ThingsAmongMany

Despite being a little (5 years?) late on the uptake on these, we have to share them! Created in 2003 (part I) and 2005 (part II) by Woodpecker Film, a Helsinki-based production company, the Rare Exports short films were originally intended as a holiday greeting for clients. However, the films took off in popularity and have since been included in a variety of the world’s most renowned film festivals.

The production value is top-notch, making Rare Exports the perfect piece for those slightly cynical holiday goers (like yours truly). The first explains where all of those “Father Christmases” (mall Santas) come from, and the second reveals the birth of the Christmas tree.

Part I:

Part II:

Growing up I remember looking forward to the HUGE Toys ‘R Us circular that would come in the morning paper after Thanksgiving.  I would go through it marking anything and everything I wanted. Unfortunately I also had to face the reality that my parents would not get me EVERYTHING, so I would guide them through my holiday wish list with a key.  It had these categories:

1. Want 2. Need 3. Want but don’t Need.   4. Need but can live with out.   5.  Need and cannot live without. 6. Absolutely have to have and cannot live without.

This season I don’t need these Paige Cuff Frye Boots, but I want them badly.

You can deposit money into my paypal account if you’d like to make a contribution (e-mail me and I can set that up for you). Or you can go here.. and check out my Urban Outfitters holiday wishlist.

Feel free to add your wishlist in the comments section. Who knows, maybe Santa reads this blog.

It’s that time of year again. Yup, the holiday season when all of those creative shops around the world start cranking out their version of “the best, most creativest holiday ‘card’ ever!” They’ve started to pop up here and there, though we haven’t been over-run by them yet. The first couple to cross my desk were AKQA’s Microwaves and the hilarious spoof title A Charlie Brown Ad Agency (anyone know who’s claim to fame this one is?).

But - and yes, I am completely biased in this statement - I think we’ve got ‘em beat. Sure, a short video hosted on YouTube to show clients that you’re in touch with the digital world is fun, but here at POKE, we prefer something that you can actually sink your teeth into. You know, something that you can use to persecute your friends (and enemies) across the interwebs. And since we all know that the reality of Santa Claus is limited to the drunk guy in a red suit puking his guts out after Santacon, we went ahead and took over some of the workload…

Ladies and gents, may I present to you the Global Naughty or Nice List! Now it’s your turn to declare which end of the list your friends should be on. The idea is simple really: you add your friends to the list along with a vote (or two) in the right direction to get them started. Be careful though - karma’s a bitch as they say!

Well, its officialy. There’s carols playing, trees decorated, and windows being revealed across the city. Call me bitter, call me Scrooge, but I’m just not ready for the holiday onslaught yet. I’d be much happier if it would wait until after Thanksgiving (or at least the week-of).

But since I’ll clearly have little effect on the situation, I might as well embrace it right? And what better way to embrace the holidays than by planning to do all of my shopping online?

To make that a little easier, the crew over at NotCot has kicked things off with a holiday coupon book. The range of coupons covers a variety of brands from Hard Graft (I still prefer “Working Class Heroes”) to Hulger to WeJetSet. There’s definitely enough there to ensure you’ll be able to find something for everyone on your list. Yeah, some of the discounts are better than others, but that’s to be expected. Shop smart and you could score as much as 25% off!

Let us know what some of your best finds are!