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Cupid has an angel's touch. Teaching visitors to the Science Centre about the heavenly sounds of the Pan

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. Scotiabank Caribana Programming at the Science Centre in June 2010 The secret to playing the steel drum? Don't bang the instrument with your "sticks", roll them across the surface of the metal ... or so says pan expert Salmon Cupid. Cupid, a music teacher within the Toronto District School Board is also the inventor of the E-Pan, the world's first electronic steelpan. On Friday morning he was at the Ontario Science Centre with 20 sets of steel pans and his E-Pan. The Ontario Science Centre has become a partner in the annual Scotiabank Caribana Festival. The Science Centre sponsored Salmon Cupid's visit to their building. Cupid had the help of a number school aged players and also called up members of the auidence to come up and learn all about the steel pan. The steelpan, also known as the steeldrum, is an invention that was made in Trinidad and Tobago. It is an acoustic musical instrument indigenous to that nation which remains to this day, the only such inv

G20 - One Billion, The Arts - No Score. Ancient Terracotta Warriors will have to wait a bit longer to be discovered by the media

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. G20 - One Billion, The Arts - No Score. Terracotta Warriors will have to wait to be discovered by the media Everyone was there for the press preview of the Terracotta Warriors this morning at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. There was the Cultural Minister from the British Columbia provincial government, Michael Chan, Ontario's provincial minister of culture and tourism, the head of the Vancouver Art Gallery, the head of the Glenbow Museum, the head of the Montreal Museum, vice president of the Bank of Montreal, a gaggle of high ranking Chinese government officials (and their translators) but, not counting the Chinese language TV and print, there was no mainstream media. Good show. No Hollywood (like the Art Gallery of Ontario's Tut exhibition -- with the voice of Harrison Ford and movie set entrance doors), just a dynamic, well thought out and tastefully presented exhibition. The media should have lapped it up. According to Wikipedia,"The Terracotta Army is the

Always ready to hand out quotes - Torontoist article on G20 protests

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. Demonstrators Already Claiming Victory in G20 Battle http://torontoist.com/2010/0/demonstrators_already_claiming_victory_in_summit_battle.php Boarded-up shop windows surround King Station. Photo by Stephen Michalowicz/Torontoist. Unless you've been living under a rock this week—and let's face it, with the security clampdown, lots of people downtown feel as though they are—you've noticed that the core of the city has been brought to a virtual standstill. Some streets are so vacant, you could use them as bowling alleys. Employees have been told to stay home. Shops are closed (some are even boarded up), the daily subway commute feels more like a Sunday afternoon than morning rush hour, and people are talking openly about leaving town for the weekend. Turning the country's biggest city into a ghost town is quite a feat. To some protesters, that's a major victory—and it's been won before the actual summits even begin. "Definitely the Harper government and the

Hocus Pocus, Kodak High Def Underwater Video Camera Still in Focus

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. The World’s Worst Underwater Magician Hocus Pocus, Kodak High Def Underwater Video Camera Still in Focus Story filed with Diver Magazine June 8, 2010 By Stephen Weir The Pixel Wars are over, picture resolution can’t get any higher. Now the race to produce pocket sized high definition waterproof video cameras is on. One of the first out of the box is the Kodak PlaySport. In April the venerable film manufacturing company began selling in Canada and the US, a High Def video camera that looks like a cell phone, works underwater without a housing and easily links in to You Tube and Facebook. “It is brand new and just became available to consumers,” explained Kodak’s PR console, Carla McFarlane.” Major retailers are just receiving their inventory now since the product is so new (but soon it should be available everywhere). It is available in purple, blue and black.” According to Kodak their PlaySport is built for people who enjoy the outdoors. It is waterproof to 3-metres without a hous

Toronto's Finest Open a Mas Camp For Jane Finch Kids

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. Police, children, volunteers and the Scotiabank Caribana Festival stakeholders were at the Jane Finch Yorkgate Mall in Toronto to open the Toronto Police Junior Mas Camp Senior Officer Superintendent Sam Fernandez from 53 Division officially opened the Metro Toronto Police Force’s Mas Camp for Children on Monday May 31st at the Yorkgate Mall (Finch Avenue East at Jane St). He was joined by children were at the camp to learn how to make mas (masquerade) costumes for this summer’s Scotiabank Caribana/Yorkgate Mall Junior Carnival Parade. The camp is located in an empty Macdonald's Restaurant on the second floor of the Mall. Toronto Revellers Mas Band leader and NBA star Jamaal Magloire was at the Mall to help open the Metro Toronto Police's first ever Mas Camp for Kids. He spoke briefly to the children and the press and then signed autographs. Tony Ishmael, one of the founders of the Caribana Junior Parade and a costume designer for the Toronto Revellers Mas Camp, spoke at the

First Underwater Poker Game

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Follow on item to underwater records Flickr, photography's social media site, has recently put on line an emmense collection of public archives photographs. A quick search through the photographs that have already had subject tags added, found what may be the first ever photographed underwater poker game! Photographed in May 1951, the 4x5" b&w photograph show an underwater poker game. the picture was taken at Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida, home of the famed breath-holding Weeki Wachee girls (in mermaid costumes). The photograph is part of Florida' Department of Commerce collection and is resident in Tallahassee, Florida. According to the collection there is an accompanying note with the photo which reads "Dick & Shirley Woolery, Bud & Patsie Boyett, and Rudy & Thelma Halabuck. Poker game."

Follow Up: Peter Hughes has left his Fleet!

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Peter Hughes quits as president of his former company. Stays in Florida but now runs a Galapagos Live Aboard Dive Boat In the last issue of Diver Magazine, travel editor Stephen Weir revealed that Live Aboard Dive Boat operator Peter Hughes had sold his industry leading Peter Hughes Dive operation. One month after that article appeared Hughes told Weir that he has left the employ of Wayne B. Brown, the current owner of Peter Hughes Diving and the principal owner of the Agressor Fleet. " IT is bitter, sweet for sure. My last day with Peter Hughes Diving was May 15th, 2010 and now I am on my own " Hughes first order of business has been to purchase the startup company DivEncounters, Inc. of which he is now the President. He is based in Florida near Miami. His immediate responsibility will be to handle the affairs of the M/V Galapagos Sky (formerly Sky Dancer), ensuring the continued high standard of operation. Hughes says there is possible product expansion in the future. Hug

Full Contact on Queen Street

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. Photography Festival has the Message and the Medium but at the grand opening, where is the Media? Friday photography show opening draws crowds but not the cameras Hot show and very hot festival uses McLuren as inspiration but private launch runs cold with the media. What is the message here? In 1974 I took a number of pictures of Marshall McLuhen as he addressed the media covering the annual Juno Awards. My close friend, Dave Tollington was working for RPM Magazine - the creators of the music award - and got me in the side door and let me take a half a roll of black and white film before shushing me away from the cooler filled with O'Keefe lager beer. My notes from that session are long gone. I don't remember anything he did say. I do know from my student newspaper tear sheet, that he did talk about popular culture to the people who promoted such big stars (back then) as Terry Jacks, Anne Murray, Stompin' Tom Connors, Murray McLaughlin and or course Valdy. McLuhen spok

Still to be written - Chris Hadfield at the Science Centre

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. . Canadian Astronaut talks to Stephen Weir about his upcoming underwater mission - 2-weeks underwater off the coast of Florida

Loose Moose eat shoots and leave(s) for the cameras

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. Gorham's coach tours have a 94% chance of seeing a photo-friendly moose or two There is more chance of seeing a moose on the loose while taking part in a Gorham Moose Trail tour than basking in sunshine on a visit to the beach! The 174-year old town, nestled in the Androscoggin Valley and adjacent to the picturesque Presidential Mountain Range, have a 94% successful sight rate when it comes to close encounters of the Moose kind. Gorham is surrounded by the White Mountain National Forest and the spectacular Mt. Washington and Great Glen Outdoor Center are only eight miles away. Tourists should not miss the unique opportunity to take the Gorham Moose Tour in search of the giant of the North Country and other area wildlife, including deer, osprey, eagles and more. Climb on board a comfortable, air-conditioned, 15 or 21-passenger tour bus for a 3-hour tour along the picturesque Androscoggin River and into the 13-Mile Woods Area. There are daily tours throughout from May to October an

New Hampshire: Victoria Day Weekend and Spring/Summer Packages

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QUEEN VICTORIA WOULD BE AMUSED BY ALL THE DEALS FOR HER SUBJECTS The Canadian dollar is on the rise and so are the savings in New Hampshire. The Granite State appreciates the business and visitors it receives from Canada and many properties are offering up discounts and other added value items for the Victoria Day weekend and some extending it throughout the spring or even summer. Check out www.visitnh.gov for all the latest information and packages or visit the websites listed after each package below for specific details. * Appalachian Mountain Club Highland Center/Joe Dodge Lodge -Bretton Woods, NH Enjoy the outdoors at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Highland Centre and Joe Dodge Lodge and book May 22-24 and save 50% off their regular rate for the second night during this time period. You must mention promo code "VDAY" when you call (603) 466-2727 for reservations. Offer only available by phone. Lodge details at www.outdoors.org/whitemountains.

BEAM ME DOWN SCOTTY - RODDENBERRY DIVE TEAM

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. BUY THE DECAL. WEAR THE SUIT. JOIN THE CLUB. The Final Frontier begins with the Roddenberry Dive Team By Stephen Weir, Diver Magazine BEAM ME DOWN SCOTTY. Space may be the final frontier for astronauts, but, Eugene Roddenberry, son of Gene Roddenberry the creator of Star Trek, knows that for the vast majority of people back here on Earth, the only place you can boldly go where no man has gone before is underwater. California based Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry has introduced a new line of dive suits and formed a dive club to encourage people to explore the underwater world and save the planet. Rod is hopeful that his Roddenberry Dive Team will live long and prosper. “The Roddenberry Dive Team is about exploration, adventure and education,” the club founder wrote on his website. “Members can take part in regular ocean, space and science action related activities; including scuba trips to both local and exotic locations, VIP events and fundraisers, special lectures and seminars,

Diver Magazine Exclusive: Peter Hughes sells his business to the new owner of the Aggressor Fleet

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. In the Caribbean and on the Pacific and Indian Oceans Wayne Brown is the new Dance Master By STEPHEN WEIR His hand is no longer on the tiller; he is no longer the admiral of his fleet. Yes, the title on the business card says “president”, but, according to Peter Hughes, it is now Wayne Brown who is walking the Poop Deck on his Dancer fleet of live-aboard dive boats. Peter Hughes, the man who introduced luxury live aboard dive travel to North America and established four-star standards for land-based Divi operations in the Caribbean has told Diver Magazine in an exclusive interview that he has sold his company, lock, stock and dive boats. The new owner, Wayne Brown, is the owner of the Aggressor Fleet of live-aboard dive boats, Hughes’ fiercest competitor. Speaking at the Adventure Sport Exhibition in Toronto, Mr. Hughes said that he sold his operation to multi-millionaire Wayne Brown 24 months ago. “ We were very very quiet about the sale,” he said. “It was months before anyone ha

World's Worst Underwater Magician

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. Water too cold in Toronto in April - new underwater camera tested in local pool In anticipation of the completion of a product review article that I am writing for Diver Magazine, I have shot and posted an underwater video on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W83vzlzMxYA . The review is about the new Kodak Play Sport. The video camera looks like a cell phone but is in fact built to be taken underwater without a housing! Members of the Etobicoke Underwater Club assisted as I taped Marianne Collins conduct an underwater magic trick. After filming her waving her magic wand and making a flower grow underwater I decided to call her the World's Worst Underwater Magician.

Toronto Star: Destruction to construction - Dust to Dust in the Condo industry

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. Wrecking and recycling From a brewery to beer cans Destruction to construction By STEPHEN WEIR SPECIAL TO THE STAR HOW IT'S BUILT It is taking a lot of Molson's muscle to recycle Toronto's landmark lakeside suds factory. An environmentally bent demolition company is painstakingly deconstructing the Fleet St. Molson's Brewery, turning it into powdered concrete, ingots of steel and, eventually, aluminum beer cans. Even as the Molson building is being taken down, there are still parts of it that tower above the nearby raised Gardner Expressway. The shrinking factory is a beacon for the disappearing industrial district that once employed thousands along Toronto's eastern waterfront. The beer building and almost all other factories and warehouses in the Bathurst and Lake Shore area are being shuttered, shut down and converted into upscale housing projects. "This puppy was over-built. There are at least 3,000 metric tons of steel in there. It was as though they we

Toronto Star: Turning Starch Into Award Winning Homes along Port Credit's waterfront.

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. Washington’s Urban Land Institute believes you can’t take the starch out of lakeside Port Credit condominium project By Stephen Weir When the US research organization Urban Land Institute (ULI), set out to pick the ten best land-use projects in North America, Europe and Asia, one of the 21 finalists was the Port Credit Village development on Lake Ontario's north shore. The Washington based nonprofit association vigorously likes how the privately owned Fram Building Group has transformed a demolished starch factory into a lakeside condominium project which, through its design, encourages residents to work at home, walk, ride bikes and use mass transit. The annual competition is based on ULI’s guiding principle that the “achievement of excellence in land use practice should be recognized and rewarded.” Its Awards for Excellence makes an all-encompassing holistic examination of each nominated project, looking beyond its architectural design. The criteria include: “leadership, contr

UPDATE on underwater records -FIRST UNDERWATER TWITTER, emailed press release received

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. Ukrainian Journalist, Julia Gorodetskaya, Sends World’s First Underwater Tweet WORLD'S FIRST UNDERWATER TWEET It was an unforgettable experience—to tweet side-by-side with dolphins at a depth of 19-feet underwater. Odessa, Ukraine April 19, 2010 — Ukrainian TV journalist, Julia Gorodetskaya (@gorodetskaya), recently sent the first underwater tweet from the floor of the 19-foot-deep dolphinarium, “Nemo,” in Odessa, Ukraine. The scuba tweeting session was broadcasted by local media and documented by regional press. The preparation process and the underwater tweeting was also filmed and broadcasted live by Boris Khodorkovsky (@netocrat) to his QIK account and placed on Youtube and other social media services. Julia Gorodetskaya Sends World's First Underwater Tweet The tweet was sent via a mobile phone sealed in plastic, using Opera Mini’s Web-interface of Twitter. The tweeting was organized by a national mobile operator with the help of professional divers, who prepared the pho

Hubble in orbit on Toronto's Big Screen

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. HUBBLE HOOPLA COMES TO ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE, HUBBLE FILM'S DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHYSAYS IT TOOK 20-YEARS TO GET 8-MINUTES OF SPACE FILM James Neihouse, the director of photography for the Hubble Imax film, was a down-to-earth fellow while fielding out-of-this-world questions from the media at a March Toronto press preview held at the Ontario Science Centre. The Canadian film maker talked at length about two decades of challenges he faced in getting useable large format space footage for the movie. Niehouse said the film about the in-space repair and update of the orbiting Hubble Telescope, took 20-years to make and yet has only 8-minutes of IMAX quality out-of-this-world footage. Why? The camera, weighing over 300 kilos, went into space onboard a US shuttle loaded "with just 5,400 ft of film. That's all we could get on board and in the camera!". (footage from helmet cameras and shuttle cameras flesh out the spectacular film). The Shuttle could not accommodate a

Living Minimal in a Toronto condo - there is a Zen to reducing possessions

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  Now and Zen - condos have few walls and no place to exhibit art Before the coming of Zen Zen and Now.  Designing for nothing at all!  Minimalist movement takes root in urban centres   By Stephen Weir I recently pitched the Toronto Star on an update of this story which I wrote for the PDRA magazine in the US 5-years ago. After digging the story out archives I decided to post it, story is as relevant then as it is now It’s a designer’s worst nightmare -- a wealthy client with no possessions and no desire to acquire any. But, wait, as both Seinfield and Sheila Doris know, there is real money to be made when comes to the Zen of nothing! “North Americans are over-run with stuff,” exclaimed Sheila Doris “ We are junkies for stimulation, we don’t lightly give up on our toys.”  But, as the Canadian educator and decorator told a large group of interior decorators, the times are changing!  Speaking at a standing-room-only PDRA sponsored series lecture in Toronto, Ontario during the Canadian