Time for some hard numbers. More than two million people die every year from water-related diseases and there are a billion people in the world who live without clean water. That’s “billion”… with a “b.” Think about that the next time you take a 45-minute shower. Singer Jewel and Virgin Unite want to change all that. Teaming up to support Project Clean Water, an organization Jewel founded in 1997 to provide safe water on a global scale, the not for profit foundation of the Virgin Group and the acclaimed singer-songwriter are looking for you to show you care with their latest campaign, Give A Drop.

The idea is beautifully simple; show you “give a drop” by donating at least $2. For most of us, that’s less that what we’d spend on the average bottle of water. Add your name, location, and personal message to your donation and your drop appears on the homepage. Messages range from humane (“Clean water is a basic human right”) to the truthful (“Because good intentions alone aren’t very hydrating”) to the hip (“I dropped it like it’s hot”).

All those drops can add up to make a big difference, with all donations going towards Project Clean Water’s work creating sustainable solutions for villages around the world to access fresh, healthy water.

We love following the impact technology has on music. The LP produced great albums, the CD great songs and the MP3 great sounds. As much of a sweeping generalization as that is, the concept of the mashtape is definitely a product of its time. The Audiobytes for Autobots music factory just pushed out their newest mashtape 2.0. The record lifts everything from M.I.A. to Wilco to the Doors to make a beautiful jungle of sounds. Aside from being amazing the album is FREE — another sign of being right out of the Napster generation of music. Go pick it up here and see who can name the most artist sampled.

Let’s play a little word association. When we say Noah Brier what do you think of? A man? Yes (we think). A blog? Not bad. A man with a blog dedicated to finding out what word connotations people associate with global brands from Apple to VH1? Well, that’s not exactly one word, but it is correct. Noah has set up a little psychological experiment called Brand Tags that’s been gaining steam across the Interwebs. He flashes a corporate logo, you shout out a word. Those choice phrases show up in a tag cloud that yields some interesting results. Of course you have your requisite idiots piping in with Sucks, Lame, Capitalist Assholes … but you also get some intuitive feedback in between the garbage responses. Although the architect is quick to point out there are no wrong answers, we say the people putting in “gay” for every brand is doing the site a disservice. (Unless you were talking about Bravo!)

To us, stars look just like a few white dots in a light polluted sky. However, if you wanted to see some stellar hotness, all you have to do is get the proper photo equipment to capture the star trails — the time lapse paths created by the Earth’s rotation. But if you don’t have a bunch of complex photo equipment, maybe you should just check out the latest T-shirt from Collision Theory available at the Design by Humans shop, (which previously carried his 1000 Cranes tee). The Chasing Star Trails design captures the essence of star trail photography combined with metallic ink print to give his creation that other-wordly glow. It just so happens it looks great in this world, too.

Wedding invitations are often reflective of the type of affair they represent. Thick, glossy paper and gaudy gold trim, not to mention extravagant calligraphy are usually indicative of a stuffy affair. If you’re planning on getting married anytime soon and don’t want to go the traditional invitiation route, perhaps you’d be interested in some of the designs from Unless Someone Like You’s Etsy shop. Run by a 27-year-old mom out of Chicago, she specializes in creating custom poster invites using an illustrated photo of the couple. It’s a memento of love that, while maybe not traditional, is certainly enduring as a work of art. If wedding posters aren’t your thing, the shop also offers other beautifully illustrated invitation options that are worth every penny.

The salt revolution is coming. I know, we all thought artisan salts were totally passé in the gourmet world, now that everyone and their mom has had Himalayan pink sea salt. It’s time to put it on something else besides bread and meat. The latest drink accessory? Salt. My salty source tells me the master cocktail craftsman (he hates being called a mixologist) at Cyrus is paving the way with Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt rimmed specialty cocktails … we’re not talking about your $5 happy hour Chevy’s margarita. While this new concoction of Cyrus’ famous Scott Beattie has been unconfirmed, ask for the Caprese Martini rimmed with Grey Sea Salt. If you are looking for a way to add salt to your non-alcoholic repertoire, try adding the buttery and rare Aguni Japanese Sea Salt to your morning espresso — it will remove any unwanted bitterness. Whether its Fleur de Sel, Grey Sea Salt or the Alaea Hawaiian — its totally in.