When will they get banned?!

No, it's not fog or mist or some such romantic image. It's smoke from all the firecrackers and fireworks set off on New Year's Eve in our neighborhood. I took this from our gate looking down our street at 1:00 a.m. of January 1. According to this morning's papers, two died and 346 were injured because of firecrackers and stray bullets. I think that's in Metro Manila alone and of course it doesn't count the minor injuries that didn't have to be brought to hospital emergency rooms. The Department of Health says that's already a 'significant reduction' from years past. I guess I have to agree. The explosions lasted only ten minutes this year—I remember a time when they lasted for a full hour—and by the time I got up in the morning, the smoke had completely dissipated.