Well, hence the “.com” in its title, they do about 99.9% of their business via their website, which he could easily use. I mentioned that it’s in Chicago since you might enjoy patronizing a local Chicago business.
I’ve never seen one, but I swear a few months ago, a few of the boys were passing around a little nun doll who shot fire out of her mouth or something.
I actually thought it was kinda cool
http://www.mcphee.com/items/10354.html <-- there we go. nunzilla. shoots sparks out of her mouth. Just like a real nun. Now THAT’S a gift for a 17-year-old boy.
My nephew is the same age, although he’s such a hunting/fishing nut he’s easy that way.
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Cologne. It’s an expensive thing for a teenage guy to buy, and god knows he’s not going to want it from his mother. But from an older sister, or stepsister? That works; it’s a female ringing in with “this smells good to me.”
Well, except for the part where my family is a bunch of devout Jewish agnostics. ;j
It would have to be a PC-based game; his parents haven’t allowed him to get any of the freestanding game systems (believe me, he is easily enough distracted from homework as it is, and he gets a LOT of it). I’ve done it before, though - would have to investigate what game he’s jonesing for at the moment.
He does - he doesn’t drive, though, so the car hookup isn’t really an option, and he might already have the other stuff. A possibility, though.
This is NYC - high schools have metal detectors at the door. I’d hate to get my brother suspended, especially as my stepmom works for the General Counsel’s office at the Board of Ed. That would suck.
Maybe a music magazine - is there anything more geared toward hip-hop, soul, etc. than Rolling Stone?
My stepmom got him a paid LiveJournal account not long ago, probably hoping that he would write for fun, but he hasn’t been posting much - I think he’s swamped with school. Plus he goes through these weird periods when he deletes all his entries and starts over again.
I’m leaning toward something music-related, because it’s fun, yet constructive, and because he really seems drawn to it. Of course, that will probably doom his interest - a few years back he decided to take guitar lessons, so I got him a bunch of guitar accessories (capo, cool neck strap, that kind of thing), because supposedly he was going to take the rest of his birthday money and get a decent guitar instead of the crappy old classical guitar that my stepmom dabbled with some 30 years ago. Of course, he quit guitar not long after that. 
I’m going to take a wild guess (and try to screen out the mental visuals, because we are talking about my little brother, after all) that your average 17-year-old boy doesn’t require any additional encouragement in that department. 
Sorry if that came out sounding snippy - that’s what I get for posting while brain-dead. I will take a poke around there - thanks for the link.
Linoleum?
Not to mention issues with legality and health risk.
That, and well, I accept the fact that odds are pretty decent that my little brother will have sex at some point in his life, but personally I’m a fan of one’s first time in particular being with someone with whom one has a preexisting personal relationship.
(Hmmmm, now that I think about it, I suppose I shouldn’t assume it would be his first time, with what the stats are these days. But I think it would be, so far anyway.)
Oddly, he is a staunch defender of the intellectual property rights of musicians. I think it’s because at the moment, he wants to go into the music industry.
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor]
No.
A really, REALLY good Swiss Army Knife works/lasts better!
I got him a Swiss Army knife a couple of years ago for Hanukah. No idea whether he ever uses it.
I’m an 18 year old boy. I gladly accept monetary donations and gift cards. The only porn I’ll accept from a family member (or anyone, for that matter) is octopus/tentacle porn. Music is a tricky thing, since I have tastes where my family accepts music in depository form only. I also have never and hopefully will never have sex with a hooker. A dead body makes a lousy present.
The Yankees suck.
And if you are going to get him a knife, get him something with character. That way he can battle hardcore with other DJs if they be steppin’. I have a pocket knife and a few other blades, but my favorite looks like a jungle-fighting blade. Has finger guards and everything, perfect for a P.O.W. or your local back alley.
What are your local laws regarding Airguns?
I ask because in a lot of places, ANYONE can own one, and if there’s an age restriction it’s usually something low like 10 or 12.
You can get a good quality Air Rifle at a good price from a sporting goods store, and Air Pistols (especially Soft Air Pistols) are good, comparatively safe replicas ofr “real” guns which he can shoot in the garage/backyard.
(Insert standard joke about putting your eye out with BB guns here… 
)
A couple of tickets to a Yankees home game? Seeing as he’s a fan and all.
You can buy them online, choose seats and the whole bit.
I’ve thought of another brilliant idea. A gift that is so stupid, so juvenile, so annoying that any teenage boy would kill to own. I present to you: the AirZooka! And if your brother doesn’t love it, there is something seriously wrong with him.
Sorry about the radar detector post…didn’t realize he didn’t drive. Gadgety stuff is always cool. Palm TX is decent and can surf wifi for free. (The hard case will keep it from smashing and I can post a link for relatively cheap SD cards if that’ the way to go.)
A nice thumb-sized flash drive with decent storage capacity is a nice gift, given that disks are pretty much useless today. Also, IPOD has a boom-box type portable speaker system, so he can play all his music out loud (I’m old, but I remember that being fun at 17). I think that one is even available at COSTCO (like you have to tell him where you bought it).
Cash.
Or girls.
But at that age, I always appreciated cash above anything else. I know it seems harsh and impersonal, but it really is the gift he will appreciate most, since its likely that whatever else you get him will fall victim to the latest “cool”/“uncool” fad of the month.
Vibe or **The Source ** are options there.