Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 - January 2016 i Zoomer Magazine

THIS PAST SEPTEMBER a young editor at Playboy magazine walked nervously into the dining room of the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles and told Hugh Hefner, 89 and still editor-in-chief, that he thought the time had come for Playboy to stop publishing pictures of naked women. Hefner agreed, and the unthinkable happened. As of this coming March, Playboy’s print edition will continue to include shots of women in “provocative poses” – but none will be completely nude. For this chapter, No. 57, the Playboy bombshell is both appropriate and ironic. I initially modelled my Zoomer Philosophy on the monthly column Hefner himself, 36 at the time, wrote during the early ’60s. As I noted in the very first chapter of my effort, Hefner’s Playboy Philosophy (which ran for only 25…

NOT ALL health goals are good goals. Yep, I said it. You might be trying to lose weight, but just making the goal of “lose weight” isn’t going to help you get there. Here are my foolproof tips for setting a few targets to improve your health. If you haven’t made your New Year’s resolutions yet or you’re having trouble getting going on them, now is the time to make your goals better. Here’s how. BE REALISTIC The easiest way to set a goal you’ll give up on is to pick one you can’t achieve. Choosing something that is obviously not achievable within a year will make you give up as soon as the going gets tough. When you have a goal you think is realistic, run it by…

IF YOU VOTED LIBERAL in the October election in hopes of a change, get ready. Those changes are coming soon, and many will have a direct impact on your wallet. Clearly, there’s a lot on the Liberal agenda when it comes to your family finances. The next few years are going to be busy. Tax Reductions The cornerstone of the Liberal platform was a promise to reduce the tax rate on middle-income Canadians (those earning between $44,700 and $89,401) to 20.5 per cent from 22 per cent at present. To compensate, those earning over $200,000 will be hit with a new 33 per cent federal tax bracket (the current top rate is 29 per cent). Watch for this to be a centrepiece of the first budget. The tax cut could…

IF DR. JOSH JOSEPHSON was contemplating the food heaped in front of him with something more than his customary combination of intense focus, rapacious curiosity and barely repressed anticipation, this had everything to do with circumstance. It was just after 11 a.m. and, with little more than a fruit smoothie under his belt, Josephson was sizing up a butcher paper-lined plastic cafeteria tray loaded with a pound or so of thick sliced slow-smoked turkey breast, an entire rack of pork spareribs, a pair of smoked beef sausage links and three pounds of beef brisket – two fat, one lean. “Gentlemen,” Josephson said, his voice surprisingly steady. “Shall we begin?” The gentlemen in question were three distinguished members of Josephson’s travelling barbecue connoisseurs club: Anson Group Canada hedge fund manager Moez…

CARP is a national not-for-profit, non-partisan association committed to advancing the quality of life for Canadians as they age. To become a member, call 1-800-363-9736 or go to www.carp.ca. “Our job is to disrupt the status quo,” said Susan Eng at CARP’s Annual General Meeting held at the Zoomerplex in Toronto. Eng met with 60 chapter chairs from across Canada who attended workshops such as the elements of Successful chapters and communicating with members. Eng noted that CARP’s two major achievements in 2015 were increased media exposure and successfully ensuring that the big advocacy issues were front and centre in the federal election. A record crowd of 36,500 enjoyed food, entertainment, music, exercise, travel, financial, faith and health-care offerings and left the 2015 ZoomerShow with coveted blue gift bags. Toronto’s…

(AND DOWN) 1 New study shows that the survival rate after heart surgery is higher among married seniors Decoding how 50 years of marriage contributes to landing you in cardiac surgery in the first place requires another study altogether. This is either a scientific breakthrough or the plot for Robocop: The Golden YearsA joint European project aims to build motorized exoskeletons for seniors to wear on their arms, legs and back to alleviate mobility issues. 2 Japanese and Finnish researchers are also looking to develop robot helpers to care for seniors Between the robotic exoskeleton and the robot servants, we’re one evil genius away from creating a race of Robo-grannies and gramps bent on world domination. 3 British scientists find a mixture of elements in champagne that could help ward…

ALCOHOL IS A FINE example of the adage that it’s “the dose makes the poison.” Many of us have heard that drinking alcohol in moderation is recommended for heart health. And, yes, for middle-aged and older adults, when consumed in moderation, it can be associated with health benefits, such as a decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke from blockage of a blood vessel in the brain (the most common type). And does it matter what type of alcohol? Some studies have suggested that red wine may have more cardiovascular benefits than beer or spirits, as it contains antioxidants like the polyphenol resveratrol, which are heart healthy. Other studies, however, have shown the benefit of regular moderate alcohol consumption in drinkers of beer and spirits as well.…

WHEN JOLANTA Petrycha remembers her childhood Christmases in Poland, she recalls the scent of a freshly cut tree set up and decorated on Dec. 24, an extra place setting at the table in case an unexpected friend or stranger showed up and a large carp swimming in the bathtub. The latter, she explains, would eventually find its way onto the table as part of Wigilia, the Polish Christmas Eve feast, but to ensure freshness, the fish had to be kept alive as long as possible. “My parents, grandmother, brother and I all lived in an apartment, so there was no other place to put it,” laughs the 58-year-old Torontonian who, along with her husband and children, immigrated to Canada in 1983. Like most Canadians, Petrycha’s present-day celebrations include a blend…

wE’VE BEEN married for 25 years and together for 30, and yet I am sure we both still entertain the occasional thought of . . . what? Starting over again with someone else? I’m not even sure that’s the impulse; the impulse may just be to avoid the same sameness for the time that is left. Don’t get me wrong: there’s a lot to be said for sameness, familiarity, comfort, not having to find a new apartment, etc. My friend Z. recently got married again for the third time. Each divorce has been more toxic and more expensive. His exes show up at dinner parties across the city, telling bitter, funny stories. He would say – at least, he would if he had the emotional vocabulary to say it –…

Join CARP or renew today for $29.95 and get 9 issues of Zoomer magazine, too! To get this special deal, please call 1.800.363.9736 and quote “CARPPROMO” review offers at CARP.ca/zoomerpromo. 1 RELOCATING? GET CASH BACK Delivering professional, nonstressful relocations for more than 25 years to all types of homeowners and individuals who are moving. Top rated realtors and professional movers, superior service and savings without compromise, that is our strength. Plus,receive cash back on a portion of real estate commissions – whether buying or selling! Discover a smarter way to relocate. Call 1-866-865-5504. 2 TRAVEL WORLDWIDE AND SAVE 35%* As a CARP member you’ll get 35% off* vacation rentals. Browse over 200,000 vacation rentals worldwide in the United States, Canada and Europe to enjoy savings on a wide range of…

Making Medicine Better NO ONE WILL EVER SAY: “Good news, you have a life-threatening disease!” But we’re getting closer to a day when a serious diagnosis is more of an inconvenience than a death sentence. Advances in medicine are producing sophisticated new diagnostic tools, like imaging and rapid DNA testing, with ever-more accurate and faster results. They’re leading to more personalized medicine, with patients receiving a treatment that matches their version of a disease, instead of the treatment their neighbour gets. Cancer survival rates, for example, are already increasing, thanks to earlier detection and more advanced approaches. We’re making headway in areas of medicine that were previously inaccessible, such as neuroscience. Every year, we understand more about the brain and we’re using this knowledge to tackle disorders in novel ways.…

DUE SOUTH FLORIDA SEASIDE EATS If you’re familiar with the Atlantic side of South Florida, you’ll know that it’s not always that easy to find a beachside spot where you can do lunch or an evening cocktail and dinner right off the sand. Well, we’ve discovered a hidden gem: the Hollywood Beach Marriott. The property’s restaurant, Latitudes, features a newly revamped roomy Broadwalk-side patio – yes, we said broadwalk, not boardwalk, as that’s what the locals have coined the pedestrian avenue lining the beach. No surprise that seafood is particularly good here; the fish tacos and the salmon are guest favourites. 954-924-2202; www.latitudeshollywoodbeach.com —Vivian Vassos WINTER ESCAPE ROUTES Air Canada’s got the south on the radar, adding more flights and larger jets just in time for sun seekers. New…

tHE FIRST TIME I meditated was in the 1960s, in an airless studio above a store on Yonge Street. Both yoga and yogurt were still unknown in Toronto. Our teacher was an East Indian gentleman dressed all in white, with a white beard. “Breathe into your third eye,” he instructed us. I breathed into my third eye and felt very silly. It’s not too late to take up Highland dancing instead, I thought. But by the end of the meditation, I became aware of a blue light gently blooming behind my eyelids – a blue light I now associate with the long, sinuous alpha waves of a brain that is allowing itself to relax. A few years later, as an enterprising hippie footloose in Europe, I sat in with a…

ACROSS 1 Annie or Oliver 7 Handy items when the boat motor dies 11 Common pasta suffix 14 Coffee jug 15 It sounds like a drop in the bucket 16 Boy toy 17 Quip about rejuvenation, Part 1 18 Recipients of a cake housing a saw, perhaps 20 Not as risky 22 Noted Reagan attorney general Ed 23 The quip, Part 2 27 French city of miraculous cures 28 Highly esteemed 29 Antarctic explorer Richard 30 Gives away the gag, in a way 31 “Your point being …?” 32 The quip, Part 3 35 Soft & ___ deodorant 38Kama ___ (Hindu love manual) 39 Sixth sense sort 40 Be an anti? 43 Put in quarantine 46 The quip, Part 4 48Cave ___ (“Beware of dog” to Caesar) 49 More…