Unique Christmas Gift Ideas ... With A Twist!

Since I haven’t blogged in a while and Christmas is coming up, I thought I might recommend some last minute Christmas gift ideas.

1. Ad Nauseam: A Survivor’s Guide To American Consumer Culture
Edited by: Carrie McLaren and Jason Torchinsky

I am half-way through reading this book and I love it! Originally I almost decided not to purchase this book because I discovered that it was a compendium of material from Stay Free! magazine, which I had never read nor heard of for that matter. I assumed that this book would not be appropriate for me as I am unfamiliar with the magazine, but I am extremely glad that I took the chance and bought it. I especially enjoy reading it now in the month of December – somehow reading a book about the tactics advertisers use sell products and the negative affects the media can have on society feels a little bit like rebelling against the commercialization of Christmas!

Indigo.ca price: $15.16
Amazon.com price: $11.49

There are probably many other books that are enlightening about advertising and the media.  I would recommend buying such a book for someone, but as this is the only such book I have read, this is the only one I can recommend by name.  Maybe you can even find one that talks specifically about the commercialisation of Christmas!  Somehow, a book about the media and advertising seems like an appropriate, albeit a tongue-in-cheek, gift to give.

2.  Humanitarian Gifts

World Vision is a humanitarian organization that focuses on emergency relief, education, healthcare, economic development, and the promotion of justice.  It is one organization through which individuals can sponsor children, and during the holiday season, people can buy a gift for individuals and families in need.  Many of these gifts such as goats, pigs, and chickens, can allow families to become self-sufficient.  Other gifts besides animals and agriculture involve healthcare, education, shelter, water, and business.  The gifts vary in price range, and some will multiply, as businesses and organizations will match your donation.  You can give this gift yourself, or if a friend or loved one is willing, you can give the gift in their name.  You can even make a request on your Christmas wish list for a friend or family member to buy such a gift in your name.

For more information, and to browse the Gift Catalogue, visit the following website:

https://catalogue.worldvision.ca/Gifts/Forms/Home.aspx?mc=4267225&lang=en

World Vision is not the only humanitarian organization that is accepting gifts this holiday season.  If you would like to find another organization, you can try UNICEF, OXFAM, The Red Cross, and probably many others.

3.  The Lump of Coal and The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming

Author:  Lemony Snicket

Though I am an adult, part of the reason I love Lemony Snicket’s children’s books is because they are unlike ANY books I read as a child.  Not only are they hilarious, but he is the first writer I have ever read that really does the unexpected and challenges conventions – not just in terms of plot or characters, but in what the audience expects.  For example, I once read a book by him in which I discovered that there was something funny written in the small print of the copyright page.  I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t think to read the copyright page of a book to see if there is something funny hidden in it, and that’s why I think it is such a brilliant idea!  It’s like a DVD Easter Egg, except in a book!  When it comes to subverting the reader’s expectations, these children’s books are no exception.

An Excerpt from The Lump of Coal:

“The holiday season is a time for storytelling, and whether you are hearing the story of a candelabra staying lit for more than a week, or a baby born in a barn without proper medical supervision, these stories often feature miracles.” 

Written by:  Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by:  Brett Helquist

Amazon.ca Price:   $10.82

Amazon.com Price:  $10.39

An Excerpt from The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming:

“It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world.  If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream.  But somewhere in this world there is a place for all of us, whether you are an electric form of decoration, peppermint-scented sweet, a source of timber, or a potato pancake."

Written by:  Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by:  Lisa Brown
Amazon.ca Price:   $10.47

Amazon.com Price:   $6.11 and up

Both storybooks are humourous and appropriate for the holidays, the second even teaching about the history of Hanukah, despite its label as a Christmas story.

4.  Think Geek
 Stuff For Smart Masses    www.thinkgeek.com

I discovered products from Think Geek when I was doing an online search for products I’d seen on The Big Bang Theory.  I love the things Leonard and Sheldon have such as a shower-curtain with the periodic table of elements – very appropriate for two physicists!  I should note that I haven’t yet purchased anything from this website, so I am not recommending these products or the website from personal experience; I’m simply recommending them as products I find interesting and unique.  For example:

Gingerdead Men Cookie Cutter  $4.99 

5 inch gingerbread cookie cutter with skeleton impression!  This could be a fun gag gift for doctors, nurses, surgeons, chiropractors, physiotherapists, X-ray technicians, or maybe just someone you shop for who can appreciate something out of the ordinary.

Caffeine Mug  $6.99 

 8 oz coffee mug with a diagram of the caffeine molecule!  Obviously this would be appropriate for coffee connoisseurs (and by that I mean addicts).  This would be especially appropriate for those caffeine lovers who have some knowledge of chemistry.

Giant Plush Microbes  $8.99 each

Stuffed animals for people who like science!  When I saw these I fell in love.  I do not own any of these myself but I do hope one day to start collecting these adorable microbes such as E. Coli, Cough, Flesh Eating Disease, and Bad Breath!  There is also a Red Blood Cell, Brain Cell, Nerve Cell, Stem Cell, and – possibly my favourite of the cells – a Sperm Cell and Egg Cell!

I think these are so cute, funny, and creative that I not only want them, but I actually wish I was the one responsible for the creation of this product.  It isn’t often that I think something is that great.

Someone interested in science and biology might enjoy these lovable creatures, as well as people with a strange or morbid sense of humour!  For a list of the microbes available, click the following link:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/giftsunder10/6708/?pfm=holiday2011_galacticgiftsunder10_1_6708

5.  The Unemployed Philosopher’s Guild   
The Unexamined Gift Is Not Worth Giving   www.philosophersguild.com

Products from this website have a similar quality to those from Think Geek, but they seem to differ in that Think Geek seems to cater to lovers of science and technology, The Unmployed Philosopher’s Guild seems to cater more to lovers of the humanities such as literature, history, philosophy, psychology, etc ...

I should note that I did purchase a product from this website in the past.  I purchased a pair of Freudian Slippers ($24.95) for my sister Claudia as a congratulatory gift for achieving her PhD in psychology.  For those who don’t know, Freudian Slippers are a pun on the term “Freudian Slip” which is an error in speech or action that unintentionally reveals unconscious thoughts.  As for my experience with the website, when the slippers arrived they were slightly defective in that only one slipper had spectacles.  When I telephoned the company and explained the issue the company sent me a free pair of the same product free of defects.  I did not have to pay for the delivery or return the defective pair.  It is for this reason that I give the company a very positive review.

Here are some examples of products from this site that could make great Christmas gifts:

Lab Cutters $15.99 

Each set of cookie cutters contains a beaker, a flask, a test tube, and an atom.  Like the cookie cutters from Think Geek, these would be appropriate for someone who likes to bake and decorate cookies during the Christmas season, especially someone with an interest in science and chemistry, or perhaps just someone with an unusual sense of humour and a taste for the unexpected!  Get it?  A taste for the unexpected ...?

Wonderland Passport Notebook  $3.95

This comes with travel tips and an official passport information page!  Other Passport Notebooks include Oz, Neverland, Camelot, The Garden of Eden, Paradise, Hell, Nirvana, Utopia, Pangaea, Plato’s Republic, and The Unconscious!  I love the diversity of this product.  I think it’s a creative and fun idea for fans of the appropriate works of literature and like the Giant Microbes from Think Geek, this is a product I wish I developed myself.  I love that this item seems to blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy/literature.

Now that I am noticing all the potential passport destinations, I am starting to wonder if I should have decided against the book I bought for my sister Claudia, and instead presented her with the passport to Hell.  Hmm ... that still might be suitable for another time.


6.  Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

When I enjoy a work of fiction, I usually think it’s so great that I have to spend time analyzing it and picking it apart to find out what important messages it has in it.  Ask my brother Geoffrey.  He knows I can’t watch a TV show or movie without over-thinking it.  But if you ask me, a work of fiction is truly great if it can be dissected and analysed.  For anyone who thinks likewise, I recommend the Philosophy and Popular Culture Series.

I get a lot of enjoyment out of these because I feel like they really talk a lot about the major issues in the respective works.  For example, Mad Men and Philosophy discusses a lot of real issues in advertising that come up on the show and True Blood and Philosophy discusses prejudice. 

Similarly, I think there is also a Psychology and Pop Culture Series, of which the only book I currently have is The Psychology of Harry Potter.  I can definitely recommend this book, as well as A Taste of True Blood:  The Fangbanger’s Guide.  I think all of these works are available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, and I also purchased some from Chapters.

Even if the TV and book fans you know aren’t particularly analytical, I would still strongly recommend such analytical works to a casual reader who might be a big fan of a particular series or novel.  The chapters are essays written by individual authors about diverse topics, and reading each chapter in order is not necessary.  Not only do I get a lot of enjoyment out of these books, but I think they allow me to appreciate their respective works of fiction even more.  I also hope that they inspire people to think critically about the works of fiction they enjoy and to think deeply about what messages those works teach their fans.

7.  Homemade Mixed CDs

If you know how to make a mixed CD using your computer and have whatever programs are necessary to do so, one great personal gift you can give a loved one is a mixed CD with a particular theme.  For example, if know someone who truly appreciates laughter – or someone you think should lighten up a little – you could make them a comedy CD filled with funny songs.  For sources of funny songs you can look into Saturday Night Live, South Park, and comedians Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman, and Mario Cantone.

NOTE:

Try to arrange the songs in a suitable order, and be sure to make a nice album cover for the CD case.  Don’t forget to write out the list of songs on the inside sleeve of the cover either, unless of course you would like them to be a surprise.

Other possible themes for mixed CDs include songs from the 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s, songs to listen to while exercising, relaxing songs, and love songs.

If you would like to make a mixed Christmas CD for a friend or loved one, here are some of my suggestions for songs to include:

1.  Trim Up The Tree (How The Grinch Stole Christmas)

2.  Mr. Grinch (How The Grinch Stole Christmas)
3.   Whoville Theme (How The Grinch Stole Christmas)
4.  We Are Santa’s Elves (Burl Ives- from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer)
5.  Jingle Jingle Jingle
6.  Christmas Time Is Here (Charlie Brown Christmas)
7.  12 Days of Christmas (The Muppets)
8.  Nuttin For Christmas (Shirley Temple)
9.  Marshmallow World (Darlene Love)
10.  Christmas (Darlene Love)
11.  What Christmas Means To Me (Stevie Wonder)
12.  Someday At Christmas (Stevie Wonder)
13.  Feed The World (Band Aid)

14.  The Chanukah Song (Adam Sandler)

15.  Snoopy vs The Red Baron (The Royal Guardsmen)

16.  Step Into Christmas (Elton John)

17.  Last Christmas (George Michael)
18.  O Holy Night (South Park)
19.  Christmas Time In Hell (South Park)
20.  Mr. Hanky The Christmas Pooh (South Park)
21.  Wonderful Christmas Time (Paul McCartney)
22.  Happy Christmas (John & Yoko)

Well, these are my only ideas for now.  I hope they were useful, though I think it may be a little late in the holiday season for them to be of much help for this year.  If anyone has any comments or criticisms I would be glad to read them, along with any other unique gift ideas.

In case I can’t write again until after the 25^th, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!

Spectacular SOCKS: Dobby, A Free Elf

Welcome to another, albeit belated, segment of Spectacular SOCKS! Due to the recent theatrical release of the new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, this segment of Spectacular SOCKS will be dedicated to our good friend Dobby the house-elf.

Those of you who are unfamiliar with the Harry Potter series may ask what does a house-elf have to do with socks? Well, I’ll tell you!

Dobby debuts in the series in the second novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, in Chapter Two, Dobby’s Warning, in which Harry becomes aware of the existence of house-elves. Harry discovers Dobby, a creature he had never seen before, in his bedroom at number four, Privet Drive. Dobby is introduced to the reader with the following description:

The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls ... The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm and leg holes. (Chamber of Secrets, page 15)

From his very introduction, Harry and the reader can see from his physical appearance that Dobby, though humanoid, is not human. Since Harry is not any more familiar than the reader with such magical, non-human creatures, Dobby himself has to explain just what he is. Dobby explained, as always, referring to himself in the third person:

“Dobby is a house-elf – bound to serve one house and one (wizard) family for ever ...” (Chamber of Secrets, page 16)

What I find significant here is the use of the word “bound.” Dobby is bound to serve a wizard family, meaning not that he is employed as a servant for a wizard family, but that he is enslaved by a wizard family, staying and working for them against his will as if tied up and imprisoned!

It soon becomes apparent that though Dobby is not human, he has many of the same abilities of a human, such as the ability to speak, reason, and make decisions for himself. It stands to reason that these qualities make him deserving of equal rights with humans, and yet he is enslaved by a family of wizards who make him punish himself by self-inflicting wounds whenever he disobeys them.

Readers discover the level of cruelty that Dobby endures when Harry politely asks Dobby to have a seat in his bedroom – Dobby has never experienced such politeness from a wizard and bursts into tears. At first, Harry assumes he has hurt Dobby’s feelings and apologises for offending him. Dobby’s replies, “Offend Dobby ... Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard – like an equal.” (Chamber of Secrets, page 16). As if his low self-esteem is not evidence enough of Dobby’s constant abuse, in Chapter Ten, The Rogue Bludger, Dobby tells Harry, “Dobby is used to death threats sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home.” (Chamber of Secrets, page 133)

Harry even asks Dobby at one point why he cannot simply escape if he endures so much abuse – as Harry lives in a suburb with Muggles or non-magic people, he is unfamiliar with many magical creatures and wizard customs. Dobby explains his situation:

“A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free ... Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir ...” (Chamber of Secrets, page 16)

Dobby also does not wear the same clothes as humans, and it becomes apparent that his pillowcase attire is meant to further distinguish himself from humans, sending the message that he is not to be treated with the dignity of a human. For example, the pillowcase is described as “filthy” and when Dobby uses it to blow his nose, he was described as “looking so pathetic,” and prompting Harry to ask “Why d’you wear that thing, Dobby?” Dobby gives the following reply, which proves to be very important:

“’Tis a mark of the house-elf’s enslavement, sir. Dobby can only be freed if his masters present him with clothes, sir. The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, sir, for then he would be free to leave their house for ever.” (Chamber of Secrets, page 133)

Thus Dobby’s pillowcase denotes the dehumanization that accompanies slavery, for Dobby is not to be treated with the same dignity or rights that a human being would have, and thus he is not to wear the same articles of clothing that a human would wear, even the smallest and least expensive articles of human clothing – socks! This is why Dobby informs Harry that even a single sock cannot be handed to Dobby from his masters, lest the family accidently grant him his freedom.

In the very last chapter of the novel, Harry learns just who Dobby serves. In Chapter Eighteen, Dobby’s Reward, Harry learns that Dobby is bound to serve the Malfoy family, a family of dark wizards who follow the evil Lord Voldemort. It makes much sense that Dobby is a slave in the Malfoy household, as the Malfoys are classist and extremely prejudiced – their beliefs in their own superiority due to their wealth, power, and “pure blood” status explain why they would believe in slavery and treat Dobby with such abuse and dehumanization. The identity of Dobby’s master is revealed when Harry is about to leave Professor Dumbledore’s office when the door bursts open:

Lucius Malfoy stood there, fury in his face. And cowering under his arm, heavily wrapped in bandages, was Dobby ... Mr Malfoy almost knocked Harry over as he swept into the room. Dobby went scurrying in after him, crouching at the hem of his cloak, a look of abject terror on his face. (Chamber of Secrets, page 246)

After a brief and incriminating discussion in Professor Dumbledore’s office, Mr Malfoy leaves angrily and even kicks Dobby through the office door as he does so. After witnessing the cruelty Dobby receives, even in his weakened, bandaged condition, Harry quickly devises a plan, and leaves Professor Dumbledore’s office carrying the destroyed diary of the evil Lord Voldemort:

Quickly, wondering if this plan could work, Harry took off one of his shoes, pulled off his slimy, filthy sock, and stuffed the diary into it. Then he ran down the dark corridor. (Chamber of Secrets, page 248)

It would appear that Harry remembered every detail of Dobby’s explanation about why he wore a filthy pillowcase, that if Dobby’s masters presented him with clothes, he would be set free, and thus they must take great care not to hand him the smallest article of clothing ... even a sock!

Harry cleverly distracts Mr Malfoy by handing him his disgusting, dirty sock, from which he removes the diary. Unfortunately, when Mr Malfoy saw the diary, he was so furious at the implication that the diary of Lord Voldemort belonged to him that he carelessly threw the dirty sock aside, not realizing that Dobby was right there to catch it! The chapter continues:

"Come, Dobby. I said Come!"
But Dobby didn’t move. He was holding up Harry’s disgusting, slimy sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure.
"Master has given Dobby a sock," said the elf in wonderment. "Master gave it to Dobby."
"What’s that?" spat Mr Malfoy. "What did you say?"
"Dobby has got a sock," said Dobby in disbelief. "Master threw it, and Dobby caught it, and Dobby – Dobby is free." (Chamber of Secrets, page 248)

This scene is changed slightly in the film, but it is still very effective, and worth viewing:

This, dear readers, is what the Harry Potter series, and Dobby the house-elf, has to do with socks. It was a single, smelly, dirty, slimy sock that aided in Dobby’s ultimate freedom from the abusive Malfoys!

After Dobby’s triumphant liberation from slavery, he found work in the Hogwarts kitchens for a descent salary – a salary that went to pay for, you guessed it, socks! The role of a single sock in Dobby’s liberation seemed to have led to Dobby developing a love-affair with socks – not unlike yours truly! He loved giving socks as gifts, and he certainly loved receiving socks as gifts! And why not? After all, when Dobby first received a sock as a gift, he was simultaneously receiving his freedom. It might have been dirty, smelly, slimy, and completely disgusting, but that single sock that Harry gave to Dobby was truly a Spectacular SOCK!

Interestingly, Dobby preferred single socks, as opposed to pairs of identical socks. Perhaps it is because his freedom came from receiving a single sock as opposed to a pair, or perhaps it is because he was still unaccustomed to wearing human clothing, and thus unfamiliar with the traditional wearing of matching socks. But who’s to say that Dobby is not right, that it is not more fashionable and attractive to wear two different socks than two matching socks? Perhaps the little elf knows something we humans are too uncreative and traditional to notice?

In closing, I just read on Harry Potter Wiki that the name "Dobby" was appropriately chosen from the old English word dobby. According to http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Dobby, the Oxford English Dictionary states that dobby was:

“a benevolent elf that would perform household tasks secretly in the night, like the elves in tales of the elves and the shoemaker. However, just as those elves disappeared when the shoemaker made them shoes, so the dobbies were said to disappear when offered clothing.”

An elf who secretly enters homes, does various chores such as laundry, and slips out before the family can catch him, and who also happens to be a lover of single, unmatched socks?

Perhaps we’ve solved the mystery as to where so many individual socks have mysteriously disappeared to leaving their mates behind in the laundry!

With that, Dobby, free elf, this segment of Spectacular SOCKS is dedicated to you.