DO NOT DEFEND THE SHOE: It is time for us to begin presenting the 2005 ALOTT5MA Awards, given each year for outstanding achievement in the field of excellence in the subset of popular culture. Decisions are made either individually or collectively by the blog, but, basically, we're all free to do what we want.

And because I started this site, I get to kick things off with the third annual award for Reality TV Host/Judge of the Year. Past winners include Robert K. Oermann of Nashville Star (2003) and Ralph Garman (as Derek Newcastle) for Joe Schmo 2 (2004).

This year, I don't think there will be too much debate. While perennials Tyra Banks (the Susan Lucci of this category) and Jeff Probst (for the Janu council, via Isaac) did solid work and Phil Keoghan was great in the one season of The Amazing Race which aired this year -- there was only one, right? -- a new entry into the field gave us such pleasure that to ignore him would be absurd.

Tim Gunn teaches a course called concept development at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, and concept devlopment is what he did so well on Project Runway. In his role as both task assigner and mentor on the show, Gunn has been the bridge between the viewer and the intricate work being done by the competitors. His position on the show is unique -- his purpose is to improve the work of all the competitors and does not judge them, formally or informally. His criticism is constructive in the best sense of the word. In this, he gives viewers clarity in an arcane field -- much like 2003's winner Oermann, he gives the context in which we understand that "pretty" is not always "good" and the importance of balancing one's own vision with the client's.

Without Tim Gunn, Project Runway is just American Idol with scissors. With him, it's an educational hoot.

And he has a blog.

I MUST FIND A PLACE CALLED 'THE MALL': Ten years ago this month, two young men from Colorado were given $2000 to produce an animated Christmas card for a Fox executive. It cost them $750, and they pocketed the rest.

That cartoon, "The Spirit of Christmas", can be downloaded here. It is still really f'n funny.

When the history is told of individuals who reached mass prominence through recognition on the Internet (Bill Simmons, Glenn Reynolds, Dane Cook, etc.), doesn't it start with Trey Parker and Matt Stone?

NO SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY J. WALTER WEATHERMAN: My TiVo picked up an old episode of David E. Kelley's late Boston Public (repeats are on a cable network known as TVOne, which is apparently "television for the upper-middle class African American"). This particular episode opens with Vice-Principal Scott Guber and his quasi-girlfriend shopping for prostethic hands. The kicker? The prosthetic hand huckster is played by Will Arnett.

JOE SCHMO . . . IN SPACE! Neat British reality tv idea -- con people into believing they're competing for a flight into space. They borrowed the space shuttle built for the movie Space Cowboys, and ran with the concept full speed. Via Althouse.

HELP ME END HOMELESSNESS: I'm going to be off to Parts Unknown next week, and you all will be in more than capable hands during my absence.

I did not want to leave, however, without saying a few words about an organization I hope you'll consider supporting as the year comes to a close.

This year, I joined the board of directors of The Philadelphia Committee to END Homelessness.

That's right. End it.

Our philosophy is simple: we believe believe that the best way to help homeless and at-risk individuals and families is to secure them housing first, then connecting them to the mainstream and neighborhood services they need to maintain permanent housing. This community-based approach helps prevent people from entering the homeless service system, and helps those already homeless to rapidly exit the cycle of temporary solutions. Give people the stability and dignity that permanent housing affords, rather than use the more expensive shelter system as a bandaid.

Our plan is called Safe Home Philadelphia. Because we don't accept public money, we exist outside the network of service providers dependent on a constant supply of homeless people to fill our shelter beds and keep people employed. Indeed, when we have finished our plan, we want to turn our offices into more family housing, and declare ourselves out of business.

Here are some of our success stories this year:

• Nanette, her 18 month-old daughter and 6 year-old son were constantly moving between friends and family while she desperately tried to create a normal life for her family. SafeHome Philadelphia found her a modest apartment, helped her move in, arranged for IKEA Philadelphia to donate bunk beds, installed smoke detectors and arranged for separate electric metering. Nanette is thrilled to have her very own kitchen, is able to look for work and is proud that her son is enrolled permanently in a local school.
• Juanita was afraid for her own life and her teenaged daughter was threatening to run away from home because of unrelenting abuse. It was literally at the 11th hour when their call for help came. SafeHome Philadelphia helped Juanita remain in a welfare-to-work program so important to her future, and paid the security deposit on a one-bedroom apartment. Juanita's terror is over and her situation stabilized to the point where she confidently looks forward to being self-sufficient in no time.
• Having lost his job, Tom and his pregnant girlfriend Tanya were scheduled for eviction on December 12th. Without other resources, the shelter system loomed large. SafeHome Philadelphia moved Tom and Tanya into their new apartment on December 11th, pre-paid the required 3 months rent (security deposit, first and last month) and helped Tom locate a part-time second job to ensure that rent will be paid. Having helped Tanya sign up for medical and other benefits, she is able to confidently prepare for their new arrival.

Want to help the homeless? Help us help them no longer be homeless. We know what works; give us the resources to succeed.

Learn about our programs, read the 2010 plan, and feel free to ask me questions about PCEH. I can also try to direct you to good organizations in your area.

What's important here to realize is that homelessness is not a permanent, intractable condition. We can do something about it.

Thanks for your time. Help us if you can.

OOH . . . POOR MRS. THOMAS: This Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 11pm, TVLand will be airing the What's Happening!! two-parter "Doobie or Not Doobie", a prescient study of the intellectual property/fair use and Fourth Amendment issues that are much in the news these days. Michael McDonald, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and the rest of the brothers Doobie as themselves.

For readers of a certain age, it's a TiVo must.

FRIDAY'S LISTS: It's damn cold out, my kids and wife are watching Polar Express and I am waiting for a drain to live up to its name so I can dump another load of toxic materials down it in hopes that it will once again be of use, so I figured I could either do work, pay bills, straighten up my office, or link to some lists. Guess which I chose?

• Metasearch engine Dogpile has comdogpiled a list of the most-searched terms of 2005, and while I'll give you Nos. 1 and 2 (music lyrics and Paris Hilton), I want to know who uses a search engine to search for Google, eBay, and Yahoo (gee I always forget those sites tricky URLs). And are there really that many people who give a hoot about Jennifer Anniston's hair still? I am guessing they excluded racier terms from their list, since I'm sure 95% of the Paris Hilton searches included other terms.
• Apparently many of those folks who used Dogpile to search for Yahoo, then used Yahoo to search for Britney Spears, according to the Web site's own list of the most-searched terms of 2005.
  
• At least one critic liked The Producers. AP film critic David Germain put it on his top 10.
• The Chicago Tribune's TV critics hashed out a combined top 10 list.
  
• Those nasty hurricanes and whether it was all of us who made them worse is Discover Magazine's No. 1 science story of the year. A decent pick, yes, but, I would have gone with this experimental partnering of Mentos and Diet Coke (watch the video!). Mentos: the explosionmaker.
  
• Confirming what I think most of us already knew, Babyfit has determined that Overland Park, Kansas, is the healthiest city in America to be pregnant in.
  
• And finally, the POTUS lists some more of the artists on his iPod, including The Archies.