Barbara VanDenburgh
@babsvan.bsky.social
Poor, obscure, plain, and little. Writer, critic. Former books editor at USA TODAY. Let’s talk movies https://boxd.it/lA7b
Pinned
2026 watch #1: Phantom Thread. I’m just a girl looking for a hungry boy to gently poison into adoring submission.
A portal to hell opened with David Bowie died, and then a second portal to super hell opened when David Lynch died, I do not think this is a coincidence.
January 16, 2026 at 7:15 PM
A portal to hell opened with David Bowie died, and then a second portal to super hell opened when David Lynch died, I do not think this is a coincidence.
On the verge of going on a Park Chan-wook bender after this week
January 16, 2026 at 5:33 PM
On the verge of going on a Park Chan-wook bender after this week
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
two stupid hogs bumping their stupid hog heads together. squealing with delight at making the rest of the world live in the mud with them
NEW from me:
Towards the end of Trump's interview with 60 Minutes in November, Bari Weiss rushed into the room to introduce herself and the pair exchanged kisses on the cheek, leaving 60 Minutes staff stunned at the "overly chummy" embrace.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Towards the end of Trump's interview with 60 Minutes in November, Bari Weiss rushed into the room to introduce herself and the pair exchanged kisses on the cheek, leaving 60 Minutes staff stunned at the "overly chummy" embrace.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Bari Weiss and Trump exchanged kisses on the cheek following ‘60 Minutes’ interview
EXCLUSIVE: In a moment that sources said led to stunned reactions and dropped jaws, Bari Weiss excitedly introduced herself to the president and leaned in for a kiss on the cheek following his ‘60 Min...
www.independent.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 4:07 PM
two stupid hogs bumping their stupid hog heads together. squealing with delight at making the rest of the world live in the mud with them
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
“ICE agents, get out now because historically, this ends with you hanging from a lamppost and your body paraded through the streets.” - the …we rate dogs guy
January 16, 2026 at 3:49 AM
“ICE agents, get out now because historically, this ends with you hanging from a lamppost and your body paraded through the streets.” - the …we rate dogs guy
Hey man, fuck you too!
In 2002 or 03 a Chicago public access cable channel aired this for at least a full half hour. No audio. I took a photo with a digital camera & that’s all the documentation I have. Anyone have any dirt?
January 16, 2026 at 3:17 AM
Hey man, fuck you too!
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
They gave that prize to Kissinger. Two school bullies could pass it back and forth in the latrine for all I care.
January 16, 2026 at 1:39 AM
They gave that prize to Kissinger. Two school bullies could pass it back and forth in the latrine for all I care.
Gee, and she seemed so nice.
Crypto lobbyist and former senator Kyrsten Sinema has been sued for having affair with her ex-bodyguard. She also allegedly encouraged him to take the psychedelic drug MDMA on a Senate work trip so she could guide him through it.
Kyrsten Sinema Accused of Having Affair With Ex-Bodyguard
Crypto lobbyist and former senator Kyrsten Sinema has been sued for having affair with her ex-bodyguard. She also allegedly encouraged him to take the psychedelic drug MDMA on a Senate work trip so she could guide him through it.
nymag.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Gee, and she seemed so nice.
This makes me so mad I could spit blood. Look at this shit, man. These are your neighbors. This lady in scrubs going into or just getting out of a grueling 12-hour shift to pay her rent like the rest of us. This is a sin and it’s coming for you if you don’t fight back now.
Stunning photos from Minneapolis, including this one by John Locher for the Associated Press. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...
January 15, 2026 at 8:01 PM
This makes me so mad I could spit blood. Look at this shit, man. These are your neighbors. This lady in scrubs going into or just getting out of a grueling 12-hour shift to pay her rent like the rest of us. This is a sin and it’s coming for you if you don’t fight back now.
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
I have never been as supporter of Donald Trump, but if liberal wine moms continue to disobey ICE officers, I will have no choice but to hold my nose and vote for him for the fourth time.
January 14, 2026 at 3:46 PM
I have never been as supporter of Donald Trump, but if liberal wine moms continue to disobey ICE officers, I will have no choice but to hold my nose and vote for him for the fourth time.
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
They have fucking assault rifles and we have whistles and they’re scared shitless, because they know we’d rather be righteous and dead than ever be them.
January 15, 2026 at 3:56 AM
They have fucking assault rifles and we have whistles and they’re scared shitless, because they know we’d rather be righteous and dead than ever be them.
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
I mean, here we have a feel-good story of ordinary defiance. Pushing back against hate. But you, the reader, may know (as I did not) who Mark Harris is and that his husband is in fact legendary American dramatist Tony Kushner. This would be like if Saul Bellow or Joan Didion told you to get fucked.
My husband was on the 2 train and a guy started braying about how Renee Good deserved to die and her "lesbian lover" did too. My husband got pissed and said, "You're absolutely disgusting." "Fuck you!" the guy said. "Fuck YOU!" my husband said. The guy left.
See? We just need to talk to each other.
See? We just need to talk to each other.
January 15, 2026 at 1:34 AM
I mean, here we have a feel-good story of ordinary defiance. Pushing back against hate. But you, the reader, may know (as I did not) who Mark Harris is and that his husband is in fact legendary American dramatist Tony Kushner. This would be like if Saul Bellow or Joan Didion told you to get fucked.
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
This is why you can't afford RAM anymore
January 14, 2026 at 10:19 PM
This is why you can't afford RAM anymore
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
ah ok it's going to be a depression not a recession
Canned tuna is budget-friendly and good for you. Here’s how to zhuzh up a can of tuna for a school of quick, flavor-forward dishes. nyti.ms/3NgyAaA
January 14, 2026 at 11:29 PM
ah ok it's going to be a depression not a recession
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
i'm introducing a bill that requires ICE to say "pwetty pwease" before they open fire on law abiding civilians
I am introducing the Quick Recognition (QR) Act, which requires ICE and CBP officers to wear uniforms featuring QR codes. When scanned, the code would generate a digital ID displaying the officer’s name, badge number, and law enforcement agency.
ICE should be unmasked both physically and digitally.
ICE should be unmasked both physically and digitally.
January 14, 2026 at 5:49 PM
i'm introducing a bill that requires ICE to say "pwetty pwease" before they open fire on law abiding civilians
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
Remembering Scott Adams.
January 14, 2026 at 3:33 AM
Remembering Scott Adams.
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
Just blew this case wide open boys
The woman killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week served on the board of her son’s school, which linked to documents encouraging parents to monitor ICE and directing them to training. https://cnn.it/49yoNEa
January 14, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Just blew this case wide open boys
Introduce yourself with:
1 movie
1 book
1 TV show
1 album
1 movie
1 book
1 TV show
1 album
January 14, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Introduce yourself with:
1 movie
1 book
1 TV show
1 album
1 movie
1 book
1 TV show
1 album
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
Scott Adams dying at 68 rather than 69 is the perfect capstone to a life of being almost — but not quite — funny
January 13, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Scott Adams dying at 68 rather than 69 is the perfect capstone to a life of being almost — but not quite — funny
I had an editor pull this shit on me once, inserted a paragraph at the end of a particularly scathing review on a book catching heat that said something like, "However, other people online disagree..." ending it with a counterargument. I went rogue in the CMS, deleted it and raised holy hell
I wrote book reviews for a while for the WSJ well over a decade ago, and Bari Weis was my editor. One of her special tricks was to try to insert a sharp rightward slant into my essays *after* it had been copy edited, as a way of slipping her viewpoint in at the last minute.
January 13, 2026 at 5:04 PM
I had an editor pull this shit on me once, inserted a paragraph at the end of a particularly scathing review on a book catching heat that said something like, "However, other people online disagree..." ending it with a counterargument. I went rogue in the CMS, deleted it and raised holy hell
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
People saying democrats shouldn’t talk about banning ice remind me of the scene in “the holdovers” when Paul giamatti says “I don’t think I have a full book in me” and Da’vine replies “you can’t even dream a full dream, can you?”
January 13, 2026 at 12:27 AM
People saying democrats shouldn’t talk about banning ice remind me of the scene in “the holdovers” when Paul giamatti says “I don’t think I have a full book in me” and Da’vine replies “you can’t even dream a full dream, can you?”
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
chucking glitter pens into the widening gyre
Avoiding The Horrors by getting real into stationery
January 12, 2026 at 5:44 AM
chucking glitter pens into the widening gyre
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
living in a world where the only two jobs are “gambling” and “murder” isn’t nearly as cool as Cowboy Bebop made it out to be
January 12, 2026 at 3:47 PM
living in a world where the only two jobs are “gambling” and “murder” isn’t nearly as cool as Cowboy Bebop made it out to be
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
Reposted by Barbara VanDenburgh
Wine moms in 2026
January 11, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Wine moms in 2026