Japanese-American by birth, Canadian by upbringing, Justin Nozuka has a raspiness and deepness to his voice that you would not expect to hear just by looking at him. His style blends elements of acoustic, folk, blues, and pop. I can’t help but be reminded of Jason Mraz when listening to Nozuka, particularly in his band arrangements. The 19 year-old recently picked up a Best New Artist nomination at the Juno’s and he is currently gearing up for SXSW and a headlining European tour next month. His US debut album, “Holly,” has a wonderful mix of upbeat songs and acoustic melodies with intense lyrics. Q Magazine called it “superior acoustic soul,” awarding it 4 stars. Definitely one of the more impressive albums I’ve listened to in a while.

With February 14th fast approaching and Hallmark preparing to reap the benefits, a good number of us have begun to ponder loves’ labors lost. While our coupled friends prepare the perfect evening complete with a romantic dinner and fireside lovemaking session, some of us will sit at home gorging on candy hearts [see also: hard alcohol] remembering when our soulmate made us a mix to remind us just how much they cared. Rather than sit around and wonder what went wrong, we think it’s time you put that sweetheart to bed; thanks to Relationship Obituaries, you can finally let that coupleship that just plain ain’t coming back, rest in peace. The site, the brainchild of Kathleen Horan, who thought of the idea after breaking up with her boyfriend and losing her father in a brief time span, allows users to list the harrowing details from their hairy relationships and breakups so they can finally cleanse their souls and start to put together the pieces of their broken yet resilient hearts. To officially launch the site, Horan is throwing a Wake for Love at the Brecht Forum in the Manhattan’s West Village on February 13th. Bring a date!

For someone having graduated this past spring, Talia Shipman brings a stylized maturity to her work that other photographers spend years honing and perfecting. The young artist has already experienced her work being published and shown in galleries worldwide, and if her series, Exodus: The Ten Plagues is any indication, she has a long and bright career ahead of her. Currently on show as part of Captive Visions: Canadian Contemporary Art at Eli Klein Fine Art in SOHO, Exodus is an entirely thoughtful, sometimes macabre juxtaposition of biblical plagues with their modern-day counterparts. Definitely keep an eye out for this rising star — it looks like she’s going to be around for a while to come.

If the days of your life are as dull as watching sands fall through the hourglass, maybe you should stop watching an hourglass and do something exciting, like buy a modern timepiece. You know, one that’s more aesthetically pleasing than a few grains of ground from the beach or on your TV screen at the beginning of Days of or Lives re-runs. We recommend checking out the latest tickers from our old friends, the Swiss watch wonders at Bell & Ross, who build watches with the people who put themselves in the most dangerous positions in mind. While you’re probably not a bomb disposal expert, or an astronaut, you can still get your hands on one these kick ass watches from their BR 01 and BR 03 lines currently available in some new shades of awesome. Bell & Ross have released a limited edition run of the 46mm BR01’s available in Red and Yellow, and have also introduced the 42mm BR03’s in Phantom and Blue shades. We can’t even begin to describe just how hot these watches are, so you’re just going to have to see for yourself. Unfortunately, you can’t buy these on the Internets, so you’re going to have to make your way to an approved dealer to experience these timeless pieces.

If Portland-based Photographer Tommy Matthews were to visit New York City, odds are he wouldn’t bother snapping shots of landmarks like Times Square or the Empire State Building with his trusty 4×5 Sinar rail camera. You’d probably find him under an overpass or on an empty sidestreet, making something out of nothing. Matthews specializes in capturing hidden urban landscapes in such a way that each shot appears to make even the most over crowded of urban areas resemble an old west ghost town. He also has an affection for photographing natural landscapes which tend to have a similar isolated feel, as though nothing else is happening in the world except what is going on in his photos, lending them a certain calm before the storm feel.

Back in May, we told you about the stellar work being done by Collective Four for Dwell’s Building Green In Harlem project. Well those purveyors of design perfection from the Pratt Institute are at it again. Their latest piece utilizes lumber from an old factory ceiling beam (courtesy of Build It Green) to create a bench consisting of a series of “four ascending surfaces supported by slender bent steel legs.” The unique design of the bench allows for storage of footwear underneath the seat and the reclaimed steel reeds on the end allow one to hang one’s umbrella or raincoat or whatever gear you use to protect your head from rain conveniently on the end. While the latest creation from Collective Four is certainly practical, it doesn’t hurt that it’s also quite the sight for sore eyes

As a designer moonlighting as an electronic music DJ for various nightclubs around Sao Paulo, Rodrigo Braga has the talent to marry the two better than anyone else I’ve come across — regardless of the cliche that combination would normally embody. The images above are his most recent flyer designs for the Freak Chic party at Sao Paulo’s world-famous D-Edge club, where he occasionally mans the turntables as DJ Maltchique. It’s a super-frisky style that drips with pure lusciousness and smacks of ’80s references, from colors used to the slick airbrush treatment. But he does leave the tackiness to that era, so it turns out nicely as an update which is fresh and clean. I’m probably just as fed up as you over the new rave movement, but personally, finding designs with roots in the ’80s done the way Braga has flipped it is a lot like swallowing bad-tasting medicine with sugar.