Friday Sherlock Links Compendium (September 29 - October 5, 2012)

Wine-Searcher published an essay by Sherlockian Patricia Guy, ASH, BSI entitled ‘Sherlock Holmes and Alcohol: Partners in Solving Crime’ which takes a sober look at the behavior of drinkers in the Canon. I suppose I’ve always assumed there to be an inebriated hue to a few of the Holmes adventures but Ms. Guy enumerates a wide variety of alcohol-related scenes involves all manner of canonical events from Enoch Drebber’s (STUD) insobriety to Holmes taking particular note of the price of Sherry (“…eight pence for a glass of Sherry pointed to one of the most expensive hotels. There are not many in London which charge at that rate.” NOBL). Though the author suggests that “Holmes’s fans may not know that [Holmes] much enjoyed propping up the bar at London and country pubs”, Holmes’s fans are certainly aware of the Dionysian spirit which pervades many a scion dinner - if one has doubts, I invite you to listen to Bill Rabe’s Voices From Baker Street for some of the finest recordings of spirit-tempered Sherlockian revelry ever committed to tape. (Thanks to Susan Rice for the straight tip!)

[Click for Patricia Guy’s Bacchus At Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes & Victorian Drinking Lore.]

Sherlock. Everywhere - the new Tumblr project from the voices (and minds) behind the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere podcast - brilliantly and hilariously tapped into the biggest Internet meme (of last week anyway) with this variation of PSY’s “Gangnam Style“…”Oppa Grimpen Style.” I know amazing right?! Let’s hope their Dartmoor version comes close to the 400 million hits (yes, that’s 4 with a ton of zeros after it) PSY’s video has received on YouTube. “Heyyyy….sexy ladies…” I give you “Oppa Grimpen Style!”

[If you listen closely you can hear the sound of Sydney Paget rolling in his grace.]

Dust & Shadow is having an open call Monday, October 22nd 2012, starting at 10am in NYC. Do you have what it takes to play the Great Detective in the musical adaptation of Ms Lyndsay Faye’s Holmes pastiche Dust & Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr John H. Watson? “Sherlock Holmes: Mid-30s, any ethnicity. An aloof, arch, caustic crimesolving genius with a streak of languid Bohemianism and a strong taste for mayhem. His mind demands constant occupation, in the absence of which he turns to intravenous cocaine and morphine, and he has a chameleon-like ability to become other, more likeable people at the drop of a pin. Devoted to his friend John Watson and generally oblivious to everyone else, but when Jack the Ripper presents him with a gruesome series of murders, he is pushed far beyond limits he didn’t know he possessed. Very upper class/aristocratic British accent when himself, a range of other UK accents when he adopts a new personality. Range: baritone; crass; extremely versatile.” Maybe if Elementary gets canceled Jonny Lee Miller can step in? Congratulations to Ms Faye from Always 1895!

[I love the ‘design aesthetic’ (ie. blood and white) for Dust & Shadow: the Musical. It’s very different than Cats: the Musical.]

Dan Andriacco’s novel The 1895 Murder is set in what I’ve come fondly to think of as The Benignusverse, i.e. the fictional domain of Sebastian McCabe and Jeff Cody and friends. If you have yet to read Mr Andriacco’s No Police Like Holmes and Holmes Sweet Holmes, I suggest catching up ASAP because The 1895 Murder arrives in November. If you’re interested in acquiring a copy gratis, check out “The Always 1895 Murder Give-Away” (nice title!) quiz over on Mr Andriacco’s site with yours truly acting as “judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one” (STUD). Good luck!

[You don’t have to ‘Steal This Book’ now that you can Win This Book!]

College Humor posted a parody of both Sherlock Holmes and Blue’s Clues (a kid’s show about a giant animated blue dog that solves puzzles) in Sherlock Blues Clues which features the ‘host’ Steve attempting to solve a typical Blue’s Clues puzzle, but with a very BBC Sherlock Sherlock looking over his shoulder. Kind of hilarious if you have a sense of humor.

[Sherlock’s BBC Sherlock theme song entrance is an amazing moment.]

Quick Sherlock Links:

Sherlock Holmes Plays ran an interesting interview with David Ruffle, author of The Lyme Regis Horror on MX. “Q: Who is your favourite Doylean villain? DR: Baron Gruner and Charles Milverton are particularly well-drawn and deliciously evil and of course both get their come-uppance in spectacular fashion. To hark back to Granada once more; Anthony Valentine (remember him as Raffles) and Robert Hardy brought those two men to life so vividly.” Read on to find out the best thing about living in Lyme Regis (which is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, a fact I did not know).

Brad Keefauver’s Sherlock Peoria (or is it Sherlock Peoria’s Brad Keefauver…I can’t decide?) has been fire as of late discussing such weighty Sherlockian issues as the human torso in the Canon (“Abs of Sherlock” and “Nerds and Cleavage”). Not to be outdone by himself, Mr Keefauver in Tuesday’s post proposes The Sherlock Holmes Test, a set of criteria sure to join the ranks of intellectually and historically important tests such as the Turing Test, the Test of Time and the Test to See If You Have a Deadly Disease (if your hand’s bigger than your face). Love him or hate him, Mr Keefauver has his opinions and he’s not afraid to post them for the Sherlockian world-at-large to see.

The Baker Street Babes most recent podcast tackles that strange and unclassifiable animal known as Elementary. From their description: “Elementary, the newest player on the Sherlock Holmes market, premiered on CBS on September 27th. A modern take on Holmes starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu (as femme!Watson), many feared it was a cheap BBC knockoff. Not the case. The Babes take a good look at Elementary, how it relates to the canon and other adaptations. Baseball and the lack of exploding trees make appearances, as does an earnest message that new Holmes is always a good thing. Now about those shoes Joan…” For a hilarious reply to the Babes Elementary podcast, check out Brad Keefauver’s (of Sherlock Peoria) “The Baker Street Babes Break New Ground!”

New York Public Library is hosting an event October 20, 2012 - for those not attending this season’s Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes (ASH) Luncheon. “Captain Tom Walker (Ret) will give a talk on his new book on how Sherlock Holmes came to assist the New York Police Department, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in solving the Son of Sam case, the Unibomber, the Mad Bomber, and the yet unsolved Antharax cases. Captain Walker is the author of several popular books including his most famous Fort Apache The Bronx, and Death of A Bronx Cop just to name a few.”

Lyndsay Faye’s talk at Behind the Canonical Screen, the BSI Weekend at UCLA is up and ready for mass consumption on YouTube. Extremely edifying and entertaining. Also, if you’re still jonesing for Ms Faye’s voice and ideas, check out her Baker Street Babes special edition podcast: Special #4 - Lyndsay’s Intro to the Canon. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer published a review of Sherlock Holmes and The Crucifer of Blood by Paul Giovanni - the most famous production having been produced in LA in 1980-81 featuring Charlton Heston (as Holmes) and Jeremy Brett (as Watson!). The review (mildly amusing in itself) is in the form of a letter from Holmes to Watson. This incarnation runs from October 4th to November 25th at the Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley (outside Media).

Den of Geek looks back at Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) with a lengthy essay lamenting the film’s inexplicable failure at the box office as well as it’s many virtues which should cause Sherlock-fans to re-consider this oft-forgotten treasure. 

Tea At 221B posted this lovely Frederic Dorr Steele illustration: Sherlock Holmes Looks at his Illustrator. Truly FDS at his most playful and postmodern!  

[Click image for full sized FDS illustration. Image from the University of Minnesota Special Collections Archive.]

This was posted 7 months ago. It has 23 notes.
  1. trekvero reblogged this from always1895
  2. captainottercrieff reblogged this from shaddicted
  3. scarletsherlock reblogged this from always1895
  4. ftchocoholic reblogged this from bakerstreetbabes
  5. lyndsayfaye reblogged this from daysofstorm
  6. daysofstorm reblogged this from shaddicted
  7. shaddicted reblogged this from bakerstreetbabes
  8. notwiselybuttoowell reblogged this from always1895
  9. curlyfoureyes reblogged this from bakerstreetbabes
  10. semioticsofdeduction reblogged this from bakerstreetbabes
  11. bakerstreetbabes reblogged this from always1895 and added:
    *Cough* May we direct your attention...funny (and meant
  12. speightexpectations reblogged this from always1895
  13. always1895 posted this