Chicagoist Gift Guide
By Margaret Lyons in Miscellaneous on Dec 7, 2004 10:05PM
We're entering crunch time now for buying presents, so here at the Chicagoist home offices we thought we'd put together a gift guide with a few suggestions. Feel free to add your own. Some of these are practical, others certainly less so; this is a hybrid of a wish list and a to-do list. Have your credit card handy and let the shopping begin.
Get all your holiday enjoyment after the jump!
Usually buying someone a calendar for a holiday gift is a cheesey cop-out gift idea that makes us think of megamall kiosks filled with scantily-clad bimbos and so-cute-you-wanna-barf puppies. But not this time. Dawn Mikulich is selling calendars with beautiful photography from her website, Chicago Uncommon for only $20. Buy one for your friends in Chicago to appreciate where they live, buy one for your relatives outside of Chicago so they can be jealous of the urban beauty that surrounds you, buy one for yourself because you know you totally have a crush on Dawn & her ability to capture Chicago's essence and spirit. or uh.. just buy one for ME! In any case we think it's a great gift and one you should give with your birthday pre-filled in. No excuses for missing it next year!
--Rachelle Bowden
Know someone in danger of being fired for chronic lateness? Or someone who hasn’t yet heard of the clock radio? Boy, do we have the gift for you. Check out mycalls.net—a wake-up call service, with bronze, silver and gold (up to three Snooze Calls!) subscription levels where some guy calls you and wishes you a good morning and then asks you prove you’re awake by pressing the #1 key. If you can’t prove you’re either a) alert or b) dexterous, the guy calls back. Come to think of it, a subscription to mycalls.net might just be the thing for that special someone who wants a guy that calls back when he says he’s going to.
--John and Susie Pratt
This Chicagoist is gifting the nifty-and-oh-so-cleverly-aerodynamic Radio Shark to all my friends & neighbors this year. Not only because it’s shaped like, you know, a shark, but it’s also a useful Internet radio recorder for those of us who miss the good old cassette tape days (back when we were dorks, recording the Top 100 Hits off Z104 FM in Madison was the New Year’s Eve event). Plus, purchasing through NPR serves as a de facto donation; proceeds support programming and content, and you don’t have to suffer through any on-air beseeching to do it.
--Kari Geltemeyer
Chicagoist is proud to live in one of the smart states that voted against W., and at the same time sad at the election’s outcome. This shirt portrays those sentiments perfectly.
Chicagoist loves Chicago's rich architectural history. These postcards can be cut apart to build mini paper models of many of Chicago’s great landmarks. Five different buildings available online, but Chicagoist picked up some at the Chicago Architecture Foundation store at 224 South Michigan Avenue, where many others are also available.
--Benjy Lipsman
A few months ago we saw John Lennon play a melodica in a movie. Now we want one bad. Melodicas sound like accordions but don't require all that pesky coordination to play.
We'll take any model on Melodicas.com—psst, wink, nudge. Or you can get one from SamAsh.com or Amazon.com. So, instead of another distortion pedal for the emo kid in your life how about a melodica? It might be the new shade of sound emo needs. Or, even better, it could kill emo! That'd be a holiday gift to the entire world!
--Sam Bakken
Looking for a perfect gift for your ambitious and fashion-forward younger sister? Every girl needs a little added style and substance to compliment her H&M and Old Navy's bastard child wardrobe, and the one-of-a-kind loveliness from Janel's Jems is just what the doctor ordered. For whatever it's worth, Chicagoist's older sister actually did buy us something from Janel, so this ain't just talk—it's talk and earrings. Janel makes all the pieces herself, and they have the chic flair that'll kick even a t-shirt and jeans into high gear. Yummy.
--Margaret Lyons
In the history of great audiophile moments in cinema, Nigel Tufnel’s demonstration of his amps that “go to 11” ranks at the top of the list. Logitech has finally crossed the fine line between stupid and clever and brought that technology home with their Z-5500 speakers. With a boost mode that goes from 1 to 11, any downloaded music and movies you have will sound fantastic—whether they’re in "Dobly" or not.
--Scott Smith
If you’re a political junkie, like this Chicagoist, you’ve probably realized that CNN, the New York Times, and The Washington Post can only deliver so much. You crave the inside deal — the stuff that will make you in the know. While the only way you can really be in the know is by actually sitting in the walnut paneled offices of power brokers, you can get pretty close with a few of these must have, but pricey, political gifts.
National Journal magazine is probably one of the best, least known, national magazines in the country. Widely read among the DC set, it’s heavy on wonkish non-partisan political and campaign analysis. It is always timely, and manages to get beyond the spin of press secretaries and carries great columns by Charlie Cook, Stuart Taylor and other smart folks. A subscription also gains you access to their massive online archive of election and Congressional voting data. 50 issues a year/$1,699.
If you’re a national politics junkie (or you know one), but you can’t spring for the $1,699 National Journal subscription, a great alternative is National Journal’s biannual Almanac of American Politics. This massive tome contains an analysis of every congressional district, congressman, senator, and governor and their voting records. It’s the starting point for every DC lobbyist, and a must-have for people with the C-SPAN call-in number on their speed dial. Softcover $59.95, Hardcover $79.95. (Note: You might want to wait until next summer to order the 2006 edition, since that will include all the new Members of Congress.)
For those addicted to Illinois politics (and there is a twelve-step program for this horrible disease), the gossip sheet most Springfieldians read is Capitol Fax by Rich Miller. Miller is constantly pervasive in the Capitol, alternately loved and hated by everyone in town. If he hears it, it goes in. His blog is always interesting reading, but the real tipsheet to get is his regular e-mail — also sent by fax. To subscribe, e-mail Rich your e-mail or fax number, name, and billing address. Submissions come daily when the legislature is in session, less often during breaks. Annual subscription, $300.
--Mike Fourcher
Hipsters are hard to clothe. It's a sad fact—everything you like we liked like, two years ago, snore, you fucking conformist lame-o. Go back to the Gap! But we can't live on cigarettes and PBR alone. No, we too need a new shirt now and then, and the more ironic, the better. Threadless still has some awesome shirts in stock (you snooze, you lose, biatch). Our pick is clearly the unicorns bumping uglies. That's priceless.
Don't forget the 80s movie shirt. Real Genius, Revenge of the Nerds, UHF, Strange Brew--these are all essential viewing for cool kids. There is nothing more hardcore than an Elsinore Beer shirt.
Still too obvious? Really go the distance with Elamenotees, so you can wear a joke that no one, even you, really gets. THAT is what coolness is, friends. Actually, we think these shirts are hiiilarious.
Fine, fine, fine, you want a more DIY approach without actually having to, you know, do it yourself. You can head over to the T-shirt Deli at 1739 North Damen to have your idea slapped on a shirt for all to see. It's not particularly cheap, but then, neither are you.
--ML
Oliblocks are organic shaped magnetic building blocks. There are regular sized pieces and mini's that come in translucent color sets like warm (shades of reds, orange and yellow) and cool (Blues, green and frosted clear). Shipped in tubes. They are a fun diversion and a perfect gift for designers, geeks or kids. They are available online and also at retail and museum stores around the country.
--Kevin Grzyb
iPod owners universally lament their inability to play the gadget's crisp, digital music files conveniently through conventional home stereo systems, and this is where the Bose SoundDock makes its entrance—a graceful, beautiful and presumably good-sounding speaker system from the audio geniuses at Bose, recognized the world over for stylish, elegant and exceptionally pricey audio gear.
And it looks so easy to use. Simply drop the iPod into the one-size-fits-all slot (yes, even precious iPod minis will fit) and listen as the glorious sounds spill forth from the beautiful metallic grille. And then applaud your buyer's remorse, knowing that you doubled your iPod investment just to listen to music you already own played out loud.
-- Andrew Peerless
Chicagoist is all about the home décor, maybe to an embarrassingly degree. But there's something cheesy about posters once you don't live in a dorm anymore, and not everyone is crafty or artsy enough to put together wall art on his or her own. Enter Allpopart.com. All you need is a photograph and some moolah and you get your very own Warhol(esque), Lichtenstein(esque), or "retraPop" print. It's a little pricey, but…it's custom art! Come on! You choose the size, orientation, and material (paper of canvas); they'll even frame it for you. Don't be limited by portraits, either: go for the family pooch, the car your pal is obsessed with, some antique your mom always shows off, or if you want to be freaking hilarious, a can of non-Campbell's soup. Heh.
--ML