New breweries are that much tastier with a spot of finely paired nosh to get people spreading the word. Australia's first female-owned and managed brewing company, Two Birds Brewing, have expanded their love of craft beer to a full-blown brewery, served with its own tasting room. Adorably dubbed The Nest, the new Spotswood brewery has been three years in the planning since Jayne Lewis and Danielle Allen started Two Bird Brewing from their own pockets. The Nest will see TBB beer brewed on site at the brand new 18hL 2 vessel DME brewhouse in Melbourne’s West. Punters will be allowed to check out the brewing process, taste the latest batch and take home their newly-brewed favourites from the exposed brick, industrially-themed tasting room. "We’ve proven to ourselves that a real demand exists for our product," says Allen. "We’ve always had the end game of owning our own brewery in mind and we’ve worked hard over the last few years to ensure that we built a solid foundation for our business, because we’re here to stay. "Owning our own brewery is a dream come true for us and I can’t wait to have more flexibility to increase our range of beers and experiment with brewing new styles. We are very much looking forward to having a homebase and for craft beer lovers to be able to come and visit us at The Nest." Now, that food we promised? It's going to be all pairings, all the time. Lewis and Allen have joined forces with US chef Casey Wall (Collingwood's Rockwell and Sons, NYC's Spotted Pig, Le Cirque and Cutler & Co) to create The Nest menu. Everything outside of the aged cheese will be made on site. "For the longest time, Casey has been saying that when we opened our own brewery, he wanted do the food," Lewis told The Shout. "About six months ago, I called him and said, 'It’s time!' and here we are. The menu is amazing and is the perfect complement to the beers that we are making here." The Nest brewery and tasting room can be found at 136 Hall St, Spotswood; open to the public every Thursday to Sunday from 4pm. Via The Shout and Brews News. Images via /3/">Edison.
Bluesfest has lifted the lid on its first artist announcement for 2015 and heading the stampede is The Black Keys, in league with The Alabama Shakes, the Zac Brown Band and Michael Franti and Spearhead. For now at least, it seems there’s more of an emphasis than usual on young blood and recent charttoppers. That said, the legendary George Clinton with his Parliament/Funkadelic will be delivering an ample dose of '70s psychedelic, roller-skating-worthy funk and Paul Kelly (who seems perpetually both classic and contemporary) will be serving up some Merri Soul Sessions, in the star-studded company of Dan Sultan, Kira Puru and Vika and Linda Bull. Then there’s Train, Xavier Rudd and the United Nations, Trombone Shorty and New Orleans Avenue, Rebelution, Soja, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Beth Hart, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Mariachi El Bronx, G. Love and Special Sauce, Pokey Lafarge, Band of Skulls and Rockwiz Live. The only difficult news in all of this is that ticket prices have crept up (you can’t say you weren’t warned!) and single day open tickets will be a thing of the past within 72 hours from now. Byron Bay Bluesfest 2015 (first announcement): The Black Keys Zac Brown Band Alabama Shakes Train Michael Franti & Spearhead George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions feat Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, & Vika And Linda Bull Xavier Rudd and The United Nations Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue Rebelution Soja The Chris Robinson Brotherhood Beth Hart Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls Mariachi El Bronx G. Love & Special Sauce Pokey Lafarge Band Of Skulls Rockwiz Live + more to be announced. Bluesfest 2015 will run April 2 – 6 2015 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay. More details and ticket info here.
Move over Google Glass. After years of development, the search engine-cum-world-enveloping-super-corporation have announced the very first public rollout of their brand new modular phone. Codenamed Project Ara, Google has confirmed that the customisable device will be made available for purchase in the second half of 2015. The only downside? You'll have to live in Puerto Rico in order to do so. The Puerto Rican pilot program is part of ongoing testing for the smartphone, which consists of a special exoskeleton into which users can slide various physical 'modules', such as a camera, external speakers or an extra battery — essentially building their own phone. According to Google, the potential for modules is limitless — and we can certainly appreciate the theoretical advantages. Not only will users be able to customise their phone's appearance, they’ll also be able to incrementally upgrade obsolete hardware, cutting out the cost and general inconvenience of purchasing a whole new phone. On an even more practical level, as someone who habitually drops their phone on the footpath, the prospect of being able to simply detach a cracked screen and replace it with a new one is pretty damn appealing. Google is remaining coy when it comes to things like pricing, although according to the Project Ara website, the cost of the components will hopefully be between US$50-100. Google have also stated that they hope to have as many as 20-30 different modules available by the time the phone is on sale. Taking a tip from the mobile food industry, Google will also roll out several 'food-truck' style stores in conjunction with the Puerto Rican release, with users able to trial the device before they commit to purchase. Presumably the reception in Puerto Rico will be used as a baseline, in order for the company to tweak the device ahead of a wider release at some point in the future. Via Time. Images: Google ATAP.
There you were thinking that marbles, hopscotch and tug of war were just ordinary, innocent activities that everyone enjoyed when they were kids. Then Squid Game came along, instantly became one of the best new TV programs of 2021, and made everyone look at those childhood pasttimes in a whole new green and red light. The South Korean Netflix series also became a huge hit, so much so that Netflix confirmed at the beginning of 2022 that a second season was on the way, and also dropped a teaser trailer for it the same year — and announced that an IRL version, but without the murder, was in the works as well. The latest news worth breaking out the sugar honeycombs for? Finding out exactly who'll be playing Squid Game season two, and also getting a sneak peek at the reality competition show. Announced at 2023's Tudum: A Global Fan Event — aka Netflix's fan convention — the first spans familiar and new names, while the latter does indeed involve the notorious Red Light, Green Light doll. [caption id="attachment_905752" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Squid Game S1[/caption] First, the dramatised series. The second season of Squid Game doesn't yet boast a release date, but it does have a heap of cast members locked in. Lee Jung-jae (Deliver Us From Evil) returns as the show's protagonist Seong Gi-hun, while Lee Byung-hun (The Magnificent Seven) will be back as the masked Front Man as well. They'll be joined by Wi Ha-joon (Little Women) as detective Hwang Jun-ho, plus Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) as the man in the suit who got Gi-hun into the game in the first place. A show about a deadly competition that has folks competing for ridiculous riches comes with a hefty bodycount, which means that new faces were always going to be essential in Squid Game season two. Yim Si-wan (Emergency Declaration), Kang Ha-neul (Insider), Park Sung-hoon (The Glory) and Yang Dong-geun (Yaksha: Ruthless Operations) will all join the series, but Netflix is keeping quiet about their characters at the moment. As for the IRL take on Squid Game, called Squid Game: The Challenge, the streaming service revealed that it'll arrive sometime in November. Again, there's no death in the ten-episode show, but there's still 456 competitors playing games to win big, with $4.56 million on offer — the largest cash prize in reality television history. Yes, those challenges will be inspired by the South Korean thriller, plus a few new additions. There'll be no actors, just ordinary people. Also, competitors will be eliminated as the games go on, forming strategies and alliances will play a huge part, the sets offer spot-on recreations of the fictional version, the guards are all decked out in red and players in green, and it's all overseen by a Front Man. If you somehow missed all things Squid Game two years back, even after it became bigger than everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning series serves up a puzzle-like storyline and unflinching savagery, which unsurprisingly makes quite the combination. It also steps into societal divides within South Korea, a topic that wasn't invented by Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's excellent Oscar-winning 2019 thriller, but has been given a boost after that stellar flick's success. Accordingly, it's easy to see thematic and narrative parallels between Parasite and Squid Game, although Netflix's highly addictive series goes with a Battle Royale and Hunger Games-style setup. Here, 456 competitors are selected to work their way through six seemingly easy children's games. They're all given numbers and green tracksuits, they're competing for 45.6 billion won, and it turns out that they've also all made their way to the contest after being singled out for having enormous debts. Check out Netflix's Squid Game season two cast announcement video below, plus a teaser trailer for Squid Game: The Challenge: Squid Game's first season is available to stream via Netflix — we'll update you with a release date for season two when one is announced. Squid Game: The Challenge will hit Netflix in November 2023 — we'll update you with an exact release date when one is announced. Images: Netflix.
We've all contemplated what cars, aircraft and computers might look like in another 20 years. But often, the smaller things in life aren't subjected to the same kind of speculation. Take the ball, for example. Who could have foreseen its evolution from a beachy plaything to a robot, set to facilitate the future of mobile gaming? 21st-century toy experts Orbotix, that's who. In 2011, the Colorado-based company released the first incarnation of 'sphero' and, though its limitations prevented it from making too many waves, version 2.0 is a whole different story. At first sight, sphero 2.0 is nothing more than a sturdy white ball, big enough to fit into the palm of your hand. Hooked up to its recharging cradle, however, it takes on an Aurora-style inner glow, and linked via Bluetooth to your smartphone, it's a brand-new remote control car that can travel as far as 30 metres away. But that's just the beginning. Two levels are available through the basic app: 'free' and 'level-up'. The first allows you to direct sphero 2.0 anywhere you like at speeds of up to two metres per second and take on the included plastic jump ramps. The second mode allows you to gain points for the successful execution of tricks, providing access to new speeds and colours — there are thousands of possibilities. You can even set up an account and record your achievements online. This system is a smart way of hooking the user's interest. On top of that, 25 apps — many of them free — have been made specifically for sphero 2.0. These vary from social, multiplayer contests to multi-ball tournaments to augmented reality games. Sharky the Beaver, for example, transforms the ball into a cupcake-chasing beaver, while The Rolling Dead turns the surrounding floor into a zombie-fest. Sphero 2.0 can handle rough play, hard surfaces and the great outdoors, as it's made of polycarbonate, which is both waterproof and exceptionally strong. It's compatible with iPod, iPhone and iPad, as well as the equivalent Android devices. Battery life is about one hour. The Bluetooth connection is seamless and reliable. On the not-so-good-side, the device does tend to be a drain on phone battery power. Plus, when playing games that depend on it being picked up or jolted, the mechanism is not always immediately responsive. That said, sphero 2.0 is definitely a highly impressive improvement on the original and has the potential to add a whole new dimension to mobile gaming. Thanks to Orbotix, we have two sphero 2.0s to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
You'll soon be able to get a new view over some of Australia's most scenic terrain, courtesy of a walking and cycling track that'll connect Palm Cove and Port Douglas in far north Queensland. Already among the country's top tropical holiday destinations, the coast between the two spots has been earmarked for the Wangetti Trail. It'll span 76 kilometres through both bushland and ocean-adjacent territory — and showcase the region's rainforest, World Heritage-listed sites and, of course, the Great Barrier Reef. At present, the Queensland Government has committed $950,000 towards funding a design and business case for the trail, "to firm-up the trail's design and to verify its economics," according to Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones. While the cash support was announced at the end of May, work started in June, with Cairns headquartered-business World Trail overseeing the task. The Yirrganydji people, the traditional owners of most of the land that the trail will pass through, will be consulted during the planning process. Construction could start as early as 2019, with both highlighting the natural splendour of the area around and to the north of Cairns, and opening up the stretch to more sightseers among the project's aims. Once completed, "it's expected the trail could be walked in six days and five nights from end-to-end and done in two days and one night for riders," says Jones. Even better — visitors won't just be able to trek along its expanse, but stay there as well. Accomodation facilities — including camping, glamping and lodges — are expected to be included on the track, well, down the track. Image: esodude via Flickr.
If you were planning on catching an Uber to a lunchtime meeting or a late morning uni class, you may find yourself waiting longer than usual. Drivers in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane will simultaneously log off the app at 10.30am — on Wednesday, May 8 — and deliver letters of demand to Uber head offices as part of a worldwide strike protesting the mistreatment and underpayment of drivers. The strike comes ahead of Uber's Initial Public Offering (IPO) — where members of the public can buy shares in a company for the first time — for which it's reportedly expected to make close to $9 billion. The unions organising the strikes, Rideshare Drivers United in the US and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Rideshare Driver Co-Operative in Australia, say that while the company is set to make a heap of money, it continues to "reduce driver rates, deactivate drivers with no notice or right to appeal and refuse to support drivers". The TWU also reports that rideshare drivers make on average $16 per hour, less than Australia's minimum wage, before fuel, insurance and other costs. So, we could see Uber fare hikes in the near future — or drivers jump to other providers, such as Ola and Taxify, both which take a smaller commission cut compared to Uber — Taxify takes a 15 percent cut compared to Uber's 25 percent. While drivers in the US are expected to strike for 24 hours from midnight on Wednesday, May 8, Aussie drivers will deliver letters of demand on mass at 10.30am — so expect some delays and surges around then.
No one watched Breaking Bad and felt the urge follow in Walter White's footsteps, but we just might get the chance anyway. The acclaimed TV show is returning with a leap into virtual reality. Prepare to put on a headset, enter a crime-filled world and get your New Mexico-set drama fix. Thank Sony PlayStation's push to expand their VR realm beyond gaming, and thank Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan for continuing to keep adding to the series — first Better Call Saul, and now this. Alas, don't go expecting to step into Albuquerque, Los Pollos Hermanos or an underground lab just yet, with the project still in its early stages. A release date hasn't been announced, but it won't be coming to a console near you this year. So, just what a Breaking Bad VR experience actually entail? Will you be throwing pizza onto a roof? Riding around in a campervan? Trying to pick non-poisoned packets of Stevia? Details are yet to be revealed — including whether it will recreate something from the show, or add to it — but it's safe to say you'll probably exclaim "yeah science!" at some point. Via Polygon / Variety.
Venom was a mixed bag. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was only entertaining when Tom Hardy was arguing with himself. And Morbius made it clear that its titular vampire wasn't the only thing that sucked. But there's no stopping Sony's Spider-Man Universe, aka the studio's rival to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because the webslinger actually belongs to the MCU, this film franchise is all about Spidey's foes — and Kraven the Hunter is next, arriving in cinemas in October in the flick that shares his name. Expect another supervillain origin story, this time telling Marvel's nefarious big-game hunter's tale. Kraven the Hunter is set to step through the character's childhood, how he scored his skills and why he's so feared — and take place well before any beef with Spider-Man. "I stared death in the face, and for the first time I saw my true self," says the Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train) after being attacked by a lion as a teen in Kraven the Hunter's just-dropped first trailer. "They say he uses a connection with animals to track his prey," the debut sneak peek at the film, which hits cinemas in October, helpfully notes as well. Also on offer in this initial glimpse: Russell Crowe (The Pope's Exorcist) with a Russian accent as Kraven's father, who the feature's namesake keeps rebelling against; a hefty body count, and zero fear of getting bloody; and West Side Story Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose as voodoo priestess Calypso. Kraven the Hunter's cast features Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus), Alessandro Nivola (Amsterdam) and Christopher Abbott (On the Count of Three), too, while JC Chandor (Triple Frontier, A Most Violent Year) directs. And if you're wondering what else is in store for the SSU, it's planning to keep hunting down box office glory, with Kraven the Hunter set to be followed by the Bad Bunny-starring El Muerto, then the Dakota Johnson (Cha Cha Real Smooth)- and Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria)-led Madame Web, plus a third Venom movie — all currently slated to arrive in 2024. Check out the trailer for Kraven the Hunter below: Kraven the Hunter releases in cinemas Down Under on October 5.
With Easter just around the corner, you've probably already got stuck into a few fruit-spiked buns and choccy eggs, with plenty more to come. But here's another, more grown-up treat to add to your wish-list again this year — an Aussie craft rum inspired by the humble hot cross bun. Off the back of a wildly popular 2022 debut, family-run Margaret River distillery The Grove has been busy whipping up a new edition of its beloved Hot Cross Rum. Once again, the small-batch sip has been hand-crafted using The Grove's four-year barrel-aged dark rum, then housed in a former bourbon barrel made of American oak. Raisins, oranges and a bunch of warm spices are left to steep, before the rum is given a final infusion of classic hot cross bun flavours including cinnamon, cloves and vanilla. At the end, you've got a warm, rich, festive-tasting spirit, packed with notes of caramelised raisin, vanilla and cinnamon, with a lingering fruity finish and a hit of molasses to round it all out. A 40-percent ABV hot cross bun in a glass, if you like. The Grove team recommends you sip their new creation neat — with a hot-buttered Easter bun on the side for full effect, of course. Word is that it's also a solid match to a cheese board or dessert, and proves an ideal drop to whip out for any celebratory occasion through the rest of the year, too. Just 120 bottles of the Hot Cross Rum have been made this year, available now to purchase online, with Australia-wide delivery happening just in time for Easter. The Hot Cross Rum marks the fourth release from The Grove's Collector's Series of limited-edition spirits. Each of the French cubic glass bottles features a handwritten, numbered calligraphy label by Perth artist Stacey Teo. The Grove's Hot Cross Rum is available to purchase via the website at RRP $110 for a 500ml bottle. Images: Freedom Garvey Photographer
When Joaquin Phoenix first played the Joker, he became the second actor in just over a decade to win an Oscar for donning the Gotham City villain's exaggerated clown makeup and killer smile. Returning to the role in the sequel to 2019's Joker, he'll now be taking on the character in a film that's also a musical. That movie: Joker: Folie à Deux, which hits cinemas in October 2024 and also just dropped its first trailer. Phoenix (Napoleon) has big-name company this time around from someone similarly taking on a famed comic-book character: Lady Gaga (House of Gucci). Just as Phoenix follows in the footsteps of Cesar Romero (in the 60s Batman TV series), Jack Nicholson (in the 1989 Batman movie), Heath Ledger (in The Dark Knight) and Jared Leto (in Suicide Squad), the pop star and actor treads where Margot Robbie (in Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) and The Suicide Squad) has most recently as Dr Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn. In this followup, the Joker and Harley Quinn meet at Arkham Asylum — and yes, romance blossoms. So, Arthur Fleck will no longer be alone. But everyone with even just a passing knowledge of the character knows that that still doesn't bode well for Gotham. Behind the lens, Todd Phillips (War Dogs) is back from the first film as both director and a co-writer, the latter with fellow returnee Scott Silver (The Finest Hours). On-screen, Phoenix and Lady Gaga are joined by Zazie Beetz (Full Circle), who was also in the initial flick — plus Joker newcomers Catherine Keener (The Adam Project), Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Steve Coogan (The Reckoning). Wondering how much of a musical Joker: Folie à Deux will be? Variety reports that it includes at least 15 songs, all covers, and may also feature original tunes. Based on the first teaser trailer, 'What the World Needs Now Is Love' is among the familiar tracks. The first Joker wasn't just a hit — standing apart from the now-defunct DC Extended Universe, where Leto played the Clown Prince of Crime, it took over a billion dollars at the global box office. And, as well as Phoenix nabbing an Oscar, the film took home the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. Check out the first trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux below: Joker: Folie à Deux releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 3, 2024.
With the increase in bike paths and subsequent riders around our cities, cyclers need more options when it comes to storing their bikes. These quirky, colourful bike racks that double as street art in their respective cities around the world will probably taint the way you see traditional, boring bike racks forever. Because who wouldn’t want to chain their bike up to an over-sized steaming coffee mug or hook it on a giant spinning wheel? Just in case anyone was confused. In Roanake, Virginia gigantic combs are used as an effective method of storing bikes. A ferris-wheel inspired construction from Seoul. Only in Portlandia. If you're not getting enough dietary fibre into your diet, here's a sure fire way to kick up your daily intake. A clever marketing stunt outside Filter Coffee in Washington appears as a vibrant and appealing place to let your bicycle stand while you enjoy sipping a coffee and munching on some cake within. We're not entirely sure what this New York structure is supposed to resemble, but it does seem like some sort of contorting alien body. These striking paperclips won't be able to keep budding cyclists away as the bold colours draw in bikes from all around Washington DC. Bullwinkle? Is that you? One of David Byrne's NYC designs. Enough said. This long four-legged glistening red horse from Louisville, Kentucky is a fun way to tie up a bike for a day. [Via Flavorwire]
There are plenty of great dates for the end of the world. Archbishop James Ussher's infamous count ended on October 23, 1997, at midday. The year 2000 was a focus of millenialism, and had the luck to have its Millennium Bug as a weightier side show. Today's so-called end of the world is a similar, numbers thing. The Mayans reach an interesting date today, with rumours going around that their version of December 21, 2012 could be a pretty bad day indeed. So many rumours that NASA has set up a page on why we'll all still be around this time tomorrow. They expect no surprise interplanetary collisions, worldwide blackouts or 180 degree polar shifts arriving in the earth's near future. What is coming is a turned page on the Mayan calendar. The Mayans numbered their years with a calendar system called the Long Count, which started on August 13, 3114BC. For them, that year was 13.0.0.0.0 — 13 baktun (400 years) 0 katun (20 years) 0 years 0 months 0 days. Their creation date started at 13 baktun, but tocked straight from 13.0.0.0.0 back to 1.0.0.0.0, 400 years later. Today the calendar has completed about 5,125 years and is up to 13.0.0.0.0 again, though the evidence seems to suggest that the Maya had no particular plans to start the count again. 400 years from now baktun 14 should arrive, right on schedule. There are probably very few modern Mayans who think the world is coming to an end. If anything, a Mayan world ended centuries ago: when sixteenth century Conquistadors put an end to much of the mesoamerica's way of life. What's happening today is that we're ticking over from 13.0.0.0.0 to tomorrow's 13.0.0.0.1. The numbers are nice, but tomorrow is bound to look a lot like today. Leading image of the Aztec calendar stone by El Commandante.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Byron Bay Council. To book your Byron Bay festival holiday, visit legendarybyron.com.au. Historically, Bluesfest might be the most famous shindig on the Byron Bay calendar. But if you've a tendency to limit your North Coast escapades to an annual Easter visit, you're truly missing out. Byron's got a pretty full organiser with plenty of festivities bubbling all year around — from the glorious aural Meccas of Splendour in the Grass and Falls Music and Arts Festival, to the erudite musings of the Writers Festival and the locally-sourced smorgasbord on offer at Sample. Here are the five best reasons to get behind a kombi wheel and find the '60s still swinging up the Pacific Highway. SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS What started back in 2001 as a relatively modest one-day festival has transmogrified into one of Australia's biggest national events. From July 25 – 27 over 90 artists — Outkast, Interpol, Lily Allen, Foals and London Grammar among them — will converge on North Byron Parklands for three days of must-see sets. But it's not all about the ears, with installations, panels, comedy, food and pop-up bars aplenty onsite. "Now there’s an expectation that festivals do a lot more than music, and art is one of the essential elements," explains Splendour Arts curator Craig Walsh. "I try to create a program which can integrate across the site itself and create different kinds of experiences for audiences... We try to support new and experimental work and we see that as adding to the identity of the festival." Splendour in the Grass runs July 25 – 27 at North Byron Parklands. BYRON BAY WRITERS FESTIVAL Just days after Splendour comes to an end, poets and playwrights will pour into Byron for the Writers Festival. Held August 1 on Belongil Beach at the North Byron Beach Resort, the festival attracts some serious names up north. This year, the BBWF lineup's big tickets include Richard Clapton in conversation with David Leser, John Safran discussing true crime novel Murder in Mississippi and a John Weiley retrospective presented by Kerry O'Brien. "It’s a very relaxed format," says founding chair Chris Hanley. "It’s tents by the sea, so it’s very interactive... You can glide from session to session and taste what is going on. You can wander and sit on the beach. There is no other literary festival I know of with such a beautiful site." Byron Bay Writers Festival runs August 1 – 3 at Belongil Beach, North Byron Beach Resort. SAMPLE FOOD FESTIVAL A true foodie pilgrimage, Sample celebrates the distinctive flavours of North Coast fare. For one day of feasting on September 13, the Bangalow Showground will flood with local producers, farmers, celebrity chefs and exhibitors for this colossal food festival. Indulge in $5 and $10 tasting plates, get busy with classes covering everything from raw foods to cheesemaking, watch cooking demos and kick back to live music. With over 15,000 visitors are expected to attend, Sample is one of Byron's premier food events. Sample runs 8am – 4pm on September 13 at Bangalow Showground. BYRON BAY SURF FESTIVAL Unlike many other surf fests — centred around checking out who's mastering the biggest, most untameable waves right now — Byron Bay Surf Festival is a truly all-encompassing event for surfers and punters alike. Last year's festival involved ancient Hawaiian Olo demos featuring Dave Rastovich and Tom Wegener, surf yoga sessions, wooden surfcraft workshops, a money-free surf swap meet and a rule-free surf comp open to beginner, expert and in-betweener surfers. So far, 2014 is promising a Surf Shorts Film Comp (get your entries in asap), with the remainder of the program soon to be announced. Byron Bay Surf Festival runs October 24 – 26 at Byron Bay and at various spots throughout Byron's town centre. FALLS MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL Every year, thousands of live music aficionados flock to the three-day Falls Music and Arts Festival in Lorne, Victoria and Marion Bay, Tasmania, to usher in the new year. Last year, Byron nabbed its own piece of Falls action, holding the very first edition at North Byron Parklands. With the artists hopping across the three festivals in an applause-worthy feat of logistics, Falls fuses exceptionally high-quality lineups (with a noted emphasis on blues and roots) with stunning natural landscapes and all the chai you could possibly drink. This year's program is yet to be announced, but if you're after a guaranteed thumbs up of a New Year's Eve you should lock this one in already. Falls Festival runs December 30 – January 15 at North Byron Parklands. Image by Paul Smith. Feeling festive? Head to legendarybyron.com.au and get planning your Byron Bay holiday.
YouTube's latest push to bump up revenue will see Google parent company Alphabet Inc. introduce a paid music service of its own, rivalling the likes of Apple Music and Spotify. According to Bloomberg Technology, the service, dubbed Remix, could be available from as early as March next year. It's suggested that YouTube is currently in talks with the big guns at Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, as well as independent music digital rights agency Merlin. YouTube pulls more than one billion users each month, and while its music videos are the ones that get the most hits, the site has long copped criticism for giving away those tunes for nothing. All that free content means little compensation for record companies and artists. It's far from Google's first foray into the music-streaming biz, with Google Play Music launching in 2011, and YouTube Red (formerly YouTube Music Key) offering ad-free videos to subscribers. But while neither have these have proved all that successful, the soon-to-launch Remix will play things a little differently, expected to incorporate both YouTube-style videos and on-demand streaming, a la Spotify. If you regularly use YouTube to listen to songs and mixes, this could drastically change that. Stay tuned and we'll let you know when it lands. Via Bloomberg Technology.
Saying that anything to do with The Handmaid's Tale is stressful is like saying that Gilead looks like a terrible place to live: blessed be the obvious. Still, tense is definitely the word for the dystopian hit's first sneak peek at its upcoming fifth season, with all signs pointing towards a big showdown between June (Elisabeth Moss, Shining Girls) and Serena (Yvonne Strahovski, Stateless). If you're up to date on the series — which was renewed for this fifth season before the fourth even hit — you'll know why. You'll also be well aware of the reasons behind Serena's in-mourning getup, too. The end of the last batch of episodes was always going to change the already-complicated relationship between The Handmaid's Tale's two key women, and now the next run of instalments will chart the fallout. Get ready to see June navigate more than a few consequences, and also try to work out who she now is and what's driving her. She's still fighting Gilead from afar, though, with Luke (O-T Fagbenle, Black Widow) and Moira (Samira Wiley, Breaking News in Yuba County). As for Serena, she's in profile-raising mode in Toronto, as Gilead's influence creeps into Canada — and Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford, Tick, Tick... Boom!) and Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd, Rebecca) are endeavour to reform Gilead. Also returning among the cast: Max Minghella (Spiral: From the Book of Saw), Madeline Brewer (Hustlers), Amanda Brugel (Snowpiercer) and Sam Jaeger (The Eyes of Tammy Faye). With all of the above, blessed be the bleak dramas, too, which is exactly what The Handmaid's Tale has been serving up since 2017 now. Of course, on the page, this grim look at a potential oppressive existence has been drawing in fans since the 1985, when Margaret Atwood's book first hit shelves. A film followed in 1990, and opera in 2000 — plus a sequel novel in 2019. Yes, there have been many ways to dive into The Handmaid's Tale over the years, but only one keeps winning small-screen awards and stars a phenomenal Moss. Thankfully, the wait between the show's fourth and fifth seasons is shorter than the gap between its third and fourth — a year rather than two. The date to mark in your diary: September 15, given that the show will return in the US on September 14. Down Under, episodes air weekly on SBS in Australia, and stream via SBS On Demand — and hit Neon in New Zealand — at the same time as in America. Check out the trailer for The Handmaid's Tale season five below: The fifth season of The Handmaid's Tale will hit start airing in Australia and New Zealand from September 15 — on SBS TV, and to stream via SBS On Demand and Neon, with new episodes arriving weekly.
With September comes some much-needed spring and — to build on the beers in the sun you've no doubt been raring for — so too comes Oktoberfest. The famous German beer drinking festival runs for three weeks, kicking off before actual October, and it's a big deal in Munich, Bavaria. It's certainly not a small deal here, either, with Hofbräuhaus Melbourne, located right in the heart of Chinatown, leading the fray in the festivities in this part of the world. It's one of the oldest German restaurants in the country and has been celebrating Oktoberfest for more than fifty years — so, it knows how to throw a party. Starting on Saturday, September 21 and running for five weeks, the opening party will bring huge steins of bier, obviously, as well as live entertainment, stein carrying comps (it's even harder than it looks) and Bavarian feasting. The winner of the competitions can get themselves a whole year of free Hofbräuhaus bier, so it's worth doing a few arm days at the gym between now and then. The day will start at 12pm for the Oktoberfest Lunch session, with a traditional keg tapping in the restaurant at 3pm. Afterwards, the party will be kicking on in the 'bierhall'. If huge biers and German comfort food are your things, then it's time to crack out the lederhosen or dirndl and prepare yourself for the festivities. Plus, over the course of the five-week party, you can go into the running to win a trip for two to Bavaria, including flights, a private tour in a Bavarian brewery and a hot air balloon ride. All you have to do is spend a minimum of $65 per person between Saturday, September 21 and Friday, October 25. Table bookings are necessary — book here or over the phone.
Have a bad habit of putting your phone on silent and then leaving it somewhere you can’t find it? There’s an app for that. Known as Marco Polo, the brand new app is based on the classic hide-and-seek game you might have played in the family pool as a kid. You yell "Marco" and your phone yells "Polo" back. You work out where the 'voice' is coming from and voila! Recover your missing mobile from the deep dark recesses of the couch, the top shelf of the refrigerator or the shed in the back garden — wherever you left it after one too many mojitos the night before. The two best things about the Marco Polo app is that it works regardless of your phone’s setting –— be it at a low volume, on silent or in sleep mode — and that it doesn’t depend on an internet connection. And the final best bit? Rather than having to hassle every family member or housemate to help you in the search, all you’ve got to do is walk around frantically yelling "Marco". Angry panic session becomes slightly silly game in one easy download. To boost the fun factor, you can pick and choose between thirty or so voice options and change the 'input phrase' to suit you. In other words, if you’d rather think of your phone as a pet than as a fourteenth century Venetian traveller, you can customise your phrase as, "Come here" and set your phone to answer "Woof, woof". Just be nice to your iFriend. Marco Polo, the first independent app from developer Matt Wiechec, works with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. You can download it for $1.29. Via PSFK.
Unlike us, cats love contorting their bodies into confined spaces. Whether it's cardboard boxes, flower pots or bathroom basins, kitties can be often found squeezing their slinky selves into obscure areas. Now, thanks to Oregon-based Etsy seller AtomicAttic, your furry friend can now relax in the stylish confines of an upcycled iMac computer or vintage suitcase. Made from reused Apple computers, the iMac Pet Beds are reinforced at the bottom with a fabric wrapped plywood insert for strength and durability. In addition they come with a removable, triple stitched, machine washable slipcover for cleaning convenience, as well as a fluffy cushion. And if the iMac Pet Beds aren't your idea of a good time, you may opt for the kitsch vintage suitcase Pet Bed made from a repurposed antique travel bag with legs upcycled from a vintage '70s retro chair. AtomicAttic's designs are enough to make any cat owner succumb to bed envy.
By the time it is completed in 2013 the 104-story One World Trade Center, more simply known as 1 WTC and formerly known as the Freedom Tower, will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the third-tallest building in the world by pinnacle height. Last week the Port Authority gave a press tour of the World Trade Center site, but the lucky (assuming none of them suffer from acrophobia) folk at the Architect’s Newspaper were granted access all the way up to the vertigo-inducing 103rd floor of the lofty edifice. Before that date it was only construction workers who had taken in the incredible views of New York granted by this vantage point. These include the 9/11 memorial site, the tower, about a hundred inner-city rooftops and panoramic sights encompassing parts of all five boroughs. Fortunately those given the opportunity to ride a rickety metal elevator up 103 floors managed to keep their cool long enough to snap a few hundred photos, the majority of which have been posted up on the Architect’s Newspaper blog. Wait until your breakfast is sufficiently settled then browse through our own curated selection of images below. There’s no workers shouting, metal clanging or Queen’s “We Will Rock You” playing from a radio (apparently all aspects of the tour IRL) but it’s still pretty impressive. The core at the 103rd floor. Memorial in foreground with loading dock. 103rd ledge. Workers guide container. Manhattan. Path station. Warren Street from the 103rd floor. via Curbed NY; photos by Tom Stoelker at AN blog
By all accounts, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were quite the spectacle. Plenty of uncertainty surrounds the structure — when they were built, where, and if they were actually real or just a myth — but they're considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Short of befriending a kooky scientist, jumping in a time-travelling vehicle and venturing back more than two millennia, we'll never gaze upon them ourselves. However, if a new British development goes ahead, we could set our peepers upon quite the striking recreation. Design firm Architects of Invention has created a proposal for two 25-storey towers in Digibeth, Birmingham that takes inspiration from the fabled gardens in its curved shape, ascending terraces and abundance of greenery. The adjacent buildings each feature an array of small apartments — approximately 250 one and two bedroom units in each, measuring between 40 and 75 square metres — placed in a staggered formation. With the highest points on the corners of the block and the lowest in the middle, they meet in the centre, creating a parabolic configuration. Plants would hang from every stepped level, giving residents their own flora-abundant spaces and the entire structure a huge rooftop garden. At this stage, it's just a concept that's under discussion with the Birmingham City Council, but if it comes to fruition, it'll certainly catch the eye and then some. Via Dezeen. Images: Architects of Invention
Pay whatever you feel like at Melbourne's favourite good-vibin', community-minded vegetarian eatery. Lentil as Anything have a few locations around town including spots in St Kilda, Footscray, Preston and Thornbury, but it's hard to go past the picturesque setting and atmosphere of Abbotsford Convent. Since their ingredients are often donated, the menu changes week to week, but you can just about guarantee that whatever they're serving will be tasty – and good for you as well. There's also a fairly high chance that lentils will be involved. Their unique payment method means that you decide how much your meal is worth, so please don't be a jerk. If anyone deserves your money, it's these guys.
Celebrating ten years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes in 2005, Laneway Festival have announced their dates and venues for 2015's Australasian run. Returning to the five established Australian Laneway go-to cities as well as the Singapore and New Zealand legs, Laneway will raise a plastic cup to the middle of summer with an undoubtedly killer lineup and unique, random locations. Kicking off in Singapore on Saturday, January 24 in The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay, Laneway will run through seven dates finishing up at its new home in Fremantle's Esplanade Reserve and West End on Sunday, February 8. Auckland will find the festival between the Waitemata Harbour and towering Silos, while Brisbane Laneway punters will be stoked with the festival to be held on a Saturday for the first time in six years — and in a new part of the RNA grounds. Sydney fans will return to their longtime Laneway home at Rozelle's Sydney College of the Arts, before Laneway returns for a second Adelaide run at the historic Harts Mill, Port Adelaide. And where it all started? Melburnians will return to the waterfront spot at FCAC and the River’s Edge, the latest, biggest home for the Melbourne-founded festival. The full festival line-up for all three countries will be announced at 9am on Thursday, October 2. St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2015 dates and venues: Saturday 24 January — SINGAPORE - THE MEADOW, GARDENS BY THE BAY Monday 26 January — AUCKLAND - SILO PARK Saturday 31 January — BRISBANE - BRISBANE SHOWGROUNDS, BOWEN HILLS (16+) Sunday 1 February — SYDNEY - SYDNEY COLLEGE OF THE ARTS (SCA), ROZELLE * Friday 6 February — ADELAIDE - HARTS MILL, PORT ADELAIDE (16+) Saturday 7 February — MELBOURNE - FOOTSCRAY COMMUNITY ARTS CENTRE (FCAC) + THE RIVER’S EDGE Sunday 8 February — FREMANTLE - ESPLANADE RESERVE AND WEST END Subject to DA approval. Images: Aaron Webber.
Scaffolding and other tell-tale signs of construction work have long been common sights across Melbourne, and not particularly pleasant ones. Enter Urban Surfaces, a creative solution to brightening up the CBD's many building sites — and showcasing publicly contributed photographs of the city's diversity in the process. Spanning a 17-metre stretch on Flinders and Spencer streets, Urban Spaces turns the corner into a year-long art gallery. On what would've otherwise been drab boarding, 150 eye-catching snaps sit in an array of frames, with the chosen pictures highlighting Melbourne's most loved aspects and spaces. Aiming to both enhance the aesthetics of construction sites and capture the essence of the city, the project is a collaboration between students from RMIT's School of Architecture and Design and Lendlease's Melbourne Quarter development, with students curating the exhibition. As well as improving the look of the heavy-trafficked CBD spot for the next twelve months, the displayed images are also available online — creating an archive of public photos of Melbourne at its best, and also sharing the selected pics beyond the CBD. Find Urban Surfaces on the corner of Flinders and Spencer streets, and head to the Frame Melbourne website for further details.
This Vimeo user has just confirmed my long-held suspicion that Beyonce and I identify with the same emoji (red salsa lady, obviously). In bigger news, he created an entire emoji version of her recent hit from the visual album, Drunk in Love, and it is flawless. Apart from reaffirming my spiritual connection with Queen Bey, this video does a few things. Firstly, it shows how ridiculous lyrics can be. It inverts the tradition of literal music videos and makes you question things. For instance, why is Beyonce touching so many babies, and did Jay-Z really just say "your breastases is my breakfast"? Really? It could also be a game-changer for the music video market. Imagine how many millions could be saved if Kanye just texted his next video the producers? Sure, there's no motorcycle emoji yet, but 'Bound 2' could have just been a pouty pair of lips on a bicycle with a steam cloud coming out of it. It would have had roughly the same appeal as the original. Of course this is a brave new world for the emoji. It's now used to create original artworks, re-enact famous literature, and it even has a seedy underbelly in the world of internet porn. But if it's to progress any further, it surely needs to add more multicultural offerings than the one Asian and one Indian face in a sea of dorky little white people. Case in point: this is the best they could do for Jay-Z.
It happened. Change has swept into the highest office in the United States. With it, crowds both in America and around the globe have come out in force — against newly inaugurated President Donald Trump and his highly publicised comments against women, and for equality in general. There's no shortage of reasons driving the protests, thanks to the new POTUS and his administration's stance on race, class, gender, healthcare, civil rights, queer rights, reproductive rights, immigration, education, conflicts of interest... the list goes on. There's also no shortage of folks heading out to voice their concern. The Women's March started as an event planned for January 21 in Washington, D.C. the day after Trump's swearing-in ceremony in the US capital, then quickly swelled to become a massive movement drawing hundreds thousands of people worldwide. Marches have taken place everywhere from London to Nairobi, Toronto to Tel Aviv, and Oslo to Antarctica, plus Park City, Utah, where the Sundance Film Festival is currently underway. In Sydney, a crowd of approximately 5000 people took to the streets to march in solidarity, continuing unfazed when skywriting emblazoned the US President's name above them. With such a massive outcry comes a massive onslaught of passion and creativity, including a sea of placards getting the point across in an engaging fashion. Don't just take our word for it — the array of pictures snapped around the world do all of the talking. https://twitter.com/callirachel/status/822694126588047360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/mradamscott/status/822969795985416192 https://www.instagram.com/p/BPh6cP5DEuu/?taken-by=womensmarch https://twitter.com/corinnepurtill/status/822923128221249536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/myquirky_corner/status/822931521241640960 https://twitter.com/jgitchell/status/822846113246048256 https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/822938477989769217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/lindazunas/status/822877872587231232 For more information about the Women's March, visit their website.
For most millennials, the Nokia name evokes memories of a very different technological era; a time when colour screens were barely a thing and phones weighed about the same as a small child. Well, just as we've done the whole growing up thing, so too has this long-serving phone brand, with owner HMD today unveiling its new line of products. The Finnish company dropped the news at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, introducing an anticipated trio of smartphones (the Nokia 6, the Nokia 5, and the Nokia 3), alongside a revamped version of Nokia's classic 3310. With new minimalist designs and headline-aiming features, these new phones are attempting to tap into a fresh generation of discerning phone users. Here are five dot points about the new Nokias that you can use for prime water cooler material at work. THEY'LL RUN ANDROID NOUGAT All three smartphones will offer that classic Android experience, boasting monthly security updates and all the latest Google services. Yes, that includes your new digital bestie, Google Assistant — the integrated feature that lets you engage in two-way conversation with your phone. THEY WON'T BREAK THE BANK In a win for anyone with a budget to stick to, these beauties sit at the blessedly affordable end of the smartphone spectrum. The Nokia 3 will retail globally at around AU$190, the Nokia 5 at AU$259, and the Nokia 6 at AU$314. THE SCREENS ARE NOKIA'S MOST ADVANCED YET Nokia has definitely upped its game in the visual department, with the new phones boasting screens that are both big and beautiful. They've opted for Corning Gorilla Glass laminated displays, with a 5.5" full HD screen for the Nokia 6, a 5.2" IPS HD display for the Nokia 5, and a 5" screen for the Nokia 3. EACH PHONE'S FEATURES MULTIPLY PER MODEL Each phone has its own unique features that'll appeal to different kinds of users; from the 8MP wide aperture cameras in both front and back of the Nokia 3, to the Dolby Atmos sound, smart audio amplifier, and dual speakers of the Nokia 6. Although this makes it more of a 'choose what features suit you' situation, it makes it slightly hard to pick one phone. THE NOKIA 3310 IS MAKING A COMEBACK And in a nostalgia-inducing move, Nokia also announced the return of its best-selling 3310 — a new-school riff on a handset first released back in 2000. This little head-turner comes in four distinctive colours (warm red gloss, yellow gloss, dark blue matte, and grey matte), retails at just AU$67, and blitzes plenty of its competitors with a 22-hour talk time. Unfortunately, with local providers switching off the 2G network, this one's probably not really an option for Aussie consumers.
Few actors are as charming on-screen as Omar Sy, as everyone who hadn't already realised this fact came to learn earlier this year. The French talent has proven a delight to watch in films such as Micmacs, The Intouchables and Mood Indigo (and in X-Men: Days of Future Past and Jurassic World, too). But he really couldn't be better cast in Lupin — the Paris-set mystery-thriller series inspired by Maurice Leblanc's 1907–36 novels and novellas about the fictional gentleman thief of the same name. Sy plays Assane Diop, who is introduced as a cleaner working at the Louvre. In flashbacks to recent events and to the character's childhood, viewers learn just why he's at the famous museum — and what has inspired his life of crime as well. The son of a Senegalese immigrant (Fargass Assandé, Eye of the Storm) who once worked for the wealthy Pellegrini family, Assane has a complicated history. He also has a mystery to solve, Marie Antoinette's diamond necklace to steal, police to evade, a messy personal life to sort out and decades worth of vengeance to exact. When Lupin hit Netflix at the beginning of 2021 and quickly popped into the service's top ten, it started unfurling Diop's story across its initial five episodes. That's only half of the series' current tale, however. After it ended on quite the cliffhanger, there's thankfully more to come — with the French-language series returning for Lupin Part 2 on June 11. As tends to happen, the streaming platform announced the release date for the next batch of episodes by dropping a trailer for the show's second half. Yes, it's set to be as slick, engrossing and swiftly-paced as the first chapters — as all heist and espionage affairs should be. Based on his engaging performance so far, they should probably all star Sy, too. Also influential here, though, is filmmaker Louis Leterrier. His resume has more misses than hits, spanning the first two Transporter movies, The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans, Now You See Me and Grimsby. But he brings a deft touch to this series, as he did to the vastly dissimilar The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Check out the Lupin Part 2 trailer below — which is in English, although we recommend you watch the series itself in its French-language, subtitled, not-dubbed format: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ6x279y8GI Lupin Part 2 will be available to stream via Netflix on June 11. Part 1 is available to stream now. Top image: Emmanuel Guimier.
Well, it's not exactly a watch, because you don't actually have to look at it to determine the time. In fact, its creators are making a point of referring to it as a timepiece - "The Bradley" timepiece, to be precise. And it's promising to put an end to many an awkward moment. Once you're wearing The Bradley, you can tell the time simply by touch. That means there's no longer any need to peer at your mobile phone in front of clients or bosses or particularly verbose lunch buddies. "The Bradley" (watch) face is comprised of 12 raised marks and a side ball bearing, which, in combination, indicate hours, and a side ball bearing, which indicates minutes. Magnets connect the ball bearings to the timepiece's mechanics, hidden underneath its titanium casing. Watchbands are available in fabric and leather, coloured mustard yellow, olive green or blue; and in stainless steel mesh. Designers, engineers and individuals with vision impairment have all contributed to The Bradley's development. According to the team, it "changes the way we interact with our timepieces". The invention's title is a reference to Lieutenant Brad Snyder, who lost his sight in 2011 while serving in Afghanistan. A year later, in the 2012 London Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the 400-metre freestyle, as well as two silver medals in other events. With 20 days of Kickstarter campaigning to go, "The Bradley" has already reached its initial goal of $40,000 10 times over, with 2,602 supporters having pledged $395,501. [via Mashable]
Since 2016, the cinema-loving world has had a Studio Ghibli-shaped hole in its heart. That's when the acclaimed Japanese animation house released its most recent film, the gorgeous French co-production The Red Turtle. Its last solo production actually came two years earlier, courtesy of 2014's When Marnie Was There. Still, much has happened in Studio Ghibli's world over the past decade. Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement, then changed his mind. In 2018, fellow co-founder and acclaimed director Isao Takahata sadly passed away. And, over the past few years, the company has been busying itself with its very own theme park. The latter is due to open in 2022 and become quite the tourist attraction — but that doesn't mean that fans aren't keen for more Ghibli movies. Thankfully, the studio revealed earlier this year that it's working on just that, with two new films on its current slate. One of those movies will be helmed by My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle icon Miyazaki, with How Do You Live? actually first announced a few years back. As for the second film, Australians will be able to watch it in the new year. Called Earwig and the Witch in English (and also known as Aya and the Witch), the movie marks the first Studio Ghibli completely made using computer-generated animation. Director-wise, it's helmed by Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro Miyazaki, who previously directed Tales from Earthsea and From Up On Poppy Hill. It's also based on a novel written by British author Diana Wynne Jones, who penned the book that Howl's Moving Castle was adapted from, too. And, Australian distributor Madman Entertainment has just advised that it'll be releasing the film Down Under sometime early in 2021, with an exact date still yet to be revealed. In terms of story, Earwig and the Witch focuses on a girl at an orphanage in the British countryside. She enjoys living there, but her world changes when she's chosen to live with a couple — including, as the title makes plain, a witch. Earwig doesn't know that her own mother also had magical powers, so she's thrust into a strange new world, all while trying to do what she's always wanted: belong to a family. In its English-language version, the film will feature voice work by Richard E Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Dan Stevens (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) and singer Kacey Musgraves, plus newcomer Taylor Paige Henderson as Earwig. We've said it before about Nicolas Cage's new show about swearing and the brand new full season of Spicks and Specks, but 2021 is definitely looking better than 2020. Earwig and the Witch will release in Australian cinemas sometime early in 2021 — we'll update you with an exact release date when one is announced. Images: Madman Entertainment.
For just a few weeks in January, the Portsea Hotel is hosting a luxe Japanese pop-up dining experience full of sushi, nigiri and sake-infused cocktails. Chef Yukio Ozeki from Terasu — the flagship Japanese restaurant at Ardo in Townsville — is behind this waterside takeover running from Friday, January 3–Sunday, January 19, and has created a six-course set menu ($150 per person) packed with top-grade wagyu beef and seafood. Drinks-wise, you can expect a playful cocktail offering that balances tropical flavours and touches of Tokyo. Highlights include the Tokyo Glow (sake, vodka, ginger, grape and yuzu jelly) and the Yubari Delight (gin, melon liqueur, rockmelon and watermelon). Japanese sakes, Euro wines and your usual beers will also be available throughout the pop-up. The Sea, Summer and Suhi experience will take place in Portsea Hotel's Bertrand Bar, which is set to be decked out with black linen-covered tables, glowing paper lanterns and Japanese ferns — all framing panoramic ocean views. Only 48 people can squeeze into each sitting (either for lunch or dinner), so it is set to be a relatively intimate experience that'll surely be popular.
Between the blazing fire shows taking over the Royal Botanic Gardens, the swag of immersive theatre experiences inviting audiences into parallel worlds, and the huge international acts returning to Aussie shores for the first time in decades, this year's Melbourne International Arts Festival will be tough to ignore. Unveiled yesterday, the festival's 2018 program is set to deliver a diverse, vibrant celebration of dance, music, theatre, visual arts and architecture from October 3–21, with the entire city as its stage. The Royal Botanic Gardens, acting as the festival's mini hub, will be transformed in a haze of flames across four nights, for the Fire Gardens fire-burning spectacular. Elsewhere on the site, acclaimed contemporary circus company NoFitState explores the 250-year history of the circus ring, with an exclusive performance of Lexicon. Post-punk legends The The make their first Melbourne appearance in almost 30 years, to play hits from across their internationally renowned back catalogue, and Berlin composer and pianist Nils Frahm makes his return to Hamer Hall, four years after the sell-out success of his Melbourne Festival debut. Japanese sound artist ASUNA will present its unique aural installation 100 Keyboards, which will see 100 battery operated keyboards brought to life. And the creators of last year's iconic House Of Mirrors installation and Dark Mofo's upside down crosses, Christian Wagstaff and Keith Courtney are at it again, taking over the Arts Centre forecourt with their new work 1000 Doors — an interactive piece inviting audiences to choose their own adventure. Meanwhile, the program's broad-ranging dance lineup includes top choreographer William Forsythe's boundary-pushing A Quiet Evening Of Dance, and visually stunning, Romeo & Juliet-style dance-opera, Layla and Majnun. Melbourne International Arts Festival runs from October 3-21, 2018, at venues across the city. Tickets are available here, from midday, July 30.
The Centipede Cinema is way less creepy than it sounds. The Bartlett School of Architecture in Portugal has designed a cinema in which each moviegoer manoeuvres his or her body into one of the yellow tubes that makes up the giant centipede structure to view the film. Located in Guimarães and conceived by Professor Colin Fournier with artist Marysia Lewandowska, the Centipede Cinema was commissioned by the 2012 European Capital of Culture. The design team for the project included NEON founders, George King and Mark Nixon. Resembling a sort of futuristic alien spaceship, this highly unique cinema invites people to enter one of the 16 nozzles poking out from below the cork structure. The viewer's entire upper body is encompassed by the nozzle, however the legs are out in the open for the rest of the world to see. This creates what looks like a giant cork centipede but is really just 16 people enjoying a film.
It's time for class, again. After the first season proved a huge hit, and the second as well, Netflix is bringing Heartbreak High back for season three. Then, it's time to graduate. While the revival of the beloved Australian series from 1994–99 has been renewed for a third run, the streaming platform has also announced that the next batch of episodes will be the show's farewell. "She never got the letter — but now we get to see what happens next! Renewing Heartbreak High for its final season is a major point of pride for us at Netflix," said Netflix Director of Content ANZ Que Minh Luu, announcing the news. "It has been a joy to work with the utterly cooked creative minds behind our favourite Aussie YA show and to bring our stories, our culture and our in-jokes to all the fans here at home and throughout the world. See you at muck up day." Since releasing in April 2024, Heartbreak High's second season has spent plenty of time in Netflix's charts, debuting at number one in Australia — of course — and spending three weeks in the streamer's top ten for English television shows globally. The first season was also a massive smash with audiences, and with awards bodies, turning the series into an International Emmy-, AACTA- and Logie-winner. The third season, still to be shot in Sydney, will take the gang to their last year at Hartley High. What awaits Amerie (Ayesha Madon, Love Me), Harper (Asher Yasbincek, How to Please a Woman), Darren (screen first-timer James Majoos), Quinni (Chloe Hayden, Spooky Files), Ca$h (Will McDonald, Blaze), Malakai (Thomas Weatherall, RFDS), Spider (Bryn Chapman Parish, Mr Inbetween), Ant (Brodie Townsend, Significant Others), Sasha (Gemma Chua-Tran, Mustangs FC) and Missy (fellow newcomer Sherry-Lee Watson) — as well as teachers Woodsy (Rachel House, Our Flag Means Death) and Jojo (Chika Ikogwe, The Tourist) — hasn't yet been revealed. Also not yet announced: when Heartbreak High will drop its swansong season, so there's no date to add to your diary yet. In season two, the show not only dived back into high-school chaos, but followed a love triangle, a school captain race, clashing curriculum strands, quests for redemption, new romances, a mystery, plus the impact of new students and staff — including pupils Rowan (Sam Rechner, The Fabelmans) and Zoe (Kartanya Maynard, Deadloch), and Head of PE Timothy Voss (Angus Sampson, Bump). It was in 2020 that Netflix initially announced that it was bringing Heartbreak High back — and yes, it sure is a 2020s take on the Aussie show, spanning everything from friendship fights, yelling about vaginas from the top of a building and throwing dildos at walls through to consent, crime, drugs and police brutality. The original Heartbreak High was a massive deal, and was filled with now-familiar faces, such as Alex Dimitriades, a pre-Home and Away Ada Nicodemou, and Avengers: Endgame and Mystery Road's Callan Mulvey as Drazic. It painted a multicultural picture of Australia that was unlike anything else on TV at the time. And, for its six-year run across two Aussie networks, the Sydney-shot show was must-see television — not bad for a series that started as a spinoff to the Claudia Karvan- and Alex Dimitriades-starring 1993 movie The Heartbreak Kid, too. There's obviously no trailer for Heartbreak High season three yet, but check out the trailer for second season below: Heartbreak High streams via Netflix. Season three doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. Read our reviews of season one and season two. Images: Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
He has declared that he's not famous anymore, taken phone calls from strangers, transmitted his heartbeat, live-streamed a three-day movie marathon of his own films and asked the public to take him around North America. Now, one of the most intriguing actor-turned-artists of his generation has revealed his next performance piece — and it's happening in (and streaming from) Sydney this weekend. Shia LaBeouf fans and anyone interested in experimental art antics might already know that the American Honey star has been on the bill for the Sydney Opera House's new pop culture festival, BingeFest, since it was announced back in October. As part of the program, he'll continue to collaborate with his creative partners Nastja Säde Rönkkön and Luke Turner, who he's worked with on more than a dozen projects to date. And yes, at #ANDINTHEEND, they want you to participate. The first of their two free performances kicks off tonight at 11.59pm and runs through until 6am, with their second taking place between 10pm on Sunday until 6am Monday morning. Here's how #ANDINTHEEND works: visitors will be invited inside Sydney Opera House's Joan Sutherland Theatre one by one, and asked to deliver a statement or message in person to LaBeouf, Rönkkön and Turner. They can say whatever they like — but, the one requirement is that each participant's message should begin with the words: "AND IN THE END…". https://twitter.com/thecampaignbook/status/809926146313830401 Once communicated to LaBeouf and company, the statements will be live-streamed online at andintheend.sydneyoperahouse.com — and beamed across Sydney harbour on a 60-metre display installed on the Opera House itself. At the centre of the piece, the trio are aiming to ponder a number of questions, including where we are headed, what might it all mean and what is important in the end? "As 2016 draws to a close, we are all too aware of the pervasive sense of foreboding that has come to define the year," the artists offered in a statement about #ANDINTHEEND. "Wars have raged, demagogues have risen, cultural heroes have departed, environmental catastrophe looms, while the voices of the people have been continually manipulated and polarized. Hope for the future seems more distant than ever. And yet, we still yearn for some greater truth, for the utopias of our distant horizons, expressed through art." Just how it will turn out is anyone's guess, but that's the great thing about live art in general, and about LaBeouf, Rönkkön and Turner's performance projects in particular: no one knows just what will happen. If you're planning to flock to the free event in person — or just thinking about stopping because you're already heading to BingeFest's all-night Buffy binge-a-thon or 24-hour Street Fighter tournament — visitors are reminded that entry isn't guaranteed. Everyone else, train your eyes towards your nearest internet-connected screen once the clock hits midnight tonight, Sydney time. #ANDINTHEEND takes place at BingeFest on from 11.59pm, Saturday 17 December to 6am, Sunday 18 December — and again from 10pm, Sunday 18 December to 6am, Monday 19 December. Follow @thecampaignbook on Twitter for more information, and visit andintheend.sydneyoperahouse.com to access the live-stream. Images: Abazar Khayami, Daniel Boud and Vivi Fragou.
Lego has come a long way since I was a kid. For me, the brightly coloured plastic bricks didn't transcend their basic wall-building function much more than serving as useful things to throw at the cat when I wanted her to get off the bed. Over the years though, they've grown and expanded to include intricate Harry Potter, Star Wars and Ninja sets, as well as other more grown-up ranges for construction geeks everywhere. Now, as part of Lego's crazy-popular Architecture Series, in which there are already eleven projects, the Danish company is kicking off the month of March by launching their twelfth project, The Sydney Opera House. The series already features Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's iconic Farnsworth House and Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum, as well as Seattle's Space Needle and the Empire State Building, so the national landmark is in very distinguished company. Conceived and built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the Opera House opened in 1973 after winning a design competition sixteen years earlier in 1957. Not only is the Sydney Opera House the city's most distinctive landmark, but it's also one of the most innovative and applauded examples of modern architecture. Upon being awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2003, judges said "It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent." The 270-piece model will be on sale this month, containing a step-by-step instruction guide for budding architectects, designers and engineers, as well as a full archival history and message on the Reconciliation Action Plan completed in consultation with Sydney Opera House. You can pick it up online from the Lego Store or buy locally at the Sydney Opera House shop. [Via Sydney Opera House]
The simple game of filth, sex and bad taste has been a worldwide hit in the past few years. Best played while drinking with friends (don't even try it with family members), Cards Against Humanity is the go-to game for anyone who embraces the ugly, the wrong and the politically incorrect. Now, after success abroad, it's being brought to the masters. Get ready for the filth to step into overdrive and the Tony Abbott references to increase five-fold. Cards Against Humanity is getting an Australian edition. If you haven't played before, the rules are pretty simple. All players are dealt a collection of white cards with nasty and nonsensical statements. 'Vigorous jazz hands', 'Stephen Hawking talking dirty', or 'strangling a dog to make a point to the audience' for example. One player then draws a black sentence card and everyone puts forward their funniest white filler. It's basically an R-rated version of mad libs. As such, you then end up with statements like 'In M. Night Shymalan's new movie, Bruce Willis discovers that Sarah Palin had really been a passable transvestite after all' or 'And the Academy Award for genital piercings goes to Grandma'. Then everyone drinks to absolve their guilt. The announcement came yesterday via Melbourne games store Critical Hit. The creators are developing an Australian edition, and they need our help to do it. Abolishing all American references, the Australian edition will presumably be rife with talk of all our nation's leaders past and present, goon bags, wristies and Rolf Harris (we know it's too soon, but nothing is out of bounds with this game). Fans can submit their suggestions here and go in the draw to win play tests or full sets of the new edition. Though they ask for an email address to contact you on, the process is largely anonymous so you can really have at it. None of your loved ones need to know about that nasty thing you submitted about Pauline Hanson, but the rest of Australia will thank you for it.
Craving the ease of electric power, yet unenthusiastic about parting with your favourite two-wheeler? A new Kickstarter campaign promises to solve your dilemma. The Rubbee is an electric drive that can be mounted to any bicycle within seconds. Its development came about out of frustration with the range of e-bikes currently on the market. '[They] have multiple design and user-experience flaws,' the Rubbee's creators argue. 'If it is a factory-made electric bicycle it will probably be very heavy and will look... Well, let's say boring is the word for it. And what happens to your beloved regular bike you already have? It gets sold or forgotten somewhere in the basement.' Moreover, the conversion kits available practically require a PhD in engineering for successful installation, and usually weigh between 10 and 15 kilograms. In contrast, adding the Rubbee to a bicycle is merely a matter of adjusting a clamp. Hence, it can be shared with family and friends easily. Plus, an integrated battery pack sees it weigh in at just 6.5 kilograms. The Rubbee's developers have spent two years perfecting their product. 'We worked long and hard before getting it right,' they explain. 'After many sleepless nights and dozens of pitches we have made our way here, where we are now . . . Our mission is to change the way electric bicycles used to be.' [via PSFK]
Nothing ruins a lovely holiday like having to wear dirty socks for the last two days. If you forgot some essentials at home, or made an attempt at 'light packing', let's just hope you didn't forget your Scrubba. Weighing about as much as your favorite jeans, the Scrubba Wash Bag is essentially a mobile laundromat designed for the scrupulous packer. The concept was brought about by hiker Ashley Newman, who devised the design while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Scrubba is best described as a waterproof bag containing a flexible washboard. All you need to do for clean laundry is to pop in a few dirty garments, add 2 litres of water and some soap (or shampoo, if you're in a fix), and scrub. When placed against a hard surface, Scrubba's inner washboard will create enough friction to clean your clothes after 30 seconds of scrubbing. Et voila! Garments will come out clean, and can be hung to dry. The Scrubba is available for pre-order at Indiegogo. [via Gizmodo]
Stopping Godzilla isn't easy. Within the Monsterverse, the American movie and TV universe that's sprung up around the iconic kaiju, that lesson has been well and truly learned. On-screen, the giant critter is no longer seen as a foe, as 2024 film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire embraced — and for Legendary Entertainment, the company producing the franchise, there's no such thing as too much of the towering behemoth. Cinemas have seen 2014's Godzilla, 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters and 2021's Godzilla vs Kong before this year's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. In 2023, Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brought Zilly to streaming as well. The latter starred none other than Kurt Russell (Fast and Furious 9) and Wyatt Russell (Night Swim), with the father-son duo sharing the same part in a time-hopping narrative. Understandably paying more attention to humans given its two leads, it proved an excellent addition to the franchise, so it comes as no surprise that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has been renewed for a second season. Exactly when the series will return hasn't been revealed, but Apple TV+ is going big with its part of the saga, also announcing that multiple spinoffs are also on the way. What they'll entail, who'll be in them and when they will arrive hasn't been locked in, either, but get ready for plenty more Godzilla-related television viewing. "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has left an indelible imprint on the hearts, minds and imaginations of audiences around the world," said Apple TV+'s Head of International Development Morgan Wandell. "We couldn't be more excited for viewers to not only have the chance to experience even more thrills in season two, but to embark on epic, new journeys in the franchise as we expand Legendary's Monsterverse." With Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the Monsterverse went the episodic route via a story set across generations and 50 years. The Russells play army officer Lee Shaw — while a couple of siblings attempting to keep up their dad's work after events between Godzilla and the Titans in San Francisco in the aforementioned 2014 film, as well as their family history, also proves pivotal. So, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters involves unpacking links to clandestine outfit Monarch, activities back in the 50s and how what Shaw knows threatens the organisation. Yes, monsters and rampages were part of the first season, but so were secrets, lies, revelations and mysteries. Also appearing on-screen: Anna Sawai (Shōgun), Kiersey Clemons (The Flash), Ren Watabe (461 Days of Bento), Mari Yamamoto (Pachinko), Anders Holm (Inventing Anna), Joe Tippett (The Morning Show), Elisa Lasowski (Hill of Vision) and Takehiro Hira (Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story). Behind the scenes, Chris Black (Severance) and Matt Fraction (Da Vinci's Demons) co-developed Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, while Matt Shakman (The Consultant, Welcome to Chippendales) helmed the opening pair of episodes for season one. All three were among the series' executive producers, and will return for season two. Check out the trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season one below: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters streams via Apple TV+ — we'll update you with a release date for season two when it's announced. Read our review of season one, and our interview with Kurt and Wyatt Russell.
Many a Brisbanite has spent their 21st birthday partying their way around Fortitude Valley. Plenty of us have spent several days around the milestone date hopping between venues throughout the inner-city suburb and prolonging the merriment for as long as possible, in fact. It's a Brissie rite of passage; however, it isn't just restricted to people — with huge music-fuelled celebration BIGSOUND planning the same thing when it returns in September 2022. To mark hitting the big two-one — and its return to in-person events after a pandemic-afflicted couple of years — BIGSOUND will take over the Valley with a massive four-day event. Running from Tuesday, September 6–Friday, September 9, this year's fest will welcome more than 150 bands to its stages, too, and also keep the birthday theme going by popping up in 21 different venues. If you're a BIGSOUND regular, you'll know what that entails: filling as many spaces as possible with bands, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest tunes and talent the country has to offer. Expect 2022's iteration to be no different to usual — well, the pre-pandemic usual — although the vibe is set to jump up a few notches given that there's so much to celebrate. [caption id="attachment_851422" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] It's still too early to announce who'll be on the bill, but expect BIGSOUND to commemorate its big occasion — and its first physical fest since 2019 — with an impressive roster of bands. Past events have showcased everyone from Gang of Youths, Flume, Tash Sultana and Courtney Barnett to San Cisco, Violent Soho, Methyl Ethel and The Jungle Giants, so its program is usually a very reliable bellwether of current and up-and-coming musos. This year's fest will also include 300 artist showcases and more than 20 parties, while the conference side of things will welcome in 150-plus speakers over 55 sessions (and more than 1500 delegates as well). And, a new event called BIGSOUND Country will join the lineup, focusing on the Aussie country music scene. [caption id="attachment_851424" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] BIGSOUND's return to the Valley's streets follows a virtual event in 2020, and comes after 2021's fest was originally slated to go ahead in-person, but had to cancel due to COVID-19. Announcing the event's 2022 plans, QMusic CEO Kris Stewart said that the BIGSOUND team is "feeling from the industry far and wide that they're itching to be back in rooms together — and we couldn't be more excited to get artists back on stages and industry back in their live element." If your spring routine usually involves bar-hopping around Brisbane while listening to bands — whether you're a local or you head north for the event — mark your calendars accordingly. And if you're an artist looking to take part in the event in general, applications are now open until Friday, May 20. BIGSOUND 2022 will take place between Tuesday, September 6–Friday, September 9 in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For more information — or to apply to take part if you're an artist — visit bigsound.org.au. Images: Lachlan Douglas / Bianca Holderness.
When mid-February rolls around each year, a specific feeling starts to sink in no matter how you feel about romance. That sensation? With autumn almost upon us and the cooler weather with it, it's the yearning for sunny, summery days to keep on stretching on. Here's one way to continue catching that vibe: chasing an endless summer by spending time anywhere from the Gold Coast up to Cairns while it gets frosty down south. For those eager to make an autumn date with plenty of sun, surf and sand — or even to book in a winter or spring getaway, too — Virgin Australia has just dropped a huge Queensland flight sale. Running until midnight AEST on Monday, February 20 or sold out, whichever arrives first, this sale is solely about trips to and from the Sunshine State — with more than 250,000 fares on offer. It might be focused on one part of the country, but you still have options in terms of departure points and destinations. Within Queensland, you can leave or arrive in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Hamilton Island, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Mt Isa and Proserpine. And, around the rest of the country, flights to and from Adelaide, Alice Springs, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth and Sydney are all covered. One-way fares start at $69 — which'll get you from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast and vice versa. Other sale flights include Sydney–Gold Coast from $89, Melbourne–Cairns from $139, Adelaide–Gold Coast from $119 and Brisbane–Hamilton Island from $109. If you're wondering when you'll need to travel, the travel periods depend on the leg — but some span up till December 14, when summer is back again. Only select fares cover seat choice and checked baggage, however, with the airline announcing back in 2021 that it now splits its economy flights into three types. Economy Lite doesn't include checking any baggage or picking your seat, but Economy Choice does — and Economy Flex gives you extra flexibility (hence the name) if you have to change your plans later. Virgin's Queensland Is Calling sale runs from Tuesday, February 14–midnight AEST on Monday, February 20 — or until sold out. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Whether Idris Elba will ever get to slip into James Bond's tuxedo is still yet to be seen, but the British actor adds another prime example of why he'd be excellent as 007 to his resume with Hijack. He plays suave and smooth, calm and collected, and resourceful and reliable in the plane-set Apple TV+ thriller series — as well as enterprising and creative while endeavouring to save lives and bring down nefarious forces alike. He's also basically in Idris Elba on a Plane, sans slithering snakes; Idris Elba Cancels the London-Bound Apocalypse, but without kaiju and giant robots; Die Hard with Idris Elba, though never just crawling around in a singlet; and, given that the seven-parter unfurls in real time, 24: Idris Elba as well. Unsurprisingly, Elba is excellent in a taut, tension-dripping nail-biter that's easy to get addicted to. Fresh from battling lions in Beast, granting wishes in Three Thousand Years of Longing, returning to Luther in Luther: The Fallen Son and popping up in Extraction II, The Wire alum plays Sam Nelson, a seasoned negotiator on his way home to the UK from Dubai. It can't be underestimated or understated how crucial that Hijack's biggest star is here. Cast the wrong person as Sam, and the show might've plummeted. When terrorists take over the flight, the series' protagonist boasts the ability to get everyone from pilots and crew to agitated flyers, wannabe saviours and air traffic control on his side. Sometimes, the hijackers join in on following his lead and taking his advice. Even if action movies have long relied upon heroes with such swagger and sway, trying to pull it off here without someone of Elba's charm and confidence would likely struggle (see: the Liam Neeson-led Non-Stop, and recent Gerard Butler flick Plane). When he disembarks Kingdom Airlines Flight 29, Sam just wants to try to patch things up with his estranged wife Marsha (Christine Adams, The Mandalorian) and spend time with his teenage son Kai (Jude Cudjoe, Halo) — aims at the top of his list before he has any inkling that this won't be an ordinary journey. Then fellow Brit Stuart (Neil Maskell, Small Axe) and his gun-toting team (Here Comes Hell's Jasper Britton, The Duke's Aimée Kelly, The Souvenir: Part II's Jack McMullen and TV first-timer Mohamed Elsandel) seize control of the aircraft before the first hour of the flight has passed. To stay alive, and to also attempt to keep the other passengers safe, Sam has no choice but to step in. Action formula dictates that he does indeed have a particular set of skills that come in handy in the situation: his way with words. Onboard, anxiety spreads fast from the pilot (Ben Miles, Tetris) down. Tracking an hour of the ordeal per episode, Hijack gets its audience experiencing the stress, chaos and life-or-death stakes in tandem with Sam and the rest of the flight's hostages — and, crucially, establishing the in-the-air space and figures that the series has to play with. The show jumps between seating classes, exploring how the ordeal affects everyone from the comfortable to the crammed-in. It ensures that viewers understand who's sitting where, and how their different personalities might have an impact. The series stalks through the aisles, making sight lines and escape routes plain, and also hovers in crew areas. In other words, it puts its various pieces in place, proving expertly aware that suspense springs not just from waiting and anticipating, but from knowing which elements could factor in. Hijack makes slick and skilled use of its main setting, but it isn't a one-location-only affair. Also getting nervous: people on the ground across several countries, all attempting to work out what's going on. Marsha and Kai are among them; the former notes that "when it all kicks off, Sam's the best at handling it", but also asks her new cop beau Daniel O'Farrell (Max Beesley, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre) to investigate after she receives a cryptic text from the air. The police officer enlists British counter-terrorism via his ex-partner Zahra Gahfoor (Archie Panjab, Snowpiercer), while various aviation bases also start realising that all isn't right, including at Heathrow where Alice Sinclair (Eve Myles, We Hunt Together) is a flight controller. Creators George Kay (Lupin) and Jim Field Smith (Litvinenko) are masterful with tone and twists, keeping the pressure up from go to whoa and never letting the plot cruise on autopilot. Together, Kay (who writes) and Field Smith (who directs) also created the interrogation-focused Criminal, and bring the same flair for teasing out pivotal details — not just in conversation, but visually as Hijack flits between the plane and terra firma. This isn't a whodunnit, put it does reward sleuthing, tasking its audience with puzzling together what's really going on, who can truly be trusted and how the show might land. Again, Apple TV+ is in its mystery element, as everything from Severance, The Afterparty, Black Bird and Bad Sisters to Servant, Hello Tomorrow!, High Desert and Silo keeps illustrating. In hooking viewers, and quickly, Kay and Field Smith are also well-versed in the kind of series they want Hijack to be. Pivotally, they're clearly familiar with the conventions and cliches that the show is leaning into, what's soared there before, and how to do it well. Having Sam rely upon the power of persuasion first and foremost might seem like a small touch, but it's an important one: Hijack wouldn't last seven hours, or keep watching eyes invested, if guns just kept blasting and fists flying. Even an aircraft-set John Wick instalment mightn't make that work ( although who wouldn't want to see that franchise — and only that franchise — try?). All the focus on talk also gives Hijack another vital angle: it sees its characters as people, rather than merely using them a means to move the plot along. Accordingly, it dives into their complications — some more than others, and no one more than Sam, but enough to examine the many complex ways that humans behave, especially in such high-strung circumstances. This is a show that's well aware that we all have baggage, and that it's with us at every turn. Thankfully, most of us aren't forced to work through it at 35,000 feet while being held hostage, but that exact scenario with Elba at its centre makes for riveting viewing. Check out the trailer for Hijack below: Hijack streams via Apple TV+.
Travelling solo can be great fun. There's no arguments about where to go, no bickering about where to eat and no ruining of life-long friendships that don't translate well from your hometown to the road. But it can get lonely too. You can Instagram great views, delicious meals and cute animals till your fingers are sore, but sometimes even 100 likes are no substitute for real-life, two-legged company. And someone to take a photo that actually has your face in it. So an Aussie adventurer by the name of Troy Elmes has come up with a solution — he's created an app that facilitates meet-ups for people who are travelling the world on their lonesome. Called Solo Traveller, it's a bit like Tinder for travellers (but without the sexy bit). You swipe through profiles of people who are on the road near you, let them know you're keen to meet up and connect with them in real time. Search results can be filtered according to age, gender, location, common interests and/or shared goals. Elmes invented the app after extensive travel on his own along Spain's Camino Trail. "I noticed there were a lot of like-minded solo travellers out there not having someone to share life’s moments with," he says on his website. "I also noticed how difficult it was to meet new people within my age range and there was an incredibly large and diverse group of travellers out there that were looking for the same connection, information and new experiences." Wanting to put these lone travellers in touch with each other, Elmes created Solo Traveller. Download it from the App Store or Google Play and keep it on-hand for the next time you're in a foreign city and desperately seeking good conversation. Image: Steven Lewis via Unsplash
You know there’s a big difference between drinking vodka because it's Friday and drinking vodka for its silky smooth tang. Ketel One knows it because they’ve spent the last 300 years refining family recipes that make Turducken look about as complex as 2 Minute Noodles, and now they’re on a quest to find one Australian craftsman who’s been equally zealous in turning a traditional craft into a contemporary masterpiece (though probably over a lesser period of time). This quest is called the Ketel One Modern Craft Project and it bears a legacy of $100,000. The winner will be someone who’s making the world a little more exciting to be in by blending a traditional craft with a modern entrepreneurial sprit. Deciding who that person is will be Ketel One’s 11th Generation Distiller, Bob Nolet, plus three experts who have earned complete license to judge you unreservedly: Gelati artisan Nick Palumbo of Gelato Messina, bespoke jeweller Lucy Folk of Lucy Folk Jewellery, and Christian Condo from the Modern Motor Cycle Company. The top 10 finalists will be filmed and showcased via a small bar exhibition in Sydney and Melbourne so that those skilled in the art of drinking can too pass judgement before the experts cast their final vote. Ketel One's Modern Craft Project is open to residents of Australia aged 25 and over, and you have until 1 December to get your entries in via themoderncraftproject.com
One of the world's most iconic paintings is coming to Australia, as part of a cultural exchange with the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. Painted by James McNeill Whistler in 1871, Portrait of the artist's mother, otherwise known as Arrangement in grey and black no. 1 or more commonly as Whistler's Mother, will be displayed at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, forming the centrepiece of an exhibition about the painting's social and historical impact. "Alongside Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Munch's The Scream sits Whistler's Portrait of the artist's mother as one of a handful of artworks which enjoy universal recognition and admiration," said NGV Director Tony Ellwood in a statement that accompanied the announcement. The exhibition will mark the first time the painting has travelled to Australia. In return, the NGV will loan the Musee d'Orsay Pierre Bonnard's 1900 work Siesta. The NGV exhibition, which will run from March 25 until June 19, will aim to explore Whistler's iconic work from a number of different perspectives, chronicling its initially poor reception at the Royal Academy in London, its rise in popularity over the subsequent decades, and its influence on countless prominent artists including many here in Australia. It will also delve into the life of both the artist and his mother, Anna, who is depicted in the painting. The gallery has produced a short film about the significance of the work, and will also present a number of related public programs including a floor talk series and an illustrated panel discussion. Just whatever you do, when you're visiting the exhibition... try not to sneeze. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWqVoaYxgRs Whistler's Mother will be on display at the NGV from March 25 – June 19. For more information, go here. Updated: Thursday, March 24, 2016. Image: Brooke Holm.
Darlinghurst's Pocket Bar know exactly how much a parking ticket can ruin your day. You're out in the sunshine having a wonderful time, maybe you're getting caught up in a lazy lunch or a movie that ran longer than you thought, then BAM — you get a ticket and the world feels cruel and unjustified. Now, not only are these neighbourhood heroes changing your perceptions of tickets completely, they're rewarding you when you get one. If you're parked anywhere around Burton or Oxford Streets, your car could soon be struck with a "Pocket Notice". Printing out hundreds of flyers that look exactly like parking tickets, this tricky little bar have been distributing sneaky ads for their venue offering drivers 30 per cent off their new street food menu. The offence listed on the ticket is "optimism — just being in the right spot at the right time". Just when I thought I copped a fine...well played #pocketsydney, well played! #pocketbar #darlinghurst pic.twitter.com/DNNnQgvvMf — Shireen Khalil (@Shireenkal) September 30, 2014 If the car's owner is unlucky enough to find themselves with an actual parking ticket, the venue will offer a 20 per cent discount off everything. Pocket Bar owner Karl Schlothauer started the marketing campaign in reaction to the ever-vigilant parking officers of Sydney's inner suburbs. "I have a running battle with rangers," he said. "At one stage I had $7,000 in parking fines." It's not the only thing he's been fined for either. Flyering advertisements on cars is illegal under the NSW Protection of Environment Operations Act as it often prompts people into littering. In 2009, Schlothauer received a $400 fine for leaving a Pocket Notice on a car near Hyde Park. Despite that setback, they continued on with the idea. New notices have been spotted on cars in the last couple of weeks. If you do find yourself with an actual ticket, at least this is a silver lining — you can buy a slightly cheaper drink to drown your sorrows. Via Daily Telegraph. Photo: Angelica Sotelo.
If a trip to Mexico is on your agenda, then add another stop to your itinerary: Mexico City's Future Forest. The brainchild of Danish artist Thomas Dambo, the installation can be found in the botanical garden of Chapultepec — and, intertwined with the site's natural greenery, features more than three tonnes of plastic waste fashioned into a colourful artwork across a 500-square-metre area. Dambo worked with garbage collectors, their children, local students, inhabitants of orphanages and elderly homes, and other volunteers, taking eight weeks to turn a mountain of discarded plastics into a space people can wander through. Visitors will spy plants, flowers, animals and more, all made out of recycled bottles, containers, tubing and other plastic products. Although it was created as part of the local FYJA festival, it'll remain on display for the near future. As well as drawing attention to the ongoing war on waste — an issue that is seeing single-use plastic bags, coffee cups, takeaway containers and straws slowly phased from general usage, and plastic waste turned into everything from roads to shoes to activewear — the Future Forest also recognises the efforts of workers who collect and sort trash, known in Mexico City as pepenadores. Dambo's designed his project "not only to create awareness of this huge issue, but as a tribute to these everyday heroes, not nearly getting the recognition and respect we all owe them," he states on his website. Image: Thomas Dambo.
Mozzie repellent really puts a dampener on any summer BBQ. Literally. It's potent and poisonous stench clings to your clothing and gives your skin a sickly sticky glow. It's helpful, sure. We'd much rather have this slight inconvenience than let evil little bugs suck our blood and keep us up all night itching. But now someone has given us the best of both worlds. This new beer carton, a staple at any summer fun you were already having, also functions as a mosquito repellent. Conceived by Australian creative company GPY&R, this cardboard beer carton is currently on a limited run in Papua New Guinea. Made for SP Lager, a brand owned by Heineken, the cardboard casing is laced with eucalyptus oil to keep mozzies at bay. To unleash the full effect, the box must be burned — an easy feat for the PNG locals who often drink around bonfires. For them, mozzie repellent is much more than an annoying afterthought. Malaria is an enormous problem in the area and there are up to 1.8 million suspected cases reported each year. "If we're honest, we're not going to solve malaria with cartons of beer but we are going to raise awareness of the issue," said GPY&R manager Phil McDonald. Though the boxes have been launched as a limited edition item in PNG, those behind the project say they haven't ruled out the possibility to launching the product in Australia. "We're not as liberal with the burning of fires as our friends in PNG. We'd have to get the innovation hat on and think of something different, but it's not out of the realms of possibility," McDonald said. I think we speak for the rest of Australia when we say, yes please absolutely do that. Summer is sneaking up on us, we're staying out later and drinking a few more beers. Our concerns are absolutely first-world problems (especially when compared to those facing the very real threat of malaria) but we'd really like our skin to remain unbitten this year. Plus, it's always nice to have a valid excuse to buy a slab. Via Good Food.
