Guest Post: BIG BROTHER Keeps Louisville Weird

Wil Heuser NOT Alex Porter...
though they both have good hair

Every once in a while I stumble across some Louisville news that I want to share but know that I can't do justice to. This time it was the inclusion of a Louisville comedian on this season of BIG BROTHER. 


The good news is this time I knew exactly who to ask for help. My friend, Alex Porter, is a BIG BROTHER junkie! Enjoy Alex's guest post and tune in to BIG BROTHER's premiere on Thursday!! 

We are in the thick of the Summer television season, when the broadcast networks replace their quality programming with the cheaply produced guilty pleasures of shows such as Hell’s Kitchen, The Bachelorette, and Wipeout!

Since 2000, one of the biggest Summer hits has been the trashtastic BIG BROTHER on CBS. Each season a group of “HouseGuests” are chosen to live together in a camera filled house and avoid “eviction” to be the last guest standing to win $500,000 dollars. We the viewers get to indulge in our voyeuristic side and watch all of the crazy action and competition each week.

I make no excuses, I love this show. It is my guilty pleasure and I’m not the only one. Last season, it was one of the top five most watched TV shows in Louisville during August.

I respect the CBS executives for having no shame in producing the trashiest reality show on TV, but this year we have an additional reason to tune in.

The latest season premieres on Thursday, July 12th at 9 p.m. This past week CBS gave us details on the house guests (Which you can see here) and one of them is a Louisville resident who happens to be quite the character.

Wil Heuser is a marketing consultant from Louisville but more importantly, he has appeared briefly on American Idol and has released several music videos including one where he dresses up in catholic school girl clothing similar to classic Britney Spears. See here. 

He has also produced several skit comedy videos on YouTube that are extremely over the top, brash and ridiculous.

So being the BIG BROTHER fan that I am, I watched a couple of Wil’s videos and as expected, they are pretty far out and crazy. My first reaction was “Oh my God, this guy is crazy. Why does he have to be from Louisville?”

But after thinking about it for a while, that is a pathetic reaction.

I think it’s awesome that he is from Louisville!

Here is somebody who is out there doing exactly what he wants to do and doesn’t give a crap about what anybody else thinks. We should all support that kind of attitude, even if we don’t necessarily care for the performance or product.

One one Louisville’s slogans that has really gained traction is “Keep Louisville Weird” and that’s something we should be proud of. I think Wil helps us stay weird. Even if it is somewhat of a back handed compliment.

Of course once BIG BROTHER gets underway Wil could end up being one of the biggest jerks to ever be on the show, but I doubt that happens.

So when this season gets started, I urge everybody to put their reservations aside, join me and watch BIG BROTHER in all its trashy glory to follow Wil’s progress.

I’ll be watching.

Side Note: This season also includes Joe Arvin, a chef from Lexington KY. So maybe we can make this a good natured Louisville versus Lexington competition?


Alex Porter is a Media Research Analyst in the Louisville area. A pop culture junkie, he is always keeping up with the latest trends in TV and media. He also enjoys spending time with his wife Kayla, their shih tzu Kyle, and endless cups of coffee. You can follow Alex on Twitter at @alexporter82 and read his blog at alexinlouisville.wordpress.com.

The Man Who Should Be Columbus, Indiana's Favorite Son

A blue million years ago (ie. 2005-06) an LA-based Pop Culture blogger took note of my Katrina New Orleans blog and asked me to join her small stable of writers.  It was a fun (unpaid) gig.  Right up my alley.  And I enjoyed the national exposure.  Then one day the blog (Subcrawl.net) just... disappeared.  So sad.  Too bad.


Anyway, yesterday I was reveling in the news that our president not only shot a segment with my favorite uber-geeks, the Mythbusters, but also invited them to the White House.  And I remembered an article I wrote for Subcrawl... and dug it up in ye olde computer archives.  Seeing that it's (A) a Louisville-area-based article and (B) Subcrawl is long dead, I figure it's A-OK to reprint it here.  

An Open Letter to the Town of Columbus, Indiana:

As a frequent visitor to your beautiful and unique small town, I have been charmed by the astounding architecture—from the library designed by IM Pei and the bank building designed by Saarinen to the cozy Victorian homes downtown.  

I have sipped upon hot mochas at Jitters, gotten drunk on New Years Eve at the Eagles Lodge while watching a grown man prance about in an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weenie-yellow-polka-dot-bikini, and breakfasted on biscuits and gravy at the Moose (the half portion is large enough for a lumberjack).  It’s a great town, full of great people.

Columbus has enjoyed many honors in recent years.  It was named one of the “Ten Most Playful Towns” by Nick Jr. Magazine.  The National Trust named it a 2005 Distinctive Destination.  And the city is ranked sixth in the US for architectural innovation by the American Institute of Architects.  

It is in this spirit that I write to protest the fact that Columbus has failed in bestowing  sufficient honor upon its most illustrious native son.  

Yes, I recognize that Columbus has many “favorite sons” (alas, few daughters) to choose from including Chuck Taylor (of the Chucks sneakers fame) and Clessie Cummins (who created the Cummins diesel engine).

Yet, as a visitor enters the town the “Welcome to Columbus” sign is flanked by two “Home of…” designations.  Home of Tony Stewart, race-car driver extraordinaire.  Home of Don and Ross Barbour Original Members of The World Famous Four Freshmen, who are, according to their website “The Best Vocal Group of All Time!”  (Note that there have been TWENTY-TWO incarnations of the Four Freshmen since 1947).

It is with heartfelt love for your town that I urge you to consider bestowing the great honor of a “Home of” sign to Jamie Hyneman, the oddly sexy walrus-mustachioed co-host of Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters, and 1974 Columbus North High School Graduate.

Hailing from Indiana farm country, Jamie Hyneman is a not just a Mythbuster-- he's a multifaceted man: wilderness survival expert, boat captain, diver, linguist, animal wrangler, machinist, and chef. His career has been equally diverse: Jamie earned a degree in Russian languages and literature and ran a sailing/diving charter business in the Caribbean for several years before he moved over to the visual-effects industry.

I’m sure Tony and Don and Ross won’t mind sharing their roadside space with a genius of Hyneman’s stature.  I’m sure Hyneman would appreciate the nod (as long as you don’t put his high school picture on the sign). 

Kind regards, 

Lou