France is hardly known for its bonhomie. Foie gras, the guillotine, and doe-eyed nymphets, yes, but not for giving visitors the red-carpet treatment. And it was the carpet—a ratty navy and purple one—that reminded me of that Gallic offhandedness last time I passed through Newark. I was booked on L'Avion, the lavender-heavy all-business-class French airline that operates a shuttle service from NYC to Paris. (It rents planes from Lufthansa, hence the occasional untranslated Achtung sign onboard.) The problems, of course, started at check-in.

While limited-edition artist collaboration T-shirts are certainly nothing new, the Gap's line features images by a surprisingly contemporary group (and their work's not half-bad, either). Among the 13 contributors are Rirkrit Tiravanija, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Hanna Liden (pictured), who are helping the basics company finally compete with, say, RVCA.
$28-$38, gap.com

A dilemma for serious media junkies: The 80-gig iPod can't hold all the songs and videos you need, but you can't get more storage without buying a clunky (read: immobile) device. A solution: the Mvix MV-2500U, a 250-gig portable multimedia hard drive. Unlike most in its category, it's pocket-friendly—five inches by three, and only a half inch thick. It can play just about any file format you need, including MP3s and high-def video, which you can watch by plugging it into your TV or laptop. The only drawback: It lacks an external LCD screen for watching movies on the train, so don't throw out that iPod just yet.

Offering industrial retail design (think poured-concrete floors and exposed beams), Tesla's first dealership opened in L.A. last night. The 10,000-square-foot space features the company's Roadster, a 100-percent-electric car that goes from 0 to 60 in under four seconds and gets about 221 miles of driving per charge. It also has the benefit of not looking like that other rechargeable vehicle—the golf cart.
Tesla flagship store, 11163 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, (310) 473-8337, teslamotors.com

Plataforma Arquitectura has published pictures of Alberto Mozó's new offices for BIP Computers in Santiago—an impressive three-story building constructed of laminated wood, featuring exposed rafters and a winding interior staircase. It's more treehouse than cubicle complex (which, we imagine, can't hurt staff morale). The structure's already earned some high-profile admirers: How many office buildings are endorsed by noted architecture critic Kanye West?

Cult street-label Acronym has drawn raves for its utilitarian design and military-influenced style. The line's Berlin-based designers, Michaela Sachenbacher and Errolson Hugh, won't change that with this, their partnership with Italian mainstay Stone Island. The nom-de-collaboration? The Shadow Project, a four-piece collection that includes two jackets, a vest, and a shirt that can be worn separately or as a unit. Made of breathable fabrics, they offer protection from the elements—and Teflon-coat Acronym's already considerable reputation.

[Sportswear International]

In Notes on Fantomas, a new show named after the fictional French criminal, renowned artist and fashion photographer Yelena Yemchuk explores everything from the climax of E.L. Doctorow's The Waterworks to fables she heard during her childhood in Kiev. Her vibrant, Sendak-style watercolors are filled with lithe people in various states of dress—some could have been styled by Marc Jacobs himself—who frolick and fight with foxes, frogs, bears, fish, and fowl. "In most Ukrainian folktales not everyone lives happily ever after," she says. "They're all pretty crazy." Like a fox, we guess.
Notes on Fantomas, May 3-June 1, Dactyl Foundation, 64 Grand St., New York, NY, (212) 219-2344, dactyl.org

To launch its new art project Global: Local, Chronicle Books made an unusual choice: sponsoring Untitled, an exhibit of blank books. Some explanation: The show is a collaboration with the hipsters at Citizen: Citizen and concerns, as Chronicle puts it, "book-like objects" created from the mock-ups publishers use to preview their products before they go to press. The results are curiously beautiful, totally unique, and (naturally) available for purchase.
Untitled, tonight through May 10, Chronicle Books, 680 Second St., San Francisco, (415) 537-4283, chroniclebooks.com

Between Iron Man's presumably big debut and next week's opening of Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy at the Met's Costume Institute, men in tights are having a moment—and you can expect to see even more of them in the years ahead. Judging by this Hollywood Reporter story, however, Marvel is starting to scrape the bottom of the superhero barrel. (Nice-looking barrel, by the way.) Here, a list of the uninspiring comic book movies coming soon to a multiplex near you:

-Nick Fury
-The Avengers
-Thor
-Ant Man
-Captain America*

(*Actually kind of cool. But as THR points out, "Captain America is a prime property but is perceived as a tough sale overseas." How far we've fallen.)

Tomorrow is LACMA's inaugural (and aptly named) Art Book Swap. There, you can exchange your old tomes for new ones, all donated by hip galleries, retailers, and publishers, including Beautiful Decay, Mary Goldman Gallery, Peres Projects, and D.A.P. Think of it as an arty twist on recycling.
Art Book Swap at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. on the North Piazza, Los Angeles, (323) 857-6000, lacma.org; newartdealers.org

New York photographer Michael Cogliantry's exhibit The Furry Kama Sutra opens today at Portland's Nemo Gallery, and the work is, er, exactly what it sounds like. Still, you don't have to be a fetishist to get a kick out of Cogliantry's amorous animals—and it's not like you haven't seen these positions before. (Frankly, the background decor is more offensive than the fluffy love.) We're just grateful that two bunnies didn't attempt anything with one cup.
The Furry Kama Sutra at Nemo Design Gallery, 1875 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR, (503) 872-9631, nemodesign.com

That question is posed by a well-meaning (and, it must be said, somewhat portly) gentleman during Sunday's second season premiere of This American Life on Showtime. He's speaking to a subject of one of the show's beautifully photographed, if meandering, profiles, a Middle Eastern native who travels the U.S. with a "Talk to an Iraqi" booth. For the expert answer, and a preview of season two, check out the trailer below:

If you notice London looking a little artier this weekend, here's why: The inaugural Cans Festival kicks off tomorrow. In essence, a bunch of the world's best-known graffiti artists (including some guy named Banksy) are coming to paint the town red—and, we suspect, a number of other colors—during a three-day street-art battle. Admission is free, but be warned: One of their "rules of engagement" is "We have a lot of security."

Nearly a decade has passed since his last feature, but it's good to know Harmony Korine hasn't lost his sense of absurdity. His latest, Mister Lonely, is out today, and (as we mentioned before) concerns a Scottish village of celebrity impersonators. "I wanted to see James Dean tending sheep, the Pope doing dishes, Sammy Davis, Jr. smoking a joint, and Marilyn's dress floating up in the woods," the director says. The results? An often hilarious, sometimes dreamy film, replete with images like nuns flying through the air on BMX bikes. Diego Luna's sweetness—and sweet dance moves—make him a perfect Michael Jackson impersonator, particularly when he and his beloved (Marilyn Monroe, played by Samantha Morton) perform for a group of doped-up seniors at an old folks home in Paris. Just one question, though: Why Michael Jackson? "He's an incredible abstraction you can project images on," says Korine. "The world's greatest eccentric." We suspect Mister Korine's not too far behind.