We were blown away by the beauty and love rippling through New York photographer Phillip Toledano's lovely “Days With My Father”. In the days leading up to the U.S. election, Toledano switches from the personal to the political with his new online project “America The Gift Shop”.

Asking “What do we have to remind us of the events of the last eight years?”, Toledano's “store” offers they typical line-up of familiar mementos and souvenirs, but with a disturbing political twist. From an Abu Ghraib bobble-head doll, to a snow globe depicting Dick Cheney shredding secret documents, to a T-shirt reading “I was rendered to a secret prison and all I got was this lousy T-shirt”, the items would all be humorous if it wasn't for the shocking and atrocious realities they represent. Each piece begins as an entertaining notion and then shifts quickly into solid statement. Like when the candy bar “Choc and Awe”, once unwrapped, reveals the infamous slogan “Mission Accomplished” engraved on the chocolate inside.

Though souvenirs are normally treasured, kept to celebrate and commemorate happiness, the wares inside “America The Gift Shop” should be taken to heart with equal value. Not to celebrate, but to remember and acknowledge. If “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, then remembering the follies and mistakes of the last eight years could be one of the most important things you'll ever do.

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Andy Yan has created a monster! Actually, he’s created several monsters. Originally he had only planned on putting his adorable animated ogres to work for himself, as a way to ask a girl he liked to the prom. Instead, he founded a clothing company and a much greater purpose for his AndyMonsters. Using the images of his tenacious teddy bears for a cause even more noble than a date, Mr. Yan has teamed up to raise money for some very deserving charities. One hundred percent of the proceeds from his “Smile” shirts will go to Smile Train, a charity that raises money for surgery for children with clef palates. Meanwhile, all of the proceeds from his “Wishing You Well” design benefit The Water Project, an organization that build wells for clean drinking water in third world countries. It turns out AndyMonsters might not be such monsters after all.

Earlier this year we told you about a high-profile Brazilian skate art exhibit called Expo Skate Obsession at Maze Skate Shop that brought together the most known names in the discipline into one building. The project went so well that a book chronicling the participating artists and groundbreaking show was just released this week. Partnering with Adidas, the it was sold at the big price of free (how’s that for democracy!) at the launch party. I was totally flattered to be asked to participate as translator of the artist biographies, and I’m super impressed with how well the slick, hardcover book came out, especially with the design and well-executed photos (shot by skate legend and Cemporcento Brazilian skate mag editor Alexandre Vianna). If you just gotta have this book, I’m confident if you beg and plead to Maze they might be convinced to send you one of these skate must-haves if you offer up shipping costs.

An art advocacy non-profit based in Brooklyn brings us a show featuring two artists bending the template of urban art. AVOne of Destroy & Rebuild creates pieces inspired by classic street art and John Wright brings us Convoluted Construct, a peek into his fascinatingly twisted mind. The show opens October 11th @ Deity Lounge. Check out onefokus.org for details on the organization and the show.

The Obama campaign is the first to have an array of independent T shirt designs so vast. From hip and subtle slogans to air-brushed burners, the Barack drive has officially inspired art. Trevor Smith and Daniel Venegas bring us yet another variation with their Yes We Can! Revolution design. Best of all, every cent it earns goes to support the Obama campaign. Pre-order now at ilikebarry.com

Everything’s going green these days, and the toy world is no exception. Perhaps appealing to our guilt at the amount of plastic we consume as toy fanatics, a growing crop of collectibles attempts to balance the extraneous and the ecological. Just because you live in the city doesn’t mean you can’t grow a garden. In America, artists are making potheads out of Kidrobot’s Munny figures. Japan exports Crack-a-heads egg-shaped herb gardens, the mecha-meets-Chia Igrobot and Nyokki: a set of ceramic plant “pets” perfect for people who are allergic to animals (but not grass). Spain went green way back in 2004 with Martí Guixé’s Plant-Me-Pet, which won him a DesignPlus award. Those figures are currently making a resurgence with toy collectors; if you can bear to bury them, they’ll reward you with pumpkins, melons and tomatoes. For more information on the growing trend of eco-toys, check out Herb-n Art Toys at ToyCyte.

Levi’s and Murakami seem to doing collaborations left and right these days. Mathematically speaking, we knew they would cross paths at some point. Now they have and we have the photos to prove it. Murakami has worked with the landmark jeans to create a pair with little flower creatures echoing down the pant leg. A limited line of jeans, shirts and a jacket is expected to come, keep your eyes out because they will be very limited.

Photo courtesy hkanytime.com

Beginning on September 25th with a private showing (then open to the public on September 26th), Steve Lazarides heads up an exhibition of outsider art in the Bowery. Lazarides, who represents Banksy, will be bringing art by Faile, David Choe, Paul Insect, Reas, Invader, Zevs, Bast, Blu, Antony Micallef, Vhils, Conor Harrington, Miranda Donovan, JR, Jonathan Yeo and many more. The group show will run for at least two weeks. A book by Lazarides, entitled Outsiders, is being published next month.