Don’t be the only household on your street lit up like a Christmas tree tomorrow night. Earth Hour will be taking place, and you’re requested to switch off lights and non-essential appliances for one hour between 8pm and 9pm on Saturday 29 March. We boldly led the charge last year in Sydney and this year 24 cities around the world have taken the campaign global. What’s the idea? Maybe Nelly Furtado can explain. What’s the big deal? Global warming is, and you get a sense of why if you measure your footprint on the environment. The Zerofootprint calculator can calculate how...
Eat & DrinkSydney
just desserts
You, we (and anyone else intending to keep your friendship) know that there’s a separate stomach compartment for desserts. “Room for dessert?” is thus to be known as a rhetorical question. Rather than reminding everyone of this each time at the dining table, you could join us in a social cause to serve desserts before dinner. The following dessert institutions may be our best advocates for such a worthy change. Customers lining up out the door at Pasticceria Papa are there for one thing; the most swoon-worthy ricotta cake. This delicate cinnamon-sprinkled, sponge-encased, ricotta is just, so, yum, it’s, like, ah...
EntertainmentSydney
go ahead, make fun of the law
You’d think that there’s no need for a debate when an opportunity to poke fun at the law and legal practice arises. Yet that’s exactly what the legal fraternity demand. Typical. The Golden Gavel is a public speaking competition that has been held annually since 1993 as part of Law Week, where ten brave competitors, generally legal practitioners, stand before an eminent adjudicator and about 500 peers and the public, to passionately speak on a topic, not of their choosing. The topics are assigned at short notice – only the morning before, and all expect to hear mini-monologues that convincingly...
playtime harajuku style
Taking a walk down Thomas Street in the City this Saturday might have you crossing paths with a bleach-blonde headed guy dressed in a black and orange ninja suit, or possibly someone in a black kimono-cape wielding a really big sword. Too weird? Confused? Cosplay can have that effect. The cosplayer community in Sydney will be out in force on 29 March attending Animania Festival, a celebration of the vibrant, diverse and often misunderstood world of Japanese popular culture. Long before Gwen Stefani’s ‘Harajuku Girls’ became a hit, there was Cosplay, a truncated reference for the phrase ‘Costume play’ and the...
Eat & DrinkSydney
we know about max
Warning: this story contains excessive chocolate and subliminal sexual references. You too? No need to embellish, we know about the affair. Your relationship with Max has lasted a while now. A dangerous liaison that’s decadent, secret, and likely unbeknownst to your partner. God forbid your personal trainer or gym buddy ever finds out. Of course we understand. Max Brenner does that to people. He lures you in with his promises of hot chocolate hug mugs (specially designed for hugging in both hands), romantic notions for a new choc culture; and simply mesmerises with, well, all…things…chocolate. He knows how to push the right buttons – letting you...
Eat & DrinkSydney
whiskey or whisky?
If you’re Irish, it will be the former – to be sure, to be sure! The ‘e’ is kept in their version of ‘whiskey’. And being St Patrick’s Day, there’ll be plenty of it consumed today, most likely Jameson – the world’s best-selling Irish whiskey. But how does one tell the difference between Bourbon, Scotch whisky or Irish whiskey? And what’s to appreciate about all that amber-coloured goodness? For those who’d like to get better acquainted with a fine drop, the International Whiskey Experience is for you. These free (yes, free) whiskey tastings held around Australia are to educate and inform...
Zoccali’s Pendolino and L’Olioteca
Often you go to an Italian restaurant expecting the fundamentals; a flavoursome meal, nice decor, polite wait staff. That is, unless you’re visiting newcomer Pendolino. The brainchild of chef, restaurateur and olive oil advocate Nino Zoccali (former founding chef of Otto Ristorante and Pizzeria Nove), this foodie trifecta includes an upmarket Italian restaurant ‘The Restaurant Pendolino’, a café and wine bar ‘Caffe Pendolino’, and a specialty olive oil gift store ‘L’Olioteca’. Once you get past the retail temptation as you make your way up to the second floor in The Strand, you’ll be welcomed with dark woods and the decidedly sophisticated...
Design & LivingLivingSydney
not your average slide show
Question: How do you stop a designer from giving you the ‘War and Peace’ interpretation? Answer: Pecha Kucha. Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham architecture), was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of prime air time before the next presenter is up. No time for death by PowerPoint to set in, but being entertained will give you a run for your money. The evening...
Eat & DrinkSydney
fired up for a fine cigar
Promotions, new babies and the signing of big fat contracts. There aren’t many opportunities to enjoy a cigar with friends outside of private gatherings, and even fewer chances to appreciate this art form with like-minded folk. So if you have a penchant for this premium product and are keen for a grand evening of small luxuries, fire up for Wednesday fortnight. Norman Stein and his Sydney institution Bogart’s House of Fine Cigars will be holding their first event for this year, a Brazilian Carnivale treat. It promises to be an evening of caipirinhas, colourful Latin dance performances, Brazilian live music, and...
FashionFashionSydney
back in vogue
There are certain events coming up that need to be diarised. You’ll have to help yourself on personal anniversaries and birthdays, but here’s three to lock in your calendar; Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 13 March, Mother’s Day falls on 11 May, and Sex and the City the movie, is out in cinemas on 5 June. For the gents, the latter is probably a night to organise something with the guys. For SATC fans you can stop with the third set of re-runs and pining over lost evenings filled with chocolate and Carrie Bradshaw narrations. SJP, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and...