News Bulletin 12

Iran is going to one up itself in sophisticated censorship by creating its own Internet.  One of the country's major concerns is protection from Western cultural invasion and threats.  For example, sticking ones head in the sand, a popular American expression of embarrassment, is considered a maxim of virtue in Iran.  Abdolmajid Riazi, a former ministry of telecommunications hot shot, has said, 'We want to be more like North Korea.  A real model of intellectual self sufficiency.'

India and Pakistan's latest battle for the border topic is the demilitarization of the Siachen Glacier.  Border talks between the two countries have stalled since the 2008 Mumbai attack because India is still upset many of the people who planned the attack were based in Pakistan.  Troops on the disputed glacier reportedly only care about getting off the freezing hunk of ice, asking 'Who would even want to own this forsaken wasteland in the first place.'

Former International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been house hunting in New York.  He paid millions of dollars in bail money after being arrested for, as the French say, forceful womanizing, and now has to pay for a 24 hour armed guard which requires him to find a place to live.  The down on his luck, out of a job, would be politician is keeping a modest profile with a budgetary cap of 25k per month, but the issue of no one wanting to be his neighbor is complicating the search.

Sticky Sushi

One weekend my friend Kathryn and I tried making sushi.  An honest evaluation of the ingredient scavenger hunt, messy rice, and semi-presentable result would probably conclude the endeavor was unwarranted for someone who is satisfied with sushi that comes in a plastic container from a gas station.

Surprising issue: sushi ingredients are impossible to find.  Trader Joe's or the local co-op, one might assume, would have seaweed wraps.  Nothing could be less true.  Not one sushi ingredient was located at Trader Joe's or the local co-op. 

Also, sushi rice is infuriatingly sticky.  I have reservations about eating sushi again due to concerns about its digestibility. 

Best decision: watching a sushi making video which demystified ingredient placement and rolling technique.

Doth my eyes deceive me?  This is almost the type of picture a foodie blog would feature to chronicle steps in the sushi making process.



Lesson learned: did not realize wasabi is included inside the sushi roll and is not just an optional side.

Moderate success!!!!