What did you get for Christmas?

erm, i'm not sure what this sleeveless theme my family has going on about is. i've NEVER worn sleeveless things cause my log arm and my tattoo hangs out.

It's awesome! Really awesome! Also I got several colors of sealing wax and a stamp with my initials, and a big makeup kit (I look like a dragon lady now, all red and brown and scary). Those are the coolest things.

My gran gave suzy and I a selection of flavoured olive oils and assorted anti-pasti. My sister gave me a dice game called perudo that I will lose because it involves dice (cf. monopoly, risk et al.) My brother gave me the office and y tu mama tambien on DVD. My uncle gave me a vacuum cleaner for my car.

OH and FC also brought me a mini slinky, a tangerine, a walnut and a hazelnut.

I will not mention the A A Gill book

love to you all

- taking a ho to the beach, having my wicked way, thus gaining some health, then popping her on the back of the head with a claw hammer to get my money back.*

- jacking a car with a screaming preppy passenger-hostage, revving it right up, flying down to the pier, and launching myself out the left-side door as the car wheeeeeeeees into the ocean with aforesaid asshold in situ.*

- satisfying 'knuckle-dusting' sounds.*

also: BEST EASTENDERS EVER! and other such. I have gin, no ice, no tonic, but lime - what can I do with this?

* - note: these are all 'good', erm, things.

* - note: if hypertransferance should occur etc.

Happy Christmas, ILE.

I'm getting bettah now I think... just in time for dinner!

Not really a bad selection, but only the Calvino excites me.

but the good thing is, I'll be having another christmas tomorrow!!

Low - Christmas
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane over the sea
Tickets to Low and Idlewild
A disc man
50 euro
Roy Keane's book
A new wallet.

Luvverly. But don't worry, I got them nice gifts, also.

i would pay for snow

merry Christmas everyone!

But I got some nice CDs for Christmas, so I listened to them this morning & now I've had Isn't Anything on repeat for the last 6 hours while I read through my backlog of New Yorkers.

but for Chanukah I got new Doc Martens boots (to replace the old Doc Martens boots I've worn straight through)! hooray! plus my mom got me a small box of really good marzipan, as usual.

*sigh*

Snow would have made my Christmas Day absolutely perfick.

However, I have been utterly spoiled with lots of lovely presents. I am spending today writing thank you letters for, amongst other things :

A gold bracelet
The first series of The Office on DVD
A digital camera
Bottles of flavoured olive oils - chilli, basil, garlic, lemon. Yum!
Several CDs
Two pairs of earrings
USB hub and an external zip drive for the computer
Some *ahem* slinky underwear
Chocolate galore! - Cadbury's Lord of the Rings selection box, Thornton's Viennese Truffles, hand-made fudge.......no fear of me getting tubby from eating all this though as passing friends/neighbours/relatives have all been swiping it and I have hardly had any. Despite hiding it.

mmmmm, skinhead truffles

Not a bad haul, actually.

yep, I'm spoiled.

Steve! What are these b*lle and s*bastien playing cards!? are they on the website? I shall go and look..

The highlights:

An original oil on canvas by my very talented mother
A beautiful and tres tres expensive Buddha statue
Wonder Woman coasters
Shitloads of money
A gorgeous leather jewellery box
Enough chocolate & wine to keep me going into the next century
Millions of pairs of those slipper sock thingies for some reason
Silk PJ's

* Maroon sweater, black top, black plaid skirt, grey sweater, corduroy red skirt, flirty blue skirt, tights
* Pretty frame & matching candle lamp, lots of hot drink mixes, a kitty mug, glasses, towels, necklace, bracelet, earrings, soap
* TV trays, a kitchen table, placemats, cloth napkins, Sense & Sensibility
* The Donnas - Spend the Night, Smashing Pumpkins - Earphoria, Matador videos on DVD, Say Anything on dvd, Kitty magnets, a photo album, a journal, lots of candy

and lots of other cool crap I'm forgetting...

But alas - now it's post-xmas and I am at work

*sigh*

Want to go home and play with my presents!

Also, poor people carried empty boxes from door to door, and the boxes were soon filled with food, Christmas sweets, and money. Parents gave their children small gifts such as, oranges, handkerchiefs, and socks. People also placed old clothing that they didn't need anymore in boxes, and they were given to those in need.

Today, Boxing Day is a holiday in the United Kingdom, Canada, and many other Commonwealth nations. It is spent with family and friends at open gatherings with lots of food, fun, and the sharing of friendship and love.

While government buildings and small businesses are closed, the malls are filled with people either exchanging gifts or buying reduced priced Christmas gifts, cards, and decorations.

Throughout the Christmas season, many organizations follow the original tradition of Boxing Day by donating their time, energy, and money to fill the Food Bank, provide gifts for children who live in poverty, or to help an individual family who is in great need at the time.

1. A dvd player!
2. A VCR
3. A set of knives
4. A set of pans
5. SOX
6. PANTS
7. Scarf and gloves set x2
8. Chocolate!
9. THE SNUGGLE SUIT
10. Slippers

WOT A HAUL! *boing*

Is anyone at an open gathering with friends/family today, sharing love? I wish I was. I love open air love sharing.

Is anyone at an open gathering sharing love with friends/family today? I wish I was. I love open air love sharing.

(Felicity are you still in Chicago?)

I got a sweater.

(I'm genuinely quite sad now)

http://southsidecallbox.com/images/earrings.jpghttp://southsidecallbox.com/images/necklace.jpg

CDS
Metro Area
Futurism 2 (not very good really but anyway)

Money
150 euro which i aim to spend by this time next week

other stuff

a t shirt which i dont like much but will wear anyway
toffees
davidoff eau de toilette (i havent worn anything like this in ages but its pretty nice)
fatboy slim live brighton beach dvd (i like this but it doesnt have enough crowd noise)

A subscription to Jockey Slut, music magazine, pretty cool idea I thought.

Happy Christmas all of you, if it wasn't for the super amazing and magical weekend I have planned I'd be very down on Christmas but at the moment things are looking up.

I don't sweat it though, it's part of growing older right? I'm just consoling myself with not having to go back to work 'till the 6th.

No one should be a moody judy at christmastime! Cazam! Pow! Pop! Whizz!

(tho' Graham, don't wait up - I'm still waiting for a tape she promised me four and a half years ago)

On the plus side I am warm since I put on two extra jumpers.

cheap trick - heaven tonight!! (a rarity as it's deleted now! yay!)
a hamster in a wheel (not a real hamster)
sweets
a torch
some desk tidying things

What a threat!

What a threat!

its been a shame, i've missed lots of going out, in london, leeds and manchester...

Because you dash to the record stores and use the gift cards you received to buy the fancy box sets you coveted earlier this year.
;^}

My boss bought me a very classy and nice leather Coach purse! I've never had a purse that was worth more than the entire contents and then some, I feel very fancy. I got a lot of presents because it's just me, my family had no peripheral boyfriends to buy for this year, so I got all the spending, it was great. I mean, there have been years where my mom seemed to buy more for the bfs than for me, what is that? I mean, I'm not looking for them to buy me jack, I can buy things myself easily - but if you're GOING to buy things, why are you buying so much for some random dude I started dating a few months ago?

Best Christmas ever!

as mentioned elsewhere, i have been STIFFED by the family once again - mother lent(!!) me money towards bills & father reneged on last month's promise of a computer (no surprise, this is xmas tradition 2000-03) then sent me text on xmas eve saying he was renewing my domain name (which had expired & i already renewed on the 20th). both put in fairly detailed requests for what they wanted for xmas, tho!

oh, Pepper the cat brought me a blackbird! bless.

Ritter Miniatures
CDs: Cake, Prodigy, Bjork, Pulp
DVDs: Interstellar 5555, Futurama Volume 2, Breakin, Breakin 2 Electric Boogaloo, Ferris Bueller, PCU, Where Eagles Dare, JAmes Bond 007 Box (A View To A Kill, Octopussy, Thunderball, Live & Let Die, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Die Another Day) The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus
Books: Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, George Pelecanos' Soul Circus, Network Intrusion Detection 3rd Edition, CISSP Passport, Backyard Ballistics
Cotton Boxers
Cotton V-neck Tshirts
Bayern-Munchen soccer jersey
Hawaiian shirt (finally a blue one!)
light blue dress shirt w/ white collar and cuffs
A 'cement' colored sweater w/ zip
Green polo shirt
alarm clock with remote outdoor temperature sensor
6-glass sake serving set
Monogrammed bottle opener keychain
sheffiled multi-tool & swiss army knife thing
Mos Eisley Spaceport Lego Set
Fossil travel kit of fingernail clippers, toenail clippers, tweezers, scissors
Big funky can opener
and a Cuisinart food processor.

Word.

others i gave or will give:
books:
a collection of Orwell's complete essays
a compendium of literary travel writing
The Metaphysical Club
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles
an encyclopedia of design from the Renn. to Pomo
Reefer Madness
a book about the development of radar
a book of tips for teachers
Invisible Man

cds/dvds
curtis mayfield - roots
monty python's meaing of life 2dvd
sun ra "space is the place" dvd

and then some gift certificates. can wait to hand them all out. friends are out of town.

more to come at xmas at mom's house!

* Some lovely-smelling body lotion and soap from Bath & Body Works
* Various bits of candy
* An angel pin
* A special planner thingy with a calculator built in
* Various nightgown-y stuff
* A purse for formal-ish events
* My favorite scent from The Healing Garden (White Teatherapy!)

AND THE LONG-PROMISED NEW COMPUTER! Hurrah! I need to start up and complete Operation Bedroom Organization before setting up the new computer, but once everything's set up, I will have a 7000 series Compaq Presario with an 80GB HD (hurrah!), an AMD Athlon processor that's bound to be faster than the one I've got on this computer (hurrah!), 256MB RAM (hurrah!!), a DVD-ROM (hurrah!), a 24x max CD-RW (hurrah!), a 17" monitor (hurrah!), JBL speakers (hurrah!), and Windows XP pre-installed (hurrah!), not to mention the three-year warranty that comes along with the computer. It is far better than the NEC Ready 9701SE system that I have at present. (The only thing I'm currently satisfied with here is the 30GB HD that I had to buy and install back in 2001 when my old [2GB] HD bit the dust.) </gush>

So I'm sure you know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow. ;)

(BTW, my mother was the one who gave me the computer. I LOVE MOM.)

Other relatives gave me money. Friends gave me candy and I gave them candy. One friend gave me a stuffed animal mouse, thinking himself witty and clever because of my domestic mouse troubles. That is all.

My best friend just gave me a Lisa Simpson lamp. cool, I guess. He kept telling me how he had the perfect gift planned out and for some reason I thought it would be the first season of Jackass on DVD. *sigh*

• Ugly socks
• Ugly brown jumper
• Belle & Sebastian DVD
• Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
• A couple of Terry Pratchett books
• Metro Maps of the World
• various confectionary

The clothes were the best, I got navy levis twist cords, a t-shirt and a new jacket. All in all an ok Christmas.

I gave him the Spirited Away DVD, btw.

Flann O'Brien, The Hard Life and The Third Policeman
Neil Stephenson, Quicksilver
John Garth, Tolkien and the Great War
Johnny Cash, Unearthed
The Simpsons 3rd season DVD set
The Indiana Jones DVD set
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (2 disc set)
A very nice dark blue sweater
New Reeboks
A gift certificate to Amoeba
Various puzzle books
Office supplies (strange but true! including a paper shredder so I can remove my existence from the world)
A pizza stone for cooking said pizzas on in my oven
...and much more besides.

Acquired yesterday thanks to some Xmas gift money:

Better Luck Tomorrow
How The Grinch Stole Christmas/Horton Hears a Who (yay Chuck Jones!)
The Lion King -- that new double disc thing
Looney Tunes Golden Collection (yay Chuck Jones again!)
The Manchurian Candidate
The Third Man (Criterion!)
Unforgiven (2 DVD set)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (2 DVD set)
Motorhead, Stone Deaf Forever! box set

Best part about all yesterday's purchases? All used, in some cases with ridiculously low prices. Rah!

I got a multi-stone ring, v. cool (amethyst, garnet, citrine, smoky topaz, peridot, moonstone)

A really cool gold bracelet where the links are made up of little tiny delicate hearts. i should take a pic of that one actually, it's quite unusual.

A blown glass (!!) pendant. i *love* art glass so thing was majorly cool for me. it is disc-shaped, with multi-colored whorls.

An azure malachite ring with silver filagree around it

It was jewelry from the sky! Yay!

Other stuff was more mundane, but still just as appreciated:

Potpourri
Electric can opener
Etched crystal martini glasses
Really cute wine-bottle stoppers with silver grapes on top

That said, I love my Amazon wishlist!

books:
'Ecrits'
(the new translation of the Lacan survey - but don't worry, it remains utterly impenetrable!)

'Genius Moves: 100 Icons of Graphic Design'
'Graphic Style: From Victorian to Digital'
(illustrated design history books by Steven Heller et al)

'Joel Sternfeld: Stranger Passing'
(my favorite photo portraits of all time)

'Designs On The Land: Exploring America From the Air'
(an excellent book that Gareth pointed out to me on his L.A. visit!)

dvds:
'The Work of Director Michel Gondry'
(his explanation for the Daft Punk "Around the World" video from the 'D.A.F.T.' dvd was incredibly inspiring for me artistically - I can't wait to spend some time with this)

'Mahler'
(a very odd movie about the composer by Ken Russell)

music:
Alizee - 'Mes Courants Electriques' ("He owns a complete set of her works")

Dolly Parton - 'Mission Chapel Memories: 1971-1975' (the same thing that Mary got! - how great is it?! - I've just decided "The Bargain Store" is one of my top ten favorite songs of all time!)

random:
nice shirt from my Aunt (she's surprisingly good about finding me clothes)
robe from same (I've already got two so I gave it to my Dad)

future items from gift certs:
'Glen Campbell: The Capitol Years 1965-1977'
a beautiful topcoat which I'm sure will be completely useless in L.A.

All in all a good day.

The sales of course were far more fun, except that I was placed in the queue at Next in Cardiff at 6:50am and got served at 8:40.

oooo!

Spencer, you do know who did costumes for that?

It's just as good as the first one. 3 awesome singles. I will make you a copy!

Spencer, you do know who did costumes for that?

no! who? who?

dude, I have a full on frenchie mix that I'll send too!

Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren!

really?, it says Shirley Russell on imdb (haven't checked the box).

and Mary, I've posted this story on ILM a couple times but it bears repeating, Bilinda Butcher auditioned for My Bloody Valentine by singing "The Bargain Store"!

you're actually not supposed to even take them out of the box!

and yeah Tom, everything is really picked over as all these sissy retailers keep their stocks lean.

I haven't bought anything for anybody though, so I kind of feel like shit when I realize how much I like the stuff I got.

i also inherited my mom's digital camera, because she got a new one.

i bought myself some stuff, too, cuz my dad gave me $100. Finally bit the bullet and bought all the Honeymooners Lost Episodes DVD Boxed Sets (which are WAY overpriced - about $45 each and there are six - but I don't think I can live without them anymore) and i'm going to the record store tomorrow, while in nyc, to stock up.

i guess it's all downhill from here

Santa was nice to me this year. I got:

some cash
a SIGNED Boris Johnson novel
a really nice wool hoodie
Mil Millington's doubtless hilarious "Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About" book
socks'n'boxer shorts, natch
a mulled wine kit
a bloody great bath towel
three bottles of red wine and a natty ernest & julio corkscrew
"Frank Black Francis" double CD of 1987 demos and rerecorded Pixies stuff, woo
Mike Leigh's "Meantime" and Bill Bailey's "Part Troll" DVDs

No solid gold house or rocket car, sadly - guess they're lost in the post somewhere...

I bought myself a subscription Rail magazine

...pretty good haul overall. What I've enjoyed most so far is the Tammy Wynette box set I got for my wife.

I need hellllllllllllllllp!

and i watched "elf" for the first time today and it was so good, i cried at the end.

from mr teeny's dad: a hundred bucks!

from mr teeny's mom and stepdad: a hundred bucks in mall gift cards!
(technically me and mr teeny have to split this one but we're getting a PS2 oh boy oh boy)

Mom and stepfather: Albert Ayler, Holy Ghost; Various Artists, Goodbye Babylon; Law & Order - The First Year DVD set. (Thank God for amazon.com wish lists.)

Tommy and wife: blank photo album

Bobby and wife: David Wondrich, Stomp and Swerve: American Music Gets Hot, 1843-1924; David Toop, Haunted Weather: Music, Silence, and Memory; Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Amazon.com wish lists strike again. I'm very glad for the first two, but the Arendt is sooo not an Xmas gift.)

Jeremy, is there some inheritance you're going to miss out on if you just disown the lot of them?

also:

Buffy Sainte Marie - Up Where We Belong
Kinks - Arthur
Stones - Jump Back: 71-93
50 clam$
Cailler's chocolate
and some thrivin' home-made bread along with other assorted baked delights

A good day, for sure. Merry Christmas y'all.

A pink iPod
Shower radio/CD player
An electric wok
Various bottles of booze - bacardi, Baileys, champagne (do people think I am an alcoholic or something?)
Various books, CDs and DVDs
Lots of gorgeous pampering stuff, body lotions, bath gels, lovely shampoos etc. New Year's Resolution = to be nicer to myself, so these will be part of The Plan.

I too received a Le Creuset stockpot, but it's the orange one and I am collecting blue. Would it be churlish of me to try and exchange it in the New Year? or am I just being too picky?

The bedroom... yeah, that was a fairly substantial gift.

I think I might actually be more annoyed with myself for feeling cross about this, now I think about it. I know it shouldn't matter, but it obviously does which makes me scared I am, deep down, some kind of obsessive perfectionist control freak where my cookware is concerned. It's a bit of a worry.

I think I need to drink some more gin, and not care so much.

the new Jon Ronson book "The Men Who Stare At Goats", the book about John Peel (which I assume will be good), and my Mum bought me the new Adrian Mole book, which is a sort of tradition at this point, still they're usually quite funny. The Jon Ronson is great, I finished it this morning, loved it.

I got new headphones also.

I think my parents plan to financially aid me for a big purchase I am making soon aswell. record decks, at last.

Quite a few DVDs:

The Star Wars trilogy
Survivors series 2
Farscape season 3
Abigail's Party
Edge Of Darkness
The Box Of Delights
Fawlty Towers - complete series

CJ, definitely exchange it. My sis collects the red ones and there is no shame in color coordination.

I got her:
Invader Zim DVD, Volume 3 (the only thing she really wanted from me)
Gir from Invader Zim action figure (we usually get each other some kind of toy)
The newest Adrian Mole novel (She's a fan)
God's Debris, Scott Adams (a fantasy fable novella from the Dilbert guy, absolutely nothing like his cartoon work)
Quiet Is The New Loud, Kings Of Convenience (so she won't claim my copy!)

Oddly I know two other people in precisely this situation this year. Both are exchanging for blue.

a cake.

http://nf.wh3rd.net/files/xmasbooks.jpg

i got two eno reissues, the decalogue on dvd, an andreas gursky book, a taschen book on graphic design, adorno's essays on music, a duvet cover, some razors, a bit of money, socks, vitamins, two picture frames, a ben sherman jacket, the warp videos dvd, and an ipod (!!) from my dad!

And Bloke and I bought each other the same Patrick O'Brian book. How cute is that?

ummm, a what?

ihttps://www.jonathanadler.com/jonadler/assets/product_images/PAAAAAOOPCJMHKBE.jpg
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Virgin Records Gift Card $50 (I don't really like that record store because they're too expensive, but I'll use it. It's also a good excuse to get my mom to take me downtown.)

Black Rasberry Vanilla bath stuff w/ pink bag

5 Shirts (3 dressy and 2 T's)

Queen Greatest Hits I, II, III

Guiness Book of World Records

Astronomy book

Algebra book

6 other books

Vest

Jacket

Perfomance Fleece Jacket

Candy

Necklace

2 Bracelets

4 Pairs of socks

Simpsons DVD 4th Season

Simpsons Clue

Simpsons 1000 peice Puzzle

Scrable

$100

Oh, and a 61 key Keyboard with 487 sounds, including "dog" (you'd only really understand why that would be funny if you were at Mission of Burma's sound check in Atlant)

*laughs* Um, I have no idea if you're capable of answering these questions already.... But wow. I hope it's REALLY good.

Plus we got two $75.00 Barnes and Noble gift cards, and Kevin got a $75.00 EMS card, so we feel really, really wealthy right now.

1) a tripod and various other camera-related minutiae
2) some nice jeans
3) an all-purpose, can't-lose black pullover sweater
4) a new hat
5) an awesomely warm blue hoodie
6) a great scarf with stripes and earth tones and it's all warm and nice

I had yooge fun buying Jessa a leather jacket, as well. I don't get to spend exorbitant amounts of money on single items often enough. It's a good feeling.

from friends:
book about chicago
marc jacobs cashmere sweater
male nurse action figure
small bag of cocaine
bottle of cheap bourbon
bottle of tylenol pm
ugly scarf

i havent gotten around to looking at it yet, since i've been busy getting acquainted with the other gifts first.

http://info.wlu.ca/~wwwpa/campus_update/2003/nov/images/dallaire-b.jpg

http://qcom.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/p1670924reg.jpg

http://jalts.com/nature/safari/science/globes/1725-18.jpg

http://www.johnhelmer.com/products/full/78.jpg

And for myself: a pair of Adidas Fencing trainers, SOTA Toys' M. Bison and (light blue) Chun Li figures and Marvel Legends Series VIII's Ultimate Captain America, Modern Iron Man and Storm (in place of Black Widow) figures.

*Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within (nothing says Xmas like chopping zombies into bits)
*The Last Free Man In America: Meets The Synthetic Subversion (autobiography of Gatewood Galbraith)
*a kickass giNORMOUS skillet and a stainless steel garlic press
*a smoov scarf/gloves/headband set
*badass argyle socks (at least, as badass as argyle socks can get)

from myself:

*Viewtiful Joe (this game is hilarious...and kinda hard)
*Broken Lizard's Club Dread DVD

Sorry, Scrabble. But yes, I guess I am. I played it last night and after all the drama of me getting pissed and threatening to put an inappropriate word on the board, I beat my mom and her boyfriend (who were playing as a team against me) 279 to 292. It was all because of my mom's boyfriend putting "exit" on the board with the "x" on "triple letter score" which right there was an automatic 24 points. I used that for my final two words, "ex" and "re". We had a lot of arguement about it, but those are both words. I decided to use the preposition definition for both.

On DVD, Kurosawa's Ikiru and Yojimbo, Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love and a double disc Brakhage comp, all from Criteirion. Also The Simpsons fourth season set.

The Black Sabbath box set

Neal Stephenson's The Confusion and The System of the World

New blue bedsheets, new shoes, plenty of socks (a Raggett family tradition of sorts, though out of all of us I'm the least flashy when it comes to socks, everyone else seems to go nuts for getting all kinds of wacky socks).

A travel kit of sorts -- very handy mini umbrella (I just lost my old one, oddly enough), new luggage locks, glasses cleaners, passport holder.

Money for a rice cooker and some other goods

A variety of puzzlebooks and a daily calendar for work

...and an expected gift of a Certain Monetary Amount which both I and my sister get every year for us to use as desired -- I'll be banking a fair amount of it to my Italian trip in July, but I'll also be indulging in picking up some DVDs and other goods I've had my eyes on.

Plus a great time at home with my parents and sister, fine meals every day, seeing friends and relatives including my cousin's new baby boy, and just general good times. Carmel in December = beautiful as hell. Wouldn't be anywhere else in the world.

(The two killer gifts of the year -- the backpack that my sister got for future hiking trips and the Complete Far Side set that my mom, sister and I got as a joint gift for my dad. He was well and truly blown away (been a fan since it started in the Bay Area back in 1980 or so), and was almost paralytic with laughter a couple of pages into it.)

Why Mr. Matos, what is this marvelous treasure? Details, link, anything...

Guinness Book of Hit Singles and Albums

The Subterranean Railway by Christian Wolmar (a very interesting book about the London Underground - I'm 9/10 of the way through already)

Shaun of the Dead DVD

A box of Neapolitans (I get one every year)

A diary (the only unwanted present since I get one from work)

What does that buy you from Apple?

Anyway, I got an external hard drive, and nice frilly good-smelling grooming products from my girl (because I'm a stinky boy, I imagine), and most of the rest of it's still sitting in the post office to be picked up tomorrow. My family and friends are pretty far-flung.

The books I received were the Penguide Guide to Jazz on CD and "Our Band Could Be Your Life."

CDs:
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Does Your House Have Lions
Coltrane - Live at Birdland
Monk - Best of the Blue Note Years
Mingus - Ah Um
Ornette - Free Jazz and Change of the Century
Minutemen - Post-Mersh, Vol. 1
Dolphy - Out to Lunch

Sennheiser PX200 headphones, a totally unexpected digital camera, and a $30 gift card to Chipotle.

I am pleased. But I gave good gifts as well.

Oh, also, the first season of In Living Color on DVD.

Merry Christmas!

That will be my big Christmas preznit, whenever I get around to buying it. That and a camcorder. We're hoping for some post-xmas sales action. Meantime, the booty includes names like Caetano Veloso, Thomas Pynchon, Eddie Bauer, Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Zorn and LL Bean. And Courvoisier. Can't forget teh Courvoisier.

And in this year's "gift of the magi" moment, my wife got me a really nice toaster/convection oven and my main client got me a Ronco Showtime Rotisserie. But their functions only overlap a little bit, so it's all cool (except for finding counter space for it all).

*supposedly from the dog but i have my doubts.

journalist and author (wrote 'pale horse, pale rider', basically a masterpiece) and strong personality. you'd like her!

I bought my man an Xbox, and he got games for himself, so much of xmas day we had our heads buried in console games.

They must've glanced through the book after they bought it, since Mom took her name off the gift tag and Dad's been giving me funny looks all day.

this year I got: a cardigan (yay) and a digital reverb pedal (yay) from my wife and our yet-to-be-born baby; some socks and a new umbrella from my mother; and a book on parenting from nordicskillz and wife. oh and a guide to hawaii from a friend although now I don't think we're going. too bad.

A bunch of boxes with stuff in them and a couple buckets (also with stuff in them)! Some clothes, too, I think.

oh i hate you... i've been waiting for some sugar daddy to come along and buy me this.

New gloves
Poseidon Adventure DVD
Austin Powers (the first one) DVD
Jules et Jim Criterion Collection DVD
Ladytron: Witching hour
Silk pajamas from AP
NY Giants t-shirt
A fat check
Hell of marzipan candy

Also, one week's worth of antibiotic pills that make you immediately puke if taken on an empty stomach.

We got some gifts that are for "us" e.g. people jumping the gun and ordering shit off the registry already:

Cuisinart stainless mixing bowls (4)
KITCHENAID ARTISAN STAND MIXER (CHROME) (bEEYOTCH)

Also I forgot, I got a subscription to the Economist (which, unlike my last subscription, appears to be actuall getting delivered to our address) and Ally got a subscription to Cosmo (?? grandmas)

These are some of the presents exchanged among my family:

Gum
Napkins
Listerine
Reynolds Wrap
Suet

And my kid sister bought everyone in the family lottery tickets as stocking stuffers. I won fifty bucks!

MUJI business card case!
MUJI New York In A Bag!
The Works: Anatomy of a City by Kate Ascher!
Dictionary of Republicanism by Katrina Vanden Roffle!

the baby is pretty good.

and this sociological analysis of the most racially astute pop movies of 1968-73:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0819563293/ref=sib_rdr_dp/104-9716303-6126341

So I'm not even that envious of M Daddino's SCTV haul.

from my grandma: a book on dean martin (despite my never having expressed any interest in dean martin! ever!)
from my brother: an exact replica of the one ring from lotr (despite the fact i haven't liked lotr since i was 12!)

the rest:
"the american presidency" by clinton rossiter
the first volume of bill clinton's autobio
edmund morris's teddy roosevelt biography
the compact xtc
the complete peanuts 55-58 box
two shirts, some notebooks, candy, etc

PlayStation 2 (the first videogame console I've owned since the Atari 2600 over 20 years ago)
Dance Dance Revolution for the above, with mat
Marzipan
Also a friend came over with some banana bread, and I bought myself a copy of Hungry Planet and a subscription to Wholphin.

What I gave my wife:
A good new suitcase (to replace her shredded one)
Ergonomic mousepad
Yeti #3
The Best American Science Writing 2005
Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers cookbook
A CD-R of Neutral Milk Hotel's Hype City Soundtrack and the newly discovered demos
A pretty-looking day-planner for 2006

I also gave our baby son a copy of Pat the Bunny and some teddy-bear-shaped shoes, and our cat a handmade catnip mouse.

J.D., if the book in question is Nick Tosches' Dino, it's a fantastic book whether or not you have any interest in Dean Martin as such.

YOu will never keep up, or at least not if you want to leave the house ever again. The only way I could make my subscription worthwhile was to giveup reading the sunday papers.

I got:

A Mondaine Swiss Railway watch.
A new leather holdall (not a moment too soon the handles are almost off my old one)
A Normann carafe with cups
A very nice scarf
The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy TV series DVD
The Biography of Antonin Careme, 'Cooking for Kings'
Cooking under the influence, Food to Drink to; a cookbook
Bollocks to Alton Towers, Alternative days out in Britian
The English translation of 'the Silver spoon' Cookbook
Some fluffy slippers

very OTM. baby's first xmas > boring old grownups and their playthings

I just figure we do enough nice things through the year that we shouldn't have to buy crap for each other just because the calendar says so. It's nice that other people (hey Teeny!) agree with me, because I get looked at like a bloody grinch whenever I try (for the last five years) to explain to my mother-in-law that I don't want a present from her. And I'm not buying any for anyone else. She lives in a big house and goes abroad on holiday about six times a year? What is the point of me spending £20 on perfume/jewellery that she probably won't like and could easily afford herself. I'd rather any spare money I have went to a good cause.

But still, I now have an MP3 player!

a couple of checks
gift certificate to reasonably good local record store, gift certificate to reasonably good grocery store in the next county over (mistakes were made, I'll use it anyway), g.c.s to national gas station chain, national book store chain, and national yuppie clothing retailer
a shitload of different boxes of noodles (soba, instant pad thai, etc.)
tiny etch-a-sketch with my name written on it, in place of a label for gifts
cute and dopey stuffed elephant ornament (why an elephant, I dunno), a Snoopy ornament, and a diploma ornament commemorating my graduation, all for that hypothetical future Christmas when I actually bother to have a X-mas tree of my own
a tie (for job hunting, because I only had one before)
A John Waters Christmas
a couple of CDs put out by bands from the Twin Cities that I'd never heard of, including one with a boss cover featuring a pack of polar bears mauling some hunters
comfy Koss headphones
old-fashioned-looking compact radio/record/CD player unit
a sweater

I got one of those 20Q things a couple of days earlier as a gag gift. It was pretty accurate-- it usually got as close an apporximation as possible in 25 questions if it couldn't guess the answer in 20.

I asked my parents for Charles Burns' Black Hole graphic novel

I've been eyeing that up in the stores for a while-- I was really hoping that someone would give me a gift cert to a bookstore so I could go and get it for myself. And now I shall go and get it, along with a couple of series manga things that I wouldn't likely have spent the money on otherwise.

Me too! Not really for Xmas, just as a present. I'd have bought it otherwise as well.

We also bought digital TV subscription, but again we'd have gotten it even if it wasn't Xmas. It was just cause we had been planning to get it and Lost (season II) will be aired from 2nd of January so we thought "what the hell."

I was NUTS for this book when I was a baby!

(And Geeta, that's f*cking heinous.)

i forgot one of my most exciting gifts: born to run 30th anniversary edition.

sorry to be a threadkiller.

Figured my #2 Xmas present to myself would be to test it on a trip up the 395 or something.

I got world peace again. But I'ma take it back because I asked for aftershave.

Heh! Fuck world peace, it STINKS. ;-)

I got the See's chocolate, too; mmm, nuts and chews....

And I bought myself a bottle of bourbon.

And my mother got engaged!! Obviously more exciting then everything else put together!@

http://www.kitchenfantasy.com/images/fat_separator_3023.jpg

I need to have all of the DCilxors over for dinner and make osso bucco or some other dish that requires fat separation!

Ally, I'm just up the road and would love any excuse to get away from work and the disaster that is my parental-painting-in-progress apartment, so let me know if you need anything. I have a lovely
Yucatan chiken-lime soup recipe--the only thing I desire to eat when sick! I'll bring you some!

Smartwool socks rule, by the way.

when i confronted my mother re: getting married to somebody i don't know (what the fuck!!) and being cornered and made uncomfortable, on CHRISTMAS DAY, her response was "I think I'm going to die soon." i've had it. seriously. i am so sick of her wacked out guilt trips.

But as to having us over for Quincie home cookin': You name the date, lady.

and a bottle of Burberry Brit cologne

My brother got me some aforementioned ugly stuff

My grandfather gave me a gift certificate to Saltgrass Steakhouse, which I'll probably use to take him out to dinner sometime soon.

Whoa deja vu.

Sorry

Also, the F Troop DVD, for nostalgia value. And, a Bobby Sherman 45 (Easy Come, Easy Go) with a near perfect picture sleeve. Because once I admitted to crushing on Mr. Sherman when I was 7.

At least it's only my gran who does this. But oh boy did she top herself this year. Geeta, I'm sorry to hear your mom inflicts you with'em. Looking at my parents: you'll survive. :-)

i got a HUGE STACK OF BOOKS (no one will see me for 2mth) inc:

'dune' trilogy!
'stranger in a strange land'
2nd and 3rd parts of asimov's foundation series
neal stephenson's 'the system of the world' (that i was salivating over robster's copy of in the pub the other week)
haruki murakami's 'kafka on the shore'
orpham panuk's 'snow'
vikram seth's 'an equal music' (that i hummed and hawed over getting for the russian but decided to go for something else instead)
'beyond black' by hilary mantel
a book of poetry called 'mixed emotions' that i couldn't work out why i'd been given it until i opened the page with a little marker in it - my grandma t is now a published poet!

johnny cash sun recordings 3cd set
the becoming-obligatory howie's t-shirt - this one has possibly my favourite design evah to be put on a t-shirt but i think it's a bit big, may swap it for a smaller one
a battery-operated lurid green and blue tortoise wot FLASHES and SINGS and runs around the room! the cat that lives down the road came in last night for a while and my bro switched the tortoise on at it and the poor thing nearly shat itself, shot across the room like i've never seen it do before...
2 pairs fingerless gloves with the bit that hooks over the fingers to make them mittens
super-hardcore waterproof cycling gloves
one of those bike pumps that stands on the floor and has a pressure gauge (hurrah!)
super-hardcore waterproof tent-in-clothing-form-kagoule-thing built to withstand the cambodian monsoon (handy for glastonbury)
2 knitted things the same from grandma h that i couldn't work out what the hell they were or when i would find occasion to wear them, like little mini-tabard things with a roll-neck. then a note fell out "to keep you warm on the bike" - apparently they are called wind-cheaters and she is a genius after all. and matching hats
super-hardcore front bike light that i have already blinded everyone with and used to find my way through the insane tangle of wires in the dark down the side of the settee to the wireless router
a scented candle in a really pretty pot
a dalek!

and some £££.

and, for the first time ever, a real appreciation of the sheer amount of work and planning and stressing that goes into making christmas run properly. i mean, obviously it's a shitload of work and i always offer to help with whatever needs doing (although 9 times out of 10 i get sent out of the kitchen with a flea in my ear), but i never really realised quite how much.

i am so sick of her wacked out guilt trips.
I hear you. When in a bad mood (often) my mom (sometimes) gets on my shit about how when she gets cancer I won't visit or do anything or care and will be glad when she dies etc. (She does not have/has never had cancer.) This makes me angry & not guilty like it used to though.

Quincie, I will have to have people over to dinner too, now that I have all this neat new cooking stuff. I have to practice making a good couscous to go with whatever I make in the tagine..

so good its SCARY

I forgot--my sister and I also got spa treatments. We will be experiencing the ancient Native American art of stone massage this weekend.

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dkny jeans sweatshirt
shrink to fit 501s
alice waters' the art of simple cooking
pistachios
gift certificate to cheese store

http://www.criterion.com/content/images/full_boxshot/411_box_348x490.jpg
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http://www.johnlewis.com/jl_assets/product/230222108.jpg

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http://www.curiousartist.com/wp-images/James_Rosenquist.jpg

Selection box of Green & Blacks.
Terry's Chocolate Orange.
A fly swatter that says "Gotcha!" when you hit something with it.

Rock Band
Mario Galaxy
Bio Shock
Orange Box
Mass Effect
gold DS Lite with a triforce on it and Zelda game
Yoshi's Island DS game
subscription to game informer
shirts (2 quicksilvers included)
ipod stereo/alarm thing

once I get to grandmas I'll probably get $50 and my cousins/aunt & uncle will get me something too.. double the expense since they didn't get me something for my birthday

I got hooked up

Rock Band

Dang....these are out of stock in many places! How is it?

I played with my little sister. The drums take a lot of practice because hitting the foot pedal is hard. I don't know if it's because of the way the foot pedal is made - you can't really rest your foot on it without it being pressed. The guitar is a bit different than the guitar hero guitar but it's basically the same. The microphone is very fun. The way they incorporated it is by singing to words and a line that comes from the right side of the screen --__---__ ___--- -__ <kinda like that.

You definitely get a workout by playing the drums. The song selection in pretty dang good. Except I can only play the first 10 songs or so until I unlock the rest. You start off with some good ones though.

Twin Peaks box set
Couple of calendars
New shaver
Money for a variety of things (food processor, new shoes, etc.)
New backpack
Socks
Amoeba gift certificate
Etc. etc.

gabbneb you got a print of the Rosenquist or the actual Rosenquist? if the latter, I am going to rob you

lol. I was merely congratulating myself on the great artistic merit of my preceding post. the actual Rosenquist was my favorite work of art at the Met when I was a young gabbneb. a recent visit indicated that it's no longer hung in the museum, at least not in the same place.

Beef jerky

bike fendres
ipod nano (thanks sis?!?!??!?!!!!!!!!)

30 rock season 1
crutis mayfield box set
tickets to see 4 spurs games with my bruv
sam ash money (gonna redeem for talk box to recreate zapp songs)

Chef's floor mat, mmmm geltastic for the knees and back
Complete National Lampoon DVD
Metropolis - Osamu Tezuka
This Is Your Brain on Music - Daniel Levitin
Musicophilia - Oliver Sacks
How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life - John Fahey
Collected Letters 2004 - Dave Sim
7 qt. Lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven
A pepper mill that works, FINALLY
odds & ends in stocking

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JD6KGMYPL._AA240_.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NDB21ETQL._AA240_.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71BSNY64YTL._BO2.gif
Mission Impossible (A book about Berwick Rangers)
Jools Holland's autobiography
A Fondue set
Jumper/Shirt/Socks
Beer/Chocs/Biscuits/Crisps etc
Vouchers

Bolton Kit
Bolton Keyring
Bolton Pin
Bolton Hat
Starbucks Gift Card

watch
novelization of gremlins 2 the new batch
perfume (musc de java)
headbands (into them lately)
fats Waller cd
bath and body goodies
DVD of 'I know who killed me'

That Alex Ross book looks interesting, may have to use some of my vouchers on it.

I gave nothing. I got nothing

:D

john fahey xmas album
VU and Nico
gram parsons gp/grievous angel
$100US
nice pair of gloves
bottle of ketel one

The Best of the Johnny Cash TV Show 2xDVD

Marx Bos @Paramount box
Dr. Strangelove
Krazy Kat compilation '26-27?

superman dailies 1939-42
sweater that's too big for me, and suitably ugly.
for my birthday my aunts gave me a $50 gift card to penzey's spices, which is awesome.

xpost
whoever gave you krazy kat has good taste!

It's been on my Wish List for about 5 years!

That Alex Ross book looks interesting, may have to use some of my vouchers on it.

It's really, really good.

Oh, I almost forgot a cool gift -- my daughter found a label for Dharma Beer on the web, bought some label stock, and turned a six-pack of Sierra Nevada into a sixer of Dharma.

I forgot this too..

http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/13/13825.jpg

all 3 boys: Wii
me: some money, an electric shaver, and a few little goodies from the Science Museum gift shop (a tradition that has gone back years). :D

I got some toiletries, a kit bag for rugby, a nice mancala board, and $500.00 dollars in Banana Republic gift certificates. I have no idea what I’ll get with the gift certificates. Maybe a pair of shoes and some after shave.

I’m still waiting on a present from my girlfriend.

To echo, the Alex Ross book is a must for everyone on this board.

Sadly, not out in the UK until March. One for the wish list I think.

bottle Knob Creek
bottle Maker's Mark
subscription Popular Mechanics
Primer DVD
Jim Beam marinade / barbeque sauce set
socks
2 flannels
die cast Boba Fett statuette (???)
cigar cutter
33 1/3 book, Piper At The Gates of Dawn

Pretty good haul. My mom gave me the John Ashcroft book, Never Again, that you can buy at the dollar store now, presumably as a joke. I've been drunk by 11am every day I've been here. Thanks, Dad!

Billy, can't you order it from Amazon US? I'd think that with the exchange rate, Britishes would be all over American e-tailers.

I got a lomo fisheye thing and some socks and a dvd and a record and shit!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2141/2134689039_b3a34c749d.jpg

oh and £70ish quid in cash/Waterstones giftcard malarkey.

digital camera
jarmusch boxset
money
vouchers for clothes
itouch cover

http://www.leonardmarcus.com/glegacy01.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1168/1441105368_db9e9f9532_m.jpg
http://www.housekeepingchannel.com/objimages/51419050008.jpg
a membership here

and assorted clothes, candles, tea, make-up, hair products, etc.

gun
cookbook
American Express gift card
Best Buy gift card
This lame-ass little table tripod thing from brother. Not even in the 'thought that counts' category because this is some "picked up at walgreens on the way" crap.

Aerogrow hydroponic garden thing (labeled as kitchen garden appliance). It is living in the bathroom, its lights are too bright to be in the main part of the loft. And it wakes up at 4 am.
homemade cookies and massive giant cookbook of spanish recipes (thx secret santa!)
fragile looking clear glass teapot - will probably not survive
amaryllis bulb and sprouter thing
big bottle of Corzo tequila + 4 shot glasses
bottle of M&C champagne (have to share with Mr. Jaq)
Complete Persepolis (opened early and read so hard and so fast it gave me eyestrain)
Book of letters between those crazy Mitford sisters
DVD of Ratatouille
donations to Heifer International

digital camera
framed Georgia O'Keeffe print
clothing
assorted lipsticks, lip gloss, and makeup brushes
vast amounts of chocolate
first season of X Files on DVD
a Barefoot Contessa cookbook
Bizet's Carmen on cd (Maria Callas)
other random stuff I'm not remembering

Weirdest gift: a nut chopper
(there's a kitchen gadget for everything, I guess)

Weirdest gift: a nut chopper

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

lol, that's right - DON'T CROSS ME GUYS

novelization of gremlins 2 the new batch

leather bag
gold pen
crystal beer glasses, x4
'great beers of europe' six-pack
bottle of vodka
$25

Fuju persimmon tree :)
Bunch of cash.
Two sweaters.
Couple of boxes of turron candy from this Spanish lady I knew growing up.
On of them hands free can openers.
50 lottery tickets I haven't touched yet.
Some pineapple cutter thingy or something.
Some crap/nut opener stuff.
Chevy's gift card.

<img src="http://www.unionsquaremusic.co.uk/covers/large/SALVOBX402.jpg"; class="noborder"></img>

<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HJDZVCMAL._SS500_.jpg"; class="noborder"></img>

http://www.unionsquaremusic.co.uk/covers/large/SALVOBX402.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HJDZVCMAL._SS500_.jpg

and a HMV gift card

garrincha bottle-opener plz (with one leg longer than the other and a 700-post ILX thread to follow plz)

Check for $1K and a bunch of stuff I can't remember now.

From Parents:

Jewelry
Robe
PJs
Perume
Handbag
gloves
money

From Husband:

MAC gift card
Gift certificate for manicure at Aveda

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YG6MXHVDL._SS500_.jpg
mario galaxy
zelda phantom hourglass
dusty springfield complete a and b sides
david fromkin's a peace to end all peace
maltese falcon dvd

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91%2BQx1agqHL._SL1500_.jpg

i got a can of black beans and a can of kidney beans in my stocking

i quietly stashed them among my mom's many other cans of beans rather than take them on the plane. i mean i like beans well enough but

my parents didn't get me anything because my birthday is less than a month away from xmas (they got me a pair of nice headphones i'd asked for). my bf got me a subscription to the latest version of the online chicago manual of style, with came with a print edition.

"with" = which

Peter Watkins DVD set, Amer DVD, Arden edition of Twelfth Night, bottle of Plum, Port and Habanero sauce

I Claudius, Strauss operas box set, Harmonia Mundi baroque box set, Jake Thackray DVD, Borowczyk short films, Where There's Love There's Hate, The Military Orchid, Nairn's London, soaps, candles, etc

The same CD I bought for my husband

Truffaut/Hitchcock
Ruhlman/Polcyn's book on charcuterie
A jacket and a bunch of Trader Joe's snacks from my boss. She gives me a jacket every damn year -- how fast does she think jackets wear out?

nothing

http://www.flavorandfortune.com/pix/f17-3-pictures/F17-3-Eileen%20Loo

:)

a kimono
a book of japanese onomatopoeia
a dinosaur xmas ornament
socks
a santeria charm

an actual immersion blender.

chocolate

5 pounds of veal

lol

nice

framed poster
neato battery backup for iphone
tickets to see X at the Fillmore tonight
an australian flag apron from mum lool

I found all the gifts from ten years ago charmingly early 2000's

https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10356026_10152511152685814_8143404798142505773_n.jpg?oh=396900b3df987bcedbea3f7932c39f67&oe=55469DD7

i.e. the last ever gig by the jim jones revue, and a bottle of vodka with jamie hewlett artwork on it.

well chuffed.

"Maybe I'll try that Amazon wish list thing!"

In my family, we've just circulated those wish lists for about seven years now. We're pretty atheistic when it comes to holidays. It's the food and drink that matters.