This past weekend, our own Jessica Grose explored (again!) the world of consumer brand dedication with Living Oprah blogger Robyn Okrant. Though Okrant seems aware of the absurdity of her experiment, she does eventually fall prey to the seductive world of O's special type of branding. Okrant's husband observes that she has started to compare herself to people on TV and has started to worry about being "shlumpy," the subject of an Oprah episode earlier this year. While Okrant may or may not be damaging her own self-confidence by following the Oprah gospel, it is an interesting exploration of what happens when we follow the advice of magazines and TV personalities. [NY Times]