I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

"Nearly Passed Over a Little Ford" [LAST]

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEIyoDNFUPEDoPIYTo2YuD9l84AdKA23IvzyvgQeJygz5I9beMn2a4fHrA2y6k30rbyS-Kes7MbvTJpPv6pqVGX6iP-lhFP-RDAzTlAXGMRBji-YkSWPQsFmpEEL9Mop30HPB-rl8RVbg/s1600-h/ford-model-t.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205182839764648978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEIyoDNFUPEDoPIYTo2YuD9l84AdKA23IvzyvgQeJygz5I9beMn2a4fHrA2y6k30rbyS-Kes7MbvTJpPv6pqVGX6iP-lhFP-RDAzTlAXGMRBji-YkSWPQsFmpEEL9Mop30HPB-rl8RVbg/s200/ford-model-t.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>One of the reasons you've been hearing less from me in these parts is that my professional life has been keeping me very busy. For the last year or so, I've been working for a small start-up that specializes in social media - all of the fancy schmancy stuff you see here, like social networks, podcasts, blogs, etc. Think of it as new technology that makes communicating easier. After some very long and difficult days this year, I was feeling burned out. As fate would have it, I was approached by one of the most storied brands in America - and quite possibly the world. <a href="http://www.ford.com/">Ford Motor Company</a> asked me to become the head of social media in their Global Communications department. As you may know, there are some Sherlockian connections to Ford. There's the reference in the headline above, from "His Last Bow," where Von Bork's secretary is leaving the seaside cottage: <blockquote>"The secretary lay back in the cushions of the luxurious limousine, with his thoughts so full of the impending European tragedy that he hardly observed that as his car swung round the village street it nearly passed over a little Ford coming in the opposite direction." </blockquote>And if you've been to a society meeting or two, you may have heard "<a href="http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiAUNTCLAR;ttAUNTCLAR.html">We Never Mention Aunt Clara</a>." If so, you'll recall that Aunt Clara's sister drove in a second-hand Ford. Let's just say that the Ford I'll be driving will be anything but second-hand. Moving to Michigan is going to be an adventure, but I won't be leaving my Sherlockian pursuits behind. I know I'll be in good hands with the likes of the <a href="http://www.amateurmendicant.blogspot.com/">Amateur Mendicant Society</a> and the blog and podcast will continue. And if you'd like a quick run-through of what social media is all about, take a look at this: <center><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MpIOClX1jPE&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MpIOClX1jPE&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></center> Photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewdunn/391930663/" style="font-style: italic;">Andrew Dunn</a>

"Nearly Passed Over a Little Ford" [LAST]

One of the reasons you've been hearing less from me in these parts is that my professional life has been keeping me very busy. For the l...

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by Scott Monty

The Annotated Dracula is Available for Pre-order

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"vampires in Transylvania" [SUSS]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamCQsYPJItwkMx5TvjHdU2TYYFuMEJMvM3DJu9yLzQ02EVrro5dB0GtGpeXceRIcVZVNIA-BC0RnHczhHX8Mzc_kwZMIk4N1F3uq00dzHbxeP0tnaIKsI-FL9a-qzbye32f9wbWqiURxK/s1600/IHOSE47.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamCQsYPJItwkMx5TvjHdU2TYYFuMEJMvM3DJu9yLzQ02EVrro5dB0GtGpeXceRIcVZVNIA-BC0RnHczhHX8Mzc_kwZMIk4N1F3uq00dzHbxeP0tnaIKsI-FL9a-qzbye32f9wbWqiURxK/s1600/IHOSE47.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
 
One of the most intriguing of the later Sherlock Holmes stories - those from the collections known as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1853260703/105-4993020-3918022?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1853260703">His Last Bow</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1853260703/105-4993020-3918022?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1853260703">The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes</a> - has to be "The Sussex Vampire." The title alone arouses interest and imagination of a morbid gothic scene. 
 
Certainly vampires have been right up there in popularity with Sherlock Holmes, with plenty of movies, novels and popular culture that center on Dracula and the like. And when you consider that Bram Stoker was an acquaintance of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and that his novel was released in the spring of 1897 - in the midst of Doyle's hiatus from writing the Holmes stories - it fits right in with the time and place of our hero. 
 
If you have even the most passing interest in Dracula, then you'll be happy know know this news: Leslie Klinger, BSI ("The Abbey Grange") - probably most well-known for his three-volume series <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393059162/105-4993020-3918022?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0393059162" style="font-weight: bold;">The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes</a> (which if you don't own, you should; just click the link) - just announced that his latest opus, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393064506/105-4993020-3918022?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0393064506" style="font-weight: bold;">The Annotated Dracula</a>, is now available for preorder on Amazon. 
 
If you're familiar with Les's fine and thorough work in NASH, you'll know what to expect from his new book. Personally, I don't know enough about Dracula or vampires - just the usual stake-in-the-heart and garlic stuff - so this will be an interesting volume to peruse. 
 
Related posts: 
 
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<li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2012/10/episode-47-re-vampires.html#.VPknwPnF8Xc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 47: Re: Vampires</a></li>
</ul>
 
 
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The Annotated Dracula is Available for Pre-order

"vampires in Transylvania" [SUSS] One of the most intriguing of the later Sherlock Holmes stories - those from the collection...

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by Scott Monty

"Took Out His Manuscript" [MUSG]

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_p3O53-a_TDZAloZhzd5oro64WP2lMhSXhwk6jXCrGFfbJ2iNMOpK89MzA1OtOLMQuihlXj91n_Dck8olE7vXL0MH1t4eaXwOxuU13ilt7xeqmtFR51HOo3CbtUwJG7pbdFXEvcZbCNk9/s1600-h/lady-02.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208994834352718914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_p3O53-a_TDZAloZhzd5oro64WP2lMhSXhwk6jXCrGFfbJ2iNMOpK89MzA1OtOLMQuihlXj91n_Dck8olE7vXL0MH1t4eaXwOxuU13ilt7xeqmtFR51HOo3CbtUwJG7pbdFXEvcZbCNk9/s200/lady-02.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>Every once in a while, there's an item that puts Sherlockian collectors into a fervor. Whether or not the item is within everyone's reach, it creates an aura of excitement and anticipation, wondering what the market will bear. And it almost certainly ends in a battle at the auction house (maybe not as physically violent as the image on the left, but definitely an emotional one). The most recent item to undergo such scrutiny was an original 1887 Beeton's Christmas Annual - famous for A Study in Scarlet, the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes in print. A copy was found in a pile of books at an Oxfam shop in the U.K. and subsequently was put up for auction, eventually bringing in £18,600 (approx. US$36,500). You can read about <a href="http://members.aol.com/shbest/ref/bonhams-2008-beetons.htm">the entire backstory as well as the auction results here</a>. Now it seems that there's an original manuscript of one of the Holmes stories up for sale. The 28-page manuscript for "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" is expected to bring nearly £250,000 when it goes under the hammer, according to <a href="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article4076103.ece?Submitted=true" style="font-weight: bold;">an article in the Times</a>. I'm not so certain. The comparable sale they reference is the manuscript for The Sign of Four, which sold for $470,000 (£243,000) at Sotheby's in New York in 1996. I would think that the novels - remember there are only four, and the MSS of The Hound of the Baskervilles was divided up for publicity purposes when the book went on sale - would command a higher premium than any of the 56 short stories. Then again, when collectors have a shot at a true rarity, sanity often times is checked at the door. For more information about original Doyle manuscripts - Sherlock Holmes-related and otherwise - the definitive resource is <a href="http://members.aol.com/shbest/ref/rfms.htm" style="font-weight: bold;">Randall Stock's web site</a>. There's a wealth of information available there.

"Took Out His Manuscript" [MUSG]

Every once in a while, there's an item that puts Sherlockian collectors into a fervor. Whether or not the item is within everyone's ...

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by Scott Monty

"Like a Little Empty Attic" [STUD]

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeYcnN3jb35q0hvIbWJ1QEjLDhHyMMNkzSolR4Qz0UU7V7sgnqC0Ck3kmzqszoidKPX1hbc4CDOdbq2N80BFuog9DnOmPVrb_XwsxViqhEE78rzAD4A3lB7qGop0sbhgZp7Xb_8ZILRsf/s1600-h/card-01.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205480811710743602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeYcnN3jb35q0hvIbWJ1QEjLDhHyMMNkzSolR4Qz0UU7V7sgnqC0Ck3kmzqszoidKPX1hbc4CDOdbq2N80BFuog9DnOmPVrb_XwsxViqhEE78rzAD4A3lB7qGop0sbhgZp7Xb_8ZILRsf/s200/card-01.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>In A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes opined that he had no room for useless knowledge (in that particular case, it was the fact that the Earth revolves around the Sun). He remarked to Watson: <blockquote>"You appear to be astonished," he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. "Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it." "To forget it!" "You see," he explained, "I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it...It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."</blockquote>We're all familiar with information overload (especially these days), but I wonder if this was the hubris of a younger Holmes speaking. Recent research shows that the older brain can actually process information much better than previously thought, and is better at filtering out distractions than a younger brain. From a recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/health/research/20brai.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=science&pagewanted=print">New York Times article</a>: <blockquote>Such tendencies can yield big advantages in the real world, where it is not always clear what information is important, or will become important. A seemingly irrelevant point or suggestion in a memo can take on new meaning if the original plan changes... "A broad <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/mental-status-tests/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Mental status tests.">attention span</a> may enable older adults to ultimately know more about a situation and the indirect message of what’s going on than their younger peers," Dr. Hasher said. "We believe that this characteristic may play a significant role in why we think of older people as wiser."</blockquote> What do you think? Does this match with your experience? Does Holmes's claim seem like juvenile boasting to his easily-astonished new friend? Would the older Holmes agree?