Awesome Leisure

Bodypainting artist Kika Studio is up to her old tricks. This time she used a heaping helping of black paint to erase her torso and turned herself into a super creepy human jack-in-the-box. Who are we kidding? All jack-in-the-boxes are terrifying.

The multitalented Aaron Grooves and Jared Charney Cohen collaborated for this fun tap dance, piano, and xylophone performance of the “Athletic” theme music from Super Mario World. If you need a smile today, this video should do the trick.

If you’ve never seen The Neverending Story, rent it this weekend. The 1984 classic is a wonderfully imaginative ride through a child’s mind as he discovers a fantastical world hidden in the pages of a book. To show his love for the film, guitarist 331Erock put his own spin on its theme song, by Limahl and Giorgio Moroder.

Pianist Pavel Andreev performs in one of the most exclusive venues we’ve ever seen – on a man-made floating square island in the middle of the lake in Karelia, Russia’s stunning marble canyon. They had to lower the piano on a crane from above, then floated it into the lake.

This basketball is sure to bring a smile to every player’s face, driving down the court for a dunk, or grabbing a rebound off the backboard. This Urban Outfitters‘ exclusive design from Chinatown Market features the iconic 1960s Smiley face emblazoned on a yellow B-ball. It’s also available in a 3M reflective version for night games.

We don’t know too much about the upcoming game The Falconeer, but it’s clear from the teaser trailer that the open-world fantasy RPG looks gorgeous – and involves dogfighting between giant birds – and that sounds pretty awesome to us.

Get your booty in a pew tonight. Gud Nuse shared this very different interpretation of Technotronic’s 1989 dance mega-hit Pump Up the Jam. His toned-down version was recorded in a church, and performed on a grand piano.

We’ve all misunderstood the lyrics of songs from time to time. These amusing coasters from Bright Beam Goods memorialize some classics, from “I’ll never leave your pizza burnin'” to “Rock the cat spa” to our favorite “She was a fax machine, she kept her modem clean.” Sold in themed sets of six cork coasters each.

Musician Luca Stricagnoli is back with another fantastic performance. Watch and listen as the fingerstyle guitar master’s fingers fly across the fretboard with a great rendition of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ melodic 2006 hit Snow (Hey Oh).

Acclaimed filmmaker Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, Okja) presents a suspenseful dark comedy about a wealthy and a poor family brought together in a symbiotic relationship, and the unwanted interloper who could tear apart their delicate balance. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the director is to expect the unexpected.

Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody is an incredibly challenging song to play when you have the proper instruments. To prove his bass-playing chops, musician Zander Zon managed to perform a compelling rendition entirely on his bass guitar. We’re amazed that he was able to extract such range from the 4-string instrument.

For those looking for a more realistic – and less expensive – snap-together version of Volkswagen’s iconic Type 2 van than LEGO’s kit, look no further than this Airfix Quickbuild model. It requires no glue or paint, and clicks together in minutes. Choose from sky blue or red paint jobs. They also make a matching VW Bug.

Sun Pleasure’s Bay Breeze Boat Island is an oversized floating vessel that looks like a speedboat, but is actually just an inflatable raft on steroids. It has seating for up to six people, and has a built-in drink cooler and cup holders. It’s currently sold out, though you might find one on eBay.

After listening to a great performance by a street musician, sound engineer Marten Berger found himself inspired. He spent two years on the road, traveling across 25 countries in search of the best performers, then recorded many of them in his studio on wheels. A collection of recordings are available for sale on his website.

Master doodle artist Lei Melendres‘ creative coloring book sends you on a mission to explore weird and creepy scenes filled with hundreds of wacky characters and hard to find objects. Once you find your objectives, simply color them in, then move on to the next challenge.

Spencer Frost’s short film is a love letter to the ocean and to nightime, as six surfers explain why they seek the waves off the East coast of Australia in the darkness rather than in the light of day. Best watched in a dark room with headphones on.

(PG-13) Eddie Murphy stars in this Netflix original movie about real-life comedian and musician Rudy Ray Moore who broke through with his over-the-top character Dolemite, leading one of the most popular franchises in the blaxploitation era, despite being a parody of the genre. Directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow).

Burning Man, Lollapalooza, and Coachella owe their existence to a series of 1980s guerrilla punk rock events in the California desert. Stuart Swezey’s documentary combines interviews of punk and post-punk luminaries with performances by Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Perry Farrell, and more. Drops 9/13/19.

Keep your brain and fingers occupied with this entertaining desktop toy from TEC Accessories. It consists of a titanium body with a embedded neodymium magnets, and a chrome steel ball which can be rotated around its center endlessly, or rotated like a track ball, or spun like a top. Save 55% in The Awesomer Shop.

The Bentley Ultratank is one insane build, but it’s not something most mere mortals like us will ever get near. Perhaps sensing this futility, low-budget maker Liberman decided to make himself a miniature version out of cardboard, toothpicks, wood rulers, plastic bottle caps, and the motors from an RC car.

Every once in a while, the Rockin’ 1000 assembles a group of musicians from around the globe to offer up one epic rock performance. This time, they gathered at the Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt to play the Rage Against the Machine classic, Killing in the Name. We love watching all the drummers banging away in sync.

The perfect backpack for picnicking and day hikes, the Daytripper offers a duo of separated, leak-resistant cooler compartments, a removable divider for bottles, and includes a bamboo cutting board with cheese knives and a corkscrew. Also available as a tote.

Perhaps inspired by the LEGO railway work of BananenBuurman, filmmaker Ewan Jones Morris takes us on a thrilling one-shot, POV ride, engineered by LEGO expert builder Gary Davis. Anna Meredith’s engrossing instrumental track serves as the perfect accompaniment to the precision-timed train ride.