Best Eastern
Shankara, also known as Adi Shankaracharya, was an Indian philosopher and theologian associated with Advaita Vedanta. He argued that ultimate reality is nondual Brahman and that liberation comes through knowledge that the individual self is not separate from that reality. Influential commentaries at...
Dogen was a Japanese Buddhist monk and writer who lived from 1200 to 1253 and established the Soto Zen tradition in Japan after studying Chan Buddhism in China. He founded Eiheiji, a monastery that remains one of Soto Zen's principal temples. His major collection, Shobogenzo, examines practice, awak...
Pharaoh Sanders’ Karma (1970) is a seminal jazz album notable for its immersive soundscapes and pioneering use of tenor saxophone. The work blends free jazz improvisation with Eastern spiritual influences creating a profoundly meditative experience. It's appreciated by listeners interested in the ev...
Alice Coltrane’s *Journey in Satchidananda* is a 1970s jazz album born from her immersive experience in India. The recording documents her profound spiritual connection to Hindu traditions and deities through extended improvisations. Featuring distinctive harp and piano work alongside her band, it r...
Averroes was a 12th-century Andalusian philosopher and physician whose extensive commentaries on Aristotle profoundly influenced medieval European scholasticism and earned him the title 'The Commentator'.
Alice Coltrane’s Ptah, the El Daoud is a 2004 jazz album documenting her immersive musical journey in Sudan during the 1970s. The recording uniquely combines Coltrane's distinctive harp-piano style with traditional Sudanese instruments and rhythms, reflecting her deep spiritual interest in Eastern t...
Xylocopa virginica is a robust carpenter bee native to eastern North America. This species is distinguished by its habit of constructing elaborate, cylindrical nests within decaying wood, primarily dead trees and branches. The bee’s precise tunnel-making ability makes it valuable for ecological stud...
The Zebra Swallowtail butterfly is a distinctive species of lepidopteran belonging to the Papilionidae family. Its prominent black and white stripes are most notably associated with its reliance on pawpaw trees for larval development. This butterfly is common in eastern North America and serves as a...
The Tri-Colored Bumblebee Bombus ternarius is a bee native to North America’s eastern regions. This eusocial insect is notable for its distinctive tri-colored fur – yellow, black, and orange – which helps distinguish it from other bumblebee species. It plays a role in pollination within its habitat....
The Celtics-76ers rivalry represents one of basketball’s most enduring and intensely competitive matchups in NBA history. Beginning with early games involving the Syracuse Nationals, this Atlantic Division series has consistently produced dramatic playoff encounters between Boston and Philadelphia....
The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker widespread in forests, suburbs, parks, and wooded wetlands of eastern North America. It is identified by its black-and-white barred back, pale underparts, and red crown and nape in males, although the faint reddish wash on the belly gives the s...
The Joyous Cosmology is a 1962 book by British philosopher Alan Watts that explores human consciousness and the philosophical implications of psychedelic experiences.
Tafilalt is a large oasis region in southeastern Morocco, centered along the Ziz River and associated with settlements including Rissani. Its date palms and irrigated agriculture supported communities on routes linking North Africa with the Sahara and regions farther south. The oasis became an impor...
The two-spotted bumblebee (Bombus bimaculatus) is a common eusocial pollinator found throughout eastern North America. The species is recognized by its distinctive yellow coloration, specifically the two yellow spots typically located on the queen's thorax. They build underground nests, often repurp...
The Spicebush Swallowtail is a dark-colored butterfly belonging to the Papilionidae family, commonly found across the eastern regions of North America. The species is distinguished by the specific dietary requirements of its larvae, which feed almost exclusively on the leaves of spicebush and sassaf...
The vagrant bumblebee, Bombus vagans, is a social bumblebee native to North America and found chiefly in eastern and central parts of the continent. Workers typically have yellow hair on the thorax and the first abdominal segments, followed by a predominantly black rear abdomen, although identificat...
The Knicks–Heat rivalry is a National Basketball Association rivalry between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat that peaked in the late 1990s. The teams met in the playoffs four consecutive years from 1997 to 2000, with each series characterized by physical defense and dramatic conclusions. Mult...
Xylocopa valga is a large species of carpenter bee found across parts of Europe and Asia. The insect features a robust, dark body accompanied by distinctive dark, iridescent wings. As a solitary species, females construct their nests by boring tunnels into dead wood, including structural timber and...
The Knicks-Pacers rivalry is a fierce National Basketball Association competition between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. The rivalry is most famous for its intense playoff clashes throughout the 1990s, particularly during the 1994 and 1995 postseasons. These matchups featured dramatic c...
Bombus bimaculatus, commonly known as the two-spotted bumble bee, is a species of bumblebee native to eastern North America. This eusocial insect is physically distinguished by a notable yellow band or pair of spots on its second abdominal segment, which often features a central notch. They typicall...
The Bulls-Knicks rivalry is a historical NBA matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks. The rivalry reached its peak intensity during the late 1980s and 1990s, characterized by fiercely physical play. During this era, the teams met in six playoff series between 1989 and 1996. The con...
The Perplexing Bumblebee (Bombus perplexus) is a eusocial insect native to eastern North America. The species earned its common name from its highly variable coloration, which historically confused early taxonomists trying to classify it. These bees live in colonies founded by a single queen, buildi...
The Coral-winged Grasshopper (Pardalophora apiculata) is a North American grasshopper species described by T.W. Harris in 1841. It is noted for the striking coral-red or pink coloration of its hind wings, which are visible during flight. Found primarily in eastern North America, it belongs to the fa...
Sanderson's bumblebee, Bombus sandersoni, is a social bee in the family Apidae native to eastern North America. It is associated particularly with cool forests and adjoining clearings across parts of Canada and the northeastern United States, where workers visit flowers for nectar and pollen. Coloni...
Bombus perplexus, known as the confused bumblebee, is a bumblebee species native to eastern North America. Its common name stems from taxonomic difficulties that historically complicated its classification rather than any behavioral characteristic. Workers and males typically exhibit yellow pile on...
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is the only hummingbird that regularly breeds across most of eastern North America. Adult males have a metallic ruby-red gorget, while females and immature birds have pale throats and lack the male's bright patch. Most individuals winter in Mexico...
Muhudu Maha Vihara is an ancient Buddhist temple and archaeological site beside the coast at Pottuvil in eastern Sri Lanka. Its remains include a stupa, stone pillars, monastic structures, and sculptures associated with the island's early Buddhist tradition. Local tradition connects the site with Vi...
The Zig-zag Grasshopper (Hippiscus ocelote) is a North American insect recognized by the distinct zigzag patterns on its forewings, providing excellent camouflage in its native grassland habitat.
A small, distinctly cinnabar-red chanterelle found in deciduous forests of eastern North America, among the most visually striking members of the family Cantharellaceae.
The Dornod Steppe is a vast grassland in eastern Mongolia, notable for being part of one of the world's largest remaining undisturbed temperate grassland ecosystems.
