Last month, ThisBlogRules brought you the coffee table that doubles up as a fully-functional Nintendo controller. Now we have another coffee table that doubles up as another gizmo, although this time it’s a slightly more primitive, possibly more nostalgic piece of technology. Designed by Seattle-based artist Jeff Skierka, this table has a distinct resemblance to an audio cassette tape, albeit a massively oversized one that will make its owner feel like a Borrower.

Now, I’m aware some of our younger readers may be confused as to what a cassette tape actually is: to put it basically, a cassette tape is a CD that’s rectangular and not circular, bulky and not slim, lame and not not-so-lame. It also sometimes benefits from the use of a pencil – you figure out how.

Here are the technical details on Skierka’s one-of-a-kind mixtape table. Sized at 47.25″ x 30″ x 5″, it is twelve times the size of a regular cassette tape. It is made of reclaimed maple, walnut and lucite, and is fitted with a glass top. It’s also completely reversible, with a side A and a side B (just like the real thing!), although sadly it does not actually play any music – well, not until someone designs a cassette tape player the size of a bungalow, that is.

Check out more pics of the table below.

Today marks the release of “Men in Black III,” the sci-fi action comedy sequel that sees Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones returning as alien-hunting Agents J and K for the second time. Also, in two weeks, we will be treated with Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus,” the highly anticipated prequel to his 1979 sci-fi horror masterpiece “Alien.” To celebrate, I’m taking a look at the ten greatest alien characters ever to feature on the big-screen, be they vicious monsters, quirky visitors or conquering invaders. Whatever they may be and whatever their intentions, they’ve all got one thing in common: they’re outta this world.

Picture this. You’re an Eskimo (or an Inuit – is Eskimo offensive?). You’re in snowy Alaska and have become lost in the middle of nowhere. You’re on your own. It’s cold. You’re cold. You need shelter. So, you use the skills your misplaced tribe recently taught you and build an igloo. You enter the igloo. You’re not so cold anymore. But now you’re faced with another problem: you’re bored. What do you need to quench your boredom while you hopefully await rescuing? You need some books to read! But you don’t have any books on you, nor a Kindle. You’re in a (admittedly unlikely) rut, aren’t you?

Well, Miler Lagos may have solved your problem. The Colombia-based artist, whose exhibitions have been featured all over the globe, has created an igloo – or a dome – made entirely out of books. Handy, right? The installation, which is called Home and which opened in New York last year, was carefully assembled by Lagos, who painstakingly stacked each individual book (spine facing the interior) to create a self-sustaining dome. Whether or not you can actually remove any of the books to have a quick flick through them I’m unsure – the whole structure may topple down and crush you to death. Just in case, make sure you have a Kindle with you on your next venture into Alaska’s freezing wasteland.

Everyone talks about being President of the United States one day, presumably because they like to think of themselves sitting in the Oval Office issuing Executive Orders for Free Pizza on Tuesdays and sending the military to bomb the house of the guy that gave you a swirly in 7th grade. What no one talks about, however, is just how hard the job of being in charge of 300 million people really is. For these five guys, it was harder than most, because they were dropped into a crap sandwich almost from the moment they were sworn in…

For many working stiffs slaving away from 9:00 to 5:00, popping in a pair of earphones and listening to music can provide a merciful mental escape from the drudgeries of the daily grind. But different genres of music can have both a positive and negative impact on an employee’s productivity, meaning the difference between a promotion and a pink slip. But exactly what kind of tunes should you be listening to a work?

Luckily, Sonos have provided the answer to this all-important question in their brand new infographic, which will take you step-by-step through the process of on-the-job music selection – it’s easy as pie. So, should you be listening to rock and roll or classical? Smooth jazz or heavy metal? Hip-hop or country and western? Read on, get your iPod ready and find out.