19 November 2008

magazine rack reviews.

my take on a few favorite mags of the month.

hit.
oprah magazine / december 08. spiced up with fun. this issue is stuffed full of various advice, loads of holiday gift ideas (not just for the rich & famous) and good reads on making your christmas complete. plus, excellent recipes too. definitely a good one.

miss. allure / november 08. i usually dig this mag dedicated to makeup & glamour, but this month was a downer. or maybe i'm just bitter. i threw it atop the done stack once i read cover girl, eva longoria say (and i quote), i stopped working out and gained about 7 pounds.. but I'm still a size zero. 'nuff said. not something you really want to read when you're heading into thanksgiving mode: ala real butter, gravy, whipping cream, pie, etc.

for safekeeping. martha stewart living / december 08. this one had me at hello. the cover of cookies did it for me. truly, i didn't even flip it open before i bought it. of course this martha issue does not disappoint. lovely, lovely and more lovely trimmings to dream about. even though martha's budget is always a wee out of my range, i always snatch an idea or two when perusing these pages.

special mention. W / november 08. i usually forgo this oversized artsy magazine for no good reason really. perhaps it's appeal is sometimes unappealing to me. yet the november issue with angelina on the cover won me over.

it's true, i am strangely obsessed intrigued with the celeb-royalty culture we have here in America. sometimes when i notice a phenomenon like this, i tell dan, i would totally do an in depth research paper on why our culture is so crazed over people who are famous. (this would make my mom proud, since i could never think of anything good to research in high school. she would drive me to lunch and over curly fries i would complain about having nothing to write my report on. she was patient and ever full of good ideas. and now look at me. blogging about nothing, just to hear myself think. it's a bit ironic.)

i mean, really, they (celebs) are just like everybody else. yep, brad and angie are just a regular family. just a regular, really beautiful family. just a regular, really beautiful family that travels the globe and makes movies and stuff. nothing too special. just normalness thriving in a regular ol' mansion where matt damon and george clooney sometimes come to hang out. totally normal people. but i still like to read up on what they're doing, like an annual christmas card.

although it took me way too long (i missed Beyonce in InStyle and Reese in Vogue) to find the actual angelina article (it's on page 230), it was worth it. (you see, i am too stubborn to weed out the table of contents among the front ads that come at you like bullets. which is thus another reason to read a magazine from back to front. i could possibly write a good persuasive speech about this. i am a big believer. it's true, i know a lot about virtually nothing.) all i'm trying to say is that the W. article was grand but better still were the accompanying oversized artsy black and white photos. the magazine editors, genius as they are, commissioned mr. husband pitt himself to snap shots of angelina amidst their 'regular' life together. the photos are mysterious, gorgeously lit, and happy with lots of laughter. it's just an inside look to a portrait of normalness.

p.s. brad pitt is on oprah today.
not that me and benji will be watching it or anything.

moving on...
i've got something big to present to you on friday. very big. like the i can't wait big. (and it has nothing to do with celeb-royalty, i promise.) wait, actually now that i come to think of it, there might even be two big surprises come friday. hip hip.

22 comments:

Samosas for One said...

Do we equate being famous in our society with some form of external validation? Or are we intrigued with celebs because it is a magnifying glass on another person's life and their foibles, thereby allowing us to avoid ours?

christine said...

Living in London I've met many many a celeb. They are nothing like the press portrays them. Half the time they are so shy & are honestly surprised with the attention. Some are real jerks (Matthew Perry comes to mind), whilst some are the sweetest people in the world (Drew Barrymore).

They really are like us, just have really weird jobs that pay too much.

I wish anybody in that line of business happiness though--its tough having every detail of your life out there for everyone to read.

cara said...

i like this. you should review magazines more often. i always want to buy one or two (i travel for work, and the airport magazine racks call my name), but i'm always afraid that my pick with be a "miss".

molly said...

I would have to say my two favorite magazines are real simple and wondertime...oh and domino too. Okay, so I heart too many! and I am totally the same. I must read the magazine from cover to cover.

Anonymous said...

Reading about the everyday life of celebrities is a guilty pleasure of mine. (And top secret too! Don't tell my husband...) The rss feed from Celebrity Baby Blog is just below yours on my Google homepage.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Angelina phenomenon.

I'm looking forward to Friday's surprises!

The VIPs said...

love the reviews especially that Martha got a nod, I am an avid collector, pulling out all my past December issues of MSLiving for inspiration this month.

summer said...

Yay, I love surprises.
I appreciate you delving into the magazine world for us. Reading your adept evaluation makes me feel a little bit better in my current magazine-less situation.

melissa deakin said...

i am a totaly magazine junkie too.
can't get enough of them.
i could seriously buy one every day and love reading it.
a really good one that just arrived at my door was the December issue of Country Living...really great holiday ideas!

KJ said...

husband teases me for reading magazines back to front. Love my Real Simple every month.

Anonymous said...

I love when you think!! I love to read all your "blogging about nothing, just to hear myself think" It keeps me inspired!!

Anonymous said...

Jake and I will be glued to Oprah today! Can't Wait.

The White House said...

I love your love for celeb gossip, and i am sad to say that i am SO out of the loop without you filling me in!
You are so cute mart... i love it!

Kerry said...

I thought the exact same thing while reading Allure's Eva Longoria ad. Oh pul-leeze.

I'm a bigger fan of Self magazine.

Candis Ellis said...

Hi Marta,
I recently started to read your blog and i just LOVE it!! You are so absolutely talented and {don't think I am strange for saying this} I really think that if we met in real life we would likely be instant old friends :) I too am a little 'intrigued' by celebs, but try to keep it under wraps, haha!

Anyway, I find myself saying 'word' a lot when I read your blog, and it always makes me happy!

I would love it if you have time to look at my little family blog...jakeandcandis.blogspot.com.

all over the map said...

looking forward to your big reveal.
you never disappoint.

Anonymous said...

An especially great article in December OPRAH is her interview with Daniel Pink about the glories of right brain thinking and how it can change the world. Yay!

Dansie Family said...

i saw martha at the store today and may have bought it if i wasn't busy trying to hold onto a squirming, screaming redhead who had just been retrieved from outside where he snuck through the power door with two pair of stolen sunglasses and bare feet while big bro and sis were supposed to be watching him while i paid for the groceries. oh well maybe next time.

Travelin'Oma said...

I ranted and raved about how over celebrated Brangelina is, and come on, tons of people have lots of kids (me for instance) and we were never famous and worshipped. It might be because we were married. If we weren't and we were having a love-child every other year it might have sounded trendy instead of just old-fashioned. Anyway, setting my DVR to record Brad both excites and disgusts me. I'm fascinated I guess.

Saucy said...

I love your magazine reviews they are timely and helpful, and in this economy I have scaled back from my regular ten mags a month to just two or three... if that.

Your celeb theory intrigues me. I am also a little fascinated but feel guilty when I realize I am. I do refuse to buy celeb mag, though... I have to draw the line!

My name is Vanessa Rae said...

I think that if you grew up watching their movies and listening to their music you can't help but be intrigued by way they go about their real lives. It's like in Mrs. Potter's Lullaby by the Counting Crows...
"Well I know I don't know you and you're probably not what you seem / Aw, but I'd sure like to find out
So why don't you climb down off that movie screen". I can't help but sing along to that part because it's so true, at least for me anyway. Looking forward to Friday's post!

Unknown said...

Looks like I'm the only one who is NOT impressed by celebrities. I don't care what they wear, what they do, or what they think. All I want them to do is act or sing or whatever their job is. I will purposely not buy a magazine if a celebrity is on the cover. And Oprah, please! She's gotten entirely too full of herself.

P.S. said...

I read them back to front as well! I thought I was the only one-so glad to hear you are on my side!
I LOVE LOVE LOVED the pics Brad took. i had to take a double take when it said he had taken them. I mean the pic of Angelina's leg and her daughter in high heels and the big hat-I may have to replicate that with Elle and I...okay minus my leg it could never even come close.

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