I’ll freely admit it. I enjoy reality TV. The obsession began during summer vacation in 1992 when I would sneak peaks at the first installment of MTVÂ’s The Real World. My mom hated the show (she despised MTV), but I thought the concept of getting to watch Julie, Eric, Kevin, Norm, Becky, Andre, and Heather B, regular people live their daily lives was amazing. To my 13-year old eyes, reality tv was an easily accessible documentary.
Well, the genre has come a long way since then, and has even taken a couple of steps back, but tonight ABC premieres what I like to call network television’s homage to the Real World for people who actually grew up watching The Real World, “One Ocean View.” The show, produced by
“revolves around a summer share beach house where eleven, attractive, single, career-driven New Yorkers flee Manhattan each Friday to escape the soaring city temperatures for a different kind of heat. One Ocean View is a show about people old enough to have real jobs, issues and baggage, but still young enough to leave all that behind and have a great time. Fun, flings and nights filled with romance heat up as the days grow shorter and the pressure builds to make this a summer to remember”(link.)
More importantly, this show marks the reality tv debut of a couple of semi-professional soccer playing, organic-pizza eating, twin sisters, Radha (l) and Miki (r) Agrawal. From some googling (thanks tvgasm) and their bios, which conveniently read almost the same, we learn that the two were quite popular at Cornell, where they both played soccer and were in the stage version of Cyrano De Bergerac, and quit investment banking to open up an organic pizza parlor in New YorkÂ’s upper east side. Apparently, the pizza parlor, which has been featured on the food network, grew out of MikiÂ’s lactose intolerance. I canÂ’t say the show is going to be good, in fact everything I have read and seen about it indicates quite the opposite, but hey, it canÂ’t be worse than divya and priyaÂ’s sweet sixteen/graduation party. One Ocean View premieres tonight on ABC at 10 pm (EDT).
wow, and very fair to boot! 🙂
The twins are half-Japanese. Not that that has anything to do with what you wrote. 😉
The Usman dude may be desi too. could be 3 desi’s on tv at the same time.
The twins are half-Japanese.
ah, a sweet nick indeed! not only so fair, but likely no hair!
Damn, we’re everywhere now! Sad I missed it (only a little).
Anyone have a report?
this one sounds not that bad actually.
after all reality tv depends on the reality portrayed. can be mind-numbingly boring as in the case of Big Brother, or fairly amusing
The twins look sweet like jalebi to me. Mmmm.
How does one determine which genes dominate?
The desi hairy genes can dominate!! So can the color..
Ahhh!! this sounds a lot like the Einstein and the dumb blonde joke.
oh man that show was brilliant. nice moustaches!
Japanese girls know how to scream. 😉
wow… this and 2 desis on the new amazing race… brownies are representing these days… divya and priya i could do without (why didn’t the veil suffocate them?)..
the usman character likes to say stuff like: “I hang around with models because I’m rich and good-looking,” and “Everyday is the best day of my life because I get better-looking every day”
if the shows a hit, we’ll have our 1st desi omorosa…assuming he’s desi…but he is brown.
hEy I watched the show too.. i fear for my sanity now coz i may want to watch it again.
.. now that i know the desi factor.. coz i watched it midway and missed their names…
Not all Japanese are low on the follicle, this ancestry (though remote) too could be possible:
The desi hairy genes can dominate!! So can the color..
no, color seems to work in a polygenic additive fashion. it isn’t a simple mendelian trait where ‘dominance’ would work.
genetically, the yayoi (japanese who emigrated from korea and brought rice culture 2-3 K years ago) contributed about 75% of the japanese genetic stock and the ainu/jomon 25%. yes, japanese are hairier than the koreans from what i have read. (see here)
unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much on the genetics of hirsutitude. i’ve looked. though i’ll look again.
Someone please remind again me how “hairyness” became a staple of recent discussions.
Very dodgy that the appearance of two very pretty twins has triggered an outbreak of speculation about hairiness (or lack of it). Some of you guys have been doing too much surfing-shurfing. You know what I’m talking about. Besharam log.
Especially you, Razib. Brownoholic Desi Tourettes guy.
And don’t pretend you’re not thinking about triple-decker sandwiches and whatnot. Not the kind you eat…..er well you might do….er…..
Ah well, “the more the merrier” as they say. “Spread the lurve” and so on. Yes I love you. And you and you and you. And yes, you too, my spicy little Butter Chicken…..
😉
triple-decker sandwiches
? say more.
p.s. hair just happened to rhyme with fair. and itz come up on the threadz before.
Meh, I am much lighter than them (not saying that it’s a good thing, i like tanned skin better myself), and also much hairer 🙂 But they are cute
Cool, a new lunch spot and pretty close to my workplace! For NYers, here’s a link to their place, including the address. I’ll go on a day when it’s less than 100 degrees outside and report back.
Razib the Brownoholic,
The filling in the sandwich. The piece of ham in between two delicate slices of gently-baked bread (white or brown, depending on your preference. Oh look, the “fairness” debate has reared its ugly/perfectly-coiffed head again). The dog in the, er, hot dog. The burger in-between two buns (aha, Freudian).
rolls eyes and shakes head
article says that they started it cuz their lactose intolerant.
one word review of the show, which i watched in its entirety: soporific
Chewbaca says,”GGrrrrraaahahahahaghghahaghahghggaa…AAARRRRAAAGHG. Huff. Huff.”
Translation: You are looking in the wrong place. Go to Kaashyk and research the wookie genome. In yoda speak,”the answer, find, you will!”.
A picture of two girls. 26 comments later their hairiness, fair(i)ness and how they would scream (pres. in bed) have been discussed, predominantly because they are part Japanese. Good to see Asians respecting other Asians.
A picture of two girls. 26 comments later their hairiness, fair(i)ness and how they would scream (pres. in bed) have been discussed, predominantly because they are part Japanese. Good to see Asians respecting other Asians.
Well, the bright side is that we can only move up from here…
@BrooklynBrown, I am definitely going to check that pizza place out..
ditto here, I live in the neighborhood so I might try to swing by today. I tend not to venture out further north, but this seems like a good reason too. Anyone know how long the place has been open?
I’ll report back on the above referenced hairiness/fair(i)ness and if I’m lucky, maybe a decibel level reading from the boudoir. I’m going to be there on the way home from the gym though, so don’t keep your hopes up.
“Good to see Asians respecting other Asians.”
Yip, the dumbass entaglement of sex and race all over again…. can’t seem to avoid it when talking about women, huh?
Slate has a good critique. I couldn’t watch for more than 5 minutes 🙂
i apologize for turning the discussion to hittin’ it so early implicitly. from now on i will work to make this is a Safe Space for sexes and orientations.
radha’s got a friendster profile – you can look her up as “radha agrawal”
further evidence that half-breeds are way better looking
sa:
mixed ‘breeds’ as you put it are usually more attractive than pure breeds..the right combo and the ‘wow’ factor is totally there…this can be used while discussing dating/marrying outside the brown race with the ‘rents…”but mom… i need to marry outside brown in order to increase the beauty of the future..progeny… ;)…”
the ‘rents probable response: “what your kids look like isn’t important, so long as they become doctors and marry indians themselves.” although i have seen some softening towards brown marrying jewish (family’s first choice alternate if you go non-brown). potential for some huge noses from that combination.
i am laughing and chuckling SA at your response… hmm… first alternate for my ‘rents i have no idea…
becoming the doctor decree is softening somewhat, no? who knows… (i fall into the category of not listening to their decree and becoming one, although they told me not to…)
brownie a al mode… i guess… if you go white… brownie shalom if you go jewish… super choco brownie if you go african spicy brownie if you go latino/hispanic fortune brownie if you go asian..
yes it’s all tongue and cheek… DUH…
tongue and cheek? huh?
yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re a doctor and all, but jeez, woman, eating brownies is all about tongue and teeth, ok?
tongue and teeth.
I think it’s supposed to be “tongue IN cheek”. Which doesn’t sound any less dubious, does it ?
This is what too much “recreational” surfing on the internet does to you. Freudian slips all over the place.
No comments on the other Desi on the show — Usman? Check out his myspace page
Quotes: “My mom says i’m good catch”
Sounds like a shallow chauvinist desi momma’s boy. Would be a good fit on the comment section of this blog!
Whoops here is the link http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=13156933
hmm.. as I remember, the pizza place was more of a “for lactose-intolerant” people, than a vegan joint. The place was profiled on FoodTV, and it was quite interesting (and she seemed pretty business-savvy).. instructive on how to open a pizza shop 🙂 http://www.sliceperfect.com/index2.htm
and quoting the Food Network “Refusing to give up pizza, even after doctor’s orders, Miki decides to open an alternative pizzeria. Will “Slice” really be the perfect food? She kneads to convince investors that the public will love her product or sheÂ’ll end up with cheese on her face. “
you can check out the reviews on citysearch, before you head over there to ogle 🙂
Hey folks! So I just went there for lunch. Here’s the feel of the place: bright walls, descriptions of slices, a narrow interior. The place seats about 10 and has decor and plates that definitely aspire for a “cultured” crowd (read: wealthier), which should be easy to find on the Upper East Side. I went with three of my colleagues. Since prices for slices range from $3-$5 (yikes!), we opted for a whole pie ($22), and getting the four of us to decide on what type of pie to get was hilarious. Selecting a drink was easier; lots of Moby’s TeaNY drinks plus other feel-good carbonated juices.
Eventually, we settled on the skilled eggplant (sans olives), and the pie arrived in about 8-10 minutes. The pie is rectangular(!), and slices are small triangular cuts, which was interesting. The crust was a little too dry and thin for my tastes, but my colleagues thought it was ok. The trend in NY — epitomized by Grimaldi’s and a few other spots — is thin-crusted pizza with a scattering of toppings. This fit into that mold, but I find those other pizzas have more taste and are more filling than what I found at Slice.
Yes, I was disappointed. The pizza wasn’t all that tasty (I described it to a workmate as “eating tomato sauce on matzah bread”), and even those who thought the pizza was tasty expected a better value. I think we’re just used to $2 slices and pies that can fill a group of four. Most everyone was still hungry so we hit a fruitstand on the way back to work, but paying $6/person for lunch and having to get something extra afterwards doesn’t sound too bad. Depends on how you like the taste of matzah, I guess…
We briefly met one of the sisters, btw. As she was exiting, she came by the table to ask how the food was.
I had to lie.
Hi guys! A friend of mine forwarded this link to me and as half a member of the brown posse, I thought I should try and defend our food and also my hairiness (or lack thereof!), fairness and the way I would scream in the sack. So where to begin…I think I remember Brooklyn Brown who came in with your colleagues…I remember saying hello as well…, you can ALWAYS be honest with me and let me know if it’s bad or not and we’ll give you another one! We have incredible customer loyalty which is the core of our business…Most of our clientele love the crust a little well-done but all you have to do is ask for the crust to be softer and we’ll make it the way you want! In any case, next time (which hopefully there will be! ;)) I’ll sit down with you and we can test out the slices! (Hopefully my hairiness won’t offend you)…In any case, glad to see that there’s some dialogue at all, and since we’re getting an organic beer and wine license in the next three weeks, it would awesome to have some kind of a social mixer at our shop…Just let me know, and I’ll make sure Miki and I are both there to be sure that Brooklyn Brown is satisfied with his food! 😉 All this to say, thanks for checking out the show, it promises to get juicier although I’ll admit that Miki and I do not partake in any of the more lude scenes as my indian father and japanese mother would likely beat me as all good asian parents do…xoxo Radha (said with the correct indian accent with emphasis on the “h”)
Radha,
Without a doubt, this was one of the most mature responses I’ve ever seen on SM. This is not sarcasm; I’m serious. Kudos to you for the way you handled all the criticism.
But for the record, I never made comments about your hairiness.
Regardless, since half the office is veggie, it’s likely we may take you up on your sampling offer. Thanks.
You’re too sweet. Can’t wait to meet again soon! (and I was also kidding about the hairy legs thing) xo Radha
Usman rocks. Saw One Ocean View last night for first time. Great to see a South Asian male who’s not a streotypical dork.
Whoever was curious about Usman from One Ocean View: he’s of Pakistani descent, cause duh, he quotes Jinna as one of his heroes on his myspace profile!
Radha and miki rockssssssss and i pray and i knw der ll gonna win a oscar that’s 4 sure cheers