Plan those half-hearted New Years Resolutions, the 2015 Falls Music and Arts Festival lineup is here, announced by triple j this morning. Returning to Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron for another bout of end-of-year scullduggery, Falls is back with the likes of Foals and Disclosure at the top of the bill (both with shiny new albums to boot). Expect those beloved Brits Bloc Party on the bill as well, alongside a killer collection of international gems — we're talking Gary Clark Jr, Mac DeMarco, Kurt Vile and The Violaters, Toro Y Moi, Django Django, Young Fathers and The Maccabees to start with. Even Weird Al' Yankovic will headline the opening Boogie Nights party. Random. Australia's contingent deserves two thumbs way up, from international goakicker Courtney Barnett to dancefloor dominators RUFUS and the likes of the legendary Paul Kelly (with his Merri Soul Sessions), Hilltop Hoods, Meg Mac, Gang of Youths, Hiatus Kaiyote, Little May, Alpine, Birds of Tokyo, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Seth Sentry, Halsey, BØRNS and more. Enough chatskies, here's that lineup you're after: FALLS FESTIVAL 2015 LINEUP: Alpine The Avener Birds of Tokyo Bloc Party BØRNS Courtney Barnett Disclosure Django Django Foals Gang of Youths Gary Clark Jr Halsey Hiatus Kaiyote Hilltop Hoods King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Kurt Vile & The Violators Little May The Maccabees Mac DeMarco Meg Mac Oh Wonder Paul Kelly & Merri Soul Sessions feat. Clairy Browne, Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, Vika & Linda Bull RÜFÜS Seth Sentry Toro Y Moi Young Fathers and more BOOGIE NIGHTS LINEUP Art vs Science El Vez Fleetmac Wood 'Weird Al' Yankovic and more Lorne, Victoria (18+) December 28, 2015 – January 1, 2016 Marion Bay, Tasmania (all ages) December 29, 2015 – January 1, 2016 Byron Bay, New South Wales December 31, 2015 – January 3, 2016 Via triple j. Image: Falls Festival.
Sometimes it can feel like making solid female friends is tougher than getting a Tinder date. Much tougher. Women often feel the pressure of social conditioning that encourages them to compete for male attention and view other women as threats. In this sort of landscape, it can be pretty intimidating to approach a fly girly at a party and say “I dig your vibe, let’s get a coffee sometime and validate the living shit out of each other”. Enter hey! VINA, an app created by developers VINA out of California, which is being touted as Tinder for girlfriends. The app matches you up with likely friends based on your preferences, location and existing networks of mutual connections (via Facebook), letting you swipe your way to the perfect pal. It’s a genius idea and women all over the world have been psyched for hey! VINA to kick off in their city. In fact, the VINA team can barely keep up with demand and have had a crazy few weeks trying to roll it out to all the women who want it. There’s a waitlist! And of course, the app is available for use by all women and everybody who identifies as female. But why is the app necessary and so incredibly popular? Olivia Poole, VINA co-founder and CEO alongside CTO Jen Aprahamian, says that strong female friendships are everything. Literally, everything. "Studies show that relationships are more successful when women have a strong circle of female friends, and we're in an era professionally where it's important for women to think like the "boys club" and support one another and push each other forward in our careers. There's the old saying that you're the sum of the five people you spend the most time with, so it's important to surround yourself with women that you admire and inspire you to be the best version of yourself." Poole says the overwhelming response may have something to do with the rise of the girl gang over the last few years and the prominence of non-competitive female friendships and #squadgoals, as demonstrated by girl-gang queen herself, Taylor Swift. Or it may be that more woman are finding themselves isolated from their friendship groups as life changes, such as moving cities and having babies start, to take a toll. "Our social circles are always in flux, and it's important to invest time in building new relationships with new friends on consistent basis," says Poole "Everything great that's ever happened in my life has generally come through my network of friends." Poole adds that Australia is definitely on their radar for hey! VINA. The best way to get the app out here faster is to sign up and get on the waitlist, which you can do over here. In the meantime, check out the VINA's air-punchy girl-power app Ladybrag, where women celebrate the little victories. Image via Dollar Photo Club.
Been sailing the internet seas and plundering its illegal film bounties, movie pirates? Yarrr, well you just might find yourself at the centre of a new round of legal action. Australian film company Village Roadshow has revealed that their attempts to stamp out copyright theft will soon extend to suing individual infringers. If you've downloaded one of their flicks, yes, that could mean you. No, this isn't another Dallas Buyers Club situation exactly, however if you're the swashbuckling type, you might receive a letter in the mail. Village Roadshow's new tactics involve going after repeat culprits and asking for a fee of around $300. "Not for a king's ransom but akin to the penalty for parking a car in a loading zone. If the price of an act of thievery is set at say $300, we believe most people will think twice," said Village Roadshow co-chief executive Graham Burke. Deterrence, rather than punishment, is the aim here — and continuing to try to convince everyone that they should bite the bullet and pay to watch Game of Thrones. "Any revenue derived from this proposed legal program will be devoted to positive education on piracy," Burke continued. "I should also point out that it is our intent with this strategy that, should anyone be caught in the net who has dire health or difficult circumstances, we would waive the action providing they undertake not to infringe again." Just when the lawsuits will start wasn't announced, though Village Roadshow have a history of being active in the area, with the company initiating court action against movie streaming website SolarMovie earlier this year. Burke also holds the role of Creative Content Australia chair — aka the head of the film industry's anti-piracy arm — and advised that, once the precedent for blocking websites has been clearly established under Australia's current site-blocking legislation, "We will be ready to immediately bring another court action requesting the blocking of an additional 100 criminal sites." The plan was revealed as part of a speech entitled 'The Piracy Plague', which was delivered at the Australian International Movie Convention on the Gold Coast this week. And no, the link between the Goldie and that other form of piracy wasn't lost on anyone. In fact, it was even mentioned. You can thank Johnny Depp, his dogs and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales for that, obviously.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Mr & Mrs Smith. Explore your sensual side with a coral reef backdrop, sip a cocktail flanked by elephants or get pampered in style at the boutique boltholes, luxury lodgings and relaxing resorts crowned the best in the world in this year’s Smith Hotel Awards. Shining a light on notable newcomers, stunning stalwarts and all-round amazing accommodation, the team at Mr & Mrs Smith pitted more than 950 hotels in the collection head to head, emerging with 12 luminaries of luxury. Best-Dressed Hotel: El Fenn, Marrakech, Morocco The bold and beautiful interiors of El Fenn in Marrakech captured the imagination of the judges and public alike, enticing them with its colossal custom-built baths, six-foot-wide beds and creature comforts. The hotel’s impressive art collection boasts sculpture, paintings and photography by David Shrigley, Bridget Riley, Antony Gormley and Batoul Shimi, but they’re not the only standouts in this once-derelict riad. Perfectly polished tadelakt in arsenic-blue and rose-pink and carved cedarwood provide the backdrop to the artworks; camel-leather flooring, Berber rugs and traditional Moroccan tiling treat your feet. Rainbow-hued fabrics woven by loom cover the communal furniture on the rooftop terrace, continuing the jewel-coloured mishmash of patterns and textures. Sexiest Bedroom: Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, Nha Trang, Vietnam There are no doors in the five ravishingly romantic water villas at Six Senses Ninh Van Bay; instead a private seaside staircase yawns down to the hillside. All the villas are set right on the ocean but Number Five is the best of the bunch, with an infinity-edge pool set amid the coastal rocks, a private ladder leading into the ocean and a coral reef as its backdrop. Guests can wake up to the gentle sound of waves and the view to match, or enjoy a bath for two in complete serenity as the sun sets. The deck comes complete with sunbeds and privacy courtesy of the surrounding rocks, meaning a steamy outdoor session isn’t out of the question. A dedicated butler, available 24/7, will look after your every whim, so leaving your wood-and-white villa is optional. Hottest Hotel Bar: The NoMad Hotel, New York The magnificent master-in-residence, decadent decor and cosmopolitan crowds made the Elephant Bar at The NoMad Hotel the judges’ favourite. The mahogany pachyderms (after which the bar takes its name) guard the brilliant bartenders, who will whip up something from the fascinating cocktail menu curated by master mixologist Leo Robitschek. His passion for under-the-radar spirits, sought-after wines and craft-beer collaborations results in an intoxicatingly good selection. The Satan’s Circus cocktail, made with rye whiskey, chilli-infused aperol, cherry heering and lemon juice, makes a cheeky nod to the area’s mischievous past – it was once drenched in debauchery, with a number of dance halls and gambling haunts. Lashings of leather and dark-wood furnishings contribute to the sultry surroundings; the only thing sexier is the two-person-deep claw-foot bath tub, set beside the windows, in the Atelier rooms upstairs. Best Hotel Restaurant: Hartnett, Holder & Co at Lime Wood, Hampshire, UK Hartnett, Holder & Co, the signature restaurant at Hampshire’s Lime Wood proves that sometimes two chefs are better than one. Angela Hartnett and Luke Holder are a delicious duo, presenting a clever blend of comfort cuisine and seasonal sourcing and merging Italian culinary ideologies with classic British dishes. The menu changes regularly; expect a choice of starters, pasta, meat, fish and sharing dishes. Hartnett and Holder aim to produce home-cooked food, grounded in a respect for local produce and served in a relaxed eating atmosphere. Their team also forages for fungi in neighbouring woods and hand-rear their meat and cure it in the onsite smokehouse, resulting in organic offerings that are guaranteed to tempt your tastebuds. Best Spa Hotel: Dormy House, Cotswolds, UK The recently opened Dormy House has become a hit with Cotswolds spa-goers, boasting not just one but five drawcards. This 17th-century farmhouse has been given a 21st-century twist, retaining its honey-hued exterior but with pepped-up interiors that emanate a clean-lined, Scandi-chic feel. The 16m candlelit infinity pool may be the centrepiece of the spa, but the rhassoul-mud room, fragrant thermal suite, Veuve Clicquot nail bar and host of Temple Spa treatments are equally attractive to pamper aficionados. An outdoor hydrotherapy pool and tropical rain shower complete the package. Fitness fans can work out at one of two gyms — one for a leisurely session and the Studio for pre-booked personal training sessions and a range of classes. Soothe sore muscles with a treatment in one of the six rooms; couples can share the experience in the double room. The Eco Award: Sal Salis, Ningaloo Reef Situated in the remote Cape Range National Park, Sal Salis is a prime example of how to protect a fragile eco-system. The hotel’s luxury seaside tents rely solely on solar power, use composting toilets and have a tightly controlled water system, reducing their environmental footprint. Besides other campmates, the only visitors at this secluded spot will be kangaroos, so guests can enjoy the splendour of nearby Ningaloo Reef in peace. Days can be spent underwater, mingling with the manta rays, dolphins, turtles and sparkling shoals of fish that also call this part of the world home. Each time someone stays here, the camp makes a donation to the Australian Wildlife Conservatory — guests contribute to the protection of the area as they enjoy it. Best for Families: Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Blue Mountains Zoos are one thing; 4,000 jaw-dropping acres of pristine natural wilderness (with a world-class spa and restaurant) are quite another. Families are in for an-eco adventure of a lifetime at Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, the luxury lodging just out of Sydney. Kids and adults alike will love looking for the local wildlife — including wallabies, wombats, kangaroos and cockatoos — in jeeps, by bike, on foot or even horseback. Knowledgeable guides can lead the whole clan on a wildlife, Aboriginal history, colonial heritage or guided mountain bike tour, all included in the room rates. The Federation-style bungalows are sumptuously styled — with stained-glass door panels, natural stone, timber and fabrics — they’re also perfectly positioned to take in the stunning surrounding scenery. Best budget hotel: 1888 Hotel, Sydney The only thing old-fashioned about 1888 Hotel is its price tag — its gorgeous young staff and vibrant interiors make it seem far more expensive than it is. Smack bang in the middle of Sydney, the hotel’s rooms feature reclaimed Ironbark beams and period windows combined with the most mod of cons, including an in-room iPad and a designated ‘selfie spot’ in the lobby. The bedrooms are stylish and cosy, with natural light, exposed brick walls and punchy Australian artworks. Those who want to take full advantage of the hotel’s location should stay in the Attic, which boasts the best views of the harbour city; a sociable lounge area; and a sun-kissed patio, perfect for soaking up those afternoon rays. A smart bar menu and delicious food courtesy of 1888 Eatery and Bar cap off the thoroughly enjoyable experience at this harbour-side haven. Best Hotel Pool: Monastero Santa Rosa, Amalfi Coast, Italy Monastero Santa Rosa’s high-rise heated infinity pool has set a new standard for man-made bodies of water. Carved into the terraced clifftop with jaw-dropping views of the Amalfi Coast, its beach-like edge offers the perfect perch to enjoy an unbroken panorama of the Bay of Salerno. The clever lighting and perfectly placed sunbeds make it the ideal spot to spend an afternoon, before watching the sun set over the coast. With a perimeter that blends seamlessly into the horizon, you’ll struggle to figure out where the pool ends and the sea begins. When you tire of the view, turn back towards the 17th-century monastery for a treatment at the Santa Maria Novella-stocked spa or a meal at the Santa Rosa Ristorante, where chef Christoph Bob plucks produce from the surrounding gardens to produce extraordinary interpretations of traditional Campanian dishes. Above and Beyond: Southern Ocean Lodge, South Australia Luxe Kangaroo Island resort Southern Ocean Lodge offers cool and contemporary suites and all-inclusive rates in one of the world’s most secluded and serene locations. Sitting at the bottom of South Australia, this designer haven is the last stop before Antarctica, making it a superb spot for some solitude. The calming suites take full advantage of the outdoors, with jaw-dropping views from the freestanding tub, fireplace and spacious private terrace, complete with a dreamy day bed. Luxury lovers should opt for the opulent Osprey Suite: the separate lounge, freestanding handmade stone bath and terrace spa are incredibly indulgent. The multifaceted lobby features a bar and restaurant, walk-in wine cellar, a shop selling local produce and a sunken lounge with a French fireplace suspended from the ceiling and enough books and magazines for even the most literary of lovers. All food, drinks and activities are included in your fare, so once you arrive, there’s no need for arithmetic. Best Newcomer: Ham Yard Hotel, London, UK Perched by Piccadilly Circus, Ham Yard Hotel’s vintage-inspired bowling alley, rooftop terrace with Soho views and restaurant-supplying garden are just the tip of the iceberg at this designer den. Featuring designer Kit Kemp’s signature multipatterned, multi-oloured style, the spacious bedrooms are individually designed with their own mix of art, textures and bright bursts of colour. The headboards are particularly impressive; so is the compact kitchen stocked with Sipsmith spirits in the larger rooms. If the hustle and bustle of London gets a tad tiring, guests can retire to the Ham Yard theatre—– continuing the crazy colour scheme with tangerine seats, electric-blue walls and fuchsia silk curtains — for a film screening, or head to the retro bowling alley for entertainment of a different kind. The honesty bar in the guests-only library will keep everyone’s thirst quenched when the competition heats up, and the bustling restaurant will keep every guest well-fed. Best Smith Hotel 2014: Uxua Casa Hotel & Spa, Bahia, Brazil The Best Smith Hotel is a competitive class: with over 950 hotels to choose from, the winner has to be doing some spectacular things to take out the top gong. This year, breathtaking Brazilian beauty Uxua Casa Hotel & Spa won the judges over with its stunning beachside location, dedication to sustainable tourism and interiors you’d expect to see in a design magazine. Tucked between clifftop Trancoso and postcard-perfect Bahian beaches, the hotel boasts ten restored fishermen’s casas and treehouses bestowed with island-chic styling. The traditional touch comes courtesy of mini stained-glass windows and small oratorios in these rustic-chic villas, whose other features include outdoor showers, private plunge pools and repurposed pipes made from eucalyptus. The beach bar (complete with a restored fishing boat as its counter) and restaurant look over the glittering, aventurine-quartz lined pool, offering a shady spot to escape the Brazilian heat. No stay is complete without a visit to Almescar Spa, home to Bahia’s first Vichy treatment suite. Warm water pours down from carved eucalyptus trunks in the tree-flanked pavilions and therapies use indigenous ingredients such as cacao and almiscar. Find out more about the Smith Hotel Awards 2014, browse the full collection of hotels or contact Smith’s expert Travel Team on 1300 896 627.
Brunswick Street Mall boasts a plethora of bars, markets on weekends and a once-a-year festival, but it doesn't have a permanent indoor space where thousands of people can watch a band or show. Come mid-2019, that will change, with the folks behind The Tivoli, The Triffid and Splendour in the Grass teaming up to build a brand new live entertainment venue. 312 Brunswick Street is the address that'll be undergoing quite the revamp, in what'll be a massive $40 million project bound to change both Fortitude Valley's and Brisbane's live music scenes. The 2500-square-metre site next door to McWhirters will be repurposed to become a mid-sized venue for concerts, events and productions, with a capacity of 3300. By comparison, The Tivoli holds 1500 and The Triffid only 800. In addition to theatre and functions facilities, the space — which was first built as a Coles in 1957 and most recently known as The Optus Centre — will include retail stores, restaurants, cafes and bars. Inside, the live venue will be designed by the same acoustic and service team responsible for The Triffid. Outside, the exterior will feature a modernised '50s-style exterior that nods to the place's history. Given the city's lack of comparable places since Festival Hall was turned into apartments over a decade ago, there's certainly room for it — and if anyone would know Brissie's needs in this area, it'd be Scott Hutchinson of Hutchinson Builders, who helped rescue The Tivoli when it was slated to become units; former Powderfinger bassist John Collins; and Paul Piticco from Secret Sounds, the group behind Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival and more. Together, they own and operate The Triffid at Newstead — so they've all already played a part in adding a new live music venue and hangout to Brissie's cultural scene. "We've learned a lot since the early days of The Triffid," explains Collins. "I guess our hunch about the potential growth of the live music scene back then has paid off in spades… I think that venues created for music by musicians add something extra to the whole experience for both audiences and performers." Image: The Triffid.
That Banksy. Who knows what he’s going to do next, or where she’s going to pop up, or how they stay so tricksy? In the latest unofficial edition of 'where in the world is Banksy?', the answer is Gaza. Yes, the art world’s chief enigma has visited the conflict-ravaged strip of coastline — and he’s made a video to prove it. Exit Through the Gift Shop this isn’t, though it does share the same sense of humour. Banksy’s Gaza clip might just be the darkest tourism video you’ve ever seen. With the plight of the 1.8 million Palestinians who call Gaza home clearly on his mind, Banksy walks through the streets — unseen by the camera, of course — to show the daily reality of its miles upon miles of rubble. “Make this the year YOU discover a new destination,” he tells us, before surveying the dismal sights well off the beaten track. Typical advertising catch-phrases — such as “nestled in an exclusive setting” and “plenty of scope for refurbishment” — pop up over footage of crumbling buildings. The sad facts follow, telling in no uncertain terms what life is like for Gaza residents. It’s a bleak picture. The video also features other evidence of his time there, or what may be his gloomiest residency in history. New Banksy artworks litter the bomb-damaged strip, as first seen on his Instagram account two days ago, followed by his website this morning. Yes, he’s been spray-painting up a storm all over the place, making a statement with street art. His murals call attention not only to the situation but to the disinterest displayed by most of the world in response. One, an image of a cute cat, perhaps says it all. Or maybe the accompanying text on his website does: “A local man came up and said 'Please — what does this mean?' I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website — but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens.”
Puffy shirts and cereal bowls at the ready. It's been 17 years since Jerry Seinfeld shut the door to his New York apartment, but for just five days lucky New Yorkers can relive the finicky glory of Larry David's immortal sitcom. There's a Seinfeld pop-up museum opening for just five days in New York City, featuring a replica of Jerry's apartment 5A, the gang's favourite diner booth, a Festivus Pole, a host of original props and scripts, yada yada yada. Held at New York's Milk Studios in the Meatpacking District, the pop-up is a publicity stunt by Hulu — US users (or sneaky VPN-wielding fiends) can stream all 180 episodes of the series online from today. Actor Patrick Warburton (Elaine's boyfriend David Puddy) told the New York Daily News it was "like the Smithsonian of Seinfeld." Larry Thomas (who played the formidable Soup Nazi) instead said, "It’s like Disneyland for Seinfeld fans." We get the drift, schmoopies. Set around an eight season replica of Jerry's apartment, the museum is brimming with niche props only real fans would genuinely squeal over: Jerry's Superman figurine (lurking in the background of almost every single episode), George's Frogger arcade game, Bachman pretzels — "These pretzels are making me thirsty." You can sift through Jerry's VHS collection (featuring a copy of Pretty Woman), check out the Bryan Cranston-signed wall logo from the taping of the final episode, and there's even a couch where you can recreate George's highly erotic pose from 'The Package' episode. Of course, super fans have already picked out the one fatal flaw in Hulu's installation — Jerry's computer. Mashable pointed out that Jerry's beloved Apple computer has been traded for a dastardly retro PC. No dice. Eh, computer schmomputer, at least the Soup Nazi's endorsing it: The Seinfeld pop-up museum is open June 24–28 from 10 am–7pm at Milk Studios, 451 West 14th Street, NYC. Via New York Daily News and Gothamist. Images: Tod Seelie.
Melbourne has long suffered aquatic inferiority to its Australian (okay, Sydney) counterparts. It doesn't have a Bondi, more harbour beaches than it does train lines or a slew of pools where you can catch a glimpse of the Harbour Bridge while doing a few laps of backstroke. But that could all be about to change. In what could be the final thing to make Melbourne the greatest city in the world (subjective, of course), a local non-profit has released a concept for a goddamn swimming pool in the Yarra River. According to The Age, the designs for the Yarra swimming pool were announced last night at as part of Australia's Venice Biennale Exhibition, The Pool. The concept has been jointly created by Melbourne non-profit Yarra Swim Co and UK architects Studio Octopi, who are responsible for proposing a similar concept on London's River Thames. We could probably jump in the Yarra for our excitement. Together they've created a concept for the Yarra pool, which includes a 25-metre lap pool and a smaller children's play pool with planted pontoons off Enterprize Park, which is down under the train lines next to the aquarium. Of course, this doesn't include simply setting up some booms and some lane ropes and charging people six dollars a pop to do some laps. The Yarra is filthy (thanks to that time it was a dumping ground for industrial run-off) and that water needs to be filtered. According to the project's website, they are looking into locally developed technology that may allow river water to supply the pool. The proposed aquatic structure would also have spectacular views from the water and surrounding decks, as well as a cafe and an activated riverbank. 'Ave a look at this render. Inevitably this thing is set to cost a lot of cash — six to eight million, in fact. At the moment the project is just a concept, and Yarra Swim Co will be looking at sponsorship, grants and perhaps even crowdfunding to make up the money. Whatever it costs though, now we know it's an option, we will not rest until we can swim in the Yarra and get a specialty coffee on the banks of the river when we're done. Via The Age.
They send coffee beans into space, shoot fireworks you can taste into the sky and make cocktails tailored to your individual DNA in Dubai. With their fantastical fusion of art and food, UK-based 'jellymongers' Bompas & Parr are basically our patron saints around the Concrete Playground office. Who wouldn't want to attend one of their playful and painstakingly constructed events? For the happy campers at Dark Mofo, that's what's set to happen in a big way. As part of the Unconscious Collective's art sleepover Wild at Heart, the duo will create a feast that nods to Pagan traditions through hunting, gathering, sacrifice, ritual and some intensely primal dishes. With our eyes wide and mouths properly drooling, we got Sam Bompas on the line for a lowdown on what to expect at his Feed the Beast feast. And even more than that, we wanted to know what a person so used to thinking laterally about the potential of food has to say about current dining trends and the Australian culinary scene. His answers may surprise you. You and Harry [Parr, the other half of Bompas & Parr] started working together as jellymongers, but I see increasingly more stories about non-jelly-related experiences you've created these days. How did that evolution happen? I think quite naturally. When we started out we just wanted to do something fun on the weekend, and jelly held the key. We set up the jelly company but within a month we were moving on to full catering, doing a 12-course Victorian breakfast in Warwick castle, coordinating a thousand calories arriving on people's plates from three separate kitchens. So we moved quite quickly from jelly into doing everything. And I think really the reasoning behind that was wanting to give people really engaging, emotionally compelling experiences and in order to do that we were looking at controlling everything, from venue and set design to uniform design to choreography, rituals, scripting, staff, right through the plates and everything else. So I guess it was pretty ambitious. Obviously it takes a much bigger team of creatives to make all of this happen. Is your workplace basically Wonka's Chocolate Factory? Like that, but perhaps a little more adult. A lot of the projects we work on, some of them are very, very child-friendly — so we just did something that Willy Wonka would be proud of, a flavour-changing chewing gum factory — but some of the projects are a lot more adult, so things like the installation we've got up at the Museum of Sex in New York at the moment, which is looking at fairgrounds and eroticism, the pleasures and perils of the erotic fairground. You've been to Australia a few times now with your work. What did you find out about Australian food while you were here? I've got to say, when the Australian chefs I know come over to London, I'm always very, very interested because I think that in certain sectors Australia leads the world by about six months or so, in things like juicing culture, coffee culture, a lot of their F&D, and I'm obviously interested in some of the more unusual ingredients as well which are just totally native to Australia ... I was amazed last time I came across, I went to Africola, the restaurant in Adelaide, and I was served up a whole cow's head with brains still in, and of course, coming from England that's about the most taboo food you could ever imagine, in the aftermath of BSE [mad cow disease], so that was a pretty feral dining experience for me and absolutely blew me away. That's great for us Aussies to hear, because we have this cultural cringe, where we presume everything we do is a bit backwards. Did your visit give you any ideas you wanted to pursue? Seeing the cow's head sparked us to push even further what was totally acceptable for us to put on the table. Everyone here is obsessed with what is called the 'unholy union' of Cadbury chocolate and Vegemite. Have you heard about this? Oh wow. Not at all. Who claims to have discovered this? Cadbury's produced it. It's on the shelves. Really? They're very innovative. I guess so. We're just discovering how deep their imagination can stretch. So would you eat Vegemite chocolate? I'm never shy to try something once. Most people's reaction is 'yuck'. So is that yuck impulse something you like to trust, or interrogate? Well I think it's always culturally constructed. I've read a lot of research that says you can grow to like anything after you become acclimatised, and actually grow to love it. So once you know that, then you're kind of up for eating anything. Quite often when I travel my host will try to put the most harrowing things on the table just to test me, but I always quite like that challenge. So whether it's live, squirming tentacles that if you don't chew them stick to the back of your throat in South Korea or strange and rare fruits in Hawaii, I love pushing what I feel are my own limits. Insects are starting to become a thing here. You've probably eaten a few insects in your time? Yeah. There's a lot of chat about it. We did a whole insect banquet as part of something around Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, god, four or five years ago now. I'm not convinced insects are the future for our diets but I do think that they might help with animal feed and animal protein. I'm much more interested in the creative potential of genetic manipulation. I did imagine that you would be more excited than worried about GM. Well of course there are ethical concerns but as long as you navigate them in a sensible and conscientious manner I think there's some good work to be done. Back to the present. There's also this rise at the moment in food that's a challenge. You know, it's either impossible to make, or it's some kind of monstrous hybrid, or it looks like it could give you a heart attack. What is that about do you think? And do you see that kind of instinct in people as fuelling interest in your own work? I think for me, it's feeding into how across the board people are using food to define their personal sense of identity and to perform identity in front of others as well. So whether that's you're eating your glucose-free, lactose-free light salads and you're telling the story to people of you as a yoga babe, or savage dude food — all of it, of course, going up on Instagram to tell people what an interesting, amazing life you have. And I think it's exciting too. What it has meant is, given that people are using food in this way, as a signifier of status and signifier of identity, there's been an increasing amount of resources put into food and concern about food and what people are eating, and generally an overall lift up in food knowledge, which I think can only be a good thing. Absolutely. Australia certainly has a big foodie culture. Probably safe to say it eclipses our interest in stuff like art and art appreciation. Your work obviously combines both food and art. So what is the connection you see between the two areas? Basically no one eats our food because they're in need of more calories — in actual fact, they're often avoiding calories. They tend to eat our food for entertainment, and personally I consider both arts and food offshoots of the entertainment industry. So if you come to one of our events rather than going to the opera, going for a nice swim, making love, sitting at the pub talking about mermaids or whatever you like to talk about, it has to be really rather compelling. I guess one of the good things about food is it's a wonderful arena to give people an interesting and emotive experience and I think that's what the best art seeks to do. Foodie culture obviously has a lot of benefits — the increased knowledge, as you were saying. But do you think there are any downsides from being too narrowly focused on food? I think you've got to look at the word 'foodie' itself, is a pejorative term. It was invented in the 1970s by Paul Levy as a descriptive of someone who's too concerned about food to the point of missing other things in life. I think it is important to have balance, but if you look at a lot of our installations, while the food is important, we address a lot of the attention to other elements as well, just to give people a total experience, one that's very legible and understandable. I find sometimes very cheffy food becomes difficult to read; it becomes something that only the food elite can possibly understand. But what I'm interested in is a much more inclusive approach to food. Your banquet in Tasmania, Wild at Heart, is based around pagan themes. It seems pretty perfect for Dark Mofo, which also includes a nude solstice swim. Is that where the inspiration came from? With the banquet we've been collaborating with the Unconscious Collective, and they set the theme, but it's a theme we've been very delighted to explore, expand on and run with. It's so hairy and muscular you can really gorge on it, as we hope that participants will be gorging on the feast as well. There are two components. On the first night, it's more of a gentle, campfire-type scenario, spiced up with flamethrowers, bombfires and roadkill jerky and drinking from actual skull cups hollowed out of a whole variety of animal skulls. And that will actually be up and remain up way beyond the original launch to ensure that everyone can pop down. Then we move on to the Feed the Beast banquet, which is exploring all the many different facets of the beast and the animals we all contain within ourselves. Sounds primal. It should be pretty savage. And it's something that I'm quite excited to explore, because when you start feeding people, you become quite aware of just how thin that line of civility is that divides us from the animal kingdom ... So what we want to do with this event and meal is give people the opportunity, the excuse and legitimacy to explore the beast within them, with things [from] blood and beating hearts to epic steaming hunks of spit roast wild deer that's actually just been hunted by [Tasmanian chef] Ross O'Meara to the more amorous side, so exploring tales of aphrodisiacs. There'll definitely be a lot of nudity. And not all of it probably our performers. One of the things we're looking at is creating an actual beating pig's heart that materialises as part of the starter, and it's literally there pumping fluids around, so it feels very visceral, very alive. We then take this live heart, slice it up and sautee it so it comes back served up for the first course. I don't know that anyone's done that before, so there should be a few world firsts. Can you tell us anything else you've got planned for the 'rituals' in the event? We've got lots of rituals around blood. Almost like a whole meditative cleanse around hand washing as well. I'm also very inspired by a chap called Grimod de La Reynière, who was kind of the first proper restaurant critic and if you ask me a far better gourmet and food writer than his contemporary Brillat-Savarin, who everyone normally refers to. And he hosted a very decadent banquet in which all the guests arrived, they had their hands washed, and then they dried their hands on the hair of all the waitstaff, which I think is really, particularly creepy. So we'll try to channel some of those energies as well. Delightful. I want to ask you about some of your past works that we've covered on the site. You recently held an anatomical whiskey tasting. So I want to know, were people more excited to drink from a 20-year-old or a 50-year-old? Well we went from 25 to 39, and I think the thing that was wonderful was as the age went up, so the whiskey got more and more elaborate. We actually had a 63-year-old volunteer to be the vessel for one of them, although the only 63-year-old whiskey we could find was going to cost us a hundred and twenty thousand pounds, which got pretty full on ... The thing that I liked was how people interacted with one another. You started off with what was originally a sort of awkward situation, twenty strangers in a room on Valentine's Day, all licking whiskey from the naked, supine body of someone who they've never met and who's just told them the story of their life in fifteen minutes, and even with that, very rapidly, galvanized by some of the world's finest whiskies, they very quickly formed bonds. What about the lava barbecue? People had to get 500 friends together to make that happen. So did anyone get 500 friends together? We're still working on that. We're speaking to a couple of people at the moment. That would be my ultimate, ultimate project. That was far and away the best week I've ever had, and far and away the quickest cook as well, given that it is blazing at one thousand three hundred and fifty degrees Celsius. So you just need to find someone who can gather 500 people? Five hundred people and quite a hefty budget. 500 people and much money. We'll work on it. And with regards to jelly, have you come across a building you couldn't make into jelly, or are there buildings that work better than others? Modern architecture doesn't work; anything with a steel core doesn't work particularly well. Towers don't work very well at all. They obviously look phallic as buildings, but even more so when rendered in jelly. We made the Empire State Building and it had to get pulled from American morning television because it was just way too threatening ... But actually the buildings that tend to work best are historic stone architecture. And the reason for that is that as it gets higher then it goes in at the top, and that gives jelly just the right amount of stability. So some of the really good jellies we've made are actually Flinders Street Station and the Melbourne War Memorial, which was a really good one. But the Sydney Opera House might be harder? It sort of tapers in at the top; it works quite well. That's a firm favourite and regularly made as jelly. You already sell 'space beans' [coffee beans that have travelled to space] on the site. Are there any plans to expand the products people can buy? We often have plans we're not totally good at realising. To do products you have to have a firm focus and keep on rolling on it for a good long while. The inception and the creative frenzy of the first bit is soon replaced by actually having to go out and sell the product. The bit we like doing is all the creative bits, which is why I guess we stick with events and things. That's reasonable. But we'll keep our fingers crossed for some kind of amazing chocolate bar. It would be fun to do. I guess we've just got way too short attention spans so far. Wild at Heart is part of the festival Dark Mofo, which is on from June 12 – 22 in Hobart. The event is sold out, so if you don't have a ticket, you'll just have to watch your friends go savage from afar.
The weather is getting colder, but Melbourne's film scene is heating up. That's right, folks, it's almost MIFF time. The Melbourne International Film Festival is only two months away, and they've unveiled a sneak peek at their 2015 program. If you weren't already excited about the city's annual 18-day celebration of cinema, today's announcement will rev things up for you. MIFF 2015 promises all the things film fans know and love: the latest festival hits, a few future cult potentials, an engaging retrospective, and a fondness for experimentation. Quite a few of the titles that had Sundance buzzing back in January rank among MIFF's standouts, such as Jason Segel taking on David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour, and satanic psychological thriller The Witch. Other highlights include hazy drug addiction drama Heaven Knows What, based on the life of its star Arielle Holmes, as well as Alex Ross Perry's Queen of Earth, reuniting the director with his Listen Up Philip star Elisabeth Moss. There's also Portugal's dream-like Horse Money, which wanders through the dark passageways of an abandoned hospital, plus a look at the future of the planet in Racing Extinction. Yep, it's an eclectic program. MIFF is renowned for its retrospectives, and this year they're turning their attention to Australian screen legend David Gulpilil. Most of his iconic movies, plus some less well-known, little-seen work, will screen — and he'll be at the festival in person, chatting with Margaret Pomeranz at an in-conversation session. Anyone wanting something completely different should flock to the festival's special event: Vertical Cinema. Ever wondered why we watch films horizontally — and what movies would look if they were flipped 90 degrees? MIFF's program of ten specially-created 35mm short films, screening at Deakin Edge at Federation Square, will answer those questions. For those Melburnians suffering from a case of movie envy as the Sydney Film Festival approaches, MIFF has unveiled a healthy serving of films first playing further north, too. SFF's closing night film, the Australian made book-to-stage-to-film adaptation Holding the Man, has nabbed the coveted centerpiece gala slot. Other certain SFF favourites — including the iPhone-shot Tangerine, gym-set rom-com Results, disaffected youth drama The Smell of Us, and The Wolfpack, a documentary about family raised by cinema — also feature. The festival is calling today's announcement their first glance; however a few other titles have already trickled out of MIFF headquarters in recent weeks. Cinephiles can look forward to a strong local contingent of films supported by the festival's Premiere Fund, as well as their Next Gen program for movie-lovers of all ages. The Melbourne International Film Festival runs from July 30 to August 16. For more information, visit the MIFF website — and check back on July 7, when the full program is announced. Image: Pieces of Victoria.
If you hadn't noticed, fermentation is a bit of a thing. One of the driving forces behind the movement is the fact that fermented food and drinks can help promote good bacteria in your gut. So it's not surprising that one of the more popular workshops at Cornersmith — who dish out hearty breakfasts and hold workshops in cheesemaking, pickling and fermenting among others — is the wild soda class, where you learn to make a fermented, fizzy fruit beverage that's both delicious and good for your digestion. That's the domain of Cornersmith's head fermenter Jaimee Edwards, a veteran in teaching lucky folks how to make wild soda, and then supervising as they make their own. For those who haven't attended one of her sessions — which have fittingly taken over nature-filled houses — go DIY and follow the instructions below. WHAT ACTUALLY IS WILD SODA? A wild soda is a fizzy fruit drink with a slightly sour, yeasty taste that's derived from the fermentation process involved in making it. The flavour is richer and more complex than any fizzy fruit drink you could pick up from a store because — like sour beer or wild fermentation wines — they're a product of nature. There are no artificial ingredients added. The fermentation process is unpredictable and gives each batch a unique flavour — even if you use the same ingredients and follow the same method each time. The process of making wild soda is similar to that of making wild fermentation wine. In winemaking, the yeast overpowers the lactic acid and turns the drink into alcohol, but in wild soda the lactic acid overpowers the yeast and creates carbonated water. Winemaking is best left to the professionals, but you can easily create wild soda on your own. Here's how. GET OUT THERE AND FORAGE To make wild soda, pick some of your favourite native plants, flowers and fruit. Edwards encourages you to get out there and forage. Supermarket fruit has likely gone through numerous cleaning processes, which means the natural microflora living on it (essential to the fermentation process) has likely been washed away. The more microflora, the easier the fermentation process — and the tastier the drink. "Foraging is pretty key," says Edwards. "That way you're not dealing with stuff that's gone through excessive washing." She recommends foraging for clean leaves and bark for bacteria, and wild flowers and fruit (strawberries, lemons and blueberries) for flavour. Once you've foraged, break up your flowers, leaves and bark, pulp your fruit and place it all into a plastic bottle. "Experiment with almost anything — that's part of the fun," says Edwards. "You're going to have some failures, and you're going to have successes. The ingredients you've added are obviously going to add a strong flavour, so you have to like them." GET THE FERMENTATION GOING When starting out, Edwards says it's a good idea to use plastic bottles. The natural carbonation that results from the fermentation process could cause glass jars to crack, and the last thing you want is a kitchen filled with half-finished strawberry and lemon verbena soda. Making a carbonated soda relies on the natural yeasts and bacteria that are available on the surface of plants. These microorganisms turn sugars into lactic acid and produce CO2 to make your soda bubbly. Because there is very little sugar in the foraged material in this recipe sugar is added. Mix all ingredients in a clean jar of filtered water and cover with a clean tea towel. Stir three times a day while the soda is fermenting. This will take between two and three days. Then strain the soda from the plants and bottle. Carbonation will occur as the CO2 builds up in the bottle over a few days. Refrigerate, and when it's nice and cold, take it out of the fridge and enjoy. HOW DOES ALL THIS RELATE TO WINE? Stoneleigh use a similar process of natural fermentation to make the wild fermentation wines in their Wild Valley range. Rather than adding a yeast known to produce a certain flavour, the yeasts and bacteria that naturally present on the grapes (aka microflora), are tasked with the fermentation. By letting nature do its thing (and because of the many different types of yeast getting involved), the wine ends up with a more complicated flavour profile. That means that just like wild soda, each vintage has its own unique flavour. Follow Jamiee Edwards' adventures at @fermentingprojects. Images: Steven Woodburn.
Two professional Aussie cricketers sporting an insatiable love of coffee start their own coffee pod company. Boom. It's true, meet Tripod Coffee. Cricketers Steve Cazzulino and Ed Cowan were perpetually on the road playing state cricket, and brought along a Nespresso machine with them for much-needed cups of coffee in the morning before matches. Seeking a local, sustainable alternative to the George Clooney-fronted pod giant proved difficult, so the pair saw a glimmering niche in the coffee-obsessed Aussie market. Steve and Ed decided to create their own small company making pods filled with high-quality coffee that fit perfectly in the Nespresso machine. "On a rainy day we thought, why don't we have a crack and take on the big boys?" says Ed. "We could fill the capsules with coffee that we really enjoy drinking". With Steve and Ed touting a pretty gutsy attitude to take on the pod monopoly, they cooked up a bit of clever naming ('tri' for their three foundation coffee blends and 'pod') and Tripod Coffee was born. You'll find a lot of Central and South American and African (namely Ethiopian and Kenyan) coffees in their store because "the coffees from those areas really suit the [capsule] extraction process." After their coffee has been ethically sourced, it's given the special treatment by a local award-winning roaster, packed and shipped. During the process, all oxygen is vacuumed from the pod so when you pop it in your machine, it'll be like it was freshly ground. The best bit? The capsules are recyclable. Sustainable, local coffee — yep, that's music to our ears. Ed and Steve started the business in order to provide a green alternative to the aluminium pods of Nespresso. Ed and Steve's sense of humour comes through the product names, using of different hats for different blends and strengths — Grey Gaucho, Red Fedora, Blue Beret, Black Panama, Gold Sombrero. The reason is pretty damn simple. "When you turn the capsule upside down, they look a little bit like hats." Aside from their mainstays, like the Red Fedora which works as a great citrus-y espresso, they're keen to run special edition capsules and expand their single origin series. Yes, with Tripod Coffee, single origin Panamanian might be coming to your Nespresso machine soon. So where can you find Tripod? As well as being stocked in every single QT Hotel across Australia, Tripod Coffee is available online or Harris Farm, IGA, and independent grocers across NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. Learn more about Tripod Coffee on their website.
Batteries are pretty powerful things. And although the one in the back of your iPhone 5 can't seem to last the day without dying, there are batteries that power cars, batteries that take just 60 seconds to charge — and there are batteries that can power your entire home. On Friday, Tesla Energy announced the Tesla Powerwall: a battery that not only powers your home but one that stores power for when you need it. It's designed to hook up with your power source, which is either solar power, or the grid, where most people get their electricity from. And it's really smart, because depending on which power source you have, the Powerwall will either store the solar energy for later or charge itself from the grid in off-peak times. This not only saves you and your household some cash, but it's a step away from Australia's reliance on dirty coal and fossil fuels for power, and means that we can move towards cleaner energy like solar, wind and geothermal. And, at US$3,000 – $3,5000, it does it for a fraction of the price of similar batteries. Pretty cool, huh? Energy experts are excited about it too, and since the announcement, they've been quick to predict how this could affect the way we use and store energy in our homes and workplaces. THE POWERWALL COULD REDUCE THE NEED FOR DIRTY POWER According to Campbell Simpson of Gizmodo, the Powerwall isn't going to reduce your household’s grid energy usage to zero, but it will reduce the peaks in grid electricity reliance — therefore letting Powerwall users charge overnight instead of in the daytime when everyone else is using the network and increasing demand. "And because of that shifting of load, it will reduce the world’s need for peak power generation," he says. "Theoretically reducing the need for dirty power sources like fossil fuels." IT GIVES SOLAR POWER A CHANCE TO BE A SOLE PROVIDER OF ENERGY Stanford University's Vivek Wadhwa thinks the Powerwall is our chance to disconnect from the grid. Without the grid, we'll be able to raise the widespread usage of solar to the place where fossil fuels and nuclear power are at the moment. For Venture Beat, he writes: "Tesla is about to do to the power grid what cellphones did to the land line — free us from it. And it will dramatically accelerate the progress of clean energy." PRICES FOR BATTERY POWER COULD BE FORCED DOWN When crunching the numbers for Gizmodo, Dan Steingart found that the Tesla Powerwall can't compete with the price of electricity — at least not in the volume that a household would need to power it. But he believes that the release of the Powerwall can only make things cheaper. "Overall, if Tesla can deliver on what it claims here, it’s an important line in the sand for this market, and it can only force prices down," he says. "Until now, Sony and Panasonic have been selling similar systems for three times the price, with little market uptake." IT COULD ENCOURAGE POWER COMPANIES TO EMBRACE RENEWABLE ENERGY On the contrary, Forbes' Chris Helman is a little more cynical. He sees the Powerwall as an expensive "toy for rich green people", and doesn't think that the average homeowner should let the big power generation utilities take the risks and bear the costs when it comes to battery power. But he does hope that this could lead to big utility providers taking on this renewable energy, and investing money in perfecting the technology. "After all," he says, "any truly viable energy source is more economic when deployed on a large scale than on a small scale."
Melbournians love to get a little fancy in January. Despite the monumental heat, we don our tennis whites, pack inside scorching stadiums and fan ourselves while sipping bubbly. But, if you're feeling a little worn out from the Australian Open, we have an alternative that has all the class without the apocalyptic heat. Trade in your rackets for some croquet clubs, get some fresh air down by the Yarra, and cool off with some icy, icy Pimms. The Royal Croquet Club is coming to town. Fresh from its debut run in Adelaide earlier this year, the Royal Croquet Club is a pop-up summer haven of food, drinks, music and croquet. Set up in the city during the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the club was an absolute hit for those after a summer tipple, now it's Melbourne's turn. The venue will be set up in the grasslands of Birrarung Marr for 17 days in January 2015. Though details are pretty scarce at the moment, we know that there will be a rather impressive group of foodie favourites on board. "The Adelaide Royal Croquet Club didn’t have a serious focus on food but with Melbourne being such a food town, we felt it was crucial to get this aspect right," event organiser Grant Smillie told Broadsheet. But it's not just the food, you'll be coming for. This urban oasis will have fully-stocked bars — specialising in jugs of Pimms, of course — functioning croquet courts and musical acts on stage. Those at the Adelaide event were even treated to a show from Remi. "Everything has got to be considered across the board so we can meet Melbourne's lofty expectations and exceed them," said Smillie. "There are so many festivals now, you want a full experience. We feel this one will be pretty organic and special." Special is certainly the right word to describe it. The Royal Croquet Club seems to have everything we want in a summer hangout spot: games, sun, shade, music, and cocktails that won't stop flowing. For those feeling a little lost outside the scorching heat of Rod Laver Arena, they'll even have the tennis on big outdoor screens. Sorted.
They've made fireworks you can eat, cooked T-bone steaks with lava and served bespoke cocktails tailor made to match your DNA. But this past week in London, culinary wizards Sam Bompas and Harry Parr may have outdone themselves yet again. Hosted in a converted warehouse in partnership with deals website bespokeoffers.co.uk, The 200 Club can claim the title of the world's longest tasting menu, featuring 200 different dishes over 24 non-stop hours of service. Eight chefs toiled away in the kitchen creating the tasting plates, which ranged from truffle bubbles to coffee-compressed watermelon. A two hour sitting cost between £49 and £99 depending on the time of day, or you could attempt the entire gastronomic marathon for £2,000 per couple. Only four people have the stomach for the latter option, but we have to imagine they were happy with their decision. Of course it wouldn't be a Bompas & Parr affair without a little additional visual theatre. As such, each sitting was differentiated by the colour of the food, a move inspired by the monochromatic feasts of Emperor Nero. Check out the menu, as well as some photographic highlights, below. 200 CLUB MENU Yellow Breakfast: A morning repast that zings with citrus, caffeine and craft. This culinary explosion will hybridise flavours of the East and West in a high-energy, high-end display of homely food love. White Elevenses: A British tradition bejewelled in surreal sparkle. Expect custards, shortbread, quiches, clouds of confection sugar and a dreamy sweet vision of the classic treats. Green Lunch: This meal will be a rustic yet refined version of the garden snacking of yore. Look forward to leafy eating including the freshest greens, meats and cheeses, plus a procession of fluorescent jellies. Blue Afternoon Snack: A powerhouse of flavour for the lazy hours of the day. Taste an otherworldly array of vibrant and dusty turquoises in the form of naturally tinted roots and skilfully prepared fish. Purple Five O’Clock Tiffin: Rooted in the wild and rich darkness of summer, enjoy ingredients such as wild game and dark summer fruits. Dishes will speak to simple food traditions reinterpreted with modern culinary craft. Pink Dinner: Forget “trendy” food items like burgers or hot dogs. Your table will be buzzing with eye-popping fuchsia, cured meats, and smouldering wood smoke. Red Party Time: A sultry explosion of party vibes and hot weather flavours. You’ll see Australian and Asian influences, balancing classic spice and tropical tangs with modern style. Orange Drunchies: The extension of a great night out. Expect contradicting textures, bleeding edge techniques, and lashings of moreishness to tantalise the palate. Brown Blackout: Indulge in a meal of carnal urges – sweet, hot and savoury dishes. The chef will keep you on your toes with coffee, chocolate, black garlic, squid ink, soy sauce, and liquorice. Multicolour Final Countdown: A communal carousal of globally-inspired festival food. Mark the culmination of The 200 Club with a multinational flavour and colour explosion, using vibrant colours with grand presentations. Images by Adam Laycock via Bespoke Offers.
Want your Uber ride to be even cheaper? Don’t mind sharing a ride with strangers and making awkward small talk? UberPOOL might just be your perfect service. As reported by The Guardian, it’s rolling out in London today and allows Uber users to opt into a carpooling option with a very attractive 25 percent discount on the standard Uber fare. Sharing is caring. It’s not guaranteed there’ll be another user opting into UberPOOL in the vicinity, but if you don’t get matched you still keep that tasty discount. So basically, you get rewarded for being a chill and environmentally conscious Uber user, even if you don’t even right share (it’s the thought that counts). As well as making Uber even cheaper for anyone willing to share, UberPOOL also environmental benefits — more seats on bums and more cars making full use of their capacity means less cars on the road and less pollution. The option has been rolled out in a few cities and even accounts for half of all rides taken in San Francisco (half!), so it’s not exactly a new concept but it’s certainly taking off. We’re still waiting for word of when it will hit our shores but you can guarantee it's likely to. Gizmodo's Luke Hopewell wrote an interesting account of his experience in an UberPOOL and pointed out the one major flaw in the plan: as well as being hella awkward to ride with a complete stranger, if you hop our first, that complete stranger knows where you're going or where you live. The app doesn't give you the name of your riding buddy, but that's no guarantee you won't be Ubering home with a weirdo. While we wait to see how it all plays out, let’s just scroll through #yourtaxis and giggle gleefully over terrible PR ideas. Via The Guardian.
While the rest of the world goes crazy for all things green, Allen's Lollies is cutting two of their famous green jellies from production: the classic green frog and the spearmint leaf. This isn't as bad as the barbaric downsizing of the Killer Python, but still. Sad. Margaret Stuart, a Nestle spokesperson, passed the blame directly to YOU for letting your childhood fear of vegetables prevent you from ever buying green lollies. "The situation is that our lollies are actually going gangbusters, but we have deleted a couple — we have deleted Spearmint Leaves and also the Green Frogs basically because they weren't selling so well." We kind of understand the "deletion" (honestly, weird word choice) of the spearmint leaves. As much as we remember them fondly, they do kind of taste like toothpaste but are terrible for your teeth. The spearmint leaf is definitely the Jerry Gergich of the lolly bag. But green frogs? Green frogs are OK, they’re an almost savoury partner frog to the classic Allen's red frog. But what of the humble Sherbie? The still-not-renamed Redskin? To put your quiet freak-out to rest, here's what's safe, according to Allen's: "The Red Frogs are going gangbusters ... they outsell the green by ten to one," Stuart says. Cuts like this are going to homogenise grab bags into only the popular flavours like 'red' and orange but that’s the brutal world of candy business. The only upside we can imagine is the hopefully inevitable TV series about a couple of desperate dudes cooking up counterfeit spearmint leaves and green frogs in a camper van in Arizona. It'll happen. Via ABC.
Get ready to pick your jaw back up off the floor, because the World Press Photo Contest have just released their winning images for 2016. Back for its 59th edition, the yearly photographic collection regularly leaves us gaping at the mouth — and this year is no exception. Right at the top with 2015 Photo of the Year is Australia's own Warren Richardson, with his poignant picture of a man passing his baby through a fence at the Hungarian-Serbian border. He beat 82,951 submissions by 5775 photographers from 128 countries for the top prize, while also taking out first prize in the Spot News category. After almost six decades of beautiful and devastating photojournalism, the WPP contest continues to be one of the world’s most important platforms for art, journalism and humanising the headlines. The exhibition travels the world each year, although sadly it won't be making a stop in Australia in 2016. Take a look through some of the landmark images that caught the eye of the WPP judges; from a Tibetan Bhuddist ceremony in rural China to a 16-year-old Islamic State fighter being treated for burns in Syria, to one of those epics #sydneystorms rolling over Bondi. With many of the photographs documenting the more saddening news headlines, they’re often not easy images to look at, but it’s the work of these photojournalists that wakes up an otherwise ignorant world. Hope for a New Life, Warren Richardson (Röszke, Hungary) 2015 Photo of the Year + First Prize Spot News, singles "I camped with the refugees for five days on the border. A group of about 200 people arrived, and they moved under the trees along the fence line. They sent women and children, then fathers and elderly men first. I must have been with this crew for about five hours and we played cat and mouse with the police the whole night. I was exhausted by the time I took the picture. It was around three o’clock in the morning and you can’t use a flash while the police are trying to find these people, because I would just give them away. So I had to use the moonlight alone." The Forgotten Mountains of Sudan, Adriane Ohanesian (Sudan) Second Prize Contemporary Issues, singles "Adam Abdel, 7, was severely burned after a bomb was dropped by a Sudanese government Antonov plane next to his family home in Burgu, Central Darfur, Sudan." Bliss Dharma Assembly, Kevin Frayer (Sichuan, China) Second Prize Daily Life, stories "A Tibetan Buddhist nomad boy in Sertar county. Tibetan Buddhists take part in the annual Bliss Dharma Assembly. The last of four annual assemblies, the week-long annual gathering takes place in the ninth month of the Tibetan calendar and marks Buddha's descent from the heavens." IS Fighter Treated at Kurdish Hospital, Mauricio Lima (Hasaka, Syria) First Prize General News, singles "A doctor rubs ointment on the burns of Jacob, a 16-year-old Islamic State fighter, in front of a poster of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, at a Y.P.G. hospital compound on the outskirts of Hasaka, Syria." Storm Front on Bondi Beach, Rohan Kelly (Sydney, Australia) First Prize Nature, singles "A massive 'cloud tsunami' looms over Sydney as a sunbather reads, oblivious to the approaching cloud on Bondi Beach." La Maya Tradition, Daniel Ochoa de Olza (Colmenar Viejo, Spain) Second Prize People, stories "Young girls between the age of 7 and 11 are chosen every year as 'Maya' for the 'Las Mayas', a festival derived from pagan rites celebrating the arrival of spring, in the town of Colmenar Viejo, Spain. The girls are required to sit still for a couple of hours in a decorated altar." Neptun Synchro, Jonas Lindkvist (Stockholm, Sweden) Third Prize Sports, singles "Members of the Neptun Synchro synchronized swimming team perform during a Christmas show in Stockholm, Sweden." See all the 2016 World Press Photo Contest winners and finalists here.
Yesterday, the world was rocked by the horrific events that took place in Paris. With information on the attacks still coming to light, it will take a long time for the global community to fully come to grips with the tragedy. In the meantime, however, the outpouring of international sympathy has already begun. World leaders, including Barrack Obama and Malcolm Turnbull, have been quick to condemn the attackers and offer their condolences. But perhaps more moving has been the site of many of the world's most famous landmarks lit up in the colours of the French flag. Below, we've compiled some photos of familiar Australian landmarks that took part in the spontaneous display of support for the people of France. Je suis Paris. Sydney Town Hall has been lit in the colours of the French flag #PrayforParis pic.twitter.com/dTy38ATiMS — City of Sydney (@cityofsydney) November 14, 2015 pic.twitter.com/4LFei1TAxl — NGV (@NGVMelbourne) November 14, 2015 Story Bridge lit up last night for #ParisAttacks victims. Photo by Craig Capper. #9News pic.twitter.com/hS7KJqR6es — Nine News Brisbane (@9NewsBrisbane) November 14, 2015 Well played, @MCG #Paris #PrayForParis ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/zJm8yxAE9P — Clint Stanaway (@cstanaway) November 14, 2015 We'll be lighting Adelaide Oval in blue, white and red from 6pm tonight to show our support #Pray4Paris pic.twitter.com/c5LoGJGffi — Adelaide Oval (@TheAdelaideOval) November 14, 2015 .@LisaScafPerthLM @CityofPerth Looks stunning. #JesuisunParisien pic.twitter.com/QR8ZfK8Mbp — Matt Rosich (@subjectmattr) November 14, 2015 #Brisbane City Hall has also been lit tonight to show our support for the people of France #ParisAttacks pic.twitter.com/bvKtLgqxB1 — Team Quirk (@Team_Quirk) November 14, 2015 Melbourne town hall. ???? @LordMayorMelb @cityofmelbourne pic.twitter.com/hduJyWhYz5 — Sharnelle Vella (@SharnelleVella) November 14, 2015 Header image: Prudence Upton.
Japan’s beloved illustrator, director and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is once again helping us believe in the good of humanity with his latest passion project. Miyazaki is building a park on Kume Island, in the Okinawa Prefecture, a park intended to preserve and celebrate nature and remind children that, to quote Miyazaki himself, “It’s good to be alive.” Pass the tissues please ;_;. The park, which is scheduled for completion in 2018, will inhabit 10,000 square metres of pristine forest and Miyazaki has donated $2.5 million towards the project. Although he is often touted as the Walt Disney of Japan, their parks couldn’t be more dissimilar. Miyazaki’s park will have room for just 30 guests, which leaves a whole lot of space for running through the woods and recreating iconic scenes from Princess Mononoke. And construction and development will be centred around using only local building techniques, resources and labour so you know, it’s the exact opposite of a soulless Disney theme park (and far removed from the beautifully depressing Banksy kind). Here's the plan for Miyazaki's pristine nature park: Perhaps you'll find a few little trolls in the woods: Or little kodama doing their thing: Or a casual forest spirit, hangin': Miyazaki has always been an unwavering social critic, picking apart the wrongs of society in both his films and his public commentary. The countless allegories for environmentalism in his films are not lost on the audience but unlike many celebrity crusaders, he can often be found quietly doing the hard yards as well. Earlier this year he ran a mass public clean-up of the Fuchi no Mori forest, which he saved from development 20 years earlier with a $2.56 million dollar donation, and which is believed to have inspired the setting of My Neighbour Totoro. In the 2013 documentary The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness he told documentarian Mami Sunada of walking to work every day with a rubbish bag in hand to clean up the streets and spending his weekend in gumboots, cleaning up the local river. He might actually be the river spirit from Spirited Away. So, now we all have a few new items to add to the bucket list, including ‘clean rivers’, ‘visit Kume’ and ‘become modern day version of Princess Mononoke’. All are now possible. Via Good Magazine.
Seasonal change is finally settling into Melbourne and with it comes one of the NGV's best annual exhibitions: the Winter Masterpieces series. This year, it's no secret they've snagged a true master, Vincent Van Gogh, the poster boy for post-impressionism and dramatic self-mutilation. Set to open on April 28 and running until July 19, blockbuster exhibition Van Gogh and the Seasons has been years in the making, and is expected by NGV to draw one of the gallery's biggest audiences yet. Curator Sjraar Van Heugten has fine tuned a thematic exhibition after Van Gogh's own heart, an exploration of the seasons in over 60 works. "In the seasons, he [Van Gogh] has perceived infinity, something larger than humanity. The seasons represent ongoing life," he says. Inside the exhibition, you'll find a fascinating investigation into Van Gogh's life, alongside some of his best naturalist pieces. The artist's character, and his fluctuating mental health, often receive as much attention as his best works. The story of his life, and his death, are expounded wonderfully (and sensitively, snaps for not stigmatising mental health) through quotes, correspondence and essays. Although the collection itself doesn't feature his most famous works, you'll leave with a window into the artist's true persona and an understanding of the sheer breadth of his talent. Structurally, Van Gogh and the Seasons is broken into (you guessed it) the four seasons, that masterfully weave a narrative through the artist's life. The NGV has produced a short accompanying film, narrated by David Stratton and David Wenham, that's worth a watch before you proceed through the exhibition, as it explains the structure of the exhibition and sets the mood. We'll let you experience the exhibition for yourself, but in case you'd like a little guidance in your visit, here are five works you shouldn't miss. A WHEATFIELD WITH CYPRESSES, 1889 This painting is perhaps one of the exhibition's best known pieces. You'll see it emblazoned on all the NGV's marketing collateral and once you're standing in front of it, you can feel why. The vibrant colours and rolling cloud banks are euphoric. There's nothing more to say except this painting is worth the ticket price alone. TREE TRUNKS IN THE GRASS, 1890 The composition of this painting is a departure from the Van Gogh tradition. It's an awkward close-up of a tree trunk and surrounding vegetation but it stands out for the detail, the peaceful atmosphere, and the perfectly balanced colours. Van Gogh painted this in the spring (April) of 1890, just after a period of severe mental illness and only months before taking his own life. VIEW OF SAINTES-MARIES-DE-LA-MER, 1888 Love a good Cezanne town landscape? Don't miss this work. Painstakingly composed and one Van Gogh's more structured pieces, View of Saintes-Maries-de-la-mer will catch you off-guard. While his style was overwhelmingly more fluid and impressionist, this scene is clearly defined and an interesting counterpoint to the rest of the spring and summer pieces. ORCHARD IN BLOSSOM, 1889 This is part of a series in the 'spring' section that is collectively stunning. The delicate pastels used in this season represent Van Gogh's time in Paris, living with his doting brother Theo in Montmartre, where his style lightened and evolved into what we know today as his best works. As a lover of nature, the fertile spring inspired some of his most beautiful pieces. SELF PORTRAIT, 1887 And at the very end of the exhibition, we get a final glimpse of the man who had previously remained faceless. A small but articulate self portrait of a weary looking artist, rendered three years before he died. Van Gogh's final words, spoken to his brother Theo, were famously, "The sadness will last forever". There's a lot of sadness in this exhibition. If you can, we recommend you walk through alone and take it all in. Van Gogh and the Seasons runs April 28 to July 19 at NGV. Installation images: Tom Ross.
It's time to dig the gumboots out of the back of your closet — Splendour in the Grass is finally returning to North Byron Parklands for another year after a two-year hiatus that felt like an eternity. In 2022, Splendour celebrates its 20th year with what's set to be a memorable comeback after a string of postponements. The festival was originally announced with a mammoth lineup back in February 2020; however, that didn't come to fruition for obvious reasons. The rescheduled event will now land in across the weekend of Friday, July 22–Sunday, July 24 . At the top of the bill sits Damon Albarn's animated supergroup Gorillaz, chart-topping rapper Tyler, the Creator and New York indie legends The Strokes. And, they have plenty of company. The Avalanches and Liam Gallagher help lead the complete roster of acts for 2022, alongside Glass Animals, Kacey Musgraves, Violent Soho, DMA's, Tim Minchin and The Jungle Giants. As usual, it's a stacked and eclectic list. If you'd already purchased a ticket for SITG 2020 or 2021, you'll be happy to know that they're still valid for the 2022 edition. And if you don't have a ticket yet, you can head to the festival's website to nab a pre-loved ticket now. SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2022 LINEUP Gorillaz The Strokes Tyler, The Creator The Avalanches Glass Animals Liam Gallagher Kacey Musgraves Duke Dumont Live Violent Soho DMA's Yungblud Jack Harlow Dillon Francis Tim Minchin The Jungle Giants Mura Masa Amyl & The Sniffers Aitch G Flip Ruel Oliver Tree Jungle Tom Misch Grinspoon Orville Peck Parquet Courts Tierra Whack Cub Sport Jpegmafia Ruby Fields Sofi Tukker Methyl Ethel Julia Stone Baker Boy Stella Donnelly Genesis Owusu Hooligan Hefs The Chats Confidence Man Biig Piig Holly Humberstone Chillinit Alex The Astronaut Maxo Kream Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Triple One Still Woozy Bad//Dreems Myd Northeast Party House Joy Crookes Wet Leg Mo'ju Pup Miiesha Mildlife Jarreau Vandal Brame & Hamo Shannon & The Clams Babe Rainbow Tai Verdes The Snuts Sycco Tom Cardy Sly Withers Hinds Dayglow Starcrawler Alice Ivy Budjerah JK-47 Jeff The Brotherhood Fazerdaze King Stingray Renforshort May-A The Lazy Eyes Banoffee Flowerkid The Buoys Moktar Stevan The Soul Movers George Alice 1300 Mickey Kojak Dro Carey & DJ Scorpion Pricie Mylee Grace Andy Golledge Charlie Collins Pink Matter Memphis Lk (DJ) Triple J Unearthed winners Mix-Up DJ's Dena Amy Jordan Brando Shantan Wantan Ichiban Luen Honey Point AK Sports Aywy Carolina Gasolina Munasib Pond Tasman Keith Top image: Dave Kan. Updated July 18, 2022.
Melburnians now have even more of a reason to head down the Mornington Peninsula for a pampering session, as the acclaimed Peninsula Hot Springs unveils some swish new facilities as part of a $13 million upgrade. The award-winning wellness destination now has a revamped program of offerings as part of its biggest expansion since opening back in 2005. This includes the addition of two cold plunge pools and seven new hot spring pools — which, if you've ever jostled for a spot in the top pool on a busy Saturday, you'll know is good news. An impressive outdoor Bath House Amphitheatre has also been added to the Fingal site, which is set to host a whole swag of shows. Baths also now have views of the stage and underwater speakers have been installed so visitors can get stuck into some live entertainment while they're submerged. The Hot Springs is also delving into cryotherapy for the first time with a new 'ice and fire' experience. This will allow bathers to switch between hot and cold therapy — the hot being two new 30-person saunas, and the cold being a new (and Australian-first) ice cave and a 'deep freeze' treatment room, which will be kept at a cool 25 degrees below freezing. The idea is that, by jumping between hot and cold, you will sweat out toxins, cleanse your skin and potentially burn calories. The venue also has a new cafe, a cultural meeting space designed in collaboration with local Indigenous elders, and a multipurpose wellness centre for classes and talks. Meanwhile, a new on-site veggie garden marks the start of a planned three-acre terrace 'food bowl', which will grow produce for the Peninsula Hot Springs' kitchens. Thermally heated glasshouses and an underground mushroom cave are also in the works. If that doesn't sound like enough, there's more growth in store for the Peninsula Hot Springs, with glamping facilities and 126 rooms of accomodation to be built on-site over the next three years. The Peninsula Hot Springs is located at Springs Lane, Fingal. Booking is recommended on weekends. Updated: October 5, 2018.
Wiz Khalifa is heading to Sydney's Luna Park in September, as part of Optus RockCorps 2015. The American hip hop star has added the NSW performance to his Australian tour schedule, alongside previously announced shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. And the best part? Tickets won't cost you a cent. Instead, fans will be able to earn free entry into the Sydney show by donating their time to charity. Four hours of volunteering will get you into the concert, which will be held in Luna Park's Big Top on Wednesday September 30. Khalifa will headline the event, which will also feature Australian electronic duo Peking Duk. Additional acts will be announced in the coming weeks. Volunteers from outside Sydney can also get involved, and will be rewarded with a $70 Ticketmaster voucher. "I'm excited to be part of the Optus RockCorps Project," said Khalifa. "Giving back to the community is something I’m passionate about and support wherever I can. I can’t wait to play in Sydney and see all the Aussie fans." Now in its third year, Optus RockCorps aims to treat young Australians to unique performances in return for their contribution to their local communities. More than 9500 people have donated over 36,000 volunteer hours over the past two years, and have been rewarded with tickets to shows featuring acts such as American Authors, Guy Sebastian, Rudimental and Empire of the Sun. Anyone keen on volunteering for a RockCorps 2015 project will be able to register their interest starting August 10 via the Optus RockCorps website or by calling 1800 ROCK 800.
The Australian ridesharing economy is set to go the way of Asia and Europe, with new company Scooti launching its fleet of scooter taxis on Melbourne today, Monday, March 25. CEO Brett Balsters boasts the service — which is, yes, government compliant — as a cheaper, faster and more eco-conscious mode of transport. It may sound odd for Australia, but scooter taxis are by no means a novel idea. Motorbikes and scooters already act as taxis all across Asia, as well as in European cities like Amsterdam and Florence — though this is the first time the concept has been implemented in Australia. So how does it work? Riders can request a pickup using the Scooti app, much like how you request a ride through Uber. The scooters will be available between 5am and 10pm and, for the moment, will only operate within a ten-kilometre radius of Melbourne Town Hall in the CBD. That means you'll be able to travel as far as Coburg, Footscray, Elwood, Hawthorn and Thornbury. Price-wise, you can expect it to be pretty on par with other ridesharing services per kilometre and minute — but, as you'll be on a scooter and able to move through traffic, your fare will presumably be lower. Also, as you'll only be able to ride solo, it could be a good option when you don't have anyone to split a cab with. Bikes will have a luggage box for small handbags and items, but you'll need to wear a backpack if you're travelling with more stuff. Drivers are also required to have an extra helmet for you, and they'll have hair nets on hand if you're grossed out by the idea of sharing headgear. As with any ridesharing company, drivers can use their own scooters as long as they meet Scooti's mechanical, safety, comfort and hygiene standards. All drivers are accredited by Commercial Passenger Vehicle Victoria and will have passed criminal, driving and medical history checks. Scooti is also offering up benchmark pay rates and rewards in the transport services/delivery category, which should mean the pay will sit fairly within Australian salary standards. If true-to-word, this could set them apart, as pay continues to be a major issue within the ridesharing and delivering industries. And while it's just tackling Melbourne for now, Scooti plans to launch in Sydney and Queensland soon. Stay tuned. You can now request a ride from Scooti in Melbourne, so keep an eye out for the scooters around town. For more information or to download the app, head to their scooti.com.au.
All you need for a beautiful day on the beach is yourself, some togs and a few hours of unburdened, gloriously free time. But wouldn't it be an even better day if you had these movie-set perfect beach and pool accessories with you? Yes. Yes, it would. Read on and cast your mind forward to a time when your aqueous outing is framed by the style, ingenuity and inflatable Pegasus-ry here collected. THE BEACH MAT: BEACHILL SMART MATTRESS Barely out of development, the Beachill can be a tough product to get your hands on — at the moment, the company's Facebook page asks that you get in touch via email to order. Nevertheless, the bubblegum-bright beach mat is so good that it's already moderately internet-famous. That's because it actually solves three common beach trip dilemmas: how to support your back (i.e. the usual beach mat mandate), how to keep your drink cool and how to charge your dwindling phone battery. It accomplishes the latter by way of a 7 watt solar panel on the back of the cushion. High five, Beachill. Price on enquiry from the Beachill Facebook page. THE BEACH TOWEL: THE BEACH PEOPLE ROUNDIE Throw away your old rectangular towel (read: leave it in the linen cabinet for a bit), because this season everyone's drying off with a whole new shape. That shape? The circle. Luxe and oversize, this new breed of towel is an extravagance, but one you'll be thankful for when you're wrapped in its embrace from head to fringe-tickled toe. Byron Bay company The Beach People do them best, in bold, monotone prints inspired by beach cultures from all over the world. $110 from The Beach People. THE BEACH SUNGLASSES: KREWE DU OPTIC ST LOUIS What's going on on that nose bridge there? Well, that would be a brushed metal architectural detail inspired by New Orleans' French Quarter's iconic 1800s cast iron balconies. Swoon. Krewe Du Optic are a brand you want to get in on — started in 2013, they handcraft all their frames using premium acetate, lenses and hinges. The sunset-hued mirrored pair above is a 'Bengal', but the St Louis style alone comes in 11 different colourways, each more fetching than the last. Just look. US$195–255 ($270–354) from Krewe du Optic. THE BEACH BALL: SUNNYLIFE INFLATABLE WATERMELON BALL If you're anything less than impressed right now, it's only because the full significance of Sunnylife's inflatable watermelon ball is yet to hit you. This ball is not just a toy to be tossed; it is a trompe l'oeil that will turn heads in wonder at your ability to keep a half-watermelon aloft with a few blasé taps. Not only that, but have you played with any beach ball lately? The things run away from you at the slightest suggestion from the wind. Hours of active fun right there. $18.95 from Sunnylife. THE INFLATABLE: FUNBOY PEGASUS POOL FLOAT The game of inflatable animal one-upmanship has gone so far it's crossed into mythical creature territory. Following summer after summer of the swan, the flamingo and the toucan, we now have in our midst the Pegasus, from LA brand Funboy. You know you want it. Though it's definitely not for open ocean beaches, take along Peggy to a pool, harbour beach or lake as desired. US$99 ($137) from Funboy. THE BEACH GAME: MEN'S SOCIETY ALOHA PADDLE BEACH BALL GAME SET What's with all the dude-centric brand names in the beach toy industry? Remedy this, someone. But for now let's plough ahead and appreciate this neat paddle tennis set anyway. It's designy, but not too designy. You could probably leave it unattended while you went for a swim and nobody would steal it. Note the colour palette; it seems to invoke the Pacific islands, the Rene Lacoste days of tennis and your primary school athletics uniform all at once. A real achievement. £29 from Men's Society. THE BEACH BAG: THE SHAKE TOTE The Shake Tote is okay-looking, but where it wows is on its bottom. Open the flap and all the sand that's inevitably made it into your bag during a day at the beach will just fall straight through the mesh lining and out of your life. Whataworld. The Shake range also comes in a small backpack and clutch, in two different colourways. US$80–90 ($111–124) from Amazon. THE BEST SUN PROTECTION: INVISIBLE ZINC 4HR WATER RESISTANT SPF50+ What's this guy doing here? Well, if your best accessory is the skin you're in (and let's say it is), then you're going to want to take care of it. Invisible Zinc makes it into our beach bags year after year because it's super effective at reflecting UVAs and UVBs, low irritant, Australian owned and a real leader in the physical sunscreen game, with a natural Zinc Oxide formula that rubs in nearly as well as chemical sunscreens. The latest addition to their product line is 50+ and 4 hours water resistant. $21.99 from Priceline.
Some of the biggest names in Australian comedy are coming together in Melbourne for a one-off benefit gig in support of a worthy cause. Tripod, Anne Edmonds, Cal Wilson and Lawrence Mooney are just a few of the comedians who'll front the stage at Howler in Brunswick on the evening of Sunday November 29, with proceeds going to the aid of asylum seeker children currently being held in detention. Described by event organisers as "a funny fundraiser for an unfunny cause," the show is being facilitated by charity group ChilOut, an organisation dedicated to the protection of minors detained in Australian immigration facilities. In addition to those already mentioned, the comic lineup will include Greg Fleet, Josh Earl, Dave O'Neil, Dave Thornton, Tom Gleeson, Geraldine Hickey, Luke McGregor, Denise Scott and Harley Breen, plus a number of other guests who have yet to be announced. Tickets to the gig come to $43.50 per person, including booking fee. "ChilOut is a small, community organisation running on the smell of an oily rag but doing heaps through education, advocacy and lobbying to raise public awareness of the plight of asylum-seeking children held in immigration detention facilities by the Australian Government," said a statement that accompanied the gig's announcement. "ChilOut is not-for-profit and relies on generous donations to act on behalf of the almost 200 children currently imprisoned in environments that undermine and threaten their mental and physical safety and well-being every day that they’re there. Nobody wants to see these children go through this. Please come along and help us help them." To grab your ticket to Stand Up for ChilOut, head on over to Moshtix. And to learn more about the work being done by ChilOut, visit their website.
As if Melbourne's laneways weren't ace enough already, they're going green. And you, mighty Melburnians, get to help choose which ones return to Eden first. The City of Melbourne is planning is to transform up to four laneway spots in the CBD, initially. With more than 200 laneways in the city centre, picking the prime spots to green will be no mean feat. Each successful laneway will score a healthy assortment of greenery — from trees and climbing plants to vertical gardens and planter boxes. "Our laneways have enormous potential to become our city’s backyards," said councillor Arron Wood, chair of the environment portfolio. "By greening our laneways we can create cooler microclimates, capture storm water and continue to combat the urban heat island effect. It’s good for the environment, good for the look of our city and great for people.” In an initiative Cr Wood described as a world-first, the City has developed online maps, demonstrating each laneway's potential for plant life and highlighting options for greening. Results are determined by a variety of factors, such as sunlight and wind exposure. To nominate your preferred laneway, head over here before Friday, November 13. While you're at it, you can offer to volunteer your time and submit ideas. The public vote will result in a shortlist, from which an expert panel of engineers, sustainability professionals, landscape architects and place makers, will determine pilot participants. If you'd like to find out more, there's an info session being held at Shebeen, in Manchester Lane, on Wednesday, October 28 between 5.30pm and 7pm. Green Your Laneway is on trial as one arm of the City's Love Your Laneway program. Meanwhile, the Urban Forest Strategy is striving to address climate change and reduce Melbourne's summer temperatures by four degrees Celsius. Green days ahead.
UPDATE, July 30, 2018: After selling out its return month at the Queen Victoria Market, Séance has announced it will hanging around — and unnerving brave guests — for longer. The spooky shipping container will be its every Wednesday (as part of the Winter Night Market), Friday and Saturday night throughout August. Tickets are still $20, but they're selling quickly, so head to the website to grab yours. After spooking participants in Federation Square last November, then in Sydney in December, the unnerving Séance installation is returning to Melbourne. The big, white container — with dark curtains and black letters splashed across its side — is popping up at the Queen Victoria Market this July. If you're not familiar with the installation, and didn't have the chance to visit last year, a word of warning: its aim is to mess with your senses. Participants take a seat inside the tiny space, put on a headset and are told to place both hands on the table. The lights go out leaving the container in absolute darkness and, for 15 uneasy minutes, participants are taken on an immersive journey led only by touch and sounds. Expect to feel confused, repulsed and struck with temporary claustrophobia. According to organisers, numerous participants bailed halfway through sittings during the recent Melbourne sessions. You're probably thinking that there's something dark or supernatural about the whole thing — and going by the name, we don't blame you. But the installation's organiser assures us that 'séance' is simply a French word meaning 'session' or 'sitting'. Did we mention that the velvet seats date back to 1913 and were pulled from an abandoned theatre? And so Séance is a sensory experience that looks at the psychology of both sensory deprivation and the dynamics of a group sitting together. It's a scary indicator of how easy it is for confusion, disorientation and information overload to affect our judgment. Artists David Rosenberg and Glen Neath of Darkfield (who have collaborated in other sensory deprivation projects before) are the creative masterminds behind the project, which has been described as 'disorienting' and 'deeply unsettling'. We're serious when we say it's not recommended for the claustrophobic, the easily frightened or those afraid of the dark.
Usually a retrospective signifies the tail-end of an artist's career. Generally, it's commissioned by a prominent gallery, and carefully curated to highlight their successes and triumphs and most iconic works. But not if you're DI$COUNT UNIVER$E. If you're DI$COUNT UNIVER$E, you know you don't have to play by the rules and conventions of art and fashion — and if you want to hold your own retrospective, you bloody well do it. That's the idea behind their new show, anyway. The Melbourne-based cult pop punk fashion brand (whos pieces have been worn by everyone from Beyoncé to Kylie Jenner to Madonna) have just announced their It's-too-soon-for-a-retrospective Retrospective Exhibition, which, like their self-described 'anti-fashion', basically subverts the very idea of the retrospective. For one, designers Nadia Napreychikov and Cami James only established the brand six years ago. They're also organising the exhibition themselves, rather than being invited to do so. "In general, as a brand, we purposely go against the grain of what is done in the arena we work in," says Napreychikov. We do this to challenge the system. To prove there are other ways of working. To show our supporters and other young people in our field that it is possible to pave your own path without having all of the resources. To create your own resources." They also won't be presenting a heavily curated selection of their works — they'll be displaying everything. And when we say everything, we mean everything. The exhibition — which will take place in their Collingwood studio gallery space — will include an excess of over 65 mannequins and 500 garments from the pair's personal archives and private collections, their showrooms, as well as garments borrowed back from the famous people who've worn them. This includes the epic Birthday Suit as worn by Katy Perry, the Pray t-shirt Miley Cyrus wore in her Terry Richardson photoshoot (before she ripped them off), and their signature studded biker jackets as worn by both Madonna and Beyoncé. [caption id="attachment_566976" align="alignnone" width="1200"] YouTube[/caption] The retrospective is reflective of how DI$COUNT UNIVER$E have used the Internet to gain rapid international success, despite having leapfrogged certain channels traditionally traversed by up-and-coming Aussie designers, such as presenting at Australian Fashion Week and being picked up by one of the big two department stores. The exhibition will run from November 29 until December 9 at their studio space in Collingwood. Open Monday to Saturday from noon until 6pm, entry will be ten bucks, and DI$COUNT will have some limited edition pieces on sale, including badges, patches, t-shirts, wallets, magnets, socks, sequin dresses and caps ranging from a couple of dollars to $400. The DI$COUNT UNIVER$E It's-too-soon-for-a-retrospective Retrospective Exhibition will run from November 29 - December 9 at 32-34 Wellington Street, Collingwood. Image: Daniel Good John.
Stop everything and find a Frenchie to flip. Instagram has finally created its own collage-creating software — yep, finally. The social media giant launched their brand new standalone app today, dubbed (rather uncatchily) Layout from Instagram. The new app lets you easily combine multiple photos into one masterpiece of a 'gram. Though it seems Instagram were a little slow off the mark with this, the Instateam have taken their time to create one genuinely great editing app. According to Instagram, one in five monthly active users are sharing images that combine multiple photos — using external apps like Framatic, Photo Collage Maker and InstaCollage and importing the photos into Instagram later. So the team decided to make their own little editor and keep things in-house. So how does it work? Super easy to use, Layout accesses your photo gallery and does most of the work for you. The Faces option shows you all the photos in your camera roll that feature people — so you can cut the crap and go straight to making hella sick selfies. Speaking of selifes, you can take countdown photobooth shots in the app, but only using the frontal camera — because YOU. Apparently 90 percent of photos in collage images shared to Instagram are of people, and 50 percent of non-collage photos on Instagram are of people. It's all about your big beautiful self-promoting faces. Once you've picked your image, you can drag and drop photos to arrange them all nice and pretty like, pinch to zoom or pull the sides of each image to tweak its size, even flip and rotate to mirror your face on your face. Like George here: Layout masterpieces can be shared directly to your Instagram or Facebook, or saved to your camera roll to access and glorious sharing later. Things are going to get freaky in your feed. Layout from Instagram is available from today for iOS devices in Apple’s App Store. It’s currently only available for iOS. Layout from Instagram will be available for Android in the coming months.
New York City has the High Line; Paris has the Promenade Plantée; Osaka has the glorious Namba Parks. In dense urban environments, it's always heartening to see green public spaces built on the bones of obsolete industry (both the High Line and Promenade Plantée are built along sections of disused elevated railway tracks). And now Melbourne has joined the list of 'cool urban metropolises who don't compromise on green space', all thanks to its very own elevated public park. As first announced back in 2016, Melbourne Sky Park is a 2000-square-metre public park in the heart of the city, bordered by Collins and Flinders Streets (directly across from Southern Cross Station, with a nice view of the award-winning space slug rooftop). Launching in stages, with the first section welcoming visitors since October last year and the second still due for completion, it comes complete with a green lawn, a landscaped garden and built-in outdoor seating — plus wi-fi, power outlets and USB charge points. With a name that pulls no punches, Sky Park adds a much-needed green space to the south end of the CBD, taking the city's solid rooftop culture and making it greener, bigger and — literally — more alive. For those keen to climb up, it's accessible during from Monday–Friday between 8am–6pm via a spiral staircase on Collins Street and glass lifts nearby. [caption id="attachment_561367" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] A render of Sky Park's proposed final design.[/caption] The park has been designed as part of a joint venture by Aspect and Oculus studios on the principles of biophillia, which is a fancy way of saying the health and well-being value of public parks stem from the instinctive bond between humans and other living things. Basically, if it's green and alive, we're down with it. Sky Park is part of a larger development, Lendlease's Melbourne Quarter, a brand new city precinct that includes new offices, homes, shops and hospitality spaces across an entire city block. Aiming to connect people with nature and improve liveability, the project unveiled its first building, One Melbourne Quarter, last year, with more to come. Melbourne Quarter isn't just for residents or workers either. When it's complete, over half of the new 'hood will be free for the public to enjoy, with the Sky Park adding sorely needed open green space to the inner city. But it's not the only environmental addition. As well as Sky Park, Lendlease have also announced plans for a new laneway to connect Collins and Flinders Streets, a neighbourhood park and Melbourne Square, a public plaza which will be the most significant public space developed in the CBD since Federation Square in 2002. Melbourne Sky Park is now open at One Melbourne Quarter, 699 Collins Street, Melbourne.
Next week marks the beginning of Art Basel Hong Kong, one of the biggest art fairs in Asia. Painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video and installation will all be on display, in an event designed to showcase the work of thousands of artists from all around the world. But the work of one man in particular appears to be in particularly good taste (geddit?). Uwe Opocensky, the German chef at the Michelin-starred Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, has put together a menu that blurs the line between food and art. The aptly named Art Menu at the Mandarin Grill + Bar begins with an entree inspired by the most iconic artwork of Englishman Damien Hirst. The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living features a 14-foot shark suspended in a tank of formaldehyde. Opocensky's version consists of a mackerel floating in horseradish-flavoured cucumber jelly. The main course is modelled after a box of paints, with different coloured purees including mashed sweet potato, brown truffles, black garlic paste and red peppers, as well as a slice of beef covered in edible flowers. And for dessert, an ice cream filled chocolate mountain on a bed of popping candy, inspired by the mountaineering photography of Chinese artist Xu Zhen. As with many things in the world of high art, Oponcensky's elaborate dinner doesn't come cheap: $HK1888 ($AU320) a head. Pretty pricey, especially when you won't have anything to show for it at the end of the night. "What we make has a very short life span," Opocensky said to Quartz. "It is very exciting though. I cannot draw to save my life, but I can put things on a plate, and I love that we can be associated with art as a movement" Via Quartz.
While we suspect he'll always be remembered best as the world's most famous boy wizard, you certainly couldn't accuse Daniel Radcliffe of always playing in the same sandbox. Since wrapping up the Harry Potter series, the actor has played Alan Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, taken the stage in Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishman, and most recently appeared as a flatulent corpse in the surprisingly heartwarming indie film Swiss Army Man. His latest project is an Off-Broadway play, one that is noteworthy not just for Radcliffe's part, but for its unusual policy when it comes to mobile phones. While whipping out your cell is generally considered sacrilege in the theatre, Privacy takes the opposite approach — actively encouraging audience members to take selfies during the show in order to explore questions of privacy and accountability in an increasingly connected world. As Radcliffe dives into the open world of social media, audience members are able to post their photos to the theatre website, at which point they're projected onto a giant screen behind the actors. Further chances for crowd participation come when a character types "is it wrong…" into Google, with viewers prompted to shout out possible autofill possibilities. Of course Privacy isn't the first time theatres have allowed or even encouraged the use of mobile phones. Theatres in Melbourne such as Malthouse and La Mama have experimented with special 'tweet seats' in the past, sparking furious debate as to whether the practice should be allowed. What's interesting in this case is how the play actually incorporates phone users into the performance. This could very well be the beginning of a brave new world. Via PSFK.
As any published author will tell you, settling on a cover design is tricky. But California-based designer Maria Mordvintseva-Keeler has come up with a novel approach. She's repackaged classics in cans — with labels that reveal their 'ingredients' without giving away their storylines. Titled Food for Thought, the design series features three classic books, each of which contains a foodie reference in its title — Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, William Burroughs' Naked Lunch and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. The label lets the reader know if the book suits his/her mood and literary diet. Breakfast at Tiffany’s, for example, reads: "[It] has the characters, serving size, with the number of pages, and emotions in the daily value sections," Mordvintseva-Keeler told Mashable. "I sometimes wish they featured something like that on the cover, since the right book at the right moment is better than any sort of therapy. Reading is certainly better than stress eating." Originally from Moscow and now based in San Diego, Mordvintseva-Keeler's previous projects include Packaged Pets, which promotes the adoption of animals from shelters; EcoBag, a biodegradable plastic-bag replacement containing seeds (and similar to these coffee cups); and Bold as a Rooster, a typographical study exploring the "potential of roosters’ combs, feathers and legs to become legible letters". Take a leaf out of this artist's book. Via Mashable. Images: Maria Mordvintseva-Keeler.
Apple's first wearable computer, the Apple Watch, is almost here. After months of furious pub debates, Android-loving naysaying and know-it-all speculation, Apple finally announced the release date for its next 'must-have' device at its 'Spring Forward' event in San Francisco — and the price tag for its sold gold version. Starting at AU$499 and running all the way up to AU$14,000 for their ultra-hard 18-karat gold version, the shrunken, wearable computer fits into a watch body and runs a modified version of iOS — the system running your iPhone and iPad right now. Available in two sizes (38 and 42mm height) the Apple Watch comes in three different 'collections' including the Apple Watch Sport Collection — with 60 percent stronger anodised aluminium case, though not completely waterproof — and the pretty, pretty AppleWatch Edition made from 18-carat yellow or rose gold, sapphire crystal glass (and costing that cheeky $10K). Not as baller as these watches, but a good first model. Preorders for the Apple Watch start April 10, available in the US, UK, China, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong. The watch will be available from April 24, but if you wander into a Genius bar you'll be able to try one on from the 10th. Analysts are predicting Apple could up to 60 million shipments within a year of its release — perhaps not if Pebble Time has anything to do with it. So, how does the Apple Watch work? Behold, the 'digital crown' controls all The primary joystick of the whole device, you can go all James Bond by using the rotating dial on the side of the watch to navigate (something many smartwatches leave out for aesthetics). Even so, the display is also used as a touch screen classic smartthing style. For all you constant screencrackers out there, that face is made from a super hard-as-nails single line sapphire material. Your watch can tell you to run faster Using four sapphire lenses on the back of the watch and the mighty, custom-designed S1 chip, the watch can detect your pulse rate (along with an epic amount of other info). Combine this with the accelerometer measuring body movement and the GPS tracking your distance, the watch can figure out how hard you're exercising and suggests fitness goals. What a beneficial jerk. 'Glance' at your most important info The Glances feature is where you make the watch all about you. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and your custom-selected screen of notifications pops up. Weather, dirty messages, calendars of events you're avoiding; it's all on your wrist. You can charge wirelessly No winding here. To charge up, the Apple Watch fuses MagSafe and inductive charging — you just hold the back of the watch near the charging connector and let the magnets pull everything together. Apparently the battery lasts 'all day', which could be anywhere from a probably 18 hours to 72 hours in Power Reserve mode. Siri runs the show Because the Apple Watch is so mini in screen size, Siri comes into play for a significant amount of commands. Yep, you'll feel like a spy. An awesome, awesome spy. You can send doodles to your mates Using the newly revealed app Digital Touch, watch wearers can create little animated drawings and send them to other watcheroos. Cute. App developers will be able to create Apple Watch versions, we're thinking Snapchat is particularly made for this. You need an iPhone for it to work And there's the catch. The Apple Watch needs an iPhone 5 or 6 nearby in order to function, feeding from the web or GPS info to work. Music, photos and contacts come across, sure, but this makes the device one of Apple's most you-need-that-to-get-this products ever, even the iPad stood on its own little stand. The Apple Watch will be available for purchase in Australia from April 24, pre-orders open from April 10. Via Mashable, TIME and PC Advisor.
For years, the Queen Victoria Market's night series has set two very different scenes — one of spiced mulled wine and barbecue smoke for its winter season, and of balmy evening air and sangria during the summer months. But what about the in-between seasons? Are we expected to go to restaurants on a Wednesday night? It appears the answer is, no, not anymore, as the historic marketplace prepares to launch a new spring edition of its popular hump day offering. The Hawker 88 Night Market sets out to fill that Wednesday night gap, and will for six weeks this spring, from September 19 to October 24. Riffing on the bustling hawker markets of Southeast Asia, it'll serve up a riot of flavours from across the continent, as imagined by 20 of the city's most popular vendors. From rich Indian curries and Filipino barbecue to Korean-style pork belly and Japanese karaage — if it's authentic, Asian street food, it'll probably make an appearance. Different weekly themes will give you the chance to explore various cuisines of the region alongside traditional entertainment, demonstrations and cultural experiences — get set for K-pop performances, noodle making masterclasses and plenty of karaoke. The lineup includes a Filipino Festival, a Mooncake Festival, a Bollywood Festival and even a Durian Festival if you're partial to the famously stinky fruit, although the exact dates are yet to be released. And while sangria isn't likely to be on the cards, you will find a swag of sips designed to complement Asian fare, including an exclusive H88 lager from newcomers Brick Lane Brewing Co.
Less than a month after being cancelled due to alleged financial mismanagement, the iconic Tropfest short film festival has been thrown a much needed lifeline. On the very day that the festival was originally meant to take place, Tropfest founder John Polson has announced the event will instead be held on Valentine's Day next year, after securing a last minute sponsorship deal with CGU Insurance. "It’s incredibly encouraging to see that the Australian public and corporate community really want to see Tropfest return," said Polson, who was forced to cancel the festival after discovering what he, at the time, called "a terrible and irresponsible mismanagement of Tropfest funds." No word yet on whether the CGU deal extends beyond this year, or whether it will help Polson cover the festival's six figure debt. Details on how the money was actually lost likewise remain unclear, although it's worth mentioning that Polson is currently engaged in legal action against Tropfest managing director Michael Laverty. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that "in my opinion, we've done nothing wrong but respond as best we can to a terrible situation brought about by bad management." Polson also took a swipe at the lack of assistance from the NSW government, saying "many people have asked what has the NSW government done since this crisis…the truth is not a lot at this point." "Tropfest is a great festival, providing unique platforms for talented filmmakers through its events and initiatives, and we are excited to be able to help them get back on their feet," said Ben Bessel, Commercial Insurance Chief Executive for IAG, which owns CGU Insurance. "Supporting this fantastic cultural event is about creating a renewed opportunity for Tropfest and all those small businesses associated with the event to continue to thrive and get some business done." In recent years Tropfest has attracted a national live audience of up to 150,000 people along with hundreds of thousands more via live TV broadcast. Polson confirmed that all 16 of this year's finalists will make their premiere as planned – albeit a few months late – live in Sydney's Centennial Parklands on February 14. Trop Jr., the festival's competition for filmmakers aged 15 years and under, will also go ahead.
Located at 80 Collins Street, Lillian Brasserie is situated within Society — a multifaceted dining experience opened by renowned restaurateur Chris Lucas. The venue includes the Society Dining Room and Lounge, but it is Lillian, its French brasserie, which really sets this place apart. The interior is all sweeps and curves, with private booths and fringed overhead lamps sending the eye this way and that as the highly skilled waiters weave in and around their guests without any fuss. In the evenings, with the lights dimmed and the conversation humming, the room gives off the air of a classic Parisian dining room — with all the frivolity and joie de vivre centred around the various dishes. Lillian Brasserie's menu is heavily seafood focused, and begins with an offering of shucked oysters and prawns. The snacks include hand-cut potato chips and lobster and leek croquettes with a fresh herb emulsion. For an entree, try the cured salmon with house pickles and the burrata with pickled figs and walnuts. The pasta menu is vegetarian friendly with the parmesan gnocchi served with pumpkin, zucchini and ricotta being a huge hit. For a main, try the confit duck with cassoulet for a truly French offering, or the spiced pork sausage with smoked bacon and lentils for something a little heartier. The woodfired grill is where Lillian Brasserie really flexes its muscles, and the grass-fed sirloin with pink pepper bordelaise is the pick of the menu. If you're looking to share with a few sides, look no further than the spice roasted whole crown of chicken, pairing it with some woodfire roasted greens and potato chips. The wine list is impressive too, with over 10,000 bottles in the Society cellar. This is the kind of Melbourne French restaurant you visit when you're really looking to treat yourself. Appears in: The Best French Restaurants in Melbourne for 2023
When you're trying to settling on viewing plans for an evening — any evening — there are almost as many ways to pick what to watch as there are movies and television series vying for your attention. One of the easiest options? Working your way through award-winners, whether you know you've already seen and loved plenty of them, you've been meaning to catch up with a heap or you just want to discover what all the fuss has been about. 2023's first excuse to pack your streaming queue and stack your cinema visits based on a Hollywood organisation is the Golden Globes, aka the Hollywood gongs that always kick off each year — and honour both films and TV series. Taking place on Wednesday, January 11 Australian time, the 2023 awards handed out trophies to many of 2022's absolute best on the big and small screens, giving you quite the list of things to watch and/or rewatch. Whether you're keen to hit the silver screen to catch a filmic gem, stream a stellar flick or binge your way through an excellent series or two, here are 15 of the Globes' best winners that you can check out immediately. (And if you're wondering what else won, you can read through the full list, too.) MOVIE MUST-SEES EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Imagine living in a universe where Michelle Yeoh isn't the wuxia superstar she is. No, no one should want to dwell in that reality. Now, envisage a world where everyone has hot dogs for fingers, including the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon icon. Next, picture another where Ratatouille is real, but with raccoons. Then, conjure up a sparse realm where life only exists in sentient rocks. An alternative to this onslaught of pondering: watching Everything Everywhere All At Once, which throws all of the above at the screen and a helluva lot more. Yes, its title is marvellously appropriate. Written and directed by the Daniels, aka Swiss Army Man's Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, this multiverse-hopping wonder is a funhouse of a film that just keeps spinning through wild and wacky ideas. Instead of asking "what if Daniel Radcliffe was a farting corpse that could be used as a jet ski?" as their also-surreal debut flick did, the pair now muses on Yeoh, her place in the universe, and everyone else's along with her. Although Yeoh doesn't play herself in Everything Everywhere All At Once, she is seen as herself; keep an eye out for red-carpet footage from her Crazy Rich Asians days. Such glitz and glamour isn't the norm for middle-aged Chinese American woman Evelyn Wang, her laundromat-owning character in the movie's main timeline, but it might've been if life had turned out differently. That's such a familiar train of thought — a resigned sigh we've all emitted, even if only when alone — and the Daniels use it as their foundation. Their film starts with Evelyn, her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom's Short Round and The Goonies' Data) and a hectic time. Evelyn's dad (James Hong, Turning Red) is visiting from China, the Wangs' daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) brings her girlfriend Becky (Tallie Medel, The Carnivores) home, and IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween Ends) is conducting a punishing audit. Then Evelyn learns she's the only one who can save, well, everything, everywhere and everyone. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy (Michelle Yeoh), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture (Ke Huy Quan). Where to watch it: Everything Everywhere All At Once streams via Binge, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER Black Panther: Wakanda Forever isn't the movie it was initially going to be, the sequel to 2018's electrifying and dynamic Black Panther that anyone behind it originally wanted it to be, or the chapter in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that it first aimed to be — this, the world already knows. The reason why is equally familiar, after Chadwick Boseman died from colon cancer in 2020 aged 43. At its best, this direct followup to the MCU's debut trip to its powerful African nation doesn't just know this, too, but scorches that awareness deep into its frames. King T'Challa's death starts the feature, a loss that filmmaking trickery doesn't reverse, no matter how meaningless mortality frequently proves when on-screen resurrections are usually a matter of mere plot twists. Wakanda Forever begins with heartbreak and pain, in fact, and with facing the hard truth that life ends and, in ways both big and small, that nothing is ever the same. Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler (Creed) like its predecessor — co-scripting again with Joe Robert Cole (All Day and a Night) — Wakanda Forever's emotional tributes to T'Challa and Boseman hit swiftly, after the former's tech-wiz sister Shuri (Letitia Wright, Death on the Nile) agonises over not being able to save him. In a swirl of song, dance, colour, movement, rhythm and feeling on par with the first instalment, but also solemn, Wakanda erupts in mourning, and the film makes plain that the Black Panther audiences knew is gone forever. A year later, sorrow lingers, but global courtesy wanes — now that the world knows about the previously secret country and its metal vibranium, everyone wants a piece. Such searching incites a new threat to the planet, courtesy of Mesoamerican underwater kingdom Talokan and its leader-slash-deity Namor (Tenoch Huerta, Narcos: Mexico). The Atlantis-esque ocean realm has vibranium as well, and it's not keen on anywhere else but Wakanda doing the same. If Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett, Gunpowder Milkshake), Shuri and their compatriots don't join Namor to fight back, Namor will wage war against them instead. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture (Angela Bassett). Where to watch it: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently screening in Australian cinemas. Read our full review. RRR The letters in RRR's title are short for Rise Roar Revolt. They could also stand for riveting, rollicking and relentless. They link in with the Indian action movie's three main forces, too — writer/director SS Rajamouli (Baahubali: The Beginning), plus stars NT Rama Rao Jr (Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava) and Ram Charan (Vinaya Vidheya Rama) — and could describe the sound of some of its standout moments. What noise echoes when a motorcycle is used in a bridge-jumping rescue plot, as aided by a horse and the Indian flag, amid a crashing train? Or when a truck full of wild animals is driven into a decadent British colonialist shindig and its caged menagerie unleashed? What racket resounds when a motorbike figures again, this time tossed around by hand (yes, really) to knock out those imperialists, and then an arrow is kicked through a tree into someone's head? Or, when the movie's two leads fight, shoot, leap over walls and get acrobatic, all while one is sat on the other's shoulders? RRR isn't subtle. Instead, it's big, bright, boisterous, boldly energetic, and brazenly unapologetic about how OTT and hyperactive it is. The 187-minute Tollywood action epic — complete with huge musical numbers, of course — is also a vastly captivating pleasure to watch. Narrative-wise, it follows the impact of the British Raj (aka England's rule over the subcontinent between 1858–1947), especially upon two men. In the 1920s, Bheem (Jr NTR, as Rao is known) is determined to rescue young fellow villager Malli (first-timer Twinkle Sharma), after she's forcibly taken by Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson, Vikings) and his wife Catherine (Alison Doody, Beaver Falls) for no reason but they're powerful and they can. Officer Raju (Charan) is tasked by the crown with making sure Bheem doesn't succeed in rescuing the girl, and also keeping India's population in their place because their oppressors couldn't be more prejudiced. GLOBES Won: Best Original Song (for 'Naatu Naatu' by Kala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani, Kala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj). Where to watch it: RRR streams via Netflix. Read our full review. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN In The Banshees of Inisherin, the rolling hills and clifftop fields look like they could stretch on forever, even on a fictional small island perched off the Irish mainland. For years, conversation between Padraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell, After Yang) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson, The Tragedy of Macbeth) has been similarly sprawling — and leisurely, too — especially during the pair's daily sojourn to the village pub for chats over pints. But when the latter calls time on their camaraderie suddenly, his demeanour turns brusque and his explanation, only given after much pestering, is curt. Uttered beneath a stern, no-nonsense stare by Gleeson to his In Bruges co-star Farrell, both reuniting with that darkly comic gem's writer/director Martin McDonagh for another black, contemplative and cracking comedy, Colm is as blunt as can be: "I just don't like you no more." In the elder character's defence, he wanted to ghost his pal without hurtful words. Making an Irish exit from a lifelong friendship is a wee bit difficult on a tiny isle, though, as Colm quickly realises. It's even trickier when the mate he's trying to put behind him is understandably upset and confused, there's been no signs of feud or fray beforehand, and anything beyond the norm echoes through the town faster than a folk ballad. So springs McDonagh's smallest-scale and tightest feature since initially leaping from the stage to the screen, and a wonderful companion piece to that first effort. Following the hitman-focused In Bruges, he's gone broader with Seven Psychopaths, then guided Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell to Oscars with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but he's at his best when his lens is trained at Farrell and Gleeson as they bicker in close confines. GLOBES Won: Best Motion Picture — Comedy, Best Screenplay — Motion Picture (Martin McDonagh), Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy (Colin Farrell). Where to watch it: The Banshees of Inisherin is currently screening in Australian cinemas. Read our full review. GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO Guillermo del Toro hasn't yet directed a version of Frankenstein, except that he now has in a way. Officially, he's chosen another much-adapted, widely beloved story — one usually considered less dark — but there's no missing the similarities between the Nightmare Alley and The Shape of Water filmmaker's stop-motion Pinocchio and Mary Shelley's ever-influential horror masterpiece. Both carve out tales about creations made by grief-stricken men consumed by loss. Both see those tinkerers help give life to things that don't usually have it, gifting existence to the inanimate because they can't cope with mortality's reality. Both notch up the fallout when those central humans struggles with the results of their handiwork, even though all that the beings that spring from their efforts want is pure and simple love and acceptance. Del Toro's take on Pinocchio still has a talking cricket, a blue-hued source of magic and songs, too, but it clearly and definitely isn't a Disney movie. Instead, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is an enchanting iteration of a story that everyone knows, and that's graced screens so many times that this is the third flick in 2022 alone. Yes, the director's name is officially in the film's title. Yes, it's likely there to stop the movie getting confused with that array of other page-to-screen adaptations, all springing from Carlo Collodi's 19th-century Italian children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio. That said, even if the list of features about the timber puppet wasn't longer than said critter's nose when he's lying, del Toro would earn the possessory credit anyway. No matter which narrative he's unfurling — including this one about a boy fashioned out of pine (voiced by Gregory Mann, Victoria) by master woodcarver Geppetto (David Bradley, Catherine Called Birdy) after the death of his son — the Mexican Oscar-winner's distinctive fingerprints are always as welcomely apparent as his gothic-loving sensibilities. GLOBES Won: Best Motion Picture — Animated. Where to watch it: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio streams via Netflix. Read our full review. ELVIS Making a biopic about the king of rock 'n' roll, trust Baz Luhrmann to take his subject's words to heart: a little less conversation, a little more action. The Australian filmmaker's Elvis, his first feature since 2013's The Great Gatsby, isn't short on chatter. It's even narrated by Tom Hanks (Finch) as Colonel Tom Parker, the carnival barker who thrust Presley to fame (and, as Luhrmann likes to say, the man who was never a Colonel, never a Tom and never a Parker). But this chronology of an icon's life is at its best when it's showing rather than telling. That's when it sparkles brighter than a rhinestone on all-white attire, and gleams with more shine than all the lights in Las Vegas. That's when Elvis is electrifying, due to its treasure trove of recreated concert scenes — where Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) slides into Presley's blue suede shoes and lifetime's supply of jumpsuits like he's the man himself. Butler is that hypnotic as Presley. Elvis is his biggest role to-date after starting out on Hannah Montana, sliding through other TV shows including Sex and the City prequel The Carrie Diaries, and also featuring in Yoga Hosers and The Dead Don't Die — and he's exceptional. Thanks to his blistering on-stage performance, shaken hips and all, the movie's gig sequences feel like Elvis hasn't ever left the building. Close your eyes and you'll think you were listening to the real thing. (In some cases, you are: the film's songs span Butler's vocals, Presley's and sometimes a mix of both). And yet it's how the concert footage looks, feels, lives, breathes, and places viewers in those excited and seduced crowds that's Elvis' true gem. It's meant to make movie-goers understand what it was like to be there, and why Presley became such a sensation. Aided by dazzling cinematography, editing and just all-round visual choreography, these parts of the picture — of which there's many, understandably — leave audiences as all shook up as a 1950s teenager or 1970s Vegas visitor. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama (Austin Butler). Where to watch it: Elvis streams via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE FABELMANS "Movies are dreams that you never forget," says Mitzi Fabelman (Michelle Williams, Venom: Let There Be Carnage) early in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. Have truer words ever been spoken in any of the director's flicks? Uttered to her eight-year-old son Sammy (feature debutant Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord), Mitzi's statement lingers, providing the film's beating heart even when the coming-of-age tale it spins isn't always idyllic. Individual pictures can come and go, of course. Only some — only some on the Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and West Side Story filmmaker's own resume, in fact — truly stand the test of time. But as former concert pianist Mitzi understands, and imparts to her wide-eyed on-screen Spielberg boyhood surrogate, movies as an art form are a dream that keeps shining in our heads. We return to theatres again and again for more. We glue our eyes to films at home, too. We lap up the worlds they visit, stories they relay and fantasies they inspire, and we also add our own. To everyone that's ever stared at the silver screen in awe, The Fabelmans pays tribute far more than it basks in the glow of its director. Because everyone is crafting cinematic memoirs of late, Spielberg adds this tender yet clear-eyed look at his childhood to a growing list of self-reflective flicks; however, he's as fascinated with cinema as a dream-sparking and -making force as is he with fictionalising his own tale. Slot The Fabelmans in alongside James Gray's Armageddon Time, Kenneth Branagh's Belfast, Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths from the past year or so, then, but don't merely consider it Spielberg jumping on a trend. Focusing on Sammy's film fixation, including as a teen (played by Gabriel LaBelle, The Predator) and as his fragile family hops around the US following his computer-engineer dad Burt's (Paul Dano, The Batman) work, this is a heartfelt, perceptive and potent movie about how movies act as a mirror — a vividly shot and engagingly performed one, too, complete with a pitch-perfect late cameo — whether we're watching or creating them. GLOBES Won: Best Motion Picture — Drama, Best Director — Motion Picture (Steven Spielberg). Where to watch it: The Fabelmans is currently screening in Australian cinemas. Read our full review. SMALL-SCREEN STANDOUTS ABBOTT ELEMENTARY The Office did it, in both the UK and US versions. Parks and Recreation did so, too. What We Do in the Shadows still does it — and, yes, there's more where they all came from. By now, the mockumentary format is a well-established part of the sitcom realm. Indeed, it's so common that additional shows deciding to give it a whirl aren't noteworthy for that alone. But in Emmy-winner Abbott Elementary, which is currently streaming its second season, the faux doco gimmick is also deployed as an outlet for the series' characters. They're all public school elementary teachers in Philadelphia, and the chats to-camera help convey the stresses and tolls of doing what they're devoted to. In a wonderfully warm and also clear-eyed gem created by, co-written by and starring triple-threat Quinta Brunson (Miracle Workers), that'd be teaching young hearts and minds no matter the everyday obstacles, the utter lack of resources and funding, or the absence of interest from the bureaucracy above them. Brunson plays perennially perky 25-year-old teacher Janine Teagues, who loves her gig and her second-grade class. She also adores her colleague Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ray Donovan), the kindergarten teacher that she sees as a mentor and work mum. Actually, Janine isn't just fond of all of the above — she's so devoted to her job that she'll let nothing stand in her way. But that isn't easy or straightforward in a system that's short on cash and care from the powers-that-be to make school better for its predominantly Black student populace. Also featuring Everybody Hates Chris' Tyler James Williams (also The United States vs Billie Holiday) as an apathetic substitute teacher, Lisa Ann Walter (The Right Mom) and Chris Perfetti (Sound of Metal) as Abbott faculty mainstays, and Janelle James (Black Monday) as the incompetent principal who only scored her position via blackmail, everything about Abbott Elementary is smart, kindhearted, funny and also honest. That remains the case in season two, where Janine is newly single and grappling with being on her own, sparks are flying with Williams' Gregory and James' Ava can't keep bluffing her way through her days. GLOBES Won: Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy, Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy (Quinta Brunson), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical or Comedy or Drama Television Series (Tyler James Williams). Where to watch it: Abbott Elementary streams via Disney+. THE BEAR First, an important piece of advice: eating either before or while watching The Bear is highly recommended, and near close to essential. Now, two more crucial slices of wisdom: prepare to feel stressed throughout every second of this riveting, always-tense, and exceptionally written and acted culinary series, and also to want to tuck into The Original Beef of Chicagoland's famous sandwiches immediately. The eatery is purely fictional, but its signature dish looks phenomenal. Most of what's cooked up in Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto's (Jeremy Allen White, Shameless) kitchen does. But he has taken over the family business following his brother's suicide, arriving back home after wowing the world in fine dining's top restaurants, and nothing is easy. Well, coveting The Bear's edible wares is across the show's eight-episode first season — but making them, keeping the shop afloat, coping with grief and ensuring that the diner's staff work harmoniously is a pressure cooker of chaos. That anxious mood is inescapable from the outset; the best way to start any meal is just to bite right in, and The Bear's creator Christopher Storer (who also directs five episodes, and has Ramy, Dickinson and Bo Burnham: Make Happy on his resume) takes the same approach. He also throws all of his ingredients together with precision — the balance of drama and comedy, the relentlessness that marks every second in The Original Beef's kitchen, and the non-stop mouthing off by Richie, aka Cousin, aka Carmy's brother's best friend (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Dropout), all included. Carmy has bills to pay, debts to settle, eerie dreams and sleepwalking episodes to navigate, new sous chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri, Dickinson) mixing up the place and long-standing employees (such as Hap and Leonard's Lionel Boyce, In Treatment's Liza Colón-Zayas and Fargo's Edwin Lee Gibson) to keep happy. Every glimpse at the resulting hustle and bustle is as gripping as it is appetising — and yes, binging is inevitable. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy (Jeremy Allen White). Where to watch it: The Bear streams via Disney+. Read our full review. EUPHORIA From the very first frames of its debut episode back in June 2019, when just-out-of-rehab 17-year-old Rue Bennett (Zendaya, Spider-Man: No Way Home) gave viewers the lowdown on her life, mindset, baggage, friends, family and everyday chaos, Euphoria has courted attention — or, mirroring the tumultuous teens at the centre of its dramas, the Emmy-winning HBO series just knew that eyeballs would come its way no matter what it did. The brainchild of filmmaker Sam Levinson (Malcolm & Marie), adapted from an Israeli series by the same name, and featuring phenomenal work by its entire cast, it's flashy, gritty, tense, raw, stark and wild, and manages to be both hyper-stylised to visually striking degree and deeply empathetic. In other words, if teen dramas reflect the times they're made — and from Degrassi, Press Gang and Beverly Hills 90210 through to The OC, Friday Night Lights and Skins, they repeatedly have — Euphoria has always been a glittery eyeshadow-strewn sign of today's times. That hasn't changed in the show's second season. Almost two and a half years might've elapsed between Euphoria's first and second batch of episodes — a pair of out-of-season instalments in late 2020 and early 2021 aside — but it's still as potent, intense and addictive as ever. And, as dark, as Rue's life and those of her pals (with the cast including Hunter Schafer, The King of Staten Island's Maude Apatow, The Kissing Booth franchise's Jacob Elordi, The White Lotus' Sydney Sweeney, The Afterparty's Barbie Ferreira, North Hollywood's Angus Cloud and Waves' Alexa Demie) bobs and weaves through everything from suicidal despair, Russian Roulette, bloody genitals, unforgettable school plays, raucous parties and just garden-variety 2022-era teen angst. The list always goes on; in fact, as once again relayed in Levinson's non-stop, hyper-pop style, the relentlessness that is being a teenager today, trying to work out who you are and navigating all that the world throws at you is Euphoria's point. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama (Zendaya). Where to watch it: Euphoria streams via Binge. OZARK In 2022, Julia Garner schemed her away into New York's upper echelons in the instantly addictive Inventing Anna, playing IRL faux socialite Anna Delvey — and won the unofficial award for wildest accent on TV, too. She didn't end up nabbing a Golden Globe for her part, despite being nominated; however, the acclaimed actress hasn't been going home empty-handed at awards ceremonies. The reason? Fellow Netflix series Ozark. The Assistant keeps picking up Supporting Actress gongs for the crime drama, for her blistering performance as Ruth Langmore. When the show started back in 2017, Garner wasn't in its top-two biggest names, thanks to Jason Bateman (The Outsider) and Laura Linney (Tales of the City), but she's turned her part into an absolute powerhouse. Ozark's focus: a financial advisor, Marty Byrde (Bateman), who moves from Chicago to a quiet Missouri town — yes, in the titular Ozarks region — after a money-laundering scheme goes wrong in a big way. That's a significant shift for his wife Wendy (Linney) and kids Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz, What Breaks the Ice) and Jonah (Skylar Gaertner, Daredevil), but it doesn't see Marty change his ways. Instead, more laundering is in his future, as well as crossing paths with Ruth, who hails from a criminal family. Across its four-season run, Ozark has always been lifted by its performances, which is unsurprising given that Bateman, Linney and Garner are all at the top of their games. It's a masterclass in tension, too, and in conveying a relentless feeling of dread. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical or Comedy or Drama Television Series (Julia Garner). Where to watch it: Ozark streams via Netflix. BLACK BIRD 2022 marks a decade since Taron Egerton's first on-screen credit as a then-23 year old. Thanks to the Kingsman movies, Eddie the Eagle, Robin Hood and Rocketman, he's rarely been out of the cinematic spotlight since — but miniseries Black Bird feels like his most mature performance yet. The latest based-on-a-true-crime tale to get the twisty TV treatment, it adapts autobiographical novel In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption. It also has Dennis Lehane, author of Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River and Shutter Island, bringing it to streaming. The focus: Jimmy Keene, a former star high-school footballer turned drug dealer, who finds his narcotics-financed life crumbling when he's arrested in a sting, offered a plea bargain with the promise of a five-year sentence (four with parole), but ends up getting ten. Seven months afterwards, he's given the chance to go free, but only if he agrees to transfer to a different prison to befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser, Cruella), and get him to reveal where he's buried his victims' bodies. Even with new shows based on various IRL crimes hitting queues every week, or thereabouts — 2022 has seen plenty, including Inventing Anna, The Dropout, The Girl From Plainville and The Staircase, to name a mere few — Black Bird boasts an immediately compelling premise. The first instalment in its six-episode run is instantly gripping, too, charting Keene's downfall, the out-of-ordinary situation posed by Agent Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi, The Killing of Two Lovers), and the police investigation by Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear, Crisis) to net Hall. It keeps up the intrigue and tension from there; in fact, the wild and riveting details just keep on coming. Fantastic performances all round prove pivotal as well. Again, Egerton is excellent, while Hauser's menace-dripping efforts rank among the great on-screen serial killer portrayals. And, although bittersweet to watch after his sudden passing in May, Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark) makes a firm imprint as Keene's father. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Paul Walter Hauser). Where to watch it: Black Bird streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. THE WHITE LOTUS Lives of extravagant luxury. Globe-hopping getaways. Whiling away cocktail-soaked days in gorgeous beachy locales. Throw in the level of wealth and comfort needed to make those three things an easy, breezy everyday reality, and the world's sweetest dreams are supposedly made of this. On TV since 2021, HBO's hit dramedy The White Lotus has been, too. Indeed, in its Emmy-winning first season, the series was a phenomenon of a biting satire, scorching the one percent, colonialism and class divides in a twisty, astute, savage and hilarious fashion. It struck such a chord, in fact, that what was meant to be a one-and-done limited season was renewed for a second go-around, sparking an anthology. That Sicily-set second effort once again examines sex, status, staring head-on at mortality and accepting the unshakeable fact that life is short for everyone but truly sweet for oh-so-few regardless of bank balance — and with writer/director/creator Mike White (Brad's Status) still overseeing proceedings, the several suitcase loads of smart, scathing, sunnily shot chaos that The White Lotus brings to screens this time around are well worth unpacking again. Here, another group of well-off holidaymakers slip into another splashy, flashy White Lotus property and work through their jumbled existences. Another death lingers over their trip, with The White Lotus again starting with an unnamed body — bodies, actually — then jumping back seven days to tell its tale from the beginning. Running the Taormina outpost of the high-end resort chain, Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore, Across the River and Into the Trees) is barely surprised by the corpse that kicks off season two. She's barely surprised about much beforehand, either. That includes her dealings with the returning Tanya McQuoid-Hunt (Jennifer Coolidge, The Watcher), her husband Greg (Jon Gries, Dream Corp LLC) and assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson, After Yang); three generations of Di Grasso men, aka Bert (F Murray Abraham, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities), Hollywood hotshot Dominic (Michael Imperioli, The Many Saints of Newark) and the Stanford-educated Albie (Adam DiMarco, The Order); and tech whiz Ethan (Will Sharpe, Defending the Guilty) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza, Best Sellers), plus his finance-bro college roommate Cameron (Theo James, The Time Traveller's Wife) and his stay-at-home wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy, The Bold Type). GLOBES Won: Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Jennifer Coolidge). Where to watch it: The White Lotus streams via Binge. Read our full review of season two. THE DROPOUT Dramatising the Theranos scandal, eight-part miniseries The Dropout is one of several high-profile releases this year to relive a wild true-crime tale — including the Anna Delvey-focused Inventing Anna, about the fake German heiress who conned her way through New York City's elite, and also documentary The Tinder Swindler, which steps through defrauding via dating app at the hands of Israeli imposter Simon Leviev. It also dives into the horror-inducing Dr Death-esque realm, because when a grift doesn't just mess with money and hearts, but with health and lives, it's pure nightmare fuel. And, it's the most gripping of the bunch, even though we're clearly living in peak scandal-to-screen times. Scam culture might be here to stay as Inventing Anna told us in a telling line of dialogue, but it isn't enough to just gawk its way — and The Dropout and its powerful take truly understands this. To tell the story of Theranos, The Dropout has to tell the story of Elizabeth Holmes, the Silicon Valley biotech outfit's founder and CEO from the age of 19. Played by a captivating, career-best Amanda Seyfried — on par with her Oscar-nominated work in Mank, but clearly in a vastly dissimilar role — the Steve Jobs-worshipping Holmes is seen explaining her company's name early in its first episode. It's derived from the words "therapy" and "diagnosis", she stresses, although history already dictates that it offered little of either. Spawned from Holmes' idea to make taking blood simpler and easier, using just one drop from a small finger prick, it failed to deliver, lied about it copiously and still launched to everyday consumers, putting important medical test results in jeopardy. GLOBES: Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Where to watch it: The Dropout streams Disney+. Read our full review. HOUSE OF THE DRAGON In its very first moments, House of the Dragon's opening episode delivers exactly what its name promises: here be dragons indeed. Within ten minutes, the Iron Throne, that sprawling metal seat that all of Westeros loves fighting about, also makes its initial appearance. By the time the 20-minute mark arrives, bloody violence of the appendage-, limb- and head-lopping kind fills the show's frames as well. And, before the debut instalment of this Game of Thrones prequel about House Targaryen's history even hits its halfway mark, a brothel scene with nudity and sex is sighted, too. Between all of the above, the usual GoT family dramas, squabbles over successors and power struggles pop up. Of course they do. House of the Dragon was always going to check all of the above boxes. None of this can constitute spoilers, either, because none of it can come as a surprise. Game of Thrones' fame and influence have become that pervasive, as have its hallmarks and trademarks. Everyone knows what GoT is known for, even if you've somehow never seen this page-to-screen franchise yet or read the George RR Martin-penned books that it's based on. After green-lighting a different prequel to pilot stage, scrapping it, then picking this one to run with instead — and also making plans to bring novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg to TV, working on an animated GoT show, exploring other potential prequels and forging ahead a Jon Snow-focused sequel series — House of the Dragon is the first Game of Thrones successor to arrive in streaming queues, and it doesn't mess with a formula that HBO doesn't consider broken. Its focus: the Targaryen crew 172 years before the birth of Daenerys and her whole dragon-flying, nephew-dating, power-seeking story. Cue silky silver locks aplenty, including cascading from King Viserys I's (Paddy Considine, The Third Day) head as he takes to the Iron Throne over his cousin Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best, Nurse Jackie). She had a better claim to the spiky chair, but gets passed over because she's a woman. Years later, the same scenario springs up over whether the king's dragon-riding daughter Princess Rhaenyra (Upright's Milly Alcock, then Mothering Sunday's Emma D'Arcy) becomes his heir, or the future son he's desperate to have, or his headstrong and shady younger brother Prince Daemon (Matt Smith, Morbius). GLOBES: Won: Best Television Series — Drama. Where to watch it: House of the Dragon streams via Binge. Read our full review. Top image: HBO.
FOMO — Australia's clash-free, one-day summer festival — is back for a third year. After a Brisbane debut in 2016, this time, the event is hitting Melbourne for the first time too, with a new evening edition called FOMO by Night, as well as making a return to Sydney and Adelaide. Leading the program is California's RL Grime, who's been headlining festivals all over the world with his experimental, high energy mash-ups of sound, colour and texture. Hot on his heels is Montreal's Kaytranada, who was here last year and bass lines have had him topping hip hop and dance charts (that is, when he's not collaborating with Alicia Keys or Chance the Rapper). Meanwhile, New Jersey-based neo-soul singer SZA is making her Australian debut on the back of debut album CTRL, and Texan rapper-singer Post Malone is coming back, after winning a lot of love during his Australian tour earlier this year. Also on the schedule is Grammy nominee ZHU with a brand new show and a live band, performing tunes from his dark and mesmerising EP Stardustexhalemarrakechdreams, along with London-based Grammy winner Tourist, and LA's Drezo, whose underground house has won admiration from Diplo, Destructo and Porter Robinson, among others. As always, FOMO is lining up homegrown talent up next to international stars. Representing Australia are The Kite String Triangle, Nina Las Vegas and Sweat It Out signee Dena Amy. Plus, there's an Australia-wide competition on the boil, which will see four emerging local artists join the bill. FOMO will kick off on Brisbane's Riverstage on Saturday, January 6, before moving to Parramatta Park in Sydney, on Saturday, January 13. Melbourne will get a slightly smaller lineup at their FOMO by Night, which will take place at Festival Hall on Thursday, January 11. Pre-sales start at 10am on Tuesday, September 5 and general sales on Wednesday, September 6. $1 from every sale is going to music charity Heaps Decent and, if you can't afford your ticket in one fell swoop, you can opt for a payment plan, which lets you pay it off via monthly instalments. Here's the full lineup. FOMO 2018 LINEUP RL Grime Kaytranada ZHU Post Malone SZA Tourist The Kite String Tangle Drezo Stööki Sound Nina Las Vegas Dena Amy FOMO BY NIGHT 2018 LINEUP Kaytranada Post Malone SZA The Kite String Tangle Dena Amy Mimi FOMO 2018 DATES Saturday, January 6 — Riverstage, Brisbane Sunday, January 7 — Elder Park, Adelaide Thursday, January 11 — Festival Hall, Melbourne Saturday, January 13 — Parramatta Park, Sydney FOMO will take place in January 2018. Tickets go on sale this week. For more info, visit fomofestival.com.au. Image: Mitch Lowe.
Located in a small but charming storefront in West Melbourne, adorned with a tiled floor, wooden stools and a simple wooden bar showcasing pastries and coffee blends, The Flour is a calm, inviting cafe that entices people with excellent French pastries and unique coffee brews unlike any they've had before. Started up by April Yoonhee Bae, a wonderfully talented pastry chef, and her husband Harry Hyun-suk Go, as an online bakery business back in 2017, today it is a vibrant and relaxing bricks-and-mortar cafe where cake and coffee lovers can really treat themselves. The cakes and pastries are all baked on-site and change regularly — depending on seasonal ingredients and what the pastry chefs were inspired to dream up that day. You'll often find madeleines, canelés, financiers, plum jam cookies, galettes, green tea dacquioses and Basque cheesecakes. And while these are damn good, it's not just the French-inspired pastries that shine at The Flour. The coffee selection is Melbourne-worthy, too. Expect a revolving selection of its own roasted coffee that has won a stack of awards — brewed however you like it. But if you're after something a bit different, we strongly recommend trying its coffee sour. For this one, baristas slowly pour the house filter blend and then chuck it into a soda stream to add some fizz. It's then served on ice with a dash of fresh lemon juice and some blackcurrant juice. This is one of our very favourite coffees in Melbourne. And while the pastries, cakes and coffees are beautifully prepared and presented, The Flour is completely free of the pretentiousness you might find at other cafes that offer up such refined and classy fare. If you're up by the Queen Vic Market sometime soon, be sure to cross the road and stop by for a cheeky cake and coffee at The Flour. Appears in: Where to Find the Best Coffee in Melbourne
Since launching in the US in January, female friend-matching app hey! VINA has been the talk of BFF-seeking ladies everywhere. For anyone that's tried to boost their girl gang with people they meet at parties, work, cafes and the like, but found the process a little awkward (i.e. everyone), it's the gift that keeps on giving. Now, the popular service is finally going global — albeit with some surprising assistance. Where does the app that's been called "Tinder for girlfriends" get support to expand its remit? From Tinder, it seems. The two entities have teamed up to help more gals look for more pals in more places. With more than 17,000 cities on hey! VINA's waitlist, the demand is certainly there. In fact, the service tallied up over 100,000 users in its first two weeks of operation alone. That's the good news: Aussies, you can now get paired up with fabulous potential friends based on your preferences, location and existing networks of mutual connections (via Facebook), then swipe your way to the perfect pal. Whether you've recently moved away from your besties, or have just found life taking you in different directions, hey! VINA is here to help you make some new mates. Of course, with the app endeavouring to help ladies forge long-lasting platonic bonds, it's okay to raise your eyebrows at their new partnership with a company known for facilitating romantic hook-ups of the much, much, much briefer kind. VINA is adamant that, while they both share a mission to connect people around the world, the two organisation's services remain separate, and that hey! VINA will remain a women-only non-dating social connection platform. Their updated FAQs spell this out, and are clearly designed to assuage any fears that the app will become Tinder 2.0. As for Tinder themselves, their investment and mentorship falls in line with other recent developments aimed to expand their remit — and their status as a go-to app for meeting others. Though trialled in Australia first, Tinder Social launched worldwide in July as a way for different groups of friends to cross paths. And just this month, they joined forces with Spotify to bring music tastes into the matching and swiping process. Image via Dollar Photo Club.
The show must go on for the folks at the Moulin Rouge. 15 years after the release of Baz Luhrmann's smash-hit movie musical, the story of doomed lovers Christian and Satine is coming to the stage. The lavish adaptation is currently in its early stages, and will be directed by two-time Tony nominee Alex Timbers. "I first encountered Alex Timbers through the remarkable and inventive production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and the brilliance of Here Lies Love," said Luhrmann in a statement. "I immediately recognised the young director's creative spirit and felt we shared similar sensibilities and instincts." Writing duties will be handled by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter John Logan, whose resume includes the recent James Bond outing Skyfall as well as the Tony Award-winning play Red. "It's immensely gratifying to know that a new wave of artists will be leading Moulin Rouge! into its rightful theatrical realm," said Luhrmann. The show is being developed by entertainment group Global Creatures, who previously worked on the theatrical adaptation of King Kong and helped bring Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom to the stage. A premiere date and location for Moulin Rouge! has yet to be announced.
This Melbourne cafe has been a Chapel Street stalwart since its opening back in 2008 under the name of Dukes Coffee Roasters before changing its name to Journeyman in 2014. Its roots run deep in the coffee roasting game but the team has successfully stretched beyond coffee as the sole focus. Nowadays, you'll struggle to grab a table due to Journeyman's popularity amongst the local brunch lovers who keep coming back for the ever-evolving dining menu. Notable dishes on the menu include the mushroom medley on toast and the eggs Benedict made with pork belly, apple, spinach, maple hollandaise and a house-made bbq sauce on english muffins. But the signature dish is the cafe's famed avocado hummus toast served with honey candied bacon and a poached egg — a winning combo that must be tried by any self-respecting brunch-loving Melburnian. And with all this attention being given to the food, it has, thankfully, managed to maintain its strong coffee game. The Journeyman team is firm on its commitment to serve ethically traded and sourced coffee, with each lot of beans traceable back to the farm from which it came. The Dukes blends are crafted from mostly organic beans, sourced from Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. And each is showcased through a whole swag of methods, from classic espresso, to filter and French press. Sit back within this small Melbourne cafe watching the baristas work their magic before tucking into some of Melbourne's best brunch offerings. Journeyman has never disappointed. And we don't expect that to change anytime soon. Appears in: The 13 Best Cafes in Melbourne for 2023 Where to Find the Best Breakfast in Melbourne for 2023
When Vivid Sydney kicks off winter, the city instantly gets brighter. And, come Friday, May 27–Sunday, June 18, the popular event might just beam a little stronger than usual — returning for the first time since 2019. Vivid Sydney's 2022 lineup certainly boasts plenty of highlights — and more than 200 events in total. Sticking with all that eye-catching light, to begin with, there'll be more than 50 luminous installations dazzling the city, including two particularly spectacular attractions by the water. The first, Sydney Infinity by Oracle Liquid, is a water sculpture in Darling Harbour that'll feature 12 80-metre-high water shoots, plus a Sydney-inspired soundtrack by DJ Peewee Ferris. And the second, at Walsh Bay, will see a 100-metre floating Light Walk pop up for folks to mosey along. Vivid Sydney will also host First Light, a Welcome to Country celebrating the Gadigal people and Country on Friday, May 27. And, Our Connected City by Mandylights will literally shine new light on the city's landmarks via 150 searchlights, which will illuminate the CBD with ribbons of light from the Sydney Opera House all the way to the northern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. [caption id="attachment_851810" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dan Hong and Mike Eggert, Destination NSW[/caption] In something completely new for 2022, Vivid Sydney will throw its first-ever Vivid Sydney Dinner, taking place at Merivale's Ivy Ballroom and hosted by Justine Clarke. The lineup spans Ken Done, Julia Baird, the Vivid Sydney Brass Band, James Morrison, Ngaiire, Virginia Gay and Kate Monroe, plus food by chefs Dan Hong and Mike Eggert. On the talks part of the program, American filmmaker Aaron Sorkin is headed to Sydney to discuss the intersection of politics and drama, as seen so often in his work. Also among the big names getting chatty: musician, artist and actor Troye Sivan, who'll talk with Lillian Ahenkan (AKA Flex Mami); and US journalist Gretchen Carlson — one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People (2017) — who successfully sued Fox founder and CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment and has since worked tirelessly to change legislation that silences the victims of sexual harassment. Meanwhile, Vivid Ideas Up Late will pop up at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Australian Museum, the Powerhouse Museum and the National Maritime Museum, hosting free nights filled with talks, performances, fashion, music and food. Music-wise, Vivid Sydney is no slouch, either. For starters, Vivid Live at Sydney Opera House will feature Paul Kelly, Thelma Plum and Ash Naylor during a gig dubbed Time And Tide: Four Decades of Song; Sampa The Great's new show An Afro Future; and Berlin-based piano star Nils Frahm performing Music for Sydney. Over at the Carriageworks precinct, the all-female Japanese rock band Chai will be hitting the stage, as will Estonian rapper Tommy Cash. Baxter Dury is bringing a splash of London disco to the CBD, and rock 'n' roll meets psychedelia at Spiritualized's taking over Luna Park's Big Top. Vivid Sydney 2022 will run from Friday, May 27–Sunday, June 18. For further information and tickets, head to the event's website. Top images: Yarrkalpa — Hunting Ground (2021), by the Martu Artists and Curiious with soundtrack by Electric Fields and Martu Artists (inspired by Yarrkalpa — Always Walking Country, 2014), Destination NSW (first image); For Sydney With Love, by Ken Done on Customs House, Spinifex Group (fourth image); Future Natives, by Chris Daniel, Destination NSW (fifth image); Convergence, by Mandylights, Destination NSW (sixth image).
Newsflash: fashion isn't just about looking good. Sustainability is playing an ever-increasing role for many designers, and there's a new Australian magazine trying to to support and highlight their noble pursuits. With their first edition launching only a matter of months ago, Hessian is your new go-to publication for feel-good fashion. For those a little out of the loop, we spoke to editor-in-chief Siggi McCarthy to get the inside scoop. How are people embracing this new trend? Where can you get your hands on the good stuff? What does it all mean? So, what is Hessian? "Hessian was founded simply out of necessity," McCarthy says. "Violette Snow (founder) felt there needed to be a magazine that packaged sustainable fashion in a way that was accessible, exciting and fresh. Without sounding like a crazy hippy, the earth and the people living here are in trouble and we need to step up and do something about it." McCarthy first met Snow when she was working for Ethical Clothing Australia, manning their stall at the Sustainable Living Festival. The two got chatting and soon realised they were very much on the same page. "I was immediately drawn to the idea of Hessian and knew I wanted to be a part of it. Violette was putting onto paper what I'd been thinking about for a long time: Why can't sustainable fashion be aesthetically pleasing? Why don't we expect more from fashion labels? Can someone please stop using the word 'green'?" "There needs to be a greater dialogue when it comes to ethical issues in the fashion industry but we can't create real change if we alienate young consumers. This is why Hessian uses a concept called subtle sustainability." Sustainability is a bunch of small choices "Subtle sustainability is a stripped back easygoing concept that encourages us to think about leading a more conscious lifestyle," McCarthy says. Instead of shoving it in people's faces, Hessian focusses on making realistic and achievable lifestyle changes — people want to feel as though they're making a difference, but they also don't want to read about doom and gloom. "Put simply, we just want young people to make informed choices and realise that mindful living can actually be fucking cool." Focussing on the bigger picture, Hessian prefers to think of itself as a style magazine rather than a fashion rag. "We encourage people to embrace quality local production, independent design, good craftsmanship, and style that transcends seasonal fads." You don't have to look bad to feel good Good news do-gooders! These days you can buy sustainable products without compromising on quality or style. "While some brands unfortunately reinforce the stigma attached to sustainable fashion — that it's heinous — there are labels out there that are encouraging people to buy ethically through beautiful clothing," McCarthy says. "I think that's the key to a more sustainable fashion industry — blending ethics with aesthetics so seamlessly that sustainable clothing becomes the more desirable option." Bottom line: people want to buy clothing because they look good and that's never going to change. "They’re not going to settle for something that looks like crap just because it has a nice story behind it." There are lots of brands doing great things "I think us young folk get a bit of a kick out of knowing who is behind the clothing and wearing something that comes from a small run," McCarthy says. And, luckily for us, there are a bunch of local independent designers doing us proud in the sustainability stakes. In particular, Siggi recommends Kuwaii, Celeste Tesoriero, PER-TIM, Julie White, Thursday Sunday, YEVU, Kester Black, Nobody Denim and The Social Studio. Working at Ethical Clothing Australia, McCarthy also tries to support accredited labels. "R.M. Williams, for example, is ECA accredited and make the best boots locally in South Australia," she says. "I also dig NICO Underwear, which is made in Queensland using organic cotton and bamboo." Overseas favourites include Honest by, Everlane, Kowtow and Study. The good stuff can be hard to find The difficult thing about small independent labels is that they can be tricky to hunt down. In lack of an outlet store, McCarthy recommends hitting up Monk House Design, Dagmar Rousset, and trusty old op shops. But her hot tip is social media — there a bunch of great Facebook groups selling good quality, secondhand clothing. "When I meet girls to pick up items bought in these groups, it always feels like a drug deal," she says. "You generally don't know what the seller looks like, so you stand awkwardly on a corner hoping to make eye contact. When you suspect it's the right person, you walk up to them hesitantly, exchange pleasantries, inspect the garment, give them the money and then go about your day. Sometimes I think I buy clothing off these groups more for the experience than the clothing!" You can do it for cheap Of course, doing things right doesn't always come with a huge price tag — this isn't like the organic section at Coles. If you're doing this on a budget McCarthy suggests you stick to Facebook or Instagram and hit up online swaps like The Clothing Exchange. She also suggests you invest in quality over quantity. Buying one great item that lasts you saves you a bunch of money in the long term. You should also shoot for a well-curated wardrobe. This means thinking about what you already own and how your clothing can be worn with the garment you're considering buying. There's not much point having a wardrobe filled with pieces that don't work together. Last but not least, don't worry about wearing the same clothes often. If you look good — work it. For more on sustainable fashion pick up Hessian from their online store or Happy Valley, Brunswick Street Bookstore, Save Yourself Boutique, Dagmar Rousset, Greenhorse Boutique, Limedrop in Victoria. In NSW you can pick up a copy at Darley Collective. Images via Hessian Magazine, Dagmar Rousset, Kuwaii, Monk House Design.
From award-winning Australian novel to sold-out mainstage production, Jasper Jones is now getting the long-awaited big screen treatment it deserves. Madman Entertainment has today released the trailer for the anticipated film version of Craig Silvey's lauded novel, a revisualisation directed by Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae, Radiance, One Night the Moon) and produced by Vincent Sheehan (Animal Kingdom, The Hunter) and David Jowsey (Mystery Road, Goldstone). Jasper Jones follows the classic story of 14-year-old Charlie Bucktin, a wide-eyed, book-loving kid living in small-town Western Australia in the summer of 1969. When local mixed-race outcast Jasper Jones wakes him up in the middle of the night, one heck of a mystery starts for the pair (and the town). Who's in the cast? Oh, just Australian royalty Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving, alongside Levi Miller (Pan, upcoming Red Dog: True Blue), Angourie Rice (These Final Hours, The Nice Guys), Dan Wyllie (Offspring, Muriel's Wedding), Matt Nable (Riddick, Son of a Gun) and Aaron McGrath (GLITCH). Get your eyes all over the trailer, it comes with a new song from Sydney lad Dustin Tebbutt, 'Atlas in Your Eyes'. Jasper Jones will be released in cinemas on March 2, 2017.
Each September, as the weather warms up and spring begins to truly blossom, music fiends head to Brisbane and spend some time in, well, dark rooms. Over a few days, the Queensland capital becomes the centre of the Australian music universe, with artists and industry practitioners doing what they do best — rocking out, discovering new talent, partying and discussing the future of Australian music. First appearing in 2002, BIGSOUND is a conference, festival and celebration of Australia's best musical talent. Each year, it takes over the inner city Fortitude Valley area, attracting 1300 delegates and more than 6000 music fans. The festival's previous lineups read like a dream: Flume, Rufus, Courtney Barnett, Megan Washington, The Temper Trap, A.B. Original, REMI and Gang of Youths have all graced its stages, while Nick Cave, Neil Finn, Kim Gordon, Billy Bragg and Amanda Palmer have shared their knowledge, experience and wisdom. The event itself isn't the only source of fun, however. At this time of year, the sun is shining, the vibe is buzzing and Brisbane is truly jumping. In fact, with a vibrant cultural scene and an array of delicious dining options on offer, it's the perfect time to discover just why Australia's third-largest city is one of the country's gems. Some Australian events (like this one) are worthy of a road trip, and aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing BIGSOUND into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you plan your out-of-the-city trips ahead of time, so you can detour from your regular routine and inject a little adventure into your life. Here's how to spend your days before, during and after your trip to Brisbane — where to stay, what to do, and what to eat and drink from September 5 to 8. [caption id="attachment_498758" align="alignnone" width="1127"] Limes Hotel Rooftop.[/caption] STAY Over the past decade, Brisbane has become a boutique hotel wonderland — the Fortitude Valley area in particular. If you have some cash to spare, the Emporium leads the pack with their rock star-like indulgence — think dark interiors, a rooftop pool and a killer view of the Valley. Still staying central, the nearby Limes Hotel remains a favourite for its plush rooms and rooftop bar, as well as its proximity to beloved local haunts like Alfredo's Pizzeria and Alfred and Constance. Looking for something a little bit different (or cheaper)? For the artistically inclined, TRYP Fortitude Valley wears its love of street art on its walls — once a warehouse, it's now an affordable option that's appealing to both the eyes and the wallet. Or, look to resident budget option, the Snooze Inn, to save as many pennies as possible for having fun rather than hitting the hay. It's cosy rather than fancy, and is located literally just down the road from the Valley — meaning you'll remain close to everything BIGSOUND, as well as neighbourhood arcade-game bar, Netherworld. [caption id="attachment_622127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tkay Maizda at BIGSOUND.[/caption] DO This year at BIGSOUND, Aussie icons Archie Roach and Tina Arena will lead the speaker program, as well as Quentin Tarantino's regular music supervisor Mary Ramos, aka the woman responsible for all of those ace tunes on the Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and Kill Bill soundtracks. As far as the band schedule is concerned, prepare to hop around faster than a rabbit on Easter, with every bar, space, nook and cranny around Fortitude Valley boasting a gig or party. The official program will include over 150 acts at more than 15 venues, and the unofficial parties — which have included backyard blowouts and ping pong showdowns in previous years — will likely double that number. When you're not experiencing sonic wonders, you should spend your time wandering around Australia's only designated special entertainment precinct, and venturing further afield. In the Valley, keep indulging your love of music with a record store crawl — starting at Foundry Records and ending at Tym's Guitars, where you can scope out a hefty range of instruments. And while you're strolling and perusing, drop by some of the many galleries in the area — Artisan, the Institute of Modern Art and Heiser Gallery are all worth a visit (keep your eyes peeled for street art as well). [caption id="attachment_622138" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Institute of Modern Art.[/caption] If spending time inside during BIGSOUND has you hankering for some fresh air, sneak a trip to New Farm Park. Enjoy a picnic by the river, laze around on the grass, or just go for a walk through one of the city's best nature-filled spots. You could also stop by the neighbouring Brisbane Powerhouse — more often than not, there'll be an event on that's worth checking out. If the itch to keep exploring hits, jump on a CityCat and see the sights from the river. Go one way, and you can continue soaking in parklands at Northshore Riverside Park. Go the other, and you'll cruise right through the city. Disembark for a walk through South Bank, and go for a dip in the free, beach-like pools, before moseying around the Gallery of Modern Art. [caption id="attachment_581014" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Gerard's Bistro.[/caption] EAT Spending four days listening to chatter about music is enough to work up an appetite. Thankfully, you're in the right spot. Heading down to Chinatown, which runs adjacent to the Brunswick Street Mall, is the best way to get the classic Fortitude Valley experience. You can easily pick a place at random, or opt for one of the mainstays. For Chinese and yum cha, that's King of Kings, and for Vietnamese, the appropriately-named The Vietnamese Restaurant will treat your tastebuds to an explosion of flavour. Try the salt and pepper quail, and thank us later. In the opposite direction, you'll find a few Brisbane faves. If you like burgers — and this is a burger town, believe us — then Ben's Burgers on Winn Lane will satisfy your cravings with their simple, delicious menu. Or, leap over the road to Bakery Lane, where newcomer Johnny's Pizzeria combines Italian staples with a disco theme, and I Heart Brownies will have you doing just that with their jaffa, salted caramel and cherry-coconut baked goods. Sticking with the area's laneways, wander down to New Farm and off James Street to Gerard's Bistro for a relaxed, award-winning sit-down lunch or dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. Expect a blend of modern Australian and Middle Eastern dishes, including the adventurous likes of lamb's tongue toast, the meaty goodness of slow-roasted wagyu brisket for two, and sheep's yoghurt sorbet with honeycomb, milk and orange blossom for dessert. [caption id="attachment_619623" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Newstead Brewing Co.[/caption] DRINK Think beer in Queensland, and everyone immediately thinks XXXX. Think breweries, though, and it's a trip to the inner north that's recently started topping booze-loving Brisbane visitors' wish lists. Newstead Brewing have spread their wings and opened a new Milton headquarters, but their original Doggett Street birthplace is always pouring something yeasty from their 12 taps. Green Beacon's multi-award-winning 3 Bolt Pale will ensure you know exactly where you are thanks to notes of fresh mango — and other fruits — in its fresh, golden ale. And a post-gig hang out over a few beverages in The Triffid's beer garden, owned by Powderfinger bassist John Collins, will do you well. Fans of spirits can get their fix at tequila bar Alquimia and whisky haven Nant, and if you like the bubbly stuff, even champagne gets its time to sparkle at Baedeker. As for every other bar in the area, you'll probably end up at most of them anyway, thanks to BIGSOUND's huge gig lineup. BIGSOUND 2017 takes place in various venues across Brisbane and Fortitude Valley from September 5 to 8. Personalise your next adventure via The Playmaker, driven by Mazda3.
