Random Things That Are Awesome

Today I feel like departing a bit from the crafty road and sharing a few things that I think are cool outside the realm of paint and glue guns.  I hope you find something you like!

Awesome Band: Gomez

I first saw Gomez perform live in the spring of 2007.  My friend and I were going to see Ben Kweller; he was going to be followed by some band I'd never heard of called Gomez.   I was blown away.  Great music and just a fun show to see live.  My favorite album is still How We Operate, but the others are also good.  If you are looking for some songs to sample, try Girlshapedlovedrug or Whippin' Piccadilly.

Awesome Book: Next of Kin by Roger Fouts

This book is written by the researcher who did years of sign language studies with chimpanzees.  Specifically, it focuses on his work with a very special chimpanzee named Washoe, the first non-human to acquire a human language.  This book is very near and dear to my heart because I spent a summer as an intern at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute where several members of Washoe's adoptive family are still living.  I have always been fascinated by chimpanzee behavior and it was a dream come true to spend time near such amazing animals.

Awesome Website: Pandora Radio

This site has been around for awhile, so feel free to roll your eyes and thank me for my "discovery."  But on the chance you don't know it, I wanted to share.  Pandora caught my eye by calling itself the "music genome project" and that could make any young molecular biology student swoon.  Basically, you enter in a band/song that you like and it will play songs that match it.  As it plays, you can give each song a thumbs up or thumbs down to further tailor your station.  It's pretty much all I listen to on my computer anymore.  You can visit my Pandora profile here.

Awesome Tasty Treat: Frozen Pineapple

Buy a can of pineapple chunks.  Stick it in the freezer for about an hour.  Take it out and pour it in a bowl.  It's like a pineapple slushy.  The pineapple chunks are icy cold and the juice is just starting to thicken up.  So good! 

Okay, that last one was pretty random but trust me, you're going to go to Costco to stock up on pineapple after that.  I hope you enjoyed my day of random!