Movers

Movers have descended on the Passengers tiny New-York abode! We have spent the morning watching our whole life get efficiently, yet conscientiously, packed into a truck by two representatives of an international relocation firm. Passenger H's new job has guaranteed us a 20-ft. shipping container. Given that our little flat measures about 400 sq. ft., I think we will be lucky to fill one corner of such a massive unit. We should see our worldly goods again in about six to eight weeks.

Tip: always get your job to organize your move. They provide the help and the boxes.

Student Discounts

National Rail enlisted glam rocker (and later sex offender) Gary Glitter to promote their Young Persons Railcard. Turns out hindsight has a sense of humor (thank you, bitterwallet).

My upbringing by a coupon-clipping mother has taught me to feel proud of searching out good bargains. I admit I enjoy the thrill of possibility whilst elbows deep in the disorganized bins at down-market clearance stores. At other times I am simply the guy with tips on where to reliably find a good men's shoe sale. My favorite cost-cutting mechanism: the student discount. It's like a coupon that can't expire until graduation.

Last weekend I exercised Club Monaco's newly offered discount on purchases for myself and Passenger H. It's a great offer since I think the shop asks about 20% too much their merchandise anyhow. J. Crew also lends a hand to students, but they fluctuate their rates and terms regularly. My university also let's me buy cheap movie vouchers and Broadway tickets through their box office. Plus, loads of New York museums that give free or reduced admissions.

Of course, European countries are even more generous to students, especially when it comes to the expenses of daily life. Britain gives students 1/3 off rail fares. Amtrak only does 15%. Apparel retailers in Britain who cut students a ten-percent break include Topshop and Uniqlo. But what really underscores the difference for my European colleagues is the astounding situation whereby stipends given to students in America that exceed tuition and fees are taxed as income. Heaven knows what the IRS thinks we do for food. Until then, we will take solace in all the corporate welfare we can find.

Man Mo Temple, Hong Kong

The 160-year old temple has resisted the general compulsion of Hong Kong to build skyward.

One of our stops during the long weekend in Hong Kong was the Man Mo temple on Hollywood road. The building was erected in 1847 and stands as a lonely holdout within the city’s vertical density. The temple honors the gods “Man,” and “Mo,” two deified kings. The amalgamated name exemplifies the playful and dualistic devices that punctuate Chinese names and superstitions. Literally these two words mean “civil” and “martial,” respectively.

Offerings of incense contribute to interior's air of ceremony.

Most of the sacred space has been decorated in red, an auspicious color in Chinese beliefs.

One of a pair of animal sculptures flanking the incense burner before the gods' images.

Back online: Hong Kong

Night view of the Kowloon skyline from across the harbour.

I know the blog has been running far behind the curve. I have vowed to supply more pictures and to try to break up the backlog. The big distraction in Singapore lately has been Passenger H’s opportunity to stay on after the completion of her short-term assignment. That has meant the end of our plush, serviced accommodations, but we now have a two-bedroom flat near Novena to call our own. Over the next few weeks we will pass through New York and the London area to tie up loose ends in those places.

As an attempt to make amends for going off the radar, here are some introductory images from the Passengers’ sortie to Hong Kong a full month ago.

A buddhist statue impassively watches over the bustle around Hollywood Road.

Antiques vendors hawk their wares on Cat Street.

A look downhill along Mee Lun St. shows the dynamic verticals of the city.

Even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) have to build upwards in the density of Hong Kong.

The Latest in Flight

Singapore Airlines has made available loads of photos to trumpet their deployment of the A380.

My flight today from Singapore to London took place on one of the new Airbus A380 superplanes. I wasn’t fortunate enough to sit on the upper deck, where business and first class resides, along with a few rows of economy. My deck did feature the personal suites, but I had to make due with the lower tier’s sixty-some rows of economy arranged 3-4-3 across. Fortunately, the sheer size of the aircraft lets everyone stretch out, even with ten seats across the body of the jet. Even better, a new jet means all the fixtures are clean and shiny: fresh upholstery, the latest seat-back televisions, and grime-free paneling.

My seat overlooked the starboard wing. When the plane rests on the tarmac the stupendously long appendages bend down so dramatically under their own weight that the foil fins atop the wingtips almost disappear under a titanium horizon. Once in flight, the wings’ aerodynamics create the forces and the lift needed to produce an unbroken, rigid sight-line. It’s fabulous engineering, but a slightly unnerving spectacle.

Home counties for the rest of the week. Back to New York on Friday with H.

Putting the "Real" in Real Estate

Update (9 July 2009): The Times Magazine has removed this slide show from its website because several photos in the series were "digitally altered" and "did not wholly reflect the reality they purported to show." These alterations were not disclosed by the artist, and alert viewers (hat tip: Simon Owens) produced evidence of computer manipulation, such as the composition of a timber-framed interior created by photographing half the scene and completing the tableau with a mirror image of the initial photo.

A seven-bedroom "stockbroker Georgian" house in Greenwich, CT, now in repossession. Image by Edgar Martins for the New York Times Magazine.

Last night the Passengers explored the streets of Singapore’s Chinatown and sampled some excellent street vendors’ food. Among the topics of conversation was the incredible downturn in real estate prices across the developed world. Even Singapore has been hit as asking prices for high-end apartments in our building are rumored to be down 50% or more. Most Singaporeans remain stunned by the incredibly perverse lending undertaken by American consumers at the height of the bubble. Retail banking here seems quite staid by American and British norms. Try finding a savings account in Singapore that pays more than one percent APY.

On this topic I want to call attention to a photo essay commissioned by the New York Times Magazine last week. Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins thoughtfully captured the overreach in real estate in the United States. With emphatic verticals and deep fields of vision his images show aspirational follies in the household, holiday, and commercial markets. The depopulation and abandonment on display reveal the hubris behind each project. Leaves blow through an unsecured living room. Timber frames wait for dry wall, and a solitary box mysteriously blocks up the only opening in a concrete edifice. Martins describes his visualizations attempts “to portray the inherent movement in stillness. Sometimes objects become almost like events.” Here the viewer has been inserted in the uncertain moment after building has stopped but before new action has begun.

Downtown condos in Phoenix, AZ, stand unfinanced and unfinished. Image by Edgar Martins for the New York Times Magazine.

These photos do ask the viewers to roll up their sleeves and avert failure. The slideshow title “Ruins of the Second Gilded Age” leaves little doubt that an unfavorable judgment has been passed against American indulgence, and the images feature almost no tools that suggest a means to finish the work. Building materials appear on a street of downtown condos, but no forklifts are available to move them. Trash litters a driveway in Georgia without a dumpster to clear it. Furthermore, the artist and/or editors have chosen to visit unsympathetic locations, including those hyped by the artist’s patron. Building for a wealth population in Greenwich, CT, also allowed for spectacular losses on speculative homes. Las Vegas seemingly drew upon an inexhaustible pool of perceived wealth until homeowners balked at the high price demanded by Sin City. Martins' series once again points up the ability of images to make tragically real the stories told by journalists and economic data.

An unfinished model home in a Chandler, AZ, subdivision appears as an abandoned cathedral through Edgar Martins' lens.

Politics explained

For all of you wondering how America's two-party political establishment functions:

Theologically speaking, the two parties have divided the Seven Deadly Sins as follows: Republicans oppose lust, sloth and envy; Democrats scorn gluttony, greed, wrath and pride. Little progress is reported.

Thank you, Gene Lyons.