The Newton is another stunner of a watch from the crew at Nixon. I like the how the two ‘electrons’ whirl around the center. The look is reminiscent of imagined space travel gear by 1960′s Italian designers.

I love, LOVE this project by Loris & Livia. I am totally guilty of throwing my clothes on a chair before going to bed – the Side Chair is an elegant, multi-functional solution to my problem. You can hang your clothes from the top of the chair and use the lower bar for a pair of pants or an umbrella…Plus, I love the unusual proportions. I want.

Via TORC.

I love that Lebbeus Woods has a blog. A recent post provides a peek into his imagined world for Alien 3 under the direction of Vincent Ward, before David Fincher took over. It sounds like the stories diverge after the initial concept of isolated religious colonies in semi-abandoned facilities. Massive industrial spaces often have similar environment and experience to temple and religious architecture, making it possible to mutate one into the other. Thanks to EO for the link.

I can’t quite decide if I love this or hate it – which is actually the point of these two projects – Hannes Grebin designed the Ohrensessel wing chair and the Spiesser sofa to be an abrasive collage of traditional German furniture.

Great new affordable art by Blanca Gomez for the Shiny Squirrel.

Loving these conceptual Harry Potter book covers by M. S. Corley. He also did a series of covers for the Lemony Snicket series.

Via Ace Jet 170.

Brent Stirton took some amazing photographs of the Omo Valley Tribes in Ethiopia:

In the sprawling, desolate Southern Omo River Valley region of Ethiopia are several tribes living as they have for centuries, in voluntary isolation from the modern world. Recently, however, the tribes — Dassanech, Mursi, Hamar, Karo, Bume, Beshadar and others — are under increasing pressure from the outside world. Most recent is the Omo River dam project to provide hydroelectric power to Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. This will reduce the river to one-fifth its size and eliminate the flood plain so valuable to Omo Valley tribal farmers. The geographically distant government in Addis Ababa appears to place little importance on the threat to these unique Omo Valley cultures, and the days of their existence as intact cultures are numbered.

My trip to the region was two weeks in duration, starting midway through December 2007. The purpose of the trip was to make color portraits as part of a worldwide project on diminishing/disappearing cultures…

Check out his travel blog on the Discovery Channel, and the rest of his great portfolio here.

These are stills from a very cool short video from Red Bull detailing the new vehicle design rules for the 2009 season of Formula 1 racing. The design changes are intended to increase mechanical grip and decrease aerodynamic grip/downforce, placing more emphasis on driving technique than body design. This should make racing more about driving than about technology, and make it more exciting at the same time. The animation is nicely done and explains these changes very clearly. Makes me want to watch F1, if only they had it in 3d…

It’s a little late for 2009 calendars, but I came across the Scratchender by Agustin Zea for Mr. Tom Design – similar to a lotto card, you scratch each day off of the calendar as it passes…I imagine there would be something satisfying about that…

Via Yanko Design.

I am totally loving Sahar Ghaheri’s Minor Differences necklaces.

“Being of Arab descent and growing up mostly in the states with close Jewish friends, I have been aware of both sides of the long standing tension between Arab and Jewish cultures. My experiences has also made me acutely aware that many aspects of these seemingly dissident cultures are more similar than many tend to acknowledge. I’ve created a piece of jewelry which allows the two languages to interact on one stage, using one arabic word and one hebrew word to form the phrase MINOR DIFFERENCES.”

Via Notcot.