11 replies to this topic

[EmbraceUnity]

Woody Allen once said "I don't want to become immortal through my work. I want to become immortal through not dying." Well, he's at it again, but this time in movie form.

Talking about his new movie, "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," which deals with the subject of aging, he said the following:

"I find it a lousy deal," he said. "You don't get smarter, you don't get wiser, you don't get more mellow, you don't get more kindly. Nothing really happens. Your back hurts more, you get more indigestion, your eyesight isn't as good, you need a hearing aid. It's a bad business getting older, and I would advise you not to do it."

http://abcnews.go.co...ory?id=10655877

[Shannon Vyff]

One could hope he'd become interested in the possibility of cryonics, for more than comedy ;-) perhaps he feels 2% of a chance is too little, or there would not be actual rejuvenation and he is one who does not think uploading would be "himself."

[A941]

I like this quote of him: "I dont want to live on in my work, I want to live on in my appartement!"

[bacopa]

we had thought about contacting Mr. Allen but in light of the "incest" scandal it might hurt our cause in the case should he want to go public with it. But I'm all for helping him as a person know what's out there. so if any of you want to write him a letter with book I wouldn't object. I love the man!

[ken_akiba]

""You don't get smarter, you don't get wiser, you don't get more mellow, you don't get more kindly. Nothing really happens."

Not sure I agree to this. At least for me, all of the above seem to happen. Two more things: I definately see things in big(ger) picture and tend to try to view things in others' shoe. I used to be a monster in my 20's lol.

[chris w]

Good, old Allen. I recently saw Deconstructing Harry and Paris Match and in both of them one character says a quote from Sofocles : "the biggest luck of man is to never be born" and I so wanted to just shake him and say "Woody, it doesn't have to be this way, just give your money to Aubrey de Grey" ( tongue in cheek )

I wonder, guess he is just too sceptical abouth everything to seriously consider an option of ending aging or even cryonics, he would probably just crack a couple of jokes out of it.

Edited by chris w, 16 May 2010 - 05:31 PM.

[Lothar]

@ Shannon Vyff:

Meanwhile someone has uploaded 'Sleeper' on YouTube last September. Here's the beginning of the film. After seeing it several times in the last decades I still have to laugh, when I recognize his glasses under the aluminium foil. These funny little details:



By the way: 'Sleeper' is the comedy version of H. G. Wells 'When the Sleeper Wakes' (and of course George Orwells '1984'):

http://en.wikipedia....e_Sleeper_Wakes

[chrwe]

Well, unless you have a bad cognitive decline in later years, people DO get more mellow and wiser with time in my experience.

Also, the fear of death lessens. That may be a blessing nature has for us - and yes, I don`t want to die and I DO want SENS and all this to succeed in my lifetime very badly, nonetheless I find it a comfort that death becomes a lot less scary (as a rule - no rule without exceptions...) when you get older.

[chris w]

Also, the fear of death lessens. That may be a blessing nature has for us - and yes, I don`t want to die and I DO want SENS and all this to succeed in my lifetime very badly, nonetheless I find it a comfort that death becomes a lot less scary (as a rule - no rule without exceptions...) when you get older.

I've been thinking about it lately, and I have a hunch that in my case this might be exactly the opposite actually. Because right now, my only line of defense ( psychologically ) is that it's still far away with all probability, I am 25, but when I get to 40 something, things might be a bit different. I don't mean right now the good classical mid - life crisis.
I'm freightened that I might get genuine mental problems, when hitting middle age, and it's not like any psychoterapy could help here really, because psychologists seem to be ( in large ) very much into the New Age blah blah with stuff like : "death is the most natural thing in the world", "everything has its beginning and its end", "you can't have the day without the night" etc., generally denialistic bullcrap. And the case of death anxiety is very rational in fact, unlike probably most other anxieties. Actually isn't the fear of death the most rational thing under the sun? Yet no one ( outside maybe us ) will admit this, that's the price people have to pay for psychological comfort - big time denial.

Edited by chris w, 17 May 2010 - 01:22 PM.

[chrwe]

The lessening of fear, which I know from geriatrics and gerontology, doesn`t start with 40 , think more around 70plus or even 80plus

I already stated in another post that I suffer badly from death anxiety, and I AM middle-aged already, so I know where you are coming from - and unfortunately, it is a very rational fear. I wish it wasn`t. However, it is neither rational nor good to blow up your life with it.

as regards mental state, I was always IQ130+ and haven`t noticed any lessening - yet....MAN I HOPE they will find something soon to repair your brain

Edited by chrwe, 17 May 2010 - 01:26 PM.

[Alex Libman]

HEADLINE: Woody Allen says President Obama should be granted dictatorial powers (seriously)





That's it, I'm swearing off all fiction of any kind (some Prometheus Award winners excluded). People in the entertainment industry have waaaaay too much unearned power... (Another problem of IP laws?)

Edited by Alex Libman, 18 May 2010 - 12:37 PM.

[chris w]

HEADLINE: Woody Allen says President Obama should be granted dictatorial powers (seriously)

Ok, I have to agree that the man lost some of his touch with reality.

The Republican Party should get out of his way and stop trying to hurt him.

Now, what is he saying here ? GOP pouring poison in his milk ? Woody, why did you do this to me ?

Edited by chris w, 18 May 2010 - 02:47 PM.