Clik here to view.
Katamari
Knowing that I have an addictive personality — at least with regard to the "soft addictions" — I do my best to stay away from treacherous time traps like Freecell Solitaire. And if I owned a game...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Stuff Works
We use technology all the time — telephones, computers, the Internet, television, cars and so on — but do you ever wonder how these things work? What happens after you press the "on" button or turn...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pandora, the Music Genome Project
Ever wish there were a radio station that played exactly what you wanted to hear? Well, there is — sort of. Pandora is an online project put together by music experts who’ve spent the past five years...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vermont Teddy Bear
I can’t imagine a sweeter Valentine’s Day gift than a personalized teddy bear — especially one from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company (sister company to the PajamaGram Company), which makes high-quality,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Super Bowl commercials
What’s the best part of the Super Bowl? The parties? Making food or ordering in? The risque halftime entertainment? The fact that for some, it marks the end of seventeen weeks of misery? While you’re...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It really makes you think…
It really makes you think — Philosophy Talk: A couple of Stanford University professors discuss one broad, intriguing topic — such as time, happiness, forgiveness, virtue, propaganda, science, free...
View ArticleClik here to view.
vintage products, brand-new
Ever feel nostalgic for products or supplies that you remember from childhood, but haven’t been able to find in years? Your search may be over. The Vermont Country Store offers a wide variety of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
found and overheard
Sometimes what strangers say and write, taken out of context — especially when taken out of context — is fascinating. Overheard in New York publishes transcripts of random conversations overheard in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vectorpark “Levers”
This is driving me nuts. What do you do with the hat once the snowman melts and his face mysteriously appears on the spinning thingamabob at the top that used to be the timer? (You have to play the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
geek meets hip hop
The Treo mail alert Swoosh sounds a lot like the background piano drops in Kanye West’s song "Heard ‘Em Say," which is Track 2 on Late Registration (also available through iTunes). Every time mail...
View ArticleClik here to view.
quote gifts
Sometimes the perfect thing to say has already been said by someone else. Lunch Mail has encapsulated this concept in an attractive product designed to uplift and inspire. Each Lunch Mail pack...
View ArticleClik here to view.
cutting straight lines
So many paper crafts, so little time. If you’re cutting paper (or even cloth!), you can — safely — get clean, straight lines with a Fiskars rotary paper trimmer (available with a 12-inch or a 24-inch...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Clik here to view.
do it yourself
Remember "The Future"? When our environment was supposed to have become so technologically advanced that machines would do virtually everything for us, leaving us with many hours of free time to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
baby safety
It’s hard to imagine a better — or funnier — gift for the parents-to-be who already have everything than Safe Baby Handling Tips by David and Kelly Sopp. This novelty picture book is basically a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
April 1
In the mood for romance? Or various other tomfoolery? Oh, by the way: don’t forget to spring forward tonight. No foolin’.
View ArticleClik here to view.
1980 nostalgia
VH1 used to be the second-rate music video channel, targeting an audience about a decade older than MTV’s. But now VH1’s programming generally comprises time-wasting, guilty-pleasure filler shows,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crocs
You know you’re wearing something distinctive when strangers — men, women and children — approach you on the street and say, "Cool shoes! Where’d you get those?" Crocs makes a variety of slip-on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
cute kittens
kitten photo by Dereck Bradley Sometimes animal lovers are in the mood to see kittens — lots and lots of kittens. Still photos of kittens may offer only partial satisfaction for your desire for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
index card philosophy
I spotted Indexed, another blog-turned-book success story, in the Chronicle Books store the other day. Indexed represents two great ideas: first, it’s a novel use for index cards (other than, say,...
View Article