Well for a comics forum there's not much chat on this topic!
Come on, what did you get for Christmas?
I blagged myself a copy of Toppi:Japan
brand new collection of the UFO comic strips from Countdown
the fan publication of Blakes 7 Annual 1982 (just released via lulu.com)
and, of course, the PARAGON annual (which I just happen to publish)
And you? What did you get?
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, in which he makes essentially the same argument as Alan Moore as regards the magic inherent in our ability to imagine.
In a media currently overflowing with people who use imagination almost entirely in place of reason, it's refreshing to read a text from someone who has taken the time to study their topic well.
Ray Harryhousen Movie posters book. It's awesome!
Socks.
hmph
A 1/600 scale Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier kit.
I bought a close friend a Charles Rennie Mackintosh brooch, she likes scottish jewellery and I try to be thoughtful when getting her something. So I got that and a nice card. In return, no card and socks. To be honest I'm kinda miffed. Socks seems almost thoughtless and I think I would have preferred a reasonable card and no present, that just seems...I don't know how to put it.
Otherwise, shit christmas and I predict the new year will be the same.
Speaking as a man who lost pretty much all his possessions in a fire last August, everything was welcome. My folks bought me a telly, which was particularly generous. Got a bird feeder from my sister and a security light from my brother, for the new place I'll be moving into soon, and I was delighted.
Jade, yeah, socks is a bit shit as a present considering what you bought, but not everyone is good at buying presents. A mate of mine used to buy us decent presents after he'd done something to really piss us off, but most of us agreed we'd have forgone the presents if he'd just stop doing shitty things, which he did. Which is a longwinded way of saying that for me at least, good friendship beats good presents every time.
I got a bottle of Jack Daniels, a larger bottle of Jack Daniels and a smaller bottle of Jack Daniels.
Oh and some chocolates
I think my family know me too well ...
JayzusB.Christ: Sorry to hear about the fire. I must have missed that on the board. I hope you're on the mend, life-wise.
As for Santa, I won't list everything, but I did get four comics: Aster of Pan, Through the Words, The Tom Paterson HC and Stray Dogs. And my wife lied about not getting me any Lego this year, because I have a Lego Strat to put together!
A bottle of Bunnahabhain, Highland Park and Port Askaig all single malts but the only reading material I got was the complete Cam Kennedy's HC. So I'll have to purchase some more material in the new year to see me through those malts 😁
Oh and socks!
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 29 December, 2021, 12:06:43 PM
JayzusB.Christ: Sorry to hear about the fire. I must have missed that on the board. I hope you're on the mend, life-wise.
No bother. Total shite show at the time but things have worked out very well in the meantime.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 29 December, 2021, 05:25:51 PM
No bother. Total shite show at the time but things have worked out very well in the meantime.
That cool scar working with the chicks, then...? ;-)
This was maybe my best present :
(http://www.geeksyndicate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/art-of-judge-dredd-cover-rebellion.jpg)
Also the collected Fleabag scripts, a nice candle and a Viking style necklace.
@ Jade, I also spent more on gifts than I received. When I start to feel bitter I remind myself I bought those nice gifts because that's who I am.
It's not so much that I spent more, its just that in my opinion socks are the stereotypical lazy gift. She might not have had much money but as I say I would rather have had nothing with a nice card, it's hard to explain.
Well, actually from some friends online I got a gift copy of Cyberpunk 2077 on PC, and some doublloons for a permanent camo for a ship in World of Warships from someone else.
One friend has his Christmas and Birthday close together so as he, like me is a Space 1999 fan I bought him the newly printed Tech manual from the Anderson store. Got my brother (who is in a similiar situation), as they've just started doing model car kits, the Revell Dodge Charger from Fast and the Furious and some paints. A former colleague from Oxfam got a local history book among other things.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 29 December, 2021, 06:36:10 PM
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 29 December, 2021, 05:25:51 PM
No bother. Total shite show at the time but things have worked out very well in the meantime.
That cool scar working with the chicks, then...? ;-)
I wish... :)
I bought my sister cashmere gloves for £35. In return she got me a box of Liquorice Allsorts, not even Bassett's, and practically inedible, for probably £3 or something, and some beef jerky. Fffff.....
Only comic related thing was Reinhard Kleist's graphic novel about Nick Cave, Mercy On Me.
Only comics was a big box of old Buster comics from 1986, but I was lucky enough to be given two original pages from Rok of the Reds and a 1969 page from The Steel Claw. Not quite sure where I'm going to hang all these but what a lovely dilemma to have.
Belated Christmas wishes to the lot of you!
Aha! I get it now it's the complete lack of thought and effort. I also gave socks as a gift to a male friend this Xmas but they had dinosaurs on them and they went with a copy of Battle: Invasion 1984.
Sounds like you have some nice friends though. Hope you had a nice Xmas too :)
Quote from: Jade Falcon on 29 December, 2021, 09:01:16 PM
It's not so much that I spent more, its just that in my opinion socks are the stereotypical lazy gift. She might not have had much money but as I say I would rather have had nothing with a nice card, it's hard to explain.
Quote
Quote from: Jade Falcon on 28 December, 2021, 06:30:04 PMI bought a close friend a Charles Rennie Mackintosh brooch, she likes scottish jewellery and I try to be thoughtful when getting her something. So I got that and a nice card. In return, no card and socks.
Quote from: Richard on 30 December, 2021, 12:14:07 AM
I bought my sister cashmere gloves for £35. In return she got me a box of Liquorice Allsorts, not even Bassett's, and practically inedible, for probably £3 or something, and some beef jerky. Fffff.....
Quote from: Rara Avis on 29 December, 2021, 07:18:21 PM@ Jade, I also spent more on gifts than I received. When I start to feel bitter I remind myself I bought those nice gifts because that's who I am.
Rara Avis is right, those are pretty crappy exchanges, but you are all clearly finer and more civilised people than your friends and relatives - well done for that.
I've always been a net loser in the Christmas present stakes, not due to thoughtless gifts* but due to our family convention - you buy for your mum and dad, and siblings until they have children, when you buy for their kids instead. Children, when old enough, will buy for siblings and parents, but aren't expected to return-gift aunts and uncles. Which is fine until you remain childless whilst your 2 brothers have 6 children and (currently) five grandchildren between them. I always tried to put thought into the kids' presents - 2 year old George was delighted last week with his Duplo bin lorry (with wheelie bins). One of my warm'n'fuzziest Uncle Memories was when my niece was about 13 or 14 - not the easiest age to shop for considering I saw her about once a year, but she curled up next to me on the sofa and said "Uncle Philip, y'know, you always get the
best presents". I played it cool but I was running victory laps in my head. Never forgot it, and it made that long wet afternoon schlepping round the Manchester Christmas markets worth it.
*although 1995's effort from my big brother came close. Can't remember what I got him, but it was the year of the Stallone film, so I'd been dropping not-so-subtle Dredd hints to him for months. I didn't get any cool movie merchandise, or the VHS of the film, or even the novelisation. I got the audiobook of the novelisation on cassette, read by some random.
Quote from: Dandontdare on 30 December, 2021, 06:49:31 PM
...Stallone film...I got the audiobook of the novelisation on cassette, read by some random.
On the plus side, the diction for Dredd couldn't possibly be worse than Stallone's rendition.
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To make the gift of socks actually a warm welcome, simply throw out all your other socks!*
*Sponsored by Viz's Top Tips!
Guffaw!
Not socks exactly, but thermal vest and long johns along with the security light my brother gave me. I liked them anyway.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 31 December, 2021, 05:18:31 PM
Guffaw!
Not socks exactly, but thermal vest and long johns along with the security light my brother gave me. I liked them anyway.
My mum bought me a set of thermals when I went to uni in Dundee. I scoffed and refused to wear the "old man's underwear" for ages, until my first Dundee winter. First time out was a revelation. Been an unapologetic fan of long johns ever since. Perfect for camping, those chilly evenings around the campfire and as a substitute for pyjamas.
Did you get yourself sorted accommodation-wise JBC? I take it you're landlocked again.
Think I might be a long-john convert too - as a motorcyclist, I can't believe I haven't thought of them before. If they're good enough for Nikolai in the House of Sin, they're good enough for me.
And yeah, thanks for asking - I've been absolutely blessed; a neighbour of mine who lives a few yards from the site of my boat decided to build a kind of chalet / log cabin on his land, and decided to rent it to me. The man is a machine; he's single-handedly built a lovely little house in less than three months. Right now I'm in a caravan in another neighbour's yard but will be moving in to my hobbit-house in January. And a hobbit house it will be - my mate has given me free reign with decor and I've decided on a sort of Bag End look.
I'm very, very close to feeling glad that I lost my home and all my stuff and have a big dent on my head. It's not often I'd say this, but I'm looking forward to January. Happy New Year!
I've always liked the idea of boat life and kind of envied you - I was gutted about the accident, but glad to hear that you're sorted. Happy New Year!
Thanks! I will buy another small boat, and use it just for weekend trips and the like. I won't miss the constant maintenance!