All this useless beauty

Eric Baker, a principal of Eric Baker Design Associates, in Manhattan, has a minor obsession: Each morning, before work, he spends a half hour or so online seeking out images that are "beautiful, funny, absurd and yet inspiring." He started out by collecting the images and then mailing them to a single friend, in Los Angeles. Gradually, he added more people to his e-list, sending out the images under the title "Today." Today -- that is, today, Friday, Oct 3 -- he lets the readers of Design Observer in on what he found this a.m.

The images come with no explanation, although he writes: "At times, sometimes by accident or occasionally by design, a relationship in the images will emerge. Mostly, though, I love the vagaries of the images -- their beauty, absurdity and naivete." This is the tiniest sampling; you have to go to the site for the full effect.