Not sure if you're aware of this, but we're actually in the middle of the Olympic Games. True story. Rio 2016 has been stirring affair so far, full of incredible wins, heartbreaking losses and one incredibly well-lubricated Tongan. https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/761740659577544704 But in addition to the incredible sporting prowess on display, we're also seen the competitors rocking a whole bunch of wearable tech — on the field, during training and while hanging out around the Olympic village. Below, we've put together a list of our five favourite innovations, to help us all get in shape ahead of Tokyo 2020. SOLOS SMART EYEWEAR Google Glass may have proved a bit of a bust, but the US national cycling team made us of similar technology in the lead-up to this year's games. This lightweight pair of sunnies features a tiny display screen that allows cyclists to keep track of their speed, heart rate and the distance left in the race. They're not actually permitted in races as of yet, but the good news is that the public can preorder a pair of their own. Who knows, this could actually be the things that finally motivates you to leave the car in the garage and try cycling to work instead. INFRARED LIGHT THERAPY Utilised by U.S. athletes to help treat joint and muscle concerns, the LumiWave Infrared Light Therapy Device flat out sounds like something out of science fiction. Made up of eight small pods, each of which contains 200 infrared LEDs, the device can be placed or strapped on a part of the body in order to provide short-term pain relief. Insanity. The device has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and can be preordered online this very second. HALO SPORTS HEADPHONES Listening to music while working out is pretty common, but in future you might want to swap your iPhone buds for a pair of these. Created by Halo Neuroscience, these headphones send pulses of energy into the wearer's brain in order to stimulate motor neurons. The benefit? According to the designers, accelerated strength and increased skill acquisition. Yes, these headphones actually (supposedly) make you stronger, and Olympians from the US to Sierra Leone have been giving them a go. The headphones are already commercially available, although according to the Halo website they're currently out of stock. Netherlands beach volleyball women playing in full skins-type suits.Way more sun safe&comfy too I'd think. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/Nj3M7pYDYa — Bri (@briiilliant) August 10, 2016 UNDER ARMOUR SPACE AGE UNIFORMS Dudebros on the internet chucked a big old tizzy during the women's beach volleyball after the Dutch pair team walked out not in bikinis but in neck-to-ankle bodysuits. Turns out there was a very good reason behind this decision – aside from not wanting to be objectified by random dickheads, of course. The Dutch pair were two of more than 200 athletes at the games this year – in sports from rugby to gymnastics – to be outfitted by Under Armour, in uniforms that use NASA spacesuit technology that help keep body temperature in check. VISA PAYMENT RING While not everyone gets to go home with a medal, at least 300 athletes were sporting sweet new rings. As part of their continued push into wearable payment technology, VISA designed prototype payment rings, which could be used to make purchases on any NFC-enabled payment terminal with the flick of the wrist (or fist bump). VISA also produced payment wristbands and watches, but only the rings let you run around like you're a member of the Planeteers, which is obviously half the fun.
You might've missed out on a Splendour in the Grass ticket in yesterday's ticketing tornado, but that doesn't mean the show's over. This morning, ten Splendour artists announced sideshows in cities around Australia. For a start, Sigur Ros will be touring the Australian debut of their show, An Evening with Sigur Ros. There's no support act, which means you're in for two sets, covering material old and new. Catch the Icelandic trio at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion on Tuesday, July 25 and Melbourne's Margaret Court Arena on Thursday, July 27. Meanwhile, Two Door Cinema Club will be hitting Australian capitals with their third studio album, Gameshow, recorded in Kopanga Canyon, California with producer Jacknife Lee. Get a dose of their electro-indie-pop at Metro City, Perth, on Wednesday, July 19; Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, on Friday, July 21; and Festival Hall, Melbourne, on Tuesday, July 25. Supporting them will be triple j favourites Last Dinosaurs and The Creases. To catch HAIM outside of Splendour, you'll have to get yourself to Sydney's Enmore Theatre on Thursday, July 20 — it's the only show they're doing. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana scored a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist for their 2013 release, Days Are Gone, and have been working on their hotly anticipated follow-up. 23-year-old English singer-songwriter George Ezra is returning to Australia after selling out his 2015 tour here. His debut album, Wanted on Voyage, sold three million copies and, yes, you can expect to hear hits 'Budapest' and 'Blame It On Me'. Ezra will be at Sydney's Enmore Theatre on Tuesday, July 18 and Melbourne's Forum Theatre on Wednesday, July 19. Another songwriter to catch is Sweden's Tove Lo. She's been writing hits — for both herself and others — for more than ten years and inspired one million album sales in the process. Her latest album Lady Wood is best known for single 'Cool Girl'. She's also lent her pen and ear to a bunch of chart toppers, including Flume's 'Say It', Coldplay's 'Fun' and Broods' 'Freak of Nature'. See Tove Lo in Sydney at the Metro Theatre on Wednesday, July 26 and in Melbourne at the Prince Bandroom on Friday, July 28. English blues man Rag 'n' Bone (Rory Graham), who mixes the blues tradition with hip hop and beats, will be making his Aussie debut at Splendour, before setting off for Sydney's Metro Theatre on Friday, July 21 and Melbourne's 170 Russell on Monday, July 24. Meanwhile, Maggie Rogers, discovered by Pharrell Williams at an NYU masterclass last year, will be playing her headline shows at the Corner Hotel, Melbourne, on Sunday, July 23 and the Factory Theatre, Sydney on Tuesday, July 25. Her debut EP, Light is Fading, is out now and its single 'Alaska' has racked up 31 million views on YouTube. LA-based songwriter Bishop Briggs, known for her gritty vocals and unique songwriting, will be at Sydney's Oxford Art Factory on Thursday, July 20 and Melbourne's Howler on Friday, July 21, while rock 'n' roll duo The Lemon Twigs will be landing in Australia after appearances at Coachella and Glastonbury, to play the Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, on Saturday, July 22 and The Curtin, Melbourne, on Tuesday, July 21. Finally, catch LANY from LA, whose track 'ILYSB' won hearts and minds online, at Max Watts, Melbourne on Friday, July 21 and Metro Theatre, Sydney, on Saturday, July 22.
Two of life’s greatest pleasures are joining forces, thanks to the ever-publicity stunt savvy crew at Ben & Jerry’s. Not content with their dominion over the world of iced confectionery, the company have just announced a partnership with New Belgium Brewing Company to develop an ice cream flavoured beer. Continuing the company’s long tradition of absurdly decadent flavours, the name of the brew has been announced as Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale. Details are still relatively scarce (and we're still unsure whether this taste sensation will taste of dreams or outright devilry), although we do know that the drink will contain 6.3 percent alcohol and is set to be released in the United States in the latter half of the year. No word yet on whether it’ll make the journey to Australia, although we’re definitely keeping our fingers crossed in weird, weird curiosity. While it may be a while until we get ice cream flavoured beer, take some comfort in the fact that beer flavoured ice cream is already totally a thing. Molecular ice creamery Nitrogenie released a Pale Ale Caramel flavour in time for last year’s Oktoberfest Brisbane, while Gelato Messina previously produced a VB sorbet for Australia Day. And now Young Henrys are making ANZAC biscuit flavoured beer, we can't really complain. According to The Huffington Post, the partnership between Ben & Jerry’s and New Belgium will benefit Protect Our Winters, an environmental organisation committed to combating climate change. A spokesperson for New Belgium said that the collaboration will “raise awareness around issues we are passionate about, and that the results will be delicious.” This isn’t the first time that Ben & Jerry’s have toyed with mind-altering substances, with the company previously floating the idea of a marijuana-infused ice cream flavour in territories where recreational cannabis use is legal. Via The Huffington Post.
We're only just now wrapping things up for this summer, but already the NGV has us anticipating the next one, today lifting the covers off plans for its most ambitious exhibition yet. Descending on the gallery this December, and then every three years after that, the NGV Triennial series will present a smorgasbord of art and design, plucked from all corners of the globe and representing established artists, emerging talent, and plenty else in between. Each blockbuster lineup will highlight the ever-blurring lines between art, fashion, architecture, design, and performance. Kicking off with a bang, plans for this year's inaugural event are nothing short of grand, with the NGV announcing the free exhibition will take over all four levels of the gallery and host exciting works by over 60 artists and designers. But where it's really upping the ante is in the audience experience, with visitors invited to present their own ideas through cross-platform content, and the exhibition's participatory works designed to engage like never before. Legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, best known for her obsessive patterning and vibrant representations of the infinite, will invite glimpses into the artist's mind with a work titled Flower obsession. Created especially for the NGV Triennial, the interactive exhibition will have visitors unleashing some creativity of their own, as they help plaster a furnished space with an array of colourful flower stickers and three-dimensional blooms. Kusuma joins other international names like Germany's Timo Nasseri and Canada's Sascha Braunig, alongside an Aussie billing that includes the likes of Ben Quilty, Louisa Bufardeci, and Tom Crago. There'll be an installation from Chinese haute couture fashion guru Guo Pei, designer of Rihanna's canary-yellow Met Ball gown, and an epic display of 100 oversized human skulls created by Australian artist Ron Mueck. Chemist and odour theorist Sissel Tolaas will create the 'scent of Melbourne' exclusively for the Triennial. And Alexandra Kehayoglou will be creating one of her monumentally-sized, lushly illustrated carpets, spanning over eight-metres-long. The NGV Triennial lands at the NGV Melbourne in December 2017. Image: Yayoi Kusama.
Our modern obsession with packing into cities means that increasingly massive skyscrapers are inevitable. After all, if we don’t head upwards, well, there’s only so much land. One of the problems with skyscrapers, though, is that their behemoth shadows seriously shorten the day of their surroundings. Even a spacious, sunny city like Sydney can feel cold and dark when you’re wedged between towers (just look at the long shadow Barangaroo's casino is expected to cast). Now imagine how gloomy things can get in densely populated metropolises like London and New York — if you've visited, you'll know how gloomy things can get in the financial districts. But a London-based architecture company by the name of NBBJ has come up with a solution: the 'No Shadow Tower'. The concept involves two twisting skyscrapers, to be built side-by-side, which redirect sunlight to the area around their base — right where dreary shadows are usually found lurking. The idea was developed with London’s North Greenwich in mind, at the request of New London Architecture, and was first published in New London Quarterly. "The algorithm design for the tower is based on the law of reflection," the design team told Dezeen. "Our facade has varying angles of panels that distribute light over a certain area at multiple times during the day." The algorithm works by recording the sunlight's angle every single day for an entire year. With this information, the team can predict how light will play on the building at various points during the day, and then construct the skyscraper’s facade to reflect it accordingly. The use of individual panels allows reflection on a pane-by-pane basis; creating circles of light, rather than a single, extremely hot area. NBBJ was motivated by its passion for the public and their environment-determined happiness. "One of [our] principle concerns is public space and the ways the public use and interact with these spaces," the designers explained. "The No Shadow Tower places public space at the heart of the project, along with human interaction and the impact of skyscrapers at street level... The research that we have undertaken could be applied in many locations in the world, each time creating a different form that would relate to its specific context and solar conditions." Where do we sign up? Via Dezeen. Images: NBBJ.
Looking for a little bit of renovation inspiration? In that case, you've come to the right place. Bestowed this week by a jury of respected Australian architects and designers, the House Awards celebrate the latest innovations in contemporary architecture. Reckon if we all pooled our money we could buy one of these? The top prize, Australian House of the Year, went to a wood-paneled apartment in Darling Point, Sydney – the very same apartment that took home the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design at the Australian Interior Design Awards just last month. It also won the House Awards' gong for Best Apartment or Unit, with the jury commending the "refined and surprising design" that contrasted "floating American oak and painted white steel joinery." The awards for Best New House Over and Under 200m² went to houses in NSW and Queensland, respectively, while a property on the banks of Melbourne's Yarra won prizes for Sustainability and Best Outdoor Design. Check out the full list of House Award winners, below. AUSTRALIAN HOUSE OF THE YEAR – Darling Point Apartment by Chenchow Little NEW HOUSE UNDER 200m² – Naranga Avenue House by James Russel Architect NEW HOUSE OVER 200m² – Deepwater by Tobias Partners HOUSE ALTERATION AND ADDITION UNDER 200m² – Baffle House by Claire Cousins Architects HOUSE ALTERATION AND ADDITION OVER 200m² – Project Zero by BVN APARTMENT OR UNIT – Darling Point Apartment by Chenchow Little OUTDOOR – Fairfield House by Kennedy Nolan HOUSE IN A HERITAGE CONTEXT – Bayside Fire Station by Owen Architecture SUSTAINABILITY – Fairfield House by Kennedy Nolan EMERGING ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE – Rob Kennon Architects
Nearly 400 films reached cinemas in this part of the world in 2017. That's not going to change in 2018. Whether you're the kind of cinephile that heads to the movies several times a week or you'd rather save your big-screen viewing for the flicks you're most excited for, the result is the same: you're spoiled for choice. Indeed, whether you've worked through all of last year's great movies or you're still playing catch-up on some you might've missed, a new annual calendar means a whole new batch of must-sees. In the twelve months ahead, that includes the usual onslaught of sequels, remakes and ongoing sagas, plus plenty of movies that have been winning awards — including recent Golden Globes recipients The Shape of Water and Lady Bird. And then there's these, our ten picks for 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89OP78l9oF0 ANNIHILATION No longer one of the sci-fi big-screen highlights of 2018, the second film from Ex Machina writer/director Alex Garland is heading straight to Netflix in this neck of the woods. And while it's incredibly disappointing that audiences won't get to see this journey through an environmental disaster zone in a cinema as it was meant to be seen, it still looks like it'll be a thrilling, unnerving, immersive treat no matter how you watch it. Based on the novel of the same name, the movie follows a biologist, Lena (Natalie Portman), who goes searching for answers when her soldier husband (Oscar Isaac) returns injured from his own jaunt. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez and Thor: Ragnarok scene-stealer Tessa Thompson also feature, and we're guessing Isaac probably won't tear up the dance floor in this. On Netflix in early March. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZ56rcWwRQ A WRINKLE IN TIME After giving quite the inspirational Golden Globes speech, everyone's talking about Oprah. Expect it to continue come March. She mightn't take acting roles all that frequently, but playing a celestial being in the long-awaited adaptation of 1962 science fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time seems the perfect part. As directed by Selma's Ava DuVernay, and also featuring Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Andre Holland, Zach Galifianakis and Aussie Levi Miller, the film focuses on Meg Murry (Storm Reid), who has to save her astrophysicist father (Chris Pine) from a distant galaxy. Sure, there's another Star Wars movie out this year — but notch this one up as a different type of space story. In cinemas March 22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt__kig8PVU ISLE OF DOGS Wes Anderson making a stop-motion animated movie about a dystopian future where dogs have been quarantined on their own Japanese island? Shut up and take everyone's money. Four years after The Grand Budapest Hotel, the American filmmaker is back with what might be his cutest flick yet — and given how gorgeous his general aesthetic is, including his previous animated effort Fantastic Mr. Fox, that's saying something. A high-profile roster of Anderson regulars and other famous names voice canines and humans alike, such as Greta Gerwig, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton and Frances McDormand. And as for Isle of Dogs' story, it centres on a boy who makes his way to the island in search of his beloved pet pooch. We can already hear you saying awwwwwwwwwwwww. In cinemas April 19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLjLbl4G1wA OCEAN'S 8 Most franchises, as the chapters roll on, aim for bigger and better. Don't mistake Ocean's 8 smaller number for doing the opposite. This all-female heist flick doesn't need 11, 12 or 13 folks to pull off the ultimate job: at the Met Gala. Leading the formidable gang of law-breaking ladies is Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, while Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter and none other than Rihanna are also among the cast. And, given the setting, expect more than a few high-profile cameos. Given the gender-swapped premise, expect an entertaining new instalment in the series as well, as directed by The Hunger Games' Gary Ross. In cinemas June 28. [caption id="attachment_653695" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Juno Temple in Vinyl[/caption] UNSANE Steven Soderberg mightn't be sitting in the director's chair for the latest Ocean's effort, but the ever-prolific filmmaker has something else up his sleeves. For part of last year, it was his iPhone — which the Logan Lucky and The Knick director used to shoot his latest flick, a mind-bending psychological horror flick. Called Unsane, it's unsurprisingly set in a mental institution, though that's probably the last part of the movie that'll play to your expectations. As for everything else, it was filmed in secret so much is clouded in mystery, although The Crown's Claire Foy and Vinyl's Juno Temple star, and the narrative revolves around a patient forced to face her greatest fear. Release date TBC. [caption id="attachment_529773" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Rachel Weisz in Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster[/caption] THE FAVOURITE If Yorgos Lanthimos knows just how to press your buttons — and if The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer managed to do exactly that — then pencil his 2018 release into your diary. With The Favourite, the acclaimed Greek filmmaker appears to be in new territory, though you can bet his biographical drama about Anne, Queen of Britain won't be the usual monarchy-focused effort. Joining him in this exploration of the 17th- and 18th-century sovereign are The Lobster's Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman, plus Emma Stone and Nicholas Hoult. With Lanthimos proving a director that's continually fascinated with the transactional nature of our society, setting his sights on royalty seems an absolutely natural fit. Release date TBC. [caption id="attachment_629012" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Robert Pattinson in Good Time[/caption] HIGH LIFE 2018 is shaping up to be a great year for sci-fi fans. Case in point: High Life. It's not what you'd expect from almost everyone involved — other than Robert Pattinson, who has well and truly been filling his post-Twilight resume with interesting and downright excellent choices. He's among a group of criminals sent towards a black hole, all as part of a quest to find an alternative energy source. And, he's starring alongside French great Juliette Binoche, A Cure for Wellness' Mia Goth and Outkast's Andre Benjamin, under the direction of iconic filmmaker Claire Denis (35 Shots of Rum, Bastards, Let the Sunshine In), who is making her first English-language feature. Release date TBC. [caption id="attachment_653679" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Suspiria (1977)[/caption] SUSPIRIA Horror remakes aren't always met with excitement, particularly when a classic of the genre gets the second go-around. Suspiria, however, shouldn't earn your caution — thanks to Call Me By Your Name's Luca Guadagnino sitting at the helm. The original is the darkest dance-related movie you're likely to see, as well as a wonder of Italian giallo cinema, delving into the sinister secrets behind a prestigious dance academy. Living up to it is quite the task, but the I Am Love and A Bigger Splash director has been on a very impressive streak of late. On-screen, Dakota Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz and Tilda Swinton are among the stars sashaying (and screaming) their way through the end result. Release date TBC. PSYCHOKINESIS There's no shortage of superhero films due on our screens this year, including Black Panther, Venom, Aquaman, a couple of X-Men-related efforts, Daredevil 2 and more. Yes, the list goes on. And yet, a Korean black comedy about a man who discovers he has superpowers might be the one to beat. Seeing something other than the fiftieth instalment in a cinematic universe is always welcome, and director Yeon Sang-ho already turned his take on one busy genre — zombies — into an engaging thrill ride courtesy of Train to Busan. Fingers crossed Psychokinesis make the big screen on our shores, but if not, look for it to stream on Netflix. Release date TBC. [caption id="attachment_653694" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] The Happytime Murders concept art[/caption] THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS There aren't enough movies about puppet private detectives. Really, there isn't. This adult-centric film comes with quite the pedigree, however, with Bill Henson — son of The Muppets puppeteer Jim Henson — in the director's chair. A comedy and a thriller all in one, it's set in a world where people and puppets live (and kill) side-by-side. Only one can hunt down a serial murderer targeting the cast of a famous '80s TV show, and that'd be ex-cop Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta). Amongst the mountains of felt, Melissa McCarthy stars as his ex-partner, Maya Rudolph as his secretary, Elizabeth Banks as a former flame and Joel McHale as an FBI agent. Release date TBC.
The future of museums is a bit William Gibson. As in, "the future is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet." One place with a pretty uneven head start — bringing the future to now — is the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City. A branch of the Smithsonian settled in a former mansion of the late magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Its head start comes from being closed for renovations for three years. This gave it the chance to completely reinvent a lot of the things it did from scratch. Not least that whole internet, digital thing. For its Sydney-raised director of digital and emerging media, Seb Chan, that was the appeal. Chan had been in a similar role at the Powerhouse Museum (now the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences) and was very much attracted to "a chance to reboot" a whole museum and think "what could this be?" JUST A PEN The Cooper Hewitt answers this question mostly with some pens. Visitors get handed a special black, rubber pen. Its smartphone-friendly tip lets you draw on interactive tables. The button on the other end lets it save the stuff you like. That's about it. "There's no screen. There's nothing to learn," Chan says. You can click the eraser end against little information cards and use the pen to bring up more info on the tables. When you leave, you look up a web address on your ticket and all the things you looked at are collected for you. 8KB FUN Seb hands me one he has with him. It feels good. "The pen itself is a capacitive stylus, with an NFC antenna and some memory. A small amount of memory: 8KB of memory. It doesn't have to be a lot." It is nicely weighted and well built. "It's a bookmark" he continues, "you're bookmarking the museum. That's all it is." That's not what you notice when you hold it. You want to point with it and you want to click. It feels built to just the right size. The idea is to make the physical and the digital sides to the museum mix effortlessly. "We're at a moment where, just like the internet in your pocket, digital is not something special." The museum is following suit, trying to "embed digital within the fabric of the museum visit [in a way] that normalises it. That naturalises it. And makes it feel like it should be there." By the time people reach the second floor, they've stopped being amazed by the pens, by the interactive tables. They just use them: "That's success." YOUR PUNY SCREENS The pen gets all the attention at the Cooper Hewitt, but its not the only direction that museums are heading in. The smartphone is one of the fundamental shifts museums are just beginning to get their heads around. Why wouldn't people just look things up on their phone at home instead of coming in to see your stuff? Like a cinema's giant screen to your puny big screen, museums are moving on to experiences that you can't get at home. Some of that is tech. Chan tells me about an exhibition he took his daughter to at New York's Museum of the Moving Image, Sensory Stories. The exhibition showcased 12 immersive, 3D documentaries using a virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift. And then there's room-sized, "remote sensing" setups. These spaces let you explore sites not safe to visit in person. I suggest to Chan that Palmyra might be that sort of site. "Or a world heritage site that's too fragile to visit. Or maybe the international space station. Or maybe the surface of Mars," he says. Some of these not-at-home experiences are social. "That's one of the big shifts, I guess, in museums, is that they're now social venues." Most of these fixes are low-tech, like fixing the quality of coffee in the cafe. And the tech follows along. While the new Cooper Hewitt's interactive tables are 84", 4K high-definition screens, it's also important that they're big: "You can have as many as 12 people gathered around them. And when there are 12 people gathered around, you can bet they're talking." CHEAP JEANS AND CENTRIFUGES Where does this take us over the next ten years? Chan seems excited about the future of virtual reality, but sanguine. "VR is always an interesting piece with museums. And every ten years, there seems to be a new peak around this, and then it drops off again, and comes back again." Then there's the issue of what to collect. Chan wonders. "What should we be collecting from now that's gonna be as important as, you know, the cuneiform tablets?" He's interested in software and code. Maybe financial code, "collecting the algorithms — the quants used — that triggered crashes [from high frequency trading]" or even Stuxnet. How to do Stuxnet: The source code? A copy of the virus? "Ideally, what you would want to collect is one of the Iranian centrifuges that was knocked out by it." He points to Britain's Victoria & Albert Museum, whose experiments in "rapid response collecting" have seen it display a smashed Guardian laptop to talk about Edward Snowden or Primark cargo pants as a response to the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh. YOUR DATA IS HERE, NOW There's also a long game here. Museums have new tools in the shape of analysing visitor movements from new tech like Cooper Hewitt's pens or even just free museum Wi-Fi. How does ten years of that add up? "Ten years of understanding it." Though Chan adds, "The challenge with analytics is that you're often collecting the wrong information. What I would hope is that it's ten years of people realising that we need to be thinking about how people behave and coming up with ways of understanding it." Seb Chan is in Sydney to talk at REMIX Summit, where he'll be giving Wednesday's keynote 'No Boundaries - The Museum of the Future.' Concrete Playground is a partner of REMIX Sydney.
Leaving the house is no longer a necessity with things like booze delivery, so why couldn't we have art delivered to our door? The long, weary process of touring museums found itself virtually mobile with Google's Art Project. The interiors of cultural organisations have been getting the street view treatment over the last few years, all it took was a guy with a backpack filled with cameras walking around every nook and cranny of various museums, galleries and libraries to ensure that you can do the same without ever actually stepping foot there. And now, our very own Queensland Museum is one of the places available to tour online, as part of the Google Cultural Institute. Not only can you take a closer look at everything you’d see if you were there in person, but you can also catch a glimpse of collections that aren’t usually open to the public. A host of other Australian institutions have also opened their doors to virtual mapping, including the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, the Australian Museum Biennale of Sydney, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne, and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. So what are you waiting for? You can jump online and take a simulated stroll around many an art-filled corridor whenever you want. That's right, the future is now. To tour the Queensland Museum online, visit the Google Cultural Institute. To go there in person, head to the corner of Grey and Melbourne Streets, South Brisbane. Via Brisbane Times.
This mind-blowing photograph of an erupting volcano hit by a lightning bolt has just won Mexico's Sergio Tapiro Velasco the distinguished title of 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year. Take a moment to just absorb how inconceivable that shot is. His prize-winning photo, titled The power of nature, was taken outside Colima, Mexico. Velasco has been studying and photographing the Volcán de Colima for over a decade, and for good reason — known as the 'Volcano of Fire', it is one of the most active volcanos in Latin America. As the award recipient, Velasco received a envy-inducing ten-day trip for two to the Galápagos Archipelago with National Geographic Expeditions, along with a cool $2500 USD prize. Selected from over 15,000 entries from participants in more than 30 countries, this year's contest recognised photos in three categories — 'Nature', 'People' and 'Cities'. Velasco's photograph was so impressive that it didn't only win the grand prize, but was also awarded top prize in the 'Nature' category. In order to capture the photo, Velasco closely tracked the increase in activity around the volcano for nearly a month. On the night this photograph was shot, Velasco was stationed only 12 kilometres away from the crater. "When I looked on the camera display, all I could do was stare," says Velasco. "What I was watching was impossible to conceive, the image showed those amazing forces of nature interacting on a volcano, while the lightning brightened the whole scene. It's an impossible photograph and my once in a lifetime shot that shows the power of nature." Apart from the grand-prize winner, other top photos were selected in each of the three categories, with first, second and third place winners also awarded sizeable sums of $2500, $750 and $500 USD, respectively. The entries must have been taken in the past two years to be considered. In the 'Cities' category, Hungarian Norbert Fritz was awarded the top prize for his photo titled Levels of reading, and Turkey's F. Dilek Uyar took home the top prize in the 'People' category with his photograph, Worship. Judges for this year's competition included Nat Geo's senior photography editor Molly Roberts, award-winning underwater photographer Benjamin Lowy and award-winning adventure sport and documentary photographer Jody MacDonald, The rest of the winning and honourable mention photographs are included in our photo gallery above, or can viewed on the Nat Geo website. There's some real good'uns in there.
Billionaire entrepreneur and possible mad scientist Elon Musk is one step closer to making his Futurama-style transportation system a reality. After first proposing the high-speed, compressed air-powered Hyperloop back in 2012, the Tesla, PayPal and Zip2 cofounder has just put down a lease on a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, establishing the headquarters for Hyperloop Technologies Incorporated. Described by Musk as a "cross between a Concorde and a railgun and an air hockey table," the proposed Hyperloop system would consist of a long route of elevated vacuum-sealed steel tubes, through which pressurised capsules ride cushions of air at speeds of up to 1220km/h. Designed to transport both freight and brave human passengers, Musk’s first proposed route would run from LA to San Francisco, cutting the roughly six and a half-hour drive time to just 35 minutes. If you think that this idea sounds awesome, then you’re right — it's straight-up awesome. There are however still a few small details to work out. Despite Musk’s initial assertions that the project would cost a 'mere' US$6 billion to complete, several economists have put the price tag closer to ten times that, if not more. There’s also the possibility that people might be a little reluctant to seal themselves inside a windowless metal pod travelling at breakneck speeds through the desert — although if the proposed US$20 ticket price holds true, it may be a preferable alternative to flying. For those of you who geek out over science, Gizmag published a pretty comprehensive breakdown of Musk’s 2013 proposal over here. The next step in the system’s development will involve an 8km test track, with Musk identifying Texas as a possible location. Hyperloop Technologies CEO Dirk Ahlborn last year estimated that a commercially operable Hyperloop “can be built within the decade.” Via LA Times.
Those who were mad fans of Bill Cunningham, or watched and loved the 2010 documentary Bill Cunningham: New York (that Venn diagram is probably a single circle), would be unsurprised to hear that the legendary fashion photographer was still shooting less than a month before his death last Saturday. Cunningham's tenacity and single-minded focus, along with his modesty and warmth were just some of the things that made the street style photographer such a joy to watch. As a reporter and historian of fashion he displayed an extraordinary depth of understanding of his subject. It's a little dismaying therefore to discover that finding photos taken by Bill Cunningham is harder than you might expect. Trawl the usual channels (Google, Tumblr, Pinterest) and inevitably nearly every image will contain a telltale flash of blue — the French workman's jacket that Cunningham made his now-iconic uniform. Though I can't blame anyone for wanting to swoon over Cunningham himself, it seems fitting to honour the reluctant celebrity by turning our attention back to his work — if nothing else, there's no doubt that's what he would have preferred. [caption id="attachment_578295" align="alignnone" width="1280"] William J. Cunningham, Facades, Penguin Books, 1978.[/caption] NEW YORK IS ITS OWN STAGE Cunningham's muse, friend and co-star Editta Sherman poses in full Edwardian get-up in this shot from Cunningham's 1978 book Facades. Many of the photographs from the book depict authentic period costumes (which Cunningham himself had collected) placed against a backdrop of iconic New York architecture. The photos are contemplation on a city that, perhaps more than any other, has made progress and modernity into an aesthetic. Though Cunningham is better known for his (generally) unstaged street photography, this photo of the Lady Bracknell-esque Sherman includes elements of the photographer's sense of humour which are familiar. Note the advertisement hanging on the graffitied subway car above Sherman: "A woman of good taste". [caption id="attachment_578296" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Bill Cunningham, Vogue, (Conde Nast, March 1974).[/caption] AMERICAN FASHION "OOZES VITALITY" If you're interested in 20th century fashion history then don't walk, RUN to watch this 2014 interview in which Cunningham describes "the most exciting fashion show" of his life. Cunningham is momentarily reduced to tears as he recalls details of the 1973 'Battle of Versailles' fashion show, in which French and American designers were pitted against one another. The two nations' designers represented two different fashion ideologies, and Cunningham wasn't shy about naming his victor. In the Chicago Tribune, he wrote that the Yanks "devastated" their French counterparts, with their "uncluttered American taste oozing vitality". Halston was among the American contingent who showed at Versailles, and though this 1974 photograph by Cunningham displays the more overt, embellished glam of the coming decade, one can still recognise in the dress' cut the kind of simplicity of design that Cunningham was still championing 40 years later. [caption id="attachment_578297" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Bill Cunningham, 'Make Your Own Art: On the Street', New York Times (OCT. 31, 2014)[/caption] FASHION NEEDS EXPERIMENTATION TO AVOID SIMPLY BEING COMMERCE So here's a fun fact: Bill Cunningham literally invented the application of the word 'deconstructionism' to fashion (Bonnie English, Japanese Fashion Designers: The Work and Influence of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, Berg, 15 Aug. 2013 , p.170). It is a rare thing indeed to encounter someone with so fierce, varied and long-lasting an appetite for fashion. In a 1989 video interview, Cunningham described how he first recognised parallels between the early 1980s designs of Rei Kawakubo, and the clothes worn by New York's homeless women. His tone is not uncritical as he makes this extraordinary observation, but you can also detect his exhilaration as he goes on to make a further link to the proportions of medieval European dress. More recently in his 'On The Street' video series for the New York Times, Cunningham showed his continued fascination with the avant-garde by comparing the red of mainstream fashion to Kawakubo's "blood and roses". He concluded: "Fashion as we know it today is absolutely commerce. Very little artistic expression. Lots of it is very beautiful and women look wonderful in it. There's nothing wrong with that! But you have to have this wild experimentation." [caption id="attachment_578300" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Bill Cunningham, 'Dashing', New York Times (February 24, 2012).[/caption] COLOUR IS POWERFUL AND DEMANDS YOUR RESPECT Many of Cunningham's most enticing collage spreads for the New York Times were based around a colour theme. Cunningham sensitivity to and appreciation of colour was something else. In 1965, the New York Times reported on a presentation given by Cunningham at Carnegie Recital Hall (the same building in which he lived and from which he was evicted in 2010). Cunningham spoke to an audience of fashion designers and students and described the colours he had seen at the recent Paris couture shows. To illustrate the colours he "sliced a pumpkin in half, peeled a banana and held up a raw beefsteak to illustrate the major colours…", documented by Bernadine Morris in her 'Two Views on Fashions: One Scholarly, One Pop' piece. Cunningham never lost his voracious appetite for fashion, and it's hard to imagine that we'll see his like again.
It’s lucky it’s almost always sunny in Brisbane — or always warm, at least. It’s the kind of place where you could splash around on a giant slip ‘n’ side in April, if that took your fancy. And that takes everyone’s fancy, admit it. Sydney and Melbourne have already had their super-sized, water-soaked moment, and now it's Brisbane’s turn. As part of the Monster Slide Australia Tour 2015 — yep, that's a thing — more wet plastic than you could possibly dream of is taking over Queensport Road at Murarrie for the Easter long weekend. Who needs chocolate when you can feast on all the slithering and skidding you can handle, day or night? You provide your own inflatable device to slide on, and they'll provide the metres upon metres of lathered up plastic for you to glide down. Passes are sold for two-hour blocks, but you might want to get in quick. The sooner you buy, the cheaper reliving your childhood would be — and plenty of the early bird tickets have already been scooped up. Before you go getting too excited, there’s a potential hitch that might ruin the foamy fun faster than a rock finding its way under the giant plastic sheet. Brisbane Times is reporting that the organisers are yet to get council approval. Here’s hoping that's just a bump in the watery road to slip 'n' slide bliss. The Monster Slide Australia Tour 2015 will stop by Queensport Road, Murarrie from April 3 – 5. For more information and to book tickets, visit their website. Images: Eljay Anderson. Via Brisbane Times.
Mona Foma, MONA's wild and weird summer music and arts festival, is back for 2018. And this time around, it's set to eclipse all previous incarnations, with the festival adding a program of Launceston events to its usual Hobart lineup. Further to the announcement of the MONA hotel and the move to Launceston back in July, this beefed-up presence also heralds the festival's biggest, most eclectic program to date, thanks largely to funding from the State Government. Unveiled today, the Mofo 2018 lineup is a cracker, delivering 11 days of thought-provoking art and music to Tasmania's two largest cities and celebrating creativity and personal expression in all forms. Running from January 12 to 14, the Launceston leg will see singer-songwriter Gotye join the Ondioline Orchestra to pay homage to renowned French electronic composer Jean-Jacques Perrey (January 12 and 13), as well as a dance performance by Canada's The Holy Body Tattoo, scored live by post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor (also January 12 and 13). Mofo's northern run will culminate with a huge, free party on January 14. To follow, January 19 to 21 will mark Mofo's final MONA appearance for a while, so it's exiting with a bang. The museum's outdoor stage will feature performances from the likes of punk poet Moor Mother, all-female Argentinian act Fémina and a collaboration between Tassie bassist Nick Haywood and The Hobart Liberation Orchestra. Martin Blackwell will deliver a 24-hour continuous performance soundtracked by an array of global instruments, while the MONA tennis courts play host to a challenging fashion runway courtesy of SAAKA's Hunger for Gluttony. Elsewhere in Hobart, the Violent Femmes will perform with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, a one-day mini-Mofo will pull together local acts like Comrad XERO, Crypt Vapor and Phillipa Stafford, and the festival's official after-party Faux Mo will take over a huge new waterfront space at MAC2. Mona Foma 2018 will take place at venues across Launceston from January 12–14, at MONA from January 19–21 and across Hobart from January 15–22. Tickets are available here from Monday, October 16.
Two fast food staples, both alike in dignity, in fair Hong Kong where we lay our scene. An unlikely pair of greasy star-cross'd lovers have been fused by the world's biggest chicken specialist — KFC has created the unholy union of pizza and fried chicken. Found only in Hong Kong for now, KFC's new Napoli Crispy Pizza Chicken sees the chain's immortal fried chicken breaded with marinara, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese. It's pure, horrifying genius. They've even got some slightly freaky children's choir in on the local ad. We thought things would settle down after KFC decided to replace their buns with chicken, but no. This mighty fast food hybrid proves our suspicions that the global trend toward fusing unlikely food friends is getting more messed up by the day. Just go with it, we guess? Via Gizmodo.
Hey there, lonely freelancers working in cafes, on couches and in front of Netflix worldwide. Want some company? We've got a big ol' warm fuzzy home for you. Well, someone else’s home to be specific. Meet Hoffice, the social site dedicated to connecting you with people who've turned their houses into fun, creative workspaces. Whether you've only just quit your nine-to-fiver or you've been cruising solo for quite some time, chances are you're familiar with the challenges that come with the crazy world of freelancing. On one hand, taking charge of your career gives you loads of freedom — you can work in your pyjamas, clock on and off when you want to, and enjoy strictly virtual relationships with your bosses/clients. On the other hand, it's not all strawberries and cream. Unless you became a freelancer mainly because you hated group work at school (and you’re a misanthrope), you might feel a little lonely every now and again. You're productive, sure. But you probably look as relaxed as this: That's where Hoffice steps in. If you’re a freelancer, simply register and start searching your area for a host, who’s set up their home as a place for you to treat as your office. As far as we can see, this new service only has limited Australian/NZ options but we're sure there'll be a few as Hoffice picks up. While some hosts have an open policy, inviting everyone in, others just accept newbies every now and again. If you’d like to offer up your home, find out how right here. On top of mediating between space owners and freelancers, Hoffice also suggests a schedule. Designed to help you get the most out of your workday, it includes time for meeting and greeting, taking breaks, eating and partying. Of course, you don’t have to stick to it if you'd rather not — or you're between projects. Right now, Hoffice is operating in Europe, the States, Brazil, India, China, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia (Melbourne). No network in your area? Start one yourself. Via PSFK.
UPDATE: MARCH 27, 2019 — If you've been meaning to explore the NGV's mind-bending Escher exhibition, but haven't had a chance yet, you don't have much time left. — it finishes up on Sunday, April 7. Luckily, the gallery is extending its hours its final week . From April 1–7, the exhibition will open at 8am (two hours early) so you can catch a glimpse of it before work. In addition to this, the gallery will stay open until 10pm Thursday through to Sunday with live music and the bar open (including the last NGV Friday Nights for the season). The National Gallery of Victoria has revealed its summer centrepiece: a bold new world premiere exhibition pairing the work of Dutch artist M.C. Escher and Japanese design studio Nendo. Much like the NGV's 2016's Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei show, Between Two Worlds celebrates two very different creators, bringing them together in an assembly of immersive art and design. More than 150 of Escher's prints and drawings created between 1916 to 1969 have made their way to Melbourne from the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague for the artist's first ever major exhibition in Australia. Optical illusion is what he's best known for — his intricate pieces use patterns and design to warp space and perception. You'll need to take second, third and fourth looks at pieces like Day and night and Drawing hands. To really mess with your mind, Nendo — led by designer Oki Sato — has created an immersive gallery space that's just as trippy. The studio has taken inspiration from Escher to manipulate geometry and space to warp perception, giving you an imagined sense of what it would be like to enter Escher's mind boggling world. Expect lots of mirrors, shrinking corridors and projections that will mess with your brain (in a good way). The exhibition will run until April 2019 alongside a public program of talks, workshops and the NGV's Friday night parties. Images: Eugene Hyland and Sean Fennessy.
Long-time creative collaborators, Virginia Martin of Melbourne fashion label búl and photographer Kate Ballis have done it again. The quintessentially Melburnian team has come together anew, this time tempting us with easy, refined style and otherworldly prints for Autumn/Winter 2017. Ballis is renowned for her ability to transport you to surreal landscapes through her dramatic lighting and moody aesthetic. So, using the photographer's striking prints of mythical Icelandic landscapes, Martin and Ballis have gifted us with a capsule collection of wearable art and travel inspo in the form of five covetable pieces. Ballis' mossy mountains sloping into hazy waters create geometric effects across a simple búl shift. Her icy glaciers evolve into subtle motifs that ripple over a jacket, top and skirt worn all together or separate. The collaboration also yields a cushion capturing búl's understated sophistication and Ballis' ethereal landscapes. As a whole, the minimalist capsule is a dreamy, subdued mix of muted hues, clean lines and pared-back style, and we're ready to whip out our wallets to shop every piece. You may just find us packing our bags to go and become one with the mystical surrounds of Kate Ballis' Iceland like some immaculately dressed ice deity. Or you know, just donning fresh threads around the office like some immaculately dressed writer who's spent her last paycheck well. The búl x Kate Ballis capsule collection drops in store and online on March 17.
For Benjamin Law, it all comes back to family. One of five children born to immigrant parents from Hong Kong, Law made a name for himself as a columnist for Frankie, where he frequently wrote about his large, dysfunctional family. It's a habit he'd continue in his best-selling memoir The Family Law, which in turn became the basis for his brand new sitcom on SBS, the first episode of which premiered last week. In an unprecedented move, the network chose to release the first episode on Facebook ahead of its television premiere. Yet perhaps even more significant is the fact that the show puts an Asian-Australian in the spotlight — an all too rare occurrence on Australian TV. In the lead-up to the release of the show's second episode, Law gave us his two cents about the origins of the program, their groundbreaking release strategy and the importance of diversity in entertainment. ON BRINGING PAGE TO SCREEN "The book [The Family Law] came out in 2010. It's about growing up gay and Asian in coastal Queensland in the 1990s as my parents' marriage falls apart. It's a classic Australian story! So that came out, and I kind of fret that no one will really get it, because it seems to me to be such an obscure story. But what happens is that a lot of people relate to it for all the reasons that I just talked about. A lot of Chinese-Australian and Asian-Australian people relate to it, a lot of people who grew up in Queensland relate to it, a lot of people who grew up gay relate to it, and a lot of people whose parents' marriage busted up relate to it. So it kind of exceeded my expectations. "From there it landed in the hands of Tony Ayres, the filmmaker, who has made some of my favourite films of the last few decades. He's just this powerhouse, and as soon as I heard that he was interested I had to stop myself from squealing like a fan-girl. I'd seen his film The Home Song Stories maybe a year before. My whole family did, and we came out of the cinema crying buckets. I was like, if you can make something like that, I'd love to see what you could do with The Family Law. So we signed up with Matchbox Pictures, and Tony curated this incredible production team...[and] we all came together and started working." ON TURNING YOUR FAMILY INTO SITCOM CHARACTERS "I think [my family] are always kind of nervous. Hell, I write the stuff and I'm always nervous about their reaction. But I've been writing about them in columns and in my book, for quite some time, and I kind of know where the boundaries lie. And the good thing about this show is that we weren't writing a documentary. All the characters are based on people in real life, but we wanted to write a comedy with a lot of emotional truth, and in order to do that we had to be wildly promiscuous with what actually happened. "Funnily enough, as time goes on and more and more people see the show, so much of the feedback is, 'Holy crap, that's my family, that's my dad, that's me!' And that's pretty sweet. It's the best reaction you could hope for really." ON THE WHITE FACE OF AUSTRALIAN ENTERTAINMENT "The show isn't about race, or race relations, or racial tensions, or finding your racial identity... but we were completely aware and happy to acknowledge the fact that this was addressing something that has been lacking in Australian TV for a long time. One in ten Australians has a significant Asian background, but we just don't see that diversity on television. And it's not just about Asians either. It's about brown Australians and black Australians, and seeing our actual racial makeup. Why we remain one of the whitest TV environments is just baffling. A 2016 show about a Chinese-Australian family is groundbreaking. And I'm really glad that it's breaking new ground, but it's kind of astounding that it's taken so long. "I think it's more to do with the television landscape and how frighteningly mono-cultural it is. All the commercial breakfast networks are white. The main cast of Home and Away [is] completely white. How many of the panel shows we watch are all white? You start noticing it constantly. "I didn’t grow up watching any show that resembled The Family Law... and the way that it manifests can be pretty toxic, when you don't see your own face reflected in your own media. I've been reading some essays lately that people have written in response to the show, saying 'I sort of grew up a bit self-hating and wanting to be white, because anything else was undesirable. My own face was undesirable and not legitimised by how we reflect ourselves in media and television and the arts.'" IS FACEBOOK THE NEW TV? "SBS proposed it. They'd never done it before, and as soon as they said it, it just made complete sense. Nearly all of us are on [Facebook], it's a part of our daily lives, and it gives the opportunity to click on something and watch a full episode of something that's already in our face. Not only that, but you can share it, you can interact with it, you can tag people and tell them about it. So we put it up there for a really limited amount of time, from Friday afternoon until the end of Sunday. At least two million people saw it, at least 1.1 million people had a good look at it, and thousands and thousands of people watched the episode in its entirety. "It sounds revolutionary, but when you're doing it you're just watching a show on another platform. Television is so many things nowadays ... so I'm really stoked that we went with that. People were wondering if it would affect our ratings, but I suspect that it might have even boosted them, because we far exceeded the expectations of what the show would rate once the TV broadcast went to air." Watch The Family Law on Thursday nights on SBS at 8.30pm.
Whether he's behind or in front of the camera, making his own version of Nosferatu or documentaries about volcanologists, popping up in Parks and Recreation or playing a villain in a Jack Reacher movie, there's no one in the film industry like Werner Herzog. His voice is famous, including get a use in family-friendly animation not once but twice. His work as a director is thoroughly inimitable. He's one of Germany's cinema greats — and Australia's 2024 German Film Festival is recognising him as such. This year's touring event, which has dates with Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Byron Bay between Tuesday, May 7–Wednesday, June 5, boasts a Werner Herzog retrospective on its just-announced full lineup. A documentary about him is on the bill, so get excited to see Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer on the big screen. Also set to flicker through the projectors: Aguirre, The Wrath of God, about searching for El Dorado; Fitzcarraldo, which focuses on trying to move a steamship over a Peruvian mountain; and Nosferatu the Vampyre, featuring Klaus Kinski, as with the aforementioned two titles, but this time as Dracula. There's also Heart of Glass, which gets experimental in a Bavarian village — and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024. Clearly, the German Film Festival has the past on its mind with its latest program. That also comes through in a second way, by marking 70 years of German Films, the organisation tasked with promoting the country's movies beyond Germany. As part of that retrospective, the Oscar-nominated Jacob the Liar, Oscar-winning documentary Serengeti Shall Not Die, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's iconic The Marriage of Maria Braun and unforgettable recent standout Toni Erdmann will all play the fest. So will Trace of Stones and Yesterday Girl, both from 1966 — the first from East Germany, the second from West Germany. Looking backwards isn't the only thing on the agenda, however. As it usually does, the event will bring some of the best German and Austrian movies that premiered at this year's Berlin International Film Festival to Australia. 2024's fest spans six such titles, starting with opening night's World War II-set From Hilde, With Love, which follows a young woman in the anti-Nazi resistance movement. From there, centrepiece choice Foreign Language features the always-exceptional Nina Hoss (Tár) in a tale about a friendship playing out through letters, while closing night's Treasure stars Lena Dunham (Sharp Stick) and Stephen Fry (The Morning Show). Plus, Andrea Gets a Divorce brings tragicomedy to the program, Scorched Earth gives the lineup a crime thriller and Every You Every Me is a social-realist drama. Elsewhere, highlights come via One for the Road, complete with a dive into Berlin's nightlife, then a switch to attempting to get sober; the Leipzig-set Dark Satellites, which tells of three love stories; Lubo, the latest must-see starring Franz Rogowski (Passages); Blind at Heart, which takes the leap from the page to the screen; and Not a Word, joining the ranks of recent films — such as Tár — to feature a conductor as a key character. And, as always, the Kino for Kids section returns with movies for younger viewers, making heading to the fest a family affair. A comedy about teen sisters who love skateboarding, an adaptation of the novel The Flying Classroom and Lassie — A New Adventure are all on that part of the bill. German Film Festival 2024 Dates: Tuesday, May 7–Wednesday, May 29 — Palace Electric, Canberra Wednesday, May 8–Wednesday, May 29 — Palace Norton Street, Chauvel Cinema, Palace Central, Palace Moore Park, Sydney Thursday, May 9–Wednesday, May 29 — Palace James St, Palace Barracks, Brisbane Friday, May 10–Wednesday, May 29 — Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, The Astor Theatre, Pentridge Cinema and Palace Penny Lane, Melbourne Wednesday, May 15–Wednesday, June 5 — Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas, Adelaide Thursday, May 16–Wednesday, June 5 — Luna Leederville, Luna on SX & Palace Raine Square, Perth Thursday, May 16–Wednesday, June 5 — Palace Byron Bay, Byron Bay The 2024 German Film Festival tours Australia from throughout May and June. For more information, visit the festival website.
Strolling and spending is a weekend ritual for many, and in Brisbane, one set of markets has always come out on top. That'd be the Riverside Markets, the CBD shopping spot with pretty water views. You've browsed their stalls filled with craft goods, grabbed a snack from the many food vendors on site and enjoyed the breezy atmosphere — and you've likely done so more than once. In fact, you've probably grown up visiting Eagle Street Pier on a Sunday morning, given that the Riverside Markets have been a Brisbane mainstay since 1987. From December 6, though, you'll need to head in a different direction for your inner-city fix, with the weekly marketplace moving to the nearby City Botanic Gardens. A new name — Riverside Gardens Markets — accompanies the new location, representing perhaps the biggest changes in the event's 28 years of operation. The move was sparked by a change of ownership at Eagle Street Pier, and is welcome given that closing down completely was also rumoured. Swapping buildings for luscious greenery to stroll around sounds like a win as far as we're concerned. Of course, everything regulars know and love about the markets will transition over to 147 Alice Street — live music and street performers included, plus a few fresh additions. A bigger site means more room for new stalls and an enhanced range of eating options. You know what they say: a change is as good as a holiday. To that, we'll add: every holiday needs a good spot for market shopping. For more information about the Riverside Gardens Markets, visit their Facebook page.
You might be familiar with Lululemon from that one time you were convinced to give bikram yoga a go, and its logo on that super fit girl’s yoga pants was in your line of sight while you were swearing this would be the last time you touched a yoga mat, and then you went straight home and had a drink. Next time that happens, take comfort in the fact that your beverage can be Lululemon too. Step out of downward dog for this one: news has dropped that the yoga giant is brewing its own craft beer. In addition to their frequent, high-profile publicity gaffes (like the time its CEO said making yoga pants for plus-sized people was too expensive), Lululemon is well-known for the cult-like devotion of its inner circles and weird in-lingo. (They also do a bunch of wacky brand promotions, which is why this new ‘Lulu goes to the brewery!’ thing might not seem so bizarre to the initiated.) Called Curiosity Lager, the beer is a “crisp, bold session lager” (4.6% ABV), featuring lemon drop hops and chinook hops — but you’ll have to plan a trip to Canada to get a taste. It’s the official beer of SeaWheeze, a half marathon and yoga festival produced by Lulu that happens in Vancouver in August, and just 80,000 cans will be sold in liquor stores around the city. But the question still stands. Why? Speculation is that it’s a move intended to draw in a larger male crowd. But who knows if that will work, as Lululemon doesn’t believe in market research. They’re very future driven, you see, and apparently interviews and focus groups draw too much on the past. Which leaves us wondering, how did they come up with this one? You can almost see the thought process. "Big Manly Men not buy Lulu. Manly men want beer. How get them?" … "Lulu beer!" Good. Via Yogadork.
Foodies, pay attention, because have we got news for you. Chef Rene Redzepi, the man behind Noma and its super expensive, impossible to get into Sydney Harbour spinoff, is organising a day-long symposium featuring some of the biggest names in food. Set to take place at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday, April 3, MAD SYD: Tomorrow's Meals will welcome a number of world renowned chefs and culinary professionals for "a day of talks and ideas exploring the future of food". Confirmed speakers include Redzepi, David Chang (Momofuku), Kylie Kwong (Billy Kwong) and Massimo Bottura (Italy's Osteria Francescana), as well as food activist Chido Govera and social researcher Rebecca Huntley. MAD is heading down under! On April 3rd we will present our first large scale public event at the Sydney Opera House - visit madfeed.co for more info #MADSYD A photo posted by MAD (@themadfeed) on Feb 5, 2016 at 9:40am PST Founded by Redzepi, MAD (the Danish word for 'food') is a non-profit organisation that, according to their website, "works to expand knowledge of food to make every meal a better meal; not just at restaurants, but every meal cooked and served". They've hosted similar symposiums in Copenhagen since 2011, but this is the first time they've held one outside of the Danish capital — and the first one that will be open to the public. "Back when we started MAD in 2011, we found ourselves on a field, in heavy rain, in a tiny circus tent that ultimately collapsed during lunch,” says Redzepi. “MAD has been on an incredible journey since then, but the culmination of our long relationship with Sydney and Australia taking place in one of the world’s most iconic spaces is the greatest privilege. We cannot wait to share this day with everyone - friends and family, old and new." Anyone interested can register for pre-sale tickets through the Sydney Opera House website, and tickets will go on sale to the general public at 9am on Monday, February 22. We can only hope they don't sell out as fast as bookings to Noma Australia did. MAD SYD is happening on Sunday, April 3 — one day after the last service of Noma Australia. Register for tickets here, and keep your eyes on MAD's Facebook and Instagram for additional info. Updated: Monday, February 9. Image: Daniel Boud
The process of making sourdough is a complex one, and the Swedes talk it as seriously as they take their creamy meatballs and minimalist furniture design. If you're doing it by the book, creating one loaf is a very long and complicated task, and like the art of making whiskey, ramen, craft beer, cold drip and growing a beard, it has amassed a devoted niche following. But in an adorable move, Sweden has opened its own 24-hour hotel, just for sourdough. You'll find this adorable land of loaves in the Arlanda airport in Stockholm, run by the RC Chocolat bakery. You can check in your sourdough any time of day, 24/7, for about 100 Swedish krona [about $17] a week. They'll keep your sourdough, care for it, feed it with an organic flour of your choice and massage water into the dough, then hand it back, all ready for baking. But why the need for a hotel? The process of making sourdough involves ‘refreshing’ or massaging the dough and, depending on a host of factors, may need to happen every 24 hours for two weeks. So if you’re a hip Swede, living in an airy loft apartment in Stockholm, cultivating a batch of pungent sourdoughs but you need to travel to a typography convention, what do you do? Before, you had to stay home with the loaves and tend to them lovingly, like they were your children, and then eat them with jam while sad-drunk because you’ve spent your youth raising loaves of fashionable bread instead of a family. But now you can check your dough-children into a hotel while you jet around the world and know they’re receiving top-class care and attention. Charlotta Soor, the owner of RC Chocolat, told Munchies that the Scandinavian love of food with an acid component (such as sour milk and yoghurt) might explain the nationwide obsession with sourdough. She also added, “One has to remember that a sourdough can live for generations as long as you take good care of it, which is pretty amazing.” You’re not wrong, Charlotta, this is all pretty amazing. Well there you have it folks, a hotel for bread. Now back to the studio. Via Munchies. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
It's happening, you guys — we've arrived. We're living in the golden era of music festivals. In the same week as Meredith, Beyond the Valley and MoVement Sydney have revealed their jam-packed programs, Lost Paradise has just released their 2016 lineup for the three-day New Year's festival. We've been dealt such a glut of quality acts it's definitely going to spoil us. But resolutions can wait. In an effort to make you NYE not the shittiest, most over-hyped night of the year, LP are bringing you a slam dunk of a headliners Sticky Fingers, Flight Facilities, Gang of Youths and Fat Freddy's Drop to ring in a most auspicious 2017. The rest of the lineup is equally impressive, a great mix of local and imported talent. This is Lost Paradise's third year and while that's quite young in festival years, they keep proving they mean business. Their ethos extends past music too and the festival — held in Glenworth Valley (just an hour north of Sydney) — is built around a mix of art, yoga, performance and food. Because there's nothing like a little yoga to dust off a festival hangover. Anyway, we know what we're here for. Check it out. LOST PARADISE 2016 LINEUP Gang of Youths Hot Chip (DJ Set) Hudson Mohawke Eats Everything Big Scary Kölsch (DJ Set) Skream Harts Montaigne, Mark Pritchard Methyl Ethel Motez Lunice Doorly Bad//Dreems Heidi Optimo Young Franco Leon Vynehall Dro Carey The Belligerents Ocean Alley Harvey Sutherland & Bermuda No Zu KLLO Set Mo Luke Million Mossy Mosquito Coast Human Movement Goodwill Wild Honey Lost Paradise will take place from December 29-31 in Glenworth Valley, NSW. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Tuesday, August 16 through their website.
While Melbourne's enjoying cat-flanked cappuccinos at Australia's first cat cafe, and Brisbane's waiting patiently for any glimmer of a cat cafe rumour, an official campaign to bring yet another Sydney cat cafe (the first, Catmosphere, has apparently been funded) to fruition is under way and guess what? There's an adorable-beyond-all-reason pop-up kitten cafe coming to Sydney to mark the occasion. We'll say it again, just in case you closed your eyes for maximum squealidge. There's going to be a pop-up kitten cafe in Paddington. Next week. Road trip? In association with Maggie's Rescue, Sydney Cat Cafe is hosting a pop-up cafe from May 14-17 at William Street Gallery. Sydneysiders can book cuddle sessions with fluffy little kittens handpicked by the Maggie's Rescue team, with the opportunity to pledge funds towards turning the Sydney Cat Cafe concept into a permanent fixture. Only 15 people can clamber into the pop-up at a time, booked on a half-hourly basis for $5 per person. And no little ones, for safety and tail-pulling reasons, this pop-up is restricted to cat lovers above the age of 8. While you're there, snuggling and nuzzling your new whiskered BFF, you can also think about pledging funds to towards the Sydney Cat Cafe Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign; hoping to raise $15,000 to cover part of the seed funds needed to realise the café. Alright, alright, donating, donating, how do we pat the kitties? Enquire after availability by emailing info@sydneycatcafe.com.au — and spots are already filling up, so get on it. KITTIES. The Sydney Cat Cafe and Maggie's Rescue pop-up kitten cafe is open at William St Gallery, 14 William Street, Paddington, running May 14 -17. The cafe is open 9am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm on Sunday.
We thought Pikachu-themed pop-ups were the pop culture pinnacle for Japan. But once again, the country's beating us all at the cool, novelty shit game. This one truly levels things up, with a new pop-up inspired by Super Mario Bros.. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the immortal video game, Tokyo is getting an adorable Mario-themed pop-up restaurant. Running June 22 to July 5 and run by Tower Records, the pop-up will serve up a menu inspired by our plumbing video game hero and his crew (yep, even that dastardly Bowser). Punters can chow down on Peach Panna Cotta, a Piranha Plant Soda, Bowser Castle Drink or Ground Stage Waffle, all of which are guaranteed to double your size and allow you to jump on Goomba heads like a boss. But no giant mushrooms to eat? Come on guys. Anyway, let's peruse the menu shall we? First, pick up your Super Star Omelette (and run madly around the pop-up for ten seconds): Slam a cap with Mario latte art: Give it back to the Koopa Troopas with whatever comes out of this Question Block Tiramisu: You could battle it out with Bowser Taco Rice: And finish things up by rescuing the Peach Panna Cotta from going uneaten. The Mario-themed pop-up restaurant runs June 22 to July 5 in Tokyo. Via Grub Street and Rocket News24. Images: Tower Records.
May 5 isn't just May 5 — it's Cinco de Mayo. That's when the spotlight shines on Mexico; however, despite beliefs to the contrary, it isn't the country's Independence Day. Instead, the celebration marks the nation's 1862 victory against French forces in the Battle of Puebla. Back then, the day was declared a holiday. These days, the occasion is actually a bigger deal in the US. That said, it's still a great chance to appreciate Mexico's culture and heritage. There are plenty of ways to do this, although we suggest taking the traditional path: a party. So just how do you throw your own Cinco de Mayo gathering? What should you eat, drink and listen to? Follow our guide, and you'll be having a fiesta in no time. AVOID STEREOTYPES Starting on a serious note, Cinco de Mayo should celebrate Mexican culture, not stereotype it. Avoid the easy route when it comes to theming — so that means no sombreros, no fake moustaches and no Day of the Dead (which actually happens in October, so the timing doesn't work anyway). In fact, just discourage people from dressing up altogether. You'll be more likely to avoid accidental cultural appropriation. Focusing on the colours of the Mexican flag is one good option, with splashes of green, white and red certain to look festive. Or, you could champion the country's creative talents. Frida Kahlo deserves many parties in her honour, with her paintings considered iconic for good reason. Mexican cinema is among the world's best (think: Del Toro, Inarritu, Cuaron, Rodriguez), so if you have screens or projections going, look to these guys. Or just bring a splash of summer to your bash — grey, late-autumn Australia will thank you. FIND YOUR HERO FOOD This might be the easiest part of the party-planning process, but you don't just want the food to be good — you also want it to be authentic. That means tacos made with corn tortillas, chorizo, guacamole, salsa, onions and coriander, and quesadillas filled with stringy Oaxaca cheese. Put your focus into the central component of the dish and no one will notice if you go with store-bought stuff for the rest. A good option is always to take your cue from Neil Perry — his chicken (or pork) adobo for tacos sings with chipotle, honey and vinegar. You might also have time to try making your own churros for dessert. Yum. You can also get your guests in on the action (and take the heat off yourself) by asking them to bring their own homemade guacamole or salsa. Add a competitive element, and call it a guac off. The chef behind the best wins bragging rights, and everyone else wins by getting to eat it. Just stock up on corn chips beforehand, because there's going to be plenty of dipping to do. THREE DRINKS TO COVER ALL BASES When it comes to Mexican beer, it's an easy choice. Chill some Coronas in as big a bucket as you can find, and make sure you have plenty of extra lime slices lying around for people to pop in the tops. If you want something stronger, it wouldn't be Cinco de Mayo without margaritas making an appearance. Just combine 2 parts tequila to 1 part Cointreau (or another triple sec) and 1 part freshly squeezed lime juice. Choose a silver tequila, and look for the words '100% agave' on the label. That means it's the real stuff. Pour over or blend with ice, but don't forget the glass rimmed with salt. For a non-alcoholic option, agua fresca is your beverage of choice. It couldn't be easier to make or tastier to drink. Watermelon is a popular flavour, and all you need to do is blend cubes of the fruit then mix it with the juice of four limes, three quarters of a cup of castor sugar and a cup of mint leaves. Stir, stand for an hour, strain and top up with sparkling water. GO TO CONTEMPORARY MEXICO WITH YOUR PLAYLIST A party isn't a party without a soundtrack to match the occasion. Here you have multiple options, but we're only going to recommend two. Acoustic guitar fans need look no further than Rodrigo y Gabriela (fans of nuevo flamenco, rock and heavy metal too). The duo's sound is certainly diverse, which isn't surprising given that they mix traditional Mexican music with European influences over their five studio albums and three live records. For a more unpredictable playlist, there's always Spotify. Any one of their hundreds of Mexican playlists will spit you out a party-ready concoction of mariachi music, contemporary Latin songs and questionable Ricky Martin numbers. HIT THINGS WITH STICKS There's one party staple that never gets old, even as you get older. That'd be the piñata, something that the Spanish brought to Mexico, and also links in with Mayan culture. You know how it works: you wear a blindfold, swing a stick and try to break open a suspended, decorated container filled with goodies. That's the fun part — but making your own is just as fun, too. Papier mache away using newspaper scraps and a paste made from equal parts flour and water, plus a tablespoon of salt. Balloons work well as a sturdy base, as you might remember from primary school. Once everything has dried, decorate it with paint and crepe paper, and then stuff it full of goodies. Lollies are fine, but you might want something a bit more age-appropriate. We were thinking mini bottles of tequila or hot sauce, individually packaged T2 teabags, discs of pour-over hot chocolate, playing cards or obscure Mexican lollies — or a combination of the lot. Top image: Dollar Photo Club.
One of the most buzzed about titles of this year’s Cannes Film Festival has just dropped its first official trailer. Adapted from Shakespeare’s seminal play, with Michael Fassbender in the title role and Marion Cotillard as his ambitious wife, Macbeth has been described in early reviews as “towering,” “haunting” and “intensely compelling.” If this first glimpse of footage is anything to go by, the critics appear to be right on the money. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgH_OnrYlCk Turns out when you take two of the greatest actors in the world and give them one of the best scripts ever written, the results tend to look pretty impressive. Getting a definite Game of Thrones vibe from this one, although to be fair, when it comes to sword and sorcery scheming, William S. pipped George R. R. Martin by a margin of about 400 years. Still, what’s perhaps most impressive about this trailer are the visuals. Australian director (represent!) Justin Kurzel has made just one feature film prior to this — in the form of 2011’s highly disturbing true crime thriller Snowtown — but his work here looks extraordinarily polished. Directors that have previously tackled the Scottish play include Roman Polanski and Orson Welles. Talk about big shoes to fill. Macbeth is yet to receive an Australian release date, but should hopefully be in cinemas by the end of the year.
The glitz! The glamour! The millionaires patting each other on the back! Yes dear friends, the Academy Awards are getting closer by the day. This year's nominations range from big, populist blockbusters to itsy bitsy indie films, once again celebrating the very best that Hollywood has to offer. As long as what it has to offer was...y'know...white. The #OscarsSoWhite problem has become one of a number of talking points in the wake of the recent nominations, along with the dodgy shut-out of critical darling Carol and the hype around Leonardo DiCaprio. He's finally going to win you guys! While a few of the nominees, including Room and Steve Jobs, are yet to reach our shores, we've otherwise managed to see just about everything in contention. And after running them all through our Oscar predicting super computer, here's how we think Hollywood's night of nights is going to pan out. BEST PICTURE The Nominees The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Spotlight. What Will Win This is going to be a close one. Although it won't be released in Australia until the end of January, journalism drama Spotlight was thought to be leading the race, until The Revenant swooped in and nabbed the top prize at the Golden Globes. And with the most nominations out of this year's Oscar contenders, we reckon momentum is only going to build. The Revenant by a nose. What Should Win Putting aside our national bias, it's pretty obvious that Mad Max: Fury Road should take home the big banana. It's thrilling, inventive and phenomenally made, and was a hit with critics and audiences alike. Not only that, but the film's strong feminist overtones and kickass female characters are exactly the kind of thing that Hollywood needs to reward. The Snubs The biggest snub of the bunch is undoubtedly Carol. Todd Haynes' lesbian romance set in 1950s New York has been rightfully adored by critics, and its surprising omission here is seen as a sign by many that Oscar voters still aren't ready to embrace queer stories. So much for liberal Hollywood. It's also disappointing not to see Creed or Straight Outta Compton nominated, as two of the best reviewed and most popular films of the year about people of colour. Hell, even a Star Wars nom would have been something. BEST DIRECTOR The Nominees Lenny Abrahamson (Room), Alejandro G. Inarritu (The Revenant), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), Adam McKay (The Big Short), George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road). Who Will Win This race will likely come down to George Miller for Mad Max and Alejandro G. Inarritu for The Revenant. Both men made ambitious, visually spectacular films, something the Academy increasingly tends to reward. The fact that Inarritu won last year for Birdman might make some voters want to look elsewhere, but we're still tipping him to go back-to-back. Who Should Win George Miller. He's a veteran of the industry, and unlike Inarritu, there's more to his movie that just style for the sake of style. Here's hoping George can become the first Australian ever to win Best Director. Celebratory Mad Max screening at our place if he does! The Snubs Most people assumed Ridley Scott would get a nomination for his rock solid work on The Martian. Todd Haynes for Carol is likewise a very disappointing omission, as is Ryan Coogler for Creed. The fact that the category is entirely male is more a condemnation of the wider film industry than it is of Oscar voters... although it's certainly depressing none the less. BEST ACTRESS The Nominees Cate Blanchett (Carol), Brie Larson (Room), Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn). Who Will Win While Cate Blanchett seemed like an early favourite for her sublime work in Carol, the scales appear to be tipping in favour of Brie Larson in Room. She's coming fresh off a win at the Golden Globes, and the film obviously resonated with Academy voters given its unexpected nomination for Best Director as well as Best Picture. Who Should Win The good thing about this category is that there really is no bad option. For our money Blanchett is still the strongest contender, but we'd be just as happy seeing it go to any one of them. The Snubs There's a strong argument that both Alicia Vikander and Rooney Mara should be here, for their work in The Danish Girl and Carol, but their respective studios successfully campaigned to have them nominated for Best Supporting Actress instead. And let's face it, it just wouldn't be the Oscars without a little bit of category fraud. BEST ACTOR The Nominees Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Matt Damon (The Martian), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl). Who Will Win Leonardo DiCaprio, although it would be kind of funny if he didn't. His turn in The Revenant is far from his best work, but it's exactly the kind of big, committed performance that the Academy tends to favour. Subtlety be damned! Honestly, the field is pretty weak this year. Michael Fassbender is reportedly great in Steve Jobs, but the buzz around the film is basically non-existent. Who Should Win Honestly, anyone aside from Eddie Redmayne for his insipid work in the regressive, cliché-riddled transgender weepie The Danish Girl. How anyone thinks that's a good performance is just totally beyond us. Just give it to Leo. Think of how happy it'll make him. The Snubs Steve Jobs isn't out in Australia until February, but it's hard to imagine Fassbender gives a better performance as the Apple co-founder than he does as Macbeth in Justin Kurzel's phenomenal Shakespeare adaptation. Michael B. Jordan is terrific in Creed, and there's been a lot of good said about Will Smith in the NFL medical drama Concussion as well. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS The Nominees Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Rooney Mara (Carol), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs). Who Will Win Putting aside the dodgy Oscar politics that sees Mara and Vikander nominated in the wrong category, we suspect this award will go to the actress from Carol. That said, it's entirely conceivable that Vikander or Winslet could swoop in for the steal. Who Should Win Rooney Mara is wonderful in Carol, and a very deserving recipient. If you're looking for something a little bolder, we'd go with Jennifer Jason Leigh, who steals The Hateful Eight from her seven male co-stars. The Snubs It was always a long shot, but we'd have been thrilled to see transgender actress Mya Taylor score a nomination for her remarkable turn in Sean Baker's Tangerine. The other disappointing omission is Kristen Stewart. You may scoff, but her work in Clouds of Sils Maria is a total revelation. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR The Nominees Christian Bale (The Big Short), Tom Hardy (The Revenant), Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Sylvester Stallone (Creed). Who Will Win Unless The Revenant makes a clean sweep and thus the award goes to Tom Hardy, we expect to see this trophy in the hands of Sylvester Stallone. Everybody in Hollywood loves him, and he's genuinely terrific in Creed. Besides, his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes was absolutely adorable. Who wouldn't want to see more of that? Who Should Win Seriously, did you see that acceptance speech!? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs3aqt4O4ng The Snubs The most notable absence is Idris Elba, who was widely expected to be nominated for his chilling turn in Netflix's Beasts of No Nation. Are you noticing a theme here? It's also a little surprising that Michael Keaton missed out for his work in Spotlight, and we'd have loved to see Benicio Del Toro, for Sicario, and Michael Shannon, for 99 Homes, make the cut as well. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The Nominees Bridge of Spies, Ex Machina, Inside Out, Spotlight, Straight Outta Compton. What Will Win Spotlight seems like an easy pick here. The story, about a newspaper investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, is just the right mix of worthy and compelling, plus the screenplay categories are often the place where the Academy gives its consolation prize to the film that missed out on Best Picture. What Should Win As much as we liked Spotlight, for us this award deserves to go to the folks behind Inside Out. Once again, Pixar have demonstrated that children's films don't need to talk down to their intended audience, and that it's possible to craft jokes that both kids and adults will enjoy. Inside Out is one of the funniest films of the year, while at the same time dealing with concepts of grief and loss with a level of maturity that puts most grownup movies to shame. We also really liked Ex Machina, but this should go to Pixar, not close. The Snubs Although it's divided critics and may be too controversial for some, Quentin Tarantino's savage, racially-charged western The Hateful Eight deserved to at least get a nomination. We'd have loved to see absurdist black comedy The Lobster get some attention too, but honestly that was never particularly likely. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Nominees The Big Short, Brooklyn, Carol, The Martian, Room. What Will Win Adam McKay's financial crisis comedy The Big Short is the frontrunner in this category. It's smart, funny and has just the right amount of righteous indignation, which Oscar voters tend to love. The Martian and Room also seem like reasonable possibilities. What Should Win The more we think about it, the more we like The Martian in this category. It's funny, it's thrilling, it's wonderfully optimistic, and in an age of increasing anti-intellectualism, it actually makes science seem cool. The Snubs Aaron Sorkin seemed like a lock for his work on Steve Jobs, but as mentioned above the movie just didn't seem to resonate with viewers. We'll also give one final plug to Macbeth, for stripping Shakespeare down to its raw, grim essentials. The winners of the 88th Academy Awards will be revealed on February 28.
Charging your smartphone will soon be as foolproof as placing it on your coffee table. Taking already existing technology and fusing it into your own home, Swedish retail giants and regular media-baiting happening creators Ikea have jumped on wireless power capabilities to release built-in wireless charging furniture. According to the Wall Street Journal, this will be the first time built-in wireless chargers are available to consumers from a mass-market furniture retailer. Ikea made the big announcement on Sunday at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress. They've recruited the likes of Qi for the collection, a wireless power standard from the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). Alongside two other standards, this is one of the companies responsible for the wireless charging technology you would have already seen in airports, cafes and hotels and generally lost your shit over a few years ago. But until now, major furniture stores haven't taken advantage of the downright convenience of the technology, or the logic in embedding the charging capability in surfaces you already rest your smartphone on during charge times. So how does it work? Qi does away with all those dastardly cables and the annoyance of choosing between model connections, as the furniture itself is the one plugged in. When switched on, the lamp base, coffee table or side table's energy or bookshelf transfers to your smartphone or tablet (yep, maaaaagic), depending whether or not it supports Qi charging — there's 81 Qi-compatible types of smartphone, but iPhones aren't one of them, sorry Apple fans. Apparently the wireless charging-capable furniture will cost a mere $22 more than regular furniture from Ikea, proving the Swedish homeware giants truly have money to burn and credibility to gain. If all goes well with the embedded furniture line, you could be able to buy a wireless charging kit to fit to your existing, beloved dining table soon for about $34, which is a lot cheaper than replacing all those lost, broken chargers of yours. The wireless-charging furniture collection will hit Ikea shelves in Europe and the US on April, 15, followed by a global roll-out, so keep 'em crossed. Via Wall Street Journal.
OK Go, that band whose music videos consistently outperform their music, would find it hard not to be impressed by Birdman. That's because the film features one remarkable, continuous shot that goes for 119 minutes and is called Birdman. It's a cheat, of course. Like Timecode before it, there are cuts amid the long takes, but much of director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's remarkable achievement is how seamlessly they’re all pieced together. Filmed like a play but choreographed like a dance, Birdman is cinematic ballet where the way the story is presented is just as critical to its telling as the story itself. And what of that story? It’s a simple one, but like all good tales, the simplicity of plot is offset by characters possessed of deep complexity. None more so than Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), a washed-up movie star whose career faded into obscurity after turning down the lead in ‘Birdman 3’ (allusions to Keaton’s career post Batmans 1 and 2 are clearly — and gleefully — embraced by all). Thomson has gambled everything on one final shot at restoring his credibility: a Broadway adaptation of a Raymond Carver story that he has singlehandedly adapted, directed and is starring in. There's a matryoshka doll feeling to it all: the movie, filmed like a play, about the movie star putting on a play. The effect is at once mesmerising and unbalanced, neatly reflecting Thomson’s own tortured subconscious. When narration sporadically occurs, it is not in the voice of Thomson, but Thomson ‘doing’ Birdman — the same gravelly exercise in duality that defines the Bruce Wayne/Batman dichotomy. Then there’s the supporting cast, albeit one where ‘support’ is a giant misnomer since Keaton needs no assistance and each of the supporting actors puts in a lead-worthy performance of their own. As Thomson’s friend and agent, Zach Galifianakis shows remarkable, understated reserve, while Emma Stone is refreshingly dark as Thomson’s recovering drug addict daughter Sam. Naomi Watts and Andrea Riseborough both demonstrate incredible depth as Thomson’s on-stage co-stars, but the standout is unquestionably Edward Norton. He plays Mike Shiner, an unspeakable egotist and critical darling whose dedication to method seemingly knows no bounds. Norton's scenes with Keaton showcase two of the finest performances of the year, and are spectacularly — most notably in their self-aware jibes at actors and critics. This is a film that almost commands repeat viewings, if only to marvel at its mechanics. Yet Birdman offers so much more than form. Darkly comedic, intellectually challenging and emotionally confronting, Iñárritu's film is a tantalisingly original piece of cinema that belongs on everyone’s must-see list for 2015.
With hard-hitting dramas, imaginative comedies and a retrospective tribute to one of the all-time greats, the latest edition of the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival doesn't disappoint. Lighting up the screen from March 11 to April 3 in Brisbane, the 2016 program features a diverse mix of titles showcasing the very best the French film industry has to offer. Below, we've put together a list of the five most intriguing films on the program. Lumière...Moteur...Action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iespSNiOMRQ DHEEPAN The surprise winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival, Dheepan is the latest film from director Jacques Audiard, whose previous efforts include Un Prophète and Rust and Bone. This new work concerns three strangers from war-torn northern Sri Lanka who masquerade as a family in order to receive asylum in France. A tale of intolerance and persecution, Dheepan feels particularly timely given the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe and our own troubled relationship with asylum seekers here at home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiOnxv30iHk IN THE SHADOW OF WOMEN Another major player at Cannes — where it was selected to open the Director's Fortnight category — this masterful romantic drama is directed by Philippe Garrel, a 50-year veteran of the French film industry. Shot in Paris in gorgeous black and white, In the Shadow of Women follows Pierre (Stanislas Merhar) and Manon (Clotilde Courau), a pair of married documentary filmmakers whose lives are thrown into turmoil when Pierre begins an affair with a young intern (Lena Paugam), only to discover that Manon has secrets of her own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XZe5rrFDrM TAJ MAHAL The 2008 Mumbai terror attacks form the backdrop for this unsettling thriller, selected by film critic and festival patron David Stratton as one of the best films on the program. Stacy Martin (Nymphomaniac) plays Louise, an 18-year-old French tourist trapped in her hotel room as it comes under attack by armed gunmen. Setting his film almost entirely in the one room, director Nicolas Saada has been praised for his restraint, crafting a tense, claustrophobic picture that at times may feel a little too real for comfort. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmu6r2RHVDw MICROBE & GASOLINE From The Science of Sleep to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to his extensive career at the helm of some of the most memorable music videos ever made, director Michel Gondry is rightfully considered one of the most unique and imaginative filmmakers working in the medium today. His latest film is Microbe & Gasoline, a coming-of-age comedy about a pair of teenage outcasts who decide to take a road trip in a homemade house on wheels. Bring on the whimsy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wjDWnKTROI CONTEMPT One of the undisputed masterpieces of the French New Wave, Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film Contempt is essential viewing for anyone who considers themselves a film lover. A scathing satire of the movie business and the conflict between art and commerce, the film follows a screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) adapting Homer's Odyssey for the screen, while navigating complicated relationships with his producer (Jack Palance), director (Fritz Lang) and wife (Brigitte Bardot). Contempt will serve as the festival's closing night film – and frankly, we can't think of a better choice.
What is it? Can I sit on it? Do I put my coffee on it? Mindbending origami furniture that confuses us all is by no means a new idea, but this designer has put a stunning modern spin on a tried and true design tactic. UAE-based designer Aljoud Lootah has created a brand new furniture collection called the 'Oru Series', which both fascinates and terrifies us with its perplexing angularity. But yes, you can put your books, coffee and butt on all of them. Designed for Dubai's Design Days 2015 event, Lootah's series debuted this just week. Taking cues from the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, the bite-sized 'Oru' series is made up of a chair, table lamp, mirror and cabinet; all created from copper, felt and the glorious, glorious badassery that is teak wood. "The name 'Oru' originates from the Japanese words 'to fold', and the idea behind the designs is to show that folding a flat, two-dimensional sheet can create aesthetically appealing functional three-dimensional forms," says Lootah on her website. "The products, with their faceted design looking like complex folds but with sophisticated simplicity, are a modern interpretation of an ancient form of art." Oru collection Oru cabinet Oru lamp Oru chair Oru mirror Via Design Boom. Images: Aljoud Lootah.
The Wheeler Centre is renowned for their innovative programming, but the project they're cooking up now is a doozy. Named after that most endearing punctuation mark, The Interrobang: A Festival of Questions is a festival that is calling on you to decide the topics of conversation. The idea behind the festival is a democratic one: using crowdsourcing techniques, the program is being written around questions submitted by the public and presented to a Brains Trust of writers and thinkers over the two-day festival in Melbourne on November 27-28. Emily Sexton, the head of programming at The Wheeler Centre, says that as well as creating a festival made from publicly sourced questions, she also wants us to question the question. What makes a good question? Can the right question change the landscape of discussion for the better? As well as submitting questions, the public are invited to vote for the best questions. “The way we imagine it is a combination of very potent, political, urgent questions of our time, like 'what is the future of European democracy and what will happen to organisations like the UN or the EU that were founded on a collective idea? Is that still relevant for contemporary life?' But also really inconsequential, playful questions like 'where are all the baby pigeons? Why don’t we ever see them?' I hope there’s a really great mix of personal or political questions,” she says. “There’s no question too big or too small.” There’ll be no shortage of answers either. The Interrobang has assembled a Brains Trust of 25 artists, thinkers, writers and doers from around the world to tackle the questions posed. Included is Wild writer and 'Dear Sugar' advice columnist Cheryl Strayed, cult sci-fi author and tech activist Cory Doctorow, Australia’s sweetheart Benjamin Law, the former Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis, playwright and Twitter hero Nakkiah Lui, journalist Geraldine Brooks, broadcaster Mark Colvin and chef and presenter Adam Liaw. The prerequisite for all the panellists was the need for pluralism and enthusiasm about a range of topics. Don’t expect any sales pitches or pre-made answers here; with such a diverse panel, the aim is to explore the topics from every angle. Emily promises that every question, big or small, will be used in some way in the program. “It’s a significant democratic exercise in a way of handing over control and exploring what people really want to know,” she says. We, for one, are intrigued and would very much like to know where the baby pigeons are. We’ll have to wait until November to find out. Submit your question to The Interrobang via the event website. Tickets for the festival go on sale October 12.
Bedroom producers are the self-publishers of the music world, DIY crusaders making music on their own steam and striving to be the next Flume, Grimes or James Blake. It's a pervasive assumption that home production is a stop-gap for struggling musicians before they manage to get themselves into a professional studio. In practice, electronic music in particular lends itself beautifully to MacGyvered production methods, not just as a way to keep costs down but for the gritty imperfections that come innately from making music in a home studio. For Melbourne's phreshest electronic duo Kllo (Simon Lam and Chloe Kaul), recording in their own home bungalow was as DIY as it gets. "We used a doona as the vocal booth," laughs Chloe, explaining that DIY production helps to soften the polished and artificial sheen that stigmatises so much electronic music. "We want a homely, organic sound, so we use analogue synths and home-made sounds like beating pots and pans. We didn't want it to be too clean." Kllo are having one hell of a year. They've got two singles under their collective belt, both well received, just nailed their appearance at Splendour in the Grass (for the second time), DJed at the official Splendour pre-party, and played a killer party set at Concrete Playground and Sonos's Beach Break with Good Manners labelmate Banoffee. This August, they'll be releasing their album Well Worn and touring nationally. They're proving exactly what a couple of DIY musos with drive can do when they put their minds to it. We sat down with Kllo to mine some of their best working-from-home advice. EVEN BEDROOM PRODUCERS DON'T SLEEP WHERE THEY WORK The first thing any work-from-homer will tell you is that you should never work in bed (and not just because you will get crumbies in the sheets). In fact, this was Simon's first suggestion and a tested truism. "You've gotta separate your living and working space. It's so important, even if you've only got one room to work out of, just draw a line down it," he suggests. "I've worked out of bedrooms for a long time and when it kind of all bleeds together, it becomes unhealthy. It's nice to shut the door at the end of the day and feel like you've left work". Separating work and play is universally acknowledged as a crucial part of not completely losing your mind while working from home. To this end, Kllo work out of two spaces, the bungalow (a room off Simon's house in the 'burbs) and a studio in the CBD. "The energies are different," says Simon. "It's good to be able to walk through the city and come [to the studio] and maintain that high-paced energy. Whereas at the bungalow, it's really isolated, we can work a whole day without talking to anyone but ourselves… you can really get into your own head." TREAT YOUR CREATIVE JOB LIKE A REAL JOB Like so many things in life, a big part of a creative career is turning up. Not turning up at the clurb but physically (and mentally) turning up to your work space and grinding away even when there's no-one but yourself to report to. Throw the sporadic nature of creativity into play and the isolation of working from home and you've got yourself a bit of a quagmire. "Sometimes you can be so disciplined, but then you go to make music in your scheduled time and nothing happens," says Simon. "You can't prepare for when blocks come on." "Times like those are when it's good to do other things and then come back to it," Chloe adds. IF YOU HAVE TO PROCRASTINATE, DO IT WITH A SIT-DOWN MEAL "When we're having a mental block, we eat. We congregate in the kitchen, kettle on, lots of food and coffees. Or treats if we're really down," Chloe says "Then we try to fill ourselves with a lot of carbs and then sugar." "We tend to just have full meals," Simon adds. "A lot of breakfast foods." "We'll have a sit down meal of eggs, avocado, toast," says Chloe. "I also like a Kit Kat Chunky, Sim got me into them. I love that first bite, when it's all chocolate — so good. I've got to stop talking about this, I want one now." MAKE SURE YOU'RE COMFORTABLE IN YOUR SPACE On screen, crispy, white, Tumblr-esque minimalism is king, but in real life it's unnatural, not to mention impractical. This rings especially true for electronic musicians. "Some studios are just so sterile, a vacuum for sound and creativity," says Simon. "I think being comfortable is more important, to make sure you're comfortable and not being put off by anything." Kllo's studio in the CBD is a collaborative space where they're currently working on their album. It's a busy space, littered with knick knacks, beer cans sprouting fluffy cacti, slick high-tech gadgetry including Sonos's smart speaker system, oddments of furniture, shelves clustered with figurines and piles of gear, hedged with endless bundles of cords. In the well-walked studio space of pre-tour musicians, in the midst of promoting an upcoming album, there's no room for impractical minimalism. "But plants are good. Plants are helpful, they bring some life amongst all the metal," Chloe says. "And for us, it's important to play a lot of music at home and in the studio to get inspired and feel at home. You've gotta have a good sound system set up, for sure." DON'T BE AFRAID TO DREAM A LITTLE BIGGER What does Kllo's ideal studio look like? "I reckon it's all wood, with a nice spa," Chloe says. "Big windows and a lot of forest around it." Simon's on board with the window game. "For me it's definitely big windows and when you look out of the window there's a huge garden but then it's actually somewhere really central," he says. And an in-house chef? "Oh, of course. That would be our main thing," Chloe says "if there was an in-house chef I'd just ask him to make me cocktails all day." "I think I'd like a private Coles or Safeway downstairs too," Simon adds. We couldn't agree more. And now for a little music. Here's what Kllo are listening to right now, crank it up. Want to have studio-level sound in your own home? We're teaming up with Sonos to giveaway one of their coveted PLAY:1 speakers, valued at $299. ENTER HERE. Images: Jam on Your Collar, Alexandra Anderson.
Whenever an exciting tour announcement arrives, it usually heralds two pieces of good news. Firstly, someone ace is coming our way. Secondly, they probably have something new — an album or a book — to spruik. That's firmly the case with the latest revelation for 2023: David Sedaris' next Australia tour. This time, the author, comedian and NPR humorist has just dropped New York Times best seller Happy-Go-Lucky, and he's heading to Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to talk about it. Known for his snappy wit, as well as his discerning and astute ability to observe life's moments — both trivial and extraordinary — in both an observational and unique way, Sedaris is making his sixth trip Down Under to chat about the book, which focuses on the pandemic. If you haven't seen Sedaris live before, his shows are part of the reason that he's built up such a following. Onstage, he regularly weaves in new and unpublished material, too, so — and the satirist will throw it over to the crowd for a Q&A as well, and sign copies of his book. Sedaris is celebrated for his constant This American Life appearances, must-read pieces in The New Yorker and his past unputdownable books such as Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls and Theft By Finding: Diaries (1977-2002). If you've been searching for a supportive environment to use the phrase "how very droll," this is it. His live evenings always sell out quickly — all of his Aussie tours have so far — so you'll want to jump on tickets ASAP when they go on sale on Wednesday, August 3. [caption id="attachment_862851" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] AN EVENING WITH DAVID SEDARIS 2023 TOUR DATES: Wednesday, February 1 — Theatre Royal, Hobart Friday, February 3 — Regal Theatre, Perth Saturday, February 4 — Adelaide Festival Centre Sunday, February 5 — Canberra Theatre Centre Monday, February 6–Tuesday, February 7 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne Wednesday, February 8 — Brisbane Powerhouse Thursday, February 9 — Sydney Opera House David Sedaris tours Australia in February 2023. For more information, or to sign up for ticket pre-sales — which start on Tuesday, August 2, with general sales from 9am on Wednesday, August 3 — head to the tour website. Image: Anne Fishbein.
It's absolutely true and absolutely about time. There's an official Hello Kitty diner coming to Sydney. Yep, it's not quite another kitten cafe, but we'll take it. Whether the establishment will be pop-up or permanent, the crew haven't revealed much at all yet, with a single Instagram post saying: The diner's Facebook page indicates the diner's cuisine will be primarily American, with hot dogs and burgers flagged; so it looks like it won't be the Hello Kitty yum cha style Hong Kong can look forward to at the world's first official Hello Kitty restaurant. This isn't the first Hello Kitty establishment for Australia — Sanrio's first licensed Australian Hello Kitty Cafe is in Adelaide, selling simply adorable cakes and baked goods. If you can't wait a few months until the Sydney diner reveals an opening date, just book a trip on the Hello Kitty airplane, regularly running from Paris to Taipei in all its Kitty glory. Watch this space for more info as it comes out, we're sure there's going to be adorable images of Hello Kitty-shaped burgs coming your way soon. Image: Hello Kitty pancake by Ellie, Kawaii Kakkoii Sugoi. Not part of the upcoming menu but adorable anyway.
The one and only Marina Abramovic will be settling down in Sydney this week. Her 12-day-long Kaldor residency will begin on June 24, transforming Walsh Bay’s Pier 2/3 into a public art laboratory. Abramovic is the undisputed “grandmother of performance art”. She gained notoriety in art circles for her daring and death-defying performances from the ‘70s onward; however, it was her 2010 retrospective, The Artist Is Present at MoMA which catapulted her into the cultural mainstream. Following high-profile collaborations with the likes of Lady Gaga and Jay Z, Abramovic has reached rock-star levels of popularity herself. If it feels like Abramovic sprung out of obscurity around five years ago, you might wonder how she came to be the world’s most famous performance artist. Let's journey back. PERFORMANCE ART AS (DANGEROUS) EMPOWERMENT As a bright-eyed Serbian student, Abramovic took the leap over to Western Europe during the '70s and became a key player in the genesis of performance art. One of her earliest and most significant achievements has been reconfiguring the relationship between artist and audience. These were the first steps into participatory artworks, upending the standard passivity of the spectator. Her self-objectifying performance Rhythm 0 (1974) gave power to a particularly masochistic swarm of gallery-goers. Abramovic lay naked on a table next to a whole range of objects, including perfume, a rose, a feather, scissors, a scalpel and a gun loaded with one bullet. From decorative to sinister, these objects were used at the whim of participants who were compelled to decide whether to act or prevent an action. The situation escalated when Abramovic was cut with razor blades, the gun was held to her head, and rose thorns were pressed into her stomach. She is not being melodramatic when she claims that art is a matter of life and death. Over a period of decades, she has subjected herself to demanding physical conditions, cultivating an ability to push through pain barriers and enter a trance like state during performances. This has allowed her to build a strong sense of power and resilience. Image: Marina Abramovic, Rhythm 0 (1974) PERFORMANCE ART AS TRUST AND ENDURANCE Abramovic began performing with artist and former life partner Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen) in 1976. They became the power couple of the ‘80s art world, united by a compulsion to examine consciousness. They also shared the strength-through-pain ethos that Abramovic had been working on as a solo artist. Many of their works come across as if they are trying to fuse themselves together or create a combined self. In one performance, Relation in Space (1976), they ran at each other repeatedly, violently knocking bodies. After 12 years of artistic and personal companionship, Abramovic and Ulay parted ways in an epic gesture of farewell. Beginning their journey from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China — Abramovic from the Yellow Sea and Ulay from the Gobi Desert — they travelled for 90 days before officially ending their relationship. PERFORMANCE ART AS ARTEFACT As Abramovic stepped up as a solo artist for the second time, she became passionate about preserving the craft of performance art, experimenting with alternative methods of documentation. At one point, she stated that there are to be no repetitions of this kind of art — you cannot have a substitute for the real experience. However, the artist broke this rule when staging the spectacular series Seven Easy Pieces (2003), which paid homage to the pioneers of performance art. Piecing together fragmented records, Abramovic recreated ephemeral performances by Bruce Nauman, Vito Acconci, Valie Export, Gina Pane and Joseph Beuys, putting her own individual spin on them. The re-enactments took place over seven days at the Guggenheim Museum. Of course, the relationship between art and the archive can be tricky business, particularly with regard to preserving the spontaneity and integrity of the original event. In any case, Abramovic’s pedagogical project is ongoing. The Abramovic Institute was a Kickstarter-funded initiative which took off in 2013, dedicated to durational performance and interdisciplinary research. Image: Marina Abramovic performing Gina Pane's The Conditioning in Seven Easy Pieces (2003). PERFORMANCE ART AS MINDFULNESS From 2010 onward, Abramovic seems to have a newfound subtlety and quietness. More recently there have been fewer clanging bodies and life-threatening situations. Unlike her earlier performances, she is expending energy in a different way, deeply influenced by Eastern spirituality and mindfulness. A good example of this would be the massively hyped retrospective at MoMA drew in approximately 750,000 people. Spread across six floors of the gallery, the 2010 exhibition was unprecedented in scale. The centrepiece of the show, The Artist Is Present, showcased the shamanistic Abramovic, silently projecting energy into her sitters for eight hours a day, every day. Surely, there is an element of narcissism here. While Abramovic has built a solid legacy of groundbreaking performances, she may be coasting on charisma these days, inviting the public to bathe in her superstar status. Regardless of this cynical thought, there is something compelling about The Artist Is Present. It is testament to Abramovic that a piece which could have easily lapsed into tacky sensationalism turned out to be profoundly moving. Image: Marina Abramovic, The Artist Is Present (2010) PREFORMANCE ART AS A BRAND Today, Abramovic has become a brand in and of herself. However, contrary to her popularity, performance art isn’t the most lucrative trade. Her works don’t actually fetch much — a mere fraction of the kind of money thrown at Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. While criticism levelled at Abramovic may strike the occasional chord of truth (mainly in regard to her potential narcissism and theatricality), some of it seems like the product of stuffy art world insiders who see celebrity collaborations as tainting the intellectual heritage of performance art. They're quick to denounce 'sell-outs', but that very term seems to imply a big divide between high art and popular culture. Abramovic is responsible for pioneering some of the most significant aspects of performance art — arguably she has a degree of ownership over them. So why shouldn't she be able to use these techniques however she sees fit? Why not use Lady Gaga as the face of The Abramovic Method? If Marina Abramovic has made performance art more accessible for a new generation, that’s a good thing. Marina Abramovic: In Residence is on at Pier 2/3 in Sydney June 24 to July 5. It's free to attend, but be prepared to queue.
One of Australia's most redeeming qualities is its ability to give good afternoon sun. There's something about its familiar glow that almost demands casual drinks. To help you out as summer comes rolling around, we've got a couple of fun (sometimes sweaty) suggestions for afternoon activities you can enjoy with your friends. They'll be all the more fun when coupled with a cold Heineken 3 in one hand. LAWN BOWLS Ah, lawn bowls, the classic non-taxing "sport" – it harks back to the 12th century, and remains an A+ summer jaunt. It's just like bowling except you're shoeless and it's good for people with little hands and not many arm muscles. Feel the fake grass between your toes and let your hair down as you try to aim the black balls for the little white ball and then forget about all that and just throw balls around willy nilly while drinking a cold beer. There are many places in Brisbane to play, but we recommend getting out in the sunshine at Merthyr Bowls in New Farm. CROQUET Not just for fancy people, or old people, the low-key sport of croquet has gone through a resurgence of late. You can grab a croquet kit from K-Mart, set yourself up anywhere where there's grass and start hiting balls through pegs with a mallet and a beer in hand. It's quite a time, and strangely it makes you feel very sophisticated. Summer clothing reminiscent of The Great Gatsby is optional, but encouraged. BACKYARD CRICKET Backyard cricket is a bit of a great Australian summer pastime: play with your family, friends, or dogs before someone inevitably hits your last ball over the fence. All you need is an expanse of grass (it doesn't even need to be in your backyard), a couple of bats, a tennis ball, and some large object you can turn into a wicket. Don't forget to bring an esky outside for a potential boundary, and so you can easily access a drink (a Heineken 3) to replenish lost electrolytes after you've had a bit of a jog around in the sun. BADMINTON Have you ever played Badminton with a beer? It's fun. Badminton has hands down the best named playing vessel – the "shuttlecock" – so embrace the 'cock and go and hit it around a net with some other friends. Played in either singles or doubles, you can play on a court on ground or on the beach, or anywhere you can set up your the net you bought from K-Mart. It was developed in British India and has taken off especially in Asia, and it's a game of extreme agility and precision. The longer your summer afternoon kicks on if you're having a beery one, the worse you'll get at hitting the cock, but it'll still be fun. KUBB Kubb! What a time. The basic principle is throwing things (wooden batons) at other things (wooden blocks) to knock them over, and when a game is that simple you know you'll be able to cope no matter what state you're in. Rumoured to be born in the Viking times, it's a game much as old as time. It's perhaps one we haven't fully embraced yet, which means you might have to venture to your local sports store for a set. We think it should be an Olympic sport – the only way to achieve this is for as many sun-seeking revelers to partake as possible, so get kubbed this summer. Enjoy your summer afternoons with the new low-carb Heineken 3 – we're helping you make the most of them.
After yesterday's Oscar snub, Richard Linklater could be looking at another go at Boyhood. Maybe. According to a probably-too-hopeful Flavorwire, the director has tossed up the epic idea of creating a sequel to the Best Picture nominee 12-years-in-the-making. In a recent podcast interview with Jeff Goldsmith, Linklater was asked about a potential sequel; an idea he had blatantly discarded until recently. But there could be a glimmer of possibility for the already Academy Award-winning director. "To be honest… this film first met its audience exactly a year ago and for the first six months of the year, my answer to that was absolutely not. This was 12 years, it was first grade through 12th grade; it was about getting out of high school. I had no idea about another story, there’s nothing to say. It hadn’t crossed my mind. "But I don’t know if it’s been a combination of finally feeling that this is over or being asked a similar question a bunch over the last year, that I thought, well, I wake up in the morning thinking, 'the 20s are pretty formative, you know?' That's where you really become who you’re going to be. It’s one thing to grow up and go to college, but it’s another thing to… So, I will admit my mind has drifted towards [a sequel]." Sure, this isn't a confirmation, but we can dream. Could we see another Before trilogy set-up happening with Boyhood? Poor Ellar Coltrane thought he was out of the water. Via Flavorwire.
If someone hasn't already reminded you that today is the first of March (with a petrified look of a person on the brink of a mid-life crisis, no less), this bit of news should well and truly confirm that summer is over. Vivid Sydney has this morning given us the first tidbit from their 2017 program, announcing indie folk-rock band Fleet Foxes as their first visiting artist. The US band will bring their bright dance-around-the-forest songs to the Sydney Opera House for four exclusive shows on May 26–29 this year. These will be the band's only shows in Australia — and their first here in five years — so tickets will be allocated via a ballot system. Anyone who sat online to get (or miss out on) tickets to the Opera House's Bon Iver show last year will appreciate this method of allocation. Fans of Fleet Foxes will know the band have been extremely quiet of late; they haven't released an album since Helplessness Blues back in 2011. The band is set to release their third album this year — which, according to Consequence of Sound, is called Ylajali — and has already locked in some European tour dates post-Vivid, meaning that we could potentially be the first to hear their new material. The Fleet Foxes gig is the first announcement for Vivid 2017, which will this year run from May 26 until June 17. The full program will be announced later this month. That should get you excited for winter. Fleet Foxes will play four shows at the Sydney Opera House from May 26–29. The ballot is open now until 11.59pm on Sunday, March 5. You can enter here.
Whatever you're doing between 4pm and 5pm this afternoon, we suggest you cancel it. You now have more pressing concerns. Two words: free doughnuts. Rest assured, we would never joke about something this delicious. For one hour only, the legends at Doughnut Time really will be handing out their mouthwatering morsels, free of charge, at their Topshop pop-up stores. And we thought we couldn't love the folks that brought us burger-doughnut hybrids, vegan doughnuts and doughnut delivery any more than we already do. Those with a hankering for doughy goodness — which includes you, let's be honest — just need to head on down to Topshop in the Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane CBD once the clock strikes four. We recommend arriving early, because if there's one thing everyone loves, it's devouring sweet treats without having to pay for the privilege. Students keen on doing some shopping can also nab 10 percent off their Topshop purchases, in case you needed any more incentive to rush along. Basically, Monday just got a whole lot brighter and tastier. Free doughnuts will do that. For more information, visit the Doughnut Time Facebook page.
The story of a young man staring down the barrel of an arranged marriage even as he finds himself falling head over heels for someone else, Ali's Wedding has been billed as Australia's first Muslim rom-com. It's an intriguing tag that could prove either a hook or a hindrance when it comes to attracting a mainstream audience. The good news? The film is fantastic. Director Jeffrey Walker and writer/star Osamah Sami (on whose life the story is closely based), have crafted a hilarious, heartwarming film about love, community and living up to the expectations of your family; a film that both embraces difference and celebrates the things that make us the same. And yet with the film due to hit cinemas on August 31, the question still remains: will local audiences be willing to embrace a story about a Muslim immigrant, in which there is hardly a white character in sight? "We're right on the edge of finding out," says Walker. "The way that I view it is: we've had thousands and thousands of people come and view the film, from small communities to big cities to festivals, and the feeling is the same. I think people go in, particularly if they're of a conservative background or whatever, already a little bit dubious. They go in, perhaps, with a preconceived notion. But the one comment we've had throughout all of the screenings is that by the end of the film there's a great deal of love and appreciation… and the sense is that once people have seen it, [they realise that] the things that we all have in common far outweigh the differences." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEMeZDmvYhs ON REPRESENTING A (SLIGHTLY) DIFFERENT WORLD TO YOUR OWN "In the journey of this film, I came in quite late," says Walker. "But it's relative, because [it took] about seven years to bring all the pieces together. Osamah originally told Tony Ayres of Matchbox Pictures a story about his life, and that spurred on Tony to go and chat to [co-screenwriter] Andrew Knight." "They spent a long time writing it, they spent a long time financing it, they spent a long time bringing it all together," says Walker. "I was fortunate in some regards in that I joined it at the point that it was fully financed." Walker does admit to having a sense of hesitation in attaching himself to a project set in a world he knew so little about. "I loved the story, but there was an intimidating edge to it, because I also felt like I didn't want to do the community any injustice," he says. "But rereading it I almost just discounted all that, and went really to what I thought was the heart of the film, and the story, and the characters. From there I saw what the universal things and qualities were, and I felt like I could work with that." WORKING WITH OSAMAH According to Walker, one of the keys to the film's success was his collaborative relationship with Sami — both on screen and off. "I think the very first time we met he was going to take me out to visit a couple of mosques in Melbourne, and basically begin our journey working out how we were going to approach this film," Walker recalls. "So I met him much more as a writer, and in his capacity as an associate producer, than I did as the leading actor of the film. We struck up a great friendship, and making him feel proud and happy of this film has been a great motivator for me throughout the entire journey." "He made me feel extremely comfortable, and he was so open, and tolerated all my ridiculous and stupid questions," Walker continues. "Even when I think about asking them now, it's a bit like the ABC series You Can't Ask That. I just had to go there. But then I had a greater understanding of who he was, of who his family is, and of his world and his community. He gave me the confidence to be able to tell this story." ARE AUSTRALIANS READY FOR THIS FILM? As our interview with Walker comes to a close, our conversation returns to how audiences are likely to react to the film. "My desperate hope for the film is that while you might initially be trying to play catch-up on what it is to be in a mosque, or what's unique about being in a Muslim household, eventually that all washes away as you see that, ultimately, the [things] that young people go through in their twenties in the Muslim community is a version of exactly what someone with a Western background goes through," he says. As for any Australians who might be clinging to anti-immigrant views, Walker's message is simple. "We're a very young country. For anyone to stand with any sense of entitlement to Australia whose family history only goes back four or five generations is an odd standpoint from my point of view… the only people in Australia who deserve any entitlement are the Indigenous people, and the rest of us all just need to get along. We all travelled an immigrant's path to be here." Ali's Wedding screens at the Melbourne International Film Festival on August 10, and releases in cinemas on August 31.
New South Wales' Three Blue Ducks is crossing state borders and laying down roots along the Brisbane River. The eatery has just been announced as the signature restaurant at the soon-to-launch W Brisbane this April. Set in the luxury hotel, the design will hone in on Queensland's laidback vibe and complement the brand's paddock-to-plate ethos by featuring earthy tones, hanging greenery and the use of raw materials. The restaurant is part of the lush new Brisbane Quarter development, which is slated to include an office tower, apartments and two levels of retail. Famed chefs Darren Robertson, Andy Allen and Mark LaBrooy will be serving up their signature menu of sustainably and ethically sourced eats all day, with the seasonal menu featuring local produce from both Queensland and northern New South Wales. The kitchen features a woodfired oven, a rotisserie and charcoal pit, along with a cold seafood section with Moreton Bay bugs, spanner crab and oysters on offer. Many of the venue's much loved dishes will also make an appearance, including the coal-roasted lamb with parsnip puree, burnt shallots and fresh peas; the crab scramble with green mango, bean shoot salad, house-made Sriracha and cashews; and the corn fritters with guacamole, fermented cabbage, herb salad, labneh and poached eggs. For drinks, they're slinging original cocktails, local craft beers and top-notch coffees, just like they do down south. "When approached by W Hotel to embark on a Three Blue Ducks venture in Brisbane, it was important to us to ensure that we shared the same values and sustainable business practices," says the brand's co-owner, Jeff Bennett. "Although our current venues greatly differ in aesthetic, our philosophy and ethos remain very much the same and we can't wait to work alongside W Brisbane with views over the Brisbane River." W Brisbane is set to open at 81 North Quay, Brisbane on March 15, with Three Blue Ducks opening in April. For more info on the hotel, visit the website.
Ze Pickle has long been the king of Queensland's monster burger trade, as anyone who has been to their stores in Burleigh Heads or Fortitude Valley will know. But soon they'll be king of the highway as well, when the Ze Pickle food truck comes rolling into town. That's right people: these mammoth creations are going mobile. It's lip-smacking fantastic news if you're a fan of their stacked creations, laden with everything from pulled pork to Nutella-smoked bacon, stuff between burger bun, grilled cheese sandwiches and even a pair of Doughnut Time doughnuts. Don't block out your weekend to stalk their greasy wagon around town just yet though. Bringing something this epic to the streets takes time. As such, their meals on wheels are still around three months away. Once it's up and running, the Ze Pickle Food Truck will make it's way to all the usual markets and food truck hangouts around town. Sadly it won't showcase their full menu, although you won't hear us complaining. We'll take their gut-busting burger towers whenever and wherever we can — and we're sure we're not alone. To stay up to date with the Ze Pickle food truck, keep an eye on their Facebook page.
Lovers of cinema and hummus-fuelled picnics rejoice: this year's Moonlight Cinema season has finally arrived and it’s looking mighty good. The lineup features some of this year’s biggest new Hollywood releases alongside more demure titles, family favourites and age-old classics, so you can guarantee you’ll find something that piques your interest. Let’s start with the bigwigs. What better way to see the big releases of summer than outdoors on a balmy night? Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two and SPECTRE are all showing and (we’d imagine) best viewed under the stars. We’re also thrilled to see a fair whack of female-centric films in the lineup too, as well as an array of movies that cover hitherto taboo topics in the popular cinema circuit. Joy, starring everyone’s favourite human Jennifer Lawrence, follows the unconventional story of a mother of three as she builds a business empire in the ’90s; Suffragette is an important historical period drama about women’s fight for the vote in pre-war Britain and appropriately features a dreamy cast of unique and unapologetic women including Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter. We’ve also got The Danish Girl, featuring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, which explores the life of transgender artist Lili Elbe. Closer to home on Australia Day, we’ve got The Dressmaker, a montage of Kate Winslet looking hot and Liam Hemsworth looking filthy hot (maybe other things happen in the plot too but why would they bother?). And at the other end of the spectrum is the lighthearted comedy Sisters, featuring unstoppable duo Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. But don’t think the gentlemen miss out. The Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest Oscar bid, was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (of Birdman fame) so you can guarantee it’ll be equally beautiful, dramatic and weird. And if you miss The Martian or missed Jurassic World in cinemas, you can catch them at Moonlight sessions too. As always Moonlight Cinema will be throwing back to classics: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Top Gun, Dirty Dancing andGrease. Tickets are on sale now for the summer sessions so get booking lest you get stuck in front of Dirty Grandpa(yes, a film where you can see Robert Deniro making out with April Ludgate while Zac Efron wears a vast array of golfing sweaters — that is apparently showing too :/).
Australia's creative industry is about to get pretty damn employed — the new Alien and Thor movies will be filmed in Australia. Announced by the Federal Government in a press conference broadcast on ABC News 24 today, the films will start filming in 2016. The Australian government is fronting $47 million so the two films can be made in the country. "What it means is 3000 direct jobs for Australians," said senator Mitch Fifield. "This helps develop skills, skills that couldn't be developed on smaller budget productions." When briefing the cabinet, Senator Fifield apparently got pretty excited about the fact that Prometheus had a character called Fifield, until ol' mate industry and innovation minister Christopher Pyne piped up, "He died." Sir Ridley Scott's new Alien film and Marvel's new Thor film will start filming in 2016. We're pretty sure the casts of both movies will be advised to leave their dogs at home. Via SMH.
Your days of stealing liberating those tiny IKEA pencils may soon be coming to an end. According to reports, the Australian arm of the Swedish furniture giant will launch its online store by the end of 2016, ahead of a global e-commerce platform in the next two years. About damn time. Now here's hoping it's less stressful to navigate than their actual physical locations. Due to go live in the next six months, the online store will let shoppers order IKEA's unpronounceable furniture from the comfort of their MALM bed frames. The company plans to trial various pick-up methods, including smaller physical stores that double as pick-up points, as well as the use of third party depots. IKEA Australia hopes the web initiative will help boost profits, which, as it stands, are expected to pass the $1 billion mark for the first time later this year. Their online store in the UK is the most popular IKEA outlet in the country, presumably because you don't need to pack a week's worth of provisions to make it to the checkout. Speaking of provisions, it is currently unclear whether you'll be able to use the online store to order IKEA's meatballs. Fingers crossed though. Via The Sydney Morning Herald.
