The Sweet Pea Chronicles

Barnes & Noble has launched an e-bookstore: www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/index.asp.
You can read the books on a Blackberry, iPhone, iTouch, and many personal computers.

B&N will be selling their own device, the Plastic Logic e-reader, on which to read the e-books, but not until next year. It will be larger than the Kindle, and therefore easier to read newspapers and magazines on it; the device will be marketed toward the business professional, rather than the leisure book reader, says B&N.

"Yo Quiero Taco Bell!"

The chihuahua who won millions over with her antics and "yo quiero" line for the Taco Bell chain has sadly passed away, at the age of 15 (quite old in dog years). Gidget was her name; while viewing the commercials I had no idea she was a "she" since her speech was dubbed (of course) in a male voice. Her commercials were ended prematurely, after a 3-year run, in 2000.

Space Food

Ever wondered about culinary options open to astronauts? This article looks at the modern menu compared to four decades ago, the processes behind stabilizing food for consumption up there, and the role of smell when it comes to taste.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Twelfth Night

A few Mondays ago, I saw Twelfth Night (Shakespeare in the Park), and it was a captioned performance.
TDF has a new article on their site about this special performance. The writer asked me to contribute and I am quoted in the thorough piece, here: www.tdf.org/TDF_Article.aspx?id=278.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Michael Jackson's Pet

Bubbles the chimp, who is my age, beat me to retirement! Now he's in a nursing home for chimps, (appropriately?) in FL.
And apparently he used to moondance, something I would love to see.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Bubbles, what's not to like?

Kids, and adults who want to be kids again, head to Times Square for a bubble battle on Friday (June 12) at 6:15 PM. You must bring your own bubble generators and solution. In case the flurry of bubbles in the air don't tip you off, the location is W. 47th St. and Broadway.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

CaptionFish!

If you are looking for captioned films, you can visit Fomdi.com and type in your Zip code, and the site lists theaters and their offerings near you. Or you can visit individual theater chain sites (like Regal, AMC, etc.) and try to find the sole captioned film playing (if any are playing).

Now there is an even more coherent and visually pleasing site that rounds up all your nearby options, called CAPTIONFISH.COM.

Airplanes and Knees

Plane seats these days... how to (maybe) get comfier seats.

Green Genes

Green Monkeys! Controversy over transgenic monkeys...

Monday, June 8, 2009

Taste of Times Square

Tonight I went to an annual summer tradition in New York, a foodie's paradise called Taste of
Times Square. I stumbled upon it (what luck, considering it's a one-night a year deal!) the first summer I spent in NYC, and eagerly have been going back since.

Basically dozens of Times Square restaurants set up little tents on 46th St. between Broadway and 9th Ave. ("Restaurant Row") and sell around 1-3 of their signature menu items. You pay $5 for 5 tickets or $10 for 10 tickets, and then use the tickets to pay for the food. Each item sold at the tents is between 1 and 4 tickets typically, and it's a good deal for the customer generally. The portion sizes are sometimes small but often regular-sized, and equivalent to only $2 or $3 in cost (so the customer saves money). Planet Hollywood offers Bananas Foster cheesecake, John's offers pizza, Bubba Gump's offers corn, mahi-mahi, and shrimp fritters, Virgil's offers chicken wings, and numerous other vendors sell pasta dishes, meatballs, and ribs, to name a few selections.

My particular favorite from last night was Joe Allen's pulled pork sliders -- the BBQ pulled pork was some of the best I've ever eaten, and I even went back to get a second portion at the end.

My only caveats: go early (it started at 5), bring your own water bottle, and if you're claustrophobic, you may want to have a friend bring you back something instead of literally facing the hundreds of people in the crowd.