Remember those super-sexy Hulger bases we were drooling over a few weeks ago? Of course you do– the ones for the Penelope and PIP phones we all want for our Skype calls but simply can’t justify buying? They’re finally shipping in 3 colors for the Penelope phone and in black for the PIP phone for around $50-$63.

It’s rare I just ’stumble’ upon an interesting shop when I’m visiting NYC– I stay pretty tapped in to my contributors (and family) living here. But, for whatever reason, until now, I’d never been inside the doors of the famed Babeland store in Soho. Today I lost my Babeland virginity and ventured inside. The shop was lined with what I expected: Sex toys of all shapes and sizes, rocket-power vibrators, how to guides and everything in between– this was nothing new. What surprised me was the decor: sleek, minimalist and clean– and the vibe( no pun intended) was unpretentious, helpful and fun. The founders Rachel Venning and Claire Cavanah really have done a great job with this shop and the overall branding. There are two locations in NYC: Soho and the Lower East Side, as well as the original Seattle, WA Flagship, and a recently (2005) debuted fourth store in Los Angeles, CA. Not surprising, Zagat recently awarded Babeland Soho with “the best shopping experience in New York.”

Chris Milk sure knows how to turn out music videos–he has directed videos for an eclectic entourage of musical groups: from Kanye West, to Modest Mouse, to Courtney Love. For Kanye West’s ‘Jesus Walks’ video, Chris ingeniously blended religious symbolism and imagery with ‘profane’ images of racism, drugs, and prostitution in an attempt to dispel the notion of a good/evil dichotomy. His newest, a video for Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Gone Daddy Gone, shown here, melds ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,’ an animated ‘Cee-Lo flea,’ a can of Raid, and bestial sexual imagery into one hell of a video. Chris has made a name for himself by producing aesthetically interesting and morally reflective music videos that are destined to become the subject of many water cooler conversations. But how he made the flea look so much like Cee-Lo will forever remain a mystery to me.

Audi has the reputation of producing high-end, stylish, and consumer-popular all wheel drive cars. But Audi’s image is beginning to change a little with its movement into the ‘my car’s faster than yours but cost more than my house’ market. Audi had an impressive and unprecedented win at Le Mans this past summer with its turbo diesel, 650 hp V12 R10, showing its savvy with engine technology. Building on its success at Le Mans, Audi is set to release the new R8 in the middle of 2007. Boasting a mid-mounted V8 that puts 420 hp to all four tires, high-rev concept engine technology, and a 6-speed R-tronic sequential gear box (via paddles or joystick), the R8 promises to be a good ‘first try’ by Audi to jump into the high-end sports car market (and should be one hell of a company car for us next year). Audi did a great job with the R8’s sexy, yet beastly design–if I had to pick a two-animal mix … great white shark, and black panther. Check out those LED headlights! And as we are fans of well-designed websites, it is worth pointing out that Audi’s site for the R8 is top notch; the site also does a good job explaining the innovative technologies that I just glossed-over.

For the kid in everyone, Switzerland based Dadadum makes the Gregory Calendar, which allows you (or your 3-year-old niece) to connect the dots between dates on the calendar to reveal a fun illustration at the end of the month (that is, if your 3-year-old niece’s patience doesn’t collapse, causing her to connect all dots on the first day of the month, thereby prematurely revealing the fun illustration). Kid jokes aside, the calendar can have decidedly adult application (see inset photo). Plus, the holiday season is quickly approaching and — lets face it — we can all use ideas. You can buy the Gregory Calendar directly from Dadadum’s website. By the time they ship it to you in the U.S., you will be out of pocket 31 Euros ($40 U.S.), but don’t worry–your niece is worth every penny.

For those who like to spend way too much money on your snowboard outerwear — and like to be the the person who somehow (to the chagrin of his friends) gets his hands on the limited-quantity, boutique-y gear — iDiom’s Gray Scale Series is just a tram ride to Japan away. A sub-brand of snowboard gear behemoth Burton, iDiom has leveraged an intelligent collaboration with Japanese streetwear designer Hiroshi Fujiwara to make a solid imprint on the international snowboard scene in the past few years. Their garments are expensive for sure, but resonate well with those who have a keen eye for functional details, forward-thinking design, and thoughtful color schemes. iDiom’s newest line — The Gray Scale Series — is just what the name suggests: a grayscale marriage of classic and new iDiom styles, complete with stylish pinstripes, polka dots, and the like. My personal favorite is the Continuum Down Jacket (~$500 U.S.), because it harmoniously blends style, warmth, and lightweight technology. I am not completely sure how elusive this new iDiom line is, but if anyone has an idea, leave a comment.

I’m feeling a bit nostalgic with this one. Every child of the 80’s remembers fondly their boombox (a.k.a. Ghetto Blaster). Remember walking down the street with your Ghetto Blaster on your shoulder, blasting Rapper’s Delight, getting sour looks from passersby who for some reason didn’t like the genre and/or volume of the music rupturing out of your ten inch speakers? The thing weighed more than your than your kid brother for god’s sake! Fortunately (for most of us at least), Ghetto Blasters have given way to much more socially acceptable devices we can use to listen to our music in public–the chassis of which weigh a lot less (see iPod for example). But the thought of the Ghetto Blaster still makes me feel warm inside, and I can’t help but to think that I would be the proverbial ‘kid in a candy store’ in Tokyo’s Turbo Sonic vintage boombox boutique. Turbo Sonic’s website is — as is to be expected — written in Japanese, but you can get some further insight into Turbo Sonic by visiting the Boombox Museum’s website and linking into photos from the author’s trip to Turbo Sonic. The Boombox Museum is a nifty little resource in itself. Enjoy.
Via XLR8R

As many of you can tell I am a sucker for vintage clothing, so I feel it is my duty to tell you about one of the premier vintage clothing stores in the country. What Goes Around Comes Around was started in Soho in 1993 by two buddies who had a passion for vintage t-shirts. 14 years later the duo houses a 100,000 piece collection of vintage clothing in addition to a self-titled clothing line they launched last year. The shop features countless vintage leather jackets, old levi’s and 80’s concert tee’s. In addition to the storefront, WGACA opened a 7,000 square-foot Archive, which to date is the largest collection of vintage clothing available. The Archive is appointment only and is a one-stop shop for celebrities, designers, and stylists. For those of you who are interested in getting your hands on the new WGACA label you can check out stores like Bloomingdale’s, Intermix and Bergdorf Goodman to name a few. If you don’t want vintage inspired clothing, but actually vintage; then click over to WGACA’s website and pick yourself up a $300 Def Leppard Tee or a $950 original pair of Levi’s.