icy day

A slight snow mixed with rain slicks stairs and sidewalks today. It's not at all the pelting, blinding,

Wagnerian flakes that made an almost comical wonderland of the Eagles-Lions football game in Philadelphia yesterday, but it is raw and slippery and I don't envy the rubbish collectors who will come around later.

Inside the house, my wife and daughter have put up and adorned the Christmas tree. The warm colors defy the icy-grey skies outdoors. The tree looks the way warm cinnamon smells.

In the world, U.S. President Barack Obama is flying to South Africa to honor Nelson Mandela, a great man who, despite his accomplishments and like other great men before him, is more likely to be honored with the tongue. The Thai president has dissolved the lower house of parliament and called for elections in a bid to bank widespread political unrest that is calling for her ouster. And eight major technology companies have called on Obama to reshape the ways in which government snoops its populations. "The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favor of the state and away from the rights of the individual - rights that are enshrined in our Constitution," the letter said. "This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It's time for a change."

It's just another slippery-slide-y day, I guess.