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More books for Sharjah<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Pushing ahead with its image-building in the book world,\u00a0Sharjah Book Authority<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has signed for\u00a0exclusive rights to operate BookXcess bookstores\u00a0across the Middle East and Africa<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0BookXcess<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is a successful operation specialising in discounted (often surplus-stock) books and running 22 visitor-friendly stores in its native Malaysia; \u201cevery BookXcess store is designed to inspire awe through bold architecture, immersive concepts, and thoughtfully curated partners within each space\u201d. It\u2019s affiliated with the\u00a0Big Bad Wolf Books<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0operation, which runs massive pop-up book sales in 49 cities including Dubai (most recently\u00a026 Feb to 15 Mar<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at Dubai Studio City). Since there doesn\u2019t seem to be a Dubai date for next year, and\u00a0the event\u2019s website is defunct<\/strong><\/a>, maybe the next Big Bad Wolf sale will be in Sharjah\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gulf in your pocket<\/mark><\/strong> Phone maker\u00a0Xiaomi<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is partnering with\u00a0HIPA<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for the second edition of its\u00a0Gulf Unposed<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0photo contest for Instagram shots. The theme is What We Carry (\u201cthe meaningful objects people keep close and the personal stories behind them\u201d); post a pic to your Insta account with specified hashtags before midnight in 21 July. First prize: a medallion, a\u00a0Xiaomi 17T Pro<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(a decent Android-based mid-range smartphone), and one night at\u00a0Atlantis the Royal<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for two\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n More to film<\/strong><\/mark> Tashkeel<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0This Sunday sees the first of three\u00a0Khatar Sessions<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0exploring cinema and community, this one focused on cinema and memory. Filmmaker\u00a0Nezar Andary<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has a workshop\/lecture on editing as cinema\u2019s fundamental act and its parallels to memory; the main event is a screening of Sarah Friedland\u2019s rather good debut feature\u00a0Familiar Touch<\/strong><\/a>, a coming of (old) age film that won multiple awards at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. Nezar is bringing together the UAE\u2019s care community, families facing diagnoses, medical staff, and care workers often far from their own families for this event, with the support of\u00a04get-me-not<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and students of AUD. Next sessions are 23 Aug 23 on kitchen and cinema then 30 Aug about first-time films of famous directors; this one is 19 July at Cinema Akil, 1-4pm. Info\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Free access to SAF library<\/mark><\/strong> Sharjah Art Foundation is offering\u00a0free membership\u00a0for its Reference Library<\/strong><\/a>, providing access to 5,000+ books, exhibition catalogues, art magazines, digital archives, architectural projects and AV materials. Membership includes 9-5 access Monday to Thursday, monthly curated highlights from the collection, one-on-one consultations with the library team, and scanning for selected materials. Info from\u00a0library@sharjahart.org<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art in the UAE<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0And Saturday sees the first of a Sharjah Art Foundation talks series on the\u00a0evolution of visual art in the UAE<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and across the Arab world under the helpfully explicit title Dialogues. The first one has\u00a0Mohammed Kazem<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0talking with\u00a0Ismail Al Rifai<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0artist, writer and Head of Translation and Arabic Content at SAF. 18 July 6-7.30pm at\u00a0The Flying Saucer<\/strong><\/a>; it will be\u00a0in Arabic\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Filter junk brands from Amazon<\/mark><\/strong> Amazon is awash with fake brands for commodity goods with no company, no warranty, and no real user ratings.\u00a0Knockoff<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is an extension for Chrome and Firefox that\u00a0checks every listing’s brand right in your search results<\/strong>\u00a0and flags up dodgy items. You can optionally hide Amazon’s paid \u2018Sponsored\u2019 listings too. Everything runs locally in your browser \u2013 no accounts to sign up for, no analytics, no tracking, and no charge. Works on 23 Amazon marketplaces worldwide. This is an eye-opener\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Job opps 1<\/mark><\/strong> Jobs at\u00a0University of the Arts Sharjah<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(which still seems to be camping on the old SPAA website: the actual\u00a0UAS site<\/strong><\/a>says \u201cthere are currently no vacancies available\u201d) include\u00a0Deans\u00a0<\/strong>for the\u00a0College of Theatre\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0College of Film<\/strong>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Job opp 2<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Jameel Arts Centre<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is looking for a\u00a0Freelance Events Assistant<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to help the Events Manager on a three-months contract from 24 Aug.\u00a0Min 3 years relevant\u00a0experience, fluent in Arabic,\u00a0UAE drivers\u2019 licence …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Job opp 3<\/mark><\/strong> Aramco is hiring a\u00a0Curator of Islamic Art & Culture<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Ithra<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture) \u2013 develop \u201cworld class\u201d Islamic art exhibitions, manage collections, advance research and scholarship, create \u201cengaging cultural experiences that connect historical Islamic heritage with contemporary audiences\u201d. A big job …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Auctioneering<\/mark><\/strong> Art auction houses made significant recoveries in the first half of 2026,\u00a0says a report<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0from art market analysis firm\u00a0ArtTactic<\/strong><\/a>. Global auction sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips totalled\u00a0$6.8bn<\/strong>, up\u00a070%<\/strong>\u00a0year-on-year in H1 2026 and the best first-half performance since 2022 (though we think ArtTactic may be underestimating or counting something slightly different:\u00a0Sotheby’s<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has just reported\u00a0$3.4bn<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for auction sales in the first half,\u00a0Christie’s<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0came in with\u00a0$3.5bn<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Phillips<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0did\u00a0$507m<\/strong><\/a>). \u201cCombined with rising volumes, record online participation, stronger sell-through rates and improving average prices, the recovery is being driven by both quality and quantity\u201d says ArtTactic, which seems a reasonable conclusion. Buy your own copy of the\u00a0RawFacts Auction Review H1 2026<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for \u00a3245\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reubicaci\u00f3n de casa<\/mark><\/strong> Casa Collective<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is looking for a new home for its workshops, exhibitions, conversations, collaborations ecosystem. \u201cIf a place comes to mind, send us a\u00a0DM<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or email us at\u00a0hello@casacollective.ae<\/strong><\/a>\u201d …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethics in museology<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> ICOM<\/strong><\/a>, the International Council of Museums, has adopted\u00a0a revised global Code of Ethics<\/strong><\/a>, its first major overhaul in more than two decades and the results of a four-year revision process. Reflecting how museums are expected to operate, the new framework includes reference to AI, climate responsibility, governance and public trust, and colonial legacies. Download it\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wonderful<\/strong><\/mark> WTTC<\/strong><\/a>, the tourism business trade body, is looking for\u00a07 Contemporary Wonders of the World<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 \u201clandmarks and buildings created since 1801 that have had the greatest impact on Travel & Tourism, local communities and economic development\u201d. Which is a pretty broad remit. A shortlist of 70 (!) will be announced in January and the final seven next July.\u00a0It\u2019s a public vote, so get in your nominations for Louvre Abu Dhabi and Burj Khalifa\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI slop for all<\/mark><\/strong> Pangram<\/strong><\/a>, which is in the business\u00a0of detecting AI-generated writing, has been collecting info on\u00a0AI in social media posts<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and the results are pretty scary. Across the five platforms scanned, one in four longform items (over 250 words) were fully AI-generated.\u00a0LinkedIn<\/strong>\u00a0is particularly bad: as much as 41% of longform content<\/strong>\u00a0there is likely to be fully AI-generated. Across short and longform, only 53.2% of\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/strong>\u00a0articles flagged up as fully human-authored. More info\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>; Pangram has\u00a0handy\u00a0extensions for\u00a0Chrome<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Firefox<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0that were used for the survey\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Made in Bandcamp<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Good news: Vinyl Souk’s\u00a0Made in the Emirates Vol II<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0compilation, which we rated highly a couple of weeks ago, is now\u00a0available on Bandcamp<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Useful app of the week<\/mark><\/strong> Tinkerfont<\/strong><\/a> is a Chrome and Firefox add-on for designers who want to see how different fonts look on real websites: detect the fonts on any page, swap them with candidates from Bunny Fonts or your own uploads, and see the result on layout and content \u2013 all before you touch CSS or whatever. Find it here<\/strong><\/a> …<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Hamster Run<\/a><\/strong> is a simple game in which your hamster has to jump over rocks as it runs across the screen for 60 seconds. The catch: the hamster eats the sunflower seeds it encounters, and they make your rodent faster and so harder to control. Try it here<\/a> …<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong> The surveyors who first calculated Everest’s height<\/strong> in the 1850s measured it as exactly 29,000 ft<\/strong>, but thought that no one would believe that it wasn\u2019t simply rounded to the nearest thousand. So they added 2ft<\/strong><\/a> and officially recorded 29,002 ft. An Indian team surveying more accurately in 1954 found the mountain actually to be 29,028 ft, so the oldsters weren\u2019t too far off …<\/p>\n\n\n\n A poll!<\/mark><\/strong> How did you like this edition of the newsletter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark> <\/a><\/strong>Mitchum Yacoub : When I\u2019m With You<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\n\n\n\n![\"laugh\"](\"https:\/\/sendy.magpie.ae\/js\/ckeditor\/plugins\/smiley\/images\/teeth_smile.png\" "\\"laugh\\"")
It was excellent<\/a>![\"smiley\"](\"https:\/\/sendy.magpie.ae\/js\/ckeditor\/plugins\/smiley\/images\/regular_smile.png\" "\\"smiley\\"")
Pretty good<\/a>![\"indecision\"](\"https:\/\/sendy.magpie.ae\/js\/ckeditor\/plugins\/smiley\/images\/whatchutalkingabout_smile.png\" "\\"indecision\\"")
Not so good<\/a>![\"sad\"](\"https:\/\/sendy.magpie.ae\/js\/ckeditor\/plugins\/smiley\/images\/sad_smile.png\" "\\"sad\\"")
It was poor<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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