Feel like the timeline could use another huge UNC football loss tonight, too.
Freelancer for hire. You know me from: The A.V. Club, The Dissolve. Posts about food, TV, movies, the Braves, pretty scenery. Husband of @donnadb.bsky.social .
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Feel like the timeline could use another huge UNC football loss tonight, too.
For a few scattered minutes, the series premiere of Alien: Earth looked like a straight-up remake/reimagining of the original. In this week's episode, Noah Hawley revisits and expands on those minutes, finally making his full-on Alien cover version. My Vulture review: www.vulture.com/article/alie...
Excited about the weather. At past TIFFs it's been hot at first, then cooled off over the weekend. It looks like this year's going to stay in a good range for all of the 8 days I'll be there (with some rain).
Dan there have also been a lot of hats.
I had the same question. I have a small bag which'll hold my phone, a charger, my glasses and a water bottle, but it'd be nice to have access to at least my iPad (with keyboard case) between screenings, in case I need to get some work done. If I find anything out I'll let you know.
Looking forward to flying into Toronto tomorrow and enjoying a lot of good food (and movies), but first, staying in airport-adjacent hotel only a 10-minute drive from Gus’s Fried Chicken means getting a sublime taste of home before I leave.
Realized today that when he does die, we're going to get days (weeks? years?) of teary White House insiders going on cable news to talk about how in his final days he bravely slathered on makeup, faced the cameras, and spread some fresh bullshit about voter fraud,
Some baseball guys I remember from the 21st century:
Today at The Reveal I revisited Mike Nichols' searing CARNAL KNOWLEDGE and the scandal that surrounded its release (including an obscenity case that went all the way to the Supreme Court):
Moi!
bsky.app/profile/noel...
I want to discuss the Alien: Earth conversation pit couch. Look at this thing. There's no way it's comfortable to sit on. It's a design for someone (say, Boy Kavalier) who has never lounged in their damn life because lounging is for losers. You know. A selfish person's couch. Anyway, I love it.
Graham Greene was one of those actors whose presence was absolutely, 100% guaranteed to make whatever movie or TV show he was in better. He added instant gravitas and authority, reliable stealthy humor and depth beyond whatever was on the page. Should've been Emmy nominated for "Reservation Dogs."
It’s finally Halloween season… Ready to celebrate with my McNugget Buddies!
film flubs: in the movie spartacus (1960), several different characters identify themselves as spartacus. this scene was mistakenly left in the final cut of the film
He eats worms!
True story: My college girlfriend hated "Academy Fight Song" because she thought the line "you're such a perfect fit" was supposed to be about sex and she thought that was too crass. (Reader, I didn't marry her.)
FTR neither team got this but my wife picked up on it after two clues.
This Season 11 Only Connect round one puzzle is getting me into the pre-TIFF cinephile mindset.
You're gonna need the gift card.
I reconfigured my sked last night to minimize publics because…yeah. (I did end up getting 6 things I was aiming for so it could’ve been worse. Also, hope to see you there!)
Correct. Need more stuff on it to meet the high standards of a DFS™️.
Sunday Dinner: Cheesy Cajun pasta casserole, salad, garlic bread.
Wanted to see JAWS in IMAX this weekend but I've decided to wait for it to play at the Vegas Sphere.
Chloé Zhao has the triumph of Telluride in HAMNET. Getting there was not easy. In a beautiful, intimate interview, Josh Rottenberg sat down with her and they talked about the last four years. She also told us what Ryan Coogler thinks of the new movie. www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Never would've occurred to me to try The Flintstones, but it apparently occurred to lots of other folks!
I mean yeah, the phrasing there is a funny mix-up. But even taking into account what he actually meant: Rose died last year, well before the Manfred meeting. It makes me wonder what he actually remembers about that conversation.
Or Queeg in Caine Mutiny, ranting proudly about his investigation into the stolen strawberries.
I usually try to ignore these posts, but so much about that one is factually incorrect correct/confused, it's... concerning? (At the very least, it explains why other countries keep leaving trade and/or treaty negotiations confused about what he officially agreed to.)
1s and 2s across the board except in one category (a 10-percenter) where I got too cute with it rather than digging deep. Still pretty good! (grid in reply) Vulture Cinematrix No. 523: Aug 31, 2025 I got 9/9 Correct Score: 2689 🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩 Play at: vulture.com/vulturecinem...
Probably the most deranged Spector production. No idea how he heard that simple little Nilsson song and though to add all that youtu.be/ZOrVjcT1Mxw?...
Pathetic and cowardly. Your tax dollars at work
“People are angry. That’s what seems to define our country right now. Anger. And it doesn’t seem to be going away.” In our exclusive #Telluride sit-down with Jeremy Allen White, the actor goes deep into his process and his own connection to Springsteen’s “Nebraska.” www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
La Décapitation de saint Georges, Bernat Martorell, 1430
These are consecutive issues from the same period. It makes sense to me that Spidey would re-use the same jokes on different hoods. They don't know.
IIRC I had to see THE JUDGE because I was reviewing it, and as a result I missed IT FOLLOWS. Still miffed.
Played the Ireland side of the Rebirth board for the first time. Fourth time playing this game overall (first three on the Scotland side) and it’s definitely a keeper. One of our favorite new games.
The college season just started but I feel like I'm already in midseason form when it comes to miming throwing a flag for pass interference.
Haven't tried either yet, but I'll let you know.
I got the Oreos that taste like Reese’s and the Reese’s that taste like Oreos.
Accurate
It’s a subject I’ve wanted to see a doc about for *years* and yet I’m also not sure I can fit in into my schedule.
Ah beans
Two terms!
It's only in recent years that I've really reckoned with how much my understanding of certain aspects of American history were affected by attending Tennessee public schools in the '70s and '80s. That Lost Cause horseshit had been layered deep.
Good skies this morning.
I'm going to be writing a weekly column about college football for @theathletic.com this year. I hope people enjoy it. Here is the first one, about how it feels to be a college football fan in 2025. (Which is kind of how it feels like to be anything in 2025.) www.nytimes.com/athletic/657...
Abby the eyeball has a lot of eyes.
If you go straight long enough you'll end up where you were.
We finally finished it too (thanks to mothership J being on summer hiatus) and while there are some tweaks I'd like to see I also hope it returns with Jost.
There is so much sports on tonight.
Um are you forgetting about a little something called Homes dot Com commercials?
Reading Huizinga's THE AUTUMN OF THE MIDDLE AGES (1996 translation) and on every page is an observation that sounds like it was written yesterday. "All too often, sin was, for these agitated minds, whatever their enemy did." (20)
I think she was actually writing about the book and looking for a (somewhat) timely and high-profile peg.
I know, right?
Then there's this curious relic, which ties Springsteen's then-new (and doomed) first marriage to a piece of pop psychology making the rounds at the time. Daily newspaper deadlines can lead to some kooky columns.
I subscribe to a newsletter called Kingdom Of Days that looks back at Bruce Springsteen news from years past. I especially like when the blogger posts images from old reviews; and it's even more fun when those reviews are from early in the 1970s Springsteen hype cycle, and written by skeptics.
Had the amazing opportunity to speak to the PEACEMAKER choreographer, Charissa Barton, for @vulture.com and explore the changes in season 2’s opening. James Gunn was the Eagly stand-in on set! www.vulture.com/article/peac...
This was a reference to the no-longer-embargoed HBO miniseries TASK, which in its first five minutes mentions scrapple and water ice. I have to admit though that while I struggled with it at first, the show won me over by the end of its first episode. (I have not watched beyond that episode though.)
Just as I avoid broaching certain topics with certain loved ones, I also avoid mentioning on social media that I have never cut off contact with those loved ones.
One of my all-time favorites
The Criterion publicist back then (at Orange Media Relations) was super-savvy about this, and not just for Random Roles. It was thanks to OMR/Criterion that I got to interview Peter Falk, Bob Rafelson, Robert Altman, Terry Zwigoff...good times, great oldies.
We got a lot of acting legends to do Random Roles for the AVC by pestering the publicists for very minor movies, sometimes straight-to-video projects. We'd ask a few questions up top about that movie and then open things up. Eventually, smart publicists would start reaching out to us.
Back in my Random Roles days, I never knew what kind of interview I would get from an aging actor fulfilling his/her media obligations for some forgettable indie project. Given Gazzara's gruff screen persona, I braced myself for curt answers. But he gradually warmed up and we had a lovely chat.
This is correct.
I was just going over some of the celebrity quotes I wrote for Clickhole a decade ago. Here’s a few favorites
/in a voice that sounds like a fistful of gravel in a running dryer "Look at all these fucked up children."
What if the sequel to a beloved 21st century TV series was a stealth remake of WKRP IN CINCINNATI?
For The A.V. Club I looked back and the one season of ESPN's poker drama TILT, notable for a soulful performance by Michael Madsen (R.I.P.), some pre-BILLIONS snap from Koppelman/Levien, an in-the-moment document of the WSOP boom and... well, for how it failed. www.avclub.com/tilt-one-sea...
If we, as Americans, lose our cultural memory of buoys, how will our kitschy local seafood restaurants identify their men's rooms? www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/u...
This is exactly what it's like 100%.
ESPN is included with my cable subscription, so no issues there, thank goodness. At the moment I'm honestly not sure why I'm still subscribed to the streaming service, except that it's convenient with the bundle and it lets me read paywalled articles on the website (which I rarely do).
Back in 2016 when this asshole got elected I said "Well, the fascism has begun..." had one of those sooper smartass libs say "Relax, the Cokes will still be cold & mail will still be delivered in Topeka..." I've spent the last ten years sending him "Cokes getting hot and no fucking mail in Topeka."
This is kind of an ongoing problem with ESPN streaming. I bundle a subscription with Disney/Hulu and yet most of the things I want to watch I can only access via my cable subscription, not my Disney one. Will anything change with the new app? Do I need a new subscription? I don’t know!
I’m a sports fan who writes about TV for a living and I still don’t fully understand ESPN’s new app or how it’s going to work with the network’s various recent rights acquisitions.
I!
My favorite article in the latest print edition of The Onion
Misty morning on the walking trail. 59 degrees when we left the house this morning. Here we go.
This week's ALIEN: EARTH takes a beat to fill in some backstory gaps and set up the season's second half. Personally, I would've preferred a little more action, but there was no shortage of things to notice and talk about. Nifty ending, too. My Vulture review: www.vulture.com/article/alie...
If you haven’t been watching the new Peanuts specials on Apple TV+, you’re missing out on some real gems. The latest is no exception. #tvsky 📺
"Tiny Bubbles"
This looks (and sounds, judging by the already released songs) amazing. Peak Hüskers.
There's a miniseries coming soon from an acclaimed, Emmy-nominated TV creator, and when I sat down to watch a screener last night with my wife, I told her not to expect much because I hadn't seen a lot of hype about it. (We ended up really liking what we saw. 🤷)
"Hungry? We've got plenty of lobster rolls and Moxie."
"Can I interest you in some dinner? I've got toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake."
"Have you eaten lunch? I've got some hot chicken and GooGoo Clusters in the kitchen."
It's important that in the opening minutes of the first episode of any new TV show that the characters indicate what part of the U.S. reside in by casually dropping the names of a few regional culinary specialties.
There's been a lot of good TV this year, so I wouldn't say that this season of Game Changer is 2025's absolute best, but the show will almost certainly land in my Top 10, especially after today's surprise bonus finale.
Tomorrow is the release date for the latest volume in Fantagraphics' collections of Carl Barks amazing work. Which is actually volume one since they've been released out of order.
This is the kind of labor action we need more of. Rooting for these folks.
Watching Golden Girls
It's a beautiful book, by the way. insighteditions.com/products/fra...
I collaborated on a book about the Fraggles and talked the show's design genius Michael Frith about his grand vision (mostly unrealized) for Fraggle toys and games. He had surprisingly nice things to say about the McDonald's collab.
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001, dir: Wes Anderson)
For the past couple of months our morning walks have been under cloudless skies in stifling heat. Now that school’s back in session we’re back to leaving the house just after sunrise. This morning the temps were reasonable, with a lovely breeze. We even saw some good clouds.
Sunday Dinner: Baked breaded pork chops (w/creamy cayenne sauce and chimichurri), mac n cheese, green beans, biscuits w/apple preserves.
