it's been almost a year since i posted this link, which means i probably haven't updated any of the lists in the folder, and there may be some new meta writers that i haven't gotten around to including. But the idea is, here's a place to get started exploring series 4 meta (and yes, i still dream of doing earlier "semesters", but it gets harder when people leave fandom/tumblr).
My focus is more on reading the subtext, than trying to sort out "what really happened" in the surface story.
if i can figure out how to do it, i would love to make this a pinned post, since the clicky in my header stopped working last year.
ETA sept 2021, if google's new security measures interferes with the link, message me and i will see if i can get you in.
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Colombia passed a landmark law June 4 aimed at improving traceability of its cattle supply chain to ensure beef isn’t sourced from deforeste
This June, Colombia passed a law to enhance its ability to trace cattle that have been grazing on illegally deforested land. Officials will be able to implement stricter registration and monitoring in deforestation hot spots and within the next two years all parts of the cattle and meat-packing industries will be required to implement due diligence measures.
"Conservation groups said if the law works as intended, the country could make unprecedented progress in the fight against illegal deforestation."
The underside of the Great Water Lily by William Sharp, creator of the very first chromolithograph on American soil.
More “lillistrations” here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/william-sharp-s-chromolithographs-of-the-great-water-lily-1854 https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/william-sharp-s-chromolithographs-of-the-great-water-lily-1854
The underside of a water lily leaf is one of the most unexpectedly pretty things out there. I saw this one at Kew Gardens in August 2021 – it genuinely was that shade of purple, no filters have been applied.
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Hello, all! Due to a long, convoluted set of circumstances, I spent some time the other day creating an excel spreadsheet that lists all of the Suchet!Poirot series episodes by their airdates, who produced them, who wrote them, who directed them, appearances of recurring characters in each episode, and whether or not the episode counted as a Core Four episode (meaning an episode that stars David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Pauline Moran, AND Philip Jackson)... so!
Have you ever just wanted to watch all the Core Four episodes, or all the Hastings Episodes, or all the Miss Lemon Episodes, or all the Japp episodes, or all the Ariadne Episodes?
I made these episode lists to help you do just that!
They're right under the cut down below!
I can add different categories or coding to this post pretty easily, if you'd like (for ex.: which episodes star just Poirot, Hastings, & Miss Lemon, or just Poirot, Hastings, & Japp)! So if there's a category or code you'd like added to this list, let me know!
Sadly, I can't seem to find great places to stream certain episodes, so in this post, I simply present the lists of episodes by character and a link to where you can stream the Suchet!Poirot series on the PBS website (if it's available and if you're based in the US).
Stream seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 on the PBS website here!
NOTE: Certain episodes are not available to stream on the PBS website! I've marked those for you with a little " :( "
CORE FOUR EPISODES (28/70)
1.1 Adventure of the Clapham Cook
1.2 Murder in the Mews
1.3 Adventure of Johnnie Waverly :(
1.4 Four & Twenty Blackbirds
1.5 The Third Floor Flat
1.8 The Incredible Theft
1.10 The Dream
2.1 Peril at End House (Pts 1Â & 2)*
2.2 The Veiled Lady
2.3 The Lost Mine :(
2.4 The Cornish Mystery
2.5 The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
2.6 Double Sin
2.7 The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
2.8 The Kidnapped Prime Minister
2.9 The Adventure of the Western Star :(
3.2 How Does Your Garden Grow*
3.4 The Plymouth Express
3.5 Wasp's Nest
3.7 Double Clue*
3.8 Mystery of the Spanish Chest
3.10 Affair at the Victory Ball
5.4 Case of the Missing Will
5.5 Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
5.8 Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan*
7.2 Lord Edgeware Dies*Â :(
8.1 Evil Under the Sun*Â :(
13.2 The Big Four*
* = The Core Four all appear in a scene together:( = The episode is not available for streaming on PBS
HASTINGS EPISODES (43/70)
1.1 Adventure of the Clapham Cook
1.2 Murder in the Mews
1.3 Adventure of Johnnie Waverly :(
1.4 Four & Twenty Blackbirds
1.5 The Third Floor Flat
1.7 Problem at Sea*
1.8 The Incredible Theft
1.9 The King of Clubs
1.10 The Dream
2.1 Peril at End House (Pts 1Â & 2)
2.2 The Veiled Lady
2.3 The Lost Mine :(
2.4 The Cornish Mystery
2.5 The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
2.6 Double Sin
2.7 The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
2.8 The Kidnapped Prime Minister
2.9 The Adventure of the Western Star :(
3.1 The Mysterious Affair at Styles
3.2 How Does Your Garden Grow
3.3 The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
3.4 The Plymouth Express
3.5 Wasp's Nest
3.6 The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
3.7 Double Clue
3.8 Mystery of the Spanish Chest
3.10 Affair at the Victory Ball
3.11 Mystery of Hunter's Lodge :(
4.1 The ABC Murders
5.1 The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
5.2 The Underdog
5.3 The Yellow Iris
5.4 Case of the Missing Will
5.5 Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
5.7 Dead Man's Mirror
5.8 Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
6.3 Murder on the Links*
6.4 Dumb Witness*
7.2 Lord Edgeware Dies :(
8.1 Evil Under the Sun :(
8.2 Murder in Mesopotamia*Â :(
13.2 The Big Four
13.6 Curtain*
* = The Episodes where just Hastings & Poirot appear together:( = The episode is not available for streaming on PBS
MISS LEMON EPISODES (32/70)
1.1 Adventure of the Clapham Cook
1.2 Murder in the Mews
1.3 Adventure of Johnnie Waverly :(
1.4 Four & Twenty Blackbirds
1.5 The Third Floor Flat
1.8 The Incredible Theft
1.10 The Dream*
2.1 Peril at End House (Pts 1Â & 2)
2.2 The Veiled Lady
2.3 The Lost Mine :(
2.4 The Cornish Mystery
2.5 The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim*
2.6 Double Sin
2.7 The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
2.8 The Kidnapped Prime Minister
2.9 The Adventure of the Western Star :(
3.2 How Does Your Garden Grow*
3.3 The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
3.4 The Plymouth Express
3.5 Wasp's Nest
3.7 Double Clue*
3.8 Mystery of the Spanish Chest
3.10 Affair at the Victory Ball
5.1 The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb*
5.2 The Underdog
5.3 The Yellow Iris
5.4 Case of the Missing Will
5.5 Adventure of the Italian Nobleman*
5.8 Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan*
6.2 Hickory Dickory Dock*
7.2 Lord Edgeware Dies :(
8.1 Evil Under the Sun :(
13.2 The Big Four
*= Episodes where Miss Lemon actually gets some decent screen time:( = The episode is not available for streaming on PBS
JAPP EPISODES (40/70)
1.1 Adventure of the Clapham Cook
1.2 Murder in the Mews
1.3 Adventure of Johnnie Waverly :(
1.4 Four & Twenty Blackbirds
1.5 The Third Floor Flat
1.8 The Incredible Theft
1.9 The King of Clubs
1.10 The Dream
2.1 Peril at End House (Pts 1Â & 2)
2.2 The Veiled Lady
2.3 The Lost Mine :(
2.4 The Cornish Mystery
2.5 The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
2.6 Double Sin
2.7 The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
2.8 The Kidnapped Prime Minister
2.9 The Adventure of the Western Star :(
3.1 The Mysterious Affair at Styles
3.2 How Does Your Garden Grow
3.4 The Plymouth Express
3.5 Wasp's Nest
3.6 The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
3.7 Double Clue
3.8 Mystery of the Spanish Chest
3.10 Affair at the Victory Ball
3.11 The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge :(
4.1 The ABC Murders
4.2 Death in the Clouds*
4.3 One, Two, Buckle My Shoe*
5.4 Case of the Missing Will
5.5 Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
5.6 The Chocolate Box*
5.7 Dead Man's Mirror
5.8 Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
6.1 Hercule Poirot's Christmas*
6.2 Hickory Dickory Dock
7.1 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd*Â :(
7.2 Lord Edgeware Dies :(
8.1 Evil Under the Sun :(
13.2 The Big Four
*= Episodes where just Poirot & Japp appear together:( = The episode is not available for streaming on PBS
ARIADNE EPISODES (5/70)
11.1 Mrs. McGinty's Dead
11.3 The Third Girl
12.2 Hallowe'en Party
13.1 Elephants Can Remember
13.3 Dead Man's Folly
She deserved to be in more episodes, tyvm
The Train There's No Getting Off: Emma Donoghue, The Paris Express
So, constant readers may recall that a few days ago I vented my spleen about Marie Benedict's novel The Queens of Crime. Having finished, I thought to myself: this hasn't actually made it any easier for me to tell Mrs. P's sister that I enjoyed her gift. But wait! She also gave me this novel by Emma Donoghue! I have been reading Emma Donoghue since the 1990s and most of the time I've enjoyed it. (She has had some misfires, including--in my opinion--The Wonder, which was made into a film starring Florence Pugh.) She is best known now for her novel Room, which was made into a feature film. My favorite Emma Donoghue novel is Hood, whose protagonist is a lesbian who is mourning her long-term partner while in the closet in Ireland. But I digress. Maybe, I thought to myself, I could read The Paris Express and talk to her about it and I can just not bring up The Queens of Crime at all.
Success! I liked The Paris Express.
What I especially appreciated about it is that it shows you that you can do historical fiction right even under the pressure of contemporary conditions. So behind the cut tag, I'm going to talk about that.
The Paris Express takes place on a single day in 1895, mostly aboard the eponymous Paris Express. Most of the characters in this novel--most of whom are based on historical figures--are either passengers or crew on this train. The constant reader has likely deduced from these facts alone that something bad eventually happens to this train. For readers who haven't, Donoghue tells you at the end of Chapter 1 that this train is "heading straight for disaster." Now, I don't want to tell you exactly what this disaster is, because for me not knowing was part of the enjoyment of reading it. So I recommend you ignore reviews and marketing materials about this book if you plan to read it, because they all seem to give that away immediately.
But of course we know it's headed for disaster. Disaster is what trains are for. Think of any metaphor or figure of speech you use in ordinary conversation that involves trains. My money says that metaphor is based on the idea of the train as an unstoppable force that is hustling you inexorably toward a catastrophic denouement. One thing The Paris Express does well is convey what trains meant and how trains felt to the first couple of generations of people who had the opportunity to ride them. The third-person narrative voice spends enough time on the technical aspects of train travel, via the points of view of the train's driver, stoker, and guards, to give us a sense of both what a revolution these steam trains were and how and why they were dangerous. Everyone riding that train feels some kind of way about all of this, and we will eventually find out how--along with a lot of other things.
Donoghue has invested a lot in historical fiction. Back in the aughts, she produced two mammoth historical novels based in the eighteenth century: Slammerkin (2002), which I've read, and Life Mask (2005), which I haven't. I was compelled by Slammerkin but ultimately couldn't tolerate the cynicism. As in Slammerkin, Donoghue has helped herself out by choosing fairly obscure historical figures. Little is widely known about most of the passengers on this train apart from their jobs, their position in society, and the fact that they were on it. But Donoghue has done her research, and she's good at extrapolating from the facts she was able to find. This is the opposite of what happened in The Queens of Crime, where the historical figures were all well-known and Benedict never really allowed herself to past the biographical outline.
Somehow, The Paris Express makes its social commentary both more overt and more balanced than it was in Slammerkin. The train, with its first, second, and third class carriages, is a metaphor for France's stratified society--and for the way rapid technological advances exacerbate inequality. One of the plot's driving forces is the anarchist Mado (short for Madeleine), who believes that nothing but violence can cure the inequality and injustice that has ruined life for the working class and for her specifically. But she's surrounded by quite a large and diverse cast of characters, each of whom has a slightly different relationship to that society and a slightly different take on what's wrong and how to fix it. Most of these characters don't understand just how high stakes these differences of opinion about the nature of society and the possibility of reform really are, because most of them don't know that Mado has boarded the train with a homemade nailbomb that she intends to detonate.
Unlike her earlier historical novels, Donoghue moves the novel along with the same speed and pacing as the historical train; the chapters, in fact, are organized around the Paris Express's timetable. It's true that at this pace we don't get to spend very much time at any one point with any one character; but thanks to Donoghue's skill at selecting evocative details and doing characterization through exposition, these characters real enough for us to care what happens to them. As we come to care about these characters and their fates, we watch Mado struggle not to--or rather, struggle to maintain her conviction that the violence she is about to unleash is lesser than the silent violence perpetrated on the innocent every day by the capitalism that is grinding workers into the dust. Mado has a point, as the conductor's POV constantly reminds us; the company that operates this train has carefully crafted a system of incentives and punishments designed to push train operators to care more about punctuality than about their own lives. In the details Donoghue has selected, in fact, we can see the reflection of what the twenty-first century's neverending speedup is doing to workers: the elimination of bathroom breaks, the surveillance, the Taylorization of everyday life.
The train is also, if you think about it long enough, a metaphor for fiction itself. A bunch of imagined people are thrown together into a plot, and we are forced to care about them for as long as they are trapped in the machine that is chugging along its tracks. Will we continue to care about them after the train reaches its final destination?Most of the time, no. This is a hard saying but it's true. They matter to us for as long as they're on the train, and then after they get off we just lose them in the crowd. Characters who stick with you after they disembark are the exception. So I'm not mad about the fact that most of these people aren't going to stay with me.
I do wish that Donoghue had done more with the one real experiment she tries in this novel, which is making the train herself a character. Engine 721 doesn't talk and she isn't anthropomorphized, but she does occasionally become a point of view character. I for one wish we could have heard more from her. Dump John Millington Synge, who seems to have been included just for the sake of his being Irish and who IMHO is adding no value, and let's have more train, is what I would have said, had I been the editor for this one. But nobody listens to me.
To my 25 - 35 year olds, you've reached the age where people around you are starting to give up on themselves because they think it's too late. Don't let that energy rub off on you. It's not too late.
hullo! are there any french!sherlock or scottish!john fics out there? or even just them speaking the language, hehe. thank you kindly!
Hi Nonny!
AHHH I don't have many, honestly, and that's a shame.
Here's what I can find on a quick search where it's their nationalities as opposed to "speaking French/polyglot fics". If anyone has some, PLEASE add them below!!! :D :
FRENCH SHERLOCK or SCOTTISH JOHN
Royalty by tzarobin (NR, 3,044 w., 1 Ch. || Teenlock AU || French Sherlock, Sherlock is Royalty, Implied Mystrade, Friendship) – John is a medical student who came from England to visit the Castles of the Loire Valley. There, he meets Sherlock, an arrogant young man who gets on his nerves.
Coup de Foudre by prettysailorsoldier (T, 6,446 w., 1 Ch. || Teenager/University AU || Alternate First Meeting, Skiing, Winter, Sherlock Speaks French, Christmas Fluff) – When John and his friends decide to blow off some steam after finals with a holiday to the Swiss Alps, he's expecting a week of roaring fires, hot chocolate, and snow as far as the eye can see. He is not expecting to fall head over heels for a fellow guest--a young Frenchman known only as "Blue Scarf"--but John's not one to let a little language barrier get in the way, and, with the help of Google Translate, it might just be a Christmas to remember after all. Part 7 of 25 Days of Johnlock
A Gossamer Dream by CarmillaCarmine (E, 15,985 w., 4 Ch. || Writer/Teacher AU || First Meetings, Friends to Lovers, Writer John / Teacher Sherlock, Fluff, London, Holding Hands, Online Friendship / Romance, Phone Sex, Anal Sex, Happy Ending, Alternating POV, Scottish John, Online Relationship, Internalized Homophobia, Hand Holding, Forehead Touching, First Kiss/Time, Texting/Sexting, Rimming, Toplock, Sherlock Speaks French) – Sherlock had never realised one could care so much about someone they'd never met in person. Now he is about to meet the friend with whom he's been chatting online for months and his anticipation is reaching a crescendo. Part 19 of Johnlock Smut (with Feels)
This Is Your Song by agirlsname (E, 79,990 w., 19 Ch. || Moulin Rouge Fusion || Prostitute Sherlock, Poet John, Acting, Singing, Dancing, Writing, Poetry, Musical, Song Fic, Heavy Angst, Unreliable Narrator, Sherlock is French, Love at First Sight, UST, First Kiss/Time, Frottage, Coming in Pants, Anal Sex, Switchlock, Clothed Sex, Crossdressing, Secret Relationship, Forbidden Love, Jealousy, Terminal Illnesses, Grief/Mourning, Breakup/Makeup Sex, Past Drug Use, Attempted Rape, Canon-Typical Violence)– When John Watson is invalided home from the army in 1895, he moves to Paris to rediscover his writing and find a new meaning in life. His old friend Stamford invites him into a group of artist friends, and suddenly John finds himself auditioning to write a show for the famous brothel across the street. There, he meets the most beautiful man he’s ever seen - Sherlock, the star of the Moulin Rouge. But Sherlock is already promised to the investor of the show, the rich Duke Moriarty.
Tennis Series by Jupiter_Ash (E, 216,697+ w. across 5 works || Series WiP || Tennis AU || French Sherlock, Angst) – John and Sherlock are professional tennis players and it’s Wimbledon. One is a broken almost was at the end of his career, the other an arrogant rising star tipped for greatness. It should have been a straightforward tournament. It really should have been. How were they to know that a chance encounter would change everything?
There's the Alba!lock series by Jamlockk - fluffy sweet PWP but features a John with a different background, a kilt, and a Scots brogue. The first is called A lo'e a' plaid
"Sherlock has long known he loves John so when an opportunity presents itself to get John into a kilt, of course Sherlock's going to take it. Even if he'll only have his memories of it, and never John himself…"
~~~~~~
And while John's not Scottish and Sherlock's not French in it, they each speak some of the languages in Jinglebell's Common Tongues: Unassuming Brilliance
"John may be predictably average in most things, but there are a handful of areas in which he knows he is uncommonly skilled. He can make a great cup of tea, for one. He's also good at patching folks up, putting bullets precisely where he wants them, and listening.
The one skill that John is perhaps most exceptional in, though, is language. John is a polyglot."
imakewordsandpics said: The Watsons of Saughton comes to mind https://archiveofourown.org/series/81931
=====
A lo'e a' plaid by jamlockk (G, 3,850 w., 1 Ch. || Scottish John, Kilts, Ceildhs, Scots Dialect, First Kiss, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Idiots in Love, POV Sherlock, Pining Sherlock) – Sherlock has long known he loves John so when an opportunity presents itself to get John into a kilt, of course Sherlock's going to take it. Even if he'll only have his memories of it, and never John himself... Part 1 of Alba!lock
Common Tongues: Unassuming Brilliance by jinglebell (E, 41,174 w., 11 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Anal, Rimming, Snowballing, Language Kink, Blow Jobs, BAMF John, Size Difference, Height Difference, Sapiosexual Sherlock, Barebacking, Size Queen) – John may be predictably average in most things, but there are a handful of areas in which he knows he is uncommonly skilled. He can make a great cup of tea, for one. He's also good at patching folks up, putting bullets precisely where he wants them, and listening.The one skill that John is perhaps most exceptional in, though, is language. John is a polyglot.
The Watsons of Saughton Series by dkwilliams (M, 362,678+ w. across 6 works || Series WiP || Regency Omegaverse || Arranged Marriage, Alpha John / Omega Sherlock, A/B/O Dynamics, Peninsular/Napoleonic Wars, Regency Romance) – A fusion of Sherlock BBC with various Regency-era writing styles. A recounting of events during service as a surgeon to two regiments in Portugal, Spain, France, and India by John H. Watson.
oh goody another opportunity to rec Ain't Seen The Sunshine, in which sherlock's grandmother was french. admittedly there is not a lot of french in the story, which is still one of my all time fandom faves.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
You'll doubtless want to turn this off in your Instagram...
Vie the NYT:
When Meta unveiled an artificial intelligence image generator called Muse Image on Tuesday, it came with a feature that let users create A.I. images based on people’s Instagram photos.
Any adult with a public Instagram account was automatically opted in. Using the Meta AI app, the company’s stand-alone chatbot, other users could pull from “part or all of your published photos” to create new A.I. images, the company wrote in a blog post.
“In addition, people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using A.I. features at Meta,” the company added.
Here’s how it works: On the Meta AI app, a user can tag a public Instagram account and direct the chatbot to create new A.I. photos based on photos from that person’s account.
The privacy backlash was immediate. Along with automatically enrolling users in the feature, Meta didn’t notify people when their accounts were used to generate A.I. images.
Hundreds of users took to social media to decry the new feature, asking how they could opt out while criticizing the company for a lack of consent. One user said on social media that the feature was “a privacy landmine waiting to detonate,” while others on Instagram shared templates for how to disable it.
A Meta spokesman said in a statement that private accounts and users under 18 were excluded from the new feature, which can be disabled “with just a couple clicks.”
“We will take action against any content that violates our Community Standards,” the company added.
What can I do about this?
The easiest way to opt out and protect your account is to set your account to private.
But if you’d like to keep your account public, go into Instagram’s settings and scroll down to the “share and reuse” tab. In the sections titled “Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features,” toggle the setting to “off.”
You can also change the A.I. settings for individual pictures and videos. Users cannot stop their audio, text and comments from being “reused” by Meta’s A.I., the company said.
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What A Swell Party This Is: Margery Allingham, The Crime at Black Dudley
So, after reading my screed about Marie Benedict's novel The Queens of Crime, @planetarywanderer chimed in to say they had been looking forward to it because their beloved Margery Allingham was in it (she is one of the five classic mystery writers designated the "Queens of Crime," along with Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Baroness Orczy). Well, Benedict's treatment of Allingham is even more disappointing than her treatment of Sayers and Christie. Allingham, Marsh, and Orczy are basically sidekicks, and none of them register as characters in their own right. Well, I said, recommend me am Allingham mystery and I'll read one.
This is actually not one of the ones @planetarywanderer recommended; I chose it because it's the first in the series, and I always like to start with the one that introduces the detective. As it turns out, this isn't as important with Allingham's detective as it is with many another; but more on that later. I'm here to tell you that I found The Crime at Black Dudley delightful, despite its incorporation of elements that normally put me right off, and that I'm ready for more Allingham.
Behind the cut tag I will try to avoid major spoilers, but there will be minor ones. So for those thinking about taking the plunge, let me just say this: This isn't a cozy mystery, but it is silly; and it turns out that while I can't do cozy mystery, I apparently can do silly. I mean "silly" in the sense of the Monty Python Ministry of Silly Walks. A big part of the appeal of this novel is watching this random assortment of young things from the 1920s try to cope with the series of increasingly dire and dangerous predicaments in which they find themselves. There is a bit of a Jeeves and Wooster vibe, except that the guy playing the Jeeves role actually comes across a lot more like Bertie. There is a classic murder mystery here, and it will eventually be solved through ratiocination and whatnot; but the murder mystery is interrupted by a whole different kind of crime which introduces a whole raft of chaotic shenanigans. I appreciate the injection of anarchy into a form that can start to become oppressively rule-bound. As for my opinion on the series "detective" Albert Campion, you will need to go beyond the cut tag for that.
So although this mystery partakes of the general prejudicial atmosphere that you find wafting through a lot of classic mystery novels (including casual antisemism and xenophobia), it will be a relief to my fellow Americans to know up front that Black Dudley is not a person; it's a house. It is in fact the house depicted in the cover art above: an ancient, massive, square tower standing in the middle of nowhere. It has not been updated any farther than the 18th century, really; there's no electric lighting, etc. This house is currently owned by Colonel Coombe, who married into the aristocratic Petrie family that has lived in it for centuries. The main point of view character is a doctor/forensics expert named George Abbershaw, who's been invited to a weekend house-party there by his friend Wyatt Petrie. The main hall of this house is decorated with weapons, the centerpiece being an Italian dagger. Wyatt mentions to his guests that the dagger has long been incorporated into a family game, where once a year someone takes down the dagger, they blow out all the lights, and play Hot Potato with the dagger until the 20 minutes or whatever are up. The player holding the dagger when the lights go up has to pay a forfeit. Naturally--naturally!--everyone decides this would be a super fun game to play right now. At this point, I said to myself, I think I can see where this plot is going.
So the thing is, I was right...and also wrong. There definitely is a murder committed; but that's only the first and not actually the worst of this party's problems. Because it's only after Colonel Coombe is hustled upstairs by two fairly sinister guests who keep saying he's had a "heart attack" that we start to realize that this party is Not What It Seems. In fact, two of the people Colonel Coombe invited to this party are obviously sinister--I mean like cartoon levels of visually marked villainy--and they are in cahoots with the entire staff, all of whom are part of the international criminal organization that one of these thugs is the head of. They are looking for something that was in Colonel Coombe's possession, and they're going to keep the entire party prisoner until they find it.
So instead of a murder investigation, what we get next is the attempt on the part of the non-international-criminal guests to escape from this deathtrap of a house and the armed and brutal thugs who now control it. Now, I really dislike stories about organized crime. Arthur Conan Doyle's "secret society" stories are some of my least favorites, and his invention of Moriarty has led to a lot of bad writing. A couple weeks ago I picked up a couple Agatha Christie novels I haven't read yet, one of which was The Big Four. It is about an international crime syndicate which has decided to try to wipe out Hercule Poirot; and although I can't say this is the worst novel Agatha Christie ever wrote, it's definitely the worst one I've read. These genius-led highly organized international syndicates give mystery writers license to leave the rational universe and its challenges behind and create one which is essentially magical. There is nothing subtle about the criminals Allingham creates for this caper. One of them literally looks like an animated bust of Ludwig van Beethoven and is routinely referred to as "the Hun;" the other is named Gideon, and it takes a while, but someone does eventually trot out the telltale period-typical slur that identifies him as Jewish.
However. If you can get past that, then there's a lot to enjoy in the story of Random Group of English Eccentrics vs. Highly Trained and Disciplined Criminals. The house itself really comes into its own as a character here; one of the major ways the English characters thwart and elude the bruisers is by discovering secret passages and doorways that connect apparently unrelated parts of the house. Despite considerable ingenuity, pluck, and stubbornness, their stratagems keep failing. But they do manage to maintain a kind of stalemate: the thugs can't keep them under control, but they also can't escape. One of my favorite moments is when the extremely frustrated head thug, having corralled them all together after the failure of their last sally, does not shoot them, but instead gives them a lecture about how they are all behaving like children and they need to grow and accept the seriousness of this situation.
But this, they refuse to do; and this is where we see the importance of Albert Campion, the closest thing this series is apparently going to have to a detective. Campion is (based on what little we learn from this novel) most likely the black sheep of some aristocratic family, who has decided to make his living as a con artist with a sideline in conjuring tricks. Like Wimsey, Campion camouflages his acumen, experience, and effectiveness behind a flippant exterior, the difference being that Campion makes it even harder to get behind that to find out who he really is. We can't trust anything he tells anyone about himself. Campion is not his real name, but neither are any of the other names he uses. He's at the party not because he was invited but because someone else paid him to grab this thing that all the heavies are looking for--information he offers up pretty cheerfully once the criminal gang reveals itself. It's also pretty clear that most of the men in the party assume Campion is gay, though what they actually tend to say about him is that he's a lunatic. Campion's determination not to take life, death, or life-and-death situations seriously is even more extreme than Wimsey's defensive flippancy, and it's what makes this section of the novel entertaining to me instead of just frustrating.
We eventually do get back to solving the murder mystery; but Campion's really not involved in that part of it. This is why I keep putting "detective" in scare quotes. At least in his first novel, Campion isn't really about logic or order or the leetle gray cells; he's a chaos goblin whose chequered career has taught him how to game systems, frustrate plans, and in this case disrupt what is intended to be an invicible murder machine. He injects a freshness into the classic murder mystery that I think I could learn to like. I didn't even mind that I correctly guessed the identity of the murderer long before I was supposed to. So we'll see. I might go on over to Ngaio Marsh next; but I could be back for Mystery Mile.
it’s not weird to find fanfiction from 2021, or 2017, or 2014 that you’ve never read and actually taking your time to read it.
it’s not weird to love it and comment and leave kudos because the author will probably still see it someday and it will make them happy.
it’s not weird to like said author’s work so much that you want to go look for other fics from them.
it’s not weird to go through the authors profile and look for other fics from the ships you like (or maybe some that you’ll give a chance because you liked the author) and maybe bookmark them for later.
it’s not weird to read these other fics and like them too and comment on them because you actually like them and you want to let the author know.
it’s not weird to read fanfiction from 5, or 8, or 10 years ago and actually enjoy and engage with it because it’s perfectly normal to relate to something that’s less than a decade old!
let’s stop treating fanfiction like they’re instagram posts that stop being interesting in 24 hours! fanfiction is NOT social media, fanfiction is art!!! and art doesn’t get old in one day, one year, or even a decade!
read fanfiction! write fanfiction! comment on fanfiction! let’s not let fanculture die people!!!!!
Not only is it not weird, it is ACTIVELY ENCOURAGED. Authors LOVE IT when people do this!!! Its not "weird" and its not "neutral" -- its a fucking DELIGHT. Feel very absolutely free to read though an author's entire back catalogue, leaving kudos and/or comments along the way; we absolutely freaking love when someone does this. There is nothing more joyful than getting a comment notification for an old fic. It will make our day, I promise.
"I know AI commits content theft, destroys the environment, and gives people psychosis, but can I just use it to --"
Do not use it in my house
Do not click it with your mouse
Do not put it on my dash
Do not kiss its ugly ass
You have a brain that's full of pee
Do not use ChatGPT
As yall may know from past posts, I've been dealing with a lot of health shit, and late last year decided to go on medical leave / sabbatical to recover and focus on healing.
It took a lot longer to get there than I hoped / planned, because health complications kept complicating. Eventually we found out the reason my health crashed so badly is because the brutal flu I caught over Christmas left me, in turn, with a brutal post-viral syndrome. So....good thing I was already planning to take a sabbatical tbh.
(Note: Get your vaccines!!! For the flu and COVID, because post-viral syndromes fucking suck, and COVID is still a huge health threat!!!)
My health has been really stressful and intermittently quite scary, but things are (....hopefully) stable again, and I'm safe. That's the important part <3
(Sidenote: I've been recovering from brain fog and pain when focusing mostly by playing a ton of Hades II, actually with an amount of success that really surprised me. If you're struggling with executive function shit and think you might like it, I would really recommend trying it or something similar as a way to work on rebuilding those mental muscles that doesn't Completely Suck)
I'm mostly resting and working on health shit, and blogging as a hobby (this is why reasonsforhope is just reblogging other ppl's shit lately lol), so you'll see me in and out occasionally, but mostly I'm trying to focus on my health
Speaking of which: I am very, very lucky that I'm safe, and specifically, that my housing and ability to access affordable medical care are stable and taken care of. I am able to do this in large part due to the Affordable Care Act / Obamacare. Universal healthcare now!!
So, having established that I am not in financial distress or need right now, luckily: If you do want to support me, my work, and my recovery, reminder that I have a ko-fi!
I don't always have time or spoons to respond, but I read every note, and I very much appreciate and <3 the people who have been helping support me and my work thus far
Become a supporter of ReasonsForHope today!
I will still be transitioning from here to having my own newsletter (which I plan to set to automatically repost here and on my bluesky accounts, probably using an RSS feed, so you will still be able to follow me on here, but the blog may just run off automation.)
Obv that's been on total hold for months now, but I did create a signup and landing page for it, so you can sign up there if you want to start getting the newsletter as soon as it starts coming out (hugely dependent on my health, quite probably at least 6 months)
Good news, evidence-based hope, and reasons humanity isn't actually doomed.
Hope you're all doing as well as you can be <3
Keep on keeping on, and wish me luck with medical stuff! (Send me strength lmao, gods know healthcare bureaucracy has already made me need it)
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A bittersweet tale of retirement, this odd crime-less story from Holmes’ pen is a rare insight into the mind of the ageing, lonely ex-detective. There is much that we learn about his life after leaving the bustle of London: the quiet nature around him, his simple routine, his new friendships, his interest in photography, and his estrangement with Watson. What June Thomson in her fascinating Holmes and Watson calls “a slow drifting apart, brought about by the physical distance between them, rather than through any specific alienation” is not a pleasant thing to muse on, but it is clear, at least from what the two men share with their readers, that Holmes retires alone while his friend stays in London with his new wife and flourishing practice. Though they still correspond and enjoy “an occasional week-end visit”, this unexplained estrangement makes the lack of a Watsonian touch much more jarring than in Holmes' previous recollection, as his absence echoes throughout the narrative.
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