NEWSLETTER: The Weekly Dispatch: Issue #47
- This Week's Obsession — The 15-Minute City Conspiracy (That's Actually Brilliant)
- Reading List — Not another loneliness epidemic book; Time management for people who realize they'll die; Fiction that hits different.
- Discovery of the Week — Your Plants Are Listening (No, Really)
- Tool We're Using — Arc Browser's Sidebar Revolution
- Random Excellence — The Spotify Playlist That Sounds Like Places
- Quote of the Week
- What You Missed — Last Week's Most Clicked
- Rabbit Hole Warning — The Mechanical Keyboard Documentary You'll Watch at 2 AM
- Quick Hits
- Parting Thought
This Week's Obsession
The internet thinks 15-minute cities are a plot to trap us in zones. The reality is better and weirder: Paris is redesigning itself so everything you need is a short walk away. Not because of control, but because sitting in traffic for two hours to buy milk is insane.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo's plan: Every neighborhood gets schools, shops, parks, clinics, and workspaces within 15 minutes by foot or bike. The conspiracy theorists are right about one thing – it will change everything. Just not how they think.
The real disruption: When you can walk to work, why own a car? When everything's nearby, why live anywhere else? Property values are already shifting. The suburbs are panicking.
What we're watching: Barcelona's "superblocks" – closing nine-block chunks to cars, creating mini neighborhoods. Crime down 21%. Property values up 30%. Coincidence?
Cities Going 15-Minute
- Paris: 2024 - Full implementation
- Melbourne: 2025 - "20-minute neighborhoods"
- Portland: Already there, didn't tell anyone
- Shanghai: 2035 target
- Milan: Post-COVID acceleration
We like what we like
Magnetic Levitating Plant Pot
A floating planter that spins gently above its wooden base using electromagnetic levitation — makes your succulent look like it’s orbiting.
MOVA Eternal Earth Globe
A globe that slowly rotates on its own using solar power + magnetism — no batteries, no wires. It’s both elegant and a little mystical.
Divoom Ditoo Pro Pixel Speaker
A retro pixel-art Bluetooth speaker with a tiny screen for animations, games, and visual sound effects — perfect for someone who loves 8-bit style.
