Category: TV Show

Posted on

Get ready for Sherlock Holmes Week!

I am a big, a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in the late 30s were my favorites for a long time until I watched Sherlock, with the incredible (who has a near unpronounceable name but I read somewhere he chose it on purpose) Benedict Cumberbatch and the impressive Martin Freeman (aka Bilbo Baggins) as Dr John Watson.

So yes, I am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes so I was very excited when I learnt there was Sherlock Holmes Week (30th July – 5th August 2012). They explain on the website:

The first week is designed to co-incide with the Olympics in London so that the many fans that will be in the UK will have a chance to join in with London based events. It’s also in the summer as most of the time new series and movies happen in the autumn and the spring – and to be honest, we need a Sherlock fix to keep us going through a long summer.

Great Sherlock Holmes Debates

There have been two Great Sherlock Holmes Debates so far. November 2011 made history as the first time Holmes fans from 23 countries came together to talk about Sherlock Holmes.

GSHD2 in March 2012 broke all previous records for a Holmes event and was held live in London, as well as online. The third debate will take place during Sherlock Holmes Week on 4th August.

Competitions

Sherlock Holmes Fashion Awards 2012
Have you got what it takes to design an outfit for Sherlock Holmes? Whether you are a fan or an emerging or established fashion designer, this is your chance to let the Sherlock Holmes world see your work.

Steampunk Holmes – Artwork Competition
Steampunk Holmes is the most eagerly awaited interactive book in history. Several years in the making, this stunning Steampunk version of Sherlock Holmes will have a series of books in all formats, but most stunning on the iPad. This exclusive competition for Holmes fans gives them the chance to be a part of publishing history and have their artwork included in the first interactive book – Steampunk Holmes – The Legacy of The Nautilus.

Check Sherlock Holmes Week website, many events will take place around the world during this week, even in France with a ‘Week end Holmésien en Baie de Somme’… Elementary, my dear Watson!

Posted on

Doctor Who actress Caroline John dies aged 71

Sad news for Doctor Who fans who watched the show back in the Seventies and the Eighties: British actress Caroline John, known to many for playing Doctor Who companion Liz Shaw, has died at the age of 71.

John played Liz Shaw in four Doctor Who adventures in 1970, later reprising her role in 1983’s The Five Doctors. Full story on BBC website.

Below, a video tribute to the actress titled ‘Doctor Who R.I.P: Our Brilliant Caroline John (Elizabeth Shaw)‘.

Posted on

One day, we will use a neutrinophone, like in Star Trek

This is the kind of news I like. If you thought your new mobile phone was the best ever made, you’re wrong. What about a phone using neutrinos? What about a neutrinophone?

Jeff Nelson is the Cornelia B. Talbot Term Distinguished Associate Professor of Physics at William & Mary and in this article, he explains that the neutrinophone demonstration was a side project stemming from neutrino research at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

About the neutrinos:

Neutrinos are mysterious subatomic particles emitted in unimaginable numbers by nuclear reactions. Despite their high numbers, scientists are just now learning about the characteristics of neutrinos. William & Mary’s physicists are involved in several large multinational collaborations aimed at learning about the properties of neutrinos. In addition to MINERvA and the other Fermilab experiments, William & Mary researchers are involved in other neutrino investigations, most notably the Daya Bay initiative in China.

How it works:

The beam of neutrinos  travels through hundreds of meters of rock on the way to the MINERvA detector, which Nelson explains is designed to study neutrino interactions in detail. For communication over the neutrinophone, the physicists used a simple 1-0 binary code. “If you saw neutrinos, it was a zero; if there weren’t any neutrinos, it was a one,” he explained. “There are standard encoding patterns, ASCII is one of the ones that is used on the computer that tell you what letter corresponds to a series of so many digits of binary bits.”

And the pbest part for the end:

As a practical communications tool, the neutrinophone sits on the border of science and science fiction. Nelson notes that Star Trek characters use neutrino communications, but there are a number of scientific and engineering challenges to creating an interplanetary neutrinophone.

My geek friends and dear Star Trek fans, our dream will, one day, become a reality!