Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 - January 2017 i Zoomer Magazine

THIS YEAR was a difficult one. And at its closing came one of its deepest cuts. Leonard Cohen, Canada’s poet turned troubadour, was already our cover subject when the news of his passing broke. We were celebrating his 14th studio album, You Want It Darker, an astounding feat of creativity at the age 0f 82. This is also our annual Mind, Body and Spirit issue, and Cohen’s music and his particular mystique – an enduring mix of cool, sex and profundity – embodies that holistic view of the human condition. Of course he had me at “Suzanne,” but Cohen’s work has always been a salve to the deep, dark night of the soul – his and ours. This last album could as well have been titled You Want It Deeper,…

1 Don’t forget to take some overdue quiet time and enjoy the solitude by rediscovering the joys of some retro activities; listen to some vinyl on a turntable or piece together a scenic puzzle (this one features a painting by Canadian artist and Group of Seven member Lawren Harris). Puzzle, $25, www.ago.net/shop; turntable, $140, Hudson’s Bay 2 At this price, you can keep a stack of these cosy blankets on hand should you and your guests decide to sip hot chocolate next to a bonfire or hunker down in the basement for a movie night. They also make for great gifts for your guests to take home. Blankets, $12 each, Sears 3 Rum for the eggnog and whisky — from hockey legend No. 99, no less — to break the…

AFTER bottoming out from drug and alcohol addiction in the mid-1980s, Colette Baron-Reid made a choice that saved her life – she surrendered to the unknown. “I had a spiritual awakening,” she says, “and my life was forever altered.” Now, the renowned psychic medium, intuitive counselor, author and television host, 58, hopes to help others map their own inner spiritual path with her latest book Uncharted: The Journey Through Uncertainty to Infinite Possibility. “It’s about changing your thinking, feelings, beliefs, and basic worldview,” she says, “from separated to an intrinsic part of a unified whole.” MIKE CRISOLAGO: What exactly is an Uncharted journey? COLETTE BARON-REID: An inward spiritual exploration and discovery that begins by asking yourself questions about what you truly desire, what you believe and why, how your past…

I’M SO TAKEN BY THIS WAVE of appreciation for Leonard. Finally. There were many years, decades, where the work that we today recognize as exhibiting genius received little or no recognition. And still he kept working. Many people quit when they’re persistently ignored, but, as I said when I inducted him into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1991, his work is true. Of all the notable Canadian artists who’ve distinguished themselves over the past 50 years, I believe – in fact, I boldly predict – Leonard is the one who will last. I’m flooded with lines of his that are appropriate to the moment because Leonard had a line for every moment of your life. In “Everybody Knows,” he has this very droll line and, the first time…

1603 To the everlasting regret of Canada’s First Peoples, in the summer of 1603, the Algonquin tribe met with Samuel de Champlain at Tadoussac on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. All gathered to smoke a peace pipe with wishes for eternal friendship and co-operation for as long as the rivers run and the grass shall grow. Champlain and his crew were then granted landed immigrant status! Wrong! Champlain was perhaps the most ambitious land-grabbing explorer of his day. 1759 The confrontation between English and French forces on the Plains of Abraham remains the most significant battle in Canadian history. Having won the day, the English troops, upon entering the village of Quebec, were immediately confounded by the incomprehensible French traffic signage. Indeed, the issue remains today for…

YOU’RE SITTING DOWN to dinner with your family or friends when the doorbell rings. You go to the hallway, peer through the frosted glass and – blast it! – it’s a salesperson. It’s often just a youngster selling chocolates for school fundraising or a university-aged student repping a charity you don’t usually support. Those calls you can live with – the little kids are cute, the young adults need the cash and charities rely on door-knockers to fund their work. But it’s another breed of salesperson that’s causing some of you to fear opening the door: the highpressure huckster, pushing a furnace, air conditioner, water heater or water treatment system. Today, door-to-door salespersons are known as direct sellers, and they sell anything from cosmetics, home-care products and vitamins to home…

FIRST ... Two months in a row, Zoomer’s so-called prophet has had a go at wind turbines, when the target should probably be Ontario’s awkward and costly introduction of alternative energy forms. At least be constructive – we have to get off fossil fuels and soon. —Carol Bradley via email LAST ... Congratulations to Moses’s commentary that “wind turbine farms are a disaster” and disfigure the countryside. There is no better example than Wolfe Island off Kingston, Ont., which has gone from a beautiful view to a truly ugly one. — George Mather, Brockville, Ont. THE F WORD We still have a long way to go down the feminist path. Not until we allow all girls to go to school, stop female circumcision, female abuse and honour killings will we…

IF YOU LOOK at Whoopi Goldberg’s Instagram account, you’d notice she often photographs her footwear. From fabulous overthe-knee boots to quirky platforms, it’s obvious she loves shoes. But for her first fashion design foray, she focused on sweaters, with the launch of a collection of colourful and wonderfully wacky Christmas sweaters sold exclusively at Hudson’s Bay in Canada. The 60-year-old co-host of the popular daytime talk show The View says she’s always loved Christmas sweaters and often wears them on the show. “I really designed them for anybody who has a sense of humour and a sense of loving the holiday season.” The sweaters, at $179, are a mixture of wool, alpaca, cotton and cashmere and feature a variety of whimsical illustrations that are eye-catching, if not humorous. In the…

IT WASN’T SO VERY long ago that an English prince’s involvement with a commoner, let alone one from the colonies, let alone a divorcee, would cause an international incident. Just ask Wallis Simpson and the prince formerly known as King Edward VIII, who abdicated to marry her in 1937. Fast forward to 2016 and the fifth in line to the British throne, Prince Harry, is dating an American actress, Meghan Markle, who indeed is divorced. This time around, marital status is but a blip on the radar. Instead, it is the woman’s mixed race – she has a white father and a black mother – that is causing a flurry of hateful spewing among Harry’s “devoted” fans, prompting an unprecedented Royal riposte from the Prince. In a statement released from…

IT’S THE CURRENT version of “having it all,” and it has spawned a motivational literature all its own. Maybe it’s just career counselling for the new century – but men and women from millennials to boomers are buying into the notion that everyone can follow their dreams and find meaningful, fulfilling work that will also pay the bills. Back in our parents’ day, no one expected job satisfaction. For the generation that went through the Depression, having steady work was satisfying enough. Now the opposite is true: a recent Angus Reid poll found that two-thirds of working Canadians are interested in a significant career change. The guides in this industry range from a 28-year-old aspiring professional squash player to a former Bay Street big shot to a pair of Stanford…

With winter coming, many of us travel to warmer places. Any time one flies for more than four hours, there’s risk of developing circulatory problems – from sore fatigued legs and swollen ankles to deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot that can develop in veins, most commonly in the legs. A serious condition, blood clots can travel in the bloodstream (embolize) and cause dangerous blockages to blood flow, primarily in the lungs. Prevent this by getting up and moving around regularly and wear compression socks or tights [such as Therapy Flight Socks] – to help promote circulation and blood flow and allow a quicker recovery after flight. Or ask your doctor about taking a blood thinner before travel. Dr. Zachary Levine is an assistant professor in the faculty of medicine…

A POET IS A NAKED PERSON ... some people say I’m a poet.” Bob Dylan wrote that in the liner notes for his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. Recently the quote resurfaced as everyone weighed in: Does Bob Dylan deserve the Nobel Prize for Literature? Bob wasn’t saying. While we waited for him to break his silence, social media roiled with controversy. The prize was for his words. But stripped of music, intonation and innuendo – left naked on the page – are his lyrics worthy of the Nobel? Maybe not. Some argued that Leonard Cohen would make a nobler Nobelist. He was certainly the more legitimate poet, a higher priest of the written word. Had the Nobel honoured Leonard, the timing would have seemed preordained, with his…

At the age of 53, with little money but full of energy and vision, Robert Mondavi changed the course of the U.S. wine industry. Realizing a long-held dream—to create excellent Napa Valley wines that would stand in the company of the great wines of the world—he founded the iconic Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966, opening the door to the future of American fine wine. "Making good wine is a skill. Fine wine is an art." -Robert Mondavi A pioneer renowned for producing some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines in the world, Mr. Mondavi believed that wines should reflect their origins, that they are the product of the soil, the climate, and the careful stewardship of those precious resources. Five Decades Of Innovation Robert Mondavi Winery was one of the…

THE NEWS RIPPLED across the National Arts Centre audience like wind through a wheatfield. “Barbra is here – with Pierre! Barbra Streisand, of course! She’s dating Trudeau, didn’t you know?” Heads turned as the couple entered the auditorium and there was applause as they rather shyly took their seats. Prime Minister Trudeau had pinned a characteristic red rose to his tuxedo and also a button with the slogan Manitoba IS. The evening was a gala in honour of the centennial of Manitoba’s entry into Confederation, and, as the Ottawa Citizen noted, “the sombre stone walls almost bulged with Prairie people and emblems.” Yet all eyes were on Streisand. In her white wool Arnold Scaasi evening suit with its plunging neckline, white mink collar and matching hat and muff – pictured…

(AND DOWN) 80-year-old actor, artist, DJ and model known as “China’s hottest grandpa” gains international fame Meanwhile, 70-year-old businessman and reality TV star known as “America’s orangiest real estate mogul” gains the White House. In related news, the election of Donald Trump prompts Americans to crash Canada’s immigration website Because moving to locales like Loon Lake or Ball’s Falls sounds less surreal than calling Trump “Mr. President.” Women over 65 who drink multiple cups of coffee a day may be less likely to develop dementia Or, you know, blink. A 106-year-old former University of Virginia football player is their oldest living former player and one of its current statisticians The school, however, drew the line when he donned a cheerleader uniform and tried to demonstrate his high kick. You might…

LET’S GET ONE thing straight. Champagne is a region of France where they grow the grapes that are used to create the iconic juice. This is the only place on earth that can truly call its bubblies Champagne. Everywhere else, you’ve got cava (Spain), Prosecco (also a name of a place, in Italy) and sparkling wine (Canada, California, Australia) … you get the picture. But it’s not just the grape, it’s the process. For example, “Prosecco doesn’t go through secondary fermentation [directly] in the bottle (the process of getting bubbles into the wine), as is done with Champagne,” says Erin Henderson, sommelier and owner of The Wine Sisters, and a spokesperson for Ruffino, a new Prosecco launched in October. What it does go through, she adds, is the Charmat method,…