Tuesday, August 19, 2008

It's a small world

Have I tired you with my paean to Lego? I'll just say this: Just as I'm over the moon that my nephews have fallen in love with the surf, so I am delighted that they love Lego. The wonders of Lego are like the wonders of soccer and the Macintosh combined, squared, and blessed by Noam Chomsky (linguist, not political commentator). The same pieces make an Alpine village one day, a space station the next, trucks, dining rooms, animals, spaceships, railroads and dancing figures and, in the latest iteration (literally building on yesterday's Hills Hoist), It's a Small World, by way of a Swiss paper cutout and perhaps the memory of the top of a May Pole. Why would anyone want toys which only do one thing?