Dual Snowboards offer users an alternative recreational snow sport by providing them with the freedom to move around the snow in new ways. One of these short boards is worn on each foot and not connected to one another, allowing the wearer to move their legs independently.

Dual Snowboards can be ridden sideways like regular snowboards but they offer different possibilities for turning, jumping, sliding, and coming up with new tricks. The user can walk on different terrain without unlatching their bindings and can easily maneuver around obstacles. They are also compatible with all standard boots and bindings so they don’t require an extra set. Dual Snowboards’ CEO Scott Rickett explains more about them in the video below:

To promote the BMW 1 Series in South Africa, digital agency iLogic projected an interactive racing game onto buildings and scaffolding’s in major cities over eight nights and let consumers take part in playing on the huge, 108 square meter screen. Promoters on the ground helped participants enter their Facebook details via a Galaxy Pad, used afterwards as a steering wheel to race with. Results were posted to the BMW1 Series fan page on Facebook, as well as the racer’s personal profile.

Janelle Monàe shows her support for President Obama with a performance at a recent campaign event in Chicago.

“I was deeply honored to be invited by the President to perform at the rally in Chicago at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It was an amazing feeling to be amongst so many people, young and old, black, white, red, disabled, all united, eager to help support a man who has ended the war in Iraq, gotten rid of “don’t ask don’t tell”- allowing anyone to serve this country regardless of who you love, made sure women were not paid less than men merely because they are women, doubled pell grants, given 2.5 million young people health insurance, and has created a law that recognizes that crimes based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race or disability aren’t just any crime- they’re hate crimes that deserve justice. These are all things he said he’d do before he was elected and did them. There are more important accomplishments that can be added to this list.  I strongly believe our nation should continue upon this path, bringing justice to all and change where needed.  President Obama remains the candidate of hope and change, and he will continue to move our country forward, bringing even more change if re-elected.” – Janelle Monàe

Dallas-based Dillon Gage Metals is the US dealer for the one-ounce gold bars designed by French couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier, providing a fashionable way for investors to diversify holdings and hedge against inflation. Trendsetter Gaultier is known for his haute couture and fragrances and as a creator of singer Madonna’s stage costumes.

“Never before has a fashion icon designed a gold ingot. The Gaultier bar is a one-of-a-kind, limited-quantity collector’s piece that not only is a great investment but it will also become a piece of history. The price of gold has risen more than fivefold in the last 10 years, outperforming almost every other investment,” says Terry Hanlon, president of Dillon Gage Metals. “The Gaultier one-ounce bar is the perfect Valentines, birthday or graduation gift for someone special, he adds.

Reebok and McGarryBowen have quietly reunited, and a new global brand campaign for the sports-apparel and equipment retailer is expected to debut in the coming weeks.

“We are excited to work with McGarryBowen again,” said Viktoria Wallner, VP-brand marketing communications of Reebok. “Their strength is creating big ideas that truly tell the story of the brand in an enticing way. We feel that they will be a strong partner for us to bring our new brand positioning to life.”

McGarryBowen declined to comment about the forthcoming work and the renewed relationship, but it is understood that the shop has a close relationship with president of Reebok International, Uli Becker.

The addition of yet another new client, on the heels of Bud Light, Burger King and others, is another boost for the Dentsu-owned shop.

In 2010, Reebok spent a total of $75 million on domestic measured media, according to Kantar. That number seems to have dipped a bit for 2011; spending from January through October was about $50 million. But globally the overall spending is likely to be much higher.

Back in 2004, the Canton, Mass.-based company switched various creative assignments to McGarryBowen — then a fledgling independent shop that was nowhere near the monster on the new-business circuit that it is today — from Omnicom Group’s Arnell. After some time though, the relationship weakened, and in March 2009, Reebok announced it had appointed DDB Worldwide as its lead creative agency, to service the business from hubs in Chicago, Berlin and Hong Kong.

That the retailer has decided to return brand advertising to McGarryBowen means that the two key accounts that McGarryBowen has lost in its decade-long existence have now both returned to the shop. Verizon Communications had left in 2007, but a couple years later boomeranged back and has parked the bulk of its creative advertising at the shop.

Via AdAge

Commissioner Raymond Kelly

Arrests for low-level marijuana possession fell in the city in the weeks after Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly cautioned officers not to bust people for small amounts of the drug found in pockets or bags, according to department data released.

Kelly issued the internal order Sept. 19 after claims that officers were wrongly arresting people. In New York, possessing a small amount of marijuana is punishable with a fine. But smoking the drug in public or having it visible remains a low-level crime that carries jail time.

There are more arrests on the pot charge — about 50,000 a year — than any other crime in New York City, accounting for about one of every seven cases that turn up in criminal courts. Critics say the numbers are driven in part by the department’s strategy of stopping and frisking people who meet crime suspects’ descriptions.

More than 450,000 people, mostly black and Hispanic men, were stopped so far this year, unfair targets, critics say. About 10 percent of stops result in arrests. But instead of finding weapons when pockets or bags are turned out, critics say, officers more often find pot and wrongly arrest.

Kelly’s order stated that officers were not to arrest people on misdemeanor drug charges for possessing small amounts of marijuana that were not in public view. The order was a reminder on existing departmental policy, but it was already having an effect. In the nine weeks after the directive, there were 7,925 arrests, or 13 percent fewer than the same period last year. It was issued after a growing chorus of complaints on the subject.

Before the order, arrests were up five percent at 37,816. It’s not clear if the figure would remain on the decline. It’s not uncommon for crime statistics to vastly fluctuate by the week, month or year.

The New York Civil Liberties Union said officers needed to be better trained and monitored so the problem didn’t persist.

“This decline in arrests is Exhibit A that the NYPD was illegally arresting New Yorkers for minor amounts of marijuana,” said Executive Director Donna Lieberman.

Gabriel Sayegh, the New York director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group critical of the national war on drugs, said the decrease isn’t significant enough because among other reasons, the department is still on track to arrest more people than last year. He called the arrests a waste of taxpayer dollars.

“This isn’t anything to get excited about yet,” he said. “Until we see these drops reach a much more significant figure, then a drop of 1,100 isn’t much different from arrests variations in other years.”

New York’s lowest-level marijuana-possession charge — criminal possession of marijuana in the 5th degree, a misdemeanor — has been the most common arrest charge in the city for much of the past decade.

Kelly has said the vast majority of pot arrests come from undercover officers who witness hand-to-hand drug transactions or people smoking pot in public. And, the department says, as low-level arrests have risen, violent crime has decreased dramatically. Kelly says the stop and frisk tactic is a necessary, life-saving, crime-fighting tool.
—Copyright 2011 Associated Press

Veuve Clicquot officially launched today its multimedia, crowd-sourced platform, Wish You Were Here. This new platform is part of the luxury house’s expanded effort to centralize and showcase its 100+ global programs, events and initiatives. Wish You Were Here visually captures inspiring moments from around the world and celebrates the spirit and lifestyle of Veuve Clicquot through travel, fashion, food, sport and design, via photos and videos submitted by the brand, official contributors and the public.

Key Site Features:
- Infinite Wall: showcases all submissions and permits visitors to readily navigate and interact through liking, sharing and commenting on media.
- Contributors: features tastemakers from the worlds of art, design, fashion, travel and food, selected to contribute their own “Wish You Were Here” moments with the Clicquot community.
- Places / Events: navigable map allows visitors to search and view content tagged by location, and major events from around the world, such as the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, Milan Design Week and Yelloween. 40 cities are featured at launch, with more to come.
- Popular: features and highlights images receiving highest number of “favorites” on the site.

Designed, developed and handcrafted in Los Angeles, the West African Zebrawood iPhone Veil from Killspencer is made from premium, locally sourced Zebrawood Maple wood veneer. Great for iPhone users who don’t want a bulky case distracting from the overall design but still want to flash a little panache. Other styles include the Black Veil and Macassar Ebony Viel. Compatible with iPhone 4 and 4S.

The Holiday season is always a time for capturing great moments that we’ll cherish for the years to come. The ideal gift for your amateur to professional photographers, the Leica X1, D-Lux 5 and V-Lux 30 will help you transform spontaneous, fleeting moments into memories for a lifetime.

LEICA X1

The Leica X1 delivers the best picture quality among compact cameras. This camera features a professional CMOS sensor that is as large as those in high-quality SLRs. Combined with an outstanding Leica lens, it captures images of unmatched brilliance. Expressed in terms of 35mm film format, the X1’s Elmarit 24mm f/2.8 ASPH has the same coverage as the legendary 35 mm focal length. While its numerous automatic functions make the X1 extremely fast and intuitive to use, its manual control options enable the photographer to maintain concentration on the creative aspects of the composition. The Leica X1 is available in both black and steel-grey finish.

LEICA D-LUX 5

The Leica D-Lux 5 is a true representation of the Leica design vocabulary and philosophy. Its flat, smooth and uncluttered design ensures its timelessly modern look. The Leica DC Vario-Summicron 5.1-19.2 mm f/2-3.3 ASPH. offers a faster lens than previous models and a zoom with an extremely practical range of focal lengths. Furthermore, the 10.1 mega-pixel D-Lux 5 guarantees exceptional image quality and superb sharpness while its intuitive controls ensure ease of use. Its 720-pixel HD-video function in memory-saving AVCHD-Lite format and optional accessories make the D-Lux 5 the perfect camera for capturing truly distinctive images.

LEICA V-LUX 30

The Leica V-Lux 30 digital compact camera is created for a flawless yet carefree photographic experience. Equipped with a 15.1 MP Sensor (14.1 MP effective) and high performance Leica lens with extended 16x zoom range, the V-Lux 30 guarantees images of unmatched brilliance. Features of particular notice include the video recording mode, built-in GPS capabilities and 3D mode. The V-Lux 30 comes with a new 3” LCD touch screen with a display resolution of 460,000 pixels.

Jung von Matt Neckar and Nike Running, along with Stuttgart/GER, created a live chase with an online component. “Catch the Flash” asked Viennese residents to participate in a chase through dark alleys of Vienna. Participants had to chase 50 real runners wearing reflective Nike jackets. The runners were equipped with a GPS app so the chasers could track them online while trying to find them. The aim was to catch the runners using a camera flash which made the jackets shine to reveal the number printed on the back.