Freedm Sidewalk Galleries

by Ami Kealoha

Taking art literally to the streets, Dr. Martens' Freedm Sidewalk Galleries are curated art shows exhibited billboard-style on the sides of buildings in New York and San Francisco. Now in its second installation series, each street side "gallery" showcases one of the five emerging artists chosen by either artist Shepard Fairey or Surface magazine brand director Riley Johndonnell. The current crop selected by Fairey are are Ben Collison, Josh Winegar, David Wilson, Jeremy Asher Lynch and Zumberto up in both Williamsburg, Brooklyn and San Francisco until 26 March 2007. Johndonnel's picks, Abel Macias, Dino Alberto, Justine Ashbee, Cris Jones and Amy Reid, will go up in San Francisco 26 March 2007 and come down 26 April 2007.

For locations go here.

Logisys Optical Finger Mouse

by Tim Yu

Strap this optical mouse made by Logisys onto your index finger and use the 800 dpi laser on any media (except reflective glass surfaces) to easily control the cursor. The desk, keyboard, wall, even your own clothes will work as a functioning surface. Even more convenient, the scroll wheel and left and right buttons are easily usable with your thumb to scroll and click through your applications. The next step is losing the USB cable it uses to connect and going wireless.

Pick it up from Xoxide or visit Logisys to find a different online retailer selling the finger mouse for around $20.

Flak Photo

by Lost At E Minor

There's some lovely imagery on Flak Photo, a dedicated photo based website and photography blogzine featuring work from an international community of photographers. As they say, "in November 2004, we launched our photoblog, which has grown into a collection of hundreds of images from over forty photographers from around the globe. Last year, we began producing interactive photo essays that blend images with audio commentary, text and graphics to create an engaging multimedia experience."

SmartWool

by Tim Yu

SmartWool has grown from a couple of guys in New England hawking ski socks to a full line of some of the best base layers on the market, their breadwinner being their industry-leading socks. A wide variety of socks are all engineered specifically for activities like walking, hiking, cycling, wearing high heels, skiing or snowboarding. Other items like the Synergy Jacket is perfect as a layer or stand alone and the Microweight Boxer Brief's "up and out" fly design and flatlock seam construction eliminates chafing.

A far cry from the scratchy wool of yesteryear, SmartWool comes from New Zealand's specially bred free range Merino sheep. This particular fiber is 90% Keratin, a protein resistant to chemical and bacterial attack, naturally flame retardant, and is 1/3 to 1/10 the thickness of human hair. A renewable natural resource, SmartWool is light and airy providing non-itchy cushion and insulation, making it effective in all conditions whether walking around in the rain or shine. It wicks away moisture and sweat while maintaining a comfortable temperature in heat or cold, keeping you dry, warm and odorless—unlike the stink that comes from wearing synthetics.

Commited to leaving a smaller footprint, SmartWool donates ten percent of every web order to the SmartPrint Advocacy fund which supports select non-profit organizations. SmartWool also ensures sustainable business practices by working closely with their New Zealand wool growers to guarantee minimum price levels for the wool.

You can expect the '07 line on shelves any day now. Go to SmartWool to see and purchase any of their products.

Also on Cool Hunting: Howies Merino Wool Boxers

League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots

by Tim Yu

LEMUR, League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, is a Brooklyn-based group of artists and technologists who've been creating robotic musical instruments for the past several years. Founder Eric Singer, with the help of others, creates sculptural musical instruments integrating robotic technology.

GuitarBot (pictured) is an electrified slide guitar that is versatile, responsive and easy to control, with high-quality sound. Now in it's third iteration, the instrument consists of four independent single-stringed slide guitar units controlled by a motorized belt that moves a sliding bridge. The pick mechanism consists of mounted four guitar picks that rotate on a shaft. Each unit is independently tunable and has a 2-octave range. The bridge can move from one end of the range to the other in 1/4 second and each has an electromagnetic pickup also of their design. Click here for video of GuitarBot.

Like a xylophone or marimba, TibetBot (above right) is a robotically controlled percussive instrument that can create both atonal rhythms as well as tonal droning soundscapes. It is comprised of three Tibetan singing bowls which six robotic arms strike to make sounds. Each bowl produces several harmonics and two tones. A raw aluminum bar produces a high pitch tone when it strikes and the other arm has a soft rubber end that produces a low tone when the bowl is struck. Click here to see video of TibetBot.

For more in-depth explanation, to see abstract instruments and to learn about future performances visit LEMUR.