The moon is Lady Chang E's home, the white rabbit's den, and the huntsman's abode. In Chinese culture, the moon is a source of endless inspiration for legends and myths. Not one of them true, of course, but they nevertheless offer reasons behind the mystical appearances of things. I grew up in household and culture inundated with those little things. Everything I saw and learned about had a reason, an explanation, or a myth. We eat long noodles on birthdays...

According to Newton’s third law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. While this could be taken literally, as Newton’s titles of astronomer, physicist, scientist, and mathematician might encourage, I choose to take this figuratively, perhaps as a product of knowing that Newton also moonlighted as a philosopher. With that established, instead of an action evoking a reaction, let’s talk about thoughts. Assuming that a thought has some substance, material or otherwise, it must...

When I was younger, I never was one for weights. The idea of lifting 10 lb blocks of metal to bulk up never seemed to have the appeal of a rigorous swim. With that in mind, when I failed to get stronger from cardio exercises, I had only one thing in mind: to swim harder. Little did I know, it was the resistance that the weights provided that was necessary for me to strengthen myself. My heart condition known as Long...