Month: May 2019

The More You Holmes

From: Elementary ep 7.1

Object/Character Name & Event: An Italian sneak thief named Beppo smashes a ceramic bust of royalty, to retrieve the Black Pearl of the Borgias he had earlier hidden inside.

Reference: canon short story “The Six Napoleons” is all about a serial bust smasher (as Beppo is in this ep, too) and Holmes’ brilliant deduction about why. The points about Beppo having strangled a victim and stabbed another man in an unrelated incident also finds its way in the opening of Elementary’s final season’s first episode. The only difference is that Beppo himself smashes the last bust (which is of the new royal wedding, not Napoleon), whereas in the original, it’s Holmes that does it, to the astonished applause of Lestrade and Watson who witness the act.

This story also boasts one of the most lovely moments between Lestrade and Holmes, when the much put-upon police inspector praises Holmes to the skies and in a rare moment of tenderness, tells him how proud Scotland Yard is of him:

“Well,” said Lestrade, “I’ve seen you handle a good many cases, Mr. Holmes, but I don’t know that I ever knew a more workmanlike one than that. We’re not jealous of you at Scotland Yard. No, sir, we are very proud of you, and if you come down to-morrow, there’s not a man, from the oldest inspector to the youngest constable, who wouldn’t be glad to shake you by the hand.”

“Thank you!” said Holmes. “Thank you!” and as he turned away, it seemed to me that he was more nearly moved by the softer human emotions than I had ever seen him. A moment later he was the cold and practical thinker once more.

(By the way–how do you like this show’s Athelney Jones? I’ll be writing about her soon…)

The 2019 Denver PCC, Starring ME!

If you were wondering whether to go to Denver Comic Con (now called Denver Pop Culture Con) this year, wonder no more! Why? Because I will be presenting four (4!) different times throughout the weekend (plus one small intellectual lightning round)–all different fascinating topics, all of which you do NOT want to miss. Here are the deets:

Friday, May 31:

Noon pm, room 603: Problematic Badass Female Tropes

I’ll be running down all 7 of my Problematic Badass Female Tropes that you’ve read on Writers’ HQ and have listened to me and Friend Jason blab about on the Outrider Podcast. Come listen and ask me questions afterwards. And buy me a DPCC beer and rail with me against the patriarchy.

Saturday, June 1:

Noon pm: Light Speed Academia (Room TBA)

I’ll have 5 minutes to expostulate and lecture in depth on a topic of my choice. Not sure what I’m picking yet–come see and be surprised and intellectually stimulated by me and my fellow nerdy academics.

3:30 pm: Three Rules For Protagonists (Room 504)

I did this very talk last summer, to a surprisingly packed audience. This talk goes over the Monomyth and the Three Rules (or questions) For Actors, and discuss not only how the two systems are intimately related, but also how they’re an easy and foolproof formula for powerful storytelling.

–I’m going to Goth Prom with the SO that night, so I will not likely be available for socializing after, but will be hightailing it to go get gussied up.–

Sunday, June 2:

3pm: Pop Culture Portrayals Of Trauma, Care, and Survival (Room 507)

I will be chairing this panel, as well as presenting my own section called “Sex and/or Violence,” in which I will talk about my work in Stage Combat and intimacy coordination for stage.

4:30 pm: The Fight is the Story (Room 601)

This is a presentation I’ve done almost every single year since this event has existed. In it, I discuss the necessity for fight scenes to be an essential part of the story they appear in. I discuss the Three Rules For Actors, and I also dissect, Ebert-like, a few different good and not so good examples of fight scenes.

Put these down on your schedule for that weekend, and I hope to see you all there! Now I gotta go edit some slides….

Vote for my seminar!

Hey lovely lurkers: my body language workshop, Your Body Tells Your Story, is up for the running at Denver Startup Week! All you need to do is go the site, look under the People track and search for the title, and vote! If I get enough votes, I’ll be able to share this fun and important work with the businesspeople of Denver! Vote now! Do eet!

The fine folks at the Denver chapter of Spellbinders! learning about different postures while walking.