This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote:<\/mark><\/strong> Think without words Gwen John<\/em> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n RAK job op<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah<\/strong> is looking for a Senior Museum Curator<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 needs a Master’s Degree, understanding of the collection management principles, excellent English, creativity and writing skills; other languages and experience in local cultural heritage, desirable. No mention of salary but benefits include work visa and housing \u201camong others\u201d. CV, portfolio, writing samples and queries to \u00a0 annissa.g@museum.rak.ae <\/strong><\/a>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reasons to go Uptown<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> The Plaza\u00a0at Uptown Dubai<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is running a Moonlight Market<\/strong><\/a> during Ramadan \u2013 F&B, retail, creative workshops and interactive board games (chess, checkers, Jenga); open 5pm to midnight on weekdays, to 2am on weekends. There are many similar pop-ups during the season, of course, but this one sounds good \u2013 and provides a reason for actually going<\/em> to Uptown Dubai …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zabeel refurb<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Zabeel Theatre<\/strong> is closing for \u201crenovation and repurposing\u201d as a part of a wider spruce-up for the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray. This means Art For All<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 which has been a regular booking, presenting nearly 500 performances there since Oct 2023 \u2013 will have to move to new venues from the end of Feb. For the short term at least this means the Meyana Theatre<\/strong> in Jumeirah Beach Hotel, with five Art For All shows<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0scheduled there in April and May; but the Meyana seats only around 400, while the Zabeel is\/was good for 636 (Art For All is also putting on The Tiger Who Came to Tea<\/em> at the Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi) Further projects to be announced …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collectible design in the Avenue<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> The A\/P Room<\/strong><\/a>, which opened this week in Alserkal Avenue, claims to be the Middle East\u2019s first permanent gallery \u201cdedicated exclusively to historic and contemporary collectible design<\/strong> \u2026 redefining the future of collectible design in the region\u201d. Check out the claims for yourself: it opens with a mostly-furniture exhibition (At First Sight, 11 Feb \u2013 29 Mar) featuring contemporary designers like Vincent Dubourg<\/strong>, Faye Toogood<\/strong>, Choi Byung Hoon<\/strong> alongside mid century names such as Gio Ponti <\/strong>and Joaquim Tenreiro<\/strong> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n More UAE AI power …<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> G42<\/strong><\/a>, the Abu Dhabi-based AI group backed by Microsoft and Mubadala, has unveiled a\u00a0AI chip<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0with 4 trillion transistors<\/strong>. It was\u00a0developed with Silicon Valley chipmaker Cerebras<\/strong><\/a> for G42\u2019s Stargate<\/a><\/strong> data centre cluster.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Semafor<\/strong><\/a> reports that G42 is working with OpenAI on a version of ChatGPT\u00a0for the UAE government<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 more attuned to Gulf Arabic, the local political outlook, and restrictions on speech (G42\u2019s tech investment vehicle MGX has put money into OpenAI). The standard ChatGPT will still be offered in the UAE, though OpenAI plans to tailor it to local laws and inform users when content triggers legal restrictions\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n … for the people<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0An eight-month Harvard Business Review study<\/strong><\/a> of a 200-employee tech company that embraced AI found that any time AI freed up would be (voluntarily) used for more work \u2013 and \u201cthe changes brought about by enthusiastic AI adoption can be unsustainable, causing problems down the line \u2026 fatigue<\/strong>, burnout<\/strong>, and a growing sense that work is harder to step away from<\/strong>“. Be warned\u00a0…\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n … and people for AI<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Could this be any more 2026? RentAHuman.ai<\/strong><\/a> allows AI agents to hire real people to carry out tasks they can\u2019t do themselves (also seems to allow other humans to hire them too)\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last chance<\/mark><\/strong> Closing in the next few days, and recommended: Bady Dalloul’s\u00a0Self-portrait with a Cat I Don\u2019t Have<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at the Jameel,\u00a0Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim’s\u00a0Two Clouds in the Night Sky<\/strong><\/a> at the Cultural Foundation, and (unexpectedly) Ludmilla Radchenko’s Wings of Power<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at Oblong Contemporary …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Premiere advanced<\/mark><\/strong> Last week we mentioned the UAENO’s world premiere at Dubai Opera for Nadim Tarabay’s symphonic poem Echoes of Time<\/strong><\/a>, abased on Ibn Araby’s writings. Now the UAENO has added another performance\u00a0\u2013 25 Feb at NYUAD Arts Center<\/strong><\/a>. So\u00a0that<\/em> will be its world premiere\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Useful app of the week<\/mark><\/strong> Most website blockers (which stop you wasting time on your computer) are easy to cheat. With Cold Turkey<\/strong><\/a> it\u2019s almost impossible to stop the block once you lock it. Block anything from specific websites and applications to the entire internet (with a few exceptions). Cleverly installs itself as an extension on all browsers it can find on your Mac (apart from DuckDuckGo). Free, though there\u2019s a purchased version with scheduled blocks, breaks and allowances\u00a0…\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The real thing may be a barking mad adrenaline rush, but Luge<\/strong><\/a> is a great little daily game with elegantly minimal graphics is a fine alternative for the rest of us. Three goes and a different course each day. Speedy, difficult, over quickly so you can get back to work.\u00a0Try it here<\/a>\u00a0…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0One proton<\/strong> measures 0.84 femtometres<\/strong> (trillionths of a millimetre) in radius, according to a study published in Nature<\/strong><\/a>. That’s the most precise measurement to date of the subatomic particle …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark> <\/strong>PVA : Okay<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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