Thursday, April 23, 2009

Everybody, Do-si-do now!

Julia D. is my new favorite in the whole wide world! (Her dad, too.)
That's 'cause Julia's dad just delivered the Girl Scout cookies I purchased from her several weeks back! (If you buy enough of them, they'll even give you a box like this Lemon Chalet Cremes box!)

Not that all six boxes of cookies are all for me — especially the Samoas, which I don't enjoy at all. Half are for me; half are for another GS cookie lover.

Today ranks right up there with my b-day and the day the New Kids On The Block reunited as my favorite days of the year!

Oh, that Miley ... uh, Hannah!

That Hannah Montana has done it again!

Everyone's favorite Disney Channel superstar has once again infiltrated the local grocery store, as I spotted a few weeks after I first saw her in my supermarket. Yes, that is Miley Cyrus, all gussied up as Hannah, staring back at me in the refridgerated section on the wrapper of Breyers yogurt. (And yes, camera phones make snapping pictures at the grocery store very easy. Try it some time!) While I'm not sure if our favorite "HM" fan has tried this, I'm guessing it tastes just like regular yogurt.

Still, as a fan who heads to Walt Disney World at least once a year, I love seeing the Disney marketing machine in motion!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

From Studio 6B in Rockefeller Center...

So tell me: Did you see us in the audience for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" last night?We had such a great time during the taping, we had to stay up late and watch the show again on TV ... seven hours after we watched it live in the audience in New York City!

About a month ago, my GF got us tickets for last night's show, just the 32nd with Saugerties native Jimmy Fallon as host since taking over for Conan O'Brien on March 2nd. (Here's a picture of some of the Jimmy Fallon merchandise on sale at the NBC Experience Store in Rockefeller Plaza.) (Oh, and you know we met Jimmy in January, right? Anyway...) Actors Jerry O'Connell and Thomas Lennon were the guests, with Chester French as the musical act.

Now, we'd both been to tapings of late-night talk shows, and (at least for me) Jimmy was the most cordial host I've seen before. He talked to us in the audience — he even talked to my GF personally about his show at Bananas in Poughkeepsie back in January during a commercial break — and really seemed to be enjoying himself.

And so did we! Click this clip and watch when they focus on the crowd after the pre-packaged video and look for us! (It's about 2:30 into this clip.)

Got even more time and want to watch Jimmy and his guests? You can click here to watch the entire episode.

But, yeah, we had a great time, and Jimmy is really making the show his own. Though his monologue can still be a little shaky at times, I chalk that up to him getting used to reading the topical jokes his writers give him. Other than that, you can tell he's just a funny guy having a great time, even taking a lap of the studio audience at the end of the show, giving out high-fives.

If you get the chance, stay up late and give the show a chance, or ... head down to Rockefeller Plaza for a taping. If you do, tell Jimmy that Sean sent ya!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

We had a Rock-ing day

If you (or anyone) has been following my Twitter updates from today to the right here, you can see my GF and I spent out Tuesday at Rockefeller Plaza, home of NBC Television.
As if the morning's NBC Studios tour at 30 Rock wasn't cool enough -- and yes, it was -- the afternoon was even better.

If anyone read some earlier posts of us meeting Jimmy Fallon, they'd know we're definitely fans of the hometown kid who made it.

So, ever diligent, my GF scored us a pair of tickets to tonight's taping of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," just his 32nd show since taking over the show from Conan O'Brien on March 2nd. Even before actors Jerry O'Connell and Thomas Lennon came out, the two of us got some major face time on national television! Not go give anything away, just tune in to NBC at 12:35 a.m. Eastern, for the "targeted demographics" segment shortly into the show, and enjoy. (Also, take notice of the best-looking head of hair in the crowd ... you can't miss it!)

I'll have even more of our NBC Tuesday later. Until then, pop some popcorn, stay up late, and watch what we saw just a few hours ago...

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Yankee Doodle Cutie

Here's just another reason to love Kelly Clarkson.

As if the original "American Idol" winner wasn't adorable enough, look how cute she looked earlier this afternoon, singing the national anthem prior to the first-ever, regular-season game at Yankee Stadium. Oh, and it must be noted that she sang beautifully, much like she did almost seven years ago — OMG, has it really been that long?! — when she won the first season of "Idol." I've always been a fan of Kelly's — I voted for her every week of that first season — even though I had a friend at the time who said Kelly had "a pig face" ... can you believe that???

You might have noticed I even added a lil' Kelly Clarkson Zootopia '09 widget to the sidebar here on "Sean's Space," as I'm hoping to win tickets to see her there. Keep your fingers crossed...

Monday, April 13, 2009

Random thoughts on a random day

After a week of intense experimenting with Twitter and figuring out what a tiny URL is — let alone how to make one — I picked up just a few notes on which to blog:

Browsing the newsstand at Barnes & Noble the other day, I stumbled across this, a comic book based on "The Muppet Show," which millions of us used to watch on Friday nights as kids. As I mentioned here recently, I loved the Muppets when I was growing up, and "The Muppet Show" was an avid viewer of the show. The caliber of guest stars — everyone from Lena Horne and Julie Andrews, to George Burns and Bob Hope — spoke to its popularity, if not importance. Hence, to see a comic book (or is it a graphic novel?!) based on Kermit and the gang some 30 years after the show hit its peak was pretty cool. (Though with a $2.99 price tag, I passed on finding out just how cool it was!)

Jesse McCartney goes from playing last year's Zootopia show (you know I met the New Kids On The Block at Zootopia, right?) and now he's part of our local KFEST. Makes ya think. Hmmmm......

Was anyone surprised "Hannah Montana: The Movie" was No. 1 at the box office this weekend? Actor Moises Arias, who plays "Rico" on the show and in the movie, told me how much he liked reprising his role for the flick. You can check out the interview here. My GF and I are planning on going with Missy and The Wife to see it this weekend, so don't spoil the ending for us. (Though, I've gotta say: I've been dying to click on the Movie Pooper Web site to see what's in store for us.)

Flipping channels as I got ready for Easter dinner yesterday, I came across my fav movie of all-time, "Mary Poppins," on the ABC Family network. I clicked the INFO button on my digital cable remote and got this terse description: London children meet a nanny and chimney sweep. That's it?! Such an amazing flick deserves a little more, like this.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Just hangin' with my peeps

Just got back from a wonderful Easter meal filled with family, pork and desserts!!!
As a kid, I never liked Easter-themed marshmallow treats (like these), but in recent years they've grown on me. I like 'em straight out of the pack, but that's it.

In recent days, I've heard of people freezing them, or pouring chocolate sauce on top of them, among other ways of enjoying the delicacies.

That's about it for now ... but if you want to talk about Easter candy, check this out!

Friday, April 3, 2009

See you at the show!

Forget the weather. Never mind the lousy economy. It's a good day: I bought my ticket to see the New Kids On The Block (just like this one) this morning!
Sure it was an early morning, by my standards (just before 9 a.m.), as I fired up the ol' laptop, plunked down my money (including close to a 20% fee for processing, handling, or whatever) and secured my seat for one of the New Kids' "Full Service" summer tour concerts.

And while I hate rushing to get tickets online, given last fall's tour, it was well worth it.
Really, what's a few hours of missed sleep when you're talking about seeing your favorite group of all-time, ya know? You do what you've got to do.

Unlike around here, where I'm usually able to easily get into games or events for work, those privileges rarely extend outside the local area. (That's why getting into meet the New Kids through sheer determination — if not dumb luck — was all the more amazing, since I didn't use any work connections.) Hence, I don't mind the few times each year I have to battle everyone else for tickets; it keeps me on my toes for one early morning every few months or so.

Unless the New Kids come back to Poughkeepsie, backstage passes like these are simply collector's items for me.

If nothing else, it's great that Danny, Donnie, Jordan, Jon and Joe are staying out on the road and giving long-time fans like myself another opportunity to both relive the glory days (seriously, how awesome was "Hangin' Tough?!") while also getting a chance to hear their new stuff live. It's like being in high school all over again ... except without the homework.

Speaking of "Hangin' Tough," that's what I'll be doing for a few months until the concert!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Orange you glad I told you?

If you read this earlier post from last month about my favorite frothy orange drink, you saw a link to an amazing recipe. Have you tried it???

Let me tell you: Food Network whiz Alton Brown is a genius! I've made four of his "Orange Delicious" drinks over the past 48 hours and they are amazing! Just as good as the real thing! Not that I'm surprised, as I've got one friend who's a huge Alton Brown fan (she actually lives in the next town over from him) and another buddy who's worked with him on two Food Network shows and says he's a great guy. Maybe I should have my two chums to meet? Hmmm.....

Anyway, this Alton-inspired concoction might be the best thing I've ever made in my kitchen. It's definitely "Good Eats" ... or at least good drinks.

On my flight out to L.A. a few weeks ago, I used my iPod to watch Alton's "Good Eats" about oranges (they're my fav color, btw), which included this recipe, and I was ready to go. I spent the whole trip out there yearning for some orange frothy goodness. So when I came back from the West Coast, whipping up a batch of these was a top priority. After just a lil' tweaking, I've gotten it just right! (Oh, and the straw is the perfect touch. Think about it: Doesn't that national chain give you a straw?) If you're looking for more Food Network ideas, head to Chelsea Market the next time you're in the Big Apple.

Check out Barbara's blog for even more tasty recipes. And, as always, tell her Sean sent ya!