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Looking up Marilyn Monroe's concrete skirt

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. HOW IS IT BUILT? Construction company using concrete, and lots of it, to give Marilyn Monroe curves that will stand the test of time. Toronto Star September 18th feature story (Condo Section: http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/realestate/article/861508--mississauga-condos-absolutely-brilliant ) By Stephen Weir Long after the world has forgotten Marilyn Monroe, two well endowed condos will still be twisting the years away in downtown Mississauga. Curvaceous. Shockingly new. Absolute Buildings 4 and 5 are being built to last for the next century and beyond. While their growing shapes are unconventional (Absolute 4 been dubbed the Marilyn Monroe because of its curves while Absolute 5 will sport a masculine big butt profile) it is the traditional application of concrete, and lots of it, that will make these buildings an eye-catching monument in time. The 50 and 56 story condominiums have been under construction for over three years. Now, as the structures begin to tower over the nearby City Ha

Factoids about the Marilyn Monroe Building and Absolute 5

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. Condo Trivia By Stephen Weir Mississsauga's startling new condominium project. Story appeared in September 18, 2010 Toronto Star. Factoids only on website. Main feature appeared in print. FACTOIDS • Absolute 4 (Marilyn Monroe) has a rotation of 207 degrees from the base to the top. • Absolute 5 has a rotation of 200 degrees from the base to the top. • Absolute 4 (Marilyn Monroe) will reach 56 storeys. Each level has 9ft ceilings except the penthouse levels which will have 10ft ceilings • Marilyn Monroe has 428 suites; her shorter companion will have more … 453 in total. • Marilyn Monroe’s largest suite will be 3,500 sq feet, her smallest will be 545 sq ft • Marilyn Monroe will have 6 penthouse units, 100 21/2 -bedroom suites, 217 2-bedroom suites and only 28 1-bedroom units. There will be no bachelor units. • Amount of concrete that has been poured: 4400 cubic meters • Amount of concrete still to be poured: 1500 cubic meters • Absolute 4 and 5 share a common garage. There will be

Winnipeg sculptor donates pieces to the McMichael

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The McMichael unveiled its plans to enhance the gallery grounds and build an outdoor Sculpture Garden featuring works by a well known Canadian artist Ivan Eyres at a media event early in September. Two of the large nine pieces that Ayres is donating have been cast and will soon be installed in Kleinburg. The remaining pieces will be cast over the next 18-months. The McMichael previously received confirmation on March 12, 2010 that the Federal and Provincial governments will contribute $4.2 million through the Infrastructure Stimulus Funding program to complete this major project. This money will be used to enhance the grounds of the public gallery. A fund raising project has been launched to cover the costs of installing Mr. Ayres work. CUTLINE: Upkar Arora, chair of the McMichael board of trustees, with from left, Michael Johnston, chair of the McMichael Foundation, Tom Smart, outgoing gallery executive director and board member David Loch. Three of nine maquettes created by Winnip

Lucky Gord. Poor Hilly. Renfrew Tales

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R enfrew. The luckiest town in the Ottawa Valley  The unfortunate love story of Lucky Gord and Hilly.   By Stephen Weir a rare unpublished fiction short-story based on fact/family history   DeMoss, the hired hand who spent his winters in the lean-to barn at the end of our unpaved lane, said I was lucky that I lived in Renfrew. The clean Ottawa Valley air. The good huntin'. Best of all, an arena that let you play full contact hockey without havin' to wear sissy protective gear.  DeMoss never thought to talk to me about the women. Didn't say anything about the men either. He was blissfully unaware of Renfrew mating practices. The young males and females in Renfrew had no trouble finding each other, but they were really lucky if they could find a place to be alone together. Priests. Neighbours. Fathers. Mothers. Noisy brothers and sisters.  You know the drill. My 17-year old sister Hilly and her 30-year old fiancée, Gord Ford, took to parking his Dodge (no kidding) in a fiel

Sublimnos - Muse for James Cameron

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. . Sublimnos No Longer Out Of Sight … And Definitely Not Out of Mind By Stephen Weir It will take a long long time for a piece of Canadian dive history to rust into dust. Given the hard feelings surrounding the historic Sublimnos Project, the deteriorating, remains of that underwater habitat could well be an above-water Lake Ontario eyesore for years until rust indeed becomes dust. Back in the summer of 1969 Sublimnos was set down in the waters of Georgian Bay near Tobermory, Ontario the self-described "fresh water scuba diving capital of the world" .It was a bargain basement underwater research station. Constructed from a railroad tanker for just $10,000.00, Sublimnos became Canada’s first subsurface research laboratory. From 1969 to 1971 the Sublimnos project, funded and spearhead by physician, author, explorer and frequent Diver Magazine contributor Dr. Joe McInnis, was headline news around the world. Built to accommodate up to four divers at a time, in its first two-ye

Deep Discount Habitat - sidebar to featured article on Sublimnos

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. AN UNDERWATER FIRST FOR CANADA Scientists. Students. Divers. Thanks to the media the world came to see Sublimnos. In Canada almost every major news outlet from the Toronto Star to the CBC came to Tobermory. The international media came too. National Geographic Society helped fund the Sublimnos project and their magazine covered the story as well. “David Doubilet is notably one of the most famous National Geographic photographers and a mentor to photographers today,” said film producer Diana Woods. “One of his first photography assignments was Sublimnos in Tobermory in 1969!” Probably the most definitive U.S. article on Sublimnos appeared in Popular Mechanics Magazine (PMM) in April 1971. Back then PMM was ‘the’ voice of innovation and invention for Americans. At the time its readership was over 6.6 million, so the MacInnis Sublimnos Project gained high profile throughout the English-speaking world. Entitled Bargain Basement Habitat, the story was written by Douglas Hicks and informed

Lordy Lordy. Itah Sadu uses Black humour to keep the party rolling Saturday night

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. 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