Spring Forward
Some Oldster-adjacent content to take you through the beginning of the end of this interminable winter...
Welcome new Oldsters! FYI: I tend to read, watch, and listen to a lot of Oldster-adjacent content. Every other Friday I’ll pass some of it along to you in a Link Roundup like this one. If you like what you’re reading here, please hit the ❤️ button to give Oldster a boost in the algorithm.
Paid subscriptions keep Oldster going, and allow me to keep paying essayists and interviewers. Thanks to all who support my work here! 🙏
Neil Sedaka, Singing Craftsman of Memorable Pop Songs, Dies at 86 - Peter Applebome in The New York Times. I was a fan—love to sing “Laughter in the Rain” at karaoke. 🥲
Actor Robert Carradine, famous for ‘Lizzie McGuire’ and ‘Revenge of the Nerds,’ dies at 71 - Patrick Smith at NBC News.
I forgot to mention actor Bud Cort’s passing at 77 last time. Harold and Maude is one of my favorite movies. Time for a rewatch. - Jack Smart at People.
Hey, look, it’s me and Oldster in The New York Times. - Kasia Pilat in the NY Times Style section.
Bettye LaVette, 80 Is ‘Extremely Grateful and Extremely Pissed’ - Faran Krentcil in Ageist. Did you catch my recent interview with this soul legend/her Oldster Questionnaire from a few weeks ago?:
‘If I Can Laugh, I Can Get Through Anything’ - Liz McNeil sits down with Liza Minnelli for People. I can’t wait to get my hands on Liza’s memoir, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, out March 10th.
On her podcast, Good Hang, Amy Poehler interviews 92-year-old Carol Burnett. (h/t Lisa Marsh)
I enjoyed Paul McCartney, Man on the Run—the new documentary by Morgan Neville focused on McCartney’s post-Beatles life and career.
Vanity Fair has just published Joe Hagan’s dishy 2015 interview with Paul McCartney in two parts. Part I; Part II.
“For now, I hope other people around me can tolerate my drooping jowls, because right now I don’t want to go under the knife.” - At Bustle, Rachel Lapidos writes “Naomi Watts Doesn’t Care About Looking 25.”
The Judy Blume Book That Scandalized a Nation: “I was wild. My fantasies were wild.” - in Vulture/NYMag, an excerpt of Mark Oppenheimer’s new biography, Judy Blume: A Life, all about the drama around publishing her 1978 adult novel, Wifey.
The Benevolent Landlord of St. Marks Place: For 60 years, Charles FitzGerald has helped make the East Village an emblem of New York City’s counterculture. - Alessandra Schade in The New York Times/Real Estate.
When Do We Become Adults, Really? - Shayla Love in The New Yorker.
“An injection that blocks the activity of a protein involved in aging reverses naturally occurring cartilage loss in the knee joints of old mice, a Stanford Medicine-led study has found.” - Krista Conger at Stanford Medicine News Center. Please sign me up for these injections when they are available for humans!
Why Are So Many Women Getting ADHD Diagnoses in Midlife? - Caitlin Moscatello in The Cut/NYMag.
Super-Agers’ Brains Have a Special Ability, New Study Suggests: The findings may help explain why this group has such exceptional memory. - Dana G. Smith in The New York Times/Well
A Love Letter to Bridget, My Partner’s Wife - Deborah Copaken on cohabitating with her partner and his wife—who’s been deteriorating from Alzheimer’s for over a decade.
What I learnt in 90 minutes with Elizabeth Gilbert: Radical honesty doesn’t begin to describe it - sam baker talks with Oldster Questionnaire-taker Elizabeth Gilbert.
Help Oldster Questionnaire-taker jonathan baylis reach his Kickstarter goal for So Buttons: Who’s My Daddy & What Does He Do? the latest in his excellent comic book series.
Ten Ways to Be a Rebel After 87 - Escapades by Elaine Soloway
“I tell my kids that before mobile phones and voicemail, we had huge, clunky answering machines.” - Rob Tourtelot writes “After the Beep.”
“I’m the L.A. Doll in John Cougar Mellencamp’s ‘Small Town,’ and I Hate This Godforsaken Shithole” - Reliably hilarious satirist Lisa Borders in McSweeney’s.
When half of a couple that plans to live forever dies - a short documentary at Aeon.
Granpods gets older adults dancing, defying isolation - Maria M. Silva in The Times-Union.
Happy 75th birthday to Oldster Questionnaire-taker jerry saltz. 🎂 He and his wife, fellow art critic, Roberta Smith, will be the subjects of a Voyeur Films documentary that they’ve just finished shooting.
Hooray for Daylight Saving’s Time, coming this sunday, March 8th. Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour…
How about you? Got any recs? Books? Shows? Movies? Music? Plays? Podcasts? Art shows? Places to travel to? Restaurants? What’s good?
This should keep us all well occupied through the weekend. Thanks as always for reading, for commenting thoughtfully, and for all your support! I absolutely couldn’t keep Oldster going without you. 🙏 💝 -Sari
We loved Netflix's re-do of "Agatha's "Witness for the Prosecution." Kept our senior minds focused.
The NYT profile was so good, well done! That’s how I found you! I’m going to get the new book about the Mitford sister’s mum, Muv. Can’t wait to read it!