Sunday, September 17, 2006

the flavor of my kind. finally.

ok, i had this big long post all set about how i'm damn excited that my favorite show, The Amazing Race, kicks off tonight and that i cannot wait to get home and watch it and how, since i got a dvr i refuse to watch commercials and i have no idea what kind of contestants they have. until i thought to myself, DUH self, go look it up online.

MY PEOPLE HAVE FINALLY MADE IT TO REALITY TELEVISION!

ok, ok, i know that's not true. they have an all-asian team on Survivor! (oh yeah, but not south asian.) and i think i flipped through and saw some contestant on America's Next Top Model a few years ago who tried to blow off the pain of being cut by saying something ridiculous like she only really wanted to use it to get into the business side of fashion anyway. yeah, sure, she only said that to save face for the Aunties. and from the previews, i think there's someone from my region on the next season of ANTM, too.

the reason that i'm so unbelievably excited is because i feel it is my duty to put my heart and soul behind anyone who bucks the Auntie patrol. Tony Kanal, M. Night Shyamalan, Parminder Nagra, Sarita Choudhury, Naveen Andrews, Russell Peters and a host of others that i'm sure i'm forgetting that are more than worth mentioning. especially because they don't usually list sculptors, or journalists, or architects, or fashion designers, or professional chefs, or makeup artists, or dancers, or trombonists, or all the other non-approved careers on imdb.com.

these people take on the big job of veering off the accepted path that is medicine/law/computerscience/and-of-course engineering. which is why it took nearly a DECADE to get a southasian on the tv show ER. in that entire hospital, there was not one of my people for that long? not a single ultrasound tech or phlebotomist or orderly. wanna know why? because no indian parent's friend in their right mind would allow them to allow their child to pursue something as risky as acting. i know these people want the best for their kids (read: quickest road to grandchildren), but that just leads to grandkids without role models they can identify with who may form skewed ideas of what it means to be beautiful, successful and loved by the world. (i escaped this particular fate because my parents are all about bollywood music videos. my idea of what a beautiful woman means is to have long luscious hair and run about the trees in the rain. which is another issue in itself.)

anyway, thank you Jerry Bruckheimer and the casting people for Amazing Race 10. i see that not only do you have my peeps, but you have another asian team (the other kind) as well as devout muslims and a person leaping through life despite an injury. and of course some cheerleaders and pageant queens. i'm sure more than one of them is a "/model," so you guys aren't straying too far from the protocol.

so, as if i wouldn't be doing so anyhow, i will be running home every sunday night/monday morning to check up on my team. and i pray that my people don't do something like be nasty to each other or cheat or pick fights or get eliminated right away because i want America-- in its infinite openmindedness-- to think all of us are tough competitors who know how to bring it, fight fair, battle it out and KICK SOME ASS! because, you know, we're, like totally, all the same. which is why we have to support each other.

so vipul and arti, this time it'd better be you coming home with a million dollars. my rep is on the line.




************UPDATE*******
Imagine my dismay when, after having programmed the television and triplechecked that it was set to record, i hurried home to find that it most definitely DID NOT!
maybe it was the heavy storm this evening that blocked the satellite dish, but now that i do a search for the show under many different variations, nothing comes up. damn you, DirecTV!

please don't ruin the ending. maybe if i ask really sweetly, someone very wonderful will hook me up with a copy of the episode.

18 comments:

omar said...

I don't watch the Amazing Race, myself. I was kind of surprised about this season of Survivor, though, with the racially determined teams. It's like they're TRYING to divide people.

And of course, a black dude got voted off first. It's just like the horror movies, man.

cadiz12 said...

you know, this is the first episode of survivor that got my attention in the least. ratings gimmick or not, i still asked H how the asians were doing, which is a lot considering i don't usually care one way or another.

you ever see vH1's illest minority moments? they totally talk about the blackperson horror movie thing. and a lot of other funny-but-true things.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Ohhhh boy, I know what you mean about taking up the *right* careers...lawyers, doctors, accountants. I am still annoyed about a young girl here, the most talented dancer EVER! And she's going to study law!

Heh, I bet the auntie patrols are cheering this time though.

Mike said...

I hate when my Tivo misses my stuff. Usually it's because my brother messes things up... The twerp...

Unknown said...

very exciting! i missed it... because of my bad cellphone connection - i only got your sms monday MORNING- blaaaaaaaaaaah

its ok, i can never watch first few episodes cus there are too many teams and it feels like a repeat when they show all 20 of them repeating the same thing! makes me dizzzy - but now i'll have to watch- next week its on monday night right?

cadiz12 said...

but you have to watch the early ones! that's when people are more likely to show behavior that will make you love/hate them. it is confusing, but it makes it more exciting/disappointing to see your team's progress.

Anonymous said...

oh hey, I learned another thing about you! I didn't know that you were of Indian race. That's quite cool. and south-asian? that's like a degree away from south-east asian, which is what I am!

I'm getting tingly from the excitement. I remember the ANTM chick. her name was Julie I think, she was pretty. made the mistake of telling the truth though.

Anonymous said...

and I love russell peters btw.

Jon said...

AR looks like it will be solid this year. Lots to cheer for, lots to despise. Reality shows are all about the cast. AR isn’t as much of a social show as Survivor is, but still, it does matter how you deal with the other people. I don’t know why, but I always feel like the contestants on survivor underestimate that. Invariably, they think if they provide food or do well for the team in the challenges, they will be kept around. Not true. So, when do we apply for the Amazing Race again? I don’t think blog buddies have been played yet…

Anonymous said...

Cadiz, the two-hour season premiere of ANTM is tonight. DVR it, pronto.

Anonymous said...

I'm learning all sorts of new things about you, Cadiz! Another person in the US who's heard of Bollywood.

Anyhow, I hope you manage to see the episode, if you haven't yet.

highcontrast said...

AR, ANTM, DVR - these comments are just CHOCK full of acronyms...
anyone a fan of DOND? Its my new favorite show.

Anonymous said...

oh yeah, lia. wasn't it you that wrote that post on kajol or some other bollywood star?

Unknown said...

yo!!! there's your people on america's next top model. she is like super gorgeous and is acting like... ohhh i'm not pretty boohoooooooo.... and Tyra is like- actualy sweety you're TOO beautiful- that's gonna work AGAINST you girl! oh wait- boohoooo again!

cadiz12 said...

i know! her name is anchal (which means the part of the sari that hangs down over your shoulder-- the most decorative and beautiful part). i only started getting into that show since i got sucked into the marathon last weekend, and i noticed the conventionally pretty people tend to get booted. they're looking for unique beauty, i guess. not sure what that means, but i think it's like uma thurman.

i hope she's not a crybaby, though.

Anonymous said...

i wouldn't describe uma thurman as beautiful. i can't figure her out, actually.

anyhow, sounds like oyu have a lot of tv to watch.

cadiz12 said...

well, lia, when you work my hours, there's really not much else you can do but watch television when you are home because everyone else is at work or asleep whenever you have free time.

Anonymous said...

if everyone i knew was asleep during my free time, i think i would plan creative ways to wake them up! for example, ever been secretly driven to the ocean in your sleep, then tossed in like a sack of potatoes? good times! they'll never forget it!