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December 12, 2005
Largehearted Holiday Shopping Guide
I plan to finish my holiday gift-shopping today, both online and offline. Luckily, I have been able to do almost all my gift-grabbing already, and will be picking up only two or three small presents. If you are still scrounging for gift ideas, here are a couple of suggestions:
Charitable Donations
This time of year, many charitable organizations are struggling for funds. Our favorite local charitable group, Animal Friends Humane Society, works hard to find homes for stray animals. Having adopted two cats (Neko and Rilo) in the past two years, we can appreciate the work shelters do, and give gifts in the names of our cats every year. People always appreciate gifts to causes they support.
Music
"Milkman" T Gift Pack: For the budding Deerhoof fan, all six Kill Rock Stars/5RC CDs by the band plus a Milkman t-shirt.
Merzbox: for the music fan who has everything, the seminal 50 CD box set from Merzbow. This is more a suggestion for my wife, it's what her favorite guy wants (her favorite guy besides Paul Kariya, that is).
Books
I'll be listing my favorite books of the year tomorrow (so catch that list for gift suggestions), but you can't go wrong with a gift card or gift certificate to a local or online bookstore.
LHB Sponsor Atomic Books offers gift cards that are truly works of art. These cards are individually drawn by Baltimore artists, and the artwork makes them a great gift alone.
Two notable books I am giving this year:
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, by Laila Lalami: An extremely well-written book filled with struggle, love, and hope. Simply a wonderful gift to give.
Epileptic, by David B.: Hands down the best book I read this year, a moving coming of age tale.
Movies
Heavy Metal Parking Lot: Finally on DVD, one of my favorite music documentaries is presented in all its glory. The DVD includes Harry Potter Parking Lot and Neil Diamond Parking Lot as bonuses, as well as a tenth generation VHS dub of the original documentary.
Electronics
Speck nano iGuy: This isn't the smallest or toughest case, but I bought one for my nano and love its playfulness. It's like a white Gumby protecting my iPod.
Games
After a weekend of playing We Love Katamari, I fully intend to share this ball-rolling love affair with others.
Clothing
"Kitten 1980" by White Frog T-Shirts is my wife's favorite t-shirt, and is a great gift for any female Devo fan (or cat fan).
Sharp As Toast's line of presidential t-shirts is whimsical, something lacking in today's political biography (Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation being the notable exception). Choose from "Hoover's Your Daddy," "JFK's Bay of Pigs Roast," "Keep It Coolidge," "Nix-on, Nix-off" and others.
tags: music books christmas shopping
