Richard Barron
@rcb2.bsky.social
Father of the brides. UNC and Phila Inquirer alum. Fan of Takashi Shimura, Setsuko Hara, Pittsburgh Pirates, Spencer Strider, Roddy Doyle, and chicken and rice.
Reminds me of the guy who came to fix our furnace, who must have used the same cologne as my long-past dad. Hours later, happily, I could still smell it.
January 26, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Reminds me of the guy who came to fix our furnace, who must have used the same cologne as my long-past dad. Hours later, happily, I could still smell it.
Catching up with Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr!, with Geoff Dyer’s new one on deck.
January 25, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Catching up with Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr!, with Geoff Dyer’s new one on deck.
Probably why he’s in a constant sweat. Also, there’s Carolyn Jones as a peroxide blonde.
January 25, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Probably why he’s in a constant sweat. Also, there’s Carolyn Jones as a peroxide blonde.
Yup, and Melville Cooper.
January 11, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Yup, and Melville Cooper.
Good supporting cast, too. Always happy to see Wallace Ford and George Tobias.
December 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Good supporting cast, too. Always happy to see Wallace Ford and George Tobias.
“… and I know my toast is burning.”
December 20, 2025 at 4:21 PM
“… and I know my toast is burning.”
“… until everything
was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.”
was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.”
December 6, 2025 at 9:58 PM
“… until everything
was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.”
was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.”
Ina Garten’s Apple Crostata is a nice easy crust option. (Also doing a Brazilian carrot cake for some autumn color and chocolate.)
November 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Ina Garten’s Apple Crostata is a nice easy crust option. (Also doing a Brazilian carrot cake for some autumn color and chocolate.)
Also Junius Matthews. (“Hey, that sounds like Archimedes from Sword in the Stone.”) … Here is where I also put a plug in for the noir series’ Guilty Bystander and J. Edward Bromberg’s very funny turn.
November 13, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Also Junius Matthews. (“Hey, that sounds like Archimedes from Sword in the Stone.”) … Here is where I also put a plug in for the noir series’ Guilty Bystander and J. Edward Bromberg’s very funny turn.
Mahjong showed up in a number of martial arts movies I was watching last year, so I took a class. Among what appeared to be mostly Jewish boomer/gen X women who had played as kids with their grandmas, I was the only guy. Glad I did it.
November 10, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Mahjong showed up in a number of martial arts movies I was watching last year, so I took a class. Among what appeared to be mostly Jewish boomer/gen X women who had played as kids with their grandmas, I was the only guy. Glad I did it.
Two from way back, F.W. Murnau’s City Girl and Howard Hawks’ The Dawn Patrol, reminding how great old movies can be. (Last year it was King Vidor’s The Crowd and Mervyn LeRoy’s I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang.)
November 9, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Two from way back, F.W. Murnau’s City Girl and Howard Hawks’ The Dawn Patrol, reminding how great old movies can be. (Last year it was King Vidor’s The Crowd and Mervyn LeRoy’s I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang.)
A good one. I’ll go listen to that, Piccadilly, and Mumbo Jumbo on repeat.
November 6, 2025 at 2:38 PM
A good one. I’ll go listen to that, Piccadilly, and Mumbo Jumbo on repeat.
Was hoping somebody’d mention Black Narcissus or (also not that old) Ran. Another recent wow of mine: King Vidor’s The Crowd.
October 30, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Was hoping somebody’d mention Black Narcissus or (also not that old) Ran. Another recent wow of mine: King Vidor’s The Crowd.
I also like his work on Under Fire.
October 27, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I also like his work on Under Fire.
Secretariat’s Belmont is always good for a rewatch.
October 18, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Secretariat’s Belmont is always good for a rewatch.
Nice. Ina Gartner has a similar one with leeks instead of onions that I love. Crust turns out perfect, on an upside down baking sheet, even for a baking shmo like me.
October 9, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Nice. Ina Gartner has a similar one with leeks instead of onions that I love. Crust turns out perfect, on an upside down baking sheet, even for a baking shmo like me.
I’ll put in a plug here for Libeled Lady, with Loy, Powell, Tracy, Harlow, and Walter Connelly, one of my top two or three screwball comedies. Our local theater showing it on the big screen next month.
September 27, 2025 at 7:34 PM
I’ll put in a plug here for Libeled Lady, with Loy, Powell, Tracy, Harlow, and Walter Connelly, one of my top two or three screwball comedies. Our local theater showing it on the big screen next month.
With the George Pelecanos intro? Looks good. (Just finished David Goodis’ Shoot the Piano Player.)
September 7, 2025 at 3:37 PM
With the George Pelecanos intro? Looks good. (Just finished David Goodis’ Shoot the Piano Player.)
“… and I know my toast is burning.” 😂
August 31, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“… and I know my toast is burning.” 😂
I’m surely older than you but still in the tsundoku phase. Love that there’s a Japanese word for that. … Working in a used book shop doesn’t help.
August 23, 2025 at 12:09 AM
I’m surely older than you but still in the tsundoku phase. Love that there’s a Japanese word for that. … Working in a used book shop doesn’t help.
Basil Rathbone was a happy boomer discovery for me, especially bad-guy Basil in stuff like Private Number and Love From a Stranger.
August 20, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Basil Rathbone was a happy boomer discovery for me, especially bad-guy Basil in stuff like Private Number and Love From a Stranger.
This showed up yesterday at the store where I volunteer. “Hey, this sounds familiar.” Of course I grabbed it. Funny how that works.
August 19, 2025 at 2:42 PM
This showed up yesterday at the store where I volunteer. “Hey, this sounds familiar.” Of course I grabbed it. Funny how that works.
A good one, popped up on my watch list recently. … I was late to the Wendell Corey party, knew him only as the cop in Rear Window. Eventually found Desert Fury, The File on Thelma Jordon, etc.
August 17, 2025 at 1:31 PM
A good one, popped up on my watch list recently. … I was late to the Wendell Corey party, knew him only as the cop in Rear Window. Eventually found Desert Fury, The File on Thelma Jordon, etc.