As much as I love coffee (former barista here), sometimes my true love just wins out. Stumbled on this Diet Coke ad from a couple years ago and thought it just hit the right note. That’s really all…good morning, readers! I’m raising my can to you…

The shop here is great, don’t get me wrong. But we’d have a rough time competing with this.

What you’re looking at is Ogilvy & Mather’s expanded office in Guangzhou, China. Yes, this is a corporate office building. What in the world?

O&M is an internationally-renowned advertising and branding agency based here in New York City, but with hundreds of offices located worldwide. You’re bound to recognize at least a handful of the projects they’ve put together, including this, one of my favorites: the American Express ‘My Life, My Card’ campaign.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skw-rKYsXOY

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh-4jxn7oSc

Hulu continues its evil plot to take over the world with the introduction of Hulu Desktop, its new application for Windows and Mac that brings the streaming goodness of Hulu’s shows directly to your computer without you having to open up your web browser.

The sleek, shiny design is a given with a Hulu product, as the site is known for its easy to use interface. The desktop application gives full access to Hulu’s library of shows and movies, plus the integrated use of controls not just from your keyboard, but also Windows Media Center and Apple remotes.

All in all, a pretty sweet application that brings your computer one step closer to an all-in-one home media center. [Geddem at Hulu.com]

Random inspiration: this comes from Peter Nguyen, a burgeoning young NYC fashion designer who keeps a very down-to-earth blog. I first saw this when he made the post back in March, but both the images and the concept really resonated with me, sticking in my head even til now. Peter explains:

“There are so many ways to get in contact with someone (cellphones, texting, e-mail, Instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, etc) that I don’t think we really TALK anymore. With my experiment in limiting my access (and thus, others access to me) via e-mail a whlie back I’ve learned that when people know it will take some time for someone to reply, small talk disappears and what’s important is given priority.”

The wax and seal come from Kate’s Paperie. Seeing it put into practice, I think this is something I’m going to have to try. I like a sense of old-fashioned formality in my written correspondence. And finishing your letters with a wax seal, especially in gold like Peter’s chosen, would really emphasize the worth of the words inside, don’t you think?

Speaking of Jon Brion (briefly, in a previous post) add one more interesting project to his resume. Glago’s Guest, a Disney short billed as the “intriguing and thought-provoking story of a lonely Russian soldier stationed in a remote deserted Siberian outpost in 1924,” is scored by Brion and played before Bolt. Based on some of the praise being heaped on this short (‘unlike anything you’ve ever seen from Disney’), in addition to the intriguing screenshot, I know I’m going to have to track this one down.

One of my favorite things over at Etsy.com is just browsing the amazing collection of handcrafted items people put up for sale. One of my personal favorites is the Red Stripe Recycled Glass Bottles blown into drinking glasses.

These are handmade by a glassblower in Chicago and definitely make give a slight hipster edge to your normal, boring housewares. Geddem here for $60 + shipping.

It’s just a good time of year for these, I suppose. First off, this one from Cold War Kids for ‘I’ve Seen Enough.’ Let the video preload on the site and then let your mind be blown.

Billed as an ‘interactive video,’ you can mix and match the song as it plays — clicking on a nattily-dressed member of the Kids will stop his track and gray him out, making for a good effect when you’d like to hear how the track sounds with only, say, stand-up bass and the kit, or when you just want the beat to drop.

And that’s just scratching the surface. Incorporated into the video are actually four versions of the song, each featuring different instrumentation marked by color. You can play it straight by keeping all colors together or get a little creative, pairing blue with yellow with red with green to see how it all comes together. Look at the ‘thank you’ list in the credits. Of course, something this mad-cap and musically involved has Jon Brion attached.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjecYugTbIQ

Then, of course, there’s the ‘Two Weeks’ video I’ve been harping about. You should watch it. It’s peaceful. And weird. And Veckatimest is out now. And I guess that just about sums it all up.