I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

"Senior Captain of His Regiment" [SIGN]

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Richard H. Miller, BSI ("The Grice Patersons in the Island of Uffa") died in Santa Fe
on October 21, 2012 at the age of 78. He was born in Illinois and graduated
from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in 1957. He resigned
his commission of Army Officer after 4 years, attended The University of South
Carolina School of Law, and graduated in 1966. He married Dr. Faye Bruce in
1967 and moved to New Mexico, where he joined the US Naval Reserve, retiring
in 1994 with the rank of Captain. He was retired from the Naval Intelligence, the
Bar of the US Supreme Court, and The University of California in Los Alamos, NM.
In addition to being a prolific reader, he published a number of articles for the
Officer Review of The Military Order of the World Wars (Santa Fe Chapter), of
which he was a member.<br />
<br />
Dick was one of the founding members of The Brothers Three of Moriarty. The scion had an annual trek to the village of Moriarty in New Mexico which they appropriately named "Happy-Birthday-You-Bastard-Moriarty." He was also a member and staunch supporter of the Gila Lizards of the Arid & Repulsive Desert in Santa Fe. Dick Miller was invested into The Baker Street Irregulars in 1982 as "The Grice Patersons in the Island of Uffa."<br />
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We were fortunate enough to find some other memories of Dick around the web. For example, Jon Lellenberg, in his Oct. 22, 2012  "<a href="http://www.bsiarchivalhistory.org/BSI_Archival_History/Gas-Bag.html">Editor's Gas-Bag</a>," remembers Dick:<br />
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The moment I first met Dick, May ’73, he was handing me a loaded gun, and it sort of set the tone of our long friendship.  It was the annual Colonel Sebastian Moran Memorial Trap-Shoot of John Bennett Shaw’s Brothers Three of Moriarty, where Dick was one of the earliest members, and to Shaw’s disgust and Dick’s delight I beat Shaw out to win it.  Dick was a graduate of The Citadel, a veteran of both the Army (nuclear artillery) and Navy (intelligence), and a lawyer at Los Alamos Laboratory for decades.  In the 1980s he did his reserve-duty activations at the Pentagon and was of inestimable help to me there.  A superb companion, a loyal friend, and a good soul.</blockquote>
Continuing in the same vein, according to Brad Keefauver of <a href="http://www.sherlockpeoria.net/Dissecting_Room/1993Columns/September1993DR.html">Sherlock Peoria</a> (hat-tip to <a href="http://always1895.net/">Always1895.net</a> for finding this), Dick once "tried to blow up the college during his talk on Watson's firearms habits."<br />
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<i>If you have any specific memories of Dick Miller, please share them with us in a comment below.</i><br />
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"Senior Captain of His Regiment" [SIGN]

Richard H. Miller, BSI ("The Grice Patersons in the Island of Uffa") died in Santa Fe on October 21, 2012 at the age of 78. He...

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by Francine Kitts

Episode 47: Re: Vampires

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It's our Halloween show!<br />
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With Victorian and Gothic influence in a number of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the Canon can be great fodder for the mysterious, occult and spooky elements of Halloween. Certainly <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>, "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot," "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier," or "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" have elements that can make a reader's hair stand on end.<br />
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But the most direct link with Halloween as we know it today (other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2KIV01e" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lot No. 249</a>"</b> - the original mummy story) has to be "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire." Sherlock Holmes himself was a bit dismissive of the supernatural in this case, saying "Rubbish, Watson, rubbish! What have we to do with walking corpses who can only be held in their grave by stakes driven through their hearts? It's pure lunacy."<br />
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But our guest on this episode, Les Klinger (a guest on Episodes <b><a href="http://ihose.co/ihose31" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">31</a></b> and <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose32" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">32</a>, when he spoke about the Guy Ritchie / Robert Downey, Jr. movies and his role as Warner Brothers' consultant on the set) is no stranger to Dracula. He has written <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2ZgiZNC" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The New Annotated Dracula</a></i></b> and has been an influential in the Dracularian movement. As we discuss the intersection of Holmes and Dracula, Les helps us understand the evolution of vampire literature and Dracula-influenced media.<br />
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In the discussion, Les alludes to other influential fictional works in the movement such as <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2zcGY1m" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I Am Legend</a></i></b>, <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Hbrb7x" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">In the Shadow of Dracula</a></i></b>, and <a href="https://amzn.to/2NlVjRC" rel="nofollow" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Anno Dracula</a> by Kim Newman, who is the Distinguished Speaker at the <a href="http://www.bsiweekend.com/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=3" target="_blank">2013 Baker Street Irregulars Weekend</a>. In addition to the popular work, Les noted that there is a scholarly vein of work (pardon the pun) in the field that brings more seriousness to the practice, albeit less fluid and constant than Sherlockian scholarship. But we kept coming back to the intersections of Holmes and Dracula, in all forms: written, film and stage, and how each have their cycles of popularity that are typically driven by a single piece of work each time.<br />
<br />
We had a number of listener comments from you regarding <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose46" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 46</a> ("Elementary, My Dear CBS) that included very visceral opinions about the Jonny Lee Miller / Lucy Liu show, as well as some traditional and fanciful ideas for Canonically-inspired Halloween costumes.<br />
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For our Gas-Lamp this episode, we welcome a very special guest for a chilling reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." We won't spoil it by telling you who it is; you'll have to tune in yourself to hear it.<br />
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<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock047.mp3">Download [Save As]</a> | File size: 31.8 MB, 1:08:39</h3></div>
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<b>Links</b>:</h2>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Len Wolf's original The Annotated Dracula</li>
<li>Les Klinger's <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2ZgiZNC" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The New Annotated Dracula</a></i></b></li>
<li><a href="http://www.thedraculasociety.org.uk/">The Dracula Society</a></li>
<li><a href="http://blooferland.com/drc/index.php?title=Journal_of_Dracula_Studies">The Journal of Dracula Studies</a></li>
<li><b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Hg7Kuk" target="_blank">H.P. Lovecraft Companion</a></i></b> by Philip A. Shreffler</li>
<li><a href="http://www.lesliesklinger.com/">Les Klinger's website</a></li>
</ul>
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Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email, submit a review <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock">on iTunes</a>, call us at (774) 221-READ (7323) or drop by our <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">Facebook page</a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock">Twitter account</a>.<br />
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And please sure to check out our sponsors and let them know that we sent you: <b><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a></b> and <b><i><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/">The Baker Street Journal</a></i></b><br />
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--<br />
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Episode 47: Re: Vampires

It's our Halloween show! With Victorian and Gothic influence in a number of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the Canon can be great ...

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by Scott Monty

"A Dangerous Move At Chess" [BLAN]

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Many authors have written pastiches fitting Sherlock Holmes into a greater historical context; although most of them center around Victorian England, Charlie Roxburgh attempts to mix some Russian history with Holmesian deduction in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780922167/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1780922167&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The Case of the Russian Chessboard</a>. And although it's a promising premise, the execution is somewhat flat.<br />
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Mr. Roxburgh's tale has a great start - in fact, it's almost a pitch perfect recreation of the many tales of the Canon. In fact, the idea of Russian conspirators and tsarist enforcers operating near and around Baker Street not only reflects what Conan Doyle might have written, it provides an ample amount of promise for any Sherlockian reader.<br />
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However, although this is a very brief tale, its brevity is one of its major faults. Just as many items are set into motion, the story seems to have a rushed ending. It is not a bad tale - just one that might have been better told as a novel-length adventure rather than as a short novelette. With the "Russian Chessboard" analogy coming into play (with Holmes himself explaining it), there is a great potential that is sadly never met....and that would be a great vantage point for writing a sequel and/or continuation of this story (especially with several themes that might resonate in our present time)<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>Perhaps this leaves Mr. Roxburgh in a position to expand the story under a sequel or second edition, or perhaps even to execute a series of historical pieces that bring together a number of the geopolitical forces in play in the late Victorian era. There is certainly a plethora of material there.<br />
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If you are looking for a pastiche with a fascinating premise, and some sharp writing early on, you might want to consider reading <b><i>The Case of the Russian Chessboard</i> - </b>it is a very short piece, and available as both <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780922167/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1780922167&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20" target="_blank">a paperback</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00506CZ6Q/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00506CZ6Q&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20" target="_blank">for the Kindle</a> via Amazon, as well directly from the Sherlock Holmes publishing powerhouse <a href="http://mxpublishing.com/product/9781780922164">MX Publishing</a>.<br />
<i><br /></i><i>Editor's note: Gordon regularly covers the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the entertainment industry. You can also find him at <a href="http://www.blogthispal.com/">Blog THIS, Pal</a>! and <a href="http://www.comicrelated.com/">Comic Related</a>. </i><br />
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<i>Disclosure: <b><a href="http://cmp.ly/1">http://cmp.ly/1</a></b> - the author received a review copy of the book above.</i><br />
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"A Dangerous Move At Chess" [BLAN]

Many authors have written pastiches fitting Sherlock Holmes into a greater historical context; although most of them center around Vict...

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by Scott Monty

"Each of These Wore Some Scarf" [VALL]

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At the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MltF5YNPac&feature=relmfu">PBS Masterpiece/<i>Sherlock</i></a> question-and-answer event held on May 2 in New York City that brought Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat, wife and producer Sue Vertue and star Benedict Cumberbatch in close proximity to several hundred avid fans, event host and Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton asked Vertue (<b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MltF5YNPac&feature=youtu.be&t=21m40s" target="_blank">at about the 21:40 mark</a></b>) about the rumors floating around that she had some connection to CBS’s upcoming <i>Elementary</i>. Mention of the show brought boos from the crowd. After Vertue dismissed any link with the American production, Eaton added, “And we don’t necessarily wish it the best, right?” Cumberbatch replied:</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Well, Jonny’s a friend, you know, and as we know with the Robert Downey, Jr. franchise there’s room enough for two, so why not three? It’s fine. It’ll be different and I don’t think it will take away the love from ours and there’s no need to be churlish…about it or what they’re trying to do.</span></div>
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The crowd responded with applause. It was a high point for Cumberbatch in an afternoon that had quite a few for him. In fact, he had been nothing but gracious about Miller and CBS in the months since his appearance. That is, until an article appeared in <a href="http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/tv/benedict-cumberbatch"><b><i>ShortList</i></b></a> magazine (issue 240, 30 August 2012). In a wonderful and far-ranging interview, Cumberbatch, once again, was asked about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that other</i> Sherlock:</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>What do you make of the new US modern Sherlock Holmes adaptation, </b><i><b>Elementary</b></i><b>?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TCUh7MfYY6Fg1OULLpqZb1EeilQulCA-6YrFSoMAPHICjmXS-R8_EUr6HRSfcDh-n-_JSTWYvpiuIhK455hyphenhyphenULfmH9MNG0JrqujKvNQBxbCGja5beBudJgIO0kTxP5TP5NDz-8Qtx2dx/s1600/ele06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TCUh7MfYY6Fg1OULLpqZb1EeilQulCA-6YrFSoMAPHICjmXS-R8_EUr6HRSfcDh-n-_JSTWYvpiuIhK455hyphenhyphenULfmH9MNG0JrqujKvNQBxbCGja5beBudJgIO0kTxP5TP5NDz-8Qtx2dx/s200/ele06.JPG" width="160" /></a><span style="color: blue;">Jonny [Lee Miller] asked me if I was all right with him doing it. I said, “What are the similarities?” And he went, “Well it’s modern...” I went, “Oh.” Then he said, “Lucy Liu’s going to play Joan Watson...” And I went, “Oh.” I got hold of the pilot script just to check it out. I don’t know, we’ll see. I think there’s room for us both to coexist. I don’t feel threatened by it and I wish him the best, which is as diplomatic as I can be.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>It’s a strange position to be in...</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">It’s very odd. I did say, “Well, I’d prefer you didn't do it but you've got a kid to feed, a nice house in LA and a wife to keep in good clothes.” When you get used to a certain standard of living and they waft a pay cheque at you, what are you going to do? I think Jonny was like, “Mate, I've got the  [expletive] mountain to climb here [to reach the acclaim of <i>Sherlock</i>], you've got nothing to fear.” I wish him the best of luck, but I’m a bit cynical about why they've chosen to do it and why they cast him.</span></div>
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Was this a glimpse of Cumberbatch’s real feeling? Was this frustration about being asked, for the umpteenth time, about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elementary</i>? Whatever it was, it was about as close to nothing as one could get. However, to the media journos it was like a catfight between frenemies on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Real Stars of the British Entertainment Industry</i>. It was played up fast and big. In fact, realizing that he came off sounding tetchy, Cumberbatch told this to <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/benedict-cumberbatch-jonny-lee-miller-elementary-sherlock-366932"><b>The Hollywood Reporter</b></a>:<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"I am both bemused and upset at this misquote. I never said that Johnny took the job for the paycheck nor did I ask him not to do it. What I said is I would have preferred not to be in the situation where we will again be compared because we are friends. I know for a fact his motivations were to do with the quality of the script and the challenges of this exceptional role.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"It is baffling because I have only been supportive of an incredibly talented actor who I am proud to call a friend taking a job I know he is going to enjoy immensely and be wonderful in. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"Over 70 actors have played this exceptional character before us. To say that there can be only one Holmes would be ludicrous. We're both thrilled to get the opportunity to play him in a modern context. The world of Sherlock Holmes and the world that we live in now is big enough to take more than one interpretation. As a genuine Sherlock Holmes fan I am greatly looking forward to his series."</span></i></span></div>
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If Cumberbatch was misquoted, then we have the "entertainment press" lowering journalistic standards to gin up a story (nothing new). However, read in the full context of the interview, it seems doubtful that ShortList took liberties with the quote. If he misspoke, and answered a question that he's probably been asked <i>ad nauseam</i> less diplomatically and closer to his actual feelings, then, so what? There can be no blame for his natural and very human opinion. And if his quoting of Miller is accurate, then one can only agree with Miller; he does have a Sisyphean task to reach Cumberbatch’s almost universal acclaim.<br />
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Now that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elementary</i> has aired, we have Benedict Cumberbatch’s reaction. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and as reported by the <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-10-08/revealed-what-sherlock-star-benedict-cumberbatch-really-thinks-of-elementary"><b>Radio Times</b></a>, he said:<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Benedict Cumberbatch on Elementary</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">“Under no circumstances would I want Jonny to have anything but a rip-roaring success because, first and foremost, he is my friend, and we’re both actors and while it’s very gratifying to be told that you are such-and-such a Sherlock Holmes, this is one role, this is one incarnation – and I know it’s why we’re all here tonight – but you can’t take possession of it. He’s the 72nd, I’m the 71st, the 70th was Robert Downey Jr.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">“I made a joke, which I shouldn't have done. I made a joke, which never translates – humour, generally, out of context doesn't translate well, that’s one of the lessons I've learnt this summer whilst doing lots of talking (I did it talking about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parade%27s_End_%28TV_series%29">Parade’s End</a>).</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">“I have to be careful about mentioning anything which could be vaguely misinterpreted, but that doesn't take away from the absolute truth of what I’m saying which is that I’ve seen [Elementary] and it's absolutely fantastic – and the bit where you find out that the killer is, in fact… – it’s really good you should all watch it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">“[Jonny Lee Miller is] phenomenal; he’s completely different; he’s far more contained. He’s stunning to watch as well – he’s just a beautiful specimen, Jonny – and he really knows what he’s doing, he’s completely got under his skin and it’s another Sherlock for he 21st century.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">“Was I cynical about them going to him and asking [given that we had worked together on Frankenstein]? Yeah, but I've yet to go and talk to them about where their original thoughts came from to cast him, but I know for a fact that they kept on going back to him so he must have knocked it out of the park in the auditions.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">"And I know for a fact that he was dubious about doing it because of myself and, of course, Jude [Law, who plays Dr Watson in the current Sherlock Holmes movie franchise], who he’s known since they were kids. So he felt really nervous, he wasn't sure about it, and he asked if I was alright with it, and I said ‘Of course I am, of course I am,’ and so the thing that always gets quoted now – because people want to sell the programme off two friends who are friends, having a fight that they‘re not having because they’re friends – is that, what I've said, which I haven’t said, which is that I didn't want him to do it – and it’s not true, I didn't  Even what I've just said can now be taken out of context and used against me...</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">"Just to put a cap on it, I do wish him all the best with it, he’s got a phenomenal job ahead of him because he’s got 12 or 13 episodes and maybe a five-year series.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">"And Lucy Liu is wonderful – it’s another great relationship... We should all just suspend our judgement about it until we see it, that’s the thing, isn't it? There was anther [sic] two sheets worth of fish paper in The Times today about it – apparently I’m not happy about it, apparently Steven [Moffat]'s not. I mean, it’s just fine – it’s more than fine, it’s brilliant."</span></div>
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Once again, Cumberbatch has proved he's a class act. It's refreshing to have a star who's not in the papers because of his recent DUI arrest or messy divorce or public meltdown, but because entertainment writers need copy and have to invent controversy.</div>
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As to who wears the Sherlockian scarf the best, the reviews of Holmes-watchers on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elementary</i> are decidedly mixed, with a large and vocal contingent voting “nay.” My personal opinion on the debate is, unlike Cumberbatch, I don't think <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elementary</i> brilliant, but it has potential and deserves every opportunity to reach it, while <i>Sherlock </i>is brilliant, but far from perfect.</div>
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“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Applause</i> sign is on. Hold on Benedict, camera two. Fade to black.”</div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><b>Editor's note: </b>James is a long-time Sherlockian and a huge fan of the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/" style="color: #003366;">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a> podcast.</i><br />
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