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The Age
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
One man's mission to prove Sydney still has a soul
Asani has maintained such a tone as his content has proliferated. His page has identified various 'Sydney creatures' through classifications and attributes such as the 'amazing' eyebrows on a Lebanese man who grew up in 'the area' – a local term for western Sydney – in the early 2000s, or the fact that an 'old lady from the upper north shore' makes the perfect cup of tea. Last year he published a 'mullet map' which showed how the hairstyle differed on heads across the city. To Asani, the hyper-local nature of his jokes and celebratory undertones of his page are part of a worldview best summarised as 'getting people to care about Sydney'. 'My memes are short glimpses and moments in Sydney, and just showing how colourful Sydney is because it has a reputation as being a bit soulless or cultureless, especially compared to Melbourne,' he says. 'People talk about Sydney as being very corporate or being very commercial, and it is really important to me to say, no, actually, Sydney does have a soul.' Asani says that some people are attracted to the page out of a curiosity about different parts of Sydney, with clichés in some areas unknown elsewhere. Loading 'I want people in the northern beaches to be curious about people in western Sydney, and vice versa,' he says. 'I think there are stories and jokes they don't know about each other.' The Monkey Boy page works hard to deliver, with Asani at times posting many times a week. As well as geographically focused content, he makes memes relating to current affairs; elections, union negotiations with the state government, the weather and the Easter Show have all previously featured. Beyond giving his comedic and storytelling instincts an outlet, Asani is motivated by a desire to provide local content. In the absence of TV shows and movies set in and about Sydney, Asani believes a page like his can fill a gap, sharing the many stories the city has to tell. 'I think there is a need for local content,' he says. 'People love it, and the internet has made it more accessible. 'TV channels and media companies don't find it feasible to make shows only about Sydney, but I can. I have no overheads; I can tell the stories I want to.' With such a passionate belief in telling Australian stories, Asani sees himself as a 'kind of nationalist'. 'I think we need to uplift Australian creators. You need to choose Aussie artists over the foreign artists. I definitely, definitely have always viewed myself as someone that champions Australian stories.' But while he wants to celebrate Sydney, Asani is also concerned by the direction the city is taking. To Asani, young people being priced out of housing presents an existential problem to the city and its culture by impeding social movement for young people, restricting them to areas they can afford, and diluting the cultural power that comes with economic freedom. He worries that, without a solution, Sydney could become 'like Dubai', where 'working-class people are in the shadows, and the city is a bit soulless'. 'Even rich people lose out,' he says. 'Who do they think start cool cafes or do any of the cool stuff in the city? It is always working-class people. They bring the culture, and it will be a real shame if they are priced out.'
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
One man's mission to prove Sydney still has a soul
Asani has maintained such a tone as his content has proliferated. His page has identified various 'Sydney creatures' through classifications and attributes such as the 'amazing' eyebrows on a Lebanese man who grew up in 'the area' – a local term for western Sydney – in the early 2000s, or the fact that an 'old lady from the upper north shore' makes the perfect cup of tea. Last year he published a 'mullet map' which showed how the hairstyle differed on heads across the city. To Asani, the hyper-local nature of his jokes and celebratory undertones of his page are part of a worldview best summarised as 'getting people to care about Sydney'. 'My memes are short glimpses and moments in Sydney, and just showing how colourful Sydney is because it has a reputation as being a bit soulless or cultureless, especially compared to Melbourne,' he says. 'People talk about Sydney as being very corporate or being very commercial, and it is really important to me to say, no, actually, Sydney does have a soul.' Asani says that some people are attracted to the page out of a curiosity about different parts of Sydney, with clichés in some areas unknown elsewhere. Loading 'I want people in the northern beaches to be curious about people in western Sydney, and vice versa,' he says. 'I think there are stories and jokes they don't know about each other.' The Monkey Boy page works hard to deliver, with Asani at times posting many times a week. As well as geographically focused content, he makes memes relating to current affairs; elections, union negotiations with the state government, the weather and the Easter Show have all previously featured. Beyond giving his comedic and storytelling instincts an outlet, Asani is motivated by a desire to provide local content. In the absence of TV shows and movies set in and about Sydney, Asani believes a page like his can fill a gap, sharing the many stories the city has to tell. 'I think there is a need for local content,' he says. 'People love it, and the internet has made it more accessible. 'TV channels and media companies don't find it feasible to make shows only about Sydney, but I can. I have no overheads; I can tell the stories I want to.' With such a passionate belief in telling Australian stories, Asani sees himself as a 'kind of nationalist'. 'I think we need to uplift Australian creators. You need to choose Aussie artists over the foreign artists. I definitely, definitely have always viewed myself as someone that champions Australian stories.' But while he wants to celebrate Sydney, Asani is also concerned by the direction the city is taking. To Asani, young people being priced out of housing presents an existential problem to the city and its culture by impeding social movement for young people, restricting them to areas they can afford, and diluting the cultural power that comes with economic freedom. He worries that, without a solution, Sydney could become 'like Dubai', where 'working-class people are in the shadows, and the city is a bit soulless'. 'Even rich people lose out,' he says. 'Who do they think start cool cafes or do any of the cool stuff in the city? It is always working-class people. They bring the culture, and it will be a real shame if they are priced out.'
Sydney Morning Herald
03-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘The world moves on': Swans push case for dramatic SCG revamp, expansion
'I'm a real estate person. You can't have real estate that is as valuable as the SCG and that whole precinct, and have it underutilised. It's just crazy.' Venues NSW is reviewing the condition of the three stands, pulling together previous master plans for the stadium and adapting them to account for changes to the Moore Park precinct following the rebuilding of Allianz Stadium, to create a vision for the new SCG. However, no funding commitments have been made by the NSW government. 'Venues NSW will be undertaking a condition assessment of the O'Reilly, Brewongle and Churchill stands. The focus of this assessment will be to ensure the facilities meet the modern needs of fans,' said a spokesperson for Venues NSW. If the O'Reilly, Brewongle and Churchill stands are demolished, it is presumed there will finally be room to be able to facilitate a drop-in wicket at the SCG – a contentious change the Swans have long pushed for, but now has tentative support from Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg. Pridham, however, does not buy the argument that it is not possible to do now due to logistical issues. 'I wasn't born yesterday,' he said. 'I don't accept the argument. In fact, I know it's not correct that you couldn't do a drop in wicket. There is sufficient technology today. I mean, we landed on the moon in 1969, so they can put a drop in wicket in the SCG tomorrow. 'That's a bit of a furphy that argument. The other argument is that they need somewhere to grow the grass ... there's plenty of grass around the SCG, and it's really a matter of will from the government to make it happen. I don't think it should be dependent on redevelopment of the grandstands, albeit I think they're both important.' Another issue Pridham is firm on is the prospect of sharing the SCG with the Giants, who have previously flagged interest in playing a home game there during the period in which Engie Stadium is unavailable due to the Easter Show. 'It's not happening, so it's not worth discussing,' he said. The Giants are now reportedly exploring the possibility of selling a home game to a Melbourne-based club and hosting them at the MCG. As for matters on the field, Pridham has been disappointed by the Swans' 2-5 start to the season, their first under Dean Cox, but provided unequivocal support for the new head coach, who is grappling with a difficult injury crisis, which means they will field another vastly under-strength team on Sunday. 'It's not the start we wanted nor expected – but it's not unprecedented,' he said. 'I still remain optimistic. Clearly we've got to improve, but I think we've got a lot of improvement in us. There's no excuses in footy. You either win or lose. But look, [Cox is] doing a fantastic job. Everyone's really, really happy with what he's doing. Circumstances haven't been great for him in terms of the injuries. The fixture's obviously also been tough. There are circumstances, but we never like to make excuses. He would never make excuses either. We've just got to get better.' Beneath the AFL, however, Pridham expressed 'real concern' about the state of the code in Sydney at grassroots level, particularly when it comes to participation rates for boys and men, although the boom in numbers for girls and women was a bright spot. Loading 'In terms of male participation, in metro Sydney, including the western suburbs, I think it's going backwards, and it's very, very disappointing,' he said. 'It's actually a significant concern. A lot of clubs are having to merge due to lack of players, due to lack of facilities. It's a real problem, and we're very focused on what the AFL and the Swans and the Giants can do together to try and stem the flow. If you look at the growth of the game in Queensland, for example, it really is chalk and cheese. 'There's a lot of work to be done, and it's a vast, vast geographical area, so it's challenging. There's definitely no quick fixes. It's just time, it's shoe leather, it's inspiration, investment – it's a slow burn. It's not glamorous, but you've just got to keep at it.'
The Age
03-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
‘The world moves on': Swans push case for dramatic SCG revamp, expansion
'I'm a real estate person. You can't have real estate that is as valuable as the SCG and that whole precinct, and have it underutilised. It's just crazy.' Venues NSW is reviewing the condition of the three stands, pulling together previous master plans for the stadium and adapting them to account for changes to the Moore Park precinct following the rebuilding of Allianz Stadium, to create a vision for the new SCG. However, no funding commitments have been made by the NSW government. 'Venues NSW will be undertaking a condition assessment of the O'Reilly, Brewongle and Churchill stands. The focus of this assessment will be to ensure the facilities meet the modern needs of fans,' said a spokesperson for Venues NSW. If the O'Reilly, Brewongle and Churchill stands are demolished, it is presumed there will finally be room to be able to facilitate a drop-in wicket at the SCG – a contentious change the Swans have long pushed for, but now has tentative support from Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg. Pridham, however, does not buy the argument that it is not possible to do now due to logistical issues. 'I wasn't born yesterday,' he said. 'I don't accept the argument. In fact, I know it's not correct that you couldn't do a drop in wicket. There is sufficient technology today. I mean, we landed on the moon in 1969, so they can put a drop in wicket in the SCG tomorrow. 'That's a bit of a furphy that argument. The other argument is that they need somewhere to grow the grass ... there's plenty of grass around the SCG, and it's really a matter of will from the government to make it happen. I don't think it should be dependent on redevelopment of the grandstands, albeit I think they're both important.' Another issue Pridham is firm on is the prospect of sharing the SCG with the Giants, who have previously flagged interest in playing a home game there during the period in which Engie Stadium is unavailable due to the Easter Show. 'It's not happening, so it's not worth discussing,' he said. The Giants are now reportedly exploring the possibility of selling a home game to a Melbourne-based club and hosting them at the MCG. As for matters on the field, Pridham has been disappointed by the Swans' 2-5 start to the season, their first under Dean Cox, but provided unequivocal support for the new head coach, who is grappling with a difficult injury crisis, which means they will field another vastly under-strength team on Sunday. 'It's not the start we wanted nor expected – but it's not unprecedented,' he said. 'I still remain optimistic. Clearly we've got to improve, but I think we've got a lot of improvement in us. There's no excuses in footy. You either win or lose. But look, [Cox is] doing a fantastic job. Everyone's really, really happy with what he's doing. Circumstances haven't been great for him in terms of the injuries. The fixture's obviously also been tough. There are circumstances, but we never like to make excuses. He would never make excuses either. We've just got to get better.' Beneath the AFL, however, Pridham expressed 'real concern' about the state of the code in Sydney at grassroots level, particularly when it comes to participation rates for boys and men, although the boom in numbers for girls and women was a bright spot. Loading 'In terms of male participation, in metro Sydney, including the western suburbs, I think it's going backwards, and it's very, very disappointing,' he said. 'It's actually a significant concern. A lot of clubs are having to merge due to lack of players, due to lack of facilities. It's a real problem, and we're very focused on what the AFL and the Swans and the Giants can do together to try and stem the flow. If you look at the growth of the game in Queensland, for example, it really is chalk and cheese. 'There's a lot of work to be done, and it's a vast, vast geographical area, so it's challenging. There's definitely no quick fixes. It's just time, it's shoe leather, it's inspiration, investment – it's a slow burn. It's not glamorous, but you've just got to keep at it.'
USA Today
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Rob Kardashian makes rare appearance in snaps of family Easter
Rob Kardashian makes rare appearance in snaps of family Easter Show Caption Hide Caption Khloé Kardashian claims therapist leaked private information Khloé Kardashian turned to the gym for therapeutic relief following a betrayal by her therapist. unbranded - Entertainment Kardashian fans got a rare dose of Rob over the weekend. On Instagram April 22, Kim Kardashian shared snaps of the family's Easter celebrations, posting a carousel of photos featuring sister Khloe Kardashian and mom Kris Jenner along with her own children, her nieces and nephews, and a guest appearance from Rob Kardashian, who has shunned the spotlight in recent years. "EASTER 2025. I couldn't get all the sisters, kids, aunts, cousins and laughs in the pics but the memories are so real," Kim Kardashian wrote. "Happy Easter everyone." In the photograph with Rob Kardashian is his daughter Dream, 8, whom he shares with model and reality star Blac Chyna. The youngest child of Robert Kardashian Sr. and Kris Jenner, and their only son, Rob was once a series regular alongside sisters Khloe, Kourtney, Kim, Kylie and Kendall on "Keeping up with the Kardashians." In later seasons, as he battled health and legal issues, he receded from the spotlight, rarely appearing on the show. Rob Kardashian, Blac Chyna settle part of their toxic dispute Rob Kardashian's struggles were chronicled anyway as his sisters, particularly Khloe, were filmed fretting over what they characterized as an increasing isolation from the world. That paused briefly when he became involved with Blac Chyna − even resulting in a brief reality spin-off following their tumultuous courtship titled "Rob & Chyna." The two welcomed baby Dream in 2016, but in the years following were ensnared in several legal battles, including one over the contracts behind their reality show.
