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I was in the math department, and I saw one of the professors carrying a big pizza box. I decided to follow him, to see whether the pizza might be for some colloquium or math club meeting where I could get away with grabbing a slice. Instead, he led me to a hidden door which [...]

A Buddhist Koan is a short tale used to nudge people closer toward Zen enlightenment. Since I really appreciate and love these witty little verses, I decided I’d share some of my favorites here. At first, I thought I’d garnish them with some detailed commentary and analysis. Then I realized, the verses are like works [...]

One of my favorite poems is the Kubla Khan of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (the same poet who penned The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, previously featured on this site). In fact I like this passage so much that, back when I was in high school, I memorized the whole thing. So instead of copying it [...]

Fujikyo High was a pretty average, ordinary Japanese high school. Sure, its student body included seven of the world’s most elite martial artists, two sensei who were space aliens (uchuujin) in disguise, five giant mecha pilots, the world’s two greatest (and rival) Mahjong players, three time travelers, a clan of vampires, six magical transforming schoolgirls, [...]

I just returned from an exotic African safari (editor’s note: this is fiction), and I’d like to share with you the details of a new species I discovered, the Balancing Beetle. These critters vary widely in size, with the smallest being almost microscopic, and the largest rivaling even the big jungle cats. They come in [...]

If you’ve read some of my other articles, you know one of my beliefs is that the best things in life are also the easiest to get. This short story reflects that. In sixth grade, one of those fund-raising drives came to our school. You know the type. Enlist the children to go selling stuff [...]

I’m actually still in Tokyo. Even though I told you I was flying home on the 19th, it turns out there’s still something I’m meant to see, learn, or do here, because I missed the flight and now I’ll be flying home on the 21st. Speaking of things that are meant or not meant to [...]

Once upon a time, science and magic joined together to create The Mirror. An artifact of incredible power. With most mirrors, when you look at them, the person in the mirror will adopt whichever emotion you yourself display. When you smile, the person in the mirror smiles. Frown, and the mirror-person frowns. But not so [...]