Oprah tells Dave … Ah, you know who they are. (Photo from deadline.com)
I’m halfway listening to CBS News Saturday Morning as I’m catching up on blogs just now when the sign-on 90-second catch-up segment reveals Oprah on Dave last night because every big star wants to say goodbye before he’s not chatting on CBS anymore.
Frankly, I’m surprised she didn’t get one of the final-three-show slots before he waves the final goodbye after Wednesday’s show.
Anyway, Oprah’s four seconds this morning has her sharing the famous person’s lament about us normal Nellies asking them to stop for a selfie.
I wouldn’t. Would you?
But that’s not my point.
I come here to deliver a short Grumpus. A little rant, if you will, to throw a nod out to my BloggyVille friend LR, author of the interesting place lilrant. She, by the way, is a master of the selfie by its strict definition, if you click over and take a look.
So. If you’re in it, Oprah, and the bold plebeian is in it, Oprah, IT’S NOT A SELFIE. It’s a picture. A photograph. A photo.
Now another million people are going to misuse the word.
Self = only you.
Thank you for listening.
Here’s the link to the photo of Oprah on Letterman Friday night.
Fess up. Do you take selfies? (I do.) Do you call a picture with you and another a selfie? (I may have if I’ve taken it myself, but only with my dear wife Karen, but I’m working hard to correct this error of my ways.) What’s your big grump today?</em
Mark Bialczak 
I do not take selfies because I hate photos of myself, Mark. But I will confess that I thought a selfie was a picture of one’s self with or without anyone else, as long as it was taken by one of the subjects in the photo and not a third-party photographer. Thanks for schooling me in the error of my ways. 🙂
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Call me a popular culture neanderthal but I was just so surprised at how much prime time news was dedicated to Letterman’s last show. Then I realized that in truth I had never once watched a Letterman show. How did thirty years of late night TV just slip on by like that!
Great post about the ‘selfies.’ I have arms extended, camera backwards photos of my beloved and I for years, watched us get old together all over the world in them, started calling them selfies a couple years ago..but alas no more my friend.
Enjoy your site.
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Thanks for adding your wise views here, JoHanna. We Ussies have to stick together. 🙂
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I thought Ellen taking that “selfie” at the Oscars with all those stars was the most famous selfie, so it could include others. But that doesn’t diminish the fact that Oprah says stupid things and selfies are lame.
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Yeah, that Ellen photo at the Oscars was the ultimate cool “ussie” before the term was famous, Kerbey.
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Oh Jeez. Now I need to re-label all of the pictures I have with her as Oprah-ies.
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Time to buy news sticky labels, Scott. 😮
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I’ve never thought about the term “selfie” with much precision, Mark. To me, if I’m holding the camera and taking a picture of myself, it’s a selfie (rare). If I’m doing the same thing and asking (forcing) loved ones into it, I call it a group selfie (common because I *love* being literally surrounded by my loved ones.)
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Oh…..I like “ussies” 🙂
I don’t mind a selfie. Does it count that I took a picture of my eyes/glasses staring at the camera and sent it to my daughter and told her I was watching her? Any way, selfies, ussies, they don’t bother me. Can’t say I’ve ever been overwhelmed by too many requests for picture taking….. so I can’t know about that.
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I want to have my picture taken with you, MBC. Just saying. Consider that a request. 😉
Your eyes/glasses idea with your daughter? Genius, as usual.
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😀 She wrote back and told me I was a dufus, but laughed. 🙂 And your request is noted, and will happen. I just know it!!!!! 😀
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We’re heading to Asia next month where i will be surrounded by people with those little sticks taking selfies which are not my thing at all. I have a niece who posts so many pictures of herself on FB that you can hear the collective groan of the entire family…not another selfie!!
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Moderation in all things selfie, Barbara. Some generations take longer than others. 🙂 Wow, another trip to Asia for you and BH! How exciting. Duck all those sticks.
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selfies are not my thing, as you know, i’m somewhat adverse to having my picture taken at all )
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I’ve been told that about you by you, Beth. And then every picture I’ve seen of you is absolutely beautiful. So go figure. 😉
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Honestly, every picture of myself I take by myself (as in I am the one taking the picture) I consider a selfie. That’s just me though. If it was up to me, I would abolish the word selfie and take those selfie sticks and crack them over everyone’s head who dares to use them (oh yeah, I went there) but I’d probably still take them. Ha, ha!
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As I readily admit, I take them, too, Marissa, and wish that my arms were longer. 😉 I like the term ussies now, too.
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Oh, that’s a good one!
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I’ve never taken a selfie. Not to be ‘selfish” but I really don’t like most photos of me and tend to avoid being in them. Although, Dave took one of all of us with him in it when we were having a family dinner. So I guess I’ve been in a family selfie. 😉
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I seem to recall some group photos of all of us at Rico’s, Judy, that were “ussies,” sort of, and you looked good in all of them. As I’m sure you did in Dave’s family selfie. 🙂
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I’ve ranted more than enough about the stupidity of selfies in the past, so I’ll just mention that the last time I watched Dave was his finale on NBC in 1993. I never followed him to CBS (I was one of the few Leno fans out there), and with my job long since keeping me away from the TV when the late shows come on, I wasn’t even aware Dave was still in business…
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Thank you for being the first and only so far to comment on the Dave portion of the proceedings, Bill. 🙂
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I think a selfie can be with someone else, but includes one of the people in the photo holding the camera or the phone.. If I take a picture of myself with a chicken sammich, then it’s a chicken sammich selfie. I suppose “self-portrait of me with my chicken sammich” is a better working title, but it’s so long, lol!
Of course I take selfies, just not every day.
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OK, I’ll buy your definition. But now I’ve been told that group selfies have morphed into “ussies,” Joey. Wow!
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I watched that too and took it to mean that the person asking her wanted to be in the photo too??? LOL!
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Yes, exactly, Colleen. “Will you please stop so I can take a picture of you, Oprah, with me, me?” No, I’d never do that.
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Ha Ha Mark! I like some of Oprah’s stuff, but if I saw her on the street I would not ask for a picture. 😀
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Some people have no inhabitions at all about that kind of stuff, apparently, Colleen.
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ha! I actually heard a discussion of this somewhere recently and apparently the new term (it is in the urban dictionary) for this us “ussies”, defined as multiple people in a picture taken by one of them. I’ve never done such although I must say I do enjoy looking at others’ selfies and ussies.
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Ussies! I like it, Paul. Thanks for teaching me the new urban lingo. Now if it is a bunch of cowardly people taking their own pictures, does it become wussies? And, oh, how about cat lovers? 😮
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Bwahahaha! I hadn’t thought that through Mark – too funny. Love the wussies and the cats. An ussie of a bunch of old ladies would be a hussie. ha! Of a group of construction workers, a cussie. of a group of wrestlers, a tussie. Ha! This is a hoot. 😀
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Bad hair day, a mussie. 🙂
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And of course, a group on a sight seeing tour would be bussies.
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They would be confused with the cheek-kissers, too, Paul.
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Of course, there is no better place to meet a new love or re-invigorate an old one, than on a bus tour. hence the duel meaning of bussies. ha!
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Or a group icture of new Mom’s with their babies would be a fussie.
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And their fathers getting no sleep would be the cussies.
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And the resulting argument between them would be a tussie.
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You win, Paul. Uncle. Wait. Uncle Viktor and Sergie. Russies.
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Which brings us back to the Pussies which, of course, the Russies put in trussies.
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Now, stop.
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Oh my God – I can’t stop! Help me someone! Bwahahaha!
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So what is your position on selfie sticks, Mark?
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I wish my arms were longer, Hybrid. That’s my position, and I’m sticking to it. 🙂
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I did a poll of bloggers and 9 out of 10 bloggers said that it’s a selfie if anyone in the photo is the one taking the shot. So yeah I call them selfies no matter how many folks are in them. If we’re taking them ‘ourself’ rather than letting someone else take them. Most of the photos I post are selfies… it helps avoid lawsuits later.
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OK, Tina. I still felt like grumping, and Oprah was such an available target.
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Hee hee I can’t imagine you actually grumping… reprogramming all my blogging notions about you… hang on… this takes a few moments… beep beep @@@@ boop. OK you now possess grumpability. 🙂
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Once in a while, I have to get my grump on, Tina. Not too often. 😉
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Grumping is allowed, even encouraged. It keeps the gaskets from blowing… just so it’s not standard programming it’s all good.
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Agreed. By the way, fabulous new gravatar photo, speaking of taking the time to taste the chocolate and strawberries, Tina.
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My daughter gave me those noms for my 1/2 century birthday. Another daughter has challenged me to a social experiment involving avis soooo the two go perfectly together.
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You try harder?
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I’m number one… I don’t have to try ;p
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So what’s the Avis experiment, Tina?
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I’ll put the answer in a blog, ummm soon
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I should have known. 🙂
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I do not understand why anyone wants / needs to take selfies. Ridiculous!
BTW, you wanna see the selfie I took on the Oprah show last year? 😀 😀 😀
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Good one, LCTC. 🙂
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😀 😀 😀
Tess
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I have never taken a selfie in my life and I do not intend to (even if I eventually get a camera that could). And I hereby lodge the usual Normal Nellie Reply to the Famous Person’s Lament (everybody say it together in a slow, patient voice): When you make your living by being famous, people are going to want your picture.
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Oh yeah, and I agree with you about the definition of selfie. However, common usage is that as long as you, too, are in the picture, it is a selfie. Just to be that way: it’s kind of a stupid word for kind of a stupid thing. Go ahead and hate on me for that.
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We are what we’ve sowed, Cynthia. I don’t hate on you for having no photos at all on your blog! 😉
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What I seem to have sewn today is a whole lot of Not Working On Novel, just to make it all about me. I love pictures. I don’t even mind selfies, but you cannot deny it is a silly word.
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It is indeed a silly word, Cynthia, made even sillier when you stick stick after it. 😮
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Oprah should be quite accustomed to that by now, I agree, Cynthia. Dave, too.
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I had always pegged her as the gracious type. From Dave I would expect snark and not even take offense.
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Yes, I agree, and I agree, Cynthia.
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Thanks for showing your selfie-ness, Mark, as only you can.
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The world is becoming so selfie-aware, Ann.
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