CJ Purcell

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

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Magazines, blogs and the inflight…

In Blogroll, Books, Magazines, Travel on February 10, 2011 at 1:05 pm

 

The excellent MagCulture blog took part in an interesting 24-hour experiment earlier this week, posting a different magazine every hour for 24 hours. Some of the covers are above, but we recommend you take a look at the site for yourself. Ignore the dross you see on the shelves, there is a host of quality magazines out there. Speaking of quality magazines, we are a week away from sending the new issue of Open Skies to press. Emirates Airline’s inflight magazine has been given a revamp and I am looking forward to the reaction it gets. We have some outstanding writers in the March issue (Chuck Thompson, Pico Iyer, Laura Mullane, Michael Palin, Mark Twain). If you are so inclined, you may follow us on Twitter.

December Readage…

In Books, Travel on January 3, 2011 at 6:39 pm

A goal has been reached. It was my aim to read 100 books in 2010, and the last day of December saw me finish book 106. This probably means my limited social skills have dwindled even further, but I would rather knowledge than social skills anyways. My aim for next year is 150 books and with my daily metro commute, this will be reached. Other non-book goals in 2011 include visiting Socotra, Tehran, Damascus, Eritrea and the volcanoes of Java.This coming year should also be a successful one for URBN with a number of projects about to be launched. I will also aim to post more regularly here – with the crapulence of local media expanding each week, this should not be difficult.

1. Alain De Botton – The Art of Travel
2. Ahmed Rashid – Taliban
3. Robert Byron – The Road to Oxiana
4. Martin Lindstrom – Buyology
5. Tom Shales & James Miller – Live From New York
6. Jerry Hopkins – Thailand Confidential
7. Tim Ferris – The Four Hour Body

 

 

On the Edge…

In Magazines, Online, Travel on December 27, 2010 at 12:53 pm

It is the time of year when everyone comes out with lists – lists of the year gone and lists of the year ahead. One of the most interesting lists I have seen is this from www.linkli.st. Meanwhile Time has given us their top ten magazine covers of the past year. Disagree with a lot of the covers (Rolling Stone’s Eminem cover??) but then they did pick Mark Zuckerberg as their Man of the Year, so their judgment is often awry.

Watched Alex Gibney’s excellent documentary on Hunter S Thompson, Gonzo, which looks at the myth created around him, his place in American literary history and how and why he eventually lost it. Great stuff.

New Year’s resolutions for 2011? Try to consume as little local media as possible (on doctor’s orders), get three exciting URBN projects underway in the first three months of the year, and re-invent the in-flight magazine. Oh, and spend five nights camping, trekking and diving in Socotra.

One final note of cheer – got a really nice email from Pico Iyer regarding a feature I did on Kathmandu for Esquire Middle East earlier this year. A push, if ever one was needed, to get back into travel writing.

Wikileaks, wanton journalism, working hard…

In Online, Travel on December 14, 2010 at 11:59 am

The recent Wikileaks disclosures have, as expected, been ignored by the local media when it comes to the UAE. In that regard the country’s media has shown itself to be know better than any of the other countries where the press is muzzled. The National even published a rather cowardly editorial advocating secrecy. Just another reason not to take it seriously. In other news, URBN is close to some exciting announcements, one involving our Kabul application and one involving a website and application. We are also involved in relaunching the in-flight magazine for one of the biggest airlines in the world, so watch this space….

Misc…

In Online, Travel on November 2, 2010 at 5:31 am

 

Just back from a trip to Bangkok – the gentrification of the city continues unabated, yet parts of the city still look like they did in the Seventies. Stayed at the rather nice Conrad Hilton and visited the brilliant Brown Sugar. One of the best jazz bars in Asia, we were treated to three young Thais playing some amazing jazz and an older Thai women – who sounded like Ella Fitzgerald – belting out the classics. In other news, strides are being made for URBN’s Kabul application – more news soon, and we have launched our first Layar, bringing proper augmented reality to Dubai. It’s in phase one at the moment but will be updated soon. We are also in the planning stages of a new travel website due to launch in January….

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Dubai Eye…

In Online, Travel on September 28, 2010 at 12:08 pm

Was on Dubai Eye this morning talking to Jessica Swan and Alexander McNabb on Dubai Today. We talked about our forthcoming Kabul app, some mobile app myths and the state of the local app market. Listen here. Some new announcements coming next week – exciting times…

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Appghanistan (sorry)….

In Online, Travel on September 25, 2010 at 10:43 am

Just back from an extremely interesting trip to Afghanistan. It is a shame more people do not go – it’s relatively safe and Kabul is a fascinating city. Further north, the Panshir Valley is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I was there to get things moving on a Kabul city guide. Eamonn was on RTE in Dublin explaining why and the segment featured a short clip of me at the Bird Market in Kabul.

I met some interesting people who work in the content/technology field, including David Bailey who has vast experience in broadcasting. He also did a short interview with me at an ISAF base in Kabul.

We are aiming to have phase one of the application out by Christmas, so watch this space….

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Kabul

In Travel on September 15, 2010 at 1:52 pm

Heading to Kabul on Monday for five days to start collecting information for a mobile travel guide to the city. This will be first guide of its kind and will feature text, maps, podcasts and videos. Should be a fascinating trip. We hope the launch the application before Christmas and will be making contact with some local residents to ensure the guide is constantly updated and relevant. Particularly looking forward to the Bird Market and a day trip to the Panshir Valley.

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Turnkey Times…

In Newspapers, Online, Published articles, Travel on July 24, 2010 at 10:22 am

We are into the final few days of the 2010 Assilah Festival and URBN‘s first experience of doing what we do at a festival. Some valuable lessons learned and some great ideas for future projects emerging. Turnkey media solutions will become more relevant as ‘old’ or ‘big’ media is just too slow to react to this ever changing landscape.

This was apparent at Assilah. TV stations taking 30 minutes to set up shots and lighting, then hours to edit and send content back to Abu Dhabi. We filmed on our Flip camera, edited on its software and had it online in under 30 minutes. Content is still king – but adaptability needs to be married to that. Journalists will need to be able to write, edit, film, take photos, record podcasts, use social media, do external PR and get the story, all the while operating with no more than a laptop, smart-phone, Flip camera and digital camera.

Exciting times. And some interesting URBN announcements to come. In the meantime, a piece I wrote for the ‘old’ media, The National.

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Maghreb Rising

In Magazines, Online, Travel on July 17, 2010 at 9:51 am

Spent Friday in Tangier, which although interesting, is not somewhere I would visit again. Back in the UAE, the latest issue of Brownbook is out under a new editor – Christopher Lord – and it looks great. Focusing on North Africa, the issue features pieces on everywhere from Mauritania to Libya and also mentions the Assilah Festival. The cover is brilliant – Brownbook is probably the only true quality UAE magazine. If you are heading over this way, check out our app, now available on the Nokia Ovi Store.

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