Awesome Leisure

Paolo from Tokyo followed Mai as she went about her job as a game center employee in Tokyo. Mai works at a branch of Taito Game Station, one of the largest arcade chains in Japan. It’s a fascinating look not just behind the scenes, but at how much the staff help customers win and get prizes. And yes, Frieren deserves all that fame and more.

Guitarist Marcin Patrzalek teamed up with another of the world’s greatest guitar players, Polyphia’s Tim Henson, for the first single off of Marcin’s debut album, Dragon in Harmony. The warm and enveloping track isn’t just a demonstration of their tremendous skills but their passion for playing.

Nicolas Barrioz and David Peyrou set the Guinness World Record for the tallest rideable bicycle. Their unwieldy Starbike is 25 feet 5 inches tall, giving its rider a higher vantage point than standing on the roof of a two-story house. The steel- and wood-framed bike requires a full pit crew and a crane to stand it up, though.

During Apple’s WWDC 2024, the tech juggernaut rolled out a trailer for shows and movies headed to Apple TV+. In addition to fresh series like Dark Matter and Presumed Innocent, we’re getting new seasons of Slow Horses, Severance, Shrinking, Silo and more. Plus, Apple has three new movies in the works: The Instigators, Fly Me To The Moon, and Wolfs.

Xander Naumenko of From Scratch loves to play foosball, but it takes up too much of his time. So, he built a robot that plays the game for him. His Foosbar machine knows how to pass, block, and kick goals faster than a human opponent can react. It uses a set of 3D tracking cameras to identify the ball’s position and move its players there before the ball arrives.

One of Lamborghini’s most distinctive cars is going to be immortalized as a LEGO Icons set. The Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole LEGO Icons set (good luck, toy store clerks) lets you build a tiny replica of THE dream car of the ‘80s, complete with working steering, a detailed V12 engine, and articulated scissor doors. Drops 7.4.24.

Musician Jamie Dupuis performs a wonderful arrangement of The Doors’ classic Riders on the Storm on his unique double-neck harp guitar. Turn down the lights, turn up your headphones, close your eyes, and let the sounds wash over you like a gentle ocean tide.

Ordinary LEGO bricks are made from molded plastic. For something with more substance, check out these cool metal building blocks from ScrappersOutpost. The CNC-machined bricks interlock just like the real deal too. They come in aluminum, brass, or copper, and there are discounts for buying multiples. They also make a keychain version.

Alongside video games, it’s only been about a decade since anime went mainstream. But it has a rich history, including behind the scenes, as YouTuber arikendo reveals in his overview of anime studios. From legends like Ghibli and Toei to upstarts like ufotable and Bones, a lot of talent and hard work have gone into our favorite anime shows.

We’ve always enjoyed listening to Luna Lee’s interpretations of popular songs played on the gayageum. Her nuanced performance of Prince’s 1984 hit Purple Rain gave us chills like the original, milking the vibrato and adding a modern edge to the ancient Korean string instrument with a heaping helping of distortion.

The creators of the excellent The Art of Mixology focus on their favorite ways to incorporate bourbon and whiskey into cocktails. After learning the basics of shaking, stirring, layering, and muddling, you’ll find dozens of drink recipes, from timeless classics to unique modern drinks. Like gin, rum, or other spirits? Check out the complete book series.

Lots of Minecraft fans have tried making the game’s crafting table with LEGO. The official version is here but with lots of welcome surprises. The table itself is only partially enclosed, with space for the five included mini-build modules that depict 12 biomes. The set also comes with eight microfigures, as well as stickers with phrases from the game.

Flavor Lab shares this straightforward tutorial for making Red Bull. It doesn’t look and taste exactly like the energy drink, but the key ingredients are all here: caffeine, ginseng, and taurine. It’s probably only the first one that matters, but that’s what Red Bull has. At least they’re all fairly easy to get. Now go out there and sponsor the kids at your local skate park.

This unique wooden puzzle kit combines a jigsaw puzzle with an escape box. Completing each of its four puzzle sides enables its mechanisms to move and its locks to be opened. In addition to its base Pyramid of the Sun puzzle, expansion packs offer new jigsaws to assemble that sit atop its Aztec-inspired structure.

This guitar will self-destruct in 10 seconds. Lingling Guitar shows off her fingerstyle acoustic skills with an energetic performance of Lalo Schifrin’s classic theme song from Mission Impossible. Check out her similarly impressive versions of Misirlou and Axel F for more delightful ear candy.

Enjoy the suspension travel of a UTV but prefer watersports? Custom built by Shadow Six Racing, the Typhoon combines a Polaris RZR off-road vehicle with a pair of supercharged jet skis for high-speed thrills on the water. Despite its $250,000 price tag, its maker already has more than 250 reservations for the 800-horsepower titanium and carbon fiber beast.