What Everybody is Getting!!

Dad: 61*, The Dante Club (by Matthew Pearl) and The Rum Diary (by the good doctor)
Dad is generally a difficult character to spend for, prizing time spent together as a present the actual physical representation of a gift. And it was down that road that I was initially trotting. I did have a lovely postcard of Bob Dylan that I was going to give him with a promise that the two of us would breakfast together at the St. Croix Broiler. The Rum Diary was also part of the initially intended gift and one that still made the final list. It's always been a favorite book of mine and when young Thompson was still finding his voice by worshiping at the alter of Ernest Hemmingway. It's a pleasant little mixture between both of the writers. 61* has always been a favorite movie of mine, Billy Crystal does a superb job of capturing the spirit of baseball in 1961, before their were real free agents or huge contracts, back when they were just boys doing what they loved. Sure it's about the accursed Yankees and sure this was the beginning of the downfall of all of baseball as the Yankees began buying everybody, but a good movie nonetheless. Lastly, The Dante Club: admittedly an impulse buy and one that I have think that the old man has read, this is a rather large issue of concern, but a reason that the good folks of the retail world invented gift receipts. It should be fun, however, as it deals with somebody murdering people in ways inspired by Dante's Inferno. Dispatched to stop him are Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell and Fields. It seems like a pleasant mixture between the League of Extraordinary Gentleman and The Club Dumas.

Mom: The Forsyte Saga (by John Galsworthy)
Mom re-got back into this when the DVD version of PBS's series came out. It was a tough nut to crack as all three parts of the saga are not in print. It was a fun adventure, tooling through the crowded markets of St. Paul's used book stores, mostly in vain. Of course, I eventually tried Amazon, they had it, wasn't as much fun, but Mom gets her book. I guess everybody is a winner.

Sister: Firefly
She's always been a large fan of the work of Joss Wheadon, or however you spell his name. I recently watched the series, thought she would like it and acquired it on her behalf.

Megan: The Ground Beneath Her Feet (by Salmon Rushdie)
This was a princely find. I had the intention of buying this for her, but whilst in the trenches of my own saga revolving around Galsworthy's book, I stumbled upon a first edition, signed copy by Mr. Rushdie. I knew I had to have it. Then, in the ultimate spirit of Christmas, gave the book to her. She had best read it, though, or else there will be comeuppance… comeuppance of the utmost degree. It is one of my favorite books as it captures most of my loves: Rock and Roll and Greek mythology. That and the fact that Rushdie books should be read by anybody trying to diet as you could live off of the savory words that he combineds into sentences for weeks on end.

Ljay: Born to Run 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition (by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)
I had been planning on buying her a copy of the Rum Diary as well, and had every intention of doing so. However, instead of going to Barnes and Noble's first, as I originally had intended, I stopped off at Target to pick up toothpaste and other products of a hygienic nature. Whilst there, the compulsion to peruse the CD section proved to be too much, and there it was. Something that had flown under my radar, but something beautiful nonetheless. In an attractive box set, there is a DVD of a concert in London, a DVD of making the album Born to Run as well as the digitally remastered album itself. It was a steal, a steal I say. I need to pick it up for myself, but I figure this will play well as a Christmas album, at the very least it will make for something to watch on Christmas Eve.

Betsy: The Polar Express
On her last night in Sane Paul, we watched it together and I figured the movie was so good that she might like the book. It's a fun book, beautiful illustrations and for anybody that's ever believed. I do feel terrible, though, as I actually had a bell that I wanted to attach to the present, and then, in a miscalculation, neglected to attach it to the wrapping. More presents for her later though.

Brandi: In place of the usual Christmas present, we're going to go out to a bar, get smashed and then go our separate ways… the spirit of Christmas lives on.

Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, a joyous Kwanza and a loud Festivus to all… and to all a guten nacht.

Mule