33rd Annual World Amateur Go Championship brings Global Attention

This article was written by ONCEKids contributor Aidan Metzger.


Last week we introduced the 4,000 year old board game Go (also known as Baduk, Weiqui, Wei Ch'i).  For the first time ever the World Amateur Go Championship took place in South China, specifically Guangzhou. Daily coverage of the 33rd championship was provided by American Go E-Journal and Ranka online. 

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Guangzhou, which is over 2,800 years old, is the capital city of Guangdong Province. Over the last few years, Guangzhou has been making impressive strides in modernization. While it offers tourists a taste of unique cultural tradition with sights including the Flowery Pagoda, the Pearl River, the Temple of Six Banyan Trees, and the Baiyun Mountain, it also has worked with the recent economic development to become more fashionable. Guangzhou has made efforts towards modernization by introducing skyscrapers and hosting events, such as the 16th Asian Games in 2010. 


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The World Amateur Go Championship hosted 55 players, ranging from ages 13 to 67. Eleven of the 55 players are in their teens and close to half are brand new to the Championship. Four teens proved that they are the ones to watch this year. These four include 16-year-old Qiao Zhijian, who earned the right to represent China this year by winning the Evening News Cup. He defeated the Go legend, Nie Weiping, during the annual Evening News pro-amateur match. The three others to watch this year include Chen Cheng-Hsun from Taipei, who is the youngest participant this year, 14-year-old Chan Chi-Hin from Hong Kong, who placed 15th last year in the World Amateur Go Championship, and Lukas Podpera from Czechia, who won the U20 division of the most recent European Youth Go Championship. These four went up against 55 players from 55 countries including 12 in Asia, 1 in the Middle East, 30 in Europe, 2 in Africa, 4 in North and Central America, 4 in South America, and 2 in Oceania. 

Click here to see picture of the World Amateur Go Championship that took place from May 11-17

Learn 4,000 Year-Old Boardgame Go, Baduk, Weiqui, Wei Ch'i [VIDEO]

Go, also known as baduk, wei ch'i, weiqi, and igo, is an exciting board game played by millions of people today. Although it originated in China over 4,000 years ago, its popularity continues to grow each day, including in the United States. In Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan the games popularity far exceeds that of chess and professional players compete for huge cash prizes. 

Despite the rules being able to be taught in a matter of minutes, it can take a lifetime to truly master the art of the game. 

The rules are fairly simple to understand, two players alternate placing black and white stones on a 19x19 board. The goal is to surround the territory, the stones never move, only being removed from the board if completely surrounded. This game strives to teach concentration, balance, and discipline, similar to teachings found in Eastern martial arts. In Asia, it is traditional to play on a carved wooden board with stones made from slate and clamshell. 

A great deal of the game's popularity comes from the fact that anyone can play. It appeals to many types of people, including artists, musicians, mathematicians, computer programmers, children, and more. It can be played as a fun way to pass the time or as a lifestyle, such as how Michael Redmond has devoted his life to the game. He is the only Western player to be recognized in Asia as a top-grade professional player. 

Daks Club offers 'Couples Management' Advice: Generational or Modern?

A marriage match agency, known as Daks Club, has consulted 70 relationship consultants, or "couples managers" as they refer to the consultants, on which are the top three types of men women should avoid dating, especially on a blind date. 

After conducting the survey, the number one worst man to date, identified by 32% of the relationship consultants, was a man who does not introduce the woman to his family or friends. The consultants concluded this claiming that if a man does not introduce her to the people closest to him, it may mean he is having second thoughts. According to the consultants, it does not matter how well the man treats her, she should reconsider him if he has yet to let her meet his family and friends. 

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The second type of man a woman should try to avoid, which 24.5% of the relationship consultants agreed with, are men who tell their parents everything. Relationship consultants say to be wary of this type of man because parents' influence over everything can cause a great deal of stress to the relationship, especially the post-marital relationship. Light exchanging of opinions with the parents is acceptable, but discussing every critical detail with them is something that the girlfriend should pay close attention to, and possibly reconsider the relationship. 

The third, and equally as important, type of man to avoid is a man who tries to become intimate too fast. In a mature relationship, physical intimacy is critical, but it is important that it does not happen too quickly. If the man becomes aggressive or angry when told no, or tries to force himself on her, those are signals that the relationship needs to be reconsidered and he is not the right kind of man to date. 

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These are all important things for a woman to look for when seeking a partner. It is crucial to not overlook these qualities, because they can add a great deal of stress to the relationship. Women may have to reconsider several times before finding the right person to fit her lifestyle and expectations. The relationship consultants also emphasize the fact that these warnings and signals can also apply for a man meeting a woman, and that he should be wary of these personality traits as well when looking for his partner.  

RIP Children's Artist Maurice Sendak, Great Video

Acclaimed children's author Maurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children's book artist of the 20th Century, known for Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen and Outside Over There passed away on May 8, 2012 aged 83.

ONCEKids Publishing, home of the Fujimini Adventure Series holds great respect for the author.  We believe strongly in the importance of children's stories much like Mr. Sendak authored.  In tribute, below is a very funny interview conducted by Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert.  The conversation manages to cover several good topics, while bringing up good laughs and keeping it light.

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Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak

Author and illustrator Maurice Sendak contemplates the complexity of children and the simplicity of Newt Gingrich.

The Colbert Report
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Moms in Publishing: Creating a New Language

ONCEKids Publishing is active in social media to spread ideas to our followers and fellow Mompreneurs. For those who are not active within social media websites, such as Facebook or Twitter, hearing about how it works can feel like hearing a different language- and in many ways it is. 

This new language has become the language of the web. A recent update of the Oxford English Dictionary has altered its lexicon to include words such as "LOL", meaning laugh out loud, and "OMG", which stands  for oh my god. Facebook has created terms such as "friending" someone, which is the act of accepting or requesting someone to be part of your social network page. The term "to google" has even been established as a verb used when someone is trying to describe looking something up on the web. Coming up with names and terms that sticks may be just as important to a company as the site design itself.

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An example of a site that has created its own language with incredible results is Twitter. Words such as "tweet" or "follow" have been established to mean message and subscribing to someone's twitter page with great success. Even symbols such as @, denoting an online name, and #, a hashtag denoting a topic, have been popularized throughout the site, as well as the entire web. Even many people who do not participate in Twitter understand what these terms and symbols mean. 

Other companies are trying to coin words that become as popular as Facebook, Twitter, and Google's words, sometimes with great success, other times with little success. Microsoft's efforts to popularize the phrase "Bing it!", even paying the popular show  "Gossip Girl" to use it during the show, was met with ridicule by others on the web. However, sites such as Pinterest , a site that allows people to create virtual inboards or bulletin boards, have found success with the phrase to "pin" favorite images. 

To learn more about the author of this article Eileen Wacker and her acclaimed book series,  visit ONCEKids, ONCEKids on Facebook,  ONCEKids on Twitter.

The secret seems to be that the successful ones appear more naturally occurring, even if the creation is entirely artificial. 

ONCEKids Publishing is proud of its very active social media presence with a blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.  Be sure to follow us for more information on childrens books, literacy, education, diversity, Modern Moms.

Hirohito was the 124th Emperor of Japan, his reign beginning in December 25, 1926 and lasting until his death in 1989. In Japan, he is officially referred to as Emperor Showa and or Showa Emperor, the word Showa being the name of the era in which he reigned. 

Hirohito was born in the Aoyama Palace in Tokyo. He was the first son of Crown Prince Yoshihito and Crown Princess Sadako. Upon the death of Emperor Meiji, Hirohito's grandfather, his father took the thrown. In 1924, Hirohito married his distant cousin Nagako Kuni, the future Empress Kojun. They had two sons and five daughters. On December 25, 1926, Hirohito took the thrown after the death of his father. His father's death saw the end of the Taisho era and the beginning of the Showa Era. 

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When Hirohito began his leadership, Japan was already one of the great powers, ranking as the ninth largest economy in the world, the third largest naval country, and one of the five permanent members of the council of the League of Nations. He was the head of state during Japan's imperial expansion and involvement in World War II. After the war, he became the symbol of the new state. 

To learn more about the author of this article Eileen Wacker and her acclaimed book series,  visit ONCEKids, ONCEKids on Facebook,  ONCEKids on Twitter.

In September 1987 it was discovered Hirohito had duodenal cancer. He appeared to making a full recovery, however, a year later he collapsed in his palace and his health quickly declined thereafter. In January 1989 the emperor died, bringing the end of the Showa era. His funeral was held on February 24th and was attended by a larger number of world leaders, such as George Bush, French President Francois Mitterrand, the Duke of Edinburgh and many others. Hirohito was succeeded by his son, Akihito. 

Celebrate 'Greenery Day' May 4

Midori no Hi, or Greenery Day, was once celebrated on April 29th, but in 2007 it was moved to May 4th. Despite the change in date, Greenery Day is still very much a part of Japan's Golden Week. 

In Japanese, "midori" means green and "hi" means day. So as you might expect, Midori no Hi celebrates everything green! Tokyo is very crowded during this time, so if you are planning on being in the city during this time, make sure you plan ahead to be prepared for crowded places and booked hotels! There are many local events, such as planting trees, taking place on this day to honor nature. Parks and gardens are wonderful places to visit during this time! In addition to celebrating nature, Greenery Day also functions to address environmental issues. There are initiatives to clean up local areas including parks and beach areas, so don't be surprised to see large groups of people sweeping, polishing, and picking up trash! 

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The idea for Greenery Day came about after Emperor Hirohito's death in January 1989. The emperor was a big lover of nature and all things green. Awareness of environmental issues was important to him and he did many things to help improve the environment, such as establishing the Imperial Biological  Research Institute. His birthday was named Midori no Hi in order to honor his interests and advancements in these areas. In 2007, the government decided to make April 29th a national holiday to pay respects to Hirohito and move Greenery Day to May 4th. 

To learn more about the author of this article Eileen Wacker and her acclaimed book series,  visit ONCEKids, ONCEKids on Facebook,  ONCEKids on Twitter.

Honor and celebrate nature, the emperor, and all things green with us on May 4th for Greenery Day during Japan's Golden Week!