Got the Japanese newsletter sent off this morning and then started editing work on a whole new series of files. On each Genki English CDs there are hundreds of voice files, which all have to be edited, trimmed, chopped and labelled by hand. It’s mind numbing work, but someone has to do it!

I produce all the the CDs here, but for the final level checks, EQ, compression etc. I send them off to a professional mastering house. This saves me a lot of stress! And today I got the final master to check before the factory starts producing the Phonics CD. It’s just like a final layer…

Spent the morning updating the website to be able to take pre-orders of the Genki Phonics CD. If you already have the other CDs and pre-order the new one, you’ll get post and packing for free! Then in the afternoon it was my weekly day off, so went down to eat some Unagi by the…

Today was quite cool as I caught up with my very good friend and long time Genki English contributor, Joel Bacha. Joel and I actually did the first Genki English shows together, and he’s also written the brilliant “Teachers & Kids” book. It was cool to catch up on stuff, and his plans next week…

Had a great presentation at Nellies Bookstore today. The teachers were cool, a good mix of newbies and fans, and everyone was very genki. I introduced a new section about goals, and talked about the winner of the UK’s Japanese Speech contest – a kid who had been learning Japanese for one year and 7…

Flew up to Tokyo this morning, the first time this year. One new thing was that the trains were running late! This never used to happen in Japan, but now with all the terrorist warnings it’s making things seem more like back home. So my first meeting was a bit late but a good chat…