A little refresher for those among us not already familiar with The Commons on Flickr: In partnership with The Library of Congress, ”the key goals of The Commons on Flickr are to firstly show you hidden treasures in the world’s public photography archives, and secondly to show how your input and knowledge can help make these collections even richer.” Everybody is welcome to contribute and join the familiar company of:  NASA, The Smithsonian, The New York Library and The Imperial War Museum Collections.

Above, a photograph from NASA’s collection – On Feb. 20, 1962 at 9:47 am EST, John Glenn launched from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 14 to become the first American to orbit the Earth. In this image, Glenn enters his Friendship 7 capsule with assistance from technicians to begin his historic flight.

David Choe, Mister Cartoon, and SA Studios have recently joined forces to create promotional artwork for Robert Rodriguez’ Machete, starring Danny Trejo. The art really grasps the intensity that is felt throughout the movie, and it’s easy to see that David Choe was a great choice for the job . A behind the scenes video was also released and it dives into the inspiration behind the project. You can check the video out here.

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A favorite stop of ours while in town, A Continuous Lean has created a neat look at the new J.Crew Upper East Side Men’s Shop located on Madison Avenue at 79th street.

As you can see, things have been relatively slow going as of late. That’s not to say we’ve lost interest or passion – quite the contrary. The team is busy behind the scenes with an extremely complex, rebranding and redesign undertaking that is requiring a lot of time and manpower at the moment. We’ll check in every now and again with some new posts below this one, but for now, let this act as PSA. Thank you for stopping by, thank you for your patience and thank you for your kind words.

Nike Sportswear (at The Montalban Theatre) has been hosting the Summer of Soccer 2010 since the beginning of this years FIFA World Cup tournament.  The self proclaimed Soccer Headquarters In LA has provided an experience like no other in the city.  The theatre, which seats 700+ people,  is home of NSW West and plays host to many events on a weekly basis.  Summer of Soccer 2010 has filled the theatre on multiple occasions and also offers various activities outside of the outstanding matches.  Those activities include open play rooftop soccer, product customization, and halftime penalty shootouts.  Complimentary food & drinks are served and the retail space is also open during the event.  RSVP information is below for those  interested in attending.

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San Francisco artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon is bringing us a daily dose of the simple becoming the sublime through her “A Collection A Day, 2010″ online art project.  Every day of this year, Congdon has and will post a picture, drawing, or painting of a collection.  The majority of the collections on display in the blog-style project are photographs of actual personal collections from her home and studio.  The rest, which are drawn or painted, are imagined.  While we do enjoy Congdon’s idiosyncratic illustrations, the photographs, presented with a real sense of devotion, are the definite hit here.  The unique history of collections of vintage crayons (picture above), Italian stamps, dice, or prayer cards, leaps from the page and brings an instant sense of wonder to the viewer.   Keep it bookmarked as Congdon stacks up more of the wistful and the treasured through December 31st.

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The most epic of sporting events deserves the most epic of advertisements, and Nike has delivered big for the World Cup.  Directed by one of our favorite directors Alejandro Inarritu (“21 Grams” and “Babel”), the “Write The Future” ad features Nike-sponsored stars like Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Franck Ribéry, Fabio Cannavaro, Landon Donovan, and Cristiano Ronaldo, as they attempt to write themselves into history on the pitch.

The ad speaks for itself, but one thing that struck me is that while some of the scenarios are clearly over the top in their depiction (Wayne Rooney living in a caravan!), a lot of it is not only plausible but absolutely certain to occur should one these players lead their team to glory in South Africa.  Such is the status of the World Cup that there will be moments of great fame and great infamy, and one day statues will undoubtedly be erected and movies will be made.  Also, keep your eye out for cameos from the likes of Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, Gael García Bernal and even Homer Simpson.  The only chink in the ad’s armor is that Ronaldinho wasn’t chosen in Brazil’s squad (whoops!).  The World Cup kicks off on June 11th.  It’s about that time.

If you happened to have been stuck over the last few months trying to get in or out of Europe, you might not want to click the play button. For all the rest of you, California-based Sean Stiegemeier offers us an epic & beautiful timelapse of the ash spewing out of the volcano in Iceland that is reminiscent of pioneering films like Baraka or Koyaanisqatsi. Watch and be enthralled.

The Selby pays a visit to the Parisian home of Philippe and Jasmine Starck. Take a look here. And if you haven’t picked up his book yet, MoMA might be your best bet as the first editions have all but sold out on Amazon already. A preview can be found here.

Imagine watching Raging Bull in a dilapidated ring, or Shawshank Redemption in an abandoned prison. That is the concept behind Banksy’s latest stunt, for the UK premiere of his film “Exit Through the Gift Shop“. Having received raved reviews at Sundance, the highly anticipated film will be ever more real in the reclusive artists’-own repurposed cinema. The Lambeth Palace is a makeshift 150-seat cinema/auditorium built under Waterloo train station. Kitted-out with everything to make the experience as real as possible; from popcorn stall, lounge bar, to street art adorning the walls, many surprises will surely await the audience underground. Playing until March 4th, you can get your tickets here.

READ MORE for Time Out’s inside look at the pop up cinema.

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You may remember us showing Tim Selby some love when his work for Nike 6.0 caught our eye back in the fall. We’ve been following his work ever since, particularly the ongoing project – which inspired the Nike campaign – on his site, The Selby, documenting ‘the spaces of creative people.’ His catalog is immense, and it’s only fitting that the photographer is putting out a book, aptly titled The Selby, on April 1st. If you happen to be in Paris at the beginning of March, however, colette will have a few advanced copies on hand, as well as limited edition prints and stickers. And to make things interesting, the boutique’s storefront will transform into The Selby’s Window Apartment, an installation that will turn the camera around and serve up some glimpses into the photographer’s own creative space. Running March 1-6, the event promises to be a good laugh, with creative workshops, a pet portrait evening and even karaoke on the schedule. I already shotgunned Don’t Stop Believin’ so don’t even think about it. All the details here.

We’re late on this by a minute or so, but every now and again, we love browsing GQ’s 10 Essentials section as a reminder to see what products and necessities the influentials appreciate. Whether you’re a fan of Paul Smith or quiet admirer, we’re able to tell a lot about his character through these few photos and quotes. Read the article here.