Awesome Leisure

Pianos have been an important part of the musical landscape for hundreds of years. To celebrate this popular instrument, musician David Bennett put together this excellent 17-minute chronological medley of some of the most melodic piano intros ever. See how many you can name with your eyes closed. No peeking.

The 95th Academy Award winners will be announced on Sunday, March 12, 2023. To celebrate the awards, Screen Junkies looks back at the movies nominated for Best Picture and offers their snarky take on some great films like the wildly inventive Everything Everywhere All at Once and the enigmatic Banshees of Inisherin.

We’re sad that Barry is coming to an end, but the mad genius of Bill Hader and Alec Berg’s dark comedy has been too intense to last forever. As Barry finds himself behind bars, the consequences of his awful actions finally come home to roost. The final season kicks off on HBO on 4.16.23.

An ordinary ping pong table has a simple green or black finish. After getting his hands on a beat up old ping pong table, builder John Malecki and his co-workers reinforced and refinished it, then gave it a sweet surface design – bright geometric patterns created by swinging paint cans from a paracord rope.

A beautiful, teal-colored bottle of Italicus classes up any home bar, and the sophisticated liqueur inside effortlessly steps up your happy hour game. Created by Italian spirits authority Giuseppe Gallo, this aperitif features keynotes of Calabrian bergamot, making it our latest go-to for elevated spritzes and margaritas.

A banjo is not typically associated with rock or heavy metal music. But it turns out that if you tune it to standard C and shred metal riffs on a 6-string banjo the same way you’d play an electric guitar, it’s possible to rock out on the country-bluegrass instrument. Guitarist Bernth shows us how it’s done.

Moon Shoes are toys that put a little extra spring in kids’ steps using elastic bands. Since they don’t really make kids jump much higher, maker Allen Pan decided it was time to create a more powerful version. After experimenting with springs and explosives, he settled on compressed air to propel them.

Based on the books by Hugh C. Howey, this sci-fi series takes place in an underground community known as the Silo. Its occupants are left in the dark about who built the Silo, what happened on the surface, and how long ago it happened. Now, one resident is about to uncover the truth. Premieres 5.5.23 on Apple TV+.

Producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg offer a fresh new animated take on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, voiced by a star-studded cast. The story sends our favorite turtles into the streets of New York City where they team up with a new friend to take on a crime syndicate and an army of mutants. In theaters 8.4.2023.

Maker Handy Geng was tired of being unproductive while sitting in traffic, so he got the idea to modify an old minivan and turn it into a gym on wheels. The driver and passengers can all work out at the same time, and the energy they generate powers the van’s drivetrain. Turn on captions.

Apple fans, here’s a fun addition to your desktop. Classicbot’s Trashbot 2.0 Stationery Set includes a Macintosh Finder-inspired metal whiteboard, along with Trashbot and Errorbot figures, as well as folder, floppy disk, and mail icons with magnetic backs. It also includes 100 sticky notes that look like computer windows.

School of Rock is a great place for kids (and adults) to hone their musicianship and performance skills. This group of AllStar students was a the top of their game when they took on Europe’s hair-metal classic The Final Countdown in the studio. Lead vocalist Eliza could go out and record an album right now.

One of the simplest but most entertaining games out there is Rock, Paper, Scissors. We think it can be pretty intense with the right participants, but the guys from Corridor amped up the drama by turning it into the storyline for an original anime. Who will reign supreme in this epic clash?

NERF darts typically require a blaster if you want to shoot them across the room. Joel Creates and his brother engineered a NERF dart that can fire itself right from your hand. After playing with compressed air, explosives, and springs, the final design relies on an electric ignition and a magician’s gimmick.

Classic arcade machines have a big cabinet necessitated by a CRT monitor and multiple circuit boards. Jody Del Bianco’s Plycade embraces modern tech like a flat screen and a compact PC and sets them into a 28mm-thick plywood cabinet for a small footprint and a light, airy design. A wall-mounted version is also in the works.

This movie dramatizes the story of Roger Sharpe, an NYC journalist who escapes from his stress by playing pinball, only to realize that the game is still illegal in the city. In 1976, he helped mount a campaign to overturn the 34-year ban and prove that pinball is a game of skill, not a game of chance. In theaters 3.17.23.

Guitar strings are usually made from nylon or metal wire. Musician Bernth wanted to hear what an acoustic guitar might sound like when its strings are replaced with rubber bands. The low-frequencies sound more like a bass than a guitar, but they worked well enough that he recorded a song called Elasticity with them.

Skiing can be incredibly fun – but it can also be quite dangerous. Big mountain skier Owen Leeper shows how scary things can get with this first-person footage of an avalanche that started beneath his skis as he headed down a rocky chute. Fortunately, he survived with only minor injuries. Here it is from another angle.

Proper No. Twelve infuses its smooth Irish whiskey with real apple flavors for a crisp, sweet, and bright flavor. It has a delightful apple fragrance and comes in an easy-to-drink 70-proof. It’s quite sweet straight-up, so we suggest combining it with ginger beer and lime or other spices and citrus for a well-balanced cocktail.

Photographer Kien Lam has been traveling the globe for over a decade. He spent 343 days before the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 shooting this spectacular time-lapse video. In all, he visited 17 countries by plane, train, and bus, and shot more than 6200 images. You can follow Kien’s ongoing adventures at Where and Wander.

Richard Rey aka Office Drummer, has a unique skill. He accepts song requests, then live streams an improvised drum beat regardless of whether or not he’s played it before. His performances include Beastie Boys’ Intergalactic, Outkast’s Hey Ya!, Green Day’s Brain Stew/Jaded, and MGMT’s Electric Feel.

A modern pinball machine needs computer circuits, electromechanical components, and a power supply to work. Magnet Tricks shows how it’s possible to build a playable mini pinball machine using only magnets and pyrolytic graphite. It takes advantage of the repulsive forces between the two to bounce a washer around its playfield.

Looking for something fun to do with the kids when it’s below-freezing outside? Inland Iglu helps you build a backyard winter fort. Just set up the frame, connect a garden hose, and its mesh will catch mist from the water and freeze into a sturdy ice shell. They also make smaller versions in rocket, castle, and pirate ship shapes.