by Felix Poon
Thank you for submitting your photos for consideration for our cover page! Although we couldn’t use your photo for our cover, we still wanted to share your photos here.
Photos of December 2015
All posts by Felix Poon
Students from Years Past Wish CELOP a Happy Anniversary
40 Years of CELOP: a Photo Gallery
Thank you to all the teachers and staff who helped gather all these old photos together to be scanned. Because of you, we now have a convenient place to look back at all those years we shared at CELOP!
Fall Foliage Photo Contest 2015
by Felix Poon
The editorial staff of the CELOP Sun has voted! It was difficult to choose between so many great photos of fall foliage. In the end, we present 6 winning photos, and 4 winning photographers, but the most breathtaking viewing experience is to simply look at all 56 photos submitted by 11 contributors. You can view the gallery at the end of this article. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! Now, without further ado, we present to you the results of the Fall Foliage Photo Contest of 2015!
First Place - Haneen Alhazmi
The first place prize of a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card goes to Haneen Alhazmi, who won with the following photo taken at Sylvester Baxter Park in Somerville:
Haneen submitted two additional photos, which both tied for second place. These were also captured at Sylvester Baxter Park.
Second Place - Hamad Alalyan
Because Haneen already won first place, we're awarding the second place prize, a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card, to Hamad Alalyan for this photo taken at the Boston Public Garden.
Third Place - a tie between Shamma Hamed and Nezar Al Ismail
Finally, there was a tie for third place. Both third place winners win a pair of Museum of Science tickets.
Shamma Hamed took this photo on Babcock Street in Brookline:
Nezar Al Ismail took the photo on the left at Ringer Park in Allston.
Finally, we thank everybody for submitting their photos for the contest: Alan Broomhead, Faisal Alshehri, Felix Poon, Haifa Alfaqih, Hamad Alalyan, Haneen Alhazmi, Joy Kim, Nadia Alghamdi, Nezar Al Ismail, Sarah Mohammad, Shamma Hamed, and Suphamat Pongput. Take a look at the photo gallery showcasing all submissions below. Until next time, keep on taking photos of nature!
Boston Comes Alive! Photo Contest
After experiencing a rough winter in Boston this year, we are enormously appreciative of summer - the weather, the sights, the sounds, the festivals, our communities, and even nature. It all comes alive around us, as if encouraging us to become more lively ourselves. Thank you to everyone who captured Boston coming alive in your pictures, and sending them to us! The editorial team carefully judged each photo, and chose the following winners:
1st Place
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2nd Place
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3rd Place
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4th Place
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While the following photos did not win, we would like to give them an honorable mention:
Have a wonderful summer everyone! Keep capturing moments of Boston coming alive!
1st annual Spring Break Photo Contest – Results
The people have spoken! Here are the winners of the 1st annual CELOP Sun Spring Break Photo Contest!
1st Place
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2nd Place
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3rd Place
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4th Place
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We would like to recognize other photos we really liked, but that didn't get as many votes.
The Southernmost Point - Nothing says warm and balmy weather quite like Florida and the beach. How about this image submitted by Huiyan (Jessica) Yu, taken at the southernmost point of the Continental USA? We really like the composition and the colors of this photo! Jessica's open arms seem to highlight the vast expansiveness of the ocean while also welcoming in the warm weather of spring, and of course "here I am at the southernmost point!" Rina Hirate had a similar idea, and got the 5th most votes for it in this picture.
Nature Walks - This photo by Abdulaziz Aldamashqi is a preview of the nature walks to come when the weather is warmer! The below photo taken by Faisal Alsaedi shows a beautiful sunset over rolling mountains and lush greenery.
Winter Melts Away - Most of the above photos were taken outside of Boston. Let's recognize these great photos for trying to capture the coming of spring in Boston! In this photo, flower buds overlook receding snow banks exposing soil and vegetation.
A warm thank you to everybody who submitted photos! It was not easy capturing spring. You either had to travel somewhere, or get really creative in Boston. But you did it! Let us know what you thought about the process in the comments section below. If you want to see all of the photo submissions again, visit the album on the CELOP facebook page.
Chinese New Year
Growing up Chinese American, the lunar New Year was a holiday I grew up with at home. But it did not feel special at all. Usually I would still go to school, and my parents would still go to work. It was a day just like any other. For sure, my parents would figure out a weekend that worked with my aunts and uncles to gather for a new years meal, and we ate food that Hong Kong people would traditionally eat for the new year, like pun choi (click here for a Wall Street Journal article about this dish), and fish (the word for fish in Chinese, yu, sounds a lot like the word for surplus or extra, so the saying nian nian you yu - year after year there is fish - is a play on words that symbolizes extra wealth and happiness). I enjoyed these gatherings, as I enjoyed all of our family gatherings.
But like I said, it did not feel special. Thanksgiving felt special, because we talked about it in school, we enacted skits with pilgrims and Indians in it, and we watched the Charlie Brown special on TV every Thanksgiving. Christmas felt special, because for an entire month leading up to it you would hear Christmas music on the radio and in the malls when you went shopping for presents; and my parents played out the whole Santa Claus and stockings on the chimney thing, so my brother and I believed in Santa Claus, and we partook in the magic feeling of meeting him at our local mall. Best of all, we had nearly two weeks off from school!
It wasn't until my junior year of college when I went to Hong Kong to study abroad that I felt the magic of the lunar new year. For Chinese people, the lunar new year is what Christmas is for us. For the entire month leading up to it, there is lunar new year music in the malls, and in the streets. But even better! They have these flower markets that pop up throughout the city. They are a great joy to walk around with friends or family, because they have games like we do at the fair, and you can warm up from the cold with hot snacks like noodles, or meat on a stick.
And of course, the time off! No school! No work! On the day after New Year's, Hong Kong shuts down some of their busiest streets to allow pedestrians free reign, and to make their way to Victoria Harbor to watch the fireworks! Traditionally, in small towns and villages of China, families set off firecrackers and small fireworks in their local streets to scare away ghosts. Hong Kong continues this tradition, albeit in a less intimate and more controlled fashion, but it's just as fun when you see how great the fireworks are, they are some of the best I've ever seen.
For the next several days, kids and adults still don't have school or work, so you take this time to visit your extended family. We call this in Cantonese baaih nihn. Young people have to make their rounds to their aunts' and uncles', grandmas' and grandpas', to wish them a happy and healthy new year. In turn, your elders will give you lucky money in red envelopes. The rule on who gives lucky money and who receives is simple: if you're single, you receive. If you're married, you give. Age doesn't matter. Another interesting phenomenon is that people only want to give cash that is fresh off the money printing press, so you'll see lines out the door of all the banks, as people trade their old dirty wrinkled bills for fresh and clean new bills in preparation for the new year.
These are just some examples of what happens in Hong Kong for the lunar new year. It wasn't until I was immersed in this cultural practice that I understood the magic of this holiday. Now, even when I am in the US, and there aren't the flower markets, or the lunar new year music, or the fireworks, it feels special to me, because I experienced it in Hong Kong, like my parents did.
Roast Beast
(4/5 stars) $
Opened by a recent Boston University graduate, Roast Beast is a local BU/Allston favorite that specializes in one thing: thin slices of medium-rare roast beef served between lightly buttered soft rolls. When there's only one thing on the menu, it better be darned good. And Roast Beast's sandwiches are just that - darned good.
The menu is actually a bit daunting at first glance. "Step one" on the menu is to choose your size (Regular: $6, Large: $8, Mega: $10). "Step two" on the menu is to choose your roll (Deli, Onion, or Wheat). "Step three" on the menu is to choose your toppings - like lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, etc., and sauce. Feeling indecisive? Don't know what combination to make? Choose from one of their combos, like "the Moondog", "the King Richard", or "the Sam Five". Like any sandwich shop, you can get extras like potato chips and a soda or juice.
You might notice the "thermonuclear sauce" on the menu. This sauce is made from one of the spiciest peppers in the world: the ghost pepper (which is more than 200 times more spicy than a jalapeño pepper according to this chart!). Try their "thermonuclear challenge" - two large roast beef sandwiches combined into one large sub with their thermonuclear sauce. You have to sign a legal waiver to eat this sandwich, and they give you gloves just to eat it. If you finish it in under 5 minutes, you win a free t-shirt. In the past, you would also get your photo posted on the "Wall of Beasts". When I visited Roast Beast earlier this month, the wall was depressingly barren. I asked what happened to the photos, and they said they were taken down because they weren't looking too good after being up for a few years.
In any event, you don't have to partake in the thermonuclear challenge to enjoy this place. It is a tiny basement room with a lot of character. There's only a handful of wall-facing bench seats for those who wish to dine-in. Most folks come for take-out. You can find Roast Beast at 1080 Commonwealth Avenue on the corner of Naples Road, across from Star Market.
For more details and one person's account of the thermonuclear challenge, check out this article: peckthebeak.com/2012/03/roast-beasts-thermonuclear-challenge/
New Years 2015: “First Night” Boston
www.firstnightboston.org/
First Night is a day-long celebration that features local artists and performers showcased across many venues across Boston. Don't let the name fool you, however. It takes place on the last night of the year, from noon until midnight. There are many First Night celebrations held across the country; but it all started here, in Boston, on December 31st, 1975, when local artists and performers wanted to create a celebration that was family friendly (in other words, alcohol-free), and that provided them a chance to perform their music or dance, and showcase their art.
The 2015 button was designed by Fei Ping Zhao, a junior at Boston Latin Academy and the winner of our First Night 2015 Button Art Contest
All it takes is to buy the First Night button (which is also designed by local artists), then you have access to all the First Night festivities! The First Night 2015 button was only $10, which is a great deal considering everything it gives you access to. The first thing we did was go to the Mary Baker Eddy Library to check out the Mapparium. Admission was free to button-holders. Then we went to the Family Festival at the Hynes Convention Center, where performances are held for the entire day. We watched several dance groups perform, such as the Chu Ling Dance Academy, 4 Star Dance Studio, and Jo-Mé Dance. Other things happening at the Family Festival included a performance by the professional stunt team Maximum Velocity, Storytelling by MassMouth, and puppet shows.
After the Family Festival, we went to see the ice sculptures, which were at Copley Square, as well as the Boston Common.
www.universalhub.com/2014/waving-new-year
We missed the Boylston street parade because we wanted to stay warm inside of a local restaurant and eat dinner. This parade is especially characterized by people on stilts, and larger than life puppets. After refueling with hamburgers, we went to see the Skating Club of Boston figure skaters at the Frog Pond. There were performances by soloists as well as groups, some distinguished enough to have competed in regional as well as national competitions. Just as the performers were taking their bows, the first fireworks of the night were shot into the sky with a BOOM! The music from the speakers continued playing, and the skaters free-styled on the ice while the fireworks continued.
Music performances continued into the night at venues like Copley square and in any number of those beautiful churches in the Back Bay neighborhood. At midnight there is a televised countdown in front of the Boston Public Library, and fireworks go off over Boston Harbor.
This was my fourth time partaking in First Night Boston, and given how enjoyable it is, certainly will not be my last. If you are in Boston for New Years 2016, be sure to join in on the fun. First Night 2016 promises to be a great one, as it will be the 40th year anniversary for this iconic Boston holiday tradition.
All photos are credited to the author unless otherwise stated
Restaurant Review: Boston House of Pizza
(3.5/5 stars) $
On the first day of classes, Spring 2015, the editorial staff of the CELOP Sun got together at the Boston House of Pizza, just a few minutes walk from CELOP, on Amory Street.
The best thing we found about this restaurant was the variety - Katja got a chicken cutlet sub, Maria got two slices of pizza, Rina got a chicken salad wrap, Sihun got a buffalo chicken wrap, and I got an oven-baked chicken broccoli and alfredo penne pasta.
The sub, although it was breaded, was very light, and not greasy. Katja especially liked it because she is somewhat lactose intolerant (cannot eat dairy products, like milk or cheese), but she loves Italian food, so this was a nice alternative to Pizza.
Maria's two slices of pizza were very large! In her words, "the slices are made for a construction worker or lumberjack." She could only finish one, and took the other slice home. The pizza was not too oily, and the sauce was not too sweet, "so, the pizza was good as American pizza goes."
The wraps were okay. Rina said she would have appreciated a hot food, rather than a cold food. Next time, she will try the gyro, which contains hot shredded meat, and a generous helping of vegetables wrapped within a pita bread.
Finally, the oven-baked chicken broccoli and alfredo penne pasta was excellent - the perfect hot dish for a cold snowy day. The chunks of chicken breast had a delicious grilled taste, and the alfredo sauce was sweet, savory, and creamy. The best part is that they melt a lot of cheese on top of this dish, which is served out of an aluminum container, which keeps it hot as you eat it. The garlic bread they give you is a hearty addition to this meal.
So there you have it. While the Boston House of Pizza is by far no gourmet food experience, it is close to CELOP, the food is good, and there is so much variety to choose from.
Photos by Felix Poon