Its OPRAH DAY IN AUSSIE LAND

Personally I can't stand the woman... Her voice cuts through my head like nails on a chalkboard...

I,m in the middle of the road there, neither for or against her.

I give her credit, she does a lot of charity work and she is a generous person, I mean she gives her audiences stuff all the time... She has opened up several schools in Africa... These are just random picks of the times she does... But like I said on a personal level I just can't stand her...

At work yesterday I could tell when she woke up, caus that's when the helicopters started hovering.

I really hate the way this country goes ga-ga whenever some celebrity comes by for a visit. It's makes us look like a bunch of insecure children who cling to (not to mention bow to) the approval of these apprent supreme beings.

Sure, it will do great for our tourism, but we should at least show a bit of national pride about the whole thing. Renaming the Opera House to the Oprah House was (in my opinion) a complete and utter slap in the face to this city's national culture, and exemplifies my point that if you can't be happy with just being yourself in the prescence of others, regardless of how powerful they are, then what's that point? It makes us look like a bunch of arse kissers.

But that's just my rant!

-Cub. =o)

I'm behind you there cub, really can'y work out what the big deal is with her,
they claim tourism has already been boosted by $80 million already. Can't see how really.

plumgas wrote:I'm behind you there cub, really can'y work out what the big deal is with her,
they claim tourism has already been boosted by $80 million already. Can't see how really.

That $80 million is just what she spent on hot towells probably.

-Cub. =o)

well I certainly hope DR Phil doesn't cover over here..................LOL

Well, if it in some small way boosts the economy in Australia, then good for you and good for her. I do not watch her show, mostly because I am working when she's on TV, but no one can deny the depth of her generosity. Most extremely wealthy people do not share the wealth unless they get some kind of tax break. She gives from her heart, a rare thing in our day.

BTW, I would love to visit the Opera house and actually see an opera.

Well australia economy didn't suffer as much as other countries, but they are always trying to boost tourism. Oprah liked australia so much she sent all her viewers home & decided to stay till the end of the week.

I have recorded a couple of her show to watch just to see what is it about her that drives people crazy when she is around.

This will come to many of you as a surprise but i'm not backing the cynicism this time around (even Cub's). Yes, her presence here has promoted America just as much as it has Australia and yes the whole affair has been devoid of subtle elements. But really, where else?

What I mean by this is that there are many countries around the world that this could not be done in. You couldn't go to China and label it "the great wall of Opera" or something along those lines in Russia, Africa, India, Pakistan, Israel or Palestine because of the tense political nature in those countries.

The fact that she is able to be so American in our country and so openly express those Americanisms is a testament to our country. In many ways, allowing that sort of thing to happen here shows that we (as a nation) are comfortable within ourselves and are an open country. I certainly agree (and during her visit have actually experienced this) it can be inconvenient when streets are blocked off or key districts such as the Melbourne Block Arcade are closed off just so they can go and shop.

The bottom line is that they are guests and like most other situations where we host guests, some compromises need to be made. When I started thinking about it like this along with the benefits it could have for tourism, I became more welcome to the concept of this temporary interruption. Again, it is interesting that she chooses to come now when the Australian dollar is the strongest it has ever been. No doubt would this inspire some Australians to spend the money in America.

Personally, the trip couldn't have come at a better time given that Australia's profile has over the last few years come under critcism. Keep in mind, I actually don't agree that any of the following are flaws or faults of Australia, but when Australia is depicted overseas in a negative light, these things tend to come up:

I refer to things such as the controversy concerning bashings of Indian students in Melbourne, the Hey Hey It's Saturday skit which caught so much attention (though I must say that did get WAY out of proportion and did suffer from over-politicising), our treatment of asylum seekers and of course involvement in Iraq. These are just some of the issues which have made people around the world think twice about Australia which is a shame for a number of reasons that I will not go into.

Point being, I don't think Oprah's visit could have come at a better time. I'm hoping that not only does it restore people's faith in our country as a place to visit but also as a place of reason.

I for one have never looked at Australia in a Negative light and couldn't possibly see myself doing so... Sadly it is just so expensive to travel all the way over there from here, that on top of what one would normally spend while on vacation, the trip just isn't financially feasible from many Americans' stand point...

I don't like Oprah, but what happened to Jackman makes the entire thing worth it IMO.. most funniest $#it I've seen in a while

Renaming the Opera House to the Oprah House was (in my opinion) a complete and utter slap in the face to this city's national culture, and exemplifies my point that if you can't be happy with just being yourself in the prescence of others, regardless of how powerful they are, then what's that point? It makes us look like a bunch of arse kissers.

I agree fellow Patriot. Why do we make such a big deal over celebrities in this world, its the bullshit thing we invented in the 20th century and its gotten significantly worse in the 21st, Hyperreality is spewing out from every direction.

hey hey, leave hugh alone

Hey I'm a huge fan of Hugh as well, but it was still hilarious to see him bash into that light...