Crave

Remind me not to use this one when I remodel the bathroom.

(Credit: Spinning Hat)

Imagine your guests' surprise when they go to the use the restroom and encounter a blood-stained shower curtain. Good times! Or so reason the U.K.-based designers of the Blood Bath Shower Curtain. When scrunched closed, it looks like your standard shower accoutrement. But fan it open and you get an image straight out of "Psycho"--a curtain with bloody handprints. Eek, eek, eek...

But that's not all, horror movie fans. For $16, you also get a realistic blood-stained bath mat to complete the Hitchcockian scene. Bloody knife not included.

Now, we're not trying to tell you how to lead your life, but might we suggest letting your guests in on the joke before they start exhibiting signs of acute shock?

AlphaSphere, a multi-sensory, relaxation lounger designed in Austria.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET Networks)

Last week in New York, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair showcased the tip-top of modern design. More than 600 exhibitors displayed contemporary furniture, flooring, lighting, and accessories and included a fair share of tech-oriented, futuristic and energy-saving devices. To see what they had to offer, click here.

(Credit: Studiomeiboom)

Now you can put a big, impressive-looking tome about the Age of Enlightenment on your bookshelf without having to wade through any Descartes or Voltaire.

Dutch design studio Studiomeiboom has come up with The Enlightenment, a lamp that poses as a book on the 18th century intellectual movement, but really just enlightens your room and not your brain.

The $130 lamp is made of white Plexiglas, with "The Enlightenment" etched onto its spine and cover. It's about 9 inches tall, 6 inches wide, and 3 inches deep, and comes with a 9-watt energy-saving light.

Studiomeiboom says 10 percent of the proceeds from the product go to support the Edukans Foundation, which funds educational efforts in the developing world. Sharing the wealth with charity--definitely an enlightened way to do business.

(Via Uncrate)

(Credit: Chip Chick)

At first glance these "Budclicks" might just seem like the latest gimmick to customize your earbuds, an accessory to an accessory. But lest you write them off, consider the history of the "Jibbitz," the wildly popular doodads that kids love to stick on their Crocs.

That idea was started by a stay-at-home mom, who created the decorations with her three children in the basement of their Colorado house--before selling her business to Crocs Inc. for $10 million. Budclicks, as far as we can tell, is essentially the same thing for earphones, at $10 to $15 a pop for a pair of plastic clip-on that are likely made for pennies in a Chinese factory. If they have a fraction of the Jibbitz's success, we could be seeing them everywhere.

Most of the year, shoppers seeking to be ecologically correct worry about the age-old paper versus plastic bag dilemma (The answer? Bring your own bag.). Around this time of year, those who celebrate Christmas worry whether they should get an artificial or real tree.

Efficient LED lights come in standard and fanciful shapes.

(Credit: HolidayLEDs)

Fake firs from the middle of the 20th century that once looked high-tech have made a retro comeback. Dressing up an old one can be relatively eco-friendly, whether it sports flocked snow, aluminum branches, or ceramic gumdrops. The Doris Day aesthetics might irk some neighbors, but at least you'd do the planet a favor by keeping a used, imitation pine out of a landfill. Options abound on Freecycle, eBay, Craigslist. Resale shops run by charities, like Goodwill and Salvation Army, could also use the business.

Just don't let pity for the pathetic Charlie Brown tree fool you into taking it home. Along with legions of other fake, new trees, it's made of PVC plastics that offgas toxic chemicals. Most fake trees are made in China, which requires shipping them far with fossil fuels, and many contain lead.

Chopping down a tree may hurt if you're normally compelled to hug one, but it usually supports a local economy. Plus, replanting in that spot or elsewhere, and sending the dead wood to a mulch-making service, can ease the blow. Environmentalists who like the oxygen and aromatherapy provided by a real tree may prefer potted varieties that can be planted outside later.

Poor Charlie Brown's tree is a pathetic choice if you want to be green.

(Credit: ThisNext)

To swaddle a tree or entire home in lights, LED strands come in all kinds of colors and shapes and are brighter, more durable and far more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs. They're good enough for the trees at Rockefeller Center and the White House. However, the high price of LEDs can be a letdown. Solar-powered lights can take a tree off the grid, unless you want to revert to low-tech popcorn and cranberries. (Although there are lots of other solar-powered doodads, most are made of non-recycled plastic.) You can mail in recycle used lights for recycling, or check for options at nearby hardware stores.

For the festival of lights, menorahs made of recycled pipes, glass, and mixed media. Soy-based or beeswax candles are less polluting than those made of petroleum-based paraffin. Or, make your own LED menorah.

Will it blend? Hang on tightly.

(Credit: Gaiam)

To warm a hearth, should you do a real or fake fire? Duraflame announced last week that its logs, made of sawdust and castoff nut shells, will use plant-based wax, potentially saving 100 million pounds of petroleum each year. The Java Log packs coffee grounds that burn brighter and cleaner than wood. Gas fireplaces pollute the air less than those that burn wood, but they use fossil fuels.

If you aim to shop sustainably, it's a good bet to avoid Christmas stores at malls, where most goods are made abroad under dubious working conditions. Hunting online for vintage greeting cards, menorahs, and wall hangings can be more creative and less wasteful. Backed by the Etsy artists' emporium, Craftster, and other creative sites, you could pledge only to buy handmade gifts and trimmings this season. One of the cardinal rules of craftiness is that pretty much anything can be turned into a lamp, a clock or a Christmas tree ornament. Just gather last year's ribbons or bend paper clips to string up and hang old DVDs, CDs, circuitboard chunks, and shwag stress balls from CES.

Wrapping paper also can be reused, bought recycled, or ditched altogether for cloth bags or funny pages. You can reuse packing peanuts from boxes mailed to you, or stuff packages with cushioning that can double as extra goodies, such as candy, stockings, pine cones, napkins, pot holders, and popcorn (but ship quickly). Just be wary of tinsel and glitter, which can hurt furry, curious pets.

This menorah is made from galvanized pipes.

(Credit: Two String Jane)

If you're making all this fuss for a party, nothing screams green like manual labor. The Vortex hand-powered blender lets your guests whip up spiked eggnog smoothies by hand. You could also toss around this ball for handmade ice cream. And no matter the mess, skip the urge to use disposable cups, plates and utensils, although compostable options may be better.

(See also: CNET's green gift guide, Gifts you can't unwrap, and Getting cash for crashed gadgets.)

And you thought your dark, cramped, dusty workspace was depressing. Have a look at the winners of the Wired News Saddest-Cubicle Contest, and get ready to appreciate your own scrappy little cube anew.

David Gunnells toils away in a windowless conference room, his desk hemmed in by heavily used filing cabinets.

(Credit: David Gunnells, courtesy of Wired News)

After all, it doesn't get too much worse than David Gunnells' cubicle (or does it?). The first-place winner of the contest, an IT guy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, spends his days in a windowless conference room, his desk hemmed in by heavily used filing cabinets. He sits near a poorly ventilated bathroom and shares a wall with a parking garage. His mother-in-law was so depressed by his dingy cube that she gave him a lamp.

At least the world will now know his plight. For winning the contest, Gunnells gets a RoboMan Webcam so he can broadcast from his bland little corner.

The runners-up may not get a Webcam, but they do get the validation of knowing Wired News' readers share their pain. One soul-crushing submission shows a cube with a single fluorescent light, paper clips as cubicle hooks, and overturned boxes as shelf space. Nyet on the windows and working landline.

Another shows a picture of an IT contractor's desk, tucked away in a 40-foot steel cargo container that he calls "the hamster cage." To get electricity, he runs a 100-foot extension cord to a power substation. In winter, he tries unsuccessfully to get warmth from a small electric heater. There's nary a plant, poster, or picture of the kids in sight--it practically makes Dwight Schrute's desk look like an interior decorator's showroom.

(Credit: Spring Design & Art)

Want a conversation starter? Just toss a pillow that lists off terms like "Orlando Bloom," "podcasting," and "bankruptcy" onto your couch, and your guests du jour will likely be so curious that they won't even notice you forgot to dust the top of your TiVo box.

This is, for the record, the Google News Cushion from Spring Design & Art. Those seemingly mismatched list items are, in fact, the top ten Google News searches of 2006. The company also sells a few other years' worth, too. (What do you want to bet the '07 version will include Ron Paul?)

It will, unfortunately, cost you $120, but consider it a premium for a cure to all awkward silences.

(Via Notcot.org)

(Credit: Metalarte)

If you've ever had the sick fantasy of wanting to throw a lamp into a body of water, here you go. Fortunately, it won't electrocute anything. It will, however, make your pool look eerily pretty.

As far as floating pool lights go, these are nowhere near as cool as the fiber optic jellyfish. These are rechargeable, floating lamp-shaped lights sold by lighting-design company Metalarte, known by the name "Waterproof," and they'll cost you $450 apiece. (Yikes! And I thought the $60 jellyfish were extravagant!) But if you've got that expensive in-ground pool, I suppose it's worth spending a few bucks on.

(Via CubeMe)

(Credit: Sundance Solar)

When I was a kid, my family put a life-size plastic owl near our house to keep birds and squirrels away from the porch. (At least, I think that's why they had a life-size plastic owl near our house.) Unfortunately, I don't think it worked all that well, because last I heard, the cat had mauled it and thrown it into the hedge. I suppose it really wasn't that scary.

Consequently, the next time I'm desperate to scare away animals, small children, or the IRS, I'm going to get one of these instead. Because this is really scary. This is the Swamp Eyes Floating Alligator, a life-size alligator head that you can float in a pool or pond (or presumably poke out of some tall grass). It could also make a great Halloween decoration, if you're into that fun stuff.

The best part? It's eco-friendly! Mr. Gator here is powered by a solar panel on top of his head, which recharges during the day so that his eyes light up and glow at night. Pretty awesome, if you ask me. But I can still think of a few improvements: it could certainly use a motion sensor so that if someone comes too close, it snaps its jaws.

He'll be your best friend forever for just $40.

(Via Uber-Review)