Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Zoomer Magazine

WE ARE having a moment of reckoning. Natural disasters – a result of long gestating issues with the environment – and major upheavals in our politics and culture have crossed class, race and gender barriers and continue to hold us all in a collective grasp as we wait to see how the dust settles on this new world order if, in fact, it does. Where we once turned to our national and our religious leaders to guide us through tumultuous times, our cultural icons are now taking to the public pulpit, using their voices to bring us hope. Every moment gets the icon it needs to meet it and, for us at this time, it is Oprah Winfrey. For more than 30 years, Winfrey’s radical openness about her travails and…

It’s official – God prefers those who show up Researchers say risk of death dropped 40 per cent in seniors who attended religious ceremonies once a week. In an interview ahead of his 85th birthday, legendary music producer Quincy Jones accused Michael Jackson of musical plagiarism, called The Beatles the worst musicians in the world, implied Marlon Brando had sex with Richard Pryor and claimed he dated First Daughter Ivanka Trump Which is strange, given the interview question was simply, “How are you doing today, Mr. Jones?” Well, it’s cheaper than getting the plastic surgeon to give you the “Cher special” Study says middle-aged women looked three years younger after doing facial exercises each day for 20 weeks. And for those who feel facial exercises aren’t gooey enough … Snail…

If you missed our special travel booklet in the March issue, you can view it online – and be in the travel know. To celebrate Zoomer magazine’s 10th anniversary, we’ve launched Zooming: The Travel Club. And everyone’s invited. To get the party started, we’ve partnered with Go Ahead Tours to offer Zoomer readers five specially curated journeys by the editors just for you. For itineraries, log on to everythingzoomer.com/travelclub, where you can also find editors’ picks, city guides, insider info and more to come. Go where you want to go.…

BACK IN MY finance days, I worked with a clerk who liked to buy office supplies in small batches several times a week. She declared proudly that she was saving company money because no supplies sat around “being wasted.” We were always running out of supplies. Staff would have to wait for a supply run, and the clerk could have found better uses for her time than repeated trips to the supply store. This is an example of a well-meaning decision producing terrible results. Sometimes these are small one-off decisions that are easily fixed. Other times, the problem is more severe, such as the series of decisions taken across this country in the delivery of home care. Decades ago, across Canada, home care was largely provided by registered nurses who…

THE FLOODWATER from the Rivière des Prairies rose slowly at first, then quickly. Rene LeBlanc, 71, watched with great alarm a block away from the river, on Des Maçons Street in Montreal’s West Island. LeBlanc had spent a lifetime thinking about disasters and risks of various kinds. Now retired, he had worked 45 years in insurance, specializing in loss prevention. When the river overflowed onto his street, he sprang into action, picking things off the floor in his basement in case it was inundated. LeBlanc was still downstairs with his daughter and two sons, who had come to help, when the rapidly rising floodwater encircled his house and started to pour down an outside staircase that led to the basement. A wall of water sent the door flying open with…

Here are seven tips on how to unearth significant memories and turn them into compelling stories. 1 Begin with a Spielberg list. Imagine the director wants to film your life story and asks you to list the 10 most important moments in your life, perhaps invisible to others but profoundly meaningful to you. This list gives you the arc of your life story, the basis of what you should write. 2 Start anywhere. Don’t fuss with knowing where your story starts or ends. Early drafts are meant to be loose, meandering, clunky. Silence that negative voice in your head (“Who do you think you are?”), find a quiet place where what you write won’t be overseen and let words and thoughts flow. Listen to your past selves, to who you…

Over a 20-year career, photojournalist Rick Collins has been recognized as Western Canadian News Photographer of the Year three times and twice as Canadian News Photographer of the Year. For “Fellowship of the Sea” (pg. 78), he documents a hardy West Coast troupe at their pastime. And this year, he’s promised to join them for a dip. Alex Roslin’s honours include a Canadian Association of Journalists award for investigative reporting and an Arlene Book Award. In 2015, he reported on tragedy for Zoomer in “Fire and Ice” about the L’Isle Verte nursing home fire. For this issue, he examines emergency response for seniors in “When Disaster Strikes” (pg. 62).…

Jimi Hendrix passed away in 1970, but as with fellow music legends Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Prince, Bob Marley, John Lennon and David Bowie – all ranked in the top 11 on Forbes magazine’s list of highest-earning dead celebrities for 2017 – mortality doesn’t stand in the way of releasing new albums. Both Sides of the Sky, the third in a trilogy that includes Valleys of Neptune (2010) and People, Hell and Angels (2013), contains unreleased and rare tracks mined from singer’s studio recordings. It also features appearances by musicians Stephen Stills and original Jimi Hendrix Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. Meanwhile, Canuck rocker Randy Bachman pays tribute to his musical hero, George Harrison, with By George – By Bachman. The disc reimagines some of the most famous…

WITH SPRING comes a bounty of fresh reads blooming across the literary landscape, beginning with How to Fall in Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush, the debut novel from Emmy Abrahamson, who based the tale of a romance between a hopeful writer and a man literally living in foliage, on her and her husband’s reallife love story. Another love story – or series of them – plays out in Man Booker Prize winner Alan Hollinghurst’s The Sparsholt Affair – already a hit in the U.K., which examines the lasting effect a charming young Oxford student had on a group of friends. Fellow Booker Prize-winner Peter Carey returns to his native Australia in the 1950s-set A Long Way From Home for a…

IRIS APFEL is a creature of an endangered species – the fashion eccentric. Considering the democratic and populist nature of the world of fashion today, with the unfettered access to a multitude of style choices, most players still adopt a herd mentality. Few dare to break from the pack and conjure up an original dress code. But the New York native has been standing out in the crowd for decades, dressed in an blaze of colour, an explosion of prints and accessorizing with multi-layers of chunky necklaces and stacks of giant bangles. For good measure, the cherry on top of her style concoction – which has become her trademark – a pair of seriously oversized, round and thick-rimmed glasses. And now at age 96, the self-described geriatric starlet has chronicled…

“I’d like to save more, but there’s just nothing left at the end of the month.” I’ve heard that refrain so often over the years that I’m thinking of writing a hurtin’ country song based on it. I know saving can be tough in this consumer-oriented world, but really all it takes is a little discipline and some technical help from your financial institution. Every bank and credit union offers automatic savings plans that deduct an amount you specify from your account each month. Have the money directed to an RRSP or a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and instruct the bank to invest it in no-load mutual funds. You’ll be amazed at how quickly it builds. For example, if you allocate $100 a month to an RRSP at an annualized…

AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, it’s easy to remember the day when you meet Oprah Winfrey. I first met her in 2008, at her house in Montecito, Calif. Her property, called The Promised Land, expresses as much warmth and grace as Oprah herself does, with towering oak trees and lush gardens lending themselves to an enveloping peacefulness. On one side, her views look out on the Santa Ynez Mountains. On the other side lies the Pacific Ocean. I had come to have lunch with Oprah, to talk about taking on the editor-in-chief role at her magazine, O. This was during the height of her blockbuster daily TV show, The Oprah Winfrey Show and, when she answered the door (yes, she answered the door herself), I felt as though I already knew…

When disaster strikes, people look to themselves and their families. This means that seniors, especially those without family nearby, are at particular risk. Simply warning people to be prepared isn’t good enough. If you’re a senior with health problems or mobility challenges, no amount of planning will make them go away. That’s why it’s past time for all disaster plans to specifically address the needs of seniors and ensure that in times of emergency, no seniors are lost or abandoned when they most need help. CARP POLL CARP asked its members: “How prepared would you say you are for a major natural or man-made disaster?” 54% Not very or not at all well-prepared 46% Extremely or very well-prepared…

Beginning a new chapter – literally and figuratively – can be daunting. Writing is no different, so why not meet likeminded burgeoning authors and learn from the “pros”? The annual Creative Nonfiction Collective Society’s Annual Conference, takes place May 4 to 6 at Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Featuring authors and journalists Kamal Al-Solaylee (Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes) and Carol Off (All We Leave Behind), indigenous writer/activist Lee Maracle (I am Woman) and American essayist Dinty Moore. The conference offers workshops and panels on topics ranging from writing humour to grappling with difficult material. For more information, go to creativenonfictioncollective.ca.…

’HOOD HUB What an inspiration to learn about Gwen [“On the Street Where I Live,” March]. It’s a combination of family (children), with neighbours, with people in need of interim support that creates her essential “at home” community. I am now thinking about what I need to change today for that to be part of my future. Retirement is a very long journey when I, too, can live to over 97! —Christine Haeberlin, via email STUDENT HOUSING I agree with keeping active socially. You probably live longer but, more importantly, happier. Years ago, after a divorce, I took in students to help with finances, but it turned out all of them were great company. One student was like a son, even after I remarried. Taking in students is a great…

HE IS A COMPOSER of melodic genius and telling theatrical savvy. He is a cheap panderer to the lowest common denominator, derivative and faceless” – so the New York Times summed up the polarizing takes on Broadway hit-maker Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical talents back in 1987. Still, despite critical opinion of the composer’s populist appeal and its perceived blight on the Great White Way, Webber’s work has enjoyed success unparalleled by his peers. In March, the Tony-, Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer celebrates his 70th birthday with the release of both his memoir, Unmasked, and the multi-CD set Andrew Lloyd Webber Unmasked: The Platinum Collection, featuring Barbra Streisand, Madonna and Sarah Brightman among other talents singing tunes from his most famous shows, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, The…

About a millennia and a half after the construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza and a few centuries before the Sphinx lost its nose, a dynasty known as the Fatimid Caliphate populated parts of North Africa, Iran and Sicily, establishing Cairo as its capital while fostering the spread of art, culture, education and faith across large swaths of the world. A thousand years on, the dynasty finally reaches a corner of the world it left untouched, courtesy of the Aga Khan Museum’s The World of the Fatimids. Ceramics, marble reliefs and metalware from the period arrive in North America for the first time and, when paired with modern virtual reality technology, breathe new life into this ancient civilization. THE WORLD OF THE FATIMIDS runs from March 10 to July…

1 Bold eyewear. Your glasses sit front and centre of your face and should be worthy. 2 A red lip. It’s a small thing but it packs a punch. 3 One for the neck. You don’t necessarily have to drape garlands of necklaces à la Iris. You can just wear one – just make sure it’s big, bold and graphic. 4 But two or more for the arms. A single bracelet? Why bother? Stack them up to your elbow. On both arms. 5 No budget. No problem. Do as Iris does and check out flea markets, vintage stores and the stores in ethnic neighbourhoods for some fabulously cheap and cheerful finds. 6 Dress for yourself.…

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A TRIP FOR TWO TO TEXAS DALLAS Modern and sophisticated with one of the largest urban arts districts in the world, trendy entertainment areas, a thriving culinary scene and incredible shopping. Explore Deep Ellum, the birthplace of Dallas jazz and blues, dine in Bishop Arts District (a former warehouse area that is the hot spot for dining) and take in a performance at the AT&T Performing Arts Center (a spectacular multi venue arts center). Big things happen here! ARLINGTON As the Sports & Entertainment Capital of Texas, Arlington is home to Six Flags Over Texas, Hurricane Harbor, the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame, the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Park and the Dallas Cowboys’ state of the art AT&T Stadium, the world’s largest…

“The battle lines are falling across the generational divide” IT’S BEEN MONTHS since the Weinstein allegations morphed into a movement, and the #MeToo effect is still a major force, giving voice to victims and shattering the lives of a growing list of prominent men. But now the backlash is equally vibrant, and many of the battle lines are falling across the generational divide. Mostly older critics are uneasy with the narrative that lumps rape and assault with lesser offences like groping and what used to be considered a bad date. The airing of unsubstantiated allegations reminds them of witch hunts and the excesses of the McCarthy era. The younger proponents hail this as justice and welcome a redefinition of what constitutes acceptable behaviour and consent. The encounter between a then…

THE DIVERSITY of microbiota decreases as we age. Preliminary research indicates that increasing the diversity could reduce the inflammation associated with age and perk up the natural decline in immunity. “It’s called precision, personalized medicine,” says Dr. Dana Philpott, citing the future likelihood of taking the genetic map of a person and overlaying their microbiome to find the way cure a disease. We do know right now that bacterial diversity is important to overall health. Antibiotics can wipe out the gut bacteria and damage the cells lining the gut. Here are steps we can take to bring back or maintain gut microbiota diversity. ◾ Foods that contain nutrients (prebiotics) that feed them (probiotics) can reestablish microbiota. The more food, or prebiotics, that probiotics have to eat, the more efficiently these…

MARTHA HARRIS was an elegant woman, still beautiful in her mid-80s, who hadn’t thought of her small-town childhood in years. There was no occasion to speak of the past. Who would ask, after all? Her grown sons figured they knew the outlines of her story, and the ladies she dined with at her well-appointed seniors home kept the conversation light. But, for me, as an author who crafts privately commissioned portraits of women like Martha, she was a blank canvas waiting to be filled in, and I wanted to know everything: what Christmas had been like for her as a little girl growing up in the deep forest of northern Ontario, what movies she and her sisters snuck into on Saturday afternoons by the side door because they only had…

LIKE MUCH OF HER writing, Mary Elizabeth Williams’ recent piece in Salon about having your funeral before you die was clear-eyed, well-written and surprising. In the short essay about her friend, she made it seem perfectly reasonable that a wake be held, whenever possible, while the subject’s still around to appreciate all the praise and warm feeling. Some of us live fully acknowledged lives – I imagine Malala already has a pretty good idea of the sorts of stuff that’ll be said in her obituaries – but most of us don’t, and hearing the good things people think about us would, you’d think, be the best possible send-off – except that would involve acknowledging we’re going to die. And we’re bad at that. Like Johnny Carson messing up his otherwise…