Features

PORT HEDLAND Australia — Aqua farms growing super foods could soon materialise in the rust-red dust of the Australian outback, alongside wheat fields, haystacks and cattle herds, as tumbling iron prices drive the minerals-rich Pilbara region to transform itself.

On a small patch of desert 250km south of the Pilbara’s Port Hedland, InterClinical Laboratories has started Plankton Farms to propagate a type of micro-algae called Dunaliella salina, renowned for its antioxidant properties.

Work on the algae farms is in its infancy but the green micro-algae, which grows naturally in Australian salt lakes, could one day benefit nutrient-deficient people worldwide, according to InterClinical’s founder Ian Tracton.

“We were looking for a place with lots of sunny, cloudless, hot days and that’s what the Pilbara offers,” Tracton said.

“We’re the only flower in the area, surrounded by the resources industry just about everywhere you look.”

A further 200km inland, agronomists are conducting trials using water from mines to grow crops for use as biofuels and cattle feed, sometimes in partnership with the mining companies.

“The strong sentiment is let’s not be a mining town, but a town with a mine,” said Terry Hill, acting chief of the Pilbara Development Commission, which has A$1.7 billion ($1.25 billion) to help transform the Pilbara.

But the transformation will be slow and not generate the staggering economic prosperity seen during the mining boom years when steel mills paid upwards of $200 a tonne for iron ore. The price today is closer to $40.

The biggest obstacles are the environment and isolation. A part of the Pilbara holds the world record for a heatwave, recording 160 days in a row over 37.8^oC in the summer of 1923-1924, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

Agriculture, aquaculture and tourism top the list of new industries, despite the harsh conditions and lack of even basic amenities outside the few towns peppering this northwestern corner of Australia, which is three times the size of England.

Industrial tourism

The number of tourists lining up to see the world’s longest trains dump iron ore into ships bound for China, or view rollercoaster-like mine conveyor belts and three-storey high truck tyres, is not large.

But promoters have tagged it “industrial vacationing” and hope it will put the Pilbara iron belt on the tourist map.

“We are encouraging all different types of visitors to come to the Pilbara for the experience,” said Jane Knapp, manager of the Karratha Visitors Centre, which offers behind-the-scenes looks at ship loadings and a view of a salt processing plant.

Karratha Visitors tour costs between A$19.95 and A$49.95 and numbers are up from last year.

Iron ore’s boom-to-bust trajectory is punching a big hole in the Australian economy, and no where more so than in the Pilbara. The 400,000 square kilometres expanse is the sixth-biggest economy in Australia and produces 90 per cent of the country’s iron ore exports — worth $40 billion last year.

This month construction finishes on Roy Hill, the last of the mines pocking the landscape with giant pits, at a cost of $10 billion and controlled by Gina Rinehart, one of the world’s wealthiest women.

“We won’t be seeing any more of these mega-projects coming out of the Pilbara for many years, if not decades,” said Gavin Wendt, an analyst for MineLife, a sector consultancy. “The market’s just not there anymore.”

Asian dining boom

Rinehart and others who made billions selling iron ore to Asia are now scooping up land alongside their mines to farm and raise livestock as an Asian “dining boom” unfolds. Mardie Station, south of Karratha, is owned by Chinese mining company Citic Pacific and runs a herd over a half-million acres.

“We are determined to ensure that the Australian agricultural industry’s future in China is as bright as our mining future,” said Andrew Forrest, founder of Fortescue Metals, the Pilbara’s biggest mining rights holder.

Forrest’s pastoral land holdings in Western Australia state exceed 1 million acres. In 2014, he acquired Harvey Beef, which employs 400 people and processes more than 130,000 head of Pilbara cattle a year.

Rio Tinto already irrigates 85,000 acres to grow hay using water from a mine. The company also runs 25,000 head of cattle on Pilbara land.

Pilbara politician Brendan Grylls sees the end of the mining boom, which fuelled sky high wages and home prices and caused an exodus of residents, as a chance to repopulate towns and establish new permanent communities in the isolated region.

AMMAN — When eating out, it could happen that one’s order gets messed up somehow, which means either having to wait for food to be remade or paying for something one did not order and was not 100 per cent happy with.

Smart Dining System (SDS) aims to make such scenario history and dining out a more enjoyable experience.

The new system, developed and produced by Jordanians, is the latest technology-based improvement for restaurant and coffee shop customers, and for any business related to the food and beverage sector; it makes the dining experience as smooth as possible.

“SDS replaces the old, traditional, approach of the introduction of a menu, with ordering on a tablet. It cuts out all the trouble and hassle one may encounter at a restaurant. Meals will be served exactly as ordered and without any margin for mistakes that may occur due to busy, moody, untrained waiters, or other reasons — especially at peak hours,” SDS managing partner Saeed Alayyan told The Jordan Times.

“SDS enables you to review and choose from a restaurant’s menu without any hassle. One can add to and/or change an order, and know the exact amount you will pay on screen, in an environmentally green way for a better future,” he added.

“We have introduced our system to the food and beverages sector and have already got interest from restaurants not only in Jordan but also in the Gulf region, Europe and Australia,” said Alayyan.

The company will soon be launching its SDS smart mobile application — for iOS and Android systems — which enables customers to reserve tables, view menus, view nearby places, access the feel-like function, get rewarded, exchange rewards and experience with friends, post timeline pictures and share the experience. 

“The mobile application will also act as a personal advertisement platform for businesses to advertise their news, offers and programmes as part of their network, without the need for any external advertisement tools,” Alayyan said.

Violently reverberating throughout its four walls, Jensen International Automotive’s (JIA) Oxfordshire premises seeming rocked to its very foundations as the Interceptor R Supercharged fired up to life with an apocalyptic thunder-clapping boom. As acoustically dramatic as it is to look at, the impeccably resurrected Interceptor R Supercharged settled into an intensely resonant but leisurely bass-heavy burble.

A thoroughly updated classic luxury grand tourer with contemporary electrics and reliable drivel-line, Interceptor R is in essence a rose-tinted and glamorously moody 1960s icon lovingly revived and re-mastered for a modern audience. No fragile relic, it features a painlessly serviceable and robust General Motors engine and gearbox well-ready for the travails of daily use.

Classy and charismatic

A glamorous and moody yet unpretentious luxury grand tourer during its’ 1966-76 milieu, the Interceptor was revived by Jensen International Automotive in 2010. Backed by Sir Charles Dunstone of Carphone Warehouse and established by Jensen-enthusiast businessmen and engineers, JIA’s 26-30 week Interceptor R revival regimen begins with a thorough strip-down and refurbishment of original 1969-76 donor cars.

With new driveline and electrics transplanted and chassis and cabin refurbished, reengineered and modernised, the Interceptor R’s transformation is more than an exercise in nostalgia. Faithfully to the original’s character and style, but with improved reliability, performance, comfort and dynamics, the Interceptor’s exterior is little altered, with its slinky low waistline, big glasshouse and distinctive wraparound rear glass hatch a model of uncomplicated style.

Seductive styled by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, the timelessly stylish Interceptor is sophisticatedly understated yet visceral bold and luxurious, with an indulgently long bonnet and predatorily recessed fascia and quad headlights. The Interceptor R’s subtly more assertive treatment features wire mesh grille and side vents, re-chromed bumpers, wider exhaust tips, deeper air dam, halogen headlights and as of 2015, tastefully incorporated and bigger modern electric mirrors.

Brutal and bellowing

Replacing the Interceptor’s original 6.3- and 7.4-litre Chrysler V8 engines, the Interceptor R instead receives more contemporary but conceptually similar American firepower courtesy of General Motors’ modern LS3 6.2-litre V8. Considerably more potent and efficient than original engines, the Interceptor R’s standard 429BHP naturally aspirated engine is more than adequately muscular, but is nothing short of brutal in 556BHP Supercharged guise, as tested.

Similar in character and compact OHV design needed to fit under a low bonnet, the Interceptor R’s aluminium — rather than cast-iron — V8 sits further back for improved weight distribution. Robust, reliable and brutally effective, it drives the rear wheels through a smoothly responsive new 6-speed automatic gearbox. Exclusive to the Supercharged version, a limited-slip differential and electronic traction control harness and regulate its vast output.

Brutally powerful with suitably bellowing and bassy acoustics, the Interceptor R Supercharged produces a mighty 556BHP at 6100rpm and 551lb/ft torque at 3800rpm. Lunging with mechanically-driven supercharged immediacy off-the-line, it delivers supercar-swift performance, dispatching 0-100km/h in just 3.8-seconds and capable of 280km/h. Muscular and abundant throughout its rev range the 1,600kg Interceptor R Supercharger is effortlessly flexible in its torque-rich mid-range and explosively indefatigably forceful at top-end. 

Contemporary classic

Expertly re-engineered for more contemporary capabilities, the Interceptor R’s most important update is its employment of independent lower wishbone twin damper rear suspension, rather than the original live rear axle set-up. With independent wheel travel on each side, ride refinement and handling are significantly improved. With revised springs and bushes and tightened-up and weightier steering, the Interceptor R is more connected, responsive and refined.

With robust and rigid hybrid of monococque and twin beam construction, the Interceptor R is well able to cope with the enhanced performance and dynamic abilities without additional stiffening. Stable at speed, fluent over imperfect UK B-roads and buttoned down on rebound, the Interceptor R Supercharged is tidy and transparent. Balanced and grippy, with good body control through corners, handling is predictable and progressive.

Meatier steering provides improved road feel, directness and tidy turn-in, but tall original ratio requires more lock than modern cars. Bespoke replica 17-inch — rather than 15-inch — alloy wheels accommodate highly effective but original modern AP Racing brakes, but vintage servo assistance requires firmer pedal input. Riding on 245/45R17 front and grippier 255/45R17 rear tyres for the Supercharged version, road-holding, braking, stability and handling are much improved, without sacrificing comfort.

A sense of occasion

Luxurious and exotic, the Interceptor R’s re-trimmed classy cabin evokes a sense of occasion and features new leather-lined carpets, slim period-style steering wheel, refurbished double-stitch leather upholstered seats and technologically contemporary classic period style stereo, air conditioning and optional satnav. Built to preference, the Supercharged version driven features a new standard-fit driver-focused JIA-designed dashboard for 2015, with pod-like instruments, user-friendly layouts

With clear chrome-ringed instrumentation, metal-gated buttons and vertical layout, the new dash replaces the naturally aspirated Interceptor R’s refurbished original horizontal unit. With big glasshouse providing good visibility one can easily places the Interceptor R on road, while refurbished seals and a new bonded windscreen provide enhanced refinement and reduced wind noise. Extensive personalisation possibilities include bespoke choices of solid, metallic or pearlescent paint

Painstakingly crafted with 4-6 units completed annually the Interceptor R is offered in right-hand drive, as driven in the UK, or left-hand drive — like JIA’ first Middle East export earlier this year. Also available is a convertible Interceptor R. Two further models are anticipated, including the Jensen GT announced early 2015. Yet unspecified, a four-wheel drive model with particular Middle East appeal — not necessarily a resurrected Jensen FF — is also believed to be in development.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 6.2-litre, supercharged V8 cylinders

Bore & stroke: 103.25mm/92mm

Compression ratio; 9:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, OHV, fuel injection

Gearbox: 6-speed automatic, RWD, 2.89:1 limited-slip differential

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 556 (564) [415] @6100rpm

Specific power; 90.2BHP/litre

Torque lb/ft (Nm): 551 (747) @3800rpm

Specific torque: 121.2Nm/litre

0-100km/h: 3.8 seconds

Top speed: 280km/h

Length: 4,700mm

Width: 1,700mm

Height: 1,250mm

Wheelbase: 2,670mm

Weight: 1,600kg

Suspension, F/R: Double/lower wishbones, adjustable dampers

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 330mm/discs, 280mm

Brake callipers, F/R: 6-/1-piston

Tyres, F/R: 245/45R17/255/45R17

TOKYO — Tired of those unsightly smudges and other dirt on your bacteria-laden smartphone?

A Japanese firm says it has the solution with what it describes the world’s first smartphone that can be washed with soap and water.

Waterproof smartphones have been on the market for a while. But telecom company KDDI says its new “Digno rafre” phone — to be launched in Japan next week — is the only one that can withstand a soapy bath.

“Our development team washed the smartphone more than 700 times to test its durability,” a company spokesman told AFP.

An online commercial aimed at proving its credentials features a child dropping the phone onto a plate of food topped with ketchup.

His mother assures her shocked family that those red globs are nothing to worry about as she soaps up the phone under a running tap.

The 21,600 yen ($175) gadget is mainly aimed at parents who want to keep their smartphones clean for their small children, a KDDI spokesman said.

But he also cautioned that only certain types of foamy soap could be used on the device, which will only be sold in Japan for now.

The US-Israel relationship from Truman to Obama

Dennis Ross, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

New York, 2015

Pp. 474

Dennis Ross was the director of policy planning in the State Department under George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton’s Middle East peace envoy and also served as a special assistant to President Barack Obama.

For 40 years he has been in player and close observer of the Middle East and US-Israel relations. In this book he provides an insider look at polices towards Israel pursued from the Truman administration to the present and how they have affected America’s relationships in the Middle East. James Baker, US Secretary of State, referred to Ross as a man whom he called “our peace process junkie”.

This is Ross’ fourth book on the US policies regarding the Middle East, particularly the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Although the book title suggests that it is mainly concerned with the US-Israel relationship over the last few decades, it is mainly about the Middle East conflict; because it is this conflict that shaped this relationship.

In Ross terms there are “three wrong perceptions” that the State Department has held from 1948 until this very day. The first one is “the need to distance [itself] from Israel to gain Arab responsiveness”. The second mistake is “concern about the high costs of cooperating with the Israelis”. Their third error is “the belief that resolving the Palestinian problem is the key to improving the US position in the region”. But are these really wrong perceptions!

Ross is a controversial figure in Palestine and the Arab region. He is accused of being biased towards Israel interests rather than acting as an honest mediator. I recall that few years ago, during a lecture at the Foreign Affairs Council in Amman, one of the Palestinian delegates to the negotiations disclosed that when Shlomo Ben Ami, Israel minister of foreign affairs then, presented conciliatory views about the future of Jerusalem, it was Ross how tried to silence him and prevented the negotiations proceeding along the Ben Ami’s “progressive” parameters.

It is not possible in this short review to cover the many chapters of this relatively large book which spans over the period from the Truman administration of the 1940s to the present day. But I found the most interesting part is Chapter 9 “The Clinton Administration and Israel: Strategic partners for Peace”. Since his election in 1992, and over his term in White House (1993-2001), Clinton made peace in the Middle East one of his priorities, and this seemed possible under the regional realities that existed at that time. 

The negotiations which Clinton supervised, in the 2000 Camp David Summit, between Arafat and Barak, the Israeli prime minister then, was the nearest that the Palestinian-Israeli sides came into a possible peace and realistic parameters were set up. At the last week of 2000, there were prospects for an accord, but (as usual) Arafat demurred. I recall that Clinton in a later speech wondered that he could not comprehend why Arafat did not endorse what he felt was a fair agreement. At the end of his term in 2001, when Arafat phoned him and told him that he was a great man, Clinton responded “Mr Chairman, I am not a great man. I am a failure, and you have made me one”. 

Many years later, with the present impasse and with the mounting Palestinian suffering, one has to wonder was Camp David a missed opportunity.

This new Ross book was extensively reviewed. But the most telling review was that of Akiva Eldar, the veteran Israeli journalist who was Haaretz diplomatic correspondent. Writing in Haaretz in November 9th he provided a most critical evaluation of the US-Israeli relationship. In his view and in the eyes of most Israelis the equation is simple: Count the number of dollars the US puts in Israeli pockets; add to this the number of vetoes the US has used to protect Israel in international organisations, saving it from sanctions and condemnations; and tally the number of hours that Ross, Abrams and their associates spent in futile negotiations that left Israel with more settlements and less peace. 

The result is an “unshakable relationship”. To be sure, even such steadfast relationships have their ups and downs.

Eldar went on to say — “there are also Israelis, and others who care very much about Israel, who strongly believe that almost 50 years of living under occupation (yes, the occupier also lives under occupation) is to a great extent a result of the “special relationship” between the US and Israel. 

They believe that a true friend of Israel must use its influence to save the country from turning into an apartheid pariah state. Many liberal Israelis blame American politicians for spoiling and coddling Israel, for turning a blind eye to its self-destructive interests.

In Eldar’s brilliant analysis, Ross “completely ignores this serial blunder, preferring to focus on the ‘successful’ bilateral relationship between the US and Israel. Having followed Ross’ conduct for many years, and the perceptions he injected into every administration he served, I strongly believe that he is largely responsible for the notion that the US needs to put Israel’s interests before those of the Palestinians. He maintained that the Arabs must take into consideration the domestic constraints of Israel’s electoral system”.

“Throughout his diplomatic career, Ross kept reiterating that the US must tailor its policy regarding the Israeli-Arab diplomatic process to fit those constraints, while ignoring the Arab regimes’ limited manoeuvrability when it comes to Jerusalem’s holy sites and the settlements policy. At the same time, he virtually ignored Israel’s violations of basic Palestinian human rights and the expansion of settlements. During negotiations, Ross Instead of putting a blueprint on the table, he kept pressing the Palestinians and the Syrians to adopt more ‘confidence-building measures’, in the hopes of creating a better atmosphere, while Israel kept building settlements, creating more facts on the ground and poisoning the atmosphere”.

Maybe the Peanuts gang hasn’t been on the big screen in decades because they’ve had so much success on the small one, with specials like “The Great Pumpkin” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” that have been annual TV traditions since the 1960s.

Thankfully, “The Peanuts Movie” isn’t just a small-screen special writ large. The filmmakers take advantage of their cinematic scope with a bigger story, more sophisticated animation and effective use of 3-D that gives new depth to the Peanuts world. But the characters loved by generations of fans — Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, Woodstock and beloved blockhead Charlie Brown — are as charming and timeless as ever.

It’s been nearly 40 years since the last Peanuts film, 1977’s “Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown”. The gang’s other theatrical outings were “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” in 1969 and “Snoopy, Come Home” in 1972.

“The Peanuts Movie”, written by the son and grandson of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, doesn’t cover new thematic territory, but it doesn’t really need to. Relying on 50 years of character development, the Peanuts gang stays true to their original selves — there’s no new edge or post-modern snark in the mix. The central concepts (be honest, be yourself, do your best) are as gentle as the curves of Charlie Brown’s silhouette.

There are two simultaneous stories at play in the film: one set in the “real world” of Charlie Brown and his friends, and a more fantastical tale of Snoopy as his alter-ego, the Flying Ace.

“The Peanuts Movie” opens during wintertime, and a snowy introductory scene with Woodstock sets viewers up for the 3-D experience. Charlie Brown and the gang are excited about a new kid moving into their neighbourhood. She turns out to be the Little Red-Haired Girl, and Charlie is instantly smitten.

School starts up again, bringing a series of challenges. First of all, the Little Red-Haired Girl is in Charlie’s class.

“I just came down with a serious case of inadequacy,” he says.

Then there is the talent show, school-wide tests, book reports and other kid-sized hurdles to overcome. The story follows the gang through the school year, focusing on Charlie’s foibles. Sally Brown plays a supporting role. Everything looks as colourful and round as the comic strip.

Meanwhile, Snoopy types himself into a high-flying adventure atop his doghouse as he battles his nemesis, the Red Baron. These sequences are distinguished by more realistic background animation — snowy mountains and grassy landscapes that look more like the world outside the movie theatre. Snoopy’s Flying Ace, aided by a team of Woodstock mechanics, flies off in pursuit of his love, Fifi, just as Charlie Brown tries to work up the nerve to introduce himself to the Little Red-Haired Girl.

Director Steve Martino cast child actors to voice the Peanuts gang, and used vintage recordings of late actor-producer Bill Melendez to realise Snoopy and Woodstock’s inimitable expressions. A catchy new song contributed by pop star Meghan Trainor is a bouncy bonus.

While “The Peanuts Movie” may lack the wink-wink wisdom aimed at adults often found in Pixar releases, it retains the wholesome appeal of those stalwart TV specials. The 3-D makes it look modern, but the Peanuts’ sweetness is satisfyingly old-fashioned.

New York — A Luke Skywalker doll for $18,000, a Darth Vader helmet or a cuddly Yoda for $100: “Star Wars” fans will dig deep to splash their cash on some of the rarest merchandise on the planet.

More than 600 items will go on sale in an online auction organised by Sotheby’s and eBay on December 11 — one week before the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, the seventh movie in arguably the world’s biggest film franchise.

The space epics have grossed billions of dollars at the box office worldwide since the first film came out in 1977 and spawned a pop culture phenomenon, drawing legions of hardcore fans.

All of the items in the auction come from the private collection of Japanese designer and creative entrepreneur Nigo, who started collecting toys and figures decades ago at just six years old.

Bids are expected across the globe when the three-hour auction goes live at 10am (1700 GMT), says James Gallo, Sotheby’s consultant and owner of store “Toy and Comics Heaven”.

“It’s a really large assortment of stuff. It’s an impressive auction both in rarity and scope of items,” he told AFP.

Sotheby’s, set up in 18th century London and best known for selling fine art masterpieces, called in Gallo to value the collection, which he spent a week and a half sorting through.

From the United States, to Russia, China and Saudi Arabia, “Star Wars” has a fan base spanning generations. The films’ psychology has even found its way onto university syllabuses.

“It’s by far the strongest franchise,” agreed Gallo. “It’s been around longer than most, it’s merchandised more than most... There isn’t much that can compare.”

A Luke Skywalker doll, which would have been sold in 1978 as a children’s toy, goes on sale at the auction with an estimated value of $12,000 to $18,000.

The figurine, with a rare two-piece telescoping lightsaber, was quickly withdrawn from the market “due to the propensity for the lightsaber to snap off,” Sotheby’s said.

Never removed from the packaging, itself in pristine condition, it is one of only 20 confirmed examples of the doll, the auction house said.

“The very high end of the market is like that,” Gallo explained.

“When you’re talking about something that there’s 20 or 30 known in the world and there’s however many millions of ‘Star Wars’ fans, when you put it in that perspective, it’s quite rare.”

Neither is there any chance that someone paying that kind of money is going to pop the doll out and play with it.

“That would not be a good idea,” said Gallo, unamused. Instead it is much more likely to go on display.

“It’s up to each individual how they enjoy the items they have. It’s just like anything else, whether it be fine art or sports collectibles — it’s kind of all the same thing,” he said.

The most expensive items are two complete sets of “Power of the Force” coins, valued at $25,000-35,000 and which were available only by special request from the manufacturer Kenner.

Highlights go on display Friday in a private exhibition at The Conde Nast Gallery at One World Trade Centre in New York.

Gallo says he is tempted to bid on a couple of items himself, but that his favourite is a 1.06 metre hairy Chewbacca from Canada valued at $3,000 to $5,000.

“It’s a really neat item,” said the Pennsylvania-based aficionado. “It’s a rare item to find.”

The printed business card still has many years to live. Despite widespread use of digital contents everywhere, in all fields, despite the generalised do-not-print advice you see everywhere, at the bottom of e-mail messages more particularly, the little die-hard card bravely takes up the digital challenge and proves that there is still a place for traditional means of communication. In a world where everything pushes you to work with soft copies and websites, the hard copy business card is an exceptional survivor.

The fact is plain to see. Understanding why is another story.

When building a simple website to introduce yourself to the others is simple, easy and inexpensive, when sending personal or business contact info from smartphone to smartphone is wireless and virtually instant, what good is a business card for then? Especially that in most cases the first thing you do with a business card that has just been given to you is to rush and enter the info in a digital database, only to get rid of the card after that, or file it somewhere where it will be archived forever and never taken out again!

In many instances you would scan the card and have it optically read by the scanner with data automatically fed into the digital database. There are even free apps for smartphones that do the trick. CamCard and ScanBizCards are two apps for Android that work very well, using the phone’s camera as a scanner to take a picture of the card, and then read it (i.e. convert it to digital) and feed the info into a database.

The world is desperately trying to be kind to the environment, and the COP21 global conference this week in Paris, France, comes as a strong reminder of the trend, of the movement. Isn’t a printed business card kind of a sin in a way, a blatant contradiction?

Fashions come and go. A few years ago you were invited to give up on business cards and instead to have the same information saved on a tiny giveaway CD drive, the size and the shape of a business card, and that was supposed to replace the latter. Of course some found it trendy, fun, but it was nothing but a fad and people quickly realised that it was nonsense. It was complicated, expensive and downright ridiculous.

Having a one-page simple website with your personal information is hardly more expensive than a pack of 500 business cards, which is the average quantity that a person consumes per year. Moreover there are countless tools available off the web today that can design the site for you and have it up and running in a couple of hours — no technical knowledge required at all. Wordpress is such a service.

However, a printed card needs no Internet to be read, is immediate and constitutes a physical reminder. Even if you invite people to take a look at your website to get to know you, they may forget or be reluctant to do so, and besides, they have to memorise your website address anyway or write it down on some piece of paper or on … a business card! A real printed card is the best reminder; you’ll find it there once you empty your pockets in the evening or when you go back to your office.

I recently spoke to the owner of a printing press in Amman and he told me that he has not seen any significant decline in his clients’ request for business cards printing over the last few years. People still like to give a card, complementing it by indicating their website address on it, for those who would like to go there to find more information.

Logic and common sense say that traditional business cards should be on their way out, but social and business habits do not always follow logic. Perhaps it is about this instinctive need for a physical contact with objects that matters so much to us human beings and that the digital world is depriving us from. The good old card will take some more time before it bows out.

LOS ANGELES — When “Star Wars” audiences were blown away four decades ago by its thrilling battles in space, they were also witnessing a big bang in special effects that is still felt today, as fans await the next installment in the blockbuster saga.

The original 1977 movie — which introduced the world to Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and a mysterious power known as The Force — changed the way science-fiction films were made, paving the way for innovations in the field.

“It woke up the visual effects industry,” Mike Fink, a Hollywood effects heavyweight who won an Oscar in 2008 for his work on “The Golden Compass”, said of the first film.

“One of the things that’s always been true in films is that the story drives the technology. It took a film like ‘Star Wars’ to show that”, Fink told AFP.

The script for the first film set “in a galaxy far, far away” confronted creator George Lucas with seemingly insurmountable technical challenges.

“With ‘Star Wars’, I want to do an action picture. I want to do something where I can pan the space ship. I want to do quick cuts. There’s a lot of rhythm, a lot of pace,” Lucas recalled in a documentary several years ago.

“There’s a lot of movement on the screen. I want it to be very cinematic, and at that point in time, that was impossible,” he added.

The creative impasse led him in 1975 to found Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), devoted to modernising the special effects industry’s techniques. The company is now the standard-bearer in the sector.

A group of young engineers and students worked day and night in a warehouse north of Los Angeles, letting their imaginations run wild.

Engineers worked with mock-ups and miniatures to bring to life the space epic that Lucas had envisioned. They experimented and came up with new animation, photography and graphic techniques that resulted in cutting-edge effects.

Among the most revolutionary breakthroughs was the computer-controlled robotic “Dykstraflex” camera system.

Named for its lead developer, John Dykstra, it allowed for seven axes of motion and the creation of flawlessly synchronized composite images — fantastic for those memorable space battle scenes.

Dykstra and his team landed an Oscar for best visual effects.

For Fink, the first “Star Wars” film “really revolutionised things by [having] machines operate other machines and using that to control cameras that make pictures”.

The adventures of Skywalker and Han Solo opened the door to a golden age in science-fiction filmmaking, a decade that included “Alien”, “Blade Runner”, “The Terminator”, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Back to the Future”.

Later on, “Jurassic Park”, “Titanic”, “Independence Day” and “Avatar” from directors such as Steven Spielberg and James Cameron pushed the boundaries of what could be achieved.

What lies ahead?

In 1999, “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace”, also written and directed by Lucas, made new headway in technological achievement.

The team had a rough time recreating the surface of the planet Tatooine. At the time, standard operating procedures would have been to make giant models, or matte paintings. But neither was good enough.

In the end, it came down to a method that blended real photography and digital graphics — a technique that would later be used by Cameron to bring to life the world of Pandora in “Avatar”.

Now, the industry is watching closely to see what innovations director J.J. Abrams will bring to the table in “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” opening around the world next month.

Die-hard fans are hoping for major surprises, but so far, trailers for the film have given little away in terms of the special effects to come.

The suspense will be over for fans in mid-December.

When I was younger I did not like going to the movies. The theatres by themselves were inviting enough, with the soda fountain, the popcorn machine and the candyfloss counters beckoning me from a distance. But the moment I walked into the cinema hall and the lights dimmed for the film to start playing, I wanted to turn around and run home. The darkened room scared the living daylights out of me. 

The result was that I was never taken to the pictures, which suited me just fine. But on the rare occasion that my baby-sitter had taken the day off, my mother would drag me along. After promptly getting bribed with enough treats, I trooped in most reluctantly, balancing my Coca-Cola bottle in one hand and a humungous cotton candy in the other. Right after the newsreel (yes, those days, every film began with a newsreel and ended with our national anthem) I would turn my back to the big screen and sit facing the audience. The next three hours was pure torture and sometimes, when the music became too disturbing, I even shut the sound out by putting my hands over my ears. For the longest time, even the thought that we were going to the movies, gave me an imaginary stomach ache, almost instantly. 

However, quite contrary to this, if my family was taking me to the circus I would be over the moon because I simply loved everything about it. In fact, from the moment the gypsy like people of the troupe marched into the colony, I was filled with excitement. The road to the spacious sports ground, where they usually pitched their tent, went past my house and I would stand by our gate for hours, waving at everybody and everything that went by. 

The various acts of the juggler, the trapeze artists, the tightrope walker, the unicyclist, the lion tamer, the elephant ringmaster, the fire breather, the knife thrower, the gymnast, the monkey trainer, the magician, the trapeze artist, the sword swallower, the trampoline jumper, the plate spinner and the leotard wearing somersault experts, mesmerised me. I sat up straight, kept my eyes peeled and refused to blink for fear of missing out. But in all these routines, the one I really looked forward to, was that of the clowns. 

Oh! How I adored those clowns. The tall ones and the short ones, the fat-bellied ones and the scrawny ones, I loved them all. With white and red paint on their faces, pointy hats and exaggerated mannerisms, they made me giggle throughout the evening. 

When our daughter was five years old I took her to meet some clowns who were performing at a circus in Abu Dhabi. I was writing a story for the local paper and I thought she would like to interact with them. One look at their antics, as they jumped up and tried to sit on my husband’s lap, had her screaming in terror. My spouse had to carry her away immediately and I had to the conduct the interview the next day. 

Recently the Jumbo Circus came to town.

“You want to go to the circus?” my husband asked. 

“Yes!” I said. 

“No!” our daughter said. 

“I want to see the clowns,” I wailed. 

“They will jump on Dad’s lap again,” she warned. 

“You can sit facing the audience,” I suggested. 

She made a face at me. 

“Ok, both of you sit facing the audience,” I decided.