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This is Hobbit Hole Nail Art by DeviantARTist KayleighOC. It’s made from clay, faux grass, acrylic paints, and nail varnishes. It… looks a little inconvenient. It also looks AMAZIIIING! For real, Kayleigh, it’s so good. I need to know — how did you even make it? Also, how did you manage to wipe your tootay with that hulking mass on your thumb? What?! It’s a valid question. I need answers!

KayleighOC’s got other impressive nail art including a set themed after Gandalf the Grey, Breaking Bad, Labyrinth, Edward Scissorhands, and many others. I’ve included some pics below. Don’t say I never did anything for you!

And I thought Starbucks was crazy for slinging $5 lattes! Famed London-based department store, Harrods is home to the most expensive and luxurious coffee in the world. Terra Nera originates from a region of the Peruvian Andes, and what makes it to special is coffee cherries that are passed through the elusive civet cat’s digestive system, and are then hand-collected to be processed. Wait, wait? The world’s most expensive coffee (ranging from $225-$11,000) is just fancy cat excrement? Tomorrow morning, I think I’ll switch to tea.

La plaza by Jorge Cacharrón

Jorge Cacharrón: Photos · Blog

This is the Pet Sweep. It’s four mops that attach to Fido’s paws so when he’s scampering around the house he can also clean up that layer of fur he’s actively shedding. Except NO! We’ve been duped. This is actually just a dumb gift box by Prank Pack. They thought boxing a gift in the Pet Sweep packaging would convince a person they were actually receiving a Pet Sweep. Cool guys, really clever. You know, I was really excited about the Pet Sweep, so your plan backfired. BIG TIME. Now I’m pissed and I’m gonna take you to court. And when I say take you to court, obviously I mean I’m gonna threaten to take you to court, decide to start the legal process later, take a nap, and then totally forget that any of this happened. I hope you’re happy!

These are the conceptual Bracelet KEYS designed by Kim Ji Soo, Kim Jeongmin and Chung Boogun. They're bracelets with a key on one end. Not a bad idea. I mean, as long as you can still provide enough torque to twist the thing. For a person like me, it'll never work though. I'll go out, get trashed, come back home, not be able to find my keys (even though they're on my wrist -- probably labeled KEYS in Sharpie), and pass out in front of the apartment door. No lie, one time I came home and couldn't find my keys EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE STILL IN THE DOOR FROM WHEN I LEFT. "You have a problem." Sooooooo many problems. Hit the jump for one more shot.

THE OCEAN HAS HER SECRETS. THE FORESTS ARE FULL OF MYSTERY. British Columbia’s temperate rainforest, which runs along our stunning coastline, is full of magic, wonder and beauty. It’s not something you can describe. It’s something you feel. A group of local surfers and paddle boarders has decided to create a documentary about our threatened coastline and are currently running an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for the post production of the film. This is their story.

From Bella Bella to Haida Gwaii and into the Great Bear Rainforest, STAND film has captured the energy and mystique of one of  the most beautiful areas in the world. The Great Bear Rainforest was even recently rated as one of the must see places for 2013 by National Geographic Traveller.

But, the entire region is under threat by the proposed Enbridge pipeline and subsequent oil tanker project. STAND raises the profile of the area by focusing on the wildlife, incredibly beautiful coastline, and amazing First Nations people.

Instagram Photo: Norm Hann

Norm Hann, a stand up paddleboarder who has done expeditions, guiding and conservation work in the Great Bear Rain Forest for many years, completed a 350-kilometer stand up paddleboard trip to raise awareness about the cultural and natural treasures that will be drastically affected by the proposed Enbridge pipeline.

STAND film also spent time with a group of First Nations youth in Bella Bella, who are building their own paddleboards in order to venture out and explore their own traditional territory. There are many heritage areas that are important to the First Nations peoples of this region, who have called the area home for more than 10,000 years.

The third storyline focuses on Tofino-based pro surfer, Raph Bruhwiler, who has spent his life out on the ocean. The STAND team follows Raph on a surfing journey along the Northern coast of British Columbia, where he is introduced to the rich culture and diverse wildlife of the area.

Instagram Photo: Norm Hann

B4Apres is a production team behind the film project. Comprised of Sea to Sky photographer and storyteller Anthony Bonello and action sports photographer Nicolas Teichrob, the team is a powerhouse of visual storytelling, with many accolades and award-winning works under their belts.

“The entire coast from Haida Gwaii to South Vancouver Island is so incredibly amazing,” Teichrob explained via email from a tiny patch of reception on a Vancouver Island beach during filming on a new project. “Getting a chance to visit the North Coast was great, as it has always seemed slightly out of reach. I’m always blown away by what BC’s coast delivers: so much diversity and always beautiful.”

STAND is due to debut in Spring 2013 and the crew is keen to enter it into global film festivals. The Indiegogo campaign runs through to December 24 – the perfect Christmas present for your environmentally conscious friends. Learn more about the project and donate by visiting them at indiegogo.com/standfilm.

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This isn't the first video we've seen of somebody inhaling sulphur hexaflouride and then talking, because we saw Mythbuster's Adam Savage do it in this video (way back in 2008!). This is just another one. It's like watching videos of cats trying to fit in boxes that are way too small for them. I don't care how many of the same video there are, I need to see them all. Hit the jump and get your high school chemistry class on.

This is the Flask Tie, a necktie with a removable hidden flask pouch inside. It's made by the same company that brought us the Pillow Tie, and comes in a variety of slanty striped color combos for $25. The hidden pouch holds half a pint (8oz) of your favorite beverage and is the perfect way to sneak a little happy juice into the office. *tightening knot* See? Nobody will ever suspect a thing. "You're wearing a necktie with a t-shirt." It's casual Friday! "It's only Thursday." Shit, seriously? Hit the jump for a couple more shots in case you're still not convinced this would make a SOLID STOCKING STUFFER for the soon-to-be-fired boozehound in your life.

Here’s an amazing series of macro-photos taken of individual snowflakes. Andrew Osokin, a Russian-based photographer is responsible for the pics. Go ahead, give them a peep. They’re sooooo pretty! Not so pretty? The haircut I gave myself last night when I was wasted. Not only is it asymmetrical, but I also shaved off part of an eyebrow. Plus I poked myself in the eye when I was trimming my bangs. Now I’ve got an eye patch. So there’s that! I guess the moral of the story here is that no two snowflakes are alike. Also, don’t use scissors that close to your face if you’ve been drinking.

Dog and cat collars can be pretty fancy. Studs, rhinestones, and charms are alright for dressing them up daily, but when your pet has an extra special event on their social calendar, you need to hook them up with something really sharp. A Pet Bow Tie is the purr…fect accessory for any smart, classy, and fashion conscious pet. Providing two outfits in one, it boasts a quirky red polka dot print on one side and a sophisticated black tie on the other. One size fits all from your lovably large pooch to your super cute kitty cat, just fix to their existing collar to jazz up their look instantly.

This is a video of a physics professor at Stony Brook University doing his thing, you know, talking about the motion of the ocean or whatever (actually, chain reactions), when he notices a student sleeping in the front row (worst place to sleep btw). So what does he do? He goes over to the student and snores at him. What happens next? FOR REAL SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER: the kid stumbles out of his seat screaming in horror. And after that? Probably drops the class and becomes a business major. That's what I did! Hit the jump for the short but worthwhile video.

This is the Catacoffin, a $35,000 coffin with a three-speaker 'Catacombo' sound system controlled by a touchscreen remote INSTALLED IN YOUR GRAVESTONE. You can create your own playlist to listen to on the way to hell or let visitors to your grave pick songs for you. *plays Celion Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' on repeat for all eternity* Some people are questioning whether or not this thing is even real, but if it's not I'll make you one for the same price AND LAUGH THIS COMPANY ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK. Well, technically, clutch the bag of money real tight and give everyone who I pass on the way a shifty glance. Just don't be surprised if your unit looks like an iPod docking station taped to a refrigerator box. "Fancy." Right? That's the deluxe model. "And the standard one?" Garbage bag and a Walkman. Hit the jump for a shot of how the system works and a promotional video.

OMG ADAM, IT'S STARTING. IT'S STARTING! This is a video of a GIANT 7.4 cubic km (~1.75 cubic mile) chunk of ice breaking off the Ilulissat glacier in Greenland (note: link has higher res video than I embedded after the jump). It was captured by James Balog as part of his documentary 'Chasing Ice', in an attempt to raise awareness about climate change. I'm not sure how the hell James had the patience to sit around waiting for the thing to start cracking, but my guess it took years of training watching grass grow. This particular scene is being billed as the largest iceberg break-up ever captured on film. The largest break up of all time? Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, hands down. My little sister still cries about what might have been. Haha, don't you Becky?! (She's never had a boyfriend) Hit the jump for the video.

These are the top 10 "trending" (search queries with the highest amount of traffic over a sustained period in 2012 as compared to 2011) global Google search and Google image searches for 2012. All in all, a pretty depressing collection. Surprisingly absent from the list were "sustainable energy", "Geekologie Writer penis so big it has its own cell phone tower" and "progress in cancer research." F***ing Gangnam Style -- I want off this rock. Google also compiled the top searches (including categories like events, people, movies and tv shows, etc) for individual countries, which you can access HERE if you think that might make you feel better, which it won't. It's a shame too because I started today pretty optimistic and now I've managed to slip back down to cripplingly depressed and it's not even 9:30. Definitely feels like a drink on my lunch break kind of day. "What day doesn't?" High-five to that! I'm feeling better already. Thanks to SpikedPoppedCollar (I don't even know what that means but I don't approve) and Tom, who don't search for things online, online things search for THEM. Creepy!

Because what good is wearing contacts if a friend can't text a 8===D directly onto your eyeball, scientists at Ghent University are hard at work developing contact lenses with curved LCD displays in them. No word if they'll be blink powered or fry your eyeballs if you cry, but, FUN FACT: I've never cried. "You're crying right now." ...What if I told you my blood is clear?

"This will never replace the cinema screen for films. But for specific applications it may be interesting to show images such as road directions or projecting text messages from our smart phones straight to our eye," said Jelle De Smet, the chief researcher on the project.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Probably not." EASY CHEATING ON TESTS. Just keep your head down and the teacher will never know you have all the answers scrolling across your eyeballs! "That's actually not the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Daaaaaw, you mean it?! Hit the jump for a video of a contact constantly blinking that money sign over and over and over.

This is the NEW, just released Star Wars collection of leggings, dresses, and swimsuits by Black Milk Clothing. It’s the third of a Star Wars-themed line being released by the company, this one’s called Episode 3: Attacked By Clones. (We’ve covered the first two HERE.) Don’t yell at me saying you’ve seen this already. Because you haven’t. And also, seriously? I’m sensitive and I really just can’t handle it when you raise your voice. Think of me as a delicate flower. Yeah, a sloppy mess of a delicate flower that’s also hard on the eyes. Don’t look at me, I’m a monster! As you can see, the third time’s a charm. This line’s a little more creative than the last, with an Art Nouveau Slave Leia, Comic Book Vader, and Star Wars Manga style to name a few. Black Milk really knocked it out of the ballpark with this collection! Or should I say, knocked it out of this galaxy, into one that is far, far away. No? You’re right. That was dumb. I’m stupid! But don’t forget: I’m also very sensitive, so try and keep the berating to a minimum, k?

You can't hitchhike to the North Pole, silly! Because who doesn't want to be the envy of this year's ugly Christmas sweater party, here's a do-it-yourself sweater from Mark Rober featuring an iPad playing a crackling fire animation (links to iTunes page to download the animations). I'm going to make one. Everyone is gonna be so jealous I bet they'll be talking about me WELL into next year. *fast forward to July* Friend 1: Hey -- remember when GW wore that iPad to the ugly Christmas sweater party? Friend 2: Sure do, what an @$$hole that guy is. Friend 1: No kidding, I'm definitely not inviting him this year. Friend 2: Good call, LOLOL. GW: Hey guys, what's up? Friend 1: Oh nothing, we were just talking about girls. GW: Beautiful creatures, aren't they? I mean, except all the girls you two have been with. Friend 1: You're not invited to next year's Christmas party. GW: PREPARE TO DIE. Hit the jump for a video.

“The dance of the sun and earth has inspired celebrations of the human spirit, expressed through art and music, throughout the ages. Honouring many cultural traditions, the annual Winter Solstice Lantern Festival illuminates the longest night of the year with lanterns, fire, singing, drumming, music and dancing!”

On December 21st, celebrate winter solstice with one of Vancouver’s most interesting events in December, the Winter Solstice Lantern Festival. This free community event features lanterns shining in five Vancouver neighborhoods to celebrate the returning of the sun. The five little festivals are all community-based and reflect the unique nature of each neighbourhood.

East Side – Features solstice house concerts and workshops, follow the wild Roma-influenced music of Orkestar Slivovica as they lead you in a wonderful street procession down Parker St. straight to the Britannia courtyard for more music, hot chocolate and the on-going Labyrinth of Light.

Yaletown – Free music and food at the Gathering Place (609 Helmcken) from 1:00 – 5:00pm, with a procession at 5:30 to Emery Barnes Park and the Labyrinth of light. Created with over 700 pure beeswax candles, the winter solstice labyrinth invites you to warm yourself in a self-guided ceremony intended to help release old attachments and envision new possibilities as the darkest night of the year births a new season.

Granville Island – Starting with a big drum jam in Leg-in-Boot Square, the crowd splits in two with one group heading east to Creekside and the other heading West to Granville Island. Expect fond farewells and just a touch of chaos! More secrets about this location are still being revealed.

S.E. False Creek – After starting with the big drum jam in Leg-in-Boot Square, the crowd heading to Creekside will get to experience something secret… (ie. not yet fully planned).

Chinatown – Join a lively lantern procession through the streets of Strathcona for a magical evening at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Park.

The Winter Solstice Lantern Festival is held on December 21st from 6pm – 10pm, but there are many workshops being organized leading up to the main event. For more information, check out their website.

What could be more regrettable than getting married in Vegas? Getting married at Denny’s in Vegas. Jk jk, tying the knot in Sin City at IHOP’s arch-nemesis sounds like a GRAND SLAM to me! In 2013 Denny’s is opening a new flagship store in Las Vegas, featuring a full bar, photo booth, and a wedding chapel. The diner has multiple wedding packages that will offer a variety of options like food, champagne, and even a cake made of Pancake Puppies. Classy. But hey, I’m not here to judge. I’m just here for the Moons Over My Hammy. In fact, throw in some sausage links and I promise I won’t even raise an eyebrow!

It’s hard to take spicy foods seriously by name alone. After all, Taco Bell Fire Sauce, which sounds like it would burn your mouth on contact, only rates 500 on the scoville scale. That’s only about 10% as spicy as a jalapeno pepper. However the name “Instant Regret” is no joke. Instant Regret Peanut Butter rates 12 million on the Scoville scale. That’s 2,400 times as hot as a jalapeno. So for once you can trust the name—if you eat this peanut butter you will have instant regret… and probably later regret when it’s on the way out.

Because nobody likes talking on the phone, the four largest cell phone carriers have agreed to make texting to 911 available by May 15th, 2014. Not gonna lie, I already thought they accepted texts and were just ignoring me. 'SEND AMBULANCE, HOT SAUCE TOO SPICY.'

"Access to 911 must catch up with how consumers communicate in the 21st century -- and today, we are one step closer towards that vital goal" said FCC chairman Julius Genachowsk. Once the carriers are set up, local emergency response centers will still need the proper equipment, software and training, so the feature won't be available instantly. However, eventually the carriers and FCC hope to provide 90% of the population with text-to-911 features. The service will not support third-party texting apps or roaming users. In the meantime, the carriers will implement a much-needed alert message warning anyone who sends a text to 911 that their message was not received, and that they should make a phone call instead. That auto-reply system will be up and running by June 30, 2013.

No word if 911 operators will have to take classes in text-speak to understand what the hell people are trying to say, but based on the idiotic text messages I get from my friends I imagine it's probably a good idea. GW: HLP I FELL OFF THE ROOM 911: Room? GW: ROOF, BRK EVRYTHING PLZ HELP 911: Please stay calm, what's your address? GW: 1410 Mockingbird Drive 911: We just dispatched a unit. GW: But I'm at a friend's place right now 911: And what's the address there? GW: *cat picture* That's how I'm gonna die, I'm calling it. No -- texting it. ZING! "No zing." Zero zings, got it. Thanks to key11 and Denise, who call for help the old fashioned way: HELP! ANYBODY, HELP! CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME? HEEEEEEEEELP!

This is an auction from eBay seller kaisetsuna who's offering all 721 Super Nintendo games released in the United States, Mexico and Canada (aka North America). All come with their original boxes, ~85% with the instruction manuals, and all for the low, low, Buy It Now price of $24,999. TWENTY FIVE GRAND?! *spitting up blood* "...Why are you spitting up blood?" I was sword swallowing and somebody made me laugh. "Seriously?" No, I farted. Thanks to Wilmersama, who agrees 2/3's of those games aren't worth the $35 average they cost in the auction. Yeaaaaah, I'll just buy the 100 good SNES games.

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND! Jk jk -- just to the moon and back. Startup company Golden Spike is promising commercial trips to the moon by 2020, charging $800-million a seat per round trip excursion. No word if they'll offer deals on one-way tickets. *tries Pricelining a ticket for $200* Dammit, they didn't accept. I'll go $250.

Each surface expedition includes a surface stay time of at least 36 hours (exceeding the stay times of both Apollo 11 and Apollo 12), two moonwalks (EVAs), the use of a standard surface expedition tool kit and cameras and optional add-on packages, accommodation of up to 50 kg of lunar experiments and other customer-provided equipment (e.g., flags, plaques, etc.) to the surface, as well as the additional accommodation of up to 50 kg of lunar samples for return to Earth, together with all necessary governmental certifications. Orbital expeditions [a cheaper option at just $450 million per seat] offer a week-long stay time.

I mean cool, I just, you know, will never be able to afford that. $800-million? I have a hard time even IMAGINING that much money. Are you allowed to split seats if you sit on somebody's lap? Because if so all we need to do is stack 10,000 people to get the price down to $80,000. I call dibs on not sitting on some dude's peen! Hit the jump for a picture of the proposed flight schedule and a promotional video.

The Great Escape by Shari Vincent

Shari Vincent: Photos · Blog

When you were a kid did you imagine building a life-sized house out of LEGO bricks, complete with hard, uncomfortable furniture? Well now you might be one step closer to realizing that dream. The LEGO Table Lamp, designed by Jung Ah Kim, is a working lamp that’s built out of LEGO bricks. It’s available in 5 styles and 10 colors. Solid colors. Not the “mostly red but then I ran out of red so I filled in the rest with blue and yellow” look most of your own creations had as a kid. Although I would buy that too… you know, to make it seem plausible that I made it myself.

Vice Merchants brings us Cowpokes, a super smexy bedding set. It’s printed with naked dudes doing all sorts of fun cowboy-type stuff like riding horses, milking cows, wrestling, skinny dipping in the old watering hole, and staring off into space. The pattern is basically like a game of Where’s Waldo. You know, if Where’s Waldo was all about trying to find the hidden butts, wieners, and nutsacks.

Thanks to our Facebook Fan Aaron for the tip. He saw our Cheeseburger Bedding and said “Pshh! That’s nothing — these sheets got naked dudes.” Touché, Aaron! Touché.

Another day, another funny tumblr turned book. The always amusing Texts From Dog tumblr page by October Jones (and his dog) has become a hilarious 128 page book. The book features over 100 exclusive new texts between owner/butler Jones and loveable dog Cooper (aka Batdog) that can’t be found online. It’s a great gift for fans of the site as well as dog lovers who haven’t discovered it yet… or pretty much anyone with a sense of humor. In fact, the only person you could rule out is probably the crazy old cat lady in your life who has never owned a cell phone and doesn’t understand how texts work.

Bear and Salmon by Tin Man

A chaotic water splashing photo when the brown bear caught a salmon. Katmai National Park, Alaska. In a tour led by Chas Glatzer, Aug 2012. Canon 1D Mark IV, 500mm f4, 1/1250s, ISO 800, f7.1 Never got tired looking at the dripping water against a green background and the red sockeye salmon against the green. After spending days in Katmai, I observed that, against common belief, bears weren't that good at catching salmon. While at this remote location at Katmai, the success rate of catching a salmon at each jump maybe less than 10%, while at Brooks Fall, the bears would wait at the water for hours without catching one. Life wasn't so easy for them!

Tin Man: Photos · Blog

Because this is the internet, here's a short video of Gandalf riding a unicycle playing 'Concerning Hobbits' from The Fellowship of the Ring on bagpipes. It's the same dude from Portland that did the Star Wars theme dressed as Darth Vader. Hey, everyone needs a hobby. My favorite part is at the end when the fangirl dressed in all purple goes chasing after him. Dude must be pulling all kinds of tail. Hit the jump for 45-seconds of PURE SKILL.

I came to alcohol a bit late. While I recall my mom sipping white wine, clad in skintight Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and listening to the Eagles circa 1981–1982, she eschewed the stuff completely shortly thereafter and has ever since. The diligent, studious type, I mostly steered away from alcohol until my early 20s. But a fateful encounter one December with a batch of homemade Irish cream proved to be a game changer, and I’ve been enjoying the art of imbibing ever since.

When visiting the home of a former paramour for the holidays, some friends of his parents dropped by. They brought a bottle containing a creamy, mocha-tinged substance, which was almost immediately divvied up and poured over rocks glasses filled with ice. What these generous family friends had brought was their much-loved, seriously delicious and highly covetable homemade Irish cream. I was instantly smitten, and have been ever since.

For today’s Small Measures, I’m sharing my take on that tempting libation sampled so many winters past. It’s very easy to make (start to finish, the preparation is less than 30 minutes); can be whipped up with easy-to-come-by ingredients; and contains none of the artificial flavorings, coloring agents or preservatives used in commercially prepared Irish creams. Best of all, it’ll make anyone you choose to give it to very, very happy. Irish eyes are smiling, friends, when they’re knocking back a glass of this! — Ashley English

See the recipe for Homemade Irish Cream after the jump . . .

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