UPDATED: Keep Warm While Looking Cool: The Lippi Selk'Bag.

2013 Update: Since this original post, Selk Bag Sleep Wear has since been updated and is now available in different colors (all solids) and three variations; kids, lite, and adult.

Kids:

Lite:

Classic:





Original post:
The Lippi Selk'Bag is a full body sleeping bag that allows mobility while keeping you warm. Lippi Selk’Bag is available in 3 different seasonal specifications depending on your requirements.



Benefits (other than the fact that you look like a cross between the Michelin tire man and an astronaut) are:

1. Move your legs and arms apart freely
2. Roll with your Selk'Bag, not in it
3. Stand without any trouble, walk, cross your legs and your arms, thanks to its reversible zippers.

With a retail price of $149, “the redesigned Selk ‘bag 1 represents tremendous value for our customers who use these bags for everything from camping to hunting to lounging at home” according to Philip Benson, President of Lippi USA.




The second generation of the Selk ‘bag lineup boasts additional features and better overall performance characteristics than its predecessor but sells at the same price point as the older model.



The redesigned Selk ‘bag lineup also includes changes to Selk ‘bag 2 and Selk ‘bag 3 models, which are being enhanced to better serve outdoor enthusiasts who demand superior technical performance.


Above: Selk 'bag 2 shown in green/grey and the Selk 'bag 3, shown in brown/beige

Where can you buy it?
Shop for it here in the UK.
Shop for it here in The US.

ABOUT LIPPI

Lippi USA is the exclusive source for Lippi-brand gear and apparel in the U.S. market. A Santiago, Chile-based maker of technical outdoor gear and apparel, Lippi has been featuring a complete line of outdoor apparel, gear and equipment for nearly 25 years. Combining proprietary technologies, industry-best third-party technologies, and award-winning design, Lippi strives to bring fresh and technically advanced outdoor gear and apparel to the U.S. outdoor consumer.

New York, New York. New Book, New Book.

Wow, now THIS is a book.



If you love New York, photography and architecture, this amazing volume of 756 pages, hand-bound in silk and encased in a Lucite "skyscraper"has 33 chapters that show off the city's culture (both historical and contemporary) in many categories, with photos shot by tons of respected photographers and writing from some of the key journalists in New York City culture, including Ric Burns, Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, John Updike and many more.





The book, published by Gloria Luxury Books, features archival and modern photography from Annie Leibovitz, Alfred Stieglitz, Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Patrick Demarchelier, Weegee, Jerry Schatzberg and David Bailey, as well as images presented in collaboration with the major New York photographic archives.





The name, the Lenape Edition, is named after the first Indian tribe to inhabit New York State. The book is limited to 1,000 units and has a basic edition at $2,500 (£1,200), a "Liberty" edition, with two archival prints, at $4,500 (£2,300) and a premium "Columbus" edition - limited to 100 units - for $15,000 (£7,600).




The almost 25 pound book comes packaged in a lucite 'skyscraper'- like container with a base on which it stands:



Visit the website here
Or purchase the book for the full price of $2,500.00 USD here at Barney's
Or for $1,911.00 (a savings of $589.00) here at Bigger Books


Learn about Gloria's Luxury Big Books here.

Chairs That Rock. Literally. And Figuratively.

Rocking chairs are no longer for little old knitting grannies or new nursing mommies, but instead a slew of nicely designed, unusual rocking chairs (or rockers, as they are commonly referred to) have hit the market. here are just a few.

Beautifully designed chairs that rock. Big chairs, little chairs, outdoor chairs, indoor chairs. Chairs For Mommies. Chairs For Daddies. Even chairs for Baby. They all rock. Literally and figuratively. Just click on each image above for more info and a link to purchase.

The list has grown! See more of my Chairs That Rock. No, Really.... Rocking Chairs. list at ThisNext.

Martin Klimas' Exploding Photography

Martin Klimas, a Dusseldorf Photographer, likes to blow things up. And I don't mean enlarging them, I mean literally making them explode. While he has a large portfolio of work, he has two series in particular that have unusual energy for still photography.

Below are images of his series of ceramic or porcelain figurines caught in the act of combusting.










And his series of flowers in exploding vases, expelling water and movement as the flower stays still and stoic.







To see all the photos from these series and more, check out his work at his site here.

Window, Aisle or Web? American Airlines Adds Internet To Their Flights

Hi, I'm Laura. Surf Me. (if you don't get that, you're too young.. ask your parents)




I hate to admit it, but when I heard this on the news, I got very excited (I know, I really need to get a life). Now I no longer have to use the flight time to merely clean up my desktop, read in-flight mags or clean out my purse. At least on American Airlines major routes I can work, blog, shop, send e-mails and photos, etc.



American Airlines has launched Aircell's in-flight mobile broadband service, Gogo.

Effective Aug. 20, passengers traveling on American's Boeing 767-200 aircraft can pay a nominal fee for Web access on select flights from New York to San Francisco, New York to Los Angeles and New York to Miami.


Available video includes general views of passengers using Wi-Fi devices onboard aircrafts as well as executive and consumer soundbites.

Hot off the presses and straight from American Airlines & Aircell. Here's their corporate press release: American is the First Airline to Offer Full Inflight Internet in the U.S. on the Entire 767-200 Fleet



FORT WORTH, Texas and ITASCA, Ill. – Marking the beginning of the next wireless revolution, American Airlines made history today with the launch of the mobile broadband service, Gogo™ provided by Aircell ®.

Effective today, customers traveling on American’s Boeing 767-200 aircraft can access complete coast-to-coast coverage on nonstop flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and Miami. American, the world’s largest airline and founding member of the oneworld ® Alliance, and Aircell, the world’s leading provider of airborne communications, have joined together to bring the first full inflight broadband service to the U.S. market.

“We are pleased to provide our customers with the unprecedented ability to stay connected to their family, friends and business associates on the ground via the Internet while traveling at 30,000 feet above the United States,” said Dan Garton, American’s Executive Vice President – Marketing. “With today’s launch, American Airlines makes history as the first and only U.S. airline to offer customers full inflight Internet connectivity, demonstrating once again our industry leadership and focus on our customers.”

Aircell’s Gogo will be available to customers as a fee-based service in all cabins. Aircell will charge $12.95 on flights more than three hours, which include American’s Boeing 767-200 flights. Each paid Gogo session includes full Internet access. Cell phone and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services are not available.

Gogo turns an American Airlines flight into a Wi-Fi hotspot, enabling passengers to surf the Web, check any email, Instant Message, access a corporate VPN, and more. Once the aircraft has reached 10,000 feet, users can simply turn on their Wi-Fi enabled devices such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, open their browsers and be directed to the Gogo portal page where they sign up and begin surfing. Gogo is powered by the Aircell air-to-ground (ATG) Broadband System, which runs over Aircell’s exclusive nationwide network.

“Today, U.S. air travel changes forever. With Aircell’s unique ATG inflight Internet service, airlines finally have an economically viable option for providing the broadband connectivity passengers are demanding,” said Jack Blumenstein, President and CEO, Aircell. “American Airlines is the first to bring inflight Internet to market, and today the days of being cut off from the rest of the world while in the air become history.”

So, Will Other Airlines Follow Suit?

NEW YORK (AP) -- One of the few remaining Internet-free havens vanished Wednesday as American Airlines launched airborne e-mail, Web and other online services on some of its longer, nonstop flights.

The move could create a new stream of revenue for an aviation industry facing high fuel prices and other challenges. But it also could create new headaches as passengers retrieve sensitive e-mails and Web sites in confined quarters.

It also could end a common excuse people have to avoid checking "urgent" e-mail requests from their bosses. Unread magazines and books could now pile up as passengers devote their time aloft to electronic browsing.

American, a unit of AMR Corp., tested in-flight access on two flights on June 25. With Wednesday's launch, the airline is making service available for $12.95 per flight on its 15 Boeing 767-200 planes connecting New York with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami.

"Today the days of being cut off from the rest of the world while in the air become history," said Jack Blumenstein, chief executive of Aircell LLC, the company providing Internet services for American and other airlines.

Delta Air Lines Inc., Virgin America and US Airways Group Inc. are among the other airlines planning to test in-flight services.

JetBlue Airways Corp. offers free Wi-Fi service on one aircraft through its LiveTV subsidiary, limited to e-mail without attachments, instant messaging and some services from Amazon.com. Continental Airlines Inc. also plans to use LiveTV with similar restrictions.

Aircell's Gogo service is still formally a test, meaning American could drop it entirely after three to six months or expand it to other planes, depending on customer adoption and feedback. It can work with most laptops, Apple Inc.'s iPhone, some models of Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerrys and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

The system will block Internet-based phone calls, giving passengers relief from chatty seatmates.

However, American and other U.S. airlines have said they will not filter sites based on their content, raising the prospect of passengers surfing racy material with kids nearby. Airlines say they already have general policies to address unruly passengers, and those would apply as they do now to passengers who browse adult magazines.

By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer

Learn how to surf the net in the friendly skies, how to use your blackberry, etc and other technological info here.