One of Hollywood’s “celluloid ceilings” has been smashed now that Kathryn Bigelow has become the first female ever to win a Best Director Oscar.

Perhaps the writing was on the wall when the Wonder Girls made a return late last year to Korea, where Sun Mi confessed that she had a miserable time in America, crying almost every single day initially.

The old-fashioned holiday reunions are characterized by karaoke, a group dinner and some shopping. Feel the need for some fresh ideas? Well, there’s “Sanguosha”, a role-playing card game which has made its way from school dorms to parties all over the country.

I FIRST met Confucius in a friend's living room, nearly 10 years ago. OK, so it wasn't really the bearded Chinese philosopher. It was a collection of his most famous lines, printed and bound and resting on a coffee table. As I scanned the pages, a vision of the man began to form in my mind.

Now that final exams are history, students seem to have that extra bounce. After all, winter vacation awaits them, and if they listen closely, they hear their peers planning Spring Festival outings and activities. If you're hurting for ideas, perhaps the following three case studies will give you some inspiration.

Photoshop focus on Demi Moore's December cover for W Magazine will finally die down, thanks to new ads that leave Emma Watson without a leg to stand on.

For a girl who's interested in fashion, what would be the dream job? Being a model? Probably no–that's for a pencil thin who doesn't eat. One answer is, fashion stylist.

Many people wonder why the Wonder Girls receive so much love from nearly everyone in Korea and world-wide. Some say it’s their music, their pretty face, JYP, etc. But as you grow to love and understand them, you will know that it’s their humanity that attracts you. What makes a group strong is showing care and concern for each other no matter when. Only then, can the group soar high and overcome any difficulties.

1. Which team will win the 2010 World Cup?

I love watching movies on the big screen. Before coming to China, I used to see 50-100 films a year in theaters (the average American watches just four). Most of them were foreign movies, including films of Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and other directors who put Chinese cinema back on the world stage in the 1980s.

OK, enough of those disappointing films we've had this holiday. After some people's negative talk about Zhang Yimou's A Simple Noodle Story, people seem to feel they need a better reason to pay Hollywood blockbuster (e.g. 2012) prices for a Chinese model. Fortunately, Bodyguards and Assassins has come at the right time.

Good news

The latest Harry Potter film will feature a “very sexy” love scene in which actor Daniel Radcliffe appears nude alongside co-star Emma Watson.

He is not just a classical music superstar. He is a global superstar. Only 27 years old, the Chinese pianist Lang Lang has become an inspiration to tens of millions around the world.

If the Hua Mulan characters in Disney's 1998 cartoon and those in Jingle Ma's (马楚成) new film could sit down and talk over a pot of tea, they might be surprised to learn how little they have in common.