You're only as crazy as I think you are.

fiareynne has an awesome mom voice. I'll come back to that.

My sister has the best timing ever: fiareynne and I had planned to meet her in town to catch a 12:45 showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She shows up with thirty seconds remaining before the trailers would've started, by which point Fia and I had not only acquired the snack combo which provides the viewer with approximately a gallon of soda and a bucket of popcorn bigger than your head, and suggests we go to another showing. Fia and I are like... 'kay? So we go to my sister's house, where I learn that...

I am very definitely allergic to animal dander. I had to get a Benadryl from my sister, and hide it in a spoonful of cottage cheese so I wouldn't gag [shut up, Fia, it's not that funny] and my throat still feels weird eight hours later. Of course, I chased it with a Jell-O shot. Classic Magz move, definitely.

Eventually, we made it back into town [different town, this time, so dysisreynne could come] to watch the movie. This is where I learned that ( Brad Pitt can still act. [Movie spoilers.] )

Over the course of the evening I also learned that if you decide to be nice and buy your parents a container of ice melt at Wal-Mart for your skating rink of a driveway, the gods will first smile upon you by making this totally cute messenger bag cost half of the ticketed price [even though you were willing to pay full price for it], and then mock you by having caused all the ice to disappear while you were out. Additionally, anytime the temperature goes anywhere above freezing in the winter, I learned that it's intelligent to drive like a granny to avoid hitting the ELEVENTY BILLION six or so cats that'll be wandering around in the middle of the street between your house and the Reynne residence.

Oh, and! Completely arbitrary film rating system [with stars!]: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Irrationality Meme: Post your top three most irrational fears or beliefs, in no particular order. It's... therapeutic. Yeah.

» Clowns used to terrify me -- they still give me the wiggins. Even though my rational mind is pretty sure they're not all child molesters in pancake makeup, and are in fact probably down-on-their-luck actors who need to make a living somehow, Stephen King's IT and the Supernatural episode "Everybody Loves a Clown" have pretty well cemented the idea that clowns are evil.

» I'm not religious. I don't believe 90% of what's written in the Bible, 'cause it was written by man and man is fallible. I do, however, believe that we're in for a hell of an Apocalypse -- with the world ending for everyone, and not just the unrighteous -- one of these days... and I'm bracing myself for December 21, 2012.

» Swimming in the ocean scares me. I'm pretty convinced I'll be swallowed whole by a megalodon, even though they've been extinct for over a million years, and probably wouldn't fit in the shallows where people swim, anyway.

Whoo, I actually do feel better, now that I've gotten that out of my system. :| That whole "It's... therapeutic. Yeah." bit was total bullshit, but it seems to have worked. Neat.

• 10:43 @karmicunderpath Could be worse -- when I visit my brother, my hair smells like bong juice and dog. #
• 11:11 I appreciate the way my family insists on sharing, but really... I didn't need this head cold. Really. #
• 18:19 @fiafortune You-Know-Who's Facebook group that you set up just popped up in an ad while I was browsing FB. #

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Really, this episode should've been entitled "Everyone is really, really pretty. Also, there is swordfighting." but titles like that won't happen until the BBC hires me. :| Twelve previews this time, because I couldn't narrow it down any further. More Merlin caps can be found here.

Screencaps: Merlin
Episode: 1x02 "Valiant"
Amount: 863 [unsorted]
Size: 640x352px
Quality: Standard TV rip [medium?]
Synopsis: A knight named Valiant arrives in court to compete in a sword-fighting tournament. Valiant holds in his power an enchanted shield which causes great harm to his opponents. Merlin's attempts to warn everyone fall on deaf ears -- and Arthur is next to face Valiant.


( previews and download links )

This will come in useful after I've posted, say... more than two episodes' worth of Merlin screencaps. Episode synopses copied and pasted from TV.com, and are hopefully helpful in finding the correct caps, or something.

Screencaps: Merlin
Episode: All Season 1
Size: Varies; usually somewhere around 640x350px
Quality: Standard TV rip [medium?]
Synopsis: This 13-part drama series puts a new spin on the story of the infamous sorcerer, Merlin. Set in the mythical City of Camelot, the story follows young Merlin's dangerous journey as he comes face to face with legendary and fantastical characters.


( links to individual episode posts )

• 08:15 Today is the day to read "Runaways" volume 1. Woo! #

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• 07:33 @fiafortune Did you actually wrangle your cats into those things again this year? They look like they're plotting your DOOM. #
• 10:26 @fiafortune You know, traditionally, Christmas trees were lit with candles. Just sayin'. #
• 11:49 @fiafortune Benjamin Button on Sunday. #

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central Maine sky, Christmas morning, 2008
We're having a low-key Christmas thing this year -- economy sucks, and all of the adults in my family have finally realized that they have enough crap without adding a pile more every December. In past years, my siblings and I drew names for presents, but this year we decided collectively that we would only get gifts for our parents and the kids. My mom was really, really horrible to my younger sister, in that she purchased her a blender/mixer combo thing, but wrapped each part individually. :|

I figure the important thing about Christmas is being with your family, anyway. Even if they drive you bonkers. *braces herself for incoming swarm of famiily members*

To all of you who are super-excited about Santa -- or even about Jeebus, whatever your thing is -- have an awesome, awesome Christmas. ♥

• 11:59 Totally just watched my DVD copy of @drhorrible a few minutes ago. Later, when my brother's not hogging the TV, it's time for Commentary! #
• 14:22 I have rediscovered Werther's Original. Best hard candy ever invented, I promise. #
• 16:11 Sometime between now and tomorrow morning, @santa will have hopefully stopped on my roof. With a PONY. #

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• 17:26 @fiafortune I still can has no internets. #
• 20:36 @fiafortune It miraculously fixed itself. And then my ISP called to say "So, your DSL should work now!" Heh. #
• 20:48 HOT DAMN. I don't mean to riddle this tweet with impropriety, but the President Elect is SMOKIN' without a shirt on. Holy crap. #

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Never let your computer-illiterate father do your shopping for you. I ask for: one spindle of 25 blank, really plain CD-Rs. My dad brings home: one pack of 20 blank CD-Rs with some wonky tribal design on them, in cases. Well, at least he didn't bring me back DVDs -- I have two almost-full spindles lying around, not being used.

And I can haz internetz, OMG! The DSL miraculously fixed itself after the modem turned itself off, then back on, made some clicky noises and blinked at me for awhile, and my ISP called to say it worked. :| I totally thought they were going to send someone out here to fix it, too. Thank Jeebus they didn't -- my house is a wreck.

Internet: so very, very dead. Oddly, I can still IM and email.

[ETA] Okay, I accept this: it totally fixed itself at 6:55. No idea how, but the important thing is I can totes has internets now.

• 07:39 @fiafortune Oops? #
• 13:24 @fiafortune WUSS. #

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Internet flickered and died. Investigation led to realization that router was very warm. Oops.

• 23:55 @fiareynne has a tendency to make things sound dirtier than they should. #
• 00:01 @fiareynne That's true. But given how long we've known one another, that would be awkward for the entire WORLD. #

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Mmkay, so you know how the headlines told people north of the Carolinas to stay home today? Me an' fiareynne totally didn't. After travelling to town at a snail's pace, noting the apparent phantom plow trucks that clear the streets of Augusta, watching Yes Man [totally adorable and awesome, bee tee dubs], and purchasing last-minute gifts at Barnes & Noble, we made our way back to my house. About an hour after we got here, it looked like the blizzard had cleared up somewhat, so Fia started home.

Currently, she is making her new home in a bumper-high snow drift, in the middle of the road two miles from my house. :| Oops. I told her to get her butt back here if the cop who's currently rescuing her manages to get her out of the drift, 'cause she's spending the night. I anticipate her arrival in approximately an hour, given current weather and travel conditions.

[ETA] She's in my guest room, getting her bearings -- and removing the foot of snow from her jeans.

fiareynne: [name deleted] and I talked about having a naked sleepover at work last night. :D
fiareynne: He asked if I thought we were going to ever get out, and I said, "Well, you probably didn't bring your pajamas in anticipation of the possible sleepover, so probably yeah," and he told me he sleeps in the nude so he's always prepared for sleepovers.
fiareynne: HE USED TO BE SO QUIET.
sockherder: Aw, see, now you've got me thinking about naked![name deleted].

This is the kid who was all mousy and twitchy and shy in high school, and hid in the percussion section of the band and didn't really, like... talk. And now he's saving money on pajamas -- which actually seems to be a trend in Maine, as I know of at least half a dozen people offhand who've MENTIONED THIS to me, like I need to think about them NAKED; my theory is that the extra layer of fabric actually dampens the warmth from blankets a bit. Gah, anyway.

Aaand I'm braving the storm later with fiareynne, to get some last-minute holiday shopping in. Good times.

Three hours of uninterrupted sleepy-time bliss for the effing WIN. I haven't napped so hard in months.

» xdawnfirex, I got your card. It's ADORABLE. Thank you!

» kallysten! My mom tells me I'm not allowed to read Runaways until Christmas -- she might even steal it from me and wrap it up to put under the tree. But the stickers, which I've hidden from my mom she can't do the same to them, smell SO PRETTY. It's like you somehow knew I was deprived of girly things as a child because my brothers always ruined them. ♥

My parents are urging me to do something social with my sister, now that she's been released from the hospital. I declare a movie night. I'm thinking The Tale of Desperaux or Yes Man [she loves stupid comedy]. If it were me picking a movie for myself, I'd have to go with Seven Pounds, but that doesn't look very uplifting. :|

It snowed SO MUCH last night. [Well, not really so much, only a couple inches.] I ended up going half the speed limit coming home from my town's grange's annual Christmas party, and I've got snow tires. Holy crap. But I missed snow so much. Stupid New York with its stupid warmer climate and/or the stupid too cold to snow thing that happens on the stupid mountain my school's built on. The party was a blast. It was one of those ridiculously wholesome, gorge yourself with REAL food filled with things like MEAT and too many calories, then participate in a hilarious Yankee gift swap and sing yourself hoarse with carols shindigs. Best part of the Christmas season in my town, I swear.

I may or may not have attempted to break the sound barrier while racing the snow to Maine. :| I was only averaging 80 MPH! *is totally innocent of breaking speed laws*

Made it back in about six hours, with nary a snowflake in sight. Good times.