Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
Swedish Design, Color and Comfort: Furniture, Glass, Textiles and Ceramics by Swedish Designers From the Late 1920s to the Early 1960s
In Sweden the push toward simple, economical living attracted young artisans eager to revolutionize the home furnishings industry. In the early 1930s one such émigré was architect and designer Josef Frank, who left Austria as the persecution of Jews mounted. Typical of industrial designers of that era, Frank worked in several sectors of the furnishings industry, designing furniture and textiles for multiple companies. His influential work included brightly colored, naturalistic patterns based on botanical prints by 18th-century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. Moved by the beauty and detail of these prints, Frank used them to decoupage the outside of cabinets and as inspiration for his own textile patterns. more »
Living Longer, Too? Native-born Californians Who Live Near Large Immigrant Populations Eat Healthier Foods
The authors analyzed data from the Los Angeles County Health Survey with a focus on two specific health behaviors — eating at fast-food restaurants more than once a week and eating five or more servings of fruit and vegetables daily. For the purposes of the survey, an apple is used as a reference point for a serving of fruit, and a handful of broccoli or a cup of cut carrots are used as references for a serving of vegetables. The researchers analyzed 4,244 responses from both immigrants and native-born Americans regarding fast-food consumption. They analyzed 9,166 responses to the fruit-and-vegetable-intake question.
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Lisa Bronner: Five Life Habits for Healthy Skin - The Foundation of Healthy Skin Begins with Habits That May Appear Unconnected
There’s a kind of desperation that surfaces in the skincare aisle, when you’re looking for that for that one product which will perfect tired, dreary, misanthropic skin. However, if you don’t have these skincare basics in place, you’ll be disappointed — no matter how much money or magic you spend in the beauty aisle. You may even find that with these five steps, pricey products will be unnecessary. Nothing I’m about to say here is fancy or new. Sometimes in our pursuit of perfection, we forget to start with the basics. more »
Data Note: A Look At Swing Voters Leading Up To The 2020 Election
The latest analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, in collaboration with the Cook Political Report, finds that while a large share of voters are already firm about how they plan to vote in the 2020 presidential election (63%), there is a still a substantial share (30%) who say they have not made their minds up. With three in ten votes still up for grabs, this data note examines the demographics of swing voters: those who either report that they are undecided about their vote in 2020 or are leaning towards a candidate but haven’t made up their minds yet. It also explores the policy issues that could swing these voters to vote for either President Trump or the Democratic nominee. more »
