Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Diving into the past – Important 2012 underwater  milestones and of course the dubious records For the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/../../stephen-weir/underwater-feats-2012_b_2382560.html   Ignore what Captain Kirk said.  In 2012 the last frontier was underwater. Never in the history of the planet has mankind ventured so far under the surface.  And, in pushing the underwater boundaries, more individual achievement records were set this year than ever before.  From the 7-mile underwater depth record set by Canadian filmmaker explorer James Cameron inside a futuristic one-man bathysphere, to freediver Ashley Futral Chapman who went down to 67 meters (223 feet) and back on a single breath of air, new milestones continue to be made and to be broken. Skimming through our back pages we noted the following achievements, albeit some of them pretty dumb that were reached over the past 365 days. CSS Website Photograph ...

The legacy of St. Elizabeth continues not only on her anniversary, but every day in each community where Saint Elizabeth Health Care serves By Linda Crane and Stephen Weir A 13th century saint, recognized for her humanity and selflessness, is at the very heart of today's Saint Elizabeth Health Care.  Named after St. Elizabeth of Hungary who died on November 17, 1231, the innovative, not-for-profit, charitable organization continues to recognize the anniversary of its namesake by ensuring that the compassion and care she was known for continues in the homes and communities where its health care professionals serve. The Story of Saint Elizabeth Born in 1207, Elizabeth of Hungary was the daughter of Andrew II, King of Hungary.  After the deaths of her mother and her betrothed, Elizabeth turned her back on the opulence of the court at her family's castle in Warburg, in the state of Thuringia (Germany)- choosing instead a pious, se...

The Master Photographer Has Died (Huffington Post  http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/stephen-weir/arnaud-maggs-dies-_b_2170683.html ) After Nadar - self-portrait by Arnaud Maggs. Press photograph courtesy of the Susan Hobbs Gallery --> Photographer 86-year old photographer Arnaud Maggs didn't suffer media fools lightly.  "If another reporter asks me how come I have managed to stay active so long, and what is my secret to long life, I am going to tell him sex and drugs" he groused as we walked out of the Canada AM television studio. "What about Rock and Roll?" I asked. Arnaud thought for a moment, smiled and answered, "less so". It was in the late spring and Maggs was on a roll. He had had a successful show of his works in Toronto at the Susan Hobbs Gallery.  The National Gallery in Ottawa had paid the ultimate tribute by opening Arnaud Maggs: Identification  a survey exhibition that follows the senior artist’s production over four de...

PR Tales From My Blue Bin (some marketing and PR ideas are better left alone) From the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/stephen-weir/worst-pr-campaign_b_2067262.html By Stephen Weir: Saying something loudly doesn't make it true. Doubly so when it is the printed word doing all the yelling. I was given a card (pictured top) to keep so that I wouldn't forget the show I had just paid to see. Since then the card has been pinned to my corkboard wall. It has been up there for a while. It edges have started to curl. It has taken a couple of Starbuck splashes over time. I took it down yesterday when I realized the card's message -- Please Keep This Card As Your Memory Of The Show -- hadn't worked. I have no memory of getting that 3" by 4" piece of cardboard. I can't tell you what show I was at when I received the card. An art show? A play? A dance performance? Hmm. Probably something that was given out at a Toronto Harbourf...

. The Revolution To Change The World B egin s Underwater  A n edited version of this story appears in this month's Diver Magazine   Revolution is a new big brain movie for divers who care about the planet. Underwater filmmaker Rob Stewart premiered the full-length film in early September at the Toronto International Film Festival.  Already Revolution is doing what Stewart wants it to do – change the world. The movie captured the People’s Choice Award Documentary  (Runner-Up) in his hometown and was Documentary Winner at last month’s Atlantic Film Festival .  It will be screening at Festivals for the next few months before getting theatrical release in Canada in March 2013. Revolution is the true-life eco-crusade that the Toronto diver found himself leading, half way through making the movie.  The film, originally meant as a shark conservation film – a follow-up to his acclaimed 2006 SHARKWATER documentary – ended back on land and morphed ...