Keep in mind

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Sara Watson, a second-year student at the University of Central Lancashire, recently painted a car to make it blend chameleon-like into the background, creating the illusion that it has become invisible. A recycling firm that wanted some publicity donated the car to Watson, who spent three weeks meticulously painting it to resemble the parking lot in which it was parked.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

This water theatre by the British architect, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw of Grimshaw Architects, takes the form of a vertical seawater greenhouse, with the evaporators and condensers stacked vertically to maximise yield. The structure is not only a visible engine of sustainability but is also a large theatre auditorium. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

When my uber-creative and slightly eccentric twin brother announced one day that chainmail would be making a return, it only confirmed that he’d missed out on the fashion genes. But after checking out the fingerless chainmail glove in Toby Jones’ new collection — My hands are tied — it now appears he had a legitimate vision. Working a look straight out of a Mad Max scene, Jones’ designs will have us accessorizing in true post-apocalyptic style, using everyday objects as adornment. But you don’t need to be cruising around town in a black Interceptor to appreciate them. Be your own character with chain swinging padlocks and multi-purpose shoelaces. It’s about time you got your hands into something different.

WE'RE THINKING

Legend has it that Paul McCartney hated the line from Hey Jude – ‘the movement you need is on your shoulder’ – so much that he was going to scrap it until his partner in grime John Lennon told him it was the best part of the song. So it stuck. Read more

WE'RE READING

DJ Spooky — That Subliminal Kid — is just about the deepest crate digger around, trawling the barrels of long-lost record stores for choice vinyl to spin in his wickedly dubby sets. He gave us the inside word last week on his eight favourite songs right now via our sister website, My Secret Playlist. This is what he had to say about Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Panic in Babylon: ‘If there’s anything that the twenty-first century has told us, it’s that dub is the real original hip-hop. Lee Scratch even had to make it clear in 1965 by adding “Scratch” to his middle name. Take that, Grandmaster Flash!’ Read the rest of DJ Spooky’s Secret Playlist.

Oh, ok, so now I’ve seen it all. Or perhaps, in this case, I’m not seeing enough. Japanese game shows are so much fun. Seriously.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

If Pharrell’s calling these guys ‘geniuses’, you’d better watch out! Chester French are Ivy League prep boys from Massachusetts who have mastered an interesting Beatlesque sound tinged with Motown influences. When, in May 2007, the duo — D.A. and Max — completed their recording and their degrees (in African American Studies and Social Anthropology respectively), they were snapped up by Pharrell Williams’ label Star Trak.