By Angeli Castillo

Have you ever had a childhood obsession with collectibles? Bottle caps, Pokemon cards, baseball cards, action figures?  One man not only had such an obsession, he turned it into a fulfilling career.

By Jan D’Sa

Women are never too old to own a dollie – and a handcrafted one at that!   Thanks to local crafter Maggie Tuite, the magic of dollies will never disappear. Maggie has been creating dollies off and on for a number of years but has been involved in it full time for nine months. She calls her creations Dollie Day Dreams.

By Neena Rai

I first met Bahrain-based Dutch artist Sita Dotinga at Art Abu Dhabi last year. From the beginning, I was intrigued by her very Indian-sounding name, and it turns out that Sita is a Dutch name as well. Not having come across many Dutch artists in the region, I welcomed the opportunity to know her better.

By Abbas Alidina

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard someone say “we don’t need a social media policy. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networking sites are blocked in the office”.

This type of statement is usually a recipe for disaster. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and avoid social media in the workplace.

By Rohith Bhat

There are not a lot of things in this beautiful world that I hate.  Ok, that’s a complete lie. I’m actually disappointed that 2012 went by so peacefully. Never again will I trust the good name of internet promises (read rumours) of mass destruction.

But in my long list of cursed things – which includes traffic jams, clowns, politicians, flying monkeys and Robert Patterson – a new breed of nuisance has entered and now contends for the top position with movie vampires….. FAN GIRLS!!!

By Hana Makki

Once upon a time in a faraway desert, there was a sparkling metropolis filled with people from the lands of the world.  Many people would come through; some would stay, and some would go.

By Ahmed Samir

You’re wrong. Yes, you are. You think you’re right, and perhaps many agree with you that you are right, but you’re very likely as wrong as can be. Allow me to explain.

Italian food you can’t refuse

By Justin Thomas

The restaurant is one of the last strongholds of genuine face-to-face social intercourse. Sadly though, even here, there are increasing numbers of diners insisting on a side of Blackberry with every meal. It’s heartbreaking to watch a young couple out for a candle-lit meal, both of them stare lovingly into their smart-phone screens, frantically thumbing messages to whoever, wherever – “fa6ooomy: waynich 3yooni?” On what level is the couple actually even together? Physically? Perhaps. Psychologically? Definitely not. More tragic still is when only one partner engages in this behavior, the other partner waiting patiently for scraps of leftover attention.