Alas! my foul Flash Player again has failed. This is at least the fifth such time this year. 'Twould do no good, or else I would have wailed And railed against the Powers we must fear.
"And who are they?" you ask. I cannot say –– Nameless, faceless, hidden as they be. In plush palatial suites on us they prey Causing men to risk their sanity
Dealing with accurs'd upgrades eternal Might a peptic ulcer cause to dwell In the stress'd digestive tract infernal Making rounds quotidian a hell.
The blessings of modernity are mixed Had I been Czar, I would have had them nixed!
~ FreeThinke
When an irksome problem lands, Don't think too much on it. Instead, just use your head and hands To fashion a new sonnet.
Stories filled with stylish keen perception –– Hair-raising adventure well controlled –– Even in the grip of Evil’s wild deception Raising goose bumps ––– we love what we’re told.
Lolling in an armchair by the fire, Opening a volume, we’re content –– Conan Doyle’s creation slakes desire Kindled by the need for amusement.
Home for Holmes, those rooms in Baker Street, Overseen by Martha Louise Hudson, Laden with exotica replete Made cozy for Sherlock, all-but her blood son,
Established –– with violin –– an atmosphere Suited to enjoy thrills free from fear.
I've never thought of Sherlock Holmes as anything other than a largely fictional character. There are some great ideas there however. The one that always comes to mind for me is "Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains must be the truth." Assuming there is only one item left after the process of elimination.
I love simple equations to complex problems which I consider this to be.
The blogosphere has become nothing but a Wasteland. No ine cares about anything but petty, party politics, and endless exchanges of hatred for and dissatisfaction with life.
Much better to return to reading Sherlock Holmes and other classics that nourish the soul as well as entertain the mind by giving it a respite from the ugliness and stupidity with which we choose to surround ourselves most of the time at this point in history.
FT, The blogosphere is going to be a much worse wasteland during this election season.
Even my Facebook page has become a battleground! Yesterday, I had to slap my sister-in-law hard because she has been trolling my FB page and make the most insulting comments -- including telling me to shut up. Were she not family, I'd block her from accessing my FB page.
Now, about Sherlock Holmes stories...
In days gone by, my 6th graders used to read The Hound of the Baskervilles every year. Alas! Today's 6th graders find the novella too difficult -- probably because of what they consider to be advanced vocabulary.
Well, that was fun. We visited William Gillette's "castle" in Connecticut a few years ago and heard most of this. I still have my collection of the original stories and don't much play with the adaptations, except the Robert Downey Jr movies.
Conan Doyle and Houdini first met in 1920, during the magician's tour of England. The two of them became good friends, despite their opposing views on the supernatural. Houdini was delighted to learn that there was at least one intelligent person who believed in Spiritualism and found that man in his friend Conan Doyle. The author was convinced of the value of the movement to the world and had given up most of his lucrative writing career to lecture about Spiritualism around the world. He also found that Houdini’s knowledge of the spirit world was as vast as his own, although their attitudes differed.
Doyle agreed with some of Houdini's methods in exposing fraudulent mediums because he believed that their existence damaged the legitimacy of the movement. Lacking his new friend's magical training though, he was less able to see how fraud was accomplished. Houdini worked to try and show the secrets practiced by the fraudulent mediums to Doyle but the author merely insisted that the mediums he knew were good and honest people who would never try and trick or cheat their followers. Besides that, Doyle stated, just because the feats of the spirits could be duplicated did not mean that they were not real. Just because Houdini could prove that fraud was possible was not enough to convince Doyle that it actually occurred....
Much more at the above link.
Doyle became interested in mysticism and seances following the death of his wife Louisa in 1906, the death of his son Kingsley just before the end of the First World War, and the deaths of his brother Innes, his two brothers-in-law (one of whom was E. W. Hornung, creator of the literary character Raffles) and his two nephews shortly after the war, Doyle sank into depression. He found solace supporting spiritualism and its attempts to find proof of existence beyond the grave.
Paradox: Doyle was trained as a man of science (medical doctor), and "magician" Houdini had no time for the supernatural, which he saw as a big scam.
To leave Civilization's "cage," as you put it, is to start plummeting free fall into The Abyss –– the bottomless Put from which there can be no return.
We welcome civil dialogue at Always on Watch. Comments that include any of the following are subject to deletion: 1. Any use of profanity or abusive language 2. Off topic comments and spam 3. Use of personal invective
Alas! my foul Flash Player again has failed.
ReplyDeleteThis is at least the fifth such time this year.
'Twould do no good, or else I would have wailed
And railed against the Powers we must fear.
"And who are they?" you ask. I cannot say ––
Nameless, faceless, hidden as they be.
In plush palatial suites on us they prey
Causing men to risk their sanity
Dealing with accurs'd upgrades eternal
Might a peptic ulcer cause to dwell
In the stress'd digestive tract infernal
Making rounds quotidian a hell.
The blessings of modernity are mixed
Had I been Czar, I would have had them nixed!
~ FreeThinke
When an irksome problem lands,
Don't think too much on it.
Instead, just use your head and hands
To fashion a new sonnet.
FT,
DeleteToo bad about your Flash Player. This video is quite interesting -- especially for those of us who love Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
I'm sure I'd love it, AOW. I've read the complete Holmes several times. It never gets old.
Delete_______ SHERLOCK HOLMES _______
ReplyDeleteStories filled with stylish keen perception ––
Hair-raising adventure well controlled ––
Even in the grip of Evil’s wild deception
Raising goose bumps ––– we love what we’re told.
Lolling in an armchair by the fire,
Opening a volume, we’re content ––
Conan Doyle’s creation slakes desire
Kindled by the need for amusement.
Home for Holmes, those rooms in Baker Street,
Overseen by Martha Louise Hudson,
Laden with exotica replete
Made cozy for Sherlock, all-but her blood son,
Established –– with violin –– an atmosphere
Suited to enjoy thrills free from fear.
~ FreeThinke (5/22/16)
FT,
DeleteThank you! I can see that you well know the Sherlock Holmes stories.
I've never thought of Sherlock Holmes as anything other than a largely fictional character. There are some great ideas there however. The one that always comes to mind for me is "Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains must be the truth." Assuming there is only one item left after the process of elimination.
ReplyDeleteI love simple equations to complex problems which I consider this to be.
Kid,
DeleteSherlock Holmes stories emphasize reasoning. A good skill to cultivate!
The blogosphere has become nothing but a Wasteland. No ine cares about anything but petty, party politics, and endless exchanges of hatred for and dissatisfaction with life.
ReplyDeleteMuch better to return to reading Sherlock Holmes and other classics that nourish the soul as well as entertain the mind by giving it a respite from the ugliness and stupidity with which we choose to surround ourselves most of the time at this point in history.
FT,
DeleteThe blogosphere is going to be a much worse wasteland during this election season.
Even my Facebook page has become a battleground! Yesterday, I had to slap my sister-in-law hard because she has been trolling my FB page and make the most insulting comments -- including telling me to shut up. Were she not family, I'd block her from accessing my FB page.
Now, about Sherlock Holmes stories...
In days gone by, my 6th graders used to read The Hound of the Baskervilles every year. Alas! Today's 6th graders find the novella too difficult -- probably because of what they consider to be advanced vocabulary.
I've had this page open on my phone for days, hoping to listen to it.
ReplyDeleteStill haven't had time.
Well, that was fun.
ReplyDeleteWe visited William Gillette's "castle" in Connecticut a few years ago and heard most of this.
I still have my collection of the original stories and don't much play with the adaptations, except the Robert Downey Jr movies.
Ed,
DeleteGlad that you enjoyed this break-from-politics blog post.
It mentions William Gillette's performance as Holmes.
ReplyDeleteHis silent film 0f 1916 was considered lost but recently found in the vaults of the Cinémathèque Française and restored. Boutique label Flicker Alley released it and it might be available for streaming.
About Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini:
ReplyDeleteConan Doyle and Houdini first met in 1920, during the magician's tour of England. The two of them became good friends, despite their opposing views on the supernatural. Houdini was delighted to learn that there was at least one intelligent person who believed in Spiritualism and found that man in his friend Conan Doyle. The author was convinced of the value of the movement to the world and had given up most of his lucrative writing career to lecture about Spiritualism around the world. He also found that Houdini’s knowledge of the spirit world was as vast as his own, although their attitudes differed.
Doyle agreed with some of Houdini's methods in exposing fraudulent mediums because he believed that their existence damaged the legitimacy of the movement. Lacking his new friend's magical training though, he was less able to see how fraud was accomplished. Houdini worked to try and show the secrets practiced by the fraudulent mediums to Doyle but the author merely insisted that the mediums he knew were good and honest people who would never try and trick or cheat their followers. Besides that, Doyle stated, just because the feats of the spirits could be duplicated did not mean that they were not real. Just because Houdini could prove that fraud was possible was not enough to convince Doyle that it actually occurred....
Much more at the above link.
Doyle became interested in mysticism and seances following the death of his wife Louisa in 1906, the death of his son Kingsley just before the end of the First World War, and the deaths of his brother Innes, his two brothers-in-law (one of whom was E. W. Hornung, creator of the literary character Raffles) and his two nephews shortly after the war, Doyle sank into depression. He found solace supporting spiritualism and its attempts to find proof of existence beyond the grave.
Paradox: Doyle was trained as a man of science (medical doctor), and "magician" Houdini had no time for the supernatural, which he saw as a big scam.
Holmes, the epitome of the "modern" Enlightened man. Practictioner of the "birth of the clinic" methods, medical "gaze" and deductive reasoning.
ReplyDeleteThersites,
DeleteInteresting connection!
In the future, archetypes like Holmes will be much harder to recognize and discern, as there will be many MORE "ways out" of civilization's cage. ;)
ReplyDeleteTo leave Civilization's "cage," as you put it, is to start plummeting free fall into The Abyss –– the bottomless Put from which there can be no return.
Delete