Universal acclaim is greeting WALL-E, the daring new film from the Pixar animators who brought us Finding Nemo. And as with previous computer-hatched adventures The Incredibles and Cars (see the full collection here), programmers find this fable particularly well suited to video games. In the WALL-E game, which is available on all platforms, kids can go scavenger hunting for health-restoring sunbeams and forgotten cultural artifacts or just fly through space zapping debris. Games are just the tip of the product tie-in iceberg, of course, despite the fact that the movie’s theme is human overconsumption and the ecological damage done by limitless consumer goods: Kids seduced by the E.T.-like robot can buy either elaborate remote-controlled robo-toys or low-tech ones like this robotic arm; they can get themed bedspreads or read bedtime tales from a Little Golden Book. While this glut of goods may serve to cancel out the story’s eco-friendly message, marketers are expert at making adults feel joyless when the kids complain: After all, who could refuse a roomful of tykes wearing these (pictured) low-tech but heartstring-tugging WALL-E masks?

This week, millions of Americans will eat apple pie as part of their Fourth of July festivities. But apples are available in so many other yummy food products we wanted to share some of those online options with you. A truly indulgent gift from Wisconsinmade is the Gourmet Caramel Apple Gift Basket ($75), created by Amy’s Candy Kitchen. The basket holds one Belgian chocolate dipped caramel apple, one classic peanut caramel apple, a turtle caramel apple, three truffles, chocolate sandwich cookies and more. Less over-the-top, but also fun, is the “An Apple A Day Gift Basket,” ($42, pictured) from Designer Gifts, which contains apple cider, apple crisp, apple bread mix, and a magnetic notepad decorated with apples. Apple butter is a delicious and relatively healthy spread, which goes well with nut breads, banana bread and zucchini bread (certainly your neighbors have inflicted some zucchini on you this summer). Windy Hill Orchard and Cider Mill in York, S.C., sells pints of apple butter (with sugar, or sugar free) as well as pumpkin butter and strawberry butter (each jar is about $6). A butter box ($16.95) contains three pint jars of different flavored fruit butters. A 2-pound box of dried apples is $10. A bottle of dry apple cider, or of apple wine, goes well with many summer dishes, and Wandering Aengus Ciderworks of Salem, Ore. produces a variety of ciders for sale online. Pommeau, their apple dessert wine, is $40 a bottle, while the dry cider is $16 a bottle. One of the more unusual apple-related items we found is the giant apple strudel sold by Naegelins Bakery in New Braunfels, Texas (scroll down on the page to find it). This family-run bakery has been operating since 1868. Their strudel ($65.95) is more than 2 feet long and weighs 4½ pounds. Its apple filling is flavored with cinnamon, coconut and cherries. (Allow a week for delivery.) With a giant apple strudel and a bottle of apple dessert wine, you could be picnicking for a long time.

Each summer for six years and counting, carelessly groomed, long-haired overweight men in frumpy bathrobes and well-coiffed women dressed as spear-carrying She-Visigoths gather in Louisville, Ky. to bowl and sip White Russians – and what-have-you – in celebration of the prolifically inventive Coen brothers’ (Fargo, Raising Arizona) movie The The Big Lebowski. The film, which came out in 1998, was the first cult film of the internet age, according to the author of I’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski and What-Have-You ($13.72) and this article which will fill you in on all-things-Dude and why repeating the repetitive phrases in the film is part of the fun. If you haven’t met him already: The Dude. If you can’t make it to any of the Big Lebowski festivals this summer – voted one of the Best Summer Road Trips for 2008 by FHM and Maxim – get in the spirit by creating your own celebration. First, get the movie ($20), a recipe for White Russians and a rug that really ties the room together – I like the prices of these in the Andy Warhol series. You must have a Dude Abides T-shirt ($15) and take a look at these posters. Meet other Dudists at dudeism.com, which promotes self-help materials: All I Really Need to Know I Learned Watching The Big Lebowski and The Five People You Bowl With in Heaven. To find the best bowling ball for you, read over these reviews. Grab a ball Walter would love, the Purple Pearl, which one reviewer described as “not over aggressive,” or the Ultimate Inferno ($105) , described as the “most forgiving ball I ever owned.” When you are ready to roll, grab this Smiley Faces bowling bag (on sale $17) and be sure to have snake oil ($5 for 4 oz.) on hand. Of course, if you are a true Dude, you will do none of this – am I wrong?

“Life is difficult,” wrote M. Scott Peck in The Road Less Traveled. Some days are more difficult than others. The effect of stress on health is well-documented so it’s imperative that you find a reliable method for slowing down and relaxing. My tactic: Indulgence Day – kind of like spa day at home with truffles. It starts with a long soak in the bathtub, the at-home equivalent of a self-nurturing spa experience. Before sliding into the tub, light a scented candle. Le Cherche Midi ($50), is fragrantly reminiscent of an ocean-side retreat with beach grass and sundried driftwood and summer herbs. The appropriately named Ganesh Remover of Obstacles ($19.50) is scented with chamomile and lavender. A must-have is the Spa Sister bath pillow - or any number of other great at-home spa products at eBubbles. The pillows start at $7.50 and come in several soothing colors, including lavender. Consider this caddy with a magnified mirror ($65) for plucking eyebrows. Check out this caddy made with sustainable bamboo ($46.50, pictured), which has a place for your wine glass and a “Calgon take me away” girly book. Go to this site for a recipe for a cucumber face mask you can whip up in your kitchen and apply cold, straight from the fridge. Or head over to Perricone MD Pharmaceuticals for a firming facial mask and serum that promises to minimize the appearance of wrinkles and rejuvenate tired, stressed skin ($120 for set). Draw warm water into the tub and add essential aromatic oils and bath salts, including Therepe scented bath Salts (8 oz of Thai lemongrass ,$3). Use a long-handled bath brush ($125) to remove dead skin cells and invigorate the entire body.  After a nice long soak, dry off and wrap yourself in this fluffy Sonoma lavender spa robe ($135), made of soft microfiber plush, or the Diva Darling in pink ($68) with a shawl collar and generous patch pockets. Don’t forget the truffles (eight piece Godiva signature pack $16.50). Put on some relaxing music you love and breathe. Just breathe.

Remember back when the compact disc was new? It was such a novelty, in fact, that you were as likely to have to go to an electronics dealer or a maverick toy store to get one, rather than your favorite record shop. Back then, a huge percentage of the CDs I saw for sale were classical music. Why? Because classical fans are serious about quality, and many will invest cash and risk new tech in the pursuit of high fidelity. So it’s a little surprising that it’s taken this long for operas to make an appearance on Blu-ray. Regardless, the Opus Arte imprint is now officially ahead of the curve, with a line of operas in high-def now being distributed through Naxos. Among their earliest releases are Mozart’s crowd pleaser The Magic Flute, under the direction of Sir Colin Davis, and Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Highbrow videophiles who don’t do opera are finding titles to suit them as well, with the occasional ballet like Swan Lake hitting the Blu-ray format, while historical costume dramas such as The Other Boleyn Girl and performance-heavy imports like Saawariya (an Indian musical take on a Dostoyevsky tale) trickle out slowly. Fans of experimental composition, sadly, may have to wait a bit: as with a new documentary chronicling Karlheinz Stockhausen’s elaborate Helicopter String Quartet, those works are still relegated to standard DVD.

Before you spray insect repellent on your kids this summer, you might want to check the label. Many insect repellents marketed for families and children contain DEET. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics has approved the use of DEET on children, the Academy recommends only applying these products once a day, and not on children younger than 2. In addition, applying DEET repellents in combination with sunscreen increases the possibility of DEET having toxic effects on the child. One way to not have to worry about DEET is to use repellents made without it. REPEL, for example, is a plant-based lemon eucalyptus insect repellent, available from Basegear in 4-ounce bottles for $7. This solution repels mosquitoes and deer ticks for up to six hours. REPEL has a very strong lemon scent; and it needs to be carefully applied to the face to avoid eye irritation. Bite Blocker is another good repellent which does not contain DEET. Bite Blocker’s herbal insect repellent spray, which works for up to 8 hours, contains soybean oil, geranium oil, coconut oil and vanillin, among other ingredients. Bite Blocker wipes contain that same repellent, and are safe for all ages. Burt’s Bees Insect Repellent contains eucalyptus and lemongrass oil (Burt’s Bees is well-known for their natural, child-friendly products). REI sells this repellent in spray form for $8. Avon has been very successful with their Skin So Soft Bug Guard line, some combined with sunscreen, that are meant for the whole family. The Skin So Soft bug guard plus disappearing color sunscreen lotion ($12) is a clever way to protect kids from bugs and the sun. It comes out of the tube blue, but the color fades once rubbed into the skin. That blue color makes it more fun to put on, a useful thing if your child is cranky about putting on lotions. There’s also a Bug Guard Plus regular version, which is white.

Sure, it can stylishly match your swimsuit. And it’s functional when you want to wear something a little more appropriate for public viewing than just your swimsuit. But the true purpose of the swimsuit cover-up, ladies, is to hide the parts of our bodies we are less confident about showing – and for many of us that means our entire bottom half. You can’t go wrong with a long sarong. Check out the clearance sale at mytiesarongs.com, including these solid color rayon sarongs ($10.95) in fuchsia pink, milk chocolate brown and royal blue, and these delicate, embroidered hibiscus flower sarongs ($30). If you want more coverage, consider this stylish (but expensive) maxi ($608) available in yellow, pink and light green. If it’s your tummy or torso that you want to camouflage, cover-up dresses by Diane von Furstenberg will surely make a splash: this one (on sale for $218) has small beads at the collar and embroidered circles at the hem, and this one ($164) has a modern starburst print and soft crochet detailing. The Asha string tunic ($122) ties in front, is made of rayon and has an olive stripe print. This knit beach dress ($68) is styled with an empire waist with adjustable drawstring and comes in yarn-dyed tonal solid black or mini gray or coral stripes. This colorful cover-up ($88) would work with a pink or white swimsuit, and it’s sheer, sexy and 100% silk. More modest is an over-sized caftan pullover (on sale for $39) with a tie-front keyhole neckline in textured mesh and cool cotton gauze. All-white is always all right, especially if the look resonates with summer trends as these two do: the UGG Australia Butterfly Beach Cover-Up with 3/4 kimona sleeves ($110) and this soft, airy linen number with gathers at the shoulders (on sale for $70), a tie belt with crochet loops and elbow-length sleeves.

Like cookouts, sunbathing and vacations, live music is a staple of summer. Get into the groove this season with the best concert-going gear on the Web. If you’re lucky enough to score tickets to a venue that permits coolers or picnic baskets, try the coastal basket from Picnicbaskets.com ($100, with free shipping).  The basket includes picnic supplies for four. Choose a gingham lining that’s red and white or blue and white. Igloo’s Playmate icy tunes gripper cooler (pictured) gets you jamming before the performer hits the stage ($66).  Hook up any MP3 player to this cooler, which is equipped with speakers and an amplifier. Stadium seating is often the norm for bigger-name acts like Bruce Springsteen or Coldplay. Keep your bottom comfy, while keeping your whistle, ahem, wet. The sippin seat has an internal flexible flask that holds 3 12 oz. cans worth of cold or warm beverages ($29).  Find your way back to your seat from the concession stand (or back to your car when the usher discovers your Sippin Seat) with this mini microbeam flashlight that attaches to any keychain ($20 each or 2 for $30). For those all-day outdoor gigs like Lollapalooza or Virgin Fest, sunscreen is a must.  MD Skincare’s SPF  30 individual towelettes are perfect for slipping into your bag and applying on the go (60 applications for $42).  Keep the sun out of your face and your head cool with one of the season’s trendy fedoras. This Spillane straw fedora from Urban Outfitters hits the right mix of cool and utilitarian ($28).  You never know when Mother Nature might unleash a thunderstorm.  Don’t be stuck scurrying for cover with thousands of fans : Be prepared with this stylish Marimekko “Ruusupuu” rain poncho ($75).  It comes with a small tote bag for easy storage.