Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

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...

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...

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 posit...

    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

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 n...

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 T he 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 ...

  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

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 B...

. 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....

. 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 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/

. 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...

. 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...

. 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 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...

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...

. 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) ...

. 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...