Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Chinese Dragon Huanglong - References

I have to draw a poster to promote the Chinese News Year my association will be organising in Reims this february.

That gave me this idea of drawing a Chinese dragon, so I went to dear wiki wiki to learn a bit more about the subject.
There are different types of chinese dragon, and I chose to draw the Huanglong (黃龍), namely the yellow dragon, or horse dragon ("Long" standing for dragon I suppose) as it is a divine messenger. I thought drawing a messenger of a dragon on an informative add would fit as, you know, message...

I used many references to draw this dragon. According to wiki wiki, a chinese dragon is composed of nine different animals: head of a camel, eyes of a demon, ears like a cow's, stag antlers, neck of a snake, paw of tiger ending in eagle claws, mollusc belly, body covered in carp scales. Well, I used many of those, but not everything (and especially not the head of a camel, 'cause that's sooo not dragon-like).

I also searched for references and found those amasing things on dear DA:

Chinese Dragon by *drachenmagier

Blue-eyed gift ~tallydragon
(I didn't use this one. I just think it's cute)


I also used some references for the body such as this carp:
And I used this drawing of a paeony (the flower that symbolises China) for the background.


I also discovered this cool (french) website about Chinese symbols and zodiac signs during my research.

So here's the result.

Spiders on crack

I'm kinda scared of spiders. Of most spiders.
But those made me laugh.


Monday, December 13, 2010

Recette - Mitarashi Dango [French]

A propos des Dango Mochi :

Au Japon, les mochi sont littéralement déclinés à toutes les sauces. Le plus classique est le Daifuku : un mochi tout simple fourré à la pâte de haricots rouges (anko). Au printemps, on trouve également les sakura mochi, dont la pâte de riz est parfumée à la fleur de cerisier et qui se servent entourés d’une feuille de sakura. Il existe même des imo mochi, pour lesquels de la patate douce a été ajoutée à la pâte de riz.

Ceux que je vous présente aujourd’hui sont des dango mochi à la sauce shôyu-caramel (dango). « Dango » signifie « petite boule ». On dirait des tout petits oeufs. Voyez plutôt :



Ingrédients :
  • 1 parquet de sauce caramel au shôyu liophylisée (dashi (bouillon aux algues), sucre, miel, sauce de soja, maïzena et eau) OU du caramel fait maison si l'on n'a rien d'autre sous la main
  • des pics à brochettes en bois de petite taille (environ 10 cm)
  • 1 paquet de farine à mochi OU 60 à 70 % de farine de riz gluant + 40 à 30% de farine de riz

Préparation :

Mettre de l'eau à bouillir.

Ajouter de l'eau tiède à la farine jusqu'à ce que la pâte ait "la consistance d'un lobe d'oreille" (il paraît que les recettes japonaises sont très imagées...)

Faire des trios de petites boules ("dango") de cette pâte (grosses comme une noix) et les lâcher dans l'eau bouillante. Lorsque les dangos se mettent à flotter et qu'ils ont pris une teinte luisante, les sortir de l'eau et les piquer par trois sur les brochettes.
NB : Les dango, ça colle ! N'oubliez pas de les piquer immédiatement sur les brochettes ou vous n'allez pas vous en sortir... pas tout propre, en tous cas.

Faire griller les brochettes jusqu'à ce qu'elles dorent (environ 1 min).

Les enduire de caramel.


Itadakimasu ! °^o^°


Petite note de CG:
Itadakimasu est l’expression que l’on associe à notre expression « Bon appétit ». mais n’a pas de traduction française. Littéralement, itadakimasu voudrait plutôt dire « merci pour ce repas ». C’est donc une expression que les convives disent au début du repas envers la nourriture ou envers celui qui a préparé le repas. En général, il s’adresse donc au cuisinier ou, plus abstraitement, à la nature. De sorte qu’au restaurant, il revient plutôt au client qu’à l’hôtelier de la prononcer.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

The Arrogant Worms



Chris Patterson - Bass guitar and vocals
Mike McCormick - Guitar and vocals
Trevor Strong - Vocals


I think I love them.


Carrot Juice is Murder


Listen up brothers and sisters,
come hear my desperate tale.
I speak of our friends of nature,
trapped in the dirt like a jail.

Vegetables live in oppression,
served on our tables each night.
This killing of veggies is madness,
I say we take up the fight.

Salads are only for murderers,
coleslaw's a fascist regime.
Don't think that they don't have feelings,
just cause a radish can't scream.

Chorus:
I've heard the screams of the vegetables (scream, scream, scream)
Watching their skins being peeled (having their insides revealed)
Grated and steamed with no mercy (burning off calories)
How do you think that feels (bet it hurts really bad)
Carrot juice constitutes murder (and that's a real crime)
Greenhouses prisons for slaves (let my vegetables go)
It's time to stop all this gardening (it's dirty as hell)
Let's call a spade a spade (is a spade is a spade is a spade)

I saw a man eating celery,
so I beat him black and blue.
If he ever touches a sprout again,
I'll bite him clean in two.

I'm a political prisoner,
trapped in a windowless cage.
Cause I stopped the slaughter of turnips
by killing five men in a rage

I told the judge when he sentenced me,
This is my finest hour,
I'd kill those farmers again
just to save one more cauliflower

Chorus

How low as people do we dare to stoop,
Making young broccolis bleed in the soup?
Untie your beans, uncage your tomatoes
Let potted plants free, don't mash that potato!

I've heard the screams of the vegetables (scream, scream, scream)
Watching their skins being peeled (fates in the stirfry are sealed)
Grated and steamed with no mercy (you fat gormet slob)
How do you think that feels? (leave them out in the field)
Carrot juice constitutes murder (V8's genocide)
Greenhouses prisons for slaves (yes, your composts are graves)
It's time to stop all this gardening (take up macrame)
Let's call a spade a spade (is a spade, is a spade, is a spade, is a spade.....



The Last Saskatchewan Pirate

I used to be a farmer, and I made a living fine,
I had a little stretch of land along the CP line
But times were hard and though I tried, the money wasn't there
And the bankers came and took my land and told me "fair is fair"

I looked for every kind of job, the answer always no
"Hire you now?" they'd always laugh, "we just let twenty go!"
The government, the promised me a measly little sum
But I've got too much pride to end up just another bum.

Then I thought, who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone?
I'm gonna be a PIRATE on the river Saskatchewan!

And it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains
Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains
It's a ho-hey, hi-hey farmers bar yer doors
When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores

Well, you'd think the local farmers would know that I'm at large
But just the other day I found an unprotected barge
I snuck up right behind them and they were none the wiser,
I rammed their ship and sank it and I stole their fertilizer!

A bridge outside of Moose Jaw spans a mighty river
Farmers cross in so much fear their stomachs are a'quiver
Cause they know that Tractor Jack is hidin' in the bay
I'll jump the bridge and knock them cold and sail off with their hay!

And it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains
Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains
It's a ho-hey, hi-hey farmers bar yer doors
When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores

Well, Mountie Bob he chased me, he was always at my throat
He followed on the shoreline cause he didn't own a boat
But cutbacks were a'coming and the Mountie lost his job
So now he's sailing with us, and we call him Salty Bob!

A swingin' sword, a skull and bones and pleasant company
I never pay my income tax and screw the GST (SCREW IT!!)
Sailin down to Saskatoon, the terror of the seas
If you wanna reach the co-op, boy, you gotta get by me!

Cause it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains
Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains
It's a ho-hey, hi-hey farmers bar yer doors
When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores

(*spoken* Arrrr! Ya salty dog!)
(*spoken* Arrrr! Ya salty gopher!)
(*spoken* Arr.. ya.. salty bale of hay!)
Well, Pirate life's appealing but you just don't find it here,
I hear in North Alberta there's a band of buccaneers
They roam the Athabaska from Smith to Fort McKay
And you're gonna lose your Stetson if you have to pass their way!

Well, winter is a'comin' and a chill is in the breeze
My Pirate days are over once the river starts to freeze
I'll be back in springtime but now I have to go
I hear there's lots of plunderin' down in New Mexico!

Cause it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains
Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains
It's a ho-hey, hi-hey farmers bar yer doors
When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores...x2

When ya see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores...x2

Jesus' brother Bob



We Are the Beaver

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up by Dennis Leary


The funniest depressed song ever.


Watch Dennis Leary's clip here. Hey, he's a smocking singer! So anti-cigarettes adds didn't kill them all! Yet.

Coffee Prince - Korean Drama

Remember how I recently went into loving-asian-dramas-mood? No? Seriously? Come on, my life is just sooo interesting, I don't understand how you could not remember that. So, basically... just get out of my blog.

In order to investiguate Korean drama, I watched the Coffee Prince series (well, most of it actually, 'cause, let's face it, I got bored). It's about a tomboyish Korean girl, Go Eun Chan (the front one on the picture) who works hard to make ends meet. Someday, things get ugly and she finds herself in such need for money that she accepts to work for a wealthy man, Han Kyul.

Miss I'm-a-boy Go Eun Chan

At first, she pretends to be his lover to help him avoid meetings arranged by his grandmother, who really wants him to settled down before cancer gets the best of her (only she doesn't tell him she's sick, 'cause, you know, telling the truth might had had him actually give it a serious thought).

Mr I'm-whinny-but-rich-so-I-can / aka Mr Spoiled-brat Han Kyul

Then she accepts to waitress in the coffee parlour he's demanded to run by his (still dying) grandmother. The deal goes as such: if Han Kyul manages to regain three times the money his grandmother lend him for the renovation of the coffee shop, he'll get his share of inheritance. If not, said grandma will take his car, appartment and, well, that's quite enough for starters.

Only that Han Kyul is convinced that Go Eun Chanis a boy and recruited her at first because of this, pretending to be gay in order to avoid arranged meetings. So for the first part of the series, Go Eun Chan tries her best to hide her true identity (which works quite well as, let's face it, she's as disgusting a man as every man is -oh god, oh dear god, yes, yes she is).

But, of course, she eventually falls for her tyranical boss and therefore, you know, crap happens.



This is only the main storyline. On the other hand, we're happy to present to you the sappy lovestory of Choi Han Sun, a really nice music producer who's got a dog (I can assure you that is a very relevant detail to the plot) and Han Yoo Jo, a very pretty singer lady who's recently gotten back from the States. Han Sun and Yoo Jo were together, then she left him for the States, then she came back to Korea, but his poor heart was all broken, and blah, blah, blah.

Mr Nice-I've-got-a-dog-man Choi Han Sun

Now, tell me, what's the link with the main plotline? Come on, try and guess it. Here's a hint: cheesse with a "y". Yes. "Cheesy". Or "Y" is it that cheesy?" *and now start to cry*. So, have you guessed yet? No? Good, your brain's still not totally dead, you musn't be such an addict to Paris Hilton.

Miss Funny-to-be-with-yet-mindshifter-girlfriend Han Yoo Jo

Ready for an answer?

Go Eun Chan (aka: the tomboyish waitress)'s first crush is on Choi Han Sun (the nice music guy), while Han Kyul (the tyranical boss)'s first crush is on Han Yoo Jo (the pretty singer).

And, of, course, at some point, the nice music guy finds himself falling for Go Eun Chan, which reverts the "every male loves Han Yoo Jo" tendency to "every male loves Go Eun Chan". Dreamy.


If I were taking a degree in psychology, I would say that Music Guy represents Go Eun Chan's ideal of a partner, which is why she first falls for him, until she realises what a real man is like (whinny whimy, apparently) and accepts him as such, thus eventually falling for the tyrant.
And, of course, Music Girl represents the tyrant's ideal of a partner until he realises [copy and paste previous sentence] plus that Go Eun Chan is actually a girl ('cause that's quite a serious issue for him at first, medium and almost always point of their relationship).

So that series would not only be a bunch of sound plus moving pictures kind of show but also a reflexion about what a real couple is like, and a comparison of ideals with reality. I mean, let's face it: Go Eun Chan is so disgusting at times that even her cute face isn't enough to resurrect the remains of lesbian vibes in me that her eating behaviour killed. And Han Kyul can be such a whimy bitch that it would turn any gay man straight. To sum it up, it's a lot about accepting the other as such, knowing that this person is far from perfect. Did I already say it? Cheesy.

But I'm not taking a degree in psychology, and telling all that would probably annoy you, so I won't. (Only that I already did. Do I deserve my degree in Annoying Skills or what?).



It would be lying to say that I didn't enjoy the show (I watched it up to the tenth episode over fourteen so there, it is entertaining). I mostly enjoy it when people are confused about their feelings and start emoing around about how they're falling for the wrong person -did I wrote that out loud? Great, now people will start thinking I'm a sadist. What I meant was that I enjoyed seeing how people are so in love with apparences and yet can't help off this huge pair of blinkers they were offered on their birth day.

I liked the fact that Go Eun Chan is a very strong minded little thing that doesn't let people step on her toes -only until she's supposed to act as a girl, at least. The fact that Han Kyul first believes that she's a boy actually allows their relashionship to start on an even status, the sad thing being that Go Eun Chan starts acting a bit girly (and teary) when her true gender is unveiled. But at least they're both equals in that relashionship from the start, which might explain why they get along that well. At least there is no gender gap between them as man and woman.

I also have to confess that the cheesy relashionship between the Music couple was kinda cute, and that it got me to decide to go buy a girlfriend that's as fun to be with as Miss My-fingers-are-wearing-little-boots-on-the-tip-and-they-travel-through-your-body Han Yoo Jo as soon as that is released for purchase.

I also liked to have a glimpse of nowadays Korea. I wouldn't take it as a documentary about this country, but it's still a series set in facts, so some of it must be true. For instance, the fact that one of Go Eun Chan's family small jobs is to sew eyes on a bunch of plushes (not real ones, come on!) made me realise how real the "made in Korea" business is. And the public baths made me realise that, well, people clean themselves. Maybe I should try that too, someday.

Oh, and I obviously enjoyed the fact that, you know, Kim Jao Wook.

Kim Jao Wook.
Let's face it -he's gorgeous- and I'm such a huge fan of gorgeous.
His character's story is not very developped, but it's still one of the most interesting ones. And apparently, being (half)Japanese in Korea is not that well received.
It's such a shame his character doesn't speak a lot. I suppose that he's of the "dark silent guy" type. Creepy, yet sexy. Kim Jao Wook is always sexy.

Here, I'm sure you could use some more convincing (I know I could): here's Kimy reading slash listening to music in front of a red sportscar.
The rest is silence.

But let's not end this review in such a fangirly tone. Let's say instead that through Coffee Prince I discovered a proper Asian series, something along the lines of, err... another romance show, I guess? Not a sitcom, but a nice, enjoyable stir of episodes. Something to watch if you're tired of thinking and are looking for a nice, non-american brainsoaping (beware! it might start to bubble).

To say it all, it was nice enough for me to consider watching it to the end, someday. You know, when it's not 3 a.m. anymore and if Kim Jao Wook promises to take his shirt off, then takes a picture of himself and sends it to me along with his best regards.

*

La review en français pour les frenchies > cliquer ici. Ca ne sera évidemment jamais aussi drôle que si je l'avais écrite moi-même, mais j'ai vraiment la flemme de traduire -au moins autant que vous d'apprendre à lire l'anglais, apparemment.
Par contre, je tiens à me laver consciencieusement les mains des opinions avancées dans ce blog - pour dire ça simplement, Mademoiselle Pancake et moi n'avons pas les mêmes.

*

See online / Visionner en ligne > here / ici. (Or / Ou somewhere else / ailleurs).

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Misfits series

Tagath got me into watching this, and boy, I don't regret it. Yet. The series is not finished; we'll see how it goes on.

It's about how a bunch of youngters doing community service get superpowered by a storm and then starts fighting crime... who am I kidding. And starts trying to save themselves from their enraged supervisor, murders, crazy other superpowered persons and more.

They all have interesting personnalities (Nathan for instance, being such an nuisance all the time, tor Simon, the geek who turns into a real heroe, Kelly who's just so cool with the coolest accent ever...).

The second season is ongoing, so we'll see how it turns out.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Blue Mountains - Oil painting


Oil painting feels SOOO good. But the never drying out side of it makes it quite hard to handle. So, I guess, it is quite an art... ^^;

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Banjun Drama - Dangerous Love


Another drama. 'Cause I'm in the mood for asian boys right now.

Apparently, Banjun Dramas are a series of unrelated stories. I found this one by random chance and the summary seemed fun, so...

It seems like the DBSK (a group of korean idols) are playing their own part in this episode. It's like a fanfilm made by the stars for the fans. (And we can actually hear the fans squill in delight almost all the movie long...)

On one hand, we have two boys lost in the woods because they decided to play socker at midnight. They're helped out by a girl who starts a romance with one of them, whereas the other one keeps trying to find out who's "haunting" her house.

On the other hand, one of the remaining boys is given to read a fancfiction by his friend starring them in a gay relashionship and starts having doubts about it being true. During the episode, he does his best to run away from it (and from a lot of insanely funny bunch of shonen-ai clichés).

So, to sum it all, I guess it's a load of crazy stuff made by crazy people just for the fun of it (and for the sake of fangirlism). And the twisted endings (especially the second one) was real funny.

Antique Bakery - Korean live-action movie

This movie is based on a manga, and was also turned into an anime series (which I just couldn't bother to watch, as I didn't like the drawings).

It's about a rich parents' guy who resign from his top-noch job to open a deluxe bakery. He actually hate sweets and, from the beginning, we suspect that his running a sweet shop has something to do with his kidnapping when he was a child, which he forgot about. He recruits a very good gay baker, both very good at baking and very good at being gay, and a apprentice. They're joined later on by a slow and naive chilhood friend of the owner, and the four men go on running the bakery.
Of course, the point of the whole thing is for the owner to understand what happened when he was a child and find his kidnapper, so the ads-up (Son Woo's being in love with the owner, the apprentice's issue about boxing, the terrifying dim-wits attitude of Chirose) are not solved at the end of it.

Here's what wiki-wiki has to say to the respect:

"The Korean adaptation was released on November 13, 2008, and drew more than 1 million moviegoers within its first two weeks of release, making it one of the most successful Korean movies ever made. Directed by Min Gyu Dong, the movie stars (amongst others) Joo Ji Hoon (Goong/Princess Hours and The Devil) as the owner Jin Hyuk and Kim Jae Wook (Coffee Prince) as the genius patissier Son Woo. The film was exhibited at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2009. The action in the film has been transposed to Korea and the characters given Korean names; otherwise, the script follows the main plot threads of the manga closely."

Kim Jao Wook
Joo Ji Hoon
I didn't enjoy the story that much, even though the main character's intentions by opening Antique were very interesting, and that I looked forward the outcome of it all. On the very right side, most of the actors are GORGEOUS, especially Son Woo and the owner, which made me an happy fangirl.
So, basically, I watched it because of cute asian guys. And cakes. Cute asian guys and cakes. Sweet.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

How [insert movie title here] should have ended

How Star Wars IV should have ended (if the villains were clever)


How The Empire Strikes Back should have ended... really!


How Matrix should have ended if it were not for dramaqueens


How Dead Man's Chest should have ended to satisfy jealous fangirls

How Indiana Jones 4 should... well, you know


How Avatar should have ended by not starting to beggin with


How Twilight should have not been written in the first place


How 2012 should have ended to end the world right


How Iron Man...


How Star Treck could have fueled the SWvsST syndrom for, like, EVER

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Frenchnerd's Starleague (fake) trailer - PURE EPIC !


Frenchnerd, c'est l'avenir du cinéma français. Si un certain visiteur futuriste ne décide pas de les empêcher d'aller acheter une pince à cheveux rouge le 45 septembre 2017, c'est-à-dire...



Watch more epic on:


Thursday, November 4, 2010

Ghost Banquo is not dead

BIUtiful drawing from Goodbye Chains, a webcomic that sadly is now telling a very, very sad stowy.

I love seing the evolution of the autor's style of drawing since the beginning of this comic.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Harp fever struck me- Oh, the hell with titles

Evanescence, "My Immortal"


The Scorpions, "Still Loving You"


Led Zippelin, "Stairway to Heaven"


Metallica, "The Trooper"


Aqua Harp Animation


Pachelbel's!

Celtic fever struck me hard

I luv celtic music. But you know what I luv most mostest? Talent. Yep. I'm that predictable.

Violin skills...


Feet skills... (other than smelling)



This is why English rock - aka Celtic violin duet


I miss Hyde Park. And hiding in the park. Yeah, that, too.


Thursday, October 28, 2010

AI Robots

I never though I'd live old enought to see robots actually that humanised. You can't see it, but I'm dancing right now.



However, the people commenting on this video are creepy indeed. Lots of them want to "kill" the thing just because it scares them, and the others are trying to find a way to bang it.
Humans are scary.
Humans should be destroyed.
Delete! Delete!

This one is less accurate in its likeness to humans, but its answers seem almost made out of consciousness. However, its owner knows better, which is reassuring because consciousness traped in machines would be so sad.



And it's not finished! I've just discovered here japanese scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro's last creation, "Geminoid DK", who's supposed to reproduce human reactions.



Or this one, who make ChobitS look like it's really gonna happen...


Saturday, October 16, 2010

Hang - Musical UFO born in 2003


UFOs are upon us!!

Meaning that we now know that UFOs come from Swizterland.

[Click for wiki news]

I saw one of those for the first time about one month ago... they sound a bit wavy, only they're not wired to anything. And people can make them play quite nicely, I must say.

PANarts invented and sells Hangs nowadays, althought it seems to be quite uneasy to obtain one as they're not on regular sales anymore.



Dante Bucci... again!


Tuesday, October 12, 2010

SH's on break - Let's talk of Doctor Who

'Cause David Tennant (or, McDonald, or, whatever) was an amaaazing Doctor. And I cried so much when he left. No, wait, I didn't say that. You may erase it from your memory. Torchwood!



Weird / The usual Tennant.

Weirder. The usual Tennant?

And weird habits.


Plus weirder habits. Did you know that fictional characters could actually interact with real beings?

Monday, October 11, 2010

Sherlock - Granada Series



Watch online here.

More information here.

Production
: Company Granada Television
Productors : Michael Cox (1984-85 et 1991), June Wyndham-Davies (1986-88 et 1994)...
Writers : Jeremy Paul, John Hawkesworth, Alexander Baron, T.R. Bowen, Alan Plater...
Directors: Paul Annett, Peter Hammond, Sarah Hellings...
Music: Patrick Gowers
Airing:
- England: 24th of april 1984 and 11th of april 1994 on ITV
- France : from the 15th of january 1989 on FR3, then TMC and TV Breiz

1984 - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
"A Scandal in Bohemia" – 24 April 1984.
"The Dancing Men" – 1 May 1984.
"The Naval Treaty" – 8 May 1984.
"The Solitary Cyclist" – 15 May 1984.
"The Crooked Man" – 22 May 1984.
"The Speckled Band" – 29 May 1984.
"The Blue Carbuncle" – 5 June 1984.

1985
"The Copper Beeches" – 25 August 1985.
"The Greek Interpreter" – 1 September 1985.
"The Norwood Builder" – 8 September 1985.
"The Resident Patient" – 15 September 1985.
"The Red-Headed League" – 22 September 1985.
"The Final Problem" – 29 September 1985.

1986 - The Return of Sherlock Holmes
"The Empty House" – 9 July 1986.
"The Abbey Grange" – 16 July 1986.
"The Musgrave Ritual" – 23 July 1986.
"The Second Stain" – 30 July 1986.
"The Man with the Twisted Lip" – 6 August 1986.
"The Priory School" – 13 August 1986.
"The Six Napoleons" – 20 August 1986.

1987 - "The Sign of Four" – 29 December 1987. (Feature-length episode).

1988
"The Devil's Foot" – 6 April 1988.
"Silver Blaze" – 13 April 1988.
"Wisteria Lodge" – 20 April 1988.
"The Bruce-Partington Plans" – 27 April 1988.
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" – 31 August 1988. (Feature-length episode).

1991 - The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
"The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" – 21 February 1991.
"Thor Bridge" – 28 February 1991.
"Shoscombe Old Place" – 7 March 1991.
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery" – 14 March 1991.
"The Illustrious Client" – 21 March 1991.
"The Creeping Man" – 28 March 1991.

1992 - "The Master Blackmailer" – 2 January 1992.

1993
"The Last Vampyre" – 27 January 1993.
"The Eligible Bachelor" – 3 February 1993.

1994 - The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
"The Three Gables" – 7 March 1994.
"The Dying Detective" – 14 March 1994.
"The Golden Pince-Nez" – 21 March 1994. Does not feature Edward Hardwicke as Watson, as he was busy completing work on the film Shadowlands. Instead, Charles Gray appears as Mycroft Holmes, filling Watson's role in the story.
"The Red Circle" – 28 March 1994.
"The Mazarin Stone" – 4 April 1994. Also includes storyline material from The Adventure of the Three Garridebs. Jeremy Brett only appears in a cameo role as Holmes due to ill-health. In his place, Charles Gray again appears as Mycroft Holmes.
"The Cardboard Box" – 11 April 1994.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

BBC Sherlock 6 - Unaired Pilot / Ep01 [French]

Voici quelques commentaires de frenchies faisant des comparaisons entre l'épisode 1 de la série et son pilote* qui, une fois n'est pas coutume, présentait la même histoire. Je n'ai pour le moment pas le temps de faire mon propre commentaire, donc j'amasse du matériel ici et on verra plus tard si j'édite le sujet.

*Le pilote ne sera pas diffusé, mais fait parti des bonus du DVD.


Trouvé sur Whoopsy-daisy

Par SuperIdole, [Elizabethan actor]

J'ai regardé le pilote hier soir, donc la première version de A study in Pink qui dure seulement 55 minutes. C'est assez sympa de voir deux versions d'une même chose, on voit les évolutions et je trouve ça extra! Surtout que d'habitude, les pilotes sont différents du premier épisode.

Dans le cas de Sherlock, on y retouve les mêmes acteurs, à part pour Donovan et le psy de Watson. Benedict Cumberbatch a les cheveux plus court et son débit est plus lent, notamment pendant ses explications et étant habituée à plus rapide j'ai trouvée la mise en scène moins dynamique.

Les décors sont aussi un peu différents, notamment l'appartement, le snack d'Angelo et l'hopital par exemple. Même si l'extérieur de Baker Street est le même. D'ailleurs ont voit dans cette version que le snack en bas de leur appart. appartient à Mrs Hudson, je ne me rappelle pas si on le voit dans la version finale??

Certaines scènes sont les mêmes, ou alors les mêmes répliques ont été conservées.

Concernant l'épisode, comme il y a environs 30 minutes en moins, des choses n'apparaissent pas. D'abord le générique n'est pas mis en image (si jme trompe pas), et malheureusement, ont ne rencontre pas Mycroft! Sniff, j'étais triste^^ ce qui enlève donc pas mal de scènes déjà. Et Sherlock enfile la combinaison sur la scène de crime, ça m'a choquée xD Il y a aussi un plan où Watson voit Sherlock sur les toits (quand il est à la recherche de la valise), et avec son manteau qui flote, ont dirait un super héros, c'est assez bizarre... ça ma fait penser à Smallville, quand on voit Clark sur les toits avec son T-shirt et sa cape noire... enfin bref, ce plan m'a un peu déranger car il ne me semblait pas coller avec le reste.

L'intrigue est la même même si le déroulement final n'est raconté de la même manière, [...] le grand changement pour moi est donc que Sherlock n'y va pas volontairement et il est là incapable de se défendre.

Sinon, il manque aussi les affichages des textos, des actions et des pensées de Sherlock à l'écran, et je me suis rendu compte que je les appréciais vraiment et que ça me manquait ici.

Pour conclure je dirai que j'ai passé un bon moment avec cette première version, surtout à comparer avec celle que l'on connait j'imagine. C'est à voir. Comme je disais au début, ça m'a fait me rendre compte du travail que tourner un épisode (pilote surtout) représente pour arriver au résultat final. Et trouver la bonne dynamique, les bonnes scènes et décors.

EDIT: je viens de regarder l'autre bonus, le making of, Unlocking Sherlock, on y apprend quelques petits trucs mais c'est bien trop court à mon goût! Bien sûr, ils parlent du plus important, Sherlock & Watson, les lieux, les idées...mais ce n'est pas assez élaboré pour moi, à peine 30 minutes, sniff, je reste un peu sur ma faim!



Trouvé sur Séries UK

Par Tyr [Face of Boe]

Désolée pour le double post mais vu que je parle ici de quelque chose de très différent, une review et non plus des spéculations, je ne peux pas trop fusionner les deux.

Bon, je me lance dans ma dernière review Sherlock de l'année, celle du pilot unaired:

C'était intéressant de voir ce "brouillon" du pilote. Il est moins bon que celui retenu mais pas mal de choses intéressantes auraient pu être gardées.

Je commencerai par ce qui était moins bon: le générique pour commencer, un simple fond gris (j'imagine qu'il n'a pas été question une minute de retenir celui-ci^^). De même le personnage d'Anderson, avec sa barbe d'instit soixantehuitard, fait beaucoup moins infect et c'est dommage. De plus certaines très bonnes scènes n'existaient pas dans ce unaired, comme la perquisition anti-drogue de Lestrade, ce dernier devenant du coup un peu trop soumis au bon vouloir de Holmes. Et bien sûr pas de Mycroft, ce qui est fort dommage, ni de référence finale à Moriarty.

Quant-aux détails sous-entendus, comme le fait par exemple que Sherlock ne mange pas, ils sont ici amenés avec la subtilité d'un marteau-piqueur. Et il manque les sous-titres expliquant la manière de penser de Sherlock, trouvaille très intéressante de cette série: je pense en particulier à la scène de poursuite où nous voyons que Holmes est un GPS humain. Enfin, ma réplique favorite de l'épisode (le "I'm in shock, look, I have a blanket!" de Sherlock à Lestrade en fin d'épisode) a changé, devenant du coup moins percutante.

Mais surtout, le personnage de Sherlock est ici beaucoup plus "humain" et normal: il sourit plus, fait des clins d'oeil, semble plus chaleureux... Même physiquement il semble plus normal, son teint est moins blanc et son visage bien plus expressif. Alors que la performance de Watson est presque identique à celle du pilote retenu, celle de Sherlock est à mon avis bien moins intéressante et je suis ravie que ça ait été changé.

Dans les points positifs, je mettrais en priorité l'allègement de l'intrigue principale. La scène assez ridicule où Mme Hudson dit trois fois d'affilée à Sherlock, alors que la police est dans l'appartement, qu'un taxi l'attend et que personne ne réagit a disparu et c'est très bien. De même la scène amusante mais très dispensable où Sherlock et Holmes arrêtent le taxi mais ne s'adressent qu'au touriste car ils n'ont pas pensé au chauffeur est supprimée: or cette scène est pour moi illogique puisque Sherlock aurait dû réaliser avant qu'il cherchait un chauffeur et pas un client. Ici, Sherlock découvre plus vite la vérité, évitant les longueurs, et nous offre en plus une superbe tirade au restaurant sur le personnage invisible à qui nous faisons confiance dans nos moments de faiblesse (quand nous sommes mouillés, malades, ivres...).

Et bien sûr, il y a la superbe scène où Sherlock fait mine d'être bourré et se fait jeter du resto! Mais pourquoi l'ont-ils coupée??? Outre l'indéniable coté comique, elle nous permettait de voir dès le pilote l'incroyable talent d'acteur de Holmes (que l'on découvre surtout dans le 3), capable d'imiter parfaitement des sentiments et états qu'il n'éprouve pas et est probablement incapable d'éprouver réellement. Et bien sûr, le moment où il fait sonner le portable de la victime à coté du taxi pour confirmer ses doutes est une solution simple mais élégante. De plus, même si je trouve un peu dommage que Sherlock soit ici kidnappé plutôt que de suivre de lui même le chauffeur, ce qui accentuait bien plus son coté sociopathe, j'aime beaucoup l'idée que la confrontation se passe dans l'appartement de Baker street plutôt que dans un lieu abandonné.

De même, avec cette solution, Watson prend plus d'importance puisqu'il découvre de lui-même que quelque chose ne va pas dans le comportement de Holmes. Et son tir est bien plus impressionnant que dans le vrai pilote. Enfin, j'aime beaucoup la fin de cette version: lorsque Lestrade, un sourire en coin, déchire les notes qu'il a commencé à prendre sur ce que Sherlock lui disait concernant le tireur, montre pour moi qu'il a clairement compris qui c'était mais a décidé de couvrir Watson: cela rend le personnage plus intelligent. Et la petite phrase de Sherlock lorsque Lestrade lui demande qui est Watson et qu'il répond en souriant "He's my doctor" est plutôt touchante aussi.

Enfin, et c'est un minuscule détail, je pense qu'ils auraient dû garder le plan sur Sherlock lorsque celui-ci, sur les toits, la lune en arrière-plan et le manteau flottant au vent, cherche la valise rose. Que ceux qui n'ont pas pensé à Batman et/ou Torchwood a ce moment là lèvent le doigt!

Bref, je préfère indéniablement le pilote retenu mais je trouve que certaines trouvailles de ce brouillon auraient dû être gardées.


Par Your Majesty [Raxacoricoffallapatorien]

Avant toute chose, je suis très friand de polar. Mais attention, de bons polars. Pas le polar facile. Non, le bon polar. Du coup, bien avant le revival sherlock holmes par Guy Ritchie, je m'étais mis à lire quasiment toutes les nouvelles et romans de Doyle sur le célèbre détective.

Cette série alors : l'adaptation à notre monde moderne est une excellente idée. Ce n'est pas juste la création d'une espèce de nouveau sherlock au goût du jour. Il demeure une volonté de coller de près au personnage de Conan Doyle ( son désintérêt pour certaines matières, comme quand il ne connaît pas l'héliocentrisme). C'est sympathique.
Juste n petit truc qui m'a un un milième de poil gêné, c'est le fait que Sherlock joue avec des cadavres.

Entendon nous bien, ce n'est pas parce que c'est dégueu de jouer avec des cadavres, c'est parce qu'avec notre savoir médical actuel, il "expérimente" des choses qui sont sues des médecins comme des évidences.
Si dans son époque originelle, on pouvait se dire que c'était encore réservé à certaines personnes ce genre de connaissances, et que du coup, voir par soi-même est une bonne chose. Aujourd'hui il suffit d'ouvrir un livre de médecine légale, ou de discuter avec un médecin pour apprendre ce qu'on veut savoir.

Enfin bon, ce n'est quand même qu'un tout petit détail.

Pour ce qui est des intrigues elle-même. Elles se basent sur les nouvelles de Conan Doyle que ce soit à fond (il me semble que l'étude en rouge officielle, présente aussi le même meurtrier que celle en rose de la série.
Mais elle comporte aussi de sacrés clin d'oeils à l'oeuvre originale. Il me semble de mémoire que l'explication du "RACHE" du 1er épisode est exactement l'hypothèse que rejette Holmes dans l'étude en rouge.
Ou alors le Bruce Partington devenu un missile. (D'ailleurs c'est une de mes nouvelles préférées.) etc ...

Donc, ce sont des intrigues plutôt bien construites, fidèles à l'esprit Holmesien, et comportant des clins d'oeils pour les fans.
De ce côté là c'est excellent.

Les personnages et le jeu d'acteur.

Sherlock Holmes : Beaucoup voit chez l'acteur au nom inmémorisable une aura doctoresque. Mouais, c'est pas bien d'être aussi fan, même si c'est Moffat au scénar hein. Je dirai plus que le doctor est un peu sherlock holmesque par moment hein ! il était là avant !.
L'acteur au départ j'ai eu du mal. Trop vide. Puis j'ai un mieux apprécié, maintenant je le considère comme un Sherlock honnête (honnête, dans son interprétation hein.) Il a cette froideur purement rationnelle dont Holmes sait faire montre par moment, mais il lui manque encore, je trouve cette "passion" cet entrain pour qu'il montre pour une bonne enquête, mais aussi ce redoublement d'énergie qu'il peut montrer lors de ses enquêtes (bon, ok, y'a que 3 épisodes.).

John Watson : alors lui par contre, j'ai accroché de suite. Quoi qu'un peu moins empathique que l'original, je dirai que c'est normal loin de la "courtoisie" de l'époque. Même s'il a évidemment besoin de plus d'épisodes pour être développé. Bon acteur, Personnage fidèle.

Mycroft Holmes : je crois que c'est mon second personnage préféré dans les bouquins. Il est censé être encore plus balèze que son petit frère Sherlock. Et comme ils le disent dans la série et le livre " il est le gouvernement" (j'aurai bien aimé un peu plus d'insistance sur ses fantastiques capacités et son importance au sein du gouvernement, ou du moins que ce ne soit pas noyé dans le flot de la conversation.). Mark Gatiss est un excellent choix pour ce rôle. J'ai hâte de le revoir. (et puis aussi sa secrétaire, hein, on est d'accord).
Et j'ai eu des doutes quant à sa première apparition. rationnellement trop tôt pour que ce soit Moriarty, mais je n'ai absolument pas pensé à Mycroft, ou juste à la fin, quand on le voit arrivé sur les lieux du crime... je me suis dit " mince t'as oublié le frangin."

Moriarty : Je ne vous le cache pas, c'est ma grosse déception. Très très grosse déception. Un raté je dirai même.
Moriarty, c'est mon personnage préféré. Moriarty, c'est le seul équivalent à Sherlock Holmes. (hormis Mycroft). Moriarty c'est le "consultant criminel" le plus efficace qui soit. Moriarty c'est un professeur de renom, génie des mathématique et de la physique. Moriarty c'est un monstre d'intelligence, aussi froid et implacable que la raison. Moriarty c'est le seul être que redoute Sherlock Holmes en même temps qu'il le fascine.
Là on a quoi ? un jeunot (bon ça pourrait passer.) sur-excité qui semble avoir quelques troubles mentaux. Bien trop démonstratif, trop john simmsesque (presque. Merde, j'ai fait malgré moi une comparaison avec DW). Je ne remet pas en cause le talent d'acteur de l'acteur hein, j'attribue la faute à Moffat et Gatiss.

Merde, dans le "dernier problème", la rencontre entre Holmes et Moriraty est d'une tension extrême. Holmes a été prit de cour, ne s'attendant pas un seul instant à voir Moriarty himself. Il s'est même armé au cas où. Et Moriarty qui sort son carnet, impassible, et annonce " le tel, vous m'avez gêné, le tel vous m'avez contrecarrez,, le tel vous êtes de venu une menace pour mes plans" (en gros hein.). Nom de dieu !
Moriarty c'est le seul criminel, pour qui Holmes accepterait de sacrifier sa vie pour l'empêcher de nuire.
C'est pas un illuminé un peu surdoué, comme dans la série.

Bon, malgré ce point négatif (beaucoup pour moi, surtout vu l'insistance avec laquelle les créateurs accordent la place à Moriarty). Cela reste une excellente série, bien divertissante, que je note dans ma liste des séries à suivre.

Voilà.
Je rend l'antenne, à vous les studios.


Tuesday, October 5, 2010

BBC Sherlock 5 - Soundtrack & Piano

I'm searching for a piano sheet to play SH's Theme on piano, or at least videos to help me learn it (I'm not a good piano player...) This is what I collected so far.

This one is what approaches more the original theme, according to my poor judging skills. However, it cheats a bit, as it's not played on a real piano...


This one's the better non cheater I've met so far.


This one is lovely I think.

As a reference, here's a recollection of SH's ost.


Opening theme


Sherlock's Theme


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This one is from The adventures of Sherlock Holmes and is called "221B Baker Street". I'd like to find a piano sheet for this one as well!


Original theme on violin


An other objective: Discombobulate from the 2009 movie.




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[Getting sidetracked - As always]

This is Poirot's theme... it's nice too!

Monday, October 4, 2010

BBC Sherlock 4 - BBC Sherlock

First of all, who is Sherlock Holmes? Here's a little help list according to a very reliable source, Youtube.

a- A vampire
b- A sorcerer
c- A meowling werewolf
d- Casanova (I know, weird)
e- James Bond (oh come on!)
f- Another victim of the Brockeback mania (franckly, what's with that movie anyways?)
g- Dr Who's budy
h- Dr Who's budy (yes, again)
i- Dr Who's challenger on running after cabs
j - Dr Who's date for tonight
k- Aw come on, he is Dr Who, you dummy!
l- Well, of course he is.
m - Ah, no, wait. He's Bridget Johnes actually. My bad.

So, according to our sources (still Youtube for those who don't follow), Sherlock Holmes is kind of a magic / alien dude with a fondness for action, doctors, girls, saving the world, arrogance, writing diaries and saying nonsense.

What's BBC's answer to that?



O-kay... so the only thing we actually figured is that "Sherlock" is the newly found target of fangirlism.


And how does BBC describe Sherlock?


And here's a view summing up quite well the birth of this series [taken here].

BBC to Re-imagine Sherlock Holmes with a Modern Twist

In an attempt to capitalize on the success of the recent Robert Downey Jr incarnation of Sherlock Holmes (which we thought had promise but fell short), the BBC are filming a new spin on Sherlock with a modern day take.
I was going to ignore this news but then I read that Stephen Moffat is behind it – for those not in the know – Stephen Moffat is the new showrunner on Doctor Who Series 5 and also wrote some of the best episodes of Doctor Who (Blink, Children of London). He also created the hit comedy series Coupling.
From the BBC release:
BBC Wales Drama, BBC One and Hartswood Films announce the start of filming on Sherlock, a contemporary remake of the Arthur Conan Doyle classic, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Starter For Ten, Stuart: A Life Backwards) as the new Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman (The Office, Hot Fuzz) as his loyal friend, Doctor John Watson. Rupert Graves (God On Trial, Midnight Man) plays Inspector Lestrade.
The drama is co-created by the amazing partnership of Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Coupling) and Mark Gatiss (The League Of Gentlemen, Doctor Who, Crooked House) and produced by Sue Vertue (Coupling, The Cup).
The three x 90-minute films, written by Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Steve Thompson (Whipping It Up, Mutual Friends), are being directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Gangster No 1, The Acid House) and Euros Lyn (Doctor Who, Torchwood).
Sherlock is a thrilling, funny, fast-paced take on the crime drama genre set in present day London.
The iconic details from Conan Doyle’s original books remain – they live at the same address, have the same names and, somewhere out there, Moriarty is waiting for them.
Piers Wenger, Head of Drama, BBC Wales, says: “Our Sherlock is a dynamic superhero in a modern world, an arrogant, genius sleuth driven by a desire to prove himself cleverer than the perpetrator and the police, everyone in fact.”
Sounds very interesting. I’ll give it a chance! No word yet on when it will air but it’s filming now and will probably air on the BBC in the fall and come over to America shortly after that.
[Comments on that post

  1. Natasha says:
    Capitalise on the movie? Because no one has ever thought to produce Sherlock for the screen before that absolutely stunning and accurate homage…. And now a movie (not ‘the’) has been released, no one is allowed to use the Sherlock character again? I guarantee that ten seconds of any of those new episodes will be better written and contain more emotional and intellectual depth than the entirety of that film.
  2. briliant just watched it bbc at its best]
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And...

A website (obvious)

And...

Sherlock's blog, The Science Of Deduction (yes, his blog. The makers of that series want us out of the Matrix - or filling in lunatic asylums)

John Watson's blog (definitively lunatic asylums)

Molly's website (did I say lunatic asylums? I meant, the morgue)

And...

*Dies of fangasm* (Yes, that is possible. ... Wait. Can ghosts type?)

* Bonuses *

Sherlock's fanmade Facebook account
John's fanmade Facebook account
Lestrade's fanmade etc.
Moriarty's fanmade etc.

And there's probably more to come. The world is CRAZY out there. I'm gonna lock the door and never go out again.
With anybody.
Even Sherlock.
...
Wait.