My little niece is almost a year old.
Her eyes are like big blue marbles, and are always focused on the thing her hands are reaching for. She garbles out a few syllables, smiles as she touches the stuffed lion, the dog’s ear, the pea hidden under the cabinets, the Christmas ornaments still hanging, the boxes beneath the table top. This is the way she learns about the world around her, a world that is new and strange and without limit or rule.
When she totters close to the edge …

It is difficult for me to sit for too long on my knees, but I bite the inside of my lip and bear the cramps already creeping down to my toes. I have always wanted to experience an authentic tea ceremony and I am not about to let a few momentary leg cramps put to waste this opportunity. So I sit as still as I can, my back rigid, my hands on my knees. I am not quite sure that is where they are supposed to be. I do remember …

Most days are ordinary. Cycles of repetition. I wake up and repeat many of the same activities as the day before, much as I have for years. I do get a certain enjoyment out of repetition, as I will often repeat the things that I have learned from experience bring me joy and pleasure and positive benefits. But when it comes to books, I don’t like stories and styles that repeat themselves. It’s hard to get lost in a book like that.
As a child, I learned to read rather quickly …

By Kit So
I had the pleasure recently to go on a holiday trip to New York. And this is what I discovered. Everything about New York is complex. To fully appreciate the magnificent place, you must know a bit about New York. Here are the top nine little-known facts about New York which I think everyone planning to go there should know:
1. Everyone calls New York City the ‘Big Apple’. But why? Where did it come from? The phrase was first popularized by a newspaper editor, John Fitzgerald, who titled …