I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Another First — Register for the BSI Weekend Online

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"registered your name" [VALL]</h4>
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<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/bsiweekend" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Baker Street Irregulars Weekend</a> (click for past coverage) has been happening in one way or another consistently since 1934. And while the early years simply centered around an invitation-only dinner that was founded by Christopher Morley and continued by Edgar W. Smith, over time, it has expanded to occupy an entire weekend and more.<br />
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With the BSI dinner being the only event that requires an invitation, the rest of the festivities from Wednesday through Sunday are open to the public, and the weekend is more appropriately referred to as the BSI and Friends Weekend. You can see the entire schedule of events at the <a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BSI Weekend site</a>. It takes place from January 4-8, 2017 in New York City.<br />
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But this year, there's more.<br />
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Now — for the events of the Weekend that are hosted by the Baker Street Irregulars — you can <a href="https://bsi.regfox.com/general2017" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">register online</a>. The site is fairly easy to navigate; just select the events you'd like to attend, whether or not you need lodging, and the rest is automatically calculated for you.<br />
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Since this year is a pilot of sorts, the site requires registrants to <b><i>mail in a check</i></b> rather than to pay with a credit card (not really intuitive, since online registration systems are generally built to handle everything online, but it's a small price to pay for eventual modernization. After all, the BSI has only been handling PayPal since 2001...), but confirmations are automatically emailed out and the system tracks everything.<br />
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If you're at all interested in the company and fellowship that come with gathering over four days with other Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts, the BSI Weekend should be on your radar. And if the events are too costly for you, there's always the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/11/the-watson-fund-provides-financial.html#.WDEvjPkrLb0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John H. Watson Fund</a> that was established to help defray the expenses of Sherlockians who have difficulty meeting the financial requirements of the Weekend.<br />
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Or, there are hundreds of local Sherlock Holmes groups around the world. You can <a href="http://sherlockian.net/societies/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">check them out here</a>. They range from informal to traditional and are usually less expensive, given the smaller commitment of time and repast.<br />
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However you choose to expand your horizons by interacting with other Sherlockians, we hope you enjoy yourself.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">A few final things to note:</span><br />
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<li>If you're sharing this on social media, please use the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BSIWeekend&src=typd" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">#BSIWeekend</a>. This makes it easier to follow the topic (despite <i>who</i> you're following), makes photos easier to find, and increases the chances of creating a trending topic that could get media attention.</li>
<li>Feel free to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1739917289667309/" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">join the event posted on Facebook</a>.</li>
<li>If you have any suggestions for people attending for the first time, please email us or leave a comment below; we'll be posting our annual <a href="http://ihose.co/bsi2016tips" rel="nofollow" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">tips for getting the most out of the BSI Weekend</a>, and it would be great to include yours.</li>
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Don't miss our episode earlier this year <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose74" rel="nofollow" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">recapping the 2015 BSI Weekend</a>:<br />
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Another First — Register for the BSI Weekend Online

"registered your name" [VALL] The Baker Street Irregulars Weekend (click for past coverage) has been happening in one way or...

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by Scott Monty

The Diogenes Cases: Terror Lies Underground — A Review

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"only in the Diogenes Club" [GREE]</h4>
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Historical fiction endures as a genre because the form allows an author to become both creator and explorer. Through careful crafting and contextualizing of the past, the lives of people lost to time can be unearthed upon the printed page, giving the modern reader a more subtle understanding of an era’s unique complexities.<br />
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This particular allure is also critical to the enduring popularity of the Sherlockian novel. Conan Doyle’s writing delights in provoking questions and inciting imaginations: who hasn’t wondered how a giant rat terrorized Sumatra? Did Holmes have more misadventures than those described during the Great Hiatus? Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Irene Adler, and even Athelney Jones have taken turns as heroes of their own tales, expanding Sherlock Holmes’s 1895 into a world brimming with untold stories.<br />
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One such character has arisen as an increasingly popular conduit for the unexplored histories of the Canon. With his enticingly vague yet clearly critical role in the British government, Mycroft Holmes is now an essential figure in Sherlockian fiction. His shadowy connections, intense intellect, and contradictory personality allow him to bridge the gap between a writer’s original story and Conan Doyle’s creations, which is one of Mycroft’s many functions in Greg Jameson’s <i>T<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Lies-Underground-Diogenes-Cases-ebook/dp/B01IA9LY7U" target="_blank">he Diogenes Cases: Terror Lies Underground</a></i>.  <br />
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The first entry in a new ebook series, this story centers upon a young London surgeon named Jacob Wrayburn, who is struggling to cope with morphine addiction and the recent death of his father. But after witnessing strange happenings at St. Vincent de Paul hospital, Jacob is recruited into the secretive Diogenes Club by Mycroft Holmes and becomes a field agent in his spy network. Working alongside both Mycroft and Faith Hobson, a clever yet enigmatic American nurse, Wrayburn must confront his past in order to unravel a conspiracy that threatens England from the inside.<br />
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Jameson’s writing is very effective in uniting Conan Doyle’s Victorian atmosphere with Jacob Wrayburn’s transformative odyssey, which in turn strengthens the depictions of the characters and temporal issues that affect their lives. Personal dilemmas that arise throughout the course of the novel each reflect the limitations of Victorian society upon its citizens; for example, Jacob is saddled with a family legacy that goes against his personal desires, and Faith, in a stand-out turn, must combat entrenched sexism as she attempts to uncover the mysteries behind the Diogenes Club. The characters’ struggles feel natural in their setting, which in turn makes them compelling figures to follow in the fast-paced plot. <br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Lies-Underground-Diogenes-Cases-ebook/dp/B01IA9LY7U" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzO-YNFUyfclGlLXJweNJhlvTtASqaJuD2w975KHGPhU86eJlj9wiIhVuw38-cqZdirDuYLY1PjW-p6-JBGwj1sjMQTQAiyQ0QFjvTe8sugwGTyyXHuh9-JU9T7WPCvtqYVhQeG4t83tNR/s320/Diogenes+Cases.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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These internal problems faced by the heroes are also complimented by complex themes that propel <i>The Diogenes Cases</i>’ central storyline. Jameson’s plot excellently couples intense action to thought-provoking questions; the conflict forces the reader to challenge their perception of the Victorian era. With a home-grown Imperialist terrorist sect serving as the story’s antagonist, the author deftly avoids creating plot motivations based on broad stereotypes of the period’s morals. These well-crafted elements recall the strength in Conan Doyle’s depiction of the Victorian world; Sherlock Holmes’ clients and foes alike were similarly driven to desperate actions as a result of the society that shaped their lives. Issues of class and nationality are often at the center of the Canon’s stories, and these same themes also live on in the author’s reimagining of Victoriana.<br />
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While the original components of the story have interesting parallels with Conan Doyle’s text, the depiction of Mycroft Holmes veers very far from what readers familiar with the character may expect. The indolent thinker has become a man of action—this version of Mycroft isn’t afraid to point a gun at his enemies in the middle of a crowded party. His intellect is still intact, but it is jarring to see his core personality altered so drastically.<br />
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Even Mycroft’s appearance has been changed beyond immediate recognition; upon meeting Jacob and Faith, he is described as “a tall, thin man…with a good head of dark brown hair wearing a smart pin-striped suit, leaning casually against a set of filing cabinets in the back of the room.” We are introduced to a polished, elusive, dynamic gentleman; a reader might wonder if they are meeting the younger Holmes brother in place of the elder. It's not unfamiliar territory, as <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose81" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">recent Mycroft stories</a> have also tread.<br />
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<i>The Diogenes Cases</i> is set in the aftermath of “The Final Problem,” but Sherlock’s shadow still looms throughout the narrative. However, his absence creates a series of inconsistencies that undermine Mycroft’s effectiveness as an individual character. Jameson implies that the relationship between the brothers is contentious at best; Mycroft describes Sherlock as a fame-seeker who’s more concerned with his image than benefitting society. But he also doesn’t appear to bear any ill will towards Watson for lying to the public in his stories—in an unusually magnanimous act, he goes so far as to recommend his medical services to Wrayburn. Is Mycroft angry about his brother being misrepresented? How does he feel about being depicted as corpulent and idle in print? These questions remain frustratingly unanswered and form a point of unneeded tension between the story and its source material. Without any details given to justify the massive alterations to Mycroft and Sherlock’s characters, the changes do not feel innovative or organic to the process of adapting Conan Doyle’s work.<br />
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Even though this first entry into the series does not fully succeed at characterizing Mycroft Holmes, <i>Terror Lies Underground</i>’s original elements create a promising bedrock on which to develop further tales. Greg Jameson’s nuanced Victorian world can be further deepened in future installments that similarly explore our conception of the Diogenes Club’s chief spymaster.</div>
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<i>The Diogenes Cases: Terror Lies Underground</i> by Greg Jameson is published by Artellus Ltd. and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Lies-Underground-Diogenes-Cases-ebook/dp/B01IA9LY7U" target="_blank">is available on Amazon</a>.<br />
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The Diogenes Cases: Terror Lies Underground — A Review

"only in the Diogenes Club" [GREE] Historical fiction endures as a genre because the form allows an author to become both ...

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by Unknown

Exactly Sixty-One

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"Sixty-one agates, and a great quantity of beryls" [SIGN]</h4>
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Nobody knew it until the book was published, nobody except a couple of editors and proofreaders, but <a href="http://wildsidepress.com/about-sixty-why-every-sherlock-holmes-story-is-the-best-edited-by-christopher-redmond-paperback/"><i>About Sixty: Why Every Sherlock Holmes Story Is the Best</i></a> is actually about sixty-one. Order a copy from <a href="http://wildsidepress.com/about-sixty-why-every-sherlock-holmes-story-is-the-best-edited-by-christopher-redmond-paperback/">Wildside Press</a> and count for yourself.<br />
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As the book's editor, I enlisted sixty writers, each of them singing the praises of one of the 60 canonical stories. It's a number we know well, made up of four novels and 56 short stories, and it gave the book its title, with a boost from a phrase in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" that was wrenched far out of its natural meaning for this purpose.<br />
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I made it clear that as the editor, I wasn't choosing one of the stories for myself. What I didn't mention to anybody was that I was going to write a little essay anyway, hidden among the 60 that discuss the 60 stories.<br />
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Making the Case and Taking a Bow</h3>
My topic: the one-paragraph Preface to <i>His Last Bow</i>, signed by "John H. Watson, M.D.", and the two-page Preface to <i>The Case-Book</i>, signed by Arthur Conan Doyle. These little nuggets are not part of any of the 60 stories, but they're certainly part of the complete Sherlock Holmes.<br />
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The other collections of short stories had not had prefaces of any kind, but the stories in <i>His Last Bow</i> had been published in scattered fashion over some years, and Watson (or Doyle) clearly wanted explain the circumstances under which they were being collected in book form in the fall of 1917. At the same time he gave readers much of the scanty information we have about Sherlock Holmes's retirement: his "occasional attacks of rheumatism" and his residence "five miles from Eastbourne," where he engages in "philosophy and agriculture," though there is no mention of bees.<br />
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Conan Doyle's longer Preface first saw print when the Case-Book was published in June 1927, and finally achieves what the author had tried repeatedly in the past, saying farewell to the authentic Sherlock Holmes. It has some slight echoes of ACD's longer essay "<a href="https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/index.php?title=Some_Personalia_About_Mr._Sherlock_Holmes">Some Personalia About Mr. Sherlock Holmes</a>," written for the Strand magazine late in 1917, when it seemed that the saga had at last been wound up with the publication of His Last Bow. (At least five of the 60 stories show evidence of being unsuccessful attempts at ending Holmes's career.)<br />
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Far more than "Some Personalia," however, the 1927 Preface is a tribute to Sherlock Holmes from his earthly creator. Its only parallels in the canonical stories are Watson's grief-stricken last sentences in "The Final Problem" and the parting conversation between Holmes and Watson in "His Last Bow."<br />
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, nearing the end of his own life, and confident in his Spiritualist beliefs about the continuation of life after death, forswears "repeated farewell bows" and consigns Holmes to "some fantastic limbo for the children of imagination." Then, after briefly tracing some bibliographical details (and getting one of the dates wrong), he writes, more truly than perhaps he knew, that Holmes "began his adventures in the very heart of the later Victorian era." <br />
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Then he bids <br />
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"Farewell to Sherlock Holmes! I thank you for your past constancy, and can but hope that some return has been made in the shape of that distraction from the worries of life and stimulating change of thought which can only be found in the fairy kingdom of romance." </blockquote>
Romance, indeed, and the reader comes to the end of this 600-word message breathless and thrilled.<br />
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Many touching words have been written about Sherlock Holmes, but these Prefaces that are themselves part, or almost part, of the Canon have — and will always have — a pre-eminent place.<br />
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Exactly Sixty-One

"Sixty-one agates, and a great quantity of beryls" [SIGN] Nobody knew it until the book was published, nobody except a cou...

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by Chris Redmond

The Watson Fund Provides Financial Assistance for the BSI Weekend

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"to defray whatever expenses I may be put to" [SPEC]</h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Invitations to the </span><a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Baker Street Irregulars Weekend</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> in New York are on their way, and the public site will be updated on November 20 (stay tuned). </span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Whenever folks get their invitations, there's usually a sense of surprise, relief and even trepidation. Yes, trepidation. For some people, attending the Weekend is a difficult and onerous task.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Some simply don't like to be around crowds, or perhaps detest the (often) harsh weather of New York in January. Others boycott for personal reasons. But there are some who simply can't afford the price of the accumulated events and the travel required to get there.</span><br />
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</b><b>The John H. Watson Fund</b></h3>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s under Tom Stix, Jr.'s ("The Norwood Builder") term as Wiggins of the Baker Street Irregulars, Tom created the </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Dr. John H. Watson Fund</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, a financial assistance package for the BSI Weekend, and credited it as his most proud achievement of leading the BSI.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">According to the BSI:</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: url("https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tw_a4UrYKN4scINd-_XJZDGoMQott_sVK3K2rdnQP3bYa6WYUPVBXQslpmTa5gvxuju7pHwO9ypIaAY-J_dTMMDb42Gkru8S6zS2z90KMvfTjw5lP0htSMiW8SJt_Biqb0H_t33ulBfs/s1600/quotation-l.png") left 5px no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #006f85; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 20px; padding-left: 40px;">
<b>The Dr. John H. Watson Fund</b> offers financial assistance to all Sherlockians (membership in the BSI is not required) who might otherwise not be able to participate in the weekend's festivities. A carefully pseudonymous John H. Watson presides over the fund and welcomes contributions, which can be made by check payable to John H. Watson and sent (without return address on the envelope) to <b>Dr. Watson, c/o The Baker Street Irregulars, at 7938 Mill Stream Circle, Indianapolis, IN 46278</b>; your letters are forwarded unopened, and Dr. Watson will acknowledge your generosity. Requests for assistance should also be mailed <i><b>immediately</b></i> to Dr. Watson at the same address, and <b>must be received by December 3</b> for timely processing of requests.</blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It is a wonderful resource that enables more people to enjoy one of the most important aspects of our hobby: spending time in the company of like-minded people. And while there are plenty of opportunities around the world to do this on a local level, the BSI Weekend happens just once a year and celebrates a long-standing (82 years!) tradition that was started by Christopher Morley.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Each year, the Fund is self-liquidating, meaning that assistance is granted to whatever extent is possible to the supplicants, and that generous Sherlockians are responsible for replenishing it every year. Traditionally this was done through simple check-writing, but then the BSI Cocktail Reception added </span><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/bsiweekend/auction.html" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">an auction and drawing</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, which also raise money for the Fund. Raffle tickets are sold throughout the weekend for some choice items and Peter Blau, BSI ("Black Peter") holds forth as an auctioneer </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">sine qua non</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">So if you're </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">in need</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> of some financial assistance, please write to Dr. Watson at the address above with a budget that outlines what you need. And if you're </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/johnhwatsonfund" target="_blank">able to support</a></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> this important effort to enable your friends and colleagues attend, <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/johnhwatsonfund" target="_blank">by all means, do so</a>.</span><br />
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