Book review: Lexicon shows us deadliness of poetry


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Lexicon
Max Barry
Mulholland Books

Are you a cat or a dog person?The Australian author Max Barry explores the concept of how simple questions and character traits can allow a certain few gifted people to ascertain which "category" a human's personality falls into and how that information can be used to manipulate them in his fourth novel, Lexicon.

We are thrown straight into Barry's compelling world of confusion and control when we encounter Wil waking up in a Portland International Airport bathroom as two "poets" try to extract vital information locked in his brain.

These poets, going by such names as Plath, Yeats, Eliot and the wonderfully complicated Woolf, use certain words and phrases that can "compromise" people, forcing them to obey commands, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Wonderfully crafted, dark yet humorous, fast-paced and tragic in turn, the experience leaves the reader as confused and hungry for more information as Wil as he travels across the United States and back to Broken Hill in the Australian Outback, the scene of a horrific yet mysterious massacre, to which he holds the key, all the time pursued by the sinister poets.

msmith@thenational.ae

French Touch

Carla Bruni

(Verve)

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Venom

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed

Rating: 1.5/5

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

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Tips to keep your car cool
  • Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
  • Park in shaded or covered areas
  • Add tint to windows
  • Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
  • Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
  • Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
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Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
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Types of fraud

Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

* Nada El Sawy