I love the holidays.  For the past 5 years, Suzi and I have flown to Florida to have Thanksgiving with her family, and it is always a treat finally having a Senna woman cook for me.  When we get back, I put some lights up in the window, and start getting into that holiday spirit.  But in between, there is darkness and evil.

There is Black Friday.

The traditional start of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday is one of the worst days of the year.  I hate going out to the stores, and I hate staying home and watching news stories about going out to the stores.  The insanity that makes someone wake up at 4am to get a deal on a DVD player is the same insanity that leads to a Wal-Mart employee being trampled to death, and to a gun fight breaking out in a toy store.  It is an ugly, ugly spectacle.  And the ugliness lasts for over a month. 

So, ObscureCraft is here to help.  Instead of spending hours shopping for the perfect gift, why don't you just sit back, relax, have some egg nog, string up some lights, and bask in the non-shopping awesomeness of the season and leave the shopping to us.

I've asked our roster of ObscureCraft contributors to make gift suggestions.  The first part covers media: that is books, DVDs, CDs, etc.  All the suggestions are priced under $50, and can be purchased online.  Enjoy!


Jesse suggests: The Watchmen, a graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. ($11.99 at Amazon)

I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that you know at least one nerd.  (Actually, its a pretty safe bet that you yourself are a nerd, but I digress.)  Unfortunately, chances are that the nerd in your life has already read The Watchmen, because it is a touchstone of the nerd world, like Star Wars and not kissing girls. 

But here's the thing: even if you aren't a nerd, you still like Star Wars.  Sure, you don't dress up like a storm trooper or know the name of Boba Fett's pet rat, but Star Wars was also #15 on the list of AFI's first 100 greatest films of the last 100 years list.  Well, the Watchmen is like that: geek heaven, but also objectively awesome, as indicated by its place on Time Magazine's list of the 100 greatest novels of all time.  So, if you know a nerd who somehow has missed reading this, show them you know what's up.  And if you are a nerd, show the non-nerd in your life that just because nerds like it doesn't mean its not completely awesome.

Jim suggests: Assassination Vacation, a book by Sarah Vowell. ($11.20 at Amazon)

Asking me to recommend a single media item is like asking Michelle Duggar to choose her favorite child. There are just so many choices. I'm going back and forth between such old favorites as the Nic Cage Wicker Man movie, the very-soon-to-be-released Criterion Blu-ray debut (Chungking Express), and who knows what else.

That said, my choice is Assassination Vacation, a book by Sarah Vowell. In the book, Vowell takes historical tourism to the next level as she retraces the steps of the assassins of Abraham Lincoln (John Wilkes Booth), James Garfield (Charles Giteau), and William McKinley (Leon Czolgosz).

You'll find out about the multiple locations that hold Lincoln's remains, how Oneida cookware is created by a strange religious/sexual cult, and how that contributed to Garfield's death, and about a possible romance between anarchist Emma Goldman and Leon Czolgosz.

The book is a very quick read-- its tone is light and funny, despite the dark subject manner. Assassination Vacation is the perfect gift for friends and family. Assuming your friends and family have a rather dark sense of humor, and are interested in history.

Daytrader suggests: The New York Giants Super Bowl XLII Championship DVD ($24.99 at NFLshop.com)

You know all those movies about how the nerdy kid beats out the douchebag jock and gets the attractive girl?  In this version, the nerdy kid is the New York "football" Giants, the douchebag jock is the New England Patriots, and the supposedly attractive girl is the Vince Lombardy Trophy.  There is plenty of heavy-hitting, Tom Brady sacks, and several minutes of hot ball-on-helmet action.  I recommend that you watch this DVD before the sequel comes out in February.

The Suze suggests: Season 1 of the Showtime series Dexter on DVD. ($28.99 at Amazon)

Bloody funny. That's how I describe Season 1 of Dexter, a Showtime series. Our main character is Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall). He happens to be a serial killer who's also very hot. The catch: he only kills bad people. Murderers, rapists, pedophiles and other assorted bad guys meet their (what I consider a well-deserved) demise with lots of duct tape, saran wrap, oh, and right--knifes. Not as gruesome as you might think, Dexter is extremely witty and one of the top three best-written shows I've ever had the pleasure of watching. The first minute and a half of opening credits alone is enough to buy the entire season. So buy it. Watch it. Take notes. It's very educating.