Steven Hansen
Sidewalk Sorcery: The Chalk Magic of David Zinn
If you happen to be strolling down the street one morning in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and notice a weird green gremlin staring up at you...
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Steven Hansen
Oct 157 min read
The Most Unique Bookstores in the World
Don’t get us wrong. We love Powell’s, The Strand, Rizzoli, Shakespeare & Company, and all the other great bookstores of the world. And...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 292 min read
Yummy Origin Stories: Circus Peanuts
And the number 1 worst candy treat ever foisted upon unlucky trick-or-treaters? Circus peanuts.
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Steven Hansen
Aug 272 min read
Secret NYC: Discover the City’s Most Lavish Loo
When you’re in New York City and you really need to find a toilet, you don’t have many reliable options. You could sashay into a busy...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 132 min read
Burn Your Worries, Woes, and Morbid Thoughts to Ashes!
It’s that time once again to banish your gloomy thoughts and troublesome worries by having them burned to ashes along with the veritable...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 73 min read
Beware: Don’t Get Catty with Us
TomTom Cats and their human companions have been in the spotlight lately, recipients of some ill-advised scorn on the current political...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 162 min read
Sandcastle Building? Frantic Fun but Forget the Moat!
You would think that building a sandcastle on the beach would be a supremely futile task. You only have a short window of time to finish...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 192 min read
Just Need to Hit the Road and Chill?
During the 2020 Covid pandemic lockdown months, when a nervous trip to the grocery store or a walk around the block were our only...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 102 min read
The Evocative ‘Morse Code’ of Trains
The sound of a distant train's whistle echoing across the stillness of a lonely night is perhaps the most haunting of sounds. Those...
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Steven Hansen
May 306 min read
Not-So-Public Art Delights by Surprise
Steve Hansen Public art pieces like murals, sculptures, and performances enliven community gathering spaces, civic centers, and parks....
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Steven Hansen
May 61 min read
Farmers Markets Get Fresh Again
It’s that time of year! Springtime is in full bloom across the country now and seasonal farmers markets and farm stands are popping up...
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Steven Hansen
Apr 92 min read
Track Birds, Bees, Babies as an Online Citizen Scientist
Playing online games and puzzles like Wordle and Sudoku are great ways to zone out while on a commuter train, say, or in the waiting room...
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Steven Hansen
Mar 216 min read
Vacation in an Energy Vortex this Summer!
Spring is a great time to start planning your summer vacation. This year, instead of the non-stop craziness of a “Best-of-Europe-in-a...
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Steven Hansen
Feb 126 min read
10 Incredible Hotel Views
A hotel stay might be the one comfort at the end of an exhausting day of business meetings, or maybe it’s lodgings in an exotic locale on...
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Steven Hansen
Jan 313 min read
Classic '50s Cars: A Mini Love Story
When big time New York ad exec, filmmaker, and artist Lou Carvell was a boy, he was fascinated with cars. He’d sneak down to the dealer’s...
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Steven Hansen
Jan 710 min read
The World’s Most Extreme Bars and Lounges 2024
The annual list of the World’s 50 Best Bars was announced recently. The award winners include lush lounges and hotel bars from Mexico...
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Steven Hansen
Dec 24, 20232 min read
Launch Your Dreams Sky High on New Year's Eve!
You can hold your wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2024 deep in your heart, OR you can have them released high above Times...
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Steven Hansen
Dec 4, 20231 min read
Feel Young Again with Cato’s TV Time Machine
Watching TV these days is boring. With hundreds of channels to choose from and thousands of programs and movies available, you can view...
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Steven Hansen
Oct 29, 20235 min read
No Yakking. No Music. Just Gorgeous, Immersive Videos.
David Shaw is not your typical videographer. He does not use fancy editing, or distracting music or narration when he records his videos....
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Steven Hansen
Oct 25, 20231 min read
When Halloween Was Truly Frightening
Museum of Curiosities/X.com Most of this season’s popular Halloween getups – Princess Peach, Spider-man, Taylor Swift, bunny, fairy,...
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Steven Hansen
Oct 3, 20231 min read
Here’s One Virus that Gets You Lit
As the days shorten and turn cooler here, we look forward to cozier times spent indoors -- long holiday breaks, lazy weekends, and...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 30, 20232 min read
End-of-Summer Harvest of Charming Realities
August is the month of abundance. Farm stands are heaped with tender sweet corn and peaches so gloriously fragrant you can smell them...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 22, 20232 min read
The Sweetest Chocolate Sipping Room in America
There are any number of famous chocolate shops around the country. Many appear as destinations on organized chocolate tours and even...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 15, 20232 min read
Listen to the Most Beautiful Birdsong in North America
“I stepped away from the mic, hit the record button, and prayed to high heaven that there would be no disruptions … no cars driving by,...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 31, 20232 min read
DIYs? Author talks? Concerts? Stream Top Public Library TV Shows
Long gone are the days of the local public library as a quiet repository of books and newspapers – dormant except for the occasional...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 27, 20233 min read
Chilling Out On the ‘Sky Porches’ of New York
The dog days of summer right now have many of us zipping between the air-conditioned sanctuaries of home-car-office-supermarket-home in...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 20, 20232 min read
The Coolest Bar in America Right Now
The U.S. weather map for most of the lower 48 this week is glowing in colors from Flamin’ Hot Doritos orange to broiled lobster scarlet –...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 10, 20233 min read
Summer Joy Captured in These Three Unlikely Songs
Summer is the most sensual time of year. Warm weather and sunny skies evoke feelings of joy and carefreeness. Birds twittering in lush...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 2, 20232 min read
Burn Up Your Woes and Worries
It’s that time of year once again to banish your gloomy thoughts and troublesome worries by having them publicly incinerated along with...
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Steven Hansen
May 29, 20231 min read
NYC’s Sun-sational Show Opens Tonight for Limited Run!
If your spring-summer vacation plans bring you to New York City any time between today and July 13, you can add one more tourist...
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Steven Hansen
Apr 27, 20232 min read
LIVE! From the Ocean Floor
Whether you’re a professional oceanographer, or just curious about underwater life, or simply can’t sleep, you can now listen to the live...
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Steven Hansen
Apr 16, 20231 min read
Saunter through Springtime in Central Park
It’s here at last! We’ve been desperate for rejuvenating, sunny springtime weather and it’s bursting forth at last all around the...
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Steven Hansen
Apr 5, 20233 min read
Wow the Neighbors with these Weirdly Huge Garden Plants
Attention, ambitious gardeners! Maybe you’ll never get into the Guinness Book of World Records for your pumpkins or win any ribbons at...
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Steven Hansen
Feb 27, 20231 min read
Spend 3 Hours on an Enchanting Greek Island
The holidays are long gone. Spring has not yet awoken. We are in the in-between. It’s a good time to disappear. Take a break from the...
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Steven Hansen
Feb 10, 20231 min read
The Ultimate Trip Tease
It’s only February and we’re already daydreaming about a summer road trip! The first glimpse of blue sky and glimmer of sunshine that...
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Steven Hansen
Feb 3, 20231 min read
One Martini Movie: "Oh Baby!"
Enjoy this month’s One Martini Movie in the same amount of time it takes to mix and enjoy a classic gin Martini – or mocktini. (Or mix...
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Steven Hansen
Jan 24, 20231 min read
Can You Solve This Puzzle?
Attention cruciverbalists! Can you solve this crossword? If it doesn’t look familiar, you may have missed it. You see, this is the very...
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Steven Hansen
Jan 9, 20235 min read
They Survived the Test of Time
Don’t be surprised if somebody wishes you “Happy Old New Year!” on Saturday. That’s because the official first day of the year on the...
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Steven Hansen
Dec 26, 20224 min read
New Year’s Eve Instant Party Kit
Still haven’t made plans for New Year’s Eve? No worries. We've got your party right here. All you need is a heady cocktail, some simple...
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Steven Hansen
Dec 15, 20222 min read
Release Your 2023 Wishes High Above Times Square at Midnight!
You can hold your wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year deep in your heart, OR you can have them launched into the skies...
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Steven Hansen
Nov 27, 20221 min read
Choose a Forest, Sit Back and Listen
The physical and mental benefits of “forest bathing” are well known. This ancient Japanese therapy, known as shinrin-yoku, is the...
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Steven Hansen
Nov 5, 202211 min read
Our 2022 Holiday Happiness Gift Guide!
It’s here! Our 2022 Happiness Holiday Gift Guide! Have fun shopping some of our very favorite things that we’ve discovered this year in...
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Steven Hansen
Oct 23, 20221 min read
One Martini Movie: "Projections in the Forest"
You can mix a double gin martini, in 3.5 minutes, including chilling the cocktail glass and preparing the olive or lemon garnish. So, you...
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Steven Hansen
Oct 17, 20221 min read
Take a Spin Around the World
…from 240 miles above the Earth! Enjoy the views of our “big blue marble” from the International Space Station’s (ISS) Live Stream cams...
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Steven Hansen
Oct 3, 20221 min read
Listen to Met Operas LIVE from Lincoln Center
New York City’s Metropolitan Opera provides free live audio streaming of performances on its website once every week during the opera...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 26, 20224 min read
Watch 'Real Life' TV
Bored? Can’t sleep? Well, there’s a new TV genre streaming online that may pique your interest and while away the time: LIVE, 24-hour...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 6, 20221 min read
Take This Mind-Blowing Fantasy Vacation
French artist Lucas Vaskange says that he creates universes and stories with his illustrations, comics, and videos. And after you start...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 29, 20221 min read
Guitarist Shreds Vivaldi Concerto
Musician Mark Klett currently directs jazz improv and Great American Songbook standards in workshop settings at Music Makers studios in...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 17, 20221 min read
One Martini Movie: "Jitaku"
You can mix a double gin martini in 3-4 minutes, including chilling the cocktail glass and preparing the olive and lemon garnish. So, you...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 9, 20222 min read
Those Ice Cream Truck Tunes
You can hear it from blocks away – the endless loop of an ice cream truck’s catchy tune plinked out on what sounds like an amplified...
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