HerlockSholmes

It’s called American Ripper In London. https://youtu.be/vt8Xd9b9uU4

Thanks for that Janyss. I’ve found out previously that these online translators, whilst useful, can often miss the subtleties of the language. An example of this that affected me was when I first got a Russian Sherlock Holmes series from the 1980’s on dvd. The series was very enjoyable but was marred by subtitles which were often poorly written. Probably by a Russian who spoke English.

Mycroft: I'll be Mother. Sherlock: And *there* is an entire childhood in a nutshell. J., This little exchange may appear nostalgic when it's written down, but believe me, Sherlock's English tone is completely sarcastic as well. It's not that he changes his tone in a particular way; it's a matter of emphasis. I'm pretty sure the face that went with it was sarcastic, too. In that scene Sherlock is being what we call 'a brat'. This is the behavior exhibited by an immature, annoying child. We see continually that Sherlock Holmes reverts to a mental age of about 12 (or less) when he is in the presence of his elder brother. That's why I believe that Mycroft was forced to become his legal guardian when Sherlock was a young teen. Sherlock acts more like Mycroft's child than his (fully-adult) sibling at those times. So, what is French for 'brat'? Maybe we even stole that word from you! Le brat! Hi Hikari, I just used an online translator and typed in ‘brat’ which came up as ‘gosse.’ Janyss can tell us if it’s correct. I’m wary of translations after seeing a Monty Python sketch many years ago. It was about a guy who wrote a Hungarian Phrase book but the translations were all wrong. So you see a guy entering a shop, checking his Phrasebook and saying things like ‘please fondle my buttocks.’ Or ‘my hovercraft is full of eels.’

I’ve been watching the HH Holmes series and I have to admit to finding it a little annoying. They certainly ramp up the drama at the expense of facts and even common sense. For eg. When the experts pointed out the ‘americanisms’ in the Dear Boss letter the hosts look at each other as if its a revelation. We’ve always known that the phrase came from the States. But....they don’t mention the fact that most ripper experts think that the letter is a hoax. Even senior police officers at the time suspected the hand of a journalist. He was even named. The got pretty excited when they found some of Holmes aliases in ships manifests travelling to the uk. As if it proved anything. It would have been more amazing if those names weren’t there. What did they expect to find, if they had been allowed to dig under the post office lot, thatcould have linked Holmes to the ripper murders? A cape and a Gladstone bag perhaps

Hi Van BIt’s perhaps more likely that he targeted prostitutes for ‘convenience’ rather than out of any specific hatred (although it’s a possibility.) Unfortunately they were ideal targets. Often drunk, usually pretty desperate, and in many cases not in the best of general health. Also, the occasional beating went with the territory so they probably had pretty low danger thresholds. They then proceeded to take their client to a dark, secluded spot (not on a policeman’s beat.)

"Cutting out the middleman"--har! It seems likely that Jack had more than rudimentary training in human anatomy, to be able to remove small and not easily accessible organs like kidneys while working incredibly swiftly and in darkness. If he were just after organs as commodities, seems like he would have removed more than a couple of pieces of each victim, after having gone to all that trouble. Far better in that case to have lured the women to some enclosed shed or have had a vehicle standing by to transport the whole body which he could have harvested all the viable organs at his leisure and then maybe he wouldn't have needed so many unwilling volunteers. Jack was a thrill-killer, and the parts he removed from the victims were trophies. Apparently he was more than willing to eat at least one of his trophies . . if that letter boasting about cooking and eating the 'nise' kidney is genuine. P.S. Herlock, I am breathing down your neck, my man. Gonna make Det. Superintendent in only 8 more posts! I agree. These murders weren’t ‘business transactions,’ Jack killed because he either got sexual pleasure from his actions or he had a deep hatred of prostitutes in particular or just women in general. Or a combination of both. Maybe he felt that he had some kind of warped religious duty to rid the streets of ‘sinful’ women. Unless we uncover the killer for certain we will never know his motive. I think that you will catch me up and take over in the near future Hikari

Doyle did suggest a Jill the Ripper (he may even have suggested a man dressed as a woman.) There are very few today though who feel that the killer was a woman.

Coroner Wynn Baxter felt that the ripper’s purpose could have been the acquisition of body parts. There was a story doing the rounds that an American wanted body parts for research. This has led some to wonder if this American could have been ripper suspect Francis Tumblety. Personally I don’t think that Tumblety was the ripper but he has to be considered as one of the few genuine suspects (and there aren’t many.) Only because the police were interested in him at the time. It’s likely though that he was in police custody (for indecent acts with men) at the time of MJK’s murder.

I’ve just found a few. Sean Connery was offered Gandalf ! John Travolta was offered Forrest Gump. Warren Beatty was offered the title in Kill Bill. Will Smith was offered Neo in The Matrix. Nicholas Cage was offered the part of the wrestler eventually played by Mickey Rourke. Jack Nicholson turned down Michael Corleone in The Godfather. It was Tom Selleck that turned down Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford turned down Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Maryland Monroe turned down Holly Golightly in Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Nicholas Cage turned down Aragorn. Christopher Plummer also turned down Gandalf ( so the role was turned down by a former Bond and a former Holmes to be taken by another former Holmes) Ian McKellen passed up the role of Dumbledore in Harry Potter. Molly Ringwald turned down the lead in Pretty Woman. Henry Winkler turned down Danny Zucco in Grease. Bette Miller turned down the Whoopie Goldberg role in Sister Act. Will Smith turned down Django. Hugh Jackman turned down Bond. A few surprises for me there.

One Dr Who actor, Tom Baker, has also played Sherlock Holmes. I was interested to hear Janyss saying that BC was the only choice for Sherlock. It was the same when Universal were thinking of doing a series of Sherlock Holmes movies. Basil Rathbone was the first name suggested. I think that it was pretty much the same for Nigel Bruce. I’m unsure if they ever considered anyone else before going for Brett in the Grenada series. I’ve heard of a few cases in the past where famous actors were offered parts that other actors ended up being famous for. The only 2 that I can recall are Dirty Harry (Frank Sinatra) and Hannibal Lecter (Gene Hackman) Was someone offered Indiana Jones before Harrison Ford? Anyone know any other examples?

As far back as the 30’s. William Stewart’s book ‘A New Theory’ pretty much started what’s become known as the Jill the Ripper theory. A crazed midwife was the suggestion. An excuse to be covered in blood, unlikely to be suspected because she’s a woman, easy access to vulnerable women etc .Not very believable. The killer Mary Pearcey has been suggested as a possible ripper. Also there was a recent book suggesting Lizzie Williams as the ripper. She was the wife of a physician called Sir John Williams (also a ripper suspect) The vast majority believe that Jack was a man though.

Thank you Hikari

My sanity (such as it is) thanks you. (If the urge happens to strike again, I'm sure you'll be warmly welcomed over on the Political Thread.) Happy birthday! Keep up the good work and you may even be old someday! Thank you Carol

I’ll leave politics alone now. I won’t mention Trumpo the

Just to add. He has a sister called Annunziata! Only in England.........

I think that you’ve described Mr Rees-Mogg very well. He’s a caricature of an old-school Tory. His hobbies will include killing woodland animals, acquiring money through little or no personal effort and flogging peasants. A perfect way to sum him up would be to tell you the names of his children: Peter Theodore Alphege Tom Wentworth Somerset Dunstan Mary Ann Charlotte Emma Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher Anselm Charles Fitzwilliam. Basically he makes Boris Johnson look like Dennis Skinner!

Looks like it! Happy Birthday, good sir! Thanks Artemis. 52 today☹️

For me Williamson is one of the actors who have played Holmes once that I’d have liked to have seen play the detective again. Others include the excellent John Neville also Robert Stephens, Tom Baker and Rupert Everett.

I only seen him in 2 or 3 roles and he was very intense in all of them. I think it suited The Seven Percent Solution though as he was in the grip of a cocaine addiction.

Cheers Pseudonym. I wondered why nothing was working! I think I’ll avoid political discussion as politicians aren’t worth wasting breath on. Well...there must be some decent ones....somewhere? Hope the office is warmer today?

Damn! I’ve insulted the President. I’ll be back pounding the beat for that☹️

By the way, have I been promoted?

I’m not a massively political person especially these days when it’s hard to tell which party a politician is from. In this country politicians fall from a politically correct conveyor belt; fully formed with script learned and suit pressed. I have a question to ask my American friends on here (and this is a question coming from a country with elected basket-cases like Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg!) but....is there any feeling in The States that you might have elected a mentally unbalanced person (that’s about as politely as I can phrase it) as President? I’m mainly mean from those on the right (republicans). Is there any sense of ‘how did this happen?’ Or ‘how did we get to this?’ Now that I’ve insulted your President please feel free to lay into Theresa May

It’s a beautiful, bright day here in the Midlands...but cold. Our garden pond is frozen over but it looks nice. I’ve just been out to put food on the bird table. Hope the office has warmed up for you Pseudonym? I’m visualising you in a scene from A Christmas Carol, huddled over a candle with fingerless gloves on.

Ah, gotcha! One of my cousins had trouble saying "grandma" as a toddler, so her parents would practice with her: Say "grandma." Jammaw. No, say "grrrrrandma." Grrrrrr-jammaw! I prefer the alternative names for the Royals. Posters (and moderators) from the States might not have heard of a satirical magazine called Private Eye. They had regular ‘in-jokes’ as well as uncovering lots of dodgy dealing and corruption. One of their in-jokes was to give the Royals what are considered ‘working class’ names. So: The Queen is Brenda The Duke is Keith Charles is Brian The late Princess Margaret was Yvonne and Diana was Cheryl. I don’t know if they have continued this with names for the younger Royals?