I just came in from outside. While out there, I felt little tiny pellets strike my face that could safely be described as frozen precipitation.

Weather forecasters are predicting that by Thursday night, five to 10 centimetres (yes, you read that correctly) of snow could fall on Toronto.

Pray for us, Canada.

The Christmas lights have hatched! The Christmas lights have hatched!

Or blossomed. Or been turned on. Whatever. They're out there.

And they are unquestionably one of the best things about this season!

I saw Syriana, and boy, is my head sore. So is one of my shoulders.

Why? Because writer/director Stephen Gaghan spent two hours of my life figuratively sitting beside me, beating me over the head and poking my shoulder as he tried to make his cinematic argument. But even though his presence was figurative, he did it so vigorously, I'm in actual physical pain.

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Al-Jazeera's Yousri Fouda speaks with Democracy Now! about the reported threat by Dubya to bomb al-Jazeera's headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

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This BBC story wonders what the U.S. has to show for its four-year-old occupation of Afghanistan -- one that Canadian troops are involved in.

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Some people earn their Geminis. Others find them lying on a patch of dead grass beside the sidewalk as they're going to work.

I am one of the latter.

It was very much an odd sight to see one of the most coveted symbols of achievement in Canadian television abandoned like that, the late fall sun glinting off it. Just a few days earlier, a new raft of Geminis had been handed out.

Without mentioning names, this particular Gemini went to a director for his work on an edgy late 1990s comedy show (I know what the guy looks like, and the next time our paths cross, I'll see if he wants it back).

Update: We met.

However, the incident did have me thinking how my humble little dwelling is low on overt symbols of professional achievement.

Since earning them is pretty much out of the question, I thought, why not beg for them?

So if anyone reading this has more awards than they have wall or cabinet space to display them and are looking to unload a few, e-mail me (the link is at the right).

Geminis, Pulitzers, NNAs, a Nobel ... heck, even a Buckeye Newshawk Award. No reasonably prestigious trophy, plaque, medal or tastefully framed certificate will be refused.

Other types of tangible accolades suitable for public display will also be considered.

Thanks in advance for your co-operation in this matter.

According to press reports, over the course of an April 16, 2004 meeting, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair convinced Dubya not to bomb the headquarters of al-Jazeera -- the Arab satellite TV network -- in Doha, Qatar.

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While insisting they don't torture, CIA director Porter Goss confesses to many "unique and innovative" ways to collect information. If you want to find out more than that, you'll have to be in possession of some information they want.

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U.S. Veep Dick Cheney ripped those who dared accuse the Bush administration of hyping pre-war intel on Iraq's WMDs -- but still has a kind word for a Congressman and retired Marine colonel who thinks the U.S. should pull its troops out of Iraq now.

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Democracy Now! talks with investigative journalist James Bamford about his Rolling Stone article on the Rendon Group, headed by John Rendon, and its role in selling the Iraq War.

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Montana's Gov. Brian Schweitzer sees energy salvation for America -- and economic rejuvenation for the dying small towns in his state's eastern half -- in converting coal into liquid energy.

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In an interview on CNN's Larry King Live (that old pit bull!), Bob Woodward said he saw no evidence of a government conspiracy to discredit former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson by outing his wife as a CIA operative.

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Here it is, my big brainstorm of the day: A personal biosecurity assistant!

It would require a range of skills, from those of a public health nurse to a professional cleaner -- and even some muscle, when necessary.

The cleaning would take place before you took a subway seat or grabbed a subway pole, as two examples of grubby everyday tasks that could unwittingly bring death visiting you.

Frankly, I could see a role for the advance cleaning of public toilet seats too (actually, I know some people who would pay to have washroom doors opened for them), or the sterilization of restaurant cutlery.

The nursing skills would be needed to assess the threat risk of individuals in public spaces, maybe scanning people to see if they have a fever or some other sign of illness.

And finally, the muscle might be necessary to physically repel those who could bring potential illness-bearing germs into your own private space.

Frankly, I think everyone would appreciate it if the hacking coughers and serial noseblowers were heaved off their public transit vehicle. Even if the vehicle were moving. Heck, maybe especially if the vehicle were moving.

I'm telling you, folks: This could be the career of the 21st Century!

This NYT story looks at Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz -- who reports, columnizes, blogs, writes books and hosts Reliable Sources for CNN.

How does a guy with his fingers in so many pies keep his ethical ducks in a row?

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Because of the Santa Claus parade along Bloor Street Sunday afternoon, the streets were jammed with fun-seeking families, which meant the subways were too.

I was astonished at how much gear some people packed with them. I've gone camping with less stuff than these yutzes took to watch a parade for a few hours.

Anyways, at Bloor station, the crowd was backed up right outside.

The first set of stairs going down to the mezzanine (home of the coffee and bake shops, along with the news stand) was a real choke point for human traffic.

Imagine my amazement when a woman of considerable girth has her arm stretched out to the right to hold the hand of a carry-on-sized boy. The poor lad appears to be suffering from vertigo as he navigates the steps.

"That's it, Matthew, you're doing really good!" she said in her best self-esteem-building voice.

Two suggestions:

1. Have Matthew walk in front of you as you hold both his arms up. That way, you won't block off most of the stairs.

2. Carry Matthew down the stairs, even at the risk of setting back his physical development by an hour or so.

But really, lady, do you think the two of you walking down the stairs, side by side, at 0.1 kilometres per hour while there's literally hundreds of people stuck behind you is such a good idea?

Sheesh.

Overheard on the Bloor Line subway Sunday afternoon:

Lady 1 (returning from the Santa Claus parade): There's a lot of people on the subway. But there's the Argos and Raptors today too.

Lady 2: The Argos?

Lady 1: The football team!

Lady 2: Soccer?

Since this is a football-related post, allow me to modestly acknowledge that the Edmonton Eskimos are advancing to the Grey Cup for the 1,543,283rd time.

At some future point, you may find yourself in your local supermarket wondering what kind of chickpeas to buy.

You may cast a glance on Mr. Gouda's Garlito Chick Peas.

Be advised they are not so gooda.

On College Street, a cabbie, already double-parked, uses the imminent approach of a streetcar as an excuse to pull a u-turn, thus momentarily leaving him parked across the tracks.

The streetcar is forced to a halt. The cabbie, who had a wary but victorious gleam in his eye, then completed his u-turn and sped eastward.

"Wow, you were pretty calm," I told the operator when I got off at my stop. "Most operators curse when cabbies pull stuff like that."

He laughed and said: "I was cursing in my mind!"

Some nasty, racist books slamming South Korea and China are big sellers in Japan.

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The Globe and Mail's Sinclair Stewart prepared a checklist of things working in Conrad Black's favour and against him when he finally goes on trial.

The Toronto Star's David Olive, who has long delighted in pointing out the foibles of Lord Black of Crossharbour, offers a collection of The Litigious One's more memorable insults. Olive's conclusion? "Black can dish it out, but he can't take it."

Margaret Wente writes about the Black saga today in The Globe and Mail, and substantially deals with how David Radler -- who, according to Wente, the recently indicted Conrad Black is now hinting is responsible for anything bad -- ran the Chicago Sun-Times.

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This NYT story looks at the Roy family of Michigan. Four generations have been supported by General Motors auto plant jobs. Now one of the current generation, employed by bankrupt GM spinoff Delphi, is looking at seeing his wages fall from $30 US/hr. to about $10 US/hr.

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You would think the one area of commerce in the world that would be immune to deceitful practices would be the online dating business -- you know, in the way its customers are when it comes to marketing themselves. You would, however, be sadly, tragically wrong.

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The opening scene of Paradise Now involves a young Palestinian woman crossing the Israel-West Bank border.

As one soldier warily searches her bag, others have their rifles trained on her.

As she continues walking after making it through the checkpoint, a loud explosion is heard, causing everyone to bow their heads and scurry that much faster.

Welcome to Nablus.

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Democracy Watch thinks the media are doing Canadians a disfavour by not giving the undecided vote when they report poll results.

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 Martin Newland, who some might remember as deputy editor of the National Post, will leave as editor of the UK's Daily Telegraph at the end of the month.

(Actually, an error in the Beeb story: "Before becoming Telegraph editor, Mr Newland edited Canada's The Morning Post.")

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As you may be aware, the Bushies have been pushing back hard against the notion that they lied about the intelligence used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The Bush position, has been summed up thusly by supporters like Marcus Gee of The Globe and Mail: "There is no evidence that Mr. Bush deliberately misled the American people, and many Democrats also believed Iraq was a threat. Think what you like about him: He is right on both counts."

(Question: What if Bush deliberately misled himself first?)

Anyway, on the Daily Show tonight, former U.S. counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke offered some context.

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John Murtha, a U.S. Congressman and 73-year-old former marine colonel who fought in Vietnam, wants the bulk of U.S. forces out of Iraq toute de suite.

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John Lorinc, contributor to the forthcoming book uTOpia, praises 1950s-era shopping plazas that have come into the gunsights of urban planners.

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I hope Conrad had a nice night out at the Maclean's bash on Tuesday. It must have been fun, considering he had libel papers served on Peter Newman as his old friend and author of the offending tome There Be Dragons entered the shindig.

But life is about to get a lot less fun: Conrad has been charged with criminal fraud by the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago for some jiggery-pokery involving the finances of Hollinger International.

The amount in question is $51.8 million US (Note: updated versions put that figure at more than $80 million US).

Here's the CTV.ca story. The Toronto Star story provides links to the text of the indictment and a U.S. Dept. of Justice statement.

His lawyer Edward Greenspan says his client asserts his innocence.

(Blog statistical trivia: My 2,000th post in this forum!)

If you're squeezing a container of frozen orange juice to see if it's defrosted enough to convert into actual juice, don't have an open can of beans or some other substance nearby on a counter.

If you do, there's a chance the frosty container will shoot out from between your fingers like a cannonball, hit the can, and send beans (or whatever) flying everywhere.

Wednesday night, I'm riding westbound on the College Street car. As I cross Spadina, I'm looking northward  towards the Waverly Hotel/Silver Dollar Room.

A "woman," with long, straight hair that falls to mid-back, is crossing the street moving towards the hotel. What makes this odd is the "woman" is wearing a micro-miniskirt on a very cool, blustery night.

The "woman" was also wearing thong underwear -- a fact that became evident when the mini somehow became hiked above her asscheeks when she stumbled on her heels.

Now, to make this strange scene even stranger, as the streetcar passed her, I noticed the "woman" had a Fu Manchu mustache!

Plenty of people on the streetcar noticed this tableau, but no one giggled or commented. What good Torontonians! :)

This is a terrific article from Salon that's partly memoir about living hip in San Francisco in the 1980s and a review of a book by sociologist Richard Lloyd on the role of "neo-Bohemia" in modern capitalism, focusing on the Wicker Park nabe in Chicago.

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