This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote:<\/mark><\/strong> You only go around once, but if you play your cards right, once is enough\u00a0Frank Sinatra<\/em> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Festival time (contd)<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0Sikka Art and DesignFestival<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Al Shindagha, to 1 Feb) is one you can largely take on trust \u2013 you\u2019ll probably have to, because it can be very difficult to find out what\u2019s happening and when;\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is your best bet, but it\u2019s erratic. Still, the fair is free and always buzzy …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quoz Arts Festival<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Alserkal Avenue, this weekend) is also buzzy but isn\u2019t free. Indeed last year\u2019s door charge of AED 63 has risen to AED 100 (the year before it was zero, ISTR)\u00a0and there is no longer a two-day discount. You do get lots of music, lots of happenings in the lanes, and lots of arty stuff \u2013 including the rather magical Numen\/For Use installation of TAPE in Concrete.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside the official programme, some of the Avenue\u2019s regular venues are putting on shows of their own (with separate, and therefore additional, ticketing). They include Cinema Akil with Reel Palestine<\/strong><\/a> screenings starting this weekend, and the Junction is running three fringe-ish shows (Hold on to your Butts<\/strong><\/a>, The Acting Class<\/strong><\/a> and Fly, You Fools!<\/strong><\/a>) \u2013 perhaps as a precursor to the fully-fledged fringe festival it plans to bring to Al Quoz later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile Al Hosn Festiva<\/strong><\/a>l<\/strong>, Ras al Khaimah Art Festival<\/strong><\/a> and Emirates LitFest<\/strong><\/a> all continue into a second weekend …<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10-minute showdown<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Just how many short play festivals does one town need? The answer may become clearer during April and May, when Short+Sweet Dubai<\/strong> goes head to head with the Junction’s brand new X Fest DXB<\/strong>. We have the background on X Fest: read on<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n … Last chance for <\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>X Fest DXB<\/mark>\u00a0<\/strong>And registrations close on Sunday (25 Jan) for the Junction’s alternative\u00a0festival of 10-minute plays<\/strong><\/a>. We’re told that there are very few spots available, but here\u2019s the link<\/strong><\/a> to register if you\u2019re an actor, director, theatre group or backstage crew …<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than a little learning<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Wikipedia turns 25<\/strong><\/a> this month, with more than 65 million articles in over 300 languages\u2014written, edited, and fact-checked by nearly 250,000 unpaid human volunteers worldwide. Since 2003, Wikipedia has been operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit reliant primarily on donations which average just $11 \u2013 and fewer than 2% of its readers donate. It\u2019s worth keeping<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cost of living here<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Numbeo has just published its 2026 cost-of-living rankings<\/strong><\/a> for 479 cities around the world. These are widely regarded as the best such index; with New York indexed at 100 (No.7 on the list \u2013 Zurich is top at 118.5), Dubai<\/strong> comes in at No.213 with 61.8 and Abu Dhabi<\/strong> is No.252 at 54.1. Who knew Abu Dhabi was so much cheaper? RAK<\/strong> was about the same, No.249 at 54.4.\u00a0and Sharjah<\/strong> came in\u00a0No.270 at 50.7, so it’s half the price of living in New York. \u00a0More here<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Booming<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> UrArtU Gallery<\/strong><\/a> is a new addition to Alserkal Avenue, relocating from Jumeirah Beach Road to \u201ca multi-purpose flower space and gallery\u201d. Yep, flowers. As the PR blurb has it, \u201cthe project challenges traditional approaches to floristry, repositioning flowers from decorative elements into spatial experience … flowers are treated as architectural gestures\u201d. One such\u00a0is in the centre of the space, a monumental aluminium orchid 6m high and weighing 250kg. Well worth a visit, surely …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Washable computers<\/mark><\/strong> Researchers at MIT have developed a fibre computer<\/strong><\/a> that is stretchable and machine-washable with 6hrs of battery life, weighing less than 5g (about as much as a sheet of A4 paper) …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Homing in<\/mark><\/strong> “Currently, XX% of Dubai\u2019s real estate transactions are initiated and completed online,” says a press release. “By 2027, it\u2019s expected that XX% of all real estate transactions in Dubai will be digitally enabled.\u201d Pretty cool of them to use Roman numerals, even if you\u2019d have expected some increase (maybe by XXV%?) between now and next year <\/p>\n\n\n\n Useful app of the week<\/mark><\/strong> One for AI nerds \u2013 Dione<\/strong><\/a> is a platform (Windows, MacOS, Linux) to help you easily discover, install, and manage open-source AI apps. It has a clean interface\u00a0and a growing library of tools to make running local AI apps simple (ish) and accessible. Check it out here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Spherical snake<\/strong><\/a> is an addictive update on the original Nokia game \u2013 rules as before (avoid the tail!) except that it\u2019s played on a ball.\u00a0Try it here<\/a>\u00a0…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Marchetti\u2019s Constant<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0records the fact\u00a0that throughout human history, from cave dwellers to\u00a021st century city dwellers, people always<\/em> tend to commute for about 1.3 hours per day<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 35 or so minutes out, 35 minutes home \u2013 no matter where they live, or how rich they are. So faster travel leads to longer distances, not more free time …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark> <\/strong>Art School Girlfriend : The Peaks<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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