a blog in conjunction with the Rutabaga podcast (in production)
Tried to get some work done in this charming 200 year old Qing Dynasty house but it was hard
Tried to get some work done in this charming 200 year old Qing Dynasty house but it was hard to not just sit and soak in the ambiance (and take pictures of old stuff).
finally here’s a little Rootabaga teaser for you patient supporters
It took far too long, but finally here’s a little Rootabaga teaser for you patient supporters (in the player below)… to be followed by full episodes very soon. And look for a podcast format in coming weeks (i.e. downloadable on iTunes, Spotify, and other platforms.) A huge debt of gratitude goes to Wendy Tennery for all her creative input, technical support, hours and hour of work on editing and otherwise trying to make this thing happen. Thanks Wend!
Other shout outs:
Wendy Tennery for endless editing, creative input, motivation and more, James Evans for the wicked and fun logo, Light Organ Records for the music, and everyone who gave me their time for an interview or otherwise helped me along or cheered on the idea of this podcast.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Getting podcast inspiration from some amazing art
Came to work on Rootabaga in a cafe in Shanghai’s famous M50 art district but got sidetracked by all the amazing art.
When I found out a fellow Alabamian was opening up restaurants in Seoul featuring Alabama style barbecue I was really intrigued – not only about getting some good comfort food but also but what the hell would make somebody want to do barbecue in a country that already had its own on just about every street corner.
When I found out a fellow Alabamian was opening up restaurants in Seoul featuring Alabama style barbecue I was really intrigued – not only about the prospect of getting some good comfort food so far from home but also but what the hell would make somebody want to do barbecue in a country that already had its own on just about every street corner. So I stopped by Linus’ Bama Style Barbecue in Seoul (both locations actually) to chat with Linus and find out. Here’s a little teaser for our upcoming podcast episode.
One of the cool things about doing this podcast about interesting expats is that it brought me to home turf for the first time in years and connected me to some old friends I haven’t seen in 20 or 30 years. One being @fyicary, who invited me to contribute to the mural in his amazing Buckhead, Atlanta loft. @rootabagapodcast logo, hand chalked by me. 😁 And great IPA-fueled hang.
Jordan waxed genki on his hectic life as a professor, translator, poet, rapper, husband and daddy in Tokyo – and laid down one of his very own creations on a busy Tokyo alley one crisp autumn day last year.
He will probably cringe at my ignorant wordplay (waka (和歌) is a genre of Japanese poetry – I think) but there is no denying that Jordan A. Y. Smith is a wandering wordsmith who can toy with Japanese words in just about any form. I was honored that Mr. Smith, my old multilingual buddy from back in our early English teaching days in Seoul, agreed to one of the very first Rootabaga interviews. I caught up with Jordan in a French crêperie
in très chic Omotesando – Tokyo’s so called Champs-Élysées – where he waxed genki on his hectic life as a professor, translator, poet, rapper, husband and dad in Tokyo, recalled being “off the rails” in Korea in an earlier incarnation – and laid down one of his very own raps on a busy Tokyo alley one crisp autumn day last year. Have a listen and stay tuned for the full episode in a few weeks.
Elaine Chou was working in finance in Beijing when she decided that her true calling was helping people resolve their personal problems. She now practices hypnotherapy for mainland Chinese clients from her home in LA via Skype.
In Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago to interview Dave Sperling of Dave’s ESL Cafe and my old bandmate Paul I was treated to an impromptu interview opportunity when I discovered that my host’s girlfriend was herself an expat and digital nomad with a pretty unordinary job. Originally from Taiwan, Elaine Chou was working in finance in Beijing when she decided that her true calling was helping people resolve their personal problems. After earning her masters degree in psychology in China and training in counseling and hypnotherapy in California she created a niche career for herself counseling clients in mainland China via Skype and using hypnosis as one of her main tools – all from, well, wherever she can access the internet.
Stay tuned here for our really cool chat with Elaine about escaping an unsatisfying job, the Chinese people’s openness to therapy and hypnosis, and living the laptop job dream.
Shout out to Mario for the couch in LA! And just for fun a little theme music for the post.
What a crazy trip to Korea. So much jammed packed in I haven’t had time to share any proper photos, videos, stories. Will have to do it from the US. But in 16 days I interviewed several old friends and acquaintances for Rootabaga, I met up with tons of old friends, hung out with an actress, a model (impressed yet? 😎), an old rock star I was a fan of in the 90s, ate amazing meals, drank more than I should have and saw remote places I’d never been. Can’t wait to share more soon…
When you’re tracking down interesting expats you get to stay in some awesome homes. Case in point, my old friend and colleague John Jackson’s photography and book-filled home in a farming village outside Gwangju, South Korea.
Our “interview” was more of beer-fueled reminiscence of how we left our home countries and what’s going on with mutual friends but did eventually get around to how Brad’s passion for music turned into an award-winning career producing hit songs in Korea
I wasn’t in Korea more than half a day when the window opened for an interview with old music-circle buddy BA Wheeler – a big-hearted Newfie with an amazing and inspiring expat success story. (Brad will hate this because he doesn’t seem to have any trace of an ego or much like being in the spotlight). Our “interview” was more of beer-fueled reminiscence of how we left our home countries and what’s going on with mutual friends but did eventually get around to how Brad’s passion for music turned into an award-winning career producing hit songs in Korea and what it’s like playing drums and working with his wife’s world-touring doo-wop trio the Barbarettes.
I promise this will be a fun episode when it drops. Check out a little of the interview here:
