Plastic Guns

I'm dressed as a cowboy for Halloween, as I'm sure most of you have noticed. I even have small plastic guns hanging from my belt. Obviously, they're toys. You can't buy real guns in Japan - but did you know that you also can't buy real-looking plastic guns in the US?

The plastic guns I have right now are silver with black handles. They look real, especially from a distance. Toy guns in the US are almost always some kind of neon orange or other bright color. The reason is that if a toy gun looks real, people might think you have a real gun, and might be frightened - if they're police officers, they might even shoot you. Because some people actually do have real guns, all the toy guns are painted very colorfully so that no one confuses the two. Therefore, I'd have a hard time putting together this costume in the US - unless I wanted to be a neon cowboy.

Eve

Many of you probably know the word "eve", from "Christmas Eve" or "New Year's Eve". Did you know that "Halloween" was also originally "All Hallow's Eve"? Yes, there are many "eves" amongst the holidays of the English-speaking world. I suppose "All Hallow's Day" is November 1st, then, though we don't celebrate anything on that day anymore. Maybe people used to do something then!

I could manage to be able to...

Many people ask me about this grammar point:

"I could play soccer"
"I could ride a bike"
"We could eat barbecue"

Actually, it translates into 「サッカーすることができた」 in Japanese, but is used in a different way in English.

"could" usually means "I had the ability to" or "It was possible to", and doesn't say whether you actually did or not. People often use it like this:
"When I was young, I could play with my friends until it was dark",
but NOT like this:
"Yesterday, I could eat dinner at my favorite restaurant",
because "could" doesn't say whether you actually DID eat there.

Also, you can use "could" to talk about possible future plans. If you say "We could go to Jusco", it sounds more like 「ジャスコに行くのはどう？」, NOT like 「ジャスコへ行くことができた」. You use "could" in this way when you want to make suggestions about things you might want to do in the future.

Usually, context makes it clear whether you're talking about the past or making a suggestion with "could".

Past: "I could get candy for 5 cents when I was a boy."
Future: "I could get some candy for you, if you want any."
Past: "He could go to his favorite store any time he wanted to, until it closed 5 years ago."
Future: "He could go to Uniqlo, if he wants cheap clothes."

Are you able?

English has a convenient way of expressing that you "can do" something in one word. All you need to do is attach "able" to the end of a verb, and presto! It's a new word.

For example:

I can fax this. -> This is faxable.

You can move this. -> This is movable.

No one can speak of this horror. -> This is an unspeakable horror!

There are some exceptions though, as always:

eat -> edible
see -> visible
hear -> audible
drink -> potable

And some more I don't have time to think of now.

Musical Instruments

When I was younger, my mom used to make me take piano lessons. I quit that as soon as I could. When I was in elementary school, I started learning to play trombone. I kept playing that until I was in college. Trombone was fun, but I couldn't play it forever - especially not in a crowded dormitory. I certainly couldn't play it in Yatate or Fujimigaoka.

Nowadays I only play acoustic and electric guitar. They're fun to play, and you can play them quietly if you don't want to disturb your neighbors. In fact, I think this is one of the main reasons guitars are such popular instruments - you can play them at almost any volume you want. I've played guitars at all kinds of volumes - from barely audible to deafeningly loud! Playing guitar is fun no matter how loud or quiet it is.