Sharing costs is becoming an increasingly popular concept. Fractional ownership allows people to enjoy many benefits at a reduced price. One of the first hot ideas in this realm was fractional aircraft ownership. Companies like NetJets offer the lure of private planes with no maintenance to worry about, no managing the pilot and ground crew; as one owner put it, “When you’re done with the plane, it just disappears.” Right now, outfits such as partialowner and fractionallife extend the partial ownership model to everything from homes and luxury cars to restaurants and racehorses. Likewise, art lovers can buy into syndicates such as ArtVest, based in Glasgow, Scotland, which offers partial ownership of artwork. Sharing has never been so hip. Thanks to rise of online social networking, people are sharing just about everything from carpooling duties to their living rooms (in the Couch Surfing Project). {news_summary}

A great example of the evolution of graffiti. Last year, two “graffiti artists” stencilled She Loves The Moon — a story in 43 snippets — across city sidewalks, giving readers 16 different story combinations they could create by simply choosing where to walk next. To date, the creators remain anonymous, perhaps in fear of the city’s vandalism laws.  {news_summary}

Hitotoki is an online literary project collecting stories of singular experiences tied to locations in cities worldwide. Established in Tokyo, it is launched in/on Shanghai now. Aiming to build a narrative map of the world, Hitotoki encourages the inhabitants of cities - currently Tokyo, New York, Washington DC & London - to share a personal story, focused on a single moment, and tied to a specific place. {news_summary}

Daft Punk scored an average hit with the dance floor tune “Harder Better, Faster Stronger” in 2001. Now the song made a revival on Youtube. A guy has made a video clip for the song filming just his hands. He’d written the lyrics of the song on his fingers and he would show them during the song following the tune. He called it ‘Daft Hands’. It looks brilliant and has already been watched 15 million times on YouTube. Great stuff, but it the viral doesn’t stop there. Two college girls from California decided to do the Daft Hands idea with lyrics painted on body parts, called Daft Bodies. It has been watched over 4 million times. Less than ‘Daft Hands’ but even so four times as much as the original 2001 Daft Punk clip. {news_summary}

Meet the GIANTmicrobes family: Stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes. Only the microbes have been magnified a million time the actual size. Its members vary from the Common Cold, The Flu, Sore Throat, Stomach Ache, Ear Ache, Bad Breath, Ulcer, Black Death, Ebola, Sleeping Sickness, Dust Mite, Bed Bug, Bookworm, Hepatitis and even H.I.V. Each 5-to-7 inch doll is accompanied by an image of the real microbe it represents, as well as educational information about the microbe. {news_summary}

Why Wait? With high-powered mobile connectivity, technology is racing to meet people’s desire for Instant Gratification. Whenever they go online people immediately get ahold of books, music and TV shows, both bestselling and niche. The same applies to vacuum cleaners to medication to cars. Things in digital form (data, music, movies) come as fast as they can download. Physical items can arrive as soon as the next day. At the same time, products and brands once deemed unique have become commoditized. Take fast fashion. Stylish clothing is readily accessible almost everywhere, with high-end designers such as Vera Wang and Roberto Cavalli selling versions of their wares at mass retailers. Many consumers are now quick to clean out their closets every season to make way for new belts and handbags from Target, trendy outfits from H&M and staples from Wal-Mart. Isn’t it about time for a countermovement? Shouldn’t we rethink Instant Gratification? Shouldn’t we go beyond the mass-produced din of “now”? {news_summary}

Lots of young people in Brazil, especially in São Paulo (16 million inhabitants), are turning back to religiosity. Not that traditional catholic one but the more evangelical churches. It is called "Bola de Neve" (Snow Ball) Church. The mass is a little kind of party at night, with bands playing reggae music & rock and roll for hours, and with lots of white lights shining at the same time. Bola de Neve is growing a lot and now builds businesses as well, like the label Bola Music, responsible for launching the “gospel” groups that use to perform on the masses. A very popular young rock star in the 90´s in Brazil, Rodolfo Abrantes, has converted himself to Bola de Neve and is currently one of its more powerful non-official speakers. {news_summary}

As Melbourne groans under the influx of over 1,000 new residents each week, the city residents are finding ingenious ways to utilise space in high-density residential areas. In 2007, Rooftop Cinema and Bar has been one of the shining examples of how this can be done. Here a previously un-utilised roofop right in the heart of the city has been turned into a cinema screening art-house films and classics through summer. The feel is one of escape, plush synthetic grass covers the main area and the 200 deckchairs look like they might have been shipped in from the French Riviera. The lawn is now even being used for yoga a few mornings a week and from 9AM until 3 AM people make it up seven flights of stairs to get some perspective and escape the crowded city below. {news_summary}

Makeshift bicycles (two bicycle frames welded together) made in small bike workshops, driven in urban, up and coming areas. Require special skills to keep balance, even getting on or off a double-decker bike is difficult. {news_summary}

We have seen retro fashion from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s up to the 90s. It all looks fine but well known. It is hardly distinctive anymore. Therefore top fashion is, now and foremost, experimenting with new textures. Plastics that looks as if been knitted. Nylons that change colours when you move in them. Fabrics that adjust to the temperature and moods of your body. We are at the start of an innovative textiles revolution for sure! Also “architectural” fashion will be part of the next big thing. Architecture has a long and, from a fashion perspective, rather unexplored tradition. It suggests a new innovative inroad of inspiration for fashion. Architecture will help the fashion designer to develop a more engineering sense of observation. {news_summary}

Art is brand, brand is art. Now that outrageously many Japanese women own a Louis Vuitton handbag, it is hardly a distinguishing statement any more. Timberland as a brand has outlived its solid image too. Mixing brands creates a statement of its own. Look at these Louis Vuitton/Timberland shoes. What are they? Neither elegant nor solid, but as a statement they are absolutely cool. {news_summary}

The government of New York is working on free public toilets for about 14 years and there still isn't one. There is a place and a time for everything is what Charmin, a toilet paper-bran, must have thought when they opened a toilet paper-themed public bathroom in the middle of Times Square with 20 stalls that are more like personal powder rooms. The decorations, music and (over-happy dancing) staff helps to evolve taking a leak into a special experience. {news_summary}

My 'process chair' - part of the Process Collection, dealing with consumerism - is made exactly like a normal wooden chair. However, the back leg gradually morphs back into a bark-covered branch with a leafy sprig 'growing' out of it. By John Grant {news_summary}

Fritz-Kola comes in a recyclable glass bottle – no plastics, please - and contains the highest amount of caffeine of all Cola’s around. It’s from cradle to cradle sustainable. Fritz-Cola has started with distribution in over a 100 Bars, Clubs, Cafes, cinemas and small shops. It took some time to take off but now it is very popular in Northern Germany. Another German drink is taking over the world right now: Bionade. Worldwide, Bionade is the first and only non-alcoholic refreshment drink produced by a purely organic process – through the fermentation of natural raw materials of organic quality. For wellness and fitness. {news_summary}

A ever growing amount of people tell stories on the web, often on their own blog. Viewdle is a new service that can be very helpful here. Currently, search engines work with key words. But Viewdle works in the first place with videos and visuals. So if you write about whatever celebrity or new making person, viewdle almost immediately brings them visually to life on the page you are writing. “Enhance your story and reader appeal”, says Viewdle, “lets visualize the people you reference on your blog and website.” Fast and simple and cool. {news_summary}