Cover art for Dutch language pulp novel The Hellcat, circa 1962, part of the Al Wheeler series written by Carter Brown, aka Alan G. Yates. Interestingly, “hellcat” in Dutch would actually be something like “helkat”. “De helle” means “the whole” and “veeg” means "sweep". At least, that’s what Babelfish tells us. 

The other day we realized that nearly all of our femmes fatales released records at some point, so we have a megapost of sleeves below representing a fraction of these multi-talented women’s musical output. We’ve heard most of the music, believe it or not, and while its quality varies, we do suggest you check out both Marilyn Chambers and Reiko Ike—their simulated orgasms are quite pleasing to the, er, ears. 

Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, shown here in two shots from the same photo session, with a wardrobe change in between, 1975. For reasons probably having to do with poor manual dexterity, she never got either outfit completely fastened. How embarassing. More Kristel wardrobe malfunctions here and here. By the way, don't you just love the drapes? 

The National Gallery in London has just opened a new art exhibit based on one of our favorite cities—Amsterdam. The exhibit is stirring up quite a controversy because of its explicit content, which critics describe as tasteless and “designed to shock.” The artists responsible, Ed and Nancy Kienholz, created partial versions of some of Amsterdam’s famous brothels back in 1983. Their new installation, “The Hoerengracht,” or the Whore Canal, features these pieces arranged to replicate a realistic walk through Amsterdam’s famous De Wallen red light district, complete with mannequins dressed as prostitutes and garish neon lights. These were among the final pieces worked on by Ed Kienholz, who died in 1994. By that time he had achieved widespread acclaim, but even so, this is perhaps the first time his and his wife’s work has been featured in a venue as conventional and respected as the National Gallery. It is the venue’s break from its traditional roots that has generated both criticism and publicity. Now that the exhibit is open, it’s the public’s turn to decide. “The Hoerengracht”—the closest thing to Amsterdam without going there—runs through February 2010.

Skoop movie magazine from our recent trip to Amsterdam, with cover star Jean Seberg, and stories on Jean-Marie Straub, Paul Newman, and others.

Here's one of our Amsterdam finds, a 1967 copy of a Dutch cinema magazine called Skoop. There was a giant stack of them, but we liked this one because its cover featured a shot of Audrey Hepburn we’ve never seen before. It also had a twenty-page interview with Alain Resnais, as well as a long feature on the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. We can’t read any of it, but the pictures sure are pretty. Below are a few interior pages, including images of Julie Andrews, Lex de Bruyn and Delphine Seyrig.

We tend to throw superlatives around quite a bit, but this time we really mean it: this Dutch edition of Mickey Spillane’s Everybody’s Watching Me has one of the coolest covers we’ve ever seen. From the supersaturated red shade, to the handlettered text, to the brunette in a bikini and Roman sandals, this one is picture perfect. Definitely our new favorite, and we’re not just saying that because we’re in Amsterdam this week. Interestingly, there is not a lot of Dutch-language pulp. At least, we haven't spotted much thusfar. But we'll keep digging and see what turns up.