Thanks to everyone for their input regarding how to best use the floor and wall space in my very empty, very awesome new apartment and as promised, we’re giving away — arbitrarily! okay, only sort of — the three Ptry mimobots to our (okay, my) favorite submissions:

• Corey O’Malley, for the sexy rug and (recycled!) plastic adirondack chair suggestions
• Bud Caddell, for making Carmel and I giggle like delirious schoolgirls. Also, because we agree that everyone should own employ a Hamburgler or monkey butler. Seriously.
• Tehbias, whose Trove recommendation inspired a post all of its own.

Again, thanks for all your feedback, and if you weren’t lucky this time around, keep your eyes peeled for more giveaways really, really soon.

The brainchild of Australian graphic designers Rebecca Brown and Tanya Mckay, Blanket Magazine is an online publication that aims to “uncover new, emerging and established designers/artists/photographers, showcase their talent and give them a vehicle for self promotion.” So far, Blanket has produced five issues, each of which is available for download on its website. The issues focus around a theme and are released in four sections (to keep us all in a constant state of giddiness). Past releases have included “The Yellow Issue” and “The Urban Issue.” The latest issue is “The Face Issue,” and it features Spear Collective badass, Jesse Hora. But you don’t have to be friends with us to contribute to Blanket. Anyone can do it, simply by following the instructions here.

With a really clean site design featuring what I can only hope are original sketches by Brown and Mckay, along with a blog of their own which highlights other worthwhile design-related stuff on the internet (oh, that’s what a blog is? Thanks Dan!), Blanket Magazine is definitely worth a look. And I have nothing witty to add to that.

We know what you need: a website where you can post all of your fucked up shit artsy stuff, with total freedom and in total comfort. selfportrait allows users to post anything (yep, anything) they want for the sake of expression, and — not surprisingly — this has resulted in an incredibly incredible selection of user-generated art, film, music, fashion, computer arts, photography… and practically everything else in between. The nicest thing about selfportrait, I think, is the seemingly complete (or expertly hidden) absence of “that” attitude that normally surrounds art. Yes, there are tons of serious artists on the site, but due to selfportrait’s overall vibe, that classic art pretentiousness is neither embraced or coddled.

Artists can also sell their creations on selfportrait, and I’m pretty impressed with some of the things that are up for grabs (like this brilliant Photoshop masterpiece going for a gentle one mil; HA!). This could turn out to be a pretty amazing option for getting some fresh work in your collection (or selling your own work), so head on over for some new stuff, some well-known stuff, and some really, uh, interesting stuff.

The FDA treats aromatherapy similarly to the way it treats Echinacea, ginseng and other “dietary supplements.” Basically, a company can make all sorts of claims on the bottle as long as it doesn’t try to pass those claims off as scientific fact. I mention this because I’m writing about aromatherapy again and, as much as I like my bedroom to smell good, I don’t want anybody out there to actually think a scent is going to accomplish anything more than just that—making his room (or car) smell good.

Ok, now that my cynical smell rant is over, I can tell you about Air Aroma, an Australian company — so you know the Aussie on staff here is interested — that makes some very sleek looking scent diffusers to pair with their expertly-constructed scents. With six different lines of smells and nine different diffusers, there’s plenty to choose from here. Heather’s favorite, because she has a dirty mind and likes things that are shaped like bullets, missiles and…well never mind, is probably the Aromax diffuser, which apparently is “whisper silent.” Not that I asked her or anything. And no kidding, it looks like a nuclear warhead. A nuclear warhead of relaxing scents. It’ll blow you away (ba-dum ching). Thank you, I’ll be here all week, etc.

Barcelona-based Granada Design takes digitally-created artworks and turns them into exciting wall decorations. That sounds like something I could get into myself, if it weren’t for the part that involves “manually printing the designs on thick fabrics,” an endeavor that would probably take focus away from my day job. I guess I’ll just leave it to them, then, because the founders behind Granada Design seem to have plenty of experience in making sure their framed art leaves the studio in a proper state of perfection. Each of their four current collections boasts a combination of color, light, and harmony, with each option available in three colorways. I’m particularly fond of the Seddiki collection, a modern and minimalistic set of lines, sharp shapes, and saturated colors. Things are rather diverse over there, so have no fear; if modern’s not your forte, there’s plenty more to see.

I’d like to direct your attention to the newly launched Eco Seek: a user-populated search engine “for all things green.” While it doesn’t go as far as Greendeavor in terms of depth and user involvement, with a points system to incentivize green shopping — I think it may serve a purpose as a simple, straight-forward, and broad based green products search engine. It’s also going to be a good place — once it gets more ‘user populated’ — to find links, articles, and tips “for all things green.” So all of you who use great green products, go submit your finds to Eco Seek and help them become a thorough, useful, and effective place to find earth-friendly products.

New York’s alternative watch maker Nooka is known for both their abstract approach to time keeping and their creatively free approach to designing those watches. What better form of collaboration, then, would there be other than to pair up with Shin Tanaka, paper artist extraordinaire, to produce a very fun (and very different) salute to two of the best things the brand is known for?

The Nooka x Shin Tanaka collab takes the form of a downloadable Nooka boxboy template, which can then be personalized to one’s liking and resubmitted online. Unlike Nooka’s prior collaborations (which we always get pretty worked up about), the union with Tanaka is available in wonderfully unlimited quantities. So, if you’re feeling creatively inclined today, grab some crayons, warm up your printer, and head over here and get to work on your very own paper watch monster.

Core77 just announced their latest One Hour Design Challenge, and this time there’s a Nintendo Wii up for grabs. So, what does one have to do to score the system that makes champions of both rockstars and losers alike, you may ask? Bust out your tablet, skip lunch and design a water-saving plan for a bathroom. Not toooo shabby for an hour’s work…unless you’re an illustrationally-challenged lifeform, or would just rather stand in your shower, soaping up your althlete’s foot. To get in on the action — you have until Monday — click here, and to see the entries to date, visit Core77’s forum here.

For me, the title was all it took; with a name like Secret Asian Man how could you not love it? It automatically brings to mind the favorite song: Secret Agent Man (presumably the song that SAM was named after). Of course, reading a few of Tak Toyoshima’s comic strips didn’t let me down at all.

From its start as a two-page-per-issue comic in a small Boston monthly, SAM has grown to national syndication over the last 9 years. Secret Asian Man is now the first nationally-syndicated comic strip featuring an Asian American hero character. The newest step for Secret Asian Man is a partnership with AsianAve.com, an Asian-oriented social networking site. AsianAve.com will feature a new SAM comic each week, making Toyoshima’s work available for the first time to a worldwide audience.

The Secret Asian Man comic is based around the life its creator, and offers a reflection on his experiences growing up as an Asian American in the United States. While there are many humorous and light-hearted moments, Toyoshima also uses SAM to take a closer look at the roles of race and stereotype in the US. The comic opens the door on subjects ranging from politics to restaurants, each from a unique perspective.

–Danny Nathan