Cetaceans and Secretions

[vovat]

Penn admitted that he and Teller were kind of slacking off with the latest Bullshit! episode, and it did seem that way. It was about the weird beliefs that some people have about dolphins, like that they can communicate telepathically, heal people, and assist in making significant life decisions. As you can guess, they didn't have to do all that much to debunk these beliefs. I did, however, find their claim (which I assume is true) that dolphins kill porpoises for no real reason to be interesting, if disturbing. Also, I hear that Ecco the Dolphin is an incredibly hard game, even harder than BattleToads.

Another New Age sort of thing that bethje and I looked up last night on a whim was The Secret, one of the latest additions to the vast array of books on the power of positive thinking, and all of the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo that goes with it. Apparently our thoughts and feelings produce vibrations in the Universe, which then brings the things we desire to us. According to this guy, "we have an absolutely unlimited power within us," which I guess means that we can, say, fire lightning bolts from our fingers if we want it enough. The fact that no one (at least as far as I know) can do this is a result of our negative thoughts and emotions. And since we attract bad things to ourselves via negative thinking, I suppose homeless people, rape victims, and people in the World Trade Center on September 11th only have themselves to blame. And Oprah, who was molested, is promoting this philosophy? To say that this is disturbing is putting it mildly.

Comments

We have an absolutely unlimited power within us to overcome suck-o-sis

[bec-87rb.livejournal.com]

I basically concur that this is weird stuff....

Okay, I used to think that if all those weepy housewives felt better watching Oprah, well, whatever works for them. The more I read about what kind of brain-erasure the woman is pushing I think:

1. Ms. Winfrey hasn't been fully in touch with reality for years. Her money has so insulated her from reality, she wouldn't know the real world anymore if it leapt up and bit her on the ass. She's like Brittany Spears, just a-livin' amongst the Yes Men.

2. Someone needs to stop her. Seriously. When someone mega-uber-rich starts advising their middle and lower class fans how to live, someone needs to sit down with them and be brutally honest.

See, here's the subliminal message of Oprah, and I was shocked when it became clear to me. I was watching her and Dr. Phil, at home sick or something, and it hit me: The unspoken message of Oprah Winfrey is YOU SUCK.

Your life is pathetic, your husband is either bad or about to dump you, you're fat, you're boring, your kids are monsters and you're unworthy, truly a failure because you're not living like a movie star. You are sh*t because you're not Oprah Winfrey. It's your fault you suck.

What kind of effed-up message is that for viewers at home running around after 3 kids? YOU SUCK BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT ME. HERE'S HOW TO FIX YOUR SAD LIFE.

Who asked you, lady?

Most of her viewers are living perfectly normal happy lives in the real world. She needs to be smacked if she's telling them they suck, then selling them a stupid New Age cure all for a malady she invented. And of course she loves this religion - it tells her that she's filthy stinking rich and loved because she had the right attitude, because she thought "positive," leaving out the reality that she got lucky. Yeah, yeah, she worked hard, has personality, blah, blah, blah, so do millions of other people. They just didn't have the luck she's had.

...people in the World Trade Center on September 11th only have themselves to blame. And Oprah, who was molested, is promoting this philosophy? To say that this is disturbing is putting it mildly.

Exactly my point. The disconnect sets the teeth on edge.

Re: We have an absolutely unlimited power within us to overcome suck-o-sis

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Your life is pathetic, your husband is either bad or about to dump you

I remember one Oprah episode from a few years ago (I actually wrote a post about it (http://vovat.livejournal.com/173181.html)) where a panel of men talked about why all guys are basically cheating, sloppy, golf-obsessed porn addicts.

Yeah, yeah, she worked hard, has personality, blah, blah, blah, so do millions of other people. They just didn't have the luck she's had.

I think a lot of successful people don't want to acknowledge the role that luck played in their success. I guess if you subscribe to the idea that all it takes to get ahead in life is a little hard work, it's easier to feel entitled, and to look down on those poorer than you are.

[colbyucb.livejournal.com]

THE SECRET IS FOR REAL, OPRAH IS ADMITTING SHE WANTED TO BE VICTIMIZED, DUH.

I still hear people talk about The Secret from time to time, and it never ceases to amaze me that they get so fanatical about it. And I'm the kind of person that tentatively accepts "energy work" and a variety of other new age/occult things but wtf The Secret is such a scam.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Come on, even the TITLE is stupid! They honestly couldn't come up with anything better than "The Secret"?