Screengrab by Various Today in Nerve's film blog: Holiday special - 35 people, places and movies we're thankful for.
The Remote Island by Bryan Christian Michael Phelps indulges Anderson Cooper in some watersports and Dexter makes a 'bitch move.' Plus: the secret of Tina Fey's scar, revealed!
Dating Advice From . . . Engineers by Steph Auteri Q. For optimal functionality, what should go into a first-date emergency kit? A. Fine wine, road flares, a snake-bite kit and Ghirardelli chocolates.
Lie Detector
Connect this Truth Verifier to your cell phone, pull out your lover's credit card bill and start asking questions. The device measures voice tremors, so it's useless on the constantly nervous or the preternaturally calm, but you shouldn't be dating them anyway.
$4.95 www.911.co.kr
Sony Mavica
If the phrases "2.1 megapixel CD-R-based MPEG" and "Tiff-compatible digital still camera" don't turn you on, whatever does can be swiftly recorded at unflatteringly high resolutions by the new Sony Mavica. Never mind that the same memory can be embedded in a smaller device — this baby looks cool, records both short digital videos and hundreds of photographs and comes with features every bedroom documentarian needs, like "optical image stabilization" and "precision digital zoom."
$1,300
1-800-222-SONY
OXO Spatula
Chefs have been using the spatula for patting of the gluteus maximus for
centuries. Some historians believe it was originally created for that purpose, and was later adapted for baking. Okay, maybe not. But I am a big fan of this application, and have been ever since my mother told me a warm sponge cake should spring back, when pressed, as eagerly as a firm mattress. For either use, there is no better choice than the OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatula. The grip's good, and most importantly, it's heat-resistant to six hundred degrees.
$8.99 www.oxo.com
Spalding NBA Infusion Basketball
The patented micropump is actually inside the ball for inflation-on-demand — jealous? It can also be used for time-lapse pregnancy demonstrations, adjustable head propping and for gently
separating your lover's thighs.
$44.95 www.spalding.com
The Tingler
Like the rest of us, the common eggbeater longs to do more — not just to go in circles but to touch people. This was the revelation of two entrepreneurs who took wire cutters to their kitchen utensil, bent out the spokes and started a-tingling the scalp. I took one to a party and within minutes was trailed by a gaggle of plaintive supplicants. Supplies a wince-inducing electroshock of pleasure that, like the best things in life, is less fun when self-administered.
$25.00 www.everythingforlove.com
, featuring curious yet marvelous infusions of cucumber and rose petal.
