Big Sole Blog (BSB)

I could not get the idea out of my head that one of Tyler Perry's lines in Alex Cross was a tip of the hat to Oprah Winfrey's portrayal of Sofia in The Color Purple. When Tyler Perry says, "I will meet him at the gates of hell before I let him take another person from me that I love," does the line ring any bells?

Usually when I link to Huffington Post, I do so because one of its writers has written something worthy of thought or uncovered a political issue that the mainstream media has overlooked. Unfortunately, that's not why I'm linking to that website today. HuffPo is possibly large enough and powerful enough now to be called a mainstream media outlet itself, and due its reach and power, the website's

In the video above with Oprah Winfrey, ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel pitches show ideas to Oprah for her network, OWN. The one that makes me laugh the most is Oprah's Book Club Fight Club, but Oprah After Dark was funny, too. Earlier in her appearance on Kimmel's show, Oprah said that she would like to return to acting because portraying another character relaxes her, frees her from

Here is video of Oprah's interview with Prince in 1996 when he released "Emancipation" after he was completely free of his Warner Bros. contract. This is vintage Prince. The man is ever evolving. (See more recent interview on Lopez Tonight)1996: Sleep Around, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Do... by PrincelicousI'd say watch it while you can because I doubt Oprah gave permission for this video to be

The list of Oprah's Favorite Things, 2011, is posted on her website now. The list is worth a look, but nothing--certainly not a printed list with still shots--can top the video of people falling over themselves, screaming, and crying on her Ultimate Favorite Things show last year. I did, however, think I may order the Seeds of Life Baby Magnolia Tree you see pictured here. New Orleans could use

I added this video of the 300 Morehouse men, Oprah crying, and interview with Morehouse president on May 26. Dr. Franklin says that Oprah believes it's cheaper to educate than incarcerate and that since the airing of the Morehouse graduates paying tribute to Oprah and people learning that these men are paying their scholarships forward, donations have poured in.I confess that I have watched all

By now you've heard the news that Oprah Winfrey has a half-sister named Patricia. Oprah did not learn of this news until late October of last year, and on Thanksgiving, she and Stedman Graham drove to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to meet Patricia.The talk show host has made it clear that Patricia is the daughter of her mother Vernita Lee and is not the daughter of Oprah's father, Vernon Winfrey. Also,

Oprah Winfrey tells Piers Morgan in an interview for his new CNN show that her greatest failure was the movie Beloved based on Toni Morrison's novel that won the Nobel Prize in literature. She said that after the movie bombed at the box office, she went into a depression for the first and only time of her life, feeling that she existed under a veil and asking her chef to prepare macaroni and

Even though Hugh Jackman crashed and hurt his eye doing a zip-line stunt for Oprah Winfrey in Australia, the Queen of Talk's ultimate Australian adventure is a hit down under. The BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney said her visit feels like a "presidential, papal and royal visit all rolled into one."I saw the show yesterday when she told her "ultimate viewers" that she was taking them, the entire

Over the years, a few rappers and Hip Hop stars (such as IceCube) have complained that Oprah doesn't have them on her show or tell their rags-to-riches stories to America. I've said before that they aren't really paying attention. Oprah's has the Hip Hop performers on that she likes. She plugged Jay-Z's new book on her show, has had Beyonce on more than once, and during the Don Imus controversy,

Some people find seeing how Oprah's audience goes crazy when she gives things away to be incredibly sad, demoralizing even, an illustration of America's decadence and zombie-like consumerism. While I think we need to not be so materialistic, I also say, "Lighten up. It's festival season." And so, I find these clips of her crowd going wild to be hilarious. She had medics standing by in case

Somewhat related, did you see how Oprah hugged real-life African Princess Akosua Busia recently? Do you even know who that is?Let the pomp and circumstance begin. As CBS and many other news outlets, such as CNN, have reported, Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged:It's official. Perhaps the most widely rumored wedding in recent times, and certainly one of the longest rumored, is going to

With the Oprah show coming to an end on network television because the talk-show tycoon has started her OWN network, I wonder about all the people who dreamed of being on her show who now won't get the chance. However, they have the chance for something bigger.It's old news now that Oprah's having a contest for people to have their own show on her network. But I haven't paid close attention. So,