Offbeat

Offbeat

Twittering Through American History

“The British are coming! OMG! Wake up the militia! Sound the church bells! Update your Facebook status!” Amid the flutter over Twitter, it’s a reasonable question: What if people had been Tweeting for the past 300 years? Some whacky possibilities…

By Ben Fractenberg
Published: May 17, 2009
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Offbeat

Snickering at Puns: A Rewording Experience

From jokes to literature to the nightly news to advertising, puns are everywhere. Often described as the lowest form of humor, puns provide double meanings to words, revealing hidden messages. “Puns are derailing the train of thought in a conversation,” says one fan.

By Sergey Kadinsky
Published: May 15, 2009
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Business & Economics, Offbeat

Fortune Tellers Talking Money, Not Love

Eileen Rivera, a receptionist, is asking her fortune teller different questions nowadays. “My focus used to be 90 per cent love and relationships and 10 per cent economical,” Rivera said. “Now it’s about 20 per cent love and relationships and 80 per cent economical.”

By Damiano Beltrami
Published: April 22, 2009
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Offbeat, Travel

A Hazy Haven (Hack, Hack) of Legal Smoking

Six years after Mayor Bloomberg’s statewide anti-smoking law took effect, the patrons of Hudson Bar and Books puff away in a perpetual haze of toxic smoke. It’s one of a handful of “cigar bars” grandfathered into an exemption in the anti-smoking law.

By Lois DeSocio
Published: April 20, 2009
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