Stephen Weir Articles

100 Words. Non-Fiction. Canada Reads 24-hour Name Dropping contest

2012-01-26T14:24:00.001-05:00

Stephen Weir and Maria Nenadovich in front of Andy Warhol's Mao

Title: When Time Stood Still In A Small Town Ontario

Author: Stephen Weir (stephen@stephenweir.com)

The Story:

A roof. Four teenagers. A fatal attraction. 45 years ago we were atop of the tallest building in Renfrew.

It was a science experiment with Superball. Throw Superball and ita bounce towards the stars. How high would it fly when thrown from the roof?

Whoosh! Screaming screaming streetward. It hit with a sickening splat. Next? Zooming skyward it arced towards the post-office clocktower.

Time stood still. Plop. Tinkles of glass. A round hole at 6.

Before the bouncing stopped we scattered in four very different directions. Guy Fox. Karsh. Hemingway. Pope Paul. Death has caught two. We won’t meet again.

Steve Jobs, I-Pads, Canon Cameras changing how press conferences are run

2012-01-16T09:57:00.005-05:00

Stephen Weir

HUFFINGTON POST RAN THIS EDITED VERSION OF A BLOG POSTING ON JANUARY 14th
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How Steve Jobs Transformed PR

Huffington Post 1.14.2012

See the full length blog at: http://20minutesoffame.blogspot.com/2011/09/was-it-only-year-ago-that-you-never-saw.html

Last month when the Ontario Science Centre (OSC) held a media launch for an exhibition of miniature working models of some of Leonardo da Vinci's greatest inventions, Massimiliano Lisa, curator of the traveling show, dedicated the day to the memory of Steven Job. Lisa (no relation to Mona) compared the game changing genius of Da Vinci to the intellect of the recently deceased head of Apple.
The room full of science geeks agreed with the visiting curator. Little did they know how much Jobs has changed how PR people like me stage media events -- including the event they were at.
In the old days -- a year ago -- there was a certain never-stray-from blue print for the physical set-up of a press event. The appearance at pressers of the iPad, the iPhone, and vastly improved lightweight cameras, video recorders, and audio recorders has forced publicists in the non-profit Arts sector to change how media events are set up and run.
Back in 2010, there is a raised well-lit stage, a podium (large enough to hold radio tape machines -- and at an angle not too acute so they won't slide off), seating for 20, a raised platform for video cameras, a sound board where cameras and audio recorders can plug in, and a check-in table where the media can leave their contact numbers and pick up press kits, DVD photo/avi files, and small capacity memory sticks loaded with releases and photos. The audio speakers are hidden from view and there are power bars on the floor for the cameras and their lights.
Now in 2011, as many bloggers and social media journalists are showing up at pressers with Jobs-generation equipment as are traditional media journalists. And while regular media people tend to travel in packs with bulky power-hungry video cameras, a whack of large format cameras, laptops (for post-event editing), and bulky sound recording devices, the needs for the social media are completely different. Publicists need publicity, and social media delivers just that. Social media journalists attending events are as important as regular media so changes to the set up of the room have had to be made.
WHERE ARE THE AUDIO SPEAKERS?
At the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, (where I help out) a decision was made several years ago to have the public address speakers in the Great Hall hidden in the ceiling, 10 metres above the stage. The reasoning back then was that media would not record off the speakers but instead would plug into a soundboard to get a direct distortion-free feed from the podium microphones. Audio speakers were seen as a visual distraction.
I-PHONE IS A PORTABLE AUDIO RECORDER FOR MANY REPORTERS
This was a "sound" philosophy back then, but, nowadays it doesn't work that way. Many attendees at press conferences now use iPhones and other smartphone units to record the spoken word. Trouble is, there isn't a universal plug-in size for smart phones and digital recorders to record off those old technology AV sounds boards. Most iPhone journalists now stand as close as they can to event loud speakers and hold their phones like pizzas to record the sound until their arm gives out!
I saw this last month at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) opening of a Marc Chagall painting exhibition. A social media reporter (see photo) wanted audio of the European curators talking about the Marc Chagall exhibition so he stood near the speaker columns and held up his iPhone to get the bits that he needed for his online radio show!
PLATFORM FOR CAMERAS NOT AS CROWDED AS IT USED TO BE
The traditional press conference platform for cameras on tripods was important to give unobstructed TV newsroom footage of the speeches. The raised platform gives a clear shot at the stage. Trouble is in 2011, with people using lightweight cameras, the static camera shot is no longer important.
At the Sun, traditional photographers are going the way of the reel-to-reel recorder. Reporters are expected to shoot stills, video, and take notes at pressers. Nowadays reporters, social media practitioners, and camera people are everywhere doing everything. Sitting on the floor in front. Standing in the wings. Getting shots from behind the stage. Sometimes they aren't even in the room depending instead upon Skype and online coverage of the conference (provided by the host of the presser).
SOCIAL MEDIA JOURNALISTS DON'T KNOW THEIR PLACE
Cameraman from mainstream media have to compete with new reporters who have no sense of the old press conference decorum (stay in your seat till the speeches are over) and are prone to wandering onto the stage with their cameras in hand. Take a look at the posted photo from the Da Vinci press conference where a CBC TV crew followed a social media camera person and came right up on stage, uninvited, to get a close-up of a musician playing (for the very first time) the Leonardo invention of the Harpsichord-Viola.
And, with more and more reporters using iPads to shoot video, there is no need for a tripod. Their shot sequences, because of arm fatigue, tend to be very short. And the best iPad video shots are as close as possible to the action. Compare the footprint of an iPad reporter and a TV crew at the same AGO presser (for the Marc Chagall exhibition) as pictured below.
NOT JUST VIDEO CAMERAS ANYMORE
This summer at the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto parade there were three media outlets using iPads on the parade route compared to none last year! As well, media at the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formally known as Caribana), gave up on bulky and expensive digital video cameras and used cheaper Cannon still cameras to shoot high def video as well as traditional photographs.
PRESS KITS GOING, GOING, GONE
Press kits are really just a collection of factoid documents and pictures that tell journalists what they just saw at a media event. They are meant to be used when the reporter returns to the newsroom to write a story. In 2011, some reporters come to events and tweet and blog while the conference is unfolding.
By the time they get their press kit -- be it in print or on a loaded memory stick -- their story has already been filed. That press kit is passé before it has even been opened. To make sure media is better informed publicists are now more willing to embargo information so that journalists and their editors are better informed for their instant reportage. (Of course, that means media can decide not to attend press events if the information isn't newsworthy or interesting enough).
And, with social media's demand for live theatre, pressers are becoming more male/female show-and-tell events rather than the male dominating talking head pressers of 2010 and before.
REDUCE THE NUMBER OF CHAIRS AND BRING IN THE BAR TABLES
To accommodate this new style of instant journalism, press events now are providing several tables (round bar tables are the favoured flavour of the month) to allow social media to work on their iPads and iBooks as the presser unfolds. Good-bye chairs and coffee tables. Lighting takes into account that social media can be covering an event from a variety of spots in the room.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE HELMET CAM AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS
My son Andrew and I took in the Toronto premier of "My Week With Marilyn" last week at the Varsity Theatre. Big event. Too many invites sent out, so many people with tickets were turned away. We were two of the lucky ones -- and paid for our luck by sitting in the neck craning front row. Our tickets were thanks to the Marilyn Monroe curator of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Chris Finn. He had assisted with the promotion of the movie by Alliance Films. Always interesting to watch other PR people work their events. At the end of the film, the evening's publicist set up director Simon Curtis outside the theatre for a quick interview with a social media reporter. Have no idea who the fellow was, but he didn't seem to feel silly (nor did Simon Curtis) conducting the interview with his camera/iPod mounted on his bike helmet! Photo by Andrew Weir.
NEWSTIME IS BOOZETIME
In the Stephen Jobs world, when you hold a presser depends on whom you expect to come. Traditional media like to have news conferences in the late morning or early afternoon Monday to Friday. Rush hour is over and there is time to get the facts and return to the newsroom to file the story before quitting time. No liquor or food is served, but coffee is appreciated.
Now if you are playing to social media, you gotta realize that a lot of these people work during the day at real jobs and can't cover an 11 a.m. presser. 6 p.m. is not a bad thing if you are pushing a message to You Tube, Twitter, and Facebook audiences. Saturday and Sundays works too.
The Social Media makes for strange bedfellows. It is not unusual to have a blogger show up at event reporting on-line for foreign websites. There are active journalists reporting in Toronto daily, via their iPads to sites in the U.S., Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan, China, and the Philippines.
BTW: Bloggers like me are self-taught, self-employed, and tend to not bother with the ethical and legal worries about accepting free food and liquor. With Twitter people news time is booze time (and bring on that free food).

JOBS HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING!
This rush to accommodate iPads and iPhones is not limited to reporters. People holding these media events are using them too...

Patrick where for art thou - tale of theft and intrigue in the US Virgin Islands

2011-12-30T16:27:00.002-05:00

Recent Fluff From Stephen Weir's Many December Facebook Postings

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If he says Patrick a few times, you know he is hot ... and he is probably an illegal alien!

While doing some research into a recent fatality in the US Virgin Islands, I searched through a number of recent press releases issued by the USVI police information officer. Serious business, but, I still was amused to read about a stolen parrot, who likes to say Patrick over and over and over again.

According to the police, earlier today thieves on the island of St Croix stole two male African parrots, a power generator and a gate lock from a farm.

The police say the value of the items was $4,200 and have asked locals to keep an ear out for any parrots saying Patrick. They are asked to call Crime Stoppers and say the word Patrick (over and over and over again).

If a Tree Exhibition was staged in the forest would ....

2011-12-29T13:43:00.001-05:00

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THE McMICHAEL CANADIAN ART COLLECTION

www.mcmichael.com

NEW EXHIBITION LISTING INFORMATION

The McMichael Tree Project
January 28 to April 22, 2012

This winter and spring, the McMichael celebrates the artistic, cultural,and natural aspects of the tree with two breathtaking exhibitions, a variety of programs, and special installations. As part of this project, the McMichael presents the exhibition, The Tree: Form and Substance, which provides an exciting opportunity for us to connect the gallery's interior spaces with our newly invigorated outdoor spaces and forested landscape, for the very first time. In conjunction with our own exhibition, the gallery also presents The Tree: From the Sublime to the Social, organized and circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery; an exhibition that considers the tree as a subject in art from the early twentieth century to the present. The tree has been used as a symbol for all of nature and its overwhelming beauty; it is a powerful signifier of Canada's national identity as well as the individual's struggle against the wilderness; and currently, it even serves as a reminder of our precarious ecological position.

About The McMichael Canadian Art Collection

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery, visitwww.mcmichael.com.

For further information or to receive High Res images, contact:

Stephen Weir, Publicist
Gallery: 905.893.1121 ext. 2529
Toronto Office: 416.489.5868
Cell: 416.801.3101
sweir@mcmichael.com

Diving Into Bat Infested Waters!

2011-11-08T16:02:00.003-05:00

Stephen Weir, "the moment I knew" - photo by Jim Kozmik

Mayan Riviera Runs A Small Price to Pay for Cenote Diving

November 2011 issue of Diver Magazine

By Stephen Weir

This picture, taken in a freshwater Yucatan cenote (cave) was snapped at the exact moment in time that I realized that in 48-hours I was going to be sick. You know, Montezuma”s Revenge, or as I coined it following a sink hole diving expedition in Akumal, Mexico, the Mayan Riviera Runs.
This is not a diss on the Yucatan’s water system. This was something self-inflicted and it could have happened in any "fresh" water cave in the world. Blame it on the sanitary habits of flying animals or cenote diving being just too amazing for my own good.

Watch a You Tube Video of Cenote dive guide Mario explaining to Stephen Weir, how the Mexican Cenotes came to be. 2-minutes http://youtu.be/lV12iGAzURQ
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The east coast of Mexico’s Yucatan State is a flat, dry land void of rivers, lakes or much vegetation. What little green you see is at the well watered golf courses of the many hotels that hug the coastline. The bleached sand beaches and tranquil turquoise sea are breath-taking, but for divers, the unique beauty is to be found under the rocky porous limestone scrubland – on the other side of the road from the mega resorts.

Dive Shop at Cenote - Stephen Weir

While above ground, the Yucatan is just a few raindrops short of a desert, there is a 800-kilometre long underwater cave system that constantly feeds life giving freshwater into the Peninsula.

If it weren’t for the sinkholes, no one would even have known that the water was there. It has kept the region alive since the time of the Mayans. And for certified divers, it gives them a reason to visit the area -- often! In the Yucatán there are over 3000 known cenotes, with only about 1,400 of them fully explored.

There are some 50 cenote parks for divers that line the main highway which runs from Cancun due south to the Belize border. At any given spot along the paved Mexican Federal Highway 307 one can see water filled openings into the cave system. The diving is really really good. As a result there are more dive shops in Cancun, nearby Caya Del Carmen, Akumal, Tulum and all points in between, then there are in Canada.

Looking up through a hole in the cenote - Weir

There are roadside route signs pictorially showing an explorer inside the cave. The other way to find the diveable caves? They are the ones with the telltale red and white dive flags at the turnoffs to their rutty crushed limestone driveways. Most cave sites have air fill stations and gear rental stores. Some -- no kidding -- have T-shirt and taco stands nearby.

Just like at the Parthenon, or the Coliseum in Rome or any other world-class tourist site, there’s usually a clutch of guides standing around looking to be hired. Here the guides are wearing wet suits. They are, or so they say, certified cave divers and they have come from around the globe to get a chance to escort divers through the freshwater passageways of the Yucatan. Much of the daily traffic into the cenotes is with dive shops (and their guides) from nearby hotels.

“If you aren’t cave certified, we can’t go more than 60-yards from an exit point. It may seem that we have gone farther than that but we haven’t. When we get past 60 metres we are still less than that for the next exit point, and so on.” said Mario Pacheco. He is an Italian cave diver who has spent 2 years exploring Mexican cenotes. To pay for his passion he is a guide for hotels and dive shops. He speaks 6 languages – English, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch and Arabic (“I was a guide in the Red Sea” he shrugs).

Family dives into Mexican Cenote - Photograph by Jim Kozmik

This morning he is a guide for the nearby Akumal Dive Centre and we are at the KuKulKan (Plumed Serpent) and the Chac-Mool (Claw of the Jaguar) Cenotes. Recreational scuba divers can explore both sinkholes, even if they are not certified cavers. That is because at various points along the way both cenotes have open-air shafts that are considered emergency exits.

Cenote Diving - Photograph by Jim Kozmik

The water in these two subterranean cenotes is, at the surface, clear but tinted lime green. That is because of the underwater moss that has attached itself to everything: the guide ropes, rocks, and the cement steps at the rim of the cave opening. Underwater, away from the moss it is so shockingly clear that one can see as far ahead as the mandated waterproof torches illuminate.

Most of the cenotes are in private hands, and here the owners limit the number of divers to 4 per guide to protect the fragile environment in the two caves. We are all wearing full length wetsuits; a few of the dive guides have dry suits on even though the temperature at 50 ft is 74° F (20º C).

Modified Cannonball into the Cenote - Weir

“Since you are all experienced divers we will give you as much bottom time as you need to get your photographs,” says Pacheco as we suit up on a cement walkway that has been laid around the KuKulKan’s mouth. “After 45-minutes you are going to be glad you wore these suits. Remember follow one by one, not side by side, except when we get into the Halocline (a sensor distorted zone where fresh water and salt water meet)”
Getting into the water is a trade-off between style and ease. One can walk backwards down slippery stairs, holding onto an equally slippery rope. Or you can stride jump in off the concrete deck. Most popular method? Modified Cannonball, to the pleasure of the many overheated divers waiting their turn to get into the deep water overtop of the entrance to the cenote.
While our group waits our turn to enter the cave, Pacheco gives a rudimentary explanation of how these caves have come to be.

It all began in the Mesozoic Era 250 million years ago. What is now the Yucatan was underwater. It was a warm and fertile place for coral to grow. These coral reefs eventually emerged from the sea as limestone rock and the formation of the caves began.

Entrance to Little Brother - Stephen Weir

Over time rainwater began to erode the limestone, creating vertical holes. “With time the tunnels become bigger and bigger,” explained the expert cave diver. “The sea level changed, and what happened? The water started to eat its way down farther and horizontally. So we have the formation of caves upon caves all at different levels.”

This layering of tunnels has created long corridors leading into cathedral-sized rooms and then into corridors that pass right underneath where you have just been. Cenotes, sometimes miles apart are linked by winding limestone lined passageways.
The overall size of some of the rooms within the Little Brother is staggering, so much so that our underwater camera strobe lights cannot properly light the high cathedral ceilings. Five minutes into our dive, we stop at a tall wall of rippled limestone. It is the remnants of a coral reef, 150 million years ago when it was under the sea. Our dive guide leaves us to escort one member of the party back to the surface – Claustrophobic? Nervous? Cavern diving isn’t for everyone.
It doesn’t help shaky divers when one swims by a passageway (and there are number of them) that is not meant to be explored. There are numerous signs with skull and cross bones warning people that divers have been lost and died inside.
The stalactites and stalagmites inside this well traveled cenote have taken a beating, but here and there in our long swim there are perfect stands of dangling limestone stalactites.

Difficult to read warning sign because it sits in a halocline zone inside Cenote - Stephen Weir

Close to the bottom of the cave it gets wonky. The water is suddenly layered into two distinct types of water. Top layer is fresh, cool and clear while the bottom layer is salty, warm and fuzzy. We have entered a halocline.
It is a zone of fresh water hitting seawater. This Cenote is very near the Caribbean Sea and saltwater seeps into the lower levels of the cave. Seawater is denser than freshwater and absorbs and transmits light differently. It changes light, colour and temperature – divers say that it feels like being stoned on alcohol or drugs.
“The first person into the zone will see a mirror. It is a weird mirror that moves up and down like this (our dive guide makes a waving motion with his hands and arms). “As you swim into the Halocline your flippers mix the water together. Everything will get blurry. The temperature of the salt water is warm and you will become more buoyant because of the salt.”

Stephen Weir in Yucatan Cenote - Kozmik

He was right. It was nature playing with our sensory input. Holding onto the guideline we were able to make our way up and out of the halocline and into the freshwater mouth of the cave.
Exiting the water quickly, we made our way to nearby cement picnic tables to change scuba tanks, load new batteries into cameras and get ready for the next cave, the Chac-Mool.
“We call it the Little Brother, because it is smaller than KuKulKan,“ said Mario Pacheco. “ It used to be hard to get in the cave. But, rocks were removed. Now we don’t have to twist our way in (he does a good imitation of a contortionist wearing twin scuba tanks!)”
We follow a natural underwater ramp to reach the bowels of the Little Brother 55 feet down. It feels as though we are absolutely alone in the dark. But once we swim away from the natural ramp and enter what appears to be a limestone walled cathedral, we look back at the path we have just swam down and we see the bobbing lights of a dozen divers that are following a few minutes behind.
We took pictures. Lotsa pictures. I got very hot. Thirsty. Parched. I couldn’t help myself. I did what any Canadian diver would do. I took a drink.
At first, I didn’t swallow; I just swished the cool water over my teeth and tongue. Thinking about where I was and what I was drinking, I tried to spit it out. Maybe there is an "APP" for expectorating underwater, but I haven’t downloaded it. I shrugged my shoulders and swallowed, and took a couple more drinks. That’s when TV cameraman Jim Kozmik took this photograph.
I could have been okay but like they say, “location, location, location”. I was in the wrong spot for a drink. We surfaced inside an air pocket at the dome of the cave. There were holes in the ceiling where thick tree roots dangled deep into the water.
It was almost noon. Pacheco told us that only in the spring and early summer, when the sun is directly overhead sunlight passes through a hole in the fauna shrouded ceiling and lights up a round patch of the water.
True enough. We watched the circular beam of light appear and play upon the water. We could now see the reflection of the cave ceiling on the surface and at the same time catch the glow of the lights of divers down below us.
Strange, there were flickers of black through the sun’s spotlight. Bats. Lots of them. They lived amongst the stalagmites in the ceiling. They have been living there since before the Spanish. Before the Mayans. Before cave divers had begun bringing in noisy scuba tourists in to disturb their sleep.
There is a healthy population living in the roof. I was fascinated until I realized I had just been drinking ‘bat eau de toilet’. I put my regulator back into my mouth and sank back under water. I knew I would pay for the drink, but today there was more cave to explore.
After a day of diving in the caves, it was back to Akumal. In the evenings there are night dives on a shallow reef just offshore. The waters offshore of Akumal teem with life – healthy coral heads, massive schools of small tropical fish and free-swimming, slow lumbering turtles. Loggerhead and Green Turtles are almost always seen.
Tourism has brought a conservation message to the Yucatan. As a result the turtles are protected, their egg nests on the beach are protected by hotel staff, and conservation groups watch over these endangered species.

a drift swim in a cenote river in Sian Ka'an Biosphere

Like Jack Bauer, my 24-hours were clicking away. Before boarding a plane for my date with my doctor, there was time for a dawn snorkel to spot turtles off Hotel Akumal, an afternoon a drift swim along a cenote surface river in the public Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve and finally a snorkel in another cenote. This one had a cave system that started in a small pond on the west side of the highway, wound itself around under the ground for hundreds of metres, and then surfaced on the eastside of the highway, near a beach and an ancient Mayan ruins.

The original Mayans called the sinkholes “dzonot”. The Spaniards translation became cenote or “deep thing”. The Mayans considered the larger caves to be gateways to the underworld. Visiting divers will say they both got it right!

Photographs used in Diver Story Sidebar About Akumal Diving

2011-11-08T14:33:00.002-05:00

PHOTOGRAPHS OF DIVING OFF AKUMAL BEACH - YUCATAN FACTS SIDEBAR

A coral encrusted moped in the sand off Akumal Beach - Weir

A Scuba Dive Girl drifts in the current Akumal - Weir

Yucatán Facts
• The Yucatán Peninsula is a large, cavernous limestone shelf not more than 165 feet (50m) above sea level and without any surface rivers. Instead, rainwater penetrates the porous limestone and forms
underground rivers.
• Most diveable cenotes in Mexico are to be found in the Riviera Maya on the Yucatán Peninsula. It’s been estimated there are approximately 30,000 cenotes in this region of which an estimated 100 are diveable.
• Many cenotes are located on private land and are accessible only with permission. Most are basically inaccessible by normal means but many are open to the public.
Entrance fees vary from $10 pesos to $100 pesos, approximately USD$1-10, for those managed by locals. Commercial operations offering more to see and do typically charge more, USD$10-25.
• The Riviera Maya is a tourist zone situated along the east coast on the Caribbean Sea.
It runs south of Cancun for more than 75
miles (120km) to the town of Tulum, one of
the most important archeological sites in the
Mayan World.
• Offshore the most important attraction in the Riviera Maya is the Great Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the longest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere. The diveable reef stretches southward to the coast of Honduras
• Getting There: Airlines flying into the Yucatán in season include: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue US Airline and West Jet.
• If You Drive: La Ruta de los Cenotes (The Route of the Cenotes) is a paved road
through the Yucatán Peninsula that passes many of the diveable cenotes.
• High Season: December 20 – April 19
• Low Season: April 20 - December 19

Shallow Reef Akumal Beach - Stephen Weir

Dive talk before shore dive to see turtles Akumal Beach - Weir

Tulum Beach - and it is right! Photo Weir

A Pride of Inflatables - transportation to check out a US Boat Show

2011-10-21T18:04:00.004-04:00

Boat Show At Night. Sailors' Delight. Boat Show in the Day. Vendors Make Hay!

Report from Annapolis By Pat Whetung

Sailors be aware.
Each autumn boaters flock to historic Annapolis, Maryland trying to hang on to the last vestiages of fall. The port city, nestled on the banks of Spa Creek in Chesapeake Bay, hosts the annual United States Sailboat Show.
They come in cars. They come in inflatables. Some sail in. The common goal for all visiting sailors is to collect, connect and collaborate. The talk is all about boats, cruising, racing and significant events on and around the water.
There are hundreds of boats on display to tour and, if the price is right, buy. On land there are scores of vendors hawking anything that might seperate a boater from his wallet!

Lining up for tickets. Photo by Paul Horn

In fact at this year's boat show, the vendors were selling just about everythingboaters’ needs and wishes. Walking through the stalls and visiting the boats in the harbour that this year at Annapolis the yacht show was all about: Boat design, on the water comfort and efficiency, water collecting systems, electrical and power-saving devices, life-saving equipment, go fast equipment and finishes, new gear (functional and fashionable) and marketing on-water cruises.

Floating Displays - Photo by Paul Horn

Although the vendors look to be fewer this year, the enthusiasm and camaraderie is viral. Step onto the grounds and you will catch the fever to participate in the sport of sailing. This year, car license plates indicate visitors from every state within driving distance of Maryland was there. And there was a huge contingent from Canada -- Northerners try to extend their season or simply taking a break from haul-out preparations back at home.
Now in its 42nd year, the United States Sailboat Show, the October events attracts more than 50,000 boating enthusiasts from around the world to the waterfront of historic Annapolis, Maryland.
The Chesapeake Bay community is also home of U.S. Naval Academy. Recognized across North America as the premier sailing showcase, this is the sailing event to buy, sell or dream.

Kicking the floating tire - Photo by Paul Horn

Breaking the ice - introduce Iceland's Dive Shop. River Diving in the lava fields

2011-10-19T11:58:00.017-04:00

FISSURE FREEZING DIVING INLAND IN ICELAND


Stephen Weir on the steps of Reykjavik's Sport Divers Club

A cold clear rift river in the Thingvellir National Park

It is cold. There is snow on the nearby mountain tops and most days the moon is up longer than the sun. It is late fall in Iceland and the fresh water dive season is still going strong!

There are at least three dive operators this time of year in Iceland offering guided scuba fresh water tours to rift valley river in the Thingvellir National Park. One shop offers a second safari to a geothermic lake near the capital city of Reykjavik. There are ocean dives offered as well but are very much weather and sea condition dependent.

Thingvellir Park is the most visited site in Iceland for three reasons. It is a region where two tectonic plates - the North American and Eurasian Plates all but touch. It's a place where the continental plates have meet and are now drifting apart at a rate of about 2cm per year.

The continental drift between these two gigantic plates has ripped the ground apart creating large picturesque canyons. It was in one of these canyons that Iceland's first government in 930AD held its first outdoor parliament, an annual governmental gathering that continued until 1230AD. The glacier fed rivers that cut through this region are clean, cold and also the most popular spot on the island for diving.

"These rivers are so clean you can see 50 metres down and 150 metres straight ahead," said our Icelandic guide on a recent October tour.

As she walked over a bridge spanning the narrow deep Coin Fissure River she told an oft repeated myth " It is said that if you can see your coin hit the bottom your wish will come true."

I threw in a Canadian quarter. I saw it hit bottom 10 seconds after I tossed it in. Sigh. My wish didn't come true.

For divers, it is a 45-minute van ride from Reykjavik to the Silfra Fissure River in the park. Divers kit up in dry suits at the side of the paved road . One walks into shallow still water but within steps the river deepens and the current picks up -- it is now a drift dive towards the lake through a deep sharp canyon filled with ice cold clear water.

The PADI Diver Centre Iceland http://www.dive.is describe it "diving in a crack between the American and Eurasian continents.

"The visibility that you will experience will rarely be surpassed, if ever. 100m+! The reasons for this clarity are twofold: the water is cold ( 2°C - 4°C all year ) since it's the melting water from a glacier about 50km away and has traveled through the lava fields for many years before coming out at the north end of Thingvellir Lake through underground wells."

The rift offers amazing visibility and it continues to be considered the one of the three best fresh water diving destinations in the world according to leading dive publications. The visibility reaches end-of-sight and is rated at 150 to 300 meters. The water is 50 to 100 years old once it reaches the lake from the melting glacier through the lava field, and is quite drinkable.

The dive shops supply all the gear (except for woollies to wear inside the dry suit), transportation and snacks for a cost of about $300.00

The same shop also offers day trips to Lake Kleifarvatn, also less than hours drive Reykjavik. What makes Keifarvatn unique is that divers recently have discovered geothermal hot springs at the bottom of the lake. Divers can swim down to these holes in the lake where hot sulphuric water bubbles out of the rock -- it is one dive where the water gets warmer the deeper you get!

Silfra Fissure River - you can see two white dive tour vans near dive site

ICELANDIC DIVE RECORD TO BE ATTEMPTED ON THURSDAY

The Sport Divers Club (Sportkafarafélag Íslands) of Reykjavik will be making a night dive in the Thingvellir National Park en-masse on November 3rd. The club is bringing together divers from around the world to submerge themselves at the same time to set a world's record for night diving!http://www.kofun.is/

The Best From Facebook: Vignettes About A Recent Trip to Peru part 2

2011-10-10T13:18:00.010-04:00

At the chicheria in rural Peru - drink twice chewed and then brewed
(from a series of Facebook postings that received strong readership and approval)
.

Chicha is a popular working class drink in Peru. Made from fermenting corn, the beer-like beverage can be made in just 3-days. It is cheap (about 60 cents a glass) and easy to drink. There are an estimated 2,000 chicherias in Peru. Most don't have signs, just look for the universal Chicheria sign - a red flag over the door.

I paid this woman 60 cents for a glass of chicha and strawberry juice. Drink was invented by the Incas. Back in those days the corn was chewed by women before being put in fermentation vats. Nowadays the kernels are boiled before being placed in the vats.

Maria plays for drinks. She lost

How to find a chicherias in Peru. Look for a red flag over the door. Usually dirt floors and no electricity.

Corn drink is cheap and not all that alcholic (3%). Big attraction at many of the underground bars is a game where you try to toss a coin into the mouth of a bronze statue of a frog ... just another game where we can end up buying corn drink for the house. Pictured, my wife Maria Nenadovich takes on our guide, and looses. I pay up. I tried. Did worse. Luckily everyone was corn drunk out!

Oops - neglected to post a picture of the secret symbol of a chicheria in Peru. No signage for these working class bars, just look for the red flag. That's our vehicle and this particular bar is a favourite for tour guides showing tourists the underside of Peru - light. Most people walk to their favourite chicheria.

The red flag indicates bar inside

A political graffiti is painted on side of chicherias - on the road to Lake Titicacca

The Best From Facebook: Vignettes About A Recent Trip to Peru

2011-10-05T14:01:00.001-04:00

Crossing the street in Cusco Peru - One part art, One part danger, One part daring do!
(from a series of Facebook postings that received strong readership and approval)

Crossing the Street in Peru Part 1 In the city of Cusco the police use humour to fight jaywalkers on their main street. As mentioned previously, crossing any street, even with walk/don't walk lights is a life threatening experience. Most days during business hours the police dress up officers in Punch and Judy costumes, cucumber-nose masks and Peruvian sheep whips to confront people trying to jaywalk. It works (till they go home) Check out companion posts of a pair of buskers/breakdancers in the middle of a busy street!

Crossing the Street in Peru Part 2:
A different kind of breakdancing

Busker/breakdancer performs in the middle of a busy Cusco street in Peru. I paid him $2.50 for letting me take a picture of his act. Does it when the light is red. Most drivers in Peru seem to ignore red lights, so his act is more dangerous than it seems. He seems to make about 30-cents per light change from bored motorists.

Crossing the Street in Peru Part 3 Crossing any city street in Peru is a life threatening experience. Imagine my shock to find buskers/breakdancers using the cross walks to perform when the always ignored street light is red. Two men took turns running out into the street and performing (see pix of his partner above).
From Stephen Weir Facebook, October 2011

Toronto Sun: Back On The Rails

2011-09-30T23:59:00.002-04:00

Downtown Market Wharf is now under construction --

But first -- a massive train barrier ad to be built

By Stephen Weir
Published in the Toronto Sun September 23rd nd 25th

Putting off that downtown Toronto condo purchase because you suffer from Siderodromophobia (irrational dread of trains)? One project in the St Lawrence Market District will allay that fear: The Market Wharf condominium complex, currently under construction, has installed a steel reinforced concrete barrier wall to stop any runaway Go trains!
Market Wharf is a multi-level condominium tower project at Jarvis and The Esplanade, just south of the back-end of the St Lawrence Market. Plans for the city block include a 34 -storey tower which when built, will abut six busy Go and Via Rail tracks, Lakeshore Blvd and the Gardiner Expressway.
The derailment containment wall – built last fall – protects the south-end tower currently under construction. The side of the building is very, very close to a myriad of tracks used daily by Go, VIA Rail and CN.
“We began work on this back in November 2009 when we began clearing the site,” explains Lou Hack, one of the principals of Bluescape Construction Management, the company overseeing Context Development’s challenging condo project.
“Theoretically a train could hit the wall and you wouldn’t feel it inside the building” said Hack. That is because there are now two walls at the south end of the building. “The outer barrier wall is 24’ tall and 18” thick with a 2” gap between it and the (building’s outer) wall.”
While the building of the crash barrier is an oddity in Toronto (there is no record of a train ever colliding with a condo building in Canada), there are other unique challenges that the builders have dealt with since the project was first launched.
The largest problem? It wasn’t construction related, it was all about the lack of investment money in North America.


The train barrier under construction

Market Wharf’s Dream Team – Context Development, architectsAlliance and TACT Design – found that despite strong interest from condo buyers there was scant investment money available for a project of this size. Not in Toronto. Not in Canada. Not in Dubai, Not anywhere in the world.
It was 2008. “No one really knew where the market was going and since the project consisted of a large podium and a tower, we decided to phase the construction and split the building into two condo projects,” explained Craig Taylor, Director of Design and Marketing for the developer, Context.
Two different investment deals were cut to bankroll the construction and, for the most part, two different building teams reported for work.
Phase One is just about complete – it is a seven story podium which will include at ground level a soon to be opened large Shopper’s Drugmart facing St Lawrence Market. Phase Two is now beginning to reaching upwards (continuation of the podium and a 27 storey tower on top of that) and the project is starting to look like one big happy building! Right now you can see that there are two distinct structures but over the next few months exterior bricking will hide the great divide.
There are other quirky things that have caused Architects Alliance’s Peter Clewes and Bluescape Construction to think outside the typical condo box.
Take for instance the question of nearby Lake Ontario. Two hundred years ago, the spot where the Market Wharf now sits was totally underwater. Toronto was a busy lake port and many sailing ships anchored here. The lake is a long way away now, but the property is all reclaimed land.
The water table is so close to the surface that Market Wharf is being built sans basement. The parking garage, typically found underground at most large condo towers, is on floors 3 through 6. From the street you won’t see the cars, there is a ring of small flats (576 to 673 sq ft) on both sides of the building separating the parked cars from the outside world.
Since there is no basement at the Market Wharf, almost 200 caissons - concrete shafts that extend down to the bedrock - have been sunk. These 33ft long concrete beams take the load bearing role of the basement. It is upon these caissons that the condo podium and condo tower are being built.
The first 5 floors are brick and include small condo flats and parking. Sitting on top of the masonry levels is a two-storey horseshoe shaped level of townhouses.
Most of these 2-bedroom townhouses have their backdoors facing out onto Lower Jarvis and Market streets from behind a walkway of glass. The living rooms and master bedrooms look inward to a garden and private patio space that can’t be seen by the outside world.
Along the western side of the building a number of these townhouses angle out over the rest of the building. Driving south on Jarvis you can see how some of the units dangle over the sidewalk below.
At the south-end of the building the townhouses give way to a soon-to-be-built peanut shaped glass walled recreation centre. What little green space there is on this property will be on the rec centre’s green roof and in a small outdoor treed garden that will be constructed beside the recreation centre. There will also be a patio where owners can sun themselves and wave at the harried commuters sardined into the never-ending parade of Rush Hour Go Trains.
The Tower will rise dramatically from the Rec Centre. The Penthouse suites take up the top two floors and will be curving walls of glass, which, if viewed from an airplane will look like a second giant peanut!
For people more rooted to the earth, whether they are walking in the neighbourhood, riding the rails or driving by, the thing that will make this building visually different is the shape of the balconies.
The balconies will not be rectangular; instead they will be a series of undulating in-and-out curves of cut concrete. The curves on one floor don’t match the curves on the floors directly above and below, which should give the building a undulating wavy look.
With two levels of commercial space and a public passage through the building, Market Wharf is designed to interact with the city. The store and other commercial units and much of the podium housing will be ready for occupancy this year. The Tower should be completed the year after that. When the last condo is occupied, there will be about 1,000 people living on the safe side of the steel reinforced runaway train concrete barrier wall!

Market Wharf - Just the Facts

2011-09-30T13:33:00.000-04:00

Sidebar #1
Just the Facts
There will be approximately 475 separate living spaces within Market Wharf, with an expected population of close to 1,000 people all living in one city block.
There will be 4 different styles of units built. It depends on where the units are within the tower and podium. The four styles are:
• Market Flats – being built on the low rise brick podium on Floors 2-5), no balconies, typically smaller units. 77 in total
• Townhomes are atop the podium on the 6th floor and are two storeys and have their own “back yard” terrace (some have balconies facing the St Lawrence Market as well). 34 in total.
• Watersuites are all single storey units in the tower and are named as such since they all will have water views of the lake. Approximately 355 in total.
• Penthouses. 2-storey glass walled penthouses. Top two floors are shaped like a peanut. Up to 10 units available.
As of November 15, over 85% of the units have been sold
The project’s website is http://www.marketwharf.com/

Renfrew Stories: Even while at school in Windsor, Renfrew Foundry Made a Big Impression

2011-09-29T23:01:00.000-04:00

xYOU CAN TAKE THE BOY OUT OF RENFREW BUT ...xGeorge Heath, a former Renfrew resident and a keen follower of www.stephenweir.com, sent me a clipping announcing the January closure of the H.Imbleau & Sons Foundry in Renfrew. George's wife Marie is a member of the Imbleau family. The company, founded in 1858, is the town's longest running business. For over 150 years the factory has put the Renfrew name on the map ... literally. One of the company's most successful products is manhole covers. When I received George's note about the closure, I wrote him a quick letter, reprinted below, which tells my story of the impression the foundry had on me in the early 70's while a student at Windsor University..

Back in my days at Windsor University I worked a variety of part-time jobs so that I would not have to move back to Renfrew and work in the mines at Haley's Station in the summer. One of my steady gigs was in the student pub, which was held in the residence cafeteria between Laurier and McDonald Halls.In 1970 our student pub had to get special banquet permits to operate on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. To qualify as a banquet, every person entering the pub had to pay $1.00 for 3 sandwiches, ham, ham & a cheese slice and a straight cheese slice sandwich. There was a big garbage bin by the front door where you could throw out your sandwiches as soon as you passed the on-duty cop checking to make sure we complied with that license.I spent Thursday, Friday afternoons and Saturday afternoons making the sandwiches. I spent the rest of the week eating the sandwiches people didn't buy or wouldn't eat. They kept me feed for one whole semester. Bruce Payton briefly stayed with me, and those sandwiches feed him too. But I digress.Back at the pub, I also worked as a waiter. I was pretty bad. The music was too loud to hear peoples' drunken orders.Ask me for whatever you wanted but you always got a 50 or jug of draft. I would lie and say we were out of Black Horse, or Red Cap or whatever someone might have asked for. . "Oh, they aren't cold." "Oh man, sorry, last bottle just got sold." Didn't matter, how much they asked for something different, I always gave them a 50 or a jug of draft. We sold a lot of 50. Most nights, but not every night, we drained a lot of draft beer kegs.The music was terrific. Live. Many of the acts were from Detroit, coming over to Canada to slum on a Thursday night. Mitch Ryder. Alice Cooper, the MC5, the Stooges and my favourite Detroit band ... The Frost. There were Windsor bands too, Danny Bonk (who died three years ago) and Buzz and the Blues Train (Buzz died before turning 25).The student pub was student run. The tips were bad. The food never changed. But the music was oh, so, good.Favourite night was Saturday. When it all ended at 1am we waiters cleaned off the tables, carried the bodies to the front door and talked to the music acts. We'd also drink beer and stuffed those sandwiches into our mouths ... as a favour to the establishment. Seriously. Our pub manager Brian Ducharme, now a Windsor lawyer (who made his fortune defending strippers in the all-nude Windsor Clubs dubbed collectively as the Windsor Ballet) would let us finish off the kegs that hadn't been drunk dry. A half open industrial sized beer keg wouldn't keep from Sunday morning until the next Thursday night.

It was the difference between the optimist and the pessimist. Sometimes the keg was half full, sometimes the keg.... well you know how it goes. The night I called the Imbleau night, the Keg was way more than half full. In fact it was a shot glass less than full. Some thirsty waiter cracked it open just as we were screaming "Last Call". 10 waiters drank 20 jugs in 1 hour and 20 minutes.Security shared a jug or two too and then threw us out.I left upright. But by the time I crossed the main campus I was staggering. I remember crawling sorta along the sidewalk that lined University Avenue (Windsor's Raglan St). I kept one knee in the gutter and the other on the sidewalk. Figured I wouldn't get run over, and I wouldn't block pedestrians if I went down for the count. It was a 3-block crawl.Just as I got to my house I realized I was going to be sick. I was ashamed of myself. Had I sunk so low that I was about to be vomiting in the street? (Yes!)In my limited and failing vision, I saw a manhole cover -- I was saved. I crawled out to the cover. My plan was to lift the cover and void all that swirling beer and sandwiches in my stomach into the sewer.Who was I kidding? I reached the cover. I tried to get my fingers into the crowbar opening to pull the cover up.No luck. Fingers too thick. No strength. No chance.I was sick. 2 Jugs worth. And 5 ham and margarine sandwiches and 4 pickled eggs. I lay my head down in the mess I made. Three hours later, with dawn breaking, I awoke. Still in the street. Still with my head on the manhole cover. Lucky for me, Windsor in 1970 was as busy on Sunday morning as Calaboogie on Friday night ... no cars out and about to run me over. No good citizens to look the other way as they walked by.I got into my apartment on McKay Street. Cleaned off my face and looked in the mirror. I could see that lying on the manhole cover had created, momentarily at least, a Renfrew tattoo, for there on my cheek you could see the word Imbleau.You can take the boy out of Renfrew, but some nights, you can’t take Renfrew out of the boy (although, aside from my blood shot eyes, my face returned to normal pretty quick!)Pictured Top: A Renfrew manhole coverPictured Bottom: Photo of Danny Bonk tribute story, Windsor Star

Just The Facts About Market Wharf

2011-09-11T05:02:00.000-04:00

Sidebar #1 Just the Facts About Market Wharf Condos

There will be approximately 475 separate living spaces within Market Wharf, with an expected population of close to 1,000 people all living in one city block.

There will be 4 different styles of units built. It depends on where the units are within the tower and podium. The four styles are:

Market Flats – being built on the low rise brick podium on Floors 2-5), no balconies, typically smaller units. 77 in total
Two storey Townhomes are atop the podium on the 6^th floor and are two storeys and have their own “back yard” terrace (some have balconies facing the St Lawrence Market as well). 34 in total.
· Watersuites are all single storey units in the tower and are named as such since they all will have water views of the lake. Approximately 355 in total.
· Penthouses. 2-storey glass walled penthouses. Top two floors are shaped like a peanut. Up to 10 units available.

As of the summer, 85% of the units have been sold

The project’s website is http://www.marketwharf.com/

Sidebar #2

Who is buying Market Wharf housing?

According to Marketing Director Craig Taylor:

· The demographic is a mix of downtown professionals and empty-nesters.

· Buyers tend to be couples without children who are a mix of first time buyers and move-up buyers and people who want to sell their house and live by the St. Lawrence Market. Predominantly end-users ( i.e. owners who will live in the building)

· St. Lawrence Market is always the core attraction of this project for purchasers, followed closely by the overall St. Lawrence neighbourhood and its proximity to the downtown financial core (where many of the buyers work).

Sidebar #3

Good Tall, Strong Fences Make Good Neighbours

Why a steel enforced safety barrier is being built between the GO tracks and the south end of the condo tower:

· On a typical weekday, there are 117 GO train trips operating on three separate corridors -- Richmond Hill, Stouffville and Lakeshore East – all of which will pass by the Market Wharf tower.

· On a typical weekday there are 34 VIA trains, two Ontario Rail trains and one CN freight train that pass by the Market Wharf

· There is a reduced speed limit in the Market Wharf neighbourhood of no more than 30mph for passenger trains. Freight trains are limited to 15 mph.

More about those train barriers

Market Wharf project is not the only project in the GTA that has to build a train barrier. Metrolinx (the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority) manages road transport and public transportation agencies in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, and is responsible for ordering train safety barriers to be built around new projects.

According to Metrolink spokesman Ian McConachie, “one example of a recently constructed crash wall is at the Metrogate residential project - on the Stouffville (train) line just north of Highway 401.”

“A crash wall will be included in the forthcoming residential tower project at 507 Esplanades - just west of Market Wharf,” continued McConachie. “Crash barriers have been contemplated for various projects that are still in the early planning stages.”

Not all crash barriers are made of concrete and steel. According to Metrolink there are a multitude of crash barriers used in the GTA including crash berms (a mound or wall of earth or sand) and soil embanking.

Believe it Or Not Toronto will soon have a Ripley's Aquarium

2011-09-08T22:20:00.000-04:00

Artist's drawing of proposed Shark tank and glass walkway

Canada’s Biggest City Building Canada’s Biggest Aquarium

By Stephen Weir

Believe It or Not Toronto is finally going to have an aquarium. Work has already begun on a new building at the base of the world famous CN Tower. Even though it will be two years before the first Sand Tiger Shark and Carpenter Shark (sawfish) move into Shark Lagoon, three levels of government have already laid out the welcome mat for Ripley Entertainment, the owners of the future aquarium which is scheduled to open in 2013.
At a late August press conference Canadian entrepreneurs, Jim Pattison Senior and Junior, officially launched the construction project. The Jim Pattison Group, one of the country’s largest private companies, owns Ripley Entertainment (Ripley’s Believe It or Not), and operates aquariums in both Tennessee and South Carolina.
The new Toronto aquarium project has strong financial support and redevelopment monies from the Federal Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto. Heavy political hitters from all levels of government attended the event. Speaking at the aquarium splash were federal MP Ted Opitz, Ontario Minister of Tourism and Culture Michael Chan and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

Ontario Tourism Minister Michael Chan

“I look forward to coming back here with my scuba suit, when the work is all done,” joked Michael Chan the Province of Ontario's Minister of Tourism and Culture. His Ministry has invested $11-million in the $130 million construction “Getting an aquarium of this caliber in Toronto is a major win for our province. It will entertain and educate, bring in millions of visitors, fill our hotels and create hundreds of jobs for Ontario families.”

Mayor Ford told Diver Magazine that project negotiations between the city and the Pattison Group had taken over two years. The city has agreed to provide up to one million dollars a year in tax incentives over the next twelve years.


Mascots pose at the Aquarium construction site

"This state-of-the art facility will provide jobs for our residents and a wonderful tourist attraction for our city,” said Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto. Over the past two decades his city has seen three different aquarium proposals (at Ontario Place, on the CNE Grounds and in the basement of the CBC building) from three different companies, before supporting the Ripley’s project. The new aquarium will be a reported 35,000 sq. feet larger than Canada’s largest aquarium located in Vancouver.

The press conference was held inside the Convention Centre directly adjacent to the CN Tower and the new site. With a full construction team digging and moving dirt visible through the backdrop window, the talk was business -- very little was said about the building, their proposed collection or their themes

Jim Pattison Junior did announce that the new facility would NOT house any whales, dolphins or other mammals. It will, he told the business audience, have several salt and fresh water tanks that will showcase both Canadian freshwater and saltwater fish. He anticipates that they will have 13,500 fish from 450 species, in the living collection.

And while the Minister of Culture is already looking forward to scuba diving inside the aquarium's Shark Lagoon, the Pattison Group is not sure yet whether or not they well be letting divers into the water when the building is opened. "That has not yet been decided. We are just starting similar programs at our other aquariums, so I am not sure," a spokesman for the aquarium told Diver Magazine. "It’s really too soon to create any specific programs."

Aquarium Factoids provided by Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

What to serve at an aquarium launch lunch? Melon Jaws!

In a press kit handout the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada listed Quick Facts about the coming attraction:

Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is expected to draw nearly two-million visitors each year;
The Aquarium will be one of the largest in North America, with a capacity of 5.7-million litres (1.5-million gallons);
Featuring 450 species, the Aquarium will be home to more than 13,500 inhabitants;
Well-trained staff dedicated to the highest standards of aquatic husbandry will include biologists, scientists, divers and aquarists who will work diligently to ensure all the animals are safe, well-tended to, and allowed to flourish;
The Aquarium will conduct breeding/conservation programs for endangered species, including ongoing tagging and tracking programs for sand tiger sharks in conjunction with universities and government agencies.

Ladies and Gentlemen - a big hand for the big (and little) fish!!!

2011-09-08T22:10:00.008-04:00

CUE THE FISH: - Aquarium is all about fish, but, who are the stars in 45 different display tanks?

notes for a news article that will appear in the next edition of Diver Magazine.

Sand Tiger Sharks thrive in captivity. Toronto Aquarium will feature the species. Photo - North Carolina. sweir files.

For now the aquarium isn't releasing much information about what it will be showing inside. Ripleys' Vice President Joe Chromanski told Diver they will be releaseing information closer to the opening date.
" We don't want to steal our own thunder," he said. " I can say that we will have up to 45 different tanks inside - the largest is the 750,000 galleon shark tank, the smallest will be a 6 to 10 galleon space for baby seahorses."
"In the Great Lakes (tank) we will have a cross section of what divers are likely to see - everything from pike to paddle fish,"said Chromanski." Paddle fish aren't in the Great Lakes but we do find them in their drainage area. " Ripleys fresh water exhibit will be covering both the lakes and their ecosystem.
"We will acquire as many of the animals as we can ourselves. We are legally permitted to collect sharks (for the most part in the Florida Keys)," explained the Florida based Chromanski. "We also work with commercial collectors in Canada and the United States."
The company has no plans to capture sharks in Canadian waters. Chromanski, a fisheries biologist says that local fish, like the Six Gill, the Seven Gill and the Greenland sharks are too big to live in the Toronto aquarium tank. Large fish that adapt well to aquarium life include sand tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks, reef sharks and manta rays.

Bio Notes: Joe Chromanski is Vice President at Ripley Entertainment headquarters in Florida. He studied Fisheries Biology at Oregon State University. He currently lives in Orlando, Florida. The 51-year old Chromanski was born and raised in Ohio.
Update: No sooner did I imply that the Sand Tiger Shark is not a fish found in Canadians waters did the CBC report differently. The following is a link to a cbc.ca story about a Sand Tiger being caught in East Coast river! http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2011/09/16/nb-sand-tiger-shark-petitcodiac-542.html

Beaver Bra supporting the town of Parry Sound at the Ex this year

2011-08-17T23:36:00.001-04:00

Beaver Bra one of 42 hand-decorated bras on display at the EX

New to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) this year is the Art Bra project. Forty-two one-of-a-kind hand decorate bras are now hanging in the Queen Elizabeth Building (beside the McMichael's Marilyn Monroe Show). The town of Parry Sound is showing these pieces of hand-crafted lingerie to support their Health Centre's purchase of a digital mammography unit. The Beaver Bra was made by Josephine Hazin from Windsor Ontario. Hazin is recovering from a double mastecomy.

Inn the Spotlight feature from the last issue of the Maple Gazette

2011-08-14T15:46:00.000-04:00

Ashworth by the Sea means blue skies, comfy rooms and renowned food and services. Simply a seaside heaven.

Come Sea - Ashworth By The Sea - And Sea Hampton Beach

For almost a century the Ashworth by the Sea has been a destination for New Hampshire seaside visitors. Located in Hampton Beach, on the beautiful Seacoast, the Ashworth offers the best in comfortable, oceanfront accommodation. The Ashworth is tastefully appointed to reflect the New England traditions and charm. www.ashworthhotel.com/

This comfortable hotel has maintained the historical aspects of this Hampton Beach landmark. Historic yes, but modern too, the 95-year old hotel has been updated with all the modern conveniences and latest technology.

Ashworth by the Sea offers the best views overlooking New England's nicest beach. Ashworth has 98 spacious guestrooms and seven suites. All rooms are air-conditioned and have spectacular ocean views. There is a coffee shop and the renowned Breakers Restaurant. Weather permitting, dine under-the-stars!

This spring there are several packages that will be of interest to Canadian Travellers. The Gas and Stay Package gives visitors a break on the price of gas -- stay a night and receive a $20 gas card. Wine, Dine and Stay is a spring deal that includes a three-course dinner for two, a bottle of wine and one night's stay in an ocean view suite for as little as $169.00 Escape to the Sea is a one-night getaway that includes for a very low price; one-night accommodation, free breakfast for two and late checkout when available.

And did you know that thanks to an aggressive redevelopment campaign Hampton Beach has become a very hot destination?

Cool is Hot. Some White Men Can Dance.

2011-07-24T11:55:00.009-04:00


Justin Trudeau stopped by the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival BBQ

One Year Later, One Liberal Learns To Dance To A Soca Beat

It is carnival time in the city of Toronto. Soca Music. Mas. Calypso. A million people in the hot and hot streets. More media than at the G20. For Federal Liberals, the world famous Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, has always had a huge publicity attraction. It is sometimes their PR Waterloo.

And while Martha Reeves does say that summer is here and the time is right for dancing in the street, it doesn't mean that a politician just has to show up to be instantly seen as being one with the people.

It was a year ago, that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, rented a bus and rolled into town for what was then called Scotiabank Caribana. He had a steel pan orchestra and champion calypso singer, Macomere Fifi in tow. They barnstormed the festival, entertaining the crowds with long speeches, soca and calypso music and spectacularly bad dancing.

Michael Ignatifieff, his wife and his team managed to get on the parade route for the Scotiabank Caribana parade. They arrived at the judges' stand just as CP-24 TV began a live broadcast to an audience of 1.2 million people (strange coincidence?). Ignatifieff was filmed wandering into a crowd of hot, sweaty, barely dressed female Mas players. Most didn't know who he was, but, with the cameras whirling they began to wine with this overdressed (think business casual) politico who at that time wanted to be the next Prime Minister of Canada.

With his wife Zsuszanna screaming at the audience, in her thick Hungarian accent, to clap for her dancing husband he began to snap raise his arms and snap his fingers, like he was a Flamingo dancer! The auidence clapped ... but in derision. They also boo'ed and yelled that he was blocking the view. They didn't understand the Liberal version of the Soca Wine.

No hip thrusting. No torsos meeting. Instead he danced a Zombie-ike stiff-kneed off-beat Polka. He was off-beat. Out-of-step. He was the laughing stock of the very Diverse audience he wanted to impress, both at home on TV and in the Street.

This was the moment, at least for that young Caribbean Canadian community that the Liberal leader Jumped the Shark. A few months later he lost the election and left politics. In his new teaching career he is probably happy that he doesn't have to dance for his supper.

2011. A new festival season, albeit with a different name. A giant Jump-UP BBQ, broadcast live on CP-24 and CFTO. It is held at the same downtown Toronto building that Ignatifieff brought his Soca tour to in 2010. This time it is hot. Dangerously hot. 40 degrees Centigrade in the shade. Same dancers are in costume, all carrying water bags to keep from fainting. By a strange twist of fate, Macomere Fifi is live on stage. In strolls another Liberal, this time without a bus, or a steel pan band, or a screaming wife.

IT is Montreal MP. Justin Trudeau. No Bay Street casuals for this Grit, he is in a long sleeve white shirt rolled up to the elbows. Sandals on the feet. He talks briefly to the TVs, he also talks on stage. Unlike his former leader, it is NOT about self, it is about culture and the need for Canadians to be able to celebrate their own. It is a David Rudder like message -- " it is not how we vote, it is how we party!"

Trudeau danced with a Hot female Mas Player. He didn't stumble. In fact he didn't even sweat. No salt stains under the armpits. I check to see if they have melted the pavement. Late for a Porter flight back to the capital, he heads out the back way with people calling for more. He hasn't won an election, but, he did win over a parking lot full of hearts!

Trudeau is the first Liberal to really understand the power of Toronto festivals this summer. The Tories, however get it ... Big Time. Federal MP Lisa Riatt, Provincial leader Tim Hudak and his elected MPPs and candidates have been appearing, gorilla marketing style, at events all across the GTA. Be it the CHIN Bikini Picnic, the Caribbean Connection free concert, the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival opening of the TSX or the grand Nathan Phillips Square launch, the Tories have been working their way onto the stage and in front of the cameras. Even though I helped organize the events, I don't know how they wormed their way into the limelight. I shake my head and marvel at their understanding of live crowd sourcing.

Justine Trudeau dances with a Mas performer in the CTV parking lot 2011


Michael Ignatieff and Macomere Fifi' 2010 stop by the same CTV building

Images from yesterday's Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival Launch

2011-07-13T11:25:00.010-04:00

THE 44th SCOTIABANK TORONTO CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL IS OFFICIALLY JUMPIN' UP !!!

Successful Media Event: 75 media registered. 35 costumed Mas Dancers. 50 musicians. 15 cameras (TV, film makers and web based broadcasters), 5 radio stations and just one daily newspaper -- the Toronto Star! Big Events? Mayor Ford danced with Mas Dancer and cut a special cake. Michael Chan and Chief Bill Blair spoke at the opening.

There was a silent protest by the Caribana Arts Group, owners of the Caribana trade mark. Their protest signs didn't really explain why they were there (and the typos got a few laughs) giving it a minor role in a big event.


Councillor Michael Thomson, Chris Alexander, Mayor Ford and Denise Herrera Jackson

Jamaican Sprinter was introduced to auidence

The CEO of Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, Denise Herrera-Jackson,
is interviewed by Nathan Downer (CP-24) live from Nathan Phillips Square

This press release was issued at the press conference:

NEW NAME SAME GREAT FESTIVAL

Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival Keeps On Jumping

Festival officially opens at Nathan Phillips Square July 12 – August1

TORONTO, Tuesday, July 11 – After a three-year absence, Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival returned to Nathan Phillips Square to officially launch the Festival season! Soca artists, pan orchestrators and mas dancers in ‘full’ costume took over the public square today to officially kick-off Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, and to unveil a new route for the mammoth July 30^th parade. With new media partners and expanded programmes, this year’s festival is expected to attract more than one million people to downtown Toronto over the next three weeks.

In 2011, because of a problem with the trademarked name Caribana, the festival is now called Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival. Today’s launch showed Toronto a new look but with the same spirit that has kept the parade vital for the past 44 years!

“We have changed the name of the festival to Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, and in this spirit of improvement we have also updated and upgraded the parade for the first time in over a decade” said Chris Alexander, the Chief Financial Officer for the festival. “This year our 17,000 costumed dancers, Calypsonians and pan players will follow a course that will see them heading onto Lakeshore quite a bit east of where we traditionaly hit the street. This gives us the room to set up seating for 30,000 on Ontario Place property, so that people can enjoy watching the pageantry of playing Mas, from a comfortable seat! “

Michael Chan, Provincial Minister of Tourism and Culture was present at today’s launch and recognized Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival as the key summer cultural event for Toronto. The Minister noted that Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, now in its 44^th year continues to be both an attraction and an economic engine for the city.

QUOTE FROM SCOTIABANK

During today’s launch, two new media sponsors were announced. The FLOW 93.5 is now the official radio station of the Festival and Urbanology is the official urban on-line sponsor of the festival. They join the Toronto Star, Sway Magazine, CTV and CP24 as the official media partners of the 2011 Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival!

This year’s Scotiabank Caribana Festival events include:

Junior Carnival, July 16: Junior Carnival provides festival goers and the surrounding community the opportunity to experience the thrills and joys as young masqueraders participate in their early festival years. The parade route stretches from Black Creek Pioneer Village to the Yorkgate Mall (Jane and Finch). Close to 2,000 children in costumes will take part in the parade. This year there are more areas along Jane Street for spectators. It is free! 11am – 4pm.

Nation Cheong Art Exhibition, July 16-August 1: The Royal Ontario Museum and the Gladstone Hotel are hosting a duo-location exhibition by artist Nation Cheong. Cheong’s contemporary work captures the Carnival experience in Toronto from its roots in 1967 to today.

CTV/CP24 BBQ July 21: The television sponsors of the parade are once again opening their compound to the public. Live broadcasts, Caribbean food, performers, art and people in full Mas costumes will take over 299 Queen Street. EVERYONE is welcome to attend this free event.

Scotiabank Caribana Gala, July 22: The fourth annual Scotiabank Caribana Gala is an evening of elegance celebrating Carnival Music and Arts. The Gala runs from 5:30 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. at the Liberty Grand Ballroom, CNE Grounds.

The Kaiso 365 Calypso Monarch Finals, July 23: The Calypso Monarch will be crowned this year at the best and biggest Canadian Calypsonian battle for the crown. At the P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese Cultural Centre, Scarborough, the event will take place from 7 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Toronto Pearson Airport Launch, July 27: the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, in partnership with the Festival Management Committee will be in the airport promoting the festival to incoming tourists with Caribbean entertainment and food tastings.

Calypso Showcase at Harbourfront. July 27. West Jet Stage. Free. The showcase presents top Soca artists, Garth Burgess (steel pannist), and iconic Carnival Arts characters. 7pm

King & Queen Show, July 28: The Thursday before the Scotiabank Caribana Parade, all the Kings & Queens of the Bands meet to do battle. It is an honour for any reveler to be enthroned the King or Queen of a band. The battle runs from 7 p.m. – 12 a.m. at Lamport Stadium.

Pan Alive, July 29: A thrilling evening showcasing the musical and tonal qualities of the steelpan. At Pan Alive, members of the Ontario Steelband Association will compete before a panel of judges at Lamport Stadium from 7 p.m. – 12 a.m.

The Grand Parade, July 30: This showcase event features an incredible display of colours and pageantry. Toronto will come alive with the sights and sounds of Carnival. This year’s Parade is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the CNE and follows a new route along Lakeshore Blvd.

The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival Lime, July 31^st & August 1: De Lime highlights the various cultures of all of the Caribbean people. It’s a celebration of food, song, dance, theatrical drama and story telling at Ontario Place. Grace Tropical Rhymes on Sunday. Free!

Canada Rugby League International Test Match - Team Canada Wolverines versus Jamaican National Team. July 31^st. This new event adds the sporting dimension to the festival. Growing in popularity in Canada, it is the most high speed, high impact field sport in the world. Fletcher’s Field, Markham.

ABOUT SCOTIABANK CARIBANA

The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is an exciting three-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, revelry as well as visual and performing arts. Now in its 44th year, it has become a major international event and the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. As Carnival is an international cultural phenomenon, the great metropolis of Toronto and its environs will come alive as the city explodes with the pulsating rhythms and melodies of Calypso, Soca, Reggae, Chutney, Steel Pan and Brass Bands.

Corporate sponsors of this year's festival include: Scotiabank, The Toronto Star, Sway Magazine, CTV, CP24, The Federal Government of Canada, The Province of Ontario, The City of Toronto, Tourism Toronto, The Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Ontario Place, Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto Public Libraries, Yorkgate Mall, Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex & Liberty Entertainment Group, Urbanology, and GraceKennedy (Ontario) Inc.

For more information about the programmes and events, please visit the festival’s official website at www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com. The Festival Office is located at 263 Davenport Avenue, Lower Level; Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5R 1E9. Contact info: Tel: 416-391-5608; Fax: 416-391-5693; Email: info@ www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com.

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2009 the Bank provided around $39 million in sponsorships and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas of healthcare, education, social services and arts and culture. Please visit us at www.scotiabank.com.

No Butts About It (although judges liked his Butt!). Mr. CHIN Bikini chosen today

2011-07-03T22:43:00.005-04:00

Moonzir Butt Wins!

Mr. CHIN International Bikini 201l chosen today at the Scotiabank CHIN International Picnic, the Bandshell, CNE Grounds, Toronto.

WINNER: This year’s winner is 22-year old Moonzir Butt. The Oakville native beat out 14 other contestants in this evening’s outdoor competition. Second prize was awarded to 29-year old John Burdo and third place went to Troy Campbell.

Immediately following the crowning of Moonzir Butt, the winner and two finalists were joined on stage by Serena DiMillo, the winner of yesterday’s Miss CHIN International Bikini contest. Pictured above are, from left to right: John Burdo, Moonzir Butt, Troy Campbell and Serena DiMillo.

The 3-day Scotiabank CHIN International Picnic is produced by CHIN radio /TV international; a Canadian radio and television broadcaster that produces and airs programming in over 30 different languages. The contribution of CHIN Radio to the cause of multiculturalism, understanding and tolerance between people of many national, racial and religious origins has been recognized and acknowledged throughout Canada.

Additional photograph (adult content) from the Men's Contest: http://www.stephenweir.com/gallery1/main.php?g2_itemId=1954

Additional photograph of Serena DiMillo with Toronto Sun reporter:
http://www.stephenweir.com/gallery1/main.php?g2_itemId=1948

MISS CHIN INTERNATION CROWNED (and info about tomorrow's male bikini contest and free David Rudder concert)

2011-07-02T19:25:00.008-04:00

Miss CHIN International Bikini 201l chosen today at the Scotiabank CHIN Picnic,

CNE Grounds, Toronto.

WINNER: SERENA DI MILLO is 26 years old. Her background is Italian and she lives in Toronto. Serena has a BA in Accounting from the University of Guelph. She recently won Re-Max Rookie of the year for her work in real estate and said she hopes to be a role model for young girls if she wins Miss CHIN. (pictured).

1ST RUNNER UP: KATIE GIMON-VALENCIA is 21 years of age. Her background is Colombian & Venezuelan and from Mississauga. She speaks 3 languages including Italian, Spanish & French. She loves traveling and recently graduated from the Schulich School of Business at York.

2ND RUNNER UP: CRISITINA ŌDORICO. She is 25, her background is Italian and she lives in Toronto. Cristina is a fitness enthusiast and she recently competed in the Fitness Star Expo. She currently works as a full-time personal trainer. Cristine grew up attending the CHIN picnic and has wanted to enter for years.

MEDIA INFORMATION FOR TOMORROW

Scotiabank CHIN International Picnic

Day 3

Sunday, July 3 - HIGHLIGHTS

FREE ADMISSION

BANDSHELL Stage - FREE

12:00 - International Folklore Dance Competition, with 15 cultural dance groups vying for cash prizes and the coveted CHIN International Folklore Dance Awards.

2:30pm - Luigi Scanga’s Echi d’Italia PART I

3:00pm - Singing sensation 14-year old ERNESTINO, direct from Italy

3:45pm – Luigi Scanga PART II featuring DUO CAMPANARU, direct from Italy

4:45pm – CHIN DJ Karaoke contest

5:30pm – ERNESTINO, direct from Italy

6:00pm - GIORGIA FUMANTI

7:00pm – Mr. CHIN International 2011, Part 1

7:30pm – VALERIO SCANU, direct from Italy

8:00pm – Mr. CHIN International 2011, Part 2

8:30pm – RICCHI E POVERI, direct from Italy

CENTENNIAL Square Stage @ Dufferin Gates

CARIBBEAN FESTIVAL

Headliners DAVID RUDDER and HALF PINT.

MCs Jai Ojah-Maharaj and Comedy Host Jean Paul.

Additional Entertainers:

D'Jango, Sattalites

Ossie Gurley and the Truth

Steele and Mountain Edge

Caribbean Folk Performers

Tunka Abdurama

Dance Caribe.

Better Living Building Events – Admission is FREE

Shopping Bazaar 11am – 8pm with vendors and exhibitors for shop-a-holics! Don’t miss meeting representatives of the Lingerie Football League. They’ll be on hand to promote the League, which has ten teams spanning across America, with Toronto Triumph set to be the LFL's first international franchise.

· Team K9 Dog Challenge Shows - 2pm, 4pm, 6pm

· Birds of Prey Showcase – 3pm (and 2 shows in the Midway)

· Zero Gravity Circus - 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm

· Sports Ring - 3pm – Maximum Pro Wrestling Shows

West Grounds Midway - 11am – 11pm Midway Rides, games and amusements

Circus Jonathan - Comic Unicyclist Juggler Circusman: 3 shows daily: 1:30 / 3:30 / 5:30 FREE!

Birds of Prey Showcase - 2 shows daily 4:30 & 6:00pm FREE!

Scotiabank Tent, with Free face painting and prize giveaways all weekend.

Public Information: T:416.531.7838; or www.scotiabankchinpicnic.com.

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For Further Media Information: stephen@stephenweir.com 416-489-5868, 416-801-3101 or Picnic HQ: 647.206.2390 (Theresa)

Media Passes needed for photographers wanting to cover Saturday's Bikini contest

2011-07-02T00:38:00.000-04:00

Media Tent Is Now WEST of the Bandshell

(tent moved this morning - sorry)

For Immediate Release: June 29, 2011 • Assignment Desks / Photo Editors

(some of the Bikini Contest entrants attended a Friday afternoon VIP party at the Scotiabank Picnic and somehow ended up in the swimming pool - photo by Craigg Slowly)

MEDIA ADVISORY – PHOTO

OPPORTUNITIES

BANDSHELL Stage - FREE

12noon –– Miss CHIN International Bikini Pageant 2011, featuring MC Frank Spadone, and music entertainment by Abby Tobias & Sole Power, and Ashley Martinez

2:00pm – PORTUGUESE Festival, featuring PACO BANDEIRA, direct from Portugal; and the first ever, Johnny Lombardi Portuguese-Canadian Singing Contest, featuring some of the most talented singers from the Portuguese community in one amazing show - Lindsay Camara, Miguel Domingos, Maria dos Anjos, Paulo Filipe, Soraya Mejdoubi, Tony Ferreira, Stephanie Tavares and Steve Vierira, accompanied live by the band “Unique Touch”.

8:00pm - ITALIAN Entertainment, featuring VALERIO SCANU and RICCHI E POVERI, Direct from Italy

CENTENNIAL Square Stage @ Dufferin Gates

12noon - 7pm - HISPANIC FESTIVAL featuring Puerto Rican “Salsa King”, singer Henry Fiol; local salsa bands Conjunto Lacalu; Lucho y Juan de Sedas “Los Selectos”, plus Carlos Cruz, and Fantasia.

Better Living Building Events – Admission is FREE

Shopping Bazaar 11am – 10pm with vendors and exhibitors for shop-a-holics! Don’t miss meeting representatives of the Lingerie Football League. They’ll be on hand to promote the League, which has ten teams spanning across America, with Toronto Triumph set to be the LFL's first international franchise.

· Team K9 Dog Challenge Shows - 2pm, 4pm, 6pm

· Birds of Prey Showcase – 3pm (and 2 shows in the Midway)

· Zero Gravity Circus - 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm

· Sports Ring - 5pm – Maximum Pro Wrestling Shows

West Grounds Midway - 11am – 11pm Midway Rides, games and amusements

Circus Jonathan - Comic Unicyclist Juggler Circusman: 3 shows daily: 1:30 / 3:30 / 5:30 FREE!

Birds of Prey Showcase - 2 shows daily 4:30 & 6:00pm FREE!

Scotiabank Tent, with Free face painting and prize giveaways all weekend.

PICNIC Grounds feature a MOLSON COORS & YELLOWTAIL Wine and Beer Garden. And dozens of FOODS OF THE WORLD kiosks serving up a variety of international food fare including Italian, Asian, Latino, Portuguese, Indian, Caribbean and Canadiana mainstay.

Public Information: T:416.531.7838; or www.scotiabankchinpicnic.com.

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For Further Media Information: stephen@stephenweir.com 416-489-5868 / 416-801-3101 or Picnic HQ: 647.206.2390 (Theresa)

45th Scotiabank CHIN International Picnic

EXHIBITION PLACE ● FREE ADMISSION ● CANADA DAY WEEKEND

JULY 1st, 2nd, 3rd 2011

www.scotiabankchinpicnic.com

Pick up your media pass for the Scotiabank CHIN picnic weekend

2011-07-01T09:35:00.000-04:00

Lenny Lombardi and this year's contestants in the Scotiabank CHIN Bikini Contest

Pick Up Your Press Passes for Scotiabank CHIN Picnic Friday July 1 (Canada Day Program Below), July 2 (Bikini Contest) and July 3rd (Caribbean Programming) at the Media Tent.
Please visit the media tent pitched just east of the Bandshell Stage. 11.30 - 7pm
(and yes, this is not one of my articles, but, because of Tweet problems I had to post this release on my writing blog)
Below is the line-up for Friday

MEDIA ADVISORY – PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES

Scotiabank CHIN International Picnic – Day 1

Canada Day – Friday, July 1 - HIGHLIGHTS

FREE ADMISSION

BANDSHELL Stage - FREE

12:00pm - Canada Day Flag Raising Ceremony and National Anthem presided by Commander Davies Of The Canadian Navy, and Chris Korwin-Kuczynski, Board Director of the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto

12:15pm - Chinese Festival with headliner Kenneth Ma Kwok Ming

3:30pm - South Asian Festival with headliners, Bollywood Playback singer Richa Sharma

and Pakistan pop/bhangra recording artist Jawad Ahmad

CENTENNIAL Square Stage @ Dufferin Gates - FREE

1pm – 3pm – Polish Festival the “NON STOP” Band; The WHITE EAGLE FOLK DANCE ENSEMBLE with Ted Zdybal, Artistic Director; Ballroom Dancers from “RYTM” Dance School;, 16-year old singing sensation KASIA KACALA; and special performance by KRYSTYNA PIOTROWSKI.

4pm – 7pm - Filipino Festival with headliner Pilita Corrales direct from Cebu Philippines. Plus Canadian talent: Ma-Anne Dionisio from Miss Saigon; Karen Tan; Emilio Zarris; Roy Tugbang and the Champions, and dance troupe Culture Philippine of Ontario.

CYCLING RACES: Roadways through Exhibition Place (Start/Finish at Better Living Building)

Free Audience Admission. 8am-4pm – Midweek Club Cycling Races (preregistration www.midweekclub.ca)

Better Living Building Events – Admission is FREE

2pm, 4pm, 6pm – Team K9 Dog Challenge Shows

3pm – Birds of Prey Showcase

2:30pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm – Zero Gravity Circus

3pm – Sports Ring - Ontario Boxing Tournament – 2 hours of boxing matches produced by ATLAS BOXING CLUB and Adrian Teodorescu and featuring boxing clubs from across the GTA and Ontario

West Grounds Midway - 11am – 11pm Midway Rides, games and amusements

Circus Jonathan - Comic Unicyclist Juggler Circusman: 3 shows daily: 1:30 / 3:30 / 7:30 FREE!

Birds of Prey Showcase - 2 shows daily 4:30 & 6:00pm FREE!

Scotiabank Tent, with Free face painting and prize giveaways all weekend.

10:30pm - Fireworks can be viewed from the Scotiabank CHIN Picnic Grounds courtesy of Ontario Place

Public Information: www.scotiabankchinpicnic.com T: 416.531.7838

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For Further Media Information: stephen@stephenweir.com 416-801-3101 or Picnic HQ: 647.206.2390 (Theresa)

2011-06-15T23:47:00.003-04:00

Auto Road and The Cog let you reach for the top

Historic picture of the Cog Railway. Trains continue to climb Mt. Washington.

Choose Which Way to

Challenge Mount Washington!

Mount Washington is very high; it is the tallest peak in America's North East. Hiking, running, biking, driving and even taking a Cog Rail ride up the 6,288 ft slope feels like an act of defying the force of gravity.

Every spring and summer for the last 150 years world travellers have come to the mountain known as Agiocochook (Home of the Great Spirit) to do just that.

The Mountain is located in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, in Coos County, New Hampshire. Mount Washington is one of the most prominent peaks in the country.

There are many ways to get to the summit, the two most popular are the Cog and the Auto Road, and there are events throughout the late spring and summer to help motivate people to use them to reach for the top.

This is the 150^th anniversary of the Auto Road. It is a 7.6-mile long torture test for man and machine. Built in 1861, the toll road climbs 4,618 ft at an average gradient of almost 12%. It starts in Pinkham Notch at the base of Mt Washington and ends at the summit.

The first automobile race in America was held on the road back in 1904 and to this day the racing continues on this treacherous path. Almost every spring and summer weekend there are races be it for runners, cars, motorcycles or bike riders.

Thinking of riding your Harley to New Hampshire? Come by the Mountain and its Auto Road during Bike Week and Ride to the Sky on June 13^th and 16^th when only motorcycles (and touring sightseeing vans) are allowed on the roadway. www.mtwashingtonautoroad.com/events/ride-to-the-sky/

Athletes from around the world run up the Auto Road in the Annual Mount Washington Road Race (this June 18^th). http://mountwashingtonroadrace.com. Four days later it is the cars' turn to give it their all. The Climb to the Clouds will be held June 22- 26.

It is because of the steep grade, the unpredictable winds and the four climate zones that bicycle riders must peddle through that make the road the most challenging course in North America. Newton's Revenge is an aptly named annual bike race up the summit, this year it will run on July 9^th. www.newtonsrevenge.com.

The biggest bike race is the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb. 600 riders will compete this year on Aug 20. www.mtwashingtonautoroad.com.

There is another way to get to the top that doesn't involve muscle, sweat and overheated radiators. The Cog is an historic train that travels on such a steep track it was once described as a "railway to the Moon".

Built in 1869 it is one of the world's great railway adventures. The track runs up a three mile-long trestle with a maximum gradient of over 37%, making it the second-steepest mountain climbing train in the world and the only one entirely built on a trestle.

The round trip takes three hours and includes a visit to the Mount Washington Observatory Center and Museum. www.thecog.com/

By Stephen Weir
Maple Gazette, Spring Issue

At The Mas Camps

2011-06-06T10:38:00.001-04:00

William Doyle Marshall tours Scarborough Mas Camps in Toronto's East end.

BRING A FLASHLIGHT

The Empty Factories of Scarborough are ablaze for just 2 months

Costumes on display in the Blues Carnival Mas Camp, Howden Rd, Scarborough

There are mothballed factories and warehouses in Toronto's east end (Scarborough) that stand empty for most of the year. But in June and July these empty spaces are filled with colour, music and art. There are 17 Mas Camps up and running in Toronto in preparation for the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival ( i.e. Caribana).
On Thursday night journalist William Doyle Marshall (CHYR, Indo-Caribbean Journal etc) toured three of the Mas Camps to talk to the Mas men and women running the camps. The Camps are where the costumes that dancer wear while playing mas at the street parade are constructed. As well the camps are gathering spots where people interested in Carnival can order costumes, volunteer their help and generally Lime (hang-out).
The Mas Camps pick their location based on price and space rather than on ease of being found! Finding the camps is really a matter of being in the know! Most camps have little or no signage, no street numbers and no lighting. Mas camps are open most evenings, many have food and refreshments available for purchase. Best way to find the camps is by visiting the festival's website www.torontocaribbeancarnival.com

Calaloo's costumes have a Native Americas theme


Mervyn Skeete in his Connection's showroom

Down she went. Divers and snorkelers right behind

2011-05-29T19:11:00.001-04:00

WORLD'S NEWEST (FOR NOW) SHIPWRECK ALREADY HAS VISITORS - KITTIWAKE AN EXCLAIMATION MARK OFF CAYMAN'S SEVEN MILE BEACH

By Stephen Weir, Diver Magazine

For the dive industry Santa Claus rode into Grand Cayman on December 25^th, not in a sleigh but on board a barely floating 251 ft long WW2 US warship pulled by an ocean going tug.

After seven years of planning, the retired USS Kittiwake was scuttled a few days after arriving at Grand Cayman Island. Live on the Internet, the Submarine Rescue vessel (ASR-13) was sunk upright in the sand just north of the famous Seven Mile Beach.

The ship was scuttled to take pressure off the reefs of one of the world’s most popular island dive destination. Two months after she went down, the ship (donated by the US Navy) has begun to attract divers and snorkelers in large numbers.

“I dived the wreck one month after her sinking,” said Suzy Marfleet, diver concierge with the Reef – a Seven Mile Beach dive operation. “ I have had a very positive response (from the divers she has escorted onto the new wreck). Many have said that it is interesting to see the wreck now, with no coral growth, and they look forward to seeing the change over the years, at the growth that will occur. The shallow depth makes it fun to dive, and most operators are giving 1 hour dive times.’

When the Cayman Islands really kicked off the worldwide interest in diving artificial reefs with the 1998 sinking of a Russian missile frigate off Cayman Brac (with Diver Magazine columnist Jean-Michel Cousteau on deck as she went down) there weren’t many diveable warships in the world. Since then everything from an aircraft carrier to destroyers have been put down on the bottom to attract scuba tourists. There are now over 100 diveable scuttled ships off the coast of Miami, Florida alone!

What makes the Kittiwake different is that she is in shallow water – the deepest point is 57ft (19 metres). Tourists can explore the ship on scuba or simply snorkel the upper levels.“There are 5 decks on the 47 foot tall Kittiwake. Externally, the crow's nest, mast and large stern a-frame have been cut down and remounted to make her height suitable for Cayman waters,” wrote Canadian diving expert Nancy Easterbrook. Her company Divetech has been an integral part of the acquisition of the wreck, the towing of the ship from North Carolina and the eventual sinking of the Kittiwake.

“Night dives on the Kittiwake are allowed. However, all night dives will be guided/supervised regardless of the qualifications of the divers” she continued. Dive shops must be licensed to take snorkelers and divers to the new site.

Can snorkelers and divers enjoy the wreck at the same time? Many operators aren’t ready to find out. Upscale water sports operator Red Sail schedule separate snorkel and dive trips to the wreck at slightly different times to make sure the twain don’t meet.

“If you want a fun and interesting dive that gets a large amount of bottom time, then it’s a great dive. My favourite part is the shower room, which still has intact mirrors – have you ever looked at yourself underwater?” continued Marfleet. “In another area there is also a working lathe, that you can still turn - obviously in time this will rust and seize up but for now it is a fun toy to play with.”

Although the ship was built in 1945 she has become a child of emerging technologies. Not only is there an official website for her, (/www.kittiwakecayman.com/) but, new underwater Kittiwake videos are being released onto the web weekly,

photo by Courtney Platt

Tale of the tape - information on the size and history of the wreck of the Kittiwake

2011-05-29T12:36:00.005-04:00

Sidebar to Cayman sinking story by Stephen Weir

Tale of the tape

The World’s newest diveable artificial reef – this month

Ex-USS Kittiwake ASR 13 - Chanticleer Class Submarine Rescue Ship ASR

Built by: Savannah Machinery and Foundry Co of Savannah, Georgia, USA

Keel Laid: 5th January 1945

Launched: 10th July 1945

Commissioned: 16th July 1945

Decommissioned: 30th September 1994

Displacement: 2290 TONS

Dimensions: 251 ft Length - 42 Ft Beam - 15 ft Draft

Machinery: Diesel Electric Propulsion - 1 Shaft - 3000 BHP for 15 Kts

Complement: 85 Officers and Sailors
See the Diver Magazine Feature Article: http://stephenweirarticles.blogspot.com/2011/05/down-she-went-divers-and-snorkelers.html

Factoid information & Courtney Platt photograph courtesy of Cayman Island Tourism

Where in the world are the new shipwrecks that we can dive?

2011-05-29T12:30:00.004-04:00

For Divers: sunken warships of the new century – size matters

The Biggies:

Coast Guard cutter, Spar, sunk near Morehead City, North Carolina. 180ft long. 2004

HTMS Khram rocket landing ship,

(Formerly the USS LSM 469,) 203 ft 2003 at Pattaya, Thailand

HTMS KUT - photo from Dive Neptune

HTMS Kut landing ship (formerly named "USS EXNO" (LSM 333) 203ft sunk off the coast of Thailand at Pattaya 2006.

HMNZS Wellington, New Zealand frigate. 340 ft. Sunk near the city of Wellington 2005

HMCS Nipigon, 366 ft Canadian destroyer sunk in the St Lawrence River near Rimouski 2003.

HMS Scylla. British Frigate 371 ft sunk in 2004 Cornwall, UK

Australian Guided Missile Destroyer City of Brisbane. 440 ft. Sunk for divers 2005 off the coast of Queensland

USS Vandenberg, US Air Force missile tracker

524-ft sunk off the Florida Keys 2009 (pictured below in Key West just before she was sank - photo from Key West Tourism Assocation).

Destroyer USS Arthur W Radford to be sunk near Cape May, New Jersey. 563 ft. spring 2011

USS Aircraft Carrier Oriskany, sunk near Pensacola Florida 925 ft. 2006 (pictured at top of page during her sinking - Google photo).

See the Diver Magazine story about the sinking of the Kittiwake by Stephen Weir
http://stephenweirarticles.blogspot.com/2011/05/down-she-went-divers-and-snorkelers.html

Star Stalking In New Hampshire - Map Of Movie Locales

2011-05-12T14:34:00.000-04:00

New Hampshire has a downloadable itinerary for starstruck visitors. See where the movies we love to watch were made.

Article in Spring Issue: Maple Gazette

By Stephen Weir

The New Hampshire Division of Travel &; Tourism Development understands that many North Americans are fascinated by films made by Hollywood. Not just the big name stars, but also, the locations of where memorable films and TV shows were made. The State has recently put together a downloadable six page Filmed in New Hampshire Itinerary. www.visitnh.gov/planning-and-travel-tools/itineraries/culture-itineraries.aspx

Get your motor running, Heading out the Highway. Look for Adventure! This colourful, interesting Itinerary takes film lovers on a giant road trip that begins in Keene with Robin Williams in his 1995 blockbuster fantasy movie Jumanji and ends in Claremont where the entire comedy Live Free or Die, was made.

In all the Filmed In New Hampshire booklet takes visitors to 15 different sites. It also gives information on annual Film Festivals that will be of interest to visiting buffs.

Many filmmakers choose locations in New Hampshire because of the unique scenery the State offers. Visitors will be surprised at what has been made here. The movies listed in the booklet include:

Jumanji. Starring Robin Williams. The 1995 Blockbuster Hit was partly filmed in Keene and Swanzey.
The Thomas Crown Affair. A key scene in the Academy Award winning 1968 thriller was made in Salem.
Cider House Rules. New England author and Oscar winner John Irving had the pleasure of seeing his Best Selling Cider House Rules, made into an equally successful movie in locations throughout New England including Hinsdale and Hampton Falls.
On Golden Pond starred Katharine Hepburn, Henry and Jane Fonda. The 1981 classic was filmed in locations including the communities of SquamLake, Concord, and Meredith.
Disappearances (1986) starring Kris Kristofferson and Charlie McDermott has scenes that were filmed at Clark's Trading Post and throughout Lincoln.

Cutline (pictured above): Actor Robin Williams is absorbed by the floor in the film Jumanji. Scenes from the movie were filmed in New Hampshire.

2011-04-28T13:27:00.002-04:00

Scarlett Hooft Graafland

Contact Photography Media Preview

Story to Follow

Below is footage shot by my associate George Socka at the Toronto event

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1fHbk5YzxQ

Marilyn Monroe's last TV on display for a month at the McMichael

2011-04-12T12:33:00.003-04:00

MZTV Museum of Television Loans Marilyn Monroe’s Personal TV plus Exclusive Videos of Monroe’s Rare TV Appearances to McMichael Blockbuster Exhibition

Precious 1957 Magnavox on view until May 15, 2011 only!

Until May 15, visitors to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection can view Marilyn Monroe’s personal and portable 1957 Magnavox black-and-white television. The set is on loan to the McMichael from Toronto’s MZTV Museum of Television & Archive. Purchased at a Christie’s auction in 1999, the precious set – displaying the inevitable wear and tear from Monroe’s frequent travels – was in her Brentwood, California home the night she died in August 1962.
In addition, the MZTV Museum of Television & Archive has loaned its exclusive video collection of Monroe’s three rare TV appearances. Visitors can watch Monroe’s purring delivery in a commercial for Royal Triton Gasoline, her deft comic appearance as the stereotypical “dumb blonde” on CBS’ “The Jack Benny Show”, and her interview on Edward R. Murrow’s “Person to Person”.
“Although it has been nearly fifty years since Marilyn Monroe’s death, the world remains fascinated by her glamourous and paradoxical life. Thanks to Moses’ generosity, visitors will now be able to experience her personal and stylish copper-finished TV set – the perfect addition to our exhibition,” explained Katerina Atanassova, the McMichael’s chief curator.
The late iconic film star is currently the theme of two popular exhibitions at the McMichael:
The exhibition Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe contains a selection of 150 engaging interpretations of Marilyn Monroe by artists including Andy Warhol, Allen Jones, Robert Indiana, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, and the Toronto-born, Fort Erie-raised Douglas Kirkland who shot the then-world’s hottest star for the entertainment magazine Look. Collectively, the works offer an impressive commentary on the nature of femininity, consumer culture and 20th century celebrity. Highlights include: Monroe’s first nude photographs (1949); standing over a subway grate while her skirt blows upwards during the filming of The Seven Year Itch (1954); entertaining US troops in Korea (1954); singing for President Kennedy’s birthday (1962); and the actress’ famous last sitting with photographer Bert Stern just weeks before her death (1962).
Marilyn in Canada provides a Canadian connection to Monroe and includes, among others, works by George S. Zimbel, an American photographer who immigrated to Canada in 1971. Zimbel participated in the original photo session with Marilyn Monroe that was staged in 1954 during the filming of The Seven Year Itch.
In 1992, Moses Znaimer founded the MZTV Museum of Television & Archive housing the world’s largest private collection of rare pre-WWII and vintage television sets and associated popular culture in the world, some 10,000 objects in all. In addition to Marilyn Monroe’s 1957 Magnavox, highlights include: the first star of television – Felix the Cat; the 1939 World’s Fair “Phantom Teleceiver” that introduced commercial television to North America; a two storey mural charting the international “Race for Television”; and the largest collection of pre-war televisions on display anywhere in the world. Moses’ sets have appeared at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa/Hull, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, and at the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal, Quebec to which he donated the collection in 2008. Selections of his sets are on permanent display in both Montreal and Toronto. Guided tours are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Call 416.599.7339 for information or visit www.mztv.com.
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their
contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,700 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10am to 4pm. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery, visit www.mcmichael.com.

Stephen Weir
Gallery: 905.893.1121 ext. 2529
Toronto Office: 416.489.5868
sweir@mcmichael.com

This May One Of Three Canadian Photographers Will Have A Very Big Day At The Scotiabank's New SPA

2011-03-14T17:30:00.010-04:00

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Scotiabank sponsors $50,000 prize, publishing deal and a gallery exhibition for the year's best photographer. Bay Street's brand new award

By Stephen Weir

On Friday March 11th, the Scotiabank announced in Toronto the three Canadian photographers who are in the running for the nation’s newest and richest photography award.
The Scotiabank Photography Award – SPA - new this year, will not only reward one photographer with a $50,000 purse (the two runners up get $5,000 each) but will also give out a publishing contract with one of the world’s top publishing houses – the Swiss based Steidl Books – to the winner.
Vancouver’s Roy Arden, Montréal’s Lynn Cohen and Robin Collyer, (Toronto) were named to the SPA short-list at a lunchtime press event. The announcement was made in the art-filled posh 63rd floor office (think of it as an economic spa) headquarters of Scotiabank in downtown Toronto.
“Believe me, we aren’t grumpy old bankers,” said Scotiabank vice-president John Doig. “ We want to show Canadians (and the rest of the world) what is happening here in terms of photography.”
Doig explained that Scotiabank has long history of supporting the arts. The company’s investment banking division was at one time known as McLeod Young Weir Co. & Ltd., a company started by four young entrepreneurs including landscape artist, Donald Ivan McLeod. McLeod (1886-1967) was a contemporary of the Group of Seven. Many of his paintings still hang in the bank’s inner sanctum.
“We want this to be like the Scotiabank Giller Prize for photography,” said SPA Chair - photographer Edward Burtynsky.
Actually this is the largest prize in Canada for an established Canadian and is fact richer than the Giller. Both prizes give away $50,000 to the winner. SPA goes two better by arranging the publishing a book of the artist’s work, which will be printed and distributed worldwide by Steidl. As well there will be a curated photography exhibition of the winner’s work.
What was surprising on Friday was not the size of the prize but the size or lack there of, of the media covering this prestigious award. Only the Globe and Mail and the National Post came to Bay Street to learn about what could well become Canada’s most important photography award.
Although the jury has already chosen the winner, the nation’s top photographer won’t be invited into the SPA until May. There will be a May 18th gala event to announce the winner, it will be held during the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto.

THE SPA SHORT-LIST

Roy Arden, Vancouver
Roy Arden has been active as an internationally exhibiting artist since the late 70s. He has played a major part in the development of Vancouver as an internationally recognized centre for the production of contemporary photo art. Regularly seen in significant local, national and international exhibitions, Arden’s work is included in important museum collections in Canada, Europe and the U.S.A., including The Art Gallery of Ontario, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart.
Lynne Cohen, Montreal
Lynne Cohen was born in Racine, Wisconsin. The 67-year old has lived and worked in Canada since 1973 and currently resides in Montréal, Québec. Cohen studied at the University of Wisconsin, the Slade School of Art, University of London, and Eastern Michigan University (MA 1969).  She has held teaching positions at universities in the United States and Canada.   A recipient of numerous awards of merit, including the Governor General's Award in Visual Arts and Media Arts (Canada) in 2005.   Lynne Cohen is known for her photographs of domestic and institutional interior spaces, which have included living rooms, public halls, retirement homes, laboratories, offices, showrooms, shooting ranges, factories, spas, and military installations.
Robin Collyer, Toronto
Born in London, England in March 1949, Robin Collyer immigrated to Canada in 1957. He was educated at the Ontario College of Art, Toronto, in the late 1960s. Collyer has exhibited his sculpture and photography across Canada and the United States, and in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England and France. In 2011, Le point du Jour, in Cherbourg, France will exhibit a large survey exhibition of his photographic work.

THE SPA JURY

William A. Ewing is an author, curator, professor, and museum director. He is currently Director of Curatorial Projects for the publishing house Thames & Hudson, and Curator for Special Projects at the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography (Minneapolis/Paris/Lausanne). Ewing has taught the history of photography at the University of Geneva for over a decade.
Marie-Josée Jean heads VOX Contemporary Image Centre and teaches art history at Université du Québec à Montréal. For the past ten years, her research has focused on the theory and practice of images and conceptual art
Karen Love is Manager of Curatorial Affairs at the Vancouver Art Gallery. She is also an independent curator.

THE NOMINATED PHOTOGRAPHERS
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CUTLINES:

TOP TOP: Scotiabank Photography Award Chair - Edward Burtynsky
Top MIDDLE: John Doig
TOP RIGHT: Jury member Marie-Josée Jean
BOTTOM TOP: Cohen
BOTTOM LEFT: Arden
BOTTOM RIGHT: Collyer

Diving the shipwrecks of North Carolina

2011-02-05T15:54:00.006-05:00

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IT IS ALL ABOUT HUNTERS, THE HUNTED AND THE HAPLESS
By Stephen Weir

Fidgety. Overheated. Impatient. The man with the double nitrox aluminum tanks and fully accessorized dry suit (with neoprene sneakers and matching gloves and hood) waited as the dive boat was secured to the remains of a Nazi U-boat sunk off the coast of North Carolina five wars ago.
One of a dozen club members from Boston, he was sweating both figuratively and literally to get wet. For him this was the ultimate North Carolina T-shirt dive, the reason why he spent close to a day white knuckling it down the interstate to secure a berth at the end of the bench of the 55ft long dive boat Midnight Express.
To his right, a photographer from Raleigh stood in the on-deck shower area. He grabbed the ship’s hand-held fresh water hose and filled his thin 3 mm wetsuit with hot water to get himself toasty warm before jumping into the rolling Atlantic Ocean.
One diver was dressed for the south, the other for under the ice. But both were properly attired for a spring dive 35 miles offshore from ,, the epeicentre of an area known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”
“ At this time of year (late May) it is hard to know what to wear,” said Bobby Purifoy, the captain of Midnight Express and vice president of the Olympus Dive Center. “At the surface the water is just 64 degrees (Fahrenheit) and you feel the cold in a wetsuit, but at 40 ft you will punch through into the northbound Gulf Stream and it warms up to 74 degrees. Throughout the summer it gets really hot (80 degrees F) and the water column is uniformly warm.”
It is the presence of the clear, warm blue waters of the Gulf Stream that makes diving in the waters off North Carolina, so popular. Many of the 100 diveable wrecks are miles and miles out in the Atlantic Ocean (2 hour boat rides to the site are the norm), yet at 100 ft the water is balmy and the visibility is almost Caribbean in its clarity.
The coastline of North Carolina is protected by its Outer Banks – a string of low lying slands. Uninhabited, save for herds of wild horses, these glorified sandbars are constantly changing in shape and size, making for treacherous boating conditions. More than 2,000 ships have sunk here since people began keeping records back in 1526. This is where the cold waters of the Labrador Current (Canada’s biggest export to the state), collide with the aforementioned warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
In addition to the natural hazards, German U-boats in World War 1 and early World War 2 added hundreds more ships to the burgeoning list of lost ships. The enemy subs would lurk in these waters and pick off Allied convoy ships. Although the U-boats were deadly, they were not indestructible. U-352, the State’s most popular diveable shipwreck was sunk by the Coast Guard Cutter Icarus in 1942.
The sub was discovered in 1974 by Bobby’s father captain George Purifoy, the owner of the Olympus dive shop. The family owned operation is based in Morehead City, a seaside fishing community located at northeastern end of the state in an area known as Cape Lookout Shoals.
Looking through the Purifoy dockside shop you will see more of the sub’s neat stuff than you will in the water. The deck gun, steel hatches, the captain’s log and hundreds of other items are on display right next to the rack of U-352 T-shirts.
Although there are far better and less difficult dives to make in North Carolina, the U-352 is the one that everyone asks for. The U-Boat sits upright on the bottom with the conning tower sticking up at about a 30 degree angle. There are parts of the periscope, and some ballast tanks lying on the sand nearby.
“ Underwater there are few high points to look for. There is a broken torpedo in the forward tube and an unexploded depth charge tucked in beside the hull. I wouldn’t touch that if I were you,” cautions Captain Bobby Purifoy. “ If you do try to enter the sub be careful, there is no current in there, it looks clear but, if you stir things up, the visibility will drop to zero.”
The U-352 is considered an advanced dive. It is deep (120 feet), 33 miles off-shore and ocean conditions can vary wildly in terms of current, temperature and visibility. The Olympus dive charters do not allow decompression diving -- experienced divers bring scooters so that they can see all of the crumbling 218 ft long ship in 20 minutes of bottom time.
More interesting is the nearby Papoose. A 412 ft long tanker, she was torpedoed in 1942 by a German U-boat. It took only minutes for the single screw ship to turn turtle and sink. Today the ship lies upside down, banana shaped, on the sandy bottom, 100 ft down.
It is believed that the Papoose had molasses in her holds. Now they are filled with fish; late in May the vermillion snapper was the dominant species that schooled by the thousands and thousands inside the Papoose.
“ The visibility today is 70 feet without the fish, but, with them it gets down to 10!” said Captain Bobby. He was right. The big fish – from baitfish to grouper – shroud the hull while the smaller species hide in the holds. The Papoose is the only topography in that corner of the ocean floor and slight bit of broken elevation attracts an amazing number of smallish sized fish (and their predators).
Even though divers are there for the shipwrecks some of the biggest thrills are provided by ever present man-sized sharks. Somedays the sharks number in the the hundreds around the popular dive sites.
“ 99 percent of the sharks you will see on your dive are Sand Tigers, “ said Captain Bobby as he gave a briefing at the stern of the dive boat. “They are like big dogs, they will come within inches of you. It still freaks me out a bit to see them moving in so close, but, if you don’t touch them, you won’t have a problem! We can almost guarantee shark sightings on the Papoose, there have been dives when I have counted over 150 of them on the wreck.”
The Sand Tiger (Carcharias Taurus) is like no other shark that divers will encounter. Large (they grow to 10ft) wide and with a big nose,the Sand Tiger doesn’t like to cruise, it hovers. This shark will hang motionless over the deck of a shipwreck, waiting for its next meal to come by. It can remain almost stationary because it is denser than seawater. It stays neutrally buoyant in the water column because it periodically inhales air (which it holds in its stomach) from the surface.
The wreck of the Schurz (the former Geier) is another popular place to photograph Sand Tigers. And while the nearby Papoose had reduced visibility because of the number of fish around it, viz on the Schurz can hit zero because of the sheer number of bait fish schooling on her on her.
The Geier was a 255 ft long German gunboat which was seized by the US Navy at the onset of World War 1. Renamed the Schurz, she patrolled the North Carolina coast. One evening in 1918. running without lights to escape the eye of lurking U-Boats, the Schurz collided with a steamer and sank in about 100 feet of water.
Underwater for almost a decade, the Schurz’s has been virtually destroyed by the elements. Her boilers, deck guns and anchors have spilled out of the wreck and now litter the bottom. Because of the hundreds of thousands of fish living amongst the rubble, dive boats routinely string out guidelines so that divers can find their way through the fish to the boilers and back!
Spear fishing is a big time sport for North Carolina divers. On the Midnight Express, the dive masters bring spear guns to bag groupers, flounders and big snappers. The Olympia dive shop will throws post-dive BBQs for its customers and their catch often finds its way onto the grill. Most dive shops regularly schedule lobster and spear fishing trips.
There are more than 60 dive shops in the State operating out of four major dive areas along the North Carolina coast. Morehead City dive shops have over 30 wrecks both inshore and out which they regularly take passengers. Cape Fear, Cape Hatteras and Nags Head are the three other dive districts.
Be it six pack cruisers or former oil tender boats like the Midnight Express and her sister ship the 65 ft Olympus (which can take up to 24 divers) all of the North Carolina dive boats meet Coast Guard standards and are well equipped to be at sea even when conditions are rough. A dive association has been active in sinking artificial wrecks close to shore so that divers won’t always have to endure a 2-hour boat ride to the wreck site.

North and South is a relative thing. Canadians have a long standing tradition of coming south to North Carolina. Air Canada has two daily 90 minute flights from Toronto to Raliegh. For many Canadian divers the coastline is just an 18-hour drive from Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, the state has warm sand beaches, hang ten surfing, outstanding hotels, inexpensive restaurants and golf courses galore.
And as many dry suit divers head south to see the wrecks of North Carolina there is an equal number of 3 mm wetsuit wearers who come from the deep south to dive the dives and buy the t-shirts!
Article appeared in the Toronto Star. A later version Cutline: Top. Sand Tigers patrol a sunken Nazi submarine off North Carolina.
Middle. Stephen Weir examines the remains of a sunken German U-Boat U-356
Bottom. Stephen Weir photographs Sand Tiger while state tourism photographer is about to have a close encounter of his own

Dive Directory North Carolina

2011-02-05T14:58:00.000-05:00

Dive Directory for North Carolina Wreck Dives

According to www.nc-wreckdiving.com, a club operated website, there are over 50 dive shops and charter boats operating in the state. Of note are:

Atlantis Charters
Captain Bobby Edwards
145 Intracoastal Drive
Beaufort, NC 28516
252-728-6244
www.atlantischarters.net/

Divers Down
Atlantic Beach Causeway
Atlantic Beach, North Carolina
28512
Captain Bob Cox
(252) 240-2043
http://DiverDownScubaDiving.com

Dive Hatteras
Ann and Dave Sommers
Teaches Lair Marina,
Hatteras Village, NC
27943
703.818.1850
www.divehatteras.com

Ghost Fleet Dive Charters
Captain Crocket
Dive Boat: Poppy
212 Thicket Lump Road
Wanchese, NC 27981
(252) 423-0451
www.ghostfleetdivecharters.com

Olympus Dive Center
Captain Bobby Purifoy,
713 Shepard Street
Morehead City, NC 28557
252-726-9432
www.olympusdiving.com

Outer Banks Diving
Captain John "Johnny" Pieno
57540 Hwy 12
Hatteras Village, NC
27943
252-986-1056
www.outerbanksdiving.com/

Social Media Writing

2011-01-13T17:49:00.006-05:00

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blogto photo

Musing on wet garbarge in an urban environment
by Stephen Weir

A relative from the Ottawa Valley wrote to ask what I thought about Toronto's garbage recycling programme. Her community is getting the green bin ( wet garbage i.e. food bits, egg shells and used diapers). Here is my response:
I am really very supportive of the green bin (wet), blue bin (paper/glass) and grey bin (dry trash). No one else in the family is, so part of my routine is to go the garbage and seperate the garbage. My wife will use the green bin, except when I am not looking.

There are big problems with the programme at least for us:

* Rodents and racoons. The green bin was suppose to be animal proof. Took about a month before the racoons learned to open the bins. We now bungy chord the bins. Others don't. The racoons crack open the bins by knocking them over (or trying to chew through the bungies) and then have a noisy banquets. If the mess isn't cleaned up immediately the rats move in. Our neighbours are constantly having their green bins hit and as a result every so often we have rat problems. They have gotten into the backyard - we can track their tail tracks in the snow.
* Once you get them visiting your backyard they start feeding on the most unlikest things - they love the grease on the side of the BBQ.
* I have put out rat poison when we see them (they aren't shy and they are really big) and then pray that die in someone elses backyard because the city won't let you put dead rats in the wet bins. I have buried a couple in the backyard. Grass grows greenest over the dead rats. Never had a dead racoon - not sure where they go to die.
* Our neighbours now bungy too, but, on garbage morning the city crews won't remove bungies -- you have to leave bins bungy free. Most neighbours put their wet / green bins out the night before - so the vermin have learned to dine on Wednesday nights. We keep our green bin at the back of the house all bungied up until 7am garbage day (and run out half-dressed if the truck comes early). In summer we tend to double bag our wet garbage and freeze it because it can really stink sitting out on the street on garbage day.
*Some weeks the truck forgets to pick up the green bins. And on other days not all the wet trash makes it into the truck. Finding where the garbage men have left the emptied pail is also fun. Y ou have to grab your empty garbage bins as quick as possible before the dog walkers leave you presents that you have to look after for 2-weeks. Oh yeah and then there are the midnight garbage pickers looking for empty wine bottles (talk about a racket).
* Fourth problem. The garbage bins are too big to get in our backyard - our access is smaller than the width of the bins. And, without a garage we have to drag the bins up and down 20 steps. Okay now, but, when I get older it is going to be a struggle.

And now you know way more than you wanted to know about how I feel about downtown toronto garbage.

New Hampshire says "Let It Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow"

2011-01-05T10:20:00.008-05:00

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Chill out on Hot Savings This Winter Skiing
Winter 2011. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Skiing: New Hampshire
from Chris Ryall's Maple Gazette

There has never been a better time to plan a New Hampshire winter vacation. Ski New Hampshire (www.skinh.com) has announced special deals and promotions for the 2011 ski/snowboard season, with savings from January through to the spring.
This winter got off to a good start in December with ideal snowmaking conditions and large snowfalls in the mountain regions of the state. Weather forecasters are predicting snow, snow and more snow this winter (you can check in real-time cross-country and downhill conditions throughout the state at http://www.skinh.com/ski-conditions.cfm?size=3739.
The savings begin in the month of January. Ski NH and its 37 member resorts are participating in a national program to introduce guests to skiing and boarding. Bring a friend to try out the sport and save on lift tickets. Travellers can visit SkiNH.com's January Learn to Ski for details.
The discounts and special packages continue all winter. Ski NH's Anywhere, Anytime Ticket Packages save $10-$17 or more off the cost of weekend & holiday lift tickets at member resorts! Packages include a choice of six or more transferable lift tickets that are valid any day of the season. (www.skinh.com/lift-ticket-deals/anywhere-anytime-ski-packages.cfm)
Individual resorts have their own discounts and special packages in place for the winter, and more are being added each week. Of note are:
* The Wildcat Mountain Ski Hill (www.skiwildcat.com) and the Attitash Mountain Resort (Bartlett in the White Mountains) are now offering a Frequent Skier Card for visitors who plan to be out on the slopes ... a lot. Their Vertical Value Frequent Skier Cards awards skiers and boarders up to 50% off the cost of ski tickets. www.attitash.com. Gunstock Mountain Resort (Gifford) has a Take 50Card - purchase a card for $130 and save 50% on prime time and night tickets. www.gunstock.com
* Black Mountain Resort in Jackson has a Family Passport designed for Mom, Pop and the kids. This promotion is valid during all holiday periods. Two adults and two juniors (6 to 17) ski for $119.00 any day and $99 midweek (non-holiday period). Black Mountain has a Thursday Breakfast Club for skiers 55-years and older. Ski all day for $20 and enjoy a free breakfast and a travel mug. Any skier who arrives at the hill after 2pm can ski for free with the purchase of a next day ticket. www.blackmt.com
* The BALSAMS Wilderness Ski Area (Dixville Notch) is marking its 45th year as a Winter Destination with a season long 2-for-1 Weekday Deal on lift tickets. http://thebalsams.com
* Not to be outdone Bretton Woods, Cannon Mountain (Franconia Notch), Crotched Mountain (Bennington), King Pine Purity Spring Resort (East Madison), Waterville Valley and Cranmore (North Conway) have two-for-one midweek lift tickets. Check the Ski NH site for prices and to see which days of the week the specials apply! www.skinh.com
* Saturday night is the place to be at Pats Peak (Henniker). Visitors Pay-One-Price for skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, rental equipment and entertainment for $42. www.patspeak.com. The Granite Gorge Ski Area also has Saturday night lift and rental equipment discounts. www.granitegorge.com
cutline: lift at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire

Inn the Spotlight - Green B&B in New Hampshire

2011-01-05T10:11:00.005-05:00

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North Conway's Cranmore Mountain Lodge
from Chris Ryall's Maple Gazette

While the skiers and snowshoers who stay at the Cranmore Mountain Lodge are already seeing white, Frederique and Thierry Procyk are thinking green! That is because their historic farmstead inn won the 2010 Mt. Washington Valley Sustainable Business of the Year Award.
This family friendly and pet friendly inn is secluded on more than 8 peaceful acres in a quiet residential area. It is close to the North Conway Village and skiing at the Cranmore Mountain Resort.
Featuring all the charm of an inn built in the 1840s, Cranmore Mountain Lodge features 20 modern smoke-free units (13 in the main building and 7 in a nearby loft building). All have private bath, cable television, wireless Internet access and phone service. Some rooms include a Jacuzzi tub, refrigerator and microwave.
"Four of the rooms are dog friendly," writes Thierry Procyk. "Our suites and family rooms welcome families as large as 7 persons, with children under 10 staying for free."
The Procyks work hard to reduce the Inn's carbon footprint. They buy locally, they recycle, and best yet, they offer a "Discover our Eco-Friendly Valley" package on their website. This green program includes discounts for guests arriving in a hybrid car, reduced room rates and dinner vouchers for a nearby restaurant featuring food produced in the region. The Cranmore Mountain Lodge donates 10% of the lodging fee to a group establishing a North Conway organic garden.
The Inn also has a variety of winter packages that include lift tickets, dining and duty free shopping. www.cranmoremountainlodge.com

Marilyn Monroe’s concrete body now finished

2010-12-07T10:02:00.007-05:00

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Marilyn Monroe’s concrete body now finished

December 03, 2010
Stephen Weir

Special to the Toronto Star
Posted on the Star's YourHome.ca site

Hazel McCallion believes that the “topping-off” of the 56-storey Absolute condominium is a giant step in making Mississauga a “Global City.”
The completion of the new 428-unit curvy cement and glass building is the making of an iconic attraction that will bring more boldly designed high-rises to the city and create a tourist attraction, Mississauga’s mayor says.
“This building has already set a new standard for design in Mississauga,” McCallion told a happy crowd of construction workers last week at a top-off party for the recently completed building.
The mayor, sharing a stage with the officials of Fernbrook Homes, Cityzen Development Group, Dominus Group and the Beijing based MAD Architects, urged the consortium to build again in her city and as soon as possible. Calling the Absolute tower, also known as the Marilyn Monroe building because of its curvy silhouette, an icon, she expects more builders will be inspired to use eye-catching designs in future projects.
The “topping-off” ceremony — the traditional way construction crews celebrate the end of pouring concrete on a major site — was held to mark the completion of Absolute 4 late last month.. Over 500 guests gathered in the building’s cavernous podium to wildly cheer on the mayor as she signaled the end of heavy construction on the twisty shaped condo.
The individual units are still to be completed, but the project is just a few months away occupation of the lower floors. Heavy construction continues on Absolute 5, Marilyn’s 50-storey equally curvaceous next-door neighbour.
In the growing forest of Mississauga condominium towers, the Marilyn Monroe is seen as the tallest, most striking tree in the woods. Construction on the tower began three years ago. It is one of five buildings and townhouses that make up the Absolute project, located at Hurontario St. Burnhamthorpe Rd., adjacent to the Square One Shopping Centre.
“We broke industry conventions and believe the affectionately called ‘Marilyn’ set new standards for design and certainly raises the bar for all future projects (in Mississauga),” said Sam Crignano, principal with Cityzen Development Group. Cityzen is a high-profile real estate development firm, and it and its sister company, Dominus Construction, are headquartered in downtown Toronto.
“The result has been a success in every regard. The number of enquires and the rate of sales set new records for the Mississauga condominium market.”
Crignano told the Toronto Star that only 10 of the building’s 428 suites are still available for purchase.
“This tower and its soon to be complete companion might not have been possible in many other cities” continued Crignano. “But what we found in Mississauga was a shared vision of the future and an unwavering belief that great design is the path to creating enduring value.”
Possibly inspired by the words of the late actress Marilyn Monroe — “Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world” — McCallion predicts that international interest in the project and her city will only grow. “This is not the end,” she said, “it is just the beginning.”

CUTLINE

photo by: Bernard Weil/TORONTO STAR
Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion and Absolute architect Ping Jiang are framed by the two Absolute towers. A topping off ceremony took place last month at the Marilyn Monroe tower at left.

Jill Heinreth: A Canadian life where blue is anything but

2010-11-27T11:47:00.003-05:00

Jill Heinreth: A Canadian life where blue is anything but
By Stephen Weir

It's like going next door to borrow a cuppa sugar and coming back with filet mignon. It is not what you wanted, but who is going to complain. Whenever Jill Heinreth speaks at a Niagara Falls wreck diving symposium, you can pretty well count on her talking about anything other than Great Lake shipwrecks - but, that is okay, the audiences adore her!
Earlier this year she was the headline speaker at the 16th annual Niagara Divers' Association Shipwreck Festival in Welland, Ontario. While people like wreck hunter Dave Trotter and Georgann and Mike Wachter showed film from their latest fresh water discovies, Jill got up on stage and talked about why divers die using rebreathers! A few years before at the same wreck-heavy conference Jill wowed the audiences with stories and pictures of her dives in Mexican caves and Antarctic iceberg fissures!
The audience in Welland, Ontario love her. She has spoken twice and post conference surveys show divers want her back in a big way! She can't stay on topic worth a damn but come break-time they are lined up to buy her books, her DVDs and get her autograph. She is Ontario's hometown diving girl. Awe shucks and all that, but, she is the real deal, she has worked on Hollywood underwater movies, dove inside uncharted mile long caves, set underwater records, risked death to explore ice fissures at the bottom of the globe and, unfortunately has learned lots about rebreather dive fatalities.
“I have worked as an expert witness and have also been called on by Coroners’ offices to examine rebreathers after a fatality has occurred,” explained the 45-year old diver. “My life's resume is my expertise. I have no official training specifically in court testimony or legal affairs (but I am called to testify). I just tell them what I see.”
That massive dive resume is the long successful story of a Canadian who learned to dive in the Great Lakes. Raised in Mississauga, Ontario (it was called Clarkson back then) she took her first scuba lesson in nearby Toronto at the Diving Store in west end Toronto (or “Rexdale” in those days).
The Diving Store operated one of the province’s first charter boats in Georgian Bay – the Aquanaut Diver – and students got to take their Open Water tests in the wreck filled waters around Tobermory. “ A week after the open water class was completed, I jumped straight into advanced classes. I was hooked.”
After graduating with an honours arts degree from York University, Heinreth supported her diving habit by launching herself into the advertising industry. Owning her own agency gave her the freedom to go and get wet when and where she felt the need.
As a diver trained in the sometimes-harsh conditions of the Great Lakes, she found her skills were in demand by dive shops around the world. Her advertising career was wound down and she headed south. Heinreth put in 3-years at the Cayman Lodge, teaching basic scuba, shepherding groups along the world famous Babylon Wall off Grand Cayman’s east end and instructing in the relatively new art of underwater photography.
Working underwater almost daily didn’t stifle the Canadian’s desire to learn. She took almost every SCUBA certification offered. She also earned Cave Diving, and Closed Circuit Rebreather instructor credentials. It was an easy step from underwater photography in the Caymans to underwater filming anywhere dangerous.
Since those Cayman days she has become an award-winning filmmaker. She produced, and appeared in Water's Journey, an American PBS documentary series that takes viewers on travels through the world's greatest water systems. Hollywood directors call on her to produce difficult underwater scenes and international magazines and websites look to her to document extreme environments with high technology.
“ I used to say there is nothing more dangerous in diving than to be in a cave on a rebreather,” Jill Heinreth told Diver Magazine “until I worked on a Hollywood horror movie shot in Romania. Now that is scary.”
The movie was The Cave, a not-very successful 2005 release that has bloodthirsty creatures stalking a team of divers who are trapped in an underwater cave. Most of the film was made underwater in a Romanian film tank studio; Heinreth was the production’s technical advisor and underwater coordinator.
“ An underwater movie studio in Romania can be built for a million and a half, but do it here and it is $200 million,” said Heinreth. “It was an incredibly elaborate studio, but “safe”??? We had to be on our game.”
Other movies followed. Underwater scenes in The Real Nightmare on Elm Street, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Surviving the Worst (Alligator Attack, Shark Attack) needed Heinreth’s sure touch.
While the Blood and Bubble movies can now only be found by diving into the delete bin at Blockbuster, the work did pay the bills and paved the way to her working on a number of award winning film and photography assignments.
Jill Heinreth has written, produced, and appeared in Water's Journey, the American PBS TV documentary series that takes viewers on travels through the world's greatest water systems. Earlier this year National Geographic aired NOVA Extreme Cave Diving, which follows a scientific expedition into watery caves in the Bahama Banks.
Her many dive-filming accomplishments are best highlighted by an Antarctic cave diving expedition inside the largest iceberg known to man, (National Geographic - Ice Island). She also made significant contributions to the United States Deep Caving Team’s Wakulla 2 project, using paradigm-changing technology to map a Florida underwater cave system in three dimensions. It was at Wakulla that she established a women's diving world record.
“Its a strange record ... it was the "longest deep cave penetration" by a woman,” she explained. “It was on a rebreather on a mission that spanned almost 22 hours and included 5 hours of actual bottom time at 300 feet prior to decompression. I was also the first person to dive in iceberg caves in Antarctica, likely in the world.”
“I have several exciting projects on the go now. I am shooting "We Are Water" a documentary about our relationship with water. I am also working on preparations for two film projects - one that will take me to one of the hottest places on the planet and one to the Arctic. It should be quite a year ahead!”
I am heading to Australia in the spring and that will fall in the same time frame as Niagara Shipwreck 2011, so I probably won’t be able to make this time. I will be back in Toronto, next summer for 6-8 weeks though.”
Heinreth won’t teach divers how to dive in the Arctic, but she still does find time to teach specialized programs including cave diving, side mount diving and rebreathers for small groups of up to three people. “However, I am usually booked about six months in advance.”
Heinreth doesn’t have far to travel to class. She and her husband Robert McClellan live in High Springs, Florida. “I ride my bike over to Ginnie Springs (popular Florida freshwater cave) and swim at the springs and in the Santa Fe River. It's a beautiful way to celebrate the dawn! ”

Cutlines: Pictures taken By Stephen Weir at the annual Niagara Divers Association Shipwreck Convention, held in Welland, Ontario.

Sidebar: Jill Heinreth

2010-11-27T11:41:00.008-05:00

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Sidebar to the Diver Magazine feature
http://stephenweirarticles.blogspot.com/2010/11/jill-heinreth-canadian-life-where-blue.html
By Stephen Weir

Jill Heinreth Milestones

Heinreth’s numerous milestones include induction to the Women Diver’s Hall of Fame and being named a living legend by Sport Diving Magazine. She was named Canadian Technical Diver of the Year, and holds various pioneering diving records. She won the STAND Award for Environmental Photography in 2008. Among her many documentary film making awards are the Cine Golden Eagle and a Redemptive Film Festival Storyteller award. Jill is consistently among the top winners of many prestigious photography competitions and salons.

PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS

Technical Rebreather Instructor, Cave & Mixed Gas Instructor - International Association of Nitrox and Tech Divers (IANTD)
Extended Range Cave Diving Instructor - National Speleological Society (NSS)
Master Instructor - Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
Specialty Instructor - Rebreather Association of International Divers (RAID)
Medic First Aid Instructor
Emergency First Responder Instructor
Member of the Explorer's Club
Member of the B.O.D. of the U.S. Deep Caving Team
Fellow of the National Speleological Society
Member of the International Board of Advisors IANTD

Jill Heinreth Websites

www.intotheplanet.com
www.rebreatherpro.com/jill_heinerth/
www.jillheinerth.smugmug.com/
www.divegirl.com/wakulla2.html

Marilyn Monroe’s concrete body now finished and fireworks lit the sky in Mississauga Top-Off ceremony

2010-11-25T14:08:00.015-05:00

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STORY APPEARED ON-LINE IN THE TORONTO STAR ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 3RD. STORY IS AN EDITED VERSION WITH WHAT APPEARS BELOW AND HAS DIFFERENT PHOTOGRAPH OF THE MAYOR
READ IT AT: http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/realestate/article/898124--marilyn-monroe-s-concrete-body-now-finished
This is a follow-up story to the large How Is It Built Feature published by the Toronto Star earlier this fall.
http://stephenweirarticles.blogspot.com/2010/09/marilyn-monre.html

Mississauga mayor says it is only the beginning
By Stephen Weir

Hazel McCallion believes that the "topping-off" of the 56-storey Marilyn Monroe condominium is a giant step in making Mississauga a “Global City”. The mayor says the completion of the new 428-unit curvy cement and glass building is the making of an iconic attraction that will bring more boldly designed high-rises to the city and create a tourist attraction!
“ This building has already set a new standard for design in Mississauga!” Mayor Hazel McCallion told a happy crowd of construction workers last week at a top-off party for the recently completed building.
The mayor, sharing a stage with the top officials of Fernbrook Homes, Cityzen Development Group, Dominus Group and the Beijing based Mad Design Inc., urged the consortium to build again in her city and as soon as possible. Calling the Marilyn Monroe an icon, she expects more builders will be inspired to use eye-catching designs in future Mississauga projects.
The "topping-off" ceremony – the traditional way construction crews celebrate the end of pouring concrete on a major site - was held to mark the completion of Fernbrook Homes’ Absolute 4 (the Marilyn Monroe’s official name) last Friday afternoon. Over 500 guests, most of them wearing hard hats and work boots, gathered in the building’s cavernous podium to wildly cheer on the Mayor as she signaled the end of heavy construction on the twisty shaped condo.
The individual units are still to be completed, but the project is just a few months away from suite owners on the lower floors being able to move in. Heavy construction continues on Absolute 5, Marilyn’s 50-storey equally curvaceous next-door neighbour.
In the growing forest of Mississauga condominium towers, the recently top-off Marilyn Monroe Building is seen as the tallest, most striking tree in the woods. Construction on Marilyn Monroe began three years ago. It is one of five buildings and townhouses that make up the Absolute project located at Hurontario Street and Burnathorpe Road in “downtown Mississauga”, adjacent to the Square One Shopping Centre.
“We broke industry conventions and believe the affectionately called ‘Marilyn’ set new standards for design and certainly raises the bar for all future projects (in Mississauga),” said Sam Crignano, principal with the Toronto based Cityzen Development Group. Cityzen is a high profile real estate development firm, it and its sister company, Dominus Construction are headquartered in downtown Toronto.
“The result has been a success in every regard. The number of enquires and the page of sales set new records for the Mississauga condominium market”
Crignano told the Star that only 10 of the building’s 428 suites are available for purchase. He expects that Marilyn Monroe will be sold out soon. Even though no one has moved into the building, some of the units have already been flipped by their original owners, their resale price rumoured to be over $100 a square foot more than they were purchased for.
“This tower and its soon to be complete companion might not have been possible in many other cities” continued Crignano. “But what we found in Mississauga was a shared vision of the future and an unwavering belief that great design is the path to creating enduring value.”
Possibly inspired by the words of the late actress Marilyn Monroe – ‘Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world’ – Mayor McCallion predicts that international interest in the project and her city will only grow. “This is not the end,” she said, “ it is just the beginning.”

Cutlines: Top Right: Jiang Ping, principal of Bejing's MAD Design, spoke at the November Top-Off ceremony for Mississauga's Marilyn Monroe building. Photo by Linda Crane.
Left Top: Absolute 4 and 5. The Marilyn Monroe building is the building on the left. Photo by Stephen Weir
Bottom Photographs - By Linda Crane. Mayor Hazel warms up the crowd.
Stephen Weir
www.stephenweir.com
stephen@stephenweir.com, sweir5492@rogers,com

Canada's Capital Region hangs out the Christmas lights

2010-11-24T14:52:00.016-05:00

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OTTAWA HAS THE SCOOP ON INDOOR AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES THIS CHRISTMAS INCLUDING A COYOTE NATIVITY PLAY

Visitors to Ottawa have plenty of choice this winter whether they want to stay inside or outside. This December, the Ottawa region will be energized by the lights of Christmas, outdoor skating, the Nutcracker and, of course, hockey! And if you book your hotel or getaway package before March 31, 2011 , you can enjoy a 3rd night free at participating hotels. Visit www.ottawatourism.ca for full details on this as well as the other special offers and packages available.
Over the coming weeks, Ottawa will play host to Christmas Lights Across Canada; performances of The Nutcracker and Nativity: a Coyote’s Christmas at the National Arts Centre, The Bell Capital Cup hockey tournament and the 41st skating season on the Rideau Canal Skateway where visitors can skate, for free, on the world’s largest outdoor rink.
For the past 25 years, Ottawa has had a Christmas lights festival to brighten the Ottawa winter for visitors and local residents. At first, the lights were only ablaze on Parliament Hill, but since then the programme has expanded. This year, there will be over 60 spectacularly lit sites along Confederation Boulevard downtown. Christmas Lights Across Canada begins on December 2 on Parliament Hill with a free 6 pm Illumination Ceremony. Over 300,000 lights will be switched on and will make the city glow until January 7, 2011. www.christmaslights.gc.ca
The National Arts Centre (NAC) in downtown Ottawa is the country’s premier performing arts complex. This winter, the NAC will stage a series of dance, music and drama performances, all marking the Holiday Traditions of Canada.
The Alberta Ballet will be on stage at the National Arts Centre December 1-5 dancing the colourful Nutcracker. From December 8 to 23, the NAC presents its own interpretation of the First Christmas as seen through the eyes of three wise coyotes! Nativity is a holiday musical comedy for the whole family. The hot ticket for cultural tourists this Christmas? The National Art Centre Orchestra's evening performances of Handel’s Messiah on December 14 and 15. www.nac-cna.ca
The world’s largest hockey tournament, the Bell Capital Cup, will be staged for the 12th year at ice rinks all across the Ottawa region. For spectators, this is a very affordable hockey tournament to watch—day passes start at $3 for seniors, and full tourney passports cost just $12. Children under 12 are free! Visitors to the city are welcome to watch over 2,000 players on more than 500 teams from Canada, U.S. and Europe compete December 30, 2010-January 3, 2011. www.bellcapitalcup.ca
The city of Ottawa is treasured for the beautiful Rideau Canal, which winds its way through the downtown core. Each winter, once the canal freezes, thousands of visitors and locals head downtown, day and night, to skate on the 7.8 km long Rideau Canal Skateway. It is free; there are change facilities, food concessions, skate rentals and sharpening stations right on the frozen surface. Weather dictates when the canal is actually available to skaters; but it usually happens in late December or early January. www.canadascapital.gc.ca/skateway
Tourists wanting information, tickets and lodging reservations for events and festivals can visit www.ottawatourism.ca, a powerful website operated by Ottawa Tourism and supported by the region’s growing tourism industry. There are many packages available including Hockey Night in the Capital, Rendez-vous for Two, Family Discovery, and Cultural Odyssey.
Ottawa Tourism provides destination marketing, strategic direction and leadership in cooperation with members and partners to service the travel media and attract visitors, tours and conventions to Ottawa and Canada’s Capital Region. Its vision is to build recognition of Ottawa as an outstanding four-season tourism destination.
from Chris Ryall
CUTLINE:
Poster for Nativity Play at the National Art Centre this Christmas

Maori elders greeted the dawn and then rubbed our noses in it!

2010-11-05T22:27:00.016-04:00

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WHALE SHOW OPENING BEGINS AT DAWN IN A PARKING LOT AT THE ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE

A few minutes into the official opening of Whales | Tohora, a Maori elder told the invited audience that at one time her people were fierce hunters of whales. But, she said, the Maori have changed their ways and are helping the scientific community in New Zealand study the world's largest creatures.

Whales | Tohora is a new travelling exhibition that just rolled into Toronto. Opening at the Ontario Science Centre, the whale show includes two enormous, fully-articulated sperm whale skeletons, life-sized reproductions and a crawl-through model of a whale heart.
Objects in this 750 square metre exhibition include rare specimens from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa's whale collection, one of the largest in the world. In addition to the science and biology of whales, Whales | Tohora explores the cultural and historical significance of these creatures to the Maori and Pakeha (non-Maori) cultures of New Zealand and other Pacific island nations.
Early whaling provided many trading opportunities between cultures in this region, illustrated in the exhibition by harpoons, scrimshaw (whale tooth carvings) and other taonga (treasures). A large contingent of New Zealand officials including politicians, museum expertsand Maori elders came to Toronto to official open the exhibition. Beginning just before 8am in the parking lot of Science Centre, the Maori elders held a short spiritual ceremony before coming indoors to meet the media and the invited guests. Over the next hour the New Zealanders traded speeches, traditional songs and rubbed noses (traditional Maori practice of hongi) with their Canadian counterparts. Chief Bryan LaForme of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation was at the event to welcome "his Maori brothers and sisters" to an area of the country "where the nearest whale was probably 1,000 kms away!"
The new exhibition Whales / Tohora is on display at the Ontario Science Centre until late March.

Cut lines
Top: Sporting traditional Maori facial tattoos Rhonda Paku, Senior Curator, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, stands with a tribal in front of a whale's head movie prop at the Science Centre. and Lesley Lewis, CEO, Ontario Science Centre. The fibreglass whale head was used in the making of the film Whale Rider. It is now used as a small theatre in this touring educational exhibition.
Second left: Matiu Rei (left) and Huia Winiata (right), lead Chief Bryan LaForme of the Mississaugas (middle) of the New Credit First Nation, through the new exhibition Whales / Tohora.
Second right: Just how big is a whale? There are two fully-articulated sperm whale skeletons in the exhibition.
Bottom: Matiu Rei (Maori Elder) listens as a New Zealand diplomat speaks at the morning opening of a new whale exhibition.

Wildlife Artist George Mclean signs Andy Donato's copy of his new book, 'George McLean: The Living Landscape'

2010-11-05T12:41:00.012-04:00

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NEW BOOK, NEW WILDLIFE EXHIBITION FOR ONTARIO WILDLIFE ARTIST GEORGE McLEAN

Toronto Sun photographer Andy Donato (right) chats to artist George McLean (left) at the Toronto launch of George McLean: The Living Landscape. The book, written by Virginia Eichhorn, Tom Smart and Adam Duncan Harris, was launched at the Ben McNally Bookstore in downtown Toronto.
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McLean is one of Canada’s finest wildlife artist. His technical prowess, his affinity for his subject matter, and his densely layered depictions of the natural world emerge directly from his intense interest in wildlife.
Now in his seventies, his passion for the creatures and the habitat that surrounds him is as intense as it ever was, as is his desire to share his passion with others through his art.
In this new book, Tom Thomson Gallery curator Virginia Eichhorn, examines the development of McLean’s art and trace his varied influences, casting his work in the light of early 20th-century artists Carl Rungius , Bruno Liljefors, and Andrew Wyeth, with whom McLean feels a profound kinship. The $64.00 book features more than 90 large-scale colour reproductions, and is published by Goose Lane.
The launch of The Living Landscape coincides with the opening of an international touring exhibition of McLean’s work at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound. The exhibition will tour to The McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Toronto in January 2010. The show will also travel to galleries in Sudbury,Ontario and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Stephen Weir Articles

100 Words. Non-Fiction. Canada Reads 24-hour Name Dropping contest

Steve Jobs, I-Pads, Canon Cameras changing how press conferences are run

Stephen Weir

How Steve Jobs Transformed PR

Huffington Post 1.14.2012

Patrick where for art thou - tale of theft and intrigue in the US Virgin Islands

Recent Fluff From Stephen Weir's Many December Facebook Postings.

If a Tree Exhibition was staged in the forest would ....

Diving Into Bat Infested Waters!

Photographs used in Diver Story Sidebar About Akumal Diving

A Pride of Inflatables - transportation to check out a US Boat Show

Breaking the ice - introduce Iceland's Dive Shop. River Diving in the lava fields

The Best From Facebook: Vignettes About A Recent Trip to Peru part 2

I paid this woman 60 cents for a glass of chicha and strawberry juice. Drink was invented by the Incas. Back in those days the corn was chewed by women before being put in fermentation vats. Nowadays the kernels are boiled before being placed in the vats.

How to find a chicherias in Peru. Look for a red flag over the door. Usually dirt floors and no electricity.

The Best From Facebook: Vignettes About A Recent Trip to Peru

Toronto Sun: Back On The Rails

Market Wharf - Just the Facts

Renfrew Stories: Even while at school in Windsor, Renfrew Foundry Made a Big Impression

Just The Facts About Market Wharf

Believe it Or Not Toronto will soon have a Ripley's Aquarium

Ladies and Gentlemen - a big hand for the big (and little) fish!!!

Beaver Bra supporting the town of Parry Sound at the Ex this year

Inn the Spotlight feature from the last issue of the Maple Gazette

Cool is Hot. Some White Men Can Dance.

Images from yesterday's Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival Launch

No Butts About It (although judges liked his Butt!). Mr. CHIN Bikini chosen today

MISS CHIN INTERNATION CROWNED (and info about tomorrow's male bikini contest and free David Rudder concert)

Media Passes needed for photographers wanting to cover Saturday's Bikini contest

Pick up your media pass for the Scotiabank CHIN picnic weekend

At The Mas Camps

Down she went. Divers and snorkelers right behind

Tale of the tape - information on the size and history of the wreck of the Kittiwake

Where in the world are the new shipwrecks that we can dive?

Star Stalking In New Hampshire - Map Of Movie Locales

Scarlett Hooft Graafland

Marilyn Monroe's last TV on display for a month at the McMichael

This May One Of Three Canadian Photographers Will Have A Very Big Day At The Scotiabank's New SPA

Diving the shipwrecks of North Carolina

Dive Directory North Carolina

Social Media Writing

New Hampshire says "Let It Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow"

Inn the Spotlight - Green B&B in New Hampshire

Marilyn Monroe’s concrete body now finished

Jill Heinreth: A Canadian life where blue is anything but

Sidebar: Jill Heinreth

Marilyn Monroe’s concrete body now finished and fireworks lit the sky in Mississauga Top-Off ceremony

Canada's Capital Region hangs out the Christmas lights

Maori elders greeted the dawn and then rubbed our noses in it!

Wildlife Artist George Mclean signs Andy Donato's copy of his new book, 'George McLean: The Living Landscape'

Recent Fluff From Stephen Weir's Many December Facebook Postings

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