In this issue: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches Re: Seeking elusive word describing character revealed Today in History - May 18 Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches Re: Gaslight in the _Globe and Mail_ (99-may-15) Desiree's Baby Re: Desiree's Baby Re: Desiree's Baby Re: Desiree's Baby Today in History - May 19 Re: Today in History - May 19 Re: Today in History - May 19 Today in History - May 20 Etext avail: Balzac's "El Verdugo" Re: Desiree's Baby Desiree vs. A Rose for Emily Re: Desiree vs. A Rose for Emily Civil War cussin' A Birthday Greeting Another Birthday Greeting Elephant Man program Re: Elephant Man program Re: Elephant Man program Re: Re: Elephant Man program Re: Elephant Man program Re: Elephant Man program -----------------------------THE POSTS----------------------------- Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 08:04:49 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches >For those of us who have read & reread "the Canon" Perhaps off-list someone who has read Julian Harries' SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB might tell me if it's a decent read. Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 10:51:33 -0400 From: Linda Anderson <lpa1(at)ptdprolog.net> Subject: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches I have a copy of a musical called "Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra", book by Tim Kelly, music and lyrics by Jack Sharkey. published by Baker's Plays of Boston Mass, 1987. Linda Anderson At 08:21 AM 05/18/1999 -0500, you wrote: > >>Kiwi Carlisle >> >>Perhaps like the 'giant rat of Sumatra' the world isn't ready for it. >>(Hope I have that right) > >For those of us who have read & reread "the Canon", there are always the >pastiches, including one entitled "The Giant Rat of Sumatra", by Richard L. >Boyer. I've yet to read it, but Gary Lovisi recommends it in his SHEROCK >HOLMES THE GREAT DETECTIVE IN PAPERBACK, which also lists a number of the >other pastiches. > >Brian McM. >
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 10:27:48 -0500 From: Chris Carlisle <CarlislC(at)psychiatry1.wustl.edu> Subject: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches BTW, is Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose officially considered a Holmesian pastiche? It's amazing how offended NOTR fans will get when one calls it that.... I confess a sneaking fondness for Robert Fish's Schlock Homes parodies from the 1960's. Kiwi
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 12:27:10 +0300 From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop) Subject: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches >I confess a sneaking fondness for Robert Fish's Schlock Homes >parodies from the 1960's. > >Kiwi And I have to plug my favorite movie, or one of them: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS (George Scott as Sherlock, Joanne Woodward as Holmes). Any one else here an addict of this flic? Carroll
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 09:18:35 -0700 (PDT) From: John Schilke <schilkej(at)ohsu.EDU> Subject: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches One should also mention a good pastiche by P. H. Wood (of this List), which tells of a mystery for Holmes and Watson in the Isle of Man. It is a very good read entitled THE WINGED WHEEL. John
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 13:19:31 -0400 From: Robert Kelly <kelly(at)bard.edu> Subject: Re: Seeking elusive word describing character revealed the word that means the very moment of recognition and the poetic scene of that recognition is the anagnorisis. As far as I know, it's been used in poetry in our era rarely - I used it once thirty years ago, and loved it... RK sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA wrote: > > I have often, while browsing the _Encyclopedia Britannica_, hardcopy, come > across a Greek word which appears to be a cobbled-together 19th C. invention. > It describes the moment in a dramatic plot when a character's true identity is > revealed. I presume this happens in the denouement, after the climax. > > I have thought about this strange word recently in connection with _Haunted > lives_, but cannot recall it to mind. Now I cannot even remember with which > letter of the alphabet it begins, so that I can browse for it again. I tried > _EB_ online, but the attempt was useless. I'll assume it's my bad search > strategies. > > Would anyone know the word I am describing? or where to look? > > Stephen D > mailto:Sdavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 11:33:33 -0600
From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org>
Subject: Today in History - May 18
1802
Great Britain declares war on Napoleon's France.
1804
Napoleon Bonaparte becomes the Emperor of France.
1828
Battle of Las Piedras, ends conflict between Uruguay and
Brazil.
1860
Abraham Lincoln is nominated for president.
1864
The fighting at Spotsylvania in Virginia, reaches its peak at
the Bloody Angle.
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson upholds the "separate but equal" policy in
the United States.
1904
Brigand Raizuli kidnaps American Ion H. Perdicaris in Morocco.
1917
The U.S. Congress passes the Selective Service act, calling
up soldiers to fight World
War I.
Born on May 18
1836
Wilhelm Steinitz, Czech-born world chess champion who became
a naturalized
American.
1868
Nicholas II, the last Russian czar who, with his family, was
assassinated by
revolutionaries.
1872
Bertrand Russell, English mathematician, philosopher and
social reformer who wrote
Pricipia Mathmatica.
1897
Frank Capra, movie director best remembered for It's A
Wonderful Life.
1918
Pope John Paul II, [Karol Jozef Wojtyla] first non-Italian
Roman Catholic pope since
the Renaissance. Wrote the international bestseller Crossing
the Threshold.
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 14:38:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches
Speaking of pastiches, I came across a very likely one on another group.
This one deals with EAP:
<<
I am reading Schechter's "Nevermore" now and would be interested to see
what others on the list think.
The book concerns a fictional meeting between Davy Crockett and Poe, and
their investigation into a murder.
Personally, I am enjoying the story, though Poe is presented as a comical
character. His pomposity and writing style is mimicked for the benefit of
the reader, but none of the characters are aware of it - the book takes
place before Poe had gained any recognition beyond that of a book
reviewer.
One of the funnier scenes has Crockett and Poe enter the decayed house of
a couple named "Asher" - I'm sure you can figure out where it goes form
there...
>>
Rather curious to think of Poe as a comical character.
Bob C.
_________________________________________________
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Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 17:15:46 -0500 From: Marta Dawes <smdawes(at)home.com> Subject: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches I adore that movie. I first saw it as a teenager, during a summer vacation, on the late, late show in the mid 70's. Wonderful film; I still remember how great it was to stay up late watching it for the first time. And I simply adore George C. Scott as Holmes (and Scrooge). Marta Carroll Bishop wrote: > > >I confess a sneaking fondness for Robert Fish's Schlock Homes > >parodies from the 1960's. > > > >Kiwi > > And I have to plug my favorite movie, or one of them: THEY MIGHT BE > GIANTS (George Scott as Sherlock, Joanne Woodward as Holmes). Any > one else here an addict of this flic? > > Carroll
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 17:20:34 -0500 From: Marta Dawes <smdawes(at)home.com> Subject: Re: More Holmesiana/Pastiches I'd like to hear about that story, myself. Sounds interesting. Marta Deborah McMillion Nering wrote: > > >For those of us who have read & reread "the Canon" > > Perhaps off-list someone who has read Julian Harries' SHERLOCK HOLMES AND > THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB might tell me if it's a decent read. > > Deborah > > Deborah McMillion > deborah(at)gloaming.com > http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 15:59:47 -0700 From: Patricia Teter <PTeter(at)getty.edu> Subject: Re: Gaslight in the _Globe and Mail_ (99-may-15) Stephen writes: <<I have to thank the freelancing Gerald Levitch for including Gaslight in his "Selected bibliography of cyberspace classics", in the weekend _Globe and Mail_. In the Arts section, under The Home Page, Levitch gives an excellcent, full-page introduction to books on line, then caps it off with the webliography.>> This is great news, Stephen. Perfect advertisement for Gaslight! I searched the _Globe and Mail_ website, but alas, this article does not appear. Did Levitch list any outstanding sites which were unfamiliar to you? Patricia
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Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 09:27:32 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Desiree's Baby I first read this story in a collection called AMERICAN GOTHIC. It also included the steamy hot scary story by Faulkner, "A Rose For Emily", also set in the south and never to be forgotten! Both have a kind of horror to them, but of the two, I definitely felt "Desiree's Baby" to be the most horrible. I felt so for Desiree--she was raised by loving parents who loved her for whatever she could be. New Orleans/Louisiana being more enlightened in the fact that freed slaves and Freemen of all color could own property and had places, however limited, in society--they weren't concerned that their adopted daughter could lose everything should anything in her background come "out". So it was rather shocking to me that her husband should react so horribly. But I think his parents did him a disservice by keeping his heritage a secret. The warning signals in his personality were there--the selfishness, the spoiledness, the weakness--in the way he treated his own slaves. That Desiree should invoke a change in him was...well, nice, wasn't it. But really, how long would that last? Five years, maybe ten? I didn't think he was a very nice person to begin with so it didn't bother me that she took her baby and left. And the end...shocking! You were delighted on some level that "ha, it's YOU, not her, even if it is also her, it's YOU, too!" As if "You" really were awful? No. Just from his point of view it was. And his parents had had such a beautiful love to raise such an awful child. What were they thinking. Do you think he went after her? Do you think for a moment he might have thought "I've lost something so perfect...and my SON!" and gone after her? If so, would she go back to him? Interesting speculation. Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 12:07:47 -0500
From: Chris Carlisle <CarlislC(at)psychiatry1.wustl.edu>
Subject: Re: Desiree's Baby
>>> Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> 05/19/99
11:27AM >>>
>Both have a kind of horror to them, but of the two, I definitely felt
>"Desiree's Baby" to be the most horrible.
Yes, this is a horror story, perhaps more horrible because
things of this sort have happened so often.
>But I think his parents did him a disservice by keeping his heritage a
>secret.
Agreed. But would he have been a better person? His being
spoiled and tyrannical can't be ascribed to his secret maternal
heritage, can it? He was raised as an unchallenged little prince.
>And the end...shocking! You were delighted on some level that "ha, it's
>YOU, not her, even if it is also her, it's YOU, too!"
For some reason, I always felt it was just him, and not Desiree
at all.
>Do you think he went after her? Do you think for a moment he might have
>thought "I've lost something so perfect...and my SON!" and gone after her?
Is Desiree even ALIVE for him to go after?
D?sir?e had not changed the thin white garment nor the
slippers which she wore. Her head was
uncovered and the sun's rays brought a golden gleam from
its brown meshes. She did not take the
broad, beaten road which led to the far-off plantation of
Valmond?. She walked across a deserted
field, where the stubble bruised her tender feet, so
delicately shod, and tore her thin gown to
shreds.
She disappeared among the reeds and willows that
grew thick along the banks of the deep,
sluggish bayou; and she did not come back again.
This is powerful, possibly terminal despondancy. She did not
run home to her parents, she went to the river. I suspect
we are thought to think that she has drowned herself and
her child.
Kiwi Carlisle
carlislc(at)psychiatry.wustl.edu
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Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 11:35:16 -0600 From: athan chilton <ayc(at)UIUC.EDU> Subject: Re: Desiree's Baby >Do you think he went after her? Do you think for a moment he might have >thought "I've lost something so perfect...and my SON!" and gone after her? > >If so, would she go back to him? No and no and no. He was a spoiled little squit of a man. He probably got drunk and felt sorry for himself for the rest of his life. At least he didn't accuse her of adultery, or think that the child could not be his. But that's small consolation for what he did do. Strange in a way that he'd immediately assume that if there was mixed blood in the child, it MUST have come from Desiree. Wouldn't he EVER have wondered, even for an instant, if his own family was the source? This story took me by surprise. I didn't guess what was coming, not at all. The mood, the setting, the description of Desiree's love for her husband, all build one up for something--but in this case I had no idea what that something might be. This story reminds me of one of the Sherlock Holmes tales in which a white mother has a black child--but what a different denoument... athan ayc(at)uiuc.edu
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Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 11:09:07 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Re: Desiree's Baby >Is Desiree even ALIVE for him to go after? > > D?sir?e had not changed the thin white garment nor the > slippers which she wore. Her head was > uncovered and the sun's rays brought a golden gleam from > its brown meshes. She did not take the > broad, beaten road which led to the far-off plantation of > Valmond?. She walked across a deserted > field, where the stubble bruised her tender feet, so > delicately shod, and tore her thin gown to > shreds. > > She disappeared among the reeds and willows that > grew thick along the banks of the deep, > sluggish bayou; and she did not come back again. > >This is powerful, possibly terminal despondancy. She did not >run home to her parents, she went to the river. I suspect >we are thought to think that she has drowned herself and >her child. Oh, Kiwi...I somehow missed this. This just took on a new frisson of horror. I thought she just went through the bayou as a kind of penance but never even thought about her drowning herself and her child. Thank goodness for Gassers' different points of view. I had sought the happiest end I could, her living her life with her child with her sweet adoptive parents. And looked past the obvious. Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 15:03:34 -0600
From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org>
Subject: Today in History - May 19
1856
Senator Charles Sumner speaks out against slavery.
1858
A pro-slavery band led by Charles Hameton execute unarmed
Free State men near
Marais des Cygnes on the Kansas-Missouri border.
1863
Union General Ulysses S. Grant's first attack on Vicksburg,
is repulsed.
1864
The Union and Confederate armies launch their last attacks
against each other at
Spotsylvania in Virginia. [I forget exactly what day it was,
but it was at the Battle
of Spottsylvania that Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, rallying his
men against enemy gunfire,
uttered the words which immediately proved to be less mortal
than himself,
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist--".]
1865
President Jefferson Davis is captured by Union Cavalry in
Georgia.
Born on May 19
1762
Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher who developed
ethical idealism out of
Immanuel Kant's work.
1879
Lady Nancy Astor (Nancy Witcher Langhorne), the first woman
to sit in the British
House of Commons.
1890
Ho Chi Minh, revolutionist and leader of North Vietnam who
fought the Japanese,
French and United states to gain independence for his country.
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Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 18:35:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Zozie(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Today in History - May 19 Also born today, Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba, in 1861, who thrilled audiences with her clear lofty voice, and named the toast... munch munch phoebe
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Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 19:30:31 -0400 (EDT) From: GargoyleMG(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Today in History - May 19 I'm not sure about the exact year, but I think that on May 19th, T.E. Lawrence ( Lawrence of Arabia ) died. I do know that he died from injuries he suffered in a motorcycle accident. AGM
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Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 09:25:29 -0600
From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org>
Subject: Today in History - May 20
1861
North Carolina becomes the last state to secede from Union.
1874
Levi Strauss begins marketing blue jeans with copper rivets.
1902
The U.S. military occupation of Cuba ends.
Born on May 20
1750
Stephen Girard, rescued U.S. bonds during War of 1812
1768
Dolley Madison, first lady of President James Madison. Famous
as a Washington
hostess while her husband was secretary of state and president
1799
Honore de Balzac, French novelist considered the founder of
the realistic school, who
wrote The Human Comedy and Lost Illusions.
1818
William George Fargo, one of the founders of Wells, Fargo &
Co.
1908
Jimmy Stewart, actor, best remembered for his roles in It's a
Wonderful Life and Mr
Smith Goes to Washington [Since it wasn't in our period, I
left it off above, but an event
recreated in one of his other great movies took place on
Jimmy's 19th birthday - the
beginning of Charles Lindbergh's flight to Paris in The
Spirit of St. Louis.]
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Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 20:49:44 -0600
From: sdavies(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
Subject: Etext avail: Balzac's "El Verdugo"
From: Stephen Davies(at)MRC on 05/20/99 08:49 PM
To: Gaslight-announce(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
cc:
Subject: Etext avail: Balzac's "El Verdugo"
(VERDUGO.HTM) (Fiction, Chronos)
Honore de Balzac's "El Verdugo" (1830, 1901 ed.)
Happy birthday, Honore!
verdugo.sht
Balzac's "El Verdugo" is a very short story set during
the Peninsular Wars, ca. 1809, when the British
begin to land troops.
To retrieve all the plain ASCII files send to: ftpmail(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA
with no subject heading and completely in lowercase:
open aftp.mtroyal.ab.ca
cd /gaslight
get verdugo.sht
or visit the Gaslight website at:
http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/verdugo.htm
Stephen D
mailto:SDavies(at)mtroyal.ab.ca
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Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 14:59:28 -0400
From: Richard King <rking(at)INDIAN.VINU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Desiree's Baby
And what makes this story even more horrible to me is the speculation
that perhaps Desiree herself is merely one more child of a long line of
mixed-race children somehow left behind at the stone pillar by their
families. I fear that yes, Desiree drowned herself and we never saw her,
but what about the child? No, she would never have drowned the child,
but, I fear she left the child somewhere, perhaps at the stone pillar,
to be found and adopted by another, and the strange, horrible cycle
would again be played out. And again and again and again...
This was a pretty good story, though certainly grim.
Richard King
rking(at)indian.vinu.edu
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 14:22:52 -0700
From: Jack Kolb <kolb(at)UCLA.EDU>
Subject: Desiree vs. A Rose for Emily
Sorry, Deborah. But it's ridiculous even comparing Chopin's sad little set
piece, however admirable its sentiments, with Faulkner's great morbid piece
of horror, which indicts, in a inescapable way, an entire sensibility.
This, mind you, from someone whose parents were both born in small town
Mississippi {grin}.
Jack Kolb
Dept. of English, UCLA
kolb(at)ucla.edu
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Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 15:32:55 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Re: Desiree vs. A Rose for Emily > it's ridiculous even comparing Chopin's sad little set piece, however >>admirable its sentiments, with Faulkner's great morbid piece Jack--I mentioned it mainly because one followed the other in a book of American Gothic tales (sort of like comparing mosque and mosquito, if you take my drift). Both set in the south, both grim. Other than that, you're right, Faulkner's is far better (and alas, out of our era or I would have picked it). Thanks, too, Richard for pointing out what possibly could be a vicious cycle. When would it end?--I like to think that Desiree at least had a happy life albeit short. Maybe her child can do better. On the other hand, maybe Desiree didn't want to see the vicious cycle continue either and sacrificed herself and her child--however horrible. This theme has been all too prevalent in the old Border ballad songs (e.g. Lord Gregory). Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 02:01:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Civil War cussin'
Not long ago we were talking about unusual dictionaries. Now, from
the _Times_ of London, comes news of a glossary composed of terms
used by soldiers during the Civil War. Here's is the _Times_ squib:
<<
With the summer season of Civil War battle re-enactments about to start,
the Camp Chase Gazette, a buff's newsletter, has published a glossary of
1860s military "cussing". Insults include "twiddle-poop" (effeminate young
man) and "dandisprat" (insignificant person). The word for "idiot" has an
eerie resemblance to the names of Lucas's stranger aliens, however. It is
"jobbernowl".<<
I tried the Camp Chase Gazette's website, but the glossary wasn't there,
and probably won't be for some time; but from the examples, this looks
like a frolic.
Bob Champ (wondering why I find out more interesting things about America
from the _Times_ of London than I do from the _New York Times_--both of
which I nightly peruse online)
_________________________________________________
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Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 14:36:25 -0500 From: Doug Wrigglesworth <dougwrig(at)netrover.com> Subject: A Birthday Greeting A note of birthday greetings to the various Friends of Arthur Conan Doyle on this the 140th anniversary of his natal day. I frequently think how pleased he would be to know that so many folk still enjoy his works - including all those great stories that do NOT feature Holmes. (And, if he was right - he DOES know!) . . .and what fun he has given us all! Regards to all, Doug Wrigglesworth (With apologies to those who receive this message more than once) Doug Wrigglesworth Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at The Toronto Reference Library 16 Sunset Street, Holland Landing, ON L9N 1H4 (905) 836-1858 (Voice) (905) 836-0464 (Fax) dougwrig(at)netrover.com
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 17:45:44 +0300 From: cbishop(at)interlog.com (Carroll Bishop) Subject: Another Birthday Greeting >A note of birthday greetings to the various Friends of Arthur Conan Doyle >on this the 140th anniversary of his natal day. > >I frequently think how pleased he would be to know that so many folk still >enjoy his works - including all those great stories that do NOT feature >Holmes. > >(And, if he was right - he DOES know!) And a happy birthday to Sir Laurence Olivier, born May 22nd in the year 1907. Well, he played Moriarty in THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION -- and I'm sure we can find lots of other reasons to celebrate his birth here in Gaslight land. I certainly do. (Hic et ubique!) Carroll Bishop (cbishop(at)interlog.com )
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 19:51:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Elephant Man program
The Discovery Channel, which consistently shows some of most worthwhile
programs on television, recently ran an English-produced one on the case
of Joseph (better known as John) Merrick , who is famous as the Elephant
Man. The object of the program is to bring viewers up to date on the
latest findings about Merrick's condition.
Until the 1980s it was thought that Merrick suffered from a disorder
called neurofibromatosis, which affects about 100,000 people in the U.S.
In other words, it is not rare. Recent tests, however, have changed the
opinions of a number of researchers, who now believe that Merrick may
have had a much rarer disorder called the Proteus syndrome, which
distorts bone mass in a way consistent with Merrick's photographs and
skeletal remains. Further, not only does the Proteus syndrome diagnosis
account for many of Merrick's deformities, but also for the lack of some
features in Merrick associated with neurofibromatosis.
Researchers are still not certain of the diagnosis, however. According to
one specialist, had the various plaster casts made of Merrick's
body at his death been examined separately, the diagnosis for each part
of the body would have offered a diagnosis of a different disorder. It
may well be, in other words, that Merrick was suffering from a disease
unique to him--Merrick's syndrome, as if were. No case similar to Merrick's
has, in any case, ever been discovered.
An interesting feature of the program was the discovery of modern
descendants of one of Merrick's siblings. None of these family members
have developed any condition resembling Merrick's, nor do they know of
any direct ancestors (absent Merrick) ever displaying his symptoms. This
seems to rule out any hereditary basis for the disorder, whatever it
might have been.
Bob Champ
_________________________________________________
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
_________________________________________________
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 17:18:46 -0700 From: Jack Kolb <kolb(at)UCLA.EDU> Subject: Re: Elephant Man program >The Discovery Channel, which consistently shows some of most >worthwhile programs on television But not necessarily the most accurate. This is a Disney Channel, and some of what's given out is scientific crap. Worse still is the "Learning Channel," which purveys ghosts and ghoolies and crop circles and UFOs and other crap. I know that I'm offending some of those who want to believe. For those who might not, try the SKEPTIC list (subscription information available upon request). I love ghost stories. I don't believe them for a moment. Jack Kolb Dept.of Jack Kolb Dept. of English, UCLA kolb(at)ucla.edu
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 17:23:35 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Re: Elephant Man program >For those who might not, try the SKEPTIC list (subscription information >available upon request). Would that there was the SKEPTIC channel, eh, Jack? Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 20:31:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Zozie(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Re: Elephant Man program In a message dated 5/23/99 12:20:22 AM, Jack Kolb wrote: <<But not necessarily the most accurate. This is a Disney Channel, and some of what's given out is scientific crap. Worse still is the "Learning Channel," which purveys ghosts and ghoolies and crop circles and UFOs and other crap. >> I'm with Jack on this one. I have been appalled by some of the things on The Learning Channel, and Discovery, too, although I don't watch it very much. The thing that strikes me is how old the information is that they keep peddling... some of the programs seem to be working with information fifty years out of date. aaargh phoebe
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 21:29:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu>
Subject: Re: Elephant Man program
On Sat, 22 May 1999, Jack Kolb wrote:
>
> But not necessarily the most accurate. This is a Disney Channel, and some
> of what's given out is scientific crap. Worse still is the "Learning
> Channel," which purveys ghosts and ghoolies and crop circles and UFOs and
> other crap.
Yes, I agree that ghoulies and crop circles are beyond the pale. But you
have to be discriminating about anything that appears in the
media--including the supposedly most reliable sources (the _New York
Times_ and _Washington Post_, for instance, not to mention the lamentable
White House press corps). When it comes to programs like the ones on the
Elephant Man and the Titanic ("Titanic: Answers from the Abyss"), however,
I am very grateful to have the information.
>I know that I'm offending some of those who want to believe.
> For those who might not, try the SKEPTIC list (subscription information
> available upon request).
>
And is the SKEPTIC list all that reliable itself? Do you mean to say that
the SKEPTIC has no biases that could skewer and corrupt its reporting? I
would rather think the opposite. There is nothing that looks so
suspicious as professional skepticism.
> I love ghost stories. I don't believe them for a moment.
>
Nor do I believe in them, Jack. But, as I say, you have to be
discriminating. And I do believe that the Discovery Channel (Disney or
not) does put out some very interesting programs. The program on Merrick
was not the work of crackpots.
Bob C.
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Robert L. Champ
rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu
Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity
Whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, meditate on these things
Philippians 4:8
rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net
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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 18:40:01 -0700 From: Jack Kolb <kolb(at)UCLA.EDU> Subject: Re: Elephant Man program No. The SKEPTIC list. For those here who might be able to tell the difference between imagination and reality. Jack Kolb Dept. of English, UCLA kolb(at)ucla.edu > >>For those who might not, try the SKEPTIC list (subscription information >>available upon request). > >Would that there was the SKEPTIC channel, eh, Jack? > >Deborah > >Deborah McMillion >deborah(at)gloaming.com >http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html ------------------------------ End of Gaslight Digest V1 #70 *****************************