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• Holiday Gift Guide: IOU

  Let’s be honest: It’s easy to forget when Christmas is. Is it the second Tuesday of December this year? Maybe it’s in January? Or maybe it’s one of those years where we don’t celebrate Christmas. It’s difficult to remember, and then, of course, the day sneaks up on you, and you don’t have any presents. With most stores closed the day before, and you clearly panicking, it’s time to break out the trustiest tool in the gift-giver’s book: an IOU. Since we’re being honest here, you’re fighting an uphill battle with an IOU, so there’s a couple of tips and tricks to remember that will turn your IOU into an IOHWOW... Read More... Posted Dec 24 2007, 11:00 AM by Alex Zalben with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Nothing Says 'Merry Christmas' Like a Last-Minute Magazine Subscription

  If you've waited until the last minute to finish your Christmas shopping, it's too late to buy online, and the thought of fighting crowds at the stores this afternoon makes you crave Makers Mark on the rocks, stat, have no fear. Since a magazine subscription can't be wrapped and placed under the tree anyway, your recipient never has to know you saved him or her for last. For highly literate, midbrow, culture fiends, you really can't go wrong with any of these great magazines: Read More... Posted Dec 24 2007, 09:00 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Messenger Bag

  If you're an urban dweller, you probably already know the necessities for daily life and getting around: comfortable shoes, good coffee, and a cool messenger bag. Girls can get away with purses for carrying their makeup and money and whatnot, but add a couple books and magazines into the mix for subway reading, and a purse just may not cut it. And guys definitely need a messenger bag. Even if they've got a girlfriend with a purse, I can tell you from personal experience, we do not have any extra room in there for your crap! Get your own bag! Or better yet, ladies, get your man a bag, like this one, which is all masculine raw rugged leather (Amazon, $140) . And guys? Get your lady a pretty bag like this olive green vinyl number with mint stitching (GreenergrassDesign, $68) and maybe, just maybe, she can manage to find room in there for your keys. Posted Dec 21 2007, 03:00 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: personal care, holiday gift guide: design, holiday gift guide: over $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Skinny Lighter

  Offering someone a light with one of these stylish stick lighters sure beats passing a book of matches or a cheap drugstore childproof lighter. After all, to be banished outside for a smoke is one thing, to be banished without the proper accessories is just embarrassing. A perfect stocking stuffer for your favorite smoker (including the potheads). (Fitzsu, $28) Posted Dec 21 2007, 01:00 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: design

• Holiday Gift Guide: Puzzle Alarm Clock

  Here’s the perfect passive-aggressive present for the person on your gift list who can’t be bothered to meet you anywhere on time: a Puzzle Alarm Clock. This nifty little gadget has an easy four piece puzzle attached to the top of it. Easy, that is, until it fires the pieces in the air when the alarm rings, and the only way of getting it to stop ringing is by putting the puzzle back together. Say goodbye to the snooze button forever after purchasing this little baby; it just won’t be worth it. The Puzzle Alarm Clock costs $97, but if time is money, think about how much money you’ll be making not having to wait for your now cranky, but awake friend? (Bim Bam Banana) Posted Dec 21 2007, 12:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets

• Holiday Gift Guide: A Cylon To Call Your Own

  Excuse me while I nerd out on you for a little bit, but Battlestar Galactica is one of the best TV shows ever, and I think pretty much anyone who watches it will agree. In fact, I don’t think anyone who’s actually watched the series would think otherwise. Do you have that friend, though, who’s taken their love of the show to the next level? Have they started saying “frak” instead of cursing? Did you find them absently mindedly humming “All Along the Watchtower?” Were they also really disappointed in Bionic Woman, but kept watching it to play “Catch which BSG actor they’re using this week?” Then why not help them take their addiction to the next level, with a life-size Cylon from Sideshow Collectibles... Read More... Posted Dec 21 2007, 11:00 AM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Penis Pokey

  What's the holidays without a little family fun? Sure, you've got Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, and MadGab to keep you busy after the gifts are open and brunch has been served. And then you've got Penis Pokey. A full-color illustrated board book with large cut-out holes on each page where one thing is missing--a "banana, perhaps, a fire hose, or a sea serpent. Male readers can complete the illustrations using the talents God has given them." For female readers, I guess there's always our tongues. If the thought of watching your father or brother complete the photos with their God-given talents creeps your out, you might want to save this one for your New Year's party. Nothing like bringing in 2008 with lots of full frontal. (Amazon, $9.95). Posted Dec 21 2007, 10:00 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: books

• Holiday Gift Guide: Bi-Polar Doormat

  This awesome doormat is perfect for the bi-polar people on your list. When they're manic, they can position the doormat to read "Come in," and everyone can go inside and have lots of crazy fun. And when they're depressed, they can simply turn the doormat around to the "Go Away" side and everyone will know to immediately turn around and run! From UnicaHome, which offers overnight, 2-day and 3-day shipping for all you last-minute shoppers. ($27.50) Posted Dec 21 2007, 09:00 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: home design

• Holiday Gift Guide: J. Shoes

  Ladies, you know how you're always bitching at your man to clean up his style and ditch those worn-out sneakers already? Well, now it's your chance to make that happen! Get him a pair of J. Shoes for Christmas and make both of you happy in the process. He'll love that they're comfortable and cool looking, and you'll love that they're clean and cool looking. Buy them at Bluefly and save up to 56%. ($40-$95). Posted Dec 21 2007, 08:00 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: clothing, holiday gift guide: over $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Rain Gear

  Like bills, taxes, heartbreak, and gas, rain is just one of those inevitable unpleasant things in life. Luckily, unlike those other unavoidables, rain provides the perfect opportunity to look cute while jumping in puddles. Accessories like these fun, colorful rainboots (Plueys, $55) and rosebush umbrella (FinnStyle, $40) can even make one look forward to a few drops from the sky. I think I can safely say, though, that there's nothing that will have the same effect on gas. Posted Dec 20 2007, 07:00 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: over $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Personal Submarine

  Oh, rich people. Always inventing fabulous ways for yourselves to die, aren’t you? Here’s a brand spanking new one, though, and the perfect gift if you have $1.5 million and absolutely nothing to do with it*: a personal submarine from Neiman Marcus. Long known as “that place with the over-the-top Christmas gifts,” ranging from a tiger covered in diamonds (seriously), to a private concert with Elton John (also, seriously, but not quite as ridiculous), this year’s gift is an underwater vehicle for one. Here’s the unfortunate news: it’s totally awesome... Read More... Posted Dec 20 2007, 06:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets, 000, holiday gift guide: over $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Tumblers

  There are plenty of things that go well with a cold beer: New York style pizza, making out, a second beer. Somehow though, it's all just a little bit better when the beer is served in a great glass, like these tumblers made from recycled Mexican Sol' bottles. Then again, you can stick to a lame glass and just wait for the fifth beer for everything to get a bit better... (Elsewares, $32) Posted Dec 20 2007, 05:00 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: kitchen, holiday gift guide: home design

• Holiday Gift Guide: Wi-Fi Detector Shirt

  Here’s the perfect gift for the signal-hunter in your life: The Wi-Fi Detector Shirt. This completely washable t-shirt (as long as you remove the included battery pack) will show you how strong the wi-fi signal strength is in the area near his chest for up to three hours a charge, and is sure to make him the hit of any party. Did I say party? I meant, “park.” You can pick one up at Think Geek (purveyors of all the finest geek paraphernalia) for only $29.99, plus your dignity. Posted Dec 20 2007, 04:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Colorful Scarf

  Most of us hate cold weather and merely tolerate winter because we have no choice. There are some things that make December - March more tolerable, though: a warm body to cozy to or even a lukewarm body will do potluck dinner parties with plenty of wine or skip the dinner and just have the wine a warm, colorful, stylish scarf wrapped around the neck gypsy-style (UrbanOutfitters, $24) Posted Dec 20 2007, 03:00 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Marshmallow Shooter

  Now here’s a practical gift the whole family can enjoy, combining two of humankinds favorite things: warfare, and marshmallows. The Marshmallow Shooter, winner of the 2006 and 2007 Creative Child’s Magazine Top Toy of the Year*, takes mini-marshmallows, and turns them into delicious weapons of mini-destruction. The basic Marshmallow Shooter holds 25 mini-marshmallows, and will shoot them at high speeds an astonishing thirty feet. I hope it’s with pin-point accuracy, otherwise my I really shouldn’t have put my cup of hot cocoa on the other side of the room... Read More... Posted Dec 20 2007, 02:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Coasters

  Let's talk coasters, shall we? They're a timeless sort of gift that break gender and age borders and are universally needed. People never seem to have enough of them, mostly because one set usually only has 4 coasters, so if you live with one of two people and you have more than a couple of guests at one time, someone is going to go without, and that is a bad thing. A very bad thing. So coasters are a good gift. A practical gift. But that doesn't mean they can't be fun!  Here are a few options for various "types" on your holiday list: Read More... Posted Dec 20 2007, 01:00 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Crosley Director CD Recorder

  Here’s the perfect gift for your non-DJ friend who’s still stuck on vinyl: The Crosley Director CD Recorder. This little baby is a record player, a CD player, a tape player, and has an AM/FM radio. PLUS, it’s also a CD Burner, so you can actually take your tapes and records, and burn ‘em to CDs. You know, because CDs are going to be around for so much longer. Crosley has a number of other models available in a wood color that’ll match your furnishings. Because you live in a log cabin, right caveman? FYI, none of the models play 8-tracks. The Director CD Recorder will cost you $299.99, with other models ranging from $99.99 to $399.99. (Crosley) Posted Dec 20 2007, 12:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets

• Holiday Gift Guide: Modern Day June Cleavers

  Women of the 70's may have burned their bras and aprons and lipgloss and who knows what else, but modern women, or post-post modern women, or whatever you want to call us have re-embraced our feminine sides. We're hanging out in the kitchen and we like it *. And we're even happier in there when we've got pretty stuff to look at, use, and wear like these dish towels ($14-18), oven mitts ($7.95-$14), and aprons ($28-$38) from Anthropologie. * Okay, not all of us like hanging out in the kitchen. In fact, some of us would rather stick our tongues in an electric mixer than use one to bake cookies, but that doesn't mean we don't still appreciate pretty towels and stuff. After all, we want nice things to look at when we go rummaging through the kitchen drawers looking for our favorite take-out menu.  Posted Dec 20 2007, 11:00 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: kitchen

• Holiday Gift Guide: Not Your Grandma's Wallet

  A wallet might seem like the kind of gift a grandmother would give her grandson for Christmas, but unless Ol' Grandma is hip on modern design trends, I promise she's not giving away any of these for the holidays: db clay wallets are like little pieces of art that can be carried in a back pocket everyday ($48-$85); J. Fold sports wallets are sleek, stylish, and super durable to endure extreme wear and tear (Amazon, $60); this one's made with duct tape, so you know it'll come in handy if the recipient ever needs to execute super MacGyver moves (UncommonGoods, $20). Posted Dec 20 2007, 10:00 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: over $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: iBoxer

  Coffee Makers? Donut Trucks? Is this Nerve.com, or lame-os.com*? I thought so. Then it's time to get all sexy up in this Gift Guide, don’t you think? Without further ado, what more perfect gift than iPod Underwear for the holidays. It’s the present that says, “I like music, but I’m totally hot for you. Also, I hope you already have an iPod.” From Play (which actually spells their letter “A” with a play sign, but I’m too lazy to figure out how to code the webding for that) comes two different versions: iBoxer for Men, and iBoxer for Women. These 93% cotton, 7% spandex boxers come in a variety of colors, are available for under $20, and sport a nifty little pocket big enough to hold an iPod, cell phone, or snacks**... Read More... Posted Dec 19 2007, 07:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Sony HDR-SR5C

  To say I would like an HD camcorder with built in hard drive is an understatement*. I covet one with an intensity that puts Christian Bale’s acting to shame. But not his abs. Dude is jacked. For those of you who do a fair amount of video editing, you know that one of the biggest problems is keeping track of, and logging tape. I have a huge pile of film just staring at me, daring me to spend several hours doing the most boring task imaginable. This is why television networks hire people whose sole job is to log footage: no one else will do it. So, it is with holiday cheer that I tell you Sony is currently running a special on the HDR-SR5C, a 100GB Hi-Def Camcorder. For $219 off, you get the camcorder, a case, a battery, and a remote control tripod. The whole bundle will cost you $1,300, which is about how much the camera costs separately. Free stuff! Cool! Read More... Posted Dec 19 2007, 06:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets

• Holiday Gift Guide: Lacie Golden Disk

  Repeat after me: I’ve got a golden hard drive. I’ve got a golden hard drive! Okay, doesn’t quite work (I was going for a little Willy Wonka tuneage, in case that wasn’t clear), but it does serve as a nice introduction to the latest drool-worthy hard drive from Lacie. For those of you not familiar, Lacie makes some of the most stable external hard drives available. I own four (!) external desktops, and a small portable, and so far they’ve never failed me*. Most of Lacie’s drives pimp the brushed metal Mac style, and for your tech-savvy friends, that’s all fine and good. But for the ostentatious Donald Trump wannabe in your life, nothing says bling like a big gold brick to store their files... Read More... Posted Dec 19 2007, 05:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets

• Holiday Gift Guide: Urban Beauty Survival Set

  With "all the beauty essentials you need to survive in the urban jungle," the Urban Survival Set is perfect for, you guessed it, the urban glam girl. Featuring an assortment of the popular Urban Decay's best-selling products in travel sizes, the set can be thrown into a clutch bag and pulled out between office and dinner, dinner and the bar, and the bar and after-party. Hell, it can even be discretely used the next morning before the walk-of-shame home. All it's missing is advil for the hangover. (Sephora, $42) Posted Dec 19 2007, 04:00 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: personal care

• Holiday Gift Guide: Make 'Em Laugh

  Let's face it, the holidays can be a really crappy time for some people. They have a way of magnifying all the shit that's wrong in our lives: unemployment, dysfunctional family, love handles, depleted bank account, no sex in months, nose hair. I mean, God, it's all just so depressing, so why not give a gift that'll make 'em laugh, like the complete first series of the hilarious Flight of the Conchords ($23.99). Even if the music, lyrics, and dialogue weren't funny enough to keep me watching, there's the added bonus of Jemaine's luscious, pillowy lips. And if comedy records are more their thing, there's one thing that is a definite must-have. Read More... Posted Dec 19 2007, 02:40 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: dvd's

• Holiday Gift Guide: Dart Coat Darts

  Sure, darts are a fun bar game--especially when the pitchers are halfprice and the jukebox is loaded with all your favorites, but their usefulness doesn't end there. Darts also make great stir tabs, hardy poster tacks, and with the addition of screw tips, very convenient wall-mounted coat hooks! A great stocking stuffer for the person who needs a bit of encouragement keeping tidy. (Elsewares, $34) Posted Dec 19 2007, 01:45 PM by Wendy Atterberry with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Levitating Hover Scooter

  I’m going to try and actually post a few things people can, you know, afford after this, but holy crap, who wouldn’t want a Levitating Hover Scooter for the Holidays? Hammacher Schlemmer, of “Wow, I don’t need that, but I want that” fame has released a vehicle that is simultaneously more awesome, and dorkier than the Segway. Essentially, it’s a giant disk that floats over ground that you ride at 15 miles an hour. And it floats. Did I mention that you’ll be floating through the air?   Read More... Posted Dec 19 2007, 12:45 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: gadgets

• Holiday Gift Guide: Daily Grind

  Somehow, my gyne and dentist appointments, boring meetings, and interviews for gigs I know I won't get seem a tad more tolerable when I'm scheduling them in a cute planner like this one from poketo ($17), which comes with monthly, weekly, address, list, and blank pages, as well as pockets to store receipts, business cards and the like. A great gift for the person always on the go who needs something with a little more personality than your average planner from Office Max. Of course, some people prefer to keep track of schedules on a wall calendar. For the modern art lover, this moon phase calendar from the MoMA Design store is hot ($17). How about an award-winner, like this one by Herman Yu, featuring 12 original botanical images (Rare Device, $33), or this beautiful--and popular--handmade calendar from Creative Thursday ($35)? Posted Dec 19 2007, 11:45 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: design

• Holiday Gift Guide: A Little Bling

  So you want to give your girl some jewelry this Christmas but you have no idea where to begin. I'm sure she's probably been dropping 2-ton hits left and right, but you've failed to pick up on them. I get it, it's a guy thing. We start talking about jewelry, cramps, and Brad Pitt and you immediately tune us out. All the more reason to do right by us with some pretty bling. She may not forget about that naked ring finger on her left hand, but these other options are bound to please long enough to buy you a little time: Read More... Posted Dec 19 2007, 10:00 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: design, holiday gift guide: over $50

• Holiday Gift Guide: Endo Magnet

  Strong enough to hold kitchen utensils, an iPod, and even a Chuck Taylor, the endo magnet is an attractive, well-designed, super functional magnet that's ideal for the cook who needs easy access to his or her recipes, or the person who'd lose his head--or at least his shoe--if it weren't magnetized to something. With a simple push of a button, the endo magnet releases whatever it's holding, without the need to release the magnet itself from its place...making it a perfect stocking-stuffer for lazy people, too. (The Endo, $10-12) Posted Dec 19 2007, 08:39 AM by Wendy Atterberry with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: holiday gift guide, holiday gift guide: under $50, holiday gift guide: kitchen, holiday gift guide: home design

• Holiday Gift Guide: Donut Truck

  We all have that friend, the one who's career isn't panning out. The one who's stuck in a rut, and only daily joy comes from creating new and exciting concoctions in the kitchen. They keep saying, "Oh, if only I was a chef, I'd be happier." Time to give that friend a kick in the butt. Exclusively available from Some Guy comes your very own Lil Orbits Mini Donut Concession Van Business! Read More... Posted Dec 18 2007, 06:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: holiday gift guide, 000, holiday gift guide: over $50