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
Stories of Service: Debt of Honor on PBS, November 10
"There is a real necessity to bridge the gap between civilians and those who have served in the military. It is our hope that the film will encourage a candid discussion in communities across the country, and create understanding and awareness of the sacrifices involved in military service," says Ric Burns, director of the film. more »
Why Individuals Tend to Be Paired with Partners Who Have Similar Physical, Behavioral and Psychological Characteristics
Partners who become romantically involved soon after meeting tend to be more similar in physical attractiveness than partners who get together after knowing each other for a while. The level of match on attractiveness was not associated with relationship satisfaction for either men or women in a study. Both friends-first and stranger-first relationships seem approximately equally happy years later. more »
Capitalist Culture in Bond Film Songs: Representations of Greed, Lust, Luxurious Lifestyles and Shaken Martinis
Stanford professor Kronengold says five decades of music makes the Bond canon "an interesting target for humanistic inquiry." He says the odd allure of the Bond music is that it maintains an underlying sameness "in an age when everything is changing faster than you can imagine." (That and stars such as Daniel Craig and Sean Connery, also known for their allure.) more »
Where is The Good Life? A Well-Being Scale Includes Cost of Housing, Life Expectancy, Time Off From Work
What makes a good life? Usually this question is in the domain of priests, philosophers and metaphysicians but the OECD, a think tank consisting of 34 mostly rich countries, sought to find the answers with data. People's well-being is higher in Northern European countries, such as Norway and Iceland, both which score high in terms of employment and job security, as well as environmental factors.
What makes a good life? Usually this question is in the domain of priests, philosophers and metaphysicians, but the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),… more »
