Tag Archives: My Cool Friends

Escapee guest post: Ken the Hipster escapes to Kyrgyzstan!

Ken, the hipster, is a recent coaching client who sought my advice to bring his “escape from America” dream to life! After a single session, Ken, who was born and lived all his life in New York, embarked on his first-ever trip outside the United States to experience Japan! He enjoyed it so much that upon his return, he immediately booked a flight to Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan is a rugged Central Asian country along the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean) where he is now living out his dream life!

Readers of my own Jamaican in China blog know that I’ve written a few books to help people discover their passions, escape from America, and live a nomadpreneur lifestyle. So, I asked Ken which of my books was most instrumental in helping him escape!

Ken, replied,

[begin] “Hmm, This is a really tough question. I do not think there was one particular book/concept that inspired me more than another. ALL your books and concepts had great value in giving me the confidence in escaping the west. It was more like a combination of everything!

“However, if there were any books in particular that set me off to escape…..hmmm…… I probably would have to say there were two.

“The first one was certainly, Jamaican in China for a couple of reasons. Going to Asia has always been one of my number one destination goals. Back then, it didn’t matter which country it was as long it was East Asia (because at the time I was ignorant of the distinctions between South East and Central Asia). Although I did choose Japan as my number one destination, I was always still curious about China and maybe even Korea.” (Download my Jamaican China adventure in ebook form here)

“One powerful reason that your Jamaican in China inspired me so much is because it was a non-biased testimony of your experience while traveling there. It was one of the most authentic experiences I have ever read on the Internet. You talked about the friends you made, a little bit of your romance life, the different foods, HOW you traveled and got to places even though you did not speak the language, the different ways of life and much more. Your books and other articles about your experience in China and other parts of Asia, even today, are of much better quality than most other written works! There’s no similar story of what other people’s experience was like when they were in China or another Asian country that does not “tear down” that country. Many other writers resort to “fear validating” (meaning they validate what our news media and TV shows project on to us about other countries). Even those writers and travelers who may have enjoyed their experience abroad always have to have some sort of negative tone or exaggerate aspects of the culture to dissuade others from having a genuine interest in visiting that country.

“In every forum I read, there is always some sort of one sided bias about China. It’s always a rant, complaint, or whining about certain things that the writer doesn’t like and thus they will end up dissuading others from having genuine interests of visiting that place themselves.

“However, you had a very balanced experience in which you explained all aspects of life in a fair, just, unbiased way so that a reader can have a fair assessment and form his or her own opinion in the matter if they are interested in going there or not. I loved reading about your experience on how you made a lot of friends, how friendly people were, and most importantly the interpersonal relationships that is present in the relationships between people. It is the kind of story that many of those who are stuck in the US, can relate to and would love to experience what you did if they knew what kind of life one could live if they were able to read something that is bias filtered.

“(Living here for one week in Kyrgyzstan, I can say for one thing, that even though it is a different culture and a different ethnic group from China, although they look almost exactly the same as Han Chinese, my experience here almost parallels your JIC book and your blog posts/articles from Laos, Singapore and other places in Asia. For an example, people do indeed stare (out of curiosity), are very hospitable, very authentic, have shown me lots of support, friendly etc. In fact many people have even gone out of their way to introduce themselves just to shake my hand. I’ve had girls actually follow me around in a mall just to have the courage to ask me for a picture with them! It is almost like reading your book was reading some sort of prophecy about what I would experience in Asia. Hence the reason why I am now inspired to write my own book about my life in Kyrgyzstan)

Ken and friends in Kyrgyzstan!

“However, the book that I would say REALLY inspired me was certainly How to Become a Nomadpreneur. The reason most folks cannot travel most of the time is because we are employed. If we do not go to work, we lose our income. So, in order to experience the freedom to live freely anywhere in the world without being chained to an employer it is necessary to freelance or start your own business as an entrepreneur. That way you are free to go any where you want, set your own schedule and be free from being chained to one location. Having an instruction manual on HOW to find ways to make income without the good ol’ American Dream pathway, in going to school for a loooong time, being in debt and finding a “job”, is surely one of the best ways to find freedom.

Ken and more friends in Kyrgyzstan

“The thought of making an income, even if it is not much as what a white collar makes, while being independently located somewhere where you are FREE to dress how you like, eat when you like, work when you feel like, and so on, is the ultimate happiness I can certainly find while nomadpreneuring. Seeing the long list of ideas and plans that were described and explained in the book gave me reassurance that there had to be something I could do to make enough money to live on without wasting my life and years going to a prestigious school just to be chained to a another prison. While thinking about what my life would have been like if I stayed working a job and then comparing it to a livable income and living the way the Jamaican in China lives, I ended up saying “That does it!! I’m outta here!””

Hope that helps!

Ken, the Hipster
https://www.kenthehipster.com

p.s. the other two books that also helped influence my decision to escape were Masculinity 2.0, and Turn Your Passion Into Profit, for similar reasons above. [end]

 

Thanks, Ken, for sharing your experience and the value of my coaching and books! Let’s start a movement! If you, too, would like to “escape” from America (or any other place you feel trapped), and want to request some coaching help, visit www.passionprofit.com/coaching

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Ode to a friend: Ruth Tighe is virtually always on my mind…


There are 301 emails in my outbox to Ruth Tighe (There would be more, but I changed computers in 2010).

As I spent some time this morning going over all those emails, I’m reminded of Ruth’s many acts of kindness as well as countless virtual conversations we shared that have endeared her to my memory. I’d like to share a few snippets of those memories with you.

From the day we first met at a Beautify CNMI meeting a few months after I arrived on Saipan in 2006, she’s been a consistent supporter of my writings, blogs, books and projects and has always gone out of her way to keep me informed. In her last email to me on October 5, 2012, as she typically did, she forwarded me a copy of something she thought I would be interested in. This time it was Congressman Gregorio Kilili” Sablan’s newsletter that I was unaware existed, and to which I am now a subscriber.

My fellow Saipan resident, Ruth, was one of the panel of volunteer (read: drafted) experts (of a grand total of about 3) for the SaipanLiving.com website, and answered email questions on a wide range of topics from where to find honey on Saipan, to CNMI marriage law, to how to deal with mosquitoes! (Her thoughts on island life are featured and immortalized in the book spawned by the site, Saipan Living.) Here’s what one couple wrote back to me after I assigned Ruth the task of answering their questions about starting a business on Saipan:

Thanks for your referral of Ruth – very knowledgeable, articulate and responsive to our questions. She is certainly an adjunct Chamber of Commerce asset.”

My friend, Ruth, shared books on a wide range of topics she thought I’d be interested in (actual physical copies as well as links on the internet).

My number one fan, Ruth, offered feedback to my weekly column in the Saipan Tribune, and graciously mentioned my projects in her On My Mind column. Those mentions were a welcome validation and appreciation of my efforts–though she didn’t know how just how eloquent, well-crafted, and well-received they were. I know because here’s what she once wrote as a p.s. after praising one of my books on Saipan.

RUTH: p.s. As you may notice, I am oddly inarticulate when it comes to praising anyone, anything. It all comes out so stilted. But then, I’ve had trouble with that ever since my kids, as kindergartners, brought home their crudely drawn art efforts………….and I’ve not yet gotten any better…………….I guess one could say I’ve never learned the art of flattery? Anyhow. I plan to mention it in my column……….–ruth

My blog follower, Ruth, was the most frequent commenter on my Jamaican in China adventure, following my blog posts from the beginning, even offering her home for me to crash when it seemed I might be homeless when my departure from Saipan to China might have been postponed after already giving up my apartment.

Then, once I actually ended up in China, Ruth continued to be a recurring, behind-the-scenes character: While in China, through a series of random encounters and after an invite I almost turned down, I met an American fellow in a club in Beijing. The exchange went something like this:

WALT: “So, have you ever heard about Saipan?”
STRANGER: “Yes, actually. I know someone who lives there.”
WALT:“Really!? Who?”
STRANGER: She’s family, but she doesn’t have the same last name. My father’s brother is married to her sister. The name slips me right now, but she’s been there a long time. She’s into politics. Wait, it’s coming to me….R-ru–“
WALT/STRANGER: [in unison] “Ruth Tighe!”

So, turns out that in the heart of China, in a city of 20 million people, at a smoke-filled event I had all intentions of missing that night, I’m introduced by a woman I only spoke to for the first time that afternoon, to a man she only met two days before, who, it turns out is related to my number one blog fan on the island Saipan where I’ve spent the last several years! That stranger, Ben Partan, is now my friend, and we keep in touch regularly!

As she became more and more of a follower and commenter on my blog, I would find myself composing and customizing the format of my emails with her in mind, just so she could have a hassle-free existence reading them. (She once described herself as a “luddite,” and from the way she described it, she must have been using a 286 Computer circa 1980s that always seemed to react weirdly to my emails, and just couldn’t seem to handle the image attachments. Nevertheless, she found the necessary ways and means to email me regularly, order books, vote for my blog for blog of the year!)

My fondest memories of Ruth involve our exchanges over what I imagine constitutes our mutual respect for and love affair with the English language. After reading one my articles or blog posts, Ruth might send me an email that would begin something like this:

RUTH: …being a teacher of English myself at one time, I struggled to parse your first sentence.
Pray tell, what is the subject of the verb “has”?

Thus would commence a nuanced back-and-forth debate that only language purists would appreciate wherein we would advocate on behalf of this or that grammatical case and convention, rule or precedent, and through which one of us would invariably introduce the other to a word hitherto not in his or her vocabulary (eg. She introduced me to “nonce.” I introduced her to “epicene.” Look ’em up!)

Ruth was my “reality check” for how my writings were being perceived by “regular humans” and offered her insights and interpretations.

We would often share and compare ideas on random topics in life and living. In one exchange back in 2010, Ruth and I discussed the purpose of the news media and the individual’s role in social change:

WALT: People fault the rich for not doing more for this or that cause. They fault their neighbor for not joining in the struggle against this or that injustice. While it’s true that the world would benefit if more people took up the mantle for a given cause, one of the things I think activists often overlook is that not everyone is called to the activist “life theme.”

RUTH: In thinking about this, I could agree that not everyone is called to be a leader. But not called to do good, to right wrongs, to help others, to try improve life on earth for all its living creatures – and plants/trees? I would agree that many don’t accept or recognize that “responsibility,” if you will, but I have trouble accepting that they don’t have that responsibility….”

Those of us who knew her will recognize that as an apt description of how she conducted life.

In September of this year, I relaunched the WeLoveSaipan.com site with the new banner “We STILL Love Saipan!” and sent Ruth an email requesting an updated description of why she, too, “still” loved Saipan. She replied:

RUTH: Nice idea, and I’d love to participate, but at the moment, I am barely functioning – I’ve hit a down phase in my health – they call it an “exacerbation” – and I have no energy, have a hard time catching my breath, and cannot think all that deeply, clearly. You’ll note, I’m not putting out my column……..
So my contribution will have to wait til I feel stronger again…………

ruth

Ruth didn’t get around to submitting her contribution. However, she did compose one testimonial for me a few months prior especially for Saipan Living:

RUTH: For someone who grew up in land-locked territory, the closeness to the sea is, I think, what attracts me the most – an attraction that has not worn off after 28 years of living on Saipan. The ocean in all its moods and colors, reflecting the clouds above, and the clouds themselves, offer an ever-changing panoply of color, images, beauty and is visible from nearly everywhere on island.

It’s green year-round, with plumeria, or hibiscus, or bougainvillea always in bloom. It’s warm, and sometimes rainy – but often that brings rainbows.
It’s a small island, made up of small, close communities in each village, and friendly people.

Despite its surface appearance as being just like southern California or Florida, it has its own culture, its own idiosyncrasies – and in order to survive and get along, it is necessary to understand, accept and embrace the differences. Living can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be – it depends on a person’s life style, and his or her willingness to try new things, to adapt to the local setting.

Paradise has its drawbacks: occasional typhoons, termites, ineradicable ants. But that goes with the territory.

Politically, it is no different than the mainland U.S. – here, though, it’s on a smaller scale, and “in your face” – the corrupt politicians are not in the distant capital, but are your friends and neighbors. Different, fascinating, ever-changing….[end excerpt]

Because of this ever-changing, virtual world we live in, and this nomadic life I’ve chosen, I’ve actually only had about 5 physical face-to-face meetings, one ear-to-ear phone call, and taken just a single photograph with my friend Ruth Tighe since I first met her in 2006. However, I consider her an ally, my biggest supporter, and I feel so very fortunate that this one person on a little 5 x 13-mile island in the middle of the Pacific, whom I would never have known otherwise, emerged from anonymity and into my life. It has made all the difference in the world.

Thanks, Ruth. Sorry I wasn’t on island to see you off, but I’m sure I speak for many on Saipan when I say….You’ll always be on my mind!

Walt F.J. Goodridge
Honored Friend of Ruth Tighe

p.s. With all the references to my books and sites and blogs and columns, I’ve realized that it’s challenging to write about all the ways a person affects your life without appearing to speak inordinately about the details of that life. I think Ruth and I shared the similar purpose of sharing information with others through the written word. In my case, that purpose manifests in the books and sites and blogs and columns I’ve created. Ruth’s impact on my life, therefore, is most evident in the ways in which she supported me in these and in the fulfillment of my purpose. I hope, in some way, I was able to help her in hers!

Pascal Antoine! The man, the myth, the legend…the force!

I thank him every chance I get.

Pascal Antoine was the man who introduced me to the internet back on 1997! I remember the day well. It was at his apartment in Brooklyn where he, um, loaned me a copy of Teach Yourself HTML 4 which I used to, well, teach myself HTML 4, design my own websites and become the man I am today! (Yes, Pascal, it was a loan. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it! I’ll return it soon!)

Pascal Antoine is the myth, who as “CoolP” was getting tens of thousands of hits to his FreshFinesse.com website back in 1996, when AOL was dial-up, and Mark Zuckerberg was 12 years old.

Pascal Antoine is the legend, who as Rapper “Antoine” was featured on BET (um, that was on my record label), and on whose light and funny video for “canufeelit” I made a cameo appearance.

 

China readers click here to view

Pascal Antoine is the French-born force for social change who is now founder of the immensely popular HaitXchange.com website, and who uses his considerable technical skills and videographer’s eye to reveal a different side of Haiti for the benefit of residents, expats and the world at large. He even arranges tours to show Haiti to tourists, business prospects and anyone interested in seeing the world through a different lens.

Yesterday, we had lunch at Vegetarian Paradise Two (Yes, Vina, I’m still here), and then hung out in a Starbucks at Union Square where, once again, he’s bringing me (kicking and screaming this time) into the 21st Century with ipads and iphones, and other technology and platforms I’ll be using during my next China excursion. Yes, I’m now seriously considering actually getting a smartphone to replace my camera! I resisted it, but after Pascal blogged about our meeting right from Starbucks (scooping me by a few hours), and responded to emails with voice commands, who knows, Siri might actually become my new best friend!

The man, the myth, the technology maven! Photo by iphone


The man, the myth, the technology maven! Photo by digital camera

How To Be Free and Conscious in A Society of Enslavement and Fear


“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti

My internet buddy, Winston Wu, sent me an article he wrote that I found very interesting and on-point! He and I share a lot of similar ideas on breaking free and living true to your self! You can check out Winston’s article here:
How To Be Free and Conscious in A Society of Enslavement and Fear

Here’s an excerpt:
From birth, we are taught obedience and conformity in school. Then we are conditioned to believe that our purpose in life is to “work and make money” (become a slave in other words). All of this serves to condition people to “want” a life of enslavement. If you’ve noticed, when most Americans (and Asians) who “live to work” lose their jobs or become unemployed, they feel worthless and miserable, as though their lives had no meaning, purpose or function anymore. Without a form of “paid enslavement” and servitude, they have no idea what to do, as they are empty and void on the inside with no value except that given to them by the economic system. In effect, they are “depressed without their enslavement” which is crazy and bizarro if you think about it. This is the result of their conditioning. It’s a really sad sordid state of affairs. But that is how people are conditioned.

Ironically, in spite of “wanting their enslavement”, most people live oppressed lives where they watch the clock, live for Fridays and dread Mondays, with short-lived weekend breaks between them that whiz by like a gust of wind. What an awful way to live! This is the epitome of oppression. Even animals don’t live that way. It’s not natural. Humans were not meant to…
Read More…

By the way, if you haven’t already, please “like” my Jamaican in China facebook fan page! It would make my day!

* p.s.

Winston,

I grew up on the island of Jamaica where, at the time, we had ONE television station JBC (Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation), that signed on at 4pm (with Sesame Street, Electric Company, the news, a few UK and US documentaries and television shows) and signed off at about 11pm or midnight.

However, among the shows we were fortunate to get were Sandokan (Malaysia), Colditz (UK) and Kung Fu (US).

As kids, we didn’t know or quite care what David Carradine’s character’s exact name was. We simply called him “Kung Fu!” And, acting out all the cool moves Kung Fu did on the show, and pretending to burn Shaolin monk tattoos into our skin by lifting burning hot cauldrons with our forearms provided hours of endless entertainment.

To compare this (still) Jamaican kid to one of his childhood heros, just moved YOU up in the ranks of cool “ego-fluffing” friends!

Thanks!

Ron M. Jamaican pilot living his dream!

You may recall my friend, Ron McFarlane, a Jamaican pilot I met on Saipan. Well, Ron is no longer on Saipan and is now a pilot for Air Macau! He’s been in training for a few months, but just completed his first official flight (and landing) of an Airbus 320 in Nanjing, China! When we used to sit in Garapan and watch the, um, tourists go by, Ron would always tell me his dream was to fly the big ones! He’s always wanted to be a pilot for as long as he can remember. Now, he’s living his dream! Here’s a youtube video of his first landing of a passenger-filled A320 recorded for posterity! Go deh, star! Nuff respect! I’ll be visiting soon!

If you’re in China, or cannot view the youtube video for some reason, click here

 

Isa Benn, director, writer, filmmaker…. and my cousin!

Here’s the latest in the series of passion-centered mavericks I’m featuring in the Communal Capitalism series referenced in an earlier post. My cousin, Isa Benn, in Toronto is a filmmaker! She’s posted a brief trailer of what she intends to be a five-part series….Here is the overview:

A brief, yet moving, glimpse of three young girls (Age: 5, 14, 17) and their trials and tribulations throughout one day. Eunice, Savannah and Asa set out to rent a bike, adding some happiness to what we witness as monotony, the absence of authority and poverty. Their euphoria is unexpectedly interrupted by the presence of strange males who rupture a beautiful and sound moment. The story ends with two girls, an apprehensive walk home and a moment of displacement.

Indiegogo.com is another great “support my project” site that allows credible creative folks like Isa to seek your support to complete their projects….and is a great example of …what CNN called “communal capitalism,” [which] demonstrates that even in this difficult economy and with no clear profit potential, people are willing to invest in entities about which they care and in entities that they believe will have a positive impact on their community.”

She’s about 1/4 of the way there! It would mean a lot to me to be able to share her success story and the release of her film in a future post!

CHECK IT OUTmeet her team, read their individual stories and let’s get this film made so we can find out the true significance of the title!

Communal Capitalism and my friend Nancy Siy

My friend, Nancy, whom I met at a Beijing Social Club dinner, and who I wrote about in my Saipan Tribune column, sent me this email.

Hi Walt,

Hope you are well! Since that time that we shared a meal, a lot has happened. I have discovered what I truly want to do- teach Jivamukti yoga. Not coincidentally, Jivamukti emphasizes nonviolence via ethical veganism…so it’s really a good fit! :) Thank you so much for your thought-provoking questions. And the article you wrote, I reread it when I feel the pain of animal cruelty.

I’d like to ask you to please visit the page below. I am hoping to raise funds for my yoga education and yoga community service project! Your help in any way, through donation or posting it at your newsletters or sites, would be much appreciated :)

Namaste,
Nancy
Click here to read and help

I’ve received several such requests for support of passion-centered ventures. One friend of mine, in particular, was able to exceed his goal and is now somewhere in Ecuador living his dream!

Through sites like Gofundme.com, a person with a passion-centered business or project posts his/her idea and seeks the financial support of the public. I thought about this trend, and how to name it, and came up with the phrase “communal capitalism!” So, I did what any self-respecting, self-conscious entrepreneur with a penchant for coining new phrases would do: I googled it, and sure enough, I’m not the first to come up with the concept. (Maybe I ought to read more!)

In any event, I found this quote….…what CNN called “communal capitalism,” demonstrates that even in this difficult economy and with no clear profit potential, people are willing to invest in entities about which they care and in entities that they believe will have a positive impact on their community.”

Once you read Nancy’s promise and proposal, you’ll see how she intends to make that positive impact on the community.

Please help any way you can!


Nancy to my left and members of the Beijing Social Club last year

p.s. To read some of the ideas Nancy and I talked about over dinner, check out
Turn Your Passion into Profit

Bangladeshi in Jamaica!!….um….

I’m walking down the street in Queens, New York, minding my own business….whistling a happy tune. I was on my way back from paying my utility bill. Usually, I would pay my bill online to avoid the lines, but decided to do things differently this time. So, like I said, here I am on a random street in New York City, a city I hadn’t planned on spending too much time in, a city that is home to 9 million people and other forms of interesting life, strolling at a random hour in the middle of the day, 8 thousand miles away from a little Pacific island I’ve called home for the past 6 years, and when I reach the corner of the block close to my apartment, I look up, and lo and behold, whom should I see walking perpendicular to my path, but Rabby Syed!

Who’s Rabby Syed, you ask? Why, shame on you! Rabby Syed is a business owner, activist and all-around nice guy who lives on Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands! I did a Saipan Tribune interview with Rabby a few months back when I was on Saipan.

We documented our fateful, fortuitous and fascinating meeting at the corner of 89th avenue, walked around town introducing him to things New York, and even took him to my favorite health food store, Queens Health Emporium where he encountered mock meats for the first time!

Rabby is actually here for serious business. Despite Newt Gingrich’s statements to the contrary regarding US policy when it comes to legal immigrants in the US, the contract workers on the island of Saipan are actually getting the short end of the stick as far as rights, and families are indeed being split apart by the recent takeover of Saipan’s immigration by the United States. Rabby is here–on his own limited funds and resources– to get the word out about what is happening on Saipan.

There are many terms and vocabulary related to status and permits that may not be familiar to those outside Saipan. However, those interested in understanding what is happening, may visit the Saipan Tribune website and search for the articles by lawyers Maya Kara and Bruce Mailman by searching for “lexmarianas.” 

Meanwhile, Rabby, welcome to Jamaica….um, Queens!

Dan Shor… not Jamaican, but brilliant nonetheless! Another of my cool friends

I’ve made a decision to get out of the house more (it’s really not that cold here in New York, relatively speaking). So, yesterday, I hung out in downtown Manhattan with veteran film actor Dan Shor. Yes, THAT Dan Shor of Tron movie fame. So, me and Dan were shooting the breeze in an Indian restaurant, and, um, what’s that? Who me? Casually dropping names in my blog to inflate my own importance and impress you with my circle of friends? Oh, come on! I’d NEVER do a shallow thing like that!

But, just in case you don’t know who Dan Shor is, here’s an excerpt from the wikipedia page on him

“Shor’s acting credits include Air Force One, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Tron , Red Rock West, and John Huston’s Wise Blood. Television films and mini-series include Friendly Fire, Elvis and the Colonel and The Blue and the Gray (for which Shor won a People’s Choice Award). He was a series regular on Cagney and Lacey and several other television series as well as numerous guest star appearances including a Ferengi doctor on Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role he would reprise seven years later on Star Trek: Voyager. In 1983, Shor starred in the band Kansas’ music video “Fight Fire With Fire” and made appearances in their “Everybody’s My Friend” video. Stage appearances in Los Angeles and San Diego have garnered Shor eight Drama-Logue and LA Weekly performance awards.”

Now, apparently, there’s a whole parallel universe of Tron movie fanatics and others from his fan club whose love of Dan Shor’s appearance in the role of Ram in the original Tron prompted the producers to reprise his role in the recent 2011 sequel!

Anyway, you might be wondering how we met. Like me, Dan escaped from America a few years ago to live on a tropical island in the Pacific, and, you guessed it: we met while he was on Saipan back in 2006! It’s a small island! He was getting into directing at the time, and I wrote an article on him for the Saipan Tribune, and recently helped him re-issue the dvd for Looking for America, the pilot he produced and directed for a Saipan-based television series he envisioned.

Dan left Saipan and returned to New York shortly after we met, but we’ve kept in touch, and yesterday, finally had a chance to spend a few hours reminiscing about Saipan, China, acting, directing and life abroad and other, um, man stuff!  

He’s doing a lot more diverse types of directing now through his company, Shodavision.


Dan as Ram in the movie Tron

looking for america by dan shor
The DVD, Looking for America, produced by Dan Shor’s Shodavision (also available on Amazon), and also featuring Dan as a Russian bar owner!

ben salas and dan shor saipan
Dan and filmmaker Ben Salas back on Saipan back in the day!

dan shor and walt goodridge new york
Dan Shor in New York, with the Jamaican in China New York for now!

Stay strong, my friend

To a dear friend who is experiencing some challenges through the actions of individuals who seem intent on orchestrating her demise:

In the perfect order and balance of this universe, of ours, my friend,  there is absolutely, positively no way that your good deeds, your pure heart, your noble intentions, your generosity, your honesty,  your empathy, and your sincere appreciation of the humanity and value in others can ever be “rewarded” with the success of others who plot your demise.

Every apparent block to your forward progress exists in apparency only because of your forgetting that we live in a friendly, supportive universe, all things work towards your good, and obstructions are deliberately placed in your path to encourage you to stretch and climb ever higher to see above, around and beyond them and make the effort to overcome them in order to assume your rightful, destined place in the unfolding of the divine plan of the planet of which you are an integral player. 

Based on what I know to be true about you, know that you have greater forces at the ready, waiting to lift you past this. Remain above the fray.

Your tormenter is not in your league.

Stay strong.

Your friend, Walt

Jamaican in Macau!

Now, before you get too excited….and before I get too far ahead of myself, I am NOT in Macau. However, like any true and wise revolutionary, I do have an undisclosed number of face doubles, stand-ins, stuntmen, body doubles, affiliates and certified guest hosts to “sub” for me should the need arise. (I do, however, perform all dating and romantic assignments in house. These are rarely subcontracted.)

With that said, my friend Ron, the interim Jamaican on Saipan, whom faithful readers will recall from Friends in High Places…skewing the distribution and [SaipanTribune story:]There are more Jamaicans on Saipan was in Macau recently and took a few photos


While I’m away, I’ve even given Ron–as stand-in Jamaican– the keys to my secret hideaway on Saipan! Don’t get too comfortable, buddy…