Day: March 2, 2006

…And he’s out

Okay, true confession time: I’ve been watching “Beauty and the Geek 2.” I’d love to say it was only because of the MIT connection (one of the male competitors, Ankur, is an MIT grad student), but honestly it’s a sweet reality show. The concept that smart-but-klutzy geeks and smooth-but-dumb beauties can actually learn from each other…  and that they can grow fond of each other… brilliant. Every geek in the world is guaranteed to become hooked on the first viewing…

Alas, Ankur was eliminated tonight. But I’ll keep watching. I’m a fan of the Woody Allen-esque Josh. I guess this means I’m now officially TV deadweight; this is the first reality show I’ve watched consistently, and it’s hard not to be hooked.

Entrepreneurship livin’ large

In the We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful category, I was eating lunch at a local diner yesterday and heard a familiar name on the nearby TV, which was tuned to Fox News. I looked up and there was an old college classmate, Lash Fary (yes, that’s his real name), who has started Distinctive Assets, “a Los Angeles-based entertainment marketing and gifting company.” Briefly, Lash, or the Gift Fary as he’s apparently known professionally, is part of the system responsible for getting high-priced merchandise into stars’ hands through the gift bags and baskets distributed at events like the Oscars (this was the context in which he was on Fox News). He’s also written a book, Fabulous Gifts, about the art of gifting well.

And to think he lived next door to me first year. Man, the places people go.

I think Lash’s story is interesting because it illustrates how an individual can carve out a business path by following his bliss. It’s also interesting because of the overall fabulousness level, of course: “the Gift Fary,” indeed.