Another introduction.

[Bellona]

Greetings!

 

I have been around for a while as a "guest" and once I realised how much I enjoy the sophisticated discussions here I decided to get an account myself.

 

I doubt that I would be as knowledgable as most of you on the series since I only discovered it about 3 months ago (yes, I didn't have or was interested in a telly for years... ), but once my friend showed me the "Scandal in Belgravia" I was hooked and had to get the box set. I am quite savvy on the original books though.

 

So, being 41 years of age and not exactly a series fan (the last one I absolutely loved was "The Sopranos" and that's ages ago) I find myself smitten by this. I had heard about the BBC Sherlock before and I couldn't believe that the Doyle stories would actually translate to the 21st century - how terribly wrong I have been!

 

I totally love it and I can't wait for New Years Day now. Being that obsessed again with fiction makes me smile - firstly because I see here that I'm not alone, secondly because I was thinking that sort of thing disappears when getting older.... No it doesn't! And it's lovely to experience it again.

 

Remember the times as a kid or teenager, reading a really great book, being completely absorbed? Not noticing the world outside anymore, and it taking a few minutes to realise WHO and WHY you are, once you put the book down? This feeling is back when I watch this.

 

So thank you all for your contributions here ( btw: I went through ALL the episode discussions and found so much pointed out by ye which I have missed, oh my!) and in case I have something valuable to say myself I sure will.

 

To the reunion!

 

My very best regards

 

Bellona

 

PS: How can I get rid of the snowflakes, does anyone know by any chance?....my poor old laptop reacts with heavy fanning to them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Welcome Bellona! I wouldn't worry about not being knowledgeable. Just being enthusiastic really does mean a lot and as you pointed out, the more you join in, the more you will learn. 

 

  I'm a little older then you and I can still lose myself in a book. I keep a book in my locker at my work place and I travel back to Victorian London every chance I get even if it's for only 15 minutes at a time. I am into Ann Perry and her mysteries as well as any new or old, Sherlock Holmes I can get my hands onto.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I have been around for a while as a "guest" and once I realised how much I enjoy the sophisticated discussions here I decided to get an account myself

Wow, thanks, Bellona -- I think that's the first time we've been called "sophisticated"! Welcome to Sherlock Forum!

 

I doubt that I would be as knowledgable as most of you on the series since I only discovered it about 3 months ago .... I am quite savvy on the original books though.

Good, we can always use another Conan-Doyle fan here to keep us honest.  We're quite a mix here, actually, all the way from some people who've never read any of the stories to one fellow who's never seen Sherlock.  So you fit right in!

 

So, being 41 years of age and not exactly a series fan (the last one I absolutely loved was "The Sopranos" and that's ages ago) I find myself smitten by this. .... Being that obsessed again with fiction makes me smile - firstly because I see here that I'm not alone, secondly because I was thinking that sort of thing disappears when getting older....

The last time I was this smitten by a television series, it was Star Trek. The original series.  So no, that sort of reaction doesn't disappear, it just bides its time, waiting for something really good to come along.

 

PS: How can I get rid of the snowflakes, does anyone know by any chance?....my poor old laptop reacts with heavy fanning to them!

 

You might try changing to a different theme (color scheme and general look-and-feel).  Just scroll all the way down to the bottom of any page, click on "Change Theme," and choose one.  I personally prefer IP.Board because it's simple, so that might work better for you, even though it won't get rid of the snow.

 

[T.o.b.y]

Hello! What a nice, friendly introduction... I think I never introduced myself at all, did I? (Was that rude? If so, apologies!)

 

It's so reassuring to find there are a lot of people out there older than me who apparently reacted to the series like I do. I am "only" in my (very) late 20s and I thought I was already too old for this kind of infatuation and that I would outgrow absorbing myself in fiction some day. Now I'm pretty confident I won't and that's very cheering.

 

The first episode you saw was A Scandal in Belgravia? Interesting! I remember we had a discussion about that not long ago and somebody said it didn't really fit in with the rest. What was your impression? Did you miss something you had expected when you saw the other episodes? I saw The Great Game first, and it certainly influenced the way I look at the characters. I was first drawn into the series by that discussion about whether Sherlock cared that there were human lives at stake and the wonderful line about crying a people's bedsides. The Sherlock we saw in that episode, on the verge of discovering his own humanity but not quite there, is my favorite portrait of the character (to date). I could watch that pool scene again and again and when his hand starts to shake, I still catch my breath.
 

So you live in Ireland! Another person to be jealous of for their location!

 

To The Reunion, by all means! I will have to wait longer than you for it, so do tell all that happens as soon as possible. I'm going to enjoy this by proxy until I get the real thing.

 

Sorry I can't help with getting rid of the snowflakes, but I'm sure somebody else here knows what to do about that. (I'm keeping them, it's likely to be the only snow I see before January at the earliest. We haven't had a white Christmas where I live for as long as I can remember).

[Undead Medic]

I have added an extra version of the Deviant 3 skin, sans the script which generates the snow. This is accessed through the "Change Theme" link at the bottom left of every forum page.

 

Anyone using the default skin and finding their browser a little sluggish can turn the snow off by selecting the theme "Deviant 3 (No Snow)" from the drop-down.

 

[Bellona]

Ohh! Thank you so much for the warm welcome, everyone!

And a special thanks to Undead Medic for having added the "sans snow" skin so quickly, that's brilliant and I really appreciate it. The snowflakes were pretty  though...

Once I finished work for the week (starting in about an hour) and once I figured out how to use "multiquote" I shall get back to the posts in detail - something to look forward to this evening.

Btw: please bear with me in case my use of the English language seems to be a bit odd at times. I'm living in Ireland for more than 8 years now, but English is not my mother tongue.

Thanks again - until later!

B.

 

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

If you do figure out multiquote, let me know the secret. I've given up on understanding it...

 

Your English seems fine to me. But I know what it's like to be frustrated by a less firm grip on the language than one would like.

[Omega]

Hello you !

Welcome \(^~^)/

 

 

Btw: please bear with me in case my use of the English language seems to be a bit odd at times. I'm living in Ireland for more than 8 years now, but English is not my mother tongue.

Thanks again - until later!

B.

 

Just select "mutltiquote" on every post you want to quote. When you're done, just use the "Reply to X quoted post(s)" ^^

[Caya]

Hello Bellona!

 

Few things in life feel as good as diving headfirst into a beloved work of fiction, imho, giving yourself over to fangirlish delight with no regards to age or the dignity supposed to come with it . I'm 42 myself and, no, I don't think that ever disappears - and at least we're well outside the age range where we have to justify our DVD purchases, forum activity or midnight screening attendances to anyone .

 

And don't worry about your English, the good people of this forum have proven very patient so far when we non-native speakers butcher their beautiful language.

[Carol the Dabbler]

So, Bellona, where are you originally from, then?

 

Please don't worry about your English.  Your phrasing is occasionally nonstandard enough to sound interesting -- but interesting is good, and it's perfectly clear what you mean. 

 

Thanks for explaining MultiQuote, Omega!  I've never used it myself, I just Quote each post into its own tab, then copy-and-paste back into one tab.  Now that I know how MultiQuote works, I'll give it a try -- should generally make it easier to keep track of things.  (In cases where I want to quote small bits from each of several long posts, however, I think I'll keep using my old method -- it's easier to edit them down with each in its own tab.)

 

[Bellona]

Good evening / night / morning - wherever you are!

It/s 10 to 2am here now, and I'm sad to announce that I still need to do some thinking on the "multiquote" feature, it sadly didn't work for me. Then again it might be possible that I'm just not in the full possesion of my brains right now, due to lots of overtime at work.

Anyway, I'll do it the old fashioned way with "copy and paste".

Carol the Dabbler said:

"(...)So, Bellona, where are you originally from, then?

 

Please don't worry about your English.  Your phrasing is occasionally nonstandard enough to sound interesting -- but interesting is good, and it's perfectly clear what you mean.  (...)

Thank you! I'm german by birth and language.

 

@Martina:

Danke, das baut mich auf! (I am saying to her that it comforts me not to be the only one who's a non native speaker here. )

@T.o.b.y:

(you do realize that your screen name always reminds me of that dog Sherlock "hires" in "The Sign of the Four"? Even though I learned now that Mollys cat is called Toby too...anyway, your quote:

"(...)

It's so reassuring to find there are a lot of people out there older than me who apparently reacted to the series like I do. I am "only" in my (very) late 20s and I thought I was already too old for this kind of infatuation and that I would outgrow absorbing myself in fiction some day. Now I'm pretty confident I won't and that's very cheering.

Isn't it...

The first episode you saw was A Scandal in Belgravia? Interesting! I remember we had a discussion about that not long ago and somebody said it didn't really fit in with the rest. What was your impression? Did you miss something you had expected when you saw the other episodes? I saw The Great Game first, and it certainly influenced the way I look at the characters. I was first drawn into the series by that discussion about whether Sherlock cared that there were human lives at stake and the wonderful line about crying a people's bedsides. The Sherlock we saw in that episode, on the verge of discovering his own humanity but not quite there, is my favorite portrait of the character (to date). I could watch that pool scene again and again and when his hand starts to shake, I still catch my breath.

Okay - the first thing of that episode which totally got me was the visuals! Remember when Sherlock and Irene are talking and you see her sitting on that white sofa, on the green meadow, "I don't understand!" "Think!!" - That sort of photography wow-ed me big time.

Being a very visual person myself and having seen the way (which you all are accustomed to by now but I haven't been then) they show text messages etc was intriguingly new to me, so apart from the beautifully set storyline and the brilliant acting from all involved this left me breathless.

@bakerstreet irregular:

(...)I wouldn't worry about not being knowledgeable. Just being enthusiastic really does mean a lot and as you pointed out, the more you join in, the more you will learn. 

"Enthusiastic" hits the spot, yes. Very much so, and I already have learned so much here - by now I'm going through the transcriptions of the incredible Ariane DeVere...the amount of time and effort she put into that is amazing! *bows"

  I'm a little older then you and I can still lose myself in a book. I keep a book in my locker at my work place and I travel back to Victorian London every chance I get even if it's for only 15 minutes at a time. I am into Ann Perry and her mysteries as well as any new or old, Sherlock Holmes I can get my hands onto.

I know what you're saying...the thing is that getting older makes you being more demanding, it needs to be seriously cool stuff to get you there again. I still read too, of course, and I still can get lost in books, but the most intense experiences with books I have had when I was between, say, 11 and 17 years of age.

I've never heard of Ann Perry before btw, I might look her up!

And to get back to one of my initial remarks, quoting Carol again:

"(...) Wow, thanks, Bellona -- I think that's the first time we've been called "sophisticated"! Welcome to Sherlock Forum! (...)

My heartfelt thanks again, Carol!  - "sophisticated" translates in many ways to my language and what I mean is the utterly respectful and friendly way people communicate here. I guess ye all know your average forum, rudeness and mocking and all sorts of, um, "not so nice" behaviour. I don't see that here. At all. Even when people disagree with anothers opinion they point it out in a polite way, and they ask for clarification. And that's why, in my opinion, this is sophisticated indeed.

I bid you adieu from Ireland for now (it's late...like VERY late *smiles*) - delighted to have met you all!

Talk later and my very best regards again.

 

B.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I played around with MultiQuote, and have posted a detailed explanation of how to use it, here.

 

If reading that doesn't help, please post your difficulties in that thread. 

 

[T.o.b.y]

Another German! Herzlich Willkommen! And that's the last you'll hear from me in my "everyday language" - I kind of boycott it whenever I can (books, movies, communication with people where I have other options...).

 

Do you miss Germany? I can't imagine so, since you live in Ireland now, of all places (I've always wanted to go there), but then, home is always home... (I actually like it here, I just need a mind-vacation once in a while).

[T.o.b.y]

 

@T.o.b.y:

(you do realize that your screen name always reminds me of that dog Sherlock "hires" in "The Sign of the Four"?

 

Yup, that was sort of the intention. Originally, I wanted to use just "Toby", but that name was already taken, so I did the H.O.U.N.D thing with it. I've always liked that poor old dog. And what he does to the story - tries so hard to put Holmes and Watson on the right track, but leads them to nothing but:

 

"Sherlock Holmes and I looked blankly at each other, and then burst simultaneously into an uncontrollable fit of laughter"

 

- that illustrates my approach as a reader perfectly: I really intend to appreciate the mystery and follow Holmes' logic, but what I carry away with me and think about later are his personality, his friendship with the narrator and wonderful little human moments like that one.