Thursday, March 18, 2010

A bit of fun, I guess?

1. It agitates me that society has reached such a point that google imaging "Holmes" turns up nothing but Katie Holmes on the first page. Not even the new, poorly-scripted, mediocrely-directed RDJ/Jude Law mockery of ACD film. No. Just Katie Holmes. The madness of it all.

2. Why is this scheduled for one am? Mostly because I can. Also because I am addicted to scheduled posts, but mostly because I can.

3. On with the post!

Anyway, the reason I was googling Holmes is because I wanted images of Vasili Livanov as Holmes, because he did it best. I know, I know, you're calling me mad right now. How dare I say anyone was better than Jeremy Brett, right? I never liked Brett. His performance was far too ham-tastic, and he only got hammier with each passing episode. It's sad to say but I was glad when I got to the episodes where his health was declining and he was much less lively. Of the English-language Holmes actors, I always liked Peter Cushing best, and the recent release of the surviving episodes of the 60s series solidifies that position. But Vasili Livanov still wins, and so does the Soviet series. Not only is it the best Holmes series ever with the best Holmes, Watson, et al. ever, but they get massive brownie points. Made in the late 70s and early 80s in Soviet Russia and they did their damnedest to make it look like Victorian England, and it actually kind of works for them. So definitely give the Russian series a try at some point, folks. It's astounding.

But this post is not a post about Sherlock Holmes. It easily could become that, but I refuse. No, this post today is something else entirely. Okay, not entirely. There's another reason I was googling Holmes beyond simple "Vasili Livanov". That reason is, well, Holmes is kind of the quintessential quirky character of literature. Hercule Poirot was definitely far quirkier when it comes to literary detectives (and oh how David Suchet was taken that role; I pity the next man to play Poirot), and we could go down so many more branches of literature, but really Holmes is the epitome of the quirky character, as it were. And that is very much related.

But first, this is what Vasili Livanov looks like now (photo ca. 2008):
There's another shot I prefer but it's a bit too big for blogging so we'll just leave it at that one. You can check out 221b.ru if you wanna see it. Or if you wanna hear some of the great music from the great Russian series.

Anyway, as I said, quirkiness is essential to this post. I reckoned as such: I post a few quirky things about myself, and if you feel so inclined, you do the same on your blog. Now of course, we're all probably a bit more odd in the upstairs than most, even the most normal of us writingfolk. But try to think of things that seem a bit more...innocuous isn't quite the right word but I'm saying it anyway. This is why I shouldn't write posts at the same time I schedule them for weeks later. But yeah, some little things about yourself that probably aren't the sort of thing most people would notice or really don't necessarily seem like they'd be too horribly quirky, but really they are. Or maybe they aren't and just seem as such. Anyway, five of them.

Here goes.

1. I wear my socks inside out. This is for two reasons. Number one, it's more comfortable. Number two, a lot of older cultures believed wearing clothing inside out was good luck. Granted, a lot of them said it was only good luck if you accidentally put them on an article of clothes inside out, but I figure it can't hurt. I like good luck.
2. If bacon, then fire. It has become a law of the universe. Whenever I make bacon, there is always fire. Sometimes grease pops out of the pan. One time what I thought was water on the bottom of the pan turned out to be grease. It's to the point where I have made a game out of If bacon, then fire. I realize this isn't so much a quirk as it is a travesty, but there it is.
3. I tend to just throw on any old clothes, but at the same time, I have a precise method to all of my outfits. Whenever I am going to school or anywhere that shall require me to carry things, I wear cargo pants. I only wear jeans when I know I'm going to be doing something like playing football or going hiking. I wear certain styles of trouser when just hanging out places, and other styles of trouser when going places. Different pockets for different needs, as well, and with a precise methodology to each pocket. Mobile always goes in the left waist. Wallet ass right. Important documents and/or electronics waist right. Other items other pockets depending upon outfit, but those are the three universals. Shirts are a bit more haphazard, with no planning going into school beyond "grab t-shirt from dresser", but there is still some planning behind them, mostly for sake of coordination.
4. I like to narrate my life. Sometimes in song, sometimes in one of the many random accents I can do. And yet I never narrate my life in a Manc accent, which is the only one I can do well enough to sound native. At any rate, you really should try narrating your life sometime, preferably in song. It's jolly good fun.
5. My bedroom looks like a bomb has gone off, but there is a very precise filing system. I even have it worked out to the point where I have candy hidden in places you wouldn't even dream to look for anything at all. Like the kit-kats hidden behind a loose piece of the framing that separates the wall from the ceiling. You'd be surprised how long it takes for those things to melt. I mean, those things have been in there since Christmas, and they're still going strong. Though, to be fair, it has been very cold lately.

So those are the only five I can think of without delving into lunatic land, which is the most wonderful place and I certainly never intend to leave, but it's quite contrary to the point of this post. Feel free to go ahead and post your own, or not, or whatever. This is a random half-asleep thought here. God save the man who gave me the schedule button, because I am probably going to be doing a lot of these random half-asleep thought schedulings.

And now for your enjoyment, a Russian Holmes spoof:

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