The old adage that 'a picture is worth 1000 words' is still going nice and strong. Considering the sheer number of pictures that Flickr is hosting these days, that could be a lot of stories to sift through - why not try out a desktop app to help with all the work?

1001 is a unique Flickr client from Adriaan Tijsseling, developer of the Mac version of blogging app ecto (the one with a slick new alpha version) and RSS newsreader endo. In addition to letting you upload your own photos to Flickr, I think 1001's primary appeal lies in its downloading and viewing abilities. It provides rich features for watching the stream of photos from your friends and groups, filtering the public photo stream with tags, blogging (of course) photos you like, displaying a Growl-like popup with certain photos you want to see and even using photo as your desktop wallpaper or screensaver. It's a really interesting way to interact with Flickr, and the only downside is a somewhat unique UI that might make it a little confusing to navigate 1001 your first time through. For a quick primer: 1001 allows you to pull down these photos by setting up one or more 'streams' that specify exactly what photos you want to see. You can create one stream for, say, just your friends (or even specific friends), and another for Flickr's popular Interestingness page. You can then toggle the different streams on and off depending on your mood, allowing you keep the streams from becoming a flood. Be sure to use the Streams button in 1001's toolbar, or check out the Streams menu to get started.

All things considered, this really is a great app for Flickr enthusiasts or even newbies starting out. Once you get over the very brief learning curve, 1001 is a powerful app that lets you view just the Flickr photos you want and use them in other places on your Mac. But what does all this Flickr wonderfulness (hey, if Flickr can use pseudo-words, so can I) cost, you ask? Surprisingly, it's donationware, and I encourage you to show Tijsseling some appreciation if you enjoy 1001 and would like to see ist development continue.

Tons of iPhone wallpapers out now-- here's a last roundup of what we've seen so far.

• The good bloggers at BoingBoing are going iPhone wallpaper crazy-- they've posted this terrific Sad Mac wallpaper, as well as a collection of erotic wallpapers, if you swing that way. Oh, and hey, unicorns!
• Hypoxic has some good pieces in his DeviantArt.
• Artist Coop also has a Flickr set of wallpapers up (some of them NSFW).
• In that same realm, Andy sent us his own Flickr set of cool-looking retro toy wallpapers.
• And speaking of Flickr, the iPhone wallpapers pool is also filling up with all kinds of things.

So there you go-- if you don't have something pretty on your iPhone yet, you're not looking hard enough. And if you need help getting these on your iPhone we've got you covered there, too.

This week's TUAW Desktop hails from Flickr user brianpunx and makes use of a number of Mac OS X software and icons which brianpunx was kind enough to list (hint: that makes my job easier when picking a TUAW Desktop of the Week, though it doesn't influence my decision). First, it's running a ShapeShifter theme by the name of Amora Pearl by well-known Mac OS X icon and desktop artist David Lanham. Now I couldn't track down the wallpaper, but the album art/iTunes controller in the bottom left is CoverSutra (which we've mentioned before), and the date/time display at bottom center is the work of Panic's excellent Stattoo. You have to view the larger version of brianpunx's desktop, however, to really take in the view and clever placement of icons in relation to the wallpaper.

If you'd like to see your unique, functional or otherwise interesting desktop featured in our TUAW Desktops of the Week series, check out past featured desktops as well as the original post for the rules and to get an idea of what we're looking for. Then, upload your desktop screenshot to our TUAW Desktops Flickr group. We'll feature one or more desktops each weekend, giving credit to the desktop owner, wallpaper creator and any apps featured in the screenshot (if available). Keep those desktops rolling in!

I know I know, it's a slight bit early for holiday-themed desktops, but there's enough cleverness going on here that I thought it warranted a TUAW Desktop of the Week award anyway. Flickr user rVEO has more than just a pretty wallpaper going on in Xmas Mac - you're witnessing the powers of Sno, MacLampsX and X-MasTree to create the ultimate in festive desktops. The snow, for example, is actually animated, inducing the digital version of that warm eggnog experience that only a snowy day at the end of the year can. Nice work rVEO, though if you leave this running for long enough, you're probably going to need an iShovel to get back to work.

In other news, the TUAW Desktops of the Week are going to get a bit more regular from here on out, so keep those submissions to our Flickr group coming, and be sure to check out our previous posts in the series and the original announcement for details on what it takes to make the cut.

This tip isn't Mac specific, but I thought I would share it anyway. No one wants to stare at their computer with a dull old Desktop background, but where can you get high quality free desktop backgrounds? Why, Flickr of course! This Flickr group, called Wallpapers (1024x768 minimum), has thousands of pictures that folks want you to download and display proudly on your Mac (or PC, if you must).

Yesterday, we asked you what were your favorite sources for icons and desktop pictures for customizing your Mac. We've compiled your responses into a few lists below. A few others have compiled similar lists elsewhere: NonStopMac and Ask MetaFilter. Hours of browsing. Enjoy!

Icons:

• InterfaceLIFT Icons
  
• IconFactory
• Pixel Girl Presents
• ResExcellence
• David Lanham (click on tiny icons at left)
• guiKit Icons
• Railhead Design Icons

Desktop Pictures:

• Mandolux
• Caedes
• InterfaceLIFT Wallpapers
• Pixel Girl Presents
• Veer
• Patrick Bennett
  
• ResExcellence
• Flam3 (fractals)
• Weather Photos
• MacDesktops
• DeviantArt (the Apple section)
• Sports Cars
• Skins.be (celeb skin)
• Vlad Studio
• Digital Blasphemy
• Twisted Sun
• David Lanham (click on tiny icons at left)
• guiKit Desktops
• Flickr (1) (2) (3) (4)
• Some panoramas (for multiple monitors)
• Don Synstelien
• Atacama Design (some widescreen)
• My Desk City (Chinese, but hi-res)
• AquaSoft
• Railhead Design Desktops