Funkengroovin Wednesday - How Many Days 'Til Christmas?

When VB was in "The City" she and her family decided to poke their heads into FAO Schwarz. That was the Friday before Thanksgiving, and VB didn't want to do a post on Christmas shopping that early. Well, time has a way of moving quickly during the holiday season, and before she knew it, it was time for VB to start doing some shopping herself. She accumulated quite a few links for VW gifts, and they have been a real bitch to organize - thus the late posting.

Let's start with toys. Below four photos were taken at FAO Schwarz. Unfortunately, if you go onto their web site, you will have one hell of a time trying to find some of the replicas available in the store. The first three photos represent the Schuco line. Schuco USA has pages and pages of models available, starting here. You can whittle down your search by checking the model specific list to the left of the page. They also carry other brands, such as Johnny Lightning.

Diecast Models has a few VWs for sale, as well, at the link.

A very funky VW Beetle Recycled Tin Can Car, is available from the UK.

LEGO has a VW Beetle kit available for $119.99!

Toys are also available on ebay, which VB is listing under the miscellaneous section, as they also have accessories, ephemera, and other items all listed on the same page.










(Below): These Automoblox cars look like the New Beetles, but they're actually not. Check out the link for the various models available.


Pier 1 and Barney's Department Store have decided to take advantage of Beetle love, whether it be the original or the new. Here's a shot from the Pier 1 ad. Pier 1 is not selling anything VW, although last year they sold a small Beetle ornament, nothing as nice as the one in their ads.

(Below): VB couldn't find this ornament at her local store, nor online, but it's in the Pier 1 TV commercial.


(Below): The Pier 1 brochure cover.


VB walked her ass off in "The City" tromping from midtown Manhattan to the Upper East Side just to catch a glimpse of the painted New Beetle, which Barney's is raffling off. She went from one floor to another, back down, then back up to customer service. Not only were they basically unaware about the car, it was nowhere to be found. Generally, if you're raffling off something as special as that, you put it on display for all to see. Needless, to say, VB was very disappointed. The photo below is as close as she got to seeing the real thing - a photo of the window display featuring the New Beetle (yeah, behind all that other crap.)


The article below, from the New York Times, has a slide show, which displays a VW Bus ornament for sale at the Barney's Store. You'll have to click on the slide show link to get to a photo of the Bus ornament.
SHOPPING WITH ERIC COHLER AND JENNIFER COHLER MASON
Sparkle and Glow
"...But it wasn’t until the two plunged into the hippie holiday scene at Barneys New York that they really connected with the universal message of peace on Earth. Flower-painted Volkswagens, polka-dotted mushrooms and tie-dye-pattern balls would be fun for the tree, they thought, and a large wreath of pastel balls in the shape of a peace sign could jazz up a door or wall for Christmas — or any time, for “the all-purpose holiday,” as Mr. Cohler put it."

How can VB put this without being insulting. There isn't a way, so watch the video. It's all about the hippy-dippy Beetle raffle. She's (VB) just going to bite her tongue on this one. Simon Doonan, the creative director, who is featured in the video, is just soooo over-the-top. VB actually paid more attention to him, than she did to what he was saying.

GIVE GOOD GIFT



(Below): Two videos showing how the Beetle was painted, for all you curious types, who (if you're like VB) dream of one day getting an old Beetle and having your way with it. VB would personally like to decoupage an old Beetle, but that's pretty much a dream. The second video shows very nice shots of the finished product.

Unique TV: Volkswagen x Barneys x Unique Edition PT.1

Unique TV: Volkswagen x Barneys x Unique Edition PT.2

More Gifts for the VW obsessed:

From the UK:
Hedgepig has an assortment of VW related gifts.

VW Magnetic Bottle Opener

VW Van Miniature Clock

VW Memory Sticks, bags, wallets, and more.

Personalised VW Camper Van Money Box, New Baby VW Camper Van Money Box, Build Your Own VW Camper Van, Build Your Own Volkswagen Beetle

Yellow Vw Beetle Ceramic Money Box - they also offer one in black. If you're in the USA though, you might want to check in at your local Michael's, where Awesome Daughter and VB found white VW Beetle banks ready for painting, for about $6.00.

From the Pillarbox a page full of VW "collectables".

From the Woodsprites Trading Company:
Christmas VW Split Bus - Wrapping Paper, Christmas VW Bay - Devon Camper - Wrapping Paper, Christmas VW Bug - Standard - Wrapping Paper, Christmas VW Bug - Custom - Wrapping Paper


USA:
(Miscellanea)
Lots of accessories here at Flowers-Up for your VWs, including leis for your dashboard, bud vases, and more stuff to make your vehicle even funkier looking.

ebay - a multitude of available items.

(Holiday items)
bombki little cars ornaments. Prices quoted in Pounds. (Also available in the UK)

VW CHRISTMAS LOVE BUG COOKIE (Green), also available in Red, and Pink.

CHRISTMAS----VW TRIKE - $10997

Related: Cool photo of a Bus with a wreath on the front.

VW Christmas Cartoons



NEWS: Just One piece this week.
From Wired.com. We fly in through Logan International, and subsequently through the Big Dig tunnels, so VB found this to be interesting. Fortunately, we head west when we leave, with our E-ZPASS. E-ZPASS is a must on the east coast. And, BTW, we heard on NPR (that day) that Massachusetts will be doubling toll fees the coming year. For us, "The plan also calls to double the tolls at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels to $7." And, everyone knows, you can't leave the airport without hitting one of these two tunnels, but "Fast Lane users would pay $1.50 at Weston and Allston-Brighton and $6 in the tunnels."

Traffic is pretty smooth until about five miles from the I-84 entrance ramp, where traffic gets backed up, and crawls at a snail's pace, due to the bottleneck at the entrance. Otherwise, going westbound it's really not that bad.

(Below): The entrance to I-84. Right two lanes are queuing up, while the left lane is the only lane available for continuing westbound traffic.



Big Dig Has Bostonians Battling Bigger Bottlenecks
"Despite being a national embarrassment, advocates say the Big Dig has alleviated traffic, and to a large degree they're right. Getting across town on the Central Artery could take as long as 15 minutes; these days you can do it in three minutes or less. Back in the day the Artery might be bumper-to-bumper for 14 hours. Nowadays, the Dig is a breeze.

But get out of downtown and things don't look so rosy. The Globe examined reams of state highway records and concluded that congestion has gotten worse north and south of the city - in some cases a lot worse. One 11-mile stretch of highway just north of Boston saw commute times double from 12 minutes to 25. Similar delays were seen on other highways leading to the tunnels."

(Below): Going through the tunnel after dropping The Boss Man off at Logan International, for his ride back to Cairo.




(Below 2 photos): Oooo - A Eurovan. We meet up at the entrance to the toll booth, leaving Boston proper.







(Below): Currently, VB's favorite song.
The Submarines - You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie (iPhone 3G ad song)