not a lot of why

In which Brandon has a surprise tetanus shot. Collin has opinions about architecture. And poor…poor Pip.

• Collin went to a museum

• A surprise tetanus shot

• Shuttlecocks 

• Architectural corner

• Not a lot of why

• Brandon…has thoughts on the soundtrack of the olympics

• Ski Ballet: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1415394546794917 

• A new one! https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/sports/ski-mountaineering

• Skijoring please!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UczSDu27EfA 

• Great expectations: 34,35,36

• Collin haiku

• Marble stands composed,

• Glass breaks the quiet beside—

• Old walls keep their grace.

Check out our other episodes: ohbrotherpodcast.com

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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE

PROVIDED BY OTTER.AI

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Travel preparation, conference MC, video recording, 30-second videos, interview questions, promotion strategy, historical museum, neoclassical architecture, modernist deconstruction, brutalist influence, Olympic Games, drone technology, figure skating, Pip's financial struggles, emotional confrontation., Mr. Jaggers, benefactor, debt, allowance, income stream, Pip, Herbert, Wemmick, financial advice, investment, melancholy, condemnation, expectations, London, Biddy.

SPEAKERS

Brandon, Collin Funkhouser

Collin Funkhouser  00:00

Hey. Welcome to Oh brother, a podcast where we try to figure it all out with your hosts, Brandon and Collin. On this week's show, not a lot of why ahoy?

Brandon  00:19

Ahoy? How's it going? Oh, pretty good. How about you?

Collin Funkhouser  00:26

Oh, man. Ah, yeah. We're getting ready to travel. So that's always a very like, I just said the phrase unlike, oh, okay, I'm also very tired, which should speak to what is like trying to prepare for travel. So we Where are you going? We are going to Austin, Texas for a conference that I was conscripted to be MC Okay, cool, that's fine. Have I told this full story?

Brandon  01:00

Yes, yeah. I just couldn't remember, Mike, you told a couple weeks ago, but I couldn't remember

Collin Funkhouser  01:07

when it was happening. Well, I have had some new things added to my plate. Oh, as of late. Oh dear. And it's one of those things of like, this is a very it's not a small conference. It's actually one of the larger ones, but it is put on by basically two people. And so they have a lot of things going on, and they rely on volunteers and things like that. Hence me. And so we were having a discussion of as I'm planning to get this ready because, plus, also I'm, I have to plan to do like this live interview as part of my contribution. And so I'm trying to prepare for that, reading some topics and things like that. And I, I was, it was it was made known to me that they were really interested in getting some, you know, some video talking to people the conference, and it would just be so good, it'd be real nice, because we could have it on the website, and we could use it to promote, you know, just like talking to people about, like, why they come, and what they get out of it, and, you know, all that.

02:18

Because, you know, gosh,

Collin Funkhouser  02:21

hey, Collin, would you be? Oh, no, I was like, I'm sorry, what? And so I was like, Look, I could try to do this, but I definitely cannot edit. Edits or anything. So he I can, like, you know, I can sure, because then they're like, Oh, great. Oh, man, that'd be wonderful. Hey. Are you breeding any recording equipment with you?

Brandon  02:57

We don't have any. I

Collin Funkhouser  03:05

I went, Yeah, y'all have, I'll have some recording equipment with me. Absolutely, absolutely will do. How long do these videos need to be? And I said, Oh, you know, like 30 seconds, and then there was a long pause, and they said, Oh, but don't, like, don't tell them it's going to be 30 seconds, because then that's not going to come out good. So you need to, like, just like, let them talk. Do you Oh, but we need them to be 30 seconds. Could you edit these two

Brandon  03:45

yo that doesn't make any sense at all as just a sentence in general. What kind of insane person who has, like apparently, never seen a video on the internet, right? Like, I feel like the people talking to you about this, the way that you just described their reaction, right? It feels to me like they were like, Yes, I have been told about the internet, and I hear that short form video content is a thing, so I haven't watched any of it ever in my life. I've never watched Tiktok. I have never watched Instagram reels. Heck, I've never even watched a YouTube short, right? Yeah, but I want you to do that, do that thing, do the thing that I think it should be in my mind without ever actually seeing it. What on earth?

Collin Funkhouser  04:46

Yes, yes, it's I. Would I liken it to when Clarkson and may went to China to review the cars. Looks like the Range Rover was described. Over the phone while he couldn't see it.

Brandon  05:04

That's fair. That's kind of, yeah, it's giving that right, like, just

Collin Funkhouser  05:10

what I don't Yes, yes. So I am

Brandon  05:14

now trying. So really, you just need to ask a few people one question and then be like, All right, thanks, and then walk away and see

Collin Funkhouser  05:23

this is, this is my plan, because they said, We need 32nd videos. And then they said, you know, basic questions like, introduce themselves where there's nom. That's not why they came to Texas pet service conference. Have they been before? Talk to some long timers and first timers ask them, what's the best thing about the conference? What do they love about coming? What stands out in general, what stood out to them this year?

Brandon  05:53

Like, Okay, those are not 32nd questions. No, right? Like, you want a two minute video, is what you want. Actually, I think you want a five minute video, but like that doesn't make any sense. Why would you? You couldn't, even if you asked people all that stuff you it's not possible to edit that information into 30 seconds, right?

Collin Funkhouser  06:27

I don't know. Now, here's what I think they're expecting. They're expecting like a panning shot of a room with people mingling, and then, like an overvoid overlay of like, the conference. We're excited to be back. And it's like, cut to person who's been there 11 years. I get so much out of this. Cut to person who's been there one year. You know, this is their first year of they heard great things about it, cut to person who's been there nine years. And and talked about the the big takeaway to help their business. And then it's cut to to learn more.

Brandon  07:00

Like now, see in my mind, okay, I was thinking that they like, they don't want 1/32 like, chopped up video they they almost need like, 12 different 32nd videos where just like the caption is like, 12 time attending, and then it's just like the person answering the question, yes, right?

Collin Funkhouser  07:28

Like, this is how you get to a 32nd clip of somebody. You have a little pop up that says, name, where they're from, years attending, and then their commentary on the question that they were asked.

Brandon  07:42

So, I mean, like, you could ask the people all of those questions and then just, like, chop, boom. Like, do you get like, 2/32 videos from one person, and then like, 3/32 videos from this person? Like, that's what I mean, right? So you get a bunch, because if the where, what do they want to do with this video? That's the other problem. These are

Collin Funkhouser  08:06

used for promotion. How

Brandon  08:09

are they delivered to people? Yes, yes. You see, if you

Collin Funkhouser  08:15

Yes, yes,

Brandon  08:17

are you sure you don't want to phone me in on this interview? You got to do it on the stage about UI and marketing, because I really feel like they need to hear from me. Like, real bad. Like, probably, like, if you, like, you can't just make one video and then be like, yes, people will see this. Yeah, that's not how the ecosystem works, and I'm using the term ecosystem so you can clip this and show it to them, right? Like, I know, like, I don't know how they're how are they going to deliver this to people? Because if they're gonna, like, put it in their newsletter and send it to people who are already coming, well, that's dumb, like, if it sounds like what they want is to get more people to come, but if you only are targeting people that are already there,

Collin Funkhouser  09:14

no, I I know. I'm so I'm I'm still well, so this is all of the like,

Brandon  09:22

and they're like, Hey guys, we have this crazy new thing called a website, and we're gonna just post it on there, and people will automatically find it.

Collin Funkhouser  09:33

I think that's what they need to do. Yeah, just, but we're not gonna we're not gonna say is

Brandon  09:38

what they need to do. Because if they take one video, and they throw it on, like Instagram reels. No one is ever gonna see that video, and if they do, it's gonna be in like, eight months.

Collin Funkhouser  09:51

This, this is the, this is the real problem, like, with, like, very real, like, they wanted the 32nd video, but what they need is, like. You said, like, 20 of these things, yeah, 30 of these things, yeah, exactly to chop up and slice up in different ways, but that is a capacity I do not care to have. Well, no, I

Brandon  10:14

what you need to do is gather. What really needs to happen is that you need to just like, gather the raw footage and then, like, dump it to their marketing team and be like, Yes, bye,

Collin Funkhouser  10:24

yes, yeah, I have because, because what we haven't talked about, folks, but you may be missing in between the lines is that I'm the MC for the conference.

Brandon  10:37

Yeah, not the host or, like, runner of the conference, right?

Collin Funkhouser  10:43

When will I have time to conduct said interviews? That's true, because during on the street with Collin funk, I'll be taking a break, because during the talk, people are in the talk. I will have nothing to do during the talk, but there will be no people walking around, because they'll be

Brandon  11:05

in the auditorium

Collin Funkhouser  11:07

doing the conference thing. And this is also, in addition to the other stuff that I have going on, I'm supposed to I was made aware that I also am supposed to be recording some videos with somebody else for something else they are doing. Wait,

Brandon  11:29

wait, wait, wait, back up. As my mother in law would say, back up the truck. Right. Back up the truck. You are being mandated to provide content to a third party who is also attending the conference. Is this true, that they will monetize? And are you being compensated for this in any way, shape or form,

Collin Funkhouser  11:57

in in a little bit, yes, yes, in a little bit

Brandon  12:01

like monetarily, or they're gonna, are they gonna compensate you in exposure?

Collin Funkhouser  12:05

Bro, no, I, I, I don't want to say this. You don't

Brandon  12:12

have to say $1 Meyer thing. I just need to know yes or no, that's

Collin Funkhouser  12:16

what I Yes. I don't need exposure for anything. So I am being paid for this. That's good. All right, I am paid compensate for my time there. Okay, it was just these things were so here's what happened. We were supposed to record some things, just like, literally over zoom, but we ran out of time because of their schedule, and they said, quote, well, I'll see you in Texas anyway, so we'll just meet up then,

Brandon  12:48

yeah, you'll see me when I'm on stage, sucker, not like, what you can't.

Collin Funkhouser  12:53

Yeah, you can. You can pan your camera over to me, and I'll have a wireless mic, and I'll just quietly talk from the back room

Brandon  13:00

as we go, like, it's like you sitting on the side of the stage with your hand over your mouth, like,

Collin Funkhouser  13:08

anyway, yeah, no, I really agree, in context of market, yeah, no, anyway, quiet. Oh, it's gonna be I'm a little I'm a little frazzled, a little frazzled. Oh my gosh. So this is in preparation to leave, but today was a beautiful day. We had nothing on our like structured calendar, and so today we just drove. And we want we drove, well actually, for being perfectly honest, the kids are finishing a history section, and they're getting through. They just finished the medieval and Dark Ages. And so we, of course, Mr. Noah did a report presentation on knights

Brandon  13:58

on Charlemagne. No, and

Collin Funkhouser  14:03

and we so we had a lot of discussions of that over the past week. And so I was like, ah, we need to go someplace where we can talk about this in context, to see real examples, see real nights, this kind of stuff. And so no to the No, no. It's I didn't go to like, a Ren Faire or anything. We went to

Brandon  14:23

medieval times. No,

Collin Funkhouser  14:29

no. We went to a museum. We went to the Nelson Atkins museum today.

Brandon  14:33

Okay, red fair was gonna be my second drive. We need to see what they were really like. Bang. Red fair

Collin Funkhouser  14:42

and I I completely forget how just massive that museum is. I was like, oh, we'll totally have time, no time for nothing. We're doing this thing where they are working. Through ancient history and history. And so you can start in gallery 102, which is their oldest exhibit of mummies from the year 2600, BCE. Okay, we're gonna start there you what I said, Nice, very nice. And you can work your way up through the through Mesopotamia, and then the Rome. And then you go talk about some Greece over here. And then you start getting into the transitions into the Middle Ages, the late Roman Empire and all the stuff. And you start going to Middle Ages. And that lasts, obviously, for 1000 years. Whatever it is, I don't remember exactly I didn't pay attention. And then

Brandon  15:46

it kind of like, wow, loops around.

Collin Funkhouser  15:49

And the the all the first floor is like a big loop through major history. And then this, the second level is major categories of like, here is the best of American art and Japanese art, and from China and our Native American art and those, all those things and all of what they're displaying there. And, man, it just just cannot get through this. Thing is so intense, and I love it so much. And today we really spent a lot of time also outside, appreciating the building. And so not to take us into, like, architectural

Brandon  16:35

corner here, but here we are in architectural corner. But Oh yeah,

Collin Funkhouser  16:40

pull up your slab of marble, and

Brandon  16:46

unless you're having to be around hostile architecture, then you can't sit down.

Collin Funkhouser  16:50

Sorry, see that, see that joke, how that landing. So architect wonderfully got him. So I there is this building was built in 1933 in the neoclassical architectural style, as is, you know, most like civic buildings in the United States.

Brandon  17:13

Sure? Are you sure it wasn't built by tartarians?

Brandon  17:22

You can be sure, because, of

Collin Funkhouser  17:23

course it wasn't, of course it was. It's like, have you seen the the large trees of the US West cut down? Have you seen these?

Brandon  17:36

I mean, not in person. I've seen photographs, right?

Collin Funkhouser  17:44

No, no, this is I maybe I will find you this. This is the theory that all of those mesas out in the west are actually the trunks of trees.

Brandon  17:59

I've heard this right, like, the, the I've heard this also about, what is the Devil's Tower thing in, in, like, what is that Montana or whatever? Yeah, yes, that, I've heard about that as well. Like, no, no, okay, stop.

Collin Funkhouser  18:23

Oh, if you want to know how awesome this is, when you go to Google and you type in is Devil's Tea, it auto completes to tower a tree.

Brandon  18:33

I know this is, this is the bad part. This is why so bad, right?

Collin Funkhouser  18:39

Yeah, no, no, I definitely I'm gonna send

Brandon  18:44

you. So it's Wyoming

Collin Funkhouser  18:46

pictures with red arrows. I think this will really prove the point here. So no, I wasn't contemplating the tartarians or the giant trees of devil tower,

Brandon  18:59

otherwise known as wait. I don't know how to pronounce this, but Mateo to pilia. They go bang. Native name got him. I can never remember.

Collin Funkhouser  19:11

That brings up a really good point of when we were in the second story looking at the Native American art.

Brandon  19:17

What on earth is this trash? Oh my gosh.

Collin Funkhouser  19:23

Novincing. Am I right?

Brandon  19:28

What on earth whose grandma's Facebook page? Did you take this from? Oh, my God, here's another one.

Collin Funkhouser  19:37

It's a far away picture of Devil's Tower and a zoomed in picture of a tree stump.

Brandon  19:41

Boom, oh man, those two things are synonymous. Wow. Never guess what happens to basalt when it cools down really fast. I have a great.

Collin Funkhouser  20:00

Slide. I'm gonna send you this. All I'm gonna do for the next six months. Look, these are the xylem and the flow I'm going up, if you zoom in on the rock, no, what I was, we were talking about for the Native American art, right?

Brandon  20:15

You know, Yeah, hold on. Never mind. I can't.

Collin Funkhouser  20:20

Fine. Go ahead, all

20:21

right. Artwork, artwork, fine.

Collin Funkhouser  20:25

I'm just raising Brandon's blood pressure.

Brandon  20:28

I went to the doctor today, and it was good, okay? Like ruining my great doctor's appointment I had, which

Collin Funkhouser  20:35

is stress testing. It's all it is.

Brandon  20:37

Wait, move my arm, right? I had a surprise tetanus shot, so I got shot, so I gotta move on, hold on, all right? Tetanus shot. Well, I was like, Oh, hey, I see keep track of these things. And they're like, Oh, hey, I see that you're due for this, so I'll be right back. Well, they were like, do you want this? And I was like, as a school employee and a science teacher, I really feel like this is probably necessary. So, yeah, go ahead mute that. Like, yeah, we'll go ahead and put an X next to that. Yeah. Anyway, artwork in the upstairs. Got him

Collin Funkhouser  21:14

architecture here in just a second. But we'll make a detour, because you were trying to say the correct name for Devil's Tower. And we had a discussion about, because you're in, you're in the Native American section, and you notice, like, of course, we're in a museum where I just looked at a mummy that's from, you know, 2600 BCE. And so you just look at dates, Where is this from?

Brandon  21:37

Yeah, you gotta look at that. When is this from? Contextually, right? It's very difficult.

Collin Funkhouser  21:41

And you look at this thing and it's like, from 1984

Brandon  21:46

from 2006 that hurts me a lot, that there's things from 1984 in the museum. Oh, dang it.

Collin Funkhouser  21:54

We had to have this discussion. And then, oh, like, there's this weird section on the American stuff where there are, there are high heels that have been beaded with the glass beads and made in that style, and they're from 2011 and I was like, no, no. Native Americans did not wear high heels to see over tall

Brandon  22:18

grass. No, what King Louis the 14th did.

Collin Funkhouser  22:21

What is being done here is, this is a, this is a modern Native American artist who is making in the style of the traditional thing, painting and that stuff, yes, and coloration and textures all this up. And we also had to talk about how, hey, why aren't there a lot of like, old, old pieces here and going well? You see, well, from a practical standpoint, like these were made out of grasses, leathers and wood,

Brandon  23:02

from another practical standpoint, they were destroyed, burned by a that discussion, because

Collin Funkhouser  23:16

they were confused, because there was one Okay, Again, I understand why they're doing this, but they had some a pair of sunglasses, and they were called warrior glasses, and they were beaded, and they had the gold and whatever on them. And it was like, no, no. They those are not old, right? They like this is part of this. And they're these are their their their dress and their garb, and what they're doing also. So anyway, we had to have that discussion about, like, why are not there not very many old things up here? And the oldest that they had was like, I think maybe mid 1800s like 1850s Yeah, that they had there. So we because then it was like, Oh, now we're gonna go into the Japanese section. And there's tons of stuff here, and it's really old. And of course, so that was just an interesting, like, little segue into, like, the lasting effects of things and how current, like events of the time impact the stories that can be told that is true, right? And, and also, there's a big plaque on, like, the importance of, of course, in this, in this section, about the importance of oral history, and not having things written down, having but having like symbols, and having these kind of things, and they could communicate in other ways, but like, oral history was a big part of the culture in that society. And so the kids were also like, Well, how do we know what happened then, right? It was like, well, they continued to pass them down and and also people worked on translating this encountered and. And continued from stories, again, from current, modern day Native Americans who can trace their lineage back, like they have carried these stories forward. And so if we didn't have those, we would be lost on all this stuff, which just again, continues to show how fragile history really is, and it's also that feels really weighty when you're in this giant museum where it's just nothing but history, also known as nothing but history, oh yeah, but I'm I'm outside enjoying the sunshine, and I'm surrounded by this just like oppressively large neoclassical building, and I was, I can imagine, I would just love to know like, what happened when they put the shuttlecocks out and around? What kind of uproar from people happened when they decided they were going to put

Brandon  26:03

these, I'm not saying that it's on par with building a big glass pyramid at the louver, but I imagine additional originally, it perhaps was on par with building a big, giant glass pyramid at the louver. Right? Yeah. They're like, what are you doing?

Collin Funkhouser  26:24

I 100% am right there in line of just being like, I guarantee you people just like, I need to do some diving into this, but like, I guarantee you people through an absolute fit. How dare you. And there's one on the roof. Are you kidding me? You're desecrating this. It's whatever, and now they're like, with,

Brandon  26:45

with a sport that's not even really that popular in the US, and, like, knows that. Like, how nobody plays, yeah, badminton. Like, what the who like this is like a backyard, random picnic sport in the most of the states, right? Like, nobody, this is not even though somehow it's made its way into the Summer Olympics. But like, how, I don't

Collin Funkhouser  27:07

know, it's so weird, I don't understand this. But given that I like a little bit of whimsy in life, I mean, fair, I think they're amazing. I'm very happy that they are there and how they are displayed, whatever. And then we walk around the front, and they've got this big reflection pool, which is also neat because it has these big portals of glass. They did in 2026,

Brandon  27:31

it'd be, it's gonna, they're gonna add a pickle ball to the yard. Why

Collin Funkhouser  27:40

would you say that you just gave ideas? They're actually working on expanding this area. And this gets me to my See, thought of you round the corner the front of this thing, what's really, I don't know, front, back, whatever. It doesn't matter. It's not the big grandparents on the backside, the backside. And it got to be reflecting pool, and in 2007 they built the block building over on the east side of this now the block building was built specifically to quote, Have a conversation with the neoclassical so what, what architectural style would the block building be?

Brandon  28:29

I guess it depends on what kind of conversation you're hoping to have. I don't do you want it to be a flowing conversation, or do you want it to be, like, very stilted and awkward? I don't know.

Collin Funkhouser  28:49

Yeah, we're gonna go with more stilted and awkward because, like, like, ultra modern deconstructionist.

Brandon  28:58

Oh, there we go. Right. Yeah, it's perfect.

Collin Funkhouser  29:01

Yeah, it's exactly what people want. And again, like, it's the size of, like, a multi level story glass skyscraper, just laying on its side. It's all it's all white and glass, and inside the roof is all like weird angles, and you kind of, it's like, throws you off. And modernists, of course, whatever, like, I understand that has, like, a purpose, I said, a poipus, a poison

Brandon  29:39

that too, obviously,

Collin Funkhouser  29:43

it just it, just it just hurts my soul a little bit like a lot, because they stand antagonistic to one another. Now I know that neoclassical was done in. Response as a revival of the classical to Rococo, right, where things were just going insane with, I mean, yeah, Hillary, like this was like an active response against that and, and I you can see the line from neoclassical to the modernistic deconstructionist with more simple lines and all this stuff, but it's just like, I can, this is the conversation that they

Brandon  30:28

were wanting. But you do have to go through brutalist to get there. So yeah,

30:33

and this,

Collin Funkhouser  30:35

that's, that's it. You have to pass through brutalism to get to there.

Brandon  30:42

It's kind of weird, right?

Collin Funkhouser  30:45

There's no, it's like, that's the refining sieve that they use to just keep out everything and just whatever is left over. And the fact that brutalism is so adherent to its structure and to its rigidity that it also filters that out for the modernist and deconstructive architecture. It makes it like i It's the fact that you have left so much and that, and I understand why people like this, because you work with so little, then they're like, oh, right, like, it's all simplistic, and it's very like straightforward, and I just it's elemental and that kind of thing,

31:34

Yeah, but like you,

Brandon  31:39

that's really been actually in juxtaposition to, like, something, like a Bauhaus style, right, where it's just like, only functional, right? Which, I guess you could argue that brutalism is a refinement of that, because it is like bare bones functionality, only right. But then, like this one is just like, pure like, oh, it's like pure design and like less function, whereas the other one is just like only function, right? But neither of those describe neoclassical in any way. So, like, that's the other way. I mean, I guess it's like more highly decorated and more like refined, perhaps, in a sense, but it's very odd.

Collin Funkhouser  32:23

It is more refined from classical and Rococo, like from that. It is a refinement of that it is. It is a simpler in structure, in nature, however, like it's still using a multi faceted design approach for things and textures and layers that you just don't get. And again, I'm sure the modernistic and deconstructionist architects will just be writing us in droves, but they can't, because they can't find where their pencils are, because their desk is too flat and everything's white, it all blends in. So I'm not worried

Brandon  33:02

about just going to send you this right in response to this conversation. This is a Soviet block apartment, right. There you go. That's just what

33:21

I got. Yes,

Collin Funkhouser  33:25

it's like now, is they looked at this and they were like, hey, what if we didn't have balconies, and what if we got out of glass and steel? How wonderful that is. Isn't that be nice if everything was glass and steal what? No, nobody wants that. And I want straight lines in my building. I'm sorry. I just heard this like I want continuity. Ah, why do you have breaks in the ceiling? Why is there a slab coming this way and then it picks up and goes off at a 38 degree angle on the other No, it's

Brandon  34:04

I like, I like, how you're also like, halfway, like, some of these descriptions are applicable to, like, those Ripley's, believe it or not, museum buildings, right where it's just, it's like the building, But it's like, kind of upside down, or it's like, kind of broken in half. Yes, Branson, right? Like, when you talk about the roof being this way, that's all I'm seeing in my mind are those Ripley's, believe it or not, buildings.

Collin Funkhouser  34:35

Yes, exactly, exactly they looked at that and they're like, Ah, now if we made it all white, Oh, perfect. Done. Slap a sticker on that, and we'll move on. Oh, my goodness. And so I'm having this I'm having this conversation in my head while I'm standing there at the reflection pool and my children are calling me daddy, daddy. Stop. The madness. And I'm saying rush in. Children. Get inside. Get inside anyway. Don't look. Don't look at the monstrosity. And they've got this plan now where, like the main Atkins building is here, like a big rectangle on one side they've got the block building, and on that side they're going to continue with structures that are kind of the same. Going down that side. On the west side, they're going to have these structures. This is their plan to expand of like, of more organic structures. They look more like leaves from the top, kind of leaf shape designs and more built into the hillside, more natural things, and I I understand in our in our world, we can't just have more mammoth neoclassical buildings as much as I would want those true it would just that would make me happy. I understand. We don't just want a you of Neo of six story neoclassical buildings just surrounding and oppressing the promenade like got it. It's just, it's this, obviously, this idea and flow and continuing the conversation of contrasting textures and arts and lines and things like that. And go ahead, I guess not knock themselves out.

Brandon  36:27

I mean, I could do with a little bit more like Rivendell in my life, like architecturally, right? Like, if you want to, if you execute it correctly, right? This is what you get, right. And I feel like that is important. I know that we as a society currently are moving away from the green future that we were all promised, because it doesn't make anybody any money, and so we just can't be having that nonsense. But I would like to think that potentially that would be something that would be useful. And having like, nice architecture that, like, blended into natural surroundings, instead of, like, stamped them under foot, would be a nice idea, right? Attempting to live more harmoniously with green space, rather than paving it over to look just like Houston. I feel like this is a good idea and a good like goal to look forward. And again, if we could get more Rivendale that would go, that would make it whimsical, right? It can be more whimsical, right? And so you could have grandiose and whimsical instead of grandiose and oppressive, like square right? But so that is an avenue worth pursuing. I think maybe the execution with which they are trying to do this version doesn't necessarily sound like that that I was hoping for. But, you know it might be useful. I don't know. I understand also part of this is weird, like, it was weird to put all of this in a just, it's weird to, like, intentionally do this, like architectural like, in the round as well. Like, that's a very strange way to go about this, I maybe, but I don't know.

Collin Funkhouser  38:31

Like, I think it. I think because they're coming at this from a intentional of contrast, I think that's also where I'm they are using all of these as a statement piece, as the original was, as the original building was like, we have to recognize this for what it is like. The original Nelson Atkins museum was a massive statement piece, and was of the time. And we now are going, how do we continue this forward, and how do we bring in other elements to add richness to the museum as a whole? And I think that's interesting to explore. It's just, man, there's a lot of I think it's the fact that there are so many ideas going on out there at once, that makes it a little like,

Brandon  39:27

Yeah, I think that if they I think that is where I'm getting stuck slightly. Like, if you continue this theme into the future, like, number one, you're going to run out of room. And also, like, how far are you going to take this? Like, because if you do want to update it, like, every so many years, like, you can only plan on doing that for uh. A finite period of time, yeah, because then you'll have to, like, acquire more space or do something so like doing going to grandiose too quickly, is kind of at odds to the goal of, like, showcasing the architecture, in this sense, as a like an evolution and a call and response over time, right? It's like going too big too soon. You're just, you're kind of done, and you can't go anymore, right? Like you got to shoot yourself in the foot because you run out of floor space, basically. That's a weird way to go about that, too, and it doesn't look near Riven daily enough. So I'm disappointed with that. So we got to get on this architecture. People more, more Elvish. Okay, that's what we need. This is a spork. More, yes,

Collin Funkhouser  41:00

this is the one that they are going to go with. You can see they are, I don't like that, yeah. So maybe those weird, weird, stinking buildings over on the right side, like I just again, what those they have, they have shape is, does the shape make sense? I'm looking specifically. I will include this in the show notes for our

Brandon  41:24

listeners, because it looks kind of like, if, I mean, it's basically like almost normal shapes, but like, not quite like, if you let a kindergartener draw your shipping container. That's what it might look like, Yes, right?

Collin Funkhouser  41:48

Like, there we have. That is, that is what a deconstructionist would do, is it's almost but not there, right? It's slightly different than what we expected. Ooh, look, I surprised you. So just draw a freaking rectangle. But also

Brandon  42:02

the fact that you can't see most of that from ground level, kind of renders the point moot in and of itself, right? Then you're deconstructing for no reason, because if you're standing in front of that building, you can't see any of that. You can see it from the air, and you might get a sense of like that is not a 90 degree angle, huh? But as far as, like, the fact that some of these are technically hexagons or pentagonal that is lost on the ground level viewer, almost entirely I would imagine, yeah, and you definitely wouldn't be able to tell once you got inside, because they're gonna be framed up, like, relatively normally anyway. I mean, maybe not, but like, it's a little disconcerting, maybe not. But like, they still have to have classrooms or whatever. So yeah, they're still gonna have like, rooms inside of them, yeah. So, like, maybe, if you're on, like, a exterior wall, you might, but if there's if that building is, if it's subdivided in any way, like with enclosed spaces, I mean, if they do the thing where they just, like, have, like the partition walls, you know, you might get a more sense of it, but if it's enclosed space in any way, shape or form, you will have no concept of the exterior shape of the building whatsoever.

43:33

You look, what's the point there?

Collin Funkhouser  43:37

Yeah, what? Why are you doing this? Just for just because you can and then you look over on the other side, and you look at these shapes and these lines and these textures and these what this is doing. And it's a bit more again, I saw some other renderings where they were a bit more molded into the hill there, or whatever, but like, yeah, there, we're continuing. We've got more organic lines than the other side, but it's then going, Ah, look what we've done. We've contrasted. We've We've these have a familiar form and shape and blah blah, not like those other people across the way. Why are we doing that? It seems a weird thing to do. I don't know.

44:16

Whatever really does. And again,

Brandon  44:23

I think a lot of that will be lost on the ground level viewer, like, I just don't like, you'll the facade will definitely, for sure, be different. But like, I don't know. I don't know why. Oh, well, I guess art doesn't need a why. But still, it seems like a lot of fuss to go through for not a lot of why,

Collin Funkhouser  44:48

not a lot of why, exactly, not. Very weird. So that's this has been in burning in my head. Just.

Brandon  45:00

Today, anything I mean, that's important, right? It's fine, like,

Collin Funkhouser  45:06

look at the experience that I've brought home with me.

Brandon  45:08

That's good, yeah, good job there.

Brandon  45:22

Well, not a lot, really. I just a couple things like my the thought that I've had burning in my head all week is that this is the sound of the Olympic Games. Wait, way to go. No, that's not it. Drat. This is it. I had a sound effect pulled up and everything, right? So I've been watching some of the Olympics, right? But it's kind of distracting with a lot of the events, because they have just chosen to do this in such a way. It's very weird that this is all you hear half time you

Brandon  46:12

that is the Olympic Games In 2026 please jump in.

Collin Funkhouser  46:20

That is what I talking they have been putting them everywhere, and I understand why they've done this, because the technology is finally there. I was truly impressed when they tracked a bobsled team down the track with one and I went, Yeah, super skilled. But also he just hears all you hear the whole time. The whole time

Brandon  46:48

is that, watch skiing, right? Watch snowboarding, any outdoor event like, that's you only get reprieve in, like curling and ice skating, right? That's it. Like all outdoor events have now been taken over by drone camera, and

Brandon  47:13

it's absolutely insane. I don't know. I don't know if, perhaps the overabundance of drones for shooting television and movie things has rendered me immune to like, like, there are very few things like already that I'm like, Whoa. That was crazy, right? Like, okay, not a lot, right? I know now that you don't. I mean, you don't have to pay seven cameramen to record the like downhill skiing event. You just have a drone flying around the whole time, right? It's whatever, but it's very I feel like the return is not great for the sound that I have to deal with the whole time.

Collin Funkhouser  48:04

They definitely need to figure out a way to filter out that frequency, that's for sure.

Brandon  48:12

Like, because I know they want to be like, Oh, you could hear the sound of the skiing, not over the like, I can't do it over that. Guy, yeah, yeah, no,

Collin Funkhouser  48:23

I can also hear, I can also hear the drone. Is that what you're talking about, is that the sound of skiing, yeah, the

Brandon  48:28

drone, sound of skiing. And every time they do cut to like an actual camera, like a stationary camera shot, you can just see the drone, like, there it is. That's also wonderful. This little Yeah, guys, come on,

Collin Funkhouser  48:42

demon fairy following all the Yeah, just

Brandon  48:45

like, oh, there it is. Like, whatever, I guess, like, that's, that's the only real thought I've had this week. Is so many drones in the Olympic

Collin Funkhouser  48:57

it is a lot of drones, and yet

Brandon  49:01

no drone racing event. That is real tragedy here.

Collin Funkhouser  49:05

Well, but how would you make that Olympic? How would you make that Winter Olympic?

Brandon  49:10

Well, you'd have to make it Winter Olympic because the Summer Olympics already has too many sports, and so they just need to start putting some in the winter to balance it out. Because, again, we've talked about this before, but the Winter Olympics is like, it's only skating and skiing, and that's it. Like, if the sport takes place on skis or skates, it's at the Olympics, and everything else is in the Summer Olympics, right? Like everything else, that's it, right? And I am arguing, for the sake of this, that a bobsled counts as skates because it is a bladed device. So, ice, yeah, well, ice, so I know that that's like, really technically a hit, but. But that's all and so I can only watch so much figure skating, and then, like, I need to move on with my life. And I like just the disparity of the amount of sports that are in the summer versus the Winter Olympics, we need to start just putting some in the Winter Olympics, even if they don't, don't require a mountain, right? I just feel like that's necessary to make it more watchable for people, because I know people in the states only really care about figure skating anyway, because that's all that's ever on the prime time television. They don't show anything else, nothing, absolutely will not show anything else, like other than figure skating, right? They don't show they even show like speed skating, which is fun, right? Like, I caught some long track the other day, but like, the fact that it's only figure skating is a thing. So I always got to start. We just got to start sticking some sports in there, right? And if drone racing needs to be one, just throw it in there. Do it indoors, right? It'd be fine. I don't care. Do it outside, just It'll be cold. Whoa, mountain slope. Maybe they can do it down a mountain. They could go around snow sculptures, right, like, or,

Collin Funkhouser  51:27

I don't know, maybe, maybe they could do it down a mountain the same time that the downhill skiers are doing,

Brandon  51:35

yes, right? I would settle for, like, some snow sculpting, right? We could throw that in there, right? Susan was showing me this video of this Olympic sport that used to exist, and I don't recall this, because, apparently this was in the Olympics in my lifetime, something like ski. What was it called? Like, ski gymnastics, or something like, I don't remember what it was now, right? This video, yes. Like, what

Collin Funkhouser  52:08

this one? This

Brandon  52:09

is ski ballet. Ski ballet, yes, that's what it is. Yes, ski ballet. I was like, Wait a minute.

Collin Funkhouser  52:18

What ski ballet from the 1980s this video I'm including, I have to include this in the show notes, because yes, you listen or whatever you are thinking right now, the answer is no, it's so right.

Brandon  52:37

Apparently, this was in like, the 92 Winter Olympics. But I don't remember that. Like, I definitely watched those ones, but that was not a thing I was aware of, and it officially became, like a disbanded thing in like 2000 I don't think it was in the Olympics after 92 but still like,

53:05

What? What?

Collin Funkhouser  53:10

It's right, it's fantastic. People, no idea. I think what I enjoy most about this and you just, like, unlocked a memory of me seeing this video, like, years and years ago, and being like, That's ridiculous. Is the use of their ski poles to do the tricks and stuff. Like, it's yes, it is in is amazing. So, yeah, I think we definitely, I'm all for bringing this back. The other thing, fun thing about ski ballet is it was done on the slope. It was not done on flat ground, yeah. It's just always, always slowly drifting down, making it amazing.

Brandon  54:01

And I have not been able to watch any of apparently, there is a new sport this year called ski mountaineering, but I don't know what this is, and I haven't been able to watch it. And I don't know if it's I don't know if it's happened yet. I don't know if it's been but it's something called ski mountaineering. I have,

Collin Funkhouser  54:23

I have seen, but have not watched one yet.

Brandon  54:28

Yeah, no, I don't either. But, like, I need to find some pilots with that. Because, again, that's all good. Adding more sports, okay, more. Just get some. Put some more in there. You know, gotta figure out. Gotta figure out how to do more winter sports, because it's just not,

Collin Funkhouser  54:48

I don't know. It just feels like there's just so many less. I'm telling you, the one that has to be in here is the scouring team.

Brandon  54:57

That's true. We did talk about, I think we talked about that last. Winter Olympics we did, because it's still no ski drawing. What the heck, still no skijoring. Come on. IOC, yes, so I don't know. I don't know, but yeah, that's whether that was just my Winter Olympic thoughts. Oh, and apparently, did you hear that the French were being all French again, and like, not the maybe judging controversy and ice dancing, right? The French judge was like, oh yeah. Apparently, like, the US program was like, clearly better, but the French judge scores the French team like a mega high, and then they got the gold medal somehow, magically, Wow, amazing.

Collin Funkhouser  55:41

Interesting how that works. It is interesting how that works.

Brandon  55:46

Also, I did have another thought today, right? Because I watched, we were watching some of the, like, the men's figure skating, right? And apparently, there's a dude on the men's figure skating. That's like, very good, right, from the US, and I can't like this. What's his name? This Ilia guy, right? Ilia melanin, right? So, apparently, he's, like, a big deal, I don't know, and it was just, it's very interesting, like, how insular like these sports really are for like, the mainstream audience. Because he was talking about, like, I guess there was some controversy, because he was not selected for the team on the last Olympics, right, because he was too young or whatever. He didn't get on the team. And then, like, basically what happened is, in the finals of, like, the men's singles, like, program or whatever, he, like, choked hard and, like, fell twice, hard, right? Lost.

Collin Funkhouser  57:00

He, he, he lost out on 70 points, yeah,

Brandon  57:07

because he, like, just, like, choked hard, right? And again. And he was talking about how, like, it's the pressure, right? It's the pressure of the event in the Olympics thing. And he said, like, on camera, basically, that, if I would have been picked four years ago, this wouldn't have happened tonight, because I would have understood the pressure, right? But, but here's the weird and insular part of this. Is that he is this is the pressure that he feels on himself, right? He feels this on himself. He's feels the pressure of the Olympic Games and the representing United States and this heightened competition thing, right? And I have no idea who this man is,

Brandon  57:55

yes, right? I like

Collin Funkhouser  57:58

what's watching the commentary on him, and it was just like the just, they're lauding this career and all this stuff and how amazing, and just the weight of the world and all this. But I'm going,

Brandon  58:13

who, who are you? Yeah, I don't, I think I maybe vaguely remember something about the last Olympics that, like, a person wasn't there who people thought should be in the skating thing, but like, I didn't really know that was him, right? Like, I don't know. So just like, it's one of those things where it's like, you know, like he feels all this pressure, and the people around him are telling him, like, what a big deal it is and like, all this stuff. But I have no idea who this person is at all, and I don't

Collin Funkhouser  58:55

there is that. There is that meme of not meme, but let's mindset work of of people don't think about you nearly as much as you think about them thinking about you. Yeah, yeah, right. Like that holds true across our lives, every single one of our lives. It's the everyone's going to notice that they have ketchup on my pants. It's like nobody's even going to know what color pants you're wearing. So, like, yeah, with your move on with your life. Yeah, that is such an important thing to carry, like, like, front and center every single day. Of like, nobody. Like, not that nobody cares. It's just like, nobody's noticed, going to notice nobody,

Brandon  59:38

yeah, but I mean, like, it's not, it's not that I don't care about him because, because to because, if that was true, I would have had to known who he was in the first place, right? Like this, this kind of thing is, like, so off my radar that I have no thought of him at all because I didn't even know he existed, right? Like. He feels all this pressure and all this strain and like he feels like he's letting the side down, and I literally heard about him today. So yeah, it's not that I don't care about him, it's that I didn't know about him, because to not care means I would have actually had to know and then made a conscious decision to not care, right? Like, it's just so insulated from, like, the majority of the population that, like, a lot of people didn't know who you were, dude, until they started talking about you probably, like, a week ago, right? Like, yeah, and just because the Winter Olympics are on when I'm at work, like, I don't know like, so I just thought that was a very interesting that was my my big Thought for the Day was like, Man, this guy feels all this pressure and all this stress, and I literally have never heard of him before in My life. That is weird. He's a very weird.

Brandon  1:01:11

He's in there. Oh, sorry, yeah, okay, sorry, yeah. Well, my light just flickered, and so I was like, oh gosh, okay, panic, all right, all right?

Collin Funkhouser  1:01:22

And you feel bad, of course, of course, Yeah, cuz, like, it's but it is. It is a very interesting phenomenon of, of Yeah, of man, there's so much all that the visible external impact of that internal pressure that wasn't managed, and you got to feel for him, like it just it just sucks. It really sucks.

Brandon  1:01:47

That's true, so, but you know, who knows he's got time for another one? Maybe, yeah, hopefully we'll see.

Collin Funkhouser  1:02:01

Know who else was dealing

Brandon  1:02:10

with some internal pressure. Man PIP here is just the most continuing to be the most ridiculous human of all time, and I don't know, annoying.

Collin Funkhouser  1:02:22

He's worse than Harry Potter in the middle books. That's all I'm going to say. Okay, okay, I said it. I said it,

Brandon  1:02:27

yeah, this, it was pretty it's Yes, right? Because, like, again, things are happening here. They're happening in a bit of a glacial pace. But we do have, like, basically chapter 34 is Pip realizing that he is spending too much money on things, right? And he's kind of, like, not even really sure how he's doing. He just knows that he's has a lot he starts out

1:03:08

by kind of, like,

Brandon  1:03:14

he's kind of regretting the whole thing for a moment. Yep, right, just second, though, like, right?

Collin Funkhouser  1:03:23

Just in a fleeting bit, because then he goes and buries it with other stuff. But it is,

Brandon  1:03:29

yeah, yeah. Like, we have this just, just for this moment in time, like things are just progressing so strangely that he's like, I just kind of wish I had never gone down this path?

1:03:44

And then I, you know,

Brandon  1:03:48

never did all this stuff. But then, you know, we just then he starts going into his lavish living habits, which he just has developed out of nowhere for no real reason other than he just like thinks that he should

Collin Funkhouser  1:04:07

well, and he's hanging out with people who also spending lavishly. He joins the finches of the Grove, yeah, just because it's a thing that you do Yep, you're just supposed to join

Brandon  1:04:18

one yes, and they get together and and have a dinner. What is that a once a month? Is that or is every something like that? Right? Like they just eat and what do they do? Yes, no one knows why, right.

Collin Funkhouser  1:04:39

Oh, they're just there, yes,

Brandon  1:04:45

oh, like, yeah, yeah, basically, and then we have this, yeah. So we're doing the thing we have. We're just kind of our going over. I. All of like, the big moment in this chapter is that they're like, they're like, Okay, we got to sit down and we got to, like, chart out what's happening

Collin Funkhouser  1:05:11

and right, such a big deal that, of like, look what we are doing. We are being, yes, industrious and good business.

Brandon  1:05:18

Yes. They're very, they're very like, he feels very businessy about this, right? He feels like this is good business acumen to just like, go through receipts and tally them up, yes, right?

Collin Funkhouser  1:05:33

He, but they, but I love how in order to do this, they like order a really nice dinner. Yes, of course, of course. Break out all of the niceties to sit down and they just like, really, like we're going to, we're going to do this like he says, My dear Herbert, we are getting on badly, my dear handle, if you will believe me, those very words were on my lips by a strange coincidence, he says, let us look into our affairs. We always derived profound satisfaction from making an appointment for this purpose. For this purpose, he's just like he thinks that this is what business is, is just looking into your affairs, and they sit down and they just tally up receipts. And I love how, like, many times PIP is like, encouraging Herbert on of like, no, no, you must continue. There you go. Like, you shall do this. Yes.

Brandon  1:06:28

And I do like the part where he's like, where he's like, I just don't know what it is like. Then Herbert estimate, estimate in round numbers and put it down. And then his response is, ah, what a fellow of resource you are my my friend would reply with admiration, really, your business powers are very remarkable, right? He's just like, well, just estimate it, and then if you estimate over a little bit that's That'd be better in the end. So it's fine, like, and he's very proud of the thing of this margin. Yes,

Collin Funkhouser  1:07:07

um, lauded for his prowess and his understanding of what's going on and then.

Brandon  1:07:12

But I just want to, I just want to make, I just want to make a point here. Okay, I don't know about your school experience, right, but when I see people on the internet who like, are lying to you, and they say things like,

1:07:25

my school taught me, like the algebraic expressions, but they never taught me how to balance my checkbook.

Brandon  1:07:32

Sorry, slick, you should have stood up to class, because my school taught me that at least twice, on two separate occasions, in two different grade levels. All right, so I don't want to hear it. This is like, remedial stuff that PIP is, like, very proud of.

Collin Funkhouser  1:07:45

He's very proud of this. He thinks the absolute just like, oh, this is just pristine. And what I love also is that he they don't like, they finish everything. And he even notes here of how this process, basically, to him, felt like he was paying these and taking care of them,

Brandon  1:08:11

but he didn't. He just added them and

Collin Funkhouser  1:08:15

ties them up and then rolls them up and then sets them off to the side. Yep.

Brandon  1:08:19

He's just like, Yep, this is how much money I owe anyway. Like he doesn't, yeah, he doesn't do anything. He doesn't address the situation at all, right? He just, like, says, yep, that's a big number. Oh, well, anyway, I guess it just makes him feel good to know the number, maybe, or roughly the number, since there's some estimation involved

Collin Funkhouser  1:08:49

with his left margin, and he's good to go now.

Brandon  1:08:53

Yeah, I don't, I don't know. It's just so goofy, like again, proving just, again. The sort of theme here is that none of these people know what they're doing with their life. They're just like, they're there. They're like, yes, these are things that you do, and they're just like, following the roadmap that society tells them to do.

Collin Funkhouser  1:09:20

Yeah, and that is all that's.

Brandon  1:09:23

It doesn't really do anything else. It's weird and boring until we get a letter, or, like, letter is too light a term for whatever this was. It is a letter, but it's like, big and heavy and black and has a seal on it, right? And it is a notice that his sister has passed. Yep, right. So now he's got. Go back home to see the funeral. He's gotta go confront Joe and bitty, right?

Collin Funkhouser  1:10:09

And this, this was, I don't know I this was a very interesting as he's coming back right with, yes, he has some nightmares to begin with, but he makes it back. And I just, I remember when I was reading this, he would how I got the sense of how annoyed he was with, like, some of the pomp and circumstance and some of the showiness of this all.

Brandon  1:10:54

Yeah, I got a little bit of that. I guess I mostly got hung up on the part where pumblechook is still there and he's just, like, annoyed with him and he wants to ignore him as much as humanly possible, right?

Collin Funkhouser  1:11:10

Oh, yeah. Well, that part of the conversation where pumblechook And who's the other guy basically are, like, talking, they end up kind of talking bad about his, his sister, and basically, yeah, because, because they, they're immortal, obviously, so that they're not going to have to deal with this. They're just completely species.

Brandon  1:11:36

Yeah, they're like, all out of sorts, and it's weird, and whatever. Yeah, but he is kind of shaken by the thing a bit, right? And again, though it just feels like every like, like, even though there's like these big events in pips life, he's just like, oh, well, whatever. Like, oh well. Like he in the moment, he's like, very like, confused and like, he's trying to understand how to deal with this, and he's confronted with these, like, big things, and then he's just like, puts it out of his mind and moves on. And like, doesn't think about them anymore. And it's just like, yes, that's kind of how it feels sometimes, like we have this whole thing with Joe at the, I don't know, it's like, at the visitation bit, right, I don't know, and at the graveside, right, where he's there, and he's like, We do get this weird. Like we gotta, I think the interesting part about this is, if I can formulate my thoughts here, is that we get, we do get this like juxtaposition, again, of like Joe, like Ernest, Joe dealing with these like complex emotions, right? And then over on the other side of the room, we have pumblechook Pretending to deal with emotions, right? And PIP is kind of looking at both of them unsure of how to navigate the situation, right? Like we have one example of like, if Joe actually moved, actually upset, right? But determined to carry on. And we have pumblechook Pretending that he's upset and determined to carry on, as if this is going to affect him in any way whatsoever, right? Like, it's very weird. And then we have bitty right. We go on another walk with bitty right. She's very curt with him with PIP because, like, she just kind of is over him, right? Like, yeah. She sees being just Yeah. She kind of just yeah. She's that's a good that's good, that's good way to put that right. She really sees just right through him, like he says all these things, and she's like, Yeah, whatever. She's answering everything that he says with a question. And I love this. I love this so much. Yeah, because he's like, why are you so upset? She's like, we talked about, I'm just, like, actually asking you a real question about things, and you don't have any answers, shut up. And then yeah. And then she's all, he's all, like, taken aback. He's like, Well, I don't, why are you being so confrontational with me? And she's like, why are you being such a jerk? I don't

Collin Funkhouser  1:14:36

even, yeah, yeah. I love Yeah. Cuz she's like, he's like, how are you going to live? How am I going to live? And then I just, it's just, yeah, I this kind of back and forth with them. It's very well and and

Brandon  1:14:53

like, again, we have this other thing where he's like, Well, yeah, he's like, how are you gonna live? She's like, Well, I'm gonna go live with this. Other person, because I can't think of Joe now, blah, blah, right? And he's like, Well, what are you going to do? There's nothing you can do. She's like, well, I'm actually planning on being the new school teacher. He's like, what? How are you going to do that? Do you need my money? She's like, shove off, buddy. I'm going to work and I'm going to do this

1:15:17

myself. Yep, yep.

Brandon  1:15:23

Because again, Pip has no idea about how to actually handle things right, and how people actually get on for themselves that he like. Doesn't know what to say to that right, like

Collin Funkhouser  1:15:38

his relationships are nothing, but based off of exchange of coin and money, of that's how you get on in the world. You have a problem. You you pay money. You need something. You pay money. You don't actually offer help, as we will get to at the end of this chapter. You don't also do it. You just say, Oh, I can I pay to make this go away? For it, basically, and without, and that comes up in a lot of instances, not always with, with finances, but basically, like, what can I do to sweep this under the rug and make this go away? And whatever I have to do, fine, I'll just do it. But they're not actually dealing with the problem, nor does it really come across that they care about it. Because ultimately, he's just trying to solve this for her and not really listen to Diddy about how biddy's processing. And yeah, he

Brandon  1:16:29

doesn't really care. Like, so ridiculous. And he says during this conversation that don't worry, because I'm going to make sure that I come back more often now to see Joe, I'm going to come check on him, and she, like, doesn't believe him at all, yes, which spoilers for like, two paragraphs Later, she shouldn't, right? He makes a big deal about it, though he's, you know, really insistent and blah, blah, blah, so much so that, you know, the next day, they have breakfast together, and it's like a little bit nicer he goes to before he leaves. This time, he does go say goodbye to Joe. He doesn't just like wander out, right? He does go say goodbye, and he says, Don't worry. He's like, I shall be back soon and often, never too soon and never too often. Pip says, Joe. But the closing line of this chapter, rather ominously, says, once more, the mists were rising as I walked away, if they disclosed to me, as I suspect they did, that I should not come back and that Biddy was quite right, all I can say is they were quite right too,

Collin Funkhouser  1:18:02

because you see Joe or see Pip, still having this this earnestness and this affection for Joe, but having complete inability to do any to act upon it, yeah, like act in Any way. Because what we are learning here is that PIP and everyone around him do absolutely nothing all day long.

Brandon  1:18:29

Yeah, I mean, like, I think the real commentary here is that, like, Pip knows what the decent thing is to do, right? Because he does come from simpler means. And Joe and his sister were a lot, but they were, like, relatively honest people, right? Joe is for sure. Sister was a little bit crazy, but like, she went, well, probably, and like, so he knows what the right thing to do is and what, like the honest thing to do is. And what we're learning from this book is that people of means don't do the things that are right and the things that are honest right. That's really what I think we might need to be taking away from this, from Dickens. Is he saying, like, like, in his heart, Pip knows what the right thing to do is, but now that PIP is around people with money and means PIP won't do the right thing, right? Like, it's that bad.

Collin Funkhouser  1:19:41

Well, because, because of the expectations that he does have, and he is looking forward to which boy howdy will get into over what right now he, he now thinks that those actions are part of that is to like. It's now beneath him and his stature, which we've seen, yeah, exactly two of like. Like, no, no, like, because they all Oh, because we also see we oh, we see that whenever he came back in the last chapter or the current chapter, whatever, if you're following along, it doesn't matter where he where he comes into his home. And like, the the funeral director is there, and he like, holds out his hand PIP is supposed to give him something. And instead he like,

Brandon  1:20:21

awkwardly, like, shakes it Yeah, because he doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't

Collin Funkhouser  1:20:25

know what he's doing. He doesn't know anything about any of this. And obviously that's that's shown here as a child who's never had to go through this in any way. So he doesn't know the the right or wrong thing to do, but is increasingly disconnected and and just can't bring himself to do that because of how he'll be viewed and what he and and again, his expectations of what he thinks should be done. Yeah, to meet them.

Brandon  1:20:56

I think that is really the biggest problem here, now that I think about it, is that there we keep hearing about pips expectations, right? There are great expectations for you, Pip. No one has bothered to tell him what those expectations are. And so, like, he doesn't really know do every I mean, never knows what to do, because no one will tell him what is expected of him, right? Right? It's just like, it's like, imagine, imagine I went to school, right? And I went in my classroom, and I was like, there are rules here. And that's all I said. I never talked about what the rules were, right? We never talked about how I expect you to behave in class. I never, I never talked to you about, like, the things that I expect you to do, the behaviors I expect you to follow, like how you're supposed to walk in the hallway, how you're supposed to go, you know, use use your locker, like how you're supposed to turn in assignments. I never said any of that, yeah, how? How are my kids supposed to do? Anything?

1:22:02

Supposed to function in a room together?

Brandon  1:22:06

And I think, well, they barely do it anyway.

Collin Funkhouser  1:22:08

Yeah, they're not gonna do it. I think what we have here PIP is Pip was looking for like the one way to do things, the one way in life, as he dreamed of from the very beginning, there's one way, I have a dream. There's one way, one way, one way, one way. And at every step that we see PIP failing, it's well, Pip, you can choose any of these options, but it's your choice. It's your choice in the end of what to do, and that is, that is the process of growing up, and I know that's in this context of what kind of story this is of that is the story of life, isn't it? Of there's no right way. There's, you know, maybe better ways to go about going places, but you do have choices at every step, and you make the most out of every situation that you're in. And he completely eschewed and was so dissatisfied, and now is solely locked in and can't think of any other way or possible life because of whose expectations, his expectations, it's and and what he thinks he has to do to get to those. And we see him, you know, come to terms with many of those things. I feel like in chapter, what 36 here where we get some this is this man. All along you hear there was talk of, at least talk, not all long, but like there was going to be something on his birthday, right, where he would get more of something. And so he's really looking

Brandon  1:23:50

forward to this. That's true, right? And he is, this is his now, 24 he's turned 21 right? Oh, I'm sorry, one and 20.

Collin Funkhouser  1:24:00

And I love how it says and I came of age in fulfillment of Herbert's prediction that I should do so before I knew where I was.

Brandon  1:24:07

Yeah, true.

Collin Funkhouser  1:24:10

He keeps again. Part of this is again. He's looking to anybody and everyone around him to tell him what to do. As you said, like he's looking he's begging tell me what I need to do instead of going well, I guess I have to figure this out. Yeah, and because he's he builds this up like he is ready to get his expectation at this at this time now, yeah,

Brandon  1:24:36

but he doesn't, like know what that means. And so we do have this there. There's, you know, time goes on. They're continuing to not go well, right? The opening line of the chapter is Herbert and I went on from bad to worse. You know, it's not great. You. And they go, he's got to go see.

Collin Funkhouser  1:25:09

Well, he gets a note from from Jaggers, doesn't he's

Brandon  1:25:12

got to go see Mr. Jaggers. Oh, boy, this goes well, right? And in his own Mr. Jaggers way, he's being very coy. And he was like, you can, you know, ask me a question, like, I told you once that you can't ask me any questions. He's like, now you can ask me some. And so he starts asking questions like, no, not that

1:25:37

one, nope. What about this?

Brandon  1:25:39

No, not that either. There's one. He's like, What about this one? He's like, hold on, we're going to circle back to that one in a minute. But first,

1:25:50

it's so interesting and so weird,

Brandon  1:25:53

like, basically, he won't tell him anything else we don't get to know about the benefactor. We don't get to know how long it's going to actually be before the Benefactor decides to reveal themselves. Because that is when things are supposed to happen, right? Is when they become they're supposed to be some sort of Revelation. And he thought that was going to be now. JK, it is not going to be now. And so he's just like, here I have, oh, he also does say, Hey, do you know how much debt you're in? And he's like, I mean, kinda,

Collin Funkhouser  1:26:34

and I love how he says Jaeger. Says Jaggers. I don't ask you what you owe because you don't know. And if you did know, you wouldn't tell me. You would say yes, yes, yes, my friend.

Brandon  1:26:45

He's like, I know, I know you wouldn't, but basically it feels like he goes, All right, bang, because he's just been, like, giving him money whenever he wants it right. He's just comes and he asks, and he draws it out and he gets it right? Basically, he's like, here is a banknote, right? He's like, a 500 pounds here, boom.

1:27:09

But you are

Brandon  1:27:12

he, like, basically, he's giving he's like, saying that it's now going to be, he's going to have, like, an income stream. It's an allowance. It's an allowance, basically. So you don't, you can't just come and get whatever, like, there's a set amount of allowance. And he does say, he, like, says to him, he's like, wouldn't you say this is a pretty handsome sum? And he's like, yes, of course. Why would I not deny that? He's like, Oh, good. I'm glad you said that, because this is now it, you're it, yeah, and he, it's like, I can't remember. I was looking for the part where he talks about how, oh yes, you will now take your money affairs entirely into your own hands, and will draw from wimick 125 pounds per quarter, until you are in communication with the fountainhead and no longer the mere agent, right? So he's gaining 500 pounds, but only right, only 125 per quarter, right? Yeah. So bang. That's it. Now it's like the taps are off. You like what I'm imagining. What was supposed to happen here is that you had all this access, and you should have been like doing something, but now you're on a fixed allowance, and so you should have, you know, been trying to figure out how it works from now on. Of course, Jaggers knew the entire time that that would not happen. Yes, right? Because when he first came to London, Jaggers told him, like, you will be in difficulty. I know it. And Pip's, like we talked about, that's not possible. There's no way I could be in difficulty with, like, this kind of stuff. And Jagger's like, you will, you will be, because he's like, Come to me when you're in difficulty. I know it will happen. And then PIP just got in so much difficulty, and he just came so often that he just that was how he decided to live his life. Just barred taking money, taking money, taking money, like not doing anything. And now shablam, is it? Sucker? Yeah, and so so then he then, this is weird. He's like, Well, I guess I should invite like he knows that the polite thing to do at this point is invite Jaggers to dinner. He doesn't really want to do that, but decorum demands that he do so. And I. Of course, Jaggers accepts blah, but he's also like, he's like, I will walk home with you so you don't make any special things on my account, right? We'll just do whatever you already have. Oh, and you know, also, just to, like, make even more comfortable.

Collin Funkhouser  1:30:16

Mostly, you know, it's just to make it more drive that knife in a little deeper,

Brandon  1:30:21

yes, yes. And then, like, we go out to the hallway, why he's getting ready, and he's like, Oh, hey. He talks to mimic outside, right? A little bit here, and he we have this very interesting exchange with we make, right? And he basically says, Great. This is great. I love this part. So this, again, we make, is, we know, a very interesting person, because there is work Mimic, and then there is like, at home whimmick, right? And PIP is struggling to remember that he's talking to working women right now because he like, he leaves work at work, and he leaves home. At home, he does not cross

Collin Funkhouser  1:31:23

the two well. And you see how vulnerable PIP is right now, because he does, like, go straight to a mic, and he's standing in Jaggers offices, and he's asking this, like, this is a very genuine, heartfelt question.

Brandon  1:31:39

And he's like, Hey, I need but he wants help from a friend, but he's talking to a clerk only, yes, right? And his question

Collin Funkhouser  1:31:48

is, hey, like, should I give some money to a friend and win? It's response, I,

1:31:58

I sound so good.

Collin Funkhouser  1:32:00

I love this so much. Where he's just like, hey, name some bridges around. And he's like, What? What? He's like, name some bridges, and he lists off some bridges. He goes, it'd be better if you just walked up on any one of those bridges and just hooked your money into the river then give it to a friend, because of, you know, whatever, whatever. And, and if you need to give money to a friend, make sure it's enough so that they stay away from you.

Brandon  1:32:27

Yeah, he says. He says, Is it your opinion then that a man should never invest portable property in a friend? Said, Weck, certainly he should not, unless he wants to be rid of the friend. And then it becomes a question of how much portable property it may be worth to get rid

Brandon  1:32:52

of him. Oh, yeah, he's right. He's absolutely right. Should you just be lending large amounts of money to your friends? No, no. Should definitely not do that, right? But like he's just going, No. And then he goes, that is your that is your final opinion. Then Mr. Wemmick, and he said that he returned, is my deliberate opinion in this office, right? And he says, Walworth is one place, this office another, much as the aged is one person and Mr. Jaggers is another. They must not be confounded together. My Woolworth sentiments must be taken at Walworth. None of my official sentiments can be taken in this office, right? And he says, You are, of course, always welcome there in a private and personal capacity. He's like, so if you want a different opinion, you can come see me anytime you want. But I this is what I'm telling you right here, right now. Don't do it because he wants to, like, he's like, Okay, I have, I have at least, like he's thinking now he's like, Okay, I have steady access to money, right? I have, like, I can plot out how much money I'm going to have. Yeah, all right, so would it be worth it to take some of this money and invest it in Herbert so that Herbert can do his things and potentially give me a return on investment, so that I can have more money. He's like, so he's thinking now he's like, now that I have an income stream, even though it's probably smaller than what he's spending now, almost surely, yes, we never get a actual total, but we were led to assume that it's quite large. Like, should I do that? That's what he wants to do. He wants to invest in Herbert's plan so that if Herbert makes money, he will benefit from that, like, return on an. Assessment, and basically what make us like absolutely do not do.

Collin Funkhouser  1:35:09

And then they plan to meet up and talk about it at Wentworth, don't they?

Brandon  1:35:13

They do or maybe, so we'll see if that happens in the next one, in the next chapter here, but we have the final part of this is Mr. Jaggers does go home with them, and they have, apparently, the very uncomfortable dinner. So much so that and the last line closing, the closing lines are the best lines on almost all these chapters. It's like the opening line, the closing line is the best. And in the middle is a little bit confusing and weird. But I confusing and weird, but like and Mr. Jaggers made me not alone, intensely melancholy Collie, because after he was gone, Herbert said of himself, with his eyes fixed on the fire, that he thought he must have committed a felony and forgotten the details of it, he felt so dejected and guilty.

Collin Funkhouser  1:36:06

It's marvelous. Marvelous

Brandon  1:36:09

because, of course, unlike women, Jaggers can't turn it off. He is

Collin Funkhouser  1:36:15

all the time. Yeah, Pip is like, I wish that Jaggers had an aged or anything, anything at all to make him unfurrow His little brows. Basically like to be a different person. Like, could you have anything in your life to make you different and but also, I think a point to that is because Jaggers can't turn it off. Like, there is some condemnation from Jaggers on you just like, I don't know, like, I just imagined

Brandon  1:36:44

Herbert, obviously. Oh, I think there's absolutely condemnation here.

Collin Funkhouser  1:36:47

There's immediate amount of condemnation. And like, I think, I

Brandon  1:36:50

think he's now, I think part of it is, at least in my brain, what I think is happening is it Jaggers knows how much money that he's spending, and he went home and he saw where he lives, and he's like, Yo, this is what are you doing? He's like, What are you spending your money on? You live in this terrible little place. What do you mean? You owe this much money?

Collin Funkhouser  1:37:16

Yeah, I definitely feel that too, and to know that basically Herbert's complicit in that and and also know that the actions of PIP are bringing down Herbert. I think that that was part of an opening of when our first chapter, 34 of that his own expectations, he was starting to realize the impact that it was having on others around him. And obviously Jaggers sees that too. Of, oh my gosh. Like, yeah, I know that. Basically, Pip has had access to unlimited amounts of money. Herbert does not have that. No, oh boy.

Brandon  1:37:54

But if Herbert is trying to keep up with PIP, then he's gonna He's in big trouble, right? Like, if he's playing, keep up the Jones, which he is, because he joined the whatever dumb club too. So, like, yeah, you know, like, he doesn't have disposable income to do that. He definitely doesn't, because he is just a clerk and he just, like, hangs out. He's a clerk cosplaying as, like, a wealthy guy like, not does not compute, right? They got all this money and they haven't really upgraded their house, or they didn't move into a different apartment, or they just kind of, like, got some new upholstery and put it on

Collin Funkhouser  1:38:35

the that doesn't match

Brandon  1:38:37

the terrible place they had. Yeah, it's ridiculous. So oh boy,

Collin Funkhouser  1:38:45

oh boy. Keep moving on.

Brandon  1:38:49

We're gonna keep moving on. But I did, so we'll see again. I think something crazy is like, I still don't know what in the world is happening here, exactly. So we'll just see.

Collin Funkhouser  1:39:07

Do I want? Do I want PIP to end up poor and chased out of London and living his forever life with bitty? Absolutely, I do. I don't think that's going to happen, because that's somewhat of a happy ending.

Brandon  1:39:19

So, yeah, I don't know. I do know that I was looking at the just the length of the next chapters and the end of chapter 39 says the end of the second stage of pips expectations. So it's like part The End of Part Two, I guess. Okay, so we have that, interesting. I didn't read anything else but my page. This is like a half page with like giant text. This is the end of like, Oh, okay. So okay, we have. I'll keep going. We might have so maybe, if we are building, I don't know, maybe some event will occur that will make that statement resounding. I don't know.

Collin Funkhouser  1:40:15

Or we'll just be moving from one cube to the next, yeah.

Brandon  1:40:18

I mean, that's kind of what happened with the first one. Like, when we had the first one, it was just like, anyway, now we're going to London. Like, okay, so, like, cool, neat. Like, Pip still sucks and ruining my boy, HERBIE, but we'll see. Oh,

Collin Funkhouser  1:40:39

goodness. Well, yeah, we will continue our way through, so at

Brandon  1:40:45

least we have something to look forward to. We have the end of Part Two coming, so we'll see if that means something this time. We'll see. It may just mean the PIP still sucks, which is probably true, but

Collin Funkhouser  1:41:00

you know, it's fine, yeah, who knows? Not me,

Brandon  1:41:04

but maybe, maybe we will know.

Collin Funkhouser  1:41:08

Well, I do know that I have a haiku. Let's go okay from events today. Oh, marble stands composed, glass breaks the quiet beside old walls, keep their grace. Oh, I like this.

Collin Funkhouser  1:41:39

Well, we will keep doing this. Maybe reach out with some scheduling changes, giving some travel that I have coming up next week. So may train that's fine, quicker on the back end of this, all right, caught up.

Brandon  1:41:52

Okay, I'll try. I may be indisposed on Friday, okay, so that's the only date I know of so far that I might be busy,

Collin Funkhouser  1:42:04

maybe heavy, maybe good to know. Okay, very good. Well, we'll see what happens. All right. Love you. Love you. You.