Miscellaneous

What the PR hacks are hawking this year

by Keith Orr

Part of the fun in putting together a gift guide such as the one you're reading right now is sorting through the free booty sent to us by public-relations firms and manufacturers. We'd be lying if we didn't say it's sometimes tough to distinguish between legitimate info/product tests and bribes. In the past we've ignored the onslaught of faxed press releases touting the latest gizmos and distributed the free loot to hard-working editorial staffers. This year, we couldn't ignore the hard work of the pests . . . er, public relations personnel . . . who dutifully mailed and faxed us gift ideas (and then phoned repeatedly to see if we had received them). In the spirit of presenting you, dear reader, with the most comprehensive gift guide imaginable, here are our picks from the pile of press releases touting the best gift ideas of 1998.

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"Give more this holiday season by shopping recycled," urges the faxed memo. It isn't the usual marketing come-on, begging us to buy a specific toy made from reworked Cabbage Patch Kids, but a new pamphlet put out by the American Plastics Council. Shop Recycled! lists more than 1400 items made of recycled materials, ranging from fleece outerwear spun from old soda bottles to desk clocks constructed from abandoned computer parts. The best news for the holidays, though, is that the pamphlet is free! Granted, it's still only a pamphlet, but what the heck: it will make a pretty cool politically correct stocking stuffer. Call 1-800-2-HELP-90 or visit the APC Web site at http://www.plasticsource.com.

Tired of dialing your portable phone the old-fashioned way? By punching buttons? I mean, it's about as inefficient as the old rotary dial phones from decades ago. How about the Sprint/Samsung SCH-2000, the new phone that lets you call up to 20 numbers just by saying the name of the person? Careful when talking trash about someone, though. You'd hate to be tearing your boss to shreds -- as in, "I tell you, Bob is a total asshole" -- only to have the phone respond to Bob and dial his number so he can hear the rest of what you have to say about him. Hey, it could happen. . . .

How about a cell phone that works "from Boston to Berlin"? Omnipoint wants us to know that our globetrotting friends would love to find the Bosch World 718 phone under the tree this year. And it makes sense if you look at the data provided by Omnipoint: 8.2 percent of people traveling out of Logan Airport are headed overseas, and Boston is the third-largest transatlantic gateway, after New York and Chicago. Unfortunately, the press release doesn't mention how much it might set you back to take a phone call from your dentist while in Morocco, but my guess is that if the ability to communicate by fax, e-mail, and phone from anywhere in the world appeals to you, then you're not too concerned about your monthly phone bill. Call Omnipoint at (978) 323-6200 or visit the Web site at http://www.omnipoint.com.

Okay, you're back from Japan, your cell phone is safely in the charger on your desk, and you and some friends want to unwind with a little of the national pastime in the Land of the Rising Sun. How about using the VocoPro Wanderer, a "high powered, all-in-one karaoke system"? With a suggested retail price of $800, this is not for the sing-along-with-Shania-Twain set. My concern is, how do I know if my current karaoke system is low-powered?

For friends who don't own automobiles and are MBTA-phobic, Deborah Mann has the ultimate gift. The Taxi Wallet is a slim, multi-compartment affair, with areas for local and foreign currency and an interior security pocket for credit cards, that comes in "many attractive colors, textures, and patterns of leather." Even though this item doesn't come with the cachet of Prada, just think how much more money you can put into it with all you saved by not buying the $400 black nylon number. The store is at 1691 Mass Ave, in Cambridge; call (617) 576-0123.

Do you know someone who likes to answer the question "What did you make for dinner?" with "Reservations"? Get this person a gift certificate that's good at more than one restaurant. The Boston Restaurant Experience certificate is valid at many of the better places in town and comes in two price programs. The $75 certificates are accepted at Julien at Le Meridien Hotel (Boston), Davio's Restaurant (Cambridge, Boston, and Providence, Rhode Island), Restaurant Zinc (Boston), Elephant Walk (Boston and Cambridge), and Aura at the Seaport Hotel (Boston). The $25 certificates are good at Carambola (Waltham), Vinny Testa's (Dedham, Boston, Brookline, Lexington, Natick, Newton, and Danvers), Zuma's Tex-Mex Café (Boston), Skipjack's (Boston and Brookline), Bombay Club (Cambridge), Back Bay Brewing Company (Boston), and Commonwealth Brewing Company (Boston). You can also purchase $50 certificates good at all of the above restaurants. Call (617) 965-7713.

Know someone who refuses to jump on the technology bandwagon with the purchase of a personal digital organizer? Well, the folks at Filofax reminded us in a press release that they basically invented the personal "intelligent system of organization." Their little leather books were once the de rigueur accessory for just about everyone, although they are losing a bit of ground to computer chip-based models. With tabbed sheets for everything from names and addresses to maps of Istanbul, they'll keep your favorite Luddite from missing a bit of information. (Bonus: the Filofax never runs low on batteries, as it doesn't need any. So information is never lost . . . unless the Filofax is lost. But that's not your worry.) Available at gift and department stores around town, including Rizzoli Bookstore in Copley Place.

If you're an apartment dweller with Martha Stewart aspirations, creating handmade gifts can be more of a hassle than anything else. It's hard to be creative when you're working with the counter space of an Easy Bake oven. How excited I was to find out about Colorfully Yours (55 Langley Road, Newton Centre, 617-965-1818). The concept is simple: choose an unfinished ceramic piece, such as a vase or a picture frame; decorate it with paint in any pattern you desire; and then leave the piece to be clear-glazed and kiln-fired. Stop back in a couple of days, and voilà! You have a completed masterpiece to give as a gift, and you didn't even have to do your best Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze impersonation from Ghost.

The artistic yet computer-inclined on your list will appreciate the new box set from the Learning Company's Red Orb Entertainment, Ages of Myst ($49.95). The package, which includes the popular games Riven and Myst, a Making of Riven video, and a hardbound personal journal, will get any beginner started.

Other press releases arrived this season touting Kinko's videoconferencing systems (weekend half-hours available for just $37.50) and Clarks of England's "direct inject technology" shoes that "fuse the sole directly to the upper while the sole is in a molten state," making the shoes more comfortable. Bang & Olufsen's latest answering machines and telephones feature caller ID and the unmistakable Bang & Olufsen Danish styling. Harnett's Homeopathy & Body Care, in Cambridge (47 Brattle Street, 617-491-4747), has a selection of wellness and health products and boasts in a press release that it's the "only store in Harvard Square to carry a full array of yoga products." In California, meanwhile, P.S. I Love You will create a personalized song for your beloved by some of the backup singers for such artists as Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr, Gladys Knight, and Janet Jackson -- for just $39.95. Call 1-800-725-SONG or visit its Web site at http://www.giftsongs.com.

Keith Orr has all his Christmas shopping done, and he hasn't even been to a store yet. Hmmmm.