When faced with the tough question of why one would ever need a stonking performance SUV like the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, it’s a rather simple case of addressing the pros and cons.

Pro: Haul ass at a track on a Saturday before lugging the entire family out to a lovely dinner on a Sunday.
Con: It devours petrol like water – unless it packs a Hemi engine – which this car does, meaning it can shut down half of its firing cylinders during the more ordain commutes.

Result? We have a winner. But not so fast.

Make no mistake, the current range-topping Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT is quite simply a wolf in wolf’s clothing. Whilst it shares the same architecture and name of the conventional American urban off-roader, everything else has been enhanced from its powerplant to the powertrain to the brakes and bodywork. It’s not exactly subtle even when it attempts to be and that’s the point – buyers from this car segment are drawn by the appeal of a weaponised people mover lurking amongst the sheep.

The 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT is one of the  examples of such a car you can get today without taking the pricier European route with names like the Mercedes GLE63 AMG and BMW X5 M. It’s bold, distinctive and brash only when called upon and that’s why it works in today’s overly politically correct society.

Power & Performance

The most formidable feature of the SRT is the heart itself. Lift open the heavily vented bonnet and it will reveal a big 6.4-litre Hemi V8 which is capable of delivering a healthy 344kW of power and 624Nm of torque.

This allows the car to hit 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds with the help of launch control and a nice eight-speed automatic transmission. Yes, you read right. Launch control in an SUV which weights over two tonnes.

Whilst the figures aim for sports car levels of performance, it’s really the intoxicating noise from the engine and exhaust alongside the haste at which the SRT moves that will captivate drivers.

The car has five modes – Auto, Sport, Tow, Track and Snow. Switch the car into Auto mode, be sensible with the throttle and you’ll average around the claimed 13-14L/100km like we did. Flick it into Sport or Track mode and the V8 comes to life with burbling glory, quicker shifts, throttle response, tighter steering and about 90 percent of torque kicking in from 2800rpm.

We didn’t get to take the car to a drag strip to test its potential but in normal driving conditions the car launched itself off the line with little effort and a bit too many smiles. Be warned though; you really need to keep an eye on the needle as the speed limit can be quickly dispatched without the driver even realising. We attribute this to the overall size and stature of the car which covers up a bit of the sensation of sitting in a car closer to the ground.

As Aunt May once said, with big power comes big responsibility. Or something rather. The SRT calls upon some big Brembo stoppers in the brake department which handled the stop-start traffic with ease and little bitting. At higher speeds it maintained our confidence, wiping off speed at a significant pace considering how heavy the car is.

A Neat Box Of Tricks

A peak inside the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT will reveal a cabin that’s been given some real love to bring it on par with some of the more pricier competition. The simple yet functional aesthetics remain distinctively American with its chunkier lines but in terms of trim quality, it’s definitely moving in the right direction.

We have heated front seats wrapped in leather and sporty Alcantara, a Bluetooth-enabled audio system which is simple enough to use with most devices and carbon fibre accents to remind you of the car you’re in.

It also retains the same internal proportions as the standard Jeep Cherokee so that means there’s decent room for you and other passengers. There’s enough stowaway points for anything like your keys, phones, bottles and sunglasses littered throughout the car whilst the boot is also a big winner, being able to carry numerous weekend bags with little effort.

Specifications & Price

There isn’t much to pick on with the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT except for maybe the stigma of American quality and lack of refinement. The SRT goes a long way to change this perception and it does so without losing its rakish American soul.

This is most evident in its wild Stormtrooper styling which comes with blacked out grille, 20-inch rims “hiding” bright red Brembos, gaping vents and flared arches. It’s slightly comical at times but it quickly backs it up with a blip of a throttle to leave any detractors stunned.

If we needed to pick on something, sensitivity of the front safety sensor which told us to brake immediately on the dash when we were just cruising along at 60km/h with nothing in front of us was probably a little startling.

It was however raining that day and one suspects that the sensor could have just picked up some reflection (this happens to my own car in parking situations when no obstacles are around it). It didn’t happen again during our time with the SRT.

The 2017 Jeep Cherokee SRT is a visceral piece of machinery which can roll around like any other SUV when you want it to and turn into quite the animal when your right foot decides to get giddy.

For that, you won’t need many options as the car comes with most of the premium appointments you’d expect from a car starting at $91,000 before on-road costs.

In terms of performance SUVs the SRT gives its more pricier competition a serious kick in the backside. It might not be as refined as a German just yet, but it’s definitely got one part of the equation right and for some, that’s enough.

The post A Wolf In Wolf's Clothing: Behind The Wheel Of The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Harrison Ford. Jason Momoa. Joaquin Phoenix. Seal. What do these handsome leading men (and Harry Potter) have in common?Along with being famous entertainment figures, they’re also the proud owners of facial scars – a quirk that, according to a study from the Universities of Liverpool and Stirling, could be a secret to their success.

Psychologists at the universities investigated the effects of facial scars by asking 147 women and 76 men to rate the attractiveness of eight strangers of the opposite sex. Half the participants were given undoctored photographs, while the other half viewed images that had been digitally manipulated to add scars to their cheeks, jawbones, or foreheads.Men’s ratings of female attractiveness were unaffected by scarring for both short-term and long-term relationships. Female participants, on the other hand, ranked men with mild facial scars as more attractive when evaluating them as short-term partners.“Women may have rated scarring as an attractive quality for short-term relationships because they found it be a symbol of masculinity,” explains study author Dr. Rob Burriss, “a feature that is linked to high testosterone levels and an indicator of good genetic qualities that can be passed on to offspring.”In other words, facial scars project a rugged bad boy vibe that’s irresistible in the context of a no-strings-attached fling. They are unconsciously viewed as a sign of strength, bravery, or an adventurous, risk-taking personality. Call it the James Bond effect – dangerous, and probably doomed, but seductive nonetheless.Conversely, a smooth and scarless appearance sends the opposite message. Men without scars are more likely to be seen as caring, cautious, and conscientious, and therefore more suitable for long-term relationships.Your girlfriend’s weird Joker fetish: explained.

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The hottest trend since hipster beards and man buns is vintage furnishings, particularly old signage. The appeal in decorating with vintage signs allows for a cool interior design that is decidedly anti-cookie-cutter and one that adds unique character and style to your home.

Whether it’s old Coca Cola signs, vintage petrol advertising, or neon signs from nightclubs that have long since shut, it can be tricky incorporating these old world items into our modern homes but not impossible. Here are the top four rules on how to make old signage work in your home.

Keep The Nostalgia In Check

Do you love old road signs and comic books? Firstly, congratulations, you have great taste. Secondly, don’t let your obsession take over the house. It’s all about moderation, so use old signage sparingly to avoid the ‘crazy collector’ look. Plus, with only one or two old school signs around, they will be allowed to enjoy the attention they deserve without being buried in a pile of nerdy paraphernalia.

Create A Feature Wall

If rule one doesn’t sit well with you and your mammoth collection of old signs, consider grouping them together to create a feature wall. Hood art is a good way to show off your team allegiance in a creative yet stylish way that is both masculine and intriguing to unsuspecting guests. For a touch of authenticity, make sure to look for or add some wear to every piece.

Every Sign Has Its Place

There are stacks of old signs up for grabs if you have the patience to shop around. From tin and porcelain to neon, wood and plastic, certain materials suit certain areas of the home.

Porcelain signs look great awesome almost anywhere, but should be saved for hallways and bathrooms. Neon signs are amazing in the bedroom or living room, while tin signs tend to suit kitchen and garage areas. However, as most tin signs from the 1920s were painted or screen printed, making them more susceptible to rust than their enabled counterparts.

If you do choose to keep tin signs in the garage or shed, make sure the space is sealed tight and well ventilated to avoid damage and rust.

Save Your Favourite Signs For Special Spots

Old sporting signage and cigarette or alcohol advertisements aren‘t everybody’s cup of tea. If you live with a partner, and especially if you have kids, keep these gems safe and looking great on your home bar, man cave or outdoor amenities (if you’re lucky enough to have any of these in your home).

The post How To Turn Old Signs Into Cool Interior Design Features appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Cards Against Humanity is celebrating the holidays as only Cards Against Humanity can. Following in the footsteps of 2015’s Black Friday nothing sale and 2016’s $100,000 hole, this year’s seasonal prank takes aim at the US Cheeto In Chief and his controversial border wall.

Dubbed Cards Against Humanity Saves America, the promotion aims to stop Donald Trump from building a wall between the United States and Mexico by purchasing a large plot of vacant land along the border. The company has also retained a law firm specialising in eminent domain to make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for the wall to be erected.

“It’s 2017, and the government is being run by a toilet,” reads the game’s website. “There’s no time for questions—now is the time to act. You give us $15, and we’ll send six America-saving surprises right to your doorstep. It will be fun, it will be weird, and if you voted for Trump, you might want to sit this one out.”

The company also revealed a hint at what those surprises might look like. On day one, recipients will get “an illustrated map of the land, a certificate of our promise to fight the wall, some new cards, and a few other surprises.” As for the remaining five days, doled out over the month of December, your guess is as good as anyone’s. With Cards Against Humanity behind the wheel, it’s sure to be irreverent, absurd, hilarious, and just a tad obscene.

The 2017 holiday package sold out a few hours after launch, but there’s still fun to be had on the website. Check out the promo video above and do not miss the FAQ, which includes gems like this:

i’m gonna buy the cards against humanity thing just for this pic.twitter.com/llQquGqu6z

— (@andalbrask) November 14, 2017

Shots fired.

The post Your Favourite Filthy Card Game Is Taking A Swipe At Donald Trump appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The fast food phenomena appears to have finally caught up with the world of whisky.

In the past decade the liquor has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks in part to its unique artesian distilling processes defined by region. This premium appeal has led to the creation of a lucrative marketplace played out between major makers from the United Kingdom, the U.S.A and Japan.

With demand for whisky showing no signs of slowing down, innovative players are now also entering the market with their own controversial processes that bend the rules of an age-old tradition – time.

What separates a good single malt whisky from an exemplary one is the time it takes to age and now there are companies claiming to be able to replicate the quality and taste of premium whiskies aged in casks for more than a decade in mere weeks.

Whilst this might be one way to secure whisky supplies in the future, it also raises questions to do with the integrity of the art, whether the taste is really as good as the real thing and the ultimate appeal of “fast whisky”.

“Created using a patented process of light and heat to speed up the maturation process.”

The companies that claim to have this technology in place includes Lost Spirits, who have won awards for their rums and single malts that have been created using a patented process of light and heat to speed up the maturation process.

Cleveland Whiskey is another distillery championing this process with whiskies and bourbon created from high-pressure stainless steel tanks which mixes the liquor with wood combinations to produce a distinct flavour in just a number of days.

Meanwhile over at Highspire Whiskey the process is more in line with the oldschool ways with an added twist. Wine barrels hold the liquor and are mixed in with oak wood chips to accelerate the maturation process to just four months. Taking things to weird new places is Tuthilltown Spirits which apparently uses music to vibrate the barrels, thus moving things along quicker.

Even one Australian whisky maker is trying their hand at the idea with Tasmania’s Deviant Distillery claiming that their single malt whisky has the “chemical composition and flavour identical to a 10-year-old whisky”.

It might all sound straight-forward in theory but there’s a lot more chemical science going on in the ageing process than just extracting the flavours from oak barrels. According to The Conversation, “chemical reactions create new molecules, many of which are credited with the properties of the longest aged whiskies“.

Currently the innovators in the game are even employing ultrasound to harness the effects of acoustic cavitation – a process which promotes the formation, growth and collapse of microscopic bubbles via a sound field, thus speeding up the ageing process and more importantly, creating the necessary esters that provide spirits with their distinctive notes.

There is a major hurdle though. All of these so-called fast whiskies can’t actually be legally called or sold as ‘whisky’ since they do not meet the regulated minimum ageing process of two years.

And once this naming convention is sorted, there remains just one other major obstacle – convincing consumers on the taste. Just as people frowned upon the idea of recycled drinking water, fast whisky will likely see a similar cold reception in its early days.

Research however indicates that there’s nothing to worry about in the palate department. The Food Safety and Measurement Facility at the University of California, studied the “chemical fingerprint” of 60 American whiskies and found that there were 30 to 50 specific compounds that made up the different tastes of whiskies.

They took this research to Lost Spirit’s offering and even published forensic data which concluded a favourable comparison to a 33-year-old whisky sample. If that’s not enough to convince the most discerning whisky snob, Lost Spirit’s Reactor Aged Islay Whisky also recently took out the “Liquid Gold” standard at the 2018 Jim Murray Whisky Bible.

Based on this observation it would appear that concept of fast whiskies is just beginning to take hold of a centuries old art form. The question is, would you try it?

The post Rogue Distillers Are Now Making 10-Year-Old Whisky In Weeks appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

It’s been a while since Robert Pattinson graced the big screen as a sparkly young vampire with an unhealthy addiction to sun safety.

Since then the 31-year-old British actor has amassed quite the reputation for his sporadic spurts of style choices which can often range from vanilla business casual to daggy layering to slim fit suits and evening wear.

His latest efforts in a tuxedo may well top it all though with Pattinson’s own simple style “hack” making its way into the classic tuxedo. Bow tie, meet the collared dress shirt.

Whilst the classic tuxedo requires a tuxedo shirt with a specific collar type to accommodate the accessory, Pattinson changed the tuxedo look entirely with a collared dress shirt worn over the black bow tie. Blasphemous? Perhaps, but it’s definitely one way to stand out for, dare we say, the right reasons.

Could it be that Pattinson simply forgot to pick up a tuxedo shirt and just opted for a white dress shirt out of his closet? Possibly. But we’d like to think he has a bit more foresight than that.

A bow tie under a dress shirt collar? We’ll let you be the judge of that. Personally we think it’s a breath of fresh air the classic look has been needing.

The post Robert Pattinson's Black Tie Hack Is What We've Been Waiting For appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Work day got you down? Looking for a mid-week pick-me-up or a respite from the dumpster fire that is 2017?

This isn’t it.

More than 15,000 scientists in 184 countries have issued a dire warning for the future of humanity, saying the continued existence of the species is severely jeopardized by climate change, deforestation, dwindling access to fresh water, species extinctions, and other forms of environmental harm.

The bleak missive, published this week in the journal BioScience, comes 25 years after the Union of Concerned Scientists and more than 1700 independent scientists penned the World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity.

The 1992 manifesto called on humankind to curtail environmental destruction and cautioned that “a great change in our stewardship of the Earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided.” Fundamental changes were imperative, they warned, if humanity was to have any hope of changing its collision course with the natural world.

More than two decades later, the course remains unaltered.

“Since 1992, with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges,” write the authors of this week’s World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice, “and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse.”

Catastrophic climate change tops the list of planetary threats. Global average temperatures have increased by more than half a degree Celsius since 1992, while annual carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 62 percent. Other concerning trends include declining access to fresh water, a rising number of ocean dead zones, deforestation, overfishing, rampant agricultural production, and rapid population growth.

And then there’s this: “We have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century.”

With over 15,000 scientists signatories throwing their support behind the second notice, it’s hard not to take a grim view of the future. Time to start saving for that ticket to Mars.

Or is it?

Amidst all that doom and gloom, the authors offer a small glimmer of hope. Reduction in ozone-depleting chemicals and an increase in energy generated from renewable sources show that positive changes can be made, the article notes. The rate of deforestation in some regions has also slowed.

If we wish to continue these positive trends, we must re-examine individual behaviours – such as diminishing our per capita consumption of fossil fuels and meat – and pressure governments take immediate action, the scientists say.

“With a groundswell of organized grassroots efforts, dogged opposition can be overcome and political leaders compelled to do the right thing,” the article concludes. “Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out. We must recognize, in our day-to-day lives and in our governing institutions, that Earth with all its life is our only home.”

RELATED: Two Mammoth Hands In Venice Highlight The Threat Of Climate Change

The post 15,000 Scientists Just Agreed Humanity Is Doomed If We Don’t Act Now appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Women seem to have a keener sense of smell than men, and some are in possession of olfactory prowess that seems almost superhuman. That lingering scent of potato salad you spilt on your bed two years ago? She can smell it.

Guys, it’s time to clean up your act and rid that man stink for good.

Clean Up Your Act

The best way to avoid funky smells and mysterious scents wafting through the house is to keep it clean at all times.

No more last minute power-cleaning before the folks come around, or hiding a mountain of dirty dishes in a cupboard before your partner arrives. It’s obvious, especially if you go overboard with the air freshener or bleach.

Bros are good at surface cleaning, but look a little closer, or move a book that’s been sitting in place for months, and the dusty, dirty truth reveals itself.

Scientists have even suggested that male dominated households are 15 times germier than ones inhabited by ladies. And germs aren’t just bad for your health, they smell rotten too. To truly eliminate bad smells you have to clean thoroughly.

So slap on the plastic gloves, buy a new toilet brush and spruce up the whole pad. Take out rubbish every day, and don’t leave a weeks worth of dirty socks sitting in your hamper. Do the laundry every couple of days and change your sheets every fortnight.

Vacuum at least once a week and mop floorboards or tiles every fortnight, or more often if you have the time. As well as the floors, be sure to dust and wipe down all your flat surfaces – tables, the top of your TV, shelves, benchtops and so on.

Make disinfectant your new best friend and change your cat’s litter box daily if it is kept indoors. Dog owners should wash their pooches regularly to keep ‘dog smell’ at bay.

Make Your Living Space Smell Awesome

Once you have a clean slate, you can do more than get rid of foul smells, you can encourage inviting ones.

Electronic Diffusers

Electronic oil diffusers are very popular at the moment, and their waxy counterpart – the candle – isn’t happy about it.

Encroaching on the candles domination of the market, oil diffusers last longer, pose less of a fire risk and are more versatile in terms of scent. Most diffusers only demand a drop or two of oil in water, which is poured into the diffuser and then turned on. Simples.

Candles

Create ambiance and banish curious smells with candles. Steer clear of dollar-shop varieties because they tend to smell offensively artificial. Instead, try better quality (soy candles are great) manly scents like vanilla and cinnamon.

Citrus is also a winner, and welcomes a sense of spring into the home without overpowering the atmosphere. Australian company The Raconteur boasts some very cool and masculine  scents across its ‘Bondi’ range which we highly recommend. Whichever scent you choose, don’t go overboard and never forget to blow them out before you leave the house or hit the hay.

Warning: Don’t use candles and excessive amounts of air freshener to mask bad smells; this is the same as spraying Lynx on two-day old armpits; you’re not fooling anyone.

Reed Diffusers

Reed diffusers are a set-and-forget alternative to candles and electronic oil diffusers. These bad boys don’t need any tending, aside from occasionally flipping the reeds, and they provide a more subtle, long-lasting aroma.

Greenhouse Interiors make some of our favourite diffusers that were specifically designed with dudes in mind.

Dryer Sheets

Dryer sheets are good for more than just your laundry. For years they’ve been used to mask the smell of illicit substances smoked inside the family home, and today they’re being used to mask more than smoke.

Place a couple in each bedroom drawer, one in the hamper, and sneakily stuff them in random corners for that freshly washed smell all day long.

Charcoal Air Freshener

We’re not big fans of ordinary air fresheners. They might mask smells, but not completely. Charcoal based products are far more effective as they neutralise, rather than mingle with, odours.

Pop a few in your closet and sock draw to keep enclosed spaces fresh as daisies. Try Eco Allure’s Bamboo Charcoal air fresheners to smell the results yourself.

The post How To Banish Man Stink From Your Home For Good appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

In the world of top drops there’s aged wine and then there’s 8,000 year-old wine. Scientists in Georgia have just unearthed the latter in a discovery which details the earliest evidence of grape wine-making amongst human civilisation.

Whilst what little remaining liquid has certainly evaporated from the earthenware jars, researchers were still able to identify residual wine compounds that originated from two sites south of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi from around 5,980 BC.

The jars were most likely for storing wine in these areas as they depicted images of grape clusters and a man dancing. Previously, the oldest evidence of wine-making was credited to pottery dating back 7,000 years which was unearthed in north-western Iran.

According to Stephen Batiuk, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto who helped publish the findings via the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), this latest artefact find is a serious window into the earl days of wine making.

“We believe this is the oldest example of the domestication of a wild-growing Eurasian grapevine solely for the production of wine,” he said.

“Wine is central to civilisation as we know it in the West. As a medicine, social lubricant, mind-altering substance and highly valued commodity, wine became the focus of religious cults, pharmacopoeias, cuisines, economies and society in the ancient Near East.”

One question still boggles the mind though: How did earlier civilisations produce their wine?

According to David Lordkipanidze who is the director of the Georgian National Museum and the man who helped lead the research, wine was made using a similar method to the gvevri process of today. “The grapes are crushed and the fruit, stems and seeds are all fermented together,” he told the BBC.

If drinking wine that’s a little bit less prehistoric sounds like a better idea then check out these cool Australian wines that won’t break the bank.

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