Affluenza: June 18

Kazuharu Sakura's cool leather (!) keyboard: http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-16218-Kazuharu+Sakura%3A+Handmade+keyboard+art%21.html I believe the blank keyboard here is an affectation, but a lot of hacker-types get blank keyboards on purpose, to help learn the keyboard by heart so their eyes can never leave the screen, or to really learn their dubious DVORAK layout. Or because it looks hella l33t. Anyway, people are starting to take keyboard design seriously, and I think this Das Keyboard is pretty tempting: http://www.daskeyboard.com/ Who needs mechanical key switches when you can just make a macro that plays a "click" .wav every time you hit a key? (j/k) * Holy crap, you guys, check out Emil Kozak's Barok'n'roll wallpaper: http://www.wallcollection.com/gallery/item/12 You HAVE TO click to see the larger image. Give it time to load, it's totally worth it. * Cute and cartoony Branch Shelf: http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&partNumber=WE-PRODw276&retainNav=true&parent_category_rn=&cmsrc=SCH&parentId=branch+shelf+ It's from West Elm, and it's almost a log, and I like it? This is gonna be a weird week, I guess. Oh, and congrats to West Elm for not putting a rock on the shelf. Seriously, good job. * I like this Issey Miyake watch okay, aside from GRR! the giant logo: http://www.2modern.com/designer/Issey-Miyake/Issey-Miyake-Twelve-Watch-SILAP011 I'm sorta only linking this, though, so I can link to this Pet Shop Boys song that rhymes that designer's name with "tacky." In your face, 70-year-old Japanese fashion dude! http://youtube.com/watch?v=GjyY7oi4EGw More music videos should just be crap the band taped off foreign television. I hear the new My Chemical Romance spot is all Eastern European game shows, and I can't wait... * Oh sweet, a new toaster concept: http://www.idasia.org/post-it-on-your-toast/ You write a message on the top of the toaster and it burns it on the toast and there you go. * I don't usually link to Contemporist posts, because anyone interested in Affluenza should be reading it daily already. But I couldn't miss the chance to link to this incredible gallery of Singapore design firm CRISP: http://www.contemporist.com/2008/06/12/inconversation-a-series-by-crisp/ * Oyule, a clever lamp set: http://www.66degrees.com/#/pid=1085 Six-fiddy, though...nice try, you guys. * Jean-Michel Cazabat Mamai Perforated Flat in Gold: http://www.revolveclothing.com/DisplayProduct.jsp?product=JEAN-WZ16&c=Jun+03&n=n * VVhat the hell is this? http://www.vvork.com/?p=7002 I guess F.T.B.I.T.T.T.D. was already taken... http://gawker.com/news/james-frey/james-frey-11021.php * Fuck the bullshit, it's time for a link dump: http://freshome.com/2007/08/08/modern-fireplace-from-chimney-anthrax/ http://mocoloco.com/archives/004405.php http://freshome.com/2007/07/12/sha-do-lamp/ http://www.productdose.com/article.php?article_id=6308 http://charlesandmarie.com/blog/modern_living/2007/07/27/felt-2/ http://www.productdose.com/article.php?article_id=6284 http://freshome.com/2007/07/25/natural-stone-bathtub/ * On Sunday, the New York Times had a great article about "green fatigue," the exhaustion a lot of consumers are feeling after being confronted endlessly with allegedly eco-friendly products: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/fashion/15green.html * Bulbcaps are neat silicone shuttlecocks that go over bare light bulbs in lieu of lampshades: http://www.mollaspace.com/product_info.php?products_id=259 * Check out these great Interior Europe wallpapers, and the cool new Design Milk banner: http://design-milk.com/iewallpaper/ * The [Editor's Note: Boo! Bad spelling and grammar] NotCot Caption Of The Week: "Amazing untonned of Niko Bellic by Pixeloo - [Editor's Note: Yay! GTA IV]" http://www.notcot.org/post/11344/ (Ah man, and I was gonna lay off NotCot this week because of whatever mysterious trauma has claimed Tastespotting. Look, I know that "untooned" isn't exactly in the OED, but come on: you got "Niko Bellic" right, for Christ's sake. Also, I think you really mean "untooning") * This Honeycomb Table Lamp is a steal at fiddy bucks: http://www.wrapables.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=A57180&prodlist=cj * Here's one for the long-time readers: remember that piggy bank that was cast from a real dead piglet? Well, don't worry guys, turns out he's in a better place now: http://www.betterlivingthroughdesign.com/2008/06/ivory_bank_pig.html * Hey, they're gonna start selling Topshop clothes from the UK at Barney's now. Here are the first imports: http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/2008/fall/main/newyork/womenrunway/topshop/