Hilary's Hideaway: February 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010

History with Hilary - February 28

A Tree Grows in BrooklynHilary!

On February 28, 1945, the film A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (directed by Elia Kazan) opened in US theaters. The novel, by Betty Smith, was published two years earlier. It's a coming-of-age story about a girl living with her impoverished family Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the early 1900s.

I've never read it or seen it. Have you?

Become a fan of History with Hilary on Facebook!

What is History With Hilary?
Every day, I take a self-portrait based on that day in history! The plan is to eventually make a book and/or calendar!

Select prints from my History With Hilary are for sale. Proceeds help to support the project, which is getting a little pricey! View them at Etsy!

I'm also accepting donations, including costumes, wigs, fabric, and props! Please email me at historywithhilary@gmail.com.

History With Hilary - April 18

Once in a while, I mess up on the dates of something and so have to make a decision about what to do with it.

I took this photo thinking that the movie Be Kind Rewind was released on February 28, but it was released on the 22nd!

So I looked at the other possible dates for the film and picked the release date in SWEDEN!

As you know, if you've seen Michel Gondry's film, Jack Black's character accidentally erases every single video in a rental shop. The easiest possible fix to this solution was to re-make all the films himself! Right? The process, they claim, is called "sweding".

The first film they re-make is Ghostbusters.

Here I am sorta sweding the sweded version of Ghostbusters - specifically the library scene. I ain't afraid of no ghosts.

Thassright.

Rick made my awesome costume with aluminum foil and duct tape. I made the Ghostbusters sign with construction paper. The book is hanging from a hook in the ceiling with fishing line and a fish hook.

This was FUN.

Friday, February 26, 2010

History with Hilary - February 26

Happy birthday to John Harvey Kellogg (born February 26, 1852)! He was the American physician who developed dry cereal!

I asked Twitter & Facebook what cereal they think of first when they think of Kellogg's...here are the results!

Frosted Flakes - 8 (They're g-r-r-r-eat!)
Corn Flakes - 6
Special K - 4
Raisin Bran - 1 (Two scoops!)
Rice Krispies - 1 (Snap Crackle Pop!)
Froot Loops - 1 (Follow your nose!)
Honey Smacks - 1

I watched a bunch of old commercials on YouTube. Remember when Honey Smacks were called Sugar Smacks? And when Raisin Bran commercials instructed you to add sugar at home? Yep.

History with Hilary - February 25

February 25, 1997 marked the first official re-release of "Black Monk Time" by The Monks.

This date was suggested to me by my friend Mike Fornatale, who was promoted by The Monks from "fan" to "singer" in 1999, when Gary lost his voice. Mike describes himself as their "Organist and Hitter of High Notes".

I know Mike Fornatale through Loser's Lounge. Don't miss out on a chance to hear that man sing!

Oh, I was going to try to be Larry in this Monks photo:
www.diskull.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/01monkspr...

I put on a fake mustache, but it looked decidedly wrong. :D

Thursday, February 25, 2010

History with Hilary - February 24

On February 24, 1979, swine breeder Russ Braize of Stamford sold a pig (named Glacier) for the highest price ever recorded at the time: $42,500. Glacier held the world record for the most expensive boar of all breeds for 18 years.

That's some pig!

Thanks to Rick (silav)for drawing my ear and snout! :D

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

History with Hilary - February 23

On February 23, 1968, Cool Hand Luke opened in theaters in...Finland! (The US release date was November 1, 1967.)

Nobody can eat 50 eggs. Except, of course, Paul Newman! You can see the egg scene from the film here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNyl6gXLMLQ

I went to Costco today and purchased 60 eggs for $6.05. I hard boiled a couple dozen. Cracked another dozen raw because the shells from the uncooked eggs looked better for the photo.

I ate 2.5 of them. That was quite enough! Perhaps I'll post an outtake of a real reaction to having that egg in my mouth. Yuck! :)

Monday, February 22, 2010

History with Hilary - February 22

On February 22, 1987, Andy Warhol died at the age of 58.

There are lots of ways to make these "pop art" images online! If you want to do one like this, check out FotoFlexer.com! You're just a click away... ;)

Here is the photo I started off with. I like it.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

History with Hilary - February 20

On February 20, 1965, Vic Dana performed "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" on "American Bandstand."

I just happened to have some blue face makeup and my Valentine's Day roses.... :D

If you want to hear the song, you can do so here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB_67zLhbEs

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

History with Hilary - February 16

After many weeks of careful excavation, on February 16, 1923, British Egyptologist Howard Carter opened the inner chamber of KV62 - Tutankhamun's tomb. It was on that date that he first saw the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. (It was conveyed to the public by H. V. Morton, the only journalist on the scene.)

I, of course, got MY inspiration for the photo from Steve Martin. You can see his Saturday Night Live performance here:
www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/king-tut/976141/

"Born in Arizona...moved to Babylonia...King Tut!"

Monday, February 15, 2010

Contributing to COD Magazine

My husband Rick and I have just become the first husband & wife team to contribute to COD Magazine!

It's a cool site - you oughtta check it out. And it is getting us to work together and come up with some creative ideas...

We decided to use some images from our trip to San Pedro for our first 2 posts.

Here are the images...click through to see the accompanying titles/text!

Thanks to COD for having us! We're very comfy here. :)

San Pedro is for Lovers.

On Sunday, Rick and I spent a fun and creative day wandering around San Pedro!

As we do on occasion, we drew a shape on a map and walked the outline...not knowing what we would see along the way. Since it was Valentine's Day (AND the 7 month anniversary of our marriage) we drew a 5-mile heart! (You can check one of our previous bunny-shaped adventures in Walnut, CA here.)

On this particular outing, we brought some papier-mâché masks that we'd made together earlier in the week. (They were made for my February 10 "History with Hilary" photo!) The idea was that we'd take photos of the masks or us with the masks at various locations along the way.

I'd never been to San Pedro and thoroughly enjoyed our outing! Plus we had some good Mexican food at the end for dinner, followed by drinks at a local bar called Rebel's, where Charles Bukowski used to hang out. (Thanks for the tip, Davey!)

A few mask photos (the whole set can be viewed here):

And here are some of my non-mask photos (the whole set can be viewed here):

History with Hilary - February 15

On February 15, 1905, American composer Harold Arlen was born.

In his life, Arlen wrote over 500 songs! He composed the score for The Wizard of Oz and the RIAA (Recording Industry of America) and the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) voted "Over the Rainbow" as the 20th century's #1 song.

One of my favorite Harold Arlen songs is "Paper Moon", so I chose that as inspiration for today's photo! It was a hit in 1933 - forty years before the movie of the same name.

If you search, you'll find that lots of photos have been made and posted with paper moons. I wanted to do one too! :)

Thanks to Rick for drawing THIS moon!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

History with Hilary - February 13

On February 13, 2000, Maude Flanders was sent to a better place after a freak t-shirt cannon incident.

This episode of The Simpsons was titled "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily". It was Season 11, Episode 14.

Incidentally, I've had the SONG "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan stuck in my head for the last several days, since hearing it on the radio. You can listen to the song here:
www.emp3world.com/mp3/73683/Gilbert%20Osullivan/Alone%20A...

RIP Maude Flanders.

Friday, February 12, 2010

History with Hilary - February 12

On February 12, 1980, actress Christina Ricci was born.

One of her many roles was as Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family movies.

I remember seeing her first in Mermaids. Thinking about that has put Cher's version of The Shoop Shoop Song in my head. And now perhaps into your head!

This hand was made by Chris Baker and lives in our house. It seemed like an appropriate prop... :)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

History with Hilary - February 10

February 10-16, 2010 is Carnival de Ponce in Puerto Rico. This celebration dates back to 1858 and happens annually the week before Ash Wednesday. (It coincides with Mardi Gras.)

The stars of the Carnival de Ponce are the Vejigantes. People dress as demons . The costumes include capes and papier-mâché masks. The masks usually include horns, a snout, and fangs. They then run around whacking spectators with inflated cow bladders (vejigas) to, um, beat away evil spirits. I've read, though, that given their tendency to target attractive women, their motives may be suspect. :)

Rick and I decided to make our own masks, which we are still working on. This photo was taken after three layers of papier-mâché. After taking the photo, we added a layer of white paper. Next we will paint and decorate the masks.

History with Hilary - February 9

On February 9, 1960, Joanne Woodward became the first actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

When looking through her film titles, I found The Three Faces of Eve, for which Ms. Woodward won the 1957 Best Actress Oscar.

I had never seen the film, but watched it last night on Netflix (you can watch it instantly). It's a true story about a young woman who is diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. It's a beautiful film, during which I got chills several times and cried once. :) I highly recommend it.

Here are three of the many faces of Hilary.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

History with Hilary: February 7

On February 7, 1964, the Beatles came to the US for the first time! Two days later, they performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. 73 million viewers tuned in for that show - a record for US television at the time. A large portion of the audience was made of hysterical teenage girls.

It was the start of the British Invasion!

You can't tell, but I have an awesome 60s dress on that I got for a dollar over the weekend. It'll probably show up again sometime. ;)

The sign is based on one I saw online. I thought it was funny that the girls initially forgot the L in Beatles. It can be seen here:
www.rgbfilter.com/images/2009-03-05-fans.jpg

History with Hilary: February 6

On February 6, 1996, the 100 billionth Crayola Crayon was produced by Binney & Smith, Inc. in NY.

Do you know what Crayola means? Oily chalk!

The first box of crayons (an 8 pack) was introduced in 1903.

I thought I'd have plenty of ideas once I had 64 crayons at my disposal...but it was more difficult than expected to make a photo work with the ideas I had!

Friday, February 5, 2010

History with Hilary - February 5

On February 5, 1948, Christopher Guest was born.

This is based on the outfit he wore for the song "Nothing Ever Happens on Mars" in Waiting for Guffman. One of my favorite movies of all time.

I added a stool and a penny. And thought about biting my pillow.

Here is a photo of the actual scene:
christybharath.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/waiting-for-gu...

If you like this movie, you should like another photo I'll be posting soon too... :)

Thursday, February 4, 2010

History with Hilary - February 4

On February 4, 1938, Thornton Wilder's three-act play "Our Town" premiered at Henry Miller's Theatre in New York City.

I was in this play in 10th grade (I think?) at my high school in New Hampshire. I played Mrs. Gibbs - the mother of George Gibbs. (In this photo I am George Gibbs and Emily Webb.)

I crammed this ladder into my kitchen next to my refrigerator and hung black fabric on the wall behind me.

If you're not familiar with the play and want to know more about it, check this out:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Town

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

History with Hilary - February 3

February 3, 1959, was a sad day in music history. A plane crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing rock 'n' roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

I decided to make a fun photo for Buddy Holly instead of a sad one!

And I've had Weezer in my head all day.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

History with Hilary - February 1

On February 1, 1992, the song "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred topped the charts and stayed there for 4 weeks.

You should probably watch the video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=39YUXIKrOFk

Thank you to Rick (silav) for the shirt, cat, car, and hat!