Blogs | Daily Crasher
The Oprah Brouhaha
By Josh Board | Posted November 20, 2009, 11:03 a.m.
So, there's this Eggo waffle shortage. And it comes the same time Oprah Winfrey has decided to end her talk show. Coincidence?!
Okay, that was a cheap joke. And not even a funny one.
I wanted to start the blog with lyrics from Stew, one of my favorite singer/songwriters. I couldn't find the lyrics he had for a song that started "I watched the Oprah Winfrey Show today...."
But just typing that lame joke, got me to thinking about all this Oprah brouhaha.
First, I had heard days ago that the network was going to ask Oprah to take a pay cut for her show. All of the sudden, I hear she's been on the air 25 years and is going to call it quits.
She is getting her own network (I'm guessing it'll be called "O", but who knows). I'm also guessing that at some point, it won't do well in the ratings, and she'll bring her talk show there. Heck, she might bring Leno. By that time, I'm sure he'll be looking for a new job.
Remember Kathy Lee Gifford finally giving us a break and retiring? That lasted a few years before she returned to early morning TV. But on a good note, at least it's fodder for shows like The Soup.
I'm guessing that members of her audience, on that last day of taping, are probably going to get a car. I mean, that really would be a great way to end things. And how disappointing if they don't get prizes.
Switching gears a bit, I heard a news report that actress Kirstie Alley (Cheers) is mad that Conan O'Brien continues to make fun of her weight.
I did hear Letterman make a joke about her last night, but she does have a point. Conan seems to be on the war path with her. And when Conan was mentioning Kirstie being mad and Tweeting about him, he then showed a "best of" segment, with all the Alley jokes from the past. It was a horrible thing to do. But it was also funny. And I wonder why we laugh at this, when we know it's painful to another person.
Yet, when Letterman used to always attack Oprah, it did bother me. I'm not sure why this is.
I tried to interview Kirstie Alley once and she seemed to be....out of it. Her then husband Parker Stevenson apologized to me.
I liked her well enough on Cheers. I loved her in this sci-fi movie Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons did called "Runaway".
But for some reason, when celebrities go thru turmoil, we always laugh at the late night jokes. With Oprah, the reason I didn't laugh, is I had heard early on that she was abused as a child. And to me, when something happens to children, it's not a laughing matter. Even though Letterman could argue that her weight is happening while she's an adult...who knows what things could've stemmed from childhood abuse.
Although I never watched Oprahs show, the few times I caught it, I enjoyed her interview style. She might occasionally ghetto it up depending on who the guest was. Maybe she felt it gave her street cred, I dunno. Although, when she had the cast of Crash on her show (what a disappointing movie), she apparently gave rapper Ludacris a hard time about some of his rap lyrics. So, there went the street cred.
She also had that little blow up at a boutique in Paris, that wouldn't open up shop after they had closed. I'm guessing she's used to getting what she wants. And when she didn't, she not only acted extremely rude at the place, but she devoted an entire show to attacking the place.
Now, back in the late 80s, I talked to a DJ I worked with who said there was a DJ he worked with in San Antonio that bought a car from a dealership, and they weren't honoring the warranty. He went on the air and told everyone to avoid the place.
The FCC promptly pulled his broadcasting license. Apparently, it's a no no to use the airwaves for personal attacks against a business.
I'm guessing those rules don't apply to Oprah.
Whatever she does in the future, I wish her the best. There isn't a person alive that devotes more time and money to various charities.
Whether you like her show or not, you've got to respect that.
F*** that fat, ghetto exploiter!!!! Her "charity" is just to get more bored housewives to subscribe to the cult of O. And if that DJ got his license pulled for simply telling not to go to a certain business, it's just one more reason why need to get rid of the FCC.
By PistolPete 1:02 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
One thing I like about Oprah is that she supports writers. You don't see other talk shows doing that. I give her mad props for that alone.
By refriedgringo 1:24 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
I too, like how she supports reading in general but she's f***ed up a couple of times doing fact checking regarding her authors. She's a HUGE exploiter of anything controversial.
By PistolPete 1:53 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
Actually, you'll have to blame the author for not telling the truth, and the publisher's editor for not sniffing it all out. The reader (I presume that Oprah actually reads the books) isn't culpable for the content. I'm not a big fan of Oprah, but I don't think that she shares any responsibility, she's simply promoting what she considers to be good books.
I hate it when writers misrepresent their content. It makes the entire publishing industry look bad. It also makes it more difficult to sell and promote books.
By refriedgringo 2:05 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
Good point. Maybe I'm being hard on her overall but I tend to think she contributes alot to the dumbing down of the world.
By PistolPete 2:13 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
I think that most media contributes to the dumbing down of the world. I don't even watch television. I think that most media is meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator, and that's the problem. Very little of it seems to have its own flavor, it's as if every piece of media has to taste the same in order to appeal to everyone.
By refriedgringo 2:20 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
BINGO!!!! It's why I quit watching so much TV. If the internet was as widely available now as when I was growing up, I'd be a much better human. I was a couch potato and proud back then. I'm not saying I regret it. There was some pretty decent TV back then. Not like today's TV. I think given the choice though back then, I would've eschewed the idiot box for the world encyclopedia I use today. The internet as a medium is so much better than TV. Back then or now.
By PistolPete 2:36 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
Runaway was a decent movie. I liked Selleck's character towards the end in the skyscraper since I also suffer from acrophobia. Simmons was ok, but I liked him better in Wanted Dead or Alive. The ending had the good guy character bringing out Simmon's terrorist character handcuffed with a grenade stuffed in his mouth while the good guy is leading him with his finger the pin. The good guy tells his bosses to send his fee to the family of his friend who was killed and he'll keep bonus for bringing in the terrorist alive. Then he turns around, says f**k the bonus, pulls the pin and walks away. Classic ending.
By or 3:51 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
I have never seen Runnaway. I do like Oprah. She has said things I may not always agree with. She has done a lot of good things for children and women with her foundation. I think if more TV stars were like her and less like David Letterman then I would watch more tv
By DaniLauder 5:23 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
i only saw Gene Simmons in "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park" god i love that movie. It's SOOOOOOOOO campy, corny and bad that it's actually quite good!
Snippet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmw1LbetPEQ
Not a big Oprah Winfrey fan, never have seen her show, but i've seen her magazine and it's not too bad. i sorta met her once before a race i covered. It was about 6 a.m. on a Sunday up at Fort Rosecrans... she showed up in a van with her "people" and about 30 cocker spaniels. OK, maybe there were five. All black. Very cute. She came out of said van and smiled.
Why were you disappointed in "Crash"? i was a little disappointed, too. i thought it could have been SO much better. Like the Robert Altman film "Short Cuts" - have you seen that? LOVE that movie...
Didn't watch "Cheers" after whatserface Diane left the show... Shelly Long, right?
Parker Stevenson... THE HARDY BOYS! i liked him better than Shaun Cassidy, that's for sure. Better actor.
LEGGO MY EGGO!!!
By KarenBP 6:41 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
Eggo’s are the top selling (frozen) breakfast food. They’ve been on top for years. People buy them in bulk and I guess that’s what millions of Americans eat for breakfast everyday.
Me, I can’t stand them. But I don’t eat frozen or fast food for breakfast. So I will glady leggo my eggo.
By Ponzi 8:28 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
EGGOS suck! I learned how to whip up a batch of waffles when I was knee high to a grasshopper just by watchin' my granmawmaw. NOTHIN' beats a homemade breakfast. Nothin'.
By PistolPete 8:55 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bur-_Bd8P7Q&feature=related
C'mon, PistolPete, "nothing beats a great pair of L'Eggs."
By KarenBP 9:09 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
Wow! That's a blast from the past! Thanks Karen. If I was a wee bit younger, I might've re-lived the chubby I got as well....lol!
By PistolPete 9:12 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
I never had eggos growing up. Pancakes made from Bisquick was more my Mother's style.
She also wore legs and to my knowledge she stll does. (OR IS IT L'EGGS?)
By kjginsandiego 9:54 p.m., Nov 20, 2009 > Report it
My fav was/is "Who loves short shorts? We love short shorts!"
By rickeysays 1:13 a.m., Nov 21, 2009 > Report it
Dang, I had a lot of typos in that blog!
Rickey, did you like the jingle for the song? Or for the "jingle"?
Pete, that FCC law is a good one. You can't have some rogue DJ mad at a company, and unfairly sinking the business by ranting about it.
Yeah, that skycraper/crate elevator scene got to me, too. I'm not fond of heights.
The other person in that, the cute blonde cop that likes Selleck...that was the Dirty Dancing woman in an early role (she went on to have some hits in music, and marry Richard Marx and have 3 kids)
That ending, with the grenade, sounded cool. But...the movie The Professional, had the worst ending ever. And all my friends loved it.
By JoshBoard 2:11 a.m., Nov 21, 2009 > Report it
Oh, I always liked Eggos. Unless you burned them! But, the commercial always annoyed me. Why did "leggo" mean "hands off"? Is that a word that means something in another language? Either way, dumb commercial.
Speaking of breakfast things you can slip in the toaster, I've never had a Pop Tart in my life. They look gross.
By JoshBoard 2:13 a.m., Nov 21, 2009 > Report it
Unbelievable, Josh! You've never eaten a Pop Tart?????!!! They're delicious, IMO. ;-)
By Crissyst 8:07 a.m., Nov 21, 2009 > Report it
GEEZ, Josh!!! L'EGGO means LET GO!!! L'eggo my Eggo=Let go of my Eggo or I'll break your hand.
"Pete, that FCC law is a good one. You can't have some rogue DJ mad at a company, and unfairly sinking the business by ranting about it."
The FCC obviously has never heard of the 1st Amendment.
By PistolPete 9:15 a.m., Nov 21, 2009 > Report it
It's not a 1st amendment issue.
It's an issue of the FCC saying the airwaves are for "everyone". And, someone that has the power to rant and rave about a company, and the company having no recourse (would they let the car dealership guy on to state his case? to explain WHY he didn't honor the warrantly?) See what I mean?
Hey, if you need help moving, let me know. I saw in some thread that you were moving today.
I have an afternoon party, but as of now, no night parties. So, I could help you load or unload a truck if you need it. Just drop me a line via this website.
By JoshBoard 1:22 p.m., Nov 21, 2009 > Report it
Thanks, Josh. I move next Saturday. My buddy from down the block is going to help. Not too much furniture to move and about 40 boxes or so. Everything SHOULD fit in the big U-Haul truck.
I see what you're saying regarding the FCC.
By PistolPete 3:47 p.m., Nov 21, 2009 > Report it
rickey... NAIR for SHORT SHORTS!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou9AabR6_1w
And the baby oil one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13DV9WN8S3U&feature=related
PP, glad i could oblige so you could uh... enjoy.
And Josh, Cynthia Rhodes, aka Mrs. Richard Marx. She's hot. Or was. And so was he. But short, speaking of short shorts...
Cynthia:
http://www.nctc.net/hazard/marx/cynthia/
By KarenBP 6:10 p.m., Nov 21, 2009 > Report it
Yes, she was hot. I remember watching Dirty Dancing as a senior in high school, and wanting to yell at the screen and say...Why is he with Baby? She's got that huge nose. His dance partner is ten times hotter!
I now think Baby is kinda cute. Not just because of her nose job. But as a high school kid...that blonde was just a complete knock out.
When I saw the play Jersey Boys (on a weird off topic, non-sequitor)...they said the guy that wrote the song "itsy bitsy yellow polka dot, bikini" was one of the founders of Franki Valley and the Four Seasons.
By JoshBoard 12:23 a.m., Nov 22, 2009 > Report it
Frankie Valli, yes, he was pretty freakin' talented... check the Grease soundtrack, of course, but also "December 1963, Oh What a Night" is fun and so is the very underrated "Who Loves You?"
Cynthia Rhodes was amazingly hot. i remember thinking the same thing about Jennifer Grey. Um, ew. Nice Jewish girl, daughter of multitalented Joel Grey, but still... ew.
By KarenBP 1:01 a.m., Nov 29, 2009 > Report it