bettie page blog

Subtle reminder that "Bettie Page: Heaven Bound" is opening tomorrow at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery. The above is a painting of Lenora Claire, the show's curator, by the amazing Olivia De Berardinis, the featured artist in the show.

READ OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LENORA CLAIRE for complete details!

Ah, the land of the rising sun, they who do America better than Americans. Yes, some would point to the auto industry and electronics, while I would point to more significant areas of cartoons 'bout giant fightin' robots and Rockabilly! I've done nearly as many posts about Japanese Rockabilly as from anywhere else on our spinnin' marble! The problem is, getting to Japan is hard, staying is damn expensive (have you checked out the exchange rate?) and the language is exceptionally difficult to learn for someone who failed Spanish twice (true. oh so sad but true).

I have a feeling that Italian born-NYC based photographer Alessandro Zuek Simonetti (who probably knows more languages than me, safe bet), must identify with my plight. Simonetti admits to a "deep interest in young niche cultures", and this reflects on his work, which you may have seen in Rolling Stone, GQ, Warp Magazine Japan, Tema Celeste, Vice and Theme. Brands such as Carhartt, Zoo York, 55dsl, Lee, Bijules, Still Life NYC, Redbull, Evisu, Sartoria comunication and Slam Jam have also benefited from his talents.

But what drove him to unearth a little slice of Japanese rockabilly right in the Big Apple and document it through his lens?

Well, I'll let him tell it:

ABC Rebel Night is a monthly party organized by a Japanese rockabilly group based in NYC. I went one night in this bizarre tiki bar on 14th street. I was astounded by a japenese rock'n'roll/female synchro ballet contest and intrigued by everyone's 50's style... they were so perfect!

His photos have been collected into a limited-edition portfolio. Learn how to BUY IT here.

Stray thought?... Why can't Afghanistan look like Japan in a few decades? How do you fight the Taliban? Afghani Rockabilly... I'm just sayin'.

Check out this cool tattoo from Massachusetts mama, Elizabeth.

As you know, all of us at the Bettie Page Blog have been positively frothing at the mouth... mainly due to a sudden onset of swine flu, but ALSO over the new World of Wonder Storefront Gallery show, BETTIE PAGE: HEAVEN BOUND, featuring the art of Olivia De Berardinis. The show is curated by the glamorous, multi-talented LENORA CLAIRE. In addition to a career as a journalist, writer, model, actress, artist, cartoon-character-inspiration, TV producer and glass-eater, she has been the curator of numerous eye-popping, jaw-dropping group shows that feature an unholy collision of high art and pop culture.

She has been kind enough to give us a taste of what we can expect when the show opens this coming Saturday (May 2nd).

BPB: First of all, in light of your show "Golden Girls Gone Wild", you have my deepest sympathies regarding the tragic loss of Bea Arthur. How many of these "concept" art shows have you curated for World of Wonder and how did you come to do them?

LC: Thank you. While I never got to know Bea personally she inspired me on many levels. She was a giant talent for sure.

Bettie Page: Heaven Bound will be my third show at World of Wonder. I was a fan of World of Wonder's tv shows and films for years (Party Monster, Inside Deep Throat, RuPaul's Drag Race, The Perez Hilton Show for VH1, etc.) and got to know the owners Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey via my friends, James St. James, who wrote Party Monster, and WOW producer Thairin Smothers.

Through a lucky series of events World of Wonder opened a gallery on the lower level of their beautiful art deco production offices and my wacky shows found a home.

BPB: Much of your work and life seems to swirl around the notion of celebrity...
So my question to you, is if Heidi and Spencer call their wedding reception an "after party" on the invite, does that ruin the illusion?

LC: Growing up in Los Angeles, the idea of a celebcentric universe always seemed to be the norm. I'm sure it's not entirely healthy but it's what I know. If you look at Hollywood historically, it has always been based on illusion, so I don't think Heidi and Spencer will make everything go up in smoke (and mirrors).

BPB: Seriously, you successfully manage to celebrate and lampoon celebrity at the same time. In a way, you send it up, but you also, obviously, are not unwelcoming of attention... what are your feelings about gossip and star worship?

LC: Are you familiar with the story of Thomas Ince? I'm going to get all Hollywood Babylon for a sec (ed. note: Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets and the equally-juicy sequel are meticulously researched histories of early Hollywood written in a dishy style by avant-garde filmmaker KENNETH ANGER. Read, now!), but legend has it that Ince was accidentally killed on a pleasure cruise by William Randolph Hearst, who at the time was one of the most powerful men in America.

Supposedly Hearst was actually going after Charlie Chaplin, who he believed was messing around with his lady Marion Davies. It's been said an entire boat load of Hollywood elite -- including gossip columnist Louella Parsons -- witnessed the murder and cover up, which is interesting as Parsons soon appeared in every one of Hearst's newspapers.

What I am getting at is that the idea of a powerful Perez Hiltonesque gossip figure is not new at all. Only the ability to report with lightning speed is new. Both gossip and star worship are equally powerful because we as a society give them that power. Parsons and everyone on that boat could have taken the almighty Hearst down but I suppose that was for Orson Welles to do later. I just think it's a great story about Hollywood and the power dynamic when it comes to gossip.

BPB: Do you regard your own persona as an exercise in Andy Warhol's concept of "superstars" or do you have plans to assault the mainstream?

LC: My goals are very mainstream and I would never limit myself that way [to be a Warhol-style "superstar"]. I currently appear as part of the USA Network Character project ad campaign which landed a giant billboard in Times Square with my face on it and a pull out poster in Vanity Fair, so there is really nothing underground about me.

My art shows have been covered by everyone from NPR to National Enquirer and my birthday party was filmed for Canal Plus in France. I'd like to think that since I've appeared on tv in the US and Europe I'd qualify as International.

Socially it's fair to say I hang out with the "LA underground", as I'm fascinated with various subcultures and anyone that lives life on the fringe and I do think I'm a superstar because I do everything I want to do. Anyone who lives their life on their own terms is a superstar in my eyes. It's not an easy thing to do.

BPB: In another interview, you mentioned being a "former glass-eating performance artist". Your careers, from writing, acting, curating art shows and performing, evidently, in "sideshow" has put you in the center of a number of different subcultures. What are your feelings about these subcultures -- do you think they are interrelated or do they just oddly overlap when a few key icons, such as Bettie Page are concerned?

LC: Of course they overlap. My goal is to get everyone together and have a good time and I think I have been really successful in that.

BPB: How do you speak to these different subcultures at the same time?

LC: I can speak freak. Just kidding. What I say is from the heart so I can communicate with everyone.

BPB: I've read that you've been a fan of Olivia since you were fifteen and have now become close with her and her partner-in-crime, Joel Beren. You've even posed for her, essentially joining Bettie as an object of Olivia's art. For those of us who don't have a figure that would interest Olivia, what's that like?

LC: It's a total dream come true. Everything about Olivia is amazing. It's an honor I still can't quite verbalize. I'll just say I feel so lucky to have the relationship I have with her and Joel and to be included in her art both as subject and curator. She's the coolest. An absolute art goddess
but she's also really funny and gives great advice.

BPB: For those out there who missed the Jack E. Jett show, could you explain the show and your role on it? It was the first time I saw you on tape and it was pretty impactful!

LC: Jack is a nut. I love that guy. Originally I was supposed to only be on once as a guest eating glass but but we got along so well and share such a similar wacky sensibility I was on a few times.

BPB: These art exhibits, while garnering a lot of attention, seem to be only part of the plan for world domination. Care to tell us about "doNUTS" and your cartoon?

LC: I have a tv project in development -- which is my ultimate goal -- called Apocalipstick. Since getting a show sold and actually on air is quite a process, I've decided to produce inexpensive webisodes to show the world what I've got.

My first series is called doNUTS and it involves me in true reality/documentary fashion interviewing the drunks, paranoid schizophrenics, conspiracy theorists, and other colorful characters that hang out all hopped up on sugar and caffeine at late night donut shops. You can view the episodes at www.wowtv.tv

My cartoon was created by the genius Glen Hanson www.GlenHanson.com who is another good friend that I love working with.

BPB: The exhibit is called "Bettie Page: Heaven Bound". Was is conceived after her death, or did it turn into a memorial after she passed?

LC: It actually evolved out of another idea. Originally I was going to do a drawing salon and have Olivia be the the special guest. Then Bettie passed and we had the idea of making the salon a tribute to Bettie. Then we thought it would be great to hang out. Then we thought it would be great to hang art. Then it just evolved in to an epic group show.

BPB: Why Bettie Page? What is it about her that, you feel, continues to fascinate so many people?

LC: Because she was so completely progressive for her time. It took 50 years for the rest of the world to catch up to her.

BPB: Some find it strange to be "lost in the 50's" with Bettie Page, since it was such a regressive time in so many ways. I think it's important to note that Bettie, while being a Born-Again Christian, never had a condemning word about gay people that I've read, befriended a black man when that wasn't cool, and is rightfully celebrated for advancing the notion of "sex-positive" feminism (even if Bettie, herself, would just shake her head and say, "um, I just posed in my underwear because it beat being a secretary"). While there is a kitchy element to Bettie, there are some deep politics under the surface of those photos. What do you think Bettie "means" in a political sense?

LC: I think you nailed it. She was so absolutely ahead of her time opening up all of these debates. If art is something that makes you think and feel Bettie certainly qualifies. That's why she's a legend.

BPB: Especially since World of Wonder and you are so plugged in to the gay community, how is she seen differently by straight people and gay people? She doesn't seem to be the icon, say Bea Arthur was (LOL), but those bangs have framed the faces of some fierce drag queens over the years...

LC: Since I'm a straight girl that seems to have penetrated queer media, hopefully that qualifies me to answer your question. I think the gays have a very "go girl!" attitude and Bettie is the total personification of that. Plus with all of her costumes and attitude Bettie was a total drag queen.

BPB: The lists of artists included in the show are a nice mix of people known to the Bettie world and people known to the World of Wonder fans. What was your thought process in populating the show?

LC: Well, Olivia was the major starting point, of course. Then we all thought how cool would it be to get Bunny Yeager, who shot many of Bettie's most iconic images, as well as Jim Silke, who is also really important in the Bettie universe.

I also asked Greg Theakston, who is fantastic, but he was busy with other commitments. I would love to work with him in the future though.

Austin Young is a good personal friend of mine and I am so in love with his work and he's totally my good luck charm. I have him in every show. Austin has done an AMAZING job shooting everyone from Margaret Cho, Perez Hilton, Jane Wiedlin from the GoGo's, Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) as Bettie.

Colin Christian is another one I was dying to work with. His sculptures are INSANE.

Marla Rutherford is a really amazing friend of mine who has shot just about every major magazine cover you can think of. She's also who shot me for the USA Network Character Project campaign, so I thought it would be amazing to have her shoot Bernie Dexter, who is one of the top modern pinups and makes a great Bettie, while still doing her own thing.

Steve Diet Goedde is a highly respected fetish photographer, so I thought his photos of Midori in Bettie's actual gloves would be a great addition, as well as represent the fetish community and that side of Bettie.

Ed Mironiuk has been a friend of mine for years and I absolutely love his illustrations. I knew he would do a really beautiful colorful illustrated Bettie that would be different from everyone else in the show.

Spencer Davis, who does the Booty Babe dolls, surprised me by doing one based on me and I thought how cool would it be to have him do a big Booty Bettie.

Claudette Barjoud and Jason Sallin are friends of Olivia and Joel's, but as soon as they told me about the black velvet Bettie and Bettie sculpture I was sold.

BPB: Finally, a sincere thanks for taking the time to talk with the Bettie Page blog... and a last question: How long do people have to catch the show?

LC: Show kicks off with a gala opening reception Saturday, may 2nd and runs until the 29th.

Bettie Page: Heaven Bound
World of Wonder Storefront Gallery
6650 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA
(Two blocks east of Hollywood and Highland.)

This is a fresh poster for the "Bettie Page: Heaven Bound", featuring the art of Olivia De Berardinis.

The show, curated by Lenora Claire, opens with a party on Saturday, May 2nd, 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM. There will be a $5 admission for the opening, but the gallery is free to peruse after that.

If you are in the Los Angeles area, you are in for a treat... the Bettie Page event of the year! World of Wonder (the good people who lived, then wrote, then made a documentary about, then made a feature about PARTY MONSTER, and lately brought you both a show about lumberjacks and RU PAUL'S DRAG RACE) has a "Storefront Gallery" located at 6650 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood -- that's two blocks east of Hollywood and Highland.

World of Wonder Storefront Gallery is super-excited to welcome Lenora Claire as guest curator for the month of May, as she presents her massive Bettie Page tribute, featuring the iconic paintings of the artist Olivia (as well as some extra special guests!) It's time to dust off those old corsets and fuck-me pumps, and start Vaseline-ing the patent leather, because it's going to be a spanking good time!

One of the main draws is the participation of the always amazing Olivia De Berardinis -- who remains not only the unparalleled modern master (mistress? oddly appropriate) of the pin-up, but also an incredibly wonderful person.

Other treats include contributions from Bunny Yeager, photography from Austin Young -- who's Perez Hilton-as-Bettie Page photo may prove that it DOES take more than black bangs to pull off Bettie's look! Luckily, his work with the ever-cool Margaret Cho helps crowd out Perez's visage... clearing the way to appreciate the mind-bending treat of seeing the show's curator, as herself, spank herself, as Bettie Page! Jim Silke has always found artistic inspiration in Bettie Page, and his contributions are sure to be stunning. The show will no doubt have a sense of humor and fun that would've tickled Bettie.

The show opens with a party on Saturday, May 2nd, 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM. There will be a $5 admission for the opening, but the gallery is free to peruse after that.

If you don't make it, the party is being filmed by Academy Award-nominated/Emmy winning documentarian Mark Mori for inclusion in his incredible theatrical documentary, BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL -- so, you can live vicariously through him!


World of Wonder
More from World of Wonder
Olivia De Berardinis
Margaret Cho
shoutout to like-minded Motor City Blog
The feature documentary BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL

Paula Diamond is a tattoo artist, body piercer and manager of The Dragon's Breath, in
Bedford, Texas. Check out her work at her MySpace page.

This piece is adapted from an illustration by the late, sorely missed Dave Stevens:


HE adapted the above illustration from this photo, below. Dave Stevens also color tinted the photo, and, as a result of his amazing work, it has become of of the truly iconic photos of Bettie Page:

Caught up with fetish and burlesque star Natalie Minx, who was kind enough to remark on Bettie Page's influence as Bettie's birthday nears...

Bettie is a HUGE influence, but more on the fetish side than the pin-up side. She is the first REAL fetish model and because of her, women like myself are able to share our love for kink in a much more accepted fashion.

We couldn't agree more! Yes, Bettie's look has become "cute"... and many of the girls today who adopt it pull it off with aplomb... but the US Government didn't find her use of ball gags, leather, whips or rope "cute"... they threatened to throw folks like Irving Klaw and Paula Kramer (who took many of those pictures) in jail for the rest of their lives! Irving, in Bettie's opinion, died from the constant harassment.

Well, the government got their wish. Depictions of bondage don't have to go through the sacrosanct US MAIL anymore... you can see Bettie Page's legacy in bondage modeling right now by clicking over to...

www.minxinmayhem.com. A word to the wise... although not hardcore, this is GRAPHIC MATERIAL, not suitable for anyone under 18.

More Natalie Minx can be found at...
www.natalieminx.com ...although this site is not being updated anymore.

It has been a goal of mine to make a visit to Brooke Army Medical Center ever since I started the project in 2007. Brooke Army Medical Center is the Defense Department's only burn center. It is able to save people like never before because burn victims get there quickly -– as fast as 36 hours from injury in Iraq to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and then to Texas. Doctors there have treated more than 450 patients with severe burn injuries from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I finally made my visit to San Antonio, TX in early April to visit the Wounded Warriors there and to deliver your donated calendars, posters and tee shirts.

To see all the pix from my Brooke Army Medical Center visit, check out Pages 50-51 of "In the Field" link on my website www.pinupsforvets.com

The visit was one that I will never forget.

Here I am with one of the donated tee-shirts before going in to visit the patients at BAMC in TX. The patients LOVED the donated tee shirts. I told them all that they would get lots of kisses when they wear their "Kiss a Vet" shirt!!!!

I also attended a dinner at the Warrior and Family Support Center right next to BAMC. I was as able to meet with many of the recovering Wounded Warriors and handed out your donated calendars. These brave heroes are amazing people and were so thankful to all of you who donated calendars for this visit! I told them that I had flown to BAMC all the way from California to visit them! I think they were pretty impressed!

The Warrior and Family Support Center is a place where families can be involved with the rehabilitation of the Wounded Warriors.

I received emails of "thanks" after the visit. One of the brave heroes wrote to me:

"Thanks. I really like your pics and it keeps a smile on my face when I wake up in the morning and look at your calendar on my wall."

I know that it means so much to these Wounded Warriors to know that people all over the country and the world are thinking of them. The calendars, posters and tee shirts that you have donated always bring a smile to their face!

Once again, thank you to all of you who so generously donated calendars, posters and tee shirts for this visit.

While I was at BAMC, I learned about one of the patients that was treated there, a very special Marine, Merlin German. Merlin was burned on 97% of his body and endured over 150 surgeries. He was called the "Miracle Man" at BAMC. He passed away last April. Click on the link to read about this amazing young man:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/05/03/2008-05-03_marine_sgt_merlin_germans_loved_ones_rec.html

I wanted to let you know that I am planning another hospital visit to Northern California--two VA Hospitals that I haven't visited yet. So, if you are interested in donating a calendar, poster or tee shirt for this visit, please check out www.pinupsforvets.com and click on ORDER NOW, option #2

Much love and thank you to all of you for your continued support,
xoxo
Gina
www.pinupsforvets.com

PS I am now on Facebook.com. You can find my profile by entering my email address: pinupsforvets@aol.com in the search box. Would love to "friend" all of you!!!! :)

Don't drink and drive... you may loose your hot rod!

Home for Big Mac also welcomes the hot rods

LA WEEKLY talks 'bout Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson.

Amy Winehouse - drugs = VV Brown?

RIVERFRONT TIMES catches up with James "Cry Baby" Intveld.

Aly Fell, a 3D animator, modeller and concept artist for Eurocom Entertainment Software in Derby, UK, is responsible for the above beautiful, classic pin-up, featuring Bettie as an alluring "Miss Muffet". Aly Fell explains what motivated his cool drawing:

A recent "Character of the Week" on Concept Art was Bettie Page, after she passed away. This was my entry portraying her as Little Miss Muffet. It... was very much a Gil Elvgrenisation of her. Hope it works a bit!

Most of my stuff is purely character work, and I enjoy drawing women, in traditional pin-up styles -- cheesy pics of girls in unlikely situations a la Gil Elvgren -- and in a more complex way.

For fun I like to visit places like Egypt with my girlfriend and hang around with people who wear too much black clothing and eyeliner. And I like to drive my hearse, when it's going...

Check out Aly's ONLINE GALLERY and his blog, PORT OUT, STARBOARD HOME. He's a regular at CG SOCIETY (which also features a gallery), CONCEPT ART and is a regular contributor to IMAGINE FX. Hopefully, he'll grace the Bettie Page Blog again in the future, as well!

Cruel Story of Youth
By Jim Hoberman, from THE VILLAGE VOICE

(Nagisa Oshima, 1960). Set in a widescreen world of strident rockabilly and lurid neon lights, flashy cars and boldly patterned synthetic fabrics, turquoise telephones and motorcycle punks, Nagisa Oshima’s 1960 “new wave” feature was less Japan’s Rebel Without a Cause than its Brave New World. Perhaps that why, although the movie is nearly 50 years old, its vision of ginza punks and adolescent sex urgency still feels contemporary.

This sounds like a killer flick!

Glamorous alt model Bettie Butcher not only walks in Bettie Page's shoes... she walks with Bettie inked on her entire outer left thigh! This tat is no joke... but it is a sexy image fit for this vampy Aussie.

"She is from a comic book i found in my brother wardrobe - Steve Worons' "Betty Page the 50s Rage", issue #1a.

Got her in about 2004... the tattoo artist was Josh Charelton from Rudys Tattoo in Sandgate, Brisbane, Australia."

This "fun loving, friendly 25 year old gal from Brisbane" is an enthusiast of vintage fashion, corsetry, role playing, vehicle mechanics, reading, and is devoted to her cats.

Although she doesn't want to be locked into alt-modeling or pin-ups, she is serious about her body mods:

"I have streched ears, as well as a septum piercing" ...and at least ten major tattoos, which, in addition to Bettie Page, includes a cool red angel wings back piece, a panther on her upper arm, a geisha, a wicked chest piece and LIVE and LOVE on her knuckles.

See more of Bettie Butcher (and her Bettie Page tattoo) on MYSPACE and MODEL MAYHEM.

---

Have a Bettie Page tattoo you want to share with the world? Email us! Tattoosdays are always better when we have a great tattoo to feature!

Teo Jonelli’s Betty in Bondage is profiled at Atomic Avenue.

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST FANSITES gives a solid rundown of "The Comic Book Life of Bettie Page".

COMIC VINE has a nice little slideshow of comic book covers in which Bettie "appears".

i09 is a crazy popular blog, part of the blogging empire that includes Jezebel, Jalopnik, Gizmodo and other actually successful, well read blogs that, like, get comments and stuff. Anyway, Jesus Diaz, an employee of this bloggantuan group of sites, worked this up. So... enjoy, if that's your bag.

(by the way, I pulled this from their comments section, as no credit was given for the "ahem" inspiration for the work - no mention of Bunny Yeager and they called Bettie Page "Bette" -- TWICE, so it wasn't a typo! GRRRR. I saw this a while ago but these facts prevented me from posting it then... but I did bookmark it and I'm going through my bookmarks and, well, y'know...)

#
10:05 AM on Fri Mar 27 2009
Plague

A lot?
Sorry, that's a Betty [sic] Page Bunny Yeager photo badly photoshopped.

Betty [sic] should not be defiled.

I saw this on a newsfeed, then searched around for good coverage, of which this AVN article seems to be most comprehensive.

Marilyn Chambers, like Bettie Page, was unapologetic in her sexual expression. Her early work as the "Ivory Soap" girl gave her a similar "messes with the Madonna/whore dichotomy... does not compute" kind of vibe that also characterizes Bettie Page's appeal.

She starred in films such as BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR and INSATIABLE, which, despite the fact that my creepy uncle had them on Betamax, were attempts to "legitimize" hardcore pornography as a genre of mainstream filmmaking. Despite porn becoming a multi-billion dollar business, the division between "mainstream" fare and "adult entertainment" remain within the Hollywood community (with the line blurring somewhere near VH1's ROCK OF LOVE BUS).

Chambers did "cross over" in David Cronenberg's RABID (see! see!), but ended up returning to adult filmmaking, in many different capacities, often trying to produce work that was at least quasi-sex-positive.

Marilyn was found in her Santa Clarita residence by her daughter on Sunday night. She was 57 years old. Cause of death is pending.

Frankly, it is hard to embrace all of the adult industry, as much of it is juvenile

and filled with not-so-great portrayals of women. However, a society that ghettoizes the expression of sexuality in media, so it can condemn/decry it en masse, seems equally as pathetic. Maybe Marilyn really did want a world where we didn't require two entirely separate industries to release a movie where naked people do what naked people do. It seems like that could lead to a more enlightened society that would take some of the piss out of both of the negative extremes.

I won't hold my breath!

(Netflix THE FILM IS NOT YET RATED if this topic interests you -- it explains why frank, realistic sexuality is marginalized by the Motion Picture Association of America... and how the NC-17 rating, that was to free serious cinema, failed so spectacularly.)

Even non-nerds can appreciate that Batwoman has evolved from an afterthought to a LIPSTICK LESBIAN male fantasy afterthought (except when drawn in loving detail by Adam Hughes). Now, thanks to TOPLESS ROBOT and ROBOT 6, comes the breaking news that Batwoman (not to be confused with Batgirl -- totally different character) will wear SENSIBLE WORKBOOTS for crimefighting and, out of costume, will have a smart bob with Bettie Page bangs, a few tasteful retro tats and will start shopping at TORRID.


In the spirit of equal time, Marvel is launching Marvel Divas, which will be "frothy" and features another afterthought female character, "Firestar", who Gen Xers will remember from SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS WHO AREN'T POPULAR ENOUGH TO BE NAME-CHECKED IN THE TITLE, ONE OF WHOM WAS CREATED FOR THIS CRAP, AS "THE HUMAN TORCH" WAS ALREADY UNDER CONTRACT TO A DIFFERENT STUDIO TO DO A BAD TV MOVIE THAT NEVER GOT MADE AND ALSO THERE WAS PROBABLY PRESSURE FROM "FEMINISTS" TO HAVE, LIKE, A GIRL, OR SOMETHING.

Evidently SoCal Beaches Magazine likes girls in bikinis lounging near classic cars taking in the ocean breeze.

Soul Asylum guitarist Dan Murphy's passion for vintage girlie art has bloomed into a second career, as profiled in the MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL STAR TRIBUNE.

Photostream from the Tuscon Tattoo Expo pin-up contest on FLICKR.

Someone's DIGG list of contemporary pin-up art.

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD celebrated Easter by running down the most notable PLAYBOY BUNNIES and PLAYMATES of all time. And Jesus wept. Aw, what the heck... at least they had the good sense of including Bettie Page!

Little article about Viva Las Vegas from a slightly dismissive scene outsider.

TIME OUT NEW YORK article on THE NEW YORK PIN-UP PHOTOGRAPHY MEETUP GROUP. Sounds like fun - like a re-ignition of the camera clubs of yore that helped promulgate Bettie Page's popularity!

Automopedia has pin-ups, apropos of nothing, but we're not complaining.

Interview with Alicia Estrada, founder of STOP STARING, at LAist.

Shripmton Couture's "open letter to Dita", urging more vintage, less designer.