I recently shared a short video with you that described social media. As you may know, the essence behind social media is sharing information - text, audio, video, photos, etc.
I just found an interesting application that allows me to share a stream of mentions of anything on Twitter with a background of Flickr photos. I've set it to stream mentions of "Sherlock" while backed with images tagged with Sherlockian. See what people are saying and what images show up:
This is also a good time to remind you: if you take photos at any Sherlockian events, please consider uploading them to Flickr and tagging them with "Sherlockian," to share them with other like-minded individuals. You might find that you'll connect with some interesting people that way.
When Burt Wolder and I started the podcast I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere - the first Sherlockian podcast - nearly a year ago, we were immediately faced with one daunting problem: how to explain to people what a podcast is. We tried to do so - but we made a mistake by using the medium itself to explain what it is.
Well, eighteen episodes and nearly a year later, I think I have the solution. The very creative team over at CommonCraft are in the business of providing explanatory videos. They've done a particularly remarkable job with their "plain English" series, which you may have seen if you clicked on the "RSS in Plain English" link over in the sidebar.
Their newest video is Podcasting in Plain English, which you can watch right here on the blog or by clicking on the link. Either way, this should help you to understand what we're doing over at I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere and to hopefully subscribe to our free audio show.
On the front page of YouTube this morning, I came across a video that caught my eye - particularly because of its title: "Sherlockbot and the Case of the Purloined Piggybank."
I was reminded of the quote at the conclusion of A Study in Scarlet: "Populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo Ipse domi simul ac nummos contemplor in arca."
Rough translation: "The public hiss at me, but I cheer myself when in my own house I contemplate the coins in my strong-box."
It's been a while, my faithful readers. But seeing that today is 2/21 (221, get it?), I thought I owed you a post. This not-so-great hiatus of the last month was precipitated by an inordinate amount of work; when I say I was working 20-hour days for the last 4 weeks, it's no exaggeration.
As you may know, there's a lot of hard work that goes into this blog and into my podcast. And working for a startup keeps me extraordinarily busy as well. Add to that my family life, and...well, you get the idea. Anyway, I thought that now it might be appropriate to share a little bit of my daily life with you here.
If you liked the music you heard, you might check out Murray Perahia's album that contains works from J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn and Liszt. I highly recommend it for some quiet, relaxing times.
And I hope to get back on my regular schedule with you shortly.
I'll be in New York for the BSI Weekend, participating in many of the activities. As a service to the community, I'll be providing live updates for those who can't be there - I'll be using Twitter, a microblogging service that is free to join. But you don't have to join to follow along.
I'll be posting on http://twitter.com/S_Holmes, where you can follow along - but I'll also have those updates streaming in little boxes at the top of The Baker Street Blog and The BSI Weekend sites, so you can follow the action there as well. You see that section over to the right labeled "Holmes Was a Very Busy Man"? That's the section where you can see the Twitter updates.
But if you so elect, you can also get updates on your desktop via Twitterific or Twitteroo, or through your browser by using Twitterfoxor Twitbin; or you can get the updates sent directly to you on your mobile phone or through IM.
I'll try to mention people I meet, things that are said, food that is eaten, and sites that I see. But for the ultimate updates, follow me around 10 p.m. EST on Friday, January 11 for real-time updates of those who will be receiving their Investitures into the Baker Street Irregulars.
In addition to "live-tweeting" the events, I'll also put up longer posts here on the blog, so you can learn a little more. I invite any of my readers who are attending the following events - the Gaslight Gala, ASH Wednesday, the Clients of Adrian Mulliner, and Lost in New York with a Bunch of Sherlockians - to please be in touch with me about writing a guest post about your experience with these events. Please email me or leave a comment below.
It's January 6th - which can mean only one thing in our world: it's the birthday of Sherlock Holmes. By all accounts, he's 154 today - and still as sprightly as ever.
First popularized by Christopher Morley, the date of January 6th has become the de facto accepted date for Holmes' birthday. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons.
1. Canonical evidence Of all of the quotes in the Canon, I William Shakespeare was the most often quoted author. And there is only one Shakespearean play that Holmes quotes twice - Twelfth Night. In The Sign of the Four, Holmes concludes, "All is well that ends well." This is from from Act IV, Scene 4. And in 'The Empty House,' Holmes states "'Journeys end in lovers meetings,' as the old play says," from Act II, Scene 3.
The reason the date was chosen is that in Christianity, January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany, or officially the twelfth day of Christmas. I suppose if we were being truly technical about it, the twelfth night of Christmas would fall on January 5th...
Of course the quote I chose for today's post is another Shakespearean quote, but Holmes paraphrased it for his own purposes. It's from Antony and Cleopatra and properly written, it should be: "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety."
2. Personality The second basis for Holmes' birthday being accepted as January 6 is that his personality fits into the sign of Capricorn on the Zodiac. Here's an excerpt from "The Sign of Sherlock Holmes" by Tessa Roberts:
Capricorn is ruled by Saturn the plant of discipline, structure, and isolation. We all know about Sherlock’s discipline and the practical structure he forms as he works on a problem.
If you'd like a further explanation of all of the details, please click on the link to the paper above.
I hope you'll take a moment and wish him happy birthday in your own way. If you'd like to join in the festivities here, please feel free to leave a birthday comment below.
On New Year's Eve, it's my pleasure to bring you somewhat of a unique greeting. My own little Sherlockian (and evidently video) protege joins me for this. I hope you'll indulge me.
I'll have more to share with you tomorrow concerning a look back at the past year and a look forward to 2008. Until then, may your journeys be safe and your celebrations be warm.
This was too good to pass up. Over at the discussion forum Holmesian.net, I came across some wonderful stick artwork by a member named whorl. When I saw the following posted there, I asked permission to repost it here.
So, in honor of the anniversary of "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," I give you animated piece "The Adventure of the Bloo Sparkly" (if you're reading this in a feedreader and can't see the image, please click through to the blog).
If you like this, please let me know and I'll be glad to arrange to have other works displayed here from time to time as well.
For the good people in the northern portion of England, there's about to be a special museum feature afoot. The Yorkshire Museum in (where else?) York is going to be opening a new exhibit on January 1, called "Mystery Files," which encourages visitors to put on their own symbolic deerstalkers and search for clues amid the current exhibits.
At the end of 2008, the search will culminate in the opening of the museum's vault. There are a number of rarely seen exhibits and artifacts that are being displayed as part of this year-long hunt. The full story is available at the York Express.
If you live in or take a visit to the north of England, please do drop us a line and let us know about your experience with this feature at the museum.
[Notice: this is one of a number of contests that I'll be running on the blog here over the next few weeks. I've been lucky enough to have been contacted by some individuals who were interested in getting some publicity for their efforts. I hope you'll have fun with these, participate, and encourage others to do the same.]
You may have heard that in conjunction with the BSI Weekend, the one-man play Sherlock Solo will be performed by Victor L. Cahn at the Kirk Theatre.
The play runs from January 10 through February 3 in New York, so there are other times to see it if you don't make it to during the Weekend festivities (there are so many other things to do!). You can buy tickets at (212) 279-4200.
Or - here's a thought - you can participate in a contest right here on the blog. The producer has given me 5 pairs of tickets that I'll be giving away to my readers. Here's how the giveaway will work:
In the comments section of this post (if you're reading this as an email or through a feedreader, please go to the web site), or on the Baker Street Blog Facebook Group, leave a comment that explains how you've personally been affected by Sherlock Holmes this year. It could be a book, a movie, another Sherlockian, an online discussion - whatever. But tell me some way that the character has enriched your life for 2007.
Entries are due on or before 11:59 PM on December 31, 2007. After that, I'll be choosing winners at random. I'm also promoting this through the Baker Street Blog Facebook Group. I may post additional information to the group only; please join the group now so you don't miss out on any details.
Good luck! I look forward to reading about your experiences!
Sometimes you come across a news item that's just too good to be true. Or in this case, too Canonically accurate. It's almost frightening.
In The Sussex Vampire, Holmes mentions that the Matilda Briggs "was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared." And so it went, that the Giant Rat of Sumatra became one of the most highly recognized of the apocryphal tales - the unrecorded cases of Sherlock Holmes.
So imagine my surprise when I saw a headline on CNN.com today that not only included the Rattus horribilis, but also a mention of one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's other enduring tales: Giant rat found in 'lost world'.
In this case, the Lost World in question is not some South American plateau, but none other than Indonesia - which coincidentally includes Sumatra. In this case, the rodent was found in the Foja mountains in the eastern Papua province, which is not all that far away from Sumatra. Two new species were discovered in an area that is rarely visited by humans - and one of them happened to be a "giant rat" that is about 5 times the size of a normal city rat. I don't know you, but I think city rats are fairly large to begin with. This is approaching being a R.O.U.S. (Rodent Of Unusual Size).
I love it when our little hobby becomes fodder for the headlines and something that was written about nearly 100 years ago becomes fact. I know Conan Doyle was into the psychic phenomena, including spiritualism, but this is just plain uncanny. As Sherlock Holmes himself said, "life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent." ['A Case of Identity']
Darlene Cypser made this discovery and shared it with the Hounds-L list yesterday. I thought it was worth showing here. If Sherlock Holmes owned a computer, this is what it might look like.
If you'd like to see additional photos or read how it was done, please click on the image to be taken to the site. Here's a quick video of how it turned out:
Apiculture, or the practice of keeping bees has been around for millennia. In fact, there is archeological evidence to show that hives were used for keeping bees as early as 900 B.C. It wasn't until the 18th century that scientists began to understand bee biology and realize that what had been called the "king bee" was in fact the queen bee. Click on the above link for more detail on beekping.
All of this is interesting, of course, but some Sherlockian novices may be wondering why I'm discussing beekeeping on this site. When Sherlock Holmes retired to the Sussex Downs, he took up beekeeping (hence the title of the Laurie R. King book The Beekeeper's Apprentice. And Holmes wrote his own scholarly piece on his apicultural studies, entitled Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen.
Today I'd like to celebrate Holmes' hobby or post-retirement studies by sharing a video with you - an interview with a beekeeper.
If you can't see the video above, simply follow this link.
We all have someone without whom our lives would be incredibly different - someone we couldn't do without. For some it's a spouse, a lover, a close relative or a best friend who was there in our hour of need.
The latest entry in the Sherlock Holmes Music Video series is one of an emotional nature, featuring none other than the woman, and called "Here Without You."
If you are reading this in a feedreader, click here to see the video.
In a sharp contrast from our previous videos, in which popular songs were put to moving images of Sherlock Holmes, this installment is purely instrumental.
In a nod to Holmes's recollection of Chopin in A Study in Scarlet ("What's that little thing of Chopin's she plays?"), here's a Chopin nocturne for piano and violin.
If you are using a feedreader and can't see the video, please click here.
Crime historian and storyteller E.J. Wagner writes on the CLP Forum - that's the blog for the Crime Lab Project and forensic science - that she'll be speaking at the Museum of Science in Boston.
From September 30, 2007 to January 1, 2008, the traveling exhibit CSI: The Experience will be making its debut at the MOS. According to the press release:
Visitors are led by cast members who portray investigators on the television show, along with their real-life counterparts, through three separate crime scenes: a city alley, a suburban home, and a woodland. In each setting, visitors are challenged to identify and gather evidence, analyze materials with the help of the latest scientific and technological advances; formulate hypotheses about the crime; and confirm and communicate their findings.
This sounds like a marvelous event - one I know that I plan to attend. With any luck, as the exhibit travels around the country, Ms. Wagner will be available to deliver similar talks.
I'm thankful that I found Sherlock Holmes when I was 14 years old. The stories, the characters, and especially the people with whom I interact have made this world a truly wonderful place to be.
With that, I give you the latest Sherlock Holmes Music Video.
If you're using a feed reader, click here for the video.
With a statement like that it's clear that someone had a fairly high opinion of himself! Well, to be fair, Sherlock Holmes once said:
"I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one's self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers." - The Greek Interpreter
Today's Sherlock Holmes Music Video addresses his sometimes larger-than-life ego.
If you're using a feed reader, click here for the video.
Watson himself tells us about his surprise and amazement when testing the knowledge and limits of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet:
His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar System. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to me to be such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.
“You appear to be astonished,” he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. “Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it.”
I'm not so sure we would be as surprised today, as we seem to be moving farther away from Classical education and focusing more on seemingly less important topics. But one might also assume that the earth revolving around the sun is a fundamental fact that everyone would seem to be aware of.
Which is why my forehead is nicely imprinted with marks of my palm after I read that 1 in 5 Americans believe Sun revolves around the Earth. Either their brain-attics have been cleared of any unnecessary information or they haven't yet found the doorway to it, thanks to role models like Paris Hilton.
Sadly, I don't think the 20% are anything like Sherlock Holmes.
in question is not some South American plateau, but none other than Indonesia - which coincidentally includes Sumatra. In this case, the rodent was found in the Foja mountains in the eastern Papua province, which is not all that far away from Sumatra. Two new species were discovered in an area that is rarely visited by humans - and one of them happened to be a "giant rat" that is about 5 times the size of a normal city rat. I don't know you, but I think city rats are fairly large to begin with. This is approaching being a R.O.U.S. (Rodent Of Unusual Size).
. And Holmes wrote his own scholarly piece on his apicultural studies, entitled 
- will be speaking at the exhibit in the 
“You appear to be astonished,” he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. “Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it.”