random rubbish no more

Before I begin, can you guess who this brotha is?

So I decided to change the title of my blog to better reflect what it is about. And random rubbish it ain't. I've also added a rather egoistical description. Loves it!

There are two kinds of people in this world, those who are terrified of aging and liars. Every few years, lines are redrawn time and again - 40 is the new 30, 50 is the new 40, and last I heard, 60 is the new 40. The baby boomers are still the dominant generation of our time and as they grow older, they have tried to lessen the physical and psychological trauma of aging through plastic surgery, botox injections and mantras such as the example above. Ever wondered why the new 30 or new 40 always seems to be the age that the oldest of the baby boomers actually are? And so the world steps to the beat of the baby boomers once again, mainly because many are still so influential. Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Anna Wintour, Steven Spielberg, Cher, Carly Fiorina, Madonna. All leaders in their respective fields. All boomers. And oh so afraid of growing old. I guarantee you that in 10 years time, 70 will be the new 50.

Growing up and confronting old age is something we all have to do. We gain experience and wisdom with age. The only way to achieve youthful immortality is(ironically) to die young. James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Princess Di - the public's memory of them will always be one of youth and vitality. Now take Liz Taylor. Great beauty in her salad days, but when I mention her now what do you think of? Strange, sunken old woman in a wheelchair with bad makeup and bad hair. Marlon Brando, who died obese and unhappy, a far cry from the image we have of him from A Streetcar Named Desire. Or poor Lauren Bacall, who stuttered through her lines while presenting at the Oscar's this year and mumbled to herself before walking off the stage in a daze(interestingly enough she's the only one of Madonna's Vogue icons who is still alive). Of course, some people do manage to grow old gracefully. Off the top of my head, I can think of Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, Jackie O and Jane Fonda(so far at least). But after all is said and done, wouldn't we rather just skip the aging process altogether?

I think the main reason behind this aversion to growing old is the perception that youth is the time to embark on crazy adventures and wild romance, to have a good time. In other words, you really LIVE your life when you are young. Do the same things when you're 40 and everyone will be whispering about that mid-life crisis. At 70 and people will think you senile. Besides at that age, you'll have to be worrying about hair loss and hearing loss and disease and incontinence. Who HAS time to think about enjoying the more hedonistic pleasures of life? Look for sex when you're 60 and people will call you a pedophile, which sadly is the truth. It is an eventual self-defeatist attitude but what can you do about it? We scorn the "dirty old man" who approaches us at the club, painfully aware of the fact that one day, we too will be old men. And who will want us then? This may explain why the fear of aging is perhaps even more acute among gay people. When we grow old, what will happen to us? Will there be anyone there to care for us? Or do we simply drop off the face of the earth, or retreat to a retirement village in the hills of California? I do worry about these things, which may sound ridiculous when you consider that I'm not even 21 yet (and THANK GOD for that), but it is inevitable.

Anyway, that's my rant for today, By the way, FYI, in case you missed the MEMO, the brotha above is none other than MISS TY TY BABY! She went undercover for her talkshow. Speaking of which, you guys should really check out the episode she had with that loony ultra-evangelical spawn of the devil Shirley Phelps Rogers and her two demon daughters. It's in 4 parts on youtube just type in tyra banks show and you can find it somewhere on the second page if I recall correctly. I was really proud of Tyra when she said "I'm gonna burn in hell then." DO YOUR THANG HONEY!