Ineffable Twaddle “It is my business to know what other people don’t know.” The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle A monthly publication of The Sound of the Baskervilles A Scion Society of The Baker Street Irregulars • Since March 31, 1980 Serving the Greater Puget Sound Region of Western Washington Volume 2 8, I ss ue 1 2009 Master’s Dinner January 2009 Join Us for Holmes’ 155th Birthday Celebration!! Return your check for Date: Saturday, January 3 Inside this issue: $26.15 per person—payable to Time: 2:00 p.m. Barnaby’s —to Terri Haugen by 2009 Master’s Dinner 1 Cost: $26.15 per person * mail by December 23. Winner Named for 1 Place: Barnaby’s, 16401 West Valley Hwy, 2009 “Footprints” Tukwila We must have a count on menu items one week in Save These Dates 1 There’ll be toasts, and handouts including advance of the banquet! our 2008 Beaten’s Christmas Annual, and Examine First Half of 2 Please write good food and lots of fun!! SIGN for January your WA Driver’s License # Meeting * Cost includes tax & tip and your choice of 5 entrées on your check! (prime rib, Hawaiian chicken, Kensington Club A Few Thoughts by a 2 steak, King salmon and vegetable Alfredo ), soup Guy… Contributed by or fresh salad bar, and coffee, tea or soda Ann Deusenberry (alcoholic beverages are additional ). Things to See, Buy, 3 Remember: Winner Named for 2009 Do & Know Our Annual Dessert Buffet “Footprints” Award Test Your Knowledge 3 immediately follows The Master’s of Great Britain, Dinner on January 3 . With the precedent set last Decem- Part IV Contributed Driving directions to Jean Macdonald’s ber, Treasurer Al Nelson was recog- by Stu Shiffman home will be provided that night. nized at the December 8 Meeting and, with deserved compliments and a list of Member News & 4 And, please bring a treat to share!! good deeds, nominated SOB Margie Updates Deck for our 2009 “The Footprints of a Save These Dates Gigantic The SOBs will attend two performances of Hound” award. Sherlockian plays in early 2009!! As is our cus- S o m e o n e tom, please contact the theatre yourself to reserve quickly called and pay for your own tickets!! for closing the “The Final Toast”, Saturday, February 28, nominations, Joy & 3:00 p.m., The Broadway Center for the Per- the vote was forming Arts, Tacoma, $34 ($22, seniors) , (800) taken, and so Hank & Margie Deck Happy 291-7593. Supper follows at Hank & Margie Margie was unanimously named the new Deck’s home. Hound award-winner!! Congratulations, Holidays “The Crucifer of Blood”, Saturday, March 7, Margie!!! 2:00 p.m., Centerstage Theatre, Federal Way, Meet Margie and hear more kudos of her to One $25 ($20, seniors), (253) 661-1444. Refreshments contributions at The Master’s Dinner, of follow at Al & Margaret Nelson’s home. course!! and All!! P a g e 2 Ineffable Twaddle Drawing of the Examine First Half of SIGN for January Meeting Andaman Pe- The January 12 th Meeting of The Sound of the Baskervilles will begin at 6:00 nal Colony p.m. at T.S. McHugh’s Public House, 21 Mercer Street, Seattle, (206) 282-1910. Headquarters, Come early, order dinner and catch up with other SOBs! Many arrive as early as 5:00. made in 1872 Says PFL David : As this novel is lengthy but has no “long boring part”, at- —a time when Jonathan tendees at the December Meeting decided we’ll cover it over two Meetings . At Small was incarcerated there. Sholto the January Meeting, we’ll discuss and quiz on the first 6 chapters; at the February might have entered this building on Meeting, we’ll discuss and quiz on the last 6 chapters. occasion as part of his prison job. This second published chronicle by Dr. Watson originally appeared in Lippin- cott’s Magazine with the subtitle, “The Problem of the Sholtos”, but was later or- The Sign of Four ganized into chapters for novelization. The Sign of Four is actually comprised of two tales: The death of Bartholo- mew Sholto, along with the subsequent theft of the Agra Treasure; and the ro- Interesting Facts From SIGN : mance between Watson and their client, Mary Morstan. This story contains the only Don’t miss the fun, as we get several opportunities to view Holmes’ attitude mention of Watson’s elder brother, toward woman, and Watson wooes Mary with the same ardor that Holmes uses who is the source of John’s middle to track down the killers!! name: Hamish. Did you catch the fact that two wooden-legged people are men- A Few Thoughts by a Guy Who Made a Living tioned in this tale? Senegambia is a region of western Out of Observing Absurdity in Action Africa around the Senegal and Gambia rivers. For those of us who enjoy silliness, wordplay, floor. absurdity and punditry, we couldn’t let the pass- • What does it mean to pre-board? Do ing of stand-up comedian George Carlin go with- you get on before you get on? out notice. Carlin, whose long career was distin- • When you step on the brakes, your life is Robert Downey Jr. guished by pointed social commentary that placed gets clocked in the him on the cultural cutting edge, died on June 22 in your foot's hands. • noggin by his 7-foot of heart failure in Santa Monica. Enjoy these!!! Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and Sherlock Holmes co- • Atheism is a non-prophet organization. anyone going faster than you is a ma- star. This is why • By and large, language is a tool for conceal- niac? skeptics said the clas- ing the truth. • I went to a bookstore and asked the sic story Sherlock • Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet saleswoman, “Where's the self-help sec- Holmes and the Fist- the sweaty things. tion?” She said if she told me, it would fight With Yoo Ming • Dusting is a good example of the futility of defeat the purpose. was unfilmable . Entertainment Weekly, 12/12/08 trying to put things right. As soon as you • Some people see things that are and ask, dust, the fact of your next dusting has al- “Why?” Some people dream of things ready been established. that never were and ask, “Why not?” • In comic strips, the person on the right al- Some people have to go to work and Remarkable Collection at U of M ways speaks first. don't have time for all that. Though now retired, SOB Ed Funk • • Most people work just hard enough not to I'm completely in favor of the separation still gets mailings from the get fired and get paid just enough money of Church and State. My idea is that U of Minnesota Foundation, whose not to quit. these two institutions screw us up last mailing included an item on the • “Frisbeetarianism” is the belief that when enough on their own, so both of them bequest to the Sherlock Holmes you die, your soul goes up on the roof and together is certain death. Collections at the U from Allen gets stuck. • May the forces of evil become confused Mackler, “a noted Sherlockian and • One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, on the way to your house. avid collector”. The Collections now include Mackler’s full-scale Christopher Morley model of Holmes’ sitting room, —who wrote the which now resides in Wilson Introduction to the Library. The gift also included a Doubleday version library of 5,000 to 6,000 books, of The Canon— lives on: original Sherlockian art, and an Source: Tacoma endowment to fund a curator News Tribune for the Collections. Volume 28, January, 2009, Issue 1 P a g e 3 Things to See, Buy, Do & Know And, The Winner Is… The 1 st place prize in our From SOB Margaret Nelson: • Through (a 98104, (206) 587-5737, www.seattlemystery.com Second Short Story-Writing Northwest Cos- From Cenarth Fox in Australia: 2 Sher- woman at work), I found out about • I have Contest went to current tume Shop lockian CDs and 5 Sherlockian books , 2315—6th Avenue S.W., Tacoma, (253) available. SOB Treasurer Allen Nelson . 383-4700. Mary Johnson and her husband own the The books are about the Schoolboy Sherlock Holmes Writers this year were challenged whole building; they have the shop on the 1st floor, and have won rave reviews; details at www.twit.biz . to complete an essay begun by but on the 2nd floor, they are recreating a ballroom, The CDs are explained in the following advert . Sherlock Holmes' flat and a pub. Allen stopped in Overseas delivery is no problem, and PayPal is avail- Nacho Ospina prior to his and learned they supply local theatre productions able. untimely death in May 2008. with costumes and offer a variety of rental options. Entries were required to The Real Sherlock Holmes • From SOB Geoff Jeffery: 2009 marks the 150th complete—but not alter—the A three-hander, a comedy/drama about the amazing life and first 645 words of Nacho’s tale, anniversary of the birth of Arthur Conan Doyle, and to work of Arthur Conan Doyle and his ‘friend’ Mr. Holmes. celebrate his life and works, Harvard’s Houghton Rave reviews. titled “A Night of Horror”. Library will host a symposium May 7 to 9, 2009 I've greatly enjoyed reading The Real Sherlock Holmes - At the December 8 Meeting, and mount a major exhibition May 4 to August 15, now I want to see it performed! May you go from strength Editor Terri presented Al with a 2009 “to honor the man whose enduring contributions to strength! big hug and a certificate honoring Roger Johnson, The Sherlock Holmes Society of London st to the post-Victorian world include the creation of An utter delight!, a very poignant script and performance.