One thing that's always freaked me out is realizing that you're the same age as someone you thought was really old when you were younger. I just had the worst one yet. 
 
I dug out my old DVD's of Father Ted tonight and have been laughing my ass off. This has to be one of the best comedies of all time. So then I started doing some reading about it online - episode trivia, actors etc. This led me to discover that at the age of 42, I'm the same age as Dermot Morgan (Father Ted) was in the first season. Does this man look 42 to you? 
 

 
Mind he wasn't too healthy because he died of a heart attack at 45 the day after filming the last episode. Interesting story about that. The comedian Tommy Tiernan, has said that he suspects he might be partly responsible for Morgan's death. There's a scene where Ted dances around him to the Theme From Shaft, and apparently Tiernan flubbed his lines so much that they had to do the dancing scene over and over again despite Morgan having complained of heart pains. He died at a dinner party at his house the next day. 
 
 

That story reminded me of a crumb of knowledge I had filed away in my head.

A movie I enjoyed in the past is Cinderfella which stars Jerry Lewis. There's an amazing scene in there of him dancing. Amazing talent. I recall hearing or reading that part of the routine caused him to have a heart attack, and he was young at the time.

I looked it up just now in Wikipedia and in the Production section of the Wikipedia article there is mention of that occurring.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderfella

After he recovered I guess they finished the second half of the routine. Still looks seamless and effortless on screen. Jerry was a talent in his younger days.

You might remember a silly show called Alf. Max Wright was my age (43).
 

 
Most of my friends who are my age and even older seem to look younger than Mr. Wright on that picture. On the other hand, to the younger generation, we probably look as old as Mr. Wright did to us...
 
Maybe each generation has it so much easier than the previous that the aging process slows down.
 
Then again - adults back then looked and behaved like adults. They weren't trying to look like teenagers. I can't imagine my dad playing video games, collecting comic books and buying Star Wars toys for his mancave... 
 
And I often think that I would have been quite disoriented if he did.

Well, you made me look and, WOW, I can't believe how many big names are my age! 
 
See for yourself here!
 

lawajava
That story reminded me of a crumb of knowledge I had filed away in my head.

A movie I enjoyed in the past is Cinderfella which stars Jerry Lewis. There's an amazing scene in there of him dancing. Amazing talent. I recall hearing or reading that part of the routine caused him to have a heart attack, and he was young at the time.

I looked it up just now in Wikipedia and in the Production section of the Wikipedia article there is mention of that occurring.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderfella

After he recovered I guess they finished the second half of the routine. Still looks seamless and effortless on screen. Jerry was a talent in his younger days.

 
I think a lot of people forget how strenuous dancing can be because it's so much fun. 

Rain
You might remember a silly show called Alf. Max Wright was my age (43).
 

 
Most of my friends who are my age and even older seem to look younger than Mr. Wright on that picture. On the other hand, to the younger generation, we probably look as old as Mr. Wright did to us...
 
Maybe each generation has it so much easier than the previous that the aging process slows down.
 
Then again - adults back then looked and behaved like adults. They weren't trying to look like teenagers. I can't imagine my dad playing video games, collecting comic books and buying Star Wars toys for his mancave... 
 
And I often think that I would have been quite disoriented if he did.

That is nuts. I remember Alf, I would have put Mr. Wright at between 55 and 60. Even looking at him now at my age he looks way older. 
 
It's definitely true that people seem to take longer to grow up these days. I frequently compare myself to my dad when he was my age, which doesn't seem that long ago, and he was so much more of an adult than me. 
 
I'm also freaked out when I hear how young musicians and authors were when they wrote some song or book that I admire. I've been reading Evelyn Waugh recently (Decline and Fall) and I was shocked to find out he was in his early 20's when he wrote it. His grasp of characterization, dialog and all of the little insights and details in his writing make him seem much much older - there's no way I could have written like that at his age. 

craigb
Well, you made me look and, WOW, I can't believe how many big names are my age! 
 
See for yourself here!
 

Oh God. I'm the same age as Doogie friggin Howser. 

sharke 
 
I'm also freaked out when I hear how young musicians and authors were when they wrote some song or book that I admire. I've been reading Evelyn Waugh recently (Decline and Fall) and I was shocked to find out he was in his early 20's when he wrote it. His grasp of characterization, dialog and all of the little insights and details in his writing make him seem much much older - there's no way I could have written like that at his age. 

Happens to me all the time! Though it all started way back - Rimbaud was one of my favorite authors when I was in college. By 21, he'd written his masterpieces and given up on writing.
 
When I saw that DaVinci exposition a few years ago, it blew my mind to see how much he'd accomplish - and that was only a small part of his legacy. Same when I got into Schubert and learned that he'd died at 31 - its unbelievable that he wrote so much.
 
I always smile when people post those mêmes about Bruce Dickinson and his accomplishments - I shouldn't because I haven't accomplished a 100th of what he's done. But still...
 
I look at a hero of mine, Nietzsche, who was fluent in Greek and Latin, on top of being familiar with French, English, Italian, who laid down the fondations of modern psychology and left behind a massive body of work, who was also well versed in philology, and who even found time to learn to learn to write music (even though his works are usually considered mediocre) - all that while teaching and battling crippling disease, before his brain basically shut down at age 44...
 
Of course, back then, there was no Coffehouse or Facebook. :P
 
 

Damn Facebook. I really keep meaning to set up one of those apps which block it for a set amount of time. It really does screw with my productivity because I always find myself involved in some conversation or other and that damn notification indicator keeps drawing me in. 

I do set a lot of time aside to do more productive things and to read and learn. For me, having pleasant little rituals is the key. Nowadays, I look forward to any moment when I can light a candle, pour myself a glass of wine, grab a few crackers and a couple of olives and sit back with a book.
 
Next up is teaching myself rudimentary latin. And I need to get back to painting.
 
I've also found that there are some courses and lectures available for free on the internet - I watched one recently about the history of the Hebrew Bible by a Yale University professor. Almost 20 hours worth of material. Quite fascinating.
 
But if I don't plan ahead, I just sit here and end up wasting my time online, and before I know it, the whole evening is gone and I've wasted another day. Turning 43 seems to have made me want to manage my time more carefully. I definitely don't have as much time to watch silly kitten videos or to listen to bad music. I feel the need to make every moment I get to do those things count.