Rivington Was Ours: Lady Gaga, the Lower East Side and the Prime of our Lives
Brendan Jay Sullivan
Fourth Estate
With Lady Gaga's third album, Artpop, hitting the shelves in November, it is easy to be cynical about Brendan Jay Sullivan's "intimate portrait" of the pop star with Rivington Was Ours.
Sullivan, billed as Gaga's "old friend and former DJ", offers a few revealing glimpses on her rise from New York go-go dancer to pop queen.
He gushingly states, for instance, that Gaga's intimacy with fans stems from her early days as an empathetic social butterfly.
But it's not all platitudes.
Sullivan says Gaga's air of supreme confidence was hard earned; despite landing success at the age of 20 with a record deal, she was stuck in an emotionally abusive relationship with a heavy-metal drummer and bar owner.
While these little insights help in painting a more complete picture of the image-savvy Gaga, Rivington Was Ours works best as a musical memoir of the New York go-go dance scene with its mix of desperadoes and wannabes.
Sullivan treats them all sentimentally, praising their determination to dream; and in Gaga's case, hers came true.
* Saeed Saeed
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
