John Siracusa and Merlin Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way.

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#25: Zarro Droogs

May 5th, 2016 · 201 minutes

The main topic this week is—wait for it— drugs. In particular, the listener is treated to an epic tour of the "four toadstools" that mark Merlin's journey with the forbidden pharmaceutical wild side.

This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:

  • Squarespace: Enter offer code DIFFS at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

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Download: MP3 (138.25 MB)

Links and Show Notes

This week opens with some followup on the ownership of Star Wars and the zero-sum game of ugly corporate distribution battles. John visits San Francisco, sees Todd and Merlin, and there is talk about the modern history of film VFX.

Merlin catches John up on the extraordinary amount of The Walking Dead episodes he's been watching (out of order), and John doubles down on his shocked perplexity regarding how Merlin does almost everything.

Winded and worn, Merlin begins provoking John for answers and anecdotes on the times he's taken crazy risks. Mildly harrowing stories ensue. John tortures himself with thought experiments.

Also, John hates smoking.

(Episode recorded April 26, 2016)


Plex: Your media on all your devices
Synology Inc.
Hayao Miyazaki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation - Wookieepedia - Wikia

Despite The Walt Disney Company's 2012 purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the release rights to all future Star Wars films, Fox still retains original distribution rights to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope "in perpetuity" in all media worldwide.

Panda! Go, Panda! - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Is The Original (Unaltered) 'Star Wars' Trilogy Finally Coming To Blu-Ray? - Forbes

There was some renewed hope that he might loosen his grip on the movies when he sold Lucasfilm to Disney, but some four years on and there’s been no movement on the matter. At least, not officially, not yet.

Luke Skywalker Surrenders to Darth Vader - HD1080p - Star Wars Episode VI Return of The Jedi - YouTube
Todd Vaziri (@tvaziri) | Twitter
Breathing Life into the Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park | Industrial Light & Magic
Phil Tippett - IMDb
Matte painting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dennis Muren - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of Pixar shorts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Toy Story Toons - Small Fry | Disney•Pixar | Disney Video
DisneyLife - Watch Disney Movies, TV Box Sets, Listen to Music & More | DisneyLife
San Francisco, la grille sur les collines / the grid meets the hill (English and French Edition): Florence Lipsky: 9782863640777: Amazon.com: Books
Castro District, San Francisco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Haight became drug ridden and violent chasing off the gay population who looked for a more stable area to live.

Big Dig - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Big Dig was the most expensive highway project in the US, and was plagued by escalating costs, scheduling overruns, leaks, design flaws, charges of poor execution and use of substandard materials, criminal arrests, and one death.

Bugzilla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John's original Hypercritical article
MAPS - Staff
Argyreia nervosa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Echinopsis pachanoi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2C-B - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pier Pressure - Arrested Development Wiki - Wikia
Next Position Please - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Five snapshots from the day pot “took” (1984) | 5ives
  1. At home, I hallucinated that Suzie was a limited edition Elizabeth Taylor Denny’s children’s menu (complete with punchouts and maze game)
Private Stock (malt liquor) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One notable aspect of Private Stock packaging is that the undersides of Private Stock bottle caps contained words or Rebus puzzles.

Massimo Vignelli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Power, Corruption & Lies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia