Let's get to scheming...uh, planning. What date should we choose for this competition? December 3rd is the first Friday in December. A nice choice and not too close to Rome's Saturnalia celebration. I considered the 10th, but that's the weekend Hellas is holding their chat....

I was thinking we could get at least three, possibly five judges, one of which would be our emcee. (Lalita has volunteered for this dangerous assignment. *g*) The judges would get together in a chat prior to the competition and come up with a list of topics (perhaps 6-10). During the challenge, these would be presented one at a time and the contestants are then given a certain number of minutes...5? 10? ...to write their haiku on the subject. After each round, the judges would award their points (individually, not as a group) with each haiku being worth from 1-3 points — hopefully, this will alleviate most accusations of favoritism later, as the points are being accumulated as we go along. After all the subjects are covered, the contestants can chat and (naturally) break out the drinks, while the judges talley the points and then announce the winners.

So, what do you think?