Janice Law, writer

I just finished a very well written mystery that left me depressed. No, not envy this time.

It strikes me that the combination of ingenuity and gore- so popular at the moment- is particularly soulless without a great character as detective. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple bailed out Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes plus Watson rescued Arthur Conan Doyle, and even P.D. James would have seemed shallow without Adam Dalgeish. 

A great character adds a touch of humanity and realism to intricate and peculiar deaths and imaginative criminal MO’s. Without a great detective, in the sense of a great character, the reader is left with the unpleasant aftertaste of bizarre violence.

At one time, the Grange Hall was the social and cultural center of our small town. That was back before electricity arrived in the ‘20’s and good roads, radio and television broadened recreational opportunities.

When the Grange disbanded a few years ago, the town renovated the old building and it now hosts regular musical events and meetings. Art work remained difficult to display - all those windows, all that original plaster! – until a new hanging system was purchased.

Net result- first art show.

Just by chance the other day, I happened to read Arthur Conan Doyle’s Scandal in Bohemia right after seeing the PBS show, Sherlock’s version of the same story.

The modern Sherlock is handsome and plausible, if rather too fast talking when explicating clues, but the woman, Irene Adler, is another matter.

In the original, she is an opera singer of talent on the verge of marriage. She has a compromising photo of the herself and the King of Bohemia, which she is retaining as protection.

In the modern version, she is a high paid dominatrix with a sideline in espionage, who first greets Sherlock stark naked and has to be rescued by the great mind at the end. Enough said!

Though women’s status and opportunities have risen in the West, at least, old attitudes don’t go away. They are simply squeezed into new areas, including, sadly, tarting up a good old story like A Scandal in Bohemia.

I’ve been neglecting tumblr lately, but our son has been hard at work getting ready for the Champions League Final in Munich.

Check out one of his videos- and his sports coverage of the event.

http://msn.foxsports.com/topics/m/video/56721413/munich-is-the-place-to-be.htm#q=trecker+video