Zoomer Magazine October/November 2023

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO this October, Zoomer’s inaugural issue hit doorsteps and newsstands. On one hand, it was an auspicious beginning – three luminaries, who were instrumental in establishing the late 20th-century culture that influences our Canadian identity to this day were involved to varying degrees. The hockey deity Wayne Gretzky, was the cover subject; he was exclusively photographed for the occasion by the internationally lauded Canadian rock star Bryan Adams; and the magazine’s founder was Moses Znaimer, ZoomerMedia’s CEO, the iconoclastic media mogul who hired me to transform CARP’s magazine into Zoomer. So far so good. On the other hand, cancelled subscriptions flooded in. Some readers were particularly exercised about the piece on sex positions for wonky body parts and the selection of pricey high heels, but others were rejecting…

UP Like Baywatch, but older and more British In 2008, a photo of Helen Mirren, 63, at the beach in a red bikini instantly redefined how we think about beauty and sexuality as we age. The beginning of the “Betty-ssance” In 2010, Betty White famously appeared in a Snickers Super Bowl ad, then fulfilled a viral campaign to become, at 88, the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live. She won an Emmy for her appearance. Let’s call it an “Aging EGOT” Since Zoomer launched, we’ve witnessed the oldest Emmy winner (Norman Lear, 98, in 2020); Grammy winner (Pinetop Perkins, 97, in 2011); Oscar winner (James Ivory, 89, in 2018) and Tony winner (Lois Smith, 90, in 2020) in history. More from the “You’re only as old as you…

WHEN ZOOMER WAS LAUNCHED IN 2008, it seemed like a brave and possibly foolhardy venture. A magazine for readers over 45 – is that a club people will want to join? Print journalism was already an endangered species and the golden age of magazines was long over. Against all odds, here we are, both still kicking. With this robust issue, Zoomer turns 15 – a frisky teenager. And this year, I turned 77: a less frisky number to be sure, but the year came with some surprising gifts. Is 77 how I imagined it, 15 years ago? Luckily, I have a record, because I wrote an essay on the Zoomer Nation for the magazine’s inaugural issue. It’s a poignant document to revisit, because it doesn’t mention climate change, gun violence…

SHE’S PERFORMED FOR ROYALS AND WORLD LEADERS, played concerts from Kathmandu to Carnegie Hall and even counted the late Prince Philip as a pen pal. But while working on the songs for her latest album, Once Upon a Time (available on Nov. 3), Liona Boyd found herself isolated alone, for months at her Palm Beach home during the COVID lockdown. With no audience to play for, Canada’s “First Lady of the Guitar” crafted the tunes that “return to my strong classical influences through a largely instrumental album with a cinematic soundstage.” Boyd, 74, began conceiving some of the songs during “a creative period that began in 2018,” drawing inspiration from everything from a performance of Schubert’s Notturno to daily walks near her Palm Beach home. Three of the songs…

Trailblazer Dolly Parton is at it again, this time hopping genres in a move that is turning the established tradition of “rock stars going country” on its head. Acts from Hootie & the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker to rapper Kid Rock have made the shift, but few have done the reverse. On the album Rockstar (out Nov. 17), the 77-year-old doyenne of twang shelves the proverbial Stetson for guitar-goosed scorchers: There are 21 covers of the most BIC-lighter-worthy anthems, plus nine originals, all of them backed by a small army of cred-boosting marquee guests. They include members of Judas Priest, Blondie, Heart, Bon Jovi, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fleetwood Mac and the Doobie Brothers; plus, Elton John, Sting, Pat Benatar and Sheryl Crow, with many artists performing on the very songs they…

As bummed as The Crown fans were to learn their beloved royal drama would end after five seasons, they were equally elated at the surprise revelation that the the prestige drama had a reprieve. The sixth, and allegedly final, season focuses on uni-bound Wills (played by newbie thespian Ed McVey) meeting starry-eyed Kate (Meg Bellamy, in her very first acting role). The Wire’s Dominic West is back as a too-handsome Charles, while actress Elizabeth Debicki reprises her role as Diana, who, at the end of Season 5, had just been invited on board billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed’s yacht (where her real-life-but-doomed romance with his son Dodi began). We all know how this sad story ends, but nobody knows exactly how The Crown will handle Diana’s 1997 death in…