2014

• April 18 - 20  Awesome - Con.  Get ready for fun at this pop culture celebration at the Washington Convention Center. It's a conclave of comics and all manner of geekdom, including collectibles, toys, games, art, cosplay and more. And since the Red Circle's Emily Whitten is the program coordinator, there's sure to be a Sherlockian angle included. The information is here.
• April 26 Denny Dobry's Open House  Denny Dobry has for many years welcomed those who want to visit his splendid recreation of the sitting-room at 221B in his home in Reading, Pa.  You can see pictures of the room here.  He is holding an open house on Apr. 26, 1:00 to 6:00 pm, and you can contact him here to rsvp, and to ask for directions.

• April 27 Interpretations of Sherlock Holmes  A five session class begins at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington.  More information here. 
• May 2 - 4  Malice Domestic 26  The popular meeting of mystery lovers will once again hold forth in Bethesda Maryland. Check their website for details.

• May 22  Sherlock Holmes Under the Magnifying Glass: A Conan Doyle Birthday Celebration   The Red Circle's own Dan Stashower will be featured at this Smithsonian Associates program celebrating Conan Doyle's 154th birthday. Actor Scott Sedar will join Dan to read from some of Conan Doyle's classic works. The program starts at 6:45pm at the Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center on the Mall. A cake-and-sherry reception follows. See the details here.
• June 10 Reservation deadline for June 13 Red Circle dinner meeting.
• June 13  Red Circle dinner meeting.

• September 12-14  From Gillette to Brett IV: Basil, Benedict and Beyond  The fourth in the series of these popular conferences is set for Indiana University. See their website here.
• September 26 - 28  Alpine Adventures 2014  Sherlockian Conference at the Hotel Schatzalp in Davos, Switzerland honoring Conan Doyle's visits to Davos in 1893-1895. One of the organizers is The Red Circle's Marcus Geisser. Details are available here.
• October 10 -12  Creatures, Crimes and Creativity literary conference at the Hunt Valley Inn in Baltimore. See their website here.

2015

• January 16 - February 22  Baskerville  The play’s afoot at Arena Stage's Kreeger Theatre! From Washington's own Tony Award-winning mastermind of mayhem, Ken Ludwig, comes Baskerville, a fast-paced comedy as our favorite detective solves his most notorious case. Watch as Holmes and Watson try to escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises and deceit as five actors deftly portray more than 25 characters. Join the fun and see how far from elementary the truth can be. NOTE: Your webmaster will be sore amazed if The Red Circle does not instigate a theatre party during the run of Baskerville. Watch this space for news.

For a much more comprehensive list of Sherlockian meetings and events around the United States and beyond, see Ron Fish's

Sherlockian Calendar.

We Smell a Rat  One of your webmaster's behind-the-scenes duties is to monitor the performance statistics for our website--the information that tells us how many of you visit, and a host of other details. Buried in the blizzard of information is a list of the "search terms" people insert in their web browsers that bring them to The Red Circle. In March someone asked for "The Giant Rats of Sinatra Holmes Society."  Many Sherlockians will remember that in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" Holmes says, "Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson; it was a ship which is associated with the Giant Rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared." The title is so outlandish that it has been repeated often in both Sherlockian and non-Sherlockian contexts, often in pastiches and usually with a wink. Naturally, when we saw the substitution of Sinatra for Sumatra, it became obvious that our internet researcher was looking for the infamous Rat Pack. Peter Blau reports that there is no Sherlockian group called "The Giant Rats of Sinatra" in his records, but adds that back in 1991 Roger Johnson asked, "What is huge and furry, has vicious fangs, big ears and a long tail, and sings 'My Way'?" Of course the answer is "The Giant Rat of Sinatra."

Meeting Notes from The Red Circle's March 14 meeting are available here.

A Tree Grows in England  The featured speaker at the Red Circle's March meeting was Alan Rettig, who gave a well-received presentation called "My Sherlockian Family Tree." In it, Alan discussed the intersections between his recently-completed research on his mother's family and the world of Sherlock Holmes. You can read the illustrated text of "My Sherlockian Family Tree" here. (.pdf)

Sherlockianagrams  At the Red Circle's March meeting, members confronted a quiz devised by our own Dana Richards. It's a trove for anagram fans, based on the letters in the word Washington. Nobody completed the quiz in the limited time available at the meeting, so we're converting it to a "take-home" test for those at the meeting and those who download it here. There will be prizes for the first four correct and complete solutions e-mailed  to Peter Blau. Your webmaster believes that this challenge is even more formidable than the classic Frank V. Morley crossword distributed at our holiday party. Good luck. The winners and the solution will be revealed here in due course. You can download and print the Washington Mix-ups anagram quiz here. (.pdf)

The New Sherlockians  At our June meeting, Red Circle members Cindy Coppock, Nea Dodson and Lynne Stephens gave a summary of the first annual 221B Con in Atlanta. They reported that the April conclave drew 643 attendees, which exceeded expectations by a factor of six. It drew media attention too, with Mo Rocca of CBS Sunday Morning shooting a segment at the festivities. After a nine month gestation, the piece finally aired on January 19. It's a lovely tribute to Holmes and to a new generation of devotees, and proof positive that the great detective--and his appeal--are ageless. You can view Mo Rocca's piece here.

Sherlock Resurrected   Well, now we know how Holmes snapped back to life! Maybe. The premiere of the third series of Sherlock films made us understand that the way Holmes survived his fall is less important than the effect it had on the friendship between the detective and the doctor. And we take comfort in knowing that any explanation is no less plausible than surviving a tumble into a Swiss waterfall. Those who enjoyed the new film, along with the excellent half-hour documentary that followed, may also be interested in the "extras" currently available online. The most formidable is an hour-long documentary about the Sherlock phenomenon, called Unlocking Sherlock. Far more than the standard "making of" fare, Unlocking Sherlock puts the Sherlock series in a proper historical context and gives us insights into the thinking of the producers and the cast. Their devotion to Sherlock Holmes--past and present--helps explain the consistent high quality of the films. You can watch it right here. And if that weren't enough, the BBC has also given us a tantalizing seven-minute teaser for the new series called "Many Happy Returns," which is available here, plus a discussion between producers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, which you'll find here. Happy viewing!

Sherlock Holmes character and most story elements may be used freely in US  Many Sherlockians have followed with interest the federal lawsuit brought against the Conan Doyle Estate by the well known Sherlockian, author and attorney, Leslie S. Klinger. Klinger contended that since the 50 Holmes tales published before January 1,1923 are no longer covered by copyright in the United States, the use of the characters and plot elements in those stories are not subject to rights payments. On December 23 an Illinois federal district judge found in favor of Klinger, ruling that all elements in the pre-1923 stories may be used freely without paying licensing fees to the Estate. Klinger did not challenge the protected status of the ten remaining stories, which are still covered by US copyrights that will expire over the next decade. Klinger's suit marks the first time the Estate's position requiring payment for use of the elements in the pre-1923 stories has been challenged. The Estate is appealing the judgment. Full details are at Klinger's website here, and in a New York Times story here.

A Canonical Crossword  Everyone at the December Red Circle meeting received a copy of the world's first Sherlock Holmes crossword puzzle, published by Christopher Morley in his column "The Bowling Green" in the Saturday Review of Literature on May 19, 1934. Back then it was used as a test to be passed for acceptance into membership in the Baker Street Irregulars. The puzzle was devised by his brother Frank V. Morley, without recourse to the Canon, and there were very few people who solved it correctly. Nor have many solved it correctly since without looking up some of the answers. A printable pdf file of the puzzle (and the clues) is available here, and the solution can be found here.

• Scuttlebutt: One Fixed Point in a Changing Age  Our own Peter Blau's monthly Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press has endured for more than four decades, and has a permanent home right here on our website. It's the most remarkable collection of Sherlockian news and notes anywhere, and your webmaster recommends a monthly visit. The very latest edition is available now, as are past numbers. It's just a click away--use the "Scuttlebutt" button at the top of the page.

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