Terminalcoffee discussion

I appear to be stuck on her today...but here it goes.

Why is she so powerful? What is her allure? WHYYYYY????

Big hips and a white voice? Maybe she projects the sort of confidence that many women wish they had.

Count me among the Oprah haters. I think her appeal now is she gives out free luxuries.

I've never had any interest in watching her show. Sure, I've seen a couple of minutes here and there, but have never sat down and watched a whole episode ever.

One thing about her that really turned me off was when she threw a hissy fit a few years back when Harrod's in London wouldn't open up for her after hours. That sort of ego trip is unacceptable. No one should think that they are worthy enough to waste someone else's time.

Actually it was Hermes, in Paris. I loved her Hermes meltdown. LOVED IT.

Okay, that.

London, Paris. Hermes, Harrods. Same thing, right?

My recall sucks, doesn't it?

My wife grew up in Chicago and became a big Oprah fan. She liked that Oprah was willing to take on almost any subject, and was honest with her audience about who she was. When she's fat, she owns it. When she is curious about something, she shares the answers with millions.

That's the sort of "reality" show people can get into.

I do not watch much daytime tv..busy doing errands,cooking...going to the library, driving my brother in law to the doctor or dentist and of course peeking in at terminalcoffee...but I did catch a bit of Oprah's show with Barbara Streisand..about 5 min worth.

Don't get her, either. She's just a big phony who sucks up to her guests and asks nothing of any substance.

I don't think I've watched Oprah since 6th, when I lived in West Virginia and only had 3 channels on t.v. to choose from. I really don't like talk shows.

well, I like Oprah for all the reasons Phil's wife does and then some. She has done a lot of positive things with her Angel Network and I admire her.

Hahaha oh yeah, that hissy fit in Hermes was classic.

I can't stand her. She started out OK, but I always resented her for chasing Phil Donahue off the air.

The last time I watched Oprah she was lifting her arms and shaking the flab around...now everytime I hear of or think about her that's all I can picture. I now say that anyone with arm flab has Oprah arms.

I do admire her accomplishments, but her sense of entitlement has inflated along with her success...now she just annoys me.

Oprah who? It's all a carefully crafted image. Perhaps we saw a glimpse of the real harpo with the Hermes incident. Just a thought.

The real harpy. Yes, that was definitely her.

I like her but I never watch her shows. And I'm afraid she'd scare me in person. She's a loud, huggy woman, from what I can tell, and that sends me running for the exits. Unless it's Heidi, because I'll get my revenge later.

Hate? Strong word to direct at someone who hasn't done you personal injury.

I'm fucking mesmerized by Oprah.

That's scary as shit.

Who among us hasn't had a bad moment? Luckily, most of us aren't videotaped when we have it, and we're not forever afterward judged by that moment.

Try talking, as Oprah has, about being abused as a child (or whatever happened to you as a child) on national TV. Expose your arm flab (insert your least attractive body part, or your least attractive personality trait) to a million viewers and risk their making fun of you. Put yourself out there and make yourself vulnerable to people you don't know.

Oprah had the guts to do that, took the ridicule and judgment, paid her dues, and profited greatly by doing so - and that's enabled her to do many good things with her money (tax deductible, but with great results).

She's certainly paid for her success and done good things with her money, but I don't think she walks the spiritual path she espouses. She has too many expensive shoes; she uses her TV show and magazine to promote her favorite things (while many people just hope to have money for groceries); she has grand houses and servants to do the mundane chores (although they're never seen on camera, or even mentioned). She's now faking being an ordinary person, and that must be taking its toll. I think she has perfect timing and that she needs to get out of the spotlight before it reveals too much.

Just saying that grey is a pretty good color.

Someone (John Stewart? Colbert? tall redhead with tight pants?) recently made a joke about a meeting between the world's superpowers,
America, Japan, France, and Oprah.

No joke you would think she was royalty. Take her back. Sydney City is suffering road closures because of her visit. How absurd is that?

So basically I am learning that Mr. King Dinosaur and I disagree on many things. He doesn't like Patti Smith or Oprah. I Love them both.

She is good at interviews, draws people out. She is generous. She can make fun of herself. She's a good actress. She supports many worthy causes.

My favorite episode on 30 Rock is when Liz Lemon thinks she is next to Oprah on the plane. "I'm a snittin' next to Bopah!"

Sally wrote: "Someone (John Stewart? Colbert? tall redhead with tight pants?) recently made a joke about a meeting between the world's superpowers,
America, Japan, France, and Oprah."

Tall redhead with tight pants would not be Jon Stewart. Probably Conan, or Lucille Ball.

Gail "cyborg" wrote: "No joke you would think she was royalty. Take her back. Sydney City is having suffering road closures because of her visit. How absurd is that?"

Revolting.

Cynthia wrote: "So basically I am learning that Mr. King Dinosaur and I disagree on many things. He doesn't like Patti Smith or Oprah. I Love them both.

She is good at interviews, draws people out. She is generou..."

I give her credit for drawing attention to serious issues like child sex abuse. But on a lot of other issues she gives platforms to crazies, like Jenny McCarthy on vaccines and autism, and Christine Northrup on new agey junk medicine. That is a HUGE disservice and creates a lot of damage.

Lobstergirl wrote: "Tall redhead with tight pants would not be Jon Stewart. Probably Conan, or Lucille Ball. "

Or Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age?

Even worse than that, they have changed the pronunciation of the Sydney Opera House to 'The Oprah House'.

And the Sydney Harpo-er instead of the Harbour, right?

Oh Gail, you must demand that she leave the country. Rise up in the streets in protest. Burn buildings, smash windows if you must.

Cynthia wrote: "So basically I am learning that Mr. King Dinosaur and I disagree on many things. He doesn't like Patti Smith or Oprah. I Love them both.

She is good at interviews, draws people out. She is generou..."

Her interview style is terrible. All she does is throw softballs at people, especially those she likes, and avoids any real follow up questions. People like to get interviewed by her because they know it's safe.

And she is so full of it. Now she claims she won't be seen in public with Steadman because it has caused too much scandal in the past. What scandal? Doesn't stop her from being seen with Gayle King. She is such a phony and an egotistical maniac.

Lobstergirl wrote: "Oh Gail, you must demand that she leave the country. Rise up in the streets in protest. Burn buildings, smash windows if you must."

No, Gail don't regress to that behavior again. :)

It seems to me that Oprah has set herself up as a spiritual leader and that she intends to take this idea even further with her new network. Even though she's done some good things with her money, who can take her seriously as a spiritual leader? There's a big disconnect between her lifestyle and her "spiritual teachings." Showing off her Favorite THINGS to people who are struggling financially shows just how far she is from being spiritual.

What's that bible verse....here it comes...."it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven."

for me, the positive Oprah has done outweighs any of the other petty complaints. I never hear about Oprah on the news getting a DUI or doing something scandalous. I think a lot of haters are envious of her and instead of striving to build themselves up, they tear down someone successful.

Ahhh, that is what Australians do best. It is called tall poppy syndrome. We normally reserve it for our own though.

Gail "cyborg" wrote: "Ahhh, that is what Australians do best. It is called tall poppy syndrome. We normally reserve it for our own though."

You cultivate poppies and keep them for yourselves? Is that what you're telling us, Gail?

::eye roll::

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_pop...

Interesting:

Conservative commentators often criticise Australians for their alleged desire to punish the successful. Tall poppy syndrome is sometimes comparable to 'The Politics of Envy'.

Poppy cultivation could probably still be worked into it somehow...

Oprah has said that she sees herself as a teacher. And, sure, she's taught us a lot of good things. But what else has she encouraged us to do? Buy expensive shoes? Buy what's in her magazine? Buy books by people she approves of? Watch the movies of people she has on her show? Buy her favorite things? Admire what she can do when she throws her weight with a political candidate? Own mansions in Hawaii, Santa Barbara, and Connecticut and, yes, be humble and spiritual and live a simple life.

dumbed down crap syndrome is that the official term for it? Or a charming little syndrome you just coined?

I don't mind Oprah , she has done some really good things for charity . Its her fans that scare the crap out of me !

Scout wrote: "Hate? Strong word to direct at someone who hasn't done you personal injury."

SCOUT!!! I ♥ you!!!

*le sigh*

:D

Heidi wrote: "
*le sigh*
"

Is that French for writhes?

I think it is a sigh of pleasure, Jim.

Cynthia wrote: "I think it is a sigh of pleasure, Jim."

I should have known that shouldn't I?

:-)

You're not a mind-reader. Or are you?

Cynthia wrote: "You're not a mind-reader. Or are you?"

No, I think that knowing what's in some peoples minds might scare the living shit out of me.

Fair enough.