Although we’ve been listening to it for some time now (as I’m sure a lot of you have– so save the comments), I wanted to key the rest of you into Bloc Party’s soon to be released album, A Weekend in the City. Due to be released on February 6th, it could either be considered the band’s sophomore album, or it’s third album, depending on how you want to look at it. Their first, Silent Alarm, put the band on the map; it was such a success that they released a remixed version of the album, collaborating with a host of other music talents to do so. The remix, to me at least, is an album all its own, possessing a completely different feel and sound than it’s ‘daddy.’ A Weekend in the City is what you would expect for their second album– more refined and lyrically superior, but the fact remains that it isn’t Silent Alarm, the album many of us fell in love with. ‘The Prayer‘ is the well-written single that you can listen to now– I suggest you do, because it just may be one of the best songs Bloc Party has ever written (lyrically speaking). Also, here’s a track list for the new album.

The Darfur Wall project is taking an interesting approach at visualizing the devastating data around the mass genocide in Darfur. The site shows 400,000 numbers (from 1 to 400,000), one for each person killed in Darfur– donate one dollar or more to turn a number from dark gray to brilliant light and honor one lost life. At that time of writing this, 10343 numbers have been lit, or 2.59%– What’s probably more remarkable is that this was from only 716 donations, making the average donation $15. 100% of all proceeds go to four different independent Darfur relief organizations– what are you waiting for?

Uncanny crocheted likeness of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong II, Ahmadinejad and George W. Bush, an exclusive conversation-starting stocking-stuffer possibility from Moss Online. These are too funny! Via Made Wise

The Unseen Video is a weather controlled, dynamic music video generator that has the goal of creating new synergies between the music, the video, and the surroundings of the viewer. The site creates a unique flash video that is gauged on the weather and local time from the viewer’s position (check out the ‘making of‘ page– its pretty interesting how the generator actually works). Because the inputs to the video generator are ever-changing and dynamic, you’ll never see the same video twice. Sure, it may look similar from minute to minute, but come April it will be completely different. Check out the screenshot from the video I got (above); as you can tell, I am currently in cold-as-ice Colorado in December. As a testament to its innovation, the site recently won the Content Fusion Award at the Europrix Top Talent Awards in Hamburg, Germany.

Designer toys make great gifts, from the Pee and Poo toys to Lego Mindstorm’s– here are our picks from the vaults. Enjoy!

• Pee and Poo: The Unflushables: I know some of you wouldn't as much as entertain the idea of buying someone the gift of Pee and Poo… Continue Reading

• Lego Mindstorms NXT: When I was a wee lad, I played with Legos. To me, Legos were those little plastic blocks that came in different colors and sizes; the sky… Continue Reading

• Star Wars Mimobots: We have kept you informed about Mimoco's gradual release of their Star Wars Series 1 Mimobots, and we're happy to report that Series 1 is now complete… Continue Reading

• The Moofia: A sneak peak at the ultra-cute new mini figure series from STRANEGco and tokidoki. The hottest stocking stuffers this season, for sure… Continue Reading

• Super Bastard Toys: It's simple, fun, and inexpensive gift time. Our pal Undoboy has parlayed his abundant design talent into these Super-Bastard art characters… Continue Reading

• UNKL Toys: New SUGs, the Tactical Unit team member working for you are finally here, courtesy of UNKL… Continue Reading

• Hazamapos: I've always been a big fan of the UNKL toys, especially the Hazmapos series. In celebration of the super-special B1 Series, UNLK created a limited… Continue Reading

I have to admit, it’s hard to imagine making way for the S.O.V. on a skateboard– seeing the biggest midget in the game doing kick flips and ollies isn’t anything I’ve ever imagined. Humorous image aside (hey, maybe she can rip the park up), I’m digging the Lady Sovereign vs Zoo York collaboration deck. The deck is limited to 340 promo-only pieces, so probably tough to get your hands on one. But hey, if anyone could get one (or raise money to get one), it’s probably Zach Slow.

Xplicid is a new European t-shirt subscription startup I’ve got a nice feeling about– They aim to feature artists and designers from around the world, making sure to keep their lineup as diverse and unique as possible. Obviously, shirts are limited edition and you won’t be able to get them unless you’re apart of their program. The first shirt, shown here, is from ICBLAB in Hamburg Germany.

For over a year now, WEdia.tv has had a simple aim concerning a complex problem: to gain more television exposure for the many humanitarian crises transpiring throughout the world. Working with the assumption that ratings-driven media outlets — which are to a certain extent important to world-wide exposure of these problems — frequently lack the resources and motivation to cover these stories sufficiently, WEdia.tv acts as a supplement– an independent source of funding and support to both journalists and NGOs to increase coverage of humanitarian disasters. In 2005, WEdia.tv covered the famine in Mali and Niger, and its footage was picked up by every major American network as well as by Reuters and the AP. More recently, they partnered with Action Against Hunger to document the persistent disease and malnutrition killing 1,200 people a day (!) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am impressed by WEdia.tv’s drive to use creative and novel means to address and expose very significant world wide problems.

Our Cleveland, OH based friends at Wrath Arcane Clothing just tipped us off that a second Brigade Clothing Store will be opening soon the Cleveland area. There’s already one in the warehouse district, and the new one in the historic eastside neighborhood of Coventry will be opening at the end of January. Brigade has the men’s and women’s labels we like; to name a few: Wrath Arcane, Nice Collective, Rag and Bone, Surface to Air, Corpus, and J Lindeberg. Keep your eyes peeled for the new store opening and if you find yourself in the Cleveland area, go check them out.