Last week, my wonderful coworkers completely surprised me with a delicious birthday cake.

Speaking Southern is a complex thing—and it's a growing trend.

I can't stop playing "Umo" by OOIOO. El Jeffie Wong thinks it reminiscent of the Slits. I'm not sure I hear that, but then I was never a fan. Until I saw their album cover, I thought they were named after a cheap beer.
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At least according to <I>Cond&#233; Nast Traveler</I>'s 45-judge panel, that is. It's a great list, including some usual suspects (Twain, Newby, Markham, Bowles, and Chatwin), as well as some enticing reads I have yet to assay (Peter Fleming, Rosemary Mahoney, and lija Trojanow, are on the "right now" list). There's altogether too much Theroux for my taste&mdash;my idea of hell would be traveling anywhere with that misanthropic hair-shirt of a man.

"The question as to who was a better singer, Bon Scott or Brian Johnson, may never truly be resolved. However, our analysis suggests that in terms of affecting efficient decision making among listeners, Brian Johnson was a better singer. Our analysis has direct implications for policy and organizational design: when policy makers or employers are engaging in negotiations (or setting up environments in which other parties will negotiate) and are interested in playing the music of AC/DC, they should
choose from the band’s Brian Johnson era discography."

Not a silly subject&mdash;even if chimpanzees do 'em.