Tina Sparkles posted a series of updates from the most recent Austin Fashion Week. There was an entire show of recycled and repurposed fashion. Who says you cannot wear your choice of consumer electronics on your sleeve? The dress above was made entirely from old computer wire. We can’t wait for the day that Geek Squad agents wear similar outfits. And they trim a bit off their hem for on-site repairs.

With our Mad Men craze still going strong, it’s only fair that we should be looking backwards looking forward. Nevermind the logic, just look at these faux vintage social media ads from Moma Propaganda in Sao Paulo. gBlog says they were created for the Maximidia Seminars whose slogan is “Everything Ages Fast.“ Boy does it ever! Except doesn’t the Britney Spears look alike on Skpye look pre-meltdown? And you have to read the copy, the English is pitch perfect noncolloquial vintage funs: “Facebook is the enchantment “next look” in social team ups.”

Is this your World Cup ball of choice…

The World Cup is under way in South Africa! And we’re having a ball! The official match ball is the Adidas Jabulani, and it’s revolutionary design is already causing quite a stir. Some say it wobbles too much. Some say it benefits strikers. Some say it penalizes goalkeepers. Some say its patented GripNGroove technology helps them out. So many questions, with a single answer: Who will lift the cup at the end?

What we do know is this: the new ball reduces the number of panels from 14 (in the last World Cup) to a measly 8. And the 14-panel design was already a major reduction from the 32 panels of the traditional black-and-white soccer ball. The familiar pentagon-hexagon design is actually a truncated icosahedron (or bucky ball). Its sharp black and white contrast was specifically designed to appear more visible on live B&W television broadcasts (which BTW is the same design philosophy that inspired the Panda Seal Mamegona and the Yakuza Brush).

A complete visual guide to the evolution of the World Cup ball can be found here.) And with such a contentious design history, we are excited to see that designers are rising out of the stands to muck it up with soccer hooligans. ATYPYK offers their take on the official match ball below. It’s a traditional design in shape, but the color palette says it it all. A stark reminder and a social commentary for the 2010 tournament hosts, which now call themselves a “Rainbow Nation.”

… or this?

Elaine McLuskey invented the “social spheres” speech bubbles so people could chat above the background noise in a noisy pub. Geekologie says they’re astronaut helmets that will help you get the girl or at least the freeze dried ice cream and Tang. They reminds us of Mer-chan’s canversate, where we try to allow intimate connections even in loud, crowded pubs. When you use it, you can actually feel the other person breathing. A cell phone doesn’t support that type of connection. And we’re in love with the girl in the on the right who is dishing the gossip and vibing Beth Ditto.

The Architechture and Design Department of the Museum of Modern Art has acquired the @ sign for its collections. This symbol is so ubiquitous and intangible, what does it mean to put in in a museum’s holdings? “It relies on the assumption that physical possession of an object as a requirement for an acquisition is no longer necessary, and therefore it sets curators free to tag the world and acknowledge things that ‘cannot be had.’” I hope they include Urban Dictionary’s definition of it: “A symbol standing for the word “at” that in turn symbolizes laziness and stupidity. I mean, seriously, who sat down and thought up a symbol to shorten a two letter word? WHY?”

Is the @ sign too nerdy for rappers to use it in their names? I can’t wait till MOMA acquires the $ and Curren$y, Nipsey Hu$$le, and Ke$ha can play at the opening.