Courtesy of answers.com

Kodak Hall has hosted some of the best classical musicians in the world, but it has never before hosted the likes of Pulitzer Prize-winning Dave Barry, best known for his countless books and satirical column in the Miami Herald.

For someone with such a long, illustrious career, Barry walked onto the stage in a nonchalant, casual manner. The 66-year old looked out of place behind the podium — usually reserved for speeches by the deans of Eastman — wearing clean-cut jeans and a navy blazer.

His jokes were very clever and, for the most part, fairly clean. The show was advertised as being “censored” and “kid-friendly,” but the jokes were positively geared towards adults. He talked about living in Miami, raising his kids, and “some random stories.”

He also talked about particularly noteworthy articles he had written such as his piece about a beached whale blown up by dynamite or the sewage-lift plant in North Dakota dedicated in his name after he published a particularly harsh article ridiculing the state.

One of the most memorable stories from the night was about his day driving the Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile around Miami. His first destination in the bright orange hot dog car was the local middle school to pick up his son. According to Barry, he parked behind all the minivan moms and used the intercom on the vehicle to call out, “Rob Barry, please report to the Wiener Mobile!”

After seeing the show, I may try to find some of Barry’s books as Christmas gifts for my parents. Though I found him funny, I’m sure that my baby-boomer parents would find him piss-in-your-pants hilarious.

Sanguinetti is a member of the class of 2015.



Humorist Dave Barry tells ‘some random stories’

As the academic year winds down, undergraduate researchers at the University are presenting the results of months of work during Celebrating Research Week (CRW). Kicking off with the Research Poster Expo on April 10, the week featured events including Lightning Talks and the Research Symposium, where students presented projects across disciplines with peers, faculty, and the broader community. Read More

Humorist Dave Barry tells ‘some random stories’

My feed filled instantly with influencers explaining the mission. Some of them had millions of followers. Their videos were polished, confident, and loaded with terms like "trans-lunar injection" and “free-return trajectory.” They spoke with the authority of people who had studied astrophysics and literal rocket science their entire lives. Read More

Humorist Dave Barry tells ‘some random stories’

As recently as the early 2010s, it was standard practice for surgeons to provide 30 to 40 or more opioid pills for common, minimally invasive procedures. Most of these pills, however, would remain untouched, left over in the patient’s medical cabinet or kitchen pantries for potential misuse. A team of researchers led by URMC’s Dr. Jacob Moalem set out to reduce these opioid overprescriptions. Read More