I'm inspired by my brother Jake's blog about his first few days in France to write down the latest news from Bangkok, but the truth is there doesn't seem to be that much going on. Well, if you don't count a few bombs going off in crowded tourist areas, and the fact they're now searching bags on the subway, and the tiny little economic crisis, and the ongoing martial law. In fact, what seems really true is that none of these things even make the radar. I seem to have lived in Bangkok long enough that I've lost sight of what's strange, and life has taken on an everydayness.

The two exceptions to the ordinary are that the weather has turned cool and breezy, carrying the flavors of spring and gasoline, and the Christmas trees are still up in front of all the department stores. Thailand, which is almost entirely Buddhist, seems to have embraced all the secular and commercial implications of the holiday: the trees are purple, entirely synthetic, three stories tall, and decorated with credit cards.