Mortar is proud to present our newest website: PlayaViva.com.

Playa Viva is a new kind of resort – dedicated to the stewardship of the land it occupies, and the community it shares. If you’re looking for a different kind of destination, check it out. Just be careful to keep the sand out of your keyboard.

Montreal-based Brandfame is a product placement agency for YouTube and other online video sharing platforms, connecting makers of online videos with brands that want to be integrated. Advertisers can list products they’d like to have featured in videos, and search for upcoming videos by producers to find a match for their brand.

Check it out

Ok, so it’s not as fun as texting to the passenger next to you on Virgin America flights but it is a new, innovative and targeted way to spread your message(s).

Text messages are wirelessly streamed to a small screen in a hard plastic case on cart handle. Advertisers and retailers can log on to modstream.com and enter their messages, selecting stores where they want their message to appear. Ads run across a complete chain or targeted to specific regions, stores or times of day. Since the messages can be changed quickly, it’s easy to adapt ads for short-run sales or clearance items.

Yup, it’s Mortar approved.

Learn more here…

From the "@(#$! I Wish I Had Thought Of That!" files comes this annual report for food company Podravka that has to be baked in an oven before it can be read.
Designed by Bruketa & Zinić of Croatia.

Brilliant.

A shout-out for the tip to our buds at Boing-Boing, who also bring us this interesting news item:

David Theiss, 21, of Kansas City, Missouri, was arrested for keeping a
pet toad with the intent of licking it to get high. The skin and venom
glands of Colorado River toads produce powerful hallucinogens called tryptamines. Theiss was released on bond, but the toad remains in police custody. From KBMC.com:

Most pet stores don’t sell the Colorado River toad because the venom can sicken humans and kill household animals.

"People used to do it all the time, but it got faded out awhile, but
came back as a fad. Not a smart one," animal expert Danny Snyder told
KMBC’s Dion Lim. "The toxins in it can kill a lot of stuff."

BART: "Dad, are you licking toads?"
HOMER: "I’m not not licking toads!"