.: so comes snow after fire :.

Last Sherlock entry for this season. A season that lasted one week and a half. And now we're back on hiatus. Oh joy.

Spoiler-free review, I think it was the best episode of this season, even considering it came after an episode I loved. But it had its problems. Although I think the huge problem always boils down to the fact that it's just three episodes every two years, and it's really showing.

( On to the spoilers! )

I'll download the 1080p version tomorrow, and then do a re-watching. It'll probably change my opinions slightly, how it always happens, but I think at the core this is what I got from this season. ^^

And now it's back to fanfics! \o/

Here it is, guys. The first Sherlock entry in two years. Drumroll and all.

The actual review is under the cut, but I think it needs a little preamble for you to see where I come from. During the last two years, because of various things, I've fallen a lot out of love with Sherlock. I realized I preferred the fandom version to the actual show, which I kept finding more and more troubling. With only six episodes, I only liked four, because one was too racist and one was too sexist. And under the faboulous acting, directing, cinematography, London and all, I came to realize the show missed a heart. In other words, if Elementary was about the Heart of this story, Sherlock was the Brain. That 'something' that I loved came more from fanfics than from the actual canon.

Tie that with a very, very disappointing Doctor Who season by the same showrunner, and I grew bored with the wait. To be fair, I never actually cared how Sherlock even faked his own death. I was more interested in his return, in his reunion with John, in how they could make it work after what he had done. And recent happenings at the screening of the first episode a few weeks back didn't help in bringing back that old joy I found in this show.

That being said, today I came back from therapy, made myself a cuppa, and sat in front of the tv to enjoy the new episode with a huge breath and a clean mind.

( So here's my review, spoilers and all. )

Comments are much appreciated, I'm downloading a 1080p version for a second viewing, I'm betting it'll feel a lot different now that I've already seen it. ^^

First, the great news: my aunt called me yesterday to tell me she's coming over here next thursday, and she'll stay for six days! It wasn't planned, but with the panic attack, the ambulance, the bronchitis, I think I did scare her a lot. Anyway, she's coming over! Yessssssss! And I'm feeling better, so I can enjoy her company instead of spending the day sneezing and coughing in bed, double yay!

Yesterday was also the 50th Doctor Who anniversary. I'm probably the only one in the fandom who decided not to watch the episode. I was very, very, VERY disappointed with the last seasons, and I didn't want them to spoil my memories of Ten and Rose with another disappointing episode. Plus I was counting on my friends to write reviews, and the first one I read, by the lovely tsuki_yagami, confirmed what I feared. Oh well. Gotta wait until the next showrunner, I guess.

After the episode they aired the new Sherlock trailer, which didn't actually tell us anything new, except that the girl playing Rae in My Mad Fat Diary is in it, and that made me shriek in joy, and that John's moustache keeps looking like a dead animal. Sorry, I literally have nothing else to say about it, because it was really too short and about scenes we had already seen. I guess the next one will be more about the actual story. And maybe with an actual date, somewhere. *crosses fingers*

Since my lungs are cooperating again, I sat at my drumkit the other day, for the first time in two weeks. After two songs I had to lie down for a bit, but hey, I still got it! *_____*

Less than three months to The Desolation of Smaug, and I'm getting ready:



Isn't it the most adorable keychain ever? It's a cute little Smaug! I love it! And it was made by a very talented friend of mine too, Florealpolla. The link goes to her Etsy shop, she is currently selling two Sherlock and two Supernatural keychains, but there are more on the way (I check her shop daily like the creepy fangirl I am). Go buy one! Tell her I sent you! And while you're at it make it sound as if I were the Wicked Witch with her flying monkeys because that would be super cool! :D

And since we're still in Happy Premiere Week, the new Modern Family episodes were great! And Cam and Mitchell managed to make me cry, again. It happens at least once a season with those two. What can I say, they are adorable, and I'm weak. ^^

Remember all the cardio I did the other day? It's come back to bite me in the ass, literally. So many cramps in places I didn't even know had muscles. Had to skip gym today because of all the gym last monday, what the hell. Not to mention Sakura is feeling extra cuddly today, and doesn't understand why everytime she jumps on my stomach I push her away crying. She thinks it's a new game, I'm sure. Right now she's trying to climb my right arm, so any typo is her fault.

This morning I bought a new external hard drive, because the one I had was already full. I did a quick research online, and found out that they're doing them in terabytes now. Wow. I remember a few years back terabytes were for Nasa only. In the end I bought a Western Digital one, 1 terabyte of space (again, wow), and already filled 100 gbs of space with tv series and comfort movies. Yes, I made a folder specifically for movies that I watch when I'm feeling sad and need a hug, even if I have them all on bluray in the other room, but hey, there are never too many copies of my favourite movies. :D

Here it is, right out of the box, with the new The Hobbit artbook:



I've already ordered a bunch of stickers from RedBubble, for the laptop and the external hard-drives. They're going to look so pretty. *______*

And say hello to my new wallet!



I'm predictable, I know. It's leather, so it smells awesome, and has a billion pockets inside and doesn't look weird even if I filled it with coins.

On other fandom news, I'm up-to-date with Gravity Falls, which is an incredibly awesome series, and everyone should watch it, and has the most beautiful and realistic sibling relationship I've ever seen in western animation (except for Lilo and Nani, of course) and I'm totally Dipper. :D Seriously, watch it, you'll thank me.

And kudos to those kind souls who scan and upload online comics the very day they're released. I just finished reading the new Hawkeye issue, and it was, in a (predictable) word, BRILLIANT. I love everything about this series, the women, the fashion, the "bro" guys, everything! \o/

What a wonderful day! We spent it all in a SPA, my aunt, uncle and I. Outside it was raining and cold, we chose the perfect day indeed. We bought the whole package, and spent five hours being pampered (I swear there were moments I could hear John Finnemore's sketch about being pampered playing in my head!). First we spent 30 minutes in the sauna, where I had to take off my glasses. So my aunt and uncle took turns guiding me holding my hand. Then we went in the jacuzzi, which was incredibly fun. As soon as they turned the bubbles on we all started laughing out loud, playing in the water, trying to float. :D

Then it was time for our massages, which was a first for me. The guy was really sweet, and my god it felt wonderful. My back feels like it's made of pudding and rainbows. I'm definitely going to do it again. *_____*

It was time for the sauna again, except this time a guy walked past me in his red bathsuit, that was identical to John's infamous red pants (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check reapersun's blog on tumblr), so I froze on the spot, with two thoughts screaming through my head: "don't stare at his crotch" and "don't laugh". My uncle had to rescue me, I was standing there giggling helplessly. :D

There was also a room where we walked through hot water and then cold water, for the legs. My uncle and I jumped up and down in the hot water, and then rushed through the cold one, like kids, it was so much fun. *___*

Yesterday my aunt and I went to the cinema to watch Anna Karenina. We both loved it, and we stopped afterwards to talk about it with a few Russian women who were sitting next to us. It was so interesting to hear their thoughts about the movie!

Sadly tomorrow is my last day here, but I'm trying not to think about that. ^^

Spring is finally here! Yes! I finally got my spring jacket out of the wardrobe, and all around Venice people were taking off their coats and walking around in their shirts, because the sun was so warm. I also discovered a nice chocolaterie (yep, a shop where they make and sell all kinds of Venetian chocolate stuff), and bought enough chocolate to last me for a month. Still, I promised the girl there I'd be back before that, because there's Tati's birthday, and my aunt is coming in two weeks, and, you know, chocolate. And in two days from today I'll be in Florence for the Mumford & Sons concert. Such a wonderful week! \o/

And look what finally arrived. I ordered them back in January, but the package was blocked at customs, in Milan, and I had to send them all kinds of info, and then call them on the phone, and I was starting to think I'd only get them after the next movie. Just when I was about to lose all hope, today they finally arrived:



There's no way they'll all fit in the tea cabinet. Also, my aunt is going to take a look at all that tea and laugh her sides off. But it's worth it! And my therapist says that I should just throw myself in the Tolkien fandom, because it's a trauma overcome, so they are therapeutic. Yes, I'm going to go for that excuse with my aunt. ;)

Now I should probably do the pre-trip laundry, which mostly consists of running around the house, tripping on Sakura while shouting "where are my socks?! I can't find any underwear!". Good times. :D

EDIT: Benedict Cumberbatch just confirmed the cast signed on for a 4th season of Sherlock!!! Let the celebrations begin!!! In my case, a hot cup of Bilbo Brew:



Irish breakfast, sweet potato, vanilla green and cinnamon bits. It tastes like a sunny meadow in the summer, with just that bit of a spice to be ready for an adventure. *______*

I managed to drink some tea, eat a few cookies, I'm slowly feeling better. It's been snowing a lot since this morning, and there's a crazily high alert for acqua alta tomorrow in Venice, two events that don't make any sense at all together, but we already knew this winter is batshit crazy. There's some news of the day that I wanted to comment on here, but first, let's proceed with this week's meme:

day one • a song
day two • a picture
day three • a book/ebook/fanfic
day four • a website
day five • a youtube clip



Sakura has been my shadow all day. She realized something was wrong when I woke her up running to the bathroom at 2 am, so she joined me on the couch and never took her eyes off me since then. She's the mom in our relationship, what can I say. Just before dinner she decided she wanted to go out a bit, and I grabbed my camera and opened the door for her. She took two steps on the freshly fallen snow and jumped back in horror. I took this picture, scooped her up and put her back on the couch. :D

Now, the news of the day! First, pre-production on the third season of Sherlock has officially started, and filming will start in March. I'm definitely too weak to flail my arms and squee like such a piece of news would deserve, but I'm celebrating in my mind. ;)

Then, the ninth season of Supernatural is now official! I wasn't really worried, since they've been doing way better numbers than last year, but it's great to see it confirmed. \o/

Last but definitely not least, the Pope has resigned. Now, I live in the most Catholic country of all, and let me tell you, it is a big deal. He was supposed to die. This is the third time ever, and the first one in 600 years, what the hell. Popes don't resign, popes die. What the double hell. I still have to decide what the best part was: the hundreds of jokes that appeared on my Facebook dash (I follow quite a few Atheistic groups) in less than fifteen minutes, Tati and I reading the announcement online and laughing our asses off every two words, my attempt at a happy dance even when every muscle in my body was hurting. And on mom's birthday too! She would have loved this! *_________*

This is it, the first picture of 2013, taken a few minutes after the stroke of midnight:



Because this is the first thing we do, after toasting to the New Year. ;)

I'm hoping LJ will start working again, this is a very unfortunate time of the year to stop working, not to mention I still have lots of persons to send virtual gifts to. Talking of mechanical faults, and because I want to start this new year with silly anedoctes, the other day my Kindle, for the very first time, stopped working. I was curled up in bed reading a rather hot fanfic, and it died on the most NC17 page of all. Got stuck there. And when I realized it wouldn't restart and nothing worked, I made then and there a solemn oath to buy a new one instead of calling support because then I would have to refuse to take a picture of what was the problem. :D Couldn't it get blocked two pages earlier when they were still having coffee?!

Anyway, with the help of google, I fixed it, and now it's working fine. Apparently it's something the software does from time to time, but it had never happened to me. It was quite a scare. But it was also really really funny. XD

Hope you will all have a fantastic new year! \o/

First things first, my aunt is here! We had pizza for lunch, orange juice and chocolate. I always feel like a kid when I'm around her, in a lovely way. ^^ I gave her her birthday gift, we gossiped about some of our relatives, and complained a lot about the cold weather. :D

Look what arrived today!





I read only a couple of pages, but it's hilarious. It's written by John, with Sherlock leaving whiny, smug yellow notes everywhere. Except for the Reichenbach Fall chapter, where the only note by Sherlock is on the final page. And according to Richard Brook's curriculum vitae, one of his roles was Algie in The Importance Of Being Earnest. I have no idea why, but I found that hilarious. :D