Three years and 80 million dollars later, the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is finally finished. Frank Gehry’s design looks like more of the same from the octogenarian architect, until you consider the purpose of the Las Vegas building. Gehry’s signature unfurling (or perhaps furling, who am I to assume) metal facades and cockeyed Dr. Seussian windows befit a hospital for the study and treatment of wonky noggins. His style matches the project perfectly.

If you would like to geek out more on this fine specimen of a building, see this review in the Los Angeles Times.

There’s no Waldo to be found in this piece by Joakim Dahlqvist, a European artist focusing on a ’self-initiated study of superdense cities’ and neo-neo architectural elements and cityscapes, but there are plenty of other tidbits to be found upon closer examination.

{Check out the person playing frisbee with their dog at the beach in the bottom left of the image.}

The original article (with much more detailed information regarding the artist’s background, the pieces themselves and a great theoretical write-up of creativity vs. consumption) can be found over at thingsmagazine.com. If you’re searching for RSS fodder, it doesn’t get much better than this.

This plate is one of several in the “Hungry Plate” series from Merry Design Studio. The collection of five plates begins with a full plate and ends with a nearly half eaten plate (think form, not necessarily function here.) Pretty clever stuff really.

While visiting downtown Fort Worth, it struck me how many kitschy signs adorned the storefronts and bars along the way. With an overarching cowboy theme (it’s a cowtown), there still was room for a little variety, such that even regional chain restaurants pulled out the stops to throw up some neon.

Check out the gallery here.

I first saw the work of Jason Hackenworth when attending the Coachella Music Festival in 2007.

I was standing in a throng of people, waiting in a ridiculously long line for water in 105 degree heat, trying to stay lucid. I was familiar with the fair-like performance artists, the installation pieces and the crazy body-art-laden festival attendees, but I wasn’t quite prepared for walking balloon art, stalking through the crowd on the legs of dancers.

After the festival, I couldn’t stop talking about the experience. I kinda thought it was the best thing there. Including almost all of the music that I had seen. (We missed Rage Against the Machine.)

So here I am, years later, just doing a little web surfing and then: Booyah. There it is. Balloon art by Jason Hackenwerth. You can check out more of his stuff online at his portfolio site. Also, be sure to visit the limited prints section for convenient wall-hanging print-ables.

Bikes, built beautifully.

Fast Boy Cycles, out of NYC, is producing some custom built bikes that don’t just look like a designer’s dream mode of transportation, they show like they should be framed on a wall. The company, run by Ezra, is a small cycle development firm that revels in custom orders.

In addition to the main site location they also have an affiliated fender site, Fast Boy Fenders, for those cyclists interested in a touch of class for their non-custom models. All – in – all a sleek little package indeed.