It's that time again: the gift-giving season is upon us! In that spirit, I'd like to present some cute links I've been collecting - just for you! You might even find some new gift ideas for the people on your list! It's not as difficult to find out what to get somebody as it used to be, but with a little ingenuity, you can put a surprised smile on even the grouchiest grinch! And if that doesn't work, well, let them eat cake! Just in time for his Annual Festival of Desserts *swoon!*, James over at j-notes.com offers a whole cornucopia of recipes (including that gorgeous Egg Nog Rum Cake to the right) that are sure to win them over! Need that chocolate fix? Well, Jimi Sweet offers his sumptuous Chocolate Almond Torte! If all else fails, there's always cold hard cash - always a crowd pleaser!
Gee, this must be what Oprah feels like during her Favorite Things episode!!
Give the gift of a website! First you need a domain: GoDaddy.com currently has a special on domain name registrations for $7.95/year. Get 10 years @ $6.95/year! Then you need the space: 1and1.com is currently running its 3 Years Free pre-launch promotion (until 1/14/04). Yes, it's free - 500 MB of space, 5GB of bandwidth per month, Linux/PHP/MySQL, FTP/shell access, up to 50 E-mail accounts and more, for free! To sign up, you don't need a credit card, but you do need to be at your phone for about 5-10 minutes to receive a confirmation call. (Actually, they have domain registrations, too, for $5.99/year - but I've never tried it. More later ...) Although you've never heard of them before, 1and1.com is the world's largest web host. (Here's the MetaFilter thread.)
NEC has created what has to be one of the most beautiful Flash sites I've ever seen. Ecotonoha is a virtual tree which site visitors "grow" by adding a "leaf" message. For every 100 "leaves" added to Ecotonoha's virtual tree, NEC will actually plant a tree on Kangaroo Island to combat global warming. Now that's art - such a amazing way to let people contribute to this cause!
What is The Meatrix? Okay, I know we ate a lot of turkey last week (and there's more where that came from), but knowledge is power. That image of a cute country farm that you associate with the food you eat is in your head. This cute Flash site begins to tell the story.
Hey - look who's in "Honey"!
Apple's iSight webcam would be a great gift for any Mac user, but check this out - now you can also use it as a videogame controller! Freeverse's Toysight is a collection of games you play by moving your body. Your iSight (or similar FireWire webcam) detects your motion and puts your movements right into the game! The ultimate wireless controller - none at all! Check out the demo! I'm sure this is only the beginning of games like this.
If you want to really hear some good singing, how about a virtual Sarah Vaughan Tribute Concert? In 2002, Berklee College of Music hosted this concert, featuring its Associate Professor of Voice Donna McElroy lending her exasperating vocal excellence to some of Sassy's repertoire. When I track down info for the CD they mention, I'll update this post, but in the meantime there's this: a limited edition box set of Sarah Vaughan's Roulette studio sessions - almost every note she sung for them! They're only selling 5,000 copies, so get while the gettin's good!
You like Flash-based online games? Lifetime Television hosts R.S.V.P., an addictive card game! It's such a cute concept - you're having a party and you want to make sure everybody's sitting next to somebody they like! If you've dealt with this is real life, believe me, you know it's a skill! *chuckles!* And don't you just LOVE Cinnamon Altoids Strips? Good - then go play their Curiously Strong All Night Long game! You play the role of Big Bad Al, a world-class loser with Napoelonic tendencies, as he scores a date. Can you get him there?
I love Kiehl's, but my favorite soap of the moment comes from Vermont Soapworks. Their all-natural and organic Sweet Orange Liquid Soap smells so good - its sweet, sunshiney fragrance really perks me up like a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice! It's their most popular product - comes in a silky Shower Gel, too. And read the president of the company and his wife's account of the trip they took to Ghana to teach soapmaking in a rural village.
Y'all know I love me some house music! Miss Honey Lynne turned me on to the new West End Records party that Kevin Hedge (the genius behind Club Shelter and Blaze) is hosting at Cielo in the Meatpacking District! Their newsletter talks about that and free downloads they'll be giving away - gotta check them out! And here's an article about the return of one of my favorite producers/remixers - Murk! Misters Falcon and Gaetan have a new album out on Tommy Boy (you might have heard the new version of "Some Lovin'" featuring Miss Honey Kristine W) and they're resurrecting Murk Records! Great day in the morning!
So what time should I expect you for the 2nd annual festival of desserts?
Work it! Work it!!
(and i’m still waiting for that slice mista james!)
Porn? I LOVE porn!
Hey, I can check with a current Berklee student on that CD…. I’ll get back to ya as soon as I hear from him.
okay so why does that cake pictured have no icing? And why it gotta look like some church? Anyways send me a slice and we’ll discuss…
“blk bro” - I’ve noticed your comments on my blog and on other blogs of people I know. I don’t know who you are, but I tried to send you an e-mail. Looks like ‘blkbro@yahoo.com’ doesn’t exist. And the trace I ran on your IP address (12.30.236.39) ends up at AT&T in Stamford, CT.
Sorry man, I don’t allow anonymous comments on my blog, so you can’t leave comments here anymore. I’m blocking your IP address. Have a great life.
This post was wonderful - really perked me up. As far as the notorious “blk bro”, he’s left messages on a couple of blogs. The e-mail address is that of the infamous “Guest” from WBS and Go.com days.