Gift Ideas. For Me.

I was thinking about doing a Guide of Gift Guides, because there are a lot of them out there:

Esquire (slideshow), GQ (slideshow), Men’s Health Tech (slideshow… grrrr), Put This On, Uncrate”s The Outdoorsman Guide, Pop Deluxe, Cool Material, Cool Hunting and Daily Candy (with another god damn slideshow!)

I decided to forego reviewing all of those guides and make a list of things I want. Not even for Christmas. Just things I want. Aside from world peace, food for the hungry, better health, more frank public discussions about family planning (particularly from religious quarters), shorter Presidential election cycles in the US, the GOP to stop being clowns and Democrats to more steadily stand up for the middle class. So those are a given. If you are disgusted by rampant consumerism, read no further and thanks for stopping by. Before you leave, would you consider donating to a charity of your choice this season? Have some good charities that need help? Post them in the comments. Here we go…

Rocksmith

I’ve wanted to be a better guitar player since the beginning of time. I’ve read and heard good things about Rocksmith. Plus, this is on my life list. I actually said this in front of other people at Mighty Camp back in November. So 2012? GUITAR TIME. If I don’t get this for Christmas, I’ll be ordering it on December 26, 2011. That’s how I’m rolling on this one.

Olloclip iPhone 4 & 4S Lens SystemProbably need to include the Glif+, an unobtrusive slide-on tripod mount for the iPhone 4/4S that would be used for gorilla/mono/tripod shots in combination with the Olloclip. I’m getting giddy thinking about slow shutter speed shots with a tripod… I’m most interested in the macro lens, but I’d love to play with the other lenses. Some example shots are here and here.

RushmoreOne of my favorite movies ever is on Blu-Ray! Yes, I’m late to this. Don’t care. Want.

This was the movie I wanted to make when I was in high school and thought about making movies. I love Bill Murray in this. Love. There’s a great moment in the barbershop when Max decides to make amends that slays me. It’s all in Murray’s eyes. So good.

Star Wars: The Complete SagaAnd because the girls will need to see the entire series, despite the edits, on the higher def Blu-Ray:I know that debates have been raging for years about what the Blu-Ray release would include/omit/destroy but I don’t care. I need this.

Bowers & Wilkins C5I’m dying to hear these. They are really hard to come by right now (the above link says out of stock) and even the Apple web store is showing them as having a 4-6 week delivery time. 4-6 WEEKS!! Here’s a link to the Bowers & Wilkins site. Reviews look promising. I have wanted these since receiving the Bowers & Wilkins P5, the best headphones I’ve ever worn.

Steadicam SmootheeThis is a complete indulgence, but given the quality of video that the iPhone 4S is pumping out, might be a good investment for keeping the Marlo shots steady. I’m sure there’s a less expensive option out there, but I’m learning that for video, you spend for certain pieces of kit because one project with the expensive thing will pay for itself in hours saved during the successive phases of said project.

May the bridges I burn light the wayFrom noted cranky artist Mike Monteiro. There is a framed version on this page (along with some other work of note). He’s the one on twitter (NSFW link) that gives no end of shit to just about everybody. Heather has featured his work before and I look at this one from my desk every day in the office. Also does some sweet t-shirts.

Glidetrack mobislyderAnother iPhone video indulgence. From the sample video, it looks like some practice and steady hands are a must, but the shots look cool. Any manually operated slider is going to require steady hands, but the small size of the rig and camera will mean the operator has to be steady. The size of this makes it ideal for travel. Using a slider will take you new places, but to get great shots will mean rehearsals of shots. Which isn’t a bad thing. I think that given the wide angle lens on the iPhone, the extended 660mm Spare Rail would be a must. The mobislyder works with other small cameras as well, so if one didn’t have an iPhone but had a point and shoot camera that also shot video? Yep. Here’s a sample video.

Bespoke Suit From Brooklyn TailorsAt some point in my life, I want to get a bespoke suit. Brooklyn Tailors looks promising. As does Indochino. I wish Brooklyn Industries would bring back XXL jackets. I love love love the jacket I bought in December, 2006. Really well made and the sleeve buttons are real. Every jacket I’ve bought from their store or ordered since pales in comparison. I asked a sales clerk at Nordstrom about working sleeve buttons and he said bespoke jackets are the only ones he’s seen with working sleeve buttons. But the buttons are just the final touch. The really great thing about that jacket? Fit and finish. So nice. It was relatively cheap as well.

iPlay Deluxe Build A RoadThis is more for when we have guests with boy children. We have a lack of interesting toys for male toddlers. We’ve got a few good things for older boys, but not much for the toddler. Also, I tested a version of this at my mother-in-law’s cabin when Leta was a baby. Loved it! I also think that Marlo would eat this up. But that’s just a hunch.

ExOfficio Men’s Give-N-Go BriefI already have a couple of pair of these. But I wanted to share that these are, without question, the most awesome underpants I’ve ever worn, owned or wanted to wear or own. It all started with a pair of novelty briefs Heather gave me for Christmas last year. I loved the support. And after the novelty briefs started to lose their structure, I searched for weeks and found these. Yes, they cost a bit more. But these fit snug as hell even after months of washing. TRUST ME ON THIS.

Cocoon GRID IT OrganizerI probably need about 17 of these. Especially when I travel. But one or two would suffice. I’d heard about these for years, but I’m finally owning my cord problem.

What’s on your list? What did I miss? Do you care?