My Christmas Shopping List - Available in U.S.A.

This is my Christmas shopping list of gifts which can be shipped from the U.S.A.  Canadians, click here to avoid the delays and extra costs of cross-border shipping by shopping for Christmas gifts which can be shipped from sources in Canada.

Here on the left side is my personal "Christmas Wish List" of great gifts I would love to receive myself. Some I already have checked out and know I want them, while others just look interesting!

I love reading the Astrology books by Steven Forrest, and I always recommend his book The Inner Sky as the best book for beginners and The Changing Sky as a great introduction to astrological forecasting. I haven't read his latest release, Measuring the Night: Evolutionary Astrology and the Keys to the Soul and would love to get a copy for Christmas! Another Steven Forrest book I'd like to have is The Book of Pluto.

I have loved every book or audio tape by Marianne Williamson, but here is one I do not have:  Reclaiming Our Health: Exploding the Medical Myth and Embracing the Sources of True Healing  by John Robbins, Marianne Williamson. Years ago I was impressed by John Robbins' book Diet For a New America. Just reading the title and authors' names is enough for me to know I want to read this book and then loan it to some friends.

I read some of the excerpts from this new book Stupid White Men ...and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation by Michael Moore while shopping at Amazon.ca and now I've got to read the rest of the rant! Anybody who writes about President George W. Bush as the "Thief-in-Chief" has got my attention.

I bought the 2-disc set of the film version of Tolkein's The Fellowship of the Rings on DVD (widescreen) and watched the director's cut and all the extra features about the stars and the making of the film before I actually viewed the feature film, and then I couldn't wait to see the real thing! Amazing! Now there is a 4-disc set available, and I have to see what is on it! The 2-disc set was my very first DVD, and the first one I ever viewed on a notebook computer screen. With some earbud headphones the stereo sound is awesome, and you tend to forget that the screen is only 12 inches. But I viewed the feature film on my 31-inch TV with surround sound and it was even better. Hey, wait a minute! I am now holding up my notebook in front of the TV which is ten feet away - and the computer screen looks bigger than the TV screen from here!

I first saw the film Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones on a small TV screen, but now I would love to view the DVD (widescreen) version on my large-screen TV. I like watching all the extra features you don't get on the videotape version, and this one promises a lot of scenes never seen before.

I haven't seen the film Spider-Man yet, and my friends tell me it is a "must see". If I get this 2-disc DVD for Christmas I can watch the Spider-Man DVD (widescreen) version on my big TV.

For years, I have loved listening to British guitar genius Eric Clapton. Now I want to watch him play while I listen to crystal-clear concert sound on DVD. This highly-rated collection of Clapton concert footage on DVD looks/sounds like the next best thing to "being there"! Though I know I would be happy with this Eric Clapton: One More Car One More Rider DVD, Amazon.com is suggesting another "must have" Clapton concert DVD called Eric Clapton: Live in Hyde Park DVD so the two DVDs together will qualify for free shipping on Christmas orders over $25. One is not enough. I must have this too.

I loved listening to the cool contralto crooning and piano playing of this sultry and seductive Canadian musician, Diana Krall on her first CD. Now that she has released her first "live" album, Diana Krall - Live in Paris CD, I just have to have it!

On second thought, I'd rather SEE it "live" on DVD. Click here for the Diana Krall - Live in Paris DVD.

The HAUPPAUGE WinTV-usb is a cool little device that can display a television picture in a window on the screen of my notebook computer (Hauppauge also makes a PCI card version with an infrared remote control for desktop computers). This relatively inexpensive device also acts as a stereo FM receiver to play any local FM radio station through the computer's speakers or headphones. Because the WinTV unit does the signal processing, this does not slow down the computer's operation. It draws its power from the USB connection, so it's truly "mobile". The small 128-channel cable-ready WinTV, box connects to my notebook computer via a USB port and also to my cable TV or an external TV anntenna such as "rabbit ears" or an outside antenna.

With this device I can monitor a favorite TV show while I work on my computer, or I can take the notebook computer outside or into the kitchen or bedroom and use it to watch TV - as long as I can connect an antenna or cable-TV wire. This could make it unnecessary to buy a second television set for the bedroom, and it lets my notebook computer serve as a highly mobile TV set. A 12-inch notebook screen on your lap looks larger than a 19-inch TV screen at the end of the bed! (By using earphones with your computer, you could watch TV in bed while your partner sleeps.)

WinTV can let me record TV shows (or re-record tapes from my VCR) onto my hard drive as AVI files and write them onto a CD for viewing later, or on another computer. With its "SnapShot" feature WinTV will even do a "screen capture" to save screen shots or still photos clipped from TV shows or movies to my hard drive as JPEG files. Since it's a digitizer, it will also accept input from camcorders or digital still cameras so you can connect them as a web camera for NetMeeting or other videoconferencing software. I want this! (There is a WinTV model in a PCI card version for Windows98 for older Windows98 computers too.) I once bought a mini-TV from Casio, but stopped using it because it used up four AA batteries in just two hours! Now I could use the notebook computer and watch TV on a much bigger screen for 2-4 hours using the notebook's rechargeable batteries.

I have been looking for a digital camcorder that produces high-quality images and is also small and light enough to carry in my coat pocket or briefcase - so that I have it handy when I see something I want to film. It seems I won't get sharp images in a "consumer" camcorder, but this "prosumer" model, the new Canon Optura 200MC MiniDV 1.33 Megapixel camcorder looks like it fits the bill - even though the "bill" will be considerably higher when it comes to pay for this little beauty. In the video industry, Canon has a reputation for top quality lenses, and this model comes with "optical stabilization", which means the picture won't shake even if you or your hand does! Little gyro motors in the lens barrel keep things stable, and this method works way better than the so-called "electronic image stabilization" touted by lesser-quality camcorders. The Optura 200MC (and its predecessor the Optura 100) also has a "color night mode" which takes decent pictures in low light without turning them into a green scene like a military infrared night scope. There is a true 10x optical zoom lens (equivalent to a 48-480mm focal length in 35mm cameras) which is augmented by an awesome 200x "digital zoom" range. The zoom button is conveniently located for one-handed operation, and the focal length adjustment is smooth and easy to control. The sharp and bright "flip-out, swivel-around" 2.5 inch color LCD screen serves as both a viewfinder and record/playback monitor, and there is also a sharp color LCD in the eye-piece viewfinder. You can shoot in fully automatic mode, or set the camera for manual focus and various aperture and lighting options.

A little "bonus" with this camcorder is that it can double as a decent 1.33 Megapixel digital still camera and record 1280x960 pixel photos or motion JPEG files onto a removable SD or MMC memory card (the 8 Meg MMC card that comes with the camera stores 17 fine-quality photos). The Optura 200MC can also record about 700 still photos on a 60-minute miniDV tape, either one at a time or in rapid sequence like a motor drive on a pro SLR camera. There is even a pop-up strobe light for flash photography with red-eye reduction. The Optura 200MC comes with a wireless remote control unit and a built-in stereo microphone, plus an array of input and output jacks for external microphones and earphones, and for DV "firewire" and AV cables for downloading from the miniDV tape to a computer or for playback on a TV screen. (Note: an IEE-1394 "firewire" cable is not supplied with the camera, but stereo AV, S-video, and USB cables come in the box.)

Unlike many other digital camcorders, the Optura 200MC does include a "pass through" tape-dubbing feature which lets you input an old-but-precious VHS analogue video recording from a VHS player, convert it to digital format, and save it right onto a computer or digital recorder connected to the camcorder. You don't have to record it on the miniDV tape first, and then play the tape again to get the data out to the computer or digital processing device. This can save you from buying a separate A-to-D converter to move your analogue VHS or Hi-8 movies to a digital format such as CD or DVD. There are several sizes of Li-Ion rechargeable batteries available, from 1-hour to 3-hour capacities. The larger ones make the camera a little "bulky", but that's no problem if you are using a tripod. The lens barrel accepts screw-mount accessories such as filters or wide-angle and telescopic lens adapters.

The Canon Optura 200MC camcorder has many capabilities, but what I like most is the "mini" size. This is a video camera that I can actually carry with me wherever I go! I like the Optura so much, I think I am going to have to give one to myself, because it would be a pretty expensive gift! I have never owned a "movie" camera, but now it seems the time for me to venture into video. This mini camcorder could provide semi-pro quality at a cost I can afford. If I get into serious videography later on, I can still use the Optura in places where lugging a larger "professional" video camera just wouldn't work - perhaps on a motorcycle trip, or in some exotic vacation spot!

I also looked at the Canon Elura 40MC which is an even smaller camcorder, but without optical stabilization its image quality cannot match the Optura models, especially in low-light situations. The excellent Canon GL-2 with its fluorite lenses comes closer to producing professional-quality images, but it costs about 50% more and is much larger and heavier.

Here on the right side is my personal "Christmas shopping list" of gifts I would love to give. You might find some which would be great gifts for people on your personal gift list!

Canon PowerShot S200 Digital Elph   I love my Canon PowerShot S100 Digital Elph 2-Megapixel camera, an earlier version of this great little digital still camera. This elegant yet rugged camera takes sharp pictures under a variety of conditions, and is so small that I always have it available in my coat pocket when a "photo op" pops up in my life. The Canon PowerShot S200 Digital Elph is basically the same camera, but with the added ability to shoot short video clips. Both have a 2x optical zoom lens and a 2.0 Megapixel CCD. Images are stored on a removable Compact Flash (CF) card, and pictures can be viewed on the 1.5-inch TFT LCD monitor on the back of the camera. This LCD screen can also serve as a "what you see is what you get" viewfinder instead of the small optical viewfinder. My S100 works with a new 12x speed Lexar CF card which stores 256 Megabytes of data! I can take the CF card out of the camera and insert it into my HP Jornada Pocket PC for immediate viewing on a 2.5 x 3.5 inch screen, or insert it into my notebook computer via a PC-card adapter ($20) and copy the image files onto my hard drive.

The S200 digital camera comes with a proprietary removeable Li-Ion battery which charges quickly in the light and convenient charging unit (also included) and allows a good number of shots to be taken between charges. The S200 is a great little zoom camera for travel or candid shots. It even has a macro lens setting for extreme close-ups, plus a feature that lets you take several landscape shots and then automatically merge them together using the included PhotoStitch software to create a wide panorama photo.

The newer Canon PowerShot S230 Digital Elph is identical in most respects to the Powershot S200, with the same case and 2x optical zoom lens; but the S230 has a 3 Megapixel CCD and an improved 9-point autofocus system which is sharper and faster than the 3-point system in the S200. You get sharp focus no matter where the subject appears in the viewfinder. Images can be up to 1600x1200 pixels in size, and there is a 3.2x digital zoom to extend the 2x optical range to 6.4x. It can also record in "movie mode" at 640x480 pixels for up to three minutes. For the extra money you get improved focusing and sharper photo-quality prints up to 8x10 inches, and fairly good 11x14 prints. (The Canon S330 has a 3x zoom lens, but is not as small and light as the S200 series. I'd prefer the S230.)

I have a Canon S900 Photo Inkjet Printer and I am impressed by the true-to-life colors and sharpness of the photos it prints from my digital images! What impresses me even more is how fast it prints photos - about four times faster than competing brands! Yet it costs less than some inferior printers. The S900 prints at 2400x1200 dpi on paper up to 8.5 x 11 inches in size, and can create borderless 4x6 inch prints in less than 45 seconds, or an 8x10 inch print in about a minute. For best results use Canon Photo Paper Pro. The printer was easy to set up with WindowsXP on my notebook computer, and the USB connection makes it convenient to just "plug and play" when I need to print photos or color documents. The included software makes it quick and easy to select images from the computer's hard disk and print in any size and format.

The S900 uses six separate ink cartridges for better color realism (skin tones look more natural) - and this means you can replace a single color when it runs out. With three or six-color cartridges used in other printers, you have to throw out all the remaining ink just because one color ran dry! A print head and six color cartridges and a CD with drivers and software come in the box, but you will need to buy a USB cable (type A-B) to connect to the computer - and don't forget to buy paper too! If you are looking for a great gift for a serious photographer with a 3 to 5 Megapixel camera (or a good SLR camera and scanner), consider the Canon S900 Color Photo Printer or its big brother, the Canon S9000, which prints up to 13x19 inch photos and is just as fast. (While the S900 is an excellent photo printer, its black text print quality is not great. You may want to use a cheap black-and-white model for your plain text print jobs.)

Anyone interested in Astrology, from beginner to advanced student, could learn a lot from the fascinating explanations of Steven Forrest in his book The Inner Sky. This would make a great gift for anyone interested in understanding the workings of his or her natal horoscope chart (or "birth chart"). Another Forrest book The Changing Sky is a great introduction to astrological forecasting; and Sky Mates by Jodie and Steven Forrest is a fine introduction to using the technique of Synastry to determine compatibility between two people. I haven't read his latest release, Measuring the Night: Evolutionary Astrology and the keys to the Soul but the reviews seem superlative!

Books and audio tapes by Marianne Williamson have changed my life. This one is highly personal, yet will touch the heart of anyone who ever loved (or were afraid to love). How can you go wrong when you give the gift of Love? There is someone on my Christmas list who will be getting this book: Enchanted Love: The Mystical Power of Intimate Relationships  by Marianne Williamson.

This book, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, has been recommended to me by several friends. Those four simple statements have a depth of spiritual wisdom behind them. Putting them into practice can create powerful changes in one's life by setting one free from the things which sabotage success and happiness. Written in story form, it can be read and understood by anyone who is seeking some answers to their questions about Life. It's a gift that keeps on giving.

More to come when I finish my shopping list. Please check again in a day or two.

 ©2002 by  Michael Star