It's the middle of July and also the middle of the week! So many things going on.....was unable to get this blog posted at the start of the week but never fear, there was a lot of great news this week! Lets check out what's been trending, shall we? We've given you some additional posts to see as compensation. We are that awesome :)

Inspired by “video game, comic, and film characters, heroes and villains,” Vancouver, British Columbia design studio MITMUNK hand-prints leggings that look like various types of armour. All of these completely badass (and unisex) leggings are made of a polyester-spandex fabric.

Lithuanian-born, Switzerland-based photographer Gus Petro took a trip to America in 2012, in search of something new, and made two contrasting stops—the Grand Canyon and New York City—that has inspired his three-part series known as Empty, Dense, Merge. In Empty, Petro captures the vacant landscape emitting a sense of peace and solitude. Alternatively, Dense presents the crowded urban landscape of the Big Apple that seemed almost entirely manmade and hard.

Sand is probably the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about beach. However, this is not the case with the Panjin Red Beach in China, which is, actually, red, and not covered in sand at all. Such phenomena is caused by a type of sea weed Sueda. It starts growing during April and May, then stays green during the summer, but starts turning vividly red in autumn. The Red Beach is located in the biggest wetland and reed marsh in the world, and actually hosts the most completed ecosystem that can be found: the area has become home to more than 260 kinds of birds and 399 kinds of wild animals. You can find the endangered Crown Cranes and Black Beaked Gulls there, which is why the area is even called “home of the cranes”.

Want to build sand castles but don’t want to go outside in the hot, hot sun? Too bad! Just kidding, that’s totally possible thanks to Sand by Brookstone. It looks and feels like sand, but functions a bit like silly putty, letting you shape it into anything you can imagine. Surely this stuff is made of magic right? Nope, it’s actually 98% sand and 2% polymer. And unlike regular sand (which is actually 98% sand and 2% broken glass, trash, and stuff that makes you say, “Ew what is that?”) it won’t stick to you, dry out, or make a mess.

What would McDonald’s Happy Meals look like if they were affiliated with horror films? Newt Clements is here to show us…

Jk jk there’s nothing ironic about this. Not even by the Alanis Morissette definiton which, I think we can all agree, is very loose. Ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife isn’t ironic so much as it is just bad luck. Amrite? Imrite. Artist Elizabeth Beals illustrated this series of DC Comic superheroines as hipsters. There’s Wonderwoman, Catwoman, Supergirl, and more! So many more. Okay, more like 4 more. The ladies are all dressed up in the typical hipster garb aka cheap thrift shop finds paired with overpriced shit you can buy at Urban Outfitters. All these hipster-heroines are missing is a pack of American Spirits, a 12-pack of PBR, and a fixie. Oh, plus a dose of pretension and slightly inflated ego.

They say no news is good news, but news about an island inhabited by a bunch of pigs? That’s GREAT NEWS. Yes, there’s actually an island in the Bahamas that’s home to about 20 swimming pigs and piglets. They’re the only inhabitants on the place, which goes by the name of Big Major Cay aka Pig Beach. If you asked me, I would’ve called it Swine Island or Swinesland for short. But no one asked me. And that, as you can probably imagine, makes me feel a little left out. What does a person have to do to be invited to these naming events, anyway? And don’t you dare say “be in a position of power” because, okay, that actually makes all the sense. Carry on!

In case you needed a reminder, this is what summer is all about…

On an ordinary day in Dorset, on Charmouth beach, visitors were surprisingly met with an enormous skeletal remain of what appears to be… a dragon? The Jurassic skull, said to be the size of a London bus, seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Now, the beach, which is "famous for its treasure trove of dinosaur fossils," certainly has an easy find for fossil hunting archeologists, though they may be dismayed to find that the "artifact" is, in fact, a sculpture.

This girl is the smartest schoolgirl of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Last Monday she received the Academic Excellence Award from the mayor of the city. Let's see what she was wearing during the event in the town hall. Pretty hot.

These representations of historical photographs are photoshopped creations by Tumblr user, Zuzahin who uses drawings and fashion of the times as inspiration.

Emily Ratajkowski played "Tasha" in the Nickelodeon series iCarly in 2009-2010. Now she works as a model. And she is very hot.

One guy found two raccoons trapped inside a trash container. He rescued the animals using a wooden stick. One raccoon even turned around to say 'Thanks'.

Using both celebrities and the characters they play, he pinpointed the shoes most commonly associated with each in a minimalist design. Check your pop culture expertise by seeing how many famous names you can recall by the shoes on their feet.

There's a difference between "good" and "recognizable." Not that the two can't be mutually exclusive, but, well, let's put it this way: you'd probably notice Kim Kardashian in a crowd before you would Vince Gilligan, not because you think she's somehow "better" than him, but because she's Kim Kardashian, magazine star/The Soup punching bag, and he's Vince Gilligan, the humble, pasty showrunner. Kim is the "recognizable" -- Vince is the "good." Today, in taking a look at some of the most immediately discernible guitar riffs of the 2000s, I want to stress that just because Metallica or Mastodon aren't on this list doesn't mean they can't still write the crunchiest of motherf*cking riffs (they can); it's because nothing, for instance, Metallica has released this century is as rapidly perceptible to the general listening public as what Muse put to the tape back in 2001. Though the Muse riff is great.

The Wolverine opens in fewer than two weeks, but we feel as though we’ve seen it already after the many trailers, clips, and featurettes released so far. Now Fox has released four more clips for us to nervously watch while muttering, “please don’t suck, please don’t suck“. It isn’t exactly reassuring that the Viper takes off the same glove twice in the last clip. As for the other clips, they show the meeting of Wolverine and Harada (The Silver Samurai), the meeting of Wolverine and Yukio (dude loves to meet new and interesting people), and what we assume is a nightmare sequence involving Jean Grey. Am I supposed to laugh at that Jean Grey clip? Were they trying to make it not seem cheesy? To quote Jean Grey, it’s too late.

These days its rare to find a celebrity who hasn’t undergone some form of plastic surgery, from tummy tuck, breast implants, facelift, nose jobs and eyebrow lifts are part and parcel of our ongoing question to remain youthful. But back at the beginning of the 20th century, whilst the desire for everlasting youth and enduring beauty were a constant, it certainly took a vastly different form. During the 1900′s-1920′s, individuals continued to be heavily influenced by Victorian societies belief that it was simply your ‘duty’ as a woman to look beautiful. It wasn’t a choice, it was a lifestyle, one which had an entire industry of tools, devices and machines designed to help you keep up with others expectations. And it was those ‘beauty treatments’ that continued to be peddled and pushed to whole new generation of consumers at the beginning of the 20th century. And whilst these days women might dabble in facial scrubs, cucumber eye patches and the occasional Botox injection – their predecessors had to endure all manner of wacky devices with the sole aim of conforming to the superficial and transient whims of their peers. It’s a peculiar look into our past and our enduring obsession with perfection.

Created by world-renowned illustrator David Lloyd but launched into the mainstream conscious via the V for Vendetta movie is the infamous ‘Anonymous’ mask. A modern day symbol of global protest and discontent around the world. Interestingly enough the mask itself its Lloyd’s artistic interpretation not of a mythical character, but a very real individual by the name of Guy Fawkes. A man who is a controversial as he is celebrated.

During the course of his lifetime (1881-1952) Sergey Dmitrievich Merkurov became known as THE master of the monumentalist sculptor during the Soviet era. It certainly helped that Joseph Stalin was his biggest supporter, Merkurov produced three of the largest monuments of the dictator, the biggest stood a staggering 160ft tall in Erevan. Along with creating propaganda for the government, he was give the title of ‘People’s Artist of the USSR’ and was even made director at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. But like many artists, he was multi-disciplined and multi-faceted, away from chipping away at marble and stone – he found the time to produce a rather unorthodox alphabet book composed entirely of pornographic images. That’s right, a porno alphabet. Complete with Satan having an orgy. Why? Who knows? And whilst the subject matter is certainly puzzling, the watercolour illustrations themselves masterfully painted and carefully illustrated. The books existence is unique exposé of a man best known for his hammer and chisel, than his brush, inks and devious sexual appetite. We reckon Stalin would have approved though, don’t you?

Here’s animated video that will dazzle and mesmerise. Japanese visual artist Tao Tajima, has created a rapid fire array of animated geometric shapes that he’s then sent floating along the darkened streets of Tokyo. He’s called the work Night Stroll, but exactly how did he do it? They do say that magicians never reveal their trade secrets, so we can only guess that it’s a combination of 3D projection mapping, camera tracking and a serious amount of patience, skill and countless hours in front of the editing screen. Was it all worth it though? You be the judge and if you can, let us know how you think he was able to create such an awesome array of illusions….

As if having a name like Scoot isn’t adorable enough, actor Scoot McNairy has the looks to match the name — and the talent, too. He was born and raised in Texas, and started his acting career in the early ’00s with small roles in films like ‘Wonderland’ and ‘Art School Confidential.’ After guest-starring on episodes of ‘Bones’ and ‘The Shield,’ Scoot broke out with the lead role in the 2010 indie sci-fi film ‘Monsters,’ in which he co-starred with his wife, Whitney Able, and showed off his tramp stamp. (A dude with a tramp stamp has to be totally confident in his masculinity, so we support it.) Ever since then, Scoot’s career has been taking off — he’s starred with Brad Pitt in ‘Killing Them Softly,’ with Ben Affleck in ‘Argo’ (which Affleck also directed), and in ‘Promised Land’ with Matt Damon. Those are some heavy-hitting, swoon-worthy gentlemen to work with right there. Scoot can be seen next in the films ’12 Years a Slave’ and ‘Touchy Feely.’

Yeah, Chris Hemsworth from ‘Thor‘ is sexy and all, but did you know he has a super hot kid brother named Liam? He was in a little movie called ‘The Hunger Games.’ Maybe you’ve heard of it. The Australian native has starred in films like ‘Knowing,’ ‘The Last Song,’ and ‘The Hunger Games.’ In ‘The Hunger Games’ series of films, Hemsworth plays Gale Hawthorne, a dude from Katniss’ home district who has a bit of a thing for our heroine. But, you know, she hooked up with that baker’s son named Peeta, so we’re sure there’s going to be some drama in the second movie. (As much as Peeta is adorable and all, we’d totally pick Gale.) Hemsworth co-starred with Miley Cyrus in ‘The Last Song,’ and the two struck up a tabloid-friendly relationship. They’re engaged but have been on and off so many times that no one’s ever quite sure what’s going on with them. That said, she’s still wearing her ring (as of this writing, anyway) so he’s officially off the market for now. Tabloids aside, you can next see sexy Liam Hemsworth in the films ‘Empire State’ and ‘Paranoia.’ And, of course, in the shots below.

My philosophy with wedding planning is simple — just let the woman have what she wants as long as it doesn’t involve future shame. Engagement photos are future shame. Even if the engagement photo is normal, twenty years from now, it will look ridiculous. Won’t the horribly comical wedding photos be enough? Do we really need a photo to remind the world there is more awful photos to come? People still take awful and awkward engagement photos and there is nothing I can do to stop them…so…I’ll just make fun of them and hope it prevents future photos.

Fellas, every once in a while, you are going to have to use a pick up line or two to get the attention of the girl you want to hang out with more. For those who care deeply about the environment—and about picking-up chicks who love the environment—use the following pick-up lines. Also, be sure to share them with friends. It’s kind of like recycling.

Michael B. Jordan, star of the upcoming drama film ‘Fruitvale Station,’ is so hot that we’re actually doing double-takes on purpose just to look at him a little more. You might remember Jordan from the TV show ‘Friday Night Lights’ (Texas forever!), in which he played a high school football player from the wrong side of the tracks who finds redemption through his passion for sports and a good coach. Or you might have seen him on the HBO series ‘The Wire,’ where he played Wallace (tip: don’t ever ask where Wallace is), a teen forced into being a thug by circumstance and environment. But now Michael has his sights set on the big screen. He starred in the “found footage” sci-fi flick ‘Chronicle,’ and next he stars in the drama ‘Fruitvale Station,’ based on the true story of Oscar Grant — a young man who had a very unfortunate encounter with law enforcement early one morning in Los Angeles. Those of you familiar with the story know you should probably bring some tissues to the theater for this one. Jordan is also going to star in the upcoming ‘Fantastic Four‘ reboot as Johnny Storm — so not only is he hot and talented, but now we get to see him as a sexy superhero? Damn, we say. Damn.

‘Pacific Rim‘ hit the theaters already, guys, and even if you aren’t into the idea of giant mech fighting huge monsters (and why not?!), you can certainly be on board with the eight tons of man candy in this movie, including Charlie Day. In ‘Pacific Rim,’ Charlie Day plays scientist Newton “Newt” Geiszler, a guy who’s pretty obsessed with the giant alien monsters that are coming out of the ocean to destroy humanity. But he might also be the key to saving us all! You’ll have to watch and find out, and trust me, you want to see this movie on the biggest screen possible. You might also recognize Charlie Day from the hit FX series ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,’ in which he plays a maniacal, wacky guy who’s obsessed with a waitress. (Day happens to be married to the woman who plays the waitress in real life, Mary Elizabeth Ellis.) Day has also starred in ‘Horrible Bosses’ with Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, and Jennifer Aniston, and will reunite with the cast for the upcoming sequel. Some people find Day shrill and annoying so they don’t like him, but we think those people are, you know, idiots. He’s hilarious, energetic, and always a joy to watch on screen because he seems so unpredictable. Also, it doesn’t hurt that he’s super cute.

Feast your eyes on this! This slightly disturbing drawing is the cover of the forthcoming Paula Deen biography from Bluewater Comics. Bluewater specializes in unauthorized bios of celebrities, and now seems as good a time as any (just kidding, it’s actually the best time) to do an unauthorized biography comic of Paula Deen. We don’t know what the story will be (presumably it depicts her rise to America’s premiere pusher of lard), but hopefully the entire thing will be at least as off-putting as this image of Deen’s disembodied head popping out of a tub of butter. Those eyes. Those terrifying, vacant eyes.

They're hilarious too! The NY Times has an excellent profile of Jack Handey, the former ‘SNL‘ writer who created the absurdly hilarious ‘Deep Thoughts’ series. Anyone who watched ‘SNL’ during the ’90s will remember these brief non-sequiturs that aired between sketches. Unlike most of what’s on ‘SNL,’ ‘Deep Thoughts’ didn’t rely on topical references and therefore doesn’t feel dated decades later. The lack of a face attached to the words, and the fact that his name sounds made up to begin with, led many to believe that Jack Handey was a character created by the ‘SNL’ writing staff. The truth is Handey is a real person who wrote for ‘SNL’ from 1985 to 2002. (He had previously written for Lorne Michaels’ short-lived sketch show ‘The New Show’ and for pal Steve Martin’s TV specials.) During his time at ‘SNL,’ Handey also created such memorable sketches as ‘Toones, the Cat Who Could Drive a Car‘ and the brilliant ‘Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer’ played by Phil Hartman. (The latter is a perfect example of Handey’s knack for mixing the absurd with the mundane.) He’s also an author, having penned several ‘Deep Thoughts’ collections and the new novel ‘The Stench of Honolulu.’ While the ‘Deep Thoughts’ books are a bit tough to track down these days, we thankfully have Hulu to remind us of Handey’s genius. The site has compiled a playlist of 50 ‘Deep Thoughts’ along with a few of Handey’s lesser known ‘Fuzzy Memories.’ Watching ‘Deep Thoughts’ today, it’s interesting how Handey’s offbeat one-liners predicted everything from Twitter to the bizarre anti-humor of Adult Swim. It’s not hard to imagine a joke like “If God dwells inside us, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that’s what He’s getting!” being retweeted multiple times. Some of the best minds on Twitter, like Boobs Radley and Megan Amram, carry on Handey’s tradition of creating perfectly crafted, often absurdist one-liners. It’s too bad Handey (who is 64 for any children of the ’90s who want to feel old) isn’t Tweeting out new ‘Deep Thoughts’ for a generation who thinks quick, random humor on ‘SNL’ begins and ends with the digital shorts.