HOME FURNISHINGS
Classic Leg Lamp$129 plus a hefty shipping fee from Red Rider Leg Lamps.com
Everybody loves the movie "A Christmas Story." Jean Shepard's nostalgic tale of Christmas with a dysfunctional family has become a holiday tradition, displacing "It's A Wonderful Life" as America's favorite Christmas movie. And since everyone loves that movie, who wouldn't love a Leg Lamp, just like the prize that the Dad in the movie won. This 45" beauty comes shipped in a crate marked "Fragile", just like in the movie. You actually have the option of how elaborate you want the crate to be. Shipping charges range from $30 to $195, but if you're buying a gift like this for somebody, you obviously don't care about the cost. What could impart the joy of the holiday season better than a memorable lamp like this? The stocking can be rolled down, for a provocative glimpse of thigh, if you're really, really lonely. This is a great way to relive a very funny movie, and if you choose this lamp as a reminder of that movie, instead of the Daisy Red Rider BB Gun, then you won't have to worry about shooting your eye out.
Monkey and Banana Barstool
$94.95 plus shipping from Archie McPhee
Only from the kings of kitsch, Archie McPhee, can we get so bizarre an item as the Monkey and Banana Barstool. This 15 1/2-inch ceramic wonder is perfect for your buddy with the tropical fetish. This is the ideal seating for a landlocked Tiki bar. With a mighty comfy bright yellow seat perched atop a very neat, but weird, monkey with a giant banana, this is sure to stand out in any room. Declare war on good taste! Buy one of these for your friend who has a boring home decor. It's fun. It's funky. It's got a ceramic monkey. You can't go wrong with this gift idea.
Kit Kat Clock
Starting at $45 at the Purple Moon, on 716 Lee Street in Charleston
(304) 345-0123
The Purple Moon on Lee Street is one of the coolest places in Charleston, and I'll be doing a longer blog entry on them as soon as I remember to take the digital camera downtown with me. If you're intrigued by the first two offerings in the Home Furnishing category, but don't want to take a hit on the shipping charges, you need to get yourself down to their store and bask in all the retro-cool wonderment. One of the more striking items they offer is the classic Kit Kat Clock. Starting at $45 (you can get fancier models with jewels and other color options), the Kit Kat Clock is a primo example of American ingenuity. This is a fine timepiece, but it's more than that. The eyes move back and forth. The tail swings. People see it and grin. It's the perfect holiday gift for the person who needs cheering up.
ROBOTS
Robbie the Robot Genuine 7-Foot Replica$49,999.95 plus $500 shipping from Hammacher Schlemmer.
It's an unfortunate fact that most people who have fifty grand to fritter away simply aren't hip enough to waste it on a life-size, animatronic replica of the second-coolest robot in history. But just in case.....here's this year's most insanely expensive gift idea. Robby the Robot made his debut in the 1956 film "Forbidden Planet", and went on to guest star in dozens of movies and TV shows in the '60s. He was all over the place. Robby was the first robotic media whore! He even guest-starred on "Lost In Space," with the most-coolest robot in history, Robot B-9. This replica, created by noted robot replica-builder Fred Barton, can move his head and antennae via remote control. He is programmable, and can speak his lines from "Forbidden Planet," or if you want to, you can feed your own voice through him. At this price, he ought to do housework and mow your lawn, but I guess they're saving that for next year's model.
Robo Raptor Remote Control Dinosaur Robot
Just under $100 where toys are sold
Speaking of Robotic media whores, this fella has been all over TV this fall. He has hosted shows on G4 (the network named after the number of people who watch it) and has appeared on all the morning news shows. This cousin of last year's Robosapien is a 32" long robotic dinosaur who has advanced artificial intelligence and a variety of motions and moods. He has 40 pre-programmed functions, and if left unattended will learn to hunt and kill your household pets, so you want to be wary of that if you're an animal lover. This is one of the hot tech toys this holiday season, but I'm going to recommend it anyway, because the idea that we should use advanced technology to make giant robotic predators appeals to the kid in me.
Robots DVDUnder $20 everywhere DVDs are sold
I couldn't forget one of the favorite flicks for "Animated Discussions" this year. "Robots," from the makers of "Ice Age," is a bright and entertaining romp through a planet of robots. It's got a nice, anti-corporate greed message, and wonderful voice work by Robin Williams and Mel Brooks, among others. The DVD is loaded with behind-the-scenes features, two commentaries, and a new short cartoon starring Aunt Booty. You also get deleted scenes, the test film that sold the studio on the idea of the movie, and a preview of "Ice Age 2." If you like robots, but don't necessarily have room for them in the house, then this DVD is the way to go.
COMICS
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes$150 or less, where ever books are sold
Calvin and Hobbes had a ten-year run as one of the finest comic strips in history. Then Bill Watterson, the strip's creator, just stopped doing it. He's never talked much about his reasons, but the mystery only deepens the aura of greatness that this comic strip had achieved. By quitting at the top of his game, Watterson assured that the strip would not go into a decline, or be turned over to lesser hands. This whopping mammoth of a book contains over 1400 pages of great comics within the three-volume, slipcased edition. Every Calvin and Hobbes strip is here. The suggested price is $150, but most booksellers are discounting it by nearly a third. If you have a lover of comic strips on your shopping list, then this is the gift for them.
Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
$50-$75 where books are sold
One of the perplexing quirks of the graphic novel medium is the mystery of how Watchmen, the classic dark comic book maxi-series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, has managed to remain in the top-ten sales list each year for the past two decades. Observers can't understand why this collection continues to outsell the vast majority of new graphic novels released each year. They figure that everyone who's read it, should have a copy by now. What they don't get is that this story is so good, that people who try to convince non-comics readers to give the medium a try use this as a starting point--an example of just how powerful the comics medium can be. They loan out their copy of the book, and never get it back. Then they have to buy a new one. This Absolute Edition of Watchmen is NOT a loaner. This hardback edition reprints the artwork in a larger, 9" by 12" size, with new coloring, and includes almost 50 pages of bonus material. This is the definitive collection of the most powerful superhero story ever told. A must for any comic book lover on your list.
Love and Rockets CollectionSeveral volumes under $20 from Fantagraphics Books
Of course, there's more to comic books than just superheroes. Love and Rockets, the long-running series from Los Bros. Hernandez, is a great example of just how the medium can be used to tell compelling human stories with an edgy mix of fantasy and surrealism that belies gut-level storytelling grounded in very real emotion. There are twenty books that collect the stories from Love and Rockets. There's not a bad volume in the bunch. Jaime Hernandez is the more commercial of the two brothers, with stories that largely revolve around Maggie and Hopey, two L.A. girls who find themselves in bizarre situations. Gilbert Hernandez' work has been compared to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, due to the depth and complexity of his storylines. With their entire output in print, you can go back to the beginning and watch the Brothers grow as artists, abandoning the science fiction flash along the way as they tell more mature and serious stories. Love and Rockets can make a comic book fan out of anyone. And yes, that New Wave Band stole their name from the comic book, which forced the Brothers Hernandez to come up with a new name for their own band.
Tomorrow: The never-ending PopCult Gift Guide soldiers on, with gift ideas from the worlds of Comedy, Chocolate, and Toys!
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