Eats, Shoots & Leaves
As an English teacher, I pretty much read everything with a critical eye. I can't help it -- it's not just my job, it's practically in my DNA. Mind you, I don't read the newspaper with a red pen... yet. But give me time.
Perhaps this is is what first drew me to Lynne Truss's grammatical guidebook,
Eats, Shoots & Leaves. But what kept me coming back for more was the entertaining style in which it is written. Here's an example from the text that also happens to explain its enigmatic title:
A panda walks into a bar. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why? Why are you behaving in this strange, un-panda-like fashion?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda walks towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
Isn't that hilarious? I just bawled the first time I read that. It really shows you the power of grammar, though. A comma can make ALL the difference.
To learn more and hear an interview Lynne Truss did with NPR, click
here.
chocolate covered raisins
OK, I will admit it -- I'm not crazy about health food. Broccoli? Blech, I won't touch it (unless it's drowned in cheese). Grapes? Eh, I'll eat them on New Year's Eve (it's a tradition in most Latin families to eat 12 grapes on New Year's Eve for good luck in the next year), but that's pretty much it. However, I'm trying to eat more consciously lately since I want to lose some weight. One thing I'm attempting to cut out of my nondiet is chocolate. It's such a bad habit to break!
So I'm finding ways of sneaking healthier food into my diet while still getting my chocofix. One item I've recently discovered is Sun-Maid's dark chocolate yogurt raisins. They are fricking delish. Don't get me wrong -- it would of course be healthier to eat the raisins by themselves, but I'm thinking baby steps... :p
WORSTERER.com
WORSTERER.com is a new website created by a good friend of the boyf's and mine, Douglas. The premise of the site is to "Read or write hilarious true stories about random funny stuff!" I like to think of WORSTERER as
fml's kinder, gentler little brother. You can post your stories through your Facebook account or through an account you make up yourself.
Here's an example of a story posted on WORSTERER. I'm going to show you one of my own very true, very scary
stories (click to enlarge):
To read more stories and post your own, go
here.
The Foxglove Hunt
I first heard this band on
Pandora.com. The site recommended them to me because I listened to bands similar to them, like Echo & the Bunnymen. I was immediately seduced by their electronic, 80's-esque sound. They reminded me of a more modern New Order -- they have that same synth pop style.
Unfortunately, they are not that well known a band yet. In fact, their album isn't even that easy to find. Thanks to the musical aggregation site,
elbo.ws, I was able to find some mp3's. When I look back at all the bands that I listen to now and love, it's startling to realize just how many of them I've discovered online...
Click on the song below to hear a sample of their music.
A Concealed Weapon - The Foxglove Hunt
Frizz-Ease "Secret Weapon" 
I've been using this finishing creme religiously ever since I first discovered it a couple of weeks ago. Every time I finish blow-drying and ironing my hair, I apply this "Secret Weapon" to my hair, and I promise you, my hair has completely stopped frizzing as a result. And I'm writing from Miami, FL, during August, which is one of the most humid places around this time of year!
If you have coarse or dry hair that frizzes easily, I really recommend this product. It adds a lot of great luster and manageability to your hair. However, if you have greasy hair like I do but want to use a product to control frizz, I recommend applying this product to the ends of your hair only, because if not you're going to have to wash your hair much sooner than usual.
What are some of your favorites this month? Share them in the comments! :-)
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