2013 Noiseless Chatter Holiday Gift Guide
Hello, and welcome to the first-annual Noiseless Chatter holiday gift guide! The idea here isn’t like most gift guides, being as I can’t personally vouch for every product here, nor have I received any form of payment or exchange for including what you see below.
So what is this? Well, I’ve got a large number of very talented friends, and I wanted to take an opportunity to spotlight their wares specifically. If you still have shopping to do, I hope something below will appeal to you as a potential gift for a loved one. There should be plenty of time to receive any of the below before the holidays.
In order to avoid any appearance of favoritism, I won’t single out any of the products I can vouch for, but I will say that I can vouch for each of these individuals personally. They’re all great people, and if any of the below looks like it would make a good gift for somebody (or yourself), make the seller’s Christmas, too, by buying it through them.
If you are interested in anything below, and would like information regarding shipping and availability, be sure to contact the seller directly!
BOOKS
A Matter of Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Lexicon
The Back to the Future films are more or less the gold standard for sci-fi comedies (though Ghostbusters
might give them a fair run for their money). Which probably makes this
a good gift for somebody on your shopping list, as it’s likely you know
at least one major fan. This very thorough book contains information
on every character, item and location in the series, and expands far
beyond the movies, taking into account the official ride, the video
games, the animates series, and more.
Where to Buy: At Amazon here, and you can read more about the book here.
Multiples of Six
Written by a friend of mine (whose name I won’t mention because this is
published under a pseudonym and I don’t know if revealing it would make
him want to beat me up), this is the first book in a series of three.
The first two are available for purchase in both physical and ebook
formats, but I’m spotlighting the physical because seriously, guys,
don’t kill the industry. Multiples of Six is a familial mystery
centered around one man who gradually learns more about his
siblings…including one he didn’t know he had. It’s absolutely the type
of story that will resonate strongly for a certain type of reader…and if
you have that type of reader on your shopping list, give it a shot.
Where to Buy: At Amazon here, but if you’re opposed to shopping with them for any reason there’s a host of other options here.
The Garbage Pod: A Collection of Red Dwarf Fan Writing, 2003 – 2011
The Red Dwarf fan-site Ganymede & Titan (linked in perpetuity
in the sidebar here) goes through long periods of relative inactivity,
but when it’s actually cranking out articles it’s pretty great. There’s
a stellar team of devoted writers that manage to blend genuine
enthusiasm with a fair, clinical approach to the show, and this book
collects a number of essays (some of them updated since they were
published online), and would make a great gift for any fans of the show
on your list. Be warned, though…their enthusiasm for the show is
eclipsed only by their enthusiasm for creative profanity.
Where to Buy: At Lulu here, where it’s also available as an ebook.
FASHION
Kawaiicore
“Creepy-cute” is their self-selected descriptor, and I’d have to say
that’s pretty accurate. Run by probably one of the most talented people
I’ve ever met (which, believe me, is saying something) there’s a very
unique assortment of rings, earrings, necklaces and more here, and all
of it is original to Kawaiicore. I have to recommend the heart-shaped
knuckle dusters, because come on now. HEART SHAPED KNUCKLE DUSTERS.
It’s not the kind of product that’s going to have universal appeal, but
the folks it does appeal to are likely to go bananas over it, and that’s
what matters.
Where to Buy: Right here.
BerryPolish
Handmade nail lacquer from two very talented, all around awesome
sisters. Their shop only launched in late October, so they only have
one style up for sale currently. This will change, though, as they
gauge demand for other styles. It’s a tiny endeavor right now, which is
why I’m very happy to spotlight it and watch it grow. They were also
tossing in those great little monster fingerpuppets with orders placed
by Halloween, so there’s every chance you’ll find a special surprise
included with your Christmas order as well. (Not a guarantee. I really
don’t know.)
Where to Buy: At their etsy store here, and you can help them select future styles at their Facebook page here.
Jules’ Jewels Jewelry
A great artist that I went to high school with. She has an etsy shop,
but there’s nothing on display quite yet. However she does work on
custom pieces of art and jewelry, and she has samples of her work on
display at her Instagram page, which is linked below. Due to the nature
of her work you’ll need to contact her ahead of time and discuss prices
and details, which might sound a little cumbersome but I can promise
you she’s a pleasure to deal with.
Where to Buy: You can request a custom order through her etsy shop here, or browse her work and contact her through Instagram here.
Origami Owl — Olivia Bellano, Independent Designer
Charming, customizable jewelry available through a very good friend of
mine. She’s actually running a special deal outside of the main shop,
which she asked me to post here. Unfortunately I couldn’t think of a
good way to display the image due to the fact that I’m not the designer
here, so you’ll have to click this
for the details. But if you are looking for a gift (or several) it’s
worth checking out. Again, that’s a special deal, so if you’d like to
take advantage of it make sure to contact her directly instead of
placing the order yourself.
Where to Buy: At Origami Owl here, or contact her directly through Facebook here
DIGITAL GOODS
Kid Tripp
I’ve already tipped my hand a bit on this one, as this isn’t the first time I’m mentioning Kid Tripp
on Noiseless Chatter, but go read some reviews of this game. It
wouldn’t be fair of me to say lots and lots of nice things about it
here, but I do think it’s fine to encourage you to read the other nice
things people had to say at the page linked below. It’s a
side-scrolling touch-screen game with automatic movement, and it’s difficult. It also has a pretty fantastic soundtrack, and would make a great (and inexpensive) gift for the gamer on your shopping list.
Where to Buy: From the App Store here.
A Brief History of Time Travel
A Kickstarter success story, A Brief History of Time Travel is a
six-episode science fiction radio comedy, also available with a
making-of documentary and a companion book pdf. It’s a great buy for
the comedy fan on your list, or for anyone already used to listening to
radio shows, audiobooks or podcasts on their commute. (At least, that’s
the only way I ever listen to them.) It’s worth mentioning here that
the stuff you can buy digitally is going to be distributed in different
ways depending upon where you make your purchase, so if you are shopping
for someone else, make sure you keep that in mind during the checkout
process so they actually receive it! Of course, you could also be
buying this for yourself. And, yeah, you kinda should.
Where to Buy: From the official site here, though there is an option to buy it from iTunes there as well, if you trust that more for whatever reason.
Somos las Bolas
The closest thing to a conflict of interest on this list. This is
actually a short film based on a story of mine, but I had nothing to do
with making it and I receive no percentage of its profits. (I wasn’t
even paid for the rights to the story. I’ll be seeing the director in
court.) It’s the live action version of a tale about growing up,
falling in love, and lots and lots of Ping-Pong. It also has a really
awesome soundtrack that I used to have as a zip file but I can’t find it
anymore so the guy should probably send me another one OKAY? If you
care, I did do a commentary track for the film after it was finished,
and I was pretty strung out on DayQuil when I did. So if you ever
wanted to hear me ramble in semi-consciousness about things I barely
remember writing, this is the DVD for you.
Where to Buy: At Amazon here.
It’s available as a physical DVD, but I listed it here because I don’t
have enough for a DVD section, and you can buy it for viewing on
demand.
Zombie Simpsons: How the Best Show Ever Became the Broadcasting Undead
An ebook by the team over at Dead Homer Society, which is also linked in
my sidebar, and probably always will be. It’s actually available in
its entirety at that site for free, but you can buy the official pdf
cheaply enough that it may well be worth it for those who want to enjoy
it without having to be connected to the internet while being reminded
of how much worse The Simpsons is now, and has been for a long
time. It’s not as venomous and hate-filled as the main content on that
website (though I do mean those things as compliments), and is actually a
rather intelligent deconstruction of the show’s trajectory. Worth a
buy for anyone on your list who stopped buying the DVDs after season 10.
Where to Buy: At Amazon here.
Jump Leads
More sci-fi comedy in the form of an ongoing webcomic. I could have
sworn physical copies were available but I couldn’t seem to find them
anywhere anymore so I’m linking to the electronic versions. It focuses
on two characters in the Lead Service, fumbling their way through
parallel universes, hostile creatures and accidental witchcraft. I’m
going to leave it to Ben to show up here and let everyone know where
physical copies can be grabbed, if they can indeed still be grabbed, but
in the meantime, the electronic versions make a good substitute for
anyone who enjoys their graphic novels in digital format.
Where to Buy: At Wowio here.
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