There’s more to life in a favela than oppressive poverty, guns and crime, but that non-scintillating side doesn’t get enough play. It’s what Colombian photographer Joaquin Sarmiento is pushing to promote through his heartfelt Paradise City exhibit in Sao Paulo, a show of 22 works capturing what his lens saw for the past few years while he was volunteering for the non-profit Barracão dos Sonhos as a photography teacher in the unfortunately named Paraisopolis (equivalent to “Paradise City” in Portuguese) favela situated right across from one of the richest neighborhoods in the city. Most people see a mass of ubiquitous red bricks when passing by Paraisopolis, but Sarmiento saw residents doing and enjoying the same things the rest of the world does: hanging up laundry, playing football, relaxing in the shade. It provokes compassion, but it also shows that favela dwellers lead full lives too. Sarmiento’s photos are up at the Edifício Altino Arantes in Sao Paulo until March 9, but you can see what we’re checking out here plus more straight from his site; once there, click on “Paraisopolis Instantes do Paraiso.”

If you’re one of the thousands of folk who has forsaken the plain ‘ol cellular phone for the multifaceted, talented piece of equipment known as the iPhone, there’s a minute chance that you haven’t changed the wallpaper to something to your liking. Even if you have, it’s probably a picture of your dog or your baby’s mama. While we don’t claim those to be aesthetically unpleasant, we think you can do better and so do the people behind Poolga. The site pools together impressive images created by designers, artists and illustrators from all across this great planet of ours, that would make your iPhone look helluva a lot better if they were on the display screen. Think about it. Anyone can have man’s best friend as their wallpaper; it’s up to you to differentiate yourself from the bland electronics-owning crowd with some sick designs.

Old Macdonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O…and on that farm he had some really creative individuals…E-I-E-I…Wait. Something tells us this isn’t exactly Old Macdonald’s farm. We seemed to have stumbled into the 400 year-old farm house that the creative advertising/PR/Marketing and New Media firm Rees Bradley Hepburn calls their office. The Warwickshire, England home base is far from the hustle and bustle of London and allows for the inspiration of wide open spaces to permeate the creative minds of around 120 employees who have been driven to create better work for the likes of Jaguar, Landrover, and Computeach; not to mention their own super awesome website that celebrates their farm roots. Rees Bradley and Hepburn’s body of work proves that you should never underestimate the value of fresh air.

There’s some venture capitalists who’re ready, willing and able to throw their money at whatever crackpot idea that comes their way. Then, there’s the kids with the crackpot ideas who think it’s okay to pitch anyone, anywhere, anytime for their money. As a result, you have a giant freakin’ mess of bad manners, products and attitudes. Nobody is more aware of this than entrepreneurs Andrew Hyde of StartupWeekend and Matt Emmi from OneButtonTouch. Hearing one too many bad pitches (and a rather unfortunate incident in a bar) at the StartupWeekend in Bloomington, Hyde and Emmi figured they could develop, in entirety, a company from start to finish on a single plane ride. After a game of rock, paper, scissors, the two to fleshed out the idea, built it on WordPress and voila, VC Wear was born. Each shirt comes at a price that only a venture capitalist could afford love — $100 a piece — and the option’s open to whomever’s ready to buy the company for a sweet $100K. Ladies and Gentlemen, Get your Amex Black cards ready!

Paris, France may be known as the city of lights, love, and the Louvre, but it’s also a canvas for Fabienne, the creative force behind the the Labokoff Etsy Store. The Paris-based graphic designer creates her own unique visions of the land she calls home and beyond by combining her love of photography and painting into single pieces. The Labokoff principle delicately introduces subtle flourishes in the form of starfish, swirls, circles, and multi-colored drops of paint to her already arresting images. In employing this artful process she manages to convert everything from Eiffel Tower to the beach at Normandy into a visual (arc de) triumph. Did we mention these dazzling designs are extremely affordable? C’est magnifique!