I have in my hot little hands three inexpensive stocking stuffers you absolutely must have. Not only are they all undeniably cool enough to elicit a “wow” from the kids, they are also super affordable. And, we all know it costs more than your mid-week grocery run to fill your car up with gas lately, so affordable gift ideas are all the rage.

Smencils
Smencils are gourmet scented pencils. They also happen to be made from 100% recycled newspapers, so they give a hip nod to the environment while maintaining every bit of their cool. The newspapers are rolled, so when you sharpen the pencil you can actually see the layering involved. The layers are scented, so sharpening a Smencil actually intensifies the smell. They sell in 10-packs and you get one of each scent — Chocolate, Orange, Cherry, Cotton Candy, Grape, Watermelon, Popcorn, Root beer, Very Berry, and Bubble Gum. If that’s not cool enough, each Smencil also comes in its own little tube.

Color Flames Colored Candles
I love trick candles that are hard to blow out, and novelty candles that announce your age. These candles, though, take the cake (pun absolutely intended!) Color Flames come in a 12-pack and you get two each of six different colored candles. The catch is that these candles have flames that are the same color as the candle itself. Light a red candle and you get a red flame. These are small 2″ candles that are appropriate for birthday cakes. My only regret it that these came in the mail exactly a week after my own birthday!

Insta Snow Fake Snow Powder 
Coolest stocking stuffer EVER if you live in Florida. It doesn’t snow here. When my daughter and I went to West Virginia for Christmas last year, we took what we could get and stopped at a Maryland rest area to play in the dusting of snow that was on the ground. It was Gig’s first time ever in the snow and it was really quite a pitiful experience. Today, though, we went out n out Florida backyard and right alongside the ripening lemons, we made Insta Snow. We put a small amount of powder into a bowl, added 10 ounces of water and quite literally within a couple of seconds we had a bowl full of snow-like fun. The best part? It does not melt, is non-toxic, and will last for weeks.

Here, I took some pictures of Gigi mixing the Insta Snow and then playing with it. It rocks. If you only check into one of the items I’ve reviewed here, make it the Insta Snow. You’ll thank me.

And that’s it for my overview of stunningly cool stocking stuffers for Christmas 2007!

All of these items can be found at Vat19.com, where you can also find other cool giflt ideas like the Fotofalls Desktop.

“Firefighters Battle Flames At Caliente Nudist Resort”

Nudist resorts go to a lot of trouble to make sure people understand that a nudist lifestyle is not about sex or exhibitionism. They say it is about freedom and a natural lifestyle.

Nonetheless, I find the headline used by TBO.com ironic. This afternoon, a fire burned through the roof of a home at the Caliente Resort, which is a nudist (clothing-optional) community in Pasco County. The reporter found it important to note that as dozen of people stood watching the firefighters, “many were milling about the resort half-naked.”

It’s not the fact that hot “flames” were being battled at the “Caliente” resort. We all know caliente literally means heat or hot in Spanish. You have to be careful about literal translations, though.

Sometimes translating literally from one language to another can cause problems, as the Ford Motor Company found out when they launched the Ford Comet in Mexico. The “Ford Caliente”, as it was called in Mexico, was a huge marketing guffaw. “Caliente” is colloquially used to mean either “horny” or “prostitute”, like a female animal being “in heat”.

So, the Caliente Resort takes on a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?

One night last summer I went over to my next-door neighbor’s house for dinner and a movie – family style. They wanted to test out their new video projector. They had rid themselves of their DVD equipment and decided against getting a big screen TV, due to space restrictions and the fact that they wanted something they would to be able to tote around to use for presentations for their small business. Instead, they got a projection system that would show movies on a white wall in the great room. Not only was it a super space saver, it looked GREAT!

I did not get the big TV in my divorce and I have been struggling with whether or not to buy a big TV for the house here. I don’t miss it until I am watching a movie, particularly in a widescreen format. Once you subtract out the black bands from the top and bottom of the screen, there is precious little left to look at on a smaller television. I think getting a projection system would not only make my movie viewing more enjoyable, it would mean I would not have to make space in the family room for a giant TV. Despite the fact that televisions are being made flatter and flatter, I would just rather use the space for something else. However, I do have a wall I can use as a screen.

Using a projection system seems like an even wiser solution when it comes to office use. When I was working for the bag manufacturer, we were forever carting around TV sets to show clients presentations. A projection system can be a highly portable piece of equipment. I know the technology can sometimes be more costly, but I think function is far more important than cost in most cases. Audio Visual Equipment Installations are best done by professionals, but the cool thing is that the learning curve for using the equipment is typically not steep.

It’s bad enough that Tampa ended up in the spotlight for an asinine “Hannah Monstrosity” ticket contest where whipped parents wthout the ability to say “No” to their children clung to a stature of Hannah Montana for DAYS (over 150 hours) in the hopes of winning concert tickets, backstage passes and some cash.

Now, it appears the last two blooming idiots holding onto the stature struck a deal in the end. One of the parents let go, allowing Jody Powell of Port Charlotte to “win”. In return, the man who won agreed to give the backstage passes to the runner-up (Lara Padgett of Tampa) and they would split the $5000. He basked in the glory of his own generosity. He promised the press he was a man of his word and would absolutely go through with the deal.

Powell has claimed to be a minister. His good will must have seemed like a natural response for a man in his position.

Well, as of today, he has told the press the deal is off. He is keeping all of the cash and more than likely the backstage passes as well. He claims Padgett “talked trash” about him on the radio.

You know what? Your word is your word, period. If someone angers you, it is still your OWN responsibility to ensure you do not make a mockery about what comes out of your own mouth. Powell promised the passes and half the cash to Padgett. It does not matter to me what she said, he is showing what a lout he is by breaking his word.

It sickens me to see anyone JUSTIFY doing the wrong thing by trying to blame their actions on someone else’s words or actions. No matter what someone does to you, your OWN actions are your responsibility alone. What Padgett did or not say is not the issue. Powell is a lout and a loser. I feel sorry for the people he purportedly ministers to, seriously.

There are several reasons I love cool science gadgets. Most obviously, I love anything that brings out the wonderment and childlike inquisitiveness of my own nature. Also, I’m a teacher and I am always s searching for things that will help engage students in the subject of science. Finally, I am a mother of a pre-schooler and she is in the absolute prime of her discovery stage. We do little science experiments here at home all of the time. My nephew is 6 and he often joins us. It is some of the most special time we all share together.

So, I’ll let you in one some of the things I have found online while looking for educational gifts for Christmas to give to my daughter and my nephew. I love the CoolStuffExpress website for affordable science-related items. They carry things you might typically find in museum shops. I’ve got my eye on a sound activated Tesla Plasma Ball Globe Light for my nephew. I’m sure you’ve seen them in stores. You can make the electricity inside the globe dance and flow with music or your voice. You can get your hands on one for less than $30. It’s a steal.

I’m looking at some of the AeroGarden Seed Kits for my daughter, since she is interested in flowers and the growth cycle of living things right now.

I’m a firm believe that kids need to have fun, experiment, get their hands dirty and most of all – learn a thing or two during the play process.

What happens when the magical, 243-year-old proprietor of a wondrous toy emporium decides to hand his business down to his protégée? The store begins to sulk and loses all traces of its magic. Who will believe in the magic and bring the wonder back to the emporium?

You can read a more detailed synopsis in 100 other places online. I will skip that. What I want to comment on is the suitability of this film for a pre-schooler, since that is what I can most knowledgeably comment on.

The film is Rated G, and any parent knows this is something that has been sorely lacking in theaters this year. I was thrilled to be able to take my 4-year-old to a film I knew would be appropriate. There was one instance of a rocket ship saying, “Oh Crap.” Also, the subjects of death and dying are prominent in this film, so be ready to answer a lot of questions if your child is young. Gigi understands death to an extent, but Mr. Magorium brings up a lot of fine details about readiness, choice, and mourning.

Dustin Hoffman is delightful and his childlike Magorium is both likeable and fascinating. Natalie Portman plays straight man to Hoffman’s off-beat kookiness, but she may take her seriousness a notch too far. Jason Bateman is one of the highlights of the film, as his character exhibits the most perceivable growth by the end of the story.

The pacing is slower than you might imagine for a movie that is only 1 hr 33 min and chock full of stunning visual effects.

All in all, worth the ticket price.