Eagles of Death Metal, whose gig was targeted during terror attacks in Paris last month, will return to the stage on Sunday, December 6 in the French capital with U2, according to Billboard magazine.
The California band will join U2 for the Irish rockers’ final song at the AccorHotels Arena. Eagles of Death Metal will also resume their halted European tour in February.
Sunday’s performance will include Eagles of Death Metal co-founder Josh Homme, of Queens of the Stone Age, who rarely tours with the band and was absent during the November 13 attack at the Bataclan theatre, where 90 people were killed. Eagles of Death Metal have already said they want to be the first to play at the Bataclan when it reopens. U2’s performances on Sunday and Monday were originally scheduled for November 14 and 15 but postponed after the attacks. – AFP
The Beatles are together again
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has reunited The Beatles one last time – or, at least, their equipment.
The businessman bought Ringo Starr’s first Ludwig drum kit at auction for US$1.75 million (Dh6.42m). Irsay already owns guitars that belonged the group’s other three members – Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon.
This year, Irsay also purchased a drumhead that will fit the set he just bought.
“Finally, after 45 years, The Beatles are together again,” Irsay said.
A huge music fan and avid collector, he owns about 30 guitars used by stars such as Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia and Eric Clapton. – AP
Walking Dead producer tries out VR
While experimenting with virtual reality for his latest project, Walking Dead executive producer David Alpert and his crew relied on a very old-school form of technology when filming in 360 degrees: the hidey-hole.
“The assistant director would go around and say: ‘OK. Everyone, get in your hidey-hole’,” said Alpert. “Everyone in the camera department would look around and check if you could see them. If they could, they’d say: ‘You need a new hidey-hole’.”
Avoiding the view of cameras capturing every angle was just one of the many challenges that Alpert faced while working on Gone, a live-action episodic VR series produced for Samsung's Milk VR service.
It explores what happens when a child goes missing. At certain points, viewers are able to zoom in on clues using the touchpad on the side of Samsung’s Gear VR headset, which utilises Samsung smartphones as a display device.
Walking Dead fans will have to wait a while for a VR experience based on the franchise, though.
Alpert noted that modern VR is still evolving and that he wanted to first produce an original story in VR before tackling zombies in the immersive medium.
“In the beginning, when TV came out, people started just by putting radio on TV,” he said. “Then, when the internet came, people said: ‘Let’s put TV on the internet’. It takes a while to find that native medium. I don’t think the best thing to do is to take an established brand and just plop it in VR.” – AP
Stone Temple Pilots frontman dies at age 48
Scott Weiland, frontman of Stone Temple Pilots and rock supergroup Velvet Revolver, has died at the age of 48, while touring with his latest band, The Wildabouts.
Weiland’s manager, Tom Vitorino, confirmed the news but not the cause of death. Weiland had a long history of struggles with addiction.
A statement on Weiland’s Facebook page read: “Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts. At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott’s family be respected.” – The National staff
Fire destroys Lee Scratch Perry’s studio
Legendary reggae producer Lee “Scratch” Perry accidentally burnt down his Swiss studio after he forgot to put a candle out.
He intentionally burnt down his original Black Arts Studio in 1979 as part of a “cleansing period” in his life, but this time the destruction appears to have been an accident.
He posted on Facebook: “Something very, very sad happened. My whole secret laboratory burnt out. My whole life collections, arts, my magic hats, my magic boots, all my crazy show outfits and costumes. All my electronics and studio equipment and my magic mic, books, music, everything gone.”
Perry has called for fans to make him new magic hats in return for free tickets to his forthcoming world tour. – The National staff
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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.
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
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.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month