Thursday, April 26, 2012

the politics of Sherlock Holmes.


From; Will Durst




'Romney complains the media makes him sound like an out of touch rich guy. Where ever could they have gotten that idea? Maybe when he said he likes to fire people? Or went to the Daytona 500 and ridiculed spectators for wearing cheap rain ponchos? Or admitted he's not a big NASCAR fan, but is friends with a couple team owners. You, sir, are beyond clueless. The anti-Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle has to be spinning in his grave '

Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Occupants of the Empty House April 13, 2012


Once again the Occupants gathered at Alongi’s in DuQuoin for dining and Sherlockian camaraderie. The theme of tonight’s meeting encompassed The Final Problem, the Hiatus and The Empty House.  So many adventures to cover and so little time.  This was the Occupants 35th anniversary meeting and the evening was filled with toasts, recollections and a celebration of 35 years of Sherlockian camaraderie.

Tonight was a very special event.  I provided the toast to The Woman, Irene Adler.  Ms. Adler is one of my favorite women as she hails from my home state of New Jersey.  Might be the Jersey Girl the Boss sings about, although he would be no match for Irene Adler. I thoroughly enjoyed taking a more active role in the meeting. 

Tonight’s paper, which focused on the reasons behind Holmes’ disappearance, was outstanding.  I should know, I wrote it!  (For those of you who don’t know me, that’s just my sense of humor.) And, I am an especially tough critic. So if you are a reader of the Camden House Journal and were not able to make it to the meeting of The Occupants of the Empty House, you have quite a treat coming in the mail.  What made the evening most enjoyable you ask?  Very simply, the Occupants are a wonderful and appreciative audience.  I’m looking forward to my next paper for the Occupants.

The Occupants made a donation to Heifer International this month.  The funds collected will be donated towards the purchase of honeybees. Of course, there has to be a Sherlockian Collection.  I recommend you check out the Heifer International web site.  Another worthy cause supported by The Occupants of the Empty House.

Once again, I invite anyone with an interest in Sherlock Holmes to join us in DuQuoin for a meeting of The Occupants of the Empty House.  As we say, the door is always open.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Ok, this is fun ..

Sherlockian Quotes

Harpooners discussion for April. . BLAN


This month the story for the Harpooners meeting is BLAN,
Written in Holmes’ own hand, we find Holmes in 1903, alone at Baker St,. We are told Watson has “deserted” Holmes for a wife. We assume this to be Watson’s second wife.
His client is a Mr. Dodd, who is concerned about the where abouts of his friend from time in military duty in the Second Boer War.
Some interesting discussion points could be;

  • The Second Boer War
  • Units in the Second Boer War
  • Watson’s second wife
  • Ichthyosis
  • Turkish world issues of the time
  • Leprosy
  • Relationship to other mentioned cases in the story.

Although the case proves to be an arm chair case for Holmes, meaning it doesn’t take him a whole lot of energy or leg work to figure out, it does present some wonderful insights into Holmes’ feelings and respect for Watson, and I believe it also shows some humor in Holmes’ personality.
We are also given one of his most famous quotes in this tale. We also see a Holmes who is kind in his handling of the case.




And it's not even Friday. . .

Credit where credit is due. . .

If you happen to be in London on the 21st. . .

Sherlockian Flash Mob