Olympus OM-D E-M5 part 6: photos from Manhattan

There’s a new building dominating the midtown skyline: One57, a combination hotel/condo. This building tops 1,000 feet in height. The Essex House hotel next to it, of which only the sign atop the building is visible, has 43 floors, so that should give you an idea of how tall this project is.

How do I feel about the new building? As someone who doesn’t have any ownership interest in Manhattan real estate, I’m always happy to see more residential units go up because it means lower prices (the basic rules of supply and demand). However, One57 is only going to have 135 residential units, and prices start at $7.4 million, so this will have close to zero impact on my end of the market. I’d really like to see a big development that creates thousands of new apartments.

The people in the building across the street, whose views are being obstructed, are probably pretty pissed about this, but I can’t really feel sorry for people who are so rich that they can afford to live on the top floors of that other building.

At the bottom of the photo is the roof of what used to be Tavern on the Green.

The Sheep Meadow is a popular place for SWPLs to sunbathe (although there’s a person in a gray t-shirt near the bottom left of the photo who looks too large to be a SWPL).

This is an activity I don’t get at all. Sitting in the hot sun feels more like torture than anything I’d want to do for “fun.” Some of the people look like they are reading books, or at least pretending to, but a good number of sunbathers are just sitting there and vegetating.

If you sit in front of your computer, in a comfortable air-conditioned room, and play a game of Civilization IV, society thinks you’re a loser, but if you sit outside in the sun while doing nothing except increasing your chance of dying from cancer, then you’re one of the cool people (figuratively speaking). (This topic was mentioned by Christian Lander, the dean of SWPL.)

Comments

[Terry K]

Thanks for the NYC pictures. Please post more. Ten a day would not be too many. Also appreciated the camera review.

[TheOne]

The judgement of other people by highschool standards is idiotic. It's nice to see the adult world is merely little more then extended highschool.

The whole concept of judging who is a 'loser' and who is not is something lesser minds tend to do when they are stuck in an immature state of development. The whole mentality of rankism and hierarchy seems absurd when one looks at the laws of nature and the fact that every human being didn't choose to be born to where they ended up which defined their entire lives from the get go.

There is no free will. So judgement in such circumstances seems as superstitious as fundamentalist christians.

[Peter]

In the Central Park shot there appears to be some sort of group activity under the tree in the background. It's hard to tell without being able to enlarge the photo, but it also seems like there are other groups or clusters of people further in the background. Maybe some informal parties or something to that effect.

The point is that while there are many people visible in this picture, by no means all of them are sunbathing, which in turns that many of them actually may be non-SWPL.

[not a hacker]

It's obvious what they're doing. They're making themselves available to wilders, so they can do some penance for their white-skin privilege.

[JayMan]

As someone who is already dark enough (and tries to avoid getting much darker this summer), I can definitely see where you're coming from on the sunbathing thing (of course, not that I am opposed that others do it). It did mystify me, as it seems to be an overwhelmingly (if not entirely) White phenomenon. But it seems that it may have something to do with getting that golden tinge to the skin, rather than being darker per se. That is, it is carotene tanners are after (futilely), not melanin: http://evolvify.com/is-tanning-even-attractive/

[Paul Rise]

The idea that exposure to sunlight causes cancer is pretty much a myth. You just don't want to get a sunburn. Kids should never be allowed to sunburn, that is the worst in terms of skin cancer risk.

Regular exposure to sunlight produces healthy amounts of vitamin D, which many people are deficient. Supplements are hard to digest and its hard to get the amount you need from foods.

In fact, I would argue that fear of the sun and obsessive use of sunscreen is very SWPL.

[SFG]

TheOne: people will always attempt to rank each other as their social modules try to figure out who's the most worth allying with. It's geeks like us who don't get it.

Same with the tan: impresses girls, but nerds (and I include myself in that group) don't get that, because we don't go outside. Outdoorsiness has all sorts of positive correlations in Western culture--wealth, athleticism, etc.

[DaveinHackensack]

Getting a little sun is good for your mental and physical health. Just because a surfeit of something is bad for you doesn't mean some smaller amount of it isn't good for you.

Sunbathing makes more sense, IMO, when you are near water, though. That way, after you get hot from the sun, you can cool off with a swim.

[Just speculating]

"The whole concept of judging who is a 'loser' and who is not is something lesser minds tend to do when they are stuck in an immature state of development. The whole mentality of rankism and hierarchy seems absurd when one looks at the laws of nature and the fact that every human being didn't choose to be born to where they ended up which defined their entire lives from the get go".

Well, if the acronoymn SWPLs = Stupid White Privileged Losers = Liberals, then the word loser has a purposeful existence. And it does, since Liberals like to believe that sorry ass people deserved more respect than someone who is a winner. When did Liberals ever believed in the laws of nature?

[Big Don]

This is how Real People live in flyover country, not all scrunched up in some urban pressure cooker (e.g., NYC). You are much more likely to die from diseases and conditions associated with Vitamin D deficiency, than you are to die from skin cancer...

[Drole Prole]

I too was never into sunbathing. I burn easily, so I am keen to minimize my exposure to UV rays. Newer buildings tend to be soulless glass monstrosities designed to be utilitarian with minimal decorative embellishments. I seems nowadays, the only type of high-rises built are "luxury condos" or subsidized condos for seniors or low-income folks. Where are all the condos for those earning the median income?

[HS: The old condos that used to be "luxury" become middle class. The city just needs to allow more condos to be built. 135 new condos isn't enough.]

[asdf]

Being outside rejuvinates you and makes you feel good. It also keeps you in shape. Marathon TV sessions usually don't. At least that's how it works for normal in shape people.

I don't much like laying in the hot sun either, but usually doing some activity or reading in the shade while having cold water and the proper clothing is a very refreshing activity.

---

BTW, in Girls jump the shark moments Hannah is getting a rich handsome doctor boyfriend next season.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/girls-lena-dunham-casts-patrick-wilson-as-her-doct,81717/

[Just speculating]

Half Sigma,

It would not be a good idea to build more affordable housing in NYC. It gives Liberals the incentive to allow more NAMs in them. We have enough housing projects and look at what they've become, failing NAM infested buildings that no capable White or Asian person wants to live in. This is the reason why our current market rate rentals have made NY a more habitable and desirable place to live. By lowering the bar, we are inviting NAMs to destroy the neighborhoods, if not lower their value and desirability. By mixing a significant population of NAMs with Whites will also cause a host of other problems that most of us are aware of.

[Brutus]

Well, New Yorkers don't get enough sun during the winter, you will find peoples from the northern latitudes stocking up on sun during the summer, Germans and Scandinavians often go nude at the beach, Russians crave a few minutes of sun, Parisians go South during the holidays, the British and Irish on the other hand just burn and turn reddish.

[JayMan]

@Brutus:

"you will find peoples from the northern latitudes stocking up on sun during the summer"

It is still only Europeans. The lightest East Asians will go to great lengths to avoid being in the sun, like most people in the world.

[Just Speculating]

"I seems nowadays, the only type of high-rises built are "luxury condos" or subsidized condos for seniors or low-income folks. Where are all the condos for those earning the median income?"

Affordable housing in America has become an utter failure particularly in the big cities such as NY. Pundits would say that social policies of cheap rent keeps people at bay and gives them less of an motivation to move on with life. I think the real problem has to do with NAMs and their low intelligence, hence the failure of these social policies.

This book might be a good read, but I think NAMs are the main force for the problem of the big cities.

http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Trillion-Dollar-Housing-Mistake-American/dp/1566635314

[Just Speculating]

NAMs, especially Blacks are overrepresented in affordable housing in SWPL cities like NY, Chicago, SF and LA. There are very few affordable housing options in these cities for lower middle income Whites and White proles. This is the reason that segregation and disenfranchisement exist in a tale of 2 cities, and it is the main reason as to why rental prices are so high. An overstock of public housing occupied mostly by NAMs, is the primary cause and effect as to why the real estate market are so overinflated. Worse, these public projects cost taxpayers money, and not enough is being siphoned to maintain them. Certainly, low income and welfare NAMs who live in them do not have any money to upkeep them. Quite the contrary, they have destroyed a lot of the property, and any repairs are at the expense of the government. This is a very stark example of liberals failing at their game.