Awesome Leisure

This performer shows off a traditional Middle Eastern dance that incorporates fire. But the dancer isn’t juggling or carrying flames; she’s wearing them along the hemline of her dress, creating a terrifying ring of fire as she spins. We sure hope the upper part of the dress is fireproof. There’s a similar fire dancing tradition in India.

This video from domino artists FlippyCat, Klein24, and B 16 offers a fun and collaborative approach to building (and knocking things down.) Each of its screens is a separate domino setup, but they appear to be linked together into a much larger construction through editing.

After engineering NERF darts that can fire themselves, Joel Creates thought he’d try the same with those larger NERF missiles. Typically launched with a pump-action weapon, Joel’s capacitor- and flash cotton-powered missile launchers are self-contained and launch with the push of a button. Those wrist-mounted launchers look super cool too.

Mike Doughty is best known for his time leading Soul Coughing in the 1990s. But he’s still making great music as both a solo artist in Ghost of Vroom with Andrew “Scrap” Livingston. Produced and mixed by Beastie Boys collaborator Mario Caldado, Jr., the alt-rap track Still Getting It Done offers a groovy electronic rhythm and a fun vertical music video by SWIVS.

We always thought the line “shave his belly with a rusty razor” was pretty metal. Now, thanks to musician Leo Moracchioli, the traditional sea shanty Drunken Sailor has the proper soundtrack to go with its lyrics. Also, Leo is the only guy we know who can make a banjo sound this badass.

This comedy caper harkens back to the early days of the Coen Brothers, though only half of the duo is here. Written and directed by Ethan Coen and co-written by Tricia Cooke, it follows two women who head off on a road trip and end up pursued by a group of bumbling criminals after accidentally coming across a MacGuffin. In theaters 9.22.23.

Cyclist Kilian Bron has won the Mountain of Hell race four times. Here’s the helmet camera footage from his 2023 victory run, along with an overlay showing speeds as high as 100 km/h (~62 mph). The brutal 25 km freeride takes place at the Les Deux Alpes ski resort in France, combining terrifying downhills and intense high-altitude cardio challenges.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia viewers know that Paddy’s Pub isn’t exactly known for its food quality. But here we are with an official Sunny cookbook, with recipes for dishes like Frank’s Rum Ham, Fat Mac’s Trash Bag Chimichangas, and Charlie’s Milk Steak, interspersed with photos and quotes from the long-running comedy. Pre-orders start shipping 9.26.23.

The Bajao Cabin effectively turns your inflatable paddleboard into an air mattress while adding protection from the elements. Its inflatable airframe provides a lightweight structure, and its removable flysheet has mosquito netting underneath so you can sleep under the stars. The whole tent can also be used directly on the ground or on your roof rack.

Guitarist Luca Stricagnoli performs one of our favorite Muse tracks, applying his extraordinary fingerstyle technique to Knights of Cydonia. His acoustic version plays right into the spaghetti western theme of the original’s music video. Want more? Luca previously covered Supermassive Black Hole and Starlight.

The way life is today, you never know when a drinking emergency might come up. This fun gift set from Not Another Bill comes packed with vodka, bloody mary mix, Tabasco sauce, salt, pepper, and a cocktail shaker. The only thing missing are drinking glasses, but you can always use your coffee mug for that. They also make an emergency gin and tonic suitcase.

When approaching a staircase with your bicycle, it’s best to dismount and walk it down. That is unless you know what you’re doing like freestyle cyclist Fabio Wibmer, who makes it look easy. And he did it backward while balancing on the front wheel. Or, you could just skip over the entire staircase.

Has playing on your old foosball table gotten boring? These guys figured out how to breathe fresh life into the game by attaching a bunch of Ryobi cordless power drills to its spinners. It makes it a lot harder to follow the action, though, and there’s a much better chance of the ball flying off the table and into the neighbor’s yard.

The trend of brand biopics continues with this movie about the meteoric rise and fall of Beanie Babies. It follows the story of toy salesman Ty Warner, who worked with three women to create this pop culture juggernaut of the 1990s. Stars Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, and Geraldine Viswanathan and premieres 7.28.23 on Apple TV+.

The world’s first carbon-neutral and fair trade certified rums by Flor de Caña are as exceptional as the distiller’s 130-year history as a family-run enterprise. Flor de Caña 12-Year Rum is naturally aged without sugar in white oak bourbon barrels sealed with plantain leaves, creating a premium rum with tropical notes.

Double-matured in Pedro Ximenez-seasoned wine casks, Lagavulin Distillers Edition delivers sweet, salty, smoky, and oaky flavors. It plays well with smoked meats, making it an ideal gift for drinkers who love firing up the grill. The Lagavulin Distillers Edition box from TheBar.com pairs a 750 ml bottle with premium leather and suede grilling gloves.

There’s much more that goes into brewing craft beer than grain, hops, yeast, and water. Some of the best and most creative beers incorporate other plants to create complex flavors and intoxicating aromas. Author Giuseppe Caruso’s 640-page book The Botany of Beer provides an illustrated guide to more than 500 plants used in brewing around the globe.

This science fiction series comes from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. It’s based on Liu Cixin’s Hugo-award-winning trilogy about the first contact between Earth and an alien civilization and its far-reaching implications on humanity’s future. Coming to Netflix 1.2024.

We’ve featured some really interesting mechanisms created with LEGO Technic parts. But the ones we’ve seen before are usually shown as separate, disconnected systems. Brick Machines built more than 40 different kinds of mechanisms and combined them into a single, compact machine.

In celebration of 100 years of Disney animation, this keepsake box of collectibles holds postcards of 100 Disney and Pixar characters, from Mickey Mouse to the adventurers from Strange World. All the most memorable heroes, sidekicks, and villains are here, in full color, in still images from the original cartoons and film classics.

Summer is the season of the Spritz, which puts Amarena Fabbri Wild Cherries on the top of our shopping list. Made since 1915 with the same recipe, authentic Amarena cherries have a perfect balance of sweet and tart with oodles more flavor than maraschinos, earning the devotion of bartenders and pastry chefs alike.

There’s something magical about nature guidebooks filled with illustrations and insights about the flora and fauna around us. From mountains to ocean shores, wetlands to deserts, How to Read the Wilderness: An Illustrated Guide to the Natural Wonders of North America blends art and science to reveal intimate details of wild places.

Amy Turk is an incredibly talented harpist and performs everything from classical to pop to video game music. She knocked it out of the park with the solo from Dire Straits’ Sultans of Swing, played on the Harp-E, an electroacoustic harp great at producing bends and microtones. Dave Stanton accompanies on guitar and bass.