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

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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.

Diving the shipwrecks of North Carolina

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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. Bu

Dive Directory North Carolina

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Dive Directory for North Carolina Wreck Dives According to www.nc-wreckdiving.co m, 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

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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. O

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

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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.c

Inn the Spotlight - Green B&B in New Hampshire

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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

Marilyn Monroe’s concrete body now finished

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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