The Awesomer: Awesome Stuff

The Infiniti QX60 is the smaller of Infiniti’s three-row SUV options, and while it’s not as plush as its bigger brother, the QX80, it’s a comfortable and capable family vehicle with enough creature comforts to position it well above its Nissan Pathfinder cousins. We tested the QX60 Sport AWD, which offers the most athletic look of the SUV’s trims.

Pod racing gets an upgrade in the new game Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Set in the Outer Rim, the game challenges players to compete in unsanctioned, high-speed matches through challenging and deadly courses carved out of the planet. We’re getting a Wipeout vibe, and that’s a good thing. Coming to PS5, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games later this year.

With the Rhake LS, Mission Workshop transforms a popular design into an advanced EDC travel bag. Inside the tech fabric backpack are pockets for your laptop, iPad, phone, chargers, keys, and sunglasses, plus a roomy main compartment for clothes and shoes. Optional LandSpeeder modules add attachable side pouches. Comes in black, grey, green, or brown.

The Semantron is a percussion instrument that consists of a wooden plank struck by mallets. Used in Eastern, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monasteries, its beats are used to call monks to prayer or procession. In this video, we see a large Semantron being played at an escalating pace by a monk with amazing rhythm skills. (Thanks, Orion!)

Pick a color and place your bets! Which marble will reign supreme in this best-of-five race? MoreBalls created this complex and captivating virtual marble tower with lots of ramps, loops, twists, and turns. It’s a playful physics simulation and colorful eye candy rolled into one video. Can’t get enough? There are plenty more marble races to enjoy.

Shoe box coffins would’ve been unsuitable for the pets of ancient Egypt. Elaborate animal mummies spanned Egypt from 760 B.C.E. through the 2nd century C.E. “Soulful Creatures” at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in Las Vegas is the first major exhibition on the subject, presenting 36 mummified cats, dogs, birds, and reptiles. Curated by the Brooklyn Museum.

KC Green’s 2013 cartoon “This Is Fine” is a meme that continues to reflect the chaos around us. Adam from North of the Border might be a little late to the party, but his artful clay and resin interpretation of the nonchalant dog surrounded by flames — and Adam’s cheeky narration — are still a treat. He also made a timely dumpster fire sculpture.

The Cuddy Crawler is the ultimate cooler for outdoor activities. It has four heavy-duty wheels that can roll over rugged terrain, and it floats like a boat. With four built-in drink holders, a split lid, and a 6-foot tow strap, it’s the perfect companion for tubing and kayaking. It holds up to 30 cans and 20 pounds of ice. There’s also a version without wheels.

Charlie Brown’s beloved beagle, Snoopy, gets an official LEGO set. The Peanuts’ plucky pooch sits atop his apple red doghouse with his pal Woodstock, ready to write “It was a dark and stormy night” on his blue typewriter. The brick-built Snoopy can be posed in a seated or standing position. Pre-orders for the 964-piece, fan-submitted set ship starting 6.1.26.

Full Windsor expands its like of cookout utensils with this cutting board and knife set. Crafted from beech wood, it has a magnetic, compressed wood lid and a storage tray that secures two knives. You get two cutting surfaces, a 6″ chef’s knife and 3.5″ utility knife made from German stainless steel. It packs inside a bag that doubles as a non-slip prep mat.

This handcrafted wood chess board from Wyrmwood can be played flat on a tabletop or sideways on a wall. It features a magnetic surface and comes with a set of laser-cut pieces for vertical play. It also includes racks for storing its flat pieces. Available in cherry, black walnut, teak, wenge, ebony, purpleheart, and limited-run combos with inlaid details.

Are we alone in the universe? For 50 years, Gentry Lee has explored this question through space science, robotic exploration and the human imagination. The mind-blowing doc, Starman, follows the Chief Engineer for Planetary Exploration at NASA JPL from his space missions with Viking and Voyager, to co-authoring a vision of the future with Arthur C. Clarke.

All Process of World takes on a tour of a steel factory in Korea that produces rebar, plates, I-beams, and other large metal parts for construction. The vast, mechanized facility takes piles of scrap steel, melts it down in an enormous cauldron, then extrudes the molten metal into shapes. Plasma cutters then slice parts into shorter pieces before hardening.

Gear Aid’s Balta hatchet is a compact and versatile camping tool. In addition to splitting wood for kindling, it can hammer in and pull out tent stakes. It features a full-tang 420 stainless steel blade with a stonewashed finish and a textured grip. Comes with a plastic blade protector with a built-in belt clip.

Nicolas Cage revisits his Into the Spider-Verse persona in a new live-action series. It follows Ben Reilly, a private investigator in 1930s NYC. In this part of the multiverse, Ben’s Spider-Noir shoulders the weight of being the city’s sole superhero. Gimmick or not, the series will be viewable in black & white or True-Hue full color starting 5.27.26 on Prime Video.

Ali Spagnola is the creative force behind projects like the mood ring car and the room of condoms. So we weren’t surprised when she decided to build a complete home theater inside a Porta-Potty. The mini cinema features sound-dampening walls, a chandelier, wall sconces, and surround sound. That theater seat just barely fit inside.