OT: In 2012 there were two women pilots of commercial airship craft (Zeppelins)

I haven't had a chance to post in this blog for a while, as I've been busy drafting my The Freedom Seat: A History of Women presentation for some seminars I'll be giving in the spring, but I thought I'd share a post from a blog that I do have time to post in: The Freedom Seat Seminars.

It's my goal to travel throughout the Rocky Mountain region teaching people the history of women pilots - and women drivers, too!

http://thefreedomseat.blogspot.com/2016/12/two-women-pilots-for-zeppelin-craft.html

Frankenstein and Benedict Cumberbatch

Way back in 2011, there was a theatre event in London that I wish I could have seen.

The National Theatre presented a play called Frankenstein. On alternate nights, Benedict Cumberbatch (the star of Sherlock on British TV) and Jonny Lee Miller (the star of Eleementary on American TV) played Victor Frankenstein and the Creature alternately. (The review does refer to him as a Monster, but in actuality he was a creature, turned into a monster by the neglect of his creator/parent.)

Frankenstein review at the Guardian

 Apparently both performances were filmed, but they are only available in the UK!  Perhaps with Cumberbatch's sky-rocketing stardom, it will now be made available to American audiences.

What intrigues me about this play is the fact that the two actors alternated the roles on alternate nights. I would have loved to see the different emotions and physicalities that the two men brought to the part.

It's easy to imagine Johnny Lee Miller being afraid of Cumberbatch's Frankenstein - Cumberbatch is several inches taller. Less so to think of Cumberbatch being afraid of Miller except for the awful look of the creature and also the sheer strength the creature possesses.

Jonny Lee Miller as the Craeture

The above is a series of gifs put up by

teflonly.tumblr.com

There are several more there so check them out.

Shakespeare and Benedict Cumberbatch: Dated Death

Dated Death is my term for "the annotated" Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch has appeared in two issues of Shakespeare magazine, an online webzine:
http://www.shakespearemagazine.com/

But, the main purpose of the Shakespeare and Benedict Cumberbatch entries is to list every usuage of Shakeaeare - quotes, plots, etc., in Cumberbatcch's ouvre.

Benedict Cumberbatch in Cabin Pressure: "Limerick" episode

Martin (Benedict Cumberbatc) and Douglas (Roger Allam) are flying from Hong Kong to Limerick with a certain small but very precious cargo. It's a long way from Hong Kong to Limerick (slightly longer than to Tipperary) and Douglas gets on the intercom and announces to the (empty) cabin that he's bored, and that they'll be flying "until the last syllable of recorded time."

That is a line from Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy in the play, Macbeth. He has just learned of his wife's death.

— To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

Benedict Cumberbatch's most impish smiles

There were quite a few impish smiles from Benedict Cumberbatch on display in his Sherlock Holmes: The Abomominable Bride.

This smile from the first scene where he and Watson meet is not particular impish, but if you watch the scene you can see that, as Holmes, he's actually quite nervous - this quick smile when he first starts talking to Watson, then the way he darts quick glances at him rather than looking him full in the face. He's nervous about wanting to impress Watson and getting a roommate so he can afford his suite of rooms.

Above is that impish smile, when the wife of Sir Eustace comes to visit them with a case. Watson has to continually remind Watson that their task is to prevent Sir Eustace from being murdered, not actually being murdered.

Serendipity: Benedict Cumberbatch and Patek Philippe watches

I am a freelance writer by profession. Last week I received a commission to write four articles on "super cars" and "luxury watches."

Yesterday listened to the Cabin Pressure episode, Limerick, for the very first time, and heard Benedict Cumberbatch as Captain Martin Crieff describe his new watch he had purchased in Hong Kong as a Patek Phillipe watch.

I had never heard of a Patek Phillipe watch before - the only luxury watch I'd ever heard of was a Rolex (which Benedict Cumberbatch pronounced Rule-ex rather than Roh-lex.).

So this morning, I started my research on luxury watches for the article, and found an article on a Patek Phillipe watch. (Last week a 1940s-circle Patek Phillipe watch, one of only four in existence,  sold at auction for $17 million!)

You can listen to Cabin Pressure: Limerick and every other episode in the Cabin Pressure series starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Roger Allam, Stephanie Cole and John Fennimore by supporting this site:

The TeleChronomicon Files: Where it is Always 1895 - Chapter 2

The TeleChronomicon Files: Where it is Always 1895

Chapter 2

In the TeleChronomicon 

Technicians Gallahadion and Azra sat at the control console, checking the various screens and gauges.

The door to the control room slid open and Leonatus entered. He ambulated to his control chair and seated himself.

REPORT.

Gallahadion pressed a final button, then undulated to face Leonatus.

THE EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN A SUCCESS, LEONATUS. THE STORY THAT CREATED THIS ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE, UNIVERSE 6A4321888333-AA, ENTITLED THE ABOMINABLE BRIDE WHEN IT WAS BROADCAST FROM EARTH, HAS ENDED, WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DOCTOR WATSON SEATED IN THEIR BAKER STREET FLAT CONTEMPLATING AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE IN WHICH THE TWO OF THEM EXIST IN MODERN DAY EARTH.

Gallahadion fluttered his wings excitedly. 

THE TIMELINE OF THE UNIVERSE CONTINUES FORWARD, he REPORTED, more calmly than he felt. THREE WEEKS HAVE PASSED. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DOCTOR WATSON CONTINUE TO LIVE THEIR LIVES. 

DELICIOUS, exulted Leonaus. DELICIOUS. 

Azra had continued to check his own screens and turned to face Leonatus.

TODAY, OUR SUBJECT HAS BEGUN FILMING A NEW EPISODE OF THE TELEVISION SERIES SHERLOCK. I HAVE THE COORDINATES.

VERY GOOD, AZRA. BRING THE SUBJECT UP ON THE VIEW SCREEN.

Azra turned back to the console and pressed a few buttons.

A smaller screen within the larger screen glowed into three-dimensional life. On the screen, the actor Benedict Cumberbatch was standing on the modern day set of Sherlock, dressed in contemporary clothing, waiting patiently while a hairdresser ensured that his hair was styled properly.

BRING UP THE SHERLOCK OF UNIVERSE 6A4321888333-AA, Leonatus ordered.

Gallahadion pressed a few buttons, and a second screen glowed into three-dimensional life.

In this universe, in this time-stream, it was night. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, looking exactly like the actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman of Ur-Earth, were dressed in evening clothes, and seated in the balcony seats of the Queen’s Hall. On the stage, a violinist was performing.

Gallahadion and Azta looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes.

This was it. This is what they had been working for two Earth years to achieve.

They were going to attempt to withdraw a subject from his own timeline, from Ur-Earth, and transport him into the body of a subject in an entirely different universe – one that was occupying an entirely different timeline over 100 years in the fictional past.

Theoretically it could be done. But in Actuality….they were about to find out.

CHARGE THE TELECHRONOMICON, ordered Leonatus.

Gallahadion reached out and pressed a button. TELECHRONOMICON  CHARGING, he acknowledged.

ACQUIRE THE SUBJECT, ordered Leonatus.

Azra pressed another button and a square of transparent white light appeared over the body of the actor, Benedict Cumberbatch.

SUBJECT HAS BEEN ACQUIRED, Azra reported.  

VERY WELL, said Leonatus. ON MY COMMAND

Gallahadion and Azra rested their fingers on the appropriate buttons on the control console of the TeleChronomicon and waited.

January 15, 2016, Baker Street Set, Bottle Yard Studios, Bristol, UK, Ur-Earth

Benedict Cumberbatch stood patiently, waiting for wardrobe to finish their last minute ministrations.

When the last of the minions had signified satisfaction with their work, they withdrew behind the cameras. 

Benedict seated himself in his chair and picked up the violin. The scene would open with him playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Something to add a touch of humor to what would then go on to be a pretty serious piece of work…. 

He placed the violin beneath his chin…

NOW.

Suddenly, a swirl of black-and-white kaleidoscopic stripes enveloped him. He had the sensation of falling…falling…falling

March 15, 2016, Queen’s Hall, London, England, Earth, Universe 6A4321888333-AA

Sherlock Holmes sat with his eyes closed, enjoying the music sweeping over him. Tivadar Nachez, Hungarian violinist extraordinaire, was in rare form tonight. The music was glorious…it was transporting him far beyond this world, into a world of his imagination…

But suddenly… a swirl of black-and-white kaleidoscopic stripes enveloped him. He had the sensation of falling…falling…falling

Benedict Cumberbatch opened his eyes with a gasp.

Then he gasped again. Instead of being on set, surrounded by bright lights and cameras, he was seated in a… in a…. where was he?

It was a concert hall…and down below on the stage someone was playing the violin in front of a wacking great orchestra. He looked to the left. Martin Freeman was sitting beside him, dressed in a tuxedo…wearing a moustache. 

Benedict looked down at himself. He was wearing a tuxedo also.

They seemed to be in a private box. No one else was in there with them.

Benedict looked upward. There was a ceiling up there, with chandeliers. 

He looked around wildly. No camera, no lights, no film crew.

Martin had noticed his agitation and leaned toward him.

“Holmes,” he whispered. “What’s the matter?”

Benedict stared at him. Holmes?

Martin placed a hand on his arm. “Holmes, what on earth is the matter?”

“Nothing….Watson,” Benedict said, forcing himself to smile reassuringly. 

He turned back to face front, looking down at the violinist. Away from Martin’s gaze – Watson’s gaze? – he allowed his eyes to widen. 

Was he having some sort of psychotic break? If he was having a psychotic break would he know he was having a psychotic break?

Because he knew who he was. And he knew where he was supposed to be. And this surely, surely couldn’t be Victorian, England.

And he couldn’t be sitting beside someone who looked exactly like actor Martin Freeman but who was actually Doctor John Watson.

Or….could he?

TO BE CONTINUED

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Hollow Crown on Great Performances in December!

From http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Benedict-Cumberbatch-More-Star-in-THE-HOLLOW-CROWN-on-PBSs-Great-Performances-20161116

THE HOLLOW CROWN: THE WAR OF THE ROSES is a lavish three-part follow-up to the BAFTA winning The Hollow Crown, which aired in 2013 on THIRTEEN's Great Performances.
The first series of The Hollow Crown covered the so-called Henriad comprising Richard II, Henry IV, Parts I and II and Henry V. Now, The Wars of the Roses - which comes to GREAT PERFORMANCES on three consecutive Sundays beginning December 11 at 9 p.m. - picks up the story with epic film versions of Henry VI (in two parts) and Richard III.

 Benedict Cumberbatch plays Richard of Gloucester (pronounced Gloster) who appears in small roles in Henry VI part 1 and 2, and of course is on stage for practically every bit of Richard III.

Here's a review - it is going to be a treat when it hits American screens:

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2016/may/21/benedict-cumberbatch-the-hollow-crown-richard-iii

Richard III is my favorite Shakespeare play, and to see Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III - heaven!

And it is actually very fitting because apparently, according to DNA testing of the bones, Cumberbatch is a distant relation of the last Yorkist king!

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-32052800

Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III. That white necklace is of a white boar - his badge

You may have read that the bones of Richard III were actually found underneath a carpark in Leicester (pronounced Lester) a few years ago. Benedict Cumberbatch actually attended the ceremony when they re-interred his bones, and read a poem written especially for the occasion.