America's Southern cuisine is the stuff of legend. After all, who hasn't devoured Southern fried chicken, dreamed of a crawfish boil or salivated over a decadent mac and cheese? Whether you want to sample the authentic version of familiar favourites or enliven your palate with new, never-before-tried flavours, we've partnered with Travel South USA to uncover a mix of the region's must-visit establishments and must-try dishes. From Memphis-style barbecue to a comforting porridge that's a specialty of the region, here's our guide on where to go and what to eat. Gumbo at Mr B's Bistro, Restaurant Rebirth: Louisiana Countless dishes in the South have reached legendary status both within the US and abroad — among which gumbo stands out as a must-try. Not only is gumbo Louisiana's official state dish, the flavours and ingredients are an iconic example of the state's cuisine, reflecting its cultural history and blending together French, Spanish, African and Caribbean flavours. It's a stew that has infinite iterations; it can feature seafood such as shrimp and crab, meats like duck, chicken or sausage, and although there is a traditional style to making gumbo, each bowl is unique to its maker with variations in seasonings, proteins and thickness, making it a dish to try at many different restaurants. Head to Mr B's Bistro for a gumbo that the locals love, made with fresh regional products, or Restaurant Rebirth for a Creole Cajun gumbo that's made with farm-to-table ingredients. West Indies Salad at Wentzell's Oyster House of Mobile: Mobile, Alabama The southern border of Alabama just happens to be the Gulf — which means one sure thing: mouth-watering, fresh seafood. A must-try dish of the state is the distinctive West Indies salad, which notably is made with ice cubes and ensures the salad tastes exactly as it should — fresh and light. The salad is a pride of Mobile, where it has been served since the 1940s, and calls for fresh crab meat, making it a local specialty that you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Hot Brown at Brown Hotel: Louisville, Kentucky The South is often synonymous with comfort food and Kentucky's Hot Brown is one of the finest on offer. The open-faced sandwich is a Kentucky culinary classic, originating in the 1920s at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, where it has stood the test of time and continues to be a menu favourite a century later. It features layers of turkey and bacon on thick slices of bread smothered in a decadent Mornay sauce, before being baked to perfection. Barbecue at Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous: Tennessee Barbecuing in the South isn't just one or two dishes, it's a tradition with countless regional variations and quirks. So much so, neatly demarcating the different styles of barbecue from region to region is a tall order, but there are four major variants that come up again and again — of which Tennessee's Memphis-style barbecue is one. The Tennesseean variant often sees pork selected as the meat of choice, with a focus on ribs and shoulders. Memphis is brimming with barbecue joints featuring everything from hole-in-the-wall hidden gems to world-class dining experiences. Once you step into Tennessee, it will quickly become apparent why Memphis-style barbecue has ascended to one of the greats; it's a state where barbecue culture thrives with incredible, smoky morsels always just around the corner. Elsewhere in the state, there are tomato and vinegar-based sauces in the mountains, while Nashville blends all of the state's traditions into one big culinary melting pot. [caption id="attachment_990176" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Austin Walsh[/caption] Burnt Ends at Arthur Bryant's: Kansas City, Missouri When in Missouri, do as the Missourians do and try Kansas City-style barbecue, another one of the four major styles of 'cue in America. In Kansas City the local specialty is burnt ends, and for fans of tender, slow-cooked brisket, these bite-sized meaty morsels are a must. Served sans sauce typically as a side dish or part of a wider barbecue plate, they're the perfect crispy platform for the smoke to shine and take centre stage. Head to the longstanding restaurant Arthur Bryant's, where burnt ends originated, to try this local favourite for yourself — but get in early because they sell out on the regular. Of course, the dish is now a staple of the state so there are plenty of other restaurants to try your luck at and sample these delectable bites. Shrimp and Grits at Slightly North of Broad: Charleston, South Carolina Grits are one of the great culinary staples of the South — and they pair perfectly with the abundance of fresh seafood throughout the region. Head to the culinary hub of Charleston to sample a bowl of the most refined version of this uniquely creamy style of porridge made with maize. Look out specifically for shrimp and grits which may have originated in the South, but has since found favour through the country. Helmed by chef Frank Lee, who has long been a proponent of South Carolinian cuisine, Slightly North of Broad (affectionately known as SNOB by locals) is an excellent stop to try this quintessential recipe of the region. '1010 Cut' at 1010 Bridge Restaurant: Charleston, West Virginia West Virginia is unique for its cultural heritage which spans both the South and Appalachia. Combining the best of both worlds is 1010 Bridge Restaurant in West Virginia's capital city, Charleston. The cosy restaurant offers a menu that reflects Appalachian roots matched with low country influence, owned and operated by chef Paul Smith, a winner of the prestigious James Beard Award. On the menu, you'll find a wide variety of meticulously crafted dishes including lamb loin, gourmet seafood and the iconic '1010 Cut' dish of cast iron-seared steak and lobster mac and cheese. Steak at Doe's Eat Place: Greenville, Mississippi If you're making a stop in Mississippi on an empty stomach, chart a course to Doe's Eat Place for your next feast and to experience Southern hospitality firsthand. Stop by for generously-sized steaks, tamales and a welcoming, no-frills atmosphere. With a storied history as a family-run establishment, there's a sense of tradition and community that you'll immediately feel from when you first step foot through the restaurant's door all the way until you roll out of your seat and back to your car. Fresh Seafood at Salt Box Seafood Joint: Durham, North Carolina The menu changes with the seasons at North Carolina's Salt Box Seafood Joint. Owned and operated by chef Rickey Moore, a James Beard Foundation Award winner, the Durham restaurant celebrates local, fresh seafood with dishes that prove why the South's seafood is so remarkable. The one constant on the menu is the oysters, which are also found in many restaurants around the state, since North Carolina is home to a sustainable oyster farming industry. Find your next adventure in the South. Discover more unforgettable destinations and start planning your trip with Travel South USA.
The Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash in Ukraine has reportedly claimed the lives of some of the world's top medical researchers, on their way to Melbourne for the high-profile 20th International AIDS Conference. Conference organisers have this morning released the following statement on their website: "The International AIDS Society (IAS) today expresses its sincere sadness at receiving news that a number of colleagues and friends en route to attend the 20th International AIDS Conference taking place in Melbourne, Australia, were on board the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight that has crashed over Ukraine earlier today. "At this incredibly sad and sensitive time the IAS stands with our international family and sends condolences to the loved ones of those who have been lost to this tragedy." One of those believed to have been on board is former president of the International AIDS Society Joep Lange. American academic and AIDS activist Gregg Gonsalves tweeted, "Joep Lange was a leading AIDS researcher and clinician and an activist at heart. Lost today too soon on Malaysian flight 019. RIP." Two hundred and ninety eight people have died in the tragedy, including 27 confirmed Australians. The plane crashed in Ukraine, in a separatist-controlled area near the Russian border, likely after being hit with a surface-to-air missile. It is unclear at this stage how the crash will affect AIDS 2014, which commences on Sunday and has now taken on an even more tragic tone. Former US president Bill Clinton, UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé and musician and activist Sir Bob Geldof are also scheduled to speak at the conference, whose official airline partner is Emirates. Update 1.17pm: It now appears that as many as 100 of those killed were headed to the AIDS 2014 conference. Via Sky News and SMH.
Sorry, everyone who has written and sung a catchy and funny tune over the past 15 years or so. When it comes to getting hilarious songs instantly stuck in everyone's heads, Flight of the Conchords has all other candidates beat. And, when it comes to charting the exploits of two New Zealand shepherds-turned-folk musicians trying to make it in New York, too, the cult HBO series of the same name wins hands down as well. By now, everyone in Australia is well acquainted with FOTC — and with Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie's musical and comedic genius, of course. But, in addition to letting the talented duo play fictionalised versions of themselves and belt out their very amusing ditties, this sitcom introduced us all to the wonders of Rhys Darby as the pair's over-eager manager Murray, and to Kristen Schaal as their ultra-devoted (and only) fan Mel. And the Bowie episode, where the singer appears to Bret in a dream sequence (as played by Jemaine), is simply sublime.
Fuzzy is bringing the party to the people with Listen Out, which will be coming to Brisbane's Victoria Park on Sunday, October 1 for its fifth year after dates in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Some highlights on this year's lineup include US rappers Mac Miller and Future, New York-based electronic producer Jai Wolf and UK artists Duke Dumont and Little Simz. Aussie acts get a look-in via Safia, Perth avant-electronic bedroom producer KUCKA and dance duo Pnau. Kicking off at 1pm and running through till 10pm, Victoria Park's open greenery layout offers the perfect backdrop for the Sydney part of the tour. Tickets are now on sale — so be sure to grab them while you still can. See the full lineup below. LISTEN OUT 2017 LINEUP Bryson Tiller Duke Dumont Future Getter Green Velvet Jai Wolf Kucka Little Simz Mac Miller Malaa Mallrat Pnau Safia Touch Sensitive Vallis Alps What So Not Alice Ivy Annie Bass (in Sydney only) Cc Disco (in Melbourne only) Muto (in Melbourne only) Ninajirachi Nyxen + more Images: Mitch Lowe.
There are plenty of ways to embrace football fever in Brisbane during the 2023 Women's World Cup, which is being held right here in Australia — and also across the ditch in New Zealand — for the first time ever. Some matches are taking place at Suncorp Stadium. South Bank is hosting the official hub, showing every game live. Also, pubs and bars around the city are getting into the soccer spirit. One such spot: Archive Beer Boutique, which is pouring its usual array of brews and popping the world's best football players on its screens seven days a week. You'll find key matches showing, and you can request others. We're betting that the Matildas will feature heavily. Wearing green and gold is obviously up to you. If you want to try to pair dishes from Archive's street food and pub favourite-heavy menu with the teams playing, that's up to you as well. [caption id="attachment_908789" align="alignnone" width="1920"] IQRemix via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption]
Sarah Blasko had a big 2012. Last year saw her release her acclaimed album, I Awake, for which the Australian songstress earned numerous awards and rave reviews. The album was composed and recorded with assistance from the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra. The album was celebrated for its lush-sounding compositions of soaring and heart wrenching melodies. Sarah’s current tour sees her performing with a full orchestra, bringing to life the ethereal majesty of her latest record in an amazing live format. Joining Ms. Blasko on her tour is up-and-comer, Wintercoats - a great musician whose "chameleonic compositional talents and profound arrangement dexterity creates aural artworks of fragility and grandeur." Tickets are limited, so get in quick!
Disneyland has so monopolised the 'happiest place on earth' tag, it seems Universal Orlando has been driven to try the opposite: They've announced they're building an immersive recreation of horror movie Cabin in the Woods. It's one of the scariest films released in the last few years, so this maze attraction is set to make grown-ups cry and children stare jealously from the gate, as their entry is, of course, strongly discouraged. It's also one of the cleverest movies of the last few years, and how often can you say you've gone on a ride based on a clever movie? (If it succeeds, our vote is for Primer: Hall of Mirrors next.) The Cabin in the Woods maze will be spoilery, with Universal Orlando Entertainment Team member Michael Aiello telling Zap2it, "We are building the cabin completely. You're going to walk through a forest to get there. You're going into the cabin. You're going to go into the cube cells. We're literally taking everything we can in the film and giving you a kind of best-of montage of the film with this kind of linking story." The film, by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, follows a party of five young people who go to stay at a stereotypically idyllic/deadly cabin in the woods. Every horror movie convention is then thrown at them, and twisted. Goddard is on board helping script the storyline for the maze, so you can rest assured your own little journey through hell will be thoughtfully integrated with the main plot. The Cabin in the Woods maze is part of Universal Orlando's 'Halloween Horror Nights', a program of scares that runs from from September 20 to November 2. It all fits into the US's seemingly unending appetite for extreme haunted houses, which feature Broadway-level production values and favour psychosexual torture over the fake cobwebs and peeled grape 'eyeballs' of so many Baby-sitters Club novels. Via io9.
Hold onto your hats, kids. The 19th Biennale of Sydney has just announced its 2014 lineup and it's shaping up to be a cracker. Along with the usual slew of international art superstars — Tacita Dean OBE, Roni Horn and Ugo Rondinone — artistic director Juliana Engberg has focused on lesser-known, younger artists and special, one-of-a-kind works commissioned for the event. The list of artists slated to show works is impressive. Martin Boyce, the Scottish artist who made a big splash at the 2009 Venice Biennale is one to look out for, as is Australia's TV Moore and Susan Norrie. The Biennale will be staged in various venues across the city, and each locale will offer a different experience. Cockatoo Island will once again be overcome by larger, site-specific works, many of which will be targeted at families and children. The Art Gallery of NSW will host, among other pieces, a performative installation by Yingmei Duan, who will live, for the duration of the Biennale, in a 'forest' built inside the gallery. As part of Happy Yingmei, the artist will interact with visitors, before retreating back into the forest to retrieve little notes dispensing advice and observations to them, in what Engberg described as a nexus between the practices of Yoko Ono and Marina Abramovic. Another key venue, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, will feature works responding to its surroundings of 'air and water', and what those elements represent in the human psyche. Look out for the large-scale multimedia installation Phantom (2011), by Scottish artist Douglas Gordon (the first video artist to win the Turner Prize) and featuring the heartbreaking vocals of Rufus Wainwright. Meanwhile, Artspace in Woolloomooloo will display 'flights of fancy', presenting works from several artists including Maxime Rossi and Henna-Riikka Halonen. The recently renovated space at Carriageworks will also house works, including a large-scale installation Dutch artist Gabriel Lester, who will offer a piece which responds to the architecture of the building. This fascinating work will explore the idea of cinematic and multimedia art as the 'new readymade'. Engberg is a sensational choice to man the helm of the Biennale, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Her excitement is palpable as she reveals details of a "happy anarchy" to be released upon unsuspecting Sydneysiders on March 21, 2014. The Sydney Biennale is one of the world’s oldest and longest running biennial art fairs. It's also one of the few biennales offering free entry to visitors. Every edition of the event brings together some of the world's most exciting contemporary artists in a vibrant celebration of Australian and international visual art. Each year, the works are curated around a specific theme. In 2014, that will be 'You Imagine What You Desire'. This "optimistic" Biennale takes its cue from a George Bernard Shaw quote: "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will." Images: Henna-Riikka Halonen, Moderate Manipulations, 2012 (video still) and Yael Bartana, Inferno, 2013 (production still).
Seven and a half years ago Twitter did not exist. If you put a hashtag before anything you wrote it most certainly would not trend; in fact, it would probably result in less people caring about what you thought. Fast forward to 2013 and social media depends on the little symbol — Twitter, Instagram and Facebook collate your literary masterpieces into easy-to-source conversation. Well, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon have had enough. The hilarious duo took to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to perform a skit where they converse in hashtags. It sounds like two children playing an incredibly stupid and annoying game. Then you remember that this is an exaggeration of how we actually talk these days and realise you should probably spend less time on social media. Particularly enjoyable and satirical is how quickly and coherently Fallon goes from talking about Barney the Dinosaur (#purpleisthenewblack) to Everybody Loves Raymond (#deborah). The final straw, though, is when they hashtag each new line and sound from Missy Elliott's 'Work It', which prompts an intervention from Roots drummer Questlove. Whilst this is #superfunny, after watching it, I challenge you to try and avoid using a hashtag for the next 24 hours #youcandoit #savemekeifersutherland #heistheactorin24. via Gizmodo.
For 22 years, BIGSOUND has highlighted Australia's music industry, getting power players sharing their experience and advice, championing up-and-coming talents, fostering crucial connections, and celebrating live tunes and the folks that make them happen in general. Here's a few other handy numbers for the music conference-slash-festival's upcoming 2023 run: four days, 18 venues, 141 artists and 300-plus showcases. Brisbanites and music obsessives, take note: the Sunshine State capital will be Australia's music haven between Tuesday, September 5–Friday, September 8. Earlier this year, BIGSOUND announced its first speakers, headlined ROC Nation's Omar Grant — who was once the road manager for Destiny's Child and now shares the President role at Jay-Z's entertainment agency. Now, it has dropped the full list of musicians that'll be getting behind a microphone. More than 1300 applications to hit BIGSOUND's stages were received for the 2023 event, but it's the festival team's job to whittle them down to the standouts. Among those making the bill: Brisbane's own Full Flower Moon Band, Zheani, Felivand and Baby Prince; Sydney's Moss and Little Green; Melbourne's PANIA, Moaning Lisa and The Slingers; Perth's DICE and Siobhan Cotchin; and Adelaide's Aleksiah and The Empty Threats. From New Zealand comes Reb Fountain and SWIDT, while Casey Mowry and MF Tomlinson are heading to Queensland from the UK. The list goes on, complete with a significant focus on representation. Among 2023's talents, 27 percent identify as LGBTQIA+, 50 percent are female or gender non-conforming, and First Nations acts comprise 18 percent of the lineup. Indeed, 27 showcases will be devoted to Australia's Indigenous artists, including Miss Kaninna, Loren Ryan, Brady, The Merindas, J-MILLA, CLOE TERARE, Tjaka and Kobie Dee. Fancy checking out the most isolated heavy metal band in the world? That'd be Southeast Desert Metal, and they're also on the roster. As always, the huge music-fuelled shindig will do what it always does: showcase impressive acts, artists and bands while filling as many Brisbane spaces as possible with musos, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest tunes and talent the country has to offer. Past events have showcased everyone from Gang of Youths, Flume, Thelma Plum, Tash Sultana, Sampa the Great, Courtney Barnett and Cub Sport to San Cisco, Violent Soho, Baker Boy, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Methyl Ethel, Tones and I, Spacey Jane and The Jungle Giants, so BIGSOUND's program is usually a very reliable bellwether. "At its core, BIGSOUND needs to work for artists. It's a global music market and in 2023 we've gone far and wide to attract speakers and buyers from around the world to ensure international relationships are forged and deals are made," said BIGSOUND and QMusic CEO Kris Stewart, announcing 2023's talents. "Our definitive goal is to create a rising tide for everyone. At the end of the week, we want everyone to leave with something — someone new they've met, a deal they've made or new insight to grow their careers. We remain proactive in finding new ways to do this and can't wait for people to discover a whole stack of amazing artists from the showcase lineup." BIGSOUND 2023 ARTIST LINEUP: 1tbsp Ūla aleksiah Alf the Great Anieszka Ashli Aurateque Baby Prince Battlesnake BAYANG (tha Bushranger) Bec Stevens Beckah Amani Behind You bella amor Ben Swissa Boomchild Boox Kid CAMINO GOLD Casey Lowry Charbel Charm of Finches CHISEKO Chitra CLOE TERARE Coldwave Cult Shotta Dean Brady Delivery DENNI DICE Dr Sure's Unusual Practice Dyan Tai ECB Elizabeth Emma Volard FELIVAND FELONY. Foley Freight Train Foxes Friends of Friends Full Flower Moon Band GAUCI Georgia Llewellyn GIMMY Glenn Skuthorpe Band Good Pash Gut Health Hannah Cameron Haters Hevenshe Isaac Puerile Izy Jada Weazel J-MILLA Joan & The Giants Joey Leigh Wagtail Johnny Hunter Jujulipps JUNGAJI Kavi Khi'leb Kid Heron King Ivy Kitschen Boy Kobie Dee Komang Kristal West Kuzco Little Green Logan Lola Scott Loren Ryan MARLON X RULLA Mason Watts Matilda Pearl Mazbou Q Melody Moko MF Tomlinson Micah Heathwood Mikayla Pasterfield Miss June Miss Kaninna Moaning Lisa Moss mostly sleeping Mr Rhodes Nat Vazer Nathan May Nikodimos Oscar the Wild Otiuh PRICIE Platonic Sex POOKIE Porcelain Boy Porpoise Spit PRETTY BLEAK Proteins of Magic Ra Ra Viper RAAVE TAPES Radio Free Alice Radium Dolls REBEL YELL Riiki Reid Ruby Jackson Rum Jungle S.A.B Sachém SAHXL Siobhan Cotchin smol fish Sollyy Sophisticated Dingo Southeast Desert Metal Steph Strings STUMPS Suzi SWIDT Taitu'uga Tamara & the Dreams teddie The Empty Threats The Grogans The Merindas The Omnific The Slingers Thunder Fox Tjaka Too Birds Tori Forsyth Trophie Twine Valtozash Vixens of Fall WHO SHOT SCOTT Yawdoesitall YIRGJHILYA Yorke Zheani Zia Jade BIGSOUND 2023 will take place between Tuesday, September 5–Friday, September 8 in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For more information, visit bigsound.org.au. Images: Dave Kan / Simone Gorman-Clark.
Adapted from a collection of semi-autobiographical short stories by Instagram-age Renaissance man James Franco, Palo Alto marks the directorial debut of 26-year-old Gia Coppola, the granddaughter and niece of filmmakers Francis Ford and Sofia, respectively. A portrait of teenage disaffection, it's a film that attempts to capture the aimlessness, the angst and the self-aggrandised melancholy of youth. Emma Robert and newcomer Jack Kilmer play April and Teddy, a pair of brooding high schoolers absorbed by personal drama. He's a delinquent skater who's actually an unappreciated artist; she's the neglected daughter of self-absorbed parents who begins an affair with her creepy soccer coach (Franco). Meanwhile, Teddy's best bud Fred (Nate Wolff) finds himself drawn to increasingly anti-social behaviour to hide his insecurities, while another classmate Emily (Zoe Levine) turns to sex in order to hide her own. Palo Alto is in cinemas on August 14, and thanks to Vendetta Films, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Read our full review here. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=sTqMUu1iTIo
These days Twitter is known as two things: a medium on which to stalk Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, and a platform for #QandA Twitterati to descend into madness. With all the white noise out there it's easy to forget its true function — Twitter is a place for discussion. Thankfully this is a notion not lost on those fine folks at The Wheeler Centre. In their most recent project #discuss they're dragging Twitter philosophy into the real world, printing it on our city walls and starting important conversations nationwide. Thankfully it goes a lot deeper than catty #QandA tweets about Christopher Pyne's lizard face. The week-long project — which comes to an end tomorrow — has been launched in an effort to reignite a quality public discussion. From June 2, participants on Twitter were urged to put forward opinions or interesting thoughts on whatever topic they please. Paired with the hashtag #discuss, the initial thought was then open for exploration, disagreement, or extrapolation from the wider Twitter community. The best ten thoughts from each day have been printed on plaques and placed in fitting locations around Melbourne's CBD and inner suburbs. Right now Estelle Tang's culturally-weighted declaration that "Australians don't know how lucky they really are" lies knowingly outside Crown Casino. In what must be another blow for employees at The Age, a bleak assertion from writer Clementine Ford is currently plastered right out front of their city offices: "The old guard can fight as much as they like, but they can't stop the youth from one day taking over." Within a week of opening, Chris Lucas' latest venture Kong has already been hit with some Twitter truth: "Thanks to social media, place-dropping has become worse than name-dropping." It's a powerful concept, and one which gives abstract notions or debates an all-important physical weight. Arguments about boat people are no longer throwaway comments in cyberspace; they're staring you in the face on your way past the Immigration Department. An unsettling philosophical statement gives you some mind fodder on your way into Coles. Once again, this valued cultural institution is proving its intellectual importance. Disagree? Discuss! The project ends Sunday, June 8 so there's still a chance to get your words plastered on a city street. Even if you miss the deadline, don't worry, the discussion never really stops. @waouwwaouw at Crown Casino, Southbank. @clementine_ford at The Age offices on Spencer Street. @mattfitzy at Chris Lucas' new restaurant Kong on Church Street, Richmond. @uptosquat at Hosier Lane. @SophieMcAulay at Hungry Jacks on Russell Street. @MIFFofficial at The Classic Cinema in Elsternwick. @hamlwat at the Immigration Department. @Melbfoodandwine at Cumulus Inc. @tesslawley at Coles Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn. @AsherTreleaven at The Melbourne Club. Lead photo: @elissebaitz at Northside Records. All photos via The Wheeler Centre.
When you lick a scoop of gelato, do you take a moment to let the flavour settle onto your tastebuds? Do you stop to contemplate the creaminess, and ponder how it feels on your tongue? Perhaps you spend too long thinking not only about how your dessert tastes, but how it smells — or maybe you're obsessed with how it looks, because a good ice cream is a truly glorious sight. If we've just described your usual thought processes every time you step inside a gelato joint, then you might want to throw your name in the ring for Gelatissimo's newest gig. As part of a four-hour, once-off deal, the dessert chain will pay one ice cream-loving person $500 to taste-test its newest gelato flavours. Over the past year, Gelatissimo has been responsible for frosé sorbet, ginger beer gelato and even a gelato for dogs, so you won't be tasting your way through plain ol' vanilla or the usual mint choc-chip combination (not that there's anything wrong with those two stone cold classics). Just what flavours you'll be munching on hasn't yet been revealed, but you'll play a crucial part in evaluating them. As well as being delicious, this is serious business, requiring the utmost focus on the task at hand. That means first assessing the gelato's appearance, then enjoying a couple of scoops to get a feel for the flavour and texture. Then, after cleansing your palate with water, you'll do it all over again (and then again). If you're keen, as most people with tastebuds will be, just head to Airtasker to explain why you're the ideal candidate for the job. While the competition is open nationally, the winner will be required to get themselves to Gelatissimo's Sydney office in Rydalmere on Friday, September 27. For more information, or to apply for the Gelatissimo gelato-tasting gig, visit the Airtasker listing.
There's no better feeling in the world than emerging victorious from a match — whether you had to fight tooth and nail or it was a landslide defeat, winners are most definitely grinners. And no matter which sport you play, position you're in or team you play for — if you have something to celebrate, you'll want somewhere to celebrate it. You know the deal — you're pumped from the game and want to revel in that winning glow. Going home just won't cut it. Cracking open a Heineken 3 and chatting incessantly about how great the game was, well, that's more like it. To help you do just that, we've put together a list of four spots that'll help you bask in the post-match glory.
The COVID-19 situation in Australia is changing every day, with the federal government first implementing a ban on non-essential events with more than 500 people and then mandating that everyone arriving from overseas self-isolate for 14 days. In response to the first restriction, events and venues around the country are cancelling and postponing their 2020 plans. This is having devastating impacts on the local hospitality, arts and music industries, with I Lost My Gig Australia reporting that, as of midday on Monday, March 16, 20,000 events have been cancelled, which has impacted 190,000 Australians and equated to $47 million in lost income. And those numbers are continuing to climb. While going out might not be at the top of your to-do list right now, you can continue to support these industries and businesses by buying from artists who've had their shows cancelled, ordering gift cards and merch from venues that are struggling or just booking in a dinner for that birthday a few months away. To keep you abreast of what's been cancelled, postponed and suspended, here's our live list, updated as it happens. [caption id="attachment_710789" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sydney Royal Easter Show.[/caption] SYDNEY All ANZAC Day commemoration services across NSW (April 25): cancelled All City of Sydney aquatic and fitness centres: closed until at least April 3 All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): temporarily closed Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 10–April 8): postponed from March 19 Art Gallery of NSW: temporarily closed Biennale of Sydney: cancelled Bluesfest (April 9–14): cancelled Carriageworks: temporarily closed (Saturday farmers markets will proceed) Comedy Steps Up for Bushfire Relief (March 16): cancelled Download Festival (March 21): cancelled Festival of Dangerous Ideas (April 3–5): cancelled Handa Opera (March 27–April 26): cancelled Happy Place (until May 3): postponed Momo Fest (April 18): postponed No Coal Zone (March 14): postponed Opera Australia's Carmen, Atilla and Great Opera Hits: cancelled until March 28 Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 Royal Easter Show (April 3–14): cancelled So Pop 2020 (April 25): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC Splendour in the Grass (July 24–26): postponed until October 23–25 Sydney Film Festival (June 3–14): cancelled Sydney Writers' Festival (April 27–May 3): cancelled Sydney Opera House: all performances cancelled until June 17 Taronga Zoo: temporarily closed The Other Air Fair (March 20–23): postponed Vivid Sydney (May 22–June 13): cancelled [caption id="attachment_710610" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ability Fest by Alex Drewniak[/caption] MELBOURNE Ability Fest (April 4): cancelled All ANZAC Day Commemorative services across Victoria (April 25): public cannot attend All City of Melbourne libraries, recreation centres and cultural and arts centres: temporarily closed All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): temporarily closed Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 11–April 8): postponed from March 19 Arts Centre Melbourne: closed until April 13 Cirque du Soleil Kurios: suspended until further notice Download Festival (March 21): cancelled Fromage a Trois (March 22): cancelled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: suspended until April 12 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (March 19–29): postponed until spring Melbourne International Comedy Festival (March 25–April 19): cancelled Melbourne Queer Film Festival (March 12–23): postponed Melbourne Museum: closed until further notice Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: postponed until April 13 (but it is live-streaming select shows) Momo Fest (April 4–5): postponed National Gallery of Victoria: closed until April 13 Open Weekend (March 21–22): cancelled Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 So Pop 2020 (May 1): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC State Library Victoria: closed until further notice Sweetstock (March 28–29): cancelled The Other Art Fair (May 21–24): postponed Wine Machine (March 28): postponed until October 31 World Tour Bushfire Relief (March 13): cancelled Wall to Wall Festival (April 3–5): postponed [caption id="attachment_764598" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Westpac OpenAir[/caption] BRISBANE All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): closed All ANZAC Day commemoration services across Qld (April 25): cancelled Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 18–April 14): postponed The Big Pineapple Music Festival (May 30): postponed until early October — new date TBC Boho Luxe Market (April 17–19): postponed until September 25–27 Brisbane Comedy Festival: cancelled from March 16 onwards Brisbane Gin Festival (April 4): postponed until September 19 Brisbane Night Market (weekly on Fridays): closed until further notice, with all events cancelled Buddha Birthday Festival (May 1–3): cancelled Burgers and Beers (March 21+27): cancelled Cat Cuddle Twilight Market (March 27): postponed — new date TBC Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (March 18–April 19): cancelled Curiocity Brisbane (March 20–April 5): cancelled The Drop Festival Coolangatta (March 28): cancelled Eat Street Northshore: closed until further notice Fish Lane Festival (May 9): postponed until September 5 The Foundry: closed until further notice, with all events cancelled Gigs & Picnics (March 28, April 25, May 30): monthly events postponed until June 27 Gold Coast Film Festival (April 15–26): cancelled Greener Pastures (May 3): cancelled Green Jam Sessions (weekly on Fridays): all sessions cancelled until at least April 30 HOTA, Home of the Arts: closed until March 31 James St Up Late (March 26): cancelled Momo Fest (April 12): postponed — new date TBC Mould: A Cheese Festival (March 20–21): postponed — new date TBC Mov'In Bed Cinema (March 27–May 17): postponed until the last quarter of 2020 — new dates TBC Netherworld: closed from Wednesday, March 18 until at least the end of March, with all events cancelled Noosa Eat & Drink Festival (May 14–17): cancelled Not On Your Rider (March 26 and April 30): cancelled, with events likely to restart in October Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 The Planting Festival (May 1–3): cancelled The Plant Market (March 29): postponed — new date TBC Puppies and Pints (April 5): cancelled Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art: both galleries remain open, including GOMA's Australian Cinemathque, but all public programs, events and tours have been cancelled Queensland Performing Arts Centre: all theatres closed until at least April 30 Queensland Symphony Orchestra: all performances cancelled until April 30 Stones Corner Festival (May 3): cancelled Water Up Late (March 20–21): cancelled So Pop 2020 (April 24): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC Westpac OpenAir (April 5–26): postponed — new date TBC World Science Festival Brisbane (March 25–29): cancelled The Village Markets Stones Corner (March 27): cancelled for March, with a decision about future markets due by March 27 Young Henrys Rock N Roll Circus (March 19): postponed — new date TBC To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Vivid
In the next chapter of Australia's plastic bag saga, Coles has paused its ban. Six days after the supermarket giant implemented its nationwide single-use plastic bag ban, it has announced it will be giving out free reusable plastic bags until the close of business on Sunday, July 8. This brings the supermarket chain into line with Woolworths who, after implementing a nationwide ban on June 20, also reneged on the ban and announced it would be giving them out for free until July 8. The reusable bags that are currently being given out for free would usually cost shoppers 15c in both Coles and Woolworths. They're thicker, more durable and are made from 80 percent recycled plastic — and were meant to encourage shoppers to bring them back, again and again, rather than buying a new one each time. The temporary, complimentary bag offer for both supermarket giants is only valid in NSW, Vic, WA and Qld, as the other states and territories have already had single-use plastic bag bans in place for several years (SA leading the pack, introducing it back in 2009). Both moves came after backlash to the bans on social media and in store, with reports of some shoppers becoming aggressive, others stealing plastic baskets instead of paying for reusable bags, and many accusing the chains of using the ban as a profit making scheme. Both supermarkets are also offering cloth bag alternatives, with Woolworths' 99c Bag for Good, which the supermarket chain will replace for free if it gets damaged, and Coles' $1 Community Bags, which are designed by Australian school children and ten percent of sales are donated to charities. Both bags are designed to be used repeatedly. On a national level, NSW and Victoria are now the only states that haven't implemented state-wide bans, with Queensland introducing its ban earlier this month on July 1. Victoria is set to do so next year, but NSW is yet to announce whether it will join suit.
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. So back in 2022, when Range Brewing's Gerard Martin and Matt McIver decided to pair independent beers with a DJ-spun soundtrack at a new Brisbane festival, it wasn't a complicated concept — but it was a hit. Two years later, that event is returning for its third year, with Juicy once again headed to Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall. The setup worked a treat the first time, then the second, and now will keep doing so again in 2024. On Saturday, March 16, across two heaving sessions under the Valley Mall venue's chandeliers, the booze will be flowing from a range of breweries. Bites to eat and the talents on the deck have been carefully curated as well. This time, Brisbane's own Range (of course), Working Title and Hohly Water are on the beer list, alongside GABS 2022 and 2023 winner Mountain Culture, Bracket, Wildflower, Future and Kicks from New South Wales. You can also look forward to sips from Rocky Ridge, Hop Nation, Garage Project, Fox Friday, Shape Shifter, Found and Banks, plus Finback from the US. Here's how it works: across two slots — from 12–4pm and an evening one from 6–10pm — attendees will get their glass, then start enjoying their way through all the brews on offer, all without needing to worry about paying for drinks as you go. That's one of Juicy's big drawcards. Inspired by events overseas, Martin and McIver created a beer fest where your ticket covers everything, including what you're tasting. Taking care of 2024's music are Hol Hibbo and Aunty STAN for the afternoon session, both from Fortitude Valley's QUIVR DJs. Come evening, Ben Chiu and ELJAE will do the honours. And to help line the stomach, Southside will serve up its Asian cuisine, Zero Fox will bring its range of Japanese and Korean dishes, and Baja will take care of the Mexican bites. Updated Friday, February 23, 2024. Images: Axis Productions.
Salty, sour, just sweet enough and refreshing; the classic margarita ticks multiple flavour boxes and it's synonymous with fun bars, holidays and sunshine. And now is the perfect time to head to your favourite tequila watering hole to order a salty-rim marg in celebration of National Margarita Month, running throughout February. The key to a moreish margarita is to use high-quality ingredients, like 100-percent agave tequila. We've partnered with Herradura, one of the longest running tequila makers in Mexico, to dive into the detailed history of the humble drink, to bring you fun facts to impress your mates with, and to give you an easy recipe for a Horseshoe Margarita to make at home. A BRIEF HISTORY OF MARGARITAS Though simple and short on its ingredients, the margarita's origin story is not so simple or short. There are many varying stories of its conception, such as the tale that it was invented especially for a showgirl in Tijuana, who was allergic to all alcohol except tequila. She didn't like the agave-based spirit straight, so restaurant owner Carlos 'Dann' Herrera whipped her up a lime and tequila-based cocktail and the rest is history. Or perhaps not. Some say the cocktail could have evolved from a now-forgotten 1930s gin or bourbon and citrus cocktail dubbed the Daisy, which eventually morphed into the margarita as we know it (the word 'margarita' is Spanish for 'daisy' so it's convincing). There are also tales of a Texas socialite Margaret 'Margarita' Sames popularising the drink (though recipes for the cocktail were around before she was), and in the 1937 book Café Royal Cocktail Book there's a tequila, Cointreau and lime juice concoction called a Picador, which is also cited as an early margarita. Origins aside, the drink has continued to develop through the decades, from slushie versions, mango, coconut or passionfruit takes, and hundreds of other permutations. We like it traditional — no matter where that original recipe came from. [caption id="attachment_761450" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Abel S García[/caption] FUN FACTS TO IMPRESS YOUR MATES WITH Ever heard of a jimador? They're Mexican farmers who harvest agave plants and are skilled at identifying ripe agave. Agave plants (the core of which is the base for tequila) are a type of succulent. Frozen margaritas were popularised after the creation of a custom machine invented by Mariano Martinez in the 70s. The drink became so in-demand that staff (especially the blenders) couldn't keep up with demand, and so Martinez took an old soft serve machine and tinkered with the frozen recipe until it was the perfect consistency for the machine. The original machine is now part of the collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, in Washington. Casa Herradura (where Herradura tequila is made) is the last tequila-producing Hacienda on the planet. RECIPE: HORSESHOE MARGARITA This classic margarita recipe showcases the smooth, distinctly sweet taste of agave and the subtle oak notes of Herradura tequila. Produced in the small town of Amatitàn in the heart of Mexico's tequila region, Herradura grows millions of blue agave — and has done for 150 years. These are harvested by jimadors, and the piñas (the plant's heart) are cut out and then slowly steamed to convert the starch into sugars. This is then milled in order to extract the sweet agave nectar, before being distilled to make the final premium tequila. But leave this complex and traditional process to the professionals and get ready to enjoy the fruits of Herradura's labour of love with this simple and elegant Horseshoe Margarita recipe. INGREDIENTS 60ml Herradura 30ml fresh lime juice 15ml agave syrup Sea salt Lime slice to garnish METHOD Pour Herradura tequila, lime juice and agave syrup into ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously. Run a lime wedge around the rim of a glass, and dip the glass in sea salt (optional). Pour your mix into an ice-filled tumbler. Easy! Celebrate Margarita Month in Brisbane at Alba Bar, Cobbler, Cloudland, Crystal Palais, Death & Taxes, Finney Isles, Press Club, Savile Row, Suzie Wong's, Treasury Casino. And in the Gold Coast at Bonita Bonita, Collective, Frida Sol, Hyde Paradiso, Islander Dukes, Justin Lane, Lockwood, QT Gold Coast, Star Gold Coast.
If you like new wave R&B, Souled Out is your next must-attend festival — especially if you're keen on seeing Summer Walker, PartyNextDoor and Tinashe live. This event's 2024 lineup also includes Bryson Tiller, Majid Jordan, Smino, Lucky Daye, Libianca and more, as part of a roster that balances well-known names, up-and-coming talent and local acts. As you might've spotted, variety is a big focus among its tunes, with the fest's array of talent not just playing the same styles of R&B. As they hit the stage, they'll be playing tracks that span subgenres such as neo soul, trap soul and Afrobeats. Walker's place on the bill is big news, given that it will be her first trip to Australia. As for PartyNextDoor, aka Jahron Anthony Brathwaite, his resume includes writing 'Work' for Rihanna. Along with the rest of the lineup, Walker and PartyNextDoor will get behind the microphone on Saturday, March 23 at Doug Jennings Park on the Gold Coast. Also on the bill: DJs Joe Kay, Andre Power and Sasha Marie, who'll be spinning tracks away from the fest's main stage that work in 90s R&B favourites. Souled Out 2024 Lineup: Summer Walker PartyNextDoor Bryson Tiller Majid Jordan Smino Tinashe Lucky Daye Libianca Umi Thuy Will Singe Lara Andallo Joe Kay Sasha Marie Mistah Cee Andre Power
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 will go down as one of the most exhausting and absurd days in Australian parliament's history. There were retirements, there were bills proposed, and hijacking headlines and Twitter feeds across the country was the Labor Party's leadership spill, where the caucus sharpened their knives again to farewell Julia Gillard and give Kevin Rudd another chance to shake his sauce bottle all the way to election glory. The whole process played out like an elaborate film or TV plot, so we decided to take a look at the top five leadership battles the screen has offered and see how they compare. 1. Game of Thrones When the excellent #RuddWedding began trending, there was no way to look past the most popular show on television and its parallels with Australian politics. Whilst Red Wedding meme manipulators are casting Kevin as the murderous Lord Bolton, perhaps it would be more appropriate to stick Bill Shorten's head on his shoulders. Either way, we are down to a two-horse race for Australia's iron throne. 2. Rocky Whilst Rocky may have lost his first battle, professional fight against Apollo Creed, the Italian Stallion refused to go down, weathering the blows before rising to deliver a knockout blow and regain the prime ministership. Here is hoping that the plots continue to overlap and we witness a montage of Gillard training Rudd before they treat us to a Rocky III freeze frame ending. 3. Ron Burgundy vs. Veronica Corningstone Whilst Kevin Rudd may not sport Ron Burgundy's glorious moustache, he still held the leadership of his news team until Veronica Corningstone ambitiously took it from him. Ron fought to claim it back though, and whilst there will be no co-anchorship between Rudd and Gillard, we can still look forward to Anchorman 2. 4. Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort When ABC reporter Mark Simkin dipped into the pages of Harry Potter to cover the spill — stating "neither can live whilst the other survives" — he wasn't wrong. Gillard has remained true to her word and retired, making Kevin Potter the boy who lived, ready to take on his next nemesis. Whilst we wait for the battle, let us ponder on how much more enjoyable Question Time would be if everyone was wearing robes, clutching wands and shouting 'expelliarmus' at each other. 5. Sideshow Bob vs. Mayor Quimby In Springfield's political showdown of the century, Sideshow Bob rides to victory over Mayor Quimby on a wave of charisma and popularity. Rudd has the charisma and popularity; here's hoping he hasn't masterminded a rigged vote like Sideshow Bob did that would plunge Australian politics into an even larger comedic hole of errors. Bonus: Star Wars Filibuster Yesterday also saw a busy day on the international politics scene, as Democratic state senator Wendy Davis filibustered a package of laws that would restrict access to abortion in Texas. She was controversially cut short at ten hours on a technicality for speaking off topic, which earned her a third strike — at least we can say that the rules of baseball don't dictate Australian politics. Whilst her filibustering was far more topical than this offering, Patton Oswald's rant on Parks and Recreation certainly lightens the mood of defeat.
Now in its eight year, the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards is looking to inspire passionate creatives across Australia by inviting them to submit their work for the chance to win the prize of a lifetime. In 2011, the SOYAs has expanded the categories of entry, with the roster now including fashion, interactive content and gaming, written word, visual design and communications, film and video, photography, visual arts, craft and object design, music, architecture and interior design, and animation. Australians under the age of 30 are encouraged to present their work in one of these categories, with the closing date of one category occurring each month until October 2012. Each winner will receive a handy $5000 cash prize. Furthermore, each category has a different one-year mentorship program which will allow the winner to work with some of the leading figures within their chosen industry. These include fashion icons Nicky and Simone Zimmermann, Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic, and music producer Lee Groves, whose portoflio includes the likes of Gwen Stefani, Marilyn Manson and Craig David. This will provide newcomers with invaluable experience from industry experts. If that wasn't enough, Qantas will also send the winners on a trip to an exclusive event within their field. These events are scattered all over the world, but are united by their prestige and widespread recognition. These include London Fashion Week, the Edinburgh Film Festival and Cannes Lions. Previous winners of the Spirit of Youth Awards have soared to new heights, such as fashion designers Romance Was Born (pictured), musicians Wolf & Cub and photographer Penny Lane. With the competition's expansion into unprecedented categories, there are now more opportunities for Australia's finest creative minds to showcase their work to the world. Furthermore, winners will be financially assisted and treated to experiences that will allow their talents to flourish.
Across nine initial seasons between 1993–2002, an additional two seasons that aired in 2016 and 2018, and two big-screen movies as well, FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigated all manner of weird and wonderful cases. They all involved the paranormal, supernatural and conspiracies, of course, spanning everything from aliens and psychic abilities to sewer-dwelling man-worm creatures and teenagers who could channel lightning — and they made The X-Files both a sci-fi hit while it was airing and a sci-fi classic ever since. Sometime in the near future, The X-Files will serve up a range of new cases. This time, though, expect them to be silly, funny and particularly preposterous. As reported by Variety, the show is coming back again, but as an all-new animated comedy spinoff that'll focus on a team covering investigations considered too ridiculous for Mulder and Scully. As fans of The X-Files will know, there's nothing too out-there for Mulder and Scully. The former's nickname was 'Spooky', after all. And, even though the latter was often highly skeptical of her partner's theories, she was also known to suggest some creative ideas of her own. But 'too wacky for Mulder and Scully' is the premise that 20th Television and Fox Entertainment seem to be sticking with for the new show — which sounds more than a bit like The X-Files meets Scooby-Doo. While few other specifics have been revealed as yet, the series will be called The X-Files: Albuquerque, and will focus on "an office full of misfit agents... they're basically the X-Files' B-team", as Variety notes. There's no word on when it'll reach screens, but neither Anderson nor Duchovny are currently involved — so don't go getting your hopes up for an animated Mulder and Scully (well, another one, after their appearance on The Simpsons back in 1997). Behind the lens, The X-Files creator Chris Carter is an executive producer, while Movie 43's Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko will be writing the series. The X-Files: Albuquerque will mark The X-Files' franchise's fourth TV series, following the original; 1996–9's Lance Henriksen-starring Millennium, which was set in the same universe; and 2001's The Lone Gunmen, about three conspiracy-obsessed characters initially seen helping Mulder and Scully. If you need a reminder of what made The X-Files so great, check out the below trailer for the 2008 movie The X-Files: I Want to Believe. You can also stream all 11 series of The X-Files in Australia on Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9KV4ESQ8HU Via Variety.
Cinematic conversation densely populates a significant proportion of the internet, and finding a site that addresses your interests can be exhausting. But brand-new website The Dissolve looks to provide a comprehensive and accessible online complex for discussion that cinephiles can enjoy liberally. The Dissolve is the newest cultural offspring of the team behind Pitchfork and is ready to talk anything and everything film related, in a way that is appealing to all film aficionados. "There's a lot of great film writing on the Internet," says Keith Phipps, editorial director of The Dissolve, in an interview with Mashable, "but there really wasn't anyone doing what Pitchfork has done for music, which is smart, opinion-driven, critic-driven, review-driven, and written for an audience that was passionate about film but not necessarily coming at it from an academic view." With the jargon out of the way, The Dissolve facilitates cinematic conversation between cinephiles — a discussion simplified by the broadcasting of their net. Not only will they discuss the latest films, but they will also explore where cinema has come from as well as the endless ephemera generated by the craft, right down to film-inspired board games. Where The Dissolve stands out from the crowd, though, is its appreciation of modern cinematic digestion. "With moviegoing changing (and continuing to change) in the 21st century, The Dissolve wants to account for the many different ways our readers experience movies, whether they’re at the multiplex, in their favorite New York City arthouse, or watching a new indie On Demand at home in Des Moines," says site editor Scott Tobias. The introspective and retrospective site is ambitious in its comprehensiveness, so whether you want to talk about the newest blockbuster or your favourite monster from that Japanese romance-horror, The Dissolve has got you covered. The feature we are anticipating most is their 'Short Cuts', a weekly selection of lunch-hour friendly films to fill the time whilst eating that chicken salad.
Dig out those once-a-year novelty gumboots, Groovin the Moo has unveiled its 2019 lineup. Taking the large-scale music festival out of the city and into regional centres for another year, GTM will kick things off on Friday, April 26 in South Australia and travel through Maitland, Canberra, Bendigo and Townsville before finishing up in Bunbury on Saturday, May 11. This year sees local talent new and established taking the stage, with the lineup spanning up-and-comers like Jack River, G Flip and Haiku Hands right through to recent Hottest 100 top tenner Billie Eilish, Aussie favourites Nick Murphy and Thelma Plum, Australian hip hop legends Hilltop Hoods and rockers Regurgitator. International talent like Coolio — who'll you'll most likely recognise from his hit track 'Gangsta's Paradise' — Danish pop singer MØ and American rapper A$AP Twelvyy will make their way to the Moo, too. After hosting Australia's first ever pill testing trial in Canberra last year, Groovin the Moo is moving its ACT festival to Exhibition Park for the first time. Pill testing is still a much-debated topic around the country with five people recently dying from suspected overdoses in as many months. Here's the full lineup. GROOVIN THE MOO 2019 LINEUP A$AP Twelvyy (USA) Angie McMahon Aurora (Nor) Billie Eilish Carmouflage Rose Coolio (USA) Crooked Colours DMA's Duckwrth Fisher Flosstradamus (USA) G Flip Haiku Hands Hermitude Hilltop Hoods Holy Holy Jack River Just a Gent MØ (Dnk) Nick Murphy Nicole Millar Regurgitator Rejjie Snow (Irl) Sofi Tukker Spinderella Thelma Plum TOKiMONSTA (USA) Trophy Eyes GROOVIN THE MOO 2019 DATES & VENUES Friday, April 26 — Wayville (SA) Saturday, April 27 – Maitland (NSW) Sunday, April 28 — Canberra (ACT) Saturday, May 4 — Bendigo (VIC) Sunday, May 5 – Townsville (QLD) Saturday, May 11 — Bunbury (WA) Tickets for GTM in Wayville, Maitland and Canberra will go on sale at 8am on Thursday, January 31, and Bendigo, Bunbury and Townsville will be released the day after at 8am on Friday, February 1. For more info, go to gtm.net.au. Images: Jack Toohey.
Maybe you like to slather it all over everything you're about to eat. Perhaps you like to get your doses in more restrained dips and dollops. Either way, if you're a mayonnaise fan, Japan's latest food trend has you covered. At a mayo cafe, two things are on offer: the condiment in the spotlight, of course, and the ability to indulge in its creamy goodness in your ideal fashion. Here's hoping that your preferences include mayo on pasta, salad, seafood dishes, with hot and cold eggs, turned into a custard pudding, and served as a variety of dips, because you'll find all of the above on the menu — and more. Don't just expect any old egg-and-vinegar concoction, though. The cult favourite that is kewpie is not only the variety everyone will be gorging on, but also the company behind the dedicated eateries. The first Kewpie mayo cafe opened its doors in Tokyo's busy Shibuya district on March 1 to mark NationalMayonnaise Day (yes, it's a thing), with a second due to follow in Nagoya in central Honshu from April 1. Both will shower eager customers with all the kewpie they could dream of (not literally, of course) for a full month; however, we're guessing this won't be the last time mayo-centric establishments pop up. Via Munchies. Image: Takeaway / Creative Commons.
Everyone should see Henry Rollins on a stage. Luckily, audiences have had ample opportunities for more than four decades. The musician first came to fame singing behind the microphone in punk-rock band Black Flag and then Rollins Band, but is now just as renowned for his spoken-word shows, where he waxes lyrical (and candid and amusing) about his life, fame and the state of the world. Australians are no stranger to Rollins getting chatty; however, thanks to the pandemic, he hasn't taken to stages Down Under since 2016. That's about to change come winter, with the icon, actor, author and radio host heading around the country on an 18-show, 17-city tour. The place scoring a double dose of Rollins? Brisbane. Rollins' spoken-word gigs always sell out, and they're always an entertaining — and unflinchingly honest — night spent listening to the Sons of Anarchy, Lost Highway and Heat star. This time, he's visiting both capitals and regional centres, and notching up every Aussie state and territory, on a tour dubbed 'Good to See You'. Attendees can look forward to Rollins looking back over the past seven years since he last visited Australia, stepping through his life from 2016 until COVID-19 hit — and, of course, exploring what's happened since. Fingers crossed for more mullet insights, too. Rollins makes his way around Australia after a massive leg in Europe, where he's currently flitting from Croatia, Poland and Finland to Sweden, Germany, France and the United Kingdom — and more. And, his latest tour comes after he added two more books to his name in 2022: Sic, which draws upon the frustration of not knowing if his touring life would ever return; and Stay Fanatic!!! Vol. 3. [caption id="attachment_888225" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Morten Jensen via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] HENRY ROLLINS 'GOOD TO SEE YOU' TOUR 2023: Monday, June 5 — Perth Concert Hall, Perth Tuesday, June 6 — Margaret River HEART, Margaret River Thursday, June 8 — Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide Friday, June 9 — Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs Saturday, June 10 — Darwin Entertainment Centre, Darwin Tuesday, June 13 — Cairns Performing Arts Centre, Cairns Thursday, June 15–Friday, June 16 — The Tivoli, Brisbane Saturday, June 17 — The Events Centre Caloundra, Sunshine Coast Tuesday, June 20 — Llewellyn Hall ANU, Canberra Wednesday, June 21 — Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo Thursday, June 22 — Civic Hall, Ballarat Saturday, June 24 — Hamer Hall, Melbourne Tuesday, June 27 — Anita's Theatre, Thirroul Wednesday, June 28 — State Theatre, Sydney Friday, June 30 — Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Sunday, July 2 — Princess Theatre, Launceston Monday, July 3 — Odeon Theatre, Hobart Henry Rollins tours Australia in June and July 2023, with ticket pre sales from 11am local time on Monday, February 13 and general sales from 11am local time on Wednesday, February 15. Head to the tour website for further information.
Bars where you can do more than just sit around and drink are really having a moment in Brisbane, and specifically Fortitude Valley. In no small part, it's thanks to the ever-expanding empire of Funlab. The company is in charge of the ever-popular Holey Moley, Strike Bowling and Sydney's Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq — with Holey Moley leading the charge in the Valley's boozy kidulting scene, alongside the independently owned Netherworld. Now, Funlab has just launched its latest brainchild: B. Lucky & Sons. It's a kidult-friendly bar-meets-arcade with some actually good pawn-shop prizes, instead of the usual plastic crap you get. Think vintage Chanel bags, classic cameras and rare vinyls, plus a Nintendo 64 in its original box and Tune Squad swag from the 1996 cult classic, Space Jam. Yup, they're going real old school with this one. The bar is coming to the Valley's TCB Building from September 27 — and Melbourne's version is also hidden behind the facade of an old pawn shop, so expect something a little bit different. Down south, the venue is also decked out with eclectic furnishings, from old-world casino chandeliers to neon-lit red octagonal booths. This East-meets-West fit-out extends to the food, where pizzas are topped with the likes of crispy wonton wrappers and bonito flakes or sausage, gravy and potato crisps. For drinks, the bar sling canned cocktails and alcoholic bubble teas — like the Taro Bang (Frangelico, rum and taro with blueberry pearls and jellies) and the Passion Crackle (vodka, passion fruit and peach teas with apple flavoured pearls and jellies). Not to mention punch bowls served with floral tea cups, a gold-rimmed espresso martini and one with a side of toast and raspberry jam. While Brisbane details haven't been confirmed, the bar's games themselves will be clear throwbacks for the millennial generation — featuring everything from Mario Kart and Space Invaders to NBA Hoops and a Dance Dance Revolution knock-off. And although the venue will be open to littluns during the day, it'll be strictly adults-only at night, so you don't have to worry about being laughed at by a ten-year-old when you fall off Rainbow Road for the fourteenth time. Find B.Lucky & Sons at the TCB Building, 315 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, from September 27. Images: Zennieshia Photography
Handpicking some of the globe's best new artists for yet another glorious year (their sixth, to be exact), Sugar Mountain has revealed one heck of a 2017 lineup, with Dev Hynes/Blood Orange, homegrown duo Big Scary and British boss Little Simz headlining. Returning to Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts on Saturday, January 21, Sugar Mountain has again balanced international drawcards with local talent this year, from Perth avant-electronic bedroom producer KUČKA to German producer Pantha Du Prince. Other Aussies converging on Mebourne for the fest include Methyl Ethel, Dro Carey and The Belligerents. The Boiler Room stage will also return, live streaming around the world with a yet-to-be-announced lineup. As always though, music isn't the only thing on the menu for Sugar Mountain. There'll also be a load artists on the bill, including Chairlift vocalist Caroline Polacheck, Melbourne-based, Novocastrian sculptor Caleb Shea and New Orleans-based public space artist MOMO. Nosh-wise, don't just expect your regular festival fare — Sugar Mountain's immersive on-site restaurant Sensory will be back. Last year, it was a collaboration between Bomba, Tin & Ed and Cut Copy, so we can't wait to see what they put together this year. Enough chatskies, here's that lineup you're after. SUGAR MOUNTAIN 2017 LINEUP: ALTA Baba Stiltz (Sweden) Beppe Loda (Italy) Big Scary Black Cab Blood Orange (UK) CC:DISCO! Daydreams Dro Carey Jaala Jack River Jessy Lanza (Canada) Kelsey Lu (USA) Kornel Kovacs (Sweden) KUČKA Little Simz (UK) Methyl Ethel Mood II Swing (USA) Moses Sumney (USA) My Disco Palms Trax (UK) Pantha Du Prince (Germany) Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Slum Sociable Sui Zhen Suzanne Ciani x Kaityn Aurelia Smith (USA) The Belligerents Tornado Wallace Weyes Blood (USA) ARTISTS Caleb Shea Elliot Routledge Karan Singh (Japan) March Studio MOMO (USA) Myriam Bleau (Canada) Robyn Moody x Caroline Polacheck (USA) Supergroup London - Morag Myerscough x Luke Morgan (UK) Sugar Mountain Festival is happening at Victorian College Of The Arts, Melbourne on Saturday, January 21, 2017. Tickets are $99 each and are on sale now at sugarmountain.com. By Shannon Connellan and Lauren Vadnjal.
Getting your mind around the carbon statistics involved in keeping London warm is like trying to make sense of the figures that astronomers toss about when they’re talking about the size of the universe — pretty much impossible to do. According to a 2006 climate change report, the average Briton uses 1.49 tonnes of carbon every year in preventing death-by-freezing. Multiplying that by London’s population — 8.3 million — gives the staggering figure of 12.3 million. The good news is that Mayor Boris Johnson wants to do something about it. He's planning to reduce London's annual carbon usage by 3.5 million tonnes by 2025, through the increased use of secondary heat sources and decentralisation. So, in the search for solutions, renewable energy experts are getting creative. In May 2013, construction began on a 'fat plant', which will see the transformation of the fat balls, grease and oils found in London's sewers into heat. And as of late last year, the Underground is getting ready to do its bit. Johnson, the Islington Council, UK Power Networks and Transport for London have hatched a plan to transfer the heat generated by the tube and a local substation into at least 500 homes. The project, the first of its kind in Europe, will not only decrease the city's carbon footprint, it'll also reduce power bills for the households involved. At the same time, New York's Department of Sanitation is set to expand a pilot program that has seen 5,000 homes heated with the energy generated from food waste. The organic matter is collected from homes and schools and taken to the Newtown Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it is mixed with waste water and transformed into biogas. Via Springwise. Image by smaedli via photopin cc.
China is pretty much the fastest growing country not only in Asia, but the world. As with anywhere so vastly populated, changes create interest from inquisitive foreigners keen to get the latest scoop. More times than not though, many struggle with the language barrier. To conquer this, Beijing Hao! changes your sensory preference from hearing to seeing. Photography has long been breaking down lingual barricades between different nationalities keen to understand each other. Over the years, it has been the catalyst for far off foreign countries having an eye into each other’s culture. As a result of China’s adaptation, the University of Queensland have brought to our shores the Beijing Hao! exhibit which is showing at their Art Museum from now until June. Included as part of the Queensland Festival of Photography 4, its overall aim is to both educate and reveal how relatable China is both in terms of their growth and on a personal level. Six different photo media artists have been chosen by the talented curator Gordon Craig to appear in this show. Each one has a unique eye regarding their experience with China and as such the show captures varied insights. From Huang Xu’s series on fireworks (only recently allowed in China) to Zhang Hongkuan’s informative reveal about migrant workers’ living quarters – you’re in for a real treat. Not only an art show, but a lesson in humanity.
Taking its cue from period dramas Downton Abbey and Gosford Park, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding plunges us into the eccentricities and delusions of upper-class Britain between the wars. Adapted from a 1932 novella by Julia Strachey, the film is director Donald Rice's debut feature. On her wedding day, Dolly Thatcham (Felicity Jones) is preparing to walk down the aisle with the bland but reliable Owen Bigham (James Norton) when the sudden appearance of her former lover, Joseph Patten (Luke Treadaway), throws her into a fit of confusion. Holing herself up in her room, Dolly gets stuck into a bottle of rum, trying to mitigate the now torturous process of final preparation. Meanwhile, her matriarchal, widowed mother (Elizabeth McGovern) strides about the manor, patronising any relative within arm's length and sending particularly scathing barbs in the direction of the troubled and seemingly regretful Joseph. The other members of the wedding party — a parade of oddball yet likeable Brits — dart in and out of the narrative, provoking an array of subplots. Dolly's sister Kitty (Ellie Kendrick) spends her time protesting about the lack of eligible bachelors on her radar, eventually making a comical effort to pursue the chauffeur. Cynical, sharp-tongued bridesmaid, Evelyn (Zoe Tapper), becomes the inappropriate target of Uncle Bob's (Julian Wadham) affections. Mackenzie Crook and Fenella Woolgar team up as Helen and David Dakin, a distanced married couple struggling to control a naughty son with a penchant for blowing up firecrackers. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding aims to satirise the upper class's sacrifice of emotional impulses for social control and the hypocrisy of obsession with appearances. However, while these intentions are clear, the script does not explore them with much depth, being neither gut-achingly witty nor gut-wrenchingly penetrating. Sure, moments of situational and verbal humour inspire laughs, and the storyline rolls along at a jolly pace, but the overall impact is entertaining and amusing rather than overwhelming. Flashbacks employed to depict Dolly and Joseph's love affair tend to come across as a little contrived and predictable. That said, the set is lush and the costumes have everyone looking their dapper-est best. McGovern and Treadaway offer particularly strong performances — McGovern for her charismatic, commanding interpretation of the ruler of the roost, and Treadaway for his vulnerable, multi-shaded take on the uncertain ex-lover. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding might make for some gentle Sunday afternoon escapism, but the Thatcham household is a long walk from Downton Abbey.
Maybe your mum really loves Patrick Swayze. Maybe you just need some more terracotta or ceramics in your life. Maybe the idea of pottering around a clay-based showcase, finding pottery gifts and sinking a few pots at the bar is your idea of a great Saturday afternoon. Whichever category you fall into, coast on over to Clayschool's Summer Show. Browse, buy, sip beverages — it's the ultimate exhibition-slash-market. Indeed, while we're talking multi-tasking, Clayschool's students are hoping to show off their unique, handcrafted designs, and sell some as ace one-off Christmas presents. What do you get the person who has everything? This. Given that it's all taking place at Wandering Cooks from 1pm on Saturday, December 15, that means food and drinks will be part of the fun as well. Four local makers will be in the kitchen whipping up their best eats, while the usual tipples will be available, of course.
For the third time in seven days, the Australian Government has introduced new restrictions on non-essential mass gatherings. On Friday, March 13, a ban on outdoor mass gatherings over 500 people was introduced, and was followed by a ban on non-essential indoor events of over 100 people on Wednesday, March 18. The latest, announced this afternoon, Friday, March 20, by Prime Minister Scott Morrison concerns non-essential indoor events of less than 100 people. A limit of one person per four square metres has been recommended by the Australian Government and Chief Health Minister. Airports, public transport, age care, correctional facilities, law courts, parliaments, food markets, supermarkets, office buildings, factories, mining sites, hotels, motels, schools, universities and transit spots — such as Bourke Street Mall, Martin Place — are considered 'essential', but cafes, pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, bars and cinemas (ones that are not already closed) will need to adhere to the new limits, the Prime Minister has today revealed. It's not clear how and if these limits will be enforced, but it's likely many venues will need to introduce new limits on capacity. With hospitality venues across the country closing and becoming takeaway-only already, it's also likely these new restrictions will lead to even more closing their doors, at least temporarily. The Prime Minister has also encouraged essential gatherings to adhere to the new guidelines, saying if it's done so more broadly we have a greater chance of "flattening the curve" (the term adapted for reducing the exponential spread of COVID-19, as shown by this graph). He has also, once again, pressed Australians to practise social distancing. It's predicted the above measures will be in place for "at least the next six months". For now, the bans on non-essential gatherings are in place indefinitely. A limit on one person per four square metres is now recommended for all non-essential indoor gatherings of fewer than 100 people. The Australia-wide bans on non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people on non-essential outdoor events of more than 500 people are still in place. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Kitti Gould
Pint-sized Maisie (Onata Aprile) has a skewed view of adult life, with slammed doors and whispered rows as much a part of her world as playmates and puzzles. Her parents are Beale (Steve Coogan), a globe-trotting, supercilious art dealer and Susanna (Julianne Moore), a rock star who fails to notice how heavily she is flirting with cliche as a rock star with panda eyes, messy hair and ever-present cigarettes. Their marriage has dissolved into open hostility as Susanna locks Beale out of their luxurious Manhattan apartment. They next meet at divorce court, where both seek full custody of Maisie. The court instead orders joint custody in allotments of ten days for each parent, starting a heart-sinking cycle where both parents fail to keep up with their responsibility to pass the child onto the other, meaning the wide-eyed Maisie is left at school, in a bar, in the lobby of the apartments. Beale quickly ups the stakes, marrying Maisie's somewhat timid but well-meaning nanny Margo (Joanna Vanderham) and setting up house with her. Fuelled by spite, Susanna retaliates with a marriage of convenience of her own, quickly wedding Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard), a naive bartender who soon develops a bond with Maisie. Both parents continue to throw emotional barbs at each other through their daughter, but as they both start spending more time out of the city for work, Maisie ends up increasingly left in the care of either Margo or Lincoln, or sometimes both. Told entirely from the point of view of the neglected Maisie, this is a fragmented story made up of overheard snippets of conversation, claim and counterclaim. Completely convincing and beautifully nuanced, it becomes an involving affair, all the more effective for taking an unconventional route to your heartstrings and generally eschewing the kind of histrionics or easy sentimentality that could have come with this territory. Based on Henry James' 1897 novel of the same name, the story has been seamlessly moved from the 19th century to the present and from London to New York, suggesting there is something essentially timeless at the heart of this story. Despite the presence of a quartet of first rate actors who nail all the details of their respective roles, the narrative's exclusive focus on the child's perspective of events means What Maisie Knew has to live or die on the performance of Aprile, who was aged just six at the time of filming. Thankfully her performance never hits a false note. Acting as the tale's unlikely moral centre, she is remarkable as a child who maintains her essential goodness in the face of deplorable neglect and selfishness. https://youtube.com/watch?v=GHHt5eYl95c
Stuffing wall-to-wall ABBA songs into a flimsy rom-com story, 2008's Mamma Mia! always felt like it was mere seconds away from two things happening. "Have you met my friend Fernando?" Meryl Streep's overalls-clad hotel owner might say, before asking if he can hear the drums. Or Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård's trio of long-lost exes might compare their romantic plight to history, starting with the words "my my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender". Neither actually occurred in the original big-screen jukebox musical, which adapted the successful stage production of the same name. But if they had, and in such a groan-inducing, eye-roll-worthy fashion, they wouldn't have felt out of place. Shameless cheesiness and trying to shoehorn in as many of the Swedish pop group's tracks as possible was the name of the game the first time around — and it's a tune that sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is still blasting. Thankfully, there's slightly more nuance, plot and comedy in this repeat spin. Slightly. Crucially, as returning and new cast members alike croon and swoon against the movie's bright, breezy Greek island setting, there's also a boost in singing talent. First things first: 'Fernando' and 'Waterloo' do get a whirl in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and in situations very close to those described above. The off-screen team is mostly new here, but it still feels like these films write themselves. In fact, while writer-director Ol Parker (Now Is Good) works with a story also credited to romantic-comedy maestro Richard Curtis (Love Actually) and Mamma Mia! playwright Catherine Johnson, he's basically rehashing the same tale. In the first movie, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) sent wedding invitations to the three men (Firth, Brosnan and Skarsgård) that her mother Donna (Streep) had flings with when she was conceived. This time around, the movie jumps between Sophie's present-day preparations to relaunch her mum's hotel and Donna's (Lily James) amorous exploits with the guys in question (Hugh Skinner, Jeremy Irvine and Josh Dylan) 25 years ago. Here we go again, indeed. The line in 'Waterloo' about history repeating itself also springs to mind — and if you start framing your thoughts in ABBA lyrics minutes into this follow-up, then the film has done its job. Collecting fans' money, money, money, taking few chances, and asking viewers to cheer and sing along when their favourite songs pop up, the Mamma Mia! franchise does what lazy pop culture celebrations tend to do. In the most superficial, crowd-pleasing, fan-service manner, it mistakes recognising something exists for actually engaging with it. Ready Player One did the same thing earlier this year, just with a different focus — throwing sci-fi and gaming references at the screen to nod to beloved characters, movies and titles, but without ever delving any deeper. Still, in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again much more than in its predecessor, the approach hits a few melodic notes. Or rather, the exuberant James does, alongside the other series newcomers that play younger versions of existing characters, and Cher as Sophie's grandmother. It helps that the story feels a little less like dead air between songs in this second outing, that the film has a pronounced rhythm rather than just smashing tracks together, and that the song-and-dance choreography is more polished. That said, having energetic talent who can hold a tune helps even more. Battling it out with Christine Baranski (playing one of Donna's life-long best friends) as the franchise's true star, you'll thank James for the music. Courtesy of her performance, you'll also be able to somewhat overlook the fact that the flick is mostly just famous faces making ABBA music videos amidst gorgeous scenery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcSMdhfKga4
To combat the multitude of incoming phone calls which remain unheard in the depths of your purse, Nokia is seeking a patent for magnetic-ink tattoos which would alert you to every phone call. The company's 'Haptic Communication' patent describes an electronic device (your smartphone) which will generate a magnetic field. This will stimulate the ferromagnetic ink that has been stamped on, taped to, or - yes - tattooed on skin. The ink will then react with stimuli that corresponds to the digital content of the original device. Similar to the 'vibrate' setting on existing phones, different vibration patterns would be received, and felt, for a voicemail, text message, etc. This technology may aid users in distinguishing which type of notification their phone is receiving from their back packet or book bag - all without audio. It all may sound a tad drastic, but who knows? Perhaps some fresh ink will finally allow us to unglue our phones from our palms. [via Wired]
The time of boring holidays is over. No longer are we locking ourselves inside a three-star resort for two weeks, limiting ourselves to whitewashed itineraries and experiences we could find at home. To really explore the world, we must occasionally check comfort and familiarity at the door. That's what you could do with a guided, small-group tour organised by Intrepid Travel. We've teamed up with the global exploration extraordinaires to showcase just a taste of the experiences on offer. All you need to do is dive right in. [caption id="attachment_970293" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] ChanwitOhm via iStock[/caption] Hike up a Volcano in Lombok When it comes to Aussies on holiday, Bali is an all-time classic pick. The neighbouring island of Lombok isn't that far afield either, but there's more to an Indonesian getaway than massages and cocktails by the beach. Instead, you can secure a spot on a 12-day adventure across the islands of Bali, Lombok and Gili. You'll hike, bike and kayak your way through some of the most scenic landscapes Indonesia has to offer. The peak (literally) of the adventure comes on the island of Lombok, where you'll spend two days hiking up an active volcano, camp at its crater (at nearly 2600 metres high) and enjoy stunning panoramic views of the ocean — if the weather is clear. Watch the Sunrise From the Tallest Mountain in Borneo Borneo is one of the last wild nations on Earth, with a hugely diverse ecosystem and a range of iconic native wildlife—orangutans being the most famous among them. This 11-day expedition allows you to get up close and personal with those gentle forest creatures, as well as sea turtles, macaques, bears and maybe even pygmy elephants. During your adventure, you'll also get to scale Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in the country. To see the sunrise from the summit, 4095 metres above sea level, you'll spend the night on the mountain and set off at 2am — but the views will be worth it. When you've descended, you will spend the afternoon unwinding in hot springs. Help Reforest an Island in Cambodia Community service in Cambodia is a highly regarded activity for Aussies abroad, but this eight-day tour of the country will put you in touch with more than just good karma. You'll bike through the Cambodian countryside, explore ancient ruins, meet endangered river dolphins and spend two days on an island in the Mekong River. On the small island of Koh Trong, you'll overnight in a local homestay, giving you ample time to explore the island's shores, rice fields and fruit orchards. Once you've had a good night's sleep and a home-cooked meal, you'll lend a hand to a local reforestation project to put some good back into the earth. Immerse Yourself in the Himalayas Along the Trans-Bhutan Trail There are few secrets on planet Earth as well hidden as Bhutan. Literally and figuratively dwarfed by its neighbours, India and China, this tiny Buddhist kingdom transports you back in time and takes your breath away with its awe-inspiring landscapes. You can spend 11 days exploring this remarkable nation with Intrepid. The altitude might thin out the air, but it's cleaner than anywhere else since Bhutan is the world's first carbon-negative country. Breathe deep as you drive and walk across the country's heart, stopping at high-altitude mountain passes, fortified Buddhist complexes and ancient monasteries built into the sides of rock faces. Kayak Amongst Stunning Limestone Islands in Lan Ha Bay Vietnam's scenery is on another level, with mountains, valleys and fields that create incredible memories (and photographs). It's a quintessential destination for travellers, but the art of balancing its many moving pieces is best left to travel agents and trip organisers. It's a good thing Intrepid offers an 11-day tour that'll see you hiking, biking and kayaking all over the country. First, you'll venture through the busy capital city of Hanoi for an on-the-ground Vietnam experience. Then, you'll stop in regional cities and towns like Sapa, Khau Bau, Mai Chau, Ninh Binh and Cat Ba Island. Those landlocked locales will see you hit the trails and fields on bicycles and your own two feet, but the latter is in Ha Long Bay's World Heritage designation and features the iconic limestone cliffs and white sand beaches by the plenty. Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka Sometimes overshadowed by its larger neighbour, India, Sri Lanka has been slept on as a destination by many for far too long. One of the most varied ways to explore it is a fairly physical eight-day exploration of the island, which will take you through mountains, tea fields, thick jungles and fast-flowing rivers. Along the way, you'll get up close and personal with four of the eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites throughout the country. First, there's the city of Sigirya, built atop a granite rock over 1500 years ago. You'll then head to the jungle-coated Knuckles Mountain Range, the Sacred City of Kandy and finally, the fortified Old Town of Galle. Trek to the Base of the Highest Mountain on Earth When talking adventure tours in Asia, we'd be remiss not to touch on the most famous of all: the two-week journey to the Base Camp of Mount Everest. It's a trip and a destination carved into human history, but the Base Camp trek is easier than the journey up the mountain itself. This tour starts in Kathmandu, but you'll fly to your real starting point in Lukla before setting off on the hiking journey of a lifetime. Take in the snow-crested peaks and green valleys of the Himalayan ranges as you make the journey up to Base Camp before turning around and taking a different route back to Lukla. You'll be spending your nights in teahouses and are likely to meet other hikers along the way since this is one of the most famous hiking routes in the world. Get out, explore, dive into adventure and find your WOW with Intrepid Travel. Find out more on the website.
We all know that fast fashion is gross. And yet, with the hectic holiday season just passed, we're all familiar with the need to buy cute stocking stuffers in a time crunch — often overwhelming our need to not pollute the planet beyond repair. We really don't do well by Mother Earth here in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, every year 500,000 tonnes of fashion ends up in landfill and each Aussie consumes 27 kilograms of textiles. Rhianna Knight believes we can do better, so the 26-year-old started an apparel business that won't leave you feeling shamefaced. The result is Mister Timbuktu, and it's in the early stages of kicking ass. Mister Timbuktu's outdoor apparel is made from recycled plastics. The first round is being crowdfunded now through Indiegogo, reaching more than half of its target with 16 days left to go (at the time of writing). At the moment, the range is all about quality leggings, raincoats and sports bras, but they'll soon branch into all things outdoorsy, including tents, sleeping bags and puffer jackets. The designs are gorgeous and bright because outdoor activities don't have to be completed in drab natural colours (apologies, Kathmandu, you serve a purpose but there's a new queen on the block). According to Knight, eleven plastic bottles are recycled in each pair of leggings they create. How in the name of activewear is that possible? Well, recycled plastics are collected, shredded into chips, washed, melted into liquid form and then spun into thread that goes on to become your new favourite comfy pants. Science, bitches! The company has also pledged to put 20 percent of profits back into helping the planet in other ways: by partnering with both a mental health charity (Waves of Wellness) and the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife. But wait, there's more. Okay, we probably shouldn't get so excited about this part because the rest of the initiative is so phenomenal, but check out the leggings: they have a pocket in the waistband which is the best and most practical thing ever. Thank you for listening to our secret wishes and delivering. For more information, visit Mister Timbuktu's campaign.
This spring, the Night Noodle Markets will return for 12 nights of culinary delights — and plenty of tasty things on sticks, bowls of noodles, bao and extravagant desserts. There are a few changes this time around, however. Firstly, the event will take place after being postponed from July to September. Secondly, Brisbanites will be heading to the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens to get their fill of hawker-style dishes. This is a case of new location, same delicious outcome, however. From Wednesday, September 22–Sunday, October 3, visiting the inner-city spot will prove a surefire way to work up an appetite, with the hawker-style array of stalls slinging all manner of foods. In total, 17 stallholders will set up shop, all so you can feast on everything from chicken karaage noodles to deep-fried Milo gelato. Expect a heap of pop-up bars, too, and a generally busy and bustling vibe. If you've been to the Night Noodle Markets before, you can start getting excited about a few returning favourites — such as Hoy Pinoy, Bao Brothers, Bangkok Street Food, Donburi Station and Gelato Messina. That means Filipino barbecue street food will be on the menu, including pork belly skewers in a banana ketchup glaze and chicken skewers in traditional soy glaze. So will gua baos, tom yum noodles, pad krapaw, grilled pork balls and Japanese fried dumplings. As for Messina, it's doing Asian-inspired gelato and desserts such as the aforementioned Milo number (which also includes Messinatella pudding and Oreo crumble), HK French toast (made with dulce de leche and peanut butter French toast) and its famed mango pancakes (which stuff mango sorbet and vanilla chantilly into mango crepes). Other national stallholders serving up their wares include May's Malaysian, Shallot Thai, Wokmaster and Everyday Bao, which'll be serving fried radish cakes, crackling pork noodles, roasted duck Hokkien noodles and fried custard bao as part of their menus — and Twistto/ Flying Noodles, too, so you can tuck into twisted potatoes again. From local favourites Teppanyaki Noodles, Raijin and Steamed Dim Sum, you'll be able to enjoy yakisoba fried noodles, the aforementioned chicken karaage noodles and rainbow-hued dumplings. And, a few Brissie eateries are joining the lineup for the first time, which is great news if you like roti wraps (from Schillykickk) and Thai, Malaysian and Indian cuisine (from Stone & Copper Curry and Snack Bar). Hashtag Burgers & Waffles will also be serving up the obvious, while Nodo Donuts will bring its gluten free doughnuts — and its sundaes and whips. The 2021 Night Noodle Markets will pop up at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens from Wednesday, September 22–Sunday, October 3. For further details, head to the event's website. This article was first published in June, but has been updated to reflect the Night Noodle Markets' change of date after it was postponed from July to September.
It seems a pretty hard task to follow Hannah Gadsby's international smash-hit show, Nanette. After all, the one-woman stand-up performance copped serious praise on its 18-month travels across Australia and the UK, even scooping the top honours at both the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It also spawned its very own Netflix special. And when Gadsby used the show to announce she was quitting comedy for good, we thought that was it. But the beloved Aussie comedian gave following up that hit a red hot crack when she returned to the stand-up stage with her latest work, Douglas, which is named after her own pet pooch. While Nanette pulled apart the concept of comedy itself, dishing up an insight into Gadsby's past, Douglas takes you on a "tour from the dog park to the renaissance and back". Gadsby took Douglas to stages across Australia and New Zealand in late 2019 and early 2020, and now, to the delight of comedy fans people across the world, is bringing it to Netflix this month. Available to stream globally from Tuesday, May 26, the show will bring us all some much-needed comic relief. As Gadsby says: "mark it in your socially-distant calendars...then wash your hands". https://twitter.com/Hannahgadsby/status/1249668347693654019 As the just-dropped trailer for the comedy special demonstrates, Gadsby's humour hasn't lost its charms. This time around, expect reflections on her Nanette success and observations about language — and that's just the beginning of the rib-tickling hilarity, of course. Check out the Douglas trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziIwxPCeByU Hannah Gadsby's 'Douglas' will be available to stream globally on Netflix from Tuesday, May 26.
Bumps and jumps can happen at any time, but they feel extra eerie when October rolls around each year. So, when it comes to unleashing its spooky tales upon horror-loving Melburnians, acclaimed West End hit Ghost Stories has obviously chosen the exact right part of the calendar. Coming to Australia for the first time, Ghost Stories will bring its thrills and chills to the Athenaeum Theatre from this October. Exact dates are yet to be announced, but the season will run for eight weeks. And, it'll be doing so with the team behind a couple of other unsettling recent experiences: Melbourne-based Realscape Productions, who've been responsible for shipping container installations Seance, Flight and Coma, plus a number of horror audio experiences since 2020. Created, written and directed by Andy Nyman (Derren Brown) and Jeremy Dyson (The League of Gentlemen), and first staged in the UK back in 2010, Ghost Stories offers exactly what its name suggests. Leading the charge is fictional Professor of Parapsychology Phillip Goodman, who takes audiences through three of his cases. If it sounds familiar even though the production hasn't ever made it to our shores as yet, that's because Ghost Stories was turned into a film with The Office, The Hobbit and Sherlock star Martin Freeman a couple of years back — and also featuring Nyman as Goodman. This is the type of show where the less you know going in, the better. You want to experience those frightening tales afresh, after all. Audience members have been known to physically jump in their seats while they're watching, too, which is part of the point. "If people are paying their hard-earned money to see the show, we have a responsibility to give them more than they pay for," said Dyson in a statement. "We knew that we wanted to craft a play that would deliver something of substance to an audience, some solid ground underneath the fun, that would leave a deeper, darker residue and be harder to shake off," continued both Dyson and Nyman. Yes, the show has been likened to watching a horror movie play out on stage — so if you that sounds like your ideal way to spend 80 minutes, prepare to be in your element. If you're easily scared, you probably already know to stay away. Check out Ghost Stories' Australian trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfabPFfTm6g Ghost Stories will hit Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre sometime this October, with exact dates yet to be announced. For further details, and to sign up for the ticket waitlist, head to the production's website. Top image: Chris Payne.
There's no putting a happy face on this news: Joker: Folie à Deux has been named one of the worst movies of 2024 by the 45th Golden Raspberry Awards. While the first Joker film earned Joaquin Phoenix (Napoleon) an Oscar, now he's up for Worst Actor instead. Lady Gaga (House of Gucci) is included in the Worst Actress field for her performance as Harleen Quinzel, and the picture's two leads share a nod in the Worst Screen Combo category. The flick also popped up in the Worst Screenplay, Worst Director (for Todd Phillips, War Dogs) and Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel camps. 2025's Razzies, which will announce its winners on Sunday, March 2, 2025 Australian and New Zealand time, weren't fond of comic-book characters making the leap to the screen. Madame Web also collected a heap of nominations — six in total, including for Worst Picture and in three of the acting fields. Cinema's least-coveted gongs didn't have any love for video game-to-film adaptation Borderlands, either, another flick with a big showing, including in the top field. Also up for Worst Picture: Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis and political biopic Reagan. The five-film group covers all of the most-nominated titles for 2025's awards, with Joker: Folie à Deux up for seven, then Madame Web, Borderlands, Megalopolis and Reagan each up for six. From there, although they weren't featured in the Worst Picture field, the Jerry Seinfeld-directed Unfrosted picked up four nods, Kraven the Hunter scored three and the remake of The Crow starring Bill Skarsgård (Nosferatu) nabbed two. Everything from Argylle (for two of its performances) to Mufasa: The Lion King (for Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel) are now Razzie nominees. Among the big-name stars recognised this year, Seinfeld earned two (for Worst Actor and Worst Director), while Jack Black received three (for Worst Actor for Dear Santa, Worst Supporting Actor for Borderlands and for the latter again for Worst Screen Combo — for any two obnoxious characters, but especially Jack Black). Whichever films emerge victorious in March, they'll follow on from 2024's winners, with Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey nominated in five categories and winning all five — and Expend4bles collecting two awards. The year before, Morbius, Blonde and Elvis tied for the most accolades with two apiece. Check out the full list of Razzie nominees below: Golden Raspberry Nominees 2025 Worst Picture: Borderlands Joker: Folie à Deux Madame Web Megalopolis Reagan Worst Actor: Jack Black, Dear Santa Zachary Levi, Harold and the Purple Crayon Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: Folie à Deux Dennis Quaid, Reagan Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted Worst Actress: Cate Blanchett, Borderlands Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie à Deux Bryce Dallas Howard, Argylle Dakota Johnson, Madame Web Jennifer Lopez, Atlas Worst Supporting Actor: Jack Black, Borderlands Kevin Hart, Borderlands Shia LaBeouf, Megalopolis Tahar Rahim, Madame Web Jon Voight, Megalopolis, Reagan, Shadow Land and Strangers Worst Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, Argylle and Kraven the Hunter Leslie Anne Down, Reagan Emma Roberts, Madame Web Amy Schumer, Unfrosted FKA Twigs, The Crow Worst Screen Combo: Any two obnoxious characters (but especially Jack Black), Borderlands Any two unfunny "comedic actors", Unfrosted The entire cast of Megalopolis Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie à Deux Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller, Reagan Worst Director: SJ Clarkson, Madame Web Francis Ford Coppola, Megalopolis Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie à Deux Eli Roth, Borderlands Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel: The Crow Joker: Folie à Deux Kraven the Hunter Mufasa: The Lion King Rebel Moon 2: The Scargiver Worst Screenplay: Joker: Folie à Deux Kraven the Hunter Madame Web Megalopolis Reagan The Golden Raspberry Awards will be announced on Sunday, March 2, 2025 Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website.
It is a new world order and the pigs have taken over! I know what you're thinking, 'yeah, when pigs fly!', but you're just denying that you really know what I'm talking about. Yes, it's Animal Farm. We all read it at high school, and now local dynamic theatre company Shake and Stir are bringing the text to life on the QPAC stage. So, if you avoided reading it and got by with the SparkNotes version instead, then here's a refresher: essentially the piggies on the Jones’ farm have realised that humans are parasites and kick old man Jones off the farm. They take control using the philosophy of Animalism, the crux of which is ‘All animals are equal’. All is good for a while with the animals living happily as pigs in mud, but then the quest for power rears its ugly head and finally the piggies decide that ‘All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others’. Ugh, what a load of hogwash! All hell breaks loose and, well, you know/may have forgotten the rest. Prepare to be as delighted as a you-know-what when you see what Shake and Stir have in store.
Once a month, Wednesday nights have officially been revolutionised into a cinema-screening gala for those who like things a little bit kooky. Showcasing many of the world’s strangest, surprising, outlandish, cult and frowned upon films, Weird Wednesdays is an offbeat movie night not for the faint hearted. This month sees the screening of two freaky films, Andy Warhol’s Bad (1977), and Forbidden Planet (1956). I have never either films (in full) but I do have a distant memory of walking into a screening of Bad at GoMA as a child and running away in fear and confusion. Means it must be good right? And don’t worry about missing Angry Boys, the re-runs always show the following week. So, with that in mind, you’re all set for a night of freakish fun. Did I mention the venue is BYO? What better way to spend the night than observing the films they tried to shun away in the cinema volt forever - fill up your esky and catch a bus down to Tribal Theatre on Wednesday.
We've all been there — those moments in life when nothing else but deep-fried, cheesy, buttery, salty goodness will kill your cravings. It's Friday night, work is over for the week and you just want to smash something ridiculously gluttonous so you can really sink into that Netflix coma on the couch. Or, maybe it's Sunday evening, you've had a few too many beverages at afternoon drinks and the only thing that'll satisfy that deep dark void in your stomach is some greasy comfort food. Luckily for us, Brisbane has some pretty amazing places to hit up when the decadent flavour cravings hit. It was a tough job, but we've managed to narrow it down to our favourite five across the city.
The days are long and drenched with sunlight, and you've got time on your hands to lie on the sand or in the grass and while it away with a book into the late summer hours. But you want the hours to be worthwhile, and sometimes it's really difficult to make a decision or to know where to start. Moreover, you want something enjoyable and easy to read that isn't going to turn your brain to marshmallow. So to help you out, Concrete Playground has come up with some suggestions for the best books to read over your summer. We've got new stuff and old stuff. Books you've never heard of and books everybody's heard of. Romances, mysteries, high quality smut, and stories both sweet and weird and wonderful. Compiled lovingly by somebody who's found the first legitimate use for her English major, we hope that these books delight you and make summer all the more wonderful. 1. 1Q84 by Haruki MurakamiJapanese author Haruki Murakami has a cult following and a legion of literary groupies so devoted that when the English translation of 1Q84 was published in October, bookstores stayed open late to cope with a demand not seen since the world was hit by the latest escapades of a certain Harry Potter. And upon publication, the word 'genius' was merrily tossed around by a legion of doe-eyed bookish types, as well as mutterings about Nobel Prizes. Quite deservedly too. 1Q84 is set in Tokyo in a fictionalised 1984 and follows the parallel story-lines of Tengo, a solitary maths teacher and ghost writer, and Aomame, a lady who works a sideline in ridding the world of abusive men. Over the course of a year their lives intertwine around religious cults, eccentric geniuses, reclusive dowagers and unexplained coincidences and mysteries. At roughly nine hundred pages long it isn't the slimmest book to carry around, but 1Q84, and everything by Murakami in general, is unlike anything else out there. It's beautiful and it's complex and you get completely lost inside the labyrinthine worlds he creates. 1Q84 on Amazon 2. A Visit From The Goon Squad – Jennifer EganA Visit From The Goon Squad is a series of thirteen interlocking stories centered around aging music executive and a once-talented musician, Bennie Salazar. The book opens with Salazar's former assistant, Sasha, a kleptomaniac trying desperately not to steal her date's wallet, and shuttles back and forth in time to the 1970s San Francisco punk scene, a tortuous African safari and a New York of the not too distant future. A Visit From The Goon Squad won the Pulitzer Prize this year, and it's insanely fun to read, moving so quickly you can easily eat up a day reading it. All the stories centre around the music industry and rock and roll, but ultimately it's more about what it means to grow up and how that often translates into a loss of innocence. According to Google, trusted research tool, HBO is turning the book into a television series next year, but I can pretty much guarantee the book will be better, because at the end of the day it's going to be hard to translate a chapter formatted like a Powerpoint presentation, amongst others, into entertaining television. A Visit from the Goon Squad on Amazon 3. The White Album – Joan DidionIn the sixties Joan Didion was a journalist and writer who described herself as anxious, confused, rotten at interviewing people and only ever got decent stories out of people because she was so tiny and neurotically inarticulate in front of others that she tended to blend into the background. And as somebody who's anxious and neurotically inarticulate myself, Joan Didion has endeared herself to me ever since this book occupied me for the entire abominable flight between Sydney and London without me ever having to resort to watching a Judd Apatow movie. The White Album is a collection of essays put together at the end of the seventies which, very broadly, cover the disintegration of the sixties and everything the sixties had hoped to achieve. If I was a proper literary critic I would say it wove together fragmented narratives of sixties cultural phenomena, like the Black Panthers and the Manson Family, with the author's own personal experiences and problems, lending the work a compelling quality of tenderness and loss which seems to express something integral to the contemporary human condition. But I'm not going to say that, cause that would ruin it, right? Seriously though, read this book. It is excellent. The White Album on Amazon 4. The Raw Shark Texts – Steven HallThe Raw Shark Texts is what I imagine would be produced if Michel Gondry and David Lynch got together one night, got plastered and decided they quite fancied writing a thriller. The Raw Shark Texts is Steven Hall's debut novel, published in 2007. The story opens with the narrator waking up in a room and having absolutely no idea who he is. Gradually he learns that he is the Second Eric Sanderson, the first having been destroyed by virtue of being the prime target of vicious conceptual creatures who linger in thought and text. After the death of his girlfriend several years earlier, Eric, working with the Un-Space committee, tried to preserve his memories of her inside a conceptual creature, which unintentionally lead to the release of a Ludovician, the most dangerous of conceptual fish, which feeds on human memories and the sense of self. The novel follows the journey of the Second Eric Sanderson as he tries to track down the people who'll explain and help him eventually defeat the Ludovician. It sounds complex, but like anything by the likes of Michel Gondry or David Lynch, it's surprisingly lucid and massively engrossing, and makes for one of the most compelling books you could read about language, memory and the devastating power of love. The Raw Shark Texts on Amazon 5. On The Road – Jack KerouacFamously typed in three weeks on a continuous 120-foot roll of teletype paper, On The Road is the hallmark work of the beat generation, and the work that inspired generations of young people to take off, get out of the city and find themselves. The novel centers around jazz, drugs and poetry and follows the adventures of narrator Sal and the iconic maverick Dean Moriarty, based in real life on Neal Cassady, as they hitchhike across America. Bob Dylan once described On The Road as having changed his life, and it taught a whole generation of people the world over that revelation is to be found in the streets, in the destitute, in the bums and the dark places. Incidentally, On The Road is being turned into a movie, probably to be released in the coming year, featuring Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart. Make of that what you will. Either way, On The Road is iconic, and it's here because if you haven't read it, you probably should, particularly during the summer when it feels as though you could pack up any minute and re-claim your freedom. Plus it's published in the Popular Penguins series, so it'll save you monies and earn you a modicum of hipster cred when you read it on the bus. On the Road on Amazon 6. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao reads like Childish Gambino and David Foster Wallace got together to narrate the life of a second-generation Dominican high school geek who's mastered writing in Elvish, knows more about the Marvel universe than Stan Lee and couldn't pass for normal even if he tried. Oscar is a fat, Tolkien-loving kid with a bad case of self-hatred, and makes the mistake of using words like 'indefatigable' too many times, scaring off the ladies and inviting blows to the head. The book is narrated in turns by Lola, Oscar's tough-talking punk sister, and Yunior, his one-time room mate. The language is one of the best things about the book, an easy to follow Spanglish giving the words body-language, or 'swag'. Weaving in Dominican history, family tragedy and and curses passed down through the generations, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao essentially proves that if you want to know what it feels like to be an X-Man, you just need to be a smart, bookish, ethnically marginalised kid living in a contemporary U.S. ghetto. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao on Amazon 7. Ask The Dust – John FanteAsk The Dust almost missed becoming a classic, and if it weren't for Charles Bukowski hailing him as a genius the book might not have been in print today. But it is, making Bukowski a blessed legend (more on that below). Arturo Bandini is twenty. He's moved alone to Los Angeles in the '30s to try and be a writer. But he's failing at the writing, he's hungry as hell and he's a miserable virgin tortured by beautiful women and the Californian sun. Moreover, he's obsessed with a Mexican waitress wearing broken shoes who he can't stop treating like shit. I read Ask The Dust two summers ago, and spent a whole day at Maroubra beach obsessively quoting dog-eared passages of it to my long-suffering and ever indulgent friend. In that instance, I'm pretty sure my fierce enthusiasm scared her off, so I'll try and tone down just how awesome I believe this book to be, but I encourage you to imagine me shaking you furiously by the lapels if you decide not to read it. Ask the Dust on Amazon 8. You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead – Marieke HardyMarieke Hardy is wildly entertaining, even though I know she can occasionally rub people the wrong way (although, given that Google suggests 'Marieke Hardy + breasts' as one of the most popular search options you've got to think more than a couple of people are keen). The former Triple J Breakfast host and writer of ABC TV series Laid is opinionated, acerbic and sometimes a little controversial. You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead is her first book, a collection of personal essays which are hilarious but also heart wrenching in their honesty and attention to detail. She details her penchant for drinking to excess, childhood ambitions of growing up to be a prostitute, how football broke her heart, and having her first kiss with a Young Talent Time 'idol'. Grandiose, passionate and often hilarious, this series of mini-memoirs is engrossing and oddly relatable, particularly when you finish an unflinching story about an ex-boyfriend or Bob Ellis and then get to read their frank opinion about what she had to say. You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead on Allen & Unwin 9. Women – Charles BukowskiBukowski is the poet laureate of seedy bars, gamblers, drunks, womanisers and dirty old men. He was a man who had no time for adjectives, who was bored with most literature because it had no guts or dance or moxy and believed the writer had no responsibility "except to jack off in bed alone and to type a good page." If that quote puts you off, read something else, but remember there's a reason why Bukowski is beloved by so many. All of Bukowski's novels (barring one) follow the trials and tribulations of his fictional alter-ego Henry Chinaski. Ugly, misanthropic and an appalling drunk, Bukowski wrote like a madman for decades, but didn't start getting much recognition until the 1970s. Women is Bukowski at his drunken, raw essence, written in his fifties, when he was making up for lost time with all the women who wouldn't notice him when he was young and poor and hideous. Women on Amazon 10. Middlesex – Jeffrey EugenidesSo Jeffrey Eugenides has a new book out at the moment, The Marriage Plot. But I've read it, and, um...Middlesex is better. Moreover, Middlesex won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003. Middlesex could in many ways be construed as your average inter-generational family drama with a hint of multiculturalism thrown into the mix. But it's much more than that. Middlesex is the history of a single gene through a century of tumultuous history, lyrical and strange and incredibly hard to put down. The narrator was born twice, first as a girl and then again as a teenager on an operating table, emerging as a young man, an eventuality which can be attributed to the revelation that his grandparents were actually brother and sister who escaped the stigma they would have received in Greece by immigrating to Detroit in the U.S. There's history and political drama, heartbreaking stories of first love and medical incompetence. But it's not a tragedy - it's heartfelt and terribly funny. Middlesex on Amazon
Trailblazing graffiti artist Nychos has landed in Australia. Gracing our shores over late February and early March, the Austrian artist who recently took New York City by storm will be splitting his time between Sydney and Melbourne for this tour, presenting exhibitions, hosting workshops and leaving his unique mark on walls around town — including a brand new work just outside Work-Shop in Redfern. The new piece, titled Translucent June, is a homage to Sir Frederic Leighton's Victorian painting Flaming June. The classical work, which was painted back in 1895, is thought to allude to Greek sculptures of sleeping nymphs. In Nychos' depiction, June is wearing a similar orange dress — however, it (and her skin) is translucent, revealing her blood and bone. Here's the finished product. A post shared by nychos (@nychos) on Feb 28, 2017 at 12:01am PST In Sydney, Nychos just headed a graffiti art workshop at Work-Shop and presented a screening of his street art documentary The Deepest Depths of the Burrow. In Melbourne, the workshop and screening will take place on March 11. He'll also launch a pair of exhibitions, showcasing his new sculpture project, Vienna Therapy, featuring the three-foot-tall Dissection of Sigmund Freud in Federation Square from March 8-12, and his solo exhibition, MONOCHROME ORGANISM, at Juddy Roller Gallery in Fitzroy from March 10-24. Images: Kimberley Low.
Mark Ruffalo has always been a stellar actor, and he has the resume to prove it. But he's in particularly excellent form in I Know This Much Is True. It isn't just because he's as reliably great as ever in the six-part HBO miniseries, which is adapted from the book of the same name. He is, of course; however he's also playing two roles. While identical twins Dominick and Thomas Birdsey look alike, they have their own struggles — including, in the latter's case, paranoid schizophrenia. Set in the 90s in Three Rivers, Connecticut, the series charts the intricacies of their intertwined lives as past and present troubles collide. It's no slouch behind the lens, either, with Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines filmmaker Derek Cianfrance directing and co-writing the entire thing.
For the first time in Australia, music festival attendees will be able to check their illicit substances for dangerous ingredients, with pill testing set to take place at this weekend's Groovin the Moo in Canberra. The ACT Government has approved the trial as a harm reduction strategy, aiming to minimise overdoses and other adverse effects resulting from party drugs. It comes six months after a previous attempt to implement pill testing was scrapped — with approval given for the city's Spilt Milk festival last year, only for organisers to pull out before the event. At Groovin the Moo's Canberra leg on April 29, a mobile laboratory will be set up at the fest's University of Canberra site. Run by the Safety and Testing and Advisory Service at Festivals and Events (STA-SAFE) — a consortium of non-government organisations lead by Harm Reduction Australia — it'll be manned by volunteer medical staff and analytical chemists, who'll test small samples of each pill, interpret the results and give festival-goers the details. Advice and counselling about the risks involved in consuming the substances will also be given, and folks will have the option of disposing of their pills in a bleach-filled amnesty bin. Anyone using the service will remain anonymous, the ABC reports, but data will be collected about the number of patrons attending the service, how many tests are conducted, how many people discard their drugs and the chemical content detected in each sample, all to help shape any future pill-testing operations. Drug checking has been used overseas since the '90s, and is currently available in around 20 countries across Europe, the Americas and New Zealand, but remains a controversial topic in Australia. Calls for Groovin the Moo to offer pill testing have been circulating for the past two years, after a 15-year-old collapsed from an overdose at the fest's Maitland event in 2016. Image: Jack Toohey.
