains a lot of reverie too.
Here's a page where a scientist reviews Sobel's books: Dr. Fred Bortz

I think I'm going to read about building the Great Pyramid next -- dunno if this author has anything figured out, but it's an engaging mystery how all that masonry was piled up along the banks of the Nile so nicely.

Hail the All-Seeing EYE!
NOTE: Satire Alert! Do not drive or operate heavy machinery
under the influence of the above Web site.

Wildlife: Blue Jays, Magpies, Nuthatches, Juncos, and Chickadees! The Winter birds are coming around the feeders.



Visit: Michael's Montana Web Archive
Theater, Art, Flash Gordon, Funky Music and MORE!

Weather: Luckily, the sun came out and melted the blizzard's mess yesterday. Gray and cold today -- 16 Degrees (F) at sunrise.

Charity Alert: The Hunger Site Click to help out with a few little things -- like nutrition, disease, and oxygen in our air.

Media Watch: Monday Night Football -- Philadelphia played well, but Dallas won 21 to 20. I still think Donovan McNabb needs an operation, and that the Eagles would do better waiting for next year, but I can see how they all want to get out there and play hard every week.
The History Channel ran a piece on the Battle of the Bulge in 1944-45. As dramatic and bloody as the seige and relief of Bastonge was, I'm glad they pointed out how the failure of SS General Peiper to advance through the hills and deep valleys of the Northern Ardennes, despite/because of his 69-ton Tiger tanks, doomed Hitler's whole operation. Lack of gasoline, adverse terrain, and dogged human resistance all played their parts in preventing a near-disaster from turning into a cataclysm.
I had the pleasure of spending a day or two around Bastonge in the spring of 1976 -- there was still a lot of wartime detrius scattered about the woods, a prominent monument with a tank on the top, and a plaque underneath that just said "NUTS."
To tell you the truth, I liked Charlemange's cathedral at Aachen better (see below), and the hot springs around Spa -- yep, the ORIGINAL Spa!


A bright spot in the Dark Ages:
Carolingan Dynasty Cathedral at Aix en Chappell (Aachen, Belgium)
Circa 800 A.D.
Speaking of Charlemange, or Charles the Great, I've always thought it was funny when the Germans call him "Karl der Gross" -- Now THAT'S the right kind of name for a Dark Ages king!

Wildlife: The Whitetail Deer herd just scampered merrily across the road in front of me this morning. Black ice, WHAT black ice? They have been there every day along that same stretch of road, so I was ready. (see Weather below)



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Weather: Ice on the roads this morming -- black, smooth and dangerous -- looks like 4-wheeling for a few months! A blizzard started at about 8:30. Maybe people will be scared enough to drive slowly.

Charity Alert: The Hunger Site Click to help out a little.

Media Watch: NFL Football -- I saw large parts of two games Sunday afternoon which were hard-fought to the bitter end. Washington 35 Tampa Bay 36 -- a gutsy two-point conversion, running the ball in the last few seconds, won the game. The lowly Minnesota Vikings scored 24 and beat the puffed-up N.Y. Giants who barely got to 21 -- every yard was heavily contested, and NY's defense was too beat-up to stop Minnesota's final drive.
Pre-game madness -- MAD-TV's Frank couldn't possibly be as funny as he was last week, but he sure is a good mimic. Jillian Barbarie didn't go out on a limb either, but she defiantly welcomed Pamela Anderson back again.
Category 7: End of the World tried to be suspenseful. Gina Gershon got the last word, which may mean her career is on the upswing, and the evil Dick Cheney-like character was sucked up into a tornado.
I'm reading about Edward Stratemeyer, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, and Mildred Wirt Benson -- the gang who created, wrote, and published the Nancy Drew mysteries and other popular book series.
The photo section has a small black and white reproduction of 70's Nancy Drew actress Pamela Sue Martin's Playboy cover. (Which I'm not going to show here.)
I happen to like these nearly-forgotten movies from the late 30's:
NANCY DREW, DETECTIVE (1938); NANCY DREW AND THE HIDDEN STAIRCASE (1939; NANCY DREW, REPORTER (1939); NANCY DREW, TROUBLE SHOOTER (1939)-- All starring Bonita Granville. They are silly and fun. They could have been better, and maybe more like the series, but they reportedly had no impact on book sales at all.
Here's two flicks that I've never even heard of, much less seen:
STARDUST ON THE STAGE (1942) Starring Louise Currie as Nancy Drew.
THE TEXAS KID (1943) Starring Shirley Patterson as Nancy Drew.

The first Nancy Drew mystery 1930

Wildlife: Ice was forming on Firehouse Pond, just below Little Foy's Lake yesterday. Migrating flocks of Canadian Geese were still swirling around in the evening.



Visit: Michael's Montana Web Archive
Theater, Art, Flash Gordon, Funky Music and MORE!

Weather: It rained last night -- just like the predictions said. It is warmer today, and there are gorgeous intervals of sunshine in between soft squalls.

Charity Alert: The Hunger Site Click to help feed people, buy books, help animals, save forest land, pay for mammograms, and aid children.

Media Watch: Montana Public Radio out of Missoula played a huge chunk of The Specialty Story 5 CD set before and after midnight the other evening. It was hard staying awake the whole time, but those great R&B singles made for some sweet dreams when I nodded off --


Tracks of Disc 1: 1. Boogie #1 ~ Sepia Tones 2. Voo-It! Voo-It! - The Blues Woman 3. Milton's Boogie ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 4. R.M. Blues ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 5. True Blues ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 6. Thrill Me ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 7. Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 8. Everything I Do Is Wrong ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 9. Hop Skip Jump ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 10. Information Blues ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 11. The Hucklebuck ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 12. Rainy Day Blues ~ Jump Jackson Band 13. Ice Cream Freezer ~ The Blues Man 14. Rockin' Boogie ~ Joe Lutcher & His Society Cats 15. Teardrop Blues ~ Jimmy Liggins & His Drops Of Joy 16. Cadillac Boogie ~ Jimmy Liggins & His Drops Of Joy 17. Careful Love ~ Jimmy Liggins & His Drops Of Joy 18. Don't Put Me Down ~ Jimmy Liggins & His Drops Of Joy 19. X-Temporaneous Boogie - Camille Howard 20. You Don't Love Me ~ Camille Howard 21. Fiesta In Old Mexico ~ Camille Howard 22. Fat Meat ~ Jim Wynn 23. Big City Blues ~ Big Maceo 24. I Want A Roller ~ Smokey Hogg 25. The Honeydripper ~ Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers 26. Rag Mop ~ Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers Tracks of Disc 2: 1. Pink Champagne ~ Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers 2. Junior Jives ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 3. Where There Is No Love ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 4. Everything's Gonna Be All Right Tonight ~ King Perry & His Pied Pipers 5. Please Send Me Someone To Love ~ Percy Mayfield 7. Little Joe's Boogie ~ Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers 8. Oh Babe! ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 10. Frankie Lee ~ Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers 17. Strange Angel ~ Amos Easton 18. Best Wishes ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 22. The Wheel Of Fortune ~ The Four Flames (A Cappella slice of Heaven) 26. Night And Day (I Miss You So) ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders Tracks of Disc 3: 1. Oooh Oooh Oooh ~ Lloyd Price 3. Dream Girl ~ Jesse & Marvin 4. Tell Me Pretty Baby ~ Lloyd Price 6. Frantic ~ Frank Motley & His Crew 7. Too Close To Heaven ~ Alex Bradford 8. I'm Coming Home ~ The Swan Silvertones 9. I've Got A New Home ~ The Pilgrim Travelers 10. One Room Country Shack ~ Mercy Dee Walton 11. Lucy Mae Blues ~ Frankie Lee Sims 12. Early In The Morning ~ Roy Milton & His Solid Senders 13. She's Been Gone ~ H-Bomb Ferguson 14. Hard Living Alone ~ Floyd Dixon 20. I'm Your Best Bet Baby ~ Earl King

Model: Mamie Van Doren
They ran out of time before getting to even BETTER cuts! I've heard most of the following over the years, and they are well worth the time of anybody who loves Rock and Roll at it's wildest. Many of these singles were recorded in New Orleans with Lee Allen on Sax, Clarence Williams on drums, Professor Longhair on Piano, and more of the FUNKIEST musicians who ever swung an axe! The Los Angeles sessions were classics on their own:
15. Drunk ~ Jimmy Liggins & His 3-D Music (...reach for the knob, miss the whole darn door!) 19. The Things That I Used To Do ~ Guitar Slim (Ray Charles leading the band on piano.) Tracks of Disc 4: 1. Nite Owl ~ Tony Allen & The Champs 2. Tutti Frutti ~ Little Richard (His best work was recorded in New Orleans for Specialty Records!) 5. Squeeze Box Boogie ~ Clifton Chenier (King of Zydeco.) 6. Touch The Hem Of His Garment ~ Sam Cooke/The Soul Stirrers (Yep, Sam Cooke started as a Gospel singer.) 7. Long Tall Sally ~ Little Richard (Paul McCartney got his WOOOO from this record.) 8. Slippin' & Slidin' (Peepin' & Hidin') ~ Little Richard 11. Cherokee Dance ~ Willie Joe & His Unitar/Bob Landers (Proto-Heavy Metal guitar) 12. Rip It Up ~ Little Richard 13. Ready Teddy ~ Little Richard 14. Sweet Breeze ~ Vernon Green & The Phantoms (LOVE those Doo-Wop vocal groups!) 15. (Every Time I Hear That) Mellow Saxophone ~ Roy Montrell (Not just ONE sax, but a whole bunch of 'em -- blowing strong & LOUD with a screaming lead vocal!) 16. She's Got It ~ Little Richard 17. Heeby-Jeebies - Little Richard 24. Lucille ~ Little Richard 25. Send Me Some Lovin' ~ Little Richard Tracks of Disc 5: 2. Jenny Jenny Jenny ~ Little Richard 3. Miss Ann ~ Little Richard 6. Keep A-Knockin' - Little Richard 7. Bony Maronie ~ Larry Williams (His biggest hit.) 10. Good Golly, Miss Molly ~ Little Richard 11. Slow Down ~ Larry Williams (My pick for one of the best singles of ALL TIME -- The Beatles did a fine version too.) 12. Dizzy, Miss Lizzy ~ Larry Williams (The Beatles really rocked on this song as well.) 13. Justine ~ Don & Dewey (Good as the Righteous Brothers were, these guys were better.) 14. True Fine Mama ~ Little Richard 15. Ooh! My Soul ~ Little Richard 18. Koko Joe ~ Don & Dewey (Don "Sugarcane" Harris later made a name for himself playing electric violin.) 20. There's A Moose On The Loose ~ Roddy Jackson (Insanely fun, big-band R&B) 21. Haunted House ~ Johnny Fuller (Big fat sound, big fat hit.) 22. She Said, "Yeah" ~ Larry Williams (The Rolling Stones covered this one.) 23. Bad Boy ~ Larry Williams (John Lennon sang some of his best leads on Beatles versions of Larry Williams' songs.) 25. Big Boy Pete ~ Don & Dewey (Succesors -- The Olympics' cover version in the 60's, The Kingsmen "Jolly Green Giant," Jim Croce's "Don't Mess Around With Jim" and "Bad Bad Leroy Brown")