lights, camera, auction

Do dogs live in the present or do presents live in the dog? This week’s video, sent to us by a viewer who simply identified herself as “Crooky,” not only answers that question, it also offers a smart, fun, stress-free approach to holiday gift giving.

How does your family exchange holiday gifts? If you do something special or unique, please share it with our viewers–either through our “comment” section below or on our blog Ampolotalk (which we revive this week after a period of dormancy).

As you can see, sending us a video does not require Academy Award winning cinematography skills–a good idea and clever way to present it are more than sufficient. And, if you have an idea, but don’t want to send us a video? An emailed description will do just fine.

In the Chicago Tribune of Sunday, November 25, the excellent columnist Mary Schmich offers a more radical holiday gift giving idea. Mary is tired of accumulating and giving "stuff." So, this year she will be giving a different kid of present. Here's her link:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-schmich_bd25nov25,0,5800710.column

Three years ago our family changed our holiday gift giving ways. Instead of buying presents for all family members, we are each responsible for gifting only one person. At Thanksgiving we put everyone's name into a hat and then draw our giftee. We don't reveal the results...until the opening of the gift(s). This year we have set a $75 maximum. You can do a lot for that amount of money. Everyone in our family agrees that this allows them to be much more thoughtful about choosing the right present. It has worked out very well.

We're Back, Baby

After an extended absence--for which I had a permission note--I have returned. Ampolotalk comments on each new episode will begin again the week of November 19.

SHOPPING BAGS UNDER YOUR EYES

We know that Ampolo is not the first to broadcast the benefits of reusing shopping bags and thus avoiding choosing paper or plastic each time you go to the store. Nevertheless, we felt it important to bring home the point--so important that we have created an environmentally-friendly reusable bag for those of you who don’t already have one. It’s available by clicking on the Ampolo Gear link on www.ampolo.com.

We’d love for you to share your thoughts/comments on this subject. Here are five questions to get the discussion going?

1. Do you already re-use bags?
2. If not, why not?
3. If so, what’s your system?
4. How do you remember to bring your reusable bags?
5. Would you be willing to support a ban of or tax on plastic bags?

RSVP

Easy as ABC

Google "alphabet book" and you'll find 427,000 entries. Google "trouble falling asleep" and you'll be directed to 167,000 websites. And google "fun" and you get 668,000,000, yes 668 million, links. We think today's episode will tantalize anyone with an interest in those three subjects, as well as all who are interested in word games, crossword puzzles, and even sudokus. We hope you'll play along on your commute, in your office, and at home--whether around the kitchen table or in bed. Please send me the fruits of your labor. We'll post them. It will be fun. (Now we're up to 668,000,001).

If you have trouble creating a single sentence alphabet string, there are other ways to do your ABCs. How about compiling an A to Z list of places you have visited, authors you have read, or first names of people you ever dated.

Class Action

Those of us who graduated from eighth grade at Central School in Glencoe, Illinois, in ( ) remain a tightknit group. (I've intentionally left out the year of our graduation, not to protect the guilty, but to protect the aging!) At any rate, we hold reunions at least as often as our high school class does. Recently, a classmate proposed another reunion dinner. Great idea! Out of towners were as excited as those who wouldn't have to travel for it. It struck me: why can't we add a somewhat non-traditional element to the festivities? And, thus was born this week's episode on www.ampolo.com. Please check it out and comment on that website and/or here on the kind of community-oriented projects a reunion class might perform during a reunion weekend or even an afternoon.

Finals finally finito

With apologies to PETA, we are now in the dog days of August. No closure on the Vick scandal, the NBA ref scandal, or the Barry Bonds sideshow (speaking of doggerel, see bardball.com for some great limericks about Bonds.). We do, however, have winners in the ESPN Who's Now poll and the Ampolotalk, Who's ESPN's most happening personality poll. These winners are respectively, Tiger Woods, who mauled LeBron James and Tony Kornheiser, who outlasted Suzy Kolber. 'nuff said. Let's move on. America will find something else to talk about over the internet or at the water cooler. For this, I recommend HBO's hilarious new series, Flight of the Conchords--seen on Sunday nights after Entourage.

Starbugs

This week's must-see video on our companion site, www.ampolo.com is a movie pitch. If you know any producers hungry (or thirsty) for the next Jaws or Snakes on a Plane, let us know. The video begs several questions:

1) If you were a Hollywood mucky muck, would you see this as a straight horror movie or more as a campy parody?
2) Title preference: Starbugs or Bugs in Coffee?
3) Who do you see as leading man, leading lady? Must be chemistry.
4) Ingmar Bergman died over ther weekend. Do you think he's already rolling over in his grave? How would he have approached this film?
5) If you ran a coffee shop, could you turn misfortune into fortune by coming up with a creative name for a cup of joe with a bug in it? What would you call it?
Comments, please.