We got gifts from all sorts of other people, too -- the Supreme Court justices' names often appear on mine, and my sisters will get things from famous people related to their professions. We also get them from people whose identities supply a hint about what's inside.

In my family, there are lots of presents from Elves' Local Union 1225.

Lookie what I got at Comic-Con! [link]

Lookie what I got at Comic-Con! [link]

I think I might like that Harry better than the movie version or the book cover illustration version.

Do we know when Dumbledore started teaching at Hogwarts? Because, if we go with the information that he's 150 years old (which, according to hp-lexicon, isn't from any of the books -- it's from an interview with JKR), then that makes the summer with Grindelwald into the summer of 1858, and then the next definite date of him doing anything that we have is that he was already a teacher at Hogwarts when Riddle started, in the late 30s. So that's eighty years where we know he was on the Wizengamot and discovered the uses for dragon's blood and published some papers, but there don't see to have been any more significant events there.

And also, that's eighty years of Grindelwald doing -- stuff. Seems like a lot of time to wait between getting the Elder Wand and gaining power.

According to the chronology listed in wikipedia, Dumbledore started teaching in 1891, but it's missing a citation so I don't know how accurate it is.

ETA for bad spelling

I'm terribly anal about crossovers, actually - the fact that Dawn specifically mentions the existance of the Harry Potter books, and Xander (and the Trio) making all their Spiderman/Superman comments really make it hard for me to suspend disbelief for crossovers with other canons.

Sometimes I can sling a rope around disbelief's neck, hang it from the rafters and go 'lalala I can't hear you' while reading something good, though.

eta

Oooh! Polgara, I was watching Smallville Season 6 earlier today, and there was a big strapping dude who did the whole built-in-impalement-device thing, and I was all "You're a Polgara Demon!" at the screen. And then reflecting upon how insanely referential things are, when their monster reminds me of a Buffy monster named after your good self, whom I assume to be named after the David Eddings character? It's like six degrees of, er, something.

I was noticing on that timeline that Hermione's birthday is the day before mine (And ten fictional years apart.). But have they ever celebrated Hermione's birthday? I don't think so.

I'm terribly anal about crossovers, actually - the fact that Dawn specifically mentions the existance of the Harry Potter books, and Xander (and the Trio) making all their Spiderman/Superman comments really make it hard for me to suspend disbelief for crossovers with other canons.

Alternate dimensions! waves hands frantically.

And then reflecting upon how insanely referential things are, when their monster reminds me of a Buffy monster named after your good self, whom I assume to be named after the David Eddings character?

and also the way that every supernatural/fantasy/sci fi shows steals or adapts from Buffy.

and also the way that every supernatural/fantasy/sci fi shows steals or adapts from Buffy.

wrod.

...it's fun, watching the same tropes get played out in different shows, though. The 'Oh Noes, I'm crazy! It was all a dream!' schtick being the most recent one I've rolled my eyes over.

...it's fun, watching the same tropes get played out in different shows, though. The 'Oh Noes, I'm crazy! It was all a dream!' schtick being the most recent one I've rolled my eyes over.

How about a Buffy episode where a demon or curse transforms everyone into LOLCats?