Vanity Fair Nov-14

1 Annie Leibovitz The first time contributing photographer Annie Leibovitz shot Microsoft founder Bill Gates was in the 1980s. “He would keep wandering of to be with his computer, which was still something of a novelty to me,” says Leibovitz, who photographed Gates again—this time with newly appointed Microsoft C.E.O. Satya Nadella—for “The Empire Reboots” (page 162). “Bill and Satya were so engrossed with one another that they hardly noticed I was there. They had a meeting.” 2 Sam Kashner In interviewing Jennifer Lawrence for “Both Huntress and Prey” (page 154), contributing editor Sam Kashner knew to expect her charmingly forthright persona. But following the theft of nude photos of the actor last month, Kashner saw another, lesser-known side. “As outspoken and irreverent as she is, she is protective of…

For a while now, the conventional wisdom in Silicon Valley has been that Microsoft has lost “relevance”—perhaps the most withering indictment a tech company can sufer. The software giant still generates substantial profts and employs more than 100,000 people, but because its main business is essentially to service the computer needs of corporations, it’s beginning to have the earmarks of a utility. Microsoft missed the smartphone and tablet revolutions. And its attempts at innovation, such as the Bing search engine and Zune music player, failed to ignite the imaginations of frst or even second adopters. Fourteen years ago, Microsoft was the salted nut at the cocktail party—and Wall Street judged it to be the most valuable company on earth. This year it ranks fourth, behind Apple, ExxonMobil, and Google. The…

We Americans have so much to be grateful for, starting, maybe, with God and ibuprofen. God runs away with the credit for our good health (if we have it), easily oulpolling lifestyle choices, genes, and doctors—the last by 56 percent to 4 percent. In the South, it’s God 70 percent, doctors 2 percent. (The matter of blame for bad health was not explored.) And more than half of us named aspirin/ibuprofen as the medication we’re most thankful for. An encouraging 82 percent of Americans feel that a handwritten thank-you note is (still) an important habit for young people to learn. Most of us reading this probably wonder why we know only the 14 percent who dismiss it as "an outdated and unnecessary gesture." Would that 82 percent take pen to…

Thanks for another lush cover and great issue, particularly the feature on “Wearing Out the Carpet” [by James Wolcott, September]. Awards season used to be my favorite holiday—all the pretty dresses! But of late, I too have been left feeling empty by the parade of desiccated fembots wheeled out in aspirational haute couture. I’m certainly not buying it, or a strapless sequined mermaid dress either. So imagine my surprise when in the very same breath Vanity Fair took a potshot at one of the only female stars out there who seem to have any blood left in their veins [“The Impossible Interview”]. Imagine the feeding frenzy at the Oscars if someone dared to throw a steak down in front of those women. Jennifer Lawrence would be the only one not…

APOLIS California natives Raan and Shea Parton, aged 32 and 30 respectively, opened their lifestyle boutique, Apolis (Greek for “global citizen”), seven years ago in a burgeoning area of downtown Los Angeles referred to as the arts district. “It feels like a really small town in a big city,” says Shea. “It’s within a 10-mile radius of our many L.A. manufacturers.” Apolis adopted the “advocacy through industry” initiative and sells only items made in the U.S.A. or by one of their 10 trade partners from around the world. This is best exemplified through their popular “Market Bag.” Production of the tote in Bangladesh provides the local women with jobs and supports the small rural area of Saidpur—aligning commerce with economic development. The store also carries a wide range of home…

This month, Cecilia Dean and James Kaliardos—who, along with Stephen Gan, co-founded the art-and-fashion publication Visionaire—debut their latest issue, in collaboration with conceptual artist John Baldessari. Available in three editions (Red, Green, and Blue), “Visionaire 64 Art” features a selection of black-and-white self-portraits of famous faces—from superstars Lupita Nyong’o and Drew Barrymore to supermodels Gisele Bündchen and Karlie Kloss—altered with embossed shapes and colors by Baldessari. (visionaireworld.com)…