Maybe you don't get over to Reykjavik very often, but the old Viking homestead is a crazy mix of old and modern architecture. Joining the skyline will be the Icelandic Opera House, an icy glass fortress that changes colours throughout the day. Designed by a man whose middle name is Thor, the transparent cube and enclosed 820-seat theatre are situated upon a hill known for its magical elf population. What now? Elves, you say?

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Thanks to LEDs, the boring old streetlight is getting a fresh look from designers all over the world. Agustin Otegui's "Prisma" concept is among these new designs, and in addition to LEDs and solar power, it features a unique 3-way light system that allows for 30-degree customisation in either direction. That means the lights can be used to highlight billboards, project logos on buildings or simply illuminate a specific area on the ground. In other words, it makes the streetlight more versatile. It is only a concept at this point, but it definitely has potential. [Prisma via The Design Blog]

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The boardroom is tense. Your boss is negotiating with their boss over the Big Merger. Accountants discuss endless piles of financial statements. Somewhere a middle manager is getting grilled over an $800 dinner spotted in the audit. There are tears in his eyes and sweat on his brow. And there you are, feet up on the desk with an LED pirate mug in hand. You and your stock options have nothing to worry about because you're quitting/getting fired anyway. Good thing that mug only cost you US$4. [The Big Pirate via Nerd Approved]

I've spent the morning at Philips Research Labs in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and I've seen some pretty amazing inventions that may not be far away from a shop near you. One of the coolest was these magnetic LED tiles that allow you to build any kind of 2D- or 3D-shaped display by just attaching one to the next. The results, combined with the beauty of the animated colour LEDs behind the diffusing glass, are stunning. The way it works seems like magic.

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Among a giant drop of Asia-only Samsung sets today is one nice tidbit--a 40-inch Series 7 LCD with local-dimming LED backlighting, the smallest set yet to do so. The latest US Series 9 LED-lit LCDs we saw recently are definitely on the high end (US$4,200 for a 55-incher), but the PAVV Bordeauk 780 (similar to the 850 being shown off by the lovely ladies above) shows that Samsung is keen to push energy-saving, black-enhancing LED tech down the line. It joins all the regular 1080p, 120Hz goodness we've seen before. Good deal. No word on the pricing even in Asia yet. [Tech ON]

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Though we're still galaxies away from having real lightsabers, the wonderful people in charge of Star Wars merchandising has given us the next best thing--LED flash light lightsabers. The Star Wars Lightsaber LED torch is a full size replica lightsaber handle which makes that whooshing noise when you turn it on and throws an ultra bright blue LED light. Okay, maybe it's not the next best thing, necessarily, but at least it's kind of useful and it'll only cost you US$20. Whoooooosh! [Gadgets.co.uk via Nerd Approved]

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The Gadget: Duracell's new Daylite series of flashlights turn night into day using proprietary TrueBeam technology that they claim captures and projects up to 100 percent of the light--making for a brighter, whiter beam. It comes in three varieties: AA/AAA (80 lumens each) and CR123 (160 lumens).

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New York City is testing a small batch of LED streetlights that redesign not only the light, but the entire lamppost as well. With current bulbs rated for about 24,000 hours, the new LED models, which rate for between 50,000 and 70,000 hours, would be a huge improvement. In addition to lasting longer, the LEDs would also use 25% to 30% less energy and emit no harmful chemicals when discarded. The initial test will only consist of a mere six new lampposts, but if it goes well look for the city to start slowly replacing the old versions with these fancy upgrades. Awesome. [NY Times via PSFK]

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While the refined carbohydrates of Wonder bread coupled with the classic duo of butter from crushed peanuts and the fruit that comes in a jar have powered America's youth for generations, the digital era has ushered in a new use for food. Namely, not eating it. This "electronic sandwich" transforms the binary bliss of PB&J into pretty much just binary, and when you add a bit of power, the sandwich lights up:

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This chandelier-ish lighting design, dubbed Kurage3, allows you to change its level of illumination by changing how curved a shape it makes. Simple science really: If you make it curve past the critical angle for the 1.5-mm fiber-optic, instead of shooting through the tube of glass, the light from an LED light source leaks out at the corners. It's a messy, organic-looking light fitting, which is how fibre-optic lighting should be, or so it feels to me... that way it'd fit into my organic-looking, messy home. It's from Schemata Studio, but there's no info on whether you'll be able to buy it for real. [Yanko Design]

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