Josh Spear fave Matt Pyke, founder of Universal Everything, is continuing his stunning video and branding work with Nokia but this time wants us to all join in too.

To help create a new animation for Nokia stores, Universal Everything is throwing a collaborative animation competition. To enter, all you need to do is take pictures of you, or anyone you know, holding a blank piece of paper. Upload the pics to the contest's Flickr site and the design wizards at Universal Everything will draw cell animation onto each blank frame. The aim is to engage thousands of people around the world and create a truly global animation project that keeps growing and growing.

The contributor who gets the most frames into the final animation wins a Nokia N95 8GB. That's good, but the real prize would be getting to see your shot in one of Universal Everything's industry-leading animations.

Most pillows are there to make you more comfortable…or for someone to hit you in the face with. We prefer the former and it seems that Jack Crossing does, too. The pillow design, created by the third year graphic and communication design student, is part of a chair made of stained wood oak, and tells you exactly what it's there for. The words “Seat Down” imply the user to fasten their backside to the cushion while boasting a pretty sweet pattern of chair related images along with terrific typographical samples. Crossing's stellar seat logo is also featured on a variety of other products, which can be seen here.

Nearly a year has passed since we told you about Changethethought, a site from our friend and fellow Spear Collective member, Chris Cox. The site is still going strong, but that's not to say it hasn't gone through some big tweaks. Changethethought still exhibits Cox's talent in the realms of print, illustration, typography, motion, the web and apparel, but a recent epiphany has led Cox began to change his thoughts. In his current blog post, Chris admits to feeling bogged down by the thought of “producing heaps and heaps of cool stuff.” As a result, our friend has become much more focused on “better design,” a decision we certainly applaud.

There's a saying that goes, everything old is new again (or something like that). While we think that mostly has to do with bellbottoms and polyester jackets, we don't see how it can't apply to traditional items employed in religious rites of passage, too — in fact, we think it applies beautifully to the New Ketubahs by Tsilli Pines. The Israeli-American graphic designer and artist has put quite the refreshing spin on an ancient practice by creating a modern version for design minded folks who have a hard time finding something that fits their style in the way of the Jewish wedding documents traditionally used as a legal contract and more broadly as a statement of commitment between the bride and groom. Pines' creations are simple and elegant archival designs with parts that are sewn into the paper for that handcrafted touch, making for a marriage contract sweeter than honey and apples, or that glass of Manischewitz.

As a child, my brother and I spent many hours transforming our basement into a small mid-western Lego city complete with a law enforcement squad capable of patrolling the high seas. Unfortunately, we never were able to see the artistic capabilities of these building blocks of art and architecture beyond what the instructions for the Lego Police Station and Airport told us to do..and fortunately, our work isn't on display at Peace of Piece Tokyo. The Lego-sponsored art event to raise money and awareness for Unesco opened on February 1st and runs through February 25th at the Parco Art Gallery in Shibuya, Japan. Much of the works on display consist of refashioned world heritage sites and two-dimensional works that give a nod to world peace in all their Lego glory. One of the featured artists is Nooka Inc's principle Matthew Waldman, whose piece, Peace Memorial for Great Buildings Lost is inspired by the loss of great buildings and monuments destroyed by war and unrest. If you find yourself in the Japan area, we recommend checking out this great exhibit for a great cause.

A super-duper music geek friend just linked me to Anthology Recordings, the first digital reissue label which, within 5 minutes, already had me tuned in to rarities I never knew even existed. Fabulous ’60s Thai go-go girl band? Check. Compelling, heart-lifting soul from Bobby Patterson? Uh-huh. Early recordings from stoner rock progenitors Sir Lord Baltimore? Yeah, baby. According to a chat with Wired, the label’s Keith Abrahamsson takes advantage of songs and albums that have outlasted their copyright dates and whose ownership have gone back to the artists themselves. It’s a good deal for everyone; you pay as little as .98 cents for a song, $9.98 for an album, and the artists get their well-deserved cash. Listening to the music samples are fun, but reading the biographies, oftentimes written by a producer or band member of the group you’re checking out, adds a personal touch you won’t find on other MP3 sites. And as if they haven’t already made us giddy with this service, all the tracks are DRM free. Which means you can listen to your purchases via the multiple methods you want but be sure to make your friends buy their own copies. It’s the right thing to do and can prove again to the big record companies that we can be responsible for the music that we adore.