Because the thought doesn't always count

Few events will land you in the dog house faster than forgetting to buy that special someone a present at the holidays, except accidentally knocking over a table of cursed rings that cause you to turn into a shaggy Bratislavian sheepdog. Helping you avoid at least the former, Selling the Lie.

The devious brainchild of -- who else -- an attorney's wife, STL's a no-hassle online service that, for $5, sells negligent gift-givers a phony backstory in the form of fake receipts/back-order/cancellation notices from fictitious-but-believable web boutiques, buying those slackers time to get a real gift, or if they're feeling really generous (and have Prodigy), a real GIF. Here's how: order the present you'd like to "buy" (not in stock right now: brown leather hobo bags, white gold half-karat diamond earrings, and traditional wool peacoats) and add in authenticity-helping giftee-pertinent details (size, color, etc.); STL'll then send a fake invoice for said gift, followed shortly by a second back-order notice, before finally pulling the plug entirely with a cancellation/refund message sometime after the holiday, though hopefully not on the 26th, because no one wants to ruin her South Australian Proclamation Day, too. And in case you're dating an Internet savvy Nancy Drew who might, say, check the site, fret not, as all of the faux e-boutiques will appear to be down due to "maintenance" or "high traffic", also what Paul Walker calls Soderbergh's drug film to distinguish it from the stopped-cars kind.

Because you rarely just forget gifts at Christmas, STL'll be rolling out new holiday-specific "retailers" throughout the year, like flower shops for V-Day -- perfect for ensuring you spend it out of the dog house with your lady friend, preferably listening to Shaggy, dog. It Wasn't Me!