Gift Ideas 2008

[mishalak]

Nearly the end of February. This means that I'm doing my taxes and thinking about my birthday. If, for some reason, you are thinking of giftifying I have a helpful list.

I know some people are all about the surprise, but even if that's the case you should read this to get an idea of the sort of thing I like.

I've also put most of this stuff on my Amazon wishlist (let me know if this link works), not that I recommend shopping there. I do not mind (in fact I prefer) second hand video discs and audio discs. Why? More value for money and I think buying used helps make the world a better place in a variety of ways. Including keeping money out the hands of the RIAA and MPAA. My philosophy is that good shopping is about the ratio of value to money. The higher the ratio is, the more value, the better a gift is. I'm impressed when someone can find something valuable for very little money. If you have money it is the easiest thing in the world to spend it, it is like drinking. Nothing easier than to get really drunk. The man who can spend hours enjoying a drink impresses me much more than the one who can chug a couple pints and sway in place.

The following list is arranged by how much I want something and then price.

Consumables
I like consumable gifts. Wonderful things that I can eat, drink, use, and then I need keep nothing in our apartment but my memories.
•$25.00Lifetime Membership at LibraryThing my name there is Mishalak as well.
•Lindt or Scharffen Berger dark chocolates, any sort or variety.
•Anything from Redstone Meadery would be appreciated and can be found in many local liquor stores.
•$7.99 - Leroux Triple Sec
•Loose leaf tea. More than any other type I need decaffeinated tea.
•Among homemade gifts my favorite are cookies, candies, and fruit cake.

Music
I am not a strong consumer of music, that is I do not buy a lot of it for myself. However, I have liked or loved every single CD I have received for Yuletide.
•$13.99 - Donnie Darko (Score) ~ Michael Andrews
•$13.99 - Let Love In ~ Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
•$7.97 – Decksandrumsandrockandroll ~ Propellerheads
•$9.97 - The Dream of the Blue Turtles ~ Sting
•$4.98 - Music for Glass Harmonica ~ Hans Plumacher
•$6.97 - Glass Harmonica ~ Ludwig van Beethoven
•$11.98 - Inspector Morse, Volume 2 (English TV Series) ~ Barrington Pheloung
•$11.97 - Castaways and Cutouts ~ The Decemberists
•$11.97 - Her Majesty ~ The Decemberists
•$12.97 - Picaresque ~ The Decemberists
•$14.99 - Sherlock Holmes TV Soundtrack ~ Patrick Gowers
•$14.99 - Celtic Crystal ~ Dean Shostak
•$15.99 - Songs for the Forgotten Future Vol. 1 ~ Piñataland
•$16.98 - Love Trap ~ Susheela Raman

Video Discs
No BlueRay or HD-DVDs, I do not have a player. Indeed I will probably never have a player due to disliking the format with a fiery red passion. I also do not own a VHS player, so it is plain ol' DVDs for me for a long time to come. Widescreen movies only, please!
•$23.99 - My Neighbor Totoro
•$9.99 -The Devil's Backbone (Special Edition)
•$14.99 - Ratatouille
•$20.00 - Sleeping Beauty (only available used, if at all)
•$17.99 - Vampire Princess Miyu - OAV (Vol. 1)
•$17.99 - Vampire Princess Miyu - OAV (Vol. 2)
•$11.99 - Nightwalker: Midnight Detective
•$13.99 - NightWalker: Eternal Darkness

Home Electronics
Everything in this category is faint wish out of the price range of any reasonable present.
•$230.00 - 20 inch LCD monitor.
•$1499.99 - Apple iMac Desktop with 24" Display, 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Superdrive. I would put it out in our living room and use it as our entertainment center. I think it is large enough for that.

Cooking Equipment
•$11.53 - 834 Kitchen Quick Tips: Techniques And Shortcuts for the Curious Cook by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, a book that will probably be useful to me and fun to read.
•$4.35 - Libertyware Cross Wire Cooling Rack (16½x11¾in)
•$10.99 - WearEver Commercial Jelly Roll Pan, which I will use to bake cookies
•$19.95 - Vollrath steel cookie sheet
•$21.95 - Chicago Metallic Commercial aluminumized steel cookie sheet.
•$19.95 - Krups Fast Touch Coffee Mill model 203, for spice grinding.
•$19.95 - Capresso Cool Grid model 501, again a coffee grinder I would use for spices
•$14.95 - Mr. Coffee Coffee Grinder model ID555, I only need one of these three.
•$13.57 - The Best Soups & Stews by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
•$23.10 - The Best 30-minute Recipe by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
•$23.10 - The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2007 by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
•$21.86 - Inside America's Test Kitchen by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
•$22.76 - Here In America's Test Kitchen by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine

Books
I really, really like books. So it is probably not a great idea to buy me one. I have become increasingly particular about the books I keep because I must travel from place to place periodically and books are heavy. A nice reading copy of a new book is appreciated, but do not try to thrill me with a book anymore than you would try to thrill a watch collector with a watch you buy at Walmart. Really special books either take a long hunt or are unreasonably expensive. With all those warnings out of the way here are some books I'd like in paperback just to read and then pass on the next reader.
•The Essential Bordertown (Borderlands) by Terri Windling & Delia Sherman
•The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr

Or you could give me money towards some silly/large book purchase. If given cold hard cash I shall hunt for a hardcover of Finder: A Novel of the Borderlands by Emma Bull, a first edition of The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley, or I might consider getting the first volume of the deluxe edition of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman.
 

Comments

[pgdudda.livejournal.com]

completely unrelated post:

I noticed that the last Minicon PR mailed to you bounced back to us. Have you moved in the last year, and - if so - do you want to update Minicon's address records? You can email me at registration <at> minicon43 <dot> mnstf <dot> org or my personal address at pgdudda <at> hotmail <dot> com with update(s). Thanks, and apologies for the intrusion.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

It is not a bother.

I've not been travelling much lately. I think the only time I will leave Colorado this year is a trip in August to New Mexico. That reminds me, I should get my membership to Bubonicon.

Back to the subject. I did move last year, but I'm surprised that it bounced. Maybe it went to San Francisco for some reason. It would be best if you saved your money though. I'm too broke to travel and when I have money my boyfriend might veto going to Minnesota for Easter.