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!

Be careful what you ask for

Earlier this evening, I received a comment to this post from just over a year ago, regarding kids on leashes, asking me if I'd seen parents "actually treating the kids like dogs." Talk about timing...

For just last week, I snapped what I think is the very best picture of a kid on a leash I've ever taken ... and that's saying a lot, 'cause I'm always on the lookout for them when I'm on vaca and have my camera handy! Personally, I think this picture is worth much more than 1,000 words. Actually treating the kids like dogs, you ask? Well, this poor lil' guy is on all fours! And he's literally got a monkey on his back. (That doesn't make the leash any cuter, btw.) Now, as I mentioned in my original post, as rambunctious as I was as a tyke, even I didn't need to be leashed. Thus, my fascination with kids on leashes and the parents who walk them.

And I'm not alone: Do a Google Image Search for "Kid on a Leash" and see how many results you find. That just reinforces my idea that www.KidsOnLeashes.com would be an Internet sensation!

For more on the leash debate, feel free to head over to this blog, which even features my picture from last year's post.

On the road again

Just over 24 hours after learning of the dates, I'm scrambling to figure out which of the New Kids On The Block's summer tour shows I can get to.

The guys announced a bunch of "Full Service" tour stops yesterday, with only three within two hours or so from home. Hence, between work commitments and possible work commitments, I'm sitting here trying to plot out my whole summer before the tickets go on sale later this week. You might remember I was able to catch all three local New Kids concerts when the guys went on tour the first time last autumn for the first time in 14 years. Thus, I can't be shut out this time around, though taking in all three shows this summer might be difficult.

And surely you've heard I met the New Kids last May, right? In fact, that incredible meeting yielded these awesome Christmas cards sent out last winter!

"Monsters vs. Aliens" = viewers win

For the first time in more than a year, I watched a 3-D movie — other than numerous 3-D flicks at Disney parks, including 8 days ago at Disneyland — and I've got one word: Wow!

The build-up to "Monsters vs. Aliens" was great — I had seen previews for months — and it was all worth it. From the quality of the CG animation to the 3-D technology, which didn't contain any of those cheesy effects most earlier 3-D films contain, it was well worth the wait and the top spot in weekend box ticket sales. Having recently read USA Today story about upcoming 3-D fare headed to a theater near you this year, the genre couldn't ask for a better film to lead the way into the summer movie season.

First, the animation was top-notch. Three minutes into it, you forget you're watching a cartoon, albeit a state-of-the-art cartoon. While targeted mostly to kids, the film is just as much for grown-ups as the little tykes; there's humor for everyone in this one.
Another great part: You don't have to wear those old red-and-blue cellophane 3-D glasses like you had to wear when you watched, say, 1983's "Jaws 3-D" or that one time a year WPIX would show a 3-D movie on TV when I was a kid. Instead, the extra $3 per ticket gets you the 3-D glasses on the left, which are much more attractive than the ones you get at Disney parks (right).

The story was cute. The acting was good: Reese Witherspoon is even adorable in 3-D, and Seth Rogan was hilarious. The 3-D effects just bring out an even better movie-going experience.

And, if you're an old fogey (like this guy) and you don't like this new-fangled three-dimensional technology, fear not: The movie is also available in the old-school 2-D form — and if you opt for that, you don't have to pay the higher price that those of us who enjoyed the 3-D experience had to pay; I paid, for example, $10.50 for a matinée.

If this is the opening act of the 3-D summer to come, it'll be fun to see what's up next!

That's just plane crazy!

On last week's flight to Los Angeles, I settled into the seat I'd inhabit for the next six hours and read something disturbing:

These were the prices my airline (which will remain nameless) was charging for certain on-demand programming on the small TV screen on the back of every seat in my jumbo jet. That's just plain crazy, I thought (notice the pun in this post's title), before happily thinking of all the money I'd saved by loading my iPod with hours of videos — between episodes of a 1990 cartoon based on my favorite group of all-time, to numerous music videos and even the episode of "Good Eats" that taught me how to make this delicious drink.

As it turns out, though, it was a moot point, as I was still able to spend the flight watching hours of free entertainment on those same seat-back TV screens.

Even though the sleeping aid I'd taken to help me with a cross-country nap never kicked in, it was OK, since everything from Nickelodeon (seen here) and A&E, to ESPN and the Food Network was available gratis from coast to coast. I even got to watch the local NBC news from New York City, starting at 5 p.m. Eastern, as I was flying over such locales as Indiana and Nevada.

What a boon! I only turned on my iPod once throughout the entire flight, and that was just for the final 45 minutes or so. Sweet, right?!

One of the onboard features was a moving map, which showed all us passengers our route, where we were at any given moment, how long we'd been in the air, how long we had left til we reached LAX, our altitude, blah, blah, blah... It was amazing! You didn't even realize you were cooped up in a plane, until the mouth-breather next to you kept nudging you when he turned in his sleep.

Being a sports reporter, I was even able to catch up on the first day of the NCAA tournament.

Thanks to the good folks at ESPN, I was able to keep up with the Big Dance games across the country with live stats staring right in front of me. And, considering that my team (Go, 'Cuse!) didn't even open the tournament til the next day, I didn't mind one bit that the plane didn't get CBS as part of the free satellite TV package on our flight.

Oh, yeah ... and we took off and landed without incident. I'm just sayin'.

"Idol" fans are anything but idle

It never fails to amaze me how faithful fans of "American Idol" finalists are to their favorite singers.

Earlier this month, when I got to interview David Cook, fans of the reigning "Idol" flooded this blog, making Wednesday, March 11th the second-largest day in "Sean's Space" history, in terms of page views. By comparison (and not surprisingly), only Dec. 9, 2007 out-ranked March 11th, when fans of "Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken set the all-time record by reading about his Poughkeepsie performance.

Even before that, though, I learned of "Idol" fans' devotion when I conducted my first-ever "Sean's Space" celebrity interview with Season Five champ Taylor Hicks. Taylor's fans blew up the blog and filled my e-mail inbox for days! Sure, the guy won "American Idol," but well over a year after taking the title, his supporters were still as excited, as the hits to "Sean's Space" bore out. Hence, every time I get the chance to interview an "Idol" finalist, I jump at the chance.

The key here: Fan sites and message boards pick up on the "Sean's Space" entries about their favorite "Idol" contestants and link to those entries, thus expanding the scope of the "Space" by reaching (literally) thousands more readers across the world.

Quick, how many of theses people have I interviewed???

For example, earlier this month, fans created several posts on "David Cook Official," including this one, this one and this one, which alluded to my coverage of his Poughkeepsie show. And for the record, "Cougars Love Cook" gets my vote for the best name of fan site!

Heck, David himself even told me he'd gotten a Google Alert about my "Sean's Space" entry looking for his fans to submit questions for our interview!

But wait, it gets better...

Around the same time, I found this Japanese Yahoo search (at least I think it's Japanese) which returned an entry about my Cook coverage entitled 3月10日のレポ ... no, seriously, check it out!

So let me send out a big shout-out to all the "American Idol" fans who have stopped by "Sean's Space" in the past 19 months or so, since I started interviewing the show's finalists and winners. Stay tuned, as I'll keep bringing you closer to your favorite "Idol" singers whenever I can!

Ah, sweet validation!

I don't wanna say I told ya so, but ... I totally told ya so!
Earlier this month, my best friend since first grade and his fiancée took in Britney Spears' concert in Tampa (and sent me these pics). Now, this was the same guy who got dragged to see the New Kids On The Block last November, likewise pleasing his betrothed.

You might remember that after my "Britney-free in '08" pledge, I quickly jumped back on the Britney bandwagon. I did, however, say I was not going to catch Brit's current "The Circus Starring: Britney Spears" tour, which my BFF and his sweetheart took in at the St. Pete Times Forum, because having attended two of her previous tours, I was disappointed she lip-synched almost the entire shows.

I'd warned my buddy about this, and when he came back from Britney's "Circus," I got the following terse — if not telling — e-mail (and I'm quoting here): "NKOTB were a lot better." That was all the validation I needed!

Just looking at the pics they sent me, I could tell that Britney's new show is "visually stunning," as I like to call it. (Translation: Britney looks hot!) But, given the fact that there's very little live singing, it seemed like a waste of money for me to again dish out my hard-earned bucks for such a display. I could simply plug in my iPod or pop in one of her DVDs and watch her videos. Though, in full disclosure, I did take a cursory look or two online for tickets for her local shows ... just to see what was out there.

If nothing else, it was great to know that: A.) I made the correct decision in not pursuing Britney tickets; and B.) I got unbiased confirmation that the New Kids' current tour is much better!

(BTW, Britney's "If U Seek Amy" is my new favorite song. And, yes ... I know what it really means!)