IF YOU HAVE walked around a local Harvey Norman store lately or any electronics store on the island for that matter, you might have noticed a larger crowd than usual gathered where long rows of TVs are lined up along the wall — all playing the same high-definition Blu-ray disc of some action or animated movie.

CIGAR-CHOMPING BILLIONAIRE Marc Rich may have been the best commodity trader in history with his forays in oil and aluminium but, these days, he is known more for the controversial pardon he extracted from then-US President Bill Clinton and the US$365 million ($510 million) divorce settlement with his ex-wife Denise. Rich, 75, made billions busting sanctions in South Africa and Iran, supplying them with raw materials and taking their oil, minerals and metals and flooding them in the world markets. He was indicted in the US for his illegal deals with Iran as well as tax evasion, but dodged extradition for decades after he took Spanish and Israeli passports while retaining his Swiss residency.

ALTHOUGH ANIMATOR Walt Disney didn’t invent carousels or roller coasters, or even Knott’s Berry Farm, he did help create the cartoon rodent that has touched children for over 80 years. Indeed, Disney — the enterprise and the man — is almost as famous today for its amusement parks as it is for cartoon characters or animation blockbusters.

 

Theme parks may be all the rage these days, yet rides and attractions are as old as country fairs and carnivals that date back centuries. In the age of mega-malls with their own vast playgrounds and themed areas, even the term “amusement park” is a misnomer. I have seen my fair share — from disused former amusement park sites in the US that are decaying (New York’s Coney Island comes to mind) to Disneyland in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo Bay, Warner Bros Movie World in Australia’s Gold Coast, Luna Park in Sydney and LotteWorld in Seoul. Some are tatty and gaudy while others are barely tolerable, but most somehow just keep pulling the crowds in.