Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2024 i Zoomer Magazine

WHEN TORONTO’S TIFF Bell Lightbox opened the Viola Desmond Cinema in fall 2023, they invited Ava DuVernay to christen the screen with her new film Origin. DuVernay is the groundbreaking writer and director behind the Emmy-winning limited series When They See Us (2019). She tells stories about Black love, resilience, activism and community. Her 2014 drama about Martin Luther King, Jr., Selma, made her the first Black woman to helm a best picture nominee at the Oscars. DuVernay’s an inspiring choice to honour Desmond, the Black Canadian civil rights icon arrested in 1946 at the Roseland Theatre in Nova Scotia for defying its segregation rules, sitting firm in the whites-only orchestra section instead of retreating to the balcony. “We can make change in a cinema,” DuVernay, glowing in a…

WHAT DOES IT mean to blow up your life midway through? Especially if you’re not interested in sports cars, affairs with pretty young things, or any of the other behaviour we associate with men who are losing their hair while gathering anxiety about their mortality? I blew things up, in life and in fiction, too. The two are definitely related, as I’ll explain. But first, real life. I left my job – my very good job – as a columnist and feature writer at the Globe and Mail in June 2022. Mainly my decision was greeted with shock, and some variation of the question, “Did someone drop you on your head?” How to explain that I’d been feeling a vague creative itch for years, and it got worse during…

It’s already a bit of a blur and that’s probably a good thing. I am recovering much better and quicker than expected, from a year of intense cancer treatment followed by major surgery. I was home six days after my stomach was removed, something my caregivers and my family celebrated. My pain was well controlled and I ditched the strict liquid diet sooner than I was supposed to. I was hungry. My results are amazing: I am cancer-free. I am very happy that I was wrong about my own prediction – that the recovery would be hellish. I may also be wrong about my latest thought – that my recovery is over. Hellish is the way I remember my treatment for pancreatic cancer 15 years ago. I had a…

BASED ON THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE of me with my one true love – the spaghetti pomodoro served at the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence – could my reason to travel have been to celebrate World Pasta Day in its motherland? I would cross an ocean for it, but the fact that I was in Italy on that auspicious occasion, Oct. 25, 2023, was serendipity. The idea of indulgence is why I chose to accept the “pleasure tax" (i.e., the high cost of flights) and not cancel when a late-breaking work situation made the timing of the long-planned trip awkward. Physically and mentally, I needed respite through immersion in a culture of mesmerizing beauty. I escaped thinking of my everyday through lavish meals, lashings of wine and voraciously consuming antiquities…

AS 40-YEAR-OLD SOCCER STAR Christine Sinclair (below) walked off the pitch for the final time of her glorious international career in December, she received a thunderous ovation from a full house at Vancouver’s B.C. Place. That a women’s soccer game played in Canada could sell out a large stadium and deliver a national TV audience would have seemed unthinkable 23 years ago, when the Burnaby, B.C., soccer phenom first donned the Maple Leaf, at the age of 16. Back in the early 2000s, the women’s team played in front of sparse crowds, with limited media coverage and laughable compensation – Sinclair and her teammates earned $10 a day. Moreover, the prize money from global competitions paled in comparison to men’s and there was no domestic professional league from which…

CANADIAN ARTIST, fashion illustrator and cartoonist Maurice Vellekoop (inset, right) is known for his exuberant and vividly colourful work for magazine clients like GQ, Wallpaper* and Rolling Stone, including memorable comics-style reportage for Vogue from the Paris couture shows and his own playful queer erotica. This month, the artist’s inimitable vibrant style, featuring apple-cheeked characters with swooping, exaggerated curves, serves his coming-of-age and coming-out story, I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together. The title, a line from The Carol Burnett Show closing song, is a nod to being a child of the TV age, when he grew up on a diet of I Dream of Jeannie, Planet of the Apes and Bewitched, and yearned to play with Barbie. But Vellekoop, 59, was the youngest child of Dutch immigrants…

“IT’S QUITE A REVOLUTION, dear Christian! Your dresses have such a new look!” So gushed Carmel Snow, the legendary editor of Harper’s Bazaar, back in 1947, when Dior unveiled his first couture collection in Paris. The collection was dubbed Corolle, French for flower-shaped, in a nod to the petals echoed in his voluminous skirts, which were paired with the so-called Bar Jacket to create a new silhouette, thus heralding the arrival of a designer set to change the world. Not to mention a template that soon became part of the very fabric of the beau monde. Snow’s phrase, meanwhile, stuck – so much so that it serves as the title of an exhaustive new AppleTV+ series about Christian Dior and his contemporaries. The New Look, which launches Feb. 19,…

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) aims to give people a reliable source of retirement income. But in these challenging economic times, when higher interest rates and nagging inflation keep pushing up the cost of living, Canadians might be tempted to claim their CPP benefits before the typical retirement age of 65. A smarter move: Delay your benefits until 70 so you can enjoy a significantly higher payout. Just how big a difference do a few years make to the bottom line, and how can people choose the starting age that’s best for them? We asked two experts: Marlene Buxton, principal fee-only financial planner at Buxton Financial For Retirement in Toronto, and Annie Kvick, an advice-only financial planner with Money Coaches Canada, based in North Vancouver. ↗ HOW CPP WORKS…

YOU MIGHT TRAVEL TO the other side of the globe to climb Mount Fuji, marvel at Kyoto’s temples, indulge in Jiro’s sushi or … shop for vintage denim? Strange but true: With some 70 per cent of vintage clothing worldwide in its hands, Japan in general – and Tokyo’s world-famous youth fashion hub Harajuku in particular (indelibly name-checked by Gwen Stefani in her 2004 album Love. Angel. Music. Baby.) – is arguably the best place on the planet to source that specific high-end Gucci Jackie bag that you missed (or lost or loved until the seams wore out) the first time around. But it’s not just heritage European houses like Chanel, Christian Dior and Gucci that make Tokyo the glamorous mecca of secondhand shopping; vintage Americana like Levi’s and…

WITH MY BARE SKIN exposed to the sky, I watch the steam rise and hit the cold morning air. My gaze drifts to the giant tree ferns growing on the nearby riverbank, a brilliant green against the white cliff backdrop. This is the view from my outdoor tub at Watercliff, an eco-retreat near Tauranga, New Zealand. While the experience is exceptional, it’s not an exception to the rule – sudsing up in the open air has become par for the course in New Zealand, where hundreds of accommodation providers offer a similar experience. There are even booking platforms dedicated to the trend, including Canopy Camping, a collection of over 80 cabins and luxury glamping sites, most featuring an outdoor tub. The country’s love for outdoor bathing dates to the…

WHAT WOULD YOU PAY FOR AN AFTERNOON of touring Montreal’s favourite gastronomic nooks and crannies, third-row tickets to see Pink at the Bell Centre and an overnight stay at the recently opened boutique Honeyrose Hotel. Chances are, you haven’t thought about it: that’s the clever part of Marriott’s loyalty program, Bonvoy Moments. The world’s largest hotel-loyalty program is on a mission to “provide experiences to our members that couldn’t be purchased even if you wanted to,” explains Beatriz Fuentes, area director of marketing for Canada. Depending on the offer, members can either purchase a “Moment” or bid on them, auction style. If your perceived value of the experience is high (or perhaps even priceless!), a “Moment” may call for using that stash of hotel points. Substantial point rewards –…

CANADIAN DESIGNER TU LY, newly appointed creative director of the heritage denim brand Parasuco, has had a long and stellar career in fashion, working for Moose Knuckles, Roots Canada and Ports 1969. He was also the lead designer on the Hudson’s Bay team that created the Canadian Olympic uniforms in 2006, 2008 and 2010. Ly, who was born in Saigon [now Ho Chi Minh City] and left shortly after the North Vietnamese captured the city in 1975, describes the profound connection he felt to Vietnam in 2018, on his first trip back to the country he hadn’t seen since he was seven. “I DIDN’T START TRAVELLING until my 30s, when I was working for Ports 1969 as their creative marketing director. Suddenly, I was flying all over the world,…

UP From “Hanoi Jane” to “Flexible Fonda” Actor Jane Fonda, 86, tells The Telegraph flexibility is key to great later-in-life sex, because “you’ve got to be able to put your legs over your head.” For those who aren’t as bendy A Swedish retirement home sells “pleasure baskets” with sex toys and lubricants as part of a program to promote sexual health and intimacy. That classic fairy tale scenario: Man meets woman, falls in love and cameras catch it all In a totally genuine move – and not at all a publicity stunt – Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner, 72, and his chosen bride, Theresa Nist, 70, marry on The Golden Wedding, a two-hour special on prime-time TV. Clearly, Nist didn’t see this before saying “I do” British researchers say older…

JODIE FOSTER is positively glowing and she’s blaming it on her age. “It is amazing how content I am,” says the Oscar-winning actor and director, who turned 61 in November. “Maybe it’s like a chemical thing that happens when you turn 60. You have a hormone that goes through your body, where suddenly there’s a contentedness and satisfaction.” Foster has been racking up nominations for her supporting role opposite Annette Bening in the Netflix drama Nyad, about the American athlete who came out of retirement in her 60s to swim from Cuba to Florida. Now, in the latest season of HBO’s True Detective, she can be spotted up in the Arctic with boxer-turned-actor Kali Reis, as they play Alaskan cops who investigate the murder of eight scientists found buried…

While still a teenager, Edie North (left), now 64, met and quickly married Laury, (right) now 74, and lived happily ever after … eventually. Edie North: We both worked at Saskatchewan Environment, where he was an engineer and I was a typist, which should tell you it was a long time ago. Laury North: It was 1978. We’d dated for a few months when I got a job offer in Edmonton. I asked Edie if she wanted to come with me. EN: We were talking about the Blue Jays, and by the way, “move to Edmonton with me?” I said, “That sounds fun, let’s do it!” I was only 19. LN: I was 29, so should have known better. We lived together for a couple years and then I…

IT’S TIME TO FORGET what you know about all-inclusive resorts with bland buffets, rowdy children and lacklustre nightly shows. The cookie-cutter approach is being upgraded to a higher standard – one where you never have to fight over a lounge chair again. Menus are designed by the world’s top chefs, villas come with butlers and, whether you want to climb a mountain, take Spanish lessons or go heli-fishing, it can be arranged at no extra cost. Since the pandemic, big-name brands like the Marriott have found guests were demanding more for their money – a connection to the local culture, high-end food and personal service – and they’re willing to pay. “We’re offering an elevated experience, with the same convenient way of travelling, where you know the exact amount…

THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN A FRESH LOBSTER is shelled fresh lobster, which eliminates a lot of hard work and potential injuries from sharp carapaces and pointed implements. Put that meat in a top-split hotdog bun slathered with butter on the outside and toasted on a griddle or a grill pan, and behold the beloved lobster roll. In the Maritimes, where I ate them in all three provinces last summer, the meat is often tossed with a touch of lemon-kissed mayo, a bit of celery for crunch and maybe some snipped chives. The distinguishing feature of the Maine lobster roll is its size and lack of adornment. Five years ago, I waited in line for about two hours at Red’s Eats – which claims to be the world’s best…

IT’S ONE IN THE MORNING when I walk out of Alchemist in Refshaleøen, a former industrial area on the Copenhagen harbour. I’m buzzing from an epic, seven-hour culinary journey created by 33-year-old chef Rasmus Munk, designed to seduce the taste buds, arouse the senses and provoke debate. “Gastronomy can have the same function as art in evoking emotions and raising awareness,” says the self-described alchemist who wants to “change the world” through what he calls holistic cuisine. “There are a lot of similarities: The painter uses pigments; musicians use instruments. My medium as a chef is ingredients, flavours and presentations.” The city is already a gastro-tourism mecca, thanks to Noma – which will close its doors in 2024 and morph into a giant test kitchen creating new food products…

AS A REGULAR VISITOR TO TEXAS, I often extol its culture, which goes beyond cowboys and Tex-Mex. The second-largest state in the U.S. (bigger than any European country) is vast and varied on both culinary and cultural fronts. The winter climate is temperate, ranging from the high teens to mid-20s in winter and early spring. Who needs Florida, anyway? That boast is how I recently found myself on a weeklong road trip with my Canadian parents, Ian and Terri Atkinson, in the Lone Star state. Ever since a job transfer, they’ve lived near Houston, off and on for 25 years, but are here for good now that my father’s semi-retired. We’re very close and time together is always in short supply. We’re on trend: The pandemic has reminded everyone…