St. Peter and John Wayne.

Every year, Christmas was the time I looked forward to the most. The songs, the lights, the whole feeling of Christmas and everything that came with it. However recently, it seems disappointing each time it arrives. When I was young, the whole family would gather in one house, from the morning to late in the night of Christmas Eve. I would play with my brother and cousins, running around the house being kids and oblivious to everything around us. We were not worried about fixing our cars, paying the rent, or anything about that. We were just kids.

Every time we would hear the doorbell ring, we ran to see who it was. Mom's sister, Grandmother's brother. You see the house we were all at, was the first house owned by our family in America. It housed my family members that just came over from Vietnam, helping them get on their feet and move out. And after they'd move out, they'd all return for Christmas. For just one day. And it was great having literally everyone under one roof.

But now, I'm years older and Christmas has lost its touch. Those people that rung the doorbell, the people that had me running to see are gone. Either they're at the spouses family, or just simply off of this world. There's less family. And that's what I miss. That's what Christmas was for me. It's not even that the gifts came in the masses as a kid. It's not that the toy guitars and action figures have turned into the form of bills and cards. It's the massive gap between generations and the disconnect that has came because of it.

At least we still have those Christmas songs. They give me hope of someday having the perfect Christmas again. Maybe in five years someone will light our house on fire. And we'll all gather back in that little house. The whole family. Maybe I'll light the house on fire. I wish I was 10 again.

2008 Shopping Guide.

Well as Christmas draws closer, less than 24 hours closer, some of you fellow rich, important, "unaffected by the economy" folk need some quick presents to bear but have no idea where to start. Well here's a little guide I made that to help you if your price range is around $1,000 to $1,000,000. This would have been my wish list if I didn't already go out and buy five of each myself.

The Nikon D90, for the "I May Actually Know What I'm Doing With A Camera" type. This thing does everything that the common D40 can do and then some. The main reason why I wanted this over my already capable D60 is because of a couple things. The autofocus motor. I have an AF 50mm and 10.5mm and the only AF-S is the decent kit 18-55mm. I'm perfectly fine with manually focusing, but when it affects my pictures in low-light areas, that's bad. It's too dim to even see how sharp something is. Help me out robot. With this bad boy, you can walk around campus knowing you have a better camera than all the other noobs with the kit D40. And by not having the D40, you'll probably know how to use it too. Not bashing on the D40 at all, it's probably the only camera you'll ever need. I'm just an elitist when it comes to other photographers. But seriously, stop with the flash photography.

Another thing is the 24 FPS 720p HD Video mode. That's right. You have probably seen me drooling over this in a recent post. This is the first DSLR camera able to record video. So you and your Canon can suck it Bobby. So what I stole this whole layout from you? The least you can do is return my calls dammit! That takes us to our next gift on the list...

You can never have enough glass. This is the best wide-angle zoom of it's kind on the market. It's also the cheapest. For the "I Lurked Flickr To Find Out What Lens People Use -- I Heart Ken Rockwell" type. I bought 5 of these because they're that good and I am that wealthy.

This is a big flash. If you have this flash I will not hate you for using a flash. Just make it bounce. For the "I Don't Want To Look Like The Tool Without A Speed Light While At The Latest Dance Party" type. Add this and a MB-D10, and you'll look like the most pro dude out there. Don't forget your hood lens!

Collectibles! For the "I'm Into Cool Toys From Japan That Sit On My Window Sill And Show What Kind Of Person I Am" type. You can get them the entire Final Fantasy VII x Play Arts collection, the tall standing 19 inch Cloud Strife Masterpiece Arts work of art for only $400. I bought them all but Square Enix will be restocking on May 2nd. Don't forget about Old Snake. And Naked Snake, Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, Solidus Snake, Camo Naked Snake, Boss, Big Boss, Raiden, Grey Fox, Meryl, Naomi, Vamp, Otacon and the whole MGS Crew too.

When I said you can never have enough glass. I meant games. You can never have enough games. For the "I Am Not Really Good At Video Games So I Just Buy Them All To Compensate" type. Just to name a few games that I have yet to receive; Assassin's Creed, Heavenly Sword, Mirrors Edge, Bioshock, Call of Duty 5, and Rock Band World Tour just to name a few.

I know what you're thinking. "Duy, I thought you said you didn't want a bike and would skate everywhere." To be honest, it's hard skating on cobblestone roads and if I plan to get a job anywhere off campus, I'd rather not leave an hour before work and show up panting and smelly. So this present is for the "I Want A Bike To Go To Work And Other Things Like That" type. No this doesn't have to be a fixed gear, I don't like humping my bike to have it brake. But it can be a fixie. A lot of my friends are those "fixie kids". And they're all the rage right? I could say I got the bike from my Dad who used it in Vietnam where it wasn't trendy, it was just cheap. Yeah, thats it!

When I said you can never have enough games, that also goes for Authentics. They'll keep making different colors, and even then your white ones will get dirty so there's really no excuse. And wouldn't they go great with my bike? For the "I Keep It Real By Just Wearing Vans, I Have 50 Pairs..." type. I remember when the slip-ons were all the rage. I thought I was such a trailblazer when I bought the Converse slip-ons. Then little Tim Roskie comes up rockin' a pair of "the Vans with the Laces". 

But seriously, whatever you decide to get your little sister, older brother, significant other, or gay lover, make sure it comes from the heart. And at least costs $100. When you have purchased your gift, make sure you send them to me first so I can sign them.