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The Miss Rockaway Armada

The Miss Rockaway Armada is a group of about thirty artists, musicians and performers who hail from across the United States. In the summers of 2006 and 2007, the group floated down the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to New Orleans on a flotilla of handmade rafts. Crafted mainly from junk and recycled materials, the rafts ran on wind and solar power, were fuelled by bio-diesel, and their crew subsisted on rainwater and dumpstered meals for the entire journey. 

Stopping off at numerous ports along the way, the Armada performed vaudeville shows, played gigs and organised art workshops in towns along the river, hoping to inspire their inhabitants and encourage cultural change. Though the rafts have since been abandoned, the Armada collective continues to put on shows both across America and in Europe. Best known for their involvement in musical outfits such as The Amateurs and The Toyshop Collective, the group is currently working on other ‘big, insane projects’, the details of which are so far unknown.

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From the decaying European streets of Buenos Aires to the smoky punk clubs of Beijing, rad stuff is happening everywhere. Sign up for our free email newsletter to keep up.

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Dark Dark Dark

With permanent and occasional members based in Minneapolis, New Orleans, and New York, ethereal gypsy-folk band Dark Dark Dark has roots in many places, which reflects in its music. The meandering piano, haunting strings, and wheezing accordion that are the heart of the music seem of yet beyond all time and genre, especially with lead vocalist Nona Marie Invie’s gorgeous voice floating above it all. Their albums are great, but this is certainly a band to check out live. Luckily they tour a lot.

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The Skywalkas: Hip Hop about sex, money and Star Wars

Its not everyday that you hear Hip-Hop songs about money, sex, drugs and Star Wars? I must admit The Skywalkas trio took me for a loop, when I first saw them at The Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans a while back. Their show was packed with energy and funny antics that reminded me of a Busta Rhymes performance, and if you’ve ever seen Busta perform, you know that’s no small feat.

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RFID-equipped ice-cream store in Minneapolis

Izzy’s Ice Cream Cafe in Minneapolis has taken frozen treats into the digital age by installing RFID technology in their freezers and on their scoopers to keep track of the availability of their flavors, so that customers can know exactly what’s on the menu by checking online before they make the trek out to the store.

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Sydney’s Corridor Bar

I’ve always thought it strange that Sydney’s grungily trendy and alcohol soaked Newtown has fewer than it’s fair share of cool little bars. There’s Madame Fling Flong’s, if you can find it, and Kuleto’s, if you make it in time for two-for-one cocktail hour. But just the other day I realised that there, smack back in the middle of the action, was a new small bar called Corridor. Read more

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Dave DeGobbi’s Lego Crawler Town

Picture a future in which climate change and exhausted coal supplies have left humans in need of inventive ways of living in an inhospitable landscape. Then combine it with two inch high yellow plastic people and a bunch of interlocking plastic bricks and you have Dave DeGobbi’s Lego Crawler Town, a fantastically detailed, miniaturized solution to life in a post-apocalyptic world. Read more

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sOccket: the energy generating soccer ball

The brainchild of Harvard University engineering students Jessica Lin, Jessica Matthews, Julia Silverman, and Hemali Thakkar, sOccket is an ingenious creation that harnesses the kinetic potential of play. A soccer ball which uses inductive coil technology to capture and store energy for later use, sOccket has been provided as a solution to the day-to-day energy problems of people living in third world countries. Read more

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On the Monster Engine website, artist Dave DeVries ‘projects a child’s drawing with an opaque projector, faithfully tracing each line. Applying a combination of logic and instinct’, he then ‘paints the image as realistically’ as he can. Brilliant! Read more

I blogged about Bill Dunlap a while back, and he checked back in with us recently to let us know about his incredible Poetic Aesthetic in Rural Maryland project, in which he’s attempting to paint murals on barns in every county in Maryland. All of the murals will involve poetry. I’m glad I’m living in this state so I can more easily seek out these murals as they appear. Read more

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.

The work of Australia’s Ben Frost is always interesting. He’s known for his controversial art juxtapositions that confront contemporary Western paradigms in our advertising obsessed society. Crapitalism is on display until November 3 at Opus Gallery in Newcastle, UK. I do hope any disgruntled viewers refrain themselves from slashing his work with a knife, unlike the infamous 2000 Australian episode.

George Lois is the god of good ideas, or at least one of them. When I am stuck on ideas, I pray to George the God, or look through his works in hope of doing something one hundredth as good as his work. Read more

In an over-saturated Swedish music scene, The Tough Alliance have delivered glistening electronic dance pop on their new album, A New Chance. Read more

Like a little skeleton with your belt? This Delfina Delettrez Skeletor Belt is meant to hug at the waist of the living, giving the appearance of a teeny, creepy midsection. Made of sterling silver, the belt is the ultimate in glamorous goth.

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Disorder Disorder in Sydney

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Joe Kievitt

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The return of the Brionvega rr226

Italian brand Brionvega has resurrected the classy Radiofonografio piece first created in 1965. The updated version is just like the original turntable/radio unit, but also has a CD/DVD player.

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Mika

A little infectious lollipop rock anyone? Feel free to embarrass yourself singing along at the stoplight. If the other drivers give you that look, roll down the windows and spread the love.

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Communication prosthesis by Sascha Nordmeyer

This ‘communication prosthesis’ by designer Sascha Nordmeyer is hilarious and awesome. I want to wear one to a job interview.

Using Kyoko Hashimoto’s popular design, these acrylic earrings are made with unique hand formed sterling silver sleepers that make them light enough for everyday wear. Part of Kyoko’s collection, I Blame the Uni, (pronounced ‘oo-nee’, the Japanese name for sea urchin) and inspired by her experiences in the underground club scene of Tokyo. Read more

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