Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Based on the number of email I got asking what Anna Bloviations thinks this year's Christmas gift-of-all-gifts is, I'm thinkin' there are a lot of stumped people out there. No wonder really. All the clothing stores offer essentially the same boring clothes in the same boring colors. This year's music offerings? Bland. Ditto for the top ten Amazon.com bestseller book list. Two of the top ten books bash the right. One bashs the left. One book is nothing but cartoons. Ho hum. I do however recommend Life of Pi which is on the list. Continuing on, there doesn't seem to be any must-have kitchen utensil this year (like the bread machine or Cuisinart a few Xmas seasons back) nor does there seem to be a must-have, people-would-do-anything-to-get-it toy this year either (remember the PlayStation frenzy?). Of course now that everything is available at Wal-Mart, brand value is going by the wayside so things aren't as desirable anymore -- a key component to a product's success. People have to want something so badly they would be willing to trample over one another in Toys 'R' Us, or offer to pay five times the value of the item on eBay to get it.
Anyway, please feel free to email if you would like to know the coolest holiday gift out there as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise you'll have to wait until after Xmas to find out what it was (and then it will be too late) not to mention the fact you'll have to also endure the I-don't-want-to-hurt-your-feelings but what-were-you-thinking-when-you-bought-this smile. "Gee thanks Mom. The pajamas are just great." "Are you sure you like them? We can return them you know." "No that's ok Mom. They're greeaat..."
You could get that special someone in your life a few magazine subscriptions. I really like Orion, Harper's Magazine and The Atlantic Monthly. I do, however, get annoyed with Harper's. I don't know why they are so stingy in providing online content. In other words, the only way to forward on something really interesting or funny, is to manually type everything yourself. So needless to say I only ever send short amusing snippets...
Like this little bit about Emperor Penguins:
Once a male emperor penguin has completed mating, he remains by the female's side for the next month to determine if the act has been successful. When he sees a single greenish-white egg emerge from his mate's egg pouch, he begins to sing. Scientists have characterized his song as "ecstatic." The female emperor penguin "catches the egg with her wings before it touches the ice." She then places it on her feet, to keep it from contact with the frozen ground. At this point, both penguins will sing in unison, staring at the egg. Eventually, the male penguin will use his beak to lift the egg onto the surface of his own feet, where it remains until hatching. Not only does the male penguin endure the inconvenience of walking around with an egg balanced on his feet for months but he also will not eat for the duration.
Anyway, please feel free to email if you would like to know the coolest holiday gift out there as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise you'll have to wait until after Xmas to find out what it was (and then it will be too late) not to mention the fact you'll have to also endure the I-don't-want-to-hurt-your-feelings but what-were-you-thinking-when-you-bought-this smile. "Gee thanks Mom. The pajamas are just great." "Are you sure you like them? We can return them you know." "No that's ok Mom. They're greeaat..."
You could get that special someone in your life a few magazine subscriptions. I really like Orion, Harper's Magazine and The Atlantic Monthly. I do, however, get annoyed with Harper's. I don't know why they are so stingy in providing online content. In other words, the only way to forward on something really interesting or funny, is to manually type everything yourself. So needless to say I only ever send short amusing snippets...
Like this little bit about Emperor Penguins:
Once a male emperor penguin has completed mating, he remains by the female's side for the next month to determine if the act has been successful. When he sees a single greenish-white egg emerge from his mate's egg pouch, he begins to sing. Scientists have characterized his song as "ecstatic." The female emperor penguin "catches the egg with her wings before it touches the ice." She then places it on her feet, to keep it from contact with the frozen ground. At this point, both penguins will sing in unison, staring at the egg. Eventually, the male penguin will use his beak to lift the egg onto the surface of his own feet, where it remains until hatching. Not only does the male penguin endure the inconvenience of walking around with an egg balanced on his feet for months but he also will not eat for the duration.
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