Quarter-Life Crises
With every passing birthday, trepidations of old age and mortality skirt Justin Lamorella's thoughts.
So he's probably 70 years old, right? Or at least 50?
Nope. Try 20.
Forget about mid-life crises. There's a social and generational phenomenon afoot: a quarterlife crisis. Sandwiched between a limping economy, tuition debt, the thought of a monotonous job and a society fixated on youth, an increasing number of young adults are petrified at the prospect of growing older, experts say.
"I'm always like, 'Man, I'm old,' " said Lamorella, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. "When I saw other people who were 20 years old when I was younger, they just seemed so old. But now, I'm the one who's 20.
"But I'm trying not to get too upset until I leave college," he said. "Then the fun is really over."
How can these college-age adults -- blessed with their seemingly-interminable trim waists and boundless energy -- be worried about growing old?
It's simple psychology.
"You're only as young as you think you are," said psychologist Larry Glanz. "If you think you're old and you're 21, you're old. It's in your mind."
Psychologists say our society places an inordinate emphasis on staying young. Flip on the television, and you're inundated with hair dye commercials, rippling six packs -- and heck, even erectile dysfunction miracle drugs. Anything to keep the beer distributors asking for ID.
The desire for youth has become as contagious as yawning.
"There are now phrases like '60 is the new 50,' '40 is the new 30,' " said Janet Schofield, a prominent psychologist. "People who are living older are living as though they're younger."
But where does that leave some who actually are young?
Worried, apprehensive and just a touch nostalgic, according to a dozen or so interviews with adults in their early 20s.
"We all know getting old is going to happen," Lamorella said. "It's because everyone on TV -- everyone -- talks about it so much."
Max Snyder, 21, of Shadyside offered his take: "Sometimes I think I should have done crazier things when I was younger. But now I'm too old."
This sentiment might be even worse for women, who begin hearing the rhythmic ticking of their biological clocks while in their early- to mid-twenties, Glanz says.
Then there's the economy. Fiscal downturns might be accelerating the fear of growing old, Schofield said. At a time when everyone seems to be reaching under their sofa cushions for spare change, tuition debt is only adding to the dread.
"When everything is really good and optimistic with the economy, moving into adulthood seems really friendly and good," Schofield said. "But if it's otherwise, the threat of becoming older is more scary."
As of 2004, the average college student graduated with a debt of about $20,000, according to the Washington-based U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Virtually every generation has been afraid of developing wrinkles, Glanz said, but this generation's fear is more acute because the nation's culture is changing. The pressure to succeed, to make something of yourself, to chase that ever-allusive American dream seemingly has intensified, he said.
It wasn't like that when Ozzie Tollefson, 71, of Hegins in Schuykill County graduated from college in 1960.
In those years, Tollefson said, he was excited for the future, not worried. But Tollefson, a high school English teacher for decades, understands more than most his age why the twenty-somethings don't want to be 71.
"They worry about getting old because it's hard to be really cool when you're old," he said. "I try to keep up, but sometimes I find it really laughable.
"What does it matter? We're all going to be worm food in the end."
So, how do you feel about this blog? Are YOU going through any type of mid-life or especially quarter-life crises?
My Top 8 TV Shows
Before I forget, if you'd like, please participate in my Emmy Contest, which is a separate blog entirely a few down!
OK, without further ado, Junky's Top 8 TV Shows. If you click on the title, it will direct you to the show's official homepage.
This is just one hell of a great show. Every vice in the world is explored and shown in full glory in this wonderful Showtime television show which has only had one season thus far but is returning in September. X-Files fans beware - this is NOT your old David Duchovny!
The link will take you to the official homepage where you can watch EVERY episode for FREE!
It is such a wonderful show. Overlooked by many.
6. House
The BEST medical show EVER.
5. Breaking Bad

The BEST show you have never watched an episode of. Amazing!
4. Deadwood

I've NEVER been so pissed off as I was when they stopped making this show. I adored the cast and everything about it.
3. Extras

Television at its absolute best. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are fabulous in every aspect of the word.
2. LOST
The show I can't live with or without. Absolutely brilliant with a wonderful cast and so many intriguing storylines.
Ricky and Stephen again, and the show that has influenced so very many comedies.
Well, that is all for now!
Hope you are all doing well! XOXO Junky
Estelle Getty Dead at 84?!
Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 84.
Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, died at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at her Hollywood Boulevard home, said her son, Carl Gettleman of Santa Monica.
"She was loved throughout the world in six continents, and if they loved sitcoms in Antarctica she would have been loved on seven continents," her son said. "She was one of the most talented comedic actresses who ever lived."
"The Golden Girls," featuring four female retirees sharing a house in Miami, grew out of NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff's belief that television was ignoring its older viewers.
Three of its stars had already appeared in previous series: Bea Arthur in "Maude," Betty White in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and Rue McClanahan in "Mama's Family." The last character to be cast was Sophia Petrillo, the feisty 80-something mother of Arthur's character.
When she auditioned, Getty was appearing on stage in Hollywood as the carping Jewish mother in Harvey Fierstein's play "Torch Song Trilogy." In her early 60s, she flunked her "Golden Girls" test twice because it was believed she didn't look old enough to play 80.
"I could understand that," she told an interviewer a year after the show debuted. "I walk fast, I move fast, I talk fast."
She came prepared for the third audition, however, wearing dowdy clothes and telling an NBC makeup artist, "To you this is just a job. To me it's my entire career down the toilet unless you make me look 80." The artist did, Getty got the job and won two Emmys.
It culminated a long struggle for success during which Getty worked low-paying office jobs to help support her family while she tried to make it as a stage actress.
"I knew I could be seduced by success in another field, so I'd say, 'Don't promote me, please,'" she recalled.
She also appeared in small parts in a handful of films and TV movies during that time, including "Tootsie," "Deadly Force" and "Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story."
After her success in "The Golden Girls," other roles came her way. She played Cher's mother in "Mask," Sylvester Stallone's in "Stop or My Mom Will Shoot" and Barry Manilow's in the TV film "Copacabana." Other credits included "Mannequin" and "Stuart Little" (as the voice of Grandma Estelle).
"The Golden Girls," which ran from 1985 to 1992, was an immediate hit, and Sophia, who began as a minor character, soon evolved into a major one.
Audiences particularly loved the verbal zingers Getty would hurl at the other three. When McClanahan's libidinous character Blanche once complained that her life was an open book, Sophia shot back, "Your life's an open blouse."
Getty had gained a knack for one-liners in her late teens when she did standup comedy at a Catskills hotel. Female comedians were rare in those days, however, and she bombed.
Undeterred, she continued to pursue a career in entertainment, and while her parents were encouraging, her father also insisted that she learn office skills so she would have something to fall back on.
Born Estelle Scher to Polish immigrants in New York, Getty fell in love with theater when she saw a vaudeville show at age 4.
She married New York businessman Arthur Gettleman (the source of her stage name) in 1947, and they had two sons, Carl and Barry. The marriage prevailed despite her long absences on the road and in "The Golden Girls."
Getty was evasive about her height, acknowledging only that she was "under 5 feet and under 100 pounds."
In addition to her son Carl, Getty is survived by son Barry Gettleman, of Miami; a brother, David Scher of London; and a sister, Rosilyn Howard of Las Vegas.
Were you a fan of Estelle's? How old did you think she was as of today?
EMMY NOMINATIONS - Pick Your Winners Contest!!!!!!!!!!
Just announced are the EMMY NOMINATIONS. Please pick your winner for each category below! Let us see who gets the most correct after the winners are announced. I'm only going to be listing the 'main' categories - these are just the 'main' ones that I consider. Could you be the winner? Who knows? May even be a prize in it for the winner!
11 Categories to Pick!
Put a
NEXT TO THE PICK YOU ARE MOST CONFIDENT IN! If you get this pick correct, it is worth 5 points! Every other pick is worth 1 point.
When commenting with your answers, PLEASE follow the format in the first comment, which are my picks! Thanks so much!!!!!
Outstanding Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm • HBO
Entourage • HBO
The Office • NBC
30 Rock • NBC
Two And A Half Men • CBS
Outstanding Drama Series
Boston Legal
Damages • FX Networks
Dexter • Showtime
House • FOX
Lost • ABC
Mad Men • AMC
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race • CBS
American Idol • FOX
Dancing With The Stars • ABC
Project Runway • Bravo
Top Chef • Bravo
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Pushing Daisies • ABC
Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook
Samantha Who? • ABC
Jean Smart as Regina Newly
Saturday Night Live • NBC
Amy Poehler as Performer
Two And A Half Men • CBS
Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper
Ugly Betty • ABC
Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Boston Legal • ABC
Candice Bergen as Shirley Schmidt
Brothers & Sisters • ABC
Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker-Whedon
Grey's Anatomy • ABC
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
Grey's Anatomy • ABC
Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang
In Treatment • HBO
Dianne Wiest as Dr. Gina Toll
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Entourage • HBO
Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold
Entourage • HBO
Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama
How I Met Your Mother • CBS
Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson (You Gotta Be F*cking Kidding Me...)
The Office • NBC
Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
Two And A Half Men • CBS
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Boston Legal • ABC
William Shatner as Denny Crane
Damages • FX Networks
Ted Danson as Arthur Frobisher
Damages • FX Networks
Zeljko Ivanek as Ray Fiske
Lost • ABC
Michael Emerson as Ben
Mad Men • AMC
John Slattery as Roger Sterling
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
The New Adventures Of Old Christine • CBS
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell (You Gotta Be F*cking Kidding Me...)
Samantha Who? • ABC
Christina Applegate as Samantha Newly
30 Rock • NBC
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon
Ugly Betty • ABC
America Ferrera as Betty Suarez
Weeds • Showtime
Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Brothers & Sisters • ABC
Sally Field as Nora Holden-Walker
The Closer • TNT
Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson
Damages • FX Networks
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson
Saving Grace • TNT
Holly Hunter as Grace Hanadarko
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Monk • USA
Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk
The Office • NBC
Steve Carell as Michael Scott
Pushing Daisies • ABC
Lee Pace as Ned
30 Rock • NBC
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy
Two And A Half Men • CBS
Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Boston Legal • ABC
James Spader as Alan Shore
Breaking Bad • AMC ![]()
Bryan Cranston as Walt White
Dexter • Showtime
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
House • FOX
Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House
In Treatment • HBO
Gabriel Byrne as Paul
Mad Men • AMC
Jon Hamm as Don Draper
PLEASE TELL ANY USERS HERE ABOUT THIS SO THEY CAN PLAY ALONG!
XOXO Junky
QUESTION and SONG OF THE DAY!
Question of the Day:
People break down into two groups when they experience something lucky. Group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in Group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation isn't fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in Group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences? (From Signs)
WHAT GROUP ARE YOU IN????
Song of the Day:
Alice Cooper - Only Women Bleed (Click)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SONG????
XOXO JUNKY



