Any Blog experts out there?

OK, so i seem to have completely destroyed my blog. Permalinks aren't really working. and to be honest, I'm not entirely certain what a permalink does anyway. And I've managed to lose the entire archive. so most of the older entries may be gone at this point. not really sure how to get to them.
Beyond that, everything is fantastic. No idea what to screen at the next secret movie night or if anyone will even show up. Not sure why I bother.
But if you have any idea of how to fix my blog, please let me know. I'm a bit lost at the moment.

[UPDATE]
Ok, so i think the archive is back to where it was before i messed it all up. Although I'd rather have a simple monthly listing for the archive.
But why doesn't Blogger just have a simple "turn on Permalinks" button? that makes so much sense, right?
I've searched everywhere for help on this and there is not one straight-forward method to solve my problem. Unless, of course, I use the basic blogger template.

OK, enough blogging. time for sleep. Something that i can certainly do well.