. Athenian red-figure vase, ca. 460 BCE]] A gift or present is the transfer of something, without the need for compensation that is involved in trade. A gift is a voluntary act which does not require anything in return. Even though it involves possibly a social expectation of reciprocity, or a return in the form of prestige or power, a gift is meant to be free. In many human societies, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc. may contribute to social cohesion. Economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy. By extension the term gift can refer to anything that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favour, including forgiveness and kindness.

Presentation

When material objects are given as gifts, in many cultures they are traditionally packaged in some manner. For example, in Western culture, gifts are often wrapped in wrapping paper and accompanied by a gift note...

. Athenian red-figure vase, ca. 460 BCE]] A gift or present is the transfer of something, without the need for compensation that is involved in trade. A gift is a voluntary act which does not require anything in return. Even though it involves possibly a social expectation of reciprocity, or a return in the form of prestige or power, a gift is meant to be free. In many human societies, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc. may contribute to social cohesion. Economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy. By extension the term gift can refer to anything that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favour, including forgiveness and kindness.

Presentation

When material objects are given as gifts, in many cultures they are traditionally packaged in some manner. For example, in Western culture, gifts are often wrapped in wrapping paper and accompanied by a gift note which may note the occasion, the giftee's name, and the giver's name. In Chinese culture, red wrapping connotes luck.

Occasions

.]] The occasion may be:

• Expression of love or friendship
• Expression of gratitude for a gift received
• Expression of piety, in the form of charity
• Expression of solidarity, in the form of mutual aid
• To share wealth
• To offset misfortune
• Offering travel souvenirs
• Custom, on occasions (often celebrations) such as
  • A birthday (the person who has his or her birthday gives cake, etc. and/or receives gifts)
  • A potlatch, in societies where status is associated with gift-giving rather than acquisition.
  • Christmas (people give each other gifts, often supposedly receiving them from Santa Claus)
  • Saint Nicholas (people give each other gifts, often supposedly receiving them from Saint Nicholas)
  • A wedding (the couple receives gifts and gives food and/or drinks at the wedding reception)
  • A wedding anniversary (each spouse receives gifts)
  • A funeral (visitors bring flowers, the relatives of the deceased give food and/or drinks after the ceremonial part)
  • A birth (the baby receives gifts, or the mother receives a gift from the father known as a push present)
  • Passing an examination (the student receives gifts)
  • Father's Day (the father receives gifts)
  • Mother's Day (the mother receives gifts)
  • Exchange of gifts between a guest and a host, often a traditional practice
  • Giving a round of drinks in a bar.
  • Lagniappe

  Kinds of gifts

  A gift may be one of
  • an ordinary object,
  • an object created for the express purpose of gift exchange, such as the armbands and necklaces in the Trobriand Islands' Kula exchange,
  • an alternative gift such as a donation to a charity in the name of the recipient.
  • a regift of an unwanted gift previously received by the giver.
  • a virtual object as seen on Facebook, LiveJournal, both of which allow you to purchase virtual gifts or in games such as GiftTRAP which allow you to give virtual gifts. These are all examples of the Virtual Economy
  • Downloadable gifts refer to virtual gifts like e-books, software and music files which you can purchase and instantly download from web vendors.

  Legal aspects of gifts

  At common law, for a gift to have legal effect, it was required that there be (1) intent by the donor to give a gift, (2) acceptance of the gift by the donee, and (3) delivery to the donee of the item to be given as a gift. In the United States and some other countries, certain types of gifts above a certain monetary amount are subject to taxation. See gift tax for more information.

  Tax deductibility for gifts

  Pursuant to , property acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or inheritance is not included in gross income and thus a taxpayer does not have to include the value of the property when filing for taxes. Although many items might appear to be gift, courts have held that the most critical factor is the transferor's intent. Bogardus v. Commissioner, 302 U.S. 34, 43, 58 S.Ct. 61, 65, 82 L.Ed. 32. (1937). The transferor must demonstrate a "detached and disinterested generosity" when giving the gift to actually exclude the value of the gift from the taxpayer's gross income. Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. LoBue, 352 U.S. 243, 246, 76 S.Ct. 800, 803, 100 L.Ed. 1142 (1956). Unfortunately, the court's articulation of what exactly satisfies a "detached and disinterested generosity" leaves much to be desired. Some situations are clearer, however.
  1. "Gifts" received at promotional events are not excluded from taxation:
  For example, Oprah's seemingly good deed of giving new cars to her audience does not satisfy this definition because of Oprah's interest in the promotional value that this event causes for her television show.
  1. "Gifts" received from employers that benefit employees are not excluded from taxation:

  clearly states that employers cannot exclude as a gift anything transferred to an employee that benefits the employee. Consequently, an employer cannot gift an employee's salary to avoid taxation.

  In addition, policy reasons for the gift exclusion from gross income are unclear. It is said that no justification exists. It is also said that the exclusion is for administrative reasons, both for taxpayers and for the IRS. Without the exclusion taxpayers would have to keep track of all their gifts, including nominal ones, during the year, and this would create additional oversight problems for the IRS.

  Religious views

  Ritual sacrifices can be seen as return gifts to a deity. Sacrifice can also be seen as a gift from a deity: Lewis Hyde remarks in The Gift that Christianity considers the Incarnation and subsequent death of Jesus to be a "gift" to humankind, and that the Jataka contains a tale of the Buddha in his incarnation as the Wise Hare giving the ultimate alms by offering himself up as a meal for Sakka. (Hyde, 1983, 58-60) In the Eastern Orthodox Church the bread and wine that are consecrated during the Divine Liturgy are referred to as "the Gifts". They are first of all the gifts of the community (both individually and corporately) to God, and then, after the epiklesis, the Gifts of the Body and Blood of Christ to the Church.

  See also

  • Alms
  • Altruism
  • Atonement
  • Charity
  • Debt relief
  • Gift
  • Gift tax
  • Gift wrapping
  • Giving circles
  • Random act of kindness
  • Red packet
  • Regiving
  • Souvenir
  • TANSTAAFL
  • Xenia
  • Gratis versus Libre

  Further reading

  • Marcel Mauss and W.D. Halls, Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies, W. W. Norton, 2000, trade paperback, ISBN 0-393-32043-X
  • Lewis Hyde: The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property, 1983 (ISBN 0-394-71519-5), especially part I, "A Theory of Gifts", part of which was originally published as "The Gift Must Always Move" in Co-Evolution Quarterly No. 35, Fall 1982.
  • Jean-Luc Marion translated by Jeffrey L. Kosky, "Being Given: Toward a Phenomonology of Giveness", Stanford University Press, 2002 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 0-8047-3410-0.

  External Links

  • Foreign Gifts Database, foreign gifts (whether tangible gifts or travel) received by members of Congress and their staff in the past decade.
  
  

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gift".

HOLLYWOODLAND A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** HOLLYWOODLAND, a film noir run at half speed, features an awkward and jarringly bad performance by Ben Affleck -- Remember DAREDEVIL? -- as George Reeves, the actor whose sole claim to fame was as the man who played Superman on television. The movie's two parallel stories, which unfold at a tepid pace, concern the events leading up to the death of Reeves, as well as the investigation -- or lack thereof -- into the circumstances of his demise. While kryptonite could easily be ruled out as a cause, since Reeves had a bullet through his brain, everything else, except suicide, was quickly ruled out as well. Adrien Brody (THE PIANIST) gives a moody reading of Louis Simo, the private detective who investigates the case under contract to Reeves's mom. The two of them appear to be the only ones on the planet who see the obvious clues that it wasn't suicide. Brody overplays...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: Hollywoodland (2006)
HOLLYWOODLAND
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes



RATING (0 TO ****): **



HOLLYWOODLAND, a film noir run at half speed, features an awkward and
jarringly bad performance by Ben Affleck -- Remember DAREDEVIL? -- as George
Reeves, the actor whose sole claim to fame was as the man who played
Superman on television.



The movie's two parallel stories, which unfold at a tepid pace, concern the
events leading up to the death of Reeves, as well as the investigation -- or
lack thereof -- into the circumstances of his demise. While kryptonite
could easily be ruled out as a cause, since Reeves had a bullet through his
brain, everything else, except suicide, was quickly ruled out as well.



Adrien Brody (THE PIANIST) gives a moody reading of Louis Simo, the private
detective who investigates the case under contract to Reeves's mom. The two
of them appear to be the only ones on the planet who see the obvious clues
that it wasn't suicide. Brody overplays his hand as a broody and melancholy
PI who keeps getting beaten up for asking the wrong questions.



UNFAITHFUL's Diane Lane gives another spotless performance. Playing Toni
Mannix, a.k.a. Mrs. Mannix, Lane gives middle age women everywhere, even
those cheating on their husbands, a role model for grace and beauty. As
Eddie Mannix, the tough guy villain of the piece, Bob Hoskins rehashes a
role he has played so often before. Eddie doesn't mind his wife running
around, since he does it too. A studio exec with a fistful of money and
plenty of goons working for him, Eddie has no problem with Toni using Reeves
as her boy toy. Toni lavishes Gifts on the struggling actor, including a
new house, where they play house regularly.



Never claiming to be even inspired by a true story, the movie liberally
mixes conjecture with fact in such large doses that it is never clear what
happened.



What the movie gets right, perhaps to its own detriment, is the 1950s period
setting. Every stick of furniture and every article of clothing appears to
have undergone meticulous research into its authenticity. But in a film
that is about a half hour too long, this in-our-face history lesson of that
decade's appearance leaves us spending more time contemplating the movie's
surface gloss than the story itself.



And, speaking of gloss. Do you remember the 50s? I sure do. As I recall,
the streets were not filled with convoys of cars all fresh from the showroom
floor, shining so bright with polish that they could cause instant
blindness. I believe dust and dirt -- and even cars from the 40s -- were
allowed.



HOLLYWOODLAND runs too long at 2:06. It is rated R for "language, some
violence and sexual content" and would be acceptable for teenagers.



The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, September 8, 2006.
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.



Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com



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