O, The Oprah Magazine articles from December 2004

O, The Oprah Magazine archives from December 2004

Skin sensation: how to look better tomorrow than you did yesterday? The answer for anti-aging is easier than you think.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... Q. How can I help my skin look progressively younger? Looking forward to a future of fabulous skin is no fantasy. Advanced Solutions Skin Transforming Complex--powerful at-home night and day moisture treatments just introduced by...

What's going on.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... WOODBRIDGE ENTERTAINING ESSENTIALS Looking for some tips and tricks to help you plan your holiday gatherings? Woodbridge Wines, the holiday entertaining authority, can help. Visit www.omagazine.info/woodbridge for some tips and tricks...

We hear you! Readers find our sex issue reassuring (if a bit risque), are inspired by what foster parents give back, uncage their rage with Martha Beck, and more....(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... My October O came in the mail while I was out of town. When I got home, it was open. My husband had already read the articles on sex and what women want--and he made the salmon and the strawberry shortcake for dinner! I should always let him...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2004... Correction: In October's Shop Guide, we misprinted a phone number for both the brass and paper Artecnica chandeliers (Comfort Zone, page 167). The correct phone number is 800-447-6662.

Joy, unwrapped.(here we go)(Brief Article)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... AS A CHILD, I DREAMED OF THE PERFECT CHRISTmas: boughs of holly on the staircase, mistletoe in all the doorways, a snowman in the yard, the house smelling like cinnamon bread, elf dolls in every corner. In reality, we had a fake tree, only...

Set an example: we salute these companies for their contributions to the community.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... AVEDA CONSCIOUS GIFTING "Our mission at Aveda is to care for the world we live in, from the products we make to the ways in which we give back to society. At Aveda, we strive to set an example of environmental leadership and...

The subject is connection.(Calendar)
December 1, 2004... December [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] "To know another, and to be known by another--that is everything." --Florida Scott-Maxwell

Express yourself: now, a skin care treatment that gives you something to smile about.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... Introducing Anew Clinical Deep Crease Concentrate with exclusive Bo-Hylurox[TM] technology, the at-home alternative to line-relaxing injections. This double treatment visibly reduces deep expression lines in areas where you show emotion most:...

Dr. Phil: "the fact that your ex shares DNA with your daughter does not make him trustworthy"; Phillip C. McGraw, PhD, on reconciliation--with a baby's biological father ... a controlling mother ... and a dad who left Mom for a family friend.(tell it like it is)
December 1, 2004... Q During college, I dated a man who moved away without warning. A few weeks later, I discovered I was pregnant. My daughter is now 3 1/2 years old, and her father (whom I have since tracked down and told about her) and I have started planning...

Suze Orman: "your husband's flakiness is a symptom of a larger issue in your relationship"; A spouse who doesn't pay the bills ... an ex who owes money ... and a business partner who won't pull her weight.(financial freedom)
December 1, 2004... Q I've always managed my family's finances, and we have very good credit. After having our third child, I asked my husband if he would handle our money. He doesn't stress about the bills, so I thought he'd be perfect for the job, but he worries...

Home for the holidays.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... Make every room in your house bright with holiday cheer--using GE Reveal[R] bulbs. During the holiday season, home becomes a gathering place for glorious dinners and traditional festivities. With your house in the spotlight, it's important...

Live your best life.(Poem)
December 1, 2004... Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase each other doesn't make any sense. --from...

Sundays with Mr. Saturday Night.(THEATER)(Billy Crystal)(Brief Article)(Comedy Review)
December 1, 2004... WE THOUGHT WE KNEW BILLY Crystal. But then we found out that Billie Holiday took him to his first movie. That he went to college on a baseball scholarship. That his father managed the celebrated Commodore Music Shop on 42nd Street. In Crystal's...

Southern exposure.(ART)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Just when you'd begun to forget about Frida Kahlo--the recent biopic fading from memory, the once famously obsessed Madonna now enthralled by Kabbalah--the unibrowed icon is back. And she's not alone. Opening this month at New York City's El...

Mr. Stewart goes to Washington.(BOOKS)
December 1, 2004... According to America (the Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, a loopy national primer from Jon Stewart and the team behind The Daily Show: "The office of president affords its holder many, many opportunities to have sex with women...

What's going on.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... RoC[R] RETINOL CORREXION[TM] RoC[R] RETINOL CORREXION[TM] Deep Wrinkle Night Cream is clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of your skin.* Log on to www.rocskincare.com/sweepstakes for a free product sample (while...

What's playing in Renee Fleming's ear?(MUSIC)(Interview)
December 1, 2004... With a radiant, honeyed voice, American soprano Renee Fleming has scaled the heights of opera, headlining everywhere from New York's Metropolitan Opera to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. The diva recently recorded a gorgeous take on Handel...

Smile and say "ease!".(TECH)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The digital photography revolution has left few families untouched: Since 1999 the sales of digital cameras in America have increased by 163 percent. But for some new converts, and still more holdouts, there's a nagging question: How can you...

And the winner could be ... live from Hollywood, the big stars and hot topics of this month's movies signal it's time to start betting on the Oscars.(MOVIES)
December 1, 2004... In case you haven't noticed (and how's the weather under that rock?), December means two things to Hollywood: It's time to (1) exploit the holiday spirit for box office returns and (2) roll out the Oscar hopefuls so they're fresh in the judges'...

Beads of hope.(WHAT A CONCEPT)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... "Welcome, I love you," the Acholi women greet visitors in their language, as they roll magazine pages into beads for brilliant-colored necklaces. The beaders live in the slums of Kampala, Uganda, where they struggle with AIDS and starvation. So...

That girl's crusade: cake, confetti, unheard-of cure rates. Marlo Thomas talks about the miraculous hospital her father founded.(USE YOUR LIFE)(Interview)
December 1, 2004... In May 1991, actress Marlo Thomas sat in the driveway of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a large white building on the outskirts of Memphis. It had been three months since the death of her father, actor Danny Thomas, the founder of St....

Stop the nightmare. Write now!(O to go)
December 1, 2004... Welcome to an O special project. Please join us in reaching out to the women in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo who are enduring unspeakable acts of violence while the world remains largely unaware. Through the auspices of Women...

You have the right to remain silent: your cell phone is ringing. Your in-box is overflowing. Your friend wants to discuss her son's glue-sniffing habit. Martha Beck has news for you--you don't have to be there for all people all the time. Just follow her escape routes.
December 1, 2004... THIS MONTH I SET OUT TO write a thoughtful essay on the art of disconnecting. My thesis: The great English writer E.M. Forster may have valued connection above all else, but for us 21st-century folks--with our jam-packed Rolodexes, e-mail from...

Something to think about.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Tis the season to gather with family and friends. Assess your connections--to your inner circle, as well as to the larger community around you. Find a quiet spot and reflect on the following: 1 How busy is your schedule this month? Can you...

Holiday cheers!(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... ENTERTAINING ESSENTIALS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON Thinking of spreading some holiday joy of your own? Hosting a holiday get-together can be as much fun as it can be stressful. However, a few simple strategies can help you forget about the stress...

The O list.(HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE)(Buyers Guide)
December 1, 2004... "A few things I think are just great."--OPRAH Tower of Power "Once the holidays end and these snappy, sturdy boxes are no longer stuffed with scrumptious snacks--where did that peppermint bark and toffee and chocolate-covered pretzel...

O's golden notebook; We're sold on gold, and here's why: it's warm. It's rich. It's good with any and all colors. And it's a gracious, glamorous way to celebrate at home.(comfort zone)
December 1, 2004... POT OF GOLD Black and gold is one of the most worldly (and foolproof) combinations on earth. High contrast is why; the brightness really stands out. Actually, gold is a chameleon whose character depends on the color it's mixed with: Pink...

Just a quick bite: with these instant hors d'oeuvres and Champagne in the fridge, you're ready for whatever surprise guests the holidays throw your way.(great food)
December 1, 2004... SURE, COME ON OVER! BUT SPONTANEITY requires some planning: If the pantry is ready for an impromptu gathering, so are you. Shelves stocked with a few of the right ingredients--chickpeas, capers, chutney, nuts, mustard, and that can of infinite...

Problem solved! Researchers sketch the anatomy of insight.(body wise)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... That cartoon lightbulb-over-the-head moment may be more true to life than animators ever believed. Sudden flashes of insight really do set off bursts of activity in the brain, says John Kounios, PhD, a psychology professor at Drexel University...

Eating on the run(way): healthy options for your next flight.(body wise)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Travel takes a lot out of you, and eating well can help revive you. But it's a challenge to find healthful in-flight meals. Special low-cholesterol or vegetarian options--a dubious solution, since many airline versions are nutritionally...

Invisible fitness move: glute contractions.(body wise)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The next time you're standing still, Alex McKechnie, athletic performance coordinator for the Los Angeles Lakers, has the perfect way to firm your butt and improve your posture and gait: Stand flat-footed, feet parallel, and press your legs...

Dressed for success: throw out that fat-free vinaigrette.(body wise)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... If you've been drizzling your salad with fat-free dressing, picturing a health halo hovering above your head, science has some bad news: Fat-free may also mean fewer nutrients, since some of the beneficial stuff in vegetables can be absorbed by...

The way to eat: food and mood ... indigestion ... losing weight against all odds.(body wise)
December 1, 2004... Q Why do I feel calmer after binge eating? Is there a chemical released in my brain? Can I stimulate it by doing something else? --MONICA SILVA, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA Eating can induce a sense of calm in many ways. A full stomach...

20 ways to win at losing: Hollywood trainers from The Biggest Loser share their strategies.(WEIGHT)
December 1, 2004... THE PURE MATHEMATICS OF WEIGHT loss is simple--eat less, move more--but if knowing that were all it took, everyone would be in great shape. Los Angeles-based personal trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels have been helping to define the...

William Yosses' holiday dessert party: brought to you by SPLENDA[R] Sugar Blend for Baking.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... Great food and sweet treats are part of every family gathering during the holiday season. Whether it's a lavish party with friends or simply sharing the holidays with family, great tasting food is the best part of the celebration--and dessert...

For your ears only: hoops or drops? Studs or chandeliers? When you shop for earrings, start with your face shape. A guide to the most flattering match-ups.(fashion)
December 1, 2004... PAIRING OFF The general principle is to pick earrings that are the opposite of your facial geometry: Long, lean styles complement round cheeks, while hoops soften an oblong face. For more specifics, turn the page. 1. Viv and Ingrid 14kt...

Modern-day Rosie: She steps up. She commits. She leads.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... She was an icon of the 1940s. And if she seems at first quaint or dated, that's simply a testament to the profound impact she has had in the decades since. Rosie the Riveter--shirtsleeves rolled up and her "can do" attitude fully on...

Look what we found! A glassful of gorgeous; glorious scents of the season; a new way to make your lips shine ... Here's what O's beauty editors--Valerie Monroe and Jolene Edgar--fell in love with this month.(beauty)
December 1, 2004... Accessor-eyes Just when we thought we'd seen it all, Bourjois invents mascara accessories: tiny tubes of pearlescent color (Reflets Vibrants) and dewy gloss (Glosse Mouille) made to be worn over regular mascara. Before you balk at the very...

Crisis of the month! Winter hair: O's beauty director, Valerie Monroe, to the rescue.(beauty)
December 1, 2004... Q: Drab color. Flat texture. Flyaways and breakage. As the light fades and weakens in winter, so does my hair. Is there any way to keep it healthy and shiny? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A: Several years ago, I...

Inviting ways to share the holidays.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... CREATE THE PERFECT SETTING FOR YOUR PERFECT GATHERING. Casual family get-together, formal dinner party, afternoon cookie exchange--holiday entertaining comes in all shapes and sizes. With shopping, wrapping, mailing and more shopping to do,...

'Tis the season to create! You can create the perfect holiday mood for any gathering with the printing projects on the HP Home Fun website. Just think--no parking hassles, no long lines and no holiday traffic!(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... CUSTOM MENUS Level of effort: Easy Average time: 10-20 minutes What you'll need: * HP Everyday Photo Paper * Microsoft Word 98 or higher * Scissors or X-ACTO knife, metal ruler and cutting mat Instructions: ...

Things you can count on this holiday from lands' end.(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... No. 1 [WINDPROOF. WATER-RESISTANT MARINAC FLEECE] Because family fights are just better with snowballs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Everything we make is made for real life. So our Marinac[TM] fleece is ready for whatever comes your...

The hottest holiday gift finds!(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... PAMPERING PAJAMAS "Sending a PajamaGram is the ultimate gift to pamper everyone on your holiday list." Over 100 pajamas, nighties, robes, slippers, and spa products, each delivered in a keepsake hatbox complete with lavender bath tea,...

Let heaven and nature sing: from spectacular visions of earth and sky to an incandescent First Lady, amazing English gardens, eight decades' worth of superb cartoons ... Cathleen Medwick leafs through this season's best and brightest gift books.(reading room)(Critical Essay)
December 1, 2004... LIKE SAINT-EXUPERY'S LITTLE PRINCE in his lunar landscape, photographer Philippe Bourseiller marveled at Africa's vast Sahara: its ravishing sunsets and silent nights, its windswept distances. Call of the Desert (Abrams), above, is the stunning...

Books that made a difference to Kate Beckinsale: the Aviator star adores a fantasy children's trilogy, a complex french heroine, and anything how-to.(reading room)
December 1, 2004... I WAS A VERY DIFFICULT CHILD, AND THE time I spent reading was about the only peace I gave my mother. Once, we traveled from England to Greece. She'd say, "Kate, look out the window at the lovely Alps," but I'd stay busy in my books. At Oxford...

Rescuing the world's girls, part 3: "if I leave, they'll kill my family".(special report)
December 1, 2004... Isabela shot the crying, pleading boy three times. She was 12; he was 13. Her commander's orders: Kill him, or we'll kill you. This scenario was the brutal reality of everyday life for Isabela--and still is for 11,000 other Colombian children...

The strongest link: from cooing baby to whiz kid, her son has been her light, love, and learning curve. Now that they've grown up together, what happens to that primal bond? Valerie Monroe reports.(MAKE THE CONNECTION)
December 1, 2004... I SO LOVED BEING PREGNANT THAT I wished I could carry my son forever. The bigger I got, the more luxuriously contented I felt. And not just contented: commanding, sorcerous. Who needed to pull this bunny out of the hat? In the end, the doctors...

The hangout: what makes a place feel like home base? The coffee's hot, the gang's all here, and (Cheers theme song, please) everybody knows your name.(MAKE THE CONNECTION)
December 1, 2004... LUKE COLLINS, A FREELANCE WRITER, has a standard dating rule: If the relationship doesn't work out, he gets the coffee shop. When he first started coming to Joe, in Greenwich Village, he used to bring along his laptop. "But I can't work here...

Emotional contagion: everyone knows yawns are catching (even from a photo, even from a dog). But so are moods, and we pick them up without even realizing it. Dorothy Foltz-Gray explains.(MAKE THE CONNECTION)
December 1, 2004... ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO, PSYCHOTHERapist Elaine Hatfield, PhD, discerned something strange in the way she was feeling during counseling. Whenever one particularly cheery-seeming patient would come in for her appointment, Hatfield, a young professor...

Kiln-ship: one look at the potter in the photo--and a young American woman flew halfway around the world.(MAKE THE CONNECTION)
December 1, 2004... IN 1992 MAPO KINNORD-PAYTON WAS paging through a photography book and came across a picture of an old woman standing by a mud house in Ghana. Kinnord-Payton, then an art student at Ohio State University, started to cry. "It just hit me," she...

Scenes from a best friendship: for more than 30 years of ups, downs, marriages, kids, divorce, acclaim, rejection, and one scary illness, Susan Miller (a playwright who sometimes performs) and Kathryn Grody (an actor who sometimes writes) have been laughing, arguing, teasing, advising, encouraging, pulling each other up short, and keeping each other going. Here they take turns answering the question, what are friends for?(MAKE THE CONNECTION)
December 1, 2004... SUSAN: Kathryn walks through the door of the restaurant, just like the first time we met. Her arms akimbo, reeling off her story. Why she's late. Why she's angry at someone I don't know. What her son has to write for English class. Why her...

How an artist connects with her song: Jill Scott says she tunes in to children at play, heels on pavement, the wind in her ears, and the beat of the world.(MAKE THE CONNECTION)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... I HAVE NO MEMORY OF IT, BUT I'M certain the first thing I ever heard was the sound of my mother's heart, a sure and unrelenting rhythm that was both life-sustaining and calming. As I grew into what I am, that heart music did not disappear....

My sister, Saidee: life ripped them apart. A series of eerie coincidences (and a new niece) brought them back together. Susanna Sonnenberg connects the dots.
December 1, 2004... WHEN MY HALF SISTER WAS BORN, I WOULD WARM A bottle in the mornings and climb into her crib to give it to her. Our father and her mother slept, and I thought of myself as her protector, an 8-year-old mother, adoring and vigilant. By Saidee's...

The gift of the other: the great trick isn't to see ourselves as others see us--it's to see others as they see themselves. Stephen Batchelor on the life-warming (and highly learnable) skill known as empathy.
December 1, 2004... IN EVERY HUMAN ENCOUNTER, EVEN with a stranger, you have the capacity to close down or open up. Let's say you have an appointment in a bank, and the employee seems distracted, strangely distant, and unconcerned with your affairs. He keeps...

Chocolate memories: that foaming cocoa! That mind-blowing fondue! Seven chefs share the gooiest stories ever told.
December 1, 2004... Chocolate is primal. Our first taste of it introduces us to pure pleasure and imparts a lifelong desire for all things sweet and melty. There's a chocolate epiphany in everyone's past, and O asked some of the country's foremost pastry chefs,...

We love a brocade; A gleaming sheath beneath a soft little cardigan. A lavishly textured coat over a turtleneck. Take a sleigh ride (express stops only) to quick, terrific holiday party clothes: Mix relaxed stuff with aristocratic fabrics or embellished pieces--and shine, shine, shine.
December 1, 2004... Sleigh bells ring and, yes, we're glistening. Naughty or nice? Have it both ways. Opposite page: A demure yet alluring raspberry brocade dress with a rhinestone-buckled belt (Rena Lange) cozies up to a beaded angora cardigan (Free People,...

Last-minute gifts (some assembly required).
December 1, 2004... Funny, they don't look last-minute. They look as if you've spent days plotting, scheming, and trudging from store to store--when in fact a phone call or mouse click will get you most of what's here. Just pick a theme, fill a container (you...

Breathing space.
December 1, 2004... Follow the gentle curves of the Merced River around these snowy banks in Yosemite National Park and feel the crisp winter air against your cheeks. Stop to savor the silence that surrounds you. PHOTOGRAPH BY WILLIAM NEILL/LARRY ULRICH STOCK

When gay men happen to straight women.
December 1, 2004... After New Jersey governor James McGreevey publicly admitted his homosexuality earlier this year, most people wondered: What, if anything, did his wife know? And when did she know it? Is their marriage over or salvageable? For the estimated two...

The ornamental things apply: extravagant fabrics. Bejeweled everything. The return of rich-looking stuff (see "We Love a Brocade," page 220) will make you look like a million.(Fashion)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... 1. Bag this for day-to-night duty: The tweed makes it office material; the razzle-dazzle ornament makes it fun. Violette Nozieres, $249; 512-458-5407. 2. This scintillating purse can single-handedly translate a simple black dress or suit into...

Tidings of color and joy: master the fine art of party makeup with four of the season's prettiest palettes.(Beauty)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... IT HAD NOTHING TO DO with the hot buttered rum or the nog at our recent office gala--we swear. But when we saw these gorgeous palettes of holiday makeup, the first thing we thought of was the mosaics of stained glass laid carefully in cathedral...

Chocolate Memories; Choc it up to experience: an old-fashioned icebox cake, a gooey fondue, grown-up milk and cookies, and more (for story, see page 214).(THE RECIPES)
December 1, 2004... Lora Brody's Classic Hot Chocolate [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Adapted from Chocolate American Style (Potter) 1 cup heavy cream 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped 3 cups whole milk Unsweetened whipped cream, for topping ...

Shop guide (all prices are approximate).(Buyers Guide)
December 1, 2004... COVER Zac Posen lace dress, $3,100. Barneys New York. Etro velvet and silk scarf, $630; 212-317-9096. James de Givenchy for Taffin multicolored diamond earrings, price upon request, by appointment only at 212-794-0308. Iradj Moini...

Outreach: Neutrogena[R] expert solutions[TM].(Advertisement)
December 1, 2004... In the June issue of O, The Oprah Magazine Neutrogena asked to hear your skincare questions. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Here's what one reader wrote: "My aging skin needs help fighting wrinkles and sagging, but I find that the products...

"Listen. Pay attention. Treasure every moment".(what I know for sure)
December 1, 2004... THE WHOLE IDEA OF CONNECTION fascinates me. No doubt we're all more digitally and fiber-optically linked than ever before, but we're apparently losing our real connections. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I've seen it coming for a...