October, 2008

Tis the night when mini ghosts, vampires, and Harry Potters, as well as princesses and pumpkins wander the streets – Halloween is finally upon us. If you’ve been too busy to nab a costume or if costumes malfunction at the last minute, check out the beijingkids easy costume guide from our October issue. This year, you’re likely to see your fair share of Batmans and Jokers as well as a coven of witches – the most popular costume to date. But beware – some schools in the US think you might offend real witches (members of the Wiccan religion).

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Last Saturday, on October 25th, over one hundred little pirates invaded Ritan Park – the brisk day started off with a lunch at Schindler Tankstelle of hotdogs and hamburgers, followed by face painting, temporary tattoos and costumes before the little pirates set off on their mission: to visit eight stations throughout the park, play each game, and collect ‘gold’ at each station. Adorned in pirate hats, sailor jackets, boots, eye patches and bandannas the plastic sword-wielding crew were wildly successful at games like balancing, pinning eye patches, and presenting their treasure to the Pirate Captain (aka Managing Editor Michelle Tsai) who directed them to pirate booty: toys, stuffed animals, goodie bags and more.

Check out our gallery to see photos of the fierce young pirates.

Animation has come a long way from the first full feature animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Modern animated films are now incredibly realistic, creative and thought-provoking. The British Council is presenting a series of British Animation Awards nominees and award-winners five categories that film buffs, art lovers and animation dabblers should not miss! The best of the British Animation Awards Vol 7 (www.britishanimationawards.com) will be displayed as part of the Aniwow!2008 Animation Festival in Beijing (www.aniwow.org). Screenings include over 20 short and student films, animated commercial, TV graphics, sound and music, plus the unique artworks created especially for the British Animation Awards. Check out a few films below.

Date: Friday, Oct 24

Time: 8.30am-12.30pm

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Although I never understood the mania around Harry Potter’s movies, I was a devoted reader of the young magician’s adventures until the fourth book. A friend once gave me a surprising explanation about why Harry Potter is so incredibly successful: when children start reading the first book, they are generally around the same age as Harry and can identify with him. He grows older as the reader does, sharing the same problems; although he lives in a more fantastic world with magic and excitement, he still deals with typical problems sometimes. 

Before coming across the Harry Potter books, I had a Lords of the Rings phase that I still remember vividly, but my travels to middle earth were limited compared to the thoughts I gave Hogwarts. And although the fantasy genre has fans of all ages, it seems that children are especially attracted to fantasy worlds and mythical creatures.

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In this age of technology, it seems that teens navigating hormones and sexual orientation have found a way to avoid those awkward parent-teen conversations by communicating with parents via the internet. Check out this expat teen in Shanghai who used Skype to come out to his mom and shared his coming out experience with the rest of the world on youtube.com.

Homosexuality has only been legal for 11 years in China, and while it's still a taboo topic for most Chinese people, it seems there is growing tolerance for homosexuality in China with the number of homosexuals in China exceeding five million. In 2001, China removed homosexuality from the list of psychiatric disorders. 

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Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in California have also announced that their findings indicate “using a fan while a baby is sleeping appears to significantly cut the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)” by as much 94 percent, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Though the exact cause of SIDS remains unknown, the research results are consistent with a theory that the fatal condition might result from babies re-inhaling “ exhaled carbon dioxide trapped near their airways from bedding or sleeping on their stomachs.” Heretofore the primary preventative measure advised by doctors was to always place sleeping infants on their back, but this new advice, along with using a pacifier and keeping windows open now seem to be the most sensible advice for avoiding tragedy.

The New Scientist reports that recent studies on mice suggest "vitamins and supplements that mothers-to-be take to protect their kids from birth defects could predispose children and even grandchildren to asthma" – a phenomenon that could explain the mysterious rise in the rates of asthmatic children in more developed countries.

While these findings may seem alarming, the article points out that although “mice who ate the supplement-rich diet delivered pups with some signs of asthma,” other genetic factors may be at play and more research needs to be conducted on expectant mothers themselves. 

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