Rarely any of us can focus on one task at a time; we are constantly in a flux of workplace motion, stealing seconds here to save time somewhere else. The Bureau of Workplace Interruption is a time-stealing agency that sees these seconds as an opportunity. Artist Chris Barr promises to create interruptions that challenge the needs of employees and stimulate creative flow.
 ”The ruptures we create are temporary spaces for open dialogue, invisible resistance, and general amusement. In short, we hope to invigorate some of the time you spend at work in order to create new experiences and possibilities outside the [...]

Enter this into Snooth and get yourself a good wine to go with dinner. Launched in June of this year, Snooth features 1.8 million reviews for over 300,000 wines complete with wine recommendations, ratings and reviews. Users are encouraged to post information about wines they try; and once a user rates five wines, they will start to get personalized recommendations from the social database. The more information a user gives on wines they enjoy, the more personalized and detailed the recommendations become. The “My Wines” feature allows users to build and manage their personal wine collection, maintain wish lists, track [...]

Ever wonder when commenting on somebody’s blog will pay off? Wonder no more! Gawker Media, publisher of such popular blogs as Gizmodo, Lifehacker, and Kotaku is taking the next step. Nick Denton, owner of Gawker Media, let Wired News know all about it on Friday.
Gawker blog readers can now specify which commentators are their favorites and will be notified when these favs contribute to the site OR when they add someone to their list of favorites. It’s one big, happy-I like you, you like them, now I like them-feedback system.
It’s also one of the next moves in buzzfeed-like news aggregation. [...]

For all you convenience fans and text messaging enthusiasts, get ready for text messaging to take convenience to the next level! GoMobo now lets you order food-to-go via text message. That’s right! Skip the line and even pick up your food or drink at a pre-scheduled time with the service. Users get to build their favorite orders from online restaurant menus. Save each order with a “GoCode” and simply text the code to your chosen restaurant, then schedule a time for pickup at your convenience. PSFK got the scoop:
Following the success of the New York City beta launch [...]

Challenged by brands such as Belvedere and Grey Goose, and perhaps losing ground with the “bling” market, an upgrade is in order.
“Taste is the new bling,” says Ewen Cameron, CEO and ecd at Berlin Cameron United in New York, the agency responsible for the new Hennessy campaign.
Hennessy has long been adopted by rappers as a favorite with shout-outs and even entire songs dedicated to the expensive after-dinner cognac. In “Lost Weekend,” a 90-second spot that is set to debut on flauntyourtaste.com, a matriarch invites a group of young musicians to spend the weekend at her luxury mansion. What follows [...]

It’s a phenomenon that Ikea took to the retail world, and now it’s coming full-circle. A growing collective of global “hackers” as they’re called are dismantling products and re-aligning the parts as they see fit. Take Winnie Lam, who created a Sundae Toppings footstool, fashioned from a few bags of cotton pompoms hot-glued to an Ikea stool. Or Christine Domanic who built a new bench from an Ikea sidetable.
An article from the NYTimes explores this growing subset a bit further:
Do-it-yourselfers and technogeeks, tinkerers, artists, crafters and product and furniture designers, the hackers are united only by their perspective, which [...]

Have you ever seen a unicorn? How about a dragon or the LochNess Monster? An eBook has, for the longest time, they’ve been as elusive as the former three, but now, Amazon.com would like to make your dreams come true, almost.
In an evolutionary move from the first-sight of one last year with Sony’s Reader (image at right), a $300 gadget with enough memory to hold 80 books, the Kindle enters the market in October of this year.
Amazon.com has created an electronic book reader that has been the subject of industry speculation for a year. The Kindle will be priced at [...]

Starbucks now has a reminder to wifi users that they are in fact in the capital of customer-service. Want a mocha or Cappuccino while you surf the web? Don’t want to leave your laptop on the table while you wait in line to order? Don’t worry, a friendly barista will be out with your order.
Baristas have always been a behind-the-bar service, but in order to keep customers happy, Starbucks realizes sometimes the coffee needs to come to them. We’re not quite sure if the customer raises a hand or shouts the order across to the barista, but we now know [...]

If you’ve seen the movie Minority Report, you were probably as jealous as we were about the touchscreen technology they used to graphically display their plan. Be jealous no more! You can get your own touchable technology with Northrop Grumman’s TouchTable.
The device, something that has been used in the defense sector for several years now is what they call an “integrated collaboration environment.” The display lets you move your hand across the table, shift images sideways, zoom out and zoom in.
[via rbTrends]

In October, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles will make a move unprecedented in museum history. It will feature the work of artist Takashi Murakami alongside a pop-up version of a Louis Vuitton store selling luxury leather goods in the middle of the exhibition.
Murakami has specifically designed bags and accessories for this exhibit. As an artist, he has sought to break the barriers between low and high art. Housing a luxury brand within a non-profit gallery accomplishes this task.
In a USAToday article, the museum’s Chief Curator says,
“People have touched base with the play between the commercial arena and [...]

Either you’ve got stadium seating or you don’t; Movie theaters don’t change much from one to the next. But if you want a new option for your movie-night out, get yourself to Bangalore for a ‘Gold Class’ screen experience. Luxury halls with recliner seats and in-seat service complete with a lounge await your arrival.
Brand building in a very competitive market seems to be the underlying theme for luxury halls with revenue not a prime consideration, at least for now. Increasing brand recall is driving this innovation trend where the main goal is for moviegoers to remember their time more than [...]

The “gypsy kitchen” has no fixed location and their menu changes each week. If you book a reservation now, you will be on a waiting list of 4000. If you do get in, only the night before will you get the email or text message telling you exactly where you’ll be eating. Still interested? Zingara Cucina, Melbourne’s biggest culinary mystery, is a fine-dining experience housed in obscure locations that has won the kind of word-of-mouth accolades most legitimate establishments only dream about.
It began almost three years ago when dinner parties held for friends by the operator and chef developed a [...]

From land-line to cellphone, the sound of a ringing phone didn’t make as huge a leap as the technology did. Sure the digital world gave us a few more choices for the standard “bwwwrriingggh!” but they still sounded like a “bwwwrriingggh.” Lucky for us, we have a mute function and the vibrate option.
The Ringtone Society, a platform initiated in the Netherlands by Muzieklab for the artistic development of the ringtone, would like to introduce ringtones people actually like into the world. Partnering with composers and musicians from all over the world, the Society intends to transform the cellphone environment with [...]

In a chaotic, pressed-for-time world, things can pile up anywhere: home, office, car, mind, etc. That’s where Organize Magazeine comes in. Their inaugural issue hit shelves this summer with the goal to provide doable organization projects for real people with real lives (as opposed to the un-real kind with organized lives).
According to the National Association of Professional Organizers

80% of the clutter in most homes is a result of disorganization, not lack of space.
50% of homeowners rate the garage as the most disorganized place in the house.
80% of what we file never gets looked at again.
40% of housework can be eliminated [...]

People from all over the world began partying last night in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Burning Man is a week-long event that inspires people from all over the world to come and celebrate creativity and self-expression. The Desert floor or “playa” is converted into a city of sorts with a theme. This year, Burning Man seeks to raise awareness about [...]