#antoninotati — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #antoninotati, aggregated by home.social.
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Meta to pay $26 billion damages in a wake-up call for advertisers and threat to Facebook and Instagram survival
Meta has been forced to pay up to $26 billion (around US$18 billion) to settle a landmark US case over the alleged harm its platforms have caused children and teenagers. The recent finding is yet another majorly expensive headache for Facebook and Instagram since it could force marketers to rethink the way they reach the next generation, possibly turning away from these usual social media platforms.
The settlement resolves claims that Meta deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage compulsive use among young people.
In addition to the enormous payout, Meta has agreed to impose significant new restrictions on under-18 internet users, including capping their daily usage limits, initiating overnight access blocks, reducing notifications, and insisting on greater parental control over feeds and settings. Stronger age verification and restrictions around personalised content are also part of the changes.
For marketers, however, the bigger story may be what happens when young consumers become harder to reach through the platforms that have dominated digital advertising for more than a decade?
Teenagers have long represented an attractive audience for brands, particularly in fashion, beauty, entertainment, food and technology. But if their time online is deliberately reduced, marketers may have fewer opportunities to rely on endless scrolling, algorithmic recommendations and highly personalised feeds to deliver messages.
It could accelerate a return to more considered forms of engagement: creator partnerships, communities, live experiences, retail activations, music and culture, and content that audiences actively seek out rather than passively consume.
There is another potential ripple effect. Meta is urging competitors – including TikTok and YouTube – to adopt similar protections, meaning the changes could spread across the social media landscape.
For marketers, the lesson is simple: the information economy may be entering an age where attention can no longer be taken for granted.
Personally, we cannot wait for the comeuppance to reach Facebook and Instagram – those purveyors of slop over quality content, and restrictors of all that is actually enlightening, truly funny, and good.
Michael Mastess & Antonino Tati
Damon Deteso: Insights on the Discovery of the Planetary-Mass Companion GJ 504b, the “Pink Planet”
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Bret Easton Ellis – author of ‘The Shards’ and co-executive producer of the new FX series – says he’s sad for Millennials: “Obviously there’s pain there; this is not the happy generation”
Bret Easton Ellis gets into much strife over the things he says. Usually the critics are a third his age (he’s 59 at the time of our chat, 62 today). Those critics are mainly speedy thumb-texters or Goggle Box-like couch analysts, who either have no idea what life was like before the internet, or don’t know how to use it properly now. What some critics fail to realise is that Ellis’ works are like diaries about the opulent 1980s – a time when things were less doom and gloom (admittedly, much of this D&G has been the result of said decadent era), but it was a time at least when vibes were more optimistic and aspirational. And perhaps, yes, sadly, ultra-competitive on the social circuit.
In retrospect, and in light of today’s woke values, Ellis’s fictional (and some part-factual) tales about excessive drug-taking, hard partying, serial killing and rampant infidelity would appear more nihilistic than the orgies and battlegrounds of ancient Rome, and he is often taken to task for taking the decadence thing too far. Heck, it’s mostly fiction, kids! And again, mostly retrospecitve.
In his recent book ‘The Shards’, Ellis continues his relaying of life in the fast lane, packing its pages with sketchy sex and unhealthy one-upmanship, material obsession and murderous rage, but there’s a catch: part of it is real.
Acting as a kind of ‘prequel’ to his first novel Less Than Zero (1985), The Shards [was] Ellis’s first novel in 13 years. While his book White of 2019 was part memoir / part podcast-put-to-paper, The Shards is what you might call autofiction (a cross between autobiography and make-believe). The story is set in his final year of high school. A murderer is wreaking havoc on the streets of Los Angeles, circa 1981, to a soundtrack of Scary Monsters and Hungry Like The Wolf. Opulence and high self-opinion were big in the early ’80s. It was a time when woke was just something you did with a hangover…
Now, as if by wish of mine come true, there is a TV series based on The Shards, just released on FX – the drugs-and-knives-connotating title intact, created by none other than my all-time favourite horror/thriller telly auteur, Ryan Murphy.
Now, while I’ve read the book, I’ve not seen The Shards yet – because the amount of entertainment online these days is overwhelming and if I subscribed to every channel and streaming platform, I’d be even more overwhelmed. Also, I’m a busy bloke unless you invite me to the party; and television PR is not what it used to be. Gosh they used to have smarts and manners in the ’90s, sending us writers things “for our consideration” – not redundantly wasting time on the consideration of witless influencers. Heck, I wish I’d gotten sent every Ryan Murphy production to preview even as it was being dropped to all – I would put all other entertainment and lifestyle features on hold to go and get all thesis-paper on it. Too late now. Everybody else has seen it. Late to the game. Just kidding, the delay in watching it has only got me more excited in anticipation to see it. And that soundtrack better be killer, gentlemen.
I did, however, manage to have a nice long chat with Bret Easton Ellis a couple of years back about that very book, and it’s an interview well worth dusting the cobwebs off of, and presenting to you now, dear reader.
Ellis, who not only lent the rights for the novel to be turned into a series by Murphy but came on board as executive producer and co-writer. Even the main character’s name is Bret Ellis, so we can only guess that we’ll be getting all the sex, all the drugs, all the decadence, and all the horror – straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
Such as you get here.
Interview by Antonino Tati
Hi Bret. What did you think of the immediate negative press you received for your previous book [to ‘The Shards’] ‘White’?
I think it was absurd. I think the mainstream media’s response to the book is Exhibit A in what I talk about in the very last chapter. This hysteric overreach that anyone who has an opinion that is different than theirs – than the bubble they reside in… I think White is actually a very chill book, tonally. I don’t think it’s hysterical and I don’t think I use any exclamation marks.
I don’t think my book is attacking anyone. I think what the book is calling for is a kind of calm, let’s-take-a-deep-breath, neutral attitude towards what’s happening and have a conversation. The idea that I am attacking Millennials when I’m actually quite sympathetic to them is part of the problem.
Aren’t you doing them a service by getting them to wake up and say something, rather than just Like something?
I live with a Millennial and I know that this is one of the great stressors: of being liked… His online presence and the crippling shame that occurs if you are attacked online; or if something of yours doesn’t get a lot of followers or a lot of likes. It seems to me to be a terrible way to live. I don’t know, where is this going to go?
The thing is, Bret, when we went to primary school, we were given happy stamps and stars for good work, right? But we didn’t expect to receive these in our adult life. Why is it that the new generation isn’t equipped with the armor to cope with critique?
My theory is that maybe many of these people felt they didn’t get enough attention or enough love from their mothers and fathers, who were narcissistic and wrapped up in their own lives. I certainly can say that this is true of me and many people I know of my generation. So I think Gen-X-ers overcompensated.
“I’ve talked to parents my age and they have wrung their hands and said, ‘I’ve overcompensated – I did not want my children to go through the childhood I had, and I wanted to give them everything I was lacking.’ They have ultimately said, ‘I think I’ve coddled them into helplessness.”
I talked to a parent who said, “I arrange ‘free range’ time for my child now” – who is actually a teenager. “I will actually not follow them or track them on the phone – and they can do that one day a week, like going to the mall or to a movie, or whatever.” We looked at each other and burst out laughing. Free range time? That’s all I had! I barely saw my parents. I was completely on my own, and by being completely on my own I fostered a kind of independence and it aided me to becoming an adult. Some of these parents have done the opposite to the next generation and they become so worried about them that they’ve over-medicated them, they gave in to their every whim, and also you have social media guiding them into a self-made bubble where they’ve built a world that they feel good about. Actually they’ve built a safe space for themselves. But once they go out of that safe space they encounter the often-unpleasant difficult realities of life, and you break down.
https://creammagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/bret-easton-ellis-radio-edit-what-do-you-think-.-breakdown.wavAbove: audio of Bret Easton Ellis discussing helicopter parenting and the perils of social media.
Ellis in his 1982 yearbook.
We’ll talk more about the perils of social media in a moment, but I want to go back to where you were given the freedom and an environment of ‘non-paranoia’ while growing up. We have helicopter parenting today and some parents are over-zealous in their protection of their children. Has this worry rubbed off on the next generation?
That could be well and true. I know that definitely is a narrative in my partner’s story; that was his mother what you just described. What was supposed to be something that was supposed to aid in a child’s comfort actually added to a child’s sense of stress and paranoia.
And sense of victimisation. Likes online often coincide with incidents where an individual has worn their heart on their sleeve or shown a weakness and I suppose that kind of feeds into the idea that playing victim is a likeable thing.
It does.
As opposed to when you and I were growing up, just pushing through or being the hero was what was admired. Now it seems we’re celebrated every time we show we’re weak…
That’s true. I do see that my partner is much, much more interested in people who have become victims, or who have victimised themselves; or who have terrible ailments; or who are transgender; people who are going through immense physical and emotional difficulties, rather than someone who wins an award, or someone who’s an individual. That’s what really bothers me, is this notion that the individual doesn’t matter but the group does.
“It’s an argument that my partner and I get into a lot. I grew up admiring individuals doing something amazing or creative. He cares more about the group and what the group thinks. What does the group think about this video? Or this video game? Or this victim movement?”
It’s like the ’90s meme ‘Kill your idols’ is suddenly going viral.
Yes, but around the world, people still do like soccer stars, people do respond to huge pop stars. But one-on-one, when I talk to my boyfriend or his friends, they identify with people who are injured in some way more than people who aren’t.
Is there a certain Us-versus-Them at play? When a person is liking someone’s victim situation, aren’t they kind of saying ‘there’s someone weaker than me, hence I like it’?
Yes, of course, that plays into it as well.
Isn’t that less celebratory and more sadistic and sinister?
Well I’ve never met a more passive-aggressive generation than Millennials. There’s a passive-aggressiveness there, and I think you’ve just located it. There is a very ‘Oh, I’m just a likeable victim’ mentality going on but ‘I’m very positive and I really want the best for everybody’ – but the slightest questioning of that, the slightest hint of the reality that comes in, I have never seen a group turn on you with a snarl and a snap so goddamn quickly it’ll make your head spin.
It’s like an episode of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ but real life, really.
Yes, and not with drag queens, sadly. That is a very strange dichotomy; between that upbeat positivity and this almost whiplash anger at almost anything that intrudes upon it.
Instead of the proverbial silver soon, would you say Millennials were born with a silver smartphone in their mouth?
Completely I would. Obviously there’s pain there; this is not the happy generation.
“There’s a lot of stress; a lot of anxiety about being likeable; about dealing with technology; about being distracted by technology; and I think there’s a real lack of pleasure in the amount of information they’re privy to. You’ve got so much of everything that nothing really matters in the end.”
I saw a headline some time ago that read: Bret Easton Ellis Takes On Generation Wuss…
That happened years ago on my Twitter feed where I began to notice things about my partner and his friends that were so shockingly weak. Little things that they couldn’t do or were confused by. So I decided to put some of that stuff in my book [White] and I really did not think it was going to be circled so heavily and dissected by Millennial writers – I mean the angriest, longest reviews have been from Millennials. The reviewers were, like, “The old and irrelevant white writer Bret Easton Ellis”. That is Millennial in a nutshell; Exhibit B of what I’m talking about: this over-reaching hysteria about anything that comes close to investigating the world with a critical eye. It’s depressing in a way, but I never meant to poke a stick at Millennials.“Millennials weren’t created in a vacuum; they were a reaction to many of the values of my generation and Gen X. Of course they were tired of our nihilism, our negativity, our coolness, our irony. Maybe it’s normal to react against that with an aspirational viewpoint, but it’s disturbing to hear them say “Why would I want to see that movie when it’s so negative?”
What do you think are the nihilistic aspects of today’s generation? What about your Kim Kardashian followers and people that are infatuated with Instagram; two examples less about victimisation and more about selfness.
And fakeness. You’re putting out a fake version of your life; you’re becoming an actor. I know quite a few people who are not having a great time right now – they’re kind of depressed, having problems with their relationships, have addictive issues, or are unemployed… and then I see their Instagram feeds and everything’s awesome; they’re smiling under palm trees, or holding their little baby with their husband – even though I know they’re getting a divorce in eight months. There is something nihilistic about that, compared to my generation which just said, “It’s all fucked”.
You just need to look at the popular drugs during any given generation to see that they reflect the overall attitude. Look at cocaine and how it tied into decadence and greed. Today there’s crystal meth, ketamine – harsher drugs than they were taking in the ’80s.
They’re taking cheap drugs. They’re not taking, dare I say it, the better cocaine that was available to all of us in the 1980s [For the record I only tried it first time in the early ’90s and have only done it two or three times since, AT]. Drugs are so bad now and everything is so cheap. Of course everyone is smoking or snorting crystal meth; it’s relatively inexpensive. Or they’re taking organic drugs, like Kratom, which is sweeping across America [and which works like morphine]. A lot of this is about the economic disadvantages this generation has, and that limits their choices, especially in terms of lifestyle.
Despite financial limitations, they’re not limited elsewhere – I mean they’ve got the internet whereas Gen X never had the internet through their teens, twenties and thirties. Aren’t they over-supplied with choice?
But they have no money. And I’m sympathetic to that. In fact, I’ve been far harsher with my generation in my fiction than I have been with any other generation. I’ve taken my generation to task in Less Than Zero, and American Psycho [and in The Shards]. I’ve really criticised their shallowness and fecklessness, and their posing and materialism.
If someone in their twenties would read three of your earlier books, say ‘Less Than Zero’, ‘Rules of Attraction’ and even ‘Glamorama’, do you think they’d have less of an antagonistic attitude toward you?
Completely, because that’s what reading fiction does; it makes you more empathic; it puts you in someone else’s shoes, whether it’s Oliver Twist’s, Lily Bart’s, or Patrick Bateman’s. I think that sustained concentration on these pages and on these characters who are so different to you, that’s why fiction always thrilled me; to take you into these different worlds. I’m not sure if it fully works that way anymore in this hectic, busy world. And I don’t think video games today work like fiction novels: they last for 36 hours and you’re in control of the narrative. Sometimes I do feel very old-mannish about the novel. You know, “The novel is the greatest medium!” Many people don’t think this anymore. I think I was just raised in the right time.
Thinking about all your years of writing, would you say honesty is the best policy when putting pen to paper?
That’s what I’ve always done since Less Than Zero, and I think that’s what an artist does. I think any writer should be doing that and I pity the writer who does the opposite.
Bret Easton Ellis’ novel ‘The Shards’ is out through Swift Press / Allen and Unwin, RRP $32.99.
‘The Shards’ airs on FX. I’ve bookmarked it myself.
https://creammagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/master_george-sex-the-absolute-master-august-1.wav
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The new Oura 5 Ring is so light and unobtrusive you forget you’re wearing it: Here are 5 more positive things about this handsome smart ring
As someone who doesn’t wear a watch, nor jewellery too often, I’m so glad I’ve been introduced to the Oura Ring 5. The new model ring is not only smaller, but boasts some bonus functions and extra specs that were missing in the Oura 4.
For anyone not familiar with this stat-reading product, the Oura can best be described as an attractive, traditional-looking ring that tracks the user’s sleep, activity, stress levels, temperature, and general health monitoring.
The new petite size of the Oura Ring 5 is probably it’s greatest selling point, and here at Cream, we believe the best technology is increasingly that which we forget we’re wearing. Even in an accessory sense, you don’t want to be too conscious of the jewellery you’re wearing. That way, when someone comments on a piece (and I’ve received plenty of comments and compliments on the Oura) your response is more one of casual surprise as opposed to eye-rolling expectation. So, yes, size matters when it comes to an Oura ring, and in our view, the smaller and lighter the ring, the better.
Here are five more great things about the new Oura Ring 5.
01. It’s not only smaller but much more comfortable
This is probably the most immediately obvious upgrade. Oura reports that the Ring 5 has 40% less volume than the Ring 4, measuring 6.09mm wide and 2.28mm thick versus 7.9mm and about 2.88mm. The redesigned, flatter sensor arrangement also makes the inside feel less intrusive. Basically, it feels less like wearing a piece of technology and more like wearing an actual ring.
02. The sensors are smarter, improving accuracy
This is the big one, technically. Oura has redesigned the optical sensing system, with shorter light paths, more efficient LEDs and improved sensor positioning. There’s better accuracy in overnight heart rate variability, by 12%, and closer to 20% improvement in accuracy of heart rate during activities such as walking, running and cycling, compared with the Oura 4.03. Battery life is longer
Your Oura ring comes with a small but speedy battery charger, and most users find a full charge to last about a full week.
Energy gets a good bump up in the Oura Ring 5. In fact, one full charge sees the ring reading your stats for a solid week, sometimes even up to 9 days depending on your levels of activity and its analysing of these, whereas I found the Ring 4 often only lasted for a week. We realise that longer batter life is not surprising in progressing models of technology, but with a wearable bit of smart tech like this – whose whole purpose is continuous monitoring, particularly overnight – that extra day or two can make all the difference. You spend less time thinking about charging it and more time actually wearing it. That said, it charges fairly quickly.
04. It’s lighter and less visually ‘techy’
The combination of the slimmer profile, lower weight and redesigned sensors makes Ring 5 considerably more discreet. And of course it’s available in several finishes, including a new Deep Rose. Oura has really pushed the jewellery rather than gadget aesthetic this time. The lightness of the ring means it is unobtrusive, hence you’re much more likely to leave it on 24/7 and that of course means better data.
05. The health insights are becoming more proactive
This is slightly different from the hardware improvements. Ring 5 launches alongside newer software experiences including ‘Health Radar’, which is designed to flag potential changes in areas such as cardiovascular and respiratory health. There are also new health-oriented insights – mostly to assist users taking diabetic/weight loss medications such as Ozempic or Wegovy – and some new AI-enabled medical guidance. For those who have invested in an Oura Ring 4, don’t panic as Oura says many of these new software experiences are also coming to Gen 3 and the Ring 4, so everybody’s happy.So, with its better sensing, smaller design and more comfortable fit, plus a better battery life, this ring is definitely having more outings alongside the Cartier. Now, I know I did say I don’t wear jewellery often but I’m getting used to both rings being worn now.
The Ōura Ring 5 is available in a variety of colours and textures. To view these, and for pricing, visit ouraring.com.
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Bret Easton Ellis – author of ‘The Shards’ and co-executive producer of the new FX series – says he’s sad for Millennials: “Obviously there’s pain there; this is not the happy generation”
Bret Easton Ellis gets into much strife over the things he says. Usually the critics are a third his age (he’s 59 at the time of our chat, 62 today). Those critics are mainly speedy thumb-texters or Goggle Box-like couch analysts, who either have no idea what life was like before the internet, or don’t know how to use it properly now. What some critics fail to realise is that Ellis’ works are like diaries about the opulent 1980s – a time when things were less doom and gloom (admittedly, much of that was the result of said decadent era), but at least when vibes were more optimistic and aspirational. And perhaps, yes, sadly, ultra-competitive on the social circuit.
In retrospect, and in light of today’s woke values, Ellis’s fictional (and some part-factual) tales about excessive drug-taking, hard partying, serial killing and rampant infidelity would appear more nihilistic than the orgies and battlegrounds of ancient Rome, and he is often taken to task for taking the decadence thing too far. Heck, it’s mostly fiction, kids! And again, mostly retrospecitve.
In his recent book ‘The Shards’, Ellis continues his relaying of life in the fast lane, packing its pages with sketchy sex and unhealthy one-upmanship, material obsession and murderous rage, but there’s a catch: part of it is real.
Acting as a kind of ‘prequel’ to his first novel Less Than Zero (1985), The Shards [was] Ellis’s first novel in 13 years. While his book White of 2019 was part memoir / part podcast-put-to-paper, The Shards is what you might call autofiction (a cross between autobiography and make-believe). The story is set in his final year of high school. A murderer is wreaking havoc on the streets of Los Angeles, circa 1981, to a soundtrack of Scary Monsters and Hungry Like The Wolf. Opulence and high self-opinion were big in the early ’80s. It was a time when woke was just something you did with a hangover…
Now, as if by wish of mine come true, there is a TV series based on The Shards, just released on FX – the drugs-and-knives-connotating title intact, created by none other than my all-time favourite horror/thriller telly auteur, Ryan Murphy.
Now, while I’ve read the book, I’ve not seen The Shards yet – because the amount of entertainment online these days is overwhelming; I’m a busy bloke unless you invite me to the party; and television PR is not what it used to be. Heck, I wish I’d gotten sent every Ryan Murphy production to preview even as it was being dropped to all – I would put all other entertainment and lifestyle features on hold to go and get all thesis-paper on it. Too late now. Everybody else has seen it. Late to the game. Just kidding, the delay in watching it has only got me more excited in anticipation to see it. And that soundtrack better be killer, gentlemen.
I did, however, manage to have a nice long chat with Bret Easton Ellis a couple of years back about that very book, and it’s an interview well worth dusting the cobwebs off of, and presenting to you now, dear reader.
Ellis, who not only lent the rights for the novel to be turned into a series by Murphy but came on board as executive producer and co-writer. Even the main character’s name is Bret Ellis, so we can only guess that we’ll be getting all the sex, all the drugs, all the decadence, and all the horror – straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
Such as you get here.
Interview by Antonino Tati
Hi Brett. What did you think of the immediate negative press you received for your previous book [to ‘The Shards’] ‘White’?
I think it was absurd. I think the mainstream media’s response to the book is Exhibit A in what I talk about in the very last chapter. This hysteric overreach that anyone who has an opinion that is different than theirs – than the bubble they reside in… I think White is actually a very chill book, tonally. I don’t think it’s hysterical and I don’t think I use any exclamation marks.
I don’t think my book is attacking anyone. I think what the book is calling for is a kind of calm, let’s-take-a-deep-breath, neutral attitude towards what’s happening and have a conversation. The idea that I am attacking Millennials when I’m actually quite sympathetic to them is part of the problem.
Aren’t you doing them a service by getting them to wake up and say something, rather than just Like something?
I live with a Millennial and I know that this is one of the great stressors: of being liked… His online presence and the crippling shame that occurs if you are attacked online; or if something of yours doesn’t get a lot of followers or a lot of likes. It seems to me to be a terrible way to live. I don’t know, where is this going to go?
The thing is, Bret, when we went to primary school, we were given happy stamps and stars for good work, right? But we didn’t expect to receive these in our adult life. Why is it that the new generation isn’t equipped with the armor to cope with critique?
My theory is that maybe many of these people felt they didn’t get enough attention or enough love from their mothers and fathers, who were narcissistic and wrapped up in their own lives. I certainly can say that this is true of me and many people I know of my generation. So I think Gen-X-ers overcompensated.
“I’ve talked to parents my age and they have wrung their hands and said, ‘I’ve overcompensated – I did not want my children to go through the childhood I had, and I wanted to give them everything I was lacking.’ They have ultimately said, ‘I think I’ve coddled them into helplessness.”
I talked to a parent who said, “I arrange ‘free range’ time for my child now” – who is actually a teenager. “I will actually not follow them or track them on the phone – and they can do that one day a week, like going to the mall or to a movie, or whatever.” We looked at each other and burst out laughing. Free range time? That’s all I had! I barely saw my parents. I was completely on my own, and by being completely on my own I fostered a kind of independence and it aided me to becoming an adult. Some of these parents have done the opposite to the next generation and they become so worried about them that they’ve over-medicated them, they gave in to their every whim, and also you have social media guiding them into a self-made bubble where they’ve built a world that they feel good about. Actually they’ve built a safe space for themselves. But once they go out of that safe space they encounter the often-unpleasant difficult realities of life, and you break down.
https://creammagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/bret-easton-ellis-radio-edit-what-do-you-think-.-breakdown.wavAbove: audio of Bret Easton Ellis discussing helicopter parenting and the perils of social media.
Ellis in his 1982 yearbook.
We’ll talk more about the perils of social media in a moment, but I want to go back to where you were given the freedom and an environment of ‘non-paranoia’ while growing up. We have helicopter parenting today and some parents are over-zealous in their protection of their children. Has this worry rubbed off on the next generation?
That could be well and true. I know that definitely is a narrative in my partner’s story; that was his mother what you just described. What was supposed to be something that was supposed to aid in a child’s comfort actually added to a child’s sense of stress and paranoia.
And sense of victimisation. Likes online often coincide with incidents where an individual has worn their heart on their sleeve or shown a weakness and I suppose that kind of feeds into the idea that playing victim is a likeable thing.
It does.
As opposed to when you and I were growing up, just pushing through or being the hero was what was admired. Now it seems we’re celebrated every time we show we’re weak…
That’s true. I do see that my partner is much, much more interested in people who have become victims, or who have victimised themselves; or who have terrible ailments; or who are transgender; people who are going through immense physical and emotional difficulties, rather than someone who wins an award, or someone who’s an individual. That’s what really bothers me, is this notion that the individual doesn’t matter but the group does.
“It’s an argument that my partner and I get into a lot. I grew up admiring individuals doing something amazing or creative. He cares more about the group and what the group thinks. What does the group think about this video? Or this video game? Or this victim movement?”
It’s like the ’90s meme ‘Kill your idols’ is suddenly going viral.
Yes, but around the world, people still do like soccer stars, people do respond to huge pop stars. But one-on-one, when I talk to my boyfriend or his friends, they identify with people who are injured in some way more than people who aren’t.
Is there a certain Us-versus-Them at play? When a person is liking someone’s victim situation, aren’t they kind of saying ‘there’s someone weaker than me, hence I like it’?
Yes, of course, that plays into it as well.
Isn’t that less celebratory and more sadistic and sinister?
Well I’ve never met a more passive-aggressive generation than Millennials. There’s a passive-aggressiveness there, and I think you’ve just located it. There is a very ‘Oh, I’m just a likeable victim’ mentality going on but ‘I’m very positive and I really want the best for everybody’ – but the slightest questioning of that, the slightest hint of the reality that comes in, I have never seen a group turn on you with a snarl and a snap so goddamn quickly it’ll make your head spin.
It’s like an episode of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ but real life, really.
Yes, and not with drag queens, sadly. That is a very strange dichotomy; between that upbeat positivity and this almost whiplash anger at almost anything that intrudes upon it.
Instead of the proverbial silver soon, would you say Millennials were born with a silver smartphone in their mouth?
Completely I would. Obviously there’s pain there; this is not the happy generation.
“There’s a lot of stress; a lot of anxiety about being likeable; about dealing with technology; about being distracted by technology; and I think there’s a real lack of pleasure in the amount of information they’re privy to. You’ve got so much of everything that nothing really matters in the end.”
I saw a headline some time ago that read: Bret Easton Ellis Takes On Generation Wuss…
That happened years ago on my Twitter feed where I began to notice things about my partner and his friends that were so shockingly weak. Little things that they couldn’t do or were confused by. So I decided to put some of that stuff in my book [White] and I really did not think it was going to be circled so heavily and dissected by Millennial writers – I mean the angriest, longest reviews have been from Millennials. The reviewers were, like, “The old and irrelevant white writer Bret Easton Ellis”. That is Millennial in a nutshell; Exhibit B of what I’m talking about: this over-reaching hysteria about anything that comes close to investigating the world with a critical eye. It’s depressing in a way, but I never meant to poke a stick at Millennials.“Millennials weren’t created in a vacuum; they were a reaction to many of the values of my generation and Gen X. Of course they were tired of our nihilism, our negativity, our coolness, our irony. Maybe it’s normal to react against that with an aspirational viewpoint, but it’s disturbing to hear them say “Why would I want to see that movie when it’s so negative?”
What do you think are the nihilistic aspects of today’s generation? What about your Kim Kardashian followers and people that are infatuated with Instagram; two examples less about victimisation and more about selfness.
And fakeness. You’re putting out a fake version of your life; you’re becoming an actor. I know quite a few people who are not having a great time right now – they’re kind of depressed, having problems with their relationships, have addictive issues, or are unemployed… and then I see their Instagram feeds and everything’s awesome; they’re smiling under palm trees, or holding their little baby with their husband – even though I know they’re getting a divorce in eight months. There is something nihilistic about that, compared to my generation which just said, “It’s all fucked”.
You just need to look at the popular drugs during any given generation to see that they reflect the overall attitude. Look at cocaine and how it tied into decadence and greed. Today there’s crystal meth, ketamine – harsher drugs than they were taking in the ’80s.
They’re taking cheap drugs. They’re not taking, dare I say it, the better cocaine that was available to all of us in the 1980s [For the record I only tried it first time in the early ’90s and have only done it two or three times since, AT]. Drugs are so bad now and everything is so cheap. Of course everyone is smoking or snorting crystal meth; it’s relatively inexpensive. Or they’re taking organic drugs, like Kratom, which is sweeping across America [and which works like morphine]. A lot of this is about the economic disadvantages this generation has, and that limits their choices, especially in terms of lifestyle.
Despite financial limitations, they’re not limited elsewhere – I mean they’ve got the internet whereas Gen X never had the internet through their teens, twenties and thirties. Aren’t they over-supplied with choice?
But they have no money. And I’m sympathetic to that. In fact, I’ve been far harsher with my generation in my fiction than I have been with any other generation. I’ve taken my generation to task in Less Than Zero, and American Psycho [and in The Shards]. I’ve really criticised their shallowness and fecklessness, and their posing and materialism.
If someone in their twenties would read three of your earlier books, say ‘Less Than Zero’, ‘Rules of Attraction’ and even ‘Glamorama’, do you think they’d have less of an antagonistic attitude toward you?
Completely, because that’s what reading fiction does; it makes you more empathic; it puts you in someone else’s shoes, whether it’s Oliver Twist’s, Lily Bart’s, or Patrick Bateman’s. I think that sustained concentration on these pages and on these characters who are so different to you, that’s why fiction always thrilled me; to take you into these different worlds. I’m not sure if it fully works that way anymore in this hectic, busy world. And I don’t think video games today work like fiction novels: they last for 36 hours and you’re in control of the narrative. Sometimes I do feel very old-mannish about the novel. You know, “The novel is the greatest medium!” Many people don’t think this anymore. I think I was just raised in the right time.
Thinking about all your years of writing, would you say honesty is the best policy when putting pen to paper?
That’s what I’ve always done since Less Than Zero, and I think that’s what an artist does. I think any writer should be doing that and I pity the writer who does the opposite.
Bret Easton Ellis’ novel ‘The Shards’ is out through Swift Press / Allen and Unwin, RRP $32.99.
‘The Shards’ airs on FX. I’ve bookmarked it myself.
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Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
How to Shop for Cannabis Responsibly in New York City in 2026
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The Review of a Film Few Will Recall the Name of, but boy, what a film! ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ film review
A foot-stomping introduction sets the rhythm for The Rivals of Amziah King, a beautifully crafted Southern tale of community, loyalty, crime… and honey, all with Matthew McConaughey at its folksy, charismatic centre.
As night falls over a small Oklahoma town, Amziah King (McConaughey) pulls his pickup truck into the local burger joint, where friends gather with guitars, fiddle, banjo and drums for an impromptu acoustic jam sesh. Even the local cops can’t resist rocking up for a bit of toe-tapping. The music isn’t merely background noise; it establishes the film’s pulse. If Mumford & Sons is your thing, prepare for some enjoyment here.
The plot wastes little time getting underway, opening with a honey heist that introduces an intriguing mixture of drama, mystery and crime. From there, we’re taken on a winding journey through the Oklahoma countryside, where bees and their honey become a metaphor for the community itself: everyone has a role, everyone is connected, and disturb the hive at your peril.
Our protagonist’s world is further complicated when he is reunited with a former foster child, Kateri, played by Native American actor Angelina LookingGlass, whom Amziah and his late wife once cared for. Their chance reunion eventually draws her back into the honey business — and, perhaps more importantly, gives her a sense of having found home again.
The film gradually reveals its characters and the complicated relationships that bind this community together. One of its most delightful sequences is a pot-luck dinner in the local community hall, where personalities emerge through shared stories, good food and plenty of laughter. McConaughey’s Amziah is the kind of character you could happily listen to spinning yarns all afternoon.
There is plenty of humour, too. A school lockdown caused by a swarm of bees is initially absurdly funny, until the situation reminds us how quickly things can turn dangerous.
Then there’s the town’s kingpin, played with cheek by Kurt Russell. Like the queen bee at the centre of a hive, his influence is everywhere — but underneath the surface lies exploitation, violence and a darker side to the community.
Director Andrew Patterson brings an almost hypnotic beauty to the Oklahoma landscape, with the cinematography here capturing both the majesty of nature and the intricate world of the bees – some of the most underrated species in all of biological study. There are echoes of the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a touch of Quentin Tarantino’s darkly comic violence, and even some Guy Ritchie-style camera flourishes and freeze frames.
Some may argue that The Rivals of Amziah King could have been shorter. One fellow moviegoer even suggested cutting some of the music.
Hell no.
The music, characters, community and enormous heart are precisely what make this film work. Like a good hive, everything is connected — and it’s best experienced by settling in and letting the whole thing buzz around you.
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
How to Shop for Cannabis Responsibly in New York City in 2026
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That Madonna and Kylie collab is out and it’s pretty fab, but wait, did Madonna just throw shade at Pepsi at the end of the video?
Loving the new Madonna X Kylie collab, Love Sensation. I’m happy it came out sooner than some time in the near future. They say tomorrow is now really in this hyper-real world. And something had to come from all that talk about a duet between two of the world’s greatest pop sensations. And I will call it a duet because duets don’t have to be mushy and slow and this track is less of a collab and more of an event. It had to come out now. After all, hype is futile without followup, and in today’s InstaWorld that means it ought to have been out yesterday. For devotees in the LGBTQIA communities, the song ought to feel instantly likeable, perhaps even a little familiar – hope and devotion can do those things to your mind. Before you know it, you’d imagine the song was pretty much written for you. And that intent, the natural chemistry, the familial connections, the doing away with too much trickery, that better clarity in vocals, the chiller beats per minute, and that universal message connects instantly with the audience it’s intended to gift. The others will catch on by summer’s peak.
I don’t mind the video. A bit slapped-together-at-an-Amsterdam-promo-gig and with words all over the place having the nerve to think they’re in a lyric video – but, hey, if hideous fonts helps brat artists go viral, hopefully a few lovelier fonted words like these will help teach the folks how pretty language used to before it went #awol and before we let the machines do all the talking.
But something stuck with me after I watched the clip. Not just the naughty earworm that crawled out of the catchy-as-heck song. Not the flashing graphics that for all I know might have read, “You must love Madonna and Kylie or you will perish in hell” (for all I know). And not just the joy of finally seeing two brilliant pop artists coming together to bring their learn-ed all to the contemporary pop scene. It was a little joke Madonna makes at the end when she orders “Coke and ice” on her cellphone.
Now it’s not the statement I’m really questioning here: a classic Coke/coke joke is a classic joke. My pondering was more along the lines of why the statement at all? Call it overanalysing but when it comes to music icons, well, that’s kind of what I do.
So I started asking myself… Was it to sound cool with the kids? Was it possible shade at Pepsi for some odd royalty dispute from yore? Was it payola from a competitive big beverage brand? Was it street-talk hinting that a mix of cocaine and meth might just be where enlightenment’s at? (not tried that combination and probably won’t ever). Was it a woman not having to mind her Ps and Qs (because in a free-speech democracy we shouldn’t have to hold our tongue) and just letting some silly quip slip through her lips in place of silence? As a Leo, I know it’s really difficult to keep your mouth shut, especially when everything that comes out of it is golden. See what I did there?
Anyhoo, the cocaine-was-once-an-ingredient-in-Coke jokes probably began some time in 1930 – a few months after the beverage became completely-cocaine free in 1929 (I’m guessing it took a few years for everybody to get over the Charlie hangover). Like all good jokes, it has longevity and, quite frankly, I think it has purpose. If there’s good reason for the joke’s survival and random injection into the popular vernacular, I’d like to think that it was that any soft drink, with or without the excess sugar, is probably a better stimulant to help you reach a certain (even small) level of conscience or higher consciousness (seriously, because there really is nothing that you can’t do) than, say, coke, ice or a combination of the two.
I’m leaning more towards that than any idea that it fell under a Scattergories list of Stupid Cool-Kid Words, or Jokes To Help Break Those Seconds Of Awkward Silence, and I certainly hope they weren’t three words scribbled on paper and handed over from a PR rep who probably likes her real coke too much.
I’m not sure why I really tried to analyse that one. Just something about it stuck. Like so many of the things Madonna has said since blessing us with her ultra-presence all those decades ago. But I do kind of feel Someone needs to sit this woman down and give her a dose of her own Leo medicine. Or a nice cup of herbal tea and a chat. Or a Tequila cocktail or Coke with ice, even. The point is guaranteed positive public relations is now out of everybody’s hands. Well, kind of in everybody’s hands. Actually, I’m not sure anymore because AI has a pretty big mouth, too. Iconic one-liners might just be bandied about the wrong way if an artist’s delivery is too ambiguous.
What one needs is a good guide or mantra to help practice the marrying of the natural with intention with any desired material result – in this particular case, stream this song, or love me when I’m gone from your phone screen. [He wrote after seeing the video an hour ago and is still thinking and writing about it.]
Point being: genuine intention is good. When that’s in place, everything else follows effortlessly.
Kylie to reissue excellent album ‘X’ for the first time on vinyl, other LPs to follow suit, and yay
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
How to Shop for Cannabis Responsibly in New York City in 2026
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Peters Drumstick Minis Milo: where two Aussie icons blend beautifully
When I was a kid in the 1970s, my sisters and I would wait for the weekly drop of wonderful ice creams, courtesy of our Uncle Carlo who used to work as a floor manager with Peter’s Ice Cream. Uncle Carlo would have dibs on the ice creams that came off the factory line but weren’t quite right for the shops – rejects if you like. Drumsticks , Freddos with bung eyes, Fudge Bars with too much chocolate leaked onto the pop stick, even Twin Poles where excess red had leaked into the yellow bit. To Peter’s management these were flaws. To us it was Ice Cream Heaven.
If Uncle Carlo were around today and still working at Peter’s, and if the Food Standard Codes weren’t as impossibly stringent as they are in 2026 (which I suppose is a good thing), he would have needed a truck to deliver the volume and variety of ice creams that customers are spoilt with today. Drumstick alone has no less than 10 varieties on shelves at any given time, from original to all manner of flavoured minis to even plant-based/vegan options. As for Peter’s Ice Cream collaboration with other brands, well, since the company is co-owned by Nestlé now, the collabs are gladly arriving thick and fast.
Just released from Peters this month are new Drumstick Minis Milo which are big on texture – packed with that familiar Milo flavour and tasty choc pieces throughout. All in a crispy wafer cone, of course, with a yummy choccy tip. Is it me, or has the choccy tip on Drumsticks gotten bigger – which I love, of course.
The collision of two Aussie icons delivers exactly what you expect: creamy, malted Milo in ice cream tucked into a crisp mini cone, capped with chocolate and scattered choc flakes for good, textural punch.
Flavour-wise, the Milo comes through gently rather than boldly, which may divide purists, but it keeps things nice if you’re enjoying your ice cream with a coffee or some other beverage accompaniment. You don’t want too much competition on the taste buds.
As a freezer staple, these minis are fun, fuss-free, and built for repeat grabs. Now… a six-pack in the freezer may not be as abundant as when Uncle Carlo would deliver boxes of Drumsticks to us, but the important thing is to keep a few in the freezer for whenever that sense of nostalgia, taste, and desire for good homegrown products hits.
Peters Drumstick Minis Milo are available in 6-pack from good supermarkets including Woolworths, RRP $9.90.Allen’s latest collab is almost addictive… these lollies should be illegal
An alternative spread that doesn’t sacrifice deliciousness for the sake of goodness
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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Thomas Dolby – She Blinded Me With Science (Blinded By The Magic Of Science Mix) FREE DOWNLOAD
Found Objects is a music compilation series that celebrates the return of the remix and the art of sampling (as in found audio). Australian audio artist (and Cream magazine editor) Antonino Tati trawls the internet to discover the campest of documentaries, some mad retro advertisements, and cool-as film quotes, layering words of wit (and occasional dimwittedness) over alternative, preloved mixes of songs.
Each track is a pretty awesome head trip. Good to show off on the playlist! And the music featured is varied, with Volume 01 containing remixes of songs by Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Darren Hayes, Eurythmics, Suede, EMF, Thomas Dolby, George Michael, and Pet Shop Boys.
Here’s a pop classic from the early ’80s, Thomas Dolby’s She Blinded Me With Science, thrown onto the bunsen burner and coming out sounding hot.
Thomas Dolby She Blinded Me With Science (Blinded By The Magic Of Science Mix)
Access your free downloads from the Found Objects: Volume 1 page, and tell your friends.
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Madonna – Candy Perfume Girl (Lessons In Fragrance Application) FREE DOWNLOAD
Found Objects is a music compilation series that celebrates the return of the remix and the art of sampling (as in found audio). Australian audio artist (and Cream magazine editor) Antonino Tati trawls the internet to discover the campest of documentaries, some mad retro advertisements, and cool-as film quotes, layering words of wit (and occasional dimwittedness) over alternative, preloved mixes of songs.
Each track is a pretty awesome head trip. Good to show off on the playlist. And the music featured is varied, with Volume 01 containing remixes of songs by Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Darren Hayes, Eurythmics, Suede, Thomas Dolby, George Michael, and Pet Shop Boys.
Here’s one of our favourites from Madonna, Candy Perfume Girl off of her Ray Of Light album, but remixed into a trance-like instruction manual on how to apply perfume. It’s camp, it’s kitsch, it’s catchy. Full lyrics below, and remember, earbuds in is always better!
https://creammagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/02.-side-a-02-mad-final-master-1.wavMadonna Candy Perfume Girl (Lessons In Fragrance Application)
Access your free downloads from the Found Objects: Volume 1 page, and tell your friends.
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Darren Hayes – A Fear Of Falling Under / Who Would Have Thought (Cream Radio Blend) FREE DOWNLOAD
Found Objects is a music compilation series that celebrates the return of the remix and the art of sampling (as in found audio). Australian audio artist (and Cream magazine editor) Antonino Tati trawls the internet to discover the campest of documentaries, some mad retro advertisements, and cool-as film quotes, layering words of wit (and occasional dimwittedness) over alternative, preloved mixes of songs.
Each track is a pretty awesome head trip. Good to show off on the playlist. And the music featured is varied, with Volume 01 containing remixes of songs by Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Darren Hayes, Eurythmics, Suede, Thomas Dolby, George Michael, and Pet Shop Boys.
Here is the Cream Radio Blend of two great tracks by Darren Hayes, from his album ‘This Delicate Thing We’ve Made’, complete with underwater sounds to get you fully immersed. Earbuds in is always better!
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Darren Hayes A Fear Of Falling Under / Who Would Have Thought (Cream Radio Blend)
Access your free downloads from the Found Objects: Volume 1 page, and tell your friends.
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Eurythmics – It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back) (Arnie Gets In On A Justin Credible Mix)
Found Objects is a music compilation series that celebrates the return of the remix and the art of sampling (as in found audio). Australian audio artist (and Cream magazine editor) Antonino Tati trawls the internet to discover the campest of documentaries, some mad retro advertisements, and cool-as film quotes, layering words of wit (and occasional dimwittedness) over alternative, preloved mixes of songs.
Each track is a pretty awesome head trip. Good to show off on the playlist. And the music featured is varied, with Volume 01 containing remixes of songs by Eurythmics, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Darren Hayes, Suede, Thomas Dolby, George Michael, and Pet Shop Boys.
Here’s Eurythmics with Arnold Schwarzenegger making a special guest appearance.
Antonino X Eurythmics It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back) (Arnie Gets In On A Justin Credible Mix)
Access your free downloads from the Found Objects: Volume 1 page, and don’t forget to share the love.
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Lonely Planet expands on its fab ‘Journey’ series
Lonely Planet expands its cult-favourite Journey series with two cool new titles: Pacific Coast Highway and Iceland’s Ring Road, both of which celebrate travel as an experience, not just a destination.
Slightly larger than pocket-sized, these tactile little guides are made for the glovebox or backpack, ideal for plotting your next great escape along roads that demand to be savoured, not rushed.
The series has long championed legendary routes, from the all-American sprawl of Route 66 to the deeply spiritual Camino de Santiago in Spain, a trail that transcends mere hiking to become a transformative passage through culture, history and landscape. These latest additions continue that ethos.
The Pacific Coast Highway edition captures the cinematic sweep of California’s rugged coastline, while Iceland’s Ring Road invites travellers into a surreal loop of volcanoes, waterfalls and vast Nordic skies.
More than simple itineraries, these books reframe travel as narrative. Each route unfolds as a curated journey through layered histories, local encounters and natural wonders. Backed by Lonely Planet’s trusted expertise, they balance inspiration with practical guidance, ensuring the modern traveller is as prepared as they are inspired to hit the road.
These books aren’t mere addendums to tourism, like those old brochures used to be at your local Flight Centre – these are actual narrative.
Each book maps a journey with attitude (and in some cases, altitude!), threading cultural pit stops, local lore and practical know-how into something that feels less like an itinerary and more like a travel mixtape.
Lonely Planet, still the heavyweight in travel intel, knows exactly what it’s doing here: seducing you into slowing down, tuning in, and actually experiencing the ride.
Lonely Planet ‘Journey’ books are available at RRP $36.99 each, available in good bookstores and through shop.lonelyplanet.com.
Been There, Read That: The 20 Most Written-About European Cities in Fictional Literature
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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Kylie to reissue excellent album ‘X’ for the first time on vinyl, other LPs to follow suit, and yay
Kylie Minogue’s X — that sleek, slightly chaotic 2007 fever dream of an album — lands on black vinyl this August 7, its first time on vinyl and ensuring the album’s high-gloss electro-pop is getting the tactile afterlife it always deserved.
From side A’s opening throb of 2 Hearts (another of Kylie’s natural signature themes here) to the narcotic glide of Like A Drug and the club-kid elasticity of In My Arms, X plays like a time capsule of late-’00s hedonism — equal parts futurism and flirtation.
Flip it, and you’re rewarded with the stuck-on-a-digi-chord whip of Wow, the cheeky provocation of Nu-di-ty (thank you), and the cosmic exhale of, well, the aptly titled Cosmic – a closer that still feels like drifting out of a a fash-chic orbit.
This isn’t just a reissue; it’s a reminder. Kylie doesn’t chase trends — she absorbs them, refracts them, and sends them back shinier. On vinyl, ‘X’ isn’t nostalgia. Groove by groove, it’s club resurrection. Or Tequila in the living room, as the case may be.
A record that’s worthy of it’s reprint. Yes, every man and his doggone crazy record company is re-releasing stacks of albums on vinyl again – which we love – but this is Kylie, people, and you know the songs grow on you with every listen. That said, it wold be nice if future reissues had some celebratory alternative mixes on them. Just sayin’.
Kylie’s good record company peeps at Mushroom are also reissuing spiffy-upped versions of Light Years – as a 2LP set; Aphrodite – getting a highly requested wide reissue on black vinyl; as well Kiss Me Once as a standalone release.
Now I’m going to have to start shuffling the Ms around again in the vinyl collection to make sure I have good room for these babies.
Curating the Ultimate Luxury Weekend Getaway in the Heart of Sydney
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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Kylie Minogue – Padam Padam (A Little More On The Reverb)
Found Objects is a music compilation series that celebrates the return of the remix and the art of sampling (as in found audio). Australian audio artist (and Cream magazine editor) Antonino Tati trawls the internet to discover the campest of documentaries, some mad retro advertisements, and cool-as film quotes, layering words of wit (and occasional dimwittedness) over alternative, preloved mixes of songs.
Each song is a pretty awesome head trip. And the music featured is varied, with Volume 01 containing remixes of songs by Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Darren Hayes, Suede, Eurythmics, Thomas Dolby, George Michael and Pet Shop Boys.
Here’s Kylie with the reverb turned up a few notches to make your heart beat nicely. Earbuds in if you want the full surround experience.
https://creammagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/01.-side-a-01-ky-final-master.wav
Antonino X Kylie Padam Padam (A Little More On The Reverb)
Click on the three dots to the right to download the track.
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Things David Lynch Taught Me
Few artists and creators have bent television to their will quite like David Lynch. Equal parts surrealist storyteller and culture/community provocateur, Lynch built a reputation on uncanny films like Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire which made the everyday feel quietly sinister. But it was his groundbreaking TV series Twin Peaks that cracked open the medium, blending soap opera, crime drama and dream logic into something entirely new and beautifully bizarre.
The series follows the surreal investigation into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer in a fictional Pacific Northwest logging town. Here, the everyday mundane is turned into something altogether thrilling, dangerous, sometimes even fatal (indeed, it starts with a scene of Laura’s dead body fished out of the town lake and throwing the viewer right into the deep end.
What starts as a standard who-done-it murder mystery, it soon spirals into a mind-bending, fever dream filled with backward-talking entities, decadently decorated rooms with dark secrets, and alternate dimensions. If audiences turned to television to escape, ‘Twin Peaks’ took them way out of this world.
When the series first aired internationally in April 1990, it sparked a sense that strange things were popular culture was about to be shook up and that stranger things were on the way. It was quite possibly the first television series to question normalcy, challenging traditional stereotypes, and basically putting the fucked-up condition of being human (dead or alive) on mass display for all to ogle and feel oddly familiar with. You could say Twin Peaks was the blueprint for alternative television that permeates TV guides today.
Decades on, Twin Peaks’ influence still hums beneath modern prestige television. So what exactly did Lynch teach us?
1. That red is a naughty colour
Whether it’s the cherry whose stem Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) ties into a knot with her tongue, or the tall velvet curtains that bled against the black-and-white zig-zag flooring in those warped rooms, red was where it’s at when it came to Lynche’s colour palette and, indeed, palate. His taste for the colour was as impeccable as Akira Kurosawa’s knowledge of it being a potent, seductive, sometimes unnerving shade. Marketers know this full well, which is why different reds are the most shades you see in lipstick collections, and why every brand – from McDonald’s to Coca-Cola – loves to see the colour bleed from their neons signs and logos. Put on rose-coloured glasses, and you won’t see the red. Glasses off, then…
2. Small towns aren’t as innocent as they seem
Behind white picket fences and good cherry pie lies something darker. Twin Peaks revealed that beneath the façade of wholesome Americana lurks secrecy, violence – including rape and murder – and moral ambiguity.
3. Dreams are a language worth listening to
Lynch doesn’t treat dreams as narrative fluff; to him they held relative clues. Symbolic, disjointed and emotionally charged, dreams often carry more truth than the waking world.
4. Tone is everything
Humour and horror can coexist. One moment you’re laughing at a deadpan exchange; the next, you’re unsettled by something you can’t quite explain. Lynch showed that tonal whiplash can be a feature, not a flaw.
5. Not every mystery needs solving
In a culture obsessed with answers, Twin Peaks embraced ambiguity. Some questions remain open, inviting viewers to sit with uncertainty rather than resolving it.
6. Sound and mood are excellent storytelling tools
From Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting score to the persistent hum of electricity, atmosphere does as much narrative work as dialogue. Lynch teaches us to feel a story, not just follow it. In the end, Twin Peaks isn’t just a show – it’s a mood, a puzzle, and a quiet dare to see the world differently. And in our uncanny digital age, combined with socio-economic stressors and the death of context in media, we’ve pretty much got no choice but to view the world from a new, alternative perspective.7. The beauty and importance of Transcendental Meditation
In real life, David Lynch talked a lot of the benefits of Transcendental Meditation (or TM for short). Transcendental Meditation (TM). TM is a simple mental technique in which you silently repeat a mantra to allow the active mind to naturally settle inward, accessing a state of “restful alertness”. TM helps you reduce stress and can take the mind to great places. For more information about TM, click here.
Brilliant and outré film and TV director David Lynch has died, aged 78
Curating the Ultimate Luxury Weekend Getaway in the Heart of Sydney
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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Hit That Perfect Beat: The London Records Story – an awesome compilation of pop and indie rock songs of the ’80s and ’90s
I haven’t received a compilation CD to review in quite a while. The digital nature of music distribution today means most of my sampling of what’s new on the music scene – including the release of reissues and anniversary issues of classic albums – is pretty much all done online. So it was nice to receive a copy of the CD compilation Hit That Perfect Beat: The London Records Story – an engaging collection of songs that highlights the remarkable breadth of London Records during the 1980s and 1990s. Finally, a quality CD I can play in my car!
Scanning the tracklisting of this double-disc set and you might be surprised by the sheer diversity of artists who were on the London Records label. From Bananarama to Bronski Beat, All Saints to New Order, every genre of the times – from pop to early EDM – makes an appearance.
A lot of these songs I’ve heard before, of course, most of them actually, and it’s so good to hear them again, seemingly mastered so that I’m hearing subtle nuances that I didn’t pick up when they were first heard. Blancmange’s Living On The Ceiling kicks the proceedings off and the version of that song alone reveals beeps and buzzes I’d not picked up on previously. Bananarama’s Cruel Summer follows – a pop classic if ever there was one. And then everything Jimmy Somerville has touched appears to follow – LGBT-proud anthems by Bronski Beat, absolute grooves by the Communards, and even a Somerville solo single. You might suspect, actually, that Jimmy had shares in the production of this compilation, his vocals appear so regularly.
Then there are the huge hits – like Fine Young Cannibals’ She Drives Me Crazy; Armand van Helden’s You Don’t Know Me (a massive one in the clubs that one was); Shakespears Sister’s You’re History, All Saints’ Never Ever, and Sugarbabes’ Overload.
And if the songs themselves don’t seem like they’ve left a major mark on the pop and indie maps, the artists certainly do. New Order’s Regret kicks off CD two with that guitar riff, and while it wasn’t as big a hit as, say, Bizarre Love Triangle or the band’s legendary Blue Monday, it has all the hallmarks of a New Order classic and it’s a nice surprise to see on here (I had forgotten the band had links to London Records). Then there’s Happy Mondays’ rave favourite Stinkin’ Thinkin’; Echo And The Bunnymen’s dream pop gem Nothing Lasts Forever; Gay Dad’s alt-rock ode To Earth With Love; and Dannii Minogue’s classic club staple I Begin To Wonder. Even without Dead Or Alive’s You Spin Me Round Like A Record – which features on an alternative version of that latter song, it’s still a good, hooky number that sits nicely amid the broad artistry here.
That sheer diversity of London Records artists also meant artists were free to move around, test the solo life, move into other fields. It’s because of the chilled vibe of the label that lead singer of Fine Young Cannibals, Roland Gift, was able to go do runway work for big designer labels; why Siobhan Faye of Bananarama was given the chance to move on from her bubblegum blonde roots and into darker, gothic-romantic territory as half of Shakespears Sister (their name taken from a Smiths song, the apostrophe and letter ‘e’ purposely missing); why the Mike Flower Pops were allowed to absolutely crucify Oasis’ sacred Wonderwall (that’s on here, too).
The London Records Story moves confidently through synth-pop, nu-wave, indie rock, dance, electronica, ska, and other alternative sounds, demonstrating how the label consistently embraced artists who reflected bold and changing musical trends.
Familiar hits sit comfortably alongside deeper cuts, making the collection appealing to both casual listeners and longtime fans.
The sequencing keeps the energy flowing, with polished pop anthems giving way to club classics and guitar-driven tracks that capture the evolving tastes of two transformative decades. The mastering is generally strong, allowing songs from different years to coexist without sounding jarring. More importantly, the compilation illustrates how London Records balanced commercial success with artistic ambition, signing acts that often influenced the direction of popular music, not merely followed it.
As a summary of the 1980s and 1990s, however, it is best viewed through the lens of one label rather than as a complete portrait of either era. What this compilation does well is capture many defining styles and moods but inevitably omitting major movements and artists released elsewhere (not much New Romantic on here, put it that way). Even so, it succeeds as a vivid snapshot of its catalogue and an enjoyable journey through two decades of memorable music.
A great double-disc set that’s still regularly rotating on the car stereo.
‘Hit That Perfect Beat: The London Records Story’ is available on CD and in digital format through London Records (naturally).
The label also presents a beaut podcast which you can subscribe to here.
Curating the Ultimate Luxury Weekend Getaway in the Heart of Sydney
Still loving this track.
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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#AllSaints #ANTONINOTATI #bananarama #BREATHE #breatheRedux #bronskiBeat #communards #compilationAlbums #compilationCds #CREAMMAGAZINE #DanniiMinogue #e #echoAndTheBunnymen #happyMondays #hitThatPerfectBeat #indiePop #indieRock #jimmySomerville #londonRecords #marcellaDetroit #MUSIC #musicReviews #newOrder #POPCULTURE #popMusic #popReviews #REVIEWS #shakespearsSister #siobhanFahey -
Lonely Planet expands on its fab ‘Journey’ series
Lonely Planet expands its cult-favourite Journey series with two cool new titles: Pacific Coast Highway and Iceland’s Ring Road, both of which celebrate travel as an experience, not just a destination.
Slightly larger than pocket-sized, these tactile little guides are made for the glovebox or backpack, ideal for plotting your next great escape along roads that demand to be savoured, not rushed.
The series has long championed legendary routes, from the all-American sprawl of Route 66 to the deeply spiritual Camino de Santiago in Spain, a trail that transcends mere hiking to become a transformative passage through culture, history and landscape. These latest additions continue that ethos.
The Pacific Coast Highway edition captures the cinematic sweep of California’s rugged coastline, while Iceland’s Ring Road invites travellers into a surreal loop of volcanoes, waterfalls and vast Nordic skies.
More than simple itineraries, these books reframe travel as narrative. Each route unfolds as a curated journey through layered histories, local encounters and natural wonders. Backed by Lonely Planet’s trusted expertise, they balance inspiration with practical guidance, ensuring the modern traveller is as prepared as they are inspired to hit the road.
These books aren’t mere addendums to tourism, like those old brochures used to be at your local Flight Centre – these are actual narrative.
Each book maps a journey with attitude (and in some cases, altitude!), threading cultural pit stops, local lore and practical know-how into something that feels less like an itinerary and more like a travel mixtape.
Lonely Planet, still the heavyweight in travel intel, knows exactly what it’s doing here: seducing you into slowing down, tuning in, and actually experiencing the ride.
Lonely Planet ‘Journey’ books are available at RRP $36.99 each, available in good bookstores and through shop.lonelyplanet.com.
Been There, Read That: The 20 Most Written-About European Cities in Fictional Literature
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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Lonely Planet expands on its fab ‘Journey’ series
Lonely Planet expands its cult-favourite Journey series with two cool new titles: Pacific Coast Highway and Iceland’s Ring Road, both of which celebrate travel as an experience, not just a destination.
Slightly larger than pocket-sized, these tactile little guides are made for the glovebox or backpack, ideal for plotting your next great escape along roads that demand to be savoured, not rushed.
The series has long championed legendary routes, from the all-American sprawl of Route 66 to the deeply spiritual Camino de Santiago in Spain, a trail that transcends mere hiking to become a transformative passage through culture, history and landscape. These latest additions continue that ethos.
The Pacific Coast Highway edition captures the cinematic sweep of California’s rugged coastline, while Iceland’s Ring Road invites travellers into a surreal loop of volcanoes, waterfalls and vast Nordic skies.
More than simple itineraries, these books reframe travel as narrative. Each route unfolds as a curated journey through layered histories, local encounters and natural wonders. Backed by Lonely Planet’s trusted expertise, they balance inspiration with practical guidance, ensuring the modern traveller is as prepared as they are inspired to hit the road.
These books aren’t mere addendums to tourism, like those old brochures used to be at your local Flight Centre – these are actual narrative.
Each book maps a journey with attitude (and in some cases, altitude!), threading cultural pit stops, local lore and practical know-how into something that feels less like an itinerary and more like a travel mixtape.
Lonely Planet, still the heavyweight in travel intel, knows exactly what it’s doing here: seducing you into slowing down, tuning in, and actually experiencing the ride.
Lonely Planet ‘Journey’ books are available at RRP $36.99 each, available in good bookstores and through shop.lonelyplanet.com.
Been There, Read That: The 20 Most Written-About European Cities in Fictional Literature
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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Guess whose fucking up dinner? ‘The Invite’ takes the dinner-party-from-hell film to next level sh!tstorm
Dinner-party-from-hell films aren’t new, but The Invite goes hard on the chaos factor, and that’s not a bad thing in the genre of comedy.
What begins as a slick, slightly smug evening between a “perfect” couple and their neighbour quickly spirals into something far messier: a slow, wine-soaked unravelling of ego, resentment and long-buried truths. Basically all those thoughts that hide behind a neighbour’s smile.
A supposedly happy, married couple (Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogan) invites their noisy neighbours from the apartment above for drinks, and to show off their newly renovated apartment. What could possible go wrong? A lot.
Hawke, an ex-fireman (played by Edward Norton) and Pina, a sexologist (Penelope Cruz) are the boisterous neighbours – a couple so handsome in their pairing, they’ve probably gotten away with worse anywhere they’ve lived. But here, truth is about to be told. It doesn’t take long after much wine, cheese and weed to see the event turn into a shitstorm.
Cruz plays the perfect wife with all the bored nuances of a mouse on crack. Every tick and trait of a person watching their ambition and life whiz by without actually getting in the driver’s seat. Renovations, you can tell, were not the answer.
Her hubbie, Joe (Seth Rogan), is so comfortable in his character of a dude whose early days in a rock band didn’t quite eventuate into anything, except perhaps inspiring a fraction of the classes he gives as a grumpy college music teacher.
This couple’s chemistry is less sparks of romance, and more stuck in emotional stand-off. And the film thrives in this discomfort. Conversations turn sharp, silences stretch, and every laugh lands with a wince. It’s funny, yes, but it’s the kind of humour that cuts close to home, holding up a mirror to modern relationships and the myths we build around them.
By the time the night implodes, The Invite asks a lingering question: are we brave enough to change, or just good at pretending we will?
Out 07/07.
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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Design a cool new cup for Yo-Chi frozen yogurt for a chance to win big coin
Yo-Chi frozen yogurt is about to get a design-forward upgrade. The Australian cult favourite fro-yo is tapping into the country’s creative streak with a campaign that’s less snack run, more art-school flex. The brief? Reimagine the brand’s iconic takeaway cup. The hook? A global prize pool worth $60,000. Suddenly, your post-dessert doodle could be worth serious coin.
Entrants are invited to redesign the iconic Yo-Chi cup and we encourage them to go big! Think bold graphics, playful typography, chaotic maximalism or clean-cut minimalism. The only rule is that it has to feel like Yo-Chi: joyful, a little indulgent, and impossible to ignore.
The competition is giving one creative entrant the chance to have their artwork printed on Yo-Chi cups across the country and is offering a shared $60,000 prize pool. Oh, and the comp has also been expanded Singapore, so good luck to our readers there, too.
Winning designs won’t just live online either; they’ll hit the real world, turning takeaway cups into collectible mini canvases.
It’s a smart pivot for a brand already fluent in aesthetic pleasure — because let’s be honest, Yo-Chi has always been as much about the vibe as it has been about the swirl. Now, they’re handing that visual identity over to the people who know it best: the late-night treat crowd, the TikTok creatives, the colour-obsessed. Heck, I might throw my designer hat into the ring!
In an era where brand loyalty is built on participation, not just consumption, Yo-Chi’s competition feels bang on. It’s not just about frozen yogurt — it’s about ownership, creativity, and maybe, just maybe, your design becoming the next thing everyone’s holding.
Out 07/07.
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
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Some sweet words on World Chocolate Day because good chocolate deserves some attention
Chocolate is a part of everyday life. My everyday life, that’s for sure. In fact, whenever I nick down to the shops to buy a carton of milk and loaf of bread, rarely do I walk away without also having purchased chocolate in some form: a pack of coconut-encrusted cocoa protein balls; a hazelnut and choccy bar, or even a carton of chocolate milk.
I’ve always thought chocolate should have its own day marked on the festive calendar, especially since it is so widely appreciated, has infiltrated so many cultural diets, often creeps into popular culture, and is now deemed fairly good for you. Now indeedy it does – today in fact, July 7.
The first celebration of World Chocolate Day dates back to 2009 (and is not to be confused with International Chocolate Day). Chocolate itself has a far further-back history, having derived from the cacao bean, and enjoyed as far back as ancient Mesoamerican times. During that period, the delicious flesh of the cacao fruit was fermented into an alcoholic beverage. Good to see it in some of our bevvies today, too, like in the new Chocolate in a Bottle blanc de blanc.
But chocolate isn’t just a decadent indulgence. In fact, studies have shown that the good stuff helps prevent liver damage, boosts beneficial cholesterol, offers better brain power, and lowers blood pressure.
I remember my first encounter with Lindt Chocolate – still one of my favourite brands. Not at a sample stand at the supermarket, but seen on the 12” artwork of Scritti Politti’s slice of audio confection, Hypnotize from their album Cupid & Psyche ”85. The extended version’s artwork stood out as gloriously as the band’s syncopated electronica and acoustics do on the song. I’d listen to this record relentlessly and actually be hypnotised by the chocolate bar, wondering if the photographer ate it after photographing it. Actually, in Australia, as in the UK, we spell it ‘hypnotised’ so I’m guessing Scritti’s record management urged the US spelling. I like the ‘Z’. It goes well with the crazy chocolate thing.
Anyway, back in 1985, you couldn’t find Lindt easily in Perth shops, so this was definitely my fantasy outlet. Nowadays, of course, there are hundreds of forms of Lindt that line the aisles of Woolworths and Coles, available for a fraction of the price the luxury brand used to cost. And Aldi have their own favoured range of choccy – the Peanuts & Cornflakes bar from their Choceur range being a favourite.
Now, too, local chocolate brands are offering hundreds of diversions to the norm. Once where you used to only be able to get three types of chocolate – milk, dark or white – chocolate bars today are packed with just about anything you can imagine. Cadbury’s, as one example, comes out with a limited edition bar every other week.
With recent scientific studies showing chocolate is more good for you than bad (some chocolate helps prevent liver damage, boosts beneficial cholesterol, offers better brain power, and lowers blood pressure), there’s no reason not to celebrate the good stuff this week.
All. Without. The. Guilt.
Out 07/07.
Hands in the air for a ‘Romy and Michele’ movie sequel is finally in production
Forget the Prosecco per un momento… try new Chocolate in a Bottle blanc de blanc!
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THE CREAM WINTER ESSENTIALS GUIDE 2026
The days look like getting shorter, the darkness setting in earliler, but winter needn’t mean dullness and dreariness this year. Our bumper winter essentials guide will see you through the chillier months, and includes cosy home and interior items, cool (but warm!) fashion statements, and a ton of beauty and wellbeing products to ensure that hibernation doesn’t lead to hedonism and instead to better and brighter health. Pour yourself a hot cuppa, snuggle up on the sofa, and read on.
Guide compiled by Lisa Andrews and Antonino Tati.
↑ WHAT: Ugg Boots. DESCRIPTION: What better must-have item to kick off a winter themed guide than a trusty pair of Ugg boots! Winter just wouldn’t be winter in Australia if you didn’t have a pair of Uggies in the wardrobe. Indeed, Australia has gifted the world with several fashionable items but one of the most sartorial gifts of all would have to be the Ugg – made of quality sheepskin, of course.
We ourselves have been wearing Uggies around the office since ‘Wear Your Uggs Day’ took place on the first of last month – because they’re that cosy and comfortable. And Ugg boots today aren’t your generic kind – there are plenty of styles to suit the fashionista in every Aussie, such as the Australian Shepherd Ugg Slippers (Daley), pictured left (RRP $99.00) which provide the ultimate in comfort for chilly mornings and frosty nights thanks to an incredibly soft inner lining. They look beaut for out-of-the-house wear, too, teamed with a pair of blue jeans and puffer jacket. Or for him, dress up the everyday outfit with a pair of black leather Chelsea casuals (Dralen style) which are crafted from premium Australian cowhide, pictured right (RRP $159.00).
Ugg boots have become a symbol of comfort, tradition and Australian identity worn by all generations. We’ll be sticking to traditions, style and comfort this season, that’s for sure. RRP: Prices vary, see examples above. AVAILABLE FROM: Quality footwear outlets and direct through uggexpress.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Ōura Ring 5. DESCRIPTION: Truly smart folks have already swapped their comparatively bulky Fitbits or smart watches for something even more discreet, more thorough, and certainly more stylish – the Ōura ring. Now there is an even slimmer, more compact and very stylish ring added to prestigious the collection: the Ōura Ring 5, dubbed the world’s smallest smart ring. The ring is noticeably slimmer and lighter on your finger and sits nicely amid other jewellery you may wear on your hand.
But just because it’s smaller doesn’t mean function has been sacrificed. In fact, a rebuilt sensor system provides more accurate tracking than before. And if you intend on wearing it on the track or at the gym, fear not for its tough titanium exterior is scratch-resistant, and the battery life is reliably long (get one week on a single charge!). We’ll be featuring the new, slimmer Ōura in our pages in the coming fortnight suffice to say that we’re happy just showing it off for now. And it looks simply beautiful next to our favourite Cartier. RRP: $799.00 for gold ring, pictured left. Available in various sizes and finishes including silver, brushed silver, black, and deep rose. AVAILABLE FROM: ouraring.com.
↑ WHAT: Crosley Voyager Bluetooth Record Player / Turntable. DESCRIPTION: There’s something irresistibly nostalgic about dropping a needle on a vinyl record, and the Crosley Voyager takes that retro vibe to the next level. Compact, suitcase-cute and portable, it’s built for bedrooms and cosy living rooms, but can also be taken to the next picnic or beach trip (when summer hits, of course). The three-speed belt-drive keeps your crate digging flexible, while Bluetooth in and out means you can stream or go fully wireless to play on bigger speakers when the mood escalates.
Fun fact: a ‘record player’ is a machine with built in speaker which you can plug in and instantly play; a ‘turntable’ can be played through an amplifier, mixer, or thrown via Bluetooth to alt speakers. The Crosley is both.
Sound-wise, the built-in stereo speakers are modest but warm—perfect for casual spins rather than audiophile deep dives. The cueing lever and RCA output add a welcome touch of control. Playful, stylish, and just the right amount of retro-romantic. RRP: $199.00. AVAILABLE FROM: West Coast Hi-Fi, Temple & Webster, David Jones, Harvey Norman and other select outlets. Note, limited colours available at each outlet, and even in patterns at some, such as the floral print, pictured left, from West Coast Hi-Fi.
↑ WHAT: Withings Body Scan / Scale Connected Health Station. DESCRIPTION: Remember those clumpy weighing scales you used to step on which would always be two or three kilos out of whack, keeping you wondering why the diet just wasn’t working? Well those have been replaced by digital devices that are more precise than analogue scales ever were. And you don’t get more precise than the Withings Body Scan Connected Health Station which, in fact, isn’t just a scale, but a revolutionary at-home health hub. Sleek and deceptively minimal, the Withings delivers a deep dive into your body’s story, from segmental composition to cardiovascular insights and nerve health. It’s the kind of data-rich experience that feels more clinic than bathroom, yet remains beautifully intuitive and intimate in detail.
During winter, when routines slip and movement dips, staying across your health statistics becomes essential.
The Body Scan offers gentle accountability – tracking changes that the colder months can quietly amplify, from weight fluctuations to circulation. This handsomely designed device doesn’t just measure you, it motivates you – subtly, smartly, and with a distinctly modern sense of care. Hop on, then, because the Withings also doesn’t judge. RRP: $799.00. AVAILABLE FROM: Trusted outlets including FitTrack, Officeworks, and The Good Guys.
↑ WHAT: Midea 3 Benchtop Mini Dishwasher Plus. DESCRIPTION: In winter, you dine in more, so the dishes tend to stack up. The solution? A mini dishwasher to clean up as you go! The Medea 3 Plus is a cute yet powerful addition to any sized kitchen, delivering high-quality clean in a compact, portable design. It can even keep the dishes clean on holidays and road trips thanks to its built-in 5L water tank. Intuitive touch-screen controls allow for effortless everyday use. The Mini Dishwasher cleans dishes efficiently while using minimal water and includes dedicated programs like a 58-minute quick wash, a 77-minute high-temperature self-clean cycle for hygiene, even a baby-care mode designed for extra sanitised washing. To top it off, a fan drying system and automatic door opening at the end each cycle ensures improved airflow, convenience, accessibility, and most importantly, better hygiene. RRP: $239.00. AVAILABLE FROM: Bing Lee (online and in-store), Electrical Discounters (in-store). For more information, visit midea.com/au.
↑ WHAT: Jean Paul Gaultier’s Scandal. DESCRIPTION: In cold weather, fragrances evaporate slower, thereby muting light scents. With this in mind, the best winter notes that provide depth and warmth, such as sandalwood and oud, are best at being muted. You’ll find both these notes in Jean Paul Gaultier’s Scandal fragrances, both for women (Scandal Absolute), and men (Scandal Pour Homme). The heavier notes thrive in the chill, ultimately projecting an inviting scent trail. RRP: $215.00 for Scandal Pour Homme Le Parfum, pictured above. AVAILABLE FROM: Quality fragrance outlets including Myer and David Jones.
↑ WHAT: MONDO by Defunc Headphones. DESCRIPTION: These on-ear freestyle headphones are easily paired to your listening device via Bluetooth and they truly are a symphony of Swedish sound engineering and cool retro style. When fully charged, they offer up to 22 hours of playtime, and boast a rich sound experience and plenty of hands-on functionality.
Easily rotating controls on each side put the power of sound at your fingertips, where you can change volume, skip tracks or go back to favourite ones.
For a fully customised listening experience, you just need to download the MONDO app, where you can adjust your EQ settings to personalise your listening experience. I like my audio with Dolby Atmos on, and let me tell you, the mind-trip these headphones take me on is one well worth writing home about, with the ‘phones delivering deep bass and brilliant reverb where needed. So compact and light, too, you’ll forget you’re wearing them. RRP: $99.00. AVAILABLE FROM: mondobydefunc.com.au.
↑ WHAT: A warm and cosy duvet that makes a cool statement. DESCRIPTION: Four good reasons why you’ll want a good duvet this winter. (01.) It traps body heat efficiently, creating a warm and insulated cocoon-like sleep. (02.) Unlike lighter blankets, a duvet distributes warmth evenly across your body, helping you stay comfortable even on the coldest nights. (03.) A consistent temperature overnight reduces tossing and turning, so you’re less likely to wake up from the cold. And (04.) You can change your duvet design to suit any bedroom. If you’re a film buff, the film poster print design, pictured, would be a dandy winter addition. Or something more subtle like the duvet, left, might do you good. With most duvets having a removable cover, they’re simple to clean and to switch seasonally, making them a practical and cosy winter essential. RRP: $158.00 (Queen), $169 (King). AVAILABLE FROM: This particualr design from redbubble.com.au.
↑ WHAT: The Beauty Chef’s Antioxidant Boost. DESCRIPTION: You can maintain energy with your power drinks, increase your electrolytes with your Hydralyte ices, and hope for just enough caffeine in your matcha tea to top up the body’s amino acids. But for a true boost to the immune system and something to really provide skin health, crack open a bottle of The Beauty Chef’s Antioxidant Boost. This ruby-hued elixir contains a hefty blend of bio-fermented berries and skin-loving botanicals that feels equal parts wellness tonic and beauty flex. It’s tart, earthy, and even tastes unmistakably good for you. This is the kind of drink that signals you’ve graduated from sugary shortcuts to something more intentional – and much more sustainable in these heavy-with-the-hibernating winter months. Several weeks into drinking this product and it’s like your mind has cleared, skin has exhaled, and tummy has just gotten a good comforting rub. RRP: $49.00 for 500ml bottle. AVAILABLE FROM: thebeautychef.com.
↑ WHAT: ‘The Cream’ and ‘The Eye Cream’ from Truff’elle Australia. DESCRIPTION: Recently, Cream was invited to partake in a truffle hunt in Manjimup, WA. Guided by Blue Heelers, you get to track down where truffles are at in the mud, and get to pick them fresh. Yep, it’s a thing. In a timely manner, we’ve also discovered that truffles make a great ingredient in beauty products, such as those created by Truff’elle Australia (See? It’s even in their name). Rich in vitamins B, C, D and E, as well as powerful natural antioxidants and amino acids, the confidently titled ‘The Cream’, and its partner in rhyme ‘The Eye Cream’ both help boost collagen, help firm skin, and leave the face and all-important eye area feeling firmer and looking more radiant. For best results, use both products morning and night. And don’t assume there’s going to be a funky fungi-like scent. Indeed, we’ve not sensed a more delicious aroma in beauty products than the scent of these Truff’elle creams. RRP: $570.00 for both products, representing the brand’s ‘Black Diamond Duo’. AVAILABLE FROM: truffelleaustralia.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Medik8 H.E.O. Mask Duo. DESCRIPTION: We love Medik8 products for the way they lean into skincare science without losing their indulgent, end-of-day ritual feels. And using this Medik8 H.E.O. Mask duo makes staying in for the night that much more special. Split into two steps (humectants first, emollients and occlusives to seal), both products are easy to apply as the last steps to your nightly skincare regime. The textures are plush but purposeful, and you’ll find you’ve woken up to results somewhere between subtle and striking: skin looks cushioned, calmer, convincingly restored rather than artificially glazed. These products are less about instant glow theatrics, and more about long-term resilience. RRP: $119.00 for both products, each 50ml. AVAILABLE FROM: medik8.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Omorfi Hydrating Hyaluronic 1% Serum and Skin Correcting Niacinamide Formula. DESCRIPTION: Although we stand by pretty much all the products in the Omorfi range, this pair of products does feel like the true low-key power couple, promising no hype, but providing plenty of results. The hyaluronic hits first: lightweight, almost watery, sinking in fast and leaving skin with that quietly plumped, post-facial bounce. It’s hydration without heaviness, more dewy morning-after rather than glass-skin theatrics. Then comes the niacinamide, the calmer, cooler partner. It works in the background, softening redness, dialling down shine, and nudging uneven texture into something smoother, more lived-in. The best part is there’s no overload and no stickiness, and the result is a clearer, more balanced complexion that looks like yours. RRP: $59.95 per 50ml. AVAILABLE: FROM: omorfi.com.au.
↑ WHAT: MS Skin Tumeric Vitamin C Clay Mask. DESCRIPTION: This magical product is like sun-drenched skin in a jar – a golden-hued blend that leans into the antioxidant buzz of turmeric and vitamin C, promising brightness with a side of detox. On application, it’s cool, earthy, and just gritty enough to feel like it’s doing something without tipping into sandpaper territory. After ten minutes, there’s that familiar clay-tightness but it rinses clean without the dreaded post-mask drought. Skin looks clearer, a touch more luminous – like you’ve swapped fluorescent lighting for golden hour. One of our favourite products in the MS Skin range that brightens and tightens skin, is Aussie owned, vegan-friendly, and cruelty-free. All boxes ticked, then. RRP: $59.99. AVAILABLE FROM: Quality beauty outlets and direct through msskin.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Napoleon Perdis x MODELROCK Lashes Collection. DESCRIPTION: Winter is great in that you get to stay in a lot and have time to contemplate/devise your next best look for when you venture out again. There’s that much time on your hands! This collaboration by Australian makeup authority Napoleon Perdis and cult favourite lash specialists, MODELROCK Lashes, is something to consider for the big night out. An exclusive capsule collection, it features seven premium lash styles, and is designed as a curated “lash wardrobe” to suit all outings – from subtle, everyday definition through to statement-making volume. Crafted from ultra-soft synthetic silk fibres, each lash delivers a lightweight, comfortable feel while being utterly vegan-friendly and cruelty-free. Nights out in winter are looking better already. RRP: $292.00. AVAILABLE FROM: Single products, starting at RRP $19.00 – and the full collection – are available exclusively at David Jones and online at napoleonperdis.com.
↑ WHAT: More than just pretty coffee table books! DESCRIPTION: Winter means being indoors a lot, and therefore spending a lot of time… thinking. Get some all-important reading in during those moments of contemplation and you’ll be thinking more wisely. If planing to beautify the garden is on the agenda, Flower Power by Jac Semmler is the perfect book to garner inspiration from. Alongside gorgeous photographs by Sarah Pannell are tips and tricks to turn your garden into a glorious array of colour and greenery by the start of Spring. Or at least see a few buds breaking if not swelling. The book not only helps you prepare your front and backyards for the best planting in any season, it goes on to talk about different ‘personalities’ of plants, scale and diversity, contrast and coherence and more. But if all you’ve got is a window sill tray of plants, this still makes a darn beautiful coffee table book.
If cooking up a storm is more your activity during the colder months, here are two beaut books to consider. You’re Welcome! by Raymond Tan with Audrey Payne is less a traditional cookbook and more an open invitation into a worldview where baking becomes celebration. Built around Tan’s signature Southeast Asian–inflected style, the book brings together playful recipes (matcha white chocolate cookies, pictured left, anyone?) with tradition-rich treats like mooncakes and Malaysian kueh. Gloriously photographed by Louise Hagger, you’ll want to do what Björk once sang about doing and that is eat the entire menu.
And rounding out this primary-coloured trio is Eat Like A Sardinian: Live To 100 by Francesco Mattana. It’s a little known fact that the people of Sardinia, off the coast of Italy, live to an extensive age on average – mostly due to their healthy diet. And a delicious diet it is. Mattana presents simple Sardinian staples, especially in the areas of aperitivi and antipasti (bruschetta, pizzette, etc), as well as more elaborate dishes such as Chiusoni con Ragu di Polpo (handmade pasta with octopus ragu); Paella Algherese (the Spanish influence coming from the Sardinian town of Alghero once under Spanish domination); and sweet treats such as apple cake, tiramisu, and almond and honey brittle. As they may say in Italy – tutto delicioso! RRP: Flower Power RRP $85.00 through Taschen; You’re Welcome! by Raymond Tan RRP $49.99 through Murdoch Books; Eat Like A Sardinian RRP $45.00 through Murdoch Books / Allen & Unwin.
↑ WHAT: Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. DESCRIPTION: When it comes to judging the quality of the product, the proof is in its longevity. Clarins has proven its worth as a fine cosmetics and skincare brand for decades now, but one particular product that finds itself on virtually every beauty editor’s must-have list is the Beauty Flash Balm. Launched in 1980, this magical product is as iconic as its beauty brand’s name. A legendary balm that can be used as an instant pick-me-up (applied in a thin layer) or as a generous mask, BFB instantly eliminates signs of fatigue, soothes skin, and boosts complexion radiance all at once. And remember, a little goes a very long way. RRP: $82.00, 50ml. AVAILABLE FROM: Quality beauty outlets and direct through clarins.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Rejuran Healing Pomata. DESCRIPTION: A rich, comforting cream designed for tired, stressed or sensitised skin. It contains Rejuran’s c-PDRN® technology – purified marine-based extract – along with ingredients including glycerin, cocoa seed butter, shea butter, panthenol, jojoba seed oil and Ceramide NP, making it a lovely handbag-sized winter skin saviour for areas needing extra care. Cream‘s founding editor swears by this brand, having tried various Rejuran products and confirming their benefits. So to see these results now coming out of the tiniest of tubes – it’s like finding the Holy Grail of beauty products. (Always read the label and follow the directions for use.) RRP: $39.00, 7g. AVAILABLE FROM: rejurancosmetics.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Youth Rx Renewal Oil Elixir. DESCRIPTION: There’s a certain quiet luxury to this product – the kind that doesn’t scream for attention but earns it with results. Silky without slipping into greasiness, this golden blend feels instantly comforting on the skin. Fine lines are softened, dullness lifts, and there’s a subtle glow that builds with each use.
This renewal oil layers beautifully, playing well with serums and creams, yet holds its own as a standalone saviour on rushed mornings.
And the scent? Delicate with an almost nostalgic aura – good reason than for the good elixer to be housed in a nice and heavy dark blue dropper bottle. RRP: Members’ price $59.00, 30ml. AVAILABLE FROM: youthlabdirect.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Epicutis Lipid Serum. DESCRIPTION: A lightweight, lipid-rich serum designed to support the skin barrier and help maintain skin comfort and hydration through the cooler months. It’s a beautiful winter option for skin that can feel dry, sensitive or compromised by seasonal changes. RRP: $380.00. AVAILABLE FROM: epicutis.com and select beauty outlets.
↑ WHAT: Ikou Baobab & Neroli Face Oil. DESCRIPTION: Silky and sensorial, this face oil from Australian skincare brand, Ikou, leans into ritual as much as results. Its golden blend hero ingredient – baobab oil – is loaded with vitamins and essential fatty acids that help hydrate, support elasticity and reinforce the skin barrier. Added camellia and jojoba plant extracts help soften and balance the skin without clogging pores. Rather than sit pretty, the oil melts into the skin to deliver a kind of ‘glow from within’ finish. But the real headline act is neroli – a softly floral, mood-calming note that works wonders on dry, stressed or sensitivity-prone skin. RRP: $68.00, 30ml. AVAILABLE FROM: ikou.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Balm Serum Boosted Skin Tint. DESCRIPTION: This beauty brand has come a long way since we initially heard it being regularly namedropped on RuPaul’s Drag Race. In fact, Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics are touted as some of the best by real women right across the globe. This skin tint aspect offers light, buildable coverage that blurs imperfections but never feels ‘cakey’. Thanks to it doubling up as a balm serum, the texture is balmy and never dries down to a matte state; instead the serum reaches into skin to leave a constant but not over-the-top sheen. The sun mightn’t be out much during winter, but that doesn’t mean you can’t glow a little. Available in various tints so best checked against your skin complexion at the beauty counter. RRP: $79.00. AVAILABLE FROM: Quality beauty outlets including Mecca, Sephora, and David Jones.
↑ WHAT: APSKIN Activated Phenolics Face Mist. DESCRIPTION: A quick spritz of this mist feels like a small act of winter self-preservation. Powered by antioxidant-rich phenolics derived from real apples, along with all-important niacinamide and soothing botanicals, the mist delivers a featherlight veil of hydration that calms redness and reinforces the skin barrier when cold air bites hardest. APSKIN is less about drama, more about quiet efficacy. Winter skin craves support, and this mist works best layere – its humectants draw in moisture while antioxidants shield against environmental stress. A refreshing pick-me-up and, when paired with moisturiser, it becomes a glow-boosting essential. RRP: $49.00. AVAILABLE FROM: renovatio.com.au.
↑ WHAT: Sea Shepherd Australia Classic Unisex Beanie. DESCRIPTION: This trusty beanie will keep you warm during the long winter days and nights. Made from certified organic cotton, it has been created using the highest possible environmental, social and ethical standards including 100% renewable energy from wind and solar power, and following Fair Trade practices. RRP: $40.00. AVAILABLE FROM: seashepherd.org.au.
Film Study: ‘Some Like It Hot’ and some just like to don drag now and then
Home Decor Trends for 2026: Blending Aesthetics and Functionality
Inside Celebrity Homes: 7 Design Trends Homeowners Are Adopting In 2026
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#anastasia #ANTONINOTATI #APSKIN #arts #beauty2026 #bestBuys2026 #clarins #CREAMMAGAZINE #creamMagazineMasthead #creamMagazineWinterEssentialsGuide2026 #creamWinterEssentials #creamWinterEssentialsGuide #crosley #epictus #fashion2026 #ikou #interiors2026 #jeanPaulGaultierScandal #LIFESTYLE #lisaAndrews #medik8 #midea3 #MISCELLANEA #MONDOByDefunc #MUSIC #omorfi #POPCULTURE #rejuran #seaShepherd #shopping2026 #SPONSOREDPOSTS #theBeautyChef #TruffElleAustralia #uggBoots #winter2026 #winterEssentials #winterMustHaves #winterShopping2026 #withings #Ōura -
Happy 75th Birthday to the Fender Telecaster: the guitar that stars in hit songs by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Stones, Blur and more
There’s be few guitarists who haven’t heard of the Fender Telecaster – in fact it’s a guitar that is probably on most rockers’ wish lists.
Created in 1950 but first introduced on the commercial market in 1951, this year marks the Fender Telecaster’s 75th anniversary. In celebration, Fender are releasing a series of ‘tribute’ designs in new colours including the American Ultra II Telecaster and the Classic Cabronita Telecaster, available now at au.fender.com.
The Classic Cabronita Telecaster in new red.
The Telecaster was the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar, designed by its namesake Leo Fender. Originally called the Broadcaster, it quickly evolved into the Telecaster and became a cornerstone of modern music. I has a simple, rugged design but the sounds it makes are as indelible as the artists and bands’ names themselves.
Many legendary musicians have embraced the Telecaster, including Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Page, and Graham Coxon. Indeed, the Telecaster’s versatility has seen it span genres as broad as rock and country to jazz and punk.
There’s a bright, cutting tone to the Telecaster, as a result of its dual single-coil pickups and bolt-on neck construction. This clarity allows it to slice through a song mix effortlessly, making it a favourite for both rhythm and lead playing across decades of music history.
Iconic songs that feature the Fender Telecaster include Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up,” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” Known for its versatile “twang,” it was used on The Beatles’ Let It Be sessions and on the song “Killing In The Name” by Rage Against The Machine.
Other classics on which you’ll hear its twangy strings are The Police’s “Message in a Bottle”, Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line”, Pink Floyd’s “Off the Wall”, Red Hot Chili Peppers “Dani California”, Blur’s “Song 2”, and PJ Harvey’s “Missed”.
So, happy birthday to a guitar that has seen more studio sessions, live music gigs, and chart hits than most. And lived to tell the story.
Dedication to Dedication: Another great live tribute to the music of David Bowie
Why fast fashion practices need to seriously be looked at by our governments
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#75thAnniversary #75thBirthday #ANTONINOTATI #blur #CREAMMAGAZINE #FenderTelecaster #ledZeppelin #MUSIC #POPCULTURE -
7 Genius Travel Hacks That Will Save You Time And Money
Packing for and planning a holiday can be one of the most exciting, and also one of the most stressful, times in your life. There are numerous things that you need to think about, and so many things to plan for, that you can often get to the airport thinking you’re all set, only to remember something you’ve forgotten, so you smack your head with your palm and think ‘oh no”. Perhaps it’s because you’ve forgotten to book travel insurance or neglected to get a neighbour to collect your mail, or maybe it’s something less vital but still important (like forgetting to pack socks!). No matter what it is, the bottom line is this: You need to be prepared for your holiday. If you’re not prepared you risk arriving at your serviced apartment in Melbourne or your Airbnb in Malaysia and thinking – damn – I don’t have my pyjamas! Let’s take a look at some of these genius travel hacks in the hopes that it helps you to save time and money the next time you travel.
Hack One – Make a great list
If you travel a lot for work, or if you’re always popping away on short jaunts and mini-breaks, you should make a list that’s comprehensive and covers every kind of season and weather type, and then keep it close. You can store it in your phone or laminate it and keep it in your room (if you’re more analogue) and then ensure that whatever is on that list goes into your bag – no questions asked!Hack Two – Shop around for the best deals and bargains online
You would probably by now have heard of the online booking site Skyscanner and realised how incredible it is for finding cheap and awesome flights. You should use booking methods like this for your airfare and also shop around and compare flights as it’ll often give you the best deal possible. You’ll find that a bit of persistence really pays off here.Hack Three – Keep a digital copy of your passport
This is a very easy one and can save you big time – all you need to do is keep a copy of your passport as a picture on your phone or computer (or even in the cloud, a la Google Drive) and then if anything does go wrong, which I’m sure it won’t – you have a copy of your passport on hand to refer to.Hack Four – Be flexible with your travel arrangements
If you don’t mind getting bumped on a flight, it can mean that you might be upgraded to a higher class of fare on your next flight as a thank you from the airline. Be sure to make this clear on your check in!Hack Five – Pack snacks
There is probably nothing worse than being caught on a long layover and realising that you don’t have any snacks available to feast on in between your transfit periods. Be smart on this one and be sure to stash a bag of nuts or chocolates in your bag to enjoy.Hack Six – Pack an extra charge pod
There are few things worse than a crying baby on your flight – but running out of power on your iPhone and not having any music to drown said baby out is probably right up there with terrible things that can happen. Make sure you avoid this problem by packing plenty of charge via an extra pod on your next trip.Hack Seven – Maximise your friendships
If you have mates in foreign cities, then you need to be drawing down on those friendships hard in order to save as much money as possible! If you can sleep on a couch instead of spending money on a hotel then that’s money you can spend on wine and food! Bonus!I hope that these short tips on saving time and money on your next trip have proven helpful and that you manage to be a thrifty traveler.
Eada Hudes
If the microwave is smelling a bit stale from foods previously heated up, cut a lemon and put pieces in a bowl of water, or just leave the halfs in the middle of the plate after a few squeezes of lemon onto it, then zap for a minute and a half. Et voila! Your microwave looks cleaner, smells better.
Never Was a Cornflake Girl: a classic Cream interview with Tori Amos, new album out May 1st
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#ANTONINOTATI #CREAMMAGAZINE #creamMagazineTravel #leisure #LIFESTYLE #travel #travelHacks -
Appreciating the classic portraiture style of Spanish photographer Joan Tous
Barcelona-based photographer Joan Tous is a master in the art of fashion photography. In fact, he graduated from the Institute of Photographic Studies of Catalonia in the early 2000s and soon after followed up with a masters degree in cinematography. You can see a certain rusticity in his work that leans more towards classicism than the pictures you rush-scroll through on Instagram today.
Classicism infiltrates Tous’ fashion work, where tones are muted and the models themselves appear as though they might have stepped out of a Toulouse-Lautrec painting.
For a taste of stylish things to come from this talented lensman, in a world of topsy-turvy weather changes, here’s a story with a nice transeasonal touch.
Photography: Joan Tous
Styling: Raquel Gibanel
Retouching: La Capsula Retouch
Makeup and hair: Marta Prats
Model: Andrea Antón
Jacket and pants by TSYRK World. Tank top by wtaps Tokyo. Boots, vintage.
Dress by TSYRK World.
Dress by TSYRK World. Socks, United Arrows. Sandals, Vintage.
Sweater by United Arrows. Shorts by APC.
Dress by TSYRK World.
Leather Jacket, vintage. Collar by Sara Divita Ibiza.
Leather Jacket, vintage. Collar by Sara Divita Ibiza. Bikini by La Perla. Sandals by Closed.
Never Was a Cornflake Girl: a classic Cream interview with Tori Amos, new album out May 1st
Why fast fashion practices need to seriously be looked at by our governments
Planning Homes That Last: Principles Behind Thoughtful Residential Design
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#2026 #AndreaAntón #ANTONINOTATI #CREAMMAGAZINE #FASHION #joanTous #LaCapsulaRetouch #MartaPrats #PHOTOGRAPHY #POPPICS #RaquelGibanel #statementPins #STYLE -
Why Madonna is worthy of being the first star to have a bronze statue of her likeness standing on Hollywood Boulevard
This photograph is pertinent in so many ways. Every element of it looks as if it were positioned / posited / mis-en-scened to the Nth degree – as though Ryan Murphy himself had directed and post-produced it. It’s what Hollywood should look like today. Clear-skyed. Glossy. Its vintage sign not faded, just weathered enough to look classic-fabulous. The main attraction 45 degrees south-west of it, Madonna possessing possibly the most famous face in pop culture history.
Madonna has sung for film many a time – won an Oscar for one of them. She hanky-pankied her way up the music ladder but found the film industry’s climb was splintered with more sordidity and caveats than even she could cope with. She just wanted to be up on that big screen and display some good old-fashioned glamour and fun. But even this aspiring actress wouldn’t s#ck certain d1ck to get where the likes of Marilyn and Mae got. Although she did borrow lots from the big dress-up box of Studios Conglomerated, injecting classic Tinseltown looks into her music videos and album covers.
She’s been in some pretty good movies (Evita, Desperately Seeking Susan) and some very bad ones (Body of Evidence, Shanghai Surprise) and a couple of flicks that ought never have even made it outside of the editing suite (Who’s That Girl, and the very early A Certain Sacrifice in which she had an egg fried on her stomach). But you’ll see none of these in those 1001-Movies-You-Must-See-Before-You-Die tomes.
The palm trees on either side of the above picture are perfectly aligned, like backup dancers in one of the icon’s videos, but here she is the main attraction, just left off centre, holding big red scissors and having the final cut – a music industry martinet but the movie industry’s she-looks-good-but-can-she-act? excuse to avoid auditions altogether and just assume she couldn’t give as good as Garbo, Detriech or even Brando. She could, if there were strong enough a director.
Madonna might never have had an all-access pass to the big Hollywood after-party (and who would want one now that the film city’s reputation has a certain tarnish?). She may not be celebrated for her celluloid contributions, or dollied up on promotional posters plastered along the Boulevard, but she does wear the pants when it comes to being in control of her image and reputation. Sometimes that image is made a mockery of on newer media like TikTok and Facetagram (by her own hand, mostly) but when you look at the bigger picture, Madonna is one of the only stars whose name you could mention anywhere in the world – from Tokyo to Tanzania to Toowoomba, Woop Woop and beyond – and the person being vox-popped would be able to immediately picture the star.
So yes, the woman is worthy of being the first pop icon to have a bronze statue erected in honour of her contributions to modern entertainment. Though the crowd gathered around her looks as artificially inseminated as some of the support players in her latter-day music clips, the fact remains that the real audience is still here, still watching her every move, still criticising her any fault (them’s the breaks when you’re this big a star), the fans still waiting with baited breath for the next big record release.
While many a performer has sung about Hollywood with high praise and a touch of cautionary warning – as if making it there were the pinnacle of success but with conditions (from The Kinks’ Celluloid Heroes to Lady Gaga’s The Fame), Madonna ripped the city to shreds in her irony-laden pop-dance track that took its very title from the sign that stands behind her. To her, Hollywood has meant failed (or lack of) auditions, disappointing reviews, horrible talk around town, and dismal dollars at the box office when you compare takings of her total commercial and arthouse oeuvre with the insane amount of bums on seats just one Marvel movie might score.
The fact that this star hasn’t even featured in a film since 2002’s romantic comedy Swept Away, directed by her then-husband Guy Ritchie, and that she barely even bothers to look at scripts today – yet is standing tall in bronze in the middle of acting city – speaks volumes about her popularity and pop cultural prowess. She may blink too much in certain scenes of a film where the actor is required to just stand there and look shocked or in awe at her leading man. She may be too bossy for directors to be able to control onset or off. But when it comes to calling “cut” on her star power and global ubiquity, she’ll be the one making that director’s statement, honey.
In the company of muses and gods: an interview with rock poet Patti Smith from the Cream archives
The Touchless Tan: no sun, no creams, no stress and yet perfect tanning results
Elevating Your Projects: The Essential Guide to Sound Effects in Creative Media
Time to hang up the mask? Why ‘Scream 7’ didn’t really need to made
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#ANTONINOTATI #bronzeStatue #CREAMMAGAZINE #FILM #hollywood #hollywoodBoulevard #madonna #MUSIC #POPCULTURE #ryan -
Which cars from our favourite movies would be worth the most if sold today?
While The Fast & The Furious franchise practically promotes illegal street racing as an artform, it proves that fast cars get movie-goers truly revved up.
But which automobiles on film and television screens would be worth the most if allowed on real roads today?
Auto insurance company Uswitch.com collaborated with CashForCars.com to calculate the cost of popular fictional vehicles in cinema and TV… and he results ought to spin you out.
If sold in real life, Inspector Gadget’s ‘Gadgetmobile’ would be the most expensive car: the robotic vehicle’s estimated value being around $25,075,000.
Inspired by the 1964 Lincoln Continental convertible, the Gadgetmobile itself is valued at just $75,000, but it is the hidden features – such as jet engines, bumper claws, glue rockets, and the ability to change shape – that see its worth rocket up to $25million.
In second place is Stark Industries’ Acura 2012 ‘Super Car’ as featured in Marvel’s The Avengers. With high-tech features such as palm-scan ID steering, this Palladium-powered vehicle would be worth an estimated $9,198,000 if sold in real life.
Another superhero car races into third place: the Batmobile – or more specifically the one driven by Christian Bale in The Dark Knight.The vehicle would cost an estimated $9,000,000 if allowed on the streets of Gotham City Manhattan or Tokyo today.
Lagging behind, The DeLorean in Back to the Future only just skids into the top ten. While it is perhaps one of the most iconic cars in cinematic history, this time-travelling machine is valued at a surprisingly low $55,500 in real life. And that’s including its vital component – the Flux Capacitor (worth a dismal $450, thanks to obsolescence).
Also in the Top 10 are James Bond’s Aston Martin in ‘Thunderball’ (3 million), the Flying Ford Anglia in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ (1.5 million), and the Gigahorse in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (just 100k).
But wait, there’s more! Two cool animated autos also fit into the rich cars list. That little hot rod Lightning McQueen from Cars zips in at number 7 (worth just 5k in cartoon dollars short of a million), and the fabulous six-wheeled FAB1 in Thunderbirds (top of story) slides in at number 8 (a quarter of a million, thank you, Parker).
Seriously, your Uber driver’s car is worth more than some of these beasts.
Bethany Surridge & Antonino Tati
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#andrewHornery #andrewHorneryIsAFaggot #ANTONINOTATI #automobiles #bethanySurridge #cars #carsInTheMovies #CREAMMAGAZINE #davidTempleman #DavidTemplemanSucksLittleBoysDicks #diBauwens #diBauwensIsABushpig #FILM #muscleCars #POPCULTURE #rosReines #rosReinesIsAWhore #TELEVISION #vintageCars