Exercise in the Sherlock Holmes Stories

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "flushed with the exercise" [STUD]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnmh4X-ZRKVoLFjlVPnMGeOo_m1JsnouDHmnkRVsruA4vSaYNoPzXqZkq4860-OuHII02Kp-dwADgvOmYlgSPgvg9QheTf9ktj7SF1ihERh_Ghnt6bOfffdh-c6Nh0qOa8jLoK3Vj7SJv/s1600/Resident+Patient+-+Sidney+Paget.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnmh4X-ZRKVoLFjlVPnMGeOo_m1JsnouDHmnkRVsruA4vSaYNoPzXqZkq4860-OuHII02Kp-dwADgvOmYlgSPgvg9QheTf9ktj7SF1ihERh_Ghnt6bOfffdh-c6Nh0qOa8jLoK3Vj7SJv/s1600/Resident+Patient+-+Sidney+Paget.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> We recently saw <a href="https://twitter.com/EditorBrooke/status/590140485198446594" target="_blank">a tweet</a> from a listener that caught our attention. Brooke Hall (<a href="https://twitter.com/EditorBrooke" target="_blank">@EditorBrooke</a>) indicated that the <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/show-archives.html#.VTkzsiFViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere audio program</a> was part of her workout routine:</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> Morning workout, listening to <a href="https://twitter.com/IHearofSherlock">@IHearofSherlock</a>.<br /> — Brooke Hall (@EditorBrooke) <a href="https://twitter.com/EditorBrooke/status/590140485198446594">April 20, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br /></div> <div> Of course we were pleased to know that our show is interesting enough to distract someone from the pain she's putting her body through. But it also got us to thinking about physical fitness and exercise in the Canon.<br /> <br /> <h3> Sherlock Holmes, uninterested exerciser</h3> When Watson first met Holmes in <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, one of his observations was on the latter's physical characteristics:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> His very person and appearance were such as to strike the attention of the most casual observer. In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller.</blockquote> Watson himself must have been in good shape when in the army, but after spending many months recuperating, it's not surprising that Stamford thought he looked "as thin as a lath". [STUD]<br /> <br /> While Holmes occasionally forgot about eating [FIVE] or even asked for dinner to be significantly delayed ("Seven-thirty, the day after tomorrow" [MAZA]), what do we know of his exercise habits?<br /> <br /> We're told that <b>"Sherlock Holmes was a man who seldom took exercise for exercise's sake."</b> [YELL] However, Watson goes on to describe his friend's capabilities:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> Few men were capable of greater muscular effort, and he was undoubtedly one of the finest boxers of his weight that I have ever seen, but he looked upon aimless bodily exertion as a waste of energy, and he seldom bestirred himself save where there was some professional object to be served. Then he was absolutely untiring and indefatigable. That he should have kept himself in training under such circumstances is remarkable, but his diet was usually of the sparest, and his habits were simple to the verge of austerity.</blockquote> <br /> In "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist" Holmes does indeed put his boxing skills to use, sending Mr. Woodley home in a cart. But he lamented, <b>"I get so little active exercise that it is always a treat"</b>.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgWWSeD1Tm9O19XX5fqwpSFVPzV5XCCL4LBKg9FIwnLcLCLwX_I4iAn6vVk1MmiBWyQW28Q7m40tMw7kpDfki9-aG4UB_qHDIx3h5B6BVEtToYgZUtG9zpDDaPA66_Q4Nx77zlLCTayCX/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes,+Boxer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgWWSeD1Tm9O19XX5fqwpSFVPzV5XCCL4LBKg9FIwnLcLCLwX_I4iAn6vVk1MmiBWyQW28Q7m40tMw7kpDfki9-aG4UB_qHDIx3h5B6BVEtToYgZUtG9zpDDaPA66_Q4Nx77zlLCTayCX/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes,+Boxer.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> Holmes put that muscular effort to work in "The Adventure of Black Peter":<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> There can be no question, my dear Watson, of the value of exercise before breakfast. But I am prepared to bet that you will not guess the form that my exercise has taken."</blockquote> In this case, the exercise took the form of trying to spear a dead pig hanging from a hook in the ceiling at Allardyce's butcher shop.<br /> <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/AVvXsEhr8mxgXCiWdJuLxfvzNmtC4xp4ABc6ooVt8pYt4TmNXkGSN1eHEW2Efco9lLDfLtJYrRxpb9j8Zo7SXOziyJ32GftclIEGK1DH6bxbbpplM53fGvUwvIv-spDi5r2xaXH-DslbA3FVRtsV/s1600/Black+Peter+-+Holmes+and+the+harpoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Holmes returns from the butcher shop, with nary a steak nor a pork chop." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8mxgXCiWdJuLxfvzNmtC4xp4ABc6ooVt8pYt4TmNXkGSN1eHEW2Efco9lLDfLtJYrRxpb9j8Zo7SXOziyJ32GftclIEGK1DH6bxbbpplM53fGvUwvIv-spDi5r2xaXH-DslbA3FVRtsV/s1600/Black+Peter+-+Holmes+and+the+harpoon.jpg" title="Sherlock Holmes returns with a harpoon in "Black Peter"" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Pork chops again?"</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> We also see Sherlock Holmes going at it when a professional object was served, such as in "The Adventure of the Three Students":<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Aha! It is not for nothing that I have turned myself out of bed at the untimely hour of six. I have put in two hours' hard work and covered at least five miles, with something to show for it."</blockquote> <span style="background-color: white;">In "The Resident Patient," Holmes became tired of the sitting room at Baker Street and asked Watson to join him in <b>"a ramble through London,"</b> which then turned into a three-hour walk. Upon returning, they found a new client in Dr. Trevelyan, who told them of Mr. Blessington, who himself took a <b>"</b></span><b>short walk which had usually been the prelude to his dinner."</b><br /> <span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span> <br /> <h3> Unfit to exercise</h3> While Sherlock Holmes was capable of spurts of exercise, there were others in the Canon who were, shall we say, less than physically fit. Occasionally, Holmes and Watson had clients or engaged with other characters who displayed the hallmarks of those not accustomed to physical activity.<br /> <br /> In "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet," Alexander Holder ran down Baker Street <b>"puffing and blowing"</b> and explained his actions to Holmes and Watson thusly: "That is why I was so out of breath, for <b>I am a man who takes very little exercise."</b><br /> <br /> While his advanced age may be an excuse for lack of exercise presently, Nathan Garrideb's posture gave us a clue to a lifetime of habit in "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs":<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> Mr. Nathan Garrideb proved to be a very tall, loose-jointed, round-backed person, gaunt and bald, some sixty-odd years of age. He had a cadaverous face, with the dull dead skin of a man to whom exercise was unknown.</blockquote> <br /> <b>Others worth mentioning:</b><br /> <br /> <ul> <li>Jabez Wilson was referred to as "portly" and obese" by Watson. [REDH]</li> <li>Henry Baker, the forlorn goose owner, was said to be "out of training entirely" as his hat bore "the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the wearer perspired very freely, and could, therefore, hardly be in the best of training." [BLUE]</li> <li>Jephro Rucastle was described as <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana;"> "</span>A prodigiously stout man with a very smiling face, and a great heavy chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat," who had "fat hands".  [COPP]</li> </ul> <br /> <br /> <h3> He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother</h3> A little closer to home, Sherlock Holmes's brother was certainly no fan of exercise, as his habits indicated:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Mycroft lodges in Pall Mall, and he walks round the corner into Whitehall every morning and back every evening. From year's end to year's end he takes no other exercise, and is seen nowhere else, except only in the Diogenes Club, which is just opposite his rooms." [GREE]</blockquote> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> His appearance also backed up this assertion, as Watson noted Mycroft's "broad, fat hand, like the flipper of a seal."</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPz4V05OqeSN0DWSGqvKgeGuZxqYrm4GlcOavbJlA0AxDfnTzthXX7se5h4CwxuiM5mXjJG1338rvcQlnjiFKqvM3CZU7C5hhgvXn0Otsx_ItcAf910WWn8qYiJfhXC6tC9rJyapW8-wvp/s1600/Mycroft+Holmes+in+The+Greek+Interpreter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPz4V05OqeSN0DWSGqvKgeGuZxqYrm4GlcOavbJlA0AxDfnTzthXX7se5h4CwxuiM5mXjJG1338rvcQlnjiFKqvM3CZU7C5hhgvXn0Otsx_ItcAf910WWn8qYiJfhXC6tC9rJyapW8-wvp/s1600/Mycroft+Holmes+in+The+Greek+Interpreter.jpg" width="232" /></a></div> <div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> Mycroft Holmes was a much larger and stouter man than Sherlock. His body was absolutely corpulent, but his face, though massive, had preserved something of the sharpness of expression which was so remarkable in that of his brother.</blockquote> </div> <div> <br /> So there you have it. Are there other characters in the Canon with whom you associate exercise (or lack thereof)? Let us know in a comment.</div> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <br />

Exercise in the Sherlock Holmes Stories

"flushed with the exercise" [STUD] We recently saw a tweet from a listener that caught our attention. Brooke Hall ( @Edito...

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by Scott Monty

Once More With Feeling

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "You have the feelings of a gentleman" [3GAB]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzPmpJPxIeEbRjwOh0G0ItFxCkP08hlYLaClea3SGJSP8x73N3wQ-9A9E3NnTgtnOhyphenhyphenaEHBwFV242gIkFMTWDBC4bY7TL7b7vpJJKTJ2END1g_2asBYZ3mupTsfcPnrjfFUADh1CRK4uk/s1600/CARD+-+brown+study.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzPmpJPxIeEbRjwOh0G0ItFxCkP08hlYLaClea3SGJSP8x73N3wQ-9A9E3NnTgtnOhyphenhyphenaEHBwFV242gIkFMTWDBC4bY7TL7b7vpJJKTJ2END1g_2asBYZ3mupTsfcPnrjfFUADh1CRK4uk/s1600/CARD+-+brown+study.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> I was indulging in one of my non-Sherlockian hobbies the other day — drinking coffee in a booth — when my smartphone started to blow up, all because somebody happened to make a reference to "Stinker! Holmes" and I happened to ask what she meant. My friend, call her Sapphire, said she was alluding to Robert Downey, Jr., whose appearance in two Sherlock Holmes feature films doesn't suggest that he bathed very frequently.<br /> <br /> <br /> If I remember right, I asked, you had a similar complaint about Mycroft in television's <i>Elementary</i>?<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTUAp1FovYFyTskg1eshmTK_OJbimaMVSC_KF4V7IoG-zjGwqWfqhzaHkLqNkc0umUvynVQY6B0lH6oiuKyOLp61CDzIk-ISBC9ieWlYSYHXBBtYByGAQEXkRktogqY8_I7UvtLT9BACa/s1600/Mycroft-elementary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Mycroft has a dirty secret" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTUAp1FovYFyTskg1eshmTK_OJbimaMVSC_KF4V7IoG-zjGwqWfqhzaHkLqNkc0umUvynVQY6B0lH6oiuKyOLp61CDzIk-ISBC9ieWlYSYHXBBtYByGAQEXkRktogqY8_I7UvtLT9BACa/s1600/Mycroft-elementary.jpg" title="Rhys Ifans as Mycroft Holmes in Elementary" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> Conversations on Twitter tend to grow. Our friend Crimson jumped in here: "<i>Elementary</i> is my favorite adaptation for a long, loooooong time, but their Mycroft is among the worst. I know he was supposed to be ill, but he just looked unwashed. Skeezy. "<br /> <br /> <b>Sapphire:</b> "Worse than Thorpe. Worse than Gatiss! Mycroft. Neither of them looked like they needed Febreze."<br /> <br /> <b>Crimson:</b> "I think Rhys Ifans always looks like that."<br /> <br /> <b>Sapphire:</b> "He really, really does. Even in Notting Hill! I would happily spritz him."<br /> <br /> <br /> I'm editing quite a bit here, but I turned the conversation to <i>Elementary</i> as a whole, making a point I've made before, that it's a fascinating show even though Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Watson don't seem to me much like the real, the canonical, Holmes and Watson. <br /> <br /> <br /> <b>Crimson:</b> "I think the H/W relationship in this is one of the absolute best. They have a respectful relationship and consider each other colleagues and equals."<br /> <br /> <b>Sapphire:</b> "They're friends, roomates and do crime-solving sh*t together."<br /> <br /> <b>Me:</b> "They spend most of their time talking about their emotions."<br /> <br /> <b>Crimson:</b> "This is a Holmes who seems much more like a human being. No 'sociopath' bull."<br /> <br /> <b>Sapphire </b>[incredulous about my objection]: "The fact that they talk about their feelings? That they have feelings?"<br /> <br /> <b>Me:</b> "That they talk about them. Endlessly."<br /> <br /> <b>Sapphire:</b> "That doesn't violate the canon for me at all."<br /> <br /> <b>Crimson:</b> "I don't remotely see how that's not canonical. What about 'I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain'?"<br /> <br /> <b>Me:</b> "A 'glimpse' in a crisis is not 15 minutes of soul-baring every episode."<br /> <div> <b>Sapphire:</b> "If that's the main anti-canonical thing to you, we can just fundamentally disagree on the show's merits."<br /> <br /> At about that point, we agreed to disagree — no, really, we did, because I am still not persuaded that the Holmes of the canon is constantly open with Watson about his feelings and his personal life. But I thought the dialogue might shed some light on why Sherlockians never run out of things to talk about.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /></div>

Once More With Feeling

"You have the feelings of a gentleman" [3GAB] I was indulging in one of my non-Sherlockian hobbies the other day — drinking c...

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by Chris Redmond

Qualify for the Next IHOSE Quiz

<div> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> "no memoir...would be complete without some little sketch" [NOBL] </h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKCdVTJ3Uz5Sx7qghyphenhyphenWjhQk8b8Hra-OJ_vIr2xr7t8NWsxqubPHmhYQPKVqJIx-JHEmjT2qK1BKcY_ZmFjeO_1RE_dDa6kKCtQsH9oLT_zpPhUOFZibYKIIigIin_0xIrR-88pypQn3Rt/s1600/IHOSE_caption+19+-+RESI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKCdVTJ3Uz5Sx7qghyphenhyphenWjhQk8b8Hra-OJ_vIr2xr7t8NWsxqubPHmhYQPKVqJIx-JHEmjT2qK1BKcY_ZmFjeO_1RE_dDa6kKCtQsH9oLT_zpPhUOFZibYKIIigIin_0xIrR-88pypQn3Rt/s1600/IHOSE_caption+19+-+RESI.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /> If you had a chance to listen to <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose76" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the latest audio episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>, you heard longtime contributor James O'Leary taking part as a contestant on our quiz game we call "Mental Exaltation. It's a newish feature that we're featuring in every episode. If you'd like to pick up the portion of the episode where we played <a href="http://ihose.co/1OX8ZZt" target="_blank">click here</a> or go to the annotation marked "Mental Exaltation" on the embedded SoundCloud audio below (at approximately 1:22:30).<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/200952720&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">If you've listened to NPR shows like </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Weekend Edition Sunday</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, you'll know that there are opportunities for listeners to participate in quizzes. In the former, a guest typically plays on behalf of a listener - the prize is Carl Kassell's voice on their answering machine. On the latter, the listener plays live on the air and the prize is a book or some NPR tchochke.</span><br /> <br style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">As </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> (the podcast) has a connection with NPR - we've been called "a cross between NPR's </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Car Talk</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Fresh Air</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">" - we thought it would be entirely appropriate to model our own quiz program after the two above.</span><br /> <br style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Here's how "</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Mental Exaltation</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">" works:</span></div> <ul style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-align: left;"> <li>Each month, we'll post a qualifying question to determine a listener who'll play / be played for on the program. Winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries.</li> <li>If you'd like to enter, you must <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub&publisher=445106&sitescope=45933" style="color: #006f85; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">subscribe to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere by email</a>.</li> <li>We'll either have a guest play on your behalf or we'll patch you into the show to have you play over the phone or Skype.</li> <li>If your player or you succeeds in passing the test, you'll have your choice of prizes: a random item from our I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Grab-Bag of Goodies (that's the IHOSE GBG), or the voice of a member of the Baker Street Irregulars on your answering machine.</li> </ul> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <h4 style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: 18.2000007629395px; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"> <b>Qualify now</b></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Our next quiz recording will take place on Sunday, May 3. You have until </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Saturday, May 2 at 11:59 pm ET</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> to qualify. And here's how to enter:</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <iframe frameborder="0" height="1150" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1kNg_1D7pi-Td70LM6JSnok48E_Xqo5I0DySpLOJvG7g/viewform?embedded=true" width="650">Loading...</iframe><br /></div> <br /> <br /> Good luck!<br /> <br /> --<br /> <div> <br /></div>

Qualify for the Next IHOSE Quiz

"no memoir...would be complete without some little sketch" [NOBL]  If you had a chance to listen to  the latest audio epi...

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by Scott Monty

Watson, You Handsome Devil!

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> “With your natural advantages, Watson" [RETI] </h4> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCJbu28urJLyJNNngUroKV4WAlYstygvc27B46fWUIzZzT5qZZu9HHgGlSQvnbgqCxQ1NJ0ouhluod9gN_jyiQZ35Iom-RoJcLPVbyKeT3lt4yl37kLmuKnuEdYcGgpqdo6kcZoLliIPk/s1600/DrWatson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dr. Watson in profile" border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCJbu28urJLyJNNngUroKV4WAlYstygvc27B46fWUIzZzT5qZZu9HHgGlSQvnbgqCxQ1NJ0ouhluod9gN_jyiQZ35Iom-RoJcLPVbyKeT3lt4yl37kLmuKnuEdYcGgpqdo6kcZoLliIPk/s1600/DrWatson.jpg" title="Dr. Watson" width="400" /></a></h4> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the world awaits <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlock</i> Series Four the talk is, per usual, of the sex appeal of Benedict Cumberbatch. In an interview posted on <a href="http://www.bigissue.com/features/interviews/5075/mark-gatiss-interview-benedict-cumberbatch-has-made-sherlock-holmes-sexy" target="_blank">The Big Issue</a>, series co-creator Mark Gatiss states, </span><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“There is something very Mr Darcy-esque about his Sherlock. He is unattainable. He explicitly claims no interest in either sex, therefore he becomes very desirable. But the way Ben plays him and the way he looks is quite Byronic. He has made Sherlock Holmes sexy.”</span></blockquote> </div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldw8dt7wxF1qektmjo1_400.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldw8dt7wxF1qektmjo1_400.png" width="245" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Well, yes. But that is nothing new for Holmes. <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/search/label/William%20Gillette#.VTGkwSFViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">William Gillette</a> was already a matinée idol when he brought the literary detective to the stage in 1899,  and his Holmes generated fangirl squeee among <i>fin de siècle</i> theater goers. Edward Lauterbach in “The Straightjacket of Success: Further Notes on Gillette’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlock Holmes</i>” (Vol 30, No 4 December 1980) writes:</span></div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In her delightful memoir of the early nineteen-hundreds, Gretchen Finletter [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">From the Top of the Stairs</i> (Boston: Little, Brown, 1946)], recalls the girlish admiration she and her friends offered Gillette for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. At the school which Gretchen attended, the girls worshipped either Maude Adams as Peter Pan or William Gillette. </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“The Gillette fans felt they were better organised and much more sophisticated than the Peter Pan group: The advantage of the Gillette circle, as opposed to the Maude Adams party, lay largely in the fact that William Gillette was a man. Little girls of nine and ten adored Maude Adams. It was silly. To shiver over Sherlock Holmes in his silk dressing gown when he cried, “Quick, Watson, the needle!” bared his arm and stuck the hypodermic into the upper wrist, and then gazed out over the audience with that, oh, so tired look—that was a moment of mature experience in one’s life. It made the Peter Pan goings on mere childish falderal.”</span></div> </blockquote> <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/AVvXsEgIkRhVoo7bcPxLr_LegeRDg1uwPU_A3zfoiSoZvlexM6vW9C8FDwLW1Q8DAdN6xHdl8WRKSGvOzdm7AKfC9AAgTIwGbeQdeZFaXe5psUCpjy8RgcG9PF1hSoinTMEVHTsxyDbatyblSyrN/s1600/Gillette_in_Secret_Service_-_FullBody_Shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="William Gillette in Secret Service" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkRhVoo7bcPxLr_LegeRDg1uwPU_A3zfoiSoZvlexM6vW9C8FDwLW1Q8DAdN6xHdl8WRKSGvOzdm7AKfC9AAgTIwGbeQdeZFaXe5psUCpjy8RgcG9PF1hSoinTMEVHTsxyDbatyblSyrN/s1600/Gillette_in_Secret_Service_-_FullBody_Shot.jpg" title="William Gillette in Secret Service" width="308" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Gillette in <i>Secret Service</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Basil Rathbone was no slouch in the looks department, either and he could make his Holmes smolder as in the pick-up scene with Hillary Brook in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Woman in Green </i>(1945). Handsome, suave and debonair Roger Moore traded the suave and debonair for Boy Scout earnest in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlock Holmes in New York </i>(1976). The handsome stayed and there were few complaints about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> aspect of the made-for-TV movie. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jonny Lee Miller’s Sherlocks frequently doff their shirts while BBC <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlock</i> has offered up his backside. If Steven Moffat and Gatiss have Cumberbatch in disguise as Escott the plumber, there might be another opportunity for Sherlock butt crack in 2016.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the comic books Holmes has been portrayed with movie-star or rugged good-looks and even occasionally as chiseled-chinned beefcake.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is, of course, a far cry from Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes. As Watson describes him in <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>:</span></div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">His very person and appearance were such as to strike the attention of the most casual observer. In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller. His eyes were sharp and piercing, save during those intervals of torpor to which I have alluded; and his thin, hawk-like nose gave his whole expression an air of alertness and decision. His chin, too, had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of determination. His hands were invariably blotted with ink and stained with chemicals, yet he was possessed of extraordinary delicacy of touch, as I frequently had occasion to observe when I watched him manipulating his fragile philosophical instruments.</span></div> </blockquote> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is Sidney Paget’s art in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Strand</i> that have become the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Portrait-Profile-Klinefelter/dp/1482371111/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429235309&sr=1-1&keywords=walter+klinefelter">iconic image of Holmes</a> and though they vary in their depiction of Holmes from handsome to ugly, Doyle stated to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tit-Bits</i> in a 1900 interview that Holmes “as I saw him in my imagination--was quite different from that which Mr. Paget pictured....In my own mind, however, he was a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>more beaky-nosed, hawk-faced man approaching more to the Red Indian type....” That is, no matter how Paget drew him, Doyle saw him as less attractive still.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWRd758WpR1gmltrTwJatTiuv7GyWcpsgQmIeIoM23OsCECrZxvhNuGKMqrsKqlxJTUfImjY0PGN-x7vJCD8H9zbvP0kAkfazAW4M4Ecwb7-DIgWtgVRfnSa9YkqoXFYMqJEQfQTTLpOm/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+-+Sidney+Paget+%5BRESI%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWRd758WpR1gmltrTwJatTiuv7GyWcpsgQmIeIoM23OsCECrZxvhNuGKMqrsKqlxJTUfImjY0PGN-x7vJCD8H9zbvP0kAkfazAW4M4Ecwb7-DIgWtgVRfnSa9YkqoXFYMqJEQfQTTLpOm/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+-+Sidney+Paget+%5BRESI%5D.jpg" width="225" /></a></div> <br /> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While Watson rarely describes himself, it is the good doctor who is the looker of the duo and we have that on the authority of Holmes:</span></div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“With your natural advantages, Watson, every lady is your helper and accomplice. What about the girl at the post-office, or the wife of the greengrocer? I can picture you whispering soft nothings with the young lady at the Blue Anchor, and receiving hard somethings in exchange. All this you have left undone." [RETI]</span></div> </blockquote> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“The Retired Colourman” took place in 1898 or 1899 according to internal evidence and using the generally accepted 1852 as the year of Watson’s birth that means that Watson is 46 or 47 years old. While we may note the good-natured ribbing in the double entendre, we can definitely deduce that the middle-aged medico is Cary Grant/George Clooney good-looking. Holmes expects it would be no problem to charm information out of a twenty-something postal worker, a married and harried business woman and a hard-bitten waitress who has heard every come-on at least a dozen times.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Can we also detect a trace of envy in Holmes statement? Holmes “had a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women. He disliked and distrusted the sex, but he was always a chivalrous opponent,” [DYIN] but no doubt that came after studied practice for his profession, not naturally nor with “natural advantages”.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While early movie Watsons such as Ian Fleming and Athole Stewart were more handsome than their Holmeses, Arthur Wontner and Raymond Massey respectively, before Nigel Bruce the cinematic doctor was a minor character at best. It was Bruce's Watson who became the indispensable partner of Holmes, albeit as avuncular comedy relief. Bruce’s legacy has had a long reach; while he may not have been the <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=duff">duff</a>, Watson thereafter was often portrayed as an old-duffer, a bumbler or slow on the uptake. Occasionally he was competent, but rarely a man you could say had “experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents.” (That line of Watson’s, by the way, is not braggadocio but an attempt to dispel the impression that he was a love-besotted mooncalf every time he was around Mary Morstan. A failed attempt in some opinions.) </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While Violet de Merville wouldn't kick Ben Kingsley's dapper Watson from <i>Without A Clue</i> (1988) from her bed, it's Jude Law, and to a lesser extent Lucy Liu, who broke new ground by being a Watson competent and better-looking than Holmes. No knock to Martin Freeman but it is Cumberbatch’s Sherlock who’s the diva who sometimes treats John as an accessory (from "<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Empty Hearse"</span>: Sherlock: “Well, we’ll have to get rid of that [referring to a picture of John’s mustache]….He looks ancient. I can’t be seen to be wandering around with an old man.”) Whatever else the Warner Bros. franchise may have in the way of Canonical faults, they seem to have gotten the looks ratio between Holmes and Watson about right.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihh0IOIXExqzE-iJfT8MmrxEw3Ep9htgwmcFRIhiCb_g07RqB81C7TgsnyinpPeoEIAS8t6bIuskbwRwGzCLeQaVvfx313IBdslZFq0jKlVcinfrEXeqaKZgqE09-_SKYCIVhWVNdzB3sR/s1600/Lucy+Liu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihh0IOIXExqzE-iJfT8MmrxEw3Ep9htgwmcFRIhiCb_g07RqB81C7TgsnyinpPeoEIAS8t6bIuskbwRwGzCLeQaVvfx313IBdslZFq0jKlVcinfrEXeqaKZgqE09-_SKYCIVhWVNdzB3sR/s1600/Lucy+Liu.jpg" width="297" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLZrfLjHu_fmCscFpCIJTaHZLJazlMXOKKkY0DO0HDeLuuDcDINw2PWG78U2gjHhauSG-esDPb4ZEzkxUH4xMGcQ8uVft9btK8Y2tR2c2Nxv5S2HuoWerxTAG2BcHaiDMTRoKiQI37yfI/s1600/Ben+Kingsley+-+Without+a+Clue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLZrfLjHu_fmCscFpCIJTaHZLJazlMXOKKkY0DO0HDeLuuDcDINw2PWG78U2gjHhauSG-esDPb4ZEzkxUH4xMGcQ8uVft9btK8Y2tR2c2Nxv5S2HuoWerxTAG2BcHaiDMTRoKiQI37yfI/s1600/Ben+Kingsley+-+Without+a+Clue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some may counter the notion of a handsome Watson from a passage in “The Sussex Vampire”—undated in the text but generally supposed to take place in 1896:</span></div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Promptly at ten o'clock next morning Ferguson strode into our room. I had remembered him as a long, slab-sided man with loose limbs and a fine turn of speed, which had carried him round many an opposing back. There is surely nothing in life more painful than to meet the wreck of a fine athlete whom one has known in his prime. His great frame had fallen in, his flaxen hair was scanty, and his shoulders were bowed. I fear that I roused corresponding emotions in him.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">"Hullo, Watson," said he, and his voice was still deep and hearty. "You don't look quite the man you did when I threw you over the ropes into the crowd at the Old Deer Park. I expect I have changed a bit also. But it's this last day or two that has aged me.”</span></div> </blockquote> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ll take Holmes assessment over Big Bob Ferguson’s any day. Ferguson obviously divined Watson’s shocked reaction to his appearance, and, as misery loves company, couldn’t help but take a jab at an old competitor. Perhaps Watson had changed--from an “Adonis-like” youth to merely just a “damned handsome” man.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“We all are extremely proud of Benedict Cumberbatch. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sherlock</i> turned him from a respected actor into a star,” said Gatiss. Well deserved, too. But when it comes to Canonical sexy, it’s Sherlock Holmes who walks in John Watson’s comely shadow.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> --<br /> <br /></div>

Watson, You Handsome Devil!

“With your natural advantages, Watson" [RETI]  As the world awaits Sherlock Series Four the talk is, per usual, of the sex appea...

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by James C. O'Leary

Saturday Matinee: The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "Yet there was certainly an element of comedy" [3GAR]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgF4hGTafec0s9z8Tfnd6Y7sLBeUbIXxEafGkIkZhZQ00YqtRmoGyMH5k6mo03aHWPdbVNYQMlsoPJf41JwAi8KA7W2KtHbdb2T6VCdYFfN7oNPv6jATwjDDFM-_sd-tzOrkWaWfbfPfu/s1600/The+Leaping+Fish.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgF4hGTafec0s9z8Tfnd6Y7sLBeUbIXxEafGkIkZhZQ00YqtRmoGyMH5k6mo03aHWPdbVNYQMlsoPJf41JwAi8KA7W2KtHbdb2T6VCdYFfN7oNPv6jATwjDDFM-_sd-tzOrkWaWfbfPfu/s1600/The+Leaping+Fish.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Humor in Holmesian pastiche usually occurs within a given historical context. For example, the Guy Ritchie films with Robert Downey Jr. take their cues from "buddy-action" films, while 1988's <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096454/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank"><i>Without a Clue</i></a></b> is much more farcical. Given that current times might not see certain behaviors as grist for humor, there is an element of slightly forbidden pleasure when watching the 1916 silent comedy <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8W52FNmEFY" target="_blank">The Mystery of the Leaping Fish</a></i>.<br /> <br /> For many who participated in the making of this film, <i>The Mystery of the Leaping Fish</i> is an unusual departure for many of the participants. For Douglas Fairbanks (who stars as Coke Ennyday, a riff on Craig Kennedy), it was a chance for the swashbuckling hero to star in a madcap comedy. (In his portrayal of a Holmes-like character, Fairbanks gives him a slightly greater physicality, and many of the stunts - including an aquatic sequence - have a great energy and enthusiasm). The writer - Tod Browning - would later direct movies like <i><b>Freaks</b> </i>and <b><i>Dracula</i></b>. There is even a more tragic aspect - Alma Rubens (who plays Ennyday's assistant) died due to morphine addiction...<br /> <br /> And it is that casual, comic portrayal of drug addiction that gives <i>The Mystery of the Leaping Fish</i> a slightly unusual edge. Much like within canon stories, there is a seeming acceptance of regular cocaine use as it was seen as something of a "wonder drug". Given that within twenty years of <i>Leaping Fish</i>, both the <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-harrison-act.htm" target="_blank">Harrison Act</a> and the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93301189" target="_blank">Hayes Code</a> would make it harder to make such a lighthearted look at addiction....but for Sherlockians, <i>The Mystery of The Leaping Fish</i> is an interesting curiosity, and well worth seeking out. <br /> <br /> <center> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N8W52FNmEFY" width="600"></iframe></center> <br /> --<br /> <br />

Saturday Matinee: The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

"Yet there was certainly an element of comedy" [3GAR] Humor in Holmesian pastiche usually occurs within a given historical co...

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by Gordon D

St. George and his Sherlock Holmes Connections

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "Saints have never flourished in those parts" [HOUN]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0j7cBbSl8AAiTj56i3Q0m6qP-YgIHqwABcT-jKMhqlZnS1nqMrIk_aWDLMmz66pPKyL5PmO9LNJN0dZD3U58QsJeXxhCljI1KyL6o3mig9tBnxWXdzBj6ueeRonPqmhjPXN9MMV2tH0D/s1600/St.+George+and+the+Dragon+Paolo+Uccello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="St. George and the Dragon - Uccello" border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0j7cBbSl8AAiTj56i3Q0m6qP-YgIHqwABcT-jKMhqlZnS1nqMrIk_aWDLMmz66pPKyL5PmO9LNJN0dZD3U58QsJeXxhCljI1KyL6o3mig9tBnxWXdzBj6ueeRonPqmhjPXN9MMV2tH0D/s1600/St.+George+and+the+Dragon+Paolo+Uccello.jpg" title="St. George slaying the dragon" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Everybody knows of St. Patrick's Day on March 17, honoring the patron saint of Ireland, but England's patron saint, George, marks his Day today, April 23, with far less press. (The other two components of the United Kingdom also have saints: Scotland's St. Andrew is honored on November 30, Wales's St. David on March 1.)<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> St. George's Day is not an English holiday, and the St. George's Cross, red on a white background, is associated mostly with soccer fans, though it does appear as one component of the Union Jack. St. George is, however, a significant figure in English folklore and literature, so it's no surprise that he makes a few appearances in the tales of Sherlock Holmes. </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Three explicit mentions of him have, as one might expect, a religious connection. </div> <div> <ol> <li>From <b>"The Man with the Twisted Lip"</b>: "Isa Whitney, brother of the late Elias Whitney, DD, Principal of the Theological College of St. George's, was much addicted to opium." </li> <li>In <b>"The Noble Bachelor"</b> there are two mentions of  the location of the ill-fated wedding, <a href="http://www.stgeorgeshanoversquare.org/" target="_blank">St. George's Church in Hanover Square</a>. </li> <li>From <b>"The Crooked Man"</b>: "Mrs. Barclay was, it appears, a member of the Roman Catholic Church and had interested herself very much in the establishment of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_of_St_George" target="_blank">Guild of St. George</a>, which was formed in connection with the Watt Street Chapel for the purpose of supplying the poor with cast-off clothing."</li> </ol> <br /> But it's also St. George who is meant when Sherlock Holmes in "The Priory School" and "The Six Napoleons" swears "By George!" In fact the same oath is used ten times in canonical stories — twice by Holmes, twice by Lestrade, twice by Carruthers of "The Solitary Cyclist", and once each by Stapleton, Inspector Martin, Stanley Hopkins, and Leverton, hero of the Long Island cave mystery, in "The Red Circle", who is certainly no Englishman. These incidents all come in the second half of the canon. It can be assumed that "By George!" is a euphemistic substitution for "By God!" but even so it was strong language, apparently not suitable for use in any of the Holmes tales published before the twentieth century.</div> <div> <br /></div> <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/AVvXsEj9jz8kIy5emxgqIOQw_mKF0AY_Fa9C98h0AE0FiX893VemoLVosczeDM0vZtyI2z5gTbI6BGjVSlw1wUXwGsMdDIuVHZfegDWsqNFveRvBSUIA4oaOAQr6FtVUO0SuzVqtvPIOIpicu7tg/s1600/Union_Flag_and_St_Georges_Cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jz8kIy5emxgqIOQw_mKF0AY_Fa9C98h0AE0FiX893VemoLVosczeDM0vZtyI2z5gTbI6BGjVSlw1wUXwGsMdDIuVHZfegDWsqNFveRvBSUIA4oaOAQr6FtVUO0SuzVqtvPIOIpicu7tg/s1600/Union_Flag_and_St_Georges_Cross.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: "<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Flag_and_St_Georges_Cross.jpg#/media/File:Union_Flag_and_St_Georges_Cross.jpg" target="_blank">Union Flag and St Georges Cross</a>" by THOR - Summer Sky in Southsea England. <br /> Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <br /> St. George himself was no Englishman either, but a Roman soldier, born in Palestine in the third century AD. The principal legend about his life is that he killed a (presumably diabolical) dragon, rescuing a maiden in the process. On the strength of that feat of heroism he is the patron saint not only of England but of Portugal, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, and dozens of other places, not to mention the Scout movement and herpes sufferers. In his honor, April 23 is a holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.<br /> <br /> And in his honour, according to one recent count, England has 104 pubs called the "George and Dragon". None of them figures in the Sherlock Holmes tales, although Holmes and Watson stay at the "Green Dragon," perhaps representing the creature St. George slew, when they leave London to investigate the affair of "Shoscombe Old Place". Charles Augustus Milverton's safe is a metaphorical dragon, "this green and gold monster, the dragon which held in its maw the reputation of many fair ladies," and in that case Holmes himself stands in for St. George when he conquers the monster.<br /> <br /> A very familiar reference to England's patron saint comes in the play <i>Henry V</i>, whose author, William Shakespeare, happens to mark his birthday on St. George's Day. He provides a brilliant speech for the young king, rallying his troops before the battle of Agincourt, which was fought exactly 600 years ago this October. "Follow your spirit," Henry (or Harry) urges them, "and upon this charge, Cry — God for Harry! England and Saint George!" Just a few words earlier, what does Henry tell his soldiers? All Sherlockians know that clarion call, which Sherlock Holmes quotes as he rouses Watson in "The Abbey Grange": <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "The game's afoot!" </blockquote> </div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APaolo_Uccello_047.jpg" target="_blank">Paolo Uccello [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons</a></span></i><br /> --</div>

St. George and his Sherlock Holmes Connections

"Saints have never flourished in those parts" [HOUN] Everybody knows of St. Patrick's Day on March 17, honoring the patro...

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by Chris Redmond

The BBC Sherlock Is Actually Indian

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "Good gracious, Mr. Holmes" [3STU]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmlcsrZ8PktV9LoRpZgfF70hoNgJsh07vPsDPHdpJ-OZ-x4F7iYtCPW7YsD3JiT2crb_vx8oj2d8mJM_4Ut8JA03tGIO8JJ6vOyK-PJD2v-_aSH8vM_rq9U54aiPCWYm3HfOdxtAsipzA/s1600/Fort+of+Agra+-+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmlcsrZ8PktV9LoRpZgfF70hoNgJsh07vPsDPHdpJ-OZ-x4F7iYtCPW7YsD3JiT2crb_vx8oj2d8mJM_4Ut8JA03tGIO8JJ6vOyK-PJD2v-_aSH8vM_rq9U54aiPCWYm3HfOdxtAsipzA/s1600/Fort+of+Agra+-+cropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <i>Sherlock</i> is an <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10501730/Sherlock-how-it-became-a-global-phenomenon.html" target="_blank">international phenomenon</a>. From the legions of fans who travel to catch a glimpse of Speedy's Cafe on North Gower Street (the very real street where Baker Street is set in the series) to the hordes of online tributes to the show on Tumblr, blogs and discussion forums, there are devoted fans from around the world who dissect the episodes and wait (and wait...and wait...) for the new seasons to arrive.<br /> <br /> But you might be surprised to learn that new evidence has been uncovered to indicate that <i>Sherlock</i> is not a British export at all. While it may be globally popular, there are indications that Sherlock is actually an Indian show about an Indian detective.<br /> <br /> We'll leave it to the characters in Goodness Gracious Me to give you <a href="https://youtu.be/aqc9mQEbmS4" target="_blank">the explanation</a>.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aqc9mQEbmS4" width="640"></iframe><br /> <br /></div> <br /> Thanks to Kumar Bhatia of the <a href="http://www.sherlockholmessociety.in/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Society of India</a> for the tip.<br /> <br /> And as a bonus, here's the <i>Sherlock </i>theme <a href="https://youtu.be/EuO6rdsnN8c" target="_blank">as played by the Indian Jam Project</a>:<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EuO6rdsnN8c?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /> <br /></div> <br /> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: "<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_du_fort_d%27Agra_(1901).jpg#/media/File:Plan_du_fort_d%27Agra_(1901).jpg">Plan du fort d'Agra (1901)</a>" by <span lang="en">Unknown</span> - scanned from <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray%27s_Handbooks_for_Travellers" title="en:Murray's Handbooks for Travellers">Murray's Handbooks for Travellers</a> <a class="external text" href="http://openlibrary.org/books/OL23302766M/A_handbook_for_travellers_in_India_Burma_and_Ceylon_.." rel="nofollow">A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma, and Ceylon (8th ed.), London: J. Murray, 1911</a> by <a class="external text" href="http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/identity_info.html" rel="nofollow">Prof. Emerita Frances Pritchett, Columbia University</a>. Image found at <a class="external free" href="http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1600_1699/agrafort/maps/murray1901.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1600_1699/agrafort/maps/murray1901.jpg</a> in Sept 2013 and used with permission from FP.. Licensed under Public Domain via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/">Wikimedia Commons</a>.</i></span><br /> <br /> --

The BBC Sherlock Is Actually Indian

"Good gracious, Mr. Holmes" [3STU] Sherlock is an international phenomenon . From the legions of fans who travel to catch a ...

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by Scott Monty

New Mr. Holmes Trailer

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes" [SPEC]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlzN7p4lEIn049_4dh6rv0ykmAtMaKOOWidZyQNhWMgGKJU65hYJMnWwJWzdjH-rpuOWm-QL-Nvw_o4QkdxnS2yaa5b5ObqAP617hD6eo18pXvIGQvJ0oAf2sxqxZVzIvW2oVuhfG6aSm/s1600/mr-holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlzN7p4lEIn049_4dh6rv0ykmAtMaKOOWidZyQNhWMgGKJU65hYJMnWwJWzdjH-rpuOWm-QL-Nvw_o4QkdxnS2yaa5b5ObqAP617hD6eo18pXvIGQvJ0oAf2sxqxZVzIvW2oVuhfG6aSm/s1600/mr-holmes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> As we prepare for Sir Ian McKellen to grace the theaters this summer in <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3168230/" target="_blank">Mr. Holmes</a></i>, we've been afforded the opportunity to see <a href="https://youtu.be/KSsf17Exa4g" target="_blank">the latest trailer</a>.<br /> <br /> The story is set in 1947, following a long-retired Sherlock Holmes living in Sussex with his housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her son (Milo Parker), who is showing some budding detective skills. Holmes finds himself haunted by an unsolved 50-year old case, but due to a deteriorating memory he remembers only fragments of the case: a confrontation with an angry husband, a secret bond with his beautiful but unstable wife.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> The film is directed by Bill Condon, who also directed Gods and Monsters and Dreamgirls, among other films. It debuts in the US at the San Francisco Film Festival on April 25 and at the USA Film Festival on April 26. Wider distribution dates: June 19, 2015 in the UK and July 17, 2015 in the U.S.</div> <div> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KSsf17Exa4g?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /> <br /> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0G1lIBgk4PA?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /></div> <br /> <br /> As an aside, the casting of Nicholas Rowe as Sherlock Holmes of the movies is sheer genius.<br /> <br /> What do you think? Are you looking forward to seeing <i>Mr. Holmes</i>?<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /></div>

New Mr. Holmes Trailer

"I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes" [SPEC] As we prepare for Sir Ian McKellen to grace the theaters this summer in  Mr. Holmes ...

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by Scott Monty

Sherlock Christmas Special Will Be Set in 1895

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "I have never known my friend to be in better form, both mental and physical, than in the year '95." [BLAC] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil25bWJGvYS5Q-syd7InviWRoDl4AOGlfbPOkm-4HPvI4LdGMEpCYX3KTbbskpLZuxE4NfGwruc7-JtrYOZP80F_i-_Ux21tmwYGm6V0zEokTCJ2hkkXHhJQZYSGrqKb3Vcg8pjPOLGfU9/s1600/BBC+One+Christmas+Sherlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in Victorian costume" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil25bWJGvYS5Q-syd7InviWRoDl4AOGlfbPOkm-4HPvI4LdGMEpCYX3KTbbskpLZuxE4NfGwruc7-JtrYOZP80F_i-_Ux21tmwYGm6V0zEokTCJ2hkkXHhJQZYSGrqKb3Vcg8pjPOLGfU9/s1600/BBC+One+Christmas+Sherlock.jpg" title="Cumberbatch and Freeman in period clothing" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> We've known for some time that the upcoming Christmas special of <i>Sherlock </i>will be <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/11/sherlock-221back-special-teaser.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">set in Victorian times</a>. But the question as to exactly <i>when</i> in Victorian times has been something of a mystery.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/32380304/benedict-cumberbatchs-sherlock-goes-back-to-1895" target="_blank">According to the BBC</a>, the year in which the episode will be set is the perennially favorite 1895. Mark Gatiss himself disabused any notion that the year was 1885, as some speculations posited, when he said, "I can correct something that has been misreported. The series is set in 1895, not 1885."<br /> <br /> Astute viewers will recall that Watson's blog counter is stuck at 1895, which itself is a nod to the classic poem <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2013/10/celebrate-national-poetry-day.html#.VTZTwiFViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"221B"</a> by Vincent Starrett, BSI ("<i>A Study in Scarlet</i>"), which reads in part:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;"> Here, though the world explode, these two survive,<br />And it is always eighteen ninety-five.</blockquote> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WDoAez_fhXKxlbs4Zso2K7-dFUukV_AcwvsevkCDcDC4vG-RZ-njI2DfATt0MuQasfZLQ5278w3bt1JPzVON-OSbytM3xMDAjkE_l_6sKVrbQHEqOIkmQrx8zBYgolGY4YvLFQMZ_9xK/s1600/221B+-+Starrett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Vincent Starrett's classic "221B" poem" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WDoAez_fhXKxlbs4Zso2K7-dFUukV_AcwvsevkCDcDC4vG-RZ-njI2DfATt0MuQasfZLQ5278w3bt1JPzVON-OSbytM3xMDAjkE_l_6sKVrbQHEqOIkmQrx8zBYgolGY4YvLFQMZ_9xK/s1600/221B+-+Starrett.jpg" title=""221B" by Vincent Starrett" width="582" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> --<br /> <br />

Sherlock Christmas Special Will Be Set in 1895

"I have never known my friend to be in better form, both mental and physical, than in the year '95." [BLAC]  We've kn...

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by Scott Monty

Interview with Author GC Rosenquist

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "some deadly story linked to it"[BLUE]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7ulztGtiWVuQaxqM7ZqpW3FEClC8z4kS91ytryq2gdFcDsSjgCVXKE_jptaHzU-H7fzqz4Vrcat9Jbzeg6Jq5-iDpbOPQqZGLHKIAG8oDkWmFihWMi6nURhGAXRi6Yo5PNsUwDwHL2WO/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+Pearl+of+Death.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7ulztGtiWVuQaxqM7ZqpW3FEClC8z4kS91ytryq2gdFcDsSjgCVXKE_jptaHzU-H7fzqz4Vrcat9Jbzeg6Jq5-iDpbOPQqZGLHKIAG8oDkWmFihWMi6nURhGAXRi6Yo5PNsUwDwHL2WO/s1600/Sherlock+Holmes+Pearl+of+Death.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> Author GC Rosenquist is mainly known as a talented writer of science-fiction whose works have been compared to that of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov.  So, it was to my surprise when Rosenquist penned <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1Fa24eC" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes: The Pearl of Death and Other Early Storie</a>s</i>, his first Sherlock Holmes collection, and one that is decidedly traditional.  In fact, all the stories in this collection take place before the Great Hiatus.  I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Rosenquist and ask why he turned his attention from robots in the distant future to the world's first consulting detective in the Victorian era.<br /> <br /> <h4> I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere:  You are mainly known as a writer of Science Fiction stories. What made you decide to write traditional early adventures of Sherlock Holmes as opposed to Holmes in a science-fiction universe<img border="0" src="file:///C:/Users/Derrick/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif" />?</h4> GC Rosenquist:  First of all, to see if I could even write a palatable Sherlock Holmes story by staying within the strict dictates of the original canon. I find that when I challenge myself as a writer, the results always turn out better than expected. I had been a huge Holmes fan going way back to my youth and could never see him solving crimes in outer space or even during the present day. For me, Holmes, pure and brilliant, belongs to that late nineteenth century London where murder is committed in dark alleys between flats or on the fog-drenched moors where hounds with glowing demon eyes prowl for victims. So the first Holmes story I wrote was “The Late Constable Avery,” and to my surprise, it turned out pretty well. And most importantly, the story was respectful to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legacy. When I write a Holmes story it’s always in the back of my mind – “Would Sir A.C. Doyle approve of this effort?” I consider Holmes, Watson and the entire canon sacred ground. That’s very important to me.<br /> <b><br /> </b> <br /> <h4> IHOSE:  The opening<img border="0" src="file:///C:/Users/Derrick/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif" /> story in your collection, "The Pearl of Death," is fast paced and action packed. It reminded me of the new film series with Robert Downey, Jr. Was there a particular Holmes actor you were envisioning when drafting these tales?</h4> GCR:  No. I had purchased a collection of Holmes stories a few years ago titled “The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes,” a book that reprinted 37 Holmes stories as they were originally published in the Strand magazine, illustrated by the great Sidney Paget. Mr Paget’s illustrations are the standard and his interpretation of Holmes is perfect, so when I write a Holmes story it’s always with Mr Paget’s Holmes in my mind.<br /> <b><br /> </b> <br /> <h4> <b>IHOSE: While most of your collection follows the typical Holmes mystery, two of your tales, "The </b><b>Lure of the Rhinoceros Head," and "The Predictability Problem<img border="0" src="file:///C:/Users/Derrick/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif" />," feel more like gags and are pretty funny. Was it difficult to write humorous Sherlock Holmes tales?</b></h4> <br /> GCR:  I think ironic is the better word. Sure, I’ll drop in snippets of humor to lighten the mood of a particularly dark scene, but what I’m truly concentrating on in those two stories is irony. The irony in “The lure of the Rhinoceros head” comes from who the murderer is. In “The Predictability Problem,” I thought it would be supremely fascinating to be a fly on the wall while Holmes and Jules Verne meet in a quiet hotel room and discuss the future of world affairs, with the ironic end-result of their conversation being the whole point of the story.<br /> <b><br /> </b> <br /> <h4> <b>IHOSE:    The question I ask all Sherlockians. If you were stranded on a desert island with only one </b><b>Sherlock Holmes story, which would it be and why?</b></h4> <br /> GCR:  Oh, there are so many! But in a pinch, I’d have to go with “The Final Problem.” The story has everything you’d expect in a Holmes story and it’s written with such a high degree of skill, pace, action and intelligence – Doyle at his peak. It’s an epic that spans many different countries, it has the consummate antagonist in Moriarty battling Holmes, also at the peak of his mental powers. The story is satisfying on so many levels and it’s all the more satisfying because it was intended to be Sir A.C. Doyle’s goodbye to Holmes, but it wasn’t. In fact, I consider the next Holmes story, also very enjoyable, “The Adventure of the Empty House" in <i>The Return of Sherlock Holmes,</i> as an extension of “The Final Problem.”<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWc1yHbaW86Nk-xfJ0eWVdMcDhI-8MvPE6PRVr031MWU0uoEz8aCHsqvySeyvm6wpm-KiWP_Ngc8aj0uCL0KMHvmCyZxRJ74Pih80NjMrI-nAaehA4dhcKNR8st1pdjHVWJnKx9siNzoJ/s1600/GCRosenquist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWc1yHbaW86Nk-xfJ0eWVdMcDhI-8MvPE6PRVr031MWU0uoEz8aCHsqvySeyvm6wpm-KiWP_Ngc8aj0uCL0KMHvmCyZxRJ74Pih80NjMrI-nAaehA4dhcKNR8st1pdjHVWJnKx9siNzoJ/s1600/GCRosenquist.jpg" /></a></div> <h4> <b>IHOSE: What are your current projects?</b></h4> GCR:  I’ve just completed a Holmes story titled “The Strange Case of the Violin Savant” for an anthology MX Publishing is putting out in the fall and edited by Mr David Marcum and I’m currently working on finishing two novels I started in November of 2014. I’ve always got something brewing. Writers write, right?<br /> <br /> <h4> <b>IHOSE:  Any last thoughts?</b></h4> GCR:  Thank you for this opportunity, Derrick, and it’s my hope that anyone who reads <i>Sherlock Holmes: The Pearl of Death and Other Early Stories</i> enjoys the time they’ve spent with Holmes and Watson.<br /> <br /> To learn more about the many worlds of author GC Rosenquist, you can visit his <a href="http://www.gcrosenquist.com/" target="_blank">website</a> or <a href="http://amzn.to/1beMan0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> page.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thebakerstree-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00VXVF014&asins=B00VXVF014&linkId=I5EIJOZPVZTQOSIY&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"><br /> </iframe><br /> <br />

Interview with Author GC Rosenquist

"some deadly story linked to it"[BLUE] Author GC Rosenquist is mainly known as a talented writer of science-fiction whose wo...

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by Belanger Books

New App Allows You to Play Sherlock Holmes

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "I know where the letters are without looking" [IDEN] </h4> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIJLlzO4u887szC8IghCM8ku21vCIGefamIWH0y6sZSkmXRC2vyv9riYIzOKXUnNbUyk-z2S-HnBHR-XFGuB6imREf-xKImmc5bWV1vpbvTatXj8EIfXEPwT1esLNFhSn3IIspYXghWWQ/s1600/Holmes+cipher+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIJLlzO4u887szC8IghCM8ku21vCIGefamIWH0y6sZSkmXRC2vyv9riYIzOKXUnNbUyk-z2S-HnBHR-XFGuB6imREf-xKImmc5bWV1vpbvTatXj8EIfXEPwT1esLNFhSn3IIspYXghWWQ/s1600/Holmes+cipher+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> If the message on the screen of your phone starts out CNT KBI KFF SBNMY RTG SI WKMG, you might guess that it's a cipher. You might even guess that KFF represented either TOO or ALL, although ODD and EBB are among the possibilities. Getting that one word right would give you a couple of common letters, and then you could start working out other possibilities, very much the way Sherlock Holmes does in "The Dancing Men".<br /> <br /> You can do such a puzzle on an app. <a href="http://beacegames.itch.io/holmes-cryptic-cipher" target="_blank">Holmes Cryptic Cipher</a> is a code puzzle game and it's available for your Android or iOS device. You tackle the cipher by sliding one letter onto another on a control panel at the bottom of the screen. Try moving F onto L, for example, and K onto A, and gradually words start taking shape. Trial and error is the key, and there's an Undo button. <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepQ7tgr-Xn-ZUdpPXvN7XM_pk7ylH64B9-4jmjr8ywpQSdjApbywYxc9NlKN14yLknLCJoScNQXNsDbhAZvH5LUXwz2WL1JMkqxsuP7t1vqTOJ1vnL1gzys0CjqhWoBVI-IDSG13Zs0Ag/s1600/Holmes+cipher+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepQ7tgr-Xn-ZUdpPXvN7XM_pk7ylH64B9-4jmjr8ywpQSdjApbywYxc9NlKN14yLknLCJoScNQXNsDbhAZvH5LUXwz2WL1JMkqxsuP7t1vqTOJ1vnL1gzys0CjqhWoBVI-IDSG13Zs0Ag/s1600/Holmes+cipher+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> I can claim to have mastered three of the four levels of difficulty to the point that I can solve a puzzle in five minutes or less. I haven't tried the "Expert" level yet. The first levels are available in a free version of the game, with the higher levels costing a token amount.<br /> <br /> When you finally solve a puzzle you'll find that you have a brief passage from <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i>. In this case the first four words turn out to be YOU ARE ALL WRONG, the beginning of a passage from "The Engineer's Thumb". Those twelve stories add up to almost 100,000 words, so the number of short passages suitable for the purpose is pretty high.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRRmztjyHhfuEciqSUi9L10-PDgMlsaUU5S5-sEWqQDhewgNe1fV1iIbFiMsPovc8HFQsQV_QqO5gf3hPv_2hMLgnRsX5ktru12nhbiF8-NUu3z6LvwcOlMaLUf8MfALD3rculsNfwjMG/s1600/Holmes+cipher+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRRmztjyHhfuEciqSUi9L10-PDgMlsaUU5S5-sEWqQDhewgNe1fV1iIbFiMsPovc8HFQsQV_QqO5gf3hPv_2hMLgnRsX5ktru12nhbiF8-NUu3z6LvwcOlMaLUf8MfALD3rculsNfwjMG/s1600/Holmes+cipher+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> "I came up with the idea and built a prototype about 10 years ago and then promptly forgot about it," says Gilan Israel, one of the two programmers, now based in Jerusalem, who make up <a href="http://beacegames.nfshost.com/" target="_blank">Beace Games</a>. He's originally from Vancouver.<br /> <br /> "After attending a <a href="http://globalgamejam.org/" target="_blank">Global Game Jam</a> together in January 2015," says Israel, "my neighbour Bill Burdick (originally from Chicago) worked evenings and weekends with me for about a month to turn that old idea into a published game. This is the first time either of us has published a game.<br /> <br /> "We are currently working on some improvements including adding scoring, hints and competitive play through social sites like Facebook. We're also working on a similar game using texts from the King James Version of the Bible."<br /> <br /> --</div> <div> <br /></div>

New App Allows You to Play Sherlock Holmes

"I know where the letters are without looking" [IDEN]  If the message on the screen of your phone starts out CNT KBI KFF SBN...

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by Chris Redmond

Russian Sherlock Holmes Cartoon Translated

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "more of the Russian" [RESI]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk__MVKTYL1N5m5jliCO8l55HF8mfb1p2V4Y0KobMl19dzEnT_JQq6kX7aij-0cOAfUrCBH-tKaDm4TX1VXO27HvoJvfL5JE2wKNgXQ3MSuapgceB9aL7iRHIwbu-x0lv0cjX3aiG6HU-S/s1600/Russian+Sherlock+Cartoon.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk__MVKTYL1N5m5jliCO8l55HF8mfb1p2V4Y0KobMl19dzEnT_JQq6kX7aij-0cOAfUrCBH-tKaDm4TX1VXO27HvoJvfL5JE2wKNgXQ3MSuapgceB9aL7iRHIwbu-x0lv0cjX3aiG6HU-S/s1600/Russian+Sherlock+Cartoon.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Livanov" target="_blank">Vasily Livanov</a> is probably the greatest Sherlock Holmes you've never heard of. Or, if you're an intrepid Sherlockian, it's likely you <i>have</i> heard of him.<br /> <br /> From 1979 to 1986 Lenfilm produced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes_and_Dr._Watson" target="_blank">five films</a> (split into 11 episodes) for Soviet television starring Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes and Vitaly Solomin as Dr. Watson. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes_and_Dr._Watson" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>, the films were as follows:<br /> <ul> <li>1979 <i>Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson</i></li> <ul> <li>1st episode: "Acquaintance" (based on <i>A Study in Scarlet</i> and "The Adventure of the Speckled Band").</li> <li>2nd episode: "Bloody Inscription" (based on <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, with a scene from <i>The Sign of the Four </i>at the beginning).</li> </ul> <li>1980 <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson</i></li> <ul> <li>1st episode: "The Master-Blackmailer" (based on "Charles Augustus Milverton", with a scene from "The Greek Interpreter" at the beginning)</li> <li>2nd episode: "Deadly Fight" (based on "The Final Problem")</li> <li>3rd episode: "Hunt for the Tiger" (based on "The Adventure of the Empty House")</li> </ul> <li>1981 <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>. Two episodes based on <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>.</li> <li>1983 <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Treasures of Agra</i>. Two episodes based on <i>The Sign of the Four</i> and "A Scandal in Bohemia".</li> <li>1986 <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Twentieth Century Approaches</i>. Two episodes based on "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb," "The Adventure of the Second Stain", "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" and "His Last Bow".</li> </ul> The series was extremely popular, earning Livanov an Honorary MBE "for service to the theatre and performing arts" in 2006. And in 2007, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2006/11/was-in-city-in-russia-gold_20.html#.VTH6iiFVikq" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a statue of Livanov and Solomin as Holmes and Watson was installed</a> at the United Kingdom Embassy in Moscow.<br /> <br /> But in 1985, between the fourth and fifth films, Souzmultfilm studio produced an animated short about Sherlock Holmes that was nine minutes in length, called <a href="https://youtu.be/E4kLaF1Q-Ug" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and I</a>. It features a dog named Tom reminiscing to his pups about his adventures with Sherlock Holmes and a very unlikely pair of burglars. As you have probably inferred by now, Livanov provided his voice for Sherlock Holmes.<br /> <br /> Below you can watch the video in its original Russian, which now has English subtitles for the very first time.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E4kLaF1Q-Ug" width="640"></iframe> </div> <br /> Have you ever seen the original Livanov Sherlock Holmes productions? Let us know what you thought of them.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <br />

Russian Sherlock Holmes Cartoon Translated

"more of the Russian" [RESI] Vasily Livanov is probably the greatest Sherlock Holmes you've never heard of. Or, if you...

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by Scott Monty

Episode 76: Out of the Abyss

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "a tremendous abyss" [FINA]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUiyOwFLk-wn_CK3ZCjLe-KNV5jk9PgjRKHuY6YuTVhjDoOdrxNdjve4KjSCokx1pmxzV9AK0VrsYo0PRfeIcNEi4O3wr5RuPR3AvkJxtolxARIraEuCL8MMPm4kIwOhDgs5iIlKPJk9Zp/s1600/Out+of+the+Abyss+square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="BSI Manuscript Series - Out of the Abyss" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUiyOwFLk-wn_CK3ZCjLe-KNV5jk9PgjRKHuY6YuTVhjDoOdrxNdjve4KjSCokx1pmxzV9AK0VrsYo0PRfeIcNEi4O3wr5RuPR3AvkJxtolxARIraEuCL8MMPm4kIwOhDgs5iIlKPJk9Zp/s1600/Out+of+the+Abyss+square.jpg" title="Out of the Abyss" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="100" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/3494586/height/100/width/600/theme/custom/autoplay/yes/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/no-cache/true/render-playlist/no/custom-color/2e386a/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe></div> <br /> The BSI Manuscript series continues to churn out remarkable books on an annual basis. In 2015, we're pleased to see the manuscript for "The Empty House" printed, analyzed and opined in <i><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/abyss.html" target="_blank">Out of the Abyss</a></i>, edited by Robert Katz, BSI ("Dr. Ainstree"), Steven Rothman, BSI ("<i>The Valley of Fear</i>") and Andrew Solberg, BSI ("Professor Coram").<br /> <br /> The trio of editors joined us for a discussion of how this project came about - including getting access to the MS from the famed <a href="http://www.rosenbach.org/" rel="" target="_blank">Rosenbach Museum and Library</a> in Philadelphia. The inimitable Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach (who is most decidedly <b>NOT</b> a physician), rare book dealer and bibliophile, owned the original manuscript and it has remained with his collection in the museum and library. Of course, seeing the story in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's own handwriting is illuminating - particularly as one can look at the corrections (or lack thereof) and get a sense of the author's thought process. Seeing that in light of Holmes's resurrection in "The Empty House" is even more thrilling.<br /> <br /> Contributors to this volume include Catherine Cooke, BSI ("<i>The Book of Life</i>"), who investigates the location of the Empty House, based on previous scholarship throughout the ages; Lyndsay Faye, BSI ("Kitty Winter") who contributes a short story; Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder") with a look at the Col. Morans in film; Brent Morris on sleight of hand and card playing; Chris Redmond, BSI ("Billy") and Lindsay Colwell on the theme of resurrection; and more.<br /> <br /> In addition to discussing everything that went into this volume, we have a sneak preview of the next volume that Bob and Andy are working on together. While they don't yet have a title, the topic is certainly one that will attract a number of readers.<br /> <br /> <h3> Mental Exaltation</h3> <div> We're pleased to bring you another entry in our "Mental Exaltation" quiz program, inspired by NPR's <i>Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me!</i> and written by IHOSE quizmaster Nick Martorelli. <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/02/your-chance-to-win-big-on-ihose.html#.VQW7T_ldWSo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Find our how you can qualify to win</a>.</div> <div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation.</blockquote> <div> </div> </div> <div> In this episode, we welcome James O'Leary of Natick, Massachusetts to the show as a contestant. James has a harrowing triumverate of math questions to answer (do we detect the hand of Prof. Moriarty, former math tutor and Col. Moran's boss?). Listen to see how he did.<br /> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> We wrap up with our regular Gas-Lamp reading, this time taken from the General Editor's Preface from the BSI Manuscript Series.</div> <div> </div> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock076.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 94.6 MB, 1:43:20</h4> <div> <iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/200952720&color=%232879af&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /></div> <div> <h3> Links:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/bsimanuscriptseries.html" target="_blank">The Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series</a></li> <li><i><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/abyss.html" target="_blank">Out of the Abyss</a> </i>- available for sale on the BSJ website for $39.95</li> <li>Be sure to check out <complete id="goog_1883287333"><a href="http://twitter.com/fakeproducthunt" target="_blank">@FakeProductHunt</a> on Twitter</complete></li> <li><complete><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/03/you-say-fanfic-i-say-pastiche-is-there.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">You Say Fanfiction, I Say Pastiche - Is There a Difference?</a></complete></li> <li><complete><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/magazine/my-dear-dear-dear-watson.html" target="_blank">My Dear, Dear Watson</a></complete></li> <li><complete><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/03/mr-holmes-bakehouse-is-anything-but.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A review of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse</a></complete></li> <li><complete><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/03/jeremy-bretts-sherlock-holmes-debuted.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes - 30 years ago</a></complete></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/03/sharp-observations-about-that-needle.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Origins of the phrase "Quick Watson, the needle!"</a> - and <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/03/another-pointed-look-at-needle-reference.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the follow up piece</a>.</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/03/the-earliest-sherlock-holmes-star-trek.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The first Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek crossovers</a></li> <li><a href="http://lostwithoutmyboswell.com/" target="_blank">Lost Without My Boswell</a> - audio recordings of the Sherlock Holmes stories</li> <li><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/22/goodbye-morans-when-a-neighborhood-joint-closes.html" target="_blank">Moran's Chelsea Restaurant may be closing</a></li> <li><a href="http://fourthgarrideb.com/silver-blaze/" target="_blank">The Silver Blaze (Southern Division)</a> will be run in May.</li> <li><a href="http://artintheblood.net/" target="_blank">Art In The Blood</a> discussion forum reopens</li> <li><a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/19/fox-ordering-tv-series-about-sherlock-holmes-author" target="_blank">Conan Doyle and Houdini show ordered by Fox</a></li> </ul> <br /> <br /> <br /> Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> and <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">Scoop.it page</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (still growing, now at over 2,300 members), as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">Facebook</a>,<a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Spreaker</a> and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br /> Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (ihearofsherlock AT gmail DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/200952720&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe> </div> <br /> <h3> Sponsors</h3> This episode includes two sponsors that deserve your attention:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a> (check out the new <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers Volume 1</a>)<br /> <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, where you should get <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html" target="_blank">your annual subscription</a> in now to secure all four issues and a very special Christmas Annual about <i>The Seven Per-Cent Solution</i>.</div> <div> <br /> And special thanks to Hein & Co., James O'Leary and Mary Miller for your generous donations. If you would like to <a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=hK1xNvhQD0hKUPaO-TnV5azaGpfRrj_75PdqgxehR-vhAaZ3WgAkiSXu6LC&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d96f000117187ac9edec8a65b311f447e" target="_blank">help support I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>, you can <a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=hK1xNvhQD0hKUPaO-TnV5azaGpfRrj_75PdqgxehR-vhAaZ3WgAkiSXu6LC&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d96f000117187ac9edec8a65b311f447e" target="_blank">click here</a> or on the "Donate" button in the upper portion of the site.<br /> <br />   --<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/abyss.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdavZIqS6PaWYbkpjCmdgfI8IUXo6owfDYUBmVhELHRTK8GwpZcOKMgnD9vuCm72Dk2AKAodI-cWPliU5a8uEQSY1-8VxFr3LfpPt9eulpNYU4b8Avm3WiOo5KgNplNvp0ynD9rNVLxchJ/s1600/Out+of+the+Abyss.jpg" width="142" /></a></span></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <br /></div> <br /> <br /></div>

Episode 76: Out of the Abyss

"a tremendous abyss" [FINA] The BSI Manuscript series continues to churn out remarkable books on an annual basis. In 201...

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by Scott Monty

A Night to Remember

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "heard of it first by that strange wireless" [LION] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCKZSeZpzL6BlUkOoZ3dSD6j2HaPe8s3PAALc-5k59DdzD1uAM2zIYhiUJRDP-o2J-8WXGhRdf8CKc0GHGiyEC5wze0yMD2vi0Nv22KrZTymRgzx5DbopL87wZBpTrt31S-6iGceU2Yox/s1600/Titanic-Cobh-Harbour-1912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCKZSeZpzL6BlUkOoZ3dSD6j2HaPe8s3PAALc-5k59DdzD1uAM2zIYhiUJRDP-o2J-8WXGhRdf8CKc0GHGiyEC5wze0yMD2vi0Nv22KrZTymRgzx5DbopL87wZBpTrt31S-6iGceU2Yox/s1600/Titanic-Cobh-Harbour-1912.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> Today at 11:40 p.m. we remember that it was exactly 103 years ago the RMS <i>Titanic</i> struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and took 1,517 souls with her by the time she sank at 2:20 a.m.<br /> <br /> The reason it is relevant to Sherlockians is that there are some loose connections worthy of mention. The first is that there were two Marconi wireless radios aboard, staffed by Jack Phillips and Harold Bride. As you observed, the opening quote noted that there was a wireless mentioned in "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane," in which Holmes recounted,<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "It was my old housekeeper who heard of it first by that strange wireless by which such people collect the news of the countryside."</blockquote> <br /> Contrary to popular belief the sinking of the <i>Titanic </i>was not the first time the SOS signal was used (it came into use in 1908), but Bride mentioned to Phillips, who had been using the more popular British CQD signal, that he should use SOS as it might be the last time he would have the opportunity to do so.<br /> <br /> The second connection, is William Seil's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Titanic-Tragedy-Adventures/dp/0947533354?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969"><i>Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Tragedy: A Case to Remember</i></a>, which was also a nod to Walter Lord's famous recounting of the tragedy in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Night-Remember-Walter-Lord/dp/0805077642?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969"><i>A Night to Remember</i></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEihjcIvnYc_N1FSgMRWJH_YysUMIyv64vyWT9ucNCmh-6gx51e6iIoMwV-OrSw4ZwfT62zQ5scrVzutVQuxkuJBshD2nge05uWxNCgDjxPXrgoKJOS240nBWkuoWticUIUssghlGqXJCocpleli8sVhR0R-TpWkQOzrzVg6DNu6-qaetePktvUZSlxFtapBfO0K-KcblCDqY3v8b-Qir-b_d4wYpCV4=" />. In the Sherlock Holmes pastiche, we find the great detective and his faithful colleague on board the doomed liner following an agent on his way to the U.S. with secret submarine plans. While fanciful, it was a quick and fun read.<br /> <br /> For those of you who may be interested in this sort of thing, the <a href="http://titanichistoricalsociety.net/">Titanic Historical Society</a> (THS) has been in existence since 1963. The late founder Ed Kamuda owned a jewelry store in western Massachusetts, where you can find the <a href="http://www.titanic1.org/museum/index.asp">Titanic Museum</a>, Membership in THS includes complimentary admission to the museum and a subscription to the quarterly publication, <i>The Commutator</i>. In addition, the <a href="http://www.titanicattraction.com/">Titanic Museum Attraction</a> in Branson, MO and Pigeon Forge, TN has all sorts of artifacts and a passenger experience that brings visitors onboard through the eyes of a first, second or third-class passenger.<br /> <br /> If history is any guide, this evening you'll be able to follow the Twitter account <a href="https://twitter.com/titanicrealtime" target="_blank">@TitanicRealTime</a>, which takes viewers on the voyage and disaster tweet by chilling tweet. Some examples are below.<br /> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/captain?src=hash">#captain</a> I have told all those in the wireless cabin to leave and look out for themselves. There is nothing more they can do.<br /> — TitanicVoyage (@TitanicRealTime) <a href="https://twitter.com/TitanicRealTime/status/455872511197327360">April 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> </div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/crew?src=hash">#crew</a> Good God, people are jumping from the ship into the sea. They will all perish in the ice cold water…<br /> — TitanicVoyage (@TitanicRealTime) <a href="https://twitter.com/TitanicRealTime/status/455874481253527552">April 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <br /> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoatNo1?src=hash">#BoatNo1</a> All the lights have now dimmed, pure darkness. Only screams can be heard…<br /> — TitanicVoyage (@TitanicRealTime) <a href="https://twitter.com/TitanicRealTime/status/455877586259030016">April 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> As the fateful anniversary is upon us, please take some time to remember the souls of all of those brave men, women and children who perished aboard the Titanic and the icy waters of the North Atlantic 103 years ago. While the tragedy may have been avoidable, it will stand as one of the greatest lessons of all time of man's hubris in the face of nature, and will forever remind us that we need to plan for the worst possible contingencies despite our confidence in our own technological advances.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> They did not die in vain.<br /> <br /> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titanic-Cobh-Harbour-1912.JPG#/media/File:Titanic-Cobh-Harbour-1912.JPG" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></span></i><br /> <i><br /></i> --<br /> <br /> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0947533354&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>  <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1559408685&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>  <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=078686303X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></div> </div> <!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assoc-amazon.com%2Fe%2Fir%3Ft%3Dthebakerstree-20%26l%3Dbtl%26camp%3D213689%26creative%3D392969%26o%3D1%26a%3D0805077642&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEihjcIvnYc_N1FSgMRWJH_YysUMIyv64vyWT9ucNCmh-6gx51e6iIoMwV-OrSw4ZwfT62zQ5scrVzutVQuxkuJBshD2nge05uWxNCgDjxPXrgoKJOS240nBWkuoWticUIUssghlGqXJCocpleli8sVhR0R-TpWkQOzrzVg6DNu6-qaetePktvUZSlxFtapBfO0K-KcblCDqY3v8b-Qir-b_d4wYpCV4=" -->

A Night to Remember

"heard of it first by that strange wireless" [LION] Today at 11:40 p.m. we remember that it was exactly 103 years ago the RM...

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by Scott Monty

By Jove! Thor and Jupiter in Sherlock Holmes Stories

<div style="direction: ltr;"> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> "By Jove, here's the very man himself!" [STUD] </h4> <div style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVCgr5uszx0jGe3rA4epqdtEgHJjphMM6ghxCu58YsHNkvoAJYpIylfJ8dCmtdTnoxUXPplBjynlp64MgIcV-RRXMFODwNSRAumq2w_rE_I1rmerbTepvZ5DHC6Wjeha4841bXr1IQ6wSb/s1600/By+Jove,+Peterson.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="By Jove, Peterson! - The Blue Carbuncle" border="0" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVCgr5uszx0jGe3rA4epqdtEgHJjphMM6ghxCu58YsHNkvoAJYpIylfJ8dCmtdTnoxUXPplBjynlp64MgIcV-RRXMFODwNSRAumq2w_rE_I1rmerbTepvZ5DHC6Wjeha4841bXr1IQ6wSb/s1600/By+Jove,+Peterson.jpg" title="Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. “By Jove, Peterson!” said he, “this is treasure trove indeed. I suppose you know what you have got?”" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /></div> Every Thursday is Thor's day, dedicated to the god of thunder and lightning for the past thousand years or more. That would seem to make it an appropriate day for reading the Sherlock Holmes story titled "The Problem of Thor Bridge". Part of the "problem" (not, please note, "adventure") has to be why the Hampshire estate of J. Neil Gibson, the "Gold King" who is Holmes's client, is named after a Norse god.<br /> <br /> Gibson is an American, not obviously Viking in his origins. He may have acquired the names of Thor Place, Thor Mere and Thor Bridge along with the property, but Hampshire is not as thick with Viking place-names as some of England's more northern counties. So perhaps he assigned the names himself — perhaps it was Thor's hammer that appealed to Gibson? The deity is a blacksmith, remember, and those millions were made initially in gold-mining.<br /> <br /> At a critical moment in this story Holmes tells Joyce Cummings, the barrister representing the wrongly accused Grace Dunbar: "With the help of the god of justice I will give you a case which will make England ring." Thor is by no means a god of justice, a trait that does not seem to have interested the Norse gods much; they assigned justice to a rather obcure deity named Forseti. So if Holmes meant anything in particular there is a good chance he was actually speaking of a God better known in England, the one God who, according to the prophet Isaiah, calls for "judgement and justice from henceforth even for ever".<br /> <br /> But to return to Thursday thoughts: German-speakers do not refer to Thor in the name of this day; Donnerstag is "Thunder Day". Spanish and French use names that start with the letter J, derived from the Roman counterpart of Thor, whose name was Jupiter. He too is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes canon, but very inconspicuously. Look at what Holmes says in "The Bruce-Partington Plans", telling Watson how extraordinary it is that his brother Mycroft should be coming to Baker Street: "Jupiter is descending to-day. What on earth can it mean?"<br /> <br /> Jupiter also figures 22 other times in the Canon. Where? Why, in stories ranging from <i>A Study in Scarlet</i> to "The Lion's Mane", and in the mouths of characters ranging from Hall Pycroft to Sherlock Holmes himself. The god is only a tiny bit difficult to recognize, as he appears under his alternate name: Jove. "By Jove!" says Watson. "If he really wants someone to share the rooms and the expense, I am the very man for him." "By Jove!" says Colonel Hayter in "The Reigate Squires". "Who's killed, then? The J. P. or his son?" And so on, a score of other times.<br /> <br /> Why would so many canonical characters swear by the Roman god of thunder, and not only on Thursdays? Very likely the answer is that they didn't — they swore by God, in plain blasphemous English, and Watson, or Arthur Conan Doyle, or Greenhough Smith of the Strand Magazine substituted a phrase less likely to offend sensitive readers. The origin of the phrase "by Jove" comes from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_%28mythology%29#Name_and_epithets" target="_blank">the Roman practice of swearing by Jove to witness an oath in law courts</a>, and 18th and 19th century polite society adopted this phrase rather than use the more offensive term "by God."</div><div style="direction: ltr;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Listen to a discussion of this topic on <i><a href="https://www.sherlockholmespodcast.com/2023/11/episode-360-by-jove.html" target="_blank">Trifles</a></i>:</h3><div style="direction: ltr;"><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1677808707&color=%239d982e&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/sherlockholmes-trifles" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Sherlock Holmes: Trifles">Sherlock Holmes: Trifles</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/sherlockholmes-trifles/by-jove" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="By Jove!">By Jove!</a></div><br /></div><div style="direction: ltr;"><br /> <br /> For what it's worth, let it be suggested that when Sherlockians swear, they consider using the oath that was good enough for Holmes himself, and bluster "By Jove!" For the most part, we have already mastered the personality trait that has brought Jove's name into modern English without a capital letter: joviality. That word, or the adjective "jovial", appears in the canon ten times. But never is it applied to the flinty, ruthless Neil Gibson — and never to Sherlock Holmes.</div> <div style="direction: ltr;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJs-e9r0MaV4qATeN4Tw53ugVHI5C_lj7zsmD38tutkCURo-jBqrfyZnvCuTHduGAGNFxjeLtflrw5pisKyvlUc-1V7TlaLv-RsPi0Vg_uk8UuhqbwnX2MsCyYXaptvO-fAg4wR1-_XAWb/s1600/by+jove.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJs-e9r0MaV4qATeN4Tw53ugVHI5C_lj7zsmD38tutkCURo-jBqrfyZnvCuTHduGAGNFxjeLtflrw5pisKyvlUc-1V7TlaLv-RsPi0Vg_uk8UuhqbwnX2MsCyYXaptvO-fAg4wR1-_XAWb/s1600/by+jove.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="direction: ltr;"><br /></div><div style="direction: ltr;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Related entry:</h3><div style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/03/sherlock-holmes-julius-caesar-and-ides.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes, Julius Caesar, and the Ides of March</a><br /> <br /><br /> <div> <br /></div> </div>

By Jove! Thor and Jupiter in Sherlock Holmes Stories

"By Jove, here's the very man himself!" [STUD]  Every Thursday is Thor's day, dedicated to the god of thunder and ...

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by Chris Redmond