The Chronicle

Willem's career as a game designer could serve as a lesson to anyone seeking employment in an industry with a high barrier to entry. A man who simply would not take no for an answer and managed to carve out a career for himself in this highly competitive industry, he has now built a resume which would be the envy of anyone involved with the field.

Johannes has an incredible story. From being one of the very first people to work on android, to designing his own game, he's had a storied career both in and out of Japan. For anyone interested in the IT landscape in Japan, Johannes' is an example of what is possible if you apply yourself.

The guest today is Drew Wallin, a bilingual entrepreneur who's life is a case study in how truth trumps fiction when it comes to experiences beyond belief. We discuss materialistic habits and how they are often maligned as horrible. But is this necessarily true? Could elements of materialism actually ground us in reality and grant some insight into a life well lived?

Today's guest is Terrance Reynolds. A man who in a few short years went from working an entry level teaching position to becoming a local celebrity DJ and then a software developer following that. There's no point in small dreams and Terrance is a study in that ideology.

His instagram: terrancee95

I'd say it's a healthy bet that most people are ready to move on to the new year. Mine wasn't exactly easy if I'm honest. That said, a lot has come out of it and I actually appreciate the events I was witness to in the course of reaching the proverbial finish line of December. No email responses in today's podcast. You and I, we haven't spoken in some time so I wanted to lean hard into pure conversation and some thoughts that have bounced around the plentiful free space in my head. I've read about three major books since last I uploaded and that has led to the ideal situation, I could not shut up about them even if I tried. From Caesar, to Wilbur Smith, to Charlie Chaplin's autobiography recently. I am so inspired by all these people. Titans of their world's each in their own right. But that's not all. What would a discussion be without speaking on the dangers of social media algorithms and the like. We go deep on the cast and I hope you enjoy getting lost there with me. Thanks for tuning in.

Living with out autism is one thing, abuse, something entirely different. Joseph joins me on the podcast for ep.29 to share his experience of having to grow up dealing with both. I think him a good example of what it is like to be repeatedly given a situation in which no one would fault you for giving up or becoming bitter but defying that choice and instead choosing to be a positive force.

I finally finished Caesar's biography and naturally there were some life lessons to take from it. Much having to do with how deflated we feel once we catch that mouse we've been chasing. So here is to useful enemies and never ever reaching our goals, no matter how at first, that defeat depresses us.

Who is your team and where are they? I was watching The Last Dance on Netflix recently and for a guy, me, who hasn't played team sports for the last decade, I definitely came away with a feeling like I still was. The realization being that we are always in a team. The game has changed but the goal remains the same, to win, to win life. Additionally I watched The Social Dilemma, and what a great cause for reflection on consumerism and marketing that was. Come with me won't you and share a few thoughts.

We are only young enough for so long, to take the ship we have built, out on a great adventure. Drew Walling, the founder of Garden Lab, made time in his busy schedule to sit down with me and discuss the how and why of his starting a business in Kyoto Japan.

We get the core of what makes for the best ramen. We venture into a semantics war on whether or not a husk is a real thing in regards to sake processing. This time on the interstice podcast we spare no time turning over ever proverbial rock in search of interesting topics. Oh, and we discuss where Japan's most and least beautiful women come from.