Why dis Martha Stewart?

In My Humble Opinion
41

Gotta agree with TV— I know EXACTLY how evil MS is because I used to work with someone who could have been her identical twin, to wit: put on a wonderful, intelligent, successful outward appearance, but to employees,family, etc. behind the scenes was a horrible , backstabbing, money-grubbing, opportunistic bitch who would do ANYTHING to advance herself. I’m not saying Martha doesn’t have a special talent; I’m saying, look at how she’s catapulted herself into this whole mega-empire with, really, just a sort of average, commonsensical type of product. Reason? Using people, opportunistic, very much self promoting.

She is evil, people, EVIL.

42

Like when I sorted everything on the desk neatly, in categories (bills, call sheets, magazines, advertising) in preparation for Mr. Rilch’s return from a location shoot. He dumped out his whole satchel of junk, not just papers, but pens and candy and whatnot, then, before he left again, said, “Can you clean this desk up?” Or when he came home, looked around at the cups and bowls, various remotes, afghan, newspapers, CD cases, and so on, all strewn by him the night before, and said, “Can’t you clean this place up a little?”

43

Simply put though, Martha seems to be totally fake in public.

Her calm, cool demeanor belays a really mean person from the reports. She is a foul mouthed, extremely short tempered person who when she knows she is not being filmed is not very nice. A pal of mine was doing a cable access show up around her neighborhood and got some interesting stories from people who wanted to protect their identities telling of being cursed out by her when they complained about all the cars blocking in their street, her immediate neighbors constantly warring with her on the lines of their property, the stench of some of her projects (from what was said she started a fertilizer pile next to one of her more vociferous neighbors) and a general fake in all aspects. He, of course, could not actually show anything because one of her goons discovered him talking around and slammed a quick cease and desist on the cable access station. Him being a college student, he could not afford to do anything about it.

She may be Happy Homemaker in the public eye but not behind the doors.

A good example is this. From The Smoking Gun, a file report on her run in with a gardner who she nearly killed with a SUV (and a leberal helping of the f word as they report)
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/stewart1.shtml

44

I think it’s because every man secretly belives that if he had access to all the tools that Norm does, he could create something twice as good. I know I certainly do… :slight_smile:

45

Did you read Martha Stewart: Just Desserts too? That book really gives you quite a picture of Martha… and the author says that he set out to just write a biography without knowing much about her… even her own MOM came out to say what a total bitch she was … one of the book’s reviews called it something like “a delightful character assassination”… it’s a good read, quite funny, and while I realize it is only one side of the story, it won’t leave you with a very good impression of the lady. Her business ethics are just evil… really and truly evil. She seems to thrive off getting people to do things for her then taking all the credit and not even paying them for it, etc.

46

Ah, but unlike all the low-class nose-pickers out there, Martha puts the fruits of her harvest to good use! :smiley:

47

First, I want to say that I admire her magazine and own a couple of her cookbooks but she strikes me a scary, evil person who, oftentimes complicates things needlessly.

An example of scariness: In one of her backpage essays she was reminiscing about when her daughter (Alexis?) was young and went away to summer camp. Without missing a beat she descibed how she would send her daughter’s letters back with corrections. ::shudder:: Said daughter is completely estranged from her now as far as I know.

An example of being needlessly complex: A reader wrote in on how to prevent that nasty white floury goo on the outside of chocolate cakes whose recipes call for the pan to be “oiled and floured” before cooking. Rather than tell the woman the EASY solution (“flour” the pan with cocoa instead), she proceeded to tell her to run out, buy some parchment paper, and to meticulously line the pan with parchment paper cut out in the correct shape. granted, this is an excellent technique under some circumstances but TOTALLY UNECESSARY considering the woman’s question.

I believe the SPY article was called “Whitey Aphrodite” and they postulated that MS was a gay man trapped in a woman’s body.

I also find it amusing that she moved from CT because her neighbors were “not nice” and now tries to hang on to Ina Garten (proprietor of the Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton) – Garten is a society caterer who nevertheless really DOES believe in simplicity.

48

“I HATE that Emeril LAgasse guy. Who does he think he is, telling me how to cook Cajun food? Hey, Lagasse, I WORK for a living. Maybe I’m TIRED when I get home. Maybe I don’t have TIME to make shrimp etoufee. Ever think of THAT? God, I hate him.”

“Thank God Bob Ross got cancer and died. Where did he come off telling me how to paint landscapes- making me feel like a philistine just because I don’t paint? The hell with him and his happy little trees!”

“Did you see where Eric Clapton wrote a book on how to play guitar? What an arrogant bastard- he thinks he’s better than me, just because he plays the guitar, and now he’s writing books, trying to get me to play guitar! WHat’s the matter, I can’t be cool if I don’t play guitar like him? What is he, God?”

“Ooh, so that pretty boy Troy Aikman just opened a summer football camp for kids. Oh, that’s great. It’s not enough he’s on TV throwing touchdown passes, and making the rest of us feel bad because we’re not great athletes. NOW he’s trying to show kids how to do it? What a jerk!”

“Get a load of that Bob Vila guy… him and his tools. He thinks he’s so macho just because he’s a home handyman, making the rest of us feel like fags because we don’t use power tools.”
Do ANY of those rants strike you as… oh, I dunno, a bit irrational? A bit STUPID? Hey, I have no idea whether Bob Ross was a nice man. I don’t know whether Emeril, Troy and Eric are really like. Maybe they’re creeps, maybe they’re great guys. But why would ANYONE take such a dislike to any of them? Does Emeril FORCE anyone to make gumbo? Does Aikman FORCE any kid to play football, if he’d rather be doing something else? Is Clapton kidnapping people and forcing them to play the guitar? Is Bob VIla barging into anyone’s house, and performing unwanted renovations? No! All they do is provide instruction to people who ARE interested in learning more about what they do.

Martha Stewart does no more… and no less.

I don’t know Martha. I have no idea whether she’s a nice person or a monster. But neither do you!

As for that “tell-all” book about Martha, the mere fact that the book exists at all says a lot! WHY would anyone write a tell-all book about HER in the first place? A tell-all book about a major politician, I’d understand. A tell-all book about a major movie star… okay,I’d understand. But a tell-all book about Martha makes as much sense as a book revealing the shocking, secret life of James Beard or Charles Goren!

If you hate Martha, it probably says more about YOU than about her. For Pete’s sake, if you don’t like her show, don’t watch it. Nobody HAS to watch her, Bob Ross, Troy Aikman, Bob Vila. NONE of them can MAKE you feel guilty or inadequate. If a mere TV show can really damage your psyche, you’re way too sensitive.

49

Um… I don’t watch her show. Or read her magazine. Or whatever. And she doesn’t damage my psyche. I just think she’s a mean and horrible person based on everything I’ve ever heard… and I think it’s strange that so many people put such a nasty person up on a pedastal.

50

I heard she was dating Anthony Hopkins. My mom heard it on the radio, and I’m hoping it’s not true (radios are often very iffy sorces for information). Not that it would change my life any, but you know.

I saw one of those parody magazines and in it there was an article on how to make water.

51

Of course, Martha Stweart is one of the supervillains in the net.cartoon After Y2K… :slight_smile:

52

NOW the link works… Martha Stewart’s first appearance in AY2K.

53

I am the anti-homemaker/domestic re-engineer/non-maid checking in.

I cannot stand Martha’s on screen personality. So condescending and so monotoned it makes NPR broadcasters
( any of them, take your pick) seem like they are Gilbert Gottfried)

However, growing up reading Better Homes & Garden and the like, I never really liked that decorating style. Too crowded and knick knacky.It is my mother’s magazine and I am not my mother, except when I lose my car keys. I’m way to poor for Metropolitan Home style stuff and frankly decorating like that in Hooterville would be a little pretentious.

Then along came Martha. I like her Magazine. (I primarily read it for Good Things, which always has something that is fairly brainless for a noncrafty person like me to attempt.
) The style is clean and near timeless without being dated. I really like the colors of her paint collection.

Her recipes are impossible for me, because one of the joys of living surrounded by IGA’s, is they never seem to have the one bizarre ingredient that her dish calls for, like,
" Fresh Filipino Virgin Blood."

I really enjoy her baby magazine because focuses on the softness of a baby, no commercialism (in the baby room, clothings, toys-) unlike every parenting magazine that has their kids in primary elmo-cized colored rooms, clothing and whatnot. It’s too bad that parents can’t see past the commericalism-is-bad angle.

Here is a little clue about magazines in general: They have to offer a wide range of interests to appeal to such a broad spectrum of people, hers just seems to go from the regular joe kinda stuff to way frickin out there in WASP world. The photography is out of this world.

My SIL just adores Martha Stewart. It’s really pathetic. Walk into her house and the entire thing just screams " I worship Martha." She is saving all the Martha Wedding magazines for her own daughter’s wedding. Mind you, her daughter will be 2 in May. Is that not sad, or what?

Oh, and for the record, women are judged by how they keep house. I have yet to really figure out exactly how men are judged. It’s either tools/gadgets or TV/audio equipment.

54

“If a mere TV show can really damage your psyche, you’re way too sensitive.”

And if a mere diatribe against a person causes you to stand up and try to shame us, what does that make you?

It’s like the old story. When Funk and Wagnalls (I believe) brought out their dictionary they had a small press conference for some Q and A on how they got it out. A crotchety old woman stood up in the middle and shouted

“I am SHOCKED that you people did not have the DECENCY to omit all the BAD WORDS in the English language. Have you no SHAME?”

To whit, the man standing at the front simply said.

“Ah but Madam, this means you were LOOKING for those words in question.”
Look buddy…you tell us not to watch her show. We don’t. you tell us not to read our book, we don’t.

So if you don’t like our posts, don’t read em.

55

She’s from that famous part of New England known as Nutley, New Jersey. :rolleyes:

She’s no New England WASP. She just plays one on TV.