The JDF (Japan Design Foundation) will be hosting the 2006 International Design Competition in Osaka, Japan later this year, but with the technical details that being a competitor involves we thought we'd give you the heads up. This year's emphasis will be on “conveying visions and messages concerning the future of humankind,” with the main theme being ROBOTS. The sub-themes include communication, transport, and support and with prize money of up to $10,000 for the gold prize plan to see hoards of mechanical men in November when screening begins. (Hope they caught our post on “How to Survive a Robot Uprising”) The JDF hopes to “provide more positive opportunities for business talks between design proposers and companies from the manufacturing and distribution industries, as well as facilitate the establishment of a system to commercialize the proposed design ideas.” We can't wait to see what they come up with!

Hunting for that much desired, limited edition pair of kicks can be an ordeal, especially if you spend your time browsing through page after page of eBay listings. Enter Kicks Engine, a visual tool that relieves your blistered fingers by searching the latest listings of your favorite kicks on eBay and then categorizes them into Air Force, Dunks Hi, Jordans, etc. Utilizing a graphic template, Kicks Engine allows you to just click on the image, which transports you to the latest results. What’s special is that they filter out the spam listings so you get the most relevant and up to date entries, i.e. you don’t get Clydes if you’re looking for Dunks, making sneaker shopping on eBay that much more tolerable. For now the sneaker community will remain the envy of all those other auction sites with our little piece of shopping genius!

Camels are exotic, all by themselves. In fact, they've become a bit cliché in travel photography. But, unlike their elite Turkish owners, it turns out they're not all that feisty. So, at your typical camel-fight, bets are placed, long-haired cross-breeds, known as “tulus”, are costumed up in colorful coats, females are brought in for motivation (all fights occur during mating season) and the head-butting, tripping and chasing begin. The audience is more amused than anything. That is, when they're not running for their lives. Though the event is slowly dying due to the high cost of keeping and feeding a camel, it makes for a pretty good story at the next holiday gathering. You can catch a meet in Aydin, Anatalya or near Pamucak beach. Just look for the milky saliva coming from a docile camel's nostrils and be ready to get out of the way. Camels weigh a ton. Literally.

In yet another home run by their marketing department (or more likely Crispin Porter), the folks at Volkswagon took a guy from Colorado, put him in a VW Rabbit taxi and had him drive people around the Big Apple. 100 fares in 14 days with passengers as varied as an Asian superstar to an older gentleman who needed a ride down the street to visit the clinic. Each fare is openly recorded with dash cams and it’s interesting to see the nervousness and suspicion on some passengers’ faces, though they all eventually open up. Steve, the driver (and filmmaker), is refreshingly candid and respectful, often prodding his fares for advice on the best way to navigate the mean streets of New York City and how to be a “better” cabbie. Much like Taxicab Confessions, though less graphic and vulgar, the Gypsy Cab Project gives us a rare look into the little stories that make all of us unique.