Zoomer Magazine June/July 2023

HOW OLD IS TOO OLD? We live in an era where the traditional take on age and ability – that the former automatically lays waste to the latter – no longer holds. It’s a truth this magazine was created to amplify, and we’ve gamely gone about the business of covering late-in-life bloomers, adventuring grandfluencers, mature master athletes and supercentenarians. And, of course, the health and technological advancements that have led to this flowering. The idea of radical life extension is trending – see Kendall Roy, on the TV series Succession, pitching the Living+ retirement community with “personal longevity programs” that will give you “25, 30, 50 more years,” as a way to boost Waystar Royco stock. In the real world, where Silicon Valley overlords are spending billions to “solve” aging,…

1938 – 2023 We thought we’d lost Gordon Lightfoot before. There was the ruptured aortic artery in September 2002, and a surreal hoax in 2010, when news of his death spread on social media, prompting the singer-songwriter to reassure us he was still alive and kicking. It is almost impossible to consider Canada without him, but, sadly, Gordon Lightfoot, 84, has died, of natural causes. No hoax this time. No hope for recovery. Lightfoot’s greatness is a given, but what made him so great? We could talk about the caramel baritone. We could talk about the force and grace of his guitar playing. It all comes back, though, to the hundreds of songs penned by the troubadour. Play them now and play them loud. —Robert Wiersema…

UP It’s never too late for a fairy-tale ending After some tricky detours, Camilla, at 75, is officially crowned Her Majesty The Queen. Grey hair? Fabulous. Wrinkles? Dignified. Forgetting why I walked into this room? Not at all infuriating A Yale study suggests that holding positive attitudes about aging could help seniors recover from mild cognitive impairment. Or, perhaps try a little dance A 100-year-old woman, known as “The Dancing Nana” on Instagram, says her longevity secrets include a love of chocolate and, of course, cutting a rug. Scientists find that cold can stave off elements of biological aging and increase longevity in animals, holding promise for humans So pack your bags for the newest retirement hot spot — beautiful Antarctica. We’ll have to start calling him Steamy Robinson Smokey…

AS AN ACTOR AND SINGER, Harry Belafonte mesmerized audiences, but he found his true calling fighting for civil rights, describing himself as an “activist who’d become an artist.” Capturing the public’s attention with “Day-O,” he turned a Caribbean folk song into an international pop hit; he became the first solo artist to sell one million albums, with 1956’s Calypso. He was also the first Black man to win a Tony (1954) and the first Black producer to win an Emmy (1960). Disarmingly handsome, Belafonte rivalled Elvis Presley in virility at a time when Black male peers like Sidney Poitier and Sammy Davis Jr. tempered their sexuality in order to placate segregationists. During a pivotal week in 1968, when the U.S was embroiled in protests over civil rights and the Vietnam…

Jacques Villeneuve isn’t ready for life in the slow lane just yet. The 52-year-old French Canadian race-car driver, who became an international star in the 1990s, is back on track again. This time he’s attempting to become Motorsport’s first triple crown winner since Britain’s Graham Hill in 1972. Having won the Indy 500 in 1995 and the Formula 1 Championship in 1997, Villeneuve is trying to complete the hat trick this June at the gruelling 24 Hours of Le Mans race (showcased in the film Ford v Ferrari, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon). Putting aside a hectic family life (five kids and one on the way) to focus on driving his Vanwall Vandervell 680 Hypercar, he’s confident that any age-related concerns will be offset by his excellent physical…

Mary Quant empowered women with a snip of her scissors and created mod fashion that made the ’60s swing. Quant, who died at 93, didn’t expressly invent the miniskirt, rather, she channelled the exploding postwar zeitgeist. Without her, there would have been no wild transition between the staid sweater sets of the ’50s and the hippie gear of the ’60s. The mod look was clean and fun, epitomized by Quant’s signature daisy insignia. Quant took the vibe of the emerging London counterculture and turned it into PVC raincoats and convertible go-go boots. Women who wore her clothes marked the beginning of a sea change, illustrating how fashion reflected their new aspirations. They provided a blueprint for how women could shake up the workplace: in a cacophony of colour and…