Canon Camera II
the seventh and final day of Christmas is upon us. hopefully you’re not still shopping, but in case you are, here’s my last suggestion.
if you’re thinking of getting into photography, or if you would just like to get some really nice pictures, but don’t want to invest thousands of dollars in photography equipment, then I have a plan for you.
Canon Digital Rebel cameras are a popular SLR to first jump into for those unfamiliar with complicated cameras, those who aren’t ready to invest in something extremely expensive, or both. the most recent Rebel is the xsi (the update of our beloved xti). it has all the essential functions you would expect on an SLR, as well as a quite large 12 megapixel sensor. if you’ve never used an SLR before, and are just used to the more common point and shoot digital camera, you’re likely to be overwhelmed by shooting with an SLR. you’re able to focus much faster and accurately, and take pictures WAY faster, and one of the most important features, you can change lenses! this means being able to take extremely wide angle shots (think fisheye) to very zoomed in shots (think African safari).
while the previous Rebel, the xti, came coupled with an unimpressive kit lens, the xsi is attached to the updated version of the same lens, which has received many great reviews. if you are considering saving a little bit and going with the xti, I recommend you skip the kit lens and buy the camera body only, then stick a solid lens such as the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II. actually, I recommend this lens to anyone considering a Canon SLR, but I won’t go into that now.
there are plenty of other great features to the Canon Rebel xsi, but there are probably hundreds of reviews out there right now discussing them already. if you’re interested in getting this camera or one like it, my best advice is to spend some quality time with google learning everything you can about it before you buy it, but here’s a good place for you to start. check it out from Amazon!
George Foreman
day of Christmas six already? you betcha.
you don’t have to be an infomercial expert to have seen a few minutes about the George Foreman grill. maybe you’ve asked yourself, can any device be as magical as that grinning boxer tells me it is? the answer is, yes. I have to admit that I don’t own one of the huge Godzilla editions, but our little one packs quite a punch(!). as far as I know, you can pretty much grill anything you can fit on this thing. in fact, you don’t even have to know anything about grilling, as ours came with instructions as to how long to grill everything! these things aren’t very expensive, and if you’re as lazy as I sometimes am, then you’ll appreciate how easy it is to make yourself something decent to eat quickly and easily. if you know someone soon headed to college, this device may just save their life.
Christmas Movies!
allow me to take a few minutes of your time to suggest some of my favorite movies to watch around Christmas. while you may have seen some or all of them before, consider digging out your old VHS player and watching a couple of the classics, or add a couple to your netflix queue for last minute Christmas entertainment.
first off is an obvious pick, Elf. if you haven’t seen this movie, or at least heard of it, I have no further words for you. it’s Will Ferrel, but without that completely random behavior his movies have become known for. I try to watch this movie at least a few times each Christmas season, and it never fails to make me laugh. definitely worth owning.
my second choice has only a little bit more rhyming in it, The Grinch (the Jim Carrey edition, in case I’m being ambiguous). all things Dr. Seuss are pretty much great, and watching Jim Carrey prance about trying to stop the Whos in Whoville from celebrating Christmas is priceless. I’ll try not to spoil anything for you, but even the Grinch gets a happy ending.
choice number three is probably the most classic of all Christmas movies. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. this is just one example of why claymation is totally freaking sweet. there’s not much I can say about this movie, except that it seems like it’s an integral part of everyone’s childhood at some point. if you haven’t seen it at this point, go out and get it immediately so you can fill this gaping hole in the crumbling landscape that is your childhood. my only complaint? what’s that weird noise that seems to emanate from Rudolph’s nose? does he have some kind of generator in there?
my final pick has to be A Christmas Story. if you’ve ever thought anything other than “an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time” is the best present you could receive on Christmas, you’re wrong. if you’ve never been warned about shooting your eye out, then it’s possible your parents don’t love you. if you’ve never had to dress up in a full body, one piece, pink bunny suite, maybe your parents do love you. if you have no idea what I’m talking about, then put watching A Christmas Story on your Christmas day to-do list.
look forward to the two last minute days of Christmas, both packed into one exciting Christmas eve tomorrow!
Canon PowerShot SD770
day of Christmas number 4. the celebration of the birth of our Lord thunders toward us unstopping, you might as well accept it and finish up your shopping.
as the title says, I’ll be talking about the Canon PowerShot SD770. this is slightly problematic, as I’ve never owned, or in fact used this camera. the only reason I’m talking about it is that I own a very similar, but slightly older camera. I also own a slightly fancier Canon, so I’m fairy confident exploring the wonderment this device contains.
almost anyone has a some kind of digital camera at this point, even if it’s just the crappy one on your cell phone. if you’ve paid any kind of attention to the trend in digital cameras, you won’t be too surprised that this one is a whopping 10 megapixels. just to give you a frame of reference, Canon has only recently updated it’s semi-professional level camera, the 40D, to a model that has more than 10 megapixels.
having a camera that’s small enough to carry around with you all the time can be amazing. you never know when you might have a perfect picture opportunity staring you in the face, and being prepared with a camera that you’re confident will produce fantastic images is amazing. the camera starts up fast, does a pretty reasonable job with facial recognition, and focuses quickly. to top it all off, the camera is roughly the size of a deck of cards, so keeping it in your pocket while you walk around it definitely not a problem.
the best part of all? Amazon has it on sale right now for about $160. if you or someone you know needs a new camera, put some serious consideration into this one.
Amazon Music Store
it’s still the third day of Christmas, even though it’s 11:55 pm, so I’m claiming that I haven’t missed an update yet, regardless of what time this is actually posted at 
.
I considered just suggesting a few albums I’ve been into recently, but music tastes are so diverse that it seemed like I probably wouldn’t really be helping anyone out. besides, even if I tell you what to buy, where do you get it? instead I’ll be solving both problems by talking about the Amazon Music Store, and then suggesting a couple of albums to buy from it.
so why should you get music through Amazon anyway? I mean, pretty much everyone owns an iPod already, and it’s probably easier to buy music through iTunes, so why the heck would you switch it up to something that’s not even any cheaper? because of a little thing called DRM. what is this innocent little acronym you ask? it stands for Digital Rights Management, and it’s what makes sure that you’re not doing anything you’re not supposed to with your music. sure this sounds reasonable, but have you ever tried to drag songs you’ve purchased through iTunes onto another MP3 player? if you have, you would have been disappointed to learn that it doesn’t work that way. one of the annoying little jobs that DRM performs is making sure that you only get to play your music on the device that it’s intended for, the iPod in this scenario. there are plenty of other reasons to hate DRM, but I won’t go into them here. suffice it to say that, in my opinion, the world would be better off without it. now that I’ve bored you, most likely into a hysterical fit of tears, you might still be wondering why buying music through Amazon is any better, so here it is.
all music that you purchase and download through Amazon is completely DRM free. that means it can be played on any device, burned to unlimited numbers of CDs, and there’s nothing trying to dictate what you can do with your music. Amazon even makes it easy to get you’re newly purchased music into iTunes, if you so desire. just follow along with their little downloader and it will get everything all set up for you.
finally, here are a few albums I’ve been digging recently.
an ocean between us – As I Lay Dying
rise and fall, rage and grace – the Offspring
let it snow baby… let it reindeer – Relient K (it’s Christmas music!)
Child’s Play
since Scott suggested it, the second day of Christmas will be about a different variety of gift. in this case it’s a gift to someone you likely don’t know, and will never meet. we are, of course, talking about donating to a charity.
every year since 2003 Penny Arcade has hosted their own charity called Child’s Play. they collect and purchase toys for children’s hospitals across the world, and they even have a hospital in Denver you can donate to. every year they’ve done a great job getting TONS of toys for kids, and it’s really amazing to see the amount of generosity people are capable of. besides all that though, one of my favorite parts of this charity is that it’s funded primarily by gamers. I’m sure there are plenty of stereotypes about who the typical gamer is, but I’m sure that amazing contributor to a charity is not high on the list.
there are two super easy ways to help out these kids. the first is a basic paypal contribution. you just enter a number, and your money goes to a good cause. the second is my preferred way: you can click on any hospital on their map, and it takes you to a wishlist of toys from Amazon. then you get to cruise through the list, add everything you like to your cart, and when you’re all set, the toys are shipped directly to the hospital.
there are plenty of kids who are going to be spending their Christmas inside a hospital room instead of at home opening gifts with their families this year, and I think it’s important to consider that they might want some new stuff to play with too.
Wizard’s First Rule
the first day of (Donny’s) Christmas. I’ve never reviewed anything before, at least not intentionally, but I’ll try my best. this particular review concerns the book Wizard’s First Rule. it’s written by Terry Goodkind, and the first in the Sword of Truth series. I realize that the name is uber nerdy, but try and put aside any discomfort with reading a book with Wizards in it. you watched Lord of the Rings, didn’t you? then you’re nerdy enough to at least give it a shot.
typically, when I’m reading a book I really enjoy, I pretty much spend all my time reading it. this was no exception. the story is very engaging, and manages to contain plenty of unexpected twists to keep you from guessing the end of every chapter. if you’ve ever been into fantasy/magic containing genre, I highly recommend you check this book out. I don’t want to reveal the awesome story here, you’ll want to read it for yourself. Amazon currently has it for about eight bucks. you might even be able to get it to your house before Christmas!
the seven days of Christmas
so here’s the plan. over the next seven days I will be reviewing a potential Christmas gift for that one person you haven’t been able to think of anything for. I’m going to try and pick from things I’ve recently purchased or used, and I’ll try and keep it in the generally affordable range. since seven days from now is actually Christmas, I’ll be doubling up on one of the days so that all of my reviews are by Christmas eve. I’ve already got a few ideas for the first couple of posts, but if there’s something anyone else is interested in hearing about, I’m more than open to suggestions. keep checking back, as my first review will be up a little later today.
Renee
we got to do some super fun senior portraits for Renee this weekend. she was hoping to have her pictures done with snow, and she managed to get them done the very first day it’s snowed in Grand Junction so far!
