This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote:<\/mark><\/strong> I\u2019m sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It\u2019s just been too intelligent to come here\u00a0Arthur C Clarke<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eid note\u00a01<\/mark><\/strong> It\u2019s Eid ad Adha, and we can all celebrate by driving into Dubai: on-street and surface\u00a0parking will be free<\/strong>. (Don\u2019t go to any malls though: multi-level parking facilities will continue to charge the usual rates)\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eid note 2<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> There will be some fireworks at the weekend\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Riverland Dubai<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has 9pm displays on 5 and 6 June, though you’ll pay for them (AED 15 online, AED 20 at the gate).\u00a0Abu Dhabi<\/strong>\u2019s are free:\u00a0Yas Bay Waterfront<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on 6, 7 and 8 June,\u00a0Corniche<\/strong>\u00a0on 6 June (all at 9pm).\u00a0Al Ain<\/strong>\u00a0has a 6 June show at the\u00a0Al Ain Municipality Building<\/strong>\u00a0at 8pm (we heard there may be another show at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, too, we but couldn’t confirm that).\u00a0Sharjah<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has gone for generally residential locales on 6 June \u2013 8pm at\u00a0Masaar<\/strong>,\u00a0Nasma Residences<\/strong>\u00a0and Aljada\u2019s\u00a0Madar\u00a0(<\/strong>there will be entertainment and pop-up fooderies there too) …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Happy places<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The Institute for the Quality of Life has released its 2025 Happy City Index<\/strong><\/a>. A total of 200 cities were ranked by 82 indicators of happiness, but none of the UAE\u2019s were included because \u201creliable, measurable, and comparable data\u201d was unavailable. FYI the top three were Copenhagen, Zurich, and Singapore. Obviously \u2018boringness\u2019 was not among the 82 indicators\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Electronic arts<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> Dubai is to host ISEA 2026<\/strong><\/a>, the 2026 International Symposium on Electronic Arts \u2013 an annual gathering that is one of the world\u2019s foremost get-togethers for artists, designers, technologists, academics, curators, and museum professionals to consider the future of digital art. The symposium, organised by Dubai Culture and Zayed University, is set for 10-17 April next year; it’s the mix as before (workshops, \u00a0panels, networking events, \u201ccreative showcases\u201d) but we\u2019d hope for a bit of Dubai\u2019s imaginative magic. It\u2019s a pretty specialist event, to be sure \u2013 max around 500 participants \u2013 but there will surely be an opportunity to appeal to a wider audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there’s a sort-of Open Call<\/strong><\/a> for\u00a0artists with something relevant to say: “there will be opportunities for alternative forms of presentation. We encourage early-career and emerging artists to submit their works” …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Book ahead<\/mark><\/strong> A bunch of (mainly US) comedians are doing Etihad-Arena gigs in Abu Dhabi around the end of the month; we’ve picked out Pete Davison<\/strong><\/a> and Dave Chappelle<\/strong><\/a> as highlights. For contrast elsewhere in Abu Dhabi, check out Metro Diaries<\/strong><\/a> at The Arts Center. In Dubai around the same time we’ve diarised Banah and Jazziyat<\/strong><\/a>, plus the Junction’s Government Inspector<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art now<\/mark><\/strong> Shows opening soon that have caught our eye include Nima Nabavi<\/a> at Third Line,\u00a0Ayyam Gallery’s summer group show under the title\u00a0Wavering Hope<\/a><\/strong>, and an interesting-looking\u00a0Mohammad Alfaraj<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0solo stint at the Jameel. And if you haven’t yet seen the Hassan Sharif <\/strong><\/a>show at Gallery Isabelle (or even if you have) get along there before it closes on Saturday …\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Maths nerd heaven: \u03c0 Pattern<\/strong><\/a> is a pi-themed fruit machine. Spin and hit stop when you think you have a points-scoring pattern (we got 720 for six 9s in a row). Try it here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0 …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Australia<\/strong> is wider than the Moon<\/strong> (around 4,000km east to west vs diameter of about 3,475km).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark><\/strong> Wolf Alice : Bloom Baby Bloom<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n