James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 06/10/2026A bit alarming when you find yourself yelling at the TV, and the topic is "pie." But that episode was profoundly wrong. 130
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 06/10/2026All the hallmarks of a fun episode: smart, likable killer, villainous victim, Columbo getting to appreciate the bad guy despite himself and learning a little bit about wine along the way. An all-timer! 110
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Finally: an auto-tuned Columbo-themed novelty track. I guess that sounds sarcastic, but I'm actually stoked. My favorite episode (Any Old Port in a Storm) even! 140
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Glad to hear they're maintaining standards! heavytable.com/giordanos-in...heavytable.comGiordano’s in Uptown, Minneapolis – Heavy Table 020
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Reposting this here for anyone who hasn't watched it recently, this is how you do a theme song / opening credits: youtu.be/vMWc4Ol7yCM?...youtu.beBosch Main Title | Amazon Originals | Can't Let GoYouTube video by Bhatkele Satkele 000
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026My wife and I literally yelled this exact thing. "What are you doing?! Get out of the road!!" 110
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Yes! There's all this "they're gonna kill us all!" and then stopping for water, visiting grandpa's house, getting a quick cuppa, etc. etc. Similarly, if Taverner doesn't put you back into the system IMMEDIATELY it's an insane crisis, not a weird little thing that happened. 110
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026It really has all the hallmarks of something dashed off during a coffee break that was itself in the middle of a more important meeting, probably about licensing rights. I think they should just switch to the opening credits for Bosch, which were amazing, and still sort of set the right mood. 100
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026It got me thinking that maybe it's a clever in joke - a criminally on-the-nose theme song for a show all about double and triple crosses and encoded meanings - but I think it was simply "oh my God we got Jagger to do the theme" and then Jagger just winging it rather than writing something. 000
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Legitimately aggravating because it's been such a solid and tightly-wound show for five seasons. I will say that the Mick Jagger theme song has always been terrible. "Hey Mick, just sing the basic plot of the show, OK? Here's the elevator pitch we used." 200
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026this whole season feels a lot more Whovian - unearned sentiment, weird pacing, general sloppiness in terms of character motivation. the fact that there's an actual wise-cracking kid in the mix is just the headstone on the grave. 200
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026calling it now: Jackson Lamb and Scrappy Doo getting into a farting contest is when Slow Horses jumped the shark. I think a once excellent show is cooked. 100
Reposted by James NortonMichael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Most TV is just this now. 17572471994
Reposted by James Nortontaylr @taylordahlin.com · 28/09/2026mukhtar ibrahim, founder of the sahan journal, and ubah ali, a former WCCO reporter, have just launched the somali brief, an independent media outlet where somali americans can tell their own stories www.thesomalibrief.comthesomalibrief.comThe Somali BriefThe Somali Brief is a digital-first media platform covering the stories shaping Somali American life. 624993
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 23/09/2026don't sleep on Costco Business Center. The "business" is the business of delicious food. 1111
Reposted by James NortonMayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 16/09/202617 new public bathrooms. Across all five boroughs. Because you can’t wait — and you shouldn’t have to. 20596491407
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Between Rhea Seehorn, Stephen Root, and Matthew Rhys, the Emmys have briefly redeemed my belief in the underlying goodness of humanity. Incredibly well-deserved awards!! Widow's Bay is crazy good! Justice for Kim Wexler! Ah, man. Lovely stuff. 090
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Saw this at the Trylon last night, it holds up, and will always hold up. What a film! 040
Reposted by James Nortontaylr @taylordahlin.com · 13/09/2026i already like sagal’s strong coffee and bur but love them now for this rejection of AI in favor of a charming, hand drawn menu board instead stop in if you’re at cedarfest! we must support businesses who don’t use AI 3622
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 12/09/2026This ambitious sprawl reminds me of both The Ladies' Paradise by Zola and Martin Dressler by Millhauser - stories of overwhelmingly grand, complex, but ultimately efficient economic engines that are basically self-contained worlds. Both books are great reads! 0131
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026It is not cheap to subscribe to, but I fork over increasing piles of money every year because they're really thorough and pretty fair. Not many publications walking the ideological tightrope anymore, it's a pleasant throwback in that way. 020
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 10/09/2026So much rides on portioning. If that's a substantial egg sandwich, like a tasty, satisfying meal of an egg sandwich, I think that's OK. The Peg egg sandwich at the Fair was $8, which felt great, actually. But the $4 bacon add-on feels steep. 120
Reposted by James Nortons. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 08/09/2026All else aside there is nothing I want or need genAI to do for me. I like reading. I like doing research. I like playing around in spreadsheets. I like interviewing people. I like writing. I like doing these things for myself because I take pleasure in the doing and they make me a better thinker. 72191541
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 08/09/2026hell yes, a rare and indirect Burnett Dairy Cooperative shoutout 000
Reposted by James NortonBUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL AKA PRESIDENT FOOTBALL @edsbs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Reacher singing this while beating you to death with a running push mower 1258683
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 03/09/2026On one hand I don't disagree, on the other hand I started with season 2, which was utterly ludicrous throughout, so my tolerance for goofy plotting with this series is really high. I'm still digging it. 110
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 03/09/2026what about the library shelf clampdown thing! I had the visceral joy of calling that before it happened, it was a thrill that for me justified the season as a whole 110
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 30/08/2026"Hey Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal" by TMBG ("Chess Piece Face" / "Rabid Child" / "World's Address," all also by TMBG) 020
Reposted by James NortonNorm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Our county runs monthly fix-it clinics where you can bring in broken items and handy volunteers will try and fix or mend them. Our food processor stopped working, and a kind, older guy walked me through troubleshooting, identified a problem with the handle mechanism, and fixed it right there. 2690090
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 29/08/2026I know!! That was my first choice, they were out, I had to get the long john, I somehow survived. 000
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 29/08/2026I don't write many personal essays. But when I do, it's because something legitimately moved me. To my surprise: trying to figure out why we cover something as absurd as the Fair led me to some strange places. 091
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 29/08/2026turns out they were out of cinnamon twists, so chocolate long john it was. No complaints! Apple fritter = also good. 010
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 29/08/2026All that said, my GOD is this a trivial dispute. Time to put it aside and worry about the big things in life: whether to get a chocolate long john or a cinnamon twist doughnut from Cub Foods. 210
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Cities can do whatever they can get away with, just as corporations can do whatever they can get away with. But "we can get away with it" is not a defense. The curb in front of my house has cars parked on it all year! I think it's OK that they're parking for free. Whatever! Hospitality, man. 100
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Spending the morning parked in a Substack comment section yelling at someone from Falcon Heights about their $25 street parking charge during the Fair. Look, just be cheerful about it! "Hey, suckers, if you don't like the fee, just park somewhere else! Otherwise, pay up ya mugs!" 120
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Cheers, and thanks Bill! This one should be free for all, if memory serves. 020
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 28/08/2026but only one new food is gross AND $22, and that's the food I have lowkey fallen in love with after the fact, the Australian Battered Nightmare Potato. 110
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 28/08/2026It's worse than that, some of the new foods ARE gross! 110
Reposted by James Norton#1 Lifelong Houston Cougs Fan Brandi 😾 @itsthebrandi.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Subscribe to @heavytable.com for the most comprehensive state fair food preview from the actual day of the fair 0119
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Would love to know how it earned that second star in the Strib. To me, it's a quintessential one star or four star dish, depending upon how bleak your sense of humor is. 220
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 28/08/2026It's the dish we can't stop talking about! Even though we would like to. 000
James Norton @jrnorton.bsky.social · 27/08/2026One more random candid from the day, absolutely the hardest working-looking shot of the team in the field that I've ever seen. Reflective of our excellence? I think so!! 040