iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Interesting, I asked AI to compare Yael Halevi-Wise’s Drood theory with Mark Wheats’s theory (keep in mind that the true villain in ‘Edwin Drood’ always lies in the eye of the be-drooder.)

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I detect a hint of "Arthur's" laugh in Depp's "Scrooge" (and who doesn't love Arthur?). youtu.be/dM8ZHY9BGug?...

youtu.be

Arthur Laughing

YouTube video by Bill Edison

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Please allow me to also add an "Ann" with an "ie". Have a wonderful Wednesday, Emmers! youtu.be/RNOTF-znQyw?...

youtu.be

John Denver - Annie's Song (Official Audio)

YouTube video by JohnDenverVEVO

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

In Sketches by Boz, Dickens writes of “the shell game” (thimblerigging): ‘Bet any gen’lm’n any sum of money, from arf-a-crown up to a suverin, as he doesn’t name the thimble as kivers the pea.’ In The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dickens bets readers they can’t find the identity of “THE WICKED MAN.”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Love this! To me it speaks to the frivolity of love in Summer (which never fully transitions well to the seriousness of Fall). Among my faves, Jenny!

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Best of luck, Emmers! (You’ve got this!)

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Since “Tope” means “to drink heavily” and Dickens mentions him as “Chief Verger and Showman,” this would make a most humourous song and dance scene. (My only regret is that Dickens didn’t live long enough to show us this performance.) Truth eventually comes out sooner or later.

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Rupert Holmes needs to write some more show tunes because history is proving the top villain is actually the Dean with Mr Tope (and perhaps Mrs Tope) as his accomplice. Dickens was so clever that he even listed the villains in bold print at the top of chapter 2: "A Dean, and a Chapter Also."

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Another example (below) of Dickens hinting that Jasper is destined to save Rosa and Drood in the end: “God save them both!” cried Jasper. “I said, bless them,” remarked [Mr Grewgious] looking back over his shoulder. “I said, save them,” returned the latter. “Is there any difference?”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I refer to this as “Trump’s Ego War.”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

So sorry to hear. I’m glad I reached out to him a couple of years ago to let him know how much I enjoyed his presentation, “This ain’t no shop for justice: Crime in Dickens’s London” on YouTube. My condolences to Dr Williams’s family and friends.

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Though many write off Soul’s hit song as overly sentimental, I’ve always enjoyed it. youtu.be/J_2GpDoNciY?...

youtu.be

Don't Give up on Us

YouTube video by David Soul - Topic

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

As an amateur magician, Dickens knew the secret to “the shell game,” which was referred to at the time as “thimblerigging” (see below). There is evidence of this literary slight-of-hand that runs throughout Dickens’s unfinished novel, ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood.’

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Years from now, I’m certain this will be referred to as “Trump’s Ego War.”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

For this reason, I refer to it as: ‘The Ego War.’

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Perhaps Dickens felt he was giving too much away to cover artist Charles Collins (and readers) by having Rosa looking back at Mr Tope and his mace (pic 1). So he brought on [Sir] Luke Fildes to move the verger next to the cathedral’s arch, where Jasper now points an accusatory finger at him.

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

:::note to self::: “Don’t mess with Emory.” 🙂

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

This looks hilarious! (I love Larry David.)

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Note how Dickens gives us clues in each vignette: Mr. Tope holding his mace (‘the spike that intervenes’); Jasper on the spiral stairway pointing at him; the ‘Lost’ placard emphasizing how Jasper (not Sapsea) was the one who quickly initiated the search for his lost nephew. (Can you see the others?)

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

When we zoom in on the cover of ‘Drood’ (pic 1), Dickens displays in chapter 15 how Jasper, not Sapsea, quickly initiates the search for his beloved nephew—so much so, that Jasper even goes a bit overboard in his verbiage (pic 2). Just one of many examples in “The Shell Game Theory of Drood.”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Lining the reflecting pool with the $16 million the renovation cost would have given it a nicer shade o’ green.

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

My apologies, DYS, I just realized I’ve already posted a similar comment recently. (I’m afraid I’m repeating myself like the Dean.)

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

In the same way that “if we find the spike that intervenes, we find the villain;” an argument can surely be made that “if we find the intoned, monotonous, muttering, cracked, feeble, dying voice, we find THE WICKED MAN.”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Dickens even fools AI who believes the “intoned voice” that “awakens muttered thunder” at the end of chap 1 is Jasper’s. But peeking beneath Dickens’s shells, Jasper’s voice is described as “deep and good,” “celestial,” “beautiful” (2x), “sublimely,“ “melodious,” “delightful,” “sweet,” and “fervid.”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

The world’s greatest literary shell-game Dickens titled, ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood.’ (A half a book is better than none.) 📓

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

In the first paragraph Dickens asks us: “What IS the spike that intervenes, and who has set it up?” Did you find the spike, David? Reason being, if you find the spike, you find the villain(s). (Hint: Mr. Tope holds it on the wrapper; and Dickens omits it—see p. 347, endnote 25 of your edition.)

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I remember watching that episode with my daughters when they were little. (Poe’s “The Purloined Letter” too.) Gotta love Wishbone—so doggone cute!

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I shall also attempt to test which tastes better: the first sip of a Guinness, the middle, or the last. :::striking a dramatic pose::: I do this for the benefit of science and the good of civilization.

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

A nicely poured Guinness defies the law of physics. How can a liquid rise above a glass without spilling over? I must continue to research this (over and over again.) 😉

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

One of those moments in life that you wish you were dead, but now you look back and laugh. (Not sure who was more embarrassed.) Funny thing is, I think she said “yes” to the slow skate. (But one of those eternal life mysteries that I’ll never really know.) 😂

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

My braces were so entangled that they had to stop the music while the guards freed my face from the front of her sweater. (I believe that’s when my roller skating days came to an end, lol.)

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I liked a girl back then who was a competitive skater, and she’d always practice her spins, etc. in the middle of the rink during “slow skates.” I conjured up enough nerve to go out and ask her to skate with me, but I tripped, fell into her, and my braces got caught in the front of her sweater…

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I never really heard of the singer when I was growing up (she must have been a one-hit wonder).

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I recall going through my roller skating phase back in 6th and 7th grade. (The rinks were like the Studio 54 of middle schoolers back then.) So please allow me to include this as my song of the day: youtu.be/lKcpodt0YCU?...

youtu.be

Melanie - Brand New Key (Audio)

YouTube video by LegacyRecordingsVEVO

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

One more mention if I may: because the Dean does not want Neville to take sanctuary, I see the Dean changing his mind in the end, allowing Rosa AND Edwin to take sanctuary. The leaves seeking sanctuary in chapter 2 seem to foreshadow this. (The only difference being THE WICKED MAN will be waiting.)

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Of course, your opinion is equal to any other Droodist’s, so please know I truly value it. That’s what’s so great about Dickens’s unfinished swan song: no wrong answers. Thanks for chatting with me, DYS!

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

To me, when Dickens wrote Drood stating to Jasper, “I really was not prepared for your, as I may say, sacrificing yourself to me, in that way”, it seems like he’s foreshadowing Jasper’s ultimate fate (he does this with Rosa too). A derivative of “sacrifice” occurs eight times in this half-novel.

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

One last note if I may: just as you prefer to honour Dickens with your posts, I wanted to pay homage to Dickens by using his unfinished masterpiece as a McGuffin in my novel. I never intended to find the real villains; it’s more like the real villains found me. Thank you for hearing me out, D.Y.S.!

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

There’s nothing interesting or difficult about Jasper as the villain; in fact, that’s boring and easy. His last novel was not “the melancholy work of a worn-out brain.” Dickens deserves more respect than this. The real reason readers don’t favor ‘Drood’ is that they think Jasper is the villain.

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

There just seems to be too many of these ‘swapping of shell’ occurrences running rampant throughout (again, from the front cover to the final sentence) that fits like a puzzle piece when Dickens wrote Forster that he had a new and interesting idea for his story, “though difficult to work.”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

The first time I read this passage I had to reread it a few times, asking myself: “Was Dickens writing that Rosa’s mother’s husband gave her the ring, or was Dickens shuffling his literary shells around again, implying that the husband drowned her? Is Grewgious really the one who gave her the ring?”

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That Drood Dude @thatdrooddude.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

I bet they have their own channel on X (formerly Twitter).

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