So something weird happened on the way to my mailbox. Somewhere along the line, the USPS decided it could not actually deliver to me the package my penpal sent. So no new Matthias Reim in the que. I only have a few sound bites from the songs to hear. It is a shame to since I have all kinds of time to learn this CD. Pen pal is reshipping so hopefully the second time will be magic.
In the meantime there is Spotify, and a new app I added to my phone: 8tracks. It started, as so many things do these days with a Pintrest pin. Hot British guys reading Poetry and Prose. Mostly Cumberbatch (Happy Birthday, Old Man!) and Tom Hiddleston. There are a few other great voices; Alan Rickman to make you cry (still not over that), Richard Armitage (for those who miss a tortured Guy) Michael Caine (still waiting for that Alfred smackdown on Bratman), Kenneth Branaugh (because Shakespeare the movies) and David Tennant (expecting Don't Blink to punctuate the Sonnets). It's great fun. And I am sleeping better.
In fact, off the Lexapro and with these gents in me ear all night, not only am I sleeping through BUT I am also not having nightmares. Major HUZZAH! Those things were killing me. And not so softly either. The panic attacks that shoot me out of bed for literally no good & logical reason have stopped. I think this means that I will have to make sure I only watch them being good guys. Or in Armitage's case, the wishing he could be better Guy and not them being assholes about life and everything. Fortunately it will be a while before there is more Jessica Jones. And Netflix has taken the Doctor away until the new streaming BBC is ready. So the only danger is accidentally engaging the memory files and triggering some kind of avalanche of terror. I also skip Hiddles. Sorry Tom, but Loki.... I can't.
Now if only I could find Josh Brolin and Goetz Otto reading things, my audio library will be complete.
Any way. As I was cruising through this new app I realized it is a lot of playlists. And there are German playlists. Matthias playlists. I don't know how this all works. But somehow, there is a way to make my mobile music experience great again. And I shall do so while I await the new CD. In the meantime, well rested me is having a blast with the energy from actual restful sleep.
Showing posts with label British TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British TV. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Today a Widow
Every time I take a facebook quiz regarding my celeb hook up, especially my TV husband, no matter how I answer I get Alan Rickman. Alan Rickman is one of those people for whom I will watch ANYTHING. If he is in the credits I am there.
When I can not sleep I will find his voice in something and let it soothe me to sleep. How he crept into my wheelhouse is a little hard to pin point. As with so many actors and actresses that mean something to us, we can know about them in a variety of places. But it will be one role that just grabs every molecule of your being and takes ownership of your heart.
That role was Colonel Brandon.
Until Sense and Sensibility, I only recognized him as the antagonist from a good many movies. His voice made my skin crawl in a way that was both terrifying and exhilarating. When I saw his name in the credits for S&S I was waiting for him to be the bad guy. When he turned out to be as charming and genial as you could wish any man to be, when he carried her home from a rainy field, a part of my heart belonged to him.
Despite being a movie bad guy extraordinaire, he was a kind soul, a gentleman. The last piece I saw was a short with Emma Thompson, A Song of Lunch.
He has passed, as so many have this week. Between Bowie and Rickman, I am raw. Caught between two Yahrzeits, Shayne's and Sabba Nimoy's. And now to add to it this week. I will have a rough vacation; enough time to cry it all out.
When I can not sleep I will find his voice in something and let it soothe me to sleep. How he crept into my wheelhouse is a little hard to pin point. As with so many actors and actresses that mean something to us, we can know about them in a variety of places. But it will be one role that just grabs every molecule of your being and takes ownership of your heart.
That role was Colonel Brandon.
Until Sense and Sensibility, I only recognized him as the antagonist from a good many movies. His voice made my skin crawl in a way that was both terrifying and exhilarating. When I saw his name in the credits for S&S I was waiting for him to be the bad guy. When he turned out to be as charming and genial as you could wish any man to be, when he carried her home from a rainy field, a part of my heart belonged to him.
Despite being a movie bad guy extraordinaire, he was a kind soul, a gentleman. The last piece I saw was a short with Emma Thompson, A Song of Lunch.
He has passed, as so many have this week. Between Bowie and Rickman, I am raw. Caught between two Yahrzeits, Shayne's and Sabba Nimoy's. And now to add to it this week. I will have a rough vacation; enough time to cry it all out.
Friday, September 18, 2015
I Told Them So: BBC Streaming Service in America
So this showed up in my news feed today....
Apparently if Britain won't love the BBC in its entirety they are now willing to let America love it.
Apparently if Britain won't love the BBC in its entirety they are now willing to let America love it.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Verve
There is a kind of aesthetic that I am drawn to because of my Grandparents. Brocades and damasks were always part of the interior landscape of their home. It is definitely a European thing. When it comes to typesetting the aesthetic I am drawn to is blackletter and art deco or nouveau. The blackletter hand is all over the place with the German heritage. Simple inspirational plagues and the textbooks that Grampa brought with him from Germany were truly beautiful. Art Nouveau and Art Deco type styles have everything to do with the era that they lived when they first came to the states and the influence of advertising legends Alphonse Mucha and Maxfield Parrish.
Enter Verve and Verve Shadow.
This type face is one of the earliest of styles that I associate with the display fonts in publishing novels. Specifically, the editions of Sherlock Holmes and earlier gothic novels. Verve reminds me of the Mystery! type style.
Here I've combined Verve and a blackletter hand called Poppl into what I imagine an art nouveau era Holmes might have ordered for a calling card from the local penman.
And all I can say regarding the next episodes of Sherlock at this point is...
Bring on the Christmas Special!!!!
Enter Verve and Verve Shadow.
This type face is one of the earliest of styles that I associate with the display fonts in publishing novels. Specifically, the editions of Sherlock Holmes and earlier gothic novels. Verve reminds me of the Mystery! type style.
Here I've combined Verve and a blackletter hand called Poppl into what I imagine an art nouveau era Holmes might have ordered for a calling card from the local penman.
Bring on the Christmas Special!!!!
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Britain Hates the BBC
Why does the British government want to do away with the BBC? It's making money hand over fist. Someone is getting rich from the royalties on merchandising for its most popular shows and the world is in love with Britain in a way that I scarcely recall hearing of except in my mother's stories about living through WWII. So why do the Brits in the Houses want to do away with it?
Is The Doctor supplanting The Queen in popularity?
Is Sherlock showing up the Yard? Oh, wait, he always is but I don't mean that as literall... well, yes I do. OK so Sherlock could be an issue.
Are we upset that Moriarty's ringtone is reviving interest in the BeeGees? Who's afraid disco balls will come back into vogue?
Is someone upset that everyone knows the Top Gear guys names and no one can name more than 2 members of either House?
Or is it the theory that if the BBC doesn't produce it America can't steal it?
Most likely it is the infuriating fact that the people around the world have voted that the most valuable thing Britain can offer anyone is an excellence in programming that has garnered such favor and feverish devotion like no other product in Britain has done since Winston Churchill's PR machine went head to head with Nazi propaganda. If I'd been a kid in the 40s I would have wanted to be British. I am so in love with the BBC shows that come our way in the States that if I can't live in Germany I would live in Britain. It must hurt the pride somewhere close to either the greasy elbows in the House of Commons and the silver spoons in the House of Lords for television, of all things, to be the thing. And it is The Thing.
If we are going to have a Fahrenheit 451 life surrounded by four walls of chattering boob tubes then I vote that the BBC be in charge of the programming. I'd rather have Sherlock blathering on about how bored he is than deal with one more reality show from here in the armpit of mediocrity. Oooohh, better still. Four walls of televsions, the four walls of the TARDIS, being on the inside! Being up close and personal with The Doctor himself. You would never get me to leave the house if there was anyway in Hell that I would be able to be in a surround experience like that when Doctor Who is on. You want to rebuilt the British Empire? That's the way to do it.
Instead of building a broadcasting juggernaut that would topple Turner with the merest lift of an eyebrow, someone over there wants to dismantle the BBC. Being independent of advertising money has made the producers and writers work harder t have a quality product that attracts attention and gets the shares of the viewing audience. The competition from seemingly endless pools of funds has made them better. The BBC are the Olympic Athletes of the Broadcast World.
Oooohhhhh, that's it is it? You've a bureaucrat who is being swayed by advertisers to ditch the BBC, force the shows onto commercial support channels and use the bribe of losing the fee to do it. Oh that's good. But you know what? It is stupid. Keep the fee. Keep the BBC. It makes them hungry to do well. And if the BBC is too much competition for the advert support channels then those channels need to up their game and make better shows. If you don't the whole of your entertainment industry will be nothing more than a glut of reality TV shows and you'll look like a bunch of lazy Americans.
On a personal note, the only TV I watch is the BBC on Netflix. I'd buy a license so that you can stream my shows right to me. People around the world being tortured by Sherlock and Doctor Who spoilers while waiting for their appearance on regular TV here would buy that license. Then the only thing I would watch would be the BBC and I wouldn't have to hit up youtube for my Graham Norton.
In other words, Britain....
Is The Doctor supplanting The Queen in popularity?
Is Sherlock showing up the Yard? Oh, wait, he always is but I don't mean that as literall... well, yes I do. OK so Sherlock could be an issue.
Are we upset that Moriarty's ringtone is reviving interest in the BeeGees? Who's afraid disco balls will come back into vogue?
Is someone upset that everyone knows the Top Gear guys names and no one can name more than 2 members of either House?
Or is it the theory that if the BBC doesn't produce it America can't steal it?
Most likely it is the infuriating fact that the people around the world have voted that the most valuable thing Britain can offer anyone is an excellence in programming that has garnered such favor and feverish devotion like no other product in Britain has done since Winston Churchill's PR machine went head to head with Nazi propaganda. If I'd been a kid in the 40s I would have wanted to be British. I am so in love with the BBC shows that come our way in the States that if I can't live in Germany I would live in Britain. It must hurt the pride somewhere close to either the greasy elbows in the House of Commons and the silver spoons in the House of Lords for television, of all things, to be the thing. And it is The Thing.
If we are going to have a Fahrenheit 451 life surrounded by four walls of chattering boob tubes then I vote that the BBC be in charge of the programming. I'd rather have Sherlock blathering on about how bored he is than deal with one more reality show from here in the armpit of mediocrity. Oooohh, better still. Four walls of televsions, the four walls of the TARDIS, being on the inside! Being up close and personal with The Doctor himself. You would never get me to leave the house if there was anyway in Hell that I would be able to be in a surround experience like that when Doctor Who is on. You want to rebuilt the British Empire? That's the way to do it.
Instead of building a broadcasting juggernaut that would topple Turner with the merest lift of an eyebrow, someone over there wants to dismantle the BBC. Being independent of advertising money has made the producers and writers work harder t have a quality product that attracts attention and gets the shares of the viewing audience. The competition from seemingly endless pools of funds has made them better. The BBC are the Olympic Athletes of the Broadcast World.
Oooohhhhh, that's it is it? You've a bureaucrat who is being swayed by advertisers to ditch the BBC, force the shows onto commercial support channels and use the bribe of losing the fee to do it. Oh that's good. But you know what? It is stupid. Keep the fee. Keep the BBC. It makes them hungry to do well. And if the BBC is too much competition for the advert support channels then those channels need to up their game and make better shows. If you don't the whole of your entertainment industry will be nothing more than a glut of reality TV shows and you'll look like a bunch of lazy Americans.
On a personal note, the only TV I watch is the BBC on Netflix. I'd buy a license so that you can stream my shows right to me. People around the world being tortured by Sherlock and Doctor Who spoilers while waiting for their appearance on regular TV here would buy that license. Then the only thing I would watch would be the BBC and I wouldn't have to hit up youtube for my Graham Norton.
In other words, Britain....
I want my BBC!
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Living in the Future
As a kid in the 80s respirating the arts as much as oxygen, the world was a marvelous place. The news reports hyped the latest New York productions in such a way to make me think that Broadway was an entire city unto itself and not just a few blocks of a famed avenue. Cats was huge. I loved the four legged kind that watched soaps with me after school so it stood to reason that I would love the play. And when we got hip deep into PBS the Metropolitan Opera shared a few of its productions with the world. For a long time I was a total stage production junkie. I read about West End productions in London in the national new papers, listened to the public radio station for any word that a production might be shown on PBS. And I dreamed of one day seeing a show.
The only problem with that is living in northern michigan with a high school babysitters income and parents who were deathly afraid to let me be five blocks from the house without supervision. That fear also made it really hard for me as I became as fearful about being that far from home on my own. By the time I started to venture out into the brave new world of independence I was so excited by my local environs I forgot about theater shows. At least until there was the Internet.
But before the the Internet there was Star Trek the Next Generation. A new Enterprise with new gadgets and new toys. The best new toy... the Holodeck. And with the advent of the holodeck my dreams of being able to travel without leaving home were finally possible. At least, it was possible in theory. And validating. Others were thinking what I was thinking. See the worlds without leaving home. But in 1987 that was still just a fantasy, we didn't have the technology.
It is 2015 and we have the technology.
We don't always have the cooperation of international trade, production houses and individual producers. But we have the technology.
Today we are watching a production from the Old Vic Theater in London, Arthur Miller's Crucible. We read it in school. I didn't really understand much of it when we were in school. And with Richard Armitage's appearance on stage I understand what it is I missed. Every girl in Salem had a crush on John Proctor. And the whole thing revolves around one crazy girl with a crush and a man who couldn't let go of a spirtely teenager. That is the crux of the story. And it is little wonder that I didn't understand it when we were in school. But I understand completely now, looking at Richard Armitage on the stage, just exactly what is happening here.
My God, I hope there are very few crazily obsessed fans in his army as this nutter is obsessed John Proctor. Armitage will have no peace if the fans go nuts like this.
The only problem with that is living in northern michigan with a high school babysitters income and parents who were deathly afraid to let me be five blocks from the house without supervision. That fear also made it really hard for me as I became as fearful about being that far from home on my own. By the time I started to venture out into the brave new world of independence I was so excited by my local environs I forgot about theater shows. At least until there was the Internet.
But before the the Internet there was Star Trek the Next Generation. A new Enterprise with new gadgets and new toys. The best new toy... the Holodeck. And with the advent of the holodeck my dreams of being able to travel without leaving home were finally possible. At least, it was possible in theory. And validating. Others were thinking what I was thinking. See the worlds without leaving home. But in 1987 that was still just a fantasy, we didn't have the technology.
It is 2015 and we have the technology.
We don't always have the cooperation of international trade, production houses and individual producers. But we have the technology.
Today we are watching a production from the Old Vic Theater in London, Arthur Miller's Crucible. We read it in school. I didn't really understand much of it when we were in school. And with Richard Armitage's appearance on stage I understand what it is I missed. Every girl in Salem had a crush on John Proctor. And the whole thing revolves around one crazy girl with a crush and a man who couldn't let go of a spirtely teenager. That is the crux of the story. And it is little wonder that I didn't understand it when we were in school. But I understand completely now, looking at Richard Armitage on the stage, just exactly what is happening here.
My God, I hope there are very few crazily obsessed fans in his army as this nutter is obsessed John Proctor. Armitage will have no peace if the fans go nuts like this.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Netfix thinks I'm British
It's official. I've been watching so much British TV over the last few months: Midsomer Murders, the Fall, Sherlock, Call the Midwife, The Bletchly Circle, Dr. Who, Broadchurch, Death Comes to Pemberly, North & South, MI-5, Doc Martin, Monarch of the Glen. And recently, while waiting for more episodes of my favorite shows I've taken to watching movies. You know, what ever random thing that Netflix adds to the recently added and recommended for you category.
Love Actually, Sense and Sensibility, Emma... you know the drill. I even watched a movie with Jude Law in it in which he is a serial killer or possibly a vampire. It never really is very clear. So, bored out of my gord, I started flipping through the recently added. There is a lot of Cary Grant and a lot of American horror movies that probably don't even merit a c rating let alone a b. Everything else seems like solid story telling and is filled with a cast of people that look familiar but I've never heard of before. The titles are intriguing too. So I click and watch.
As the credit roll there are the familiar names mixed in with the unfamiliar. When I get into the movie it turns out that it is British, British writers, British directors and British actors. So it would seem, as I cruised through the recommended for you, that Netflix thinks I am British.
I actually have to hunt through the search feature to find American shows.
Love Actually, Sense and Sensibility, Emma... you know the drill. I even watched a movie with Jude Law in it in which he is a serial killer or possibly a vampire. It never really is very clear. So, bored out of my gord, I started flipping through the recently added. There is a lot of Cary Grant and a lot of American horror movies that probably don't even merit a c rating let alone a b. Everything else seems like solid story telling and is filled with a cast of people that look familiar but I've never heard of before. The titles are intriguing too. So I click and watch.
As the credit roll there are the familiar names mixed in with the unfamiliar. When I get into the movie it turns out that it is British, British writers, British directors and British actors. So it would seem, as I cruised through the recommended for you, that Netflix thinks I am British.
I actually have to hunt through the search feature to find American shows.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Two Years. Countdown Begins
Well, let's be honest. The countdown began the second the credits rolled on Sherlock's series 3 finale. And I find out this week that we have to wait until 2016.
2016!
Two whole years! Two. Count 'em two!!!!!!!!!
MOFFFFFFFFFFFAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is it fair to blame him? Maybe not. But who else is there to blame? Make a great show, promote the hell out of it and then...... make the fans wait.
So while we are waiting we get to hear the rumors about
I can't stand it.
I so can not stand being without Holmes and Watson that when we watch the Desolation of Smaug I have to add Sherlockian commentary to the action. I've started calling the doubting dwarves LeStrade. I am still waiting for Bilbo to call for Mrs. Hudson's help in serving the Dwarves dinner. I imagine Smaug wearing a blue robe when he wakes from his nap born of boredom.
Now, when There and Back comes out, I imagine the first thing that will happen when I see Smaug's desolation of Lake Town will be a plaintive "Ohhhhhhh Sherlock! What a mess!" And for that occasion I am practicing Mrs. Hudson's voice.
I wonder if anyone in Lake Town really misses Smaug.
2016!
Two whole years! Two. Count 'em two!!!!!!!!!
MOFFFFFFFFFFFAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is it fair to blame him? Maybe not. But who else is there to blame? Make a great show, promote the hell out of it and then...... make the fans wait.
So while we are waiting we get to hear the rumors about
- another Holmes boy
- Tom Hiddleston being added to the family as the other Holmes boy
- Moriarty's return
I can't stand it.
I so can not stand being without Holmes and Watson that when we watch the Desolation of Smaug I have to add Sherlockian commentary to the action. I've started calling the doubting dwarves LeStrade. I am still waiting for Bilbo to call for Mrs. Hudson's help in serving the Dwarves dinner. I imagine Smaug wearing a blue robe when he wakes from his nap born of boredom.
Now, when There and Back comes out, I imagine the first thing that will happen when I see Smaug's desolation of Lake Town will be a plaintive "Ohhhhhhh Sherlock! What a mess!" And for that occasion I am practicing Mrs. Hudson's voice.
I wonder if anyone in Lake Town really misses Smaug.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Undershaw Uncertainties
Over at the Undershaw Preservation Trust's Facebok page there is some concern that the trust's plans and desires for the home may not fully come to fruition. I am a little confused by the latest post. However, as with all things, one should not count the chickens before they have hatched.
Those of you interested in the outcome of the UPT campaign should stay tuned, participate where you can and keep your prayers going and your fingers crossed. There is significant support for this project from literary circles around the world. But as with cards and Sith Lords, someone always has something up a sleeve... celebrating now may be premature.
I leave the link up in the sidebar for the moment. Until we know for certain the final outcome, it is wise to keep this project in the forefront. Currently the boards are coming off of the windows, revealing the stained glass panels Doyle designed for the house.
Those of you interested in the outcome of the UPT campaign should stay tuned, participate where you can and keep your prayers going and your fingers crossed. There is significant support for this project from literary circles around the world. But as with cards and Sith Lords, someone always has something up a sleeve... celebrating now may be premature.
I leave the link up in the sidebar for the moment. Until we know for certain the final outcome, it is wise to keep this project in the forefront. Currently the boards are coming off of the windows, revealing the stained glass panels Doyle designed for the house.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Saved!
In what turned out to be a five year mission to explore alternatives to rabid redevelopment, the Undershaw Preservation Trust has successfully raised the funds required to purchase one of the former homes of Arthur Conan Doyle from the developer who purchased it in 2004. After years of languish the home will be restored and dedicated to use as a childrens school.
It is a far better use than ones I have suggested and I am excited that this will happen. Surely there will be a campaign to raise funds for the reconstruction costs. As developments unfold I will post updates.
Well done, friends, well done indeed.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Hello Sweetie
You know what is cool about my boyfriend?
Well one of the things that is cool about him anyway... For an introvert he has absolutely no problem ponying up the Geekhood creds and getting his geek on in public.
Our dinky little town is doing a comicon. And we are going. He wants to do a cosplay thing. I got excited just thinking about the possibilities of being able to maybe do a Sherlock/Watson thing. That would not require me getting to far out of my own character or wardrobe for my first venture into this wild and untamed part of Geekdom. There be dragons here. And all sorts of other things that make you go, Oh my. And I've got my Watson huffing and puffing fairly well perfected. Plus, I have a mean exasperated face to throw into the mix.
Annnnd I was thinking a doctor/companion thing. As if he were in my head and knowing how far I was already running with this in my head, with one text, he shot me down: he doesn't have the cheekbones for either.
Whaaaaaattttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's not about the cheekbones. Its the attitude. It's the witty repartee. It's the quotables (for just in case the costume doesn't gel with the audience). Sweetie has all he needs for either attempt. But alas.... the choice is his.
For myself.... especially since I saw myself in the character the first time I met her, except for the gun-toting & innuendo-slinging, I intend to go as
Well one of the things that is cool about him anyway... For an introvert he has absolutely no problem ponying up the Geekhood creds and getting his geek on in public.
Our dinky little town is doing a comicon. And we are going. He wants to do a cosplay thing. I got excited just thinking about the possibilities of being able to maybe do a Sherlock/Watson thing. That would not require me getting to far out of my own character or wardrobe for my first venture into this wild and untamed part of Geekdom. There be dragons here. And all sorts of other things that make you go, Oh my. And I've got my Watson huffing and puffing fairly well perfected. Plus, I have a mean exasperated face to throw into the mix.
Annnnd I was thinking a doctor/companion thing. As if he were in my head and knowing how far I was already running with this in my head, with one text, he shot me down: he doesn't have the cheekbones for either.
Whaaaaaattttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's not about the cheekbones. Its the attitude. It's the witty repartee. It's the quotables (for just in case the costume doesn't gel with the audience). Sweetie has all he needs for either attempt. But alas.... the choice is his.
For myself.... especially since I saw myself in the character the first time I met her, except for the gun-toting & innuendo-slinging, I intend to go as
 |
| Sorry Internet: I stole the foto and not sure where to find the credit. It's a promo shot. So thanks BBC! |
The Stuff I already (Mostly) Have in my Closet.
And I can make the journal.... which I was going to get around to doing anyway. I have the hair for it, the right shape face and just about the right body type. A trip to Good Will ought to yield the gun belt, maybe the boots.... or I'll wing it and use the black boots I have. I might have to have a jean jacket. And I will update her wardrobe with the appropriate south western styled jewelry if I can find the old turquoise bracelet from mom's stash. I really do mostly have the hair for this.
And we are huge fans of the show. It's ok if we don't match. The comicon is only a couple of months away. And if we have fun we can plan something mathcy for next year. There isn't that much time for the getting ready with all there is to do in other arenas of life.
So... to comicon
Geronimo!!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Old Tradition Set Aside
Normally I would regret the laying aside of any deeply rooted tradition, especially one involving Sir Patrick Stewart. However, since the tradition started with a busted flat, empty social life and a desperate need to be by myself for the holidays and none of those things are exactly the conditions of my life at this time, I think I can cut myself some slack.
I had a cute little 2nd story apartment in the house I grew up in when the tradition started. It started out as a way for me to calm my nerves before I had to deal with the chaos of holiday schedules and the lectures that invariably came with family gatherings. Positioned on the camel back loveseat, surrounded by Victorian trappings of my choosing, with a plate of soft gingerbread cookies & lemon curd (thank you Michelle Ward for that flavor combo!) and some tea in one of Grama Ada's depression era cups, I settled in to listen to Patrick Stewart bring the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol to life while bathed in the glow of tree lights. Good Afternoon!
Of course we all know the story of his one man play, performed yearly in London and how when it hit America during his tenure as Jean-Luc Picard on the Enterprise his fan base exploded with joy. I'd read the articles, seen the snippets on the talk shows, and that was all there was. This was pre-Internet kids. Literally about 4 years before Al Gore invented it. (What a rube!) There was no instant posting to YouTube, Facebook, Reddit etcetera. With the clamor behind these news items the capitalist wheel began to turn in an attempt to spread the joy & accumulate new wealth.
There was talk about making it a book on tape. Sold! Except it took a lot of years to materialize. When I was doing my paper route I had the lady who owned the Book-on-Tape store hunting for it for almost 4 years. And she did finally track it down. I bought that sucker right away. In the meantime Hallmark or TNT channel put it into production with Richard E. Grant and Dominic West in supporting roles. It was a truly amazing production and my favorite of all of them. And not just because the Captain is in it. It's an English Story and I think the first production I'd ever seen with a British cast. It wasn't just that though.... there was actually magic happening during that production and you could see it in the quality of the performances and the set design. I don't think anyone will ever make a better production.
When it was finally offered on DVD I snagged that right away too. And my tradition went from listening to watching.
Over the years I've changed as my circumstance changes. My reaction to the production (truly only a once a year viewing) has changed. When I began I rooted for the transformation. Dominic West is the perfect person to deliver Nephew Fred's lines because he is just naturally kind with a strength that other Fred's have lacked. Most people cast him as a skinny rail of a man to emphasize his relationship to Scrooge perhaps? But Dominic West is tall, broad, almost barrel, chested with a Bull in a China shop physique and the assuredness and self possession not to actually break things. He is physically modeled closer to the Ghost of Christmas Past. You connect him more to the natural affability of the specter and less to the misery Scrooge. And it works. As a viewer, I felt Fred's assertions that Christmas does much good for body and soul were the truest homily I had ever heard in my life. That was when I was content.
Over time I noticed that as life got more complicated and plans were upended, circumstances waned and all the things that I did to help myself were thwarted, that I aligned more with Scrooge. Could people not see the trappings leading them into the kind of poverty that Scrooge feared? Could no one see that while money is a necessary evil the emphasis should not be on evil but on necessary? As in worry less about damning your eternal soul because you want to live in a warm house and worry about how to keep your money long enough to own and heat that house.
Oh I hated Scrooge for his callous belief in work houses and asylums and the confident belief that those who can not take care of themselves should go there. There is a reason many people would rather die than go to one of those institutions..... institutionalized crime, it's insidious what can be done to another in the name of Christian charity. And yet, without knowing the conditions of the things that Scrooge supported he insists if one does not want to take the proffered help then one should die and decrease the surplus population. Indeed.
And being one of the surplus for so long in recent years, while I hated the callousness, I appreciated the sentiment and longed for the release that only the afterlife could bring. And so as I moved closer to thinking like Scrooge I found myself cringing at that wonderfully bubbly laugh. That laugh was the thing that I looked forward to most from the end of the production when I fist saw it. But I have changed.
With that change, it seems the only clear barometer for the progression is my reaction to A Christmas Carol. In that sense I am sad that I never found time for it this year. But a little relieved at the same time. I only barely came away with a handful of cookies to share, trees up (outside) and a lighted undecorated tree up inside before the season ended. I've lived without structure and the responsibility of home dwelling for long enough that I seem to have forgotten how to plan accordingly. So it is okay that this year did not have too many things going on at Christmas.
I exchanged one British tradition for another.... I spent the holidays with The Doctor and his message of hope and childlike wonder. And I prefer that, I think, to the war within me to cheer or condemn Scrooge. Perhaps next year we will add that back into the mix. Perhaps next year there will be a host of new traditions to enjoy....
Who knows?
Sunday, January 12, 2014
50 Year Old Tradition
For the last 50 years Britons have gathered around their sets to watch the yearly treat we now know as the Dr. Who Christmas Special. Originally airing amid the chaos of the Kennedy assassination with global focus on American Broadcasts, Dr. Who's pilot episode was rebroadcast when the clamor died down. Since I did not come to Who until Tom Baker's tenure and with only the information available on PBS, I do not know if the Classic Who Doctors have had Christmas themed specials or if this is something indicative of NuWho. I don't care.
In my imagination, children of all ages gather around the telly on those cold dark Winter nights with biscuits and hot chocolate, maybe some eggnog, and surrounded by the glow of tree lights, watch with the transfixed gaze of loyal fans as another magical adventure unfolds in all of its timey wimey glory.
This year, marking the 50th year, I was able to participate in real time. Christmas Day began with rebroadcasts of previous Christmas specials, the Day of the Doctor rebroadcast, followed by the Christmas special and 4 days of a 24 hour Doctor Who marathon.
In the midst of those glorious adventures there was the Queen's Speech.
Another holiday tradition intrinsic to Britain. And I have to say, as she spoke on the traditions and values of family, community and pride of place while keeping anything political out of the mix, I wondered why we can't have nice speeches from our President. The only time he shows up is to rally troops to whatever idea he is espousing in the moment. The Queen's speech reminded me of all those Fireside Chats from FDR that I used to see between features on Matinee at the Bijou. And I liked it a lot.
Thank you BBC America for letting us share in two wonderful traditions. I look forward to sharing Christmas with you next year.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
*gASp! It DOES exist!
So back eons ago when Castle started I participated in everything that had to do with the show and have a nice little collection of the books that have come out with the series. Thankyouverymuch. So when I got into Sherlock and John was writing the blog I thought to myself: "Hmmm... I wonder if that is a thing."
Fangirls and boys, grab your deerstalkers... IT IS A THING.
http://johnwatsonblog.co.uk/blog/26april
I've ben a bit swamped with ideas and small projects... a couple of big projects too. So I didn't go looking for it right away. Today, it showed up in my facebook feed. Whoo Hoo!
Happy Reading everyone.
Fangirls and boys, grab your deerstalkers... IT IS A THING.
http://johnwatsonblog.co.uk/blog/26april
I've ben a bit swamped with ideas and small projects... a couple of big projects too. So I didn't go looking for it right away. Today, it showed up in my facebook feed. Whoo Hoo!
Happy Reading everyone.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Happy 50th!
It's the day of the Doctor.
BBC is currently showing the 50th anniversary special. I have no cable. I am sitting here dying to know what everyone else is now knowing.
And idea...
Dear BBC,
I understand Britons pay 150 quid a year per TV in TV licenses, that a van (fleet of them really) monitors usage and thievery because intellectual content is that important to you. As is, of course, the money that funds these shows. I understand that BBC-America doesn't contribute to production costs. So that licensing fee is your bread and butter. But what about the rest of us?
This is the 21st century and we have the technology that should let you build your own live streaming empire. And it is just as easy as charging everyone who wants your shows 150 quid a year to receive it on any device that they have registered. ABC replays its shows within 24 hours. Netflix gets some current shows as early as 24 hours. The technology exists. The currency calculators exist. It is possible!
It is the day of the Doctor. And I am missing it because we weren't savvy enough to get our Michael Moore state of the art theater set up to simulcast. I don't have cable for a very practical reason, American TV with a handful of exceptions sucks. The DOCTOR.... it's not like this is all that wibbly wobbly and there's nothing convoluted and timey wimey about streaming broadcasts.
You could change the way TV works at its most basic level. Even the playing field.
Why not? No one would pay it for one show?
Right. Not for one show.
But for Sherlock, Broadchurch (please don't make us watch FOX) Top Gear, Doc Martin, Torchwood, anything by an Austen or a Bronte in serial or mini series form, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, Merlin, the Graham Norton Show, archived episodes of Robin Hood, MI-5, Fawlty Towers, classic Doctor Who, Black Books, Spaced, all the Monty Python a person could ever want.... and this is just what comes from the top of my head.
You've spent years trying to put a small dent in the American market. And with America's love affair with your leading men Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hidleston, David Tennant, Martin Freeman (Sorry if I forgot anyone) you are making an even bigger dent than you can imagine. If the American Government has its way (nasty blighters) they will cut PBS funding right out of the budget. Perhaps Obama's obsession with the Doctor is the only reason it hasn't happened with this last round of budget cuts. It will happen one day. We are turning on each other to cut what can be cut from people who are now "lazy" instead of "under privileged". So what will you ex pats do when there is no more PBS? How will you market BBC-A without the benefit of the PBS foothold?
Give us this option now. It's too late for the 50th. But it is not too late to be certain to secure viewers for the 2015 season. I know I am skipping 2014... it's kinda late for that maybe. Who would pay 150.oo for a year for one channel? There are only2 channels I watch anymore... ABC for Castle and BBC with whatever Netflix can get its hands on when it can get its hands on it.
I am poor. BBC streaming would cost twice what Netflix costs. BUT I would have access to EVERYTHING that Netflix does not. So in essence I come out a little ahead buying one channel from you on a per show price. That is not per episode. That is per SHOW. No waiting. No Whining. My appetite is already whetted. I've got a credit card I'd fling at you now if I had the super powers to throw it through this pre-Winter gale.
Why don't you want my money? Did American broadcasters convince you that Americans would never go for that? American broadcasters, like American music execs, don't know what their customers want because they don't want to listen. For decades we've wanted to pay a reasonable price to pick our channels a-la carte rather than buy 200 channels of which only 6 might get a regular look see. As advertising dollars shrink the a-la carte option might be the only real world way to know which channels are actually being watched and by whom. And they wouldn't have to pay 3rd party marketing departments for the information that they collect in their own billing department... YOUR billing department would know better than a marketing exec what to sell to your American fans. Your billing department would be as eerily omniscient as any Who nemesis. Chilling. Imagine the power. Imagine the trump card you could play in a game of pride with American TV Execs.
Naaaaaaaah! You lot will never go for it.
Back in high school with Doctor #4 and Jeremy Brett's Sherlock, I didn't know we were 6 months to a year behind what Britons were seeing. There was no Internet to tell me that I was missing out on something. Conversely no Internet told me where my friends were... the ones who were watching Doctor Who with me. Because they were not at school with me.... that much I do know. The internet is a game changer.. we know now. You've spent 50 years building a brand in Doctor Who and you've created an emotional connection with a fan base of geeks who know no logic in the desire to stay connected, not only with the characters but with global fans, people that they may not find close to home. But find each other we do.
Being denied the joy of sharing... in real time. It makes fans rabid. A rabid anything can't be good.
Please consider the possibilities of trumping all of your competitors. The 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who numbers will come in and I would be willing to bet you will see numbers close to any sports event. Downton Abbey's series 4 premier could net you the same kind of numbers I'll wager. And Sherlock? These are things that change the world. I know. It's just TV. But it's not is it? I mean if it was just TV like something is just... well just any old thing, there wouldn't be this kind of fervor. Sure it's not a royal coronation, or a royal wedding.... but it's kinda bigger than even that in a way. TV.... it's a kind of colonization really. The kind of colonization that people ask for.
I'm stretching my argument a bit too far aren't I? Well there you have it.... that is just how rabid a fan I am. That is how far I am willing to go to make my emotional connections to these characters & my fellow fans stronger. I am willing to ask you to fairly make a sinister episode of Doctor Who happen... without getting eaten by the way. There will be no eating of the TV customers in real life.
I have a strange way of getting what I want from the Universe when it does not involve winning large sums of money. You will see things my way eventually. But please, don't let it be after you've taunted your fans passed the point of a healthy frustration.
And for effect:
Hey you NSA guys laughing your ass off with that last paragraph. If you're laughing you haven't been paying attention. I got what I wanted from Spotify & German TV and I will get what I want from BBC.
BBC is currently showing the 50th anniversary special. I have no cable. I am sitting here dying to know what everyone else is now knowing.
And idea...
Dear BBC,
I understand Britons pay 150 quid a year per TV in TV licenses, that a van (fleet of them really) monitors usage and thievery because intellectual content is that important to you. As is, of course, the money that funds these shows. I understand that BBC-America doesn't contribute to production costs. So that licensing fee is your bread and butter. But what about the rest of us?
This is the 21st century and we have the technology that should let you build your own live streaming empire. And it is just as easy as charging everyone who wants your shows 150 quid a year to receive it on any device that they have registered. ABC replays its shows within 24 hours. Netflix gets some current shows as early as 24 hours. The technology exists. The currency calculators exist. It is possible!
It is the day of the Doctor. And I am missing it because we weren't savvy enough to get our Michael Moore state of the art theater set up to simulcast. I don't have cable for a very practical reason, American TV with a handful of exceptions sucks. The DOCTOR.... it's not like this is all that wibbly wobbly and there's nothing convoluted and timey wimey about streaming broadcasts.
You could change the way TV works at its most basic level. Even the playing field.
Why not? No one would pay it for one show?
Right. Not for one show.
But for Sherlock, Broadchurch (please don't make us watch FOX) Top Gear, Doc Martin, Torchwood, anything by an Austen or a Bronte in serial or mini series form, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, Merlin, the Graham Norton Show, archived episodes of Robin Hood, MI-5, Fawlty Towers, classic Doctor Who, Black Books, Spaced, all the Monty Python a person could ever want.... and this is just what comes from the top of my head.
You've spent years trying to put a small dent in the American market. And with America's love affair with your leading men Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hidleston, David Tennant, Martin Freeman (Sorry if I forgot anyone) you are making an even bigger dent than you can imagine. If the American Government has its way (nasty blighters) they will cut PBS funding right out of the budget. Perhaps Obama's obsession with the Doctor is the only reason it hasn't happened with this last round of budget cuts. It will happen one day. We are turning on each other to cut what can be cut from people who are now "lazy" instead of "under privileged". So what will you ex pats do when there is no more PBS? How will you market BBC-A without the benefit of the PBS foothold?
Give us this option now. It's too late for the 50th. But it is not too late to be certain to secure viewers for the 2015 season. I know I am skipping 2014... it's kinda late for that maybe. Who would pay 150.oo for a year for one channel? There are only2 channels I watch anymore... ABC for Castle and BBC with whatever Netflix can get its hands on when it can get its hands on it.
I am poor. BBC streaming would cost twice what Netflix costs. BUT I would have access to EVERYTHING that Netflix does not. So in essence I come out a little ahead buying one channel from you on a per show price. That is not per episode. That is per SHOW. No waiting. No Whining. My appetite is already whetted. I've got a credit card I'd fling at you now if I had the super powers to throw it through this pre-Winter gale.
Why don't you want my money? Did American broadcasters convince you that Americans would never go for that? American broadcasters, like American music execs, don't know what their customers want because they don't want to listen. For decades we've wanted to pay a reasonable price to pick our channels a-la carte rather than buy 200 channels of which only 6 might get a regular look see. As advertising dollars shrink the a-la carte option might be the only real world way to know which channels are actually being watched and by whom. And they wouldn't have to pay 3rd party marketing departments for the information that they collect in their own billing department... YOUR billing department would know better than a marketing exec what to sell to your American fans. Your billing department would be as eerily omniscient as any Who nemesis. Chilling. Imagine the power. Imagine the trump card you could play in a game of pride with American TV Execs.
Naaaaaaaah! You lot will never go for it.
Back in high school with Doctor #4 and Jeremy Brett's Sherlock, I didn't know we were 6 months to a year behind what Britons were seeing. There was no Internet to tell me that I was missing out on something. Conversely no Internet told me where my friends were... the ones who were watching Doctor Who with me. Because they were not at school with me.... that much I do know. The internet is a game changer.. we know now. You've spent 50 years building a brand in Doctor Who and you've created an emotional connection with a fan base of geeks who know no logic in the desire to stay connected, not only with the characters but with global fans, people that they may not find close to home. But find each other we do.
Being denied the joy of sharing... in real time. It makes fans rabid. A rabid anything can't be good.
Please consider the possibilities of trumping all of your competitors. The 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who numbers will come in and I would be willing to bet you will see numbers close to any sports event. Downton Abbey's series 4 premier could net you the same kind of numbers I'll wager. And Sherlock? These are things that change the world. I know. It's just TV. But it's not is it? I mean if it was just TV like something is just... well just any old thing, there wouldn't be this kind of fervor. Sure it's not a royal coronation, or a royal wedding.... but it's kinda bigger than even that in a way. TV.... it's a kind of colonization really. The kind of colonization that people ask for.
I'm stretching my argument a bit too far aren't I? Well there you have it.... that is just how rabid a fan I am. That is how far I am willing to go to make my emotional connections to these characters & my fellow fans stronger. I am willing to ask you to fairly make a sinister episode of Doctor Who happen... without getting eaten by the way. There will be no eating of the TV customers in real life.
I have a strange way of getting what I want from the Universe when it does not involve winning large sums of money. You will see things my way eventually. But please, don't let it be after you've taunted your fans passed the point of a healthy frustration.
And for effect:
Hey you NSA guys laughing your ass off with that last paragraph. If you're laughing you haven't been paying attention. I got what I wanted from Spotify & German TV and I will get what I want from BBC.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Dr. Who Makes Sculpture Parks Scary
It's a dreary day in Northern Michigan.. thus, we have the monochromatic art project for today. I've been meaning to do a collage since we got back from the art park in August. Today is the perfect day to play. I want to remember the sunny day.
Though what is actually happening is that I am remembering what it felt like to walk up on this girl. It is a sculpture titled "Sleepwalk". After so many episodes of Weeping Angels I felt like it was more "Sleep Stalk". I actually did jump out of my skin when I saw her because she was my height. And of course.... striking a classic weeping angel pose.
What is it about Doctor Who that makes the mundane, run about town, world so incredibly creepy? And why, oh why, do I not yet carry a sonic screwdriver?
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Undershaw
I'm just a 40something kid from northern Michigan and very far removed from the politics of small foreign communities so there is little reason to listen to what I have to say. There is very little reason for me to believe that my voice matters at all. True, alone, it is nothing. Having made my disclaimer let me say that added to other voices I can change the world. And so, after years of wondering what I care enough about to which I could add my service & and apply my heart, I find a cause in Undershaw. But why?
Well, because I was once a 12 year old artsy kid that was too scared of the world to leave the house until I found Holmes as a protector.
When I was a 12 year old kid I found that I loved a good mystery, a puzzle of the non-jigsaw variety, and learned that observation is everything. First in art: you can not draw if you can not see. Second: introverts get run over in social situations because they do not see. True, some of us do not understand what we see when we see it. Mostly though we fail to see what is in front of our faces because we are too busy looking inward. Observation is survival. I learned all about observation through one of the purportedly greatest minds in history: Sherlock Holmes.
Of course like most American kids I got to Holmes through the torture of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, some Scooby Doo mysteries and sundry elementary adventures. It was my freshman year in High School that solidified Holmes as a literary hero. He had already been a larger than life legend for me as my mother recounted his exploits based on her memories of Basil Rathbone films. I was wonderfully surprised to find, through Mr. Trapp, that Holmes was really real and not just a Hollywood concoction. And for the entire reading of "The Speckled Band", which to my absolute horror was about a snake, and the biography of Conan Doyle as a means of introduction I was convinced that Holmes was real. And since it seems he is based almost solely upon Joseph Bell, a professor of Conan Doyle's, I shall maintain for myself the solidity of his person. I could not solve the Speckled Band as Mr. Trapp encouraged us to do as we read. In my defense I would have to have had encyclopedic knowledge of the animal kingdom as known in the Victorian era as it was a rare Indian breed that performed the hideous deeds. What was not, however, defendable, was my failure to recognize the human behaviors described by Conan Doyle and the Old Testament evil housed in the mind and body of Grimsby Roylance.
And that is where Holmes has made his most significant mark on me. Observe!
The one that gets me every time:
We assume. Or we do not care. Holmes taught me a lot about observations and how to formulate theories after observations rather than before. In truth, the failure to observe one's surroundings is likely the single most self-destructive thing that we can do. Mostly we blunder through our lives recovering from missteps more than we do following some kind of a plan. Cagey criminals and ruthless relations whose motivation is to prey on the unobserving masses create a maze of life situations that, were we more observant, could be avoided.
Holmes taught me to be aware of my surroundings at all times. He taught me how to protect my poor little introverted heart from the vagaries of those ruthless individuals who would prey upon me before submitting to the favor of praying for me. When I have suffered the most is when I have laid down Holmes' rules for the sake of civility or emotional satisfaction. When I assume something can not happen I am almost always proven incorrect.
Observation and Logic can make a cruelly solitary and cold life of once vibrant individuals. And so we have Watson to remind us of our human hearts and the compassion with which facts can be disseminated. Watson is the introverts guide through Life the Universe & Everything Human. Between the two of them I think we have the best teachers of social navigation. And neither of them would exist without the writing life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The writer's life informs every word written, every word that survives the red pen before it gets to the editor. Conan Doyle's literary life was lived at Undershaw for a decade. And what a significant decade it was. Arthur Conan Doyle took on the persona of his own creation, Sherlock Holmes, and solved two mysteries that lead to over turned convictions & were helpful in establishing Britain's Court of Criminal Appeal in addition to penning most of the Holmes adventures. Undershaw has welcomed literary friends and peers such as Bram Stoker, Virginia Woolfe and J.M. Barrie of Peter Pan fame. One does not have to spend much energy imagining what vivid conversations may have taken place while Conan Doyle was in residence at Undershaw.... nor what characters future vivid Undershaw conversations might beget.
If there is a future.
Undershaw had been slated for redevelopment until a group of passionate fans and conservationists began the fight to block demolition and rehabilitation as luxury flats. In 2012 development was halted after a heated legal battle. Now the battle to fund the preservation and restoration ensues with the Undershaw Preservation Trust at the helm. http://www.saveundershaw.com/ Various campaigns around the world have begun to find funds for the venture. The latest one to come to me was in my Facebook feed this morning. I did not hesitate to sign this petition. Though I did hesitate to donate to the ipetions page. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save_undershaw/I prefer to send money directly to Undershaw. Should you chose to send a gift, here is a direct link http://www.saveundershaw.com/pledge-page.html
True, Conan Doyle lived many places in England. Some of them are now private residences, there is a Sherlock Holmes museum. The argument for not registering the home as a historical landmark due to lack of architectural interest is certainly valid. In its glory days it was not that much different than any other manse of its time. Undershaw was not supposed to be a grand architectural statement like the home of Edith Wharton here in America. Undershaw was to be Mrs. Doyle's retreat to recover from illness and a place for Conan Doyle to write. The architecture is not the thing.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the writer's residence part of Undershaw were preserved? And not because Sherlock is a cultural icon, not because Hollywood needs another monument to its ability to franchise the hell out of anything but because the Literature really is the thing. A Writer's Residency program would be a tremendous tribute to Conan Doyle. While Thomas Hardy can be credited with the birth of the detective genre, and in fact was instrumental in creating Scotland Yard, Arthur Conan Doyle is definitely its most acclaimed teacher & proponent with many acclaimed authors in England and around the world following in his footsteps.
For my own part, living in a city that takes great pride in retrieving buildings of historic significance from the jaws of Decay and Despair while promoting respectful economic growth, I am partial to the idea of usable preservation beyond simple preservation. We are too numerous a species to let things sit upon a shelf so to speak. We must use what we love and love the things that we use. Selfishly, I would love to spend some bleak, misbegotten November at Undershaw under the pretense of writing my great American novel when in fact, I would simply be letting my spirit roam free in hopes of communing with whatever energy the man left behind. If I were to get a novel out of it all the better.
The following link is another blogger's take on Undershaw.
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/03/holmes-home-saving-undershaw
I would hope that one of us would have some influence on the reader's here at 6° of Geekdom and spread awareness. There are a lot of things in this world that need our attention. Saving a smallish building may not seem like much in comparison to saving the Sea, Rainforests, Organic Farms, Wetlands, Endangered Species and our Sanity. It is in the small things that we find a voice and strength to then tend the larger things. Let this be a place to wet your toes before jumping into the ocean to rescue the whales if that should seem to large a task. Small steps lead to larger ones.
Well, because I was once a 12 year old artsy kid that was too scared of the world to leave the house until I found Holmes as a protector.
When I was a 12 year old kid I found that I loved a good mystery, a puzzle of the non-jigsaw variety, and learned that observation is everything. First in art: you can not draw if you can not see. Second: introverts get run over in social situations because they do not see. True, some of us do not understand what we see when we see it. Mostly though we fail to see what is in front of our faces because we are too busy looking inward. Observation is survival. I learned all about observation through one of the purportedly greatest minds in history: Sherlock Holmes.
Of course like most American kids I got to Holmes through the torture of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, some Scooby Doo mysteries and sundry elementary adventures. It was my freshman year in High School that solidified Holmes as a literary hero. He had already been a larger than life legend for me as my mother recounted his exploits based on her memories of Basil Rathbone films. I was wonderfully surprised to find, through Mr. Trapp, that Holmes was really real and not just a Hollywood concoction. And for the entire reading of "The Speckled Band", which to my absolute horror was about a snake, and the biography of Conan Doyle as a means of introduction I was convinced that Holmes was real. And since it seems he is based almost solely upon Joseph Bell, a professor of Conan Doyle's, I shall maintain for myself the solidity of his person. I could not solve the Speckled Band as Mr. Trapp encouraged us to do as we read. In my defense I would have to have had encyclopedic knowledge of the animal kingdom as known in the Victorian era as it was a rare Indian breed that performed the hideous deeds. What was not, however, defendable, was my failure to recognize the human behaviors described by Conan Doyle and the Old Testament evil housed in the mind and body of Grimsby Roylance.
And that is where Holmes has made his most significant mark on me. Observe!
"You see but you do not observe."
& "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."
The one that gets me every time:
"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes."
We assume. Or we do not care. Holmes taught me a lot about observations and how to formulate theories after observations rather than before. In truth, the failure to observe one's surroundings is likely the single most self-destructive thing that we can do. Mostly we blunder through our lives recovering from missteps more than we do following some kind of a plan. Cagey criminals and ruthless relations whose motivation is to prey on the unobserving masses create a maze of life situations that, were we more observant, could be avoided.
Holmes taught me to be aware of my surroundings at all times. He taught me how to protect my poor little introverted heart from the vagaries of those ruthless individuals who would prey upon me before submitting to the favor of praying for me. When I have suffered the most is when I have laid down Holmes' rules for the sake of civility or emotional satisfaction. When I assume something can not happen I am almost always proven incorrect.
Observation and Logic can make a cruelly solitary and cold life of once vibrant individuals. And so we have Watson to remind us of our human hearts and the compassion with which facts can be disseminated. Watson is the introverts guide through Life the Universe & Everything Human. Between the two of them I think we have the best teachers of social navigation. And neither of them would exist without the writing life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The writer's life informs every word written, every word that survives the red pen before it gets to the editor. Conan Doyle's literary life was lived at Undershaw for a decade. And what a significant decade it was. Arthur Conan Doyle took on the persona of his own creation, Sherlock Holmes, and solved two mysteries that lead to over turned convictions & were helpful in establishing Britain's Court of Criminal Appeal in addition to penning most of the Holmes adventures. Undershaw has welcomed literary friends and peers such as Bram Stoker, Virginia Woolfe and J.M. Barrie of Peter Pan fame. One does not have to spend much energy imagining what vivid conversations may have taken place while Conan Doyle was in residence at Undershaw.... nor what characters future vivid Undershaw conversations might beget.
If there is a future.
Undershaw had been slated for redevelopment until a group of passionate fans and conservationists began the fight to block demolition and rehabilitation as luxury flats. In 2012 development was halted after a heated legal battle. Now the battle to fund the preservation and restoration ensues with the Undershaw Preservation Trust at the helm. http://www.saveundershaw.com/ Various campaigns around the world have begun to find funds for the venture. The latest one to come to me was in my Facebook feed this morning. I did not hesitate to sign this petition. Though I did hesitate to donate to the ipetions page. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save_undershaw/I prefer to send money directly to Undershaw. Should you chose to send a gift, here is a direct link http://www.saveundershaw.com/pledge-page.html
True, Conan Doyle lived many places in England. Some of them are now private residences, there is a Sherlock Holmes museum. The argument for not registering the home as a historical landmark due to lack of architectural interest is certainly valid. In its glory days it was not that much different than any other manse of its time. Undershaw was not supposed to be a grand architectural statement like the home of Edith Wharton here in America. Undershaw was to be Mrs. Doyle's retreat to recover from illness and a place for Conan Doyle to write. The architecture is not the thing.
The Literature is the Thing!
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the writer's residence part of Undershaw were preserved? And not because Sherlock is a cultural icon, not because Hollywood needs another monument to its ability to franchise the hell out of anything but because the Literature really is the thing. A Writer's Residency program would be a tremendous tribute to Conan Doyle. While Thomas Hardy can be credited with the birth of the detective genre, and in fact was instrumental in creating Scotland Yard, Arthur Conan Doyle is definitely its most acclaimed teacher & proponent with many acclaimed authors in England and around the world following in his footsteps.
For my own part, living in a city that takes great pride in retrieving buildings of historic significance from the jaws of Decay and Despair while promoting respectful economic growth, I am partial to the idea of usable preservation beyond simple preservation. We are too numerous a species to let things sit upon a shelf so to speak. We must use what we love and love the things that we use. Selfishly, I would love to spend some bleak, misbegotten November at Undershaw under the pretense of writing my great American novel when in fact, I would simply be letting my spirit roam free in hopes of communing with whatever energy the man left behind. If I were to get a novel out of it all the better.
The following link is another blogger's take on Undershaw.
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/03/holmes-home-saving-undershaw
I would hope that one of us would have some influence on the reader's here at 6° of Geekdom and spread awareness. There are a lot of things in this world that need our attention. Saving a smallish building may not seem like much in comparison to saving the Sea, Rainforests, Organic Farms, Wetlands, Endangered Species and our Sanity. It is in the small things that we find a voice and strength to then tend the larger things. Let this be a place to wet your toes before jumping into the ocean to rescue the whales if that should seem to large a task. Small steps lead to larger ones.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Seriously America?
As you well know I loved the first episode of Broadchurch. I've love British TV for a long time and have spent most of these last 6 months catching up on all sorts of goodies. So today I, as I am contemplating the feasibility of another trip to the doctor's office, I am cruising Google UK for some updates. And what do I find?
Fox wants in on the Broadchurch action. Really?
SyFy remade Being Human. And that is a good show. But SyFy is about Science fiction and can be trusted to do things right. Love the show. Not sure the network isn't going bat shit crazy (Sharknado. Ugh. And that name change! Still bristling.) CBS has Elementary which I've already said is not as good as Sherlock if you are a purist.
BritTV is the domain of PBS. It means that we sometimes have to wait a little longer to see something like Masterpiece and Mystery! but it is always worth the wait. And PBS does a great job building its own programming.
FOX. FOX on the other hand is only really good at pissing people off. I hope that Chris Chibnall has a great experience with them as the executive director. He better have a great experience. Doubts abound on that score because FOX is well.... FOX. It steam rolls everyone until they can prove that they have more value than FOX's concerns. Matt Groening and Seth McFarlane have both had their share of grief and threats from FOX executives regarding content and style. American TV is really good about being formulaic. And once it finds a formula it likes it has to convert everything into that formula.
I think that is why we don't have our own Doctor Who. THANK GOD! And it is why we don't have our own Downton Abbey. So why do we have to have our own Broadchurch? Because Fox programs lost too many shares to BBC programs in Britain? It's Britain. Let them have their own stuff! And let them share with us. Why do American fingers have to get sticky with everyone else's creative juices only to water it down in the end?
Sometimes I doubt very little why the rest of the world hates us. We force feed our products down people's throats and when their product is presented to America it is changed so much from the original that no one recognizes it any more. And if American execs at FOX make Chris miserable there is little doubt this will be the last time anyone agrees to work with us. If they would take a few chances in developing programming they would not be losing shares all over the place. Formulas get old. When programming gets stale people lose interest. That is more than half of the reason that I am watching something besides American television. I've watched all the Criminal Minds I can watch. After 8 seasons its the same show. Same with CSI, NCIS and everything else I was watching.
One of my other concerns about this maneuver is the casting. We all know a huge part of what makes the show is the cast. If you've a great premise and an awesome script and you cast the wrong people you have a disaster. Part of why I tuned into Broadchurch was because I miss David Tennant's Doctor (And he is soooooooooooo not Ten). The show doesn't rest on his acting chops; I was hooked before he showed up. Casting, though, is huge. And casting an actor with a following as devoted as David Tennant's is simply brilliant.
I love Broadchurch. But I don't think that the American grown audience is going to that big into the show. It's about a kid dying under suspicious circumstances and it is dark. I just don't know that we can do it justice. I don't know that FOX can do it justice. Dear God I hope they treat Chris better than I think that they will.
Fox wants in on the Broadchurch action. Really?
SyFy remade Being Human. And that is a good show. But SyFy is about Science fiction and can be trusted to do things right. Love the show. Not sure the network isn't going bat shit crazy (Sharknado. Ugh. And that name change! Still bristling.) CBS has Elementary which I've already said is not as good as Sherlock if you are a purist.
BritTV is the domain of PBS. It means that we sometimes have to wait a little longer to see something like Masterpiece and Mystery! but it is always worth the wait. And PBS does a great job building its own programming.
FOX. FOX on the other hand is only really good at pissing people off. I hope that Chris Chibnall has a great experience with them as the executive director. He better have a great experience. Doubts abound on that score because FOX is well.... FOX. It steam rolls everyone until they can prove that they have more value than FOX's concerns. Matt Groening and Seth McFarlane have both had their share of grief and threats from FOX executives regarding content and style. American TV is really good about being formulaic. And once it finds a formula it likes it has to convert everything into that formula.
I think that is why we don't have our own Doctor Who. THANK GOD! And it is why we don't have our own Downton Abbey. So why do we have to have our own Broadchurch? Because Fox programs lost too many shares to BBC programs in Britain? It's Britain. Let them have their own stuff! And let them share with us. Why do American fingers have to get sticky with everyone else's creative juices only to water it down in the end?
Sometimes I doubt very little why the rest of the world hates us. We force feed our products down people's throats and when their product is presented to America it is changed so much from the original that no one recognizes it any more. And if American execs at FOX make Chris miserable there is little doubt this will be the last time anyone agrees to work with us. If they would take a few chances in developing programming they would not be losing shares all over the place. Formulas get old. When programming gets stale people lose interest. That is more than half of the reason that I am watching something besides American television. I've watched all the Criminal Minds I can watch. After 8 seasons its the same show. Same with CSI, NCIS and everything else I was watching.
One of my other concerns about this maneuver is the casting. We all know a huge part of what makes the show is the cast. If you've a great premise and an awesome script and you cast the wrong people you have a disaster. Part of why I tuned into Broadchurch was because I miss David Tennant's Doctor (And he is soooooooooooo not Ten). The show doesn't rest on his acting chops; I was hooked before he showed up. Casting, though, is huge. And casting an actor with a following as devoted as David Tennant's is simply brilliant.
I love Broadchurch. But I don't think that the American grown audience is going to that big into the show. It's about a kid dying under suspicious circumstances and it is dark. I just don't know that we can do it justice. I don't know that FOX can do it justice. Dear God I hope they treat Chris better than I think that they will.
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