Gemma O'Brien in an Australian designer/typographer traveling the world with her fonts and felt pens. After her guest appearance at Semi-Permanent Brisbane last week, Sarah Hazlehurst catches up with Gemma for a recap for those who missed out on the creative conference. How would you describe to others what you do for your job? I work mainly with typography, illustration and print design... but it's not limited to that. I particularly like starting all my projects by drawing. The majority of my commercial commissions tends to be illustrated custom lettering pieces. Some art pieces end up being installations and while I was working at Animal Logic earlier this year I tended to be designing more for TV. At my most recent project there I directed new opening title sequence for Play School – it featured no typography and was stop-motion piece with hyper-colourful paper sculpture I built and was brought to life by the talented team at Animal. Where did you passion for typography begin and why? To be honest, my first encounters with typography were dull! It seemed like the boring, technical rule-based side of graphic design. But this view was changed drastically after working in the letterpress studio. I also started seeing type as a visual element. It could speak as loudly as image and take on lyrical or illustrative qualities itself. Your 'Write Here Right Now' campaign was amazing. Do you have any new campaigns in the making? I am currently focusing on forms of typography that exist outside the commerical domain. For my Honours paper at COFA I am researching lettering and typography of headstones and I will hosting a workshop at the Paper Mill gallery in Sydney in September that looks at letterforms on buildings. Who is your favourite artist and why? Today's type designers: Tobias Frere Jones, Jonathon Hoefler, Gerard Unger, Ale Paul from Sudtipos Type history's legends: Stanley Morrison, Jan Tschichold, Illustrative type heroes: Jessica Hische, Seb Lester, Marian Bantjes, Luke Lucas And Australia's original typophile: Stephen Banham What inspires you to create new fonts?/What's your favourite font to write with? Well you can't really "write" with fonts. A lot of what I do is actually lettering - drawing letterforms is often inspired by existing fonts but is quite different in its execution. While a font is designed to be used in any application - any context a designer sees fit - lettering is often a custom piece designed specifically for a certain word or phrase. In lettering, you're often looking for particular relationships between letters that could be drawn and linked in particular ways. That said I like drawing letterforms that are fluid and organic...lend themselves to swashes and flourishes. Do you have a favourite sentence to write? Not really, it's always changing. I'm always listening out for interesting sayings, quotes, conversations, song lyrics or poetry that has a certain appeal to be developed into a piece of lettering or typography. Are you a lover or a hater of the quick brown fox ... ? Well the quick brown fox has a little more appeal than the lazy dog. If Times New Roman always a no-go? Of course not, Stanley Morison, the designer of the typeface Times New Roman is a legend and one of the key designers in the early twentieth century who influenced the shape of typography today. It's really only became a faux-pas through familiarity, accessibility and therefore frequency of use. What is the worst letter to write? None of them are that bad! Although I do lean towards letters that lend themselves to flourishes....K's and M's... I love them all equally. Why do you think typography is important to our developing world? Typography and lettering are the markings of human culture. Just imagine a world without letters...! They are the greatest human invention ever! These little shapes that over time have developed into what we recognise so immediately that as individual letters they become invisible...and we just take the meaning from the word the create and the context they are in. They are the visual marks that can communicate, sell, tell a story and convey information, through typography these letters speak to us.
From family classics like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to hard-hitting documentaries in the league of Camp 14 – Total Control Zone to black comedies such as Invasion, this year's Audi Festival of German Film promises the bravest, brashest and most bizarre in German film. There'll be panel discussions, Q&As, special cultural programs and parties. The selection for opening night, Georg Maas' Two Lives, makes it clear the festival is seeking the cutting edge, new generation of German filmmaking. It's a 2012 post-Berlin wall spy thriller about the exercise of state control over individual identities. Another highlight is This Ain't California, a Cannes winner that explores the development of skateboard culture in East Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. With over 20,000 people expected to attend, representing a 37 percent growth in popularity over the past six years, this year's festival is set to be the biggest on record.
French photographer Patrice Letarnec has created an eye-catching photo series that turns the world on its head. Taking the streets of Paris for a backdrop, the collection of photographs feature gymnastically gifted individuals walking on their hands, creating a delightfully surreal and strangely entertaining result. Letarnec told the Huffington Post, "The main idea was to illustrate the French expression 'marcher sur la tête' — to act foolishly, to go against common sense, which is more or less what we experience in today's world." Patrice Letarnec is a France based photographer and art director. You can check out more of his work on his Tumblr.
She became one of the most successful artists in pop music history with classic hits such as '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman', 'I Feel The Earth Move' and 'You've Got a Friend'. And now, the extraordinary story of Carole King has been immortalised into jukebox musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Following successful runs in the US and UK, the critically acclaimed production based on King's life has made its way to Australia. The local run, produced by Michael Cassel, is now playing at QPAC until September 2 — after received a "cavalcade of glowing reviews" during its Sydney run earlier in the year. Beautiful begins with King's early years as a teenage songwriter. It covers her time writing with husband Gerry Goffin for the likes of Aretha Franklin and The Drifters, and their playful rivalry with friends and writing partners, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. The show then charts her personal success as a solo artist in the 1970s, cementing her iconic status on a global scale.
Merrick Watts has some charming words for cafe workers who want to be treated like human beings. Appearing on Channel Nine's Today program, where the discussion centred around a number of Melbourne cafes who refuse service to customers who order while talking on the phone, the radio host and alleged comedian let loose on "hipster" baristas, proclaiming that they should "just make me the coffee" and that "you're not doing real work." "I'm paying for it, so how about you just give it to me, as opposed to the hipster attitude with your beard and all your weird mermaid tattoos," said Watts, to the delighted chortles of his fellow panellists. "Are you a sailor, or are you making coffee?" "Just give me the coffee, let me talk on the phone, 'cause we can't have a conversation, I don't need to engage, because I don't speak pirate!" If you can stomach the rest of the rant, you can watch the 9 News video here. Presumably it's been a while since Watts has deigned to associate with anyone who works in the hospitality industry. Thing is, we actually know quite a few baristas — many of whom work 40+ hours each week. One former Melbourne barista described a typical shift as "8-9 hours without sitting, often 10+ orders deep, trying to juggle customer expectations of friendliness with prompt service". They added: "People on phones generally slowed down the whole process and would often be the first to return a coffee if you'd misinterpreted their wild arm waving." We're not saying you have to be best mates with your barista . And yes, we've all encountered a rude one from time to time — but maybe part of the reason for that are people like Watts, who think it's totally fine to treat lesser paid hospo workers like vending machines. At the end of the day, it's not that hard to take 15 seconds and actually engage with the person on the other side of the counter. Or, if you're really not feeling it, order from a skip-the-queue app and go on your way.
Finally, a chance to engage in some recreational thievery without that annoying little issue of being in contempt of the law. The Art Series Hotel has extended a general invitation to the public to swing by and steal its artwork right off the wall, as part of their freshly launched competition, 'Steal Banksy'. The promotion was inspired by the authentically illegal activities of a group of vandals who attacked a city wall in London with an angle grinder in 2007, pocketing a slab of concrete baring a Banksy design entitled 'No Ball Games'. The group subsequently sold the stolen artwork on eBay for 20,000 pounds. The act in turn inspired a further series of artwork by Banksy, including the 'No Ball Games' image currently hanging on the wall of a Melbourne hotel. In a nod to this rebellious ingenuity, the Art Series Hotel invites you to book a room between December 15 and January 15, and attempt to steal the artwork without being caught. If you're successful, they'll let you keep it. Perhaps not the most ethical message ever to be projected in a marketing campaign, but it does sound like a lot of fun, and definitely in keeping with Banksy's trademark anti-authoritarianism. Update: The Banksy gets stolen. A second artwork is up for grabs.
Australian author Christos Tsiolkas is back with a new novel, Barracuda, sure to get the nation talking. The follow-up to 2008's agenda-setting, TV-destined hit, The Slap, it's an exploration of failure and how to come back from it. Ahead of his sold-out talk at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Christos spoke with Marcus Costello about the nature of failure. You're a winner. And you don't have kids. Who are you to talk about teaching kids to fail? Fair call. To be honest I'm very wary of telling anyone how they should lead their lives. The thing is, I believe you can only ever truly talk from your own lived experience. Everyone's failures and, for that matter, everyone's experience of parenthood is unique, so to speak on behalf of anyone else under the pretence that you're all part of a select group [parents] isn't really fair either. That said, you know, maybe because I'm not a parent I can think what's in the best interest of a generation of children, not just my child, my flesh and blood. I can ask the question: Have you come here to learn how to raise your kid to be the best or how to think about what's best for your kid's generation as a whole? I mean, if we care to think about it, the wholesale derailment of the education system by the private sector has failed so many underprivileged children. And yet, my guess is, were they able to afford it, most parents would want to send their kid to a private school, and in so doing, feed the beast. But my talk isn't only about teaching children the virtues of failure. My talk is going to focus on how failure marks a certain adult relationship with Self and the world by way of moments in my life where I feel I've failed and the lacerating but ultimately rewarding experience of atoning for that failure. But if one can atone then it's not true failure; it's just part of an eventual success story, no? I see what you mean. Like, if you flick through any of those in-flight magazines there's always a profile of some celebrity that reads like an elaboration of a Nike advertisement or some dot-com entrepreneur in Forbes talking about how "failure made me stronger". My talk isn't going to be like that. The kind of professional failure I'm interested in exploring isn't so much a book that didn't sell well, but a book I've put out that betrayed my integrity or where I made lazy choices. I feel this way about my second novel, Jesus Man. On a personal level I've failed as a friend, as a son, as a lover ... On a national level, and this is a central theme of my talk, the culture of ruthless materialism and political self-regard that has emerged over the past two generations strikes me as a moral failing. That makes me think of a quote by Po Bronson I found while researching, "Failure is hard, but success is far more dangerous. If you're successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in forever." Yes! That's so accurate. The seduction of success is something we all need to keep in check because when we step into smaller and smaller social circles it's so easy to fall out of touch with the broader community. How will you feel if your new novel Barracuda flops? Come what may, I feel I've reached a certain point in my life where I know that, for the rest of my time here, writing is what I will do. In that way you're fail-proof. I mean, if you think of yourself as destined to write, compelled by a force greater than commercial success, then you've beat the system. I guess you're right. As an artist it's folly to single out any one work as the mark of failure or success — if you're true to what you do then you see everything you produce as building towards something greater. That said, if Barracuda flops I will be upset, but for other reasons. There are so many people around me who are invested in this book and in my success — I don't want to let them down. Like The Slap your FODI talk is for an elite audience. The sad truth is that if anyone thinks anything of a child being slapped at a BBQ, that marks them as elite. To that end, how dangerous is any idea if you're only talking to those people who actually care to think about ideas? Ah, yes, this is true, and such a hard thing to deal with. I guess I can only hope that what I say will spark conversations beyond the Opera House; that someone will listen to what I have to say and take that message to someone else and the word will filter out that way. I wish I had a better answer to that but I don't. Barracuda is out now through Allen & Unwin. The Festival of Dangerous Ideas is on at the Sydney Opera House from November 2-4. Top image by John Tsiavis.
Doppelgängers: they're more than just a science-fiction staple, a key part of Twin Peaks and the reason that plenty of actors keep winning awards. Whether you've been mistaken for someone else, been sent a photo of someone who could be your twin or walked past a painting or snap that could double as a mirror, we've all had one of those moments. If you'd like more — and you'd like to see how your likeness has been represented in the art world — Google's Arts and Culture app can now help. While the app itself isn't new, launching back in 2016, the ability to search by uploading your own selfies — or photos of someone else — is. Users are prompted to take a photo, which the app then compares against its database of art from over a thousand museums and galleries in 70 countries. If one of them looks like you, depending on your expression and hairstyle in the photo, it'll do its best to find it. At the moment, the new feature doesn't appear to be available in all parts of the world as yet, so if you're fond of taking pics of yourself and finding your likeness in the creative world, fingers crossed that it'll be rolled out soon. There's no point snapping away as practice, as the feature will only allow you to upload a newly taken photo. One side effect, once you can try it out: wanting to visit a whole heap of galleries and museums to see your artistic doppelgängers in person. UPDATE: JANUARY 20, 2018: Google Arts and Culture app users in Australia can now access the selfie submission feature. Users should scroll down until they see the "search with your selfie" tile, which will then take you through the steps. Via Mashable.
Featuring some stunning works that seemingly blend pop art with street art, Teenage Dreams and Drama Queens (the debut exhibition from Scott Hynd) is a vibrant and thoughtful look at the trials and tribulations of modern romance. Taking inspiration from comic books and Lichtenstein-esque melodrama, Scott has created some compelling pieces that are on display this Thursday. Coming from a background in graphic design, the Brisbane based artist has honed his style and incorporated spray paint and enamel to give his work an urban feel. When speaking to Raw Ink Magazine, Scott said this of his work: “I love being able to take an idea from a concept to creation. I love using different elements (such as comics, stencils and drawings) and different materials (such as enamel house paint and spray paint) to create a work that is cohesive and eye catching.” Scott certainly has the eye catching element down pat, and with the tried and true theme of love and lust, he has created a series of work that is also cohesive and thoughtful. Do yourself a favour and check it out.
Aussie festival lovers, get your best Queen voice on. It looks like another one’s biting the dust (for a year at least). The Hunter Valley's Gum Ball organisers Matt Johnston and his fiancée Jess have just announced that there’s every chance the event won’t be happening next year. We shouldn’t be too hard on the live music-loving couple, though. After ten years of providing stages for the likes of Jinja Safari, Ed Kuepper and Turin Brakes, they’re going to take some time out to tie the knot. “What I do want to tell you is that excitedly Jess and I are getting married early next year,” Johnston said. The statement begs the obvious question: why not kill two birds with one stone and get hitched at Gum Ball, in front of thousands of loyal festival fans? Not the plan, apparently. All might not be lost quite yet, however. Johnston did suggest the possibility of outsourcing the organisational frenzy to another party. “No exact plans have been made... as yet,” he explained. “Though, there is a bit of a desire to go on an extended holiday at a time that would otherwise be peak Gum Ball preparation time. “Perhaps we can source someone to help us make it all happen... The thing is you can’t do this event in halves and, as has been the case for the last ten years, you can’t really expect to have much downtime when you take it on.” If this, combined with Sound Summit’s recent hiatus announcement, has you crying all the rivers, don’t despair entirely. After all, Matt and Jess aren’t leaving us totally high and dry – PigSty in July is coming up on July 5. And, given Gum Ball’s popularity, it’s highly likely to be back on the festival calendar come 2016. Via TheMusic.com.au.
Dodging peak hour traffic, avoiding unmindful pedestrians and negotiating road rage - all the while exposed to the elements - are part of a day's work for the average city bicycle courier. With this in mind, Renault has put together the 'Twizy Cargo'. First presented in concept mode at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2009, and now on the market, it's a one-seater electric car with an over-sized boot, designed to make urban delivery easier, faster and safer. Sharing the convenience associated with a bicycle, with its small size enabling parking in the tiniest of spots, the Twizy also offers a seatbelt, an airbag and a sealed cabin. In other words, protection from the weather and from crazy drivers whose legal access to a licence remains a mystery to us all. Plus, it's super cheap to run. The boot has a 180-litre capacity and can handle weights of up to 75 kilograms. It might not be able to take an elephant, but it can certainly handle more than a party's worth of pizzas. And the doors open to a blissful 90 degree angle. So there's no more trying to prop the door open with your leg while juggling boxes and keys. Two versions of the Twizy Cargo are currently available. The granny-style 'MA L6e' has a maximum speed of 45 km/hr and is selling for $US10,433; while the more rock-starrish 'MB L7e' can handle speeds of up to 80km/hr and retails at $US11,337. Both require a Renault-rented battery, which comes in at about $US65 per month. [via PSFK]
World-renowned masterpieces such as Michaelangelo's David have established the blank human canvas as an artwork. However, a recent series of Naturist tours has artist Stuart Ringholt taking this to the next level by not only appearing naked himself - but requiring all tour participants to also turn up in the flesh. This tour has already taken place at Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art and Melbourne's Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. At such tours, Ringholt has allowed guests to gain a new perspective on existing works by viewing them in a new context where getting kitless is mandatory. Importantly, these tours have taken place outside of the standard venue opening hours, so there is no fear of outsiders or general creepers peeking in. Hypochondriacs will be relieved to know that you can keep your sneakers on, but it might be hard to choose a pair that will match the rest of your outfit. Ringholt's art has long been equally confrontational and controversial. In one of his performance pieces, the aptly-titled Embarassment, Ringholt placed himself in some red-faced situations. These included one instance where he walked in public with toilet paper hanging from his pants. Other pieces have documented a period of his life in the mid-nineties where he suffered from a drug addiction and subsequent psychotic episodes. Sydneysiders will now have a chance to experience Stuart Ringholt in all his naked glory when he conducts these tours at the Museum of Contemporary Art on 27-29 April, 2012. Bookings for these sessions open on 1 March, and enthusiasts would be wise to get in early after the high demand in other Australian cities. These will be open to adults only. Birthday suit up.
On the cusp of a sun-filled scorcher of a summer, it’s hard to imagine going as long as three months without seeing the sun. But it’s precisely this seasonal phenomenon that Norwegian designers Christine Istad and Lisa Pacini have responded to, creating a travelling circular sculpture whose warm-coloured LED light mimics the absent sun. Three metres in diameter, the glowing core of SUN changes in hue, moving from sunrise to sunset tones. The design is portable and adaptable, capable of being freestanding on a base or hung on a wall as an installation. The sculpture was transported by cruise ship and pick-up truck around Norway, bringing illumination to darkened cities starting from Tromsø in the country's north and ending in Bergen. The project most recently journeyed as far as London, where it made an appearance at London Design Festival as part of the 10th anniversary of the annual 100% Norway exhibition run by the Norwegian Embassy, Norwegian Design Council and Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Each year the exhibition showcases the best and brightest from Norway’s art and design world, with this year’s special focus being light. Via DesignBoom
When we say that you should look down on the Gallery of Modern Art's latest exhibition, we're not being critical. The way that Limitless Horizon: Vertical Perspective wants you to gaze at it is all there in its name. Well, rather, the viewpoint it adopts is trumpeted in its title: the vertical, the vertiginous and the vertigo-inducing. In a series of pieces focusing on urban and rural landscapes alike, this free showcase examines the way that we explore our environment from a vertical perspective. Expect a collection of works that'll make you feel like you're floating at a great height or staring off into the sunset — or, in an array spanning historical paintings from China and Japan, Indigenous Australian art, war time aerial photography, video art, prints and more, both. The exhibition runs from August 26 to March 25, with a screening program joining the line up in March 2018. Image: EZAWA, Kota; Germany b.1969; Earth from moon; 2006 Colour aquatint on paper; ed. 27/35. 51.3 x 57.5cm. 29 x 37cm (comp.) Acc. 2008.308. Purchased 2008 with funds raised through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Appeal.
From the crime antics of Murder on the Orient Express to the slow TV phenomenon that was SBS' The Ghan, lengthy train journeys have chugging across our screens over the past year. If watching folks make a long trip in a locomotive has you wanting to hit the rails yourself, you'll soon have a new luxury Australian option: the Great Southern. Set to embark on its maiden journey in December 2019, the Great Southern will cross the country from Adelaide to Brisbane — and vice versa, of course. The trek up north will take three days and two nights, while the return leg will occur over four days and three nights. If that seems like a considerable amount of time, that's because this kind of trip isn't just about getting from A to B. It's also about taking in the scenery and the general experience. Passengers departing from Adelaide will stop at the Grampians National Park, then hop off again at Canberra, and also enjoy the northern New South Wales coast on their way to Queensland. For those boarding in Brisbane, dining by the beach in northern NSW awaits, as does a day in the Hunter Valley and Newcastle, plus some time at the Twelve Apostles. The latest venture by Great Southern Rail, the Great Southern will be comprised of 28 carriages and two locomotives, with up to 214 guests able to take each journey. It doesn't come cheap — starting at $1649 per person — but that price does include your food and wine onboard, any dining that takes place off the train, and all of the off-locomotive experiences across the multi-night the trip. As you'll clearly be sleeping on the train, that's also included. Great Southern Rail also operates Australia's other two long-distance train treks, The Ghan (which runs from Adelaide to Darwin) and and the Indian Pacific (which journeys from Sydney to Perth). Tickets will go on sale on Monday, December 3, with the Great Southern's first season taking to the rails between December 6, 2019 and January 27, 2020. It'll operate 16 departures over that period, should you be looking for a different kind of getaway across the summer of 2019–20. Image: Great Southern Rail.
As warmer weather starts to make its presence known, including an unseasonably hot September patch in Sydney and Brisbane, we're all clamouring for our favourite cooling devices. Fans, air conditioners, pools, any patch of water you can find, frozen drinks, boozy icy poles, all the ice cream you can handle: if it can combat the heat, even for a brief instant, it's a spring and summer staple. Imagine, however, just slapping on a temperature-regulating smartwatch rather than camping out under your aircon or getting comfy in a paddling pool with an esky filled with cold beverages. Or, in addition to all of the above. That's the idea behind the Aircon Watch, a device two years in the making. It claims to offer a reprieve from feeling too warm — or, in winter, too cold — by sending hot or cool signals to the wearer's brain through its special pulsating wrist strap. If you're a little skeptical, that's understandable, though the folks behind the watch point to the instant cooling effect that running an ice cube over your wrist can have — as well as a 2012 research study by Stanford University, which used a cooling glove to indicate that heat exchange can occur through the extremities. And if you think it sounds like a winning idea, you're not alone. Currently running a Kickstarter campaign, the Aircon Watch has already reached its funding goal more than 26 times over. At the time of writing, it's still accepting backers for 18 more days, with the watches expected to start shipping in December. Image: Aircon Watch.
Here's something that sounds like a dream: free tunes by the beach over three breezy spring days. In 2021, that was meant to become a reality thanks to new Gold Coast music festival Springtime; however, as has happened to plenty of events, the pandemic intervened. This year, however, the fest will finally launch — across the weekend of Friday, September 2–Sunday, September 4. Yes, last time you spent a couple of days hanging out in Surfers Paradise, enjoying the beach and bars, and listening to a live soundtrack by the shore, you might've been attending Schoolies. Obviously, that isn't the only event attracting people to the Gold Coast. And at Springtime, the price is clearly right — although there are some ticketed sideshows. On the agenda: a lineup led by Skegss, Thelma Plum and Hermitude, spanning 25-plus acts in total, taking over both beachside and streetside spaces around Surfers. There'll be multiple stages, including in outside spots and at sideshow venues, with Sneaky Sound System, Alex the Astronaut, JK-47, Skunkhour, Haiku Hands, Ninajirachi and Teen Jesus & The Jean Teases also among the bands on the bill. If you're planning to make a weekend of it, the lack of entry fee means you'll have more cash to splash on a hotel room. With Australia's tourism industry taking a hit over the past couple of years or so, enticing music lovers to the Goldie for a three-day getaway is obviously one of the fest's aims. Again, some sideshows will be ticketed, though — the details haven't been announced yet, but you might want to factor that into your plans. As for who you'll be seeing when, Hermitude and Sneaky Sound System are headlining the Friday, Thelma Plum is doing the honours on Saturday, and Skegss on Sunday. The Gold Coast Music Awards will be part of the fest as well — as will celebrating spring's arrival just by soaking in the location, obviously. Also on the bill: an interactive installation by performance makers Shock Therapy, The Cleaners, which involves a giant slingshot and paint-filled balloons that attendees can use to create havoc. (You might've seen and enjoyed it at Splendour in the Grass back in 2018.) And, a pop-up skate plaza will connect the fest's two beach stages, and give Australian and New Zealand skaters plenty to navigate around SPRINGTIME MUSIC FESTIVAL 2022 LINEUP: FRIDAY: Hermitude Sneaky Sound System JK-47 Peach Fur DVNA Buttered Girl & Girl VICES Sh#t Shirt Disco + triple j Unearthed Winner SATURDAY: Thelma Plum Skunkhour Ninajirachi Haiku Hands IVEY Ebony Boadu Hauskey Aodhan Saint Lane EUCA Fletcher Giv & Latour (Elsewhere DJs) Samin & Lotnic (Elsewhere DJs) Lily Papas Gold Coast Music Awards SUNDAY: Skegss Alex The Astronaut Teen Jesus & The Jean Teases The Lazy Eyes Teenage Dads The Oogars South Summit Just Jessie Geniie Boy Updated August 31.
For most of us, being buried alive ranks among our worst nightmares. For Mike Parr, it's his latest performance artwork. Between June 14 and 17, the Australian artist will be interred in a steel container beneath a Hobart street — spending 72 hours underground as part of this year's Dark Mofo. Appropriately titled Underneath the Bitumen, the piece will see Parr take up temporary residence below the middle lane of Macquarie Street in the Hobart CBD from 9pm Thursday through till 9pm Sunday. He'll descend into a box measuring just 4.5 metres by 1.7 metres by 2.2 metres, accompanied by a sketchpad and pencils, meditation stool, bedding, water and other items he'll need to survive. Once he's down there, the road surface will be sealed as normal and traffic will resume, driving over the top. The public will be able to view Parr's 'disappearance' under the street as part of his performance, and afterwards, the capsule he'll spend three days in will remain in place. While the road will be completely patched up after he emerges, concrete will be poured over the chamber once he's out, creating a time capsule filled with everything he's left inside. That stress you're probably feeling on Parr's behalf, well, that's by design. "The anxiety of the artist's disappearance is the point of the piece," states the Dark Mofo website. Underneath the Bitumen has been crafted as a response to two events in Tasmania's history: the transportation of 75,000 British and Irish convicts to the state across the first half of the 19th century, and the waning of Tasmania's aboriginal population afterwards. "To my knowledge, it will be Tasmania's first monument referencing both the Black War and The Convict System," said Dark Mofo Creative Director Leigh Carmichael. "It is a story that is not well known, but is ever-present, just beneath the surface of our contemporary culture. The fact that Mike Parr's work will happen underground, just out of sight, as everyday life continues above it, is clearly no coincidence." This is the third time Parr has been part of the Dark Mofo program, after a 72-hour performance at the historic Willow Court Asylum in New Norfolk in 2016, with an accompanying two-week exhibition afterwards; and a one-hour piece on Bruny Island in 2017, where he was joined by 72 people aged around 70 years for a show that kicked off at 2am. Underneath the Bitumen runs from June 14-17 as part of this year's Dark Mofo in Hobart. For more information about the artwork — and about the festival which runs between June 13 and 24 — visit the Dark Mofo website. Image: Nick D via Wikicommons.
Right now, automobile design faces two significantly big restrictions: one, the need for a driver; second, it's got to be safe. Pretty straight forward. However, if tech projections are on the money, we're heading into a future in which neither will be a factor. Driverless vehicles, currently limited to Google experimentation and public transportation, will become ubiquitous. On fully-automated thoroughfares, collisions will be a thing of the past, and design will respond by moving further and further away from functionality and closer and closer to art. London designer Dominic Wilcox is pre-riding the wave. At this year’s London Design Festival, finishing up tomorrow, he's revealed a life-size concept car. Or, more accurately, a mobile sleeping pod. "In the future it will be safer to drive in a driverless car than it will in a manual car," he says. "Therefore we don't need the protection systems that are built into contemporary cars. We can just have a shell of any design." One thing's for certain, you’ll be certain to see it coming. The Stained-Glass Driverless Sleeper Car is a bed on wheels, protected by an egg-shaped dome made of multi-coloured glass panels. They're soldered together and attached to an arched wooden frame. The controls are remote; Wilcox imagines that, like that of Google, his creation will be operated via a distant computer. That, of course, leaves loads of room for sleeping, reading, relaxing and sundry work and leisure activities. To illustrate the potential, Wilcox has simultaneously launched a concept website named taxirobot.co.uk. This allows visitors to select from a variety of driverless vehicles that double as mobile facilities, including a bedroom, an office, a gym, a dining room and even a sun bed that could be programmed to avoid cloudy routes. Via Dezeen.
It's only taken a few short years for the British Film Festival to become a highlight of Australia's busy festival calendar, and their first titles for their fourth year demonstrate why. Fancy seeing this year's Cannes Palme d'Or winner? Or a host of high-profile titles direct from their premieres at the Venice and Toronto film festivals? Or a restored version of the David Bowie-starring sci-fi classic The Man Who Fell to Earth? Well, they're all on the bill. Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake — which took top honours in Cannes back in May — takes a look at the British welfare system through the filmmaker's usual social realist lens, and ranks among the most highly anticipated of the bunch. It's joined by the high-profile likes of opening night's A United Kingdom and closing night's A Monster Calls. The former tells the true tale of a Botswana prince (Selma's David Oyelowo) who caused a scandal when he married a white Englishwoman (Gone Girl's Rosamund Pike), and is also slated to open the London Film Festival. Directed by The Impossible's Juan Antonio Bayona, A Monster Calls adapts a fantasy novel about a young boy coping with his mother's terminal illness, and features Liam Neeson as the voice of the titular creature. Audiences will also get the chance to see crime-drama Trespass Against Us, which not only stars Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson, but marks the film debut of the Chemical Brothers' long-term visual collaborator Adam Smith. For cinephiles looking for something completely different, rom-com fans can get their fix watching Gemma Arterton and Sam Claflin in Their Finest, from An Education helmer Lone Scherfig. And because all good film fests don't just look forward to future hits but also peer back to the greats of years gone by, this year's British Film Festival has curated a ten-movie tribute to some of the country's enduring cinematic heroes. As well as Bowie proving his out-of-this-world acting abilities, catch Gary Oldman getting his punk on in Sid and Nancy and feast on the epic action adventure that is Highlander. The full program will be released in late September, so expect more ace titles to come. The BBC First British Film Festival tours the country from October 25, screening at Sydney's Palace Verona and Palace Norton Street from October 25 to November 16, Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay and The Astor from October 26 to November 16, and Brisbane's Palace Barracks from October 27 to November 16. For more information, visit the festival website.
Just a few short years ago, heading into the office five days a week was the norm — and Brisbane's CBD had the foot traffic (and just general traffic) from Monday to Friday to prove it. But with working from home a necessity during lockdowns, and also now remaining a part of our pandemic-era lives, the inner city isn't as busy and bustling as it once was. Over the past year, a few different initiatives have popped up to entice Brisbanites back into the CBD, including handing out free coffees, offering the chance to win free public transport for a whole year and turning off parking meters. After summer's Omicron wave, the Property Council of Australia, Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government have teamed up on another: giving away more than $40,000 in prizes, including staycations, beer, dining vouchers, shopping vouchers, free parking and free public transport. Here's how it works: between 1am on Tuesday, March 8 and 3pm on Thursday, April 7, you'll need to go into the CBD on at least ten different days — and you'll need to attend one of several participating buildings and precincts. Then, you'll need to scan in via a QR code. Once you've clocked up ten days of visits, you'll be in the running. Properties involved include Howard Smith Wharves in general, Felons Brewing Co at HSW, The Myer Centre, Wintergarden, The Regent, Central Plaza One and the Riverside Centre. You can also head to a heap of other CBD addresses — spanning plenty of spots on Eagle, Albert, George, Adelaide and Ann streets, among others. [caption id="attachment_812925" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Prize-wise, there a multiple layers of goodies, which means multiple chances to win. But, to go in the draw for the major prize — which is worth over $36,000 and includes a year of free parking, a year of free public transport, a year of free beer, an $800 gym membership, a $1100 Neuron scooter pass, a $2000 CBD staycation voucher for Crystalbrook Vincent at Howard Smith Wharves, $2500 in dining vouchers, $1300 in coffee vouchers, $2500 in other food and beverage vouchers, and $3000 in shopping vouchers — you need to notch up those ten daily visits. Or, there are also weekly and daily draws, which you can enter by just scanning in once. On offer: a month of free parking, a month of free public transport, and various coffee and retail vouchers. BNE VIP runs from 1am on Tuesday, March 8 to 3pm on Thursday, April 7. For further details, head to the initiative's website.
A massive Gandhi exhibition is on its way to Melbourne's Immigration Museum. Curated from more than 1000 photos, over two hours of footage, an hour's worth of film clips and 20 audio recordings, the show focuses on Gandhi's role in leading India to independence, as well as his travels in England and South Africa. At the same time, it's a celebration of Indian diaspora all over the world. One of the reasons the exhibition is heading for Victoria is that the state is home to more people of Indian descent than any other place in Australia. "Mahatma Gandhi was an inspirational leader and I'm thrilled that Victorians will be able to enjoy this incredible exhibition," said Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who's in India this week checking out the show. It's been at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in Delhi since October 2016. "Victoria is home to Australia's largest Indian population and this exhibition is an important way to acknowledge their cultural heritage and build the cultural understanding of India among the wider Victorian community." You'll have until July to head along. The show is just one of many upcoming events celebrating Victoria's Indian connections, following the release of Victoria's India Strategy: Our Shared Future. The Mahatma Gandhi Exhibition will be at Melbourne's Immigration Museum from April to July, 2018.
It's not often you get a group of designers competing to have their work set alight. But then again, being chosen as the creator of that iconic Temple — or, The Man — at Nevada's legendary Burning Man festival is a very unique sort of honour. This year, bragging rights go to Arthur Mamou-Mani from London's Mamou-Mani Architects, whose spiralled structure Galaxia beat out a swag of other entries to become the next edition of the festival's most famed installation. It was selected this week by the Burning Man Arts organisation. The Temple has been a Burning Man tradition since 2000, picking a different large-scale art work each year. Towering over the festival's centre in the temporary locale of Black Rock City, it's inscribed with personal messages from festival-goers and then ritually burned to the ground on the final day. Mamou-Mani's take on the project is an enormous, swirling design, made from twenty triangular timber trusses that form paths into the structure's centre, where there'll lie a huge 3D mandela. Word is, it's inspired by the fictional planet Gaia, from Isaac Asimov's Foundation's Edge series of sci-fi novels, with the architect saying it "celebrates hope in the unknown, stars, planets, black holes, the movement uniting us in swirling galaxies of dreams."
Already one of the most scenic areas in Australia, the Whitsundays are about to give visitors something else to look at — an installation of underwater and inter-tidal art, the first to ever be placed in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Set to be unveiled at this weekend's Whitsundays Reef Festival at Airlie Beach, which runs until August 5, four sculptures will be placed near Langford Reef. They're the creation of local artist Adriaan Vanderlugt, and include a fish, a nudibranch (aka a type of mollusc) and a crab. Size-wise, they range up to 1.8 metres long, and weigh around 300 kilograms. The artworks' purpose — other than celebrating creativity — is to give the region a new attraction, unsurprisingly. "This artwork will provide a new experience for people travelling to the Whitsundays and will help the marine tourism industry recover after Cyclone Debbie," said Queensland Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones in a statement. "Around the world — from the Caribbean, to the Maldives, Spain, Bali and Australia's west coast — underwater art has been used to lure visitors." After the unveiling, the sculptures will be installed in early August, moving first to the beach, then to an intertidal spot and then underwater, all one month at a time. It's an approach aimed to prevent interference and damage, with the project acting as a trial to see how locals and tourists alike respond. Up to six more locations in the Bowen-Whitsunday region may also receive underwater art, with calls for artists now open.
Sigur Rós are the kind of band you can love even though you can’t understand the language they sing in. Maybe that's why people love them? Who knows - I don’t want to ruin their special aura by questioning it. Regardless of their fans adoration, they’ve actually been on hiatus since 2009. Before they left us broken hearted, Sigor Rós let Vincent Morisset film two of their final shows at Alexandra Palace in London for a documentary and thus, Inni was born. A celebration of the band’s talent and discography, it is equal parts hypnotic and entertaining. This doco was premiered at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival, so it has a high amount of credibility as well. Inni was purposely shot and re-shot in black and white, on 16mm film through different prisms and views in order to create a certain atmosphere that encourages viewers to enter the world of Sigur Rós. The track listing of the documentary also heavily features their earlier work, and partly acts as an introduction to the band. Keeping the atmosphere alive, the only venue in Brisbane to have screenings of Inni is GoMA. They’re also very big on exclusivity, offering only two screenings of this masterpiece and considering they are free, you better not waste any time getting there.
UPDATE, March 18, 2022: Spencer is available to stream via Prime Video. With two-plus decades as an actor to her name, Kristen Stewart hasn't spent her career as a candle in the wind. Her flame has both blazed and flickered since her first uncredited big-screen role in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas but, by Elton John's definition, she's always known where to cling to. After jumping from child star to Twilight heroine and then one of the savviest talents of her generation, she's gleaned where to let her haunting gaze stare so piercingly that it lights up celluloid again and again, too. Spencer joins Stewart's resume after weighty parts in Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper, Certain Women and Seberg, and has her do something she's long done magnificently: let a world of pain and uncertainty seep quietly from her entire being. The new regal drama should do just that, of course, given its subject — but saying that director Pablo Larraín has cast his Diana well, pitch-perfect head tilt and all, is a royal understatement. Larraín also trusts himself well, making the kind of movie he's made three times now — not that Jackie, Ema and Spencer are carbon copies — and knowing that he does it phenomenally. Both essaying real-life figures and imagining fictional characters, the Chilean filmmaker keeps being drawn to tales about formidable women. His eponymous ladies could all be called strong female leads, but Larraín's features unpack what strength really means in various lights. Like her predecessors in the director's filmography, Diana faces searing traumas, plus ordinary and extraordinary struggles. She scorches away tradition, and values letting her own bulb shine bright over being stuck in others' shadows. Viewers know how this story will end, though, not that Spencer covers it, and Larraín is just as exceptional at showing how Diana's candle started to burn out. The year is 1991, the time is Christmas and the place is the Queen's (Stella Gonet, Breeders) Sandringham Estate, where the Windsors converge for the holidays (yes, Spencer is now prime seasonal viewing). As scripted by Peaky Blinders and Locked Down's Steven Knight, the choice of period puts Diana in one of the most precarious situations of her then decade-long married life, with her nuptials to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing, The Lost Daughter) turning into an "amicable separation" within 12 months. Spencer's focus is on three days, not all that defined the People's Princess' existence before or after, but she can't stop contemplating her past and future. The Sandringham grounds include the house where Diana was born, and those happier recollections — and time spent now with her children (debutants Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry) — give her a glow. Alas, all the monarchical scrutiny simmers her joy to ashes, unsurprisingly. Larraín is one of today's great detail-oriented filmmakers, a fact that glimmers in his approach to Spencer — and did in Jackie, too. Both character studies let snapshots speak volumes about broader lives and the bigger narratives around them, including when poised as "a fable from a true tragedy" as the title card notes here. 'Poised' is one word for this fictionalised imagining of real events, which builds its dramas in an immaculate chamber, lets heated emotions bounce around as it tears into privilege and power, and allows audiences to extrapolate from the meticulous minutiae. Specific tidbits are oh-so-telling, such as the demand that Sandringham's guests hit the scales upon arrival and leaving, their weight gains deemed a sign of how much they enjoyed themselves. Bolder flourishes are just as exacting, like the way the place is lensed to make the Princess of Wales resemble a doll being toyed with in a playhouse, as well as a Jack Torrance substitute trapped in her own Overlook Hotel The Shining-style. Often boldly and claustrophobically ominous in its vibe and visuals, and deliberately so — as equerry Major Alistair Gregory, overseer of every move made at the estate, Timothy Spall (The Last Bus) perfects the eerie mood — Spencer can be called a horror film and the label fits. Terror, distress, contempt and cruelty are all part of Diana's Sandringham experience, the first two emanating from the former Lady Spencer and the latter pair frequently flung her way. This is a slice-of-life biopic as well, obviously, and also a Princess of Wales time capsule thanks to its exquisite staging and costuming. Larraín does leap into lingering memories occasionally, which lets the movie survey an array of its central figure's famed outfits with a keen eye. The appearance of things, be it her crumbling marriage or herself, is the key tenet she's being told to uphold, after all — but the decreed version decided by others, not her own, down to dictating exactly what she's permitted to wear and when. Spencer's nightmare of not being able to be one's self, especially under an unyielding spotlight, sees Diana's inner turmoil manifest in multiple ways. Her bulimia and self-harming speak of tainting appearances, and forcefully; her hallucinations of fellow ill-fated royal Anne Boleyn and her general anxiety make her fragile emotional state plain. She's introduced getting lost en route, then earning ire for being late, rebellious and just someone the Windsors must deal with — and the anguish that Stewart wears like a second skin is given ample origins. Spencer's magnetic lead portrayal is smartly underplayed, though, even as the heft of Diana's evident woes, and fight for survival amid the ghosts of history, fame and expectation, fills rooms. In fact, Stewart is all the more powerful for her fine-tuned vulnerability and introspection than something bigger would've been, as past examples have shown. The Crown has done Diana well so far, but the less remembered about 2013's Naomi Watts-starring Diana, the better. Every technical choice on Larraín's part beams brightly, too — or, if dim, it's by design. Spencer looks the grey 90s British drama picture, with cinematographer Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) baking in grey tones even when the hue isn't visible. Continuing to do stellar things with tension-dripping film scores, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood adds this in alongside The Power of the Dog to his recent standouts. Spencer does capture warm moments, including sympathetic rapports with some estate staff (with compelling turns from The Shape of Water's Sally Hawkins and The Green Knight's Sean Harris, both ever-reliable), but it also ensures that the rarity of such exchanges in Diana's life is heartbreakingly clear. The upbeat 80s single "All I Need Is a Miracle" might set a glorious closing note, but this is always an equally bold and sensitive — and enthralling — portrait of England's rose wilting not from the sunlight she craves, but from the royal inferno.
If the best solutions solve problems you didn't even know you had, then the growing novelty delivery industry surely ranks among humanity's greatest feats. There we all were, living our lives without even contemplating sending eggplants, glitter or evil fortune cookies to someone — or nicer items, such as cacti, cocktail ingredients or personalised chocolate. Now, who isn't thinking about taking the easy route this Christmas, clicking a few buttons and organising amusing gifts for their friends, family and enemies? Handwritten greeting card service Felt is taking the concept a step further to celebrate the season, however. As the usual festive tradition goes, Christmas is a time for giving and receiving presents — and, if you've been behaving badly throughout the year, to find a lump of coal in your stocking instead. Sure, it's an easy (albeit materialistic) way to motivate kids to be nice. For the US-based app, it's also an amusing way to punish 2017's naughtiest person. Head to The Naughty List, and you can cast your vote for the unlucky recipient. Whatever the final winning count is, that's how many lumps of coal they'll receive. Voting closes on December 18, and the current leaders shouldn't come as a surprise. At the time of writing, the US president is leading the charge, followed by United States Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai — one of the figures behind the recent repeal of net neutrality — and Harvey Weinstein. US residents can also send a lump of coal to their not-so-loved ones, accompanied by a handwritten Felt greeting card. It's the latter — via an app that lets you scrawl your own words onto the screen, which are then printed onto the paper — that is Felt's main business. Alas, while international orders are usually accepted, they won't be shipping coal beyond the US. Via Mashable. Image: The Naughty List.
It's the ultimate holiday dream, particularly when the weather's warm: golden shores and blue waters as far as the eye can see, comfortable surroundings for all-day lazing around, and your full run of the resort facilities. For most of us, it'll remain a fantasy; however, if you happen to have a cool $5.99 million burning a hole in your bank account, you can head to the Whitsundays and make this beachy vision become a reality. Mackay and Marina Real Estate have listed the Cape Gloucester Beach Resort for sale, and the inclusions are epic. Your fat stack of cash will get you thirteen hectares of sand and bush, plus a licensed bar, a restaurant and an array of beach-side, self-contained cabins boasting 45 beds. The resort was established in 1995, offers visitors everything from snorkelling and kayaking to bird- and whale-watching, and is located 45 minutes by car from Airlie Beach — or 20 nautical miles by boat, if that's your preferred mode of transport. The current owners are four Brisbane friends who put their funds together to purchase the property around six years ago, but are no longer able to make the most of having their own beach getaway. If you'd like to follow in their footsteps (or pretend that you might, just for a minute or so), check out the listing. Via realestate.com.au. Images: Mackay and Marina Real Estate.
Coca-Cola Amatil, one of the largest manufacturers of beverages and food products in the Asia-Pacific, is the latest company to make a big-ticket move in the fight against plastic waste, announcing it'll phase out all single-use plastic straws and stirrers from its Aussie operations. The company is now switching to fully recyclable and biodegradable paper straws sourced from BioPak and Austraw, for its distribution services to around 115,000 venues across the country, which include everything from grocery stores to petrol stations, bars and cafes. Stocks of the current single-use products will be run out over the next two months, with the more eco-friendly alternatives available from February. While it's a great move for the environment, as highlighted by the ABC, it also has potential to marginalise disabled members of the community. A number of Aussies with disabilities rely on straws to eat and drink, and reusable versions aren't always an alternative. And it seems this is just the start for Coca-Cola Amatil's sustainability shake-up, as the group moves towards its goal to have 100 percent of its Australian packaging fully recyclable by 2025, including bottles, cans, plastic wrap, cardboard and glass. With over 700,000 customers across its brands, ditching the plastic will have a big positive impact. The company says it's currently working with suppliers on a range of sustainable solutions for products like plastic spoons and frozen drink scoops. Last year, it also announced a range of environmental targets it hoped to achieve by 2020, including using at least 60 percent renewable or low-carbon energy in its operations, and significantly reducing the overall carbon footprint of its drinks. The straw phase-out follows similar recent moves by the likes of IKEA, McDonald's and Melbourne's Crown Casino, and comes as South Australia reveals it's looking at implementing its own state-wide ban on single-use plastic items.
Just when you thought it was safe to watch another film set by the sea, The Shallows takes cinema audiences back into shark-infested waters. More than four decades after Jaws scared viewers away from the shoreline, this Gold Coast-shot American thriller endeavours to do the same. But whereas Steven Spielberg really fleshed out the idea of a menacing creature stalking a small beach town, this new effort, from Non-Stop, Unknown and Run All Night director Jaume Collet-Serra, keeps things much more simple. Blake Lively's holidaying Nancy is first left to fend for herself after a friend opts to skip their planned trip to a secluded spot on the Mexican coast. Giving the jaunt a miss isn't an option for Nancy — not just because the Texan medical student is a keen surfer intent on catching some waves, but because the specific locale has links to her recently deceased mother. When she arrives, two unnamed guys are happily hanging ten. Alas, when they leave, she's joined by a more fearsome, blood-thirsty form of company. If it all sounds like a rather flimsy excuse for another lone survivor film in the same vein as All is Lost and Life of Pi, that's because it is. Collet-Serra simply takes what's fast becoming a familiar genre and adds a shark — and some GoPro-shot footage — to the mix. In a move inspired by Cast Away, Nancy is at one point gifted a seagull named Steven to talk to. But for the bulk of the movie she's just trembling on a rock, narrating events to herself and yelling at the lurking great white beast. Of course, as something as silly as the Sharknado series continues to prove, there are always thrills to be found in the notion of humanity versus nature — and ample cheesiness, too. The Shallows succeeds in ramping up the tension surrounding every urgently paced, frenetically edited attack, particularly given how sparse the storyline is. It doesn't fare as well in other departments though — from the obvious dialogue and thin existential musings cooked up by screenwriter Anthony Jaswinski, to the tendency of the camera to linger leeringly over Lively's bikini-clad body. Thankfully, Lively still ranks among the film's best elements in what is basically a one-woman effort. Whether she's screaming for her life or performing gruesome surgery on herself, there's a primal element to her performance that invests her protagonist with the right balance of vulnerability and determination. Indeed, while Collet-Serra has become best known for showcasing Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson, he also knows how to turn Lively into a formidable but relatable force. If you've seen any of his previous films, you should know what to expect here: a taut, trashy action flick that doesn't stray far from its concept. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgdxIlSuB70
We're over halfway through Sydney's winter festival of Light, Live (music) and Ideas. Fans of Vivid have been capturing the best of the spectacle, and we're celebrating the best of this year's pics taken from folks like us — appreciators of light art sculptures, awesome projections, and perfect timing. If you haven't made your way down to Circular Quay and its surrounds, hurry. Vivid Light 2012 wraps up next Monday, June 11. Customs House, taken by Alex Wain (via Flickr). What lies beneath... Photo taken by Patrick Shirey (shared via Instagram). Don't feed the piranhas - photo taken by @keithmcinnes (via Instagram). A forest of bubble trees. Taken by iwoolf (via Flikr). A very vivid merry-go-round. Taken by Welsay (via Flickr). Museum of Contemporary Art, taken by @koltonlol (via Instagram). Sunflowers in the Rocks, taken by Real_ARMOTUR (via Flickr). Lighting of the Sails by URBANSCREEN. Taken by Artistiquephotography10 (via Flickr). Main photo courtesy of Destination NSW. Follow the latest fan photos on Vivid Sydney's Facebook page.
Just as Hobart's winter arts fest Dark Mofo kicks off its final weekend of this year's iteration, MONA has announced that it will move the festival's summertime counterpart, Mona Foma, to Launceston. MONA shared its plans to move the festival back in July last year, when it announced it will build a huge new five-star hotel alongside the Berriedale gallery. The gallery then called on the Tasmanian Government to help fund the move — and that funding has just come through. It's pledged a hefty $1.75 million for each of the next three years to help MONA hold the festival in Launceston, rather than its usual home of Hobart. The move's been prompted by the success of Mona Foma 2018, which saw part of the program hosted in the Launceston, including a free block party at QVMAG enjoyed by a huge 5000 people. It seems that, having changed the cultural landscape in Hobart, MONA founder David Walsh and Mona Foma curator Brian Ritchie have their sights set on doing the same in the state's second biggest city. This will no doubt bring in lots of tourism dollars for the government and local businesses, too. "We weren't interested in putting together a watered-down Mona Foma," explained MONA co-CEO Mark Wilsdon. "This funding means we'll be able to do it, and do it properly. It will help us create a world-famous cultural event, industry and legacy in northern Tasmania, as Mona Foma did for Hobart when we launched in 2009." From its new home, the January festival will continue its celebration of creativity in all forms, through an eclectic program of art and music that's not afraid to get a little weird. The Mona Foma 2019 dates are set to be announced this August, with the lineup dropping shortly after. We'll keep you posted on that front.
Every January, ABC radio station Triple J counts down the hottest 100 tunes of the past year, and gives Australians a new go-to playlist for the next few months. Now, fellow station ABC Classic has gifted fans of movie, television and video game music their own version — the Classic 100: Music for the Screen, which just named the best scores and soundtracks that've echoed from screens big and small over the decades. The Classic 100 isn't new. It's been around for two decades, in fact, and threw Beethoven some love back in 2021. For 2022, however, the countdown has solely honed in on music from films and TV, plus the gaming realm. To the surprise of no one, the winner game from a galaxy far, far away. Yes, John Williams' additions to all things Star Wars topped the list, because the force was clearly with this poll — which, like the Triple J Hottest 100, was voted for by listeners. Coming in second was Howard Shore's efforts for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, while iconic Italian composer Ennio Morricone's score for 1986 film The Mission took out third spot. Muggles and wizards alike must've cast their votes for the Harry Potter series in fourth, recognising the work of John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat. And John Williams took fifth spot, too, for Schindler's List. Other highlights include the late Vangelis' Chariots of Fire score, John Williams (again) for Jurassic Park, and Ramin Djawadi's work on Game of Thrones — all in the top ten. And yes, Williams popped up a lot. He was also recognised for the Indiana Jones series (11th), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (42nd), Superman (55th) and Jaws (57th). Among the other standouts, Doctor Who came in 12th, the music for The Legend of Zelda series notched 23rd spot, Blade Runner sat at 36th, The Godfather trilogy at 41st and Back to the Future at 47th. Or, there's the wonderful and strange sounds of Twin Peaks at 50th, the Super Mario series at 52nd, The Princess Bride at 59th, the Final Fantasy games at 64th, The Simpsons at 70th and the James Bond theme at 72nd. Also on the list: Pokémon at 75th, Bluey at 83rd, Bernard Herrmann's stellar Psycho tunes at 84th and Daft Punk's exceptional Tron: Legacy score in 89th place. Studio Ghibli was well-represented, with Howl's Moving Castle at 21st, Spirited Away at 32nd and My Neighbour Totoro at 66th. Hans Zimmer was too, with nine showings — for the Pirates of the Caribbean (6th), Gladiator (19th), Interstellar (27th), both versions of The Lion King (sharing 28th place), Inception (49th), The Crown (65th), 2021's Dune (74th), Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy (75th) and Dunkirk (95th). Yes, you've now got 100 iconic soundtracks to listen to. And if you missed the countdown live, you can still work your way through it via the ABC Classic website. For the full ABC Classic 100 Countdown, head to the ABC Classic website.
Congratulations. Not only have you made it through an entire year, and an entire month of Christmas carols, but you've also reached a neat yearly milestone. Today is the longest day of the year — and not just because you're staring out the window before your office goes on holidays tomorrow. Today — that is Wednesday, December 21 — is the 2017 summer solstice. What does that mean? Well, it means that today has the most daylight hours of any other day this year. That's because the earth's axis at this point in time puts the sun is at the highest point in the southern hemisphere's sky, creating a longer period of sunlight. This happens once a year in each hemisphere. How long the day is exactly will depend on where you live — the further south you are (i.e. closer to the South Pole), the longer the day. According to ABC News, Sydney will get 14 hours, 24 minutes and 43 seconds of sunlight today, while up north Brisbane will get about half an hour less. Hobart gets the longest one of all, with the day stretching for 15 hours and 21 minutes. Interestingly, the summer solstice doesn't coincide with the earliest sunrise or latest sunset, which take place on separate summer days. It might not have the hype of the last month's supermoon, but it's still a great excuse to get do something outdoorsy after work tonight. Via ABC News.
Goodbye Henry Cavill, hello Liam Hemsworth: when The Witcher returns for season four, that's the first big talking point. The change is old news, given that it was announced back in 2022, but seeing it in action isn't. And while Netflix hasn't yet revealed when it is bringing its hit fantasy series back, it has just dropped the first teaser for the new episodes — including the first look at Hemsworth (Land of Bad) as Geralt of Rivia. The icy long locks and the firm gaze are all accounted for in the brief debut glimpse at The Witcher season four, in what'll be the first season without Argylle's Cavill. Hemsworth takes over the part for not just season four but also season five, after the show was renewed for a fifth and final season in April 2024 before its fourth even airs. They're both currently being filmed back to back. So, get ready to toss a coin to your new witcher, and then one more time — but that'll be it. "As a Witcher fan I'm over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia," Hemsworth said when the casting change was initially announced. "Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I'm honoured that he's handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf's blades for the next chapter of his adventure. Henry, I've been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I'm truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world," he continued. [caption id="attachment_748890" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Henry Cavill in The Witcher[/caption] If you haven't watched the first three seasons yet but the name sounds familiar from elsewhere, that's because The Witcher is based on the short stories and novels of writer Andrzej Sapkowski — and, as well as being turned into comics, it was adapted the video game series of the same name. A Polish film and TV show also reached screens in the early 2000s, although they were poorly received. Sapkowski's last three Witcher books, aka Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow and Lady of the Lake, will form the basis of the Netflix series' final two seasons. In the Netflix effort, Cavill and now Hemsworth play the witcher of the title. Geralt of Rivia prefers to work — aka slay beasts — alone in a realm called The Continent. But life has other plans for the lone wolf, forcing him to cross paths with powerful sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra, The Cypher) and young princess Ciri (Freya Allan, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes). Alongside Hemsworth, season four will also welcome Laurence Fishburne (John Wick: Chapter 4), Sharlto Copley (Boy Kills World), James Purefoy (The Veil) and Danny Woodburn (Bookie) to the cast. Check out the first teaser for The Witcher season four below: The Witcher's fourth season doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. The show's first three seasons are currently available to stream via Netflix.
Your chance of being stuck behind the bar at a ritzy do may be slim, but it doesn’t hurt to know a few cocktail basics just in case. Eagle Street Pier’s Riverbar & Kitchen have taken the initiative to save you a lot of possible shame with their exciting cocktail masterclass led by barman Jeremy Shipley. Shipley may not know how many packs of Skittles make the perfect Skittle Bomb, but he’s got the classy end of the cocktail trade down pat, and the tricks to prove it. He’s been mixing cocktails longer than you’ve been drinking them and was awarded Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine’s Best of the Best Bars in 2006. He also co-authored top-selling cocktail book Shaken. The masterclass kicks off at 6pm on August 28 and involves a hands on approach to cocktail making, with all aprons, glasses and gadgets provided. You’ll begin by making the Hotel Georgia, a classic twist based on the ‘50s era and model of how old-school gin drinks have become all the rage again. Dinner party favourite the Mojito will have you sky-rocketing to top of the class (extra grades for more rum) and the Plum Shino, a wonderful variation on the Whiskey Sour, will conclude the evening with a sweet bang. Tickets are $45, which works out to be three Eagle Street Pier-priced cocktails anyway, and a life-long lesson in mixology on the side makes this real value for money. After all, give a man a drink, he’ll be drunk for the day, but teach a man to mix…
If you avoid glass observation decks atop high structures like the plague, then you might want to look away. Those cash-grabbing, genius high rise developers have taken our apparent insatiable desire to stand on a floor of reinforced glass at great heights to the next level and turned the standing attraction into a sliding one. Yep, a see-through glass slide has just opened on top of Los Angeles' highest skyscraper. Terrifying. The slide — aptly named Skyslide — is part of the iconic U.S. Bank Tower's new Skyspace development, which opened on Saturday, June 25. Skyspace has turned the tower's 70th floor into an impressive open-air observation deck (the highest of its kind in California), and the slide is just an extra addition for people who feel that merely looking at a view of Downtown LA from 1000 feet is not enough. That said, the slide is relatively short at about 14 metres — it only travels the length of one floor, from the 70th to the 69th. So it's a bit of a short-lived ride. But if you're scared of heights, you can at least take comfort in the fact that it'll be over before you know it. Well, we assume there's nothing quite like moving at high speed in a glass tube on the side of a building to truly appreciate the view. Even if it is only for 3.5 seconds.
With Soohun Jung’s new invention, cyclists can communicate with drivers in ways that were never possible before. The Korean designer has come up with an ‘i Backpack’, which functions as a rear view mirror, as well as providing break signals, turn signals and a message board. A tablet is placed in the backpack, and connected with a smartphone, which rests on the handlebars. The two are integrated through a Bluetooth-enabling app. The smartphone works as a rearview mirror, and at the same time, sends messages to the tablet, which displays them for the benefit of drivers and pedestrians. So, a bright yellow arrow on a blue screen communicates the intention to turn, while block letters reading ‘SLOW DOWN’ indicate the cyclist is hitting the brakes. The app responds to the bicycle’s movements through sensors. Riders can also opt to send friendly messages, such as ‘Have a nice day’, ‘Ride with me’, ‘Thank you’ and ‘Sorry’. It’ll be interesting to explore the i Backpack’s potential to improve motorist-cyclist relations, particularly in cities that aren't especially well-designed for the incorporation of two-wheelers. Soohun Jung is currently studying product design at the Samsung Art and Design Institute. He has received a number of awards, including two Red Dot Design Winners in 2012 and a Bronze at the D2B Design Fair 2012. The i Backpack was shortlisted in IF 2013. [via PSFK]
With SPECTRE marking the now twenty-fourth film in the iconic James Bond franchise, it’s remarkable to think that not a single scene has ever been filmed in Australia. Now’s your chance, however, to show Bond’s producers what they’re missing out on by spending an amazing day living out the exhilarating, adventurous and exclusive lifestyle of its hero right here in your own home town. Bond’s long-term partner Heineken has teamed up with the boutique experience cultivators over at MrAristotle for a brand new project, The Catch. Throughout November and December, Heineken will be hosting exclusive SPECTRE 007 events that are so mysterious participants won’t know what’s in store until they’re suddenly whisked away and thrown right into the middle of the action right as it happens — like this one, where you and three friends will go into the running for a day that will earn you eternal bragging rights, give you a taste of the ultra-high life and make after-work drinks never quite feel the same again. Firstly, you’ll be picked up by your own private luxury helicopter and taken for an aerial tour of some of the city’s most famous landmarks. Next, your pilot will shuttle you and your team north along the coastline and over some of our most magnificent beaches until you arrive in a secret destination deep within the gorgeous countryside. Once down, a car will be waiting to ferry you to one of the region’s oldest pubs where you’ll enjoy a gourmet light lunch and a sampling of the local beers (and of course, ol' expat Heineken) while taking in the stunning surroundings. Then, your personal helicopter will be right there to take you and your friends back to town via the Olympic Village and over the glistening Harbour. To be in the running, sign up via the Heineken's The Catch website and have your mates locked, loaded and ready to move at a moment’s notice, because as any spy will tell you — you’ll never know when they’re coming for you, so you just have to be ready.
In the kind of punishment Cersei Lannister might dream up, the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones isn't due until mid-2018 at the earliest — and sometime in 2019 at the latest. However, one London cinema is offering fans an immersive way to pass at least some of that period. Taking the movie marathon idea to the extreme, they're showing the entire series' seven-season run to date in one massive sitting. Fans of Westerosi dramas, resilient Stark siblings, formidable dragons and more can expect to get comfy in The Prince Charles Cinema for four days, as they screen all 67 episodes between November 27 and 30. It all kicks off at 7pm on Monday and runs until just after 6pm on Thursday. And while that might seem like quite the commitment — in hours, in the willingness to sit in cinema seats for that long, and in sacrificing your normal life for your favourite show — if there's one thing that GoT fans love more than shipping Jon Snow and Daenerys, it's spending as much time in the Seven Kingdoms as possible. The event is designed to promote the DVD release of the seventh season, which just finished airing in August. For anyone who happens to have a spare week, it's free to attend. There'll also be a pop-up pizza bar onsite for sustenance. If you're in London, the Game of Thrones Marathon Screening runs from November 27 to 30. Visit the event Facebook page for further details, or to register for tickets.
Travelling around the world might be easier than ever, but struggling to jump online can still turn a dream holiday into a technological nightmare. Unless you're visiting, Italy, that is. The country's Ministries for Economic Development and Culture have done travellers and its population a solid, and launched nationwide free wifi. Called Wifi Italia, now available via iTunes and Google Play, and released in both English and Italian, the app allows both tourists and residents to connect to a network of hotspots across the country, with the rollout beginning in favoured visitor haunts such as Rome, Bari, Milan, Trento, Tuscany and Emilia Romagna. Over the coming months, more cities and towns will be added — and users only need sign in once, with the system remembering their authentication details. So far, The Local reports that the app has been getting mixed reviews — as anyone who has tried to connect to free wifi knows, not all connections are made equal. Still, it's a step in the right direction given how essential internet access has become to our daily lives, and one less thing for visitors to Italy to worry about. Via The Local / Travel + Leisure. Image: Dennis Jarvis.
Aussie summers are practically made for adventures. We soak up rays at the beach, chase waterfalls in national parks and road trip with mates in search of new experiences. We get outdoors to make the most of the warm weather and eschew any work woes from the year with a big ol' dose of nature. But if you've ever been camping, hiking or even picnicking, you'll know that your fun in the sun can depend on the gear you've got. No one wants to roast themselves in the harsh sun, or forego a cold one due to a forgotten bottle opener. To help get you ready for all the summer adventures you've got planned, we've teamed up with Kathmandu in celebration of its new collaboration with Aussie artist Mulga (AKA Joel Moore) to give away one epic prize pack. Yep, you could be living your best outdoorsy life this summer — without having to fork out for the gear. The much-loved Sydney-based illustrator is known for his intricate line work and colourful, quirky characters — think koalas holding surfboards, sunglasses-clad chickens and cockatoos eating ice cream — that radiate Aussie summer vibes. So, it's only fitting that the Kathmandu x Mulga prize combines bright, quirky prints and patterns with functional designs. Should you win this prize, you'll score seven items to add to your summer essentials. The prize consists of two t-shirts for when you're not in your togs; a water bottle to keep you hydrated; a sand-proof towel; a sun shelter and a beach umbrella so you can stay cool and sun safe; and a handy chair for all the hanging out you'll be doing. It's got everything you need to help you get out there this summer. Keen to get a jump on summer with this epic prize? Enter your details below to go in the running. [competition]829441[/competition]
In previous years yelling and gesticulating at your television meant that you probably just had a really short attention span rather than a really awesome television. That's about to change with the revolutionary Smart TV from Samsung. Don't mention the term 'idiot box' around these sleek machines, which let you command your entertainment from the comfort of your couch with Smart Interaction including Voice and Motion control. Not only does this save you from having to dig around for the right remote control before even switching the thing on, but it also enriches your viewing experience through Smart Content. Apps cater to every taste, from movies-on-demand and sports channels to Skype, social networking and fitness workouts, putting all your favourite entertainment content at your fingertips — figuratively, of course, since you can do it all without actually touching anything. If you own an iPad or other other compatible device, the Smart TV can also stream content between that and your television by taking advantage of your home broadband network. Experience your iPhone snaps and home movies on a full HD 1080p screen without the hassle of connecting cables, and see the magic in reverse when you're outside of the home. Speaking of HD, it's also a pretty cool way to experience social media — as is logging in smoothly (and safely, if you've ever been a victim of Frape) using the facial recognition feature. Check out the Smart TV's advert below. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Dt3SWp9IjkA
Next time Queenslanders are grabbing their towels, sunnies and surfboards to head to the beach, they might want to bring a taste for cocktails as well. The folks at the Gold Coast City Council are contemplating opening up their sunshine-strewn stretches of shoreline to commercial enterprises — meaning bars and eateries. Yes, European-style beachside relaxing is on the agenda at South-East Queensland's coastal hotspot. Sticking your feet in the sand, staring out at the lapping waves and sipping on whatever icy, alcoholic concoction takes your fancy — as delivered to your reclining deckchair, we hope — just might soon become a reality if this Council proposal goes through. There's a few ideas being bandied about for the commercial offerings allowed to take up beachside residencies. Offering umbrellas for hire and allowing food to be delivered to sunbakers are among the ideas being floated, as well as using the oceanfront expanse for a wide range of organised events. Whether the likes of live entertainment, DJs and dance parties, and inevitably celebrity-filled shindigs will follow is yet to be seen. This being the so-called Glitter Strip, however, they're certainly a possibility. The Council is expected to consider the plan in October, with tourism at the top of their minds. When it comes to enticing more visitors, the move might give Brisbanites the motivation to head down the highway for a Gold Coast getaway a bit more often, as well as enticing more interstate travellers up north to Queensland's sunny climate. Via The Courier-Mail.
How does it feel to watch Timothée Chalamet play Bob Dylan belting out 'Like a Rolling Stone'? The second trailer for A Complete Unknown — a title that also stems from the same song featured in the new sneak peek — is here to help you find out. Set to hit cinemas Down Under in January 2025, the new biopic steps through the early days of the music icon's career, focusing on how Dylan became a sensation. A Complete Unknown's subject has been no stranger to the screen for decades. Martin Scorsese has made not one but two documentaries about him. I'm Not There had six actors, including Cate Blanchett (The New Boy), play him. The Coen brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis couldn't take a fictional tour of the 60s folk scene without getting its protagonist watching him onstage. And docos about him date back to 1967's Don't Look Back and Festival. Only A Complete Unknown has Chalamet (Dune: Part Two) picking up a guitar, however, now that Dylan is getting the music biopic treatment again. With the curls and the gaze — and the early 60s-era wardrobe, too — the film's star looks the part in both the initial trailer (which dropped 59 years to the day that the 1965 Newport Folk Festival took place, where Dylan performed acoustic songs one day and went electric the next) and the just-released latest sneak peek. Chalamet also sings the part as the Wonka and Bones and All star transforms into the music icon at the start of his career, another reason for the movie's title. In a picture directed by Walk the Line helmer James Mangold — swapping Johnny Cash for another legend, clearly — A Complete Unknown charts Dylan's rise to stardom. The folk singer's early gigs, filling concert halls, going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival: they're all set to be covered, including his famous performance at the latter. "They just want me to be singing 'Blowin' in the Wind' for the rest of my goddamn life," notes Chalamet in the new look at the flick, as it digs into the impact of his fame and the expectations that it brings. As well as Chalamet as Dylan, Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) has enlisted Edward Norton (Asteroid City) as Pete Seegar, Monica Barbaro (Fubar) as Joan Baez and Scoot McNairy (Speak No Evil) as Woody Guthrie — and, because he isn't done with Cash yet, Boyd Holbrook (The Bikeriders) to step into Johnny's shoes. Elle Fanning (The Great), Dan Fogler (Eric) and Norbert Leo Butz (The Exorcist: Believer) also feature. Check out the full trailer for A Complete Unknown below: A Complete Unknown releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
Not content with doing big business in cinemas over the past decade, Marvel is bringing its superhero tales to the small screen, as part of Disney's already-announced plans to broaden out the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That was always going to be the case once the Mouse House moved into the streaming realm. In fact, producing a slew of high-profile titles for Disney+ was on its agenda right from the beginning. But, while Star Wars fans have already been able to enjoy The Mandalorian — which aired one season in 2019, and launched its second season this year — Marvel aficionados have had to hold out a little longer to get their episodic caped crusader fix. With 2021 almost upon us, that wait is almost over. Come Friday, January 15, the six-episode series WandaVision will become Disney+'s first MCU show — focusing on Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), as the title suggests. But it'll have company within months, with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier due to hit on Friday, March 19 and Loki dropping sometime in May. And, if you've been feeling the lack of Marvel action this year due to worldwide cinema shutdowns, the latter two shows now have their first trailers. Clearly, no one at Marvel and Disney+ has been taxing themselves while naming these series. So, you instantly know who they're about. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprise the eponymous characters and head off on a global adventure. Their exploits will span six episodes, too, and will co-star Daniel Brühl as Baron Zemo, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter,and Wyatt Russell as John Walker. In Loki, Tom Hiddleston is obviously back as the God of Mischief — and enjoying stepping into the trickster's shoes again, if the trailer is anything to go by. Viewers will watch his antics post-Avengers: Endgame, with Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku and Richard E. Grant rounding out the cast. Yes, there are more shows in the works, too, with Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye due to hit sometime later in 2021, and She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Secret Invasion (about Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury), Iron Heart, Armour Wars, I Am Groot and a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special all slated as well. But, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki are the only ones to drop their first sneak peek as part of Disney's big 2020 Investor Day on Friday, December 11 Australian/New Zealand time — while a new trailer for WandaVision also hit. Check out the first trailers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki, and the new WandaVision trailer, all below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkBfGvb7NzM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4JuopziR3Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBhlqe2OTt4 WandaVision will hit Disney+ on Friday, January 15, 2021. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will hit the service on Friday, March 19, while Loki is due on a yet-to-be-announced date in May.
Nine months after the original controversy, the Chaser team will watch the ABC apologise to conservative commentator Chris Kenny, after the political satirists suggested he had sex with a dog. We realise that's a ridiculous sentence for a number of reasons, nonetheless today it's where we find ourselves. As part of the settlement proceedings for Kenny's defamation suit, an apology will be aired on ABC1 at 9pm tonight. However, the Chaser team will not apologise to Kenny whatsoever, instead sticking to their guns. This is understandably a bitter pill to swallow for the much-loved comedians who have railed against both the lawsuit and the resulting decision. After refusing to apologise and instead launching an internal review into the skit, the members of the Chaser were actually cleared of fault according to ABC editorial policies. Of course, this did little to resolve the issue. In an act of appeasement, ABC managing director Mark Scott issued a personal apology earlier this year. But the Chaser team were quick to offer their opinion. Re ABC statement today: http://t.co/uKfKMggo76 pic.twitter.com/L5mAFEtlbP — Jules Morrow (@julesmorrow) April 14, 2014 As part of the settlement proceedings for Kenny's defamation suit, the ABC's apology tonight is to be free of outside commentary and the Chaser team are explicitly prohibited from making public statements that detract from its sentiment, or republishing the sketch. The settlement also comes with substantial compensation for Kenny. The ABC are paying all of his resultant legal costs as well as an undisclosed amount in damages. As the Chaser crew continue to claim the original skit meets the editorial standards for satire, I wouldn't expect to see any remorse from the controversial comedians. Via The Daily Telegraph. UPDATE: In our first version of this article, we incorrectly stated the Chaser would be forced to apologise to Chris Kenny. It is the ABC, in fact, who will be apologising to Kenny and paying the settlement — The Chaser team have no intention of doing any such thing. We sincerely make apologies of our own to The Chaser, we should have know you wouldn't cave.
Fret no more about a frigid office or a sweltering apartment building. CrowdComfort, a new Boston-based startup, has come up with a web-based application that lets users input how they feel about the temperature of the area they are located, working out the hopefully happy medium. CrowdComfort bills itself as the first crowd-sourced thermostat. The app is installed on users' smartphones, where they can choose from five options (very hot, hot, just right, cold, freezing) about the temperature level in the particular space they are occupying. The responses are culled together and analysed, and a temperature recommended for each floor. The app's purpose is not solely to make building occupants more comfortable, though. The developers' larger goal is to reduce energy wastefulness through user feedback. Building maintenance can reduce costs and wastefulness while also providing more comfort to those in the building. CrowdComfort follows in the trend of recent cleanweb applications. Cleanweb refers to web applications and technology startups with the goal of improving productivity and efficiency while reducing energy consumption and waste. "Think of it as a gateway drug used to hook people on energy consumption awareness," said project leader Galen Nelson in a pitch meeting at VERGE Boston. https://youtube.com/watch?v=bk7QafAg7HM Story via Fast Company. Image via garrettc via photopin cc.
Spring isn't the only time of year to see flowers in Brisbane, especially if you make a date with the Museum of Brisbane over the next nine months. Until August 2024, the King George Square venue is letting its walls and halls blossom, showcasing works that feature, celebrate and take their cues from florals. At Rearranged: Art of the Flower, expect blooming great pieces from more than 20 artists. Running from Saturday, November 25, 2023–Sunday, August 11, 2024 and free to enter, this exhibition is filled with variety in three different ways: in the types of stems and bouquets that the talents with works on display have included in their art, the kinds of items that are in the spotlight and the rainbow of colours shining from all of the above. So, expect walls filled with pink roses, intricate still-life portraits of potted plants, stained-glass pieces, lavish fabrics and more. One commonality: exploring Brisbane's landscape and greenery across the collection. Attendees can see paintings, textiles, sculptures, ceramics and new media works that sport plenty of petals. One big highlight: six paper arabesques measuring four metres by two metres, with Karen Stone making the flowers out of recycled garments. Another must-see involves stepping inside a room that's been decked out like a Queenslander, then filled with works by Margaret Olley, Vida Lahey, William Bustard, Michael Zavros, Bronwyn Searle, Judith Sinnamon and others. Surveying local names, spanning both up-and-coming and established artists alike, Rearranged: Art of the Flower visitors will spy pieces from Tony Johnson, Frank Waldo Potts, William Grant, Tony Johnson and Dorothy Thornhill as well, and also by Keith Burt, John Honeywill. Among the ceramics, Jaishree Srinivasan, Clairy Laurence and Sarah Rayner. The full artist list spans Boneta-Marie Mabo, Man&Wah, Norton Fredericks, Pamela See (Xue Mei-Ling) and Lyndall Phelps, plus Christopher Bassi, Ashlee Becks, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Julian Podmore, Milomirka Radovic, Edith Rewa, Monica Rohan and Anna Varendorff. As it brings Brisbane's backyards inside, the part that flowers play in Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities, linking to Country, is among the topics pondered by Rearranged: Art of the Flower. Highlighting First Nations, multicultural and queer talents is another focus. The exhibition expands the venue's collection, too, adding 15 new acquisitions by 12 local artists to the City of Brisbane-run museum. "We are excited to bring together an incredible array of the city's finest creatives whose work spans decades and mediums," said Museum of Brisbane CEO and Director Zoe Graham. "Rearranged: Art of the Flower promises to not only be visually stunning but intensely evocative, connecting us deeply to memory and place." Rearranged: Art of the Flower runs from Saturday, November 25, 2023–Sunday, August 11, 2024 at the Museum of Brisbane, Level 3, City Hall, King George Square, Brisbane — head to the venue's website for more details. Images: Katie Bennett.
Heading on holiday and finding somewhere to stay isn't just about camping, glamping or checking into a fancy hotel. Sometimes it's about completely escaping into your passions. Love Marvel? You'll soon be able to stay in a superhero-themed establishment. Obsessed with Star Wars? Yep, you'll be able to sleep like you're in a galaxy far, far away as well. Have a soft spot for Toy Story? You guessed it — you can also slumber in spaces inspired by Andy's bedroom. Continuing Disney's love of immersing fans in their favourite movies, you'll soon be able to indulge your affection for Toy Story in Japan. In 2021, Tokyo Disney Resort is set to open a Toy Story-themed hotel. When you're done exploring the broader park, around 600 rooms will await, all nodding to Pixar's first and most beloved franchise. And it won't just be the hotel's interior that brings Toy Story out of the screen and into your waking — and sleeping — life. The building's exterior and its gardens will also look like they're made of toys. Inside, expect brightly coloured furniture and plenty of appearances by Woody, Buzz Lightyear and company. There'll also be themed dining options, as well as that theme park staple: a gift shop. If this is the news you need to lock in that 2021 Tokyo trip — to Japan and beyond! — that's understandable. If you can't wait, this isn't the first Toy Story hotel at a Disney theme park. In 2016, Shanghai Disney Resort took those honours — and, yes, everything from the sheets to the wallpaper to the complimentary slippers references the animated films. The Shanghai park also boasts a dedicated Toy Story Land as well. Via Disney Parks Blog.
