Fluttering to and Fro American poet Emily Dickinson loved her garden at her homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts. The butterflies she watched waggling from flower to flower were a constant inspiration for her acclaimed work as a writer. “I was reared in the garden, you know.” Emily Dickinson was quoted as saying to her friend Louise Norcross. Along with birds, flowers, and bees, her fondness for butterflies was a favorite topic to think about and write about. In her poems, butterflies profoundly represent the wonder of life and death. The beautiful, mysterious, winged creatures’ imagery represents spiritual rebirth, transformation, change, and[...]

NSA Feel like you are being watched? Well, sorry to say, there is the possibility. The National Security Agency (NSA) is a federal security service of the United States, responsible for signals intelligence gathering, analysis, and surveillance. The NSA, along with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), are the big three of U.S. intelligence organizations. The most "infamous of the covert activities" from the U.S. intelligence community was a program code-named PRISM. PRISM was a secret, illegal, and unconstitutional surveillance program used by the NSA to obtain intelligence on private citizens from their internet[...]

Harmonious Interactions of Yin, Yang, and Qi Chinese philosophy has long held a belief in the idea of qi (pronounced CHē)—an invisible "life force" that permeates the universe and gives life to all things. Since the universe has no boundaries, qi is infinite. In Chinese cosmology, yin and yang are the opposing but complementary forces which generate and compose all things. The interaction of yin and yang forms a continuous cycle that causes all changes in the universe. Yin is the dark side of qi, while yang represents its positive side. Early Daoists held that qi is found in people,[...]

The Big Cats Are Endangered China hosts an annual celebration of the Amur tiger. It might come as a surprise to some, but the majestic cats are native to China. The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the Siberian tiger, is one of five subspecies of tigers still in existence. Three tiger subspecies have become extinct (Javan, Caspian, and Bali). Currently, no signs of the South-China subspecies are found in the wild, making it highly unlikely that it still exists. Bengali, Indochina, Sumatran, Siberian, and Malayan are the five tiger subspecies documented in their natural habitats.[...]

Kickass Women in Books and Movies We all know the kick-ass heroines that modern mystery and thriller novels and movies portray—the ones who can kill a man with her bare hands—the ones who can shoot a gun to the left of their shoulder and kill a man standing on her right shoulder—the females who are in many cases men’s superiors. These women heroes have been popping up more frequently since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo thriller novel, by Swedish author Stieg Larsson, released in 2005, and the movie adaptations that followed. The best women heroes in fiction have[...]

The Art of Beautiful Handwriting Calligraphy has been essential to Chinese culture since the first instances of Chinese writing over six thousand years ago. In those times, most calligraphy was done spontaneously on non-prepared stone surfaces, bones, and tortoise shells. The ancient artifacts remaining from that time are the earliest surviving documents in the Chinese writing system. Indeed, they represent a precious treasure trove of China’s heritage and are the embodiment of China’s traditional values. The key to understanding early calligraphy is knowing that the strokes made by the writer are about expression, not about beauty. The emphasis was[...]

Tips & Tricks While every season has its unique qualities, there’s something so enchanting about spring. Whether it’s the calm before the storm of summer or the slow shift from winter’s gray to spring’s vibrant hues of green, these seasonal changes have a way of making us feel renewed. Things are beginning to grow again, and buds begin to appear. Daffodils blossom with their bright, yellow petals as if they were dancing and your soul feels lifted by this change. Tulips push up through the ground to bloom in a show of pastels and vibrant colors. One way to[...]

Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival When tourists first arrive in China, more often than not, they’ve prepared a checklist of the Middle Kingdom’s spectacular attractions to experience. The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City (Imperial Palace Museum), The Terracotta Army, The Summer Palace, Cruising the Li River, and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding are a few of the many agenda-toppers. All phenomenal choices. But if you’re lucky enough to come to China between the end of December and the start of February—and always wanted to visit a winter wonderland near the border of Siberia—you[...]

Heavenly Bites Ah, the brownie. So simple, yet so versatile. A brownie can be eaten with a scoop of ice cream, drizzled with caramel sauce, frosted with a white chocolate ganache, or cut into pie wedges and topped with whipped cream. Brownies are one of America’s most loved desserts! Everyone has their favorite brownie. Fudgy or cakey. Chewy or delicate. Flour or flourless. Light as a feather or denser than a neutron star. The names and variations go on and on. Chai Latte … Cherry Cheesecake … Chocolate Stout … Classic Fudge-Walnut … Cream Cheese-Swirled … Dark Chocolate Cherry[...]

Stuff of Legends China’s mountains are the stuff of legends. From the spiritual mountains in the northwest to the remote and mysterious mountains in the southwest, the diversity of China’s mountain ranges is what makes them so irresistible for explorers, hikers, climbers, tourists, and anyone fascinated by untouched nature. Within China's borders are found seven out of the fourteen highest mountain peaks in the world, making it a country of mountains. The tallest mountain in China is also the tallest in the world. The summit of Mount Everest, or Mount Qomolangma, which in Tibetan means "Mother Goddess of Earth," is[...]