Category: Life

Back in May I wrote (the kind I get paid for) that my joining Facebook was a sure sign that Facebook was completely over.

Well, now I’m trying to get the members of my book club on Facebook. So far I’ve got three people in my group — not a high ratio. Maybe it’s the demographic — I used to joke that I’m the youngest member of the club but this isn’t even remotely true — I’m pretty much in the middle.

So Facebook is not over.

My prediction: it will be over once every last naysayer in my book club has embraced online social networking. And on that day, I also predict that I will use a Transporter for my daily commute to my office in New Zealand.

My friend K. said something interesting last week about Toronto. She doesn’t get why some people/groups are obsessed with Toronto becoming recognized as a “world class” city. She said: “it’s not like we all get a special little prize when we become a world class city.”

London, Tokyo, Paris and New York are world class cities. And from what I’ve been reading, we’re just a second-tier world class city.

1. Alpha world cities / full service world cities:
   • 12 points: London, New York City, Paris, Tokyo
   • 10 points: Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, Singapore
2. Alpha world cities / full service world cities:
• 9 points: San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, Zürich
• 8 points: Brussels, Madrid, Mexico City, São Paulo
• 7 points: Moscow, Seoul

K. has a point. I don’t need to live in an Alpha city, I just like to visit them — I just want to live in a city with an excellent public transit system and a revitalized waterfront. Imaginative architecture and a respect for preserving our historic treasures would be nice too. And while we’re at it, we should think about urban sprawl and community sustainability issues.