An old Chinese legend says the giant panda used to be white all over. It got the black patterns on its limbs, eyes, and ears after attending the funeral for a young shepherdess from the Wolong valley who died while saving a panda cub from a leopard attack.

I grew up in a traditional Chinese family in the Philippines. So I’m familiar with Chinese cultural celebrations and, through

Chinese on the outside, Filipino on the inside.

This is how artist Rudy Yu describes himself. The 48-year-old painter may look every bit Chinese, but his artwork is undeniably Filipino. Farmers, nipa huts, coconut trees, and rice terraces abound in his paintings. Spanish-era houses, peddlers selling taho (soy yogurt); every little detail depicts Philippine history and culture.

You like to read while on vacation but don’t want to lug round that heavy hardbound, right? Well, there’s a device that’s only a third of an inch thick. You can travel anywhere with an entire library stashed in your bag!

Kindle 2 is the second generation of e-book readers from online store Amazon. Believe it or not, you can squeeze 1,500 e-books into its 10.2-ounce frame. It’s lighter than a paperback and can be read using only one hand.

Parents be warned. In 2008, 19 out of 23 suicide attempts among students succeeded. A Shanghai Education Commission study also revealed that suicide was the leading cause of death among students, outranking fatal diseases and car accidents.