THE WEEK Feb 8: Party on

Updated: 2013-02-08 11:30

By THE WEEK (chinadaily.com.cn)

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Party on in China, US

The Chinese Lunar New Year vacation officially starts Feb 8. Also known as Spring Festival, this week-long holiday is the nation's biggest celebration. One of the biggest celebrations in the US also took place this week for Super Bowl Sunday. While the two cultures may be celebrating for different reasons, it's surprising how similar the festivities can be. Lots of food. Lots of beer. And family and friends gathered around the TV for an extravagant, expensive presentation. One major difference is that in China, fireworks will be exploding all day and night for the next week.

A peek inside the Oscars

The annual Academy Awards are coming up at the end of February. This is exciting for many reasons, for example, it's a unique gathering of the silver screen's finest talents in one location. But in China, the time leading up to the Oscars is exciting for a different reason: Pirated copies of all of the nominated movies start showing up in the local DVD shops. Since we can get copies of all of the nominees, we're going to make an effort to watch them all, and each week from now until the ceremony we'll do our best to analyze for you the films that are up for awards. This week, we bash Silver Linings Playbook and then discuss Ben Affleck's Argo.

Lots of TV = Lack of sperm

Results of a new study suggest that men who watch more than 20 hours of television each week have a lower sperm count than those who don't. For young people, this news can be interpreted to be good or bad. On one hand, people may realize they need to get off the couch more often and go be physical. On the other, some of the more "rambunctious" young people may see it as an alternative form of birth control.

This wacky world!

A secret US government document gives authorities permission to use drone attacks on American citizens who are deemed a threat. It's very vague. But for those gun rights activists in America who think the second amendment will help them defend themselves from an oppressive government, you may want to think again.

Pictures of a marriage between two gay men in China went viral. This is a big story in a country where same-sex marriage is far from being socially acceptable.

A Russian college student met her Internet boyfriend face-to-face for the first time. His romantic gesture? He tattooed his name on to her face.

A computer nerd who starred in a commercial in which he kissed model Bar Rafaeli has been offered the chance to become the world's next infamous male porn star. With former stud Ron Jeremy in the hospital, this may be the kid's ultimate chance.