Updated Show Archives

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "among your extensive archives" [DEVI]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9rTL0MJkHX3j1PEGYuuufKmsVIxRSpxRao0HD9warFRbRjiFm9Y43Iy4ma1jSaUV6tR_wEZAt8bpVSifoEGq8JSRVqXchtqJiZcrNCYPd7GzzV3-9mOPTPTsIYteel8P19uH8XC2KkcS/s1600/Wolff+Atlas+World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9rTL0MJkHX3j1PEGYuuufKmsVIxRSpxRao0HD9warFRbRjiFm9Y43Iy4ma1jSaUV6tR_wEZAt8bpVSifoEGq8JSRVqXchtqJiZcrNCYPd7GzzV3-9mOPTPTsIYteel8P19uH8XC2KkcS/s1600/Wolff+Atlas+World.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Since we recently relaunched our site, we've discovered a small glitch that makes getting to some of our older shows a bit difficult. There are navigational aids on the site such as the Interviews drop-down in the right column on the web, and the Podcast Episodes and Interview Shows sections below, but they are each limited.<br /> <br /> We've created a new navigation in the toolbar above under "Listen" that includes our <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/episodes" target="_blank">Latest Episodes</a> and our <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/show-archives.html" target="_blank">Show Archives</a>. We hope that these will help you find what you need. We've also reproduced the Show Archives page here and will update it with each new episode we post.<br /> <br /> And if you're just finding your way here for the first time, please be sure to read our <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/new-here.html#.UuX0t8Qo5w0" target="_blank">New Here?</a> and <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/resources.html#.UuX1m8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Resources</a> pages, which contain a veritable plethora of valuable information not only about this site, but about the Sherlockian world in general.<br /> <br /> <h4> Show Archives</h4> This is where we chronicle the full archive of all of the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere episodes, the first podcast for Sherlock Holmes devotees. We like to think of ourselves as Car Talk for Sherlockians, but most of all, we hope you'll find us an enjoyable and valuable resource.<br /> <br /> Each link in the list will take you to the page with that episode's notes, a player and the ability to download each episode. You'll find our most recent episode queued up in the player below. And of course, be sure to subscribe to our podcast via <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=917393" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=C*JE*kqZKe8&offerid=78524.10006064&type=4&subid=0" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, or with our<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DZUTGYS/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00DZUTGYS&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20">IHOSE Android</a><img border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00DZUTGYS" />, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/podcast-box/id419361759?mt=8">IHOSE iOS app</a>, or <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/d1029dc0-f4b0-470e-bff5-3d6e787aaf9e">IHOSE Windows apps</a>.<br /> <br /> <center> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="45" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/destination/id/26761/height/45/width/250/theme/standard/direction/no/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/" style="border-style: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="250"></iframe></center> <br /> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/episode-61-private-life-of-vincent.html#.Uv2m0cRDuSo" target="_blank">Episode 61: The Private Life of Vincent Starrett</a> (interview with Ray Betzner and Susan Rice)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/01/episode-60-sherlock-holmes-first-60_10.html#.UuXHw8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 60: Sherlock Holmes - The First 60 Years</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/12/special-episode-free-sherlock.html#.UuXHwsQo5w0" target="_blank">Special Episode: Free Sherlock</a> (interview with Les Klinger and Betsy Rosenblatt)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/12/episode-59-sherlockology.html#.UuXHwcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 59: Sherlockology</a> (interview with Jules Coomber and David Mather, of the popular fan site)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/11/episode-58-thankful-for-sherlock-holmes.html#.UuXHucQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 58: Thankful for Sherlock Holmes</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/10/episode-57-sherlockian-halloween.html#.UuXHt8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 57: A Sherlockian Halloween</a> (interview with Charles Prepolec)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/09/episode-56-sherlock-peoria.html#.UuXHtcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 56: Sherlock Peoria</a> (interview with Brad Keefauver)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/08/episode-55-central-press-syndicate.html#.UuXHm8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 55: The Central Press Syndicate</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/07/episode-54-how-to-think-like-sherlock.html#.UuXHCMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 54: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes</a> (interview with author Maria Konnikova)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/06/episode-53-for-sake-of-trust.html#.UuXHBsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 53: For the Sake of the Trust</a> (interview with Tom Francis, chairman of the Baker Street Irregulars Trust)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/05/episode-52-sherlockian-mythbusting.html#.UuXHA8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 52: Sherlockian Mythbusters</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/04/episode-51-who-is-sherlockian.html#.UuXHAcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 51: Who Is a Sherlockian?</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/01/episode-50-golden-passage.html#.UuXFrMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 50: A Golden Passage</a> (interview with Bob Katz and Andy Solberg, editors of the BSI Manuscript Series entry for "The Golden Pince-Nez")</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/12/episode-49-ill-have-blue-christmas.html#.UuXFssQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 49: I'll Have a Blue Christmas</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/12/episode-48-dangerous-work.html#.UuXFqcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 48: Dangerous Work</a> (interview with Jon Lellenberg and Dan Stashower about Conan Doyle's arctic whaling diary)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/10/episode-47-re-vampires.html#.UuXFpsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 47: Re: Vampires</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/10/episode-46-elementary-my-dear-cbs.html#.UuXFo8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 46: Elementary, My Dear CBS</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/09/episode-45-sherlock-holmes-and-politics.html#.UuXFnMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 45: Sherlock Holmes and Politics</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/08/episode-44-watson-and-holmes.html#.UuXFlsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 44: Watson and Holmes</a> (interview with Brandon Perlow, Justin Gabrie and Karl Bollers, creators of the African-American duo in modern-day New York)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/06/episode-43-fathers-in-canon.html#.UuXFksQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 43: Fathers in the Canon</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/05/episode-42-sherlock-pbs-cumberbatch.html#.UuXFjsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 42: Sherlock @PBS - Cuberbatch Returns</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/04/episode-41-woman.html#.UuXFiMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 41: The Woman</a> (interview with Lara Pulver, who played Irene Adler in "A Scandal in Belgravia")</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/03/episode-40-one-voice-of-sherlock-holmes.html#.UuXFgMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 40: One Voice of Sherlock Holmes</a> (interview with voice actor David Ian Davies)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/02/episode-39-believeinsherlock.html#.UuXETsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 39: #BelieveinSherlock</a> (interview with the Baker Street Babes)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/01/episode-38-on-conan-doyle.html#.UuXEScQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 38: On Conan Doyle </a>(interview with Michael Dirda)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/11/episode-37-lost-conan-doyle-manuscript.html#.UuXERMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 37: The Lost Conan Doyle Manuscript</a> (interview with Jon Lellenberg and Dan Stashower)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/10/episode-36-michael-hoey-and-fabulous.html#.UuXEQMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 36: Michael Hoey and the Fabulous Faces of Universal</a> (interview with Michael Hoey, son of Dennis Hoey, who played Lestrade in the Basil Rathbone movies)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/09/episode-35-sherlock-holmes-in-news.html#.UuXEO8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 35: Sherlock Holmes in the News</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/08/episode-34-william-gillette-americas.html#.UuXENcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 34: William Gillette, America's Sherlock Holmes</a> (interview with Henry Zecher)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/06/episode-33-remembering-edward-hardwicke.html#.UuXELcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 33: Remembering Edward Hardwicke</a> (interview with Steve Doyle and David Stuart Davies)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/04/episode-32-untitled-les-klinger-sequel.html" target="_blank">Episode 32: Untitled Les Klinger Sequel</a> (Part 2)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/03/episode-31-chat-with-les-klinger.html#.UuXEGsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 31: A Chat with Les Klinger</a> (Part 1)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/01/episode-30-sherlockian_30.html#.UuXEFMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 30: The Sherlockian</a> (interview with Graham Moore)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/12/episode-29-baker-street-irregular.html#.UuXD2sQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 29: Baker Street Irregular</a> (interview with Jon Lellenberg)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/10/episode-28-friendship.html#.UuXD1MQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 28: Friendship</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/08/episode-27-sherlockian-potpourri.html#.UuXBy8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 27: A Sherlockian Potpourri</a></li> <li>Episode 26: A Musical Stroll Down Baker Street (interview with Fritz Weaver)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/04/episode-25-sherlock-holmes-for-dummies.html#.UuXB-8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 25: Sherlock Holmes for Dummies</a> (interview with Steven Doyle)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/04/episode-24-sherlock-holmes-and-his.html#.UuXB9MQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 24: Sherlock Holmes and His Worlds</a> (interview with Sally Sugarman)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/02/episode-23-weekend-in-review.html#.UuXB5MQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 23: The Baker Street Irregulars Weekend in Review</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/01/episode-22-sherlock-holmes-at-movies.html#.UuXB1sQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 22: Sherlock Holmes at the Movies (Part 2)</a> (interview with David Morrill)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2010/01/episode-21-sherlock-holmes-at-movies.html#.UuXBycQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 21: Sherlock Holmes at the Movies (Part 1)</a> (interview with David Morrill)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2009/12/episode-20-cleaning-empty-house.html#.UuXBvcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 20: Cleaning (The Empty) House</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2009/12/episode-19-return-of-i-hear-of-sherlock.html#.UuXCL8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 19: The Return of I Hear of Sherlock</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2008/03/episode-18-sons-of-copper-beeches.html#.UuXAbcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 18: The Sons of the Copper Beeches</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2008/01/episode-17-collectors-corner-otto.html#.UuXAbcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 17: Collectors' Corner - Otto Penzler</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/12/special-episode-compliments-of-season.html#.UuXITsQo5w0" target="_blank">Special Episode: Compliments of the Season 2007</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/12/episode-16-collectors-corner-jerry.html#.UuXAfMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 16: Collectors' Corner - Jerry Margolin</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/12/episode-15-michael-whelan-wiggins-of.html#.UuXAacQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 15: Michael Whelan, Wiggins of the Baker Street Irregulars (Part 2)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/12/episode-14-michael-whelan-wiggins-of.html#.UuXAZ8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 14: Michael Whelan, Wiggins of the Baker Street Irregulars (Part 1)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/11/episode-13-arthur-conan-doyle-life-in.html#.UuW9SsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 13: Arthur Conan Doyle - A Life in Letters</a> (interview with Jon Lellenberg and Dan Stashower)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/10/episode-12-bob-thomalen-part-2.html#.UuW_-8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 12: Interview with Bob Thomalen (Part 2)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/10/episode-11-bob-thomalen-part-1.html#.UuW9SsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 11: Interview with Bob Thomalen (Part 1)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/09/episode-10-secret-of-sherlock-holmes.html#.UuW9RsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 10: The Secret of Sherlock Holmes</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/09/episode-09-our-favorite-books.html" target="_blank">Episode 9: Our Favorite Books</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/08/episode-08-to-keep-memory-green.html#.UuW9RcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 8: To Keep the Memory Green</a> (interview with Steve Rothman and Nicholas Utechin about Richard Lancelyn Green)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/08/episode-07-peter-blau-part-2_27.html" target="_blank">Episode 7: Interview with Peter Blau (Part 2)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/08/episode-06-peter-blau-part-1.html#.UuW9QMQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 6: Interview with Peter Blau (Part 1)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/08/episode-05-sherlockian-101-part-2.html#.UuW9PsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 5: Sherlockian 101 (Part 2)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/07/episode-04-sherlockian-101-part-1.html#.UuW9PcQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 4: Sherlockian 101 (Part 1)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/07/episode-03-mike-berdan.html#.UuXAF8Qo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 3: Interview with Mike Berdan</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/06/episode-02-wessex-press.html#.UuW9McQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 2: Interview with the Wessex Press</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/06/episode-01-welcome-and-introduction.html#.UuW9LsQo5w0" target="_blank">Episode 1: Welcome and an Introduction</a></li> </ul>

Updated Show Archives

"among your extensive archives" [DEVI] Since we recently relaunched our site, we've discovered a small glitch that makes ...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 61: The Private Life of Vincent Starrett

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "...my little bookshop at the corner..." [EMPT] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOu6kKJqRV8_-UCLomdevOk7vUQGvB9lO10r84DryoGgFK4FmzaP9Ap1BVV16bkwJhrkY4yDOXn0neYfwvQ2xlzK11kAH1n2oHUqi1s1yxdcqzJPTGq4ZLN0pKSSdpVGcZybtakI9m2Q5b/s1600/vincent-starrett-by-zimmer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOu6kKJqRV8_-UCLomdevOk7vUQGvB9lO10r84DryoGgFK4FmzaP9Ap1BVV16bkwJhrkY4yDOXn0neYfwvQ2xlzK11kAH1n2oHUqi1s1yxdcqzJPTGq4ZLN0pKSSdpVGcZybtakI9m2Q5b/s1600/vincent-starrett-by-zimmer.jpg" width="397" /></a></div> <center><br /></center> <br /> When we have the opportunity to sit on a couple of sofas and interview some of the most erudite and interesting Baker Street Irregulars of our time, we take it. And it seems that the BSI Weekend serves as just the spot to do that. Two years ago, we had an opportunity to do just that with Michael Dirda (ref. <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/01/episode-38-on-conan-doyle.html#.Uvg-asRDuSp" target="_blank">Episode 38: On Conan Doyle</a>), and we were again afforded that opportunity this year.<br /> <br /> On January 16, 2014, we had the great fortune to find an upstairs room in The Players in Manhattan, where we plunked our microphones down in front of <a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/" target="_blank">Ray Betzner</a>, BSI ("The Agony Column"), editor of the 75th anniversary edition of <i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i>, and the esteemed <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2020/10/remembering-susan-rice-ash-bsi-2s.html" target="_blank">Susan Rice</a>, BSI ("Beeswing"), ASH ("Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen"), author of <i>The Somnambulist and the Detective: Vincent Starrett and Sherlock Holmes</i>, and got them to wax poetic about the great Sherlockian and bookman, Vincent Starrett.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4233u2skW7AZqwo-Wt0jrO1fF3hVPQa-8At2WhtqGdM6N9T8rxc5V_R7Nc0ZhVeGajhM72eRNoAyjmMe4t1RauwSRs1LGnKpHTdR_-2MsedBDy5fOnop85lAGE2K9b1eiDvMerDD4OL2K/w787-h590-no/IMG_0707.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4233u2skW7AZqwo-Wt0jrO1fF3hVPQa-8At2WhtqGdM6N9T8rxc5V_R7Nc0ZhVeGajhM72eRNoAyjmMe4t1RauwSRs1LGnKpHTdR_-2MsedBDy5fOnop85lAGE2K9b1eiDvMerDD4OL2K/w787-h590-no/IMG_0707.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> While many people are familiar with the names of Edgar Smith and Christopher Morley when it comes to early Irregular history, Vincent Starrett may not be as widely known. He was certainly very well known in his own time, and particularly in his city of Chicago. His contributions to the world of Sherlock Holmes were immense, and his own magnum opus <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1h28jXg" target="_blank">The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> is probably the most well known.<br /> <br /> But what else was known of this man? How did he become such a great scholar of Holmes? What of his professional life? What mysteries within his own personal life and commitments kept him from attending all but the first BSI Dinner, despite his death some 40 years later in 1974? Our interview subjects delve into all of these topics and many more as they help us explore the multifaceted bookman Vincent Starrett.<br /> <br /> We hear from Vincent himself in the opening strains of the show and we close not with a Gas-Lamp, but of a reading of his touching poem "221B." Both of these are available on <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/starrettspeaks.html" target="_blank">Starrett Speaks: the Lost Recordings Audio CD</a></i>, available from the Wessex Press, our sponsor.<br /> <br /> Listener comments are back (thank you!), both written and audio, and we give those some airtime. Finally, we have a <b><i>special item</i></b> - an article that Starrett wrote for <i>The Observer</i>, the catalog from Oppenheim's from Autumn 1929, titled "Fashions in Fiction" - that is available as a bonus item only for listeners who have downloaded our <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DZUTGYS/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00DZUTGYS&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20">IHOSE Android app</a><img border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00DZUTGYS" />, our <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/podcast-box/id419361759?mt=8">IHOSE iOS app</a>, or our <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/d1029dc0-f4b0-470e-bff5-3d6e787aaf9e">IHOSE Windows app</a>.<br /> <br /> <h4> Links:</h4> <ul> <li>Ray Betzner's new website: <a href="http://vincentstarrett.com/">VincentStarrett.com</a> - including "<a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/blog/2014/1/19/have-you-a-tamerlane" target="_blank">Have You a Tamerlane?</a>"</li> <li><i><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/html/privatelife.html" target="_blank">The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> - 75th anniversary edition, edited by Ray Betzner (Wessex Press)</li> <li>An excerpt from <i><a href="http://www.bsiarchivalhistory.org/BSI_Archival_History/DS_DB.html" target="_blank">"Dear Starrett--" / "Dear Briggs--"</a></i> (BSI Archival History)</li> <li>"<a href="http://amzn.to/1o8CYms" target="_blank">The Real Sherlock Holmes</a>" in <i>The Golden Book Magazine</i> - available to one lucky collector (Amazon.com)</li> <li><a href="http://archive.org/stream/uniquehamlethith00starrich/uniquehamlethith00starrich_djvu.txt" target="_blank">The Adventure of the Unique Hamlet</a> (via the Internet Archive)</li> <li><a href="http://www.hypable.com/2014/02/04/sherlock-series-4-six-stories-wed-like-to-see/" target="_blank"><i>Sherlock </i>Series 4: Six Stories We'd Like to See</a> (Hypable)</li> <li>Our <a href="http://flip.it/oxPOZ">Flipboard magazine</a> aggregates lots of content for your enjoyment.</li> </ul> <div><br /></div><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock061.mp3" style="color: #013fd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size: 41.7 MB, 1:28:30</h3> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134357765&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /><br /> <br /> Please <a href="http://pod.link/ihearofsherlock">subscribe to us on the podcast player of your choice</a> and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br /> Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or use the Speakpipe app right here on the site. Connect with us and other interested Sherlockians on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock">Twitter</a>. And of course, our <a href="http://flip.it/oxPOZ">web- and app-based Flipboard magazine</a> is a nice collection of links, articles and images.<br /> <br /> And above all, please let our sponsors know that you heard us rant and rave about their excellence during the programme: <a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a> and <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/">The Baker Street Journal</a>.<br /> <br /> <i>Image credit: <a href="http://batteredbox.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/update-on-vincent-starrett/" target="_blank">Matthew Zimmer</a></i><br /> --<br /> <br /> <br />

Episode 61: The Private Life of Vincent Starrett

"...my little bookshop at the corner..." [EMPT]  When we have the opportunity to sit on a couple of sofas and interview some...

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by Scott Monty

The Return of a Long-Lost Holmesian Forum

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "Sit down and tell me how you came alive out of the dreadful chasm." [EMPT]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4415YtLdOJ-WpRZNh4WnSUIllyQTRjp0hY9_wgmpEzFnG4copFVAnriFuBTs9S_HoIimB7DGB8uERQM3K4PhtDPSnCKWQnVTMXZRH0Gskfh7EIoTiNWUk5bWe9tQ9qL317OxWU4rIkYz/s1600/Return+of+Sherlock+Holmes+-+EMPT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4415YtLdOJ-WpRZNh4WnSUIllyQTRjp0hY9_wgmpEzFnG4copFVAnriFuBTs9S_HoIimB7DGB8uERQM3K4PhtDPSnCKWQnVTMXZRH0Gskfh7EIoTiNWUk5bWe9tQ9qL317OxWU4rIkYz/s1600/Return+of+Sherlock+Holmes+-+EMPT.jpg" width="328" /></a></div> <br /> For those who have been around these parts for a bit, you may recall the forum Holmesian.net. At one point early last year, the site lost its domain registry and the very robust set of discussion boards, chat rooms and forums were lost. It was too bad, as there was a good deal of information gathered there and the site acted as a resource and portal for many, just as Sherlockian.net has done.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWP1zf0kF3g1XyetsIPla-vZ7Hlz6roWtJpUo9w_xPPonUQmT3K2w9IEzhcLWodgS10H4yugS-flaRd55u1G569MVF5gZY4NmOOxOlfZno9OJCRb23FoTgoolX8zvI25jwdfOn8W1SIxl7/s1600/holmesian.net.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWP1zf0kF3g1XyetsIPla-vZ7Hlz6roWtJpUo9w_xPPonUQmT3K2w9IEzhcLWodgS10H4yugS-flaRd55u1G569MVF5gZY4NmOOxOlfZno9OJCRb23FoTgoolX8zvI25jwdfOn8W1SIxl7/s1600/holmesian.net.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Just as we had seemingly put it out of our minds, chalking it up as another unfortunate loss of the Internet through a missed deadline or hacked site, we were pleased to discover that the architecture and even some of the content of the site has been <strike>resurrected</strike> recreated as <a href="http://bakerstreet221b.boards.net/" target="_blank">221B Baker Street</a> (<a href="http://bakerstreet221b.boards.net/">http://bakerstreet221b.boards.net</a>). It's an entirely new set of administrators who were members of the old site.<br /> <br /> The site bills itself as "the internet's only complete and concise English-language Sherlock Holmes online community," and requires signup/login for membership, which is free. All one needs to participate is an email address and to select a login name.<br /> <br /> The site is neatly divided into a few sections to help members get around:<br /> <br /> <h4> Greater London</h4> <ul> <li><b>The Vestibule</b> - new members, introductions, etc.</li> <li><b>221B, Baker Street</b> - general Sherlock Holmes discussion</li> <li><b>Professor Coram's Study</b> - essays, fanfic, pastiches, etc.</li> <li><b>The British Museum</b> - discussion of Holmesian-era history, Victorian era, Edwardian era</li> </ul> <div> <br /></div> <br /> <h4> The Lyceum Theater</h4> <ul> <li><b>Sherlock Holmes on the Silver Screen</b> - discussion of all Sherlock Holmes feature films </li> <li><b>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Granada</b> </li> <li><b>BBC's "Sherlock"</b></li> <li><b>Holmes on the Air</b> - discussion of Sherlock Holmes audio books, or classic Sherlock Holmes radio shows (1930s - 1950s)</li> </ul> <div> <br /></div> <br /> <h4> The Diogenes Club</h4> <ul> <li><b>The Diogenes Club</b> - off-topic discussions</li> <li><b>St. James's Hall</b> - all musical discussion</li> <li><b>The Suggestion Box</b></li> </ul> <br /> <br /> We suggest hopping over to the site and checking them out. Whether or not you're in the market for an online discussion forum that's outside of your usual path on the web, it might be good to see what's happening there - such as <a href="http://bakerstreet221b.boards.net/thread/44/why-books-canon-canonical" target="_blank">the discussion</a> around why the works that make up the <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1fUfJc5" target="_blank">Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> aren't included in the Canon.<br /> <br /> Were you a member of Holmesian.net? What do you think of the new iteration of the site?<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br />

The Return of a Long-Lost Holmesian Forum

"Sit down and tell me how you came alive out of the dreadful chasm." [EMPT] For those who have been around these parts for ...

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by Scott Monty

Canonical References in Series 3 of Sherlock

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "I am now about to summarize." [ENGR]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSs-ChksL0L5-y8N8jb6vKvhqMdOBB99x6721QPYLZaxOlR4wvKJBKiEhX5oEc2TQQ_Yjl9Edn2pKiMatUTMJS3MQjo4NkZ6P1p3kRXYXcmX8f835AIMDRKk06fdw-Wzl2AMVaClfNlYJx/s1600/MUSG+-+Holmes+records+tin+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSs-ChksL0L5-y8N8jb6vKvhqMdOBB99x6721QPYLZaxOlR4wvKJBKiEhX5oEc2TQQ_Yjl9Edn2pKiMatUTMJS3MQjo4NkZ6P1p3kRXYXcmX8f835AIMDRKk06fdw-Wzl2AMVaClfNlYJx/s1600/MUSG+-+Holmes+records+tin+box.jpg" width="358" /></a></div> <br /> As you may know, we were asked to host <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/features/twitter-event/sherlock-s3-twitter-event/" target="_blank">a live Twitter chat</a> by Masterpiece PBS for Series 3 of <i>Sherlock</i>. This marked the third consecutive season that we were honored to perform that duty.<br /> <br /> Our focus, as it always has been, was to highlight the elements of the original stories that made it into the updated series in one fashion or another. While we may not have captured everything in the flurry of tweets that we tried to crank out over the course of 90 minutes, we think we hit upon the main points.<br /> <br /> Rather than letting those tweets get lost to the ether of the Internet, we've collected them and we're presenting them here for your reference. If there are other points that we should include, please let us know.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="storify"> <iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="no" height="750" src="//storify.com/IHearofSherlock/canonical-references-in-sherlock-series-3/embed" width="100%"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/IHearofSherlock/canonical-references-in-sherlock-series-3.js"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/IHearofSherlock/canonical-references-in-sherlock-series-3" target="_blank">View the story "Canonical References in Sherlock Series 3" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div> <br /> --<br /> <br />

Canonical References in Series 3 of Sherlock

"I am now about to summarize." [ENGR] As you may know, we were asked to host a live Twitter chat by Masterpiece PBS for Seri...

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by Scott Monty

Ready to be #Sherlocked: The Official Sherlock Convention

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "evidently a great event" [HOUN]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP87zhp5TodQEFBIUcCmLQXSZ97W1FAJXTkK5J9j3LHjVy_0AdfHiHSqJv6CR_PMM_-2afFXQbxUB5mSIOQHll0CYLlmh8t1abfOMzu_yrOtLtTB7ZWgL9ns4TuL5eeHF_gBsIgTpRXUUg/s1600/Sherlocked.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP87zhp5TodQEFBIUcCmLQXSZ97W1FAJXTkK5J9j3LHjVy_0AdfHiHSqJv6CR_PMM_-2afFXQbxUB5mSIOQHll0CYLlmh8t1abfOMzu_yrOtLtTB7ZWgL9ns4TuL5eeHF_gBsIgTpRXUUg/s1600/Sherlocked.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Just announced today from <a href="http://www.sherlockology.com/news/2014/2/7/sherlocked-convention-announcement-070214" target="_blank">our friends at Sherlockolog</a>y is Sherlocked: The Official <i>Sherlock </i>Convention.<br /> <br /> Details are still unfolding, but later in 2014 over the course of three days, there will be a major event, run by Massive Events in association with Hartswood Films and Showmasters Ltd. Of course, Hartswood are the producers/distributors of <i>Sherlock </i>and Showmasters and Massive Events are experienced with fan conventions and major trade shows that attract the likes of the rabid fanbase that we know Sherlock has.<br /> <br /> The event, which will take place both in Europe and the United States over the course of three days, was teased by Sherlockology over the course of the past week or so following the conclusion of Series 3 on PBS. They cleverly used a code to lure fans in:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIFeWcJoK0Zrm_3vIv2HVAHzTfIINvXaUD4876vwtPOUJpJaD4bxHIB6IsXTw97U2RycbMiM7i7CpClSJnUTwtt33qV-FQ0L7YzbMQn-W8wBpxJDNW_zO8xToawk8dtU67s49Ezl3Swad/s1600/sherlocked+code.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIFeWcJoK0Zrm_3vIv2HVAHzTfIINvXaUD4876vwtPOUJpJaD4bxHIB6IsXTw97U2RycbMiM7i7CpClSJnUTwtt33qV-FQ0L7YzbMQn-W8wBpxJDNW_zO8xToawk8dtU67s49Ezl3Swad/s1600/sherlocked+code.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> For those paying attention at home, the code spelled: CONVENTION.<br /> <br /> At this point, all that we know is that the event will take place over 3 days in 2014 and will feature an array of Sherlock themed activities, appearances from the cast and crew of the show, talks, photoshoots, autograph opportunities and more.<br /> <br /> To get more information on the event, visit the official <a href="http://massiveevents.co.uk/sherlocked/" target="_blank">Sherlocked: The Sherlock Convention</a> site and enter your information. You can also follow them on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sherlocked-The-Event/254831428026630" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and as <a href="https://twitter.com/SherlockedEvent" target="_blank">@SherlockedEvent</a> on Twitter.<br /> <br /> Do you think you'll attend? Let us know. We may need some correspondents.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <br />

Ready to be #Sherlocked: The Official Sherlock Convention

"evidently a great event" [HOUN] Just announced today from our friends at Sherlockolog y is Sherlocked: The Official Sherlock...

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by Scott Monty

Holmes and Watson at Pebble Beach

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "...the pretense of playing golf." [BLAC]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUqZKzlUWmE0dOxCSDzysaxD9ctJwt6FCEUTI1dMuEuELyrU44c1K-aZPwHsOnbPgZyiU64mh5vl9HIe4Un5fSw_8AZMJytA0F4nzBUXaGiLvQ-KR-A5sdf073Z_m2D07PJCqtexRnK4Y/s1600/Pebble-Beach-CA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUqZKzlUWmE0dOxCSDzysaxD9ctJwt6FCEUTI1dMuEuELyrU44c1K-aZPwHsOnbPgZyiU64mh5vl9HIe4Un5fSw_8AZMJytA0F4nzBUXaGiLvQ-KR-A5sdf073Z_m2D07PJCqtexRnK4Y/s1600/Pebble-Beach-CA.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> We understand that there will be a sighting of Holmes and Watson at the annual Pebble Beach Pro-Am Golf Tournament today.<br /> <br /> No, not Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson but rather <a href="http://www.pgatour.com/content/pgatour/players/player.27141.j-b-holmes.html" target="_blank">J.B. Holmes</a> and John Watson, who will be making an appearance on the Spyglass Hill course. Holmes will be paired up with David Gill, and Watson, an amateur, will be paired with pro Retief Goosen.<br /> <br /> As you may know, Arthur Conan Doyle was a lifelong golfer. In his first North American tour, he stayed with Rudyard Kipling in Vermont, where the two enjoyed some golf together. As Conan Doyle recounted:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> “I had brought up my golf-clubs and gave him lessons in a field while the New England rustics watched us from afar, wondering what on earth we were at, for golf was unknown in America at that time.”</blockquote> And it was <a href="http://www.diogenes-club.com/golf.htm" target="_blank">golf that was indirectly responsible for the resurrection of Sherlock Holmes</a>. One weekend in Cromer, along the Norfolk coast, Doyle engaged in a round of golf while staying at the Royal Links Hotel. That round was shot with Fletcher Robinson, who inspired him to write <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>.<br /> <br /> At any rate, it will be refreshing to see the names of Holmes and Watson televised throughout the Pebble Beach Pro-Am today. And here's hoping that the players take their golfing advice from Sir Arthur:<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVQwI_d49iLmUv4Y0hx4pKOIz7CRyqgkzMJNNX4cw_Q0UAMnJTWg-lCzs_IigYNf6ZQX01hQpALJqYNxMUELLF_KqeYgrhXX3udw_F_EKROVDX_7hpeyTAvh-odsuWt10-y6kbJMOBfHj/s1600/Doyle_Arthur_Conan_grave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVQwI_d49iLmUv4Y0hx4pKOIz7CRyqgkzMJNNX4cw_Q0UAMnJTWg-lCzs_IigYNf6ZQX01hQpALJqYNxMUELLF_KqeYgrhXX3udw_F_EKROVDX_7hpeyTAvh-odsuWt10-y6kbJMOBfHj/s1600/Doyle_Arthur_Conan_grave.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steel true, blade straight.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <i>Images courtesy of <a href="http://www.chamoismoon.com/" target="_blank">Robert Campbell</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Doyle_Arthur_Conan_grave.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></i><br /> --<br /> <br />

Holmes and Watson at Pebble Beach

"...the pretense of playing golf." [BLAC] We understand that there will be a sighting of Holmes and Watson at the annual Pebb...

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by Scott Monty

A Brief Introduction to Sherlockian Societies

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: start;">"Every form of society..." [SCAN] </span></h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrxc8De46Py5TcoS38g_0RNvxQhIa6MYvwwLVl41IIJkstPUUmJuglU2_EoQ0qsfATbA5iZ5ntFKaZbP9pBwUHMhd-vWyMY2sif6hk6-SpP5omtTJSkcLuX9V42e71drbvlFyJbPKl8A-/s1600/bsidinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrxc8De46Py5TcoS38g_0RNvxQhIa6MYvwwLVl41IIJkstPUUmJuglU2_EoQ0qsfATbA5iZ5ntFKaZbP9pBwUHMhd-vWyMY2sif6hk6-SpP5omtTJSkcLuX9V42e71drbvlFyJbPKl8A-/s1600/bsidinner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> There's a piece of lore handed down in the Sherlockian community that states that all one needs for a Sherlock Holmes society is two Sherlockians, a copy of the Canon, and a bottle. In a pinch, one can do without one of the Sherlockians.<br /> <br /> I must, respectfully, disagree. In my view, it is the bottle, rather than the other Sherlockian, that could be dispensed with. The simple reason is this: the love of a story, a character, a world, demands to be shared. Every Sherlockian has his or her own unique journey in discovering the Canon, and those personal experiences are difficult to share. But the ensuing love of a world and its people is a love that demands to be shared. <br /> <br /> The world of Sherlock Holmes is no different - it is a world that begs to be lived in and shared, and it is, the world over, in the form of Sherlockian societies.The most famous and prestigious of these is the Baker Street Irregulars - dating from 1934, it is ancient, revered, and by-invitation-only. But, if you have no such invitation, there are a number of "scion" societies the world over which have no such barriers to membership, and thus many ways to join the Sherlockian community of scholarship and celebration. <br /> <br /> We have a short listing of societies with websites on <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/resources.html" target="_blank">our Resources page</a>; but the most comprehensive<a href="http://www.sherlocktron.com/three.pdf"> list of societies</a> can be found at <a href="http://sherlocktron.net/">Sherlocktron</a>. And the <a href="http://www.sherlockiancalendar.com/">Sherlockian Calendar</a> keeps a running tally of events.<br /> <br /> If you seek to share your love of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, then joining is as simple a matter as finding the society closest to you (they are organized by place in alphabetical order) and contacting the appropriate person listed. Of note: a very few societies are still male-only, but the vast majority are more inclusive. Lest you stumble upon one for which you do not meet the criteria, it is my experience that you will be directed to a society you can join. Joining is usually as simple as expressing interest and being added to a mailing list of events and society news (though several societies do have dues). I must also add that, in my experience, at the meetings of such societies, both Sherlockians and bottles occur in copious quantities, and copies of the Canon are also rarely dispensed with. Furthermore, unlike our idol, who loathes every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, Sherlockians are sociable creatures, always happy in the company of other like-minded aficionados. <br /> <br /> I have had the good fortune to belong to a number of Sherlockian societies - the <a href="http://www.criterionbar.org/" target="_blank">Criterion Bar Association</a> in Chicago, while I completed my studies in that beautiful city, and the <a href="http://www.sshf.com/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Society of France</a>, for the year that I lived in Paris. Both of these societies offered companionship, dialogue, and a myriad ways to bring Sherlock Holmes to life. I hope my details below of the various events I've engaged with give a taste of what exactly it is that Sherlockian societies do, and that these descriptions encourage those readers who have not joined a Sherlockian society yet to seek one out if time and location permits. <br /> <br /> My experience with the Criterion Bar Association was mostly that of meeting regularly with other members (somewhere around every two or three months) at a respectable restaurant; this was a time to mingle, feast, and discuss the Canon. However, each meeting would not be complete without a more intellectual component, for to be a Sherlockian means to be infinitely curious and constantly willing to fill that brain-attic with new facts both useful and useless. As such, each meeting, in addition to the quizzes, prizes, and conversation, involved a lecture (and discussion afterwards) of a a particular topic relating to Sherlock Holmes or the Victorian period. (The ones that come to mind personally are a lecture on Aristotle's philosophy of friendship as it applies to Holmes and Watson, a lecture on indexing, and one on Victorian gardens). It is difficult to share that feeling of connectedness that comes from being gathered together to delve so deeply and intellectually into the same world, and even more difficult to describe that profound emotion each Sherlockian doubtless feels when we all rise, at the end of each meeting, to read the famous Vincent Starrett poem "221B" and toast the Detective. <br /> <br /> However, many Sherlockian society events range beyond an intellectual gathering. In my time with the Sherlock Holmes Society of France, I have also had a chance to experience the stories in a way that one might call "first-hand." Joined by a number of other Holmesians, I dined at the Hotel du Louvre, where Holmes caught a spy in "The Bruce-Partington Plans" and toasted Conan Doyle in the hotel where he spent his second wedding night. The highlight of my year, of course, was the yearly Holmesian Christmas Dinner at the Gare de Lyon, the Parisian train station through which Holmes must have passed in order to reach Switzerland from London. Each experience was a little bit of living the Canon, made more meaningful by the company I shared it with. <br /> <br /> I hope that these (rather personal, I admit) reminiscences give at least a taste of the variety, creativity, and joy of the Sherlockian community the world over. If you are not yet a member of a Sherlockian society, I urge you to join. You will not regret the friends you will make, or the way that the activities and companionship will bring the Canon to life. And, should you be interested in a more detailed history of Sherlockian societies, <a href="http://www.sherlockian.net/celebrating">Sherlockian.net</a> offers an engaging summary. <br /> <br /> <div> --</div> <div> <br /></div>

A Brief Introduction to Sherlockian Societies

"Every form of society..." [SCAN]  There's a piece of lore handed down in the Sherlockian community that states that all ...

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by Anastasia Klimchynskaya

The Italian Secretary: My First Pastiche

<div style="text-align: center;"> <h4> <b>"He was a kind of Italian piecework" [SIXN]</b></h4> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9ffNgm_WY5d5qbYpz1GnBnHrmvwC2b9g7qg3aj1p17nNwhTgQ1zj34BxbUsb1acVQfoCtkq390Lwi-U7ciKoVo7ZJNyqOBrH7TTdijPlBuzyas8w6aS5vArHK9_U83xwIQZjssjcWQcN/s1600/11578276263_5a392a58ec_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9ffNgm_WY5d5qbYpz1GnBnHrmvwC2b9g7qg3aj1p17nNwhTgQ1zj34BxbUsb1acVQfoCtkq390Lwi-U7ciKoVo7ZJNyqOBrH7TTdijPlBuzyas8w6aS5vArHK9_U83xwIQZjssjcWQcN/s1600/11578276263_5a392a58ec_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312352042/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0312352042&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20" target="_blank"><i>The Italian Secretary</i></a> was the first taste of the Sherlock Holmes pastiche addiction I happily suffer from today. I was familiar with Caleb Carr's two books <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812976142/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0812976142&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20" target="_blank">The Alienist</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345427637/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0345427637&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20" target="_blank">The Angel of Darkness</a></i>, and his very Holmes like character, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler. The difference being Kreizler is a psychiatrist (or alienist as they were called) not a consulting detective.<br /> <br /> So it's no wonder that the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. approached Carr to write a Sherlock Holmes story and had apparently asked that Carr's Kreizler, could somehow be in the book and work with Sherlock Holmes. Carr did not oblige and as much as I like the Alienist books, I'm glad he didn't.<br /> <br /> As it is, Carr suffers from the dilemma that many well published authors suffer from when writing a Holmes pastiche; do you write a book for your current fans or do you write a book for Sherlock Holmes fans? Most try and do both and sadly, many fail. Carr also tries to do both but I think because his topics are similar to Doyle and Holmes, he's able to pull off a valiant effort that succeeds better than most, but make no mistake, this isn't a Doyle story, it's not much of a mystery and the suspense is waiting to see how it all comes to a head rather than who the culprit is.<br /> <br /> This story takes Sherlock to one of my favorite cities in the World, (which could be partly why I liked this story as much as I do) Edinburgh Scotland. While writing this review it dawned on me that Doyle never sent Sherlock to Scotland, where Doyle is from. I find that a little odd, but Sherlock loved London and Sherlock stays firmly rooted there for the most part. However, in Sherlock's pastiche afterlife he does much more traveling. But I digress.<br /> <br /> Edinburgh is infamous for it's ghost sightings and Carr takes advantage of that fact. But like all stories where Holmes is faced with ghosts, he isn't having any of it and sets about getting to the heart of the matter.<br /> <br /> Multiple deaths occur while renovating the west tower of the Royal Palace of Holyrood complicating the already tense political climate in Scotland. The west tower is the wing where Mary, Queen of Scots, lived, and where David Rizzio (the Italian Secretary) was brutally murdered. Mycroft fears that this might be part of an attempt on Queen Elizabeth's life and sends his brother to investigate.<br /> <br /> I have to give Carr some credit with his version of Sherlock and Watson. I usually find that British writers do a better job with the voice of Doyle's characters. Generally British authors have a particular flair with the English language that all but the most anglophile American authors just don't have. Especially American mystery writers. With the exception of some of the heavily accented Scottish characters, Carr does an admiral job here.<br /> <br /> Carr, besides being a best selling fiction writer, is also a military historian and definitely did his research. When you read this book you get a feel for the political climate in Scotland and he does an especially good job building out the setting. Even if you've never had the privilege of visiting Edinburgh Carr makes it easy to visualize.<br /> <br /> Pulling from his military knowledge Carr creates a very extravagant ending which ends with a siege on Holyrood with trebuchets and flaming projectiles. Very fun stuff.<br /> <br /> It's easy to see why I got hooked on pastiches after reading <i>The Italian Secretary</i> and for that I owe a debt to Carr. But the last thing I found interesting was that the reception of <i>The Italian Secretary</i> is very mixed. If <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312352042/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0312352042&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20">you look at the reviews of the book</a> they're almost equally spread across all 5 stars. Trust me, that almost never happens. So I'm curious, if you read the book, what was your take?<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <br /> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=theconblo04-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0312352042" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

The Italian Secretary: My First Pastiche

"He was a kind of Italian piecework" [SIXN] The Italian Secretary was the first taste of the Sherlock Holmes pastiche addi...

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by Tac Anderson

The Secret Message in the Closing Credits of Sherlock

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "these characters convey a message" [DANC] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bm0p6mdek0VYTODeNEVYMlgl4CjMu4cL_UEBsQB9PTX7U2gMjtnCY4rlHhP-O8ZPwV149M2KNuvCrSAfTqt421PeQxJr9trH9fPbgJOGVOplxh-hSJsiNWJjLl1TWfg7kNmccD_QeUmO/s1600/Sherlock+code.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bm0p6mdek0VYTODeNEVYMlgl4CjMu4cL_UEBsQB9PTX7U2gMjtnCY4rlHhP-O8ZPwV149M2KNuvCrSAfTqt421PeQxJr9trH9fPbgJOGVOplxh-hSJsiNWJjLl1TWfg7kNmccD_QeUmO/s1600/Sherlock+code.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Series 3 of <i>Sherlock</i> concluded on PBS last night (in most markets), with "His Last Vow." We won't offer any spoilers here, for the sake of those who have yet to fire up their DVRs or whose affiliate stations haven't yet run it.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> But for those who tuned into the January 19th premiere of the series on <b><i>Masterpiece</i></b> were provided with a great puzzle during the end credits, courtesy of show-runners Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffatt.</div> <br /> Watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIMPBbfFT9c" target="_blank">this video</a> and observe:<div><br /> <center> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dIMPBbfFT9c" width="560"></iframe></center> <br /> <br />The letters spell out W-E-N-G-C-H-I-A-N-G.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or, Weng-Chiang, for those of you familiar with the Whovian universe. Which is from "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Talons_of_Weng-Chiang" target="_blank">The Talons of Weng-Chiang</a>," a six-part series in Season 14 of <i>Doctor Who</i>, in which we find Tom Baker dressed as Sherlock Holmes.</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhBMQVAnH_bSmSRA8IuhUl8rC6EYMVBqEw5J-ka92jbwJiR9pbSeTOxJLPhMGnA891YBPRmBYXb-amtPYPT7CoISsyqoNfJkVNmrm6e29SU3cOge-sLzatpai7XHjaDxALhtSIuXliSxY9-_w-Es24iTj-dcAQAL_B1giFJRXW7pnD7IXYpyUjJyho7w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhBMQVAnH_bSmSRA8IuhUl8rC6EYMVBqEw5J-ka92jbwJiR9pbSeTOxJLPhMGnA891YBPRmBYXb-amtPYPT7CoISsyqoNfJkVNmrm6e29SU3cOge-sLzatpai7XHjaDxALhtSIuXliSxY9-_w-Es24iTj-dcAQAL_B1giFJRXW7pnD7IXYpyUjJyho7w=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Screenshot taken from an optical disc, television broadcast, web page, computer software or streaming media broadcast. Copyright holder: BBC, Fair use, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14411153" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div> How's that for all of you Whovians out there?<br /> <br /> We've written before about some curious connections between Sherlock Holmes and the Doctor. On of them is that after leaving <i>Doctor Who</i> in 1980, Tom Baker appeared as Sherlock Holmes in an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL975NjlGoHlQINaFJIWAkz3kxzdrqVvsU">adaptation of </a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL975NjlGoHlQINaFJIWAkz3kxzdrqVvsU"><i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i></a>. Thankfully, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL975NjlGoHlQINaFJIWAkz3kxzdrqVvsU">you can watch this adaptation via YouTube.</a></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL975NjlGoHlQINaFJIWAkz3kxzdrqVvsU"></a><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXswWEwsIxpnJbJqLYKJzgv8f5kS5XbCpjfZlRFohNzZ87Gb0u0o5iffIWPulAtNoqfQYKbxuyxsufQHv8iL4xSof2-9hukQM7fe4CVNQSSf_0-3qvUA3QpGv2xFj28IjwIIxOYH3BxUT/s1600/Tom+Baker+Sherlock+Holmes.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXswWEwsIxpnJbJqLYKJzgv8f5kS5XbCpjfZlRFohNzZ87Gb0u0o5iffIWPulAtNoqfQYKbxuyxsufQHv8iL4xSof2-9hukQM7fe4CVNQSSf_0-3qvUA3QpGv2xFj28IjwIIxOYH3BxUT/s1600/Tom+Baker+Sherlock+Holmes.gif" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> Also, for more information about Talons of Weng-Chiang, please visit this <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/09/under-influence-houn_17.html#.UuwHxXYsVcc">earlier post</a> as well as <a href="http://comicrelated.com/news/12770/talons-of-weng-chiang">this more in-depth review</a>. (And please be sure to check out the Special Edition DVD, which contains numerous documentaries about the Victorian era, and are worth watching on their own)<br /> <br /> --</div><div> </div>

The Secret Message in the Closing Credits of Sherlock

"these characters convey a message" [DANC]  Series 3 of Sherlock concluded on PBS last night (in most markets), with ...

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by Gordon D

What Is It That We Love in Sherlock Holmes?

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "What ineffable twaddle!" [STUD] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEK-ot2BBIGS2uIKnVpyULfp2xx7OsCz9KxCA8wCytf0y14rlOF0jPqyaxQyuodJ_8VqLCHifFZteTw6a39_pHuwGJ5aQpFpptKH1zYi2PUAEUdZ-ZCgT2kEm6FsZ44HVfy5-XXPbraxZF/s1600/WIST-04+large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEK-ot2BBIGS2uIKnVpyULfp2xx7OsCz9KxCA8wCytf0y14rlOF0jPqyaxQyuodJ_8VqLCHifFZteTw6a39_pHuwGJ5aQpFpptKH1zYi2PUAEUdZ-ZCgT2kEm6FsZ44HVfy5-XXPbraxZF/s1600/WIST-04+large.jpg" width="380" /></a></div> <br /> The benefit of living in the midst of a Sherlockian renaissance is that we have so much material at our fingertips. Of course, the detriment is that we have so much material at our fingertips.<br /> <br /> With the rise in television programs, movies, books, games and other media entities dedicated to Sherlock Holmes, the commentary and punditry has risen concurrently. And because Sherlock Holmes is a figure deeply rooted in popular culture and history, everyone thinks he knows the character. While we're willing to begrudge the occasional swipe, at times it's difficult for those of us who have intimate knowledge of Holmes - indeed, those of us who have read the Canon multiple times, studied the stories and their characters, and even written scholarly papers on them - to accept the superficial criticism or commentary by those who simply are not quite as informed.<br /> <br /> Recently, Esquire ran a piece titled "<a href="http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/why-we-love-sherlock?%3Fsrc=rss" target="_blank">Why We Love Sherlock</a>" by Stephen Marche (<a href="http://twitter.com/StephenMarche" target="_blank">@StephenMarche</a>). The subtitle ("(Hint: we're all a little nuts)") should have given it away, but we read along anyway, thinking that there would be some insightful and universal truth that we could relate to. Instead, we were treated to a shallow analysis of the the character, whom Marche calls a "flat" character (as opposed to a "round" character) - one that is incapable of surprising us.<br /> <br /> As you can imagine, our faithful fans on Facebook took issue with that:<br /> <br /> <center> <div id="fb-root"> </div> <script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script> <div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/IHearofSherlock/posts/10151888154951625" data-width="466"> <div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/IHearofSherlock/posts/10151888154951625">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/IHearofSherlock">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>.</div> </div> </center> <br /> <br /> Marche spends most of his time on the three screen versions of Sherlock Holmes currently in the public's psyche, because evidently the public isn't capable of thinking beyond entertainment media. And even so, Elementary and the Ritchie films are respectively dismissed as nothing more than a branding exercise and an excuse for slow-motion action sequences. As to the BBC Holmes: he is summed up as a "basement-dwelling asshole genius" who knows how to wield technology. In an effort to spare you the need to read the entire article, Marche's final sentence sums up exactly why he thinks we love Sherlock Holmes - or at least the Holmes of the screen right now:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> ...we are, in turn, branding whores, rampantly violent, and trapped in a technologically enabled loneliness."</blockquote> <br /> Perhaps we have a more romantic notion of why Sherlock Holmes fascinates us. Ours is one that harkens back to the early days of the Baker Street Irregulars and the <i><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank">Baker Street Journal</a></i>. For it is none other than Edgar W. Smith, BSI who penned "The Implicit Holmes" for the April 1946 edition of the <i>BSJ</i> (Vol. 1, No. 2) that in our view so rightly summed up then - and now - why we're so taken with this unique consulting detective.<br /> <br /> <div style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;"> <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/203991035/The-Implicit-Holmes" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View The Implicit Holmes on Scribd">The Implicit Holmes</a> by <a href="http://www.scribd.com/ihearofsherlock" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere's profile on Scribd">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a></div> <iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.772922022279349" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_89231" scrolling="no" src="//www.scribd.com/embeds/203991035/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-117ro0ykbgusydcm1qcu&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe> <br /> For those among us who appreciate the Canon as a textbook of friendship, who can see the glimmers of humanity that occasionally pop from Holmes, who can discern between a series of well-told stories versus a litany of cryptograms, and who are able to dig deeper into the human psyche than the likes of a TV Guide analysis, we can brush aside the amusing ignorance of those who think they know Sherlock Holmes.<br /> <br /> We prefer the eloquence of Smith and his willingness to think highly of his readers rather than Marche's lowest common denominator approach in <i>Esquire</i>.<br /> <br /> <br /> [<b><i>Editor's note:</i></b> If you're interested in reading more of Smith's editorials or in seeing the deep scholarship and analysis that Sherlockians have been pursuing for nearly 70 years, <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/ebooks/ebsj.html" target="_blank">the eBSJ</a> puts all of the back issues from 1946-2011 available at your fingertips.]<br /> --<br /> <div> <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/AVvXsEhM-Ns0j0rweEtoMckrlZh0XAn946r4qPB72EfFP87nrfoDEHS1JfB3BE9cAzhKHhVOI2xuhhmKR25ShpXwYteRD_6vUHIu4U2E7m7Df9T7UhybMr0SSSsZQi6zNpdaBhB6EbouNm5YrBUd/s1600/eBSJ-cover150.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/AVvXsEhM-Ns0j0rweEtoMckrlZh0XAn946r4qPB72EfFP87nrfoDEHS1JfB3BE9cAzhKHhVOI2xuhhmKR25ShpXwYteRD_6vUHIu4U2E7m7Df9T7UhybMr0SSSsZQi6zNpdaBhB6EbouNm5YrBUd/s1600/eBSJ-cover150.jpg" width="151" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">276 issues of the BSJ <br /> in one DVD. <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/ebooks/ebsj.html" target="_blank">Order now!</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /></div>

What Is It That We Love in Sherlock Holmes?

"What ineffable twaddle!" [STUD]  The benefit of living in the midst of a Sherlockian renaissance is that we have so much mat...

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by Scott Monty

This Threadless Sherlock Holmes T-Shirt Contest Is Cool

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">"He was in shirt and trousers, with no covering to his feet." [HOUN]</span></div> <div> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://threadless-media.s3.amazonaws.com/challenges/sherlock_mainbanner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://threadless-media.s3.amazonaws.com/challenges/sherlock_mainbanner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br />[<i><b>Editor's note:</b> this is Cory's first contribution to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. We hope you'll make him feel welcome.</i>]<div> <br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threadless">Threadless</a>, an online artists' community based in Chicago, is well known for their creative T-shirt designs, among other things. (My brother got me a Threadless T-shirt a couple years ago, and I love it!) You can peruse some of <a href="http://www.threadless.com/" target="_blank">their many designs at their website</a>.<div> <br /></div> <div> If you are of an artistic bent and a Sherlockian, or if you've just always dreamed of having your own graphic design on a T-shirt, then take a look at the <a href="http://www.threadless.com/sherlockholmes/" target="_blank">contest that's being hosted by Threadless</a>.<br /></div> <div> <b>The Assignment</b>: to design a T-shirt based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character. The people at Threadless want to remind you: "this challenge is about the original novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. No actor likenesses will be accepted." Perfect, right? Sidney Paget, Frederic Dorr Steele...& [insert your name here]. This is your chance to have your own artistic portrayal of Sherlock Holmes go down in history.<br /><br />Possible prizes you could win are: <br /><ul> <li>$2,000 cash </li> <li>$500 Threadless cash </li> <li>1st Edition of <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i></li> <li>$100 Kindle gift card to read more mystery novels </li> <li>Crime-solving kit including a magnifying glass, decoder ring and more (valued at $100) </li> </ul> <br />The deadline for submissions is February 7, 2014, so...quick, Watson! To the drawing pad! And if you're not one for creating your own design, there are currently <a href="http://www.threadless.com/sherlockholmes/submissions/" target="_blank">90 submissions to sort through and vote on</a>. Here are just a few - some of which have some very specific Canonical connections.</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSeOJVHlXT_FCZ2qc2br-LhfU0dgJvJdOWNNJJLQ85kmoilVByDIRpMFzSVFh6sJ_N6T4ZOEqEV8HbUrj4hjUuwh2RvhicCLS8FloHG9godHvlIU-mMUd8gRAzAcoftrexeoL2t6YTQfE/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSeOJVHlXT_FCZ2qc2br-LhfU0dgJvJdOWNNJJLQ85kmoilVByDIRpMFzSVFh6sJ_N6T4ZOEqEV8HbUrj4hjUuwh2RvhicCLS8FloHG9godHvlIU-mMUd8gRAzAcoftrexeoL2t6YTQfE/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/read-between-the-lines-2" target="_blank">Read between the lines</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHqn2dWp2dyKp16aQRgTlC0SRqGsOCe1pZHWG-k-pH7tqdQHPi3pBCu52Tztoa5dqJQXmfL3IzIUZabsfnVVZ3V8GF1dOpSLjEwdJGXTgxKng-UxHmiw9FptNKsZNGfFMs9z2K6zgnMw6/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHqn2dWp2dyKp16aQRgTlC0SRqGsOCe1pZHWG-k-pH7tqdQHPi3pBCu52Tztoa5dqJQXmfL3IzIUZabsfnVVZ3V8GF1dOpSLjEwdJGXTgxKng-UxHmiw9FptNKsZNGfFMs9z2K6zgnMw6/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/the-consulting-detective" target="_blank">The Consulting Detective</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizy1XPrilJokYn1998iOL7oxvuVrUy86R0KzsvfbeL2AKgeK0UBDZmbCfqblHkoT6onpWWrHBnMJKoi34EZmS6uGV2pG09xxiKoOW9frNagmmg7tSxp2p73waz3jKRS0QgMYqpWQcEZW3Q/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizy1XPrilJokYn1998iOL7oxvuVrUy86R0KzsvfbeL2AKgeK0UBDZmbCfqblHkoT6onpWWrHBnMJKoi34EZmS6uGV2pG09xxiKoOW9frNagmmg7tSxp2p73waz3jKRS0QgMYqpWQcEZW3Q/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/holmes-watson" target="_blank">Holmes & Watson</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2XFuq9HkfqVThA0ctfxMZbe0fvfTShMOJuMkYH7hSZv7ml8eKxnXZTqT4Beu-GrvkTl7n9NkGN8vHun69C30_zRdAv4UtBVSfXJnBmj79jqXz1h-IBl5pjM2NyqATvOPxUFzDgv22FRq/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2XFuq9HkfqVThA0ctfxMZbe0fvfTShMOJuMkYH7hSZv7ml8eKxnXZTqT4Beu-GrvkTl7n9NkGN8vHun69C30_zRdAv4UtBVSfXJnBmj79jqXz1h-IBl5pjM2NyqATvOPxUFzDgv22FRq/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/the-hunt-is-on-3" target="_blank">The hunt is on</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTe5q-KuC6OVF7RgXRYF4t8gpihahz8BPi13HOV9ujb7yIL7oYYJcGLhDsV3VUQnShzBhkp0O4s08sHAAjbMylCN3QMLue4MQpYtN7k4UDjNddxVlGMjfl_Ym2eeD6WhUdte8QzO68V4K/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTe5q-KuC6OVF7RgXRYF4t8gpihahz8BPi13HOV9ujb7yIL7oYYJcGLhDsV3VUQnShzBhkp0O4s08sHAAjbMylCN3QMLue4MQpYtN7k4UDjNddxVlGMjfl_Ym2eeD6WhUdte8QzO68V4K/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/are-you-3" target="_blank">ARE YOU?</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ948fHfO1oT57RZZJGHzR6jm00dODNjK4VjDpwAiF1fq9rLzBqQalbHU8OOj9JOk4hmjzyUs8OqVmY4NsI8JlMR_NErpN9zPPq_Zv7TtJW3heBGeVCFZkM58xL4-OhvP-xlMIXRGkgrmk/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ948fHfO1oT57RZZJGHzR6jm00dODNjK4VjDpwAiF1fq9rLzBqQalbHU8OOj9JOk4hmjzyUs8OqVmY4NsI8JlMR_NErpN9zPPq_Zv7TtJW3heBGeVCFZkM58xL4-OhvP-xlMIXRGkgrmk/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/bartitsu-the-adventure-of-the-dancing-men" target="_blank">Bartitsu - The Adventure of the Dancing Men</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXnoLi3uQz-LxOAQ49a9N5ofgY3g3rKfCXHWI422nqRE-gzgwxEZbsg1BWMQdMQRWRUgy6KDeiIQQBFBSE8kwybXuRKtkdZFFSStZuX_L0dD9FnRpnf6yUWVvZ8HQg-Gfqqq6oycfULnt/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXnoLi3uQz-LxOAQ49a9N5ofgY3g3rKfCXHWI422nqRE-gzgwxEZbsg1BWMQdMQRWRUgy6KDeiIQQBFBSE8kwybXuRKtkdZFFSStZuX_L0dD9FnRpnf6yUWVvZ8HQg-Gfqqq6oycfULnt/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/find-me-6" target="_blank">Find Me</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHBsqQooR9ih2bai5nv7aME-QC5EY2z6ybX9Oe8cL7x5jOaxM8imfJWrnO8L4zQj0GaN7TJHI-IFN-rgrZ2IfMzO7ssA0vyVwNssAt-jWSqA8B9TAfkVVpI4_6_WMbO7db3tywR7BB13G/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHBsqQooR9ih2bai5nv7aME-QC5EY2z6ybX9Oe8cL7x5jOaxM8imfJWrnO8L4zQj0GaN7TJHI-IFN-rgrZ2IfMzO7ssA0vyVwNssAt-jWSqA8B9TAfkVVpI4_6_WMbO7db3tywR7BB13G/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/six-napoleons" target="_blank">Six Napoleons</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNCMioZZRi4i_ARvhewtKx3s0WmXr4kpJwGp9LZmO0OYueC7-NzyTCw6rg8IYhhhvHQD7NHs8lS5ZI4AwQ4Lh7rC-4GwZH97gxXaMHdd7N7c4fKMFANXpA-GrJv2fErwC19NNe0bE0tHG/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNCMioZZRi4i_ARvhewtKx3s0WmXr4kpJwGp9LZmO0OYueC7-NzyTCw6rg8IYhhhvHQD7NHs8lS5ZI4AwQ4Lh7rC-4GwZH97gxXaMHdd7N7c4fKMFANXpA-GrJv2fErwC19NNe0bE0tHG/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlcUQU4m5WFFwEnBzUmCwygqdqnVjD77Gzt_6nDhd1kGtmpTUVCoWy8Jb0T-1hqS42BvhFP5Nkl4fybwOPl9U9rJNHVX3npLx7037QWTvdGNys0heeMtmIBacLWrH4w6sDHIiZ4JPNsDL/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlcUQU4m5WFFwEnBzUmCwygqdqnVjD77Gzt_6nDhd1kGtmpTUVCoWy8Jb0T-1hqS42BvhFP5Nkl4fybwOPl9U9rJNHVX3npLx7037QWTvdGNys0heeMtmIBacLWrH4w6sDHIiZ4JPNsDL/s1600/Sherlock+Threadless+10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.threadless.com/designs/dress-to-solve" target="_blank">Dress to Solve</a></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> As it says on the <a href="http://www.threadless.com/sherlockholmes/">Sherlock Holmes T-Shirt Contest page</a>: "So, to crack the case of the perfect tee, read between the lines! It's elemen-tee, my dear, Watson." The game is afoot...or in this case, a torso.<br /><br />And if you happen to be <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/12/episode-16-collectors-corner-jerry.html#.Uum9W8RDuSp" target="_blank">Jerry Margolin</a>, we imagine there's a treasure trove of artists and original art to pursue.</div> <div> <br />--<div> <br /></div> </div> </div>

This Threadless Sherlock Holmes T-Shirt Contest Is Cool

"He was in shirt and trousers, with no covering to his feet." [HOUN] [ Editor's note: this is Cory's first contribu...

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by Cory Howell

The Original Empty House: Mind the Gap

<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> "a vacant place" [BLAC]  </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5KWA6aBxRgcWesnMxb0hZq7Oua5W5RdyThgYQtjCUvKhx6ZQDL9Z6SXcUbme1b4fmGNJKKVW4gxqMbrKl5TFOTnAquRuzo5FFxbP1nCIIbrD_h5cUCw1Mc_TnJPwmkva_lDWloYSFiW2/s1600/23+Leinster+Gardens+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5KWA6aBxRgcWesnMxb0hZq7Oua5W5RdyThgYQtjCUvKhx6ZQDL9Z6SXcUbme1b4fmGNJKKVW4gxqMbrKl5TFOTnAquRuzo5FFxbP1nCIIbrD_h5cUCw1Mc_TnJPwmkva_lDWloYSFiW2/s1600/23+Leinster+Gardens+door.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <br /> We all know that Sherlock Holmes made his return from the Reichenbach when he appeared in "The Adventure of the Empty House," the first of the short stories that make up the collection <i>The Return of Sherlock Holmes</i>.<br /> <br /> Upon his return, he enlisted Watson's help to track and capture the murderer of the Hon. Ronald Adair. The path that the duo took to stake out their prey led through through byways and passages, a network of mews and stables and to a small road that contained the empty house to which the title of the story alludes:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Do you know where we are?" he whispered.<br />'Surely that is Baker Street," I answered, staring through the dim window.<br />"Exactly. We are in Camden House, which stands opposite to our own old quarters."</blockquote> But of particular interest is the true <a href="http://nowiknow.com/open-house/" target="_blank">empty house of London</a>. If you happen to find yourself in Bayswater, London, you'll have the opportunity to visit numbers 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens. But don't expect to be admitted - or for anyone to even answer the door. There's no one home.<br /> <br /> The reason is that 23 Leinster Gardens is truly an empty house; or rather just the facade of a house. If you check out the extensive photos on <a href="http://150greatthingsabouttheunderground.com/2012/09/08/48-the-houses-in-leinster-gardens/" target="_blank">150 great things about the Underground</a>, you'll see that Nos. 23 & 24 were never built as houses. Rather, the Metropolitan Railway was built (now the District and Circle Lines of th eUndergroun) needed some ventilation for its steam trains. So rather than leave an open railway in the midst of a residential area, facades of houses were built to match the rest of the neighborhood and the rear was left open.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytzqr-JhBFiXW7HX0BxAKukVRKLXcR6bSXteJeB5XnNQ0gp6KWUeluzVm5F2nGXkRzEzJ_Fp6z3WMj3bhvQqHfjAWvLiqB18BdisKRJhbgmc3tDvV7Eag0erMCgORjVGgsHcKeqjj_EeP/s1600/Behind_23-24_Leinster_Gardens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytzqr-JhBFiXW7HX0BxAKukVRKLXcR6bSXteJeB5XnNQ0gp6KWUeluzVm5F2nGXkRzEzJ_Fp6z3WMj3bhvQqHfjAWvLiqB18BdisKRJhbgmc3tDvV7Eag0erMCgORjVGgsHcKeqjj_EeP/s1600/Behind_23-24_Leinster_Gardens.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rear of 23 & 24 Leinster Gardens</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> But readers familiar with the Canon should recognize another familiar reference: that of "The Bruce-Partington Plans." You may recall that Sherlock Holmes determined that Arthur Cadogan West was murdered and then placed on the roof of a train. Of the active spies who would have been interested in the plans, only one lived in the proximity of a rail line:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Yes, that was it. Mr. Hugo Oberstein, of 13, Caulfield Gardens, had become my objective. I began my operations at Gloucester Road Station, where a very helpful official walked with me along the track, and allowed me to satisfy myself not only that the back-stair windows of Caulfield Gardens open on the line, but the even more essential fact that, owing to the intersection of one of the larger railways, the Underground trains are frequently held motionless for some minutes at that very spot."</blockquote> So, Leinster Gardens was replaced with Caulfield Gardens, and Bayswater became Kensington (just <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/preview/dir/Bayswater,+Greater+London,+UK/Kensington,+London+W8,+UK/@51.5066069,-0.1820656,15z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x4876054555ffefd3:0x261185c6bcdbd952!2m2!1d-0.183801!2d51.5134339!1m5!1m1!1s0x48760ff14b2d2cdf:0x6b2476638733787d!2m2!1d-0.1932952!2d51.5009945" target="_blank">on the opposite side of Kensington Garden</a>). Of course, there are no unfurnished empty rooms upstairs at Leinster Gardens...<br /> <br /> <br /> <i>Image credits: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:22-23-leinster-gardens-facade-contrast.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a> and  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncanh1/8616447539/" target="_blank">[Duncan] (Flickr)</a></i><br /> --</div>

The Original Empty House: Mind the Gap

"a vacant place" [BLAC]   We all know that Sherlock Holmes made his return from the Reichenbach when he appeared in "Th...

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by Scott Monty

The Daily Beast Skewered Sherlock Holmes With Poor Logic

<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <h4> <span style="text-align: start;">"Some monstrous beast" [HOUN] </span></h4> <h4> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgem1P8lZSahh8zzJlNGVm2yWqDzQwVv4Cr57QwRBsK-UIwFuMhDR5yQvOxP8Lw0ssuQGWJ6PjkFFZF7kEpbcpJxestkwFnfYT8wvjpRPW-v-zdVjycUdZ8jYWkgiZgWf2W_95jOfe0rVpc/s1600/Of+Math+and+Logical+Fallacies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgem1P8lZSahh8zzJlNGVm2yWqDzQwVv4Cr57QwRBsK-UIwFuMhDR5yQvOxP8Lw0ssuQGWJ6PjkFFZF7kEpbcpJxestkwFnfYT8wvjpRPW-v-zdVjycUdZ8jYWkgiZgWf2W_95jOfe0rVpc/s1600/Of+Math+and+Logical+Fallacies.jpg" width="640" /></a></h4> </div> <br /> In his recent lambasting of Sherlock Holmes, art historian Noah Charney got in over his head. According to Charney, Holmes makes faulty assumptions and jumps too hastily to his conclusions. But if anyone in the January 26th Daily Beast pan "<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/26/is-sherlock-holmes-a-good-detective.html" target="_blank">Is Sherlock Holmes a Good Detective?</a>" is guilty of this, it must be Noah Charney, along with his principal source, Dr. Robin Bryant. When it comes to Sherlock Holmes, they see, but they do not observe.<br /> <br /> After muddling about with the curious incident of the dog in the night-time from "Silver Blaze," and reaching the sort of conclusions that only faulty analysis can produce, Charney further snipes at Holmes's analytical abilities by means of a numeric puzzle. <br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Based on the following numbers, what would you guess comes next in this sequence: 2, 4, 8, 16, X. Most people guess that the next number, X, will be 32, each number doubling. That’s a fair guess. But the answer to this particular question is not 32. The next most common estimate is 8, respondents concluding that the sequence will reverse itself. This is also reasonable, but incorrect. The correct answer is 31."</blockquote> Charney opines that Holmes, like most people, would have guessed 32, but this is hasty generalization – he can have no inkling what Holmes may or may not have concluded [<i>Silly - Holmes is not like most people. - <b>Ed.</b></i>]. And why, according to Charney, is the answer 31? Because this is a question about the number of points on a circle, also known as Moser's Circle Problem. The explanation, I suggest, is an attempt to validate a foregone conclusion – the very thing Charney accuses Doyle of doing on behalf of Holmes. Nothing in the evidence militates in favor of 31 as a better solution. <br /> <br /> An equally likely answer is 28, which we arrive at by skipping the intervening even numbers, increasing the gap by a factor of one odd number each time. (Begin with 2. Skip 0 even numbers. Skip 1 even number. Skip 3 even numbers. Skip 5 even numbers, and so on.) The resulting series of numbers is 2, 4, 8, 16, 28, 42…<br /> <br /> Here's another option: XX, assuming the letter X was not a variable, but a part of the sequence hiding in plain sight. We add the first and third numbers in the series and express the sum as a Roman numeral (10 = X). We then do the same with the second and fourth numbers (20 = XX). The series is 2, 4, 8, 16, X, XX…<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHyQ-oRyZybCOpUVYvEI1qQiPzXenFZ99Dg9KjwgYfr4ZGaHB3z9Vfbr1VuG960lTa5BJDBRRqq_HWaaDVgMikJDiYebtMXbMPXLaiBQiV1YpIjgpIhtILxM1-mdN3YlBQU4tu4iwSp3m/s1600/Frank+Wiles+-+Valley+of+Fear+Sherlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHyQ-oRyZybCOpUVYvEI1qQiPzXenFZ99Dg9KjwgYfr4ZGaHB3z9Vfbr1VuG960lTa5BJDBRRqq_HWaaDVgMikJDiYebtMXbMPXLaiBQiV1YpIjgpIhtILxM1-mdN3YlBQU4tu4iwSp3m/s320/Frank+Wiles+-+Valley+of+Fear+Sherlock.jpg" /></a></div> The answer could be 9, if we surmise the first four numbers correspond directly to letters of the alphabet. In that case, they spell "BDHP," obviously (by Charney's brand of logic) an abbreviation for Browning Detective Hi Power, a short-barrelled semi-automatic pistol made in the 1990s, in 9mm caliber – a BDHP9. Then again, if numbers stand for letters, letters could stand for numbers, yielding BDHP serial number 24. But perhaps this explanation is flawed, and BDHPX stands for Brian's De Havilland Philharmonic 10th symphony.<br /> <br /> But I've played the Moffat-and-Gatiss game with you long enough: the true solution is 34, because the numeric sequence is based on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number" target="_blank">Fibonacci</a>. Begin with 2, a Fibonacci number. Double it to get 4. Take the third Fibonacci number from 2, which is 8. Double it to get 16. Take the third Fibonacci number from 8, which is 34. Double it to get 68. Take the third Fibonacci number from 34, which is 144, and so on. The sequence revealed is 2, 4, 8, 16, 34, 68, 144… Such an explanation does violence to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor" target="_blank">Occam's Razor</a>. <br /> <br /> Charney declares 31 is the right answer because, "the answer we're looking for is 31." A finer example of <a href="http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/begging-the-question.html" target="_blank">begging the question</a> might be difficult to imagine, and it comes from the man who accuses Doyle of unfairly setting Holmes up for success. "Because Holmes' fate was in the hands of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle," Charney criticizes, "he was set up to always succeed." Unless you count the multiple occassions when Holmes failed. And what of the real-life cases of George Edalji or Oscar Slater, wherein Doyle proved the innocence of two falsely accused men? Who are we to believe set Doyle up to succeed -- the pre-incarnate Benedict Cumberbatch?<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> What would Sherlock Holmes do?</h4> How would Holmes have replied to Charney's number puzzle? Possibly he would have commented on "how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data." [SPEC] Holmes, according to Charney and Bryant, should consider "all the various ways in which a theft could occur without the guard dog barking." Was this kind of reasoning foreign to the detective who said, "I have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would cover the facts as we know them"? [COPP] After all, Holmes's theory about the dog's behavior is supported by a host of other clues that fairly shout "Inside job!" Notable among them are the curry, the cataract knife, the sheep, and the receipt in Straker's pocket, but these conveniently go unmentioned.<br /> <br /> Says Charney: "Look at the problem from one angle only, and you risk getting it wrong. That is the most frequent logical pitfall into which Sherlock Holmes falls."<br /> <br /> Says Watson: "Sherlock Holmes was a man, however, who, when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for days, and even for a week, without rest, turning it over, rearranging his facts, looking at it from every point of view until he had either fathomed it or convinced himself that his data were insufficient." [TWIS]<br /> <br /> Next time, Charney should try the Sherlockian method. I've practiced it myself for years, admittedly with mixed results, but this much I have noticed: it tends to make one not only a stronger reasoner, but also a sharper observer of details. For example, I have observed that "Silver Blaze" is a short story, and not, as Charney asserts, "a novel."<br /> <br /> "Is Sherlock Holmes a good detective?" Let's consider: he invented the exchange principle, offender profiling, forensic gait analysis, physical matching of typewriters, spatter pattern analysis, forensic aerodynamics, gunshot residue analysis, bite mark analysis, crime scene investigation via optical magnification, questioned document examination, forensic acoustics, tracking devices, geographical profiling, and the crime lab. <br /> <br /> Holmes was a pioneer in detection's use of ballistics, fingerprints, osteology, geology, biology, chemistry, disguise, inter-agency networking, man-trailing with dogs, analysis and preservation of footprints and tire tracks, scientific handwriting analysis, crypto-analysis, criminal psychology, photographic identification, surveillance, wear pattern analysis, undercover operatives, informant networks, crime scene preservation, evidence collection, disinformation, and microscopy. <br /> <br /> In light of even half those accomplishments, "good" seems like an understatement.<br /> <br /> <br /> <i>Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61676142@N00/5906483868/in/photolist-9ZWgSL-bhUN3K-8ZREsW-9pFiEy" target="_blank">josecamoessilva (Flickr)</a></i><br /> <div> --</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div>

The Daily Beast Skewered Sherlock Holmes With Poor Logic

"Some monstrous beast" [HOUN]  In his recent lambasting of Sherlock Holmes, art historian Noah Charney got in over his head...

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by Tim Greer

Benedict Cumberbatch Signs Deerstalker for Charity

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "he had a reputation for kindness and charity" [GLOR]</h4> <div class="MsoNormal"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Zx7g0aurv0cfNieOJBOhqhuuiYTPyrAqxXwBdwj_RuFqO1MY7hakpGXSqlcadEj3A8GkixIPCFLPxb1kMx10LEznd2ENPTxBwgzk3bNNO2UYFnxG_peFE0tcQRiE76uWbsKCUxhkICzu/s1600/Cumberbatch+deerstalker.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Zx7g0aurv0cfNieOJBOhqhuuiYTPyrAqxXwBdwj_RuFqO1MY7hakpGXSqlcadEj3A8GkixIPCFLPxb1kMx10LEznd2ENPTxBwgzk3bNNO2UYFnxG_peFE0tcQRiE76uWbsKCUxhkICzu/s1600/Cumberbatch+deerstalker.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> St. Mungo’s is one Britain’s largest charity, helping the homeless since 1969. Named for the patron saint of Glasgow, they started with a house and soup kitchen in Battersea and are now throughout London and in the south of England with the mission, as their <a href="http://www.mungos.org/about/values_and_objectives">website</a> states, “support and care for vulnerable and excluded people who either have been, or are at risk of, sleeping rough and <b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">homelessness</span></b>.” </div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> In 2011, they started the <b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.mungos.org/woollyhatday/celeb_hat_auction">Woolly Hat Day Celebrity Hat Auction</a>  to help raise money and awareness. This year’s charity auction includes a deerstalker signed by Benedict Cumberbatch. Laura Pulver (interviewed <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/04/episode-41-woman.html#.UuXFiMQo5w0" target="_blank">here on Episode 41</a>), who made a cameo appearance in Season Three’s “The Sign of Three”, went on Twitter to give her support to Cumberbatch and the charity:</span></b><br /> <center> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> Come on people. Let's combine raising our hats to Mr Cumberbatch's genius & raising some serious £££ for a good cause <a href="http://t.co/ToQeAlmsmn">http://t.co/ToQeAlmsmn</a><br /> — Lara Pulver (@larapulver) <a href="https://twitter.com/larapulver/statuses/427149222320697346">January 25, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> </center> <b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></b> <b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">If you <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BENEDICT-CUMBERBATCH-Signed-Sherlock-Deerstalker-St-Mungos-Woolly-Hat-Day-/281249900734?pt=UK_Hats&hash=item417bcce8be" target="_blank">head over to eBay</a>, you can check out the item and determine if you'd like to have the satisfaction of helping out a great cause while getting a piece of entertainment memorabilia. But don't tarry! The auction ends on February 2, 2014 at 19:59 pm GMT.</span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Who will grab this piece of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlock</i>-iana? While at last listing it was at some £1200, it is safe to say that it is an investment that will only go up in value, although its value in helping those who need the help is priceless.</span></b><br /> <b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></b> <b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">--</span></b><br /> <b><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></b></div>

Benedict Cumberbatch Signs Deerstalker for Charity

"he had a reputation for kindness and charity" [GLOR] St. Mungo’s is one Britain’s largest charity, helping the homeless s...

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by James C. O'Leary

Weekly Sherlock Links Compendium (January 11 - January 24, 2014)

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> <b>"I am somewhat exhausted; I wonder how a battery feels when it pours electricity into a non-conductor?" [DYIN]</b></h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4f5vKtCWwNfmVg6LFgrZ3cpzOrmyPKt_XvW6QGdLOg9qPuvxtda4R1Y1Nv0QqDNl9H9xkXOC4zx5QUtr3lE6LijaeTVPNThVjvqR8N1rvVHIE930CXIL2RoCo3BMjuujonMkZ5tXwZk/s1600/CBS-SundayMorning-Always1895-Jan18-2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4f5vKtCWwNfmVg6LFgrZ3cpzOrmyPKt_XvW6QGdLOg9qPuvxtda4R1Y1Nv0QqDNl9H9xkXOC4zx5QUtr3lE6LijaeTVPNThVjvqR8N1rvVHIE930CXIL2RoCo3BMjuujonMkZ5tXwZk/s1600/CBS-SundayMorning-Always1895-Jan18-2014.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <b>BSI Weekend 2014 has come and gone and though I have enough personal reminiscences and links to fill multiple posts, I've been given the tremendous honor of writing the review of BSI Weekend for the Spring 2014 issue of <i><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank">The Baker Street Journal</a></i> - and if you don't already, <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html">subscribe to the BSJ</a> immediately!</b><br /> <br /> To tide you over until then, here's a wealth of Sherlockian news from the last two weeks including: a new website dedicated to Vincent Starrett, I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere celebrates their 60th episode with an engrossing overview of the first sixty years of Sherlockiana, a Sherlock-themed video segment on Mo Rocca's <i>Sunday Morning</i> on CBS, a transportation expert criticizes Sherlock's inability to identify trains, the new Russian Sherlock adaptation has been subtitled in English, a roundup of articles on China's obsession with Curly Fu and Peanut, Sherlock Holmes as the ultimate superhero, a familiar face appears on the cover of <i>Entertainment Weekly</i>, join the Homeless Network on your smartphone, Charlotte Anne Walters published a new pastiche collection of short stories, an argument for why Nicol Williamson's Holmes is the best Homes ever, who is Michael Stone and why would his conviction "cause the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories to choke on his pipe" and more in this information-packed, post-BSI Weekend, Weekly Sherlock Links Compendium by <b>Matt Laffey</b>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/"><b>Studies in Starrett</b></a>, as regular readers can well imagine, is quickly on its way to becoming my new favorite blog. Maintained by Ray Betzner, the editor of Gasogene Books' 75th Anniversary Edition of <i><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/html/privatelife.html" target="_blank">The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>, I have no doubt that VincentStarrett.com will soon be the go to source for all things related to Autolycus of Chicago. To date, the site features articles on: Starrett's connection to Poe's almost mythical book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamerlane_(poem)"><i>Tamerlane</i></a>, a <i>Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine</i> article from 1969 celebrating VS's 82nd birthday, an analysis of Michael Kean's recent <i>Baker Street Journal</i> (Winter 2013) article ""And It Is Always..." Eighteen Eighty-nine", a little known VS short story “The Menace of Mars” (1922) co-authored with Otto McFeely and the Starrett connection to Betzner's inscribed copy of <i>The Last Egyptian</i> by <i>Wizard of Oz</i> author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum">L. Frank Baum</a>. When not researching the life and work of Starrett, Ray Betzner writes about <a href="http://news.temple.edu/writer/raymond-betzner">campus news at Temple University</a> in Philadelphia where he is the Assistant Vice President of University Communications. In the Sherlockian world, Betzner has been an invested member of the Baker Street Irregulars ("The Agony Column") since 1987, maintains "The Sherlockian Societies" section of the <i>Baker Street Journal</i> and has published numerous articles in Sherlockian journals such as the <i>BSJ</i>, <i>Baker Street Miscellanea</i>, etc. Most recently Betzner was quoted in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jan/19/sherlock-sherlockians-gather-bbc-series"><i>The Guardian</i></a> waxing philosophical about what it means to be a Sherlockian and why critics should lighten up regarding BBC <i>Sherlock</i>. You can follow Betzner on Twitter via <a href="https://twitter.com/BooksandBipeds">@BooksandBipeds</a>.<br /> <div> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-Uym-BicdReMFBdRrQ1g0zD3P0QyeBXCsJckTGt5ccehIhW8g24jswbCBLwWWK1sznw0sxh8pWJYwfXxCusS-n-YTcrrlSCm3hB805tZ3WNbSD4_sHaeMH3MTdFYGUs6nxP6AeCqGdI/s1600/BetznerToastingWarDoctor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-Uym-BicdReMFBdRrQ1g0zD3P0QyeBXCsJckTGt5ccehIhW8g24jswbCBLwWWK1sznw0sxh8pWJYwfXxCusS-n-YTcrrlSCm3hB805tZ3WNbSD4_sHaeMH3MTdFYGUs6nxP6AeCqGdI/s1600/BetznerToastingWarDoctor.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[Ray Betzner, proprietor of </span><a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/" style="text-align: start;">Studies In Sherlock</a><span style="text-align: start;">, toasting Dr John Watson by noting Watson's transformation from The War Doctor to the doctor we know and love at the Baker Street Babes' Second Annual </span><a href="http://bakerstreetbabes.com/tag/daintiest-thing-under-a-bonnet-charity-ball/" style="text-align: start;">Daintiest Thing Under a Bonnet Charity Ball</a><span style="text-align: start;"> during BSI Weekend 2014.]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/01/episode-60-sherlock-holmes-first-60_10.html" target="_blank">celebrated their 60th podcast episode</a> by surveying the first sixty years of Holmes' existence, starting in 1887 with the publication of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Study_in_Scarlet"><i>A Study in Scarlet</i></a> and pausing in 1947, one year after the founding of the <i>Baker Street Journal</i>. Scott and Burt do an excellent job charting and contextualizing the rise of a new kind of popular literature - serialized fiction in nascent publications like <i>The Strand</i> - and the unlikely success of a new kind of detective. Though the story of ACD's love/hate relationship with Sherlock Holmes is familiar to some, newcomers to the Sherlockian world will be shocked at how inconsequential Holmes was to the young Edinburgh doctor-turned-author and how frighteningly close the world came to losing the Great Detective forever in 1891 to the falls of Reichenbach. The onset of the 20th century not only saw Holmes rise from the dead but also saw the rise of Sherlockian scholarship. Three decades later ACD, never quite having made peace with Holmes, would be dead and buried (with a tombstone that read "<a href="http://probaway.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/conan_doyles_grave.jpg">Steel True, Blade Straight</a>"), while his problem child (and I don't mean Denis or Adrian) achieved immortality in the form of small gatherings dedicated to the study and propagation of the sixty stories documenting the friendship and adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. By the 1940s these informal groups had evolved into full blown societies replete with formal dinners, journals, traditions and the inevitable growing pains experienced by the maturation of an ever growing subculture. You couldn't ask for more knowledgeable or affable guides to the intertwined worlds of Sherlock Holmes in print and the people and culture that celebrate the Great Detective's adventures.</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8_T7JKJtcP-kulg49Lteb_dcrEOLP1zrEdt40bkEOTEsFuh0BESltB-dUBUBcdJDQrKaH0SJFBaSXEnMbkuDi6hSPRAxf4krClJ8ismffzgeunKtw-SRdcX6N6Y61ZcqzKLwxXp5Lx8/s1600/STUD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8_T7JKJtcP-kulg49Lteb_dcrEOLP1zrEdt40bkEOTEsFuh0BESltB-dUBUBcdJDQrKaH0SJFBaSXEnMbkuDi6hSPRAxf4krClJ8ismffzgeunKtw-SRdcX6N6Y61ZcqzKLwxXp5Lx8/s1600/STUD.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[In the beginning there was...<i>A Study in Scarlet</i> published in 1887.]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> CBS Sunday Morning aired "<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/deducing-the-timeless-popularity-of-sherlock-holmes/" target="_blank">Deducing the Timeless Popularity of Sherlock Holmes</a>" on January 19, 2014 which also just happened to coincide with the final day of BSI Weekend 2014 in NYC. What better treat could a Sherlockian ask for - regardless of whether or not they attended the NYC Sherlock festivities - than to watch a Holmes-centric news segment that essentially 'got it right'. Watch the joy (though some might call it insanity) in the face of Don Hobbs explaining the pleasure of collecting translations of the Canon in 92 languages: ""What doesn't he have? Tajikistan? He's got it. Uzbekistan? "I do," [Hobbs] replied."" Listen to Michael Dirda, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/On-Conan-Doyle-Storytelling-Writers/dp/0691151350"><i>On Conan Doyle</i></a>, describing the historical and literary significance of Holmes as the first serialized character. Enjoy the pageantry of the <a href="http://221bcon.com/index.php/news/41-221b-con-2013-photos-are-up">221B Con 2013</a> costume contest where you'll find outfits that could only emerge from the brains of devoted Sherlockians. Let loose a little <i>Elementary</i> snark as Jonny Lee Miller talks about his tattoos and fails to comprehend why someone might collect the Canon in a billion languages, while Lucy Liu reassures viewers that she won't be undergoing sex reassignment surgery to placate those critical of the casting of a female Watson. Finally, once the segment is over, sit back and ponder the multi-faceted world of The Sherlockian in all its glory: the strange and sometimes counter-intuitive diversity, "the unrestrained enjoyment of the present" (MAZI) and the rigorous dedication to a timeless friendship between an anti-social genius and a gregarious doctor with romantic tendencies - then give thanks to the personal confluence of events which led you to Baker Street. </div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfV9RrsUtXUzo-XtXvpE2Bl9umJA28pBKtTtUNU9YugPnLyfaneoCRYbqxfgY1oI5c9Fr_hihbH_B0meVF7OCcmVa2_ZciUh0RXxDbFMxLHXawdSg02PNmKzZ5awEAi0LI8tvQUDAytQ/s1600/DonHobbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfV9RrsUtXUzo-XtXvpE2Bl9umJA28pBKtTtUNU9YugPnLyfaneoCRYbqxfgY1oI5c9Fr_hihbH_B0meVF7OCcmVa2_ZciUh0RXxDbFMxLHXawdSg02PNmKzZ5awEAi0LI8tvQUDAytQ/s1600/DonHobbs.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[Above, Don Hobbs discusses what drives a man to collect 92 translations of the Canon. Towards the end of the piece Always1895 and a few of my other favorite Sherlockian sites are mentioned: "[Sherlock] fans met in cyberspace, on sites like the </span><a href="http://bakerstreetbabes.com/" style="text-align: start;">Baker Street Babes</a><span style="text-align: start;">, </span><a href="http://always1895.net/" style="text-align: start;">Always1895.net</a><span style="text-align: start;">, </span><a href="http://betterholmesandgardens.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: start;">Better Holmes and Gardens</a><span style="text-align: start;">." While I don't think any fans actually 'met' on my site, I certainly do appreciate CBS mentioning it and if I had a hit counter I'm sure it would be at 1,895,000 by now.]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div>   </div> <div> <a href="http://stephenrees.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/sherlock-holmes-and-the-lack-of-perception/"><b>Stephen Rees's Blog</b></a>, concerned primarily with transportation in urban environments, recently commented on a seemingly minor detail from the season three premiere of BBC <i>Sherlock</i>. While many fans and critics took issue with plot holes such as how exactly the villain managed to detach an entire train car and reroute it to the abandoned station or un/under-explained situations like how exactly Sherlock survived the St. Barts fall, Mr. Rees was "severely disappointed" by Holmes' inability to distinguish between two types of London trains: "Throughout ["The Empty Hearse"] the abilities of the great detective are demonstrated. He can, for instance, conduct a forensic examination of human hair inside a toque without even a magnifying glass. But he cannot apparently tell the difference between a tube train on the Jubilee Line and the subsurface stock on the District Line." (Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnBaesch">John Baesch</a>, BSI ("State and Merton County Railroad") for the tip!)</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSvmdPPLks0tUh11acedQ_9KOCmZHIiID32tw8WAD_epIBcUXHoX1gtuvWOmh78kg8tYhxF7rPKk6UOKiEBAkEaDtO0UCBqny34lB7AYtWxMu0eHDQ62zyq5koKJrFxqdqVrpIAr58x5o/s1600/TrainDistrict.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSvmdPPLks0tUh11acedQ_9KOCmZHIiID32tw8WAD_epIBcUXHoX1gtuvWOmh78kg8tYhxF7rPKk6UOKiEBAkEaDtO0UCBqny34lB7AYtWxMu0eHDQ62zyq5koKJrFxqdqVrpIAr58x5o/s1600/TrainDistrict.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[Example of the </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_rees/4832795901/" style="text-align: start;">Jubilee Line tube train</a><span style="text-align: start;"> - which you can compare to the </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryantaylorphotography/7086384079/" style="text-align: start;">District Line train</a><span style="text-align: start;"> for yourself.]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> <a href="http://www.themillions.com/2014/01/one-fixed-point-sherlock-sherlock-holmes-and-the-british-imagination.html" target="_blank">The Millions contrasts the current hullaballoo</a> surrounding the recent premiere of BBC <i>Sherlock</i> with various historical high points in the Sherlockian world : "Holmes booms have come and gone over the decades - the last major influx of adaptations was in the seventies - and though most are set amongst the old ‘swirling-fog-and-hansom-cabs’, they manage to tap into the anxieties of the ages in which they were conceived." Below is a graph of instances of "Sherlock Holmes" mentioned per year (1887 - 2008) within a corpus of 5 million digitized books which paints a rough picture of the high and low points of Holmes' popularity over the last 120 years.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlMLEF-JdZZPNhX53EJM3yXNZ46HjUnWvUX2CBLewYYPTNGHphnFNqR7u2OXTkJY-eLduZCfBgkPseReV8BmduNgjy7KkzrpjShcGb6UP-ShCnkPI6HLECgmjjcZ93eKEOZp3hK_qSow/s1600/Ngram-SherlockHolmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlMLEF-JdZZPNhX53EJM3yXNZ46HjUnWvUX2CBLewYYPTNGHphnFNqR7u2OXTkJY-eLduZCfBgkPseReV8BmduNgjy7KkzrpjShcGb6UP-ShCnkPI6HLECgmjjcZ93eKEOZp3hK_qSow/s1600/Ngram-SherlockHolmes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[Ngram view of "Sherlock Holmes" mentions from 1887 to 2008 in Google's book corpus. Click the image to interact with the Viewer or </span><a href="http://twitpic.com/dt5mi6" style="text-align: start;">here for a larger version</a><span style="text-align: start;"> of the above image. For those unfamiliar with </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Ngram_Viewer" style="text-align: start;">Google Ngram Viewer</a><span style="text-align: start;">, it's a "phrase-usage graphing [which] charts the yearly count of selected n-grams (letter combinations)[n] or words and phrases, as found in over 5.2 million books digitized by Google Inc (up to 2008)"]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> <a href="http://youtu.be/VzwBIvVwuOg"><b>Russian Sherlock Holmes</b></a> (2013), the newest Holmes incarnation to hit the small screen, can now be viewed with English subtitles! At the time of this post <i>Russian Sherlock Holmes</i> episode 1x01 is available <a href="http://youtu.be/VzwBIvVwuOg">on YouTube with subtitles</a> that can be toggled on or off. For more information about the series, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/01/new-russian-sherlock-holmes-tv-show.html">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a> posted an overview of the first few episodes. And the <a href="http://bakerstreetbabes.com/tag/russian-sherlock-holmes/">Baker Street Babes</a> reviewed a few individual episodes, having exclusive access to a Russian speaking roommate (whom I assume also helped "solve the problem as to whether it is possible to get comfortable rooms at a reasonable price").<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-china-blog-25550426" target="_blank">BBC News China reports on the latest 'craze'</a> to sweep China's TV watching public: ""I tore myself away from bed early this morning just to watch 90 minutes of my Curly Fu and Peanut," said one online comment. "The gay-citement has finally returned. PS: Thank you, Prime Minister Cameron, for visiting China." "Curly Fu" and "Peanut" are the names given by Chinese fans to Sherlock and his sidekick, Dr Watson, because they resemble the Chinese pronunciation of their names. The "gay-citement" tag? Well, that is used to describe the excitement of seeing what Chinese fans like to think of as the love between the two characters." The Internet seems fascinated with the, in truth rather endearing, Curly Fu and Peanut monikers and the 'strange' Chinese obsession with BBC <i>Sherlock</i> (cf. <a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/01/never-mind-sherlock-holmes-say-hello-curly-fu/">Anglophenia</a>, <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/19/the-chinese-have-fallen-in-love-with-sherlock-and-benedict-cumberbatch-whom-they-call-curly-fu-4268744/">Metro</a>, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2542198/BBCs-Sherlock-unlikely-sensation-China-Benedict-Cumberbatch-known-Curly-Fu-millions-online-fans.html">Mail Online</a>, <a href="https://news.google.com/news?ncl=dvw-TdNJXMNTOeMBuSCcdtWd28oLM&q=sherlock+china+%22Curly+Fu,%22&lr=English&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0jXeUp6DPNXSsATzzIHoBA&ved=0CDMQqgIwAA">etc</a>.).</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMv8mqYgreQszc2Uc1SKa789H_WsIh0eE6GGrWLpEsVaXVpvrNBt3HGlcKEZOmAj71nevijZwh0VYTqkKcnNXpivOdJ8fhW7loAz2u9tJD0cAX_0sFFBoW6qwd3hmnZo02VuWndnN_Lg/s1600/ChinaSherlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMv8mqYgreQszc2Uc1SKa789H_WsIh0eE6GGrWLpEsVaXVpvrNBt3HGlcKEZOmAj71nevijZwh0VYTqkKcnNXpivOdJ8fhW7loAz2u9tJD0cAX_0sFFBoW6qwd3hmnZo02VuWndnN_Lg/s1600/ChinaSherlock.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[A typical headline proclaiming the Chinese fascination with Curly Fu and Peanut's (Sherlock and John respectively) bromance.]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> Scientific American in "<a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/but-not-simpler/2014/01/07/why-you-should-envy-but-not-worship-sherlock-holmes/" target="_blank">Why You Should Envy, But Not Worship Sherlock Holmes</a>" makes an extremely interesting case for why Holmes should be considered the ultimate superhero: "Despite the flaws, we want to think like Sherlock Holmes, we want to be a superhero of the mind. Why? Why has Holmes endured for so long in the public’s own thinking? Why can everyone, not just the nerdy, embrace the movies and TV shows that feature the detective? I think it’s because Sherlock Holmes is the most realistic superhero of them all." </div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCTvGKgZbRlOA36-LBcavezt5rZ-_cFvGbrxobWAt2HQC_pxaLiR6SyQRg0W3OnjN1l8AF2ekN52MATQK219faMABhbwYtoMgCbgoyLC96n6JadsXPPLsPgbh9c2Pkt3F2gmyoq2GzCU/s1600/Hat-Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCTvGKgZbRlOA36-LBcavezt5rZ-_cFvGbrxobWAt2HQC_pxaLiR6SyQRg0W3OnjN1l8AF2ekN52MATQK219faMABhbwYtoMgCbgoyLC96n6JadsXPPLsPgbh9c2Pkt3F2gmyoq2GzCU/s1600/Hat-Man.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[Screenshot from BBC <i>Sherlock</i> - and here is the obligatory </span><a href="http://www.qwertee.com/product/hatman-and-robin" style="text-align: start;">t-shirt version at Qwertee</a><span style="text-align: start;">, which I kind of think looks pretty cool.]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> <i>Entertainment Weekly</i>, in the <a href="http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/01/16/sherlock-benedict-cumberbatch/" target="_blank">January 24, 2014 issue</a>, features the very familiar face of Benedict Cumberbatch on it's cover along with the tagline: "How the British cult hit starring Benedict Cumberbatch became the whole world's cup of tea." The article begins with a surprising revelation on what could have been: "Cumberbatch thought twice when Sherlock co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss originally offered him the part....Why? "My reservation was 'Well, this is a very iconic character, there will be a lot of attention on it,'" says Cumberbatch. "This was before I had had any significant success [but] I knew there would still be a lot of focus on it. And while I had done work, it wasn’t stepping into the populist limelight like playing a character like Holmes. So I did have a pause for thought.” According to Cumberbatch, it was the passion and commitment of the behind-the-scenes Sherlock team which ultimately convinced him to sign on for the role. “I thought, If I’m going to do this, if I’m going to step into the limelight with a large leading role of iconic status, then I might as well do it with these people,” he recalls. “They know what they’re doing and I completely trust them. I felt like I was being asked to join the family and have some fun. There was nothing businessy about it. And that’s how to operate it.” Check out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/entertainmentweekly/app_272887412730429">EW on Facebook for an exclusive interview</a> with Moffat, Cumberbach and Freeman positing theories about how Holmes survived his dramatic plunge off of the roof of St Barts.</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvm6X_OPosNOT3fEIdPtJhuUUMCPj_meYbC6ZeF75ICCE21iDBbFxaaEQZEAhuFOgOMrSBTK1lBTMlG_BL__x0_qPPkZq95OrUYj9oLwA0Za0HYJrOwxI4IFoL1YlTtcSGsmGyMMf3lVc/s1600/1295-EW-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvm6X_OPosNOT3fEIdPtJhuUUMCPj_meYbC6ZeF75ICCE21iDBbFxaaEQZEAhuFOgOMrSBTK1lBTMlG_BL__x0_qPPkZq95OrUYj9oLwA0Za0HYJrOwxI4IFoL1YlTtcSGsmGyMMf3lVc/s1600/1295-EW-cover.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[The world is truly "mad about Sherlock" as evidenced by Benedict Cumberbatch appearing on the cover of <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> - the first time BBC Sherlock has made the cover of EW according to BC fan site </span><a href="http://www.benedictcumberbatch.co.uk/2014/01/17/sherlock-makes-the-cover-of-entertainment-weekly/" style="text-align: start;">Cumberbatchweb</a><span style="text-align: start;">.]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> <a href="http://www.sherlockthenetwork.com/jointhenetwork/">Sherlock: The Network</a> is the name of a new iOS app that will allow players to become a virtual member of Sherlock’s homeless network (the BBC's take on the Baker Street Irregulars from the Canon), "helping Sherlock and John with their adventures." Available for download on January 20 and priced at at reasonable £2.99, follow <a href="https://twitter.com/sherlocknetwork">@SherlockNetwork</a> on Twitter for updates and tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23jointhenetwork">#jointhenetwork</a> to unlock exclusive content from the app. I haven't tried the game yet but I'm curious what readers and BBC fans will make of it - feel free to <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/edit/always1895@gmail.com">email me</a> your experience of the first serious attempt at creating an immersive, multi-player networked Sherlock-themed game.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1lnmluhC-YPv0R5y25SCCai0t3v3NpCiyYQ45sdDDwo3j3LsC-dV1AlP0TaUiYmxwAAxJm9gb9XNMpXizjc0WHAQpjaBq9LQgTS1MeqSxBXRzCbyFSuBzrAygNdrVlLH8OFNlOVXcPo/s1600/TheNetworkApp-SMALL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1lnmluhC-YPv0R5y25SCCai0t3v3NpCiyYQ45sdDDwo3j3LsC-dV1AlP0TaUiYmxwAAxJm9gb9XNMpXizjc0WHAQpjaBq9LQgTS1MeqSxBXRzCbyFSuBzrAygNdrVlLH8OFNlOVXcPo/s1600/TheNetworkApp-SMALL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">["New images from the app will be unlocked as The Network grows..."]</span></span></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Barefoot On Baker Street's Charlotte Anne Walters, author of Holmes pastiche <a href="http://www.mxpublishing.com/product/9781780922539/Barefoot+on+Baker+Street+%3A+2nd+Edition"><i>Barefoot On Baker Street</i></a> (MX Publishing, 2012), <a href="http://barefootonbakerstreet.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/my-own-take-on-a-modern-holmes-and-watson/" target="_blank">announced the upcoming release</a> of her latest book <a href="http://www.mxpublishing.com/product/9781780925776/"><i>Charlie Milverton and Other Stories</i></a> (MX Publishing, 2014) is<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> a collection of five present-day Sherlock Holmes short stories which poke gentle fun at the idiosyncrasies of modern life – not to mention the eccentric detective and his world-weary friend who are at the heart of the action. "Charlie Milverton", "The Premier Bachelor", "The Leaping Man", "A Question of Identity" and "Abbey Strange" are each based directly on an adventure taken from the original work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but updated with a modern-day twist." </blockquote> I thoroughly enjoyed Ms Walters' <i>Barefoot</i> novel for its unique and, at times, risque approach to the 'Holmes vs. Moriarty' dynamic, so I suspect that her latest collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories will be equally engrossing.</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi758UTN8Y3rnmup9ssHVacIaXLvDGvgB6_1zvqzWBUGQQjCDNFh-WTRRqemGUawxVAfFPogz6lCCgzEeQcAVKOVlWjq1qgxFjbjKItGJHS38ziZZ6KYtMjXUOiH5vUyEH3I0t3X-zA2Zs/s1600/CharlieMilverton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi758UTN8Y3rnmup9ssHVacIaXLvDGvgB6_1zvqzWBUGQQjCDNFh-WTRRqemGUawxVAfFPogz6lCCgzEeQcAVKOVlWjq1qgxFjbjKItGJHS38ziZZ6KYtMjXUOiH5vUyEH3I0t3X-zA2Zs/s1600/CharlieMilverton.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">["Instead of the foggy cobbled streets and hansom cabs of Victorian London, we get over-paid footballers, pop-stars, a glamour model, the tabloid press and social media. But friendship and Holmes’ unique science of deduction remain central to each story."]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> The Consulting Detective, inspired by the current Oscar-buzz surrounding the upcoming 2014 Academy Awards,<a href="http://the-consulting-detective.blogspot.com/2014/01/an-oscar-worthy-sherlock-holmes.html" target="_blank"> makes an intriguing case for "the most Oscar-worthy performance</a> in the history of Sherlockian film. If there was ever one actor who deserved an Academy Award for his portrayal of the great detective, it is <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0932116/">Nicol Williamson</a> who played Holmes in 1976's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven-Per-Cent_Solution_(film)"><i>The Seven-Per-Cent Solution</i></a>." Whether you are a fan of Williamson's addict-in-recovery Sherlock portrayal or wish that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven-Per-Cent_Solution">Nicholas Meyer</a>'s 1974 bestselling novel had been left to rot in the discount bins of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Books">Waldenbooks</a> circa 1975, author Nick Cardillo's impassioned case for the film's virtues is a great read: "Williamson's manic Holmes is a triumph. He presents both sides of the character wonderfully, constantly fidgeting and twiddling his thumbs in a beautiful reflection of Holmes' unbalanced character. Williamson's own description of the character, likening him to a fractured human being is clearly seen."</div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgR2xrh2MeQMSwEDttfPXfK-KCn5lTz0G3d9DqHB7K7q9oZudymft7wir8-IuFQcEc_VqMaVwT6aBHvduVFSJhzzjjWkf_MoZpaW8k2-vG_q6G5hxod_Pew1_fVaY9gktIGl5SqSEKB9I/s1600/seven-per-cent-solution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgR2xrh2MeQMSwEDttfPXfK-KCn5lTz0G3d9DqHB7K7q9oZudymft7wir8-IuFQcEc_VqMaVwT6aBHvduVFSJhzzjjWkf_MoZpaW8k2-vG_q6G5hxod_Pew1_fVaY9gktIGl5SqSEKB9I/s1600/seven-per-cent-solution.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">["Williamson was quoted as saying, "This Holmes is different: below the surface there is a fractured little boy chasing after a butterfly.""]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /></div> <div> <a href="http://wgnradio.com/2014/01/20/sherlock-and-other-holmes-interpretations/" target="_blank">WGN 720 Radio interviewed Bob Madia</a>, a Chicago "screenwriter, editor and Sherlock Holmes expert," about BBC <i>Sherlock</i> and his take on the current Holmes craze running rampant on both sides of the Atlantic (and don't forget <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2542198/BBCs-Sherlock-unlikely-sensation-China-Benedict-Cumberbatch-known-Curly-Fu-millions-online-fans.html">China</a>). I'm not exactly sure who Bob Madia is but he's clearly a sincere fan of Holmes and can hold his own when discussing Sherlock Holmes films. Topics discussed besides BBC <i>Sherlock</i> include Peter Cushing, Holmes pastiches available from <a href="http://titanbooks.com/brands/sherlock-holmes/">Titan Books</a>, the upcoming <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005212/">Ian McKellen</a> Holmes film <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/05/ian-mckellen-sherlock-holmes-slight-trick"><i>A Slight Trick of the Mind</i></a>, Myrcroft Holmes' character and various listener questions about Jeremy Brett and other Holmes film adaptations. I couldn't find Bob Madia's name in the <a href="http://www.sh-whoswho.com/">Sherlockian Who's Who</a> database, but it's refreshing to listen to the perspective of a Holmes fan 'outside' of the hardcore Sherlockian community. Along with being a Sherlock fan, Madia is a screenwriter with a few horror and mystery films to his credit (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1672194/">Bob Madia on IMDB</a>) and is currently working on a film with the amazing title <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GatorsharkMovie"><i>Gatorshark vs Zombie Cheerleaders</i></a> about "a half-shark half-alligator creature [wreaking] havoc at a cheerleader camp full of hot & sexy brain eating zombie cheerleaders." </div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOolhwCKX6mu5No5ssNk63i3BSHIHc9bXQ2xDNbvEZuRV-jEyTc5BzZN7uVyhn6UB3f8YgFUQ8LFl1mdMaVK1F37WF5efVZmMoVGAVP40Vfb4CfQpjGUIutWIHhwWvw88K4pnSK-G5-0/s1600/Gatorshark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOolhwCKX6mu5No5ssNk63i3BSHIHc9bXQ2xDNbvEZuRV-jEyTc5BzZN7uVyhn6UB3f8YgFUQ8LFl1mdMaVK1F37WF5efVZmMoVGAVP40Vfb4CfQpjGUIutWIHhwWvw88K4pnSK-G5-0/s1600/Gatorshark.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[The tagline for </span><a href="https://twitter.com/GatorsharkMovie" style="text-align: start;"><i>Gatorshark vs. Zombie Cheerleaders</i></a><span style="text-align: start;"> is - I kid you not - "Half shark. Half alligator. Half naked."]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> Mail Online ran the following headline on January18, 2014: "<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2541854/Boss-Sherlock-museum-launches-10-000-bid-clear-Lin-Megan-Russells-killer-conviction-Holmes-choke-pipe.html" target="_blank">Boss of Sherlock museum launches £10,000 bid to clear Lin and Megan Russell's hammer killer because 'his conviction would have made Holmes choke on his pipe</a>'." I'm not even going to attempt to unpack this headline so I'll quote liberally from the article:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "The man who runs The Sherlock Holmes Museum has launched a bizarre investigation to try to clear a notorious murderer. John Aidiniantz has spent thousands of pounds – made from tourists at the museum – on preparing an appeal for the man who murdered Dr Lin Russell and her daughter Megan and left her other little girl, Josie, for dead. Drug addict Michael Stone attacked Lin, 45, and Megan, six, in a quiet Kent country lane in 1996. Stone, now 53, was convicted after a fellow prisoner said he had confessed to him. But Mr Aidiniantz believes the real killer is Levi Bellfield, 45 – the man who murdered Surrey schoolgirl Milly Dowler. He has set up a so-called ‘justice department’ in the ‘spirit’ of Sherlock Holmes, aimed at overturning miscarriages of justice, and is preparing evidence for the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which refers cases for appeal. The armchair detective, who runs the museum at Holmes’s fictional address of 221B Baker Street in London, said: ‘The trial and conviction of Michael Stone would have caused the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories to choke on his pipe." </blockquote> One can only assume that Mr Aidiniantz has been possessed by the justice-seeking ghost of Conan Doyle seeking to relive the past glories of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_strange_case_of_Oscar_Slater">Oscar Slater</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edalji">George Edalji</a>. </div> <div> <br /></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqX6UrL29ylWUcmS1SUA42o4ZoWmVQOwd50lLN1mjeC5CKD0fSLrdRcQUFAsilxWwDD7iUzABKuWvqQm0Lf0CoO-cQnGbEAzGM76GUB9P16_yqZI_wQiLXiwGBIksZFEFaDtnoKG0YXM/s1600/SherlockHolmesMuseum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqX6UrL29ylWUcmS1SUA42o4ZoWmVQOwd50lLN1mjeC5CKD0fSLrdRcQUFAsilxWwDD7iUzABKuWvqQm0Lf0CoO-cQnGbEAzGM76GUB9P16_yqZI_wQiLXiwGBIksZFEFaDtnoKG0YXM/s1600/SherlockHolmesMuseum.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[</span><a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/" style="text-align: start;">The Sherlock Holmes Museum</a><span style="text-align: start;">, owned by John Aidiniantz, has found itself stuck in the middle of a contentious and slightly bizarre legal and media battle.]</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> --</div> <div> <br /></div>

Weekly Sherlock Links Compendium (January 11 - January 24, 2014)

"I am somewhat exhausted; I wonder how a battery feels when it pours electricity into a non-conductor?" [DYIN] BSI Weekend...

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by campunity