by Anura Guruge
on February 19, 2024
Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com
The 80 or so pictures I took in Boston Chinatown yesterday made into a YouTube video (with dubbed music). That is it. Nothing more, nothing less. SMILE. Enjoy. It is quite good — even IF I say so myself. SMILE.
A YouTube montage of Dragon Parade pictures from 2023.
Chinese New Year 2024
celebrations are basically DONE after the 2nd Sunday.
Happy
Year of the Dragon.
by Anura Guruge
on February 10, 2024
Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com
A YouTube montage of Dragon Parade pictures from 2023.
Happy Chinese New Year 2024.
Year of the Dragon.
Thus, even more important that ever to go celebrate with the Dragons in Boston Chinatown.
I have been visiting Boston Chinatown for the New Year dragon parade celebrations since the late 1980s — bar COVID & two years (over that period) due to monster snowstorms.
Went last year and had a blast. See video above.
But, what people don’t realize is that the Dragon Parades are on the 2nd Sunday of the 10-14 day New Year celebrations.
2nd Sunday.
So, it will NOT be tomorrow, though they will, of course, be celebrating the New Year. Just NOT all the dragons. That will be NEXT Sunday. Got that.
The two Chinese New Year 2024 Badges I earned on Garmin the last 2 days.
by Anura Guruge
on February 6, 2024
Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com
I go to ‘Boston‘ for my annual Cataract Checkup, at ‘OCB‘ by the BRILLIANT Dr. Theodor Sauer, around this time of year. Hence the visit last year on Jan. 29 & this year on Feb. 5. The 2nd visit, last year, just 7-days later was for Chinese New Year in Chinatown. Yes, the second visit was on a Sunday, while the first (last year) & yesterday’s was during the week.
In January 2023, the sculpture had just been unveiled ahead of MLK day. There was a lot of publicity, interest and curiosity. That was all good.
Yes, it is still there, of course, & BIG AS EVER. It is imposing.
I (kind of) like it. It is STRIKING. You can’t ignore it.
Yesterday it was EMPTY — as you can see from my pictures. There were two people to begin with — one (shown in the image above) was just using the bench to study her phone. Then there was a lady taking pictures. But, when I offered, she didn’t want her picture taken with it (BUT, then again, she might have been concerned, given my looks, that I might just run away with her phone).
The Commons wasn’t SUPER busy but there was a respectable amount of people.
Boston, on the whole, felt a BIT less crowded.
I kind of suspected that this monumental statue, in time, will get blended in to the Commons, much like all the others. That seemed to have happened. That is OK. It still has presence & tells a story.
by Anura Guruge
on February 6, 2023
Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com
Click pictures to ENLARGE.
Yes, second visit in the space of 7 days. That just happened. I had an eye check up, for my 2020/2021 cataract surgeries. So, this was a Monday morning. The first time was on a Sunday morning.
It still had a fair amount of people — as you can see from my pictures. I couldn’t tell if there were less. I can tell you this, however. No other statue, anywhere in the ‘Common’ or in the ‘Public Park’ had folks milling around. So, this monument does attract crowds — at least for now. But, its very nature invites people to come & walk around — walk under. It is an INTERACTIVE monument. That is CLEVER & it is working. I think it will continue to work.
It is STILL BIG! You can’t escape that. It is eye catching from very far away.
I like it. I can live with it. I think it is clever. I think it works.
This was NOT my last visit, though I am not scheduled to be in Boston any time soon. But, next time I am there, I most likely will amble by.
by Anura Guruge
on January 29, 2023
Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com
Click pictures to ENLARGE.
A YouTube montage of another 60+ pictures taken today.
Glad we went. Didn’t go the last 2 years, i.e., 2022 & 2021, because of COVID. But, we did go in 2020 just before COVID really kicked in. That was lucky.
Today, in Boston, was BEAUTIFUL. Warm, close to 50F & no snow. We have been there for Chinese New Year after blizzards. So, this was NICE.
But, it was the quietest Chinese New Year I have seen in Boston Chinatown in decades — & I started going, yearly, in the 1990s.
It was NOT BUSY. Other than the crowds around the parades & dragon dancers the streets were empty.
Many of the big restaurants, including our favorite ‘China Pearl‘, were closed.
We went in our favorite shop (& bought a few things). It was noticeable that their stock was LOW & that they had to spread it out — thinly — to make sure the shelves were not empty.
Since we haven’t been in 2 years I can’t comment. But, it appears that COVID hit them hard — especially the restaurants.
The bakeries, however, were doing a roaring trade — but I think they always do.
The other thing that was NOTICEABLE. A HUGE police presence. Hhmmm. It was like they were expecting trouble. None that we saw. Very peaceful & friendly.
Glad we went. No, alas, we didn’t do Dim Sum.
by Anura Guruge
on January 29, 2023
Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com
Click pictures to ENLARGE.
It is BIG. It is VERY BIG. It is HUGE. It is imposing. It is much bigger than I expected.
It was its size more than anything else that struck me. That will be my abiding takeaway — it is BIG. But, then I met a lady who said it was smaller than she had imagined.
There is no doubt that it dominates the space around it.
We parked in the underground garage below ‘Boston Common’ — my preferred parking garage in Boston. As soon as we came out, I saw it. Wow. ‘There it was!’
Yes, from certain angles it sure looks turgid & unappealing.
But, close up there is a lot of detail — such as the buttons & the necklace.
After some consideration, I would have to say that IT WORKS & IT IS FOR THE BEST.
This statue gets your attention. You can’t ignore it. You can’t just walk by past. It DEMANDS your attention. That is GOOD.
It makes you stop & think. So, I think the artist got it right.
With luck I will get a chance to see it AGAIN next week. I have an eye appointment in Boston & as usual will park in ‘Boston Common’. I plan to go have another look.
But, I have to say, I am impressed. WOW. It is BIG.
by Anura Guruge
on January 24, 2023
Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com
Yes, still a few years out. But, still kind of exciting.
I never realized that the current HQ is in ‘Enfield’, Connecticut. To be fair that is still in New England & not that far away. So, in theory, I could go & visit the HQ now. That had never been a goal.
But, Boston is different. Much closer to home & I do go to Boston quite often. So a good chance that I would be able to visit the new HQ. But, 2 years away. Much water would have flown down the Charles by then. So, I won’t get too excited or make any plans.
Just wanted to make sure that you knew about it
by Anura Guruge
on January 22, 2023
The Chinese New Year, every year, is a two-week affair always taking in 2 Sundays.
In ‘Boston Chinatown’, by custom, all the FUN, EXCITING festivities including all the dragon dancing & fire crackers are on the 2nd Sunday.
This year that will be January 29. This, of course, is the BEST day to visit Chinatown for Dim Sum & the celebrations. OK?
Just wanted to make sure you knew. Lot of people don’t get this date right, i.e., always the 2nd Sunday.
by Anura Guruge
on January 21, 2023
The Chinese New Year is one of the THREE (3) New Years I celebrate each year. The other two being the January 1 New Year &, of course, my Sinhalese New Year on April 14 (or sometimes 13).
The Chinese New Year falls on the 2nd Full Moon after the Winter Solstice. Hence, today — February 1.
It feels early, but it really isn’t. It can be even earlier.
This hopefully, but I highly doubt it, might be the FIRST ‘COVID-FREE’ (or maybe ‘nearly-free’) Chinese New Year in 3 years.
In 2020, COVID was just raising its head. We still managed to go to Boston Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year. We just talked about the possibility of going THIS YEAR. Wow.
But, Happy New Year.
You can never have enough New Years in a Year.
by Anura Guruge
on November 22, 2022
Follow Anura Guruge on WordPress.com
My pictures of the TWO of them from May 2018.
Click to ENLARGE.
We knew them, i.e., the two mountain lions, well. We used to be v. frequent visitors to the ‘Squam Lakes Science Center‘ for many, many years in a row. We had ‘Boston’ ‘Museum of Science‘ membership which gave us free or reduced admission. We went even outside of that.
We were invited to an evening viewing & reception when the two baby cubs first arrived. I guess that was 19 to 20 years ago. Well we have seen them so often after that.
Indubitably they were the highlight of any visits. Such beautiful & majestic animals. Plus, they had got quite tame. They tolerated us, the annoying public. Sometimes I have seen them interact & play with visitors.
Sad to see that they are both gone. May 2018 was probably our last visit — given that 2020 to now was COVID.
I had no idea how long they lived. I gather 19 to 20 years is the norm.
I hope they had a good life at Squam. We can never be sure. They were well taken care of, BUT they were not free. They could NOT roam.