Ancient tomb & devil’s playground

Posted on September 16, 2021 by J.L. Hilton
Read more at Dublinmountains.ie/archaeology/archaeology/hell_fire_club/

I recently watched “Stonehenge Decoded” on Disney+ and learned about the 2016 discovery of an ancient passage tomb similar to Newgrange, dating back to 3,500 BCE, near an 18th-century house in Ireland.

I thought, Wow, how weird is it that people lived right next to an ancient tomb for centuries? Kind of creepy, right?

Then, just today, I was reading about a haunted place near Dublin where the Hell Fire Club met in the 1700s for buttered whiskey and debauchery. One legend even claims they played cards with the devil himself.

Turns out, the site of the ancient passage tomb and the haunted Hell Fire hill are the same location! There’s also evidence that they may have used stones from the ancient tomb to build the meeting house, which some say is cursed as a result.

What a crazy spooky coincidence, that I would come across two separate stories about the same place, within just a few days of each other. I’d love to visit, someday.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Disney’s Zorro is a core memory

Posted on September 14, 2021 by J.L. Hilton

Disney produced 78 episodes and four specials of Zorro from 1957-1959, during a time when television was dominated by Westerns such as Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Rifleman, Bat Masterson, and many more.

While Zorro is classified as a Western, rather than featuring a white gunslinger, gambler or cowboy, the titular protagonist is a masked, swashbucking, sword fighting, university educated, Spanish vigilante.

I watched reruns of Zorro when I was a kid, over 40 years ago. I just watched them again on Disney+ this weekend and I still love it.

Maybe Zorro influenced my preference for all black Nightingale garb in Skyrim?

~ J.L. Hilton

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Always Halloween

Posted on September 13, 2021 by J.L. Hilton

I bought some Halloween candy at the store yesterday and the young man bagging my groceries said “but it’s only September.” I replied, “It’s always Halloween at my house.”

Actual year-round decor in my downstairs bathroom
Crystal ball soap

~ J.L. Hilton

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Hancock & Fallout 4 IRL

Posted on September 4, 2021 by J.L. Hilton
Hancock in Fallout 4 (left) and John Hancock’s coat in real life

I started a website called FALLOUT 4 IRL as a way for me to keep track of information about places I want to visit when I travel to Boston someday, but I’ve found so much interesting information that I wanted to share with other fans. 

For example, did you know that the swan boats are real and that they’re made out of fiberglass, just like the “swan boat fragments” we can scrap in FALLOUT 4? 

Or did you know that Kingsport Lighthouse is named after H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional Kingsport, which itself is based on a real town called Marblehead, Massachusetts, located near Salem – just as Kingsport Lighthouse is near Salem in the game map?

So far, I’ve written about all of the following locations:  

Boston Common & Swan’s Pond
Granary Burying Ground
Goodneighbor
Faneuil Hall
Columbus Park
Paul Revere House
Old North Church
Long Wharf
Custom House Tower  
North End Graveyard 

These articles include comparisons of real-world and in-game photos, maps, history, lore and more. I am amazed how much the developers used Boston and U.S. history as inspiration for the locations and characters in Fallout 4. 

My favorite fun fact so far: The town of Goodneighbor is probably named after the real-life Mary Goodneighbor, a stripper arrested in 1953 when the cops raided a Scollay Square theater. Her dancing name was “Irma the Body,” which might be why “Irma” is the character who runs the Memory Den (and which has a “Scollay Sq” marquee outside). 

That’s all from me for now. As they say on Freedom Radio, stay safe out there, people. 

~ J.L. Hilton

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Bunker Hill monument in Fallout 4 (left) and in real life (right)
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Raven Rock renegades

Posted on August 21, 2021 by J.L. Hilton

I just realized that I picked up my favorite Skyrim follower in Raven Rock AND my favorite Fallout 3 follower in Raven Rock. What’s up with that? Why are there Raven Rocks in both games?

And why are the dudes there so awesome?

~ J.L. Hilton

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What school supply are you?

Posted on August 12, 2021 by J.L. Hilton
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Forbidden to watch Mister Rogers

Posted on July 25, 2021 by J.L. Hilton

When I was a little kid in the 1970s, my parents wouldn’t let me watch Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I don’t know why. I saw it at a friend’s house and asked to watch at home, but they said no.

In retrospect, considering how abusive, rightwing and authoritarian they were, it makes sense, I guess. It also makes sense why I’d feel drawn to a kind adult who wanted to make children feel loved.

When I got older, 12 or 13, I watched it when they weren’t around. Such a rebel!

I even created a Mr. Rogers fan club with membership cards and a newsletter I made on a manual typewriter. The only members were me and my friend Melanie, but I dedicated a whole summer to writing articles, drawing cartoons and summarizing episodes.

Little wonder I became a writer and journalist later in life.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Spend less time crying and more time kicking ass

Posted on July 22, 2021 by J.L. Hilton

I am 50 years old this year and if there’s one thing I’d like to tell younger women, it’s this: Spend less time crying in the bathroom and more time kicking ass. Or as I told my own daughters, don’t have a wishbone where your backbone should be. Save yourself.

Yes, the world can be cruel, misogyny sucks, and the cards are stacked against us in so many ways. But I would love to see a lot less “I cried so much” and a lot more “I told him to fuck off” when I look around the internet. Seriously. Stop being nice. Stop putting up with his bullshit. Refuse to carry his burdens, whoever he is, boyfriend, father, boss, husband.

I grew up with an abusive father and I’ve been through some shit that seriously fucked me up. Which is why I’m here now, saying this. If you’re afraid of men or if you think you need to please men, get therapy. Read a self-help book. Go to a karate or a krav maga class. Make friends with other women. Find other survivors. Learn how to punch things. Buy pepper spray. Get an education. Take your power back.

You are beautiful just the way you are. Don’t let men, commercials or corporations tell you otherwise.

~ J.L. Hilton

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This is a book I used to read to my daughters. It’s about a Princess who rescues herself and learns to value herself without validation from the Prince.
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Willy’s old rod

Posted on July 17, 2021 by J.L. Hilton

“Here, I want you to have my old rod,” Willy said, with a twinkle in his eye.

He even had crabs at one point:

What in the world is going on in this game??!?

~ J.L. Hilton

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Happy Birthday, Melanie!

Posted on July 5, 2021 by J.L. Hilton

I have a childhood friend who turns 50 this month and I wanted to give her something special. I saw similar crowns for sale online but figured I’d try making one myself. I used amethyst points and paper roses.

I also decorated a box to hold the crown. These pics show the outside of the box and the inside of the lid.

~ J.L. Hilton

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