Safura, a rising star of the European music world, will take the stage tonight at the Eurovision Song Contest wearing CuteCircuit's video gown. The dress is designed to interpret the emotion of her hit song Drip Drop and was specifically made for Safura's Eurovision performance.

The song contest will be Live on the BBC and other national channels around Europe. You can also watch it on the internet on the Eurovision website, starting at 9pm (GMT +1).

via: CuteCircuit

This robot can perform a marriage ceremony and look good doing it. It is kind of a Metropolis-Honda vs table centerpiece look.

"The i-Fairy is a 4 foot tall robot which officially pronounced Satoko Inoue and Tomohiro Shibata man and wife. The robot is made by Kokoro Ltd, of which Inoue is an employee and Shibata, a client. Since the couple believed that the robot was responsible for their meeting, they wanted it to preside over their wedding." via-PSFK

Satoko and Tomohiro have given their robot the responsibility of creating a legal bond between them. One of the most important decisions they'll ever make. It makes me wonder, shouldn't it also look the part? When thinking about the future, at what point do you think that robots will develop a sense of taste and decorum appropriate to the events they attend and in this case, administer?

Video after the break

This year I am honored to be presenting a workshop and talk at the Smart Fabrics conference in Miami, FL. Smart Fabrics is THE premier event for everyone interested in applications, marketing, design, development, curation, and manufacturing of smart or advanced textiles. Smart fabrics are textiles that are woven or embedded with advanced properties. Examples are sports bras that can detect your heart rate, solar energy gathering pants, and soft switches for controlling your MP3 player from your jacket. There are many more amazing sci-fi sounding applications being developed, who says we have to wait for the future? It seems to me the future is now. 

Smart Fabrics 2010

April 14 - 16 in Miami, Florida

Conrad Miami Hotel

Register Here

[Above: Syuzi and Alison meeting for the first time at Maker Faire in 2006]

After four years, Syuzi Pakhchyan and I were finally able to get together and host our own talk about girls in technology. The talk was called “Duh… Its Like Tech for Girls <3" and it was presented as a core converation at SXSW Interactive 2010. We were joined by many audience members, who were passionate about igniting that tech spark in girls, teens, and women.

Erica Glasier of Oversocialized! put together this great Glam Girl’s SXSWi Survival Guide for all those who are attempting to make it through SXSW alive. 

Link: http://ericaglasier.com/2010/02/22/the-glam-girls-guide-to-sxswi/

Syuzi Pakhchyan of Fashioning Technology and I are joining forces at SXSW and hosting a session called “Duh…It’s Like Tech for Girls <3.” Here is the information: 

Duh ... It's Like Tech for Girls <3

SXSW Interactive, Austin, TX

Monday, March 15, 11am, ACC 7

Hi all, Alison is away right now in California to attend the annual TED (Technology, Education, Design) Conference. It is an amazing event that "bring[s] together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)." You can keep up with what is happening at TED through its official blog and the #TED conversations on Twitter.

Tomorrow night, November 16th, I have 5 minutes and 20 slides to share everything I know about creating a tech savvy DIY for a non-techy crafter. Can I do it? You’ll have to tune in find out. 

Ignite NYC VII

When: 11/16, starting @7PM
Where: New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street
What: 15 five minute presentations that geeks and techies will love
Admission: FREE

Tonight at 6.30 PM EST Benedikta and Nora of BurdaStyle.com are giving a talk in the “Networked Design” Series at Parsons, organized by the ASS Graphic Design department. The talk will be on “The road to collaborative fashion design." Don't miss it! If your not able to pass by? Watch the live stream of the event.

Find out more information here

BurdaStyle is a stylish open source community website with free fashion patterns, examples, and contests for people who sew. There is a very supportive member community and for inspiration be sure to see the member uploaded photos.