As someone who just built a tiny bedside shelf to rest their iPhone on, I can attest to the need for the Bluelounge MiniDock.  This little gadget plugs into your Apple USB Power Adapter and acts as a… well, mini docking station for your iPhone or iPod.  It looks great for use at home or on the road.  Now you don’t have to worry about your iThing getting trampled over as it charges on the floor of the airport terminal.  The MiniDock comes in three varieties (US, UK and EU) and will cost you $20.

Jim Meehan is one of the most prominent faces to rise out of the modern cocktail renaissance and we’ve been enjoying the magic for years at his bar, PDT (short for Please Don’t Tell, hidden behind a phonebooth inside a deep-fried hot dog joint – but, of course, you knew that already; like any good secret, it’s far too delightful not to share). So a cocktail book coming from Mr. Meehan himself is like receiving a holy scroll. Of course, with Meehan’s penchant for seeing things in a slightly off-center way, you wouldn’t expect a typical offering, would you?  Billed as a ‘new kind of book,’ “Speakeasy Cocktails: Learn from the Modern Mixologists” is also offered as a non-traditional iPad book, available now from the iPad App Store. This version of the book supplements the printed recipes and techniques with beautiful video and ability to purchase the mixology equipment by clicking within the app. I love print, but this is worth shelling out for – watch one clip from the book/app here, where Meehan runs through the drink of the summer, the Negroni.

Developing out of the MIT Media Lab project Siftables, the soon to be released Sifteo Cubes take a shot at creating a smart “block” toy for a new generation.  As they put it,

“At Sifteo we’re bringing together two great play traditions, combining classic play patterns from games like chess, dominoes and jigsaw puzzles with the richness of interactive game technology for an experience that is exciting, challenging, and fun.”

Each 1.5″ cube is packed with a full color LCD display, wireless radio, various sensors and a rechargeable battery (that lasts about 4 hours). The cubes tether to your computer via a USB dongle and games are selected via Sifteo’s software application.

$150 gets you three cubes but you can use a total of six if you really want to maximize your play capabilities.

These things look like a lot of fun and the platform has a good deal of potential for creating new gaming experiences.  Check out the video of them in action after the break.

We’ve seen the Buddha Machine gain a lot of traction in the shop. Experimental music fanatics love this pocket-sized, minimally-styled box that loops ambient droning noise, perfectly calming while also serving as a source of creative inspiration. Now, the device debuts on the iPad, with the $3.99 app allowing you to mix and match with six different machines.

Pitchfork sits down for a chat with director Chris Milk about his recent video project for the Arcade Fire song “We Used to Wait.” If you haven’t seen it yet, go now (according to Milk, use Chrome/Safari on a Mac, preferably Chrome on a PC for the best results).

The question-and-answer session reveals much about Milk’s team and their creative process, showcasing his real respect for technology/multimedia tempered by a grounded understanding of what technology alone can never do:

My real motivation came from my desire for music videos to have the same equal soul-touching emotional resonance that straight music does. Honestly, I’m not sure they ever can. Music scores your life. You interact with it. It becomes the soundtrack to that one summer with that one girl. Music videos are very concrete and rigid. They don’t allow for that emotional interaction.

Arcade Fire and Google Maps collaborate on a new interactive video created by Chris Milk. Type in the address of your home and, if Google Street View and Google Maps have enough data on the area, you’ll find it incorporated into the video.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this video based on that description. I took the suggestion to enter the address of the home where I grew up (definitely a classic suburban town, in keeping with Arcade Fire’s theme) but Google didn’t have enough data on my hometown, a smallish one in Iowa. So instead, I went with the house I lived in during college, also in Iowa but in a slightly more metropolitan area. The result was something totally unexpected. If you’re interested in seeing what music videos have the capability to do in a post-TRL era, you need to give this a try. Go to The Wilderness Downtown, and make sure you’re using Google Chrome.

Michael Williams tips us to one hell of a giveaway sponsored by preppy-American store Gant and The Impossible Project, the Polaroid lovers who banded together to keep instant film alive. At stake here is a Dutch-style bicycle made expressly for Gant, along with a beautiful, leather-covered Polaroid camera, a true vintage classic that’s been fully restored and includes a whole mess of accessories. Anyone who makes a purchase from Gant’s AW ’10 collection in-store is eligible to have their Polaroid picture taken, entering them in the contest.

Winner will be announced after NY Fashion week, so get yourself over to Gant’s Bleeker St. location soon! Check out the full description at acontinuouslean along with a few Polaroids of those already in the running, including Jake Davis, the singer of U.S. Royalty, Mr. Impossible Cool, and the editor of UrbanDaddy.