[Unless otherwise noted with a link, you can find all of these items on Amazon.  Keep your eyes peeled for great online coupons from Borders and Barnes & Noble as well.]

APPAREL & ACCESSORIES

Dr. Leo Spaceman T-Shirt (30 Rock)
$17.95
He’s a fine doctor, and a pretty good dentist!

Edward Cullen’s Replica Wristcuff (Twilight)
$19.99
Seriously. You can purchase this man bracelet for your swooning daughter or girlfriend.

Top Chef logo cap
$14.99, Bravo Shop
For the top chef in your own kitchen or life.

BOOKS

The Bro Code
Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
$12.98, CBS.com
I believe that the cover photo says it all.

Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 1)
Charlaine Harris
$7.99
Get to know Sookie Stackhouse and the other cast of characters from Harris’ series, on which the new HBO show True Blood is based.

Heroes, Volume 1
Illustrated by Tim Sale
$13.59
Regardless of how you feel about the television series now, this compilation of online comics that accompanied the first season is very cool.

Lost Ate My Life: The Inside Story of a Fandom Like No Other
Jon Lachonis & Amy J. Johnston
$13.57
If you or someone you know has ever posted on a Lost message board/forum or spends hours analyzing and discussing every episode, this is the perfect gift for them; a fantastic behind-the-scenes perspective about how one show has inspired an entire online community.

Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen: Temper Tantrums, F Words and the Pursuit of Perfection
Gordon Ramsay
$11.16
Even if you haven’t seen any of Chef Ramsay’s shows, this is quite a fascinating autobiography.

Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
$11.99
One of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time; you do not need to be a comic book aficionado to appreciate it. The film debuts next year – read this first.

DVDs

Can’t Hardly Wait (10th Anniversary Edition)
$17.99
One of the best ‘guilty pleasure’ teen movies around, featuring an ensemble cast of future television stars and character actors: Lauren Ambrose, Eric Balfour & Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under), Selma Blair (Hellboy), Clea DuVall (Heroes), Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg), Ethan Embry (Sweet Home Alabama), Peter Facinelli (Dr. Cullen in Twilight), Donald Faison (Scrubs), Seth Green (Family Guy), Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer), Breckin Meyer* (Robot Chicken), Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan), Chris Owen (American Pie trilogy), Erik Palladino (ER), Jaime Pressly (My Name is Earl), Sara Rue (Less Than Perfect), Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) and Sean Patrick Thomas (Save the Last Dance).

* Pop culture sidenote: Breckin Meyer is married to Can’t Hardly Wait writer/director Deborah Kaplan.

Friday Night Lights
$10.49
The excellent film that preceded the stellar television series, both of which are based on H.G. Bissinger’s book of the same name.

The Office, Season 1
$19.98, NBC.com
Watch Jim watch Pam, from the beginning.

Pushing Daisies: The Complete First Season
$18.99
This gem of a show was recently canceled, but it is destined to become a cult classic.

MUSIC

Matt Nathanson: Some Mad Hope
$10.99
I never pass on the opportunity to promote Matt’s music. Even if he wasn’t a very good friend of mine, I would own this CD. His songs have been featured on Eli Stone, Men in Trees, Private Practice and Scrubs.

OMFGG No. 1: Gossip Girl Soundtrack
$14.99
An upbeat compilation with tracks from The Killers, Phantom Planet, The Ting Tings, Junkie XL and more.

TOYS & GAMES for Grownups

The Dude Abides: a Big Lebowski talking keychain
$11.99
Clip this bad boy on when you go bowling or to the bar when you order a White Russian.

LOST Dharma Be@rbrick
$15, Meltdown Comics
What LOST fan wouldn’t want this cute little Dharma bear figure on their desk?

Sex and the City Trivia Game
$16.99
We all know someone who knows entirely too many details about Miranda, Charlotte, Carrie and Samantha. This should be right up their Manolo alley.
—
And of course, here are a few items on my personal wish list of pop culture gifts:

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone – safe travels!

The good news is that as of right now, Pushing Daisies has not been canceled.  However, next week’s new episode may be the last. Apparently ABC has yet to decide about the future of the show, and may not do so until January.

* UPDATE: A friendly anonymous source has clarified that next week’s episode is only the 6th of 13 they’ve shot thus far for Season 2; that 13th ep. is tentatively scheduled to air on 2/18/09. He or she referred to the next episode as airing tomorrow night, but according to both ABC.com and my TiVO, the next new episode airs on 11/19/08. I could be wrong. It happens.

[Note to ABC: In light of your recent, inexplicable decision to axe Brooke Smith from Grey's Anatomy, I am seeking some redemption. Renewing Pushing Daisies would be fantastic. Thanks.]

Should PD get canceled, show runner Bryan Fuller plans to finish the series’ story lines in comic book form! I love that idea. I have been a big believer in Fuller’s world and vision since his fantastic show Wonderfalls, and listening to him speak about Pushing Daisies at a Comic-Con panel earlier this year made it official; where Fuller creates, I shall follow.

So you’re also a fan, please visit the Save Pushing Daisies blog and this site to sign an online petition.

Stay tuned…

On March 6, 2009, the highly anticipated big screen adaptation debuts, and I am very much looking forward to director Zach Synder’s (Dawn of the Dead, 300) visual interpretation of the novel. In the meantime, I will not grow tired of watching the mesmerizing trailer!

Bookmark and visit the official movie site and also the official movie blog to view the ‘making-of’ Video Journals. You won’t be disappointed.

Here’s the situation. The Middleman is a fantastic show, and you’re probably not watching it. YET.

Let’s get you hooked. Start with the trailer.

Then pick up your remote and set your TiVO or DVR to record The Middleman on ABC Family.  Miss an episode or two? You can catch up with the show on iTunes (but it isn’t necessary to have watched it from the beginning).

Admit it, very few series’ on television make you laugh out loud on a consistent basis. Aren’t you tired of staged ‘reality’ and dark, overly dramatic fare on the small screen? And yes, I realize the irony of a Lost fanatic asking this question.

The Middleman is like a live-action comic book adaptation of Alias…if it had a sense of humor, pop culture references, better costumes & villains and quirky dialogue.

This is Wendy Watson (aka Dub Dub or Dubby). She is an artist and a temp, and was recruited by the Middle Man (aka Sexy Boss Man) to fight evil…so you don’t have to.  Trust me, it makes for a hilarious and very entertaining hour of television.

Tonight’s episode features none other than Kevin Sorbo (Hercules). Here is a sneak peek, courtesy of io9 and TheMiddleBlog.

So after you watch an episode or four, fall in love and subsequently set a Season Pass, the show needs your support in order to grace us with a second season.  Please visit the official Middle Man page on ABCfamily.com often, and leave comments.

If you don’t have a Nielsen box (and I’ve never met anyone who does), go to Hey! Nielsen to let the number crunchers know how feel about the series. 

Even if you just tune in, the show has a chance to continue on.

Have I led you astray with such high praise before? No.

Give The Middle Man an hour of your life, because for at least 60 minutes a day, you deserve to be entertained by a great premise, stellar cast and clever content.

If you enjoy any of those people, shows, books, characters, etc., click here to view my photos from Comic-Con 2008.

I may be exhausted, overwhelmed, exhilarated and overstimulated, but the experience far exceeded my expectations. I would like to truly thank those of you who read along or sent encouraging emails and Tweets; they really made me feel like I wasn’t attending alone.  And a huge note of appreciation to my brother-in-law John, who not only drove several hours to join me on Friday, but promoted the hell out of my Lost blog while collecting swag for my nephews all day. I had as much fun watching him in action as I did attending most panels.

Phew. Bring on SDCC 2009.