Have you ever heard of a ponycorn? Going ahead with the assumption you haven’t, they’re best explained as “the best thing in the world, ‘cause they’re like ponies AND unicorns.” That’s the description straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak – or, rather, from “Cassie, age 5,” the young brains behind Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure, an online point-and-click game created with the help of Cassie’s dad (“Ryan, age 33” as the game’s credits put it).  Cassie voices the main character, Sissy, with great aplomb as she goes off traipsing through rainbow doors in search of ponycorns. As you lead her through, Sissy comments on the characters she runs into, including a goat on a pole (“That’s weird”), a dinosaur whom she proceeds to turn into a mouse (“You’re a mouse now. How do you like them apples?”), and an evil lemon (don’t ask).

Bonus: as heartwrenchingly cute as the game itself is the story behind the game (with pictures of Cassie, proud dad Ryan and the rest of the family!).

I Want You To Want Me by Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar

[People] talk about themselves in 200 words and say the most important things about themselves, so it is very fertile ground for building a mosaic of humanity.

Jonathan Harris is another one of my personal heros. This installation is titled “I Want you to Want Me” and was commissioned by the MOMA for Valentines Day, 2008. The project was presented on a 56″ touch screen and the little balloons are profiles pulled from the various dating sites on the web. Read the project’s mission statement here.

I Want You To Want Me explores the search for love
and self in the world of online dating.

It’s not valentines day but I’m getting post-summer blues. New York City feel serene after the hurricane; we’re all still here, looking for someone.

My search of Private Beats (a techno track by the Japanese duo 80Kidz) on the Internet led me to Too Many Sebastians, a music blog by a Japanese girl and an English boy. They cover quite a good number of (mostly) under-publicized (electronic) bands and musicians. The blog is usually written bilingually in English and Japanese, and so we can also get a good taste of stuff coming from Japan side. Check out their Top 10 Albums and Top 10 Mixes of 2010.

This website found me in the middle of a very busy day, so now, after a few minutes of tinkering, I’m listening to waves crashing against the shore while seagulls and whales cry out and a fire crackles in the distance. Yeah, I know, maybe it makes me an old man. I’m okay with that.

If you, on the other hand, are not going for a feeling of tranquility, but do still want to listen to nature sounds, one of the most popular sound compositions currently on the site is called LemurBeachMating and will probably meet every one of your weird needs.

Details gives us some love, essentially spotlighting us as the gadget shop in the U.S. Right back at you, playa, I see you with the Joe Gordon-Lev cover and I like it.

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.

Have you had a good air travel experience lately? I know that I haven’t. The thought of getting on any domestic flight with any carrier sends a shiver down my spine. This includes all of them: Northwest, Southwest, and even JetBlue, which could only ever be considered ‘good’ by comparison. The editors at Monocle have always made a case that comfortable and effective air travel need not be a fantasy, and now they’re getting very specific about the solutions.

Click over to the Monocle site for an interactive walk-through of a Nippon Nordic Airways aircraft, blueprint conceived and developed by Monocle, sibling branding agency Winkreative and illustrator Gaku Nakagawa – an idea they dare to call “the perfect airline.”