Confessions of a Fireworks Man

Final Decision in CPSC vs. Firefox Case

The final decision in the Firefox case has been handed down by the judge.  To say the very least, it was highly unfavorable to Firefox.   I think it is important that everyone know the entire sequence of the case, and how the case came to be decided as it was. 

I also attempt to answer some of the questions that we are getting about this case and its impact on folks like you. 

Finally, I hope that this is the last such, rather unpleasant posting regarding purchases of M80 kits or components that I will have to make.

Here is a chronology written by Tom Handel, Vice President of the Pyrotechnics Guild International.  This tells you from the very beginning what happened in the Firefox case and why.

---------------------------------------------------

An Abbreviated Guide to the Firefox Case as of 11 May 2007

1.  How did the Firefox case start?

It started when an individual, now deceased, manufactured and sold illegal
exploding devices to someone who was subsequently injured by one of the
devices.  The manufacturer was caught, charged, and agreed to cooperate with
law enforcement by providing the names of his sources for chemicals and
other supplies he used to make the illegal explosives.  Firefox was found to
be the primary source.

2.  So what did Firefox do to deserve all this attention?

Refer to http://tinyurl.com/2dohs8. 

The reference document details both violations contained in the original
government complaint against Firefox, as well as a significant number of
additional violations alleged by the government as a result of their review
of five years of sales records subpoenaed from the business.  Read
paragraphs 17-25 for the specific violations Firefox was accused of in the
current case related to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA).
Paragraphs 35-39 delineate further violations, this time of HAZMAT law and
Hazardous Materials Regulations.

As background, the proprietors of Firefox had been in trouble before for the
same general type of activity as is at issue in the current case.  In the
reference, see paragraphs 13 -16 which describe a Consent Decree and
Injunction which was imposed on the Firefox proprietor in 1986, then
operating a business under a different name, by the same Federal Court that
heard the current case.

3.  So, did Firefox really do all this stuff?

Refer to http://tinyurl.com/3a7pel.

This document is well worth reading if you wish to have a full
understanding of the case, but boiled down it basically says that the judge
could find no significant differences of material fact between the
prosecution and defense, and hence there was no need to go to trial to
determine the facts.  This means that basically, the defendants admitted
that they had in fact done what the prosecution alleged they had.  So the
answer from a legal standpoint is, "Yes, they did it."

4.  So what happened then?

Refer to http://tinyurl.com/2r5k6x.

Having, in essence, been found guilty, the proceedings moved to the
"penalty phase."  After some preliminaries, the prosecution and the defense
were each asked to submit a draft injunction to be issued by the Court
prohibiting Firefox from again engaging in the illegal activities specified.
Needless to say, the prosecution version was far more restrictive than the
one proposed by the defense.  The Court, with one minor exception, issued
the more restrictive Injunction proposed by the prosecution, verbatim.  This
injunction and the Court's reasoning in adopting it can be found at the
above reference.  The restrictions imposed by the Court on what, and how
much, Firefox can sell are sufficiently severe to threaten the continuation
of the business.

5.  So if these guys were guilty, how come we spent so much time and money
defending them?

The answer to this is complicated.

(a)  It wasn't all that clear they were (very) guilty in the early
going.  Much of what they did, under earlier, long-standing interpretations
of the rules and common practice by the CPSC, was believed by most in the
industry to be permissible and not believed to be in violation of any
Federal regulations.  It appears that the CPSC "changed the rules" and
adopted more restrictive enforcement practices without notice - kind of a
"gotcha" - and they managed to (ultimately) convince the Court they were
within their rights to do so.  Eventually, well after the case began, it
became evident that some of the activity Firefox was ultimately charged with
and admitted to would have been in violation of the FHSA even under the
"old" CPSC interpretations and practices.

(b) Our side did not get to choose our defendant.  The prosecution
decides who the defendant is going to be.  Three or four supplies dealers
had been recently put out of business by the CPSC in rapid succession
(within a couple of years) using similar tactics.  It was reasonable to
conclude that the CPSC was on a campaign to eliminate pyro supplies dealers
altogether.  When the cross-hairs appeared on Firefox, it turned out to be
(1) one of the two major supplies dealers, and (2) one of only three or four
dealers left in the country.  The time had clearly come to take a stand.  It
didn't much matter who the defendant was, defensive action was demanded and
it was taken.  Had we not mounted this defense, it is quite possible that
Firefox would have been out of business two and a half years ago and the
CPSC would have its teeth in someone else by now. 

6.  OK, so where do we go from here?

Good question.  First, for the time being, although constrained by
the injunction, Firefox is definitely still in business.  By all means
support them with your orders within the constraints imposed by the Court,
and hope that in the longer term they can see their way through this.

Second, the Judge's order (injunction), while Firefox must obey it
immediately, does not become final for 60 days from its date of issuance.
There is the possibility that an appeal might be filed within that time
frame, but many, many questions need to be answered before a decision on
that is made.

Third, exhilarated by their success and in possession of a brand new
hammer provided by Judge Winmill's decision, it is reasonable to suspect
that the CPSC and DOJ have already started looking for another nail to
pound.  It only remains to be seen which of the few remaining suppliers the
cross-hairs settle on next.  We, as a community, must prepare.  Please
continue to support the Fireworks Foundation
(http://www.fireworksfoundation.org) with your donations. 

---------------------------------------------------

What Does This Mean to You?

First, making flash powder devices in the US is usually a violation of Federal regulations and law.  This means that you can be criminally prosecuted in Federal court for it.  And that means you can go to Federal prison for it.  Think about it:  is the fun of a big bang really worth Federal prison?

Second, the judge's decision in the Firefox case basically means that one of the largest suppliers of pyrotechnic supplies and chemicals is now very severely limited in what they can sell you.  Basically, as a source for oxidizers and metal powders finer than 100 mesh, they have dried up.  This means you have fewer choices.

Third, the judge's decision applies to Firefox, not to Skylighter.  We do not have any restrictions placed upon us as a result of the Firefox case.  But we absolutely DO have our own restrictions on sales of M80 components to anyone whom we think may intend to make illegal exploding devices. This is because we will continue to operate legally; we are not going to risk our business to make a few extra bucks.  We have no desire to find ourselves in Federal court, nor have the draconian restrictions placed on our sales that Firefox has. 

Fourth, Skylighter's restrictions are applied in several ways.  If you try and buy flash powder components on our web site, most likely your order will be automatically declined right there on the web site.  If you try and split your flash component order up into multiple orders spread over many days, the web site will detect that and will decline your order.  If your order history appears to be for flash powder or devices, your orders for flash components will be declined.  Any orders that make it through the flash device screening process on our web site are then manually screened by a human being at Skylighter before we allow it to be shipped.

Fifth, trying to stockpile potassium perchlorate and flash grade aluminum will probably backfire on you; you'll just look MORE like you're trying to make M80's.  Think about it from our standpoint:  If, all of a sudden, you try and order 25 lbs. of potassium perchlorate and nothing else, what do you think we'll think it's for?

The result of all this screening is that Skylighter declines literally tens of thousands of dollars of orders every month.  And every time one of your orders is declined, your record here is flagged.  If you are declined three times (three strikes), you're then "out."  You won't ever be able to buy anything from Skylighter again.

For the umpteenth time, I want to reiterate that the root of the problem is people who make or intend to make illegal flash powder devices.  The source of the Firefox case was an illegal flash device sold to an individual who was injured by it.  Throughout the trial, flash powder devices were the focus of the government's case.  The message is clear:  if you want to make flash devices, get an ATF license.  And if you don't have an ATF license, don't try and buy components for making M80s or other flash powder devices from Skylighter.  Your orders will be declined, and you may be banned for life from ever being able to buy anything from Skylighter, even if it is not flash related.

Harry Gilliam
Chief Cook & Bottle Washer

Current Status of the Firefox Case

What's the current status of the Firefox case? 

Here's a synopsis from Tom Handel.  Thanks, Tom.

"In early December (2006), the Judge granted the Government's motion for summary
judgment and simultaneously denied the defense's motion for summary
judgment.  See this link.

What this means is that he found that there was no material dispute over the
facts of the case, and hence no need of a trial to determine who had done
what when.  He found that the CPSC does have the right to enforce the
Federal Hazardous Substances Act, and that a judicial injunction was the
appropriate "relief," as the government had requested.  The court instructed
the two parties (CPSC and Firefox, as represented by their respective
counsel) to attempt to negotiate mutually agreeable language for the
injunction.  The judge indicated that it was not his wish to see Firefox put
out of business.  He advised the litigants that it would be in their mutual
best interest to arrive successfully at an agreed wording for the
injunction.  If they were unable to come to an agreement on the wording of
an injunction, he would undertake to craft the injunction himself, and that
neither party would be happy with the result.

The litigants were unable to come to a compromise wording before the Court's
imposed deadline in January, and the Judge then ordered each side to prepare
a draft injunction and justification for his consideration to be submitted
to him by February 28th.  Both sides met this deadline.  The Court is now
considering these drafts and presumably working toward a compromise
injunction which the Court will - eventually - impose as the resolution of
the case.  There is no deadline for this activity (that I'm aware of), and
the court may ask for supplementary submissions, further testimony from
experts, or almost anything else it might want in the pursuit of this
process. 

That is where it stands as of today. 

Hope that helps.

Tom Handel
1st VP, PGII" (Pyrotechnics Guild International)

What do I think will happen?

Well, both sides predictably asked for what they wanted most.  The government wants very strict controls on what can be sold and very small quantities of each.  Firefox wants to be able to sell more items with no restrictions, and to be able to provide its customers with larger quantities than the government wants.  Firefox also submitted new information in support of its position.  I think the judge will give the government some of what it wants, and Firefox some of what it wants.  I believe that at the very least Firefox will have fewer restrictions on it than the government wants.  Just how unrestricted remains to be seen.  Stay tuned.  Watch this space.

Harry Gilliam
Chief Cook & Bottlewasher

Sky Lanterns Are Available at Skylighter

Skylighter just got its first shipment of Sky Lanterns in.  If you read about the beautiful Chinese Sky Lanterns in our blog in January, we just got our very first shipment of them.

If you don't know what Sky Lanterns are, click here to check out the Sky Lantern Festival videos on YouTube.

Of course, I will tell you to order them right away.  You know that.  But honestly, I really don't  care if you do or not.  I'm having too much fun lighting them every night myself.  Here are some pictures of the ones that Anne and I launched last night.  The damned things are addictive: I can't do just one; I gotta do ten at a time!

These are absolutely wonderful little gizmos, and I am positively high on them. I brought 15 of them back in my suitcase from Hong Kong to try out over here. Everyone who has seen them has gone ga-ga over 'em. Nobody doesn't like 'em!

Every time I tried to light one myself last night, Anne snatched the lighter away from me!  She wanted to do it!

A few things to know:

WHAT THEY DO 
- The "fuel" for the fire is cardboard square soaked in wax. You light it, the balloon fills with hot air, and up they go.
- They fly a mile or more up and God knows how far.
- They burn for about 4.5 minutes.
- Once the fire goes out, they drop to the ground.
- They are completely biodegradable.

CAUTIONS
- Launch them only in still air. If you have enough wind to make them difficult to lift off, don't let them go. The wind actually deflates the lanterns, and then there's not enough hot air in them to lift off.
- Only when they burn out will they drop. But if you launch them in a wind, they can be blown down or sideways and possibly start a fire. Don't launch them when the wind is blowing. Got it?
- The paper shell of the balloon is fire retardant. You can burn/char it, but it does not catch fire.
- They may be illegal some places. Check your fire code and fireworks laws to be sure they're legal in your area.
- Don't tie anything to them. They are finely balanced--almost anything adding weight to them will cause them not to lift off. 

WHEN & HOW TO USE
- Anytime, nighttime or daytime. This variety looks best at night, but you will undoubtedly want to see what they do in daytime, so you can follow them visually.
- Weddings: launch them after the wedding vows in an outdoor ceremony, or as the bride and groom exit the reception.
- Funerals: I want them used at mine. You probably will, too.  I am not kidding.  Think about the soft, glowing, fading light as your Sky Lantern goes slowly toward heaven.
- Fireworks events: as a daytime and nighttime feature.
- July 4th: start or finish your July 4th fireworks with Sky Lanterns.
- Parties: add them to give your outdoor party a very special quality your guests will not forget.
- Anyplace you want really quiet fire effects.
- When you need to create a swarm of UFOs in your neighborhood.
- For the pure fun of it. They are absolutely wonderful.
-Watch a video of a Sky Lantern being lit.

SHIPPING
- Anytime, anywhere on the planet. No restrictions, not a hazmat.  Regular shipping or overnight.  Domestic US or to any address in the world.

Watch for more from us on these. I will be running a photo and video contest for Best Sky Lanterns, so be sure and take pictures and videos of your's when you use them.

We only got 1500 of these in this first order. I expect we will run out before we get more. We will do our best to get another, bigger stash well before the Mighty Fourth, but one never knows, do one?

Our current Sky Lantern inventory is very limited. Order these right away! Click

NV5001, 10 Sky Lanterns $69.40

Or click here to order them one at a time 

NV5000, 1 Sky Lantern $9.79

Enjoy.  I think you will find, like I did, that these are safe, quiet, beautiful, and a lot of fun for everybody.

Now here's the question:  what is the best way for one person to launch 10 of them at a time?

Harry Gilliam
Chief Cook & Bottlewasher

CPSC vs. Firefox Current Status

The tallest building in the world is Taipei 101 in Taiwan.  The photo at left was taken during the 2007 New Year’s fireworks display shot from Taipei 101.  It was an incredible feat and display:  $10,000,000 fired in 180 seconds.  Stunning.  Click here to see the whole show.

CPSC vs. Firefox Case

Here’s the current status of the Firefox case.  The judge in the case had instructed the government and Firefox to try and reach an agreement on what chemicals and supplies would be limited in sales and to what extent.  The deadline was January 15th.  That deadline came and went without the parties reaching an agreement.  The judge has now asked each side to submit a draft to him of their preferences.  What will happen is that the government will want severe restrictions on a long list of items, and Firefox will want looser ones on a shorter list of items.  Each side can give the judge their reasons for whatever they are proposing.  The deadline is February 28th.  The judge will then decide what restrictions Firefox will have to abide by.  Watch this space for further developments.

Skylighter Fireworks Tips Newsletter #79

The latest Skylighter newsletter is out with a nifty little project anyone can do almost anywhere.  You can make sparklers in 5 minutes or less using flying fish and falling leaves fuse.  I guarantee you these sparklers will look better than anything you can buy—even from us!

If you’re not a subscriber to our Fireworks Tips newsletter, you’re really missing out on some great projects and opportunities to get a lot of free pyro supplies and chemicals.  At one time or another, we have literally given away every product we sell.  You can subscribe right here, at the top of this page.

Click here to go to the latest newsletter, Skylighter Fireworks Tips #79.

Free Fuse and Potassium Nitrate

There are currently two free offers running at Skylighter.  Both expire on January 31st.  Both are sweetened by bonus freebies you can get if you order before midnight, Sunday, January 31, 2007.  Check ‘em out. 

The free fuse special is at:  http://www.skylighter.com/offers/14FB

The free potassium nitrate is at:  http://www.skylighter.com/offers/14NB

Question:  What made the Taipei 101 fireworks display cost $10,000,000?

See ya.

Harry Gilliam
Chief Cook & Bottle Washer

Pitfalls of Buying Fireworks In China Yourself

I am finally back on the ground at our warehouse in Virginia.  Whirlwind trip:  Virginia to Vancouver to Hong Kong to Shezhen to Changsha to Liuyang to Changsha to Shenzhen to Hong Kong to Vancouver to Virginia in 15 days.  I have learned to do it all out a single carry-on bag, too.

If you’ve been following my trip to China to buy fireworks for Skylighter, you’ve seen me mention Matt Palaszynski.  While I was on the road, Dave, one of Skylighter’s customers, asked me to contact a particular Chinese fireworks company in Liuyang for him.  He had had several phone and email interactions with the Chinese company and was considering ordering some fireworks from them.

I hooked my customer up with Matt.  Here’s a slightly edited copy of Matt’s letter to Dave, my customer.  The important thing is this.  It is VERY HARD for us in the US to deal directly with any Chinese fireworks factory (or sales agent) right now.  I would not advise it, unless you are prepared to have your own translator, make several long and expensive trips to China for each order you place, and have low expectations of delivered product quality.  You simply have no idea what the complexities are, nor how many things have to be handled correctly in order for you to get your order.  Matt’s letter to Dave is right on target.

-------------------------

Dave,

Don't know if you care to hear my pitch, but...

I will start by saying that I think [name deleted] is a good company.  They have been around for awhile, have an established customer base, and are legitimate.

However, they are not a factory.  They are a fireworks trading company.  Which is exactly the same thing that my company is--a fireworks trading company.  We take orders from you and we place and manage orders with various China factories.

For the most part, factories do not sell direct.  They sell through trading companies like [name deleted] and my company.  I guess about the only way that I can prove this to you is through our pricing.  I am fairly confident that I can meet or beat any prices that [name deleted] is offering you.  Not that you want to buy from the lowest bidder, however.  My point it that if they were a factory, they should be much cheaper that I am.  I am willing to bet that I can compete pretty much head to head, as I am willing to bet that they are buying from the same factories that I am.

Harry at Skylighter's point is that you don't want to deal directly with a factory.  He is correct in that most factories are not set up for sales.  Legally, they do not have government export licenses, and commercially they typically do not employ sales staff.  A good factory is just that, a factory.  It is the trading company that invests the time to understand the customer requirements and transfer them into technical manufacturing documents that the factory uses to produce to your specs.   That service is part of the value that we add to earn our profit.

Finally, I think my company has been successful due to our deep knowledge of fireworks and our professional business structure.   I don't know Julie at [name deleted], but I know her job profile.  She most likely graduated from the Changsha or Liuyang foreign language institute with a 2 year degree in English.  She is probably anywhere from 18 - 25 years old.  She probably has never shot a Class B display herself.  I can guarantee that she has never shot one in the USA.  She is paid a very low fixed wage and she is given a commission for all new customers that she brings in.   She most likely does not get a whole lot of support from [name deleted].  Because of the desire of the company to quickly grow, she is expected to coordinate most of the details of your order.  Critical details like factory down payments, production schedules, and shipping are often to be dealt with after the customer contact has been signed.  I am certain that she is pleasant, bright, and very hard working.  Most likely, she can spend an inordinate amount of time on you... most likely because you are one of her only potential customers.  Maybe she will get lucky and all the details will fall into place for her.  Maybe not.   She does not have much to lose... as opposed to you.

My company is also a Liuyang Trading Company.  Yes, I am an American, but I am not your competitor.  I only sell full containers direct from China.  I do not wholesale or retail in the USA.  I don't shoot displays.  Right now almost 50% of my business is manufacturing private label product for some of the USA's biggest companies.   We have a large account right there in MO.  We manufacture for large US fireworks retailers whose names you know, including Skylighter.   So, if you are looking for your own brand, we can help. 

I have years of first-hand experience in fireworks displays and consumer fireworks design in the US market.  Our staff all have deep experience;  even our equivalent of Julie was the teacher at the Liuyang foreign language institute, not just the student.  None of our staff are paid by commission.  I personally think it just leads to problems in the long run.  I see lots of upfront sales effort and then little follow through for commission based employees.  We stick it out to the gory end with each of our customers. For the most part, I am the main person to interface with the customer to ensure the smoothest communication.

All the best,

Matt

-------------------------

What Matt didn’t say, and I want to elaborate on, is this.  You need someone to shepherd your order through the whole process.  From specifying what you want to getting it delivered to your doorstep, if you do not have someone like Matt managing the process, you are in for a lot a trouble and disappointment.

Bottom line:  if you want to import Chinese fireworks, and you have never done it before, do not try this at home.   Questions?

Harry Gilliam
Chinese Fireworks Importer Survivor

An Improbable Travel Schedule

Here's a before and after of a typical travel day.  I gotta get 500 miles from Changsha to Hong Kong.  Let's see how it goes.

Currently sitting in the Lucky Shamrock Irish Pub in the Changsha airport waiting for my connection.  The Shamrock's décor is somewhere between a purple and a pink--that's what Irish green morphs into after it's been in China awhile.  On the menu are 14 kinds of tea.

"Make mine oolong," I I say to Su Ling, the pretty waitress.

Big steaming beer mug o' oolong lands on the table with about a pint of loose tea leaves inside.  Mmmm.

Today started with emails at 5:45 am.  Then, breakfast with Matt where, as usual, we plot the complete overthrow of the fireworks industry. 

If we ever do 1% of what we dream up at these breakfasts, we'll die rich men, and be interred in burial mounds outside Liuyang.  They'll surround our central tomb areas with thousands of cakes, fountains, and sparklers all laid out in the outline of the United States.  Our actual bodies will be draped in great lengths of Tau strings, and protected forever inside locked forty foot cargo containers, with two ATF-approved 1/4 inch thick steel covers over the locks, to protect from tomb robbers and 27th century archeologists.

After breakfast, we say our goodbyes and Matt hands me off to the same lunatick driver we had the other night, who just dropped me here at the airport.

Shortly, I am to meet David, the chemical guy, here at the airport to examine an assortment of rare and unusual fireworks chemicals, many of which we haven't seen in the US in 30 years.  Stuff like realgar, which we cannot find anywhere, anymore, at a price mortals can afford.  He wants to sell me vast quantities of them.  Let's see, two guys in the parking lot in front of a big airport hunched over a plastic baggie of white powder.... hmmm.  I can see how this could go... 

"It's not what you think it is, officer.  Officer?  Officer?  Officer, do you speak any English?"

Blank stare.  Uh, oh.  More officers.  No smiles.  Oh shit.

After I meet David and hopefully elude the chemical police, my plane is supposed to leave at noon for Shenzhen down on the coast right next to Hong Kong an hour and 15 later.  If... all goes according to plan and schedule.  Then catch a shuttle bus from the airport to the Hong Kong Ferry, which leaves at 2:30--tight connection.  If not, wait around for the next one to leave at 4:30.

As soon as I know which ferry I'm on, I'll call Mark on my cell phone using my China phone chip and tell him my arrival time in Hong Kong.

He will then leave from somewhere inside China, and drive to Hong Kong with a box of Sky Lanterns for me to see.  As soon as I get off the Ferry, I will quick scramble out and up the street to the cell phone store and hope to God it's still open Sunday afternoon, and get more minutes put onto my Hong Kong phone chip, because the China phone chip does not work in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong chip is outa minutes, which I cannot just replenish with a simple phone call to an 800 number with a credit card.  Noooo.  Then switch chips on the phone and wait for him to call me.

Then I will scurry further down the street and check into my hotel.

Once Mark arrives, me and him will go out on the parking lot on top of the big cruise ship pier sticking out into the harbor in front of the hotel, with ocean liners on each side, and light one or two of those suckers and send 'em up into the air over the middle of Hong Kong and find out if you can get put in jail for violating some arcane law against launching UFO's in the middle of one of the most densely populated cities on the planet called Earth.

Then we will slink back into the hotel and get drunk, laugh at our good fortune, speculate on what laws we may have violated, and do a deal on some Sky Lanterns.

Somewhere in all that, I will need to find Ricky Law, and confirm that I will meet him at the Ferry dock in Zhu Hai tomorrow morning, so he can give me a tour of his mammoth tusk carving factory.

I'll let you know what percentage of all this stuff actually happens.

UFO Seen Over Hong Kong Harbor!!!!

Everything worked according to plan.  It's now around 8 PM.  Mark has arrived with the Sky Lanterns.

Now, gaze down from your imaginary hotel room upon the concrete toppa the pier stretching out before you perhaps a football field long.  Many Chinee-Sunday-shopper BMW's parked thereupon.  Three cruise ships flanking the swanky cars.  Two guys, hunkered over a glowing flame-bag.  Coupla Indonesian women standing by, watching, waiting.

What the hell is that?!  Combo parking lot attendant, uniformed security guy with rank-stripes on his shoulders semi-authoritatively moseys over (this IS Red China, donchu forget) to the flaming bag guys.

"Howda hanga pitty banga row!" assertively wagging one finger first AT the glowing bag, then side by side as if to censure the thing.

"Uh huh, just watch," instructs the Virginian to the Chinaman, bluffing, not knowing at the time if he is dissing a cop or ignoring a parking lot attendant, the Canadian still trying to wrassle the glowing bag in the 10-knot wind, the two Indonesians expertly saying nothing.

The glowing bag sways, starts to lift.  The wind smooshes the hot air out of its soft sides momentarily.  Then the Canadian, adept at bag launchings, feels the sensual swell of the hot air as it fills the paper to bursting, as it nears its climactic rising... rising, ever hotter, swelling, swelling against the strong Chinaman's censorial finger, the finger wagging, wagging, instructing the keepers of the bag-flame to cease, to somehow stop this thing, right now, for it must be illegal, and then.... and then, right at the edge of all sanity...

Right on the edge of all control, the Canadian yields to the softness of the hot bag, to the throbbing heat on the sides of the softness he gently holds in his hand, and he knows, as only a man can know, that the release is near.  So very near, and he simply takes his hands away.

And she soars; she soars out over the rail of this giant concrete pier, up, up into the night, as only the lightness of a woman can.  But then she drops, as if abandoned at her moment of ecstasy by her lover, she drops.  Getting colder now, she drops over the side, and down toward the cold of winter's South China Sea.  And all, even the wagging fingered Chinaman, all watch to see her as she is about to drown in the cold of the harbor, and she dips ever lower, grazing just past the incredulous lower deck man and his wondering gaze.

And she goes right for the water, as if to drown her sorrows, her sadness at losing the Canadian's soft caress... and then... and then... she lifts just an inch or two above the water.  And holds herself there, quivering there, for a moment.

And then, she swells, she swells as a woman's breast swells at the touch of her lover, and she heaves another precious foot above the grasping wave tops, as all on the pier wait breathlessly.

And she lifts yet another foot or so, swelling even more.  And the wind catches her and starts to move her flaming, glowing swollenness out across the light green of the harbor, and finally... UP!  She lives!  She LIVES!

She was still going up when we lost her among the clouds, out about a mile from the pier, her spirit soaring perhaps two thousand feet above and out and away from all her earthly bonds.

And this night, we were not consigned to the jail of the Red Chinee.  Once again, the pyros triumphed.

Click here to view a video of a Skylantern being lit.

Question for all of you:  What are the best uses for Sky Lanterns?  Do you need to know anything more about them?

Harry Gilliam
Chief of UFO Launch Facility, Hong Kong

Fireworks Testing in Liuyang

Matt, Annie, and I head out into the cold and damp.  We need lunch in a hurry, so we stop at a familiar place and see a familar face.  You know you're in Liuyang, when even Ronald McDonald is a fireworks man!

My agent over here, Matt Palaszynski, lives in Wisconsin with his wife and kids.  He commutes to Liuyang for weeks at a time, and manages the process well from either place.  His job is to get the fireworks made that companies like Skylighter order, get them packed into containers and shipped to us in the US.  Part of what that entails is testing the fireworks.

And testing fireworks every night.  Basically, you load the car with people and fireworks and drive around 'til you find a place where you want to shoot.  Then, everybody piles out, and we start watching how each firework item performs.  Videos are made of each particular firework fountain, cake, rocket, or whatever.  Notes are taken, critiques given, and instructions for Matt's people to pass along to the various factories. 

"Change the elapsed time of this cake from 17 seconds to 14.  Make the last shots all green, not red."

"We told them we wanted a silver-tailed star, not the orange one." 

You and I mostly take all this for granted.  But you cannot begin to imagine the number of details that have to be handled.  And if you don't, you get a mess.  My favorite was the shipping carton whose contents were clearly labeled in big, bold letters:  "20 Inch Sparkler -- Needs Better Performance."

Matt patiently goes over it all.  Annie takes notes in Chinese and translates for the guys who have to interface with the factories.  So it goes, every night.  Working in Liuyang is a 14-16 hour day.  Everybody, including yr. hmbl. svt., works 7 days a week like this.  Except I get to go home.

This process goes on for hundreds of 40-foot container-loads of fireworks, each containing about a thousand cases of many different kinds of fireworks.  And for the US consumer fireworks market, most of that fireworks production crammed intensely into the time slot between September and April.  After April, it's almost too late to get any fireworks made and shipped to the US in time for the Mighty Fourth of July.

The Coming Fireworks Shipping Crisis

This year, the window is even tighter.  This year, there's a major fireworks shipping problem.  A series of shipboard accidents have resulted in there being fewer ship companies who will carry fireworks any more.  That reduction in carrying capacity is quickly looming ahead of us.

Matt says the real squeeze has started.  Some shipments are being delayed a couple of weeks.  By March, he expects the delay to be perhaps, fatally long.  The Fourth of July fireworks containers are going to be piling up, waiting for a ship, which will take them.

His prediction is that as much as 30% of the product which has been ordered for this year's July Fourth season may not make it to the US in time.  Supply and demand being what it is, that, of course will mean higher prices at the fireworks stand. 

But the snowballing shipments jammed up at the ports will also create a supply and demand situation for shipping.  The few remaining ocean shippers willing to handle fireworks product will start to charge more.  Much more.

Matt thinks you're really gonna feel it in your pocketbook this year.  My advice:  Whether you're a dealer or a fireworks user/addict, if you know what you want, get it as soon as you can from dealers who already have it stock.  If you snooze, you lose.

Last Day in Liuyang:  The Confetti Cannon Factory

I have decided to try selling confetti cannons.  They've been around for a few years.  But I have resisted selling them.

I took a bunch of them to my friend, Christopher's house on New Year's Eve, and they were the hit of the party.  Bright red, white, and blue Mylar confetti was everywhere within minutes.  And people were REALLY having a ball shooting them.  That's when I got sold on confetti cannons.  I really had no idea that confetti shooters could be so much fun for people.

I think they are a natural for just about any festivity, and in particular indoor weddings.  We already sell a lotta sparklers to pyrotechnically inclined brides who want to have a sparkling exit from their receptions.  Confetti cannons look to me like a natural complement to wedding sparklers.  Clearly people love 'em, so you add some fun and excitement during the indoor part of a wedding reception, where the confetti and streamers can easily be vacuumed up.  You can put confetti cannons on all the tables for the guests, and at the appointed time, if the in-laws are all still controllable, everybody blasts them up into the air at the same time.

There's nothing pyrotechnic or hazardous in them, so they can be shipped anywhere as fast as you need them.  That's a good thing:  customers are forever calling on Friday to get stuff for a wedding on Saturday.

Matt had a couple of prototype confetti cannons at the office.  I had requested red Mylar hearts and silver streamers.  But, they weren't quite right.  So, we ask the confetti cannon factory owner if he can do smaller hearts, and thinner, shorter silver streamers.  I can tell he thinks we don't know what we're talking about.  Sure enough, through Annie, he says that doing what we ask will make a shorter blasting effect.

I explain that I want these made for indoors, with shorter distances to cover and lower ceilings.

"Ahhhh so," says the owner in Chinese.  I ask for 4-mm wide, silver Mylar streamers; he can do 6 mm.  We agree.  He asks how long.  I guestimate (how the hell do I know?) one meter long streamers.

"Okay, okay, okay.  How many," asks he.  24 in a box.  4 boxes per case.  40 cases.

"Okay, okay, okay.  Which label?"  Too late to get a wedding label designed.  We pick a label he already has, conveniently written in Engrish.  Don't laugh; the best looking one was in Russian.

"Okay, okay, okay.  When you need?"  January 31st.

"Ohhhhhhh...," he says in Chinese.  His expression goes south.  Only two weeks.  He confers with his wife.  They jibber-jabber some.  We poker-face and wait patiently.  This goes on for a few moments.  The trick, we know, is to get everything completed and shipped to us before the 10-day Chinese New Year starts early in February.  At that point, everything Chinese stops.  Nothing gets made and nothing gets shipped until afterward, as much as two weeks later.  And with fireworks carriers being scarcer and scarcer, we don't wanna risk that. 

We want our container on the water the first week in February.  He looks up.

"Okay, okay, okay."  And that deal is done.

Pop-quiz question; let's see who's really paying attention.  The building behind me in the picture has a slanted, lower wall.  It's an old warehouse, now recylced by our (new) fiberglass mortar manufacturer and the confetti cannon guy.  But in its former life it was used to store something else, that needed those slanty lower walls.  What?

Harry Gilliam
Chief Cook & Confetti Shooter

The New Sparkler Factory Near Liuyang

I have been unhappy with our current sparklers.  They are okay.  But I want the best.  And I want a factory with a sense of quality to make some different versions that are not on the market anywhere yet.  So, Annie, Matt, and I are pulling into a different sparkler factory, again with high hopes we can upgrade our product.

As we pull up, I notice the housekeeping is better than most fireworks factories.  The building looks clean, not much litter outside (unusual at a fireworks factory).  The owner greets us, takes us inside, and sets us up with tea all the way around.  He looks clean cut, well dressed, a bit yuppy by Chinese standards, and looks us square in the eye when he talks. 

We look at samples of sparklers and packages.  Some big name US fireworks vendors.  Good sign.  Sparklers made for companies and countries all over the world:  the US, Sweden, Russia.  So, he’s not just making product for internal, Chinese consumption.  He knows about exporting—also good.

We test-burn some stuff.  More good news.  His number 20 golds burn more steadily than mine, have a wider spark radius, and are made on a straighter piece of wire.  We burn a bunch of other stuff, including some cute leetle beety 5-inchers.  All looks very good.

He tells us his factory is only 6 years old.  We go for a walking tour of his buildings, all spread out for safety around the side of several hill, and set in some kind of conifers, huge bamboo, and ferns.  Nice atmosphere.  Again, the place gets the good housekeeping Gilliam seal of approval.  We go into a building and watch some sparklers being packaged.  Lotsa gals sitting on stools packing stuff (no child labor, by the way, as is oft-rumored in our US press).

We check out the other buildings.  There are a couple with a very large quantity of #8 golds hanging up to dry in wooden racks.  This is not high tech stuff.  A lotta hand work.

One red light, though.  It’s dark in the building they’re working in.  No lights.  No heat, either (but no heat is normal here, even in downtown retail establishments.)  He also does not have many people working.  Could that mean his business is “off?” 

That could be good for us – he could be hungry.  Or it might be bad:  if we give him a big order, does he have the people and capital to produce it?  On time?  Perhaps his business is so young that he’s undercapitalized.  But his plant looks good.  And I put a lot of stock in that.  As Tom Peters wrote in his book, In Search of Excellence, when you get on an airplane, and you pull that tray table down, and it’s sticky and stained, you’re bound to wonder how well they take care of the engines.

Matt and I agree:  the thing to do is throw him a bone.  Give him a decent-sized order, far enough ahead of time, that we’re not pressed, schedule-wise.  Then watch and see.  My take is:  he’s young, hungry guy, who will do a job for us.  But I know I am an optimist. Matt’s greater experience here on the ground tempers my wanting to see a winner to make my products better.  Time will tell.

As usual, I take pictures of things that catch my eyeballs.  Here’s another shot of the red bundle thingys from my last post. 

John Miller guessed right.  They’re recently-dyed, red bamboo sparkler sticks.  This is the way they dry ‘em.  What’s even cooler is to see how the gals make these little symmetrical stacks.

This is the last stop today, and our crazy renta-driver is an absolutely insane speed-freak driving us back to the office.  Chinese driving is not for the faint-of-heart.  Lines don’t mean anything.  Which side of the road you’re on means nothing.  It’s nothing to be hurtling north on a 4-lane road and have two cars abreast passing a cop car driving southbound, straight at you on your side of the road.  I am not making this up.  At a toll booth, our cazy southbound driver actually tried to cheat and go thru the northbound booth (big red X light over it)!

Reminds me of when Tom Weidlein tried to sneak across the border INTO Iraq (for the fun of it, that’s Tom) in the early 80's.  They nabbed him and threw him into Abu Ghraib before being in Abu Ghraib was cool.  Nobody back home even knew he was missing until we saw him on the front page of the Washington Post, released, unharmed from Saddam’s prison.)

Our driver gets caught, too, and they back his young ass up, and move him into the right lane.  But nobody really cares.  It’s just normal driving in China.

Nighttime in Liuyang, 18th floor of the Yintian Hotel.

I’m on the balcony looking down at the Liuyang River.  Gold lights from the bridge silhouette the sampans below. 

 

Brightly lit up pagoda in the background on a hill through the light mist across the river. Misty and cold.  Fireworks going off nearby in different directions.  You can hear the pops and salute bangs.  Leaning on the balcony rail, Tsingtao in hand, taking it all in.  Chinese background music actually playing somewhere nearby, like the score for this particular, perfect movie scene.  The close of another fine day in the fireworks capital of the world.

One Bad Product, A Close Call

The new Yintian hotel in Liuyang is another steal. Great room, way up near the top, super view of Liuyang, with an honest-to-Buddha pagoda all lit up on top of a little hill across the river from me, overlooking the town and the river. The room comes with not one, but two free breakfasts, every day. You wanna bring a friend to breakfast? No problem; it’s on the house.

And what a breakfast. Everything imaginable from regular ole Western eggs and suchlike, to a huge variety of fruits and Chinese food.  Matt steers me over to the dim sum, little steamed packets of orgasmic stuff of every shape and taste imaginable. I’ve had ‘em back home, but believe me; the stuff that passes for Chinese food in the US is NOT!

Hey, I have to fess up: I didn’t come over here to look at fireworks. I came here to do some serious eating. And when even the hotel food is incredible, you know you’re in the right place. If you come to Liuyang in Hunan, be forewarned, it can be hot schtuff, as you will see.

After chewing the fireworks fat over dim sum and coffee, Matt and I headed next door to his office. While he met with his staff, I got to work checking packaging and labels, and testing the samples they had gathered for me of each different product in my current order, as well as some first-pass prototypes. Most of this was stuff like sparklers and poppers, so I just tested right there in the office with a window open to get rid of the smoke.

You need to understand Liuyang is a Fireworks Town. People test anything, anywhere. It’s the way it’s done. Nobody complains. It ain’t like where we live. Nosireebob.

I found some problems. Some with product performance, some with packaging, and one product I just don’t like the look of. Not one bit. I make notes, take photos, decide what changes have to be made.

For some of the items, all I have to do is give Matt a list of changes, and they will get done without any further work on my part. Other changes cannot be made this time. We’ll have to make the changes next time; production is too far along, and we definitely want my container to ship around the end of the month. But we find a couple of problems and opportunities that we really need to go to the factories to work through.

So, Matt, Annie-our funny and fabulous translator, and I head off to visit factories. Now, some of the products I’m buying are fireworks, but many are not. And, in some cases, I’m not going tell you exactly what we were looking at, because, frankly I don’t want my competitors knowing about these new products before we get them. The first stop is for one of my secret products.

Matt had gotten some samples from one factory for this product. To me, everything about them was wrong. The packaging sucked. The product didn’t look good. They didn’t work consistently. Basically, they were just made sloppily, and obviously without any love.

They were so crappy, I told Matt I wouldn’t take them. Not only have I rejected the product, but I think it’s so bad, that I don’t even want to get the manufacturer to try and fix it. It’s that bad. Two weeks to go before my container ships, and I have just rejected 25% of what goes into it. This is a big deal.

So, now we’ve arrived at a restaurant out in the country to have lunch with the woman who owns another factory that makes this product. (I have high hopes their quality is superior.) Now, I could write a whole blog post just about any one of the meals we get here. The locals laughed at me taking lots of pictures of what to them is commonplace and ordinary. But there’s one from lunch that you need to see: steamed fish completely covered in a nice crust of crushed red pepper. Also swimming in about half an inch of red pepper and chili oil. I think they only left the head and eyes alone we’d know who we were eating.

This is how you meet the people you’re going to buy from—over eye and mouth-watering firecracker fish and tea. It’s very much part of the process over here. They meet you and they feed you.

Annie handles a slew of questions I have for the factory owner. I get good vibes. The owner, a woman, looks me in the eye when she talks. She’s straight, no b/s. I think I see integrity. Auspicious. I really want the product her factory makes. In a big way. This one visit is the most important one of the trip for me.

We leave the restaurant and drive over to her factory. We get a tour of the production areas. I snap millions of pictures, to the eternal glee of the (mostly) women there doing the work. This product has a lot of parts, some of them very small. I see a lot of attention to detail. I see people looking at the parts carefully, checking how they fit together, clipping and trimming off stray bits. Best of all, I see big boxes and bags of rejects, at every workstation. That is a very good sign.

I see the product finally assembled, and look at them. Carefully. I know this product already; so I know what it should look like when done well and finished. This product is done well.

The owner lady takes us to the testing area with a big box of products. Cups of tea come, and big plate of pomelo sections. Always food and tea. Always. The samples come in a lotta colors and configurations. We test them all. Matt has never actually seen one these work they way they are ‘sposed to. I wait with bated breath for the first one to be lit. Hoping. Hoping it'll work right.

It lights, it does its thing, and it is absolutely flawless!

And we light one after another, and they all perform perfectly. I am happy. Really happy. More than any of the products in our order this time, I have come half way around the world to get this particular one right. Four hours ago, I had rejected our order for the product completely. Now, we have an excellent product and, after some haggling and compromise, a promise from the owners that they can get my order for 200 cases finished by the end of the month! In time for our scheduled shipment.

This has made my whole trip worth it. I know this product. I know how much people like it. And I know how to sell a lot of them. And as far as I know, nobody else in the US has them. So, if I can get my hands on this first 200 cases, I can do what I like to do best in this business—marketing. I know who wants the product, how to reach them, and how to sell them. It’s just getting a good, solid product that remains. And it looks good in that respect. It's never a sure thing over here, of course. Something can still go wrong. But at least we have all the pieces in place.

So, after many smiles, hand-shakes, and thank-you’s, off we go to visit a new sparkler factory.

Here's a puzzle for you.  It has two parts: What do you think the red things are, and what are they doing? First person to post a comment with the right answer to both parts wins a ????? I'll give you the answer next time.

Harry Gilliam
Chief Cook & Bottle Washer

Mao's Alarm Clock

On the Ground in Hunan Province

Signs here are often in Chinese and English.  That can be a good thing.  Especially, like me, if you don’t understand the language and are cursed with an innate fear of abandonment at all airports.  (Hey, it’s happened to me!)

For instance, as I entered the Shenzhen airport yesterday, I was immediately put at ease by this reassuring brass sign posted right over the front door.

Even the Chinese have their problems with terrorists.  So, it’s good to know that the Shenzhen airport was not one where you have to worry about such things.

There was, of course, a little glitch with the plane, but they managed to put me and about 120 of my Chinese friends on a spare one they had lying around out on the pavement.  Bused us all to it.  I got on, and because the flight from Shenzhen to Changsha is only an hour, the flight attendants scrambled to get us all something to munch on.  I was happy to receive a drink of something claimed to be tea, and a pack prominently labeled in big-lettered, easy-to-read English:  “Aviation Food.”

Again, that was comforting to me.  I was definitely glad they didn’t send any of the other kinds of food along on my flight.  I want the real stuff.  Good, wholesome aviation food—manna in heaven (although some call it rice cake).

Landed late in the day in Changsha.  Weather was cool, but not really cold, and for the first time in three trips in as many years, I actually saw the sun for the first time.  What strikes one immediately here, is the amount of air-pollution.  I have never seen blue skies in China.  Not once in a total of six weeks of travel. 

So, seeing the sun setting in Changsha was an event.

As usual, too much to take in on my ride through town.  I did however, appreciate the big neon sign archway over the entrance to “Business Street” so I would know what they do on that particular street. 

Got to the hotel, a stupendous place.  My absolutely luxurious 18th floor room cost about what some Super 8s in the US do.  Had yet another great Chinese dinner (check out the desert rice/sugar/spice thingy) and headed up to my room early.  Around 9, the doorbell rang, and two pretty girls were there to wish me good night with a complementary basket of fruit and cocktail tomatoes.  Wonderful hotel.  About 80 bucks.  Back home, it’d run you $300-$500 in any big American city.

Caught up some email and did some real work before turning in.  Around 3 AM, the clock radio went off.  I reached for it, but there wasn’t any clock radio.  But Chinese flute music was playing.  Loud.  From outside! 

At 3 AM.  In the street…moving down the street.  From a loudspeaker on a car or truck.  Weird, Chinese flute music being played on the street, while everything else was quiet as a church mouse.  Well, thank God it was heading down the street, and fading.  What the hell was THAT about?  Tried to drift back to sleep.

Zzzzzz…. That FLUTE again!  Coming back.  What IS this?  At 3 o’clock in the morning.  This went on for 10 minutes, back and forth up the street, then finally stopped.

Zzzzzz…. Took two hours to finally get back to sleep. I never did figure out what it was about.  Maybe a holdover from the days when Mao figured out a way to keep people from sleeping in too late for work.

You know what?  It works!  I was fully awake, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, pecking away writing this post at 3:15 AM.  That Mao.  He knew.  He knew.