O, The Oprah Magazine articles from August 2004

O, The Oprah Magazine archives from August 2004

We hear you! Readers praise father-daughter stories, cry "Fantastico!" to Holly Brubach, "You go, big guy" to Nick Leiber, and much more....(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... The June issue of O is my favorite yet! It was a delight to read writers' memories of their fathers and the descriptions of lovely men. The magazine gave me a chance to remember my wonderful husband who died last July. I spent 30 years with a...

Fork over the truth!(Here We Go)(Editorial)
August 1, 2004... When it comes to weight, most of us are looking for some kind of magic bullet. Me, too--since the day I visited my first diet doctor in 1977, I've tried everything from the Beverly Hills diet to the banana, weenie, and egg scheme. The reason...

The subject is how to eat: for the August calendar, lift this page.(Calendar)
August 1, 2004... August "One finds great comfort in good dinners."--Zora Neale Hurston [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Dr. Phil: "even if you've failed at every diet, you can succeed now"; Phillip C. McGraw, PhD, on what he's learned after a year of trying to jump-start America's weight loss revolution.(Tell It Like It Is)(includes related article "A Better Breakfast Starts With Silk" with nutritional statistical table)(Column)
August 1, 2004... SINCE I STARTED WRITING MY book The Ultimate Weight Solution and working with overweight people, including the 13 Weight Loss Challengers on my show, I have learned volumes about what it takes to have a real shot at losing weight and...

Suze Orman: "don't be afraid to rock the boat. It's better than sinking in it"; Confronting a secretive spouse ... solutions for a struggling single mom ... and conquering unemployment fears.(Financial Freedom)(includes related article "When You Need Funds Fast")(Column)
August 1, 2004... Q I've been married 32 years and have three children. My problem is that my husband keeps our savings a secret from me. He doesn't tell me how much is in our retirement accounts, the account numbers, or anything. The statements are mailed to...

Something to think about.(edible Zen)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Many of us are so hung up on eating--dieting, cheating, throwing in the towel--that we've forgotten the art of enjoying good food. Pull up a chair and dig into the following: 1 Recall mealtime in your childhood home. How have those early...

How to think your way free: wait--you can transform your life by altering your thoughts? Believe it. Martha Beck on the mood-altering, immunity-bolstering, luck-making impact of changing your mind.(includes related article "What's Your Explanatory Style? A Quiz")(Column)
August 1, 2004... OKAY, THIS TIME YOU'RE SERIOUS. You're going on a regimen that will really improve your health--not like that crash diet of pork rinds and coffee that once helped you shed ten pounds but left you with the sallow complexion, mood swings, and...

Fire your inner critic ... before she gets you fired. Julie Morgenstern shows a picky perfectionist how to succeed by aiming a little lower.(Getting Organized)(Column)
August 1, 2004... WHEN I MET FRANCINE, A PUBLICIST FOR A LARGE public relations firm, she was on probation. If she didn't start producing results fast, her livelihood was in jeopardy. She described herself as someone who understood her company's mission and had...

In the lap of summer.(To Go)(napkin rings)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The fish are jumping and the living is easy. Let these happy-go-tucky napkin rings dress up your next picnic. (Tear at the perforations, cut along the vertical marks, then bend and insert the two slits together.) "Summer is the time when...

The O list.(Oprah's favorites)(sandals, bags and bubble bath)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... "A few things I think are just great."--OPRAH Footloose & Fancy-Free "Who says accessories have to be neutral? I'm officially declaring plaid the new black. Toss these fabulous flip-flops into your canary yellow overnight bag and go...

Jeans therapy: dress them up, wear them to work--what's better than a great pair of jeans? How to get the fit right: our body-specific guide, on the following pages, can save you hours in the dressing room.(Style Fashion)
August 1, 2004... GHYLIAN BELL Actor, yogi, and environmental activist Denim identity: "Femininity" is her style mantra, which means feeling "pretty and comfortable" in her clothes: "I like a soft jean that embraces me the way a man would." O...

Yellow fever: citron. Ochre. Saffron. Now that this sunny color has put fashion in a good mood, it's casting new light on the home. O offers some lemon aid.(Comfort Zone)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... SUNNY SIDE UP isn't only a way to do eggs; it's a way to do morning. Okay, maybe this will never be your best time of day, but bright, glossy pitchers and bowls make it easier to rise and shine (and start making lemonade for the picnic later)....

Look what we found! A new, playful way to add color to your face, two of the most winning lipsticks, the coolest ways to refresh, and more ... Here's what O's beauty editors--Valerie Monroe and Jolene Edgar--fell in love with this month.(Beauty Girls' Toys)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Kiss Off In our (beautified) version of the classic Western, there's a lipstick showdown--in color, of course. There's no OK Corral, but we've got a great coral. And a darn pretty dusty pink. Chanel Aqualumiere Sheer Colour Lipshine in...

Ask Val: questions about concealers? You've come to the right place. O's beauty director, Valerie Monroe, gives you the straight story.(Beauty)(Column)
August 1, 2004... What kind of concealer should I get? How do I find the right color? Is it better to apply it with my fingertip or a brush? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Questions, questions! Val can't get enough of them! A creamy concealer is best, says...

Battle of the weight loss books: they're trendy, they're sexy, they're geographically fabulous (South Beach! Los Angeles!), and they're selling like hotcakes drenched in maple syrup. But do they deliver what they promise? O's medical experts weigh in. Lauren Gravitz reports.(Body Wise)(Bibliography)
August 1, 2004... TO THE DISMAY OF NUTRITIONISTS--and the delight of diet book publishers--when the majority of Americans want to drop pounds, they think less about long-term lifestyle changes and more about quick fixes. In fact, between 2002 and 2003, diet...

Hang up the gloves: you landed a few good jabs and scored the final knockout point. But did you really win your last argument, or did you just KO your relationship? Therapist Jeffrey B. Rubin, PhD, steps in.(Couples)(includes related article "Win-Win at Home")(Column)
August 1, 2004... I HEARD THEM YELLING IN THE WAITing room. By the time I emerged from my office to greet them several minutes later, the well-dressed couple in their early 40s were silently fuming. I introduced myself and ushered them inside. The wife, Cathy,...

The postcard ceremony.(Reading Room)(Book Review)(Brief Review)
August 1, 2004... What could be more exciting than finding an exquisite little masterpiece--in your mailbox? Throughout Japan in the early 1900s, painted and printed postcards by artists were all the rage. People who lived miles from any museum could hold in...

Slow burn: Easy Rawlins wrestles with rage and racism in Walter Mosley's compelling new mystery.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... It is 1965: Rioters are torching white-owned businesses in Watts, and Easy Rawlins, Walter Mosley's brooding detective (who in racially divided Los Angeles earns his living as a school custodian) is confronting chaos in the streets and in his...

Strip tease.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... Balancing a bunch of angels on the head of a pin would be easier than visualizing Paul Auster's dizzyingly philosophical mystery novel City of Glass as a book-length comic, but that's what Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli did ten years ago,...

Altered lives: three polished novellas about the intimate chaos of love.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... RICHARD BAUSCH EMERGED FROM WHAT WAS KNOWN as the minimalist school of American writers in the mid-1980s. He shared with them a focus on the personal and domestic sides of life, with a pinpoint concentration on the quieter moments that form the...

The perfect storm: a witty, moving first novel reimagines a man, an ark, and an unshakable faith.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... WHO WAS NOAH--AND HOW MUCH DO WE REALLY know about his 150-day, rain-splattered voyage? In his smart, engaging debut novel, The Preservationist (St. Martin's), David Maine dares to reimagine one of the Old Testament's better-known stories in a...

Ordinary evil.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... "The more I have occupied myself with the individual cases of war criminals, the less I believe them to be monsters. What if they are ordinary people, just like us, who found themselves in particular circumstances and made wrong moral...

The insider's Chicago.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... My perfect guide to a city would, of course, have a deep understanding of the place's history and neighborhoods, but ideally his knowledge would be colored by love for the town and its people. Given that, I couldn't ask for a better...

They loved Lucy, Mary, Amos 'n' Andy ... twenty-three celebrated (smart!) writers come to praise the TV shows that turned them on.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... A FRIEND OF MINE ONCE CAUGHT HER 12-year-old son watching the Jerry Springer show when he was supposed to be doing his homework. "Can you believe my teacher is making us watch this show!" he deftly lied. If he'd only had a copy of Prime Times:...

Biblio: recommendations from our shelf to yours.(Reading Room)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... * Divorce, remorse: After her horse-trainer husband, Cole, throws her over for her best friend, Hannah starts reliving her shattered marriage, searching for explanations. "When he'd told her he was leaving, of course he'd taken away her future,...

Kimberly Elise's beloved books: the star of the Manchurian Candidate finds nighttime escape in contemporary novels, true-blue memoirs, and a child's snow story.(Books That Made a Difference)(Bibliography)
August 1, 2004... WHEN I'M NOT WORKING, MY LIFE IS VERY QUIET I'M EITHER knitting or reading. I have a habit of waking up at I A.M. I turn on my little book light, prop myself on my pillows, and read. There's a peacefulness at that time of night. Everything is...

Hi gorgeous! A celebration of you.(O, The Oprah Magazine)
August 1, 2004... Four Cities, 10,000 Women. A Look Back. The women who flocked to O. The Oprah Magazine's Hi Gorgeous! events had a day they'll never forget! O, The Oprah Magazine columnists and ABC radio show hosts the Satellite Sisters emceed the...

The beach house rules: the fixer-upper on T-Street was cheap, dilapidated, lovable, and only a block away from an endless, shining ocean. It was also the site of love, birth, death, children, and lasting change. Bo Caldwell remembers.(Family)(Column)
August 1, 2004... IN FEBRUARY 1967, MY PARENTS bought a beach house. They were driving around with a real estate agent, when white writing on one of the ocean-facing windows of the house caught my mother's eye: for sale $35,000. "You don't want to see that one,"...

Oprah talks to Bill Clinton.("My Life")(Interview)
August 1, 2004... The man who had Air Force One at his disposal now cools his heels in New York City traffic. The man who held the highest office in the free world is now married to a U.S. senator rumored to be eyeing his old job. The man who fought personal and...

Keeping it off-forever.(How to Eat)(includes related article " . . . And Then There's Gayle")(Column)
August 1, 2004... Everyone can lose weight... temporarily. The catch is, almost everyone--we're talking 80 percent--gains it right back. But what about the other, successful 20 percent? What do they know that the yo-yo-ers don't? Since 1993 a team of scientists...

Stop me before I eat more! Who's in charge--you or your appetite? Eating right would be a piece of cake if it weren't for that overpowering urge called hunger. But where do those "feeeeed me!" signals really come from? Your genes? Our culture? The mysterious hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin? Michelle Stacey helps you get a handle on the Big Pang.(weight loss)(includes related article "How to Eat a Treat", "Hunger Management", "The Enemies List" and "Our Daily Apple")
August 1, 2004... LIKE THE INSATIABLE HOUSEPLANT IN LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, our bodies send a message to our brains: "Feeeeed me!" The monster within us makes its relentless demand, we comply, and soon enough it rears its ugly head yet again and roars for more....

Dangers in the deep: one minute fish is a healthy eater's best friend--the next, you have to worry about mercury, PCBs, and a boatload of other toxins. Should you swear off seafood? Scale back? Amy Blumenfeld trolls for the facts.(nutrition)
August 1, 2004... FISH USED TO BE THE DARLING OF THE SLIM-BOUND crowd, not to mention practically the only protein you could eat without gunking up your arteries or risking some meat-related disease scare. But alas, the headlines blare, our great nutritional...

You are getting thinner: close your eyes. Imagine your food cravings floating away. Imagine a day of eating only what's good for you. Imagine hypnosis actually helping you lose weight--because the news is: it does. Harvard Medical School psychotherapist Jean Fain gives you ten hypnotic suggestions to try right now.(includes related article "Eat Late, Gain Weight?")(Column)
August 1, 2004... WHEN I TELL PEOPLE HOW I MAKE much of my living--as a psychotherapist hypnotizing people slim--they inevitably ask: Does it work? My answer usually brightens their eyes with something between excitement and incredulity. Most people,...

Saying grace: it's at home in pizza joints and great restaurants. It stops time (and overeating). Lauren F. Winner on the pleasures of an old-fashioned ritual.(prayer)(Column)
August 1, 2004... In my kitchen, we begin our meals by holding hands and bowing our heads. We usually say the short and sweet grace found in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer: "Bless this food to our use and us to Thy service." Sometimes, when my husband is...

5 Days of yummmmm: Who knew delicious and healthful could share a plate, much less 15 great meals in a row? Doubters can line up for lemon risotto with garlic crab and poached peaches in Amaretto--cooked up for us by Dr. Andrew Weil and chef Rori Trovato.("Dishing with Style")(includes related articles "Day 1 - 5" and "Words to Eat By")
August 1, 2004... IT WASN'T THE MOST ROMANTIC MATCH EVER, BUT it was fruitful (poached peaches in Amaretto, gingered green grapes). When we hooked up Dr. Andrew Weil and chef Rori Trovato, we were hoping for a Jack Sprat-and-his-wife sort of compatibility. He's...

Breathing space.
August 1, 2004... Walk through this fragrant field of purple heather and watch giant clouds drift across the brilliant Tasmanian sky. PHOTOGRAPH BY B. SCHMID/PHOTONICA

Hair how to bend it to your will: it's August. Hot. Steamy. Thirty-one bad hair days back-to-back. Whether your hair has gone wild or gone flat, we promise that you can get it under control. Jolene Edgar has the latest hair management techniques.(style)(includes related article "The Mother of All Solutions")
August 1, 2004... WE KNOW A WOMAN WHO WOKE UP ONE MORNING shocked to find that her previously soft, curly hair seemed overnight to have turned to straw. Not all of it, fortunately, but enough to get her to consider how she'd treated it over the years. Because,...

Something's coming--something good; Ah, the thrill of finding a designer piece on sale! Now you don't have to wait for serendipity to strike: four new lines (from names you know) offer big-time style for smaller prices.(Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren)
August 1, 2004... CALVIN KLEIN IN A WORD: Minimalist. If you like to keep things simple, Calvin is your man, known for clean lines, muted colors, lush materials. "Good fabrics don't have to be ridiculously priced," says Robin Howe, designer of the new...

Get carried away.(Fashion)(Michael Kors line)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Bags have joined shoes as major objects of desire. These, by the new MICHAEL Michael Kors line, deliver designer cachet at a decent price. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION...

A tan for all seasons.(Beauty)(Brief Article)(Buyers Guide)
August 1, 2004... Summer comes and goes. But with today's best bronzers and self-tanners, your luscious color will endure all year long. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1. For a quiet, sheer radiance that's more lunch-hour-in-the-park than day-at-the-beach:...

5 days of yummmmm.(Food)(calorie reduced)
August 1, 2004... THE DINNER RECIPES AT 700 CALORIES OR LESS, YOU can have these delicious meals and indulge in dessert with zero guilt. Visit oprah.com for health-conscious breakfast and lunch recipes to mix and match (for story, see page 180). All...

Shop guide (all prices are approximate).(fashion)
August 1, 2004... COVER/HERE WE GO P.37 Peter Cohen silk dress, $640; Saks Fifth Avenue; 323-936-8181. Imperio silk ombre shawl, $120, select Neiman Marcus stores. Kara Ross 18kt-yellow gold and coral ring, $2,600, Bergdorf Goodman, NYC. Ippolita 18kt-gold...

What I know for sure.(narrative)(Column)
August 1, 2004... IS THERE ANYTHING I LOVE MORE THAN A GOOD MEAL? Not much. I was in Rome recently, eating as the Romans do, at a delightful little community restaurant--all Italians except for our table: Reggie, Andre, Gayle, her daughter, Kirby, and me. There...