#99% invisible

[grimbiliah]

I started listening to an audio book of The Power Broker recently, which is a book about Robert Moses (who was a bad guy in The Unsleeping City and also in real life) because I wanted to learn about what he did in real life. It’s very good so far.

I’ve discovered though, that there is a podcast called 99% Invisible which is about design and architecture, not really my area of interest; what’s interesting though, is that they have a series of episodes breaking down the book, and then bringing on a special guest. In the 11th episode they bring on Brennan Lee Mulligan. So now I’m listening to the book to get to chapter 45 so that I can then listen to a podcast where some guys interview Brennan lee mulligan about Robert Moses. It’s like naddpod all over again, where I got into it because later on BLeeM got on as a guest.

[thoughtportal]

The story of an 2700 year old archive, its accidental preservation, and the unprecedented—and often funny—glimpse it gives us into the daily life of an ancient king.

[chillinglikeashilling]

Petition for Kevin Perjurer and Brennan Lee Mulligan to be featured guests on The Power Broker podcast from 99% Invisible.

Petition for them to be included in the same episode honestly, I want to hear those two bouncing off each other on Robert Moses trivia, and I want to hear Brennan and the co-host Elliott get into all the ways Moses made New York a worse place.

Side note: I knew that I would already be biased against Moses because the first time I heard of him he was a literal BBEG in a DnD show but god he sucked so bad!!! So bad! And he wasn't even elected! How do you get to decide to displace half a million people without ever having been elected to public office!

[flipjack]

Gillian on a new episode of the "99% Invisible" podcast

[haveyouheardthispodcast]

Propaganda below the cut:

I highly expect this has been submitted before because it's excellent

It’s about all the little things in the world and how they’re made or what they’re for!!! It’s super slay and incredibly interesting

[mysterywhiteboii]

[purpleluminea]

Not the cross over i expected, but it makes sense

[shallowseeker]

You said one of your early metas sparked discourse. Can I ask what that is?

I rarely even know when Discourse is happening now. Through some miracle, I got adopted by the coolest mutuals, so. I usually only see the amazing stuff.

One day last year, I kept getting weird rando tags that said stuff like #wait is this the post that sparked all the discourse? #it can't be because this is so sensible and #I don't think the op is saying cas DESERVES to be homeless???? I didn't even know what "'Discourse" was at the time.

Anyway, Someone somewhere apparently called me a Republican. And some others said I blamed ppl for their own homelessness. Some accused me of hating the poor etc etc. And stuff. Anyway, someone was NOT having a good time on Tumblr! I can only imagine that I must have been a stand-in for something someone was Going Through in Real Life.

As for the post...

///

I can't actually find the post (it was on my vent blog, and I'm real bad at tagging, esp back then), but the gist of it was that Castiel is a stubborn asshole, but he's got keen emotional intuition, despite his "lost in translation" shtick.

After he knew the full scope of Sam's terminal illness and the Gadreel-hostile-hostage situation, he pretty immediately and intimately understood the bunker-kick-out situation. (He'd just been tricked by Metatron, too. I mean, hello? He gets it.)

I also mentioned that Castiel has, as far back as season 6 at least, had a tendency to want to be self-sufficient to the point of detrimental self-reliance. (I mean, dude hid key battle tactics from the rebel angels willing to go up against an archangel with him. *cough* Hello, Rachal. Balthazar.) And some ppl hated that. They wanted the root of all of his issues to be solely Sam and Dean.

Anyway, I don't think it's completely out of character for him to get a stiff upper lip about being seen as weak. Plus, he has a history of going radio silent and being cagey about situations, especially when his feelings and pride are hurt, so I simply mused that it's not outside the realm of possibility for him to stuff a bag with whatever cash and cards he's given and jump on a bus ASAP without telling them where he's going.

And Hell, it's not like Sam was never gonna get better. In 9x09, Dean refers to their separation as temporary. "Now, if that means that we keep our distance from you for a little while, then..."

Regardless, when Cas found out the deets of the situation, it all clicked for him.

///

I even pointed out that it seems like Cas walks away from the human experience...*gasp* proud of himself rather than weepy n' traumatized. After he fights the RitZien, he stares down death and says, "I want to LIVE." After that, he gets himself a lil' suit and a car and starts actively going out on cases.

I'll leave you with a thought by one of my fave little dudes: Rob Buckman. He wrote the incredibly famous Breaking Bad News and writes a LOT about weakness and resilience in the face of it. (I found out about him on 99% Invisible podcast btw.)

“The great thing about being ill from my point of view was that I found out that I could tolerate … a fair amount of pain and handicap … total ostracization from my friends and family ... and I didn’t collapse, and I didn’t turn into a different person. I didn't fold like a wet blanket. People can withstand a lot ... isn't that wonderful?"

That's Cas, on the other side of things, after dealing with the struggle of humanity. Sometimes getting to your lowest makes you feel weirdly secure. We get real hung up on, "Well, if it was ME, I'd have been traumatized and melted into a puddle of goo and held a grudge and had intense trust issues over it. " But it's not always a one-to-one-this-trauma-means-you-get-that-type-of-hang-up. Sometimes, we make good meaning from shitty situations, too.

[excalisbury]

It’s 99% invisible ministories time and I just learned Carlo Scarpa didn’t have a license and got in trouble with the Venice order of architects about it???!!?!!? How fucking dare they???? He was prosecuted in a courtroom HE DESIGNED ffs (the judge agreed with me btw)

Btw: if you ever visit Venice, see as many Scarpa buildings and rooms and such as you can. His stuff is so so so so worth it. Scarpa is to Venice as Gaudi is to Barcelona imo. He is that vital to what’s great about Venice when you look further than the old stuff the normal tourists visit.

[o-the-mts]

A podcast spending an entire year breaking down The Power Broker?  Is this nerd heaven?

[devotedgun]

caro on interviewing people displaced by robert moses on 99% invisible podcast

[thoughtportal]

this story is about a specific thing but also about how a system collapses when the keystone is removed

[jessiangravelblr]

Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time (Official Video)

[evanfordebarden]

for any fans of Robert Caro's biography of Robert Moses, The Power Broker, i am putting up a new comedy show in NYC next week called The Power Joker. it's a "late night" talk show hosted my RM himself. the theme of the show is tolls and we've got a congestion pricing expert joining us, Charles Komanoff, along with the hosts of The Climate Denier's Playbook, Rollie Williams and Nicole Conlan. Plus a bunch of other great comedians and music from Zenizen. it's in NY, but also available to stream.

Sunday, Nov 3, 5pm

Caveat, 21A Clinton St

[flipjack]

Gillian kayaking in LA!