Phone-y Insurance

Whether salvaging data from a smashed cell or proactively copying your contacts before your belongings are stolen, backing up your phone is a chore far more important than paying taxes or flossing. Save your time and sanity with the Phonebook Flasher.

The Flasher is a purpose-built USB drive that plugs into your cell and backs up your numbers, like you regularly do with your computer. Depending on your cell model, one end will connect to either a SIM card innie or a direct-to-phone outie; either way, just plug in and copy contacts to the onboard memory. The drive's capacity is 10,000 and if you have more friends than that, you're cool enough that they'll call you if you lose your phone!

Boys Night-Lab Out

Let me just say, I love the Night-Lab, and I love to boogie, but that's not my point!

I have just stumbled upon the very cool site Night-Lab and I feel compelled to share it with you. Night-Lab is Ryan Baudoin's online men's store focusing on design, concept, originality, and style. Being a former art magazine editor, Ryan hand picks independent artists products from all over the world to showcase on his site.

My favorites are the Bob Ross tee (pictured above), the Snap-A-Party, an all-in-one kit with a dinner plate, utensils, and chopsticks that snap out model-car-style, as well as the Backwards Clock that will be very useful if you ever need to turn back time.

Although Ryan has geared Night-Lab towards men, his friend Amy has plenty of finds geared towards women at Day-Lab. I guess men and women are as different as Night and Day!

Do You Have An iDea?

I like spoofs, particularly ones that involve pretty websites. While I'm not exactly sure what possessed SBD (who by all accounts should be terribly busy with their nice list of clients) to turn the napkin into an iSomething, we are pretty sure that it must have been something a little holier than your average demon, because the iDea site is just plain awesome. And plain silly. And I'm not going to spoil it any further. Just go!

Bensimon Says...

These simple sneakers produced by Bensimon are being touted as the French version of the flip-flop. You've got your tired old Keds, but here's what stylish French girls are wearing this summer.

The Environmental Club

Dancing all night can use up a lot of energy, or create it -- at least that's what a group of Dutch researchers hope when they're done with their Sustainable Dance Club. Based in the Netherlands, the researchers and architects are working on creating a club that will use solar power, wind turbines, low-energy-using LED lights, and rain water and clubgoers sweat (yes, you heard me correctly) to flush toilets. But the real innovation is to develop a dance floor that creates power out of the pounding feet of dancers. The dance floor would be embedded with sensors that would help generate electricity. For more information on this technique, check out the video that surfaced on YouTube. Who knew your awkward dance moves might be doing the world a favor, after all!

Tees Me

I just wanted to give a quick nod to this hilarious t-shirt that popped up recently at Threadless There’s not much to say about it that you can’t decipher by reading the blatantly clear message that is the shirt. I especially enjoyed the message because it reminded me of something that Penelope on SNL would say, and it echos my sentiment regarding the pretentious cloud that sometimes drapes over the music scene. As of now, there are plenty of guys ($12) and girls ($14) tees in stock, but something tells me there’s going to be a run on these!

Oh, Beehive

The hairstyle that Amy Winehouse is infamous for has inspired other celebrities like Britney Spears.

Not sure if this hair-raising trend is solely responsible by Ms. Winehouse cause you can't discuss beehives without talking about Hairspray.

But you know what they say, the higher the hair, the closer to God.

Toebesity

Toe tucks are the summer's cosmetic surgery fad. This sounds a bit like a story the plastic surgeons have created to drum up business, but whatever: Fat toes are out, and going under the knife for your little piggies is in.

I Smell A Rat

Animated movies always have products associated with them but the latest Pixar movie has produced merchandise that goes far beyond the usual fast-food restaurant tie-ins and themed bedroom sets. Ratatouille is about a Parisian rat with culinary aspirations has spawned a new line of cooking accessories for kids sold through Sur La Table. Even more interesting is the Ratatouille wine. The wine will be carried by Costco and is a 2004 white Burgundy from the Mâcon's Château de Messey. You can buy it starting on August 1 at Costco stores in 18 states for around $13. This may just be the first wine your kids encourage you to buy. I wonder why they aren't promoting cheese with this movie? Do you give a rat's ass marketing a chance?

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

Mashed potatoes, fries, potato salad. All are tasty and easy to make, but what keeps a lot of folks from even bothering with the real stuff, and headed toward the box or drive-thru is that peeling potatoes is generally not a fun task. Now with Tater Mitts, pebbly palmed rubber gloves peeling potatoes does not have to be a long, drawn-out affair. And priced under $20, these gloves make great gifts, cause like they say, it's the Tot that counts.

Blooming Business

Today, actually several hours ago, three ex-microsofters: Hillel Cooperman, Walter Smith and Jenny Lam launched They're Beautiful, their first "interactive experience" at Jackson Fish Market. If you think this is an actual fish market, you have some catching up to do.

They're Beautiful is a virtual florist where you can send bouquets electronically, but where this becomes an "interactive experience" is that you can keep your flowers in their greenhouse and stop by every few days to water them. Oh and if you don't - yes, they will start to wilt and eventually die. Confused? Click here for a step by step directions to send your first bouquet.

Thanks for the tip Monica. Please don't hate me because They're Beautiful!

What's The Dill?

When it is scorching outside, and you hear the jingle of the ice cream man, the last thing one would assume would come to mind would be “Gee, I’d like a pickle juice popsicle!” A Hopsicle, maybe, but pickles? According to the folks at Pickle Sickle, their frozen pickle juice popsicles are a hit here in Texas. Apparently Kool-Aid Pickles are all the new rage in New York too. So whether you like yours frozen, kool-aid infused, or even just like to drink the juice, you'll relish this sour trend!

Saving Some Dough

Rental cakes are the newest wedding industry trend. Many brides are choosing to rent an extravagent wedding cake made out of foam. Generally there is a space in the fake cake for one real slice of cake. After the bride and groom cut the cake, caterers whisk it away and serve up cheap sheet cake to your guests.

Talk about having your cake (of your dreams) and eating it too!

Slim Shading

They say the camera adds ten pounds, but what if it can take ten off?

The latest in digital camera technology from HP has a new "slimming" feature. Which means that with a few flicks of a button, anyone can look more slender - instantly.

And you thought photos don't lie!

You Go Girl, Scouts

Feeling irrelevant to modern teenage girls, the Girl Scouts are undertaking a massive overhaul, Phillis Nefler style. The organization recognizes that earning merit badges for cookie sales and embroidery doesn’t resonate anymore. Today’s girl scout wants high adventure. After two years of research and input from thousands of Scouts and volunteers, Girl Scouts USA heard the message loud and clear: Girls wanted an organization that would help them deal with everyday challenges such as bullying, teen pregnancy and divorce, as well as age-old problems such as peer pressure and self-esteem.

In related news: The Boy Scouts of America have been ask to stop bullying, knocking up and divorcing the Girl Scouts.

The Pop-Up Club

A couple months ago I read about the latest trend in pop-up establishments, the pop-up club. Much like a pop-up store, restaurant or hotel, the space can be constructed overnight and be gone before dawn.

Following in the success of Southern Comfort's SoCo Cargo Experiment, Kubrik is a modular open-air club located in Barcelona, Berlin and Lisbon for the summer. The club is an open construction of light-up plastic boxes that make up the walls, hallways, DJ station and bar.

Hand Tossed

Naughty pizzerias have popped up in NYC and Canada. If you live or plan to visit the NYC area, you'll be surprised to hear that Cordato's in the Financial District is now offering illegal lapdances for only $10. According to a hidden camera investigation on New York's CBS 2 HD news, Cordato's is a popular pit stop just blocks from ground zero, where construction workers and Wall Street traders frequent. Can you blame them really, because what guy doesn't want a piece slice of the pie...

Playing the Cloverfield

Everyone's talking about the trailer for JJ Abrams' top secret movie, tentatively titled Felicity: The Movie Cloverfield, which is being shown before the Transformers movie. Watch the pirated trailer here, or here. It's not coming out until January 18, 2008.

What's with not giving the name of the movie at the end of the trailer? Something tells me they are going for a major grassroots marketing campaign (ahem) Blair Witch. What do you think about the trailer?

Pushing (for) Daisies

Call me a television-ary, but I think ABC has a hit with their new Pushing Daisies sitcom due out this Fall. Pushing Daisies is a love story about a young man with a very special gift, the ability to return someone dead briefly back to life with just a simple touch.

So far the buzz is great. Is it just me or does this preview reminds anyone else of Amelie? Perhaps it's just me cause according to my friend Rose, I suck at analogies!

Brocabulary

New York magazine's Daniel Maurer, whose upcoming glossary of guyspeak -- tentatively titled Brocabulary -- makes clear there's more to being macho than watching Ultimate Fighting and drinking from the milk carton.

Words such as mancation (a male-bonding getaway), bromance (the platonic love between two "hetero life-mates") and power tool (a guy who has achieved wealth or status despite being a complete jerk) are the male language-lover's answer to driving a Mercedes, instantly communicating masculine savvy without giving the appearance of trying too hard.

Think of this book as your secret man-i-festo to guy talk, just don't broverdose on it.

New Office Space

A true confessions site devoted to the weird behavior of people at work. There's a lot of office anger out there. I'm worried about the dental assistant who admits to licking "the insides of the cups belonging to the patients I hate." or better yet, the IT Professional who doesn't know what Java is!

Do you have a confession to share? I promise I won't tell...

You Drive Me Crazy

Forget GPS—customers in ten major U.S. cities can now book professional chauffeurs for their rental cars. Car rental giant Avis has teamed up with WeDriveU, a private chauffeur service, to make this convenient new option available to Avis Preferred members.

With Avis Chauffeur Drive, fully insured and certified drivers, who know the ins and outs of local thoroughfares and can navigate city streets with ease, pick up customers in their rental cars from baggage claim or passenger loading zones, chauffeur them around town, and can drop them off and return their rentals at the end of their trip. There's no need to wrestle with maps and directions, and customers can get work done while en route to their destination, making the time savings alone worth it for business travelers in a crunch. And offering customers the best of both worlds: a driver for the part of their trip they need one, and just the car for the rest of the journey.

The service is priced at $30 per hour, with a 3-hour minimum, in addition to standard rental car charges—an estimated 35% less than customers might spend on standard car and driver services. Customers can reserve chauffeurs up to 24 hours in advance in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Post(er)-Its

This is why I love Capitalism. (1) See a niche, (2) fill that niche, (3) sell the thing that fills the niche on the internet. It really couldn’t be simpler.

The people at Genius Pad have mastered that formula. They have a product that’s so obvious it will make you smack yourself for not thinking of it first, and having a Genius Pad around the house is worth at least the $12 they’re charging for one. Basically, a Genius Pad is a very large post-it note (12 inches/30cm square). It’s the same yellow color as a post-it, and it’s got the same adhesive back thing going on. The difference is just the size and, more importantly, what all the extra space allows for. With a Genius Pad, ‘be back at 8' becomes ‘I’ll be back at eight. I just ran out to buy batteries and get a haircut. When I get back you’d better have your shit packed and out of my house.’ Or maybe you could just write ‘GET OUT’ in really big letters. Either way, you know it’s going to be more fun to have a bigger piece of paper. Cop your own Genius Pad at Megasticky.

Ice Cream, Man

Matt Allen, (pictured above) is a person known affectionately to many as “the Ice Cream Man”. Not to be confused with your local neighborhood purveyor, this ice cream man has what could confidently be stated as one of the best jobs of all time. Allen travels all over the nation to concerts and music festivals such as Bonaroo and Lollapalooza to dole out free ice cream and is financially supported through advertisers, sponsors, promotions, branding and merchandising. According to his Myspace page, he’s has handed out around 80,000 frozen treats, carrying a vast variety of favorites including neapolitan bars, chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches and nostalgia-inducing TMNT pops. His goal is to serve up half a million goodies. Check out his website for music and concert reviews, stories from the road and schedule updates. For those of you dying to bust out of your cubicle and go "slingin' the cream, livin' the dream," you can also volunteer to be a part of his team. Thanks to Allen, ice cream trucks are becoming a huge trend at hip events in major cities.

(w)Rapping Paper

Trying to find unique wrapping paper is no easy fete, until now. Allow me to introduce you to Si Hill designs, aka the inventor of rapping paper. The artist has simply taken two rap songs and made wrapping paper consisting only of their lyrics. Eminem features “My Name Is” while SugarHill Gang’s “Rappers Delight” is also there in the collection for your choosing. These have been a massive hit so expect a lot more to follow soon.

Green Card

If you hand in this business card to your clients, I’m sure that they definitely want to keep it on their table rather than keep in their pocket or dump it to the bin. Growing Business Card is an idea from Another Bloomin’ Designer, Jamie Wieck. The card works just like a miniature house-plant. Just dip in water, alfalfa or cress will grow. Talk about a budding talent!

Anything, Interest You?

What if I offered you a soda, but I couldn't tell you what kind it was, would you still want it? Singapore based beverage company Out of the Box is hoping that you will. Banking on customer apathy, they've recently launched two new brands of soda, Anything and Whatever. The Anything soda is carbonated and comes in Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer. The Whatever soda is non-carbonated and comes in Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea and Chrysanthemum Tea. The big catch is that you won't know which Anything or Whatever you're getting until you open the can. So what will ya have? Anything or Whatever?

Sand Script

Everyone who goes to the beach wants to make a statement. From the suit they wear to their footwear. Paolo Ulian’s print beach sandals design will have you getting all kinds of attention. These clever sandals have the words “Whoever Loves Me Follow Me” printed on the bottoms so when you walk across the sand, you leave a printed trail for any admirers to follow. Just be prepared for whatever follows you around the beach!

Lawn Chair

This eco friendly lawnchair incorporates sod into its steel and rubber design. It includes a watering system to distribute moisture efficiently. The design was made by f+bp architects in LA. Talk about getting to the root of good design.

Word of the Day: Smirting

The British coined a word, Smirting, for smokers flirting outside public places where smoking is banned, such as pubs and restaurants. There's nothing more romantic than huddling under a tiny awning on a rainy night, smoking cigarettes like a band of outsiders.

If you need a pick up line to use besides: Is your daddy RJ Reynolds? Cause you are smoking, try one of these...

Men(tos) At Work

This Summer Mentos’ intern isn’t just working for them: rather, the mint company has made college student, Trevor, available to the public. Like any good intern, he’ll do anything ranging from ordering your lunch and proofreading to calling in sick for you and creating party playlists. You can watch him live and can call or email him to put him to work. Just check his schedule to see when he’s available.

The Simpsons Life

As a promotion for upcoming feature The Simpsons Movie, 7-Eleven stores in 12 U.S. cities have been made over into Kwik-E-Marts, the convenience store from The Simpsons.

The stores will feature products such as KrustyO's cereal, Buzz Cola and other Simpsons-related merchandise. The stores will not, however, sell Homer Simpson's favorite drink, Duff Beer, because of the movie's PG-13 rating. The Simpsons Movie is due out July 27.

Trophy Wifes

A recent obsession with the beautiful significant others of top sports figures. This trend shouldn't be too surprising to anyone who went to high school.

In related news: the countdown has begun for Eva Longoria and Tony Parker's wedding. Apparently their lucky day will be 07/07/07.

Who is your favorite Power Couple?

Assvertising

Forget about Moons over My Hammy, today it's all about Moons over Broadway. A giant billboard of smiling butts comes to Times Square today. The new ad campaign for Toto's add-on bidet, the Washlet, is the latest example of butt advertising.

Clothes Minded

In simpler, pre-metrosexual times, getting dressed on the weekend was as easy as slipping on a Polo and jeans. Now, thanks to the late Cargo Magazine, you need to actually think about your weekend wear. Is this tee edgy enough? Dark green or light green shorts? Am I wearing too much H&M?

Relax, literally, with Distilled, a new menswear collection with a little West Coast edge. A leap beyond basic threads, Distilled infuses art with fashion. Each piece is a collaboration between founders Matty Merrill and Sep Kamvar, and rising artists. Look for unique materials and intricate details in every shirt, jacket and denim. Contributing architects, graphic and multi-media designers add something unexpected inside and out, whether it’s a hidden credit card pocket or a cutting edge illustration. The goods are also produced in limited runs of 300 which means you won’t look like the average Joe. Not that you would in this post-metro era.

Tattoo Taboo?

Always wanted a tattoo but too afraid of what your boss will say? Thanks to a fascinating new technique you can cover yourself in body art and no one will be the wiser, unless they see you in the dark, which is the only time these tattoos are visible. The new technique uses blacklight reactive ink, which is reactive to UV light. It's kinda freaky but imagine the fun you could have after dark.

Two Faced

You know the saying, what happens in Brooklyn, will be happening everyone else really soon. Brooklyn based HeadHoods is really turning heads (puns always intended) with some of his samples on the streets. According to their website, they will be coming to a hood near you soon. But my question is, would you wear one?

Lesbian Street Gangs

Fox News is reporting that lesbian street gangs are terrorizing American cities. Terrorist threat or every guy's wildest fantasy? I'll let you decide.

All I can say is I'm sure the police are working hard to lick the problem. (Sorry, sometimes I just can't stop myself!)

Aye Phone

Apple unleashes its latest yuppie/hipster crack this evening called the iPhone, heard of it? Before you pay someone to wait in line for you (the going rate is about $250), check the reviews that the gearheads at Gizmodo have been kind enough to compile into a matrix.

The Poster Service

You would have appreciated an invitation to the beach this weekend. But your roommate didn’t think to ask you. Maybe you’ll do some redecorating to get them back — er, pass the time.

While you’ve got the place to yourself, why not plaster the wall with a gigantic homemade poster of a sunset (or an offensive picture from the Web)?

All you need is the free, easy-to-use Rasterbator software. Run the program, upload any image, pick gonzo dimensions, and the rasterbated image will automatically be split onto multiple pages for B&W or color printing and reassembly. In no time, you’ll have a larger-than-life-size poster of the Amagansett sky (or your favorite porno scene). When the roommate sees it, you’ll share a laugh, and the printer will be taken out of your possession forever.

Bummer, since rasterbation is nothing to be ashamed of.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Hey Turbans: That's a wrap!

I believe the turban trend has finally died and apparently fashionistas have found a new trend to hype that could be even weirder: Meet The Babushka. As in, that thing your Russian grandmother wore on her head that looked like an oversize napkin. Or the one you wore in the chorus of your 10th grade production of Fiddler on the Roof. Now it's on the runway!

Will this trend have more legs than the turban?

Cereal Killer?

Apparently the future of cereal is in straw form. All I have to say is thank god cereal has finally become convenient! Now how long before someone comes up with edible pudding spoons?

Name That Baby...

It's no longer just a celebrity trend - people all over the world are giving their kids bizarre names. The pressure to come up with original names has gotten so high some parents are turning to baby-naming consultants.

A couple in New Zealand was recently blocked from naming their new son ... wait for it ... "4real". Yes, 4real, for real. Officials are still in negotiations about the name, but say that names beginning with a number are not allowed.

What's the worst baby name you have heard of?

Wash Your Mouse Out

I'm not going to ask you how your mouse got so sticky. But I'll tell you that if you had one of these, you wouldn't have to worry about a thing. The Belkin Washable Mouse ($30; Aug. 2007) is water-resistant and can be cleaned under the faucet by hand. The USB-powered optical mouse sports a touch-sensitive scroll pad for vertical and horizontal scrolling.

Hopsicles

Shaped for summer, a chef in Washington DC has created the beer popsicle, or more crudely, "beer on a stick". The chef at Rustico's has called the contraption a "hopsicle". The hopsicle was founded by accidentally putting a beer in the freezer, and like any non-metrosexual man, deciding to eat it rather than wait for it to melt like a sissy. The restaurant now claims that the frozen treat is selling "like hotcakes".

Ferm Believer

That whole psychedelic poster scheme you had in college went out of style, well, long before college. That those monstrosities still hang on your walls doesn’t bode well. Time to graduate to a new level of decor with wall stickers from Ferm Living. The easy-to-apply designs occupy lots of space, so they can serve as sole decoration for a room. For something that doesn’t scream “student budget,” try one of the nature motifs — like interlacing branches, hydrangeas, or sparrows. The super-tall shadow of a power line suits urban environments. Oh, and the fingerprint or fly-on-the-wall stickers (actual designs of houseflies) will definitely have you tripping out. In a more age-appropriate manner, of course.

Resort Where?

More news out of Las Vegas, a recent Businessweek article covered the groundbreaking of Echelon, a new $4.8 billion project on the Las Vegas Strip. Echelon will be located on the north end of the Strip. The Echelon will be a massive complex that is home to 30 restaurants, five hotels, four spas, two concert venues, a 300,000-square-foot shopping area, and a casino. The complex will include Delano and Mondrian boutique hotels and a 4,000 seat theater. This complex is also not going the condo-hotel route choosing to instead offer suites and hotels rather than condominium ownership. Echelon is schedule to open in 2010.

Have You Tried, Tryvertising?

Beauty companies are taking sampling and testing to a whole new level and their marketing departments have coined the term Tryvertising.

Bottom line: More free stuff for you!

Touted as Europe's first beauty testing program, recently launched Brand New You Tube sends subscribers a tube full of beauty products to test. By the way, the venture is related to Brand New You magazine, not the website YouTube.

Key, Bored?

It's not fun carrying around a full keychain — not only does it make for a massive bulge in your jeans, it can also damage your car ignition if your chain is too weighed down. The Keyport Slide ($TBA) promises to alleviate this situation by offering you a simplified housing that holds all your keys. The universal key fob keeps your keys secure in a small, car remote-sized package. Just don't lose it.