If I were to write a short sentence such as this: "Jack went in the tent, pulled out his Mannlicher, and shot his wife", it would be clear to most people that it was written in the style of Ernest Hemingway. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it becomes a crime only when I try to pass it off as his work and benefit from the proceeds, or a cause for humiliation if I use his words in my articles and try to pretend they are my own.
Plagiarism can plague many a literary career, as indeed has embellishing quotes harmed the prospects of Johann Hari, The Independent's star columnist, who was perhaps too independent even for his editors. James Patterson, last year's highest-paid author, pocketed a cool US$85 million (Dh312.2m) for a series of books that he co-wrote with other people. Nobody knows how much he writes of each work, if at all. Maybe his sole contribution is to read them and then add "by James Patterson" to the cover. Perhaps he doesn't even read them.
Many artists of the Renaissance did not actually make all the objects or paintings they sold, but had a hand in their design or creation and signed them before they left the premises. Damien Hirst, the modern British artist, uses a similar technique, employing students to colour in the dots or paint the stripes. Hymn, one of his most popular works, which he sold for more than £1m (Dh5.9m) to the collector Charles Saatchi at the turn of the millennium, was a 20ft bronze sculpture of a male anatomy. The only problem is that it was an exact copy of a plastic toy made by Humbrol, an English toy company, that sells for £14.99.
One art critic dubbed Hirst's giant piece "a masterpiece" and "the first key work of British art for the 21st century". It is not reported what he thought of the Humbrol toy. Hirst had to pay an undisclosed sum to children's charities to avoid copyright issues, but the question of what is real and what is fake remains very difficult in art.
It was rendered more complicated by modernism which deemed that anything can be a work of art if an artist says it is. Thus Marcel Duchamp branded a urinal a work of art, even though he didn't make or design it, and was able to sell that very piece for a fortune, while other less fortunate identical objects were sold in hardware stores and received a rather different fate. This week the trial began in Cologne of three people arrested last year on charges of defrauding rich art collectors, including the banjo-playing actor Steve Martin, into paying millions for forged paintings. The police identified 44 artworks as fake, purportedly by names such as Kees van Dongen, Max Ernst, Max Pechstein and Fernand Leger. Many of the Ernsts were declared authentic by Werner Spies, a doyen of the German art scene and editor of the Ernst catalogue.
A frenzy of buyer interest occurred last year, when Cologne galleries and auctions were offering previously unknown works by modern masters. Dealers, museums and art lovers were duped into thinking the masterpieces had been hidden for years by a secretive collector who never told art historians about his hoard.
The forgeries came to light only when a buyer purchased an alleged Campendonk - personally I'd be suspicious of anything called a "Campendonk" - through the Cologne auction house Lempertz for $3.7m and had the work scientifically tested. After testing, the painting Red Picture with Horses was shown to contain a colour that had not yet been invented at the time it was painted.
The fraud amounts to $13m, but art experts have estimated the real loss to museums and collectors may be even more. Steve Martin managed to offload his colourful Landschaft mit Pferden or Landscape with Horses, another purported Campendonk effort, to a Swiss businesswoman at a Christie's auction, at a loss of €200,000 (Dh1.04m).
The FBI estimates that international art crime has doubled in the past 10 years. Fakes, forgeries and thefts now account for more than $6 billion in losses annually. Some people insist that art crime has not increased, only public awareness of these often high-profile crimes. Media attention also brings about copycat thefts.
"The increased coverage of art theft may be leading to ever more art theft, because one common feature of many art theft stories is just how easy it is. You hear about underfunded museums, about lax security, about million-dollar paintings hanging in busy hotel lobbies … That's bound to have an impact," Donn Zaretsky, the John Silberman Associates art lawyer told The Art Newspaper.
This year is the centenary of the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. For a while, Picasso was one of the chief suspects because he had been seen in the gallery that day. The painting was missing for two years, and turned up only when Vincenzo Peruggia, who worked at the Louvre and took it off the walls, was caught trying to sell it to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
The Mona Lisa may be the most valuable painting in the world, but it is also worthless because you can't sell it. Unlike Shergar, the racehorse that went missing in 1983 from its stable and was never seen again, you couldn't even turn it into dogmeat.
Seeing that all art is fake anyway, I'd be happy to have Landschaft mit Pferden hanging on my wall. At least I wouldn't have to feed the horses.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The%20specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
%3Cp%3EGoogle%20wasn't%20new%20to%20busting%20out%20April%20Fool's%20jokes%3A%20before%20the%20Gmail%20%22prank%22%2C%20it%20tricked%20users%20with%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fmentalplex%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emind-reading%20MentalPlex%20responses%3C%2Fa%3E%20and%20said%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fpigeonrank%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3E%20well-fed%20pigeons%20were%20running%20its%20search%20engine%20operations%3C%2Fa%3E%20.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20subsequent%20years%2C%20they%20announced%20home%20internet%20services%20through%20your%20toilet%20with%20its%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Ftisp%2Finstall.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Epatented%20GFlush%20system%3C%2Fa%3E%22%2C%20made%20us%20believe%20the%20Moon's%20surface%20was%20made%20of%20cheese%20and%20unveiled%20a%20dating%20service%20in%20which%20they%20called%20founders%20Sergey%20Brin%20and%20Larry%20Page%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fromance%2Fpress.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3EStanford%20PhD%20wannabes%3C%2Fa%3E%20%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBut%20Gmail%20was%20all%20too%20real%2C%20purportedly%20inspired%20by%20one%20%E2%80%93%20a%20single%20%E2%80%93%20Google%20user%20complaining%20about%20the%20%22poor%20quality%20of%20existing%20email%20services%22%20and%20born%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fgooglepress.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F04%2Fgoogle-gets-message-launches-gmail.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emillions%20of%20M%26amp%3BMs%20later%3C%2Fa%3E%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Saturday's results
West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Brighton 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley
Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm
POSSIBLE ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell, Fabian Delph.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.
Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.
The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Results:
Women:
1. Rhiannan Iffland (AUS) 322.95 points
2. Lysanne Richard (CAN) 285.75
3. Ellie Smart (USA) 277.70
Men:
1. Gary Hunt (GBR) 431.55
2. Constantin Popovici (ROU) 424.65
3. Oleksiy Prygorov (UKR) 392.30
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
HAJJAN
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
