Monday, December 3, 2007
By MIKE KERWICK
STAFF WRITER
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| Amazon.com president Jeff Bezos with the Kindle. Courtesy of smh.com.au. |
Twenty-something years later, I remember the wrapping paper falling on our family-room floor. In one box, we had the Nintendo Entertainment System; in another, we had a small air hockey table. Our basketballs came with faux autographs of Larry Bird and Michael Jordan; our toy machine guns came with faux pistols, faux dog tags and faux hand grenades.
And then there were the action figures. He-Man, Stars Wars, Transformers, Gobots, Karate Kid, Rambo, Voltron, M.U.S.C.L.E. men ...
The passage of time has sanitized my wish list. Over Thanksgiving, I told Mom I needed a new blue dress shirt (JC Penney, $21.99 to $26.99). Yeesh. Not exactly Fun City.
Well, we tried to load our annual gift guide with products you would want to rush downstairs and find under your tree. We included everything from video games to chocolate, from Tiffany charms to digital picture frames.
I'm still tinkering with my personal list. It won't affect my sleeping habits. Guarantee you I'll be the first one up Christmas morning. And if things go well, I'll tear open that first box and find the only present I really want. They still make He-Man action figures, right?
Amazon Kindle, amazon.com, $399: A great new toy for book lovers with a commute. Download books, newspapers and magazines to this e-book tablet through internal Wi-Fi capability. Each book costs about $10.
Playaway Audio Players, approximately $34.99: Palm-sized custom MP3 players that deliver entire audiobooks on the go. No more fumbling with a deck of CDs.
New York City Chocolate Tours gift voucher, sweetwalks.com, $70: Your favorite chocolate junkie gets ushered through some of Manhattan's best chocolatiers.
Bobolink Dairy Artisanal cheese sampler, shop.cowsoutside.com, $46: This gift comes with 2.5 pounds of two or more of the aged raw-milk cheeses that Nina and Jonathan White make at their farm in Vernon.
Nintendo Wii, $250: Hardcore gamers laughed at the video game console's name, and few industry observers gave it a chance against Sony's PS3 when the two rolled out last holiday season. No one's laughing anymore -- especially not folks trying to buy one, as they scramble from store to store to get their hands on the much-coveted system with the wand-like controller and titles geared at non-gamers.
Guitar Hero III (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii), Rock Band (PS3, Xbox 360), $60-$179 (with peripherals): Two ways to channel your inner rock star. Guitar Hero is the gold standard that launched gamers' desire to be part of a virtual band. But Rock Band -- whose gaming bundle will feature a guitar, drum set and microphone -- has been warmly received by reviewers and will allow players to feel as if they really are rocking out a packed stadium.
Kanye West's "Graduation," $13.98: This is the disc that dethroned 50 Cent as hip-hop's most prominent egomaniac. This time around he also peppers his boastful tracks with more noticeable dance-hall motifs. Everybody wins.
"Flight of the Conchords – The Complete First Season," $19.99: God knows when Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie will be back with more episodes of their wonderfully absurdist comedy series. In the meantime, if you want to see Murray taking attendance or Jemaine channeling David Bowie, this DVD set could come in handy. The greatest thing about "Conchords" episodes: They get funnier with every viewing.
Staff writers Robert Bieselin, Raymond A. Edel, Joe Kirby, Eunnie Park, Virginia Rohan, Evelyn Shih and Elisa Ung contributed to this report.
E-mail: kerwick@northjersey.com
Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
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