The murky world of web analytics is usually left to advertising types and businesses who want to know about you so they can sell stuff to you. But the newly launched browser extension and website, Voyurl, aims to enhance your browsing experience through infographics that break down your web habits with real-time recommendations. Founder Adam Leibsohn was one of these advertising types. Having had a successful career in advertising as Group Director of Digital Strategy at a NYC advertising agency, Anomaly, Leibsohn has channelled his expertise in consumer behaviour and developed Voyurl, or what he calls the "anti-social social network." He says while social networking sites bring your social circle to the fore, Voyurl is more concerned with how you browse the web. At this month's NY Tech Meetup, Leibsohn was applauded by the audience when he said: "unlike a lot of services, we [Voyurl] actually don't want you to authorise Facebook or Twitter." Instead, what Voyurl does is collect your browsing information and present it in a series of infographics that lets you see trends, recommendations and comparisons seamlessly. There is an option to share your information through social networking of course, but the focus remains on your browsing habits. A feature that lives up to Leibsohn's claim that the browser extention is the "anti-social social network" is the "anti-me" button that presents information based on your anti-self (in case you were curious about what sort of websites your anti-self would be looking at). Concrete Playground got in touch with Adam Leibsohn in New York and asked about the gap Voyurl fills in the user browsing experience and, yes, the usually murky world of web analytics. What did you have in mind when you thought of the concept for voyurl? So, for a long while, I worked as a digital strategist at an ad agency in New York. After being introduced to countless marketing technology firms and data auctioneers that use an ethical gray area to peddle in user data, I thought it was time for a platform that was open about its data use and put the user first. With that in mind, we sought out to build Voyurl. We want to disrupt the behavioural data marketplace that occurs without most peoples' awareness by putting the control of this behavioral data back into the hands of those who generate it: all of us who use the web. We want empower people through their data. So, we've begun to build a platform that puts all this data to work for anyone who generates it. The best part is that you don't have to do a thing. You just browse the web like you already do; and, we'll do the rest. How does it work? We analyse behaviour, not identity. So we try our best to determine where on the web your behaviour indicates positive preference. Then, we find other people who have behaved like you. And then, we figure out what stuff those folks have looked at and liked that you haven't seen yet... and we recommend those things to you. And since your browsing behaviour powers our content recommendation engine, we'll never recommend something to you if you've clicked on it before... ever. This way every recommendation we make to you is guaranteed to be genuinely new, each and every time. How will this benefit businesses? For us, this is mainly about how it can benefit our members. If our members are empowered through their data, then maybe businesses will be encouraged to figure out a better way to interact with them to get data they need. So really, we're trying to create a dynamic that fosters a positive experience through data for everyone. If both consumers and businesses can get what they want by leveraging data, we think we're taking a step in the right direction. What feedback have you gotten so far? The feedback has been incredible. People are really enjoying the data, the trends, the content recommendation, and the comparisons and fun features we offer. For instance, we allow users to invert our recommendations so that they can get content fed to them that's 180º away from who they are. It's our little way of allowing you to take yourself out of the filter bubble. Folks have been really great with feedback and input. They're already looking for some fun new features to help make things more social. If you want to try Voyurl for yourself, can can access the private beta via invitation at www.voyurl.com/concreteplayground
Jamie Mumford and Amanda Wolf are the two exhibiting artists who are showcasing their amazing work at The Hold Artspace this week. Coming together to display their work, both artists have a unique worldview that influences their work, yet both are extremely dynamic in their techniques and artistic styles. Disco Dilettante is the exhibition by Jamie Mumford; an in-depth look at the nature of glitz and glamour and the superficiality of the bright lights, big city façade of the 1970s disco period. Jamie Mumford examines how illusory aspects of the fantastical belie the skin-deep nature of a scene. Amanda Wolf is showcasing Peepshow/Creepshow; an exhibition that plunges elbow deep into the murky well of eroticism. Fantasy, voyeurism and intimacy are all examined as each idea is plucked from the minds of the perverse. The need to masquerade behind façades and devices in order to pursue sexual desire anonymously is also examined through sculpture and video installations. This exhibition is on for a limited time only, so if you are into some new age visuals be sure to check this out.
In a genre often constructed around male anxieties and fantasies, Carrie is perhaps the ultimate girl-horror film. All the things that have at some point terrified us — pregnancy, periods, prom — are there, as is the ultimate fantasy: a secret power that gives you real, total control over the world. So it was pretty exciting to hear that the Stephen King novel and iconic 1976 Brian De Palma film were to be remade, with three very kick-arse women at the helm — Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie, Julianne Moore as her scary fanatical mother and Boys Don't Cry's Kimberly Pierce directing. Unfortunately, the completed film not only doesn't add anything particularly new to the mix, it fails to stand on its own feet and cohere its somewhat disparate components. The splatterfest comes late in any version of Carrie; for the most part the story is a different kind of unsettling. Having grown up in the hermitic and abusive care of her mother, a religious zealot, Carrie is a true misfit at school. Excruciatingly, it means she has no way of knowing, when she begins bleeding in the locker room showers, what menstruation is. Her classmates' shock and disbelief turns them into an animalistic pack, who descend upon her jeering, pelting her with tampons and, of course, recording the whole ordeal on their smartphones. It's a gut-turning scene — if only it set the mood for the whole movie. The episode affects the students involved in different ways. That's one of the most effective parts of Carrie; its nuanced depiction of schoolyard morality brings a lot of humanity to the usual portrayal of bullies versus victims, cool kids versus losers and even good teachers versus naughty kids. So a remorseless Chris (Portia Doubleday) refuses to cop the punishment from tough-but-fair gym teacher Miss Desjardin (Judy Greer) and gets suspended. Prom-Queen-in-waiting Sue (Gabriella Wilde), meanwhile, will not only run Miss Desjardin's mandated 'suicides', she'll convince her egotistic but basically nice boyfriend, Billy (Alex Russell), to take Carrie to prom instead of her, determined to give the besieged kid a nice experience of high school and assuage her guilt. Unbeknown to anyone, Carrie is starting to realise she has telekinetic powers and is giving them a work out. She has no reason to think she'll need them at prom, but at the same time, she's a little bomb waiting to go off — and brutal Chris will be providing the trigger, with a bloody prank she's masterminded to crown the evening. It's here, in Carrie's climactic revenge rampage, that the film comes most unstuck. It goes really schlock, which degrades the more earnest and intense mood of so much of the lead-up. It's also not the finest schlock available, as Carrie racks up deaths that are unoriginal (or were original, 40 years ago) and comical. Laughter is not the best release valve to have pulled at this point in the film. While Moretz is good as Carrie (there's just enough alien about her that she can pull off the outsider role), she adopts a mentally vacant robot face for this portion of the proceedings that jars. Moore is exceptional as the true villain of the piece, ultimately vulnerable but probably irredeemable. The whole thing is watchable, but for a story that actually contains multitudes of messages about girlhood, bullying and adolescent violence all while combining revenge fantasy and tragedy, it doesn't rise to the occasion. Sadly, Carrie is set to go down as another example of a film whose ingenious viral marketing stunt will outshine its cinematic impact. https://youtube.com/watch?v=j-VcPDkTySQ
It isn't often that Americans seek inspiration from Australia; our humble shores are prone to mimicking rather than leading by example. And yet, just last week, Melbourne boys Chris McPherson and Chris Rendell launched Flinders Lane, a New York eatery inspired by their home city. "Most of the Australian restaurants in the city are like Outback Steakhouse or the Crocodile Dundee sort of vision," McPherson told the Village Voice. "We wanted to bring back what's actually there." Their venue, which opened on February 3, is full of the cross-section of cultures and cuisines that is so unique to Australia. McPherson and Rendell met a few years back, quickly agreeing on the need to plot a restaurant that would pay homage to modern Australian food. Predominately driven by a serious case of homesickness, the Aussie expats quickly set to work, establishing a spot for contemporary Australian cooking, a long way from home. The result? A delicious array of fresh seafood and Australian fruit and veg, from chef Rendell. Many dishes also sport an identifiable Asian influence — highlights include tandoori rabbit, steamed snapper in sesame broth and a chicken san choy bau. Drinks-wise, the boys aim to offer a boutique selection of domestic and international wines, as well as a seasonal cocktail list, steering away from the heavy Shirazes that characterise many stereotypical perceptions of an Australian drop. Three tap beers, including the classic Coopers Green, are also available to accompany your grub. The 40-seat eatery isn't covered with Melbournalia; its sleek, pared-back look is a more subtle nod to the city. There is, however, a stunning collection of Melbourne photography, including a massive print of namesake Flinders Lane on the back wall. Flinders Lane New York is located in the East Village: 162 Ave A, 212-228-6900. Via Fork in the Road.
When you're deciding how to spend your next brunch — and where to spend it, more importantly — perhaps it's a case of what you'd like to drink. Tired of mimosas? Fancy something stronger with your first Sunday meal? Or, maybe you just really love gin. West End gin joint Covent Garden has been in the bottomless brunch game for a while now, and shows no signs of stopping. Here, you can tuck into gin tap cocktails — including the monthly cocktail special — for two hours, or opt for a few Pimm's cups. Pimm's is based on gin, after all. For $49 per person, you'll also sip red or white wine sangria, and munch on a shareboard spread — choosing between charcuterie, remoulade, chutney and mustard, or feta, pickled vegetables, hummus and olives. Both come with that breakfast and brunch staple, aka bread, too. The food and drink feast goes down between 11am–3pm each week and, while bookings aren't essential, it's recommended that you secure your spot in advance anyway.
Earlier this week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) continued its court battle versus Apple; the controversy has been waging since the March release of Apple's latest iPad. Despite product advertising that markets the new iPad as equipped with "Wi-Fi + 4G", it has proven incompatible with Australia's 4G network. As such, the ACCC has asserted that Apple is currently engaging in false marketing and should change the title of the iPad (formally known as the iPad/4G) when it is sold locally. According to the SMH, Apple and the ACCC met on April 16 in Sydney at a mediation session which resulted in "no resolution". The pair were set to meet later that day in Melbourne for a directions hearing to determine the course of action going forward. As of right now, Apple has agreed to refund Australian customers who bought the new iPad under the illusion that they could utilise its 4G network. The company has also posted signage is stores where the device is sold to warn customers of its lack of 4G. The ACCC, however, is still pushing for an official device name change. This case could prove monumental to Apple, the technology company giant which has established a remarkably reputable name for itself. Not only will a court case loss force Apple to admit the shortcomings of one of its most-prized products, but it may set a precedent for how Apple markets is products in different parts of the globe. Already, in the UK, the advertising standards group ASA has begun exploring similar consumer complaints regarding the iPad's 4G capabilities. https://youtube.com/watch?v=BqbRxoF-Oc4
Where: Numerous venues around Sydney When: January 8-30, 2012 (tickets on sale November 9) Web: www.sydneyfestival.org.au The reinvigorated Sydney Festival has completely transformed our city in summer (note the flagpoles which every year proclaim just that) and it’s made Sydney a truly amazing place to be in January. The whole city is turned into a summer wonderland, there’s something amazing to do every single night, and people flood The Domain to see sophisticated performances while merrily sipping beer, cider, goon or all three. But mostly what the Sydney Festival does is bring us some truly spectacular performers – Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Emmylou Harris, Camera Obscura and this year's headliner, PJ Harvey – whose artistic merit is second only to their ability to entertain. The Sydney Festival now has a total audience of about 1 million, making it the most attended cultural event in Australia. Every year the festival grows and improves, and with the state government recently giving the Festival a heap of cash to extend their program, it makes the prospects for this summer’s partying very exciting indeed. Concrete Playground has compiled a short list of musical, theatrical and artistic must-sees and -dos during Sydney Festival 2012. Click on the images below to read on...
Exercise comes easy in the Harry Potter world. Between playing quidditch, evading dementors, waving wands about, bounding after Hagrid and hunting down horcruxes, Harry, Ron, Hermione and company have plenty of opportunities to get active — even when they're not hopping on a broom or apparating between places. And while the rest of us can't join them, we can imagine otherwise while wearing enchanting activewear. In their latest pop culture-themed range, Brisbane's BlackMilk Clothing is releasing a treasure trove of Harry Potter items for wizarding fans to spend their galleons on. It's the real, official deal, and it's their second HP-centric line this year. But, where their Hogwarts collection included Great Hall and Marauder's Map skater dressers, Daily Prophet leggings and house-themed high-waisted leggings, this time you can get kitted out in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin tanks, tights and tunics, and pretend you're training for the Triwizard Tournament. A full preview of the 16-piece range is available on the BlackMilk website, with the magical selection going on sale on December 19. If it's a Harry Potter Christmas you're after, it'd make the perfect gift — or something to wear when you're doing Harry Potter yoga, watching the films with a live orchestra, watching The Cursed Child or waiting for the Pokemon Go-like Harry Potter game to come out. For more information about BlackMilk Clothing's Harry Potter activewear range, head to their website.
In a characteristically M.I.A. move, the iconoclastic 'Bad Girls' singer has ingeniously tapped Versace knock-offs in Power Up, a new design collaboration with Versace itself, launching online on October 16. It's admirable just how consistent M.I.A.'s self-branding moves are. She's been wearing Versace around for a while now, and after the likes of her 'XXXO' music video, the trashy glitz of the label seems perfectly tailored to her. The 19-piece Versace Versus X MIA collection has all the trappings you'd expect from both M.I.A. and the prestigious design house, with a decidedly ghetto-bling set of gold medallions and classic Medusa heads emblazoning leggings and tops alike. The shapes channel sportswear while the colour palette is dominated by black and white and kooky shades of green, gold and pink. Sanskrit-inspired script mingles with blocky geometrics, lotus blossoms and the trademark angular Greek border, all combining in prints so bold it's pretty much guaranteed that the rest of your outfit will fade into obscurity. But it's the source of the designs — Versace rip-offs touted for cheap on the grimy streets of East London — that take this particular collab to the next level. M.I.A. told WWD: "Versace's designs have always been copied, now it's Versace that copies the copies, so those that copy must copy the copies. So this will continue." Indeed, M.I.A., what a house of mirrors you allow us to inhabit. Any passerby in the know is forced to acknowledge the Power Up wearer's subversive, high-low culture, pro-yet-anti-yet-pro-capitalist fashion statement as he or she steps out in authentic, expensive imitations of imitations. Fully aware of MIA's game, photographer Jaime Martinez shot the collection's campaign on the mean streets and in front of cheapo clothing stalls. The final lookbook is, appropriately a series of souped-up, lo-fi gifs. We doff our hats to the collection. Via PSFK.
Finally we have proof that Hogwarts exists, and it is in the shape of 400,000 Lego blocks. Alice Finch, a mother of two from Seattle who became a Lego aficionado after building blocks with her son, has unveiled her completed scale rendition of Hogwarts, and it is arguably the largest Lego structure built by a single person, measuring 4m in length. This is impressive enough, but when you look inside and uncover the magic of intricately detailed rooms and scenes from the world of Harry Potter, you can see that no block has been left untouched. Finch’s masterpiece took a painstaking 12 months of building, but that time let her perfect her Hogwarts by allowing her to research the books, films, and sets of the magical series to record the finest detail, from moving staircases right down to the old-fashioned slide projector in Lupin's Defence Against the Dark Arts class. This effort has not gone unrecognised either, with Finch taking home both the People's Choice and Best in Show Awards at Brick-Con 2012 — two awards much deserved for continuing the magic that J.K. Rowling first started more than 15 years ago. And why did she do it? "I wanted my kids to be able to play in all the spaces where the story takes place," she told Brick Brothers. You may not be able to play with your own giant Hogwarts, but you can visit Alice's by looking through the Mirror of Erised (your computer screen) at her photoset here. We've picked out a few of the best pictures below. Hogwarts exterior Feasting in the Great Hall. Durmstrang students enter Hogwarts Potions class Gryffindor noticeboard Gryffindor common room The greenhouses Astronomy towers and Ravenclaw
Victorians, South Australians, Tasmanians and Australian Capital Territory residents will all soon be able to holiday in New Zealand again, with the trans-Tasman bubble set to reopen on a restricted basis. Quarantine-free travel between Australia and NZ was put on pause on Saturday, June 26 due to rising COVID-19 cases in the former, with the NZ Government pledging to review the situation within 72 hours — which it has now done. From 11.59pm NZT/9.59pm AEST on Sunday, July 4, folks who live in the three aforementioned Aussie states and one territory will be permitted into NZ without quarantining — so if you're a Melburnian in need of a holiday after the city's lockdown earlier this month, that's great news. The trans-Tasman bubble will still remain suspended with all other Aussie states and territories, so with New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Those four regions all currently have some form of lockdown either in place or coming into effect — until Friday, July 9 in Greater Sydney and till Friday, July 2 in plenty of Queensland, for instance — so residents there can't travel far anyway. https://twitter.com/covid19nz/status/1409703615296532483 In a statement today, Tuesday, June 29, NZ COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins did note that the plan to resume the bubble could with selected Aussie regions could still change, depending on what the next few days hold. "The health advice today is that at this point, the spread of COVID-19 in those parts of Australia appears to have been contained. There is robust surveillance, testing and contact tracing to detect and manage cases, and adequate border controls are in place to prevent the spread of new cases," the Minister said. "Officials will continue to review the situation between now and Sunday." Victorians, South Australians, Tasmanians and ACT residents keen to head to NZ when the bubble kicks back in will need to provide evidence of a negative pre-departure test before they're able to fly. Also, you can't have been in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia on or after 10.30pm NZT/8.30pm AEST on Saturday, June 26 — or in NSW after 11.59pm NZT/9.59pm AEST on Tuesday, June 22. Regarding the other states, "the pause with Western Australia, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Queensland will remain in place so that outstanding test results can be returned and to give New Zealand time to assess next steps. This will be reviewed again on Tuesday 6 July," said the Minister. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. To find out more about the virus and travel restrictions in New Zealand, head over to the NZ Government's COVID-19 hub.
With the Taronga Conservation Society recording 26 Australian shark attacks in 2016 alone, we don't blame you if you're starting to feel a little bit wary about jumping in the ocean. There have been countless attempts to keep surfers safe, from nets and drumlines to shark-deterrent wetsuits and, unfortunately, culling. But thanks to some innovative new shark-detection technology from the minds at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and The Little Ripper Group (the guys behind Westpac's Little Ripper rescue drones), beaches might be a tiny bit safer this summer. The SharkSpotter system — which has been years in the making and is ready to be implemented in the coming weeks — uses artificial intelligence to detect sharks in live video feed and images collected by Little Ripper's battery-operated drones. Working off UTS' algorithm and some state-of-the-art sensors, the unmanned aircraft can even tell the difference between sharks and other sea animals, boasting a 90 percent accuracy rate. Once a shark's been spotted, they'll be able to warn swimmers of the potential threat using an on-board megaphone and alert surf lifesavers and emergency services. According to Chief Executive Officer of Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver, Eddie Bennet, the shark-friendly system is a total game-changer. "This smart algorithm gives us yet another capability in patrolling beaches which we have been doing regularly for almost a year," he said, calling the technology "a major milestone in addressing shark attacks with very real ability to save a life". The SharkSpotter will be used to patrol beaches across Queensland and New South Wales from the start of the surf life saving season next month. Exactly where the drones will be deployed will change each week, with locations only confirmed on the Friday before the weekend. However, it's likely they'll be places around Byron and the north coast of NSW, and around the Sunshine and Gold Coasts in Queensland. Via news.com.au.
All the young'uns know by now that the smiley-dreadlocks-guy in Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' music video has a long and venerable history of bringing feelgood vibes to the discotheque. That's because he's Nile Rodgers of Chic, legendary hitmaker, and he'll be headlining the 23rd Meredith Music Festival. Chic was formed in 1976 and at 60, Rodgers is still at the centre of the music biz. After recently rocking Glastonbury with Daft Punk and moving Golden Plains Sixxx to the core last year (prompting Nile to say, "Every show we've had a special connection to the crowd but oh tonight was spiritual"), Chic will get the crowd grooving at the Meredith Supernatural Theatre with their epoch-defining tunes, as well as classics produced by Nile for other colossal artists. 'Le Freak', Good Times, 'Everybody Dance', 'Let's Dance', Like A Virgin, 'Original Sin': are you sensing a theme here? A theme of awesome? Two hours of mirrorball-spinning sounds will ensue. If you can't make it to Meredith, fear not — Chic is touring Australia and will perform at the Sydney Opera House on December 7, sure to be a sultry Saturday night, as part of the Music at the House program. Meredith Music Festival runs over three days from December 13–15. To go in the ballot for tickets, visit the festival website and subscribe before 11.23pm on August 12.
Getting into festive mood because it's the middle of the year and why not? Prefer to do your shopping for the big day months in advance? Hate leaving your Christmas preparations until the last minute (or anywhere near then)? Then pencil one of the year's must-attend Christmas in July markets into your calendar, because the Milton Markets are getting merry in the middle of the year. This seasonal shindig takes place from 4–9pm on Saturday, July 31. And sure, you've been to markets before — but this is the first time that Milton Markets have celebrated Christmas in July. If its regular end-of-year festive event is any guide, there's plenty to get excited about. Here, you'll eat and shop, and lap up music and entertainment while you're there. You can also enjoy everything from gourmet food to artisan wares, with more than 150 stalls on offer. Tuck into bites right there, or take them home for later. Enjoy the lighting and decorations, because it wouldn't be this midyear occasion without them. Plus, there'll be a pop-up bar onsite in case you need a break from the browsing and buying — or an extra excuse to feel merry. Entry costs $2 at the gate.
If you've ever looked askance at your cookbook collection and thought "this does not speak to me on an emotional level," you're not alone. New York-based artist Automne Zingg feels ya — so much so that the artist, musician, and illustrator has recently published two cookbooks inspired by the thick, syrupy sadness of Morrissey and Nick Cave. 'Defensive Eating with Morrissey' and 'Comfort Eating with Nick Cave' are full of gems like "Boy with the corn in his side" and "Peas let me get what I want". Which, yes, are two great recipes for corn and peas. Oh, and if you hadn't guessed, the cookbooks are vegan. Zingg has provided the illustrations of sad Morrissey and Cave eating food, with Joshua Ploeg, of The Touring Vegan Chef, responsible for the recipes. But it's not all corn and peas, thankfully. Ploeg has unveiled some pretty sick vegan treat recipes like ice cream, cookies and cheesecake. Morrissey and Nick Cave were both almost involved, but in the end declined for different reasons. Of course, don't let that stop you from enjoying the below kind of sexy picture of Morrissey eating corn. We said kind of, remember.
With 24 percent of London's rush-hour traffic now made up of cyclists, the call for infrastructure upgrades is growing louder. Following the deaths of six cyclists within a fortnight last November, more than 1000 concerned riders staged a 'die-in' outside the Transport for London headquarters in mid-December. Now, architect and cycling fan Lord Norman Foster is proposing a solution: the SkyCycle. It's 135 miles (or 217km) of car-free cycle paths that would be built in the air, supported by pylons, at a height of three storeys, above the routes established by London's current railway lines. Fifteen metres of width would handle up to 12,000 cyclists every hour. More than 3 million people would live and work within ten minutes' of one of SkyCycle's 200 access points. "It's a lateral approach to finding space in a congested city," Lord Foster said. "By using the corridors above the suburban railways we could create a world-class network of safe, car-free cycle routes that are ideally located for commuters." SkyCycle is a collaboration between Foster and Partners, Space Syntax and Exterior Architecture. Space Syntax director Anna Rose compared the system's potential to that of previous major infrastructure changes that have "transformed the fortunes" of London. "Bazalgette's sewer system helped remove the threat of cholera to keep London at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution; the Underground strengthened London's core by making long-distance commuting possible," she said. "SkyCycle is conceived in this tradition as a network of strategic connections from the suburban edges to the centre, adding the much needed capacity for hundreds of millions of cycle journeys every year with all the social, economic, environmental and health benefits to London that follow." However, London is not the final stop. Sam Martin of Exterior Architecture told the Guardian that SkyCycle's ambition is, ultimately, international in scope. "The dream is that you could wake up in Paris and cycle to the Gard du Nord. Then get the train to Stratford, and cycle straight to London in minutes, without worrying about trucks and buses." The catch? The usual — time and money. The current projected cost is £220 million and the construction period is up to 20 years. In the meantime, however, Londoners have been taking advantage of their new cycle super highway. Via Inhabitat.
Forget worms — the early bird gets gourmet bites to eat, farm-fresh produce to line the cupboards, and an enjoyable morning of browsing and shopping at Milton Markets. Every Sunday morning, more than 120 stalls descend upon the corner of Cribb and Little Cribb streets in the inner western suburb to sell tasty wares. From 6am–12pm in warmer months and 7am–1pm when it's colder, you can wander through massive fig trees to join them. Once a season, the Milton Markets also celebrates the change of weather. So, on Sunday, March 21, it's doing so with its latest Autumn Seasonal Flavours event. This time around, though, it's also dedicating the day to eco-friendly wares from local producers and makers. If fresh seasonal fruit gets your stomach grumbling, you can stock up here. If vegan eats do as well, you're in luck again. There'll be meat-free burgers, vegan sweet treats and falafels to munch on, plus plastic-free reusable products, sustainable jewellery and cruelty-free skin care to take home. As always, live entertainment and demonstrations are also on the agenda.
It's become an accepted part of life that everything from Japan is super darn awesome (or just plain weird). One of the areas they really manage to nail when it comes to the cool-factor is the fashion. Over the last few decades, avant-gardists like Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Junya Watanabe have really transformed the industry through their radical rebellion against the conventions of Western couture. GOMA's Future Beauty exhibition pays homage to such innovative Japanese fashion designs from the last 30 years. Accompanying the exhibition is a program of workshops, live music, food offerings and designer talks with long-time fashion greats such as Akira Isogawa and the chief curator of the Kyoto Costume Institute, Akiko Fukai. On the music lineup for Future Beauty Up Late will be Harajuku band Broken Doll on their first ever Australian tour, London band Factory Floor, Japanese girl-trio Shonen Knife, salyu x salyu, Oscar Key Sung, Last Dinosaurs, and audio-visualist Sampology. Perhaps the most exciting of all, however, is the opening of Brisbane's own Comme des Garçons Pocket pop-up store, which will sell the label's 'Play' line, as well as its wallets and fragrances.
With its four-word title, Brisbane music festival Let the Music Play sends a clear message. After a couple of years of lockdowns and restrictions, all of which have impacted the city's live music scene, this event wants to let gigs go on. That was the case in 2021, too, when it first popped up and took over multiple Fortitude Valley venues. Being told to stay home may currently be a thing of the past, but the fest is back for another huge day in 2022 anyway — complete with an impressive lineup. Taking place at the Fortitude Music Hall, The Zoo and outside at The Brightside again on Saturday, August 13, Let the Music Play celebrates everything we know and love about heading to a gig — including being able to hop onto the dance floor. So, you'll be able to do just that as you mosey between venues and check up a roster of talent that spans Northeast Party House, Thundamentals, Wafia, Jesswar, Mash'd N Kutcher, Bullhorn and more. The fest is being called "the largest ticketed single-day festival in Fortitude Valley history", if you need an idea of just how big it'll be — and it'll pop up in a fourth venue as well. For the day, Warner Street will be shut down and turned into an outdoor precinct dubbed 'Unicorn Alley'. Brisbane's own Fluffy will be behind it, hosting a huge and characteristically opulent disco-themed street party. Also on the agenda: hopping between the Valley's usual bars between gigs, aka a regular part of a night out in Brisbane. Or, an afternoon, given that Let the Music Play will kick off at 3pm, then run through until 11.30pm. LET THE MUSIC PLAY 2022 LINEUP: Northeast Party House Thundamentals Wafia Jesswar Mash'd N Kutcher Bullhorn Cloe Terare Collar Dancing Water Great Sage Kinder Joy Pink Matter Saftey Club Tseba Wiigz Warner Street 'Unicorn Alley' takeover with Harry K (Fluffy) Let the Music Play will take over The Fortitude Music Hall, The Zoo, Brightside Outdoors and Warner Street from 3–11.30pm on Saturday, August 13. Pre-sale tickets are on sale from 11am on Wednesday, June 8 via Ticketmaster, with general sales kicking off at 9am on Friday, June 10. Top image: Vincent Shaw.
Until now, you mightn't have heard of Laramie in Wyoming. It's the US state's third-largest city, however, and it's about to receive a whole heap of attention. On Thursday, February 23, what just might become your new true-crime obsession will drop, with The Coldest Case in Laramie focusing on a dark recent chapter in the locale's history: the unsolved murder of a college student in 1985. Sometimes, it feels like every day brings a new true-crime show or podcast, but this one has the pedigree of Serial behind it. The Coldest Case in Laramie hails from Serial Productions, the company behind Sarah Koenig's grimly addictive podcast, which has been owned by The New York Times since 2020 — and this is the first Serial Productions show hosted by a New York Times reporter. A long-unsolved murder. An unexpected arrest. A slam-dunk case that mysteriously fell apart. Our new podcast "The Coldest Case in Laramie" debuts on Feb. 23. https://t.co/VHhJehV6uI — Serial (@serial) February 19, 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Kim Barker — who also penned the book The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan back in 2011, which was adapted into the Tina Fey-starring movie Whiskey Tango Foxtrot — steps behind the microphone on the new podcast, which will release all eight episodes at once. More than just hosting and investigating, Barker harks back to her own home town, where 22 year-old college student Shelli Wiley was murdered by being stabbed repeatedly, then dragged into her apartment which was subsequently set alight. Barker was a sophomore in high school at the time, and now revisits the case after a career that's taken her to ProPublica, The Seattle Times, The Spokesman-Review, the Chicago Tribune and more. While audiences will want to learn the full details while listening, The Coldest Case in Laramie sifts through a crime that saw two arrests that didn't stick, plus a suspect that many residents of Laramie said they knew was responsible when Barker started digging in January 2021. [caption id="attachment_889890" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Casey Fiesler via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Accordingly, this story not only tells of a shocking loss of life — a homicide that Barker was unable to forget — and the quest to find the culprit, but of the procedural roadblocks that've followed. "What's cool about this show is that it really highlights not only Kim Barker's extraordinary investigative skills, but also her talent as an interviewer," said Serial's executive editor Julie Snyder, announcing The Coldest Case in Laramie. "In an almost fly-on-the-wall type of storytelling, we get to follow Kim while she works, and we come to discover that this is a story with many unreliable narrators." The Coldest Case in Laramie arrives after Serial Productions and The New York Times have previously launched podcasts such as Nice White Parents, The Trojan Horse Affair and We Were Three. And, it drops after a big 2022 for the OG Serial, after Adnan Syed's murder conviction was vacated by the Baltimore City Circuit Court, sparking a new Serial episode. The first season of Serial gave rise to HBO documentary series The Case Against Adnan Syed, too — and, from the basic details alone, The Coldest Case in Laramie sounds like just the kind of tale that could do the same. The Coldest Case in Laramie will be available to listen to via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more from Thursday, February 23. Top image: Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons.
Initially, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 was the most-anticipated new Australian movie of 2023. Now, it's taking that label for 2024 instead. After being postponed from its planned August 2023 release amid the current SAG-AFTRA strike, the Aussie film will hit cinemas in February 2024. Fans of Aussie mysteries, page-to-screen crime tales, Eric Bana (Dirty John) getting sleuthing and all things Aaron Falk, take note. The follow-up to 2021's The Dry, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 is now slated to reach the big screen Down Under on Thursday, February 8, 2024. If you're keen to see the film as soon as possible, you'll have the chance a few days earlier, with advance screenings also locked in from Friday, February 2–Sunday, February 4. When Bana stepped into Falk's shoes in The Dry, more movies were always bound to follow. On the screen, the film became a massive Australian box-office hit in 2021 thanks to its twisty mystery, determined detective, stunning scenery and spectacular cast. It was capitalising, of course, on the story's proven success on the page. And, to the delight of movie producers and audiences, the beloved novel by author Jane Harper was just Falk's first appearance. Accordingly, throw that formula together again and you now have Force of Nature: The Dry 2. This second effort sees the core duo of Bana and writer/director Robert Connolly (Blueback) return, with the latter again investigating a case. This time, as both the movie's initial teaser and full trailer explore, Falk is looking into the disappearance of a hiker from a corporate retreat attended by five women. Alongside fellow federal agent Carmen Cooper (Jacqueline McKenzie, Ruby's Choice), Falk heads deep into Victoria's mountain ranges to try to find the missing traveller — who also happens to be a whistle-blowing informant — alive. Also featuring in Force of Nature, which has a powerhouse list of Aussie talent just like its predecessor: Anna Torv (The Last of Us) as missing hiker Alice Russell, plus Deborra-Lee Furness (Jindabyne), Robin McLeavy (Homeland), Sisi Stringer (Mortal Kombat) and Lucy Ansell (Utopia). Richard Roxburgh (Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe), Tony Briggs (Preppers) and Kenneth Radley (The Power of the Dog) pop up, too, while Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor (Heartbreak High) is back in the role of Erik Falk. Reteaming not just after The Dry, but also 2023 release Blueback, Connolly and Bana make quite the pair when it comes to Aussie crime cinema — with Connolly the producer of one of the best local crime movies ever made, aka 1998's unnerving The Boys, and Bana famously the star of the similarly excellent Chopper. Fans of Harper's work also have The Survivors to look forward to, but on the small screen. It's heading to Netflix from the pages of the author's text of the same name, and isn't linked to The Dry or Force of Nature. Here, the Tasmanian-set story follows families still coping with the loss caused by a massive storm in their seaside town 15 years earlier, then faced with a new murder. Check out the full trailer for Force of Nature: The Dry 2 below: Force of Nature: The Dry 2 will release in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, February 8, 2024, with advance screenings from Friday, February 2–Sunday, February 4. Read our full review of The Dry. Images: Narelle Portanier.
Clear your diary, grab your sneakers and prepare to get busy, boombastic and nostalgic — another new music festival is coming to southeast Queensland, with Shaggy and Sean Paul topping the bill. After attracting more than 20,000 festival-goers each year for the past decade, New Zealand's huge One Love Festival is making its first-ever trip across the ditch. The reggae-focused fest will debut in Australia on Saturday, February 1, 2020, taking over Southport's Broadwater Parklands for a day of Jamaican-influenced tunes. Yes, the festival is taking place in the summertime — and yes, Shaggy is bound to sing that classic track — however he'll have plenty of company when he hits the waterside stage. As well as Sean Paul, the lineup also includes old-school reggae stars Toots and the Maytals, Polynesia's Fiji and New Zealand's Sons of Zion, as well as 1814, Third World, Lion Rezz, Paua and the One Love DJs. The one-day Gold Coast leg — which will take place a week after the 2020 New Zealand fest — marks the fifth new music festival headed to the region in the next six months. It's clearly a great time for fans of massive outdoor live music gigs, with the XXXX brewery hosting its first music festival in mid-November, Coolangatta welcoming beachside fest Sandtunes at the end of that month, Calvin Harris and Armin van Buuren hitting up Brisbane for Festival X at the same time, and Wildlands arriving in Brissie just before the end of the year. One Love Festival will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2020, at Southport's Broadwater Parklands on the Gold Coast. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, September 11 at Oneloveaustralia.com.
This summer, when we tell you to get your skates on at HOTA, Home of the Arts, we aren't just recommending that you check out the venue's towering new art gallery as soon as you can. We actually mean literally lacing up your boots on wheels, because the Gold Coast spot is turning its concert lawn into a roller rink. The pop-up is open to skaters of all ages — Xanadu fans and Whip It devotees included. Here, you'll also be rolling around with Surfers Paradise as your scenic backdrop (because there's far more things to do on the Goldie than just hit the beach). Launching on Friday, December 10, the roller rink is doing $10 passes from 4–9pm its opening night. After that, opening times change daily until it finishes up on Sunday, January 23, and adult entry will set back $18. Head by on Thursday, January 13 and Thursday, January 20 for Roller Nights, which'll get you skating to DJ-spun beats — and hitting up pop-up bars — from 4.30pm. [caption id="attachment_804622" align="alignnone" width="1920"] default[/caption]
The First Time just keeps proving a fitting album title for The Kid LAROI. The just-released record is the Australian singer-songwriter's first studio album. Now, it also lends its name to his first-ever Down Under stadium tour. Big star, big record, big tour news: that's The Kid LAROI story right now. Mere days after The First Time dropped, the tour of the same name has been announced for a six-city Australian and New Zealand run in February 2024. Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard will kick things off at Melbourne's AAMI Park on Friday, February 2, before heading across the ditch to play Auckland's Spark Arena on Monday, February 5. Then it's back to Australia, where Perth's HBF Park awaits on Friday, February 9; Adelaide's Coopers Stadium on Tuesday, February 13; Sydney's Commbank Stadium on Friday, February 16; and finally CBUS Super Stadium on the Gold Coast on Sunday, February 18. The Kid LAROI's debut studio album might be a brand-new arrival, but he's been releasing music since 2018 — solo, and also teaming up with everyone from Juice WRLD and ONEFOUR to Justin Bieber. Accordingly, fans can look forward to hearing 'Stay', 'Without You', 'Thousand Miles', 'Love Again' and more this summer. The stadium tour follows The Kid LAROI's first headline Australian tour back in 2022, which sold out arenas across the country, sparking the addition of more dates. The First Time tour has only announced one show per city so far, but they're all spaced out enough that adding extra gigs due to demand won't come as a surprise if it happens. "I'm so excited to be coming back home in February! I felt so much love from the fans on last year's tour — it's something I'll never forget. I can't wait for you to all see this new show — we've taken things to a whole new level," said The Kid LAROI, announcing the Australian leg of the tour. "I can't wait to play New Zealand in February! I've always wanted to visit and I'm so excited to bring this new show to the NZ fans. I promise it'll be worth the wait! I love you all and I'll see you very soon," he added about his Spark Arena concert. THE KID LAROI THE FIRST TIME TOUR 2024 DATES: Friday, February 2 — AAMI Park, Melbourne Monday, February 5 — Spark Arena, Auckland Friday, February 9 — HBF Park, Perth Tuesday, February 13 — Coopers Stadium, Adelaide Friday, February 16 — Commbank Stadium, Sydney Sunday, February 18 — CBUS Super Stadium, Gold Coast The Kid LAROI is touring Australia and New Zealand in February 2024, with presales starting from Thursday, November 16 and general sales on Monday, November 20 — head to the Australia and New Zealand ticketing sites for more information. Top image: Adam Kargenian.
Normally, you mightn't be a fan of American football. You may not care for it at all, in fact, or know anything about it beyond Friday Night Lights. So when the Super Bowl rolls around each year, you might only pay attention for the half-time show and the movie trailers. But if you've been enjoying HBO's video game-to-TV series The Last of Us — if you've been hanging out for new episodes each week, too — then you're now a massive supporter of the biggest US football match of the year. You still don't have to watch the Super Bowl if you don't want to. But HBO thinks that plenty of people will be in America, so it's moving the episode of The Last of Us that's slated to air on Super Bowl day — on Monday, February 13 Down Under, and the show's fifth instalment — to an earlier date. That shift has a ripple effect here in Australia, with streaming service Binge doing the same. Accordingly, mark 12pm AEST / 1pm AEDT on Saturday, February 11 in your diary. This is a one-off move, with The Last of Us returning to Monday releases in Australia for its remaining four episodes of season one from Monday, February 20. Still, for one week — this week — you'll get two instalments in the space of five days instead of seven. In similarly welcome news that was announced earlier in February, The Last of Us is locked in for a second season as well. That development was hardly surprising given the 2013 game that the show is based on also inspired a 2014 expansion pack and 2020 sequel — and also because HBO's version has been attracting viewers faster than any sudden movement attracts zombies — but it was still obviously hugely welcome. If you haven't yet caught up with the thoughtful dystopian series, which is character-focused, supremely well-cast and committed to exploring not just what's happening in its contagion-ravaged world but why life is worth fighting for, it's already one of 2023's big TV highlights. Set 20 years after modern civilisation as we know it has been toppled by a parasitic fungal infection that turns the afflicted into shuffling hordes, it follows Pedro Pascal (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) as Joel, who gets saddled with smuggling 14-year-old Ellie (his Game of Thrones co-star Bella Ramsey) out of a strict quarantine zone to help possibly save humanity's last remnants. There wouldn't be a game, let alone a television version made by Chernobyl's Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog (who also penned and directed The Last of Us games), if that was an easy task. And, there wouldn't be much of either if the Joel and Ellie didn't need to weather quite the brutal journey. Check out the trailer for The Last of Us below: The Last of Us screens and streams via Foxtel and Binge in Australia, and will drop its fifth episode via Binge at 12pm AEST / 1pm AEDT on Saturday, February 11 — before reverting to releasing new episodes each Monday from Monday, February 20. Read our review of The Last of Us' first season. Images: Liane Hentscher/HBO.
There is no denying Brisbane is going through somewhat of a beer renaissance period. Breweries are popping up left right and centre, and the punters are embracing them with a schooner in each hand. The birth and growth of small bars has changed the way we think, and the craft beer revolution is making us view beer as an artform with the same respect that coffee gains. Brewsvegas is here to celebrate the joys of better beer and to deeper carve Brisbane’s unique identity on the brew scene. Embrace Brewsvegas, let beer serve its purpose — bringing people together — and let the good times roll. We’ve rounded up a rough guide to the six-day fiesta. Better hops to it. Pick your fight As the founding fathers of beer discovered, the best brews are made on hops, sweat and testosterone. In somewhat of Brewsvegas trend, The Scratch are pitting themselves against Tipplers Tap in a battle of bars, beer and barbecue pork ribs (not once, but twice). Also entering the boxing ring will be 10 of Brisbane’s best brewers for Untapped. The brews are coming together to put the city of map, but there can only be one winner. Learn something new So you think you know your beer? Think again. Newstead Brewing Co are letting punters dive into the science behind brewing at Get Flawed. Using professional craft brewer sensory kits, Newstead Brewing will be spiking beer with the major flavour compounds and flaws found in brewing. Learn about why beer tastes that way and sharpen your craft tasting skills. Or, if coffee and craft beer are your two true loves, join this degustation event and explore the similarities in practice of tasting and appreciating these two artisan beverages. Mix four beers, two coffees and five courses for an excellent Saturday afternoon. Beer is a food group Beercaroons: You guessed it – limited edition Beard and Brau beer-flavoured macaroons. Beerkary are selling them in four-packs with a Golden Paw (Malt and Hop Biscuit with a Lemon, Malt Cream and Lychee Jelly), Red Tail Ale (Hops Biscuit with a Bitter Caramel filling and a Chocolate and Passionfruit core), Bon Chiens (Honey, Beer biscuit with Honey, Hops, Orange cream, Crystal malt and Champagne Jelly) and Black Snout (Stout and Dark Malt biscuit with Milk Chocolate, Vanilla, Coffee Cream and Caramelised milk core). Look out Adriano Zumbo. Eau de Beer When a man decides it’s time he upgraded from a trusty spray of Lynx for the ladies to a more unique scent, it opens a dangerous world of possibility and who better to turn to than his trusty friend, beer. You heard. Brewski have teamed with Damask Perfumery to create Eau de Brewski. A four-part collection of single-hop infused colognes, choose to smell like Riwaka, Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy or Saaz. When in Brewski, match your fragrance to one of four single-hop pale ales by Bacchus Brewing Co and come home smelling like your favourite brew. Beer cocktails Whoever said cocktails were girly drinks was wrong. Super Whatnot is making cocktail drinking more socially acceptable for men by using Green Beacon beer. Some of Brisbane’s best bartenders at Super Whatnot are stepping up to challenge and are inviting you to come test them out. There will be a judging panel, but will you agree with their top pick? And will your taste buds be able to accept a beer cocktail? Broga, beer, bacon The Mill on Constance knows what boys want, they know what boys like. And so, they’ve taken the best things that start with ‘B’ and invite you start your Sunday with a stretch, brew and feed. Broga is yoga for bros, by bros, and beginners and newbies are welcome. Finish off your session with a craft beer and bacon sandwich – if only exercise always concluded with a nice brew. Craft night And here you were thinking Broga, beer and beards were all the man things Brewvegas cared about. This one’s for the ladies (and men who aren’t scared to macrame). Drink Craft Make Craft is a hands-on craft night at The Mill that will teach you how to make beer crate coffee tables, bottle top art, and other crafts. Your $15 ticket includes all craft material, a tap beer, cider, ginger beer or wine on arrival and nibbles throughout the evening. No previous hot glue gun experience required. Floristry smackdown If you prefer to sit back and let the magic happen around you, head to The Scratch for the inaugual Scratch Hop Floristry Smackdown. Some of Brisbane’s finest florists will go head-to-head for a live, in-house arrange-off. Beer and flowers? Their challenge is to use harvested hops as the floral centrepiece. The Scratch will also be offering “Hoptical Infusions” – four different beers each infused through four different varieties of fresh hop flowers. The great outdoors Sports and beer go hand-in-hand. What is backyard cricket without a coldie in one hand and a bat in the other? Brewsvegas are realising the dream a mighty Table Tennis Battle at Archive. It’s brewers and reps Vs punters, your move. Alternatively, for a day on the green join brisbane’s Chicks With Ales and Tipplers Tap for an afternoon of croquet and bocce. Brewsvegas is on March 23-29.
New York did it. Melbourne did too. And now Brisbane might be joining the fold. We're talking about taking the wasted space above ugly train lines and turning it into something much more exciting — a brand new entertainment precinct, for instance. If developers AEG Ogden get their Brisbane Live project off the ground, that's exactly what will happen to the high-use transport corridor adjacent to Roma Street Station and the Roma Street Parklands. And, that outcome is now one step closer to becoming a reality, with the Queensland Government announcing that its has committed $5 million towards a business case for the proposed complex. First announced in 2016 and forming part of the plans for the long-mooted Cross River Rail project — aka the new 10.2-kilometre rail line proposed to run from Dutton Park and Bowen Hills, complete with a 5.9-kilometre tunnel under the Brisbane River and CBD — Brisbane Live is the city's answer to Madison Square Garden and Federation Square. Or, if you like, our version of Los Angeles' LA Live precinct, which the government has also compared it to. If it goes ahead, the site will feature a 17,000-seat live performance arena, plus new hotels, apartment towers and cultural facilities. The existing train station will be torn down and replaced, and the current parklands will gain an extra 12 hectares of public space, including a water-based section. It's the addition of a huge music inner-city venue — that could be used for concerts as well as sporting events — that's particularly exciting, as well as a much-needed addition to Brisbane. The new venue would put an end to the annoying trek out to Boondall to see high-profile gigs. Plus, it'll also boast a 4000-capacity club, multiplex cinemas, restaurants and bars, as well as a giant screen and amphitheatre catering for around 15,000 people. And don't forget, convenient public transport options are all part of the package. That's the great thing about building this kind of development on top of a bus and railway station: part of the infrastructure already exists. So if all goes to plan, we could be saying goodbye to the current unattractive eyesore most Brisbanites avoid if they can help it, and be welcoming the kind of place you just might spend a whole lot of time at in the future. Well, that's if the business case, which is expected to take six months to complete, determines that Brisbane Live should go ahead. The plans are currently under development, but you can get a sneak peak of just what could be in store courtesy of online flyovers available on the project website.
It's a movie. It's the big-screen beginning of an entirely new franchise. It's Superman. And, ahead of the first film in the DC Universe reaching cinemas in July 2025, James Gunn's latest step into the world of superhero movies has unveiled its debut teaser trailer. Come for an initial look at David Corenswet (Lady in the Lake) as the Man of Steel, as well as Clark Kent — and at Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult (Nosferatu) as Lex Luthor. Then, also get excited about a glimpse of Gunn regular Nathan Fillion (Deadpool & Wolverine) as Green Lantern and Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho. Superpowered dog Krypto makes an appearance, too, and viewers will hear a familiar theme tune. "Krypto, home. Take me home," Superman says to his trusty pooch in the sneak peek at a flick that's bringing its namesake back to picture palaces for the first time since Justice League — for the first time in eight years, then, as that's when Zack Snyder's film initially arrived in its theatrical version (Zack Snyder's Justice League, aka the Snyder Cut, debuted on streaming in 2021). Gunn's iteration of the character is seen looking bloody and worse for wear in his familiar outfit to start with, which sparks that need for help from his canine sidekick. This is a movie that isn't afraid of Superman being vulnerable, then, alongside his saving-the-world antics. That line is a favourite of Gunn's, the filmmaker told select press from across the Asia Pacific — including Concrete Playground — at a Q&A about the feature's first footage. "There's the one really potent line to me in the trailer, that moves me, which is when he says 'Krypto, take me home' — and Krypto starts dragging Superman home. And that's, at the end of the day, what this is for me," he explained. "It's about bringing the innate goodness of Superman, bringing it home, bringing this character home — bringing our battered world to a brighter place of healing and bringing that home. And hopefully Superman can be a symbol of that as well. I think that this is the right time for this movie, and I'm excited about people seeing the trailer," the Super, The Suicide Squad, and three-time Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director continued. He's even more enthusiastic about audiences watching the full flick, of course, come mid-2025. "The trailer is really just about being a good representation of the film — and I think it is an authentic representation of what the film is, and I just can't wait for people to that in July." Story-wise, the preview doesn't reveal much of the narrative. "I wanted to create a teaser trailer that gave the essence of what this movie is without giving away too much of the plot," Gunn advised. As for what viewers can look forward to from the eponymous figure, Gunn notes that "I think that we can expect a Superman who is about the compassion of the human spirit; a Superman who is about kindness, love and compassion, while also being a very strong character. So I think he is the best of humanity, even though he is an alien from outer space." [caption id="attachment_985434" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Erik Drost via Flickr[/caption] "It's a little bit different than some of the other Superman movies — it's about Superman's external struggle, but it's also about his internal struggle. It's about who he is as a person, where he comes from, his parents — both his Kryptonian parents and his human parents — and we get to know who this guy is on a real elemental level," Gunn also shared. Co-starring Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) as Supergirl, as part of a cast that features Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus), Frank Grillo (Tulsa King), Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones), Wendell Pierce (Elsbeth) and, as always in the filmmaker's work, Gunn's brother Sean (Creature Commandos) as well, Superman kicks off a new franchise that Gunn is overseeing in his role as co-CEO and co-Chairman of DC Studios. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is set to follow in 2026, as directed by Dumb Money's Craig Gillespie, then Clayface will release in the same year, working with a script from Doctor Sleep and The Fall of the House of Usher's Mike Flanagan. Gunn also chatted about casting Corenswet, conveying the character's humanity, the approach to the movie's score, the DC Universe's handling of tone, how Superman stands out from the filmmaker's past superhero flicks, the new versions of Lex Luthor and Lois Lane, and more. On How Corenswet's Superman Differs From Past Versions of the Character — and What the Actor Brings to the Role "David both has that optimistic boy scout quality that Superman has, both on-screen and in real life, frankly, and a real down to earth-ness — besides the fact that he's this incredibly good-looking guy, he doesn't have any sort of arrogance or ego in that way. But also he is a really phenomenally trained actor who went to school at Juilliard and is just one of the best actors I've ever worked with. Incredibly nuanced, incredibly questioning all the time, trying to figure out how can he give his best performance. There's never a take I look at after the dailies where I go 'he isn't fully authentically Superman'. He is Superman every moment he's in the movie. Even the stuff that, where I'm cutting together the best performance as possible, even his worst is still great … I said to David when he got hired — he went through a very, very long and arduous audition process in which hundreds and hundreds of people auditioned for the role of Clark Kent/ Superman. David won it, and I said to David, I said 'you've got to work on two things. You've got to work on your shoulders, and you've got to work on your vulnerability'. And those were two things that he then spent the next six months getting bigger and also working on elements of being vulnerable on-screen, which I think was a little bit more difficult for him, as it is difficult also for Superman." On Exploring Clark Kent's Humanity "I think that's all the movie is about. This movie is about Clark Kent's humanity. Yes, he's an alien from another planet who's super powerful, but he is also deeply, deeply human. He has emotions and feelings. And every day he wakes up and tries to make the best choices he can, and sometimes he fails. And that's what this movie is about. This is about a complex character. And I think that's the thing that audiences are going to be completely surprised by, they can't really see in the trailer, is these complex relationships between Clark and Lois, and Lex and Clark, and how they interact and the different values they have, and how they strengthen each other and make each other weaker." On the Approach to the Film's Score — and the Iconic Superman Theme "John Murphy [The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3] is the guy who composed the score. He's an incredibly talented guy who I love working with, with a great spirit. As soon as I finished the script — he was one of the first people I gave the script to — I said 'start thinking of music'. I said: 'the one thing I'll say is I do want to use the classic Williams score, but I want you to turn it and mutate it, and turn it into your own thing that'll represent this film and this story'. So there's a very powerful thing about it. There's also a slightly melancholy thing about it. And I think those are both parts of this very emotional and touching story that we're telling through the movie. And John not only wrote that theme, but he put together so much music for the movie that we then play on set and shoot to, so that we know exactly what the score is. And that score is baked into the movie. This was a very different movie because music is always very important to me, but a lot of times I've used a lot pop songs of various types throughout the movie, and this is not the case for Superman. This is basically about the score, and so it has an incredibly important role in this film. I can't wait for people to hear the whole thing, because it does go into that whole Williams thing, and then it transforms into something else, and then it becomes something else again. And it is a stunning piece of music." On How Audiences Can Expect the New DC Universe, and Superman Within It, to Navigate Tone "Well, the one thing they can expect from the DCU is that every film and TV project will have its own vision. And some are going to be family-oriented, like Superman. Other ones are going to be a little bit more adult-oriented, like Creature Commandos, which is now playing here in the States and in some other places, a lot of other countries. And so they're all going to be very different. But I do think that in Superman, it's interesting because it's not as if there's not a lot of darkness in the film. I think to be truly optimistic, and to truly be hopeful, if everything's going great and everything is perfect, it's a lot easier — then Superman isn't as strong of a character. So this isn't Superman dealing with hope and optimism in light times. He's dealing with hope and optimism in very difficult, hard times, dark times. And that's what the movie is facing. " On How Gunn's Work on Superman Differs From His Past Superhero Movies "I think it's very different. I don't think of Guardians or The Suicide Squad, really primarily as comedies, but certainly comedy was a big part. And it's not that there's no humour — there's plenty of humour in Superman — but at the core of it, it really is something different. It's a different sort of story. And it's vulnerable for me to make that, because the honest truth is when I make a movie, and then you show the movie to an audience, you've got to sit with an audience watching the movie, and the easiest way that you know people like your movie is when they're laughing — or if you're telling a horror movie, if they're screaming. And then also if they're crying, which I got a lot of people to do with the last Guardians movie. So I like those external things, and then in this one I really had to be sort of strict with myself when I was writing it, filming it. It's all about the character. It's about the action, which is a big deal, shooting flying in a different way. And so it's just tonally different from the movies that I've done in the past." On Why Superman's Red Trunks Are Back "There was a time when I was developing the costume, the outfit — uniform is the macho way to say it, the Superman uniform — with David Corenswet and Judianna [Makovsky, a Guardians of the Galaxy alum], our costume designer. And I came in and it was coming together, but it had the red trunks, it had the whole thing, and we really went back and forth a lot about the red trunks. I even talked to Zack Snyder about it. He's like 'I like tried a billion versions, but the trunks, it just never got there'. And I see how that's the case. I don't know about the trunks, and I wanted to use the trunks but I couldn't, I kept taking them off. And I come in, it's very colourful, the trunks are on and I'm like 'oh god, I don't know. It's just so colourful. David, how do you feel?'. He's like 'I love it'. And I'm like 'really, that colourful?'. He's like 'I'm an alien from outer space who can fly and lift buildings and I shoot laser beams out of my eyes that can dissolve things. I want kids to not be afraid of me. So what am I going to wear?'. I think that was really part of where the costume came from. And I saw the character in a new way. This was before we started shooting, of course, and this showed me how David Corenswet really took everything, every moment, very seriously in all of his choices of what he would do. And he wants to not be scary to kids. I thought that that was a a pretty cool thing that really I've kept in mind for the character ever since that moment." On Superman's Latest Battle with Lex Luthor "One of the things that was really important to me was to make a Lex Luthor who was absolutely his Superman's equal. Maybe more than — you've got to be scared of [Lex]; this Lex is scary. And it's not just because he is a bad guy, because he's pretty bad, but he has his reasons for thinking what he thinks, which you get into, and it's a lot of ideological things about what Superman represents versus what he represents as the world's most-intelligent man. And so I think that it really is this battle of ideologies between the two of them and how they look at the world. One of them is very generous in his point of view, which is Superman, and one of them is not very generous in his point of view, which is Lex. But also his intelligence and his way of dealing with the henchmen that Lex has around makes him incredibly dangerous to Superman. And when you're willing to fight and there are no rules, you always have an upper hand over the person who's willing to fight and has a lot of rules, such as Superman." On Rachel Brosnahan's Version of Lois Lane "I think Lois is a journalist of the highest order. She believes in the truth pretty much at almost any price. And that makes her a real force to be reckoned with. And one of the things, I love the romance between Lois and Superman in the original Donner film [1978's Superman starring Christopher Reeve], and think it was really beautiful, but also in a way, it was a little bit Lois 'goo-ga' over Superman, right? Because he flies around, he can pick up planets — pick up buildings at least. I wanted to really see 'why does Superman love Lois so much?'. And so from the beginning we did chemistry reads with Superman and Lois, and David and Rachel got these roles not because they were just individually great as those characters, but together as a couple they bounced off of each other in an incredibly dynamic way. I think you know from the very beginning, you start to see why she is as strong of a force as Superman is, just in a different way — and why someone as cool and as good-looking and powerful as Superman would be in love with her, and he's the one who's lucky." On the Challenges of Rebooting a Superhero That Almost Everyone in the World Knows "I think the biggest challenge is that because everyone in the world knows who Superman is and where he came from, some of that's a benefit. We don't go into origin stories in this. Everybody knows, practically everybody knows, that Clark Kent came here in a rocket as a baby sent by his Kryptonian parents, and a farm couple adopted him and brought him in. So we don't have to go through all that. That's a benefit in a way. But also so many people in this world are so intimately attached to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the big three, they have specific ideas about what that character is to them. Most people have come up to me and say 'I never really related to Superman because he's just too powerful. I can't. I relate to Batman because he's like the underdog, right? I never related to Superman because he's just too powerful'. So that's something I took into account from the beginning, that a lot of people don't relate to him. I think it's a little bit to do with what we see at the beginning of the trailer — the beginning of the movie, too. And other people like Superman because he can punch planets in half. That is not really this Superman. But that's also, you've got to deal with all these different people have different ideas of what Superman is supposed to be. And you have to deal with all of them and hopefully people are able to go and say 'well, okay, I like my idea of what Superman is, let's see what this idea of Superman is. Let's sit down for two hours, watch this movie and see what it is'. I think that's what you've got to do with the DCU, because things are going to keep changing, evolving, characters aren't going to be the same as people imagine them. A lot of people keep telling me 'oh my god, you made this trailer just for me, I can't believe it'. And other people are going to feel differently about it, but they can still enjoy the story and enjoy how our view of Superman is, or whatever other DC character there is." Superman releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
Chocolates, roses, free-flowing drinks, all the gelato you can eat, spending every day at the beach: none of these play a part in animated Prime Video series Undone. But if they all were a standard element of everyone's everyday lives — if we were all blissfully happy all the time, in other words — then stories like this multiverse mind-bender wouldn't exist. Screens big and small keep being filled with alternate realities, and tinkering with time as well, because asking "what if?" is an inherently human way to cope with all of life's disappointments. We dream of what might be if things were different and, when we escape into movies and TV shows, our on-screen fantasies keep dreaming those dreams for us. What if there was another realm where things were better? What if, somewhere else out there, those choices you regret had gone another way? What if you could venture backwards to mend whatever you and your loved ones are struggling with, or forwards to solve the consequences of your misdeeds? What if you could reunite with the people you've lost — or get a do-over on the opportunities you'd missed? These are the questions that Undone ponders, as the likes of Everything Everywhere All At Once, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Rick and Morty, Russian Doll and The Matrix franchise have in their own ways. A particular point of obsession flutters at the heart of all these trains of thought, and all these films and television programs, too: fixing everything that's stopping your existence from being perfect. Returning for its second season three years after its first — which was one of the best shows of 2019 — the gorgeously and thoughtfully trippy Undone is especially fixated on this idea. It always has been from the moment its eight-episode initial season appeared with its vivid rotoscoped animation and entrancing leaps into surreal territory; however, in season two it doubles down. Hailing from BoJack Horseman duo Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob-Waksberg, it also remains unsurprisingly concerned with mental illness, and still sees its protagonist caught in an existential crisis. (The pair have a type, but Undone isn't BoJack Horseman 2.0). Again, it deeply understands that contentment doesn't lead to "what if?" queries. Indeed, learning to cope with being stuck in a flawed life, being unable to wish it away and accepting that fate beams brightly away at the heart of the show. During its debut outing, Undone introduced viewers to 28-year-old Alma Winograd-Diaz (Rosa Salazar, Alita: Battle Angel), who found everything she thought she knew pushed askew after a near-fatal car accident. Suddenly, she started experiencing time and her memories differently — including those of her father, Jacob Winograd (Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul), who died over 20 years earlier. In a vision, he tasked her with investigating his death, which became a quest to patch up the past to stop tragedy from striking. Undone's first season was purposefully and perceptively vague, though. Spectacular to look at, and also inventive, smart, funny and tender, it wasn't keen on offering firm answers about Alma's mission, her mental state and its ending. Rather, it was determined to dive deep but stay ambiguous as it examined the meaning of life, and also slotted in alongside shows such as The Good Place, Forever and Maniac. Undone didn't necessarily need a second season, but this repeat dive into Alma's story is just as exceptional as its first — even with one big change. This time, her actions in the last batch of episodes are given a clearcut answer, and another timeline seems to glimmer with almost everything she's ever wanted. But every family's troubles are multifaceted, with more springing up here to fracture the Winograd-Diazs' seeming idyll. With help from her elder sister Becca (Angelique Cabral, How It Ends), Alma now splashes around in her visibly sorrowful mother Camila Diaz's (Constance Marie, With Love) past, including learning about chapters in Mexico decades back that again disrupt the status quo. If it wasn't evident already, it should be now: while it shares more than a few themes in common with BoJack Horseman, Undone dwells in its own world. Still, in its second season, it has another topic on its mind that Purdy and Bob-Waksberg's last show also surveyed — and fellow multiverse effort Everything Everywhere All At Once as well, plus the recent second season of time-travel comedy Russian Doll. Both Encanto and Turning Red mused on the same concept, too: intergenerational trauma. That some pain is so deep-seated in those bearing it that it passes down alongside genes isn't a new realisation, and wasn't back in the 60s when One Hundred Years of Solitude made it its basis on the page. But reckoning with it more often, as is happening now, is a product of a world that's far more willing to pull apart the sins and scars of the past. Accordingly, Undone joins the parade of pop-culture titles excavating it, spying the marks it leaves from generation to generation, and exploring how to face it. There's more certainty in Undone's second go-around — about what's happening, why, what it means and where it comes from — but that doesn't mean that this devastatingly astute series is done with uncertainty. Using rotoscoping, which involves drawing over filmed footage of its actors (see also: Richard Linklater's Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly and Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood), isn't just a stylistic preference or a way to get the best performances out of the series' phenomenal cast. Able to reflect Alma's ever-changing, always-fragile emotional and mental state in every frame, Undone's dreamlike animation is thoroughly unburdened by reality and all the more expressive for it. Show, don't tell: not that it shies away from talking through what's happening, but that's clearly this soulful, stunning and supremely moving program's motto. Deeply rich and resonant, as intelligent and affecting as sci-fi and animation alike get, and dedicated to thinking and feeling big while confronting everyday truths, Undone is like nothing else that's streaming. And yes, that's still accurate even in these busily multiverse-hopping, existence-contemplating times, where dreaming about alternate lives is as natural as breathing. Check out the trailer for Undone season two below: Undone is available to stream via Prime Video.
For many beer drinkers, opting for a craft creation isn’t just about taste. It’s also about supporting the little guys and choosing microbreweries over multinationals. But the fact that more and more consumers are spending their dollars on local produce is not going unnoticed by big companies. And they’re responding by bringing out beverages that might look, smell and taste like craft beers, but are, in fact, macrobrewed masqueraders. So, a team of US-based entrepreneurs has come up with an app that can tell the difference between beverages from "real craft breweries" and those from "assembly line multinationals". It’s called Craft Check and its motto is "Drink Craft — Not Crafty". Using an iPhone, the user scans the bottle’s barcode or searches by brewery name. The app responds by communicating whether the brewery meets the Brewers Association’s definition of ‘American Craft Brewery’. Thousands of producers are included and records are updated monthly, incorporating new businesses and buy-outs. Findings can be shared via Twitter and Facebook, meaning that friends can be kept in the loop. The only catch for Antipodean drinkers is that ‘Craft Check’ is pretty much only applicable in the US. That’s because most other nations in the world don’t have a definition for ‘craft brewery’. It’s such a subjective term that deciding exactly what it means is pretty tough. Luckily, our team has taken out some of the guess work for you. Via PSFK.
Dozens of independent arts organisations are looking down the barrel of extinction, after being ditched in the latest round of Australia Council funding. The news makes for depressingly familiar headlines, and marks the latest in a series of significant blows to the country's artistic community since the Federal Government cut the independent funding body's budget to the tune of $60 million over four years. Among the 62 previously funded organisations to miss out are the National Association for the Visual Arts, Melbourne's Red Stitch Actor's Theatre and youth-focused Express Media, and Sydney's Force Majeure dance company and PACT Centre for Contemporary Artists. Organisations lucky enough to receive funding, meanwhile, include Queensland's Metro Arts, Multicultural Arts Victoria, and Carriageworks in Sydney. In total $112 million will be invested between 2017 and 2020. The full list of recipients can be found via the Arts Council website. "In a country with an ever growing population we should be receiving ever greater cultural investment and government support," said Arts Party leader PJ Collins. "Instead we have constant and major cuts to our communities and opportunity in developing and recognising our native talent." A number of the affected organisations also spoke out against the cuts. "This is devastating news not just for Next Wave but for all artists and the Australian community," read a statement from the organisers of Melbourne's Next Wave festival (which is on right now). They also pointed out that the decision to drop funding comes even as the festival is being met "with critical and audience acclaim, and record-breaking box office numbers." Likewise, Kath Melbourne of Sydney theatre company Legs on the Wall told ArtsHub that they and many other organisations were the victims of "political decisions [made] behind closed doors." Australia Council CEO Tony Grybowski tried to put a positive spin on the announcement, stating that "while celebrating the success of the companies forming the new cohort, the Council acknowledges that the outcomes of this highly competitive process will be difficult for some companies and is committed to supporting the sector through this period of change. This support will take various forms, responding to the different needs of both individual organisations and practice areas." Via ArtsHub. Image: Next Wave.
The awful truth is now that we all know someone who has either battled or is battling with cancer. The really awful truth is that one in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. What as individuals we can do about this is unfortunately very little, but the Rio Tinto Ride to Conquer Cancer is offering the community a chance to make a difference. The Ride to Conquer Cancer is a major fundraiser for the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), which is a world leader in cancer research. Therefore by raising money for the continuation of QIMR’s work individuals can help with the work of finding a cure for this pervasive disease. As with anything worth doing though it is not easy. The participants will be riding through the Queensland countryside for two days, 20-21 August, pushing themselves to the limit to help others. The ride isn’t just for the super fit though, there will be riders who are jumping on a bike for the first time since their 12th birthday. To support these riders in their quest, and add your support to the fight against cancer you can donate here. Go team!
Remember when eating healthily and indulging your sweet tooth were mutually exclusive activities? Thankfully, that doesn't always have to be the case — or ever again, if this Brisbane vegan bakehouse has anything to do with it. Now open in Everton Park, Veganyumm is the answer to every nutrition-focused foodie's prayers (because even the most disciplined crave a delicious treat every now and then). And, as the moniker suggests, those who don't consume meat or animal products should be particularly excited. The eatery isn't just dedicated to whipping up cakes, pastries and other tasty bites — it's also be Brisbane's first 100 percent vegan establishment of its type. If the name sounds somewhat familiar, that's probably because you've come across Cinnayumm at Charlie's Fruit Market. After making a big impression with her egg- and dairy-free artisan cinnamon buns, owner, recipe creator and head chef Shairie Bhim has decided to keep the collaboration going. The cafe whips up all things vegan — as well as free from sugar and gluten — with everything from decadent red velvet cupcakes to cookies in their repertoire. Waffles, pancakes and more also feature, with doughnuts on the list as well — because no Brisbane-based food business can overlook the city's doughy obsession. Drinks-wise, expect organic roasted coffees and mylkshakes (that's the vegan spelling of milk) too. If you're not vegan already, Veganyumm's menu just might change that.
It's now been 23 years since a certain modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew had us all swooning over Heath Ledger and wishing we were Julia Stiles. Yes, that'll make you feel old. And if you're one of the scores of Aussie teens who devoured smash-hit flick 10 Things I Hate About You when it first came out — and then about a million times on VHS since — you've probably taken up every occasion there is to celebrate the 1999 movie. Your next chance: Yatala Drive-In's Valentine's weekend screening — aka an excuse to hop in the car, head down the highway and revisit the timeless high school-set tale. Yatala's movies-on-wheels site is hosting a special throwback showing on Saturday, February 12 from 7pm, which is perfect for you and your 90s-worshipping significant other — or a car full of pals (because you'll pay $40 for a carload of up to six people anyway). Prepare to revisit all those late-90s feels as you catch those classic movie moments — from the cheer-worthy smashing of Joey Donner's car to that pre-formal pregnancy suit. You can pack your own food for the session (Ms Perky would definitely recommend bratwurst), but BYO booze obviously isn't allowed. Otherwise, you can make the most of Yatala's 50s-style diner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVHxKeFZU1s
Remember the good old days when you'd meet up with your mate for a beer at the pub, grab a late-night feed and dance till dawn all in one night? Yeah, us too. But just because we can't go out right now and enjoy our city's best restaurants and bars doesn't mean you have to live life in the slow lane. You can still bring the good times to your living room. Want to take your cooking game to the next level? Now's the time to get creative in the kitchen — with some expert guidance, of course. Or you could order a DIY meal kit from your favourite dining spot so you can just worry about all the fun times to be had. Because, when you're at home, you make the rules. If you don't know where to start when it comes to customising your best night in, we've got you covered. We've partnered with Miller Design Lab to celebrate creativity and self-expression when it comes to dining (and drinking) at home. Miller Design Lab is a space built by Australia's leading minds in design, art, technology, fashion and, of course, culinary geniuses. Together, we're celebrating our nightlife and its impact on culture by bringing exceptional experiences to you — like turning your crib into a fine dining restaurant. So, pop on your apron, grab a cold one from the fridge and look no further. [caption id="attachment_505797" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Dinosaur Designs[/caption] START WITH THE ESSENTIALS First up, having the right tools is non-negotiable. Sure, you may have the skills, but you can't create the Sistine Chapel without any paint — and same goes in the kitchen. If you're looking to become a whiz with a wok or perfect the art of baking, you best invest in some good cooking utensils. That said, we're assuming you can cook an egg and peel a potato, so we'll rush through a list of staples: pots, pans, spatula, chopping board, a strainer, vegetable peeler, can opener, cutlery and a wooden spoon. You get the idea. And, unless you plan on turning everything into soup, you'll need a good set of knives. According to Momofuku master David Chang, you only really need three knives: a paring knife, a serrated bread knife and a chef's knife. The first two can be bought pretty cheaply, but you'll want to fork out a bit more on the chef's knife. And as tempting as it may be after MasterChef, don't even think about buying an ice cream machine until you have the basics. Now, the fun stuff. You'll need some nice-looking plates and glassware to take your feast to the next level. There are a bunch of local ceramicists and designers making stunning tableware, including Mud, Studio Enti, Dinosaur Designs and Maison Balzac's colourful goblets and fun champagne flutes, plus independent potters such as Milly Dent, Sarah Schembri and Hayden Youlley. [caption id="attachment_724464" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dan Hong by Nikki To[/caption] SHARPEN UP YOUR SKILLS WITH A TOP CHEF No matter if you're a kitchen novice or know your way around a Le Creuset, we can all learn some tips and tricks from some of the world's most creative chefs. Massimo Bottura is currently hosting nightly cooking tutorials. While the Michelin-starred chef behind Italy's famed Osteria Francescana is in lockdown, he's teaching you the joys of Italian cooking for free with his Kitchen Quarantine lessons. Designed to help spread feelings of connectivity, curb boredom and teach a few new tricks at a time when an increasing chunk of the world's population is in lockdown, self-isolation or self-distancing, these cooking tutorials go beyond textbook cooking. And of course, with Bottura's famously cheery personality, the guy's just a total joy to watch. Because Italian cuisine is the ultimate at-home comfort food, you should learn how to make pasta from a well-seasoned cook: nonna. Actually two nonnas, Nonna Nerina and Nonna Giuseppa. For a lesson on Australian home cooking, turn to Aussie legend and culinary icon Maggie Beer, who is also live streaming every day. Dubbed Cooking with Maggie, the free series of videos show you how to make an easy rustic-style dish in under 20 minutes — from eggplant and eggs to a caramelised onion and persian feta side dish. Another Aussie chef dishing up the goods is Dan Hong (Mr Wong, Ms G's, Queen Chow) via his Instagram. Tune in and you'll learn how to make his famed cheeseburger spring rolls, salt and pepper squid and slow-roasted short rib. For any other kitchen-related (and entertaining) content, check out these eight tasty food podcasts. [caption id="attachment_718506" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Southside Charmers by Kitti Gould[/caption] TRACK DOWN THE BEST (FREE) RECIPES Now that you've learnt from some of the best, you'll want to pick a recipe to tackle on your own. After all, it's time for you to add your own flavour. But before you attempt the best gnocchi ever made or bake even more sourdough, you'll want to do your research. Luckily, you don't have to look too far to find recipes. But, not all are created equal — so, it's about where to look. US-based Bon Appétit — as the name suggests — is a go-to for any culinary query, including a bunch of lip-smacking recipes. Feel like a lobster roll for dinner? No problem, it's got it here. Craving a mean steak? It's got a whole dedicated section. New York Times Cooking also has thousands of the best recipes from the global newspaper. You'll find food editor Sam Sifton's suggestions — from earl grey madeleines to a weeknight fried rice and trini chana and aloo (chickpea and potato curry) — plus a heap of pantry, slow cooker, easy-to-bake and essential Indian recipes. Basically, whatever you've got a hankering for, chances are it's got it. For something more local, podcast Highly Enthused often has a round-up of good recipes. You can listen to it here. [caption id="attachment_751198" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Quattro Deli by Trent van der Jagt[/caption] GET THOSE HARD-TO-FIND INGREDIENTS You're spicing things up, which means you'll probably have some things on your grocery list that you won't find at Woolies or Coles. From artisanal cheeses to Lao Gan Ma chilli sauce and rare spices, such ingredients require you to know where to track them down. At the moment, Sydneysiders can head to Two Providores's Marrickville warehouse every Saturday to pick up everything from top-notch oils to bacon jam, New York-style rare roast beef and hard-to-find flours. For fresh seasonal produce, it's hard to go past Glebe mainstay Galluzzo Fruiterers, which is currently delivering to locals every Monday–Friday. Quattro Deli in Chatswood is dedicated to sourcing the best local and imported specialty items — think Italian gorgonzola, buffalo mozzarella, mortadella, olives, spreads and even vino — and is delivering deli-to-door at the moment. And for all things cheese, Penny's Cheese Shop and Paesanella Food Emporium are great go-tos. For Asian groceries, your best bets are Boon Cafe at Jarern Chai Grocer and Thai Kee IGA Supermarket. For those in Melbourne, a good one-stop-spot is South Melbourne Market, which has launched a drive-thru pick up point. Vegans will find pretty much everything imaginable in Shannon Martinez's and Mo Wyse's spin-off vegan New York-style delicatessen, Smith & Deli. You can place orders for pick up or delivery via Mr Yum. For charcuterie, Obelix & Co has got you pretty well covered and is offering local delivery and if you're after some fancy fromage to go with it, hit up Milk the Cow, which is delivering also. Asian grocers such as TANG, Hometown Asian Supermarket and Minh Phat are all open and well-stocked, too. In Brisbane, Hong Lan Asian Food & Seafoods is one of the best Asian grocers in town. Rosalie Gourmet Market is an institution for a reason — it's packed with everything from oils to pastries, chocolates and fresh flowers. Black Pearl Epicure has your cheese needs sorted with over 300 types and for Italian goods, head to Amici Deli in Chermside. Plus, a bunch of restaurants in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne have turned into mini grocers, many supplying the goods usually saved for industrial kitchens. If you can't leave the house right now, Simon Johnson is delivering across Sydney and Melbourne, too. ORDER IN — AND SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE GOOD TIMES In Sydney, you're spoiled for choice when it comes to DIY meal packs. Ragazzi — the CBD's new pasta bar by the Love, Tilly Devine crew — has ready-to-cook pasta and wine packs (serves two), which are available for pick or delivery within five kilometres of the restaurant. Chippendale's fine diner Ester has weekly takeaway packs, offering a range of ready-to-eat and almost ready meals — with the likes of steamed blood sausage buns, shallot and sichuan pepper tart tartin and leftover sourdough ice cream on the menu. You can pick it up from the restaurant every Saturday between 3–5pm. Mr Wong's, Bert's and Fred's also have packs available for delivery across Sydney metro. Melburnians can order restaurant-quality oysters straight to their door thanks to supplier Mimosa Rock Oysters. They come live though, so you'll have to know (or learn) how to shuck. If you can venture out of the house, you'll find a raft of 'heat and eat' food packages available at Neptune Food & Wine. And while not exactly DIY, Attica — one of the top restaurants in the country — is now offering takeaway and has opened a pop-up bakeshop. If you're in the mood for a big warming bowl of noodles and live in Brisbane, Taro's has DIY ramen packs to go. It even has a how-to video if you need. King Street's French fine diner, Montrachet, is offering a selection of semi-prepared dishes in takeaway packs that can be collected from its Bowen Hills digs (orders must be made before 7pm for collection the next day). Plus, The Balfour Kitchen has a stack of ready-made meals like a Burmese pork curry, spaghetti with Korean bolognese, prawn and ginger wontons and thrice-cooked duck fat potatoes. For dessert, a bunch of spots across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are slinging some top-notch cookie dough for those of us who aren't the next Betty Crocker. To see where you can pick some up, head here. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way.
If you like your art digital, interactive and immersive, you should make tracks to the Heide Museum of Modern Art, where Terminus: Jess Johnson and Simon Ward is now on display. Open till March 1, 2020, the virtual reality exhibition is a collaboration between New York-based visual artist Jess Johnson and Wellington animator Simon Ward. Johnson's hypnotic drawings have been transformed into five interactive virtual reality works, which make up five distinct realms filled with "alien architecture, humanoid clones and cryptic symbols". Visitors are invited to explore the artworks through a 30-minute 'quest', venturing between the realms. The choose-your-own adventure exhibition includes journeys into the Fleshold Crossing, Known Unknown and Scumm Engine. Plus, there's a towering piece titled Gog & Magog and the psychedelic Tumblewych. Johnson's drawings and textile works will also be on display alongside Terminus — including quilts made with her mother and garments from her 2016 collaboration with Australian fashion brand Romance Was Born. A public program of artist talks and workshops will accompany the exhibition as well. Events include a virtual reality cinema workshop on February 1 — during which participants will create a VR short — a virtual reality symposium on February 8 and a free screening of the cult 1986 film Labyrinth on February 15. Terminus will go on to tour nationally, too. So, if you're not based in Melbourne, keep an eye out for when it'll head to your city. Image: Installation view, Terminus: Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne. Photograph: Christian Capurro
The National Cabinet was set to meet and decide on how to relax some of Australia's social distancing and public gatherings restrictions on Monday, May 11 — inline with the end of Victoria's second four-week state of emergency — but Prime Minister Scott Morrison decided today, Friday, May 1, to bring this date forward to next week. "Decisions on relaxing restrictions will be made next Friday [May 8]", the Prime Minister said. "Australians have earned an early mark for the work they have done." Some states have started to ease minor restrictions — such as allowing two-person house visits in NSW and more outdoor recreational activities in Queensland — but next Friday's announcement could see some larger decisions made on the federally mandated public-gathering and social-distancing rules. The Northern Territory, which has had a total of 28 cases, has already outlined its own roadmap to the "new normal", with the reopening of restaurants, bars and cafes set to take place on Friday, May 15. The Prime Minister would not comment on exactly what restrictions could be wound back, but that "room density measures" — such as the previous one person per four-square-metre rule for indoor venues — and requirements to remain 1.5 metres apart will not be lifted. This could impact if it's financially viable for restaurants, bars and cafes to reopen, even if they are allowed to. Before any restrictions are lifted, though, the Prime Minister said that more people need to download the government's contact-tracing app COVIDSafe. He said that while 11 of the 15 previously outlined conditions under which restrictions could be eased had been met, the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle of contact tracing was not in place. "There are currently over 3.5 million downloads and registrations of the COVIDSafe app, but there needs to be millions more," the Prime Minister said. He reiterated that if Australians want to go to the pub, they have to download the app. For now, the current COVID-19 restrictions will remain in place for at least the next four weeks. And fines are still in place for disobeying these in NSW, Vic and Queensland. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Kimberley Low
It's only been three short years since the world first discovered Paul Mescal courtesy of early-pandemic obsession Normal People, and what a three years they've been. Focusing solely on the Irish actor's on-screen work and related achievements, he's also popped up in The Lost Daughter, been nominated for an Oscar for Aftersun and famously spent time making a movie in Australia — and that flick, Carmen, has just dropped its first trailer. Remember all those Mescal sightings Down Under in early 2021? The whole the country does, and this film is why they happened. The movie turns the classic opera of the same name into a screen musical, and features the internet's boyfriend as Aidan, a marine with PTSD, opposite In the Heights and Scream star Melissa Barrera in the titular role. This clearly isn't a standard adaptation of the opera by Georges Bizet that first hit stages back in 1875, as based on the 1845 novella by Prosper Mérimée that's also called Carmen. Here, in what's been dubbed "a gritty modern-day tale", Carmen flees her home in the Mexican desert after her mother is murdered, then makes an illegal border crossing into America. Once in the US, she's troubled by more killings courtesy of a ruthless border guard — which doesn't go down well with his patrol partner, the aforementioned Aiden. So starts Carmen and Aiden's journey together, also escaping to look for her mother's best friend (iconic Spanish actor Rossy De Palma, Parallel Mothers). This take on Carmen also features standoffs, a nightclub as a sanctuary, a police hunt and finding solace in romance, with Benjamin Millepied making his directorial debut behind the lens. Best known as a dancer and choreographer, he was behind the ballet scenes in Black Swan — and also popped up on-screen as David. Millepied's first stint as a helmer will hit US cinemas in April, with a release date in Australia and New Zealand yet to be revealed. Seeing it turn up on the midyear film festival circuit, hitting the Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival and New Zealand International Film Festival, wouldn't be surprising. Adding to the project's big names is Nicholas Britell, who is responsible for Carmen's original score and songs, after also composing Succession's earworm of a theme. Check out the trailer for Carmen below: Carmen doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when one is announced.
If you're a Brisbanite missing your regular pub meal, weekly date night out with your partner, or just having a bite to eat or a few drinks somewhere other than home, then good news might be on the horizon — with Queensland restaurants, cafes and bars possibly reopening in June. Speaking to media today, Monday, May 4, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed that the Queensland Government is currently considering allowing the hospitality industry to start welcoming customers again as early as next month. "I think June is a good ambitious target... I can't say whether it's early June or late June, but I'm going to have those discussions," the Premier commented. Other details haven't been announced at this early point, with the Premier set to speak with industry bodies and figures before anything is finalised. Currently, restaurants, cafes and bars are only allowed to provide takeaway and delivery options — so scaling that back, and allowing people to sit down to have a meal or a beverage, is the obvious next step. That said, with social distancing measures unlikely to be phased out any time soon, Queenslanders shouldn't expect an immediate return to pre-coronavirus business as usual. At the very least, it's likely that sitting 1.5 metres apart from your fellow diners will be required. [caption id="attachment_681498" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grace Smith[/caption] Reopening restaurants, cafes and bars would form the next step of state's gradual move out of its current COVID-19 lockdowns. The first set of stay-at-home restrictions were eased late on Friday, May 1, allowing Queenslanders to leave home for more than just essential activities — and to travel within 50 kilometres of their residences. Today, the Premier revealed the next stage, which involves the return of students to schools over the course of this month. At the time of writing, Queensland has 52 active cases of COVID-19, from a total of 1038 cases to date. Since mid-April, new daily diagnoses have been falling, with fewer than eight new cases confirmed daily since April 15 — and the state experiencing five single days with zero new cases. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Grace Smith
Although many share the agreeance that Brisbane is perfection, the saying ‘a change is as good as a holiday’ exists for a reason and there’s no logical excuse for you to keep your feet firmly planted in Queensland soil forever. Once you’ve given in and decided to explore the vast world that exists beyond where Translink services travel, the question remains - where to look first? The rest of Australia? Nearby Oceania? A European jaunt? Americana road trip? The annual Holiday and Travel Expo will be taking up residence at the Convention Centre, ready to dish out the winning goods. They have all the answers to your travel and destination questions. This year they’ve introduced a new setup, with the layout set up into different world ‘zones’. Australia and New Zealand, North and South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia will all be segregated. This makes it all that much easier to sort yourself out and get all the right info from the right places. It’s time to embrace all that is new. Go see the people who can point you in the right direction at the Holiday and Travel Show.
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. So back in 2022, when Range Brewing's Gerard Martin and Matt McIver decided to pair independent beers with a DJ-spun soundtrack at a new Brisbane festival, it wasn't a complicated concept — but it was a hit. Two years later, that event is returning for its third year, with Juicy once again headed to Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall. The setup worked a treat the first time, then the second, and now will keep doing so again in 2024. On Saturday, March 16, across two heaving sessions under the Valley Mall venue's chandeliers, the booze will be flowing from a range of breweries. Bites to eat and the talents on the deck have been carefully curated as well. This time, Brisbane's own Range (of course), Working Title and Hohly Water are on the beer list, alongside GABS 2022 and 2023 winner Mountain Culture, Bracket, Wildflower, Future and Kicks from New South Wales. You can also look forward to sips from Rocky Ridge, Hop Nation, Garage Project, Fox Friday, Shape Shifter, Found and Banks, plus Finback from the US. Here's how it works: across two slots — from 12–4pm and an evening one from 6–10pm — attendees will get their glass, then start enjoying their way through all the brews on offer, all without needing to worry about paying for drinks as you go. That's one of Juicy's big drawcards. Inspired by events overseas, Martin and McIver created a beer fest where your ticket covers everything, including what you're tasting. Taking care of 2024's music are Hol Hibbo and Aunty STAN for the afternoon session, both from Fortitude Valley's QUIVR DJs. Come evening, Ben Chiu and ELJAE will do the honours. And to help line the stomach, Southside will serve up its Asian cuisine, Zero Fox will bring its range of Japanese and Korean dishes, and Baja will take care of the Mexican bites. Juicy Beer Festival takes place on Saturday, March 16, 2024. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the fest's website. Images: Axis Productions.
Twelve years after RuPaul's Drag Race first sashayed its way onto US television, viewers Down Under have finally been gifted a local version. Currently streaming via Stan, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under is exactly what it sounds like — the hit series, still hosted by RuPaul, but featuring Australian and New Zealand drag queens. And, if you'd like to see more of this year's competitors, you'll be able to head along to the program's new live stage show. All ten of this year's drag queens will be hitting up Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, Melbourne's Palais Theatre, Perth's Crown Theatre, Brisbane's QPAC and Canberra's Canberra Theatre as part of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Live on Stage. It too is rather self-explanatory, and it'll obviously have quite the cast when it hits the road this September. If you've been watching the TV series, you'll already know which contenders have been strutting their stuff for drag supremacy. The lineup spans seven Australians and three New Zealanders, including Art Simone from Geelong, Melbourne's Karen from Finance, and Sydney's Coco Jumbo, Etecetera Etcetera and Maxi Shield. Newcastle's Jojo Zaho and Perth's Scarlet Adams round out the Aussie queens, while Auckland's Kita Mean, Anita Wigl'it and Elektra Shock comprise the NZ contingent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdcgf5I6Qb8&feature=youtu.be RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE DOWN UNDER LIVE ON STAGE TOUR DATES: Saturday, September 18 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Tuesday, September 21 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Thursday, September 23 — Crown Theatre, Perth Saturday, September 25 — The Palais, Melbourne Tuesday, September 28 — Canberra Theatre, Canberra RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Live on Stage will tour Australia from September 18–28. For further details — and to buy pre-sale tickets from 12pm on Friday, May 21 and general tickets from 12pm on Monday, May 24 — head to the Live Nation website.
For years, the transport situation in Brisbane has been all over the shop. Whether it's the crazy expensive public transport, peak-hour traffic that never ends, or the many empty, expensive tunnels that criss-cross under the city like catacombs, things are a little grim if you're a Brisbane resident who wishes to leave the house at all. But thanks to some political argy-bargy, the plans for a light rail to service Brisbane's CBD are being pushed into the realm of possibility by mayoral candidate Rod Harding. The rail would operate in the same area as the CityGlider bus service. The proposed project — which is currently un-costed and being opposed by current Lord Mayor Graham Quirk on account of it being too expensive — is being pushed by Harding ahead of the March 19 mayoral election. And, while it's probably to curry favour with Brisbane’s light rail enthusiast demographic, we can't deny that he know what we want, damnit — and we want a light rail. Brisbane did have a tram system from 1885 to 1969 — the remains of which can be seen on Old Cleveland Road in Camp Hill — before it was shut down in favour of a bus system (and immediately commemorated by the Brisbane Tramway Museum in Ferny Grove). There have been a fair few proposals over the years for a tram system, most notably in 2007, but so far they've all been shot down. Light rail is a main mode of public transport in Melbourne, has been a recent addition to the Gold Coast and even Sydney are in the middle of building another light rail line from the CBD out to the eastern suburbs. The light rail proposal is scant on details but what we do know is that Brisbane’s transport infrastructure is super whack and people are keen for solutions. Whether that means light rail, trains, buses, bikes, canals that we can paddle down on stand up paddleboards or government-subsidised hoverboards for the masses — who knows! — Brisbane's gotta make a choice. Throw up your hands and raise your voice: transport infrastructure! Transport infrastructure! Transport infrastructure! Via The Courier Mail. Top image: Gold Coast tram by Bahnfrend via Wikimedia Commons
When Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art's (MONA) hosts an arts and music festival, it doesn't just compile a standard lineup of shows and events. It curates talents that will hit other bills in other cities, of course, but it also hunts down the kind of gigs and experiences that you generally won't see elsewhere. Take 2023's just-dropped Mona Foma program as a prime example. It was already packed with Pavement, Bon Iver, Bikini Kill, Angel Olsen and Peaches (and Perturbator, The Chills and Kae Tempest), as announced back in October, but now it includes a tunnel of light, 'Complaints Choir' and punk bunker — because of course it does. MONA's summer fest — aka its sunny alternative to its sinister winter arts and culture festival Dark Mofo — will return in February 2023 in a big way. How big? With 370 artists across two weekends. The dates to get excited about: Friday, February 17–Sunday, February 19, 2023 in Launceston, and Friday, February 24–Sunday, February 26, 2023 in Hobart. Now, here's what you'll be seeing. [caption id="attachment_875442" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Debi Del Grande[/caption] Launceston's weekend-long Mona Foma stint will feature a free three-day party at a new hub in the city's decommissioned old TAFE called the reUNIÓN district, which is where those unusual vocals — singing local Launceston grievances — will echo. It's also where there'll be queer woodchopping in the quad, Soccer Mommy taking to the stage and that punk bunker featuring, yes, punk tunes played loud a bunker. Also on the list in Launceston, where Mona Foma has been hitting up since 2019: underwater electronica by Leon Vynehall in the Basin Pool; dance work Body Body Commodity from Jenni Large; James Webb's Prayer, where you will indeed need to kneel while listening to recordings of prayer, song and vocal worship; and Van Diemen's Band and Ensemble Kaboul teaming up for Afghanistan-meets-baroque music. [caption id="attachment_880157" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prayer, 2012, James Webb. Photo credit: Anthea Pokroy. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma.[/caption] Plus, there's a Fantastic Futures exhibition, a late-night book club overseen by 'sonic librarians', Kenneth Tam's Breakfast in Bed theatre experiment — featuring seven guys he found on Craigslist — and the delightfully named Anthem Anthem Revolution, where you're asked to beat a robot at a game of table tennis. A certain highlight is Hyperbolic Psychedelic Mind Melting Tunnel of Light, with Robin Fox letting attendees take over the light, sound and motion controls one person at a time. Also set to stun is CHANT, with Tasmanian women's sporting clubs performing historic and contemporary feminist protest chants; Lost in Place, a pairing of electro-ambient psychedelic jazz with live dance; Arnhem Land documentary Christmas Birrimbirr; and Martina Hoogland Ivanow's film Interbeing, which only used thermal cameras to shoot human interactions and capture the heat behind them. [caption id="attachment_880156" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Christmas Birrimbirr, (Christmas Spirit), (video still), 2011, Miyarrka Media. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma.[/caption] MONA's summer event was initially held in Hobart, as seasoned fans will remember, and the fest hasn't forgotten its OG home. If that's where you're getting your Mona Foma fix in 2023, you have a stacked lineup in store as well. Many of the fest's big-name acts are playing there — Bon Iver, Bikini Kill, Peaches and Pavement all included — and the MONA lawns will also host a show featuring songwriters from the Pilbara town of Roebourne singing for freedom on the 40th-anniversary year of John Pat's passing in custody, as guided by Ngarluma and Yinjibarndi Elders. Also, Amber McCartney and Tasdance's dance performance Baby Girl will enjoy its world premiere, Nico Muhly takes over the fest as an artist in residence, and the Theatre Royal's program includes IHOS Amsterdam's time travel-inspired PRIMORDIAL For Piano and Diverse Media and film noir opera A Deep Black Sleep. [caption id="attachment_880154" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Climate Notes, Anna McMichael and Louise Devenish. Photo credit: Lucian Fuhler. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma.[/caption] Or, see Climate Notes in Rosny Park, playing five new works for violin and percussion that all take inspiration from scientists' handwritten letters about global warming — and explore Tomas' Garden by Cici (Xiyue) Zhang, where monsters and spirits will feature in an immersive magical landscape. The list goes on, complete with Morning Meditations in both cities — and Chloe Kim doing 100 hours of public drumming over ten days. [caption id="attachment_784488" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Robin Fox laser installation at the Albert Hall, Launceston, Mona Foma 2019. Photo Credit: MONA/Jesse Hunniford. Image courtesy of the artist and MONA Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] Already keen to get booking? Fancy a Tasmania trip in the interim? Our Concrete Playground Trips Hobart getaway might also be of interest. Mona Foma will take place from Friday, February 17–Sunday, February 19, 2023 in Launceston, and from Friday, February 24–Sunday, February 26, 2023 in Hobart. Tickets go on sale at 11am on Tuesday, November 29 — head to the festival website for further details. Top image: Regurgitator & Seja & Mindy Meng Wang on guzheng perform The Velvet Underground & Nico. Photo Credit: Mona/Rémi Chauvin. Image Courtesy Mona, Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Our river city has stepped up to the plate in recent years, with more and more atmospheric watering holes opening their doors to those keen for a drink outdoors. But a chill session cannot be complete without the perfect mix of brews, views and vibes — Brisbanites won't settle for anything less, these days. With a helping hand from our friends at Heineken, we've compiled a list of four Brisbane bars that boast pretty spectacular views. Grab a Heineken 3 in one hand and your phone in the other and get ready because, trust us, when Brissie puts on a show, you don't want to miss it.
Here's a sentence that would've made zero sense two years ago: from 1am on Saturday, January 15, getting into Queensland will become a whole heap easier. The Sunshine State has had various levels of border rules in place during the pandemic, and currently only allows double-vaccinated interstate visitors to travel to the state and stay without quarantining first — but come 1am on Saturday, January 15, it'll scrap all domestic border restrictions. That means that whether you're a local keen to visit Sydney or Melbourne and then return home, or you reside in those cities and you've been dreaming of a sunny beach holiday, you'll no longer need to show a border pass or provide proof of a rapid antigen test to make the trip into Queensland. Border checkpoints will be taken down as well. "Anyone coming domestically across into Queensland, either by our road or by air, they do not have to show that they have had their border pass, they don't have to show that they have had a rapid antigen test," announced Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today, Thursday, January 13. "This is the time and the time is now right as we head towards hitting that 90 percent [double-dosed vaccination target] next week." BREAKING: Domestic border restrictions will be removed from 1am on Saturday with Queensland expected to hit 90% double vaccination next week. #covid19 pic.twitter.com/fXAhpVz8rL — Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 13, 2022 Queensland's rules around international travel are set to change, too once the state hits 90-percent double-jabbed, with restrictions lifting for double-dosed overseas arrivals. That said, an exact date for when the loosened requirements will kick in hasn't yet been confirmed. The Premier advised that further details will be announced once Queensland reaches the vaccine threshold. While restrictions around travel are changing, the Sunshine State's rules regarding visiting venues all remain in effect. As previously announced, you need to be double-jabbed to enter places such as restaurants, bars, cafes, cinemas, stadiums, festivals, libraries, galleries and museums — but all of those types of sites across the hospitality and entertainment industries no longer have capacity restrictions. Queensland reported 14,914 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, January 13, and currently has 145,294 active cases. Queensland's border rules will ease at 1am AEST / 2am AEDT on Saturday, January 15. For more information about Queensland's border policies and border passes, head to the Queensland Government website.
There's the naturalism you know, and then there's the immersive, mythic, sensorial and heady naturalism of Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue Is the Warmest Colour (known in its native France as Adele: Chapters 1 & 2). The director boldly sticks his camera in the face of actor Adele Exarchopoulos and lets it linger there for three hours, watching intensely as the ingenue lives and loses her first love, while several years roll by. It's an extreme viewing experience that garnered high praise in Europe and won the most prestigious independent film award on the planet, the Palme d'Or. Yet as much as a Cannes-adored French coming-of-age movie (based on a graphic novel, by author Julia Maroh) appeals to my personal proclivities, I found Blue Is the Warmest Colour to be more of an interesting film than a great one. By far its biggest charm lies in the understated yet giving and uninhibited performances of its leads, Exarchopoulos as Adele and Lea Seydoux as her worldlier girlfriend, Emma. We see Adele as a whole person discovering the world, not just her sexuality. She waxes lyrical about her favourite classic novel, joins in song at a political demonstration, fools around with a sweet boy who only makes her depressed, and eats spag bol with her mouth open at an incommunicative family dinner table. She's from a plain, working-class household, and her world opens up when she meets art student Emma, who floors her from across the street with her blue-streaked hair and white-hot insouciance. Their love is explosive, total and immensely physical. But first loves don't often last, and that's probably a good thing. Captured in extreme close-up, Blue Is the Warmest Colour lets you feel the beauty and the pain of it, really feel it, for a few blessed minutes. However, not all of the three hours' worth of scenes deserve to be there, and Kechiche's execution seems haphazard and uncompromising. Since Cannes, there's been growing criticism of the hetero director's imaginings of a lesbian romance, and the camera's gaze does seem to cross a line from luscious into lascivious at times. Eschewing the usual press tour conventions, Exarchopoulos and Seydoux have been pretty frank in interviews about what it was like to work with the director — "horrible", uncomfortable, possibly exploitative and endlessly drawn out past schedule. It especially matters as the movie includes a hardcore seven-minute sex scene that took apparently ten days to shoot. The actors say they're happy with the results, but it doesn't seem like a methodology we should accept. Fortunately, Blue Is the Warmest Colour's Palme d'Or, for the first time in history, was jointly awarded to the director and the film's two stars. Their idiosyncratic performances are very worth seeing. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y2OLRrocn3s
After a brief sneak peek featured in Disney+'s teaser trailer for its 2025 slate, The Handmaid's Tale has unveiled its first proper look at its upcoming sixth season — the dystopian thriller's final run. Since 2017, watching the series has meant wishing for one thing: the end of Gilead, the totalitarian, male-dominated society that rules the show's dystopian version of the United States. (No, not the masterplanned Sydney community of the same name.) In the award-winning series adapted from Margaret Atwood's book, that outcome is finally coming in a way, and fans will be able to see how the tale wraps up from April 2025. For June (Elisabeth Moss, The Veil) and her fellow red-wearing women, revolution is also coming. Rallying against the oppressive status quo however possible has sat at the heart of this series since day one — and in the last season, June is back in the fight. The teaser trailer for season six is narrated by its protagonist, noting the ways that the regime tried to push her and her fellow women down, including via their restrictive attire. "The dress became a uniform — and we became an army," June advises. Of course, it's highly likely that The Handmaid's Tale won't conclude with the total destruction of Gilead, because a TV version of The Testaments in the works — and is set to arrive sometime after The Handmaid's Tale finishes its run. It too is based on an Atwood novel, on her sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, which hit shelves in 2019, which means that her fictional nightmarish realm isn't going far. If you haven't read the book, The Testaments is set 15 years after the events of its predecessor, and also includes familiar characters. How that'll play into the end of The Handmaid's Tale on-screen obviously hasn't been revealed. For now, blessed be your streaming queue with The Handmaid's Tale season six this autumn — and praise be what looks like one helluva reckoning. Alongside Moss, Yvonne Strahovski (Teacup), Bradley Whitford (The Madness), Max Minghella (Maximum Truth), Ann Dowd (The Friend), O-T Fagbenle (No Good Deed), Samira Wiley (Breaking News in Yuba County), Madeline Brewer (Space Oddity), Amanda Brugel (Dark Matter), Sam Jaeger (Wolf Man) and Ever Carradine (The Neighbourhood) all return among the cast, with Josh Charles (Moss' The Veil co-star) a new addition. The sixth season of The Handmaid's Tale debuts in the US on Tuesday, April 8. Down Under, it streams via SBS On Demand and Neon. Check out the first teaser trailer for The Handmaid's Tale season six below: The Handmaid's Tale season six debuts on Tuesday, April 8 — and streams Down Under via SBS On Demand and Neon.
When a hit show comes to an end, the network behind it often tries to fill the gap with something similar. It's the situation that HBO found itself in last year when Game of Thrones wrapped up, with the US cable channel quickly launching new fantasy series His Dark Materials and committing to making a GoT spinoff called House of the Dragon. And, with Big Little Lies looking like it's also all done and dusted, the station seems to be in the same predicament in the star-studded murder mystery genre as well. Enter The Undoing. Starring Nicole Kidman, and written and produced by Big Little Lies' David E. Kelley, it's definitely a case of HBO sticking with what they know. Kidman plays a successful therapist who appears to have the perfect life, with a loving husband (Hugh Grant), a son (Honey Boy's Noah Jupe) attending an elite school and her first book about to be published. Then a violent death sparks a chain of revelations that shatters her life as she knows it. Also part of the plot, as seen in the show's first teaser, its second teaser as well and now its just-dropped new full trailer: a missing spouse, plenty of public attention, a heap of interrogations and a plethora of tough choices for Kidman's Grace Fraser. It'll all play out as a once-off limited series — although that was originally the case with Big Little Lies before it came back for a second season. Based on the novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Undoing also features The Burnt Orange Heresy's Donald Sutherland and American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace's Edgar Ramirez — with Bird Box director Susanne Bier behind the camera on every episode, just as she was on excellent Emmy-winning mini-series The Night Manager. As for when you'll be able to watch it, it was originally set to premiere sometime in May; however now it'll launch on Monday, October 26. In Australia, it'll screen via Foxtel, Foxtel Now and Binge. Check out the latest teaser below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWoiNlLqLR8&feature=emb_logo The Undoing will screen in Australia via Foxtel and Binge, with episodes airing weekly from Monday, October 26. Top image: Niko Tavernise/HBO.
Since Iron Man first soared into movie theatres in 2008, proved a huge hit and started a massive franchise, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been getting their caped crusader fix on the big screen. But, while this immensely popular superhero realm mentions its preferred medium right there in its name, the MCU has also made the leap to television — including via Disney+'s WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier so far this year. Marvel and Disney+ aren't stopping there, either. A heap of new shows are in the works at the streaming platform, including Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Secret Invasion (about Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury), Iron Heart, Armour Wars, I Am Groot, a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and a series set in Wakanda. Next up, though, is Loki — and, after releasing a sneak peek last year, the Mouse House has dropped a full trailer for the soon-to-premiere show. Obviously, if you've seen a Thor or Avengers movie, then you know who Loki is about. Creative series names aren't part of the package here. So, Tom Hiddleston (Kong: Skull Island) is back as the God of Mischief — and he's enjoying stepping into the trickster's shoes again, if the glimpses so far are anything to go by. Viewers will watch Loki's antics post-Avengers: Endgame, with Owen Wilson (Wonder), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Summerland), Sophia Di Martino (Yesterday), Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country) and Richard E Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) rounding out the main cast. When the series starts airing from Friday, June 11, Loki finds himself in a bit of trouble thanks to his previous actions with the Tesseract. The TVA — that'd be the Time Variance Authority — is on his case, which is where Wilson's Mobius M Mobius comes in. Obviously, more time-travelling trickery is in Loki's future from there. We're guessing that Wilson will say "wow" once or twice, too. Check out the full trailer for Loki below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUwwdj6AlBA Loki will be available to stream via Disney+ from Friday, June 11. Top image: ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.
