I first learned about Ben Fry from running across his original thesis paper on computation information design.  Apparently, he has done all kinds of additional work on the topic since his PhD thesis, which has led to a very cool new software language, Processing.  This software language is meant to both teach and be used by professionals to create visually more stunning work than can be done with most "out-of-the-box" expensive software solutions, and it's open source!

You can see more of what this cool Processing software is capable of producing by viewing some of the demos on the homepage for the software.

America has typically been slow to adopt western European fashion and design trends. Searches on western European home and apartment sales and rental sites will show numerous examples of just how more modernized the home interior design has become in Europe versus America. It was therefore quite refreshing to stumble upon an article in the New York Times this morning that talks about a designer in New York City who has begun accenting interiors with dark woodwork over the normal Martha Stewart-y clean white baseboards and cabinetry. Visit any IKEA store and you will see that this is not a particularly new idea in European interior design. (View the "living room inspiration" slides 1, 3, and 14 for good examples of the dark/light contrast being "reversed.")