Lagos soul..

"Lagos is a seductress. Like a vain courtesan, she demands your attention. She cannot be ignored. She bats her eyelids at you, lifts her skirt and entices you, pulling you in into her ethereal light promising pleasures never known...at a cost. You must shower her with expensive gifts and copious attention lest her deeper beauties remain hidden."

Taken from this newish blog. Thanks Toyin for the link.

By the way, Rem Koolhaas's interactive Lagos DVD is now out, here. You can buy it in London at the RIBA bookshop. There's an interesting review of the DVD here (scroll down to see the blogger's comments). I think the para pasted below provides the basis for a pretty powerful critique of Koolhaas' minor obsession with Lagos:

"I'm a bit dubious about Lagos being some sort of future model for London and New York and so on, though. I think there's something true about this, but I don't think it's a good development. I both share and reject the American love of hierarchy, the sense you get in New York of a super-entrepreneurial superpoor class ready to shine your shoes for a dime. Capitalism loves that superpoor class, loves the sense of economic dynamism that comes from there being a huge variegated hierarchy rather than a superflat society where everyone is equal. Now, I'm sure Sao Paolo is more exciting than Stockholm, but in principle I have to say I prefer Stockholm. I prefer flatness and safety. I don't want "a bit of rough" in my cities. And I don't want to have to say that only the poor have "soul"."