DESIGN GIFTS :: THE FUTURE PERFECT

My friend Andrea just moved into a new place, and I love nothing more than sending her Craigslist stuff of what she should buy. Christmas shopping makes me much more exhilarated than Christmas itself.

So I've decided to start composing a little list of places to go to get really excellent gifts, as part of my hunting-things-down-for-you-on-the-internet impulse and also to have a definitive, unbeatable Christmas shopping guide.

When I received an email from the newly launched The Future Perfect design website today, I thought it would be a good introduction. Its a really interesting but expensive website, but I promptly got a 15% off coupon for your disposal (which, apparently, you just need to call about to use)

Here are some less expensive items that would make a wonderful gift:





String Lights



Optical Glasses



The Leather Bear Bookend


Forget-Me-Knot Ring

eBay HAUL

I would just like everyone to know that I just posted some amazing things on eBay, and they should go bid their little tails off.

Can't remember my store URL? How dare thee. It's here, at Missy Meow.

Lots of vintage, some Halston, Cheap Monday and Betsey Johnson. Help thyselves.

THE REAL BUFFY

It's very exciting to think of being alive in a time where you really feared being attacked by a vampire. I mean, to be prepared, really brace yourself for a possible vampire strike. Today, we have terrorists and hurricanes, but I don't think we fear for the supernatural or the undead nearly as much as we should (hence, my continual blogging-about-zombies).

Let us reminisce about simpler times, when real things like monsters and blood suckers kept us awake.

And let us think about how much we would spend to protect ourselves from them? A national deficit? Never. $14,850? Maybe.


Apparently a real, live vampire hunting kit (housed in walnut casings and complete with garlic and holy water) sold at Steven's Auctions for that exact amount.

How beautiful is that? Look at those immaculately carved stakes and those matching bottles? I wish that my cosmetics were organized that nicely.

I think I am going to go home, dump out my Shu Uemera bottles, and fill it with holy water, just in case.

Via Core 77

CALVIN KLEIN PRIVATE SALE

My dear friend, Krysta Gonzalez, is a Divisional Field Assistant for Calvin Klein, and she let me know about a 30% private sale at Calvin Klein. Just click this LINK.

I think I'll pick myself up this lovely little belted PONCHO:



Or maybe this little boatneck dress.





There is good stuff for men as well. Take advantage of this, because it ends on Sunday.


Thanks Krysta!

WELL, MY LIFE HAS CHANGED

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows I love my Netflix. It gives me a sense of completion, a sense of accomplishment. I achieve a little bit each time I mail back that red envelope. My account is enriched every time I rate a movie, write a review or leave a friend a note.

The only thing holding me back from complete adoration was being on a Mac and not being able to stream live. Well, my friends, that's over. According to Gizmodo:

LOS GATOS, Calif., October 27, 2008 – Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), the world’s largest online movie rental service, today announced it has begun the deployment of Microsoft Silverlight to enhance the instant watching component of the Netflix service and to allow subscribers for the first time to watch movies and TV episodes instantly on their Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers. The deployment, which will initially touch a small percentage of new Netflix subscribers, is the first step in an anticipated roll-out of the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year.

Silverlight is designed for delivery of cross-platform, cross-browser media experiences inside a Web browser. It is expected that Netflix members who watch movies and TV episodes instantly on their computers will enjoy a faster, easier connection and a more robust viewing experience with Silverlight, due to the quality built directly into the player. Among the viewing enhancements with the new player is a breakthrough in timeline navigation that vastly improves the use of fast-forwarding and rewinding. The new Netflix player takes advantage of Play Ready DRM, which is built into Silverlight, for the playback of protected content on both Windows-based PCs and on Macs. That had not been possible with previous generation technologies.

“Silverlight with Play Ready offers a powerful and secure toolkit for delivery of dynamic streaming, which offers faster start-up, and higher quality video, adapted in real time to users’ connection speeds,” said Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt. “Members who enjoy watching movies and TV episodes from the growing library of choices that can be instantly streamed at Netflix will be thrilled with this next generation improvement of access and quality, on a broader range of platforms, including Intel Macs and Firefox.”

“Instantly streaming from Netflix directly addresses the needs and wants of today’s Web users by providing on-demand, high-quality online video,” said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft Corp. “By using Silverlight, Netflix can deliver to its subscribers a higher quality video experience on the Web, on more platforms.”

Silverlight was tried and proven this summer as NBCOlympics.com streamed thousands of hours of live and on-demand online video for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

For Macintosh users, the Silverlight player will work only on Intel-based Macs, which currently account for roughly three-fourths of Mac units operated by Netflix subscribers.

I logged in and saw no difference, but when I use the Gizmodo link found here, everything appears to be copacetic. Finally, I can watch Surf's Up without the Netflix community watching as it gets added begrudgingly onto my queue.

PORN FOR OBAMA

I recently discovered that shock photog Terry Richardson (who basically popularized that DIY-70s Style-American-Apparel-sweaty-girls-in-no-clothes photography that is virtually everywhere) got to meet the man with the plan, and take a flick of him, up close and gritty.









Pervy Terry and O to the BAMA.

Man, congrats on appealing to the subculture, Barack. Seriously - who'd ever think a presidential candidate would be shot by the same guy that shoots the S & M exploitation project "Wives Wheels Weapons".



LANDSLIDE '08!

EBAY FIND :: BALENCIAGA WRAP DRESS

Check out this super sick Balenciaga black and white avant garde wrap dress I found on eBay. It's cashmere and silk, and is a little big on me, so I'm not going to bid, but you should. You should bid now, and let me come over and smell it when you win.