Reconcilable Differences

This week's main topic is "Taking Care of Things."

This week kicks off with Merlin walking John through his exciting new nap workflow. John has significant safety concerns. In dog news, it seems Daisy has discovered toilet paper.

This week’s accidental main topic finds your hosts ending up talking a lot about 80s Music. Why are all the lyrics sites wrong? U2 vs. R.E.M.? How even would you make a radio mixtape? Is it really just a matter of trust?

How did John get so careful with his stuff, and what exactly would happen if water dribbled on Merlin’s signed FF #1 with baby variant cover? Should spilt milk make anyone cry, and why is there rice everywhere?

The TV has a three-foot perimeter, but the plastic runner has been taken up for one day, because Jesus.

(Recorded on Thursday, July 11, 2017.)

More than 1,500 years ago, North African immigrants brought rice to Spain, where the crop thrived. It wasn’t long before Spanish cooks were simmering rice with onions, bell pepper, garlic and tomatoes to create what is known in the U.S. as Spanish rice.

American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term in 1954, writing about how as a girl she had misheard the lyric "...and laid him on the green" in a Scottish ballad as "...and Lady Mondegreen".

The Problem: He made his bones to Jefferson Airplane.

This week, Myke talks to John Siracusa about 'Achtung Baby', by U2.

Matt! Fraction!

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.

The main topic focuses on a new addition to House Siracusa. No spoilers, but it’s a pee-poop-nipping machine and a sweet precious angel.

This week kicks off with some discussion of Yakov Smirnoff’s beard, why Merlin wants to buy a drill, and how John feels a little vindicated about his read of Fight Club.

In follow-up, John catches us up on how things went after his wife listened to the house duties episode. Merlin just wants to be loved, and John just isn’t sold on the benefits of being a no-shoe household.

This week’s mini-topic concerns John’s fraught relationship with a noisy summer appliance. You just need to get something meaty in there.

John admits to an awkward expression of casual doggie racism, and Merlin apparently measures difficulty with barre chords.

(Recorded on Tuesday, June 20, 2017.)

Today’s tough-guy posturing seems rooted, paradoxically, in threat and fear: fear of defeat, fear of lost status and fear that society is growing increasingly ill suited to tough-guy posturing in the first place. The narrator of “Fight Club,” source of that “snowflake” mantra, was a delusional man coping with modernity by inventing a hypermasculine alter-ego, imagining himself as the man-cult leader Tyler Durden. But making an entire alternate masculine identity is a lot of work. It’s always much easier to just call other people wimps and snowflakes — and hope they’ll be intimidated enough to melt away.

The main topic this week is Housework and House Duties, which John quickly persuades Merlin is, indeed, a trap.

In this wraparound episode, your hosts kick off with follow-up on Arrival (no spoilers) and why John gets sad when people don’t listen to the program. Merlin has questions about YouTube influences and quickly forgets John is on The Incomparable.

Do dogs like NPR, and how would we even know? Can you please turn the TV off, please? George is getting angry!

John’s bird seems to be moving further away, and no wrist rockets have been acquired. A strict edict on choosing an internet handle is mutually ratified, and John addresses WWDC as-a-thing. (You should have called in during the PIXAR episode.)

What do you do around the house, what are you good at, and what do you like or dislike? John wants a pie graph and then receives one in real time.

John’s kid transport duties thread a needle, Merlin is awesome at drawing a bath, and both hosts obsess over the heat and timeliness of their meals. John laments water management, Merlin enjoys wearing headphones, and John sleepily struggles with the morning sandwich detail.

Anyway. Please remember to like and subscribe.

(Recorded on Tuesday, May 29, 2017.)

We rely on advertising as a way to support this show. If you could do us a favor and answer a few short questions, it would be really helpful to us.

Wraparound, in video games, is a gameplay variation on the single-screen in which space is finite but unbounded

"Examining how Arrival was adapted from the short story it was based on, how clever editing kept the focus on the protagonist, and why good science fiction is really a study of humanity."

"Later, you'll find The Spoiler Slot filled with a spoiler-heavy discussion of the 2016 movie, Arrival. If you haven’t seen the film yet, be sure to bail out before the spoiler horn is deployed at (1:13:13). [Watch it. It’s good.]"

Examining the elements of suspense that Quentin Tarantino put to use in the opening scene of Inglourious Basterds.

We take a deep dive into Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II”, which is really two movies in one. Robert De Niro stars as young Vito Corleone, who comes to America and learns how to become The Godfather. And Al Pacino stars as Michael Corleone, trying to live up to the standard set by his father in the first film. In this episode we talk about its overarching themes, the two-timeframe approach, and the first portion of the film itself, including a visit to pre-revolution Cuba and Lee Strasberg as a grumpy old man who really wants you to look at his cake.

[Part One of Two.]

"Pasta should be served in warm bowls."

"Host Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Eric Heisserer about Arrival."

We watch the dog grief porn A Dog’s Purpose. Meanwhile Dan gets to the bottom of a Lassie mystery, Stuart gives us a hall pass, and Elliott masturbates to rhymes. Apologies for the audio that makes it sound like Stuart is in the other room. We have no idea how that happened.

The main topic this week is PIXAR. Specifically, your hosts react to a recent article on whether Disney has “ruined” PIXAR, then proceed with candid opinions on whether or how House Mouse might influence House Luxo.

This week kicks off with some follow-up on John’s bird-enemy and why a person would ever eat popcorn with a spoon.

A (spoiler-free) check-in with The Leftovers Season 3 leads to a further discussion of trailers, recaps, and…spoilers. Your hosts address their approaches to “His ‘n Hers” media consumption, and the joys of watching closely.

(Recorded on Tuesday, May 23, 2017)

"For 15 years, the animation studio was the best on the planet. Then Disney bought it."

Landis got the title See You Next Wednesday from the 1968 movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is the last line spoken by Frank Poole's father during Poole's videophone conversation with his parents.

Hey, look! That's our editor, Jim!

@AlexCox: "Is it weird to eat popcorn with a spoon?"

In this week’s accidental main topic, John addresses his new bird-enemy and the Wile E. Coyotean lengths to which his desperation with living in a drum may drive him.

Follow-up kicks off with Merlin’s iMac repair and why it’s fun to buy things with your phone. Strategies for tricking kids into watching media are explored, and John talks about why he’s still a TiVo man. Engadget hangs John’s Mac.

Merlin bemoans point-of-sale systems, and John provides important corrections from his wife on that weird metal Visa card he got. Merlin updates us on some unusual tech support for January’s #grassfed bag of blood incident, John struggles with getting logged-in, and then the blood bag gets a surprising Turns Out twist.

Things wrap up with John’s fond memories of This Old House, alongside his variety of interactions with the program’s TV-famous craftspeople.

(Recorded on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.)

We rely on advertising as a way to support this show. If you could do us a favor and answer a few short questions, it would be really helpful to us. Thanks!

It has some tense moments, strong language (including "s--t" and "f--k"), smoking, and drinking.

This little shitbird is woodpecker-ing the metal hood on top of my chimney, playing my entire house like a percussion instrument.

But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career.

Crocodiles are jerks.

In the US he was popularly known as Baghdad Bob and in Britain as Comical Ali (a joke derived from Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was also known as "Chemical Ali").

How one instrument went from being the backbone of American popular music to being a punchline in a joke about the ’80s.

"I would even go so far as to say that I believe that using this technique will make picky eating worse."

After trying on many pairs of glasses, George finally decides upon a new style and buys them, but is distressed when Kramer later points out that they are women's-style glasses made by Gloria Vanderbilt.

This week, John and Merlin fret about their kids’ health and inherited emotional baggage. Merlin fails at becoming Sisyphus, while John is pessimistic about keeping anything in pairs.

John shares his recent experience at a concert by his celebrity crushes, Aimee Mann and Jonathan Coulton. Jonathan gets dressy, and Aimee receives an important message from the Ancient Bird.

Finally, talk turns to travel, with both of your hosts having recently returned from time away from home. John shares tales from his first extracontinental journey, including miles of walking, weird money, and a dramatic run-in with airport adhesives.

(Recorded Tuesday, April 25, 2017)

This week, John and Merlin fret about their kids’ health and inherited emotional baggage. Merlin fails at becoming Sisyphus, while John is pessimistic about keeping anything in pairs.

John shares his recent experience at a concert by his celebrity crushes, Aimee Mann and Jonathan Coulton. Jonathan gets dressy, and Aimee receives an important message from the Ancient Bird.

Finally, talk turns to travel, with both of your hosts having recently returned from time away from home. John shares tales from his first extracontinental journey, including miles of walking, weird money, and a dramatic run-in with airport adhesives.

(Recorded Tuesday, April 25, 2017)

A male compulsion to answer questions regardless of whether one knows the answer.

A timeless lace-up oxford is crafted from high-shine leather and set on a durable, grippy rubber sole.

Includes more discussion of John's travel adventures.

In a surprisingly robust main topic, John recalls his youth spent playing handball and many other New York street games that Merlin had assumed were just made up.

This week, Merlin helps a friend and John disallows an awkward neologism. John wonders who refills the store-smell machine.

John surprises Merlin by (finally) watching the film, Les Misérables, and shares his impressions. What works, what doesn’t, and why does the sewer need to be so sewery?

Dodgeball is debated, Merlin shares his very very sad homemade games, and John reluctantly learns about stolen valor and the people who pretend to be cops.

Less surprisingly, there’s some important Follow-Up on…Follow-Up. John revisits the provenance of his invention and its legacy, and reveals a double-turns-out about the role Merlin’s bit may unintentionally play in ensuring its proper credit. Merlin just wishes everyone could be happy with how everybody already likes them, but John makes sure Merlin’s week in the barrel includes some candid feedback from listeners.

Finding themselves suddenly short on time, your hosts talk about Merlin’s recent acquisition of a MacBook Adorable and why it can sometimes be so danged hard to recommend Apple products. John looks at the background of photos, star-effs with a showrunner, and explains why he documented his withdrawal of a very nice gift to The Original Peaches.

(Recorded on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.)

This week's challenge: watch Les Misérables.

We're all sensitive people.

Grey and Brady discuss: Hello Internet babies, humblebragging time warp, how likely is your job to be automated, a new corner, John Nash, losing weight, and collecting the Getting Things Done homework.

A super-fan purchased the domain wordssoundlikeeachother.com, configuring it to redirect to the Flop House's blog.  Said super-fan has subsequently let this domain expire, partially in protest of the fact that the Original Peaches could never accurately recall or convey the actual joke that the domain name embodied—much like this very wiki page.  It was a revelation—Wow, words sound like each other!—not the name of a category (Words that sound like other words.)

This week’s main topic is Follow-Up. John has strong feelings about properly crediting the provenance of this segment, and, honestly, he really asks for so little in life. This leads to a discussion of how one’s ideas often develop a life of their own.

This week kicks off with John analyzing Merlin’s various mouth noises, self-styled music cues, and personal sound effects. Both hosts get songs stuck in their heads. John lays a trap for Merlin, and Merlin shares an important new dream with the Ancient Bird.

At length, your hosts get a little meta, with follow-up on things Merlin still hasn’t watched. Many mini topics are considered, discussed, and/or discarded, but what John wants—what’s most important to him—is that Merlin just pick one damned topic already.

Credit is also reassigned for things your hosts didn’t actually invent. General-purpose strategies for the proper deployment of bits is discussed.

Things wrap up with a meditation on Aimee Mann, the layers of performance, plus an important adjustment to Merlin’s ongoing directive for eventually introducing John to famous people.

Recorded on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Many thanks to Jim Metzendorf for editing this episode!

John Siracusa and Dan Benjamin tie up some loose ends from the TV show before talking about backups, the onus on Apple to make them work, Apple's past and present attempts, the failings of external hard drives, personal backup regimes, and online backups.

John Siracusa and Dan Benjamin end the Hypercritical podcast with a discussion of the show itself, followed by a final Q

Merlin's updated take on Inbox Zero.

"Once you’ve dedicated yourself to making the things you love, every inbox can and should become a well-monitored servant rather than a merciless master."

MICHAEL: What I want... what's most important to me is that I have a guarantee: no more attempts on my father's life.

"Not gonna lie. This was a special moment."

A weekly challenge show hosted by Merlin Mann, Alex Cox, and Max Temkin.

Merlin gets his time in the barrel as John disabuses him of his self-styled situation as "the dumb one." Merlin tries gamely to change the subject to how status works in improv, but finds his knife further sharpened in the bargain.

This week kicks off with John talking about the new Zelda game alongside thoughts on what it takes to keep a franchise great.

In follow-up, John addresses online angst and agita about the recent discussion of Arrival.

Your hosts reluctantly accept that their college friends may no longer be 19.

At 1:17:17, we turn to the Spoiler Slot, featuring that long-teased discussion of the whackadoo Netflix series, The OA (as well as passing references to Sound of My Voice).

Then (then!), at 2:11:15, we have an unprecedented second Spoiler Slot for follow-up forensic analysis of Arrival.

(Episode recorded Tuesday, March 14, 2017)

Having gone missing seven years ago, the previously blind Prairie returns home, now in her 20s with her sight restored. While many believe she is a miracle, others worry that she could be dangerous.

The OA received generally favorable critical reception, although reviews ranged from highly positive to highly negative, with several reviewers drawing both favorable and unfavorable comparisons with Stranger Things, another science fiction series that debuted on Netflix earlier in the year.

This article contains spoilers through all eight episodes of The OA.

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read until you’ve watched all eight episodes of “The OA,” which debuted today on Netflix.

Television loves a mystery box lately — puzzle series like “Westworld” and “Mr. Robot ” — and with the sudden announcement of “The OA” just days before its premiere on Friday, Netflix dropped one on our doorstep, rang the doorbell and ran.

When we talk about status “transactions”, we are essentially talking about social dominance and submission.  The terms “status hierarchy” and “submission hierarchy” could be used interchangeably.  This idea presupposes a couple of assumptions based in evolution science, for example:

One of the most iconoclastic, pioneering and influential comedians in Britain, Stewart Lee has forged his post-punk ideals into a thrillingly funny live act, with the very form at his fingertips. We explore the deliberately uncomfortable tension between the man and the stage persona