If you're a dinosaur fan in Australia, life keeps finding a way to indulge your interest in prehistoric creatures. In Brisbane, the Dinosaurs of Patagonia museum showcase is currently displaying impressive fossils. In Melbourne and later Sydney, Dinos Alive: An Immersive Experience is about to hit. And also in the Harbour City, Jurassic World: The Exhibition will soon roar into town with its own critters, as well as a celebration of 30 years since the first Jurassic Park movie initially rampaged across the big screen. Yes, it's a great time to fascinated with dinosaurs right now — we've seen two seasons of Prehistoric Planet on streaming in the past two years, too — and this latest exhibition arrives as part of a global tour. A showcase with the same name displayed in Melbourne back in 2016, but this visit comes after stops everywhere from London, San Diego, Paris and Madrid to Seoul, Shanghai and Toronto. On offer: life-sized, lifelike versions of the movie franchise's animals. Expect to feel like you've been transported to Isla Nublar, complete with a walk through the big-screen saga's famed gates. From there, you'll walk through themed environments featuring dinos, including a brachiosaurus, velociraptors — yes, get ready to say "clever girl" — and a Tyrannosaurus rex. Also linking in with the animated Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous series, there'll be baby dinos, including the show's Bumpy. Sydneysiders and visitors to the New South Wales capital will be able to get roaming, and staring at animatronic dinos, from Friday, September 22 at the 3000-square-metre SuperLuna Pavilion at Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park. Exactly how long the exhibition will hang around for hasn't been announced, except that it'll be a limited stay. If it'll head to other Australian cities afterwards also hasn't been revealed. Now, all that's left is to decide which Jurassic franchise character you want to emulate (the best choices: Laura Dern's palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler, Sam Neill's palaeontologist Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum's mathematician Ian Malcolm, of course). And no, when Michael Crichton penned Jurassic Park in 1990, then Steven Spielberg turned it into a 1993 film, they wouldn't have expected that this'd be the result three decades — and five more movies — later. Jurassic World: The Exhibition will display at SuperLuna Pavilion, Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park from Friday, September 22 — head to the exhibition's website to join the ticket waitlist.
The Boyd family is one of the great Australian art dynasties, which you can explore as the Heide Museum of Modern Art opens up its extensive archives. The legacy of Merric and Doris Boyd — and their five children: Lucy, Arthur, Guy, David and Mary — will be showcased, as each family member has achieved artistic greatness throughout the last 100 years. As was often the case, Heide's founders John and Sunday Reed had their ears to the ground and acquired many of the Boyd family's (and closely associated artists) works during the 1940s and '50s. The many works exhibited include Arthur's surrealist-expressionist paintings, Merric's art nouveau pots and drawings, Guy Boyd's bronze portraits and Lucy's tile designs. In addition, you'll see works by the many great artists who spent time at the family's studio known as the 'Arthur Merric Boyd (AMB) Pottery', such as sculptures and paintings by John Perceval and earthenware by prominent gardener and conservationist Neil Douglas. Making History: The Boyd Family is open now until Sunday, November 12 at the Heide Museum of Modern Art. Image: David Boyd, Landscape (1958).
Beer nerds and coffee snobs can both get something out of this special tasting at Preston brewery Tallboy & Moose. The fittingly named Beerspresso pairs local roasters with local brewers, resulting in eight unique coffee-infused beers. Red Bean, Maker Fine Coffee and Rumble Coffee Roasters are among those providing the beans, while the booze will come courtesy of the likes of 3 Ravens, Westside Aleworks and 7 cent. Your ticket entitles you to a taster of each coffee, followed by a 130ml sample of each beer. Image: Simon Shiff.
Australia has Lune fever. That's been the case for a few years now, as the world-renowned Melbourne bakery keeps serving up delicious pastries, and also spreading its wares around the country. At present, it boasts stores in Fitzroy, the CBD and Armadale in Melbourne, plus South Brisbane and Burnett Lane in Brisbane — and it has two Sydney shops on the way, one in Darlinghurst and another in Martin Place. Also slinging Lune's wares, just for three days: select Koko Black shops. Why? Lune Croissanterie has teamed up with Koko Black to unveil a limited-edition new croissant collaboration named The Belgian Truffle. Why again? To celebrate World Chocolate Day on Friday, July 7. This year's decadent creation takes Lune's signature pastry and adds a gooey Koko Black cocoa frangipane and Guanaja fondant centre. It's also topped with tempered chocolate shards, salted cookie crumb, mascarpone chantilly and Koko Black Belgian truffles. This delectable treat will be available at Lune's Melbourne and Brisbane outposts, plus selected Koko Black stores in Melbourne and Sydney, plus a special one-off Lune Sydney pop-up over the weekend. If you want to get your hands on a croissant, Friday, July 7–Sunday, July 9 are the dates to mark down in your diary. Melburnians can head to Lune's trio of outposts, plus Koko Black's shops at The Glen, Como Centre, Highpoint, Doncaster, Royal Arcade, Flinders Lane, Melbourne Central and Chadstone. Brisbanites, you're going to Lune and Lune only. "This pastry is a classic for a reason. Our traditional croissant, elevated to celebrate Koko Black's Belgian truffle. It's the ultimate, decadent chocolate treat," said Lune founder Kate Reid. These pastries are set to be in high demand, so it's best to head down early to avoid disappointment. Lune's own venues will be trading as normal, while Koko Black will be open from 9am on Friday and Saturday, and from 10am on Sunday. Lune Croissanterie and Koko Black's 2023 World Chocolate Day special The Belgian Truffle is available at all Lune stores in Melbourne and Brisbane, and select Koko Black stores in Melbourne, from Friday, July 7 – Sunday, July 9.
Underground Cinema has been filling a void in cinema-goers hearts for over six years, having successfully created twenty-five cinematic experiences around Melbourne and Sydney. And now they're back, bringing your favourite flicks to life in an immersive cinema experience beyond dorky 3D glasses, popcorn-munching and booming surround sound. Over four nights, in a top secret location, the unique four-hour live cinema invites you to join the set of Alfonso Cuaron's dystopian world of Children of Men. From actors in costumes, detailed set and audience interaction, Hope 2.0 is unlike anything you've experienced — or probably ever will again. To prepare for the journey you will need your strength, resilience and courage. A foreign-styled costume is also strongly encouraged. But above all, you must have hope. Expect the unexpected. However, maybe not starvation or dehydration: hot food and a bar (cash-only) are available on the night. Photo credit: Kim Brewster Film/Photography
Not every ballet features dancers forming constellations, gramophone-shaped mirrors creating kaleidoscopic visuals, refractive and reflective surfaces making it appear as though performers are overlapping, and choreography created for every leaf in a 134-page text — but, not every ballet is Tree of Codes. Stemming from a dream team of creative forces, the production is currently wowing crowds in London, and for good reason. Music, dance, art and literature fans, hold on to your hats: Tree of Codes is a collaboration between Jamie xx, Royal Ballet choreographer Wayne McGregor, Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and novelist Jonathan Safran Foer. First previewing in Manchester in 2016, it's named after and based on the latter's book-based artwork of the same name. Also described as a "sculptural object", the printed work took Bruno Schulz's Street of Crocodiles, cut out the majority of words and fashioned what remained into a new post-apocalyptic story. So, how do you turn that into a ballet? Foer's "blurred and disorientating worlds provide a powerful point of departure for our collaboration on stage — where constellations of light, shadows, bodies, objects and sound dance at the edges of darkness," says McGregor. "Lights panning over the audience cause its spectral image to appear on the stage's reflective, coloured scrims, integrating the viewers with the activity on the stage," states Eliasson's website, while Jamie xx created an algorithm to vocalise words from the book, transforming them into melodies. Tree of Codes' season at London's Sadler's Wells ended on March 11, and we'll keep our fingers and toes crossed that it turns up on our shores. Via Dezeen.
The Spartan Race is no joke. In a bid to transport participants back to ancient times, the race, a little sibling of the Spartan Death Race, is set on harsh terrain with obstacles of fire, water, mud and barbed wire. Spartan Races come in a few different forms: there are ‘Sprints’ of 7km, which progress to ‘Super’ of 14km and ‘Beast’ of 21km. People can fly solo or register as a team, and the Spartan Kids race allows children to experience some of the challenges. The race is followed by food, drink, and stalls.
Plenty of Aussies have found themselves captivated by US TV drama The Handmaid's Tale, and the image of a dystopian society that is — even 30-odd years after the book was published — a little too close to home. And now, you'll have the chance to dive even deeper into that world, as Margaret Atwood, author of the original books that inspired the show, heads Down Under for an exclusive Australian appearance. Taking the stage at the Sydney Opera House in March 2019 in the lead-up to International Women's Day, the acclaimed Canadian writer will speak as part of the UNSW Centre for Ideas 2019 program. Atwood, celebrated for her storytelling prowess, prescient imagination and thought-provoking ideas, will share her insights into how present-day behaviours might be used to foretell any grim futures coming our way — just like those fictional worlds that hit so close to home in the likes of The Handmaid's Tale and Atwood's other works like The Blind Assassin, Alias Grace and, more recently, the MaddAddam Trilogy. The author's set to dish up her thoughts on the key issues of today and the future realities they might herald, from extremist politics, to climate change. It should be an interesting, if not eyebrow-raising, talk — as well as being an obvious advocate for women's rights, Atwood came under fire this year for her controversial take on the #MeToo movement and her reluctance to call The Handmaid's Tale feminist. Maybe she can visit Gliead while she's here. Margaret Atwood speaks at the Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall, on Sunday March 3, 2019. Tickets are from $39, available here from 9am, November 8.
Jumpers for Goalposts is a romantic comedy set in a queer community sports league in Hull. The theatre at Red Stitch has been done up as a suitably dingy graffitied locker room. The cast have cracked out their best Yorkshire accents. Pink soccer jerseys have been made. Coach Viv (Red Stitch regular Kate Cole), having parted from her former team the Lesbian Rovers, is trying to prove herself with a new gang of misfits called Barely Athletic. There's dumpster diving silly hat wearing busker Beardy (Ray Chong Nee), nervous aspiring coach Danny (Johnathan Peck), the even more nervous and totally un-sporty boy from the library who's only been invited because Danny wants to hook up with him (Rory Kelly), and Joe (Paul Denny), Viv's depressed straight brother-in-law, who she's roped in to get him out of the house. Following the familiar lines of both the rom com and the underdog sports drama, the play doesn't offer too many surprises. The team has its ups and downs, and so does their love in the locker room. The central romance is sweet and well-written and there are bittersweet moments aplenty in a show about celebrating small victories. In case you hadn't already picked it up from the same-sex romances, Red Stitch goes to great pains to establish that this is a queer show — from blasting you with 'Karma Chameleon' as you take your seats, to serenading you with 'I Am What I Am' as you walk out. The script, by quickly rising young British playwright Tom Wells, however generally avoids cliché and plays for slice-of-life realism. As a sports drama it seems well observed. Leastways, the sense of excessive drama and stress over nothing lines up with how your Concrete Playground correspondent remembers sport being. As a queer theatre piece, it hits some goals and misses others. While the league is described as being an LGBTI league, the focus of the play is firmly on the letter G. Viv, the only female character, while strongly acted by Cole, is mostly defined by her relentless bossiness. References to the other teams in the league, such as the lesbian team or "Tranny United" are most often used as punchlines. Maybe it's just because men of whatever sexuality playing sport are such a heavily travelled dramatic ground but these other teams often seemed more intriguing than the one on stage. As a romantic comedy though, Jumpers for Goalposts succeeds, being both funny and affecting. Its depiction of relationships is honest, both in showing their emotive and problematic aspects and in demonstrating how hurdles to love can be overcome with communication and respect. As such, it is ahead of many works in this genre, in that it offers something meaningful to say about how to make relationships work.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced artists and musicians to come up with even more innovative ways to make money, as well as keep us beloved fans entertained. Despite all the live-stream festivals, fun merch and unexpected new albums, though, there is no substitute for seeing your favourite bands and solo performers in the flesh — even if we can't all be crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in a sweaty venue for the foreseeable future. Enter Great Southern Nights, the NSW Government-led initiative aiming to kick-start the live music industry by putting on 1000 COVID-Safe gigs across the state this November. Sydney might be the state capital, but that doesn't mean it's where all the action is. With summer fast approaching and no prospect of international travel on the horizon, there's no better time to explore our own backyard. We've partnered with NSW Government to bring you eight gigs we think are worthy of a road trip. So, load up your bags, put on your ultimate playlist and hit the road.
UPDATE, APRIL 4: Due to concerns around the coronavirus, Paramount Pictures has announced that The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run will no longer release on its initially scheduled date of Thursday, July 2, 2020, with the film now hitting cinemas in Victoria and Queensland on September 17, 2020, and cinemas in other Australian states on September 24, 2020. 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. Nostalgia and the big screen seem to go hand in hand these days. This is a year that's brought back everything from Dumbo, Pet Sematary and Aladdin to The Lion King, Zombieland and Charlie's Angels, after all. And next year is set to be no different, especially when it comes to two properties that were a staple of every 90s and 00s childhood: SpongeBob SquarePants and Sonic the Hedgehog. Flicks based on both will hit cinemas in 2020, although this isn't the first time at the movies for Bikini Bottom's resident yellow critter. The ever-perky SpongeBob has already featured in 2004's great The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and 2015's similarly entertaining The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, with the new The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run marking the third in the film series. And yes, it looks as manic and irreverent — and as suitable for viewers young, old and in-between — as ever. Sponge On the Run does boast one particularly huge drawcard, too: Keanu Reeves. Fresh from voicing a character in Toy Story 4, he plays a sage shrub that's also a wisdom-dispensing sage. So, he gives SpongeBob advice when the eponymous figure's pet snail Gary is snail-napped, sparking a road trip with starfish Patrick to The Lost City of Atlantic City. Yep, of course that's what happens. As for Sonic the Hedgehog, the 90s video game character makes the leap to movies in a live-action film that co-stars Jim Carrey as his usual antagonist, Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Ben Schwartz, aka Parks and Recreation's Jean-Ralphio Saperstein, voices the speedy extraterrestrial blue hedgehog — and the picture isn't without its fair share of controversy. When an earlier trailer was released a few months back, Sonic's overall look caused a stir, with the film since undergoing a visual redesign to fix it. Check out the results — and the Sponge On the Run trailer, too — below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJJYewh4Nco&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_ZCtiWvBLk&feature=youtu.be After being delayed from its original release date of July 2, 2020, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run will now open in cinemas in Victoria and Queensland on September 17, 2020, and cinemas in other Australian states on September 24, 2020. Sonic the Hedgehog releases on February 13, 2020.
From family classics like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to hard-hitting documentaries in the league of Camp 14 – Total Control Zone to black comedies such as Invasion, this year's Audi Festival of German Film promises the bravest, brashest and most bizarre in German film. All in all, the event will include 45 movies (presented via 234 screenings) and 54 events. There'll be panel discussions, Q&As, special cultural programs and parties. The selection for opening night, Georg Maas' Two Lives, makes it clear the festival is seeking the cutting edge, new generation of German filmmaking. It's a 2012 post-Berlin wall spy thriller about the exercise of state control over individual identities. With over 20,000 people expected to attend, representing a 37 percent growth in popularity over the past six years, this year's festival is set to be the biggest on record. Here are our picks of the top five films to see at te festival. 1. Camp 14 - Total Control Zone Described as "one of the most confronting documentaries you'll ever see", Camp 14 - Total Control Zone focuses on Shin Dong-Hyuk, who was born in a North Korean concentration camp. Until escaping at the age of 23, he knew nothing else of life apart from unimaginable deprivation and cruelty. This is his story, recorded on camera for the first time by Marc Wiese. 2. This Ain't California Winner of Best Documentary at Cannes 2012, This Ain't California explores the development of skateboard culture in East Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. 3. Invasion In this thriller, director Dito Tsintsadze brilliantly blends character-driven drama and black comedy with bouts of paranoia. It's definitely one for film connoisseurs who like to be kept on the edge of their seats. When widower Josef Mendel receives a surprise visit from his wife's cousin (who he never knew existed) and her rather peculiar relations, his life takes a bizarre series of twists and turns. 4. Forgotten This psychological horror flick, director Alex Schmidt's debut feature, is one of the only genre films on the festival program. Upon reuniting after 25 years, childhood friends Hanna and Clarissa decide to visit a holiday house where they spent time as children, unleashing a host of forgotten memories and terrifying spectres. Not recommended for the faint-hearted. 5. Two Lives A contemplative spy thriller set in the dying days of the Berlin Wall. What's not to dig?
If your tipple of choice is a tasty local beer or homegrown spirit, the 2021–22 Federal Budget has served up some good news for your future drinking endeavours. In a push to support jobs and boost Australia's alcohol manufacturing sector, the government is set to offer around $225 million in tax relief for local small breweries and distilleries. Announced earlier this month and reiterated during this week's federal budget announcement, this move will allow eligible brewers and distillers to get back any excise tax they pay on the alcohol they produce, up to a cap of $350,000 each year. Previously, they were only entitled to a maximum refund of 60 percent, capped annually at $100,000. The Excise Refund Scheme changes will kick off from July 1, 2021, pulling the benefits for Australia's beer and spirits industries more into line with what the wine industry currently enjoys. It's expected that around 600 brewers and 400 distillers will benefit from the move. The tax relief should offer our local beer and spirits scenes a huge boost, according to Independent Brewers Association Chairman and founder of Sydney's Wayward Brewing Co, Peter Philip. In an interview with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg earlier this month, Mr Philip explained that small brewers and distilleries would be pushing this extra money into technology, capability, capacity and their people. "Consumers really want to support small, locally-owned independent beer in Australia. And this is just going to make that happen," he said. In the same interview, Bentspoke Brewing founder Richard Watkins called the excise change "one of the biggest things that's ever happened in the brewing industry", saying his Canberra-based brewery would be investing in new equipment and technology to make the beer even better and meet increased demand. [caption id="attachment_811815" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wayward Brewing's Camperdown taproom[/caption] The budget move will also prove a timely helping hand for two industries especially hard hit by last year's hospitality lockdowns. In a statement made last month calling for a drop in excise tax rates, the Brewers Association of Australia revealed its 2020 data showing draught beer sales had plunged by a third, compared to the previous year. According to the organisation, that translates to a drop of over $1 billion in beer sold by pubs and clubs in 2020 alone. For more information about the 2021–22 Federal Budget, head to the government's website.
A hard day of wizarding deserves a fresh pint of butterbeer, and London could soon have just the spot for it. An eager Harry Potter fan is launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund what might just become everyone's favourite magical watering hole: The Cauldron. You can taking the leaking out of the enchanted bar's name, but you can't take the wonder, with the pub promising to use technology to emulate all of the tricks you've read about in JK Rowling's books and watched in the subsequent film adaptations. That includes touch-sensitive magic wands that can be used to light fires, turn on the lights and even pour drinks, plus moving photographs and levitating candles. There's no mention of paying for your drinks in galleons, but that idea sounds right up this place's Diagon Alley. Speaking of beverages, in addition to their own signature brew — the Cauldron Ale, which will be served in a specialty bottom-filling pint glass — The Cauldron will provide wizarding-inspired wines, spirits and soft drinks, as well as "spectacular science-based cocktails that look and behave like potions that are described in fantasy books." There's no word on just how they'll achieve that feat, but we like their confidence. As for food, The Cauldron once again pledges to fill its menu with dishes mentioned in all of those novels you love, with fans also able to make suggestions. Their ambition doesn't stop there, with shelves filled with texts, plug-in listening stations for audiobooks, book clubs, book readings, book signings, games meet-ups and wizarding trivia all on the agenda if the venue gets the go-ahead. It's the latest in a long list of HP-themed fun (including a pasta restaurant, a sleepover wizarding school, yoga classes and a market, plus Toronto already has a bar); however if that floats your objects of choice, The Cauldron's fundraising quest kicks off on June 26. The proposed pub is aiming for a March 2018 opening — for more information, check out their website.
The spirit of New Orleans is headed to Melbourne. Hosted by Gumbo Kitchen, the fourth annual Fat Tuesday Southern Food and Music Festival will once again combine Louisiana jazz with old style Cajun and Creole cuisine. You'll swear your partying right on the Mississippi. Fat Tuesday, better known by its French name Mardi Gras, traditionally marks the day before the beginning of Lent — hence all the fatty foods. Whether you'll be fasting on Wednesday, it'll be hard to resist this festival's smorgasbord of dining options, with catering by some of Melbourne's favourite Southern-style food joints including Bluebonnet Barbecue, Po' Boy Quarter and Girl with the Gris Gris. Nola craft beer outfit Abita will provide the beverages, along with cocktails by West Winds Gin. The live music lineup, meanwhile, will see the likes of brass band Horns of Leroy and The Johnny Can't Dance Cajun trio creating all kinds of danceworthy havoc. The fun all starts in Hardy Reserve, Carlton North at 5pm.
Yes, Melbourne's scored another rooftop cinema. But while the openair aspect might be new, this outdoor venture comes from a fixture of the city's film scene. Elsternwick's Classic Cinema has been screening movies since 1911 — but this is the first time it's done it on its rooftop. Located on the fourth level, the rooftop not only has its own bar and tiered seating, but views across the southeast to the city. The summer series will kick off on Thursday, December 19 with seven consecutive screenings of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and continue until April 2020 with a mix of new releases and cult classics. You'll be able to check out Taika Waititi's World War II satire JoJo Rabbit and the new weird rendition of Cats as well as harking back to 10 Things I Hate About You and Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. Movies start at sundown every night of the week and tickets are $25.
Next time you slather your hands with sanitiser, you could be covering them with your favourite booze as well. With alcohol a crucial ingredient in the now-essential product — especially sanitiser that's effective against COVID-19 — distilleries and breweries are doing their part to help boost supplies. To the delight of rum lovers, that now includes Queensland's iconic Beenleigh Rum and Bundaberg Rum. While gin aficionados can splash their digits with Manly Spirits Co's gin-infused hand sanitiser — and plenty of other boozy outfits are jumping on the trend, too — fans of fermented and distilled sugarcane juice can look forward to freshening their fingers with their preferred tipple. Well, in a way. Australia's oldest distillery, Beenleigh Rum is whipping up its own sanitiser and selling it online; however, the end product doesn't feature any of its branding. Still, if you order a carton of Wheel & Barrow hand sanitiser, you'll be ordering sanitiser made by Beenleigh Rum — with online orders available now, by the carton, for delivery from Friday, March 27. Beenleigh Distillery owner Angelo Kotses originally just planned to start making sanitiser to keep the company's own workers safe, but decided to pump out more when asked by the Queensland Government. The distillery will also provide the state with a supply of the product for schools and frontline workers. If you're a Bundaberg Rum devotee, the Coral Coast-based operation is focusing on producing ethanol for use in hand sanitiser. It won't be making sanitiser itself — so you won't see bottles all over the place with Bundy Rum's bear logo — but it is donating 100,000 litres of ethanol to the Queensland Government to be used in making sanitiser, which will produce around 500,000 bottles. Although there's no word yet on how the government will be using the Bundy-infused sanitiser, fingers crossed that it'll be made available to the public — given how much Bundy Rum is drunk across the state, it's certain to be popular. To buy Beenleigh Rum-produced hand sanitiser, visit the distillery's website. 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.
Ever wanted to build your own community? And no, I don't mean spending every waking hour on The Sims renovating your virtual dream house. This big idea, straight from TED2011, could empower humans everywhere with the essential tools to create civilisations, DIY-style. TED fellow Marcin Jakubowski has identified 50 machines critical to our modern way of life — everything from tractors to ovens to brick-making machines. Determined to re-design these machines to be modular, long-lasting and made of local recyclable materials, Jakubowski began Open Source Ecology, a project uniting a community of farmers, engineers and supporters hell-bent on developing an open-source 'Global Village Construction Set'. In essence, it's a suite of machines that are essential for setting up any civilisation. The best bit? Machinery is made up of interchangeable life-sized LEGO-like parts, and has the potential to democratise industrial production and enhance supply chains to be more environmentally sustainable. Jabukowski says the Global Village Construction Set "lowers the barriers to entry into farming, building, and manufacturing and can be seen as a life-size lego-like set of modular tools that can create entire economies." https://youtube.com/watch?v=CD1EWGQDUTQ [Via GOOD]
For most urban dwellers, the dream of growing our own fruit and vegies is appealing but severely limited by the reality of small backyards or even smaller balconies. Our poor little green thumbs are restricted to watering potted herbs and, if we are lucky, a communal lemon tree. Yet the desire to get our hands dirty, and the ever-increasing need to provide ourselves and communities with fresh fruit and vegies, remains. So it really is of little surprise that local community gardens and urban farms have taken off, both in Australia and around the globe. In cities as diverse as Seattle and Singapore, these new gardens have provided their local communities with a multitude of benefits — fresh(er) air, social contact and the opportunity to grow food in a healthy, cost effective and sustainable way. These little green spots have also caught the attention of environmentally conscious businesses and NGOs. In New York, for example, Brightfarms have developed hydroponic greenhouses, which can be used by local supermarkets to supply their customers with fresh, tasty and environmentally friendly produce. In London, Mudchute Farm, one of the UK's largest urban farms, offers East Londoners are well-earned respite from city living. In Vancouver, design firm Green Over Grey have installed North America's largest green wall on the side of Semiahmoo Library. And here in Sydney, Leichhardt Council has agreed to a proposal by Sydney City Farm to reconvert part of the site at Rozelle's Callan Park into a city farm, complete with a sustainable living centre dedicated to providing educational programs and events on how to eat (and live) in harmony with the surrounding environment. And once the NSW government get behind the plans, it will be time for Sydneysiders to get the gardening gloves out.
After three years in the brewing biz, Exit Brewing finally has a place to call home — but, in a distinct point of difference from every other brewery in the industry, the bar has a name all its own. Uitgang Bar, a collaboration between Exit co-founders Fraser Rettie and Craig Knight and their beer loving friend David Pike, officially opened its doors early April. "The name is Flemish for Exit and is an homage to where we were first inspired to brew in Belgium," says Rettie. "We fell in love with beer and first began to home brew there, and the name is just a little something different." All three owners are Richmond locals, and Rettie had specifically eyed the space enviously many times on previous occasions. "I used to walk past the space almost every day and I'd always stick my head in and think 'this would be a great place to showcase the Exit range," says Rettie. "When we found out it was becoming available, we moved fast." The space boasts exposed brick and arches, as well as a sizeable beer garden — a commodity along Bridge Road. They hope to grow a few hop plants in the garden, which will be used both for show and as ingredients in pilot brews only available at the bar. The bar features an extensive range of taps, including ten beer, one cider and one carbonated coffee tap, produced nearby at North St. Of the beer taps, four will be dedicated to Exit, one is reserved for Kaiju! Beer — who they share brewing facilities with — and the additional four will act as rotating taps for other Australian craft breweries. The venue's local focus goes deeper than most — all of the booze in Uitgang will focus on Australian producers, including independently made spirits and wine. Keeping with their community focus, the bar is offering takeaway food services from three of their favourite neighbourhood haunts — pizza and pasta from St Domenico, burgers from Three One 2 One and Vietnamese fusion from Mr Minh. "There are so many quality food places around Bridge Road and we chose to partner with restaurants we love and eat at ourselves," says Rettie. Having a bar doesn't mean you'll stop seeing Exit beer around town, either. "We have a lot of really loyal retailers and customers so we're very conscious that we don't want to hog all of the limelight with the new bar," says Rettie. Exit will even throw their third birthday at the nearby Royston Hotel, who have been loyal supporters of the brand and have hosted events for them in the past. Uitgang Bar is now open at 406 Bridge Road, Richmond; opening hours are Wednesday through Thursday from 4pm to 11pm, Friday through Saturday from noon to 11pm and Sunday from noon to 10pm.
Time may be a flat circle, as Matthew McConaughey told us in the first season of True Detective; however the entertainment industry seems to be one too. Every popular property lives on, comes back, is remade or jumps to a different format these days, or so it appears — including another high-profile effort featuring McConaughey and his fondness for saying "all right" over and over again. Continuing the movie-to-stage musical trend that has swept up all of your favourite films in recent years, Magic Mike is making the leap to the theatre, bolstering the feature's hefty lineup of dancing and stripping with plenty of singing. It'll add to the two-film franchise in another way as well, with the production framed as a prequel to the flicks, showing how the titular character first found his disrobing mojo. Sorry, Channing Tatum fans — although he's billed as a producer on the stage version, along with Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh and Magic Mike XXL filmmaker Gregory Jacobs according to Playbill, you can bet that he won't be treading the boards. While cast details haven't been announced, the show has just undergone a creative reshuffle. Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale), composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey (who worked together on musical Next to Normal) have all recently left, but the musical does boast director Trip Cullman and choreographer Camille A. Brown, who've been collaborating on star-studded, Tony-nominated Broadway play Choir Boy. Magic Mike The Musical is due to world premiere on November 30 at Boston's Emerson Colonial Theatre, running until early January. Next stop, or the show hopes: Broadway. It shouldn't be confused with the Magic Mike Live strip and dance show, aka the stage version that was always going to happen, which is currently playing in London until October. Magic Mike joins a lengthy list of films becoming theatre productions of late, including Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bring It On, The Lion King, Mean Girls, Clueless, The Bodyguard, Amelie, Waitress, Muriel's Wedding and Moulin Rouge!. Versions of The Devil Wears Prada, Empire Records, Mrs Doubtfire, The Notebook, The Princess Bride and Aussie classic Starstruck are also in the works. Get a refresher on what might be in store in the all-stripping, all-singing Magic Mike musical with the trailer for the original movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd0XPRo4LZQ Via Playbill.
Everybody knows that Macaulay Culkin’s once adorable image has taken a bit of a hit since the good ol’ days of Home Alone and My Girl. But his latest charade is in a whole new league. A tribute band like no other, Culkin’s Pizza Underground was first heard of in December last year, with the band since performing a string of gigs across the New York anti-folk scene. With their only agenda being to spread the good news of pizza to the world, the group finally have a video to accompany their debut hit. And it certainly does not disappoint. Dressed all in black and donning matching, dark shades, Culkin and his musical counterparts (Matt Colbourn, Phoebe Kreutz, Deenah Vollmer, Austin Kilham) have delivered a clip both entertaining and bizarre. A mash up of amended hit Velvet Underground tracks including 'All Tomorrow's Parties' ('All the Pizza Parties') and 'Femme Fatale' ('Pizza Gal', obviously) and featuring killer lines like "Hey babe take a bite of the wild slice", this psychedelic ode to pizza and Lou Reed is a fusion of madness and hilarity. Notable highlights include pizza lining the walls and ceiling, and Culkin playing a kazoo solo through a cheesy slice. A star fallen from grace? Or Culkin’s greatest triumph yet? Either way, this vid can’t help but leave you jiving in your seat. As well as craving a slice. Via Huffington Post. Go behind the scenes on the shoot with Vice.
This year, Australia's arts calendar is steadily making up for lost time, compensating for all of 2020's missed gigs, exhibitions and experiences with a slew of brand new large-scale festivals and events. And, plenty of them are arriving this winter — including Rising, Melbourne's latest addition; Sydney Solstice, which will take over Vivid's usual June slot this year; and Illuminate Adelaide, which has just unveiled its first program reveal. Kicking off on Friday, July 16 and delivering 17 jam-packed days of music, art and light, Illuminate Adelaide kicks promises to fire up all of the South Australian city's senses. On the bill: a diverse lineup of installations, collaborations, world-premiere works and tech-driven immersive experiences, which should help fill locals' calendars and also tempt folks across the rest of Australia to SA for a mid-year getaway. In total, there'll be more than 150 installations, performances and events, including 41 world premieres. Helping to launch the festival's inaugural Luminary Artists in Residence program, legendary electronic act The Avalanches will take part in five events throughout Illuminate Adelaide. They'll perform their debut album Since I Left You live with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, present an art exhibition exploring the works that influenced their most recent album We Will Always Love You and descend on the outdoor music stage for a massive DJ set to help soundtrack the closing block party. In between all of that, Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi will also chat about their career, and their residency will include Michaela Gleave and Fausto Brusamolino's sky-high Messages of Hope, Messages of Love as well. Innovative light shows and illuminated works feature heavily throughout the program, starting with Light Cycles — an Aussie debut from Canada's Moment Factory that's set to transform the Adelaide Botanic Gardens with two kilometres of light projections, lasers, sound and special effects across each night of the festival. Adelaide Zoo will come alive after dark with a series of enchanting interactive animal installations for Light Creatures, while Van Gogh Alive, a multi-sensory digital art immersion from the minds behind The Lume, will let you experience the works of Van Gogh like never before. And City Lights will see a range of acclaimed artists transform the CBD into an after-dark art trail, featuring over 40 free site-specific works from kaleidoscopic projections to a giant inflatable deconstructed rainbow in Rundle Mall. [caption id="attachment_806650" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Light Creatures, A Blanck Canvas[/caption] The Adelaide Film Festival has jumped on board, collaborating on two world premiere VR works to be screened in a specially designed dome inside Queen's Theatre. And Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute is set to team up with Music SA for Kinara — a free celebration of art and culture led by a cast of groundbreaking First Nations artists. You'll also catch freshly commissioned public artworks by the likes of South Australia's own Jason Sims, dig into unique music experiences from acts such as Paul Grabowsky AO and head to the reimagined Adelaide Festival of Ideas, too. And, on the final weekend, Illuminate Adelaide wraps up with a bang, dishing up a high-energy block party dubbed MAAD (Music & Art After Dark). Galleries and venues across the West End will come alive with gigs from a broad-ranging lineup of emerging and well-known talent, along with more exhibitions, short film screenings and light installations. The inaugural Illuminate Adelaide runs from July 16–August 1. Check out the festival's website for the full program and to grab tickets. Images: North Forest Lights at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Moment Factory; Airship Orchestra, ENESS.
Jurassic World: The Exhibition is a thing, and it's coming to Melbourne. Based on the blockbuster film of the same name, the exhibition will have its world premiere at Melbourne Museum in March next year. And, according to Dr. Patrick Greene, Museum Victoria's CEO, it's sure to "wow audiences and inspire young minds". The exhibit will feature incredibly life-like animatronic dinosaurs created by Melbourne locals, Creature Technology Company — the same team who developed the dinos for the Walking With Dinosaurs arena spectacular. Did you see the announcement? Terrifying. So it's a good thing they're not real — because if you've seen at least one of the Jurassic Park films, you'd know that dinosaurs aren't always friendly. The exhibition instead gives you a chance to get up close and personal with the creatures in a unique and engaging way. "Visitors to [the exhibition] will get an unprecedented opportunity to be in close proximity to the most amazing creatures to have ever roamed the earth," says Sonny Tilders, creative director at the Creature Technology Company. Jack Horner, one of the film's paleontological advisors (or, Official Dinosaur Guy), is working with the exhibition to make sure that it's both educational and fun. Visitors both young and old will be able to learn more about these prehistoric creatures without having to pore over a dry textbook. Gone are the days of boring museum presentations. Now you can learn about dinosaurs from interactive and theatrical exhibits that might scare your pants off at the same time. This unique experience allows you to experience the events of the film, without having to travel to reception-less Isla Nublar with its dubious emergency protocol. Jurassic Park: The Exhibition features encounters will the realistic life-size dinosaurs, so we can only assume that there will be thousands of people taking pictures pretending to be velociraptor-whisperer, Owen Grady, doing some 'Prattkeeping'. Jurassic World: The Exhibition runs from March 19 to October 9, 2016 at the Melbourne Museum. Advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended. Image: Universal Pictures
The future. What will it look, feel, sound, smell and taste like? What's the logical progression of everything that's happening today, in our rapidly changing technological and social landscape? Will the future be like now, only more so? Auteur film director Spike Jonze answers this question via the plaintive eyes and breaking voice of Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) as he wanders the Los Angeles of the near-future in Her. This future is a warm and technologically intuitive space, where highly evolved, Siri-like operating systems are capable of falling in love with humans. Watching the film, we found that despite its themes of loneliness and emotional surrogacy, there's a few predictions we hope do come true. Computers are basically therapists In the future, while artificial intelligence-based computers programs like Samantha (dreamily voiced by Scarlett Johansson) definitely listen to what you say, what really matters to them is how you say it. In classic psychoanalyst form, they listen for signs of hesitation, anxiety or affection. When his OS quizzes him about his feelings for his mother, Theodore's ambivalent tone tells the computer all it needs to know. Video games are just as savvy: Theodore spends a lot of time chatting with a funny little virtual creature with a bad case of Tourette's, whose needless rudeness greatly amuses him. So, what happens when an OS can sense and respond to your emotions? You end up getting entertainment, companionship, sympathy and advice from an entity that also has the power to sort through infinite data and provide all kinds of practical services. It becomes the 100 percent efficient bosom friend you never had. The pedestrian is king Today, Nobody Walks in LA, because everyone has a car. It's a proverbial truth well documented by SNL's The Californians. But Spike Jonze's' LA of tomorrow is one big, car-less New York Highline (he even consulted with the Highline's creators to get the feel right). Broad and tranquil sky walkways connect Theodore from work to home, and a metro system takes him from the city to the beach. What's the advantage of travelling through life on foot? Safer, more populated public spaces; a healthier body; and the end of road rage. Despite Her's overarching theme of loneliness, from developments here in Sydney we know that pedestrian spaces tend to attract food trucks, live music and events, making everyone feel happier and more connected to their local community. Something we didn't see in the film that we hope to see in the cities of the future, is a skyline of buildings carpeted with vertical gardens. Clothes, technology and interiors are kind of friendly-looking Do we see any robo-babes or steampunks in future LA? No. We see an affluent middle-class clad in garb that references the 1930s, with high-waisted pants and clean colour-blocking. No one's trying to look cutting-edge; just well-presented. The style is actually shoppable — check out Opening Ceremony's Her capsule collection. As for interior design and gadgets, there's none of the usual super-slick chrome interiors, overly stark minimalism and cold blue lighting that films usually use to represent the world of the future. Nor are there paleo-future aesthetics or dystopian ruins. Instead, we experience lights that gently illuminate when Theodore enters his apartment; a smart pocketbook that looks like an old-timey picture frame; an elevator whose walls display a moving silhouette of trees. It's a wholesome, comfortable environment accessorised with objects and furniture in shades of blush and ochre. In fact, the colour blue is largely filtered out of the movie, to create a feeling of warmth and comfort deliberately at odds with Theodore's personal isolation. While we can't exactly filter out blue IRL, we Spike Jonze's vision of a cosy, inviting built environment that isn't trying too hard to be cool. Communication is hands free and softly spoken In future LA, almost every appliance is a voice-activated Siri. From printers to video games to letter-writing computer programs, machines respond to softly murmured voice commands much like Google Glass today. Riding the metro home, Theodore discreetly instructs his smart pocketbook to show him nudie pictures of a pregnant celebrity. What's the upshot of this subtle way of communicating needs? People become more softly spoken in general. The trend carries into advertising: Theodore first hears about the new artificially intelligent OS from a slo-mo advertisement in which a soothing voice heralds a new era in technology. Machines themselves also speak enticingly, as epitomised by the husky Samantha . Her is in cinemas now. Read our review of the movie here.
Under current COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, there are restrictions on where Melburnians can travel. Check out the latest information on the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services website. You can also check out more figures and graphs on its Victorian coronavirus data page. But, this doesn't mean you can't start dreaming — bookmark this for when you can explore once again. If a winter trip to Tasmania is on your agenda — and plenty of stomach-warming wine, too — then a pitstop at Devil's Corner probably forms part of your plans. Thanks to its towering onsite lookout, the well-known winery is a must-visit east coast destination even if you're not fond of vino. But for those who are partial to a drop or several, you'll find yourself sipping and soaking in the view at the vineyard's new pop-up cellar door over the next few months. Usually, Devil's Corner's cellar door is a hive of activity — and, between now and summer this year, it's undergoing a big revamp. The winery is expanding the facilities, in fact, but it isn't leaving vino lovers hanging in the interim. Instead, you'll hang out outdoors, enjoying your wine while hovering around a roaring fire pit. Called The Little Devil, the pop-up cellar door is doing wine tastings — by the glass, bottle and paddle — seven days a week. It's serving up takeaway wine sales, too. And, to line your stomach, food van Governors Bicheno is also onsite doing snacks and coffee. Like Devil's Corner's vines, visitors to The Little Devil will be exposed to the elements during the expansion. So, consider a coat, hat and even a rug mandatory accessories. When the expansion is complete, the permanent cellar door will sprawl across more space — and include both more shelter fo0r future winters, and revamped food and wine experiences. Find The Little Devil at Devil's Corner, 1 Sherbourne Road, Apslawn, Tasmania — open from 10am–4pm daily.
The 2013 Sydney Film Festival is bringing out Jeff Desom's intense, insanely complex-looking video installation Rear Window Loop. Projected on a 10m-long surface, the panoramic piece allows you to see the world as it appeared to Jimmy Stewart's paranoid, wheelchair-bound photojournalist Jeff in Hitchcock's Rear Window — possible murders and all. The effect is created by splicing scenes together in After Effects, a process more complicated than it sounds in this sentence. "I dissected all of Hitchcock's Rear Window and stitched it back together in After Effects," says Desom on his website. "I stabilised all the shots with camera movement in them. Since everything was filmed from pretty much the same angle I was able to match them into a single panoramic view of the entire backyard without any greater distortions. The order of events stays true to the movie's plot." The three-channel projection runs for 20 minutes. You can get a good idea of the process as well as the finished product in this video, also from Dessom's site. Rear Window Loop won Best Remix in the Vimeo Awards and Golden Nica at Ars Electronica and will be installed at the Sydney Film Festival Hub at Lower Town Hall, which since last year has been the festival's route to incorporating art happenings, interdisciplinary works and playtime, acknowledging the role of film outside the cinema. It's curated by Sydney's favourite cultured revellers, The Festivalists (Jurassic Lounge). The Sydney Film Festival has also announced the first 27 films of its 2013 program as a taster. Most hotly anticipated is the neo-Gothic thriller Stoker from Park Chan-Wook (Old Boy), which stars Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and Jacki Weaver. Other highlights include Wadjda, the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia (and by a Sydney Uni graduate no less, Haifaa Al Mansour); Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls, a documentary about Burma's first girl band by Australian director Juliet Lamont; and Comrade Kim Goes Flying, a romantic comedy that's also the first North Korean movie to screen at the festival. The full program will be revealed on May 8. You can see Rear Window Loop at the Sydney Film Festival Hub at Lower Town Hall from June 6-14 at 5-6pm and again from 10pm-midnight. The SFF itself runs from June 5-16.
Each year, we all anticipate the arrival of December 25. Because of the day off, that includes the promise of an afternoon spent dozing in a hammock — and for dessert fiends, it also includes Gelato Messina's annual Christmas cake. We hope you like a certain quintessential Australian dish, because that's what is on the gelato chain's menu again. Yes, Messina is bringing back its version of the trifle. The Christmas Coma will return for its fifth year running — and, although it seems like we say this every festive season, this time it's especially decadent. In fact, it's a choc-hazelnut trifle that's topped with choc gold sheet, as well as a milk chocolate hazelnut globe that's filled with Messinatella — aka Messina's version of Nutella — and it also comes in a pack with a bake-at-home gingerbread and dark choc chip cookie pie. First, the epic trifle. In 2021, the Christmas Coma will once again feature layer upon layer of everything that is good about Christmas — but instead of being soggy and slightly regrettable, this one will have you licking the glass bowl. So what's in it? Well, Messina is going with layers of Messinatella crémeux, chocolate mud cake made with Messinatella fudge, caramelised white chocolate mousse, choc-coated puffed rice and candied hazelnuts, vanilla cream chantilly, hazelnut semifreddo and choc-hazelnut crumble. Plus, it'll come with some Messina brandy custard to douse all over the mess. And, it all serves 20–30 (or less if you really commit). With the gingerbread and dark choc chip cookie pie, it's exactly what it sounds like. Messina has been slinging cookie pies for a few years now, and you'll just need to bake this one for 12 minutes before eating. All of the above comes in a Christmas Coma mega pack, which costs $2s0 and can be pre-ordered from Monday, November 22 — with times varying depending on your state, as the gelato chain has been doing with its specials this year. That said, if you sign up on Messina's website in advance, you'll get access to pre-sale window before pre-orders open to everyone, too. You'll then be able to pick up your Christmas Coma between Tuesday, December 21–Friday, December 24, all within regular store opening hours — and from all Gelato Messina stores across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It comes in a Messina cooler bag and, if you keep it in there all sealed up, can survive for up to one hour. In each of the last few years, the trifle sold out super fast, so we suggest you don't wait on this one. The Christmas Coma will be available to order from Monday, November 22. Keep an eye on the Messina website for further details — or sign up to get access to a pre-sale window before pre-orders open to everyone.
We don't really think about garbage too much after it has been thrown into a dumpster or plopped out on the sidewalk ready to be picked up by trash collectors. The quicker the smelly bags of banana peels and egg cartons are out of our sight, the better. But what if we had to constantly live with the consequences of consumption? Outside of Cairo lies the small town of Garbage City, inhabited by a working community of the poverty-stricken Zabbaleen people. For the Zabbaleen there is no way of disposing of the never-ending flow of trash, making Cairo and its surrounds one of the most polluted areas in the world. Workers collect, reuse or resell the waste but the accumulated rubbish on every street corner and rooftop of the city remains. Mekano Architects have recently proposed a plan that could help the area use the trash to its advantage. The Seeds of Life project is a proposal to recycle the trash from Garbage City into material to build a multipurpose skyscraper. The building consists of an exoskeleton of "wind stalks" in which living and working units can be inserted, with floor plans including everything from family homes to basketball courts, terraces for agriculture and water collection, and designated areas to bury organic waste and produce electricity. Garbage City gone green seems a nearly impossible feat, but if accomplished could mean a significant improvement in both the standard of living in the outskirts of Cairo and cleanliness of the environment. Maybe the architects could even use TED's Global Village Construction Set to assemble the recycled skyscraper city.
In the event that, for any reason whatsoever, a winner does not take an element of the prize at the time stipulated by Vibe then that element of the prize will be forfeited by the winner and cash will not be awarded in lieu of that element. Prize is not refundable, non-endorsable or non-transferable. Vibe Hotels Prize is for overnight accommodation for two adults in a guest room at Vibe Hotel Rushcutters (Sydney TropFest) or Vibe Hotel Savoy Melbourne (Melbourne Tropfest) and does not include any extra charges (i.e., mini-bar, in-house movie, telephone usage, etc). All prizes are subject to availability. Additional spending money, meals, insurance, taxes, passports, visas, travel to and from Vibe and all other ancillary costs are the responsibility of the winner. Unless expressly stated, all other expenses become the responsibility of the winner. A valid credit card is required at check-in to cover any incidentals incurred throughout the stay.
After dinner, you're sure to need supper. Billed as "the ultimate nightcap", the Vivid Sydney Supper Club will transform Mary's Underground into a cabaret club on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the festival. Like any cabaret worth its salt, there's a wide range of entertainment disciplines on the roll call: musical theatre, dance, comedy, burlesque, jazz, DJing and more (think Mahalia Barnes with her soulful music and theatrics and singing from First Nations actress and singer Ursula Yovich). Legendary local drag artist Trevor Ashley (pictured above) has the unenviable task of keeping all the plates spinning and, according to the Vivid Sydney website, "he'll leave the stage door ajar in case special guests drop by for an impromptu jam". Quelle intrigue! Image: John McRae
Anyone afraid that the team at Pixar may have lost their edge can officially put those concerns to rest. After an uncharacteristic run of (relative) disappointments in the form of Cars 2, Brave and Monsters University, their most recent effort, Inside Out, signals a stunning return to form. With a wonderfully inventive premise supported by a cerebral sense of humour along with vibrant animation and a bucketload of pathos, this isn’t just one of Pixar’s best films of the past few years, but one of their best films full stop. And yes, it is going to make you cry. Co-written and directed by Pixar regular Pete Docter, who previously manned the ship on both Monsters Inc and Up, Inside Out takes place inside the brain of 11-year-old Riley, home to Joy, Fear, Disgust, Anger and Sadness. Voiced by Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black and MVP Phyllis Smith, respectively, the mismatched group are in control of Riley’s mood and take care of her core memories — memories which in turn create the basis for her personality. But things get more complicated when Riley’s family decide to move to San Francisco, a change that neither Riley nor her emotions quite know how to handle. Aesthetically speaking, it should almost go without saying that Inside Out is astounding. The fantastical setting gives the animators full license to unleash their imaginations, an opportunity they obviously relish. The world of Riley’s brain is one of life and vivid colour, a cartoon fairyland that you’ll never want to leave. Each of her five emotions boasts its own unique and expressive design, while the voice cast is terrific across the board. Of course it helps that both cast and production team are working with one of Pixar’s best ever scripts, one that’s not only highly original but very, very funny. There’s tons of straightforward physical humour for the kids, but the true gems of Docter’s screenplay are the jokes about the mind itself. After Joy and Sadness are inadvertently transported to the outer recesses of Riley’s brain, the return journey takes them through such territories as Imagination Land and Long Term Memory, as well as the Hollywood-style studio responsible for producing Riley’s dreams. A trip through Abstract Thinking will fly straight over a six-year-old’s head, but anyone who’s ever taken an Introduction to Psychology class will be rolling in the aisles. But the most incredible thing about Inside Out is how it deals with sadness. Plenty of Pixar movies have the capacity to make people cry, but Inside Out is about why we cry. While Joy spends a majority of the film trying to stop Sadness from affecting how Riley feels, the reality is that sometimes Sadness is the most important emotion of all. Without her, and the catharsis that she provides, how does anyone learn to cope with pain or loss? Sometimes there’s nothing better than a good cry. That’s an incredibly important lesson, and not just for the kids.
Passion is a pivotal part of every cocktail enjoyed at the end of a long week, every glass of wine sipped with dinner and every cold brew cracked open just because. If you've made the choice to drink a particular tipple, you should be passionate about it. Life's just too short to waste it on average drops. Unsurprisingly, passion is also one of the driving forces behind every spirit, vino and beer before it even reaches your lips. No one dedicates their life to making standout beverages if they're not devoted to the field. And that passion has been particularly important in 2020, with drinks brands everywhere forced to adapt to quite the challenging year — as South Australia's Never Never Distilling Co, Paracombe Wines and Little Bang Brewing Company can attest. For the past few months, BWS has tapped into both of the aforementioned sources of passion — into the enthusiasm of Aussie drinkers, and into the excitement of those responsible for the country's favourite bevvies. Via its Local Luvvas initiative, the bottle shop retailer asked the nation to pick its top local drinks, with the three chosen companies receiving an extra helping hand with getting their products stocked in more BWS stores. That means you now have more excuses to pick up Never Never, Paracombe and Little Bang's wares. To celebrate the news, and the passion behind it, we've chatted to the committed folks behind the scenes at each. [caption id="attachment_789218" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Meaghan Coles[/caption] A PASSION FOR COMPLEXITY When you're pouring yourself some gin, then adding tonic and whichever garnishes you prefer, it all seems so simple and straightforward. But the juniper-based spirit delivers a complicated array of flavours — and it's that complexity, as well as a "huge passion for South Australia's incredible food and beverage industry", that actually sparked Never Never Distilling Co co-founder and managing director George Georgiadis to start the business in the first place. His fellow co-founders Tim Boast and Sean Baxter share that passion, obviously. Boast, who is also Never Never's head distiller, is a staunch believer in tipples made with purpose, too. "Assuming you can get the fundamentals right and build from a strong foundation, a spirit crafted with a purpose in mind for the end product will ultimately deliver a better liquid," he explains. If you need an example, he suggests Never Never's Triple Juniper Gin, which was specifically designed to be the best gin possible for classic cocktails and G&Ts. A drink made with passion — and complexity and purpose — inspires the same in return. Awards bodies have shown that by showering the McLaren Vale-based distillery with accolades, including in this difficult year. In March, Never Never picked up the Best Regular Gin prize at the San Francisco World Spirit Awards, in fact. But it's the passion of the brand's local supporters that has helped immensely in a period where the company has been forced to "quickly take stock of our focuses, and be brave in what our strategies needed to be," says Baxter. "South Australians are probably some of the most discerning drinkers — you look at the history of wine in SA and the producers who put Australian wine on the map. We're seeing it now in SA gin, where local punters have access to so many incredible smaller producers that they'll actively seek out what's new and what's the best". A PASSION FOR HISTORY When Kathy and Paul Drogemuller bought an old dairy farm in the Adelaide Hills more than three decades ago, they were clearly fond of a good drop. Neither had a background in growing grapes or making wine, but they decided to plant a vineyard at their property at Paracombe, which had been burnt out by the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983. They still kept full-time jobs outside of the farm; however, when they did some research on the area, they found a significant source of inspiration for their hobby. "We discovered that Paracombe had a history of wine going back to the mid-1800s," says Kathy. "There was a vineyard and operational winery exporting wine to England, and the first vintages of Penfolds Grange came from Paracombe. All this valuable history had died out, so we made it our mission to revive the district, raise it back from the ashes and put Paracombe back on the map." From there, the Drogemullers infused their passion into making the very best wine — and making the very best of their location in the process. "Great wine happens in the vineyard and should reflect a sense of place," notes Kathy, explaining how Paracombe Wines capitalises upon the area's ironstone, buckshot gravel and quartz-layered soils, as well as its cooler climate. The result, all these years later, is a range of wines across both whites and reds that locals love. "To start something from nothing, be involved in every process — growing, making, bottling, storing and distributing — all from our property and vineyard, and to produce a product that connects and brings people together around a table with food and family: that is a joy," says Kathy. And if anything was going to help Paracombe Wines "rise above adversity", as Kathy describes the company's journey in 2020, it's that local love. "We have seen that in these difficult times, people seek out to support local more than ever," she says. A PASSION FOR DELICIOUS AND CREATIVE BEER Asked how Little Bang Brewing Company came about, cofounder Ryan Davidson gives the most honest answer there is: "making things is fun, beer is delicious, beer costs money and we were unemployed," he says. But that was just the beginning of his beer-making journey with co-founder and head brewer Fil Kemp, with whom he worked in the games industry prior to starting their Adelaide brewery. "It was once we started brewing together that the fervour really kicked in. We're both rather obsessive when it comes to learning something new, and we encouraged each other a lot in those early days, seeking out every little bit of knowledge, history and expertise we could lay our hands on." That passion for learning has played a big part in Little Bang's 2020 journey, too, and in the kind of year that Davidson could never have imagined back when the company launched in 2014. "We've pivoted so much, we're getting dizzy. It's been a lesson in agility, that's for sure — keeping a constant eye on the news and being ready to redefine what we do, in almost every way, and at a moment's notice," he says. To the surprise of no one, Ryan notes that it has been exhausting. Still, he also says 2020 has been "extremely informative". He continues: "we've learned a lot about our customers, our business and ourselves that we wouldn't have had the chance to know otherwise". All those lessons — the early learnings when the brewery was starting out, and the new gleanings over the past ten months — help shape Little Bang's beverages. Davidson is passionate about something else, though. Naturally, he's still keen on free beer, but he's also enthusiastic about the local community that has blossomed around the company's brews. "We don't see Little Bang as just our business," he says. "It's just as much a creation of the day-to-day attitudes and ideas of all the staff here, and the huge variety of people who spend time at the taproom. We're just lucky enough to work here." To find these or other South Australian drinks as part of the BWS Local Luvva's initiative, head to your nearest BWS store.
The Footscray Night Market is back this festive season to fulfil every food-lovers dream. Taking place every Friday night from December 3–24, the markets will showcase a diverse range of cuisines at the weekly event. Here, you can discover flavours from around the world, and check out live entertainment and music in the Footscray Railway Reserve gardens — and, with children's entertainment also on the lineup, it's easy for the whole family to have fun. Each week, the markets will showcase a different theme to celebrate Melbourne's multicultural landscape. The first week will kick off with delicious African cuisine. Enjoy rich flavours, then watch complimentary performances from African artists from the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Then, on Friday, December 10, Footscray will celebrate the diverse flavours of Asia — complete with Bollywood beats and lion dances. The next week, on Friday, December 17, the markets will return home with an Australian showcase of Indigenous food offerings, plus a smoking ceremony. On Christmas eve, the final event will embrace some festive cheer with a European-style market. Celebrate the festive season with carols and gift stalls — and Santa Claus himself is even rumoured to make a special guest appearance. The Footscray Night Markets is free to attend, and offers the perfect spot to make memories with the whole family this summer. For more information, visit the website.
No matter which city you live in, if you have a fondness for trivia — and a head full of otherwise pointless tidbits just waiting to be scribbled down quickly — then you've likely been to one of the many nights dedicated to such knowledge. During stints at home, you've probably tested your skills virtually, too, to help fill all that time within your own four walls. In 2020, Isolation Trivia hit the scene as a lockdown-friendly trivia night. It's still running strong this year, too, which is particularly great news for Greater Sydney and Greater Brisbane residents under lockdown. No, all the questions aren't just about staying indoors — but because that's now a regular part of our lives, these trivia nights are live-streamed. Aimon Clark, from Brisbane's Man vs Bear and Not On Your Rider trivia events, plays quizmaster. As you join in, you'll jot down your answers at home — and everyone can compare scores virtually, and battle for trivia supremacy. Isolation Trivia pops up around once a week, but to keep an eye on the next sessions — and to play along — you're best to head to the event's Facebook page. Top image: Not On Your Rider
If you've worn that one summer outfit to death, are in need of a new set of sandals for all the beach trips you've got planned or are looking to start prepping your winter wardrobe, it might be time to pick up some new threads. Luckily, you can currently refresh your wardrobe with this huge 40 percent off sale over at The Iconic. There are hundreds of items on sale from a range of sought-after brands including Dazie, M.N.G and Commune as part of the site's Exclusive Edit Sale. Pick up a silky slip dress for your next night out, a tan overshirt that can slip over any autumn outfit or a black leather pair of sandals from Atmos + Here. You can browse the full selection of both women's and men's outfit as well as shoes, jewellery and accessories here. Once you find what you're looking for, the 40 percent discount will be applied on any sale items at the checkout. The sale is running through until 11.59pm on Monday, March 8. Find all the details here. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Earlier in the month, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews flagged how the metropolitan Melbourne area will gradually ease out of its current stage four COVID-19 lockdowns, announcing a five-step plan to bring the region to a stage called 'COVID normal'. The second of those steps was earmarked to start on September 28, and now today, Sunday, September 27, Premier Andrews has confirmed how this next phase will proceed — including lifting the curfew tomorrow morning, which is earlier than expected, and also announcing how the state will now move forward to future stages. From 11.59pm tonight, the metropolitan Melbourne area will indeed shift to the next stage. Doing just that wasn't just contingent on the date, but upon public health advice — and subject to the average daily cases falling between 30 and 50 for 14 days prior. Currently, Melbourne's rolling case average is 22.1, which means that latter requirement has well and truly been met. Indeed, Premier Andrews noted that the area is "at least a week ahead of schedule". As a result, although Melbourne was originally set to keep the curfew in step two, Premier Andrews has revealed that that will no longer be the case. "Tonight will be the last night of the curfew," he advised, noting that it'll lift completely at 5am on Monday, September 28. At the same time, to discourage Melburnians from breaking gathering limits even though they can now leave the house of an evening, the fine for having visitors over to your home and meeting outdoors in big groups is increasing. It'll now be the same as the penalty for travelling into regional Victoria without a valid reason — so you can expect a fine of almost $5000. https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/1310047082355384320 In step two, Melburnians are still required to stay at home except for the currently permitted reasons, and to remain within five kilometres of home; however there are some changes coming into place — including from the initial plans. Public outdoor gatherings are now permitted for one whole household, or up to five people from two households, up to two hours. Also, some workplaces will be allowed to reopen — which was originally due to affect around 101,000 workers in the construction, manufacturing, and landscape garden and maintenance industries, but will now cover 127,000 workers in various industries with COVID-safe plans. Outdoor pools will reopen, and outdoor exercise with two people and a personal trainer will be allowed. While tennis clubs, golf clubs and bowls clubs will remain closed, you will be able to go hiking and fishing, and undertake other exercise that doesn't involve a facility, within five kilometres of your home for a two-hour period. And, for permitted workers returning to their place of employment, they'll be able to exercise within five kilometres of their workplace as well. In regards to shopping limits, the rule allowing only one person per household to go out for groceries once a day rule will no longer apply. That said, Premier Andrews advised that Melburnians should still just "go shopping for the things you need when you need them... it is not an invitation for an entire family group to go to the supermarket". Other changes include resuming private inspections in the real estate industry, holding weddings with up to five people, reopening childcare centres and bringing forward plans to return students to school from October 12. And, in terms of wearing a face mask, there's a shift there as well — with the requirement getting more stringent. Victorians will now be required to wear a fitted face mask that covers the nose and mouth. That means you'll no longer be able to wear a scarf, bandana or face shield instead of a face mask. In great news for future stages, it was also announced that the metropolitan Melbourne area will no longer be held to strict dates, but to case numbers. "The sooner we hit those targets, the sooner we can consider our next steps," Premier Andrews explained. That means that, based on current cases, it is expected that step three will come into effect on October 19. That's still to be confirmed — subject to the daily average number of cases in the last 14 days being less than five state-wide, and there being less than five cases with an unknown source in the prior fortnight — but Premier Andrews noted that the city "cannot take that step any earlier because the impact of decisions made today won't be known for at least two-to-three weeks". At that step, as part of the current plan, restrictions will lift on leaving home — including reasons and distance. There'll still be limits on activities, though, with public gatherings capped at ten people outdoors. In terms of visitors at home, there'll be 'household bubbles', allowing up to five visitors from another nominated household. And, retail and hairdressing will be able reopen, and hospitality will be able to kick back into gear with a focus on outdoor seated service, plus group caps of ten people. Intrastate travel will be allowed but only to other places in step three, and outdoor venues and events can recommence subject to pre-approved plans. For more information about the status of COVID-19 and the current restrictions, head over to the Department of Health and Human Services website — and for further details about Victoria's steps for reopening, head to the roadmap itself.
Proposals for Melbourne's long-awaited airport rail link have been flying hard and fast in the lead-up to election time. Last November, the Victorian Government announced that construction would start on the project within the next ten years, then in July updated that timeline to a start date of within four years, if Labor is re-elected. And last month saw the unveiling of Premier Daniel Andrews' ambitious proposal for a brand new 90-kilometre Suburban Rail Loop, which would link to the airport line. And now, a consortium called AirRail Melbourne has submitted a detailed plan of its own to the State and Federal governments. The plan — which was not solicited by the government — expands on its earlier project designs to create a world-class airport 'Super Train', but with intentions to kick off construction two years earlier than originally planned, in 2020. The proposed $15 billion project would see the group match the $5 billion in funding already committed by both the State and Federal governments. AirRail Melbourne's proposed link would get passengers from the city to the airport via Sunshine in around 20 minutes, with trains running 24 hours a day and departing every ten minutes during peak times. New dedicated tracks and a huge overhaul of Sunshine Station, as a major connection point, would cut travel times drastically for regional travellers. This would make the rail link private, so travellers can expect to pay up to $20 for a one-way trip between the CBD and Melbourne Airport. [caption id="attachment_688969" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The proposed Airport Rail Link path.[/caption] The project would also feature 27 kilometres of new track, two new tunnels and a fleet of custom-built airport trains. AirRail Melbourne is also claiming the proposed link would take around 15,000 cars off the road each day in Melbourne's north and west and reduce overcrowding on the existing Werribee line. AirRail Melbourne has some pretty big names — and a fair bit of money — behind it, including superannuation fund managers IFM Investors, along with Metro Trains Australia, Melbourne Airport and Southern Cross Station. It's worth noting that IFM operates Southern Cross and has a stake in Melbourne Airport, so it has a lot to gain from increased traffic to the two sites. The consortium pitched its grand designs to the government back in September, which kicked off the assessment process. It's expected that other groups in the private sector will submit plans to the government also, potentially with different route options. We're expected to know something before the end of 2018, but stay tuned and we'll let you know what unfolds. Updated: October 29, 2018.
If you're in the midst of a mid-life crisis, you might want to skip over this news: it's been 20 years since Placebo released their debut album. Yep, 'Nancy Boy' has been around since 1996. The album Without You I'm Nothing (which included 'Every Me and Every You') was released in 1998, and even 'Running Up That Hill' is almost 15 years old now. It's been so long since these songs were released that fans band of the UK band probably never expected to hear them live again. But this morning Placebo has announced they will bring their 20 Years of Placebo tour to Australia this September. And yes, they'll be playing old stuff. The worldwide tour kicked off this late last year — the band is currently touring Mexico and will head to Europe before coming to Australia in September. As well as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, they'll make stops in Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle and Canberra too. It will be their first Australian appearance since Soundwave in 2014. 20 years is a long time and the band has a huge discography (seven albums) to pull bangers from — and they've promised to play all those songs you listened to on repeat as a teenager. "Let's just say there will be songs in the set that I've sworn never to play again," said frontman Brian Molko. "I think it's time that we purposefully acknowledged what a lot of Placebo fans really want to hear. They've been very patient with us since we rarely play our most commercially successful material. A 20 year anniversary tour seems like the right time to do so. That's our intention. This tour is very much for the fans and a chance for us to revisit a lot of our early material." Tickets will go on sale at noon on Monday, May 29 through Ticketek. Or, if you're a Telstra customer, they have a pre-sale happening this week. 20 YEARS OF PLACEBO TOUR DATES Monday, September 4 — Perth Arena Wednesday, September 6 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre Friday, September 8 — Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Saturday, September 9 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, September 11 — Brisbane Convention Centre Tuesday, September 12 — Newcastle Entertainment Centre Thursday, September 14 — AIS Arena, Canberra
Childhood cartoons painted a pretty impressive picture of what the future would hold – flying cars, robots, space travel, a three day work week… sure, we've got smart phones now, but we're still a long way from The Jetsons. So it's good to see that boffins are hard at work bringing those old sci-fi ideas to the real world, and have built a prototype car that you can control with your mind. Seriously. German researchers have used available-now technology to create BrainDriver, a car (VW of course) that can be controlled by thought alone. The electrical impulses of brain waves are picked up by an EEG headset, originally designed for gaming, which allows the 'driver' to order the vehicle to accelerate, brake, turn left or turn right by simply thinking it. Unfortunately, given the complexities of the human brain not everyone is capable of giving clear instructions, and the car is a proof of concept rather than something that will be available to all, so your X-Men fantasies will have to stay off the road for now. To date, they've taken the mind controlled car for a spin at an airport, but also plan a test in Berlin traffic later in the year. Now if only they could make it fold down to the size of a briefcase, we'd really be living in the future. https://youtube.com/watch?v=iDV_62QoHjY [Via Wired]
Every December, the Geminids meteor shower lights up our skies. Considered to be the most spectacular meteor shower of the year, it's caused by a stream of debris, left by an asteroid dubbed the 3200 Phaethon, burning up in Earth's atmosphere. The shower kicked off back on December 4, but it's expected to be at its peak in Australia overnight between Sunday, December 13–Monday, December 14. So, if you fancy starting off your week with a stint of stargazing, you'll have something spectacular to look at — from around 9pm in Brisbane, 10pm in Perth, 11pm in Sydney, 11.30pm in Adelaide and 12am in Melbourne. The best time to catch an eyeful will be after midnight, when the moon has set and its light will not interfere, and before sunrise. Some years you can catch as many as 120 meteors every 60 minutes — and this year the peak happens the day before the new moon, which will make it easier to see. [caption id="attachment_699423" align="alignnone" width="1920"] NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Jeff Dai.[/caption] For your best chances, it's worth getting as far away from bright lights as possible — this could be a good excuse to head out of the city to a clear-skied camping spot — and pray for no clouds. To see the meteors, you'll need to give your eyes around 15–30 minutes to adapt to the dark (so try to avoid checking your phone) and look to the northeast. The shower's name comes from the constellation from which they appear to come, Gemini. So that's what you'll be looking for in the sky. To locate Gemini, we recommend downloading the Sky Map app — it's the easiest way to navigate the night sky (and is a lot of fun to use even on a non-meteor shower night). If you're more into specifics, Time and Date also has a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Geminids. The Geminids meteor shower will be at its peak during the night on Sunday, December 13–Monday, December 14. Top image: A composite of 163 photos taken over 90 minutes during the Geminids by Jeff Smallwood for Flickr.
The Macedon Ranges is set to host a brand new electronica festival next month — and it's offering a whole lot more than just music. Festival No. 23 will combine live performances with immersive art installations, workshops, talks and outdoor activities aplenty. The festival will take over the Lancemore Macedon Ranges hotel complex and surrounding 274 acres of bushland from February 7–9. The music lineup will span three stages and feature heaps of local and international heavy hitters, including Stacey Pullen and Osúnlade from The States, Trus'me from the UK and Oceanvs Orientalis from Turkey. Plus, a whole lot from Europe's electronic mecca, Germany — including RSS Disco, Dave Dinger and Wareika — some from France, namely Traumer, KIKO and Melina. You can view the full lineup here. [caption id="attachment_759425" align="alignnone" width="1920"] RSS Disco[/caption] Then there's the art installations, which span Fizzyoke's queer karaoke safe-space, an upcycled rave sculpture and a multi-sensory music, sound and mind space by LA's Human Exploratorium. Over at The Nook, a weekend's worth of workshops, talks and spiritual explorations will take place. Topics include the medical application of psychedelics, environmental consciousness, ice bathing, yoga and and holistic medicine. When you're not busy with the festival offerings, there's plenty more to explore around the grounds — including bushwalks, a freshwater dam, plunge pool and tennis courts to boot. As far as accommodation goes, each ticket includes onsite DIY (and BYO) camping facilities with hot showers and composting toilets. For those looking to sleep in a bit of comfort — and avoid setting up their own camping equipment — ticket holders can upgrade to luxury glamping tents instead. The hotel itself is already fully booked. First release tickets have already sold out, so best grab second release while you still can. Top images: Lancemore Macedon Ranges
Just ten short years ago, few people cared about Westerosi power struggles, how many times Sean Bean dies on-screen, if Jon Snow really does know nothing and whether winter is coming. Game of Thrones has existed on the page since 1991, but it was the first season of HBO's huge fantasy-drama series in 2011 that made that three-word title a household term, got everyone hooked on the fight to assume the Iron Throne and had us all watching along for seven more action-packed seasons. Over the past decade, no TV series was bigger — not only in popularity and pop culture impact, but when it comes to small-screen battles and bloodshed, plus labyrinthine plots filled with cunning plotting and double-crossing. Oh, and dragons, too. Whether you loved or hated how it ended, Game of Thrones is always going to sit high on everyone's rewatch list (because, let's face it, everyone has watched it once already).
A book whose plot Amazon describes as "how the sexiest sales girl in business earned her huge bonus by being the best at removing her high heels" might not be anything to write home about. You know what would be? If the author of said book was someone's dad, and that someone decided it would be hilarious to read a chapter every week to the entire world, with some incredibly funny friends providing commentary. Jamie Morton did just that with his father's (pen name: Rocky Flinstone) erotic 'novels', the Belinda Blinked series. And so the audacious and pants-wettingly hilarious podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno was born. And now Morton and his pals James Cooper and Alice Levine are bringing their hilarious smut to Melbourne on Friday, August 18. While listening to the podcast is a truly confusing and outrageous experience, imagine watching a guy read chapters from a porno novel that his dad wrote that includes the characters 'discussing the merits' of each others' nipples and popping their supposed 'vaginal lids'. In front of people. In real life. At least this time when you laugh out loud in public at the show, everyone will know what you're cackling at. If you're a fan of the show, the live incarnation should make you very happy. For as Belinda says: when you get what you want, you feel great.
Spotify, the digital music service that allows you to instantly discover, play and share over 16 million music tracks on demand, has arrived on Australian shores. Available locally from today, Spotify allows music-lovers to enjoy music whenever and wherever they like. Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon developed the program in Sweden in 2008. Since its launch Spotify has risen to become the largest and fastest growing music service of its kind, now available in over 15 countries. Spotify allows its 10 million users worldwide to simply search for any artist, song or album on their phone, iPad or computer and immediately start playing without any buffering. Spotify tapped into the inherently social nature of music and that’s why users can easily share music with friends, create playlists and check out what their mates are listening to. The service's integration with Facebook makes sharing and collaborating easier than it’s ever been. There are three services offered by Spotify. A free (but ad-supported) option is available, as is an ad-free subscription for $6.99 a month. A premium service, which offers enhanced quality and exclusive content and offers, costs $11.99 a month. Spotify also offers a range of helpful apps, which open up a whole new world of discovery and enjoyment. Some of these include the Triple J app, which showcases all the music playing on Triple J's airwaves; Tunewiki, letting you sing along to your favourite lyrics; Rolling Stone Recommends, which provides reviews for users; and Songkick Concerts, to find out all the upcoming tours and shows in your area. Head to Spotify.com to register.
If you don't already have a date with Bluesfest in 2025, here are two new reasons to head along: ten-time Grammy-winner Chaka Khan and rains-blessing rock group Toto. The pair have joined the Byron Bay festival as part of a new lineup drop — the fest's fourth for this year's event — that showcases its commitment to variety. There aren't many fests in Australia where audiences will find the Queen of Funk and the yacht-rock favourites behind 'Africa' on the same bill. Across the Easter long weekend, so from Thursday, April 17–Sunday, April 20, 2025, Bluesfest will also welcome 'Sailing' and 'Ride Like the Wind' singer Christopher Cross — another yacht-rock inclusion — as well as the Polynesian tunes of Maoli. Clarence Bekker Band, Hussy Hicks, Eric Stang, The Steele Syndicate and The Royals round out the latest batch of artists. Khan is playing an Australian-exclusive set to celebrate 50 years in music, and returns to Australia two years after headlining the 2023 Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Among the Chicago-born singer's hits: 'I'm Every Woman', which was later covered by Whitney Houston; the Prince-penned 'I Feel for You'; and 'Ain't Nobody' with her funk band Rufus. As well as hearing the drums echoing tonight in 'Africa', Toto's discography includes fellow anthems 'Hold the Line' and 'Rosanna' — and its members are known for playing on a wealth of albums from other artists in the 70s and 80s, including 'Thriller'. [caption id="attachment_986631" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Michelle Brody[/caption] Bluesfest's 2025 lineup already features Crowded House, Ocean Alley and Vance Joy, plus Hilltop Hoods, Budjerah, Kasey Chambers and The Cat Empire — and Xavier Rudd, John Butler, Tones and I, Missy Higgins, George Thorogood & The Destroyers and many more. Before it started announcing its roster of talent in August 2024, the festival advised that it would bid farewell with its 2025 event, marking the end of an era — and coming at a time when Australian fests have been struggling and cancelling (see: Groovin the Moo, Splendour in the Grass and Spilt Milk, for just three high-profile examples). Bluesfest saying goodbye may no longer be happening, however, with reports that discussions are underway about the festival's future and also that artists are already being booked for 2026. [caption id="attachment_969986" align="alignnone" width="1920"] LD Somefx[/caption] [caption id="attachment_969990" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joseph Mayers[/caption] Bluesfest 2025 Lineup: First announcement: Crowded House Vance Joy Ocean Alley Tones and I Gary Clark Jr Rag'n'Bone Man RY X Allison Russell Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram Brad Cox Here Come the Mummies The California Honeydrops Marc Broussard Pierce Brothers Taj Farrant Fanny Lumsden 19-Twenty WILSN Cimafunk Neal Francis Second announcement: Hilltop Hoods Xavier Rudd John Butler The Cat Empire Kasey Chambers Melbourne Ska Orchestra CW Stoneking Budjerah Lachy Doley Group Ash Grunwald Kim Churchill Miss Kaninna The Beards Velvet Trip FOOLS ROSHANI Sweet Talk The Memphis Three featuring Fiona Boyes, Jimi Hocking and Frank Sultana Third announcement: Missy Higgins George Thorogood & The Destroyers Rodrigo y Gabriela Nahko BJ The Chicago Kid Melody Angel Don West Fourth announcement: Chaka Khan Toto Christopher Cross Maoli Clarence Bekker Band Hussy Hicks Eric Stang The Steele Syndicate The Royals [caption id="attachment_969988" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Roger Cotgreave[/caption] [caption id="attachment_969989" align="alignnone" width="1920"] LD Somefx[/caption] [caption id="attachment_969987" align="alignnone" width="1920"] LD Somefx[/caption] [caption id="attachment_867504" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kurt Petersen[/caption] Bluesfest 2025 will run from Thursday, April 17–Sunday, April 20 at Byron Events Farm, Tyagarah. Tickets are on sale now — for further information, head to the Bluesfest website. Top image: Lachlan Douglas.
After shining a spotlight on films that engage with social justice and human rights issues for the past decade, the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival is back for another packed lineup of topical titles for 2017. Screening in Melbourne from May 4 to 18 before touring a selection of highlights to Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart, HRAFF's tenth anniversary program boasts 32 features, 31 shorts, four forums and eight events in the festival's arts-focused component. HRAFF 2017 will open with The Opposition, the debut effort from Australian filmmaker Hollie Fifer — and a film tackling content so controversial that legal disputes and injunctions have attempted to block its release. Also screening at the Sydney Film Festival after its HRAFF berth, the documentary steps through the struggles of Papua New Guinea's Paga Hill community. In 2012, their homes were bulldozed by developers to make way for a luxury resort, sparking a battle of David vs Goliath proportions. Highlights from the rest of the program include closing night's Quest, which heads to HRAFF from Sundance to chronicle the efforts of the Rainey family to create a musical sanctuary for their North Philadelphia community, as well as the world premiere of the Australian-made, Manilla-set documentary Happyland, about street artist Kaff-eine and her team's attempts to turn slums into something creative. Elsewhere, Nowhere to Hide takes a paramedic's-eye view of Iraq, An Insignificant Man follows the politician becoming known as "the Bernie Sanders of India", Plastic China tells the tale of the recycling workshop workers and their families that literally live in mountains of plastic, and Tempestad goes on a road trip to explore the victimisation of women in Mexico. For those after a piece of gripping fictional filmmaking, War Book delves into British civil servants practising crisis protocol for a fictional nuclear attack on Mumbai. HRAFF also gives audiences the chance to catch up with other festival standouts that have already done the rounds, such as Berlinale's 2016 Golden Bear winner Fire at Sea, Cannes Film Festival's 2015 Palme d'Or recipient Dheepan, and the crowd-pleasing, Afghan rapper-focused Sonita. Going local, Australia's freshly minted best foreign language Oscar nominee Tanna, rousing documentary Zach's Ceremony and magical realist fable Satellite Boy also feature. With arts also part of the program, attendees can hear discover the experiences and knowledge of Koorie Elders, hear accounts from people detained while trying to seek asylum in Australia, and view portraits of the persecuted Rohingya people in Western Myanmar. Image: Zach's Ceremony.
If there's two things that the end of the year always includes, it's Christmas decorations and plenty of drinks. They're both all well and good separately, but they might be even better combined — in a Christmas tree made out of tinnies, for instance. A real object that now exists ready for the merriest portion of the 2021 calendar, this Christmas tinnie tree isn't fashioned out of old cans. So, it doesn't merely celebrate the remnants of your past beverages. Instead, it gives you a place to stack new cold ones just waiting to quench your thirst. And yes, it comes with beers, as they're obviously essential to the whole concept. Craft Cartel is slinging these mighty jolly centrepieces this festive season, after giving beer lovers Australia's largest case of craft beer back in 2020. If you're keen to add one to your home — and to get sipping — it'll cost you $399, which covers a flat-pack tree that you then put together yourself, 48 brews ready to wet your whistle and delivery to your door. If you're wondering what you'll be drinking, those 48 tinnies span 24 different varieties — so, two of each. And, alongside cans from Ballistic, Slipstream, Sydney Brewing, Gage Roads, Modus Operandi and Brick Lane, there's seven limited releases among them, such as Stockade's The Mountie Maple Imperial Stout, Akasha's Korben Double IPA, Sauce's Caribbean Fogg Hazy Pale Ale and Moon Dog's Splice of Heaven Mango Ice Cream IPA. Design-wise, the tree itself uses sustainable timber, and is crafted to resemble a traditional pine tree — all thanks to Australian designer Ian Tran of Domus Vim. Who doesn't want to place all their presents around a tower of beer? No one, that's who. And if you decide it needs some tinsel as well, that's up to you. For more information about the Christmas tinnie tree, or to buy one, head to the Craft Cartel website.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. HOUSE OF GUCCI For the second time in as many movies, Lady Gaga is caught in a bad romance in House of Gucci. Yes, she's already sung the song to match. The pop diva doesn't belt out ballads or croon upbeat tunes in this true-crime drama, unlike in her Oscar-nominated role in A Star Is Born, but she does shimmy into a tale about love and revenge, horror and design, and wanting someone's everything as long as it's free. Eschewing the earthy naturalism of her last film performance and tapping into her famed on-stage theatricality instead, she's perfect for the part of Patrizia Reggiani, aka Lady Gucci, aka the daughter of a trucking entrepreneur who wed into one of the world's most prestigious fashion families, helped unstitch its hold on its couture empire, then went to prison for murder. She's exceptional because she goes big and lavish, and because she knows that's the type of feature she's meant to be in: a soapy spectacle about money and power that uses its depiction of excess as an interrogation technique. Complimenting Gaga for nailing the brief — for acing it so dazzlingly that she's sauntering down her own catwalk as most of her co-stars virtually watch from the floor — gives House of Gucci a tad too much credit, though. Ridley Scott's second film in mere months following The Last Duel, and his third in a row to examine wealth and influence after 2017's All the Money in the World, this fashion-world saga skews large, lush and luxe with each choice, too, but doesn't land every sashay with quite the outsized lustre of its crown jewel. If House of Gucci's veteran director was picking an outfit instead, he would've chosen a killer gown, then wavered on the accessories. Some of his other decisions gleam, as seen in the movie's knowingly maximalist and melodramatic air. Others prove fine, like its jukebox-style soundtrack of 70s and 80s bangers. A few moves are so cartoonish — Jared Leto's ridiculousness, and the Super Mario-style accents sported by almost everyone on-screen — that they play like cheap knockoffs. The story itself is a standout, however, as adapted from Sara Gay Forden's 2001 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed. When Patrizia meets law student Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver, Annette) at a 70s-era party, mistakes him for a bartender, then realises who he is, it sparks a rollercoaster of a relationship — starting with Maurizio being disinherited by his father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons, Love, Weddings and Other Disasters) for their marriage. Still, the newest Gucci knows what she wants: a place in the family's dynasty. She isn't the lone cause of the Guccis' unfolding, thanks to Rodolfo's brother Aldo (Al Pacino, Hunters), his penchant for watering down the brand and tax evasion, and his wannabe-designer son Paolo (Leto, The Little Things), but she's the Lady Macbeth pushing Maurizio to seize the company by any means. And, because the reason that House of Gucci even exists was written in news headlines over a quarter-century ago, she's behind Maurizio's killing in 1995. "I don't consider myself a particularly ethical person, but I'm fair," Patrizia offers partway into the movie, a moral code that still sees her order his hit after their divorce — helped by a TV psychic-turned-pal (Salma Hayek, Eternals), because that's the kind of tale this is. Interviewed in 2016, Patrizia called herself "the most Gucci of them all", an idea that Scott and his screenwriters Becky Johnston (Arthur Newman) and Roberto Bentivegna (short El otro lado) don't ever give Italian-lilted voice to, but still use as their basic pattern. In the sartorial realm, Gucci might stand for high-end indulgence, but House of Gucci sees both the allure and the cost of the brand reflected in Patrizia's status-hungry actions. Read our full review. GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE Spraying reboots, remakes, sequels and prequels across cinema screens like a spirit supposedly sprays ectoplasm — gushing reimaginings, spinoffs and seemingly never-ending franchises, too — Hollywood ain't afraid of no ghosts. It loves them in horror movies, obviously, but it adores the spectre of popular intellectual property even more. These phantoms of hits gone by can be resurrected again and again, all to make a profit. They haunt both cinemas and box-office blockbuster lists, making film-goers and the industry itself constantly feel like they're being spooked by the past. With 14 of Australia's 15 top cash-earning flicks of 2021 all falling into the been-there-done-that category in one way or another, looking backwards in the name of apparently going forwards is now mainstream filmmaking 101, and the big end of town rarely likes bustin' a money-making formula. After more than a few pandemic delays, that's the world that Ghostbusters: Afterlife floats into — a world that's made worshipping previous glories one of the biggest cash-spinners show business could've ever dreamed up. The fourth feature to bear the Ghostbusters name, but a new legacy sequel to the original 1984 film, this reanimated franchise entry certainly sports a fitting subtitle; treating its source material like it's nirvana is firmly filmmaker Jason Reitman's approach. To him, it might've been. Although he established his career with indie comedies such as Thank You for Smoking and Juno, he's the son of director Ivan Reitman, who helmed the OG Ghostbusters and its 1989 follow-up Ghostbusters II. To plenty of fans, those two initial comedy-horror flicks were something special as well; however, acknowledging that fact — and trying to recreate the feeling of being a kid or teen watching the first Ghostbusters nearly four decades ago — isn't enough to fuel a new film. To be fair, the younger Reitman isn't particularly interested in making a new movie; Be Kind Rewind's "sweded" Ghostbusters clips are more original than Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Instead, he directs a homage that sprinkles in links to its predecessor so heartily that it's probably easier to name the scenes and details that don't scream "hey, this is Ghostbusters!" as loudly as possible. And, even when Reitman and co-screenwriter Gil Kenan (Poltergeist) appear to shake things up ever so slightly, it all still ties back to that kid-in-the-80s sensation. Sure, Ghostbusters: Afterlife's protagonists aren't adult New Yorkers, but they're small-town adolescents who might as well have ambled out of one of the era's other hot properties: Steven Spielberg-helmed or -produced coming-of-age adventure-comedies about life-changing, Americana-dripping, personality-shaping escapades. Phoebe (Mckenna Grace, Malignant) is one such child, and a new inhabitant of the cringingly titled Summerville, Oklahoma at that. With her mother Callie (Carrie Coon, The Nest) and brother Trevor (Finn Wolfhard, The Goldfinch), she's made the move because the granddad she never knew just passed away, leaving a dilapidated rural property to his estranged family. The townsfolk speak his nickname, "dirt farmer", with mocking and intrigue, but his actual moniker — and all that equipment he's left behind — brings big changes Phoebe's way. While being Dr Egon Spengler's granddaughter doesn't initially mean too much to her, other than giving her love for science a genetic basis, she's soon segueing from testing out ghost traps with local teacher Mr Grooberson (Paul Rudd, The Shrink Next Door) to cracking Egon's secret efforts to stop a world-shattering supernatural event. Read our full review. NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN Start how you mean to go on is common-sense filmmaking advice. It's the medium's obvious first step, but it's also an elusive achievement. And, it's a feat that's usually only evident in hindsight — when a viewer can see if a stellar introduction really did signal just as sublime things to come, or vice versa. Never Gonna Snow Again perfects the concept, however. In its arresting opening moments, a man walks out of a forest and into a gated community in eastern Poland, and everything about the scene ripples with moody intrigue. The grey fog infusing the film's setting, the enigmatic look on the mysterious protagonist's face, the feeling that anything and everything could happen: filmmakers Malgorzata Szumowska (Mug) and Michal Englert (also the movie's cinematographer) deliver it all at the outset, and then back it up over their feature's 116 minutes. In Never Gonna Snow Again's initial images, that inscrutable man is Ukrainian masseur Zhenia (Alec Utgoff, Stranger Things), who walks out of a forest and into a gated community in eastern Poland. His destination is lined with lavish identical houses — the kind that the song 'Little Boxes' has satirised for almost six decades now — but he's about to be its most extraordinary visitor. His hands can help knead away physical troubles, a must for everyone with his profession. But as he works his physical magic, his touch can soothe minds as well. Trundling his massage table from well-appointed home to well-appointed home, he quickly builds up a devoted client list of well-to-do residents desperate for his help. He steps into their worlds, spying their outward gloss — the similar wreaths on each door, the doorbells chiming with snippets of classic music — and palpating away their inner pain. As that glorious opening scene establishes almost-unnervingly well, there's a surreal, seductive and otherworldly atmosphere to Never Gonna Snow Again, which Szumowska and Englert let float through their frames like a lingering breeze. There's also a devastatingly savvy interrogation of the type of rich lives that pine for Zhenia's involvement, including their complete obliviousness to him as anything more than a salve for their ennui. Much festers in the feature's McMansions. As it contemplates the everyday malaise that dulls wealth's superficial glow, as well as the vast chasm between gleaming exteriors and empty insides, much haunts Never Gonna Snow Again, in fact. Thematically, it wades into familiar territory — at a time when Succession and The White Lotus are the best shows on TV, and Parasite won the Best Picture Oscar just a year ago, it's probably easier to name movies and TV shows that don't shred the rich to pieces — but it stands out like a pink-hued home in an estate plastered with white and grey. Plenty dazzles in Never Gonna Snow Again, too, including Szumowska and Englert's confident handling, which knits together magical realism and razor-sharp observations about class — and about modern life's rubbish in general as well — with canny precision. Indeed, the movie could've easily crumbled in other hands, and likely will if anyone ever erroneously decides it needs an English-language remake. Perhaps the filmmaking duo's smartest decision is also their most visible, however, because Utgoff's performance is just that magnetic. He's the presence that all those well-to-do clients warm to, lean on and rely upon, and the source of comfort so reliable and cosy that they aren't ever challenged to shatter their bubbles to think about him as a person rather than a set of helping hands — but he has Never Gonna Snow Again's audience constantly pondering and questioning. CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG Nostalgia might be one of pop culture's most-called-upon forces — see also: Ghostbusters: Afterlife — but it can't turn every childhood favourite that reaches cinemas into a winner. Leaping from the pages of Norman Bridwell's illustrated books, the new live-action Clifford the Big Red Dog film is a huge generic slog, shoehorning its oversized, crimson-hued hound into a jumble of routine scenarios that are about as rare as wayward dog faeces in a public park. The giant scarlet woofer gallops into a by-the-numbers, family-friendly action-adventure flick that's a missive against judging things by their appearances, a cautionary tale about bullying and a takedown of nefarious corporate interests. Ron's Gone Wrong barked up all the same trees recently and, while it was hardly an instant classic, it runs circles around this. The point of Clifford the Big Red Dog, no matter what the narrative spins, is right there in the title: it's a story about an abnormally large, unusually ruby-coloured canine, and that's what people want to see. Despite 80 books to the character's name, it's a one-note idea that screenwriters Blaise Hemingway (Vampires vs the Bronx), Jay Scherick and David Ronn (Baywatch) — working with a screen story by Justin Malen (Yes Day) and Ellen Rapoport (Desperados) — unsurprisingly set about fleshing out, but also often sideline their eponymous mutt in the process. Clifford's hijinks couldn't sustain an entire feature, but he's really just a big red sidekick for the bulk of the film. He's an enormous cherry-toned sign for accepting things that are different, too, a well-intentioned message that couldn't be more glaring given that a big red dog yaps the very concept. Clifford isn't originally a giant pet when Emily Elizabeth Howard (Darby Camp, Dreamland) first makes his acquaintance in a Central Park animal-rescue tent run by the mysterious Bridwell (John Cleese, The Very Excellent Mr Dundee). He's definitely the same shade as a tomato, though, and his bond with Emily is instant — even if her mess of an uncle, Casey (Jack Whitehall, Jungle Cruise), says she can't take him home. And yet, this little critter still finds his way into his new pal's backpack. The next morning, he's also no longer a tiny pup. Plus, when he starts attracting attention around New York, he's targeted by a tech billionaire (Tony Hale, Being the Ricardos) who wants him for scientific purposes — but the already-teased Emily, who is taunted at her private school for being there on a scholarship, won't let anyone either take or victimise Clifford for standing out. The look and mood in Clifford the Big Red Dog is sunny with a side of saccharine, and it has John Debney's (Home Sweet Home Alone) relentlessly cheery score to match. With the movie's namesake blazing away in every frame he's in — not due to his hue or size, but via the terrible CGI bringing him to digital life — director Walt Becker (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip) was never going to helm a subtle film, but everything here is exactly as nuanced as a towering vermillion puppy. The result isn't quite as doggone awful as pooch-driven buddy cop flick Show Dogs, although that's an extremely low bar. It's never as goofy as it should be, however, and it really should sport all the goofiness it can dig up (smatterings of toilet humour don't count). Clifford the Big Red Dog can also only wish it was as visually creative and emotionally endearing as the recent page-to-screen all-ages movie standard: the Paddington films, which keep being pushed into a menagerie of their own by every pale imitation. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 and September 30; October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28; November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; and December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 26. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline, Coming Home in the Dark, Pig, Big Deal, The Killing of Two Lovers, Nitram, Riders of Justice, The Alpinist, A Fire Inside, Lamb, The Last Duel, Malignant, The Harder They Fall, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Halloween Kills, Passing, Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up, Dear Evan Hansen, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Lost Daughter, The Scary of Sixty-First, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, The Matrix Resurrections, The Tragedy of Macbeth and The Worst Person in the World.
