DMARGE exclusively spoke with Dr Bruce Isaacs, Associate Professor of Film Studies at Sydney University, to discuss why films seem to no longer feature opening credit scenes – and whether that’s a good or bad thing…

Recently, a colleague told me that his grandfather was outraged that movies seem to no longer have opening credit scenes. And I thought, ‘Ooh the old timer might be on to something’…

Think of the James Bond films where the audience looks through a gun barrel to see the 007 spy walking along before suddenly shooting directly at viewers while dramatic music plays. Or the playful jazz-fuelled blue and black illustrated opening to Catch Me If You Can.

These kinds of graphically designed opening title sequences are rare in films these days; most film’s names flash onscreen briefly during the first ten or so minutes and that’s it. Some films nowadays don’t even show its title until the end.

WATCH: The opening title sequence from Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film ‘Catch Me If You Can’…

And so, I spoke to Associate Professor of Film Studies and Director of the Film Studies Program at the University of Sydney, Dr Bruce Isaacs, to explore why opening credit scenes are progressively becoming a thing of the past.

“My own sense is that we’ve lost some of the appetite for the ‘theatricality’ of cinema, preferring films to look, feel, and convince us that they display a fully enclosed world.”

Dr Bruce Isaacs

“Once you separate a credit sequence from the action, you’re opening up a separate cinematic space, which can be quite strange for a viewer more accustomed to losing themselves in the story world of the film.”

Dr Isaacs went on to say that while he’s personally a fan of opening title sequences, there’s no consensus between film experts and critics on whether an opening credit scene enhances – or detracts from – a film; it all comes down to personal preference.

“[it is] a matter of opinion. If a credit sequence punctures the ‘reality’ of the movie, and is, therefore, a stylised set piece, it’s a very unique artistic form within the movie. I personally love credit sequences because I see them as part of a creative aesthetic separate from, but related to, the film.”

Dr Bruce Isaacs

Naturally, I couldn’t resist asking if streaming services were to blame for more and more movies choosing to forego opening credit scenes; as platforms like Netflix Australia allow users to skip opening credits with just the click of a button, which ultimately makes them redundant. Dr Isaacs thinks yes, streaming services are partly to blame but as it’s such a popular feature, there’s clearly a demand for skipping opening title sequences from films and movies.

“[It’s] a natural outcome of the viewer-determined structure of the product… [Features that allow viewers to skip opening credits] suits the binge viewing regime of streaming services. That said, I think the viewer loses something in not engaging the strange spacetime of the credit sequence.”

Dr Bruce Isaacs

The film industry is ever-changing, of course, so while opening credit scenes are unpopular now, perhaps one day most films will again feature opening credit scenes – you know what they say, history repeats itself. I hope it does, at least for my colleague’s grandpa’s sake…

• The ‘GentleMinions’ Trend Proves Hollywood Is Completely Out Of Touch
• Opinion: Despite All The Remakes, Hollywood Has Not Run Out Of Original Ideas

The post You Probably Never Noticed Films Stopped Doing This One Thing appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Ah, Airbnb. Depending on who you ask, it’s either the best thing since sliced bread and the biggest revolution the travel industry’s ever had – or it’s a blight on local communities that’s more hassle than it’s worth.

Airbnb has been particularly successful in Australia. Depending on the source, there are somewhere between 100,000 and 350,000 Airbnb properties across the country, with entire homes making up about 85% of those listings.

It’s been a total game-changer for travel Down Under, especially in remote destinations poorly served by traditional accommodation options such as hotels or hostels (and let’s be honest, you don’t always want to stay in a hostel, especially in the middle of nowhere. We’ve seen horror movies about that…)

What’s not often discussed is just how much money you can actually make renting your place out on Airbnb versus a traditional rental.

Let’s take the Gold Coast, one of the most popular domestic tourist hotspots in Australia and home to Australia’s most popular Airbnb as an example. According to Real Estate Investar, the median rent for houses on the Gold Coast is $650 per week and the average rental yield is around 4-5% (not fantastic).

In comparison, short-term rentals on the Gold Coast on Airbnb (and its slightly less well-known competitor Vrbo) average $3290 in monthly revenue, according to Airdna. That’s about 18% more than you’d make with a traditional renting relationship.

But the really important figure here is the occupancy rate. With rental properties in insane demand right now, the occupancy rate for traditional rental properties is around 99% in Australia – that is, you’re very unlikely to have an empty property that’s not generating rent for you.

In comparison, the occupancy rate for an Airbnb property on the Gold Coast right now is 61%… Which is actually really good. Your mileage will vary depending on where you are in Australia, but with summer on the horizon and domestic travel numbers still looking strong, things look pretty good in this department.

Of course, both forms of renting have their own costs. Typically, long-term renters pay for utilities, whereas Airbnb renters don’t, leaving that up to the owner, for example. There’s also the other cost with running an Airbnb: the emotional cost of the knowledge you’re destroying your neighbourhood and making the rental crisis worse…

Much to ponder.

• Opinion: Airbnbs That Don’t Provide Linen Are A Joke
• The Future Of Airbnb’s Empire Is Under Threat

The post The Pros & Cons Of Renting Your Place On Airbnb In Australia appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

A full breakdown of every controversy The Flash actor, Ezra Miller’s allegedly been involved in.

You’ve undoubtedly heard Ezra Miller’s name pop up repeatedly in the media over the last few months. This is because the 29-year-old non-binary actor has been at the heart of a few controversies; so many in fact, it’s hard to keep track.

Miller – best known for their roles in Justice League and the Fantastic Beasts franchise – just issued an apology for their past behaviour and according to Variety, has now begun treatment for “complex mental health issues.” However, if you’re wondering exactly what Miller’s apologising for, we’ve written a complete breakdown.

Miller’s trouble began back in 2020 when a now-deleted video of Miller at Prikið Kaffihús (a bar in Reykjavik) went viral on Twitter. In the video, Miller appeared to strangle and then push a woman to the ground.

Earlier this year, Variety published an article where the woman from the video confirmed that Miller did strangle and push her. In the same article, the bartender from Prikið Kaffihús claimed Miller also choked and slapped a man in an unrelated incident early in 2020 and another woman claimed that, in February of this year, Miller harassed her in her own home in Berlin.

On March 28th, Miller was arrested in Hawaii. Police allege that Miller was involved in a physical altercation with patrons at a karaoke bar after they yelled “obscenities” while patrons sang and spat in a patron’s face. Although, Miller claimed to police at the time of their arrest that they were the one who was assaulted. Just three weeks later, Miller was arrested again in Hawaii for allegedly throwing a chair at a woman – which left her with a cut on her forehead.

In early June, TMZ reported that the parents of an 18-year-old – named Tokata Iron Eyes – were asking the court to issue an order of protection against Miller on behalf of their daughter. The parents claim that Miller groomed their child; the actor apparently began a friendship with Tokata back in 2016 when they were 23 and she was 12.

They also claim that over the years, Miller has supplied Tokata with alcohol, marijuana and LSD. Court documents state that Tokata’s parents believe “[Miller] uses violence, intimidation, threat of violence, fear, paranoia, delusions, and drugs to hold sway over a young adolescent Tokata.”

Although Tokata herself has said via an Instagram post that her parents’ allegations “hold no weight” and Miller, her “comrade”, has only provided her with “loving support” after a friend of hers passed away.

Shortly after this story surfaced, The Daily Beast announced that a mother and her 12-year-old child were granted a temporary harassment prevention order against Miller. The mother said she and her child had multiple encounters with Miller where he was allegedly menacing and inappropriate.

WATCH: Body cam footage of Ezra Miller’s arrest in Hawaii…

It was reported that one incident included Miller allegedly saying, “Talking like that could get you into a really serious situation,” while opening their jacket to reveal a gun. Another included Miller allegedly saying, “I’ve talked extensively with your child, and they have a lot of power to them. At one point, you’re going to realize that you don’t have any control over them anymore. They’re an elevated being, and they would be lucky to have someone like me guide them.”

Around the same time, Rolling Stone published an article detailing that Miller’s Vermont home allegedly has “unattended guns strewn around” the property and a “sizable cannabis farm” which sources claim are unsuitable for the 25-year-old mother and her three young children that live on Miller’s 96-acre property.

Just days ago, Rolling Stone further reported that Vermont’s Child Services and Vermont State Police have now gotten involved – the police are currently trying to locate the woman and her children to serve her with an emergency care order that demands her children are removed from Miller’s farm and her care.

And finally, last week on August 8th, Miller was arrested for burglary. Allegedly, Miller broke into a Stamford residence while the homeowners weren’t home and stole several bottles of alcohol.

We’re just glad that Miller is finally getting the mental health treatment that they clearly need but we can’t help but wonder how the upcoming film, The Flash – which stars Miller as the titular character – will go at the box office as it’s clear that Warner Bros. is not going to cancel the film or reshoot it with another actor despite all the controversy surrounding Miller.

• Tom Cruise Allegedly Wanted To Be A Catholic Priest
• Brendan Fraser Is Back, Baby

The post Ezra Miller: A Look At ‘The Flash’ Star’s Infamous Rap Sheet appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

A traveller has taken to Reddit to share the story of finding two dirty undergarments hidden underneath the sheets of their bed.

A traveller has let their grievances fly on Reddit. Over what? They found a couple of dirty pairs of undies in the bed of their Airbnb. The traveller, who goes by the username u/SideRepresentative, wrote the following in disgust on Monday: “Our airbnb said [they] dont strip the sheets. We did anyway to be nice, and found these two dirty undergarments. im [sic] just so disgusted.”

“I did check for cameras but don’t really know what to look for, my fiance checked too and he didn’t find anything either. The owner claimed its [sic] theirs, and got wrapped up when they washed the sheets.”

“Am I the only one who thinks it’s pretty weird to wash your personal underwear with sheets you give to total strangers? They also had not one napkin in the house. No paper towels. I had to use toilet paper as my napkin for dinner… and it was SINGLE PLY.”

RELATED: Indulgent Airbnb Trend Australia Can’t Get Enough Of

For good measure, they included the following photo for reference.

The post inspired comments of both the sympathetic and the fun-poking varieties. One user wrote: “Well, they warned you…” Another said: “This is sus as fuck. ‘Don’t strip the sheets coz we don’t bother to change them between guests and just leave them on.’ Did you check the room for cameras? If they’re that gross you don’t know what they get up to.”

Another played devil’s advocate, writing: “To me, it looks like these undies may have been clumped up with the sheets after they came out.”

Along the same lines, another Reddit user said: “As someone who washes my smaller blankets with clothing occasionally, you don’t notice.”

“I’ll get all cozy and suddenly find a fuckin sock in my bed that was wrapped in the blanket.”

Reddit user EssieAmnesia

“But wouldn’t you notice them when you make the bed?!” another asked (to which another replied: “In my experience, sometimes yes and sometimes no”).

An additional shocked commenter wrote: “One, they’re running a business, and they shouldn’t be washing sheets for their business with their own clothes. If they’re claiming washing on their taxes, this would be very illegal. Two, if they’re washing their underwear with the sheets, it’s possible they aren’t using bleach or hot water.”

“Three, because they’re running a business, they should be using hot water and/or bleach to ensure the germs are properly killed. This is just lazy and possibly illegal.”

RELATED: Wild Bali Photo Depicts Airbnb Feature You’d Never Find In Australia

There you have it. Much ado about nothing or a good reason to never again leave the safety of your own house? You be the judge…

• Opinion: Airbnbs That Don’t Provide Linen Are A Joke
• Traveller’s Creepy Airbnb Experience Leaves America Stunned

The post Traveller Slams Holiday Rental For Disgusting Find In Bed appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The Formula 1 world has been rocked in recent weeks by the drama surrounding 21-year-old Australian driver Oscar Piastri, with two of the sport’s biggest names – McLaren and Alpine – fighting over the young star, despite the fact he’s not even in F1 yet… But it seems both teams have f*cked up big time, and they’re both f*cking up Piastri’s future.

For those out of the loop or not complete F1 tragics like me, here’s the situation. Piastri, a Melbourne boy who was part of the Alpine (formerly Renault) Driver Academy, is one of the most talented young drivers in world motorsport and is widely considered future World Champion material.

The 21-year-old has won 3 titles in 3 years – the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup, the 2020 Formula 3 championship and the 2021 Formula 2 championship (the latter of which he both won in his rookie years in each category, a huge achievement) – but in what felt like a huge miscarriage of justice, found himself without a seat in F1 for 2022.

When you win F2, you’re no longer allowed to compete in the series, so Piastri instead took a reserve driver role at Alpine this year, with the understanding that he’d be racing in F1 in 2023 – either with Alpine or as a loan to back-marker team Williams. Instead, Piastri’s future looks increasingly uncertain.

On the 28th of July, Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel took everyone by surprise by announcing his retirement at the end of the 2022 season. Then, just days later, Fernando Alonso announced he was leaving Alpine to take Seb’s spot at Aston Martin – an even more surprising move.

When Alonso announced his departure, Piastri’s move to Alpine seemed like a foregone conclusion. With Alonso gone, it would seem natural that Alpine would give him the spot – and indeed, that’s what the team announced publically. Then, hours later, Oscar responded, saying that Alpine hadn’t consulted him first and that he wouldn’t be racing with them next year, in a now infamous Tweet.

I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.

— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 2, 2022

Then it emerged that Piastri and his manager, former F1 driver and fellow Aussie Mark Webber, had been in talks with McLaren, who want Piastri to take Daniel Ricciardo’s seat at the team. As you can see, there’s a lot of drama here… We bet Netflix are licking their lips – Drive To Survive Season 5 will be spicy.

RELATED: Drive To Survive S4 Review: The Most Intense Formula 1 Season Yet

Now that the dust has settled a bit, it looks like this is what’s happened. Alpine was assuming that Alonso was going to sign another contract with them for 2023, with current Alpine driver Esteban Ocon having already signed until 2024. Alonso’s been in cracking form this year, so Alpine wanted to keep him around.

Instead, it’s emerged that Alonso and his manager, former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore, were dragging things out, giving Alpine the impression they were going to resign with them… Only to jump on the Aston Martin deal and leave Alpine with their pants down.

There could be an element of Briatore exacting revenge on his former team here, or Alonso and Webber colluding (the pair are quite close). Webber is also very close with McLaren’s team boss, Andreas Seidl.

At the same time, Alpine hadn’t committed to Piastri, leaving him in the lurch without a concrete deal… Then, August 1st passed, which left Piastri as a free agent without a deal, meaning he was entirely within his rights to approach McLaren.

Alpine tried to force Piastri’s hand by making a public announcement that he’d be racing for them next year, a gamble that clearly didn’t pay off.

Now we’re in a sticky situation where both teams feel as if they’ve got a valid contract with Piastri, with the situation being taken to the FIA’s Driver Contract Recognition Board (CRB) – who has said both contracts are valid. Alpine has threatened to file a civil lawsuit to recoup the millions of dollars it’s spent training Piastri, and that might be where things are headed.

The problem is that regardless of whoever Piastri ends up racing for next year, he’s being set up for failure – just like McLaren set Ricciardo up for failure.

If Alpine win out and force Piastri to race for them in 2023, he’s unlikely to produce the results they might have expected from him. Piastri doesn’t have a petulant temperament by any means, but history’s shown us that when you force a driver to race for you, they don’t tend to race at their best. In short? Alpine has screwed the pooch big time.

Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer has been exceptionally dramatic about the whole situation, scathingly telling Spanish publication El Confidencial “I expected more loyalty from Oscar than he is showing.”

“There should be some loyalty to the fact that we have invested literally millions and millions of euros to prepare him. So I don’t understand it either, you should ask him.”

Otmar Szafnauer

You can understand Szafnauer’s frustration to an extent… But it’s a bit rich. Loyalty cuts two ways and it seems as if Alpine hasn’t done right by Piastri, and now they’ve got sour grapes. ABC Sports‘ Michael Doyle’s analysis has adroitly summed up the situation:

“On face value, Szafnauer is portraying a man angered by the disrespect of an ungrateful youngster who has not yet raced in F1. But look a little closer and it comes across as a public relations stunt to hide Alpine’s colossal mismanagement of one of the sport’s hottest prospects.”

“Szafnauer admitted he was shocked by Alonso’s defection… That means Alpine’s perfect scenario was having Alonso and Ocon as drivers for next season, leaving Piastri to spend at least another year as a reserve driver. No riches, no fame and no racing.”

“Piastri, knowing his value, rightfully looked elsewhere… It appears Piastri has found a team that sees his value.”

Michael Doyle

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher (brother of Michael) has also weighed into the situation, telling Germany’s Sky F1 that “Piastri has done everything right”.

“Now we can only hope that the sore loser – in this case Alpine – doesn’t put obstacles in the boy’s path. Piastri was with them, they had everything in hand, all they had to do was give him a contract… Oscar did nothing wrong.”

“I like Otmar, but he will be disappointed in his own performance, that he didn’t see it coming with Alonso and that he doesn’t have a plan B. That’s the embarrassing thing about the whole saga.”

Ralf Schumacher

“[Piastri] won Formula 3 in his first year, and Formula 2 as well. What should he be waiting for? I would have done the same if I had been offered a job… When you have such a jewel, it’s criminal to let him go. If you’re then unable to get the contracts right yourself, you can’t blame the young man.”

That said, if Piastri heads to McLaren, he probably won’t do much better. McLaren is already a team that’s suffering money problems and if they’re forced to not only pay court costs to secure Piastri but pay out Ricciardo – who’s asking US$21 million to get out of his contract – they’ll be seriously feeling the pinch.

F1 is an expensive sport and even with the cost cap theoretically keeping things under control, you need every dollar you can rustle together to succeed.

RELATED: How Much It Costs To Run A Formula 1 Race

Ricciardo has made his position crystal clear: he wants to race with McLaren in 2023. $21 million is an absurd amount of money but it shouldn’t distract from the fact that McLaren has done him dirty with this underhanded Piastri deal, as well as just in general.

It’s just so dumb. If McLaren can’t build a race-winning car because they’re short on funds – or for whatever reason – then it doesn’t matter who’s driving it. It also speaks to a more fundamental, systemic issue with McLaren: the team keeps using drivers and other external factors as excuses to mask the fact they don’t have their shit together.

McLaren went from being one of the sport’s most successful teams, particularly under Ron Dennis, to a veritable back-marker, after the triple blow of 2007’s Spygate, the 2008 global financial crisis and the loss of Dennis. They’ve been struggling ever since.

They blamed their Honda engines for their poor performance from 2015 to 2017 – only to swap to Renault engines and show it wasn’t just the engines that were stopping them from getting on the podium. Then they ditched Alonso and Jenson Button – both former World Champions – when they apparently failed to deliver.

McLaren is in a far better place now than they were a decade ago but they’re still up to their old tricks, throwing Ricciardo under the bus to hide the fact there are bigger issues in the team.

Ricciardo needs to own his own failures but to a significant extent, his failure to launch at McLaren isn’t his fault. Both the 2021 and 2022 cars have been completely at odds with Ricciardo’s driving style and McLaren hasn’t done enough to improve their cars, or at the very least, meet Danny Ric halfway.

For all the criticism levelled Ricciardo’s way, it must be remembered that he’s done what no other driver has been able to do for Mclaren for over a decade – win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and on his own merit, too. Yes, his performance otherwise has been pretty average and inconsistent, but many fans and commentators have forgotten that.

RELATED: Former World Champion Claims “Daniel Ricciardo’s Time At McLaren Is Over”

It also begs the question: if Lando Norris, the unspoken figure in all this drama, can’t win a race with a car that’s been totally designed around him and with a team that’s also entirely in his corner – yet his teammate, who doesn’t have that privilege, can – how good is he really?

Norris, who signed a new deal with McLaren until the end of 2025 earlier this year, is undoubtedly a good driver but both the media (particularly the British media) and his team have overhyped him ridiculously. Don’t forget, Norris has never won a race in F1.

Yet it’s Danny Ric who’s facing the chopping block. Is it really because he’s over the hill, or is it because he’s too expensive? Is it because he’s not British, and Lando is? Or is it because McLaren doesn’t have its act together and he’s a convenient scapegoat?

Maybe Piastri will defy the odds and succeed at McLaren where his countryman didn’t. We’re not optimistic about that though, especially when you compare Alpine’s performance this season with McLaren’s. Alpine is a team that’s on the up, while McLaren seems to be wallowing.

At the end of the day, this Piastri drama seems to be a case of Gallic arrogance and British foolhardiness playing chicken with the future of a young Australian (ignoring the fact that both Otmar and McLaren CEO Zak Brown are American – just work with me on this one).

We just hope all this drama doesn’t ruin Piastri’s F1 prospects before he’s even had the chance to compete in the sport.

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The post Alpine & McLaren Have Both Screwed Oscar Piastri Over appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

During a recent flight, a man allegedly used Air New Zealand’s in-flight chat function to ultra creepy effect. The man used the chat feature to ask a woman “where you staying?” and was so weird and persistent that she ended up blocking him (and making a TikTok video about the experience which has now been viewed millions of times).

Georgia-May Davis, who describes herself as an “actor, idiot [and] Aussie,” recently exposed the super creepy behaviour of a man called “Chad” on a flight. According to Davis, the man messaged her using Air New Zealand’s in-flight chat feature, asking “hru?”. When she replied “lol good” he then asked: “where you stayin… I’m tryna hit.”

She then replied “what!” and he responded, “prolly come say hey l8”. At this point, Davis can be seen in the video reaching for the “block user” button. Davis also included such captions in and around the video as “I can’t believe this happened on my flight” and “you lost me at Chad.”

WATCH: Georgia-May Davis Shares The Details Of The Creepy Chat In The Video Below

A calvacade of comments flew in on the video, which has been viewed 3.9 million times at the time of writing, asking “which airline” and (some variation of) “wait, airlines have chats?” (as well as things like “did you take a peek who Chad is?”).

Some people said they couldn’t wait to chat to people on their next flight (“Omfg wait I wanna chat w people on planes what airline is this”) while others said it gave them cause for concern (“oh yay another thing to worry about when traveling alone”).

Others questioned if it was real story (one wrote: “this was staged she’s in business too it’s 100% whoever she’s flying with”) and yet others shared their own stories (one tagged their friend and commented: “remember when you added the whole plane” while another said: “I’ve had this on Alaska Airlines”).

@georgiamaydavis Replying to @Lindsay Greenberg apparently there isn’t #chad #chadfilter #seatchat ♬ Super Freaky Girl – Nicki Minaj

Davis wrote in the comments: “My ex-boyfriend was called ‘Chad’ so trust me when I say it wasn’t.” She also posted a follow up video in which she claims her ex texted her asking for the video to be removed, to which she replied: “there’s more than one Chad? Lol.”

RELATED: Woman Upgraded To First Class After Seatmate’s Creepy Behaviour

If true, it’s creepy behaviour indeed. Almost as weird (arguably weirder?) than the guy who was sprung editing a dick pic on a flight over in the United States. Flying in the (over) friendly skies indeed.

• Business Class Passenger Kicked Off Flight After ‘Sneaky’ Act
• Woman’s Rude Act Sparks Controversial Plane Etiquette Debate 

The post Australian Woman Exposes Man’s Super Creepy Behaviour On Flight appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The elusive rapper is back in the headlines and back on social media again – and he’s taken the opportunity to show off a watch that his fans have been hoping to see for years.

Frank Ocean is an enigma. The 34-year-old artist’s two studio albums, 2012’s Channel Orange and 2016’s Blonde, rank as two of the most highly acclaimed hip-hop records of all time – yet since Blonde, he’s kept an exceedingly low profile, only releasing a sparse few singles and features and staying out of the spotlight.

Last year, Frank surprised fans by unveiling not an album, but a jewellery brand called Homer – which has quickly become a favourite of the fashion-forward as well as fellow celebrities like Drake, who was spotted rocking a Homer chain worth a whopping US$1.9 million.

Homer’s been in the news lately after the brand released an 18ct gold, diamond-studded cock ring worth US$25,000. As you do. Frank’s not fazed though – if anything, he’s doubled down with the ostentatiousness, taking to Instagram to show off a Richard Mille watch worth ten times that.

The watch in question is called the RM 37-01 Automatic Kiwi, and was released back in 2019 as part of the high-end Swiss watchmaker’s Bonbon Collection, which revolved around watches with sweet-related designs – an unusually whimsical collection from a brand that’s renowned for its cutting-edge, tech-heavy watches.

RELATED: Rapper Meek Mill Spotted Wearing The Most Bizarre Richard Mille Watch Ever

As the lavish watch’s name implies, it features a green colour scheme, with fruit and candy motifs throughout the watch. Hand-lacquered miniature sweets cover the watch’s dial, with even the watch’s crown resembling a licorice twist.

These fruity design elements are juxtaposed by its high-tech construction, with its case and bezels crafted from a unique mixture of carbon fibre and quartz composites plus a dial and movement largely constructed from grade 5 titanium.

It’s an absolutely outrageous watch that only a rapper like Frank Ocean could pull off. Actually, he’s even rapped about this watch on his 2019 single, In My Room. We reckon he should buy some more Millies – might give him something to rap about and we’ll get more music…

• Richard Mille & Ferrari Create The Thinnest Watch In The World
• Rare $2.6 Million Richard Mille Prototype Surfaces For Sale Online

The post Frank Ocean’s $250,000 Richard Mille Watch Is A Bit Fruity appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

More and more Australian men are seeking cosmetic procedures such as Botox, and it’s a direct result of COVID – just not in the way you might think...

First introduced to the general public in the late 1980s, Botox – which is widely used in cosmetic procedures to reduce wrinkles and has become shorthand for a wide variety of injectables – is now a billion-dollar industry. Yet it’s an industry and procedure we most commonly associate with women.

Yet an increasing number of men have started seeking Botox (or ‘Brotox’, as it’s commonly called), with interest in these sorts of procedures skyrocketing during the pandemic.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, over the last 20 years, there has been a 99% increase in men receiving injectables. Moreover, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons reports there has been a further 70% rise in requests for video consultations for new cosmetic procedures since COVID.

Australian surgeons are seeing a similar rise in interest, too. But why? DMARGE spoke with Dr Josh Wall, one of Australia’s best-known cosmetic doctors and Medical Director at Contour Clinics, who explained how working from home during COVID has forced men to take a good, hard look at ourselves – quite literally, in fact.

“One major outcome of the COVID pandemic has been the use of webcams for people working from home and using Zoom to interact,” he explains.

“It’s drawn attention to specific areas of the face that were previously unseen; people are seeing themselves from different angles, and those angles are not flattering. During the pandemic, the average businessman was at home comparing himself to other males, with that camera screen showing asymmetry and other facial quirks he hadn’t ever noticed until then. The ageing process and imperfections stood out like never before.”

“We have patients seeing us before a job interview – specifically for the interview – and they are driven by that reason, particularly if they are middle-aged and beyond.”

Dr Josh Wall

“From our perspective and based on our bookings, it seems as though ageism is on the rise in the workplace. People are more aware now than ever before of how they present physically, no matter how qualified they are to do the job.”

RELATED: Commentary Around LeBron James’ Achievements Shows ‘Ageism’ Is Still Alive & Well

A recent report by the Australian Human Rights Commission titled What’s age got to do with it? A snapshot of ageism across the Australian lifespan has revealed that ageism is more than just some Baby Boomer whinge. It found that 90% of Australians its researchers spoke to believe that ageism exists, 83% say it is a problem, and 63% had experienced ageism in the past five years.

The survey also found that those in the 40-61 year age group are most likely to encounter ageism in being turned down for a job, while those above 62 years of age will experience it by being “helped” without being asked, ABC News reports.

No wonder, then, that Aussie men want to look younger than they are by pursuing cosmetic procedures like Brotox.

Dr Wall also points out that the kinds of procedures men are seeking are different to what women are seeking, and the way men get Botox is very different to the way women get Botox.

“Firstly, men often choose not to treat frown lines – also called elevenses – because they feel a strong frown is a masculinising feature. Men do like to treat their forehead lines,” he points out.

“When we treat this area, we make sure the brow isn’t raised at its outer aspects. Masculine-looking brows are flat, without an obvious outer brow flare. Males are often also heavier in their brows. If the forehead is overtreated in those with a heavy brow, it can worsen the heaviness and lead to a sensation of facial fatigue. We avoid this complication by not injecting too close to the brow.”

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“One area affects another, though,” he adds. “With age, men lose their fat compartments from the mid-face, making them look very tired, which is why men benefit from Brotox around the eyes. Treating this area helps men look more awake and refreshed.”

“It’s worth noting the tendency for males to require 25-50% more anti-wrinkle product for their procedures. This is purely owing to greater muscle strength than in females.”

Dr Josh Wall

Another procedure Aussie men are increasingly seeking is dermal fillers, which enhance and define your jawline, Dr Wall says.

“We are seeing a huge rise in treatments that focus on masculinisation – think a strong jaw, chiselled chin and so on. Fillers can be placed in these areas to sculpt and define, so those with a soft jawline or weak chin can correct these issues and feel more masculine in their appearance.”

“There’s also such thing as non-surgical rhinoplasty. This is basically a nose job that simply uses fillers to smooth out a crooked nose shape. It’s not surgical, it’s just injections of the dermal filler. But it gives amazing results for people who have lumps and bumps or a hooked nose and want it to look more streamlined.”

Some men are even seeking ‘Scrotox’ – which is exactly what you think it is…

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The post Australia’s ‘Brotox’ Boom Shows How Men Are Struggling In The Workplace appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Co-founder of Immutable (a market leader in blockchain gaming) and Australia’s youngest rich lister, Robbie Ferguson says riding out the current crypto winter is reasonably easy for him and his company because he’s been there before. He’s tipping a crypto rebound (though he didn’t say when) and recently spoke to the Australian Financial Review about how he’s riding out this bearish period.

Australian rich-lister Robbie Ferguson recently sat down with the Australian Financial Review’s How I Made It podcast. Amid other interesting insights (like the fact he grew up “obsessed… with debating and model UN”) and the fact that he was a “massive nerd [who] read a tonne of fantasy and science fiction” (which he says was the “best form of education”) he also shared a couple of insights into how he’s looking at the broader crypto market.

We figured crypto investors and enthusiasts might find these interesting. So: have at them. This is what Robbie Ferguson said when queried about how the broader market downturn is impacting his business. First up, Ferguson said this current downturn is not that much of a shock to the system for him, because he’s seen crypto winters before (he even co-founded his company in one).

“It’s reasonably easy for us to get through this right now,” he told How I Made It. “We have a few hundred million dollars [and] Immutable was born into one of the biggest bear markets in crypto of all time, which was in 2018. That really forced us to focus on developing a product that people want to use rather than papering over it with a bull market, incentives and crazy token prices.”

“Instead we had to develop a game where the benefit is not speculating on expensive assets but it’s instead the items inside the video game you own or trade. Maybe you trade it for 50 cents or a dollar and that focus on building a product people actually want to use was imperative.”

“We focussed on revenue and establishing something people wanted to use and pay for because that was where we could demonstrate value rather than just an idea.”

Robbie Ferguson

“The second thing,” Ferguson mentioned, was “[we] focussed on creating a community where the focus is not ‘what is the price of Bitcoin or Ethereum?’ but instead ‘what value are we delivering to players?'”

He added: “Gaming as a section of Web 3 is the biggest allocation of web 3 capital. There are more than 50 billion dollars earmarked for web 3 in VC money right now and there has been more than 8 billion invested into Web 3 games in the last 18 months – that’s almost more than total gaming investments from 2000 to 2010.”

“Of course, people have to manage their cash through that – they have to make sure they can get to the next run – but equally the funding has not gone away.”

The focus for now, he says, is using the fortunate position they’ve found themselves in, to build a strong base and keep ahead of competitors: “Ultimately it’s always a competitive game and now we can build a strong platform and continue [our] hiring spree.”

Ferguson also recently opined on Twitter, after visiting Korea: “You cannot visit this country and not leave unbelievably bullish on web3 gaming.”

GN, Korea.

You cannot visit this country and not leave unbelievably bullish on web3 gaming.

— Robbie Ferguson ⓧ – Hiring! (@0xferg) August 12, 2022

How I Made It also interviewed Ferguson about his education and how he got into the blockchain gaming space (he went to Knox Grammar, where he was Dux of his year, then the University of Sydney, where he completed two years of his degree before dropping out to pursue his business, as it started making millions of dollars).

He said he spent a lot of his adolescence playing computer games, and that he was not a motivated student until year 12. He said he probably spent a few thousand hours playing League Of Legends and Runescape (strategy computer games with in-game economies). He said he was not particularly good at the games but the experience formed the basis of what he later built his career on.

$8B has been invested into web3 games in the last 18 months alone.

“If we threw this much money as a toaster, it would do something remarkable.”

The shift to real digital property rights is inevitable.https://t.co/ulh98cgdMQ

— Robbie Ferguson ⓧ – Hiring! (@0xferg) August 5, 2022

The biggest breakthrough came when, while studying a dual degree in Law and Computer science, in the 2017 Christmas holidays, he decided to build Ether Bots – the first ever multi-player game in a blockchain. Though the concept was clunky by today’s standards (“if you play a round of it today it will cost you thousands of dollars in transaction fees so we learnt early on how these games need to be built and scaled”), it went viral, made a lot of money, and taught Ferguson a lot.

Back to the state of the crypto market though – as DMARGE Money correspondent Tom Mitchelhill wrote at the start of this month – many believe this latest winter is just a flesh wound, and Blockchain-based tech is only just getting started (while the bear market wipes out projects that lack solid fundamentals).

In the end, only time (and perhaps Elon Musk’s tweets) will tell.

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The post Australian Rich Lister Tips Crypto Comeback appeared first on DMARGE Australia.