Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2015 i Zoomer Magazine

AS WE GO TO PRESS, the election campaign is in full swing. Time to cue the usual chatter about apathy among younger voters – and with good reason. Despite the spectre of hyper-engaged do-gooding millennials who aim to recast the world according to their values (remind you of anyone, boomers?), the numbers don’t lie. As Moses Znaimer points out in his Zoomer Philosophy, Chapter 55 (page 10), our demographic goes to the polls. The reason isn’t because people of a certain age have more time on their hands. I wager it’s because mature Canadians have lived lives filled with enough experiences, achievements and disappointments that they have strong opinions on what matters to them and to society. They know that voting has a purpose. Well it should. But because of…

THIS PAST JULY, just a week before Stephen Harper triggered one of the longest federal election campaigns in Canada’s history, I attended the 21st annual Elvis Festival in the town of Collingwood, Ont. Billed as the largest annual such festival outside of Memphis, the event drew over 30,000, almost doubling Collingwood’s population over its four-day run. The array of Elvi was impressive, but even more startling to me was the sheer concentration in the crowd of our demographic: Zoomer Nation. Since 2008, I’d been talking about the strange invisibility of our burgeoning group, which actuarial predictions led one to believe would one day soon be everywhere you turned. Finally, in Collingwood and increasingly at other political and cultural events I’ve been attending recently, that day appears to have arrived. Suddenly,…

Famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma celebrates his 60th birthday on Oct. 7, but it’s his fans that receive the gift: two days later, he releases his latest album, Songs from the Arc of Life, which he calls “a reflection, a sample of what might be or could have been or was.” He recently spoke with Zoomer’s Judy Gerstel. Judy Gerstel: You’ve had an amazing life and career… Yo-Yo Ma: The thing[s] I missed I can never redo. My wife believed in what I was doing even though it meant my leaving. We’ve been married 37 years, and I’ve been gone 24 of those years. But I was never made to feel guilty. It was an unbelievably generous thing that she did. JG: Will life change at 60? YYM: The older I…

SUPERHEROES ARE ALL THE RAGE these days, but where are all the seniors? Oh, right – Our knees ache, our eyes are blurry and we want to be close to a bathroom! Fear not, budding crime fighter! The latest in high-tech will turn back the clock and have you doling out vigilante justice in no time. Or at least have you off the couch and to the bathroom and back before the commercial break is over. Either way – justice prevails! MARVELLOUS MOBILITY! Stop using your legs to chase down ruffians like some boorish savage. The slick Whill Personal Mobility Device can hit nine kilometres an hour and climb curbs while you relax in a seated position. The all-directional wheels pivot in tight spaces, while the four-wheel drive propels you…

WHEN THE ENORMOUSLY popular online sports columnist Bill Simmons fled ESPN earlier this summer to sign on with HBO – where he will host a weekly talk show – he left a gaping void for readers who loved his insightful analysis and hilarious takes. Known as the Sports Guy, he parlayed his small Boston-based blog into a North American Internet sensation, combining sports talk with pop culture observations in a weekly brew that garnered him millions of followers. One of Simmons’ best-known premises was his desire to be appointed Sports Czar, giving him far-reaching powers to arbitrarily change anything he felt would improve sports. His first move (who could argue?) would be to ban all sideline reporters. So to honour the Sports Guy and his decade of entertaining readers, I’ll…

YOU DON’T HAVE TO GET HIGH TO GET HELP. There are over 100 different compounds called cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. Many are nonpsychoactive and don’t cause you to get “high.” It depends on the percentage of THC (the psychoactive component) and the percentage of CBD (the non-psychoactive component). Hepburn says, “The number one thing people are concerned about is that they don’t want to get high, they want to get help. And they can have it. For some cannabinoids, you can take massive doses and not have a single psychoactive effect. The art of taking cannabis is knowing what combination of cannabinoids is best for what condition.” START LOW AND GO SLOW. When it comes to how much cannabis to take, Sealey and Hepburn advise starting low and going…

IN AUGUST, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne inserted herself into the federal election campaign when her Liberal government announced it would implement a provincial pension plan. Immediately, Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrote off her Ontario Retirement Pension Plan as an “enormous tax increase.” Wynne responded that Harper was “standing in the way” of pension reform. Although it hasn’t been passed into law, the ORPP should look something like this. The plan is designed to act in conjunction with CPP to provide Canadians with a more financially secure retirement. When it’s fully phased in, workers will contribute 1.9 per cent of their income (up to $90,000) and their employers will match that contribution. Enrolment in the plan will be mandatory, except if you’re in a company that has a comparable pension plan…

Rarely do high fashion makeup trends translate for over-40 women, but the skincentric “no-makeup makeup” that ruled the Fall 2015 runways is perfect for boomers. MAC cosmetics senior artist Melissa Gibson recounts that backstage, before raising a single makeup brush, artists prepped models’ skin by “spending a lot of time massaging moisturizer into the skin, bringing a natural flush back to the cheek to make skin look less tired, more hydrated,” says Gibson. Try: Weleda Evening Primrose Age Revitalizing Day Cream, $43; Shu Uemura Tsuya Youthful Bouncy-Fine Cream, $90. Jettison any old opaque foundations and lighten up with the new generation of tints that do double-duty to hydrate and illuminate with just enough sheer colour to even out skin tone. Try: Cle de Peau Correcting Cream Veil, $85.A concealer in…

lUCKY THE GENERATION whose zest for exploring the world and enriching their minds has the time and energy to cruise. Current waves of change in the industry are proof positive that cruise lines are keenly boosting their brands by building new ships to secure the loyalties of passengers who may venture to different styles of cruising. For example, river cruise magnate Viking launched Viking Star in May 2015 to enter the ocean cruise market. Ocean cruiser Crystal, whose super-deluxe style pampers a dedicated clientele, is building two, all-suite ships to ply European rivers, starting in March 2017. Gearing to families, Disney is partnering with AmaWaterways for Danube River cruises in 2016 and Tauck River Cruises is adding family-focused itineraries for 2017. For wanderlusts, the newest slate of ships and itineraries…

A PERK OF BEING one of the greatest actors of all time: you have your own trailer. Robert De Niro has had his for about 15 years. It shows up on all his film sets. It’s not tricked out, except for dozens of framed photos of friends and family. But it immediately becomes the centre around which every shoot revolves. “It’s like you’re in his living room,” says the writer-director David O. Russell, who has made three films with De Niro (Joy, due in December; American Hustle; and Silver Linings Playbook, which earned De Niro an Oscar nomination). “Part of that is the people who are there. Part is the food – he serves the best Italian food wherever he is. And a certain kind of music is playing, the…

AT 83, Alanis Obomsawin, an award-winning icon in the documentary film industry, is travelling non-stop to shoot her documentaries about indigenous people in Canada. Despite her gruelling schedule and the fact that she is juggling three or four films at once, she appears peaceful and quiet. Nothing in her expression hints that she is between two shoots or is preoccupied by the tragic stories she is documenting. After the showing of one of her documentaries, Hi-Ho Mistahey!, which means “I love you a lot, a lot, a lot,” at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, she walked on stage and twirled in a short dance in front of an audience in awe of her. The crowd is obviously moved by the story they’ve just watched: Shannen Koostachin, a 15-yearold girl…

AJAX-PICKERING, ONT. (CH 20) Randy Filinski, 905-509-1708, ajaxpickeringcarp@live.ca AVALON, N.L. (CH 1) Sharron Callahan, 709-690-1238, carpavalon@gmail.com BARRIE, ONT. (CH 36) Gwen Kavanagh, 705-252-4756, barriecarp@gmail.com BRAMPTON, ONT. (CH 52) Peter Howarth, 647-918-4802, bramptoncarp52@gmail.com BRANTFORD, ONT. (CH 17) David Simmons, 1-888-363-2279 x264, carpbrantford@gmail.com BROCKVILLE-1000 ISLANDS, ONT. (CH 40) Dawn Edgley, 613-802-0424, edgley.carp@gmail.com CALGARY, ALTA. (CH 10) Susan Costello, 403-256-1181, carpcalgary@gmail.com CHATHAM-KENT, ONT. (CH 49) Sharon A. Jubenville, 519-682-1796, carpchathamkent@gmail.com EDMONTON, ALTA. (CH 13) Bernice Rempel,780-450-4802, carp.edmonton@gmail.com FREDERICTON, N.B. (CH 27) Suzanne Maltais, 506-455-2620, carp.fredericton@gmail.com GEORGIAN BAY, ONT. (CH 14) Linda Flemington, 705-888-9204, carpgeorgianbay14@gmail.com GREATER BAY OF QUINTE AREA, ONT. (CH 39) Mary Robertson, 613-967-9479, carpbbq@gmail.com HALIBURTON, ONT. (CH 54) Bob Stinson, 705-457-3919, carp.haliburton@gmail.com HALIFAX, N.S. (CH 22) Bill VanGorder, 902-497-8073, chair@CARPnovascotia.ca HALTON, ONT. (CH 3) Tom Carrothers, 905-319-7345, carphaltonchapter@gmail.com HAMILTON, ONT. (CH…

Getting your recommended seven to ten servings of fruits and veggies each day is easy with all the delicious homegrown produce that's in season. Metro has inspiration to help you savour the best of fall, using the freshest local ingredients and simple recipes for wholesome meals from breakfast to dinner. Discover them at www.metro.ca. FALL’S HEALTHY FEAST 1 Counting carbs? Cauliflower has a low glycemic index and is a great potato alternative. Aside steamed fish, a cauliflower puree is delish! 2 Local produce is the star of autumn desserts like pumpkin pie and carrot cake. Visit Metro to stock your pantry with holiday baking essentials, like allspice, cinnamon, cloves and nuts. 3 Freezing your favourites is both a money- and timesaver. Most veggies can be frozen up to one year.…

Tim Collins is an award-winning writer and journalist from Victoria. He began writing for a living after retiring 15 years ago from a long and varied business career. These days, he balances writing with happily caring for two sixyear-old grandchildren. In his piece “All the Right Moves” (pg. 70), Collins introduces us to a number of his contemporaries who take staying active seriously – extreme sport seriously. Johanna Schneller writes the “Fame Game” column for the Globe and Mail, as well as a new column, “What I Watched Last Night,” for Metro and the Toronto Star. She’s profiled Kim Cattrall and Diane Keaton for Zoomer cover stories and, for this issue, Robert De Niro in “You Talkin’ to Me?” (pg. 56). “It’s a thrill walking into a room [where he…

The FDA approves a pill, a.k.a. the “female Viagra,” purported to boost a woman’s sex drive Many women remain disappointed, however, when the pill fails to cure the source of their waning sex drive – the guy sitting on the couch next to them for the last 40 years in the torn underwear eating Cheetos and scratching himself. Bugs Bunny turns 75 ... despite the best efforts of Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam. Singapore researchers develop “smart diapers” that alert caregivers when an elderly patient requires a change So, like any good electronic device, it sends an alert when your “download” is complete. New research shows that the higher a man’s intelligence in early adulthood, the better physical shape he’s likely to be in later in life Technically, if the…

THE YEAR of the monkey has produced, historically, a vast array of creative, intelligent and dynamic people who excel, arguably, the most at hacks; that is, problem-solving in the most aggressive and stylish ways possible. This skill set can be tracked to the Yoruban “signifying monkey” or Exu, an ancient trickster known for his deadly verbal dexterity or the way in which – states critic John Edgar Wideman – he deploys a language that is “both carnival and minefield.” Human primates born under this sign are very often exceedingly gifted at creating slippery, ingenious ways out of tricky situations or seemingly impossible problems. The latter set includes Leonardo da Vinci, who taught us how to paint a seemingly lovely woman with a demure smile who must live, to cite Kenneth…

A LITTLE OVER a century ago, the French artist Paul Gauguin painted a haunting canvas. It shows various figures, male and female, young and old, clad and unclad, against a Polynesian background. It also features a mysterious idol, a dog, two cats, a goat and a curious-looking white bird. In the upper left-hand corner, the artist etched an inscription that is both the title and an explanation of the work. It reads: D’ou venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Ou allons-nous? Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? The painting was Gauguin’s attempt to address a question that has dogged philosophers, scientists and theologians since ... forever. In four words: why are we here? Me? I’ve spent a lifetime trying to infuse my existence with some grand purpose.…

IT WAS A DINNER that triggered a flood of memories from our early careers. I had known vaguely that my friend Barbara Cole started in print journalism, as I did, but I had no idea about the hilarious details that reminded me of my own adventurous beginnings in the business. Barbara is an award-winning artist whose work focuses on arresting images taken underwater. She honed her talent during the decade she worked at the Toronto Sun, a job she landed at the age of 19, when the paper was a start-up. Barbara was working as a secretary. She had done some modelling and had appeared in a bridal supplement for the Sun when she was called in for an interview. “I was told that if I took the job –…

RISK IS A four-letter word, not to be spoken in polite company – especially if the topic of conversation is retirement savings. Thousands of older Canadians learned this when they saw their savings decimated in the crash of 2008, forcing some to delay their retirement plans and others to implement painful lifestyle changes to make ends meet. If anything, the danger is even greater now. With interest rates near record lows, people are reaching for yield in an effort to obtain better returns. Instead of putting their money into safe, secure guaranteed investment certificates and government bonds, they’re buying dividend stocks and high-distribution funds. That spells risk. Not even the bluest of blue-chip stocks is immune to a market meltdown – banks, telecoms, utilities, REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), even…

Good nutrition is about more than what you eat. It’s also about what you’re eating eats. Research has shown cows who grazed on grass alone – as they would naturally – produced milk that’s better for us as opposed to that from cows on a conventional diet supplemented with grains and fats. Matthew von Teichman knows all about feed. A second-generation farmer turned natural food entrepreneur, his family’s Grandview Farms in Thornbury, Ont., went organic in 2006 and grass-fed in 2009. After success with meat – most of what isn’t used for von Teichman’s Life Choices Natural Foods brand fulfills standing orders from Toronto restaurants – he partnered with small pasture-raising farms throughout Canada, venturing into dairy. Von Teichman enlisted U of T’s department of nutritional sciences to test the…

ABOUT 11:40 P.M. a few weeks before Christmas, I was standing in our living room in downtown Toronto. Just back from my semiregular two-hour evening bike ride, I was complaining to my wife that my shoulders and elbows were aching, and that was odd because it was usually my wrists that hurt post-ride. Patricia said something like, “That’s angina until proven otherwise” and that I must arrange to see our family doctor. Typically, I pooh-poohed her concern. She gave me a couple of ASA, instead of the usual painkiller, for its clot-busting properties. I claimed the pain was all gone but took them anyway before heading up to our third floor to watch the day’s sports recap. With this modest bit of advice, my wife, a psychiatrist, initiated a cascading…

CARP PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE for 2015 In 2012, Tom Mulcair addressed the CARP AGM. In 2014, it was Justin Trudeau. In both cases, they made major CARP-focused policy pronouncements, specific promises that are now in play in the current election. Meanwhile, Stephen Harper’s government offered up measures in this year’s 2015 spring budget that include reducing the mandatory RRIF withdrawal rates, doubling the TFSA tax shelter, extending EI compassionate leave to care for terminally ill loved ones, investing in brain research to develop tools to help dementia sufferers and their families, and a federal home renovation tax credit. Clearly, CARP’s membership and expert advocacy matter to aspiring and sitting prime ministers alike! This is in part due to Susan Eng, formerly CARP’s VP of Advocacy. Please don’t panic when I say…

“There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren’t as good as others” —Raymond Chandler ONE CAN SAY the nip came before the nation as whisky distillation came to our soils before we were called Canada. While European immigrants had brought stills and knowledge of distillation with them as early as the 1700s, the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867, when three British colonies became four provinces of the new dominion. The famous settlers who laid the foundations for Canadian distillation include Molson, Gooderham, Worts, Corby, Wiser, Walker and Seagram and, by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, our own Gooderham & Worts was briefly the largest distillery in the world. The legacy of the Gooderham and Worts families lives on as…

YOU’VE NO DOUBT HEARD that sitting is the new smoking. And with half of our day spent on sedentary pursuits – those performed while sitting – there may be some truth to it. As Canadian researchers found, inactivity is putting us at higher risk for cancer as well as heart disease, diabetes and death. Simply standing instead of sitting burns twice as many calories and helps strengthen bones and muscles. Take advantage of those upright benefits while you work with a Teknion Livello height adjustable desk (above). It uses a counterbalance spring to easily raise and lower for sit-to-stand breaks or vice versa. $1,500, www.teknion.com Take it a step further – literally – with the Fitneff WalkTop treadmill desk. The desktop attaches to most treadmills, and its height and incline…

If laughter is the best medicine, then Scottish comedian Billy Connolly is constantly self-medicating. Despite recent health setbacks including a cancer diagnosis, Parkinson’s, hearing issues and memory loss, Connolly rides his High Horse comedy tour across Canada through October and November. ■ On his motivation to do a stand-up tour “Greed. Insatiable greed. And the desire to be applauded. [Laughs] Carried shoulder-high from the room and dumped in the river.” ■ The moment he fell in love with Canada “I was watching [a Canadian talk show] one night and there was a kind of semi-crazedlooking man being interviewed, and he had a big model car, like a Cadillac, carved from wood. He wanted to swap it for a buffalo. A real buffalo. And I thought, ‘I think I like Canada.…

Finally, a real birthday grand enough for one of the Mad Hatter’s tea party toasts. It’s been 150 years since young Alice tumbled down the rabbit hole into the fantastical wonderland of smoking caterpillars and tyrannical playing cards. Author David Day marks the occasion with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland DECODED(Sept. 29), an artfully designed compilation that includes Lewis Carroll’s story along with Day’s meticulously researched notes on the real-life inspirations behind the characters and events. Adorned with spectacular illustrations, it’s a fresh and modern look at a timeless tale that’s thrilling enough to make the Cheshire Cat grin.…

AREN’T YOU WORRIED you’ll be lonely?” friends asked before I moved to Paris last June knowing no one. “God, no,” I said. “I’ll have time and energy to date.” Thanks to modern technology (bonjour, OkCupid and Tinder), this was my chance to explore Paris’s age-appropriate single men. And explore I did, going on a first-date bender as soon as I arrived. Call it Operation Meet Frenchment. Mind you, the very first date was with a man I’ll call Scottish Guy, who I was meeting after months of emailing before my plane touched the tarmac. Online, our intellectual compatibility was bang-on, so high hopes were unavoidable. In person, he was kind and witty as expected, but the price you pay for online flirtation is postponing that essential litmus test – chemistry…

I AM A CARP MEMBER. Tell me what you will do to fix [fill in the blank].” In this federal election campaign, with the parties in a dead heat at press time, there is no better time to get the candidates talking about our issues. So CARP will be issuing door hangers (see it on page 92) to all our members to use to help shape the conversation on their doorstep rather than let the candidate drone on with talking points. When a candidate knocks on our doors, they will need to answer to the voters’ priorities, like the high cost of drugs or lack of help to care for loved ones. Refreshing idea! Disruptive even. CARP members do not define themselves in the ways politicians do – they are…

IN HER FIRST television commercial as a L’Oréal spokesmodel, 69-year-old Helen Mirren, elegantly dressed in a classic trench, is offered a young woman’s seat while waiting for the bus. After declaring, “Enough!” she uses her L’Oréal cream, zips up a black biker jacket, strides confidently down a boardwalk and smiles knowingly to the viewer after giving a lingering once-over to a much younger man. It’s all saucy wish fulfillment, yes. And yet, when the camera goes in tightly on Mirren’s face, her lines are all there, not airbrushed out. But her skin positively glows. So let us take this as the new beauty benchmark. Given that most of us start getting feathery lines around our eyes in our late 20s, spending the next half-century fighting them seems pointless. Instead, let’s…

HAVING A PURPOSE in life may be protective against stroke. At Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, brain autopsies showed that older people were much less likely to have evidence of strokes in their brains if they’d felt a strong purpose in life. Other studies show that a life purpose is linked with living longer, slowing Alzheimer’s disease, lower risks of depression and heart attack – and even a better sex life! But what defines a life purpose? Researchers say that’s up to you. It might mean constantly learning and bettering yourself or contributing to your community. Inspired to find yours? Here are 45 ways to get you started. PUT PEN TO PAPER The process of writing down what you find meaningful will set you on the right track. Try making…

There’s an old sports axiom that says no matter how big your opponent, they’re all the same size when they're on their back. The reality proves more jarring when it’s the revered athletes themselves who are felled. Gordie Howe faced a life-altering battle when he suffered a stroke in 2014 but, unlike Bret Hart’s more traditional stroke rehab, the hockey legend’s family found themselves taking an unorthodox approach. Howe, then 86, suffered his stroke on Oct. 26 and, by early December, was weak, immobile and barely responsive. His family prepared for the worst when Stemedica Cell Technologies, an American biopharmaceutical company, offered an opportunity for stem cell treatments – currently unavailable in Canada and the U.S. – at a clinic in Mexico. The two-day treatment included an injection on Day…

THE COBBLESTONES of Lisbon, the castle of Prague, the ruins of Rome – for most tourists, they’re a dream come true. For the traveller with reduced mobility, they can be a nightmare. The big wide wonderful world is not always a welcoming place for the differently abled who yearn to experience its glories, curiosities and cuisines. About 15 per cent of the Canadian population has a disability, and 25 per cent of those have a mobility problem. Hearing, sight and cognitive impairment account for the rest. For people 65 and over, the percentage with special needs rises to more than 40 per cent. “I always wanted to go to France,” says Nancy Gilmore, wistfully. “And Italy. I looked into Greece, but it seems impossible.” The 59-year-old Edmontonian uses a wheelchair…

■Favourite lipstick My everyday go-to is Frost by M.A.C. And a selection of Guerlain for a more sophisticated look. ■ Favourite treatment Hammam and gommage, as this was the experience at La Mosquée in Paris in 1987 that inspired me to create the first hammam in Canada. ■ Favourite Vancouver restaurant As Vancouver is more of a casual city, I prefer more casual dining: Branas Mediterranean Grill. It has the best deck: you may just think you are in the south of France. Cobblestone and sailboats with a million-dollar view! ■ Best relaxing vacation destination The island of Djerba. I have been going for years to indulge in my annual thalassotherapy cure. After morning treatments, I daydream in a chaise lounge as the camels and horses pass by along the…