Kluster, founded by friend and young punk Ben Kaufman is in full force here at TED. The former iPod accessory entrepreneur recently (ie: last week) launched his new platform to allow groups of people (just like you and me) to affect decision making processes inside what for has long been a buttoned up-decision making process. I encourage everyone to pop by the site, check out some of the open projects and watch the tutorials to learn more. It’s a truly unique and game changing proposition.

The deal at TED is simple; Kluster is going to create a brand new product in the next 72 hours, with the help of the “1000 brightest people in the world” and all of you. That time is broken down into phases starting with the inception (the idea), through industrial design, naming, engineering, identity and branding, ad campaign, and finally packaging. There’s a good 7 hours left in the first phase (brainstorming the product idea), where users can contribute ideas (sparks) as well as invest their currency (watts) towards the future of the project. The team has kitted out a hotel room suite with all the fixings of a true prototype lab, 3D printers and tools. 72 hours from now, we’ll see what idea rises to the top and into the hands of everyone involved.

To make the deal a little sweeter, the team at Kluster put up $15,000 in rewards. Fancy yourself an innovator and think you can contribute? Time is running out. Go get involved!

There are plenty of ways to turn a work of architecture into a canvas. You can illegally spray paint your tag on the Arc De Triomphe or draw a mural on Big Ben, but none of those are recommended because they're undoubtedly illegal. We recommend going the route of video artist Robert Seidel, who was commissioned to turn the Phylectic Museum in Jena, Germany into an architectural canvas for the museum's 100th Anniversary in early February as well as for the “Jena Illuminated” event, which served as part of the opening ceremony for "Science City 2008.” The resulting work was titled Processes: A Living Painting. The project consisted of 35 by 16 meter full faade projection that employed three projectors and consisted of five “living paintings” with corresponding light choreography, ambient music and synced sound effects. The display aided in “breathing life into the museum on that one and only winter night. Its multi-layered complexity freed the audience of around 20,000 to create their personal narrative flow and filled the museums square with a dense cloud of spellbound whisper.' All we can say is whoa.

Plenty of people love to showoff their chopstick chops while chowing down on Chinese food. They'll specifically ask for the troublesome utensils in order to impress their friends as soon as they reach the table…and sometimes, if you look over at those same folks at any given moment during the meal, they're the ones sneaking stray grains of rice onto their spoon because they don't exactly have the hang of chopstick handling they wanted to exhibit. Well, thanks to Choplery, they don't have to fake it anymore. The cutlery/chopstick hybrid from DesignGO! Studio made from 100% bamboo and presented in the three basic utensils (fork, knife, and spoon) gives eater's a fighting chance of conquering their meal by giving them the choice, cutlery or chopsticks? Ease or struggle? The decision is at your fingertips.

We can't say how many times we've actually had a cuff link emergency, where we absolutely needed to link our cuffs when faced with an otherwise imminent demise. However, the fact remains not everyone owns cuff links and we could think of a few situations in which this packet of six stainless steel emergency cuff links from Spunique could come in handy...like if we were trying to button our cuffs and a button broke, that would seem like a good time to have emergency cuff links. Or if the tuxedo we rented didn't actually include cuff links — crisis averted. What if an evil super villain whose power was derived from unlinked cuffs was wreaking havoc upon our fair city? Maybe emergency cuff links could thwart his attempt to rain terror all over the land. In that case, you should always carry them around. Your city is depending on you.

Via 2modern

You might be surprised to learn that Static Revenger has been one of the most prolific names in dance music for the better part of 10 years.” Dennis White’s latest album, Love Song Surprise, is a return to production after a year long break to produce and direct two indie documentary films. There are the obvious elements of electronica and dance, but each track is paired with distinctive deep male vocals that mellow out the song a few notches. Having collaborated with musicians like Madonna, Fatboy Slim, the Chemical Bros., and Oakenfold, I am glad to see that this DJ’s own album is able to show off not only his electronic prowess but also his production and writing skills. The album is released digitally on April 15, with a physical release on May 6.

For a while now, I’ve been seeing in various stores around Sao Paulo acrylic pins in the shape of a half-adult/half-kid human, looking soporific. Then when I saw a drawn version of him on tags hanging from clothes in the most chic stores, I caught on. Turns out he’s the mascot for a clothing label in Sao Paulo that goes by the name of ASH, created by two artists who used to make toys and artwork and show those off in the city’s premier street art gallery Choque Cultural. But like with any project that has had an initial savory taste of success, ASH quickly grew like a budding rose into a label that now gets all the attention for its painstakingly hand-made prints, mostly with tees as the apparel vehicle. The prints are awash with colors and little doodles, all layered upon another and a bit reminiscent of the result of the free-association crayon play you used to do in 1st grade. Interestingly enough, you can find their goods at both street art stores and some of the more expensive boutiques in town, making it one of the few able-bodied crossover hits I’ve ever come across. The site has photos of models wearing ASH, but most don’t show the greatness of the prints, so you’ll just have to get the gist.

I am not sure how I feel about male lead singers that sound like whiney complainers, but this sort of “new” rock has a firm foothold on the airwaves and I better learn to like it. And I have. Having been involved in music at an early age, David La helped form the five piece, Ambershades. Despite considerable initial success, the group soon parted ways. Now armed with a clear vision of where to carry his music, La’s debut EP Rotten in Denmark delivers amazing vocals, an upbeat tempo, and guitar and piano-lined tracks. A talented songwriter, La is additionally blessed with the ability to deliver powerful live performances. You can hear this for yourself, on track 4 of the EP, Don’t Let Me Down. You’ll love it if you like The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Franz Ferdinand, and in particular, The Killers and is released April 15.