When you think of iTunes, Apple’s hugely successful online media store — it recently surpassed Best Buy and Target in music sales and is predicted to overtake Wal-Mart this year — it’s generally because you want to download the song of your choice for 99 cents or an entire album, television show, movie or audio book to your home computer. But you may not know about iTunes Essentials, a corner of the site where Apple’s music geeks compile set upon set of playlists to educate and enrich you, musically speaking. We’re not talking about just the obvious stuff. The Basics are there, of course, defined as “the biggest, best, and most important songs” of an artist, era, or genre. After that comes Next Steps, “when you’re ready to move beyond the hits.” If you’re the precocious type, you can skip ahead to Deep Cuts, where you’ll find the “criminally ignored” and “unjustly under-appreciated.” So, say you’ve started dating someone who loves ’90s Alt Rock, a genre you know nothing about. For a mere $24.75, you can own 25 of the Basics — like Jeremy by Pearl Jam (pictured) and Beck’s Loser to memorize and leave playing when your new pal comes over (you can buy single cuts for 99 cents each). At Next Steps, you can impress him or her by purchasing Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You, and if the relationship takes off, Deep Cuts has Sonic Youth’s Kool Thing and 24 others. Buy the complete set of 75 songs for your wedding; it’s only $74.25. The tunes are broken down into three sections: Artist Essentials, Genre and History (like ’90s Alt Rock) and My Groove, which includes movie hits, dance music and everything that won’t fit in the other two categories — I (heart) NY anyone? Tired of being the outsider when the “hip” people at the office start talking about music? Do some homework. Expand your tastes. Join the conversation.

Sometimes, it is possible to glimpse the angst of America with the simple click of a mouse. That would be a click that takes you here, to the page on Amazon.com where you can find the New York Times list of top 10 best-selling self-help books. Certainly, it is the time of year when many are soul-searching, casting about for answers to our burning questions. So why not start at the top of the list with The Dangerous Book for Boys, by Conn and Hal Iggulden? The book was a huge hit in Britain in 2006, and has been Americanized. It offers both nostalgia and guidance for renewing a “sense of adventure” in dads and their sons (like how to tie knots, write in invisible ink, revisit great adventures of the past and even how to “tan a skin” – try explaining that one to Mom). No surprise, then, that the Daring Book for Girls by Miriam Peskowitz is No. 4 on the list. It offers tales of great female heroes as well as the art of passing a note without getting caught. It seems that Americans feel we’ve failed to pass on timeless words of wisdom to our children (such as how to turn the perfect cartwheel). Number 2 on the list falls under the category of “searching for eternal youth” – You Staying Young – The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty. The book, by Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz (the latter a beloved and frequent guest on Oprah Winfrey’s show.) Their book explains how to “reprogram” our bodies and biological processes to stay younger longer, and even offers a 14-day plan to do just that. But perhaps the most telling of all is, at No. 6, Jim Cramer’s Stay Mad for Life – Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer).  The host of CNBC’s Mad Money program offers pearls of wisdom about investing at any age, how to save, how to spend and information on everything from college tuition to mortgages. After all, how American would this list be without a book on how to get rich?

This doesn’t look cool, or new, or even interesting. It looks like an old phone — the kind that had a cord. Oh, but looks are deceiving. This is the Telespy, a motion detector that senses if someone comes into your home, and then calls you to let you listen to what’s going on in the room. Sure, it’s good to have in case someone robs your house. But it’s even better for listening to your kids when you’re not home, or even hearing things your significant other might say. Not that you would do anything like that. Would you? We spotted it first in the tech/design blog ProductDose.com, but it’s sold by Smarthome for $84.99. It’s already so hot, they’re sold out right now — but they’re taking orders for more. By the way, it works like a real phone, too.

You thought nothing could ever replace that ubiquitous workplace tool, the stapler. It may be time to toss that red Swingline: This odd little plastic device is a staple-free stapler. It attaches up to five pieces of paper without using any of those nasty little metal pieces. Somehow, we’re told, this new age stapler cuts a small square in the paper, folds the little pieces in on themselves and tucks them into a paper pocket. It’s touted as environmentally friendly (although we’re not sure if saving the world from little pieces of metal is better than making more plastic devices) and it’s cheap at $5.99. The little stapler comes in a multitude of colors and there is even one that’s shaped like a purple kitty for the kids. We spotted it first on ThinkGeek.com, but you can also buy them at Wrapables.com (where they have a little pop-up graphic to show you how it works) or at Amazon.com.

The Think Fashion blog looks at what you need to be wearing this spring season. The 10 ideas range from from florals (”loose and swingy shapes”) to the feminine suits that have a modern shape. Check out the full list.

E-co Clothing, the UK’s new face of eco-fashion has launched its spring and summer organic clothes range.

Full story: easier

Okay, so you might be iced in at the moment. But it won’t be long before spring rains hit and the earth begins to warm. Here’s a way for avid and casual gardeners alike to collect that free water from the sky. Yes, it’s time you get a rain barrel. Don’t wait. It helps conserve water — no longer an elective action — and makes sense for anyone with flower beds or vegetable gardens. We like this particular 65-gallon rain barrel because even though it costs a little more than some others, it looks so good. Your neighbors won’t have anything to complain about. In sandstone or greenstone from Yardiac.

Hasbro Inc. announced that it has signed a licensing agreement that will launch an extensive apparel collection in Steve & Barry’s stores nationwide in spring and fall 2007. The deal includes 12 well-known Hasbro properties, the largest line-up that HPG has granted to any single licensee in the apparel category to date. The deal includes a wide variety of iconic brands such as Mr. Potato Head, Tonka, My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, Ttansformers, Candyland, Scrabble, Monopoly and Dungeons & Dragons. The agreement will result in a range of Hasbro-inspired apparel being featured at Steve & Barry’s, including T-shirts, hoodies, casual bottoms, sports hats and outerwear.

Full release: Business Wire