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Monday, November 29, 2010
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Friday, November 19, 2010
Oprah's Favorite? Things
Over the years I've had mixed feelings about Oprah's annual show that airs around Thanksgiving traditionally, where she gives away all of her "favorite" things to audience members.
On one hand, I love it. I love that she's giving things away to people who wouldn't necessarily be able to afford the things she gives away, some of them being considered luxury items.
In 2004, all the audience members consisted of teachers, who are considered to be very underpaid. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina volunteers were rewarded in her audience.
In 2006, audience members were given $1000 and a video camera to use towards a good deed and videotape it, she then had a follow up show. Many of those members used the money to raise even more money for causes and did great things in their communities.
Though Oprah didn't have a Favorite Things show in 2009 - All Headline News reports she cancelled it -she made up for it by having two in 2008 and this year, she had Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things.
Some of the gifts audience members received from this year's show were lululemon yoga pants, Nikon cameras, 5 year memberships for Netflix, Sony 3-D TVs and the big gift, seven day all-inclusive Allure of the Seas cruises.
All these free gifts that audiences of around 300 people receive makes me wonder where they come from.
The other side of Oprah's Favorite Things shows is that I don't think she even likes half the things she gives away, and that she's just given them by the companies for advertising purposes.
It makes me wonder what the reason behind the 2009 cancellation of the show really is. There was a recession going on in the United States, maybe companies couldn't afford to give away mass amounts of their supply during the economic downturn.
How many people do you know that buy books because they have the Oprah's Book Club sticker, or remember things when they see them because they saw them on her show, so they must be good.
I can count many, and because of that Oprah's show is a big target for companies to advertise. She has so many viewers and dedicated followers that if you can get your product on her show, it's like hitting advertising gold.
Galaxy Desserts, a Richmond, CA based company reports sale increases after appearing on Oprah's Favorite Things. They were featured on the show three on separate occasions. Their croissants were featured on the 2002 episode and again on the 2005 episode and their molten chocolate cake batter was featured on the 2003 episode.
So are the things Oprah gives away on her Favorite Things shows really her favorite things, or does she just give away whatever the best products are that companies are willing to give her? Talk about extreme product placement.
For some reason I just can't picture Oprah in a pair of lululemon pants.
On one hand, I love it. I love that she's giving things away to people who wouldn't necessarily be able to afford the things she gives away, some of them being considered luxury items.
In 2004, all the audience members consisted of teachers, who are considered to be very underpaid. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina volunteers were rewarded in her audience.
In 2006, audience members were given $1000 and a video camera to use towards a good deed and videotape it, she then had a follow up show. Many of those members used the money to raise even more money for causes and did great things in their communities.
Though Oprah didn't have a Favorite Things show in 2009 - All Headline News reports she cancelled it -she made up for it by having two in 2008 and this year, she had Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things.
Some of the gifts audience members received from this year's show were lululemon yoga pants, Nikon cameras, 5 year memberships for Netflix, Sony 3-D TVs and the big gift, seven day all-inclusive Allure of the Seas cruises.
All these free gifts that audiences of around 300 people receive makes me wonder where they come from.
The other side of Oprah's Favorite Things shows is that I don't think she even likes half the things she gives away, and that she's just given them by the companies for advertising purposes.
It makes me wonder what the reason behind the 2009 cancellation of the show really is. There was a recession going on in the United States, maybe companies couldn't afford to give away mass amounts of their supply during the economic downturn.
How many people do you know that buy books because they have the Oprah's Book Club sticker, or remember things when they see them because they saw them on her show, so they must be good.
I can count many, and because of that Oprah's show is a big target for companies to advertise. She has so many viewers and dedicated followers that if you can get your product on her show, it's like hitting advertising gold.
Galaxy Desserts, a Richmond, CA based company reports sale increases after appearing on Oprah's Favorite Things. They were featured on the show three on separate occasions. Their croissants were featured on the 2002 episode and again on the 2005 episode and their molten chocolate cake batter was featured on the 2003 episode.
So are the things Oprah gives away on her Favorite Things shows really her favorite things, or does she just give away whatever the best products are that companies are willing to give her? Talk about extreme product placement.
For some reason I just can't picture Oprah in a pair of lululemon pants.
Sauce Master
I have officially been successful in making a delicious cream sauce.
Last weekend I was inspired to try making a cream sauce, and if I failed this time I thought I might give up.
The problem was that I would always get very impatient and turn the heat up really high when making the sauces from scratch. Cream and milk are very sensitive when cooking and can burn really easily, which every time before I have done.
This time, I put my iPhone on shuffle and played music, and stood there patiently and stirred. I was so excited when the sauce came out perfectly!
The sauce I made was a sweet chili cream sauce. I paired it with meatballs. I was inspired by my cousin whose worked in culinary arts for four years as he made the same sauce at a family gathering we recently had and it was so delicious I thought I`d try and match his cooking skills.
I used 1 litre of whipping cream, about half a small bottle of sweet chili sauce and 5-6 drops of Frank`s Red Hot sauce.
I brought the sauce, which I added the meatballs to after I let it reduce slowly, to a potluck dinner my friends were holding as a duel birthday celebration.
To my surprise, everyone loved it and thought it was so "fancy". I was on the top of my cooking throne as there was only one meatball (out of 64) left at the end of the night with 9 people eating them.
I will no longer boycott making cream sauces, I will just make sure I have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen and be patient with them!
I also highly recommend anyone to try this sweet chili cream sauce, it sounds unusual but it smells and tastes soo good and you could easily pair it with things other than meatballs.
Last weekend I was inspired to try making a cream sauce, and if I failed this time I thought I might give up.
The problem was that I would always get very impatient and turn the heat up really high when making the sauces from scratch. Cream and milk are very sensitive when cooking and can burn really easily, which every time before I have done.
This time, I put my iPhone on shuffle and played music, and stood there patiently and stirred. I was so excited when the sauce came out perfectly!
The sauce I made was a sweet chili cream sauce. I paired it with meatballs. I was inspired by my cousin whose worked in culinary arts for four years as he made the same sauce at a family gathering we recently had and it was so delicious I thought I`d try and match his cooking skills.
I used 1 litre of whipping cream, about half a small bottle of sweet chili sauce and 5-6 drops of Frank`s Red Hot sauce.
I brought the sauce, which I added the meatballs to after I let it reduce slowly, to a potluck dinner my friends were holding as a duel birthday celebration.
To my surprise, everyone loved it and thought it was so "fancy". I was on the top of my cooking throne as there was only one meatball (out of 64) left at the end of the night with 9 people eating them.
I will no longer boycott making cream sauces, I will just make sure I have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen and be patient with them!
I also highly recommend anyone to try this sweet chili cream sauce, it sounds unusual but it smells and tastes soo good and you could easily pair it with things other than meatballs.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Vanishing Act
I recently wrote a short story for creative writing class and here's a small piece of it. It's called Vanishing Act, it should be self explanitory.
“I wish that more people could see what I see in you” said Julienne, “people are blind to who you really are.”
He paused to think of a compassionate response, as not to hurt her feelings. “I do too dear, but there’s nothing I can do to change that. It’s the way it has to be.”
Julienne’s mission in life was always to promote his existence and make people see him in a more positive light but she’d never been successful. Nobody ever took the time to listen to her pleas. If it weren’t for him, she would feel alone in this world. Every day she wrote in her diary, expressing her feelings for him and reacting to what may have happened to her.
Dear Diary,
People were staring at me again as I walked down the street. It’s as though I’m invisible, like I can’t see their eyes locked on me, judging, thinking all kinds of insanities. I often wish that I could read their minds but, at the same time, am afraid of what they’re thinking. I can imagine it’s something along the lines of “who does she think she is?”, “why is she doing that?” and “I’m going to stay far away from that girl”.
I’m starting to get used to the pain of being alone. It’s almost become second nature to me. Yes, I have him, but I don’t know how much longer he’s going to stick around. I want to grow closer, but I can feel him pulling away. The time between our encounters is growing and communication is diminishing. I need to prepare myself to either tell him how I really feel or accept the pain of being without him. Either way, my future isn’t looking very bright.
Love, Julienne
She called him five times and hadn’t heard back yet. Each message must’ve sounded more and more desperate, she thought. Julienne knew the end was coming but she wasn’t ready to let go. She hadn’t been without him since she was eight years old; he had been by her side for the past twenty years.
As she entered her apartment upon returning from work, she saw the light flashing red. “My answering machine, he called!” she exclaimed, nobody hearing but herself. She hit play and listened intently.
“I’m sorry Julienne but this is the last time I am going to call you. If you want to say goodbye please meet me at Mario’s for a glass of wine tonight at 9 p.m.”
Mario’s was their usual meeting place. Julienne knew that after tonight, she would no longer be able to go there. She pondered whether or not she would meet him. On one hand, she really wanted to see him again, but on the other she didn’t want to say goodbye. She thought that after all, if you avoid confrontation then it’ll all just go away, right?
Julienne called her mother, the only other person who she chose to talk to. She didn’t have any friends at work and never socialized at school, she was a stereotypical loner.
“Hello”
“Hi, Mom…”
“Yes, dear, what is the problem?”
“Tonight is my last chance to see him before he leaves me, should I go?”
“Oh Julienne, you know that I think all of this nonsense is silly. You can’t really be in love; you need to move on and make some real friends. I say tonight you go out and do something new and forget about it. Call your sister, she’d be happy to take you out.”
“You know I don’t want to do that. Thanks anyways, you’re no help…Goodbye.”
She hung the phone up abruptly and decided that she had to meet him or it would be her greatest regret. After all, he had been her only companion since she was eight.
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