My pals at Mimobot partnered with the good guys at Infectious to come up with a plan to find the next design for a mimobot. Grand prize winner gets $1,000. This should be fun!

The parking landscape of the urban jungle can often be rather dull. Those who have the need to keep their speedy vehicles within reach at all times are forced to maneuver their esteemed automobile in between layers of drab cement akin to the area where someone might be held for committing twelve counts of computer fraud. Rather than allowing your mean machine to languish in a prison cell for three to five, the fine folks at designboom and Nissan want to see you do something about it. Namely, they want you to come up with a better home for those brave little engines that could. Their Think Outside the Parking Box International Design Competition asks you (the reader and designer extraordinaire that you are) to “reinvent conventional ideas of urban parking.” Yes, they’re looking for a few good ideas, whether it’s a super robot with giant arms that gently places your car down in the suburbs or a simple garage that converts your carbon monoxide emissions into flowers. It’s up to you, but you’ve only got until September 27th to enter. So get a move on.

We’re giving away 5 hardback PSFK Snapshot Brooklyn books to a few very lucky readers. Want to enter? Lets do it Twitter Re-tweet contest style. Tweet the following and I’ll pick 5 winners Friday: RT Contest: I want to win the PSFK Snapshot Brooklyn Book from @joshspear

Good luck!

We’ve got a few Eye-Fi Wireless Photo and Video Memory cards to giveaway from our friends at Photojojo- they find the best photo shiz anywhere. If you’re unfamiliar, the bad ass Eye-Fi SD Memory cards allow you to wirelessly upload photos and video from your camera to your computer, transfer the images from remote locations right to file sharing sites, and geo-tag your images on the spot. We love them.

So, for the giveaway I’ve decided to try a Retweet (RT) contest on Twitter. Tweet the following and I’ll choose a winner randomly next week: RT Contest: I Want an Eye-Fi Video! http://su.pr/16MBDt #joshspear

My pal Jeff Staple just announced the launch of reed pages, his magazine venture. I’m always impressed with him and his ability to spread his mission and ideas across all mediums from consulting to apparel, digital, and now back to the basics of awesome print and paper (this looks so good, I’d categorize it as a book). And anytime he launches something new, I think about a good way I can bring it to my own readers.

So, to celebrate the inaugural Issue 1, we’re going to giveaway a year subscription. It’s pretty simple.

This quote appears in the premier issue of Reed Pages. Fill in the blanks below and you win.

“New _____________ is okay but why does it have to be so ugly? The ___________ and ___________ should have to answer to an aesthetic community board that won’t let them build awful ___________.”

Comments will be held for moderation, and we’ll approve and pick the winners Friday! Good luck!

It’s time to get the hell out of dodge. Yeah yeah, we know, we’re in a recession. But, on the other hand…airfares and hotel rooms are the lowest they’ve been in ages. Still can’t swing it? Ok, well…what are your thoughts on a free trip to Tahiti?

Tahiti Tourism just launched the Invest In Your Love contest and the prize is free airfare, inter-island transport, and six nights of deluxe accommodations on two of Tahiti’s breathtakingly beautiful – and relatively secluded islands. To ener, fire up your video camera and create a convincing video of how a trip to the island nation could “help you invest in your love” and post it to YouTube via their site.

Six contests are being staged, but if you want to attempt to win the first, be sure to submit your entry by June 11th! We’re so there it’s not even funny.

Going through my ridiculously large memory box this past weekend, I came across a few particularly classic ’80s items amidst old report cards and photos: colored rubber bracelets, a two-sided Swatch phone and a photo of me wearing clear jelly shoes that took begging and promises of finishing my homework to get. It looks like I’m not the only one recently waxing nostalgia. With the Cons History Hunt, Converse Brazil is asking the public to send in videotape footage, homemade DVD vids, photos—whatever recorded memory you have—of their shoes in a serious effort to build up their archives.The best photo gets a rare, blindingly white sample model of the Cons CTS shoe in size 40—I’ll leave it to you sneaker freaks to decode what this size is in American speak—which comes in a sleek wood shoebox. Unfortunately the contest is only open to Brazilians, so if you want these shoes that bad and think you have the winning photo, I suggest you make a Brazilian amigo real fast and do some negotiating.

We've got some dope stuff from two cutting edge artists, and we want to give it to you.

SPRFKR and MSTRKRFT are both killing it in their respective fields. California-based designer and artist SPRFKR (a.k.a. Marco Rached) converted his love of comics and doodling into some of the most colorful, visually aggressive, and envelope-pushing T-shirt designs around. His first-ever solo show, “Mujeres y Flores”, is opening April 4 at the Con Safos Gallery in Santa Ana, California.

Meanwhile, Canadian super-duo MSTRKRFT are at the top of their game, mixing power-electro with dance-punk and house. Their latest album, Fist of God dropped March 17. Following their recent crowdsurf-inducing set at SXSW, MSTRKRFT is setting out on tour this summer — including a stop off at Coachella. You can get a taste for what their legendary live sets are like with the new vid for the album's first track, “Bounce” featuring N.O.R.E and Isis.

So besides killer art and a sick new album, what's in it for you? We've got two prize sets to hand out. Leave a comment below and we'll randomly pick two lucky art and music lovers. The first will get an original SPRFKR work from the current show (valued at $1000), their choice of any SPRFKR tee, and the new MSTRKRFT Fist of God CD. The second commenter gets their choice of SPRFKR tee and the “Fist of God” CD. Now get typing…

While some bands are well connected enough in the music biz to get producers like the Neptunes or Rick Rubin to work on their debut album, Brazilian metal-industrial band Omega Code is more concerned with getting artists like Joshua Davis (pictured here) and Mike Cina. Convinced that a visual element must accompany a true music-listening experience, the group commissioned these guys, plus an enviable crew of other top guns (Si Scott, Motomichi and Dimitre Lima, who has gone on to lush pastures since we introduced him here) to design posters incorporating their logo that will be given out for free when the album launches — which is also free. But that’s not all, folks. Accompanying this mega launch will be a book and DVD published by design mag icon IdN. They’ve opened the floodgates to fans too, encouraging illustrators and designers to submit their ideas for a chance to see their artwork alongside these graphic design gods. The newly extended deadline is March 31. Stay tuned to the band’s website for news on the posters and album release date.

Remember when we told you about Metal for Monsters? After achieving some success with their artist series of monster pendants benefiting UNICEF, Blend Creations launched a DIY version of the necklaces. Now they’ve combined the concepts, teaming up with Celebrate Green for a Mother’s Day contest. They’re looking for designs they can etch on stainless steel. Professionals and kids alike are invited to submit entries by March 17th, with the winner receiving an edition of his/her winning pendant and a copy of the Celebrate Green book. Don’t worry, UNICEF still gets a portion of all proceeds.

We’ve just put up our 5000th post on JoshSpear.com. Pretty rad, right?  We think so too, so we’re celebrating by giving away a little special something — a trip to NYC. Here’s the deal:

I’ll fly anyone in the continental United States to New York City for dinner somewhere ridiculously delicious (think sushi) with yours truly and some very special guests who have been featured on the site before. We’ll have a rocking dinner, I assure you. Then I’ll put you up in a super-swanky hotel in Soho. Boast to your friends, or invite them all to jump on your bed at the after party.

Comment below and I’ll randomly choose a winner next week. Who wouldn’t want a free trip to the best city in the world?

(We’ll arrange a good time that works for you sometime this spring)

Cleveland-based artist Phoebe Marie is unabashed about her mixed heritage and unapologetic about her sense of humor. Following her breakout/sold out Dia De Los Dunny series, she did a few Halloween editions. Now, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Phoebe combines two seemingly disparate cultures into one awesome toy. Her series of six original customized Dunnys reimagines the platform toy as a group of “drunken leprechauns.” Although half the pieces have already been sold to those who appreciate the intersection of Mexican and Irish rituals, a couple are still available for $45 each here. If you think you have the luck of the Irish (and a good St. Patrick’s Day yarn), Toycyte is giving away the sixth (and most elaborate) figure in the series. Leave a comment here with the best story of drunken misconduct.

There are those who are darn proud to break wind. We’re talking about Nike’s iconic Windrunner, of course, which started off as a functional apparel piece to cut pace-slowing headwinds. In their latest Brazilian campaign to promote these classic nylon jackets, Nike Sportswear called upon my dear friends Paula Reboredo and Gil França of street fashion blog Freakstyle to help oversee the one-off Windfreak Style contest. Sao Paulo residents are invited to send in photos of themselves in Windrunners, via their blogs, for a chance to win a package that includes (another) Windrunner and VIP tickets to Freakstyle’s monthly party — essentially the bragging rights far outweigh the prize. So far the entries range from dudes on skateboards to stylish fashion shoots. Help pick the winner by leaving your comments on the Flickr page. What a great example of connecting a campaign to the local market.

Design Within Reach may still not quite be within your monetary reach, but at least now they’re helping us to lend a hand. For the third year in a row, DWR — with the help of both its Denver and Seattle officers — are hosting the Design the Modern Board competition alongside K2 Snowboarding. Submit a graphic design by March 6th and you’ll have the chance to have your image take to the slopes. Voting will take place at the DWR Denver studio on March 27th. Proceeds from the boards will benefit the Snowboard Outreach Society that helps youth build self-esteem through outdoor activities.

It’s Valentine’s Day! You’re so f-ing sick of hearing that! But, it does give us a good segue (it’s sexy!) and nominal excuse (a gift for your Valentine!) to give away three copies of the Mr. and Mrs. Smith: The Global Shortlist that we featured last week. Of course you won’t actually get the copy by tomorrow, but like we’ve said before, what sweetheart doesn’t love the promise of a chance to get something at a later date? Comment below to enter, winners will be selected on Tuesday.