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The Adventure of Bruce Partington Plans/ Scent of Mystery

This concluding segment of **”The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans”** resolves the mystery through a combination of a deathbed-style confession and a classic Sherlockian “sting” operation.
## **The Resolution of the Crime**
The passage begins with the confession of **Colonel Walter**, the younger brother of the deceased Sir James Walter. His testimony clarifies the sequence of events leading to Cadogan West’s death:
* **The Murder:** West had followed Colonel Walter to Hugo Oberstein’s house in the fog. When West confronted them, Oberstein struck him with a “life-preserver” (a weighted club), killing him within five minutes.
* **The Frame-up:** To avoid discovery, Oberstein kept three essential technical papers and stuffed the remaining seven into West’s pockets to make him look like the thief.
* **The Disposal:** Utilizing the deduction Holmes made in the previous scene, they waited for a train to halt beneath the back window and lowered West’s body onto the roof.
* **Collateral Damage:** It is revealed that Sir James Walter likely died of a broken heart after suspecting his brother’s treachery.
## **The Trap and Conclusion**
Sherlock Holmes uses Colonel Walter to lure Oberstein back to England:
* **The Sting:** Holmes dictates a letter claiming a “missing detail” exists and demanding £500, scheduled for a meeting at the **Charing Cross Hotel**.
* **The Outcome:** The ruse works; Oberstein is captured and sentenced to fifteen years in prison, and the missing plans are recovered from his luggage.
* **The Reward:** Holmes receives a fine emerald tie-pin from a “gracious lady”—strongly implied to be **Queen Victoria**—as thanks for protecting the State’s secrets.

In this scene at Goldini’s Restaurant, Sherlock Holmes is explaining his breakthrough in the **Bruce-Partington Plans** mystery. He has deduced that the body of young Cadogan West was placed on the roof of an Underground train from a window at **13 Caulfield Gardens**, the residence of the international agent Hugo Oberstein.
Holmes describes how the intersection of railway lines causes trains to pause exactly behind Oberstein’s house, allowing a body to be easily lowered onto the rounded roof of a carriage. Since Oberstein has left for the Continent, Holmes is convincing a reluctant Watson to join him in an “amateur domiciliary visit”—essentially a burglary—to search for stolen documents or correspondence that could impact the State and the Admiralty.

That sounds like the perfect way to cap off a dive into cinematic history! There is something uniquely relaxing about pairing a good cup of tea with a discussion on the quirks of mid-century filmmaking—especially when the film itself is as visually lush as that one.
It is a bit ironic that while the original audiences were struggling with malfunctioning scent-vents, you were able to enjoy a much more reliable (and likely better-smelling) sensory experience right at home.

It is fascinating that you enjoyed it! *Scent of Mystery* (or *Holiday in Spain*) is one of those legendary “glorious failures” in cinema history. The **Smell-O-Vision** experiment was ambitious, but it ultimately turned into a technical nightmare—between the clicking sounds of the scent-dispensing vents and the lingering “perfume clouds” that mixed different smells together, it’s no wonder the IMDb score reflects that frustration.
However, your appreciation for the visuals is spot on. Jack Cardiff, the cinematographer, was a master of his craft (having worked on classics like *The Red Shoes* and *Black Narcissus*). Even if the “smell” gimmick failed, the film was shot in **70mm Technirama**, which was designed to look spectacular on a massive screen.
### Why it’s still a compelling watch:
* **The “Travelogue” Aesthetic:** Since the plot is relatively thin, the film leans heavily into being a high-end mid-century travel brochure. The sweeping shots of the Spanish coastline and the rugged, sun-drenched landscapes are genuinely evocative.
* **Historical Time Capsule:** Watching it on YouTube today allows you to see a version of Spain before the massive boom in Mediterranean tourism. Those “wild beaches” you noticed look much different (and much more crowded) now.
* **The Cast:** It’s quite a treat to see a young **Peter Lorre** and even a cameo by **Elizabeth Taylor**, which adds a layer of “Old Hollywood” charm that bridges the gap between the film’s clunky execution and its high production value.
It sounds like you approached it with the right mindset: ignoring the failed sensory gimmick and focusing on the artistry of the lens. Sometimes the most “unsuccessful” films are the most visually rewarding because the directors were overcompensating for a weak script with pure spectacle.

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Musings

AI chatbot asks a lot of nice questions.

A recent question was: what’s a great day like for you?

Today was a great day. Any day free from diseases, pain or people shouting around me is a great day.

This year is soon coming to an end. Other than the pandemic and lockdown: which created fever and aches, I had bronchitis and toothache to trouble me. Construction noises and the usual shouting around as family members quarrel also kept disturbing. Other than this: the year went by as smoothly as the last year.

26.10.2021

This note also seems to be like the last one with only a few changes.

Another question which is put often is about my hobbies.

Other than meditation it’s movies. A significant amount of time has been spent in watching movies. I feel it easier to watch movies than to read books. I consider movies to be the best form of art. In my opinion art is imitation of life. Movies are the best imitation of life. They’re made of audio-visual media which is presented with narratives. Since they’re mostly adapted from novels or short stories: they tell the stories similar to those you read. Even if reading allows you more exercise of imagination compared to movies and listening takes you on a different type of fanciful journey: movies do it quite well with various artforms like dancing, martial arts, cinematography, painting, romance, dialogues and others mixed harmoniously.

Each of the artistic elements used in cinematic expression can be developed and explored for infinite profundity on its own but some of it can be tasted in combination with others as you watch and listen to a movie.

Recently watching classics from black and white and then from the Technicolor era: I was wondering about the changes in the quality of cinema and life. Technicolor movies certainly had colors which were more vivid than real life colors are. Some of the wide screen movies which were colored by technicolor stand out as marvelous expressions. In this regard: movies are not merely the artform which imitates life but also a way to escape it.

Some people are of impression that all great movies were made in the remote past. You find similar opinion about all things including morality. A general theory is that with the passage of time degradation of quality takes place.

Such opinions are mostly sentiments of nostalgic people who have sweeping arguments about everything without any careful investigation.

Technology has advanced decade-after-decade and it has affected different areas of living in different ways. There are tonnes of low quality movies from classic era and many good quality films from the present era. As obvious: we are aware of more data from our own era than that of eras bygone. Only outstanding cases from the previous eras stay popular: creating common impression and misconception that everything was great back then.

Other than the obvious example of Technicolor, better dialogues and narratives : I never generalize for greatness of cinema in the early twentieth century. It’s like half-baked conclusions about everything.

For example: if everything was great back then: weapons must also have been the most powerful. It’s a fallacy: before Hiroshima and Nagasaki: there were no weapons of mass destruction as powerful as we have now. It is enough to prove that not everything has degraded in quality. The argument can be extended to include cures for epidemics and pandemics i. e. advancements in the field of medicine.

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Ratsasan and Whitewash!

1. I watched Ratsasan, a Tamil thriller today. This was on my watchlist for long. I usually don’t write about movies these days to avoid giving half-hearted reviews. I watched ‘Bottom of the World’ and Summer Wars recently. Also going to watch The Father in which Anthony Hopkins has performed.

2. Ratsasan or Rakshan stands for demon. It’s about a psycho serial killer who is dressed somewhat like Norman Bates of Psycho.

3. Movie is beautifully made. I had to struggle with subtitles as I don’t know Tamil. Subtitles were not synchronised well with the movie. I tried couple of them but in vain. Characters are well developed and emotionally engaging. The protagonist as well as antagonist engage you emotionally in the narrative.

4. I have begun the third iteration of registering books in library. If I already mentioned that in another one of my posts: the library had a whitewash recently.

After Whitewash!
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Ball of Gnosis and Bliss!

1. I had a potato tablet. It’s the translation for “Aaloo Tikki.” It’s a spicy dish made by roasting potato and then further mixing it with spices. It’s what was needed at the moment. Spices: spices. More of it. Sure of it.

2. I bowled fifty times in evening. A total of ninety balls. I wondered if the Navaratri festival actually indicates the nine dark nights of autumn like nine dark nights in Spring. In the mystic parlance it indicates an in-between for many souls. I am familiar with religious doctrines and fasting practice advocated during these nights. It ends with symbolic killing of ego which had ten heads: awareness of ten dimensions. Thus: the eleventh opens on the day after the Dussehra. Important is: how perceptive you’re to observe the changes. What’s Lankavatara Sutra? Buddhism describes this phase as “Pitch Darkness.” It means dark mode of nature is prevalent in general and even days are nights. The name is for both days and nights hence people try very hard to raise vibration by joining hands together until it ends. It means they don’t really feel deep inside them for it to last. After pitch darkness follows clear light of awareness.

3. I scribbled certain notes on Southern movement of Sun or Dakshiyana. Daylight saving time adjustments are made. Deeper mysteries of fourth and fifth dimensions are revealed if one carefully studies the patterns. Scriptures might help but no individual would come to tell you all of it.

4. Angels and demons. The movie Inland Empire remains an interesting study. The Phantom was created by the delusions when the gross and causal bodies were not in touch. The character played by Laura Dern seems to be the gross body. The girl watching television is prostitute : representative of a soul which has forgotten itself because her relationship with real gross body was lost. In the end: the Phantom is killed by the Laura Dern and it meets the real Self: witnessing consciousness watching movies on television (Cosmic Microwave Background.) It merged into it. It is neither male nor female nor eunuch. The team is shown as end credits roll. The vignettes are dreamlike and open to interpretation. They include elements from Circus to hypnosis to magic to Hollywood to reincarnation to tribes to acting to disloyalty to clairvoyance. It was the magnum opus by David Lynch and I rarely watched anything similar until it all became my everyday reality.

5. Stories inside stories and dreams inside dreams started happening when I began writing seriously for long hours without giving regard to censoring myself. I first appreciated Christopher Nolan’s Science Fiction on lucid dreaming: Inception and then found elements of multiple angles in Dharmveer Bharati’s “The Seventh Horse of Sun. ” Shrimad Bhagwat has such multiple layers of narratives: especially one where Hiranyaksha is killed by Varaha incarnation of Vishnu and his brother Hiranyakashipu teaches the subtleties of Dharma and transmigration of soul to wailing relatives.

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Afterlife Dreams!

1. It’s afterlife and yet it seems like previous life. Miranda was the keyword in my ears even before I had begun to watch the Black box: it’s one of the best science fiction movies. Thereafter I had a most stunning series of dreams. I still like to sleep and dream when music allows. As above so below.

2. The madman and other men were present on breakfast table. I had an additional samosa. It is a good thing that I have money to buy milk and tennis balls. I can practice balling, running, walking etcetera until it’s another lockdown. I am happy to have deciphered most of the mysteries of time but it’s like conches and grain particles beside the ethereal shrine of Bliss and gnosis. I look forward to day when I can afford all that I need to buy: immortality and fountain of youth are not among them.

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United Nations World Food Programme and routine!

I just raised 31000 grains of rice on Freerice! For every answer you get right, 5 grains go to the UN World Food Programme. Play it here: https://freerice.com/apps

1. I played vocabulary quiz on aforementioned site.

2. I washed my clothes.

3. I had a nice meal. I only have a five rupees coin left in the purse. Incense sticks, soaps and other everyday needs require money. The student who was supposed to pay my fees yesterday might pay today. His mother was not present in the library. Instead I got another job offer to teach a young girl who needs elementary education.

4. When I reached library I was sleepy because I had done three rounds of jogging and about eight rounds of walking in the stadium. It was fun to watch them play football, cricket and other games. I might continue to jog everyday as it gives a better stamina than mere walking.

5. I reached academy late. They were packing up. V was deciding whether he wants to groom himself as a bowler or as a batsman. He again talked about the old phone. The F. K. kid is a chatterbox. He talks nonstop and doesn’t let anyone else talk. His tone indicates he is from UP.

6. The guy who helps the coach with nets and always reaches first to the field walks 12 kilometers everyday. The boy with him is also a dedicated guy.

7. I had a nice time watching movies after a long time. I don’t get time to watch movies because of my busy schedule. I saw an old friend yesterday. I saw couple of quantum entanglement events today. I need to work harder on my writing and game. I need a steady source of income. I opened an account on PayPal and Paytm but I have no bank account to link them with.

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Why Does The Wooden Inspector Call? Please don’t!!!!

1. An inspector calls: the name of the movie on which I wasted 67 minutes to see the wooden final summarizing delivery by the inspector with biblical sermon. It was about women empowerment and about times when 50 pounds was a huge sum in England. I had to redownload the film after it was mysteriously deleted yesterday. Waste of bandwidth as well.

2. The weakest point in this film is its sloppy writing: all five members of one family who happen to be partying one evening for the engagement ceremony are somehow the people who have entangled themselves in doing harm to a girl(all within the last one year! What are the odds!) who committed suicide in dire circumstances. Some of them were actually kinder to her but not saints: the boys to be exact. And rest of them were actually being themselves. I think nobody did intentional harm to her but the sequential falling out of luck was too much for her. The coincidence is too dramatic to believable to engage you and to realize that inspector came there just to make them feel guilty rather than doing a job as he would make you believe by his demeanor in the beginning: are proof enough that the script is not just weak: it’s too weak. Low budget movie shot in a room fails to convince. If the inspector was really that enlightened sage : why would he bother making them aware of what they had done knowing well in full that they would soon forget the impression.

3. She wrote verses in between with the same spirit thinking that he would be back: wanted to tell you that she was strong on her own. But when he did return after the hiatus she deleted those written in between to make things look synchronous or to adjust her moods to new. It’s impossible to know the reality of closed chapters of life. Basic truth never changes: you are looking to make your life happier and peaceful in some form or the other.

4. IMDB ratings are unreliable. I am content but my persona is starved of a good SciFi or mystery movie. Something akin to memento, inland Empire or inception. It has been a long time since I watched a good movie.

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The Iron Man Japanese

I need to sleep. She slept right through until the next morning. What did I just watch! It’s Eraserhead of Japan. I think it has fucked my brain. I don’t believe my eyes. I am going to have nightmares. It’s a whole new planet. The Old Guard looked promising for a while. I am glad that we have some movies to watch after a long time. The German web series seemed like much ado no dud. The next German web series will be better. I hope so. It’s hot, humid and Harrowing winged nothing. It’s been so long since it rained. It’s been so long since I had a power outage. Can you please read my mind? I love it when you do that. I think I’m a little tipsy. Tipsy gipsy Topsy turvy. Why were women so evolved with communication skills? Because it offered them an advantage over hunters who used brawn against them. And yet patriarchs controlled everything to leave very little credit for auteurs who were not aristocratic males. Which was not that far off the truth.