This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote:<\/mark><\/strong> What I like about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with the present\u00a0Don Marquis …<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas \u2026<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s the gifting season, apparently, but if you want an alternative to the mall madness consider giving an arts membership to someone \u2013\u00a0Louvre Abu Dhabi<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0NYUAD Arts Center<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0are two that we\u2019d like, please. Or buy a\u00a0Voucher for Good<\/strong>, an Ithara\/Gulf for Good digital voucher that turns gifting into genuine, measurable impact for children and adults with disabilities in Madagascar: there are four available, from\u00a0Gift of Learning<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(AED 50 \u2013 funds classroom materials for one class of 20 kids) to\u00a0Gift of Nourishment<\/strong><\/a>(AED 200 \u2013 pays for a month of school meals for 30 children) …<\/p>\n\n\n\n … Everywhere You Go<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Lots of destination festivities for Christmas: Yas Island<\/strong><\/a>, Bluewaters<\/strong><\/a>, Al Seef<\/strong><\/a> (that’s some Christmas tree!), Festival City<\/strong><\/a>. But we particularly like City Walk Unplugged<\/strong><\/a>, back for a fourth season with open-air live music at weekends from now to 11 January (plus the usual retail and F&B promotions, and \u201cspecial shows on festive dates including Christmas and New Year\u2019s Eve\u201d. Info here<\/a><\/strong> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travel well …<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> The UAE’s passport<\/strong> is the best you can have, at least in terms of visa-free access to the rest of the world (129 visa-free destinations, 45 visa-on-arrival countries, eight requiring an ETA). The UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all slipped down the Powerful Passports list<\/strong><\/a>; Singapore and Malaysia are zooming up the rankings. Browse and compare passports from around the world here<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n …Travel wisely<\/mark>\u00a0<\/strong>Tell this website<\/strong><\/a> where you are, or where you\u2019re going, and it will check local weather data to tell you whether you ought to bring a jacket (and how thick it should be). Admittedly, for the UAE the answer is almost always super-predictable; but it\u2019s handy for travellers …<\/p>\n\n\n\n What billionaires want<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> The Billionaire Ambitions Report<\/strong><\/a> from Swiss bank UBS isn\u2019t about people whose ambition is to have a load of money so much as the intentions of those who already do fit the description. The number of billionaires is nearing 3,000<\/strong> and their wealth hit an all-time high in 2025, reaching $15.8 trillion<\/strong>. They have to do something<\/em> with all that money; and while equity investments are overwhelmingly their preferred option, 27% said they intended to increase \u2018exposure\u2019 to art and antiques<\/strong> either \u201cslightly\u201d or \u201csignificantly\u201d, with 65% keeping about the same. Hooray\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy art with confidence<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0First Abu Dhabi Bank\u2019s FAB Art Platform<\/strong><\/a> is a partnership with Opera Gallery Group, enabling FAB clients to invest in fine art as part of a wealth strategy \u2013 or \u201clifting the barriers that once separated discerning \u200ecollectors from the world\u2019s most exceptional artworks\u201d as the press release put it. This kind of thing is hardly radical, but it\u2019s interesting to see a UAE retail bank in this space with a product that combines \u2018white-glove\u2019 concierge services (Opera\u2019s contribution), direct ownership of artworks, and \u201clending solutions that unlock liquidity while preserving collections\u201d (ie you can borrow against the art if it\u2019s been acquired via the FAB Art Platform)\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bad bunnies<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Spotify’s harvesting of your personal data and then somehow convincing you to do free marketing for them under the name \u2018Spotify Unwrapped\u2019 is pretty impressive. Less impressive is the way the most popular artists<\/strong> this year were the same as in 2024 \u2013 worldwide it was Bad Bunny<\/strong> again, for the UAE it was Drake<\/strong>. Proof that algorithmic playlists homogenise listening and cripple new artists’ chances? Plus: Spotify pays artists a pittance. For list fans, there\u2019s more on the most-streamed music, podcasts and audiobooks of 2025 on Spotify\u2019s For the Record blog<\/strong><\/a>. For an alternative view, go here<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where’s the news<\/mark><\/strong> Newsmap<\/strong><\/a> is not quite a map of the news, more a blocky grid: but it is a clever and potentially useful one-stop overview of the news right now \u2013 colour-coded by topic, sized by significance, varied according to language preference (though not Arabic). Click the headline in the tile to go to the story …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Useful app of the week<\/mark><\/strong> Another collection of free online tools<\/strong><\/a>, 100+ of them. They’re better organised than in some other packages; and\u00a0nearly all are genuinely useful (quick background remover for images, pretty formatting for CSS and HTML, text difference checker, etc). While they are the kind of thing you\u2019d like on a right-click context menu, the fact that they all run in your browser (though with no data ever leaving your computer) makes them available anywhere. Check ’em out here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Level Devil <\/strong><\/a>is a devilishly clever game pushing your reflexes, patience, and determination to the limit. You play as a tiny pixel hero on a simple mission: to reach the door on the other side of the stage and get out. Sounds easy, right? Think again.\u00a0Try it here<\/a>\u00a0…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Something else<\/mark><\/strong> One of the oddest vids you\u2019ll see this year<\/strong><\/a>. Great fun, though; stick with it to the end …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0In 2023, US goods exports totalled\u00a0$2,045bn. About $14bn of that (0.6867%<\/strong><\/a>, to be specific) was\u00a0made up of human blood or blood products<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that’s a wrap<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0This will be the last magpie Weekly of 2025. Thank you for reading, clicking, and commenting<\/strong>. And surely things can only get better, so everyone in the nest wishes you the very best for the festive season and the clear-eyed bushy-tailed year that hopefully will follow it …\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark> <\/strong>Low : Just Like Christmas<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\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
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"