Shake and fake: Regarding Jared Jacang Maher's "Get Real," in the June 22 issue:
The story about the fake Real World was quite possibly the most entertaining thing I have read...ever. I absolutely loved every juicy and drunken word, not to mention the flat-out lies. I'm thoroughly impressed. Nice job.
Kate Richards
Denver
A new low: Reality TV is sad enough, but to fake reality is the ultimate low. Why would anyone want to fake a Real World cast? What is the point -- to show readers how desperate the Westword staff is at producing newsworthy stories?
To clarify, this is not newsworthy, nor very exemplary of our city.
Sarah
Denver
Sham on you: Jared Jacang Maher has done it again with the elaborate Real World sham! I think he could have played the "ugly John Leguizamo" character and it would have been a little more real. Nice work by all the cast. So, did anyone actually get laid from this experience?
Andrew Hubbard
Boulder
Bar none: Brilliant. Truly brilliant. A girl I am friends with works at one of the bars your "cast and crew" appeared at, and called me telling me all about it. I should have known. Good work, Team Sham!
Abbe Katz
Denver
Lame is the name of the game: I think your story on the "filming of a fake Real World" was lame. If you hate the idea of the show, simply write about that, but don't mock something that has obviously been successful for some time now. Your elitist hipster attitudes really were apparent when the fake cast members wanted to go to the hi-dive and 3 Kings. Wouldn't the real Real World have gone to some Chad bar?
Yet another lame story by Westword. Way to alienate your city, time and time again!!
Randy
Denver
Puck you: Amazing story. People in this town are a little too concerned about where the cast of The Real World was last night. What is this, like the twentieth edition of the show? Real World hasn't been cool since Puck got kicked out of the house in San Francisco. The only thing I didn't like about this story is that I didn't think of it first!
Mike Shanahan
Winter Park
Duperman: Fucking hilarious! Good for you for exposing the truth behind The Real World. A little sad, perhaps, that some of our fine Denver denizens are so easily duped and, even worse, so eager to be a part of something so ignorant. Propers to those patrons who flew the bird. Keep it up!
P.S.: I'll still watch (just to laugh, though).
Jason Richard
Denver
The belly of the beast: I couldn't put a finger on how many times we have closed out bars in LoDo and seen "felony fights" happen as we stumbled down the steps on Market or Blake. People running through crowds, knocking others out for no reason, occasional shootings, hooligan-inspired melees -- it's like a war zone some nights. I remember reading one of your articles about the insanity that happens during Let Out, and it couldn't be any more true. (After our second dose of pepper spray in six months, we don't hang out there anymore on the weekends.)
So guess what those crafty bastard producers do? Place seven unsuspecting kids in the ground zero of downtown Denver. It'll definitely make for interesting television, 'cause I have a feeling that these kids aren't going to be very welcome. I'm guessing multiple fights, maybe a couple of bricks tossed through our whored-out and beloved B-52's, and yet another season of "real" scripted dialogue and situations.
Duck and cover, Real World cast: LoDo is at your front door!
Dustyn Hadley
Denver
Drew drop in: Regarding Michael Roberts's "Shticky Situation," in the June 22 issue:
Drew Soicher's antics have spiced up 9News. Some time ago, I watched a newscast where Soicher gleefully dropped bobble-heads into a small rubber pool that sat on the news desk. Witnessing Soicher's co-anchors react with histrionic flinches and looks of utter disgust at the threat of being splashed by a stray droplet of water -- as if Soicher had plopped a gigantic, venomous snake onto the desk -- was hilarious. It was nice to see an unscripted reaction on the other end of the news desk for once.
Brendan Smiley
Highlands Ranch
Keep the faith: "Shticky Situation" is a well-written perspective that articulates differences in style instead of tossing about insults. This is the kind of reporting that helps restore one's faith in journalism.
Guy Guiffre
Littleton
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas: A friend of mine who lives in Denver sent me the article about Drew Soicher. My comment: "I wish Drew Soicher performed here in Vegas."
Fred Knapp
Henderson, Nevada
The heart of the matter: I've never written a letter to a food critic before, but I just wanted to say I am very impressed by Jason Sheehan's "experiment" of not ignoring the "normal" dishes of ethnic cuisine ("An Appetite for Adventure," June 22). I always read reviews claiming that pig's toenails are more authentically ethnic than eggs. But poor people everywhere, even in the United States, eat animal leftovers. I'm from the Deep South, and nothing on any Chinese menu scares me, because I've seen it before, here in our own country.
Plus, my wife is from Asia, and although they may have tried dishes made of goat hearts and lungs, a much more typical meal for them is sunnyside-up eggs on rice (with a little soy sauce or fish sauce). This may sound too simple and familiar to be "authentic," but it is. It's what they eat "over there."
So, thanks for Sheehan's great work. Cities this size have way too many restaurants for us to know what's good and bad, and his reviews truly make our lives better. But please remember that simple ingredients like eggs and chicken can carry as much excitement as snake-urine soup. Maybe it's the fear of eating something spooky that makes it exciting.
But I have to admit, pork belly is one of the best meats in existence.
Jeff Copeland
Denver
LoDo dodo: Regarding the June 8 Drink of the Week about Chama:
Nancy Levine, I'm sorry the west side of town is sooooo scary. How about you just stay in your downtown loft looking down on the rest of us? We're doing fine without you here in the wild boonies of west Denver/Lakewood, as we have our own yuppies, Gen X-ers, etc., to deal with.
Sharon Fiscus
Denver
Statues of limitations: Regarding Michael Paglia's piece on the North American Sculpture show, "Heavy Thoughts," in the June 15 issue:
I agree that Michael Reardon's piece was outstanding; he is one of my very favorite sculptors. (He was also included in the Armory group show at the Mizel Center this month.) I found the show to be quite varied in its quality -- What the heck was that fabric mound? And what was up with the rosebushes in wax? -- but enjoyed the variety it offered. Thanks for a funny and interesting review.
Alissa Norton
Morrison
Going lame: Is this magazine a joke?
I picked up your issue with the three guys on the cover; I guess they were from some local record label (Dave Herrera's "Top of the Morning," June 15). What a group of dorks! Complete with funky new-wave hairdo and Oasis T-shirt. I can't believe you would run such a lame shot on the cover. Oasis? Please.
I also noticed a capsule review of Sushi Zanmai. Hint: Quick sushi doesn't mean good sushi.
Seriously, people, get it together. You're making yourselves look really bad with this half-assed content. There's more out there than Oasis-lovin' wannabes and bad sushi. Get your asses in gear and go find the goods! You speak for the entire area, so make us look good or don't bother.
Sean Sullivan
Boulder
No pulse: The single-most irrelevant thing to Denver's local music scene is the Westword Music Showcase and your paper's continued disregard of some amazing talent in this city. Your collective pulse is so far off of what is so beautiful about what is, and has been, happening in local music that it's actually quite hilarious.
Georgina Guidotti
Denver
