LAST-MINUTE GIFT IDEAS.Don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. the size? Don't worry. All you have to do is know the tastes of whomever whom·ev·er pron. The objective case of whoever. See Usage Note at who. whomever pron the objective form of whoever: you're buying a gift for. That may be a bigger challenge. Here are a few last-minute suggestions - really just the tip of the iceberg tip of the iceberg n. pl. tips of the iceberg A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden: afraid that these few reported cases of the disease might only be the tip of the iceberg. . Good luck - and don't get trampled. BOOKS In a case of see the movie, read the book, try ``The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set'' by C.S. Lewis (Harper, paperback; $45). It has all seven of the ``Narnia'' books, including the first, ``The Lion, the Lion, The, English name for Leo, a constellation. Witch and the Wardrobe.'' There are also audio set of the books ($75) available. Michael York Michael or Mike York may refer to:
``1776'' (Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. ; $32), David McCullough's follow-up to ``John Adams,'' dramatically focuses on the key year in our fight for independence, and his compelling telling should satisfy any history buff. Frank Warren Frank Warren can refer to:
tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, , sometimes heartbreaking, also interesting. Editor David Remnick offers the introduction to ``The Complete New Yorker: Eighty Years of the Nation's Greatest Magazine'' (Random House; $100), which comes on eight CDs for PC or Mac. Having access to all those years of one of America's most glorious magazines is simply great. E.L. Doctorow (``Ragtime'') is one of America's greatest novelists, and ``The March'' (Random House; $25.95), a fiction look at Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's terrible, destructive campaign through the South during the last year of the Civil War, is one of his best. As a companion, Doris Kerns Goodwin's ``Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln'' (Simon & Schuster; $35) provides some new insights into our 16th president. In ``The City of Falling Angels'' (Penguin; $25.95), John Berent (``Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'') fascinatingly explores the mystery that is Venice, Italy. Although, as you might expect, in his introduction to ``Glorious Technicolor: The Movies' Magic Rainbow'' (Easton Studio; $59.95) Martin Scorsese yearns for the old days, but he does admit that the digital age works, too. The book explores how the advent of color affected, then expanded the language of cinema. For film buffs with particular likes, there's ``L.A. Noir: The City as Character'' (Santa Monica Press; $19.99). Alain Silver and James Ursini try to put an intellectual spin on the city's film role, but just paging through the 150 photographs - some never before published - and learning about how films like ``Double Indemity'' and ``The Long Goodbye'' were shot is fun enough. In The Samurai Film'' (Overlook; $50), Silver examines the genre from Akira Kurosawa to Quentin Tarantino, with more than 200 photos. From Ansel Adams to war pictures, ``The Oxford Companion to the Photograph'' (Oxford; $65) is an extensive, easy-to-use reference book for someone wanting to learn about photography. Whether for your own edification ed·i·fi·ca·tion n. Intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement; enlightenment. Noun 1. edification - uplifting enlightenment sophistication or to read to your children, there's ``The Norton Anthology of Children's Literature'' (Norton; $65). It contains 80 works, including Robert Louis Stevenson's ``A Child's Garden of Verses A Child's Garden of Verses is a collection of poetry for children by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. The collection first appeared in 1885 under the title Penny Whistles, but has been reprinted many times, often in illustrated versions. ,'' J.M. Barrie's play of ``Peter Pan'' and fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to the modern ones of Francesca Lia Block. OK, Americans aren't good at history or math or ... well, let's not go there, but let's go to the ``National Geographic Visual History of the World'' ($35) with an introduction from historian Douglas Brinkley. Graphic and easy to use, it will impress even your most recalcitrant student. And after you have learned about the world, you might want to see what you're missing with ``Wide Angle: National Geographic Greatest Places'' ($30). The 504-page book contains some truly magnificent images from the tranquillity of Tahiti to the beauty of the Taj Mahal to the snows of Denmark. - Rob Lowman DVDs We'll start at the high end with ``Sex and the City - The Complete Series'' ($299.98; HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ). Yeah, pricey but you get everything except a date with Kim Cattrall. Then there's ``Seinfeld - Seasons 5 & 6 Giftset'' ($119.95; Warner), which includes a handwritten hand·write tr.v. hand·wrote , hand·writ·ten , hand·writ·ing, hand·writes To write by hand. [Back-formation from handwritten.] Adj. 1. script and a collectible puffy shirt - and really, arguably, the best two seasons of the show. File these under ``series that grab your attention'': ``24 - Season Four'' ($69.98; Fox) revved the tension; ``House, M.D. - Season One'' ($59.98; Fox) introduces us to one of TV's most compelling characters, Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie); and ``Lost'' ($59.99; Buena Vista) drops you into a fascinating, bizarro world. You want cute? There's ``March of the Penguins'' ($28.98; Warner) - a fascinating documentary about the tough lives of the flightless flightless see ratite. birds in the Antarctic that's delightful for all ages. There is plenty of Kong stuff, which will probably seem more interesting once you see Peter Jackson's wonderful film. For a real look behind the scenes, there's ``King Kong - Peter Jackson's Production Diaries'' ($39.98; Universal), and for fans of the old stuff, there's ``The King Kong Collection'', containing the two-disc special edition of the original 1933 ``King Kong'' plus ``Son of Kong'' and ``Mighty Joe Young.'' Of the new big-budget fantasy films of 2005 there's Christopher Nolan's smartly reworked ``Batman Begins'' ($39.98 for two-disc set; Warners) and ``Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'' ($29.98; Fox), George Lucas' final installment of the epic and the most satisfying of the new three. You want to learn about film? Study ``Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece Collection'' (Universal; $119.98). It doesn't include every one of the great director's masterpieces, but ``Psycho,'' ``Rear Window,'' ``Vertigo'' and ``The Birds'' are a marvelous start. ``Cinderella - 2-Disc Special Edition'' ($29.99; Disney) and ``Pocahontas - 10th Anniversary Edition'' ($29.99; Disney) are two animated features that will never be outdated. Martin Scorsese's terrific documentary ``Bob Dylan - No Direction Home'' ($29.98; Paramount) is as close as any of us will ever get to having a real look into the life of the music legend. (Check out the two-disc CD of music from the doc, too.) For fans of classic films, there's: ``Classic Comedies Collection'' $68.98; Warner), which includes ``Bringing Up Baby Bringing Up Baby, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, is a 1938 screwball comedy telling the story of a scientist winding up in various predicaments involving a woman with a unique sense of logic and a leopard named Baby. ,'' ``The Philadelphia Story - Two-Disc Special Edition,'' ``Dinner at Eight,'' ``Libeled Lady,'' ``Stage Door'' and the sublime ``To Be or Not to Be''; ``Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1'' ($59.98; Warner) with ``Top Hat,'' ``Swing Time,'' ``Follow the Fleet,'' ``Shall We Dance'' and ``The Barkleys of Broadway''; and everyone's favorite yellow-brick road movie, ``The Wizard of Oz'' ($49.98 for the three-disc collector's edition; Warner). Each year Criterion releases titles near and dear to a film lover's heart. Two recent ones are ``Ran'' ($39.95), legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's retelling re·tell·ing n. A new account or an adaptation of a story: a retelling of a Roman myth. of Shakespeare's ``King Lear''; and ``Shoot the Piano Player,'' French director Francois Truffaut's wild film noir ride, starring singer-actor Charles Aznavour. And speaking of singer-actors, ``Barbra Streisand - The Television Specials'' (59.98; Rhino) and Julie Andrews in ``The Sound of Music - 40th Anniversary Edition'' (Fox; $26) may be the perfect choice for those who love Broadway. - Rob Lowman CDs Don't blame yourself because you've never heard the Band - blame the pop-culture machine that celebrates a quick buck rather than anything of real value. Enlightenment comes in the form of ``The Band: A Musical History'' (Capitol; $89.98), a five-CD, single-DVD box offering the definitive look at one of the truly great ones. Executive-produced by Band guitarist Robbie Robertson, the 102-song package follows the quintet from its early days through the last studio recording in 1977. Sweet 'n' gritty girl-group pop gets the four-disc treatment on ``One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found'' (Rhino/WEA; $69.98), including gems by the Cookies, the Shangri-Las, Ellie Greenwich, the Marvelettes, Chiffons and many more among 120 lipstick-smeared treats. Austrian cellist Nick Harnoncourt - no relation to a similarly named local radio host - brings out Haydn's ingenuity, scope and humor in the triple-disc ``Haydn: The Paris Symphonies (Nos. 82-87)'' (RCA See RCA connector and video/TV history. ; $34.98). Sire Records founder Seymour Stein either had very good taste or, more likely, was in the right place at the right time. Either way, ``Just Say Sire SIRE. A title of honor given to kings or emperors in speaking or writing to them. : The Sire Records Story'' (Rhino/WEA; $64.98) provides a lot of stripy strip·y adj. strip·i·er, strip·i·est Marked with or suggestive of stripes; striped. Adj. 1. stripy - marked or decorated with stripes striped T-shirt fun in three CDs. Top-notch '80s tracks from Stein's New York-based Sire label by the Ramones, Madness, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Talking Heads, the Pretenders and more tell the story. The 30th anniversary of Talking Heads is celebrated in the artful ``Talking Heads Brick'' (Rhino/WEA; $149.98), which sonically upgrades the band's eight albums by way of bonus-packed Dual Discs encased en·case tr.v. en·cased, en·cas·ing, en·cas·es To enclose in or as if in a case. en·case  ment n. in a molded white plastic box. Or you can wait for the
forthcoming individual releases to get the band's four essential
albums.
Bruce's best stands the test of time in ``Born to Run: 30th Anniversary 3-Disc Set'' (Sony; $39.98), which tweaks the original 1975 issue and adds a DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. of a terrific live Springsteen gig from the same year in London. The third DVD is an entertaining making-of documentary you'll probably watch exactly once. The archival find of the year is ``Fonotone Records 1956-1969'' (Dust-to-Digital; $79.98), a giant five-disc set of newly unearthed Unearthed is the name of a Triple J project to find and "dig up" (hence the name) hidden talent in regional Australia. Unearthed has had three incarnations - they first visited each region of Australia where Triple J had a transmitter - 41 regions in all. American primitive music, covering jug band, country, blues, bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. and other styles. Recorded and documented by Joe Bussard's 78-RPM Fonotone label. Outsider art anyone can fall in love with. Some insist the guitar doesn't belong in jazz. If you know any of these lost souls, sit 'em down and force them to listen to ``Progressions: 100 Years of Jazz Guitar'' (Sony; $49.98), a fine four-disc unit that makes room for everyone from Django to Wes to Jeff Beck. Before cutting the music that comprises ``The Cellar Door Sessions 1970'' (Sony; $109.98) 35 years ago, Miles Davis bragged he'd put together ``the greatest rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. band you ever heard.'' In six discs of myth-making music tracked live in D.C., Davis does just that with a group of supercharged su·per·charge tr.v. su·per·charged, su·per·charg·ing, su·per·charg·es 1. To increase the power of (an engine, for example), as by fitting with a supercharger. 2. players - Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Airto Moreira and John McLaughlin among them. ``Weird Tales of the Ramones'' (Rhino/WEA; $64.98) is another goodie good·ie n. Variant of goody1. , the first-ever box from the punk godfathers. The three CDs contain 85 tracks spanning the group's entire career, plus a DVD of rare documentary footage. A booklet contains graphic liner notes and illustrations by well-known visual artists. - Fred Shuster CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1 -- color) no caption (books: ``The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set'') (2 -- color) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S ``WIDE ANGLE'' (3 -- color) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ``VISUAL HISTORY OF THE WORLD'' (4 -- color) ``MARCH OF THE PENGUINS'' (5 -- color) no caption (``Born to Run: 30th Anniversary 3-Disc Set'') (6 -- color) no caption (``Weird Tales of the Ramones'') |
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