The Sign of the Four 及其他

播放Sherlock之前，PBS重播Jeremy Brett版福尔摩斯剧集中的“四签名”。拍摄此剧时两个演员已经颇为年长，David Burke看上去五十多岁，两鬓斑白，被迫跟三十来岁的女演员谈情说爱，看上去挺sad的。剧中布景、美术设计、灯光、摄影等等都明亮整洁，与原著中潮湿恐怖的气氛非常相左。

刚才顺手狗了一下Jeremy Brett，才发现他原来也是弯的！虽然结婚两次，似乎相当不幸福。悲惨的时代和环境呀。而且还有 bipolar disorder。

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前两天翻了翻海军协议，开头一段满有趣的，介绍丢失海军协议的主要人物是Watson的中学（显然是公学）同学，外号豆芽菜（实际是“蝌蚪”，估计跟豆芽菜一个意思）的Percy Phelps，跟Watson年纪一样但是高他两班，当时经常被同学讥讽和欺负，但进入社会之后靠了家族裙带关系事业猛进，入了外交部工作。后来的国家机密故事都扯上Mycroft ，但这最早一篇倒是拉上Watson的关系。

小说中一切线索都指出Phelps是个年轻人，对他的描写甚至直接说："A young man, very pale and worn, was lying upon a sofa near the open window." 既然他是年轻人，那么跟他同年的Watson怎么可能是老头涅？

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新剧集里最爱的还是第三集，没事拿出来瞅瞅开头的语法课部分，又暴笑一场。然后心中一动，拿出Kindle做个文字搜索，hung vs. hanged. 发现全集各个故事中有不少次（十次左右）用hanged指“吊死”之意，而用hung只有血字的研究中一次，其他时候hung都是指“挂”的意思。想必那第一次是笔误。难道Gatiss写的这段也是从Doyle医生的文法笔误里得到灵感？ 这也太精细了。

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PBS网站上有几个访谈视频，包括跟Gatiss与Moffat一对活宝的Q&A。

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一不做二不休，又search了一下"if inconvenient come"，发现这句话出现在 The Adventure of the Creeping Man的开头： It was one Sunday evening ... that I received one of Holmes's laconic messages: Come at once if convenient---if inconvenient come all the same. ---S.H.

中国古玩瓷器的话题也不是无中生有，在The Adventure of the Illustrious Client里面，Dr. Watson不得不恶补Chinese pottery知识（Doyle医生居然没有捏造，说得像模像样）。

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Besides Shakespeare, few literary works ignite such a profound and universal resonance as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The generally accepted interpretation of the story is "the duality of man," the coexistence and conflict between good and evil. Yet, a closer look at the story led me to believe that the author's attention is less on duality but more on repression --- repression of the baser nature of man and, consequently, the failure of such repression as one grows older.

(TBC)

化身博士

最近正在读 Kindle 上的化身博士，不过进展灰常慢。一方面是工作（瞎）忙，另一方面是花样滑冰赛季开锣，每周五六都有比赛转播，连续六个星期，十一月的周末全部报废。

重读这篇小说，一部分是想跟 Moffat 的 Jekyll 电视剧对照一下。目前只看了一半，且慢慢地整理感想吧。

前几日被某同学捉到读这本小说，我问你看过没？他答看过，很失望。切，我说，怎么会失望？他说，以前看过了很多同名改编的恐怖片儿，里面各色的奇形怪状的恶魔都有，结果一看原著，怎么跟恶魔本人连个照面儿都没打过？整个故事全部是间接叙述的，所以很失望，一点都不吓人嘛。

现在看过来，并非完全没有打照面，但是对 Mr. Hyde 只有一处是直接的描写，大约是要树立一下“此人确实存在”的 plot element，剩下的部分确实都是不同人物间接叙述拼凑起来的。从这方面来看，本小说奇特的叙述手法，侧面证明金庸受到 RLS 和同时代维多利亚的英国作家影响至深，拼凑间接叙事的手法在 Collins 的月亮宝石中是典型，但化身博士中的手法更加隐秘和自然，不易觉察。

小说原著中描写 Mr. Hyde 为身材矮小貌不惊人，但是一打照面，人人都觉得他说不出的诡异可憎，只是人人都说不出到底什么地方不对劲，因为他并没有明显的眼歪嘴斜歪瓜劣枣相。几乎可以说是描写罗敷美貌手法的硬币反面。某同学习惯了恐怖电影里的扭曲造型，觉得这种描写太不刺激，实际上这种模糊的手法才更令读者发挥自己的想象力，更令人寒毛倒竖，而且也更真实 --- 最后这一点以后再讨论好了。

纪事两则

1. 今天下班回家，在公寓楼里等电梯。电梯门一开，一个头矮小淡褐色头发的中年妇女一骨碌地钻了出来，我一眼看见她手里拿着一封信，脚上没穿鞋。她快走几步，把信扔进电梯前面墙上挂着的信箱，回头看见我正拿手挡着不让电梯门关上，等她回来。她快速地钻进电梯，连声道谢，脸上还带着一丝疑问。我知道她心里想什么，“你怎么知道我要立刻回到楼上？” 我心想，你手里拿封信，脚上还没穿鞋，显然是急急忙忙地从家门里跑出来把信丢进去，立刻就要回家的，elementary. 然后，我住六楼，先出电梯，她一边说着晚安一边又道谢一次，我赶紧说不客气。

2. 前几日跟固执难缠的MH医生加上我的同事三个人开会，闲话中他提起他的上司GB医生年轻时是海军陆战队队员，差点被送到越南打仗。我噗嗤一声笑出来，GB医生六十来岁，秃头，红脸，酒糟鼻，啤酒肚，一把老烟枪嗓子，真难以想象他年轻时的样子。MH医生接着说GB医生是德州人，说实话虽然我的第一个老板也是德州人，但我仍然辨别不出德州跟其他西南口音的区别。然后，MH医生继续讲，他们部门的另一个头头SM医生是三藩市人；这时我脱口而出，“你是纽约来的。”

MH医生略带惊讶地看了我一眼，点点头说，没错，我是纽约来的。他没问我怎么知道的，也许以为我是从其他人那里听说的。其实是他的口音有点纽约味儿，以及典型的犹太人长相和姓，让我的潜意识早就推断出他多半是纽约人，但直到想都没想就脱口而出的时候，大脑中的表层意识并不知道这些下意识的推理和判断。

闷骚蔫坏

昨天看花样滑冰的比赛转播，我喜欢的瑞典小哥Adrian Schultheiss 又搞出一个非主流的自由滑作品，不是象去年的疯人院节目那样一看就知道是标新立异的那种，而是外表正常（罗密欧与朱丽叶是最常用的题材啦）但实际上很有点儿奇异感的东西，乍看上去既不浪漫又不深情，但我就特喜欢这个偏门的调调儿。

某花滑粉朋友表示这人太先锋了，理解不能。我脱口而出这是瑞典文艺里常见的闷骚蔫坏外冷里热的特点。说完之后挠挠头，发现原来真的看见过很多这种闷骚蔫坏幽默又黑又干的风格的作品。小时候读长袜子皮皮和小飞人卡尔松就觉得好搞啊，这么调皮捣蛋都成？后来看到很多北欧喜剧电影都是这个怪兮兮的腔调，看得我心花怒放。难怪后来变成了Wallander系列小说的粉丝，遇到作者Henning Mankell 发现他也是板着脸讲晦涩笑话的家伙。这是一种出人意料的幽默，看似普通平淡，但又有点不对味儿，然后脑子转几个圈才笑出来。

不过这种冷笑话不是每个人都能接受的，很显然在各国代表组成的花样滑冰裁判团里就没有什么爱好者。Kenneth Branagh 还说 Wallander 不是个幽默有趣的人，可见他也没看出来。英国式的幽默跟瑞典式完全两样啊，难怪他没看懂。

在YouTube上暂时没找到他本季的节目，不过发现了一段瑞典电视台的访问，在翻译过来的文字里称之为 disrespectful, with an attitude，没错儿，就是这样子的家伙。

Connie Willis

今天在Capclave有两个讲座是由Connie Willis出席的，中午的讲座跟另一个关于时间旅行的讲座冲突，我就选择了后者（再说已经派了党代表去打探），然后去听她下午的讲座。

文如其人这句话果然没错，Connie Willis本人跟她的文字非常非常一致：风趣、亲切、坦率、犀利的幽默，humanistic。屋子里不仅座无虚席而且经常爆发出会心地哄笑。记得毛姆曾经在某个短篇里写过，上流社会名媛的乡下女亲戚新进社交圈，奇怪地发现自己说句话常常引人哄堂大笑，而她只不过是说真话而已。真话可比假话更出人意表，也就更能引起大笑。

Willis 说她当年（1970年代）辞职回家生孩子，趁机决定闯一闯写小说为生的职业，埋头写了八年才开始卖得出去故事出版。其间为了贴补家用（她没提起，想必老公是breadwinner但也不是富翁），她替 true confessions 类型的杂志写故事赚点钱，同时在一边写自己想写的科幻小说。

过去我从没听过true confessions这种杂志，回家放狗一搜才知道是1920年代开始美国流行的女性杂志，里面的文章都宣称是“真实的忏悔”，实际上都是专业写手编的。面向读者群是20-35岁的女青年，内容都是女青年自述如何误入歧途之后接受教训走上正道或者如何坚韧勇敢地克服人生逆境而熬出头的故事，既符合社会主流的道德价值观又提供很多sensational 情节满足大家的好奇心和代入感。大约跟八十年代中国流行的“法制文学”或“纪实文学”差不多，一分voyeurism，一分警世教训，一分社会现状报道。既然读者群是女性，当然免不了走女性白日梦的套路，从罗曼史到soft porn都有。

Willis 说这段经历说起来不那么高雅，但实际上对她的写作能力有很大的历练。她说她很同意Malcolm Gladwell 在 Outliers 里面描写的成功者的必要条件之一：积累至少一万钟头的练习，才有可能彻底地掌握一项复杂的工作。虽然写 true confessions 故事很傻冒很机械，被固定在一个很狭窄的框框里，发挥余地很小，但让她渐渐掌握了各种讲故事的必要技术和套路，以后写自己想写的科幻小说时就驾轻就熟游刃有余了。

她的小说比较接近软式科幻(soft sci fi)类型，没有大段大段地解释科学技术（包括已知和未知的），而是探讨科技对人的生活的影响，以写人为主。她自己很喜欢romantic comedy类型的电影，特别是三四十年代的经典screwball comedy，例如His Girl Friday, Bringing up Baby, It Happened One Night。她的小说里也经常地采用rom com的传统结构和戏剧机制。

她关心的、描写的都是普通人，而不是单枪匹马力挽乾坤的heroes。普通人的善良和正直和勇气才是历史的真面目---这是她的许多 time-travel 历史小说的主题，也是她的所有作品的subtext。历史是人民写的，常常喊这个口号的人其实并不相信这个，而是需要拍人民的马屁为自己所用。而Connie Willis并不喊口号，只是写好看的故事证明这个真理。所以在她的时间旅行小说里，后人并不能改变历史进程，时间旅行机被牛津大学历史系拿来做研究和实习而已，但是时间不能抹煞普通人的微小贡献，一切都没有丢失在历史的迷雾里。这样的humility and humanity，我觉得，在女作家的小说里更常见，例如Ursula LeGuin 的小说，包括The Lathe of Heaven，里面的主角，有能力左右历史进程的人，是一个极其普通卑微的工人，而且自己根本不想控制世界和历史。而沉浸在Missiah/Neo The One/天降大任于斯人这类神话里的大多是男作者（JK Rowling也是，但她的创意大量取自传统神话/fantasy经典）。

Willis 最近出版的两本书---实际上是一部小说，因为太长了，被出版商硬拆成两本印出来多赚一笔---Blackout 和 All Clear，跟Fire Watch一样讲的是二战期间的普通伦敦市民的故事。S同学和我打算去买 Kindle 版。

出得门来，在开车回家的路上，我一拍大腿，后悔忘记了问她一个之前就想问的问题，她为啥对伦敦/英国那么感兴趣呢？

An Eavesdropping Session on the Bus

"This is my 3rd day on the job!" She exclaimed and giggled. He smiled and noted that he was no veteran at the agency himself. But he was permanent staff, while she was a one-year fellow at one of the divisions.

"I only arrived in America last Sunday," she shrugged.

"From where?" He asked.

"Beirut," she said, and added. "Lebanon."

"No wonder I had never seen you on the bus before."

She was about 30, tall, pretty, and very slim. Her face was Kabuki-white --- either she hardly ever saw the sun or had put on an inch of make-up, or both. The bright red on her lips was on the verge of bleeding into the pastiness of her complexion Her expensively-layered shoulder-length hair was brown with a red tint.

"What will you be working on?" He asked.

"For this project at DSI," she answered. "I'm a clinical pharmacist -- that's my specialty, clinical pharmacy." She emphasized the "clinical" a couple of times. She had a soft, exotic accent, slightly French but not quite. "I'm the only clinical expert on the team."

"Wow," he sighed enthusiastically.

She gave a long explanation about her educational history. She received her undergraduate degree at a pharmacy school in Boston, then went back to Lebanon and practiced pharmacy while getting a doctor of pharmacy degree with an extra year and a half at the American University in Beirut. He was entirely ignorant of the peculiarities of pharmacy education and practice, and she explained patiently how she had worked at a hospital, practicing the most advanced clinical pharmacy service for 2 years.

"That sounds so exciting," he marveled. "Was it hard to give up?"

"Oh, I didn't give it up," she giggled again. "I'm only on sabbatical for a year. I applied for this fellowship and was accepted in August. After this year I'll go back to my clinical pharmacy at the university."

Even in the shade inside the bus, she had a pair of gigantic sunglasses on --- typical 1980s' style and all the rage in 2010.

"So, what do you do at the agency?" She asked after a brief pause. The bus was bumping along in the afternoon rush hour.

"I'm a project manager for the personnel department," he replied. "I'm in Building 1, so it's easy for me to pop out the door and catch the bus."

The bus stops right outside Building 1. If you happened to be working in a building across the campus, it could take 10 minutes to get there.

"So where are you from?" She asked.

"Originally?" He asked with a hint of surprise as never had anyone asked him this question.

"Um ... I guess."

"Nebraska."

She looked puzzled. He felt a little thrill shooting up his spine. "Where is ... Neb, Neb ...?" She asked.

"It's right in the middle of the country," he said. "There is mostly agriculture --- corn and cows," he laughed. "I went to college in Wyoming, then went into the army. I flew helicopters and stuff." After a pause he continued, "Then I hurt my back and left the army. I worked for a few years in Virginia for a couple of consulting firms that had a lot of government contracts."

She gazed at him with curiosity. He was a little over 40, medium built and height -- which made him half a head taller than she -- and still had a military air. Light brown hair brown eyes. The most distinguishing feature about him was a Cyrano de Bergerac nose. He was wearing a navy blue suit and red-and-blue tie.

"Where do you live now?" He asked.

"In Dupont ..." She searched for the name of the neighborhood.

"Dupont Circle? That's a very popular area," he said. "It's in the heart of DC."

"Yes, I'm a city person," she chirped. "When I first came here before I thought about living in Silver Spring. It seems like a busy place, but at night it is completely empty. There is no one around. So I said no way and found an apartment in Dupont. It's very lively. At night I can walk around the corner and get a cup of coffee or go to the bookstore if I want."

"There is a bookstore there ... What's it called? Oh, I can't remember ..." He tapped a finger on his knee.

"Kramer's?" She offered helpfully. He opened both hands palm up and shrugged. When was the last time he went in town? He could not even remember.

"Yes, I think so," he mumbled. "How quaint."

"Quaint?" She turned over the word in her mouth. "Hmm, I've learned a new word today. What does it mean?"

He was stumped. He hummed and hawed for a while and came up with a few incoherent explanations. She happily accepted them without any further comments.

"So where do you live?" She turned to another subject.

"Falls Church," he named a suburb of DC. "It's in Virginia."