Wishlist (Laura Jalonen)

My Mother Wears Combat Boots: A Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us by Jessica Mills

2008-09-08T00:00:00Z

Book -- £6.66

Scrubs: Complete Season 5 [2006] [DVD]

2007-07-08T00:00:00Z

DVD -- £9.84

"I'm gonna have a good year, aren't I?" J.D. (Zach Braff), now an attending physician at Sacred Heart Hospital, asks in the fifth season's opening episode. All vital signs are good (the series did receive an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy), but longtime Scrubs fans may be forgiven a sense of déjà vu, from J.D.'s whimsical reveries to Dr. Cox's (John C. McGinley) increasingly tiresome rants. The series itself acknowledges the palpable sense of been there, seen that with the clever episode "Déjà vu, Déjà vu." But don't pronounce Scrubs dead just yet. Directed by Braff, "My Way Home," the series' 100th episode, is a brilliantly conceived homage to The Wizard of Oz with J.D. and company finding their hearts, brains, and courage. Another powerful episode that shows a welcome maturity is "My Lunch," in which J.D. at last has lunch with his reluctant mentor, Dr. Cox, in the wake of a patient's death (happily, the music rights were secured for the DVD release so that the Fray's "How to Save a Life" is playing on the soundtrack when Dr. Cox has his own tragic setback), and the follow-up episode, "My Fallen Idol."

While Scrubs has a tendency this season to get "more ridiculous" (in one episode, Neil Flynn's Janitor defies Ken Jenkins' Dr. Kelso to secretly keep a crow in the hospital), the scalpel-sharp writing affords Braff moments that are, in his character's own words, "classic Dorian." In the episode "My Half Acre," he mixes his sports analogies to tell Elliot (Sarah Chalke), "What's waiting for me in my room is what's known, in football terms, as a slam dunk," as he mimes hitting a tennis ball. Mandy Moore, displaying a surprising knack for physical comedy, follows Tara Reid and Heather Graham as a fleeting love interest for J.D. Other character milestones include pregnancies for Carla (Judy Reyes) and two other characters best left a surprise. Good for whatever ails season 5 are this set's extras, including an entertaining series retrospective, featuring interviews with the cast and creators, as well as commentary by Braff for an extended cut of "My Way Home." --Donald Liebenson

Programming PHP by Rasmus Lerdorf

2007-07-08T00:00:00Z

Book -- £16.41

Coauthored by its creator, Programming PHP is a nitty-gritty guide to PHP development. PHP is an open-source scripting language used to build dynamic Web sites. In this title, the authors go step-by-step through the language, including brief coverage of common applications such as graphics or database work.

The first six chapters explain PHP essentials, including data types, functions, string manipulation, arrays and objects. Next comes a look at basic Web techniques, followed by an introduction to database access. There is a chapter on generating graphics with the GD extension library and another on creating Adobe PDF documents. The authors then show how to parse XML, and there is a section on security with some handy tips for protecting PHP sites. A chapter on application techniques looks at code libraries, performance tuning and handling errors. Next there is an explanation of how to build extensions to PHP using C, followed by a look at Windows issues such as COM and ODBC. Finally, there is a complete reference to the standard functions in PHP 4.0.

This is not an advanced programming book, but even experienced coders will discover new things about the language and get a clearer understanding of how PHP works. The specialist chapters such as those on XML or PHP extensions tend to be introductory, so readers will need further resources. For example, the database section is short, and would be best read alongside Web Database Applications with PHP and MySQL or another book with more detailed database coverage. Even so, this is a strong hands-on title that PHP developers will want to keep close at hand. ----Tim Anderson

Ride On Wheelie Bug - Ladybird

2007-06-06T00:00:00Z

Toy -- £59.95

reGeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow by William A. Ewing

2007-02-22T00:00:00Z

Book -- £44.31

Wall to Wall: 100 Great Treatments for Vertical Surfaces by Linda Barker

2007-02-10T00:00:00Z

Book -- £0.01

Tying the Perfect Parcel by Rosemarie Jarski

2007-01-23T00:00:00Z

Book -- £3.18