I'm very excited to be headed to Dubai for a few days this evening! Update: Gah! Sickness has taken over and I was unable to make the flight.  Looking forward to visiting another time. 

 The primary purpose of the trip is to take part in the Inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda, by the World Economic Forum. A few months ago after my participation in Davos, I was nominated to one of the councils (marketing and branding, an absolute honor) and this is the first major meeting for the group as a whole to talk about the purpose and issues each council will be focusing on. There are 70 different councils; everything from science, the environment, to the internet. The WEF is describing the occasion as a “new unique gathering of the world's most influential thinkers… to advance solutions to the most critical challenges facing humanity.” It's certainly a pretty big claim, but I'm very humbled to have been invited, as it's an opportunity to give back in a big way with all our individual organizations alongside an incredible facilitator, the forum.

Although I'll be focusing on the work at hand, I am using my free day and a half before I head back to New York as a chance to check out a few things like the new Airbus A380 on the flight over (an insane piece of aircraft innovation), go skiing indoors (seems like an ecological nightmare but I'll wait and hold judgement until I see it), and see a few other famous places (Tea at the Burj, etc). This is my first time to Dubai, so as usual if you have any tips for food, drink, shops, insider thoughts, must-see things etc, please comment below or drop me a line. Thanks!

We’ve all ODed on politics this go around: the pundits, stump speeches, posters, rallies and spin. Well all of that is over and today we vote. Cutting through all the spin and politics is a website SayHear that allows people to call in and record a short message of why they are voting for Obama, McCain, other or not voting. Think twitter + politics + audio. I’ve been listening on and off all day long and it is amazing to hear some of the reasons people have made their choice for President. The site is anonymous, showing only the state and area code you call in from. It should go without saying, if you haven’t voted yet (and are eligible to) please make it out to the polls today. After you vote call into SayHear and record your reasons.

Via Zoomdoggle

Related: Soapbox

Filmmaker Ryan Gielen had the idea for the coming-of-age film “The Graduates” (essentially, high school buddies travel to Ocean City for one last hurrah and female attention) as well as locations and a cast. What he didn’t have was money for music. Along with executive producer and brother Matthew Gielen, he posted a call for track submissions from independent musicians on MySpace, Craigslist, and the like. Among the 10,000 samples they received were a few the duo felt captured their story’s angsty roadtrip feel, including Plushgun, New Rags, and Sonia Montez.

“A lot of people find big hangups in music license for their films, so they have a friend do every song or use second tier scores,” Ryan said. “But there’s so much independent musician talent available that we wanted to create a situation that would be good for everybody.” His film’s exposure for use model can be seen and heard in screenings in New York, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco early next year.

This past summer we told you how you could tastefully turn your car into a moving work of art. Infectious, who brought us vinyl decal packages by some ill designers, have spread to laptops. With a huge range of designs to choose from, you’re bound to find something that complements your computer no matter what your taste. From playful and cartoony to dark and abstract, the collection features designs by those who worked on the car designs along with six new contributing aritists. See the whole array at infectious.com.

The term “bone-chillingly cold” is one that strikes fear into the hearts of most men and women. People would rather enjoy some hot cocoa in the ski lodge over Duluth in the winter. Ardica has responded to the call by inventing the first personal heat and power platform, guaranteed to keep you or your backpack warm and charge all of your electronic goodies at the same time. While you’re out responding to the call of the wintry wild, this lightweight portable power and heat pack keeps you toasty for up to nine hours on low heat and three on high. It’s also capable of carrying out 11 cell phone charges, 20 iPod charges, and can even keep your GPS or PDA running. But be wary, these babies don’t attach to just any old winter jacket, brands such as Mountain Hardware, Sitka, and several others are producing a few special coats that these babies can clip to. If keeping warm is your concern this winter, Ardica has got you covered..

Twisted, satirical, and meaningfully offensive, Kenyon B is an unrepentant problem child with skill. Several of his pieces spoofing political figures, McDonalds, homosexual robot C3P0, and more are now on sale at kenyonb.com. While there are only four original pieces up for grabs, there are plenty of limited edition prints available for a great price. To say the designs are eye-catching would be an understatement, and once they have your attention, the ambiguity of the message keeps you thinking.