Have you ever thought of getting in touch with your inner child from time to time? Obviously some people are willing to pay big money for the chance to do so in a proper environment．A Brooklyn-based adult preschool is charging customers between $333 and $999 for the chance to act like a kid again．

    At Preschool Mastermind in New York adults get to participate in show-and-tell，arts-and-crafts such as finger paint，games like musical chairs and even take naps．The month-long course also has class picture day where the adults are expected to have a field trip and a parent day．

    30-year-old Michelle Joni Lapidos，the brain behind the adult preschool，studied childhood education and has always wanted to be a preschool teacher．She's always on the lookout for new ways to get people in touch with the freedom of childhood．A friend encouraged her to start the mastermind course instead．

    According to Candice，her blogger friend，Preschool Mastermind gives adults a chance to relearn and master the things that they failed to understand as children．“I realized all the significances of what we learn in preschool，”said founder Michelle Joni，“People come here and get in touch with their inner child．It's magical．We are bringing ourselves back to another place，another time with ourselves when we are more believing in ourselves，more confident and ready to take on the world．”

    “One person's here because they want to learn not to be so serious．”Michelle said．“Another's here to learn to be more confident．”She explained that most of the classes were planned．However，Joni added that while the planned activities were fun，it was often the spontaneous(自发的)moments that attracted students．“It's the things you don't plan for，the sharing between friends and learning from each other．''

    LIANG TAO sold 80 pink Givenchy bags in 12 minutes. Becky Fang sold 100 Mini Cooper cars in just five. Both are wanghong, literally “red-hot on the web”. Every day millions of Chinese search social media for wanghong posts or tune in to live-streams for wanghong's opinions on everything. The fans are helping this new Chinese Internet star to make money out of their popularity—and to shake up the country's e-commerce industry in the process.

    A few of wanghong have been hired by luxury brands. Jaeger-LeCoultre, a Swiss watchmaker, hired Papi Jiang for a video ad targeting young urbanites (都市人), including her 27m fans on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblog. Zhang Yi of iiMedia Research, a consulting firm, estimates that up to 15% of sales on shopping sites like Taobao or social-media apps such as WeChat are influenced by wanghong's public support. The length of a dress might be decided by a survey of a wanghong's fans; its launch date might be based on the number of hits, shares or comments it collects, some of which can cause last-minute design changes.

    This poses a new challenge for retailers(零售商), whose supply chains must respond ever more quickly to wanghong's opinions. Whereas previously a company would look for a celebrity to match its image, wanghong and their admirers are shaping goods.

    Another challenge comes directly from wanghong themselves. They increasingly make money not merely from online support or advice but by launching their own e-commerce stores. Sales of goods accounted for just under half of wanghong earnings of 53bn yuan ($8bn) in 2016, estimates Analysys, a Chinese market-research firm (the rest came mostly from live-show tips and adverts).

    Some wanghong are going a step further. In November Becky Fang launched her own clothing line. Part of her motivation, she says, was that the brands she supported did not always match the trends she was sharing with her followers. By creating her own brand, Becky's Fantasy, she have full control of the quality. She also gains a new income. For the time being only 3-5% of wanghong follow Becky Fang's example, iiMedia Research estimates. But it expects the model to become an industry in its own right, including entertainment and e-commerce, and driven by online data.

    We don't know how different our life will be in the future. We can only try to imagine it.

    At first we think about human relationship. In the year 2050, we will use computers almost everyday. We will make new friends through the Internet—even our husbands or wives will be met in this way. It will be much faster and easier for us. On the other hand, our relationships with people won't be as important as they are today—we will feel a little lonely.

    Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050.For example, they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier. In addition, there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers, like robots which will do the housework for us.

    Spending holidays will also be completely different. Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone. Means of transport will, of course, change, too. We will use solar-powered cars, which will be much cleaner.

    We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment. But it isn't true. We will pay more attention to protecting the environment. And, scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as health will be in better condition.

    Although we can't predict the exact changes which will be made in the world, we often think about them. We worry about our and our children's future; we have expectations, hopes as well as fears. But I think we should be rather hope about our future. We should be happy and believe good things will happen.

    Did you know that Albert Einstein could not speak until he was four years old, and could not read until he was seven? His parents and teachers worried about his mental ability.

    Beethoven's music teacher said about him, "As a composer (作曲家) he is hopeless." What if this young boy had believed it?

    When Thomas Edison was a young boy, his teachers said he was so stupid that he could never learn anything. He once said, "I remember I used to never be able to get along at school. I was always at the foot of my class ... My father thought I was stupid, and I almost decided that I was a stupid person." What if young Thomas had believed what they said about him?

    When the sculptor (雕刻家) Auguste Rodin was young, he had difficulty learning to read and write. Today, we may say he had a learning disability. His father said of him, "I have an idiot (白痴) for a son." His uncle agreed. "He's uneducable," he said. What if Rodin had doubted his ability?

    Walt Disney was once fired by a newspaper editor because he was thought to have no "good ideas". Enrico Caruso was told by one music teacher, "You can't sing. You have no voice at all." And an editor told Louisa May Alcott that she was unable to write anything that would have popular appeal.

    What if these people had listened and become discouraged? Where would our world be without the music of Beethoven, the art of Rodin or the ideas of Albert Einstein and Walt Disney? As Oscar Levant once said, "It's not what you are but what you don't become that hurts."

    You have great potential. When you believe in all you can be, rather than all you cannot become, you will find your place on earth.

The Kendama World Cup

Old-fashioned fun is making a comeback!

Many kids are putting down their electronic devices and picking up an ancient toy. It is called a kendama, and it possibly dates back to the 16th century.

The kendama is a small wooden hammer with three cup-shaped ends and a spike on top. A wooden ball with a center hole is attached by string to the hammer. The goal is to make the ball land in a cup or on the spike. It sounds simple, but there are over 1,000 kendama techniques and tricks to master.

The game's popularity began to grow after the Japan Kendama Association was started in 1975. Today all ages participate in various competitions, including the Kendama World Cup(KWC).

The two-year-old event, which opens in Hatsukaichi, attracts people from all over the world. Players choose 10 different tricks from an approved list. They are then awarded points corresponding to the level of each trick.

A new Kendama World Cup winner will be named tomorrow in this popular sporting event.

Grief ran through the first decade of my career. I photographed stories about terrible topics: immigration, conflict, war. On the cover of my notebook in 2019, I wrote, "Discover the joy again." It was intended to remind me to play more.

Sometimes I'd get a rare assignment where I could breathe — for example, photographing an article on tea for an airline magazine. I took the job hoping to make interesting, almost movie images, but at the end of the day, I found I'd made nothing of the sort. Packing up my camera, I felt like a failure.

On the drive back to the hotel, I noticed heavy steam rising from a building up ahead. Arriving at the scene, I opened the car door — and realized it was a tourist attraction traditionally pulled by a steam engine. Then, out of nowhere, a figure ran toward me. I picked up my camera and quickly made three pictures. One was out of focus. One was poorly composed. But one worked.

When I submitted my pictures to the editor for the tea article, this one wasn't chosen to be published, but I knew it meant something to me. I had been looking for good luck in my own life. This photograph symbolized exactly that.

I was 27 when I first traveled to India after the sudden passing of my father. Over many months, with my best friend, I traversed India with no phone, with limited Internet, and with healing as my compass. I climbed mountains, swam in the sea, and lived in relief entirely.

As I learned to travel to some of the world's cities with the largest population, I began to see life with more color and magic. I permitted myself to walk aimlessly, with no goal but to observe, and each moment became a dance. If this journey taught me anything, it's that what comes next will bring its own magic.