This is your brain on pure driven snow
This Spyplane newsletter discusses the author's "Total Trailer Blindness" policy for movies, inspired by an unexpected Groundhog Day experience, and announces exclusive early access to new shoes from a Body of Work x Moonstar collaboration launching in late October.
Summary
The newsletter opens with announcements about various lifestyle guides covering travel intel, jeans hemming, activewear, and gift subscriptions. The main feature focuses on Jonah's personal philosophy of avoiding trailers and pre-release information about movies he plans to see. He traces this approach back to childhood when his father took him to see Groundhog Day without any prior knowledge of the plot. Twenty minutes into the film, when the day started repeating, Jonah experienced genuine disorientation and shock—a feeling he identifies as a unique and rare pleasure of moviegoing. He argues that trailers, reviews, and other promotional content diminish this sense of discovery, even when they don't explicitly spoil plot points. The author commits to maintaining a "mind like a field of pure driven snow" when approaching films he knows he'll watch. The newsletter then pivots to product announcements, including exclusive early access for readers to a forthcoming Body of Work x Moonstar shoe collaboration. The capsule features two styles—the "Lite Prim" Mary Jane-inspired shoe and the "Gym Classic" vintage trainer—each available in two colorways. Both are constructed from Japanese-woven cotton with vulcanized rubber outsoles, made in Kurume, and will ship tariff-free from Canada to the U.S. The shoes are set to release at the end of October, with newsletter subscribers receiving exclusive pre-order access.
About this episode
A rare footwear event, the thrill of total blankness, a swaggy beret-rocking musical king, and more unbeatable recon
Key Insights
- The author argues that trailers and promotional content erode the sense of discovery at movies even when they contain no technical spoilers, by reducing the viewer's state of disorientation
- Jonah claims that the experience of genuine confusion and shock while watching an unfamiliar film—as he felt 20 minutes into Groundhog Day—represents a uniquely valuable and increasingly rare pleasure in modern moviegoing
- The author maintains a deliberate strategy of information avoidance for anticipated films, treating ignorance as a prerequisite for the ideal viewing experience
- Body of Work and Moonstar designed the shoe capsule using specifically sourced materials including Japanese-woven cotton and vulcanized rubber, with production located in Kurume
- The newsletter leverages exclusive early access as a incentive for subscribers, positioning Spyfriends as the only people able to pre-order the shoe collaboration before its official late-October release date
Topics
Transcript
Mach 3+ city intel for traveling the entire planet is here . This is why hemmed jeans look horrible , and how to never brick a jeans hem again. Our newly revamped, intel-rich guide to “Beautiful Life-Improving Spyplane Staples” for the body, home, pantry and beyond is here . Our guide to the best natural-fiber activewear is here . Give a gift subscription From now through ~the end of January, a lot of movies that stand a strong chance of being very good will roll into theaters. This makes it a perfect time to share my (Jonah’s) preferred method of engaging with such movies in the run-up to release: Total Trailer Blindness (T.T.B.) My T.T.B. policy stems from an unforgettable…
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