O, The Oprah Magazine articles from December 2003

O, The Oprah Magazine archives from December 2003

Set an example: we salute these companies for their contributions to the community.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... AERO HELPS THOSE IN NEED REST EASY AERO PRODUCTS INITIATED A PROGRAM THIS YEAR PROVIDING HOMELESS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS, AND LOCAL CHURCHES WITH AEROBED AIR-FILLED MATTRESSES. The Aerobed donations enable these organizations...

We hear you! Readers applaud our Age issue and the courage of Mariane Pearl but aren't sold on younger men or the eat-less/live-longer diet.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... A After reading Oprah's interview with Mariane Pearl and the excerpt from Pearl's memoir {October}, I wept for her; her son, Adam; her deceased husband, Daniel; and our country. Pearl's profound and beautiful way of expressing her experiences...

We hear you! Readers applaud our Age issue and the courage of Mariane Pearl but aren't sold on younger men or the eat-less/live-longer diet.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... I was thrilled to see the "Advertising Age" ads in the October issue. As a professor of women's studies, I have seen firsthand how media images adversely affect the lives of young women. I am using your ads in my women's studies class, and my...

We hear you! Readers applaud our Age issue and the courage of Mariane Pearl but aren't sold on younger men or the eat-less/live-longer diet.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... This 72-year-old grandmother is walking a little straighter, having spent last evening reading your October issue. Every month has had articles that are of interest to a "mature" person, but the Age edition left me feeling that it's okay to be...

We hear you! Readers applaud our Age issue and the courage of Mariane Pearl but aren't sold on younger men or the eat-less/live-longer diet.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... I have always been a fan of Anne Lamott, but never have I loved her more than after reading her take on aging in "The View from Here" {October}. When I turned 49, I declared that this year would be the best yet, physically, emotionally, and...

We hear you! Readers applaud our Age issue and the courage of Mariane Pearl but aren't sold on younger men or the eat-less/live-longer diet.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... As a new reader, I was impressed with your October issue, but I wonder why you spoiled all that fabulous positivity with "Looking Good: What's Age Got to Do with It?" Here, in the midst of your celebration of women reveling in their own right...

Age.
December 1, 2003... age: You're 22 (Will you ever get a job you really like?) You're 32. (If only you'd known then what you know now.) You're 50. (Wait a minute... that can't be right.) This month we take a look at the Ages of Woman--the good, the bad, and the...

We hear you! Readers applaud our Age issue and the courage of Mariane Pearl but aren't sold on younger men or the eat-less/live-longer diet.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... I thoroughly enjoyed "In Praise of Younger Men" {October}, Lynn Snowden Picket's article about her relationship with her husband. I am 39 years old and have a boyfriend who is 15 years younger than I am. While our age difference does represent...

We hear you! Readers applaud our Age issue and the courage of Mariane Pearl but aren't sold on younger men or the eat-less/live-longer diet.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... I was disappointed to find Lynn Snowden Picket rhapsodizing on the merits of relationships with younger men. In celebrating the younger man's puppylike exuberance and boundless energy, Snowden Picket dismisses the relaxed and confident nature...

We hear you! Readers applaud our Age issue and the courage of Mariane Pearl but aren't sold on younger men or the eat-less/live-longer diet.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... "The Case for Eating Less" {October} takes the Calorie Restriction Society so seriously that the article could be interpreted as a piece that supports starvation diets. It is absurd to suggest that such eating habits may be good for one's...

Why not be excellent?(Here We Go)
December 1, 2003... Do you speak the language of excellence? I believe the choice to be excellent--to push from adequate to extraordinary--begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself. I often hear women say, "I'll...

The idea is excellence.
December 1, 2003... December "A superior person brings out the best in others." 1 MONDAY "Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] --George Eliot, novelist 2 TUESDAY...

Dr. Phil: "he needs to stop using you as a yardstick for his masculinity"; Phillip C. McGraw, Phd, on a competitive husband ... a child's view of an unhappy marriage ... and an overwhelmed single mother.(Tell it Like it is)
December 1, 2003... Q I just realized that my husband of 29 years one-ups me in practically everything I say. If I have a bad day, his is worse. If I've worked hard and tell him, expecting a little pat on the back, he lets me know he has worked so much harder, and...

Suze Orman: "if your resume is being met with dead silence, yell a bit louder"; how to live well on one income ... clear up a bad credit report before buying a house ... get back in the job market after having a baby ... and give money away.(Financial Freedom)
December 1, 2003... Q I lost my job because of health problems more than a year ago. Since then my husband has been extremely worried and stressed because we're down to one income. We have no credit card debt, and I've refinanced our car and the mortgage at very...

Faded photos are a thing of the past; now you can restore the color in your old photos with the new Epson Perfection[R] 1670 photo scanner.
December 1, 2003... Restoring old and faded photos is a great way to reconnect with the past, and stay connected for generations to come. The new Epson Perfection 1670 photo restoration scanner provides easy, affordable color restoration to renew photographs--as...

What's going on.
December 1, 2003... AVON Fills You In The treatment that does what no collagen injection can. Introducing Anew Clinical Line and Wrinkle Corrector, only from Avon. To get filled in, call your Avon lady, 1.800.FORAVON or visit www.AVON.com. ...

Phoebe Snow's aha! moment: in a song cobbled together from old journal entries, the singer found the words she needed to heal.(Turning Point)(Interview)(Biography)
December 1, 2003... I'D BEEN TOLD I WOULDN'T BE ABLE to have a baby, so in 1975, when I found out I was pregnant, I was elated. But during my pregnancy, my mother was diagnosed with bone cancer. And when my daughter, Valerie, was born, she suffered multiple birth...

Woman on the verge.(TV: Guest Critic)(Scarlett Johansson)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Scarlett Johansson began acting when she was 8, impressed critics at 12 in the indie hit Manny & Lo, and earned great notices at 14 in The Horse Whisperer. On that accelerated schedule, it should be no surprise that at 19 she's made the...

Anticipation list: what we're looking forward to this month.(TV: Guest Critic)(Cold Mountain)(Peter Pan)(Angels in America)(Movie Review)(Television Program Review)
December 1, 2003... If anyone can make the Civil War broodingly sexy (and lower the splattered-mud-and-rearing-horses quotient), it's Jude Law, along with Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger. Cold Mountain, directed by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) and...

Guilty pleasures.(TV: Guest Critic)(Larry Kramer)
December 1, 2003... New York University law professor Larry Kramer, a self-confessed TV junkie, uses his favorite courtroom dramas to educate law students. "The O.J. case was an old Columbo episode--seriously," he says. "The plot was so similar, I wondered if O.J....

Sing hallelujah: their sound isn't just an ode to joy--it's an ode to diversity, philanthropy, and plain old whooping. Dalma Heyn reports.(Use Your Life)(New York Metro Mass Choir)
December 1, 2003... "WE'VE ALREADY SOLD 2,000 TICKETS to the Lincoln Center concert!" David Brown, founder and director of the New York Metro Mass Choir, announces at the start of rehearsal. The choir hoots. That's a dazzling number for a local gospel...

Chocolate of the month.(Good to Eat)
December 1, 2003... An alternative to the (much-maligned) holiday fruitcake, Soupcon's raspberry-filled almond cake with chocolate ganache provides a fix for fruit fans, nut nuts, and cocoa lovers alike. Packaged in a beautiful wooden shaker box, the cake makes a...

Travel.(Lybl)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Q: Can you suggest a winter activity that will keep me off the couch, out of the fridge, and in the snow? High prices, long lines, and my fear of emergency rooms prevent me from hitting the slopes. P.S. Please don't say caroling. A: Enjoy...

Don't-miss TV: in a maximum-security prison, playwright Eve Ensler has been teaching writing to 15 women inmates. Their gut-wrenching testimonies--performed by stellar actresses--make for a riveting new PBS documentary. Watch it and see the monsters you imagine turn into the mothers, daughters, wives, and friends they once were. Joan Gelman reports.(True Stories)(What I Want My Words to Do to You)
December 1, 2003... A "A FORENSIC REPORT SAYS I STABBED this man 28 times in his throat. Only three wounds were fatal, which leaves me the horror of, Did I continue to stab a dead man? I feel the only justice to his death is when God takes from me what I took from...

The halo effect: are you the kind of person who thinks she's being good (self-sacrificing! angelic!) by cooing over things you hate and sucking up to strangers for tiny morsels of approval? Martha Beck has been there and back--and encourages you to hang up your wings.
December 1, 2003... I ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL THE HOUSE IS EMPTY BEFORE I practice the piano. I love playing, but I don't do it well, and I'm embarrassed to bother others with my discordant fumbling. One day not long ago, I sent my children off to school and began...

How many days left? Holiday cards and gift shopping have you tied up in ribbons? Julie Morgenstern helps you cut through an unholy mess.(Getting Organized)
December 1, 2003... PROMISES, PROMISES: EVERY YEAR you vow to get your holiday cards and shopping done early yet inevitably end up doing the 11th-hour rite-of-season shuffle. Cards don't get mailed, or they arrive December 29. You can't believe you're rushing to...

Pet projects: half a million rapt viewers follow ASPCA special agent JoAnn Sandano as she swoops to the aid of injured and neglected dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits and earns their meowing, woofing, tweeting gratitude. Jo Ann Beard rides along with Animal Precinct's unleashed heroine.(Use your Life)(Biography)
December 1, 2003... CHIHUAHU AS ARE TENACIOUS LITTLE beasts, tall-eared and big-eyed, and frequently vibrating with more personality than a body that size can handle. Seeing one confined to a cage in a Brooklyn backyard, isolated and exposed to the elements, was...

Outreach.
December 1, 2003... Our advertisers invite you to take advantage of these special offers and opportunities. To send for information about products and services featured on OutReach, check the box corresponding to the companies listed below. 1 Neutrogena[R]...

Caregiving: a love story: when Ann Patchett was little, her grandmother drew her baths. Now grown-up, she feels privileged to return the favor. A granddaughter muses about age, youth, reversals of body and mind--and love's long haul.(Family)
December 1, 2003... WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, MY grandmother lived in Paradise, California, and based on the summer vacations my sister and I spent at her house, the name of the town was fitting. She taught us to knit and sew and make our own doughnuts. Beneath...

Holiday gift guide.(The List)
December 1, 2003... Be Fruitful "This pair of pears possesses the twin virtues of outer and Inner beauty: They're pretty, yes, but also consistently sweet and juicy beyond belief--everything that pears should be but rarely are." (Holiday pear mixer, $10,...

Let me entertain you: frothy skirts, brilliant silks--to dress for your own party, think comfort and joy. Four hospitable women get festive.(Style Fashion)
December 1, 2003... EVA TURNIPSEED Dental hygienist, 42 STYLE PROFILE "I don't go over-the-top, but I do follow trends." An accessory fanatic, Eva says her closet is "full of shoes, dahling." PARTY LINE Easy elegance. She likes flirty skirts, a top...

Silver Streak: every cloud has a silver lining--and every set of day or night basics could use a silver accessory (or two). Shine on.(Fashion)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ARE YOU GLISTENING? Put your gold on hold; this year's best metal is more moonbeams than sunshine. But don't assume that silver is nice only at night; muted or matte accessories (like the wool and Lurex shawl) give a celebratory feeling to the...

O, come all ye fragrant: b-r-r-r? Try m-y-r-r-h. (And frankincense. And cinnamon. And pumpkin.) Now you can wrap, soak, and pamper yourself with the season's yummiest scents.(Beauty Girls' Toys)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... WHAT WITH ALL THE swooning and eye rolling when we opened a jar of Bath & Body Works Pure Simplicity Pumpkin Purifying Face Mask ($16), you'd have thought we were trying a new, deliciously rich and silky pie filling. You'll want to eat it, too;...

Ask Val: questions about face powder? You've come to the right place. O's beauty director, Valerie Monroe, gives you the straight story.(Beauty)
December 1, 2003... I'm almost embarrassed to ask, but what's face powder for, anyway? Just shine? Embarrassed to ask? Till about five minutes ago, I myself didn't have a clue that it was good for anything except reducing shine. But face powder can be useful...

Take a bough: vintage doesn't have to mean victorian. After a decade of over-the-top ornaments, the ones that seem most magical right now evoke the frosty glamour of the 1920s, the sugarplum pastels of the '50s. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.(Comfort Zone)
December 1, 2003... TREE CHIC Before there were designer ornaments and collectors' clubs (and widespread sticker shock), there were simpler, subtler ornaments like this one. Fluted glass teardrop. $14, Jim Marvin Collection Ribbon, Midori WINTER WONDERS...

Flash in the pan: rice to the occasion! This luxurious risotto--sweet and tangy, creamy and crunchy--serves as cold-weather comfort food or a crowd-pleasing company dish. Chef Rori Trovato shares her recipe.(Great Food)
December 1, 2003... YOU MIGHT THINK THAT AFTER A long day of toil and trouble, the last thing you'd want to do is slave over a hot cauldron. Not me--at least when it comes to risotto. When I make this hypertasty Italian rice dish, I measure out all the...

One more reason to love your thighs.(Body Wise)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Some of those natural curves real women have but don't always appreciate (a.k.a. our hips and thighs) may turn out to be our saving grace. More and more research suggests that feminine contours confer health benefits, and the latest good news...

Invisible exercise of the month.(Body Wise)(This exercise is great for your calves and your posture.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... For a head-to-toe shape-up, walk on your tiptoes when you take the stairs. According to Los Angeles-based trainer Ellen Barrett, featured in the Crunch: Fat Burning Pilates workout video, you'll tone your calves ("They'll look 'lifted,'" says...

Trouble in Veggie Land.(Body Wise)(vegetarianism may raise cardiovascular risk)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... As heart disease in the United States skyrockets, health specialists have increasingly lauded the vegetarian diet. But in a dizzying turnaround, a new study suggests that vegetarianism could raise a person's risk of cardiovascular problems. In...

Learning on the job.(Body Wise)(health workers )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... If you happen to run an academic journal or a government health agency, you are privy to more medical information every day than the average person sees in a year. O asked four women at the helms of the most influential health organizations in...

Here's to your health! The LLuminari challenge, part 12: care packages: spirit-lifting, stress-busting, life-enhancing gift ideas from our wellness team.(Body Wise)
December 1, 2003... IN JANUARY 2003, WE INVITED READERS to join us on a month-by-month odyssey toward healthier living, guided by a dream team of 15 doctors and women's health authorities--the LLuminari group. The year began with a self-exam. Dig deep, our experts...

The way to eat: beyond the hype, the fads, and the nutri-nonsense, David L. Katz, MD, gives you all you need to know to step up to the plate.(Body Wise)
December 1, 2003... Q Over the past two and a half years, I have worked hard to make myself healthier and more physically fit: I've quit smoking and given up caffeine, and now every day I walk 8,000 to 10,000 steps, limit my diet to 1,800 calories, take a...

Picture this! Imagine--the perfect gift that won't fade, tarnish, break, or get eaten (but will be savored, shared, read, reread, cuddled up with, and marveled at): a luscious, inspiring visual book.(Reading Room)(Bibliography)
December 1, 2003... For AMERICAN MUSIC (Random House), her glorious road trip of a book, Annie Leibovitz photographed loved and legendary musicians where they compose and perform. Among the moving portraits: B.B. King onstage in a bluesy ecstasy; Patti Smith on a...

A beautiful mind: actress Jennifer Connelly's reading list is edgy, poetic, classical, political, and Seuss-ical.(Books that made a Difference)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... I'VE ALWAYS READ A LOT. THE HEADmaster of my school was intent on turning even the kids who were hell-bent on becoming mathematicians into poets. We had poetry workshops from first grade all the way through to our 12th-grade graduation. I had...

By heart: she was young, offbeat, no-nonsense. And she pointed Yona Zeldis McDonough to a secret stash of beauty and comfort.(Books)
December 1, 2003... I CAN SEE HER STILL, SOMETHING so girlish about her straight, chin-length hair and Pappagallo flats, her pleated skirt and Talbots blouse. But once she was standing at the head of the French classroom in the small private school I attended,...

One pregnancy, four mothers, two fathers, and an army of lawyers: Susan Ring agreed to carry twins for an infertile couple. But what began as a simple surrogacy ended in money problems, lawsuits, and accusations of kidnapping--raising the singularly modern question, what, exactly, is a mother?(Family)
December 1, 2003... I IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A LABORAtory-created embryo on hand and need someone willing to carry your child--you're over 40, say, with a serious infertility condition--the moment you meet surrogate Susan Ring, you'll probably want her to be the...

Oprah talks to Julia Roberts: the woman behind Mona Lisa Smile opens up about fame, fickleness, embarrassing fashion moments, her Oscar, her husband, and why she's in "the harbor of my life.".(The Interview)(Interview)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2003... This month we're urging you to be inspired, be very inspired. Be creative, be smart, be intrepid, be everything that's you--in other words, be excellent! Easier said than done? Bill Cosby, Marion Jones, Yo-Yo Ma, Manolo Blahnik, and 12 others...

What i know for sure.(pursuing excellence)
December 1, 2003... T THERE I AM, SITTING IN MR. HOOPER'S fifth-period algebra class, dreading the test we're about to take, when an announcement over the intercom tells us to go to the auditorium for a special guest speaker. Hooray, I've been saved! I say to...

The more the merrier: six lip glosses to play with. Five scents to sample. Four sweet little sachets. It's great getting (or giving) one thing, but nothing's more fun than multiples.
December 1, 2003... 1. PLAY BALL! Colorful and sleek as little boccie balls, the vegetable-based honey and essential oil soaps in Red Flower Soaps Gift Set ($90) come in six flower-garden scents, like marigold and honeysuckle, each with a porcelain dish. ...

We wish you a healthy Christmas: a holiday feast that's delectable but also--hallelujah!--low-fat. Chef Michel Nischan cooks up a meal that will fill you with joy and leave you able to move the next day. It's a miracle.
December 1, 2003... THE AMERICAN HOLIDAY TABLE IS FILLED with things we love that don't love us back. Chef and cookbook author Michel Nischan wants the affection to flow both ways. In an effort to clear a path to our hearts (unblocking those veins and arteries)...

Excellence: how to be excellent.
December 1, 2003... This month we're shining a spotlight on all manner of things and people and ideas that are dazzlingly, joyously good of their kind. They brighten our lives, give us something to shoot for, and, in a world overrun by the so-so, the okay, and the...

Learning from losing: she's an over-the-top success--a high-flying legal eagle, a tenured professor at Harvard Law School. But a decade ago, Lani Guinier was publicly trashed by her political opponents and left to flap in the wind. It was, she tells Marcelle Clements, the most liberating period of her life.(Interview)
December 1, 2003... "YOU MEAN THE FAILURE THEORY OF SUCCESS?" LANI Guinier asks with characteristic vigor. Even on the phone, she radiates energy. I had begun our conversation somewhat hesitantly--I wasn't calling to inquire about her accomplishments as one of...

Be excellent to each other: the sign on her desk was modest, the words deceptively simple. Fifteen years and 100 temp jobs later, Deborahann Smith tells what she's learned from her excellent adventures.
December 1, 2003... IT BEGAN 15 YEARS AGO WITH A SIGN READING "Be excellent to each other," which I printed from my computer in Gothic type and taped to my workspace. I was about to launch into a series of temporary jobs to supplement my freelance writing income....

21 Excellent things.
December 1, 2003... OTHERS HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE US. FOR COLE PORTER, EXCELLENCE meant a Shakespeare sonnet, a Bendel bonnet, and Camembert. For Oscar Hammerstein, it was raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. We're not so romantic. Leaving aside the Bard...

Breathing space.(Bear Mountain, New York)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Wander these wintry woods in Bear Mountain, New York, and watch the sun's honey-colored rays bathe snowy pines in morning light.

The great get-o-way: if your longest vacation lately has been a coffee break, you need some real breathing space. First step: plane ticket. Second step: playclothes that are lighter, brighter, kinder to your body. Here, O's four-destination guide.
December 1, 2003... The Beach You'll be putting in a lot of towel time, so take one you're besotted with--a plush Mondrian-esque print in yellow, orange, and brown (Hermes, $430). Pack a cotton "crusher" hat (Graham Kandlah, $36), a fringed scarf (Matta,...

Some enchanted evening bags: from sleek to antique chic, bags that dance in the dark. The size--and price--is right.(Love that!)
December 1, 2003... PURSE GIVE-O-WAY FREE GLEAM! O is giving away 25 silver H&M clutches, above. For guidelines and details, see Shop Guide. 1. Nights in black satin geometric elegance that fits in anywhere Ralph Lauren, $165. 2. Here's a satin bag that...