My Virtual Reading Room

Parodies of I am the Very Model of Modern Major General (43)

(via wendelah1 --many thanks!)

Other links:

The Major-General’s Song — Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘patter’ is still twisting tongues, from The Financial Times

Major General Song, from TV Tropes

Gilbert & Sullivan Do Tolkien

The Modern Entomologist

...which inspired this gem, here in the comments: I am the very model of a modern criminologist

and, by the same talented author, We Are The Very Model Of A Drug Squad Metropolitan

I am the very model of a Russian Major General (not so funny, alas, but as the times are, so is the humor)

I Am the Very Model of a Cartoon Individual

I Am The Very Model of a YouTube Individual

Politics in General

Every Major's Terrible, xkcd comic

And the song it inspired:

Please note: the song is from 2013, and one E. Ezzhev did a video w. it, using the Russian SH series (very cleverly done),

Lyrics:

Ой, много куришь, брат, от дыма я дурею.
Неважно выглядишь, по правде говоря.
Сидишь без денег? Так купил бы лотерею!
Не веришь в лотерею? Это зря!
От пессимизма до инфаркта путь недолог…
В каком мы месте, говоришь? Нет, извини!
Ведь это ж узкий взгляд, а ты ж, брат, не проктолог,
Смотри, брат, шире, в перспективу загляни.

Oh, you smoke too much, brother; the smoke is stupefying me.
You don't look too well, frankly speaking.
You are broke? Why don't you buy a lottery ticket?
You don't believe in lotteries? Ah, but you should!
The path is short from pessimism to a heart attack...
What kind of place are we in, you say? Oh no, excuse me!
That is a very narrow viewpoint, and you, brother, are not a proctologist,
Take a wider view, glance at the perspectives.( Read more... )

(from the Russian Channel 1 TV New Year's Eve broadcast)

These are ones I especially liked, and perhaps some of you might as well, if you'd not already read them. The first two are serious, the remaining four more light-hearted.

A depiction of BLAC, The Great Mouse Detective version:


That's Where Fifty Years' Experience comes in (Mrs Hudson explains her recipe:)

A Holmes Christmas Carol at Black Gate

And here's the full story:

A Holmes Christmas Carol, by Bob Byrne

Not read any of his work myself before, but perhaps some of you might like to check it out
~~

BLACK FRIDAY GIVEAWAY. Today only, until midnight. These twelve New Sherlock Holmes Mysteries will be available for free download on Amazon Kindle regardless of what country you live in. Just enter “Craig Stephen Copland New Sherlock Holmes” in the Amazon search bar and all my stories should appear, including the 12 that are free today.
Download now and enjoy. All the best for the season, CSC.

~~

A neat reversal of their usual roles for Holmes and Watson ;)

"She smiled at him very graciously when he was introduced to her."

From the chapter, "Princess Orchid's Party"

From the book "Fairies I Have Met" by Mrs. Rodolph Stawell, so beautifully illustrated by Edmund Dulac (French-born, British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer, 1882-1953)

And here's the link to the entire book!

https://archive.org/details/fairiesihavemet00staw
~~
Somewhat related:

Mermaid Folktales: A 19th Century History

An idle inquiry:

Why are Kinder Surprise Eggs Banned in the United States, from "Today I found out"

...which led me to an interesting but very grim bit of history of medicine I'd not heard of before:

(caveat lector):

Sulfanilamide Disaster
Taste of Raspberries, Taste of Death
The 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide Incident, FDA Consumer magazine, June 1981

Modern psychopharmacology:

Why combination nootropics (aka "genius pills") are not a good idea
(thanks to supergee for the link!)

Upcoming solar eclipse:

Eye Safety During Solar Eclipses, from NASA

Cats and Humans:

Saved, by a Whisker--a very nice cat story and more from Gene Weingarten, in this weekend's Washington Post Magazine

...and, of course, Sherlock Holmes:

A Guide to Writing Sherlockian Biscuit Habits, from the enigmaticpenguinofdeath's Tumblr

Sherlock Holmes:

Holmes and Watson's reading material, in BOSC

"Les Huguenots", as mentioned in the canon, and further info

Writing:

A variety of advice on how to write different characters

Regarding the ever-popular claim of "I'm only one person, there is no way I could possibly make a difference":

This lawyer spearheaded the world’s biggest beach clean-up at Versova

Amazing animals:

Kangaroo rats

For your amusement:

10+ Embarrassing Moments People Didn’t Realize Who They’re Talking To And Made A Fool Out Of Themselves

(many thanks to supergee for this one)

"What is that howling so loud on the moor, Holmes?"

"That's the voice from the heavens, asking Putin to remain in his post as the president."

(following up on this post)

Dr. Watson addresses Sherlock Holmes (this is from the last ep of the Russian series, "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson", filmed from 1978-1984 or so)

"As I recall the good old days, these killers, rippers, other criminals whom you'd pursued in the last century, they seem to me innocent babes, naive lambs, compared to the wolves whom we've met recently. A person could steal a million, or to kill a wealthy uncle--those, I can understand. But how could one understand some sort of highly-placed criminal, who, only for the sake of making a profit for himself, pushes his own people towards war?"


...someone clipped this, you see, in response to this...



Livanov, who played Sherlock Holmes in the series, receives a government award and makes a little thank-you speech:

"Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, ladies and gentlemen, friends! I thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, for honoring me with this award. Recently, when you were in Chelyabinsk, you have troubled all of us when you verbalized your thoughts about the fact that perhaps you should no longer be working as the President. You know what, Vladimir Vladimirovich, if sometime you attentively raise your eyes to the sky, you will then hear a voice, "Don't even think about it." And that will be a voice of your and our great homeland, Russia. Thank you."

Something for everyone, I hope! Most of these are entirely unrelated to each other. Here goes:
~~~~
Mark Gatiss Responds to “Sherlock Bond” Critic in Rhyming Verse

"No Middle Ground?" by Jim Wright, regarding politics, acting civilized, and whether the end justifies the means.

Media, morality and the neighbor’s cow: When did Ayn Rand become the Republican Party’s bible?: "The value-neutral media "ideal" has left us with a society drained of kindness and mutual responsibility", by Neal Gabler

Arnold Schwarzenegger: I am not a self-made man

compare with this one:

American Huckster: The Untold Story of Napoleon Hill, the Greatest Self-Help Scammer of All Time, by Matt Hovak

6 Reasons Why Intelligent People Fail to Be Happy

Sane Thinking About Mental Problems--another perspective

"On Mourning", a thoughtful article by the writer Ann Leckie

(many thanks to supergee for all these)

What are some of the most mind-blowing facts about the United Kingdom?--originally from Quora, posted by notabler

The Taste of Medieval Food

"When speaking of medieval foods, most people think of one or two things: drab, tasteless foods, or the historically inaccurate meals served at medieval reenactments where patrons eat sans utensils while watching some sort of entertaining reenactment. Both conceptions couldn’t be further from the truth."

~~

(Do watch through to the end, there's a very amusing tidbit)
~~

"For years, women fight for the right to vote
On terms on a par with a man!
They've got what they wanted--the right to vote--
What next if they do 't when they can?!"

(Franz Lehar, "The Merry Widow")
~~

And from the Baker Street Journal Twitter (@BakerStJournal):

"His appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him without observing him.
A shock of orange hair,…a bulldog chin" (TWIS)

"by God, when next it comes to a vote—“ (VALL)

"elected to the office through the votes of the ruffians who in turn expected to receive favours at his hands." (VALL)

He said a few words to each candidate as he came up, and then he always managed to find some fault in them which would disqualify them. (REDH)

"Its power was used for political purposes, principally for the terrorizing of the negro voters” (FIVE)

"the next election, has cast a gloom over the county” (HOUN)

"The despotism and hatred of Liberalism” (STUD)

"too intimately concerned with politics and finance, to be fitting" (REIG)

A bit of fun for your Monday morning ;)
~~

~~
(and yes, it should be HMRC, not IRS, as someone pointed out)

On very diverse topics, and in no particular order:

A rare 'monkey orchid' is shown in Fukushima Aquarium in Japan

Science jokes

15 best books of 2015, from Brainpickings

Remembering Oliver Sacks, from Brainpickings

Left Turn No Turn Right Turn Stop, a short SH story by wordybirdy. ("Holmes learns to drive a dog-cart. London evacuates en masse.")

Watchers flock to Prospect Park in New York to see a rare bird

Here's the bird: a painted bunting:



The facts behind the most common misconceptions about space, from Science Alert

Is gratitude selfish?

How to properly use positive thinking (rather in line with what Zig Ziglar had said/written)

When "Queen Victoria" delivered a baby

(browngirl--you must read this last one ;))

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Carbuncle - John Gielgud & Ralph Richardson



"I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hard felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination."

Read a poem on the subject, "Two days after Christmas", here

In several of the Punch magazines from 1909 there were a series of illustrations called 'Mr. Punch's Motor-Cars' that featured different types of vehicles that were designed for specific trades or interests.
One had a large basket for catching people that was titled 'For Recruiting Officers' and another was a rolling library and was 'For Literary Boomsters.'

The one for the April 14 edition is of special interest here.

It may not look exactly like Holmes, but it's close enough for my comfort.

(from Historical Sherlock FB page)