Holiday Gift Guide: Movies, TV, and Music

In this, the gift-giving season of 2019, we find ourselves at a strange technological crossroads. In years past, I have wrapped and given, and received and opened countless CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, you name it. For two generations, we have given each other *a* movie or *an* album we think will mean something to the recipient. But now, suddenly, with the proliferation of streaming services, we can give someone...*all* the movies. Or *all* the albums. It's a huge shift, and one that will continue to play out for many holiday seasons ahead, but this year it creeps into our Gift Guide. What will Gift Guides of Christmases-Yet-To-Come hold? Only Criswell knows for sure. - vk.

Joe:
Disney+

It is the height of consumerism to recommend Disney+. It's the new streaming service on the block and there have been some technical hiccups in the roll out, but I have two small children and there is just so much goodness available and more on the way. From the Pixar movies to Marvel to Star Wars to Disney animated classics to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (I've got small kids) to the wealth of 90's cartoons (Darkwing Duck, we're looking at you) - Disney+ has something for the whole family.

The G:
Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky (Criterion Collection Edition)

Did you like Chernobyl? What about Annihilation? Men in Black? Mash those three together and then crank the weirdness factor up to 11 and you’ve kinda sorta got Andrei Tarkovsky’s adaptation of the classic SF novel Roadside Picnic. Not for the faint of heart, and like a lot of European arthouse cinema, it requires a good deal of patience. But the viewer’s patience is duly rewarded in spades.

Vance K:
The Criterion Channel

Filmstruck is gone, and the Criterion Channel has taken its place. This streaming service boasts access to the Criterion Collection library, but there are licensing deals on certain titles that mean they'll either never show up on this platform, or will only be there for a little while. This is familiar to all of us who have watched things disappear from our Netflix lists, so we know the drill. But in addition to bringing film nerds (like me!) the works of Bergman, Kurosawa, Ray, Tarkovsky (see above), and other legends of world cinema, the channel is also doing a great job of curating new and under-appreciated talent. With showcase collections about women filmmakers, LGBTQ+ cinema, various spotlights on specific areas of the world and filmmakers from there, animation, and other specialties, it's a rewarding streaming option on several fronts.

Brian:
Shazam! by David F. Sandberg (director)

It’s easy to be skeptical of the DC comic universe of movies. They’ve had a rough launch. But Shazam! requires none of the backstory of those movies, and it’s easily the most fun. Billy Batson is a teenage orphan who suddenly finds himself with super powers. It’s a stark contrast between the dour Superman we’ve seen recently, and a kid who wasn’t born Superman but needs to learn some of the same lessons. It doesn’t bury you under mountains of comic book history. It gives you a quick supervillain origin, a quick superhero origin, and then lets those two forces collide. If you’ve been disappointed by DC’s previous comic book movie outings, forget about them and give Shazam! a shot. It’s just a fun superhero movie, which is what this universe of films should’ve kicked off with in the first place.

Shazam! is available on most major video media formats, streaming, physical, and otherwise.

1000 Gecs by 100 Gecs

1000 Gecs might break your brain. I know it broke mine the first time I listened to it. Coming in from having listened to Stupid Horse on repeat for it’s ska-influence, I wasn’t sure just what in the hell I was listening to. But the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. I’m not a music critic. I don’t know anything about music, and I have bad taste. But 1000 Gecs sounds different. It sounds fresh and new. It’s a brisk 20-something minutes of the best post-pop I’ve heard in a long time.

1000 Gecs is available on almost all music streaming platforms.

Phoebe:
There Existed an Addiction to Blood by clipping.

For the hip-hop fan, the horror fan, the narrative fan — heck, the Hamilton fan — in your life, may I recommend clipping.'s latest album There Existed an Addiction to Blood. Some folks might be aware of their Hugo-finalist album Splendor & Misery (a narrative story about an AI and a prisoner), but this album shakes things up by going full horrorcore. Each song is a story all in itself, ranging from cannibals to werewolves. That being said, the songs don't get lost in the story and remain tracks ready to break out at the next Halloween party. While the songs definitely have a Halloween flare — perfect for its October release — the atmospheric elements will engage speculative fans all year long.

Posted by Vance K — cult film reviewer and co-editor of nerds of a feather, flock together since 2012.

Holiday Gift Guide: Gadgets, Electronics, and Apps

It's that time of year again, where we struggle to buy the perfect gift for that special [fill in the blank] in your life. This year, the Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together crew is teaming up to bring you their favorite books, toys, entertainment, and gadgets, etc. to help make the process easier.

Stop by each day this week to see our suggestions.

Today...Gadgets, Electronics, and Apps!

The G: "For the solitaire lover in your life"

Card Crawl 

For me to play a game on my phone, it needs to essentially be some form of solitaire--the kind of thing you can play in 5-10 minute sessions, doesn't require much concentration and, as such, lends itself to endless replay while waiting for person X to arrive or event Y to start. But I also want something more than just solitaire, and that's exactly what Card Crawl provides. It's fantasy-based with addictive gameplay and a reward system that lets you trade in points (accrued by success and not by in-app purchases) for special cards. And the game itself is both simple and deep. Basically, there are five kinds of cards: monsters, which hurt you; swords and shields, which hurt monsters; potions, which heal you; coins, which give you points; and special cards, which can do all sorts of fun things. The trick is trading in as many swords, shields and potions as possible for coins, but so many that you can't survive a hand full of monsters. It's a lot of fun. And free! (Available for iOS and Android.)

Tia: "For the not really a morning person in your life"

Philips Wake-Up Light with Sunrise Simulation

Chances are you've stayed up way too late reading or playing video games (or maybe even doing something responsible like homework or caring for a child) and have struggled to get out of bed the next morning, hitting the snooze button numerous times. Or, perhaps you're one of the unfortunate souls that must rise in the dark, before the sun has reared it's beautiful head. Personally, I used to have 6 alarms set on my phone in various increments and would often sleep through many of them and then awake startled at one of the awful sounds. Welp, that dragon has officially been slayed and my magic weapon is the Phillips Wake Up Light. It's not a miracle worker mind you, but I no longer need alarms on my phone and I now often awake before the soft subtle beep that this golden egg exudes. The reason is the sunrise simulation the device offers. Around half an hour before the alarm is set to go off, the Wake Up Light starts gradually brightening to prepare your body for waking up the natural way (triggering your circadian rhythm), and by the time the beep sounds you are already almost fully awake. Now, I don't wake up singing and am still tired in the morning, but it is no longer the vicious battle of slapping my hand around my night stand to silence whatever evil demon is screaming in my ear. There are many different models to choose from but I just went with the bottom of the barrel and it was the best money I spent in a really long time. I purchased this as a gift for my brother this year (who also inherited the 10 phone alarm gene) and I recommend you get one for yourself and any other non-morning person in your life.


Brian: "for the too-connected homeowner in your life"

Gogogate2 by Gogogate

I got a Gogogate 2 to solve a dumb problem, but it turned out to be really neat. It allows you to control and monitor your garage door (among other types of outdoor gates) via your smartphone. It connects directly to your garage door opener and wifi network. With some setup, you connect it to an app on your smartphone, slap a sensor on your garage door, and now you can see on your smartphone whether it's open or close, and then open or close it. Big deal, but you can also allow remote access (using strong passwords, obvs), and now you can check on your garage door, open, or close it from your smartphone anywhere. No more sharing your garage door code with family or friends, you can just open and close it for them from your phone! It can be configured to send you alerts when your garage door is open for more than 10 minutes, or whenever it opens or closes. You can also do neat (dumb) things like tie it in a roundabout way to an Amazon Echo and now you can open and close your garage door using just your voice! I wouldn't necessarily call this a "fun" device, but it does useful things and I never fail to enjoy opening my garage door from a block away with my phone.


Joe: "For lovers of calm and beautiful games"

Monument Valley

After recommending Prune last year, I'd like to recommend another mobile game. Originally released in 2014, Monument Valley is a beautiful and quiet game filled with puzzles featuring optical illusions and manipulation for the player to find their way through the paths blocked by weirdly creepy crow people. Monument Valley is a touch on the short side and it's not the most difficult of games, but it is a fun and calming piece of art.

Thursday Morning Superhero

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, I thought I would open this week's post with an abbreviated gift guide.  Without further ado:

For the DC Fan:
If you have a DC fan you are shopping for, I would highly recommend The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland.  It is referred to as one of the best Joker stories ever told and is something that any DC fan should read.

For the Marvel Fan:
If you have read this column before, you know that I am a big Captain America fan.  What brought me into the fold was the work of Ed Brubaker.  If you have a Marvel fan on your list look no further than the Captain America Omnibus.  Packed with the first 25 issues of his run, it includes the Winter Soldier, which was way better than the movie (which I quite liked!).  Although as of this posting I see that it is out of print, so you can either pay big bucks for the omnibus or scoop the individual trades.


For the Indie Fan:
I catch some flack from my friends for liking "hipster comics", but there are some titles that are simply must reads.  If you have a quirky friend on your list, I highly recommend The Underwater Welder from Jeff Lemire or My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf.  Both are stunning and well worth your time.

Pick of the Week:
Birthright #12 - Oh how I want to drop a spoiler in this recap.  Joshua Williamson has been holding out on us and it isn't fair!  We learn more about the five mages that Mikey is tracking down, but we still don't know why or if they are good or bad.  Mikey and Brennan are close to tracking down one of the mages, Sameal, but we learn that he may not be the best one to pursue.  Meanwhile, the feds are upping their play to track down Mikey and Brennan, resorting to force to attempt to use their parents to assist them.  One of my favorite aspects of this book is the relationship between Brennan and Mikey.  Brennan wants to trust his brother, but has a healthy dose of skepticism that keeps Mikey on his toes.

The Rest:

The Violent #1 - Holy depressing debut Batman!  This debut issue from Ed Birsson, Adam Gorham, and Michael Garland is very upsetting, but very compelling.  Mason has just been released from jail, and is adjusting to life with his wife and toddler.  His wife wants nothing but for them to go on the straight and narrow, but the deck is stacked against them.  I found myself shouting at Mason throughout the comic with each bad decision he made.  As a dad, it was very easy to connect with his character and to want nothing but for him to have a meaningful relationship with his child.  This is going to be a rough ride, but it appears to be worth it.


The Walking Dead #149 - I had high hopes given the cover and the title "Devil on your Soldier'.  It didn't quite live up to expectations, but Negan is able to exert some influence on Rick and things are about to become a lot less peaceful.  Something tells me that Negan may not be the best person to take advice from.  Things are still moving at a slow pace, but this surely is the calm before the storm.  Right?

Batman #47 - I am still having a hard time with the way things are in Gotham, but it sounds like Scott Snyder is ready to allow Bruce to wear the cowl again soon.  Not that Jim Gordon has been a bad Batman, but it just doesn't feel right.  Mr. Bloom continues to be one of the best villains I have seen in Gotham, but I am ready for a return to normal.  While the twist at the end was a doozy, it makes me worry that Gordon will remain as the Batman for longer than I would prefer.






 POSTED BY MIKE N. aka Victor Domashev -- comic guy, proudly raising nerdy kids, and Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2012.  

2014 Holiday Gift Guide: Jemmy and Zhaoyun

Jemmy's Weird Wide World of Wonderment

1. For Those Who See President Obama as a True Superhero...

Yes, we can. We can see our president in saving the world without even breaking a sweat. We can see our president battling evil ninja, wielding samurai swords or even lightsabers, and fighting his old nemesis, Darth Vader. We can see our president whip out a gun, or even an ooze, as he takes down the latest drug lord. We can see him combating all the nation's, nay, the world's ills, and witness the rise to greatness of toydom everywhere. Yes we can.

 

In all honesty, this might be a tough one to get. This was made by Japanese company Gamu Toys in 2009, and as far as I can tell, they have never assigned a price to it. For more details (for those of you interested in learning Japanese), check out Gamu-Toys Super Obama.  

**Incidentally, Zhaoyun just informed me that this action figure was in his 2013 gift guide. Great minds think alike!

2. For Those Who Love Hodor a Bit Too Much... 

Yes, Hodor has always been my favorite character in GRRM's masterpiece. After all, what character in modern fantasy can possibly match the wit and panache of Westeros's most poignantly lovable giant? The man has a comeback for everything, and has a knack for explaining very difficult concepts using one brilliant word: Hodor. Brevity, as they say, is the sole of wit. And Hodor has brevity in spades...

 Hodor is even known for making truly meaningful haikus. My favorite? Of course, it's this one:

Hodor Hodor Ho-

   dor Hodor Hodor Hodor

Hodor Hodor Ho. 

No Westeros collection is complete without a T-shirt to remind us of the best character in the series...

3. For Those Who Want to Send a Bit of a Surprise...

Okay, now this is not really a gift I recommend getting for... er... well... anyone. But if somebody has irritated you enough, then why not let them spend their holiday season knowing full well how you think of them... all for the low price of US$16.95? Feel free to make use of Shitexpress, a company that specializes in sending its namesake: a piece of shit in a box. Heck, they will even include the animal excrement of your choice! Remember, there's nothing that will ever say "Surprise!" like a steaming pile of shit, straight from China.    

Incidentally, they accept bitcoin, which makes this the first service that will actually sell you shit for bitcoin. Checkout a review of shitexpress at Motherboard.

Holiday Gift Guide — Zhaoyun

In search of that truly quirky masterpiece of a holiday gift? Want something that is both funny and bitingly sardonic? Look no further than this year's Fantabulous Holiday Gift Guide!

1) Toilet Shots

Is your life going down the crapper? Are all your hopes and dreams slowly circling the drain? Then it's time to drink, and not from just any shot-glass. How about a glass that perfectly symbolizes your current existential crisis? (Alternatively, you could give this set of two to a set of two friends of yours whose lowest-common-denominator existence you wish to mock!)

Yummmmm.

Buy it here!

2) Combination sunglasses/safety glasses that shut out all the light of the world

Reviews claim you can still see with these on, despite the impressive matte black finish, but with these glasses, it's not about what you can see, it's about what everyone else can't—your eyes, two lifeless puppies sunk deep in the lethargy of despair after being kicked by the world one too many times. Plus, they double as safety glasses to handle all your slicing and chopping needs! I'm definitely buying a pair this holiday season...and in all seriousness, they look pretty cool, not to mention the glorious feeling of total anonymity. I could be napping for all you know, suckahs!

Lifeless puppy-dog eyes not included.

Buy them here.

3) Bacon Band-aids

What could possibly go together better than America's favorite fat-tastic breakfast food and boo-boos? Though sadly not made of actual bacon, this simulated experience of laying greasy slabs of pig on your open wounds is sure to please just about anybody! For the perfect trifecta, get your bacon-loving lover/relative bacon balm and, for the best balance between taste and dental care around, the bacon-flavored toothpaste! And you can put all these gifts in the ultimate gift bag! But hold on, naysayers. I realize some of us are vegetarians and/or find pigs distasteful (literally—bam!), which is why, as a special courtesy in honor of the holiday season, tree-hugging vegan hippies like you can enjoy the mac and cheese band-aids instead! What's that? Think mac and cheese is a no-no for vegans? Think again, Bah Humbuggers—what about the "cheese" in mac and cheese possibly convinced you it was made from milk (or indeed, anything other than the sort of chemicals that gave the Joker his poker-face)?

And that, friends, is the true meaning of Christmas!

No, I didn't forget about gifts for kids—as proof, here's the best-tasting formula imaginable!

Buy the bacon band-aids here, or if you're a Jainist, the mac and cheese ones!

Holiday Gift Guide (for Girls?) - Tia and Vance

Here at Nerds of a Feather, we're big believers in women in the sciences and the science fictions. And since I have three daughters, the oldest of whom is actively building up her nerd cred more and more, I pitched co-contributor Tia the idea of doing a gift guide for girls that goes in a totally different direction than your mainstream pink-and-princesses type guides we all see everywhere this time of year. The gifts that follow, then, are not really gender-specific, but we hope that if you're shopping for a special kid with an interest in nerdy things, regardless of their chromosomes, these will give you some ideas.

Gift Guide - Vance

I bestow upon you earned knowledge. Each of the gifts below has been kid-tested in my own home, so I've seen these things in action in grubby little kid paws, and pronounce them winners.

Board Games

The two most popular games in my house this year have been Labyrinth and King of Tokyo. Labyrinth is a board game made up of moving tiles that you can shift on your turn in order to create a path to the next piece of treasure you must collect. It's fun, and a wonderful exercise in spatial reasoning. In King of Tokyo, you are a monster battling other monsters for control of Tokyo. What's not to love?
Labyrinth from Amazon King of Tokyo at Amazon

Batman

I loved the 1960s Batman TV series when I was a kid, but in a new world that includes sprawling effects spectacles like The Avengers, I wasn't sure how the campy antics of Adam West and Burt Ward would go over. I needn't have worried. All three girls come from wherever they are in the house to dance when they hear the theme song begin, and all those "Pow"s "Biff"s and "Zowie"s have been tremendous fun for somebody who just learned to read. Now the complete series is available on disc for the first time, and even comes packaged with a snazzy die-cast Batmobile.
Amazon

Monster Feet

My eldest daughter loves monsters and Godzilla. Somebody gave her some pink monster-feet house shoes, which are fine, but she and I both prefer the Godzilla feet slippers she has. Seeing a little kid walk around the house in these things is simply the best. It's the best.
Amazon


Gift Guide - Tia

Dealing with Dragons: Book One of the Enchanted Forrest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

This was my all time favorite book growing up. It’s about an improper princess named Cimorene, who doesn’t behave as a princess ought to. She tries to learn fencing and cleaning and magic and Latin…all subjects that are denied to princesses. But uncovering her parents’ plan to force her into an arranged marriage is the last straw and Cimorene skips town, eventually finding herself in the company of some dragons. She volunteers to be the dragons’ “captive,” a position she thoroughly enjoys, despite all the annoying rescue attempts by knights in shining armor.

I think I loved this book so much because it was different than all the other princess stories. I was condemned to Catholic school as I kid, so I could fully relate to being expected to act a certain way and not being able to learn anything cool. I can’t speak for the trilogy as a whole, because I never even knew there was more than one book until recently, but Dealing with Dragons is a story that will live in a little girl’s heart forever (well mine at least).
Amazon.



Harry Potter Gryffindor Jersey

This is the all time most awesome Harry Potter shirt EVER! When I finally made it to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter this summer, I was so overwhelmed with nerdiness I couldn’t handle it. Not to mention, the Diagon Alley expansion was finished but not open to the public yet, so I had to deal with that crushing blow at the same time. Talk about mixed feelings. I’m not going to lie, I did contemplate jumping the fence. There was only one guard on duty and I know I could have outrun him. But anyway, I saw so many little folks rocking this top around Orlando and it was fantastic. It’s not your typical flimsy T-Shirt, it has a little more substance to it and even some embroidery. I opted not to buy myself one while I was there and purchased a wand instead, a decision I regret. At a recent Harry Potter festival in Philadelphia I saw a mother-daughter duo sporting these matching HP jerseys and it was to die for. Universal Studios.

National Geographic Archaeology Kit: Pyramid Dig

Lets face it. Archaeology is cool, mythology is cool, and digging in the dirt is really, really cool. I worked as an archeologist for a time and was the only girl on the field crew (i.e., dirt diggers). All the other girls at the company worked in either administration or as researchers. If you ask me, we need more girls in the dirt digging department. This Ancient Egypt archaeology set looks like so much fun, and may be just the type of thing to get more of today’s youth interested in history and digging. It comes with a little chisel, brush, hammer, mummy, and sarcophagus. It even has directions on how to mummify an apple! Be aware though, this kit contains choking hazards, so make sure that the recipient of this gift isn’t one to eat non-food items.  Amazon.  

(Editor's note: Tia and I had overlapping gift recommendations, although mine involved digging up dinosaur bones, not ancient civilizations. Both are super cool. Here's the T-Rex skeleton dig we have here. - V)

Zhaoyun's Fantabulous Nerd Gift Guide

This year, to spice up the holiday season with some unusual presents, I looked in some pretty unconventional places, including clothing megacorporation Uniqlo, Amazon Japan, and a toy company I'd never even heard of. I was able to find and purchase two out of the three gifts highlighted below, but it kills me to admit that my favorite of all, the toy, I couldn't get my hands on, try as I might. It'll have to wait until next year, I suppose!

One clarification: you will probably notice that all of the items on my list this year are from Japan, and naturally, this being Nerds of a Feather, they're all pretty weird. However, hard as this may be to believe, I'm not presenting these three items as a way of mocking Japanese culture for producing weird stuff--quite the reverse, actually. I actually bought two out of the three, and find all three awesome ideas! And herein lies the true nature of the Nerd, perhaps.

Without further ado, the Best Edible Treat, Best Toy, and Best Clothing gift ideas from yours truly:

Best Edible Treat: The Mokolet 

(This is a portmanteau of the Japanese word for the onomatopoeic sensation of sudsy bubbly fluffiness, mokomoko, and 'toilet', in effect a "bubblet".)

   Yes, you're seeing this correctly--it's a small cup shaped like a toilet, into which you pour some dried powder and shake it up into a frothy beverage, and then you drink the concoction directly from the toilet bowl.

   Whether the thought of drinking a frothy sudsy drink out of a miniature toilet makes you jump for joy or squirm in horror, one thing is certain: this is one gift that's certain to get you lots of attention. Sure, the range of people for whom this gift would be anything but grossly inappropriate is minuscule, but if you happen to find someone who'd actually appreciate this (and whose parents wouldn't try to strangle you afterwards for giving such a weird gift), you will be the coolest 'wacky uncle/aunt' ever!

Also, believe it or not, according to evidence on Youtube (I haven't tried it yet because I bought it, on Amazon Japan, as a gift for someone else), the drink is supposed to be pretty good, and comes in a few different flavors too!

Best Clothing: The Fist of the North Star Sound Effects T-shirt

Remember Fist of the North Star? Ken punches someone with a satisfying, meaty 'thwack!' and then drawls contemptuously, "don't you know? You're already dead!" whereupon the punchee's head swells and then bursts like an overripe melon. Sometimes Ken would freak out and go into Bruce Lee mode, punching everybody for miles around all in like five seconds. The show, and the movie, were all about improbable violence, so for fans of Fist of the North Star, this would surely be the ultimate gift. It's quite simply a shirt with all the punching and kicking sound effects written out (in Japanese), so stuff the equivalent of "bam!" and "pow!" but with a lot more variation. I bought this a few months ago at Uniqlo, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to find. This Christmas, get your boyfriend/husband/brother (because who are we kidding? Girls are too sensible to like something this juvenile and gratuitously violent!) the gift that keeps on punching!

Best Toy: The Obama Action Figure

First, a question! What do you get when you combine this:

With the current President of the United States?

Answer: this!

Actually, a couple of different companies make Obama figurines, but none quite like this. It pains me to no end to admit I wasn't able to locate and buy one (or more!) of these, because honestly, who wouldn't want an eight inch tall Obama with a full panoply of microphone, necktie, handgun (!), Uzi (!!), or katana (!!!!?!). The best stocking stuffer ever! So if anyone has one of these Samurai Obama dolls, or knows where they can be found or purchased, please let me know!



Happy Holidays to all, and to all a toilet bowl full of bubbly goodness!

2013 Nerd Gift Guide - Vance

Last year I went kind of broad with Star Trek, Back to the Future, and Cthulhu (but seriously, you have to check out the Cuddlethulhu), so this year I've decided to focus on the micro. I've picked three gifts that are almost mind-bogglingly specific, so it's possible no one but me will be interested in them. But believe me, they're all excellent and will be worthy gifts for that special nerd in your life.

For Writers/Word Nerds: Shady Characters [Buy the book or download for Kindle .]

We are huge advocates here at Nerds of a Feather for independent authors and literary voices that fall outside of the mainstream. But we also understand that many (so, so many) independent works are bedeviled by spelling and punctuation errors. That got me thinking about Keith Houston's surprisingly engaging Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks. As a type and design nerd, the idea of learning the history of these marks I use every day was quite alluring. I mean, what the hell is up with that paragraph symbol, anyway? If you watched and enjoyed Helvetica, you can't go wrong with this.

For the Film/Animation Nerd: Cartoon Modern [Buy it today.]

This had been on my wish list for a long time, and I'm thrilled I finally got my hands on it. I grew up watching a lot of animation, I still do, and have even done a little myself. While I'm impressed as hell with the work that big shops like Disney have always done, I've been far more inspired by folks that undertook this hugely labor-intensive artform with very few resources, an idiosyncratic vision, or a hunger for experimentation. All of those things flourished in the 1950s, as artists began to break away from the "centerline" school of animation at the same time that TV networks and advertising outfits embraced animation for mass audiences. Cartoon Modern does a very thorough job of profiling all of the animation companies that were active at the time, including tons of amazing production and pre-production images, and puts everything into a larger cultural context. Also, many of the films are available on YouTube if you look, so you can enjoy a DIY multimedia extravaganza!

For the Beer Nerd/Snob: Beer-of-the-Month Club (Sign up here)

No doubt, this is not the cheapest way to buy beer, but if you know a beer nerd who enjoys supporting microbreweries and trying as many different styles and variations as he or she can find, then this is a great way to go. It was the first time, for instance, that I had heard of and was able to try a Milk Stout, of all things. Also, the newsletter they include is interesting, with a little background on each style and brewery. Needless to say, this is only for nerds of legal drinking age.

And on that note, all this typing is some thirsty business. I think I'll see what I've got in the fridge...