An article about our paper in the New York Times.
Read it HERE.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
the small details
There is something both annoying and funny about clicking some link and finding the page displayed in Arabic. Even tho I have set all the preferences on my Mac, in the browser, and on many websites, I still get the occasional mistake. Even google, where I am always signed ino my gmail account sometimes randomly goes to Google.ae instead of google.com. At least I can just look at the bottom where this line shows up and click English.
البحث:
النطاق Google.ae متوفر باللغات: پارسی English हिन्दी اردو
Interestingly enough, right in the middle of typing this, someone came up to me and asked if I know why sometimes Google does the exact thing I am writing about.
Maybe Google does it for fun. Now if I could just get blogger.com to show up right. I still am not sure what 'create new post' looks like in Arabic. I have to go login on the dashboard page first.
البحث:
النطاق Google.ae متوفر باللغات: پارسی English हिन्दी اردو
Interestingly enough, right in the middle of typing this, someone came up to me and asked if I know why sometimes Google does the exact thing I am writing about.
Maybe Google does it for fun. Now if I could just get blogger.com to show up right. I still am not sure what 'create new post' looks like in Arabic. I have to go login on the dashboard page first.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
From one extreme to another
Scouting the wires for fun today I stumbled across THIS.
The best line (from someone who has probably never been to the UAE) is the opening quote:
On the opposite side on the same topic is THIS.
Only if Preze knew Elton was just here...
The best line (from someone who has probably never been to the UAE) is the opening quote:
"On the one hand, they hate America. On the other hand they love America to the bone," said Michael Izady, an expert on Middle East culture.What an overgeneralization of the Middle East.
On the opposite side on the same topic is THIS.
Only if Preze knew Elton was just here...
Friday, April 18, 2008
Flatted
The keys to the flat are FINALLY ours!
Just in time for the duck-green couch to be delivered on Sunday.
Now it's time to buy a SHITLOAD of other stuff (bedroom set, stove, fridge, dishes, wardrobe....).
Happy shopping for us.
Just in time for the duck-green couch to be delivered on Sunday.
Now it's time to buy a SHITLOAD of other stuff (bedroom set, stove, fridge, dishes, wardrobe....).
Happy shopping for us.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
All the glory (shock and awe) that is Volume 1, Issue 1
Well, the paper is out. I woke up this morning and went downstairs to find a stack in my hotel lobby. While the registration is a bit off, it's pretty fab.
Everyone at the office is really proud of it. I feel like I've just given birth.
Last night I wound up at our new production shed to see it motoring off the presses and into the hands of hundreds of little Pakistani men. That was, by far, the most incredible and shocking sight I've seen here (so far, anyway). Watch the video I shot of it. Total human assembly line.
I kept saying under my breath, "There's a machine that does all of that!"
Here's a few photos of the presses. (Someone forgot to take her camera to the launch party at Emirates Palace which was just before.)
Sitting on a stack of my section: arts&life
Page editor Tracey Lazos, myself and arts&life writer Peter Baker
Lots and lots of towers
Lots of ink-stained hands
While I'm planning on sending out "hard copies" of the paper to a few of you (Mom, Dad, TNT peeps).. the rest of you should get hi-tech and see it online. That's right, you can READ the paper as it appears printed. Pretty freaking cool. Make sure to check out Friday's edition of The Review (this being the intellectual "think" piece section). The cover illustration/design is mine.
Some exciting and true facts:
-The entire paper is full color.
-The sections I'm in charge of designing (Arts & Life and The Review) are a minimum of 16 pages.
-Our pages are a HUGE 12 X 21" and are more of a white (less newspaper) paper. The Review is printed on GLOSSY WHITE PAPER!
-My section runs a feature called Oasis which publishes Sunday-Thursday. The feature is the double truck of arts&life and can be anything from Taxi Cab interiors to... well, you'll see : )
-Our paper was designed by Lucie Lacava.
-We have around 40 foreign correspondents, 20 people or so on the photo team, 80-plus reporters and tons of editors. You may notice how most of our content is not wire. This is why.
I'm very curious to hear what people think about it...so please feel free to chime in! Does it feel/look different than what you'd expect? What do you think of the content? Design? Photography? Reviews on it have already been popping up around the Web. You can read one HERE.
Everyone at the office is really proud of it. I feel like I've just given birth.
Last night I wound up at our new production shed to see it motoring off the presses and into the hands of hundreds of little Pakistani men. That was, by far, the most incredible and shocking sight I've seen here (so far, anyway). Watch the video I shot of it. Total human assembly line.
I kept saying under my breath, "There's a machine that does all of that!"
Here's a few photos of the presses. (Someone forgot to take her camera to the launch party at Emirates Palace which was just before.)
Sitting on a stack of my section: arts&life
Page editor Tracey Lazos, myself and arts&life writer Peter Baker
Lots and lots of towers
Lots of ink-stained hands
While I'm planning on sending out "hard copies" of the paper to a few of you (Mom, Dad, TNT peeps).. the rest of you should get hi-tech and see it online. That's right, you can READ the paper as it appears printed. Pretty freaking cool. Make sure to check out Friday's edition of The Review (this being the intellectual "think" piece section). The cover illustration/design is mine.
Some exciting and true facts:
-The entire paper is full color.
-The sections I'm in charge of designing (Arts & Life and The Review) are a minimum of 16 pages.
-Our pages are a HUGE 12 X 21" and are more of a white (less newspaper) paper. The Review is printed on GLOSSY WHITE PAPER!
-My section runs a feature called Oasis which publishes Sunday-Thursday. The feature is the double truck of arts&life and can be anything from Taxi Cab interiors to... well, you'll see : )
-Our paper was designed by Lucie Lacava.
-We have around 40 foreign correspondents, 20 people or so on the photo team, 80-plus reporters and tons of editors. You may notice how most of our content is not wire. This is why.
I'm very curious to hear what people think about it...so please feel free to chime in! Does it feel/look different than what you'd expect? What do you think of the content? Design? Photography? Reviews on it have already been popping up around the Web. You can read one HERE.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Why haven't we blogged in a bit?
Probably because tomorrow is the official launch of the newspaper.
More details tomorrow. Promise.
Until then, beginning at midnight our time you can read it online.
www.thenational.ae
More details tomorrow. Promise.
Until then, beginning at midnight our time you can read it online.
www.thenational.ae
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Awesome day and money well spent
The Red Bull Air Race yesterday was fantastic. Wes and I took plenty of photos and even a video. I'll post those tomorrow. Until then, check out a glimpse of what we saw.
(Both of these shots are from yesterday via the Red Bull Web site).
(Both of these shots are from yesterday via the Red Bull Web site).
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
A new work vocab
It's funny how newsrooms vary from one another. While they almost always have a bit of "sameness" like the people in them, similar annoying problems... they are different in the smallest ways.
Vocabulary is the biggest (and the smallest).
Hermes (my old computer system) has been replaced with Saxo.
An exploded type intro has become a stand first.
The slot is the production editor.
A CLO has become a stand alone.
A copy editor has morphed into a page editor (and some have become rewrite).
The list of new terms goes on and on...
Vocabulary is the biggest (and the smallest).
Hermes (my old computer system) has been replaced with Saxo.
An exploded type intro has become a stand first.
The slot is the production editor.
A CLO has become a stand alone.
A copy editor has morphed into a page editor (and some have become rewrite).
The list of new terms goes on and on...
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Red Bull Air Race 2008!!!
We are going to the Red Bull Air Race 2008! The first leg of the tournament is being held in Abu Dhabi along the Corniche. The Corniche, for those not familiar with Abu Dhabi, is the long beachfront lined with parks, gardens, mazes, childrens playgrounds, and a walkway. We have tickets for the special area were we can watch the action on giant screens, eat from the buffet, drink the drinks, and be protected from the sun whilst sitting and relaxing. We will be away from the hordes of people watching it from the public areas, and right in front of the action!
Check out their site if you want to learn a little more about it. We are going Friday, since that is the final day of two day race. Besides it is the only day I have off. After that, Indian food at a posh restaurant that has been called Abu Dhabi's best Indian food by people in the know.
Edit by Elysia: Since this outing to the air races and posh restaurant is a pricey one we're calling this Wes' early birthday weekend (for those that don't know it, Wes' real birthday is in about two weeks). Wes also forgot to mention that we're going with Alex and Angela (a British married couple we met through the paper). Good times.
Check out their site if you want to learn a little more about it. We are going Friday, since that is the final day of two day race. Besides it is the only day I have off. After that, Indian food at a posh restaurant that has been called Abu Dhabi's best Indian food by people in the know.
Edit by Elysia: Since this outing to the air races and posh restaurant is a pricey one we're calling this Wes' early birthday weekend (for those that don't know it, Wes' real birthday is in about two weeks). Wes also forgot to mention that we're going with Alex and Angela (a British married couple we met through the paper). Good times.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
T-shirts in other languages - a warning!
Next time you see someone with a tattoo or t-shirt with a foreign language on it, imagine the possibilities of what it might really mean. I have seen so many funny t-shirts here that are written in English and it is clear that the wearer has no idea what it really says or means.
The girl with the giant block letters 'HUMAN' across the front.
Yes, that is what you are, good job for that, but minus points for not knowing what it means.
The mannequin in the store front 'Let's party to 100%.'
Not too bad, but it looked straight out of the 80s.
The best - A man, in a tight pink shirt. Why was it tight? Because it was a womans shirt. How do I know this? Because it said 'No Money, No Honey!' He was there with his girlfriend who also must not have understood it because she was letting him wear a shirt meant for women while out shopping at the grocery store.
The girl with the giant block letters 'HUMAN' across the front.
Yes, that is what you are, good job for that, but minus points for not knowing what it means.
The mannequin in the store front 'Let's party to 100%.'
Not too bad, but it looked straight out of the 80s.
The best - A man, in a tight pink shirt. Why was it tight? Because it was a womans shirt. How do I know this? Because it said 'No Money, No Honey!' He was there with his girlfriend who also must not have understood it because she was letting him wear a shirt meant for women while out shopping at the grocery store.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Q&A: Part 1
Lots of people have questions about what's going on with us, what we do here, what we see, etc. Here's a little Q&A to answer some of those.
Where do you live? I'm confused.
Wes and I are still living in a hotel called the Rammee Residence Hotel. We've been living there since Wes got here. Before that I was at the nice 5 start hotel called Le Meridien. Our apartment is STILL not ready (just to give you an idea, it was supposed to be ready in January). The nice thing about still living in the hotel? We aren't paying rent (yet). We have our fingers double crossed that we can move in within the next week or so.
Why does your address keep changing?!
Since we don't have an actual mailbox in the UAE, we use our work's P.O. Box. First we worked for Emirates Media, then with the impending new newspaper venter they became Abu Dhabi Media Company (which is why it went from PO Box 63 to 791). THEN we announced the paper's name and we got another P.O. Box number (that really long one). I think it will be the last.
Is it really hot there? What's the weather like?
Right now it's kinda hot, but it's going to get MUCH MUCH hotter in the coming months. Our hottest temperature so far has been just under 40 degrees Celsius (meaning around 100F). This summer it should climb to around 46-50 degrees Celsius (meaning around 110-120F). Needless to say, summer isn't the best time to come visit if you don't like the heat. Prime visit times are September-November and March-May.
Where do you guys plan on traveling?
Wes and I have a big list of where we want to go. Each of our lists, of course, are different. Eventually we will have to compromise. Wes is dead set on going to Africa, somewhere in Asia and New Zealand. I want to go to Malta to visit my family, Ireland for St. Patty's Day next year and Bangkok. We've both actually want to go to Egypt to see the pyramids. Our first trip out of the country will most likely be a road trip to Oman (maybe next weekend if we aren't working).
Where do you live? I'm confused.
Wes and I are still living in a hotel called the Rammee Residence Hotel. We've been living there since Wes got here. Before that I was at the nice 5 start hotel called Le Meridien. Our apartment is STILL not ready (just to give you an idea, it was supposed to be ready in January). The nice thing about still living in the hotel? We aren't paying rent (yet). We have our fingers double crossed that we can move in within the next week or so.
Why does your address keep changing?!
Since we don't have an actual mailbox in the UAE, we use our work's P.O. Box. First we worked for Emirates Media, then with the impending new newspaper venter they became Abu Dhabi Media Company (which is why it went from PO Box 63 to 791). THEN we announced the paper's name and we got another P.O. Box number (that really long one). I think it will be the last.
Is it really hot there? What's the weather like?
Right now it's kinda hot, but it's going to get MUCH MUCH hotter in the coming months. Our hottest temperature so far has been just under 40 degrees Celsius (meaning around 100F). This summer it should climb to around 46-50 degrees Celsius (meaning around 110-120F). Needless to say, summer isn't the best time to come visit if you don't like the heat. Prime visit times are September-November and March-May.
Where do you guys plan on traveling?
Wes and I have a big list of where we want to go. Each of our lists, of course, are different. Eventually we will have to compromise. Wes is dead set on going to Africa, somewhere in Asia and New Zealand. I want to go to Malta to visit my family, Ireland for St. Patty's Day next year and Bangkok. We've both actually want to go to Egypt to see the pyramids. Our first trip out of the country will most likely be a road trip to Oman (maybe next weekend if we aren't working).
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Wes is official
Today Wes was issued his residence visa. Now we can come and go as we please (which includes our flight back into the U.S. in June).
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Another address change
Perhaps the third time will be the charm?
Please note that our work mailing address (our only mailing address) has changed yet AGAIN.
Please send all mail to:
Elysia Smith &/or Wes Mininger
c/o The National
Abu Dhabi Media Company
P.O. Box 111434
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
If you've sent us something recently (bless your little heart) it will still get here via the old address.
And, if your saying to yourself, "The National"? Yep, that's the name of the newspaper. It's (finally) been publicly announced!
Please note that our work mailing address (our only mailing address) has changed yet AGAIN.
Please send all mail to:
Elysia Smith &/or Wes Mininger
c/o The National
Abu Dhabi Media Company
P.O. Box 111434
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
If you've sent us something recently (bless your little heart) it will still get here via the old address.
And, if your saying to yourself, "The National"? Yep, that's the name of the newspaper. It's (finally) been publicly announced!
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