Jason Bird is a Queensland designer, a rather accomplished one at that. Earlier this year, Jason released a book entitled Hightide, and in depth look at Queensland’s design industry which is thriving and becoming renowned globally. Incorporating several of the books the featured designers in an immersive and interactive exhibition, Hightide is the perfect chance to witness Queensland design innovation in person. Showcasing the versatility of the assembled designers (many of whom were recently showcased at BIGSOUND Music+Design), video interviews, electronics, lighting, timber work and furniture will be on display. The artists and design firms on display are: Alexander Lotersztain Bjorn Rust Christina Waterson CMD Daniel Tobin Darcy Clarke David Shaw Deka Designs Dreamfarm Ellaspede Fukutoshi Ueno Infinity Design Intelli Design Jason Bird Kent Gration KT Doyle Luis Nheu Marc Harrison Neil Davidson Pro Design Street and Garden Surya Graf Hightide is running at Aritsan until February, so do yourself a favour and check out the work that is putting Queensland in the design conversation.
After being cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular, better known as GABS, returns to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre for the second time on Saturday, June 12. After humble beginnings in Melbourne a decade ago, it has now expanded to cover four cities in two countries, and is rightfully considered by most as the best craft beer and cider festival in the Asia Pacific region. Once again the fest will wrangle up the best breweries from the region, and offer up hundreds of brews — which includes more than 100 exclusive festival beers and ciders. These exclusive and often wacky specialty brews are created just for the event and are generally the festival's main draw, giving attendees the rare chance to try brand-spanking new beers while meeting the brewers behind them. Expect collaborations with everyone from coffee roasters and tea houses to gin and whisky distillers. In previous years, brews have also been made with biscuit makers and even an American barbecue smokehouse — so expect plenty of experimental tastes, too. Apart from beer, the event also plays host to a silent disco, live tunes, cornhole, table tennis and giant Jenga, as well as wandering performances and local food stalls.
"Player or watcher?" Nerve asks, and it's not an easy question to answer. The query may stem from the fictional dare-based game that gives the film its name, but there's no missing the real-world parallels. In these Snapchat-sending, Vine-streaming, Pokemon GO-playing times, this tech-savvy thriller feels relevant to the minute. With our lives increasingly lived through screens, our connections and conversations more often virtual than physical, and our days whiled away either posting selfies, or watching others do the same, the question needs to be asked: where do we draw the line? These are the big issues touched upon in Nerve, a film that's hardly subtle about the negative influence the internet has had on human behaviour. Thankfully, the film never tries to lecture millennials about their preferred pastimes. Instead, Catfish directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman keep toying with their favourite topics via a slickly and swiftly-told tale that never fails to entertain, even if the underlying narrative doesn't always stand up to scrutiny. But hey, when you're making a film about people doing reckless things for online fame and fortune, a certain number of illogical choices are to be expected. When Venus Delmonico (Emma Roberts) musters up the courage to participate in the live-streamed game, her spur-of-the-moment decision ends up being the first of many. The studious 17-year-old is motivated in part by the prize money she could put towards attending a Californian college, but also by a desire to venture beyond her comfort zone after being rejected by her football hero crush (Brian Marc). Kissing a stranger is Vee's first task, and when she locks lips with Ian (Dave Franco) in a diner, she discovers that he's playing the game as well. At first the viewing public seems eager for them to pair up, venture into New York, try on fancy clothes and get tattoos. But as the young duo begins to lure in more eyeballs, the dares become not just more lucrative, but more dangerous as well. Much of this movie's charms come from simply watching Vee and Ian roam around Manhattan, reacting to the challenges thrown their way and letting their mutual attraction flourish. Indeed, the film's first half doubles as a different take on the usual walk-and-talk movie date scenario. That Roberts and Franco make an engaging and enthusiastic pair helps; that Joost and Schulman are just as vibrant and energetic in their pacing and style does as well. Of course as enjoyable as it is watching the two lead actors race around attempting ridiculous feats, this effort about online entertainment isn't all fun and games. When Nerve wanders deeper into darker territory more akin to David Fincher's The Game, it's not always as successful – in fact, the feature's third act is positively silly. But by then, you're a watcher, and you can't tear your eyes away.
Not to bag out on the nation’s biggest punk and hardcore festival at present – you know the one I’m talking about...but it is incredibly frustrating when acts pull out at the last moment or the festival is unable to go ahead due to weather or for other (un)avoidable reasons. Such is not the case with the Total Attack festival, which is run indoors and features a list of bands bigger than this article can accommodate. What’s more is that these bands actually want to play and are either emerging or established musicians in Brisbane and Australia. This festival mightn’t be for everyone, but if you’re a lover of hardcore or punk, then this event is the crème de le crème for your niche. The 3 day festival kicks off on Friday at the MDH Studios with an all ages showdown featuring Straightjacket Nation, Kromosom, Evil Ways and plenty more that will make everyone in the room sore from head banging. On Saturday the festival peaks with a Jubilee Hotel set with Teargas, Useless Children, Shackles and half a dozen more, and is also 18+, probably because things are going to get pretty hectic. The festival will come to an end on Sunday at Basement 243 with the aptly named headliners Shit Weather, as well as Undead Apes, Last Chaos and Debacle. These sorts of festivals only come around a couple of times a year and if it’s your kettle of fish then it’s definitely worth a look.
Gorman. Oh, Gorman. The source of literally everyone's fancy first date outfits has just gone and announced that, this Friday, August 25 they'll be giving out thousands of free t-shirts to anyone who proves they've registered to vote. And while you can vote however you feel, the initiative is proudly and loudly in support of the 'yes' vote. In their own words: "Love is love. All people are equal". Damn right. To share in the love, make sure you've verified and updated your enrolment details today — you have until midnight to do so. Then head to your local Gorman store tomorrow and flash the Gormie staff a screenshot of your verified enrolment details to receive a limited edition (and cute as heck) 'love is love' tee for free. The design is based on an earlier collaboration with Monika Forsberg and there are only 5000 of them. Gorman fans are Gorman fans, so we presume you'll have to get in early to nab one. Most importantly, you can check your enrolment details here.
First, St Jerome's Laneway Festival announced its 2024 dates and venues. Now, it's time for the news that every fest fan is always waiting for: the lineup. Fancy some grime? A Euphoria star? A mix of international must-sees and homegrown up-and-comers? A swag of folks making their first trips our way? Then consider yourself sorted — starting with headliners Stormzy, Steve Lacy, Dominic Fike and Raye. Stormzy tops the roster after he was meant to head Down Under in 2022, but pulled out of Spilt Milk and his Australian and Zealand tour. At the Aussie fest, he was replaced by Lacy, in fact, but now the UK sensation and the 'Bad Habit' talent will share the same Laneway bill. Fike heads from the screen to Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland's stages — and Raye comes our way with 'Escapism' still stuck in everyone's heads. From there, the lineup also spans AJ Tracey, d4vd, Dope Lemon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and more. All of the above acts will play all cities, with some fellow talents only popping up in either Australia or Aotearoa. Stormzy and Fike are doing exclusive Laneway tours — so, of you want to see either (or both), you'll only catch them at the fest while they're in both countries. In Australia, Lacy is exclusive in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. There's a bit of stability to 2024's list of venues, after 2023 took Laneway to a heap of new spots. The festival started by Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio in the mid-00s will kick off at Brisbane Showgrounds on Saturday, February 3, then head to Sydney Showground on Sunday, February 4 — so, exactly where it took place this year. [caption id="attachment_916473" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Callum Walker Hutchinson[/caption] Still in Australia, Laneway also has a Friday, February 9 date with Bonython Park in Adelaide on the agenda, then a Saturday, February 10 run at The Park, Flemington in Melbourne and a Sunday, February 11 wrap-up show in Wellington Square in Perth. Again, these are all the same locations that 2023's fests hit up. Over in New Zealand, the event will take over Western Springs in Auckland on Tuesday, February 6. That date means that it's moving to Waitangi Day. And 2024's venue comes after 2023's Auckland Laneway stop was cancelled due to the Auckland floods. [caption id="attachment_915848" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2024 LINEUP: Stormzy Steve Lacy Dominic Fike Raye AJ Tracey d4vd Dope Lemon Eyedress Faye Webster horsegiirL Nia Archives Paris Texas Skin On Skin Suki Waterhouse Unknown Mortal Orchestra Blondshell DOMi & JD BECK Hemlocke Springs Pretty Girl AUSTRALIA ONLY: Angie McMahon Confidence Man Teenage Dads JK-47 Miss Kaninna Vacations NEW ZEALAND ONLY: Atarangi Church Daily J Erny Belle Hanbee Molly Payton LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2024 DATES: Saturday, February 3 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane / Turrbal Targun Sunday, February 4 — Sydney Showground, Sydney / Burramattagal and Wangal Land Tuesday, February 6 — Western Springs, Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau Friday, February 9 — Bonython Park, Adelaide / Kaurna Yerta Saturday, February 10 — The Park, Flemington, Melbourne / Wurundjeri Biik Sunday, February 11 — Wellington Square, Perth / Whadjuk Boodjar St Jerome's Laneway Festival will tour Australia and New Zealand in February 2024. Head to the festival's website for further details, and to register for ticket pre sales — which kick off at 11am local time on Tuesday, September 12. General sales start at 11am local time on Thursday, September 14. Top image: Bethany Vargas. Laneway imges: Daniel Boud / Maclay Heriot / Cedric Tang.
Snakadaktal are one of those bands that pop their head out occasionally to remind us of how incredibly talented they are. They won Triple J Unearthed High in 2011 and debuted on the Hottest 100 for that year at number 22 with 'Air', no easy feat for a band fresh out of high school. They then went into the studio bunker for most of 2012, only releasing the dance-friendly wonder 'Dance Bear', which also snuck onto the Hottest 100 despite the band hibernating most of the year on the production front. This time, though, they are set to keep their pleasurable pop where everybody can see it, with their solo nationwide tour. It comes on the back of releasing their debut LP Sleep in the Water, which if lead teaser track 'Ghost' is anything to go by, will certainly feature many claims for entry into a third consecutive Hottest 100. The dream-inducing wizards will be playing at The Hi-Fi on September 20 and they will be supported by Fishing and Holy Holy. This should not be missed. https://youtube.com/watch?v=MNN1JWnXzyQ
While Chris Anderson was a big deal at TED's local TEDxSydney this year, the stars of the day were the regular TED speakers. Talks on the sign-reading skills of bees, the need for random selection to the senate, how coral fits in with the Transit of Venus and the unremarkable things that kill us all made for attention-grabbing stuff. Concrete Playground had the chance to chat briefly with three of these speakers, their fields covering whether to feel safe around robots, where grownups can get an imaginary friend and how to explain quantum theory to schoolkids. Hugh Durrant-Whyte is a former roboticist now working at NICTA in Everleigh. In his talk he explained not the future of robots, but what robots are already doing. He talked to us about the shape of robotics now and in the future. You said once before that you were a bit of a luddite. Is that still true? I don't have a mobile phone, I don't drive a car. I don't have a driving license. If that's a luddite: I'm a luddite. Why do you love robots? What got you into the field? Well, they're cool. As an engineer, I think what really drives you is making a difference. And it's so clear to see that in robotics. What do real robots look like? What sort of variety is there? Really anything. Imagine a machine: whether it's a car, or an aeroplane, or something that looks human-like, or indeed is perhaps just an arm, or just legs, or just a head. Any of those can be a robot. Because a robot in the end is simply this idea — that you observe what's really happening in the world, using sensors, vision for example. And you use that to decide what you're going to do, whether you're going to pick something up, manufacture a car, fly in a particular direction or drive down the street. And that makes a robot. It's the fact that it adapts to the world, or is capable of adapting to the world. So, it doesn't need just rules like you have in a normal computer program. Autonomy is a key word in this: without human intervention. The crucial thing in the perception part of it, is to be able to detect failure and to be able to autonomously recover from that. If you can do that then you can get a robot like the Port of Brisbane ones that have now operated for 5 years non-stop, 24 hours a day. All of them without ever going wrong. You have to be able to detect and recover from all failures. Not just the ones you model, but "unknown unknowns". Which is the challenge. When I was growing up I was a big fan of Isaac Asimov. And what me feel safe about robots was basically because I had this model of the three laws of robotics. Why should I feel safe about robotics with real robots? I'm not sure you should feel safe, I think it's fair to say. How far do you push robots? It's a tricky question. But it's a tricky question with all technology. We do have things now: these drones, the UAVs. They don't actually decide to shoot [for] themselves, a person does that. But, let's be honest here: you could probably figure out how to do that bit. There's a fine line there. And, sending robots to war? I don't know. Skynet must be something you end up talking about a lot? I think the bigger question people ask you about, in truth, is job loss. This brings us back to Ludd. We have gone through industrial revolutions for 300 years that have gradually automated things, and robotics is in some sense the logical conclusion of that. The other Chris Anderson was saying that as different things become abundant, you get new scarcity. I agree. I think that indeed is the case. The one thing, personally, that slightly worries me about it, now that I'm not really in robotics any more, is… Robots are replacing groups that are least able to actually retrain. Or use their lives in some productive other manner. So I no longer work in robotics: if that isn't clear. Evan Kidd researches imaginary friends. In his talk, he explained their value for children. Once parents understand what he has to say, they often ask how they can get one for their own kids. He talked to us about where grown-ups fit in. What's the difference between me liking Doctor Who or Joss Whedon's super-hero movies and me having an imaginary friend? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's fantasy play. And these behaviours — like being, for instance, into science fiction, or things like Star Trek, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even Twilight — these provide fantasy elements that are exactly like fantasy play with children. Except, what you're doing really is not inventing it. But when you get to things like fan fiction and things like that, that's exactly what it is. Do you know the comedian Amy Sedaris? She would go on Letterman all the time and talk about her imaginary boyfriend Ricky. These behaviours don't go away. They just change. So often what you would find, for instance, in elderly couples, when one has died, the other will continue to talk to their dead spouse. And not in a creepy way, but in a way to keep their relationship with them alive. And that's exactly the same thing as what's happening with an imaginary friend in some way. It's just a really nice way — through really what is fantasy, but has a beginning in reality — of keeping warm and nice feelings available to you. Michelle Simmons runs the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology. What does that mean? She works to make quantum computing practical. What does that mean? She works to make computers run incredibly fast. In keeping with the global TED's new focus on education, she talked to us, very quickly, about how she explains science to a younger audience. Do you normally talk to non-scientific audiences? I do a lot of talking in schools. Teenage or younger? All the way down. At the university of NSW we have an outreach group, and for years I've told them I'm very keen to talk to schools. It's actually the most enjoyable part of everything I do. Over the years I think people have tried to dumb science down for them. And I don't think you need to. What sort of things do you tell them? The same things you were saying here? I actually add probably even more technical details than I would have had at the [TED] talk. I think the thing they don't appreciate is that we lead science in Australia, internationally. And I think they're just not aware of that. They just think that we're following other people. My field is quantum physics, and in Australia we're working on silicon quantum computing, we've got people doing optical quantum computing, people doing communication in the quantum medium, we've got astrophysics, we've got Brian Schmidt talking later today. What he does is world-leading. I mean: every area that I know in Australia is world leading. Leading image of Chris Anderson by Fe Lumsdaine, Lumsdaine Photography. Image of Hugh Durrant-Whyte by JJ Halans. Image of Evan Kidd by David Clare, First Light Photography. Image of Michelle Simmons by JJ Halans.
In an emotional sense, things are looking up this December. It's the festive time of the year, 2020's horror show is almost over and a much-needed break from the chaos is upon us. It's also worth peering skywards in a literal sense, however — because an event called the 'great conjunction' is about to happen way above our heads, and seeing it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you're not familiar with the term 'conjunction' within the field of astronomy, it refers to two objects or spacecraft sharing the same right ascension or ecliptic longitude — so they're at the same angular distance in one way or another. What makes a conjunction great? That happens when Jupiter and Saturn are involved. Specifically, it's used to describe the moment that the two planets are at their closest apparent point together in the sky. Great conjunctions actually happen around every 20 years, when Earth's orbit aligns with the pair as well so that their seemingly close proximity can be seen in our evening sky. The last took place on May 31, 2000 — but the one this month, on Monday, December 21, 2020, is particularly special. That's because Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer together than they have in almost 400 years (since July 16, 1623, in fact). Because of this great conjunction's timing, it's also being called the 'Christmas Star'. https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1339010857443930112 As NASA explains, the two planets "have been traveling across the sky together all year", and getting closer across the month of December. On Monday, though — which coincides with the December solstice — they'll appear a mere tenth of a degree apart. They'll also look so near to each other that Saturn will seem as if it's as close to Jupiter as some of the latter's moons. And, as timeanddate.com notes, they'll appear so close and bright that they even might look like a single star — if you're wondering why else the 'Christmas star' nickname popped up. Plus, this is also the first time in "nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night", says NASA. The conditions really couldn't be better in 2020, in other words The great conjunction will be visible almost everywhere around the globe on Monday evening, and via the naked eye as well. To get the best glimpse, you'll want an unobstructed view of the sky around an hour after sunset — and, to see Jupiter's moons, to use binoculars or a telescope. If you do choose some optical help, you'll be able to see both Saturn and Jupiter, as well as their moons, in the same field of view. And if you're wondering where you're looking, folks in the southern hemisphere should peer towards the western horizon. NASA advises that the planets won't be as close during the 2040 and 2060 great conjunctions, so 2080 is the next time you'll have a similar planet-watching opportunity. Indeed, as timeanddate.com outlines, only six great conjunctions across the thousand-year period from 1600–2599 will see Jupiter and Saturn appear two tenths of a degree or less apart (and, after this century, the next two won't happen until 2417 and 2477). December has already delivered a sky show via the Geminids meteor shower, so this may be just the latest astronomical gift this month — but it won't be repeated in a hurry. The Jupiter and Saturn great conjunction will be visible in the evening of December 21, 2020.
Interactive detective game CluedUpp has taken over Australia's streets before — and if you like the idea of solving murders like you're in an episode of CSI, all while you run around town, then it's the pastime for you. Its next Brisbane event on Saturday, May 21 will bring the TV series to life throughout the city, and get you sleuthing while enjoying and outdoor adventure. Yes, it's like Cluedo come to life, too. Forget Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the study — this event will bring you and your friends closer to reality and out onto the streets to solve the case. The game will kick off at a secret location, and you can choose to start whenever you like between 9am–2pm. Then, how long it takes depends on how good of a detective you are. The best news of all, however, is that the event is dog friendly — and there are prizes to be won by both human and canine detectives. All you need to play is some friends and your phone. Dressing up to fit the theme is encouraged, so you can really get yourself into character. A ticket will set you back $97 per team of six, but you only need two humans to play. With only limited team spots available, getting in quick for your chance to solve the mystery is recommended.
If it's the knockoff frothies you're missing the most, tuning into the new live stream programming from The Crafty Pint and Ale of a Time should provide some hopped-out, fizzy relief. The two Aussie beer publications have joined forces and launched a new YouTube channel, where they're broadcasting a series of daily virtual beer-sipping sessions. The Beer Together videos are here to help during a time when the pub's off-limits, inviting a roll-call of industry mates to your screens for some good ol' beer appreciation, education and banter. Each session varies, though they're mostly focused on celebrating great local beer, with guests from some of your favourite breweries and venues. You can keep an eye on what's to come over at Ale of a Time's Facebook page. We've had an on-couch tasting party with New Zealand's Behemoth Brewing Co, a sit-down with Sparkke Brewing's Carla Naismith, a cooking class with Casey Wall of Falco Bakery and now a regular beer quiz helmed by The Crafty Pint's Judd Owen, streaming 8.30pm AEST every Sunday. And of course, if you miss any of the live streams, the videos are sticking around on YouTube for you to view any time you like. Hooked and want more? Jump on the mailing list for links to the post-video after-parties. Top image: Kate Shanasy
Last week, rapper Kanye West came out with a music video for 'Bound 2', featuring his baby momma, Kim Kardashian. The (unintentionally) hilarious video, which features a nude Kimmy K straddling Kanye on a motorcycle, was too weird to go unnoticed. Thankfully Hollywood prank boys, Seth Rogan and James Franco, came to our satirical rescue with their parody in 'Bound 3'. As the story goes, the duo had some time to kill on the set of their new flick, The Interview. So what did the duo do when they were bored? Recreate a music video by the most ridiculous celebrity couple in the world. A shot-for-shot re-enactment, their version is a little too accurate. In the video, Franco becomes the multi-flannel wearing Kanye and Rogan embodies Kim, in all her over-the-top sexuality. Just like in the original, an au natural Rogan straddles Franco, wind in his (chest) hair and all. After the two-minute mark, yes, is the big kiss. Get ready for the most hysterically awkward love scene ever. Via The Daily Beast.
SOPA and PIPA are two bold acronyms have been flashed consistently over media channels for the past few days, and yet many of us have little to no idea what they actually mean for us as global citizens. The Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act are two bills that are currently being discussed in Congress in the United States. As their names suggest, these bills attempt to prevent piracy by granting Intellectual Property owners greater powers against copyright-infringing websites. It does this by attacking a website's appearance on search engines and hyperlinking through other websites, as well as its advertising and payment methods, which largely fall within the country's jurisdiction. This is an attempt by the US government to gain some substantial control on foreign websites which have transgressed legal boundaries rapidly. Piracy and online media sharing have completely overturned traditional revenue streams within the music and film industry, and this is why such legislation is receiving so much support from major labels and companies within these arenas. However, many argue that these bills are a great threat to free speech and innovation, as the Internet has become the greatest forum for global communication and access to information. Therefore, they are seen as a direct threat to the democratic ideals which underpin our society. Indeed, how are larger websites going to ensure that none of their content is hyperlinked to another website that supposedly breaches the bills? Unsurprisingly, many of the world's largest and most influential websites have expressed concern over the SOPA and PIPA propositions. Here are some of our favourite online reactions to the world's most controversial bills. Wikipedia Blackout The world's most useful website shocked users when it underwent a blackout for 24 hours. A link on Wikipedia has highlighted the mammoth effect of this relatively short shutdown, as it became the subject of 7,200 articles on Google News. Furthermore, SOPA has accounted for 250,000 tweets every hour after the blackout began. Indeed, Wikipedia have highlighted how this United States legislation will have an enormous global effect. It is estimated that a further 7,000 to 10,000 websites also jumped in on the blackout bandwagon. Buzzfeed's "25 Angry Kids Who Can't Do Their Homework Because of the Wikipedia Blackout" Wikipedia has become a mandatory initial source of information for pretty much any topic in life, and nothing highlights this more than this great compilation from the guys over at Buzzfeed. Collecting the tweets of numerous pissed off primary schoolers and teens, this is a nice summary of how we all felt when we couldn't extract some basic facts from our favourite online encyclopedia. Highlights include a tweet from @JetSetAmbee_, which reads "I'm tryna tell y'all if they take away Wikipedia, I'm gonna fail hella classes. No bullshit." Google's Censored Logo By now we're all used to Google's themed banners, but this time it wasn't as cute as the Christmas cartoons we usually see wrapped around the logo every year. In support of the claims that these bills would effectively amount to a censorship of the World Wide Web, the logo's familiar colourful letters were hidden behind a black bar that had been slapped on top. They say a picture tells a thousand words, and this definitely made its point. David Drummond of Google explained the dangers of SOPA and PIPA in this blog post. Free Bieber This website is actually about S. 978, another bill concerning copyright, but it has gained further attention in wake of the SOPA and PIPA bills. It argues that if it is passed, someone as harmless as Justin Bieber could go to jail because he initially gained fame through uploading YouTube videos of himself singing copyrighted tracks. A banner of the website proclaims that "Justin faces 5 brutal years in prison." You can even purchase Free Bieber t-shirts and stickers, and also fake tattoos that should be applied on your face and/or neck for that true inmate feel. Behind all the laughs there is an online petition for you to stop these bills. CloudFare's Stop Censorship App This app is to be added to your own personal website, and censors every word that is longer than five letters upon initial visit from a browser. As you can probably imagine, this makes for a very frustrating experience. When you click on a censored word a pop-up box appears which tells you about the effects of SOPA and PIPA. From there, the box allows you to tweet about it or even get the contact details of your local Senator to lodge a complaint. Furthermore, this app only takes under a minute to take effect on your site. Update: SOPA shelved
Back in 2018, the weird and wonderful combined in Patricia Piccinini's Curious Affection exhibition at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art. In the acclaimed artist's mind, bulbous creatures float through the sky, automobiles may as well be animals, and the line between humans and other critters is razor thin. It all sounds like something out of a science-fiction movie (or several), but Piccinini explores the way that nature and technology, people and animals, and the unusual and the sublime all blend across a range of mediums. If you missed this striking showcase a couple of years back, the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery has great news — and a great reason for you to take a road trip west. From Friday, November 12–Sunday, February 27, it's displaying Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection On Tour in conjunction with GOMA, complete with some of Piccinini's best-known sculptures, photographs and videos. Entry is free, too, so you'll be entering this otherworldly showcase without spending a cent. Expect curious creatures; boundary-pushing visions of critters that don't actually exist; a creative and probing mix of humans, animals and machines; and an all-round surreal experience thanks to one of Australia's most distinctive artists. Images: Installation view, 'Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection' at GOMA (2018), shot by Natasha Harth.
Themed high teas are becoming all the rage; however the wonderful world of Disney isn't the only candidate for a daytime feast. On Saturday, January 19, the Stamford Plaza is dedicating a day to wizards, witches, goblins and muggles, with the inner city hotel transforming its sipping sessions into magical high teas. The theme is loosely set in the world of Harry Potter, and ticket holders can expect a tiered feast of gastronomic delights including avara kedavara pumpkin fizz scones, Ministry of Magic macarons, and an Albus rotten egg sandwich on white with minted cucumber. Also on the menu at the Wizardry High Tea are items that nod to other wavers of wands, such as the grey wizard's special dark rye with caper cream and smoked salmon, and Gargamel's corned beef and seeded mustard with a pinch of Azrael's pickles. Dressing up as your favourite wizardry character is highly encouraged and, to complete the immersive experience, there'll be a wizard casting charms for the little ones (and the kidults). Two sessions will be held, although you'll want to book a ticket for the 10.30am sitting as the afternoon fun has already sold out.
Yes, 2020 has felt like the longest year ever. But October and November are almost here, which means that it's almost Halloween and Dias de los Muertos time. So, at El Camino Cantina's Queensland locations, it's marking the occasion with a Day of the Dead and Halloween Fiesta. From Tuesday, October 20–Saturday, November 7, El Camino's Bowen Hills, Chermside, Sunshine Coast and Robina eateries will be getting in the celebratory mood in a number of ways. The tastiest: a two-hour food and drink package, which'll see you eat your way through tortilla chips and salsa, buffalo wings with blue cheese mayo and guacamole, chargrilled chicken fajitas, and churros with chocolate and caramel sauce. Costing $89 per person, it also includes margaritas both frozen and on the rocks, plus house beer and wine, and soft drinks. And, you'll get a gift bag, too. If you're more interested in inventive margarita flavours, a heap of new varieties will be on offer — in 15-ounce glasses for $20 and in 24-ounce glasses for $24. Sip your way through Devil Chilli (watermelon, chilli and chilli salt), Walking Dead (passionfruit), Ghost Drop (blueberry) and Poison Apple (sour apple) types at all stores, or grab a tasting paddle of four for $30. Also, depending on the day of the week, there'll be something else on the bill as well — new taco flavours on Tuesdays, super-spicy buffalo wings with limited-edition habanero and teriyaki sauces on Wednesdays, and $20 fajita and marg combos on Thursdays, for instance. On Saturdays at Bowen Hills and Sunshine Plaza, DJs will also spin tunes — including on Saturday, October 31, when you're encouraged to dress up, obviously. [caption id="attachment_784643" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Michael Gribbin[/caption] El Camino Cantina's Day of the Dead and Halloween Fiesta takes place from Tuesday, October 20–Saturday, November 7 at its Bowen Hills, Chermside, Sunshine Coast and Robina stores. Images: Michael Gribbin.
True-crime stories have saturated all forms of media of late. If you're not listening to podcasts on the topic, you're watching Zac Efron play Ted Bundy, exploring the intersection of fact and fiction in Mindhunter or poring over a TV series about Serial's Adnan Syed. But despite the seemingly never-ending list of new additions to the genre, we're betting you haven't yet witnessed anything quite like Joe Exotic's story, which is the subject of Netflix's new Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness docuseries. Clearly, Joe Exotic isn't the name that the show's mullet-wearing focal point was born with. But given Joe's love of big cats and line of work — and, based on the series' just-dropped trailer, his over-sized personality — he obviously decided that the moniker fit. Between 1999–2016, he created and ran The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, which was home to hundreds of tigers, lions and other large felines. Joe also took his tiger show on the road and, because he just adored tigers so much, he literally sang about them as well. His first country music album was called I Saw a Tiger, because of course it was. He found time to run for Governor of the state and, in 2016, President of the US. He was fond of guns and just as fond of marrying more than one person at once. Oh, and the zookeeper tried to hire a hitman to get one of his rivals — Big Cat Rescue animal sanctuary's CEO Carole Baskin — killed. Lions, tigers, eccentricity, polygamy and murder-for-hire, oh my! That's the tale that Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — and yes, it's so strange that it can only be true. It's no wonder that Netflix has turned it into a series, which drops on Friday, March 20. And it's just as unsurprising that the folks behind last year's must-see doco Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened are behind it. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acTdxsoa428 Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness hits Netflix on Friday, March 20. Images: Netflix
Almost two months has passed since Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness first hit Netflix, sparking a worldwide obsession with Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and the duo's strange intertwined story. Over that time, Tiger King-related news has just kept coming, including details about competing dramatised series — one with Kate McKinnon as Baskin, another with Nicolas Cage as Exotic. And now, in a hardly surprising development, another season of the Tiger King docuseries is also reportedly on the way. As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is reteaming with the filmmakers behind the popular documentary. This time, though, they're turning their attention to a different big cat-related tale. Audiences are already going to be hearing about Joe Exotic and his blonde mullet in various guises for years and years to come, so the next Tiger King series will focus elsewhere: on the 2003 mauling attack at a Siegfried and Roy show. The incident happened in Las Vegas on Roy Horn's birthday, when a seven-year-old white tiger named Montecore attacked Roy during a performance. It left the magician and entertainer with permanent injuries, with the tiger biting his neck and dragging him off stage. The news comes just days after Horn passed away on May 8 at the age of 75. [caption id="attachment_770551" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Carol M Highsmith via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] No firm details have been announced by Netflix as yet, so when more Tiger King might hit your streaming queue isn't yet known. And yes, it's likely that wild documentaries about tigers, as well as other big cats and exotic animals, will become the next big viewing trend. Via The Hollywood Reporter. Top image: Netflix.
When Disney+ made its way into the world back in 2019, it gave viewers — including folks in Australia and New Zealand — access to a huge range of Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic movies and shows. What it didn't do is bring Hulu, which the Mouse House owns the majority stake in, to audiences Down Under. And, with Disney+ focused on family-friendly fare, it didn't deliver the kinds of series and films that Hulu screens, either. Hulu still isn't heading our way. But, come Tuesday, February 23, Disney+ is expanding to include a new section that's basically an international equivalent of Hulu. It's called Star and, when it was first announced late in 2020, film and TV fans were advised that it'd screen "an additional 1000 unique titles... in the first year". Wondering exactly what that'll include? Well, now Disney has revealed which series and flicks will be available when Star launches. Prepare to add 159 TV series and 447 movies to your streaming options — with four of those television shows falling into the 'Star Originals' category, meaning that they'll be brand new to viewers Down Under. Three of the four newbies are Hulu shows, too, so if you've been wanting to watch Love, Victor (the spinoff from 2018 movie Love, Simon), Helstrom (which forms part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) or Solar Opposites (an animated sitcom co-created by Rick and Morty's Justin Roiland), then you'll be able to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh-IaEaEdE0 From Star's big list of classics, plenty of titles stand out. Among the film selection, you'll find the Alien, Planet of the Apes, Die Hard and Omen franchises, plus the Predator and Taken flicks as well. And, you can also pick between older movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Fly, Never Been Kissed, Office Space, Pretty Woman and Moulin Rouge, or more recent fare such as Black Swan, Eddie the Eagle, Logan, The Favourite and Jojo Rabbit. A heap of Wes Anderson films, including Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, are also featured. On the television front, you'll be able to binge your way through every episode of Angel, Alias, 24, Felicity, Firefly and Glee — or opt for New Girl, Prison Break, Scandal and The X-Files instead. The list goes on and, like the existing Disney+ range, you'll find a hefty focus on older shows over new titles. Star draws upon Disney's studios, such as Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television and Touchstone. And it doesn't everything that Hulu does, because plenty of Hulu's series and films pop up elsewhere Down Under — like The Handmaid's Tale, for instance. That said, it's safe to expect that some of the rights deals that deliver Hulu content to other networks and streaming platforms in Australia and might change after Star's hits, moving where you can catch certain flicks and programs in the process. As you might've already guessed, Disney+'s expansion to include Star comes with a price increase. Australian subscriptions will go up to AU$11.99 per month or AU$119.99 per year, while New Zealand subscriptions will go up to NZ$12.99 per month and $129.99 per year. If you're already a subscriber, the new price won't kick in for six months, though — so whenever your next renewal hits after August 22. Star joins Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday, February 23, with Disney+ subscriptions costing AU$11.99 and NZ$12.99 per month or AU$119.99 and NZ$129.99 per year from that date.
Well, folks, the game is up. It turns out Transport for NSW had us all fooled when it announced the winner of last year's public ferry-naming competition, giving the honour to Ferry McFerryface as the most popular submission. But, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald today, the whole thing was cooked. The name Ferry McFerryface actually scored just 182 votes in the 15,000-participant survey and only won top spot because it was the favourite of Transport Minister Andrew Constance. Plenty less comical names were snubbed in the process, including that of Clean Up Australia founder Ian Kiernan, who nabbed 2000 votes and was told the boat would be named after him, only to have the minister change his mind. The ferry — which has been on the harbour since December — will now be renamed after another strong contender in the original competition, late children's author and illustrator May Gibbs. She's the talent behind those iconic Gumnut Babies characters and classic titles you would have read as a kid like the Snugglepot and Cuddlepie series. Let's hope some of that wholesome, honest energy rubs off on Mr Constance. Via The Sydney Morning Herald.
Home to raindrop cakes, Nutella gyoza and salted caramel gyoza, Harajuku Gyoza clearly likes getting creative with its sweet treats. The chain is fond of trying out new things with its savouring dumpling range, too, as its experiment with mac 'n' cheese and pepperoni pizza versions showed — but it obviously has a soft spot for the kind of desserts you won't find on any old menu. From Thursday, April 1, the Australian gyoza brand is serving up a new menu item that turns marshmallows into gyoza. You'll find them stuffed inside each dumpling, and also sprinkled on top. And, if your stomach isn't already rumbling, they'll come dusted with icing sugar and paired with Nutella sauce as well. The fried and crispy marshmallow gyoza are joining the chain's dessert lineup in plates of five, which'll cost you $10. And if you fancy tucking into the new gyoza after devouring two old favourites — cheeseburger gyoza, which is stuffed with burger pieces, aged cheddar, onion, pickles, mustard and tomato sauce; and mozzarella gyoza, which is filled with the obvious, then deep-fried and sprinkled with Twisties salt — that's up to you. Harajuku Gyoza's marshmallow gyoza will be available at all Australian stores — at Darling Harbour in Sydney; at South Bank and the CBD in Brisbane; and in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast — from Thursday, April 1.
Over the past few months, the Queensland Government has been trying to entice the state's residents out of the house by handing out travel vouchers. First came 15,000 to use in the state's north, then 30,000 for Greater Brisbane and 6000 for The Whitsundays, then another release of 5000 for folks already holidaying in the Cairns region. That's a hefty batch of incentives — and more are coming. Next up: 30,000 vouchers for Queenslanders to put towards getaways on the Gold Coast. Whether you'd like to spend a few nights in Surfers Paradise, you haven't been to a theme park for a while or you're keen to explore more of what the Goldie has to offer, you'll be able to apply to nab one of the 30,000 $100 vouchers for tourism experiences and accommodation in the area. Like the past voucher drops, the concept has two obvious aims: enticing Queensland residents to go venturing throughout the state, and helping support tourism businesses. The new scheme, called Gold Coast Holiday Dollars, was revealed today, Thursday, June 3, by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. And if you're wondering what you can spend the money on, when you can spend it and exactly how you can get your hands on the vouchers, that was announced, too. From 12pm AEST on Monday, June 7, the draw for the Gold Coast vouchers will be open to Queensland residents over the age of 18 — and you'll need to head to queensland.com to nab one. You'll register before 11.59pm AEST on Thursday, June 10 and, if you're successful, you'll be notified via text and email from Wednesday, June 16. As happened last time, there's likely to be more interested folks than there are available vouchers, so they'll be handed out at random. Those who manage to score a voucher will then be able to use it to book until Wednesday, July 21, for travel up until Friday, September 17. The vouchers can only be spent on tourism experiences — such as tours and attractions — and accommodation, and they'll enable you to get up to 50 percent off your booking, maxing out at $100. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1400182934020100104 When the Cairns scheme was announced back in March, Premier Palaszczuk said that it could be rolled out across the rest of the state if the vouchers are popular. That's obviously happened a few times now, but there's no word as yet about whether other parts of Queensland might be covered in the future. Applications for the 30,000 $100 Gold Coast Holiday Dollars travel vouchers will be open between 12pm AEST on Monday, June 7–11.59pm AEST on Thursday, June 10. For more information, or to apply during the aforementioned window, head to the Gold Coast Holiday Dollars website.
Is there a better time than 5pm on a Friday? Not only is the working day done and dusted, but the working week as well. That's a fact worth celebrating — and whether you've kicked a few goals that day, scored an unexpected win, ticked a couple of things off of your to-do list or just met your regular deadlines, you may as well mark it in style. Brisbane's bustling bar scene isn't short on upscale options for just this type of everyday occasion. From old favourites to lofty newcomers, and spanning everywhere from Woolloongabba to South Brisbane to Newstead, there's a levelled-up watering hole near you. The world's finest French vodka, Grey Goose, celebrates its versatility and commitment to quality ingredients as it allows bartenders to create incredible cocktails that upgrade any summer occasion — starting with those Friday night drinks. Grab your colleagues, welcome the weekend and live it up — we've found seven spots that'll bring a dash of fanciness to your regular Friday evening tipples.
Now streaming on Disney+, Moon Knight arrives as the latest chapter in a seemingly non-stop franchise that's near monopolised popular culture over the past decade and a half. The newest episodic series to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it adds yet another tale to the saga's ever-expanding web of superhero stories — this time focusing on a character first seen on the page back in the 70s; hardly as well-known as the likes of Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Captain Marvel; and otherwise wholly unseen in the MCU so far. Moon Knight also starts unfurling as the latest instalment in another trend. For the second time in less than a year, Oscar Isaac stars in a must-see streaming series. In cinemas in-between, he's also added Dune and The Card Counter to his resume, too, because the compulsively watchable actor pinballs between projects vast and intimate — and between blockbusters and character-driven pieces. His two most recent small-screen projects couldn't demonstrate that chasm better, although Moon Knight has more in common with 2021's Scenes From a Marriage than it might initially seem. Or, to be accurate, it boasts one very specific and important shared trait: it wouldn't be what it is without Isaac's magnetic performance. Make that performances. The setup: in this six-episode miniseries, Isaac plays Steven Grant and Marc Spector. They're one and the same due to a case of dissociative identity disorder, although this is news to mild-mannered British gift-shop employee Steven. Usually, he wishes that he could lead tours at work, obsesses over studying Egyptian history and, thanks to a sleeping disorder, chains himself to his bed at night. But as gaps in his days lead him to learn, he is also American mercenary Marc Spector — or, to be exact, vice versa. Complicating matters further, he's the on-earth conduit for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu (voiced by Mythic Quest's F Murray Abraham) as well. Already struggling with being able to tell the difference between being awake and asleep, Steven's role as the moon god's offsider is a source of stress, unsurprisingly — especially with shadowy cult-like figure Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke, The Good Lord Bird) hanging around. Character-wise, the Steven/Marc combo swiftly proves as complex as the MCU has delivered so far in Moon Knight's first four episodes, as deepened even further during a continent-hopping mystery-adventure that has him doing Khonshu's bidding. That's where Harrow comes in, complete with unfinished business with the moon god and big plans of his own. Archaeologist Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy, Ramy) also adds another layer, sporting ties to Marc's past that Steven is initially unaware of, and sparking a patch of romantic rivalry. Even within franchise confines, Isaac is mesmerising playing duelling dual personalities in Moon Knight, turning in the kind of portrayal that the MCU has been lacking. It isn't known as an actor's showcase, which is why even this far in — 27 movies and now six Disney+ series — the sprawling saga's standout performances make a splash bigger than throwing mjölnir into an ocean. It's what made Tom Hiddleston a hit in his big-screen outings, and also in fellow streaming show Loki. Also on the small screen, the greater texture served up by Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, and the scene-stealing perfection of Kathryn Hahn as well, ensured that WandaVision left an imprint, too. Isaac bests them all; while Marvel's knack for casting has long been one of its superpowers — even with simply entertaining rather than necessarily meaty performances resulting — it flexes those talents magnificently in Moon Knight. Indeed, it's as shrewd a casting move as has been made to-date in this pop-culture behemoth. The fact that Moon Knight also tasks Isaac with playing someone that film and TV fans aren't already acquainted with is also pivotal. Welcomely, the Marvel formula feels fresher here. The series still spins an origin story, and will undoubtedly tie into the broader narrative to come. It also often falls back on a template between daring to be stranger and weirder. And yet, by branching off with a previously unseen protagonist, this is the first MCU Disney+ series that doesn't feel like homework. That isn't a slight upon WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and Hawkeye, but recognition that reaching in new directions reaps considerable rewards. Moon Knight doesn't lack in star power, of course — there's a reason that Isaac is rarely seen suited up with his face covered, Hawke is also fantastic, and they bounce off of each other compellingly — but it hasn't enlisted its big-name MCU newcomers to merely go through the by-the-numbers motions. Similarly leaving an impression: having Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab (Clash) direct four episodes, and getting American sci-fi/horror wunderkinds Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Synchronic, The Endless, Archive 81) to helm the other two. Both help ensure that Moon Knight's biggest thrills come from its best asset, especially given that he's doing double duty in a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde-style premise — and the scenes where Steven and Marc bicker with each other about who gets to control their shared body (which happens via reflective surfaces such as mirrors and puddles, and are shot with not just flair but boldness), are the show's clear highlights. The Indiana Jones nods, and the swings in The Mummy's direction, are clunkier, but the end product is still easily the most intriguing small-screen Marvel effort so far. Actually, when Moon Knight does ultimately end up overtly linking into the MCU in its final two episodes — and if it smoothes itself down in the process — that'll feel like a let down. Check out the trailer for Moon Knight below: The first episode of Moon Knight is available to stream via Disney+, with new instalments dropping weekly. Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
In a normal year, the five movies that comprise Small Axe would've likely screened in cinemas, and would be in the running for a heap of the film industry's shiniest trophies as a result. The entire quintet is directed by Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave and Widows filmmaker Steve McQueen, and every entry is as phenomenal as anything he has ever made. Given his resume, that isn't a statement we make lightly. The focus: the treatment of London's West Indian population from the 60s through until the 80s, with the series of films exploring the racist behaviour directed their way and the methods in which the community waged their resistance. The powerful Mangrove gets the series started, bringing a potent true tale to the screen with a cast that includes Black Panther's Letitia Wright — and, although it is excellent, so is the dance party-set Lovers Rock, the John Boyega-starring Red, White and Blue, biopic Alex Wheatle and the school-focused Education.
Keeping up a healthy lifestyle can be challenging, especially when work gets busy, 4pm cocktails roll around, and your lovely boss just bought a box of choccies to thank you for all that overtime. We've all made goals to lead a healthier life at work, whether it's incorporating more exercise, eating fewer snacks or saying no to midweek drinks once in a while — but sticking to those resolutions is another story. Our daily slip-ups — whether it's ditching your homemade salad for a takeaway slice of pizza, or skipping the gym because you're just too exhausted — can all add up over time. But some of the simplest improvements to your health don't have to come with revolutionary lifestyle changes. Whether you start your day with a walk or swap your morning toast for a fibre-rich crispbread, there are quick ways to kickstart (or restart) your 2020 health resolutions. In partnership with Ryvita, we've come up with six healthy changes that you can adopt into your working day. EAT A HEALTHY TREAT TO AVOID INDULGENT SNACKING LATER We're all guilty of mindless snacking, especially when trying to focus on a task at work. When 3pm hits, it's easy to reach for the nearest sugary hit to give us more energy or to plug the gap our bland salad lunch left behind. By planning ahead — and knowing your trigger times for not-so-great habits — you can master those cravings by preparing a healthier, more satiating snack ahead of time. Health experts say Australians aren't getting enough fibre in their diets, and so packing in a high-fibre snack can help you make a healthier snacking choice in your week. Eating Ryvita crispbreads is an achievable way to contribute to the dietary fibre target of 30 grams per day, and you can get creative with your toppings — think pea and mint hummus, scrambled eggs, wasabi mashed avo and more. Ryvita has high-fibre recipe ideas, here. [caption id="attachment_748260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] City of Sydney[/caption] ENJOY SOME CULTURE AT LUNCH Getting out and about to enjoy the city you live in shouldn't be something restricted to weekends or before and after work. There's plenty of things to do to stimulate your mind, and it's a far more exciting lunchtime break than eating your sandwich in the staffroom. For keen readers (or anyone who needs to escape for a little while), why not head to the local library and find a quiet corner for a short break? Or, if you only have ten minutes, go to your nearest bookshop and browse the new releases to read on your commute. Prefer to keep moving? Take a wander around an art gallery or museum (just for a short while) and you can distract yourself from spreadsheets and see artworks or learn a snippet of history. If you can't escape the office, use your break to flex your creative side — story writing tasks or colouring books are just as engaging when you want to take your mind off work. TAKE YOUR MEETING FOR A WALK Why catch up in a stuffy, fluorescent, lifeless boardroom when you could walk and talk? The walking-talking catch up can transform your personal and professional energy — research by Stanford University has shown that walking leads to an increase in creative thinking, plus it allows for more honest and open exchanges if you feel like you can't speak your mind in front of other colleagues. While not all meetings are suitable for walking (tough negotiations or ones with presentations), they're great for consulting with your team or exploring solutions. You're also increasing that step count while you're at it. [caption id="attachment_762267" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jopwell[/caption] TAKE MINI STANDING BREAKS Repeat after us: taking a break at work is not a waste of time. Walking away from your desk once in a while is hugely important to help boost your performance. Taking mini breaks throughout the day improves your energy, relieves stress and drives your productivity. Whether it's setting up a yoga mat in an empty room and doing some meditation or actually listening to your watch when it tells you to stand up every hour, these small breaks help you focus when you return to the work task at hand — and they make you feel better, too. Mini breaks are an easy (and free) positive change you can make to your workday. [caption id="attachment_762289" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Helena Lopes[/caption] DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE Doing something for your colleagues is another way to get your body moving, with the bonus of supporting your work Significant Others. Go on a coffee run, empty the dishwasher, reach out to a colleague you don't usually interact with. By doing something for someone else — without doing it in exchange for a promotion or other perceived benefit to you — can create wonders for your sense of wellbeing and community. Take a moment to bond with your new friend at work and you'll notice the difference in how you feel. [caption id="attachment_762291" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Christina Morillo[/caption] LISTEN TO A PRODUCTIVE PODCAST OR PLAYLIST There are thousands of podcasts out there, providing countless episodes on how to become a more productive individual, and there are plenty that focus on health and wellness, too. Slate Magazine's Political Gabfest or The Saturday Paper's 7am will have you brushing up on international and domestic politics that'll help you elevate your kitchen chat; ABC's The Pineapple Project, hosted by journalist Jan Fran, and Ladies We Need to Talk, hosted by Yumi Stynes dive head-on into financial and lifestyle advice and queries that can feed into your work/life balance goals. And, The Tim Ferriss Show interviews successful people at the top of their game, giving you something to aspire towards. For more high-fibre recipe ideas from Ryvita, head here. Top image: Jopwells from Pexels.
Everyone has their Christmas viewing rituals, whether you watch your way through every Home Alone movie each year (yes, even the recent one), pop on It's a Wonderful Life with the family after a big lunch or prefer saying yippee ki-yay to Die Hard. Until recently, however, it's likely that watching Australian festive flicks wasn't high on your list, given this country of ours doesn't have all that much seasonal fare to its name. Back in 2020, streaming service Stan aimed to help change that with A Sunburnt Christmas, a festive caper about a criminal, some kids and end-of-year hijinks — aka Australia's answer to Home Alone and Bad Santa, in a way. In 2022, the platform is set to add another homegrown title to its catalogue sometime before Christmas hits, too. Given it stars Miranda Tapsell and Matt Okine, it looks worth a watch based on its cast alone. [caption id="attachment_700158" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Top End Wedding[/caption] Christmas Ransom stars Okine (The Other Guy) as every kid's second-favourite person during festive season: the owner of a toy store. Things aren't too merry for his character, however, when his shop is held up by thieves on Christmas Eve. And yes, as the name makes plain, he's held for ransom. These kinds of Christmas movies usually involve children, whether or not they turn them into Macaulay Culkin-level stars — so obviously a couple of kids get caught up in the heist. To save the day, they enlist the help of Tapsell (Top End Wedding), who plays a pregnant security officer. Announcing the film, Stan notes that it's inspired by Home Alone, Die Hard and Elf. If you've ever seen just one Christmas flick for even just a few minutes, you will have spotted plenty that's predictable about the setup. Alongside Tapsell and Okine, Christmas Ransom stars Ed Oxenbould (Wildlife), Genevieve Lemon (The Tourist), Bridie McKim (Bump), Evan Stanhope (Thor: Love and Thunder), Tahlia Sturzaker (Ascendant) and Chai Hansen (The Newsreader) — and boasts Adele Vuko (Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am) in the director's chair. Add it to your festive viewing alongside this year's other big Aussie Christmas film, if it also surfaces in time: the upcoming movie based on Paul Christmas classic 'How to Make Gravy'. Otherwise, this newcomer will join the likes of A Sunburnt Christmas; Bush Christmas, both the 1947 and 1983 versions; the animated Around the World with Dot; and recent-ish horror movies Red Christmas and Better Watch Out — the latter also featuring Oxenbould. Christmas Ransom will be available to stream via Stan sometime this festive season — we'll update you with an exact date when one is announced.
Goodbye gin shrine, hello doing the environment a solid and scoring some cash. If you'd like to turn your empty glass spirits bottles into money, you now can in Queensland. Wednesday, November 1, 2023 marks five years since Queensland's Containers for Change refund scheme launched, encouraging folks to recycle their drink containers — and also giving everyone who participates some funds back for their efforts. How is the Sunshine State marking that milestone? As announced earlier in the year, it's expanding the scheme to say cheers to glass wine and spirits bottles (after you say cheers to them yourself by sipping their contents, that is). The refund system has proven popular over its run so far, receiving more than 102-million empty drink containers in its first two months, rocketing up to over 400-million containers in its first five months and currently sitting at more than seven-billion recycled containers as at mid-September 2023. Expect those numbers to grow with its big upcoming change, which was first floated back in November 2022 and has now kicked in. Accordingly, your at-home cocktails and vino sips can now help the planet, with each bottle between 150 millilitres and three litres scoring you a ten-cent refund. You'll just need to take the glass remnants of your dinner party or after-work drinks to one of the scheme's 360-plus collection points, as is the case with other containers. The CRS, as the program is also known, previously only accepted water bottles, beer cans, juice containers and more — saving a hefty amount of aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard items from landfill and our waterways, with a focus on beverage containers between 150 millilitres and three litres in volume — but glass vino and spirits bottles weren't covered. To decide whether to change that state of affairs, the Queensland Government ran a consultation period, with 6600-plus folks providing their thoughts, 98.1 percent of which were in favour of adding more containers to the refund program. Queenslanders can still keep popping their glass wine and spirits bottles in their yellow bins at home — and not getting any money in return — if that's easier. Need some motivation to hit up a CRS collection point with your bottles instead? The 7.1-billion containers recycled before now equates to $710 million in refunds. Glass wine and spirits bottles have been added to the Containers for Change program effective Wednesday, November 1, 2023. For more information about Containers for Change, visit the scheme's website.
For kids, seeing a circus performer do a handstand on an elephant is a form of wonder that makes their clean little minds flip. For the rest of us, there's La Soiree. La Soiree is well known to Sydney, having bowled us over in earlier La Clique form as early as 2007, in the Famous Spiegeltent. The cheeky, ever-evolving international cabaret circus now sells out with each visit. If there's a number of viewings required to dull its shine, awe, and utter glee, no human audience member is reported to have reached it yet. The trick is their special collection of burlesque vaudeville contortionist aerialist acrobat comedian evocateurs who are just a little bit grungy and a little bit sexy. Although the show is always changing, you can count on the return of the inimitable 'Bath Boy' (aka David O'Mer), whose dramatic flights from the air and into the tub will redefine how you think of aerial arts (and having water flicked into your face). Cirque du Soleil run when they hear these carnies coming. See them in the Opera House Studio; it may not be mirrored, but it's a perfectly intimate cabaret salon.
Australia has so much wonderful wilderness that spending a few days trekking up hills and down mountains is something everyone should try at least once. But doing so is not something that anyone should take lightly — from safety steps, to preparing food and drink, to having the ideal gear, being suitably prepared for your journey is a must before heading off. Since 1973, Macpac has been ensuring that both new and experienced hikers get the most out of their overnight treks, all thanks to a range of technical clothing and outdoor gear that can handle any type of climate. So, we teamed up with the brand — in celebration of the opening of its new Adventure Hubs — to help you get properly kitted out and put your plan in place. It's time to go trekking. HIKE AT THE RIGHT TIME It probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, but Australia's weather can be pretty temperamental. So when it comes to overnight hiking, it's important to choose a track that's going to have the right conditions for when you're planning to set off. Throughout the year, many hikes can change dramatically thanks to heavy rain or snow, with some becoming inaccessible altogether. Ensure that you're not caught out in the wrong place at the wrong time by researching exactly where you're heading — and by keeping an eye on the weather forecast so you always have the appropriate gear. Pack this: Less is Less Rain Jacket in women's and men's styles ($329.99) MAKE A PLAN AND STICK TO IT Whenever you set out for an overnight trip into the hills, having a travel plan that you can stick to is the best way to avoid a bad situation. There are plenty of things to consider but, if it's possible, you should seek advice from the local Parks Victoria office or experienced local hikers so that you know what to expect when you arrive. (Plus, this way you may get some hints to some epic sights and views.) But bear in mind that if conditions change and any dangers arise, it's better to scrap the plan and cut your trip short than to keep pushing forward. Also crucial: making sure that you leave a detailed itinerary for someone at home, who can then raise the alarm if you don't return by your expected time. Include where you're going, the route you plan to take and how long you think you'll be gone for. You can also head to the Macpac website to make use of its helpful planning tool. Pack this: Suunto Spartan Sport Watch ($699) TAKE EXTRA FOOD AND WATER — JUST IN CASE More is more when you're heading off on an overnight hike — that is, it's always advisable to take more food and water than you think you'll need. And while packing food can be a bit of a challenge, you'll be thanking yourself if you largely opt for lightweight, dehydrated and non-perishable foods. As a general guide, you'll want to try to consume around 12,500 kilojoules or more per day; for water, it's recommended that you drink 250 millilitres for every 30–45 minutes of hiking. In terms of what to pack, many hikers prefer simple products that are easily stored like muesli bars, oatmeal sachets and basic pasta. But if you're feeling ambitious, here are a host of awesome camp food ideas that you can try if you consider yourself a bit of a chef around the fire. Pack this: Hydration Reservoir 3L ($59.95) PICK YOUR GEAR WISELY Bringing all of the right gear is going to make your overnight hike smoother and more enjoyable — plus, you'll feel like a seasoned adventurer. If you're the forgetful type, pack early and have a checklist of all the things you know you'll need. One thing that people often don't remember is just how useful a headlamp is, especially if you've ever tried cooking in the dark with one hand occupied by a torch. That also means bringing along some spare batteries, while sunscreen, a first aid kit and a paper map are always good ideas as well. Next, you need to consider if the gear you currently own is going to be suited for the climate that you're heading into. Consider upgrading your tent, sleeping bag or winter clothing if you think things might get a little chilly. Many popular hiking destinations also have online packing lists, so checking them out will also help. Pack this: Petzl Headlamp ($59.99) LEAVE NO TRACE Everyone loves Australia's pristine nature, so we all need to work together to keep it that way. Always plan to leave no trace when you go out hiking — that means carrying your rubbish with you and staying respectful of any wildlife you come across. Also, make sure that you're aware of any local camping regulations or environmental concerns in the area. One particular warning to take note of: total fire bans. While everyone wants a campfire when they set up their tent for the night, bans are commonplace across Australia and must be followed. If having a fire is allowed, try to keep it small while also using fire pans or mounds, which help keep the flames safely under control. Pack this: Scarpa Kailash Boots in women's and men's styles ($399.99) DON'T FORGET ENTERTAINMENT If storm clouds roll through and you find yourself stuck in your tent for a few hours, you might find that the conversation becomes a little stale. That's why bringing some light form of entertainment to keep yourself and others occupied never goes amiss. A deck of cards weighs next to nothing and is easy to carry, while paperback books (or a Kindle), magazines and audiobooks are other great ways to pass the time before you can hit the track again. Top image: Visit Victoria.
The Global Mail is a newspaper with a difference. Launched today, the not-for-profit news and features website will offer its readers local and global public interest stories, but will not have any advertisers nor charge its readers. Instead, The Global Mail will be funded in entirety by Wotif.com founder, Graeme Wood, who has committed a minimum of $15 million to the project. At the helm will be former ABC journalist, Monica Attard (pictured), as Editor-in-Chief. She plans on taking a step back from the intensity of everyday news to create a more engaging, informative experience. "I had long viewed, with a degree of envy, the ProPublica model in the US and wanted to build a site here that carried only public interest journalism - no ads, no subscription, no celebrity stories, no spin, funded philanthropically", Attard told The Australian. Attard will lead a team of journalists in Australia and correspondents across Europe, the United States, Asia and Latin America. The site will give up-to-the-minute news nationally and internationally, and promises to deliver stories that speak to the people, tackling issues such as government, business, religion, science, art and culture. It sounds like a much-needed news alternative. Let's just hope that the impartiality remains when the philanthropy inevitably disappears.
Silo Arts are that group of kids that weren’t the mainstream popular jocks and cheerleaders but rather the mysterious, musically inclined kids who skipped class to listen to tunes on the oval. They never won Prom King and Queen but everyone still wanted their number. Now they’re all grown up but still able to create the same level of intrigue to those not in their inner circle. The good news is they’re not as scary as they seem and they’ve taken their love for electronic music and are giving it back to those who used to watch from afar. April 19 brings about Silo Art’s fifth event since their inauguration and they definitely haven’t messed around booking acts. Headlining is Galapagoose, a Melbourne based interdisciplinary artist born to the name Trent Gill. Renowned for his ability to mix a million different creative disciplines into one, he’ll be bringing all his skills to Barsoma. From composing and recording his own beats, to using both computer hardware and software he’s created, the show is sure to be one to remember. It’s also going to be rife with his signature mix of electronic music that makes Galapagoose so great. Considering his calibre of back catalogue was enough to sway international performer Daedelus to work with him, this says everything about what you can expect from attending Silo #5.
Brisbane is positively blooming with excuses to stock up on greenery, with plant markets and sales happening with frequency. Add a trip to The Foliage Fest to your weekend agenda, however, and you can pick up something natural, leafy and possibly floral from just $3. Both indoor and outdoor plants will be on offer, including the ol' favourite that is the fiddle leaf figs, the eye-catching Bird of Paradise to brighten up your life, plus vines, ferns, climbers, succulents and topiary as well. The list goes on, with hangers also starting from $10. Expect plenty to choose from given the whole thing is going down in a nursery. That'd be Chadwick Nursery. Head along to the two-day event across Saturday, December 1 and Sunday, December 2, running from 8am each day. There'll also be live tunes to put you in a browsing and buying mood, if you need some extra motivation — other than a heap of bargain-priced green babies, that is.
How can a hotel take advantage of the social media revolution? 1888, 8hotels' brand-new boutique hotel in Pyrmont, is answering that question with a picture-perfect building that skilfully marries old and new and a host of features for the snap-happy — even a gilt frame hanging from the ceiling for a cheeky selfie, Instagram-friendly walking maps for the area, a free stay offered to anyone with a substantial Instagram following (we're talking 10K+) and a free stay for the guest who takes the best shot of the hotel each month. And "this is only the beginning" says hotel manager Roberto Russo. It's perfectly natural that 1888 should embrace Instagram so enthusiastically, given the amount of care that's gone into the hotel's distinctive aesthetic — it's a thoroughly visual experience. First impressions: the architect and designers have totally respected the original structure (built in 1888, the same year as Kodak launched with a patent for its first box and roll cameras) and capitalised on the pre-existing appeal of its patina-like, distressed brick walls and gargantuan wooden beams. The latter are so beautiful I had to hug one — the splinter I received only adding to the sheer rawthenticity of it all. In the middle of the lobby, an olive tree has been planted to represent the hotel's heart, and it has plenty of space to grow upwards into the five-storey atrium with its fancy glass elevators. The ethos of preservation also shows itself in the upcycling of original wood from the building (formerly a woolstore — and much later, there was even a carpark where the lobby is now located) including gorgeous desks that appear in every room, as well as the lofty ceilings, generous windows and feature walls. Some of the window sills even have graffiti of yore carved into them. These historical details are paired with minimalist custom furniture and brightly coloured vintage pieces to create a design counterpoint that's truly refined. Step into the bathroom of one of the larger rooms and you'll find a tub big enough for two — or one, if you fancy watching your companion perform a hilarious solo synchronised swimming act (as I did). Every room comes with wi-fi and a complimentary iPad which provides general info about the hotel, local places to eat, news and weather, and it also controls the AC. The room service tab is empty for now; plans are underway to expand what's on offer in the hotel's bar and kitchen, which currently serves breakfast from a rustic Italian-inspired a la carte menu and a buffet featuring some epic muesli that I can't get out of my mind. If you're starving you can always raid the mini-bar, which, far from being stocked with the usual junky Mars Bars and tiny Johnnie Walker bottles, sources from local companies with an emphasis on health and yumminess. For intimate functions or parties, there's The Williamson room (appropriately numbered 007) which boasts its own impressive side entrance — perfect for celebrity guests fleeing the paps — and a glitzy bar from the 1950s. The Geddes Room would work for a chic boardroom meeting. As for overnight stays, the Shoebox rooms are some of the best value for money in Sydney at $179, measuring 15 square metres but feeling bright and spacious thanks to the high ceilings and huge windows. 1888's been living up to its own hype, with all 90 rooms booked to full capacity only six weeks after opening. Book in and start hashtagging. 1888 Hotel has a 'Picture Perfect Package' available to book now until September 30. It includes: -A room to photograph – one night for two in a King Room -Foodporn – complimentary 1888 antipasto plate + two glasses of wine -Share-ability – complimentary internet connection and iPads in all rooms -Envy-inducing start to the day – complimentary breakfast Prices start from $239. To make a reservation, phone 02 8586 1888 or visit the hotel website. Instagramming 1888 Words and images by Shirin Borthwick.
Where would we be without Aussie hospo legends? They're there when we need midday croissants, midweek pub feeds and celebratory midnight margaritas. They help us get through the bad weeks — and the good ones. Not to mention they've had it pretty rough over the past year and a bit — which made us realise how integral they are in our day-to-day lives. So, now it's our turn to give a little back. To help you say thanks to all the hospo legends in your life and, more broadly, the industry, we've teamed up with Australian Cocktail Month. The inaugural event came about as a way to support the country's mighty fine bars, so we've come up with six easy-as ways for you to give back to the industry — especially if you're a bit of a bar fly. [caption id="attachment_785137" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] HAVE A PUB MEAL WITH YOUR PINT If you usually stop by your local on your way home for a drink with mates, you're already doing a bit to help out. But rather than just ordering a cold one and then hightailing it out of there, why not order yourself a hearty pub feed, too? Not only will it help out the kitchen staff, but also the ones behind the bar as, let's face it, you'll probably order another round (or few). These days, pub meals go beyond your usual steak and chips offering (not that we don't love that, too). Next time you're keen for a drink and a feed, track down the likes of southern US-style snacks, woodfired pizzas and top-notch Asian nosh at one of your locals if you're not in the mood for pub classics. Plus, many venues have weekly events like live music, trivia and boozy bingo to keep you entertained. SAY CHEERS AT A COCKTAIL FESTIVAL Say a huge cheers to bars and the people behind them by grabbing a ticket to the inaugural Australian Cocktail Month. Running over the month of May, the event is popping up in 72 bars across Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Head to any of the participating venues for specialty cocktails — and support the bar industry as you sip to your heart's content. All cocktails will cost a cheeky $14, or $10 for non-alcoholic concoctions. All you have to do is get your hands on a ticket here, then join in the month-long celebration. GET YOURSELF SOME FUN MERCH One easy way to say cheers to the hospo places you love and frequent (almost too) regularly is to pick up some merch. Yep, wear your love for your local literally on your sleeve. For years, many pubs, breweries, bars, cafes and sandwich shops across the country have been selling branded tees, jumpers, hats and totes for you to sport and represent them on the streets. And, in the wake of COVID-19, even more jumped on the bandwagon — so now you're spoiled for sartorial choice. Sydney places like Yulli's Brews, Paramount Coffee Project and Tio's all sell some slick wares. Melbourne venues such as Proud Mary Coffee and Piccolina have good merch, as does Smith and Daughters' online merch store, which boasts branded earrings, cursive pins and denim dog jackets. In Brisbane, breweries like Newstead Brewing Co, Green Beacon and Felons all sell great branded tees and totes, too. GIVE BACK WITH COLD, HARD CASH You know those dingy glass jars on the countertops of your favourite watering holes and diners? Well, they're not there just for show, so next time you order yourself an iced mocha latte (or something stronger) throw in any loose change you've got. Not much of a cash-carrier? That shouldn't stop you adding a couple of extra bucks to your bill after you've had a fabulous time wining and dining yourself silly. Or, level things up by donating to a hospo relief fund, such as Tip Jar. Another Aussie charity doing a lot of good is OzHarvest. As well as reducing our country's food waste, the charity runs a hospo-focused program, offering industry employment and engagement pathways for at-risk youths. [caption id="attachment_733302" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] BUY LOCAL Instead of getting all your supplies from the major supermarkets, buy local. This way you'll back the independent places that serve the community through quality lattes, loaves of sourdough, bottles of wine and gourmet goodies. As hospitality venues were shut and, later, operating at smaller capacities, providores, suppliers and makers of small-batch products also did it tough last year. So, next time you're thirsty, head to a boutique bottle-o. When you're after some cheese, head to a delicious dairy wholesaler in your area. You get the idea. And, after adapting to the trying times of COVID-19, many cafes, bakeries and restaurants are still selling staple goods, which, let's be honest, provide a much nicer shopping experience than a supermarket. [caption id="attachment_760761" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Julia Sansone[/caption] TURN UP TO YOUR TABLE Australia's food and drink industry is still recovering. So, now we can eat, drink and be merry in venues once again, we should catch up with mates, celebrate a promotion and grab a coffee with colleagues when we can. We're not saying burn a hole in your pocket, but if you love trying new places or hitting up your favourite haunt, then celebrate the fact that you can do these things. Word of advice: don't be a no-show. Yes, turning up to a booking is a pretty simple thing to do. But if you don't? Well, not only does someone else miss out on eating and drinking all the tasty things, but also the venue loses money and staff may get their shifts cut short. If you can't make it for whatever reason, simply call ahead so your table doesn't go empty. Australian Cocktail Month is taking over top bars across the Australia from May 1–31. To buy your ticket, and for the full list of participating bars, head here. Top image: Bar Margaux, Kate Shanasy
Mother's Day is usually a time for family gatherings. Think brunches, barbecues, roasts, leisurely lunches and just generally spending the day with your mum. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebratory occasion will play out a little differently than usual in 2020 — however, if you're a Queenslander, you'll still be able to enjoy the day with your nearest and dearest. Well, at least some of them. From this Sunday, May 10, groups of up to five people from one household will be able to visit another household — an increase from the current limit of two visitors per residence. As announced today, Thursday, May 7, by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, it's a reward "because Queensland has been doing such a great job", with the focus firmly on families. As Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young explained, "it's about five people, maximum, of one family group, one household group, going to another household group". The five-person limit only applies to homes — not to other venues or spaces — and it doesn't cover people from more than two households. So, two people from one household and three people from another household can't both visit a third household at the same time. There's no limit on the number of people who live in the household receiving the visitors, though — so if you live with four other people, and all five of you are going to visit a household with six residents, that's acceptable. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1258171026443169792 That still won't allow plenty of families all gather together at once, but Dr Young suggests that people split up their visits — as receiving multiple visits from different households during the same day will also be allowed. "I'm sure there's a lot of mums out there who'd love to see one household in the morning and another in the afternoon and another in the evening," she noted. With Queensland's new cases of COVID-19 remaining low — with just 12 confirmed in the past seven days, from a total of 1045 cases since the pandemic began — the State Government is slowly beginning to ease back stay-at-home and social-distancing requirements. Queenslanders can now leave home for select recreational purposes, ranging beyond essential activities, and the state is considering allowing bars, cafes and restaurants to reopen in June. 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.
It might long be remembered as one of Star Wars' most cringeworthy come-on lines, but to give Anakin Skywalker a break, he did have a point when he told Padme, "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere." Two New York-based summer surfers by the names of Charlie and Spike know what he's on about. Even if they wouldn't have used such reasoning to get fresh with Natalie Portman. Instead, they've invented a sand-solution, of sorts: the Shake Tote. It looks, pretty much, to be the mother of all beach bags. And here's why. Not only is it water-repellent, it's also fitted with a mesh bottom, which means that you simply have to give it one almighty shake and the sand falls right through. So, it's actually a bag that doubles as a giant sieve. Welcome to a grit-free summer. No more jiggling each item individually while blowing grains into your neighbour's face (or your own, for that matter). No more having to unpack your bag outside because you've inadvertently carried half the beach home with you. At 42.6 x 14.7 x 15.2 cm, the Shake Tote provides you with loads of room for your swimmers, towel, read-of-the-week and sundry beachy needs. There's also a zippered pocket for stowing your valuables. The neutral, natural-coloured canvas (with dashes of black and neon orange) goes with most get-ups and the plastic shoulder straps are anti-slip. The Shake Tote came into being thanks to Quirky, a platform dedicated to unusual inventions. Users are able to put forward their own innovative ideas and/or vote on those of others. They can also earn money by supporting successful pitches and helping out with branding and style decisions. The Quirky team gets behind the manufacturing process and provides international distribution online. Order your very own Shake Tote online for US$39.99 and watch every face on the beach gaze in awe. Via PSFK.
Best Picture Will Win: 12 Years a Slave Should Win: Her Her was an almost perfect movie; however, its engaging quirkiness will also likely be its downfall, robbing it of the kind of gravitas the Academy likes to see in its dramas. There's also the Academy's history of loving history. Seventeen of the last 24 winners in the Best Picture category have been stories based on real events, and while that does keep American Hustle in the mix (which notably took out the Screen Actors Guild back in January), the asymmetry between 'cute crime caper' and 'essay on reprehensible crimes against humanity’ places 12 Years A Slave firmly in the driver’s seat. What then of Gravity? History’s not on its side either. Sci-fi is batting 0-84 in the Best Picture category, though the Academy won’t mind denying it the Best Picture victory since its director, Alfonso Cuarón, is a shoe-in for Best Director. Best Director Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón Should Win: Alfonso Cuarón Steve McQueen’s been on a golden run since his debut with Hunger, so much so that it would take either a monumental collapse in talent or his outright departure from the industry to think he won’t — in the next five years — walk away with this statue. For the 2014 awards, however, Cuarón should, and almost certainly will, come in for the win. Gravity was a breathtaking film, and with barely more plot than there is oxygen in space, the responsibility for that vests first and foremost in its direction and the performances Cuarón secured from his two leads. Last week’s BAFTA win for the Mexican director only narrows the odds further. Best Actor Will Win: Matthew McConaughey Should Win: Oscar Isaac Let’s talk about Leo first. The feeling that the guy is due is palpable, but just because a roulette table throws up nine reds in a row doesn't mean it has to be black’s turn next time round. While DiCaprio's Wolf of Wall Street performance was a fearless endeavour, it still lacked the critical poignancy of an enslaved parent or HIV-positive pioneer. A two-horse race hence seems most likely, and as good as Chiwetel Ejiofor was in 12 Years A Slave, McConaughey’s remarkable reinvention by way of smaller, character driven ensemble pieces has earned him both enormous respect and the Golden Globe. The big surprise here is Oscar Isaac, whose sublimely reserved yet beguiling performance in Inside Llewyn Davis didn’t even garner a nomination. Best Actress Will Win: Cate Blanchett Should Win: Cate Blanchett There’s arguably never been a better description of Meryl Streep than Colin Firth’s suggestion that she is "unreasonably good". Typically, then, in August: Osage County we saw just the latest in an impossibly long line of flawless performances so good one feels the interests of fairness might warrant handicapping her somehow for all future roles, perhaps by only allowing her to speak in vowels. Yet she won’t win this year. In a collection of powerhouse performances by a field of nominees who’ve all previously won the award save for Amy Adams, it was Cate Blanchett who proved the undeniable standout. Her Jasmine was elegant desperation and icy vulnerability wrapped up in an overt, sexually charged Ingmar Bergman-esque archetype. She’s already won the SAG, Golden Globe and BAFTA, making this about as sure a thing as the Oscars permit. Best Original Screenplay Will Win: Her Should Win: Her With ‘Will’ and ‘Should’ locked in there, Her would seem a foregone conclusion, but it’s not nearly that clear-cut. Was Spike Jonze’s screenplay the most original of the nominees? Absolutely. Was it also the best? Again, yes, but does that mean it will win? …Probably. Standing in its way is American Hustle, whose script — while lengthy — was a rollicking, unceasing procession of zingers, plot twists and exquisite turns of phrase. It also has the box office momentum behind it. For Her to win, which it should, it’ll need the Academy to consider the ‘Original’ part of 'Best Original Screenplay’ its most important characteristic.
Snow place like home, right? Here at CP, we're excited for winter playtime. Whether you can't wait to hit the slopes again or you're a curious first-timer, we know just the snow-covered playground that will hit the spot: Thredbo. Just a 5 and a 1/2 hour drive from Sydney, winter holiday goers congregate to the alpine village in their masses for the longest ski runs in Australia (when the mountain is fully covered in snow). And we've got the lowdown: where to stay, where to re-fuel, and where to party in your snow boots. Athol Got a lot of friends? This cosy, rustic self-contained chalet sleeps up to 12 people with a perfect communal layout for a big group. Gather round the open fire, sprawl out on the balcony and dig in to some hearty food at the canteen-style dining table. Diggings Terrance, Thredbo Village; Athol website Banjo Townhouses Each townhouse is a modern apartment with one or two bedrooms and beautiful views of the mountains. Loft units have their own slow-burning wood fire: lush! Banjo Drive, Thredbo Village; stayz.com.au/93085 Bernti’s Mountain Inn Bernti's is restaurant, hotel and nightlife all rolled into one. This European-style boutique inn has 30 rooms (and a rather entertaining host in Donna), gourmet food and a popular al fresco deck. Why would you ever leave? 4 Mowamba Place, Thredbo Village; (02) 6457 6332; berntis.com.au Black Bear Inn In the heart of Thredbo, and at the centre of all the action, this traditional lodge and restaurant has rooms to rent from single to family-sized. It’s a stone’s throw from the shuttle stop, plus never-ending German beer at the Inn. 30 Diggins Terrace, Thredbo Village; (02) 6457 6216; blackbearinn.com.au Thredbo Alpine Hotel Thredbo Alpine Hotel is boutique accommodation with the pick of rooms or chalets for an easy, comfortable stay at the base of the Kosciuszko chairlift. Thredbo Resort Centre, Thredbo Village; 1300 020 589; Thredbo Alpine Hotel Moonbah Hut A short 30 minute drive from Thredbo, and 15 minutes from Jindabyne town, Moonbah Hut is in a whole world of its own. This completely isolated, unique stone hut is fully equipped with underfloor heating, a rocking chair and fluffy robes for a romantic getaway. Jindabyne; (02) 6457 8311; moonbahhut.com Paringa Self contained, all the mod-cons and a shuttle bus on your doorstep, Paringa apartments are two bed units plus loft space, the obligatory balcony BBQ and a Swedish sauna. (02) 6457 7030; skiinskiout.com.au River Inn Priding itself on being a ski-in, ski-out hotel, River Inn has modern rooms and suites with plenty of extras, like wireless, a heated indoor pool and laundry service. 4 Friday Drive, Thredbo Alpine Village; (02) 9369 3010; riverinn.com.au Rockpool Lodge Like a little luxe? When only 5 star will do, Rockpool Lodge is a good pick. It’s got the spa, faux fur throws, sauna and champagne on chill (okay, we can’t guarantee the last one, but you get the picture). (02) 6457 7132; rockpoollodge.com.au Kareela Hutte Breakfast, coffee, champagne or cellar door, Kareela Hutte is a well-loved haunt for skiers and boarders on their up or down the mountain. On the Supertrail at 1810m altitude; (02) 6457 6099; kareelahutte.com.au Merritts Mountain House On-slope marketplace dining, from fresh juices and salads to stews, soups and strudel. Merritts uses artisan produce to create lovingly homemade food, conveniently located between slopes. Top of Merritts chairlift at 1660m altitude; (02) 6457 6084; merritts.com.au Black Sallee's Nestled amongst the gum trees off Crackenback Supertrail, Black Sallee's is famous for its hot chocolate, European beer selection (try the Maisel's Weisse) and schnapps. The service is quick, so you’ll be shoop shooping again in no time. At the top of Snowgums chairlift; (02) 6457 6439; Black Sallee's Bullwheel Bar & Bistro Laying claim to being Australia’s highest bar and bistro, Bullwheel has quick snacks and warming drinks, as well as German wheat beers, gluhwein and schnapps. At the top of Kosciuszko chairlift at 1937m altitude; (02) 6457 6019; Bullwheel Bar & Bistro Bernti’s Tapas Bar Serving a gourmet selection of international tapas, from smoked trout bruschetta to veal schnitzel, Bernti’s has al fresco dining and plenty of wine and beer to wash it down with. 4 Mowamba Place, Thredbo Village; (02) 6457 6332; berntis.com.au/tapas-bar The Knickerbocker Pan fried market fish, duck confit, spinach and ricotta dumplings... Yum! Riverside Cabins, Diggings Terrace, Thredbo; (02) 6457 6844; theknickerbocker.com.au The Terrace Relaxed fine dining: head chef Karen Forsstrom, formerly of Sydney’s Kingsleys restaurant, cooks up the finest ingredients to serve up her handcrafted menu. The Denman Hotel, 21 Diggings Terrace, Thredbo; (02) 6457 6222; thedenman.com.au The Wildbrumby Open daily for breakfast and lunch, the kitchen at Wildbrumby schnapps distillery door has a hearty selection of soups, pates, sandwiches and burgers - all created using local produce. Cnr of Wollondibby Rd and Alpine Way, Jindabyne; (02) 6457 1447; wildbrumby.com Apres Bar For a sophisticated start to the night, head to Apres Bar at The Denman. Cocktails, retro decor and tapas. The Denman, 21 Diggins Terrace, Thredbo Village; (02) 6457 6222; thedenman.com.au/bar Schuss Bar A little more laid-back, the Schuss Bar has live music and entertainment every night throughout winter. Threadbo Village Resort, Alpine Way; (02) 6459 4200. Thredbo Alpine Lounge Bar From 12 noon to midnight, the Alpine Lounge Bar is the place to kick-back and enjoy a coffee (or something stronger) beside the fire. Relaxed vibe, live music and great views. Thredbo Village Resort, Alpine Way; (02) 6459 4200. The Keller Looking to party late into the night? Revellers migrate to Thredbo’s famous nightclub. Thredbo Village Resort, Alpine Way; (02) 6459 4200.
Looking to add another streaming service to your subscriptions? Particularly keen on Amazon Prime Video, the online shopping behemoth's film and television platform? Good news and bad news, Australians. Firstly, you can sign up and stream selected content right now. But (and yes, sorry, there's a but)... it doesn't appear as though it's all that official. Technology website EFTM first broke the news that Aussies could not only register for an Amazon Prime Video account, but start watching Amazon's original programming such as The Man In The High Castle and Red Oaks. And, since then, word has spread that Amazon has launched their video platform in Australia. That's particularly exciting for anyone interested in watching The Grand Tour, aka Amazon's new motoring show hosted by former Top Gear personalities Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, which kicked off on November 18. Alas, it's not quite that straightforward. On the one hand, yes, you can currently access the aforementioned series, and others that don't have streaming deals with other platforms — although with some restrictions (only the first season of '80s set dramedy Red Oaks is available, for example, despite the second season launching in the US last week; and you can't access shows like Transparent that are available elsewhere in Australia). However, in a pretty significant sign that using Amazon Prime Video in Australia isn't as official as we all want it to be, you can only access it by visiting either the American or UK sites. There's no Prime Video option on amazon.com.au, no Australian pricing, and no information whatsoever about the service being offered to Aussies. In a statement reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Amazon is adamant that it hasn't launched in Australia, which answers the question, really. Why Aussies can access content through the US and UK sites remains unanswered. Of course, it has long been rumoured that the platform would launch locally soon, largely thanks to The Grand Tour's certain appeal to Australian audiences, and the fact that Amazon has retained the global rights to the show — and it likely will in December as already announced. For now, in what is proving a big week for Amazon on our shores (the retail giant is set to launch a series of bricks-and-mortar stores and an online supermarket here within the next two years), go forth and watch what you can while you can, and watch this space for more developments.
Truffle butter, truffle eggs, truffle cheese, truffle fries — it seems adding the word truffle takes the words off the menu, lets them dance on your tastebuds, and has you salivating before you’ve even ordered. What if we told you you could indulge in seven whole courses of truffle-filled goodness? The good news is Lutece Bistro & Wine Bar are throwing a black truffle celebration with the real deal (no synthetic ‘truffle oil’ here that you might find at your local wannabe gastropub). Showing off the black winter truffle melanosporum from Manjimup, Western Australia, owner and chef Romain Bapst will treat guests to a delectable seven-course feast in true French style. Diners will be lucky enough to enjoy the distinct and full flavour of black truffle throughout the courses, starting with the duck foie gras and black truffle, and finishing with the chocolate gianduja. We attended the first dinner last night, and the second (and last) is on tomorrow night. Personal favourites were dishes three and five, the Glacier 51 sea bass and deep sea scallops, and the White Rocks milk-fed veal shoulder and fillet (pictured). The last dinner is on Friday, August 8, at 7pm. It is $160 per person with a glass of champagne on arrival, or $190 per person with matching wines. Nab your spot by contacting bookings@lutece.com.au or by calling (07) 3161 1858. Chocolate Gianduja at Lutece
A high-profile cast. An acclaimed local director. A thorough traipse through the country's colonial past. While that description applies to a growing number of Aussie films (Sweet Country and The Nightingale, just to name two recent examples), it'll never get old — as new frontier western High Ground demonstrates. Indeed, while Stephen Maxwell Johnson's film feels like a natural addition to this growing genre, it also makes its own imprint. The setup: on what's supposed to be a routine expedition in Arnhem Land, almost the entirety of an Indigenous tribe is wiped out by northern Australian police. Their leader Travis (Simon Baker) isn't responsible for the carnage, but it weighs heavily on him in the aftermath. In this gorgeously shot, deeply contemplative drama, Travis is still haunted by the incident 12 years later, in the 1930s, which is when the bulk of the feature takes place. The ex-World War I sniper is enlisted by his superior (Jack Thompson) and his former partner (Callan Mulvey) to track down one of the massacre's revenge-seeking survivors — all while accompanied by boy-turned-tracker Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul), who also lived through the slaughter. When High Ground premiered at this year's Berlinale, it deservedly wowed crowds. Since then, it opened the Brisbane International Film Festival and screened at the Adelaide Film Festival — and it has stints planned at Sydney Film Festival's My Cinema My Film Festival touring event in November and December, and during its summer weekend program in January. It'll hit Aussie cinemas in general release come January 28, and it has just revealed its tension-dripping full trailer. As well as Baker, Thompson and Mulvey — and phenomenal first-timer Jacob Junior Nayinggul — High Ground also stars Aaron Pedersen, Ryan Corr and Caren Pistorius (Unhinged), plus debutants Esmerelda Marimowa and Witiyana Marika. It's the second film from Johnson, who previously directed 2001's Yolngu Boy. The filmmaker grew up living in the Northern Territory, and also directed music videos for Yothu Yindi — including for 1991 track 'Treaty'. Check out the High Ground trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL-G4oCoDF0&feature=youtu.be High Ground opens in Australian cinemas on January 28, 2021.
Sandals, swords, a shirtless Paul Mescal, fighting a rhinoceros, Ridley Scott behind the lens: welcome to the Gladiator II arena. The first trailer for the filmmaker's 24-years-later sequel to his 2000 Oscar-winner also includes odious Emperors — yes, multiple — plus seafaring clashes in the Colosseum. And, alongside Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington can't stop thinking about the Roman Empire Mescal's (All of Us Strangers) Lucius watched the climactic events of 2000's Russell Crowe (The Exorcism) and Joaquin Phoenix (Napoleon)-starring film, as the sneak peek explains, which is just one of the ties that Gladiator II boasts with its predecessor. Another: Connie Nielsen (Origin) returning from Gladiator as Lucilla, Lucius' mother. If the sequel's protagonist didn't have his own date with Rome's iconic amphitheatre, there wouldn't be much of a film. His stint comes after Emperors Caracalla (Joseph Quinn, A Quiet Place: Day One) and Geta (Fred Hechinger, The White Lotus) take over his home. Queue a quest for revenge, plus glory for Rome, with Pascal's (Drive-Away Dolls) general Marcus Acacius becoming Lucius' target. As for Washington (The Equalizer 3), he plays power broker Macrinus. Alien, Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise director Scott has been in blast-from-the-past mode for over a decade now, first revisiting the Alien realm with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, then reteaming with Phoenix on Napoleon, and now helming his second Gladiator flick. Of late, he's also been fond of making movies set in the past — long ago and more recent — as not only seen with Napoleon, but also with House of Gucci, The Last Duel and All the Money in the World. With Gladiator II, the British filmmaker teams up two of the internet's boyfriends in Mescal and Pascal, and promises a battle-filled time following up the feature that picked up Best Picture, Best Actor (for Crowe), Best Costume Design, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards. Scott also earned his second Best Director nomination, after Thelma & Louise — and before Black Hawk Down gave him a third. Gladiator II hits cinemas Down Under on Thursday, November 14, 2024, which means that local audiences will see it a week before American audiences. In the US, viewers are in for a Barbenheimer-style release day with the film and Wicked Part One arriving on the same date, Friday, November 22. Repeating that possible new moviegoing phenomenon in Australia and New Zealand had already been nixed, however, given that the first Wicked flick won't reach picture palaces here until Thursday, November 28. Check out the trailer for Gladiator II below: Gladiator II opens in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, November 14, 2024.
Garlic bread — representing the holy trinity of bread, garlic, and butter — is something created by the gluten gods to make us mortals (sans coeliacs) very, very happy. Welcome to Bowen Hills is aware of this, as demonstrated by the fact that it's devoting a whole day to your fave carbohydrate situation: the Garlic Bread Festival. But Saturday, June 22 isn't't just for standard garlic bread. You'll also find genius hybrids such as garlic bread burgers and garlic bread pizzas on offer. So prepare thy tummy — while the food truck lineup hasn't yet been revealed, cheesy garlic bread and garlic-inspired drinks have also been promised. And the good ol' fashioned variety of garlic bread, obviously. There is an ATM on-site for emergency carb top-ups. Kids are welcome from noon until 9pm, doggos are welcome all day and all night, and both will probably lose their minds over the tasty scraps. Praise be to wheat.
“We must rediscover”, wrote Austrian philosopher Ivan Illich, “the distinction between hope and expectation”. Jurassic World may now offer us that opportunity. Back in April, hopes were high that this would finally be the film to return the franchise to greatness, however — to paraphrase The Dark Knight — this is not the film we’d hoped for, but the one we should have expected. Why is it a giant disappointasaurus? Let us count the ways. IT’S ALL JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY REPEATED So, there’s a revolutionary dinosaur preserve on an island off Costa Rica. Two young children, relatives of the park’s chief administrator, visit and receive a VIP tour, only for an enormous dinosaur to escape its pen, trash the kids’ glass-roofed transport and begin killing park employees. The park’s innovators, InGen, only make matters worse, but, thankfully, there’s an old-school expert on hand to keep the kids alive, even when they're circled by three ravenous raptors in the climatic finale that sees a T-Rex come to the rescue right in the heart of the Visitor Centre. Don’t know which Jurassic film we're talking about? Exactly. SAFETY FIRST, PEOPLE In 1992 John Hammond tried to open Jurassic Park, but (unfortunately) some things went wrong and people died. His son tried again a few years later, but (unfortunately) some things went wrong and people died. Couple of years after that, Sam Neil went back to the islands and again, people died. It was very unfortunate. Point is: if you're somehow convinced that 'fourth time's a charm', you begin by ensuring that every single design aspect of your dinosaur theme park is grounded in the knowledge that things could go wrong and people might die. Now, I'm no structural engineer, but for me that at least means having: a. A bunker capable of securing every person on the island within minutes; and b. enough transportation off the island for every person who's on it. 'Lifeboats on the Titanic', and all that. Unfortunately, in Jurassic World, the definitive emergency protocol involves: keeping things quiet (because, money), having inexperienced teenagers herd everyone into an open-air Visitor Complex alongside the two largest dinosaurs on the island and then calling for a moderate-sized ferry to crawl back over from Costa Rica to pick up some of the people. SHE’LL BE RIGHT Early on in Jurassic World we hear the park’s operations manager, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), complain that “this is the second time this month” that a dinosaur has breached its security perimeter, before dispatching a team to quietly fix it up. The second time. In a month. The fact that it was a herbivore is entirely irrelevant. Even if it had been nothing more than a prehistoric butterfly or an aggressively-growing shrub, you'd shut that entire park down in a heartbeat until there were no security breaches. Ever. The logic failings of Jurassic World are so glaring from so early on that you basically want everyone to die just to punish them for unbelievable stupidity. RECEPTION! RECEPTION! MY KINGDOM FOR RECEPTION! You know what would be a great twist in a movie? Someone whipping out their mobile phone and it having perfectly good reception. Sadly, though, for both the visitors and staff of Jurassic World, despite being in a state-of-the-art theme park that literally lets you ride glass orbs through herds of genetically engineered dinosaurs one full decade into the scientific era of ‘de-extinction’, nobody's yet figured out how to put a cell tower on top of a tall hill. WHO? 1993’s Jurassic Park was full of wonderfully crafted, three-dimensional characters whose names we still recall more than two decades later. John Hammond, Doctors Grant and Sattler, Ian Malcolm, Dennis Nedry, Timmy and Lex — heck, we even remember the names of the dinosaurs (did someone say dilophosaurus?). They’re all still memorable because of their distinct personalities and carefully selected attributes, both human and reptile. Lex knew UNIX. She knew UNIX. Jurassic World, by contrast, is more like the Star Wars prequels in that you refer to characters like you were giving police a vague description of the gang that mugged you. “Well, um, there’s the uptight redhead who never takes her heels off, her assistant (she’s British, I remember that she was British), the rich guy who was semi-charismatic, but then just died, those two kids (the younger one seemed to know some stuff about DNA but it never amounted to anything, so...), oh, and the hero! He was kinda cool, but we never really got to know what he wanted or desired, so he just sort of... stayed cool and did cool things”. Sorry folks, the only character you’re going to feel anything for in this film is a dying Apatosaurus. That indistinct gang stole your $20 and you’re never getting it back. KNOW YOUR STARS The stars of Jurassic Park were the dinosaurs, specifically the T-Rex and the velociraptors. All those memorable humans listed above — their excellent performances notwithstanding — were in supporting roles and that suited everyone just fine. In Jurassic World, there are at least loads of dinosaurs, including two fantastic new editions: the mosasaurus (a giant shark-eating sea creature) and the terrifying hybrid known as the ‘Indominus Rex’. The problem is, we see the Mosa the leasta, and the Indominus, despite sporting some amazing features like camouflage, scarcely uses them. In a movie full of branding, it almost seems incomprehensible that a dinosaur capable of going full chameleon doesn’t at some point blend into the park’s background with its skin adopting the Jurassic logo (or, you know, those of IBM and McDonalds). "IMAGINE IF WE’D HAD THESE IN TORA BORA" Vincent D’Onofrio’s character wants to weaponise raptors for the US military to use in the place of drones. It sounds pretty insane, but to be fair, the US Navy has already trained dolphins to protect its ships, recover gear and detect mines. Still, D’Onofrio's line was so terrifically stupid that the audience laughed. The mere mention of freedom-loving velociraptors hunting down bin Laden in Afghanistan like some sort of Squeal Team Six ought to have had his character institutionalised, but instead he somehow ended up Head of InGen security and given full licence to test out his theory. Also, his constant allusions to "65 millions years of instinct” fundamentally misunderstand the concept of ‘time', in that if something lived 65 million years ago, died and is then brought back to life today, it has not accrued aeons of life experience in the downtime. $700 MILLION ON DAY 1 Yes, it’s a blockbuster. In fact, it’s the blockbuster, breaking all opening day records in the US. Why? Because, dammit, we want to see dinosaurs and Jurassic World has dinosaurs. Big ones, cute ones, scary ones and familiar ones. It ultimately gives us exactly what we want, which is why — in the absence of a good story — it’s such a shame it couldn’t also give us what we’d hoped for.
What do we love? Summer, obviously. Pashing the pool boy. Palm trees. Pina Coladas. But how will the ice cream-licking public know that we love these things? We need some fresh accessory, some new sartorial canvas with which to advertise our priorities in life. "Aha," muse Soludos and We Are Handsome simultaneously. "We shall bring summer to the feet of the people." Hence, the We Are Handsome x Soludos collection, comprising the first-ever digitally printed photographic espadrilles. The evocative collection is the latest collab by Soludos; past partners in creative crime have included Opening Ceremony, Mara Hoffman and Bassike. Not to be alarmist, but this is a limited edition exclusive to Australia and the US, so it might sell out stat. It's got four classic WAH prints adorning the breezy 100 percent cotton uppers of espadrilles ($67) as well as hot sexy derby-style lace-ups ($81). The numero uno design is arguably the vintage Miami Hideaway lace-ups, which, let's face it, you should probably just wear on your hands because they're too good for feet. WAH director Jeremy Somers honours the Paradise and Tropical prints with this most noble creed: "Living a never-ending summer is what both Soludos and We Are Handsome are all about, and nothing personifies this better than the iconic image of the humble, but fantastic palm tree." Indeed. And who's that, prowling through the foliage? Why, it's the Vagabond, an escapee from Siegfried and Roy's. "Whether it’s a panda, eagle or lion face bikini bottom, I’ve always loved the unexpected, bold tongue-in-cheek attitude and vivid '80s-inspired photo print design of We Are Handsome," says Soludos founder Nick Brown. "It's been a really fun process working with We Are Handsome and we have ended up with some wild designs that capture both brands' love for all things summer." Amen, and can we please have a music video with Solange dancing in these? It just feels right.
Festivals with international headliners are well and truly back, and that doesn't just apply to music. When Antidote — the Sydney Opera House's fest of ideas, art and change — returns on Sunday, September 11, it's bringing an impressive lineup of international names with it. Here's three: Brian Cox, Jenny Slate and Jarvis Cocker. Fresh from spending three seasons yelling about a business empire on one of television's biggest shows, Succession star Cox headlines the Antidote bill. The iconic actor will make the trip Down Under to chat about his career, including his ability to play characters known for their anger, malicious ways and sinister mood — which, yes, spans more than just the hit HBO series. His discussion is called The Evil in Us All, after all. [caption id="attachment_859192" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Katie McCurdy[/caption] As for Slate, don't be suspicious. The Parks and Recreation, Obvious Child, I Want You Back and Everything Everywhere All At Once star, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On author, will hit Sydney to focus on finding joy and laughter in our weird lives. She also has essay collection Little Weirds to her name, so she'll be on topic. Pulp frontman Cocker isn't playing tunes — no 'Common People' or 'Disco 2000' for you, sorry — but he will be showing folks his attic. His livestreamed conversation is called Good Pop, Bad Pop, just like his recently released memoir, and it'll feature him talking through some of the things he's collected, the tales behind them, and what the objects we hide away say about us. [caption id="attachment_859191" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tom Jamieson[/caption] Also on the Antidote lineup: bestselling author Mohsin Hamid (Moth Smoke, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Exit West), chatting about white anxiety, privilege and prejudice — and Olivia Laing (The Trip to Echo Springs, The Lonely City, Everybody: A Book About Freedom), with the award-winner talking about oppression, resistance and bodies via livestream. Or, there's an event called Ukraine Has Changed Us, which'll include Ukrainian poet and recent Nobel Prize in Literature nominee Serhiy Zhadan live from Kharkiv. Responding to our times in a different way, The Atlantic's science writer Ed Yong, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, will discuss global biosecurity and potential pandemics beyond COVID-19. He's the last of the fest's four guests that are appearing via video link — and he'll speak with epidemiologist and UNSW Chair of Biosecurity Professor Raina MacIntyre. [caption id="attachment_859193" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jillian Edelstein.[/caption] Looking local, former Aussie Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will chat about disinformation online, while Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt, newly elected independent MP Allegra Spender and former politician Cathy McGowan will discuss the recent Federal Election results — specifically, the record number of Independents and Greens voted in, and what that means for the country. Elsewhere, Gunai artist and writer Kirli Saunders will lead a panel with Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung man and CEO of the Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative Gary Williams about preserving and sharing Australia's Indigenous languages. The full Antidote lineup spans 17 talks, conversations and panels, plus four workshops, and an art activation as well — all of which covers chats about storytelling, balancing living with tragedy with retaining hope, Australia's future from a First Nations standpoint, ditching careers in media to become doctors, campaign reporting and China's growing power, too. And in great news for everyone who can't make it along in-person — such as folks living outside of Sydney — almost all of the lineup will be livestreamed. Yes, that includes Cox, Slate, Cocker, Hamid, Laing and Yong's sessions. [caption id="attachment_859190" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] Antidote will take place at the Sydney Opera House, and online, on Sunday, September 11. Ticket pre-sales start at 9am on Tuesday, June 28 — and general sales start at the same time for livestreams, and at 9am on Monday, July 1 for in-person tickets. Top image: Succession, David M. Russell/HBO ©2020 HBO. All Rights Reserved.
Brisbane is at its buzzy best during one of the most laidback weeks of the year between Christmas and New Years. If you're looking for things to do or inspiration on how to enjoy this peak stretch of summer downtime, our curated guide has you covered. Get Pampered at a Day Spa The silly season can be taxing after a long year, so why not supercharge your end of year recharge at a relaxing day spa. If you know where to look, they're peppered throughout Brisbane, each offering their own take on serenity and relaxation. Whether you prefer a dose of float therapy or a steamy sauna sesh, this is how to kick the best week of the year up a notch. Take a Paddle Down the River Brisbane River hardly needs an introduction, considering the waterway snakes its way through the heart of the city, with options to cross it on foot (via one of the many bridges running over it) or via ferry. Get up close and personal with the majestic river and see Brisbane from an entirely new vantage point. Rent a kayak and make a day of it, being sure to pack a sandwich lunch made with Abbott's Bakery bread for a day out on the water. The expansive river goes on for kilometres and features a diverse array of scenery to take in, so you'd best have a feed at the ready to keep your strength up. Have a Summer Sesh on the Water at a Bar or Brewery There's no shortage of venues along the river to soak in the summer vibes that Brisbane does so well. A long, unhurried summer sesh is exactly what's called for between Christmas and New Years. For a spur of the moment sesh, head to Felons Brewing Co. The sprawling brewery not only has plenty of brews that have come to life on-site, but also plenty of space so you should be able to find a spot even on short notice. Head to the Coast for a Laze on a Beach Swapping the city for the coast is always a crowdpleaser. Noosa, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast each have their charms and you never regret a swim. There's something about a dip in the Pacific Ocean that just washes away stress and dials up the relaxation. [caption id="attachment_976496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Darren Tierney[/caption] Go on a Road Trip Out of the City Drive a little further and the beauty of what's beyond Brisbane in greater Queensland awaits. Take your favourite snacks, prepare a car-friendly sandwich lunch with Abbott's Bakery bread and hit the road. There are sights to revel in in all directions — from rainforests to waterfalls and even vineyards and mountains. You could even swing by multiple spots in one long, interconnected road trip. There are no rules, only possibilities. [caption id="attachment_702576" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] Explore the Greenery at D'Aguilar National Park Stretching over 36,000 hectares, with gorges, pockets of rainforest, eucalyptus woodlands and views for days, D'Aguilar National Park will transport you right out of Brisbane — without actually requiring you to leave the city. The park is split into a northern region and a southern region, and there's no way you can cover everything in one day, but no matter where you decide to pull up stumps, you'll want to pack your bag with sandwiches, snacks and water to fuel your intrepid adventures. Swap your bag for a basket if a carefree picnic in one of the parks many picnic and lookout areas is preferred. [caption id="attachment_899402" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] Stay in and Stay Cool You don't need us to tell you that Brisbane's heat can be brutal. When it all gets too much and all you really want to do is crank up the AC or perch yourself in front of a fan, we say do it. There's no better time for it than between Christmas and New Years too, when responsibilities are minimal and you can pass your time however you please. Catch up on your streaming or any podcasts and music you've haven't gotten around to. Use your Christmas leftovers in a scrumptious ham sandwich for an easy, delicious lunch that doesn't require stepping a single foot outside the house. Discover the full range of Abbott's Bakery bread and create your ideal sandwich.
Can logic and science co-exist with the metaphysical and supernatural? "I think that's what I'm exploring in all of my work," says Robert Eggers. A decade on from making his first feature, and marking himself as one of horror's spectacular new voices at the time, the acclaimed writer/director has the filmography — The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman and now Nosferatu — to prove it, of course. "And I think that the difficulty with this stuff is if you believe it, it's true. So I think that's why I explore it in the safety of cinema rather than diving into the deep end and ending up in the madhouse." Whenever Nosferatu sinks its teeth into the silver screen, be it in FW Murnau's 1922 original, or when the inimitable Werner Herzog (The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft) followed in his compatriot's footsteps with 1979's Nosferatu the Vampyre, or now that Eggers has crafted his own take, it unfurls a tale of gothic obsession. Fixation and passion also sits at the heart of how this icon of horror cinema keeps flickering through picture palaces. It all started with an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is why the narrative is so similar but the names have been changed. When Herzog gave it a spin, it was because he considered the first movie to be "the greatest German film". Eggers himself has been drawn to Nosferatu since childhood, even directing an iteration of it as a play in high school. (He also appreciates that for the generation that grew up with SpongeBob SquarePants, so kids from 1999 onwards, that might now be commonplace given that discovering Nosferatu can spring via the animated show.) As Dracula clearly is as well, Nosferatu is easy to be passionate about. The OG film is a masterpiece — of silent cinema, of German Expressionism, of horror and just in general. Count Orlok, as initially played by Max Schreck, is a hauntingly unforgettable screen presence. There's no missing the fervour that Eggers has for all things Nosferatu in his movie, or how lovingly that he regards the original. But while there's a packed coffin full of nods backwards in his feature, an Eggers film always feels distinctively like an Eggers film. He's been embracing period-set horror from the get-go anyway, and he repeatedly demonstrates again and again that he's only ever interested in realising his own meticulous — and stunning — celluloid visions. Willem Dafoe (Saturday Night), a veteran of The Lighthouse and The Northman before becoming Nosferatu's Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, knows all about Eggers' way of working. Asked to describe the director's work, the actor who earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for portraying Schreck in 2000's Shadow of the Vampire — a riff on the making of Murnau's Nosferatu — notes that the filmmakers' oeuvre is "contact with stories from another time that have a relevance to now. Beautiful shots. Very detailed, not-conventional cutting. Great art direction. Great shooting. Hopefully good actors. That's kind of the checklist." Dafoe continues: "obviously I've worked with Robert three times and I want to work with him some more. I enjoy it so much, because for an actor it's a dream. He gives you fun things to do, and you're sent to a world that is so rich that it's far easier to pretend and entertain a new set of conditions, thoughts, feelings. And for me, as an actor that's always what I'm interested in — to make contact with stuff that's beyond my experience." There's absolutely no 'hopefully' about Nosferatu's excellent cast. After playing Pennywise in IT and IT: Chapter Two, Bill Skarsgård (Boy Kills World) is Eggers' Orlok — and he's a force to behold. The object of his obsession: Lily-Rose Depp (The Idol ) in a physically committed and entrancing performance as Ellen Hutter, who is newly married to real-estate agent Thomas (Nicholas Hoult, Renfield). The latter is dispatched from the couple's home in Wisborg to Transylvania to assist Orlok with purchasing a property. As Ellen remains in Germany — and as her connection to Orlok begins to fester and torment — she stays with Thomas' old pal Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, The Fall Guy), his pregnant wife Anna (Emma Corrin, A Murder at the End of the World) and their children. Taylor-Johnson couldn't have been more eager to be involved. "Sometimes I feel like when you get a filmmaker like Robert — firstly I admired his work and was like 'I'll do anything to be a Robert Eggers movie'. And then all of a sudden, you get this this invitation, this letter and a call saying he's doing something and would like you to be a part of it. You can't quite believe that's happening. You can go 'great, I don't even need to read a script — whatever you want me to do'," he advises. Corrin shares enthusiasm for the experience, and for jumping into horror. "I guess it's fun because it's a unique set of challenges. I've certainly found it interesting, how you craft a scene — I think it's a very specific way that you obviously approach shooting scenes to make them have that suspense, and especially if there's a jump-scare onboard." For them specifically, however, a particular gauntlet awaited: rats. "I remember reading that in the script early on, and texting Rob and being like 'hey, man, wondering if the rats are going to be CGI or are they going to be real? Just curious'. He was like 'definitely real, no CGI'. And yeah, it was intense. I had about 20–30 rats on me. I was also topless, which was interesting. It was bleak, if I'm honest. I tried to be quite brave about it." Why Nosferatu fascinates Eggers, what excited Dafoe about collaborating with the filmmaker, digging into tested beliefs and internal conflict, acting opposite Depp's can't-look-away portrayal: all of that also spanned Concrete Playground's chat with Eggers, Dafoe, Corrin and Taylor-Johnson. So did Count Orlok's look, Dafoe's own history with Nosferatu, Eggers' exacting way of working, giving a century-old film a modern lens and more. On Why Nosferatu Has Fascinated Eggers Since Childhood, Including Turning It Into a Play When He Was a Teenager Robert: "It's very hard to say. I think certainly the Murnau film had a major impact on me, and initially it was Max Schreck's performance and just the power of the simple fairy-tale adaptation that Murnau made of the Dracula story. But as I have grown older and learn more about the occult, and vampire folklore from Eastern Europe — and hysteria and 19th-century medicine — the more that I found that it was a story that I was able to really embrace and put many of my interests in, and to use the framework to explore the things that were exciting to me creatively." On What Excites Dafoe About Working with Eggers After Collaborating on The Lighthouse, The Northman and Now Nosferatu Willem: "Just the personal nature of what he does. The detailed nature of what he does. The kind of investment. It's not work, you know. He's playing to his pleasure and his interests. And then I just like being around him. He inspires me, gives fun things to do. I get a little self-conscious — he's sitting right here. Number one, obviously I'm all in. But check the boxes. He's everywhere on the set. The thing that's really impressive, and I know other people that do this, but it's really impressive that on the set there's such detail, that nothing is there for decoration. It's all function. It's all functional. It has a place. It has a history. And when you can feel the origins of things and where they're placed in the world, that really gives you a reality that's easy to enter. It's a reality that you're not covering anything — you're living in it. And it's very easy with a little willfulness to say that our world drops away and you're in that world. It's an exercise in pretending, and he makes it very simple by giving you a very rich world to exist in." On What Corrin Was Keen to Dig Into in the Film, Including Tested Beliefs and Internal Conflict Emma: "I think Anna has an interesting journey, because she is constantly fighting between her love of Ellen and her own beliefs. And there's a lot of conflict between those two things, because she's very devoutly religious and doesn't believe in a spiritual world — especially a spiritual world based on the occult and folklore — and obviously all of everything Ellen's experiencing points to the existence of that world, which would remove the very foundation of her worldview, everything about how she's been raised, and all of her beliefs. And yet she really loves her friend and wants to be there for her. So I think that experience of Anna, of being with Ellen in such close proximity and witnessing this, it gets to the point where she can't — I think for both Anna Friedrich, actually, they can't not see it anymore. It becomes so obvious what's happening, and then it's so confronting. And you see all of their own beliefs and whatever sort of falling away before their eyes, which is a very scary and vulnerable place for them to be in, especially with kids. I think that I, as an actor, I guess I enjoy complexity and internal conflict in a person. It's very interesting to portray." On How You React When Such a Physical Performance, as Lily-Rose Depp Turns in as Ellen, Sits at the Heart of a Film Emma: "You can't help have a really quite visceral reaction to watching someone who, as you say, who's doing such a committed physical piece of acting. It constantly, I think, blew our minds how she was contorting her body, and the choreography and the stamina that she needed to have as a performer to do that take after take after take — and offer so much. It was incredible. It was a real gift to act opposite because we didn't have to — there no acting required. It was very easy to imagine what these two people, how they would react to what they were seeing." Aaron: "It's definitely extraordinary. I feel very privileged to have been in the room witnessing a performance like that, that felt very raw and with no vanity, and it just felt it was disturbing in real life — and I knew it was going to be shocking on film." On Finding the Right Aesthetic for Bill Skarsgård as Nosferatu's Count Orlok Robert: "Bill is playing a folk vampire. He's an animated corpse, and not Frank Langella in a tuxedo. And that was very enjoyable to create. The look of a dead Transylvanian nobleman, we have certain nods, certain details that remind the audience of Max Schreck, because we have to also be respectful of that. But it was really nice. And while the look was completed by myself and David White [who also worked on The Northman], the prosthetics designer, we also had a Transylvanian folklore expert, Florin Lazarescu [Aferim!], who reminded me 'you know, Robert, a lot of times they talk about the strigoi being a red face'. And so if you'll notice, there are moments when you can see blood pooling under the skin after he's been feeding and stuff like that, which are some fun details." On Returning to the World of Nosferatu After Being Nominated for an Oscar for Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire Willem: "They're so different, the films, the intentions, what kinds of films they are. That was very important to me. First of all, I love the Murnau film. I had known it before working on Shadow of the Vampire. Shadow of the Vampire was basically a comic performance. And it leaned heavily on the Murnau because, basically, to find the character I copied a lot of what I saw in the Murnau. That was the starting point. So it was a great lesson in working with a mask, because I had extreme makeup, and that's the first time that it really — maybe not the first time, but it reminded me that if you look different, you move different, you start to feel different and you really have a possibility that becomes a trigger for pretending that's very potent. And you can even do things that you couldn't imagine before because you're drawing on something that's intuitive. It's not shaped, it's not indicated, it's not something you control, it's in your imagination. So that was very important. So then when Rob talks about doing Nosferatu, of course he's not talking to me about playing Nosferatu, but he tells me about this fantastic character that I always felt like is the role he would play if he were in the cast of this movie. So I've been working with him before, knowing his interests and having him give me all this rich material to research, to prepare for the role, that was the connection. It all connected to that other experience, but at the same time, you can't force a relationship between those two films because they're so different and when you finish one, you make room for the next." On the Meticulous Detail and Structure — and No Room for Improvisation — That Comes with Working with Eggers Emma: "I think we were lucky because our characters aren't explored very much in the original. But Rob definitely brought them to life in a certain way — in a very particular way — that was important for this film, because they represent this beacon of light against this darkness that envelops everyone. And in that way, we had a bit of carte blanche, I suppose. But then Rob is so specific in the way he creates characters and the backstory — he's very meticulously thought-out back story for everyone, which I think I find really helpful. I don't know if I'm a big fan of freedom. I think I like specific notes and specific ideas." Aaron: "Structure." Emma: "Yeah, structure." Aaron: "Honestly, I agree. He was so thought-out on everything. I mean, the only thing I probably could have brought was that I was allowed to like [ask] 'can I have mutton chops and some a great big moustache'. And I think that was it. That was allowed." Emma: "Was that you?" Aaron: "Well I wanted some kind of facial hair. I think he wanted something distinctive because they'd already started working with Nic, and he wanted me to have a big twizzly moustache, so that grew and grew. I think there's a little bit of conversation about that. I wanted to improv and he was like 'absolutely not'. So I was like 'okay, well I'll just do what you say'." On How Eggers' Nosferatu Brings a Modern Lens to a Century-Old Classic Aaron: "This story is 100 years old, but yet it's still very relevant today. And I think originally that movie came out, came off the back of the Spanish flu, and it became this metaphorical piece of art reflecting, mirroring reality. And being that we've just come through a global pandemic and we've all been through this feeling of this wave of fear that comes through a city and disrupts everybody in such a panic and a way, it felt very much — I remember reading it and being 'whoa, this seems like, it feels like this'. And then Robert goes 'well, that's originally what it was for 1921'. But then at the fundamental core of it, there's a theme throughout that's about love and battling with your demons, and having shame with this deepest, deepest darkest secret that you've carried from a childhood into your adult life — and how it's going to affect your relationship, and all this sort of stuff. So it's very powerful. I think for our characters, when you're saying this modern element, it's like it was the missing piece to the puzzle. So the original one, our characters aren't involved in that, and so Robert created this next three-dimensional world — this family that lives in Wisborg, and Ellen is staying in this household that is very much this beacon of light, and they're a loving family. They've got children. They've got everything that Nicholas' character aspires to be. And so it's just Robert building upon that world and making it more contemporary, and making it more relatable. They're a very grounded family and arguably they are far more loving than you probably would find in that kind of period. They're very passionate. There's a lot of eroticism throughout the movie, and Emma's character is pregnant with their third child. It's interesting." On the Allure of Period-Set Horror for Eggers Robert: "I just enjoy learning about the past. That's how I like to understand who we are and where we're going — by where we came from. It's what has always excited me, even as a kid. And if I wasn't a filmmaker, maybe I would be an archaeologist. This is just what I enjoy, but also, for making these genre films, I think it's easier to tell — like if you're talking about witches and vampires and things like that, it's easier to make them scary if you are in a period where everybody believed in them, more or less. And obviously in this film, in Wisborg, that's not quite the case, but you get my point." On Dafoe's Experience Working with the Rest of the Cast Willem: "I enjoyed it so much because they're so turned on. Sometimes with older actors, they're comparing their experience that they're having to something in the past. While I find younger actors — now, keep in mind someone like Nic and Aaron, actually many of the actors, are very experienced, so let's not get crazy here; they aren't so young and inexperienced, to tell you the truth — but there's just an excitement. There was an excitement that you could feel for them working with Rob. You're just there. You don't make those distinctions. You're playing characters. You're all on the same footing. You're all trying to fold into the story and help each other, and disappear into the story. So I was looking today, we were shooting pictures, and it's a very special group to a person. Really, there's not a stinker in the group. So the simple answer is: I was very happy to work with this cast, because seldom do you have a cast that's so uniformly strong, not only in performing, but also I remember we took portraits in the costumes and everybody had a look that was very believable and very credible. There was no flourish. The look was very rooted. Robert cast them very well, not only for their look, but also for their talent." Nosferatu releases in cinemas Down Under on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Images: © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC.
Usually when a Brisbanite heads to Westfield Chermside, they're going shopping. Or, they could be seeing a movie or having a bite to eat. Normally, though, a trip to the sprawling northside centre doesn't involve swinging in a rainbow room or hopping in a ball pit — or cuddling teddy bears either. From Thursday, June 24, all of the above activities are on the agenda at the busy shopping complex. So is being surrounded by colour and neon lights aplenty, too. The reason: the folks behind the sweet-themed Sugar Republic pop-up museum are returning to the town, bringing their latest multi-room installation with them. So, get ready to make your way through The Selfie Lab (and to see it take over your Instagram feeds, obviously). Whether they're doing Christmas pop-ups in Melbourne or hosting a Museum of Love in Sydney, all of this group's activities are designed to be snapped — so this time they're just calling that out in the event's name. Drop by and you'll find a greatest hits-style set up across The Selfie Lab's 16 rooms. In other words, it's rolling out some of the past spaces that everyone loved, just in a different location. New rooms featuring photogenic decor that audiences haven't seen before will also be part of the installation; think: Palm Springs motels, 50s diners and 80s bedrooms, as well as a space that promises to take visitors to the moon. There'll also be a candy bar — because the Sugar Republic crew were never going to forgo sweetness — and work onsite by Brisbane illustrator Alex Darrafa. Making its home opposite Uniqlo on Westfield Chermside's second level, The Selfie Lab is popping up for a good time, not a long time — but it does seem that this vibrant space might stick around for a bit. The website promises new installations each season; however, given how popular the group's other events have proven, getting in quickly is still recommended. Tickets cost $25 plus booking fee for a one-hour run through the space — phone in-hand, of course, so you can keep snapping pics. Find The Selfie Lab on Level 2 of Westfield Chermside, Corner of Gympie and Hamilton roads, Chermside, from Thursday, June 24 — open daily from 10am. For further details and to book tickets, head to the pop-up's website.
