I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

"As Cool as Ice" [ABBE]

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsmonty/4181728021/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bery-03 by Scott Monty, on Flickr"><img alt="bery-03" height="157" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/4181728021_1510809246_m.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is tea, correct? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hello thirsty friends-- and welcome to the latest entry in the Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game! I am excited to be bringing this intensely researched treatise (i.e., enormously fun drinking game) to you this week at our new home on the internet! 
 
 
As the Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game is new to The Baker Street Blog, let me take a moment and run down the rules so all of you who are of age can play along. They are as follows: 
 
<ol>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes makes an amazing deduction</li>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes speaks badly about the police</li>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes lets a perpetrator go free</li>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes chastises Watson for not 'observing'</li>
<li>Take one drink every time someone rushes into the rooms at 221B</li>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes and/or Watson dash off in a hansom cab</li>
</ol>
 
You can also check out the beginning of the Game and my first nine entries to The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game <a href="http://www.examiner.com/sherlock-holmes-in-national/sherlck-holmes-fans-21-up-the-sherlock-holmes-drinking-game-has-arrived">by clicking here</a>. 
 
We're so excited to be sipping a cocktail in our new home here at the Baker Street Blog, so get ready for an epic and delicious time! This week's tale is "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Coronet-Sherlock-Mystery-ebook/dp/B003IHVZV0?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003IHVZV0" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />," a work of love, deception, jewels, and royal heads of state. In honor of the snowy location of the story, assemble the following: 
 
Beryl Coronet Cocktail 
2 parts vodka 
1 clementine slice 
2 cranberries 
Ginger ale 
Shaved ice 
 
Muddle the fruit and shake with the vodka. Pour over shaved ice (the snow!) and add a splash of ginger ale. Top with three cranberries (one for each of the missing beryls). You are now ready to enjoy your Beryl Coronet cocktail! 
 
We'll be following The <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/03/the-sherlock-holmes-drinking-game.html">Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game rules</a> as always, but this tale needs a little added extra. For "The Beryl Coronet," take a drink every time the word 'beryl' or 'coronet' is mentioned. Ready? Off we go! 
 
Number of Drinks Taken: 32 
 
<ul>
<li>Take one drink for Alexander Holder dashing in to 221B.</li>
<li>Take one drink for Holmes and his amazing deduction ("And he is a man with a wooden leg?")</li>
<li>Take one drink for the attempted thief getting away from Holmes in the end.</li>
<li>Take 29 drinks for the word beryl or coronet being used in this short story.</li>
</ul>
 
Sober up from that and plan to meet me back here next time as I continue to drink my way through the Canon. After all, it's no fun to be drinking alone! 
 
Editor's note: This is Jill Brumer's first post for the site. Jill Brumer is a small business owner, college drama professor, and all around creative type who has lived all over the States. She has her father to thank for purchasing her first Sherlock Holmes story when she was twelve years old- the fascination has never stopped! 
 
NB: the Baker Street Blog does not advocate the consumption of alcohol. Please behave responsibly and take heed of all local laws and ordinances. Know your limits and don't overimbibe. 
--

"As Cool as Ice" [ABBE]

This is tea, correct? Hello thirsty friends-- and welcome to the latest entry in the Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game! I am excited to be ...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

"A Tinge of Colour" [VALL]

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVtfPkI6AM5wAbzeH-tS2adq_2nO4qT1ytETT27u_1x8qXjdmFTezyiAONiWfN6knHITn4gn8nPddDKH28ouabRhojD8-rsOMCpH5rbEfZ8N-Z5vkWQ_9TGqV7rAgrbmWN8qxUvO09wsx/s1600/BSJ+1Q11+Front+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVtfPkI6AM5wAbzeH-tS2adq_2nO4qT1ytETT27u_1x8qXjdmFTezyiAONiWfN6knHITn4gn8nPddDKH28ouabRhojD8-rsOMCpH5rbEfZ8N-Z5vkWQ_9TGqV7rAgrbmWN8qxUvO09wsx/s200/BSJ+1Q11+Front+Cover.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/">BSJ</a> </td></tr></tbody></table>The Spring 2011 issue of the <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/">Baker Street Journal</a> has arrived on our doorstep. This is Vol. 61 No. 1 and it's a significant one. If you're a regular subscriber (if you're not, you need to <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html">get thee to the subscription page now</a> - this is The. Definitive. Publication.), you may have noticed that over the last couple of years, there have been some changes afoot. We announced the arrival of the perfect binding last May with <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2010/05/perfectly-fresh-spec.html">"Perfectly Fresh" [SPEC]</a>. The more noticeable change over this same time period has been the rotating images on the cover. Previously, the BSJ simply had <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsmonty/4181742139/">the profile of Sherlock Holmes as drawn by Frederick Dorr Steele</a>. But each new piece of cover art has been selected to support the content of each issue. And with the current issue, we can see a very marked difference in the cover of the Journal. This is the first time a color image has been used on the Baker Street Journal. The image is the famous struggle between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty, who battled each other over the <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2007/09/falls-of-reichenbach-fina.html">Reichenbach Falls</a>. For those of us who are accustomed to seeing Sidney Paget's work in black and white, this color version is quite arresting: Holmes's charcoal grey suit against the black of Moriarty's; the tufts of green grass on the edge of the narrow path; and the blue backdrop of the falls behind them as they struggle. The reason this particular image was chose for the Spring 2011 issue is that Jim Zych's winning entry in the BSI's 2010 Essay Contest ("How Moriarty Survived the Reichenbach Falls") appears, along with a plethora of coverage from the <a href="http://www.bsiweekend.com/">Baker Street Irregulars weekend</a>. In addition, you can take a look at Nicholas Utechin's recounting of the first reading of Ronald Knox's seminal paper "Studies in the Literature of Sherlock Holmes" - did it take place at the Gryphon Club, as we long believed? Paul Singleton takes a look at the curious lot of Americans that made their way into the Canon. All this and more are in the current issue of the BSJ, which you can read if you <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html">subscribe now</a>. It's only $37.50 a year in the U.S.; $47.50 elsewhere. If you do subscribe, please encourage at least one other person to do so as well. It's a fine publication that deserves more readers. Please consider visiting our sponsors (in the right column and footer of the site) from time to time. It helps defray the costs associated with running this site. --

"A Tinge of Colour" [VALL]

The new BSJ The Spring 2011 issue of the Baker Street Journal has arrived on our doorstep. This is Vol. 61 No. 1 and it's a significa...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

"Heard of It First By That Strange Wireless" [LION]

<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghesmFHdGOEuELfeXUjmL5Bejr0ku6N1sOg6t1pH-hYpd8L5JaAmXMKul-piPFmR-pbp3EcdcWWaM7Y4ZYoSB3ws0LvJwwrXxaF5rqk4MOzvEt3GF66Bg6CBsvuL-aci4n2D6NG4kfW5G9/s1600/Titanic+deck+chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="682" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghesmFHdGOEuELfeXUjmL5Bejr0ku6N1sOg6t1pH-hYpd8L5JaAmXMKul-piPFmR-pbp3EcdcWWaM7Y4ZYoSB3ws0LvJwwrXxaF5rqk4MOzvEt3GF66Bg6CBsvuL-aci4n2D6NG4kfW5G9/s400/Titanic+deck+chair.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
 
Exactly 99 years ago today - 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912 - the Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and took 1,517 souls with her by the time she sank at 2:20 a.m. 
 
The reason we bring it up on our site is because there are some loose connections worthy of mention. The first is that there were two Marconi wireless radios aboard, staffed by Jack Phillips and Harold Bride. As you observed, the title of the post noted that there was a wireless mentioned in "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane," in which Holmes recounted, 
<blockquote>
"It was my old housekeeper who heard of it first by that strange wireless by which such people collect the news of the countryside."</blockquote>
Contrary to popular belief the Titanic was not the first time the SOS signal was used (it came into use in 1908), but Bride mentioned to Phillips, who had been using the more popular British CQD signal, that he should use SOS as it might be the last time he would have the opportunity to do so. 
 
To ensure there was a connection, about 14 years ago, William Seil wrote <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Titanic-Tragedy-Adventures/dp/0947533354?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Tragedy: A Case to Remember</a>, which was also a nod to Walter Lord's famous recounting of the tragedy in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Night-Remember-Walter-Lord/dp/0805077642?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">A Night to Remember</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0805077642" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. In the Sherlock Holmes pastiche, we find the great detective and his faithful colleague on board the doomed liner following an agent on his way to the U.S. with secret submarine plans. While we don't normally do the whole pastiche thing, this was a quick and fun read. 
 
For those of you who may be interested in this sort of thing, the <a href="http://titanichistoricalsociety.net/">Titanic Historical Society</a> (THS) has been in existence since 1963. Founder Ed Kamuda owns a jewelry store in western Massachusetts, where he also keeps the <a href="http://www.titanic1.org/museum/index.asp">Titanic Museum</a>, Membership in THS will get you complimentary admission to the museum and also includes a subscription to their quarterly publication, The Commutator. 
 
UPDATE: We've just been made aware of the <a href="http://www.titanicattraction.com/">Titanic Museum Attraction</a> in Branson, MO and Pigeon Forge, TN. They actually work with the Titanic Historical Society, and from their website, they seem to be very impressive. 
 
As the fateful anniversary is upon us, please take some time to remember the souls of all of those brave men, women and children who perished aboard the Titanic and the icy waters of the North Atlantic 99 years ago. While the tragedy may have been avoidable, it will stand as one of the greatest lessons of all time of man's hubris in the face of nature, and will forever remind us that we need to plan for the worst possible contingencies despite our confidence in our own technological advances. They did not die in vain. 
 
--

"Heard of It First By That Strange Wireless" [LION]

Exactly 99 years ago today - 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912 - the Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and took 1,517 souls wi...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

"This Great And Somber Stage" [BRUC]

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Stage-Chronological-Encyclopedia/dp/0810861259?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Sherlock Holmes on the Stage: A Chronological Encyclopedia of Plays Featuring the Great Detective" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0810861259&tag=thebakerstree-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0810861259" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Sherlock Holmes has a very pervasive presence in our popular culture...but it seems as if he is having something of a renaissance when it comes to staged versions of his adventures. For example, a <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_17675771?nclick_check=1">California-based theatrical company is putting on a production</a> based on two of the stories from the canon - "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Final Problem". (In actual fact, it is the William Gilette/Sir Arthur Conan Doyle play from 1899). Putting on a 19th century play in the 21st century might seem a little unusual, but for Holmes, it makes perfect sense. However, modern playwrights have also taken to creating their own non-canon works - another theatrical company has put on an <a href="http://carmichael.patch.com/articles/case-closed-at-chautauqua-playhouse">original play based on Holmes</a>. Of course, like many modern takes on Holmes, it does contain other historical figures as part of the plot...but that does not take away from telling another grand tale of the detective. Finally, we find that there is one aspect of a <a href="http://www.pnj.com/article/20110325/ENTERTAINMENT/103250301/0/LIFE/-Cabaret-Gets-Lit-support-Pensacola-Little-Theatre?odyssey=nav%7Chead">"Cabaret Goes Lit"</a> review that features Holmes...which only proves that "this great and somber stage" is anything but. Editor's note: Gordon regularly covers the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the entertainment industry. You can also find him at <a href="http://www.blogthispal.com/">Blog THIS, Pal!</a> and <a href="http://www.comicrelated.com/">Comic Related</a>. -- <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0810861259&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>  <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0033H0TMG&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>