This year’s 99% Conference was a huge success. So, why not register for next year way ahead of time? For a limited time they’re offering $300 off the regular ticket price of $699. A steal. Go, do it, now!

Upon leaving the TED alternative BIL Unconference, Rahmin Sarabi wanted to see what his friends had to teach each other in a similar co-education framework. The community-powered learning community (un)classes became Sarabi and partner Jonathan Strauss' chance to see what smart folks would be willing to share, and the result is a good “what to do on a free Saturday afternoon” solution given the classes' informal nature and wide range of content. Peer instructors have raised their hands everywhere from New York to Boise, and the Cloudspace-powered community offers everything from the very practical  (Accounting for Dummies and Salesforce) to the fantastic (cheesemaking and straight razor shaving). Talk about the joy of learning.

Perhaps taking a page from the green movement, Toy2R has announced that (simulated) woodgrain is the colorway of choice for their 2009 art toys. We’ve already seen a preview of their fantastic woodgrain Domo Qee (coming this summer from Dark Horse). Now they’ve applied the “natural” finish to four standard Qee figures. The range includes a series of 2.5-inch figures with the China Advertising Magazine logo, made exclusively for the 2009 China Advertising and Brand Conference and two shades of woodgrain Qees with Toy2R’s logo, available now at Yoyashop. Toy2R hasn’t gone all tree-hugger on us though; they will continue to partner with top names in fashion for collaborations like the Mark Fairwhale and LUISAVIAROMA Qees we posted about last year.

Have you even wanted your art displayed in an art show? Spraygraphic.com is calling on artists all over the world to submit their work, free of charge, to their first Mini Mini Art Show. There only catch is that all art must be 4 in. x 4 in. You can use any medium, from drawings to photography to sculpture (as long as it can be mounted to a wall). They are expecting gallery full of diverse, compelling, and exquisite little pieces from an international crowd (England, Croatia, Ireland, Korea, Australia, and France represent). The show’s opening will be at Arizona State’s “Exposed” graphic design conference’s (March 5-8) featured Saturday Night Event, with the exhibit displayed at local Arizona art galleries afterward. Deadline for submission is March 5.

As we reported to you in December, the Greener Gadgets 2009 Conference is a must for anyone interested in ecologically-friendly design. If the only green you’re lacking is in your wallet, Inhabitat is footing the bill for one lucky winner to get into the event taking place this February 27th in New York City. Head on over to their site, sign up for newsletter, and comment on your favorite of their greener gadgets for a chance to win.

Via Inhabitat

A hop, skip and a jump from London (I sat next to Thom Yorke on the plane here, by the way) and my mind-boggling conference circuit continues. Yes, I’m here in Long Beach for TED 2009. This is the 25th anniversary, and the first year it’s in Long Beach, TED’s new home. The speaker lineup is one of the best I’ve ever seen. My program tells me it’s time to get ready for a “thrilling discovery, a revolutionary idea, a powerful invention, a spectacular piece of art, a first time performance.” I’ll be doing some live blogging from time to time as I see fit, and of course if you want to follow my inner monologue, Twitter is the place.

If you’re here, drop me a line to grab a drink.

If you’re interested in the future of architecture, you want to check out Vision 2020, an online conference of noted architects, critics, and students where they paint a picture of the built environment and its relevance in the foreseeable future. The site features literature reflecting perspectives from all sides on the influence of technology, the natural environment, and the needs of the public. The Vision 2020 project serves as an open forum, and succeeds in bringing forth some compelling ideas. Feel like getting involved. You can submit a video to their YouTube page, or just post it here. But that’s not very forward-thinking of you.

The team at San Francisco’s new Rickshaw Bagworks have taken a page from the Schoolhouse Rock hit “My Hero Zero” with a bag they’ve optimized to reduce wasted fabric. The ZERO shoulder bag is available in four sizes, each constructed from a single piece of material patterned in rectangles. The Timbuk2 alums who founded the company say that eliminating scraps brings the cost of their made-to-order bags down. At $40 to $70 for the different ZERO sizes, we have to agree that what’s good for the environment is also easier on the pocketbook. Since opening their factory in SF’s Dogpatch they’ve created messenger bags for attendees at this year’s TED and Social Capital Markets conferences. If minimizing a manufacturing supply chain footprint doesn’t sound very visual, that’s only because you haven’t checked out the eye candy on the Rickshaw Flickr stream.

Rugs are boring — unless you can find just the right one, then it really ties the room together. If your room happens to be contemporary high-end design then we can point you in the right direction: Chevalier Edition. They’re created by an impressive list of designers and all the rugs can be customized in both color and size. As you might guess they are a bit pricey. Pricey enough not to put prices on their website. Pricey enough to only be sold in Paris. But if you happen to be in Paris — say for a web development conference (cough cough Le Web) you should totally drop by and have a peak. For the rest of us we can have browse through their cover rug flow selection of really really attractive floor coverings.

It’s that time of year again — and we don’t mean time for ol’ fatty to come sliding down your chimney. This is a time for a fresh dose of innovative, eco-friendly ideas; time for Core77’s annual Greener Gadgets Design Contest. The competition asks everyone from design students to established firms to create products that speak to pressing environmental issues by working to decrease our carbon footprint, use energy more efficiently, or improve upon social or educational development. If you think you’ve got a concept that you’re confident will impress, just read the How To Enter details and get it in before January 15, 2009. All of the best entries will be posted online for public voting and the finalists will be judged live at this years Greener Gadgets Conference on February 27th in New York. The first place winner takes home a $3000 prize and the two runners up take home a nice $1000 bounty. Last year’s winner was EnerJar, a DIY device that “measures the power draw of electrical appliances.” So that’s taken.

One of our favorite watch forums, Watchuseek.com and Horloges Magazine are teaming up for a two day watch fair for independent (read: small/boutique) watch brands. Watch 2008 will be held on December 6th and 7th at Castle Hoogenweerth in Masstricht, Netherlands. I am particularly excited about this conference because it features brands that are obscure even to many watch aficionados. Besides being able to meet representatives from brands such as Anomino, Limes, and my current favorite Stowa, attendees can participate in round table meetings on interesting subjects such as how to recognize counterfeit watches. Tickets are EUR 35.00. If you’re interested in attending, please visit watch2008.nl for more details.

“I'm working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”

At the conference he couldn’t provide specifics and it took nearly two years to finally release the story, and it’s now public.  His mission is to create awareness about an extremely drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis which is killing one person every 20 seconds around the world, and it’s completely preventable.  Watch the gripping 3 minute video and help make a difference now, please spread the word.

New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, London, Geneva, New York.

My travel schedule for the next 3 weeks takes me all the way around the globe. I’ll be in meetings, taking a breather at a hot spring resort outside Tokyo, scouring the streets of Hong Kong, participating in the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, tasting food in Shanghai, speaking at a conference in Geneva, and blogging the whole way (or most of it).

As always, if you’re in any of those cities and have a tip for the inside track or something I must see, send it our way!

You can read the likely spotty, on and off but nitty-gritty details of my trip as they unfold on a new blog I’m testing out, called Flying Standby. Play nice, it’s in alpha. Of course normal shop, product, design, art, or trend findings or related posts will still happen here at the flagship. Off I gooooo!

Congratulations to Alan, who went above and beyond the call of duty by not only making clever acronyms, but also created some banner art to go along with them.

It was so good that I was momentarily fooled into believing this was part of the conference.

Thanks, as always, to everyone who came up with an ATEAM (That’s Acronym To Excel Above Mediocrity). We’ll see you next week.

Big pic after the jump

READ MORE…

Science, Nature, Art, People: It’s Boulder’s newest intellectual get together and it’s called SNAP! Yet another acronym with a great purpose, the conference joins TED and PopTech! as an excellent place to go get inspired, educated, and network — and it’s invite only as well, and at $1500 a ticket it’s still a little spendy but on the brighter side, it’s just fraction of the price of TED.

Speakers like Daniel Pink, Author Naomi Wolf and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis and many more interesting folks will be telling their stories September 23rd to 25th at the Boulder Theater. Michael Franti and Spearhead will be on stage as well, for the musical and film portions of the program.

Oh, wait, did I mention we’ve got a ticket to give away?

The Prize: A ticket to the festivities in Boulder, with hosted receptions and meals (retail value $1500; travel and hotel not included).

This Week’s Rules: Make an acronym like SNAP! of your own. Come on, you can do it. Make it good, make us laugh, make it matter, and relate it to changing the world for the better through science, nature, art, and people. Politics, too. We’ll choose winners next week. Comment away!