Shot this on Saturday on the way back from the Plan9 shenanigans.
Two different shots, cut together to make something quite lovely and quite seamless.. Ha!
The first person who can tell what the two main differences are between shot one and shot two wins a prize.
Ready, steady… GO!
PS. This kind of serves as a nice introduction to the post I have lined up for later in the week. Good times.
Moleskine entry: August 6th, 2009
Plane: England -> South Africa
Plane: South Africa -> Zambia
Bus: Zambia -> Chobe River
Boat: Chobe River -> Botswana (for 45mins)
4×4: Botswana -> Chobe River
Boat: Chobe River -> Namibia
When we were told this challenge was to ride the Zambezi, all of the information we had been given (before our itineraries arrived), implied that we were to be staying in Zambia.
As it turned out, we were actually to spend the majority of our time in Zimbabwe. Not before however, we returned to Namibia for one night of relaxation at the Ichingo Chobe River Lodge, situated right on the banks of the Chobe River itself.
Tonight’s treat? Speedboat Safari.
I’ll hopefully get some good photos… I can’t believe how much I’m really enjoying this camera.
Moleskine entry: July 25th, 2009
It’s been kind of invigorating. Refreshing.
Healthy.
I’ve been up in the Big Horns trekking, riding and herding as part of challenge two of the Lucozade Energy Challenges, although (I’m certain now), this much you know. What you probably don’t know however is that the powers that be have gone ahead and equipped me with some rather spiffy kit.
Including, amongst others, a sat-phone.
This thing worked FINE in Namibia. In fact, the photo above was taken and uploaded on the spot in the middle of the Namibian desert, this place in fact.
However, for some unknown reason, in the good ol’ US of A, it failed. Nothing. Nada. My glorious sock-rockin’ sat-phone, was… useless.
Which meant in turn, I was non-contactable for four days.
Say it again. Four days.
Say it one more time, and this time say it with me – out loud: Four. Days.
‘Liberating’ doesn’t quite do it justice.
At one point, we were sat by a lake some 10,000ft up, the air was thin, the horses were thirsty and the winners were discussing going for a swim. The sky was clear, the water freezing and the surrounding landscape, breathtaking.
Just pausing – for a moment – to take in what I was experiencing.
Four days with no signal. Four days in the mountains. Riding horseback every day, we rode down from 8500ft on the last day, Friday, and it took five hours.
I couldn’t tell you the total of how far we travelled or for how long. All I know is every day we were saddled up by 10am and we only got out again for lunch and then again at the end of the day for dinner and rest. I never thought I’d enjoy it so much.
Incredible really, incredible.
I wrote every day, trying to keep a personal journal as well as an official, Lucozade one is no easy task. But when there’s nothing to distract you except maybe the odd passing moose, you’d be amazed how one can focus the mind.
Perspective is a wonderful thing… and the view from here, is amazing. I know what things are important to me now. Not that I didn’t know before I guess.
But as I said, being up here sure does focus the mind.
While it’s easy to give We Are Social (WAS) a right good pasting over their handling of the Eurostar debacle over the weekend – let’s put things into perspective.
For starters: less than 24hrs after the whole thing started playing out, there was a video response from the Eurostar CEO himself, Richard Brown. This is not something to be sniffed at kids.
A video apology, delivered via YouTube, to the LittleBreak website in the form of a blog post. In this day, that is a feat in itself.
How many other CEOs of train operators could you name who would consider doing that (outside of a BBC interview)? Seriously?
Please do not think for one second that I’m making light of all those people trapped on the train/in the tunnel/in folkestone for God knows how many hours – I’m not.
But look at it like this – if the CEO had put that video up within, say four hours of the incident taking place, how easy would it have been to cry:
“OMG! What is he doing wasting time posting on a blog? He should be out there dedicating his time to getting those people out!”
WAS were originally (I assume), hired to create sales and conversation around ‘little breaks’ – facilitated, naturally, by Eurostar. Note: This would mean working with Eurostar’s Marketing and PR team, not their Customer Care dept. Whether or not the addition of a reactive care stream to We Are Social’s (now ongoing?) brief is the mark of a bad agency remains to be seen.
What isn’t necessary – in my opinion at least – is playing the blame game when it comes to addressing ‘twitter concerns’.
Remember – this happened on a Friday night and played out over the midnight hours. Come Saturday morning, the problem was still going on. I know I (at least try to) take weekends off sometimes, I’m pretty sure others do too. But, when the call came in, the WAS guys got themselves over to Eurostar HQ pronto and were camped out there from midday onwards.
By the end of play, they had that video up.
If care was part of the package then someone SHOULD have been online.
It wasn’t, so there wasn’t.
The end.
Yesterday we went to see the Eiffel Tower…
Aside from being reminded of Superman II all day, we also managed to take some video! 
I’ve been in Helsinki for the past 24hrs so excuse me while I dig around in my video archive for something that I haven’t published here before…
What I’m about to share with you isn’t specifically ‘new content’ exactly, however it is something actually quite special and I hope you enjoy it.
Meet Stewart Reed.
Stewart, believe it or not, is a genuine cowboy who lives and on a ranch out in the small town of Shell, Wyoming.
One night in July, while we were camping up in the mountains (and after we’d watched the Sun go down), we stayed up late drinking whisky, sharing jokes, telling tales and, eventually – after some cajoling from the group, Stewart fetched his guitar out from the pickup and started to play…
There, up in the mountains, in the long dark silence… a real, live cowboy… singing.
It was magical.
This one, Wagon Wheel, is by far and away my favourite.
Give it 30 seconds or so before he gets going, after that – just enjoy…
Cross-posted with my new Posterous website, set up purely for #ClimateVoice.
Normal service will return shortly.
(I have many more Moleskine travels to write up and, fingers crossed, I’ll have some other things to talk about by the time I get back too)
In the meantime, here is the first post from said Posterous.
Please remember: I’m not deserting My Happy Place, I just felt that for this one week-long gig, I should take my work elsewhere. I guess when you read some of the things we’re getting up to here, you’ll see.
See you when I get back.
James.
PS. A few commenters have remarked upon the irony of yours truly helping out with the #ClimateVoice project, given the amount of traveling that I’ve done this Summer and my continued response to them has been: I was asked to help and, after my Summer of travelling, I felt it was the least I could do.
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So, the Lucozade Challenges are at an end and I find myself not at home, in London…
But here, in New York.
Why?
Well, for a number of reasons. Some time ago now a certain Miss Vikki Chowney told me that she’d be travelling to New York for a week in September to continue her ongoing work as an ambassador for Oxfam. As part of the original G20 Voice team who attended the London G20 summit back in February of this year, Vikki’s work and subsequent commitment to the cause made her first in line when Oxfam came to selecting the team for the next project: ClimateVoice
My personal connections to the G20Voice project aside, back in February I was part of the team that helped the G20Voice blog get up and running through my work with SpinVox; working with Alfie Dennen of Moblog we were able to set up phone lines all over the world that allowed anyone, anywhere to call up and put their question to the G20.
When Oxfam heard I had some free time at the end of the Lucozade project, they asked if I’d like to tag along and assist with their livestreaming of the event; interviewing attendees and bloggers and generally doing what I do, but for them.
So a trip to NY, working with a charity I love and spending time with my other half who I’ve missed all Summer?
Oh go on then..
So for the week that I’m here, I’ll be blogging at this new posterous blog, just for this one project, as a container for all my Oxfam/G20/ClimateVoice content.
Let’s see how it works out.
Thanks for reading,
J.
‘Out of service’ the machine stares silently… ‘The other side!’ he thinks, knowing there is only minutes to spare.
It’s 07:26:54.
Can he make it to platform 2, use the (seemingly empty) machine over there and then get back in time for departure at 07:29:00?
Too late, his legs are already moving; two, five, eight steps up. Rucksack strapped tight he bounds over the footbridge… ‘Must be quick, must be quick!’.
These ticket machines are not new to him, in fact he knows exactly what parts of their screens to touch and when: Mid-bottom left, Zones 1-6 travel card. Confirm selection, bottom right. Card in, PIN number, payment and Print! The whole process should take no more than fifteen seconds. He notes (as he dashes past fellow commuters, oblivious to his challenge), the merits of majoring in something so seemingly minor could be a point of amusement later today, but this is lost on him now, all he can hear is the train, there, already arrived on the now opposite platform.
‘Must be quick, must be quick’, he repeats his speedy refrain, ‘I must be quick, I must be fast. I mustn’t miss my train!’
Button, confirm, card. It’s so simple, he simply can’t complain.
‘I must be quick, I must be fast. I mustn’t miss my train!’
Alas, he can. ‘Coins and notes only’ the wretched contraption says ‘No payment cards today’. He has the cash, there’s a twenty in his wallet, he saw it there this morning. ‘£14.80′ the machine says, ‘Coins only, no payment cards today’. Time creeps forward, slowly ticking by. The purple note, it shines and glistens in this early morning Sun. Cash in, ticket out – ching ching sounds his change, now go – GO GO! You’re going to miss your train!
Three, six, nine steps up – swiftly swerving the elderly woman, as he reaches the top – race fast, quick now -
….
He laughs, loudly when at the start of his descent he hears the high pitch beep of the doors. Still grinning when he reaches the bottom, the train pulls away.
07:28:47
Damn thing left early.
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Today is Friday August 21st, it’s now 12:59 and I’m sat at The Tuttle Club typing this all up. This morning I was a brief guest at Likemind, good chat and new people too. Then I was a guest of my new best friend, Dan Light at London’s IMAX for the ‘experiment in social marketing’ known as ‘Avatar Day’, (more on this later).
The footage was saw was simply stunning and, thanks to the really nice guys at Vue Cinemas, I’m going to see it again later on this evening.
I can’t wait.
As I said – More, later… I promise
