Dickensblog

There wasn't enough room in yesterday's 7 Quick Takes Friday to cover all the recent items of interest. So here's a sequel!

• The Niagara Advance has a cool story about how one Canadian man's love of Dickens got him an invitation to Buckingham Palace.
• The Londonist has a roundup of bicentennial events taking place in the city.
• In a case of terrible timing, the Charles Dickens Museum is closing for renovations for several months this year.
• A new Irish film version of A Christmas Carol "was cast, crewed, financed and distributed via Facebook . . . with everyone working for nothing." And you can rent it through the film's Facebook page.
• The Independent asks, "Is Dickens suitable for children?"
• A New Jersey middle school might have the answer to that: It held its sixth annual "Dancing with Dickens" event last month, and according to this report, the students had a blast.
• Dickens has a crater on Mercury named after him! Who knew?