Greetings from Japan, where people really do boy while they talk on the telephone (I catch myself doing it once a day).
The Japanese language has a great many kotowaza or old proverbs, recounting the wisdom of past generations. There are kotowaza dictionaries and “one a day” calendars that offer a different old proverb daily, and studying these is fun for me, because Japanese are surprised when you know something this archaic. One of my favorite kotowaza is “ningen banji saiou-ga-uma” which means “All things are like Saiou’s horse.” This refers to an old story about a man named Saiou whose horse broke his leg — making everyone say how unfortunate he was. Because he had no horse, though, he didn’t have to go off to battle to be killed, so this was a good thing. The moral of the story is, when something good or bad happens, no one can say for sure if it is truly a good or bad thing in the end.
I’ve been enjoying my AirPort, the wireless networking system from Apple and Lucent Technologies. I’d long wanted to network the J-List office is about 500 meters and our house (the liquor store), but until now, the technology hasn’t been available. Now I can do email and surf on my Powerbook from my living room, while enjoying my current favorite beer, Asahi Super Malt, with those delicious “persimmon seed” spicy rice crackers. Technology is so wonderful — where will we all be in five years?
Tonight’s update is a very special one, because we’re able to announce our latest great addition to J-List — unique Japanese anime & sexy costumes! The newly rechristened T-Shirts & Costumes page now features high-quality costumes, including the often-requested high school “sailor suit” uniforms, a super-sexy Race Queen vinyl uniform (modeled after Suzuki Fumika’s own!), a classic Chun Li “China dress, a stern nurse, and one of the coolest, a slim and sexy Avex girl” costume. These are high-quality machine-sewn items made by Costume World Japan, a fine maker of excellent costumes, that will bring you years of enjoyment and fun. Since Japanese sizes can be quite different from those outside of Japan, we’ve posted the recommended measurements (bust, waist
(Yes, that is Kaori, by the way, modeling these lovely costumes for us and on the new costumes page. Isn’t she lovely?)
We’ve got lots of other cool items, including:
- A hot new photobook by the lovely Kanazawa Bunko, on the photobooks page
- A great treat — fresh stock of the incredibly popular Crystal Card nude AV cards (1999 vol. 2)
- Lower prices on Video CDs, gouka-bon books, and all of our Pokemon & Digimon cards and stickers
- Fresh stock of many popular items, including the Princess Mononoke soft vinyl figures, the popular Mini-Suka Police keychains, and more!
Announcing the April Anime Toys & Puzzle Sale! To help keep our stock room from being overrun, we’re announcing a big sale! Buy two or more puzzle or anime toy items (including anime figures, models, phone straps, dolls, clocks, and so on) on the Anime & Toys or the Cards & Puzzles pages, and get 20% off the total for those items! It’s a great excuse to pick up that cool Gatchaman or Captain Harlock puzzle, that very special Hello Kitty clock, or that wonderful “Dancing Baby” phone strap for the “Ally” fan in your office… The sale will run until the end of April
