S17.E12: Dave Barry, Cornell Belcher, Wendy Sherman, Matt Welch, and Seth Abramson

[Guest]

Airs April 12, 2019

Scheduled guests: Dave Barry, Cornell Belcher, Wendy Sherman, Matt Welch, and Seth Abramson

[Paws]

The past couple episodes he had more than 1 woman on. Tonight 4/5 guests were men.  And 4/5 are white. Add in Bill and the panel is that much more white dude-ish.

[Milburn Stone]

Dave Barry's writing has never cracked me up, but I thought he was really funny on the show.

[arachne]

Dave Barry = awesome! I'm close to Bill's age, so this gives me hope for the future.

Bill's final New Rule is an unpleasant truth, but it needs to be said: There are too freakin' many of us! (Full disclosure: I've never had children myself. And while Mike Lee is my Senator, I never voted for him, okay?)  

[meowmommy]

Was Bill channeling Chris Matthews?  Because he seemed completely unable to let any of his guests finish any of their sentences.

The Mike Pence jokes were pretty good.

11 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

Dave Barry's writing has never cracked me up, but I thought he was really funny on the show.

Agree.  He seemed to be everywhere in the 90s, but I didn't know he was even still a thing.  Why Bill went on and on about his age, I cannot fathom.  Neither could Dave Barry.

"I don't like being touched."  As he repeatedly put his hand on Dave's arm.

When Dave Barry is telling you to let your joke go, let it go.

11 hours ago, Paws said:

The past couple episodes he had more than 1 woman on.

And those were an aberration.  He went back to his safe space.

4 minutes ago, arachne said:

Bill's final New Rule is an unpleasant truth, but it needs to be said: There are too freakin' many of us! (Full disclosure: I've never had children myself. And while Mike Lee is my Senator, I never voted for him, okay?)  

Isn't cranking out babies a Mormon tenet?  (Full disclosure:  my one and only daughter is a Mormon.)

I don't like traffic jams or crowded parking lots, either, but it's not because millennials are having babies.  It's because of shortsighted urban planning and massive overdevelopment without regard for increased demands on local resources.  And you can't have it both ways, Bill.  You can't complain that there are too many people being born in this country and then complain that we're stopping immigrants and their kids from coming here.  But then, Mike Lee can't have it both ways, either--make more babies but vote to block immigration. 

How'd that one-baby thing in China work out, anyway?

It was one of the friendliest panels in a while, I must say.  

[HelenBaby]

Okay I guess I’m not through with Maher after all. Last night’s show was okay. But I noticed the constant interruptions as well. Why have Dave Barry on and then not take advantage of it. He retired his column a long time ago, married a much younger woman and had a second family. I’m not accusing him of anything but there could be reasons he looks young for 71. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Why Bill went on and on about his age, I cannot fathom. 

Because no way in hell Dave Barry looks 71. I couldn't believe it either. I wonder if he's had work done.

Bill really is sounding more and more like an old, out-of-touch crank, shaking his cane and yelling at the rotten kids to get off his lawn. Cornell was making the very valid point that Democrats need a candidate that will appeal to voters under 35, and Bill countered that they don't vote. Well, duh - that's why. Because Democrats keep fielding old, white establishment politicians. And that seems to be exactly what Bill wants. He's pushing really hard for Joe Biden, who is going to have the same appeal as Hillary Clinton. He's falling into the same trap of who he thinks is "safe" but nobody will be enthused about. 

I also didn't understand his argument that Democrats will lose on immigration because that was the number one (and only) Republican talking point in the midterms last year and Republicans lost the house. There's no reason to think that's a winning issue for them or that it even tilts the scales in their favor. 

I did like the final new rule although it wasn't so much Bill throwing millennials a bone as it was his usual diatribe about people "shitting out" babies, a vulgarity he's used countless times. I think the finer point is that millennials are more keenly aware the world might not sustain children beyond their generation.

[meowmommy]

2 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Because no way in hell Dave Barry looks 71. I couldn't believe it either. I wonder if he's had work done.

I was scrutinizing the screen (ain't HD grand?) for evidence, but if he's had work done, it's subtle.  Maybe a life writing things some people think are funny and raking in the cash is the Fountain of Youth.

[UYI]

Yeah, Dave Barry does NOT strike me as the type to get plastic surgery, at all. It may very well just be a killer combination of good genes/taking care of himself/having a sense of humor about life.

In any case, he looks fantastic. Good for him. 

(That said, if he ever did have it, I'd think he'd be the first to admit it, and then he'd make a joke about it, because of course. 🙂 )

Edited April 13, 2019 by UYI

[Caseysgirl]

Dave Barry must have been wondering why the hell he was booked on this show at all. If he has a new book out , I don’t remember hearing about it. Bill did not let him finish a thought and though it was flattering that Bill kept exclaiming about how he didn’t look his age, I doubt that Dave is the type of person who cares. It really was a totally wasted appearance for him. 

[meowmommy]

On 4/13/2019 at 2:35 PM, Caseysgirl said:

If he has a new book out , I don’t remember hearing about it.

Apparently he does. 

Quote

Dave Barry’s new book, “Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog,” came out this month. It’s a self-help book from a humorist who is openly skeptical about self-help books. The lessons he learns from his dog Lucy include making new friends, deciding to have fun and not “developing an instantaneous hatred for people I don’t know.”

Plugging a project seems to be the main reason people go on talk shows these days.  It didn't work so well for Preet Bharara and I guess it didn't work so well for Dave Barry, when the host doesn't let you talk about it.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 4/13/2019 at 11:32 AM, meowmommy said:

I was scrutinizing the screen (ain't HD grand?) for evidence, but if he's had work done, it's subtle.  Maybe a life writing things some people think are funny and raking in the cash is the Fountain of Youth.

I think a big part of it is his boyish hairdo.  I do wonder if he's had hair plugs or whatever they're doing these days in that arena.

.

On 4/13/2019 at 4:35 PM, Caseysgirl said:

Dave Barry must have been wondering why the hell he was booked on this show at all. If he has a new book out , I don’t remember hearing about it.

Speaking of raking in cash, Maher said Dave Barry had a new book out about his dog, and said there was another successful book out right now about somebody's dog/pet, and wondered if that said something about society, and Barry replied that it probably says you can make good money writing a book about a dog.