Let it begin.

Oh, June 9. Day of no new beginnings, ever; day of rain.

Until now. Half a year ago, driven to the edge by the one-millionth year-of blook experiment (insert here: local food, no Chinese products, Noah-style beard-growing, doing whatever Oprah says... ) and fuelled by half-an-evening's worth of New Year's Eve-type beverages, I announced to a room of disinterested partiers and Jake Mooney that I would herewith begin my own experiment: My Life As Scissors was born.

For one year, I explained, I will commit to decision-making Rock-Paper-Scissors-style. With one rule: I always throw scissors. Jake thought this was a pretty good idea; he was probably pretty inebriated, but no matter. His tiny smile of encouragement took hold. And starting today, June 9, I'm following through on the idea at long last.

Originally, I thought Scissors was just the ultimate in gimmicky, inane, rules-to-live-by tricks: what I wanted to do is expose how gimmicky and inane these projects are. (I'm pretty sure that'll still happen.) But the more I thought about it, the more I grew to like the idea and its implications. I can't make every decision via RPS, but I do swear to throw scissors at least once a day. And while this will prove pretty random where strangers

are concerned, it's the A-listers who know what I'm up to that interest me most. How do people behave when they know they're in control of the outcome? Go ahead: hit me with your best shot. When the hands all fall, you know what I'm throwing down.