Only one show on TV starts in a haunted house, then jumps to an asylum for the criminally insane, then follows a coven of descendants of the Salem witch trials. And, from there, it also steps inside a travelling freak show, explores the twisted history of an LA hotel, gets caught up in a small-town cult, sees the Antichrist unleash the apocalypse and sets a serial killer upon an 80s-era summer camp as well. That series: American Horror Story. Every season, it tells a different story, anthology-style. The creepy details change, as do the narratives and characters, but the eeriness remains. Also staying the same: many of the faces seen in American Horror Story's tales, including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Emma Roberts and Lady Gaga. The show is the brainchild of writer/producer/director Ryan Murphy (Glee, Pose) and, yes, it definitely takes audiences on a wild ride each and every season.
Crows Nest is a charming community hub on Sydney's lower North Shore, and if you've never visited, you're missing out. One of the greatest offerings of the area is the annual street festival Crows Nest Fest, which returns on Sunday, October 15 from 10am to 5pm. Crows Nest Fest gathers all the best parts of this suburban hub: great food and drink, easy walking and a thriving community spirit. It's expected to draw crowds in excess of 30,000, making the 2023 festival one of the biggest on record. If that's not enough to get your interest, consider the following: The festival will see over 150 stalls spread over the Pacific Highway, Willoughby Road, Albany Street, Burlington Street, Holtermann Street and Clark Street. Burlington Street will be known as Food Alley, home to an eclectic mix of local restaurants, bars, cafes and gourmet eateries to show off the neighbourhood gastronomy scene. Willoughby Road will play home to one of two Licensed Zones, seeing the Crows Nest Hotel spread onto the street via drink marquees, the second zone being an impromptu 'Greektober Fest' on Burlington Street, hosted by local favourite Xenos. Once you've had your fill of food and drink, follow the sound of distant tunes to music stages. Ernest Place will host a range of professional musical talent while local bands and dance groups perform on a Holtermann Street stage. And if you have any junior revellers in tow, swing by the Hume Street park to the kids zone, where you'll find a petting zoo, pony rides, live entertainers, buskers and a circus playground.
Described as a 'modern cowboy of the creative revolution', Mr Lentz creates objects and fashion accessories from wood and upcycled materials, which he finds in junk yards. 'My aim has always been to find beauty and share it with others,' he explains on his site. Mr Lentz works with leather, and dabbles in photography, but his current project is the creation of rings, necklaces and brass knuckles made of wood and grass. Fashioned from sustainably harvested walnut, each ring plays host to a live micro-environment - a teeny tiny patch of growing grass or moss. For those who don't go for green, Mr Lentz has created a limited edition series of brass knuckles made from deer antlers. According to his site, 'they're a force to be reckoned with', designed 'for the rebel livin' life on the edge'. The antler tips are gathered from the forest floor, after the deer have gone through their annual shedding process. Mr Lentz says that he decided to make environmentally-inspired jewellery after a solitary walk through a foggy, overgrown redwood forest. 'This walk lasted days, meandering through river valleys and steep, dense hillside. The redwood forest did not once fail to impress and inspire me, and so what once was a trail of footsteps is now a journey into the handmade world of eco-friendly and sustainable jewellery'. [via Inhabitat]
Vivid Sydney's 2018 program isn't only about the CBD light shows and the big name acts performing at the Opera House. This year, the City of Sydney is partnering with Vivid Sydney to fund an extensive list of independent live music shows called X|Celerate. The program will see some of Sydney's favourite local haunts showcase emerging artists with live gigs running from May 26 through June 16 — and the tickets are either dirt cheap or completely free. The events span from the CBD through to Newtown, Surry Hills, Redfern, Chippendale, Kings Cross, Camperdown and Darlinghurst. With a focus on grassroots acts — from rock, indie and jazz to funk, electronica and experimental, and even reggae and ska — each venue has specifically designed its lineup to bring you the best-of-the-best. Highlights include the Purple Sneakers 12th birthday party at The Lansdowne, a live tribute to Madonna at Freda's, queer icon Stereogamous' DJ set and aperitivo hour at The Dolphin and a George Harrison tribute band at Leadbelly, plus heaps of shows at Oxford Art Factory, Venue 505, World Bar and Golden Age Cinema. The gigs are all $25 and under and include heaps of free shows, too. X|Celerate is a partnership between the City of Sydney and Vivid Sydney that aims to enliven independent music venues across town. The program is one outcome of the City of Sydney's Live Music and Performance Action Plan, which has generated $3.2 million in small grants to live music and performing arts in Sydney since 2014. For more information, including full list of venues and program events, head to the Vivid Sydney X|Celerate website.
When something on HBO proves a huge hit, the US cable network goes all in. One case in point: all things Game of Thrones, including the just-arrived House of the Dragon, plus the hefty list of other spinoffs also in the works. Another example: Euphoria, with creator Sam Levinson now behind another HBO series that's filled with parties, drugs, attractive actors and plenty of drama — aka The Idol, which keeps dropping teaser trailers. The show itself doesn't have a release date yet, but it has just released its second sneak peek after first giving viewers a glimpse back in July. This time around, the teaser builds on the music industry-set show's suitably wild vibe and spells out the cast list. With both, it isn't holding back. Levinson teams up with Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye on the series, with the latter co-creating The Idol and starring in it. The focus: a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult, played by the musician, as well as the up-and-coming pop idol (Lily-Rose Depp, Voyagers that he starts a complicated relationship with. From the two trailers so far, Depp's character clearly gets thrust into a heady new world — and here, as gets mentioned in the latest clip, sex definitely sells. For viewers, a cast that includes Red Rocket's Suzanna Son, Boy Erased's Troye Sivan, Schitt's Creek's Dan Levy, singer-songwriter Moses Sumney, BLACKPINK's Jennie Kim, Only Murders in the Building's Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Hacks' Jane Adams, Bodies Bodies Bodies' Rachel Sennott and Inglourious Basterds' Eli Roth should be a definite selling point, too. Also set to pop up in the series: Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), Hari Nef (The Marvellous Mrs Maisel), Steve Zissis (Happy Death Day 2U), Melanie Liburd (This Is Us), Tunde Adebimpe (Marriage Story), Elizabeth Berkley Lauren (Saved By the Bell) and Nico Hiraga (Booksmart), plus Anne Heche (All Rise) in what'll be one of her last performances. When it was originally announced in November 2021, The Idol was set to span six episodes, all filmed in Los Angeles — with She Dies Tomorrow's Amy Seimetz directing every single one. But back in April this year, it was revealed that Seimetz had left the project and reshoots were underway as a result. How that'll impact the end product is obviously yet to be seen — but the teasers so far should have you intrigued anyway. Check out the latest teaser trailer for The Idol below: The Idol doesn't yet have a release date, including Down Under — we'll update you when one is announced.
After filming two of his last four movies in Australia (Lion and Hotel Mumbai), and also stepping into a Dickens classic set in Victorian England (The Personal History of David Copperfield), Dev Patel is heading somewhere completely different. Jumping back to medieval times, he's delving into the fantasy genre, messing with Arthurian legend, and swinging around a mighty sword and a giant axe, all thanks to the dark and ominous The Green Knight. Based on the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the film casts Patel as Sir Gawain. Nephew to King Arthur (Sean Harris, Mission: Impossible — Fallout), he's a knight of the Round Table and fearsome warrior. The character has popped up in plenty of tales, but here, he's forced to confront the giant green-skinned titular figure in an eerie showdown. As the poem explains, the Green Knight dares any other knight to strike him with an axe, but only if they'll then receive a return blow exactly one year and one day later. Based on the new, just-dropped trailer, this film adaptation looks to be sticking to that story rather closely — and the end result also looks more than a little moody, brooding and creepy. Patel is in great company, too, with The Green Knight also starring Alicia Vikander (Earthquake Bird), Joel Edgerton (Boy Erased) and Barry Keoghan (Calm with Horses). Games of Thrones' Kate Dickie pops up as Guinevere, while her co-star Ralph Ineson — who is also known from the Harry Potter flicks, The Witch and the UK version of The Office — plays the Green Knight. Originally set to release in 2020 until the pandemic hit, The Green Knight is the latest movie by impressive and always eclectic writer/director David Lowery. His filmography spans everything from Ain't Them Bodies Saints and Pete's Dragon to A Ghost Story and The Old Man and the Gun — and, based on both the initial teaser and the new sneak peek, The Green Knight won't be like anything on his resume so far. Check out the new trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS6ksY8xWCY The Green Knight will release in the US on July 30, but it doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when it does.
Stanley Street's about to get pretty Pacific Northwestern; IconPark has announced their next pop-up residency. Revealed today, the Darlinghurst space will play host to dream team collaboration Rupert & Ruby from August 25. Bringing together Fat Rupert's Eli Challenger and Aaron Pearce and IconPark favourites Ruby's BBQ, this collaboration marks the second pop-up for the Stanley Street space, following Matt Stone, Bobby Carey and Jeremy Spencer's celebrated Stanley Street Merchants — finishing up this Saturday, August 9. Launched in this year as a top notch crowdfunding experiment, IconPark was launched to showcase Australia's top hospitality goalkickers — basically providing a space to let kickass collaborations come up with something super special (and temporary). Identifying various teams from their first season of successes, the brisket-loving Ruby's BBQ was invited to curate the second residency for IconPark's second Stanley Street pop-up. "The Ruby’s BBQ concept was so popular at the Taste of Sydney festival, we just had to give these talented and passionate people an opportunity. They will bring a new dimension to the Stanley St location," says IconPark co-founder Dean McEvoy. Fingers crossed for the offensively high-fiveable bourbon iced teas they cranked out at Taste. Opening late August, the Darlinghurst space will see Bondi's beloved Fat Rupert's team up with braised goodness of Ruby's BBQ (again — the two have paired up for residencies together in the past). Expect modern twists on the flavours of modern Australian-meets-traditional American food — revamped egg dishes, fried chicken and waffles, and the go-to Rupert's menu of addictive burgers. FR's award-winning Yeezy Sliders have been realised in full form as the Big Poppa, with the Bondi Babe and Notorious K.F.C little'uns getting the Rick Moranis treatment as well. But good ol' greens aren't left out of this, with Eli Challenger's signature salads and vegetable dishes joining the ranks at Rupert & Ruby. Canadian-born and Porteno-trained, Challenger is one of Sydney's best culinary assets; taking out the coveted 2014 People's Choice Award at Taste of Sydney. "Eli is such an exciting young culinary talent, the festival goers at Taste of Sydney recognised the passion he and his team put into their work. IconPark trusts in the ‘crowd’ of diners in cities to identify brilliant talent," says Paul Schell, IconPark co-founder. Will & Co will crank out coffee at the all-day eatery, a genuine treat for inner-city coffee aficionados who haven't found the lads on Bondi's Hall Street yet. With Stanley Street Merchants closing up this Saturday, August 9, the highly successful St Ali coffee operations will hang around and continue serving their applaudable coffee until Rupert & Ruby open their doors on August 25. Rupert & Ruby will open at IconPark, 78 Stanley St Darlinghurst on August 25 and reside until the end of 2014. Bookings are now open here. Look out for season three of IconPark, with new IconPark crowdfunding locations set to be launched around the city.
The freshly prettified Prince Alfred Park will welcome the Surry Hills Festival home this year, along with a killer program of musicians, art installations, pop-up bars, the ever-integral Surry Hills Dog Show and a cool new Sustainability Hub showcasing fresh ways to live green. Food, arts and dog-related details will be announced as Saturday 27 October draws closer, but for now you can get excited about the musical line-up released this morning. And with the festival set to draw culture-hungry folks from far beyond the 2010 postcode to the sprawling grounds there really is something for everyone. This year will see artists playing across two separate stages and a cozy Chai Temple. On the main stage headliners Tijuana Cartel will be emitting the rhythmic electro-reggae beats along with their new single “Snappy Tom” (a Surry Hills exclusive), and plenty of great preceding acts will provide a satisfying progression of sonic accompaniments for everything from single-origin lattes to craft amber ales. Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, True Vibenation, The Liberators and Nantes will be among those setting the cogs in motion. When the sun goes down and the kids go home the Purple Sneakers, Softwar and Slow Blow DJs will be spinning vinyls with Canyons and Alison Wonderland, and the aforementioned Chai Temple will provide acoustic repose and pillows for those less disco-inclined. Full music line-up is: Tijuana Cartel Alison Wonderland Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! The Tongue Canyons (DJ Set) Nantes Purple Sneakers DJs The Liberators Softwar SOSUEME DJs Mojo Juju Slow Blow True Vibenation Rhythm Section Showcase Steve Smyth Keyim Ba Madhu The Surry Hills Festival 2012 will take place on Saturday, 27 October in Prince Albert Park (cnr Chalmers & Cleveland Streets) from 9.30am
After an unseasonably warm winter, anyone who has been outside this month will have noticed the trend continuing, with Sydney's weather seeming to forget that spring comes before summer. Indeed, fresh from experiencing one of the hottest winter days on record, the city has just hit the same milestone when it comes to September evenings. Earlier this week, Weatherzone predicted that the temperature would reach sweltering heights this weekend, and they weren't wrong. Overnight, the mercury didn't dip below 26 degrees, ready for a high of 33 degrees today. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that when the temperature did make it to 25.7 minimum this morning, it still eclipsed the September record by 3.7 degrees. And, the records keep coming. The September high for the entire state was broken yesterday according to the ABC, with temperatures topping out at 40.5 degrees in Wilcannia in western New South Wales. With White Cliffs and Bourke, the town became the first in the state to venture over 40 degrees during September. Just over the border, Mildura hit the highest temperature ever recorded in Victoria during September, making it to 37.7 degrees. https://twitter.com/weatherzone/status/911539706302676993 Things are expected to cool down on Monday, for those in need of a reprieve — aka everyone. For now, total fire bans are in place across large parts of the state. And if you're feeling some anxiety about global warming, and what the rest of the year holds in store, that's completely understandable. We've said it before and we'll say it again: best grab a fan now; it's going to get quite the workout. By Sarah Ward. Via ABC / Sydney Morning Herald.
There's a familiar sound, but unfamiliar words. Photographer Matthew Niederhauser had given up on the local Beijing rock scene until a night at a uni bar in 2007 changed his mind. Captivated by the new music on show, he started documenting China's capital's emerging music scene against a distinctive red background. The new authority-agnostic sounds he heard have since had their images compiled into the book Sound Kapital: Beijing's Music Underground. To offer some louder Chinese New Year sounds than Sydney's usually accustomed to, Carriageworks is bringing us this taste of sweaty, Sino-rock in a night of music at Sound Kapital. Niederhaurser himself will launch the pre-show with a free 6pm talk before the headliners get on stage to educate your ears. The bands will stand safe in a projected blanket of Niederhauser's photos of Beijing's underground, the evening's line up featuring Sex Bob-omb-like AV Okubo, the mellow abstraction of Xiao He and Helen Feng 's poppy, solo facet, Nova Heart. Loud, yes. But a great way ease yourself into with this year's dalliance with the dragon. For a chance to win one of ten double passes to Sound Kapital, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au by noon on Thursday, February 2. Image: Nova Heart.
Gone are the days when gin was simply a clear spirit that tasted good with tonic. It still is, but it now comes in so many varieties that you could dedicate an entire liquor cabinet just to juniper-based beverages. Shiraz gin, chardonnay barrel-aged gin, spiced Christmas gin, pink gin made from cherries and raspberries, green ant gin and even non-alcoholic gin — they're just some of the recent types tempting your tastebuds. And if most of the above sound great for an Australian summer, then consider Bass and Flinders' truffle-infused gin your new winter go-to. Returning for 2018, the limited-edition truffle gin blends fresh Australian Black Perigord truffles — sourced from Red Hill farms, where possible — with a vapour-infused mix of juniper, angelica root and calamus root. Like all of the distillery's tipples, it also uses Bass and Flinders' grape-based eau de vie spirit, which creates a particularly smooth texture. "It is a standalone gin that's wonderful neat, or alongside creamy sauces and strong cheeses," says head distiller Holly Klintworth — or, you could opt to make your own truffle martini. Whichever way you'd like to drink it, the truffle gin is available from Friday, July 13 from Bass and Flinders' cellar door in Victoria's Red Hill, as well as via the distiller's website. If you happen to be in the vicinity of the former on Saturday, July 14, you can also take part in a truffle hunt, which includes truffle gin tastings plus cocktails with cheese platters.
The force is set to be strong across streaming queues in 2023, with another new live-action Star Wars series on its way. Following three seasons of The Mandalorian so far — one of which is airing now — plus 2021–22's The Book of Boba Fett, and also 2022's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor, Ahsoka will give warrior, outcast, rebel and Jedi her own show. Even better: it now has a trailer and a release month. Rosario Dawson (Clerks III) returns as the limited series' titular figure, after playing the part in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. If you're new to the character, she was Anakin Skywalker's padawan before he became Darth Vader — and, here, an ex-Jedi Knight who is determined to battle a threat to the post-Empire galaxy. Her latest exploits will hit Disney+ sometime in August. Ahsoka follows animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the TV series it spawned, too, plus fellow animated show Star Wars Rebels — because yes, this franchise about a galaxy far, far away will keep spreading far and wide in this one. From the latter series, Star Wars aficionados will spot rebel crew member Hera Syndulla and former bounty hunter Sabine Wren. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)) plays the former in Ahsoka, while Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Guns Akimbo) steps into the latter's shoes. Also among the familiar characters: fellow Jedi padawan Ezra Bridger from Star Wars Rebels, with Eman Esfandi (King Richard) doing the live-action honours. Ahoska's cast includes Ray Stevenson (RRR) and Ivanna Sakhno (The Reunion), and reports have been bubbling for years about Hayden Christensen returning as Anakin, as he did in Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is Disney+'s first series focused on a female Jedi; indeed, as a character, Ahoska has long been one of the few women among the franchise's Jedi ranks, dating back to 2008. Off-screen, The Mandalorian writer/director/executive producer Dave Filoni writes and executive produces Ahoska, with Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, and Carrie Beck also doing the latter — all seasoned Star Wars veterans. Check out the trailer for Ahsoka below: Ahsoka will stream via Disney+ from August 2023 — we'll update you with an exact release date when one is announced. Images: ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd & TM. All Rights Reserved.
In Circular Quay for Vivid? Switch your brain on while you're at it. Sydney Opera House's forum for new ideas and open discussion, Homegrown Talks, focuses on First Nations this weekend — timely considering the event falls on the anniversary of the 1967 national referendum. Held at the Opera House Playhouse on May 27, the talks will follow two distinct sessions. The first, titled 'Unfinished Paperwork: Recognition and Sovereignty', is a political discussion on the 1967 national referendum, which gave constitutional status to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Panelists include Maori activist Tame Iti, 2015 NAIDOC Person of the Year Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM and Secretary of the Aboriginal Provisional Government Michael Mansell. The second session is held immediately following, titled 'Open for Business: Diverse Economies in First Nations Communities' and looking at the public focus on the mining economy, despite the diverse businesses that exist within First Nations. The panel will include seven-time ARIA awarded songwriter David Bridie and Manus Island musician John Faunt, along with scholarly activists Marcia Langton AM and Amelia Telford. The talks are sure to be hard hitters and mind-openers, worth every penny.
Four-legged friends are much more than just friends. They are a reason to get out of bed in the morning and go for a walk; they offer unwavering loyalty; and they can sense your emotions to know exactly when you need a cuddle. So, it's only fitting that you treat your pooch like a member of the family. Just like any good family member, sometimes pooches need to be spoiled, too. So, in partnership with American Express, we've rounded up a selection of the most useful, cute and plush pet presents to bequeath them with. Whether it's a botanical wash that will leave your dog smelling as good as (or even better than) you, or a chew toy that's as chic as the accessories in your own wardrobe, these gifts will be sure to please the pup in your life.
Is there such a thing as blockbuster fatigue? Two big shows in Sydney are offering you a way to find out, filling local arts institutions with lines, crowds and the suggestion that this chance to get close to the artefacts is really a once-in-a-lifetime. One features Picasso, the other Harry Potter. Potter may not claim quite the masterpiece status of his cubist forebear, but underlying the saga are some pretty strong ideas. Author of the novels, J.K. Rowling, sculpted Dumbledore from her luminous classics professor TP Wiseman and dropped in strong human rights ideas from her time with Amnesty UK. And the films had a lot of the fire, if less of the humour, from the original novels, with a big chunk coming to Sydney for Harry Potter: The Exhibition. The exhibition showcases props from the films on its only Australian stop, including Dumbledore's wand, plus Harry's and Voldemort's paired pieces. But there's also room to wander around in recreations of the movies' sets, set a hand to mandrake gardening, and get close to some aspects of that reassuringly dangerous sport quidditch. Image by Bill Hails.
When a big musical hits Australia, there are often two reasons to get excited: the fact that a new stage show is heading Down Under, and possibly getting to see it without breaking the bank. That budget-friendly option frequently comes courtesy of TodayTix, which loves slinging cheap seats via a ticket lottery. And, as has happened with Hamilton, Moulin Rouge! and Mary Poppins, it's rolling one out for Tina — The Tina Turner Musical. This is simply your best chance to see the show for less than the price of a dinner, with tickets costing just $35. To take part in the lottery, you will need to download the TodayTix app — which is available for iOS and Android — and submit your entry each week for the next week's performances. The lottery will go live at 12.01am every Friday morning, and is already up and running for its first week. Then, the winners are drawn after 1pm on the following Thursday. If your name is selected, you'll have an hour to claim your tickets from when you receive the good news. If you need a reminder, you can also sign up for lottery alerts via TodayTix, too. After premiering in London back in 2018, this stage ode to the music icon that's had Aussies dancing to 'Nutbush City Limits' for decades is making its way to Sydney from Thursday, May 4. No, it isn't taking to the stage in a church house, gin house, school house or outhouse — or on highway number 19, either. But Tina — The Tina Turner Musical will obviously have Theatre Royal Sydney enjoying Turner's greatest hits in one massive show. The list of musical numbers includes 'Nutbush City Limits', naturally, as well as everything from 'River Deep, Mountain High' and 'Proud Mary' through to 'Private Dancer' and 'What's Love Got to Do with It?'. Tina — The Tina Turner Musical makes its trip Down Under courtesy of TEG DAINTY, Stage Entertainment and Tali Pelman, in association with Tina Turner herself. Announcing the news, the singer said that "Australia has always shared abundant love with me, going back to my early concerts in the late 70s through the uplifting partnership with the National Rugby League. It is very special for me that we will be reunited." "The joy, passion and message of resilience in my musical is so important now as ever. Thank you from the bottom my heart for welcoming me with open arms once again," Turner continued. Penned by Tony Award-nominee and Pulitzer Prize-winner Katori Hall, plus Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, and directed by fellow Tony-nominee Phyllida Lloyd, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical clearly has quite the story to tell. The show steps through Turner's life and fame, including growing up in Nutbush, Tennessee, the hard work that led to her career, all of those aforementioned hits, her 12 Grammy Awards, her volatile time with Ike Turner and her huge solo success. There's no word yet as to whether Tina — The Tina Turner Musical will head to other Australian cities, but cross your fingers while you're doing the Nutbush, obviously. Tina — The Tina Turner Musical will open its Australian-premiere season at Theatre Royal Sydney from Thursday, May 4. To enter the TodayTix $35 lottery, download the company's iOS or Android app, and head to the company's website for more information — and to set up an alert. Images: Manuel Harlan.
Brooklyn artist Stephen Meierding has pulled bicycles apart to make his short film Bicycle Sounds. The video takes its soundtrack from noises made by bicycle wheels, spokes, chains, gears and bells. Each bike part creates a different sound, which combined create an interesting rhythm. The film's progression shows the wheels spinning faster, the sound and the visuals getting a little heavier and slightly more manic, while playing cards attached to the spokes with pegs create visual stimulation. Meidering premiered the film at the recent Bike Shorts film festival in New York, where it took out the top prize. [via Wired]
Feeling like Kylo Ren but wish you could be as blissed out as Yoda? May the force — and may Headspace's new Star Wars collaboration — be with you. Yes, May the fourth is here for another year, which means celebrating like you're in a galaxy far, far away. Or, thanks to this new range of mindfulness tools, meditating like you're a jedi and falling to sleep to the sound of porgs. Already a go-to for mindfulness and meditation, Headspace has teamed up with the Star Wars franchise to mark the most important date there is for the space-opera saga's fans — and make sure that everyone's cool, calm and collected while doing so. If you're eager to de-stress, these are indeed the breathing exercises and sleepcasts you're looking for. On offer from Wednesday, May 4 — when else? — the one-to-five-minute breathing exercises all feature cute animated clips with either Yoda, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and BB-8. In the Yoda-led exercise, you'll find your focus while watching an X-Wing levitate. In the Chewie version, you'll be transported to his home planet Kashyyyk, and then use your breath to make the forest come to life. The R2-D2 exercise gets the cute little robot flashing as you inhale, recharge and reset — and the BB-8 one gets it rolling in much the same way. (Notice that C-3PO isn't included, because that droid can't help anyone relax.) Prefer banishing the dark side via sleepcasts? You have three options there, all of which use famous sounds that you'll recognise from the Star Wars movies. X-Wing Voyage is rather self-explanatory, taking you on a tour of the Star Wars galaxy in one of the eponymous vessels — and going to a different planet in each chapter. With Tatooine Sunset, you'll hone in on that particular planet instead, exploring everything from its endless sea of dunes to its moisture farms. And via Islands of Ahch-To, you'll fall asleep while visiting the very first jedi temple. If you've seen Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, you'll remember that that's where Luke Skywalker ventured off to when he was in seclusion. And yes, you'll hear porgs. Of course you will. To access all of the above, you'll need to sign up for Headspace — but it's doing a limited-time 30-day free trial offer from Wednesday, May 4. And yes, this is answer to the plea you've never uttered: "help me Star Wars-themed Headspace content, you're my only hope for finding some bliss." To access Headspace's new Star Wars content from Wednesday, May 4, head to the service's website or app. Top image: Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker. (c) 2019 and TM Lucasfilm Ltd.
At the moment of writing, the world holds its breath on the edge of financial ruin. At the centre of the storm is Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, whose attempts at financial governance have been mired by his scandals, many of which seem to involve him with much, much younger women. It makes for a strange time to be watching Ages of Love, an Italian comedy about older men falling in love with women twenty years their junior. Third in the Manual of Love series, these three short films get linked by a common block of apartments, progressive epochs of 'youth', 'adulthood' and 'beyond' and a Cupid (Emanuele Propizio) wielding a steel hunting-bow. The young Roberto (Riccardo Scamarcio) chooses between a commitment-free lover and his wife-to-be Sara (Valeria Solarino), vain newscaster Favio (Carlo Verdone) finds his undoing in a surprise fling with admirer Eliana (Donatella Finoochiaro), while the recipient of a heart transplant (Robert De Niro) encounters a lover for his autumn years in appealing, Bronx-tinted Italian. De Niro's turn as the older Adrian proves to be one of the highlights of the film, as he performs a short strip tease for his lover Viola (Monica Bellucci). Wrinkled and sinewy, the scene allows him to be old without being decrepit. Cupping his hands over his bare heart scars as though they were a kind of nakedness, he is vulnerable and clumsy. But the film is seriously short on women's perspectives. A problem, as each of the women get dealt the stronger parts in the stories. Sara takes some time to ponder her upcoming wedding, Eliana deals with mental illness while loving the wrong man and Viola, living a lie, finds unexpected gentleness with De Niro. Told instead by the men, the stories lose a lot of their power, leaving as ordinary what could have been far more compelling moments of modern Italian love.
Come October, the $20 notes you'll be stuffing in your wallet will look a little different — a new design for the lobster has just been release, and it's hitting tills around the country in just eight months. Australia's banknotes have been getting a makeover since September 2016, when a different $5 note started doing the rounds. It was followed by a revamped $10 in 2017, then $50 in 2018 — and now a sparkling fresh $20, which will hit the streets in October 2019. The upgraded design will celebrate Mary Reibey, an Australian convict-turned-merchant, shipowner and philanthropist, as well as John Flynn, the founder of what is now known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service. They're both recognised in several ways on the new notes, with not only their portraits displayed prominently, but with images one of Reibey's Port Jackson schooners and Flynn's aircraft leaving a Broken Hill homestead, as well as microprint featuring an excerpt from Flynn's book The Bushman's Companion. As well as changed artwork (albeit keeping the same colour scheme and same celebrated Australians as old notes), the new $20 boasts the same improved security features as the new $5, $10 and $50 notes, which are largely aimed to stop counterfeiting. A clear window running from top to bottom is the most obvious, and contains a number of features such as a reversing number and flying kookaburra. And, in great news for the vision-impaired, the new series of legal tender has a tactile feature to help distinguish between different denominations. As happened with the other denominations, the rollout will happen gradually, as will the withdrawal of old $20s — which you can obviously still keep using. And as for the final Aussie banknote yet to receive a revamp, the new $100 is due to be released in 2020.
This article is part of our series on the 17 most unique things to have come out of Japan. Check out the other 16. Australia sure could take a leaf out of Japan’s book on the parking front. As we circle around the inner city, seeking out a spot that lasts more than an hour but costs less than $40, Japanese drivers simply drive onto a platform, jump out and watch their car disappear into an enormous garage. Japan is home to some of the most sophisticated, space-smart and convenient parking on the planet. Their automated garages are structured like multi-storey car parks, in the sense that they provide space for hundreds of cars stacked vertically. But the difference is that, instead of driving in (and round and round), you deposit your car at the entrance and then leave it to be parked automatically. The beauty of this system is that no space is wasted. There’s no need for ramps, lanes, walkways and staircases, and ceiling height is kept to a minimum. And it’s not just cars getting such good facilities. Bicycles have their own automated parking, too, with some big enough to hold as many 6,000. To access the parking regularly, bike owners must register and pay $24 per month. It’s a pretty small price for not having to worry about the hassle of finding a spot or guarding against theft.
Uber is expanding its services in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, with new high-end and cost-effective ride options. Launched June 1, the new uberXL service is targeted at groups of up to six people. When requested, users will be picked up in an SUV or van, such as a Toyota Highlander, a Ford Explorer or a Nissan Quest. Alternatively, if you're looking for something a little bit swankier — but aren't keen to break the bank on uberBLACK — you can now order uberSELECT and connect with a driver in an upscale vehicle like an Audi A3, a BMW 3 series or a Lexus RX. Both uberXL and uberSELECT will be charged at 1.5x the cost of an uberX — although especially in the case of the uberXL, that's still a damn sight cheaper than you and your mates ordering two separate cars. In less exciting news, the ridesharing service is introducing a flat 55c booking fee on all rides, and is also raising the minimum fare rate in Sydney ($8 to $9) Melbourne ($6 to $7.50) and Brisbane ($6 to $7.50). "Following our recent roundtable listening discussions with driver-partners, we heard that an important improvement Uber could make to the driving experience would be increasing the minimum fare," said an Uber spokesperson. The booking fee, meanwhile, will be used to assist with "the operational costs associated with providing a ridesharing service."
Baz Luhrmann, the internet's current poster boy for excess and anal-retentiveness, thinks so. It came as no surprise to the millions of die-hard Gatsby fans that the bloke who made Moulin Rouge! (and oh did that film earn it's exclamation mark) and this scene was going to make something bordering on the bombastic and the flamboyantly camp. And with the film already finding itself in the firing line for its "flimsy phantasmagoria" and resemblance to a "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as staged by Liberace", it seems fair to say that The Great Gatsbywill fit like a glove within Luhrmann's filmography. Yet for a man that seems to have spent his career baulking at the notion of "subtlety", Luhrmann is capable of some surprising poignancy. Take for instance this little gem taken straight from the horse's mouth, about his decision to employ walking billboard and hip hop demigod Jay-Z as his soundtrack producer: "In our age, the energy of jazz is caught in the energy of hip hop." In vintage Luhrmann style, Baz has taken this assumption to its most extreme realisation, with a soundtrack that includes the likes of Fergie, Andre 3000, Nero and (cue the sounds of a thousand sinking hearts) will.i.am. But is Luhrmann onto something here? Is hip-hop the 21st Century equivalent of jazz music? In a recent Flavorwire article, Tom Hawking answered this question with a resounding 'oh hell yeah'. He argued that regardless of what you may think of the quality of the film's music, the soundtrack manages to encapsulate what an extravagant Gatsby party might actually feel like if it was thrown today — completely overblown, obsessed with its own sense of retro-ness and filled with the sort of mega-sized beats that are sure to get any self-respecting 19-year-old gyrating. There are some other obvious parallels between F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz age and Luhrmann's hip-hop generation. Most notably, both these musical styles are deeply rooted in black culture and history, originating in the clubs, ghettoes and basements of Harlem and the Bronx. Yet from these humble beginnings, both jazz and hip hop have suffered a similar process of bastardisation, transforming from black cultural icons, into packageable, mass-producible commodities that rich white folk can consume. And it is here that Luhrmann might be right on the money. Not only has Luhrmann's soundtrack got all the hallmarks of a cashed-up, Long Island party but it has all the vapidity and disposability of such a party as well. Take for instance Beyonce and Andre 3000's aping of Amy Winehouse's darkly melancholic 'Back to Black' into an overproduced mess of showy vocals and grizzly bass lines. In this song alone we have both the success and failure of the soundtrack all contained in one. While the song is initially gratifying, it is ultimately empty and insubstantial. And this is exactly what Gatsby taught us about the opulence and decadence of the jazz age. It was beautiful and incredibly intriguing but ultimately fleeting and meaningless. The perfect analogy for what Fitzgerald saw as the great American lie: the American Dream. As such, The Great Gatsby soundtrack is big, it's bold and it's infrequently magnificent (Jack White's cover of U2's 'Love Is Blindness' manages to grip at your nerve ends and give them a toe-curling squeeze) but just as often it is just plain dumb. So in answer to our original question, is hip hop the 21st-century equivalent to jazz music? Yeah, Jay-Z may be the closest thing we have to a modern-day Jay Gatsby, but in a much darker vein perhaps it is the decline of these genres from cultural icons to products of a commercialised and materialistic society that makes them so alike. How very Gatsby that is. https://youtube.com/watch?v=5snA5TEse9w
Ever wish your sneakers smelt more like roses after a long sweaty run? Le Coq Sportif aren't making any technology-defying promises, but they have certainly been inspired by the classic perennial in their new, limited-edition running shoe, the Eclat Rose EXD. It's the tenth anniversary of Barcelona's sneaker store Limiteditions and to celebrate, the French sports style experts at Le Coq Sportif decided it was time to revitalise the original 1985 Eclat classic with a Barcelonian motif. Complementing rich red and pink hues with woody greens and browns, the Eclat Rose EXD is indeed reminiscent of a rose, symbolising the city of Barcelona. Made from waterproof nubuck, it has a quick lacing system, supportive sole bands and comfy freeform insoles. This unique design is only available locally at Up There in Melbourne and Highs and Lows in Perth. But thanks to Le Coq Sportif, we have two pairs of the limited edition Eclat Rose EXD (retail price is $159.95) to give away — one size 43 and one size 45. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and email us with your name, address and preferred size. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
When an actor adds new movies to their resume quickly — popping up in new flicks every couple of months or so, and never proving far from their next film — there's a chance they might run out of worthy on-screen opportunities. The one actor that'll never apply to: Nicolas Cage. He's prolific, he stars in far too many terrible flicks, when he's at his best he's downright brilliant, and he always has something interesting around the corner. In 2021 alone, he's shouted expletives from Netflix, battled demonic animatronics and teamed up with one of Japan's most out-there filmmakers. He also played a truffle hunter on a quest for revenge after his pet pig is stolen, in the aptly named Pig, which is one of the year's definite movie highlights. The latter saw him turn in one of the best performances of his career, in fact, but Cage has been preparing his entire life to play his next part: himself. Yes, we've seen Cage break out of Alcatraz, sing Elvis songs, run around the streets convinced that he's a vampire, let his long hair flap in the wind and swap faces. He's voiced a version of Spider-Man, driven fast cars, fought space ninjas and stolen babies as well. Staying in his own shoes stands out, though, which is exactly what The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent will serve up in April next year. Announced earlier in 2021, and just dropping its first trailer now, the movie will follow the on-screen, fictionalised Cage as he accepts an offer to attend a super fan's birthday. Getting paid $1 million is just too much to pass up. He needs the money, but he also has to save both himself and his loved ones along the way. Yep, that sounds about right. As well as Cage playing Cage — not to be confused with his work in Adaptation, where he played two characters — The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent features Pedro Pascal (Wonder Woman 1984) as the aforementioned Cage devotee, and also Tiffany Haddish (The Card Counter), Sharon Horgan (This Way Up) and Neil Patrick Harris (It's a Sin). Are We Officially Dating? filmmaker Tom Gormican sits in the director's chair, because if there's anything this story needs, it's the director of a Zac Efron and Michael B Jordan-starring rom-com pivoting to total Cage worship. And yes, whether this'll be one of Cage's undeniable delights or pure cinematic chaos won't be discovered until the film hits cinemas — but he's clearly having a ball based on this sneak peek, and seeing him play and parody himself really does demand everyone's eyeballs. Check out the trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent below: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent will release in Australian cinemas on April 21, 2022.
If a luxury getaway is on the cards this summer, NSW has a stunning new outback accommodation option to add to your wish-list. Set on a 9000-acre family-run, third generation beef and sheep property near Warialda in the state's north (about seven hours from Sydney and five from Brisbane), the newly launched Faraway Domes promises a luxury secluded escape, with the added bonus of a minimal carbon footprint thanks to an off-grid power supply. Designed to be able to create its own natural heating and cooling, the self-contained geodesic dome structure fits two and is kitted out in style. You're sure to feel right at home with the luxury four-poster king size bed, a proper bathroom, open-plan living area with TV and, if you choose, a full kitchen stocked with your choice of gourmet eats and ingredients. Meanwhile, a surrounding elevated deck (complete with an outdoor bath) takes full advantage of those sweeping rural views, ideal for nights spent sipping wine under the stars. When you're not living it up in your gorgeous temporary home, you'll find plenty nearby to keep you entertained — Macintyre Falls, Copeton Dam, Cranky Rock Nature Reserve and the Ceramic Break Sculpture Park are located all within an hour's drive of the dome. Faraway Domes currently just has one dome on the property, with plans to construct more in the future. Faraway Domes opens for bookings today with a one-night stay priced at $372. You'll find it at 405 Munsies Road, Warialda, NSW.
It's safe to say Gami Chicken & Beer has secured its status as one of Australia's go-to fried chicken joints, slinging its signature, Korean-style chook from 23 locations across the city. After opening its seventeenth Melbourne spot, in The Glen Shopping Centre, and third Sydney store on Market Street in the CBD earlier this year, Gami is about to launch its first (super-spicy) limited-edition flavour. And, to celebrate, Gami is giving Aussies a few very good reasons to jump on board, handing out a whopping 250 pieces of its boneless fried chicken with the new sauce at every one of its stores — for free. These new fried chicken morsels come lathered in mala — a super-spicy Chinese sauce packed with sichuan peppercorns (yep, the numbing ones), chilli peppers, soybean paste and spices. As always, the chicken is also RSPCA-approved and also rocks Gami's signature blend of 17 herbs and spices. You can try the mala chicken for free from 5.30pm today, Friday, November 29, at all stores. Only the first 250 people will get a free taste, though, so don't sleep on it. Once you're hooked, you're probably going to want to schedule a return visit pretty quick, to try other Gami favourites like the chicken spare ribs, the vegetarian chicken and the aptly named Potato Heaven, featuring three layers of cheesy potato goodness — all paired with ice cold beers, of course. If you want more of the mala sauce, it'll also be available — for a limited time — with stir-fried chicken and tteok bok ki (Korean rice cakes), as well as the fried chicken. Gami will give away 250 pieces of mala boneless fried chicken from 5.30pm on Friday, November 29. Find your closest here.
There's plenty of food at Bondi Feast, but it's not the main course. The Rock Surfers Theatre Company's annual festival serves up offbeat performances, comedy and writerly projects from some of our favourite creative Sydneysiders, all backed up by a rotating cast of food vendors in the Bondi Pavilion's Festival Bar. With tickets to shows starting at $10, consider it a tapas of ideas, hilarity, provocation and feels. The shows here have fronted up ready to compete for our very limited attention spans on title alone. There's My Struggle: The Life and Times of an Individ (in a World Full of Hipsters), This Is My Box, Awkward Conversations with Animals I've Fucked, Jack Kerouac's Rules for Spontaneous Prose, Destroyer of Worlds and Josipa Draisma is Jean Claude Van Damme. The synopsis for (Melbourne Fringe Festival and Green Room Award winner) Tim Spencer's Sweet Sweet Merch reads simply, "Shock hot super cool amazing unbelievable award winning prizes escalation fireworks blow by blow action responsive titivating nudity live girls progressive mind bending altering adulterating celebrity scandal high quality mindfulness organic all natural beatific excellence quality service customer care highlights moisturising elevating prosthetic cyborg money back guarantee*". What more could you ask for? But there's a lot of substance to these dishes. With acts pulled together by festival director and regular indie theatre conduit Phil Spencer, Bondi Feast is a showcase of the east coast's best fringe or up-and-coming performers and writers. "Bondi Feast 2014 is packed full of action with guided meditations, dance classes, open auditions, 24 hour playwright parties, scratch nights, hot soup and bags of new works," says Spencer. Included on the bill is Eddie Sharp (Erotic Fan Fiction), Genevieve Fricker (TV's The Roast), Vanessa Bates (Every Second), Jessica Bellamy (Shabbat Dinner), Caleb Lewis (Death in Bownegabbie), Daniel Townes and Hannah Malarski (Bushpig). For the duration of the fest, the Bondi Pav will kitted out as a North American roadside diner, featuring designer Gemma O'Nions' "bespoke truckie cab shrines". A different food truck or local business takes over the kitchen each night (in previous years that's included the Bucket List, Veggie Patch, Misschu, Bondi Harvest and the Beach Burrito Co), while Batlow's hot spiced apple cider provides the support you need to step out onto that blustery balcony with the killer beach views. Bondi Feast 2014 is on from July 8-26 at the Bondi Pavilion. Thanks to the Rock Surfers, we have one double festival pass to give away (that's valid for all shows in the 'Big Theatre' throughout the festival). To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
Looking to be a little more mindful this year? Perhaps a get a bit more spiritual? Make tracks to Bendigo's impressive Buddhist structure, The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion (which also happens to the largest stupa in the southern hemisphere) in May. The annual appreciation for Buddha and his life, known as Illumin8, will take place across Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18. If Buddha is your jam and light installations and fireworks are your peanut butter, then roll on up. Illumin8 2019 will incorporate light sculptures in The Great Stupa's Peace Park, roaming performances and vegetarian and vegan food and market stalls. Be sure to visit the giant Jade Buddha while you're there, too (it's his day after all). The centrepiece of the whole shebang is a light projection show each night telling the story of Buddha's life, topped off by fireworks. Open your mind and let the light in (just don't get too close to the fireworks). Illumin8 2019 will run from 4–8pm on Friday, May 17 and 10am–8pm on Saturday, May 18. To purchase tickets, head to The Great Stupa's website.
For more than 20 years, Redfern-based social enterprise Tribal Warriors has been hosting programs focused on health and wellbeing, family dynamics and employment opportunities to improve the lives of First Nations people. To help support these efforts, Tribal Warriors run tours and provide cultural performances for events. Its vessel, Mari Nawi or 'Big Canoe', regularly tours the harbour for one-off events, but you can enquire any time to join the Cultural Cruise. This informative journey provides insight into pre-colonial Indigenous coastal lifestyles as you pass harbour landmarks and learn their significance to the Gadigal, Guringai, Wangal, Gammeraigal and Wallumedegal people. It includes a stop at Be-lang-le-wool (Clark Island) and could feature surprise cultural performances. Images: Destination NSW
Image: "The Kiss" by Pablo Picasso in the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. REUTERS/David Gray The Art Gallery of New South Wales is among six Australian galleries to share their collections with the online community via Google Art Project. The project, launched last year, allows art enthusiasts to view the great artistic works of the world, all from the convenience of their computer screen. The Art Gallery of NSW has now launched 415 of its most notable works, including a wide sampling drawn from every aspect of its collection. Included are works from the gallery's Australian, Indigenous, Asian and European collections. All of the pieces are featured in incredible high-resolution detail, revealing brushwork and other elements that are undetectable by the naked eye. 250 of these works are accessible through the website's 3D gallery walkthrough. "To think," says Anne Flanagan, acting direction of the Art Gallery of NSW, "that while a person here at the Gallery is viewing a work, someone else, anywhere in the world, can also be viewing the same work with such crystal-clear definition." Other participating Australian galleries include the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Melbourne Museum, and Griffith University's Rock Art Research Centre. They have joined the efforts of 151 cultural institutions in 40 countries, under Google, to transform the art-viewing process, and to make fine art universally accessible.
A holiday at a luxurious resort in Thailand is usually relaxing. For Walton Goggins (Fallout), Carrie Coon (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Jason Isaacs (The Crowded Room), Michelle Monaghan (MaXXXine), Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale), Parker Posey (Mr & Mrs Smith) and more in The White Lotus season three, however, getaway bliss might prove elusive. In 2025, TV viewers will find out what the hit anthology series has in store for its latest batch of travellers. Fancy a sneak peek now? HBO has dropped a new teaser trailer for its upcoming slate. The latest glimpse at what the US network has on the way covers a heap of series, so The White Lotus season three only features briefly. But Goggins peers at the sights, Bibb and Monaghan mosey through a crowd, and Posey and returning cast member Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone) also pop up, while Lisa from BLACKPINK welcomes guests. Exactly when The White Lotus returns hasn't been revealed as yet, other than sometime in 2025. Also arriving next year, and also debuting never-before-seen footage in the clip: IT prequel series Welcome to Derry, season four of Hacks, season two of The Rehearsal, a new show led by Bottoms and Saturday Night's Rachel Sennott, two-part documentary Pee-Wee as Himself, The Righteous Gemstones season four, Peacemaker season two, The Pitt with ER veteran Noah Wyle, Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)-led FBI series Task and Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) comedy The Chair Company. The second season of The Last of Us, new Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, season three of And Just Like That... and season three of The Gilded Age also feature in the trailer, albeit without any new material, with each series joining the list for 2025. You can spot scenes from Dune: Prophecy, season three of The Sex Lives of College Girls, the animated Creature Commandos and limited series Get Millie Black, too, each of which are 2024 releases. From 2025's lineup, newcomer Duster with Lost's Josh Holloway and season two of Conan O'Brien Must Go score a look as well. Where Australians will be watching all of the above is yet to be revealed, however, given that HBO has confirmed that its own streaming service Max will launch here sometime in the first half of 2025. Watch HBO's new 2024–25 roundup trailer below: The shows highlighted in HBO's new trailer will arrive across the end of 2024 and in 2025. At present, the bulk of the network's programs stream via Binge in Australia and on Neon in New Zealand. Images: HBO.
They can't all be good ones: Baz Luhrmann movies, that is, although almost all of them are. There's one outlier on his resume, though — one film that definitely doesn't live up to the others. That flick: Australia. Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, The Great Gatsby and Elvis are all spectacular. Despite combining two of the nation's biggest actors with one of its biggest filmmakers, 2008's Nicole Kidman- and Hugh Jackman-starring Australia definitely isn't. But if you ever wondered what it might look like with a bit of tinkering — actually, a lot of re-cutting and re-imagining — you're about to find out. Faraway Downs will be the end result, a six-part miniseries that's destined for streaming queues in the near future. It's set to drop in the US via Hulu sometime during America's winter, which means that it'll hit Disney+ Down Under — at around the same time, hopefully. "I originally set out to take the notion of the sweeping, Gone With the Wind-style epic and turn it on its head — a way of using romance and epic drama to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people and the painful scar in Australian history of the Stolen Generations," said Luhrmann in a statement, as per The Hollywood Reporter. "While Australia the film has its own life, there was another telling of this story; one with different layers, nuances and even alternative plot twists that an episodic format has allowed us to explore. Drawn from the same material, Faraway Downs is a new variation on Australia for audiences to discover." If you need a refresher on Australia's plot — and therefore Faraway Downs's plot, too — it follows English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman, The Northman) after she comes into possession of an Aussie cattle ranch. To save it from cattle barons, she enlists the help of a drover (Jackman, Reminiscence). That's just the overall gist, however, given that the sprawling movie also spans World War II and its impact, as well as the country's historical treatment of Indigenous Australians. Fittingly given the name — and as usually proves the case with Luhrmann's flicks — the cast includes a who's who of homegrown talent. As well as Kidman and Jackman, plus Brandon Walters (Mystery Road) as Nullah, everyone from Essie Davis (Nitram), Bryan Brown (Hungry Ghosts) and John Jarratt (Wolf Creek) to Ben Mendelsohn (Cyrano), Jack Thompson (High Ground) and David Wenham (Elvis) features, as does the now-late David Gulpilil (Storm Boy) and Bill Hunter (The Cup). Exactly how long each episode of Faraway Downs will run for hasn't yet been revealed — but at 165 minutes, the movie it's remixing wasn't short. Check out the original trailer for Australia below: Faraway Downs is due to hit Hulu in the US sometime in America's winter — and Disney+ Down Under. We'll update you with an exact date when it announced. Via The Hollywood Reporter.
Grocery nerds, listen closely. Naked Foods — an organic, packaging-free bulk health food store — has opened on the Bondi end of Oxford Street, and there's hardly an unusual flour or up-and-coming superfood that Brazilian owner Caique Ponzoni doesn't stock. In a stripped-back, concrete-floored space lined with rows of white tubs filled with every type of lentil, nut, spice, grain and dried fruit the I Quit Sugar cookbook could ever call for, Caique and store manager Dolores Romero welcome a range of customers, from the older regulars who have known them since they started doing market stalls six years ago to the assertive, very Bondi 12-year-old he tells me came in one night after her yoga class to do her bulk shopping. Naked Foods' basic philosophy is to be organic, sustainable and waste-free. Bring your own containers or use the brown paper bags supplied around the shop and buy as much (or as little) as you want. He means that, too — you can get one walnut, or 12 kilos of flour. Gone are the days of pantries deep with hardly touched jars and bags of obscure ingredients you needed for that one recipe, that one time, two years ago. "Price is key as well," Caique tells me. "That's the difference between packaged stuff and an organic health shop. It'll always end up cheaper buying here, because you're always going to get what you need." At the front of the shop, Dolores churns out fresh nut butter. Behind her is a sign listing a different nut for each day of the week; the day I'm there she feeds enormous macadamias in, and a creamy, pale yellow, thick butter oozes out. Other products of note include the very aesthetically pleasing baby pink Himalayan crystal salt; chocolate coated nuts, banana and ginger (in dark and milk varieties); flour from the ancient grain khorasan (apparently known for its nutty flavour); and the super hard-to-find 'super superfood' bee pollen (for $79.95 a kilo, no less). Whether you're a proponent or not, there's no denying clean eating (or #cleaneating, as more than 9 million mentions on Instagram have it) is the latest food trend, though Caique might baulk at that term. "It's just a lifestyle, that's the right word. It's just normal. Shop in bulk, eat a lot of greens and raw food. That's the way we lived in Brazil." The organic, sustainable philosophy extends to other products as well. You can do away with your Head and Shoulders and expensive moisturisers. Caique sells organic shampoo and conditioner and assures me coconut oil is better than any high-end moisturiser or aftershave. His skin looks pretty damn soft. I think he's probably on to something. Naked Foods is at Shop 7, 310 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction and online. Its opening hours are 9am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.
The Office is reopening — in America, and in the same universe as the Steve Carell (Asteroid City)-led series dwelled in from 2005–13. It was back in 2023 that news dropped of a potential US reboot of the beloved sitcom, and now the project has been given the green light; however, the as-yet-untitled show isn't simply walking into Dunder Mifflin with new staff. Instead, US streaming service Peacock is staying in the same world as the Scranton-set show that itself was a remake — of the original UK version that arrived in 2001 — by moving the mockumentary format to a new workplace. This time, the same documentary crew who spent time with Michael Scott and company will focus on a dying newspaper office in America's midwest, where the publisher is trying to keep the business going with help from volunteer reporters. [caption id="attachment_765735" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Run, HBO[/caption] Leading the cast: Domhnall Gleeson, who co-starred with Carell on 2022's The Patient, plus Sabrina Impacciatore from The White Lotus season two. Who they're playing hasn't been revealed as yet. There's no character details at all so far, or anything more on the plot or fellow actors, but Greg Daniels — who created the US version of The Office to begin with, and has also been behind Space Force and Upload — is steering the project behind the camera with Nathan for You co-creator Michael Koman. "It's been more than ten years since the final episode of The Office aired on NBC, and the acclaimed comedy series continues to gain popularity and build new generations of fans on Peacock," said NBCUniversal Entertainment President Lisa Katz about the new series. "In partnership with Universal Television and led by the creative team of Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, this new series set in the universe of Dunder Mifflin introduces a new cast of characters in a fresh setting ripe for comedic storytelling: a daily newspaper." [caption id="attachment_870908" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The White Lotus, HBO[/caption] For everyone who has ever had a cringeworthy boss, annoying co-worker or soul-crushing office job, a truth remains apparent, then: this situation, which The Office franchise has understood for more than two decades now, shows no signs of fading away. As well as the UK and US versions so far, other international takes on the show have followed, including an in-the-works Australian series that'll mark the 13th iteration beyond Britain to-date. On its first go-around, the American The Office proved one of the rare instances where a TV remake is better than the original. It was also immensely easy to just keep rewatching, as fans have known for over a decade. Of course, that's what you get when you round up Carell, John Krasinski (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan), Jenna Fischer (Splitting Up Together), Rainn Wilson (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), Mindy Kaling (Velma), Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls), Ellie Kemper (Happiness for Beginners), Craig Robinson (Killing It) and more in the same show, and let all of them break out their comedic best. There's no sneak peek at the new The Office spinoff so far — it doesn't start production until July — but, in the interim, you can check out a couple clips from the US version below: The new spinoff of the US version of The Office doesn't have a release date yet — we'll update you with more information when it is announced. The Office Australia will stream via Prime Video sometime in 2024 — we'll update you with an exact launch date when one is announced.
The Mornington Peninsula is now home to a gluten-free brewpub thanks to Twøbays Brewing, which opened the doors to its Dromana taproom in December 2018. The public tasting room is set amongst the production brewery, which began operation in 2017. It's stainless steel tanks are visible from the brewpub side, and the entire facility overlooks the picturesque Arthur's Seat. Founder and beer enthusiast Richard Jeffares was diagnosed with coeliac disease in 2016 and became inspired by similar gluten-free taprooms found in The States. Jeffares signed on head brewer Andrew Gow, who's resumé boasts 20 years in the business, including at Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Mountain Goat and Five Islands in Sydney's Wollongong. While most beers use gluten-containing malted barley, Twøbays instead uses gluten-free millet, rice and buckwheat — imported from Colorado and California — in all its beers. The brewpub has launched with a range of seven core and specialty tap beers, including an easy-drinking pale ale; an English-style extra special bitter dubbed Local Knowledge; Gose Against, a German-style gose brewed with coriander, salt and lime; and a mid-strength ale called Little Arthur. To try a few at once, patrons can nab a four-pony tasting paddle. Apart from brews, there's locally produced Quealy wine and Ten Sixty One cider to enjoy. And, adding to theme, there's also a woodfired oven slinging gluten-free pizza. The taproom is a cash-free environment, though, so make sure you come with card in hand. Twøbays also sells its pale ale and IPA online — both of which are endorsed by Coeliac Australia. If you're a keen home-brewer, Twøbays is already selling and shipping its gluten-free brew packs and malts across Australia. Find Twøbays Brewing Co at Unit 1, 2 Trewhitt Court, Dromana, Victoria. Opening hours are Friday from 3–8pm, Saturday from 12–6pm and Sunday from 12–5pm. Updated: June 3, 2019.
If you've ever dined in the Darling Harbour eatery ABODE you'll be familiar with its dining approach of accessible sophistication and sustainability. The seasonally-led kitchen is about to go all-in on the biggest culinary draw card of the season: for just one winter evening on Saturday, July 29, ABODE is levelling up its usual offering of Australian produce with a luxe Truffle Dinner. ABODE has joined forces with certified biodynamic and organic Elvesgate Truffle Farm to curate a five-course dinner showcasing that subterranean black gold: the black truffle. Each course of the meal will be designed around, star or be inspired by the luxurious culinary gems (black truffle is quite literally valued in the hundreds of dollars per kilogram). You'll also meet a member of the family behind Elvesgate Truffle Farm, who'll be imparting knowledge of the food as well as the farm. These truffles will star in dishes featuring duck breast, house-made bread, beef fillet, chocolate and more. Your $140 ticket includes a welcome drink and five courses of food, and for an extra $50pp you can get matching Gartelmann Wines from the Hunter Valley region to wash it down. Truly a gastronomical delight, no? For key details on the Truffle Dinner and to secure your ticket, visit the website, or visit the ABODE website for more information.
In her book The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron describes meeting people who are concerned about being too old to start learning an artistic pursuit. Her answer to the question, ‘But do you know how old I will be by the time I learn to really write or play an instrument or act?’ is ‘The same age you’ll be if you don’t learn to play at all.’ Hal Lasko is one artist who sees age as no barrier. Having just turned 98, and diagnosed as legally blind, he spends ten hours a day painting with Windows 95’s Microsoft Paint program. This year has seen his debut exhibition, and according to Colossal, his work has been described as a 'collision of pointillism and 8-bit art'. An array of pieces is available for sale online. Affectionately nicknamed Grandpa, Lasko was born in Taledo, Ohio, on July 28, 1915. After commencing work as a graphic designer, he was called to draft directional and weather maps for bombing raids during the Second World War. Once the bombing stopped, he returned to design, working for the likes of General Tire, The Cleveland Browns, Goodyear and American Greetings. Evenings would be spent painting. However, it wasn’t until retirement that Lasko could find enough time to focus entirely on art. And he was in his late 80s before he learnt how to use Microsoft Paint. Vision loss came in 2005, with the onset of wet macular degeneration. In the video below, documentary maker Josh Bogdan takes a journey through Lasko’s creative world. [via Mashable]
The last bastion of the phone-free two hours, the theatre, might be about to crumble. Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre this week announced that they'll be trialling special seating for social media users, internationally dubbed 'tweet seats', at select shows. Carlton indie theatre La Mama is already all over it, having set aside four tweet seats per show for their upcoming work RAT, and they're even free. Considering we've been live tweeting everything else — from films to talks, concerts and dinners — is the distinction around theatre an artificial one that's been destined to fall away? And is there any benefit to be gained from allowing us to whip out our phones mid-show? The Malthouse announcement has met with some backlash, even on Twitter. Popular opinion is, if you're live tweeting a performance, you're living the kind of hollowed-out half-life that means you may as well stay home and plug into the Matrix. But this is a personal value judgement and not a reason, practically or conceptually, against allowing others to make Twitter a part of their theatre experience. I struggle to express coherent thoughts for half an hour after a film or movie, let alone have any desire to do so while it unfolds and trade away the sense of immersion that comes with live performance. But that's just me, and that's just the shows I've seen. How about a small show built to feed off real-time responses? How about a big, bombastic opera that can't count on the nosebleed section being highly engaged? The LA Times technology blog attributes the first instance of live theatre tweeting to a 2009 staging of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore in Kansas — and it was a more constructive affair than you might assume. Audience members in the 100 special seats of the final performance could access tweets from the show's artistic director about the production, scenery and story unfurling on stage while tweeting their own questions and comments. It was an aid to their enjoyment of the piece, not unlike an audio tour of an art exhibit. Or the special features on a DVD. Or a post-show Q&A, during the show. It's since become common in the US and UK, mainly for ballets, operas and symphony concerts. With conditions tightly controlled — you don't want to distract the real-life cast and crew who need darkness to do their jobs properly — and the agreement of the individual creative team, theatre might continue to become a road more tweeted. But then there's this argument from Alex Roe, artistic director of New York's Metropolitan Playhouse, perhaps the most focused takedown of how your tweeting might affect other people's enjoyment: "Part of the whole theatrical experience is the thought of being present in the company of the rest of the audience and the actors," Roe said to NPR. "To me, the thought of encouraging people to tweet during a performance is necessarily a violation of that agreement." That might just be the tweet-seat deal-breaker.
Whether you're buying flowers for your nearest and dearest, such as your mum or your partner, or you'd just like to have something floral brightening up your house, the real kind always come with an expiry date. Fake flowers exist, of course, for those who like permanent petals — but they're not as fun as the block-built type in Lego's new Botanical Collection. Part of the brand's growing range for adults — because we're all well past pretending that Lego is just for kids — the Botanical Collection currently features two items. For a bouquet that'll never die, the 756-piece flower bouquet kit includes a number of different blooms that you can bunch together however you like. If you're more of a bonsai kind of person, an 878-piece set that features one of the miniature trees is also available. For those keen on vibrant flowers, the flower bouquet box includes pieces to make blooms based on roses, snapdragons, poppies, asters, daisies and grasses, all in different colours and shapes. In fact, because this is the first kit of its type, it features blocks in hues and shapes — including 17 realistic-looking petal pieces — that Lego hasn't ever used before. The stems come in different lengths, measuring up to 36 centimetres, and you choose which flowers sit at which height. The petals and leaves are also customisable; however, if you want a vase to put them all in, you'll have to find that elsewhere. In the bonsai tree set, you'll obviously build a bonsai. Yes, it's that self-explanatory — but you'll also make a black pot for it to sit in and a wooden stand for it as well. You can pick between green leaves and cherry blossoms while you're putting it together, and it's up to you how you arrange them as well. If you fancy a bit of pink in warmer months and something earthier when winter hits, you can do that as well. Both kits cost $89.99, although the bonsai one is temporarily out of stock after they both launched on January 1 this year. Lego is also moving towards being more green with its pieces, not just with the designs they can be used to make — and announced that it was starting to produce sustainable blocks made from plant-based plastic back in 2018. You'll find some in the Botanical Collection sets, fittingly, as made from sustainably sourced sugarcane. Plus, as well as catching the eye, Lego's newest products are designed to help you destress and get mindful — something that the brand has been promoting for adults for a few years now. For more information about Lego's new Botanical Collection, including the flower bouquet and bonsai tree kits, head to the company's website.
If you haven't made the December pilgrimage to southeast Queensland's Woodford Folk Festival at least once, have you truly celebrated the end of the year to the fullest in Australia? No, no you haven't. Due to the pandemic, however, that hasn't been an option for the past few years — but the beloved festival has confirmed its return to see out 2022 and welcome in 2023. Mark December 27–January 1 in your diary, and prepare to catch a heap of bands, wander between arts performances and get a little muddy. Exactly who'll be playing the fest, which takes place about 90 minutes north of Brisbane, hasn't yet been revealed. But the 2019–20 fest boasted Lior, Horrorshow, The Herd, Kate Miller-Heidke, Electric Fields, Emma Louise, Archie Roach with Paul Grabrowsky, and Kasey Chambers, which gives you an idea of the kind of mix of artists that's usually on the bill. Also typically part of the Woodford experience: over 2000 artists putting on more than 1600 shows across the festival's 25 stages, in venues that range from a 25,000-seat amphitheatre to chilled-out hangout spots. Exactly what this year's figures will hit also hasn't been advised as yet, but this is never a small-scale fest. Indeed, announcing the event's return, Woodford General Manager Amanda Jackes advised that "over the past two years, Woodfordia organisers have delivered 1372 shows with 1032 artists over eight national tours and eight multi-day events, to an audience of 20,000 with overnight visitation totalling 50,192. To put this into context, as only one event, Woodford Folk Festival hosts 1800 shows across 25 stages featuring 2800 individual artists and performers to an aggregate audience of 132,000 with overnight visitation totalling 222,356." Beyond the numbers — yes, Woodford is massive — Founder and Director Bill Hauritz said that "this year will see the festival built from the ground up with new ideas, new programming, a new layout but always maintaining the festival tradition of the key corner stones of what has made it so successful for a long period of time." "In the past we have spent a lot of time planning, sometimes two and three years ahead, which we've been unable to do during COVID times," he continued. "Instead, we've been creative in the space and using the time to both restructure our organisation, always making improvements to our considerable systems." The festival will once again take over its Woodfordia parklands base, which now boasts a lake — and is in the process of getting 20 permanent glamping tents installed. And, as always, the fest's lineup will span everything from music, art, circus and cabaret to yoga, dance and comedy again, plus spoken word, comedy, workshops, bars, cafes and restaurants. If you're already keen to buy tickets, they're expected to go on sale in mid-June. The 2022–23 Woodford Folk Festival will run from December 27, 2022–January 1, 2023 at Woodfordia on the Sunshine Coast. For more information, head to woodfordfolkfestival.com Images: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr.
Between the inaugural So Pop festival, drawing names like Vengaboys, Aqua and Lou Bega, and RNB Vine Days, headlined by the likes of Nelly and Craig David, the list of international music heroes hitting Aussie stages this summer is already huge. But it's about to get even heftier, with news that the world's biggest hip hop festival Rolling Loud is set to make its southern hemisphere debut next January. The independently owned one-day event hits Sydney Showgrounds on Sunday, January 27, and while the lineup won't be released until later this week, it's set to be seriously buzz-worthy, if previous years' offerings are anything to go by. Since its first outing in Miami back in 2015, Rolling Loud has expanded to Los Angeles and San Francisco, pulling crowds of up to 135,000 earlier this year. Past sell-out events have seen names like Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, A$AP Rocky, Future, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Post Malone, Migos and Lil Uzi Vert all grace the festival's stage. For Rolling Loud's first Australian foray, young founders Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif are teaming up with local production and events company HSU Events, who has previously brought us big international headliners for the likes of Midnight Mafia and Knockout Circuz. If you're keen to catch Rolling Loud's Aussie debut, you can sign up now for exclusive pre-sale access. The festival will take over Sydney Showgrounds, Olympic Park, on January 27. We'll fill you in on who's headlining as soon as they're announced later this week. Images: Beth Saravo and Sebastian Rodriguez
Since Netflix officially launched in Australia back in 2015, their buffet of streaming movies and TV shows has lacked one thing: new original local content. Indeed, it took more than two years for the popular SVOD platform to finally announce that they're making their first Aussie series — and, if the Australian government has anything to do with it, there'll be much more where that came from. During a government enquiry into the sustainability of the film and television industry, Department of Communications content head Carolyn Patteson revealed that the department is looking into quotas for Aussie content on streaming platforms. "We recognise that the system we currently have in place is probably not contemporary for our environment, and what we're really starting to grapple with is the online space," she advised. Just how much Australian programming could be required is yet to be discussed; however, under similar quotas for TV networks, local commercial free-to-air television stations must show a minimum of 55 per cent on their main channels between 6am and midnight. Further sub-quotas apply to Australian drama, documentary and kids' programs. A similar idea has been floated in Europe, with a figure of 20 per cent suggested. In the interim, in addition to their recently announced supernatural crime drama series Tidelands, Netflix has also co-commissioned new comedy series The Letdown with the ABC — their third local collaboration after the second season of Glitch and Monkey Magic reboot The Legend Of Monkey. Over at Stan, No Activity and Wolf Creek have flown the flag for local content on the Australian platform so far, with four new shows currently in the works, as well as feature film The Second. Via The Sydney Morning Herald.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations, giving you inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we set the compass to Tropical North Queensland and take a trip to Cairns for a special stay at Crystalbrook Riley. We love this place so much that we teamed up with the resort to offer an exclusive four-night travel deal — including in-room entertainment, aquarium access and accommodation in an ultra-refined Urban Room. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? Queenslanders have had a good few reasons to celebrate of late: State of Origin wins. A low-intensity heatwave that makes it feel they're never going to break up with summer. First place in a new survey that asked Aussies to rank their favourite local travel destination. And while anyone who's not a Maroons fan probably doesn't want to hear them gloat about their footballing victories, we can certainly support a destination that grants us access to sunny days and balmy nights right now without the need to renew our passports. Pitching itself for consideration is Crystalbrook Riley, a five-star stay that's strategically situated along Cairns' iconic coastal boardwalk. It has some of the best beaches of the world literally at your doorstep. Luxe location aside, Crystalbrook Riley's outstanding amenities are equally impressive. They include a 1000-square-metre swimming lagoon, a private man-made beach, bustling bars and restaurants and some seriously stylish rooms and suites. THE ROOMS The Crystalbrook Riley team is proud to proclaim that its 311 rooms and suites most certainly do not feel like a home away from home. But before you think that's a typo allow us to explain its rationale. Basically, it's because the team believes that leaving your teeny one-bedroom with views over the main road to spend your time away in the same sort of set-up defeats the purpose. Instead, it delivers all of the good things you love about your own house (big beds, comfy couches, steaming hot showers) and adds some oomph by making the design a little more sophisticated, the furnishings a touch more elegant and the kind of contemporary cool accessories you'd find at a boutique homeware store. FOOD AND DRINK If you're in Cairns, you're probably going dedicate a couple of days to super-early-start excursions like the Daintree National Park or the Great Barrier Reef. On those occasions, when you come home exhausted and don't have the physical energy to untangle your salty hair let alone order an Uber, Crystalbrook Riley's own in-hotel restaurants are on hand. The highest rooftop bar in Cairns, Rocco, is all about generous serves, share-style dining and fresh dishes that take inspiration from the Middle East and the Mediterranean and recreate them with fresh regional produce. Highlights include mezza plates featuring freshly shucked oysters, house-made labneh cheese, Far North Queensland grilled tiger prawns, confit chicken and grilled lamb cutlets. Pair them with a smart selection of sweet and savoury cocktails, like the Moroccan-inspired Message in a Bottle, for an experience that is truly unmissable. On the other hand, if you're all about an Asian epicurean experience, then Paper Crane offers a modern menu that makes the most of Tropical North Queensland's fresh ingredients while highlighting the best of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese fare. Signature dishes such as the citrus soy-marinated Tableland rib-eye steak on the bone pair perfectly with Paper Crane's custom cocktails. Just be sure to pace yourself if you have another long day trip planned for the next morning. THE LOCAL AREA Know as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is the place to base yourself if swimming and snorkelling among world-heritage-listed marine life is on your bucket list. Ditto those seeking easy access to the iconic Daintree Rainforest and its soaring green canopies. But beyond its beaches and bushland, Cairns is also a dream holiday destination for those who like to pack their itinerary with drinking, dining and days spent doing a little retail damage. Our suggestions include the tropical treats at Charley's Chocolate Factory, sunset cocktails at seaside bar Salt House, the small boutiques in Oceania Walk or Galleria for high-end designer stores. THE EXTRAS Did you even go on a holiday if you didn't treat yourself to a fancy facial and meditative massage? Although Crystalbrook Riley's Eleme Spa is temporarily closed, guests can still enjoy access to the equally fabulous Eleme Day Spa Crystalbrook Flynn just down the road, where treatments such as couples therapy and detox packages are all available. Additionally, those who take advantage of this exclusive Concrete Playground Trips promotion can enjoy two complimentary tickets to the famed Cairns Aquarium. It's home to the Southern Hemisphere's only two-storey Deep Reef Tank, the 360-degree Oceanarium and Underwater Viewing Tunnel. Guests can spot rare species of sharks, sting rays, crocodiles and more, as they attempt to find Nemo. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world.
In these cutthroat days of citizen journalism, a single tweet can obliterate a career. Just ask all these people. That which has been posted — and shared 20,000 times — cannot be unposted. And whether you were drunk, feeling sorry for yourself, on some kind of weird ego trip (Anthony Weiner = Carlos Danger?), really bad at conveying irony, genuinely misunderstood or just plain stupid when you penned the fatal line, excuses aren’t likely to get you out of hot water. Precedent suggests that neither your employer nor the angry mob is likely to be too easily persuaded. But if your most ill-thought-through posts are still buried deep in your feed, rather than across the front page of the Daily Mail, there’s hope. A new app by the name of Clear can burrow into your social media past, analyse your history and flag posts that seem inflammatory or offensive. Based on a mix of miraculous algorithms and Watson, a supercomputer created by IBM, the app works on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Clear’s creator is a man who’s name you might have seen in the headlines. Earlier this year, EthanCzahor was working on a campaign for Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida and possible 2015 presidentialcandidate, when a flurry of old tweets appeared out of thecyber-ether. One read, “Most people don’t know that Halloween is German for ‘night that girls with low self-esteem dress like sluts.’” And another, “When I burp in the gym I feel like it’s my way of saying, ‘sorry guys, but I’m not gay’.”Czahor lost his job within 48 hours of starting, which was a huge blow for a 31-year-old who’d spent his twenties pursuing a career in politics. From the get-go, Ethan maintained that the tweets were jokes, the meaning of which had become skewed. “I was telling jokes with my friends and they were completely tongue-in-cheek and completely harmless,” he told Time. “But years later after I had forgotten about them, they’d been pulled out of context and it looked terrible.” “You exist in a lot of places on the Internet,” he said. “And I just feel that you have the right to at least know what’s out there, and to take care of it.” Via Mashable and Time.
Whether you think that David Brent was awful, awkward or a bit of both, Britain doesn't have a monopoly on cringeworthy bosses. Accordingly, after the original UK version of The Office proved a huge hit two decades ago, more versions of the workplace comedy were always going to follow around the world. The American series became even more popular, and everywhere from Canada, France and Germany to Israel, India and Poland have similarly given the idea a go. Next stop: Down Under, thanks to the just-announced The Office Australia. This'll be the 13th international take on the show, and it's coming to Prime Video sometime in 2024. Yes, the fact that it has Australia in the title is already a bit clumsy. Clearly, the Aussie spinoff gets the brief. Move over Brent, and also Michael Scott — it's now Hannah Howard's turn to become the manager no one wants but everyone has worked for. Played by actor and comedian Felicity Ward (Wakefield), she'll oversee a packaging company called Flinley Craddick. And, when she receives news that head office is shutting down her branch — with everyone working from home instead — she's determined to keep her team together. Obviously, that won't go smoothly, or there'd be no sitcom antics to be had in The Office Australia. Joining Ward is a hefty cast spanning Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess), Shari Sebbens (Preppers), Josh Thomson (Young Rock), Jonny Brugh (What We Do in the Shadows), Pallavi Sharda (The Twelve), Susan Ling Young (Barons), Raj Labade (Back of the Net), Lucy Schmit and Firass Dirani (House Husbands). The Office Australia's eight-episode first season will shoot in Sydney from June, then stream globally next year, with an exact launch date yet to be revealed. Whenever it arrives, surely a stapler is going in some jelly again. This'll mark the first woman-led version of the franchise, with The Office Australia also featuring an impressive roster of female talent off-camera, including lead setup director and executive producer Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers), plus head writer and executive producer Julie De Fina (Aftertaste). There's no trailer yet for The Office Australia, but you can check out clips from the UK and US versions below: The Office Australia will stream via Prime Video sometime in 2024 — we'll update you with an exact launch date when one is announced.
The new Edmondson Square Town Centre in southwest Sydney officially opened to the public today, featuring over 40 speciality retailers and a dedicated 'Eat Street' showcasing over 20 different cuisines. The sprawling $1.5 billion urban space is the second stage of the development by Frasers Property Australia, who also built the Central Park precinct in Chippendale. Ed Square's Eat Street will showcase the likes of Kitchai, Burger Point, Baby Bao, Loaded (from the Bar Luca crew) and cult-favourite Gami Chicken. The dedicated dining precinct is designed as an open-air, alfresco space with options for brunch through to late-night dining. Tim Casaje, owner of Burger Point says, "Ed.Square will be the first Burger Point in southwest Sydney and we can't wait to showcase our brand in a new region. We've had many customers asking when we'd be expanding into this area and we're excited to be coming to them soon." [caption id="attachment_810106" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ed Square[/caption] iPlay will house over 80 vintage and newly-released arcade games, plus a bowling alley and bar across their 1,600 sqm space, while the newest Event Cinemas features six screens. There's a water play fun park to keep the kids entertained as well as a 24-hour gym. The shopping, dining and entertainment precinct is designed by HDR, GroupGSA and HASSELL in collaboration with Frasers. The hub forms a part of a wider development by Frasers, which includes more than 1,800 new apartments, terraces and townhomes. To celebrate the launch, Ed Square will host an array pop-up activations including mini golf, and live music by the likes of local artist Asahi and singer Emily Hanks from Friday, April 30–Sunday, May 2. You can check out the range of activities on the Ed Square Facebook page. Image: Joshua Morris
It might've taken three years, but Netflix has finally produced its first original Aussie series. Shot entirely in Queensland, and providing fuel for your summer binge-watch sessions, Tidelands is a supernatural crime drama series about a fictional fishing village, dubbed Orphelin Bay, with strange inhabitants: a group of dangerous half-Sirens, half-humans called 'Tidelanders'. Cal McTeer (Charlotte Best), a young women who returns to the small village after a stint in jail, discovers the body of a local fisherman and must navigate the town's drug smuggling history while also investigating the Tidelanders, who are led by Adrielle Cuthburt (Elsa Pataky). Eight episodes, each running for 50 minutes, have been made by Brisbane's Emmy Award-Winning production company Hoodlum Entertainment. Available on Netflix since Friday, December 14, Tidelands doesn't just gift Australian users with a new favourite series, with the show landing in all 190 countries that the streaming platform is available in. Thinking you've seen plenty of Aussie stuff on Netflix already? You're not wrong; however there's a difference between throwing old sitcoms and standup specials into a range inexplicably overflowing with new Adam Sandler movies, and actually funding brand new Australian material. Last year, it was announced that they'd join forces with the ABC to co-produce a second season of Glitch, which showed them dipping a toe in the water — but now they're completely diving in. Before watching the entire series, check out the full trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhsjoQLKaiY Tidelands is now available on Netflix.
