JM is the new SF/computer movie that stars Keanu Reeves and Beat Takeshi. I went to see this movie because I like a type of SF called CYBERFICTION (computer/internet fiction) and one of my hobbies is using my Macintosh computer to explore the Internet. The movie was based upon a short story by William Gibson. Unfortunately the people who made the movie felt that killing people in very grotesque ways was more important than telling the story. I like "Action Movies" but there are limits. I can't recommend the movie JM. However, I can recommend the books written by the author of JM, William Gibson. In America it's common for people who have read a book which was later made into a movie to say: "the book was better." Well, the book was better.

My Secret Sauce

Some of the things that I miss are: cheddar cheese, sourdough French bread, micro-brewery beer, fresh roasted coffee and spicy food. Well, some of these things are available in Japan but are very expensive and others aren't available in Japan. With respect to spicy foods I managed to find something rather special: kimchi base. Here are two recipes for you to try:

Erik's Omelette: Mix a tablespoon of kimchi base in with a few eggs. I like to put ham and cheese inside my omelettes. The omelette will have a very tangy flavor.

Erik's Yakitori Sauce: Mix soy sauce and kimchi base together (you will have to decide how spicy you like your chicken) and let the chicken marinate in the sauce for about an hour before you cook it. Apply a bit more sauce to the chicken while it is cooking. Enjoy.

Communication Quiz

Hiro: Broken English ok.

Aki: I can't speak English at all. Which person wants to communicate? Which are you? I think the quote "the only thing to fear is fear itself" applies to this situation. Communicating with people from different countries can be scary if you donÕt have much experience doing such. If you accept that mistakes are natural and that they can be very instructive - communication with people from other countries will become much easier and will eventually feel very natural.

Adventures in Shiiba - May 1995 by Erik Kassebaum

Adventures in Shiiba - May 1995
by
Erik Kassebaum