Rate of Change

 

I have found myself thinking a lot about yesterday's (Sep 16) post.

I was born in the late 1940s, one of the early Baby Boomers.

The world began changing fairly rapidly with the Industrial Revolution  and the rate of change has only accelerated since then.  I think though that the changes since 1950 have been in many ways staggering.  I don't think humans have ever before had to deal with this much newness happening so quickly.

There were major events in this period, assassinations, wars, uprisings, mass deaths, AIDS, Covid, a devastating tsunami but these are things that humans have always had to cope with. But I''m thinking of technological and scientific things, and some sweeping social movements such as Civil Rights, The Women's Movement, The Gay Movement - not necessarily new ideas but in this period leading to major changes in society.

-When I was very young, in the summers I was not allowed to go swimming or even play with other children- the fear was exposure to polio.  I clearly remember the release of the two polio vaccines.

-There was also the fear of a nuclear war - the first time when humans were realistically capable of of actually destroying the world - if not the physical planet then at least wiping out humans.

-Sputnik, humans in space and landing on the moon, landers on Mars and other places, Voyagers, a flyby of Pluto, the space station, GPS.

-Colour TV, cable TV, VHS and Beta (being able to watch a movie when you chose instead of hoping a favourite would maybe show up on the late show), 33 1/3 LPs, CDs, DVDs, streaming services. Microwave ovens!

-Computers not just in government, universities and large corporations but in small businesses and then in homes and laptops and cell phones and now in just about everything - cars, appliances, doorbells.

-I went to university in the late 60s and early 70s - calculations were done on paper using slide rules and log tables.  Early calculators were forbidden in exam rooms.

-The Internet.  This still amazes me at times.  I lived in the age where you were lucky if you had a home encyclopedia- otherwise you went to the library.  Now if you and your friends have a question while at dinner you use your phone to find the answer in seconds.  Bills paid, forms filed, online ordering, social media.  AI.

-Genetics.  DNA, the triplet code, the Human Genome Project, gene editing, new insights into disease.

-Medicine. Lens implants to replace cataracts, laparoscopic surgeries, a huge number of new drugs.  Vaccines for flu, and Covid, and shingles, and pneumonia etc.  New cancer treatments. 

These are huge changes and they have happened very quickly.  Young people now have never known a world without computers or instant access to friends and information and entertainment.

So I think old people like me who are somewhat turning away from "the new" are not doing so just because of their age but also because they are worn out coping with rapid (and accelerating) change.

People growing up in this world have always lived with rapid change. They expect it.  Perhaps their brains are wired differently than those of we Boomers because of it.

Avoiding The New

 

I have noticed for a while that I have been avoiding or not finishing new content on my Netflix, BritBox etc.  I find myself watching and enjoying older programs that I have seen in the past - sometimes I remember them well, sometimes vaguely, sometimes not at all.  I imagine this is just another facet of growing old, and I'm not alone.  On my social media feeds content comes up from other aging people and it seems this is not an uncommon phenomenon.   

Someone commented today that. watching the Emmys, they didn't recognize any of the new, young actors and programs and that they had no intention of trying to correct that.

I wonder if this is just not wanting to deal with the "new" in old(er) age or if it is just not liking the content that is being produced.

I'm able to access Kanopy (thank you Toronto Public Library!) and it has a wonderful collection of classic films.  Many are "foreign" films that I didn't see when they were new (and I was young) and I'm enjoying seeing them now.  I don't necessarily understand them the first time through but the internet (something new that I do love) lets me track down reviews and opinions without having to leave home.

And there's Tubi.  They have so much content.  Lately I've been watching films with Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Norma Shearer.  Science fiction - good and bad.  Barbara Steele in those wonderful gothic tales she led. There's so much to choose from, from the entirety of film history.  I'm happy to watch ads in exchange for all they're providing.  

I'm finding a bit of the same thing with books - not as pronounced - but there are some new books that get really good reviews that I don't relate to at all. But there are still new books with rave reviews that fully deserve them.  

Nothing of course can be done about the fact that I am old and feel the limit of time I may have left.  So much to read. So much to watch.

Movie: Cinema Paradiso. (1988)

 

I'll start right off by saying that this to me is a perfect movie. I have thought that since the first time I saw it in the theatre.                  

The score by Ennio Morricone is exactly right for the film.  I just have to think about it and I can hear it in my head.

The story, the cast, the cinematography, the costumes - it all just works.  It's gentle and tender and nostalgic but never maudlin.

There are two versions available on disc - 124 minutes and 174 minutes.  I was looking forward to seeing the longer version when it became available but now I'm rather sorry I ever saw it.

In the 124 minute version there is much that is never resolved and that to me is part of what makes the film so wonderful - it feels so real because there are things in everyone's life that are never fully explained or understood.  That is why the scenes when Salvatore returns to his hometown are so deeply toughing.

In the 174 minute version all is explained and resolved and made concrete and I do my best to block all that out when I watch or even think about the film.

Two Movies Based on Andy Wier Books

 

Project Hail Mary (2026)

This movie was a hit and deservedly so.  It's fun, moving, Ryan Gosling is affable, Rocky was pretty believable, the special effects were good.  But for me something felt off.  Some scenes felt awkward and unfinished.  It was a very long movie.  I did enjoy watching it and I know the critics and public loved it.  But in the end I was left feeling that there was something lacking.  As though there should have more to it.  For me the book was far better than the movie.

The Martian (2015)

This movie was also a hit but for me it was a much better film.  I just found it more satisfying.  Perhaps it's just that it felt like a film for adults whereas Project Hail Mary felt like more of a family film.  In this case the movie was just as good as the book - not better, but just as good.

Retirement

 

I've been following a chap on Substack who has been writing about his experience of retirement.   He was someone who had left a position of authority and responsibility and was initially having difficulty finding his place in his new circumstances.  Someone who had probably been very busy with his work and for whom work had taken up a large part of his time.  I imagine this is not uncommon in people who are used to getting respect and obedience and loyalty from those around them and it has to be difficult when suddenly that is no longer true and for most people you are now just another being in the crowd, and you now have all this time to fill.

In my case I looked forward to retirement and was so happy from day one.  For me I didn't feel much different about my place in the world or who I was because I had always just had a "job" - I had responsibilities and I feel I was a always good at what I did, but it wasn't who I was - at the end of the workday I went home to my life.  So when the job was no longer there, my life was still there, intact.

My only real issue in my working days was with the middle management types who were often a little drunk with power and loved bossing others around.   I always just wanted to be told clearly what I was expected to do and then be left alone to get on with it.

I don't think I was ever particularly ambitious about my place in the world.  I wanted to make enough money to live and save and do what interested me on my own time and basically for the world to just leave me alone. 

I remember someone asking be once, when I was a recent graduate,  if I didn't want to pursue a law degree, or an MBA so that I could "be something in the world, be part of the real power in the world", and I just thought, "No, no I don't,  I don't want that at all."  

Food Woes

 

I have had food issues for years and the list of foods that don't agree with me has grown steadily as time has gone by.  

However, in January of this year I was quite ill with stomach things for  several weeks and while things are much better I have never gone back to being able to eat the way I did before January.

For the last couple of months I have been trying to follow a low fodmap diet and that does seem to have helped.  I'm a person who has tended to be rather unsympathetic to the gluten/lactose etc crowd but now I'm one of them.  (I have watched my lactose intake for quite a while now, but I do seem to be ok with gluten.)

Last Saturday I was at a restaurant with friends and ordered something that has always been ok for me, but they have added some flavouring (a herb maybe?) to the dish and it really bothered me on Sunday and Monday and I'm still not feeling totally back to "normal".  My friends and I tend to go to the same restaurants but I'm pretty much down to one dish I can safely order at each of them.  

Restaurants like to have interesting offerings but it would be so nice for people like me if they had at least one or two really plain meals.  Certainly in downtown Toronto it seems to be pretty much impossible to find a simple roast chicken or roast beef dinner with plain vegetables and plain (i.e. without garlic) mashed potatoes.  Or a grilled cheese sandwich that is just plain bread and a slice of simple cheddar cheese. I know of only one lunch place where you can get a straightforward sliced chicken sandwich.  

I do better with brunch since you can usually get simple scrambled eggs and toast.  Often they serve home fried potatoes with I like, unless someone has decided that they need to be "seasoned".

I think I'm approaching the day when I have to say "no more restaurants" - which is a problem since the only way I now socialize is to go out for a meal with friends.

On my own I tend to eat the same things every day.   I think I have to start approaching food less as avoiding the things I can't eat and more as seeking out the things I can eat.  

I think I have to stop thinking of eating as something pleasurable and approach it as something I do to keep my body functioning - the same way I take my medications in the morning.

TV: A Place to Call Home. (2013-2018)

 

 I watched this show several years ago and liked it so much.  I recently found it on Tubi (thank you once again Tubi, what a wonderful service) and was going to just watch a bit of the first episode and of course now I'm totally hooked once again and relishing rewatching.  Even though I remember the storyline I still find myself totally involved. The cast, sets, costumes - it's all just really great.

One thing that has really struck me is how much story there is - things keep happening.  I'm amazed at how much plot there is in each episode.  

Which has led me to comparisons with new programmes nowadays.  It feels like someone has an idea and the group says, "Great, let's turn that into a half hour episode.  No wait, let's make in an hour. No, better still, let's make it a 6 episode mini-series.  Better yet, let's do 8 episodes.  Or why not 10 and then have a cliffhanger ending so we can do another season!!!).  

Take a look at "I Love Lucy" episodes from the 1950s.  Generally they had three segments with lots happening - now that would probably be dragged out to (at least) three separate episodes.

There are times now when I watch a couple of episodes and get so bored that I go and try to find a plot summary online and then maybe watch the last part of the last episode.