First Snow

The first snow of the season
Always makes me feel like a child
With everything to look forward to

A dusting of popcorn flakes
Spindering mid–air
Falling toward me
Like a kiss on that tear-shaped hollow
       nestled above the clavicle
       as desire arises softly from the cold
       and the air rustles like a silk robe

Coming early, it sits on the apples like a laugh
Coming late, it slides sideways through the chill like a sigh

And in my last mind everything that came to mind
       was the last one;
The last love, the last trust, the last hope, the last laughter
The last oceanside, the last lasting note fading, the last sunrise
       over the South China Sea in the shadow of Guanyin

And in my first mind everything is the first one
The first snow, the first morning after sleeping without pills
The first sign of sorrow’s end, the first child of my child
       the first poem after a long drought

Life be damned, you never can say what will be
Or even what should be, could be

Life be blessed
Each snowflake with its own idea of being

The only sin is letting it get away
       without recalling the wonder of it all

Ellen Sander

This is a follow up to It's not a Chevy, it's a Chery: Chinese Cars to sell in us starting at $7K posted here last February. Apparently, the deal is off, according to a brief on Fons Tuinstra's China Herald. CH reports that the breakup was bitter, but Car Connection reports that they're just both talking to different partners.

Last year car connection reported that

GM has objected to the use of the Chery name in the U.S. because they claim it's too similar to Chevrolet, said Bricklin before a conference in Detroit where he was preparing to talk about his new import company. Chery is the name of the Chinese company that is supposed to build vehicles for export to the U.S. through a dealer network created by Bricklin.

Bricklin said only half in jest that in retaliation he and his Chinese partners are thinking of asking the courts in China to stop GM from using the Chevrolet name in China. GM and Chery are already tangled up in a court fight over the use of a vehicle design that GM claims Chery stole from GM Daewoo.

I'll bet the name was not all that GM was worried about.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I count you among my many blessings.

Thanks to Stephen for this one!

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE is great again!

Is it having been overseas for so long, the ebullience of the aftermath of a multiply victorious election day, or is this show, long a moldy self-parody of a topical parody, really sparkling again? Oh yeah. I couldn't tell you the names of any of the ensemble, they are younger than my own kid, but the writing is sharp as a scalpel and as delectably vicious as any from its initial heyday decades ago. Sample lines from Weekend Update:

Tomorrow is Veterans Day [sarcastic pause] which doesn't affect anyone in the White House.

And the barb of the week:

This week, in an ironic turnround Iraq brought about regime change in America.

It took almost 4 months for culture shock to catch up with me, but wow. I do miss China sometimes (and plan to return) but I'm so glad to be back in the U.S.A.! It's not so hard to be an American anymore. This place went to the dawgs when I got out of Dodge, but now it seems bound for glory once more. (Fortuitous coincidence or what? Hmm.)

Houston, we have re-entry!

The beleaguered bush-leaguer just called it "a thumping." I might almost miss his homilies someday.

That's more like it, to repeat a theme that's circulating through thousands of Democratic precincts and victory parties, as the Republicans lost the majority in the House of Representatives, the largest branch of the federal legislature. Though it was mostly Democratic conservatives and moderates that were elected, and Joe Lieberman won in Connecticut as an independent (over a Democrat), there's a clear signal for change. This election was more about the moderate, the middle-ground, the socially conservative than the left. And it's a good barometer to be aware of. Let's hope that promotes more bi-partisanship, less infighting, no bulldozing and solid groundwork towards building a candidate and campaign for a democratic and Democratic presidency.

Politics is the art of the possible. In the flush of victory, it's easy to believe that anything's possible. Let's hope the reality of the very serious challenges that face the United States of America is carefully evaluated by the Democratic party and that it does not get too factionalized to cultivate and support an electable candidate for president. I sincerely believe that there are no differences that, given enough incentive and understanding, are irreconcilable.

Montana just came in Democratic, which indicates a majority in the Senate as well as the House of Representatives. It's going to be a good show.

My regards to the American Democrats Abroad China, Beijing (AmDems), who got out the overseas vote (for all parties) and had an election watch party at Steak and Eggs near the American Embassy. Thanks for inviting me and as for anything I can do for you stateside, let me know.

I voted in American classic small-town style, with a paper ballot, hand marked, stuffed into an old fashioned slotted box, amongst white-haired local election officials in a respectful and friendly town office out heah. Democracy rocks.

You don't like what's going down? Vote the blaggards out! Sometimes it works. This is one of them. Finally, an election day to feel good about after so long.