Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

… And some will fit in your stocking! New Scuba Products For The Holiday This Year - The First Day of Christmas (Unedited story in 6-parts - Feature for December issue of Canada's Diver Magazine www.divermag.com ) By Stephen Weir With only a few weeks left until Christmas, the expert buyers at Diver Magazine have once again come to the rescue of weary holiday shoppers with our well-informed gift suggestions. This time, the buyers have zeroed in over 20 last-minute gift suggestions that are all new (or improved) this year. De Fog in De Stocking . Nanofilm, a maker of lens care products, has launched Clarity Defog It anti-fog liquid ($5.50 Cdn) and towelettes ($8 Cdn). The new products provide safe, highly effective, long-lasting fog prevention for all lenses including scuba masks. It is sold at Wal-mart Optical. www.nanofilmtechnology.com Little makes Big Gift: MC-1 mini camera . JW Fishers has been designing and building underwater search equipment for over 35-years. The Massac...

. From Thor to Sedna – The Mystical Gods of the North Carvings by Abraham Anghik Ruben November 6th through December 5th. Organized by the Kipling Gallery For Inuit carver Abraham Anghik Ruben, the myths stories and legends of Thor, and Odin, are as much a part of the North, as the Goddess Sedna and the Creator-God Anguta. And so on November 5th when the Kipling Gallery opens the doors on a startling new exhibition of Ruben’s stone and bone carvings, images of gods and goddesses, giants, monsters and demons of the north will fill the gallery in Woodbridge. Reuben’s work will be accompanied by a photo series, “Canadian Inuit, 1946”. National Film Board veteran Canadian photographer George Hunter took the photographs depicting the disappearing nomadic life of the Inuit. “As an artist I have spent the last 30 years developing my craft and having as the focus of my work the arts and cultural traditions of my Inuit background,” said Abraham Anghik Ruben. “There was extensive contact bet...

. ROBERT BATEMAN TALKS ECO-AWARENESS IN STROUD, ONTARIO. What would make the planet healthier and a better place to live? According to artist and eco-activist Robert Bateman, it is as simple as making sure that our children go for a nature walk ever day. "Leave the Play Station, Internet and TV behind and enjoy the outdoors," the artist told a Standing-Room-Only crowd at the Georgina Arts Centre & Gallery in Sutton, Ontario on Saturday October 21st. "Through an understanding of our great outdoors and the balance of nature, our children will get a better understanding of the ecological challenges we all face." Saturday was the International Day of Action on Climate Change and the British Columbia based artist was in Stroud to talk about children and the environment and to show and sell more than 100 pieces of his work. About fifty people attended his one-hour lecture in a basement hall and then jammed the upstairs gallery to talk to the artist while he signed b...

. BULLETIN: BELOW IS A STORY POSTED OCTOBER 21st. ON NOVEMBER 15th NEWS REPORTS OUT OF CDNN NEWS SAY THAT JOHNSIE HUDSPETH 59, A REALTOR IN ELKIN, FLORIDA DIED AFTER SHE ENCOUNTERED PROBLEMS WHILE DIVING OFF THE AMORAY DIVE BOAT ( THE SAME OUTFIT THAT LARRY REEVES WAS DIVING WITH WHEN HE DOVE ON THE BENWOOD) AT MOLASSES REEF. (MOLASSES REEF IS ADJACENT TO THE BENWOOD). Dive boats operating within the John Pennekamp State Park Underwater Preserve have been taking divers to the wreck of the Benwood for 50 years. Picturesque. Shallow (50ft max,) close to shore, the Benwood is considered a safe dive and is suitable for novice scuba divers. However on Tuesday August 20th, the body of a diver was pulled from the Florida Keys waters close to the Benwood. According a U.S. Coast Guard press release, a 67-year-old Blount County man died Tuesday in a scuba accident in the Florida Keys. Larry Reeves of Maryville, TN was diving on or near the Benwood wreck dive site, four miles east of Rodriguez K...

McMichael Canadian Art Collection curator, Anna Stanisz beside the "Lone Figure", a carving from the new Nunannguaq: In the Likeness of the Earth exhibition Anna Stanisz is the curator of the new exhibition Nunannguaq: In the Likeness of the Earth now showing at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. This exhibition marks the fiftieth anniversary of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative and celebrates the remarkable achievement of the internationally acclaimed artistic community of Cape Dorset (Kinngait). The show features a large selection of prints, drawings, and sculptures spanning three generations of Cape Dorset artists. Ms. Stanisz stands beside a stone sculpture(The Lone Figure, 2006) carved by Jutai Toonoo. The new exhibition Nunannguaq: In the Likeness of the Earth will be on display at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario until January 17, 2010. The gallery is open 7-days a week from 10am until 4pm. The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is located at 10365 Is...

. COMING TO NEW HAMPSHIRE IN OCTOBER? DON’T FORGET YOUR FLAMING PUMPKIN Flaming pumpkins, Skeletons, and Scarecrows have taken over New Hampshire and are dyin’ to put a friendly scare on visitors. Canadian travelers consider yourself warned! Pumpkin festivals, haunted houses and other delightfully ghoulish attractions are spooking up the Granite State this October. Looking for a screaming good vacation? Attractions and Howl-aween events range from an actual haunted ghost town to the world-renowned children friendly Pumpkin Festival in Keene. No need to ask your Ouija Board about what to do in New Hampshire this Halloween season. Here are just a few things that are sure to rattle your chains and scare up some great travel ideas! Ghost Town At Six Gun City. Take part in a Sooktacular Halloween Adventure every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in October. The White Mountains’ amusement park (near Jefferson), has unlimited free rides and shows. Young ghouls and goblins get in touch with ...

. FROM THE FALL ISSUE OF MAPLE GAZETTE By STEPHEN WEIR The Most Beautiful Time of The Year - Fall Colours Mother Nature's annual rite of fall is spectacular in New Hampshire with an explosion of rich and vibrant colours blanketing the Granite state. With a 6,288-foot elevation change within the state, leap peepers around the world can follow the spectacular fall foliage from the lower altitude valleys to the highest peaks in New England. Since the date for peak colour changes, depending on where you are in the state, what elevation you are at and varying weather patterns, New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development has launched its popular and interactive foliage tracker map at http://foliage.visitnh.gov . Leaf peepers can also sign-up for foliage text alerts and updates on Twitter ( www.twitter.com/VisitNH ) and Facebook ( www.facebook.com/VisitNH ). Fall is an ideal time for Canadians to visit New Hampshire with the spectacular fall colours and many properties...

. Linda Crane and myself have been hired as publicists to promote Robert Bateman's first Russian traveling show. CP received our press release and decided to do a story. After 14 hours over 24 newsources used the story and/or picture Robert Bateman set to head to Russia for his first major European show By Victoria Ahearn (CP) – 23 hours ago TORONTO — Famed wildlife artist Robert Bateman is preparing for his first major European exhibition, a four-gallery tour in Russia that will highlight his passion for protecting nature. "I presume it's a feather in my cap," Bateman, 79, said Friday in a telephone interview from his home in Salt Spring Island, B.C. "Although I have been in a few art museums in Canada, often art museums in Canada turn up their nose at wildlife art so it's nice to be hanging under the same roof for example as Kandinsky." "Robert Bateman in Russia" will open at the Russian Museum's main building, Mikhailovsky Palace, in St....

FINAL UPDATE - Following the announcement that the search for Charles Lynn Titus has ended, his family issued a statement to the media. “On behalf of the entire family of Charles Lynn Titus, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for all the unconditional support and kindness from the community of Grand Cayman in the search and ongoing recovery of our beloved family member,” the statement said. “The amount of time, resources and dedication to this tragic situation from the staff of Divers Down, the Grand Cayman police department, the staff at the Marriott Grand Cayman Resort and from all the volunteer boaters and divers has been unequivocal. Our family will be forever grateful for the immediate and relentless attention to this catastrophic event.” THURSDAY UPDATE - The Cayman Police announced today (Thursday 24th) that the search for a missing American Diver has been called off. The 60 year old missing diver has been identified as Charles Lynn Titus. A Las Vegas television stat...

. . Sidebar #3 Five Great Places To Dive and Take Underwater Photographs in the Florida Keys Sidebars for Stephen Weir article in Diver Magazine October 2009 1. Biscayne National Park - 95% of this park is underwater. Outstanding reefs covered in picturesque elk horn coral. Shipwrecks abound. Northern tip of the Florida Keys. 2. Wreck of the USN Spiegel Grove. 510ft retired warship scuttled to create artificial reef, 6 mi offshore of Key Largo. Ship originally lay on its side but after Hurricane Dennis (‘05), the ship is now upright 130 ft down. Experienced divers only. 3. Jules’ Undersea Lodge. La Chalupa Underwater Research Lab has been converted to world’s only underwater hotel. Its 2 rooms have glass picture windows onto the reef, air-conditioning, hot showers, a stocked galley, and unlimited diving! Key Largo 4. Ten-Fathom Ledge - Unusual coral caves and dramatic overhangs provide refuge for both lobster and grouper, while pelagic life frequently cruises by. Key West 5. Tortugas...

. SIDEBAR# 1 FOR DIVER MAGAZINE ARTICLE (printed in next item below this) South Florida Diving Headquarters’ Manifest: A slice of Americana (with a Canuck thrown in) The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker is so one hour ago. Try three legless vets, three holidaying tattooed DEA divers, a spear totting husband and wife and a self-confessed air points whore. One morning late in April, the following signed up for a morning of diving. • Three members of SUDS (Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba). One man lost both legs in Afghanistan. The other two each lost a leg in Iran. They are accompanied by a wife and Captain John W. Thompson, president of SUDS. The group tries to dive in Pompano once every 3-months. The men don’t talk much, but, the Afghanistan vet, walking in full gear on two stumps cut above the knees, says that underwater he “isn’t disabled”. The trip is sponsored in part by Body Glove. • Seth Miller is a freelance computer expert and an avid collector of air miles. F...

. SIDEBAR #2 - STAYING IN TOUCH Florida Keys & Key West Visitors Bureau, Key West FL 800-FLA-KEYS. www.fla-keys.com . Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Fort Lauderdale, FL 800-356-1662 www.sunny.org Olympus Imaging America Inc. Center Valley, PA www.getolympus.com underwater@olympus.com Pro Dive International 429 Seabreeze Blvd. www.prodiveusa.com Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 776-3483 Quiescence Diving Services, Inc Key Largo, FL 33037 305.451.2440 phone www.keylargodiving.com South Florida Diving Headquarters 101 N. Riverside Dive Pompano Beach, Florida www.southfloridadiving.com MV Spree Live Aboard Charter Boat Key West, Florida http://www.spreeexpeditions.com/dry_tortugas.asp Martin Štěpánek Performance Free Diving Pompano Beach, Florida martin.stepanek@performancefreediving.com Underwater Music Festival Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce Big Pine Key, FL 33043 Phone:(305)872-2411 www.lowerkeyschamber.com/underwatermusicfest.htm Visit Florida Toronto, Onta...

. SIDEBAR 3 All of the photographs used in Diver Magazine's feature on diving in south Florida were taken with Olympus cameras -- most using a new Tough 8000. The camera is shock proof, waterproof to 33 feet and is relatively goof proof (perfect for a writer who has been taking bad underwater pictures for more than 30 years). The use of the shockproof camera had me thinking about Tough jokes. Here is a sample. Tough underwater camera humour Police call to the wife of a diver. We have good news and bad news. The bad news? Your husband is dead; he was run over twice by a van. The good news? His Tough 8000 waterproof camera still works!

. Original version of story which appears in this month's Diver Magazine ( http://www.divermag.com/v2/index.php ) Florida Redux Battered, Shaken and Baked, But Still Going Strong By Stephen Weir Bleeding ankle – rusty spur lurking inside a sunken tanker. Sliced shin – rogue wave hits while seal-hopping onto bobbing stern platform. A divine blessing – but no miracle cures – from a reef bound Jesus. From Key West to Pompano Beach, field-testing an underwater camera is a full contact sport. There is a scuba highway that stretches from the tip of the Florida Keys to the hyper-busy Greater Fort Lauderdale Airport. More than 650,000 snorkelers and divers travel this route every year, making it the most popular dive destination in the world. Accessible. A rich variety of dive sites. Government regulated boats. North America’s biggest scuba stores. Relatively cheap places. No wonder the southern tip of Florida is the place to dive, dive, dive. And, if you are testing a camera, the place ...

. Photo provided to Toronto Weekly Newspaper First West Coast totem pole raised at an Ontario public institution in decades Haida artist and carver Don Yeomans came to Toronto yesterday (September 1, 2009) to oversee the installation of a totem pole he carved for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The 1,000 lb red cedar carving was trucked to the public gallery in Kleinburg and installed in the building's lobby. Don Yeomans is one of the most highly respected artists on the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. The gallery, with funding provided by the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation, commissioned the full-scale totem pole by this artist to create a new, unique piece for the Collection that will remain on permanent view in the gallery’s Grand Hall. On the totem pole, Yeomans uses traditional iconography and totemic animals as a point of departure to comment on today’s different modes of technological communication. With this imagery, which includes an eagle holding a cell ph...

Photos provided to Toronto Daily Newspaper First West Coast Totem Pole Raised At An Ontario Public Institution in Decades Haida artist and carver Don Yeomans stands beside his totem pole outside the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The 1,000 lb red cedar carving was delivered today to the public gallery in Kleinburg and installed in the building's lobby. Don Yeomans is one of the most highly respected artists on the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. Also pictured above is the20ft totem being raised inside the gallery. A gantry lifts Don Yeomans totem pole upright inside the McMichael Canadian Art Collection lobby in Kleinburg, Ontario. The west coast artist and carver oversaw the installation. The gallery, with funding provided by the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation, commissioned the full-scale totem pole by this artist to create a new, unique piece for the Collection that will remain on permanent view in the gallery’s Grand Hall. On the totem pole, Yeomans uses traditio...

10th Annual Boating for Children’s Charity Special Preview Night raised $65,266 in Toronto. Divers are boaters too! And each year thousands of certified divers attend the Toronto International Boat Show which is held each January. Not only did divers buy boats, motors and dive accessories, many also attended the 10th Annual Boating for Children’s Charity Special Preview Night. This year the evening raised $65,266. The donations will go to four children’s charities: Camp Oochigeas, Ontario Sailing, Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, and Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund. Beneficiaries of the night include the following children’s charities close to the boating community: • Ontario Sailing: Able Sail, Access BOOM Program - Access BOOM is a mobile sailing school that brings sailing into the lives of children and youth with disabilities. • Camp Oochigeas – For more than 25 years, Camp Oochigeas has been enriching the lives of children who have cancer through the magical experience of campin...

. . Message to the Girls: Celebrate Summer With Wallet-Friendly Packages Toronto, July 23, 2009 – When the sun beams down all day and even the nighttime temperatures are pleasant, it's a sign that the summer season is in full bloom. Many people know that spending time in Ottawa during the warm holiday months will create a lifetime of memories. To make a Capital City getaway more alluring, Ottawa Tourism is promoting the new "Girlfriends Getaway" package that gives women travelers the chance to stay, shop, dine, spa and take in a cultural event, all at a special affordable price. Ottawa’s new "Girlfriends Getaway" package is a fun choice for a 'girls only' holiday shopping trip tailored for two (but more guests can be added on). The package offers a two-night stay in a downtown Ottawa hotel, discount Rideau Centre Saving coupons and the choice of an add-on. The “Girlfriends Getaway" optional add-ons are numerous and varied. Guests can receive one...

. This story crossed Bloomberg's wire this morning. The feature is the first time in my memory of Scotiabank Caribana (going back 10 years before it was even called Scotiabank) that a business news service has looked at the festival. I obviously didn't write it, but, Bloomberg did use a few of my photographs. Socca Music, Wild Parade Send ‘Vibe’ Through Toronto Caribana By Sean B. Pasternak July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Mention Toronto and steel drums, Carnival and reggae music probably aren’t the first things that come to mind. From July 14 through Aug. 3, however, Canada’s biggest city opens up for Scotiabank Caribana, which promotes itself as North America’s largest celebration of Caribbean culture. Now in its 42nd year, Caribana gives 1.3 million local residents and tourists the chance to see buttoned-down Toronto letting loose, as this year’s slogan -- “Won’t Stop De Vibe” -- suggests. Caribana is best known for its signature parade, set for Aug. 1. Rambunctious crowds line the...

. Slighty expanded story which appeared in Maple Gazette (Cdn newsletter for travel agents) Top Seven Beaches By Stephen Weir So many lakes. So many rivers. And then there is the wide-open ocean. We went to the experts to find out where the seven top beaches and swimming spots in New Hampshire can be found. You might be surprised at the answers! Hampton Beach. MSNBC rated it in the top 3 cleanest beaches in the United States. Miles of white sand. Supervised swimming. There is camping at the Hampton Beach State Park. Lots to do from the annual summer sand sculpture competition (pictured above) to the February 1st Penguin Plunge! www.hamptonbeach.org/ Rye on the Rocks. This beach is best known for being the home of the best surf breaks in New England. The beach is off Route 1-A a few miles from Rye, NH. www.townrye.nh.us. Wallis Sands State Beach. When the tide is out, this is one of the best beaches in the state. Wide expanses of clean sand. This is a family-ori...

Driving down Yonge Street on Saturday night, heading for the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the new location for the Soca Monarch competition. I was running late, I had been at the Junior Carnival (Kiddies Parade)all day and was not expecting to be interviewed. Its reporter Jasmeet Sidhu from the Toronto Star, -- Toronto's biggest newsaper had not covered the parade. Other papers had. Reporter interviewed me, and the story below appeared on line an hour or so later. Appeared in print this morning. Posted the story not because I was interviewed, but, because they were in need of a photo ... I sent them one I had taken early in the day. Caribana's Junior Carnival lights up Jane and Finch Jul 18, 2009 08:35 PM Jasmeet Sidhu Staff Reporter They danced, they laughed, their glittered costumes sparkling in the afternoon sun. The Jane and Finch area was the scene of jubilant festivities and the bright colours of the Caribbean as the annual Junior Carnival took to the streets Saturday aft...