In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is Odin's eight-legged horse and the son of the god Loki. Susan and Allen Crawford made this adorable plush of him for the infant son of a friend. Link -via Super Punch

Joel Watson imagined Calvin and Hobbes in the dangerous world of Game of Thrones. I think that Calvin is Jon Snow and Hobbes is his pet direwolf Ghost. Link -via The Mary Sue

The small town of Riverside, Iowa (pop. 1,008) is tremendously proud of its most famous son, James Tiberius Kirk. So the citizens erected a monument to mark the site of his birth.

The local history museum, as you can see in the video, places a great emphasis on Kirk's life and work. Who's up for a road trip?

Link -via Kuriositas | Video of the Monument and Museum

Photo by Flickr user Madolan Greene used under Creative Commons license

Near Orda, a Russian village in the Ural Mountains, you can find an enormous underwater gypsum cave. It's one of the largest in the world, with galleries stretching as far as five kilometers. Victor Lyagushkin led a team of divers deep inside to photograph this natural wonder. You can view many beautiful pictures of it at the link. Link -via Fubiz

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If you want a truly portable computer, you've got to stick a gasoline engine and two wheels on it. This casemod by René Grau is a fully-loaded gaming computer that can reach 40 MPH. Racing simulators must be very realistic on it. -via Make

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You could get Patrick Stewart to help out with your marriage proposal, but this geek decided to pop the question to his girlfriend according to the Evil Dead tradition. Bruce Campbell was a guest at the recent Chicago Comic Con and cooperated with this grand romantic gesture. -via The Mary Sue

This cat by Craftster member Kitiza appears to be quite satisfied after devouring a (computer) mouse. She provides instructions at the link if you would like to make your own. Link -via Craft

This 7-foot tall gumball machine holds 14,450 one-inch gumballs. It's designed like a classic gumball machine, except that you don't have to put coins in to make it work. So don't leave it out in public. Link -via Technabob | Photo: Hammacher Schlemmer

A year ago, I mentioned the rumor that the elegant Coach handbag carried by Snooki from Jersey Shore was given to her by one of Coach's rivals. The plan was to damage Coach's reputation by associating that brand with Snooki.

Coach isn't the only brand that is being impacted by negative product placement. Now the clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch is offering Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, also a cast member on Jersey Shore, money if he will agree to not wear its clothing in public again. A press release from the company stated:

“We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans,” the statement read.

The company also extended the pay-to-not-play offer to the other Jersey Shore reality stars and said it was “urgently waiting a response.”

Link -via Marginal Revolution | Photo: Getty

There's nothing quite like a weekend away from the family to spend with your buddies at the cabin. We might as well get a picture so we can remember these good times when we get too old go out regularly. Link -via reddit | Image: Jason Edmiston

Researchers at the Hannover Medical School in Germany have developed artificial skin made from spider silk. When formed into a fine mesh, the silk from the golden silk orb weaver spider (left) can be grafted onto the human body:

The researchers found that human skin cells placed on these meshes could flourish, given proper nurturing with nutrients, warmth and air. They were able to cultivate the two main skin cell types, keratinocytes and fibroblasts, into tissue-like patterns resembling epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, and dermis, the layer of living tissue below the epidermis that contains blood capillaries, nerve endings, sweat glands, hair follicles and other structures.

Link -via Nerdcore | Photo via Flickr user leppyone used under Creative Commons license

The mayor of Acton Vale, Quebec, wanted to give his ex-wife a special birthday present, so he had a 20-ton rock left in her driveway. It painted with a greeting and topped with a pink ribbon. Isn't that romantic? Maybe he wants to get back together with her. Jonathan Montpetit of The Canada Press writes:

Lariviere owns an excavation company. He said he used one of his own front-end loaders to transport the rock through the town streets in the wee hours Saturday.[...]

During the delivery, he was stopped twice by police who asked him for identification and questioned what he was doing.

"I told them the truth — that I was delivering a gift," Lariviere said. "They weren't able to stop me because what I was doing wasn't illegal."

Link -via Lowering the Bar | Photo: Paul Chiasson/Canada Press

*clap*clap*clap* This simple but brilliant print was made by Dann Matthews, whose Star Wars hieroglyphics we've featured previously. Link -via Uniblog

Yoshihiko Satoh has been working with his conjoined guitars motif for a while now, including some beautiful guitars arranged in arches and circular patterns. I want to see Slash (yes, I know -- he isn't real, but don't tell the kids) try out this one.

Link | Artist's Website

Joeri Bosma, a Dutch teenager, decided to spend every day of the seventeenth year of his life taking photographs. Here's a self-portrait taken on August 3, inspired by the song "Horizon" by I Am Oak. I love the way that he's blended himself into the background. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeribosma/6006807046/in/photostream -via Dude Craft