I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

"All the Footprints of the World" [HOUN]

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUltv3_SFqJ_R_2KGOpCFXIcTmPSBZVAa8-c-2mQtrkyGa6uZusjUOOohWy00avjaKW1ttwrpETMN4VVH1p9stMYi7uoCq7moUJq2nHKp1Wi024tTNlXgVTOFMB-x9DgDj_f-5QCS_hDpE/s1600-h/Sicar6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154765138305767586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUltv3_SFqJ_R_2KGOpCFXIcTmPSBZVAa8-c-2mQtrkyGa6uZusjUOOohWy00avjaKW1ttwrpETMN4VVH1p9stMYi7uoCq7moUJq2nHKp1Wi024tTNlXgVTOFMB-x9DgDj_f-5QCS_hDpE/s640/Sicar6.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="640" /></a><br />
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"There is no branch of detective science that is so important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps," Holmes remarked in <i>A Study in Scarlet</i></blockquote>
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In this case, the the art is being taken to a science and the world's police - forces in 128 countries, to be exact - are <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/in-sherlocks-footprints/2008/01/12/1199988648056.html">teaming up to develop a comprehensive database of footprints</a>.<a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/in-sherlocks-footprints/2008/01/12/1199988648056.html"><br /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.fosterfreeman.com/index.html">Foster + Freeman</a>, a forensic science company has developed a proprietary software called <a href="http://www.fosterfreeman.com/products/shoeprints/sicar/sicar.html">SICAR </a>that essentially is a version of Sherlock Holmes's brain on steroids. The software studies the patterns, treads and shapes on shoe soles and adds them to the database of over 15,000 prints. When an image is searched, the process of scanning the database for a match takes only 1-2 minutes.<br />
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It's still amazing to think that Holmes to retain so much of this in his own brain without the aid of a computer - 140 varieties of cigar ash, 42 different impressions of bicycle tires, etc. While 15,000 prints would be impossible for any human to remember, it's encouraging to know that Holmes was the original crime computer and the inspiration for much more today.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/in-sherlocks-footprints/2008/01/12/1199988648056.html"><br /></a>

"All the Footprints of the World" [HOUN]

"There is no branch of detective science that is so important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps," Holmes r...

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by Scott Monty

"To Whom Also You Will Give a Shilling" [HOUN]

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_0_1Atw7BP0vVAWXiABpLMTsiL0xV-jz-K-YF2aJTvCEN8AnBgXBdpnk3LdFJooeXOSDQGo5Ji_GyBjPK517R0tt0dpycPFGHez4jH0m7ZfSlHlOCWxSvwxiI-R8eYCuURGkBN79nnUc/s1600-h/BSI+Rosette.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264144173950728322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_0_1Atw7BP0vVAWXiABpLMTsiL0xV-jz-K-YF2aJTvCEN8AnBgXBdpnk3LdFJooeXOSDQGo5Ji_GyBjPK517R0tt0dpycPFGHez4jH0m7ZfSlHlOCWxSvwxiI-R8eYCuURGkBN79nnUc/s200/BSI+Rosette.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 93px; height: 92px;" /></a>As you may have seen in the <a href="http://twitter.com/S_Holmes">Twitter stream</a> (the section on the right titled <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Holmes Was a Very Busy Man"</span>), the coveted Baker Street Irregulars investitures were awarded tonight at the BSI Dinner. Mike Whelan <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search?q=whelan">states that it's his favorite part of the dinner</a> - and I can certainly believe him. Much joy was given, much joy was received.<br /><br />While the dinner is about much more than the investitures, it's clearly the thing on everyone's mind at the dinner. Having been someone who attended a number of dinners before I was called up to the podium, I can honestly say that the old Oscars cliche "it's an honor just to be nominated" does in fact ring true. I hope that this year's attendees feel the same.<br /><br />In the order they were announced, here are the latest Baker Street Irregulars:<br /><ul><li>Betsy Rosenblatt, "Lucy Ferrier"<br /></li><li>Dana Richards, "The Priory School"<br /></li><li>David Morrill, "Count von Kramm"<br /></li><li>Barbara Roisman Cooper, "Mary Maberley"<br /></li><li>Randall Stock, "South African Securities"</li><li>John Genova, "Harry Pinner"<br /></li><li>Guy Marriott, "The Hotel du Louvre"<br /></li></ul>And this year, Mike gave the coveted Two-Shilling Award to a Baker Street Irregular who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in service to the BSI. The Two-Shilling Award went to:<br /><ul><li>Sherry Rose Bond<br /></li></ul><br />I'm particularly pleased because the new class skewed significantly younger. I can point to John, Randall and Betsy as 30-somethings who are now part of this august organization - a sign that we're beginning to set the stage for the next generation, but we've still got a ways to go. Congratulations to one and all!<br /><br />Fair warning to the new BSIs: I'll be hunting you down to ensure you subscribe to <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">The Baker Street Journal</a>. And to my dear readers: you <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html">subscribe</a> to the BSJ, don't you?

"To Whom Also You Will Give a Shilling" [HOUN]

As you may have seen in the Twitter stream (the section on the right titled "Holmes Was a Very Busy Man" ), the coveted Baker Str...

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by Scott Monty

"The Print of a Recent Horror" [SILV]

<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaFoBFV0zynf9e3x1x06cAw2lAEdR5gPJr5Awac6ADwQ23Qq5W7Bi13Bfwy4rmZjmwJSVIw2P8W4FtyIEcoBBrAgvM3LdUCeOg9BrV7O54eXAmVRf3Iv4sSmogCa7SKUYS7Yyn5_cAdz1/s1600-h/Frayling.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154203588511684738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaFoBFV0zynf9e3x1x06cAw2lAEdR5gPJr5Awac6ADwQ23Qq5W7Bi13Bfwy4rmZjmwJSVIw2P8W4FtyIEcoBBrAgvM3LdUCeOg9BrV7O54eXAmVRf3Iv4sSmogCa7SKUYS7Yyn5_cAdz1/s200/Frayling.JPG" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> The Baker Street Irregulars' Distinguished Speaker Lecture took place as planned at the Williams Club on Thursday evening, January 10. The speaker was Sir Christopher Frayling, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0563371986?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0563371986">Nightmare: The Birth of Horror</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0563371986" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" width="1" />.<br /><br /><br /><div>We were treated to a very interesting talk lasting about 45 minutes, the subject of which was <em>The Hound of the Baskervilles</em>. Sir Christopher noted that of the 220+ (221?) films that have been made about Sherlock Holmes, The Hound is the single most popular story, having been made and remade 18 times. And I think everyone assembled agreed that it has not yet been filmed satisfactorily.</div><br /><div>But the point of Sir Christopher's talk was to investigate the timing around Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's authorship of the book. The generally accepted timing has given way to the ridiculous supposition that <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1784205,00.html">Doyle murdered Fletcher Robinson</a>, who gave Doyle some background information that helped with the creation of the story.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvcZn34FgLTTuqSIgew5pnk0YklHLkX4JIMizyH8ftripSKbbMJgdWcgqGK0Fb-NnCyZWskpn42Bb1oN6QUSBOToVx5GDVkizh9akqUUp-I0maD2qQjDIEh2ZbpK8_crJ1QyR8sHaigFf/s1600-h/Diary.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154205851959449746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvcZn34FgLTTuqSIgew5pnk0YklHLkX4JIMizyH8ftripSKbbMJgdWcgqGK0Fb-NnCyZWskpn42Bb1oN6QUSBOToVx5GDVkizh9akqUUp-I0maD2qQjDIEh2ZbpK8_crJ1QyR8sHaigFf/s200/Diary.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /></div><div>In his lecture, Sir Christopher built an airtight case against this while doing some detective work of his own. The key element that helped Frayling in his efforts is an item that he picked up at the Christies' auction of Doyle memorabilia: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's self-registering diary for 1901. He said that since it was so small, it went unnoticed by other collectors, who were there for more significant items. He managed to get it for a relative bargain. I won't give away the full story here, as it's best told in context - and it's likely to appear in a future issue of <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/">The Baker Street Journal</a> (now would be a good time to subscribe, if you don't yet). </div><br /><div></div><div></div><div>We were very lucky to have been treated to a talk by this consummate researcher and scholar. He certainly has a great depth of knowledge about Victorian horror and gothic elements - but he's also a font of knowledge on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=spaghetti%20western&tag=thebakerstree-20&index=dvd&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">spaghetti westerns</a>, if you can believe it.<br /></div><br /><br /><center><iframe style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" border="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=13&l=st1&mode=books&search=Christopher%20Frayling&fc1=000000&lt1=&lc1=3366FF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" width="468" scrolling="no" height="60"></iframe></center></div>

"The Print of a Recent Horror" [SILV]

The Baker Street Irregulars' Distinguished Speaker Lecture took place as planned at the Williams Club on Thursday evening, January 10. ...

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by Scott Monty

"Our Little Drama" [SIGN]

<a href="http://twitter.com/S_Holmes" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153181841561770098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBd7bwLe6W9hCqvJctVQ6imc2ntQYrassAK89ncsGhTlFzFJiu3I4MkGKm_XXNgMeZz3EzvCiqmo0WGEZX17kptTRXJRDVX-CwjAnbOF2W0vN_nulY7UeWppjmKyi3Twj7yPYt7EIXCb-R/s200/twitter.png" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>I'll be in New York for the BSI Weekend, participating in many of the activities. As a service to the community, I'll be providing live updates for those who can't be there - I'll be using <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>, a microblogging service that is free to join. But you don't have to join to follow along.<br /><br />I'll be posting on <a href="http://twitter.com/S_Holmes">http://twitter.com/S_Holmes</a>, where you can follow along - but I'll also have those updates streaming in little boxes at the top of <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/">The Baker Street Blog</a> and <a href="http://www.bsiweekend.com/">The BSI Weekend</a> sites, so you can follow the action there as well. You see that section over to the right labeled <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Holmes Was a Very Busy Man"</span>? That's the section where you can see the Twitter updates.<br /><br />But if you so elect, you can also get updates on your desktop via <a href="http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/email_chat/twitterrific.html">Twitterific</a> or <a href="http://rareedge.com/twitteroo/">Twitteroo</a>, or through your browser by using <a href="http://www.naan.net/trac/wiki/TwitterFox">Twitterfox</a> <a href="http://rareedge.com/twitteroo/"></a>or <a href="http://www.twitbin.com/">Twitbin</a>; or you can get the updates sent directly to you on your mobile phone or through IM.<br /><br />I'll try to mention people I meet, things that are said, food that is eaten, and sites that I see. But for the ultimate updates, follow me around <span style="font-weight: bold;">10 p.m. EST on Friday, January 11</span> for real-time updates of those who will be receiving their Investitures into the Baker Street Irregulars.<br /><br />In addition to "live-tweeting" the events, I'll also put up longer posts here on the blog, so you can learn a little more. I invite any of my readers who are attending the following events - <span style="font-weight: bold;">the Gaslight Gala, ASH Wednesday, the Clients of Adrian Mulliner, and Lost in New York with a Bunch of Sherlockians</span> - to please be in touch with me about writing a guest post about your experience with these events. Please email me or leave a comment below.