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I love driving and doing chores while listening to radio dramas and audiobooks.

Back in the ’80s NPR produced a series of broadcasts that retold the original Star Wars trilogy as a radio drama. Using original audio recordings of the series, combined with movie music and sound effects, Nigel Langes compiled all of the episodes into a playlist of three videos, running about 11 hours in total.

Patrick Willems does a great reflection on Kiki’s Delivery Service and how it speaks to many of the issues that small, independent content creators encounter.

I remember in the late 2000’s hearing tons of young people never wanting to work at some ‘stodgy’ old company that made you work 9-5, come into actual offices, etc. The gig economy is where it’s at! Work whenever and wherever you want!

Fast forward a bit, and we’re see the problems with the gig economy. Gig jobs have very little security, often lack basic benefits like medical, 401k, retirement contributions, stock plans, etc. As time has shown, these jobs have increasingly become a race to the bottom. A gig worker can be replaced by countless others doing the same task easily and efficiently. Anything you can do, there’s almost certainly someone out there that can do it cheaper.

On top of that, we’re increasingly seeing streaming stars burning out, suffering mental health issues, taking breaks and even calling it quits.

Another sad reality is that the promise of working whenever and wherever you want has actually turned out that you work ALL the time in my circle of friends that tried it. You are constantly connected online and need to constantly be doing your job, along with the additional job of selling and branding yourself. You’re doing 2 jobs at the same time. My gig friends were always on their phones and laptops, even when out supposedly having a good time.

In the end, all those friends of mine that did gig economy jobs have quit and joined established companies. It turns out, ONLY working 9-5, M-F means you have time for family and weekend fun. It means you can have kids. It means you know the mortgage will get paid each month. It means retirement, benefits, and exposure to professional interactions, equipment, and advancements you can’t have as a small independent.

Olson Kundig designed this high-tech west hollywood retreat to take in sweeping views across los angeles, from the san gabriel mountains to the pacific ocean. Located just above the sunset strip, the residence offers spectacular views from all parts of the house, while taking advantage of the climate of southern california. as they client enjoys spending time outdoors, the architects sought to blur the boundaries between internal and external space — encouraging outdoor living as much as possible.

olson kundig’s hillside ‘collywood house’ presents sweeping views across los angeles