I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Remembering Encyclopedia Brown Author Donald Sobol

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<b>"a brown study" [CARD] </b></h4>
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Donald J. Sobol died on July 11 of natural causes at age 87. He was the author of over<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/mn/search/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=encyclopedia%20brown&linkCode=ur2&sprefix=encyclope%2Caps%2C459&tag=thebakerstree-20&url=search-alias%3Daps"> two dozen Encyclopedia Brown mysteries</a></b>. The small seaside town of Idaville was the same as any other small town except in one respect, fifth-grader Leroy Brown. Leroy's head was so crammed full of facts he was nicknamed "Encyclopedia". Encyclopedia used his brain power to help the neighborhood kids and his police chief father to solve mysteries. He was, in fact "America's Sherlock Holmes in sneakers". With his partner in his detective agency, Sally Kimball--the prettiest and toughest girl in the fifth grade--Encyclopedia charged kids 25 cents to help them with their problems. Encyclopedia's nemesis was an older kid named Bugs Meany.<br />
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<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>The first book in the series was <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142408883/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0142408883&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20"><i>Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective</i></a> published in 1963 and the series has continued for almost fifty years. Millions of copies are in print and they have been translated into twelve languages. Part of their charm is Sobol’s breezy and witty writing style. Here from “The Case of the Missing Garlic Bread”:<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Bugs was the leader of a gang of tough older boys. They called themselves the Tigers. They should have called themselves the Pretzel Makers. They always tried to make dough the crooked way. The only things they hated more than honesty were soap and water.</span></blockquote>
I discovered Sobol's works before Conan Doyle's. The mysteries were of the solve-them-yourself type, forcing the reader to match wits with Encyclopedia before turning to the back of the book for the solution. While written for kids, Sobol was a master at hiding the clue in plain sight. My love of the mystery genre started there. One could say that Sobol's use of the classic Holmesian tropes, the brilliant detective and his partner, his faculty with arcane knowledge, the colorful clients and villains, primed me for when I first encountered Holmes in <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> in the sixth grade.<br />
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There will be <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525425829/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0525425829&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20">a new Encyclopedia Brown book in October</a>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525425829/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0525425829&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20"><b><i>Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme</i></b></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0525425829" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. In it, Idaville will be as it always was, with beautiful beaches, churches, a synagogue, a movie theatre, two delicatessens and four banks. Chief Brown will come home with an insoluble problem and Encyclopedia, while listening at the dinner table with his eyes closed, will ask the Chief the one question that will solve the case. Bugs Meany will plot his revenge against Encyclopedia and Sally will be there to protect him.<br />
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The neighborhood kids will continue to arrive at the family garage at 13 Rover Avenue, plunk down a quarter on the empty gas can, and ask Encyclopedia's advice on Wilford Wiggins’ latest get-rich-quick scheme. And I continue to read them. I'm also not ashamed to say that America's Sherlock Holmes in sneakers can still at times beat me to the solution. That's as it should be.<br />
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Thanks, Donald.<br />
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Remembering Encyclopedia Brown Author Donald Sobol

"a brown study" [CARD] Donald J. Sobol died on July 11 of natural causes at age 87. He was the author of over two dozen ...

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by James C. O'Leary

Adapting The Hound of the Baskervilles for Audio

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"singularly adapted to our needs" [MISS] </h4>
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<br />"If I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all." - <i>A Study in Scarlet </i></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white;">In March of this year I auditioned for a local production of "The Day the Earth Stood Still."  During auditions I overheard a comment by the artistic director that they were looking to do a production of <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>, but that they did not have a script yet. Being the life-long Holmes fanatic I am, I boldly (foolishly?) volunteered to adapt the script for the Post-Meridian Radio Players.  The major caveat was that I had to bring the script in under an hour.</span><br />
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I didn't know what I was in for. <br />
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First thing we did was transcribe a 1977 production done for the <a href="http://www.cbsrmt.com/">CBS Radio Mystery Theatre</a>.  This was to be my starting point.  If you've ever heard this version it's heavily abridged, with several major sequences and characters cut out.  The dialog is also, for lack of a better word, paraphrased. <br />
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To fix the paraphrasing problem we subsequently transcribed every scrap of dialog from the original novel into a basic radio script. <br />
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With these two scripts in hand I set out to marry them together.  My goals were as follows:<br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">To restore as much original Doyle dialog as possible. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">To restore the missing sequences of the cab-chase in London and the Laura Lyons character. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Get it down under an hour.  The producer told me, and I quote, "45 minutes would be best."</span></li>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>I worked on my script for the better part of a month during rehearsals for "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (I scored a small part in that show) and it came in at 46 manuscript pages.  I thought I was in good shape, but the last step was the formatting.  If you've ever done a radio script before they follow a standard manuscript format that allows you to estimate the length of your show with each page equaling a minute of performance time.  I inserted my script into the template, let it format, and then counted the pages.<br />
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When the script came in at 117 pages total, well.  My response can't be repeated on this blog. <br />
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I had three weeks to get the script into fighting shape before auditions, so I began frantically cutting.  Every night I would go over the script looking for more that could be eliminated while keeping my original goals intact.  The boy seen going out to the stone-huts?  Gone.  The crazy neighbor who spies one everyone with a telescope?  Eliminated.  Holmes' lengthy summation of the case in the final chapter?  Condensed.  Many scenes that were originally two became one.  I honestly didn't think I'd make it. <br />
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But I did, and I'd like to think I did Sir Arthur proud. <br />
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<i><a href="http://www.huboftheuniverseproductions.com/events_srt12.html"><b>The Hound of the Baskervilles</b></a></i> opens this weekend (click through for more info), July 27th and 28th, at Responsible Grace at 204 Elm Street in Somerville, MA (just outside of Boston). Tickets are $15 / $12 for students & seniors, and you can <a href="http://www.huboftheuniverseproductions.com/events_tickets.html">reserve tickets by clicking here</a>.  We're part of the <a href="http://www.huboftheuniverseproductions.com/events_srt12.html">Summer Radio Mystery Theatre</a>, along with productions of 'Gracie Takes Up Crime-Solving' and 'Sorry, Wrong Number.'  Our final running time?  Just over 50 minutes. <br />
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Come see the show if you can.  I'll be playing Clayton the cab driver, so feel free to say hi after the show.  And be sure to mention that you read about the show on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.  <br />
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[<i><b>Editor's note</b>: the above was submitted by Jeremy Holstein from the Post-Meridian Radio Players</i>]<br />
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Adapting The Hound of the Baskervilles for Audio

"singularly adapted to our needs" [MISS] "If I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the concl...

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by Scott Monty

About the Great Exhibition of 1951

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<b>"a wilder exhibition of passion" [CREE] </b></h4>
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In 1851, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Exhibition" target="_blank">Great Exhibition</a> highlighted then "cutting edge" technology and industry. For its 100th anniversary, the Exhibition used then-current means to create a special highlight for Sherlockians - a replica of Holmes' sitting room, which is now on display in the <a href="http://www.sherlockholmespub.com/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Pub</a> in London.<br />
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Not to be outdone, <a href="http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/" target="_blank">the current version of the Exhibition is now online</a>...and also contains an excellent opportunity for Sherlockians to participate and demonstrate a slightly wilder exhibitions of their own passions.<br />
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Thanks to a strong Internet presence (including <a href="http://twitter.com/GreatExhibition" target="_blank">the Great Exhibition on Twitter</a>), people can actually vote for those things which are "great" about Great Britain. Of special interest to Sherlockians are the two following categories of interest:<br />
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<b>Sherlock Holmes</b> - <a href="http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/sherlock-holmes </a><br />
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<b>Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - </b><a href="http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/sir-arthur-conan-doyle">http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/sir-arthur-conan-doyle</a><br />
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At the 1951 Exhibition, the ability to view the Great Detective's drawing room helped the character make a deeper impact on history; now, Sherlockians can play an active role in making sure that impact is felt for future generations as well.<br />
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<i>Editor's note: This essay was submitted by Gordon Dymowski, who 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>.  <br /><i> </i></i><br />
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About the Great Exhibition of 1951

"a wilder exhibition of passion" [CREE] In 1851, the Great Exhibition highlighted then "cutting edge" technology...

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by Scott Monty

The Effect of America and Americans on Sherlock Holmes

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"The 4th Inst." [STUD]  </h4>
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"It is always a joy to me to meet an American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a Minister in far gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes," - Sherlock Holmes in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Annotated-Sherlock-Holmes/dp/0393059162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341172790&sr=8-1&keywords=the+new+annotated+sherlock+holmes">“The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor”</a>. </blockquote>
As we celebrate Independence Day and the bicentennial of the War of 1812 this year, let’s also reflect on the profound effect America and Americans have had on the Canon.</div>
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Frank Moulton and Hatty Doran may have been two visitors from across the pond that Holmes welcomed to 221B with woodcock, pheasant, foie gras pie and “ancient and cobwebby bottles”, but most Americans, in Watson’s pages, would be left off the guest list.</div>
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There is Jefferson Hope, whose American virtue of tenacity is mixed with that equally American desire for revenge, and tracked his fellow countrymen Drebber and Stangerson to London with deadly results. Revenge was also on the mind of Captain James Calhoun of the “Lone Star”. Protection of the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan led to the deaths of three members of the Openshaw family. Abe Slaney, “the most dangerous crook in Chicago” tracked Elsie Cubitt (nee Patrick) to Norfolk and was willing to kill her husband to possess her. “James Winter, alias Morecroft, alias Killer Evans” even wounded Watson during “The Adventure of the Three Garridebs”. While it was worth a wound to Watson to see the great heart behind the great brain, it’s doubtful the American criminal was on Watson’s Christmas card list.</div>
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Ex-senator J. Neil Gibson, the Gold King, may have best exemplified the concept of “the Ugly American” in the Canon. Arrogant, demeaning and used to buying his way, it took the equally strong personality of Sherlock Holmes to put him in his place.</div>
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A better representative of the United States is John Douglas, amiable master of Birlstone Manor, a.k.a. Birdy Edwards, Pinkerton detective extraordinaire. As John Douglas he was cheery and genial and as Birdy Edwards, cool, tough and fearless, the qualities that most Americans would like to see in themselves.</div>
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There is one other to be mentioned; Altamont, the faux Irish-American played by Holmes in his bid to fool and ultimately capture German spy Von Bork. Holmes spent two years in America, traveling from Chicago to Buffalo to perfect his cover. It’s fitting to remember on this July fourth that Altamont was described as ”a tall, gaunt man of sixty, with clear-cut features and a small goatee beard, which gave him a general resemblance to the caricatures of Uncle Sam.”<br />
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Holmes’ dream of a united Great  Britain and United States may be no closer to reality in 2012 than in 1887, but the two countries are deeply intertwined in the Canon. As we Americans celebrate the 4th with family and friends; barbecue hamburgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob; and watch the rockets' red glare to the tune of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLT6BIUi7tE&feature=related">"The 1812 Overture"</a>, remember Holmes himself, that quintessential Englishman, liked and occasionally was one of us.<br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: trebuchet, trebuchet ms, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><b><i>--</i></b></span></span><br />
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