High Adventures in the Great Outdoors

Be Spunki

No matter if I am traveling or how long my days are, in a bid to balance stress and all that comes with a busy schedule, I try to get exercise in whenever possible.

While it is more often a very enjoyable part of the day, it can at times feel a chore, especially the motivational bit at the beginning when you either have to scrape yourself from your mattress early or get off the couch when you feel like Netflix, craft beer and chill.

As one grows older, things do not tend to get easier either.

Along came the supplements of Be Spunki.

I started incorporating their REBOOT into my schedule, which is meant to help optimise the key hormones connected with health to the level they were during your twenties.

REBOOT is a melange of 9 natural and organic herbs and active ingredients that shall aid with boosting testosterone levels, enhancing physical and cognitive performance as well as the improvement of immune functions, stamina, energy and endurance.

When it comes to such supplement I usually approach them with a heathy dose of scepticism as once you have invested in them, the placebo effect might kick in.

However, after a while of using REBOOT, I felt a sense of better general wellbeing, for a lack of a better term. It was easier to get a cardio or gym session in even after long days and stressful situations seemed to be easier to cope with.

The recovery times from more intense sessions, including half-marathon preparations shortened and I felt like during the flu and colder seasons I was less prone to falling sick, for which certainly the Zinc components played an integral role.

It was no longer after running a half-marathon that I started using their RECOVER product as well. Now, with post workout recovery I feel it is a tad easier to feel tangible benefits straight away as the combination of easily-assimilable vegan protein combined with adaptogen herbs is never not conducive to get things metaphorically and literally back on track,

The range of active ingredients read like a best of the good stuff: Spirulina, enough Maca to make John Joseph proud, Pomegranate, Asparagus and Broccoli extracts and good ole Ginkgo biloba among others.

The most tangible benefit I felt after using REBOOT for a while is that I was able to get back into it within twenty-four hours and that the discomfort from sore muscles subsided much quicker than without it.

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photos provided

Essential Duchamp

Exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Yale University Press

It would prove hard to underestimate the impact of one Marcel Duchamp – a disruptor par excellence, whose body of work is to exert an influence over generations to come.

With the Art Gallery of NSW’s never not eclectic approach to securing and curating cutting edge exhibitions, their idiosyncratic overview of the artistic trials and tribulations of Marcel Duchamp is a multi-faceted mosaic of over one hundred and twenty exponates, which are mainly from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Duchamp reservoir and archives.

What materializes as a result is one grand overview that highlights the significance of the oeuvre of Marcel Duchamp.

Not merely focusing on pleasing the crowds with his trademark works, i.e. Nude descending a staircase and the token pissoir, the exhibition starts by shedding on pieces detailing him finding his feet and takes the visitors on a journey that meanders through his post-impressionism and cubism infused formative years to then eventually arrive and culminate at the stage of the accomplished artists he is known for these days.

The accompanying book, which goes under the same title, i.e. Essential Duchamp, not only elaborates on Duchamp’s approach when it comes to elevating mundane, everyday thingamajigs through his selection into the spheres of acclaimed art but manages to illuminate how there was much more to Duchamp than meets the eye including the disciplines he pursued, which he did not get as much credit for, such as sculpting, creative writing, product design and directing films.

Both the retrospective and the book are odes to not only an unconventional and at times enigmatic pioneer (at some stage he only made appearances under the pseudonym of an alter ego) but also how concepts of art and the artist can be changed, challenged and amplified if the mind is tickled in equal measures as the eye – conceptual art par excellence without which current art movements would have not had fertile ground to grow and establish themselves on.

Sounds like lofty avant-gardist wank?

The opposite is the case and the beauty is that both the showcase and the book are engaging and provide an accessible introduction to Marcel Duchamp.

Alice in Slasherland

Old Fitzroy Theatre

Sydney, Australia

Despite “Alice in Wonderland” being an immensely influential piece of work among Carrol Lewis’ oeuvre, the men himself is fabled to have given in to neither instincts and less wholesome endeavours during his time, which is where one could draw parallels to the malevolence that materialized on stage with. Qui Nguyen's ALICE IN SLASHERLAND.

As the title suggests and thinly veils, Alice In Wonderland is an all-out homage to the horror genre with all its clichés and delights. Without pretending to have a sophisticated angle or twist, the play indulges in drawing all stops in the most unapologetic way, which make it one of the more amusing and entertaining theatre incarnations I have recently witnessed.

There is hardly a horror movie trope that is left untouched – set against a Samhain party, teenagers conjure the opening of a channel to the realms of Beelzebub with all the biblical references and allusions possible thrown in for good measure to ultimate release the dead.

The star of the show is the main protagonist’s smack talking, foul mouthed sassy hippity hoppity teddy bear, who shoulders the task of saving the day.

I have elaborated on the merits of Redline Productions and the longstanding institution that is the Old Fitzroy Theatre and tonight was another exercise in demonstrating what can be done in a relatively confined space with a limited budget. Video projections give the performance an additional dimension and the costume designs chosen are no really concealed tributes to what is known from b-grade slasher movies, including the deliberately exaggerated depiction of the demons.

The ensemble does an excellent job finding the right balance between humour, cartoonish simplicity and seriousness to add some depths to characters that usually do not scratch the surface of outworn stereotypes.

A high octane play with an energetic cast that frames a very entertaining evening with a few surprises and one that is both an homage as well as a persiflage and recommended not only for horror movie aficionados.

Thus Let Us Drink Beer – 4 Pines

We have covered The Calyx at Sydney’s Botanical Gardens before. If I was pressed to describe it, I’d probably draw a parallel to an event centre, yet one architecturally embedded in a meaningful way in the context of the beauty that is the gardens centred in the city of Sydneytown.

Over the last years, The Calyx has become a focal point of interesting, fun and engaging masterclasses where e.g. distillers and brewers not only proffer their emissions but give lectures on how they incorporate and channel the products of the flora into their alchemy.

Tonight’s event was a Botanical Brewing Masterclass, hosted by 4 Pines’ Lab Technician and lover of beer, Tom Meredith. What started with an elaboration on the brewing process and accompanied by brews courtesy of 4 Pines and pies, evolved into a deep dive into the botany of beer.

Tom shed light on the botanical components of beer and given the fact that craft breweries are popping up like mushrooms and incorporating everything from the staple hops via barley, fruits and spices, one could not help but feel like the craft of making beer is much like gardening.

It might be common knowledge that hops create the DNA of what is commonly perceived to constitute “beer”, yet it was interesting to not only learn about different varieties but also about the flavourful impact of their globules, with their resins contributing to bitterness and the oils adding another layer of aroma. If a brewer is crafty when it comes to calibrating ingredients, flavours can be orchestrated via modifications ranging from citrussy, notes of almonds and bacon to white wine and spicy notes.

I for one like a good ole hoppy India Pale Ale and while 4 Pines’ own Kiwi hop infused IPA was unfortunately not on offer, their American Amber Ale hit the spot.

Another discovery was their Stout. The stout is in essence the strongest version of a porter. It for sure is an acquired taste for sure, yet the delicate roasted barley flavours of 4 Pines’ Stout hit the spot.

After the gin masterclass and this one, one cannot help but be intrigued what the next instalment of The Calyx’ Masterclass series will be.

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Photos by @k.a.vv

In vino veritas

Gauchito Gil Malbec Day

Carriageworks

Sydney, Australia

April 14, 2019

Being the Argentinean equivalent to Robin Hood, Gauchito Gil enjoyed outlaw status not unlike Ned Kelly on terra australis. It is not further wondrous that with his “taking from the rich and given to the poor” ethos, he has become a veritable folk hero with the day of death of this “Patron Saint of Thieves” having become somewhat of a national holiday in the Southern part of Latin America.

Given that the Land of Silver is considered to be the mecca of the red wine known as Malbec, it makes sense for his memory to be honoured with the annual wine, tango extravaganza and empanada party that Revel has established as a renowned brand under its illustrious umbrella in Australia.

Having emerged from the entity that went under the umbrella of Bottle Shop Concepts, Revel is THE team when it comes to all things wine and fun with a wide range of events and remarkable experiences that have become fixtures on every connoisseurs social calendar, e.g. Palooza, Game of Rhones, Mould: A Cheese Festival amongst others.

While Revel’s other events always offer a carefully curated range of wine from around the globe, this one has its focus firmly on what has become known as the rich and flavourful vino with its trademark stouty, dark fruit nuances and smoky finish that is never not a delight to indulge in.

Today’s Malbec event with the carefully selector wineries, was the ultimate education platform for the  variation of nuanced flavors of Malbec, which cover an interesting range from sweet via savoury.  

A new discovery were the French varieties that are less heavy on the fruity characters and more dominant in terms of displaying bitter and at times leathery nuances along with ample acidity and spicy hints that add to the core DNA of what Malbec can be condensed down to.

It was interesting to partake in vertical tasting that some of the wineries proffered and accompanied by expert commentary, light was shed on how e.g. temperature shifts or the discrepancy between hot days and cold night result in the maturation of grapes resulting in region-specifc flavours.

Discoveries of the day include the Malbec Rosé Uco Valley, Mendoza, 2017 from boutique producer Aluvión, the emission from the Michelini’s project SuperUco, i.e. the excellent Calcerio ‘Rio’ Malbec, and Australia’s Cullen Winery with its PF Malbec, Margaret River.