As an old person, I would like to hear from other old people about stuff - let’s make this apparently abandoned lemmy community lively and fun.
I am a ‘boomer’ (according to USA culture) in my society (UK) I am just ‘old’.
According to typical profile of ‘boomers’ by non-boomers we are scum of the earth and spawn of Satan. I am not sure its true but I am intrigued enough to wanna try it!
Here’s my profile: UK citizen, born early 1960s (‘late boomer’), feminist, socialist, environmentalist, vegetarian, and atheist - in all of that stuff was typically the only one in my family/school/community so I was a pioneer/lonely kid. I grew up weird and indefatigable and incorrigible - just like a battleship (a navy joke).
Grew up in poverty. First in my family to go to university - a posh one, had a scholarship, made friends who went on to rule the world (knew future Empress of Japan, knew Prime Ministers, ambassadors, popes, CEOs - all sorts). If you read this, you’re one or two persons away from all the world’s elite. No, I am not elite or rich, sorry, no begging letters please. I worked mainly in STEM but stayed interested in arts and humanities. I am still a Leftist and have gotten Lefter as I got older. I am now retired. Still waiting for the revolution.
Fellow oldies, please introduce yourself, if we hate each other’s politics maybe we can bond over sharing anecdotes about our haemorrhoids?
Let’s be old and loud and make our presence felt - in a good way. If you’re over fifty or feel like it, I invite you to make this your home from home!
Good evening!
DARK is a Netflix original show, so one can’t buy the DVD, sadly. The only spoiler I’d give you is that it’s a German time travel show, only 26 episodes long, and simply the best thing I’ve ever seen on telly. The plot is riveting, the acting and casting superb and the soundtrack is my go-to playlist. We watched it with English dubbing as my wife is dyslexic and hates subtitles. If you can find someone with a Netflix login and a spare TV, I’d heartily recommend it!
I read Julian May’s ‘Saga of Pliocene Exile’ and her linked ‘Galactic Milieu’ series in the '90s and loved them, but quickly moved on to other novels. When we were visiting the States for a friend’s wedding in 2016, we found ourselves very near the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire, which is a major location for the books in the GM series, so we diverted there and I spent several hours roaming around the hotel. It re-sparked my interest in the novels so I re-read them and even ran a Twitter feed for 18 months, telling the SPE story on a day-by-day basis. I ended up with nearly 30 followers! 😁 I also love Terry Pratchett, as well as Douglas Adams and my all-time favourite, Roger Zelazny. (My grandsons - who I don’t get to see - are named after two characters in Roger’s ‘Amber’ series of books.) I don’t watch terrestrial telly but still stream series I like. I’ve never got into podcasts but I do love YouTube!
Titanic … where to start? As a teenager, I read Clive Cussler’s ‘Raise The Titanic’ which got me into the story. I then discovered other less famous wrecks, such as the Empress of Ireland, the Morrow Castle and the Britannic (Titanic’s second sister). However, it’s the Titanic that still grabs me the most. She took nearly 3 hours to sink and went down with minimal listing; this allowed many cameos to be played out, showing the full range of human emotions: bravery, sacrifice, cowardice and stupidity amongst others. The setting and time frame allows us to ponder how we would have behaved in that situation. There is still so much to learn about the ship itself as well: we still don’t know if her centre propeller had 3 or 4 blades; what was the true identity of the ‘mystery ship’ that ignored her calls for help; exactly how did the collision (technically an allision) occur and what is the true extent of the damage, now hidden below the sea bed. All of this on top of her stellar passenger list, the technological marvel of the ship itself, the ridiculous weather that night … I could, of course, go on. I hope this gives you a taste! If you wanted a really good book that explores the story in depth, I’d recommend ‘Report Into the Loss of the SS Titanic - A Centennial Reappraisal’ by Sam Halpern and others.
We may only get one life but I am ambivalent about losing our experiences when we die. Rarely do I see the younger generations refer to their elders’ experience, assuming we are all outdated and have nothing to offer. And truly I feel my brain is getting full … I’m not sure I can fit many more experiences in! As I age, I feel more and more useless to those around me and I doubt I’ll be terribly sad when my time comes. I just hope my wife dies first so she doesn’t have to be alone. If I were god, I’d ensure that couples die simultaneously.