By 2g1c2 girls 1 cup

Archive for the Uncategorized Category

Episode 37: The Wizard of Oz

Posted 8 March 2013 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: , , , , , | Categories: Uncategorized, shownotes | 1 Comment

Once a season we step away from factual subjects and focus on a fictional one. This season we traveled to the land of Oz and took a look around.

“But Chicks,” you say,”a Wizard is a man.”

To that we respond: Thank you for pointing this out. Yes, the Wizard is a man, and L. Frank Baum is a man…but Oz is full of women! Dorothy! Glinda! Ozma! Oz is a land of female rulers and strong charactered inhabitants- how could we not talk about it? (Besides, we like fantasy, okay? And there are several points in the Six Degrees of History Chicks Separation game with this subject.  Just trust us.)

W.W. Denslow illustration from The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

We’re sure several images popped into your head when you saw the title, and we will cover most of them in this episode…except three: Judy Garland, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton. We decided to have a separate conversation about the lives of the three female stars of the 1939 movie . That chat will be posted as a companion minicast .

In 1900 L. Frank Baum introduced the world to the imaginary land of Oz. It wasn’t the first children’s book that he had written-but it would become a series that he would work on for the rest of his life that is full of characters, settings and storylines that are still being explored today.

Born in 1856 in  Chittenango, New York, Lyman Frank Baum was the son of a barrel maker and occupational experimenter who struck it rich in the oil business- Benjamin Baum and his wife, Cynthia Stanton Baum. Frank was a sick child with a weak heart but a big imagination. He also had the gift of very indulgent parents.

Aside from a short stint at Peekskill Military Academy (where there was, literally, a yellow brick road), Frank was educated at home by tutors and  parents who helped him peruse any interests he had. When he took an interest in the printing process, his parents bought him a home printing press. Later when he took an interest in acting, they got him a theater.

Franks brief experience in a military school...not exactly his thing

Once grown, he began touring with an acting company until he met Maud Gage- daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s co-author Matilda Jocelyn Gage. Love. Within a year they were married, and when she became pregnant with the first of four sons, the acting life ended and Frank the dreamer needed to become Frank the supporter.

He did not find success as a chicken breeder, store owner, newspaper man, or traveling salesman. One day he wrote out the Mother Goose rhymes that he had been sharing with his sons and they became his first book- Mother Goose in Prose. His second was a spin-off of that one, Father Goose: His Book.

Shortly after these two successes, he wrote down the stories he had been telling his sons and the neighborhood kids about a little girl named Dorothy in a magical land named Oz. With clever illustrations by W.W. Denslow, The Wizard of Oz was a hit.

Frank brought the story to the theater with a stage version ( although the adult cast wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he wrote the story), and this also was a success. While he had no interest in writing another Oz book, he did have an interest in putting food on the table for his family. Frank Baum was an imaginative writer, but a businessman he was not and he would earn and lose his wealth many times over the years. Within four years of the first Oz book he was publishing a second. He would write 13 sequels to the original story (including our favorite- Ozma of Oz).

Shh, don't tell the others, but this is our favorite

But that’s not all! Frank wrote several books and plays under pseudonyms and several of those were women’s names- the most successful being a series for teenage girls, Aunt Jane’s Nieces, under the pen name, Edyth Van Dyne.

L. Frank Baum circa 1911

Frank Baum died on May 6th, 1919 at the age of 92. His last book, Glinda of Oz,  was published posthumously a year later.

But the Oz books couldn’t end! Not only was the world enthralled with the story, it was making some serious coin for its publishers. After Frank’s death another 36 books would be written by a variety of authors making up what is considered the official 40 book Oz series.

About 38 years down the yellow brick road technology caught up with the stories. After Walt Disney scored big time with Snow White, movie makers were looking for the next big fairy tale and MGM landed Oz. We geek out about the making of this iconic movie for quite a while during the podcast. We chat about trivia as well as the differences between the movie and the beloved books (Like the shoes: Dorothy originally was gifted a pair of silver shoes, but red showed up so much nicer in Technicolor.)

2.6 million dollars, five directors, scores of writers, two Tin Man actors, and a shooting schedule that stretched from 6 weeks to 23 The Wizard of Oz finally opened…

Not the first technicolor movie by a long shot and didn't follow the books exactly (and we cover those differences in the podcast), 1939 MGM movie poster

…and didn’t quite do as well at the box-office as you would have expected. While this film lasts on mostly due to annual televised showings beginning in the mid 1950’s- the movie wasn’t a flop by any standard, but it did originally fail to be a financial success. The movie did win two Academy Awards as well as a special award for 16 year-old Judy Garland.

TIME TRAVEL WITH THE HISTORY CHICKS

So you really don’t want to read all the books in the Oz series, we get that- 40 is a lot of books. Here is a really fun shortcut to the plots and characters of each book as well as all the original cover art to them. Maybe after you read these reviews you will give in and get one of the books. And another. And another. Hey, fantasy series are all the rage these days- there is a reason and Oz started them all. Mari Ness on TOR.COM

Other than the books in the Oz series, we didn’t have a lot of recommendations for this episode. We  think that the Annotated Wizard of Oz was pretty terrific, as well as the Wicked Years series by Gregory McGuire and Was by Geoff Ryman (very dark, but very good).

Annotated Wizard of Oz edited by Michael Patrick Hearn

Was by, Geoff Ryman

The Wicked Series by Gregory Maguire (also available on Audible.com and you can get a free book just by clicking the link to the far right, no, up higher...just sayin')

And as far as movies go, get thee to the library and borrow the 3 -disc Collector’s Edition of the 1939 movie! So many special features you will be all Oz’d up in no time!

1978 brought a very interesting version of movie (it had previously been an Tony award winning Broadway play) The Wiz starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Make your own judgement if it’s destined for Cult Movie Classic status or not.

1978 musical The Wiz

You can catch Tin Man, the Sci-Fi channel mini-series starring Zooey Deschenel, streaming on Netflix and decide if you think it’s good (and forgive Zooey for this one) like Susan, or if you can’t get past the first episode like Beckett.

Classic Oz touches sprinkled through story in semi Once Upon a Time style

Join in the serious business at the International Wizard of Oz Clubs, or join some chat with the Royal Historians and all at The Royal Website of Oz.

The Studio 360 podcast episode “American Icons: The Wizard of Oz” can be found here, or on ITunes: Studio 360

Want to read the rest of the Evil Overlord list? Find it here: The Evil Overlord List

Investigate your name’s popularity over time at The Baby Name Wizard (warning! It’s addictive!): Baby Name Wizard

Finally, there are a pair of the Ruby Slippers Judy Garland wore in the movie at the Smithsonian, but if you are looking for an Oz museum as you cross Kansas, here is one in Wamego, Kansas ( just  east of Manhattan). We have not been, but if you have let us know how it is in the comments!

On display in Washington, one pair of the movie ruby slippers

As always, our music comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at music.mevio.com
(closing song – If I Only Had a Brain by Elijah Tucker)

Shownotes Episode 35: Josephine Baker, Part Two

Posted 21 January 2013 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: , , , , , | Categories: Uncategorized, shownotes | Leave a Comment

In this episode we continue our chat about the many acts in the life of Josephine Baker. When we went to intermission, Ms Baker was touring  the world as an entertainment superstar with the help of her manager/fake husband/fake Count, Pepito Abatino. The one place that she had left to embrace her was her native country, the good ol’ US of A. When the house lights went up we were biting our nails! Would her homeland love and appreciate her as much as the people of other continents? Could Josephine go home?

Act Three

(It’s 1934 and Josephine  is taking the stage at the Ziegfield Follies in New York expecting a warm and loving response)

Crickets chirp.

Josephine didn’t have to get far onto US soil before she faced racial prejudice. As a ‘married” couple she and Pepito could share a hotel room, but not an entry door into the hotel. Her performances were not met with a warm reception for a variety of reasons: she danced with white male partners, her level of undress made audiences uncomfortable, and the songs that she was required to sing were not suitable for her voice. Her part in the show was your basic hot mess. Josephine blamed Pepito and sent him away, back to France ending their ten year relationship…and quite possibly his life. He was hospitalized and died of unknown causes a few weeks later. Stomach cancer or a broken heart?

Josephine got out of her contract and the US as quickly as possible. Shortly afterward she married Jean Lion, a wealthy French businessman. With this marriage she legally became a French citizen and had hopes of becoming a mother. Jean apparently had high hopes of her becoming his most fabulous accessory, a trophy wife. But first, Josephine must say good-bye to her public and set off on a farewell tour.

The only thing that fully got the good-bye and farewell part is the marriage; it doesn’t last long.

But our newly minted French citizen had some very important work in her future. WWII began and she volunteered to assist the war effort for her country. Her touring  continued from country to country with one major difference: She was doing it as a spy for the French Resistance.  She used her lifestyle of hobnobbing with those in the know to get intel and smuggled it back with her hat boxes and costumes, and eventually raised in ranks within the French Free Air Force.

Josephine in uniform

As always we go into much more detail in the podcast but essentially her spy duties came to a halt when she was hospitalized in Casablanca for 19 months.

But that wasn’t the end of  the war efforts of our heroine! Once recuperated, she went back on the road, this time  helping to spread a message of brotherly love by entertaining racially integrated audiences of soldiers. Ultimately she received two prestigious awards for her work in the war, the Croix de Guerre and the Medal of Resistance. And by the end of the war, she entered her fourth marriage, to her band conductor- Jo Boullion.

The war ws over, but Josephine still has some fight in her. At this point in her life, she directed it toward the fight for racial equality. She not only had lofty goals she had big…no, massive plans.

First she and Jo remodeled an old castle she named Les Milandes, in the south of France, into a tourist destination with a theme of brotherly love. This pricey undertaking required some capital, so off she went on another world tour. This time she was confronted with more racial barriers and opportunities for her to use her celebrity. One, an incident in New York’s famous Stork Club that involved then popular newscaster, Walter Winchell, got her banned from reentering the US for many years. (It’s a doozie, and we gossip on about the details in the podcast)

Next up, Josephine embarked on a plan to finally put herself in the role of a lifetime: Mother. She and Jo began to adopt babies of all colors and nationalities from around the world. They named the TWELVE children, The Rainbow Tribe.

Jo and Josephine with their young, and as yet incomplete, tribe

But it’s not all rainbows and sunshine for this unique family.

Act Four

(Open on Jo driving away from Les Milandes, Josephine and 12 stunned children left in his wake)

Josephine and Jo didn’t see eye-to-eye on many things. Ahem, many - but one important one being the children: How many? How to raise them? When was enough enough?  When Josephine was on tour, the children were raised by Jo and a series of nannies at Les Milandes. Mama would breeze in, sometimes with a new brother or sister- take a few pictures, love on them all, then go back on the road. The costs of the constant renovations to the castle were astronomical, and eventually she was so far in debt she couldn’t get ahead. Jo couldn’t understand her, deal with her, take it- whatever his reasons, he left  - although they never divorced.

On one hand she had this falling down resort that is getting her more and more in debt each day and is filled with her very large  family.

The tribe has grown and are growing up

On the other hand, she was doing civil rights work all over the world as she was touring .  She even spoke with Martin Luther King, Jr at the March on Washington as the only official woman speaker.

Josephine at the March on Washington

So what hand won?

Josephine after being forced out of Les Milandes

Not Les Milandes. She got physically tossed out of it. But that’s again, not the end. Over the next few years, in not so short order:  Princess Grace  rescued her, helped set her up in a sweet villa in Monaco and funds a comeback show.

Opening night in Paris. It’s April, 1975 and Josephine is 68 years old. Does the old girl still have what it takes, or has Paris already seen the best she had to offer years before? Is she a washed up has-been, or a timeless superstar?

When the reviews came in the roaring cry was… Superstar!

Josephine was back on the stage, the cheers of the crowd ringing in her ears- she was a success.

The next day, no one could wake her as she lay among her rave reviews in the papers. She would never awake again.  Within the week she was declared dead of a brain hemorrhage on April 12, 1975.

Josephine's funeral procession through the streets of Paris

Fin

TIME TRAVEL WITH THE HISTORY CHICKS

Chateau des Milandes


You can visit Les Milandes without ever leaving your house! This is a really fun website and one of the few where we don’t mind music. Les Milandes Website.

If you are leaving your house and headed to New York, maybe you can dine at Chez Josephine, NYC.

Although her life really reads like a movie, this is the one movie that we could get our hands on: 1991 The Josephine Baker Story starring Lynn Whitfield.

We know you like your books and here are the ones that we recommend for this woman:

Children's book: Jazz Age Josephine by Jonah Winter illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

Middle Grade-Josephine Baker: Entertainer by Alan Schroeder

Have your own compare and contrast fest with these three biographies:

The Josephine Baker Story by Ean Wood

Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart by Jean-Claude Baker and Chris Chase

Josephine by Josephine Baker and Jo Bouillion

Josephine Baker: Image and Icon by Olivia Gonzales

As always, our music comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at Music.mevio.com

November Update

Posted 7 November 2012 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: | Categories: Misc. Business, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

We don’t usually post about any women other than the ones that we spotlight, but make an exception every once and again. Now seems like a very good time to do that.

After we had posted our Lady Jane Grey episode we were on track to bring you the final episode of Season Three. It’s a doozie, epically complicated with a lot of players covering a very long span of time. It’s a topic you asked for, we researched and were ready to record it.

But we had also promised that we wouldn’t take a break between Season Three and Season Four- and we needed to firm up our schedule for Season Four.

So we decided to meet and do just that: select a list of ten women and get a collection of options for you to vote for in the Guaranteed Content Poll. The plan was to meet one Friday, then record three days later on a Monday. Because of where we live, our day jobs and our preference to record in the same room- we usually only have one day a week where our schedules can work together. Taking that Monday was a choice we made to put everything else aside, and get this podcast recorded.

We had this foolproof, sure-fire plan...

On that Friday, the plan was working. We firmed up the upcoming season, had a lovely- and very rare- lunch together. We had a few minutes before we had to head home to pick up our kids, so we went to locate a nearby Geocache. Because we could. And it was fun. And we don’t ever have time to do goofy stuff like that together.

Then on the way home one of us came down with a pretty nasty stomach virus that wiped out the whole next week for recording.

The following week a Day Job emergency did the same.

Day job commitments, kid health issues, and our  schedules kept stealing our recording days. Finally, several weeks after our Friday meeting, we sat down and recorded what will be a two-part podcast.

Our microphone was getting lonely

Our microphone was getting lonely

You may not realize what we do after we have recorded an episode. Beckett gets to editing. She takes out the parts where a truck may have driven past the House of Wood, or one of us got up to get a fresh cup of coffee, or got off on a tangent (what? It’s a conversation-sometimes that happens). Basically she takes out anything that has no relevance to the topic at hand. She adds and selects the music, and gets our very smooth voiced History Dude to record something for the middle. This takes quite a few days- and an occasional night- worth of any free time she has.

While she is doing that, Susan writes the shownotes. This doesn’t take as long as Beckett’s editing, but we have a pretty sizable portion of our audience that don’t listen to the podcast, but use the shownotes to tell them the story of the women that we spotlight. (Waves to those people) And we have to make sure that all of our recommended reading and links to places we talk about are here for you to click.

At this point we started to wonder if our episode was cursed. Things continued to happen- a death in the family that required out of town travel, a technical issue that had us contemplating re-recording… one thing after another. In the span of time that we kept crashing into obstacles, we typically could have two full episodes out. It was very frustrating.

In the middle of all of that, we were informed that YOU had nominated us for a Podcast Award! Thank you so much for that! But we hesitated to link you to the voting, before we could get the next episode up to you. It felt wrong to us.

So we were silent.

And you noticed! You sent us notes asking if we were ok and when you could expect the next podcast episode… it was really nice and made us reevaluate our communication plans.

Today, we share the tale. Quite frankly we are nervous to tell you when the next episodes will be posted. It’s a two-parter that a curse really does tie into quite well. We HOPE to have that up by the end of this week.

Hope.

Cross everything.

Send good vibes, and energy and prayers and whatever you have to offer. Because after we post those, we need to record the beginning of Season Four…and we both are really excited to do that.

Do we have your vote?

If you don’t hate us for keeping you in the dark, here is a link to The Podcast Awards. We are nominated in the Education category and you can vote once a day until November 15th.

And because it’s fun, here is a link to learn more about geocashing.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Beckett and Susan

Shownotes: Episode 30 – Queen Mary I

Posted 16 September 2012 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: , , , , , | Categories: Uncategorized, shownotes | 2 Comments

Before she became the first Queen Regnant of England, before she was labeled illegitimate,  she was, quite simply, Princess Mary of England – the apple of her father’s eye. But, ahh, nothing is simple for those Tudors. Nothing.

A young Mary Tudor, future Queen Mary I

We discussed the early life of Mary Tudor in the Catherine of Aragon podcast-you might want to check that one out first. In a nut shell (and we use that term pretty accurately): Henry Tudor married a Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon, who just happened to be the widow of his dead brother.  Catherine had several pregnancies, but only one child survived birth and infancy: Mary, who was born on February 18, 1516. Henry, desperate for a male heir and thinking that another wife could bring him that, went to extremes to sever his ties with Catherine.

But before he did, Mary was his ” pearl in the kingdom”. He doted on her and set her up like the princess that she technically was. She was raised royal- finest of everything and traveled from one estate to the next with her entourage.  But the Princess life Mary knew ended with her parents marriage. Her new step-mom had it out for her, more so once a step-sister, Elizabeth, entered the world.

Henry and Mary had a complicated relationship- when it was good, it was very very good, and when it was bad it was rotten, (And we thought Sarah Boldger made a great Mary in the Tudors TV show so we are sticking her in here)

But Step-Mummy Dearest couldn’t produce that male heir, so Daddy ended that marriage faster than the first. Step-Mom #2 was kind to Mary and gave her a little brother but she died from complications of childbirth.  Mary got along well enough with #3, but that marriage didn’t stick and #3 was transformed into an Aunt. Step-monster #4 wasn’t around long enough for Mary’s distaste of her to cause too much trouble, and Step Mother #5 was the fairest, and kindest of them all and saw Daddy King to his death. With that, Mary’s ride on the Step-Momcoaster came to a complete stop. Little brother Edward became King, and Mary set off to a well provisioned life. (See our podcast and shownotes from Episode 24: Last Four Wives for more details about this time.)

Mary had inherited quite a bit from both of her parents. From her mother she had her deep Catholic faith, and a stubborn streak that helped her hold her ground. From her father she had gained great wealth, much land…and a stubborn streak. During Henry’s life Mary and he had many years where the two battled with stubborn and manipulative weaponry.  After his death, she put those tools away during her brother’s reign.

And then he died. King Edward VI ruled for only six years and died at the age of 15. Because of his young age,  a Regency Counsel made most of the decisions for him in regard to ruling. A Counsel made of men.  Some of those men with ambition and drive and lust for power. As with everything, we do go into detail in the podcast about all of this and sum it up here: upon Edward’s death there was some confusion as to who would succeed him. Henry VIII had mapped out the line in his will-Mary would be  next. But members of the Counsel schemed a way around that, and for a very brief time that person was determined to be Lady Jane Grey.

Mary was having none of this. She whipped her royal blood into a well executed bid for the crown, and won. (This is the extremely abridged version).

At the age of 37 Queen Mary I was crowned.

Queen Mary I by, Antonis Mor

First up on her To-Do list: Convert England and her realm back to Roman Catholicism. Papa  and Brother King had allowed Protestant faith to become the official religion, but Mary was a very serious Catholic. She had a few hurdles in the way but worked with Parliament to make it so, (number one…get it?) She ultimately threw her royal weight around and enforced heresy laws which allowed those practicing religion other than, and speaking out against the religion of the land to be executed. Specifically, burned at the stake.

It’s not a pretty time in history. Despite the nickname that would follow her through time- Bloody Mary- it wasn’t the first time this law had been practiced. Her own father and brother had also executed many for similar religious reasons. (And don’t get us started on what her Spanish grandparents did.)

Also up on Mary’s list: Find a husband and produce an heir. She checked off the former with Prince Phillip II of Spain, but the latter was never to be. She had two phantom pregnancies and never had a child.

This is the odd portrait that we discussed in the podcast

Mary ruled for five years. In that time she had a complicated relationship with her half-sister and next in line for the throne, Elizabeth. Her relationship with her husband was also strained- he didn’t seem to be in it for more than political gain, and she was unable to provide an heir. By the end of her life, he was living and ruling in Spain and their time together had been minimal at best.

Mary died at the age of 42, and Elizabeth I was crowned. Mary’s original tomb was ruined over time. When Elizabeth died, James I buried both sisters together in the same tomb and that is where they lie now. With an effigy of ELIZABETH atop them both.

Final resting place of Mary and Elizabeth

Time Travel With The History Chicks

Want to get a Mary I ditty stuck in your head? Horrible Histories has one for you.

Good site for middle grades (or a quick read ) and LOTS of extras to click on:  Tudorhistory.org.

Of course there is the Showtime series, The Tudors where Mary’s story is shown with a heavy hand for the dramatic, not quite historically accurate but always riveting. If you are a fan, or want to discuss it, check out TheTudorsWiki.com

Books! We know you love your books and these are the ones that  we recommended during the podcast:

Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen by, Anna Whitelock

The First Queen of England by, Linda Porter

The Tudors by, G.J. Meyer

Just because we can: Like Mary’s mug? At this writing Seaway China Company is sold out, but maybe you can find one of these Royal Doulton mugs to use at work. Especially handy if you have the unpleasant task of firing someone. (Royal Doulton has an entire line of Royal mugs like this.)

Is it just us? She looks a little tired, right?

You might want to research the origins of some of your favorite nursery rhymes. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary has a little debate surrounding it. Was it about Mary Tudor, or her Aunt Mary Queen of Scots? You decide. Mother Goose Club has a lot of info or Secret Rhyme Origins has a bit, too.

As always, our music comes courtesty of MusicAlley. Visit them at Music.mevio.com

Special Feature: Susan’s Dinner Adventure with Julia Child

Posted 15 August 2012 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: , , , | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

I’ll confess: That title is a little misleading. Julia was only with me in spirit one hot day in July. I was mid-researching her life  for the podcast and was inspired to crack open her first book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I love the title- it sounds so romantic, so dreamy. It’s also kind of  ironic since Julia’s approach to cooking was that of a scientist. Her methodology and her recipes- test and re-test,  measurements precise and the directions exact.

(X Eggs+ Y Cream)+(Z Temperature+ A minutes)= souffle. Every time. Science.

But Mastering the Science of French Cooking probably wouldn’t have appealed to the servantless American housewife  of 1961, and it sure would not have appealed to me, a servantless American housewife of 2012. But Julia Child was part of my upbringing, her books part of my home cooking education. Reading about her life- who she was beyond the recipes and the TV personality- inspired me.

Courtesy Lisa Graves Designs

Let’s get some things straight:

I’m not a foodie. I am a decent home cook, but I am a thirty minute cook. If dinner doesn’t come together in thirty minutes, I usually don’t make it.

If it takes a lot of pans, I usually don’t make it.

If it’s expensive, I really don’t make it.

But Julia helped create Mastering the Art of French Cooking for the average American housewife. Trust me when I say- they don’t get more average than me.

Enter: French Chef Dinner night.

Coq au vin, parsley potatoes, fresh steamed green beans and pear and  almond custard tart for dessert.

The plan was to do it right- not take any shortcuts. From shopping to serving all in one day-, each step savored and enjoyed with a Frenchified American accent.  I was going to have a day of lovingly preparing food for my family. In my head they oooh’d and ahhh’d at the results, they lavished me with adoration…

Like most overly romanticized plans, it didn’t actually work out the way I had imagined. I did shop, prepare and serve my family a dinner straight from Mastering The Art of French Cooking. I also spent the day taxi-ing my three children to camps and activities in 104 degree heat. I don’t have enough romantic in me to make that day dreamy. It was work.

And I took shortcuts. I like coq au vin with dark meat, but two of the people at the table of  six that I serve dinner to each night will only eat white meat. Precut and packaged meat won me over.

The pearl onions that I wanted to use would have cost me close to 10 dollars for the quantity that I needed. I couldn’t shut up my inner cheapie long enough to toss them in my shopping cart.

The grocery store was out of baguettes which Julia would have purchased. I did toy with the idea of making my own bread (I’ve done it before) but frozen dough won me over as a nice compromise.

And I grabbed a package of premade pie dough on the off chance that I didn’t have time to make the sugar pastry crust that Julia recommends for the tart.

Now that it’s all spelled out- I took a lot of shortcuts.

I did get to banter some French phrases around at the check out lane. I told the cashier, “Bonjour” and “Fantastique” when she greeted me and asked how I found everything. When the total came to four times that of a normal dinner for my family, I uttered the one French cuss that I know.

(Note to self: Don’t banter French phrases around in small town grocery stores unless a) you are in France or Canada or b)you want to hear crickets and see dental work.)

At home I set to work. First up: bacon. (Honestly, a day that begins with frying bacon can’t go bad, can it?)

Shopping finished, I began to cook.

I cut fresh herbs from the pots on my porch, sliced onions, cleaned button mushrooms and played scientist with them in pans of butter.

My herb garden, some of it made it into the dinner

While the fifty minutes that the onions were supposed to braise in chicken broth astonished me, the entire preparation of the entree was fun. It was. Wine! Bacon! Beautifully browned chicken! What’s not to love?

Yes, that is a Bota-box. Don't judge.

It was the rest of the meal that reminded me why I am a 30-minute cook.

By the time that the bread had finished cooking, the outside temperature was nearing 104 degrees, and the kitchen temperature wasn’t too far behind. Time was also getting away from me, and the thought of the mix, chill, roll, chill then bake of the sugar pastry crust added more time and more heat. The filling took a lot of both and really, my family never would know what they were missing.

Peeling, coring and slicing the pears that were then poached for far longer than Julia had said they would need to be.

While the pears poached, I beat the custard as it cooked. You thought I would beat by hand? hahahahahno.

Almond custard in crust

Finished.

Upturned noses when I mentioned,”boiled parsley potatoes” altered the dish to mashed red potatoes. Not a big deal, Julia would have rolled with it, right?

Eight hours, and nearly a pound of butter, after I began I was serving dinner.

A food blogger I am not. Dinner, is served

I would love to be able to carry on about the reaction of dinner. That my family enjoyed it all the more because of the time and energy that I spent cooking it…but the truth is far from that. They liked it. They devoured the potatoes and one scraped the sauce off the chicken. My darling husband actually had the nerve to say, “Did you cook this in the crock pot?”

Oh, sigh, yes, he did.

But Julia taught me to enjoy the process, serve the results and never apologize. Two out of three ain’t bad.
I really liked the meal, the chicken was wonderful and the dessert was really fantastic. Would I do it again? Probably not. It was a lot of work and only some of it was enjoyable. But I’m glad that I took a day to remember Julia and cook a dinner in celebration of her memory.

Happy birthday, Julia!

If you haven’t listened to the podcast on Julia, click on over here, or listen via iTunes or on Stitcher Radio.

Minicast: Titanic Field Trip

Posted 14 April 2012 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: , , , , | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Named after the Titans of Greek mythology, and advertised as “The ship of wonders” and “The floating palace , Titanic began her maiden voyage filled with passengers and crew of all class levels. On the dark and moonless night of April 14th, 1912  the ship steamed  through the icy waters of the north Atlantic en route to New York.  What happened near midnight, and over the course of the next two hours, is well documented: the ship struck an iceberg which caused catastrophic damage to the hull. Despite  press claims of being unsinkable, by 2:10 AM on the 15th of April, Titanic begins her journey to the bottom of the sea, taking just over 1,500 people with her. The stories of those people and the history of that night- that ship- continue to grimly fascinate 100 years later.

RMS Titanic

It was all those histories that sent us to view Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at Kansas City’s Union Station. The building itself amazes us, built in 1914 and closed in 1980, it was renovated and opened again to the public in 1999. Union Station is now home to an Amtrack station,shops,a museum,an interactive science center, and more as well as hosting traveling exhibits such as the one that we toured recently.

Kansas City's Union Station -it's a really cool building.This is only a tiny part of it.

Facing the walkway that takes people from Union Station to Crown Center- another really fun thing to visit here

This episode tracks that adventure for us. While photography is not allowed in the exhibit, we thought that it would be fun to bring you along with us via recording device as we toured the collection of memorabilia. The $19.12 adult admission made us smile, and the entire exhibit sparked discussion and imagination. We did our best to describe what we were looking at and touching…we touched part of the Titanic! (insert girly squeal here).

Vocabulary lesson: The term “poop deck” comes from the latin word puppis meaning aft or stern. The poop deck is a partial deck above the ships main afterdeck.

As disappointing as this is, it’s still fun to say.

Also Puppis is a constellation…but before you get 12 year-old giddy, it represents the stern of a ship. Hey, one of us is bumming with you.

In the gift shop, replicas of first class china

Second glass china

Third Class China

Yes, we could have taken more pictures in the gift shop, but didn’t think you cared to see all the merchandise with “Titanic” emblazoned across it. We didn’t buy anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSGeskFzE0s

Books:

Love love love this one. The Watch the Ends the Night by Allan Wolf.  Own love. That much!  The story of the Titanic is told through poems and dialogs from the point of view of  two dozen passengers and crew. Some who survived, some who did not but all speak of their lives and the experience of April 14, 1912.  I felt greedy sitting down and snarfing the whole book. I wanted to take it in short bites and savor each piece like really fine chocolate.

Watch that ends the night, voices from Titanic by, Allan Wolf.

If you happen to find yourself in Kansas City, you really should check out Union Station. Here is a link to the events and things that will await you there.

Shownotes Episode 23: Margaret “Molly” Brown

Posted 7 April 2012 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: , , , , | Categories: Uncategorized, shownotes | Leave a Comment

Imagine that you followed your heart to live an honest life doing what you felt was right: working hard, marrying for love, aiding others, traveling and always, always learning. You were a wife, a mother, a socialite, an activist, a suffragist, and a citizen of the world. You were adored by many, inspired more and lived life in the fullest, kindest way that you could imagine.  And, when you died, your impressive life story was altered to one that was almost beyond recognition. Often for the worse!

That’s what happened to Margaret Tobin Brown. You might know her as Molly Brown- the Unsinkable Molly Brown. A woman whose real life story was so much more impressive than the one that was assigned to her after her death.

That's a fan, not a pick ax! Margaret Brown: socialite, activists. mother, strong and educated woman. Not an uneducated gold digger.

Margaret Tobin was born a middle child of John and Johanna Tobin  in Hannibal, MO on July 18, 1867.  Her parents had ridden a wave of  Irish Catholic immigration during a Potato Famine and landed in this western  railroad stop of a town . John worked as a laborer for a variety of businesses while his children attended school and played in the same woods as another Hannibal resident had years before: Samuel Clemens.

The reconstructed Tobin family home in Hannibal, MO

The Tobin children had no more, and no less, than most of their neighbors. It was a frugal childhood, but not the miserable, motherless one of the fables of her life.

And another fable? She wasn’t called Molly, she was called Maggie or Margaret. Molly was just another fabrication to fuel the poor-Irish-upbringing image the media had created for her.

Oh! We could carry on about all the inaccuracies in the story of her life…oh, wait, we do. More details are in the podcast about how she traveled as a teenager to Leadville, CO looking to improve her life.  How she worked hard and loyally first at a cigar factory in Hannibal,  then in a department store in Leadville. How she wanted a better life for herself and her family and how she married for love, not for money.

Margaret and James (J.J.) Brown set up housekeeping in Leadville. They took on a little domestic help and hired tutors to continue their own education. Margaret’s family from Hannibal moved up, and they  all became an integral part of a very tight community. Margaret was very active in civic activities. This wasn’t some dainty, wihte glove wearing woman (although she probably did wear them) she wasn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves to help those less  fortunate than her.  She was well liked, and liked many- the Browns were pillars of Leadville society. Soon they added two children to their family, Lawrence and Helen.

The James Brown family in Leadville, CO

Not overnight, and not by sheer luck,  J.J. hit it rich. Gold.  (This is the only gold digging in Margaret’s story!)
Leadville had been a silver mining town, but politics got in the way and the price of silver had plummeted. J.J’s mine, the Little Johnny Mine, was a boon to the town AND the Browns. They hadn’t been living in squalor, the family was very much middle class. But suddenly, they found themselves in a very different class. They were moving to the big city of Denver.

What was life like for the Browns in Denver? They fit very well into society. Not a tiny elitist portion, but the portion where most of the people of means were hanging. They traveled the world, entertained at home and abroad and educated their children in a variety of very fine schools both in the States and Europe. And Margaret? She was very much a civic minded lady and her former Leadville soup kitchen activites turned grander and more income generating.  She was charming, knew the right people and knew how to separate the rich from their money for a good cause- she knew how to get stuff done.

Doesn’t really sound like  the activities of a woman who didn’t fit into society, does it?  Listen to the podcast for the details of this time in her life, but at some point, Margaret and J.J. separated. They would never divorce, but live together they could not. J.J. was a workaholic, and Margaret, quite busy with her own endeavors as well as the travel (which she adored)-  she had outgrown Denver and housewife duties. We name drop big time when we discuss the circles she traveled in but at this point Margaret was dividing her time between Newport, Europe and Denver living large and in charge where ever she went.

Yadda Yadda…she ends up on the Titanic.

Margaret’s actions on that fateful voyage were the stuff movies are made out of. She did help people in her lifeboat, she did attempt to get the lifeboat to return to see if there were survivors, she did row (as did other woman in the lifeboat),she did share her clothing, she was level headed…stripping down to almost nothing, cracking jokes and singing bar songs? Prolly not. But Margaret had spent her life helping people, she was smart and knew how to take command of a situation- those skills all would come into play during the hours in Lifeboat #6.

Once rescued by the Carpathia hours after the Titanic sank, Margaret and her caring ways really sprang into action! No resting in First Class for this woman, she was tending to the needs of all the recued passengers and shaking down the one’s that were traveling on the Carpathia. By the time they docked in New York, she had plans in place to keep track of -and get promised funds to- survivors; she had thousands pledged and plans to get more. With a heart bigger than her hat, she made sure that blame was placed properly, and heroism rewarded.

After Titanic, presenting gifts of thanks to the Captain of The Carpathia

In the years following the Titanic portion of her life, Margaret continued to travel, was deep in Newport society, attempted to run for  a state Senate position, continued to be an advocate for those who she felt needed one, and never stopped learning.  She died at the age of 65 in 1932 while in New York studying acting.

Margaret Brown was a multidimensional, big hearted, smart woman with charm and personality. The myths that surround her life, while entertaining, are not nearly as fascinating as the real life of this remarkable woman.

Time Travel With The History Chicks

Books! The first one we loved a lot, had so many,”Wow! She was a rockstar! Who knew!?” moments for us:

Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth by Kristen Iversen

The second is a kids’ book, but we thought it did a fun job of telling her philanthropic story (and the photos were terrific):

Molly Brown: Sharing Her Good Fortune by Charnan Simon

We love our museums! If you are in Denver, check out the Molly Brown Museum which is in the former Brown home. And a related blog with some really wonderful posts, Between the Lions.

Near Hannibal?  The Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum will show you where she began her adventure and developed the strong character that would propel her through life.

There is a brand new… museum? Theme establishment?  Convention center? Birthplace of The Titanic?Not quite sure what it is exactly, but it’s pretty cool looking and sits where the Titanic was built in Belfast, Ireland. Titanic Belfast

Curious about Leadville? We were and found lots of answers here!

What about mining Ghost Towns of Colorado? This site is very fun to poke around on, Coloradopast.com, they have pictures of how the Little Johnny Mine looks today, as well as other signs of Colorado’s past. Links to some other Ghost Towns in the US, and lots of beautiful regional photography as well.

Ok, we carry on about how painful this was for us to watch, but you don’t have to believe us! You can experience the same pain (now that you know the real story of her life):

The Unwatchable Molly Brown

As always, music comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at Music.mevio.com

Minicast Shownotes: Anne Boleyn

Posted 1 April 2012 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: | Categories: Uncategorized, shownotes | 4 Comments

In this minicast we discuss the life of of Henry VIII’s most talked about wife-Anne Boleyn.  Of all the six she lives on in story, speculation and fascination although she had a longer run attracting the Queen’s crown than she actually wore it. Anne died only four months after Henry’s first wife! (and by “died” we mean Henry had her executed.)

Anne was the daughter of Sir Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn. While she was of noble birth, very little is know about her early years.  We know that she was one of three children born to the Boleyns. We know that she was raised Catholic, but converted to Protestantism at some point.That her father was a diplomat serving under Henry VII and, later, under Henry VIII and, while it was probably expected that the Boleyn children would land at court and that they would have been educated for that role-the details are lost. There is not even a consensus as to what year Anne was born! Maybe 1500, maybe 1509, probably close to the former, but you want exact? Good luck.

It is known that she was presented and served under the Archduchess Margaret of Austria. That she accompanied Mary Tudor ( the sister to Henry VIII) to France for her marriage to Louis XIII, and that she stays there to serve Queen Claude. But, like her early years, not a lot is recorded about her age, and these years.

What else is known? When she returned to England she was very Frenchified.  Anne had learned a great deal in France about court life: dress, dance, etiquette, languages.  Her sister Mary had a similar court based education and  had “matriculated” earning honors in horizontal games. ( Yes, we are being childish and euphemistic, we’ll own that!)

Mary Boleyn, the more"giving" sister

Anne did not see that method as her key to attaining the position she desired. She attracted several suitors and even had a rather scandalous betrothal that did not culminate in a marriage. We go into details during the podcast, but let’s just say Anne’s methods of attaining position had little to do with giving in, and everything to do with attracting.

Upon her return from France, her father sends her to court to be a lady in waiting to Queen Katherine. There, the already married King Henry VII quickly falls for her charms. What ensues is the history that is known about her life.

How she would not give in to the Kings advances, unlike her sister Mary. (Oh, we love us some smutty tales!)

Speaking of smutty tales...we like Showtime's, The Tudors, but as entertainment, not entirely historically accurate.

How she kept her eye on the prize: the Queen’s Crown although it rested on the head of Katherine of Aragon at the time.

How she played this game with Henry for years while he attempted to leave Katherine, and how she ultimately aided the King in breaking from the church, Katherine and marrying her.

Once crowned Queen she wasn’t exactly the most popular, especially riding the heels of the adored Katherine. But part of Anne’s allure, part of the carrot she dangled to snare Henry was that she could do what Katherine had failed: Produce and heir.

Well, she did, but not what Henry had in mind. He wanted a son and the only living child to come from Anne was a daughter, Elizabeth.

Soon, Henry was dipping into the affair pool that was the ladies- in- waiting to the queen. He has several affairs and finally spies his next wife among them- Jane Seymour.

But he has to get rid of Anne before he can marry this beauty who surely will give him the son he so desires. Being King he gets his people on it. Soon many are arrested -including Anne- on grounds that she had an affair. The charges? Incest! Adultry!  Treason! Included in the pack: Anne’s own brother George! Oh you have to listen to the podcast, we go into much more detail and specualtion and drama. Oh, the drama! But this was swift justice on trumped up charges and the final outcome for Queen Anne?

Off with her head!

On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn is beheaded.

It was a short reign, but the changes to England that took place during it changed the course of history. And, think what you will about Anne, but she gave birth to the woman who would one day change England again, Queen Elizabeth I.

Time Travel With The History Chicks


Books!

Can't go wrong with some historical fiction by Philippa Gregory!

Or some Alison Weir!( Yes, this is about Mary, not Anne, but we thought you might be interested in her,too.)

Blogs? There are QUITE a few out there, but here are a couple that might get you started learning more about Anne Boleyn. ( Just because she wasn’t our favorite wife, doesn’t mean that everyone agrees. Come on, plenty of wives to go around!) Check out  The Anne Boleyn Files and On the Tudor Trail .

Follow Anne on Twitter!

As fodder for drama, none come close to Anne Boleyn. Romance, intrigue, allure, politics, religion, scheming…and more all swirled around the fast life of this woman whose motto was, “The Most Happy”.

Music courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at Music.mevio.com

Teeny Tiny Tudor Tutorial – Shownotes

Posted 21 February 2012 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: | Categories: Uncategorized, shownotes | 2 Comments

We do typically talk about the women. History Chicks: It’s not just who we are, but what we discuss. But this time? We needed to talk a bit about The Roosters.

Yes, we will devote the rest of this series to the women, but we have to give you a teeny, tiny Tudor tutorial to set the stage. And that kind of talk requires us to focus on the men.

But before we do all that, can we just carry on..again…about the names? It wasn’t just our imagination!  We’ll throw out some stats in the podcast about the repetitiveness of certain names. In this case: Richard and Henry, with a few Edwards thrown in for good measure. Really! It makes looking back so very confusing!

Back to the Tudors. As a family, they only ruled for a historically short period of time- only three generations, 118 years. That’s it. But in that time we had some seriously note worthy rulers! But first, they had to take power. The Wars of the Roses had been going on for a few decades. Unlike the. fairly easy to understand line to the throne of the modern British monarchy,this time period was rather fuzzy. Two houses, Lancaster and York, played a tug of war of sorts back and forth for quite some time.  We give you the skinny on the real flags they fought under (the macho red dragon), but time has simplified  the images down to two roses: The House of Lancaster represented by the red rose badge, The House of York by the white.  Years later Shakespeare would use picking of roses as a choosing of sides analogy, and many years after that the phrase,”Wars of the Roses” was coined in a Victorian novel by Sir Walter Scott. But the real battles were neither cute nor as sweet as a rose.

Perhaps just a convenient twin?

The real deal; the Yorkists' white rose.

The new and improved royal brand identity.

We talk about all of it in the podcast: how the two branches of the same family, fueled by generations of feuding  and slaughter, eventually ended up in a battlefield with two men in the lead: Richard III (York) and Henry Tudor. How Henry Tudor whipped himself up a nice little army, and how Richard III had lost some admirers (that happens when you kill them) and didn’t really have the military backing necessary to fight. Richard fell. Hard. Dead. And Henry picked up the crown.

As Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, he married Elizabeth of York. This union combined the Houses and (someone, maybe his PR people) developed the the emblem that we associate with the Tudors, the combined white and red roses.

Richard vs. Henry

Don't see this movie. That's WAR of the Roses..not WARS.

In the podcast we give a little bit  more detail into these lives and times that are quite complicated; but if we had to sum up all those men in just a few words it would look like this:

Henry VI- Coo Coo

Edward IV-Not taking anyone’s crap

Richard III- Scar, from The Lion King

Henry Tudor/ Henry VII-  Grandpa King

Henry VIII- Dirty Rotten Scoundrel

Edward VI-Child Puppet

THEN we get to the women, the first British Queens:

Mary I

Elizabeth I

Henry VII - warrior, businessman, miser.

Henry VIII. Egotist, reformer, serial monogamist (mostly).

Edward VI, who ruled from the age of 9 until 15.

Mary I ruled from the age of 37 to 42.

Elizabeth I ruled from the age of 25 to 69.

And that is where the Tudor Dynasty ends. But not our series! Next time we dive back into the founding mother and grandmother of this family!

Time Travel With The History Chicks

Honestly, we could list and list and list, and where to start?  We thought a good idea might be to read some historical fiction to begin. Yes, it’s fabricated stories, but they might give you an image to hang facts on, give you colorful ideas about the times.  Who do we like?  So many to pick from…how about Phillipa Gregory?

Phillipa Gregory, The White Queen

The Red Queen

Of course, we also like Non-fiction for this background study (of course we do!) Alison Weir!

The Princes in the Tower, Alison Weir

The War of the Roses, Alison Weir

For you visual learners, skip on over to Netflix and stream David Starkey’s: The Monarchy. If you only have a little time, and want to be topic specific watch Season One- Episode Six, then Season Two- Episode One.

Got kids? Or just like your information boiled down to the basics?  Project Britain is a website jam packed with information.

And for a website with lots and lots of information (as well as daily Today in Tutor History tweets) The Tudor Tutor

Season 3 Introduction

Posted 12 February 2012 by The History Chicks
Tagged As: | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

« Older Entries