"A Study in Pink"

Here I was at 5am watching the Sherlock "A Study in Pink" because that is the ONLY time I get to watch what I want to watch because my kids are little too young to watch Sherlock.  But since this is the third time I have seen this particular episode I feel confident in listing the awesome things I love about this episode.

BUT I also fell asleep because I am a mom and since it doesn't get dark till 9:30 and there are still 3 more days of school and it was so hot that no one could sleep until almost 11:00 I was just exhausted....so many excuses.  This person did most of the work for me: 94 Things I Love About "A Study in Pink"   Also just a reminder that there is a great Sherlock Wikia which is really helpful if you are slow like I am and some of the dialogue and action is too quick or you might need more explanation.  I almost cleaned the whole kitchen today listening to the Sherlock theme music.  I wish I had more to say right now but I am about to keel over.
 

SHERlocked

Theme for June:  Sherlock!!!  I am excited as always to start a new theme.  I am always messing around with a method that will work.  My motto should be- "Lower your expectations- then do it again and then do it one more time, then have a cup of tea and stuff the expectations in a rubbish bin because too bad, luv, it probably won't happen at all like you planned."  So THIS time I broke down and wrote out a list so that pretty much ANYONE who has 2 leisure hours a day can participate.  But first the Ws:

Who created Sherlock Holmes?  Why, Arthur Conan Doyle, of course!!!  But this month's theme is actually more focused on the recent TV show which, according to imdb, was created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.  All, of whom, I am not overly familiar with.

Where can I find Sherlock Holmes?  A better question would be- where CAN'T you find Sherlock Holmes?  He got his start as a character in books and short stories and now he is in plays, radio dramas, films, TV shows, and games.  

When did I become a Sherlock fan?  Basically after the second season of Sherlock came out at the library- probably just a couple years ago when I started crushing on Benedict Cumberbatch who I learned about from my husband and the newer Star Trek: Into the Darkness.  I never read the books.  Not that I was never interested in reading them just never got around to it.  I LOVE mysteries but I am horrible at solving and speculating!  I am worse then a 3 year old.  I have so little imagination it is embarrassing- you will see.  I have read Nancy Drews and Fluke books- nice, cheesy, fun mysteries, but not serious stuff like Sherlock.

What do I have that shows my Sherlock love?  Since I haven't been a fan for very long I haven't collected much.  BUT how awesome was it that at the Scottish Auction Christmas Party in 2013 our church hosts every year my present was a complete collection of the Sherlock Holmes books!!!  I have wanted to read them since then for sure!  I have watched the first and second season of Sherlock which I got on a bit of whim from the library and just LOVED it.

How much do I love Sherlock Holmes? (on a scale of 1-10)  10 for Sherlock the show!!  Benedict Cumberbatch is just...so...BRILLIANT.  I am sure I will love the books, too, but I certainly will not have time to read it much if at all this month as you will see in my plan.

Why is the Sherlock Holmes fandom so awesome?  They are witty and thinkers.  It is full of mystery and intrigue.  He is a detective who is so smart and gets to solve crimes.  We want to be like that.  We want to live through him without being in mortal danger ourselves.  Plus his partnership with Watson is great to observe.  What fun!!

 

Now for the plan!

25 Days of Sherlock

As of right now Sherlock is available for streaming on Netflix (I was also able to find it from my local library) so if YOU yes YOU want to participate with me I would LOVE a friend.  Don't feel pressured to review them but if you have your own blog it would be fun to read each others perspectives.  I have already watched the first and second season but I actually would like to watch it again and review them- so yah!  I will officially start Monday, June 6.

Day 1- Sherlock: Watch and Review Season 1 Episode 1 "A Study in Pink"
Day 2- Watch and Review Episode 2 "The Blind Baker"
Day 3- Watch and Review Episode 3 "The Great Game"
Day 4- Watch and Review Season 2 Episode 1 "A Scandal in Belgravia"
Day 5- Watch and Review Episode 2 "The Hounds of Baskerville"
Day 6- Cross Stitch your something Sherlocky (optional activities: listen to a Sherlock audio book or violin music)
Day 7- Picture of yourself in Sherlock headband from Fandom of the Month

Day 8- Sherlock: Watch and Review Season 2 Episode 3 "The Reichenbach Fall"
Day 9- (Flag Day) In honor of flag day and the quintessential British Detective Jamberry your nails with the Union Jack
Day 10- Watch and Review Season 3 Episode 1 "The Empty Hearse"
Day 11- Watch and Review Episode 2 "The Sign of Three"
Day 12- Watch and Review Episode 3 "His Last Vow"
Day 13- Cross Stitch your something Sherlocky (optional activities: listen to a Sherlock audio book or violin music)
Day 14- (Father's Day- I am not sure I can tie in Father's Day to Sherlock but I will let you know if I do!) Picture of yourself with Sherlock necklace from FOTM

Day 15- Watch "Sherlock Uncovered: The Return" and Review
Day 16- Watch "Sherlock Uncovered: The Women" and Review
Day 17- Watch "Sherlock Uncovered: The Villains" and Review
Day 18- Sherlock Watch "The Abominable Bride"  and Review
Day 19- Read Adventures of Sherlock Holmes "A Scandal in Bohemia" Part 1 and Review
Day 20- Cross Stitch your something Sherlocky (optional activities: listen to a Sherlock audio book or violin music)
Day 21- Picture of yourself with Sherlock earrings from FOTM

(I will not likely be able to do reviews from this point on for awhile because I will be on vacation)
Day 22- "A Scandal in Bohemia" Part 2
Day 23- "A Scandal in Bohemia" Part 3
Day 24- "The Read Headed League"
Day 25- "A Case of Identity"

Other optional activities: play the Facebook Game Sherlock Holmes: Lost Detective, read A Study in Scarlet, collect Sherlock memes...it is endless really but I wanted a special schedule that could actually work and wasn't crazy expensive.

"The World Only Began Today."- The Magician's Nephew

I have been having a grand adventure reading these books!  As I stated previously I was feeling most tortured by not being able to decide the order in which I should read these.  But that was sort of decided for me just by the factors of time and the books I already had.  I was hoping to start with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a lap book for my daughter.  We will be working on it together at our own pace.  So we haven't gotten very far- about 4 chapters in and have only made one lap book piece.  You should be able to see it in the picture- the wardrobe- but we haven't draw in it yet because it printed upside down (oops!).

On my own I have finished reading The Magician's Nephew which I finished in only one day.  I sped up on this because I checked my goodreads page only to be slightly shocked to find I was THREE books behind on my reading goal!  So between my regular responsibilities I read as much as I could.  After finishing the book I wanted to go straight into The Horse and His Boy but I couldn't find the copy of this one.  So I started and finished Prince Caspian over the weekend.   So now I am reading them completely out of any set order- sounds like crazy me.

Again it appears I have bitten off more than I can chew so when the next theme is announced remind me to schedule only one chapter a day of any book.  I need to be more realistic.  But I do want to put a plug in for TinyNeedle cross stitch patterns on etsy.  She designed a pattern with the Pevensie children on them for me.  I LOVE the color scheme.  Since this post I have finished Peter and have just started on Edmund.  I will hang it in Lucy's room because...well her name is Lucy...she deserved a cute something Narnia in there.

For NARNIA!

Can you guess the theme for May?  I  am super stoked because- confession time- I have not read the entire series and was not a big fan of it growing up.  Fantasy was something I didn't become very interested in until I was an adult- go figure!  I actually love alternate timelines and Utopian society stories but talking animals and mythological creatures....I could take it or leave it.  That being said I WANT to be interested so this is a great time to start.

Who created The Chronicles of Narnia?
This is a tricky question to answer because I could answer with the magician, but even then I am not sure because I still haven't read the whole book.  The real answer though is C.S. Lewis.  He wrote other books of which I have read quite a few.  He is pretty popular in Christian circles.  He has a multi layered philosophy that is so deep it would take more than a simple blog post to address.  But for now we will just call him Clive.  I will not have time this month to review his life or other books, but some day...  


Where can I find The Chronicles of Narnia?
In the wardrobe of course!!!  We will forever be searching in closets and wardrobes for Narnia!  But seriously, they come in book form (seven of them), a BBC mini-series (that creeped me out as a kid and still creeps me out a little) and 3 feature length movies from the first books by publication:  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  I hear that the Silver Chair is in the works.  Also I have heard some pretty fun audio books as well.  

When did I become a Narnia fan?
I am in the middle of becoming one.  As I said before, I wasn't a big fan as a child.  I was excited when The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe came out though because I needed something to redeem the super creepy BBC version.  I had friends who were fans of the book say they did not like the movie- but that happens all the time so I pretty much ignore that now.  I am so ready to read this series, but the choice of the order in which to read them is a dilemma in and of itself!   

What do I have that shows Narnia love?
My husband liked these books as a kid so he has the really old copies when they were put in order of publication.  Right now I have only found 3 of the books.  One of my children is using the box they came in as some kind of doll house feature so I will not move it now, but I will just check out the rest that I can not currently find from the church library.  We also have The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movies.  There is no particular reason why we do not have the Prince Caspian movie, we just haven't gotten around to purchasing it yet.  Plus you can see the jewelry I received from the Fandom of the Month Club in the top picture.  I will take a closer picture and do a review in the future of those as well- hopefully.

How much do I love The Chronicles of Narnia? (scale 1-10)
Right now I give it a 5 as I am not very familiar with it.  One for every Pevensie- Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy- and one for Aslan!  Also we named our youngest daughter Lucy.

Why are The Chronicles of Narnia an important fandom?
This is an important fandom especially for those who share the Christian faith because of all the Biblical allusions.  It can teach us about sacrifice, bravery, and loyalty.  I know there is SO much more but right now I am too ignorant on this fandom to include any more insight.  I am excited to learn more about how important and amazing these books are and become a 10 fan by the end!

The Avengers Volume I

According to my husband I have now officially read my first comic book- so go me!  I got this one from the teens graphic novel section after typing in the library search- Avengers.  I think this was the 5th result.

This was probably a very good first choice for me but what do I know- I know nothing about comic books.  I just loved all the characters so that was a great first start.  This one also included Spider Woman, although it was a small role, I was happy to see another female character.

So from what I could gather the story includes time travel, Kang, Ultron, Thor's daughter, and a future bearded Hulk and plenty of sound affects.  It seemed pretty basic- bad guy sends message from future, what if it is a trick, break the timeline, talk to future selves, go back in time, and almost save the world- except that the end had a twist that I couldn't quite figure out but I think that is because of the time travel element.  I don't know if I have access the rest of this series but as I said a good start for me.

My favorite line was of course from Hawkeye because, you know, it is Hawkeye.

"You know people never stay calm when you ask them to stay calm."- Spider Woman
"What the h--l else am I supposed to say?  'Everybody mess your pants?'" -Hawkeye

The Ws of the Avengers, My Personal Story Concerning this Fandom

Who are the Avengers?

To me, the Avengers are a group of superheroes, earth's mightiest heroes if you will, who make an excellent team and must overcome their own pasts, mistakes, and ambitions.  Now of course you can Google all of this and learn MUCH MUCH more than I would be willing to type about, but this is just a personal narrative.  My favorite Avenger from the movies is Thor aka Chris Hemsworth.  I don't know if this comes as a surprise or not but I love the look and especially the accent.  My favorite cartoon Avenger is Hawkeye.  I love bows and arrows, and just like me, he is HILARIOUS.  When I took a quiz on "Which Avenger Are You"  I got Hawkeye.  I love archery.  Since I am not exactly well versed in back story or original cannon I am not sure if Scarlet Witch is an Avenger but I sure to do love that woman's style.  There is Iron Man- billionaire scientist, Hulk of green man  and anger fame (who I still think needs to be included in that picture of Kermit and Yoda because it is obviously NOT easy to be green), Captain America who is always ready for a 4th of July party/parade, Black Widow who just  rocks, and I guess you could count Agent Coulson and Nick Fury- but for April will try to stick with the ones mentioned in the fandom box (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and for a reason I assume I will learn about latter Spiderman).  Yes, I am aware that Spiderman is part of the Marvel Universe but in the movies has not made an appearance because of rights to the character I believe.

Any way, Avengers are awesome.  I am so excited to watch more of the cartoons now that we have streaming Netflix plus so many other awesome things.

What do we (I) currently own that shows Avengers love?

We have both Avengers movies and I think two Iron Man moves.  We have an air freshener in the car with the Captain America's symbol on it.  Plus my husband dressed up as Captain America for Halloween (he wore the "suit" that doubled as a sweatshirt) but he had to borrow the shield from our neighbor.

In our bedroom my husband recently framed an Avengers poster/comic.  I also noticed a Black Widow comic among his collection and it is quite possible there are more Avengers comics among them but I don't want to rifle through the whole collection.  I guess my husband is more of a fan than I am but still- I can leech off his fandom- that is what being married is about, right?  

When did I become a fan of the Avengers?

There are fandoms that you totally remember the moment it connected with you, but I don't really remember when I became a fan of the Avengers.  It was most likely when I went to the theater to see Thor back in 2011.  How could you NOT be a fan of Chris Hemsworth?  But to be honest I am not a big comic book fan so I think it will be a great geeky adventure to try one out this month.  I still have SO many medians to watch and read to catch up, which leads me to my next question....

Where can I find the Avengers?

Well first of all the comic books would the most obvious, original source, but I will most likely not invest in buying those.  I did find some books available at the library which I may review in the future.  I have seen the movies multiple times, but what I really need to catch up on are the television shows.  I LOVE Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I can't wait to watch Agent Carter.  I still have not seen the Iron Movies which is a real shame because I know we actually own 2 of them.  I am still looking for a good fan site but for now the Marvel Universe one will have to do- it has a great charter for the order for watching.  

How much do I love the Avengers?

I couldn't think of a creative way to "rate" these fandoms especially since the one thing I can NOT stand in geek culture is how much complaining seems to be done.  Nothing ever seems to be good enough.  I am pretty easy to please so I get pretty excited when things are just slightly related to the fandom.  I will just keep it simple- on a scale of 1-10  I give Avengers an 8.  One point for each original Avenger from the Movies: Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Hawkeye plus one point for Nick Furry and one extra point for all the villians/enemies that they must defeat.  I might give it a 10 after I get sucked into Agent Carter but I am SO excited!!  See you after review something from the fandom...

Langsathers Assemble

I took a long break to observe the season of Lent.  I am back!  I am jumping right in.  To start, if you know  me at all, I can easily get overwhelmed by all the choices to write about and to be interested in.  With all the wonderful geeky nerdy things to watch, read, wear, play, game, collect, imagine, recreate, craft, decorate, party, binge on, parody, and even horde,  I have had a super hard time narrowing down what to write about.  So what do I do when I can't decide?  Of course, I let someone else do the deciding for me.  I have recently discovered one of those monthly box subscriptions called Fandom of the Month which looks freakin' amazing!!  Any way I signed for a subscription starting in April.  But what I love about it is the themes.  They are great and not so broad as other subscription boxes.  I could really get on board as using it for my own personal monthly theme and discover new fandoms.  Since the boxes don't come till the end of the month I will just carry the theme over to the next month.

This month's theme is Avengers.  I don't have March's box, but I do know the theme from Facebook and Instagram.  There are so many ideas swirling in my brain getting them organized has been a challenge.  I am searching for the time to get it all written down.  We have been in the process of updating and spring cleaning on the personal level.  We used our tax money to buy a brand new TV and it is so huge and- just wow- we have truly upgraded.  We also just hooked up to the Internet.  We have been piggy backing off the church's wifi which can be unreliable and not always consistent plus we could only get the signal in two tiny spots in the house.  Now we can use it in other parts of the house and it is faster.  We are growing up and learning how to priorities.  So here it goes...Langsather Assemble!!