NewCityMovement

You're New Reac Table

As heard on PRI's The World here is a new musical instrument called the Reactable. Unsurprisingly, Bjork is one of the few people who owns one. [Thanks Doug]

Gay scientists isolate 'Christian' gene. CNN [Thanks Stewf]

The New Melodyne Dimension

This crazy German guy invented something called Direct Note Access, a technology that makes the impossible possible. For the first time in audio recording history you can identify and edit individual notes within polyphonic audio material. The unique access that Melodyne affords to pitch, timing, note lengths and other parameters of melodic notes will now also be afforded to individual notes within chords. [Thanks Joe]

I love the look of the new Xmission homepage.

The new MacBook is tres heroin chic.

Birdmen

Humans can fly (sort of) now. [Thanks Brian]

Be A Micro Lender With Kiva.org

You've probably heard of "micro loans" by now but Kiva.org is the first website/organization of it's kind by helping everyday people provide a "micro loan" to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored and the repayment rate is currently 100%.

Kiva's new service is currently experiencing record traffic from the incredible press attention it's received (Oprah, The Today Show, and President Clinton's book "Giving" and Frontline World). On average, loans fundraising on the Kiva website receive full funding within a day. To give everyone a chance to lend, they have temporarily limited loan contributions to $25 per business. Kiva hopes to remove the limit soon, as they work with Field Partners to post more loans on the site.

Watch this 15 minute segment from Frontline World to see how truly revolutionary personal micro loans can be.

(Shown above is Allen Byaruhanga's group, one of the four people NCM is supporting using Kiva. She is in clothing sales and requesting a loan to buy a baby lock sewing/embroidery machine in order to improve the services that she proves to customers.)

A Smart Car Built Fortwo

Three feet smaller than a Mini Cooper, the Mercedes-Benz engineered Smart car "fortwo" arrives stateside in 2008 starting at $11,600. [Via Men.Style.com]

Scientists & Surfers Say Univers Is A Giant Dreamcatcher

Surfer dude figures the pattern of the universe is really a giant dreamcatcher. Scientists agree.

Robopanda

Robopanda; the coolest thing since bamboo flooring?

Since we're on the subject of antiquated technologies...

Steampunking Technology

This may look like a Victorian music box, but inside this intricately hand-crafted wooden case lives a Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 laptop that runs both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. It features an elaborate display of clockworks under glass, engraved brass accents, claw feet, an antiqued copper keyboard and mouse, leather wrist pads, and customized wireless network card. The machine turns on with an antique clock-winding key by way of a custom-built ratcheting switch made from old clock parts. More pictures at creator Datamancer's website. (Thanks Peter)

An interesting new city guide for metro areas around the world including Portland, Seattle, L.A. and San Francisco in the U.S.

Flash Flickr

This is a fun little app that channels content from Flickr. [Thanks Peter]

Sony Rolly

Strange new Japan only Rolly Entertainment Player from Sony. How does it work?