Noel Murray
@noelmu.bsky.social
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 .
I often see people toss around "it's available on Kanopy," and I'm not saying they shouldn't do that, because it's useful info for people who have access to Kanopy. But not everybody does, and even those who do don't always have access to everything Kanopy offers. Just something to keep in mind.
I do want to point out that Wiseman's movies are streamable via Kanopy (which is great if you live in a place where Kanopy is accessible; I don't) and also available for purchase on DVD at his Zipporah Films website.
February 16, 2026 at 9:30 PM
I often see people toss around "it's available on Kanopy," and I'm not saying they shouldn't do that, because it's useful info for people who have access to Kanopy. But not everybody does, and even those who do don't always have access to everything Kanopy offers. Just something to keep in mind.
Unless Frederick Wiseman was working on another film when he died, his final work will be Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros, my favorite documentary of 2023 (and in my overall Top 5 of all movies that year). Making masterpieces all the way to the end. We were blessed to have him for so long.
February 16, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Unless Frederick Wiseman was working on another film when he died, his final work will be Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros, my favorite documentary of 2023 (and in my overall Top 5 of all movies that year). Making masterpieces all the way to the end. We were blessed to have him for so long.
RIP Robert Duvall, one of my favorite actors of all time. For The New York Times I wrote about 11 of his finest performances (10 movies, 1 TV miniseries), all of which are available to stream. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/m...
Where to Watch Robert Duvall’s Top Performances
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 8:24 PM
RIP Robert Duvall, one of my favorite actors of all time. For The New York Times I wrote about 11 of his finest performances (10 movies, 1 TV miniseries), all of which are available to stream. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/m...
Reposted by Noel Murray
A tiny bald kid being my hypeman would fix me
February 16, 2026 at 8:01 PM
A tiny bald kid being my hypeman would fix me
Sure, bobsled looks fun, but they never show you all those people waiting around on the stairway with bobsleds slung on their backs.
February 16, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Sure, bobsled looks fun, but they never show you all those people waiting around on the stairway with bobsleds slung on their backs.
Reposted by Noel Murray
Bookseller Scrambles To Hide All The Classics After Seeing Emerald Fennell Approaching Door https://theonion.com/bookseller-scrambles-to-hide-all-the-classics-after-seeing-emerald-fennell-approaching-door/
February 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Bookseller Scrambles To Hide All The Classics After Seeing Emerald Fennell Approaching Door https://theonion.com/bookseller-scrambles-to-hide-all-the-classics-after-seeing-emerald-fennell-approaching-door/
Fun piece about Timothée Chalomet's youth soccer years. Sounds like he's always been the kind of person who enjoys himself and makes friends easily. www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...
Timothee Chalamet – the soccer years: ‘I’m sure his dream was to become a professional’ (Gift Article)
Timothee Chalamet has been nominated for this year's Academy Award for Best Actor - but before all that, there were his years on the pitch
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Fun piece about Timothée Chalomet's youth soccer years. Sounds like he's always been the kind of person who enjoys himself and makes friends easily. www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...
Reposted by Noel Murray
When people say “I hate writing but I love having written,” they are not saying “I love that some completed text exists.”
They are saying “I love getting to the end of the process and realizing that all the work was worth it, that this sentence really pops, that I nailed it.”
They are saying “I love getting to the end of the process and realizing that all the work was worth it, that this sentence really pops, that I nailed it.”
February 16, 2026 at 11:48 AM
When people say “I hate writing but I love having written,” they are not saying “I love that some completed text exists.”
They are saying “I love getting to the end of the process and realizing that all the work was worth it, that this sentence really pops, that I nailed it.”
They are saying “I love getting to the end of the process and realizing that all the work was worth it, that this sentence really pops, that I nailed it.”
Reposted by Noel Murray
Every once in a while, I read Greil Marcus' review of Bob Dylan's LOVE & THEFT and I just feel so good and so alive. Part of its poignancy is that it doesn't know that 9/11 is just around the corner.
MUSIC; Sometimes He Talks Crazy, Crazy Like a Song (Published 2001)
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:56 AM
Every once in a while, I read Greil Marcus' review of Bob Dylan's LOVE & THEFT and I just feel so good and so alive. Part of its poignancy is that it doesn't know that 9/11 is just around the corner.
I confess I initially rolled my eyes when I realized that the penultimate episode of this Seven Kingdoms season was going to be be mostly a flashback, in my Vulture review I argue that it serves a purpose, reminding us of all the people Westeros considers disposable. www.vulture.com/article/a-kn...
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Recap: Flea Bottom’s Up
The flashback serves two purposes: an origin story for Duncan and to underscore the growing instability of the Seven Kingdoms under the Targaryens.
www.vulture.com
February 16, 2026 at 3:52 AM
I confess I initially rolled my eyes when I realized that the penultimate episode of this Seven Kingdoms season was going to be be mostly a flashback, in my Vulture review I argue that it serves a purpose, reminding us of all the people Westeros considers disposable. www.vulture.com/article/a-kn...
Reposted by Noel Murray
I can confirm
Top right corner. Can't help but wonder if The Simpsons paid subtle tribute to Dan McQuade in tonight's set-in-Philadelphia 800th episode.
February 16, 2026 at 1:52 AM
I can confirm
I've begun a new playlist project I'm calling The Canon: just my favorite songs of all time, some from my favorite artists, some from musicians who really only have one song I love. But here's the catch: No matter whether they're beloved or not, each artist only gets one song. A challenge!
February 16, 2026 at 12:32 AM
I've begun a new playlist project I'm calling The Canon: just my favorite songs of all time, some from my favorite artists, some from musicians who really only have one song I love. But here's the catch: No matter whether they're beloved or not, each artist only gets one song. A challenge!
Reposted by Noel Murray
What a record: a "Girl from the North Country" to rival Dylan, a "Jemima Surrender" that beats the Band. & the opener "She's a Burglar" has lines like "while she sweet-talked me, she vandalized my brain." It bombed upon release, but it's held up well for 50+ years
![Howard Tate s/t [1972]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vtqkh4q3vlh7rltd4tnaweh2/bafkreifahbrjiyylawmzo5pbyzoo3claebdkfftupebmd5tehe2c3z4djy@jpeg)
February 15, 2026 at 9:39 PM
What a record: a "Girl from the North Country" to rival Dylan, a "Jemima Surrender" that beats the Band. & the opener "She's a Burglar" has lines like "while she sweet-talked me, she vandalized my brain." It bombed upon release, but it's held up well for 50+ years
Reposted by Noel Murray
Reposted by Noel Murray
yeah but those are ads for things you aren't consuming at that point whereas starting every sporting event with some dimly lit undressed studio and an actor standing outside of the key light mumbling about something or other and YOU ARE ALREADY WATCHING THE EVENT, THEY DON'T NEED TO SELL YOU ON IT
Same reason every single car, candy bar, and drug does, now
February 15, 2026 at 6:40 PM
yeah but those are ads for things you aren't consuming at that point whereas starting every sporting event with some dimly lit undressed studio and an actor standing outside of the key light mumbling about something or other and YOU ARE ALREADY WATCHING THE EVENT, THEY DON'T NEED TO SELL YOU ON IT
Reposted by Noel Murray
It's one of my favorite columns of the year...
So I'm making it free for all to read with this gift link!
Most improved/least improved teams
Best/worst free agents
Best trades
Spring story lines
And of course we play the popular game, "Name 6 Rockies!"
www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
So I'm making it free for all to read with this gift link!
Most improved/least improved teams
Best/worst free agents
Best trades
Spring story lines
And of course we play the popular game, "Name 6 Rockies!"
www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
February 14, 2026 at 2:07 PM
It's one of my favorite columns of the year...
So I'm making it free for all to read with this gift link!
Most improved/least improved teams
Best/worst free agents
Best trades
Spring story lines
And of course we play the popular game, "Name 6 Rockies!"
www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
So I'm making it free for all to read with this gift link!
Most improved/least improved teams
Best/worst free agents
Best trades
Spring story lines
And of course we play the popular game, "Name 6 Rockies!"
www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
Reposted by Noel Murray
A good hard rain got a pond we walk by every day up from “dry” to “about a quarter-full.” Made the frogs happy; they were ribbiting like crazy this morning.
February 15, 2026 at 3:07 PM
A good hard rain got a pond we walk by every day up from “dry” to “about a quarter-full.” Made the frogs happy; they were ribbiting like crazy this morning.
Reposted by Noel Murray
Ticket to ride the Bonspiel highway/ tell all your vice-skips they can go my way
February 14, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Ticket to ride the Bonspiel highway/ tell all your vice-skips they can go my way
All the mentions of ‘freeze' and ‘rock' in curling mean that I spend much of the Olympics quietly rapping 'White Lines' to myself.
February 14, 2026 at 10:47 PM
All the mentions of ‘freeze' and ‘rock' in curling mean that I spend much of the Olympics quietly rapping 'White Lines' to myself.
Reposted by Noel Murray
If nothing else, he’s upgrading his beer choices.
Breaking: Nick Castellanos close to Padres deal
February 14, 2026 at 6:24 PM
If nothing else, he’s upgrading his beer choices.
Reposted by Noel Murray
it’s Love Week at the A.V. Club so I wrote about how every theme park dark ride today has its roots in the basic human need to make out
Underneath all of its technical wizardry and mouthdropping complexity lies a basic ride concept born in the 19th century, rooted in romance and our eternal, desperate need for intimacy.
Romance is at the heart of the modern theme park dark ride
The genesis of the multi-million dollar immersive theme park extravaganzas of today lies in the basic human need to snuggle.
www.avclub.com
February 14, 2026 at 7:06 PM
it’s Love Week at the A.V. Club so I wrote about how every theme park dark ride today has its roots in the basic human need to make out
Reposted by Noel Murray
New Wingspan expansion: The Americas, which adds tiny hummingbirds, with their own uses and scoring properties. Complicates the usual strategies in fun, fascinating ways.
February 14, 2026 at 8:44 PM
New Wingspan expansion: The Americas, which adds tiny hummingbirds, with their own uses and scoring properties. Complicates the usual strategies in fun, fascinating ways.