Finally: 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!
James Norton
@jrnorton.bsky.social
Editor of Heavy Table (@heavytable.com), author of Lake Superior Flavors, generally in pursuit of tacos.
calling 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.
mukhtar 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.com
The Somali Brief
The Somali Brief is a digital-first media platform covering the stories shaping Somali American life.
thesomalibrief.com
17 new public bathrooms. Across all five boroughs. Because you can’t wait — and you shouldn’t have to.
Between 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.
i 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
All 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.
Reacher singing this while beating you to death with a running push mower
Okay wut
Our 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.
I 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.
After 16 years of covering the Minnesota State Fair's food, drink, and hospitality, we've decided… that we're not done with it yet. What makes the Fair so compelling, entertaining, infuriating, and ultimately important? We dig into the details: heavytable.substack.com/p/alls-fair
Spending 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!"
Subscribe to @heavytable.com for the most comprehensive state fair food preview from the actual day of the fair
I will not be posting much about the new foods I try with the Heavy Table Crew later, as you should subscribe to their preview that they will hammer out this afternoon. Will QT and tag so they aren't stuck in this thread
Thrilled to be done with the relentless eating and drinking of the Minnesota State Fair, and be in the middle of the writing and photo editing of it all. Our team of writers / photographers / illustrators is legitimately amazing, and I think you'll love the work they do (if you don't yet know it.)
Well, we survived DAY ONE of hardcore State Fair food eating and the results will be yours to savor first thing tomorrow morning. Our view was fixed relentlessly on value, and we found some gems, a lot of eye-watering high prices, and some amusing "not exactly as depicted" foods (see below.)
We've gathered a thick stack of twenties, a pile of tickets, a sheaf of maps and checklists, and we're ready to rock the Fair tomorrow so that we can bring you a fearlessly critical Friday morning roundup of cheers and jeers. See you at the Fair!
RIP TO ONE OF THE GREATEST TO EVER DO IT
NOT DOLLY PARTON
Some academics used AI to write op-eds. I spoke @chronicle.com. Making complicated things legible to broad audiences is the whole goddamn work and no, you can't outsource it to LLMs. www.chronicle.com/article/prof...
I am stumbling upon more and more AI "articles" in the wild, and it sucks. These stories look like writing when you first inspect them, but they're really poorly crafted in some important ways. 1/7
i'm sure you have been waiting with bated breath to hear about my PERSONAL AI POLICY, so here you go!
It's time for our monthly mailbag!!
My favorite review to write is a new or undercelebrated place that's kicking ass and taking names. My next favorite is a new place that's swamped by intoxicating hubris. This is the second kind of review.
Tomorrow's edition: We check out Bill's Bait Shop, the place where northwoods supper club meets influencer culture meets Pirates of the Caribbean-level subtlety. Featuring: One of the most poorly constructed burgers we've eaten in years!