Tough times call for weirder gimmicks! Sharp unveiled a 26-foot tall Christmas tree made by stacking 43 of its Aquos LCD televisions at the Grand Central Station. Apparently Sharp will give away all the 26 TVs and as much as $100,000 for "green" job training. The 52" panels are all lined at the bottom of the tree tapering to 19" at the top. All the displays are hooked together to show videos of waterfall that spilling from the top panels and splashing down on the bottom screens, or snowflakes that float down the length of the tree. Japanese video artist Tsuyoshi Takashiro has created the nine patterns that are currently running through. Sharp will replace the originals with about 10 new patterns in December. To win one of the LCDs all you need to do is sign up at the LCD kiosk for the lucky dip.

Sharp is using the display to publicize the Hope Program, a nonprofit that provides job training and career counseling to help New Yorkers get out of poverty. "Their whole mission is not just to become part of he working poor," said Judah Zeigler from Sharp's marketing department. For every person who registers, Sharp will donate one dollar to a new Hope Program initiative called the Green Collar Project that trains people to work in environmental jobs, such as installing solar panels. Donations will be a minimum of $50,000 maxing to $100,000.

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