The PUMA Index is a real stock ticker, with a twist. When the market goes down, our models’ clothes come off, all the way to their PUMA Bodywear. “So when you lose your shirt, so do our models…” Pretty entertaining.  Global markets available for all time zones.

There are plenty in the creative arena who scoff at the idea of sport, likening athletic competition as entertainment for uncivilized mongrels. However, when the chasm between brute force and artistic inspiration is bridged, some wonderful things can occur. The Lawn Series from Recess is a refreshing and original happening aiming to eliminate the gap between endlessly inventive artisans and the arena of athletics. For three glorious days during the sweltering NYC summer on Governor’s Island, playful pastimes will overtake the creatively inclined as they attempt to best one another in exhilarating events such as badminton, table tennis, and bocce. In addition to the flowing of the competitive juices, each event will be met with some pretty kick ass sponsors as the likes of Tretorn and Puma will be putting their stamp on the festivities while Biomega and Kronan will be on hand to offer bike test rides. Count us in and bring it on. The first day of competition is June 20th. We’ll see you there…unless you’re afraid of defeat.

The Wall Street Journal has a nice little story about How Your Favorite Sneakers Got Their Names. Reebok? Adidas? The Puma Clyde? ASICS? Good trivia stuff. Also, I knew the Chuck Taylor has sold a lot over the years– but 600 million pairs? That’s insane. Go on and get your sneaker-nerd on and check out the article. Thanks Brett!

It’s really great to see how far Kozyndan (Husband and Wife team, Kozy/Dan) have come since we covered them nearly 3 years ago. From posters and artwork to designing sneakers for global brands. Congrats, these Puma pieces look great– and one of my favorite slip ons!

More details over at Hypebeast…

Last year, adFunture unveiled its own contribution to the growing genre of platform toys: the Yoka. Available as a large vinyl figure and a smaller mini-figure, the panda bear sports a clever design that allows it to sit or stand. Yokas have been released as part of collaborations with companies like Puma and events including the Beijing Olympics. In celebration of Chinese New Year, which began yesterday, adFunture has produced a limited edition Chinese New Year Yoka. The 2.6-inch bear will bring you good luck in the Year of the Ox, if you’re one of the 200 people lucky enough to get it. You can try your luck at the upcoming New York Comic Con where MyPlasticHeart has the U.S. exclusive allotment of 100 pieces.

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt may hold the title of world’s fastest man, but we think you can take him. Even if your leg muscles have atrophied from all of that time you spend seated in front of your computer, you can still defeat this year’s Olympic gold medalist in both the the 100M and 200M dash. All you need is a pair of limber fingers, a computer and a little bit of heart. It also helps if you go to PumaRunning.com and check out the You Vs. Bolt flash game, which challenges users to outrun the irie island nation’s answer to The Flash as you go head to head, flapping your digits as fast as you can to hopefully best Bolt’s world record of 9.69 seconds. If at first you don’t succeed try, try, again…and let us know how you do. We finished in 9.68 seconds.

Congratulations Klee.

It was a tough decision … so many sweet rides to choose from. So we deferred to our benefactor: Puma USA. We realize there were a few of you who brought us wooden bikes, but Klee got there first by finding this uniquely intricate and amazing cycle. Our man over at the Puma says, “I would have taken a wood-burning pen and drawn some cool #@&$ on it.” Agreed. Congrats Klee, you’re going to be one bad-ass riding through town on this new bike.

You’re watching the Olympics in China. The Chinese ride a lot of bicycles. You think to yourself, “I need a new bike.” Then some other things happen and you find yourself on this website, just in time for a stupendous Big Ticket Tuesday prize. You may have read our previous post about the Puma-branded Biomega bicycle — well, it can now be yours for the low, low price of free.

THE PRIZE: The Puma Glow Rider urban mobility device. (It’s a bike. Est. retail – $1200, courtesy of Puma.)

THIS WEEK’S RULES: We have another Interweb scavenger hunt for you. This velocipede is the cat’s pajamas, but there are probably hundreds of bikes out there that have been tricked (we’re trying real hard not to use pimped) out for people’s riding pleasure. Find us the most inspired two-wheeler (and it has to be a bicycle — no mopeds, scooters, motorcycles … anything with an engine). Just paste the link in the comment field. The best entry will get our biggest prize yet. And remember: One entry per reader.

I was hopping around the LES with my pal from Zoomdoggle and we happened upon the space at 139 Norfolk called Grand Opening. Formerly famous for the DRV-IN project they did (Manhattan’s only drive-in theater), they’re now hosting Pong 2.0 sponsored by Puma. The new space has 35% more spectator seating (by the looks of it we’re guessing that means it seats 8), 12,500 BTU’s of AC (yeah, it was cool in there) and a beverage bar (Gatorade anyone?).

It’s open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Sat Sunday 12 p.m. – 10 p.m. It’s $10 for 20 minutes of play, and a summer membership costs $80. I could be wrong, but I thought you could buy a table for about that much? Question is, where would you put it? Head to Grand Opening so you can play with the onsite pro all day long.

Disclaimer: no polar bears or snow leopards were harmed during the creation of these shoes… National Geographic imagery meets sneaker design in this collaboration between PUMA, Atmos NYC, and Japanese photographer Mitsuaki Iwago. Through two releases– the Polar Pack and the Asia Pack, sneaker buffs will be treated to a series of kicks inspired by Mitsuaki Iwago’s famed wildlife photos. The outsides of the shoes capture the unique characteristics of various animals, and each (removable) insole sports Iwago’s actual photos on them. The final touch is that both the name and habitat of each animal is printed on the reverse tongue and on the outsole in both English and – you guessed it – Japanese.

The Polar Pack will be on sale only at Atmos NYC and Ubiq in Philadelphia beginning on June 28th, and you can expect the Asia Pack to drop later this summer.

David Carvalho is up to more good. The Portugese artist and designer, also known as Karpa, wowed us back in December with his astonishing portfolio boasting works for clients such as Nike, Puma, and IdN magazine. We’re pleased to report that he’s come back with a bang thanks to a recent site update that gives us even more graphic wonders to swoon over. Visitors to Hello Karpa will be greeted with ten new works, including a billboard for Diesel and a spread for Japanese clothiers, Evisu. As if that weren’t enough, Carvalho is also offering up his ‘Divad’ typeface for download, allowing all of us to satisfy our need for sweet graphic design and typography in one fell swoop.

The biggest problem with commuting by bike in a city is probably getting hit repeatedly by cabs. That, and when you come out of the store only to find your nice new Kryptonite lock hanging around the bike rack sans bike. PUMA’s Glow Rider, manufactured by Biomega, is the third incarnation of their branded bike (and you immediately thought sneakers) and solves most of these problems. First, the stylish single-gear solves the visibility issue of riding at night by adding a coat of glow-in-the-dark paint. Available in green or orange glow, just let your bike soak up some solar rays and it should radiate an alien aura for the duration of your ride. Twin disc brakes can literally stop you in your tracks. And, with its wire lock system, the only way somebody is stealing this bike is if they take that entire rack with them. (Note to thieves: don’t reread that last statement.)

Related: Jens Martin Skibsted From Biomega Bikes

David Carvalho, also knows as Karpa, is a young Portugese artist and designer with a very pretty portfolio. Having worked for several design studios, including one of his own founding, David has used his diverse experience to develop a beautiful set of work for clients like Nike, Puma, and IdN Magazine. I really like the identity work he’s done for URB; head here to check it out.

Dear Josh,

In case you were having trouble deciding what to gift us with for the holidays, we made it easy for you. Happy Holidays!

Love, Your Staff.

Carmel Hagen

Kimberly Baker Jewelry: Kimberly Baker’s necklaces, bracelets, and earrings pack plenty of gold and silver girliness, but it’s their edgy sass that really keeps me me pacified (and out of Hot Topic. Heh.) This is the necklace I’m currently coveting, if only because what it will say is up to me.

A Painting by Shannon Bonatakis: Shannon’s wide-eyed oil paintings start off innocently, then transition into something darkly realistic. They’re beautiful, relatable, and painstakingly perfect – and if I were to get one for Christmas, I could probably skip that whole “get drunk so you’ll be nice to your family” thing.

Zac Efron: Zac can sing, dance, and lift me above his head with one arm. In other words, he’s should be a gay Chippendales dancer – but he somehow wound up as a hot babe instead. The four years between us (and stupid Minnie Mouse) means he probably won’t be making it under my tree by Christmas morning, but hey, this is a wishlist.

Evan Kessler

13-Inch Macbook: My PowerBook G4 (or Gary Sinise as I like to call him) just celebrated his 4th birthday. I'd like to give him a baby brother…and then sell Gary Sinise for scraps.

A Photo of Robin Williams Visiting My Blog: After Kevin Costner made the scene in early September the 2nd mission of ”If I Blog It They Will Come” has been an uphill struggle. I'm hoping for a little holiday magic.

Financial Security:This painting from Wants For Sale costs $1 Million. Owning it would allow me to start a website called Wants For Re-Sale. Once I sold the million-dollar painting I could buy up all of the other things on Wants for Sale and sell them, making it one of the more effective pyramid schemes in recent memory.

Danny Nathan

iPhone: Do I really need to link to this one? I held out for as long as I could, trying not to be another sheep. But the fact of the matter is: I WANT AN iPHONE. I love the fact that I can get rid of something in my daily pocket supply (or replace it). I love the fact that I can figure out what I want to order for dinner on my way home from work, look up the number, call, order, and pick it up between leaving work and arriving home. And it might make me use Twitter a little more often. That said, the plan is to try and hold out for v2 with the faster network connection.

Patagonia Cashmere Hoody: I’m not much of a clothes hound. I’m not usually one to drool over cashmere. But I do love Patagonia’s stuff. I picked up two pair of Shop Pants recently and I love them! And there’s just something about this hoody that’s cozy, comfy, wintry, and awesome. That said, I just can’t justify $290 on it for myself. So if someone feels like sending me a completely superfluous gift, this is near the top of my list.

Ricoh GR Digital: This one may not count given that I just purchased it…but I purchased it because I wanted it! I’ve been itching for one of these babies for about six months now. Deemed the perfect camera for street photography, especially for the photographer who’s looking for something with a little more control, the GRD will (hopefully) be the perfect companion to my Digi-Rebel for all around pocket travel.

Phuong-Cac Nguyen

Fluevog Stripe Buckle: This unisex John Fluevog Stripe Buckle is classy in a retro, hot rod way. I’ve suddenly discovered the benefits of a belt, but this accessory of an accessory gives more meaning to a belt than just an item to hold up your pants.

Lomo Diana+ Camera: Besides being gorgeous, this 1960s camera model originally from Hong Kong and brought back to the 21st century by Lomo is supposed to take the kind of photos that make it seem like you know what you’re doing. Learning how to properly use a non-digital camera is my 2008 new year’s resolution and this would be a step in the right direction.

750 Swag Bag: I’m no big baller, but I could at least pretend to be one and get away with it if I were sporting this super-luxe, leather 750 Swag Bag from gym to mall.

Heather Ann Snodgrass

PUMA Toploader Bag in Black: I’ll admit, I have a little bit of a laptop bag problem. Okay, I have two problems; one being I own about six of them, and the second being I have a problem with every single one of them being dysfunctional in at least three ways. I was looking at this bag a few weeks ago, thinking about the issues I have with all my others (size, visual appeal, functional pockets, accessibility) and found nothing wrong with it. Makes sense, as these were inspired by bike messengers.

Christian Louboutin Penny Loafers: Shoes are my happy place. These shoes would make me grin so hard, next Christmas I’ll be asking for Botox.

CB2 Loft Sofa: My apartment has proven a nightmare to fit a couch into — by my calculations, this would actually fit into my front door and *not* look like a living room abomination. Plus, I took an impromptu almost nap on one this weekend in Soho, and that’s always a good sign.

Jamie Starr

When it comes to shoes, it seems sometimes there’s a clear dividing line. There are Adidas people. There are flip-flops-only people. Crocs people. There are, probably the most ubiquitous among us, Nike people. And then there are Puma people. Puma has a substantial following in other countries, and as much as they’re sometimes overlooked by those caught up in Nike hype here, Puma lovers do have a safe place to get together to talk exclusively about Baskets and Clydes. It’s at a site called PumaTalk, with forums where members post about various subjects only a Puma head would appreciate, such as which colorway is better on a First Round or whether the pink laces on some user’s new Yo! MTV Raps shoe is lame or game and there’s even an unabashedly dorky photoblog, consisting of shots of people wearing Puma gear. If you’re a Puma orphan, we’ve found you your new home and family.