By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
October 27, 1998
Twiggy is still looking stylish and mod as the cover girl for the December issue of More. Aimed for women old enough to remember emulating the ’60s model, the mag is living up to its promise of “smart talk for smart women.”
The current issue includes a hilarious first-person look at entering a bodybuilding competition by 52-year-old Sherri Daley, who succinctly captures the irrational feelings you get when you’re deprived of food and forced to exercise. “I go to bed in the middle of the afternoon and cry my brains out,” she writes in the article. “When my son comes back, I am lying on my stomach with my face in the pillow thinking that when I am very thin and beautiful, everybody will be sorry. He opens my door a crack and says, `I love you, Mom.’ I tell him to go to hell. `You should have a cookie,’ he says.”
Also, “A Short History of Sex” is a good, quick read. The six writers capture the sexual mores and attitudes of going all the way from the ’40s on.
This week’s issue of Time touches on the bizarre twist in Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu’s life. The pixie has run away from home and is attempting to liberate herself from her parents, whom she accused of squandering her millions. Also, the magazine includes a touching piece on the plight of illegal immigrants in New York’s Chinatown. “The hardest thing is that I have had to make the children work,” Yu Li says in the story. “It was never this hard in China.”
The only downer is Joel Stein’s pedestrian coverage of the Yankees. “These aren’t Yankees,” he writes of the team. “These guys are likable.” Real deep.
The November issue of Esquire magazine answers the rumor as to whether Mr. Rogers is still alive. Apparently, he is, and he’s the magazine’s unlikely cover boy, sporting his trademark red cardigan and everything. That he is nice is undeniable. That he is interesting enough to merit an eight-page story is debatable. And that’s the problem with this “New American Heroes” issue. It’s generally a laborious read that is saved only by the pictures of the pretty male models. Note to all the proponents of the Just Say No campaign: A more effective way of getting your kids to stop drugging is to show them the picture of a very haggard-looking Marianne Faithfull on page 37.
Bon appetit! The November issue of Chicago includes a fun, comprehensive look at some of the area’s best cheap eats. Also, Cynthia Hanson offers a nice perspective of the highly competitive New Trier High School in Winnetka in “Pressure High.” Best line: “National Merit Scholars are made in bed, not in school. These are the children of highly intelligent, successful parents. Of course they’re going to do well.”
