I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Remembering Joe Moran, BSI

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"this good gentleman" [NOBL] </h4>
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Joseph W. Moran, BSI ("Sir Augustus Moran, C.B.") died on February 18, 2014 at the age of 86. He was born in Cleveland, graduated from Yale in 1949 and worked for 43 years for NY Life Insurance Company as an actuary. Joe had 3 children, and one became an active Sherlockian -- Kathy, who is a member of <a href="http://www.norwegianexplorers.org/" target="_blank">The Norwegian Explorers</a>.<br />
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At about 10 years old when Joe was supposed to be getting ready for bed, he was instead listening from the top of the stairs to the Holmes radio broadcasts that his dad had on the radio. The first Holmes story he read was "The Empty House" since it featured a Moran and he remembered that in junior high he did a book report on "Silver Blaze" -- and got a good grade.<br />
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Reading the Canon then took a long hiatus, but Joe got back into it when he booked a tour to London in the 1970s and stayed at the <a href="http://www.parkplaza.com/london-hotel-gb-w1u-6lj/gbsherlo/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Hotel</a>. He decided to buy the complete works to read on the plane. A few years later he visited his college roommate, who was a member of <a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Society of London</a>, and Joe was encouraged to join.<br />
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His Sherlockian involvement became serious in the early 1980s when he attended the first Autumn in Baker Street weekend. He never missed another one. Joe joined and actively participated in all the local scions -- <a href="http://3garridebs.homestead.com/" target="_blank">The Three Garridebs</a>, the Montague Street Lodgers, <a href="http://mrshudsonscliffdwellers.homestead.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. Hudson's Cliffdwellers</a>, The Epilogues of Sherlock Holmes, <a href="http://prioryscholarsnyc.com/" target="_blank">The Priory Scholars</a>, etc.. At these meetings, Joe was always ready to discuss the rehabilitation and reputation of the much defamed Col. Sebastian Moran, who he believed was an "honorable soldier." He worked for 30 years on an unpublished treatise on the subject.<br />
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He ran The Priory Scholars jointly for some years and was also their quizmaster. One of the highlights of Joe's early involvement was meeting Jeremy Brett at a Priory Scholars meeting. Brett was on tour promoting the Granada TV series and was invested in the scion at that meeting.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJq6JD5Mz_pABRhQkGVCCwbWKc4bmy_Ut41OruK8Ni1n4ycehR3kSfFg5Ut406Am4dQMr-nDeWje0YkmdVFe2MJZpLudqqe2qKprKji2xO9Idz1dWLEUJ6_orO-U7A9YoWG2550Jyz5yg/s1600/Joe+Moran+-+BSI+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJq6JD5Mz_pABRhQkGVCCwbWKc4bmy_Ut41OruK8Ni1n4ycehR3kSfFg5Ut406Am4dQMr-nDeWje0YkmdVFe2MJZpLudqqe2qKprKji2xO9Idz1dWLEUJ6_orO-U7A9YoWG2550Jyz5yg/s1600/Joe+Moran+-+BSI+2014.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of Joe at the 2014 BSI Dinner, courtesy of <a href="http://www.gruberphotographers.com/blog/baker-street-irregulars-banquet-2014/" target="_blank">Gruber Photography</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Joe attended his first <a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" target="_blank">BSI weekend</a> in the early 1980s and wandered into the Algonquin Hotel where he was greeted by Tom Stix, who asked him to join him for breakfast the next morning. John Bennett Shaw was also at the breakfast table and Joe was delighted that he got to listen to CBS news interviewing Shaw right then and there.<br />
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One of Joe's favorite Sherlockian adventures -- and there were many -- was <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shsl/sets/72157640111002945/" target="_blank">the Reichenbach Centennial</a> in 1991 in Switzerland with 120 people dressing in costume for 9 days. He tells the story of the reenactment at Reichenbach Falls. The dummies were on bungee cords and the first time they went over the Falls they landed upright, so they had to be hauled back up to try again.<br />
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Joe was a member of <a href="http://www.ash-nyc.com/" target="_blank">The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes</a> and took the name "An Honourable Soldier." He has been published in many Sherlockian periodicals, including <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, <i>The Sherlock Holmes Journal</i>, <i>The Serpentine Muse</i>, and <i>Prescott's Press</i>.<br />
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In 2000, he won the Marlene Aig-Patricia Moran Award for Sherlockian Scholarship and Good Comradeship given by The Montague Street Lodgers. The Three Garridebs awarded him the Georgia Amick Award for best scholarly presentation in both 1994 and 1997, the Two Shilling Award in 1998, the Prescott Prize in 2004, and the William P. Schweickert Award in 2007.<br />
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Joe may be the only Sherlockian who, on the night he received his investiture, had his suitcase stolen from the car with his new investiture in it. Joe was invested into the Baker Street Irregulars in 1991 as "Sir Augustus Moran, C.B."<br />
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Joe and his trademark deerstalker cap will be missed at all Sherlockian events, but especially those in the New York metropolitan area.<br />
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Joe's memorial service has been set for Saturday, March 1st at 11:00 a.m. at the <a href="http://www.lacny.org/" target="_blank">Larchmont Avenue Church</a>, 60 Forest Park Road, corner of Larchmont and Forest Park<br />
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A reception at the church will follow.<br />
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If you would like to send a letter of condolence there are two addresses:<br />
     The Moran Family<br />
     636 Ethan Allen Hwy.<br />
     Ridgefield, CT 06877<br />
<br />
     Kathy Moran<br />
     2200 Bryant Ave. S., Apt. 101<br />
     Minneapolis, MN 55405<br />
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If you would like to make a donation as a memorial to Joe, his family suggests <a href="http://www.beaconsociety.com/" target="_blank">The Beacon Society</a> to bring Sherlock Holmes to young people. Donations may be made online (at the website) via PayPal, or checks in any amount made payable to The Beacon Society and sent to:<br />
     Carol Cavaluzzi<br />
     The Beacon Society<br />
     6409 Terese Terrace<br />
     Jamesville NY 13093<br />
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If you have memories of Joe that you would like to share, please add a comment below. There is also <a href="http://jjffh.com/book-of-memories/1808445/Moran-Joseph/service-details.php" target="_blank">a site with a book of memories</a> set up, where you may add your thoughts. He touched many lives and was a true gentleman.<br />
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<i>Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shsl/12118766945/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Society of London (Flickr)</a></i><br />
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Remembering Joe Moran, BSI

"this good gentleman" [NOBL] Joseph W. Moran, BSI ("Sir Augustus Moran, C.B.") died on February 18, 2014 at the ag...

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by Francine Kitts

What Would a Sherlock Holmes Theme Park Look Like?

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"Holmes clapped his hands with amusement" [MAZA]</h4>
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We were as shocked as you when the news broke that there are plans afoot to create a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2561719/Sherlock-theme-park-Detective-set-25m-attraction-plot-enactments-holograms-bringing-characters-life.html" target="_blank">£25m Sherlock Holmes theme park</a>. That it is planned for Portsmouth, not London, makes sense to those who are aware of the connection between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the town, as well as that the considerable collection of noted Holmesian and Doylean scholar <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/08/episode-08-to-keep-memory-green.html#.Uwe18PldV8E" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Richard Lancelyn Green</a> resides at the <a href="http://www.conandoylecollection.co.uk/" target="_blank">Portsmouth Library</a>.<br />
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Evidently, the new theme park will house the collection and will also contain a ‘world-class multimedia experience’ as part of it. You'll also be able to see recreations of Baker Street scenes, Holmes's life and even holograms of characters.<br />
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As fascinating as this sounds, we wondered what would happen if we put a more Disney-like approach together, where we could envision rides, attractions and other thematic creations that brought the Canon to life. What might they look like?<br />
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Inspired by fellow Sherlockians on Facebook, we began to put together some initial thoughts:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The Mycroft Holmes All-You-Can-Eat Buffet</li>
<li>The Diogenes Club, where you can escape from the screaming children</li>
<li>Flume ride that takes you down the Reichenbach Falls</li>
<li>Race hansom cabs against other guests</li>
<li>Goose (turkey?) legs with embedded carbuncles</li>
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But we think this would be much more enjoyable if we got your input. What kids of rides and attractions could you imagine at such a theme park? Tell us in a comment below.</div>
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What Would a Sherlock Holmes Theme Park Look Like?

"Holmes clapped his hands with amusement" [MAZA] We were as shocked as you when the news broke that there are plans afoot t...

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by Scott Monty

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Einstein's Daughter

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"I guess you are the daughter" [STUD] </h4>
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<o:p> </o:p>Do you ever read a book that makes you want to read more? I
don't mean like the way you can only eat just one potato chip, or the way a
book leaves you with a cliffhanger so you can't wait for the next in the series
to come out. When I finished reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780925727/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1780925727&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20" target="_blank"><i>Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery ofEinstein's Daughter</i></a>, by Tim Symond, I found that it had sparked a desire to
read more about Einstein and to go back and reread the cannon.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/12/my-sherlockian-holiday-reading-list.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I mentioned before</a> that I have this (questionably) bad habit of buying more books than I can read.
One such book was the biography of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743264746/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0743264746&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20" target="_blank">Albert Einstein by Walter Isaacson</a>.
It has sat on my book self staring at me in accusation for well over five
years. (I don't guilt easily.) I had an increased urge to finally read <i>Einstein
</i>after reading this latest pastiche because, as the title suggests, Einstein's real life (and a rather mysterious part of it) is a key plot point in the story. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Einstein and his first wife, who was a brilliant mathematician
in her own right, had a child out of wedlock. Nothing is known about that child
and what ever became of her. It's a mystery that (apparently) still baffles
many modern day historians. But would it baffle the great Sherlock Holmes? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Additionally I wanted to go back and reread the Canon because I realized I've read so many pastiches that the Canonical facts were
starting to get blurry from the pastiche versions. Doyle often made references
to previous stories by having Watson mention old cases in his writing.
This is a very popular practice among pastiche writers. It's a way for writers
to contextually place their stories in the Sherlock world, but it's also a way
(and I think it's the real reason most writers do it) to wink knowingly at the
Sherlockian scholars among the readers. Symonds also does this but he also puts
a reference guide in the back for the stories that he references (seven, in
case you were wondering), and I found this very helpful. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tim Symond has written several Sherlock Holmes pastiches,
but I wasn't aware of them until he reached out to us late last year. The
fist thing that struck me about his work was how well researched it is.
The details of both the regions they travel, and the political climate are very vivid. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In this story, a much older Holmes and Watson decide to travel back to Reichenbach Falls (why and how Watson gets Holmes to go is pretty entertaining). In order to travel safely, they are
forced to contrive an elaborate scheme to avoid the pursuits and vengeance of
Professor Moriarty's henchman, Colonel Sebastian Moran. Upon their arrival, they are asked to investigate the past of Albert Einstein, by the Dean of a Swiss university, as a kind of background check before they admit the promising
physicist into their school. The investigation takes them all across Eastern
Europe and into some very interesting settings and situations. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This pastiche is told from a stronger Watson viewpoint than
most Sherlock Holmes stories are. I liked the strong portrayal of Watson but personally
felt like Holmes was almost a supporting cast member instead of a lead or co-lead.
Also, without giving anything away, there are several character conflicts you
expect to encounter in the book, based on the setup, that don't happen.
They seem to be setup to happen in later books (?) or maybe this is a theme
carried over from Symond's previous books, I'm not sure, but I found this just a little frustrating. (BTW I don't think being frustrated by a book's ending is necessarily a bad thing, the author should finish the story the way he intended to tell it, not the way the reader expects it to happen.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p>I enjoyed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780925727/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1780925727&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Einstein's Daughter</a>; it </o:p>isn’t long, it was a quick read, and the details are very engrossing. Plus, in my opinion, any book that makes me want to read and learn more is a good
book.<br />
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Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Einstein's Daughter

"I guess you are the daughter" [STUD] Do you ever read a book that makes you want to read more? I don't mean like th...

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by Tac Anderson

That Was No Lady

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"Fairly took me in, he did." [MAZA] </h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaHUrlOOnZGp-Uhrf54gk43mZDmY14sb4SvErQ13O-c2xjhoL0-5DSOmyI-NyI4SsdWlWkQoxeAjHaQZpcQIwIuG_LluUiDtqyrkiVg55ib_z9Sk2b6V6XCbBPh9YzOa2vSQE0McWtYb0/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+in+drag.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sherlock Holmes in drag" border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaHUrlOOnZGp-Uhrf54gk43mZDmY14sb4SvErQ13O-c2xjhoL0-5DSOmyI-NyI4SsdWlWkQoxeAjHaQZpcQIwIuG_LluUiDtqyrkiVg55ib_z9Sk2b6V6XCbBPh9YzOa2vSQE0McWtYb0/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+in+drag.jpg" title="That was no lady!" width="640" /></a></div>
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In a recent post, we were treated to an old bit of Irregular "scholarship" in which Rex Stout, BSI ("The Boscombe Valley Mystery") supposedly proved that <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/watson-actually-was-woman.html#.UwWLIvmwJcQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Watson Was a Woman</a>.<br />
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In Profile By Gaslight, Edgar Smith opened with the following introduction to "Watson Was a Woman" by Rex Stout:<br />
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<i>Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are watchwords with Americans, and there can be no faltering in our determination to stand with Voltaire in defending to the last breath the right of our opponents to be as subversive as they please. Yet when our most cherished institutions are under bold and ruthless attack, we can be forgiven if we search our hearts in an effort to sift tolerance from folly. Mr. Rex Stout, who has otherwise and elsewhere exhibited every evidence of soundness of mind and reverence of soul, here launches a heterodox doctrine that challenges the very foundation of our faith. We are torn between an embittered urge to burn him at the stake and a generous compulsion to let him have his say. Calm in the knowledge that our faith is strong, we choose to let him have his say.</i></blockquote>
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And have his say he did, using questionable chronology, numbers seemingly picked out of a hat for his convenience, and an acrostic concluding that Watson was IRENE WATSON. Stout himself admitted, "All this is very sketchy."<br />
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Very sketchy indeed. But it was Dr. Julian Wolff, BSI ("The Red-Headed League") who came to Watson's defense in a responsive essay, using another acrostic - Stout's own weapon of choice - to eviscerate him and his argument:<br />
<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;"><b>N</b></span>aval Treaty<br />
     M<span style="font-size: large;"><b>U</b></span>sgrave Ritual<br />
     Re<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>ired Colourman<br />
     Mis<span style="font-size: large;"><b>S</b></span>ing Three-Quarter<br />
     Soli <span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>ary Cyclist<br />
     Shosc<span style="font-size: large;"><b>O</b></span>mbe Old Place<br />
     Blue Ca<span style="font-size: large;"><b>R</b></span>buncle<br />
     Copper B<span style="font-size: large;"><b>E</b></span>eches<br />
     The Susse <span style="font-size: large;"><b>X</b></span> Vampire<br />
     The  Gloria  <span style="font-size: large;"><b>S</b></span>cott<br />
     Case of Iden<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>ity<br />
     Nobel Bachel<span style="font-size: large;"><b>O</b></span>r<br />
     The  I l l ustrio <span style="font-size: large;"><b>U</b></span> s Client<br />
     The Resident Pa<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>ient<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaf6IE7aGGhEau4MCoLBJmX6_D-Hy95LM-IZCDuOB22WHUeI2Lt89byeMRuJtD99IiRH0kZ0j57kA2KJS_qzkd4gE4lzK_MSt8qGUqQnAcze-zDssomdEfvHR1IhLsK3kAZKfTDjJ25D0/s1600/Nuts+to+Rex+Stout.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Nuts to Rex Stout" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaf6IE7aGGhEau4MCoLBJmX6_D-Hy95LM-IZCDuOB22WHUeI2Lt89byeMRuJtD99IiRH0kZ0j57kA2KJS_qzkd4gE4lzK_MSt8qGUqQnAcze-zDssomdEfvHR1IhLsK3kAZKfTDjJ25D0/s1600/Nuts+to+Rex+Stout.jpg" title="Nuts to Rex Stout" width="640" /></a></div>
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Of course, Wolff also enumerated examples within the Canon that decisively proved that Watson could not have been a woman: his medical degree (at the time, only granted to males), his membership in the 5th Northumberland Fusiliers, and most decisively, Lestrade's description of Watson as obtained by the servants at Appledore Towers: "middle-sized, strongly built man - square jaw, thick neck, moustache..." [CHAS].<br />
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This type of tongue-in-cheek scholarship and playful literary banter was one of the hallmarks of early Baker Street Irregularity. We still enjoy the mental calisthenics that such a pursuit affords us, even if the publishing platforms have changed over the years.<br />
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<i>Image credits: Warner Bros. and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bionicteaching/5886647862/" target="_blank">Tom Woodward</a> (Flickr)</i><br />
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That Was No Lady

"Fairly took me in, he did." [MAZA] In a recent post, we were treated to an old bit of Irregular "scholarship" in ...

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by Scott Monty

Watson Actually Was a Woman

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"an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents..." [SIGN] </h4>
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In all the recent debates among Sherlockians over the CBS program <a href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary"><i>Elementary</i></a>, one will often find vehement disagreement over the decision of the show's creator's decision to cast Lucy Liu as "Joan Watson."  They will say that it destroys the all-male dynamic of Holmes and Watson's relationship, they will worry that it will develop into a romantic relationship, they will say "It's simply <b><i>not</i></b> Holmesian!"  All the while, the assumption seems to be that the idea of casting Watson as a female role is a new (and perhaps dangerous or ill advised) idea.  As we'll see, that simply is not the case.<br />
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Let us consider an article published in <i>The Saturday Review of Literature</i>, March 1, 1941, written by a certain Rex Stout, creator of another famous detective, Nero Wolfe.  The article, based on a speech Stout had given to the Baker Street Irregulars earlier that year, was entitled "<a href="https://www.nerowolfe.org/pdf/stout/home_family/BSI/Watson_was_a_woman.pdf" target="_blank">Watson Was a Woman</a>." Stout, apparently with tongue implanted firmly in cheek, opens his article thusly:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You will forgive me for refusing to join in your commemorative toast, "The Second Mrs. Watson," when you learn it was a matter of conscience. I could not bring myself to connive at the perpetuation of a hoax. Not only was there never a second Mrs. Watson; there was not even a first Mrs. Watson. Furthermore, there was no Doctor Watson.<br />
Please keep your chairs.</blockquote>
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"Please keep your chairs," indeed.  To address a gathering of Sherlockians, opening with the words "there was no Doctor Watson" seems to be a potentially disastrous idea.  Remember, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had only died about a decade before Stout dared to give his speech and publish his article.  I can only imagine the outrage that must have taken place among some of the Sherlockians who first read or heard these words!<br />
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It gets better, though.  Mr. Stout goes on to quote from one of Watson's earliest impressions of Holmes, in A Study in Scarlet: ...he had invariably breakfasted and gone out before I rose in the morning."  Aha! A clue...  Stout continues:<br />
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I was indescribably shocked. How had so patent a clue escaped so many millions of readers through the years? That was, that could only be, a woman speaking of a man. Read it over. The true authentic speech of a wife telling of her husband's-- but wait. I was not indulging in idle speculation, but seeking evidence to establish a fact. It was unquestionably a woman speaking of a man, yes, but whether a wife of a husband, or a mistress of a lover, . . . I admit I blushed.</blockquote>
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So here we have it!  Not nearly as coy as the creators of <i>Elementary </i>would be seventy years later, Rex Stout presents the theory that Watson was a woman, and not just any woman: either the wife or mistress of Sherlock Holmes! "My blushes, Watson!" (I can almost hear the great detective saying it...)<br />
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Mr. Stout finds more proof in Watson's statement about Holmes's prowess on the violin: ". . . his powers upon the violin . . . at my request he has played me some of Mendelssohn's Lieder. . ." He writes: "Imagine a man asking another man to play him some of Mendelssohn's Lieder on a violin!"  Stout goes on to develop his theory of Watson as the wife of Sherlock Holmes.  He finds particularly interesting Watson's role as a "reformist wife," in his attempts to break Holmes of his cocaine addiction.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: ivory; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.600000381469727px; text-indent: 6%;"><br />
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Further on is possibly the most incredible (or the most ridiculous, depending on your point of view) bit of deduction in the entire article.  In an almost acrobatic feat of acrostics, Rex (I don't think he'd mind me calling him "Rex") arranges eleven of the adventures in the canon in the following order:<br />
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     <span style="font-size: large;">I</span>llustrious Client<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;">R</span>ed-headed League<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;">E</span>ngineer's Thumb<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;">N</span>orwood Builder<br />
    <span style="font-size: large;"> E</span>mpty House<br />
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     <span style="font-size: large;">W</span>isteria Lodge<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;">A</span>bbey Grange<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;">T</span>wisted Lip<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;">S</span>tudy in Scarlet<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;">O</span>range Pips<br />
     <span style="font-size: large;">N</span>oble Bachelor<br />
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IRENE WATSON!  All he has to do after this bit of legerdemain is to connect the name "Irene Watson" with the classic description of Irene Adler as "the woman," and his case is complete.<br />
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Towards the end of the article, Stout admits: <br />
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"All this is very sketchy... I am now collecting material for a fuller treatment of the subject, a complete demonstration of the evidence and the inevitable conclusion."</blockquote>
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Presumably no further treatment of the theory was forthcoming, and one has to wonder if the whole thing, speech and subsequent article, was just a little fun at his fellow Sherlockians' expense.<br />
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It's plain to see, then, that the idea of Watson as a woman is hardly a novel one; inflammatory for some Sherlockians, certainly, but not new.  It's no secret that Watson has appeared in many different guises over the years: old man, young man, doddering, comical, and intelligent. Indeed, in the world of film and TV adaptations, Watson has been presented as a woman in 1971's <i>They Might Be Giants</i> (Dr. Mildred Watson becomes the companion of Justin Playfair, a man who thinks he is Sherlock Holmes), and as a robot in the animated series <i>Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century</i> (a robot companion programmed to believe his is the original Dr. Watson).  To borrow from Ecclesiastes,"there is nothing new under the sun."<br />
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[You can read the Rex Stout article in its entirety <a href="https://www.nerowolfe.org/pdf/stout/home_family/BSI/Watson_was_a_woman.pdf">here</a>, or if you'd prefer a PDF of the article as it appeared in The Saturday Review of Literature in March of 1941, <a href="http://www.unz.org/Pub/SaturdayRev-1941mar01-00003">here</a> for the first two pages and <a href="http://www.unz.org/Pub/SaturdayRev-1941mar01-00015">here </a>for the final page.]<br />
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UPDATE:<br />
Julian Wolff, MD, BSI wrote the retort courteous: <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/that-was-no-lady.html#.UwZUjfldV8E" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">That Was No Lady</a>.<br />
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Watson Actually Was a Woman

"an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents..." [SIGN] In all the recent debate...

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by Cory Howell

25 Percent Americans Share This Trait with Sherlock Holmes

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"But the Solar System!" [STUD] </h4>
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You wouldn't call Sherlock Holmes ignorant, would you? But that's the very nature of the insults we've been seeing hurled at Americans across the web over the past few days.<br />
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According to a study conducted by the National Science Foundation, only <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jazBjrI8ZFm0e4fMwCtO_2WEbI3w?docId=a31a943f-befb-4a3d-8de7-cce861b955fd" target="_blank">74% of the 2,200 respondents knew that the Earth revolves around the Sun</a>.<br />
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Recall that after first meeting Sherlock Holmes as recounted in <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, Dr. Watson attempted to summarize his new flatmate's skills as follows:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">SHERLOCK HOLMES - his limits</span></div>
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<li>Knowledge of Literature. - Nil.</li>
<li>        "          "  Philosophy. - Nil.</li>
<li>        "          "  Astronomy. - Nil.</li>
<li>        "          "  Politics. - Feeble.</li>
<li>        "          "  Botany. - Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.</li>
<li>Knowledge of Geology. - Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.</li>
<li>Knowledge of Chemistry. - Profound.</li>
<li>Knowledge of Anatomy. - Accurate, but unsystematic.</li>
<li>Knowledge of Sensational Literature. - Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.</li>
<li>Plays the violin well.</li>
<li>Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.</li>
<li>Has a good practical knowledge of British law.</li>
</ol>
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When it came to the workings of a small set of planets and a star within the Milky Way galaxy, Watson found it absurd that Sherlock Holmes had no working knowledge in this area:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.<br /><br />"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."<br /><br />"To forget it!"<br /><br />"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. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."<br /><br />"But the Solar System!" I protested.<br /><br />"What the deuce is it to me?" he interrupted impatiently; "you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work." </blockquote>
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We're going to take a leap of imagination and suppose that the NSF respondents may not have quite the same level of logical faculties and capacity for facts as Sherlock Holmes. But it's still interesting that we can find a connection with our favorite detective in the news.<br />
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Related: </h4>
If you haven't yet had the opportunity, you might listen to <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/07/episode-54-how-to-think-like-sherlock.html#.UwKEDcRDuSo" target="_blank">our interview with Maria Konnikova</a>, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670026573/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0670026573&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20"><i>Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes</i></a>, who delves into the psychological possibilities of brain-attics in every one of us.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/07/episode-54-how-to-think-like-sherlock.html#.UwKEDcRDuSo" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6B51xz10aWe3c-4ZhKlCtHU0CnwC0cjMpDPR8YIUOfQIHWc7gxql86MCq-xOhT61L_AT4QWaDLkPLQIVp4qijifpYbSbdhBBCbXF25N98zYoBUPME3LK_xWtoTqOdwIF3v01n9vsVq88/s1600/Maria+Konnikova.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/07/episode-54-how-to-think-like-sherlock.html#.UwKEDcRDuSo" target="_blank">Interview with Maria Konnikova</a></td></tr>
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Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8011986@N02/2681416387/" target="_blank">Bill Brooks (Flickr)</a><br />
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25 Percent Americans Share This Trait with Sherlock Holmes

"But the Solar System!" [STUD] You wouldn't call Sherlock Holmes ignorant, would you? But that's the very nature of ...

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by Scott Monty

Weekly Sherlock Links Compendium (January 25 - February 14, 2014)

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"like a fire in a snowstorm." [GLOR]</h4>
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While much of the East Coast and Midwest in the U.S.A. prepares to be buried under mounds of snow, I must confess that this latest post might bury even the bravest of Sherlockians under piles of links and information. Below you will find an exploration of early Canonical illustrations, a celebration of the life and work of Vincent Starrett, a look at three Japanese translations of Starrett's <i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i>, an interview with Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue on the future of <i>Sherlock</i>, why we live in the most interesting of Sherlockian times, a review of the original 1979 Russian Sherlock, an interview with Cumberbatch discussing his upcoming role as Alan Turing, elements of the BBC <i>Sherlock</i> fandom, a list of Sherlock-related films available for streaming online, connections to Sherlock Holmes and Cumberbatch from Shanghai to Long Island, and much more in this fully winterized Weekly Sherlock Links Compendium by <a href="http://always1895.net/" target="_blank">Matt Laffey</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.solarpons.com/BakerStreetEssays_5.pdf"><b>Baker Street Essays #5</b></a> (February 2014) the irregularly published PDF newsletter of Sherlockian Writings by Bob Byrne focuses on various aspects of illustrations from the Canon. The feature essay "The Illustrated Holmes," inspired by the classic Walter Klinefelter book <a href="http://amzn.to/1go8mK8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Sherlock Holmes in Portrait and Profile</i></a>, traces the illustrations of Holmes (from the original STUD illustrations by D.H. Friston to those of Sydney Paget) that accompanied each story as it was first published. Also to be found in issue #5 is the short essay "Thoughts on The Evolution of a Profile: Vincent Starrett’s Classic Essay" exploring the final chapter of Starrett's seminal <a href="http://amzn.to/1go8x8n" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i></a> (1933) entitled "The Evolution of a Profile".<br />
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In another essay "Sidney Paget’s Enduring Influence," Byrne traces the importance of Paget's illustrations to historical and contemporary conceptions of the Great Detective by comparing original Paget illustrations with later adaptations - for example comparing Paget's classic "Silver Blaze" train car depictions of Holmes and Watson with screenshots from Granada and BBC adaptations which both pay homage to Paget's original (cf. image below). Finally, "A Classic Scene" takes a close look at Paget's famous depiction of Holmes and Professor Moriarty in the final moments of their struggle on the precipice of the Reichenbach, noting a small but significant feature of the drawing which I had never noticed: Paget "had every reason to believe that ["The Final Problem"] would the last Holmes story, I think that Paget understood the weight of the moment and spelled out his name, instead of using the usual “SP”." And indeed, if we look at <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Sherlock_Holmes_and_Professor_Moriarty_at_the_Reichenbach_Falls.jpg" target="_blank">the illustration</a><span id="goog_227511018"></span> we see that it is signed "Sydney Paget, 1893" opposed to the usual "SP". I highly recommend downloading BSE #5 (it's free!) and then exploring earlier PDF issues which can be found at <a href="http://www.solarpons.com/BakerStreetEssays.htm"><i>Baker Street Essays</i></a>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[The Paget illustration from SILV (top) re-created by Granada (bottom) is just one example of Holmes adaptors (film, TV, etc) paying tribute to the immense importance of Paget's imaginings of Canonical persons, places, scenes and outfits.]</span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/episode-61-private-life-of-vincent.html" target="_blank"><b>I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere - Episode 61</b></a> was released a few days ago and I couldn't be more pleased! The announcement of a new IHOSE episode is always a cause for joy but in this particular case, the subject matter of this podcast is one nearest and dearest to my Sherlockian heart. I'm sure many of you have already surmised that episode 61 is all about that enigmatic but celebrated Chicago bookman, author of the finest book on matters Sherlockian aka <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1go8x8n" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</a></i> (1933) who was instrumental in the founding of the BSI yet only attended a single BSI Dinner (in 1934). "<b><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/02/episode-61-private-life-of-vincent.html" target="_blank">The Private Life of Vincent Starrett</a></b>" is an hour and half conversation between venerable Starrettians Susan Rice and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/BooksandBipeds" target="_blank">Ray Betzner</a></b> about Starrett's life, work, trials and tribulations, kept expertly on track by the gentle nudge of IHOSE hosts Scott Monty and Burt Wolder's keen sense of when expertise is being used to make a biographical or historical point versus expertise leading the expert (and listener) astray. I consider myself to be fairly well-versed in the life, times and work of Starrett but it felt like every two minutes or so I was hearing some hitherto unknown Starrettian fact coming straight out of Rice or Betzner's brains. Personally, I learned a great deal but I was particularly impressed with the masterful way in which Rice and Betzner narrated their story, making the life of a cerebral book hound with quasi shut-in tendencies a thing of excitement and accessible to all levels of listener. I know I always recommend finding a 90 minute chunk of time to treat yourself to the latest IHOSE podcast, but there's no doubt in my mind that old and new Sherlockians alike will want to focus completely on this show - so do yourself a huge favor, find a quiet corner where no person (red-headed or otherwise) can vex you and lose yourself in contemplation of "<a href="http://always1895.net/post/11857862603/starrett1-birthday-week-2011">only those things the heart believes are true.</a>"</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWD93D-VoHSRn5ohsptxhi0aJDvOefZOKhtVqiRmn3Z7AtZxa-fcvTCeWf2quJUSzRJsJnwSEftJUSuxLwwoIMQi__XvrJNrJoG6HVOdi2vW6YUdEE46vPG6_8vXUQIH0xjbC04CbzMOg/s1600/RiceBetznerIHOSE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWD93D-VoHSRn5ohsptxhi0aJDvOefZOKhtVqiRmn3Z7AtZxa-fcvTCeWf2quJUSzRJsJnwSEftJUSuxLwwoIMQi__XvrJNrJoG6HVOdi2vW6YUdEE46vPG6_8vXUQIH0xjbC04CbzMOg/s1600/RiceBetznerIHOSE.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Starrettian soldiers Susan Rice and Ray Betzner, along with a copy of Rice's opus on VS entitled <i><a href="http://www.ash-nyc.com/OrderStarrett.htm" target="_blank">The Somnambulist and the Detective</a></i> (2000, Musgrave Monograph Number 10 ), recording their IHOSE segment during BSI Weekend 2014 at the Player's Club in Gramercy Park, NYC.] </span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/" target="_blank">Studies in Starrett</a> (as if a 90 minute podcast dedicated to the man wasn't enough), the blog of longtime Sherlockian and Starrettian <a href="https://twitter.com/BooksandBipeds"><b>Ray Betzner</b></a>, details his quest to obtain Japanese translations of Starrett's seminal <i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i>. Even though I don't read Japanese, this is the sort of quest that gets a red-blooded American blogger like myself all hot and bothered. But I'll take a quick cold shower and let Betzner explain where his quest started...<br />
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"<a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/blog/2014/1/21/the-private-life-of-sherlock-holmes-in-japan-part-i"><b>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes in Japan Part 1</b></a>": "I was able to determine that there had also been two Japanese editions. Both were translations by Tsukasa Kobayashi and Akane Higashiyama, who have translated a number of Sherlockian classics for Japanese readers. A hardback edition of <i>Private Life</i> was published in 1987, while a paperback version came out in 1992." Not surprisingly, given enough time and patience - and the Internet and some collector friends - both editions were tracked down and dutifully added to Betzner's impressive Starrett library. Not long after Betzner secured his hardback and paperback editions, he accidentally came across a folded-up, one sheet advertisement for the 1992 paperback which revealed that "before the first Japanese edition was published, chapters of <i>Private Life</i> translated by Kobayashi and Higashiyama were serialized in the Japanese edition of <i>Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine</i>....so the hunt goes on!"<br />
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"<a href="http://www.vincentstarrett.com/blog/2014/1/22/the-private-life-of-sherlock-holmes-in-japan-part-2"><b>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes in Japan Part 2</b></a>": Betzner shows off the fruits of his labor and explains the differences between both Japanese editions plus some further information about the earlier <i>EQMM</i> Japan translation, stressing one important caveat: "I am tempted to say this is the complete history of <i>Private Life</i> in Japanese, but I’ve been burned too many times in the past to be confident of such a claim. Just when I think I know something definitive about Vincent Starrett, some new tidbit comes to light and I realize I’m still several puzzle pieces short of the full picture." </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Above you'll see the cover of the 1992 paperback edition of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes in Japanese, which is a translation of the original 1933 edition opposed to the hardback Japanese translation which is based on the 1975 Pinnacle Books paperback edition (similar to the 1960 updated version originally published by University of Chicago Press).]</span></span></td></tr>
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Collider sat down with Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue <a href="http://collider.com/sherlock-season-4-5steven-moffat-sue-vertue-interview/" target="_blank">for an in depth discussion of what's next for BBC <i>Sherlock</i></a>, when fans can (maybe) expect Seasons 4 and 5 and the advantages of not being bound to a standard TV season/series model. Even if you are not a fan of BBC <i>Sherlock</i>, Moffat's comments on challenging the television season format status quo is a tremendous breath of fresh air:<br />
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"If we made <i>Sherlock</i> the ordinary way, and did a run of 6 or 12, it would have been over by now...<b>Who says that the only way to make television is to make loads and loads of episodes for five years, until everybody is absolutely sick of it</b>, particularly the people who are making it. Who says that’s the only way you can do it? There are other ways to make television. I’ve heard so many American showrunners talk about the shorter run – which for them is 12 or 13, but that’s quite a long run for us – and that all you’re losing are the filler episodes, and I think that’s true. I do think that sharpening the appetite and having shorter runs of more shows is a better way." </blockquote>
Hallelujah! Next time you find yourself or a friend complaining about the perceived dearth of BBC <i>Sherlock</i> episodes, consider the 'less is more' philosophy advocated by Moffat.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimu2BQC8H2iHy2_rhSZQ4mez8YKHe2iP4gFQBbp-tSGMCdACUGqU_VSGjrdtp09J5To-302t4gEF8nVaheDpek17uHtklQLo7BIkTnv5sPMVswwWTVhqijqjVZX3Uy4I-prSoL4EdQei4/s1600/steven-moffat-sue-vertue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimu2BQC8H2iHy2_rhSZQ4mez8YKHe2iP4gFQBbp-tSGMCdACUGqU_VSGjrdtp09J5To-302t4gEF8nVaheDpek17uHtklQLo7BIkTnv5sPMVswwWTVhqijqjVZX3Uy4I-prSoL4EdQei4/s1600/steven-moffat-sue-vertue.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue, ostensibly pleasant and good-natured people, are secretly (and delightfully) plotting the emotional destruction of their legions of fans - or so listening to the perennial lamenting of a portion of the Sherlock fandom might lead you to believe. The truth? Let's just assume it's somewhere in the middle.]</span></span></td></tr>
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Sherlock Peoria's<b> "<a href="http://sherlockpeoria.blogspot.com/2014/02/our-little-town.html" target="_blank">Our Little Town</a>"</b> muses on the current state of the Sherlockian world, comparing the effect which recent Sherlock-mania has had on the traditional Holmes world to that of a small, quiet village suddenly finding itself in the midst a giant modern housing development replete with big box chain stores and all the traffic and congestion which inevitably follows. An odd metaphor to choose, yet the point is clear: the Sherlockian world of 2014 is radically different than the Sherlockian world of just a decade before (and there's no going back). Regardless of your personal stance on said changes most observers would agree with <b><a href="https://twitter.com/BradKeefauver" target="_blank">Brad Keefauver</a></b> when he adds that "watching the Sherlock boom's effect on the old school Sherlockian world has been interesting." For long time readers of Mr. Keefauver's blog, it's sometimes unclear where exactly he stands regarding the brave new Holmesian world we find growing around us every day. Note: I don't claim to be an expert in Keefauverian Studies, but just an attentive Sherlock Peoria reader - P.S. Please bring back <a href="http://www.sherlockpeoria.net/AaaActionSherlockBrainTheater/ASBT2012/ASBTheater052712.html">Action Sherlock Brain Theater</a>!<br />
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I sense that Keefauver's personal view is a nuanced, pragmatic conception which goes beyond a simple reactionary, binary world view (ie. not 'totally good' and not 'totally bad'), though perhaps he's leaning a bit more toward the positive than the negative, which would explain Keefauver's explanation: "<b>But man, is this a cool time to be a Sherlockian</b>," a sentiment shared by many a Sherlockian. After finishing the essay, a single deafening quote frantically ran circles around my brain: I of course refer to that famous Chinese curse: "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_you_live_in_interesting_times">May you live in interesting times...</a>" In order to get said quote out of my head, I looked up the actual origin of the phrase (surprise, it's not really an ancient Chinese proverb at all) and the only actual ancient Chinese proverb it even remotely resembles goes something like this: "<b>It's better to be a dog in a peaceful time than be a man in a chaotic period.</b>" Strangely comforted, I held myself back from mentioning the dog that did nothing in peaceful times and instead found the following image to accompany this entry:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpbe0AmF42yI24Cwp_T1grvQtcXLiwKbeHil6DqSdZ7eH-nQputwdnIM15shqb4MC7Q3AUnrRGcTpWlyeP22iQZikEHYw0SaSeOZ_NdZPfQfP3f7S7jwD3fYCPerbcBuo5FIu51tqw0c/s1600/LiveInterestingTimes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpbe0AmF42yI24Cwp_T1grvQtcXLiwKbeHil6DqSdZ7eH-nQputwdnIM15shqb4MC7Q3AUnrRGcTpWlyeP22iQZikEHYw0SaSeOZ_NdZPfQfP3f7S7jwD3fYCPerbcBuo5FIu51tqw0c/s1600/LiveInterestingTimes.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[For a fascinating perspective on Sherlockian 'boom' times, check out back issues of <i>Baker Street Miscellanea</i> from the late 1970s (or order the entire run on disc from </span><a href="http://www.batteredbox.com/octoganproject/e-BakerStreetMiscellanea.htm" style="text-align: start;">Battered Silicon Dispatch Box</a><span style="text-align: start;">) when the Sherlockian world was then dealing with an enormous upsurge in Holmesian interest generated by the recent book and film versions of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven-Per-Cent_Solution" style="text-align: start;"><i>The Seven-Per-Cent Solution</i></a><span style="text-align: start;"> as well as a smattering of other new Sherlock pastiches. As you can probably guess some welcomed the newcomers and praised the new conduits that sparked the interest of new recruits - and others were up-in-arms over the dawning apocalypse being visited upon their Sherlockian world. ]</span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://the-consulting-detective.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-study-in-subtitles-adventures-of.html"><b>The Consulting Detective</b></a> describes the author's recent first encounter with the original <a href="http://www.bakerstreetdozen.com/russianholmes.html">Russian Sherlock Holmes (1979 - 1986)</a> - featuring Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes and Vitaly Solomin as Dr. Watson:<br />
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"overall it's an excellent representation of the Arthur Conan Doyle canon. Despite the fact that Vasily Livanov's Holmes is played somewhat against type, he lends an excellent performance as a humane Holmes. The friendship between Holmes and Watson is excellently characterized, defined with good humor and rapport." </blockquote>
Every time I read a new review of the original <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes_and_Dr._Watson">Russian Sherlock Holmes series</a> I immediately want to drop whatever it is I'm working on (i.e., usually another round of Weekly Links), turn on the series somewhere near the early-middle (perhaps the scene where you're never really sure whether you're watching Moriarty and Moran or the Wolfman and his monster associates) and thoroughly enjoy what I often times feel is the second best Holmes adaptation of all time (Granada/Brett taking first place). I'm shocked when Sherlockian friends - often times with decades more experience behind them - casually mention they have never seen Livanov & Solomin as the Dynamic Duo of Victorian crime fighting. Seriously, if you haven't seen this series yet, make the time! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWZegHUaEq8AUdPKbmnpTIO2gVUgvCKkd3AZ17iSodegU3jwchCTaKZWVL48OiD_1m5ZVlLnOG2SbAa_Ks5Ml-0yUmhbG3elhkV2z73RkMbubmAz0Zkgnat_H3MW8ZhOq3RB777eiGL4/s1600/VasilyLivanov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWZegHUaEq8AUdPKbmnpTIO2gVUgvCKkd3AZ17iSodegU3jwchCTaKZWVL48OiD_1m5ZVlLnOG2SbAa_Ks5Ml-0yUmhbG3elhkV2z73RkMbubmAz0Zkgnat_H3MW8ZhOq3RB777eiGL4/s1600/VasilyLivanov.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Hey, remember when Sherlock Holmes was not just a chemist but a profound chemist? Unlike pretty much every Holmes adaptation ever (excluding Granada), the classic Russian Holmes series never lets you forget that Holmes is a chemist of no small talent, just like it should be.]</span></span></td></tr>
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<b>"<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/01/29/benedict-cumberbatch-talks-sherlock-film-stage-success/4838037/" target="_blank">Benedict Cumberbatch's Very Big Year</a>"</b>, in a recent <i>USA Today</i>, is mostly a puffy puff interview piece with Benedict Cumberbatch discussing the possibility of being cast in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._J._Abrams" target="_blank">JJ Abrams</a>' potentially bizzaro-world take in upcoming editions to <i>Star Wars</i> and whether or not Cumberbatch has a paramour or is completely single and enjoying being the most popular man on the planet. Wading through the fluff, BC does speak-up about his upcoming roll as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing"><b>Alan Turing</b></a>, mathematician, WWII code breaker hero and, at the end of his life, shamefully and completely disgraced by the UK Justice system (which still prosecuted accusations of sodomy):<br />
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"[Cumberbatch] expresses displeasure only when an interviewer mentions that the late <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/10536246/Alan-Turing-granted-Royal-pardon-by-the-Queen.html" target="_blank">Turing received a royal pardon</a> recently for 1950s criminal charges of gross indecency related to homosexuality. "The only person that should be pardoning anybody is him. Hopefully, the film will bring to the fore what an extraordinary human being he was and how appalling (his treatment by the government was). It's a really shameful, disgraceful part of our history," [Cumberbatch] says of his <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/"><i>The Imitation Game</i></a> character." </blockquote>
Without the genius of Alan Turing, computers might not exist or not exist at the level in which they do today as well as a variety of other artificial intelligence and information theory concepts. I can only hope that BC's fame will help bring greater awareness to Turing's heart wrenching story.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[Sherlock Holmes, Smaug, Julian Assange, Khan from <i>Star Trek</i>, Stephen Hawking (seriously, in a made for TV movie called </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395571/" style="text-align: start;"><i>Hawking</i></a><span style="text-align: start;">) and now Alan Turing - is there anyone famous who doesn't happen to look like Benedict Cumberbatch? ]</span></span></td></tr>
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Doyleockian's<b> "<a href="http://alistaird221b.blogspot.com/2014/01/some-elements-of-fandom-need-to-get-grip.html" target="_blank">Some Elements of Fandom Need to Get a Grip</a>"</b> gently suggests that certain extreme wings of the so-called fandom "need to get a grip" further explaining "I don’t pretend to know an awful lot about the activities of fandom – and by this I am referring  to the social media savvy fans whose Sherlockian interest largely revolves around BBC <i>Sherlock</i> – but as a body it can be awfully touchy and has a tendency to the very intolerance it seems to identify and abhor in others." Strong words of course, but well thought-out and sincere words all the same - for those familiar with <a href="https://twitter.com/alistaird221b"><b>Alistair Duncan</b></a> and/or his Sherlock-centric writings it should come as no surprise to see Duncan not only develop his own, independent views on the topic at hand (in this case, the collective behavior of at least part of the Sherlock fandom) but also prepare in advance a defense should the need arise.<br />
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Frankly, I'm rather surprised his post, originally published 30 January, 2014 under a clearly provocative title only generated ten or so direct comments. Secretly I thought that Duncan's short post might possess the perfect mix of <i>l'attitude provacative</i> and measured objectivity triggering a larger dialogue between various fandom culture supporters and detractors leading to....leading to where and to what I don't know. Regardless, there are points to Duncan's original post that many 'observers' (all those Sherlockians unconcerned with battling out the finer semantic points of "fandom" regularly in the social media trenches) as well as self-identified fandom denizens would be interested in seeing addressed and discussed - though not confronted savagely or uncivilly leading to predictably unproductive 'flame wars' and the like. I'll continue to look out for the next big 'argument' brewing, not for voyeuristic or sadistic purposes but because these sorts of continually simmering, though never quite boiling over, disputes tend to have a way of staying below the radar until the moment that they don't - exploding with all the passion and madness inherent in the creative minds of the types of people who choose to socialize within the framework of a literary or quasi-literary social group opposed to something more traditional. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajZAod7-fKB4uw7Oeqd__1ywVNvBLPDTSuHAhv-h6Vf5FeXmK7YT85Ot3vUZP9GzIxbsBNz4_SdKzzmwhWfQg8BTevAotc9YxO3YSNXsWT2O_vYK7kc0doQ6UhugTeoI3FNthg5JFpmY/s1600/Fandom.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajZAod7-fKB4uw7Oeqd__1ywVNvBLPDTSuHAhv-h6Vf5FeXmK7YT85Ot3vUZP9GzIxbsBNz4_SdKzzmwhWfQg8BTevAotc9YxO3YSNXsWT2O_vYK7kc0doQ6UhugTeoI3FNthg5JFpmY/s1600/Fandom.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[No doubt Boromir has a firm grip on whatever the current controversy might be. ]</span></span></td></tr>
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In <b><a href="http://bakerstreetbabes.com/podcast/episode-52-a-finger-slip-webseries/" target="_blank">Baker Street Babes - Episode 52</a></b> top Babe Kristina spoke to the team behind ‘<a href="http://afingerslipofficial.tumblr.com/">A Finger Slip: The Webseries</a>’ a project meant to take a specific popular fan fiction and turn it into a video series, funded in part by a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1879289266/a-finger-slip-web-series" target="_blank">current Kickstarter campaign</a>....Already I hear a few Sherlockian heads exploding out there - and giving vent to some fine and violent oaths - but let's step back for a moment and tease out a few points (re: 'fanfic' etc.) just so that we're all on the same page. The fanfic is called "A Finger Slip" (AFS) and was originally authored by Pawtal and is based on the premise that "John and Sherlock accidentally meet through texts as teenagers". Got it so far? From what I've seen the entire Finger Slip adventures are told in the form of text messages between our two protagonists along with other BBC characters like Greg (Lestrade) and Molly (Hooper). It's all online and free and you can start here with "<a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/601000/chapters/1083777">Chapter 1</a>", where you'll find young, college-aged John and Sherlock meeting and getting to know each other via text messages. Remember, this is fanfic and not burlesque or pastiche so as much as the two main characters are 'John Watson' and 'Sherlock Holmes', don't be surprised if the narrative particulars and personalities stray quite far from what you would expect from a fan created (for example) 'BBC Sherlock-inspired pastiche' story. Anyway, if you had no idea what anything in the first few sentences of this entry meant, now you at least have a vague idea of what's happening. Give Episode #52 a listen then if you're curious come back and check out the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1879289266/a-finger-slip-web-series">Kickstarter page</a> (for more info about the page-to-screen transformation) and the series website <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/edit/afingerslipofficial.tumblr.com">afingerslipofficial.tumblr.com</a> and Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/afswebseries">@AFSwebseries</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHMeltpTH8aI9y-ymrXiJINpPoduORXNu-dCpuxK34Jl84_7CkEV8d3rx-yvyHVmZ64INrwr5X9G3afM9jxb_sB5lCyWD__TMxXpI_MHtAqebyIXQj1GDMX48DNa6pTjDNuAEjmEVQp8/s1600/AFSlogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHMeltpTH8aI9y-ymrXiJINpPoduORXNu-dCpuxK34Jl84_7CkEV8d3rx-yvyHVmZ64INrwr5X9G3afM9jxb_sB5lCyWD__TMxXpI_MHtAqebyIXQj1GDMX48DNa6pTjDNuAEjmEVQp8/s1600/AFSlogo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[If fanfic stuff isn't your cup of tea, I'm right there with you, generally speaking, but the AFS project appears to be popular enough that a basic working knowledge of how Sherlock fanfic culture works could be useful to a better understanding of the fanfic corner of the greater Sherlockian world.]</span></span></td></tr>
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In <b>"<a href="http://flavorwire.com/434548/50-essential-mystery-novels-that-everyone-should-read" target="_blank">50 Essential Mystery Novels That Everyone Should Read</a>"</b> Flavorwire compiled an eclectically comprehensive list of fifty novels which all fall under the rubric of 'Mystery Novels' to one degree or another (crime, spy, detective, etc.). For starters, three cheers to Flavorwire author Emily Temple for actually putting thought into a "Top 50 Best X's" list - it contains plenty of titles/authors you would exactly expect to find on a 'best of' list like <b>Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler</b>. But hardboiled detectives are not <i>sui generis</i> aberrations of Nature lacking parents and lineage: hence a healthy sampling of 'classic mystery' including the likes of Poe, Sayers, Wilkie Collins and Watson's Literary Agent. Then the choices get a bit more interesting, diverse and dare I say literary: Umberto Eco's <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1hms4cl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Name of the Rose</a></i> (OK, this is an obvious and overly popular choice but just once I would love to see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault" s_pendulum=""><i>Foucault's Pendulum</i></a> appear instead), Paul Auster's <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1gNepGF" target="_blank">The New York Trilogy</a></i> and one of my favorite novels from the last decade <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1gNesST" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Yiddish Policemen’s Union</a></i> by Michael Chabon. Perhaps the most interesting and impressive selections is by a scrappy, young, living, female author whose <a href="http://amzn.to/1b8nvzD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Dust and Shadow</i></a> transcends the sub-sub-genre of Sherlock Holmes pastiche: I refer to one of Always1895.net's favorite contemporary Sherlockians and authors, Lyndsay Faye! (Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/lklinger">Les Klinger</a> for the tip!) <a href="http://irishamerica.com/2013/09/the-copper-star-lyndsay-faye/"><i>Irish America</i></a> posted a recent interview with Ms Faye about her latest novel <a href="http://amzn.to/19LJ30J" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Seven For a Secret</i></a> as well as future projects.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAaKD77n_-rJBXM8WhKGx0JZUD_IlzYiExRO8_z7X_8OK_QCQ_DrQBdIpsddvAvogq98yQDfEoXnXEfb2S8KGkxq_mQVWuLQMma_AGdmmCANkjlwz6vCo96fmVgIfFKocXN2cjfRYGQM/s1600/Poe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAaKD77n_-rJBXM8WhKGx0JZUD_IlzYiExRO8_z7X_8OK_QCQ_DrQBdIpsddvAvogq98yQDfEoXnXEfb2S8KGkxq_mQVWuLQMma_AGdmmCANkjlwz6vCo96fmVgIfFKocXN2cjfRYGQM/s1600/Poe.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Don't get me wrong, I think Poe can sometimes be a genius and there's no question his <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Auguste_Dupin" target="_blank">Dupin</a></b> stories inspired a genre that lives on after 150+ years but seriously, check out this cover: do they really need to scream "The First Detective Auguste Dupin!!" in giant letters to convince readers to buy a set of Dupin stories, two of which are probably the most famous mystery/detective stories ever: “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and "The Purloined Letter"?]</span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.vulture.com/2014/01/best-netflix-other-sherlock-holmes-to-stream.html"><b>Vulture</b></a> compiled a list of Sherlock Holmes film and TV adaptations currently available from various online streaming services such as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=sjCcHgq3To8">YouTube</a>, Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, etc. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=sjCcHgq3To8"><i>The Woman in Green</i></a>, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Sherlock_Holmes_and_Saucy_Jack/70004151"><i>Murder By Decree</i></a>, my personal favorite Billy Wilder's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Private-Life-Sherlock-Holmes/dp/B001EYSCF6/"><i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i></a>, Buster Keaton's silent classic (though not an adaptation per se) <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Sherlock_Jr./70180139"><i>Sherlock, Jr.</i></a>, all <a href="http://www.hulu.com/the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes">39 episodes</a> of the 1954 Ronald Howard TV series, Arthur Wontner as Holmes in what is possibly the most confusingly titled adaptation of all time <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjruXx22Fnc"><i>Murder at the Baskervilles</i></a> (set in the environs of the Baskerville estate, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029565/">the plot</a> is roughly based on "Silver Blaze" with Moriarty thrown in to properly ruin Holmes' vacation plans) and many more. Not mentioned in the article is the great repository of free, classic films <a href="https://archive.org/search.php?query=sherlock%20holmes%20AND%20mediatype%3Amovies">Archive.org</a> which has most of the public domain Sherlock adaptations available for streaming/downloading.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf7XHgThabFL-I33sXCbGK_tAp3B5YreNcQDBPapDwL5kcWzaSokqr2z3lSchScUZfM5CliDe04Vd8SA7edDImAC-hDal3SMPLZpUR7ymjxKtJDRabayl10_yYXl4lhmaoOSQnYmjCOA/s1600/WontnerTriumph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf7XHgThabFL-I33sXCbGK_tAp3B5YreNcQDBPapDwL5kcWzaSokqr2z3lSchScUZfM5CliDe04Vd8SA7edDImAC-hDal3SMPLZpUR7ymjxKtJDRabayl10_yYXl4lhmaoOSQnYmjCOA/s1600/WontnerTriumph.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">[Movie poster for Wontner in </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027136/" style="text-align: start;">The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes</a><span style="text-align: start;"> (1935), which can be downloaded directly at </span><a href="https://archive.org/details/The_Triumph_of_Sherlock_Holmes" style="text-align: start;">Archive.org</a><span style="text-align: start;">.]</span></span></td></tr>
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<i>Explore Long Island</i>'s<b> "<a href="http://long-island.newsday.com/events/spy-like-sherlock-holmes-on-li-1.6805201" target="_blank">Spy Like Sherlock Holmes on LI</a>"</b> made a myriad of excellent suggestions for the aspiring Sherlockian: Warren Randall's 'The Long Island Cave Dwellers' scion meetings, Long Island's Murder Mystery Players club, the Spy Shop of Long Island in Northport, the comic shop <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CollectorsKingdom">Collector's Kingdom</a> with a selection of Holmesian titles, and more. Extra props for a reference to founder of the BSI and longtime Roslyn resident Christopher Morley as well as his writing studio, the Knothole, which lives at <a href="http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/parks/wheretogo/active/morley.html">Christopher Morley County Park in Roslyn-North Hills</a>. (The article says the Knothole is currently closed to visits by the public, but I can't find any more news on that; possibly it's just closed in the Winter?)" It's no mystery why Sherlock Holmes is alive and well on Long Island!<br />
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<b>UPDATE:</b> Former Supervisor of Historic Sites for the Nassau County Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Museums, <b>Terry Hunt</b>, BSI ("The Something Hunt") after reading this entry wrote me the following regarding the state of Morley's Knothole: "The Knothole has been closed to the public since the BSI's Morley Pilgrimage in Jan. 2009. We used to open it seasonally; in the spring we'd furnish it as shown in your picture, and in the fall remove most of the furnishings from the unheated building and put them in storage...The big problem is that the County is broke and the museum division essentially no longer exists. I have hopes that we can get The Knothole re-opened for some time next year for Morley's 125th birthday year, if the Christopher Morley Knothole Assn. and other Morley supporters can show enough interest and volunteer support." Thanks for the info and congratulations on your recent investiture <b>Terry Hunt</b>! Let's hope with enough support Morley's Knothole will one day be open to the public again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0F5MbxPLK7F-tWi3iOnxABDC9nfUa4iupEhAMuFRBPcs_D2rJ0M9ZGojvEZCishP-3oq6c__2B4-h9V8ODcJbS0fhF_adglcNtsF7v3YjoM0qP8h4qT3PDlF-hCN5doyiOFMHexs1et0/s1600/Knothole.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0F5MbxPLK7F-tWi3iOnxABDC9nfUa4iupEhAMuFRBPcs_D2rJ0M9ZGojvEZCishP-3oq6c__2B4-h9V8ODcJbS0fhF_adglcNtsF7v3YjoM0qP8h4qT3PDlF-hCN5doyiOFMHexs1et0/s1600/Knothole.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[The interior of The Knothole, the writing studio used by Christopher Morley - which was moved to the Christopher Morley Park after Morley's death.]</span></span></td></tr>
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Buzzfeed ran a story "<a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/jamiefullerton/theres-a-benerdict-cumberbatch-themed-cafe-hagd" target="_blank"><b>There Is a 'Sherlock' Themed Cafe in Shanghai</b></a>" about a Sherlock-themed coffee shop called <a href="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=50+Ruijin+Road,+Shanghai,+China&hl=en&sll=51.505568,-0.09425&sspn=0.14104,0.359116&oq=50+Ruijin+&gl=uk&hq=50+Ruijin+Road,+Shanghai,+China&t=m&z=16">221B Baker Street</a>. It's worth perusing the pictures but I tend to agree with the author that the cafe is less about Sherlock Holmes and more about being a literal shrine to Benedict Cumberbatch in the guise of Sherlock. I've been making a point of not getting swept up in the <a href="https://news.google.com/news?ncl=dvw-TdNJXMNTOeMBuSCcdtWd28oLM&q=sherlock+china+%22Curly+Fu,%22&lr=English&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0jXeUp6DPNXSsATzzIHoBA&ved=0CDMQqgIwAA">recent torrent of Western News articles</a> - ie. "Wow! Check out how 'totally wacky' China is over BBC <i>Sherlock</i> (cf. Curly Fu and Peanut), etc.." - but since this cafe is so over-the-top I'll make a one time exception.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcmfYDbAaE_qu6pw5g8aUNFDpgN-zlGnOwxgL8DdHOgk0eb4FJvQxreQbW5gf1Wq5hBYV6fI5fViJVMAhs3rGT3OML519JnX7RvgZWgzK70g_0n0LhrMlPIJL78HRX530tKhsx0WqqUE/s1600/221BBakerStreetCafe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcmfYDbAaE_qu6pw5g8aUNFDpgN-zlGnOwxgL8DdHOgk0eb4FJvQxreQbW5gf1Wq5hBYV6fI5fViJVMAhs3rGT3OML519JnX7RvgZWgzK70g_0n0LhrMlPIJL78HRX530tKhsx0WqqUE/s1600/221BBakerStreetCafe.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[The daily menu board for China's shrine...I mean cafe dedicated to Benedict Cumberbatch and to a less extent other actors who've donned the deerstalker of the Great Detective.]</span></span></td></tr>
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<b><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sherlock-Holmes-WHO-TOOK-THE-DRUGS-rare-US-Stash-Comix-anti-drug-comic-book-/231145901839" target="_blank">A random eBay auction</a></b> is where I found this rather odd and harrowing image of the Great Detective smoking a suspiciously non-Canonical looking pipe on what appears to be the mean streets of the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London where one can only hope Holmes is lecturing the 'street arabs' of drug-ravaged Baker Street that "Crack is Wack" (or words to that effect). According to the description, this is an anti-drug comic from 1979 put out by a company called Stash Comix titled "Who Took the Drugs" and features Holmes in at least one story about the perils and pitfalls of drug use. For posterity's' sake, I grabbed the cover image off the eBay auction so that one can still marvel at the infinite variety of situations artists have placed the likeness of Sherlock Holmes. It is of course understandable if you assumed this image was an outtake from BBC's "<a href="http://bakerstreetbabes.com/sherlock-his-last-vow-review/">His Last Vow</a>", particularly in light of the recently revealed lifestyle choices of one 'Bill Wiggins' within the BBCverse.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5XfV2eNkz8Hd3bbl7BzaoMfXIMfRAnx_F_BVUc4kodPk9EPkXWO2QktxrBwBa3IQmWOrVFtt8kKZ9H019weup4DNmFO2cgQ9YVirObPns8HHPonuQwqhAi-0zSegEwPiq9j9U205Y3g/s1600/DrugsHolmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5XfV2eNkz8Hd3bbl7BzaoMfXIMfRAnx_F_BVUc4kodPk9EPkXWO2QktxrBwBa3IQmWOrVFtt8kKZ9H019weup4DNmFO2cgQ9YVirObPns8HHPonuQwqhAi-0zSegEwPiq9j9U205Y3g/s1600/DrugsHolmes.jpg" width="439" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[My money is on Mrs Hudson in answer to "Who Took the Drugs?" Click this rather disturbing but also highly entertaining image for the full-sized version. Extra blog points if anyone has ever read this comic and can email me a recap the Holmes story contained within.]</span></span></td></tr>
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To offset the bleak 1970s version of Holmes seen above, here's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/benedict-cumberbatch-meets-muppets-in-pbs-video/2014/02/04/b0c08df6-8d9c-11e3-99e7-de22c4311986_story.html"><i>The Washington Post</i></a> covering Benedict Cumberbatch's recent appearance alongside <a href="http://www.sesamestreet.org/muppets/murray-monster">Murray the Monster</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_von_Count">Count von Count</a> as they attempt to teach kids the concept of 'greater than' in relation to numbers. Warning: will melt even the most ice-hardened hearts of anti-Cumberbunny Sherlockians. Watch the entire two and a half minute video segment here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7jS7X-2ggA" target="_blank">Benedict Cumberbatch and the Sign of Four (or is it Three?)</a>.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-7jS7X-2ggA" width="560"></iframe></center>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[The boys from Sesame Street call in the man from Baker Street to help solve the seemingly intractable mystery of whether or not there are more apples or more oranges.]</span></span></div>
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Weekly Sherlock Links Compendium (January 25 - February 14, 2014)

"like a fire in a snowstorm." [GLOR] While much of the East Coast and Midwest in the U.S.A. prepares to be buried under ...

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by campunity

A Quick Look at Baker Street the RPG on Kickstarter

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"Imaginary robbers should play a part" [ABBE]</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuqD6J55XrDzIabUYXymYxOvjuNi_ZlS7iPwA4Lh09Md3osBbIL6CkSWQk-9LlJgbqAD3-5aGP0_-F98tfkYg04eODbkHayZvS4Ryc50PZE5Qr5qmAhwk3JSkt4LjkxArgxLbxXoNsayG/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+RPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuqD6J55XrDzIabUYXymYxOvjuNi_ZlS7iPwA4Lh09Md3osBbIL6CkSWQk-9LlJgbqAD3-5aGP0_-F98tfkYg04eODbkHayZvS4Ryc50PZE5Qr5qmAhwk3JSkt4LjkxArgxLbxXoNsayG/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+RPG.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Whether it be <a href="http://amzn.to/1lQCTlz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">television,</a> <a href="http://amzn.to/1lQD1By" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">movies,</a> <a href="http://amzn.to/1mhSGNH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">board games,</a> or <a href="http://amzn.to/1c87WpM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">computer games,</a> there's no denying the abundance of Sherlock Holmes themed entertainment available. Now <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fearlightgames/baker-street-roleplaying-in-the-world-of-sherlock" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a new Kickstarter project</a> adds role-playing games to the list.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sherlock Die</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sample character</td></tr>
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The heart of the game is in the investigation scenes, which the Kickstarter page describes this way: <br />
<blockquote>
"Investigating a scene is the driving engine of this game. The trick is to get enough clues fast enough so that the criminals don't have enough time to get away or further their plans. Played in a series of rounds, Investigation Scenes have investigators making Observation, Reason, and Deduction Skill Rolls to uncover clues, weed out false clues, and uncover possible leads to help them in their investigation."</blockquote>
The reason I find RPGs entertaining is the role-playing part. It's like a strange sort of improvisational theater within the guidelines of your character's scores. With the right group of people playing, these Investigation Scenes could be great opportunities to get into character and delve into the case.

Of course, it’s impossible to tell how well “Baker Street” is going to work without actually playing the game, but it's at least intriguing enough to be worth trying out. If this is the sort of project you'd be interested in supporting, you have until March 16th to back the project.<br />
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A Quick Look at Baker Street the RPG on Kickstarter

"Imaginary robbers should play a part" [ABBE] Whether it be television, movies, board games, or computer games, there...

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by Katie Magnusson

Review: They Might Be Giants

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"Great Scott!" [REDH]
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If you're a fan of quirky music, as I am, you've no doubt encountered the duo known as They Might Be Giants.  What you might not know is that the band borrowed their name from the title of a 1971 film starring George C. Scott (based on a play by the same name).  <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067848/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">They Might Be Giants</a></i> tells the story of a millionaire named Justin Playfair who, after the death of his wife, begins to think he is the great detective, Sherlock Holmes. He wears the famous deerstalker cap, smokes the calabash pipe, and makes Holmesian deductions about strangers he meets. He is befriended by a psychiatrist named Dr. Mildred Watson, who at first attempts to analyze him.  The two develop a friendship that is not unlike the friendship between the canonical Holmes and Watson.<br />
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You can read a fair review of the film in Alan Barnes' book <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1mXUAOx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes on Screen</a></i>, and the film is available for streaming at <a href="http://www.netflix.com/">Netflix</a>. The <a href="http://youtu.be/q2oB0pMWh0Q">YouTube clip below</a> (from early in the film) shows George C. Scott's rather straightforward and competent Holmes imitation. (Sherlockians will enjoy the presumably intentional canonical reference of Dr. Watson's patient being named "Mr. Small," a character from <i>The Sign of the Four</i>.)  Although the plot of the film is a bit hard to follow at times, Scott's performance is always enjoyable, and the relationship that develops between Justin Playfair and Mildred Watson is alternately touching and humorous. Meanwhile, the presence of a female "Watson" in this film is more evidence that <i>Elementary</i>'s Joan Watson, who has been so controversial for so many Sherlockians, is not as groundbreaking as everyone seemed to think!<br />
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Although it's not really a "Sherlock Holmes film," in the strictest sense, <i>They Might Be Giants</i> is well worth watching for the Sherlockian material that makes the film's premise so intriguing.  Think of it as a "Sherlock Holmes as Don Quixote" tale in a contemporary setting.  Indeed, the title of the film appears to be an indirect reference to Don Quixote's predilection for "tilting at windmills," under the impression that they are terrible giants.  The following dialogue from the film makes this connection explicit, and sums up the basic thrust of the film:<br />
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<b>Watson</b>: God! You're just like Don Quixote, you think everything's always something else.<br />
<b>Playfair/Holmes</b> [Laughs]: Well he had a point. Of course, he carried it a bit too far. He thought that every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But, thinking that they might be... well… all the best minds used to think the world was flat. — But, what if it isn't? — It might be round — and bread mold might be medicine. If we never looked at things and thought of what they might be, why, we'd all still be out there in the tall grass with the apes.</blockquote>
 Have you seen the film? What did you think of it?<br />
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Review: They Might Be Giants

"Great Scott!" [REDH] If you're a fan of quirky music, as I am, you've no doubt encountered the duo known as They...

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by Cory Howell

Sherlock Holmes Teaching Grants: Deadline May 1, 2014

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<a href="http://beaconsociety.com/" target="_blank">The Beacon Society</a>, a not-for-profit scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars that supports and recognizes exemplary educational experiences that introduce young people to the Sherlock Holmes stories, is offering grants of up to <b>$500</b> to fund the development of such programs. The grants honor the memory of Jan Stauber (above), a New Jersey middle school teacher who for 10 years visited classes in the guise of Sherlock Holmes to encourage students to discover the joys of reading.<br />
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<a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html" target="_blank">Jan Stauber Grants</a> have been awarded to creative teachers and librarians in the USA since 2004 and in Canada since 2012. Previous awardees have used Sherlock Holmes to teach English, literature, history, mathematics, forensics, deductive reasoning, and critical thinking to students in elementary school through high school.<br />
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The deadline for 2014 grant applications is May 1. An application form, guidelines and other details about the Jan Stauber Grants are at <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html" target="_blank">BeaconSociety.com</a>. For more information about the grants, contact <a href="mailto:adevitt@comcast.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Allan Devitt</a>.<br />
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We've previously covered the Beacon Society: <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2007/10/would-you-recommend-then-houn_13.html#.Uvr7GMRDuSo" target="_blank">"Whom Would You Recommend, Then?" [HOUN]</a> - you may want to read a little more. Also, you may follow the Beacon Society on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TeachSherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://teachsherlock.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>, and Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/TeachSherlock" target="_blank">@TeachSherlock</a>).<br />
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<i>Image credit:  <a href="http://beaconsociety.com/JanStauberGrant.html" target="_blank">BeaconSociety.com</a></i><br />
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[<b>Editor's note:</b> this is Marilynne's first post for us on IHOSE. She'll be covering the Beacon Society and any topics related to children as part of her beat. Please join us in welcoming her to the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/our-contributors.html#.Uvr5C8RDuSo" target="_blank">team</a>.]<br />
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