My son goes to a "juku," funny English the Japanese create, and various Halloween related stuff

My son has joined the millions of Japanese kids who attend a juku, the famous cram schools where students go in the evenings to take extra lessons. Actually, "cram school" isn't a very good term, since it implies students do nothing but cram for tests, when in fact my son just takes extra lessons in math, social studies, and his worst subject, kokugo (Japanese language). There are tens of thousands of these after-hours-and-weekend schools throughout Japan, with different reasons for the existence of each. Some just help students keep up with their normal classwork, effectively giving them a place to do their homework with a teacher's supervision, while others lay the groundwork for future academic achievement, eventually helping the student get into a high-ranking high school or university. My son mainly wanted to go to juku because his friends were going, but he also enjoys studying. One of the most famous juku systems in Japan is Kumon, which has quite a good track record for helping students raise their academic scores. Kumon has even successfully brought their study method outside Japan, with Kumon Learning Centers (there's even one near my house in San Diego). Mastering Japanese involves learning hiragaka, katakana, and kanji, but you also have to re-learn some English, since the Japanese sometimes change the language beyond recognition. If you ask your boss for a raise, but he says no, it's "NG," which stands for "no good." A "blooper" on TV is also called an NG. The letter "W" stands for "double" to the Japanese, and there's a TV commercial for a video camera starring Maria Sharapova in which she says "W-OK" ("double okay"), referring to the fact that you can take still pictures and video at the same time. If you want to check your weight, ask for a "health meter" -- the English word "scale" is used in Japanese, but only meaning something's size in relation to something else, not as a way to check your weight. We're putting the finishing touches on an Obi Wan Kenobi costume for my son, and my wife emailed my mother in America asking how to fasten the "magic tape" (she meant velcro). If you want to tell someone to not worry about something, you can say "Donmai, donmai!" which comes from "Don't mind." Similarly, when someone is backing their car up, you can tell them it's okay to come back further by saying "Orai!" which comes from "Alright." Sometimes Americans are confused by strange English that's really British in origin -- for example, the Japanese call the hood of a car a "bonnet" just like the Brits. Halloween is not too far away, and J-List would like you to think of us when looking for that perfect or wacky costume. In addition to adding some great new costume-themed products to the site today (see below), we've restocked popular items, such as the Hello Kitty kigurumi (full head) mask, the Jizou Buddha mask, the Shinto Shrine Maiden (aka Kikyo from Inuyasha) costume, our tattoo shirt that makes you look like a yakuza, our wacky "unchi" hat and more! Of course we recommend that you order them via EMS to make sure the items arrive in time. We also have excellent stock of Japanese candy if you want to splurge on something special for the neighborhood this year. J-List works hard to bring you great original T-shirts with wacky designs on them. One of our favorite recent designs is our "Japanese words" shirt that presents fifteen educational Japanese words of cultural value. To compliment this shirt, we've made a new limited edition design which teaches you every "naughty" Japanese word you've ever wanted to know. The shirt is designed so that people who have no idea what the words mean won't be offended, but those who do will laugh their butts off. Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Japanese T-shirt "Japanese Bad Words" - Standard. Ever wanted to know a bunch of "bad" words in Japanese? Well here you go, with the new J-List "bad words" T-shirt that tell you such naughty words as chikan (pervert on a train), manko (the female sexual oriface), 3P (manage-a-trois) and so on.
	S Cawaii - Super Cawaii Oct. 2004. In-stock issues of the popular fashion magazine S Cawaii, which is always filled with great pictures, great ads, and beautiful Japanese people like Amuro Namie (on the cover). This book is thick, with lots of good stuff to check out.
	Gentle Sex -- Toko Ushikawa. I've had a soft spot for Toko Ushikawa for the longest time. She's an attractive Race Queen, and this is her new hardcover photobook. It's a shame that the title, Gentle Sex (as in, the gentle sex) is lost on Japanese, who will only see it as "having sex that is gentle."
	Spiral-Wound Cotton Swabs (80 swabs) ~ White. J-List is a business, of course, and we've got to make a living at what we do. But we also love bringing great items like these to people all over the world. These things feel great in your ear!
	Godzilla Dream. If you are a Godzilla fan, if you've ever been a Godzilla fan, buy this book and figure set. It's really outstanding, a collection of the best monster models you've ever seen. The book also features Godzilla with Gamera, which is a rarity since the studios are different.
	Pinky St *Post Pet Ver* -- PKA006 ~ Pink Hair & Post Pet T-shirt. A very nice modern-day Japanese girl rendered into a cute figure. Why isn't Pinky:St. making more of a splash? They are so cool, and you can change their clothes (well, their bodies).
	Pink See-Through Sailor Uniform. Another fun item for Halloween, this is a pink sailor costume that's, er, rather see-through. Wear something under if, or don't, we don't mind.
	Ah Tokimeki no Classmate -- L Ah, My Heart Throbs For This Classmate (School Uniform Costume). Another fun item for this Oct. 31st, this is a high school girl costume. Not to be confused with the higher-quality Matsukameya costumes we sell.
	Golden Buddha Mask. Lots of Halloween stuff on the site today. This is a mask that looks like the Golden Great Buddha of Nara, the largest bronze statue of Buddha in the world. Very cool.