The Sign of The Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle author of A Study In Scarlet – my note is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/08/a-study-in-scarlet-by-arthur-conan.html along with hundreds of other reviews - 9 out of 10
The Sign of The Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle author of A
Study In Scarlet – my note is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/08/a-study-in-scarlet-by-arthur-conan.html
along with hundreds of other reviews
9 out of 10
The Mystery Writers of America published a list named The
Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time and The Complete Sherlock Holmes is at
number one, somewhat strangely, The British, with their own Crime Writers’
Association have placed it only at twenty-one, on their Top 100 Crime Novels of
All Time, though it is still an achievement
Sherlock Homes is quite a character, one of the most famous
detectives, perhaps the best known, together with Hercule Poirot https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-secret-adversary-by-agatha-christie.html
two smart men that may be unfamiliar to younger generations, who could know
better film sleuths
In A Study in Scarlet, we find the hero less awesome, since
he is presented as knowing very little, if anything, that is not applicable to
his art, he is the first, perhaps the only detective at that time, and he has
incredible capacities, his deductions are formidable, and yet, whatever is
outside his field appeared irrelevant to him
When he meets doctor Watson, his equally famous associate,
Sherlock Homes is able to tell he has been in Afghanistan, and a good number of
other things, while in The Sign of The Four, we have another sample of the
ability, when he shows he could tell how the doctor had been to the post
office, from his shoes and other things
About the brother, we hear that he has been in trouble, then
he had good periods, and more details besides, just by looking at the watch
that Watson shows, and looking at scratches on the object, then the peculiar
marks left by pawnshop owners, while the doctor is outraged thinking something
else, before he sees the thought mechanism
The introduction is quite unexpected, for we find the
acclaimed detective indulging, he is a drug addict, using morphine or cocaine, and
we could wonder, is this the fellow we appreciate, want to know about, what is
his contribution, and how much is it the substance abuse that makes the
mysteries disappear, in a puff of smoke
Evidently, addiction is a serious problem, and we have moved
from just blaming the victims of abuse, to a better understanding, and looking
for solutions, trying to have them go through treatment, get into facilities,
if they can afford it, but there is still this issue, what is the effect of
cocaine on Sherlock Homes, and how do we take it
He explains the fact that he needs challenges, and thus he proves
the truth explained in Flow https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/flow-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-this-is.html
a classic of psychology, the author is the co-founder of positive psychology,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who has studied
Optimum Experience
Counterintuitively, we are not getting into The Zone while
we are in front of the television – or the newer versions, screens of various
kinds – but when we are in fact challenged, which is what Sherlock Homes said,
and he is again absolutely right, for we have some conditions for Peak
Experience, detailed in the fabulous Flow
These are – you are in control, nothing else matters, it is
an autotelic event, with clear goals, time is relative ‘Put your hand on a hot
stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an
hour, and it seems like a minute…’ courtesy of Albert Einstein, you have
constant and instant feedback, like in tennis
Regarding the time, in flow we have the examples of a brain
surgeon, coming out of an operation and asking for lunch, only to be told that
this is evening already, he had been so concentrated that the couple of hours
he thought he had spent have become many more, and at the same time, there is
another experience…
A ballerina will dance on the stage for just one minute, but
the intensity, ardor of the performance makes it seem like a whole day, and
then we have the challenges meet skills, or being on the line between burnout
and boredom, which is related to tennis, and other sports and endeavors in the
magic book
If you play with an adversary that is much better, say
tennis with Nadal, then it is not a joy, but a burden, for someone in that
position will exhaust the opponent – unless it is that Djokovic, the one I
dislike so much, for his position on vaccines and other, political stands – and
the same when you play with one who is much weaker
Crime stories can be exhilarating and hilarious, take Malice
Aforethought https://realini.blogspot.com/2020/11/malice-aforethought-by-anthony-berkeley.html
by Francis Iles with its ‘immortal’ first line ‘It was not until several weeks
after I had decided to murder my wife that I (Doctor Bickleigh) took any active
steps in the matter."
I am reading, in fact it is an audiobook, the dialogue
between Alfred Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut, with the translator between
them, which is so extraordinary at times, revealing so many facts, details,
even innuendo from the professional life of the great film maker, how he worked
with Ingrid Bergman, Claude Reins, who was short
Arthur Hitchcock reveals that he had wanted to adapt Malice
Aforethought, and then says the first line to Truffaut, also explains the
infamous quote ‘actors are cattle’, saying that at the start of his career,
most thespians were concentrated on the theater, and disdained their activity
in filming, which was just a side show…
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and
invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a
million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world
– as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the
Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have
the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it,
other than the exercise per se
There is also the
small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its
Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant
sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a
lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse,
all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the
staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a
longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have
an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a
smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as
you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has
fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people
are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions
are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas,
climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike
reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even
getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human
greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny,
so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest
pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are
greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's
nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good
book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in
peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
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