WE'RE SUPPORTING

Whoa! A super-talented Japanese artist, who goes by the name of Sue, creates these intricate banana sculptures using her hands and toothpicks. Her portfolio spans dragon, zombie and superhero creations. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

Iranian design studio RYRA created this igloo-inspired design for lodges at the Barin Ski Resort about an hour outside Tehran. Read more

I remember the first time I saw a Mark Rothko piece at the Art Institute in Chicago. I’d only seen reproductions until that point, and I never understood why people considered the late painter so important. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

The Nine Streets, or ‘De Negen Straatjes’, is so named for the nine small, cosy streets between Raadhuisstraat and Leidsestraat, just minutes from the heart of Amsterdam. Read more

WE'RE READING

Conceptual artist Pascual Sisto stumbled across a Google Maps street view of Minnie Street in Fairbanks Alaska that was obscured by a plastic bag. He has the view preserved on his site in case Google decides to re-photograph the intersection.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

If you ever happen to find yourself riding across the mid-west on horseback with an iPod jangling about in your holster, be sure to let Calexico soundtrack the experience. They’re cleverly fusing a range of genres, mixing some good old country with US indie, a bit of jazz and even, in 2003’s Feast of Wire, some smatterings of electronica. Lead singer Joey Burns gives a healthy amount of cowboy twang and the soaring orchestral background and sweet country guitar licks add a real atmosphere to the music.

Listen to the Calexico song, Convict Pool.

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WE'RE WEARING

North Carolina-based company CityFabric offers t-shirts with figure-ground diagrams of various cities printed on them. I’m waiting for them to make a Baltimore one.