The Week April 2, 2010

Dragons versus Johnny Depp

Fans of Johnny Depp, who stars as the Mad Hatter in the hit movie, Alice in Wonderland, might be upset to learn that another 3-D movie, How to Train Your Dragon pushed Alice off the No 1 spot on worldwide box office charts this week. But fans of Johnny Depp, who also made Pirates of the Caribbean a No 1 hit, can take heart. Alice in Wonderland, which came out earlier than the Dragon movie, has altogether brought in $656 million in worldwide ticket sales. Plus, Alice in Wonderland is now playing in big cities like Beijing. But, alas, both movies might get toppled by another 3-D movie, Clash of the Titans, scheduled to hit some movie theaters next weekend. Are all these 3-D movies making you a little dizzy?

Crazy co-workers

Spring is here. Don't you wish you could go outside and get away from your crazy co-workers? CareerBuilder.com reports that bad bosses can make you crazy, but at least you don't have to spend as much time with them as you do a disgusting co-worker. In a recent survey, one worker complained about a co-worker who whistles eight hours a day. Another said an office worker cleaned his fingernails at his desk using a co-worker's business card. How disgusting are the co-workers at your office? The Week investigates …

Astro Boy versus Blue Cat

In the anime wars, it's Japan's Astro Boy versus China's Blue Cat! AP reported that China is at last gaining on Japan when it comes to colorful, animated cartoons. At the Tokyo International Anime Fair, visitors were falling in love with China's panda characters and other cartoons. Yes, Japan did invent anime. But now there are plans to build a China Animation Game City in Beijing. A truce is good news, too. One of the big anime hits in China is Romance of Three Kingdoms, jointly produced by companies in Japan and China. Will Blue Cat Boy or Astro Pleasant Goat be the next joint production?

Crazy Shanghai

With the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai coming up, it's time to brush up on our Chinese, the dialect that's spoken in Shanghai. There's a little bit of difference between the Mandarin Chinese spoken in cities like Beijing, and the dialect spoken in Shanghai. Is that little difference enough to get us in trouble? The Week investigates …

Happy health news

What's the difference between good health news and happy health news? Here's the good health news. China Daily reports studies that say it's good for you to get more calcium, Vitamin D and exercise. Here's the happy health news. Chocolate is good for you. German researchers discovered after studying nearly 20,000 people for more than a decade that those who ate more dark chocolate had lower blood pressure and a lower risk of having a heart attack. Here's to your happy health!

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.