Yum-O!

Expect idiots to be walking into stores asking for Evoo (ie, the acronym pronounced phonetically) in the near future.

No matter. I'd buy yak vomit if Rachael endorsed it.

So what the hell this thing actually means? Oh, and you'd better tell me how to pronounce it, so I don't offend me3dia.

Pronounce it "Extra Virgin Olive Oil."

Extra
Virgin
Olive
Oil

I went to a different supermarket than usual past Saturday and from everywhere this bright-eyed chipmunk was staring vacuously in my direction. Unnerving.

≡ Click to see image ≡

The Oxford American College Dictionary? Pffft.

Expect idiots to be walking into stores asking for Evoo (ie, the acronym pronounced phonetically) in the near future.

I can already picture it:

- Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find Evoo?
- Huh?
- Evoo. Tell me, where can I find it?
- Wha?
- Can you TELL me where I can find EVOO or NOT? Speak-ey English-ey?
- Go f*ck yourself, lady!

Drives me nuts that this has become associated with Ray alone. In my years in the waitressing trenches, we always noted "olive oil" as o/o. Chefs used the notation to differentiate EV from O/O from cheap blended oil; the cost is different for each, so when ordering or writing menus it is important to know when to use which.

It's not like she made it up; she just popularized it.

OH PLEASE GOD SMITE HER AND STRIKE HER DEAF AND DUMB AND TURN HER PERKY LITTLE BOOBIES TO CRUMBLING STONE AND HER COOTCHIE TO COLD, WET CLAY OH GOD PLEASE OH PLEASE MAKE HER GO AWAY FOREVER I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE.

*clamps hands over ears*

Make that bad man stop!

(dude, she's perky and bubbly and all that, but it seems to be genuine. not everything has to be dark and brooding and intense. and she is undeniably easy on the eyes)

bright-eyed chipmunk.

lol. she does kinda look like a chipmunk.

hmm.

*insert joke about feeding her some nuts*

Personally, I think Rachael Ray is unabashedly a person who enjoyed her 15 minutes of fame, had a hard time filling it, and can't believe the spotlight is still on her. But her lawyer husband is turning her into an undiscriminating one person endorsement industry, and why not? She won't last, and she might as well "get hers" while it's easy. It's not the Britneys, Rachaels, Nicoles, Parises, Halleys or other creatures of little moment who make us sick of the over-exposed idiot famous. It's not up to them to turn down cooking shows because they are afraid to bake. At least she says she's "pushing 40" and not interested in having kids, so with any luck, there won't be any darling little Raylettes to syndicate endlessly.

Actually, when I notice these kinds of people at all, I think to myself how horrible it would be to be them. Often minimally educated, unable to slip into comfortable anonymity easily, and generally living in walled compounds in which they are ministered to by paid staff and business handlers, these kinds of people are more like exotic zoo animals than people. Except that in recent years, this class of dopey darlings has been elevated by a media that delivers mediocrity as a pre-packaged product. I suppose that so long as we see people like this "making it," we'll think the Great American Dream is alive and well, because we all feel like rocket scientists compared to these folks, and feel that all we'd need is the right "break" to be famous, if we wanted to be.

Maybe there's nothing wrong with the Great American Dream, or being famous and vapid. But like zoo animals, I pity these pop icons, far more than I envy them their walled existences, and sappy, promotable selves. Because I'd hate to be something any publicist I've ever met could "package."

And on top of all that, I give horrible interview.

Because I'd hate to be something any publicist I've ever met could "package."

Oh, pretty much anybody can (and has been) packaged. We are not immune.

(and comparing Rachael Ray to Britney et al, is kind of unfair. Love her or loathe her she does actually do something to be famous whereas the rest just got there for existing and/or looking pretty)

She makes a decent cookbook but I repeat that every time I hear her say Sammies or Stoop the urge to beat her to death with a shovel is almost impossible to resist, ALMOST.

Oh my god. Why are they encouraging this woman?

What is the point of an acronym when every time you say it you have to explain what the hell you're talking about?

You know what's official: she's the worst thing ever, that's what's official.

A) Leave Rachel Ray alone!

B) What's wrong with abbreviating things? STFU, AH!

I'm suprised that I had to look in this thread for the definition of Evoo, and that it wasn't included in any of the articles. Upon seeing the "definition" of said "word", I thought "Oh look! Stupid people!" And I was right. Dictionaries need more flash, so let's make up pointless words because we think we're clever.
Also, there is a lot of smiling going on there and it's scary. "You're in danger. Can't you see? They're after you. They're after all of us. Our wives, our children, everyone. They're here already. YOU'RE NEXT!"

(and comparing Rachael Ray to Britney et al, is kind of unfair. Love her or loathe her she does actually do something to be famous whereas the rest just got there for existing and/or looking pretty)

I agree. Reading her bio it seems like she was just doing something people liked and eventually it got her on local TV and was a hit. She is certainly lucky that it has snowballed since then--but she doesn't seem to fit the Britney Mouseketeer-to-manufactured-megastar mold.

"EVOO? What's That?" Sadly, the education of the youth of amerika is declining in more than one way. The other day I was at the grocery store and the checker was unable to identify EVOO. And no, she wasn't new...and to make matters worse the checker next to her didn't know either.

I've read articles about this phenomenon happening but couldn't quite believe it until it happened to me.

She's nice to look at but once she opens her mouth I can't stand her. Actually, sometimes it's just her facial expression that'll irk me. My parents asked me a few days ago if I wanted to come with them to see her in person - I told them no because I would probably physically assault her.

I saw her in person. She was really nice. I had my autograph jacket and she signed it for me and a cookbook for pips. Yeah, she's not 'cool,' but she dosen't seem to care about cool. I'm also fairly sure that she and Anthony Bourdain are secret lovers.

Rachael Ray and Tony Bourdain? I can't imagine what they'd talk about.

I’ve actually been thinking about the Rachael Ray problem lately, for whatever reason – I blame bad brain chemistry, myself. Anyway, here’s the way I see it:

People on TV are presenting a character. Even when their show isn’t ostensibly fiction, they’re not usually like that at home. (There are exceptions, of course. I like to pretend that Craig Ferguson is pretty much WYSIWYG, but who knows?) Jonmc to the contrary, I believe the uber-perky thing is at least in part an act. I recall seeing some sort of behind-the-scenes show dealing with the making of 30 Minute Meals, where you could see Rachael turning it on and off at will. When she’s not all amped up, she seems like a fairly regular person. (Also, contrary to his TV image, I'm told that Tony Bourdain is really quite personable. He might not have much use for her show(s), but I imagine he'd at least be polite if they ever met.)

Sadly, the amped-up Rachael is nigh-on inescapable. She’s everywhere. It just makes me want to run a mile every time I see her face now. Rachael Ray has become an industry, and in the process she’s become severely over-exposed. She’s got the TV shows, the cookbooks, the magazine (plus she’s on the cover of this month’s Redbook). Right now, there’s an entire shelf of my local grocery store filled with boxes of snack crackers, ALL BEARING RACHAEL’S IMAGE. And if you look closely at those myriad boxes of Wheat Thins, that’s actually a grimace of pain she’s wearing. It’s just not humanly possible to be that perky all the time without chemical reinforcement*, and she’s beginning to crack under the strain. Shadenfreude aside, I wouldn’t want to be around when she finally snaps.

The upshot of it all is, there’s only so much cutsey perky shit one can take before the urge to kill takes over. Between her and Paula Deen and fucking Emeril, I can’t watch Food Network anymore. That pretty much restricts my television viewing to Hockey Night In Canada and the occasional Seahawks game, and while the Flames are skating hard, the Hawks are looking shakier all the time.

*Lest anyone misunderstand me: I’m not implying that Ms. Ray is flying on anything stronger than caffeine.

EVOO, isn't that a Sony laptop?

King of Prontopia: no, the Sony laptop's called Why-OO.

By the way, it's pronounced "Ewok". "Oh, and a bottle of ewok, please."

This bottle of ewok, it is strangely intoxicating.

the problem isn't her acronymic usage of "evoo", but whenever i watch 30-minute meals she always says something like "now we're gonna add a splash of evoo, extra virgin olive oil."

if you're going to use acronyms, you don't need to follow it up with what the acronym stands for every single time.

(i just take issue with her obsession with extra virgin olive oil in general. if you're going to use olive oil for sauteeing, it doesn't have to be extra virgin. it can be extra fucked or whatever and it'll still be okay for that application. if you're making herb-infused oils or using it to dip bread in before a meal, then yeah, the extra virgin kind is preferable, because it does have a slightly better taste. but for sauteeing, don't bother.)

Also, contrary to his TV image, I'm told that Tony Bourdain is really quite personable. He might not have much use for her show(s), but I imagine he'd at least be polite if they ever met

I'm actually a big fan of both Bourdain and Ray. Sometimes you want perky, sometimes you want surly.

And I like Paula Deen. Although her sons' show where they travel across the country eating is strange. pips had an idea for a parody where as they travel they just keep getting fatter and fatter until they hit the west coast looking beach balls.

and I'll admit she's a bit overexposed, but that's probably due to perverts like me.