My Elderly Space

Lisa Castor from the Philippines believes that her traditional diet, which includes eating the termite eggs and drinking water from the stream contributed to her longevity.

Other elements of the traditional diet are yams, cassava, corn, labog and ubad (inner part of the banana shrub).

Will you try this fountain of youth? Learn more here.

Ms. Edna Parker celebrated her 115th birthday on April 20th.

115 balloons were released into sunny skies outside her nursing home in Shelbyville, Indiana.

She greeted her family and friends, dressed in pearls, a blue and white polka dot dress and new white shoes.

Just got back from a screening of Young@Heart (the documentary mentioned in the previous post) I will attempt to write our first movie review here at My Elderly Space!

I had some hesitation about this film prior to watching it. I was afraid it would turn out to be a gimmick at best, or at worst a blatant exploitation of this elderly group. But I'm happy to say that the movie was very well done and my fears were unfounded. Filmmaker Stephen Walker does a good job putting together a well told story with this naturally interesting subject. It was entertaining throughout with a healthy dose of emotional moments. I don't think anyone stepped out of the cinema without wiping away a tear or two.

I will shy away from details in case you don't know much about the group and plan to see the film. But it's easy to appreciate even on screen the work done by chorus group director Bob Cilman who has led the Young@Heart chorus for twenty-some-odd years.

Perhaps what I liked best about the movie is the way in which the chorus group members are portrayed -as interesting and amazing individuals- while trying to stay as far away as possible from social stereotypes. Over the 100 minutes or so, you will get to know and love the members of this fabulously interesting group. If there was one thing to complain about, it was the sound quality that detracted from my experience. The combination of the poor film print audio and the cinema system simply did not do the chorus group justice (although hardly the fault of the filmmakers)!

With all the positive points, it is easy to recommend this film. 4 out of 5 stars

Links:
The official Young@Heart website
The official movie website

Labels: movie review

This is a new documentary about a seniors group from New England, who have been traveling the country entertaining large crowds with their part rock-n-roll concert, part theater show. Early reviews are positive, so don't miss this one!

Catch the trailer below.

Labels: movie

This isn't about another centenarian sharing their tips on aging. Adele Lerner has lied about her age, including to her children up into her 90's. Now 101, Adele says she didn't want to reveal her true age because she didn't want others to view her as incapable of doing the things she wanted.

Adele started painting in her 50's and earned her bachelor's degree in fine arts at the age of 83. For the past several years, she has talked to her daughter Karen daily via web cam and instant messenger.

Here is Adele with her other daughter, Terry.



Adele was one of 450 people who participated in a longevity study conducted at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The results showed the fact that she was just five feet tall at her tallest may be linked to her longevity.

Labels: technology