Liz, it should be pretty clear: for Oprah, there is no disconnect between spirituality and consumerism. Oprah preaches that individuals--especially women--should be good to themselves so that they can be good to others. This is great advice for the harried moms her show caters to, who claim that they always put their own needs second to everyone else's. It's just a few short steps from a woman's need to exercise and eat right (so she can better serve her family) to her "deserving" a refrigerator with a digital TV in the door. To Oprah, living the good life is spiritually uplifting, and giving that good life to her audience is part of both her "philanthropy" and her down-home persona. (Remember the episode where she shopped at Cosco?) Salt of the earth, that Oprah.

am i the only one still stuck at work?

No b, you're not the only one. I bet one of Oprah's favorite things is getting off work early the day before a food related holiday!

Amen! Hallelujah! Preach it, sister Liz! I'm so sick of the consumerism that is gobbling up our culture. It's not about the stuff, people!! It's about people!

My walking partner babbled for 1/2 mile today about Oprah's show. Finally I told her, "enough. I don't watch Oprah and I don't want to know what her favorite things are."

b,
You aren't the only one. I'll be here until my normal time.

On to O. 4k for a fridge!!! All the darn thing has to do is make ice and keep things cold.

Although I'm not a member of the Cult of Oprah, I do watch her Favorite Things show. It is an ode to the joy of commercialism, consumerism, elitism and self-aggrandizement. $4000 fridge is just another gadget to a woman who can buy 150 of them and give them away.

The show is a gigantic commercial for the product's makers disguised as a sort of crazy generous giveaway by Oprah. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I read that Oprah went to Macon, Ga because 40% of the town watches her show at 4pm.
Don't these people have jobs and lives?

I'm at work too.

All I can think when Oprah hands out $4,000 refrigerators is all the extra taxes the audience is stuck with.

Okay, I am being grinchy because I am stuck at work.

The only Saturday Night Live sketch I have enjoyed since Will Ferrell left the show was their brutal takedown of Oprah's Favorite Things.

I have a hard time finding the right words to describe the self-absorbed blowhard that Oprah has become. For all of the "good" she proclaims to be about, it is really all about her and driving more money into her pockets. The school for girls in Africa...a great idea. However, the television special from Harpo Productions sold a TON of advertising and sponsorships which right back to her. The cars that she "gave away" to her audience were not paid for by Oprah, but donated by General Motors.

If she wants to do good work, just do it and don't broadcast it to the world. Sheesh!

Speaking of gobbling up our culture, methinks, that couture is gobbling up those women. Egads, what a horrendous ensemble.

I'm still at work too :(

But I plan to sneak out as early as possible.

I love it that Liz punctures Oprah at every opportunity. I accidentally saw the beginning of one of these Favorite Things shows some years ago, and it was obscene; hysteria over *stuff!* Thanking God for a bathrobe! Give me a freakin' break.

And don't get me started on her reaction to the abuse scandal at "her" school in South Africa. The worst day of her life! Um, Oprah, this isn't about you, its about the traumatized girls and, not coincidentally, your lack of leadership and management.

She is just an oversized ego with a Messiah complex. I won't have anything to do with her, her products or her so-called uplifing message.

People are actually praying on that show...sheshh...It must feel good to be elevated to God's level.

Whoa there comrade Liz. I'm not a fan of Oprah- I hardly like the way she "preaches" to her fans and the rest of America. BUT?

How different is looking at her fave list any different then oggling the Christmas version of the Neiman Marcus, Victoria Secret and even ToysRus catologues? Do you not covet some out of your price range shoes, car, kitchen appliance, etc? I'd be a liar if I said I didn't and I know that "things" don't equal happiness.

That being said- I love love love my new Samsung refrigerator (mine is $2,000 less than the one Oprah promoted and does not have a screen; we purchased it to when it was on sale and when we could afford it). Our standard issue refrig was getting way too small for our 3 soon to be 4 member household since we regularly shop at warehouse stores for bulk items.

Edited from 11:56

Whoa there comrade Liz. I'm not a fan of Oprah- I hardly like the way she "preaches" to her fans and the rest of America. BUT?

How is looking at her fave list any different then oggling the Christmas version of the Neiman Marcus, Victoria Secret and even ToysRus catologues? Do you not covet some out of your price range shoes, car, kitchen appliance, etc? I'd be a liar if I said I didn't and I know that "things" don't equal happiness.

That being said- I love love love my new Samsung refrigerator (mine is $2,000 less than the one Oprah promoted and does not have a screen; we purchased it to when it was on sale and when we could afford it). Our standard issue refrig was getting way too small for our 3 soon to be 4 member household since we regularly shop at warehouse stores for bulk items.

I love Oprah. But OMG, that was the FIRST Favorite Things show I have ever seen. DO THEY PREP THESE WOMEN TO REACT IN SUCH OVER-THE-TOP WAYS???? It was insanely ridiculous the way they were pissing themselves over bath soaps and sherbert.

Oprah doesn't need the money, so why is she advertising for Fed-Ex and Samsung and all these other big companies???? I kind of understand when she pushes her friends' stuff or literary works, etc, but Fed-Ex, Target, and Samsung?

REALLY OPRAH???

I don't get. I just don't get it.

I lost so much respect for her after watching that AWFUL SHAMEFUL display.

I can't believe the audience became hysterical for the ugly turtleneck and sailor pants combo. That outfit is soooo wrong.

that video was just creepy, creepy, creepy.

she's gotta get off on having an audience go nuts like that. any human would. but wouldn't most of us feel kinda queasy about it?

It's all about product placement. Always has been. She's just way more up front with it than your average talk show host.

Maybe a good list for the holidays would be "Britney's Favorite Things..."

i do get to leave early....i don't miss the newspaper biz at all now that i have a job with banker's hours!

"I read that Oprah went to Macon, Ga because 40% of the town watches her show at 4pm.
Don't these people have jobs and lives?"

*******************************************

I'm from a town near Macon, and as much as it pains me to admit this, the answer is, probably not.

That outfit is wrong on so many levels. It's like a cruel joke played at the audience's expense ("they love me so much I can get them to wear ugly clothes!"). Didn't the Heaven's Gate cult wear something similar?

It is becoming harder and harder to defend Oprah. Who the F needs a $4,000 fridge? I am very happy with my half priced floor model. I know she's Oprah and all, but can't some of her favorite things be a little more economical? It's really scary watching the person she has become. At a time when Americans are spending more, causing more debt and saving less, she is advocating consumerism at its most disgusting.

So I'm a little cranky too since I'm working all day and I'm working on Friday.

b,

the idea of a list of "Britney's Favorite Things" is genius!

let's see...

1. me
2. my Brazilian waxer
3. my favorite drink at Starbucks

etc.

happy holidays...

A really nice high quality energy efficient refridgerator would be nice to have. I can't see an occasion where I would need an HDTV in my fridge. I'm completely addicted to TV and even I can manage to tear my eyes away from the screen whilst cooking or grabbing a snack.

think about it: the show is an infomercial for products/movies/books/"life style crap" with real commercial breaks!

YAAAAAHHHHH! (cannot stand the show! I think she's out of touch!)

INSTEAD she should give away 200 ponies to the audience instead!

just be glad The Man Show didnt have one of these episodes...
then again, a studio audience full of guys getting lapdances for an hour might be quality television...

i wonder what liz's list of favorite things would be to give her readers/posters?

I have to say the Martha Stewart plug at the end is a little unfair. Martha's "good things" are all crafty DIY projects as is most of her magazine. One of the reasons I like her magazine is that she doesn't plug merchandise. Most things are "use a -blank- available at -generic blank- (florist, grocery) stores", if you flip to the back and track through the tiny print sources section you'll find specifics. So while Martha's about stuff, she's not "buy this, buy this, they paid me to shill".

Oprah on the other hand annoys me with all her "must have" super expensive items.

I have a friend who was in the audience during the Favorite Things show thanking volunteers of Hurricane Katrina. They were definitely prepped - a lot - to go nuts as each new product was rolled out, and folks who did go bonkers got on camera, which really encourages everybody else to go crazy too, if they want to end up tv, which a good portion of the audience does. So it becomes this self-fulfilling thing. Also, my friend said that every chair had a box of Kleenex under it when they sat down - definitely code for "you are going to cry when you find out what we have in store for you!"

I saw those fridge/tv combos last year while appliance shopping at The Great Satan That Is Best Buy (haate that chain!)

The combination perplexes me. People are going to stand around in the kitchen and stare at the refrigerator? The refrigerator needs to be made more entertaining? (The little people do that with fridge magnets :P) Or is it just to make getting a snack during commercial breaks more convenient?

Just what our obese society needs. Maybe the next model will have a side-mounted bidet. Fewer steps!

Ya, I hate to beat a dead horse - especially at the height of pony-giving season - but I have lost all respect for Oprah. I thought it was terrific that she founded the school but then, after the abuse, it quickly became all about poor Oprah. Yes, it was devastating for her but she should have quickly turned her attention to those who were truly harmed. Not to those who, ahem, wouldn't be able to shoot her Very Special Christmas special at the school.

Also, ditto on all the gross consumerism. The outfits are totally blech.

Finally, on Brit's list of favorite things...

half price collagen injections
slow moving photographers (better to run over!)
children who will hopfully remember precious little of their early years.

i would go to watch oprah live if she were giving away ponies....and i might cry.

Does anyone remember Reverend Ike?

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

Seems like Oprah now practices the Gospel According to Reverend Ike. Unfortunately, there is no mention of ponies in that Gospel.

Oh stop hating no Oprah. We are all just a tad grouchy because we are still stuck at work.

I'm grouchy at work, too, and it kind of gives me joy that everyone else is as annoyed by Oprah as I am. Funniest thing: if you look at the list of "favorite things" on the site, after every fourth or fifth one, it takes you to an ad page. The whole freaking thing is an ad. (Same as the show, I guess, when the whole show is an ad, and it's got commercial breaks.)

I'm sure there is a very cynical behind the scenes story on how these companies lobby/bribe/grovel to get included on Oprah's favorites list. I'm sure she would look more favorably on your product if you bought commerical time or made a donation to her S. African school.

I'm on the left coast, so yes, I'm still at work...but leaving soon.
It isn't the blatant consumerism that gets me riled up, it's that Oprah has the most expensive taste. She's pushing items that 95% of her viewing audience can't afford, and I find it offensive. Although, yeah, if she was giving out ponies, I wouldn't be complaining, I'd be saving up for a really nice saddle and some hot boots.
I also don't get the need for a fridge with a TV, unless it only gets Food Network and cooking shows.... I suppose if you lived in a studio apartment, it could make sense, like a fold-out couch or an ottoman that holds your files.

i don't hate oprah - but i never watch because i'm at work. i can't hate this favorite things show without commenting on so many others who do the same. as an earlier post mentioned with the nieman's list, vs... but what about non holiday over the tops stuff? have you guys seen what being sold as everyday clothing in some of the magazines? $1500 tops? Magazines say they'll show you a day to evening look but the dress is $800, the shoes another $500 and the jewelry is at least another $500! i think i lost track of what i was griping about. i'm still at work :-(

How do we get Oprah to give us ponies? We have to figure out the PR plus she would get from such a gesture.

BTW, I think she handled the school thing as well as she could. She did bring in counselors for the kids who were abused and did not put them on camera to talk abou how wonderful she was for doing that.

The less said about Martha and her "make it perfect and spend tons of time or you are a loser" attitude the better.

Honestly, the first comment just hit the nail on the head. I'm split between liking Oprah for being such a powerful female force (and starting schools and etc., yes) and disliking a lot of her attitude. "The Secret" alone dropped her way, way down in my estimation.

I'm with Tina - - stop hating on Oprah. Live and let live. It is a futile exercise. If you don't like her. Nobody cares. Just go ahead and live your life. For sure anyone that does like will not care what anyone else says about it anyway. At least, I don't. She is an easy target for all of you, foremost for Liz. Have a happy holiday. You can believe Oprah will.

To this poster: "I read that Oprah went to Macon, Ga because 40% of the town watches her show at 4pm."

Basic statistical point. Not 40% of the entire town watches Oprah, but 40% of the people in Macon at 4 pm who ARE watching TV watch Oprah. That's a big difference -- see it?

So she gives stuff away to deserving audience members. So what? What's it to you???