Christmas Shopping Done!

As of today, I am finished Christmas shopping. I have wrapped all the presents and they are all parked in the bedroom waiting for Christmas morning.

I love being done early. No more worries.

I might still have to wrap more, though. Mom's been sick and thinks she won't be able to wrap all the presents so I'll probably wind up doing Anna's and Sara's and sticking all the packages with Post-It Notes identifying them for what they are so Mom can finish labeling them.

Not much going on here; we're just lying around doing not much at the moment. If Spritey didn't have white fur I wouldn't be able to see her at all.

Ta,
Bec

PS: I find this little stupid thing funny, but has anyone noticed that in DW's "Vampires in Venice" when Signora Rosanna Calvierri gets a drink that that cup looks ONE HELL of a lot like the Cup of Life from Merlin?

Here. I am insane and went and found you pictures of each cup.

Here's the DW one. You can't see the detailing underneath the bowl part of this goblet because of the actress' hands but there is something there in a later frame.



Okay, here's the Merlin cup for comparison:



They are of very similar design even if they aren't the same one, right down to the base and the triangular legs on the thing.

I mean, who raided the BBC props department that week and said, "Ooh, they won't need this. I'll just borrow it and hand it back for the end of Merlin series 3?" Or do the prop people just have no imagination when it comes to gobletature of the sort of Middle Ages?

It could be that I pay attention to the little details too much. I mean, I noticed Uther drinking out of one of Bayard's gift goblets this year (not the poisoned one) and had a good laugh at that. At least we know he bothers to use the gifts he's given.

Oi. I think too much.

Cup of Life Playoffs, Round One

Had a good Thanksgiving. Rather quiet. No extended family issues till Christmas (glory be.) I have potatoes baking in the oven and I must get going on homework, but before I do, here's my review of the latest Merlin episode (it was awesome!)





SPOILER LINE!








So, the obvious occurs. Morgana, SMIRKING AGAIN, takes the throne in front of Uther's disbelieving eyes (and Arthur's up there on the balcony, hiding.) Gwen is missing. Gaius was found in a closet. Elyan was in the lower town, hiding. Gwain turned up in jail. Arthur took a nasty wound to the leg and is limping despite Merlin's efforts (he's not good at healing spells and needs some help.)

Merlin's got the Water of Avalon on him now so that's going to be used in the next episode, obviously, on whatever lucky dying woman he'll bestow it upon.

It seemed like everything that could have gone wrong in this episode did, at least for the good guys. Merlin was given the cup and immediately dropped the damn thing over a cliff into the hands of Cenred's army (I was chanting stupid, stupid, stupid at this point.) Morgause, thanks to a good blood donation from each of the men in her crew, has got her immortal army and no Cenred to deal with anymore (She killed him with glee on her face. He was annoying anyway.) At the moment she has the upper hand...but there's gotta be something she didn't consider.

Since we didn't see Nimueh in the previews for next week she ain't coming back (didn't think so.) How the druids wound up with the cup is beyond me seeing as the last time WE saw it it was sitting on an altar at the Isle of the Blessed (it was. I watched the episode this morning and there it was.)

Percival and Lancelot didn't turn up (next week.) Leon had a near-death experience and was nicely treated by the Druids, which made Arthur deal fairly gently (gently meaning holding one of their children hostage and never sheathing his sword the whole time he was in their presence) with them, considering the last time he met them he was under orders to kill them all.

Next week, Morgana and Morgause get the comeuppance we've been waiting for. We meet Percival (yay!) and Lancelot (again.) Gwen turns up. More people die (Gaius?) Uther cries more than Colin Morgan last series. Someone gets it at the end of a round of arrows (Leon was yelling.) Arthur's Round Table is born. And some watery tart tosses a sword at Arthur (Freya, hand, lake, Excalibur for those who haven't seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail.)

I've kind of realized that Uther has got himself in a bit of a spot. He's in his own dungeons (THERE we go. Every cast member's been in them now) and has no power and no army at his command (because most of them are dead.) All he can do is sit and wait for Arthur (who he can only hope is still alive somewhere to save him) to bust him out of jail and take him away from Camelot and the immortal knights. Uther's much worse off in the dungeons than out of them; do you think Morgana and Morgause are going to leave him alive one SECOND longer than necessary? Uther has not made himself any friends with the magic people, no sirree bob.

And there we have The Coming of Arthur (A title I HAD to snicker at when I first heard it...really?) but here's what it means. Uther has fallen, has no power and no ability to save himself. It's up to Arthur and his six guys (Merlin included there) to do what seems impossible and take back the kingdom from Morgana and her crew of evil.

I had this idea while working on my paper that had nothing to do with Merlin at all: Recall that at the end of the second episode of this series where Merlin said that nothing could ever make him as angry and bitter as Morgana appears to be. And then Arthur shouted and told him he was lazy and it was all ha ha ha like it always is at the end of an episode.

But think about this: Merlin could NEVER get that angry. Really? Nothing could ever piss him off that much? Gaius' possibly imminent death, the Dragon getting hurt, Morgana doing something to Gwen or Arthur? I think we might see Merlin get that angry...and there might be some stuff destroyed. Last time he got mad, he called down lightning, thunder, and rain in a nonverbal spell and blew Nimueh to BITS, and then he wasn't even fully "charged" yet, so to speak. Now he's a Dragonlord, with abilities far beyond his first series self. I would be ducking if I were in the vicinity of Camelot next week.

Morgana doesn't even have to do magic if she doesn't want (she's already condemned and could go whole hog if she wanted to. Guess who just gained a whole lot of beans on the credibility pile now that she's no longer whispering in Uther's crinkled old ears. Think about it-Merlin can now TELL Arthur she's got magic and not be insulting anyone IMPORTANT 'cause by next week she's probably going to be running for her life from Arthur's patrols! She is SO done in Camelot after she gets her ass kicked by Merlin, Arthur, and his band of rogue warriors of the many muscles (see attached picture for the sexy.)



From left: Sir Leon the Not Dead, Percival the Holy HANNAH He's Tall, Merlin the Extremely Gorgeous but Secret Sorcerer, Arthur, the for-the-moment not Prince of Camelot, Lancelot the Noblest of All, Elyan, Gwen's Mysterious Brother, Gwain of the Shaggy Boots.

One more episode to go and then no more for almost a year.

Ta,
Bec

PS: I want to say RIP to Leslie Nielsen, who made me laugh every damned time I watched "Airplane." (I own the movie because my dad made me watch it a hundred times as a kid.) Nobody else could have said a line three times in a row and cracked me up so much. You will be missed.

Merlin Gets Mature!

Mom's making Dad's birthday pumpkin pie. Whisper's watching the game. Spritey's pissed because it's cold out and she is NOT going outside despite what she wants. Dad's downstairs building a fire. And I am here telling you about "Sorcerer's Shadow," the 11th episode of the third series of Merlin.






SPOILER LINE





Yes, little Merlin who declared in first series that without his magic he was a nobody had someone toss the same line at him...and he offered an explanation as to why he hasn't let Uther be offed yet (apparently if Uther dies by magic that would be a bad thing for Arthur, whose heart would harden against magic forever. OK. That's AN explanation...)

Despite my initial reservations concerning this episode, it was superbly done. Hats off to Colin Morgan for making Merlin the ultimate voice of reason here. Merlin was so mature and advisorly here I started checking Colin's handsome head for grey hairs.

Gilli needed to be told about the magic and it's nice that Merlin and he had no bad blood despite Merlin making him sort of lose the match with Uther.

Morgana unsubtly tried to get Uther or Arthur to at least wound the other, but no damn luck. I could barely stand the disappointed look on her face...until I remembered that she wants the both of them DEAD. Try again next week, Morgana dear...

No Gwen at all. I would have thought we'd at least have seen her giving smoochies to Arthur (again) because they've stuffed it in anywhere and everywhere this series, but nope. Guess this is the two of them "backing off."

I thought it was odd that Uther declared Arthur now ready to be king. Foreshadowing?

Also, Kilgarrah returns! YAY! Merlin has to apologize for the whole Morgana saving debacle (funny how that pops up in an episode where someone else is using their powers the wrong way.) Merlin agrees he was an idiot (thank God.) Merlin has a nice chat with his realio, trulio, little pet dragon and everything seems to be very nice between them.

I predict that we probably won't see Killy again this year, unless Merlin decides that the only way to get rid of Morgana is to get her toasted by his scaly reptilian kin.

So for a one-off, not bad. For ANOTHER tourney ep, not bad. For Merlin's wonderful and impassioned speeches to Gilli, well, I was declaring my undying love for Colin Morgan before the episode was over, so you know it was good.

One last thing: Merlin's plate of food at the end was hilarious only because Colin Morgan is A)lactose intolerant (so there goes the cheese), B)allergic to tomatoes (so get rid of those) and C)a vegetarian so Richard can have as much of that chicken as he likes. It's like the meat they keep putting down in front of the one who plays Uther and yet he always takes the bread off his plate first when he has to eat in a scene, thanks to him being a veggie, too. I got the joke and it's funny. Ha ha ha.

Next week, Cup of Life issues. Cenred, Morgause, and Morgana want the cup. Uther wants it too, and sends out Arthur and Merlin to fetch it before Evil, Inc. gets ahold of it. Merlin sends it off a cliff by accident. Arthur gets another arrow in the back. Morgause gets it and then her, Morgana, and Cenred take over Camelot and put Uther Pendragon on his knees before the throne of a magical sorcerer. You remember how Uther said Camelot wouldn't fall to a sorcerer while he was king? Well, guess he was wrong!

Questions abound: Are these Richard Wilson's last days as Gaius? Is Princess Evil Smirkana gonna get what's been coming to her all series? (One can ONLY hope.) Or is Uther going to die and let Arthur be king of all the land already?

These, and other burning questions (who's gonna drink the water, is Freya the now watery tart of legend, will she throw the sword at Merlin, why is Percival so damn much taller than Arthur, are Lancelot and Gwain gonna get along?) will be answered in the next two weeks.

Ta,
Bec

Forget Cleaning!

Sorry, I am going to whine...


So, Mum complained about me doing nothing around the house. She never asks for specific projects (I really wish that she would) but today I decided to clean some of the kitchen cupboards.

Shame. On. Me. I should never clean when she doesn't ask me to. Now I'm in trouble for hijacking the table for her planned dinner today. If I'd put it on the floor she'd have whined about that as well. If she hadn't had to run all the way back to town today we MIGHT have been able to finish cleaning before dinner was supposed to be started, but NOW I was in HER WAY when SHE wanted the table.

This is the second time she's done this to me. When she did this before (three or four years ago now,) I had cleaned cupboards all flippin' day and she came in, looked at the work in progress, and stated her floor was dirty.

We didn't speak for a week and her apology was wrapped in a "I was tired." I refused to live in the house with her full-time again for two years.

That's it. I will not clean for her again unless she requests it. I wouldn't want to be in her WAY...

Huff.

There. I'm done. Sorry about venting my spleen but I had to get this off what little chest I own.

Ta,
Bec

500TH POST!

YAY!

500 POSTS!

YAY!

BALLOONS! STREAMERS! CAKE! ICE CREAM!

(See, I didn't want to make my Merlin review the 500th post, but it appears I can't think of anything to say otherwise. So I guess it's going to be.)

Merlin review coming right up after the spoiler line.



SPOILER LINE!







Too Much Holding Back! Push The Envelope, Writers!

Yeah, they had a good premise but I gotta say, this one wasn't as good as the ads said it would be. I was mostly disappointed about poor, oblivious Arthur being poor and oblivious yet AGAIN.

The lighting in this one was tremendous, however, and Bradley and Angel did well in their little love scenes together. I may actually stop pairing Arthur and Merlin so much if they keep this up.

Yeah, Arthur didn't find out about Morgana (but end of series, guarantee that's going to change.) This episode played it safe-Arthur and Gwen's relationship is viewed by Uther as an enchantment, Morgana keeps her low-profile bad status intact, Gwen talks to Merlin about Morgana's badness, Merlin keeps himself from getting burned by the skin of his wrinkled old...well, you get the picture.

I wish this episode had risked more. I wish this had been the scenario: Gwen goes to Arthur and tells him about Morgana, and they decide to keep that between them and Merlin because it's a dangerous thing. BUT NO.

Arthur should have been able to suss out what was going on, and the fact that he didn't is disappointing. Morgana couldn't have been more obvious if she'd tried. She convinces him to go out there and she knows he's out there and then she convinces Uther to practically run him OVER with his horse as Arthur's lying on a blanket hooking up with Gwen? Come on. Arthur knew that Morgana knew and he AGAIN blatantly chose to ignore her evil. He won't be so damn stupid two episodes from now when she takes the whole effing kingdom out from under Uther's nose.

Arthur knew it wasn't Merlin, Gwen, or Gaius. Take a WILD guess who else it could be.

Also, Merlin should have been in much more danger (come on, you figured he was going to get out of it, you just didn't know when.) Why couldn't Merlin have said the sorcerer cast a spell on him as he ran by, affecting his voice or something? It was almost blatantly obvious Old!Merlin had been standing there not four seconds before Arthur came round the corner.

Oh, and one more thing-Colin Morgan was having too much damn fun under that old man makeup. He was practically wriggling with it. Then there was the fact that Merlin got to stand there and tell Uther exactly what he thought of him (and Arthur, who clearly didn't get the message about mistreating servants and made Merlin muck out the stables anyway.) I really wish there had been a scene between this version of Merlin and Morgana where he'd dressed her down for the bitch she is. Maybe there wasn't time, but there should have been.


On another note, there's a rumor floating about that one person from the main cast is going to permanently leave the show, and another be reduced to recurring. Here's my thoughts:

GAIUS-permanently gone. I've been saying it for at least a year already. He's the only member of the cast who ISN'T part of the legend. Richard Wilson was saying it was an exhausting schedule for someone who's in their 70's. They've already reduced him to half time. I would be willing to bet quite a bit of money that Gaius is going to go either be with Alice or he's going to be dead.

The two I would think would be reduced to half-time would be either Uther or Morgana. Seeing as the last two episodes show Morgana clearly wearing her evil stripes for all to see, wouldn't be surprised if it was her. She's going to have to make a run for it, and that means she won't be around as much to SMIRK.

I said Uther because he hasn't really been around that much this year, and I wouldn't be too terribly surprised to see him reduced to a lighter role. But that leaves Morgana to most likely die, and they're not going to do THAT so I'm sticking with Morgana on this one.

The next episode deals with some guy misusing his magic in Camelot and Merlin instructing him to use his powers for good. Maybe good ol' Merlin's going to get an ally who can do magic. Finally.

I do have to make one comment, though. This has been the year of the Harry Potter star lineup. We've had Flitwick, we've had Sprout, now we're getting Dudley (and he's magical! HA HA HA. Wonder what Uncle Vernon would say if he knew?)

EDIT: Talk about doof. Ha ha. Missed Mark Williams, who played Arthur Weasley and the Goblin from episode 3. Silly me.

The episode after that has Arthur and Merlin going to find the Cup of Life-which should be easy seeing as Merlin left it at the Isle of the Blessed, I believe, back in Series 1 when he killed Nimueh. Unless it's been moved, which is probably going to happen just to mess with our heads.

Question: How are they going to steer the boat to the Isle if Merlin can't use a spell in front of Arthur? Will there be scorch marks on the ground yet from Merlin's last trip there? How are they going to get there if Morgause has already arrived? Does the boat wait patiently or does it steer itself back or will there be a second boat with no oars waiting for them? AM I THINKING TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS?

The rumors about Nimueh's return are getting louder, especially with this whole Cup of Life business. I personally think Nimueh's going to be terrified of Merlin's powers because she got toasted by them the last time she saw him (and he's become more powerful since then.) I still think the whole thing is hogwash-aren't Morgause and Morgana ENOUGH to be dealing with, even if their followers are immortal? If Nimueh DOES show up, Merlin's worst kept secret is gonna get revealed to Morgause and Morgana, and boy oh boy is there going to be trouble when THAT happens. I call for a big magical battle where Merlin beats them up and chains them with magical chains in a forest full of big scorpions. And kills Nimueh. Again.

And the episode after that has Morgana on the throne with that UGLY crown on her head, causing havoc, mayhem, and trouble for all in Camelot..until Merlin and Arthur and the future Round Table turn up and kick. her. ass.

One last note: I wonder if Kilgarrah's going to put in an appearance here? He's only been in three episodes total this year and we're not likely to see him in the next one, so I suspect he'll turn up in at least one of the last two.

Ta,
Bec

Packages, Packages, Presents Galore!

Mom's present arrived today about ten minutes after she left the house and it's been wrapped because A) I want it done now and B) My mother is too sneaky for her own good. Wrapping paper slows her down.

One thing I can say: It was HUGE. I've never wrapped a bigger present. It's also fragile, so I want her to be careful with it.

The second set of presents arrived later. They were charity gifts, with each one funding something different according to the person who got them. Mom's was animal rescue, mine was literacy, Sara's was rainforest, Anna's was children in need. I'm wearing the bracelet I got myself right now. Mom already knows about her olive wood manger ornament because I wanted her to pick it this year. But Anna and Sara's will have to stay secret because they might be reading this.

All the other presents have been wrapped so far. Two more presents to be bought in town and then I'm done!

On another note, my leg is killing me thanks to the weather (first sticking snow of the year-yay.) And I'm still cleaning in the bedroom.

Gotta go do that, now, so ta,

Bec

Apple Cider Caramel Crisp

I have invented a new recipe. (You HEAR this, COOKSOURCE? It's MINE. You have to ask before you BORROW it...)

It's a mash-up conglomerate of two different recipes, one an apple pie with apple cider (I removed the pie bit and kept the cider reduction, adding my own stuff along the way), one an apple crisp (mostly removed the crisp.) Add a bit of inventionary spirit and you get the recipe below:

Apple Cider Caramel Crisp

Cider Caramel:
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup white sugar
1 T. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash nutmeg (optional)
dash vanilla extract (optional)

Cook over low heat until bubbly, then stir it until it forms a thick sauce, about 6-7 minutes on a hard boil.

The Crisp:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Walnuts or pecans (optional). Toasting them is also optional.

Mix the above ingredients.

The Apples:
6-7 apples, any kind
Lemon juice to prevent browning.

Cut the apples into thin slices and mix them with the oat mixture. Spoon them into a 9x13 pan, add small pats of butter or margarine on top. Drizzle the cider caramel mixture over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let it cool.

I forgot the nuts so the first one doesn't have any, but what would the harm be of a nut or two, unless one was allergic to them? I suppose you could also swap the white sugar for brown, but whatever tickles your fancy. Lord knows I just invented this one; why not variate?

Oh, and I would be willing to bet the cider caramel topping is a blast on ice cream. We haven't tried it yet. Also we're looking to try various extracts with the cider caramel next time around in the place of vanilla (maple, cinnamon, caramel...)

Ta,
Bec

Cleaning

I'm cleaning. I have to pack at some point here; this is the preliminaries.

In other words, I'm tearing apart everything I own and putting it back together, just in a different configuration and with less stuff that I don't want.

I have made more of a mess than anyone has a right to. The Goodwill pile is getting higher by the minute. The "You CAN take it with you" pile is getting larger as well.

This might take a couple of days; the clothes pile alone is going to take several hours.

It's definitely an insane way to do things, but if I go through it now I won't have to when I move out. (Cue laughter.)

Back to work,

Bec Koshak

Merlin Isn't Any Better At Sneaking...

Analysis of Episode 9 and a thought run on episode 10.









SPOILER LINE








Good episode, although it's going to get overshadowed by last week's amazing episode and next week's apparent slambanger.

One thing I must say: Merlin is the WORST sneak I've ever seen. That boy needs to learn something about concealment spells or silence his boots or learn how to duck BEFORE someone looks his way. How does he expect to stalk Morgana and everyone else if he's so terrible at sneakery?

On another note, I felt sorry for Gaius here, trying to believe that the girlfriend hadn't made a mistake and pushing Merlin away for it. But everything was back to normal in the end. I loved Merlin's little quip about the dungeons-who hasn't busted out of them at least once on this show before? Merlin does it once a year.

The sad thing was, Alice was a lovely, lovely woman who made a mistake, and because of that she did something evil and forbidden and had to leave Camelot or risk her own life. Hopefully she can come back when Arthur takes the throne. That would be nice, wouldn't it?

But I think they were giving us a nice, feel-good, fluffy sort of episode because all hell is about to break loose.


Next week, ooh boy. Here comes Morgana again. She's attempting to rip Gwen and Arthur apart. I don't know why-wouldn't it just be easier to KILL her and him in their sleep or something?

I have to wonder to myself (as I have been all week) why Morgana sees fit to go after Gwen when she's already gotten the girl banished. Does she find out Gwen's against her? Does Gwen tell Arthur? And Morgana better have decent and solid PROOF because Gwen's been accused of sorcery before (during the Avanc incidents of Series 1) and Morgana defended her then and told Uther there was absolutely no way she could be a sorceress. Damn, how times have changed, eh?

Of course, Uther doesn't need proof of sorcery-he only needs to hear it, but coming from Morgana he might question it after the last accusation was leveled three years previous.

And what about Arthur? If he finds out from Gwen about Morgana (why shouldn't he trust Gwen, who'll have the backing of Merlin and Gaius on this one,) or if he questions why exactly Morgana is telling Uther about his relationship with Gwen, everything between them is going to go boom. He'll never trust her again.

And Merlin pulls some sort of stunt and turns himself old. Inventing a sorcerer, especially one that looks like YOU, Merlin, in old man drag, seems kind of stupid right in the middle of Uther's courtyard, but if it works, Morgana will lose Arthur's faith forever. Was that last shot of old Merlin in the dungeons? Here we go again...

I predict someone may have to leave Camelot here. Uther's not gonna just forgive Gwen of sorcery, unless Morgana is proved wrong in that assumption. If Morgana's proved wrong then she'll be going thanks to her evil schemes being dug up (unlikely, as she takes over as Camelot's crown princess sometime this series.) Even if Morgana is proved wrong, Gwen's still gonna get banished for being with Arthur because Uther would rather be dead than see his son with a *shudder* servant! *shudder*. And if Merlin decides to play fake sorcerer he might have to leave town or risk his own very lovely neck (the disguise might help, however.) If Gwen goes, Arthur might go with her, which means Merlin would go, which means Morgana would have the run of the castle, the run of Uther, and she'll be wearing the ugly crown soon enough.

As soon as Morgana's evil is exposed, all but Gwen should be welcomed back into Camelot's borders. That roadtrip we heard tell about might be coming after next week thanks to everyone appearing to have left town on account of Gwen being banished. Three weeks to go after.

Ta,
Bec

Avanindra

I have reposted what was originally a story called "Saturama." Its name is now "Avanindra," and it's generally the same story with different names and an actual culture attached to it.

Here's the link if you want to listen to it; I'm trying to attach captioning so that one can read and see at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ_1xPbtZok&feature=player_embedded#!

Ta,
Bec

PS: Hilarious article I found on the BBC News website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11692799

Electrical current to the brain? Maybe they could tie me to a metal pole in the middle of a field during a thunderstorm and I'd become at least functional in math.

No, actually, scratch that. If they used as much electricity as I think they'd need, I wouldn't have to worry about my math disability anymore...or anything else for that matter...