A new appreciation for American medicine, all about the word 'baka' and a really annoying girl in a yellow dress who I can't stop listening to...

It was Thomas Paine -- a possible ancestor of mine, although I somehow doubt it -- who uttered the words, "These are the time that try men's souls." Strike the word "men" and insert "gaijin" and you know what it's like to be sick in a country like Japan. Although I resisted as best I could, it seems I've managed to pick up the bug that my wife and daughter had, and now I'm pecking away at the computer while wearing one of those Japanese health masks, and feeling quite miserable. No matter how much I may like Japan, one of the fundamental rules of human beings is that when you're feeling under the weather, you want familiar remedies that you know will work. Japan has plenty of cold and flu medicines on the market, with names like Benzablock, Paburon, Ruru and even a local version of Contac, but they just don't seem be strong enough for my oversized American body. There are differences in how medicines are sold, too -- I'll never forget the first time I got sick in Japan, trekking feverishly to the supermarket to buy medicine because that's where you go in the U.S., then being told that I had to find a drug store instead. Happily, I always keep a small stockpile of American medicines in the house, from Nyquil to Dimetapp and Vicks Vapor Rub and so on, so hopefully I'll be okay in no time.

Without a doubt, one of the most famous words of Japanese is baka, the all-purpose insult that takes the place of many more anatomically colorful words in English. Meaning "stupid" or "idiot," the word is used by Japanese of all ages, from three-year-olds to the elderly. Someone nearly hits your car in an intersection? Let fly with a baka yaro! ("stupid jerk!"). Your gaijin husband who shall remain nameless mistakes a mimikaki ear scoop for one of those spoons used in Japanese tea ceremony? The proper response to this would be, baka ja nai? ("what are you, stupid?"). The word is also used to describe someone who goes overboard with love of something, like "oya-baka," parent-fool, the word for mothers and fathers who are absolutely ga-ga over their own kids; and "tsuri-baka," meaning fishing-fool, someone who likes to fish so much that he does it whenever he can. The word is also found in Japanese proverbs, like Baka ni tsukeru kusuri wa nai," or there is no cure for stupidity." The word baka (馬鹿） is written with the characters for "horse" and "deer" and there's an interesting legend about how this word came to be. It seems that in ancient China there was an Emperor who was not very well liked by his retainers. One day, one of his underlings presented the Emperor with a deer, instead of a horse as was customary back in those days. When the Emperor pointed out that it was a deer, the man insisted that no, it's a horse. He kept this up until he convinced his lord that the deer was, in fact, a horse, and thus Emperor became famous throughout the land for being so stupid that he couldn't tell the difference between the two animals.

Another trait I respect about the Japanese is their tendency towards kinben (KEEN-ben、勤勉), or diligence and hard work. The famous image of an industrious Japanese salarymen is one that everyone is familiar with, but children in Japan are encouraged to work hard, too, with a general culture that expects kids to put in 1-2 hours of studying per evening, on top of any juku night classes they may attend. Several times a week there are quiz shows that aim to interest the minds of young people, like Test the Nation, which presents questions to viewers and lets them keep track of their own scores. We're big fans of TV Champion, a show that usually pits teams against each other doing things like baking bread in the shapes of famous buildings or making works of art out of origami. Last night's episode involved four very smart kids who underwent an amazing battery of quiz questions before a winner was finally determined, and our whole family was hanging on every question. One of my favorite food items sold by J-List are Shigekix (shi-geh-kicks), super tart "hard gummy" candies in flavors like lemon, cola and ramune. In their newest series of TV commercials, which I've posted in the product descriptions on the site, a strange but irresistible girl in a yellow dress sings a song inside the brains of students, tying the BCAA Amino Acids and Gaba in their products and the stimulation of the tart taste to students hoping to do better in their studies.

Shigekix, my favorite snack, and now my favorite commercial...

At J-List, we love the DVD format, and carry a huge stock of interesting Japan-related products. Although most of our titles are region free, meaning you can play them on DVD players from anywhere in the world, many of the "indies" studios and all of the Studio Ghibli anime DVDs are zoned for region 2. To help our customers get around these frustrating limitations, J-List sells inexpensive region free DVD players that are great for playing discs from every country in the world, including PAL and SECAM discs from Europe and other parts of the world. Today we've posted a great new region free player that's loaded with features, including full region free playback, component and 5.1 ch output, VGA output for playing on a standard computer monitor, and full support for DIVX/MPEG4 movies, MP3 DVDs and so on.

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.

	eOnna Oct 2006 vol. 34 ~ e onna with DVD Region ALL. New issue of eOnna, and a lovely one at that.
	Cross -- Chiharu Komatsu. Lovely nude photobook from Japan.
	Rjtech RJ-200 DVD Player w/ DIVX playback. New DVD player, loaded with features. I especially love the VGA port, and the 5.1 ch ports right on the back ready for immediate hooking to your stereo speakers.
	British Romance. Got a lot of new doujinshi in for you. This is really rare and exciting -- a work dedicated to the popular manga and anime Emma about a British maid in the 18th century. Go fig.
	Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 Best Shot. Really cool artbook featuring the best scenes from DOA Xtreme 2.
	You are loved Earnestly ~ Anata wo Aishite Yamazu. Really, er, strong looking guys in this manga for yaoi fans .
	Seeing Japan. Wow, this book captivated me. It's a photobook, filled with beautiful pictures of Japan, but it's also a collection of information on all segments of the country. Fantastic.
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 50. New issue of Comic AG too. I am extremely proud to say that they got the rights to The Spirital of Capitalism by Maguro Teikoku (Tuna Empire). Yes!
	Bride for a Week -- Riku Shiina. Riku-chan is ready to become your bride for a week. Would you like that?
	Everyday Life in Traditional Japan. Another book about Japanese traditions in daily live in Japan
	Tanuki Toothpick Holder. A cute toothpick holder featring the tanuku, raccoon dog, with the big balls.
	Sakura Business Card Holder -- Black. The most excellent business card holder ever to grace Japan.
	I Love Hawaii -- Full Set *Set of 9* ~ Rement Puchi Sample Series. This is cool -- a set of miniature souvenirs from Hawaii, with everything that you love to buy there!
	Grilled Mayonnaise Rice Cracker. J-List is proud to present you with the most delicious product bearing the words "Grilled Mayonnaise" in the title.
	Mai Hime Collection Figure - Mai and Natsuki. Mai Hime is cool, and here's a set of figures for you to display proudly.
	Kiss Mint Passion - Passion Fruit Flavor. New flavor of Kiss Mint, in a convention new package.
	Sakura Key Chain Medicine Case -- Black. Cool keychain that can be used as a pill holder, or store just about anything else in it (or hack your iPod to fit inside).
	The Symbol of Japan "Handsome Tofu" Magnet -- Full Set *Set of 9*. The most manly tofu brand in Japan has a magnet line, so you can display these cool slogans proudly. Did I mention this was a tofu company?
	Activated Carbon Layer Masks. We sell health masks, mainly because I was wearing one and got on Jun's case to get some in for the site. Now you can order them yourself!
	How to Draw Manga -- Girls Life Illustration File. Fun book on how to draw manga, back in stock. This is, er, the most popular book in the series.
	Exodus Guilty 3. The third part of the Exodus Guilty DVD based game is available for preorder.
	Mikakuto Shigekix Super Lemon. Very chewy since they're "hard gummy" that's fun to eat. PLEASE click through and see the funny movie I've posted -- I can't get that damn girl out of my head! Shigeki-no-geki, Geki! Geki! Geki!
	Carrenoix *Black ~ Praline & Sliced Almonds. Delicious chocolate treats made with pralines and almonds. Does anyone know what a praline is? I've lived in Japan too long to know anymore.

More random pics that I'm not sure if I've posted yet. This is just about the most attractive building in our city, a little community center and bus stop. This is where our bus goes to/from when we go to Narita .

I ducked into the Toys "R" Us to see if they had new Star Wars figures (they had nothin'). They did have a cool item for Yamato/Star Blazers fans, including a real Wave Motion Gun for you to shoot.

My camera. Whee.

SIgn in our local soba restaurant.
"Please smoke as little as possible."

Update on the Ferris Wheel project -- thanks to reporting from these fine people at TBS, it looks like the project has been scrapped. Banzai!