We can’t take credit for finding this one, but we just have to share. Daily Candy, an entertaining e-newsletter, recently discovered a product that promises to be an amazing, and amazingly bizarre, way to clean hard-to-clean areas, such as your computer keyboard. You know, the thing you’re looking at now with where all the little bits of food and gunk have fallen. Now comes Cyber Clean, a yellow gooey Silly Putty kind of blob that you can squeeze into those tiny areas where germs have accumulated and wipe them clean. You can use it to clean and sanitize your telephone, your cell phone, your calculator, your remote control, your car and more. The realization that filth and germs are crawling over everything you touch is motivation enough to give it a shot. You can get a cupful for about $6.50 or a dozen for $80, or the one for your car which is blue and costs $8. You probably have a lot of questions, so here are some answers. We can’t vouch for its effectiveness, but by the looks of it, cleaning will become a bit more entertaining.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave €¦ with all of our tech gear and corresponding chargers. Get a handle on all those cords and manage your family’s cell phones, MP3 players and digital cameras with a handy charging station. Pottery Barn’s lacquer Smart Photo caddy and recharger has a back cubby for portable electronics and a six-socket power strip concealed behind. Cubbies in the front stow desk accessories and three photo openings create a desktop gallery ($99). Plug and play your iPod while charging other electronics all in one spot. The lacquer Smart all-in-one (pictured) includes built-in speakers and a six-socket power strip ($169). Kids these days often have more gadgets than their parents, which means they could probably fill their own charging station. The kids docking station comes in a rainbow of colors and features cutouts like hearts and stars ($79). Bed Bath and Beyond sells a more basic model. The black 600 Denier charging station provides a home for up to four devices ($15; power strip sold separately). Brookstone’s mini charging valet is the perfect addition to your workspace, whether it’s at the office or at home ($30).
Whether McCain’s your man or Obama’s the one, cast your vote for fun this election season with a variety of playful politically themed goodies. Beauty buffs will love Stila cosmetics’ bold new lip color called Rock the Vote Red ($17); 25 percent of the proceeds will be donated to Rock the Vote. Your dog can’t vote, but that doesn’t mean Fido can’t be politically active. If Spot more closely identifies with elephants, you might pick up the Republican dog leash at H. Doodle ($14). If donkeys are more his/her thing, try the Democrat dog collar ($12). Or if your pooch’s political leanings are middle of the road, select from a variety of canine Rock the Vote T-shirts ($14; pictured). Who says there’s no place for politics in the bedroom or bathroom? Pick up a pair of thong panties emblazoned with “Vote” ($8). Guys can join the fun with “Wake Up and Vote” boxer shorts ($21). Your newborn can even get into the swing of things with a W.W.O.D. (What Would Obama Do?) onesie ($30) or the more straightforward McCain blocks onesie at the official McCain store ($15). Democrats will love watching red states turn blue when the fill up the €œI Have a Dream 2008€ mug ($13). For Republicans, the €œMake My Day 2008€ mug turns blue states red ($12) . Sure to be a collectible is the Obama “Yes, We Can” opener ($5). Designer Helen Ficalora’s sterling-silver “Vote” charm at Shopbop.com is only half an inch wide, but we think it speaks volumes ($55). Need help sparking a “lively” political discussion at your next dinner party? The Political Topics To-Go card set includes 40 cards with topical questions like “Whose opinion do you value when deciding how to vote?” ($10).
The cool thing about the digital revolution is that we haven€™t completely lost sight of what not to change. We still want to hold our favorite photos, stick them on the fridge, arrange and share them in an album. Yep, photo albums are still being made and there€™s an appealing selection for sale online. At Safe Collecting Supplies, your photos never come in contact with anything other than archival quality materials that are free of plasticizers (chemical softening agents) and stearates. We love the spiral-bound albums with wood covers and acid-free pages, although the cardboard cover versions (pictured) will do the trick . You do have to use corner mounts to affix the photos to the black photo-cardboard pages but that lets you arrange them any way you like. The company also makes screw-type post-binder photo albums and offers a good selection of leather, vinyl and plastic cover photo albums. Uncommon Goods has albums with handmade copper covers and the designs suggest what goes inside — two hearts, baby carriage, graduation, decade, pet ($55). The downside: Each album holds only 24 four-by six-inch photos. Monogrammed items appear to be back in vogue along with plaid, and Neiman Marcus has paired the two with this plaid photo album ($65) available in kiwi or cherry. As always, Target offers a budget beauty with the acid-free red cloth photo album ($15.50), which holds 200 photos and has a window on the cover for an extra. For more spiral-bound albums with decorative covers, check out Mudlark€™s selection at Wrapables. And finally, for that basic, sturdy album that holds 300 photos, you can€™t go wrong with Pioneer€™s bi-directional photo album ($14).
One frustration of vacationing in faraway lands is the desire to bring back way more souvenirs than you can carry €” not the made-for-tourists junk, but the countless everyday items that are different enough from our own household wares to capture the flavor of a place, or simply to feel like the perfect tool for a certain job. The folks behind Kiosk appear to have felt this pain intently enough to invent a solution: They bring back enough of these goods that they can sell them to others and finance the shipping costs. The NYC-based retailer is a bit like a fashion boutique, in that most of its stock only lasts a few months: one month they’re featuring Glitter Girl Whistles (pictured) and plastic rope from Mexico, the next they could have booze and fishing lures from Finland. This is both the charm and the frustration of exploring the store’s online catalog: Once yesterday’s import is gone, it’s gone. The exceptions are those items Kiosk has decided to stock permanently, which range from the utilitarian (Japanese metal clips) to the totally whimsical (colorful plastic bird-shaped whistles from Mexico). The unifying factor, according to the store’s curators, is that they seek objects that are “humble, straightforward and beautiful for their simplicity and directness.”
Cast-iron pans are beloved by many chefs, for good reasons: They can go from stove to oven, they are ideal heat conductors, and when properly cared for, they can last decades. Two basic skillets are the Keilen 11.5-inch cast iron skillet at Sears ($9) and Williams-Sonoma’s sturdy 12-inch Lodge skillet ($27). A more sophisticated version can be found at Ginny€™s, which carries Paula Deen€™s Swirled cast-iron skillet ($50) and matching Dutch oven ($90), with a red enamel exterior and a white enamel interior (pictured). The enamel lining makes it easy to clean and doesn€™t necessitate the seasoning and oiling required by more traditional pans. Cabela€™s has a cast-iron starter set with three skillets, a Dutch oven with lid and heavy gloves, perfect for cooking over a campfire ($80). Lodge Pro Grid’s cast-iron griddle has a ridged side designed for cooking chops, and even vegetables; its smooth reverse side is ideal for making pancakes ($45). For Dutch ovens, look no farther than the big sale at DutchOvenPro.com, where you’ll find the Ultimate Turkey Roaster set, complete with roasting rack (on sale for $78). What€™s Cooking America offers a useful guide to using and caring for your cast-iron cookware — it’s best to wipe off and oil them rather than scrubbing with soap and water. Once you have your pan, you can make skillet cornbread or recipes from Crate & Barrel’s Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook ($17).
players and digital cameras with a handy charging station. Pottery Barn’s 
furnishings and home décor to see what the term actually means from a visual standpoint. The original Bohemians were travelers or refugees from central Europe; the French word bohémien means “gypsy.” 
