I just got back from this year’s New York City Toy Fair!  It was so great to get a firsthand look at the newest and hottest toys. I saw lots of wonderful net enabled toys, much like Webkinz and UB Funkeys..  I'm also psyched about the latest Eyeclops.  Last holiday I picked the first version as my top pick, because of the toy’s good natured educational aspect.  The fun gadget lets you look at a magnified version of household objects on your TV.  The newest version lets you go even further --it's wireless, has an on board LCD screen and allows kids to record what they see onto a memory card which they can later upload to their pc!  Bravo, Jaxx Pacific! 

Of course all of the oldies but goodies (Lego, Matel…) showed off their new stuff and I shot some great video footage – check it out!

I can’t believe Polaroid is actually going through with this, but they’re discontinuing Polaroid film and cameras! 

A pack of the film does set you back about $30 and only gets you nine shots, but there is something so wonderfully nostalgic about Polaroids that I don’t want to let go!

And what about the whole fashion industry?  Every shoot I’ve ever been on I've had to make sure the stylist got a quick Polaroid of what I had on just in case we had to re-shoot something. Though, now that I think about it, on my shoot last week the stylist simply snapped a shot of me with her camera phone then sent it to her flickr page...I'm beginning to see where the issue stems from.

Well, friends of the Polaroid, good thing eBay exists, huh? I took a quick look and found countless cameras and film for sale! Ahhh, I feel much better now.


Poloroid Camera


Polaroid Film

This entry is dedicated to all of you out there that want to get that special someone something that's gadgety and, well, special!  The best way to bring a smile to the face of someone you love is with music!  So this is what you do.  Go online and buy a Zen Stone, an MP3 player with a built in speaker that comes in an array of different colors.

Zen Stone

Then, fill it with songs that really express to her/him how you feel.  Take your time with this step.  Don't just go for the obvious like “Nothing Compares 2 U."  Although sweet, it is way too cheesy.  Give me a Zen Stone with a lil’ "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure, "Space Age Love Song" by Flock of Seagulls, and "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs  and I'd be yours in a second!  Then, when the time is right, bust it out and let the music do its thing.   Good luck!

This morning I really didn't want to get out of bed.  My dreaded alarm clock went off and I wanted to smash it!  So while I was doing my best to put off the horrid process of getting up, my mind wandered to what I was going to blog about today.  I decided to embrace this part of my day and use it to enlighten others as to possible alternatives to the alarm clock they're currently using. 

I currently rotate between a few different clocks, so here's my take on them.  
First off I have "Clocky," which is an alarm clock that literally jumps off of my night stand, lands on its two wheels and rolls around my floor beeping r2d2 type sounds until I actually get up and turn it off.  This clock is great for mornings like today when the only thing that will get me out of bed comes in the form of a loud and annoying jingle that needs to be hunted down to be turned off.  

Clocky

Next I have my iHome alarm clock.  Now this one is rad, because I can plug in my iPod, allowing it to charge all night, set it to a great "wake up" play list, and be gently lifted from my sheet by the sounds of "Shout" by Tears For Fears.  The clock also illuminates the time all night long, and with a 20 month old I like to know exactly the hour I'm being beckoned so I know if it's really time to start cooking breakfast, or whether I should be putting my little one back to bed.

 
iHome

Last, but not least, I have the "Wake SunRise Clock" that slowly brightens the room by turning up the light intensity. The reasoning here is that light is the most natural way to wake up--this one just may do the trick for me, how about you?

Sunrise Alarm Clock

I finally ordered everything I need to set up my home video blogging studio!  This is very exciting for me because I love expressing my views and showing off my gadgets. I’m actually planning on uploading some videos to this blog in the coming weeks! Picking everything out was so much fun: so I though I'd share with you some of my gadget choices.  
 
First and foremost I needed a video camera. I went a little overboard on this one, but I really wanted a camera that would allow me to shoot high quality video, but be small enough to fit in my purse to capture on the fly footage. I'm excited to say I ended up getting an amazing camera, the Panasonic HDC-SD5. This is one of the world's smallest consumer high-definition video cameras --  it's amazing!


Another plus to this cam is that it records content onto SD cards that can easily be inserted into my next tool, the radiantly red colored Dell XPZ M1330 laptop. Purrr. This very thin and stylish computer is also very powerful and can handle my editing needs with in a snap.

Next up is the Western Digital “My Book Essential Edition” with one Terabyte external hard drive to keep content on. This baby is super-stylish and with 1000 Gigs of storage, I can hang onto every bit and byte of Jack-centric video!


For $100 I scored the M-Audio Session Music Producer, a great microphone, a stand, and editing software, which makes it easy to podcast my posts. Once it's all up and running I'll post a pic.  

For Christmas/Hanukkah last year I bought myself a Nikon D40X SLR Digital camera. I've always used a little point and shoot, but once I actually got my fingers on my friend's D40X I was sold, but about 2000 shots later I'm finding myself wanting more.  The camera is rad and comes with a nice strap, a good battery and a great lens (18-55mm) that pretty much gets the tight shots as well as the wide. However, while looking up my camera model on eBay I noticed that there are great deals on "kits" for my camera.  The kits include the little extras that are sure to satisfy me , and of course, at a price that I just can't turn down.

The kit I'm getting includes an extra battery, an additional wide angle lens, a tripod, a 4 gig SD card, a nice neoprene case with pocket for extra memory, a DX40 training video, cleaning cloth and, I know this is silly, but an extra little strap to connect your lens cap to the lens so it will never get lost.  

So, if you're like me and you want more, type in your camera make and model plus the word "kit" on eBay and see what kind of goodies are out there!