Red Army Choir sings "Sweet Home Alabama"... No, seriously!

Once upon a time, after watching a marathon of Monty Python shows, I changed the channel and saw a chorus of stout Bavarian women dressed in lederhosen, line dancing while waving kerchiefs and singing the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman." For a moment, I thought I was still watching Python... but no! It was real, and easily the most surreal thing I've seen on video... until now!

And now, a thing of beauty and a joy forever! With no further ado, I give you "Sweet Home Alabama," as sung by the Red Army Choir backing the Finnish novelty band, the Leningrad Cowboys!

(via Scribal Terror) 

Wickles in Maine!!

I don't get too much occasion to food-blog when I'm not in Italy, but I just can't resist broadcasting the wonderful news! Wickles, made in Alabama and called by my folks "the world's best pickles," are being sold in Hannaford's supermarkets right here in Maine, the land of the "wicked good"!!

As their website attests,

Using a secret 70-year old family recipe differentiates Wickles products from all others... Wickles (short for "Wickedly delicious pickles!") are a unique blend of dill, garlic, and sweetness with just enough spice to keep you reaching for more.

And it's true! Southern, sweet and spicy... What more could you ask for?!

Forget the "Da Vinci Code"! Learn about the "Waffle House Code"!!

Waffle House is a beloved southern institution.

Open 24/7, its cheese eggs and raisin toast were what got us through our all-nighters in College. (Even if we did - pretty uncharitably - call the place "Awful House"!) In grad school, it was a like a cheery oasis where I once ate breakfast on a lonely drive home on Christmas morning.

But at a short-order establishment where you can order everything in myriad combinations ("scattered," "smothered," "covered," "chunked," and "topped," just to name a few!) what arcane mysteries allow the waitresses and the cooks to keep it all straight?

The truth revealed by Boing Boing: Condiment codes of the Waffle House kitchens!