Muji recently launched its US based site in preparation for the US store debut in NYC (yay). My obsession with Muji lies beyond the products they make. It is their design philosophy that I truly admire.

“Because there is complexity in purity.
Elegance in plainness.
Intricacy in streamlining.
Richness in reduction.
Depth in minimalism.
Surprise in uniformity.
Innovation in re-use.
Cool in the avoidance of cool.
And there is true
sophistication in simplicity.”

This quote reminds me of a site I saw the other day: Checkland Kindleysides (an interactive agency in the UK). Such a lovely execution of simplicity. Then I went back to look at my day job and died a little inside. *sigh.

 Got a programmer friend? Need a gift? Click here ($33.78 for the set). (via notcot)

Wonderfully simple ring from Kiel Mead. $50 for silver, $150 for gold, and $720 for platinum. There’s a better picture with the ring worn here.

New from Room & Board, funtastic font pillows to perk up modern living rooms ($79). Orange one rocks.

While on the subject of flying the other day I stumbled upon this hoodie. Average looking from the outside - shock full of goodies on the inside. This hoodie is not your average Williamsburg hipster hoodie. Somebody at Burton took apart all the elements that make flying annoying and provides a fix-all solution in one unassuming hoodie. It comes equipped with an eye patch to cut out unwanted light, hidden slash pocket for ear plugs, interior fuzzy-soft jersey cotton, zippered internal pocket large enough for passport and tickets, AND the killer of them all — the hood has a snap-off neck pillow for the long cross-continent flights. At $100 a pop, we can guarantee that the smarty pants that thought this up is well paid. Available at the Burton Store for both guys and gals.

Weegee medium sized table lamp now on sale at Design Public $119 from $150. Love the mums pattern.

Psst… Design*Sponge posted really awesome stuff on top design bloggers’ favorite sites. It’s like the list that trumps all lists for online shopping. Part 1 and Part 2.

Having traveled somewhat extensively I thought it might be fun to gather up a few essentials that are equally good looking as they are functional.

1. Burton Wheelie Double Deck ($169.95) sets you apart from the sea of black bags in the luggage claim. I can’t tell you how handy this is, especially when you run into any luggage problems at the airport. Burton makes sick luggages - durable and practical.

2. Bree Toiletry Groombag ($65) - nicely sized for storing all your bathing necessities for longer trips. I, for one, cannot live beyond 3 days off zip-lock sized toiletries.

3. Travelon Compression Packing bag ($15) is a must. It not only de-puffs anything puffy (duh), but it also double-duty as the little bags that separate the clean and the dirty stuff during your stay.

4. Survive in-flight kit ($42). This is one of the most useful pre-packaged kit out there. You can also spend less and pack your own drugstore equivalent. The core of this kit addresses the 3 most important things that’s really annoying about being on the airplane - dry lips, dry eyes, and dry skin. Add a few items to address these problems to your carry-on list and you should be happier in no time.

5. Flyrite Anti-Jetlag Formula ($40). Now this one I’ve never tried myself but it caught my attention after seeing it pop up in a few articles. The whole song-dance around how much you should consume and when is a bit overwhelming to me, but if you are the jetsetter that needs to get off the ground running right away at your far-flung destination then I suppose it doesn’t hurt to try. At least you can rest assured that everything in the little mystery bottle is organic herbs.

6. Ahh.. the one thing I always forget to pack. Paper Laundry Detergent ($6 for 30 sheets) really does comes in handy everywhere you go in a light-weight carefree package. They also make paper soap and paper shaving cream too.

7. Bob Alarm Clock ($12.50). Bob is a cute little wobbly thing that not only tells time and wakes me up, but it also tells the temperature and date.

8. Zaum Biglietto TPass 16 ($38) stores all the papers you need to pass airport immigration/inspection in one place. This makes fetching task a breeze.

9. Cocoon Travel Pillow ($20) comes with a handy sack that makes it a bit “cleaner” to sleep on by the time you need it. Unlike your run-the-mill U shape neck rest, this pillow is down-filled and can support both your neck as well as lumbar.

10. Last but not least, the obvious portable entertainment king, iPod Video ($249++).

Too cute to not post. Keepon is a little robot created by some students at Carnegie Mellon (yay!! alumni pride!). Love the squish and the song. This is not your average dancer and certainly not your average robot. I want one. Too bad its not in retail production (yet). Another video here.

Edit 1: Saw a write up in Wired mag. Keepon’s eyes are made of camera and the nose is a microphone so it actually reacts to noise as well as movements. I want!

Edit 2: Keepon will be performing at Wired NExtFest in LA this year alongside Spoon. BOOO - I can’t go.

Back in January my mother had called to wish me the best of luck in the year of the pig. She also explained that for those born in the year of the snake (me), many difficulties lie ahead in the year of the pig. Something about pig versus snake balance followed. At that point I had tuned out. I’m not a believer of any sort of superstition, but I do find it fun to derive logic out of them when and if any logic exist at all.

The pig and the snake are on the opposite side in the zodiac. May be this is the basis of the presumed enemy status. Logically if you were born a snake, by the time you turn 6 you will have faced your first pig catastrophe (why can’t I have ice cream everyday?!). Add 12 year cycle to that and you get 18 (age of rebellion), 30 (the hill is here), 42 (mid life crisis?), ..etc. Let’s pick 30 to mull over.

30, according to my friends, is the age where you set yourself apart from the rest. Career-wise, it is the first point you can use to evaluate how far you’ve truly achieved and whether you are on the path to where you want to be. It is when you either get promoted or go elsewhere. In NY area, it is also the age where everyone seems to migrate from all-night clubbing to dinner parties and wine-cheese events. Elsewhere, you’re probably attending 2 or more weddings a year in addition to a few grandpa-grandma generation funerals and numerous baby showers. 30 is sort of where lives change - birth, death, marriage, career, etc. Of course all this also happens at 29 and 31 and all the other age, but hey, everyone focuses on 30 because it is a nice round number signifying the completion of 3 decades of your existence.

I am turning 30 this year. And for what it’s worth, it is the year of the pig. Swimming in the middle of the stream of what should be a catastophic milestone year feels surprisingly calm, tho certainly not at ease. A lot has and is happening to a lot of people around me. I am, for the most part, absorbing bits of their blow/glory/joy/sadness/excitement/tears. None of which relates to design blog, but all of which consumed my time from it. Hopefully by October, I’ll be reaching shores and resting a bit. We’ll see. Posts will be sparse. I’ll try my best.

In the meantime, pork chop’s on the menu.