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
Looking the Wrong Way: People Determined to Make the Past the Single Measure of the Present
Joan L. Cannon writes: It's not a cop-out to look ahead and try not to be obsessed by what has gone and can't be recalled; it's a way to make a day worth living. Not many can claim to know when the last of those days will be for them. There seems something foolish about trying to move through even a day without looking ahead. I'd be afraid of running straight (perhaps fatally) into an avoidable stone wall (I live in New England) or over a cliff and losing tomorrows I don't yet want to miss. more »
European Americans Embrace Positive Feelings, While Chinese Prefer a Balance of Feelings
European Americans prefer positive feelings over negative ones while Chinese tend to experience a balance between the two, new Stanford research shows. a number of studies by other researchers have shown that people from Chinese and other East Asian cultures are more likely to feel both negative and positive – or "mixed emotions" – during good events, such as doing well on an exam. On the other hand, Americans of European descent are more likely to just feel positive during good events.
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Rabbits In Waistcoats and Playing Card Gardeners; A World of Logical Nonsense: Alice in Wonderland at the Morgan
Alice became a publishing sensation, as the combination of text and illustration brought to life a story that has endured for 150 years. Lewis Carroll's pseudonym is derived from the author's real name, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, by way of Latin: Charles >Carolus>Carroll; Lutwidge>Ludovicus>Lewis. The show includes the original manuscript of Alice as well as original correspondence, unique drawings, handcolored proofs, rare editions, vintage photographs, and important objects associated with the story — some never before exhibited. more »
Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Middle Class Economics Rewarding Hard Work by Restoring Overtime Pay
President Obama announced that the Department of Labor will propose extending overtime pay to nearly 5 million workers. The proposal would guarantee overtime pay to most salaried workers earning less than an estimated $50,440 next year. The number of workers in each state who would be affected by this proposal can be found here. more »
