We love the Monster Factory critters ~ remember that incredible Guster Music Video they made? Check out our visit to their "factory" in Toronto!

Adobe going into physical lens production? The Light Field Camera shooting from 19 lenses at once... being able to play with depth of field AFTER? *drooling on keyboard*... see the vid!

Desiree Palmen, a 44-year-old Dutch artist creates crazy clothing to hide in plain sight with.... wow.

Beautiful Angela Noonan print which is "an attempt to preserve and showcase the humorous sayings that add richness to Newfoundland culture and tradition." Stay where yer at till i come where yer to.

For those who camp - or use tent pegs - and need a bottle opener... here is a Tent Peg Bottle Opener from the kids at Red Flag Design

"My son had ideas of his own. Obay put a stop to that. From the makers of WhyBecauseISaidSo." - ads have been inescapable in Toronto! and thanks to a submission i found out who is behind it while i was posting pics!

Anneke van Bommel - i discovered her adorably cheeky 'Canadian' pieces at the freshly launched Souvenir Store in the painful "Come Up To My Room" event at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto

Quickly before i'm off to sleep... here are some quick pics from tonights Opening Gala for IDS08 (the Toronto Interior Design Show) - acrobats, chocolate radiators, the veuve/porsche vertical limit (in person!)...

Sorry it got a bit quiet today ~ i kind of spontaneously hopped a flight to Toronto for the weekend... to see some old designer friends and see whats going on at IDS08!

Inspiring deep sea species in antarctica have just been discovered! Take a look at some incredible pictures of these new (and perhaps VERY old) creatures...

More art coming out in support for Obama ~ this time Upper Playground and the Date Farmers created a campaign poster to be mass-distributed on offset posters throughout Texas... and limited editions for sale.

Music made from all the crazy apple system noises! And full garage band file available for you to have your way with as well. From 'The Cleverest'

Remember Strega Nona's Magical Pasta Pot, and when Big Anthony has pasta everywhere? Here's the installation: Heute bleibt die Küche kalt, wir gehen in den Wienerwald by Marlene Haring, 2004...

Freshly unboxed ~ i just received Arkitip Issue 0044 ~ with the black glossy viewmaster and reels... and magazine too. Gorgeous! (and yes, i'm a bit giddy)

Alessi's 2008 Spring/Summer collection is here ~ and this is a beautiful bottle opener from the Alessi founder's great grandson! Pop-Up

Hybrid-Home Limited Edition Large Print Visible Ghost by Brian Flynn... glows in the dark!

Corolla the X - 10th edition... that's some crest... for the Toyota Corolla campaign. Microsite looks like its for a silly reality tv show... They even have a society of Blue Bloods... the car doesn't seem to fit in well?

Ooh our friends at Radar are doing free T-shirts to share the love! "Send us an email with your size (mens or womens from Small to XL) along with your address, and we'll ship one right out! " + Share pics at radar!

I'm a bit unclear what this "Streams" campaign for absolut by TBWAChiatDay, NY is trying to say, but everyone i've shown it to seems to think one thing...

Scot Hampton has made a camera from the iPhone box... the iHole!

Nothing like a good button paradox... RED: the blue button is true. BLUE: the red button is false. From Slevin11... although not political, i'd like to pair these with a "vote" button.

Awesome Aperture Science Portal Buttons with signage/stick figures doing all kinds of craziness in black and white ~ from Slevin11

RIP Heath Ledger tees from Cyana - Limited Edition T-shirts in loving memory of Heath Ledger [10% off with code 'notcot' until 3/20/08]

Use what nature gave you ~ natural pivot points in your wrist and elbow for your sketching... nice Sketching Quick Tip from Allan Macdonald

Typography meets fruit at Balla Dora Typo-grafika.

Here is a bizarre site i couldn't stop clicking on this morning, where you just keep getting more adorably bizarre barack-isms?

Black messenger bags that are sleekly designed and ridiculously packed with features! Latest ones coming from Incase ~ with "faux fur lining", removable laptop sleeves, molded skate bumpers and more.

Kengo Kuma's beautiful inflatable tea house for the Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt. The structure's double membrane has built in LED lights and can also be used to for heating.

Will Murai has some gorgeous illustrations ~ Here's his What's Yo Flava print in Strawberry ~ wander through the portfolio.

Happy 50th to comic B.C. by Hart! Fun to see how they've evolved from their "parade float" days.

Frank Chimero's "The States" project "is meant to be a personal exploration in 2D form and also a way to exercise the creative muscles, without necessarily being too concerned with content or concept."

A Fishing Kayak you can STAND UP on

Sweet cloth physics simulator - complete with fan/width/length... fun to play with!

Shiny metallic leather on the outside ~ naughty kama sutra satin printed lining on the inside ~ Anya Hindmarch's Small maud clutch.

Also from the GE Ecomagination world ~ great tv ad on desalination (where bottled water is 'fished' for by some hardcore Norwegian fisherman to inspiring music)

GE has a beautiful series of Blueprint Ads as part of their print campaign for Ecomagination. Nice infographic overlays on natural settings to get you thinking.

XKCD gives us a reason to read title text... because there are so many places to hide things in the code... lost? Go see!

There's actually a tiny bit of backstory and meaning to that Incase Topo graphic they use on everything from the backs of iphone cases, to the press kit, to interior of their messenger bags...

Incase "a better experience through good design" ~ that's a pretty bold tagline... but you wouldn't believe how awesome their press kit is! See images of the full unboxing, and a sneak peek at the 2008 line.

Nordstrom and Ruben Toledo teamed up for an incredible Spring campaign ~ much like prada they did painted walls (and models!) for the backdrop in a playful black and white.

Here's a pretty new site, Movable Love ~ that looks a bit like NOTCOT.org! ~ only its dedicated to Movable Type blogs like NOTCOT.com!

Mmmmm Burlwood Chocolate Vault ~ 7 drawers of chocolate complete with temperature and humidity gauges

Ric Stultz ~ here is his "Pushing Each Others Buttons" ~ and far more playful paintings ~ many of which rather techy/gamery

On cute splashy totes for spring/summer, i'm craving this shiny silver ~ recycled sail totebag with rope handles, and a cute little anchor charm!

New to the bottled water market ~ Y Water ~ for kids, bottle designed by Yves Behar, and when emptied you can build structures out of them!

Demacker Design's Swing lounger is a fun fold up that looks like a comfortable rocker to catch some rays on.

Apparently YES Essential's stain-proof seats can be completely dunked in chocolate and cleaned easily... cute commercial