Jane Eyre & The Eyre Affair

One of the reasons for getting into the Worth Literary Classics books is to revisit many of the English novels of the time period that have merged in my mind into one great conglomeration of gothic manor houses, desolate moors, and moody male protagonists. On the cruise I re-read Jane Eyre so that I could then re-read Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair and understand it better.

Jane Eyre, of course, features orphaned governess Jane Eyre falling in love with the foul-tempered, mercurial Mr. Rochester only to learn to her horror that his wife, now a madwoman, is still alive and kept in the attic. There's some really nice creepy, gothic scenes in the book as Jane discovers what's really happening: in particular, waking up to discover Mr. Rochester's bed has been set on fire (with him in it) and waking up another night to see the crazed Bertha Rochester tearing apart her (Jane's) wedding veil. There's more Christian moralism in the book than I remember from my first time through, but it was still enjoyable.

The Eyre Affair is the first in a very off-beat series of books featuring a character named Thursday Next, who is a Literary Detective in an alternative 1985 where literary crimes are the subject of major criminal syndicates, the Crimean War is still going on, time-travel is problematic, and more. Someone has invented a device to change the content of books by altering the original manuscript, which leads Thursday to go into the plot of Jane Eyre in order to set things right. Having just read Jane Eyre, this one was a lot more enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the next in the series, Lost in a Good Book.

Fantasy Football Weeks 11-13

I came back from the cruise to learn that I split the two weeks of fantasy football. Week 11 was a 12 point loss, even though Ricky Williams came through with a whopping 30 points all by himself. Week 12 I kicked ass even though I scored fewer points, as my opponent's entire team only accounted for 38 points. This past weekend, I was happy to see late Sunday night that I had a 7 point lead over my opponent--only to realize he had three players set for the Packer/Raven Monday night, so I ended up getting killed 78-95.

That's the end of the regular season, and I finished with a 4-9 record (bad; but still better the Browns). I think the record is a combination of lack of skill (I scored the fewest points of any team in the division) and bad luck (I gave up more points than all but two other teams, something completely out of my control). Next up are the playoffs, and I'm in the "Consolation Ladder" where you play two "games", which last two weeks each. As the # 10 seed, my first game is against the # 9 seed.

A couple of players I have to get rid of are Mike Wallace and John Carlson--neither has been worth much of anything the past few weeks.

Week 11

SUN RUNNERS: 71 Points

Peyton Manning, Ind QB 11
Ricky Williams, Mia RB 30
Jonathan Stewart, Car RB 4
Mike Wallace, Pit WR 2
Chad Ochocinco, Cin WR 6
Jeremy Maclin, Phi WR 6
John Carlson, Sea TE 0
Steelers D/ST, Pit D/ST 6
David Akers, Phi K 6

LACONIA PUGGLES: 83 Points

Donovan McNabb, Phi QB 15
Chris Johnson, Ten RB 15
Joseph Addai, Ind RB 13
Brandon Jacobs, NYG RB 10
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Sea WR 3
Roy E. Williams, Dal WR 0
Dallas Clark, Ind TE 6
Saints D/ST, NO D/ST 15
Stephen Gostkowski, NE K 6

WEEK 12

SUN RUNNERS: 68 Points
Peyton Manning, Ind QB 17
Ricky Williams, Mia RB 15
Jonathan Stewart, Car RB 3
Mike Wallace, Pit WR 0
Chad Ochocinco, Cin WR 3
Jeremy Maclin, Phi WR 6
John Carlson, Sea TE 1
Steelers D/ST, Pit D/ST9
David Akers, Phi K 14

TEAM CAMPMAN: 38 Points

Matt Schaub, Hou QB 13
Cedric Benson, Cin RB 0
Jason Snelling, Atl RB -2
Mike Sims-Walker, Jac WR 4
Larry Fitzgerald, Ari WR 3
Nate Burleson, Sea WR 4
Tony Gonzalez, Atl TE 8
Dolphins D/ST, Mia D/ST 4
Robbie Gould, Chi K 4

WEEK 13

SUN RUNNERS: 78 Points

Peyton Manning, Ind QB 14
Ricky Williams, Mia RB 7
Jonathan Stewart, Car RB 18
Mike Wallace, Pit WR 1
Chad Ochocinco, Cin WR 19
Jeremy Maclin, Phi WR 8
John Carlson, Sea TE 0
Steelers D/ST, Pit D/ST 2
David Akers, Phi K 9

LIQ STORE PORKCHOP: 95 Points

Philip Rivers, SD QB 22
Fred Jackson, Buf RB 5
Darren Sproles, SD RB 13
Greg Jennings, GB WR 7
Donald Driver, GB WR 7
Sidney Rice, Min WR 7
Vernon Davis, SF TE 17
Packers D/ST, GB D/ST 12
Ryan Longwell, Min K 5

Torchwood Reviews

Jhaeman's Detritus Torchwood Posts (Novels, Audio Books, Magazines, Episodes, and Everything Else)

NOVELS

# 1. Another Life

# 2. Border Princes

# 3. Slow Decay

# 4. Something in the Water

# 5. Trace Memory

#6. The Twilight Streets

# 7. Pack Animals

# 8. Skypoint

# 9. Almost Perfect

# 10. Into the Silence

# 11. Bay of the Dead

# 12. The House That Jack Built

# 13. Risk Assessment

# 14. The Undertaker's Gift

#15. Consequences

The Men Who Sold the World

Long Time Dead

First Born

Exodus Code

AUDIO BOOKS

Hidden

Everyone Says Hello

The Sin Eaters

Lost Souls

Asylum, The Dead Line, and Golden Age

In the Shadows

Ghost Train

Department X

OFFICIAL MAGAZINES

Issue # 1

Issue # 2

Issue # 3

Issue # 4

Issue # 5

Issue # 6

Issue # 7

Issue # 8

Issue # 9

Issue # 10

Issue # 11

Issue # 12

Issue # 13

Issue # 14

Issue # 15

Issue # 16

Issue # 17

Issue # 18

Issue # 19

Issue # 20

Issue # 21

Issue # 22

Issue # 23

Issue # 24

Issue # 25

EPISODES

Season One

Everything Changes (Season 1, Episode 1)

Day One (Season 1, Episode 2)

Ghost Machine (Season 1, Episode 3)

Cyberwoman (Season 1, Episode 4)

Small Worlds (Season 1, Episode 5)

Countrycide (Season 1, Episode 6)

Greeks Bearing Gifts (Season 1, Episode 7)

They Keep Killing Suzie (Season 1, Episode 8)

Random Shoes (Season 1, Episode 9)

Out of Time (Season 1, Episode 10)

Combat (Season 1, Episode 11)

Captain Jack Harkness (Season 1, Episode 12)

End of Days (Season 1, Episode 13)

Season Two

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Season 2, Episode 1)

Sleeper (Season 2, Episode 2)

To the Last Man (Season 2, Episode 3)

Meat (Season 2, Episode 4)

Adam (Season 2, Episode 5)

Reset (Season 2, Episode 6)

Dead Man Walking (Season 2, Episode 7)

A Day in the Death (Season 2, Episode 8)

Something Borrowed (Season 2, Episode 9)

From Out of the Rain (Season 2, Episode 10)

Adrift (Season 2, Episode 11)

Fragments (Season 2, Episode 12)

Exit Wounds (Season 2, Episode 13)

ONLINE GAME

E-mails: January

E-mails: February

E-mails: March

Mission # 1

Mission # 2

Mission # 3

Mission # 4

Mission # 5

Mission # 6

Mission # 7

Mission # 8

Mission # 9

Mission # 10

Mission # 11

MISCELLANEOUS

Rift War (comic strip collection)

Return of the Vostok (webstrip)

Ma and Par (webstrip)

Official Television Soundtrack

Torchwood Magazine 2008 Yearbook

The Torchwood Archives

Bay of the Dead

Bay of the Dead by Mark Morris was a pretty mediocre Torchwood novel. It's a standard "zombie apocalypse" story, with a little bit of a twist in that the zombies are mostly simulcra created by a comatose, alien-infested ("Leet of the Dellacoi") guy who had been stricken at a horror movie festival. But basically, it's a very cliched story with little new to offer to the zombie genre or Torchwood. Nor is there enough humor or character development to gloss over the rather boring plot. The author seems to think that having the characters make a few knowing references to pop culture zombie movies suddenly makes this particular take a clever one, which simply isn't the case.

A couple of notes:

* We hear here that Captain Jack has a bit of a rivalry with a "tall, slim, beautiful black woman" police detective named Swanson (who apparently first appeared in They Keep Killing Suzie).

* We see PC Andy's new partner, Dawn Stratton.

* We get a first, brief look at a really fun character in The House That Jack Built, old man/alien Alexander Martin.

* Despite the title, nautical-oriented fans should know there's only one minor scene set on Cardiff Bay.

On a marché sur la lune

I've heard a lot about the world-famous Tintin, but I'd never actually read any until recently. I randomly picked the graphic album On a marché sur la lune ("We Walk on the Moon") to give it a try. The plot, as you can guess from the title, involves Tintin and his companions being launched in the first-ever rocket to the moon. While there, they have a little tank they use for exploring and have to overcome problems involving spies, sabotage, and bumbling stowaways. It's very whimsical (Tintin's dog has a little spacesuit), but didn't stray into the fantastic (the moon is depicted as it really is, a deserted chunk of rock--no aliens or monsters or anything super cool). I liked it well enough, though I'm on the border as to whether I'll pick up more--$ 17 is a bit pricey for each album, though the pages are packed with panels and text.

La Mystérieuse affaire d'Echo Falls

This was a very charming book, though I don't know why I particularly liked it so much. The protagonist (Ingrid) is a schoolgirl whose hero is Sherlock Holmes and she gets caught up investigating several strange events around the town of Echo Falls. To add to the drama, her brother is using steroids and her dad's job has become precarious. It's a really nice YA mystery novel and I'd like to track down the first in the series.

Now a Husband

Had an extraordinarily fun time in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and now return an expert in all things husbandry. Everything ran perfectly smoothly, had the surreal experience of seeing my entire family groovin' it on the dance floor, and raised over $ 500 for charity. Honeymoon was pretty good, though I was sick for a couple of days with crazy chills & fever. Saw the beaches of Half-Moon Cay, downtown Panama, and the Veragua rainforest in Costa Rica. Have now washed 9 loads of laundry, with more yet to come!