Archive for category oprah oddness

Oprah’s vajayjay

Posted by admin in oprah oddness on June 15th, 2009

We haven’t had a poke at Oprah for a while but a couple of nuggets popped up last week,

First up, she responded to the thorough kicking in Newsweek with a slightly lame “I trust the viewers, and I know that they are smart and discerning enough to seek out medical opinions to determine what may be best for them.” Someone needs to remember the maxim “never underestimate the stupidity of the general public.

On a lighter note. Oprah’s vajayjay. Just watch it dammit. You will smile.

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Oprah gets thorough kicking from Newsweek

Posted by admin in oprah oddness, stupid medicine on June 2nd, 2009

Back to laughing at Oprah. Newsweek thoroughly takes her apart. Well worth a read. Hormones, vaccines and much much quackery in an impressively researched article.

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Oprah fails at…everything?

Posted by admin in oprah oddness, stupid medicine, vaccine denial, weird yanks on May 20th, 2009

Poor Oprah. She can’t do anything right at the moment.

First up, the wonderfully irritable PZ Meyers has a suggestion for Oprah, regarding the odious anti-vax woman. I especially like the way he quotes Oprah’s missive in comic sans. He modestly quotes his in a simple serifed font, but maybe an olde Victorian Gothic script would be better. Dripping venom. That is only poisonous to the stupids.

Slate has a good swipe at Oprah regarding “bioidentical hormones”, Jenny McCarthey and the exceptionally stupid “The Secret”. It’s worth wading through the free pass rubbish to see what a literate kicking they give her.

Is it time for Oprah to step aside? Or ‘fess up and hire a team of fact-checkers instead.

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Why Oprah (& millions of her fans) love Jenny McCarthy

Posted by admin in oprah oddness, weird yanks on May 14th, 2009

This is the kind of pop-psychology I love. It’s not entirely unrelated to the thesis of the “Happiness Hypothesis” that we’re 95% elephant that does whatever the fuck it wants and 5% of rider hanging on like grim death steering it away from the tar pit[1].

So why does Oprah persist in plugging this shit uncritically? Because it “feels right”. That’s right, we think with our feelings and the plural of anecdote is data. Or not.

I do kinda get the feeling that the tide is now turning; critical thinkers are getting more militant about exposing such intellectual fraud and that we’re beginning to get the message out. Now all we need are media that will cover the retractions as well as the hype.

[1] Sorry, I’ve been to the La Brea tar pits in LA recently so it’s an appealing metphor.

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‘Superfood’ Promoted on Oprah’s Site Robs Amazon Poor of Staple

Posted by admin in oprah oddness, weird yanks on May 14th, 2009

A quick Oprah-bash. Plugging an Amazon staple food causes its price to rise up to sixty-fold so Americans can chow down on a nutrient-rich berry that FDA hasn’t issued an opinion on.

A couple of thoughts:

1. Hippies please feel free to rail against “globalisation”. Then please to stop using your Asian mobile phone and wearing those Indian/Egyptian/American cotton clothes. On second thought…

2. This is a classic “unintended consequence”. Oprah mouths off without thought to what the outcome might be. Still, if these people starve, she’ll get another programme out of it. Yay.

More Oprah to follow…

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