What’s wrong with this picture?

Sailing fever has gripped Boston Harbor (OK, it probably already had sailing fever, it is a harbor after all) as the Volvo Ocean Race has taken over Fan Pier. With events ongoing until May 16, international yachting types can be spotted all around the city.

The Teller wonders if people coming into Boston for the race will be disappointed with the waterfront. Certainly, they’ll be as charmed as we all are with the penguins at the aquarium, and fascinated by the USS Constitution proudly bobbing at anchor in the harbor.

But they may be a little puzzled when they reach the Fan Pier area. The photo of Boston on the Volvo Ocean Race’s Web site clearly shows a bustling, well-developed area in Fort Point’s waterfront south of the channel. Unfortunately none of the buildings actually exist; it’s all sprawling parking lots. There are no charming towers, or green outdoor spaces. In fact, the little tent village that is set up for the race to entertain the event’s guests is in one of those parking lots that someone saw fit to photoshop out and replace with new development. Trust us: The Teller can see it from our sprawling, luxurious corner offices. The one building actually there, Joseph Fallon’s Fan Pier tower, isn’t even completed and could be described as an eyesore while it’s wrapped in plastic.

Apparently, Boston just isn’t pretty enough for Volvo’s mostly European yacht-racing fans. They might even be right.

If you’ve driven down the Arborway in Jamaica Plain at night sometime between October and February, then you’ve seen it. Actually, if you’ve orbited the Earth sometime between October and February, then you’ve seen it.

It’s the huge Tudor-style house at 61 Arborway covered in hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights, illuminating the neighborhood with all the grace and charm of a nuclear bomb.

Unfortunately the owner, a Mr. Dominic Luberto, seems to have been too busy paying electric bills to pay his mortgage. The property, which is assessed at $2.1 million and was on the market for $2.2 million, will be sold at public auction on May 21.

It’s unlikely the next owner will have as much Christmas zeal as Mr. Luberto, so it seems a piece of Boston holiday lore will die. The lighted building actually had its own review on Yelp, an Internet database usually reserved for museums and restaurants and the like.

The Boston Globe had a revealing feature in 2006 after the lights went bright Oct. 14, frustrating some of the neighbors who, you know, wanted to sleep.

At the time, Luberto said, "People in the back, they don’t like it. Well, too bad. It’s Christmas. Don’t you celebrate on your birthday? Well, this is Jesus’ birthday. It should be the biggest celebration of all."

Christmas seems to have come early for Luberto’s former neighbors, who we’re sure will do a little celebrating of their own, perhaps with less wattage.