My New Old Self

Proofreading – is it still a thing? 3

Jun

30

2017

Is proofreading even a thing any more? My New Old Self feels strongly that proofreading should still be a thing. “Is it even a thing?” Look it up! Being a thing is totally a thing now, by the way. The phrase, “Is it even a thing?” recently made it into the Cambridge Dictionary. The definition: ...

UK’s Intergenerational Election

Jun

18

2017

The June 8 poll in the UK has been called “the intergenerational election”. This is because young people came out in record numbers to vote. What’s more, the majority of them voted for the geezer on the ballot. Oldest UK leader wins youth vote The latest British election set a new trend towards political cooperation ...

Elders + Tech = Laughs

Jun

1

2017

Your intrepid correspondent on the Elder Watch beat considers it a key duty to keep you up to date where technology is concerned. Not about the latest technological developments. Forget that, I battle to keep up with the ever-changing tech world like most of us whose lives have straddled the Digital Divide. Besides, youthful tech ...

Busily bragging 1

May

19

2017

There are many ways one can tell that times have changed, and notice how today’s world is different from the past.Sometimes it’s in a single word – as with responses to the common greeting, “How are you?” More and more I hear this answer to that question: “Busy!” In my time the most common response to “How ...

No Deathbed for author Karel Schoeman 1

May

5

2017

I would have thought that an author who wrote movingly of deathbed reflections would embrace such an eventual life review for himself. Yet acclaimed South African writer Karel Schoeman chose to end his own life at the age of 77, rather than carry on living, writing and reflecting. Afrikaans writer Karel Schoeman commits suicide President ...

“For You” = especially for me?

Apr

21

2017

“For You” – that was the tag on a present I recently received. It wasn’t giftwrapped and tied with a ribbon, but delivered to me digitally. It was a collection of music put together especially for me. Kind of like those mixtapes we used to make back in the pre-digital era. Algo-Rhythm “For You” was ...

Insights from the TV Guide

Apr

13

2017

I recently gained some new insights into aging from a rather unexpected source: the TV Guide. I’m talking about the magazine. I wasn’t clicking or scrolling through an online version or navigating the one on my TV screen. I was paging through the printed guide published monthly for subscribers of DSTV, featuring schedules of all ...

Dad Interrupted = Comedy Therapy 2

Mar

25

2017

How will future historians assess these dark days of early 2017, with the world still reeling from what US and UK voters did at the polls the year before? In years hence, scholars of the early 21st century may credit a certain tonic for keeping depression at bay for millions of people all over the ...

Invisible Older Women 2

Mar

9

2017

I was sad to hear of the recent passing of South Africa’s first black woman novelist, Miriam Tlali. A loss for the country, I also felt it personally. Because I once met this world-famous author and spent a few days in her company. Unfortunately, I now realise, I failed to make the most of this experience. ...

Who wants self-destructing messages? 1

Feb

23

2017

“This tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds.” Those words were immortalised by the Mission Impossible spy thriller TV series. This warning of the imminent self-destructing of the taped message to the Impossible Missions Force launched every episode and cued the theme music. Since Hollywood helps us share memories across the ages, younger people will also recognise ...