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Treasure Hunt: POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT!

A very positive development has come to our attention. Our esteemed colleagues in France, The Sherlock Holmes Society of France, have been working on the Treasure Hunt. They had to order reference materials from the United States and these have taken significant time to receive. They are nearing completion, but have requested an extension of the deadline.Buttons has not extended the deadline, as one cannot change the rules after the fact. However, Buttons has created a new category, the International category, and has given a one week extension for that category  to 9 September 2013 at 12 Noon (Pacific).

This benefits The John H Watson Society in a number of ways:

1. It gives us international exposure and the opportunity to shift our annual Treasure Hunt into a worldwide experience beginning in 2014.

2. It gives us the privilege of building a bond with one of the largest, oldest and most respected Sherlockian societies in the world:  La Société Sherlock Holmes de France .

3. It allows us to expand the awareness of the John H Watson Annual Treasure Hunt to many more people and clubs in order to make it an even more meaningful measure of global scholarship and Canonical knowledge.

4. It supports the evidence from this year’s inaugural John H Watson Society Treasure Hunt that the Society will benefit from shifting its Treasure Hunt focus slightly to include inter-scion and inter-club competition, as well as individuals. Everyone benefits when the base is broadened to include more people and more organisations; it’s a win-win-win.

Therefore, having made a unilateral decision for the benefit of the Society, Buttons will not post the answers to the Treasure Hunt until 9 September 2013. The winners of the Members and other categories will be announced as scheduled on Thursday, 4 September 2013. The new International category will be announced on 9 September 2013.

Buttons sincerely hopes this has the approval and support of the Members. The guiding thoughts are, as always, fairness and inclusion, all in support of the integrity, reputation, and expansion of the Society and its aims.

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End of Summer . . . Resumption of Quiz Activity? 

With the last days of summer vacation dwindling, perhaps the participation in quizzes will return … let’s hope so since our members do so well. Here is one to think about:

Thugs, pugs and toughs in the Canon. Who can create the definitive catalogue of these colorful supporting characters?

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Treasure Hunt ends Monday, September 2

At 12 Noon (Pacific) on Monday, September 2, 2013 the Treasure Hunt will end. All entries will then be scored and evaluated for the number of correct answers and the time and date submitted. Winners will be announced on the Blog Page and on the Treasure Hunt Page on Wednesday, September 4, 2013.
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Welcome to Jim Rudolf, JHWS “Monty”

The Society welcomes Mr Jim Rudolf to Charter Membership. Jim resides in Durham, New Hampshire. Mr Rudolf is a life-long follower of the Canon. He writes:

“At about the age of 11 I discovered a volume of collected Holmes stories on one of the large bookshelves in my Grandmother’s living room in Westfield, New Jersey. I devoured the volume during my short visit at her house over my Thanksgiving vacation from school. I have since read the canon many times over and have encouraged many of my literarily-minded friends to do so as well. I later discovered pastiche collections and Sherlockian scholarly writings and have enjoyed them very much.

During my graduate studies, the focus of which was Victorian literature, I was
pleased to be able to study the Canon and the life of Arthur Conan Doyle with
new understanding and purpose, to present several papers on the subject (which I
may begin to revise for possible future submissions), and to continue to get other people hooked. My thesis did not end up being specifically focused on Holmes, but on Poe and Hawthorne, and some of the similarities between some of their characters and Holmes’ reasoning and deductive abilities. More recently I’ve been teaching writing at the local university and a community college, and have been
incorporating Holmes stories in a variety of classroom exercises. I began receiving the Baker Street Journal in 2007, and I am extremely excited to be regularly receiving another periodical devoted to the study the Canon.

Thank you for inviting me to become a charter member. I am pleased and honored.

Please welcome “Monty” to membership with our greeting: “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”

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Late Treasure Hunt Correction!!!

Question #45 reads  ” What is the fourth word in the last line but one?”  This should read the FIFTH word.  Here is the correct revised question:

Using the year in #44, reverse the last three digits, and go there in “W”.’
Add together the number of letters in every appearance of a surname on
the page; average that sum to the third digit; Go to that page number. What
is the fifth word in the last line but one? Define.

Buttons tenders his profound regrets, especially after ten proof readings.

ASK FURTHER QUESTIONS HERE USING THIS ENTRY’S COMMENT BUTTON

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Welcome to Ann Margaret Lewis, JHWS “Cameo”

We are delighted to welcome as a Charter Member Ann Margaret Lewis of Indianapolis as a Charter Member. Ann writes:

“Ann Margaret Lewis, ASH (“Vatican Cameo”) is the author of the Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes and The Watson
Chronicles: A Sherlock Holmes Novel in Stories (to be released January 2014 from Wessex Press). She is a member of the Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis and the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes.”

We look forward to having another published author among our ranks and to Ann’s contributions to the journal. Please welcome “Cameo” to our Society and extend to her our greeting:

“You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”

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From Brenda Rossini, “Ginger”

Hello  all:

There is an illustrated article about deer stalking in countrylife.co.uk, Aug. 7 issue.

You might think you’d need a deerstalker, like Paget’s Sherlock Holmes, to stalk the wild deer, but this is not so–nowadays. The idea is a single hunter pitted against a solitary quarry…a (male) mythology astonishingly potent, as proven by Sir Gawain and…Rossini (see  signature below).

The article follows an amateur stalker out for the hunt.  You must endure the indignity of camouflage and face paint; tweed is not recommended as it chafes the inner thighs. Anything that retains a human scent is a no-no.

Deer eat healthily and take a lot of exercise. You will learn that the deer might be far fitter than you.

Proponents of guns for one and all will be happy to learn that they must expound authoritatively and at stultifying length with a Tikka…a gun,  and not Indian food. You will have to hit the target venison in one shot. There must be utter silence, but for the constant bitter wind and damp.

I read about the following denouement in the excellent The Crooked Stick: the History of the Longbow, by Hugh Soar—-once you’ve killed the beast, you experience the “gralloching”–the disembowelment that keeps the venison untainted (and which is where the Christians must have stumbled upon their torture paradigm).  In the Crooked Stick, the author says the hunting aristocrats enjoyed the little grubblies nestled within the stomach and bowels of said beast.

Once you’re back home, you may proceed to stuff and mount the decapitated head above your makeshift fireplace.

Concluding story:  “after a kill, one American (never an Englishman) would become hopelessly inflamed with blood lust. ‘He would get amorous with his wife over the carcass while everyone stood around and looked the other way.”  The eyes of the gentleman recalling this event misted over like a fog descending on a Cairngorm.”

Cheers,

Brenda Rossini, “Ginger”

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Welcome to Randall Stock, JHWS “Brandy” to Membership

We are honoured to welcome the well-known Sherlockian, Randall Stock, BSI “South African Securities” to Charter Membership. His Sherlockian Who’s Who biography is:

Randall Stock is an inveterate list-maker, long-time Sherlockian, and techie.
His website combines those interests.  Early efforts included conducting a new
poll of BSJ readers to determine the best Holmes stories, analyzing previous
polls, and identifying the best quotations from the Canon.  More recently he’s
focused on researching Conan Doyle rarities, and has lists of the extant copies
of Beeton’s Christmas Annual, Conan Doyle manuscripts, Sidney Paget original
drawings, and other items.
Personal website: http://www.bestofsherlock.com

He is a member of the following:

The Baker Street Irregulars (South African Securities)
» The Pondicherry Lodgers of 44th Street
» The Scowrers and Molly Maguires of San Francisco
» The Hounds of the Internet
» The Knights of the Gnomon

Please extend a warm welcome to Mr Stock with our traditional welcome to new members:  “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”

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The Canonical Horses

No matter where you were in 1895 England, horses abounded. The Canon presents horses often. Can you organize them by story, breed, use, name, colour, etc., as may one day be helpful to scholars of the works?

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John H Watson,  JHWS “Teddy” Welcomed into Charter Membership

As Mr Ripley was wont to say . . . “Believe it or not . . .” we extend a warm welcome to the Society to John H Watson of Columbus, Georgia. He writes:

“My name is actually John H. Watson. I am often referred to as Johnny
Watson, due to my uncle, who is still living, is also named John H. Watson. I am
a semi-retired photographer, doing almost exclusively art shows. My website is
www.jwatsonphoto.com.”

Can it be possible that we will–after all these years–have a direct source to the font of revealed truth for answers to such questions as  . . . “Wounded in the arm or leg?” . . . . “Why Jack?” . . . and “How many times have you been married?”

We will offer more on John H Watson’s Sherlockian history and biography when he sends it along to the Society. Until then (and this seems really strange) we welcome you with the immortal words you have heard once before:

“You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”

 

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Welcome to Carla Coupe, JHWS “Lily”

The Society welcomes new Charter Member, Carla Coupe “Lily” and extends our traditional greeting: “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”

Carla writes:

I’ve been a Sherlockian from age ten. Currently, I am a member of Watson’s Tin Box and the Red Circle, and have three published pastiches. One of my stories, “The Book of Tobit,” was included as a notable story in Otto Penzler’s Best American Mystery Stories. I also appeared on NPR’s the Diane Rehm show with Peter Blau and Dan Stashower. And now I’m thrilled to be a charter member of The John H. Watson Society!

Carla lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. We are delighted to have her join us!

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“Dash” and Spicy Szechaun

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Spicy Szechaun Beef from Spicy and Tasty in Flushing NY

Harrison Hunt, “Dash,” sends along this photo of a recent evening’s Szechaun choice at Spicy and Tasty in Flushing NY, where he says it is the best spicy beef he has enjoyed.

This is in response to a quiz comment from several months ago wherein Buttons asked for recommendations for spicy beef in response to Founder Bruce Taylor’s love of the said dish. A “Consultation” of five Founders was held in San Rafael, CA and all enjoyed the dish served at the late Col. Ted Schulz’s favourite Szechaun restaurant where a celebration of his life was held.

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Treasure Hunt Update: Tuesday Aug 13th

We are in the 13th day of the Treasure Hunt. A number of inquiries by participants have either been answered, clarified, or further frustrated by Buttons.

As of now, we have no final submissions. We know of a number of individuals and teams who are working away, but we have no one yet who has concluded the 100 questions.

The Treasure Hunt ends Monday, September 2, 2013 at 12 Noon Pacific Time.

We would love to hear from you if you are working on it and any feedback you would care to offer. Post comments or questions here.

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Welcome to Thomas J. Walker, Author  of “Fort Apache–New York’s Most Violent Precinct,” and Sherlockian

The Society welcomes Thomas J. Walker to Charter Membership. Captain Walker, formerly of the New York Police Department, was the Executive officer of the 41st Precinct known as Fort Apache in the 1970s. He wrote the book of the same name, later made into a movie. He traces his roots in the NYC Police Department back to the Civil War.His background includes assignments as a physicist in the police laboratory, teaching criminal law at the Police Academy, command of Precinct Detective Squads, Executive Officer of three precincts, and Operations Officer of the Bronx where he coordinated police and detective functions at major disasters and riots.

He appeared on the TV show, “The $128,000 Question,” as an expert on Sherlock Holmes and won $32,000. He is a member of the Society of Professional Investigators, and he is a director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Mr Walker is married to Mary Faherty. They have five children and reside in the Bronx.

Please join in extending the Society’s welcome to this most Detective of all of our members:

“You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”