Remember The Reason For The Season (It's Presents!)

If it weren’t for electronic gadgets, I would be largely unconcerned with the material world.
However, said gadgets are a major concern for me, and my desire to own cool electronic toys is a stronger motivator for me than even the basics need for food and shelter.
I work so that I can buy cool stuff, not because I’m concerned about keeping a roof over my head; that’s entirely peripheral, as it’s more a matter of keeping a roof over my cool electronic devices.
But outside of that I’m not especially materialistic. Take my piece of crap car, for example (You weren't really expecing a Henny Youngman gag, were you?). It’s almost entirely utilitarian, with no consideration of “flashiness” or style.
Sure, I’d like a nicer car, but it’s not really a major motivation in my life.
For the most part, the same can be said of my clothes. I basically only wear clothes so that I won’t be naked, which, honestly, is more a consideration of the weak stomachs of others than even a concern about protecting myself from the environment. Fashion, style, labels: these things are largely meaningless to me.
Excepting gadgets, I find it hard to care about things, because, well, they’re things.
In fact, one of the biggest of the many problems I have with society is its materialistic obsession with things. People will, quite casually, kill other people in order to take possession of the other person’s things, and that, to me, just seems silly. Like suicide, it’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem, as the odds are that once you have what you killed to possess, you'll find you didn’t really want it that much and it wasn’t worth the effort to get.
Of course, society tends to obsess, and kill, about abstract things, too, like beliefs, which is in many ways even sillier than killing because of material things, but that’s wholly unrelated to the point I’m trying to make.
What is my point, you wonder?
Christmas is coming.
It won’t be long before all of the stores are filled with lights, and tinsel, and ornaments, and soon after that the holiday season will be in full swing.
It’s the time of year in which we actually glorify all of our materialistic excesses.
There is no finer example of the brutal, mindless greed of our species than the spectacle of crass consumerism that is Black Friday. People have been killed over toys. Toys! And ugly, annoying toys at that.
We’re not talking about primitive man struggling to eke out survival in a cold, inhospitable world, we’re talking about civilized housewives trying to get their hands on a Tickle Me Elmo (or whatever is the must-have item this year) inside a well-heated, comfortable mall.
People push, pull, punch, kick, stomp, and claw their way to the top of a pile of their fellow human beings just to get their hands on some shiny new bauble that will be forgotten before the wrapping paper has been thrown away.
When watching my fellow human beings wallowing in this kind of excess, indulging their every covetous, jealous whim, I can’t help but think that I’d be perfectly content living quietly in a cave somewhere far away from the madness of the human race and material concerns.
Except…
I want stuff, too.
Cool stuff. Gadgety stuff. Pointless, expensive stuff.
Yes, materialism is truly awful, and we should all spend more time contemplating the nature of man, the universe, and our place in the scheme of things, but dammit, I want some cool toys to play with while I contemplate!
So in the spirit of heartless, soulless materialism, and the upcoming holiday season, I present the first-ever Threshold Christmas Wish List!
This list covers some of the items I want most.
As mentioned, I pretty much only work so that I can afford to buy the various things I want. The problem is that I don’t make enough to afford all of the things I want.
Thus, the Wish List. These are things that I try to save up for, but invariably fail because I get to a point where I can afford something, spend the money on that, and have to start the cycle all over again, meanwhile not getting the more expensive things I wanted in the first place.
Thus, again, the Wish List.
While I’m not actually asking – and certainly not expecting - any of my loyal readers to provide any of these items, or even to help cover the costs, I’m also not discouraging you from doing so. After all, I’m not proud; I will accept charity.
And I'm writing up this list early to give you plenty of time to start shopping...
At the top of the list, of course, is a place to live. It would be nice, albeit extremely unlikely, to find a place that I could afford to buy, but at the very least I’ll settle for a nice place for rent that doesn’t cost too much more than what I’m paying now. I definitely don’t expect any of you to help on this one…unless of course one of you out there happens to be a wealthy philanthropist who just randomly buys people homes. So just in case, I will happily settle for a two-bedroom condo. I don’t need anything too fancy (though if you wanted to give me a mansion…).
Next up is the Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW 24-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD Monitor.
What? Don’t I already have a Dell UltraSharp Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD Monitor? Yes…but this one is bigger. A full 3.9 inches bigger. Maybe size doesn’t matter to some people, but to me, in this instance at least, it does. I want the bigger monitor. I’m especially covetous of it because Scott has one.
The next item on the list is the SonyVAIO XL1 Digital Living System.
Look, if you’re going to ask stupid questions…okay, yes, I did just buy a new computer, and yes, it is running Windows Media Center, and yes, it did cost a hell of a lot less, but this thing is friggin’ sweet.
I would still happily use my Dell (whenever I get it, that is; it wasn’t delivered on Friday) as my primary system., and this would be a dedicated Media Center, managing my DVD collection, storing shows transferred from my DVR, and serving as a quick source for Internet access when I’m sitting on the couch and too lazy to walk over to my main computer.
Of course, I would also have the Gateway CX200 Convertible Notebook lying around for quick access to the Internet.
This is the latest in a long line of wished-for Tablet PC systems, and is the one that I feel delivers the most bang for the buck, especially the $1,099 version. And in answer to your obvious question, I don’t honestly need yet another computer, but this list is all about wanting.
On the topic of tablets, my current graphics tablet has been acting a little flaky lately, and its small drawing area (4x5) is beginning to cramp my artistic style. So on the less expensive end of things, I’d like to have a new Wacom graphics tablet. This one I’m flexible on, but I would at least like to have the 6x8 Graphire (the Bluetooth version in particular would be cool), but I’d also be extremely happy with the 9x12 Intuos. Notice that I’m not going too crazy and wishing for a Cintiq (though that would also be cool).
If I’m going to have a sweet Media Center PC as the main component of my home theater, I’ll also need a sweet HDTV.
While there are bigger, more expensive ones out there, in this case size isn’t as important, so I’d be happy with the amazing resolution of the Westinghouse 37” LCD Monitor
Technically, this is just a big computer monitor, so why get this and the 24” Dell? Honestly, for working up close, 37” would be a bit much. It’s perfect for watching TV, though.
Finally, the battery in my existing MP3 player, which has a color screen and plays video files in addition to audio, has lost its ability to hold a charge. It remains useful as my home audio entertainment center when it’s plugged in and hooked up to my home theater system, but not so much for going for walks, flying on a plane, or hitting the treadmill, so it looks like I’m in the market for a new MP3 player. Sure, I could go with a less fancy system that doesn’t have a color screen or play videos, but it seems a shame to downgrade. That’s where the Archos AV 500 comes into play. Again, I’m not greedy, as I’m perfectly willing to go with the 30 GB rather than the 100 GB model.
Of course, while I’d prefer the Archos product, and I do have certain reservations about owning one, I wouldn’t refuse if someone were to make me a gift of a Video iPod. The capacity is the same (though the screen is much smaller and it has less functionality overall) and the price tag is $200 less than the AV 500.
So that comprises the major items on my Wish List.
Excluding the place to live, the total cost comes to about $7,550, which is about $6,550 more than I ‘m able to spend, and exactly $7,550 more than I’m willing to spend under my present circumstances.
I asked Scott if I could have a $6,550 raise, and he said he’d get right on it, but I get the feeling he was being sarcastic....
So it remains a wish list, unless…well, I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but I’ve got a feeling that Santa isn’t going to be putting these things under my tree, so if you, my smart, generous, good-looking, and loyal readers don’t do it, who will?
At the lower, more reasonably priced level, there are things like the upcoming recut and extended DVD edition of “Sin City” (Coming December 13. Just in time for Christmas!), and various other items such as “Batman: The Animated Series” Volume 3 (Available now) and Volume 4 (December 6), along with “Superman: The Animated Series” Volume 2 (Also December 6).
Of course, these last few items are things that I can easily pick up for myself….or which can be purchased by any friends and family who may happen to be reading this.
As for the rest, well, it’s really not all that important.
After all, too much concern over material things is a definite problem in the world today. We need to focus on the things that really matter, like family and friends, love and unity, and peace…and getting me that monitor, friggin' sweet Media Center PC, Tablet PC, HDTV, graphics tablet, and MP3 player!
Let the blessings of the season be upon you!