The heat, the humidity, the hurricanes, the roaches, the mosquitos, the traffic, the sprawl, the refineries, the pollen, the billboards, the short springs, the long summers. Houston, it’s worth it.

The Ufocap umbrella, which has no handle. Produced by Koryo in Seoul, South Korea. [Editor's Note: scary!]

This futuristic architectural design is shortlisted in an international contest to create a new observatory in Liverpool, England, reminding us that space-age proposals have a great way of stirring the imagination.

Canon presents 'neoreal' - this will be a large exhibit held at the triennale di milano that will show off the work of japanese designers tamae hirokawa, junya ishigami, hikaru mori.

Beautiful destruction/sculpturing of books by Nicholas Jones ~ check out this great interview with him by design files.

This is a collection with almost all the Unilever Heartbrand logos, the name differ from country to country but the symbol is always the same. Look for Kwality Wall's logo. Why is it the only one different?

Optimizing passive solar gain and using untreated local wood are just a few of the ways that this sustainable home on Lake Laka in Poland has earned the moniker CO2 saver.

NotNeutral's Transport Quilt for kids makes adorable use of stitching... found this at the new "feel more human" modern design shop!

No more green and new cups for S*Bux...my chai still tastes good. :)

No design studio is complete without one: the history of the Herman Miller Aeron chair

Really cool new initiative by Converse and Pepsi. In May Pepsi cans will be coming with a miniature Converse sneaker cellphone charm. Overall there are 12 of them - happy collecting!

Big time controversy and calls for a boycott after Absolut runs an ad in Mexico depicting the country's borders prior to the American-Mexican War of 1848.

Their fire can't be extinguished, even by wind, as this evocative Zippo advertisement shows. Agency is FP7 Doha, Qatar.

Anthro eNook gets knocked off by ikea... and then they slide the price from $399.00 to $39.99... STILL a knockoff... but also still an interesting charging/laptop station solution.

“Black and White” promo video by Julien Vallée for a division of Bleublancrouge Montreal’s agency ; BW.

This beautifully quirky, Lego brick inspired desktop calender is sure to brighten out any office space and can be arranged at will (just like real Lego).

We are sending out mini accordion file folders. Take them with you and fill them up with your personal objects - receipts, ticket stubs, lists, Polaroids, or anything else that defines you and your life. They will be put in a gallery in Atlanta.

Knife hooks-coat hooks for the wall! Easy to install, simply screw in the handle and hang! Available in matte black only.

Animation artist Eliza Frye posts a new drawing on her blog every single day.

Kick ass illustrations for Numericable from visual designer Théo Gènnitsakis.

Another great twist on traditional looking toile or damask wallpaper is Dan Funderburgh's City park with it's parking meters and fire hydrant design. For flavor Paper. Available in 4 combinations.

Iris by Michaël Bihain is a coffee table that you can pile. It is made from a single sheet of steel and comes in black or white. [Editor's Note: looks like a lesser version of Ross Lovegrove's in #9166]

Lenovo, a Chinese based computer company, designed the 2008 Beijing Olympics torch.

Tame is a concept that sets a status message synced with all of your devices and applications. If you’re driving or need some privacy, you can tell Tame to handle auto-responses to your phone, IM, text, Facebook, and more.

noisy fish? great nytimes interactive on bioacoustics in fishes!

Doc, a modern sofa with a removable cover, from resource furniture converts into bunk beds with a built-in ladder. What a great space saver!

Frances Whitehead and James Elniski's house in Chicago was built using a number of green technologies.

This commercial for Molotow's new 'Masterpiece' marker is stunning and beautifully scored. It features graffiti writer BATES from Copenhagen.

This.is.so. COOL! Print your own tattoos.

Arkitekhus is a firm building and selling houses designed by some well-known Swedish architects - Thomas Sandell, Claesson Koivisto Rune, Gert Wingårdh, and Tham & Videgård Hansson. Gorgeous stuff.

Francis Ford Coppolas Encyclopedia Wines are coming...watch the videos and begin your discovery into the World of Wine here...

Designer Diddo Velema produced some high-fashion gas masks. Pretty awesome. [Editor's Note: these are not associated in any way with any luxury brands, etc]

GET OVER IT - Wouldn’t it be great if you could do something about regret? Well, you can’t. But you can share your experiences anonymously to a mostly sympathetic public and let the damn thing go.

"Viktor & Rolf House" - The brand new Viktor & Rolf Website

i kind of like the idea of a quiver of wine. an easy way to carry a bottle to a picnic from graf & lantz.

Business cards can be rethinked in a very original way. This advertisement breaks the 2-dimensional space of the paper to catch the potential customer.

Anne Adams - "The ABC's of Invertebrates" - The artist who did these designs suffered from a form of dementia that heightens artistic ability; the designs have an interesting, very mathematical aesthetic.

tekkonkinkreet movie is one of the finest manga of all times, the musica was composed by PLAID, check out all the backgrounds they are unveliebable, i just love how they jump all the time

Think - Draw - Make - Less we forget...the most famous design ethos and process that everyone seems to forget to follow. This site serves as a living reminder for us all.

Banksy's Bristol Home Sweet Home is a new book on the UK artist and his background. Interesting analysis on whether he will stay celebrated or if current market prices will stay up or if its just hype!

Unscrew America - a really cool site promoting the use of LED lighting. Great design in a funky unique kind of way.

Guillermo Cuellar's handmade pottery is minimalist while still managing to be warm and tactile. Really beautiful!

gro design's awesome fusball table , entirely machined out of acrylic and aluminium, a delightful piece of design and a refreshing take on a really old game...

Tee featuring 28 different internet memes from “All Your Base” to “Chocolate Rain”.

K109 - Liberty City's The STUDIO - with DJ Karl - while #9784 takes you to the article... this link takes you to a preview of the actual GTA station preview! Pretty funny stuff...

Karl. Karl Lagerfeld. In GTA IV.... with his own RADIO STATION. I suddenly feel less silly having pre-ordered the crazy pack from #4944... also link to the actual station at #9785

A patio house on a corner plot in Catalunya, Spain by H Arquitectes.