Some Thoughts on Oprah

Ok, so as we all know - it seems to be the (temporary) end of the Oprah Winfrey Show.  I have had some mixed feelings on this woman over the past couple years.  I've felt the ego has, in a way, grown out of control and I also feel that she's made some questionable endorsements over the years (cough, The Secret, cough) that some people have blindly followed.  That, and, well, the whole tangent of the fact that some people just blindly follow and do (or buy) anything she tells them to because, well, she's Oprah (the book club, the favorite things, etc etc.).  

Anyhow.  Now, I do believe Oprah is good at heart, but as I said, sometimes she's a bit much.  However, I was thinking the other day - would it be possible to be Oprah Winfrey - to have Oprah's celebrity status, to have so many people worshiping oneself, to have so many blindly following one's suggestions - is it possible to have less of an ego than our dear Oprah does?  Would it be possible to be grounded?  Is Oprah relatively down-to-earth, given the circumstances?  

Busy Busy

Carrie Bradshaw to the random businessman who bumps her on the street:
You're so busy...you're SO busy!!!

Is it just me, or does it drive any of my readers nuts when people constantly complain on how incredibly busy they are?  What is this, an epidemic lately?  The reason it bothers me is not I don't believe these people are busy, it's that, newsflash, WE ALL ARE.  In theory, if 'busy' is an acceptable excuse for having not done something, then EVERYONE could use it for EVERYTHING.

That, and people who actually are busy don't need to say it.  You had a baby last week?  Yeah, you're probably busy.  You don't need to explain it.  And THESE people usually don't.  I hate it when you ask someone a simple, reasonable request and they give you a dissertation on everything they've been up to lately - in the amount of time he or she spent making him or herself look/sound important, he or she could have instead performed said task.  That, and some of these 'busy' folks have simply overcommitted themselves.  Not that that's a crime, but again, that was said individual's decision.  Didn't you know what you were getting into when you volunteered for 85 different projects?

That, and this reminds of an episode of Oprah (I know, blush) where they staged interventions on people who were hiding from reality in what seemed to be socially acceptable outlets.  There was a woman who worked 110 hours a week at 3 separate jobs.  She made it out that she was trying to make the extra money to support her family, but according to her husband, they didn't really need it to live comfortably. In reality, she was avoiding her home because she was unhappy in her marriage and constantly arguing with her kids.  Had she chosen to deal with this problem by say, drugs or alcohol, people would have been all over her from the get-go, however, since she was hiding from her life in a 'socially acceptable' outlet, people who knew her looked the other way.  I think this is probably the case of a couple 'constantly super busy' people I know.  Not that they're unhappy with their marriages/kids, but that they're just making themselves busy as a means of avoiding dealing with something.

Sorry for the rant.  I am not really sure where this came from.

Fun with Girly Stuff

So I am not one to give free advertising. Ever. Especially not on this blog. (Editor's sidenote: If you'd like to advertise on Jaime's blog, please contact the advertising sales team. Contact info to come.)

However, call me Oprah - I have to talk about one of my favorite things/places: the 1154 Lill Store in Lincoln Park. The 'design your own bag' boutique. Otherwise known as heaven. LOVE IT!

The above are my two designs. As a professional artist. I know I'm inspiring a lot of envy right now, but please note that these two designs cannot be purchased at the Lill store. They are Jaime originals and have been copywrited.

The Pot...the Kettle....

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/people/1751626,chris-brown-rihanna-oprah-090309.article

In short, Chris Brown feels Oprah was a little 'harsh' with him. "It was like a slap in the face", according to him.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

O Really?

A Million Little Pieces.
The Secret.
Barack Obama.

Don't doubt the Oprah effect people!!!