The Every-Other-Friday(ish) Link Roundup
Some Oldster-adjacent brain candy to occupy you this weekend, and maybe even beyond...
I tend to read, watch, and listen to a lot of Oldster-adjacent content. Every other Friday (or so) 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.
(This one is a little shorter than usual, as I am visiting my mom this week for her birthday.)
A tremendous amount of work goes into publishing Oldster—mine, and that of my contributors. Paid subscriptions keep Oldster going, and allow me to keep paying essayists and interviewers. Thanks to all who support my work here! 🙏
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Artist Betye Saar, who used repurposed objects to reclaim identity, has died at 99 - Chloe Veltman in NPR.
7 of Betye Saar’s Most Important Works - Carolina A. Miranda in The New York Times.
‘Once’ Oscar winner and Irish musician Glen Hansard dies in motorcycle crash - Jill Lawless in the Associated Press. Damn, Hansard was just 56. He was also known for his role as a guitar player in 1991’s The Commitments.
Gosh, I loved the movie, Once, and the theme song, “Falling Slowly,” which Hansard performed with his costar, Markéta Irglová. Time for a rewatch.
What Octogenarian Pop Divas Show Us About a Life Well-Lived - this week’s Oldster Questionnaire subject Debbie Millman on Cher, Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, and Dionne Warwick, in Time.
In case you missed Debbie’s wonderful responses to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire:
Help! I need a new show to binge. In the meantime, I found Ride or Die—with Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, and Bill Nighy—to be funny and watchable, if a little violent for me. Waddingham’s assassin character is in danger of losing her job because, at 50, her bosses think she might be losing her touch. Even assassins are subject to age discrimination. Who knew?
Speaking of turning 50… Jane Green: ‘I woke up on my 50th birthday and thought, I have no idea who I am any more’ - sam baker in The Shift.
Another 2007 film I might rewatch, in the absence of some new binge-able show: This week someone reminded me of Marion Cotilliard’s brilliant performance in La Vie En Rose, the Edith Piaf biopic.
A Conversation with Kathryn Grody - Oldster Questionnaire-taker Kevin Sessums sits down with the actor, writer, and podcaster.
Lectures on Tap: “Trump and the Fall of Republican Leadership” - catch my smart, funny political scientist cousin Seth Masket at a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn next Tuesday, August 4th from 6:30-8:30. It’s part of the tour for his new book, The Elephants in the Room: How Trump Voters Seized the Party from Republican Leaders.
The Godfather of Tiny Homes - Oldster Questionnaire-taker Lloyd Kahn in the Portraits of Another Life video series.
Cold Peach Cucumber Soup. A Very Luxe Cheese Toast. - Yum. Emily Nunn in The Department of Salad.
What Our Views of the Elderly Reveal About Our Culture - in Literary Hub, Lucy Schiller Considers American Attitudes Towards Aging Alongside Her Own (h/t Michael A. Gonzales)
President/Bookfluencer Barack Obama’s summer reading list:
Need mid-life women’s fashion advice? Ask Kim France and maybe she’ll tackle it in her NYMag/Strategist column.
My Madonna-Byrd Complex: One Fought Time. One Didn’t - Blair Glaser in Provoked Magazine.
Why Do Some Dementia Patients ‘Return’ Just Before They Die? - Billy Brennan in The New York times
The vast majority of [ovarian cancer] cases begin in the fallopian tubes — and removing them can reduce the risk by nearly 80 percent. - Gina Kolata in The New York Times. I am so glad I ditched mine.
Woman Starts Law School at 47 Despite Feeling ‘Too Old.’ Over 10 Years Later, She Now Leads Her Own All-Women Firm - Meredith Wilshere in People.
How about you? Got any recs? Books? Shows? Movies? Music? Plays? Podcasts? Art shows? Places to travel to? Restaurants? Remedies? What’s good?
Hopefully that’s enough Oldster-adjacent content here to keep us all occupied through the weekend. If you like what you’re reading here, please hit the ❤️ button to give Oldster a boost in the algorithm.
Thanks as always for reading and commenting thoughtfully, and for all your support! I really couldn’t do this without you. 🙏 💝
-Sari
Wow. Given my family's experience with varying forms of dementia (my remaining sister is in memory care with advanced AD), the article you linked to about terminal lucidity had me riveted. Thank you for pointing me to it!
You might like to bookmark the new Netflix drama 'My Brilliant Career" . There's a trailer link below, it looks to be a good remake of the much-loved classic Australian novel of the same name. The plot (briefly), Young woman wants to be a writer but faces prejudice and all the difficulties, it's a story of self-belief and of chasing your dreams against the odds. (Beautifully photographed in my home state, just a bit biased, but I think you'll love it. Link below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoPbcfUmMYw