This week's issue of New York Magazine includes an interview with former teen heartthrob Andrew Keegan, who recently co-founded a "community spiritual center" called Full Circle. I've never been more jealous of a writer in my life.
Oh, brainz. So crazy, right? So crazy that the stuff in your brain—the invisible thought stuff—can affect the stuff in your body—the fleshy stuff stuff! Like, how if you're stressed out about finals week, your skin will be like "HERE, FRIEND, MAYBE THESE HIVES WILL HELP." Or like if someone gives you a small jelly…
With the news that Dr. Melvin Levine—who appeared on Oprah repeatedly over the course of several years as a childhood education expert—committed suicide on Friday, the same day that 40 of his former patients filed a medical malpractice and sexual abuse suit against him, it raises the question of whether O is doing…
Does your five-year-old lack ambition and drive? Maybe she needs her very own self-help book, based on the Law of Attraction!
Bestselling author Rhonda Byrne is at it again! Says USA Today, "The Power, like The Secret, is a guide to positive thinking, how 'everyone is meant to have an amazing life.'" And, like The Secret, it's presumably pseudoscientific malarkey!
According to Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright-Sided, the much-vaunted "power of positive thinking" won't cure cancer, make us rich, or necessarily even keep us happy. In fact, it may be harming us.
A teen version of The Secret is coming out in the fall, which will help teens to "live their dreams." If this had been out ten years ago, John Cusack and I would have several kids by now. [AP]
Oprah responded yesterday to Newsweek's recent claim that her health advice is irresponsible, but the criticisms of her embrace of homeopathy and other non-scientifically proven cures keep coming.
I like O: the Oprah Magazine. It's consistently the least condescending, most reasonable women's magazine around ("most reasonable women's magazine" is sort of like "nicest Nazi," but I digress). O editors feature meaty articles and contributions from an incredibly diverse and impressive group of writers — Mary…
Today was a most TMI-traumatizing day on The View. When Whoopi brought up a study she had come across and reported on by Fox News's "sex expert" on how people can use The Secret to better their sex lives, the ladies all weighed in on what they "visualize" during sex. Not only is Elisabeth still hurting from giving…
Psst! We've got a secret: "Inspirational word-of-mouth phenomenon" The Secret will be coming to Video On Demand and Pay Per View. After a long day at work, you can come home, sit on your couch and start to "attract" some wealth. Awesome! It's also going to be available at hotel chains (unlike Jezebel!) Rhonda Byrne,…
The Secret is not just a book. It's a phenomenon. It's been discussed on Larry King, Ellen, Oprah, Today and Nightline. It's been on the New York Times bestseller list for 31 weeks. Today, BoingBoing posted a excerpt of a post from a blogger named Connie L. Schmidt:
Guess CNN producers haven't learn a thing from the growing chorus of critics regarding the continuing and unquestioning coverage of self-help book The Secret. Last night, it was Larry King's turn to step into the ring of wide-eyed, friendly talk show hosts: King devoted an entire hour to The Secret juggernaut with…
Apparently we aren't the only ones troubled by Oprah Winfrey's wholesale endorsement of the recently-released new-age sensation The Secret. Yesterday in Salon, writer Peter Birkenhead launched a surprising but thoughtful warning shot over the bow of Winfrey's self-help ship, and our jaws went slack.
It's about two weeks late, but today The New York Post published a two-page story on the The Secret, the Oprah-endorsed self-help tome that claims that happiness, riches and success are all but a few positive-thoughts away. According to the Post, Oprah isn't the only flaky high-profile businesswoman to assert that the…
Variety columnist Brian Lowry posted an interesting piece today on Oprah Winfrey and her inability to thoughtfully critique some the well-meaning but flaky blowhards who come on her show to save us from ourselves.
