Karen Essex and James L. Swanson, �Bettie Page: The Life of a Pin-Up Legend�
So.
Remember that last entry where I mentioned that people I knew or liked happened to die at the same time I had done something with mixed media that involved them with my life? No? Well, perhaps you should check it out. Go ahead. I�ll wait.
[...]
No? Don�t want to look? Okay, the gist of it was that I decided to test that theory on Monday, putting a George W. Bush book in my bag to see if I had a handle on the universal order of things.
And on Tuesday, this happened.
From the AP wire: A former Virginia high school valedictorian who had been detained in Saudi Arabia as a suspected terrorist was charged with conspiring to assassinate President Bush.
Oh, ho ho.
Oh, ho, ho ho ho...
I�m gonna need a bigger backpack.
Of course, at the same time, I�m going to need to figure out how to control this. After all, I wouldn�t wish any harm on Miss Bettie Page, though most of you probably thought she was dead already.
She�s not, incidentally. After dropping out of the pin-up circuit, she became a recluse of sorts, and as it turns out, she�s living in LA as a sweet old lady living on social security.
That�s the main reason behind this book. the authors in trying to hunt her down, found out that this was what she has been reduced too. All those Bettie Page shirts, posters and other memorabilia that you�ve bought? She doesn�t get any of the proceeds.
Think about that the next time you want to complain about how life isn�t fair.
In the introduction, the authors state that this is the primary reason behind the book � the majority of the proceeds are supposed to go to Page. A biography of sorts, you get to read about Page growing up, going through school, getting married and divorced a couple of times, and becoming a pin-up star that managed to avoid a Boogie Nights-type downward crash.
Accompanied, of course, by a lot of photos.
Noticeably absent are any of the stills by photographer Bunny Yeager. Yeager was approached for the project, but was reported to have said, �What has Betty Page done for me lately? She pays for the photos, just like anybody else.�
I don�t know Yeager�s side of the story, so I�m not calling for a boycott. But I�ll certainly suggest it.
At the same time, if this was such an altruistic project, why is it now out of print, and going for such a high price, as noted by the amazon link? As sad as it makes me feel, considering how few years that have passed since the publication of this book, I think Miss Page may have been ripped off yet again.
It probably wouldn�t make me sad if she didn�t seem so nice to everybody else. You can see it in the biographical information where she refuses to talk poorly about anybody, right down to the photos where she simply looks like she was just having fun, rather than being some sort of cantankerous undernourished sexpot.
When you look at the iconic photos, the ones that end up on flyers and shirts and posters, you may not catch these carefree emotions. � her in a devil suit, the bondage shots, the leopard bathing suit � But when you look at the shots that weren�t so staged, things like her frolicking on a beach, you see the qualities that make her attractive, because it looks like she�s having fun.
For instance, out of all the �hot� shots, My favorite photo of Bettie Page (not included in this book) is a picture of her at the beach, holding up a strand of seaweed with a look of mock disgust.
There isn�t anything sexual about the photo (besides her being in a bikini � rrrrrroooooow!) � it�s how she�s screwed up her expression into something like a poorly paid dinner thespian that make you realize you could probably sit around with her in pajamas and quote English television sitcom catchphrases all night, making each other laugh hysterically for the entire evening.
And that alone is enough for me to use a phrase like �rrrrrroooooow!�
