Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

. Lord Black fills the cracks in the Calypso Monarch programme - Scotiabank Caribana event at Science Centre Jokes about Conrad Black Itah Sadu has been making a living as a storyteller for almost twenty years in Toronto. She has the ability to make up a humourous story in a New York minute ( I guess I should say a North York minute) and give an Oscar winning performance delivering the goods. She is so fast that audiences don't even realize that when she takes a deep breath on stage she is actually dreaming up her next 2-minute bit to keep everyone amused. Her talents were put to the test on Saturday night at the Ontario Science Centre. Itah was the MC for the annual Soca Monarch Contest. This contest is the culmination of a summer of performances by Calypso singers who fight it out to see who can compete at the Monarch for the right to wear the Calypso crown (there is indeed an actual crown). The evening was plagued with delays. A late drummer meant that the doors opened almost ...

Caribana™ Arts Group/Yorkgate Mall 7th Annual THINK! Scholarship 2010 recipients receive cheques at the closing ceremony of the Scotiabank Caribana/Yorkgate Mall Junior Carnival Parade The “Caribana Arts Group/Yorkgate Mall Scholarship” Selection Committee announced on June 6th, 2010 that two scholarships have been awarded to high school students selected from Wards 7, 8 and 9 to pursue their post-secondary education at Seneca College beginning this fall. Payments will be handed out to awardees during the closing ceremonies of the Scotiabank Caribana/Yorkgate Mall Junior Carnival Parade on Saturday, July 17th, 2010. The scholarships are fully funded by Yorkgate Mall Administration in partnership with Seneca College, Fire & Ambulance, the City of Toronto, Community Partnerships and Toronto Residents in Partnership, RCMP, Metro Toronto Police Services (MTPS) - 31 Division, and the Caribana™ Arts Group (CAG). This year’s scholarship recipients are: Osato Idemudia (17 years old) Osato...

. INSIDE OUT AND GETTING WET IN ANTIGUA (repost request) By Stephen Weir As spectator sports go, Antiguan Starfish Flipping has a very small fan base. That is because you have to be a certified scuba diver, have the patience of Job and a high tolerance for low jokes to appreciate watching a Oreaster Reticulatus turn itself inside out. Antigua is a small vibrant island of 67,000 English-speaking people. Situated on the Eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea, the former British colony is within sight of the islands of St. Kitts, Nevis, volcanic Montserrat and its political partner Barbuda. Although this popular scuba diving destination is not blessed with an abrupt deep coral wall drop-off, it does have a rich healthy ring reef system that is close to shore. These shallow reefs are almost untouched and are filled with unusual sea life including a vast number of bottom dwelling starfish. “ If you came back from a dive and said you didn’t see anything, then you didn’t really dive, you just go...

. CUSHION STARFISH FACT FILE • Starfish is a name that is beginning to fall out of fashion because they aren’t really fish. The species are now called seastars. • Cushion Starfish or Seastars range in colour from brown to orange, red, and yellow. They grow to a diameter of 10 inches and lives at a depth to 50 feet. • As a natural defense mechanism, the starfish is able to change its body colour to hide or escape from predators. • The arms of the starfish are used for movement, catching prey and digestion. It is able to grow a new arm if one is lost. • It feeds on slow-moving or stationary animals. Clams, oysters and snails are the usual prey, but it also eats fish eggs and mollusk. The starfish stomach extends through the mouth to snare food. The meal is then transported to the starfish's digestive glands within its arms. • Cushion Starfish live up to 8 years in captivity and can survive up to two hours out of water.