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Sherlockian News of the World ©

(Rowlett, TX) Rowlett police are investigating an armed robbery of an independent jewelry merchant Thursday night in the 6100 block of Baskerville Drive. The merchant was not injured. The robbery occurred about 7 p.m. when the man pulled up to the home of a friend. The merchant was unloading his trunk when three robbers approached him and took a bag of jewelry. Police believe the jewelry was worth about $100,000, but the loss is still being determined.

(New York, NY) During the recent Sherlock Holmes Birthday Celebration Weekend, David McCallister of Tampa, FL donned his Deerstalker cap and Inverness cape and stood outside of Rockefeller Center. When he held up a sign that wished a happy 149th birthday to Sherlock Holmes, a young black man stopped him. The fellow told an astonished Mr. McCallister that his real name was Sherlock Holmes, and whipped out a driver's license to prove it!

(New York, NY) Al Hirschfeld, who died on 20 January aged 99, dazzlingly caricatured Broadway and Hollywood for nearly 80 years. He designed the My Fair Lady poster, showing Bernard Shaw as puppeteer, pulling the strings of Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, and among the original pen & ink drawings offered by the Margot Feiden Galleries at www.alhirschfeld.com is The Game’s Afoot, featuring Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson.

(PBS Mystery!) The latest version of The Hound of the Baskervilles finally aired in the United States last Sunday night. The reviews have been as vastly different as the different versions. This one took several liberties with the original tale. There were some totally new scenes added and total sections deleted. For those who missed it, it is already available on videocassette and DVD formats. Contact your local PBS affiliate for ordering information. The major characters in this version were a stark contrast to some of the past performers with both good and bad choices it would seem. All the same, it is a version worth viewing and forming one's own opinion.

(San Diego, CA) The Super Bowl has become an American institution. 400 Million people worldwide tuned in to watch. Another attraction surrounding the Super Bowl is the commercials. Super Bowl XXXVII's pre-game hype included a commercial for FreeCreditReport.com. This commercial featured a Dancing Man look alike but no Abe Slaney. This was the extent of Sherlockiana related to the Super Bowl. There was not a single Holmes or Watson on either roster.

(Colombo, Sri Lanka) M.D. Gunasena is the oldest bookseller in Sri Lanka. They are on the web at http://www.mdgunasena.com/. For the fledgling Maniac Collectors out there, this is where they can find a Sinhalese translation of Sherlock Holmes. Item # 45044 is Sherlock Holmesge Abhirahas Pareekshana by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and translated by N. A. D. Gunatilleka. The price is only RS 260.00 ($2.70) but postage is the killer. It will cost another $6.00 to get it to the United States!

Books Wanted

I have been frustrated for several years in an attempt to locate a Malay translation of the Canon. I have searched every known bookseller on the Internet in Singapore and Malaysia. I have found Malayalam translations during these searches but not Malay. I have Indonesian translations but not Malay. I have contacted members of the lone Sherlockian society but they could not help me. Can anyone out there help me obtain a Malay copy? Whew…. I feel better now.

By the numbers…..

A quick search "Doyle, Arthur Conan" on www.ABEBOOKS.com brought up 15, 755 entries and doing a keyword search on "Sherlock" produced 13,655. A search on ebay.com of just "Sherlock" found 1,479 items being auctions and that breaks down as 575 books, 521 Movies and TV items, and 127 collectibles.

Happy Collecting!