This week’s main topic is all about "Full Media Blackout."

This week kicks off with thoughts on breaking-in new stuff, a tutorial on washing blue jeans, and, regrettably, the official retirement of Barrel Week. Eighties comedies are problematic, Richard Dawson had a pretty sweet mic, and our calendars are still such a mess.

John’s got beef with deliberately-distressed stuff, Merlin commits to a new lifestyle, and John helps you find photos of his dog. John also provides encouraging updates in Dog Follow-Up. Merlin wonders why all schools smell like boy pee.

Todd is heavily credited with originating the term Full Media Blackout, which describes the ultimate no-spoiler, zero-information lockdown to which one may wish to commit in the run-up to the release of new media. What even is FMB, why would you do it, and how do you choose which stuff gets the total treatment? Just as important, how far will you go to stay unspoiled?

Things wrap with a quick cut at Things That Need to Leave the House. You know that sideboard, those baby shoes, and all the rock ‘n roll t-shirts? Gone. Out. Done-zo. You must reverse the flow diagram!

(Recorded on Thursday, July 6, 2017.)

"SilencedBots - A collection of regex filters that are useful for muting stuff in Tweetbot"

On improving presentation culture.

Dan and Merlin talk about bombing the deck, advancing the slides, and striving to improve the self-perpetuating bad culture of presentations.

TOPIC: Time Tetris in Difficult ModeThis week, Dan and Merlin do a VERY deep dive on one listener's question about life with an excruciating shared Google Calendar. Merlin, unsurprisingly, has a lot to say about this. No. Like, really. A lot a lot.

Replacing the economic equality with the over-stretched one, i.e. complete equality in terms of equal looks, brains and body, the story satirizes the American Cold War overreaction to Soviet society. The real target of satire is revealed at the end of the story with the main character breaking the law of gravity to achieve his over-stretched idea of freedom, and declaring himself "the Emperor".

VFX artist and sometimes supervisor. Made star treks, impossible missions, prequels, an avatar, 3 transformers, woke the force and rogue'd one. Ep8'ing.

There’s now a teaser trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, and you know we have opinions. And so, in great Incomparable fashion, we’re here to talk about 80 seconds of video for more than an hour. How could we not?

A new “Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens” trailer has appeared! And, as was fated, we are here to deconstruct it within an inch of its life. Dark Side IKEA end tables! John Boyega quotes us the odds! Bespoke evil ships! And is that a glimmer in your eye, or just some lens flare? Plus we give some love to BB8, everyone’s favorite robotic soccer ball.

Dan Moren reports in from the Star Wars celebration, and Serenity Caldwell phones in from her car. This is serious business, people.