Criterion Kurosawa Box Set
Break the Bank
Criterion’s AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa
$399.00 at Barnes & Noble, 97 Warren St. (at Greenwich St.), 212-587-5389
We know the price tag is mad steep. If there’s a director you’re going to splurge on, though, it might as well be one of the all-time cinematic masters, whose astonishingly varied and rich oeuvre is very much represented in Criterion’s expansive boxed set. And truly, there’s something for everybody here: ruminations on mortality and kick-ass samurai battles, Shakespearean grandeur and noir-ish intrigue. Complete with an illustrated guide that offers notes and commentary on each film, it will blow the chunky glasses right off your favorite cineaste this holiday season.
Little Horn Speakers
$1,500 for a pair at www.littehornspeakers.com
For years we’ve been subjecting our ears to iPod headphones and whatever crappy speakers happen to be lying around. No more! Specimen Products’ Little Horn Speakers are not just good for listening (handling 24-watts each) but are damn fine to look at. Sure, everything we’ve listened to this year has been fuzzed-out, overblown and scratchy, but it’s not going to sound any better coming out of a laptop; nut up and get these bad boys (or buy ’em for us if you don’t need a pair) to show your ears—and your home décor—the respect that they deserve.
Sam Adams Utopia Brew
$200 , get it anywhere you can
When Jim Koch started brewing Samuel Adams beer 25 years ago, he wanted to expand America’s definition of good beer. In 2009, his Boston Beer Company unleashed Sam Adams Utopia, an extreme beer with an alcohol content of 27% by volume (typical beers are 5%). It is called beer because of the fermentation process, but this is not a regular brew. On the technical side, it is brewed with multiple strains of yeasts including champagne yeast, pounds of special malts and three kinds of noble hops.
It is a blend of batches, aged up to 16 years in different casks including bourbon, muscatel, brandy and cognac casks. On the flavor side, this beer, when served room temperature in 2-ounce servings, brings to mind a sweet malty vintage port, with warm and spicy vanilla, maple and caramel notes. We’ll drink to that.
Washlet
$880-$1,990 at TOTO Soho Gallery, 25 Mercer St. (betw. Grand & Canal Sts.), 917-237-0665
We
admit, it may seem strange to buy an expensive gadget to wash (and dry)
your bum, but we also know quite a few guys who really like to spend
some quality time on the toilet. The Washlet by TOTO actually works out
perfectly for anyone—even renters—since the 
seat retrofits on any
existing toilet. And yes, it first aerates your naughty bits and then,
if you so desire, dries them. There’s something called the “pulsating
cleanse” that we haven’t quite figured out, but we’re sure someone
will. If you want to test drive it, visit the Soho space or try it out
at over a dozen Manhattan restaurants. Oh, and no more buying those
embarrassing jumbo packs of TP.
Fuji Instax Mini 7 Instant Camera
$130 at Urban Outfitters, 526 6th Ave. (at 14th St.), 646-638-1646
The discontinuation of Polaroid’s instant camera sent fashion mavens into a tizzy and us on the hunt for a new instant photo fix. And thankfully Fuji’s Instax Mini 7 camera will have you saying Polaroid schmolaroid. It’s both compact and cute and the credit-card-sized photos it delivers will help you capture— or remember—your many mistletoe partners and moments of holiday merriment this year. Lightweight and more unique than the typical night out digital camera, it’s a little retro and the color photos are ready in minutes, which is a hell of a lot faster than the six weeks it takes people to upload photos to their Facebook accounts.
