I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

"That Mask Which He Was Wont to Assume" [SIXN]

While searching on <a href="http://www.brightcove.tv/">Brightcove</a>, a video search and aggregation site - like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a>, but with longer form videos - I came across a number of interesting Sherlock Holmes-related findings. Brightcove hosts its own content (powered by AOL Video), plus it links to other sites that host videos, giving you a wide range of stuff to choose from.<br /><br />There were a number of the Basil Rathbone / Nigel Bruce films available for download. But more interesting to me - because the videos are less common and because of the lead actor's uncanny resemblance to some of the illustrations of Holmes (<a href="http://camdenhouse.ignisart.com/gallery/5-wiles.htm">Frank Wiles</a> in particular) - were the Arthur Wontner films. I've <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2007/03/many-people-were-moving-to-and-fro-empt.html">previously written about</a> the availability of some of these through the <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/feature_films">Internet Archive</a>, but this was the first time I had seen 3 of the 5 Wonter films available in such a shareable format. The first two Wontner films are unavailable - there are no known prints existing of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023231/">The Missing Rembrandt</a> (based on "Charles Augustus Milverton"), and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022373/">The Sleeping Cardinal</a> (based on "The Final Problem") was thought to be lost until a print was discovered in the U.S.<br /><br />Feel free to watch the three here (note: you need to have <a href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash">Flash</a> installed), download them directly from Brightcove, or to purchase your own copies through Amazon.<br /><br /><center><embed src="http://www.brightcove.tv/playerswf" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="initVideoId=1318913861&servicesURL=http://www.brightcove.tv&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://www.brightcove.tv&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&autoStart=false" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="bcPlayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="412" width="486"></embed></center><br /><br /><center><embed src="http://www.brightcove.tv/playerswf" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="initVideoId=1318905898&servicesURL=http://www.brightcove.tv&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://www.brightcove.tv&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&autoStart=false" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="bcPlayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="412" width="486"></embed></center><br /><br /><center><embed src="http://www.brightcove.tv/playerswf" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="initVideoId=1318914022&servicesURL=http://www.brightcove.tv&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://www.brightcove.tv&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&autoStart=false" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="bcPlayer" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="412" width="486"></embed></center><br /><br /><center><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175" id="Player_7a816127-c17f-4b00-afe9-397493e4176c" width="500"> <param name="movie" value="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fthebakerstree-20%2F8003%2F7a816127-c17f-4b00-afe9-397493e4176c&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fthebakerstree-20%2F8003%2F7a816127-c17f-4b00-afe9-397493e4176c&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_7a816127-c17f-4b00-afe9-397493e4176c" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_7a816127-c17f-4b00-afe9-397493e4176c" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175" width="500"></embed> </object> </center>

"That Mask Which He Was Wont to Assume" [SIXN]

While searching on Brightcove , a video search and aggregation site - like YouTube , but with longer form videos - I came across a number of...

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by Scott Monty

"I Tell You That It Is Friday" [TWIS]

In the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day is typically referred to as "Black Friday," because this is the day in the retail industry when stores typically surge into the black (aka turn a profit).<br /><br />Why is that relevant here? In case you haven't noticed, there are links to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=384082011&tag=thebakerstree-20">Amazon.com</a> along the sidebars and at the bottom of the page. When you click on these links and buy something from Amazon, you help me keep this blog running, as I receive a small percentage of every purchase from Amazon. And to mark the occasion, Amazon is offering hourly deals from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST on Friday, Novemer 23. You can get there <a href="http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=384082011&tag=thebakerstree-20" style="font-weight: bold;">by clicking here</a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=384082011&tag=thebakerstree-20" style="font-weight: bold;"> to be taken to the Black Friday deals page</a>.<br /><br />This blog is a <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">major</span> effort to maintain - from paying for the domain name and fees associated with online file sharing & storage, not to mention the sheer time that it takes me to search, compose and edit posts for your edification. And there are two ways you can help out, especially in this holiday season:<br /><ol><li>By clicking on any of the Amazon ads or search boxes the sidebars or below, or by clicking on book linkss in the context of each post;</li><li>By making a gift through the widget in the sidebar section titled "Your Own Gift". Any amount is appreciated, especially at this time of the year.</li></ol>So, I would appreciate it if you use my links to do any of your online shopping for the holidays. Once you're into Amazon, you can search for whatever you like, whether it's books, DVDs, electronics, household items - the list is seemingly endless. But by using my links to shop, you help to support the blog.<br /><br />Thank you for your continued encouragement. I hope you find my efforts worthy of your time and attention.

"I Tell You That It Is Friday" [TWIS]

In the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day is typically referred to as "Black Friday," because this is the day in the...

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by Scott Monty

Remembering Paul Smedegaard, BSI

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"keenly on his guard" [HOUN]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlla4izEwXZ1SSzE0Zs5KEvtbXNJ04f_18LIFdlgKN4uXHOUoohUKTaln0e8nQqjmY9nGplTI5k8IZv5FXmAlsfngFC8Bwy-P7vPQVgLJ1Jrg7Dag16imkBdNMVs29hyphenhyphenFO0_SqoBSYaNh/s1600-h/smedegaard.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Sadly, the Baker Street Irregulars have lost another one of our own, just over a month after <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/10/is-swift-nobl_10.htm" rel="nofollow">the most recent obit</a>. Paul Smedegaard, BSI ("The Randall Gang") passed away suddenly on November 14.<br />
<br />
Paul, who proudly hailed from Racine, Wisconsin, received his investiture in the BSI in 1977 and had been a stalwart member of a number of Sherlockian societies of the Midwest - too many to mention, really - but if you check out <a href="http://sh-whoswho.com/index.php?page=search&criteria=member&id=383">his profile on the Sherlockian Who's Who</a> site, you'll see what I mean.<br />
<br />
Paul was not only a joiner, but a leader. And everything he led, he led with a fire-in-the-belly passion that ignited similar feelings in others. It was a joy to see Paul get truly excited about things.<br />
<br />
If you didn't know Paul, here are a few of his Sherlockian activities worthy of note:<br />
<ul>
<li>His involvement in Hugo's Companions, where he was was one of Vincent Starrett's own picks and served as Sir Hugo XIII (lucky 13!). You can read Paul's thoughts on "What Is a Sherlockian" in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0595696619?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0595696619">Sir Hugo's Literary Companion: A Compendium of the Writings of Hugo's Companions, Chicago On the Subject of Mr. Sherlock Holmes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0595696619" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>, the volume just edited and released by David Humphrey.</li>
<li>Paul's honorary membership in the <a href="http://www.sherlockiana.net/shklub/index_en.html">Sherlock Holmes Klubben i Danmark</a>, as it hearkened back to his father's roots in Denmark.</li>
<li>His membership in the <a href="http://www.themastersmasons.homestead.com/">Master's Masons</a>, a group founded by Ron Fish for Sherlockians who were also Master Masons. Paul took great pride in his affiliation and was an officer in his lodge.</li>
</ul>
Paul was progressive - well, as progressive as a midwestern Sherlockian could be. He advocated for bringing women into Hugo's Companions, and when he did, he was voted off of the executive board. But he hung tough and supported the decision of Tom Stix, BSI ("The Norwood Builder") in his decision as head of the Irregulars to make the group co-ed in 1991. And Paul was very proud of that fact. You can read something of the drama - and of a good deal of Paul's life in <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080512232725/http://www.nashvillescholars.net/interviews/p_smedegaard.html">the excellent two-part interview</a> that Gael Stahl did with him in 2000.<br />
<br />
We had many occasions to chat with Paul during the <a href="http://www.bsiweekend.com/">BSI Weekends</a>, and even saw him last year in Philadelphia, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2006/05/would-fly-together-to-philadelphia-vall_1.html" rel="nofollow">when we visited the Copper Beeches</a>. Paul had driven all the way from Wisconsin to be there. He was <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> dedicated. And during the 2006 BSI Weekend, Paul decided to have an "episode" at the Gillette Lunch, where he turned ghostly white (even for a Wisconsoner) and had to be whisked to the emergency room. True to form, though, he showed up for the BSI Dinner later that night.<br />
<br />
So we're sure the crew at <a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/html/g2bschedule.html">From Gillette to Brett II</a> is going to miss Paul this weekend. <a href="http://illustriousclients.org/">The Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis</a> were part of his roster and I'm sure he would have made the drive down to Indiana to take part in such a wonderful event.<br />
<br />
Paul was one of the nicest Sherlockians out there and he will be missed by many people around the world. He leaves behind his wife Margaret, who is also an Irregular ("The Criterion Bar") a son, a daughter and six grandchilren. Paul's funeral will be Saturday morning at 10:00 AM  at <a href="http://www.obuuc.org/">Unitarian Universalist Church</a>, 625 College Ave., in Racine.  Visitation will  be Friday night and Saturday morning from 9 to 10. The full obituary is available from the <a href="http://www.legacy.com/JournalTimes/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=98045832">Racine Journal Times</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Please consider leaving a comment below that we can forward on to Paul's family as a sort of guest book.<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">--</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>

Remembering Paul Smedegaard, BSI

"keenly on his guard" [HOUN] Sadly, the Baker Street Irregulars have lost another one of our own, just over a month after th...

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by Scott Monty

Episode 13: Arthur Conan Doyle - A Life in Letters

<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">“a man of letters” [WIST]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjlVDnDxH0K0c58WAPBBbJnx1vY6yLYdscQsQahwIDtUp_3y46A41a3k4aprbU6s2jlqcYT8kVFg4iAcZJNcZpeWknUq2lwjs9ulicbQsRM2kgpOGqJn8Bz3coAnjQjSCMNtBujyGNab6DEX7QjryeZ98O17V_KFchpz2j2fB7RxX4YQKF3Tl6A3utw/s1440/ihose13%20-%20ACD%20Life%20in%20Letters.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjlVDnDxH0K0c58WAPBBbJnx1vY6yLYdscQsQahwIDtUp_3y46A41a3k4aprbU6s2jlqcYT8kVFg4iAcZJNcZpeWknUq2lwjs9ulicbQsRM2kgpOGqJn8Bz3coAnjQjSCMNtBujyGNab6DEX7QjryeZ98O17V_KFchpz2j2fB7RxX4YQKF3Tl6A3utw/w640-h360/ihose13%20-%20ACD%20Life%20in%20Letters.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<br />
We're pleased to welcome two noted authors to the show this week: Jon Lellenberg and Daniel Stashower. The recently edited a biography about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle along with Doyle's great-nephew Charles Foley. Comprised of hundreds and hundreds of letters, the book is already a critical success and is gaining popularity on both sides of the Atlantic. We talk with Jon and Dan to get some of the behind-the-scenes information from them.<br />
<br />
Please do consider subscribing to this podcast for free; you may also join our Facebook page, where there's an additional opportunity to interact with the community.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Show Notes</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Introduction of Jon and Dan, their qualifications</li>
<li>Why this biography is so different, after 20 others</li>
<li>Where did all of these letters come from?</li>
<li>Working with the Conan Doyle estate</li>
<li>The heavy influence of Mary Doyle in her son's life</li>
<li>Jon and Dan share perspectives of working with original letters - the good and the bad</li>
<li>More of the bad: a chronologist's nightmare</li>
<li>Looking at Conan Doyle's faith and his turn to spiritualism</li>
<li>Did the editors find any surprises or new discoveries?</li>
<li>How the biographers view their subject now, after working so closely with his letters</li>
<li>The Editor's Gas-Lamp: <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" style="font-style: italic;">The Baker Street Journal</a>, Volume 4, No. 1, 1949 (Old Series)</li>
<li>Show wrap-up</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock13.mp3">Download [Save As]</a> | File size: 51.7 MB, 56:21</h3>
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<h3>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Links</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://amzn.to/34d0kln" target="_blank"><i>Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters</i></a></li>
<li>Jon's other related work: <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2UhEZ5C">The Quest for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Thirteen Biographers in Search of a Life</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0809313847" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></i></li>
<li>Dan's related work: <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2UhEZ5C">Teller of Tales: The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</a></i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/brg/berg.html">The Berg Collection</a> at the New York Public Library</li>
<li><a href="http://special.lib.umn.edu/rare/holmes.phtml">The University of Minnesota Libraries' Sherlock Holmes Collections</a></li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Facebook page</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
--<br />
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Episode 13: Arthur Conan Doyle - A Life in Letters

“a man of letters” [WIST] We're pleased to welcome two noted authors to the show this week: Jon Lellenberg and Daniel Stashower. The ...

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by Scott Monty

"For Sixty Years the Bulwark..." [BLAC]

<a href="http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Ebergq003/norwegianexplorers/images/greenman.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Ebergq003/norwegianexplorers/images/greenman.gif" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 137px;" /></a>This is an all-points-bulletin to heads of Sherlockian societies around the world. If you haven't received an email from Gary Thaden, the current president of the <a href="http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Ebergq003/norwegianexplorers/">Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota</a>, please pay special attention to this post. And if you have, pay special attention all the same.<br /><br />In early January 2008, the Explorers will celebrate 60 years of being a scion society of the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org">Baker Street Irregulars</a>. As such, they are holding a dinner and welcome any greetings or congratulatory messages from your group to theirs. You may email Gary directly at gthaden AT gmail DOT com or you may comment on the blog here (click the "comments" link at the bottom of this entry) and I'll see that the messages are passed along to the Explorers. Please have your comments in by November 30th.<br /><br />In my experience, the Minnesota Sherlockians are some of the most genuinely nice people (they're <span style="font-style: italic;">supposed</span> to be - it's Minnesota, right?) and some of the most profoundly knowledgeable about Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and related subjects. Whether they're active in the <a href="http://special.lib.umn.edu/rare/holmes.phtml">Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections</a> at the University of Minnesota Libraries, or busy coordinating <a href="http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Ebergq003/norwegianexplorers/2007_conference.html">their latest symposium</a>, the group is filled with many great contributors. I won't name any of them here, out of fear of forgetting someone, but my hope is that you'll be able to hear from some of them next year on <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>.<br /><br />Thank you in advance for rallying around the Sherlockian community and showing support for one of our own.

"For Sixty Years the Bulwark..." [BLAC]

This is an all-points-bulletin to heads of Sherlockian societies around the world. If you haven't received an email from Gary Thaden, th...

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by Scott Monty

"Those Week-End Parties" [SOLI]

<a href="http://www.bsiweekend.com/" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128491499053133714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWL5cxiG0_dcdL5plliChV-UksPUiC9tnOYNs3nWk6c4sJzGA8XVxPo0wgXdf5UCE6qiy93jqRGy0rVTfyxoGW3fE_26BoNdyFDrIBG7EmW2uz-MXJdTymes-zSAIgjRANGSV_lPWmu-5c/s200/Algonquin_lobby_lounge.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>To every Sherlockian, it is always <span style="font-style: italic;">the </span>weekend.<br /><br />This is it! The long-awaited announcement of the January festivities that we Sherlock Holmes devotees always look forward to. For many of us, it's been nearly a year since we rubbed shoulders with each other from venues such as the Algonquin Hotel, Ollie's Noodle House, a city club or two, or just the streets of New York.<br /><br />This year, rather than reproduce the entire schedule here, I'm trying something a little different. In order to be much more comprehensive in my approach, I've created a separate site where you can find all of your BSI Weekend information - from schedules, to maps, to links to travel site and the general RSVP form for download. You can find this and more at the <a href="http://www.bsiweekend.com/">Baker Street Irregulars Weekend</a> site.<br /><br />If you join the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5262672284">Baker Street Blog Facebook group</a>, I'll be adding BSI Weekend information and content along the way. It's a great way to meet other Sherlockians virtually and to share pictures, links and discussions with each other. Do please consider joining and seeing what it's all about.<br /><br />But one of the features I'm most excited to offer this year is <span style="font-weight: bold;">real-time updates throughout the weekend</span>. You'll be able to follow these in the upper-left section of the <a href="http://www.bsiweekend.com/">BSI Weekend site</a>. Just think- if you can't make it to the event, you can be the first to know who receives their BSI Investitures or who gets spotted at various events.<br /><br />I hope to see you in New York in January. If you have any suggestions as to how to improve the BSI Weekend site, or if you have questions about the weekend, please drop me a line.