Useless News

I was stunned that all this weekend, many (left-wing) political blogs reported obsessively on Glenn Beck's rally, as if they were salivating at the spectacle. But why devote multiple stories, pictures, and videos to this one topic? Why not have room to cover the 5th anniversary of Katrina as well, or the current Pakistan floods? Why wasn't Daily Kos doing any damn fundraising like they did for Haiti or any other disaster? It's like they only care about their own "pie fights" among themselves and with their enemies.

The Prop 8 Saga Continues

So, the appeals court imposed a stay on Judge Walker's decision, meaning that no same-sex marriages can resume in California until at least December. I'm disappointed that couples will have to wait months (or maybe longer) for all these appeals to go through before they can get their rights. This case will eventually wind up at the Supreme Court, although perhaps the Prop 8 Proponents will be unable to appeal because they don't have the legal standing to do so. At least I hope the Ninth Circuit judges will rule that way.

This is why I was hesitant to celebrate when Judge Walker's decision was first reported, because nobody could give a straight answer at first on whether Judge Walker was going to stay his decision or not. And then he did stay it, to let the Prop 8-ers file a motion with the higher court. And now the Ninth Circuit court has stayed it, and no matter what they decide, another stay could be imposed by the Supreme Court. On and on. It's just so many hurdles to get over, but history tells us that no battle for equal rights has ever gone smoothly and quickly. I'm trying to be patient.

Crucifer of Blood

I went to see the play tonight, and was surprised to see that the Holmes character looked and behaved like RDJ's Holmes. From the way he dressed--a rumpled suit, loosely knotted tie, and dark glasses--to his mannerisms, he was definitely patterned after the Downey version of Holmes rather than Rathbone or Brett. I hadn't expected Downey to be so influential so soon; granted, he didn't go all out with crawling on the floor or boxing anybody, but it was clear enough. No deerstalker or inverness in sight, either, which I am always grateful for. (Update: here's a professional review of the play, along with pictures.)

Edit: apparently I've been misspelling "crucifer" as "crucifier" and now can't change my titles without changing the blog urls. Urgh! I liked it, though I did still have flashes to the Charlton Heston movie, which was confusing. I wonder what new Holmes portrayals Benedict Cumberbatch will inspire after his show airs here in America.

Private Life, part 9

Holmes and Watson are still in Paris, but I hope in the next chapter to move them quickly to Geneva and into Italy next. Holmes wants to experiment more with sex now. Also, recall that in part 6, Watson thought that maybe Holmes really didn't want to be on bottom.

More on BBC Sherlock

This very long article about the BBC Sherlock series begins by discussing Holmes adaptations in general, even mentioning such animated fare as Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century and Sherlock Hound (which I recently discovered from links on Hulu). The article is full of insights and Sherlockian trivia needing footnotes. :) Then in the last portion he compares "Study in Pink" directly with STUD, in canon-specific detail. (He also discusses the 1968 Peter Cushing version that I reviewed before.) He points out several improvements to the plot, such as omitting the Mormon backstory and fixing the problematic capture of Jefferson Hope. The guy even includes a long P.S. about Doctor Who's connections with the Sherlock Holmes universe. I find the author rambling at times, and too fond of dashes, but otherwise it's a good read so long as you don't mind MAJOR SPOILERS for the TV show. It's best that you've already watched "Study in Pink" first.

Another good read is this lovely fic called Reasons, which is the most convincing of all the BBC Sherlock fics I have read so far. I recommend it highly, but warn that it has spoilers for the first two episodes of the series.