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
Politics and the Dancing Body: Haitian voodoo ritual and 'a guitar that kills Fascists'
Through the medium of dance, 20th-century American choreographers created dances that reflected the diverse spectrum of cultural expression. They were not afraid to craft political dances that protested injustices or advocated reform. more »
Shopping, Garden and Footwear: For the Love of an Astrantia
Tam Gray writes, '"The flowers bloom like tiny enchanting fireworks: a star burst of bracts surround the spray of small flowers and splashy groups of buds shoot out from branched stems like the finale on the Fourth of July". The flip flops? Wearing the astrantia blooms on my feet is quite another pleasure.' " more »
A Philadelphia Family's Titanic History and the Fate of the RMS Titanic Pets
J. Joseph Edgette’s research has primarily focused on Philadelphians who were on the cruise, such as the Widener family for whom Widener University is named. He said he was touched and intrigued by the dogs that were on the cruise; there were twelve dogs on the Titanic and only three survived more »
Life Expectancy and the Long Hot Summer
New research from Harvard School of Public Health suggests that seemingly small changes in summer temperature swings — as little as 1°C more than usual—may shorten life expectancy for elderly people with chronic medical conditions, and could result in thousands of additional deaths each year more »
