This email has been a little too much like This American Life recently: a theme chosen and stories brought to you on that theme. This week, we're going back to the original style—things that were a delight to read.
Would you care about a ventriloquist convention? My guess is not, but the N+1 piece below is so well-written, it'll make you care:
The gospel of Vent Haven, I considered from the deck chair, was like any faith or art. It shared in the belief that the whole language of the human spirit was huger, vaster, more wild and sprawling than what could be kept in flesh. Its congregation, surrendering to this idea, spoke in tongues. It demanded courage, tested patience, had saints and, like any faith, no need for justification. All it asked was a commitment to its bit.
Come on! So good! As my brother Andrew (hat tip!) said, better than it has any right to be. Just trust me, pour a drink, and sit down to read it.
The second piece is about Lego interface panels. It's another "trust me" piece—it's good! Thanks to my friend Nat (hat tip!) for this reminder of the creativity and joy the internet used to more consistently bring us.
The last piece is about an interesting social adaptation. I've heard about this sort of thing before. As the prices of decent houses continue to climb, people are rethinking the idea of putting every nuclear family unit into its own dwelling. Co-housing, or as the headline-writers have it, belonging to a "middle-class commune," spreads not only the cost of a house among a few more people, it also solves a bit of the social isolation in our modern arrangements.
I hope you enjoy these pieces. Let me know what you think.
A weekend at the ventriloquist convention
Two studs wide and angled at 45°, the ubiquitous "2x2 decorated slope" is a LEGO minifigure's interface to the world. Welcome to the world of LEGO UX design.
Podcaster and mother of two Elizabeth Oldfield is convinced she's found the answer to the stresses of 21st-century life.