FOCUS Third Edition

EDITORIAL

Travel and work are the twin themes of this, the third edi-tion of FOCUS. More light will fall on the former since

work may often play a less conspicuous role in the wild andwicked world where ETs*¹ live. They are by fate inveteratetravelers. Yet they do not flit from city to city via Holiday Innsand Intercontinentals and then claim a special wisdom that

has escaped those who are given air-tickets in steerage, and who are stillinclined to think that it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive.

Living on the brink of broke half the time has these virtues: it sharpens themind and the eye; it stimulates versatility and resourcefulness; it encour-ages resilience to ordeal. What does not kill you makes you not onlystronger but wiser and more understanding, a lesson we might find in theinterview with our intrepid aviator, whose astronomic fuel bills, etc…..

I myself vividly recall traveling by air for a good five thousand kilometersonly to find that I had been appointed to Africa’s equivalent of DotheboysHall. What was that cockroach cemetery on “my” bungalow living-roomfloor meant to signify? The wood-smoke-blackened kitchen walls? The dun-geon classrooms? The maimed secretary on a twisted crutch? And lateron it all got worse. This was Malawi in Banda’s day. One of Africa’s moreenlightened dictators, this self-styled “immortal President” only removedabout two hundred thousand of his compatriots from this vale of tears.

All ETs --- certainly of my generation --- have undergone such tribulations,but they tend to sift out their more gruesome memories if they are askedto reminisce. The author of A City on the Sea, i.e. super-civilized Barcelona,could easily have written some grievous history of head-hunting on theXingú or apocryphal tales of the merciless candirú fish. So what about you?

Now I bet the girls think that we chauvinists round here have either forgot-ten their exploits or omitted them out of jealousy. Not a bit of it! We are allterribly proud of their winning both first and second places at the GCC-widepublic speaking competition in Dubai on 28-29 November. What a terrificperformance from all the girls who took part, and their teachers, of course.

J. Jeremy Beastall

The Caucasian Challenge...Driving in a Different Direction 4-6

Coping with Co-opJam Language 8

Managing your Time 9

Branding Saudi Gas Stations 10

The Ford Factor 11

Collage as an Art Form 12

Flying Cars: Tony Helou 14-15

Up in the Air 17

My Grandmother 18

Poems 19

Paris A La Carte 20

A city by the Sea 21

Symbols of Saudi Arabia 22-23

End to an Honourable Journey 24-25

PSU Wins again in Dubai! 26

Journeys Real & ImaginedReflections of a Travelling Filmmaker 28-29

At the Crossroads in Shake City 30

Beyond our Control 31

Alternate Prespectives 32-33

Financial Fair Play Explained! 34

Kindle Suprise!!! 36

Renaissance Man 37

Windows 8: Hit or Miss? 38-39

Movies that Matter.... 40

....Future Films 41

Dreaming Free 42

The Art of Presuasion 43

Hajj 44-45

Never Say Never 46

Forza Motorsport - Release Event 47

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Contact for article submissions

[email protected]

DYLAN LONGLEYEDITOR

NAWAF AL-SAUDDESIGN

FAISAL SALAMAHDESIGN

FARAH FAWZIPRODUCTION

FOCUS December 2011 3

The Caucasian Challenge....Driving in a Different DirectionWhen planning a holiday these days, a popular method is to lookat a map of the world, choose some alternative destinations, dosome research online or in Lonely Planet, and book your flights andhotels. Using this method, you often know what to expect beforeyou’ve even left your house.

This summer, some friends and I decided to do something a littledifferent. We had heard about a rally through the Balkans and theCaucasus – parts of the world that aren’t top holiday destinations –and were immediately interested. The element that really grabbedour attention was that it was in aid of charity.

Seeing as the three of us are all teachers in Saudi Arabia, wenamed ourselves Team Arabian Knights. We met the other teamsin Memento Park (filled with statues and reminiscences of the Com-munist years in Hungary), Budapest, on 15 August.

The aim was to drive through ten countries, a distance of 6000 kms,and cross the finish line in Yerevan, Armenia, and, once there, tomake a donation to an orphanage.

There were twenty teams who participated. Countries representedwere the United Kingdom, the USA, Ireland, Canada, Australia,Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Italy, Serbia, and the Czech Republic.The first day saw us driving south from Budapest and stopping tofind answers to questions about Mohacs, the site of a massacre ofthe Huns by the Ottomans in the 15th century AD.

From here we drove through Croatia, and arrived in the evening inSarajevo (Bosnia). The final task for the day related to the assassi-nation of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, an event which sparkedWorld War I.

The first night party was held in a bar in the centre of Sarajevo, andthere the band who were touring with us (they were making a TVdocumentary about being the first band to play in some of theplaces we visited) played the first of several impromptu concerts. Itwas also here we found out we had Miss Hungary and her runner-up in one of the teams.

Day two saw us exit Bosnia, travel the length of Montenegro, endingup in Peje, Kosovo. Over the next few days, the rally went throughAlbania, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, the Karabakh Republic, crossingthe finish line in Armenia.

Within the lifetime of current PSU students, the majority of the coun-tries the rally visited have been warzones, either for religious or po-litical reasons. At a place we stopped in Kosovo, the houses alongthe road had been built by Serbs to house Serbian muslims. Theexisting Christian community had been either forced from theirhomes, or shot. At several places along the road were graveyardsfilled with locals, all of whom died in the 1990s.

In Karabakh (officially Ajerbaijan, but actually a disputed area – noman’s land - currently inhabited by Christians) we visited a oncethriving city of 150,000 people, which now is not even marked onthe map. Every building had been systematically destroyed by tankshells or mortars.

There was evidence of trucks having been used to block off streets,to offer some protection. These too had been destroyed. Whilst wewere there, a missile flew overhead, and exploded a kilometeraway.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was the scenery. Travelling onroads cut out of the sides of mountains, with barely any traffic onthem, offers the opportunity to immerse yourself in the amazing ge-ography & geology of the region.

But it was not just the natural environment that was impressive. Thesigns of human endeavour – the building of roads and tracks


through the mountains, the construction of enormous dams – boretestament to the tenacity of the human spirit. Even where theseroads had been bombed during the years of conflict, efforts hadbeen made to ensure that they were still passable.

6000 kms is a significant distance, and there is evidence of manydifferent ways of life. Budapest shows signs of the cosmopolitan,globalized lifestyle that many of us are familiar with, but by the timewe arrived in Georgia, we were immersed in a completely rural en-vironment, where cows rule the road – more because they take along time to move out of the way than for any official reason.

Armenia proudly counts itself as the ‘country’ (it was not a countryat the time) that first adopted Christianity for the entire population,in 301AD. There are hundreds of churches, cathedrals and monas-teries littered around the countryside.

The fact that it borders Iran and Azerbaijan, both Muslim countries,yet it has good relations with the first but not with the second, showsthat there is more than just religious history linking this region to-gether.

The route also provided glimpses into different ecosystems. In Bu-dapest there was the hot, lush European summer. In Montenegro,whilst travelling through the mountains, the rain set in, and it was

as bleak and barren as the northern isles of Scotland. The beachesof the Black Sea were impressive holiday resorts, whilst the peaksof the mountains in Georgia were covered in snow, and one of thevillages we stayed in was a gateway for hikers to the glaciers thatspread into Russia.

Not all the teams made it to the end. One car’s engine explodedwhilst en route from the UK to Budapest, forcing the team to buyanother vehicle in Germany. One vehicle rolled and was written off.Three other vehicles just died, at different stages of the rally. Butthere was only one participant who didn’t make it to the end. Eventhose who found themselves without their own vehicle were offeredspace by other teams.

When we reached Yerevan, Team Arabian Knights collected thecomputers they had ordered for their orphanage, and set them up.

The orphans ranged from 6 to 17 years old, after which the ones


who could went to university, and the ones who couldn’t set out onthe rest of their lives.

Despite all the natural beauty that surrounded us, it was the humanspirit which was the most impressive and notable aspect of the trip.Whenever one of the teams had a problem, any other teams thatsaw them would stop to help, regardless of how long they maydelay themselves. Add to this the locals who would come out oftheir houses, or stop their cars, and there was no shortage of peo-ple willing to help.

When suffering from extreme food poisoning, one of the team mem-bers was taken to hospital and cared for by the owner and chef ofthe restaurant where it had been contracted. After a team rolledtheir vehicle, the police were genuinely helpful, historically inform-ative, and entertaining. A restaurant owner in Georgia, who spokeno English – only Georgian and Russia – came to sit with and ‘talkto’ (actually, laugh with!) the team who were dining at his establishment.

The orphans were so grateful for their computers that they were allinvolved in a music and dance presentation to say ‘thank you’. Theboy in charge of cooking the food at a road-side café used ahairdryer to help the wood burn faster so the meat could be cooked.

The woman staffing an information kiosk looked up the answers tosome of the challenges, so the team could get underway quicker.These are some of the small things that provided entertaining yetmemorable moments.

But there is the greater scheme of things too. The people of Kosovo,who were subjected to heavy ethnic cleansing by the Serbs, whoseem to be happy and relaxed, and incredibly helpful. The peopleof Mestia, Georgia who, despite carrying frowns from their years ofSoviet suppression and hardship of life, were so appreciative of aband coming and playing in their village that they asked them toplay for a second night, and brought along their children.

Many people were met, and many friends, both the lasting and‘Facebook’ vaieties, were made during the trip. Many places werevisited, and many sights seen. Everyone who took part will relishthe rally for the rest of their lives, and several will participate in oth-ers. Joining a rally is an excellent way of visiting countries, althoughdriving for 12 – 14 hours a day doesn’t provide much opportunityfor exploring the places you spend each night at. It certainly teachespeople resourcefulness they maybe didn’t know they had, and is agreat way of interacting with people from other countries.

Andrew Conder


C o p i n g w i t h t h e C o - o p

Each year, in order to complete their undergraduatedegree, the students of Prince Sultan Universitytake one semester to go out into the workforce andgain some valuable vocational experience with anemployer that has been matched to each student’s

major. The co-operative programme is designed to give PSU stu-dents the edge over the competition and provide them with realworld life skills. Faisal Salamah talks about some of the importantthings a co-op student needs to know.

When we start our Co-op we are usually have a set of expectationssynchronized from our experiences and from what we have learnedat school. We want to learn some hard skills, we want to be as-signed some real responsibilities and simply we want to be recog-nized for our efforts. These are the standard measurements thatmany of us use to judge the Co-op. They are also the reason whymany of us may not feel satisfied about this period of vocational ex-perience. Too often, students fail to see that the values they gainfrom the Co-op are different from those in their minds.

The first thing you need to do in your Co-op is to redefine what isvaluable for your future career. You may never get the opportunityto gain this kind of experience that adds ‘vertically’ to your knowl-edge again. However, as is life- you will probably be offered some-thing different from your expectations. Somehow, it is often betterthan what you hoped to have been offered, all you need to do is tochange the way you value things. For example, you may sit idle fordays dipping tea-bags and starring at people like a camel lost on ahighway. Apparently, this is not good! But think about it this way,you are sitting at a position where you can observe issues and prob-lems that even your boss is unable to see. Think about these prob-lems and about how you might improve things and start buildingyour own vision about the business. It is highly unlikely that you willhave this blessing while you are officially employed after gradua-tion.

You are in a special business environment where your errors areforgiven, and your thoughts may not always count for your em-ployer, so take it easy and invest in observing and building yourbusiness cognition. Also, remember that many successful business-men needed only a tiny thread to hold on to before they arrived attheir wealth and success. Thus, even if you couldn’t see the full halfof the glass while indentured with your Co-op employer, just a fewextra drops might be all you need to see if you have the right atti-tude for the real world.

Faisal Salamah

J A M L A N G U A G E

The current discussion in law, politics, sociology,and anthropology and linguistics on the importanceof language reveals that this aspect of humanity isimportant in at least six ways. Firstly, language is amedium of communication. It mirrors one’s identity

and is an integral part of culture. Hence in this discourse, linguisticdiversity becomes symbolic of cultural diversity, and the mainte-nance or revitalization of language signals ongoing or renewed va-lidity of the culture associated with that language.Secondly,language is a means of expression and allows a person to partici-pate in community activities.

“Language is an integral part of the structure of culture; it in factconstitutes its pillar and means of expression par excellence. Itsusage enriches the individual and enables him to take an activepart in the community and its activities. To deprive a man of suchparticipation amounts to depriving him of his identity.”Thirdly, lan-guages are also valuable as collective human accomplishmentsand on-going manifestations of human creativity and originality asit can also be a source of power, social mobility and opportunities.

Language is important to all of us. Learning and practicing it wouldbe much easier if both theoretical and practical paths are taken.Many students learn English as a subject but often the repetitionand monotonyof every day activitiesareboring, especially to our fu-ture Scientists and Engineers at PSU

I thought Sparx would be a funway to explore language and all theenjoyment that is lying dormantbeneath it. More than a literary clubwith some Drama (role playing) and Nano-fiction, JAM and debatesbetween the participants I hope itwill encourage good verbal sports-manship and provide entertainment.

To elaborate: JAM (“Just A Minute”) is another version of extemporespeaking. It is a gameplayed between 10 players with 5 rounds. Be-fore the topics are given, a brainteaser or a cryptoquoteis given tothe participants, the rule is simple, and whosoever gives the answerfirst starts JAM. Players are to speak for minute on the given topicfor 1 minute without any mistakes, be it grammatical or any othererror, as such.If a playermakes a mistake, theother playersmust“JAM”them and identify the mistake in front of the judges.If themistake is clarified he is awarded with 10 points if not 5points arededucted from him account. In every round different topics aregiven which are more amusing, funny, and interactive as well asbrain storming, challenging and arduous. The last and most awaitedround is “Spit-Fire Round”.In this round players have to continuetheir topic in one completesentence without taking a pause or abreak, if he is out of breath he is given 2 seconds to take deepbreath and go on. Points are awarded for every single second. Ifthe player completes it in 1 minute he is awarded a bonus of 30points.

Shahrouz Mirza


Managing your timeBeing a student is a full-time job nowadays.At least that’s how it is in Saudi Arabia. Stu-dents spend an average of 9-10 hours a dayin university with another 5 hours spent out-side doing assignments and studying. Thereis no doubt that the pressures of being a stu-

dent are high. Part of this stress includes the workload and meetingdeadlines, but students also have to meet the expectations of theirfamilies. What’s more, they also need to fulfill their social obligationsas dictated by their culture and religion. The question then arises:how does one achieve a balance?

The answer escapes many even though it is simple. It is Time Man-agement. This is nothing complex or abstract. Neither is it only forbusinessmen and other professionals. It is there for you and me toapply to our lives.

Before we look into the what’s of time management, let us get aclearer picture of the why’s. There is a lot of talk among studentsabout academic pressures, but does what we actually do justify ourgrousing? I have been student in Saudi Arabia for eight years andI have studied at PSU for four. This experience tells me that the an-swer to the above question is a big NO! The problem begins withprocrastination, putting things off until tomorrow*¹ --- whenever thatis. Why do we do this? We face many distractions daily, and wedon’t really need reminding what most of them are.

Top place for distractions goes to the Internet. We can easily spend3 or 4 hours a day on websites such as Facebook, or maybe Netlog,while some may go to YouTube. These 3 or 4 hours, you will agree,are the most unproductive of the day. Second place goes to social

izing with friends whether over the phone, in coffee shops, istirahas,and even sheesha dives. These take perhaps 2 hours from our day.And, because of this running around, we can add on another hourstuck in the inevitable Riyadh traffic jams.

So how is Time Management a solution to all this? Let me say firstthat TM does not mean removing from our lives the activities out-lined above. TM is a way to prioritize and thus to deliver on what isimportant first and then follow on to the next. One very simplemethod is to get a daily planner and jot down the “to-do’s” as yougo along in your day. At the same time you can have a date sheet.Date sheets keep track of deadlines and dates of all major assign-ments and tests. It has worked like a charm for me since the begin-ning of this year. Having a list will help you to look objectively atwhat you have to deliver and then to plan accordingly. Another so-lution is to use what is called a Time Management Matrix. It allowsyou to differentiate between the important and unimportant, and theurgent and non-urgent. An example of the matrix is shown.

The solutions can be implemented through a step-by-step ap-proach, or they can be all used in harmony, which will ensure thatyou are not just effective but also efficient. Like many others nodoubt, I used to think I was rather good at TM. Then I saw the errorof my ways. As a result, I have also seen a great drop in my stresslevels, and I have achieved a balance between my social and myacademic life. So the sooner you start what I did, the better it willbe for you.

Ziyad Ali

*¹ Ed’s note: Connoisseurs of the art of procrastination (= putting off till tomor-

row) may wish to go one better with perendination = putting off till the day

after tomorrow

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Gas stations are simply a regular stop for any driver, who therebybecomes a potential customer for other products and services be-yond the sale of gas. But the majority of stations in Saudi Arabiaoffer few, if any, additional –services. Many marketing opportunitiesare missed, and many people cannot enjoy a quick meal or shortshop. In my opinion, individual ownership of gas stations has beenone of the most significant reasons why this is so.

Let us take a look at the UAE. There we find that three gas stationbrand names exist: ADNOC, ENOC, and EMARAT. All three arewell-known corporate names that provide professional petroleumservice to customers. The main reason behind the success of thesecompanies is their having developed very strict guidelines when itcomes to branding and investing in gas stations. As a result, theyhave benefited from increased income and expansion.

If we take the example of EMARAT, we will find that the stationsoffer fuel, yes, but also a minimarket, a baker’s shop, a fast-foodconcession, a café, tire and engine services, an ATM, credit cardpayment, an air-conditioned mosque, and clean toilets. All this isunder one roof. It does not matter whether you are inside the cityof Dubai or 100 kilometers out in the desert. The same service andquality are available in every EMARAT outlet.

Now here is the importance of gas station branding. It involves theengagement of employees with their workplace and of customerswith their favourite stop. Gas station companies need to build abrand image which both employees and customers can be happywith.

In the Saudi market, we very much miss the brand experience. Wefind local gas stations, often dirty, and with different owners onpremises that comprise disorganized minimarkets and so-calledmaintenance services. This chaos does not endear any gas stationeither to its local clients or its visitors.

However, there is some good news in the air. One local companyis aiming at a re-branding approach for its chain. This is SASCO, avery old petrol service company in Saudi that has started launchingnew stations with a new identity inside the city of Riyadh. All serv-ices are under one roof, including a branded minimarket calledPalm. I believe this is a very healthy development, and it will en-courage other competitors such as Al-Drees with 346 gas stationsto improve their own marketing.

Local companies have to realise that the branding process is notjust about a nice-looking gas station in a chain. Branding can pro-vide many more benefits for owner companies: better managementof production and distribution, lower marketing costs, laying of thegroundwork for future extensions, maintenance of a consistentbrand image, and quicker identification and integration of any inno-vations. One might also mention package offerings on media spaceand advertising for external companies inside the gas stations,which increase the ability to handle partner brand names such asthose of coffee shops, fast-food restaurants, banks and motels.

If SASCO’s approach spreads to other large chains, such as Al-

Drees, SARAWAT, OHOD, and NAFAT, then we in Saudi shall havebetter-looking cities and highways. We shall also have far morecontented gas station employees and, of course, far more happydrivers.

Tawfiq Hathloul

BRANDING SAUDI GAS STATIONS


T H E F O R D F A C T O RThe individual that I admire most is a man who started his global

success with virtually nothing is Henry Ford. It is difficult to think of

another man who has carried the torch of business further than

Henry Ford, a man who started off as a farmer much like his father.

While Ford is mostly known for the creation of the assembly line

that revolutionized the motor industry, he is also credited for the use

of conveyer belts on cars, mass economic growth, applying more

than two million citizens with jobs and the creation of the model T.

the model T was one of Ford’s lifelong dreams, a production vehicle

that was reasonably priced, reliable, efficient, easy to operate,

maintain, and handle on rough roads which led to its immediate

success. What is more interesting than Ford’s remarkable achieve-

ments is that he dropped out of school in order to aid his father in

expanding their family farm. In addition, Ford did not have any en-

gineering nor business skills when he was living at he’s fathers farm

but it was his ambition and motivation that led him to be one of the

world’s leading visionaries that created an empire from the ground

up. Henry Ford is the ideal individual who has carved his own path

by sheer ambition.

Of all the automobiles that have been designed and built in the

world, there is one that stands out as most significant above them

all, and that is Ford’s model T. The model T introduced mass pro-

duction and single-handedly modernized the world from horseback

transportation, to one where we have machines that are run by

gasoline engines. All this was accomplished by using the moving

assembly line, Henry Ford was able to build the cars in about one

tenth the time it took to build other vehicles by hand made before

the model T. the cars were simple, rugged, cheap and as Henry

Ford use to say “you can have any color you want as long as its

black.” Ford cleverly paid his employees five dollars a day which

was substantial at the time; he also reduced the working hours from

nine to eight hours a day. By doing so, he was able to have not two

but three production shifts working and that enabled his company

to build produce cars around the clock. As a business pupil, what I

admire about Henry Ford is that his mass production was taking

place at a time of economic difficulty and deprivation in the United

States, which he used to his advantage. The result of that was peo-

ple came from all over the country seeking jobs at the Detroit auto

factories and of course their choice was Ford due to the increase

in daily salary and decrease in working hours. Finally after nineteen

years of production, from 1908 – 1928 Henry Ford had built almost

fifteen and a half million model T’s. They were by far the most pop-

ular and plentiful vehicle on the road. Astonishingly, Ford jump

started his empire with none of his own money; he raised his capital

from friends, which is referred to nowadays as OPM (other people’s

money) he explained that it was for initial working capital purposes.

He then executed striking deals with his suppliers that enabled him

to purchase parts on credit. Moreover, this motivated him to sell

parts quickly at a profit, so that he could repay his suppliers.

Ford improved the lives of many individuals from all races; he paid

his employees a more than fair salary, improved the economy and

gave back to the community. Many people believe that Henry Ford

invented the first gasoline engine, which is not true. Instead what

Ford did is take other people’s ideas and make it better “Others

made cars. Henry Ford made better cars. And he sold them for less

money. Others built car factories. Henry Ford built the biggest fac-

tory of its time. And he made the whole factory a moving production

line.” After years of reinventing profits into his business and making

them more beneficial, the Ford motor company became an indus-

trial empire and its founder became forever immortalized as one of

the leading business legends.

Mustafa A. Al-Mashhadi


Collage is an artistic expression created by arranging and gluingnewspaper clippings, colored paper, magazine images, photo-graphs and other found objects on to a paper board or canvassurface. The technique only recently became popularized in theearly 20th century. However, the origins of collage can be tracedback hundreds of years.

The art of pasting papers to a support was called papier collé, theFrench term for pasted paper. The word collage derives its namefrom the French verb coller, to glue. This term, collage, was coinedby two famous French artists, Georges Braque and Pablo Picassoin the beginning of the 20th century when collage became aunique part of modern art. In 1912, these cubist pasting and gluingexperiments of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso broke upspace and shapes and often used torn, cut, and pasted papersas primary components of their designs. Newspaper headlinesand typography were used for their texture and graphic impact,but were not intended to be read. To this day, two-dimensionalpaper collages are still a popular means of expression.

Collage holds a permanent place in the lists of major media, alongwith drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. While it is oftenused alone, collage is also combined with other media (painting,drawing, and printmaking) in various forms of individual commu-nication. Collage is used to explore ideas, advocate concepts, anddevelop possible directions in which to work.

As a long-time artist, I have always been interested in collage asan extension of my drawing and painting. In the past 30 years, Ihave created hundreds of collages. I first began by experimentingwith mixed media collage, combining acrylic paint, oil pastel, col-ored chalk, ink, as well as colored paper, magazine images, pho-tographs, and other found objects.

Recently in the last few years, I have focused exclusively on usingimages from magazines and newspapers. The process of cuttingand pasting is a spontaneous, yet at the same time, paradoxically,a carefully planned endeavor. When choosing the images and de-ciding how to arrange them, I often experiment by manipulatingthe ‘golden mean’. This is basically means dividing the space intoa proportionately pleasing composition while considering the ele-ments of design such as space, texture, color, line, and shape.The theme or subject matter varies from whimsical to somber.

The process is often a subjective – intuitive one. I am constantlyexperimenting with the elements of design to see how they mightfit together. The possibilities are endless. It’s a great way to spendmy free time.

The process of creating is what’s most important to me; therefore,I leave it to the public and art critics to judge the final outcome.

Carl Schraefel

Collage as an Art Form


Contact us:

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Twitter:@PSUmarketingClub

@salmanalhomoud@Zee1111989

@DanaFALSaleh@ibrahimAlsghayr


From Lebanon

to London,

Par is to

Beirut ,

From Riyadh

to Ral ly Car

Racing,

Tony Helou

Lives in Top

Gear, We put

the brakes on him

to f ind out what ’s

Happening inside

The Helmet of

a speed Legend.

FOCUS: So Tony, Tell me about your car.

TONY: I own a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 Ralliart. It’s a sedan

four-wheel drive car.

Specs: 6 speed manual transmission, 2.0 Turbo engine. The car

has around 360 bhp with just an exhaust change.

FOCUS: What got you started with rally car driving?

TONY: My father and his cousins used to take me to watch rallies

in Lebanon from the age of 4. I’ve been in love with it since then. In

2005, I participated in my first rally and been doing so since.

FOCUS: How does competitive racing differ from recreational driv-

ing?

TONY: The two are completely different. First of all, competitive rac-

ing is much safer. It is held within professionaly organized events

where safety is the main issue. Recreational driving is unsafe es-

pecially when other cars are around. Second, competitve racing

pushes the driver to his limits in a safe and controlled manner,

whereas recreational driving (if fast) can be hazardous to the driver

himself and other cars on the road.

FOCUS: What does a driver need to begin? (car, helmet, suit etc-

setup costs)

TONY: At first, the driver needs to hold an FIA license (Federation

Internationale de l’Automobile). Then, in order to participate, both

driver and co-driver should wear FIA homologuated suits, under-

wear, gloves, shoes, balaclavas, and helmets. The car should also

be homologuated (suspension, brakes, tires, fuel cell, seats, har-

nesses, roll cage, etc) according the which group it competes under.

FOCUS: How much does it cost to enter and compete?

TONY: A full season in Lebanon (3 rallies and 3 hill climbs) will cost

around USD 40,000 as running cost. This excludes the price of buy-

ing / renting a rally car. The administrative fees cost around USD

3,000 a year. Car prices can reach EUR 400,000 for S2000 cars

and EUR 150,000 for PWRC cars.

FOCUS: How do you fund your competitions?

TONY: I try and get as many sponsors as possible to fund my races.

I cover the remaining cost most of the time. It can get pretty expen-

sive

FOCUS: What do you look for in a sponsor and what does a spon-

sor look for in a driver?

TONY: I look for sponsors that are ready to invest in rallying since

it provides great exposure for them. On the other hand, sponsors

look for drivers that can reach top 7-10 in a rally in addition to the

amount of exposure they get out of it.

FOCUS: What benefits can a company get from sponsoring a team/

individual for a race or a season?

TONY: Sponsors get a lot of benefits especially these days since

there are many methods of exposure.

Sponsor logo on all sides of the car, helmet, suit

Facebook page related to my Rally facebook page.

Free advertising on Streetkings.com

Newspaper and magazine interviews.

Live TV coverage

Launching event before each race.

Any idea the sponsor might propose.

FOCUS: What is the most dangerous aspect of rally car competition

driving?

TONY: The most dangerous aspect of rally driving is knowing your

limits during night stages. Mountain roads can be extremely tricky.

Accidents do occur but physical injuries are unlikely to happen due

to the safety measures.

FOCUS: Best experience in a race?

TONY: 4th in the 2009 Cedars rally

FOCUS: Worst experience?

TONY: Flipping my car 4 times in a valley during practice.

FOCUS: Stories about other drivers or events that will get a laugh...

TONY: A handfull of drivers had accidents during rallies because

of old ladies throwing soap and water to clean their front yards and

balconies

FOCUS: Dream Garage- Your ultimate car/ car collection...

TONY: Ferrari F40 (ultimate car)

Jaguar e-type

AC Cobra

G55 amg

Mc Laren F1 (road car)


Mr. Ian Rennie does much more than simply direct the affairs of theEnglish department at PSU. In his spare time he is also an acrobaticdaredevil of the skies.

FOCUS managed to catch him with one foot on the ground just longenough to get some answers to the crucial questions...

FOCUS: Flying... What’s the attraction?

IAN: An interesting question, I think it relates to being in a differentdimension and facing challenges different to everyday life, with dif-ferent variations. There are numerous aspects to flying also, withweather conditions and locations heavily factoring into your deci-sions for how to approach each situation, for example acrobaticsrequires a vastly different approach to sea flying or mountain flying.

FOCUS: Your youngest memory associated with Flying?

IAN: I was four years old and I can remember standing on the bal-cony of my parents’ house and I heard a loud engine noise comingfrom somewhere. Suddenly, an old bi-plane of tiger moth vintagepopped out from between two houses. He was wearing the tradi-tional leather flying cap, goggles and jacket and he turned his headand looked at me before roaring off. This was after the SecondWorld War when pilots could virtually go where they wanted, whenthey wanted.

FOCUS: A striking visual image indeed- how then did the fascina-tion with piloting planes develop?

IAN: I have two main interests – bird watching and flying. The firststarted at around the age of ten and the two seem to fit hand inglove. Natural flight and artificial flight had a hold on me and grad-ually until I got my pilot’s licence I fostered each of them.

FOCUS: Who has had the strongest influence on your aeronauticalendeavours?

IAN: Well, in fact there were two people, both instructors and com-pletely opposing characters. One, who was close to 70 at the timeof my training you would not trust an inch on the ground. He wassomething of a con-artist but in the air he was as straightforwardand honest as can be. The received wisdom was that in the air youmust be honest with yourself. There’s no use in trying to kid anyonethat you’re better than you are up there- it could well be fatal evenif you are a less than honest person on the ground.

The second influential character was a young man from a new clubI went to check out. He made a point of quizzing me about my back-ground. This fellow, in contrast to the first gentleman, had total in-tegrity on land and in the air. From him I learned the importance ofthoroughness in all aspects of aviation- to check and recheck every-thing. The instruments you use are designed to keep you aloft, soif they malfunction and you’re not aware of it, you could find yourselfin a lot of trouble.

FOCUS: What is your advice to people who have similar passions,but prefer recreational flying to a career in the industry?

IAN: Keep to recreational flying. After hanging around a lot of air-ports and meeting a lot of pilots, many of them have told me theywish they had done something else for their career. For this reasona number of pilots fly light aircraft recreationally to experience theenjoyment of what it was that attracted them to flying in the firstplace.

FOCUS: Do you have a particular model of plane or planes thatyou admire?

IAN: Any general aviation pilot admires the Cessna aircraft becauseit is so safe and it’s difficult to make a mistake when flying one. TheGrob is a model that will bite you if you make an error but it givesfair warning. A story I read once retold the adventure of a pilot whowas instructed to ferry a plane between two airfields. He had beenvery busy and was tired when he embarked on the trip. As a resulthe fell asleep for two hours. When he woke up, the Cessna hadkept its bearings and was 1,000 feet higher than its original altitude.Far from falling out of the sky, the plane barely moved from its di-rection!

FOCUS: What are the most important things to remember when incontrol of a plane?

IAN: An instructor once said to me “Never put an aircraft whereyour mind hasn’t been”. You must be aware of where you are soyou don’t intrude on others’ airspace and if you make a mistakethen the best thing to do is admit to it.

FOCUS: Tell me about some of the more memorable adventuresyou have experienced involving aircraft- any tales of derring do?

Well there are a few; however, we’ll have to leave some for thememoirs. The only time I’ve ever been really scared while flyingwas during an acrobatics turn. I was inverted on a loop the loop ma-noeuvre when some liquid splashed on to my face. It hadn’t comefrom me and so my only thought was that it must be gasoline fromthe fuel tank, which caused some degree of consternation. Initially,I made straight for the ground from an altitude of 5,000 feet but afterchecking all instruments I decided I wasn’t in any danger of turninginto a fireball right then and there. As it turns out, the compass hous-ing had sprung a leak and showered me in methylated spirits. I feltthat I recovered from the shock quite well and continued with myroutine.

FOCUS: Words of encouragement for novices?

IAN: People interested in flying should go for it – get to the nearestflying club and start training. It will develop one’s perspective andabilities.

FOCUS: Any maxims that have stuck with you over the years fromyour instructors?

IAN: It’s better to be down here wishing you were up there, than upthere wishing you were down here.

FOCUS: Any final thoughts about this passion of yours?

Longevity seems to be a common trait in flying – there are a greatmany pilots who are well advanced in years. I have heard anotheramusing adage that complements this fact “There are old pilots andbold pilots but no old bold pilots”. If you can combine that with thesensible advice not to take an aircraft where your mind has notbeen then you may fly and live to a ripe old age.

U P I N T H E A I R


My GrandmotherThere's nothing harder than saying goodbye to people we love.They leave an empty place in our hearts. I'm living a moment likethis right now. This Friday, my grandmother is going back to Sudan.It's a long story, started years earlier…After their marriage in Sudan, my parents emigrated from our vil-lage, Al Sair, in the north of Sudan to Saudi Arabia, where my broth-ers and I were born and grew up. Al Sair is a very beautiful place:the green lands all over the village, the cows and sheep around,and the Nile through the village. I've never been there but I've seena lot of photos that made me think that people would fight for thesake of staying in such a place.

We've stayed in Saudi Arabia for a very long time. We've been inthis beautiful country for more than twenty five years. I've had thebest welcome, the best treatment and the best education. But I'vealways looked forward to meeting my relatives who I had neverseen: my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.

One day about six months ago, my father came home and told ushe was going to bring our grandmother from Sudan and he wasworking on the visa. I felt very happy with this news because I al-ways wanted to see her. She saw me only once when I was a baby,and I didn’t remember her at all. A lot of thoughts came to my mind:What would she look like? Would she recognize me? Could shespeak Arabic well? Because in our village, they speak a Nubian lan-guage, which I can't speak. How could I speak it if I've never beenthere? I was excited and nervous at the same time.

We all started cleaning the house and brought new furniture. Wedidn't sleep the night before her arrival, because the plane was sup-posed to arrive at midnight. My father went by car to the airport tobring her while we were waiting at home. The airport was so faraway that my father had to drive about a hundred kilometers. Hecame back with her in the morning which was the most wonderfulmorning we have ever had… My eighty-year-old grandmother entered the house and the tearswere falling from her eyes with great happiness. She spent a fewminutes with each one of us hugging us and giving us hundreds ofkisses. She told us that she felt very happy that she had finally metus before it was "too late" … She was short, thin and bent, but theway she walked and moved showed something different; She wasagile and strong. She was wearing a white headscarf and coloured,rose-printed Sudanese thobe. I also noticed the colour of her skin.My father is darker than me, and my mother is lighter, but my grand-mother’s skin had exactly the same colour as mine… We carriedher bags inside and my mother told her to rest because the journeywas tiring. We were tired, too, because we were awake for too long.But she didn’t want to rest… She wanted to stay with us.

In the evening, she opened her bags. She brought some pistachio,nuts and biscuits that cannot be found anywhere in Saudi Arabia.She also brought some Sudanese clothes and some incense andperfumes. Then she raised her hands and started saying prayersin Nubian, and crying at the same time. I've never seen a personas emotional as her. She praised the elegant, kind and polite treat-

ment of Saudi people. She also told us about her last visit to usabout twenty years before… It was like a piece of Sudan coming tous.The next day visitors started coming from different places, Riyadh,Jeddah and Dammam. Some of them met her in Sudan a long timeago. The funny thing was that she recognized most of them, afterall of these years! I couldn't believe how aware she was. As an old person who had a lot of experience in her life, she toldme and my brothers a lot of things about our ancestral culture andtraditions such as weddings, what people wear in special occasionsand stories about our relatives. I listened to her with full attention,because at first, I was afraid that she would be disappointed in myignorance of these things. But the good thing was that she acceptedthat we were living in a foreign land, although it bothered her a littlebit.

Every time I got back from college, I saw that bright and warm smileon my grandmother's face, and she said that I must be tired and Ishould rest. More than once, she pretended that she wanted toshake my hand, but actually she was holding some money andwhen I shook her hand she left it in my palm. She embarrassed me,but she was really kind and loving. She was also diligent and active,never thought about her age. She did a lot of hard work without anyhelp, and no one could stop her. I saw her once pulling a big twistedcarpet in the courtyard outside!

One day I got so sick that I was throwing up all the time and mylimbs were numb. She held my leg and pressed it with an amazingstrength, like a young man's, and told me that it would help theblood stream. Then she gave me a drink she had made herself. Ididn't know what she put in it, but I knew that it tasted terrible. Theeffect was quick, and I stopped throwing up and my limbs becamenormal immediately. It was like magic. She told me not to use drugsbecause there's always a natural remedy.

Although she was happy to be with us, she was homesick, becausein Sudan, culture and social life are not the same as in Saudi Arabia.There, she is used to going to farms, neighbors and parties, buthere she couldn't do whatever she liked. So she decided to go toMecca to perform “Omra” with my uncle, and refresh her spirit. Theywent in my uncle's car and spent five days there, and it was a greatexperience for her.

Three months passed like three days, and the time for my grand-mother's return has come. I feel very sad that she is going to leaveus, but very happy to be reunited with my country and my family.Those ninety days were the most wonderful days in my life. Therewas a dark side in my soul and she lit it for me with her love, hope,faith and optimism in life. I will miss her warm hug, her beautifulsmile, her kind words and great love… I hope we can surprise herand visit her next summer vacation. Although I don’t want to say it,goodbye grandmother.

Essam Sayed Ali Ahmad


through the mirror (27 looking to 17)

you can trek to the furthest borderbut don't you ever cut the corners

and don't you ever do to me what i done to you

scale a waterfallmake the mountains crawl

but don't you never do to me what i done to you

make their ashes laughmake her tears roll back

but don't you never do to me what i done to you

even if they push your teeth outdon't you ever let lies leave your mouth

and don't you ever do to me what i done to you

graze in fields of glasswalk the ocean's paths

but don’t you ever do to me what i done to you

if you ever slip, don't fall downand even if you fall keep crawlin'

and don't you ever ever neverno don’t you never ever never

and don’t you ever do to me what i done to you

Daniel Oliver

Some Theoretical Findings from a Galaxy Concordance

The objects of astronomy present a macrohierarchy, including entities like galaxy clusters,galaxies, stars, planets, and subsidiary bodies,

and bear in mind our modern picture of the universe dates back to only the nineteen-twentieswhen Hubble demonstrated there was more than one galaxy,

but now it seems, (and soon it may be orthodoxy) that from any chosen view-point, that everyother galaxy is going away from you,

in addition to a new theory about the origin of our Solar System that suggests that the Sun hasnot been flung out into the void at random,

but rather that is in a special place in our Galaxy, and that it wouldbe incorrect to draw inferences from insular studies of our stellar neighbourhood

as the Solar System orbits the centre of the Galaxy (by the latest recks) at a distance of thirtythousand light years – that’s 10 kiloparsecs –

that’s why some scientists believe the Sun, like other stars, may be part of a binary system andhave a twin somewhere out there in the dark

and a shortcut to it might be if a spaceship could go into one black hole and come out of an-other on the other side of the Galaxy, like a mole,

and, talking of black holes, they may well be more than the number of visible stars, which, inour galaxy, are about a hundred thousand million in total,

but, back to the question in hand, biologists would tend to say, “No, probably, here is no ad-vanced intelligent life within OUR Galaxy.”

Yousuf Hindess

walk the Line*for small-army son of rule-of-the-spear*

i awe at no Mountain& if One standsin my Way, i'ma climb Itor turn It to Sand

cuz i walk a straight Line& i’ll stride 'cross the Seaor cut It in halfif It try to drag me

i walk a straight Linethat don’t go left or righteven if the Sun blindsor i'm swallowed by Night

my Line go straightno, i'll never turn backeven if Lava creepsor Claws tear my back

Daniel Oliver

ruwais

*in loving memory of bukhari rice*

furry bikes w/horns, misled

painted beards: orange, & red

kisses on the cheeks of men

gnitirw backwards with a pen

concrete villages, scarce wind

oases, pilgrims permanent

when shops close the sinners hide

beauty's a secret to sunlight

boys in replicas are clad

don't mind them, they're just shabaab

fragrances design the air

at green, don’t pause or horns will blare

the moon spawns poetry and names

gnarléd limbs shake as they pray

ruwais

Daniel Oliver

musick&tv

i dont lisn 2 rap cuz rap talx 'bout killn blax &i'm blak

i dont 2n n2 newz cuz newz crewz say how muslmz r bad &i’m not bad

Daniel Oliver


When you return from the long vacation, does your English teacher usually give you that

most tedious of assignments: “What did you do last summer?” Mine used to, and it sim-

ply spoiled the fun of reminiscing about the whole experience. But since I am older and

wiser now, and the assignment is optional this year, I will tell you about my summer vacation in the

land of republicanism, the beaux-arts, and frog-eating *¹.

This was the first time that I had visited France, and I was struck by how beautiful the country is.

The first stop for any typical Saudi visitor is the Champs Elysées. Here there are a great number of

gourmet restaurants with great service --- actually, that seems to mean being rude to foreigners and

overcharging them French style.

The question you might well have been asking yourself in Paris is this: ‘Did I go anywhere of partic-

ular interest, or did I just loaf around as I do in Dubai?’

Well, my friends and I went to two notable places, the Louvre and Versailles. The Louvre is Franc-

e’s most famous museum, filled with paintings of beautiful people and statues of naked ones. You

will, for example, be able to see art from Ancient Greece, and from Europe in the Middle Ages and

the Renaissance. It is all really awe-inspiring except for the creepy baby paintings that will scare

you for keeps.

We also got to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, and it is every bit as awesome as I had

imagined. (My theory about her mysterious smile is that she is trying to hide her bad

teeth --- a common misfortune in those days.)

The next stop was Versailles, the palace of Louis XIV. It has golden thrones, a corridor filled

with mirrors, and paintings on the walls that show Louis just being stylish or simply wasting

his enemies on the battlefield. Never since Rameses II has a king loved himself so passioa-

tely. You can understand why, eventually, the 18th-century peasants got round to re-

volting and to guillotining royal heads.

Anyway, my trip ended with going to the best chocolate store ever, La Maison du Cho-

colat. This chocolaterie is so amazing that no Parisian wants to tell you about it when

you ask for directions. In fact, I was told the wrong way to go. But if you explore the

Champs Elysées as closely as I did, you will find this magical place.

And my overall impression of my French trip? France is a place which sometimes

welcomes its guests and which, at others, can really be snooty and snotty

and snub them. That is France’s dual personality. At least it has one, I suppose.

*¹ Ed’s note: = batrachophagy, if you like the big word for this ghastly habit;and they

do malacophagy!

Mohammed Al-Lehbi

PAR

IS A LA C

AR

TE


Barcelona is a beautiful little city on the Mediterranean Sea and along way from from the towering skyline of metropolitan New Yorkwhere I was born and grew up. In fact the two places seem to bealmost opposites: New York with its capital–of-theworld attitudeand Barcelona with it’s our-little-corner-of-the-world attitude.Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, a small nation that is officiallypart of Spain. There are only 6 or 7 million Catalans, which by NewYork standards is very small-time. Yet Barcelona has given theworld some amazing gifts. I lived in Barcelona for over 20 years andalthough I am not a native, I feel like a New Yorker and a“Barcelonin” in equal measure/Barcelona is my city too.

The first and most extraodinary thing about Barcelona is the city it-self. It is full of magnificent buildings and architecture. Gaudi is thecity’s most famous architect and is responsible for several ofBarcelona’s’s iconic buildings and spaces. His wavy lined LaPedr-era and the reptilian roof toppped Casa Batalho on Barcelona’smain stree,t Paseo de Gracia, are must-sees for all who visit thecity. Park Guell with its mosaics and serpentine benches offers atremendous view of the city. In addition to Gaudi’s work, this cityboasts of many other fascinating buildings such as the Palau de laMusic, an Art Deco theater, the undulating roof of Mercat de SantaCaterina, a neighborhood food market or the Santa Maria del Mar,a gothic cathedral. I had never been interested in architecture untilI came to the city and here I learned to see buildings in terms ofline, form and structure.

People actually live in these buildings. They spend a good part oftheir lives in the plazas terraces and balconies throughout the city.There are always people in the streets going about their business.In fact a recent poll in the El Periodico newspaper showed thatabout 30% of the “Barcelonins” walk to work every day. Even morepeople use the public transportation systems of subways, buses,trams and trains that crisscross the city. This means that you seepeople everywhere you go and that local shops, restaurants andcafes are more popular than generic shopping malls found all overthe world. I loved travelling around the city and seeing people andnow thanks to mobile telephones, I often overheard snippets of theirprivate lives too. Barcelona is not a good city for private cars as itoften takes 30 minutes or more just to find a place to park.

People love to go out in Barcelona. There are outdoor cafes, clubs,pubs, restaurants, theaters, discos, cinemas and festivals for allsorts of people and budgets. In recent years elegant restaurantswith celebrity chefs have become very popular. In these restaurantsdinner can easily cost 150 Euros or more. On every street there arefamily run restaurants with 10 euro Menu del Dia lunch specials.These lunches are usually traditional Catalan foods such as lentils,baked fish or tripe. Thursday is Paella day. Of course there are allkinds of international restaurants too. In recent years scwharma hasbecome very popular with young people. Tapas are also popularwith everyone but the Basques from Northeastern Spain are betterknown for tapas than the Catalans. In the United States meals are

quick and practical events especially during the week but in Spainmeals are celebrations and can take 2 hours or more. Good foodand good company is the Spanish way of life. Nearly all offices,stores and businesses close from 2 – 5 pm for lunch so that peoplecan enjoy their main meal of the day,

Football Club Barcelona or Barça is the pride of this city. The world’sgreatest players such as Maradona, Ronaldo, and Messi haveplayed for this team. There is a special excitement in the city on thedays of a big game, I could hear the neighbors cheer for a Barcagoal and moan in despair whenever Barca missed a shot. Sportsbars would be packed with fans watching large screen TVs. IfBarca won an important match, hundreds of people would drivearound the city honking and waving flags. If Barca lost there wouldbe silence and recriminations. When the club elects a president,the event takes on the proportion of a parliamentary election withmillions of Euros spent on electoral campaigns and televised de-bates. Barça is the current European and Spanish football champi-ons. Barca is one of the very best clubs in the world and this is asource of tremendous pride for the entire city which is why Barca is“ more than a football club”.

Barcelona is a bilingual city. Some people speak Catalan. Somepeople speak Spanish. Newspapers are published daily in each lan-guage. Computer translation allow one newspaper to publish thesame edition in both languages. Although the city is divided almostevenly among Catalan and Spanish speakers, Catalan is the offi-cially the first language of the city. All public information is presentedin Catalan. Public television is exclusively in Catalan. Street signsare in Catalan and even the names on private businesses must bein Catalan. Some people choose to live their lives in Catalan. Oth-ers speak Spanish. Some people speak both. Most foreignersspeak Spanish because there is an unwritten social rule in the coun-try. Whatever language you meet someone in is the language youalways use to speak to that person. Since most foreigners do notknow Catalan when they arrive they end up speaking Spanish toeveryone.

My years in Barcelona were very happy years and, with no disre-spect to my first love, New York City, I would have to say that I havefallen in love with Barcelona too. Yet tourists ride through the streetswithout ever knowing the soul and the beauty of the place. I amhappy to say that Barcelona’s beauty and charm is an importantpart of my life and something I will always remember with a sweetsensation of love and admiration. Barcelona is city by the sea thatdoes not care if it is the largest or the best but just likes to be whatit is.

Robert Cavallo

A City by the Sea


Symbols of Saudi ArabiaWay before I was born, my grandfather found pleasure in

collecting national symbols. He found a special interest in

the various Saudi currencies of the current kingdom be-

cause they represent a particular time and place most

acutely. He passed his passion along with his collection

to my father, who took care of it and added his own touch,

and that’s how it eventually came into my possession.

Browsing through them, it is noticeable that unlike the Ot-

toman Empire currencies (Gold coins), the Saudi currency

began as metal coins in 1933. Thirty years later, the first

paper-based currency was introduced by King Abdul-Aziz

the founder of the country (in 1952 A.D.). That became

the precedent and thereafter a tradition for each king to

introduce his own currency, and later on, even the value

distribution per bill was increased.

The new paper currency was initially not very popular in

King Abdul-Aziz’s time compared with the more valuable

gold coins of the Ottoman era. It did however; finally find

favour during King Saud’s reign. King Faisal came after

him but no major changes were made to the currency in

the period of his rule.

King Khalid had a significant impact on the currency’s de-

sign in the late 1970s. He was the first monarch to intro-

duce pictures to the design, but rather than adding his

own portrait, as nice gesture, he had King Faisal’s and

King Abdul-Aziz’s pictures added.

In the 1980s King Fahd added the 20 SR, 200 SR and

500 SR denominations to the currency.

Most aspects of the modern Saudi legal tender have re-

mained the same since the 1990s, however, King Abdul-

lah has had some of the images on the present currency

updated and has refreshed the look and size of the one

Riyal note.

Ibrahim Yamani

King Abdul-Aziz in 1952 A.D. introduced the first Saudi paper bill, it was origi-nally for Hajj visitors, which is why there are six languages apparent on the bill.

Some of the bills King Saud had commissioned (1961 A.D.) were too bigand were later reformatted to a more convenient size.


Some of King Abdullah’s bank notes ( 2007 A.D.)

Currency during King Faisal’s reign in 1968 A.D.

King Khalid currency 5 SR bill had King Faisal’s picture, it had a spelling mistake -“Khassah” Riyal instead of “Khamsah” Riyal (edited later) and other bills ( 1976 A.D.)

These were special editions during King Fahd’s reign, designed for the 100th anniversary of the start ofunification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (20 SR, and 200 SR ), and the rest of his bills (1984 A.D.).


On the morning of the 22nd of October, 2011 I woke up to a phone call from a friend asking me if I had seen or heardthe terrible news. Like a bad dream I couldn't wake up from, this sad revelation came as quite a shock to me. I felt

that our nation had lost a part of its identity, a part of its soul. The whole region was mourning the loss of the CrownPrince, Sultan bin Abdulaziz. He was a great figurehead for the country and influenced its politics and defence systemsas well as the lives of many people in many positive ways. It has been said that he devoted his life to help others inneed and this legacy lives on through the work he has done for many communities in Saudi Arabia.

Prince Sultan was born in Riyadh on the 30th of December, 1929. He held many important positions in the Kingdomduring his political career. His first major role was in 1943 when he was appointed as Head of the Royal Guard by hisfather, King Abdulaziz. After that he was given the post of the governor of Riyadh in 1947. During King Saud's reign, heheld the position of Minister of Agriculture and helped set up a project for settling the nomadic tribes of the Kingdom.When he was appointed as Minister of Transportation in the 1960s, he oversaw the construction of the Riyadh-Dammamrailway. However, perhaps his most important role was in 1962 when he was appointed as the Minister of Defence andAviation and Inspector General. Since that time he helped to establish the modern Saudi Arabian armed forces, includingthe land, naval and air defence forces. After the accession of King Fahd to the throne in 1982, he became SecondDeputy Prime Minister. When King Fahd passed away in 2005, he was subsequently appointed Crown Prince andDeputy Prime Minister.

He was frequently referred to as "Sultan al Khair" because of his charitable deeds. In a popular (possibly ap-ocryphal) tale, it was said that his father gave him twice as much pocket money as his other sons. The reason for this favouritism, according to the story was due to the fact that he spent all his allowance on those around him. As with his later life, he devoted much of it to helping people in need, establishing many health institutions, such as the Prince Sultan Humanitarian City on the outskirts of Riyadh in 1995. This provides social servicesand health care for the elderly and rehabilitation programs for the disabled. He also had a hand in opening up several medical centres for disabled children across the Kingdom. For this and numerous other duties hewas awarded the Medal of Honour for Humanitarian services in 2007.

Prince Sultan also had a great interest in the preserving the indigenous wildlife of the Kingdom. He establ-ished the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development in 1986 to protect the nation'sendangered species.

I had the good fortune to have met Prince Sultan on more than one occasion. My impression of the manwas that he always had a warm, welcoming demeanour and an easy and comforting smile that never left his face. He was the kind of person that in spite of being pulled in many directions, with innumerabledemands on his time, never forgot those he met; and for this reason alone it could be said that he was truly one of a kind.

So we mourn the passing of Sultan, our prince of hearts. His absence will leave a gap in the character and history of Saudi Arabia and a reputation that no other will be able to match. Although most of us neverhad a chance to get to know the man, his good deeds and acts of compassion have left behind him a pos-itive legacy, an example to ordinary folk and those who wield power that generosity of spirit, action and wordwill leave warm memories and feelings for those who have been touched by a gesture of kindness.

Nawaf Al-Saud

End to an Honourable Journey

For the second year running, PSU won first place in a GCC-wide

public speaking competition. Not only that, PSU took second place

too and became the first university ever to win the trophy twice or

to retain it.

This year it was two girls from PSU-CW who did PSU proud at the

11th Inter College Environmental Public Speaking Competition or-

ganized by the Emirates Environmental Group at Dubai Knowledge

Village on 28-29 November. Athough Alsughayer, from the Depart-

ment of Interior Design, was the overall competition winner, winning

both her topic, ‘Development with destruction – is it possible?’, and

the right to take the trophy back for a year. In second place, by just

one point, was Haneen Al-Ghamdi, from the Department of Law,

who won her topic of ‘GCC countries- 25 years from now’ and came

in as the competition’s runner up.

Both girls put in marvelous performances which drew applause and

commendations from the audience. The pair were ably supported

by their teams who had put in several months of preparation and

practice prior to travelling. As the final results were announced, the

PSU entourage shrieked in jubilation thrilled that their hard work

was rewarded with PSU’s best ever showing. Even arch-rivals Al-

Yamama University sang along in celebration, proud that a fellow

Saudi university had claimed victory.

So the Women’s College have maintained and extended PSU’s un-

surpassed record of always winning some position in the EEG com-

petition and once again a group of young undergraduates have

gained invaluable experience researching an environmental topic

and presenting their findings and their opinions to their peers.

Well done to our two girls’ teams from PSU-CW!!

Overall Winners of the Inter College Environmental Public

Speaking Competition were:

Winner: Prince Sultan University (Department of Interior Design),

KSA

1st Runner Up: Prince Sultan University (Department of Law), KSA

2nd Runner Up: Al Yamamah University (Business College), KSA

Yousuf Hindess

PSU wins again in Dubai!


I recently found myself at 33,000 feet somewhere over Australia’sgiant red centre reflecting on the ease with which we move vast dis-tances in short periods. I was heading to France for the internationalpremiere of a film I began working on almost a decade earlier. Thefilm is based on my experiences in the rain forests of Papua NewGuinea where travelling only a few kilometres is a major undertak-ing and often takes days. Life in the remote region of Lak in South-ern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea was often difficult. The placeis hot, stinking hot, even thinking makes you sweat profusely andmoving results in a constant stream of perspiration. There is nopower in the Lak district, no roads, the water supply and food is dugout of the ground or speared as it runs by. I was often forced to walkfor several days though the bush just to reach a dirt road that onlythe most foolhardy four-wheel drivers would venture down. I even-tually spent two years shooting a film about the lives of the Lak peo-ple and the strange events that occurred in this remote communityin 2001. A decade later I found myself travelling at 900 kilometresper hour to the other side of the earth about to descend on one ofthe greatest cities in the world, Paris France.

I spent eight days in Paris wandering and exploring the city in be-tween screening my film at the Jean Rouch Festival International,watching other films and talking to audiences. There is much to ad-mire about the French and their beautiful city. Every bridge acrossthe Seine is a work of art, every building is a statement about itstime and place and every artwork is monumental in its scope andvision. The cafés are serviced by waiters who perform their job asa profession; they deliver food, recommend wine and serve humourand wit between light hearted conversation about their sporting he-roes and national treasures. By comparison, in my country (NewZealand), a bridge gets you over water, buildings are for housingthings, artwork is framed and hung on a wall, and waiters are peo-ple looking for another job.

Between films at the festival the local réalisateurs (directors) wouldtalk in passionate tones about their likes and dislikes, and themeaning behind the images. I spent several fascinating eveningviewing and discussing films with other filmmakers. The festival, thecity and the experience of stepping outside of my normal life pro-vided a great opportunity to reflect on what it is that makes a greatdocumentary film. All too often filmmakers think that it’s enough fora documentary to put across information and to tell the story of aplace, person or event. In my opinion, it’s not enough. Films shouldalso be emotional journeys that push the boundaries of what weknow as filmmakers and audience members. The cinematography,sound design, and editing should reflect and compliment the subjectand contribute to the film in meaningful way. Just as the French turnevery building and occupation into an art form, documentary filmsshould be artistic in their rendering of the ‘real.’

After an amazing week in Paris I was lucky enough to have the op-portunity to visit Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was myfirst visit to an Islamic country and an unforgettable experience. Asa documentary film maker Saudi was a visual and aural feast. Theaesthetics of Arabian architecture captured my imagination and mycamera lens. Just as the call to prayer announced through loudspeakers from every Mosque and every tower pervaded the auralenvironment. The ways in which Islamic practices are integratedinto the language, dress and daily routines of all Saudi Arabianswas a fascinating insight into a living and vibrant culture. I only re-gret that my time there was too short.

After almost a month back in New Zealand, I have had a little timeto reflect on my travels and experiences. The opportunity to travelto both Paris and Riyadh afforded me the chance to step outside ofmy routines and everyday practices and gave me the opportunityto experience, see and explore different cultures and ways of beingin the world. It also provided the chance to reflect on my own prac-tices as a filmmaker. Saudi especially reignited my passion for ex-ploration and discovery. As a filmmaker I have the opportunity to dothe same for audiences. To take the viewer on a journey to bothnew physical spaces but also new emotional and intellectual places.Good films take the viewer in new directions with content, craft andsound,on a journey of discovery, beyond the everyday toward theunexplored and uncharted.

Ironically, in the next twelve months my film about an isolated rainforest people of Papua New Guinea who rarely have the opportunityto move outside of their region will afford me several more oppor-tunities for international travel. I hope one day to be able to takesome of the Lak people with me. The experience would no doubtchange them immensely in many ways, but perhaps also, providethem with perspective and the reflective space to confirm their ownpractices and see their own lives anew.

Dr Paul Wolffram teaches Film Production at Victoria University ofWellington, New Zealand. His most recent film “StoriTumbuan: An-cestors’ Tales” tells the story of the Lak people of Papua NewGuinea and the dark history of their region that continues to hauntthe people and the place.

A preview can seen at: http://storitumbuna.wordpress.com/trailer/

Journeys Real and ImaginedReflections of a travelling filmmaker


http://storitumbuna.wordpress.com/trailer/


On the 4th of September 2010 Christchurch awoke to a 7.1 magni-tude earthquake centred west of the city. It either damaged or de-molished a number of modern and heritage buildings in the centralcity; miraculously, despite injuries being reported, no-one was killed.A few months later, on February 2nd at 12.51 pm, another smallerearthquake, technically considered an aftershock, struck in the mid-dle of the working day. Although registering 6.3 on the Richter scale,the location and nature of the event was powerful, reducing a sig-nificant portion of the central business district (CBD) to smoulderingruins. 181 people lost their lives. Thousands of aftershocks havepummelled the city since the original incident and some residentshave fled to other parts of the country in search of sanctuary.

In August 2011, as part of my annual return visit home, I spent aday touring the city with my parents, who remain in Christchurch,as the citizens of my hometown respond to the campaign to rebuildthe damaged urban centre.

The change to the city is at first not obvious. The CBD is currentlyoff limits as demolition and stabilisation projects are underway.Thus, a direct view of the devastation to my childhood home wassomewhat lessened. What did, however, become apparent was avery personal level of loss in the following hours. Missing housesare like pulled teeth that create gaps in an otherwise normal smile.The evidence of condemnation is there, in the form of cyclonefences, cordoning off swathes of urban streets and shipping con-tainers stacked two high, protecting commuters from rock falls onmain roads across the esplanade in one of the most scenic areasof the city’s landscape. The streets are a patchwork of tar seal cov-ering the scars where the rippling effect of successive shockwaveshas torn gaping holes and left a crisscross of trenches over the en-tire transport network. Homes, rendered uninhabitable teeter at theedge of the Eastern cliffs while a recently constructed apartmentblock overlooking the estuary and Brighton Spit lists drunkenly,abandoned and awaiting demolition.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the new era curfew is the im-pact on the nightlife and youth culture enjoyed by the sizeable stu-dent population. Classes have been disrupted from primary totertiary level across town, with pupils taking shifts at local schoolsfrom morning to afternoon and afternoon to evening. University lec-tures are held in tents on the sports paddock and many more arecancelled or postponed. The evening time sees the sun dip belowthe Southern Alps and life seems to freeze; people retire to theirhomes. A jaunt to the famous Dux De Lux in the Arts Centre to seelocals shake it out to guitar bands and DJs is but a fond memory.

Despite all this, some flowers are blossoming through the liquefac-tion (mud and silt) that is forced out of the destabilised ground witheach new tectonic shudder. In the Eastern light-industrial zone ofWoolston, formerly a no-man’s-land after the 5pm clock punch, anew breed of entrepreneur has taken the initiative to build afresh.The risks of such enterprises abound as questions about the futuredirection of Christchurch’s identity arise and much uncertainty is ap-parent. Payouts by the Earthquake Commission to repair and re-build properties are mostly keeping pace with peoples’ needs butat the back of their minds all hide a fear that another “big one’ couldbe just around the corner. Alasdair Cassels, an engineer, manufac-turer and investor, has kicked off the cultural renaissance with theopening of the Brewery Bar. The final of the World Cup rugby matchbetween New Zealand and France drew a crowd of more than 500to the outdoor courtyard where a giant screen had been erected forpatrons. Alasdair, seated in the cafe, casual demeanour and flatwhite coffee alongside, discusses plans for the adjacent block ofbuildings where a number of new businesses will open. This willcreate a vibrant retail village and bring a heart back to at least onecommunity. Blair, a colleague, explains that the whole project is infull swing, recent aftershocks, sagging masonry and other disrup-tions notwithstanding.

“The whole city has suffered a huge blow” says Alasdair, whose ownfamily home is directly in the danger zone and has had to be evac-uated after a boulder the size of a mini narrowly missed ploughingthrough the living room. “...but here we have an opening to startsomething new and everyone is 100% behind it”. While we sit dis-cussing the various opportunities, not one but two aftershocks rattlethrough the building. The customers fall silent for a few moments,breathe in, hold for a beat and then play the guessing game à lamode: “3.8?” “...no that was a 4.5, for sure”. I feel a little like an out-sider as the Kiwi streak of black humour, typical here, widens to amile. Plans for more community centred nightlife hotspots are surelyon the books then? Let us hope that by the time I get back for mynext visit, they’ll be enjoying some of the dividends from their in-vestment in Christchurch’s future. And some much needed peaceand quiet to calm the frayed nerves.

As I climb into the calm blue sky aboard my flight and head north toWellington, (another city famous for its shaky nature), I exhaledeeply... relieved not because I have survived the trip but that be-cause old city is being regenerated under the watchful eye of peoplewith integrity and imagination- the resilient folk back home imbuedwith the “mainlander spirit” are at the wheel and steering the goodship in a new direction on a journey of rejuvenation.

Dylan Longley

At the Crossroads in Shake City


Nothing could be truer than the old proverb; “you don’t know whatyou’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”

We all go about our lives doing this and that; the little routines andrituals. Then in one second on one day, everything changes.

Christchurch had its “dress rehearsals” on September 4th and De-cember 26th but February 22nd brought our city and her people totheir knees

The “Garden City” has always had a powerful and magnetic effecton me.

Before we left Christchurch to live in Canada and the USA in 1962,I remember going downtown with my grandmother, Nan, on a Fri-day night. It was a short walk to Cathedral Square from our house.We went down Salisbury St, turning right into Colombo St, alongPeterborough St where we paused at the corner. The black andwhite screen in the Electrical shop window was playing the MarxBrothers “A Day at the Races.” I recall being desperate to stay andwatch it, as television had just come to New Zealand and we didn’thave one. However, we pressed on and soon reached the heart ofthe city, Cathedral Square. We walked past the Cathedral, acrossthe Hereford St intersection, looking in shop windows as we went.Nan got us fish and chips, hot and wrapped in yesterday’s news-paper. This was my town, where I was born and to where I returned.

We all have our precious pre-quake memories.

What is Christchurch like now?

I tried to retrace my childhood journey yesterday but only got as faras the town hall. The shops in the block where I saw the TV are allgone except one. Even the old electrical store on the corner had tobe demolished. The Cathedral has been damaged in a way that isinconceivable, no more Rose window, and no majestic spire risingheavenward, just a heap of rubble at the base. A trip down memorylane is not possible. The physical recall triggers are silent in theirabsence, carted off to become forgotten landfill on the edge oftown.

And it is very easy to forget the scale of what has happened untilyou pass through “The Red Zone” where the demolition of many ofChristchurch’s key iconic structures is taking place. The thoughtthat comes into my head each time is that we have lost our city andthat that city is never coming back.

The immediate feeling is one of sadness and emptiness, like thegaping hole in the Cathedral where the Rose window once hung,but in order to have a viable city centre once again we must blendbeauty with profitability. Our forefathers had a vision of Christchurchand now we have our memories of it. In order to heal the woundswe need to honour those who were lost and rebuild our magnificentheritage with a vision of our own. One that is worthy of the city thatwas and the city that has yet to be. The promises of a brighter fu-ture beckon us now just as they beckoned the founders ofChristchurch in 1848.

Suzanne Hunter-Welsh

Beyond our Control


Brett Longley is a senior Policy Ad-viser for the Ministry of the Environ-ment in Wellington, New Zealand.

An avid surfer, mountaineer andtrekker through some of the gnarliestbreaks, highest peaks and most re-mote parts of the world, Brett has hada lifelong love of the art of photogra-phy. From the school of Ansel Adamsin the rugged and beautiful YosemiteValley to the tough streets of Chicagoand New York here is a collection ofsome of his lens-bending composi-tions.

With a keen eye for detail and charac-ter, a wry sense of humour and a deepunderstanding of viewers’ intellect, thefollowing images were shot in Septem-ber of 2011 including some portraitsfrom the commemoration of the tenthanniversary of the September 11thWorld Trade Centre terrorist attacks inNew York. In assembling these pic-tures the Focus team hope you enjoythe spirit of adventure, captured here.

Alternate Perspectives

Financial Fair Play Explained!Last June marked thebeginning of FinancialFair Play, the fruit ofMichel Platini’s Uefapresidency, a new set ofrules that will revolution-ize how football oper-ates. Financial Fair Playhas been designed tocrack down on debt-laden clubs.

Starting from this seasonthe 660 top division clubs from 53 European countries will begin a3-year transition toward breaking even. These rules were born ofPlatini’s desire to a see a level playing field for all the clubs underthe Uefa.

Uefa’s general secretary claims to have secured unanimous agree-ment across Europe for the new rules. As an initial compromise,clubs will be able to record maximum losses of €45 million in totalover the following three years. €40 million of said losses could besubsidized by an owner but only if they invest the money perma-nently in return for shares. If owners are unable to subsidize debts,the maximum loss is €5m.

From 2014 to 2017, the overall permitted loss will fall to €30m foreach three-year block monitored by Uefa. After that, Uefa hopeclubs will be genuinely breaking even.

If a club fails to meet said criteria based on information from the2011-12 and 2012-13 accounts, action can be taken to ban that clubfrom Uefa competitions (i.e. Europa league or Champions’ league).The first exclusion order could be issued during the 2013-14 seasonand it’s served at the 2014-15 season.

The task of ensuring the rules are correctly applied falls to the newly

created Club Financial Control Panel, a team of eight independentexperts chaired by former Belgium prime minister Jean-Luc De-haene.

Yet there’s skepticism about how rigidly the rules will be applied. IfManchester United’s massive interest payments continue to pushthem into losses, or if Manchester City qualifies for the Champions’League courtesy only of huge overspending, will Uefa play hardballand wield the axe?

However, even as clubs are required to cut back on spending, play-ers with a weekly salary of €200,000-a-week may not be affectedby this transition. Sam Rush, chief operating officer of WassermanMedia Group, whose clients include Steven Gerrard and MichaelOwen, does not expect the income of the elite athletes to be af-fected.“I don't think Champions’ League footballers should expecttheir wages to decrease at all,” said Rush. “There are plenty of rev-enue-generating opportunities that have not been explored in thepast so I'm certainly not worried that the elite entertainers in worldsport are going to suffer financially as a result”.

Wael Al-Jaber

The Road to Euro 2012This summer is going to be HOT!!! After the first stage, all teamshave shown that they are qualified to win the championship; no bigteams or small teams exist after Greece won Euro 2004. Spain,Germany and the Netherlands are at their peak performance. Spainand Germany are the only two that have won all their qualifyingmatches. Netherlands would have joined them, but Sweden got intheir way at last match. Italy, France, and England are getting backon the right track after the failure in the last World Cup. Russia,Denmark, and Sweden have shown the potentials for winning theEuro 2012. Poland and Ukraine are qualified directly as co-hosts.But that is not all; there are the play-offs that will determine the lastfour seats for the teams that have placed second in their groups toqualify for the tournament. All the 8 teams have to fight for the lasttime in order to make the dream to the euro 2012. The kick off ofthe final stage groups will be on the 8th of June this summer.

Mohammed SharafFOCUS December 2011 34

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What is Kindle?

Kindle is an E-book reader developed by Amazon.com that enablesusers to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspa-pers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media. So Kindle is a reg-ular E-book reader?! Not quite! Kindle uses a technology called “EInk electronic paper display” that is able to show up 16 shades ofgray which in consequence simulates reading on real paper andlowers the power consumption. Many people prefer using Kindledevices instead of regular tablets since they do not have all theextra distractions in them and because they are better for your eyes.

Is Kindle actually better for my eyes?

The main difference between “E-Ink” displays and “LCD” displaysis that “E-Ink” displays effectively uses ambient light for illuminationwhereas “LCD” displays do not reflect light and require their ownlight source to be illuminated. So what does that mean? This meansthat Kindle only needs to change the pixels when moving from onepage to another while regular tablets need to change the pixelsAND they need to add light behind them so you can see the pixels.This means that reading on a tablet is just like reading a computerscreen or watching TV, which requires your eyes to accommodateall the different light levels that increase eye strain.

The Kindle Evolution!

It all started with the first kindle device the “Kindle 1”. This devicewas featured on the 19th of November 2008 for $400 and it was ahuge success. At the time Kindle store offered 88,000 titles avail-able to download, which was all the more reason for its success.On the 23rd of February 2009 “Kindle 2” was released to the publicfeaturing a better, less bulky design and a text-to-speech featurefor having the device read out loud. The price slowly dropped to$260 over time so again Amazon started to sell its device like crazyand at the time the number of titles in Kindle store grew to 275,000titles. In May 2009 a bigger and slimmer version of the “Kindle 2”was released that supported PDF documents and reading in land-scape mode. It was called the “Kindle DX”. “Kindle 3”, arrived onJuly 28, 2010. It was far smaller and lighter than previous versions.As for the price, it was lowered over time until it hit $139. At thattime the Kindle store had already exceeded 500,000 titles. Then ithappened on 28th of September 2011 Amazon announced its twolatest devices “Kindle Touch” and “Kindle Fire” in an attempt to com-pete with other tablet manufacturers especially Apple. The “KindleTouch” has a starting price of 99$ being ad supported and the “Kin-dle Fire” has a price of 199$. These prices make the Kindle devicesreal competitors in the market along with a Kindle store that hasover 1 Million titles.

Kindle Fire!

Amazon’s latest tablet is called “Kindle Fire”. It is a 7” tablet pow-ered by Android OS that has a lot more to offer than its tech specs.Usually when a new Android tablet comes out its gets compared toother tablets based on its specifications and features, but it is a dif-ferent story with this one. “Kindle Fire” is equipped with the bestand the latest hardware to make it stand and compete with othertablets in the market and, if that is not enough, the tablet is alsoconnected to Amazon’s cloud service. It is clear that Amazon wantsto provide people with an ultra-affordable way to consume contentwhich includes an impressive amount of apps, books, movies, tel-evision shows and more. During the Kindle Fire announcement,Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said, “We’re building premium productsat non-premium prices.” And it is clear that “Kindle Fire” is an ultra-

affordable way to consume content, with special emphasis on “ultra-affordable.” Below you can find a full list of the device specifications:

7″ multi-touch color IPS display•1024×600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi•1GHz TI OMAP 4 dual-core•512MB RAM•Wi-Fi – 802.11b/g/n•8GB internal storage•Unlimited cloud storage of Amazon content •8 hour battery life•USB 2.0 micro port•Top mounted speakers and audio jack•Runs highly modified Android 2.3 OS•Amazon Silk cloud-accelerated web browser•1 year warranty•14.6 ounces (0.9lbs/414 grams)•

Amro Munajjed

KINDLE SURPRISE!!!


October 2011 saw one of the most iconic personalities of this cen-tury pass away. Steve Jobs’ innovations, inventions and ideas cre-ated the modern world of digital media and revolutionised half adozen industries. However, before all that he was born in San Fran-cisco to graduate students Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah “John”Jandali, a Syrian Muslim. The infant Jobs was placed up for adop-tion after Schieble’s father opposed Jobs’ parents’ marriage. Hegrew up in Cupertino, California a middle-class kid with a keen in-terest in applied mechanics and computer circuitry. Jobs becamefriends with Steve Wozniak at a company they were interning atover a summer and where “Woz” had been employed to build amainframe computer. Jobs had the idea to make and sell a com-puter as a fully assembled item with a printed circuit board, perhapshis first “revolutionary” idea. Wozniak, at first sceptical, was laterconvinced by Jobs that, even if they were not successful, theycould at least say to their grandchildren that they had started theirown company.

After enjoying the giddy heights of success in the early 80s, Jobswas unceremoniously dumped as head of the Apple Company byJohn Sculley, the Pepsi executive he hired to help promote theirproducts. He found himself investigating new avenues of creativitywhen he bought into a little known animation outfit called Pixar.With an ability to work with talented individuals and bring the bestout of people, Jobs raised the profile of the company to reach amultibillion dollar turnover and produce some of the most advancedand memorable full-length animated feature films of the 1990s andthe new millennium including the Toy Story series.

Returning to a struggling Apple Corporation in the mid-90s, Jobstook a fresh approach to the everyday objects people interact withsuch as the personal computer and the personal stereo (known tosome as the Walkman). His determination to overhaul contempo-rary perceptions of what these products could and should deliverto the consumer, and indeed their very appearance was revolution-ary in terms of their innovation rather than the outright reinventingof the wheel of media production and consumption. He continuedon for a decade, reimagining the world of communications and con-sumer electronics, often imitated but never beaten, and left theApple Corporation in its strongest position since its foundation in1976. The small company that started in Jobs’ garage is now worthover 350 billion dollars, making it the richest public company in theworld (richer in cash terms than even the current government ofAmerica!)

Steve Jobs invested his personality into the products he designedand such was the strength of his convictions and his ability to suc-cessfully market them that nearly everyone reading these wordswill have experienced some aspect of his creativity in the last twodecades. Determination to bring the best to the consumer and avision for a better experience in everyday electronics drove SteveJobs to make Apple a dominant force in the global market. We havea lot to be thankful for and certainly must acknowledge that, in thisrespect, Steve Jobs fulfilled his mission.

Khalid Al Haider

Renaissance Man


Windows 8:Hit or Miss?In a bold new step, Microsoft has announced its latest operatingsystem (OS), promising that it will for the first time unify an interfaceacross all user platforms including desktops, laptops, tablet devicesand smart phones. “Microsoft is re-imagining itself” Steve Ballmersaid when he announced Windows 8. But does Microsoft reallyhave a cutting edge piece of software on its hands? Is Windows 8a better product for the future? All these questions can be answeredby testing the available version of Windows 8!

Is Microsoft really re-imagining itself?

From the start, Windows actually does have an impressive newlook. Microsoft has clearly redesigned its interface to match thetrend of mobile touch-screen devices. This new mobile-friendly in-terface is called Metro UI (User interface).

The main problem I discovered with Metro UI is that it was odd tointeract with on non-touch devices –like my laptop; I also found itto be confusing.

Figure 1: The New lock Screen

The first example is that the lock screen is designed to be flickedup with a simple touch. However, with a laptop you have to click atthe bottom of the screen and drag it upwards, or you have to figureout intuitively that with a double click on the bottom it will bring youto the login screen. The purpose of this gesture is intended to bemore “personal” than previous releases.

Figure 2: The Login Screen

When installing Windows 8, the user is asked to enter their Hotmailcredentials in order to sync email, contacts and other information.While this is not a new step compared to other Operating Systems,such as Apple (with Apple ID and Mobile Me as with Android andits Google Account), it is nonetheless a new step for Microsoft.It is important to mention that since Windows 8 is designed to beused across multiple devices, syncing accounts is essential to have

the sense of familiarity between handsets, and computers. That iswhy Microsoft announced their new Microsoft Store to enable usersto download their apps on all their devices at once.

Figure 3: The New Start Screen (Metro UI)

So by introducing Metro UI Microsoft is in fact re-imagining itself. Isthat a good thing? Well, that depends on the quality of their design-ers’ imagination! The problem with Metro UI is that thus far it is notfully integrated (explained later) although it is Microsoft’s main focusright now.

What is on Microsoft’s Mind?

Microsoft is planning to maintain their legacy OS – including Win-dows 7- by pretending that the original/desktop interface is just anapp and not the whole system! At the same time, with the imper-fections and lack of integration of Metro UI the need to return to thedesktop UI could become more likely.

Figure 4: The Desktop Interface as an App

It is possible that the team at Microsoft may be thinking that the newinterface will succeed on two fronts, satisfying mobile customersand PC customers. However, the reality is that a two-interface OScould actually be confusing for both groups.

Figure 5: The Desktop Interface

Here are some of the mix-ups that can occur for a typical user:There is no Windows Explorer or Media Player for Metro UI •There are many duplicated apps between the Metro UI and the•


Desktop interface. Such as Control Panel, Internet Explorer,Painting programs and others.The legacy apps only work on the Desktop interface –until now-•which leaves the Metro UI abandoned and obsolete except forcertain apps. This shortcoming must be addressed. Because of the non-availability of the market at the time of pub-•lication, all apps must be installed in the traditional way ratherthan being automatically incorporated upon selection and down-loading to your account/ device.

Figure 6: The Unreleased Microsoft Store

So why would Microsoft allow these Mix-ups? The answer is: Mi-crosoft has simply created mixed uses. Meaning, customers cannow make a choice if they want to use their device as a mobile de-vice, or they just want to stick to the traditional desktop interface.This point was made clear when Microsoft gave the developersSamsung’s Windows 8 powered Slate at the recent BUILD confer-ence. Microsoft wanted to offer a new option for PCs: a portablescreen and a compatible dock much in the same manner as the i-pad can be used with a keyboard.

Users can therefore use Metro UI with their PC screen on the go,but in times for productivity and work they can still use the traditionaldesktop interface.

Is Windows 8 better for the future ?

For typical domestic users Windows 8 will be better for ease of usein the future. This does not mean that it will therefore be better forthe enterprise/business customers, which means that Windows 8might not be good for Microsoft itself! It seems that Microsoft knowsthat it is a risky idea but it is planning on the uptake being wide-spread and popular. It is even moving forward and applying someMetro UI interface elements on Xbox’s Dashboard.

Figure 7: Some (Metro UI) elements on Xbox's Dashboard

Back to the present: in its development phase Windows 8 has notbeen an overwhelmingly pleasing experience for a number of users,some even diehard Windows fans! Some people prefer to use oneinterface at one time –Android users, Mac Users and Apple Fanboys! - would not enjoy the use of switching between interfaces.However, for users (like me) who enjoy using hybrid/cross-platformoperating systems. -The new Microsoft OS might be the best ex-perience we have seen from the company, (if not the only goodone!) Yet, if it should succeed, competitors will not rest until theydefinitively match and then improve on the Microsoft Windows ex-perience.

Anas Afadar


From Director Nicholas Winding Refn (Pusher Trilogy, Valhalla Ris-ing, Bronson) his latest offering features the supreme screen pres-ence of some new wave Hollywood actors as well as traditionalfavourites. Ryan Gosling, Cary Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Ron Perl-man, Brian Cranston and Christina Hendrix light up the screen inwhat essentially equates to a single shot superhero origin film. Thecity of Los Angeles stands in here as the backdrop (what GothamCity is to Batman) in an intense study of good and evil and thelengths people will go to when circumstances beyond their controlconspire to test their humanity.

Adapted from James Sallis’ titular novel and scored to an incrediblesoundtrack by Cliff Martinez that weaves and surges through thefilm, Drive does not, as the title may suggest deliver a high octaneaction story. Rather it is a subdued character-focused piece punc-tuated by tense chase sequences, violence and misguided gooddeeds along with moments of beauty and tenderness. Gosling as“Driver” the nameless hero, inhabits the darkened streets of L.A. asan avenging angel with a dual life. By day a mechanic and stuntdriver for the movies, he doubles as a contract wheelman, special-ising in getaway capers for stick up artists.

The father figure, played by Brian Cranston (a grimy, grease stainedAlfred to Gosling’s Bruce Wayne) keeps driver in work on threefronts, fixing cars, crashing them in Hollywood action scenes andpiloting hot wheels in some exceedingly tight spots. There havebeen some complaints levelled at the film from punters that the ac-tion level falls below that of genre films such as The Fast and theFurious franchise, yet this is indeed one of the film’s principlestrengths, as it shifts through the gears from a tense opening heistsequence to the introduction of a family in need of protection froma clutch of vampiric mafia connected gangsters that feed off the vul-nerable.

The film follows the transformation of Driver from an existence ofmeditative seclusion to a blazing firebrand of horrifying single-minded determination on a crash-course trajectory with the hardhearted underworld mobsters that threaten to destroy the sanctityof the family next door. Beyond redemption, many of the characters,driven from within to pursue competing and conflicting ambitionsare at odds with themselves over their morals and their actions.This examination of the themes of heroism, redemption and be-trayal are skilfully blended by the director who displays his confi-dence and precision behind the lens. Refn draws forth exceptionalperformances by his actors who give searing portrayals of peopletrapped in their worlds and within themselves.

Far from an easy watch, Drive challenges the viewer with somegraphic and disturbing imagery but equally, rewards them with someexceptionally haunting moments of tender beauty. In its most in-tense sequences, Drive slams the passengers hard into the seat,like a punch from the V8 cradle of a supercharged four wheeledchariot in a ¼ mile drag race. If speed is your medicine then this isthe adrenaline rush you’ve been seeking.

The Guard is a warm and funny movie. You should see it. Now, wecould just leave it at thattake my word for it, enough said, give it ago. But for those of you that require a little more detail when choos-ing your entertainment fare, I shall elaborate.

Brendan Gleeson’s character Sergeant Gerry Boyle is intoxicatingto watch. He manages to nail every whimsy of what you imaginethe mischievous Irish leprechaun spirit to embody, without fallingprey to the traps of cliché or stereotyping. His portrayal of the IrishGarda in the remote seaside village of Galway, constantly at oddswith superiors, colleagues and criminals alike is utterly disarming.

With a mother dying of cancer, a missing partner, a rumoured cargoof dangerous drugs and the FBIs finest narcotics agent pursuingthe case, Sergeant Boyle takes it all stoically on the chin. I can’t re-peat here what he has to say about a cappuccino coffee (a cityboys’ drink, then) for fear of mangling the wonderful way in whichthe derisive derogation is delivered, or the effusive foul-ups thattake place between some of the recurring characters, neverthelessthe dialogue would make Shakespeare blush in its tongue-twistingtrickiness in places.

His penchant for mischief of all shapes and sizes provides anotherlayer of amusement as he flagrantly flouts the code book and yetstill manages to accomplish police work of an order that makes the“straight crowd” look like an assortment of bumbling nincompoops.This is unequivocally Brendan Gleeson’s movie. However, directorJohn Michael McDonagh has assembled a great supporting castwith Don Cheadle and Mark Strong giving their best supporting per-formances in what amounts to a hilariously offbeat Irish send-up ofIn Heat of the Night.

The Irish lilt, black humour, rustic scenery, razor sharp dialogue(you’ll find yourself reaching for the subtitle button on the remotemore than once I daresay) are definite draw cards to this Celticcrime caper. With a score by the excellent and eclectic Calexicofrom America, the freakish combination is complete. You’ll realiseas you watch this understated masterpiece that the point of the jour-ney is never about where you arrive but how you get there that’simportant. If you can remember that, then Sergeant Gerry Boyle ofthe Galway Garda has done his job nicely.

Dylan Longley

Movies that Matter...


Cast: Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte

Review: Warrior is an American mixed martial arts film. The storyis about two estranged brothers and their formerly alcoholic andabusive father. Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy) visits his father (NickNolte) in order to be trained by him to enter a mixed martial artstournament called Sparta which is similar to Ultimate FightingChampionship. The father tries to seek forgiveness from Tommyfor his past transgressions but his son finds him pathetic and wantsno reconciliation.

On the other end is Brendan Conlon, the older brother, a highschool physics teacher and former UFC fighter. His house is beingthreatened by foreclosure due to the economic crisis, so he entersthe Sparta competition to win the prize money in order to save hisfamily from a life on the streets. These two brothers separated byhistory and the sins of their father must, inevitably clash with eachother. Unlike other fighting films such as Rocky and

The Fighter the two protagonists are three dimensional human be-ings who have equal reasons to win the competition. The acting isexcellent from all three actors in this movie and the characters andstory hold much more emotional depth than is expected in thisgenre.

The fighting is also really brutal and exhilarating with broken limbs,gut-wrenching maneuvers and throws that you feel you are actuallywatching the fight live. I highly recommend someone interested ina tough film with a bit of heart to check it out.

Mohammed Al-Lehbi

Director: Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. He is known forsuch classics such as Blade Runner, Alien, American Gangster and his most ac-claimed movie Gladiator which won five academy awards including best picture.Cast: Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Michael Fassbender (X-Men First Class), Guy Pierce (L.A Confidential, Memento), and Charlie Theron(Monster, North Country)What to expect: Prometheus is the prequel to Ridley Scott’s psychological sci-fi horror film Alien. The trailer may be the most tantalizing of the year only offeringclues about its plot or setting. Characters exploring a mysterious alien world thatradiates with menace, voices screaming in horror and one shot of a man’s facebeing burnt to the bone by acid. Prometheus promises to meet the demands ofhorror fans and sci-fi fans alike.

Director: Peter Jackson is a New Zealand film director and producer. He isknown for such classics as Heavenly Creatures, King Kong and his most ac-claimed movies The Lord of the Rings Trilogy which won him three academyawards including Best Director and Best Picture.Cast: Martin Freeman (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) , Elijah Wood (Lord ofthe Rings Trilogy, Green Street), Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Jin-nah), Ian McKellen (Richard III, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, X-Men Trilogy), andCate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings, Elizabeth, Aviator).What to expect: The Hobbit is a prequel to the Lord of The Rings. The trailerties in the story of Bilbo Baggins and how it relates to the story of the Lord of theRings, which his nephew Frodo was involved in. The trailer evokes the imagina-tion and fantasy of the Lord of the Rings while seeming to a more light-heartedtone, with a journey of twelve rambunctious dwarves, and a hesitant and fright-ened protagonist. The movie is the first part with the story ending in the sequelThe Hobbit: There Back and Again. The Hobbit seems to be a film that will pleaseLord of the Rings fans and fantasy fans alike.

Director: Christopher Nolan is an English film director and producer. He isknown for such classics as Memento, Prestige, Inception and his Batman series,particularly The Dark Knight that was both a critical and box office success. Cast: Christian Bale (American Psycho, The Dark Knight, The Fighter), AnneHathaway (Love and Other Drugs, Rachel Getting Married), Michael Caine (ThePrestige, The Dark Knight, Hannah and her Sisters), Morgan Freeman (TheShawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, The Dark Knight), Marion Cotillard(Public Enemies, Inception), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50, 500 days of Summer,Inception), and Gary Oldman (Dracula, Leon, Harry Potter Series, The DarkKnight) What to Expect: This is sequel to the Dark Knight and the end to ChristopherNolan’s Batman Trilogy. The trailer shows an older Bruce Wayne walking with acane sprouting white hairs having to deal with seductive Catwoman and hisgreatest adversary yet: Bane. Brace for lots of explosions, a flying bat mobileand the hulking evil Bane and an infamous Tagline stating “The Legend Ends”.The film promises to be an epic conclusion to the Batman series and seem alsoto assure viewers the same quality as its predecessors Batman Begins and DarkKnight.

...Future Films


Dreaming Free

What could it mean to be conscious in yourdreams? For most of us, dreaming issomething quite separate from normal life.When we wake up from falling down a well,or being in a spectacular garden we realizewith relief or disappointment that "it wasonly a dream."

Yet there are some dreams that are not likethat. Lucid dreams are dreams in whichyou know at the time that you are dream-ing. That they are different from ordinarydreams is obvious as soon as you haveone. The experience is something like wak-ing up in your dreams. It is as though you"come to" and find you are dreaming simi-lar to what people saw in ChristopherNolan’s Hollywood blockbuster movie In-ception.

Lucid dreams used to be a topic in the fieldof psychic research and parapsychology.More recently, however, they have begunto appear in psychology journals and havedropped out of parapsychology, a good ex-ample of how the field of parapsychologyshrinks when any of its subject matter is ac-tually explained.

Lucidity has also become something of aNew Age fad. There are machines andgadgets you can buy and special clubs youcan join to learn how to induce luciddreams. But this commercialization shouldnot let us lose sight of the very real fasci-nation of lucid dreaming. It forces us to askquestions about the nature of conscious-ness, deliberate control over our actions,and the nature of imaginary worlds.

A Real Dream or Not?

This presented a challenge to lucid dream-ers who wanted to convince people thatthey really were awake in their dreams. Butof course when you are deep asleep anddreaming you cannot shout, "Hey! Listen tome. I’m dreaming right now." All the mus-cles of the body are paralyzed.

It was Keith Hearne (1978), of the Univer-sity of Hull, who first exploited the fact thatnot all the muscles are paralyzed. In sleepthe eyes move. So perhaps a luciddreamer could signal by moving the eyesin a predetermined pattern. Just over tenyears ago, lucid dreamer Alan Worsley firstmanaged this in Hearne’s laboratory. Hedecided to move his eyes left and righteight times in succession whenever he be-came lucid. Using a polygraph, Hearnecould watch the eye movements for signsof the special signal. So lucid dreams arereal dreams and do occur during sleep.

Becoming a Lucid Dreamer

Surveys have shown that about 50 percentof people (and in some cases more) havehad at least one lucid dream in their lives.Of course surveys are unreliable in thatmany people may not understand thequestion. In particular, if you have neverhad a lucid dream, it is easy to misunder-stand what is meant by the term. So over-estimates might be expected. Beyond this,it does not seem that surveys can find outmuch. There are no very consistent differ-ences between lucid dreamers and othersin terms of age, sex, education, and so onFor many people, having lucid dreams isfun, and they want to learn how to havemore or to induce them at will. One findingfrom early experimental work was that highlevels of physical (and emotional) activityduring the day tend to precede lucidity atnight. Waking during the night and carryingout some kind of activity before fallingasleep again can also encourage a luciddream during the next sleep period and isthe basis of some induction techniques.

One of the best known is La Berge’s MILD(Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreaming).This is done on waking in the early morningfrom a dream. You should wake up fully,engage in some activity like reading orwalking about, and then lie down to go tosleep again. Then you must imagine your-self asleep and dreaming, rehearse thedream from which you woke, and remindyourself, "Next time I dream this I want toremember I’m dreaming."

A second approach involves constantly re-minding yourself to become lucid through-out the day rather than the night. This isbased on the idea that we spend most ofour time in a kind of waking daze. If wecould be more lucid in waking life, perhapswe could be more lucid while dreaming.German psychologist Paul Tholey sug-gests asking yourself many times everyday, "Am I dreaming or not?" This soundseasy but is not. It takes a lot of determina-tion and persistence not to forget all aboutit. For those who do forget, French re-searcher Clerc suggests writing a large "C"

on your hand (for "conscious") to remindyou.

The third and final approach requires a va-riety of gadgets. The idea is to use somesort of external signal to remind people,while they are actually in REM sleep, thatthey are dreaming. Hearne first tried spray-ing water onto sleepers’ faces or hands butfound it too unreliable. This sometimescaused them to incorporate water imageryinto their dreams, but they rarely becamelucid. He eventually decided to use a mildelectric shock to the wrist. His "dream ma-chine" detects changes in breathing rateand then automatically delivers a shock tothe wrist.

Dream Actions

As we watch sleeping animals it is oftentempting to conclude that they are movingtheir eyes in response to watching adream, or twitching their legs as theydream of chasing prey. But do physicalmovements actually relate to the dreamevents?

Early sleep researchers occasionally re-ported examples like a long series of left-right eye movements when a dreamer hadbeen dreaming of watching a ping-ponggame, but they could do no more than waituntil the right sort of dream came along.

Lucid dreaming made proper experimenta-tion possible, for the subjects could beasked to perform a whole range of tasks intheir dreams. In one experiment with re-searchers Morton Schatzman and PeterFenwick, in London, Worsley planned todraw large triangles and to signal with flicksof his eyes every time he did so. While hedreamed, the electromyogram, recordingsmall muscle movements, showed not onlythe eye signals but spikes of electrical ac-tivity in the right forearm just afterward.This showed that the preplanned actions inthe dream produced corresponding musclemovements.

Waking Up

Waking up from a lucid dream is quite dif-ferent from waking up from an ordinarydream. Upon waking up from a normaldream, you usually think, "Oh that was onlya dream." Waking up from a lucid dream ismore continuous. It feels more real, it feelsas though you were conscious in thedream.

If this is right, it means that lucid dreamsare potentially even more interesting thanwe thought. As well as providing insight intothe nature of sleep and dreams, they maygive clues to the nature of consciousnessitself.

Ibrahim Al-Othman


The Art of Persuasion

For a certain amount of time I have beenmonitoring and observing peoples’ charac-teristics and behaviors. I am a marketingstudent, and it is essential for me to under-stand these characteristics and behaviors.I have watched many speeches and pre-sentations, but what really attracted me themost are those persuasive presentationsand speeches. God, how can they con-vince tens, hundreds, thousands even mil-lions about what they say?

Persuasive speeches are those where aspeaker tries to change certain beliefs orbehavior. Basically the speaker is trying totell others that what they think is right andwhat to do. Peoples’ perception differs fromone to another. They might accept it or theymight reject it. Now each presenter has hisown way to deliver a speech. Those whoare professionals rely mostly on one ques-tion. Who am I presenting to? By knowingyour audience you can fill in the blank onwhat is proper. However, there are somecertain standards that you need to use froma psychological aspect to be able toachieve your goal. I am first going to ex-plain some important barriers that preventpeople from accepting your words, and Iwill tell you two stories that will help you tounderstand. Also, I will offer a demonstra-tion to clarify my point.

For my first point I would like to tell youabout those barriers. Now, as we know,there are a lot of barriers, they can be eth-nocentrism, information overload, stereo-types, selective perceptions, bias, etc… butthere are three barriers that we don’t reallyfocus on or hear much about. So why dopeople reject such knowledge? Why dothey attack you and laugh at you? It defi-nitely has to be one of these reasons.1) From a psychological viewpoint peoplehave gained and assimilated certain stan-dards over the years of their experiences,and by being exposed to such things, theirbrain will recognize that they must re-arrange and re-program that informationthat they have accumulated over the years,which is difficult to reverse.2) Egocentrism, some people are happywith what they know and they won’t acceptit if you tell them that what they know iswrong.3) Some people are self-centered and theyare happy with the way they are living.They only care about themselves and theircomfort zone. These are the three impor-tant barriers that prevent people from beingeasily persuaded. So, here comes the artof persuading those people, but first I wantto demonstrate something.

An ancient Chinese adage tells us whensomeone is thirsty and asks you for a cupof water, you should give them just half acup. If they remain thirsty you give themanother half. This means when someone isthirsty for knowledge, you ought to givethem a certain amount of what they need.If they want more they will ask you for it.Don’t give them a gallon of water or toomuch information immediately because itwill drive them away. This is one art of per-suasion. You don’t overload the listener.The best way to change a belief is by let-ting others experience the situation and dotheir own research about it. Let them usetheir brain let them find the answers first.Instead of telling them what to do, ask themquestions about it. What do you think aboutthis and that? Here is when you are goingto create a certain trust and comfort that al-

lows you to discuss your opinion. If theywant to know more they will ask you aboutit.

Another art is by choosing your words,choose your words carefully and present itproperly. I heard a story once, about a kingwho had a dream. He asked for an inter-preter of dreams to be sent to him. The in-terpreter told him that the dream meant thathis family would be likely die soon. Theking of course didn’t like what he heard andput the man in jail. He asked for anotherperson and the same thing happened. Thethird man was smarter he told him yourdream means that you will live longer thanyour family and God knows. The king washappy. Now if you notice living longer doesin fact mean that your family is going to diebefore you do, but it is the way he pre-sented those words that met success withthe listener.

In conclusion, remember the barriers andthe art of persuading others. Use the skillsregularly and wisely because it is possibleto change a mind, a perception or some-one’s behavior if you believe in it.

Ali Abbas


Hajj 2011 was a major event for two ofthe Focus staff at PSU. Travelling byRoad for over two and a half thousandKilometres, spanning the Saudi Ara-bian nation from Riyadh to Taif, toMecca, Mina, Mount Arafat, Muzdali-fah, Jeddah, Madinah and back tohome-base, the intrepid twosomenegotiated highways, train stations,crowds of millions, crazed kabsa ven-dors, hospitable hamlas and amazingMakkan locals, the tired and the hun-gry, patient and helpful security forcesand encountered the most resilientand amazing children of a hundred na-tionalities on a photojournalistic as-signment from God.

The odyssey lasted a week. It felt likeseven years’ of living though. The rich-ness of experience and the beauty ofeach moment was enough to makeanyone want to relive the experienceagain and again. The challenges ofcourse are manifold – sleeplessness,illness, throngs of people, hot sun anda lot of walking. However, the enjoy-ment of committing yourself to theservice of God in body, mind and soulfor an extended period, undergoingshared hardships and the highs andlows is a chance that ultimately re-freshes and revitalises. From thelenses of the prefects of PSU, we pres-ent the faces of Hajj 2011.

NEVER SAY NEVERIt is surprising how one can be enlightened by those very 'mistakes'which are so often found in students' writing. The fact that they areso obviously wrong, and so frequently seen, generates a slash-and-burn mindset in the listener or reader.

Everyone has an artillery of bolts to launch at those who trespassupon their own notions of what is 'correct' or not. For instance, in-formations, equipments, and advices are supposed to be inevitableerrors in a learner whose mother tongue is Arabic, where all threewords exist in the plural. Yet they are also part of English idiom too.They belong in legal, naval, and commercial contexts respectively.

This is merely a brief list of 'surprises' --- a reminder, perhaps, thatit is always best to question the ‘truth’.

1. IT'S = ITS:

The neuter possessive adjective was born at the end of the C16th,and writers continued to spell it as it's until the end of the C19th.Some, even the BBC indeed, unwittingly continue the tradition

After all, the's is an apostrophe marking a genitive of possession,as in, e.g. John's book. This ‘apostrophe’*¹ is, by origin, an adjectivemeaning 'elisional'. For instance, o'er, can't, who's, etc., clearly haveletters elided. (Who's was also once a possible - and revealing -spelling of that disguised genitive now written as whose.)

But neither John's nor possessive it's has anything excised. Theyare simply constructed on analogy with a long-gonemasculine/neuter ending in Old English better seen, perhaps, inmodern German (e.g das Buch des Kindes, the child's book).

By the end of the C16th, when grammatical gender had long beenlost, the distinction by sex was coming to the fore. "His" once didthe job of the new its/it's. The first line of the Canterbury Tales runs:"Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote"…..

So this neologism usurped the place of his. There was resistance.In his lifetime, Shakespeare never used it; it was editors who addedit's nine times in the 1623 folio. The A.V. Bible of 1611 also avoidsthe word. Thereof , or of it, are found in contexts where modernEnglish would use 'its'. One may certainly argue that some writersthought the word ugly and empty. If its is substituted for his inChaucer’s line quoted above, all the blood runs out of it.

English has never been comfortable with this cold word. For exam-ple, when someone sees a baby for the first time and, not knowingwhether the infant is a boy or a girl, he goes on to enquire: "What'sits name?", there is an unmentioned chill in the air.

Why not say his or her and risk a pardonable mistake?

English prefers affective words. This is why, for example, every birdis a 'she' to a falconer, just as ships are to the Queen, and cars tothe automobile enthusiast. If it is a blank, its is a void.

*****

*¹The other apostrophe, derived from the Greek noun, not from anadjective like the one above, is a rhetorical device that means'a turning away' from the main flow of the speech in order to addressa person present (in Classical times), or (now) absent, or evendead.

+++++

2.A. "AN WAY":

There are also two distinct "A(N)s " in modern English , just as thereare two "THEs" ('The sooner, the better' = an adverbial formed froman old instrumental case).

The so-called 'indefinite article', the metamorphosed version of 'one'= 1 (old form āne) appears as an even before consonants in south-ern English until around the mid-C14th. Till the end of the C15th,'an woman/an yere' were heard. 'An head ' survived until well intothe C16th. There is still some hesitation with initial 'h'---an hotel?an historical event?

The usual student’s mistake is to write, e.g. a books. A visible, spe-cific 'indefinite article' is as absent from Arabic (as it is from Greekand Latin, too). So it is no surprise when a beginner misuses it; and,naturally, he is also unaware of any connection with the numeral.He may be forgiven. English has been doing something similar forcenturies.

"There are bad news from Palermo', wrote Shelley in 1852. Theword was, after all, inspired by the mediaeval French plural 'nou-velles'. And how many native speakers now use the Latin pluralsagenda, data --- or the Greek criteria and phenomena --- as singularnouns?Even doctors talk of a bacteria (a Latinized Greek plural) as if itwere a single microbe. Usage is king, and the singular will become'correct' just as surely as riches from the French singular richessehas been construed as a plural.

Perhaps the best example of this grey area of 'singular=plural'(known as synesis*¹) is the possessive adjective their, which goodKing Charles spelled there.

Any university*² student who wrote "Each man in their degree", or"A person can't help their birth", would be on the primrose path togrammatical perdition. Yet the first is a modernized quote from1420. The second comes from Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" (1848).******¹ Synesis is a Greek word signifying 'a sending together', hence'sense, meaning, understanding'. The AHD has a useful entry on it.It occurs, for example, in the Septuagint, Proverbs 1, 7:"The fear ofthe Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and there is good understand-ing to all that practise it."

*² University, 'a being turned into oneness', derives the sensethereof from Mediaeval Latin universitas, which is really an abbre-viated version of what, when translated, would read in full: 'corpo-ration of teachers and students'.

2.B.The second a(n) is the disguised preposition on which was in-strumental in the development of the continuous tenses in English.Thus, "The king is on hunting" ( preposition + verbal noun) becameahunting and, finally, "The king is hunting".

This leads to another point. We still hear the ATM’s request :“Please wait while your transaction is processing”. This recalls thepre-C19/20th constructions seen in Jane Austen, etc., such as 'Thehouse is building', which re-echo through the halls of time. Is this'active' not far more elegant than ‘The house is being built'? The a(n) = on is clearly seen as distinct from its 'sister' in thesaying"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" ('away' = an/on way, viz.to somewhere else).

To be continued...

Jeremy Beastall


Release EventThis year at the Riyadh Car show, staged inside the opulentFour Seasons Hotel Ballroom where the Kingdom Tower soarsover Riyadh’s skyline, the next instalment of your virtual drivingexperience was unveiled in the Xbox Pavilion.

In a racing kit driver’s seat, steering wheel and 3D TV experi-ence each punter could immerse themselves in the burnout,breakneck speed extravaganza through the best race tracksand roads the world has to offer.

Not far behind the goggle eyed velocity vipers was an unbe-lievable collection of the world’s fastest, costliest and most fea-ture laden driving machines money can buy. From Luxurybrands such as Mercedes Maybach, Bentley and Rolls Royceto brutal American muscle in the forms of the Ford MustangShelby Super Snake, Rousch and Boss 302 and Japanese badboy dominators the Nissan GTR and the Lexus LFA . The Ital-ian stables featured the Lamborghini Gallardo and Murcielago,the Ferrari 458 and California, German built bullets from theAudi R8 to the amazing 2012 BMW M5 and proper EnglishSports cars for “enthusiasts” such as the Aston Martin Vantage,DBS, Vanquish and Rapide. Honestly, there was more car ex-perience under one roof than anyone could hope to enjoy injust one evening.

I know, it just isn’t fair. Even the wealthiest of the wealthy wouldwince at paying the price on the tags for all of these dreams onwheels simultaneously. Yet for true car enthusiasts with an eyefor items of engineering perfection but who lack the bank bal-ance of a Belarusian black gold billionaire can yet enjoy thespeed and luxury of the whole collection in just one package,from the Bugatti Veyron to the Pagani Zonda, all the power andthe glory is at your fingertips, just waiting to be unleashed atthe push of a button.

So for you folks who feel that a visit to next year’s premiere carevent would just be too much torture to take, with beauty andprices beyond your reach, remember that the fantasy is at yourfingertips (minus the insurance premiums, security detail andhefty maintenance expenses). Now that’s a trade off I think Ican live with.

Dylan Longley


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