Glamour – Jan 2008

The Cover

I always think it’s kind of weird/funny that they send out the magazines 2 weeks, sometimes closer to a MONTH before they’re even supposed to come out. It’s the 13th of Dec now, and it’s like I’m reading about the future, except it was written, put together and published probably another month ago.This issue looks particularly unappetizing, it’s got a cupcake-dressed Carrie Underwood on the cover (Why, I ask? “Because she wants men to lick off her frosting…?” Oh, boyfriend. Perhaps.), a mention of “happy weight” instead of “diet” and then the usual 365 makeup tips – “Look a little more gorgeous every day this year.” This is one of the times that if I didn’t get these things in the mail, I would never even pick them up.

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Contest Ad

The ads go on for a while, but one seems worthy enough to take note of – a Tommy Hilfiger contest, where you attempt to “realize a dream,” accomplish something you’ve been wanting to do your whole life, and if they like it enough, they’ll”make your dream come true” AND “transform it into a riveting documentary film about you.” You have to enter by January4th, but hey, you never know. You enter here. Good luck.

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Pictures! Yay! – pgs 24 +25

There’s a spread of photos from Glamour’s Women of the Year Gala, referencing the 14 women they recognised in last month’s issue for having done amazing things – I’ll try and write about that issue at some point, it was a good one.

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Microloans and Natalie Portman – pg 32

Next is a short bit about Natalie Portman and microloans – literally, $50-$100 that is given to typically a woman to start her own business in her very impoverished location, that she (or they) repay with the success of said business. This article spotlights $50 loans fed through the nonprofit Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), and how Portman became FINCA’s Ambassador of Hope (???) and talked her other celebrity friends into supporting this organization (e.g. Norah Jones contributing song tracks to an iTunes charity album). If you’re interested in this specific organization, and microfinance in general, the Wikipedia article on it is excellent. There was a good Jane or Marie Claire a few months back that had all these models and their pet causes, and for all that it still came off as kind of consumerist, it was still really neat to see. I think it is important for celebrities to lend their names and influence to organizations that need it; if you have the power to do some good, I think you should. EBay is also starting a similar program, a friend of mine has been trying to work on the program for a while, so he was right on the ball when it went public just a few months ago. The site is MicroPlace, and it has an extra section for more resources, mostly books, but some websites and news articles. The only barrier I found for investing with MicroPlace is the $100 minimum first investment, but then again, I wouldn’t drink Starbucks coffee all the time if I didn’t work there, so my point of view is a little skewed.

More fun stuff and pictures later!

EDIT: I just found out about another microfinance site, Kiva.org, and this one looks like the minimum investment is $25, which you can give through your credit card. Check it out!