I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

"I Dare Call Nothing Trivial When I Reflect" [STUD]

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_seFUF5kqcWsjnbc_lwlBIiBnfenvFuRpyXTKKCivqgteSi5GK1F9WxVz0q1HMPEdWmECygmrErsQcMBz-bXVgdmFduYd0LycJIq_wwv4vfBAlQu9o3PXWskLwPYZMQH-kew1DTWrWRL6/s1600-h/Janus.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150702795028453378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_seFUF5kqcWsjnbc_lwlBIiBnfenvFuRpyXTKKCivqgteSi5GK1F9WxVz0q1HMPEdWmECygmrErsQcMBz-bXVgdmFduYd0LycJIq_wwv4vfBAlQu9o3PXWskLwPYZMQH-kew1DTWrWRL6/s200/Janus.JPG" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>It's natural that at this time of the year, we begin to reflect upon what has happened in our lives during the previous year and take note of improvements or changes we'd like to see in the next. In fact, the month January was named after the Roman god <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus_%28mythology%29">Janus</a>, which was always depicted has having two faces - one looking forward and one looking back.<br /><br />A <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2007/12/see-how-it-glints-and-sparkles-blue.html#c6588678498829593808">recent comment</a> by Mickey was quite humbling, and I wanted to express my gratitude to you, dear reader, for spending time on this blog. I know there are a number of other websites, discussion groups, books, periodicals, and - let's face it - actual face-to-face opportunities to engage in Sherlockian discourse. The fact that you drop by here and let me know how it affects your life is profoundly encouraging and uplifting to me (and yes, that's a not-so-subtle request to keep the comments coming).<br /><br />But on the cusp of the New Year, I thought I'd share with you why I think this site is unique, what I plan to do with it (in part) in 2008, and what you can do to keep it up and running.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What makes this blog so special</span><br />Part of what I try to impart here is my own personality - sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. But at the end of the day, I try to write in a conversational style that actually makes you feel at home, or as if you've just dropped in for a drink and we're throwing ideas around.<br /><br />And while I try to bring you as much of the mainstream Sherlockian news as possible, I also make it my mission to seek out the odd and the well-hidden gems that make life so much more interesting. One of the hallmarks of Sherlockians is that we're always able to find a parallel between something that happened in the Canon and either a personal interest or an item in the current news. I hope I'm succeeding there.<br /><br />But more than just cutting & pasting headlines or parroting information you may be getting from other circles, I put some commentary and perspective around each news item, in order to make it relevant or stand out in some way. I hope that doing so provides you with some added value. You may not always agree with my opinion - which is completely acceptable - the comment link is just a click away. I welcome debate as well as praise; that's part of what makes a blog so interesting, in my opinion.<br /><br />In addition, I'm discovering new and energetic Sherlockians whom I've never met and sharing their works with you. Some examples from 2007 are the <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2007/04/it-was-remarkably-animated-scan.html">Russian animation</a> that I found on YouTube, the recent <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2007/12/see-how-it-glints-and-sparkles-blue.html">stick figure retelling</a> of 'The Blue Carbuncle,' and <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/search/label/music">the music video series</a> I ran throughout the summer. These were all examples of individuals whom I stumbled upon. Throughout 2008, I'm going to try to discover some additional sources of great content (and dipping back into the well for more from the same).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What else you can do</span><br />As you may know, I produce and co-host a podcast (don't be frightened - that's just a fancy way of saying <span style="font-style: italic;">radio on the Internet</span>) called <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, please visit the site. It's basically a Sherlockian talk show. I <span style="font-weight: bold;">guarantee</span> you it's worth your while. If you don't agree, I'll refund your money. But I will say that it wouldn't be possible without the able participation of my co-host, Burt Wolder. It's definitely a two-man show.<br /><br />And if you like what you hear there or what you read here, please consider doing two things:<br /><ol><li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BakerStreetBlog">Subscribe for free</a> - that was the blog; you can also <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BakerStreetBlog"></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/IHearOfSherlock">subscribe to the podcast for free</a><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recommend them to your friends, family, and Sherlockian colleagues</span> - or even to the uninitiated, if you want to help them understand what this crazy pastime is all about. If you can tell <span style="font-weight: bold;">at least 3 people</span> in your life about my blog & podcast, that will help them grow. And if you'd like to do it here online, just use that neat little  <a href="http://s7.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://s7.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" style="cursor: pointer; width: 116px; height: 15px;" /></a> button you see at the bottom of each post.<br /></li></ol>You can join the <a href="http://sherlockholmes.ning.com/">Sherlock Holmes Social Network</a> - this is a group that I established to help people stay in touch with each other, share interests, bring up discussion topics, upload and share photos, videos or music, and special interest groups. Think of it as an offline version of what you experience when you're at a social event. Again, this is free and you can choose to disclose whatever level of information about yourself that you're comfortable sharing.<br /><br />Finally, if there's anything that you'd like to see or anything you think I shouldn't be doing, please let me know. While I can't promise you that I'll do exactly what you recommend, I will read what you write and provide you with a response. The only way I know what you think is for you to tell me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thank you</span><br />I write this blog as a labor of love (isn't that why we all pursue this crazy hobby of Sherlock Holmes?) and I sincerely hope that you find it even the slightest bit valuable. I encourage you to use the links in the sidebar when you make any online purchases - whether it's the search box on the side or the aStore that both link to Amazon, or the clothing and technology deals at the bottom of the sidebar - your patronage helps to support this blog. And if you find it within your heart to donate something, there's a ChipIn link (filed under the heading "Your Own Gift" in the sidebar) as well. Any amount would be appreciated.<br /><br />Thank you again, for welcoming me into your life on a daily, weekly, or ad hoc basis. I'm honored that you think enough of my writing to want to spend time with me. I hope that if we have the chance to meet in person, you'll feel the same way. And if our paths don't cross in person at an event this year, please feel free to <a href="mailto:bakerstreetblog@gmail.com">drop me a line</a>.<br /><br />Until then, "the game's afoot!"

"I Dare Call Nothing Trivial When I Reflect" [STUD]

It's natural that at this time of the year, we begin to reflect upon what has happened in our lives during the previous year and take no...

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by Scott Monty

"See How It Glints and Sparkles" [BLUE]

"See How It Glints and Sparkles" [BLUE]

This was too good to pass up. Over at the discussion forum Holmesian.net , I came across some wonderful stick artwork by a member named whor...

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by Scott Monty

"A Certain Annual" [SPEC]

<a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2760/4108249706_220b1e666d_o.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2760/4108249706_220b1e666d_o.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 405px;" /></a>For anyone reading this blog, there has never been a time when the world as you know it has been without Sherlock Holmes. As a matter of fact, it's been exactly 120 years since Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Beeton's Christmas Annual</span>. For a short summary of Holmes's humble beginnings, you can listen to <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17563872">a segment on <span style="font-style: italic;">All Things Considered</span></a> that NPR ran on December 23.<br /><br />And in our own humble way, we honor his memory over at the <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/">Baker Street Journal</a>. Each year for the last 10 years, we've been offering an additional companion piece to our quarterly journal - something we call the <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/christmasannuals.html">Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual</a>.<br /><br />The Christmas Annual for 2007 is about to hit the streets, and we've already got a record number of subscribers signed up to receive it. If you are renewing your BSJ subscription or if you're taking a subscription out for the first time, you can automatically include the Annual as part of your package, and receive a discount in the process. So, <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html">sign up now for the 2008 Journal & Annual</a>.<br /><br />In the meantime, let's focus on what we've got in 2007. The title of this year's entry is:<br /><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/christmasannuals.html"></a><blockquote><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/christmasannuals.html">Rathbone Returns: A Misadventure Called <span style="font-style: italic;">Sherlock Holmes</span></a> by S.E. Dahlinger, ASH and Glen Miranker, BSI ("The Origin of Tree Worship")<br /></blockquote>Basil Rathbone is still a perennial favorite of many Holmes enthusiasts. As a matter of fact, I recently met a 9 year-old who came to a dinner of the Friends of Irene Adler in Cambridge, MA dressed as the great detective - and he himself told me that Basil Rathbone was the best Sherlock Holmes ever. We could argue that here or in a variety of forums forever, but let's say that by the end of his 14 film stretch and radio play, Rathbone was inexorably typecast.<br /><br />Indeed, he was just as eager to push Sherlock Holmes over the precipice at Reichenbach Falls as Arthur Conan Doyle had been. As he wrote in his autobiography, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0879101199?tag=thebakerstree-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0879101199&adid=15KJEK4J7QKM928K7C5G&" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">In and Out of Character</a>:<br /><blockquote>    I was . . . deeply concerned with the problem of being "typed," more completely "typed" than any other classic actor has ever been or ever will be again. . . . There was nothing I could do about it, except to stop playing Mr. Holmes. . . .</blockquote>That June, Rathbone and his wife Ouida left Hollywood for the New York stage in search of better things. At least, that was the plan. They quickly found that Broadway wouldn't touch Basil as anything other than Holmes, either. Rathbone began casting about for the play in which to rekindle his rapidly fading star—and fell back on his wife to write it.<br /><br />Thereby hangs our tale of Sherlock Holmes by Ouida Rathbone. It may have been a comedy, or it may have been a tragedy. It cost one man his dream of conquering Broadway in his most notable role. It cost another man his career as a Broadway producer. It gave yet a third man a heart attack at the dress rehearsal. It even caused the Conan Doyle Estate to forget that the script had ever been produced in the first place. Yet there was certainly an element of comedy.<br /><br />The play opened here in Boston (as did many plays of the day before hitting the Great White Way). Peter Blau even <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search?q=Peter+Blau">mentioned planning on seeing it in New York</a> after its Boston run. If you pick up a copy of the Annual, you'll see what happened in the process.<br /><br />So, as a birthday present to Holmes and as a happy Blue Carbuncle Day ("the second morning after Christmas"), order your copy - and sign up for a subscription and next year's Annual while you're at it, over at <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/">bakerstreetjournal.com</a>.

"A Certain Annual" [SPEC]

For anyone reading this blog, there has never been a time when the world as you know it has been without Sherlock Holmes. As a matter of fac...

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by Scott Monty

Special Episode: Compliments of the Season

<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"compliments of the season" [BLUE] </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisOa8EB3WP3vsHVWiJzMamYVd_KJdE0vbw2kZvssfgqzGJW8-NfLbIMk7EA_GnicRZIO-yBbF2jW-SHyejulfqpII6XxJxYUKd7n4hWDd1s5OC5AP7AYFu87J0N7VRuK5040Wi7zsqmLgqBmb5yBOccFHb-NPz30qsxjDH_mLw5UEhm2ntk_083Yws5Q=s1015" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1015" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisOa8EB3WP3vsHVWiJzMamYVd_KJdE0vbw2kZvssfgqzGJW8-NfLbIMk7EA_GnicRZIO-yBbF2jW-SHyejulfqpII6XxJxYUKd7n4hWDd1s5OC5AP7AYFu87J0N7VRuK5040Wi7zsqmLgqBmb5yBOccFHb-NPz30qsxjDH_mLw5UEhm2ntk_083Yws5Q=w640-h364" width="640" /></a></div><br />This time of year always draws our minds to "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_the_Blue_Carbuncle">The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle</a>," the only Sherlock Holmes story that takes place at Christmas. It's the source of our greeting cards to each other, with the universally applicable "Compliments of the Season," which is exactly the wish that Burt and Scott give to each and every one of you.<br />
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Thank you so much for being part of this journey with us throughout the second half of 2007. We look forward to bringing you more episodes of the quality you've come to expect, and we may even have a few surprises in store for 2008.<br />
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In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy 10 minutes or so of a very special holiday greeting from your friends at I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><h3 style="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;"><a href="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock_compliments2007.mp3" style="color: #013fd3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 8.9 MB, 9:41</h3></div>
<center><br /><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1185689230&color=%23ce1a21&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock/compliments-of-the-season" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Compliments of the Season">Compliments of the Season</a></div></center>
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