No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout.
Teacher: Why did you not study?
Me: A year has 365 days for you to study. After taking away 52 Sundays, there are only 313 days left. There are 50 days in the summer that is way too hot to work so there are only 263 days left. We sleep 8 hours a day, in a year, that counts up to 122 days so now we're left with 141 days. If we fooled around for only 1 hour a day, 15 days are gone, so we are left with 126 days. We spend 2 hours eating each day, 30 days are used in this way in the year, and we are left with 96 days in our year. We spend 1 hour a day speaking to friends and family, that takes away 15 days more and we are left with 81 days. Exams and tests take up at least 35 days in your year, hence you are only left with 46 days. Taking off approximately 40 days of holidays, you are only left with 6 days. Say you are sick for a minimum of 3 days, you're left with 3 days in the year to study! Let's say you only go out for 2 days... You're left with 1 day! But that 1 day is your birthday!
Sad and beautiful all at once.
It’s like an abandoned library. Somehow, I feel like this is something that will actually happen one day. I need to write stuff about it now.
Ahem.
—
This is a story about a boy who thought that the stars could be read and held close.
Everybody laughed at him when he said he believed in libraries.
“Libraries aren’t real!”
“Doofus! They’re just myths!”
“Honestly, the idiots we get around here.”
But he still chose to believe that there were such things as libraries. His grandfather had told him many stories about walls covered with books.
“What’s a book, grandfather?” he had asked, sitting upon the old man’s knee.
“It is a star that you can hold in your hands,” his grandfather had said after a moment.
“Really?”
“Yes, Michael. Each book is a star and we keep them in our own universes. Somebody came across the first universe and decided to call it a library.”
“Have you ever been to a library, grandfather?” he asked.
The old man gazed far off into the distance, his eyes glassy with nostalgia. “Yes, when I was a young man. Before they were destroyed.”
Michael frowned. “Why would they destroy them?”
His grandfather smiled sadly. “Because they were no longer of any use to the people of this world.”
His grandfather died a few months after telling him about the libraries. About the books. About the worlds that were now forbidden. However, upon walking home from school one day, he decided to go left when he should have gone right. He did not know what made him do so, but he kept taking all the wrong turns until he had got himself properly lost. He remembered his grandfather telling him that to find what had been lost, you had to get properly lost yourself.
And so, there he was. Properly lost and standing in front of a dilapidated building. He craned his neck upward, looking for the top of the building, but it disappeared amongst the clouds until it could no longer be seen. Hesitantly, he crept forward and laid a hand on the rotted wooden door, which fell open easily, almost as if it had been opened by someone on the other side.
Michael stood on just outside the door for a few seconds, still trying to decide if he should go in or not. However, when he took that first breath of old pages and candlelight, he immediately stepped over the threshold and into the library.
“Hello?” he called. It wouldn’t do to be impolite and enter without permission. “Is anybody here? May I come in, please?”
There was no answer, but Michael’s curiosity was far too great to be squashed by formalities. Boldly, he walked down the hall, which seemed to get wider and wider as he went along until he was standing in an enormous circular room. But this room was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Trees were growing from the floor, their branches reaching up to a ceiling that could not be seen, their leaves swaying to and fro without a breath of wind to make them do so. There were no walls. Simply shelves filled with books.
Books.
They existed.
With trembling fingers, Michael reached forward and plucked a book from the nearest shelf, running his small hands across the old, leather cover. It was heavy. He did not know the stars could be this heavy nor this beautiful. Hugging the book (a book!) to his chest, he set a chair upright by the table and placed the book down gently, almost as if it were a baby, before running his fingertips along the edge of the worn cover and opening it, falling immediately into the world that it encompassed.
This is a story about a boy who knew that the stars could be read and held close.
And so they could.
REAL TALK, I think if you watch Joan Watson in the preview/trailer for Elementary and what you see is:
- someone who’s weak and incompetent
- someone who’s just there to coo at Sherlock Holmes’ deductions
- someone who cannot have a strong, loyal relationship with Sherlock Holmes
- someone whose lack of military service means they are not brave or steady
- someone whose lost medical license makes them a failure and a disgrace
- someone who, instead of being a ‘strong, well-developed character’ like John
- is instead just a ‘petite Asian woman who allows herself to be pushed around’
- just Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick
- just Sherlock Holmes’ love interest
- just Sherlock Holmes’ paid nanny
- just a nag
- just eye-candy
- just audience appeasement
- etc. etc. et fucking cetera
then I’m pretty sure that says a hell of a lot more about you than it does about the show.Thank you for this post.
Quite honestly, quite a bit of this IS IN FACT what I thought, when the cast list came out. But that was with the cast list, mind you. That seems like ages ago now, and I think I’ve done a complete 180 on the matter. If anyone still thinks things like this after seeing the trailer, they may need to seek help. I, for one, am ridiculously excited for this show. (Still horribly off put by CBS’ attitude on the whole BBC Sherlock said no; do it anyway, thing, but Excited nonetheless.)
The Baker Street Babes Birthday Giveaway: Watson Version
The Baker Street Babes put our out first podcast one year ago today. Least to say we’ve come a very long way and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. So, the past few months we’ve been gathering prizes and goodies for a MASSIVE giveaway… and here it is!
In this version of the give away you win EVERYTHING below. Yes. EVERYTHING!
- Sherlock Series 1 & 2 Original Soundtracks signed by Michael Price & David Arnold. MAJOR thanks to both of them for singing them for us!
- John Art Nouveau print (donated by Daunt)
- Sherlock Tea by Cara McGee (donated by Adagio)
- SaraWen perfume pack, 2ml vials of the Sherlock scents: Logical Deduction, Logical Delusion, Scandal In London, and Tea With Watson (donated by SaraWen)
- Full CD set of BigFinish’s Sherlock Holmes starring Nick Briggs. (Donated by BigFinish)
- Dust and Shadow, signed by author Lyndsay Faye. (Donated by Lyndsay Faye)
- The Secret Journal of Doctor Watson by Phil Growick. (Donated by MXPublishing)
- My Love Affair With Sherlock magazine by Caitlin Moran.
- Baker Street Journal Spring Issue featuring an interview with Baker Street Babe Curly/Kristina. (Donated by The Baker Street Journal)
- BBC Bundle, t-shirt, Sherlock & John paper dolls, and Elementary My Dear Watson book. (Donated by Unicorn Empire)
- Holmes & Watson print, “He stood there by the fire.”
- I Fight John Watson’s War & I Believe In Sherlock Holmes stainless steel dogtags. (Donated by Belaurient Arts)
- Sherlock Holmes pin
- Sherlock Holmes 221B keychain
- Sherlock’s Home, The Empty House compiled by Sherlockology. (Donated by MXPublishing & Sherlockology)
- Greg Lestrade & Moriarty bookmarks by mystradedoodles.
So? How do you win?
- You may reblog each version ONCE per DAY. The giveaway will run until June 10th.
- Likes DO NOT COUNT.
- The winners will be chosen by a random number generator. They will have 24 hours to confirm with their address. The first number wins the Holmes Version, the second number wins the Watson Version.
- We will ship anywhere in the world.
- You cannot win both versions of the giveaway.
- You do not have to be following us, however, this is a present to our followers and listeners, so it’s appreciated. Plus we do really cool things like interview Sherlock cast and authors and chat about Sherlock Holmes all the time!
- If you are following us and win, you’ll get an extra special gift on top of all of this!
- Any questions, naturally just ask. We’d prefer if you’d send an ask not anonymously so we can reply privately and not clog up people’s dashes.
You can listen to our podcasts [HERE]!
Follow us on twitter at @BakerStBabes
Like us on facebook [HERE]!
And visit our website [HERE]!
The Baker Street Babes Birthday Giveaway: Holmes Version
The Baker Street Babes put our out first podcast one year ago today. Least to say we’ve come a very long way and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. So, the past few months we’ve been gathering prizes and goodies for a MASSIVE giveaway… and here it is!
In this version of the give away you win EVERYTHING below. Yes. EVERYTHING!
- Sherlock Series 1 DVD, signed by Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman (donated by Hartswood Films)
- Sherlock Art Nouveau print (donated by Daunt)
- Sherlock & John bookmarks (donated by Daunt)
- Sherlock t-shirt of your choice (donated by Qwertee)
- Baker Street Journal Spring Issue featuring an interview with Baker Street Babe Curly/Kristina. (donated by The Baker Street Journal)
- The full Sherlock Holmes Society of London dramatised canon CD set, signed by the actors. (donated by The Sherlock Holmes Society of London)
- Brainy is the New Sexy pendant in polished brass. (donated by Belaurient Arts)
- I Believe In Sherlock Holmes pendant in sterling silver. (donated by Belaurient Arts)
- I Believe In Sherlock Holmes keychain in nickel silver. Please be aware this is made of nickel and if you’re allergic to it you now have a free gift to a non-allergen Sherlockian of your choice! (donated by Belaurient Arts)
- The Detective & The Woman, signed by author Amy Thomas (donated by Amy Thomas)
- The Illustrated Speckled Band. (donated by Gasogene Books, Wessex Press)
- My Love Affair With Sherlock magazine by Caitlin Moran.
- The Sherlock Holmes Handbook by Ransom Riggs
- Large print of Sherlock & John in a train carriage by reapersun. Pen there for scale. (donated by reapersun)
- Baker Street mini-sign
- CD of BigFinish’s Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Perfidious Mariner starring Nick Briggs. (Donated by BigFinish)
So? How do you win?
- You may reblog each version ONCE per DAY. The giveaway will run until June 10th.
- Likes DO NOT COUNT.
- The winners will be chosen by a random number generator. They will have 24 hours to confirm with their address. The first number wins the Holmes Version, the second number wins the Watson Version.
- We will ship anywhere in the world.
- You cannot win both versions of the giveaway.
- You do not have to be following us, however, this is a present to our followers and listeners, so it’s appreciated. Plus we do really cool things like interview Sherlock cast and authors and chat about Sherlock Holmes all the time!
- If you are following us and win, you’ll get an extra special gift on top of all of this!
- Any questions, naturally just ask. We’d prefer if you’d send an ask not anonymously so we can reply privately and not clog up people’s dashes.
You can listen to our podcasts [HERE]!
Follow us on twitter at @BakerStBabes
Like us on facebook [HERE]!
And visit our website [HERE]!
