J-list Blog

Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drive ~ Normal 4 GB

If you want a flash drive with style, look no further! This fun flash drive from mimobot, comes to you ready for use at a moment's notice. This sleek design features Domo-kun with an easy pop open cover to protect your USB connector, all the while still remaining cute for all the girls to swoon over. Measures approximately 2 inches tall and is both Mac and Windows compatible. As a special welcome to the United States, this USB 2.0 flash drive comes preloaded with exclusive Domo kun content such...

Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drive ~ Normal 4 GB

If you want a flash drive with style, look no further! This fun flash drive from mimobot, comes to you ready for use at a moment's notice. This sleek design features Domo-kun with an easy pop open cover to protect your USB connector, all the while still remaining cute for all the girls to swoon over. Measures approximately 2 inches tall and is both Mac and Windows compatible. As a special welcome to the United States, this USB 2.0 flash drive comes preloaded with exclusive Domo kun content such...

Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drive ~ Normal 2 GB

If you want a flash drive with style, look no further! This fun flash drive from mimobot, comes to you ready for use at a moment's notice. This sleek design features Domo-kun with an easy pop open cover to protect your USB connector, all the while still remaining cute for all the girls to swoon over. Measures approximately 2 inches tall and is both Mac and Windows compatible. As a special welcome to the United States, this USB 2.0 flash drive comes preloaded with exclusive Domo kun content such...

Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drive ~ Normal

If you want a flash drive with style, look no further! This fun flash drive from mimobot, comes to you ready for use at a moment's notice. This sleek design features Domo-kun with an easy pop open cover to protect your USB connector, all the while still remaining cute for all the girls to swoon over. Measures approximately 2 inches tall and is both Mac and Windows compatible. As a special welcome to the United States, this USB 2.0 flash drive comes preloaded with exclusive Domo kun content such...

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

With a sentence structure and grammar unlike anything used in the West along with three different writing systems, learning the Japanese language can certainly be challenging. Then again, there are times when Japanese learners get off easy. First, there are whole swaths of words that are simple to learn, thanks to the way kanji words can be appended to the ends of other words. If you need to specify a language, just add the kanji for language (go) the end of a country name, resulting in France-go, Russia-go and so on. Similarly, nationality can be specified by sticking the character for "person" (jin, pronounced "jean") on the end of a country name, for example America-jin, Nihon-jin. When the Japanese adopted the Western calendar during the Meiji Era, they wisely named January ichi-gatsu (1-month), February ni-gatsu (2-month) and so on -- much easier than using the old esoteric names from the Edo Period. One of the most difficult areas of English for Japanese to learn are verb tenses like past perfect and present progressive, but I'm happy to report that none of these structures exist in Japanese, something bilingual foreigners are thankful for every day. Similarly, Japanese is not a tonal language like Chinese or Vietnamese, making it much easier for English speakers to pronounce. There are some difficult patches in the language, of course, including concepts like "sister" which get split into two, oneesan (older sister) and imouto (younger sister). When I'm talking about something my friend's sister did, my brain isn't used to filing away the age of the girl relative to her male sibling, and it can be difficult to pull that information out on the fly while speaking quickly.

When I was growing up, I remember thinking that they had arranged marriages in Japan, probably something I got from watching the episode of Happy Days where Arnold gets married in a traditional Shinto ceremony. In reality, the Japanese custom of omiai (easily remembered as "oh, me eye!") is more like an "arranged meeting," a kind of formal get-together between prospective partners, usually organized by busybody aunts who can't stand the thought of their being any single people around them. Omiai can take place with all family members in attendance, or just the prospective couple. Interestingly, you're supposed to bring a Japanese resume form on which you can record your school and work background as well as interests (horseback riding and tea ceremony are recommended hobbies for prospective brides), just like applying for a job, which strikes me as a little odd. If the young people hit it off, they'll go out on more conventional dates to see where things lead. Before my wife met me, she had had omiai with a few men, including the son of a sake distributor that her parents have a business relationship with, hence she couldn't refuse. Fortunately for me, all of the men were quite bowled over by her extensive travels and ability to speak English, and she was still available when I came along.

With a sentence structure and grammar unlike anything used in the West along with three different writing systems, learning the Japanese language can certainly be challenging. Then again, there are times when Japanese learners get off easy. First, there are whole swaths of words that are simple to learn, thanks to the way kanji words can be appended to the ends of other words. If you need to specify a language, just add the kanji for language (go) the end of a country name, resulting in France-go, Russia-go and so on. Similarly, nationality can be specified by sticking the character for "person" (jin, pronounced "jean") on the end of a country name, for example America-jin, Nihon-jin. When the Japanese adopted the Western calendar during the Meiji Era, they wisely named January ichi-gatsu (1-month), February ni-gatsu (2-month) and so on -- much easier than using the old esoteric names from the Edo Period. One of the most difficult areas of English for Japanese to learn are verb tenses like past perfect and present progressive, but I'm happy to report that none of these structures exist in Japanese, something bilingual foreigners are thankful for every day. Similarly, Japanese is not a tonal language like Chinese or Vietnamese, making it much easier for English speakers to pronounce. There are some difficult patches in the language, of course, including concepts like "sister" which get split into two, oneesan (older sister) and imouto (younger sister). When I'm talking about something my friend's sister did, my brain isn't used to filing away the age of the girl relative to her male sibling, and it can be difficult to pull that information out on the fly while speaking quickly.

Living in Japan can bring you into contact with concepts that may be difficult to wrap your mind around. While Sesame Street has been shown here for years, it really never got that much traction; a much more popular childrens show is the NHK program Okaasan to Issho ("With Mother"), which has been broadcast non-stop since 1959. The show is divided into sections that feature different songs for kids to sing, presumably with their mother, although I would join in despite the title of the show. One song teaches kids "AIUEO" and the beginnings of the hiragana sound system, while another is the Pajama Song, which celebrates toddlers being able to put their pajamas on all by themselves, quite an achievement when you're that small. I've found it interesting to observe the little cultural differences between the show, which is watched by practically every child age 0-5 in Japan, and what I remember watching from my own youth. The show is always hosted by a Singing Older Sister and Singing Older Brother, who lead the kids through the various songs in each section. One day I noticed that the Older Brother host always spoke informal Japanese (早くなるぞ！） while the Older Sister spoke politely　（早くなりますよ！）, a bit of subtle role model-building for the kids to watch and imitate. When I asked my wife about it, I got a blank stare -- apparently no Japanese person could have noticed such a tiny cultural difference.

This video is the Dango Sankyodai, or the Three Dango Brothers, the story of three little dumplings who live on a stick that was shown on the With Mother show and became a national obsession a few years ago. At the top is the Oldest Son, on the bottom is the Third Son, in the middle is the Second Son, Dango Sankyodai. Dango, dango, dango, dango, danso sankyodai. Warning: this song WILL invade your brain and never leave!

Natural Stone Magatama Strap -- Green Agate

Magatama are traditional curved beads that are said to represent the human spirit, and if one wears a magatama one will have protection from the gods. Also known as kokkok in Korea, these beads were of tremendous religious significance during the Jomon and Kofun periods of Japan. This modern day magatama is also a lovely cell phone strap that you can use to attatch to your keys or your backpack. Smooth to the touch and green colored, this lucky stone also comes with a small bell. This special...