sundries: late night, very random

[rm]

Little Kitty's ashes are back. I need a cat urn. It doesn't need to be cat-shaped. It needs to be round and squat though, like Little. I don't really have the emotional energy for the research (I tried). Any vendor recs?

Dreamwidth is under attack from anti-free speech trolls of the sort that may have precipitated the LJ StrikeOut thing. I don't really need to underline all the ways in which I have NO patience for this, do I?

I have just discovered the Whuffie Bank, and that I have nearly as many Whuffies as Lexa Doig. Despite telling you this, I don't know what it means.

Project Runway is back in NYC. Thank god.

Did any Jack/Alonso work show up while I was gone other than the piece by xtricks? Anyway, trying not to read, as I spent a lot of time on the boat (duh) cogitating on my own piece which I hope to be awake enough to write tomorrow.

Speaking of Alonso.... I'm seeing the rumors everywhere that he's in the not officially announced TW, S4 -- are any of the rumors from good sources? I haven't been back long enough to really look or poke my own sources with sticks.

Charity List and Haiti-related links to come. I need to be awake to do it, and obviously, people are ahead of me.

Started reading Sherlock Holmes on the boat. No one told me about the Mormons. Or the purple prose.

Comments

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Well, the Mormons are only in the one book.

Personally, I can't read the pre-rescue dialogue between John Ferrier and Lucy without wincing; it's like Conan Doyle is channeling Dickens at his sappiest.

Have you started the second novel, The Sign of Four? I think that's where the Canon really takes off.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Nope. I'm still finishing the first. There was even more relaxing and even less reading than I had anticipated on the trip.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

It's interesting, because the way Watson describes Holmes changes dramatically between the two books. Either Holmes was on his best behavior during the early days at 221B, or Doyle decided to reboot his "thinking machine" and give him some bohemian/aesthete traits (the drug use, the ennui).

[argentla.livejournal.com]

If you survive the Mormons (who do not return, as laughingacademy notes) and the purple prose (which comes and goes, although that's arguably the nadir), consider seeking out The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, which is littered with exhaustive, obsessive footnotes about the ephemera of Victoriana. I think you would find it quite transcendental.

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

May I second that rec! I have the Annotated. Very helpful if you have no idea what a gasogene is. Or some of the other terms one can find in Victorian stories.

I also have a reproduction of the stories as they were printed in the Strand, with illustrations by Sidney Pagnet(sp?) I remember spending some time attempting to reproduce those illustrations in my notebooks. (I liked to draw.) The representations of the women's clothing are simply wonderful. I so want a few dresses like those, but without that nasty corset.

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes
http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0393059162
(I didn't realize that it has been republished! Dang. Now I'm wondering if I should get a copy. The one I have is the 1988 version.)

Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes
(This edition has several of the stories as they were printed in the Strand magazine, with illustrations by Sidney Paget. The illustrations are just darling little things, and show off the period so well.)
http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0890090572

Of course you can find these at Amazon dot com as well. The older version of the Annotated are there as well.

[argentla.livejournal.com]

I have a 1967 edition; I have seen but not looked at the newer editions. The one I have is edited by the late William S. Baring-Gould, and is full of insanely anal essays by crazed (but very genteel) Sherlockians on pressing subjects like how many wives Watson actually had. (Text implies two, fans suggest three to five, some quite absurd.)

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

I think I've seen that copy at the library. Or least I want to say I remember some essay along those lines (the number of wives) and the name is familiar. With the supposed number of wives, I can't help but thinking (1)that's sort of like the wife of Bath. (2) Boy, he sure wears them out quickly, doesn't he.

Yeah, bad of me, I know...

[firinel.livejournal.com]

I've heard (never used) nice things about Rainbow Bridge (terrible name, though), but have only ever personally used the urns through my vet (or when I was a kid, my family went the burial route).

[lefaym.livejournal.com]

I didn't get my Jack/Alonso finished, unfortunately, though I'm still working on it. Apparently some of the rumours about Tovey joining TW are from Digital Spy, which is usually pretty reliable. I hope it's a while before we get any official confirmation though, as my fic is premised on the idea that Jack/Alonso is a short term (but not meaningless) fling, and if we hear anything officially, my inner canon-conscience won't let me write it. (Also, I am worried about George from Being Human -- and I have to wonder if perhaps they are delaying an official announcement until after S2 of Being Human finishes, so as not to spoil people.)

[coldwater1010.livejournal.com]

Season 3 of Being Human has already been announced and they start filming in April and he's expecting to be in it, but production is moving to Wales. Whether that means he'll be able to do both plus that sitcom he's doing a pilot for remains to be seen since nothing's been confirmed for Torchwood.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Whuffie is a Doctorow-ism from Down and Out in The Magic Kingdom. I'm pretty amused it's been defictionalized, as I've always kinda wanted to see it for real.

[lyorn.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty amused it's been defictionalized

I've been using it since I read it, because I really like the concept, plus, it's occasionally useful.

kitty urn

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

To the kitty urn- have you tried looking at local potters and crafters? I've seen some very cute to very simple urn style containers that would work for a cat's ashes.

You might also want to glue the top down after depositing kitty, as if someone were to knock it over accidentally, well that might be a bit messy. OTOH, you could always cry and really guilt trip the knocker-over if that happened.

Also, sorry to hear about kitty. I have a few cats' ashes sitting on the bookshelf right now. Well, they were all strays who 'adopted' me and never liked the outdoors. I imagine they'd hate to be buried outside. lol!

On the Sherlock Holmes stories

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

As for the Holmes stories; read those back in junior high. (At about 12-14 years of age.) If you are a kid raised in the 80s, who has seen gay pride parades, some parts take on a view I'm sure Doyle did not intend.

Well anyway...

The stories are okay, if you're not too nicky picky about details. (Like Watson's wound changes from shoulder to leg and back to should again.) I'm also trying to remember which story starts in one season and ends in another. It's like the story starts in winter and ends in summer, but supposedly the time lapse is only three days. (Or it starts in summer and ends in winter.)

Which might work down here in Texas. Last week we had ice and were at below freezing for a week, now here in a few days we'll be at 70 degrees.

Also remember that Conan Doyle had no trouble playing loose and fast with facts if he thought it made the story better. (The Creeping Man is a good example.)

I'd say reading Sherlock Holmes is like reading most pulp fiction, or watching Doctor Who. Don't sweat the details, just sort of sit back and enjoy the ride.

Also not surprised about the Mormons in Study in Scarlet. I remember hearing about the Mountain Meadows Massacre by the Mormons.

A wagon train of non-Mormon settlers tried to move into Utah. The Mormons dressed up as Indians and attacked the wagon train, killing off most of the settlers, including women and children. They looted the 'train' for any valuables, and left the bodies out exposed to the elements. Which I'm sure a lot of folks saw as 'sacrilegious' then. That happened in 1857, so I'm pretty sure that Doyle would have heard about it.

And I'm sure you can guess that public opinion of Mormons back then was probably not very good.

I prefer the short stories, and Hound of the Baskervilles to Study in Scarlet. (And why do I want to keep typing Baskervilles as Basketvilles?)

[nobodyreally.livejournal.com]

This guy is a friend who makes custom blown glass. collupy glassHe can even mix in a small bit of Little Kitty's ashes if you want.

[rexluscus.livejournal.com]

OMG the Mormon story is so ridiculous. There's a reason that one didn't show up in the Granada/Jeremy Brett adaptations.

[weirdquark]

Pfft. They made the vampire one, didn't they?

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

The Last Vampyre has almost nothing to do with "The Sussex Vampire" — note that they even changed the title.

[rexluscus.livejournal.com]

Oy, that's true!

The one that made me laugh the other day was "The Creeping Man." I'd forgotten the plot, so at the end I was like, "*spit-take* LOL really???"

[curriejean.livejournal.com]

Wow, good for Dreamwidth, sticking to their guns. I really respect that. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Kinda sharp and needly toward paypal at the moment, though.

You know what I want to see for TWS4? Jack, Gwen, Martha, Mickey, and Alonso. My heart would ache all through it, but I could easily completely adore it anyway. Haven't heard any news, though. Just speculating and hoping.

[imaginarycircus.livejournal.com]

I somehow missed that Little never came back from the vet. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I don't know how much you want to spend, but it looks like there is a carpenter on etsy who makes interesting wooden urns. (But they all seem to cost $160)

This one is $25, but the color and shape might not be right. I did like that the potter's cat left a mark on it. I also am not sure how you would seal it closed--maybe epoxy, but I believe the cremated remains come sealed in a plastic bag.

This one is nice and squat and only $22. I'm not sure about sizes for these. The boxes my parents have for their dogs are pretty small. And the one for the cat is the same size.

This jar is a bit taller but still fairly squat looking. The color is interesting. $48

Tiny jar made of wood $26

Little copper colored ceramic urn $42

I avoided linking you to the kitchy boxes with animal figurines on top because that didn't seem quite your style and I thought you would probably like something either cooler or more elegant, or probably both.

[firinel.livejournal.com]

Oh, also, if anyone is disinclined to believe Dreamwidth, I can personally vouch, as we got a harassing phone call last night from "a concerned pastor", whose phone number when googled showed up as being from a trolling group.

Reading their news post though leads me to suggest that a lot of people write paypal and start refusing to use them if they (paypal) do this (stick to that demand).

[gaaneden.livejournal.com]

I'm still sorry about Little. I did find an interesting place called Cremation Solutions. It is an amazing website.

http://www.cremationsolutions.com/Cremation-Urns-Wood-c105.html

[junebugged.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry about Little. I loved your posts about her and Pretty and I know that you loved her and tried so hard.

There is a place in NJ called Abbey Glen - http://www.abbeyglen.com/services.html - They cremated my 22 year old GOLDFISH (that we had to have EUTHANIZED - How do you euthanize a goldfish? very carefully!), being extremely careful and keeping the temperature much lower so he didn't poof. When I worked as a vet tech, I went to various conferences and talked with their representatives - they're good people. I also got to see their Life Gems and a few examples of their urns. They may be pricey but they are really lovely.

As for Jaws (my goldfish), his ashes are currently in a really neat bronze fish 'statue?' with a little opening in the top. My mother found it in either TJ Maxx or Homegoods (I can't remember which). He hangs out on the window sill near where his tank used to be, and my mom is comforted. (Her allergies are so bad that he was the only pet she had)

I actually found a small, hollowed out marble sphere at Dragon*Con in 2000, that I used to put some of my dear friend's ashes in (with his family's blessing). I believe it was under $20.

I hope you're able to find something that you find appropriate for your dear girl.

[valkyrwench.livejournal.com]

I commissioned a box from naamah_darling for Taz's ashes. It seemed the most fitting reliquary for a cat of his stature. Just saying, if you want to consider a non-standard reliquary, rather than an urn.

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

Alonso.... I'm seeing the rumors everywhere that he's in the not officially announced TW, S4

what what? where are you seeing this?

Little

[annablume.livejournal.com]

Depending on amount of ashes, you might need a custom piece:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20320280

I'm sure you could just glue it shut.

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

No he's not officially announced. I think the idea that he *might be* came from fan wishes and a comment he made about whether or not he might be. It implied that he might be/had but certianly wasn't final. Hell, I don't think a S4 of Torchwood has been officially announced.

[kalliopeia.livejournal.com]

The only real thing I've heard about Alonso in Torchwood is one comment from John Barrowman about how he'd like to see it happen, and an interview with Russell Tovey in which they ask him if he thought he might reprise the character in the future. The Barrowman thing is just him blabbing as he always does, probably doesn't mean anything. But the Russell Tovey bit is a little more intriguing.


Is there a chance for you to reprise that role again after this?
"Surely. Yes. Sorry, I'm not allowed to say anything!"

From here. (http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/interviews/a191004/russell-tovey-being-human.html)

Of course that could mean anything, from him just messing with our heads to him being in it. Who can tell.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

green copper urn - I sort of love this one. The seller has several other neat pieces.

this one is so round

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

I'm working through RIMC, and wrote something that includes the Jack/Alonso scene from EoT2, but XT is the only proper Jack/Alonso I can think of offhand.