when i first heard about the how's your news? team (from a camp on the vineyard) a little ways back & saw the 1999 movie documenting their travels across the country, i wasn't sure what to think of the concept. essentially, you have a group of people, all disabled in some way, engaging in somewhat forced conversations with strangers. often, these conversations aren't even conversations, as the person being interviewed can't understand the interviewer or thinks that the interviewer can't understand them. somewhere in there, truths & awkward feelings are revealed.
since then, i've questioned intent & gone through skepticism & research & intrigue & enjoyment about the idea that they now have a show on mtv, who has been no stranger to exploitation over the years. in passing judgment, one could also argue that trey parker & matt stone make fun of disabled people (see south park's timmy & jimmy), but then one would be misinformed.
i've been around various disabled folks more frequently than usual in various situations over the past year & in applying that to how's your news, i can say that if you're watching & laughing & enjoying it because these peeps are having the time of their lives traveling the country with friends, getting to do the craziest stuff & interview celebrities & have A SHOW ON FRIGGIN MTV, then there is nothing wrong with it. i mean, it's more than i'm doing with myself these days. if you're laughing at them because you're a prick, well...there you have it. there's a name for you too.
exploitation? hell no. there is a show on mtv with a cast made up entirely of disabled people. maybe one day they'll afford the same luxury to an all muslim cast or hindu caste.
i watched the first four episodes the other night & the show is even better than the movie. some key moments:
los angeles (ep.1)
- sue interviews people on venice beach. a guy on a bike stops to be interviewed & the first question she asks him is "if you could change one thing about this country, what would it be?" his reply is, "i'd legalize marijuana." after that, everyone she talks to gets asked about legalizing marijuana.
- red carpet at the grammys! miley cyrus! boys against girls! plain white t's! the shins! the creepy dude from tool!
las vegas (ep. 2)
- jeremy goes to the mall with john stamos as his wingman to pick up chicks.
- ufc fighters! kroq festival! the rambo premiere!
austin (ep. 3)
- sue interviews gil mantera's party dream at sxsw & opens by saying "you guys aren't even ipod material." ha! it's funny cause it's true!
- the how's your news? band rocks sxsw for two shows. three of the dudes have williams syndrome which, from what i've read & seen, means badass musical ability.
new orleans (ep. 4)
- they have an oyster eating session with a guy claimed to hold some oyster eating record.
- they visit a pirate convention (now with more wenches!) & the louisiana state penitentiary for a rodeo (now with more bull!).
#66 - what a re-tahd.
snack: original juan's batch #114 jerk microwave popcorn
drink: sierra nevada bigfoot barleywine style ale / bar harbor blueberry ale
in honor of the how's your news? team's cross-country adventures, i settled in for the four episodes with a popcorn from the heartland & a beer from both coasts.
i finished the entire bag of original juan's batch #114 jerk microwave popcorn (from kansas) as i watched. it's somewhat spicy (the website lists it at "zesty (1,500-14,999 scoville units...their hottest product is 1.5MM scoville units)" & has a screamin' dude on the front. he's all THIS POPCORN IS SOOOOO DAMN SPICY I'M LOVIN IT MUTHAFUCKAH!!!!! then all the ladies get with him.
unlike jerky mcjerkjerk on the bag, i kept my composure but also found it to be moderately spicy & tasty & the jerk flavoring's well done. there are maybe 25 kernels left unpopped, so that is also a bonus...more popcorn for shawn!...also some 500 calories for shawn.
also, original juan's products are developed in micro-batches, ensuring goodness & whatnot. i can't wait to try their jerk nuts. the bag encourages me to have my "favorite cold drink in hand" to go with the jerkiness of the popcorn, so i started with a sierra nevada bigfoot barleywine style ale. as a beer style, the barleywine ale falls pretty low on my list, due to the bitterness, but sierra generally makes a good beer & i enjoyed this one enough.
then i cracked open a bottle of bar harbor blueberry ale. the beer is true to the claim on their website. it's a subtle blueberry flavor, which i'll take over the overpowering apricot of the magic hat #9 any day of the week. i preferred it to the sierra, which once again proves that the best is not in the west. hopefully that same principle will apply to upcoming how's your news? episodes as well, as they make their way back to the east coast...but only to justify the ending of this blog entry.