The Check Is in the Mail; The National Interest

I've been saying to everyone who will listen, i.e. KM, HO, RT, and one family member, that I'm appearing in The National Interest. Well, it turns out that I'd already been published. The catch? Not here, but here. Essentially, I've been telling the world I won a BMW in a raffle, and I come home to find the FedEx guy at my front door with this.

So, was the experience worth losing all my liberal friends? YES, in capital letters. Because they are paying real money, unlike the English language version of Japanese national daily X. My joy is palpable in the following email (slightly edited) I wrote in response when they asked for my mailing address:

"To be truthful, I'd be happy to write for The National Interest for free. But please by all means pretend you didn't read that (I was only speaking hypothetically anyway) and send the money. Since The Communist Institution that disguises itself by the name of The International Banking System rakes off an exorbitant share of the moolah when redeeming a check at an overseas location, my favorite mode of payment is the following:

Mail the money in unmarked hundred-dollar bills to:

Jun Okumura
******
JAPAN.

Barring that possibility, please mail a money order to the same address.

Wiring the money to the following account runs a poor third:

Bank:
Address:
Account number:
Holder of account: Jun Okumura

As for the fourth option, namely a check in the mail, personally serving cognac and salmon roe to Kim Jong-il would be more fun. But it beats not getting paid at all.

Yours sincerely,
Jun Okumura"