Comments on: Madonna and us

By: Jackie noriega

Jackie noriega — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:34:56 +0000

PERTENEZCO A UN GRUPO DE MUJERES QUE REALIZAMOS TAI-CHI EN EL MISMO TENGO COMPAÑERAS QUE PISAN LOS 70 Y ME SIENTO MUY FELIZ HE APRENDIDO MUCHO CON ELLAS Y ME DAN ALEGRIA CADA DIA CON SUS OCURRENCIAS Y TAMBIEN POR LA MANERA COMO VEN LA VIDA ELLAS NO SE HACEN PROBLEMA POR NADA E INTENTAN CADA DIA CON ALEGRIA LLENARSEN DE CONOCIMIENTOS NUEVOS COMO LA COMPUTACION LA FOTOGRAFIA EL BAILO TERAPIA ETC. ES VERDAD HOY POR HOY TALVEZ POR LA TECNOLOGIA LA GENTE TRATA DE VIVIR ACORDE CON LOS DEMAS SIN IMPORTAR SU EDAD

By: Attorney

Attorney — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:36:10 +0000

It sure seems that kids are growing up quicker, but that adults are remaining young longer. I completely agree, Madonna doesn’t act 50, the way my parents acted when they were 50. I see the same phenomenon as you, old isn’t what it used to be.

By: Maia Burduli

Maia Burduli — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:59:48 +0000

Life becomes sweeter as age brings us farther. Personally I love to see old people full of energy, dreams and actions. It is positivelly inspiring that “life is worth living”

By: MariElena Amiro

MariElena Amiro — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:35:43 +0000

Oh Hello from Nova Scotia,
I like what everyone has said, but I must say with regard to women basking in the attitude that ,they like men, now may be regarded as “distinguished” and “handsome”, I beg to disagree. I believe in our western culture with it’s obsession with youth in some terrible ways besides it’s beauty, ONLY men are considered this way–with crows feet and facial lines–( and that attitude came out of the mouth of whom I considered a sensitive man) you can see this on any tv or movie, while women with the same are regarded as having “let themselves go” and need to get to the plastic surgeon, dye their gray hair, or get to some expensive spa to fix their aging faces and drooping body parts, nes’ce pas? At least this has been my experience thus far and I will be 60 this month and am pleased to have been given the gift of life from my mother and to have lived this long and do regard my laugh lines and worry lines as a sign of my “character”. Marielena

By: Paola

Paola — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:29:44 +0000

Stunning poem!

By: reverie incorporated

reverie incorporated — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:51:03 +0000

I am wearing purple to-day – like the Arch bee chope -
dancing, dancing.chilly mee!
;)

By: Carmen

Carmen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:25:44 +0000

I meant in females as well! Sorry for the bad english, i think to much about what I want to say next.

By: Carmen

Carmen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:20:09 +0000

Madonna is a great preformer and she has only improved with age. I think that it was her immaturity that made her famous because and great at first, because she did not like rules, she was rebellios and if you see old interviws of her, what she said was definitely childish immature and sometimes kind of childish. As she matured and got kids, got married and stayed that way for a while, found the kabbala, continued training of course, she brought wisdom into her life and into her musical creation and she is greater and more beautiful then ever. I agree that we age diffrently now, because youth is not longer restrected to young people. Out thoughts of young and old has changed, so have our habits and therefore even our body is affected. Evolution is maybe not entirely restrected to nature, but to our higher wants and needs. Maybe the survival of the fittest, is not only about the ability to find food and water but also includes higher ideals. Now youth and beauty is an ideal and even the skinny body of photomodels is now achieved by many normal women, even if there were discussions about it 15 years ago – people claimed it was impossible. So there is the idea of onness, that our emotions and thoughts are part of it.

By: Carmen

Carmen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:12:06 +0000

I have noticed in your books that you are a feminist. In tarot, The Empress is the creative force and she is feminine, the Emperor is the wordly force, that restricts the creation and sets rules, and he represents the male force. To create, it means to imagine,to have dreams and fantasies and this is seen as an feminine preoccupation, but there this feminine quality resides in males. At the same time, the masculine force, that restricts creation and sets rules exist in males as well.

By: sandra

sandra — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:17:33 +0000

BTW, that red hat poem is the new sign of getting old as it signals a total entre into a second childhood.

Yes, we age differently now because we celebrate the outrageous and narcissism is our Queen.

My mother and my aunts lied about their ages their entire lives. I swore I’d never do the same so don’t put me on the spot by asking my age. Suffice it to say I love it when people think I’m fifteen years younger.

I’m at the crux of having my cake and eating it, too. I’d never want to be a teen again, or even in my twenties. Have you ever asked yourself what you would have done different if you knew then what you know now?

I’m in that sublime age where I do know now and I’ve still got the body for bad and the will for it, too, and ooh la la can you see my red hat askew on my head?

By: andrea h.

andrea h. — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:29:41 +0000

I love her:)

By: Carolena Sabah

Carolena Sabah — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:09:53 +0000

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain

Yes I completely agree… It’s just such accepted behavior to complain about getting old… Oh i’m old, oh my eyes are failing, oh my back hurts, oh my legs don’t work, oh i’m dying… lol…

‘God is in the word’ right? if one keeps telling themselves this, they are bound to experience just that!

Oddly enough, a young man, age about 27, one day said to me, that when he gets old, the illness that he will have is —- I can’t remember which he stated, but that is irrelevant. I was shocked, he was already planning and deciding what illness he’s going to have when he grows old. I found that utterly absurd, I told him, and he kind of agreed…

It’s all in the mind and attitude.

Definitely our view of aging is changing!

By: Your opinion on: Strangers | Literatúrame!

Your opinion on: Strangers | Literatúrame! — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:14:25 +0000

[...] Your opinion on : Madonna and us Madonna and us Today is late Sunday and I just returned from the show… [...]

By: Meetabel

Meetabel — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:58:02 +0000

No me sorprende que Madonna, a sus 50 años este esplendida, ademas, convengamos, que la imagen vende mucho, y sobre todo en unha mujer, por lo tanto, debe cuidarse, y si es posible, tambien con cirugias, que de seguro las debe de tener.

By: Petra

Petra — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:54:26 +0000

It’s a very difficult question. I saw people at 80 years and very young, and people having 20 and already old.

By: ana lucia

ana lucia — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:03:49 +0000

Onde trabalho certas pessoas não me cumprimentavam porque “achava que fosse uma estagiária”. Muitas vezes dizem “ela parece uma menina mas tem jeito de mulher velha”. Tenho quase quarenta e penso que nem comecei a viver ainda, me sinto muito jovem. Mas não vou agir como uma criança porque simplesmente não sou mais criança. Vejo na atitude das pessoas muita inveja, e probresa de espírito, resolvi relaxar e não me importar mais com esse tipo de coisa. Melhor não ouvir o que o mundo fala e procurar ser você mesmo, um abraço.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:21:52 +0000

From Women Who Run With the Wolves
Chapter: Joyous Body- Wild Flesh

Butterfly Woman – La Mariposa. On What Constitutes a healthy body in the instinctual world (pp. 221)
” I have been taken with the way wolves hit their bodies together when they run and play, the old wolves in their way, the young ones in theirs, the skinny ones, the fat ones,
the long-legged, the lop-tailed, the floppy-eared, the ones whose broken limbs healed crookedly. They all have their own body configurations and strengths, their own beauty,. They live and play
according to what and who and how they are. They do not try to be what they are not.

Also, in Ntozake Shange’s play … ” the woman in purple speaks after having struggled to deal with all the psychic and physical aspects of herself that the culture ignores or demeans. She sumes herself up in these
wise and peaceful words…

here is what I have …
poems,
big thighs
lil tits
&

so much love

By: elisabeth delage

elisabeth delage — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:28:56 +0000

her music always works with attractive young beauty and dance,so she’s still doing her job.if this job is there to let me believe that i should have this kind of fight against the time,i’m not sure that is a good fight for me?

By: Savita Vega

Savita Vega — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:20:58 +0000

Ah, Madonna! Oddly enough, she has always been a focal point in my life, always served as a point of reference in my perception of myself in terms of aging. It all began when I was 18, in high school, and was in a performance where a group of us were to dance to Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” We we’re so young and so vibrantly alive! (I still remember the steps to that piece each time I hear the song–we must have rehearsed it a thousand times.) Since that time, Madonna has served as role model for me in terms of what I could potentially achieve at any given age. I look at Madonna in her latest show, with whatever her latest look, and I think: If she can look like that–that healthy and that strong–I have no excuse to give up on myself or throw in the towel just yet. I have no reason, likewise, to regard myself as “too old” to go after my as-yet-unattained aspirations. And yet, if I looked to my own family–my grandmother and my aunts, even my cousins, even those younger than myself–for their examples and opinions…? First of all, any woman over forty is nearer the grave than the cradle in their eyes. And above all, any woman over forty should “act her age.” Madonna and all of her achievements, in their opinion, are the epitome of impropriety. So, I try not to look to them to formulate my own sense of self-worth or potential. I look rather to that woman on the cover of the magazines in the grocery store check-out line–I look to role models like Madonna–and I think: “Yes! There is still time. Life is not over yet! It’s only just begun.” Is this a reasonable attitude? Is it realistic? I think it is, because I really believe that the only limits to human potential are the obstacles that exist within the mind of the individual. Ridding oneself of those mental blocks is 99% of the battle.

So, my conclusion: In terms of society’s general outlook on aging, I believe much has changed, even within my lifetime. A fifty-year old now is a “young person,” and someone of seventy can yet be regarded as a viable and contributing member of society. The notion of “retirement” is a thing of the past as more and more people are opting to use their latter years to fulfill their wildest dreams and aspirations. It used to be that only men were regarded as becoming more “handsome” and “distinguished”—altogether more attractive—with age. Now women too can bask in this new attitude that says “sophistication” and “maturity” are, likewise, elements of true beauty.

By: Yajna

Yajna — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:01:57 +0000

Dearest Paulo and friends,

I love this blog :)

Paulo just has to say a few words and this place is filled with life and virtues. Virtues of love and inspiration; and suddenly a this tiny bit of cyberspace which is barely significance in the vastness of the internet, is utterly layered with words of wisdom from both young and old, from every corner of the earth… All of which, are continuously learning from each others’ experiences. It is amazing how brave we feel to tell the truth here- whether it is our age or our opinion… we feel a sort of courage to be who ever we desire in that moment we write. I suppose it’s because we are somewhat comforted that our thoughts have not fallen on deaf ears, and the people who read our words, all share a common love and an aim: to be better than we already are, and of course, to love above all else.

A bit off the topic I know, but I couldn’t help myself. I just couldn’t help but smile at all the responses. I feel an incredible sense of amazement when I read how willing so many are, sharing themselves with the world through this blog :)

As for age: I think we are as old as we feel and think we are. Of course age comes with wisdom, but that doesn’t mean that a young person can not be as mature as an old one- it definitely depends on the individual. Besides the media’s influence that encourage the older, wise, sophisticated and beautiful look, the fact that the life expectancy has changed over the years from around 40’s and 50’s around your parents time, to now- with people living around 60’s and 70’s (depending on the area they are from) one would expect not seeing 50 or 40 year old ‘waiting to die’ anymore. Furthermore, the manner in which medical technology, and actually technology in general, is advancing, people are able to live longer, and feel more alive than they did 50 years ago. As for Madonna, I was never a fan but I have no problem with her if she’s happy the way she is. At the end of it all, we’re all going to get old one day, we’re all going to die, the most we can do is live with out regret, or else it will consume us in both life and possibly death.

Thank you for being.
Yajna

By: Tanika

Tanika — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:53:27 +0000

Como já dizia tio Salomão (um certo tio do meu pai, libanês de Marjaium, mas brasileiro de coração e morador de Catanduva, SP, que morreu lá pelos seus cento e poucos anos, porque quis, porque já estava quase sem amigos…) a idade das pessoas está na mente delas.
E eu cresci e vivi os meus 51 anos (ah, daqui há 3 dias faço 5.2)calcada nesta sabedoria e em tantas outras apreendidas do tio Salomão.
E saiba você, que com 5.1, gordinha e tudo mais, faço coisas que a moçadinha de 15 não faz. E me sinto ótima assim.
E ainda falando do tio Salomão (aquele jovem ancião de camisolona branca e grandes sandálias, que mais se parecia com um papai noel de férias)ensinou a meu pai, que passou pra mim, que a gente deve comer o que tem vontade e a hora que tem vontade, a hora que nosso corpo pede (aliás nosso corpo fala com a gente e nos pede tudo). Quando não temos vontade, até a água faz mal. E tem muito mais…e olha que entre nossas gerações (minha e a do tio Salomão) existe uma distância enorme, pois eu não o conheci pessoalmente, só pelas histórias e ensinamemtos me passadas pelo meu pai(que por incrível que pareça era quarenta e cinco anos mais velho que eu).

Por isso, não espanto ao ver a Madonna no auge dos cinquenta fazer o que faz. E eu também faço, porque não ?! Madonna e eu !

By: C.M.

C.M. — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:44:10 +0000

I learned to ride a Ripstik this summer and about a week ago had a young man (probably around ten or eleven) tell me that I ride mine almost better than he rides his. I asked – He’s had his for two years. And if you believe in chronological years – Madonna is actually younger than I am.

So stop counting.

By: Shelly

Shelly — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:15:07 +0000

Your poem submitted about aging resonated inside me. I LOVE being almost 50!!! It’s is the most freeing time of my life!! I think that aging HAS changed through the generations. This is quite possibly due to marketing schemes and our internalizing of the subliminal messages throughout. We internally want to be young and fresh and vibrant and attractive. Gone are the days of slow, stuffy, boring, coarse, aging individuals. Madonna epitomizes the results a person gains by FEELING, ACTING and BEING young!!! I will NEVER be seen putting a tissue in my sweater sleeve for safe keeping!

By: Christine C

Christine C — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:43:49 +0000

I like this song ‘Forever Young’ by Alphaville and hope you guys like it too…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7CuJ8cR9sg&feature=related

Lets dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait were only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We don’t have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The musics for the sad men

Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders were getting in tune
The musics played by the madmen

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later they all will be gone
Why don’t they stay young

Its so hard to get old without a cause
I don’t want to perish like a fading horse
Youth is like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever

So many adventures couldn’t happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue
We let them come true

:O) i hope the link works…

By: omen

omen — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:07:53 +0000

When I was very young I met Jesse Owens in a restaurant. He was touring with the Harlem Globe Trotters in Europe. My uncle pointed him out and said “Go and ask for his autograph”. He hold my hand and off we went. Because we did not have anything to write on, Jesse Owens produced a dollar note out of his wallet and signed the autograph.
Last night, I dont know why, I dreamt about that, except that I was on the podium holding the dollar note with the biggest smile you could ever seen. It was like I was going for gold.
I have always been a bit of a rebel all my life for various reasons and somehow I could not help thinking about how Jesse Owens was a bit that way inclined too…..maybe he passed the torch onto me – just joking -
Well, anyhow we are here to talk about Madonna and us 50s + , I am older than you are Paulo and I feel like a Spring chicken. I have been told that my behaviour is like that of a six years old – humm …not quite… more like a 20 + and I like it that way.
Why? Because I am just a late bloomer, you see I am just discovering what life is all about. I am so naive in so many ways – for example – I did not know that you could have wrinkles in your hands, did you? That is a real novelty to me.
Everyday there is something new for me to learn in that area – I am in the process of learning a new language which was totally out of my range for so many years.That is what hibernation does to you I guess.
Let’s take another area : cooking. Well, well, well, it is an art in itself. Being in the early stages, I can only manage a few recipes. The potential is overwhelming though….I tasted an omelette in a restaurant a few months ago. I labelled it “the alchemist omelette”. It was made with “Roquefort”. so tasty and it requires so few ingredients…

The Universe does not ask how old you are, it is only a man made thing, you can learn and grow at any age. I am proof of that.SO..
To all the grandpas and grandmas on this earth, let’s get out of the rocking chair and like this site,”Let’s rock with our Baby Madonna”. …come to think of it, I need a few lessons from her too….
Must dash, my nails are in need of some “attention”….ooh la la
Coco rico/ca

By: Dano MacNamarrah

Dano MacNamarrah — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:42:31 +0000

I simply love the poem. I’m 42, but I’ve been living the life in purple for as long as I can remember. Maybe when I get older, I’ll start making my bed, opening bills, saving receipts, balancing check-books, eating at a set time at a set table, combing my hair, ironing my clothes, dressing in matching outfits and working in a “real” job.

But most likely, when I get to that age, I’ll have forgotten all those crazy ideas. Because they were never mine to begin with.

By: Felipe Nunes Mourão

Felipe Nunes Mourão — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:11:48 +0000

Acabei de ler O Vencedor está só.
E este em minha opinião foi o seu melhor livro lançado até hoje, claro que outros tiveram um forte caráter espiritual – como o alquimista, que oi um dos melhores livros que já li nestes meus 14 anos de vida – mas o vencedor está só tem personagens muito carismáticos, você lê este livro torcendo pela Gabriela, sempre que o Igor chegava perto dos outros personagens eu gelava.
E o Igor foi um personagem muito bem trabalhado, aliás não somente ele, todos foram, Ewa, HH, todos muito bem feitos, estava fabuloso.
Quando eu cheguei na última página fiquei com tanto receio de ler, mas valeu a pena, mesmo não sendo exatamente o que eu queria – coitada da Gabriela – mas foi sua melhor obra.
Parabéns Paulo.

By: Marika

Marika — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:34:21 +0000

In this time you have to look young to be liked and loved. Our parents did’nt have that problem, eventhough they were mostly liked and loved, thank God ,Creator of life and time.
Marika

By: Viv

Viv — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:57:36 +0000

I’ve just stumbled on this blog following a chain of circumstances and found the Jenny Joseph poem. I am a TEFL teacher, or rather, that’s what I do, and I’ve used this poem with foreign students to elicit responses to age and ageing in their cultures. I’ve found that simply put, most Mediterranean students have a better attitude to age and the aged than English kids of the same age. I’ve no idea why, beyond that in England the emphasis is heavily on youth and young beauty to the extent that it excludes all else. At 42, I find this appalling.
I can’t imagine any of my comments here are likely to be read with much interest but it’s better to speak than be forever silent, maybe….

By: Kate T.W.

Kate T.W. — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:06:44 +0000

A dear friend of mine is turning 80 this October. He is a well known and respected poet and visual artist who is still producing new and startling work. I can’t believe he is going to be 80. Because of him, I have kept my ears open to other artists who are still very active and 80 plus. There are lots of them. I don’t remember this being the case a generation ago. My friend doesn’t look young, but his mind is wide open for every new idea he can tap. I believe that this is his secret, along with a silly sense of humor.