O, The Oprah Magazine articles from July 2007

O, The Oprah Magazine archives from July 2007

Our guest fashion editor.(the back story)(Sarah Jessica Parker)
July 1, 2007... WHEN SARAH JESSICA PARKER OFFERED TO BE a guest fashion editor, I loved the idea," said Adam Glassman, O's creative director, who was also thrilled that the style icon wanted to debut her new clothing line, Bitten, in O magazine. ...

We Hear You! Finders, seekers.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I haven't been able to stop talking about Jennifer Krause's "What Is Your Life the Answer To?" [May], and the way Krause transformed one woman's perceived life slump into a chance to achieve new goals with one simple philosophy--that we've...

We Hear You! Cancer: facing the facts.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I read Geraldine Brooks's "C Is for Courage" [May], a case for overcoming the fear of cancer, with interest: Last year my mother and I were both diagnosed with lymphoma and leukemia. And while I'm glad Brooks had such support during her...

We Hear You! Rules to ... um ... oh! Remember.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I was taken aback when I read "The Mid-life Memory Meltdown" [by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, May]. At 26 I'm already experiencing the memory loss symptoms Ramin described--and they're not supposed to occur until my 40s or 50s! I'm glad to know I'm...

We Hear You! Choosing life.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I read "Oprah Talks to Christine McFadden" [May] with great empathy. When I was 18, my boyfriend broke his neck in a car wreck and was rendered quadriplegic. At the time, I was devastated and felt I was losing my mind. But one moment has stuck...

We Hear You! Breaking the cycle.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... Every time I read O, I find countless articles that resonate with me, comfort me, challenge me, and inspire me. But I want to thank you for one in particular: "Mother's Nature," by P. Hunter [May]. I, too, had an alcoholic parent who heaped...

Here we go!
July 1, 2007... IMAGINE HOW HIGH YOU COULD SOAR IF you were to clear away all those inhibitions that come between you and the sky. Does something stop you from taking credit for your own excellent work or from making a phone call to that person you're dying to...

Go figure: summer lovin': real fireworks explode on the Fourth of July, but the romantic kind sizzle all season long. What makes the sparks fly for O readers? An oprah.com poll found out.(O-ZONE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... 59 Percentage of respondents who get lustier when the temperature rises 63 Percentage who have better sex while on vacation 74 Percentage who think tans are a turn-on (yet 55 percent stay so far from the sun, they could...

Death at a Funeral.(MUST-SEE LITTLE MOVIE OF THE MONTH)(Movie review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... In Death at a Funeral, a farce about the unspooling of a British family from director Frank Oz (In & Out), Daniel (Pride & Prejudice hottie Matthew Macfadyen) wants to give his dear departed father a dignified send-off. But a series of...

Animation Sensations.(Brief article)(List)
July 1, 2007... TWENTY YEARS after their TV debut, America's favorite cartoon family is hitting the big screen. Born of the Emmy Award-winning sitcom that Time magazine named Best TV Show Ever, The Simpsons Movie reportedly features the voices of longtime fans...

What's Playing in Robin Thicke's Ear?(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Robin Thicke's sexy hit "Lost Without U" topped the R&B charts for weeks (a spot almost exclusively held by African-American artists). But the tracks on The Evolution of Robin Thicke (Star Trak/Interscope), his sophomore album, were written...

State of affairs.(Tivo This)(Television program review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... You've seen it before: Wife catches husband cheating, feels her life falling apart, picks up the pieces, and is empowered in the process. That's the gist of Lifetime's State of Mind, but in the hands of writer and creator (and author,...

Celebs Gone Green.(celebrities Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Tiki Barber, Will Ferrell)(Quotation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... It's a major conundrum: You want to help the environment, but you'd rather not live in a tree, grow all your own produce, or even give up your favorite leather jacket. In The Green Book (Three Rivers), authors Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M....

Nugget.(O-ZONE)(Excerpt)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Get Over It "The mind's job is to be busy with thought--24/7. The problem is that we often confuse the activities of the mind with the whole truth.... A single wave of emotion can feel like the vast ocean at any given time, yet it is...

O'Keeffe, oh Joy! The place to be: Santa Fe.(O-ZONE)(Georgia O'Keeffe)
July 1, 2007... GEORGIA O'KEEFFE DIDN'T settle permanently in New Mexico until she was 62, but her work evokes the Land of Enchantment as intensely as green chilies, brown adobe, and Spanish Colonial Catholic symbolism. Next month the 1 Santa Fe museum devoted...

Queen Latifah's aha! Moment: growing up, the singer-actress formerly known as Dana Owens didn't look like anyone else. Then one night, she found a perfect role model: herself.(advice, etc.)
July 1, 2007... I'M A STATUESQUE WOMAN AND have been for most of my life. I developed early, and I was always one of the tallest girls in my class. By the time I was 13, I had a body. I was one of those girls whose daddy wanted to keep a shotgun by the door,...

Dr. Phil: "he's giving you every signal in the world that he's not interested": , PhD: a woman is stuck in a dead-end affair ... a military wife is tired of moving ... and a widow wants her kids to accept her boyfriend.(Phillip C. McGraw)
July 1, 2007... Q I've been dating a guy for the past two years. He says he really likes me but isn't ready for a commitment. We see each other every week, often for overnight stays, but sometimes he doesn't answer my calls or want to talk to me. I believe...

A million ways to save the world.
July 1, 2007... Award-winning playwright EVE ENSLER resumes her monthly mission: to canvass the best brains around the globe for their earthshaking, world-fixing ideas. So that by Valentine's Day 2008, the tenth anniversary of V-Day--Ensler's movement to end...

Suze Orman: "so many people in your situation choose to panic rather than plan": preparing today for poor health tomorrow ... paying for a home even after it's been lost ... and the hidden cost of credit card "rewards.".(advice, etc.)(Column)
July 1, 2007... Q I suffer from two chronic illnesses that interfere with my ability to work full-time. I'm 31 and could be completely disabled long before I reach retirement age. I earn $60,000 annually as a technical writer for a consulting firm. For most of...

What do I do now? Criminally rude shoppers. Cheapskate tippers. Not-so-good housekeepers. How to deal when someone else won't (or can't) do the right thing? Jancee Dunn polls the experts. *.(advice, etc.)
July 1, 2007... How do you handle a dinner companion who isn't tipping enough? * "In a friendly, matter-of-fact way, tell your friend, 'I'll sleep better tonight if we leave 15 percent.'" --ANITA L. ALLEN, Burger King worker in the seventies *...

[Something to think about] cultivating confidence.(advice, etc.)
July 1, 2007... EACH OF US HAS MORE OR LESS CONFIDENCE depending on the circumstances; you could feel fine about public speaking but not about your ability to fix a car. When an outcome is unclear, confident people say, "Of course I'll try, because I'm likely...

The O list.(Oprah)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... "A few things I think are just great."--OPRAH Calling All Mermaids "Whether you're snorkeling, white-water rafting, or just taking a dip in the deep end, this camera can go 33 feet underwater, capturing enough surf and fun to make you...

Look what we found!(style)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Bling on a Chain THE VERY THOUGHT OF putting on multiple gems--in this weather!--makes us hot and bothered. De-clutter with a single riveting piece (best with quiet clothes that don't compete). 1. It's perfectly clear that you can wear any...

Adam says: O's creative director, Adam Glassman, tells you what your best friends won't.(report)(Oprah Magazine)(Column)
July 1, 2007... Q IT'S SWELTERING OUTSIDE AND FREEZING INSIDE--HOW DO I DRESS FOR BOTH? If you work in a super-air-conditioned office, keep a cardigan or shawl in a desk drawer (or stash a linen jacket if you've got a closet), or tuck a cover-up into your...

Editors' choice: what our fashion team is crazy about this month.(report)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2007... Good Guy of the Month The personalized jewelry by Planetjill makes for sweet keepsakes that are stylishly sentimental: Just send in a photo to be incorporated into charms like these simple chain necklaces (14kt gold, $595; sterling silver,...

What I want for summer: as senior vice president of women's design at J.Crew, where she's worked for 16 years, Jenna Lyons gets paid to know what women love to wear. And so we listen when she tells us her absolute favorites this season ....(P.O.V.)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... "This bracelet finishes an outfit, even a really simple one. It makes a T-shirt and khaki shorts look more polished." (J.Crew, $125; jcrew.com) "The right accessories can take this strapless dress to a clambake or an evening party."...

Look what we found! Waterproof, swim-worthy eyeliners; the mintiest, most bracing hand wash; a transporting island scent; and more ... Here's what O's beauty director, Valerie Monroe, fell in love with this month.(beauty)(Oprah Magazine)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2007... Glow Up Are you a little office rat just like us? Do you wear an SPF that's twice your age when the sun is high? Then you could probably use some help in the glow department, and we've got just the thing: Clinique Up-lighting Liquid...

Ask Val: you've got questions? Our beauty director, Valerie Monroe, has answers.(beauty)(Column)
July 1, 2007... Q I've got a few age spots on my cheeks. Will a self-tanning moisturizer darken them? Yes. Age spots can be either light (hypopigmentation) or dark (hyperpigmentation), says Wendy E. Roberts, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine at...

What's old is new again: what's dated: to "do" a room all in one historical period. What's fresh: mixing antiques and objects like these marvelously (re)inventive pieces that combine affection for the past with a witty, contemporary sensibility.(home)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2007... NOT TOO SWEET Old-fashioned, feminine stuff has a cozy sense of history that we love--but dainty trinkets can get awfully cloying unless they're streamlined for modern times. Here are chic retakes on tradition. 1. The shape of the vase is...

Mastering the art of fearless cooking: recipe for an uninhibited meal: buy great ingredients. Invite discerning guests. Come home. Freak out. Take the Chilean sea bass by the horns (or fins). Cook. Continuously mutter, "So what?" Serves six--pretty happily, too.(food)
July 1, 2007... IF YOU SAW ME A FEW SATURdays ago, you'd swear that I was born to cook. I even believed it myself as I sashayed out of the fancy-pants gourmet market clutching two bags of really important-looking groceries. Dangling on one arm: a plastic sack...

Get a jump on the silent killer.(bodywise)
July 1, 2007... DOCTORS CALL OVARIAN cancer the silent killer: Its symptoms are so vague that women usually don't realize they have the disease until it has become deadly. While an accurate screening test remains elusive, recent reports suggest researchers are...

The skinny on Alli.(bodywise)(weight loss pill)
July 1, 2007... FOR THE FIRST TIME, you can buy an FDA-approved weight loss pill over the counter. Called Alli (pronounced "ally"), it's a half dose of the prescription drug Xenical. But some experts say the active ingredient--orlistat--may not deliver the...

TV as med school?(bodywise)(television, medicine)
July 1, 2007... STEADY YOURSELF: TV might be good for you. In 2001 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) teamed up with the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication to launch Hollywood,...

Breast cancer: the newest risk.(bodywise)
July 1, 2007... YOU MAY NOT HAVE given much thought to the density of your breasts. But dense tissue makes tumors hard to detect, and it's more susceptible to tumor growth. In the most comprehensive study on density yet, researchers have found exactly how...

Curiosity can save your life.(bodywise)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... WHEN JODY FAIN finished breast-feeding her second child, she went to her ob-gyn to get a new prescription for birth control. The doctor prescribed Ortho Evra, a birth control patch. After two weeks, Fain was admitted to the hospital with severe...

The way to eat: David L. Katz, MD, sorts out the healthy, the harmful, and the hype.(bodywise)
July 1, 2007... Q I have lost weight, and I exercise regularly. My problem is that I think about food way too often. Losing weight made me feel so much better, so why can't I forget about food between meals? --ANONYMOUS We're hardwired to obsess about...

All work, no life: a new job fervor is making old-fashioned workaholism look like slacking.(mindwise)
July 1, 2007... THEY USE their jobs like amphetamines, eagerly clock Herculean hours, and find the career rush far more satisfying than the money they make. According to a recent study in the Harvard Business Review, "extreme" workers are on the rise. Cultural...

Can't we all get along? Most siblings grow closer with age, studies show, but certain life stresses are notorious for destroying even the strongest brotherly, or sisterly, love.(mindwise)
July 1, 2007... SKID ZONE: CARING FOR ELDERLY PARENTS Often one sibling--usually the child living closest to the parents--ends up bearing the brunt of the responsibilities, says Laurie Kramer, PhD, director of the Family Resiliency Center at the University...

Flaws 'r' us.(mindwise)
July 1, 2007... SINCE THE 1960s, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)--the quick-hitting, practical approach to psychological problems--has slowly eclipsed the appeal of spending decades on an analyst's couch rehashing your childhood. The theory behind CBT is...

How we eat: 200 years of American deep-down delight in food.(reading room)(American Food Writing)(Book review)
July 1, 2007... AMERICA, IT TURNS OUT, IS NOT a melting pot after all. It is a banquet made up of a vast array of dishes: tinned beans eaten cold en route to the Dakota Territory; Poularde Demi-Deuil savored at the Pavillon; alligator tail from Cross Creek,...

Hitting bottom: a young woman's downward spiral is caught at the last minute in this shimmering, hypnotic novel.(reading room)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2007... BEFORE (Knopf) is Irini Spanidou's third novel in as many decades. It depicts, with delicacy, compression, and vibrant intensity, three months in the life of Beatrice, a young married woman living in a postindustrial loft space in downtown New...

The Books of Summer: CATHLEEN MEDWICK handpicks two romances (one sweet, one white-hot), two chilling mysteries, three forgotten classics, four stellar story collections, a hit of juicy literary gossip, and more.(Book review)
July 1, 2007... Love and Treachery, What More Do You Want? * You need him the way you need ice water: a tight-lipped loner in a black T-shirt who wakes up your senses, then slips from your grasp. DIVISADERO (Knopf) is Michael Ondaatje's (The English...

Books That Made a Difference to Don Cheadle: The Talk to Me actor (and coauthor of a passionate new book about Darfur) applauds gritty novels and memoirs--and a man who famously tooted his own horn.
July 1, 2007... I HAD A WEB SITE, AND ALMOST EVERY THIRD OR fourth question I got was about Darfur and, more to the point, what can be done about it. I had gone to Sudan with John Prendergast, who is a senior adviser to the International Crisis Group. When we...

You're middle-aged. But are you done? Discuss. Caitlin Flanagan invited six 40-something friends to spend an evening taking stock of their lives. The result: juicy, grown-up girl talk that could have gone on all night.(connections)
July 1, 2007... LAST YEAR, AT THE AGE OF 44, I PUBLISHED MY first book, To Hell with All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife. I had been planning to write a book ever since I was 19 and blurted to a boy I knew that I was going to become a "published...

Lisa Kogan Tells All: quick, name the most awful thing you ever did! Our columnist confesses a sin that led to her cousin's worst hair day--ever. But don't try to guilt her ... she'll do it herself.(Column)
July 1, 2007... HOW LONG HAVE YOU AND I KNOWN each other? Well, by my calculations we go back 13, maybe 14 columns now. This can mean only one thing: It's time for the monkey story. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There are those who will suggest that even to...

July!
July 1, 2007... IF YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO--(fill in the blank), or wish you had the guts to--(this one, too), our burning question this month is: What's stopping you? In your work life, social life, love life, sex life, it's time to say goodbye to...

The cure for self-consciousness: it's one word--one little word--but it has revelatory power. Martha Beck spells it out for you.(Inhibited?)
July 1, 2007... IT'S CALLED THE SPOTLIGHT EFFECT: That exposed, vulnerable, all-eyes-are-on-you feeling. If you've ever clammed up at a meeting (because what if they hate your idea?) or sat out a dance (what if you look like a fool?) or changed into your gym...

Relax .... you ... are ... getting ... bolder! Beverly Donofrio was shy, mute at parties, and thought talking to strangers was a good way to ruin an evening. Then she had a session with a hypnotist, and she'll tell you all about it once she gets the lamp shade off her head.(Inhibited?)
July 1, 2007... A few years ago, when I complained to my latest, greatest, and now past therapist that I didn't want to go to some party I was invited to, I'd be bored, have nothing to say to people--whom I wouldn't like and who wouldn't like me--she pinned me...

Baby steps, ole: how our dance-phobic beauty director went from I'll-look-ridiculous to "ay, chica!" Rule #1: don't "think." Valerie Monroe sheds her last inhibition.
July 1, 2007... Just over a year ago, I wrote a story here examining how it felt to go out in public wearing the kind of extremely revealing clothing that was being touted as the height of fashion (and why a woman might choose to expose herself in it). For a...

Liquid confidence: need a drink to loosen up? Maybe not. New research has found other, better ways to drown your inhibitions.(Inhibited?)
July 1, 2007... NEARLY EVERYONE HAS TAKEN a stiff belt to shake inhibition. Whether you're mustering the courage to cut loose on the dance floor, approach someone gorgeous, or make a point at a dinner party, a glass of wine can loosen lips and hips while...

The birds, the bees, and the makeup brush: you've never read a manual as warm, friendly, liberating, thorough (846 pages), and potentially sex-life-changing as the Guide to Getting It On! Neither had anyone in our office--which may be why our copies keep disappearing. Liz Brody has a frank conversation with author Paul Joannides.(Inhibited?)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... O: What do you say when you're at a cocktail party and someone asks, "So what do you do?" PAUL: I usually say I'm a publisher or an author--"psychoanalyst" tends to make people just as uncomfortable as telling them you're a sex book...

Don't do it in the dark! Lights on, clothes off-for Sarah Broom, that's the best practice for risk-taking, forgiveness, passion.(Inhibited?)
July 1, 2007... And so it came as a shock to me. I'd gotten ready for bed and stood stark naked in front of the man with whom I had undressed. We went tit for tat--he removed his shirt, then I removed mine, lest either of us feel the need to outdo the other. I...

The sense of being stared at: the world-famous 87-year-old architect sketched unclothed 20-somethings. So why did 62-year-old Margie Goldsmith go halfway across the country to subject herself to his analytical eye? She can explain.(Inhibited?)
July 1, 2007... May I have the privilege of kissing your nipples?" Paolo Soleri asked as I lay sprawled naked on his bed. I could feel myself turn crimson. What was I doing here? Why hadn't I listened to my friends who wondered why I'd model naked for an...

Naked and laughing: if you feel self-conscious without clothes, says Amy Bloom, let a smile be your sarong.(Inhibited?)
July 1, 2007... The first time I really thought about nakedness, about my own naked body in particular, about the fact that animals were always naked, and people almost never were, I was in my neighbor's swimming pool. I was around 8 and the older kids had...

The nude attitude: Laure Redmond tells Deborah Way why life is so much better for women who feel good naked--and how you can join their ranks. (No weight loss necessary, we promise.).(Inhibited?)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... For years Laure Redmond hated her body: too fat, too freckled, too lumpy, too stumpy. And that hatred was like a set of shackles holding her back from life. Now a self-esteem coach who specializes in mind/body issues, Redmond has made a career...

Eyes wide open: what kind of woman watches porn--and likes it? You might be surprised. Violet Blue reports on the pleasures of pressing Play.(Inhibited?)
July 1, 2007... Personally, I like my pizza deliveryman to do one thing: bring me my dinner. But mention this guy to a group of women, and, while most of us will think of cheesy pies with tomato sauce, a good number of us will conjure up that hilariously bad...

Breathing space.
July 1, 2007... HILLSIDE MONTANA, MIDAFTERNOON NEAR DILLON, MONTANA Photograph by Michael Eastman

The miracle worker: we're smitten with bitten, Sarah Jessica Parker's cute, sexy, classic clothing line--and even crazier about the democratic sizes (2-22) and unbelievable prices (nothing over $19.98!).(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... NO PRIMA DONNA: THERE isn't a snobbish bone in Sarah Jessica Parker's (amazingly lithe and tiny) body. Despite her fashionista turn on Sex and the City, in real life she spends ten minutes in the morning to get ready to take her son to school;...

Melons: the inside scoop: of course, you can just chill, slice, and serve (aah!). But why deprive yourself of fragrant honeydew and coconut milk soup? Or the tangy surprise of grilled watermelon and shrimp? Or the utter refreshment of a frosty melon and vodka cocktail? Celia Barbour is here with some of the coolest recipes you'll ever try (none of which, we're happy to say, you need break a sweat over).
July 1, 2007... SURE, A MELON MAY LOOK LIKE NATURE'S ANSWER TO THE VOLleyball. But beneath its tough shell lies a surprisingly sensitive fruit, made up of thousands of fragile, balloonlike cells plumped to near bursting with fragrant juice. Melon flesh is 90...

Beauty upkeep: the Ellen Barkin plan: it's not botox and surgery. But it's not just soap and water, either. Ellen Barkin, currently starring in Ocean's Thirteen explains what she does to stay looking so good. (Fair warning: some of it hurts.) Valerie Monroe reports.
July 1, 2007... ELLEN BARKIN, 53, ON SET AT A PHOTO SHOOT, IS STARING at her very glamorous, very beautiful reflection. "It's hard to look at myself," she says for the third or fourth time. "Women of a certain age..." [paragraph] "Stop saying that!" cries...

For the love of Africa: Sveva Gallmann outwits lions, drinks goat's blood, drives like James Bond, dresses like Isadora Duncan, and has thrown herself into preserving Kenya's cultural riches, developing its natural medicines, and--her newest job--brokering peace between two warring tribes. Rosemary Mahoney stands back in wonder.(PHENOMENAL WOMAN)
July 1, 2007... SVEVA GALLMANN STOOD BEFORE A MICROPHONE, HER blonde hair gathered loosely in a ponytail, her serious blue eyes steadily scanning the auditorium at the New-York Historical Society. She began her speech in Samburu, a language so unfamiliar to...

A mighty windbreaker: these stylish shells go anywhere you need to go--on warm, wet days and cool, dry nights.(FASHION)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... BRIGHT RIPSTOP nylon windbreaker with hidden hood stuffs neatly inside its own pocket. L.L. BEAN, $30; 800-809-7057. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TISSUE-THIN--but sturdy--water-resistant nylon is tailored for a woman's body. PATAGONIA, $125;...

6 ways to beat the limp, frizzy, beached-out summer hair blues.(BEAUTY)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Dealing with my curls in summer tends to make me a head case. Fortunately, I had a chance to see celebrity stylist Frank Galasso for some help: Heat, salt water, and chlorine were drying out my hair, making it flat and full of static; on wet...

The inside scoop: seven heavenly summertime dishes: a watermelon and watercress salad, tangy cantaloupe pops, spicy shrimp with grilled watermelon slices, and more ... (for story see page 198).(THE RECIPES)(Recipe)
July 1, 2007... Chilled Melon, Cucumber, and Coconut Milk Soup This soup works perfectly as a cooling appetizer or intermezzo to spicy or curried main dishes. If melons are out of season, or if you buy one that isn't at its peak ripeness, add 1 to 2 Tbsp....

Shop guide: (all prices are approximate).(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2007... COVER Swimsuit, Karla Colletto, $202, Intimacy; 877-224-4287. Earrings, Viv&Ingrid, $72; vivandingrid.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS P.2 On Sarah Jessica Parker: Graphic tee, Bitten, $7.98; bittensjp.com. Striped tank, Bitten, $7.98; bittensjp.com....

What I know for sure.
July 1, 2007... MANY YEARS AGO, AS A young television reporter at WJZ in Baltimore, I was given what was considered a plum assignment. I was sent to Los Angeles to interview the stars of ABC's new fall season. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At first I was...