The item is about reaction by Torontonians to today's stock market carnage.

But it's a newspaper website! :)

See it here.

(And yes, I know they've been doing Globe Docs for a while)

In My Market Bakery in Kensington Market, there is the following notice:

Did you lose your machete?

We may have it!

Skill testing question required!

The rightful owner either hasn't been by to claim it, or hasn't passed the skill-testing question requirement.

The gals who work there tell me it's a nice machete, with a fairly stylish sheath.

This leaves me wondering why the owner doesn't step forward. I mean, if you lost your machete, wouldn't you know? And wouldn't you want it back? And if not, why not?

Do some reporting this election season, preferrably from all-candidates forums.

I came up with these in a Feb. 8, 1998 posting to CAJ-L, an email discussion list for journalists. I think they stand up, so here's a slightly-tweaked version: Read them, study them, absorb their lessons and then go forth and be controversial (the principles also apply to blog postings):

1. Do no research: Too many facts clouds the mind and makes the issue more complex, and that may make it harder for you to get into the proper state of agitation. A controversial column is a simple column.

2. Write fast and don't think: Again, by writing from your gut, quickly and without intellectualizing, you will achieve the Zen-like state of clarity you need to make a strong, simple, irksome point.

3. Avoid fairness like the plague: If people want fairness and balance, let them read some boring news story. You're expressing an opinion, and a controversial opinion is never fair. For that reason, be careful in your choice of words. As an example, you can't use the word "hate" too much in a controversial column.

4. Pick your targets carefully: The best controversial columns are ones that create public reaction, and to do that, you need someone to play along. Therefore, attack a group that already feels aggrieved or misunderstood. To really twist the knife, base your attack on a stereotype about which the group feels particularly sensitive. They'll seek publicity by attacking your column which in turn creates publicity for you. Everyone wins!

I would note that neither Heather Mallick or Ann Coulter need lessons from me.

I'm trying to find something I once wrote that I thought was rather witty. In that process, I also found this post I made to CAJ-L, an email discussion list for journalists, on June 3, 1997. I thought it might be worth revisiting, given that Canada is currently in election mode.

Saturday's Report on Business called itself The Debt Issue, and highlighted the following number in red type:

$2,587,527,300,000

That would be total U.S. consumer debt ... and counting.

Here are som other factoids the Globe dug up:

$1.62 trillion - In "non-revolving" loans for cars and houses. The figuure was $922 billion in 1999.

$970 billion - In "revolving loans" such as credit card debt. The figure was $611 billion in 1999.

70 per cent - Is the amount that U.S. consumer debt has increased this decade.

From Globe and Mail Update:

A hurricane of bad credit card debt will start crashing ashore in the United States in the first quarter of next year, even as the mortgage crisis continues, analysts at New York research firm Innovest Strategic Value Advisors warned Monday.