Edward Klink

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Today I went to Chinatown with a colleague and had lunch at "Big Wangs," a fine Cantonese restaurant on Elizabeth street. Sliced pork, chicken, broccoli and kai-lan dipped in mustard sauce and washed down with hot tea. Today marks the Chinese New Year and red and purple lions prowl the streets. They engage each other and perform a sort of fight-dance to the rhythm of beating drums. The lions then enter local establishments where they are given offerings in ornate crimson envelopes.

The streets are crowded but apparently nowhere near as bad as it will be this weekend. Firecrackers are banned, but the industrious Chinese have created alternatives; cylindrical air-powered "poppers" that blast multi-colored confetti. The remnants of hundreds of poppers already litter the streets. Some of the larger ones are quite loud, so the fireworks effect is maintained. I grabbed a few poppers for some impromptu weekend fun. The packages have some amusing examples of Engrish.

{ Posted By edward } { 1:48 PM }

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Downtown is jammed with legions of Giants revelers. Guys sporting their brand-new blue team jackets and women in bright pink knit logo-emblazoned hats. Here and there the occasional faded ball cap marking a die-hard fan. Like victorious Roman generals, the Super Bowl champs are making their way up Broadway through clouds of confetti; the roars of approving crowds reverberating through the fabled Canyon of Heroes.

It is clear there are many winners here today beyond the players; what a nice windfall for the local economy. Kilt-wearing firefighters queued up for coffee on Greenwich. Parents and their kids (whisked out of school for the day) grabbing dirty water dogs from a cart off Trinity. And the local watering holes already seeing cash fanned out on the bars. A lot of people will be making money today; money that would have poured into Boston-area vendors and establishments had fortune dealt a different hand.

{ Posted By edward } { 9:04 AM }