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  • Alright this just struck me as so jesse-wtf on so many levels. Like, not just the randomness of GPS being the specific thing that is the singular modern miracle, not just that new-fangled technology existing that people who are now dead didn't get to experience is the reason why it's sad they're dead, but even why it is noteworthy that Helen Mirren has these thoughts, and why was she saying this of Kurt Cobain of all people?

    I figured there had to be more context, and there is, but nowhere near enough to adequately answer my questions. Apparently though, this isn't a one-off. She is known for talking about Kurt Cobain and how modern technology relates to his death. what-the-hell

    Of course, the comment came amid a broader point she was making about aging. “If you’re lucky, you get to be older,” she continued. “And then there you are. Oh my God, I’m 79! I never thought I’d be 79. And then you say, OK, well this is it. This is what 79 is. And it’s kind of OK. It’s not brilliant, but it was not that brilliant to be 25 either.”

    Mirren has referenced Cobain numerous times in the past when discussing the nature of aging. In 2014, she told Oprah Winfrey, “Look at Kurt Cobain — he hardly even saw a computer! The digital stuff that’s going on is so exciting. I’m just so curious about what happens next.”

    A year later, she told Cosmopolitan, “I was thinking about Kurt Cobain the other day and he died without knowing the internet, and I’m totally blown away by that.” And, in 2016, she said to the Daily Mail, “If I’d died at 27, the age that Kurt Cobain [of rock band Nirvana] died in 1994, I’d never have even known there was an internet! Incredible things are happening all the time and I can’t wait to see what comes next.”

    I suppose it's mildly (very mildly) interesting to know that some celebrity I have a vague notion of (Mirren) is an unlikely fan of another celebrity who I was once a huge fan of. And I guess everyone has their own unique ways of contemplating their mortality. huh

    • If you want a singular miracle tech then GPS would be a fine candidate

      • I agree that GPS has had a significant even profound effect on us as a global society and as individuals, I just think that it's far from the only technology that has. But fair enough on it being one of the better examples.

        • I completely agree. I don't think there's any one single technology that can really get that spot, but if you for some reason were going to give it out, I'd say it's a decent candidate. People's usual go tos are thing like penicillin or vaccines and I just wanted to broaden the horizon and yap about an interest

          • I just wanted to broaden the horizon and yap about an interest

            It was an excellent comment, I learned from it and have an even deeper appreciation for GPS now.

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