Just a test post, folks, to see if I'll be able to update my blog when I'm spending time at the Pug House Of Horror! Hi Nancy!

I was going to try to do a freewrite, but I only have 8 minutes before I have to dash off to work, so I guess this is going to be an appreviated freewrite. I can't think of anything to say. I've been kind of overloading on Sherlock Holmes the last few days, which was pleasant enough. Good literature can clean the brain of other thoughts. Unfortunately, most of my other thoughts are a wee bit too dark for me to even want to deal with them, even now. In fact, even as I'm writing this, I'm shying away from those topics because I just don't want to think about them and get myself into a bad mood. So let me think about the good in life recently. I know! Peggy, the receiving clerk at the shop I work at, is a crossing guard (I'm sure I told you about her adventure with the car-jacker). She's an intelligent woman, self-confident and admirable in just about every way. Well, I was complaining to her about the drive to work the other day, and she mentioned that she always follows the traffic laws and doesn't allow herself to get angry at other drivers. I can't quite describe how she put it, but it was like being told off by someone you really respect and you know is completely right. And so I decided to take a new approach to driving: "What Would Peggy Do?" Surprisingly, it's working. My temper is completely in check, I haven't gotten impatient with other drivers like I usually do, and I think my driving has improved since I'm still paying complete attention to the road, but I no longer get so angry I lose focus on safety. So my new driving mantra seems to be working, though I'm sure I've got a lot of "bad driving karma" to work off... Ok, that's enough. Must dash off to work.

Ok! Finished reading "The Hound of the Baskervilles", arguably the best Sherlock Holmes story written. I started to re-read it after hearing a song on Filk Radio by Brenda Sutton about the story. I had read the story a long time ago. I think I must have been in elementary school from my odd recollections of how the story went. I didn't remember any of the resolution at all. The major thing that stuck with me was Watson's description of Grimpen Mire, and how it swallowed a pony.

On this re-reading, I read it out of Eric's copy of the Annotated Sherlock Holmes, a HUGE book with all the Holmes stories and lots of notes. I'm afraid that this book did Baskervilles a small disservice, though. The notes refer to a theory about one of the other characters in the story, and reading them distracted me a bit from the main storyline. While most of the notes were pretty interesting, those notes definitely changed the tone of the story.

Anyway, I enjoyed the re-read, and I'm certain I got a lot more out of it this time 'round than I did when I first read it. I did realize while reading it that I really don't like Holmes. The stories are interesting, but the character himself is... I guess "trying" would be the best word. It's quite toned down in this story, but I went and read "A Scandal in Bohemia" right after finishing Baskervilles, and suddenly realized that I don't like Holmes much at all. He's a drug-addled, self-important twit who relies almost too much on his own frames of reference to make sense of the world. Throw him into a situation without the constraints of the society he lives in, like, oh, our own current reality, and his careful observations wouldn't hold up. But that's also the appeal of Holmes. He is a creature of his time and place. He knows everything important about his world. He is not meant to be thrown into a different situation, and he can handle everything in his own world quite well, thank you very much.

And, truth to tell, it wouldn't take Holmes too long to adapt even if he were thrown into an unexpected situation. At one point in Baskervilles, Holmes sums up his own philosophy quite well: "The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes." He's constantly observing, checking out things, comparing them to his store of known facts. But he's annoyingly superior, and secretive to the point of being a danger to his friends. It's a good thing Watson is an intelligent and strong man of action, who also seems to have an infinite supply of patience. Holmes is only tolerable in Watson's presence.

Comments (2)

The idea that Holmes wouldn't fuction well outside of Victorian England was explored in a "Doctor Who," novel, which I'm sure you've read.

Franklin Harris | Email | Homepage | 04.18.03 - 10:27 am

Actually, now that you mention it, I think I *have* read that one. Watson was much more suited to dealing with the unreality than Holmes. Can't remember the name of the book, though, or who wrote it. I probably read it right when it came out, and I haven't read any Doctor Who books since "Happy Endings" (in which I make an appearance).

Tegan | 04.18.03 - 10:45 am

I've been re-reading "Hound of the Baskervilles" and enjoying it immensely. I know you are all just thrilled to read that.

I meant to write these last week, but I've been in no mood to write. I've been unexpectedly inspired today, however, and my creative juices are currently flowing for the first time in days. I'll take advantage of it to write last week's reviews.

Aquaman #5: For want of an artist, the story was ruined. Veitch is putting too much of the story into the dialogue because he can't rely on the artist to correctly portray his ideas. As a major point, the "secret sea" is absolutely boring the way Guichet shows it, but fascinating the way Veitch (through Aquaman) describes it. I wish we could get a good artist on Aquaman again. I wonder if Nick Cardy is available.

Green Arrow #23: Ug. Both characters are portrayed as ridiculously childish. I mean, yeah, Ollie is childish... as is Kyle, but this is too much. Otherwise, the set-up is interesting, and the art isn't too bad.

Superman/Batman Generations III #4: This series is fluctuating from pretty good to pretty bad from issue to issue. This one isn't bad, but so far the whole thing has definitely failed to grip me.

Astro City: Local Heroes #2: A twist on the old LL story. The strong woman, the stronger hero... or is he? I like how this one plays out. And I especially like that last splash page.

Way of the Rat #12: Fun fun fun... This book is strong and funny, but it just seems to fly by. I think that's the case with most books I like, though. I'll have to reread the first twelve issues soon. I think I'll like the story.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow Vol 4: Not as thrilling in revelations as the last volume, but this one has its own high points. This is a remarkably interesting series.

Got "next week's books" today, will review them later: Green Lantern #162, JLA: Age of Wonder #1, JLA: Scary Monsters #2, and JSA #47.

Neil Gaiman has a great article up today on revisionist history, particularly in the case of some textbooks glossing over the more nasty parts of European history. He links to an article in The Guardian and then goes on to make up some revisionist history of his own.

Mariners are doing ok again. *sigh*. Four straight wins. I suppose if they follow every three game losing streak with four wins in a row, the fans will be happy. So they are 8-6 now, and at the top of their division. The AL West is shaping up to be a tough division again... but we'll see for sure once it starts playing the other divisions. Even Texas seems to have some power this year.

Good news at Journalista about Amelia Rules! According to an article on The Pulse, Amelia is getting the collection treatment from Simon & Schuster. The first book, reprinting the first five issues, will be coming out in September 2003: Amelia Rules! Book One: The Whole World's Crazy - ISBN: 0-7434-7503-8. The second book is due out in February 2003. Both issues of Amelia Rules that I've reviewed since starting this blog got four and a half starfish from me: Amelia Rules #8 (technically got 4 3/4 starfish, the highest of any comic book I've reviewed so far), and Amelia Rules #9.

Amelia also got a nomination for the Eisner Awards, the highest honor in comic books. Amelia Rules is nominated in the Best Title For A Younger Audience category.

Comments (2)

Did you mean to say that the second collection comes out in 2004?

Hubby | Email | Homepage | 04.15.03 - 2:44 pm

Oops. Yup, February 2004. Sheesh.

Tegan | 04.15.03 - 6:55 pm

Definitely not in the talking/writing mood today. At least I'm starting to think again. I doubt I'll blog again today, so this is probably it. Just to warn you. Go visit my links. They will be more interesting than me today.

Not a lot of thinking going on in my head, to be honest. I'm in a receiving mood. I'm taking in a lot of information, but I'm not really ready to spit out ideas.

Maybe more tomorrow. I don't know.