Silly Sherlockians

On Sunday I saw a post on Bluesky saying that it's John Watson's birthday and I was confused. What is that based on? A particular story or TV show? A particular Watson actor? I'd never heard of a settled date for Watson's birthday. Searching the internet revealed various dates without any reasoning, and strangely all summer dates. Finally I found this website summarizing various Sherlockian theories. As always, it's flimsy "evidence" based on Watson drinking wine with lunch as if celebrating something. Stupid trivial crap like that. The only guy arguing against a summer date was Brad Keefauver, but still "using the time-honored hangover system of dating birthdays" and surprisingly he chose to use The Speckled Band story.

I would, therefore, like to propose the opening of “The Speckled Band” for the morning after Watson’s birthday bash. In that April morning of 1883, Holmes awakens a slightly resentful Watson at 7:15 a.m., the doctor being a bit put out as he fully expected Holmes to sleep in. Daylight, according to Violet Stoner [sic] came well before six that morning, so 7:15 is hardly an ungodly hour to be wakened ... unless, of course, one had a rough night before.

I mean, what kind of reasoning is that? Plus I'd have more respect for the theory if he could remember that the client is named Helen Stoner, not Violet. "Violet Stonor" is the name ACD used in his "Stonor Case" play based on Speckled Band, and it's actually Julia's alternate name, not Helen's. And in his Sherlock Peoria article, Keefauver keeps slipping between 1883 and 1893 as the date of the story. You accuse Watson of not being good with dates, while not checking your own dates for typos? The fucking arrogance. Plus, Helen never said it was daylight. She said, "I started from home before six." Do you not know anyone who gets up before dawn to start their commute to work? And Helen wasn't going to work; she was escaping her home in a panic about the whistle she heard in the dead of night; she was rushing to see Holmes and "knock[ing] sleepy people up out of their beds," with some urgency. Holmes, though amused, speaks as if they are ALL having an early morning, so I would contend that it IS an ungodly hour to wake up, even when you don't have a hangover.

So I still have no idea what Watson's birthday is, and there's nothing convincing in anybody's arguments. What if I make it May 4th?

But no, that's their "unhappy anniversary" I've decided in Madness. (There's too many pop culture holidays on May 4th anyway. Need a less crowded date.) Incidentally I found an interesting post about asexuality on Daily Kos, which will give me more to think about in how to resolve their love. This is the most writing I've done in a long time.

Edited to add: Ah, I was wrong. Helen does indeed say "daylight" much later in the story. After the whistle, she says:

I was too shaken to go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was daylight I slipped down, got a dog-cart at the Crown Inn...

So that, taken with "I started from home before six" seems to mean daylight was before 6 AM that morning. My point about Helen's name and the 1883/1893 flubs still stands, though.

Also, I reread the Stonor Case play (often retitled as The Speckled Band), and discovered that Billy the page boy was pretending to be Holmes's daughter Amelia. Holmes came in disguise as a butler named Peters, and brought Billy as his accomplice in Stoke Moran. I don't know if the Sherlock & Daughter writers knew this fact, but how fitting that they named their daughter character Amelia too.

Still Pride Month

I watched a new documentary on astronaut Sally Ride and how she had to hide her lesbian relationships due to media scrutiny. Her longtime partner Tam and even her lesbian sister Bear also talk about how Sally was very private and emotionally closed off due to her upbringing. Sally even married a male astronaut for "good PR" while still having an affair with Tam. They were also friends with Billie Jean King and saw how she lost her tennis career after people found out she was a lesbian. Even after Sally got a divorce and left NASA, she stayed in the closet while running a business on recruiting more girls into science careers. Tam discusses the arguments they had, and how she even considered leaving Sally because she hated hiding their relationship, but she came back. At least when Sally got cancer and they worried about being denied access in the hospital, they signed up to become domestic partners. I'm sad that they couldn't be more open, but that was the world back then. Hopefully we can keep fighting so that LGBT+ people don't have to go back in the closet now.

If anyone remembers my old Sherlock Holmes fic Madness, I've been posting it to AO3 lately. I deleted the first chapter for being too simplistic, and I substantially rewrote and changed Chapter 9 from the previous version. It's the one where an asexual Holmes is still romantically in love with Watson, resulting in arguments and confusion on what that means. How Watson loves Holmes and still comes back to him even though Holmes faked his death. Sometimes love is so strong that you keep holding on, though it may be unwise and hopeless.

In lighter news, I watched the new movie Bride Hard, and loved it. Unlike the 2015 Spy movie starring Melissa McCarthy, this new movie treats the lead character seriously as a competent spy. The comedy is from her friendship with the bride, the wackiness of the groom's rich family, and the hostage/heist situation. Although Rebel Wilson's character does have a cover job as a cat show entrepreneur (selling plinths to display the cats), there are no jokes about how she's fat and dowdy; other spies don't treat her as an amateur, just as a rule-breaker who doesn't work well in a team. I so loved seeing Sam be competent and badass, while also flirting with a hot guy. I also loved that Da'Vine Joy Randolph plays a bridesmaid who is sexy and funny. Really a positive and hilarious movie.

Happy Juneteenth

I read that Opal Lee won't be in the annual walk this year, but her granddaughter Dione Sims will take the reins from her. Good wishes to both.

Israel has expanded its wars and now wants to rope the US into bombing Iran too. I have no idea what the mad king will do. Fuck Netanyahu. Fuck Ted Cruz. Fuck all these fascists and warmongers. Fuck the Supreme Court for ruling against transgender children. Fuck Trump for canceling funding for an LGBT+ suicide hotline. He just had to be extra cruel during Pride month.

It's very hard to keep up hope in this world. I watched Attenborough's latest documentary on oceans, and it starts out very grim and depressing, but then he reveals that oceans are so resilient that they recover swiftly if you just protect a small area for even a few years. Just designating one area as a no-fishing zone can lead to miraculous renewal and the effects expand far outside the boundaries of the zone.

It's a hopeful note. And so were all the No Kings protests on Saturday. So live for hope and celebrate freedom.

A Pox on his Parade

I didn't realize today was Friday the 13th. I have had bad luck this week trying to get on the internet. At least I finished my Holmes Lego set. I was somewhat dismayed to see a logo on it saying that the Doyle estate was involved. I thought those greedy guys wouldn't get anything after all Holmes stories went public domain. It was an interesting build, though, with a rotating window turret and a sliding door that hides Moriarty. Some people were complaining about making Irene Adler Black, but I'm more concerned that the box pictures and such keep putting her with Moriarty as if she were a villain. I'm very pleased with Watson's skin being darker than Holmes. At last he's "as brown as a nut" as he was described in A Study in Scarlet! Also, the magnifying glass is comically large compared to the minifigures, but my set did include a smaller piece that looked more to scale. It was being used as table legs, and I had an extra piece which I put in Sherlock's hand. Maybe I'll paint it later to look like a magnifier. The tiny violin is great, but no bow to play it with.

Meanwhile, I have heard about the protests in L.A. and Trump sending in the National Guard. Also the assault on Senator Alex Padilla. Then I heard that Greg Abbott wants to squash protests in Texas too, and that scares me as an immigrant. I don't know if I'll go to the protest now. Regardless, I hope Trump's parade gets rained out.

Oh I almost forgot--Theatre Arlington is putting on a Sherlock play in December. This seems to be pleasantly a year of Holmes, even if everything else has gone to hell.

Bits and Pieces

I finally got my fridge fixed. Apparently a door gasket wasn't sealed, creating the ice crystals on the hinge. The repair guy sealed it with some type of heat gun. So glad I was still in warranty.

I got my Sherlock Holmes Nook Book, but haven't finished assembling it yet, because I was working all weekend. I put together the bookstore part with the rotating window. I got my little Watson assembled, but his cane doesn't fit his hand well. I might substitute Irene's umbrella instead. Love the stickers.

I did manage to see the new Wes Anderson movie. I haven't liked his story-within-a-story framing devices lately, so I skipped a lot of his recent films. But the new Phoenician Scheme is more straightforward, only cutting away to dreams/visions of heaven each time the character Korda has a near-death experience. I liked the whimsical charm, and Michael Cera's character is fun. But I don't know where exactly this 1950s Phoenicia is supposed to be. I didn't get a good look at the map.

Oh speaking of Michael Cera, I heard that Barbie made a new Allan doll, but is only selling it in Australia. Not the same face as the 1960s original, but it would be a good way to get a similar rainbow outfit, if I could find it on ebay or somewhere. I hope Mattel will let US stores get it.

I'm excited for the finale of Sherlock & Daughter this week. The recent episodes have been good, and I was glad to see Watson rescued at last. Meanwhile Dougray Scott has been incredible as Moriarty. I hated him when he played the father in Batwoman, but he has earned a lot of goodwill back with his professor. I haven't been this pleased by a Moriarty actor since Jared Harris in Game of Shadows in 2011.

Finally June

Elon Musk has allegedly left the government, but I'm skeptical. People also previously claimed that Mike Johnson would be gone, but he's still Speaker. People said that Hegseth would be gone due to the security scandals, but he's still there. I really hope Musk goes. Maybe he is finally scared that he could get fired from Tesla? If so, good riddance, and may the court cases against him continue too.

I have to empty out my fridge and get it fixed this week. June 14th will be the No Kings protest, and then we'll have Juneteenth. Happy Pride Month, too. I'll be seeing the 2nd Holmes play at Stage West. This is a sequel to last year's Elusive Ear.

The recent episodes of Sherlock & Daughter have been good. I was right that Holmes did know Amelia's mother under a different name; she was Little Dove while touring in the Wild West show. Meanwhile Moriarty has a son named Dan, but he changed his name in Australia, and the reunion was not happy. It seems that Dan wants to be an honest person, not a criminal mastermind like his father. The far-reaching conspiracy seems to center around a prototype tank designed by Amelia's mother Lucia. I hope Watson and Mrs. Hudson get rescued soon.