Manhattan Social Climbing 101



Above: And The Corsair's 1st Annual "Sir Edmund Hillary of Social Climbing" Award Goes To ...

The Corsair has this new addiction. It calls itself "Manhattan Society Diary." Hilarious. Deeply and truly. This blogger loves the Manhattan society nightlife, which is all fine and harmless. But Manhattansocialdiary.com tries to justify this essentially harmless if somewhat vapid lifestyle pursuit by attempting to affect a genuine love of philanthropy. Inner city tykes in particular. We know genuine love of philanthropy and Manhattan Society Diary aint it.

The ManhattanSocialDiary blogger's renderings of the "urban mosaic" (Averted Gaze) fall woefully short, shall we say, in accurately representing his subject. Every time the poor chap tries to strike just the right tone, the authentic note ... he lapses into a cornucopia of allegedly A-List (Try: C-List) names. The Corsair -- of course -- knows naught of crass name dropping (Exagerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). To wit, observe: the Sir Edmund Hillary of Social Climbing takes to the high ground:

"As a New Yorker, born and raised (with educational and career stints in Boston and Philadelphia) I have often found a sense of camaraderie with virtual strangers who share my love affair with New York City, even though admittedly I myself had grown weary of my hometown during the Pre-Giuliani era and briefly left for Boston. It began to crystallize for me while I was out covering two events in particular, one for the Municipal Art Society, Urbanists and the other for the New York Junior League and then further driven home for me in a conversation I had with friend Catherine Gordon, a member of New York City Center's Access Group, about how to best utilize the resources, talents and energies of those in her network to enable arts programs for inner city youth."

Wow. Must one wade through labyrinths of such allegedly socially correct names and gilds to get to the inherent holiness of the blogger, because --he tells us -- he wants to "enable" the "inner city youth." Let us see what my good man does with the momentum:

"... While listening to her passionate dissertation on the history of New York City Center and how much untapped potential exists to do some great things, I gained an even deeper appreciation and respect for the 'social classes' of people who come to this town, adopt it as their own and seek to leave their mark on through volunteerism of this kind."

This could be a pure statement. We are dubious ("gained," "deeper," are a bit ... ehh), to be sure, but we'll withhold judgment and hope for the best. Proceed:

"... There is great sacrifice of time and energy without a personal stake other than a stronger community around them."

So true. The Corsair is rather warming up presently to the prospect that this is another genuine pro-philanthropic soul, equally fascinated by the social x-rays but with a clear eye on promoting The Good.

" ... So there I was recently at the MAS Urbanists Winter Party in the Magic Room at the LVMH Tower high atop 57th Street overlooking Manhattan's skyline from a most precious vantage point, camera in one hand and Moet Chandon in the other."

(A considerable pause)

"Despite the view of the city, my attention was captured at the marvels of grace, femininity and intelligence which graced the room. These were real people, not movie stars. This was not the Oscars and I am not Patrick McMullan....."

(A deep intake of air)

" ...but my camera just steered me towards lively banter with some of the most beautiful and intelligent women you will see on the New York social scene these days, including Urbanist Steering Committee Members Christine Cachot Williams, Regan Lynn, Jennifer Roesner and Host Committee Members Coralie Charriol, Mona Wyatt, Karla Farach and Susan Shin. "

He tried, that's the important thing. And the trying counts for something. We know not what, though. The Corsair's head is actually experiencing cognitive vertigo from the sheer breadth of dropped names. We weren't prepared for Manhattansocietyblogger to unravel his own "inner city enabling" jive talk so quickly. The pimp hand is not strong:

"... While working the room, I ran into Roger Webster, gentlemen publicist of Manhattan's High Society and contributing columnist to 15 Minutes Magazine, wherein we briefly discussed the character and importance of this organization and the devotion of MAS Chairman Philip Howard and the MAS Urbanists Steering Committee to the quality of this city's built environment, preserving the best of its architectural and cultural past while seeking to educate themselves and others about the issues that will shape the city's future. Notably, I also ran into friend Jade Cantor, Publisher Ian Shapolsky, the Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave and film critic Neal Rosen. To see a few of the best photos from the MAS Urbanists Winter Party event click here, or to view the photo album with all the photos from the event Click here.