What I’ve Been Reading, Watching, and Listening to…
An Oldster Magazine Friday link roundup.
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.
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“Renowned poet and Black arts movement icon Nikki Giovanni dies at 81.” - Andrew Limbong, NPR.
“The Amazing Kreskin, Master of Mind Games, Dies at 89.” - Mike Barnes at The Hollywood Reporter.
Kriskin, Inc. “Stylist and Fashion Editor Polly Mellen Dies at 100.” - Carolyn Twersky in W Magazine.
“Angela Alvarez, a Cuban-born singer and songwriter who, at age 95, became the oldest performer to win the Latin Grammy Award for best new artist, died on Friday in Baton Rouge, La., where she had settled after immigrating to the United States in the early 1960s. She was 97.” - Michael S. Rosenwald in The New York Times.
I was charmed by Netflix’s A Man on the Inside, a series starring Ted Danson as an amateur spy in an assisted living facility, with Sally Struthers in a supporting role.
“18 Life-Learnings from 18 Years of The Marginalian” - Maria Popova looks back at what she’s learned publishing her thought-provoking newsletter for nearly two decades. (It used to be called “Brain Pickings.”)
“As 100-year lifespans become more common, the time has come for a new approach to school, work, and retirement.” - at The Atlantic, Jonathan Rausch writes: “America Needs to Radically Rethink What It Means to Be Old.”
“The Breeders leader has long been one of the most enchanting and elusive figures in rock. At 63, she’s releasing her first full album under her name, filled with musical and emotional twists.” - in The New York Times, Caryn Ganz writes: “Kim Deal Is Ready to Go Solo. It Just Took 4 Decades.”
“Men over 70 are flooding back into the workforce.” - Brett Arends at Market Watch.
“Night Sweats” - at The Cut/NYMag, an interesting and varied collection of articles on peri-menopause.
“You Think PCOS [Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome] Ends in Menopause? Think Again.” - Oldster contributor Vivian Manning-Schaffel (aka
) in Oprah Daily.“Tales: Life Story Interview Kit” looks like a great intergenerational family gift, for the holidays, or at any time.
Speaking of gifts, have you perused—or contributed to—The Oldster Magazine (Crowd-Sourced) Gift Guide that lives in the comments of the post I’ve linked to right here ⬇️? It’s not too late…and there are some great suggestions.
And have you added your favorite songs of 2024 to the comments on the last Link Roundup, which I’ve linked to here? ⬇️ Modern Sounds radio host
will be considering them as he puts together a year-end, crowd-sourced edition of The Oldster Top 10 that we’ll publish on Friday, December 27th.This week last year: The singular
took The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire. ⬇️
That’s all I’ve got for now. Next week there’ll be a new Sober Oldster Q&A. I’ve also got new installments of “On the Path to 60” and “Ask the East Village Yenta” in the works. Stay tuned!
Thanks as always for reading, for commenting thoughtfully, and for all your support. 🙏 💝
-Sari
Lots of thoughts on that men-over-70-returning-to-the-workforce article. Mainly because it repeats some cliches that drive me bananas: "they are bored sitting around at home," "Twenty-five or 30 years is a long time to play golf and watch ... cable TV ...," "end up going back to work again at age 70 because we are bored out of our minds." This notion that only our day jobs are fulfilling and keeping us occupied, that without paid work we sit around staring at the walls in boredom, is ridiculous. It persists despite the fact that I don't know a single retiree who lives this way. We are all incredibly busy and occupied! Interestingly, the comments on that article also don't seem to buy into the "bored retiree" theory: they all assume that a return to paid employment is driven by the need or want for money, not the need for more to do.
If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT on HBO/Max (even though I hate those bastards for dropping the Sesame Street ball...too many swear words for that). Trailer link below. Also, the new season of Queer Eye...it's all about Jeremiah. It took me a moment to figure out who he reminded me of. He's a blonde Daniel Day-Lewis. Seriously. When he smiles, he's deep in DDL vibes...and I know the DDL smile is a rare thing. xo
https://www.hbo.com/movies/going-to-mars-the-nikki-giovanni-project