[The following post was written by the smart, savvy and totally rad ladies over at SomeoneSpoilMe.com]

August is here and it’s time to gear up for back-to-school.  In preparation, we, the gift experts at SomeoneSpoilMe.com, have compiled our list of the Top 7 Products Every College Student Must Own. This includes the latest gadgets for dorm rooms, cool devices to take to class and sentimental items to make home seem not so far away.

Video Camera Pen
Yes, we are serious.  This James Bond-like device can record up to two and a half hours of footage! While it may look like a ballpoint pen (it is), it has a built in video camera that records video and audio. It’s great when attending lectures.  If you need a bathroom break, leave behind the Video Camera Pen to record what you have missed!
Read more… $130

USB Classical Fan
The dorms are always sweltering in the summer and, depending on where you go to school, can be throughout the whole year.  You can bring your own cool air with the USB Classical Fan.  Whether studying or just hanging out, plug it in to your computer to help keep your dorm room cool.
Read more… $25

Ceiva Digital Photo Frame
The further college is from home, the more you will appreciate the Ceiva Digital Photo Frame.  Unlike a traditional digital photo frame, your family back home can remotely upload the pictures they want to share with you.  If you can’t fly home for Grandma’s 75th birthday, you can still feel like you were a part of it when the photos upload to the frame in your room.
Read more… $128-$199

Flip MinoHD Camcorder – Personalized!
The FLIP camcorder has been voted the best pocket sized camcorder on the market.  It is easy to use and records in high definition. The best part about it…you can personalize the outside with your favorite photo!
Read more… $230

Logitech Webcam Quickcam
You can talk in person to friends and family every day with the Logitech Webcam Quickcam.  It works with Skype, instant messenger or iChat and is really easy to use.
Read more… $44

Noon Solar Bag
The Noon Solar Bag is a great alternative to the traditional backpack.  It has a solar panel on the back so you can charge your phone and iPod when on the go.  Simply expose the solar panel to sunlight while outdoors or through your dorm, class or car window and you will never be without power.
Read more… $377

GPS Homing Device
If you have a bad sense of direction, then the GPS Homing Device will be your new best friend. It helps you find your car in an unfamiliar parking lot or can help you find your way back to your dorm room (after a night of parties).  Push a button to mark the location you want to be able to get back to (your car or room), and while you are out the device will point its way back to your stored location.  It’s great if you are starting at a new school or moving to another part of campus.
Read more… $80

For more innovative products and college gift ideas, visit SomeoneSpoilMe.com.

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Remember when you started college and you got a bunch of cool new stuff? Everything was shiny and new and you were off on a great adventure. A lot has changed since then. Now you’re all disillusioned by jerky professors and “real world” problems. Oh, and your laptop is an antique.

Many of you are thisclose to the end of your college days [weep], which means it’s time to upgrade your shiz for the next phase of your life. But what do you need? And which products are the best?

Look no further; I’m here for your graduating shopping needs. I can’t teach you how to survive out there – because I’m a few credits away from that awful place – but I can help you with that graduation wish list to hand off to the parentals.

Please hold your applause until the end.

1) New computer

You seriously probably still need one of these if you kept the same one for all four (+) years of college. No matter how much you loved that thing, the fact that it weighs 11 pounds and burns your legs when you’re using it means it’s time to let it go. Most real worlders will be spending most of their time at work, so your laptop doesn’t need to have as many bells and whistles as it used to. The mini book is slightly limited in its uses, but it’s small and cute and totally portable. And it can get you onto Facebook, iTunes and AIM, so what more do you need?

If you want something fancier, go with the MacBook. It has a built in camera that will let you chat face to face with your friends, which will be perfect for re-creating the weekend Morning After Recap from afar.

2) Smart Phone

You’ve wanted a Blackberry/iPhone/G1 forever, and now is the time to go for it. You are going to be hella busy out there in real life, so having your calendar, email, phone, music and Facebook updates all coming with you wherever you go is imperative. Especially when you want to sneak out of the office for some happy hour drinks without missing any messages from the boss man.

3) A year subscription to Xbox Live

Ok, this seems random and it will only work if you actually play 360, but the real world is stressful and you’re going to need something to de-stress. Since your friends will mostly be spread all over the country, this is the best way to keep in touch… while owning them in the game.

4) A GPS system.

If you’re moving to a new place for that sick new job (which, by the way, is a major accomplishment in this economy), you are going to need to know where to go. You could stop at the gas station every day to get directions (and a Diet Coke), or you could put this puppy on your dashboard and get everywhere you need to go on time. This will also come in handy when you want to road trip back to school for homecoming, or take a weekend drive to reunite with the roomies.

5) A Flip Cam

Personally, I think everyone should have one of these to document the most memorable (or drunkest) moments in undergrad, but if you haven’t forked over the cash for one just yet, get granny and gramps to do it. This camera is smaller than your regular digi, but holds up to 60 minutes of footage and just fits right into the USB port of your computer for easy uploading. Pair that with iMovie on a MacBook and you could be a YouTube sensation (or superstar among your friends) in no time.

The real world is scary, but fun new toys make it so much more fun.
Good luck out there! (Now you can clap.)

Upon arriving at home to a comfy bed, clean shower, and lots of home cookin’, we immediately headed out to the bar to enjoy the Biggest Bar Night of the Year. We are using the term “enjoy” loosely, of course, because the evening was really just a night of awkward conversation and not enough alcohol. (Funny, that sounds a lot like Thanksgiving dinner when our bf met our parents.)

We loaded up on the carbs at Thanksgiving dinner to prepare for today’s Black Friday shopping spree, and besides a few broken nails and a black eye (on that bitch who tried to grab the last Flip Cam),  things turned out OK.  We came home with the perfect gift for our roommates, got some hot new jeans, and a really cute scarf to cover the hickey our BF left on the most obvious part of our neck.

Now it’s time to enjoy the rest of the weekend…and all the Thanksgiving leftovers.

Last night, while on the phone with my 30 year old brother, who might I preface this article with, is one of the most conservative people I know.

There is quite the age gap between us and he spent my college years lecturing me on why I should never drink the punch, how beer is actually made out of yeast-piss and how that everything I wear, even if it’s a birka or a burlap sack, is too provocative.

So imagine my surprise when he sent me to a porn site.

“Um, I’m sorry, are YOU of all people, sending me to a porn site?”

“Just do it and watch the video in the center, its funny”

Now let me warn you- to be fair- that this is far from funny. If throwing up my dinner is considered funny, then yes, I guess calling this funny would be appropriate. So as I sat there screaming on the phone, my brother and sister-in-law were in fact, highly amused.

Funny is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

And while this video left me rather queasy- what is funny, are the reaction videos that are taking You Tube by storm. Nothing says “I punked you better than Ashton Kutcher ever could” like tricking your friends into watching this, filming them heave and gag solely for your comic relief and then posting it on You Tube for the world to see.

One radio station told a rapper, they would give him 100 dollars if he didn’t look away

One guy didn’t get the rage that this video was causing, so he filmed himself watching it for the world to see…

There is something to be said about watching others get so incredibly grossed out.

So go ahead, grab a flip-cam (what a great invention) gather around some of your closest pals and start shooting.