When you're in a long-term relationship with the city you live in, you've got to actively work to keep things interesting. It's easy to get into a rut — you walk the same familiar path, eat the same familiar food and you forget to even look up to marvel at the sights which surround you. But when you take the path less travelled, it's like discovering a whole new city. Sidestep your routine and you'll discover a whole new Melbourne: a mysterious, complex place where what you see is definitely not what you get. We've partnered with Mitsubishi in celebration of its new Eclipse Cross to curate a list of experiences that will spice up your life, or your week, at least. They say change is as good as a holiday — so, even when you can't make time to get away, little changes and new experiences in old places will leave you feeling refreshed and inspired. [caption id="attachment_673756" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Giulia Morlando.[/caption] MONDAY, AUGUST 20: PIZZA FEAST Cure any case of the Mondays with a belly full of pizza pockets. There are a few things that can instantly turn that Monday frown upside down, and an Italian street food feast courtesy of Pezzo is definitely one of them. Guy Grossi's casual Flinders Lane diner is slinging a tidy menu of modern pizza pocket creations, featuring 48-hour fermented dough filled with inspired ingredient combos. Reward yourself for surviving that grizzly first day of the week by stuffing your face with one of the 'Pitzi' numbers, loaded with veal schnitzel, white sauce, pickles and slaw. Fancy extending those weekend vibes? Add on one of the legendary vanilla custard shakes, infused with a cheeky shot of rum. [caption id="attachment_682386" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrew Curtis.[/caption] TUESDAY, AUGUST 21: QUIET GALLERY VISIT Check out the latest exhibition at ACCA. Midweek is the best time to head to an art exhibition. If you've ever found yourself shouldering your way through the weekend crowd at the NGV or waiting for hours to get into ACMI, you should think about a Tuesday visit. The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art is currently hosting an exhibition that's perfect for a quiet, introspective visit. A Lightness of Spirit Is the Measure of Happiness is on show till September 16 and features ten installation works which explore various aspects of contemporary Aboriginal life. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22: GRAND BUDAPEST AT THE ASTOR Rewatch Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel at the Astor. You may have seen it before, but you probably haven't seen it screened in such grandeur. The Astor is hosting a retrospective of Anderson's best titles and Wednesday's viewing is The Grand Budapest Hotel, a film that looks and feels right at home in the opulent Astor. The screening starts at 7.30pm, which gives you enough time for a quick dinner on Chapel Street — it's tough to go past the cheap and cheerful Mexican at Yellow Bird cafe — as well as time to make your movie snack selection. [caption id="attachment_682388" align="alignnone" width="1920"] via Facebook.[/caption] THURSDAY, AUGUST 23: DRAG SHOW AND $5 PIZZA See one of Mollie's inclusive and celebratory Baby Drag shows. It's Thursday night and it's time to experience something beautiful, dramatic and hilarious. Head to Mollie's in Fitzroy for the fun and effusive Baby Drag. Grab some snacks at the bar — on Thursdays, there are $5 pizzas — and get ready to be entertained. The motto at Mollie's is 'spread unconditional love — and don't fuck it up' (a little Ru Paul reference there for Drag Race fans). The lineup varies week to week, but the inclusive energy is always the same. Prepare for laughs, jokes and a little bit of audience participation. [caption id="attachment_678661" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The West Projections Launch Party in 2016.[/caption] FRIDAY, AUGUST 24: A PROJECTIONS FESTIVAL Walk through Footscray surrounded by sparkling lights. The West Projections Festival is running in Seddon and Footscray from August 3– 26, with light installations bringing the suburbs to life every night of the week. On Friday, August 24 (right before the festival ends), attend the Fact or Fiction walk. The walk begins at 6pm at Footscray Station, guests are guided through festival works and given insight into each piece. The tour wraps up at 7pm at Bar Josephine. Stick around for hangs in the dog-friendly beer garden, or head to a neighbouring restaurant for dinner. Tickets are a neat $10 and we recommend bringing some wet weather gear — you never know what the Melbourne weather will do. SATURDAY, AUGUST 25: GRAB SOME CHEAP BOOKS Pick up a few cheap books at the City Library sale. Books, glorious books. Kindles might be all the rage, but there's nothing like the smell of a fresh, okay pre-loved, book. The City Library sporadically runs book sales packed with bargains so you can get your book fix for dirt cheap. Second-hand books start at 50 cents and max out at $10. The event is free and starts at 11am, so you can enjoy a leisurely Saturday morning sleep in before hitting up the sale. Grab a coffee from Dukes Coffee on Flinders Lane to give you the energy you need to get buried in books. [caption id="attachment_628485" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sweet Set, 2016.[/caption] SUNDAY, AUGUST 26: EIGHT COURSES OF DESSERT Make your way through a decadent spread of sweets. It's Sunday, and no matter what sort of week you've had, you definitely deserve an eight-course dessert degustation. Grub Food Van in Fitzroy is hosting Sweet Set, which features eight famous pastry chefs over eight Sundays, with each bringing eight serves of dessert. This specific Sunday, Boris Portnoy from All Are Welcome — a minimalist-decor, maximum-decadence bakery in Northcote — is taking charge of the treats. If you weren't already convinced, consider this: before he was brightening the northside with baked delights, Portnoy was the head pastry chef at a three-Michelin star restaurant in Napa Valley. Prepare your tastebuds for a wild and sugary ride. Where to next? Make the most of every week with Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and navigate to your next destination here.
It has been more than two decades since James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet recreated one of the deadliest ship disasters in modern history. You know the one. Titanic also launched a lifetime of folks standing at the bow of boats and exclaiming "I'm the king of the world!", and made the world endure a Celine Dion song that, as the lyrics promised, would go on. As well as snagging a huge bag of Oscars and big, big bucks at the box office, the film did something else: reignite public fascination with the 1912 sinking. If you've ever watched and wondered what it'd be like to see the real thing, then wonder no more — because you can become a 'citizen scientist' on a new series of underwater expeditions to the famed wreck. Commencing in 2021, underwater exploration company Ocean Gate Expeditions will be taking fascinated seafarers down to the famous ship on ten-day journeys. They'll dive almost four kilometres deep into the North Atlantic Ocean in a titanium and carbon fibre submersible — accompanied by experts, naturally — to peer through the vessel that went down on its maiden voyage, taking more than 1500 people with it. This isn't a tourist trip, however. Ocean Gate is planning six missions as part of an overall Titanic survey expedition, and anyone who'd like to go along will need to apply. If you're successful, you'll be trained a mission specialist — and you'll be asked to help document the current state of the sunken passenger liner, including via laser scans and 4K video that will be combined with high-resolution images to make a 3D virtual model of the ship. Primarily departing from the coast of Newfoundland in Canada from May–July 2021, with more missions planned in 2022 as well, these undersea trips don't come cheap — even though they're motivated by scientific and record-keeping aims. You'll need a cool US$125,000 per person to make the voyage, which includes one submersible dive to the ship. Of course, it's hardly surprising that plunging deep into both the ocean's depths to visit a famed wreck costs a massive stack of cash and then some. This isn't the first time tours have been offered — indeed, presumably using some of the loot his romantic drama pulled in, James Cameron has made the journey multiple times — but only a small number of people have seen site in person since it was first discovered in 1984. "More people summit Everest in a day than have ever seen the Titanic," says Ocean Gate Expeditions president Stockton Rush. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH_9Q3Z_xok Top image: NOAA/Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island via Wikimedia Commons.
If you were planning to fly with Bonza today, Tuesday, April 30, your travel plans have changed. The budget Australian airline has suspended its flights across the country — a move that the carrier says is short-term while it works out a plan to stay operational. In a statement, Bonza CEO Tim Jordan advised that "Bonza has temporarily suspended services due to be operated today, as discussions are currently underway regarding the ongoing viability of the business". "We apologise to our customers who are impacted by this and we're working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures there is ongoing competition in the Australian domestic aviation market," the statement continues. When it launched in 2023 with the backing of US private investment firm 777 Partners, which also has a hand in Canada's Flair Airlines and the Southeast Asian-based Value Alliance, Bonza gave Aussies a new option for flying. Its angle: a low-cost carrier with a particular focus on opening up routes to more of the country's regional destinations. It was in January last year that Jordan announced that the airline received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). "This is an historic moment for Australian aviation as we get ready to launch the first high-capacity airline in more than 15 years, and the country's only independent low-cost carrier," said Jordan at the time. "With the approval from CASA, 2023 is set to be the year of seeing more of your own backyard for less." Since then, on planes given names as Aussie as the airline's itself — aka Bazza, Shazza, Sheila, Malc, Matilda and Bruce — Bonza has serviced locations such as Bundaberg, Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville and the Whitsundays in Queensland; Albury, Tamworth, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle and Port Macquarie in New South Wales; and Melbourne, Avalon and Mildura in Victoria. It operates out of two bases: the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport. Onboard, patrons tuck into an all-Australian in-flight menu, spanning both food and craft beer. While Jordan's statement on Tuesday, April 30 only references suspending flights for that specific date, there's no word yet when the carrier will be back in the air. At the time of writing, the brand's website currently includes the same message. For more information about Bonza, head to the airline's website.
The NGV is bringing out the big guns — or should we say swords, with Bushido: Way of the Samurai. Featuring a kick-ass collection of Samurai battle armour and weapons as well as calligraphic scrolls, tea utensils and more seemingly domestic items, this new exhibition delves deep into the heart of Medieval and early-modern Japan. It explores the cultural and historical importance of the warriors, but also the men behind the mythologised armour. The Samurai were prominent representatives of Japan's military nobility and ethics from the 12th Century up until the end of the Edo period in 1868, and have remained an important staple in Japan's history and culture. Samurai virtues and ideas such as self control, respect, duty and courage continue to be celebrated in modern culture and constantly reappear in martial arts, visual and dramatic art. If you think you know enough about the Samurai culture because you watched that movie about that Samurai who did that thing and Tom Cruise was there then think again. This exhibition has you properly covered.
First, it was a popular 80s comedy starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Then, it became a five-season television sitcom led by Parton's real-life younger sister. In 2009, 9 to 5 made the leap to the stage too, because you just can't stop a good story about female empowerment in the workplace. Revived in the West End earlier this year, it's still a huge hit — and now the latest version of the production is coming to Sydney. Just by reading the show's title, we know that you already have Parton's catchy song of the same name stuck in your head. Pour yourself a cup of ambition, because that tune isn't going away anytime soon. Indeed, you'd best get ready to exclaim "what a way to make a living" more than once when 9 to 5 The Musical plays its Australian premiere season, with its local run playing the the Sydney Lyric Theatre from April 21, 2020. Ahead of its time when it first reached cinemas, this tale of three women who take on their sexist, egotistical and all-round despicable male boss is obviously still highly relevant today. Before #TimesUp and #MeToo, workmates Doralee, Violet and Judy decided to turn the tables by kidnapping their supervisor and reforming their office. Expect the same story in 9 to 5 The Musical, as penned by the original film's screenwriter Patricia Resnick, just with more songs. With Parton herself writing the score — and earning Tony and Grammy nominations for her efforts — expect plenty of feel-good music as well. Although she doesn't appear on stage, the famous country star is still involved with the show, and with bringing it to Australia. While the show will premiere in Sydney, it's possible it'll head to other cities around the country after — cross your fingers and we'll let you know if more dates and locations are announced. While you're still singing 9 to 5 to yourself, check out Parton's announcement video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eLfds3BNk8 9 to 5 The Musical will hit Sydney Lyric Theatre at The Star from April 21, 2020, with tickets on sale from 4pm on Friday, September 13. For more information, or to join the ticket waitlist, visit the musical's website.
Forget the pub with no beer — in central western Queensland, a resurrected watering hole will soon operate in a place with no residents. After closing its doors back in 1997, the Betoota Hotel will reopen in the ghost town in coming months. Brisbane smash repairer Robert Haken is bringing the iconic spot back to life, telling Brisbane Times that he first fell for its charms around 30 years ago. Revisiting the empty, rundown site in 2015, he was driven to act. "When I walked into the place I just thought, what an amazing bit of Australia history and why isn't someone doing something with it." After buying the pub before Christmas, he's now set on restoring it to its former glory by August, in time for the famous Betoota Races. Once it's up and running, it'll operate during the area's tourist season between April and November, serving up frosty beer, plus sausage sizzles, steak burgers, and pies and sausages roll from the Birdsville Bakery. Due to the heat, it won't open in summer. The pub remains the only building in Betoota, and boasts quite the past, dating back to 1885. Previous owner Sigmund Remienko ran the place for 44 years until 1997. When he passed away in 2004, the town lost its last remaining resident. If it sounds like the kind of story you might read in The Betoota Advocate, that's understandable; however, while the satirical publication takes its name from the deserted spot, this isn't one of their amusing tales. For anyone keen to make the drive when the pub reopens, expect to trek more than 1500 kilometres west from Brisbane. Via Brisbane Times. Image: Ian Cochrane via Flickr.
In 2003, Aaron Eckhart starred in a film called Paycheck. That's not even a joke, it actually happened. It's pretty much the acting equivalent of ending a relationship and then sleeping with someone whose name is literally 'Rebound'. But then came Thank You for Smoking, followed by Batman Begins. All of a sudden, Eckhart was credible. He was bankable. He was Harvey Dent — the very best of us. Symbolically, if he were to fail, what hope was there for anyone else? Well, having just seen I, Frankenstein, the answer is apparently 'none'. So give up now. The Joker won. It's hopeless. It's...it's all just so hopeless. Here's the story. We pick up the action where Mary Shelley saw fit to end it: with Frankenstein dead and his monster wandering the countryside lonely and without purpose. Then some demons try to capture him, whereupon some gargoyles come to life and save him. As it turns out, that little back and forth was just round #45,678,001,235 in one of those 'secret wars that's been fought for millennia without man's knowledge yet could very well decide the fate of all mankind' kind of things. And now Frankenstein's monster is caught right in the middle of it: still lonely, still angry and almost certainly itchy from all those stitches. And that's the story. Good versus evil. Statue versus demon. Miranda Otto versus Bill Nighy. At one point, Otto has to deliver the line "I am Queen of the Gargoyle League", immediately capturing the 'je ne sais quoi' of paycheck movies and prompting memories of a theme-park-river-stoned Lisa Simpson. As Frankenstein's monster, Eckhart looks suitably buff and menacing, though his performance is so drab and monotone it robs the film of any semblance of fun. Nighy, at least, remains a delight to watch as the Satan-esque villain Naberius, whilst Aussie actor Jai Courtney phones in a 'hey, check out my guns' performance as Otto's bodyguard Gideon. The action is the only thing that keeps I, Frankenstein rolling along with any pace, but even that's just one CGI light show after another, and none aside from the first are of any real note. Ultimately, this is an animated corpse of a film about a reanimated one, so either save your money or buy a turkey, sew a vibrator inside of it and watch that roll around for 90 minutes instead. https://youtube.com/watch?v=pxOSPfUw3qw
Instagram, the photo-sharing iPhone app, has allowed users to export their Instagram photos to other social networking sites from the start. Until now, however, users weren't able to import photos to Instagram. Thanks to a new partnership with Hipstamatic, all that has changed. The two iPhone photo apps are pairing up to allow photos taken on either app to easily upload to Instagram's network. Both Instagram and Hipstamatic seek to marry the romance of old-fashioned photography with the iPhone camera. Instagram enables users to snap a photo on their iPhone and to transform the look and feel of it with their choice of filter. The edited photo may then be uploaded to the Instagram site, as well as to Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, all for free. Last week, Instagram reached 27 million users, making it one of the most popular photo-sharing services, as well as one of the fastest-growing social networks. In a similar vein, Hipstamatic allows users to choose the lens, flash, and film they want to use to take their photo, creating an old-fashioned image. The initial app costs $1.99 in Apple's app store, and additional lenses and films are available for in-app purchase. "When we launched, it was all about Facebook and Flickr and Twitter, and now we're seeing a huge shift in our user base toward Instagram," Hipstamatic co-founder and CEO, Lucas Buick, told Fast Company. "We've never been a social networking company, but we clearly benefit from social networks. So this will be the first app outside of Instagram that lets you into their network. That's pretty cool for us." Each Hipstamatic photo pushed into Instagram will be tagged with an attribution to Hipstamatic. "It's a step in the direction that we're testing out," says Instagram CEO and cofounder Kevin Systrom. "We've been very careful about making sure that Instagram photos are about what's happening right now in your life, and we want to allow for more of those photos to end up on Instagram regardless of where they're taken." The partnership is set to be unveiled today, so get to snapping photos happy hipsters. [via Fast Company]
It's been half a century since The Rocky Horror Show first brought its musical blend of sci-fi, horror and comedy to the stage, and the cult hit itself has the perfect phrase to describe those quickly passing years. Yes, time is fleeting when you're singing about a college-aged couple getting a flat tyre, wandering over to an old castle to ask for help, and finding an extra-terrestrial mad scientist from the galaxy of Transylvania — plus his staff and his Frankenstein-style experiments — awaiting. Yes, the show itself is astounding, too. To celebrate this big anniversary, a new Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show is currently touring the country, starting in Sydney then moving to Adelaide and Melbourne. And, for one night only, the Sydney season is beaming one of its shows into cinemas as well — live as it's all happening at the Theatre Royal Sydney. Movie-goers can do the 'Time Warp' in the cinema aisles on Thursday, March 30, which is when the Richard O'Brien-created production will be broadcast from the stage to the screen. In the process, The Rocky Horror Show will notch up a first. For Trafalgar Releasing, who is behind a heap of event cinema-style sessions like this, this is the first time that it has presented a live event from an Aussie venue to cinemas across the nation. "We're delighted to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Show with a live broadcast from Theatre Royal Sydney to cinemas across Australia," said Trafalgar Releasing CEO Marc Allenby. "This is our first live broadcast from an Australian venue and it's fantastic to be working with the team at the theatre and our partners within the Trafalgar Entertainment Group to bring one of the world's favourite musicals to cinema audiences across the continent for the first time." Folks hitting up big screens around the country will want to listen closely, and watch, as Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter puts his hands on his hips, then brings his knees in tight. The glorious madness will take its toll with help not only from Donovan — fresh from popping back up in Ramsay Street to farewell Neighbours before it was renewed again — but also from Spicks and Specks' Myf Warhurst as The Narrator. Also featuring: Ellis Dolan (School of Rock) as Eddie/Dr Scott, Darcey Eagle (Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical) as Columbia, Ethan Jones (9 to 5 The Musical) as Brad, Deirdre Khoo (Once) as Janet, Loredo Malcolm (Hamilton) as Rocky and Henry Rollo (Jagged Little Pill the Musical) as Riff Raff. Of course, this tale is no stranger to cinemas thanks to 1975's iconic big-screen release The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Since first premiering in London in June 1973, The Rocky Horror Show has played in more than 30 countries, with over 30 million people seeing songs like 'Science Fiction/Double Feature', 'Dammit, Janet!', 'Sweet Transvestite', 'Over at the Frankenstein Place' and 'Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me'. If you haven't been before and can't make it to the current theatre tour, this is your turn to join in. The Rocky Horror Show will broadcast live in cinemas on Thursday, March 30, with tickets on sale from Wednesday, March 1. The Rocky Horror Show's 2023 Australian tour is currently playing Sydney then moves to Adelaide and Melbourne. For more information and to buy tickets, head to the production's website. Images: Daniel Boud.
If you're a fan of mystery and delicious food, we have the juicy deets of an exclusive dinner that'll be right up your alley. This year, classy chip purveyor Red Rock Deli is hosting a series of exclusive secret suppers in mystery locations across Sydney — and you're invited. Across the next few months, some of Australia's most talented chefs will whip up mouth-watering feasts inspired by Red Rock Deli's new flavour range. And when we say exclusive, we mean it — only twenty lucky guests will be tucking into each lavish dinner. Despite everything being very hush-hush, we can reveal that the first Secret Supper will be hosted by Australian-Malaysian chef and 2010 MasterChef Australia winner Adam Liaw on Wednesday, May 15. Most of the details are still under wraps, but here's what we can tell you: after arriving at the collection point at Central Station's Grand Concourse entrance at 8pm, you'll be whisked away to a mystery location for the dining experience. During the evening, Liaw will recreate the flavours from the Thai red chilli and creamy coconut flavour from Red Rock Deli's new limited-edition Fusion range over a three-course meal. The menu will remain a secret until you arrive, but if grilled seafood, hearty curries and tropical flavours tickle your tastebuds, you're sure to be satisfied. Tickets to Fusion Adventure are priced at $110 per person and can be purchased here. Please note the Secret Supper menu will not cater to ANY dietary requirements or allergies. There are strictly no changes to the menu. Image: Kitti Gould.
Since Victoria's second COVID-19 lockdown began in July, dreaming of spending a night somewhere other than your own home has become a regular part of pandemic life. Thankfully, that dream can now become a reality, with Premier Daniel Andrews confirming today, Sunday, November 8, that Victorians will be able to travel regionally — and stay overnight — from 11.59pm this evening. Back in late October, when he ran through the next phases of eased restrictions for the metropolitan Melbourne area as part of the state's roadmap, Premier Andrews advised that this was on the cards. Now, as Victoria marks nine consecutive days without any new COVID-19 cases, he has confirmed the new steps that will come into effect tonight — and outlined plans for the next stage after his, which'll hit from 11.59pm on Sunday, November 22. On the travel front, the hard border between metro Melbourne and regional Victoria will be scrapped from tonight. And, so will the 25-kilometre travel limit. Crucially, accommodation sites will be allowed to reopen; however, there are rules about bookings. You can only book with members of your household, with your intimate partner, or with your household and two adults and their kids from another household. A heap of other changes are also come into effect tonight — some previously advised, some newly announced. In the former category, metro Melbourne's gyms and fitness studios will be allowed to reopen, with a maximum of 20 people per venue and ten per space. At hospitality venues, they'll move to 40 people indoors and 70 outside. Religious gatherings will move to 20 people indoors and 50 outdoors, and indoor pools will also be allowed to open. New steps that'll apply from this evening include the reopening of entertainment venues, with 20 people per venue or 20 per space if that applies — covering indoor cinemas, music halls, concert halls, auditoriums, galleries, museums and the State Library of Victoria. Performance times will need to be staggered, though, so that there's a minimum interval of 30 minutes between sessions to avoid crowds milling around in foyers. Home visiting rules are also changing tonight, with two different adult visitors allowed at a household per day — either together or separately. But, for the foreseeable future, both the requirement to work from home if you can and the mandate to wear masks in public will remain in place. https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/1325218441041604608 Come November 22, assuming that case numbers remain low, the next set of changes will be put in place — and plenty of current rules will relax even further. Hospitality venues will be able to welcome in up to 100 people indoors (with one person per four square metres) and 200 outside (with one person per two square metres). Public gatherings will increase to 50 and private gatherings — so, folks coming over to your house — will increase to ten from any number of other households. And, travel-wise, you'll be able to head out of town in line with the private gathering cap (so in groups of ten people from any number of other households). Both seated and non-seated entertainment venues (such as cinemas and galleries) will be able to welcome in up to 100 people per space, too, at a density of one person per four square metres up to 25-percent of their capacity. For outdoor seated events, numbers will go up to 500 (50-percent capacity, and one person per four square metres). Gyms and fitness studios will increase to a maximum of 100 people per venue and 20 people per space. And religious gatherings will be able to have 20 people in one indoors, up to a total of 100 — and groups of 50 outdoors up to a total of 500. Weddings will also be able to have 100 people in attendance. Announcing the future changes, Premier Andrews noted that Victoria "will only be able to make those changes, take those steps — which is the last step before we reach the COVID-normal [phase], which we were locking well ahead before Christmas before having the COVID-normal Christmas and maintaining those settings and maybe go further again, throughout 2021 — we will only get to that point if each of us fundamentally acknowledge this point: nine days of zero is not the same as a vaccine". He continued: "each of us have played a part in building this precious thing and each of us have to play a part in protecting it. If we want to stay open, we have to stay safe. If we want to enjoy these steps and more, then we all have to play our part. And it is getting tested when you feel sick. It is taking these rules seriously". 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. Top image: Mark Watson via Visit Victoria.
Summer is that excellent time of year when there's plenty to do but there doesn't seem to be as much pressure as the other months. With Christmas out of the way and the stress of work not piling on too strong just yet (hopefully), now is the perfect time to try to get a little more arts and culture into your daily life. We've teamed up with Patrón to put together a handy guide to some unexpected ways you can get in touch with your artsy side in your city. Read on for some hot tips on adding some arts and culture to your after-work agenda — and how to snag a few deals along the way, too. HEAD TO A GALLERY OR MUSEUM AFTER HOURS Galleries and museums are an obvious port of call, but it can be a little tricky to get to one when you work nine to five (and don't want to schlep it back into the city on the weekend). Luckily, plenty of our favourites keep their doors open into the night. In Melbourne, be sure to check out Melbourne Museums monthly after-hours series Nocturnal, and the National Gallery of Victoria's Friday Nights program. Meanwhile, Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art stays open until 9pm on Wednesdays so you can pop in after work and explore the Cornelia Parker retrospective exhibition. Plus, the museum is hosting a pop-up bar with Patrón, which is celebrating the craftsmanship of its tequilas, over the summer. It's open until 10pm on weekdays (plus 9pm on Saturdays and 8pm on Sundays) until February 16. After you wander around the space, you can head to the bar to witness more expressions of art — think interactive performances and VR experiences — and enjoy a Parker-inspired cocktail and some Mexican snacks. Plus, Patrón has teamed up with other bars around Circular Quay, including Bar Patrón, Quay Bar and The Argyle, to create The Art of Patrón precinct, so you can transition your night out into a summery bar crawl very easily. [caption id="attachment_719550" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Matt Murphy[/caption] SNAG A LAST-MINUTE TICKET TO A THEATRE SHOW These days, all the big theatre companies and venues are slinging cheap tickets to make it easier than ever to dive into the potentially unknown theatrical world — you've just got to know how to get your hands on them. Across both Sydney and Melbourne, Opera Australia runs an access program for $20 tickets through a ballot. Also in Sydney, every Monday at midday Griffin Theatre releases $20 tickets for that evening's performance, and Sydney Theatre Company's Thirties releases a selection of $30 tickets for all its shows every Thursday at 9am. Meanwhile, the Arts Centre Melbourne's Tix at Six sells $30 tickets from the box office at 6pm every day, and The Friday Forty is a lottery to score $40 tickets to the blockbuster play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. Also, keep an eye out on LastTix, TodayTix and HalfTix for more deals. [caption id="attachment_652785" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY AT A SHORT COURSE Taking in all that art can leave you feeling pretty inspired, or like you really need to learn a new skill to feel better about yourself. Whatever the motivation, our cities are crawling with talented creatives willing to share their skills for a small fee. In Melbourne, creative art, craft and design hub The Windsor Workshop runs a bunch of different classes, including haute couture beading, watercolour painting, acrylic palette knife art and ceramics workshops. And in Sydney, Redfern's Work-Shop offers a similarly broad range of classes, like Japanese bookbinding, paper making and jewellery art, while The Pottery Shed will have you throwing clay in its Surry Hills warehouse. CATCH SOME ARTSY FILMS Next up, you can be inspired by films on the big screen and remember that there's more to life than blockbuster franchises. Get yourself a membership to your local cinema to make the most of the available deals. Palace Cinemas has venues all over Australia and movie club members get great discounts and exclusive events — and keep your eye out for cheap tickets there, too, usually on Mondays or Tuesdays. Sydneysiders have plenty of options, with free weekly screenings at the Art Gallery of NSW, $7.50 tickets all the time at Dumaresq Street Cinema in Campbelltown, and $6 tickets for students on Mondays at the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace. [caption id="attachment_653436" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jackson Grant[/caption] MAKE THE MOST OF THE SEASON'S CULTURAL FESTIVALS Of course, festival season is upon us, and that doesn't just mean the big camping and music extravaganzas. Every event at the MPavilion in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens is free, so you can enjoy live music, a life drawing class, morning yoga sessions, Indigenous design forums and dance performances right up until March 22. You can also check out Melbourne's leading LGBTQI+ arts and culture event Midsumma Festival from January 19 until February 9, while those in NSW should be sure to make the most of Sydney Festival's stacked 2020 program, running from January 8–26. The Patrón Pop-up will run from Thursday, October 31 through February 16 (excluding public holidays). It is open every Wednesday through Sunday from 4–10pm. Visit Patron's website for more details.
Not once, not twice, but three times during the 21st century, movie-goers have watched Peter Parker get bitten by a radioactive spider. We've witnessed the aftermath more times than that, too, thanks to three different Spider-Man franchises, all with multiple entries, starring three different actors as the web-slinger. But whether you prefer Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland's version of the character, every single live-action Spidey film pales in comparison to 2018's dazzling animated effort Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The Oscar-winner is the movie that gave us a spider-woman, spider-robot and spider-pig, as well as Nicolas Cage as a 30s-era spider-vigilante, so it was always going to be a delight — and it's getting a sequel. Even better: it's getting two follow-ups, because Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will hit cinemas as two films — starting with Part One in October 2022. Once again filled with multiple Spideys, the first part has just dropped its initial trailer alongside that multi-flick announcement. And yes, the animation still looks spectacular. While Holland's take on Parker, and Spider-Man, is about to dabble with multiverse madness in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Shameik Moore (Let It Snow)-voiced Miles Morales already went there in Into the Spider-Verse. So, in the sequel to the latter, Morales is spinning back into familiar territory — although, based on the first sneak peek, he's heading into other Spidey realms rather than welcoming different web-slingers into his. Also returning in Across the Spider-Verse: Hailee Steinfeld (Hawkeye) as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman, as seen in the trailer, and Oscar Isaac (The Card Counter) as Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099. If you're wondering about Isaac's character, he first turned up in the post-credits section of Into the Spider-Verse, and he's an alternate version of Spidey from a specific Marvel Comics imprint. Across the Spider-Verse will see Morales, Stacy and other Spider-People join forces to deal with a powerful villain — so some standard Spidey stuff, but with more Spideys and, again, those eye-popping visuals. Here's hoping it also keeps the sense of humour and playfulness that made Into the Spider-Verse such a treat, and keeps doing what only this animated Spidey franchise can. Check out the first Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) trailer below: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) will release in cinemas Down Under in October 2022 — we'll update you when an exact date is announced.
Whether your Sunday sesh is all about recovery or keeping the party going, The Rochey has a new series set to level up your gathering. Held upstairs every fortnight from Sunday, July 6, LOFTS is bringing electronic day parties to Fitzroy from 2–8pm. Focused on timeless house anthems and wave-making bangers, each stacked instalment features a stellar lineup ready to keep the grooves going all Sunday long. For the debut event, catch local talent Trey, Texas, Bones, AK97, and Love, Jess serving up non-stop tracks spanning techno, breaks, IDM and big room tunes. A necessity for any solid Sunday session, The Rochey's bar is also keeping everyone refreshed with $16 negronis throughout the arvo. Meanwhile, happy hour specials from 4–7pm include $9 pints, $8 wines and selected $14 cocktails, like margs and espresso martinis.
The problem with Spider-Man movies — all Spider-Man movies — can be summed up in one word: villains. With names like 'Green Goblin', Doc Oc', 'Sandman' and now 'Electro', they're just too 'comic booky'. It may seem a ridiculous argument given these are films based on comic books, but consider the Batman model. There, the villains were also possessed of suitably villainous names like: Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, Joker, Two-Face and Bane, but they were — without exception — just men. Specifically, a man with a face, a man with a sack over his face, a man with paint on his face, a man with half his face missing and a man with half his face covered in a Dyson vacuum cleaner. As men, however, mortal and tangible, no matter how outlandish their schemes, they remained believable. Again, it may seem an unfair to invoke plausibility given we're talking here about a franchise built around a man/spider hybrid, but believing in Spidey has never been the problem. We're on board with that. A freak, near-spontaneous mutation definitely pushes the bounds of probability, but it stays just enough inside to feel okay to audiences, helped in no small way by the constant, private and human moments from Peter Parker's life to which we're given backstage passes: the experimentation, the girl troubles, the laundry and even the sniffles. There has been one outstanding Spider-Man villain — a complex, tormented and conflicted soul with whom Spider-Man has battled constantly throughout every film — the only problem is, it's Spider-Man. Not Topher Grace's 'bad Spidey' from 2007's Spider-Man 3, it's literally Spider-Man. "With great power comes great responsibility" proclaimed Peter's grandmother way back in the original Spider-Man, and that dark concord has been the most compelling dynamic to all the films that followed. All great superheroes are, in a way, tortured by their abilities, forced to choose between desire and duty. The demons from Peter's choices make his version of the superhero conundrum all the more engrossing, because (causality scepticism aside) they've led to people's deaths. First his grandfather, then his girlfriend's father — the latter's dying wish being that Peter leave his daughter Gwen alone. For these reasons, of the two concurrent plot lines in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, one is far more appealing than the other. The weaker thread is the 'villain plot', featuring a loner electrical engineer (Jamie Foxx) turned furious spectral Tesla coil by the name of 'Electro'. He's somewhere between a bullied high school kid and an emotional Doctor Manhattan, whose motivations for citywide chaos and suffering are as gossamer as his translucent skin. Ultimately, Electro's only worth to this film is to highlight the choice Peter (Andrew Garfield) must make between the love of his life, Gwen (Emma Stone), and his self-imposed duty to protect the city. This is the story that makes The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a film well worth watching. In fact, if it were just two hours of Garfield and Stone flirting and quipping with each other, not only would it have possibly been a better movie, it would have smacked down most of the other supposed romantic comedies of the past decade. The real-life couple has an outrageously appealing on-screen chemistry, and their exchanges are so well-written that it's a crime when actual crimes are committed to interrupt them. The special effects are, of course, spectacular, and the use of 3D is a rare example of the technique adding to, rather than distracting from, the storytelling. The music, too, is excellent, employing a body-shuddering pseudo dubstep whenever Electro crackles into action. But it's the small-scale, romantic moments that shine most brightly, culminating in an ending that'll have you humming 'We have all the time in the world' as you make you way home. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nbp3Ra3Yp74
The trailer for the fourth instalment of George Miller’s Mad Max franchise was released at Comic-Con in San Diego this weekend, and it's a total, jaw-dropping attention hog. Mad Max: Fury Road sees Tom Hardy take the reigns as 'Mad' Max Rockatansky, with appearances from Charlize Theron, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Zoe Kravitz, Megan Gale, Abbey Lee Kershaw and Nicholas Hoult thrown into the high-speed mix. From what we can gather the film revolves around a huge car chase sequence set in an unmerciful desert, complete with all the trimmings of daredevil motorbike jumps, rolling car crashes and explosions. Lots of explosions. There's some captivating end-of-days imagery going on, showing this classic Australian franchise has not been left to idle in the '80s. The fourth Mad Max has had film fans on tenterhooks for decades. It has a potted production history, having spent 25 years in what is known as "development hell". Most recently, filming was moved from Broken Hill to Namibia, after unexpected heavy rains turned the necessary desert landscape into inappropriate lush wildflowers. It's looking formidable from the trailer, so let's hope the movie — due for release on May 15, 2015 — delivers on the impact promised.
Holidays in Western Australia are back on the agenda — and if you live in WA, getaways somewhere other than your home state are, too. After revealing back in November that WA's borders wouldn't reopen until the state hit the 90-percent double-vaccinated mark, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has now announced a firm date for that to happen: Saturday, February 5. It isn't quite the new year's gift you might've been hoping for if you're keen to head west ASAP — or to leave the state over the holiday period and return home without any hassle — but it is indeed when Western Australia will ditch the hard border policy that it's had in place throughout the pandemic. WA will instead adopt a safe transition plan that'll allow folks from other states and overseas destinations to visit again. Yes, the reopening will apply to both WA's domestic and international borders. There'll be different rules in place depending on where you're entering from; however, you'll need to be double-vaccinated to enter, and also to get a negative PCR test result within 72 hours of departing. At first, there'll be tests within 48 hours of arrival as well, and again on day six afterwards, but they'll eventually be phased out. Today I can announce that at 12:01am Saturday, 5 February, Western Australia will ease its hard border restrictions for vaccinated travellers. This will be a major step forward for our State in how we manage the COVID-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/SVPvoWMYPw — Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) December 13, 2021 For those making the journey from an international location, there'll be no quarantine for double-vaxxed arrivals — and the same testing requirements will be in place for both domestic and overseas travellers. If you haven't had two jabs, you'll still need to go into hotel quarantine for 14 days. The two variations to the standard rules: if you're visiting WA from interstate for five days or less, you only need to get tested before you arrive; and if you're a WA resident heading out of the state for five days or less, you only need to get tested within 48 hours of getting back. Western Australia will also bring in other health measures, such as wearing face masks in high-risk settings — covering public transport, taxis, ride shares, airports, flights, hospitals and aged care — and requiring proof of vaccination at large events with more than 1000 people, stadiums and nightclubs. While the new rules are designed to come into effect statewide, any at-risk regional communities that don't reach 80-percent double jabs by the reopening date will be put under extra requirements. In those spots, proof of double vaccination will be required at pubs, bars, dine-in cafés and restaurants, bottle shops, indoor entertainment venues, gyms and fitness centres; masks will be required at all indoor public venues that don't have a proof of vax requirement, such as supermarkets and takeaway eateries; and you'll have to enter the region by air only. Announcing the reopening plan, the Premier said that the "transition date is locked in — and is based on our expert public health advice." McGowan continued: "since the start of the pandemic, Western Australians have come together to protect themselves and each other. Being cautious, patient and listening to the health advice has enabled Western Australia to reach a high level of vaccination, which will provide a soft landing when the virus arrives here." To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Western Australia, and the state's corresponding restrictions, visit its online COVID-19 hub.
If your New Year's resolutions included cooking more, some fresh kitchen gear to motivate you wouldn't go astray, right? Well, local cooking whizzes are in luck, because famed French cookware label Le Creuset is hosting a huge online sale. Running until Wednesday, January 27, it features a whole heap of bargains, with up to 25 percent off across a sprawling range of high-quality stoneware, stainless steel pots, toughened non-stick pans, cast iron cookware, kettles and roasting accessories. You can snag one of its signature cast iron casserole pots for $463.20 (down from $579), a crêpe pan for $172.50 and a stoneware roasting dish (in one of 17 colours) from just $36.75. You can scroll through all 400-plus sale items over here. Le Creuset's colourful pieces don't usually come cheap — but they do last a lifetime — so this is an opportunity not to miss.
So many places to visit, only so much cash in the bank. When Australia starts to reopen its borders both domestically and internationally, that's the situation we'll all face. So, if you're looking to save some money on airfares once you can start heading off on holidays again, that's understandable. Enter Bonza, the new Aussie low-cost airline that's set to launch early next year. An exact date hasn't been revealed as yet, but sometime in 2022, you'll have another choice when it comes to flying across this country of ours. The new independent carrier will focus on local flights with low fares — and on opening up routes to more of regional Australia. "Bonza's mission is to encourage more travel by providing more choices and ultra-low fares, particularly into leisure destinations where travel is now often limited to connections via major cities," said Bonza founder and CEO Tim Jordan, who comes to the airline with 25-plus years experience in low-cost carriers such as Virgin Blue, Cebu Pacific in The Philippines and central Asia's FlyArystan. While the airline's list of destinations hasn't yet been announced yet either, the aim is to service "regional communities by providing new routes and greater travel opportunities," Jordan continued. The airline will base its headquarters in a yet-to-be -revealed part of regional Australia, too. Wherever it ends up heading, Bonza will fly Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Fare prices and inclusions — such as baggage, meals and snacks, and selecting your own seat — haven't been mentioned as yet, with the airline still working through the regulatory process. When it launches, the carrier will take to the skies with the backing of US private investment firm 777 Partners, which also has a hand in Canada's Flair Airlines and the Southeast Asian-based Value Alliance. And yes, this now means that your 2022 Aussie holidays just got a whole lot cheaper — and that, alongside Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia, you'll have more airline options. Bonza is set to start flying sometime in 2022. For more information, head to the airline's website.
As the Macrodata Refinement division has learned over two seasons so far, alongside a few other Lumon Industries staff as well, a company that literally messes with your brain as a condition of employment is hardly a great place to work. The shady organisation at the heart of Severance sure does love throwing parties for its hired hands, though — and whether you're keen on a music dance experience, a melon bar, an egg bar social, a waffle party, a coffee cozy, pineapple bobbing, a hall of funhouse mirrors or some choreography and merriment, you'll want to celebrate the Apple TV+ hit officially being renewed for season three. The news comes fresh from Severance's second season dropping its unforgettable final episode, and after a phenomenal sophomore run for the show in general — after it returned in January 2025 almost three years after its first season debuted. So, if you watched season two wrap up and instantly wondered if there'd be more to Mark S (Adam Scott, The Monkey) and Helly R's (Britt Lower, Darkest Miriam) tale, and everyone else's, you didn't have to wait long for an answer. "Making Severance has been one of the most-creatively exciting experiences I've ever been a part of," said Ben Stiller (Nutcrackers), one of the guiding forces behind the series — directing 11 episodes across two seasons to-date, including season two finale 'Cold Harbour', and also executive producing — announcing the show's renewal. "While I have no memory of this, I'm told making season three will be equally enjoyable, though any recollection of these future events will be forever and irrevocably wiped from my memory as well." Added Scott, who not only stars but is also among Severance's executive producers: "I couldn't be more excited to get back to work with Ben, Dan, the incredible cast and crew, Apple and the whole Severance team. Oh hey also — not a huge deal — but if you see my innie, please don't mention any of this to him. Thanks." There's no word yet as to when Severance season three will arrive, after Hollywood's strikes played a part in the extended wait for season two. The show's creator, writer and executive producer Dan Erickson noted that he "can't wait to continue spreading woe, frolic, dread and malice with these truly incredible people". Locking in Severance's return comes just a week after Apple TV+ also confirmed more episodes of another of its huge successes, Ted Lasso, which will be back for its fourth season sometime in the future. In season two of Severance, a few queries earned the show's attention. The first: what happens when a group of employees attempts to raise issues about their workplace? Mark S, Helly R and their colleagues Dylan (Zach Cherry, Fallout) and Irving (John Turturro, Mr & Mrs Smith) all found out, but also started asking more questions about their existence as innies, their forced subservience not only to Lumon but to their outies, and their hopes of releasing their own dreams and desires. Both within and beyond the company's walls, Mark's outie's quest to find his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) also drives season two's narrative. Christopher Walken (Dune: Part Two), Patricia Arquette (High Desert), Tramell Tillman (Hunters), Jen Tullock (Perry Mason) and Michael Chernus (Carol & the End of the World) returned among the cast for season two, joined by new cast members Sarah Bock (Bruiser), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (La Palma), Gwendoline Christie (Wednesday), Bob Balaban (Asteroid City), Merritt Wever (Memory), Alia Shawkat (The Old Man) and John Noble (Twilight of the Gods). There's obviously no trailer for season three as yet, but check out the trailer for Severance season two below: Severance streams via Apple TV+ — and we'll update you with a release date for season three when one is announced. Read our review of season one and our season-two interview with Christopher Walken.
There's still time to nab tickets to this year's Broken Heel Festival, which takes over the historic mining town of Broken Hill for a weekend of drag, divas and disco from September 13–15. Visitors are encouraged to immerse themselves in this annual tribute to the iconic Australian film Priscilla Queen of the Desert by celebrating the movie's anniversary with a blowout party — that rocks for three days straight. Drag queens and kings from around the country will come together for a lineup of cabaret performances, comedy, opera and live music. Highlights include an opening night party featuring a Michael Griffiths' Kylie tribute band, plus a Priscilla-inspired party on Saturday. You can also join the locals along the main strip for the annual Drag Street Parade. An openair, interactive screening of the film will take place on the Sunday night, too.
Nanananananana Batman! Just when you thought Melbourne had no room left in its market calendar, this little beauty opens up in Coburg. Consider your dilemma of where to have brunch over the weekend eliminated — Batman Market is bringing fresh produce and delicious street food to all hungry and hungover Northsiders. With over 40 food trucks and stalls doing business, Batman Market is all about offering up multicultural cuisine. Options include Chinese, South-East Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian and European, but we’re particularly keen to check out the quesadillas at the Treat Yo Self cart operating out of a 1986 Franklin Regent caravan. If you get a little overwhelmed from the choice, or you’ve already managed to get yourself stuck in a food coma, take a break and grab a cuppa at the Impala & Peacock stall. It’s not just about feeding your face here, folks. There are also plenty of arts and crafts delights to spruce up your digs. As for those who don’t live in the ‘hood don’t sweat it, this is one brunch date worth catching the tram for. Batman forever. Batman Market will be open at 14-22 Gaffnet Street, Coburg every Saturday and Sunday 9am-3pm.
Travelling brings many joys — sightseeing, cultural experiences and new landscapes. But we'd argue the best part is sampling all the delicious local food. While eating your way around the continents may be the secret to inner happiness (nobody has ever been unhappy eating pasta in Sicily), sometimes jet-setting is not achievable, so you have to make do with the culinary offerings of your hometown. Luckily, Melbourne's got an international smorgasbord right in the city limits. Japanese in Brunswick East, Middle Eastern in South Yarra and Tex-Mex in Prahran; you're spoilt for choice here and you don't even have to dig your passport out or try to wrangle a lift to Tullamarine. To make it easy, we've teamed up with Citi to give you some of the best international eats in town, so you can eat your way around the world. And, to sweeten the deal, if you pay with your Citi card at participating restaurants, you'll also receive a free bottle of wine thanks to the Citibank Dining Program. Now, we'd say that calls for a cheers or, you know, Na Zdorovye!
Break out the cheese, Wallace & Gromit fans, then put on the right trousers and prepare for what's bound to be a very grand day out indeed. As part of the Victorian Government's Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image will show a massive exhibition dedicated to everyone's favourite stop-motion-animated, dairy-loving inventor and his kindly claymation canine pal, as well as the broader Aardman world they hail from. Taking over ACMI from June 29 to October 29, Wallace & Gromit and friends: The magic of Aardman will showcase more than 350 items, spanning original artworks, sketches, storyboards, hand-made sets and set pieces, character studies, puppets and more. Specific items such as the flying machine from Chicken Run and the five-metre tall ship from The Pirates! Band of Misfits will also feature. In short, if it's related to the Oscar, BAFTA and all-round award-winning animation studio's beloved were-rabbit chasers, escaping chooks and swashbucklers — and their other flicks such as Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas and Shaun the Sheep — you'll find it here. Of course, ACMI being ACMI, you can expect to see bits and pieces of Aardman's shorts, television work, advertisements, music videos and movies too, though an accompanying big screen lineup hasn't yet been announced. And the timing really couldn't be better. While their highly anticipated next effort Early Man won't release in cinemas until 2018, the exhibition will include concept drawings from the Stone Age versus Bronze Age caper, which will feature the voices of Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston. Curated by Art Ludique-Le Musée, Paris, where the exhibition premiered in 2015, Wallace & Gromit and friends also marks more than four decades of Aardman goodness — and its Melbourne run will coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first Aardman short, 1977's Animated Conversations: Down and Out, in fact. With Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art opening its doors to a Marvel showcase in 2017, next year sure is shaping up to be a mighty fine time for pop culture-filled galleries — and for travelling around the country to peek behind the scenes of your favourite screen content, perhaps? UPDATE OCTOBER 17, 2017: Due to the popularity of the exhibition, ACMI will extend Wallace & Gromit and friends: The magic of Aardman over summer until January 29, 2018. More time for cheese. Images: Charlie Kinross courtesy of ACMI.
Since 2017 in Brisbane, crooning tunes at the pub with a drink in your hand is no longer just something that you do with your mates when you've had enough liquid courage. It's the whole idea behind Pub Choir, which started out in the Queensland capital, still hosts local shows regularly and has also taken its boozy communal karaoke setup on the road around the country. It pivoted to the couch to keep everyone entertained during lockdown, too, and has made the leap to television as well. Over the past five years, Pub Choir has gotten big, unsurprisingly. It's a fantastic concept. So, it no longer just pops up in pubs, but in huge venues — such as Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall at its most recent homegrown session at the end of June, where 1600 strangers showed up to sip, sing and be merry. The song they were belting out? None other than the current tune of winter, and of 2022, even though it was initially released 37 years ago. That'd be Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)', which has surged back to popularity thanks to its prominence on Stranger Things season four. If you've seen the Netflix hit's latest episodes, you'll know why. [caption id="attachment_809627" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacob Morrison[/caption] Busting out that track in that way must've been something special. It looks like it on the video from the event, which you can find below. But the fact that Kate Bush saw it and loved it as well takes the whole thing up several hills worth of levels. Pub Choir's organisers posted a picture of the email they received from Bush herself after she'd watched their 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)' video. The British singer noted that she's been busy, understandably, but that she was incredibly touched by everyone's "warmth and smiling faces". If that doesn't boost Pub Choir's numbers — not that they need boosting, given that the event already sells out quickly — than nothing will. Reacting to the note, the Pub Choir team said "life as we know it is over, and all that remains is this email from KATE. BUSH. Happy Kate Bush Saw Our Video Day, everybody!!!!!". View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pub Choir (@pubchoir) If you want to be like Bush — and don't we all — you can watch Pub Choir's 'Running Up That Hill' efforts below now. Brisbane also plays host to The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever each year, where a different Bush track — 'Wuthering Heights', obviously — is in the spotlight. 2022's event takes place on Saturday, July 30 if you want to show your Kate Bush love, and dressing up in a red dress, red stockings and black belt to copy Bush's swaying, kicky dance in the wily, windy moors of Milton's Frew Park is a must. Sydneysiders are getting their own 'Wuthering Heights' event on the same day, in Sydney Park in St Peters — and the same concept applies. For more information about Pub Choir — including upcoming dates around the country — head to the event's website.
What's better than giving a new TV show a whirl, enjoying it immensely and realising that it's one of the best new series of the year so far? Learning that it's coming back for a second season. Ideally, that happens to all of our favourites — but for now, it's definitely on the agenda for new Apple TV+ sitcom Loot. The streaming platform has confirmed that the show, which both stars and is executive produced by Maya Rudolph, will get a second run after its ten-episode first season wraps up. The latter is dropping episodes weekly now, and just when season two will hit hasn't been revealed. Apple TV+ does tend to like a yearly schedule, though — Physical season one arrived last year, and season two last month, for instance — so cross your fingers that Loot will be back to add some workplace-set laughs to your streaming queue within 12 months. If you haven't yet made a viewing date with the immensely funny satire, it does two things at once: slots into the workplace comedy genre alongside everything from The Office and Parks and Recreation to 30 Rock, and joins the list of recent shows that haven't had much sympathy for the ultra rich (see White Lotus, Succession, Squid Game and Killing It). The focus: Molly Novak (Rudolph, Big Mouth), who discovers that her billionaire husband John (Adam Scott, Severance) is cheating on her, becomes a billionaire herself in the divorce settlement, and starts partying around the globe. (She also inhabits the kind of house that doesn't look real, but genuinely is — Loot is partly filmed in one of America's biggest private homes, an enormous mansion that has 21 bedrooms, five pools, a bowling alley and a cinema). Drinking away her days in different countries only lasts for a short spell, though, with Molly's new routine getting a shakeup when she gets a call from Sofia Salinas (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pose), the head of the foundation that bears her name. Soon, she's actually showing up to try to help out rather than merely splashing her cash about. Given that she hasn't worked for two decades, things get chaotic. Joining the always-excellent Rudolph on-screen: the aforementioned Rodriguez, Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island), Ron Funches (AP Bio), Nat Faxon, Our Flag Means Death), Stephanie Styles (Bombshell) and Meagen Fay (Dopesick). Clearly, Loot is a parody. It digs into all that wealth, the folks who have it and the bubbles that surround them. It also knows that handing out a tiny portion of a fortune to great causes is the absolute bare minimum that the one percent can do. And, it's definitely aware of the type of hijinks that can spring in any working environment. Loot's creators Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard are well versed in workplace comedies, sharing Parks and Recreation on their resumes — while Hubbard has written for 30 Rock and Superstore as well. Check out the trailer for Loot below: Loot's second season doesn't yet have a release date, but its first is available to stream via Apple TV+. Read our full review of season one.
Just when you thought you'd gotten 'Running Up That Hill' out of your head, a new trailer for the second volume for Stranger Things season four is here to lodge the Kate Bush track right back in there. Given how crucial the tune was to the first half of the hit Netflix show's long-awaited fourth season — and given how popular it's become since, running up those charts, too — it was always going to get another whirl. Also inevitable: a big showdown between Hawkins' favourite high schoolers and Vecna, as the just-dropped full sneak peek teases. "Your friends are not prepared for this fight. Hawkins will fall," the new trailer taunts, although those words are uttered by Dr Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine, Breaking News in Yuba County) to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, Godzilla vs Kong). Vecna has his own ominous words of warning, too, of course — but this latest glimpse at the two season four episodes still to come shows that Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo, The Angry Birds Movie 2), Max (Sadie Sink, Fear Street), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy), Steve (Joe Keery, Free Guy), Robin (Maya Hawke, Fear Street) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer, Things Seen & Heard) are all ready to fight back, and Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn, Small Axe) as well. Also teased: Hopper (David Harbour, Black Widow), Joyce (Winona Ryder, The Plot Against America) and Murray's (Brett Gelman, Fleabag) efforts in Russia, weapons and all; another eerie stint in the Upside Down; and a huge explosion. The new trailer builds upon an earlier glimpse that released a couple of weeks ago, and both make one thing plain: this season is going out in a huge way. Need a refresher on where things are up to? Season four is set six months after the season three's battle of Starcourt, and began with Eleven living in Lenora Hills, California, with Will (Noah Schnapp, Waiting for Anya), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton, The Souvenir Part II) and Joyce. But, despite her claims that things were sunny — in letters to her boyfriend Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), of course — they really weren't. The same proved true back in Hawkins, too. There, teens started turning up dead, and metal-loving outcast Eddie — who also runs the high school Dungeons & Dragons club — became the prime suspect. But Dustin and company all knew better. Their efforts to work out what's going on took them everywhere from creepy houses and mental institutions to the Upside Down. And, they're just getting started. That's the basic overview — with season four so far also spanning nods to 80s flicks aplenty, a wonderful horror cameo, explorations of Eleven's past and powers, road trips, and ins and outs of Hopper's whole situation in a Soviet gulag. As for what'll happen next, that'll be revealed in full on Friday, July 1, when the final two episodes of Stranger Things season four volume two arrive. Until then, check out the full Stranger Things season four volume two trailer below: The first seven episodes of Stranger Things season four are available to stream now via Netflix, with the remaining two set to follow on Friday, July 1. Read our full review of Stranger Things season four volume one.
The bright lights and debauchery of the Las Vegas strip are fun, but there comes a time when you need some natural sun and nutrients that don't come from a complimentary bowl of nuts. That's where Vegas' whole other identity comes in. This alter ego has a sense of adventure, a taste for quality fare, and of course, is still a little bit wild — aka, it's worth getting to know. [caption id="attachment_635169" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] H. Michael Miley via Flickr[/caption] TAKE A SCENIC RUNNING TOUR If you're looking for a legal way to get high in Vegas, this is it. With the choice to explore a changing range of different areas — the historic side of the strip, downtown, the Valley of Fire and Hoover Dam have all been featured — Las Vegas Running Tours will show you a completely different side of Vegas. Catering to runners of all levels, this is a chance to see Vegas from a vastly different perspective to most tourists. Guided by Jimmy, who simply loves to run, the tours last 4-5 hours, generally cover four different trails and include pick up from your hotel, snacks, water and some sweet merch. Our tip: while it's not always on offer, a visit to The Valley of Fire is like travelling to another planet. And given that it's where they filmed Star Trek: Generations, this is no exaggeration. Characterised by multiple tones of red rock formations, exploring this place on foot is pretty spectacular. [caption id="attachment_635170" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Sake Rok[/caption] ENJOY A DIFFERENT KIND OF DINNER AND A SHOW AT SAKE ROK Sake Rok takes the concept of dinner and a show to a new level. Professional dancers first, waiters second, the staff jump between taking your order and bursting into an all-singing, all-dancing rendition of some of the '90s greatest hits — think the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. When the music starts, all the staff get into it, even the traditionally-trained Japanese chefs in the open plan kitchen. Basically, nobody takes themselves too seriously here. It may sound kitsch, but if you don't mind things that are a little over the top, this place is a lot of fun — and a great place to start your night. From the graffitied walls painted by local artists to the food itself, Sake Rok is a sensory overload. Classic sashimi dishes get kicked up a level with a dusting of truffles, ordering a sushi platter is a spectacle in itself thanks to a roaring, smoking Godzilla, and the vegan-friendly menu features a crispy rice version of avocado toast. And, for a really good time, get involved with a sake bomb or a punch bowl. While American serving sizes are usually too much, when it comes to dessert at Sake Rok, it's nowhere near enough. Their specialty honey toast is the love child of waffles and brioche toast, doused in honey and piled with ice cream. It's dense and fluffy in parts, and crunchy on the outside, which means it's the perfect consistency for unnecessarily mopping up every last bit of honey. [caption id="attachment_635171" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Angie Ortaliza Photography via EAT Cafe[/caption] ROLL OUT OF BED FOR A QUALITY BRUNCH In Vegas, you can get anything you want — for cheap and in excess. That includes an $8 rump steak, 99 cent margaritas and the Octuple Bypass Burger from downtown's aptly named Heart Attack Grill, which is just shy of 2 kilograms of meat. What's difficult to find is the kind of breakfast us Aussies take for granted. Luckily, EAT Cafe know that a serving of chicken and waffles that defies nature isn't necessarily the way you always want to start the day. The kind of place every traveller hopes to find, this is where locals go for brunch. They do pancakes with chicken-apple sausage and maple syrup, a killer BLAT with chipotle mayo, and eggs any style with smoked bacon, chive potatoes and toast. Plus, for those nursing a hangover, the more sizeable truffled egg sandwich with wild mushrooms, chives, feta and bacon will set you straight. FIND THE HIDDEN SPEAKEASY AT THE COMMONWEALTH For some, The Commonwealth is a rooftop cocktail bar overlooking downtown Vegas. But for those in the know, it harbours a speakeasy under its floorboards. And while it's not the best kept secret — the number to book a table is listed on the website — once you're in, The Laundry Room feels like the real deal. Resembling an underground bunker adorned gilded artworks, a wooden bar and top-notch spirits, you can easily imagine the city's upper echelons enjoying countless salubrious nights here. Not much has changed, but now they have a rotation of flavoured popcorn to snack on. If The Laundry Room really had stepped out of times gone by, you'd expect the drinks to be served strong and straight up, but thankfully that's not the case. The cocktails here befit the ornate setting. Served in traditional crystalware, the green chartreuse and fresh honey lemon sour with muddled strawberries may appear a light choice, but that's until the blowtorch comes out to top it off with an absinthe-torched rosemary sprig. And if you're after a beverage with impact, go the Mighty Tiki Joe. Topped with the cap of a Gifford Caribbean pineapple, this sweet and substantial mix of light and dark rums, ginger liqueur, lime and pineapple juices with mint and habanero bitters makes a grand entrance — it comes out smoking. Main image: Thomas Wolf
Despite three years ago announcing his retirement from making feature films, it seems 75-year-old Hayao Miyazaki still has plenty more artistic fuel left in the tank. Known for his work on iconic films like Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Ponyo, the legendary anime director revealed on last week's TV special, Owaranai Hito Miyazaki Hayao (The Man Who Is Not Done: Hayao Miyazaki), that he'll be having another crack at the medium. If all goes to plan, he hopes to release his next full-length feature within five years. Miyazaki's retirement has seen him swap feature films for CG shorts, and the past few years have kept him busy animating for the Studio Ghibli Museum. But it was dissatisfaction with his current project, Kemushi no Boro (Boro the Caterpillar), as a short that prompted him to propose turning the story into a feature. While this latest passion project hasn't yet been given the official go-ahead, Miyazaki says he's already made a start on the storyboards, suggesting the film would be finished in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Via Anime News Network.
There's more to going to the movies than just seeing the flicks that fill megaplexes, as Australia's thriving film festival scene demonstrates. The country's third-largest capital city might've just been robbed of its major annual cinema showcase, but our love of films beyond the mainstream can't be thwarted that easily. As far as Hollywood's addition to the movie-making fold is concerned, that's where the American Essentials Film Festival comes in. Founded in 2016 as a way to fill select Aussie cinemas with the kind of US titles that don't usually make it to our shores, the touring festival returns for its second run with another lineup of noteworthy inclusions — 31 films and 20 Aussie premieres, in fact. Making its way around the country between May 9 and 28, complete with runs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide, the fest kicks off with an Oscar-nominated performance, boasts a documentary dedicated to a talent who makes films (and TV shows) like no one else, and features everyone from Greta Gerwig (twice!) to Australia's own Bond to Ewan McGregor jumping behind the camera. Prepare for a busy movie-viewing month. Fresh from earning a nod for best original screenplay at this year's Academy Awards — and garnering lead actress Annette Bening a Golden Globe nomination, too — 20th Century Women will get the festival started, marking writer/director Mike Mills' first movie since 2010's Beginners. Bening stars as a mother coping with the fact her son is growing up, and calling in pals played by Gerwig and Elle Fanning to help. As promised, Gerwig also features in Todd Solondz's Wiener-Dog, which comes to the fest after having its Australian premiere at last year's Sydney Underground Film Festival. Also on the bill, and impeccably timed given that the third season of Twin Peaks starts airing during May, is highly anticipated doco David Lynch: The Art Life, while docudrama Becoming Bond keeps the factual fun going by delving into the Aussie that once played oo7. American Pastoral is the aforementioned McGregor's first stint as a director; California Dreams explores the real folks trying to make it in LA, La La Land-style; G-Funk dives into the style of hip hop started by Warren G, Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg; and 2016 Cannes hit The Transformation follows a 14-year-old who thinks he's a vampire. As well as highlighting new flicks, with Are We Not Cats' magical realism and Detour's crime thrills also on offer, American Essentials shines a spotlight on classic titles in its Masters & Masterpieces retrospective. That's where audiences can watch Lynch's inimitable debut Eraserhead for its 4oth anniversary, as well as his 2001 standout Mulholland Drive — plus the Carrie Fisher-written Postcards on the Edge; Andy Warhol's Bad, which is the last film the artist produced before his death; and a Charles Bukowski double of doco You Never Had It: An Evening with Bukowski alongside the semi-autobiographical, Mickey Rourke-starring 1987 favourite Barfly. The American Essentials Film Festival tours Australia from May 9, screening at Sydney's Palace Norton Street and Palace Verona from May 9 to 24; Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth and The Astor Theatre from May 11 to 24; and Brisbane's Palace Centro from May 17 to 28. For more information, visit the festival website.
Feeling a bit glum about your lack of airline club membership and all the benefits that go with it? Well, you can pick yourself up off that floor and start actually looking forward to your next Melbourne Airport visit, because someone's launched a 'pay-as-you-go' lounge that's open to anyone and everyone. Over in the international terminal T2, the newly unveiled Marhaba Lounge promises to bring a touch of sophistication to your pre-flight game — even if you're flying budget economy without a single, lousy frequent flyer point to your name. Of course, you'll have to pay for the privilege, with $65 gaining you casual entry for up to four hours, paid either on the spot or in advance when you pre-book online. Sure, it sounds a little pricey, though if you've managed to wrangle a super cheap long-haul flight, who knows when you'll next see a comfy seat and a decent feed? Marhaba Lounge has room for 200 guests and is manned by 26 staff, on hand to ensure your lounging experience is tip top. It's got showers, free wi-fi, a quiet zone, buffet dining and an Aussie-led booze list, and is open from 6am to midnight each day. Currently, you'll score free entry if you're travelling with Marhaba's partners Tianjin, Xianen and JAL, with more airlines set to team up by the end of the year. Other lounges are also under discussion, so keep an eye out if a trip to Adelaide or Perth is in your future. For more information or to pre-book your spot, visit the Marhaba Lounge website. Via traveler.com.au
When 30 Rock’s Liz Lemon walked down the aisle, a registry office became her chapel, and the only white ensemble in her wardrobe stood in for traditional wedding attire. With her love of Star Wars well established throughout the show’s seven-season run, Tina Fey’s iconic small-screen character stepped into matrimony in costume as Princess Leia, in a ceremony perfectly suited to her personality. This May in Brisbane, other brides will follow in her footsteps. On International Star Wars Day, couples can say “I do” as well as “May the Fourth be with you”, courtesy of a pop-up wedding concept spearheaded by marriage celebrant Josh Withers and wedding planner Danielle White. As the name suggests, a pop-up wedding is a wedding that pops up for one day in a specific location, with distinctive styling from reputable wedding vendors to provide an intimate, inimitable and easy opportunity to get married. It scales down the stress and ramps up the fun of tying the knot, in a one-size-fits-all package. The link between Withers and White’s no-fuss ceremony idea and Fey’s on-screen nuptials is merely coincidental, with the duo driven by wanting to offer an alternative to the usual wedding experience — in style, simplicity and price. Their background in the industry lead them to the realisation that everyone wants something different for their special day, and that the average “getting married” scenario doesn’t suit all tastes. “I’m definitely seeing more unique ceremonies and receptions,” says White of current trends. “At the essence of it, we think that falling in love is the best thing," Withers says. "If you want to commit to that, and get married, then that is something that should be celebrated — we are in the business of celebrating marriage. "The pop-up wedding came from knowing that large weddings are not for everyone. Six percent of people who wanted to get married last year didn’t or couldn’t because of either the financial burden or the emotional and mental stress. Or because the big thing just didn’t appeal to them.” More established in the United States but still a growing field there as well as worldwide, pop-up weddings add something special to the conventional antidote to the big day (the registry wedding), something classier to the customary offbeat idea (the Vegas chapel) and something more concrete to the usual stress avoidance technique (eloping). It's a concept that Withers and White hope will become an accepted substitute to the standard ceremony in Australia. April Fools' Day marked their first batch of pop-up weddings, celebrating the mischieviousness that increasingly surrounds the date. “Everyone’s doing some thing silly while you’re doing something awesome,” encouraged their website, with playfulness key in their pop-up offerings. “When you say you are getting married on April Fools' Day everyone will think you’re only joking!” On May 4, participating couples are treated to the full gamut of theming from George Lucas’s beloved sci-fi/fantasy film series. Of course, how much they embrace Star Wars is their decision, as is the use of costumes and props. In their allocated hour, each betrothed pair goes through the legally required formalities with their chosen celebrant, and then relaxes in the Cantina Lounge styled by Amini Concepts. As they enjoy a piece of cake and a glass of champagne, Josh Kelly from Jessie Dains Photography captures their happy “just married” memories. Though two to four friends or relatives can attend, guests are typically absent; it’s about the commitment, not the audience. With pop-up weddings proving popular, the list of future themes is limited only by Withers and White’s imaginations, and their observations of traditional weddings extending into the “poppier end of pop culture”. Requests are always welcome. Couples in Brisbane can book in for a trashy Brisvegas or op-shop-styled ceremony later in 2014. The concept will also take to the road, touring around the country for a boho-chic day in Perth as well as a Melbourne outing. As Withers notes, “people are cottoning on to the fact that there are other ways to get married.” White adds, “I think this is one that is going to stay.” To find out more about pop-up weddings, visit the Pop-Up Wedding website.
In the latest of its comeback moves, Polaroid has jumped on the Instagram bandwagon with a brand new camera, Socialmatic. Not only does it print photos on the spot (let's face it, the only reason anyone buys Polaroid cameras any more), it also lets you upload them to your social media accounts instantly. Seems like Polaroid wants to remind us all where those square-shaped, Nashville-filtered snaps came from. Available for pre-order at US$299 and expected to hit shelves in January 2015, the Socialmatic runs only with Android. It uses Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet, and Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone. Shots can be sent to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and any other network with an Android App available on Google Play. At the same time, Polaroid's instant-print tech has received an upgrade. Gone are the days of shaking your photos until the black layer disappears. And, if you request it, every photo comes with its own QR barcode, so you can keep up with its movements in cyberspace. Shots are printed at dimensions of 5 x 7.5 centimetres. What’s more, the Socialmatic comes equipped with two cameras in one. The regular camera measures 14-megapixels, and there’s another on the back, which provides 2-megapixels of resolution and is designed specifically for taking selfies. Seems Polaroid really want to get in the game with this one. Before this, Polaroid’s most recent attempt at modernising happened with the release of the Polaroid Cube. It’s a teeny-tiny, HD, cube-shaped video camera that competes with the GoPro, selling at just US$99. Via Racked.
Rockpool Bar & Grill in Melbourne isn't known for changing things up. In fact, many diners come here because they know exactly what they're getting every time they visit — and that's usually one of Melbourne's best steaks. But right now, the chefs have been given permission to really experiment with Rockpool's food offering through its new series of degustation dinners. Every Friday and Saturday night until Saturday, July 20, you can book in for Rockpool's nine-course spread that's exclusively served in its semi-private dining rooms overlooking the Yarra. These aren't available to walk-ins, and there's a highly limited number of seats up for grabs each week. If you manage to get a spot, you'll be treated to a selection of mostly meat and seafood dishes that have been dreamt up by Executive Chef Santiago Aristizabal. You can expect bites like prawn and carrot crepe with saffron and curry leaves, paspaley pearl with green gazpacho and smoked bullhorn pepper oil, rare Cape Grim fillet and bone marrow on toast and Davidson plum doughnuts topped with smoked vanilla ice cream. The nine-course degustation comes in at $195 per person, with several wine-pairing options available starting from $85 — something we highly recommend for those wanting to really treat themselves. Those dining a la carte can also try something new by ordering one of its luxe new tableside dishes. The NSW rock lobster thermidor is carted over on a trolley and drizzled in flames right before your eyes. And the 1-kilo, pancetta-wrapped $350 chateaubriand steak (for four to five people) is also finished and carved up tableside. It's decadent and expensive, but Rockpool is a legendary restaurant in Melbourne that's known for sourcing only the best quality produce. It costs to try food this good. But if you can afford it, it is a real treat.
The rumours are true. Daft Punk has teamed up with Nile Rodgers for their upcoming album, said to be released in June this year. Apart from his own band, Chic, Rodgers has worked with many established artists in his time, including Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna and Duran Duran. Award-winning producer Paul Williams confirmed this week at SXSW that he has also collaborated on some of the duo's new songs. The French electro pair are known for keeping things a secret until the very last minute, so it will be interesting to see what they have planned. Williams said "I feel like I don't want to talk about the stuff that I'm doing with them, because they want a press blackout on the album until it's out, so I should basically not be talking about it." While no one is giving away much information around the new album, just the fact that they are working on some amazing new tracks has been enough to send the internet into overdrive. It goes without saying that this is a much anticipated album after their last original release, Human After All, way back in 2006. https://youtube.com/watch?v=mj9AYdsb5Kg [Via Idolator]
Operating under the motto "Marriage equality for everyone, no matter the flavour.", the Ice Cream Truck of Love is set to travel Australia's eastern seaboard, handing out free scoops and spreading its message of marriage equality. Launched by Adrian Fernand, Aussie tastemaker and etiquette blogger, the Truck of Love was initially inspired by a truck with opposite intentions. Earlier in March, an anti-gay-marriage truck took to the streets of Queensland, opposing homosexual marriage on its "Queensland Election Prayer Rally Tour". In order to complete its trek down the coast, and hopefully through the rest of the country, the Truck of Love is in need of donors and volunteers who are willing to share some of their sweet time. https://youtube.com/watch?v=rWDhM1YzdtU
When you make an album that lasts the test of time, that feat is worth celebrating. Moon Safari isn't the only record from French electro-pop duo Air that's as stellar now as it was when it first met the world, but the dreamy 1998 release is the album that Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel have been celebrating in 2024. To mark its 25th anniversary, which arrived last year, the pair have been touring the globe to play Moon Safari in full live — starting in France, of course, but also heading everywhere from Switzerland, Italy, Germany and the UK to the US and Australia. For Vivid 2024, Air brought their current show to Sydney midyear — before the entire planet's eyes were on them during August's Paris Olympics closing ceremony, where they were part of Phoenix's set alongside Kavinsky, Angèle, Vannda and Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend. One trip Down Under this year isn't enough, however, so Air have now joined the Always Live lineup. From 'La femme d'argent' to 'Le voyage de Pénélope', the entire record will be performed live — 'Sexy Boy', 'All I Need', 'Kelly Watch the Stars' and 'You Make It Easy' included, of course. From there, Air's sets usually feature equally excellent tracks from across their career, such as 'Playground Love' from Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides soundtrack, plus 'Venus' and 'Cherry Blossom Girl' from the duo's 2004 album Talkie Walkie. For Always Live, Air are playing a one-night-only gig under the stars at Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, adding to an already jam-packed program that's bringing Jack White, The Offspring and St Vincent to Victoria as well for Australian-exclusive shows. [caption id="attachment_978773" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mathieu Rainaud[/caption] "We were a duo doing some electronic thing, dreaming of selling 10,000 copies and being recognised by other musicians as cool. Then suddenly, we met the world," explains Dunckel about Moon Safari, calling the album "a deep, universal spell, full of love and mystery". If you missed Air in Sydney, here's your second chance to catch them in Australia this year. And if you need any more encouragement, the Moon Safari set was captured live at London's Royal Albert Hall earlier in 2024, which you can stream below: Air Play Moon Safari heads to Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, with tickets on sale from 10am local time on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. Always Live 2024 runs from Friday, November 22–Sunday, December 8. For more information, and to get tickets, head to the festival website. Live images: Raph_PH via Flickr.
Making progress in the field of stem cell-inspired organ production is notoriously difficult. So, recent developments at Yokohama City University, Japan, which have seen baby human livers growing inside mice, have taken the scientific world by storm. As far as we know (after all, who knows what's going on in underground labs in the more obscure corners of the world?), this is the first time that stem cells have been used to create functional organs. The livers, 4-5mm in length (a little like those found in human foetuses), are able to generate human proteins, clear toxins from the blood and go through the processes necessary to metabolising drugs. At this stage, it looks like they could be used to mend damaged livers by up to 30%. The team behind the research is hopeful that the transplant of thousands of tiny 'liver buds' might prove to be a way of preventing liver failure. Professor Takanori Takebe told the BBC that he was 'completely gobsmacked' and 'absolutely surprised' by the breakthrough. 'We just simply mixed three cell types and found that they unexpectedly self-organise to form a three-dimensional liver bud - this is a rudimentary liver. And finally we proved that liver bud transplantation could offer therapeutic potential against liver failure'. Even though the growth of adult-sized organs is not yet on the horizon, this development certainly promises to bring us a step closer to coping with organ shortages. If your scientific jargon is up to speed (i.e. words like 'endothelial' and 'mesenchymal' mean something to you), you can read the official story here. [via PSFK]
Fancy warming up your winter by watching Lizzo hit the stage? Don't we all. That's this July's hottest ticket Down Under, at both 2023's Splendour in the Grass — where the rapper, singer and flautist is the only announced headliner so far — and on her own arena tour of the country. And the latter is proving such a hit that more dates have already been added. General ticket sales for Lizzo's Aussie tour only start on Wednesday, March 29, but the pre-sale period has seen her Sydney and Melbourne gigs sell out already via pre-sales. Cue two new concerts — one in each city — although, in sad news for Brisbanites, there's still no sign of a stint in the Sunshine State. Still, if you're keen to see the 'Tempo', 'Juice', 'Truth Hurts' and 'Rumors' singer doing her own shows in New South Wales and Victoria, this news is as good as hell. Lizzo's solo gigs are tied to her 2022 album Special, including, of course, Grammy Record of the Year-winning single 'About Damn Time'. But attendees can expect to hear hits from 2019's CUZ I LOVE YOU as well — and an overall set filled with dance-ready beats. Joining Lizzo on all dates as a special guest is Tkay Maidza, which means two must-see talents for the price of one. While a Lizzo tour is always a welcome announcement, fans in Brisbane will still note the usual Splendour setup — that is, when someone plays the fest and does their own gigs around it, Brissie is considered close enough to Byron to not warrant a separate stop. The Live Nation pre-sale for the new Sydney and Melbourne gigs runs until 10am local time on Wednesday, March 29, with general sales for all shows kicking off at 11am local time also on Wednesday, March 29. LIZZO — THE SPECIAL TOUR 2023: Friday, July 14 — RAC Arena, Perth Monday, July 17–Tuesday, July 18 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Sunday, July 23–Monday, July 24 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Wednesday, July 26 — Spark Arena, Auckland Lizzo will tour Australia and New Zealand in July 2023. The Live Nation presale runs until 10am on Wednesday, March 29, with general sales from 11am Wednesday, March 29 — with all times local. For further details, head to the tour website.
Your days of stealing liberating those tiny IKEA pencils may soon be coming to an end. According to reports, the Australian arm of the Swedish furniture giant will launch its online store today, Wednesday, November 30 — in Canberra, of all places. Those living in the nation's capital will be the first to be able to order IKEA's unpronounceable furniture from the comfort of their MALM bed frames and either collect it from the Majura store or have it delivered the next day. Delivery will start at $79 and, according to The Canberra Times, will not include meatball orders. Wah. Those dirty that IKEA has chosen to trial the service in Canberra over other bigger cities, it's not all bad news. They have plans to roll out delivery to regional areas around Canberra, and eventually nationally over the next few years. About damn time. Now here's hoping it's less stressful to navigate than their actual physical locations. IKEA Australia hopes the web initiative will help boost profits, which, as it stands, are expected to pass the $1 billion mark for the first time later this year. Their online store in the UK is the most popular IKEA outlet in the country, presumably because you don't need to pack a week's worth of provisions to make it to the checkout. Via The Canberra Times. By Tom Clift and Lauren Vadnjal.
Been spending the first few months of 2022 pondering the future? That's only natural whenever a new year hits, especially a couple of years into a pandemic. Over the coming weeks, however, you might want to look to the skies as well — and feast your eyes on the night sky. Across the second half of April each year, the Lyrids Meteor Shower sets the sky ablaze. This year, it's doing just that from April 14–30. It might not be as famous as Halley's Comet, but it's still very impressive. Plus, rather than only being visible every 75 years (the next Halley's Comet sighting is in 2061), you can catch the Lyrids annually. In 2022, the Lyrids will be at its most spectacular over Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23. For folks located Down Under, you'll want to peer upwards early on the Saturday morning. Here's how to catch a glimpse from your backyard. [caption id="attachment_767783" align="alignnone" width="1920"] jpstanley via Flickr.[/caption] WHAT IS IT The Lyrids Meteor Shower is named after constellation Lyra, which is where the meteor shower appears to come from near star Vega, and is created by debris from comet Thatcher. While the comet, which takes about 415 years to orbit around the sun, won't be visible from Earth again until 2276, the Lyrids can be seen every autumn between around April 14–30. So, you can even pencil it in for next year. It's also the oldest recorded meteor shower, so there's that, too. On average, you can see up to 18 meteors per hour, but the Lyrids are also known to have outbursts of nearly 100 meteors per hour. So, while no outburst is predicted for 2022, you could get lucky. WHEN TO SEE IT In Australia, the shower will reach a peak in the early morning of Saturday, April 23 according to Time and Date, but will still able to be seen either side of those dates between Thursday, April 14–Saturday, April 30. The best time to catch an eyeful is just before dawn after the moon has set, so around 4am. At that time, you'll be in the running to see meteors moving at about 177,000 kilometres per hour, shining extraordinarily brightly and leaving a long wake. The shower's cause is, essentially, the Earth getting in the comet's way, causing stardust to fry up in the atmosphere. HOW TO SEE IT When a meteor shower lights up the sky, getting as far away from light pollution as possible is the best way to get a prime view. If you can't do that, you can still take a gander from your backyard or balcony. To help locate the Lyrids, 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 have a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Lyrids. The site updates these details daily. The one caveat: the weather. If showers or cloud pop up, they could present problems in terms of visibility. So, keep an eye on the forecast if you're making plans to head to a prime viewing location. Top image: Mike Lewinski via Flickr.
Gonna get 90s-style comedic pop tunes stuck in your head forever, again — or five-ever, to be precise. After proving one of the best new shows of 2021, Tina Fey-executive produced sitcom Girls5eva returns in May with a new season of sitcom antics about a former one-hit-wonder girl group who get back together to chase stardom again decades later. You know, that ol' situation. Fingers crossed that a whole heap of catchy songs are in the returning show's future, too. Its first season was filled with them, and wonderfully so. If you quickly binged its initial eight episodes, you instantly got its tracks lodged in your brain. In fact, even just reading the show's name now will have brought them all back. And, odds are there'll be more gems on the way given that Girls5eva's second season sees the group recording a new album. The setup, if you're a newcomer: more than 20 years after they split up, the four remaining members of a late 90s girl group decide that it's time to get the band back together. Now in their forties, they're all at different points in their lives, but rekindling their dreams is too enticing to ignore. Sara Bareilles (Broadway's Waitress), Busy Philipps (I Feel Pretty), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) and the great Paula Pell (AP Bio) play Girls5eva's reunited members, while Fey pops up as a fantasy version of Dolly Parton — and yes, the latter is as glorious as it sounds. Also, the comic takes on 90s pop tunes are all 100-percent spot on. Just as pitch-perfect: everything about this immensely funny take on stardom, fame and the way that women beyond their twenties are treated. In season two, which hits Stan in Australia on Friday, May 6, the Girls5eva crew are still chasing their comeback — but they're determined to make their new album on their own terms. As the just-dropped trailer shows, that's an eventful quest, even spanning knee replacements. Even just from the brief sneak peek so far, expect more wannabe popstar chaos, more gags about the entertainment industry and more thoughtful jokes about the way both the music scene and the world in general regard women. Of course, Tina Fey hasn't starred in, created or executive produced a bad sitcom yet — and when the first season of Girls5eva arrived last year, it continued that trend. In its own way, it's another workplace comedy like 30 Rock, Great News and Mr Mayor, after all. And, albeit in a completely different manner to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, it also follows a group of women trying to navigate new lives years after they were thrust together under extreme circumstances. Check out the trailer for Girls5eva season two below: Girls5eva's second season will be available to stream via Stan on Friday, May 6. Read our full review of season one.
Every season has its fashions and fads. This past summer, there was only one thing we spotted more in our favourite bar haunts than hot dogs: cider. While a glass of sweet, delicious cider is undoubtedly on trend, we suspect that it will last a little longer than most. Concrete Playground speaks to Rich Coombes of Batlow Premium Cider, Brittany Kinter from Moonshine, Hotel Steyne's dedicated cider and rum bar, and Michael Capaldo from Schwartz Brewery, the creator of Sydney Cider, to find out why cider is here to stay. Why has it taken Sydney so long to catch on to cider? Why is the cider revolution only hitting now? RC: There was really a lack of quality cider widely available, but now we're seeing an abundance of quality ciders in a range of styles. The category was re-invigorated in the UK recently through a significant increase in marketing activities by major brands, and that had a positive knock-on effect into other markets like Australia. Consumers are also seeking out more from their drinking and dining experiences; they appear to be looking for alternatives to their regular beer or wine selections, and cider provides a versatile option. Michael, Schwartz Brewery has had the beers under the belt for a while, but what prompted you to move into cider? MC: Our marketing manager Richard actually came up with the brand years ago. Richard presented the idea of making a cider for Sydneysiders to Dr. Schwartz and the brewing team, and we loved it. Did you have much experience with cider before embarking on Sydney Cider? MC: I had made a few batches at home and had produced a range of ciders with my previous employer. Saying that, cider is a very different beast to beer. From a technical point of view it behaves much more like a wine than a beer, so it is a whole new world for us brewers to get used to. Rich, we all know Batlow Apples but how did Batlow Cider come about? RC: It was the product of great timing. Batlow Apples were looking at ways of realising value for fruit that may not make the grade for the supermarket shelf and had previously made cider. So when we (my brother Sam and I) approached Batlow Apples looking for a source of top quality apples to make cider, it was complementary to their own plans. Sam and I had spent a fair amount of time in the UK drinking cider, and we realised there was an opportunity to make a locally-made, premium cider using the best cider-making practices. When we shared our cider plans with Batlow Apples, they liked the idea of partnering up and launching a Batlow-branded cider collaboratively. We were on the same page from day one about what we wanted to create and the rest is history. Can you take us through your processes of making cider? What's the story behind the bottle? RC: Our cider begins with the apples – and we only use Batlow apples. Through some experimenting, we came up with a varietal mix to give the best balance in terms of acidity and sweetness. We grow, pick and press apples in Batlow and then, the same day, transport the juice to our cidery. There, we ferment, clean filter and bottle. No concentrates, no added sugar, no artificial preservatives and no pasteurisation of the bottle. Our 'minimal intervention' approach means we retain as much of the goodness of the apples as possible and ensures there are about three and a half Batlow apples in each bottle. MC: We decided that if we were going to make a cider, it had to be refreshing and all natural. We have a fantastic juice supplier who grows cold climate apples, which are perfect for a crisp cider. We use a very unusual yeast imported from France that is actually a champagne yeast. As yeast is the only living ingredient in cider, every strain will produce different flavours. In the case of our yeast, you can certainly assimilate it with the citrusy, tart flavours found in champagne. We then soften up the cider with more fresh apple juice and are left with a beautiful balance of medium sweet fruit on the nose and pallet, which is counterbalanced by subtle acidity. Rich, for those who are yet to partake, what's the appeal of Batlow Cider? RC: Our cider has the freshness of a crunchy Batlow apple. The flavour gives a complex mix of green and red apples, with a hint of earthiness. It's crisp, clean and has just the right amount of sweetness. We only press apples as we make the cider, which ensures that we retain as much of the natural aromas and flavours of the Batlow apples as possible. We don't add any sugar, concentrates or flavourings like some other ciders on the market, and it's also gluten free for our coeliac friends. Continuing with the education, what qualities make a great cider? RC: Great ciders are judged on their aroma and taste. Great cider will produce a delightful aroma of apples – depending on the style of cider, this may be fresh apples or even over-ripe apples. A great cider will offer depth of flavour and complexity, like a wine, offering a fine balance of apple sweetness and acidity. More traditional styles of cider will also display good tannin structure, given cider apples are relatively high in tannin content compared to eating apples. Striking the right balance of sweetness, acidity and tannin is the art to great cider-making. While Batlow obviously focuses on apple cider, what different kinds of cider are available? RC: There are now many styles of cider available: from very sweet to very dry, carbonated to still. By definition, cider is made from the fermentation of apple or pear juice and, whilst there are an increasing amount of flavour twists hitting the shelves, the purists would argue these are really getting away from true 'cider'. That said, different regions of the world produce very different ciders. It's worth seeking out some foreign styles, such as French ciders, which offer a completely different drinking experience to more commonly consumed ciders. How would you describe your cider, Michael? What makes it stand out from the pack? MC: It certainly sits in the medium sweet category. This means that it has pronounced apple flavours, but their sweetness is balanced by the acidity produced from the yeast. I think in terms of drinkability and versatility, it is one of the best ciders going around. It drinks best neat, and we try to discourage people from drinking it with ice as this can mask the beautiful natural flavours. While you're obviously a lover of beer as well, what does cider offer that beer doesn't? MC: From a technical point of view cider has a much lower pH than beer, around 3.3 as opposed to 4, which means its flavours are generally sharper and bitier. I think cider suits the Australian palate very well as we like dry, highly carbonated drinks that refresh on a hot day. Britt, putting a bar specialising in cider (and rum) in Hotel Steyne – a classic 'pub' pub – is a bit of a brave move. How did this come about? BK: The cider bar concept originated from our publican Ged. Since he married an Irish girl, he's become familiar with the explosion of cider in Europe, particularly in Celtic countries. With sixty six beer taps downstairs, Ged saw the cider bar as a strategic point of difference for the hotel. He believes that the Australian climate is made for cider. Plus, the 'alco pop' tax is making cider more accessible and affordable. What is the concept behind Moonshine? Could you describe the look and feel of this bar? BK: The bar is themed 'seaside grit', with reused old dockside timber bars and weather leather chesterfield booths. It's a seaside, shanty shack atmosphere. There's images of old school, sea man tattoos, bottles from nights passed, and retired seafaring craft from the years gone by. Plus the associated ocean smells and sounds provided naturally and free from the coast just beyond the doors! The bar should see you through the whole weekend, with a hundred rums to try and a folk rock gig to see on a Thursday, to a reggae gig on a Sunday afternoon, whilst sipping on one of the sixteen ciders on tap. Tell us a bit about the ciders you're serving up. What's your pick? BK: Our ciders range from sugary sweet to bittersweet, and mildly dry to a smoky dry. My personal fav. at the moment is the Batlow cider. The high quality, delicious taste and attractive branding has captured my attention, along with that of our patrons. What has the reaction from punters been? Have people taken you up on the offer? BK: Positive, that's for sure. Young people are looking for the experience and variety that cider has to offer. We constantly get visits from strictly beer drinkers who have yet to jump on the cider wagon but do want to see what all the buzz is about. Before you know it, these 'strict beer drinkers' are frequenting the bar and have a favourite cider. Plus, we're finding that Australians are returning home after time abroad with a liking for cider that they developed on their travels. Here in Manly, we witness the multicultural mix of people firsthand, so there's also nostalgic travellers frequenting the pub in search of recognisable beverages from their home countries. And finally, to end on a controversial note, what does cider have over the great Australian favourite, beer? RC: The advantage of cider is that it offers a completely different drinking experience to beer. Some people choose cider because it's a lighter more refreshing alternative to beer or even because it's gluten free. Increasingly we are seeing cider matched with foods in place of craft beer or wine, so it's really quite versatile. We're still a beer-drinking nation, but it's nice to see an ever-growing appreciation of quality cider. BK: Sydney has the perfect climate for the cider market. There's just something about sitting on the deck, lounging in the sun with your mates, with a cool refreshing cider in hand.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein will never stop being a gothic-horror masterpiece, or inspiring stories across the page, stage and screen as well. The latest: Poor Things, the next film from acclaimed Greek Weird Wave director Yorgos Lanthimos, and his long-awaited first release since 2018's excellent The Favourite. Also back: that regal drama's Oscar-nominated supporting player Emma Stone. The Cruella star didn't end up clutching an Academy Award for her past performance under Lanthimos' guidance, and nor did her co-star Rachel Weisz (Dead Ringers) or the filmmaker himself; instead, they watched on as Olivia Colman (Empire of Light) emerged victorious for her leading part. But Stone and Lanthimos made a winning pair anyway, in what was one of the former's very best performances of her career. It's no wonder that they're teaming up again — or that the just-dropped first Poor Things trailer looks mesmerising, eerie and stunning. Poor Things adapts Alasdair Grey's 1992 award-winning novel, but the parallels with Shelley's mother-of-all horror greats are as obvious as a bolt of lightning. The focus: Bella Baxter, a woman resurrected by an unorthodox scientist, distinctive in her mannerisms afterwards and eager to learn about a world that isn't quite sure how to react. Continuing the movie's top-notch casting — and Lanthimos' in general, as seen in everything from Dogtooth and Alps to The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer as well — Poor Things features Willem Dafoe (The Northman) as the tinkering Dr Godwin Baxter; Mark Ruffalo (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) as Duncan Wedderburn, a slick lawyer that Bella runs off with; and also Ramy's Ramy Youssef, plus On the Count of Three co-stars Jerrod Carmichael and Christopher Abbott. The film will hit cinemas in the US on September 8, but doesn't yet have a release date Down Under. Poor Things jolts Stone's career back onto the screen a few years away, too — Cruella released in 2021, and only The Croods: A New Age, Zombieland: Double Tap and TV's Maniac sit on her resume since The Favourite. Check out the first teaser trailer for Poor Things below: Poor Things doesn't currently have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when one is confirmed. Image: Yorgos Lanthimos. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.
Effortless multitasker Joss Whedon has taken time off between letting Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents clean up the scum to unveil a fan-friendly surprise: his brand new film In Your Eyes available to rent online for just $5. The Avengers director high-fived his fans worldwide by releasing the film online as it was premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Currently filming the next instalment of the Avengers: Age of Ultron, Whedon made $1.5 billion from the first ‘gang’s all here’ Marvel superhero romp. The Buffy creator has seen shifts in the industry over the years and wanted to explore options to satisfy both fans and his bottom line. "It's exciting for us because we get to explore yet another new form of distribution — and we get $5," he said. Whedon recorded a video message to introduce the release, played before the Tribeca screening and seemingly recorded on the Avengers set. In Your Eyes will mark the second release from Bellwether Pictures, Whedon’s pet project and “micro studio” that released the playful, black and white rom-com version of Much Ado About Nothing in 2013. Whedon and his wife Kai Cole founded the LA studio as a means to bypass "the classic studio structure" that Whedon receives millions of dollars yet limited creative distribution control to work in. Starring newcomers Zoe Kazan (writer and star of Ruby Sparks) and Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield, NBC’s The Black Donnellys), In Your Eyes is a so-called paranormal romance, following two strangers who find themselves linked by supernatural means. Whedon wrote and produced the film, looked at his laughable schedule, then handed the director hat over to buddy Brin Hill (writer and director of 2008’s Ball Don’t Lie). Whedon has been pretty busy of late being King of Marvel Errrrthang, divvying up his directorial time on the Avengers sequel Age of Ultron to serve as creative consultant on Any Marvel Film Anyone is Making Right Now. Whedon penned dialogue for Thor: The Dark World as well as directing the mid-credits scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier — Whedon’s Marvel input cameos might soon rival the onscreen pop-ins of legendary creator Stan Lee. “This is the most prolific title we’ve had on the platform, definitely,” Vimeo spokesman Greg Clayman told Gigaom. Stealthy, unannounced releases are becoming more used by major players as a means of distributing directly to fanbases. “It's a non-traditional way, for sure. But hey, it works for Beyonce." Due to Whedon being an absolute legend, In Your Eyes is available to rent on Vimeo right now. Via BBC and Gigaom.
The lofty title of the ‘World Wide Web’ implies that we can access the internet, well, all over the world. However, with 71 percent of the Earth’s surface covered by oceanic bodies, the web is more limited than you think. Researchers at the University of Buffalo may have found a way to cross the digital gap between land and sea. Their ‘deep sea Internet’ is a sunken wireless network that will provide instant communication from beneath the surface to any device on land. Since wireless access has expanded everywhere, from subways to third world countries, why hasn’t this been thought of before? Although the internet feels like an omnipresent force that floats invisibly above our heads like the particles of a broadcast chocolate bar in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, it’s a little more complicated. Wireless communication on land relies on radio waves from satellites and antennas, which don’t work well out in the middle of the ocean. Deep-sea communication technologies function on sound waves, which are converted above the surface and transmitted to our devices. This interaction is a bit dodgy, given that it’s nearly impossible to communicate in real time because of the various methods and standards involved when it comes to communicating with underwater sensors. To make things easier, the masterminds in New York are developing a framework that would create a singular way to collect and send data from an underwater sensor to any computer in the world. The possibilities are endless with this superpower technology. Tsunamis and hurricanes could be detected and warned of earlier, oil and gas could be detected more efficiently, pollution could be better monitored, and law enforcement agencies could track down drug-smuggling pirates. The underwater modem seems to be well on its way to doing these things; it is currently being tested at the bottom of America’s Lake Erie and will be presented at the International Conference on Underwater Networks & Systems in Taiwan this November. So on your next deep-sea dive or fishing trip, check your smartphone for Wi-Fi: BIG BLUE, password: n3m0. Via Fast.CoExist.com.
Buying a famous pop culture house can be a solid life choice. Cruising home to your San Diego Top Gun beach house, stealing your parent's car from your Ferris Bueller pad. But for anyone who's ever watched David Lynch's Twin Peaks, there's a certain creepy, foreboding vibe to this new real estate option. Welcome To Twin Peaks has reported that the fictional Twin Peaks-located home of Laura, Sarah and Leland Palmer is up for sale. Sitting at a super reasonable asking price of $549,950, the iconic, not-so-picture-perfect home of the Palmers served as the interior set for the Twin Peaks pilot (as well as the interior/exteriors for the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me). Lynch used different digs for the Palmer house during the series, but these are some pretty woah-inducing interiors for TP fans. You'll find the Palmers at 708 33rd Street in Everett, Washington (the other house is also in Washington, but in the town of Monroe). The real estate blurb for the freaky fortress of Lynch makes no mention of Twin Peaks in their listing. Charming 1930s home in the heart of Historic Rucker Hill. This home features hardwood floors, crown molding, oversized rooms & timeless character. A grand entryway leads into circular main floor layout that is warmed with natural light. Four bedrooms upstairs surround open staircase & two bedrooms have access to an enclosed sun room. Basement has space for a rec room and den. The large lot spans two streets. Detached two-car garage. Close proximity to Rucker Hill Park. This is a must see home! While the bedrooms don't come with additional BOB space or storage for boring, boring James-shaped boyfriends, this house is one creepy investment. Here's a little mash-up the legends at Welcome to Twin Peaks put together — pointing out Laura Palmer's rocking chair, which actually lives in the house. Yeesh. Via Welcome to Twin Peaks and The AV Club.
If travelling is synonymous with getting into a good book or, whenever you walk into a bookshop, you get this strange feeling to curl up on the shelves and go to sleep, you need to book a flight to Tokyo and reserve yourself sleeping shelf at Book and Bed hostel. The hostel describes themselves as an "accommodation bookshop", which is exactly what it sounds like. It's no five-star deal here; at Book and Bed, the commodity is words, rather than luxury. It is budget accommodation after all, and for around $50 AUD a night, they're offering you the chance to sleep surrounded by stories, the smell of printed pages and the sound of other hostellers greedily flipping through their own books in their bed each night. Sounds much more chill than your usual hostel, where most people are doing anything but book-reading. The hostel is designed has been designed as a lounge-like bookshop, so you can pick out a book and read it in the lobby, or take it back to bed with you for some horizontal action. And if you're thinking that the beds are just out the back somewhere, you're wrong — the beds are actually built into the bookshelves. Yep, you'll be sleeping where the books sleep. Needless to say, this makes for a bit of a pod-like situation, so don't come expecting room to move. It's all about reading. And nodding off to sleep mid-chapter every night. Book and Bed Tokyo is located in the Toshima-ku ward, and is close to Ikebukuro Station. For more information, visit their website. Via PSFK.
UK sunglassmakers Tens have put those "I wish I could Instagram my life" whines into reality. Creating "the real life photo filter", the team's debut pair of sunglasses attempt to place an Instagram filter over your day. People look more attractive, crappy bus stops look more romantic, your homecooked breakfast disaster looks a million bucks. Wait. But isn't that... uh... how all sunglasses function? "Tens is a sunglasses brand with a simple ambition; to make your day look ten times better," the group stated. Tens raised £138,498 ($249,562 AUS) via crowdfunding site Indiegogo to make the sunglasses, with backers directly buying pairs from the project page. The team spent three years perfecting the custom lens tint, with solid UV400 protection to boot. Made from a CR-39 plastic polymer, the lens is scratch resistant so your Instagrammed life won't be shattered by pesky flecks from your pocket keys. Co-founding director Marty Bell, also one of the creative minds behind summer-charged online radio project Poolside FM, explained to Vice: "We asked ourselves: What if we could skip the cameras and computers altogether? What if there was a way we could filter everything that we see whilst disconnected from technology?" Vice called the sunglasses "Instagram to the second power," after featuring them as part of The Creators Project. The debut frame for Tens, 'The Classic' is available to nab from their Indiegogo site for $60 with free worldwide postage until June 6. Unisex frames come in black, navy, teal and deep red and are bought directly as 'perks' on the Indiegogo site. While you can't switch between filters, the whole outcome looks pretty X-Pro II meets Nashville, with a Hefe twinge. It remains to be seen how differently the glasses make things 'grammy to regular polarised glasses, but for 60 beans the gamble's not too highly staked. Via Fubiz and Vice.
After 11 years as our accommodation go-to, Airbnb is now trying its hand at playing travel agent. The booking platform has just launched Airbnb Adventures, a series of all-inclusive, multi-day adventures available around the globe. The experiences act as a one-stop-shop for your next trip, with accommodation, meals and activities all part of the tours. Over 200 of these adventures are already up on the site. You can take a nine-day trek through the Amazon for around $270 per night, a five-day trip through the Oman desert for $300 per night or go on a culinary kayaking trip through Swedish islands for $360 per night. There's also a seven-day accessible experience on Easter Island, an overnight campsite on a cliffside in Colorado, island hopping around the Galapagos and, for something closer to home, an adventure around New Zealand subtropical islands, too. Prices range from a reasonable overnight trip for $115 all the way up to a rather exy 10-day trek for $7200. On average, the adventure packages cost around $850 for a three-dayer. The new platform, while having a different name, is part of Airbnb Experiences: the app's existing range of locally hosted events, such as cooking classes and hikes. And it runs in a similar way, as in all 'adventures' are 100 percent hosted and planned by locals — Airbnb is simply the mediator between the two. Each adventure is also kept quite small and set at groups of 12 max. To launch the new platform, Airbnb is offering an around the world in 80 days adventure to eight travellers for just $7214 per person, which comes down to about $90 per night. The trip will leave from London on September 1 and bring travellers through 18 countries across six continents — including to Bhutan, Iceland, Egypt, Romania, Japan and Ecuador. Bookings for this one will be available on June 20 and it'll likely book out in a minute, so you best get yourself prepped if you want a spot on this trip. Airbnb Adventures are now live and can be booked through the website or via the Airbnb app (available for Android and iPhones). Images: Tara Rice, Mason Trinca, Ryan Tuttle, Oivind Haug
