Middle Age and All That Jazz...

Thelonious Monk · 05-03-2020 11:45pm

TuringBot47 wrote: »

Jazz is a genre, all the "genres" you allude to would be jazz sub-genres, variations of the same theme.

I've never heard a single good jazz song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__OSyznVDOY

Harry Palmr · 05-03-2020 11:54pm

Some trad jazz for even the most tone deaf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJsa0OfWcGA

Thelonious Monk · 05-03-2020 11:59pm

Yeah jazz is great. Anyway I turn 40 later this year. Yikes. I always get told I look younger than I am when I reveal the outrageous figure of 39. Staying fit is key, and keeping an open mind to the world.

Harry Palmr · 06-03-2020 12:03am

I just tell people I'm 65 then they think I must have a portrait in the attic.

uch · 06-03-2020 12:03am

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Yeah jazz is great. Anyway I turn 40 later this year. Yikes. I always get told I look younger than I am when I reveal the outrageous figure of 39. Staying fit is key, and keeping an open mind to the world.

Thelonious, this is the stuff

andekwarhola · 06-03-2020 12:57am

I quite like being middle aged. There's more equanimity and financial security; less self absorption and empty sloganeering and you've generally arrived at a sense of peace about who you are and your priorities are more clear.

If you could just combine all that with retaining the energy and looks of your 20s, you'd be sorted.

Hellrazer · 06-03-2020 1:28am

Im 45 myself the end of March. I don't feel 45. Or should I say I don't act 45...not like I remember my dad when he was that age - old before his time I feel.

For example last night I went to a thrash metal gig in the stadium with my 18 year old son and 22 year old daughter!!!. Felt like I was 18 again. Now this morning I felt like I was 90 but that's what I deserve for acting 18 - plenty of deep heat and ibuprofen and I was grand!!!

Middle life crisis?? Not sure--does wanting your hands tattooed count. That's my birthday present to myself. Im beyond caring about what other people think at this stage. And besides they'll look cool!!!

Hellrazer · 06-03-2020 1:36am

FatherTed wrote: »

I'm turning 51 next week, physically I'm ok except now I need glasses to read stuff. .

Its only the glasses that got me feeling a (little) bit older.
Got my first 2 pairs a couple of weeks back - 1 for "distance" and 1 for "reading"

I never realised how bad my vision had gotten.

Filmer Paradise · 06-03-2020 1:36am

I'm 51 & if there is is anything I've learnt in life, it is...........

Jazz is dung for the ears.

Filmer Paradise · 06-03-2020 1:50am

Hellrazer wrote: »

Middle life crisis?? Not sure--does wanting your hands tattooed count. That's my birthday present to myself. Im beyond caring about what other people think at this stage. And besides they'll look cool!!!

Hands tattooed? At your age!

It wont look cool now. It wont look cool in any era, future past or present.

Yes it is a midlife crisis. Stop smoking Weed immediately!

Why.....why

RikkFlair · 06-03-2020 1:57am

I'll be 43 later this year. I've already outlived Elvis, Ted Bundy and Butch Cassidy so I'm in bonus territory now :pac:

Elemonator · 06-03-2020 2:02am

It's a long way off for me, but I can feel the change in mindset already starting to come about very slowly.

I'm not a jazz fan, although I am learning it on the drums purely because its attributes and technicality are an education in themselves and the applicability is nice. If you aren't a jazz fan, check out Big Band. They are related. You can't hate the stuff. The only true problem with jazz is the snooty jazz musicians you inevitably come across when you are into music. Go downstairs in The International Bar and there's a room full of weirdos treating jazz like an erotic experience. Middle age doesn't sound so bad after all.

YFlyer · 06-03-2020 2:03am

I'm 48 going on 25.

Gynoid · 06-03-2020 6:23am

I am really very grateful to get older, a lot of people don't get that chance. Every day is a new Universe and adventure . I am lucky to be a cheerful person by nature, as time has gone on I have seen how negative mindsets can totally impoverish an otherwise good enough life. One does not worry about what others might think of you as one gets older and that is a huge liberation. In fact it is a secret super power, which one can use to shamelessly act in the world and do spontaneous acts of goodness.... and mischief. I say and do things now that I was once too shy to say or do, like chat with people I do not know very well about what is really bothering them, or act the maggot with jokes and quips. One small thing I miss about being younger is deeper longer sleep. But I think for myself more, all the bad and good thoughts. I am rebellious and don't mind disapproval. I appreciate beautiful things, like dawn breaking through a mist, or a piece of music, or a lovely human being, etc, ever more as time goes on as there is a poignancy and sharpened awareness that this is not the uphill climb to imaginary glory anymore but rather the joyful hands-off-the-tiller bonus-time skid to the grave, so everything is, as Raymond Carver once said, gravy

(wooohoooo!)

Hellrazer · 06-03-2020 10:01am

Filmer Paradise wrote: »

Hands tattooed? At your age!

It wont look cool now. It wont look cool in any era, future past or present.

Yes it is a midlife crisis. Stop smoking Weed immediately!

Why.....why

Well they`ll go well with my 2 full sleeves!!!

topper75 · 06-03-2020 11:01am

FatherTed wrote: »

I want to like jazz and I do appreciate the technical aspects and the importance of history of jazz in music. However, most of the time, for me, it starts off fine and I'm thinking oh this is good now. But after 5 minutes I get bored as I find it aimlessly meandering for me.

It's all about the resolution. It wanders everywhere and creates a tension. This tension then finally resolves to the home key. It's a musical representation of the Iarnrod Eireann track network.
"OK we are going leaving Heuston and moving southwest towards Limerick"
"Wait why are we in Ballybrophy - what has that got to do with anything?"
"Templemore? It's Limerick I want to go to"
"Limerick Junction? That is further south beyond Limerick!"
"Change trains? But I am sure I got on the Limerick train in Dublin!"
"Finally Limerick - resolution - cool daddio"
And you replace the sax on the stand and reach into your inside jacket pocket for a cigarette.

Any 45 year old knows all this.

topper75 · 06-03-2020 11:18am

Andrewf20 wrote: »

...

When I drop over to my folks house now where I grew up, it's strange to look out the window and to see the ghosts of me and the other kids running around 30 years ago. There's barely any kids out now, it's all very quiet.

Down at the river where we played for hours each day as kids - building bridges with stones, wading in Wellies or even standing on the roofs of abandoned joyriden smashed up cars that were in the water the odd time - no one goes down there now. It's all over grown.

I've had to make the same saddening observations in my locality. It feels to me that the Irish have forsaken Ireland somewhat - at least its physical environment.

Near where I live today there is a nice council picnic amenity by the water. On warm weekends it is still fullish, but 50% - 75% of the users are foreign (they can't number more than 10% of the population today in the area). The foreigners haven't forgotten how to enjoy the outdoors but the Irish seemingly have. Is it just the video game/netflix binge culture or is there more to it?

OldRio · 06-03-2020 11:20am

TuringBot47 wrote: »

Jazz is a genre, all the "genres" you allude to would be jazz sub-genres, variations of the same theme.

I've never heard a single good jazz song... and I've visited the odd jazz cafe in the US and a lesser one in Edinburgh just to experience it.

That being said, I found the odd few good rap and dance songs (few and far between). I've also an eclectic mix of metal, rock, pop and classical songs in my mp3 favourites playlist.

But no... jazz is tuneless shite.

Bless.

Deebles McBeebles · 06-03-2020 11:54am

TuringBot47 wrote: »

Thankfully I haven't had the urge to listen to Jazz.
It's God awful tuneless rubbish.

People often don't like what they don't understand.

anewme · 06-03-2020 12:00pm

Deebles McBeebles wrote: »

People often don't like what they don't understand.

And likewise, when you are an old fogey, you are old enough to understand what you don't like.:D

06-03-2020 1:41pm

Berties_Horse wrote: »

The OP made it clear. You're in your early thirties, why shoehorn an agenda? With respect.

Bertie, you've lost me.

I thought it was a nice post about how the best and happiest years are yet to come for the OP, and it was in direct response to the post above that suggested his best years were behind him. I don't even understand what agenda I could have, but I was trying to be nice. Anyway, I won't post again.

Gretas Gonna Get Ya! · 06-03-2020 2:36pm

Candie wrote: »

Bertie, you've lost me.

I thought it was a nice post about how the best and happiest years are yet to come for the OP, and it was in direct response to the post above that suggested his best years were behind him. I don't even understand what agenda I could have, but I was trying to be nice. Anyway, I won't post again.

Ah Bertie... look what you did!

You only went and made AH's very own version of mother teresa cry... :P

Don't mind him Candie. You come back in here any time you feel like it, okay pet?

Deebles McBeebles · 06-03-2020 2:46pm

Candie wrote: »

Bertie, you've lost me.

I thought it was a nice post about how the best and happiest years are yet to come for the OP, and it was in direct response to the post above that suggested his best years were behind him. I don't even understand what agenda I could have, but I was trying to be nice. Anyway, I won't post again.

Must admit after reading your post, I'm struggling to see an agenda. Unless Bertie misread?

Deebles McBeebles · 06-03-2020 2:50pm

anewme wrote: »

And likewise, when you are an old fogey, you are old enough to understand what you don't like.:D

Which is fair if you give it a shot! I find the tendency though is to dismiss jazz because its a little more complex than your average radio-friendly chart song.

Carry · 06-03-2020 2:51pm

Berties_Horse wrote: »

The OP made it clear. You're in your early thirties, why shoehorn an agenda? With respect.

What are you talking about? What agenda?

It seems that you are either too old (doddery) or too young (inexperienced) to understand what Candie wrote. No offence. With respect.

But I'm serene enough to listen to (or read) your explanation what kind of agenda you've seen in Candie's post.
Go on.

Andrewf20 · 06-03-2020 2:51pm

topper75 wrote: »

I've had to make the same saddening observations in my locality. It feels to me that the Irish have forsaken Ireland somewhat - at least its physical environment.

Near where I live today there is a nice council picnic amenity by the water. On warm weekends it is still fullish, but 50% - 75% of the users are foreign (they can't number more than 10% of the population today in the area). The foreigners haven't forgotten how to enjoy the outdoors but the Irish seemingly have. Is it just the video game/netflix binge culture or is there more to it?

Mothers are out working more now so kids are stuck in monti or afterschool. They are then picked up and brought home for dinner and evening TV. Parents are working most of the summer also so alot of kids are booted into summer camps as well.

Kids who can play outside generally wander back indoors as there is often no one else to play with. Sometimes there's 2 or 3 on green for an hour but thats it.

I brought my 3 year across the road to the local woods on a number of occasions last autumn to pick raspberries off the tree's and eat. We did the same as kids. Not once did I see another parent over there with their kids doing likewise.

Kinda sad but maybe the kids today dont know any different.

Middle age can be busy especially with young kids. Between work, commute, housework there is barely time for much else. And there is the high chance you will have to care for elderly relatives in some form too.

06-03-2020 2:52pm

Folks, Bertie misread! I'm always doing it myself so no harm done.

Alun · 06-03-2020 2:54pm

topper75 wrote: »

Near where I live today there is a nice council picnic amenity by the water. On warm weekends it is still fullish, but 50% - 75% of the users are foreign (they can't number more than 10% of the population today in the area). The foreigners haven't forgotten how to enjoy the outdoors but the Irish seemingly have. Is it just the video game/netflix binge culture or is there more to it?

Same here in Bray. Walk the Bray - Greystones cliff path any day of the week and the majority of voices you hear are foreign, mainly eastern european. There's a few picnic tables at the start of the walk in Bray, and these also are nearly always occupied by foreigners.

jimgoose · 06-03-2020 2:58pm

Right. I'm 48, and I need you to know that at this stage bits will start creaking, and possibly even falling off. However, it's not all bad. I will share with you some of the wisdom I have gleaned...

Never bring a truck back empty. That is to say, whenever you bend down to tie a shoelace or whatever, pause and have a sconce around to see if there's anything else you can do while you're down there.

Oh and, take your time coming back up.

Whatever you do, don't ever pass a toilet. Even if you don't feel like "going" just at that moment, give it a try. Saunter in. Take your time. Hell, even sit down for a while if you feel like it. There might just manifest some dribble that will be a tremendous relief just a little later that afternoon. This applies in triplicate if you're going to be in the car for a while.

Never, EVER, trust a fart.

Adopt a new anthem. I like this one:

Spending most of Saturday in your bathrobe doing laundry and cooking is, slowly but inexorably, going to start looking like a perfectly reasonable, even desirable, proposition.

Some people, like Gardaí and insurance salespersons, are going to start looking like wet-behind-the-ears kids to you. This is disturbing for a while, but you get used to it.

"No" is a complete sentence, as are some people. You will disincline further either to sweat the petty things, or pet the sweaty things.

If I had to name my one major regret, it's not owning an old JCB so that I can legitimately claim, when bothered by such inconsequentials as my boss, my OH, or the Gardaí, to be "below claynin' dykes". Bite the bullet and be it.

jimgoose · 06-03-2020 3:04pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

...
your cock will still work (probably)
...

Damn right. You might just find you're having more and better sex than ever, post-45.

Middle Age and All That Jazz...

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