I have been remiss in my duties, mostly because I was attacked by the evil Dragoncon plague.

A few pieces of trivia, by way of The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes about "The Speckled Band" and "The Blue Carbuncle."

"The Speckled Band"

Holmes says "'When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals.... Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession." William Palmer (1824-1856) was a surgeon who was hanged for poisoning his wife, brother and business associate for their insurance money and who was rumored to have poisoned perhaps 15 people. Edward William Pritchard (1825-1865) was a surgeon who was hanged for poisoning his wife and mother-in-law.

There is no such snake as as a "swamp adder." There is no snake venom that kills in 10 seconds. Snakes can't hear, so what was the whistle for?

"The Blue Carbuncle"

The word "carbuncle" normally refers to a garnet, but Holmes refers to it as "crystallized charcoal," which could only refer to a diamond. Also, there are no blue garnets.

The "billycock" hat that Holmes studies so closely is a bowler or derby.

Geese do not, strictly speaking, have crops.

Holmes says, "'When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the 'Pink 'un' protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet.'" The Pink 'un was a popular name for the Sporting Times, which was printed on pink paper like The Financial Times.

One Holmes scholar computes that in the 60 chronicled cases, there are 37 definite felonies in which Holmes determined who the guilty party, and, in 14 cases, Holmes freed the guilty person.

in 14 cases, Holmes freed the guilty person

Holmes commented more than once that, as an unofficial person, he had more leeway in determining the outcomes of cases than the police.

I tend to notice that unless it's a procedural, we never learn about the punishment in most detective stories. Or in hardboiled, people die instead of going to jail.

Or in hardboiled, people die instead of going to jail.

I've always thought that was because the case itself was so shaky legally that the perp had a decent chance of getting off, which would negate the come-uppance element of the tale.

That could be, a lot of times.

I think in mysteries the point is often that justice is served, even if the law isn't.

Not really subscribed but I saw this and wanted to bring it to everyone's attention. It's very funny.

Bwah! I want that shirt now.

There's a whole comic strip associated with that shirt. It's called "Unshelved", and it's set in a public library. The young adult librarian, who is a guy, starts the book club. The creators of the strip are also big fans of all things Whedon, and the current week's strips are about how the YA librarian's girlfriend is annoyed with him for having already seen Serenity eleven times when they were supposed to go see it together.

[link]

I love that comic. Also finished the selection, but then work and interviews and holidays yada yada yada. Happy to discuss...Ginger?