Here’s a sign that companies are REALLY liking gift cards. Best Buy now has a gift card with a built-in SPEAKER! That’s right, a gift card that requires AAA batteries! The reviews are decent, as long as you’re in a quiet room. Plugs into your mp3 player or whatever. These gift cards start at $15.

But that’s nothing. Target wants to outdo them with a gift card with a DIGITAL CAMERA built in! Okay, technically it’s just a digital camera with a minimum of $50 credit on it and 40 free prints. I don’t know how that thick thing is swiped at the register(edit: it probably has a barcode, judging by one of their other cards). Maybe I should see if I can find them at our local Target. The reviews are horrible, though, but it’s basically a free camera with a $50 purchase, so they don’t need it to be great. It’s just enough for a “gee-wiz” factor.
They could have branded the gift card camera better, though. I don’t see their logo anywhere on it, and it’s gray and red! Target’s colors are WHITE and red. Oh wait, I think that’s their tiny logo embossed in the silver label that says “Gift Card”. That logo is not designed to be embossed. It just looks like a circle, or a button when embossed.

So, there are your interesting links today.

As you know, cartoonists love Christmas presents as much as the next person. Well, I’m not going to ask for Christmas presents from you. I’m going to ask for BIRTHDAY presents! I’ll be turning 27 on January 6th(the REAL 12th day of Christmas), and would like to make it possible to give me a present, via Paypal. If I reach certain levels, I’m using the money on the highest level reached. Here are the possible presents:

$3: 3 movie rentals via Redbox.

$7: A nice meal.

$10: A nice meal with dessert.

$20: New antenna designed for digital tv.

$90: A new phone with a text-messaging keyboard, so I can update Twitter more often.

$900: A new computer that’s NOT 8 years old.

I’m also open to other suggestions, but I do reserve the right to default to this list or somebody else’s suggestion.

No cash? Fan art is a great gift too! I plan on including a fan art section when I do my site redesign in a few months. I’m waiting for the next version of ComicPress before redesigning.

The Sequential Artists’ Pub is a get-together of cartoonists of all types. We record the podcast every 2 weeks, and tonight(December 27th) is yet another exciting roundtable discussion! I most likely will not be there due to work. I’ll take any chance I can to join, though. I’m on there right now!

Join in at 8PM (CST)! Click here to join in or listen to the archives!

Update: Recording is complete. Nice talk about branding and advertising today.