Chances are, no matter how many drinks you downed on ANZAC Day, you didn't wake up with a penguin in your bed. That is, unless you're one of these three guys. In a wild night dubbed 'The Hangover come to life', three allegedly intoxicated tourists broke into the Gold Coast's Sea World Australia this past weekend. Once inside, they took the opportunity to go for a dip with the dolphins, take a video or two, and - oh yeah - kidnap a penguin. The unsuspecting penguin, named Dirk, had an even rougher go of it. Released by one of the three (panicked) men early Sunday morning, Dirk took to a nearby shark-infested waterway. Once chased out of his watery haven by a menacing shark, he out-waddled a curious dog before being rescued by passersby. Dirk has since by safely returned to Sea World, and to his lady penguin, Peaches. The three jokesters may not get off so lucky. They have released the phone-captured video of their drunken prank in hopes of demonstrating their 'non-malicious' intentions; even so, they are currently facing charges. https://youtube.com/watch?v=6ze6HKOiCNQ
Sydneysiders, if you're currently reading this from somewhere dry, warm and cosy, we suggest that you keep it that way for the rest of the day. After a particularly stormy night that saw flash flooding across the state, the wet weather is set to stick around for the rest of the day. And not just any old wet weather, either. The Bureau of Meteorology is reporting that intense storms are on their way to Sydney, which are "likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding, damaging winds and giant hailstones". A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Sydney and most areas in the state's east. The wild weather is a result of tropical cyclone Owen moving across the country, creating a low-pressure system in NSW. That means a high chance of heavy rainfall and lots of thunderstorms this evening and into tomorrow morning. At the moment, public transport looks to be running on time and no major roads have flooded, but this could change if the storm hits around peak hour. Stay dry out there. And remember to check Live Traffic, Transport Info and BOM for warnings and updates. Image: Live Traffic NSW.
Believe. That's Ted Lasso's (Jason Sudeikis, Saturday Night Live) standard advice, and it's going to come in handy in the hit Apple TV+ sitcom that shares his name's upcoming third season. On-screen, the American coach and his AFC Richmond team need to believe in themselves after their promotion to the Premier League, especially when everyone around them thinks they'll be relegated before the year is out. Off-screen, fans of this award-winner can simply believe that the show will finally be back, returning mid-March almost two years after its second season. Believing has played a part in both of Ted Lasso's season-three trailers so far, too, the latest of which has just hit the pitch. The choice of song accompanying the new sneak peek is telling, and just the kind of advice that Ted would give his squad: 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'. The new trailer is filled with glimpses of ups, downs and showdowns to come set to The Rolling Stones' tune, with AFC Richmond battling that lack of belief from outside, and also clashing with the club's former assistant coach Nathan 'Nate' Shelley (Nick Mohammed, Intelligence). He walked out on the team, and on his perennially optimistic mentor Ted, for rivals West Ham United. So, get ready for a hefty rivalry — but is Ted facing off against an adversary still going to be the usual Ted? Viewers will find out across 12 episodes, which will start streaming from Wednesday, March 15. Also, Ted has both work and personal struggles to deal with, Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein, Uncle) leans into his assistant coach role, Keeley Jones (Juno Temple, The Offer) is managing her own PR firm, and AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham, Hocus Pocus 2) is all about defeating West Ham United (and her ex Rupert Mannion, played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anthony Stewart Head, who owns it). While Ted Lasso has felt like streaming's biggest warm hug across its first and second seasons, it wasn't afraid to skew darker in the latter, including as Nate felt pushed aside, ignored and unloved by Ted. Viewers will know that the last batch of episodes culminated with Nate's defection — but as seen in the first teaser trailer for season three, the rest of the AFC Richmond crew still has plenty to believe in, taking one of Ted's favourite words to heart. Also part of the team, whether on or off the field: recent hotshot player Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster, The Devil's Hour), his teammates Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh, The French Dispatch) and Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernandez, Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ted's laconic second-in-charge and long-time friend Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt, Bless This Mess), and AFC Richmond Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins (Jeffrey Swift, Housebound). As the sitcom's first two seasons have shown, viewers definitely don't need to love soccer or even sport to fall for this series' ongoing charms — although if you obsessed over the 2022 World Cup, it might help fill the gap until the 2026 version arrives. Kind-hearted in the way that Parks and Recreation, Wellington Paranormal, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Abbott Elementary have also proven, Ted Lasso will be in for a significant obstacle in 2023, thanks to Ted and Nate's battle. Usually, this series celebrates people who support each other, are always there for each other and form close bonds as a result. Indeed, that's what has made it so instantly likeable. But with Nate now working for the competition, change is afoot — don't expect to see the show mess too much with its winning formula, though. Check out the trailer for Ted Lasso's third season below: Season three of Ted Lasso will stream via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, March 15. Read our full review of season two.
At every change in season the folks at Seasoned Music create a one-off boutique music event. This season's autumn event is inspired by the concept of a German beer garden. Expect plenty of schnitzels and imported beer, to be enjoyed to the tune of some of the world's most-renowned musical artists. This season's playlist includes Swiss DJ Lee Van Dowski and Michel Cleis, both of Candenza Music. Sip your beer amid twinkling fairy lights and naturally, huge, high-quality speakers. The event is as much about the atmosphere as it is the music. Arrive early and dressed to impress. The enchanted autumn evening ahead of you is sure to make you forget your end-of-summer woes. Tickets are available via Moshtix here. To win one of three double passes to Seasoned Music: Autumn 2012, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au
The act of fashioning sandcastles from the tiny grains of sand situated on the edge of the ocean's gently crashing waves holds a place in the heart of everyone's inner child. Standing armed with a spade and bucket on the seemingly never-ending expanse of sand at the beach is a thrill few can forget. The possibilities for creating mysterious cities, dangerous moats, impenetrable barriers, and elaborate decoration within the imagination of a young mind can be exceeded by very few people. However, highly skilled artists who can manipulate the sand so precisely and creatively to produce sandcastles that appear photoshopped or from a fantasy world are some of the few who make that cut. And sandcastle builder Calvin Seibert is one of those artists. Consisting purely of sand particles and water, Seibert's perfect geometric shapes of sharply angled turrets, perfectly curved ramps, and serenely smooth surfaces need to be seen to be believed. Each of the artist's masterpieces takes roughly a day to build, and although appearing as solid as concrete, each construction is merely a light step away from being crumpled into oblivion. Take a look at some of Seibert's astonishing sandcastles. They're sure to bring back the good old imaginative days of childhood - but they will also make you sharply aware of how imperfect your young hands and bucket really were. See more of Seibert's sandcastles on Flickr.
If you've wandered through Surry Hills or the CBD recently, you've probably seen quite a few passenger-less trams zooming around. And you've probably been wondering, like us, if they'll be taking passengers anytime soon. The answer is yes: by the end of the year (supposedly). It's been a heck of a long time coming, but after multiple delays, it looks like you might be able to board a tram on Sydney's new light rail by the end of the year. Finally. To summarise the saga that is the CBD and South East Light Rail project: it was first announced back in 2012, construction began in 2015 and, since then, it's faced legal stouches, cost blowouts and delays galore, due to everything from awry overhead wires and a discovery of thousands of Indigenous artefacts. It was initially meant to be completed in early 2019, but that was pushed out to March 2020. Now, Transport for NSW is confident the first commuter services will be up and running by December. Just in time for all that Christmas shopping and economy boosting, of course. The project's completion also tidily coincides with the scrapping of the lockout laws in the CBD. Cynics will say it's more than a coincidence. It's expected just part of the line, from Circular Quay to Randwick, will be up and running, however, with testing kicking off just last week on the Kingsford to Kensington stretch. Speaking of testing, there's a lot of it going on at the moment across the CBD–Randwick stretch of rail, so Transport for NSW is telling pedestrians, cyclists and drivers to keep a keen eye out for the trams. If you want, you can watch a tram safety video here. Commuter services on the CBD–Randwick stretch of the CBD and South East Light Rail are expected to start in December 2019.
The world is a big place. Making decisions is stressful. Choosing a place to holiday is hard. But if you're really in a bind — or a standoff with your holiday partner — Lonely Planet's latest travel list might be able to help you lock in your next destination. The travel publication has just released its annual Best in Travel list. Topping the list for the best country to visit in 2019 is Sri Lanka. This might not come as much of a shock — if you haven't already been yourself, you most likely have mates that have been over there on a surf trip, to hike through the tea fields or to visit family. According to Lonely Planet's editors, the island nation was given its number one place due to its "mix of religions and cultures, its timeless temples, its rich and accessible wildlife, its growing surf scene" and its affordable nosh. It recommends catching some surf at Arugam Bay, kayaking through the lagoons of Marakolliya Beach, catching the scenic train to Ella, getting some culture in Kandy and visiting the ancient ruins of Anuradhapura. Sri Lanka is still in relative infancy when it comes to tourism; the country's civil war only ended ten years ago, but tourism continues to grow at a rapid rate. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority estimates that the number of tourist arrivals has grown from 448,000 in 2009 when the civil war ended to over two million in 2017. This has seen major hotel chains scramble to open properties in Sri Lanka and improved access to parts of the country that were previously harder to access. Lonely Planet calls it a "country revived" and, we predict, one that's likely to change rapidly with the fast growing tourism industry. Other countries on the list include Germany — which is set to score new museums in 2019 — as well as Zimbabwe, Panama and another new tourist spot, Kyrgyzstan. Unlike last year when New Zealand was ranked number five on the best countries list and Canberra came in as the third best city, neither Australia nor NZ made it onto the lists.
Menai could be the latest Sydney suburb to get a culinary facelift. Located in Sydney's south, the suburb is a bit of a food wasteland hosting a small selection of takeaway joints and 'special occasion' venues. This could all be about to change with modern Australian chicken shop Little Bonny's due to open December 22. From the team that brought Michelin star-quality cafe dining to Cronulla, in the form of Blackwood Pantry, Little Bonny's will bridge the great divide between fast and quality fare for Menai and its surrounding suburbs. Owners Daniel Sorridimi, Rob Lechowicz and Paul Pisani are launching what they call a "refined take on the classic Australian chicken shop". Similar to revolution of cafe culture, of which Blackwood certainly improved the Shire's standing in, Sorridimi believes that chicken shops are coming back in to style — as seen in 2015's reopening of The Paddington. "[They] had sort of been forgotten, but they're making a bit of a comeback...we believe can raise the bar for the chicken shop scene." Little Bonny's won't be the gaudy chicken shop of old. The fit-out, by Luchetti Krelle (who has done the interiors of Acme, The Butler and Tequila Mockingbird, to name a few), will be casual, but not tacky, with communal dining for up to 50 people, a custom-built concrete bar and brass detailing. The main feature is the two brass French rotisseries which will pump out a rotating selection of proteins including chicken, lamb, whole fish, turkey and suckling pig weekly. The signature free-range chicken will be served in two ways: classic French style with stuffing — a tip of the hat to Lechowicz's Michelin-star history in France — or marinaded with chimichurri or garlic and chilli. Sides on offer include seasoned fries, potato and pecorino gratin, and a selection of salads ranging from traditional (coleslaw) to trendy (turmeric roasted cauliflower with radicchio and pomegranate). Seasonally flavoured soft-serves and Blackwood's signature milkshakes will kick those post-chook sugar cravings. Little Bonny's will be situated in one of Menai's three commercial centres hosting supermarkets, retail stores and professional businesses. Officially, Menai is an often-forgotten part of the Sutherland Shire in a pocket of suburbs located on the 'other' side of Woronora Bridge, but is a busy thoroughfare for traffic to and from the Shire and South Coast. As locals of the area, the team is confident that the location will work well. "We can capture traffic from local suburbs like Bangor and Illawong...but it is also such a short drive from [southern Bankstown suburbs] Revesby and Padstow," says Sorridimi. Little Bonny's will open on December 22, 2017, at F1.03 5–21 Carter Road, Menai. Stay updated via the Facebook page.
Forget about kennel stays or pet-sitting — the latest homegrown tourism campaign to hit our small screens is encouraging very good dogs to head off on their own weekend getaways (well, it's encouraging their owners to bring them along for the ride). The latest — and yes, slightly ridiculous — Visit Victoria ad campaign pushes the idea that dogs make the world's best travel buddies, showcasing pet-friendly cafes, restaurants, accomodation, breweries, wineries and activities all across regional Victoria. In an advertising first, it's also "dog-optimised", apparently, featuring a visual set-up designed specifically for dogs' eyeballs, apparently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHbvL1dwVYk Pulling together content from some of the state's favourite four-legged social media influencers, Your Dog's Happy Space expands on the recent human-focused Your Happy Space campaign, and highlights the best out-of-town stuff you can enjoy with your dog in tow. The video ad features pet-friendly destinations like the Yarra Valley's DeBortoli Winery, Pancho Cafe in Daylesford and Toorongo Falls in Noojee, while a supporting website boasts a sprawling directory to yet more spots, organised by region. You can check out the new campaign and all its dog-friendly suggestions at visitvictoria.com/dogs. Currently, around 65 percent of Victorians own a pet, but most think that travelling with them is simply too hard. Let's see if this changes a few human (or dog) minds. Images: Courtesy @tomandcaptain
In 2028, one of the biggest names in Hollywood — and in cinema in general — will turn 100. When that year's Oscars takes place, recognising and rewarding the films of 2027, it'll mark a century of celebrating the latest and greatest on the big screen. The event will also fix a glaring omission from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' annual accolades. There'd be no movie magic without stunts, but the Academy Award for Achievement in Stunt Design will only join the Oscars when it hits its massive milestone. On Friday, April 11, 2025, Down Under time, the AMPAS Board of Governors announced that it is creating an annual competitive Oscar for stunts — and yes, "finally" is the word that should instantly come to mind. Adding the category comes after a concerted push from stunt professionals in recent years, and after The Fall Guy's Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt were tasked with paying tribute to stunt performers at the 2024 ceremony. [caption id="attachment_999323" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Al Seib, The Academy[/caption] "Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking. We are proud to honour the innovative work of these technical and creative artists, and we congratulate them for their commitment and dedication in reaching this momentous occasion," said said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang, announcing the new stunts Oscar. Details on eligibility and voting for the award are still to come, however — and the same regarding how the accolade will be presented. The former will be revealed in 2027, when the 100th Academy Awards rules are unveiled. The latter will be announced "by the Academy's Board of Governors and executive leadership at a future date". [caption id="attachment_999325" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Richard Harbaugh, The Academy[/caption] Wondering which movies might be in contention for the first-ever Oscar for stunt design? 2027's current planned releases include the live-action The Legend of Zelda film, Avengers: Secret Wars, the sequel to The Batman, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and the second live-action How to Train Your Dragon, for starters, plus Sonic the Hedgehog 4, a sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and an untitled Star Wars flick. The Academy Award for Achievement in Stunt Design is just the second new Oscar field since Best Animated Feature Film joined the roster in 2001, the third since Best Makeup and Hairstyling in 1981, and the fourth since Best Costume Design in 1948. The other recent addition hasn't actually been handed out yet, with the Achievement in Casting gong set to first be awarded at the 2026 ceremony, covering movies released in 2025. [caption id="attachment_999326" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dana Pleasant, AMPAS[/caption] [caption id="attachment_718585" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marvel Studios 2018[/caption] The Academy Award for Achievement in Stunt Design will join the Oscars for films released in 2027, so will be first presented at the 2028 ceremony. For more information, head to the Oscars website. Top image: The Fall Guy.
Imagine that someone from the year 2007 or earlier — anyone who existed before May 2008, for that matter — suddenly reappeared today, happily oblivious about everything that's happened since, and immediately asked what was doing big business on the big and small screens. To answer that question, you'd need to explain the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which kicked off 14 years back with Iron Man and has shown zero signs of stopping from then onwards. The MCU hasn't just kept on keeping on over ever since Robert Downey Jr introduced the world to Tony Stark. It has grown and sprawled and taken over not only cinemas, but streaming queues as well. And if you're wondering what's coming next — after a busy 2022 already, which has seen Moon Knight, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Ms Marvel and Thor: Love and Thunder arrive so far — Marvel just unveiled its plans for the next couple of years at San Diego Comic-Con. 2022 still has two MCU titles to come: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which stars Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) as a lawyer who learns that it isn't easy being green, and the eagerly awaited Black Panther sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The first starts streaming from August 17, the second hits cinemas on November 10, and both dropped either new or initial trailers, too. And, they'll round out the Marvel Cinematic Universe's phase four, because this non-stop saga is broken into chapters that split its enormous story up into smaller parts. [caption id="attachment_862313" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.[/caption] Obviously, this means that phase five is on its way. Marvel has also dubbed the story from the phase four through to the end of phase six 'the multiverse saga'. Given that everything from Spider-Man: No Way Home to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been dropping that m-word, that's hardly surprising. The MCU's fifth phase has 12 titles in store — some already announced, some newly confirmed. Come February 16, 2023 Down Under, the third Ant-Man flick — Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — will continue the pint-sized superhero's story (and bring more Paul Rudd to the MCU). Alongside that, hitting Disney+ sometime during autumn 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, is Secret Invasion. It focuses on Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury, and will also feature the return of Ben Mendelsohn (Cyrano) as Talos, as well as Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami), Emilia Clarke (Last Christmas) and Olivia Colman (Mothering Sunday). On May 4, 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 will reach the big screen, while The Marvels — which teams up Captain Marvel (Brie Larson, Just Mercy), Ms Marvel (Iman Vellani) and WandaVision's Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris, Candyman) — arrives in cinemas on July 27. In-between, newcomer Echo, a spinoff from Hawkeye focusing on Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), will make its way to streaming in winter 2023, as will season two of Loki. [caption id="attachment_862338" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.[/caption] November 2, 2023 heralds the return of Blade, with the half-vampire vamp hunter played by Moonlight and Green Book Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali this time around — and sometime that spring, Disney+ series Ironheart will drop, too. First, that character (played by Dominique Thorne, Judas and the Black Messiah) will feature in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. During the summer of 2023–24, Agatha: Coven of Chaos will magic itself into streaming queues as well — giving the delightful Kathryn Hahn her own witchy WandaVision spinoff series, as first revealed in 2021. And, in 2024, phase five will also see a new 18-episode Daredevil series starring Charlie Cox (King of Thieves) and Vincent D'Onofrio (The Unforgivable) hit in autumn. They return to the roles of Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk following the 2015–18 Netflix series, and this go-around is called Daredevil: Born Again. [caption id="attachment_799400" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.[/caption] Similarly arriving the same year: a new Captain America movie, called Captain America: New World Order, focusing on Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) with the cape and shield — on May 2, 2024. And, fellow flick Thunderbolts will release on July 25, 2024, wrapping up phase five, and focusing on a new team of characters. As for phase six, it currently has three titles in the works, with more to come. They're all massive, though, given that they start with yet another Fantastic Four film on November 7, 2024 (with no cast yet announced) and end with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars on May 1 and November 6, 2025, respectively. Just announced in Hall H: Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four, in theaters November 8, 2024. #SDCC2022 pic.twitter.com/z4j7tsfKl9 — Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 24, 2022 For more information about Marvel's upcoming slate of films and TV shows, head to the company's website. Top image: Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Every now and then, Airbnb wants you to sleep somewhere you wouldn't normally be able to visit, such as Barbie's Malibu DreamHouse, the Ted Lasso pub, the Moulin Rouge! windmill and Gwyneth Paltrow's Montecito abode. Whichever spots that the accommodation platform is offering up, there's usually a common denominator: these once-in-a-lifetime stays aren't Down Under. Hobbiton broke the trend, and the Bluey house, too. So does Logan Martin's Gold Coast home. Fancy spending a long weekend at the Olympic BMX gold medalist's house? This spring, you can. Airbnb has been focusing on well-known folks of late, following up Paltrow's guesthouse with Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis' own oceanside equivalent in Santa Barbara County. Now comes Martin's place, with the Australian champ — who won his gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the first-ever men's BMX freestyle competition at the games — welcoming a group of up to four people from Saturday, September 30–Tuesday, October 3. In some Aussie states — including Queensland — the dates do indeed fall over a long weekend. Even if they don't for you, this is a three-night getaway. And it's cheap. How cheap? Just $16 per night, which is a real cost-of-living crisis bargain. If you're wondering whether Martin will be hanging around, the answer is yes — for a BMX demonstration and session in his backyard. He'll put his very own state-of-the-art, Olympic-sized skatepark to good use, and also show you how to, in an effort to inspire future BMX riders. Scoring the booking also includes making the most of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom Gold Coast hinterland home's views, putting green and sandpit, as well as its pool. Inside, you'll be surrounded by Martin's trophies, medals and other memorabilia. Like all of these special Airbnb stays, you do need to be available to kick back on the specific dates — and you need to be lucky enough to score the reservation, which opens at 9am AEST on Tuesday, September 12. Also, all travel costs fall on you, with the $16-per-night accommodation fee just covering access to the property. "I stay in Airbnbs all over the world, and love how these stays have given my family and I a unique way to explore amazing places and really authentically connect with new communities," said Martin. "As a host, I will bring a unique and adventure-fuelled experience to my guests so they can create exciting lifelong memories — including a very special one-on-one BMX experience in my world class skatepark in my backyard." Airbnb adds this new extremely short-term listing to its roster after also doing the same with Japan's World Heritage-listed Suganuma Village, the Paris theatre that inspired The Phantom of the Opera, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, The Godfather mansion, the South Korean estate where BTS filmed In the Soop and the Sanderson sisters' Hocus Pocus cottage in recent years. For more information about Logan Martin's Gold Coast home on Airbnb, or to book at 9am AEST on Tuesday, September 12 for a stay from Saturday, September 30–Tuesday, October 3, head to the Airbnb website. Images: Luke Marsden Photography. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Wotif.com. At the risk of sounding like your mum, going to the Whitsundays at some point during the next few bitter, blustery months would be for your own good. After all, you need your Vitamin D. The cocktails with sunset views, impossibly white sand, high-speed catamarans, winter spa specials, underwater adventures and breaching whales are simply added bonuses. Here's five reasons to make like a migratory creature and head for the heat. SOAK UP SOME VITAMIN D As difficult as it might be to believe, one-third of we Aussies are Vitamin D deficient. What's more, to inject minimum requirements of the stuff into your diet, you need to drink at least ten tall glasses of fortified milk every day. That's a fair bit of pressure on both you and your pet cow, right? Fortunately, there's a much more palatable alternative: jump on a plane and spend some time baring all under the Whitsundays sun, where, right now, the average temperature is 22°C. In fact, 34.8 percent of holidaymakers say that hitting the beach is their hottest winter activity, 29.2 percent seek out new cultures, 24.7 percent just want to laze by the pool and 9.3 percent are after cool cocktails. Speed up your Vit D intake with a GoDo Whitehaven Beach sailing adventure, which involves some super-fast sailing on the luxury catamaran Camira. SWAP HOT CHOCOLATES FOR TROPICAL COCKTAILS Many of us try to make the frosty, shivery months more digestible by wrapping our mittens around a hot chocolate, snuggling up in a corner somewhere and telling ourselves it'll be over soon. But, thanks to the fact that the Whitsundays are just a hop, skip and a jump away (in plane terms), you could be swapping your cocoa for a cocktail, within hours from now. For poolside beverages, there's The Hamilton Island Reef View Hotel, and for a strawberry and orange Summer Love cocktail, complete with sunset views, you can head to One Tree Hill, Hamilton's stunning hilltop lookout. INDULGE AND GET PAMPERED Is winter doing for your skin what Budget 2014 is doing for the arts? Leaving it drier and more forlorn than a lone penguin in Antarctica? You could stay where you are, pinning cucumbers to your eyes and moisturising like there's no tomorrow, or you could head to Airlie Beach. Endota at Pinnacles Resort and Spa currently has a weekday spa special going on and one of the best things about it is that once you've renewed and rejuvenated, you can get dreamy on their private verandah staring out at the Coral Sea and the Whitsunday Islands for as long as you like. SEE THE UNDERWATER WORLD The teenage temperatures that Australia's southern waters reach in July and August are only fit for hardcore surfers, Bondi Icebergers and masochists. The rest of us have to give up, accept the limitations of a terrestrial existence and wait. But on the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef, the water temperature hardly ever drops below 23 degrees. Yes, 23! So you can go underwater with Nemo and his friends in comfort all year round, whether you want to snorkel or scuba dive. SPOT A WHALE Whales have been around long enough to have figured out a thing or two. That's why they don't waste time hanging around in freezing cold water getting grumpy; they head for where the central heating's on full. Between July and October every year, you'll see them breaching around the Whitsundays, making occasional visits to the Great Barrier Reef and generally having a fine old time mucking about with their babies. Book your Whitsundays getaway now with Wotif.com.
Platform sneakers, Union Jack-themed apparel, glittery outfits and anything that screams 90s girl power — it's all currently making its way around Britain as part of a huge new Spice Girls exhibition. Now open in London until August 20, moving to Manchester from August 24 to September 4, and planning to keep touring the country into 2019, Spice Up is exactly what it sounds like. If you wannabe indulging your nostalgia for one of the biggest acts of two decades ago, this is the event to zigazig-ah your way to — and attendees can also see the Spice Bus, aka the double-decker vehicle immortalised in Spice World. In total, more than 7000 items are on display, spanning everything from costumes worn by Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham — hundreds of them, in fact — to as much merchandise featuring the group's name and likeness as the organisers could find. Or, if simply spicing up your life by looking at various Spice Girls-themed bits and pieces isn't enough, the exhibition has also recreated a typical fan bedroom from the group's heyday for the ultimate blast for the past. Tickets cost £10 (AU$17.57), if you happen to be in the UK in the next two months — and there's no word yet if Spice Up will take the show on the road beyond Britain. Just cross your fingers and say you'll be there if it does.
Baz Luhrmann is known for many things; however, as everything from Strictly Ballroom to The Great Gatsby has demonstrated, subtlety isn't one of them. When you're making a hip-shakin', gyrating, pompadour-sporting Elvis Presley biopic, though — and that characteristically huge film is your first movie in nine years — that trait isn't called for anyway. So, when the second trailer for the Australian filmmaker's Elvis calls its namesake a god, it couldn't feel more fitting. Actually, it has Tom Hanks sling that term the king of rock 'n' roll's way to ramp up the sense of importance. "In that moment, Elvis the man was sacrificed — and Elvis the god was born," he narrates, in character as manager Colonel Tom Parker. That said, Elvis, the film, doesn't look content to just take the Colonel's word for it. Instead, as its just-dropped new sneak peek and original trailer from back in February both show, it's diving into why the world's most famous blue suede shoe aficionado became the icon he did — what made him tick, what influenced him, what he stood for, and how that rippled out into the world and got the planet all shook up. That's a big aim, but again, Luhrmann isn't known to shy away from a challenge. Set to release Down Under on June 23 — after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, hosting its local debut on the Gold Coast in early June and also having a flashy premiere in Sydney as well — Elvis stars Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Dead Don't Die's Austin Butler as the music legend. And yes, as the footage keeps demonstrating to the requisite soundtrack of Presley's hits, he looks and sounds the part. Shot in Australia with a cast that also spans a wealth of local talent — Olivia DeJonge (Better Watch Out) as Priscilla, Richard Roxburgh (Fires) as Presley's father Vernon, Oscar-nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog) as singer Jimmie Rodgers, and David Wenham (The Furnace) as country artist Hank Snow, for starters — the film clearly has a big story to tell. Charting the king of rock 'n' roll's rise to fame, exploring the role that manager Colonel Tom Parker played in that success and examining how Presley became the symbol of rock 'n' roll that he still remains now, 45 years after his death, as everything from touring exhibitions to his enduring status in popular culture keep showing: that's all in the movie's remit, too. And, so is examining what that rise, and that ongoing love, says about America and pop culture. Check out the latest trailer for Elvis below: Elvis releases in cinemas Down Under on June 23, 2022. Images: Hugh Stewart.
If you're one of those fancy, fancy people with more Christmas party invitations than actual days on the calendar, you're going to need a good few outfits this December. Sure, you could crank a horrific reindeer jumper worthy of Seth Cohen to each one, but we've got something fancier for you to throw on. Formidable fashion duo, Romance Was Born, have made their mark as the go-to for party showstopper pieces. Just in time for Christmas, they're having a gargantuan sale, selling items from their RWB Spring '14 collection, Tripsy Gypsy, for anywhere between 30 - 50 percent off. That's some pretty epic discounts for some pretty epic threads. Nab special edition pieces straight from the archives, whether for your own glorious wear or for a hit-it-out-of-the-ballpark Christmas gift. But be prepared to get there early, this is some shiny, shiny must-have gear we're talking here. And be civil to each other, no hair-pulling, shirt-ripping etc. etc. Find the Romance Was Born sale in Sydney at Level 3, 101-111 William Street, Darlinghurst for one day only on Saturday, November 29, 10am-5pm. Image: Zan Wembley.
It may not end with a fade to black, with questions hanging over its characters' fates, or the revelation that it's all been a dream — but, however it happens, Atlanta is definitely wrapping up. Since 2016, the Donald Glover-created series has been one of the best things on TV; however, it's about to say farewell with a fourth and final batch of episodes. That isn't new news — Atlanta's end was revealed earlier this year — but that last go-around now has a trailer. In typical Atlanta style, it's cruisy and a tad surreal, and also still full of anxious and probing situations. This is the show that just had Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) pop up and masturbate furiously, ventured into cannibalism and also delivered a wild Amelie parody in its third season, after all. That last round of instalments only arrived earlier this year, airing from March–May, after a four-year wait since season two. Clearly, the gap this time is vastly shorter — so if you're sad about the series ending, at least it's going out with a huge double dose. Exactly what creator and star Glover, who frequently writes and directs the series as well, has in store for his on-screen alter ego Earnest 'Earn' Marks isn't revealed in this first sneak peek at Atlanta's endgame — but Earn says he's in a good place, work-wise. Along with his ex Vanessa (Zazie Beetz, The Harder They Fall), rapper cousin Alfred 'Paper Boi' Miles (Brian Tyree Henry, Eternals) and Nigerian American pal Darius (Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah), he's back in the titular US city after the last season followed the group around Europe. But, being the show it is, coming home won't be simple. Exactly how Atlanta follows up each and every season — all of them insightful, exceptional and unafraid to take big leaps — is always a thrill to discover. As it ventured around Europe, the show's third season went all in on white bullshit, and also on the way that the white-centric world will forever be haunted by how it still treats and has historically treated people of colour. What comes next will arrive for the final time in mid-September, with the show due to start its last run on Thursday, September 15 in the US. It streams via SBS On Demand in Australia and Neon in New Zealand, and will hopefully hit day and date Down Under, so on Friday, September 16, as season three did. Check out the trailer for Atlanta's fourth season below: The fourth season of Atlanta will release in the US on Thursday, September 15 — with the series streaming via SBS On Demand in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. We'll update you with an exact date Down Under when it comes to hand. Read our full review of Atlanta season three.
Every Martin Scorsese movie is worth waiting for, but Killers of the Flower Moon has been decades in the making. The nonfiction book that the acclaimed director's latest film adapts details events in the 1920s, in Osage County in Oklahoma, where members of the Osage Nation became wealthy through oil, then targets for white interlopers. And the feature that's bringing this true tale to the screen? It finally unites Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in one of Scorsese's full-length flicks, after the filmmaker has spent decades working with both separately. Marty. De Niro. Leo. Yes, enough said. That's the basic maths behind Scorsese's first film since 2019's The Irishman, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in May, will hit cinemas Down Under in October and then heads to Apple TV+ after that. De Niro and DiCaprio have been in so many of the legendary director's movies that it's rare for any of his titles to not include one or the other. The former's run gave viewers gangster masterpieces such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino; also spans the iconic Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The King of Comedy; and covers musical New York, New York and thriller remake Cape Fear, too — and, of course The Irishman. The latter began leading Scorsese's films in the early 2000s, kicking off with Gangs of New York, then starring in The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street. That's a helluva resume for both actors, and for their favourite helmer. Enter Killers of the Flower Moon — which is actually the second time that De Niro and DiCaprio have joined forces for Scorsese, after they played themselves in the director's 2015 comedy short The Audition. The actors have a past on-screen beyond that thanks to the non-Marty helmed This Boy's Life in 1993, back when DiCaprio was still a teen. That's the Scorsese–De Niro–DiCaprio history. Its main talents aside, Killers of the Flower Moon has looking backwards on its mind as well. As seen in the initial teaser in May and just-dropped full trailer now, the film jumps into a series of real-life of murders. DiCaprio (Don't Look Up) and Certain Women standout Lily Gladstone play Ernest Burkhart and Mollie Kyle, a couple that gets caught up in the investigations surrounding the mounting killings. The deaths start when oil turns the Osage Nation into some of the richest folks on the planet, and quickly, which attracts the wrong kind of notice — attention fuelled by greed and envy, and resulting in manipulation, extortion and homicide. Killers of the Flower Moon surveys that story through Burkhart, Kyle and their romance. Scorsese also co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth (Dune, and an Oscar-winner for Forest Gump), adapting David Gann's 2017 non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. And, as well as De Niro (Amsterdam), the movie co-stars Jesse Plemons (Love & Death), John Lithgow (Sharper) and newly minted Best Actor Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale). Check out the full trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon below: Killers of the Flower Moon releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 19, and will then stream via Apple TV+ at a later date — we'll update you with streaming details when they're announced.
This article is part of our series on the 17 most unique things to have come out of Japan. Check out the other 16. International travellers can now try Japan’s super high-tech toilet, with the opening of a showroom at Narita Airport. The toilet comes from the company Toto, which revolutionised attitudes to toilet-going by teaching us to see the bathroom as a site for constant innovation. Largely thanks to Toto, Japan has long had the edge when it comes to toilet technology. The newest invention features a motion-sensing seat, which lifts automatically. And it eliminates the need for paper, providing, instead, a spout of warm water, followed by a warm breeze. The most advanced model allows you to decide at exactly what temperature and pressure you’d like to experience these elements. Go really fancy and you’ll score a seat that you can warm up, lights, music, pleasant scents and the ability to self-clean. The benefits aren't just sensory; they’re environmental, too. “We wash most things with water and wouldn't dream of wiping a dish or anything else with a piece of paper and calling it clean. So why should personal hygiene be any different?” Lenora Campos, a spokeswoman for Georgia-based Toto USA, told the New York Daily News. At Narita, the experience is enhanced with a tranquil, architect-designed space and colourful, glowing walls, where silhouetted women and men are seen dancing in celebration of just how much toilet technology has achieved. Via Quartz.
Independent art and design festival Finders Keepers is back for another season. The twice-yearly fair is a calendar staple for those on the hunt for unique, quality wares. Plus, there's an added bonus: the market supports local and emerging artists. This year, the Sydney event will run from Friday, May 4, to Sunday, May 6, and oh boy, is the lineup looking good. Prepare to set aside a good chunk of time foraging for artsy finds for yourself or a loved one — a friendly reminder: Mother's Day is the following weekend. Luckily, the trading hours this year have been extended to give you maximum shopping time, with things kicking off at midday on Friday. With close to 200 vendors planning to set up shop in Barangaroo's colossal entertainment space The Cutaway, you could quite easily become overwhelmed by choice. Rather than letting you walk around aimlessly, we have narrowed down the list to our top five favourite stalls. Make a beeline to these vendors to discover a bevy of bold, quirky and, in one case, tasty finds. And then you're free to explore the rest — truthfully, they're all stellar. [caption id="attachment_665519" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: supplied[/caption] FOR TOP-NOTCH CERAMICS: HAYDEN YOULLEY DESIGN There is often beauty in simplicity, and this is what makes ceramicist Hayden Youlley's designs so sought-after. His revered Paper collection, a series of classic tableware that incorporate random crinkles to create the appearance of crumpled paper, was first released back in 2011. It remains popular today due to its simple and functional design, and has since been expanded to include pops of colour. Another line titled Tessellate is a collection of small pastel dishes in geometric shapes. All of Youlley's designs are classy but cool — a safe bet for a Mother's Day gift or for adding to an eclectic ceramics collection. [caption id="attachment_665520" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Samee Lapham[/caption] FOR QUIRKY CANDLES: YOU, ME & BONES Sure, candles in glass or ceramic jars are nice. But if your aesthetic is a little more left-of-centre this stall is sure to catch your eye. You, Me & Bones is all about hand-poured wax products that will either make you giggle or squirm, depending on what side of squeamish you're on. Launched with a range of doll heads, the quirky candle line has now branched out to include brains, boobs and even sushi candles. They certainly make for unique gifts and you'll be supporting a one-woman operation, too. Win, win. [caption id="attachment_664988" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Image: supplied[/caption] FOR WEARABLE TEXTILES: VARIETY HOUR If you're of the sartorial opinion that one can never wear too much colour, the prints from label Variety Hour will be right up your street. Taking inspiration from flora and fauna (including our native galah) RMIT design grad Cassie Byrnes's wearable textiles are captivating, using bold colour and distorted patterns. All designs are hand-painted using water colour and pigment inks, which are then digitised and printed onto a variety of silk and linen styles. [caption id="attachment_665532" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Image: supplied[/caption] TO REFUEL: TSURU Given the monumental size of the markets, taking a moment to refuel is highly necessary. This year you have a buffet of choice — from stroopwafels to souvlaki. But we're most excited about the buns and baos from food 'kombi' Tsuru. It specialises in all manner of Asian street foods, including lemongrass chicken in a brioche roll, spicy pork belly buns, cassava chips and pandan pancakes. The perfect mid-shop pit-stop. [caption id="attachment_665517" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: supplied[/caption] TO SUPPORT UP-AND-COMING INDIGENOUS ARTISTS: INJALAK As part of its ongoing commitment to nurturing local and emerging artists, Finders Keepers has launched a new Indigenous Program. The initiative aims to support up-and-coming Indigenous makers and the inaugural recipient is Injalak Arts. This non-profit Indigenous Australian-owned social enterprise supports around 200 artists living in remote communities. Visit the stall at Finders Keepers to find paintings and basket weavings. For more information about the Sydney Autumn/Winter Finders Keepers Market and for the full list of vendors, head to the website. Top image: Mark Lobo
Hamilton may have wrapped up its debut Australian season after stints in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane — including a trip by Lin-Manuel Miranda himself to the latter — and its New Zealand run as well, but musical-theatre fans can stream the smash-hit show's Broadway production whenever they like. Even better: you can now croon the stage sensation's tunes with Miranda, Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer) and the OG cast, in a way, thanks to Disney+'s just-arrived sing-along version. This is your chance to make your very own home the room where it happens, and to take a shot at the Miranda-penned lyrics that every Hamilton fan has stuck in their head on repeat. Whether you're keen to give 'The Room Where It Happens', 'My Shot', 'Burn', 'History Has Its Eyes on You' or 'Helpless' a spin, you can, all while watching the acclaimed performance. In the words of another of the show's big tunes, we expect that you'll be back, too, singing along to Hamilton more than once. Since premiering on Broadway in 2015, winning 11 Tony Awards and nabbing the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Miranda's musical has become a pop culture phenomenon. As a result, it was always going to make the leap to the screen in some shape or form, which it did in 2020 — albeit via a filmed version of the stage production rather than a traditional theatre-to-film adaptation. Now, three years later, that recording comes with lyrics, ready for everyone that's young, scrappy and hungry to give it a go. Indeed, the vibrant, whip-smart and immediately dazzling tale of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton first hit Disney+ on Friday, July 3, 2020 — and now the sing-along version has followed at around the same time, dropping back on Friday, June 30, 2023. If you haven't been lucky enough to catch the popular all-singing, all-dancing production onstage, this "live capture" version is the next best thing. Shot at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in 2016, the recording features the show's original Broadway performers, including Miranda (His Dark Materials) in the eponymous role. Also seen on-screen: Daveed Diggs (The Little Mermaid) as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, Leslie Odom Jr (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) as Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson (And Just Like That...) as George Washington, Jonathan Groff (Knock at the Cabin) as King George III, Anthony Ramos (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, Renee Elise Goldsberry (Girls5eva) as Angelica Schuyler and Phillipa Soo (Shining Girls) as Eliza Hamilton. The story, for those who aren't intimately acquainted with US revolutionary history, chronicles the Caribbean-born "bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman" from his arrival in New York in the early 1770s. As the musical's informative opening number explains, Alexander Hamilton will go on to become "the ten-dollar Founding Father without a father", with the production charting how he "got a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter and by being a self-starter". It's a tale that, unlike those of US Presidents Washington and Jefferson, you mightn't have heard before — which is one of the themes that the musical addresses. Just who is charged with recalling and immortalising the past, and who is remembered in the process, is a significant factor in shaping a nation's vision of itself. Check out a trailer for Disney+'s Hamilton sing-along below: Hamilton Sing-Along is available to stream via Disney+. Images: Hamilton filmed version courtesy of Disney+.
Hard work and circumstance led British artist Chrissie Abbott to fall into her star role illustrating Brit pop diva Little Boots' trippy CD covers. Her geometric designs manage to radiate all the fertile energy of '70s collage while never failing to look like they've been projected back from some mad, polychromatic future we've all yet to achieve. It's a vision Abbott is bringing to Sydney for Casual Cosmology, her show at China Heights, which will show off the pulsing ebbs and flow of this strange new world. A recent Aussie interview with Abbott described her first glimpse of her artwork at rest on a commercial billboard as a moment where "the universe has shifted a little." In Sydney, she plans to create some new worlds of her own, taking bits and pieces of the now to highlight her vision of the future. Setting aside more commercial vibes, the show will expound her theories of nascent days to come with her trademark mix of the everyday at play amongst the ethereal. Cosmology's time in Sydney is pretty brief, so don't miss your chance to come face to face with the future, and smile. Casual Cosmology is open 6-9PM Friday 27, and 12-5PM on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29. Image by Chrissie Abbott
The 'F' word isn't Amanda Fucking Palmer's legit middle name, but the maverick muso has come to be known that way regardless. And with an aesthetic and persona that outsasses everyone, you can see why. Palmer — known as one half of punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, for her solo work and for the cleverly named Grand Theft Orchestra — will be performing a raft of solo shows exclusively for the Sydney Festival. Running each night from January 9-19 (bar the 13th), her shows will enliven the Sydney Festival's intimate and atmospheric Spiegeltent. With enough tickets for everyone to enjoy, the NY icon's performances are sure to be ten nights of mayhem. Want more Sydney Festival events? Check out out top ten picks of the festival. Image by Shervin Lainez. https://youtube.com/watch?v=_J07cuUW2qI
NSW's famed coastline could soon be home to an expansive new marine park, in a proposal announced yesterday by the State Government. In an effort to protect and preserve the region's natural environment and biodiversity, 25 sites between Newcastle and Wollongong would become part of the proposed conservation park — with the whole thing split into three different zones. In the Sanctuary Zones, designed to boost biodiversity, you'd be able to enjoy activities that don't harm any animal, plant or habitat — including boating, snorkelling, surfing and diving — while the Conservation Zones would restrict fishing — and other marine life extraction — to only lobster and abalone diving. There'd also be Special Purpose Zones, put in place to address a specific threat, or reserved for a certain activity, such as special marine park facilities, or Aboriginal sites. A map of the proposed park shows large Conservation Zones near the Bronte-Coogee area and at Forresters near Gosford, while Special Purpose Zones are planned for spots like Sydney Harbour, Long Reef and Wollongong's Five Islands. While the government hasn't given too many details about how it will protect the sites from threats such as litter and pollution, it says it is hoping to find a balance between keeping the coastline beautiful, seeing its marine life thrive, and allowing residents to continue enjoying it all. The proposed marine park covers only a portion of NSW's expansive coastline — which 1750 kilometres and encompasses 826 beaches and 185 estuaries — it's a start. The NSW Government has also announced plans to drop $45.7 million on the first part of its 10-year Marine Estate Management Strategy, seeking solutions for some of the biggest threats facing the state's marine environment, including litter and pollution. Over the next six weeks, locals can have their say on the proposed marine park, as part of an extensive community consultation. Head here to share your thoughts. Image: Destination NSW
Been sharpening up your swing in anticipation of the Australian Open? Wondering how your skills might stack up in a match against Rafael Nadal or Li Na? The world's first 'connected' tennis racquet is at your service. Unveiled this week at the international CES, held January 7-10, in Las Vegas, the product is the brainchild of tennis equipment company Babolat. It's built according to the dimensions of a regular racquet, but with a difference. Sensors located in the handle measure pretty much every detail of your performance, including power, impact, spin, forehand, backhand, overhead smash and serves. An interface called 'The Pulse' collates and analyses the data, scoring your game in terms of power, endurance and technique. Some of the world's biggest tennis names have put their support behind it. Nadal thinks it's "great because you have the chance to know much more about your tennis, much more about the way you are hitting the ball, the way that you want to improve ... you can have fun with that." Na says, "You get a much deeper understanding of your game." An app allows the user to record statistics, thereby keeping track of when and how their performance is improving. There's also a limitless online community, where information can be shared and compared with others. The Babolat Play retails for US$399. Via PSFK.
April 14, 2018, will forever go down in history as the day Beyoncé took to the Coachella stage and made it her own. If you were lucky enough to be there, you'll no doubt remember it forever. If you watched the live stream — and it became the most-watched live-streamed performance of all time, so you probably did — then you'll never forget it either. Whichever category you fell into, you likely wish you were closer to the action — to the stage for the 137-minute performance, to the 100-plus dancers, to its powerful homage to America's historically black colleges and universities, and to the backstage antics as well. Enter Netflix's Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé, the concert documentary you definitely knew you needed, but didn't know existed until now. Yesterday, Wednesday, April 17, the streaming platform released the in-depth look at Bey's epic show, revealing "the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement". Like the real-life performance, the film clocks in at 137 minutes, so expect a lengthy and intimate tour through the festival set everyone has been talking about for a year, including behind-the-scenes footage and candid chats that delve into the preparation process and Bey's stunning vision. You know what else is lengthy? The 40-track live album Bey just dropped on Spotify. Yep, the Queen has blessed us on two platforms this week. We are not worthy. As well as live renditions of 'Sorry', 'Crazy in Love' and 'Soldier' — the latter which was performed with former Destiny's Child group mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams — from Coachella, the album, also called Homecoming, features a song by Blue Ivy (Bey's daughter) and two bonus tracks. It's also doubly exciting that the album is available on the easier-to-access Spotify, as Bey dropped her most-recent album Lemonade exclusively on Tidal, her husband Jay-Z's streaming service. The long weekend is here. You have four hours of Beyoncé content to consume. Happy listening and viewing, friends. Head to Netflix to watch Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé and listen to the album below:
Aussies are known for being passionate about sports — it's kind of our thing. And in January it's all about tennis. Down in Melbourne, the Australian Open takes over the city for more than two weeks of tennis action. Sydneysiders need not despair, as there are plenty of ways to get into the spirit of the Australian Open if you can't make a trip down south. With the season soon to be in full swing, we've put together a few of the best tennis-related activities to jump into if you just can't get enough of the excitement. It'll be ace. HEAD TO THE COOGEE BAY HOTEL TO WATCH ALL THE ACTION If you're after a quintessential Aussie summer experience, round up your crew to watch the Australian Open on a big screen. Preferably you'll want to be outside in a lush garden with a few cold ones, before or after a dip at the beach, in which case Coogee Bay Hotel has you covered. It's bringing all the action to Sydney shores till Sunday, February 2. You can soak up the sun in the garden with an Aperol spritz or a pint of Stella Artois from one of the pop-up bars, and fill your hungry tummy with a burger and schooey special for $25, all while watching the nail-biting rallies go down on the giant outdoor screen. Between sets, you can enter one of the giveaways, with hats, fans and sunnies all up for grabs. You can find more details and RSVP for this one over here. BRUSH UP ON YOUR BACKHAND AT THESE COURTS AROUND SYDNEY There's something truly inspirational about watching sports superstars at the top of their game. So, when you're feeling the urge to pop on a visor, pull your socks up high and hit the courts, there are plenty of great spots around Sydney to hone your skills. Hit a few balls at the Eastern Suburbs Tennis Club (and follow it up with a swim at Coogee Beach), work on your serve at Paddington's Maccabi Tennis, hire a court among the trees at Cooper Park or enjoy Rose Bay views at Lyne Park Tennis Centre. On the north shore, head to Mosman's Rawson Park Tennis Centre or Primrose Park Tennis in Cremorne. If you're keen to get into the competitive spirit, rope a mate into teaming up with you in a mixed doubles match at social tennis event Social Serve, which is hosting a killer Australian Open themed event on Saturday, February 1. FOLLOW ALL THE GOSS ONLINE Keep up with what's happening behind the scenes by giving a few key players a follow on social media, especially all the Aussie gems who are using their platforms to support those affected by the devastating bushfires. See Ash Barty cuddling a koala on Twitter, follow Nick Kyrgios's donation tally on Instagram and Twitter (he's pledged $200 for every ace he hits for the entire summer) and support Dylan Alcott's $800-per-ace donation on the superstar's Instagram. You can also do your part and pledge your own donation as part of the Aces for Bushfires campaign. CHALLENGE YOUR MATES TO A SPOT OF PING PONG If you're not keen on hitting a full-sized tennis court, ping pong is the answer. Plus, it's probably an easier pick for a social afternoon with a couple of brews than heading to a court to work up a proper sweat. Coogee Bay Hotel's Australian Open shindig brings the goods, with ping pong available for a friendly competition or two. Otherwise, check out the free table tennis tables at the Ultimo Community Centre, Darling Quarter or The Goods Line in Haymarket — just be sure to BYO bat and balls. You can also find your closest table to hire on Table Tennis NSW. HAVE A MOVIE NIGHT WITH THESE TENNIS-THEMED FLICKS Hit the bottle-o for a case of beer or cider and invite your mates over for a night of Hollywood's finest tennis movies. Watch Emma Stone as feminist icon Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes, relive (or discover) Borg Vs McEnroe — the film about the epic Wimbledon match between the 80s rivals which stars Shia LaBeouf and Sverrir Gudnason — or learn a few things from recent documentary Love Means Zero. For sillier vibes, you can't beat Kirsten Dunst's gloriously cringeworthy Wimbledon or Andy Samberg and Kit Harington-starring mockumentary 7 Days in Hell. To check out the match times and to RSVP to Coogee Bay Hotel's Australian Open celebrations, head this way.
Go big by going small. That’s the philosophy of a group of local artists, who’ll next month launch a brand new exhibition space of truly pint-sized proportions. No larger than a breadbox, Sydney’s Smallest Gallery will showcase works the size of thimbles. Who’d have guessed that one of the biggest highlights of Sydney Art Month would require a magnifying glass in order to view it? The diminutive free gallery is the brainchild of Natalie Cheney and Stephen Clement, and will be housed inside the (regular sized) Nauti Studios in Stanmore. Only one person will be permitted to view the tiny gallery at the time, although it will be populated by several equally minuscule patrons. Contributors will include artists Cheney, Chris Kellan and Loni Thompson, as well as community science lab BioFoundry, who have produced a replica of the Mona Lisa made out of bacteria. Members of public can even submit pieces of their own, as long as they're less than 3cm x 3cm x 3cm. Sydney's Smallest Gallery is one of many must-see exhibitions on at this year's Sydney Art Month, which kicks off on Friday March 6 and runs until Sunday March 29. Another big standout on the program is the return of the Collector's Space, an annual exhibit displaying pieces from private collections. This year will showcase the collection of restaurateur Kylie Kwong and her partner, multidisciplinary artist Nell, as well as Max and Gabrielle Germanos’ extensive collection of work by Australian and indigenous artists. Further highlights include Art at Night — featuring after-dark openings of galleries all around the city — as well as ARTcycle tours, in which patrons bike from one art hotspot to another (although the less athletically-inclined might prefer an air conditioned bus). The Art Month program also includes a wide array of public talks, on topics ranging from video art to ceramics to art in the public space. All in all, this year's Art Month Sydney will include more than 100 participating galleries, from the big to the very, very small. For the full program, visit www.artmonthsydney.com.au. Image: Chicquero — Little People Project.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. From the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from June's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW BO BURNHAM: INSIDE Watching Bo Burnham: Inside, a stunning fact becomes evident. A life-changing realisation, really. During a period when most people tried to make sourdough, pieced together jigsaws and spent too much time on Zoom, Bo Burnham created a comedy masterpiece. How does he ever top a special this raw, insightful, funny, clever and of the moment? How did he make it to begin with? How does anyone ever manage to capture every emotion that we've all felt about lockdowns — and about the world's general chaos, spending too much time on the internet, capitalism's exploitation and just the general hellscape that is our modern lives, too — in one 90-minute musical-comedy whirlwind? Filmed in one room of his house over several months (and with his hair and beard growth helping mark the time), Inside unfurls via songs about being stuck indoors, video chats, today's performative society, sexting, ageing and mental health. Burnham sings and acts, and also wrote, directed, shot, edited and produced the whole thing, and there's not a moment, image or line that goes to waste. Being trapped in that room with the Promising Young Woman star and Eighth Grade filmmaker, and therefore being stuck inside the closest thing he can find to manifesting his mind outside his skull, becomes the best kind of rollercoaster ride. Just try getting Burnham's tunes out of your head afterwards, too, because this is an oh-so-relatable and insightful special that lingers. It's also the best thing that's been made about this pandemic yet, hands down. Bo Burnham: Inside is available to stream via Netflix. THIS WAY UP At the beginning of This Way Up, Áine (Aisling Bea, Living With Yourself) is being checked out of a London mental health facility by her older sister Shona (Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe). Her complaints about the lack of a spa are just jokes, but they're also one of her coping mechanisms. She wears that sense of humour like a shield as she steps back into her usual routine — teaching English to folks learning it as a second language, trying to avoid spending too much time at home and attempting not to think about her ex (Chris Geere, You're the Worst). There's shades of Catastrophe in This Way Up, unsurprisingly, and also echoes of Fleabag, Back to Life and Breeders, too. In other words, it has been a great few years for acerbic UK shows about people struggling with all the baggage, expectations and responsibilities that come with being adults — and this addition to the fold, which the always-charming Bea also wrote, continues the trend. Also evident in This Way Up's fellow comedies, as well as here, is a strong focus on women who don't have it all together, or even pretend otherwise. Áine's exploits involve everything from trying to hook up with a fellow rehab patient and getting a crush on Richard (Tobias Menzies, The Crown), the father of a French boy she tutors, to constantly being the third wheel in Shona's relationship with her boyfriend Vish (Aasif Mandvi, Evil), and she stumbles and puns her way through all of it. A second season of her antics is on the way, too, which this first batch of episodes will leave you hanging out for. The first season of This Way Up is available to stream via Stan. STARSTRUCK When Rose Matafeo last graced our screens, she took on pregnancy-centric rom-coms in 2020's Baby Done. Now, in Starstruck, she's still pairing the romantic and the comedic. In another thoughtful, plucky and relatable performance, she plays Jessie, a 28-year-old New Zealander in London who splits her time between working in a cinema and nannying, and isn't expecting much when her best friend and roommate Kate (Emma Sidi, Pls Like) drags her out to a bar on New Year's Eve. For most of the evening, her lack of enthusiasm proves astute. Then she meets Tom (Nikesh Patel, Four Weddings and a Funeral). He overhears her rambling drunkenly to herself in the men's bathroom, they chat at the bar and, when sparks fly, she ends up back at his sprawling flat. It isn't until the next morning, however — when she sees a poster adorned with his face leaning against his living room wall — that she realises that he's actually one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Yes, Starstruck takes Notting Hill's premise and gives it a 22-years-later update, and delivers a smart, sidesplittingly funny and all-round charming rom-com sitcom in the process. When a film or TV show is crafted with a deep-seated love for its chosen genre, it shows. When it wants to do more than just nod and wink at greats gone by like a big on-screen super fan — when its creators passionately hope that it might become a classic in its own right, rather than a mere imitation of better titles — that comes through, too. And that's definitely the case with this ridiculously easy-to-binge charmer. The first season of Starstruck is available to stream via ABC iView. Read our full review. LUCA Unlike Studio Ghibli, Pixar can make bad movies. The main culprit: the Cars franchise. They're a rarity among the Disney-owned animation studio's output, thankfully — because even when it makes a minor delight, like Luca, its usually swims well beyond most of the other family-friendly fare that gets pumped in front of young eyes. Set in Italy over a resplendent summer, this coming-of-age tale might be the closest that Pixar ever gets to making a Frankenstein movie. Forget the whole coming back from the dead part; instead, teenage sea monsters Luca (Jacob Tremblay, Doctor Sleep) and Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer, We Are Who We Are) just want to belong. But, even though they can't help the fact that they're sea monsters, they'd be shunned by the village they decide to call home if anyone ever worked out that they aren't human. The pair cross paths in the water, but when Luca follows his new pal to the surface, he disobeys his parents' strict warnings. They bond over a Vespa, which they both want. Next, they befriend an ordinary girl, Giulia (first-timer Emma Berman), in a quest to win a race to nab their very own moped. The story is straightforward, but the themes still float along meaningfully in this feature debut from director Enrico Casarosa (Pixar short La Luna) — and the sun-dappled seaside animation is a dazzling treat. Luca is available to stream via Disney+. THE AMUSEMENT PARK In 1968, George A Romero changed cinema forever. Night of the Living Dead, his first film, was famously made on a tiny budget — but it swiftly became the zombie movie that's influenced every single other zombie movie that's ever followed. His resume from there is filled with other highlights, including further Dead films and the astonishing Martin, but one of his intriguing features didn't actually see the light of day until recently. It was also commissioned by the Lutheran Service Society of Western Pennsylvania to preach the evils of elder abuse, which isn't the type of thing that can be said about any other flick. The Amusement Park is incredibly effective in getting that message across, actually. As star Lincoln Maazel explains in the introduction, it aims to make its statement by putting the audience in its ageing characters' shoes, conveying their ill-treatment just for their advancing years and showing the chaos they feel as a result. That's the exact outcome as Maazel plays an older man who spends a day wandering around the titular setting, only to be constantly disregarded, denigrated, laughed at and pushed aside as hellishness greets him at every turn. Romero's film is grim, obvious and absurd all at once, and it's a powerful and winning combination in his hands. The Amusement Park is available to stream via Shudder. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK PHYSICAL On a typical early-80s day, San Diego housewife Sheila Rubin (Rose Byrne, Irresistible) will make breakfast for her professor husband Danny (Rory Scovel, I Feel Pretty), take their daughter to school, then run errands. She'll also buy three fast food meals, book into a motel, eat them all naked, then purge. Physical can be bleak — about the pain festering inside its bitterly unhappy protagonist, her constantly fraying mental health, the smile she's forced to plaster across her face as she soldiers on, and her excoriating options of herself — but it also finds a rich vein of dark comedy in Sheila's efforts to change her life through aerobics. Add the series to the list of 80s-set shows about women getting sick of being cast aside, breaking free of their societally enforced roles and jumping into something active. GLOW did it. On Becoming a God in Central Florida did, too. And now those two excellent series have a kindred spirit in this sharp, compelling and often brutally candid show. Byrne is a force to be reckoned with here, in one of her best performances in some time (and a reminder that in everything from Heartbreak High to Damages and Mrs America, she's always done well on TV). Also entrancing, engaging and difficult to forget: Physical's desperate-but-determined tone, and the way it seethes with tension beneath the spandex, sequins and sunny beach shots. The first three episodes of Physical are available to stream via Apple TV+, with new episodes dropping weekly. LOKI With WandaVision, Marvel gave the world a nodding, winking sitcom that morphed into an engaging but still quite standard entry in its ever-sprawling on-screen realm. With The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it opted for an odd couple action-thriller that hit every mark it needed to, but rarely more. Loki, the third Disney+ Marvel series to hit streaming this year — and the third to focus on characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe — stands out from the crowd instantly. Having Tom Hiddleston (Avengers: Endgame) step back into the God of Mischief's shoes will do that. Loki's charms don't solely radiate from its leading man, though. He's as charismatically wily as ever (as he's always been in his scene-stealing big-screen appearances in the Thor and Avengers films), but this series is helped immensely by its willingness to have fun with its premise, and also by the great cast surrounding its star. Teaming up duos is obviously currently Marvel's thing, but Loki pairs its eponymous trickster with a time cop played by Owen Wilson (Bliss), gets them palling around in buddy cop-meets-science fiction territory, and also throws in Sophia Di Martino (Yesterday) as a character that best discovered by watching. Here, come for the usual Hiddleston mischievousness, stay for everything this quickly involving series builds around him as Loki is forced to face the consequences of his past actions. The first four episodes of Loki are available to stream via Disney+, with new episodes dropping weekly. RICK AND MORTY Five seasons in, Rick and Morty has long passed the point where its premise is its main drawcard. That setup is stellar, of course, and always will be — as you'd expect of a series that takes it cues from Back to the Future, but swaps in a dimension-hopping, drunken, cantankerous grandfather and his nervous teenage grandson. What keeps viewers coming back, and also eagerly awaiting each new batch of episodes, is the show's constant ability to twist and morph in different directions in each and every new instalment. That, and its cynical-meets-absurdist sense of humour, its ability to weave in more pop culture references than should be possible while never feeling like the mere sum of its influences, and its deeply melancholic musings on life, happiness and connection. All these traits are on display in Rick and Morty season five so far, even just two episodes in. Co-creator Justin Roiland might now have another animated sitcom about an unconventional family demanding his attention — the also excellent Solar Opposites — but his first stab at the genre shows no signs of waning. Rare is the show that proclaims that existence is meaningless with such gusto, while also celebrating life's small wins and moments. Wubba lubba dub dub indeed. The first two episodes of Rick and Morty's fifth season are available to stream via Netflix, with new episodes dropping weekly. LISEY'S STORY The list of Stephen King books that've made the leap to screens big or small is hefty. The number of those on-screen projects that the author has had a hand in himself is far smaller. That alone gives Lisey's Story an air of intrigue, with every episode of this eight-part adaptation of King's 2006 novel penned by him. As the series follows Lisey Landon, the widow of a famous author, King isn't actually the MVP, though. His presence is felt — which, depending on how much of a fan you are, isn't always a good thing — but this show has plenty of other talent to assist. Firstly, the always-great Julianne Moore (The Woman in the Window) plays the titular character. Secondly, exceptional Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín (Ema) directs the whole show. When Moore dives deep into a role, as she's clearly given the room to here in one of her rare TV parts, she makes the figures she's playing feel as if they could walk right off the screen and into reality. When Larraín lets audiences see the world through his eyes, every frame he creates is utterly magnetic, and yet also probes and ponders everything it is peering at at the same time. It's these two traits that make Lisey's Story a must-see, although a cast that also includes Clive Owen (back on TV screens after the astounding The Knick), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Possessor), Dane DeHaan (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), Joan Allen (Room), Michael Pitt (The Last Days of American Crime) and Sung Kang (Fast and Furious 9) more than helps. The first five episodes of Lisey's Story are available to stream via Apple TV+, with new episodes dropping weekly. CLASSICS TO WATCH AND REWATCH PLANET TERROR + DEATH PROOF The year is 2007. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez team up on two films that pay tribute to 70s exploitation flicks — and they make their movies, dubbed Grindhouse, as two parts of a double feature. That's not always how audiences have been able to watch Planet Terror and Death Proof, either then or since, but this pair of memorable flicks is well worth viewing back to back exactly as the directors intended. In the first instalment, Rodriguez serves up an OTT zombie film that revolves around a go-go dancer named Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan, The Sound). In the second chapter, QT gives the world one of his best movies ever, all thanks to the psychopathic Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell, Fast and Furious 9) and the group of women (Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'s Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zombieland: Double Tap's Rosario Dawson and seasoned stunt performer Zoë Bell) he tries to stalk with his supposedly indestructible car. Both directors play with familiar stories, and with narrative conventions, but that's a big part of the point. Watching them each deliver the most lurid features of their careers (which, in From Dusk Till Dawn director Rodriguez's case, is saying something) is a delight. And from its perfect casting to its nervy mood and tense car scenes, Death Proof is a flat-out wonder. Planet Terror and Death Proof are available to stream via Stan.
Remember when going on holiday meant asking your travel agent for impartial advice on where to stay, play or party? And though you suspected that Gladys Hamby had never actually stayed in that beachfront cabana soaking up cosmopolitan Broadbeach and throwing back stiff Long Islands, she scored you a free daily continental breakfast so you booked it anyway? These days you’re more likely to do your own research when planning an escape, but even better than scanning through an acquaintance’s holiday snaps on Facebook is new social travel website Hooroo. Enticing pictures are accompanied by untold stories, inside tips and destination inspiration, all from real people who really want to share their travel adventures. Once you’ve decided where to go and what to do once you’re there you can choose from thousands of discounted accommodation options all over Australia, from Melbourne and the Gold Coast to Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula. Get your name on their list before the site goes live on July 18 and those deals will be even sweeter. Go here and start hoarding annual leave. Sponsored post
UPDATE, Friday, March 15, 2024: The Aqua with Special Guests tour has changed venues, dates and lineup. 2 Unlimited are now the only support act. The new dates and venues are: Thursday, March 21 — Metro City, Perth Saturday, March 23 — Hindley Street Theatre, Adelaide Sunday, March 24 — Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane Tuesday, March 26 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney Wednesday, March 27 — Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne For the past year, we've all been living in a Barbie world, with Greta Gerwig's Margot Robbie-starring Barbie film the biggest thing in pop culture over the past 12 months. What happens when you combine the planet's love for the pink-hued hit with the never-ending trend that is 90s nostalgia? Aqua touring Australia to bust out 'Barbie Girl' at a big throwback party, that's what. Life in plastic will be fantastic when the Danish-Norwegian band make their first trip Down Under since 2019. Back then, the group responsible for still having their best-known single stuck in your head, plus 'Doctor Jones' and 'Turn Back Time' as well, toured on a bill filled with other acts from the era. This time, they're doing the same thing. Joining Aqua in March 2024 in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth: Belgian-Dutch dance duo 2 Unlimited, British boy band East 17, R&B group Big Brovaz, and English dance acts Phats & Small, Booty Luv and Urban Cookie Collective. Hitting up stadiums, these gigs will be a house of love with no limits. Expect everything from Get Ready', 'Twilight Zone' and 'Alright' to 'Stay Another Day', 'Turn Around' and 'The Key the Secret' to get a whirl. Your latest excuse to keep celebrating all things Barbie-related — and to get a big blast from the past — comes after Aqua popped up on the movie's soundtrack with rapper Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice on the tune 'Barbie World'. Also heading to Australia in the first few months of 2024 to party like it's the 90s on separate tours, because nostalgia will never die: TLC and Blink-182. AQUA 2024 TOUR WITH SPECIAL GUESTS LINEUP: Aqua 2 Unlimited East 17 Phats & Small Big Brovaz Booty Luv Urban Cookie Collective AQUA 2024 TOUR WITH SPECIAL GUESTS DATES: Thursday, March 21 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Friday, March 22 — John Cain Arena, Melbourne Sunday, March 24 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Tuesday, March 26 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Thursday, March 28 — RAC Arena, Perth Aqua is touring Australia in March 2024 with special guests 2 Unlimited, East 17, Phats & Small, Big Brovaz, Booty Luv, and Urban Cookie Collective — with ticket pre sales from 10am local time on Tuesday, January 23 and general sales from 10am local time on Thursday, January 25. Head to the tour website for more information
Little in cinema gets bigger than Godzilla, even if the iconic kaiju's size can change from movie to movie. Soon, little on streaming will be as giant as the famous creature, either, with new American series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on its way. Slotting into the Monsterverse — aka the US franchise that also includes 2014's Godzilla, 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters and 2021's Godzilla vs Kong, with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire joining in 2024 — Monarch: Legacy of Monsters arrives in November. If you're a fictional movie or TV character facing a towering critter, any amount of Godzilla is usually too much Godzilla. If you're a creature-feature fan, however, there's no such thing as too much Godzilla. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters not only expands its own saga, but comes just as Japanese film Godzilla Minus One is about to hit as well, although the latter doesn't yet have a Down Under release date. In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which stampedes onto Apple TV+ from Friday, November 17, the Monsterverse is going the episodic route via a story set across generations and 50 years. It's also expanding its kaiju story with help from Kurt Russell (Fast and Furious 9) — and Wyatt Russell (Under the Banner of Heaven), too. The IRL father-son pair play older and younger versions of the same figure, with army officer Lee Shaw drawn into the series by a couple of siblings attempting to keep up their dad's work after events between Godzilla and the Titans in San Francisco in the aforementioned 2014 film. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters also involves unpacking family links to clandestine outfit Monarch, events back in the 50s and how what Shaw knows threatens the organisation. So, there'll be monsters and rampages, and also secrets, lies, revelations and mysteries. Giving audiences two Russells in one series is dream casting, as both the just-dropped first teaser in September and the newly released full trailer now shows. Also appearing on-screen: Anna Sawai (Pachinko), Kiersey Clemons (The Flash), Ren Watabe (461 Days of Bento), Mari Yamamoto (also Pachinko), Anders Holm (Inventing Anna), Joe Tippett (The Morning Show), Elisa Lasowski (Hill of Vision) and John Goodman (The Righteous Gemstones). Behind the scenes, Chris Black (Severance) and Matt Fraction (Da Vinci's Demons) have co-developed Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, while Matt Shakman (The Consultant, Welcome to Chippendales) helms the opening pair of episodes — and all three are among the series' executive producers. Check out the full trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters below: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters streams via Apple TV+ from Friday, November 17, 2023.
Acting may be in Gracie Otto's blood, but it looks like the younger of the Sydney thesp dynasty is set to make her real mark behind the lens. The 27-year-old's debut feature film is a documentary, and a rollicking one at that, titled The Last Impresario. Charting the cultural impact of pioneering producer Michael White — "the most famous person you've never heard of" — it includes interviews with Kate Moss, Anna Wintour, Yoko Ono, John Waters and Barry Humphries, all anchored by Otto's good-natured but persistent probing of Michael's memories. The movie had its Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival, an event that means a lot to Otto. "For me, every year Sydney winter begins with the excitement of the Sydney Film Festival," she told us. "I am so proud that my film about the legendary Michael White was screened to so many of his friends and my supporters at this iconic festival. I hope audiences love the film as much as I loved making it — Michael's amazing legacy needs to be shared." But it's not just the SFF Otto looks forward to in winter; this is also the time for huddling in art galleries, loosening the belt over an Italian meal, heading mountainside, and appreciating the sudden Melbourneness of it all. To take advantage of these and even more great Sydney winter experiences, go to lastminute.com.au and line up your fun-filled days and even cooler nights. Read more winter in Sydney tips from Vivid Ideas director Jess Scully here. Follow the White Rabbit I love to see exhibitions at the MCA and Art Gallery of NSW there always seems a lot to be going on around this time of year. It's a great time to be inside and be artistically inspired when it's cold outside. I also like to go to The White Rabbit Gallery in Chippendale — they have an incredible collection of contemporary Chinese art. Hit the Laneway Bars In summer I head for open bars and restaurants at the beachside suburbs. In winter I love to experience the many small cocktail bars and wine bars that we have hidden down alleyways and backstreets in the lanes and suburbs of Sydney. It’s the only time Sydney really feels like Melbourne. Enjoy some rich Italian Winter is a great time to indulge my love of eating! Nobody worries about how much food and how many courses they eat when the weather is cold. It’s all about comfort food — steaming hot soups, rich pastas, Sunday baked dinners at home with extra helpings of roast potatoes, desserts! I love Fratelli and Bar Italia when eating out. Retreat to the Mountains It always nice to have a weekend get away and I find the Blue Mountains is a great place to find accommodation. It's close enough that it's not a big trip from Sydney but you feel like you are away and can sit by the fire! Bunker down at the Picture Palace I can never see enough movies so as soon as the Sydney Film Festival is over I head off to the Palace Cinemas in Norton Street and the Chauvel in Paddington and catch up on all the new releases I have missed over the Festival period. The Last Impresario is opening at both these cinemas on 26 June so I am really hoping to run into a lot of people going to see the film! Experience winter in Sydney with lastminute.com.au.
It's blast from the past time — again — thanks to Australia and New Zealand's annual dose of R&B and hip hop nostalgia. Fridayz Live previously went by RNB Fridays, but still serves up the same focus on old-school favourites no matter its moniker. On 2023's bill: Jason Derulo, Boyz II Men, Kelly Rowland and Flo Rida. 'Whatcha Say', 'End of the Road', 'Low', Destiny's Child songs — they'll all get a whirl on this tour, which does the rounds in November. Hitting up arenas at every stop, it'll kick off in Melbourne, before heading to Perth, Adelaide and Auckland. Then it's Brisbane's and Sydney's turn to finish off the run. As well Derulo and his 20 platinum singles, 90s boy band favourites Boyz II Men, Beyoncé and Michelle Williams' former colleague, and one of the biggest fans of collaborations in the business, 2023's Fridayz Live will also feature Jojo, 112, Baby Bash, Travie McCoy and Havana Brown. Making a massive event even bigger, Naughty by Nature's Vin Rock & DJ Kay Gee are on the bill, too, celebrating 50 years of hip hop with a countdown. Just like last year, Yo! Mafia will be on DJ duties, while Abbie Chatfield and Fatman Scoop are both playing host. And yes, it's a glorious time to see huge music names Down Under at the moment, with Fridayz Live's roster of talent joining tours by everyone from Kraftwerk, Devo and Paul McCartney to Sparks, Ms Lauryn Hill and Christina Aguilera, plus Chaka Khan, Fall Out Boy and more, getting retro across a whole heap of genres. [caption id="attachment_915622" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images[/caption] RNB FRIDAYS AND FLAVA PRESENTS FRIDAYZ LIVE 2023 LINEUP: Jason Derulo Boyz II Men Flo Rida Kelly Rowland Jojo 112 Baby Bash Travie McCoy Havana Brown 50 Years of Hip Hop Countdown: Vin Rock & DJ Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature Resident DJ Yo! Mafia Hosted by Abbie Chatfield and Fatman Scoop RNB FRIDAYS AND FLAVA PRESENTS FRIDAYZ LIVE 2023 DATES: Friday, November 10 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Saturday, November 11 — HBF Park, Perth Sunday, November 12 — AEC Arena, Adelaide Thursday, November 16 — Spark Arena, Auckland Friday, November 17 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane Saturday, November 18 — GIANTS Stadium, Sydney RNB Fridays and Flava presents Fridayz Live will tour Australia and New Zealand in November 2023. Pre sales start on Tuesday, September 5, with general sales from Tuesday, September 12 at staggered times. For more information, head to the tour website. Jason Derulo image: Peter O'Dowd.
Humans aren't the only creatures feeling isolated in the time of COVID-19. At the Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo, spotted garden eels are too. And, like anyone trying to stave off loneliness, they're turning to video chats to stay connected to the world — with help from the venue's staff and, if you're keen, from you as well. From Sunday, May 3–Tuesday, May 5, the currently temporarily closed Japanese tourist attraction is encouraging lovers of marine life to make a video call to the site. Once connected, you'll be able to wave and talk to the tank of eels — more than 300 of them. It's all part of a 'face-showing festival', timed to coincide with Japan's Golden Week. Usually, it's a period of celebration, vacationing and travel, but with the country battling the coronavirus, the focus of this year's festivities is staying home. If you're wondering why eels might need to see humans waving at them via video chats — or why the aquarium has arranged the event, to be exact — it's all about health and wellbeing. Normally, the long, slender fish poke their heads out of the sand in their tank, saying hello to human visitors; however with the site out of action due to the coronavirus, and only the venue's staff in attendance, the aquatic creatures are becoming more than a little sensitive, wary and shy. Sumida Aquarium's garden eels inhabit one long tank, with attendees generally spying many, many thin bodies popping out of the sand. In person, it's quite the sight to behold. At present, though, the eels are burrowing instead — which makes it hard for staff to check on them to make sure they're okay. https://www.facebook.com/Sumida.aquarium.official/videos/3333965059986958/ The aquarium is also eager to ensure that the eels don't forget what it's like to be surrounded by humans, so they don't continue their reluctant ways once the venue re-opens. Although it has been shut since March 1, the Sumida Aquarium is typically rather busy, which isn't surprising given its location: beneath Tokyo Skytree, the towering 634-metre tower that's the second-tallest structure in the world. If you're eager to chat, you'll need to do so via iPhone or iPad — i.e. via FaceTime — with five email address set up so callers can connect. The aquarium is taking calls from 11am–3pm AEST (10am–2pm in Japan) across each of the three days, and asks participants to limit their calls to five minutes each. For further details about Sumida Aquarium's 'face-showing festival', which runs from 11am–3pm AEST (10am–2pm in Japan) between Sunday, May 3–Tuesday, May 5, visit the aquarium's website. Top image: Haya_BS via Flickr.
For some reason Sydneysiders have a tendency to rag on each other's hostility and unfriendliness. This probably has something to do with the city's day-to-day shortcomings — i.e. rage-inducing traffic, waiting for a bus that never comes, having to pay $5 for a soy latte etc. — that could make even Kimmy Schmidt a cranky human for a morning. It also might have something to do with Melburnians spreading the rumour Sydneysiders are jerks in the long-standing Melbourne-Sydney rivalry (which, by the way, is propagated almost exclusively by you, Melbourne). But evidently we all need to take a step back and reassess because it seems visitors to our fair country have quite a different view on things — they've just ranked Sydney as the second friendliest city in the world in the 2016 Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards survey. Around 128,000 readers of the international publication voted in this year's survey, and the category for the friendliest and unfriendliest cities in the world was rated against criteria such as how welcome a traveller felt, how helpful its locals were and how easy it was to get around. Sydney topped the list last year, but in 2016 still came in a very respectable second to the US city of Charleston in South Carolina. No other Australian cities got a look in, but Wellington, Auckland and Queenstown all got a place in the top 20. Half the list is made up of U.S. cities, which isn't surprising considering CNT's audience. On the other hand, the unfriendliest cities in the world were named as New Jersey's Newark, Tijuana in Mexico and the Californian city of Oakland, with readers citing that they felt unsafe, overcrowded or — in the case of Newark — just sad. Naw. But here's the places you want to go for the warm smiles and welcoming gestures. CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER READERS' CHOICE AWARDS FRIENDLIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD 2016 1. Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. 2. Sydney, Australia 3. Dublin, Ireland 4. Queenstown, New Zealand 5. Park City, Utah, U.S. 6. Galway, Ireland 7. Savannah, Georgia, U.S. 8. Krakow, Poland 9. Bruges, Belgium 10. Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. 11. Edinburgh, Scotland 12. Austin, Texas, U.S. 13. Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S. 14. Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. 15. Auckland, New Zealand 16. Reykjavik, Iceland 17. Wellington, New Zealand 18. Jackson, Wyoming, U.S. 19. New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. 20. Burlington, Vermont, U.S. Image: Frances Gunn.
This piece of tour news will get you smiling like you mean it: The Killers are returning Down Under before 2024 is out, announcing their latest stint on Australia's stages. The Las Vegas-born rockers were last here in November and December 2022 — including playing intimate midnight shows — and will head back across the same months this year to get local crowds singing 'Mr Brightside' and 'Somebody Told Me' again. Hot Fuss, the album that gave the world those two beloved tracks — and 'Smile Like You Mean It', 'Jenny Was a Friend of Mine', 'All These Things That I've Done' and more — is the reason for the tour. 2024 marks 20 years since it first released, so Brandon Flowers and company are celebrating. More than that, they're playing two types of gigs on their Aussie trip. Most will be Rebel Diamonds shows, pumping through the group's hits across their entire career. In Sydney and Melbourne, however, The Killers are doing an extra night to work through Hot Fuss in its entirety. [caption id="attachment_972411" align="alignnone" width="1920"] © 2022 Chris Phelps[/caption] Open up your eager eyes, Australia: destiny is calling you to those two concerts apiece in the New South Wales and Victorian capitals, at Qudos Bank Arena and Rod Laver Arena, as well as to single shows at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in the Sunshine State capital and Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville. Sadly, the November/December timing means that The Killers won't be repeating their AFL Grand Final berth after stealing the show back in 2017. They will be in the country for the AFLW Grand Final, however, if you want to start crossing your fingers. Given the band's lengthy back catalogue, The Killers won't just be focusing on Hot Fuss tunes at both kinds of shows on their tour, but have plenty more songs to bust out. Also likely to get a whirl as well: 'When You Were Young', 'Bones', 'Human', 'The Man' and latest single 'Bright Lights', just to name a few. The Hot Fuss gigs have been receiving a workout in the group's hometown of late, where they played a soldout residency at Caesar's Palace from mid-August till early September. The Killers 2024 Australian Tour Dates: Saturday, November 30 — Rebel Diamonds — Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville Friday, December 6 — Rebel Diamonds — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Saturday, December 7 — Hot Fuss — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, December 9 — Rebel Diamonds — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Thursday, December 12 — Rebel Diamonds — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Friday, December 13 – Hot Fuss — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne [caption id="attachment_831494" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Killers are touring Australia in November and December 2024. Pre-sale tickets go on sale at 3pm local time on Tuesday, September 10, with general tickets on sale from 4pm local time on Monday, September 12. For further details, head to the tour website. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
These days, most Sydneysiders head to the Hunter or the Southern Highlands when they're looking for a local wine. However, back in the 19th century, it wasn't necessary to go so far. Vineyards flourished all over Sydney itself — from Macquarie Street, where Australia's first grape vines were planted 230 years ago, to Parramatta to Narrabeen. You pretty much couldn't travel in any direction without feeling tempted to stop for a glass or two. For the most part, these historical vineyards were paved over at one time or another, to make way for housing, roads and car parks. Now, though, Cracka Wines wants to bring grapes back to the city. How? By getting residents to grow them on their porches, windowsills and in their backyards. And, to encourage everyone to get started, they're giving away vines of the Pinot Noir and Riesling varieties, because they're the ones that grow best in Sydney's temperate climate. This ambitious, citywide initiative is called the Urban Vineyard Project. Once the vines are growing, participants will be invited to upload them to an online map, which lets them see where other vintners are busy at work. While they're at it, they can access some helpful instructions for cultivating and harvesting grapes, and, of course, making good wine. "On average, Aussies drink around 530 million litres of wine each year!" says Dean Taylor, founder and CEO of Cracka Wines. "We want to educate them further on the wine making process and bring everyone together over a shared love of wine." For more information, visit the Urban Vineyard Project website
If you were one of the many (46,000 to be exact) people on the waiting list for London's pop-up nude restaurant The Bunyadi earlier this year, then you'll be stoked with the news that Spain is set to open its own nude restaurant — only this one will be permanent. Yep, there'll be nude meals all year-round at Innato Tenerife, which will be located on the largest of the Canary Islands, Tenerife. According to The Local, the restaurateur behind the concept Tony de Leonardis was inspired by the London pop-up and will have a similar no clothes, no phones policy. Unfortunately that doesn't mean no wallets though — you'll have to pay a hefty price of €70 for the privilege, which includes an all-inclusive buffet. Perhaps most interesting is the table situation — the waitstaff won't just bring your food, they'll stick around so you can eat it off them too. Yum? Apparently they will be wearing loin cloths and vine leaves though. For modesty. Apart from that weird feature, the setting sounds rather nice. Innato will be located in candle-lit private gardens in the town of San Isidro, with room for 44 to dine among fruit trees. Sounds very Garden of Eden. It will open on January 20 next year — here's the Facebook event if perchance you're naked and in town. Via The Local.
It's been a busy couple of months of stargazing, with both the Lyrid and Eta Aquarids Meteor Showers lighting up our skies. Tonight, Thursday, May 7, there's another reason to look up, too: a supermoon. The last in a series of four supermoons in 2020, according to NASA, this one is called a flower moon. If you're more familiar with The Mighty Boosh's take on the moon than actual lunar terms, here's what you need to know: a supermoon is a new moon or full moon that occurs when the moon reaches the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit. They're not uncommon; three have taken place since February. But, now, it feels especially nice to have something luminous to look out (outside of our apartments). The flower moon is named after the flowers that are usually abundant this time of year in the US, where it's currently spring. Closer to home, this supermoon corresponds with Vesak, a Buddhist holiday marking the birth, enlightenment and passing of Buddha. https://www.facebook.com/NASA/photos/a.67899501771/10158205507416772/?type=3&theater If you're keen to see it, you'll want to catch the full moon when it's most illuminated, which happens when it's opposite the sun (a term called syzygy). According to timeanddate.com, this will happen at 8.45pm AEST and 10.45pm NZST. Have your cameras at the ready, obviously — and see if you can outdo the last big batch of supermoon snaps. Usually, when a supermoon lights up the sky, we'd advise city-dwellers to get as far away from light pollution as possible to get the best view. That's not possible given the current COVID-19 restrictions in place, so you'd best take a gander from your backyard or balcony. If you can't get a clear view, The Virtual Telescope Project will be live streaming the flower moon from 4.30am AEST (6.30am NZST) here. Image: NASA/Joel Kowsky
After a successful run in Melbourne last year, crowdfunding platform Pozible is bringing its pop-up love-in to Sydneysiders next month. Dubbed Anything's Pozible, the project will be taking over The Makery in Darlinghurst from March 7-13 to celebrate the already existing work of emerging creatives and develop their skills for the future. In a more straightforward way, that means workshops, film screenings, classes and performances — all at artist-friendly prices and bookable as (what else?) Pozible campaign rewards. To celebrate the great work that Pozible has already done, opening night on Friday, March 7, will feature a bunch of crowdfunding success stories, including the EP release of local dreamboat, Oliver Tank. It will also be a great opportunity to hear about the innovation behind smaller projects. See Sydney printmakers Rizzeria detail how they raised funds for a new stencil press, check out Trent Jansen's sustainable bicycle reflectors made from old road signs, or hear how James McKay raised over $65,000 on the idea of a single coffee cup. Throughout the following days, workshops will include printmaking (courtesy of the folks at Rizzeria); online marketing for design, film and publishing (courtesy of The Loop); and general crowdfunding know-how brought to you by Pozible itself. Even if you don't have a creative project on the horizon, it's probably worth heading along and mooching some creative inspiration off these people. Embrace the love-in. Find some ideas worth investing in. Registration for classes and workshops is open from Wednesday, February 5, via Pozible. Images from Melbourne's Pozible pop-up events.
It's likely safe to say that no one IRL has met their significant other via the unique combination of a flashed nipple, a dog on the street, then strangers coming together not only to ensure that an injured pooch gets the medical treatment that it needs, but to care for the cute pup together from that instant forwards. It's the type of situation that screenwriters conjure up. In this case, writers and actors Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall have done just that. But one of the charms of Colin From Accounts from its first scenes back when its initial season arrived at the end of 2022 is the fact that it takes an only-on-TV (or in the movies) kind of meet-cute and makes everything about it, and also all that's followed between its protagonists, feel authentic. The charisma between Dyer and Brammall was always going to radiate a genuine vibe. They're married. They're also no strangers to working together on an Aussie comedy series where sparks fly between their characters. The now-American Auto and Evil stars, respectively, also teamed up on the two homegrown seasons of No Activity across 2015–16 (they each appeared in the show's US remake as well, which ran for four seasons across 2017–21, and preceded both versions of the show with A Moody Christmas and Ruben Guthrie). To watch, even playing folks who wouldn't have any awareness of each other if it wasn't for an impossible-to-predict series of events as in Colin From Accounts, their shared presence couldn't be more comfortable. [caption id="attachment_881020" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Tomasetti[/caption] There's an ease to Colin From Accounts that spans far beyond its on- and off-screen driving forces, though, and a relatability. Even the sequence that gets Ashley and Gordon, aka Dyer's medical student and Brammall's microbrewery owner, crossing paths unfurls with a sense that each step along the way isn't out of the question. In fact, it all begins as everyone watching has experienced themselves: with two people not knowing what to do when they literally cross each other's path in the street. Kicking off as you mean to go on — with amusing and insightful comedy that manages not to seem too far from reality when it's at its most heightened, with a new couple and their adorable pet, and with a winning sense of humour — is firmly Dyer and Brammall's approach with Colin From Accounts.facc Accordingly, it's been no wonder that the Binge series has proved a viewer favourite at home and overseas, and earned renewal for a second season. It wasn't a surprise, either, when it started collecting a swag of awards — AACTAs and Logies in Australia, also gongs from the nation's writers' and casting guilds, plus the Breakthrough Comedy Series accolade alongside the Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series prize for Dyer at the first-ever Gotham TV Awards in the US. Speaking with Concrete Playground about season two, which is streaming for Aussie audiences via Binge, Dyer and Brammall give the series the sheen of a miracle, however, thanks to sharing a simple fact: that Colin From Accounts began as a fun thing for the pair to write for themselves, including to act in, but without thinking that anything more would come of it. [caption id="attachment_881024" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tony Mott[/caption] For most, that'll be the least-relatable thing about the hit series: that something this delightful can spring from merely "bouncing an idea around", as Brammall describes it, without having confidence that it'd find its way to the screen. With the pair's resumes — Dyer's also includes Down Under, Killing Ground, Love Child, The Other Guy, The Invisible Man and Wakefield, while Brammall's sports Home and Away, Griff the Invisible, The Moodys, Offspring, Upper Middle Bogan, Glitch, Overlord and Lodge 49, to name just a few other credits for both — the least-believable aspect might be that there was ever any question that the project would, could and should make it to fruition. Season two of Colin From Accounts doesn't dare feel like an easy repeat of the first. Ashley and Gordon are past the will-they-won't-they stage, but now they have the next question to ponder: should've they? The season picks up with them still regretting giving Colin away, so much so that they're desperate to get him back to the point of popping up in the park where he's playing with his new owners, becoming a big part of Colin's new humans' lives — much to the latter's chagrin — and doing whatever it takes to bring their dog back home. But that's just the opening storyline, and something to distract a no-longer-new duo from whether they really are right for each other. From there, the season digs into their romantic histories, approaches to self-pleasure and miscommunication, then what happens when meeting the parents doesn't quite gel and how they might want different things for the future. In addition to the show's original idea and sliding-door moment, we also chatted with Dyer and Brammall about their starting point for the second season, plans for Ashley and Gordon across the series' latest eight instalments, and veering down a new route in its fifth episode. If you've ever wondered how difficult it is to come up with a name that'll work for both a dog and a TV show, we plunged into that as well, then explored the naturalism of Colin From Accounts' dialogue — another factor that makes it feel so authentic — including both when it's scripted and improvised. [caption id="attachment_881023" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tony Mott[/caption] On the Original Idea for Colin From Accounts Springing From a Nipple Flash, a Dog and Strangers Committing to Take Care of a Cute Injured Pooch Together Harriet: "We just made it up." Patrick: "We were just bouncing an idea around, really. I mean, we didn't think it would get made. It was just like 'hey, this would be fun to write something for us to act in because we're actors'." Harriet: "We wanted two people that only had chemistry. They didn't know each other, they didn't have ..." Patrick: "Anything in common." [caption id="attachment_881021" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Tomasetti[/caption] Harriet: "They were not expecting to see each other beyond that moment. It could have been a sliding-door situation where the postman didn't let the dog out, and she just flashes her nipple and he keeps driving and goes 'who was that woman?', and tells his friends at work and that's it." Patrick: "Yeah, that's right." Harriet: "But because the man didn't close the gate properly, then you've got a dog. And that's the kind of magical bit." [caption id="attachment_881022" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Tomasetti[/caption] On the Deliberation That Went Giving a Dog That Name That Also Doubled as the Moniker for a TV Series Harriet: "It's interesting. I never actually loved the name Colin From Accounts as a TV show. I didn't know what else to call it, but I thought it sounded a bit broad, but it's working. It's worked. I can't note it now." Patrick: "Are you kidding? I loved it always." Harriet: "You did." Patrick: "Yes." Harriet: "Yes." Patrick: "We did talk — Binge at one point were like 'hey, do we love the title? Do we think it should be something else?'. And we had a think and the best we could come up with was Dog with Wheels." [caption id="attachment_952631" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Tomasetti[/caption] Harriet: "Dog with Wheels is a different kind of broad." Patrick: "Yeah, yeah. No, not good." Harriet: "It's neither better nor worse, though." Patrick: "Colin From Accounts, I love it cause it's a good misdirect." Harriet: "People think it's about Patty." [caption id="attachment_964082" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Joel Pratley[/caption] Patrick: "Yeah, and that my name's Colin. But it comes from real life because we, a few years ago, fostered a dog for a short time, and he had a name we didn't like. It was Minshu. Like, well done, but we just didn't he looked like a Minshu. And so we literally that conversation we have in episode one season one, pretty much verbatim ..." Harriet: "Airlifted, yeah." Patrick: "... a conversation that we had in life. 'What does he look like? He looks like a Colin. He looks like Colin from accounts'. And we did that, and it amused us to call a dog Colin From Accounts. And so because these two characters, they meet on the same frequency. That's what turns each other on about the other. So that made sense to make that the name of the show, because that's a weird thing when they meet." [caption id="attachment_952629" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Tomasetti[/caption] On the Starting Point for Season Two as Writers, and Diving Further Into Ashley and Gordon's Lives and Relationship Harriet: "We knew that we had to get the dog back, otherwise no one would forgive us. But we knew that it couldn't be that simple —we had to give them obstacles. They couldn't just be like 'oh, here you go'. And so it did feel a little hijinks-y trying to give them — they try, it's blocked, they try, it's blocked, but ultimately, they got him. We just had to get him back. And then once we solved that — we wanted to solve that nicely by the end of the first episode, because we didn't want to spend a lot of time on what felt pretty obvious — but then it was like 'okay, so we got him'. We also talked about do we work without him? We opened the curtain of that, and then we got him back. So that kind of curtain is still a little open, because well, now we've got him, but should we still stay together?" [caption id="attachment_964083" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Joel Pratley[/caption] Patrick: "That's right, because just before that moment happens in episode one, Gordon's like 'you know, let's just see what we're like without him, just us'." Harriet: "And then: knock, knock, knock." Patrick: "And then: knock, knock, knock — and things take over. But really, what we knew we wanted to explore in this season was the baggage that people bring to a relationship. And it's a little bit more Gordon's baggage because he's been a single pants man for so many years. He's in his 40s, and he's just never had a long, meaningful relationship." Harriet: "And he's less front-footed about his stuff. I think Ashley wears her heart and all her BS on her sleeve, whereas he's kind of tucking it away into weird corners. And trying to present this clean guy. And then she finds that box of beers and is like 'what? Just be open about whatever you are'." [caption id="attachment_952630" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Tomasetti[/caption] Patrick: "That's right. So we knew we wanted to open doors in each of them. Now that they're together, what does that mean? So that's what we did. And then we just thought about what do we want the other characters to do?. And we thought of some setpieces in episode four — at the start of episode four, there's a funny kind of moment in our new relationship, which we thought was funny, a bit sexy, and also a bit cringy and real. And we thought that's not only funny, it could be a great conversation-starter for people in relationships to talk about their sexuality." Harriet: "And what their sexuality means to them, and what does it look like when they're by themselves, and habits and all that kind of stuff." [caption id="attachment_964084" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Joel Pratley[/caption] Patrick: "And in episode five, we changed the format of the show a little bit, just to play with something, a particular idea. And the idea we had for that is something that happens to Ashley, and that dictated the form of that show. It's quite different to the other episodes." Harriet: "Yeah, five is a bit different." Patrick: "And then we wanted to meet Gordon's family. And so these things kind of presented themselves, and we placed them around the season where we felt it was appropriate for them to come up." Harriet: "Yep." Patrick: "And then before you know it, you've got a season, you've got eight shows." On Ensuring That the Show's Dialogue Sounds Authentic — Both as Writers and as Actors Harriet: "Because we wrote it, we have a healthy disrespect for it. Learning lines is very easy when you or he wrote it. And also, it's funny, our script supervisor, they're the ones that come over and go 'it's actually and not but' — and we had to pretty quickly go 'we're probably not going to say what we wrote'. But sometimes we have to because we're hitting points. And also sometimes the joke is written so well that you do have to learn exactly the rhythm of it." Patrick: "Yeah." Harriet: "But there's definitely moments that ad-lib happened, and we just always left space for that. And our director Trent O'Donnell [who also directed No Activity] was so good at that. He'd give you a bit to riff on — like that whole bit with the unicycle that was so kind of iconic in season one, 'was this yours? How long have you been single?', that was a bit that he just called out from behind the camera because the props and art department put a unicycle there. That wasn't in the script, but then it ended up in the trailer. So the show is just the sum of its parts like that. Because Patty said ' hey, I want Gordy's house to be filled with half-completed hobbies'. So they had there like herbs, a punching bag ..." Patrick: "A drum kit." Harriet: "Drums, the unicycle. And it was just like this man has so many hobbies and he's not seeing any of them through." Patrick: "That's right, because it speaks to character." [caption id="attachment_964086" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Lisa Tomesetti[/caption] Harriet: "And so that realism that you're talking about, every department delivers on that, and then we just play with all the world." Patrick: "And we always, we're never too strict about the script. As Harry just said, we leave about ten percent for play, because you might find some magic there." Harriet: "And if you've got time, we go 'let's do a fun run', and that's all the characters. Just say your favourite bits of the script, but if there's something else that's popping into your head, say that." Patrick: "Or if the line isn't working for an actor, we'll just go 'don't worry about that. What do you want to say instead?'." Harriet: "But sometimes if the pitch doesn't feel right — especially some day players, they'll have an idea of what Colin From Account is, and so they'll pitch a joke that's just not it. And we'll be like 'oh my god, it's so good, but not that'. But also 'have a go, let's do that, and then we'll just do one as a script because we need it for the big guys upstairs, they're asking for it'." Patrick: "But equally, some people are great at improvising in that way. But the thing to make it feel like 'oh, this does not feel like this is the scripted bit and this is the improvised bit'. It's all got to feel real." Harriet: "Yes, yes." Patrick: "And when we're writing, that's very much one of our primary things is to make it feel like something that humans would actually say, rather than a bit of exposition." Harriet: "That's right. So some of the stuff that is definitely scripted feels improv because it's just a bit throwaway — it's not overly worked." Colin From Accounts streams via Binge, with both season one and season two available now. Read our reviews of season one and season two. Top image: Joel Pratley.
Violent Femmes enamoured audiences in 1992 when they first visited Australia with Nirvana as their support act. They proficiently conducted a Falls Festival sea of fans to sing along to 'Auld Lang Syne' to welcome the new millennium and wrapped up a not-so-brief tour of the country in early 2007. Now, for the very first time, the legendary Violent Femmes will grace the Sydney Opera House at the end of this year. It's been over 30 years since the American trio released their debut self-titled album that sold nine million copies and impressed them into 1980s (and now) music history. The soundtrack to burger-eating and highway cruising, Violent Femmes has most certainly stood the test of time and will see the indie-rock professors perform as part of Music at the House, the program reinvigorating contemporary music at the Sydney Opera House. Founding members Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie, with new drummer Brian Viglione will be performing the 1983 album that started it all in its entirety, as well as tracks from their impressive follow-up Hallowed Ground. Further Australian tour dates are yet to be released and such a late December diary entry does leave Falls Festival doors open. In any case, we've got 'Blister In The Sun' on repeat and are waiting tight. Violent Femmes play at the Sydney Opera House on Monday 29 December 2014. Tickets start from $59 +BF and will go on sale to the general public at 9am, Friday 15 August. Head to the Music at the House website for all the details. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ekL7o8BQkZM
Firstdraft has one last offering of emerging art to round off 2015. This month will feature four exhibitions, each exploring four very different facets of contemporary life. From the curatorial collective Acute Art Investments International (AAII), Portable Domains will look at how businesses and opportunities takes shape on and offline: the antiquated bricks and mortar model as opposed to the booming era of social media platforms. The collective will dip into the complex web of self-promotion, self-branding and self-curating, working to uncover ways in which artists can work cross-culturally. To quench your culture thirst, you can also catch Make or Break from Connie Anthes and Rebecca Gallo, The Infra from Peter Blamey and like, tabular knit gradient pleats cymophanous cabochon, like from Eddie Hopely.
Whether you want to stay rustic and pitch a tent, find the best spot to park your hippie van or lounge around in a luxe, beachfront bungalow sipping margaritas, there's a place on the Coral Coast for you. Here, we take a look at five of the best accommodation options between Perth and Exmouth — from the lush yet earthy Novotel Ningaloo to the friendly Kalbarri Seafront Villas to the laidback Dongara Tourist Park. LUXURY: NOVOTEL NINGALOO, EXMOUTH Novotel Ningaloo's primary bragging point is that it's the only accommodation on Sunrise Beach. But rather than imposing itself on its pristine surroundings, the resort aims to blend in effortlessly. That means earthy colours, natural materials and organic shapes. Rooms feature king-size beds, spa baths, high ceilings and private balconies, and vary from standard doubles to two-bedroom bungalows. Go for the latter if you're after uninterrupted ocean panoramas. Hit the onsite restaurant and bar for sunset meals and cocktails. HOME AWAY FROM HOME: KALBARRI SEAFRONT VILLAS These neat villas are located on the Kalbarri waterfront. They come with free use of dinghies, so you can explore the Murchison River at your leisure, and should you need any tips, your friendly hosts will help you out. Accommodation varies from studios to villas to a two-storey townhouse, with most rooms offering excellent water views. Plus there's an outdoor pool and a barbecue area. As far as value for money goes, this is one of the best options on the Coral Coast. HOMEY HIDEAWAY: OCEANSIDE VILLAGE, DENHAM, SHARK BAY If you were any closer to the water, you'd be sleeping in a submarine. Oceanside Village is on absolute beachfront, meaning that your door is literally 20 metres from the surf. Accommodation consists of free-standing, self-contained villas. Opt for one-bedroom or get fancy with the two-bedroom arrangement, complete with private balcony and panoramic views. Free Wi-Fi, free Foxtel, barbecue facilities and a pool are all part of the deal. COMFORT: BROADWATER MARINER RESORT, GERALDTON Stroll just 50 metres from Broadwater Mariner Resort and you'll find yourself at peaceful Champion Bay, a favourite swimming spot among Geraldton locals. The resort's 107 guest rooms are beautifully decorated and dotted among landscaped gardens. Choose accommodation to suit you — from studios to spacious, three-bedroom apartments. Next door, the L'attitude 28 Restaurant offers a menu inspired by local produce and a long wine list, with an emphasis on vintage and boutique drops. BUDGET: DONGARA TOURIST PARK Bring a tent, roll up with your caravan or book into a deluxe cabin — whichever way you want to holiday, Dongara Tourist Park can make it happen. You'll find its acres of green, rolling grass right on the coast at Port Denison, 3 kilometres south of the cute, sleepy village of Dongara. The marina is just three minutes away, for easy launching of boats, and during lobster season, you can buy fresh crustaceans direct from local fishers. If, however, you'd rather someone else do the cooking, there's a great restaurant just a short walk away.
The days are long and drenched with sunlight, and you've got time on your hands to lie on the sand or in the grass and while it away with a book into the late summer hours. But you want the hours to be worthwhile, and sometimes it's really difficult to make a decision or to know where to start. Moreover, you want something enjoyable and easy to read that isn't going to turn your brain to marshmallow. So to help you out, Concrete Playground has come up with some suggestions for the best books to read over your summer. We've got new stuff and old stuff. Books you've never heard of and books everybody's heard of. Romances, mysteries, high quality smut, and stories both sweet and weird and wonderful. Compiled lovingly by somebody who's found the first legitimate use for her English major, we hope that these books delight you and make summer all the more wonderful. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano If you've spent time in inner-city bookshops over the past couple of years, you've probably noticed a slow infiltration of the name Roberto Bolano onto every 'Recommended' shelf around. It's been a long time since an author has taken on cult status quite like Bolano has. When once asked what me might have done had he not become a writer, Bolano answered "a homicide detective. I would have been the sort of person who comes back alone to the scene of a crime by night, unafraid of ghosts." He said that just a few months before his untimely death in 2003, and ever since Bolano's ghost has been figuratively haunting international literature. The Savage Detectives is one of his greatest works. Divided into three sections, the novel is ostensibly about the adventures of two young Mexican poets from the 1970s until the turn of the twentieth century, as they drink, have sex, travel the world, and argue long and loud, narrated solely by the people they come into contact with. Written in luminous, ferocious prose, you have never read anything like The Savage Detectives before. If you read nothing else this summer but for the newspaper and the labels on bottles of cider, please, we implore you, read this. Citrus County by John Brandon John Brandon is one of 'those McSweeney’s guys'. Trumpeted by Dave Eggers, amongst others, as a kind of modern-day Catcher In The Rye (but then, isn’t everything?), Citrus County pulses with the heat and humidity of the backwaters of Florida. Combining your standard narrative of lonesome adolescence with the most sinister kind of crime novel, Citrus County has become something of an underground literary sensation. The story follows Toby, a fourteen year old with a case of minor delinquency, and his tentative relationship with Shelby, the new girl in his class. The catch is that Toby has kidnapped Shelby's four-year-old sister Kaley and hidden her in a bunker in the woods. The story emerges out of the sluggish apathy of the swamps and sun and hits you like a slap in the face, completely subverting your expectations about what novels are 'supposed' to do. It is at once 'easy to read' when it's too hot to think too hard, while also being a very, very good book. Axolotl Roadkill by Helene Hegemann Axolotl Roadkill, both when it was published in its original German two years ago and then translated into English earlier this year, was smothered in hype, like so many chips soaking in a puddle of cheap pub gravy. For one thing, the book was written by a seventeen-year-old girl, a filmmaker from Berlin who comes across as both bone-achingly cool and distressingly talented. For another, it's a bit like the first season of <em>Skins</em> in novel form. One effusive reviewer aptly praised Hegemann for "conjuring dialogue like David Mamet, romanticising the afterlife like Jack Kerouac and hallucinating as sadistically as the Marquis de Sade." That just about sums it up. Axolotl Roadkill is at once a portrait of a young girl so emotionally stunted there’s no hope for a happy ending or any kind of redemption, and also a broader critique of a society which prefers to float along on the surface of things, refusing to grow up or to ever really care about anything too deeply. The novel isn’t perfect – and got waylaid with nasty accusations of plagiarism which Hegemann, playing semantics, termed 'mixing' – but it is savage, and raw, and completely worth reading, regardless of the suffocating hype. Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy has the uncanny ability to render both horrific and beautiful descriptions from the same bloody, violent subject matter, in all of his novels. The sentences are long, heartwrenching rambling things which read as though a desert mystic is spinning them out of the threads of the dark universe around him. For that is very much the image of Cormac McCarthy, arguably the world's most adored misanthrope. While his more well-known novels are those that have been adapted to cinema, like The Road and No Country For Old Men, Outer Dark, his second novel, is worthy of just as much rapturous attention. Set somewhere in the deep south at the turn of the century, Rinthy gives birth to her brother Culla's baby, who abandons the baby in the woods. The novel follows the two of them, wandering separately, looking for the baby and attempting to assuage the sin. The world of Outer Dark is one abandoned by God, with no causality, and where human beings are indistinguishable from animals. It may be disturbing and unsettling, but Outer Dark is one of the finest things you could read over the next few stifling months. The Heart is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers Regularly included in lists of the top 100 English language novels of the 20th century, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter was a sensation when it was published in the 1940s, propelling Carson McCullers, a waif-like twenty three year-old in androgynous clothing, into the throes of the literary spotlight. The novel centres on a deaf man, John Singer, in a Southern small town during the depression. Four characters - one an alcoholic labourer, another the owner of a diner, a black doctor and a young, idealistic teenage girl - all flock to him, each believing that he is the only person in the world who can truly understand them, despite not being able to hear a single word they say. No matter the heartache each character expresses, one thing comes across: the bitter loneliness and isolation that plagues the lives of the most disparate people, who cannot connect. Office Girl by Joe Meno In some senses Office Girl is a little like a Zooey Deschanel movie. It's a little bit twee, but not in an un-endearing sense. The semi-experimental novel published by Joe Meno earlier this year is the story of two former art-school kids in late '90s Chicago. Both ride around the city on their bikes, Jack recording the sounds of everyday life, while Odile defaces public advertisements with pictures of hairy genitalia. Often a little absurd and self-conscious, the novel is also an affectionate portrait of what it's like to be creative and lost in your twenties. Appropriately enough for a novel about people who want to change the world through art, the novel comes complete with photographs by Todd Baxter and illustrations by Cody Hudson. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Cloud Atlas was published almost nine years ago, so it's hardly a new phenomenon, but given that the film version has just been released, there has never been a more apt time to read the book before you go to sit in a cinema and gaze adoringly at Ben Whishaw while appreciating the sheer moxy of the Wachowskis and Tom Twyker in adapting such a profoundly unadaptable book. The novel is composed of six different story lines, structured in a pattern very similar to Italo Calvino's If on a winter’s night a traveller, but with the added feature of a 'mirror' effect. Stretching from the nineteenth century into a post-apocalyptic future, and dabbling in genres as various as crime, science fiction and South Pacific adventure, each narrative ends abruptly at a moment of suspense, only to be returned to in the second half of the book. Completely original and endlessly entertaining, Cloud Atlas is definitely worth toting around with you to the beach until the pages get logged with sand. Blindness by Jose Saramago Saramago won the Nobel Prize for literature back in 1998 and remains one of the only Nobel laureates whose work is truly enjoyable to read. Blindness is one of his best-known works. In an unnamed city at an unnamed time, an epidemic of blindness begins to sweep through the population, an infection seemingly spread from just looking upon a blind person. For the safety of the rest of the city, the government locks up those afflicted in an abandoned mental asylum in the middle of the forest, fighting an increasingly hopeless battle and leaving them at the mercy of themselves. Eventually conditions degenerate, and the inmates are left to roam the devastated city trying to survive. On the most simplistic level, the blindness is allegorical of lack of sight, from a man who lived through dictatorship, and revolution. In this world it is the small heroisms of individuals that count. NW by Zadie Smith Although nothing Zadie Smith has written, arguably, has equalled her debut novel <em>White Teeth</em>, her books are reliably excellent. NW is all about roots, specifically about what it's like to be from North West London, where with its halal butchers, African hairdressers and housing estate blocks, seems a world away from the clean white avenues of central London. The novel follows four people now in the their mid 30s, all raised on the same housing estate, over the summer of 2010. Like the streets of North West London itself, the things which happen in the story are fractured and volatile, and there are only tentative conclusions. Seen across the complexities of race and class, NW is also about the kind of angst and disillusionment of people who are told they're supposed to be happy, yet can't feel it, let alone see it. Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan Pulphead is a collection of long essays, which, when you say it just like that, doesn’t sound like a particularly riotous thing to read. But the essays in Pulphead are those of a man styling himself as a next generation David Foster Wallace, Jon Ronson or even Hunter S. Thompson. They are, in short, brilliant. With a wit and energy rarely present in journalism, Sullivan takes us to a Christian rock festival and Tea Party rallies. He races across the south in search of obscure lost blues musicians and nineteenth century botanists and then a few pages later we find him pondering the origins of Axl Rose and Michael Jackson. The stories in Pulphead form a journey through the back roads and badlands, with John Jeremiah Sullivan, a journalist previously published in The Paris Review and The New York Time, undertaking a quest for some kind of enlightenment in the parts of America we rarely see or even acknowledge.
For such a tiny island, Jamaica has had a disproportionate impact on global culture. Naturally, Bob Marley's ubiquitous portrait and defiant, uplifting anthems are the first exports to come to mind. But then there's the rest. It's thanks to Jamaica's 10,911 square kilometres of sundrenched Caribbean goodness that we can gawk at physics-defying athletes, fantasise about encountering Sean Connery or Ursula Andress under a waterfall, and luxuriate in the world's finest coffee and rum. THE FASTEST MAN IN THE WORLD One of his legs is a half-inch shorter than the other. During warm ups, when his competitors are stressed to the max, he's usually found dancing. His height measures in at 6 feet, 5 inches — too tall for sprinting, according to convention. And he describes himself as 'lazy'. Against quite a few odds, Usain Bolt, who grew up in a country town in Trelawny, Jamaica, is the fastest man on the planet. At the 2009 World Championships, held in Berlin, he set the current world record for both the 100 metre sprint, at 9.59 seconds, and the 200 metre sprint, at 19.19 seconds. EVERY JAMES BOND NOVEL YOU’VE EVER READ In 1946, Ian Fleming bought fifteen acres on a cliff-face on Jamaica’s north coast, built a house and named it Goldeneye. He then wrangled an agreement with his employer, The Sunday Times, which allowed him to take January and February off work. When each new year rolled around, he'd hole himself up in his Caribbean hideaway and write a new James Bond saga. By his death in 1964, twelve novels and two books of short stories were completed. These days, Goldeneye is a fancypants hotel and resort where people like Richard Branson and Harrison Ford hang out. BLUE MOUNTAIN COFFEE In Jamaica's Blue Mountains grow some of the most expensive coffee beans you'll find anywhere. Online, they'll set you back $180 a kilogram. They're cultivated in small acreages, between 600 and 1500 metres above sea level, where the moist, cool environment increases the ripening period to as long as ten months. Consequently, the natural sugars within the beans have oodles of time to develop, giving them their famous smooth flavour. JERK Finding a local eatery is never difficult to do in Jamaica. That's because the chief national dish, jerk, gives its whereabouts away, as a result of its mouthwatering aroma. Jerk cooking involves rubbing or marinating meat (usually chicken or pork) with a fiery blend of ingredients known as Jamaican jerk spice. Pimento and Scotch bonnet peppers are crucial, but you can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme, cloves, garlic, salt and shallots. PREMIUM AGED RUM FROM APPLETON ESTATE When Christopher Columbus visited Jamaica in the 15th century, he brought with him sugarcane and rum. Thanks to the island’s lush climate, some of the finest spirits to ever pass the lips of humankind were soon in production. One such place is Appleton Estate — Jamaica’s oldest sugar estate and distillery — which is located in the heart of Jamaica on an incredible 4,614 hectares in the picturesque Nassau Valley. Appleton Estate has continued their craft in the traditional way, using copper pot and column stills for the distillation process, American oak barrels for ageing and naturally limestone-percolated water from the hills of cockpit country. A master blender then blends the spirit by hand, creating the distinctive flavour profiles and handcrafted feel for which Appleton is renowned. Fun fact: Appleton is one of the few rums in the world that can claim terroir: the unique flavour that only comes from being wholly produced in a single location. DUNN'S RIVER FALLS Dunn's River Falls is one of the few waterfalls in the world that you can climb without being in constant fear that you're going to tumble to some horrendous watery death. Even though they're 55 metres high, they're 180 metres long, because they're conveniently shaped like stairs, officially referred to as 'travertine terraces'. In Dr. No (1962), Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) emerges from the sea at the base of the falls, where she runs into James Bond (Sean Connery). REGGAE, SKA, DUB, ROCKSTEADY Bob Marley might be the most legendary of Jamaican musicians, but he's just the start of the record catalogue. Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, and Toots and the Maytals were all raised on the island too. Reggae took hold in the late 1960s, but before that, there was rocksteady, which The Wailers cut their teeth on, and earlier still, ska. With the '70s emerged dub, spearheaded by producers like Lee 'Scratch' Perry and King Tubby. A WAY OF LIFE THAT ISN'T AN –ISM Some people have fallen into the habit of describing Rastafari as Rastafarianism, but it's a term that followers don't use — and don't like to hear. That's because they're generally extremely critical of 'isms'. The Rastafari movement kicked off in Jamaica in the 1930s. Rastas worship Haile Selassie I, who was the Ethiopian emperor between 1930 and 1974. They refer to 'conventional society' as Babylon, rejecting what they see as its oppression, consumerism and way too much focus on quashing sensual pleasures. COOL RUNNINGS Cool Runnings might have been created by Disney, but its story was inspired by Jamaica and parts of it were shot there. The film hit cinemas in 1993, debuting at box office #3, and was the last movie featuring John Candy released before he passed away. It is (very) loosely based on the real-life experiences of Jamaica's national bobsled team, which made its debut at the Winter Olympics in 1998 at Calgary, Canada. CIVIL RIGHTS One of Jamaica's national heroes is civil rights activist Marcus Garvey. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica in 1914 before moving to Harlem in 1916. Like Martin Luther King, he was a rousing orator, and spent years travelling across America, attracting thousands and thousands of loyal followers. His major contribution was boosting African Americans' pride in their culture and encouraging their return to their homelands in Africa.
Accustomed to digital deception across all types of visual media, it often takes us more than one look to realise that an effect has been achieved solely by the human hand. The new food-art stylings of Hong Yi, or 'Red' as she is nicknamed, almost look too perfect to be real. An artist/architect, Red set herself the task of creating a new artwork using only comestibles, every day for a month. From a serene cucumber landscape to a dragonfruit dragon in battle rapture, the resulting scenes are highly detailed, innovative and beautiful. Hong Yi loves painting "but not with a paintbrush"; her other works have included a painting made using a basketball, a portrait of Ai Weiwei in sunflower seeds, and another of Adele using melted candles. Check out her Facebook page to see deluxe Louis Vuitton mushrooms and more. Via Colossal.
Kicking goals, winning hearts, starring in a docuseries, inspiring statues, making history on the field and on TV: in 2023, the Matildas have been doing it all. Next, the Sam Kerr-captained squad has been immortalised by the Australian National Dictionary Centre, inspiring Australia's latest Word of the Year. 'Matilda' has been chosen as the Australian National University-based organisation's pick of 2023 thanks to the Tillies' huge successes, plus the devotion they've inspired across the country. With huge crowds heading to the team's games at the Women's World Cup, then backing it up at the recent Olympic qualifiers — and millions of people watching the former on TV as well — the words 'Matildas' and 'Tillies' have certainly been uttered countless times by most of us this year. [caption id="attachment_912965" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Liondartois via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] "The team name (Matildas, or Tillies for short) and singular form (Matilda) were everywhere as Matildas mania swept the country, with Australians transfixed by every minute of play," advised the Australian National Dictionary Centre in a statement announcing its new Word of the Year choice. And if you're wondering about the word's history in Australia, "from the 1880s, matilda was one of the names for a swag, a bag of possessions carried by an itinerant man looking for work," explains the Centre's Director Dr Amanda Laugesen. "These days most people would only know this in relation to the song Waltzing Matilda." "It's only since the mid-1990s that the women's soccer team has been called the Matildas, but after this year's World Cup the word has once again cemented itself in the Australian lexicon." [caption id="attachment_913693" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rovena Rosa/Agência Brasil via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Matilda emerged victorious from a shortlist that also included 'noer', 'yesser', 'truth-telling' and 'hallucinate', with the first three linked to this year's referendum for the Australian Indigenous Voice to Parliament. In 2022, 'teal' was the Word of the Year, with 'strollout' getting the nod in 2021, 'iso' in 2020 and 'voice' in 2019. For more information about the Australian National Dictionary Centre's word of the year, head to the centre's website.
Got an empty wallet but a full itinerary? Good news. Melbourne might have its fancy restaurants and exclusive cocktail bars, but it's also the great provider of a true city experience if you're on a budget. Staying at youth hostels has long been the domain of the cleverly thrifty, not to mention those who love meeting new mates and maybe even sipping a beverage on a rooftop bar. Who says a budget trip can't be ritz, too? YHA Australia turns 80 this year, and it's well and truly proved its mettle as a mainstay of budget travellers — not least Melbourne Central YHA. Be you solo travellers (there are plentiful common areas to meet new people) or a group of friends (ensuite rooms and small multi-share rooms are very affordable); a keen stayer-inner (kitchen facilities are available for whipping up a feast) or a ready-to-partier (it's BYO, but there's also a bar on premises) — you're going to have a top time. [caption id="attachment_728172" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Melbourne Central YHA rooftop.[/caption] Need to find some equally thrifty things to do around the city while you're there? We've rounded up our best penny-pinching tips for a weekend down south. Check 'em out, then get booking, 'cause it's fun to stay at the Y. H. A. GET A COFFEE AND CREAM CHEESE BAGEL AT 5 AND DIME BAGELS — $8 5 and Dime is right around the corner from Melbourne Central YHA and churns out traditional, boiled bagels inspired by the way they make 'em overseas. Opened by a New Jersey native, the small cafe honours the bagel's roots in the Jewish communities of Poland and Israel and, in particular, its intense popularity in New York. You'll find schmears, lox and pastrami here to top your doughy treat with. But, the best part, is the meal deal — you can nab a toasted bagel of your choice with cream cheese and a coffee for just $10. It's the perfect fuel to enjoy on the go as you start your busy day of exploring. [caption id="attachment_726133" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria[/caption] CHECK OUT INDIGENOUS ART AT KOORIE HERITAGE TRUST CULTURAL CENTRE — FREE The Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre is an integral part of Melbourne's history and context, and it's smack bang in the middle of town — you'll find it in the Yarra Building in Federation Square. Entry is free (with a gold coin donation to the Trust) and it's open seven days a week. Go in to learn about Koorie culture and heritage and of the traditional owners of the land. It's also an important stop for any art loving out-of-towner — especially now that ACMI is closing for a while. Right now, you can see Ngarigo artist Peter Waples-Crowe's exhibition insideOUT. The solo collection of collages, animations and live-art activation tackles being both queer and Indigenous. [caption id="attachment_726160" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rushdi Anwar[/caption] KEEP THE DIY ART TOUR GOING AT KINGS ARTIST RUN — FREE Want to clock more free art? Head over to King Street to the small in size (yet hefty in breadth) art gallery Kings Artist Run. Blink and you'll miss the door — so don't. The contemporary gallery and studio space is driven by a community of artists, writers, curators and academics, and the range of art within is worth much more than the free entry. Three exhibition spaces and an array of events pepper the space. Right now, you can catch a collection of Japanese artists approaching the consumption of video as an artefact — Black_Box: And again {I wait for collision}. There's also a study on how artists incorporate language into their practices with these words. HAVE A BARBECUE IN BATMAN PARK — FREE Batman Park is the most urban of Melbourne's parks — it's just a hop, skip and a jump from the city centre and is basically next door to Melbourne Central YHA. The park is small, but it's worthy of a stroll, a run around or a picnic. Eucalyptus trees cloak the smell of traffic and the views of the Yarra cloak any winter coldness you might be feeling. Barbecue facilities mean you can have a budget cook up — just BYO an eight-pack of snags from the supermarket and six-pack of beers of your choosing. Crack a cold one and say cheers to the founding father John Batman. TUCK INTO A JAPANESE RICE BOWL AT DON DON — UNDER $10 If you've spent all that time tramping around arty and historical sites of the city, chances are you're a hankering for a hot (and cheap) lunch. You're in luck — Don Don's Francis Street outpost isn't far from the hostel. Here, you'll find rice bowls for between $7 and $8 — you have a choice of teriyaki or curry. The bowls are big and the service is fast, so it's not a place to linger. It is, however, a place to come back to every day of your trip. You'll need to in order to try the popular Don Don box, with chicken, beef, salad and rice for under $10, plus miso soup on the side for an extra $1.50. It's one of the best value meals you'll find around the traps. CURL UP WITH A BOOK IN THE STATE LIBRARY'S READING ROOM — FREE If you're after some quiet time, let us guide you to the very beautiful, and very free, State Library Victoria's domed La Trobe Reading Room. Reminiscent of eras gone by (it was built in 1913), the reading room is six storeys in height and can be home to any 320 readers at a time — but, since it also houses up to 32,000 books, they're probably not reading what you are. As well as being a perfect space for getting through a chunk of an epic novel, doing some trip planning or even meditating, the State Library also houses art exhibitions and a viewing platform up high for panoramic views of your new calm place. CATCH SOME LIVE MUSIC — FREE A trip to Melbourne isn't complete without checking out one of the sticky (in a good way) dive bars that the city is famous for and catching a gig. Cherry Bar might be your best bet when it comes to music, free stuff and character (via said stickiness). Head to the legendary spot on AC/DC Lane for the regular Sunday Blues sessions. Or, you could pay a visit to Ferdydurke — the venue is similarly equipped to give you a good (free) time on a Sunday with its weekly live hip hop night. [caption id="attachment_726358" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Peterdownunder via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] DIVE INTO GREEK CULTURE AT THE HELLENIC MUSEUM — $10 The Hellenic Museum, based inside the former Royal Mint building, paints a solid portrait of 8000 years of Hellenic history and Greek culture. Now in its 11th year, the space gives the huge population of the Greek community in Melbourne a well-deserved place to both celebrate and inform. The Hellenic Museum's entry fees are $10 (or $5 concession), which includes access to multiple installations it has going at any one time. Right now, you can go and see Oneiroi, a photographic installation by Bill Henson, or Beyond Attica: Art of Magna Graecia. GRAB A BITE TO EAT AT CROSSWAYS — $8.95 One of the best meal deals in all of Melbourne has to be at Crossways Food for Life. The Swanston Street vegetarian spot, run by Hare Krishnas, has fed many a hungry city-goer in the 30 years-plus it's been operating. The menu changes every day but the deal remains the same: two courses, plus a drink, for under $10. Vegan options are available, too. And — the greatest news for hungry travellers — seconds and thirds are free because it's all-you-can-eat. Roll up for dinner and sticky date pudding (if you're lucky). Let YHA Australia help you explore more of Australia without breaking the bank. Plan a trip to Melbourne (or Sydney or Brisbane) and book a stay right in the middle of the city with YHA Australia. Top Image: Jake Roden.
