This week, Newsweek decided to put Oprah on their cover. But, it wasn’t to celebrate Oprah, it was to disparage her. The cover of the magazine (see for yourself) depicts an angry-looking Oprah and is titled, “Crazy Talk: Oprah, Wacky Cures & You.”

Obviously, this picture is not flattering to Oprah and it definitely makes her look a little ‘crazy;’ hence, the headline.  But is it fair?  The writers of the article,  Weston Kosova and Pat Wingert, are of the belief that Oprah uses her influence to promote certain health remedies that could be dangerous to viewers.  Now, granted, Oprah does have a lot of clout amongst her viewers, and she does seem to have the ability to sway people to see things her way, but this article may be stretching things a little too much, don’t you think?

 I mean, just because Oprah has allowed Jenny McCarthy to voice her opinion that vaccinations caused her son’s autism, in addition to showcasing a viewer who admitted swallowing 60 supplements a day, does this mean that Oprah is of the same belief?  Not really.  In fact, I know quite a few people who believe that vaccinations cause autism,  and they’ve felt this way long before Jenny McCarthy appeared on Oprah. 

You would think, based on my defense of Oprah, that I am a fan.  Well, believe it or not, I’m really not.  I think her topics, as well as her show are, for the most part, boring.  But, that’s neither here nor there.  I do recognize that Oprah is a talk show host presenting a slew of topics — some of which you may agree with, and well, some you may not. 

Oprah defended herself against the Newsweek article with the following response, “”For 23 years, my show has presented thousands of topics that reflect the human experience, including doctors’ medical advice and personal health stories that have prompted conversations between our audience members and their health care providers.  ”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.”

What do you think about this?  Can Oprah easily sway people?  Or are the authors of the Newsweek article just trying to stir up more buyers for the magazine by putting Oprah on the cover?

The comment section on this site has really been giving me fits and I think I may finally have it fixed!  The two problems with the comment section were Internet Explorer and in some cases the ability to post comments period.  After much trial and error, I think everyone will be able to comment on posts and the comments should look the same on every browser.  If not, please send me let me know via the “Contact Us” link at the top of the page.  I apologize for taking so long to fix this and I hope it has not turned anybody off too much.

It is Friday, the end of another work week (for some), and I want to take the time to talk about two sites I frequent.  I also want to wind down the week and talk about something I saw on TV that is kind of stupid to me.

KleverKathy

Kleverkathy.com is a blog where you can let your hair down and talk about a variety of things.  Yes, I’m bias because Kathy is my sister, but she is still doing an excellent job.  The good thing about her blog is the flexibility she brings to it.  If there is something you want to talk about, I’m sure an email to her will get it on the blog – it has to be something reasonable though.

Whenever you have a little time, go over and see what she has to offer.

JealousBrother

I’m sure you have had a debate with someone where you chose one thing, they chose another and you went back and forth about your choice.  Ryan, the owner and operator of Jealousbrother.com thought enough of disagreeing to create a site just for it!  The site has many categories and the good thing about the site is the users create the content.  If you want to start a rivalry – what the debates are called on the site – create and account and have at it.  Just the other night I created a rivalry about sportsmanship in sports and if shaking hands should be part of the post-game routine.  I haven’t been back in a few days to check on my rivalries, but anticipating the viewpoints others may have is part of the fun.  Go to JealousBrother and see for yourself.

This Is Just Stupid

For the low, low price of $229.90 you can airbrush your way to flawless makeup.  OK, I’m not like that, but I do stay up late and have to watch what is on TV.  LuminessAir is basically an airbrush gun that applies makeup – allegedly flawless makeup.  Since I’ve never put makeup on, I cannot say this product is bogus with 100% certainty, but I do have a fair amout of common sense.

The main part of this system that made me think it is bogus is what the women were doing during the demonstration.  One woman had that “QVC smile” plastered on her face with teeth and everything.  Another woman was applying it to herself and was going all over her face…with her eyes open!  This is where my common sense kicked in.  Can someone tell me how you can apply makeup with an airbrush and it mysteriously doesn’t go into the mouth and eyes?  I would think some of it would go on the edges of the hair too.

Something smells fishy.

Congratulations

I’m going to end my saying congratulations to my niece and nephew, Kandace and Chris.  They are both high school graduates!  I’m not going to go so far as to say I remember changing their diapers, but I do remember when someone else was changing their diapers.  Congrats and have fun this summer before you have to buckle down for college.

In the past, I have posted articles about people calling 911 for stupid reasons (remember the lady who called 911 because McDonald’s ran out of chicken mcnuggets?) Anyway, here’s another report of stupidity as it relates to people who call 911 for senseless reasons:

In Ohio, a father called police on his 28-year-old son because — are you ready for this — the son refused to clean up his room! When I read this, I just shook my head. These calls are no longer funny, they are just sad. What is going on with people not thinking before they take action?

It seems the son lives in his parents’ basement, rent-free, but is a school board member in the Cleveland suburb of Bedford. This is really a hot mess! After calling the police, the father decided not to press charges because he doesn’t want to ruin his son’s political career. WTH?!!!!!! Oh and get this, the son, who also works as a political consultant, admits he’s lucky to be living rent-free and promises to, from this day forth, keep his room clean. Uh-huh.

In the infamous words of the judge on People’s Court, stick me with a fork ’cause I am done!

What do you think? Is this for real?

In lieu of everything that is happening in the world (e.g. the flat-lined economy, the unemployment rate, the Swine flu, etc.), the following story brought a smile to my face.  I hope it does to yours too.

In case you haven’t heard this story, a 17-year-old marching band student beat up two guys who tried to mug her while she was walking to school.  It seems the two guys came up behind the girl, grabbed her coat and demanded money.  Oooooweee, what did they do that for?!  This girl went straight “Trinity” on these muggers (if any of our readers are fans of the movie The Matrix, you understand what I’m talking about when I say Trinity)!  She punched one of the men in the nose, kicked the other in the groin AND beat both of them with her large baton before she ran away!  What?!!  You Go Girl!  This is what I call JUSTICE!!!!! 

Deputies searched near the high school where this happened –  looking for a man who was holding his bloodied nose and the other limping.  This is classic!   Final score:  student:  2, muggers:  0!

A co-worker of mine read a funny story on an Internet forum.  Check it out:

So I went down to GMU tonight with my girlfriend to watch a lecture by Mikhail Gorbachev. It was a good speech, he made some excellent points, etc. During the talk, every audience member was invited to write down an anonymous question for Gorbachev on an index card they had been given at the entrance. The ushers collected them as the speech was wrapping up, and then a Q&A session was held, using the audience’s questions.

They only had time for 5 or 6 questions, and out of an audience of about 500 people, mine was one of the ones picked. And that’s how it came to be that President Mikhail Gorbachev, last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, was asked:

“Can you see Sarah Palin from your house?”

He answered (through the translator, of course) something along the lines of “Oh, yes, I loved her performance, she’s a great actress”.

So either Gorbachev thinks that a) she could not possibly be that stupid or b) Tina Fey is the real Sarah Palin and really I am perfectly happy with either option.

Props to GMU actually, because they were screening the questions. The old moderator dude was chuckling his ass off when his assistant handed him that batch of cards while Gorbachev was replying to a previous one.

There are some features and changes we would like to make to 7daybuzz.  These changes would make the site more user-friendly and a better overall experience – things I think would be a positive.  In order to make this happen, we need someone with WordPress and/or web page expertise.

Our understanding of the economy and business means we don’t expect something for nothing.  We are willing to pay for the services we are asking for; with our economy every little bit of income comes in handy.

If you know of anyone who could help us out, let us know.  We can be reached via the contact form on this site or I can be emailed at tsawyer(at)7daybuzz.com (isn’t it a shame that I have to put that in parenthesis so I don’t get spammed).

I would also like to know if you have ever tried to comment and received errors.  I don’t necessarily want to criticize someone who is trying to make money, but there are some businesses out there who have made commenting on site difficult as well as build things into websites which make functionality less than optimal.

I hope to hear from someone soon.

We all know how important computers are in our everyday lives. To a freshman in college, having access to a computer is extremely important. But, having a laptop, could easily become the difference between passing or failing a class (or classes).

We Embrace is a nonprofit that recognizes the importance of higher education as well as the importance of computers in a college-bound student’s life. The mission of the nonprofit states, “We Embrace is a nonprofit organization whose ultimate goal is to enrich and empower youth, as well as impoverished families, in our communities, via technology. We provide a variety of items to the community, ranging from computers for high school students (who maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0 or above) …”

In this post, we are showcasing We Embrace’s generosity to high school students who maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or above.  Starting today, We Embrace is holding an essay contest for high school seniors who currently have a GPA of 3.0 or above and they have already been accepted into a four-year university.   The essay must address the following topic:  “My Contributions To Society Are…” and must be a minimum of 800 words.  The font-size should be 12, Times New Roman and the deadline for submission is August 15, 2009.  Submissions are accepted via email only.

The winner of the essay contest will receive a brand new laptop!  For those of you that are skeptical of this nonprofit, I can personally guarantee that it is on the up and up.  Thomas and I started We Embrace in 2004 because we are both IT professionals.  We realize and understand the importance of computers in one’s life, especially as a student, and we just want to help out as much as we can.  If you know a graduating high school senior, who is attending a four-year university this fall, please pass this information on to them.  If you like what we’re trying to do, please let us know, either here on 7DayBuzz or at weembrace@weembrace.com.  If you are interested in making a donation to We Embrace, please contact us so that we can tell you how to do that.

Just to recap, the deadline for the We Embrace essay contest is May 31, 2009 and the email address for students to submit their essays is:  seniors@weembrace.com.  NOTE:  The winner will have to submit proof of acceptance into the university and proof that their GPA is at least 3.0.

If you want to read up on We Embrace, please visit our website at www.weembrace.com

When someone commits a crime, does it really make a difference what position they hold or what volunteer activity they perform?  Of course some positions make the crime even more heinous, but should a title or volunteer work lessen the crime?  Think about a Sunday School teacher and read the following story.

If you haven’t heard by now, Melissa Huckaby has been charged with murder. Unfortunately, murders happen every day so this obviously isn’t an “ordinary” murder (if such a thing exists) or else it wouldn’t be making national headlines. No, the 28-year-old woman “was charged with murdering her daughter’s playmate, Sandra Cantu, in a gruesome crime that has shocked and terrified residents of Tracy, a Northern California city of about 78,000, 60 miles east of San Francisco.”

The little girl was 8-years-old and her body was found in a suitcase, dumped in a pond, not far from Huckaby’s home.

To make matters worse, here are the specific charges: one count of murder with the special circumstances of rape with a foreign object, lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14 and murder in the course of a kidnapping.

Since these are special circumstances, if convicted, Huckaby could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.  If she is guilty I don’t see anything wrong with those sentences.

But wait, the media has a special announcement to make.  Huckaby is (was hopefully) a Sunday School teacher at her Grandfather’s church.  Not only that, she lives with her grandparents.  Anybody want to reduce those possible sentences now?

I’m not sure what your garden variety murder would consist of, but I can say for certain that this ain’t it!  This murder is a result of a sickness.  Molestation, rape and murder are involved here.  Who cares if she teaches bible lessons on the Sabbath!

Our society repeatedly displays the total absence of morals!  Huckaby, or the person guilty of this crime, should receive a speedy trial and sentence before living the rest of her life with what she has done – no matter how short the rest of her life may be.

A woman called 911 to report she didn’t get as much shrimp as she wanted in her fried rice at a Texas restaurant.

Haltom City police on Tuesday released the taped emergency call, in which the customer is heard telling the dispatcher, “to get a police officer up here, what has to happen?”

The customer also says: “He didn’t even put extra shrimp in there.”

The upset customer had left the Fort Worth-area restaurant when an officer arrived Monday afternoon.

Restaurant workers say the woman had been denied a refund after leaving with her order, then returning to complain.

Cook June Lee says nothing was wrong with the meal, and that “some customers are happy. Some are not.”

What is really going on with people calling the police for bad service at restaurants?  I’ve had bad service, you’ve had bad service, we have all had bad service, but this thing about calling the cops is new.  If you remember, a lady recently called 911 about her McNuggets or something and now this.    Yes, it is funny, but it is only funny because it is so utterly ridiculous.

Do people realize that there are serious situations that the police must attend to?  I don’t think a few shrimp here or there trumps a domestic violence call, a traffic accident or a bank robbery.  If I’m wrong and the police have no problem with these kinds of calls I would like to know it so I have an option the next time Wendy’s messes up my order – in my experience Wendy’s is the absolute worse at getting your order right.

I would like to know what others would consider situations where the police could become involved if we are really going to start calling them when things don’t go the way we think they should at a restaurant and/or business.  You know I have some situations:

• I had a situation with Best Buy where I was told another store had the product I wanted.  I jumped in the car, went to the other store in rush hour and…they didn’t have it.  I would have punched in 911 quick.  I actually returned something from the first store that was in my car and am currently boycotting Best Buy.  Surprisingly (not really) other stores have everything they have for less money.
• A mechanic charged me a lot of money to fix my AC only to tell me I needed further repairs that would cost more than $700.  I took my car to another mechanic and around $260 later everything is cool.  Get it, everything is cool…the AC.  Anyhow…
• A new Applebee’s was built right around the corner from where we used to live and I (used to) love Applebee’s.  So this nice new restaurant opened for business and was horrible.  Additionally, they had some un-wanted customers in the form of rats/mice, bugs, etc.  Now that should be criminal!

I think this is a trend that needs to stop immediately before someone – like me – calls the cops the next time I get a call at 11pm from someone trying to sell me something.