http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/05/18/090518po_poem_frazier
"And so, at last, I am turning forty, In just a couple of days. The big four-oh. Yes, that is soon to be my age. (And not fifty-eight. No way. That Wikipedia is a bunch of liars.) Nope, not any other age, just forty. What other age could someone born in 1969 (and not 1951) Possibly be? (And please do not listen to my ex-wife, that sad, bitter woman in her late fifties.) What does it feel like, old bones? Yes, I have lost a step or two in the hundred-metre dash. I accept these changes. But if a guy says in a published poem that he is forty, As I am doing here, It’s obvious that must be the age that he is, Officially."
Reminds me of the old poem:
"One fine day in the middle of the night Two dead men got up to fight Back to back they faced each other
Drew their swords and shot each other.."
{{cn}} .....
FT2
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 3:20 PM, Gwern Branwen gwern0@gmail.com wrote:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/05/18/090518po_poem_frazier
"And so, at last, I am turning forty, In just a couple of days. The big four-oh. Yes, that is soon to be my age. (And not fifty-eight. No way. That Wikipedia is a bunch of liars.) Nope, not any other age, just forty. What other age could someone born in 1969 (and not 1951) Possibly be? (And please do not listen to my ex-wife, that sad, bitter woman in her late fifties.) What does it feel like, old bones? Yes, I have lost a step or two in the hundred-metre dash. I accept these changes. But if a guy says in a published poem that he is forty, As I am doing here, It’s obvious that must be the age that he is, Officially."
-- gwern
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On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 3:20 PM, Gwern Branwen gwern0@gmail.com wrote:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/05/18/090518po_poem_frazier
"And so, at last, I am turning forty, In just a couple of days. The big four-oh. Yes, that is soon to be my age. (And not fifty-eight. No way. That Wikipedia is a bunch of liars.) Nope, not any other age, just forty. What other age could someone born in 1969 (and not 1951) Possibly be? (And please do not listen to my ex-wife, that sad, bitter woman in her late fifties.) What does it feel like, old bones? Yes, I have lost a step or two in the hundred-metre dash. I accept these changes. But if a guy says in a published poem that he is forty, As I am doing here, It’s obvious that must be the age that he is, Officially."
-- gwern https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
So is he 58 or 40? His article currently says he was born in 1951, but there's no reference.
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 11:01 AM, Al Tally majorly.wiki@googlemail.com wrote:
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 3:20 PM, Gwern Branwen gwern0@gmail.com wrote:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/05/18/090518po_poem_frazier
"And so, at last, I am turning forty, In just a couple of days. The big four-oh. Yes, that is soon to be my age. (And not fifty-eight. No way. That Wikipedia is a bunch of liars.) Nope, not any other age, just forty. What other age could someone born in 1969 (and not 1951) Possibly be? (And please do not listen to my ex-wife, that sad, bitter woman in her late fifties.) What does it feel like, old bones? Yes, I have lost a step or two in the hundred-metre dash. I accept these changes. But if a guy says in a published poem that he is forty, As I am doing here, It’s obvious that must be the age that he is, Officially."
-- gwern https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
So is he 58 or 40? His article currently says he was born in 1951, but there's no reference.
Erm. Isn't it pretty clear he's 58? The whole poem is him humorously denying that he's 58 and pretending to a youthful 40.
The reason I posted it is because he's clearly gently mocking Wikipedia's policies on published material. 'If a guy says in a published poem that he is 40...obviously that must be the age that he is [despite all the other evidence that he's 58]'
2009/5/13 Gwern Branwen gwern0@gmail.com:
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 11:01 AM, Al Tally majorly.wiki@googlemail.com wrote:
So is he 58 or 40? His article currently says he was born in 1951, but there's no reference.
Erm. Isn't it pretty clear he's 58? The whole poem is him humorously denying that he's 58 and pretending to a youthful 40.
The reason I posted it is because he's clearly gently mocking Wikipedia's policies on published material. 'If a guy says in a published poem that he is 40...obviously that must be the age that he is [despite all the other evidence that he's 58]'
I'm not sure this poem can be taken as a reliable source that he is 58, but it most certainly can't be taken as any kind of source that he is 40. It is quite clear that the poem isn't intended to be taken seriously.
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 11:33 AM, Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.com wrote:
I'm not sure this poem can be taken as a reliable source that he is 58, but it most certainly can't be taken as any kind of source that he is 40. It is quite clear that the poem isn't intended to be taken seriously.
I was very tempted to edit the Frazier article to change his birthyear with this poem as a source, just to see whether the editors of that article are mindless WP:V/RS drones. But then I realized that, as salutary an example as that might be, it would be climbing a pointy government building.
2009/5/13 Gwern Branwen gwern0@gmail.com:
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 11:33 AM, Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.com wrote:
I'm not sure this poem can be taken as a reliable source that he is 58, but it most certainly can't be taken as any kind of source that he is 40. It is quite clear that the poem isn't intended to be taken seriously.
I was very tempted to edit the Frazier article to change his birthyear with this poem as a source, just to see whether the editors of that article are mindless WP:V/RS drones. But then I realized that, as salutary an example as that might be, it would be climbing a pointy government building.
Well done for showing restraint! You made the right decision.