Monday, December 15, 2008

list: 10 swell gift ideas

Proot Records.  Free record label from France.  Download their most recent efforts, then download the rest.  I can't get enough of their stuff.

Fuji Instax 7s.  A worthy successor to the Polaroid Instamatic.  Take instant pictures on business card-sized film and hand them to surprised onlookers.  You could shell out $130 for the camera at Urban Outfitters, or roll the dice on eBay for much less.  Don't forget to buy the film.

Midori Traveler's Notebook.  This is the notebook you'd expect to see Indiana Jones writing in at a sidewalk cafe in Tangiers.  Sure, it lacks the cool polish of the Filofax or the easy portability of a Moleskine wrapped in a custom Gfeller leather cover, but it's big enough to hold your airline tickets, takes all manner of custom inserts, and is unlike anything you've ever used.

Flemish Primitive Wild Ale.  This is remarkable stuff.  "For centuries, wild Brettanomyces yeast floating on the open air in Flanders has fermented the local brew, producing a fruity and complex farmhouse character that aficionados recognize as distinctly Belgian. Here, several strains of Brettanomyces have been matched with rich, golden malt and a generous helping of local hops to yield a hearty, earthy, yet very refreshing brew."  Be warned, this is not Miller or Bud.  Think "sour" and "refreshing" and "funky".

Korg DS-10 Synthesizer.  It's a Korg synth!  It's a Nintendo DS game!  It works!

Scalextric PEUGEOT 908 HDI FAP Test car.   If you can buy one and only one slot car in 2009, give this one a long, hard stare.  But not too long, because that's, you know, weird.

Steim Cracklebox.  It's cheap - $64 plus shipping - and it makes the music of the universe.  Sweet, sweet static.

Subatomic Particle Plush Toys.  For the little Higgs Boson hunter in your life.

Shruti Box.  If you're a singer - and gosh knows you are - then you need a nice steady drone to accompany your a cappella excesses.  Employing the same pneumatic principle as an accordion, the shruti box creates a hypnotic drone that can be customized by fiddling with one or more of the little flippy bits that make up the chromatic scale on the side of the box.  

Live Crawfish.  You want to boil them with the spices.  You want to drain them and dump them out on the newspapers you've laid out on the picnic table out back.  You want to pinch the tails and suck the heads.  You know you do.  But you need live ones first.  These guys sell them.  Voila, mon cher, vas-y.

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