Oprah Wraps It Up

Oprah's epic trip Down Under is winding to a close, and things are starting to return to normal.  I'm sure everyone back in the states is getting all the crazy highlights of the two shows she taped on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, so I won't say much more then a thumbs up to Hugh Jackman for his dramatic entrance via a 100 meter glide into some electrical rigging. 

I genuinely appreciated it, and with no sarcasm intended at all I think it was one of the most dashing appearances of all time.  The rigging crash was a dramatic way to wake everyone up, unintentional but very effective.  It was a bit like watching James Bond crossed with Monty Python on a reality show.  Really debonair, really dangerous and really funny... when you realized Jackman was going to come through unmaimed.

I can't really have too much more criticism of the whole affair.  It was a wonderful boon for Australian tourism at a time when record numbers of locals are choosing to spend their travel dollars over seas.  Oprah's stamp of approval is estimated to have brought in a benefit of $71 million in Australia and $14 million in the United States already, according to Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson.

Sometimes I have to look a bit askance at the whole Oprah phenom though.  Personally I have respect for a woman that can pull herself from obscurity to near goddesshood in one lifetime, but the drive to dominate has apparently taken its toll for a woman who is a best friend to fans, but seems to have few, if any, true close relationships. 

I have watched Oprah, and read her autobiography, but I fail to see the mother figure that many others fawn over.  I do see a remarkably shrewd and intelligent woman that knows when to smile for the camera and when to shed a heartfelt tear.  Things are always shown to the best advantage in the Oprah camp, which is true for any of us, from politicians and hollywood starlets to soccer moms.

The fans themselves were full of grumbles when they found out that they would not be touring the amazing down under wonders with their queen, but being shipped off to various locales around the country to contribute their smiling faces to various travel montages. 

In the end tho, fans didn't leave empty handed.  Attendees of the morning and evening shows all received pearl necklaces or diamond pendants.  News reports seem a bit confused over who got what, but what raised my eyebrows was not the supposed $650 retail price claimed for the pearl necklaces, but the fact that in reality, they were a gift from Alex Kailis from MG Kailis to "showcase Australian pearls... the best and the most lustrous."

So yes, beautiful necklaces were given, but why does the media generally give Oprah the credit instead of Alex Kailis who probably doesn't have half as much gold hoarded away as the daytime diva?  Truth is always more impressive then fiction, and I give 9.5 stars to Mr. Kailis for ingenuity, humility and true generosity.
  
Summing it up, I'd say the whole Oprah venture was a resounding success, and I'm glad she chose Australia as her landing point, even if the main reason according to early reports was that they would rename the Sydney Opera House the "Oprah House" for a day.  Her assessment that Australia is an amazing place where people focus on quality of life over possession acquisition was spot on, and I salute her and her fans for the whole endeavour.

Finally, let me reiterate that I do have the utmost respect for Oprah for what she is, a shrewd business woman.  But as a saint or deity, as some fans seem to deem her, I'll keep waiting for the Second Coming.