Route for SODER's bicycle tour of Rosemont

The tour starts at Bellechasse and 16th Ave. at 1:30pm on Saturday (Aug. 16). For more information, consult the press release (PDF).

See also:

• August 2, 2008 — Name at least three things wrong with this picture
• July 13, 2008 — Street sale mania
• October 6, 2007 — Proposed bike rental system has issues

Or maybe more like an idiot.

Details are also on the Facebook page.

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• No related posts

This Saturday, come blow bubbles with us at Phillips Square. Watch people’s eyes light up as millions of bubbles soar majestically through the air. Bring friends, cameras and, of course, what you need to create bubbles

You can join the Facebook event or, you know, just show up with bubble-making equipment of your choice.

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Oh Dominic, the things you’ll do to entertain us…

See also:

• February 5, 2008 — DOA resurrection
• January 10, 2008 — The vlogolution will not be televised
• November 13, 2007 — Vlog cancelled

I’ve always been a big fan of comedy, and I’ve lived in Montreal my entire life, so you’d think Just for Laughs and I would be a perfect fit (it’s only a year younger than me). But I’ve never been to a gala, and before last night had never been to any live production related to the festival.

The main reason behind that is money. Why should I pay $40 for a nosebleed seat for a show I’ll get highlights from a few months later on TV?

The other reason is that I’m not easily impressed by comedy. Jokes about relationships and making fun of people’s acccents got old about three decades ago.

But last night, both those problems were alleviated as I stopped by to see the Uncalled For’s Blastback Babyzap production at Mainline Theatre. I’ve seen the group perform improv shows, so I had an idea that there would be some funny stuff going on. And at only $12, it didn’t hurt the wallet to attend.

I must say, I was very impressed.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen the show, some of the stuff below may ruin the surprise. But it’s still worth watching.

From the moment the … do I call it a play? … started and the adorable Matt Goldberg came out in this ridiculous outfit and moustache, the energy was on overdrive. He wasn’t cracking jokes, but the performance was so over-the-top you couldn’t help but laugh. And fortunately that was the idea.

(Notice the blatant product placement?)

The rest of the show involved crazy gags that made absolutely no sense, but were performed so awesomely by the sextet that the plot became entirely irrelevant.

Like this bit, in which two disagreeable socialites try to one-up each other in the number of sugar cubes to be added to their cups of tea. Eventually one goes “all in.”

My poor heart went out to veteran Dan Jeannotte, whose perspiration started out bad and only intensified as the night went on. I figured by the end he would be a puddle of goo, and it turns out that was about what he felt like.

I don’t want to give up the dramatic ending, so I’ll just give it to you in photo form. To see (and hear) how it plays out, you’ll have to see it in person.

(you’ll notice a slight wardrobe malfunction in that photo:

that showed us more about Nic Wright than I’ve ever wanted to know)

Beyond the acting, costume changes and line memorization, the choreography was unexpectedly impressive (the players say they did it in just a handful of sessions over a couple of weeks). So too was the flow, having the end of one scene become the beginning of the next. You could tell these were improv experts, and they managed to adapt their talents well to a staged production.

The singing, on the other hand…

Blastback Babyzap is on tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) at 10pm at Mainline Theatre (3997 St. Laurent, near Duluth). Tickets are $12. Be sure to get there early. The Thursday showing was almost sold out, and the weekend shows are bound to get an even larger audience.

See also:

• July 21, 2008 — Anglo comedians don’t want to talk to La Presse
• July 15, 2008 — The metro car ice cream parlor, and other Just for Laughs outdoor fun
• July 13, 2008 — Andy Nulman: The coolest man alive

I take back everything mean I ever said about you. If only because you played the Ghostbusters theme and had green fireworks.

The lady selling those bloody glowsticks in the middle of the display, however: we need to talk.

The next fireworks display (from Australia) is Saturday at 10pm, followed by shows every Wednesday and Saturday until August 6. The best (free) spot to view them is in the parking lot where René Lévesque and Notre Dame meet (Papineau metro). Be sure to bring a radio (105.7FM) to listen to the music that goes with the fireworks.

See also:

• August 2, 2008 — Fireworks quality scale
• June 23, 2008 — Fireworks season has begun
• July 31, 2007 — Fagstein’s First Annual Montreal Fireworks Awards

The other day (you know, back when it wasn’t raining), I wandered on to the Just for Laughs outdoor fun zone. For those of you who have never been here, it’s not so much funny ha-ha (the comics are saved for shows people pay for), it’s more about having fun with games, clowns, mimes and other amusing things.

The most amusing thing for me was this: a metro car, pulled out of the garage and parked on the street to be turned into an ice cream parlor.

Inside, quite a few things would jar usual metro riders. The sunlight outside, the string of lights inside, the lack of noise from the engine…

… the people selling ice cream…

… the holes in the walls that seats normally cover up…

… and the handles screwed into the doors, which are now manually operated (because the car isn’t powered up). The doors seem surprisingly light sliding in and out when there’s no motor fighting against you.

For some people, the more interesting stuff was under the car. But really, what kind of nerd takes pictures of the underside of a metro car?

My kind of nerd, of course. The metro’s undercarriage was stripped of its wheelbases and instead the entire thing rests on cement blocks to keep from wrecking the car and the pavement which were not designed for each other.

That provides a unique opportunity to take a look at the metro from the bottom. Unfortunately, there’s no cool Star Trek control panels or little hamsters in little wheels there, just a bunch of wires and cables and tie-wraps and pieces of metal.

That’s also where they tucked the seats they had to remove to fit the ice cream machines in the far end of the car.

Wait! That’s not all!

Of course, for you non-metrophiles, there’s plenty out there. In fact, if anything these outdoor events are too popular.

The giant games

The area on Ontario between St. Denis and Berri is the games area. There, they have tables setup so people can challenge each other to card games…

… games of chess…

… human-sized games of chess (this one always has a lineup because it’s so much fun for the kids)…

… giant Sudoku…

… or a giant crossword (sponsored by La Presse).

Arcade games

There’s also a tent filled with arcade-style games…

from the classic pinball machines…

to the newfangled Wii Tennis game, complete with miniature Wii tennis racquets.

There’s also Dance Dance Revolution (or whatever its clone is called)…

… and Guitar Hero (or whatever its clone is called).

Wet trivia

In the same area, there’s a trivia competition that goes on. Contestants hold up a card that’s either red, yellow or blue depending on the answer they think is correct. Those who get an answer wrong are immediately eliminated.

Oh, and if you get an answer wrong, you get hit by the water gun for all your troubles…

… and the cards don’t protect you from that.

WTF?

I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the story behind this was. But I guess a guy in a cross-dressing fat suit holding up plastic babies (there were more of them tied together with string) is funny, whether or not the story behind it makes any sense.

Ditto this painted-over car, which actually contained children at the time this photo was taken. I don’t know if I’d trust my kids to a windowless car and a person dressed all in gold.

This van being shown off by the Montreal police department doesn’t have an obvious purpose, except I guess acting as a command centre in case there’s an emergency at a campsite that would require an overnight stay.

Down St. Denis is the kids’ area, which … uhh … well, there’s this octagon there. (I guess I missed the really fun part.)

Giant heads, etc.

They have giant heads parading around, bowing ominously and entertaining folks. Each is a caricature of a famous comedian.

I think the one in the middle there is Stephen Colbert.

The dunk tank is always fun too. Some clown (literally) sits on a plank, and you pay $4 for a couple of chances to hit a target with a softball. Little kids get to shoot from closer.

A similar deal for testing your strength by whacking a piece of metal up a pole with a hammer.

At least the funhouse mirror is free, and you don’t feel inadequate because you can’t fail at it.

Most of the buskers in the area are people with heavy makeup to make them all one colour, and who stand patiently waiting for someone to dunk a few coins in their bucket. (Somehow I don’t think they’d be so patient if someone ran off with the bucket itself, but this hasn’t been tested yet)

And finally, no Just for Laughs festival would be complete without the sucker tent. Err, I mean, the souvenir stand, where overpriced merch like $10 keychains can be bought and cherished forever.

Have you been yet?

See also:

• August 14, 2008 — Killer cops
• August 9, 2008 — Koodo using crappy game to get attention
• July 21, 2008 — Anglo comedians don’t want to talk to La Presse

The yearly summer festival whereby representatives from countries around the world come here and blow stuff up has begun. (I’m resisting the urge to say “with a bang” here)

It continues Saturdays, with Wednesday shows starting July 23, until Aug. 6.

The shows start at 10pm and last until just before 11. Best free place to watch is at the parking lot near Notre Dame and Parthenais (Papineau metro). The Jacques-Cartier bridge is also freed up during the shows, but the pedestrian area is too crowded and the roadway too obscured to be able to really enjoy it from there unless you setup really early.

Be sure to bring a chair, some slightly warmer clothes and a radio, which you can tune to 105.7 FM to listen to the music that accompanies the show (it makes a big difference). If you’re taking public transit (which you should), buy your return tickets in advance, because the lineups after the fireworks are insane.

For more information about them, check out this unofficial enthusiast’s site.

See also:

• August 2, 2008 — Fireworks quality scale
• July 18, 2008 — Dear Portugal
• July 31, 2007 — Fagstein’s First Annual Montreal Fireworks Awards

The first video from Saturday’s gun battle flash mob is up (from Sylvain Racicot). The whole thing lasts about five seconds. Insert obvious comparison to disappointing sex here.

UPDATE: Midnight Poutine has a report from the event, with still photos.

See also:

• June 19, 2008 — Bang!
• April 16, 2008 — Dance around like an idiot — in groups!
• December 20, 2007 — Snowball fight tonight at 7

The event is purposefully taking place in the middle of the Main Madness street sale. I’m sure no problems will arise from people yelling “bang” and randomly falling down in the middle of a crowded street.

Either way, hopefully it’ll last longer than five seconds.

UPDATE: If you want to make a day of these activities, you can also go to a Capture the Flag game at 2pm at the statue in Mount Royal Park on Park Ave., as well as a Manhunt game at 5pm in Carré Saint-Louis.

See also:

• June 23, 2008 — Oh no! He’s packing finger!
• April 16, 2008 — Dance around like an idiot — in groups!
• December 20, 2007 — Snowball fight tonight at 7

To most people, this is just a bus. The kind that will take you to work on a daily basis.

But to a select few, this rust bucket is something special. A group of about 30 public transit fans chartered this RTL bus for a day last weekend, just for fun. I tell their story in today’s paper.

I first met the transit inclined a few years ago, and went along with a similar charter trip in 2006. Then, the group chartered one of the STM’s oldest active buses, No. 59-019. At the time, there were suggestions the bus was near retirement and might not see regular service again. This was billed as one last ride on one of the few remaining STM buses with a non-electronic rollsign.

I’ve always wanted to write about these guys (though there aren’t many stereotypes that tie them together, they are almost universally male), but I never got a chance to before now.

This is Shanake Mario Seneviratne, aka SMS. He organizes the charters.

This is Tristan Roy, the driver. He’s a transit fan as well, and volunteered to drive the bus around for free. That helped reduce the cost, as well as provide a few perks.

By coincidence, during one of the first stops at LaSalle metro (which used to be a terminus for some then-STRSM bus routes), there was No. 60-013 sitting a few stops ahead ready to do a run of the No. 12 Île des Soeurs route. The 60-series buses date back to 1990 and are among the oldest STM buses still in service (though a year younger than the 59-series). 59- and 60-series buses are few and far between, especially outside of weekday rush hour. Seeing this bus on a Saturday morning is unusual, hence all the excitement.

This plate, installed above the driver’s window, is hard to make out, but places the date of manufacture at November 1989.

Though the hope is always that beautiful sunny weather will prevail, rain was on hand for a good portion of the charter, necessitating umbrellas and camera-protection gear.

At one point, Tristan gets out and wipes away the rain off the front rollsign of the bus. Unfortunately that did nothing for the fog on the other side of the glass.

Operating the manual rollsign is the funnest part of this activity. Before the electronic signs were installed, drivers would have to press a button that scrolled up and down through two rolls of digits and a roll of names (the latter could take forever getting from A to Z). Because the sign is almost 20 years old, there are plenty of names of routes that no longer exist. Some of the stops involved going to places no longer served by the RTL and setting up the rollsign to display the name of a route that no longer exists.

The rollsign also has a few typos.

One of the charter participants takes a photo of the bus at LaSalle metro.

At the St. Hubert garage, Tristan lined up three types of buses the RTL currently uses. On the left, a Van Hool AG300 articulated low-floor bus, used mostly on the 45 express bus between Terminus Centre-Ville and Panama terminus. On the right, a Novabus LFS low-floor bus, which is what most of the STM fleet is currently made of.

This is Mike Boone. Apparently no relation to this Mike Boone. This guy is from Belleville, Ont., one of many who made the trek from far for the opportunity to explore with fellow transit fans. What he’s doing, by the way, is not recommended while buses are in motion.

Here’s Boone again taking photos. While everyone was taking photos of the bus, trying not to get anyone else in their shots (and staying out of the shots of others), I was focusing on taking photos of the transit fans, who were the subjects of my story.

If this kind of thing appeals to you, be sure to check out the Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board (in English) and MétrodeMontréal forums (in French), as well as the YUL bus charters official website.

See also:

• April 2, 2008 — The 211 death trap
• March 28, 2008 — Attention: Un feu dans l’autobus nous oblige à … run for your lives!
• January 31, 2008 — Journal de Québec: 9 months and counting

The party is similar to metro parties that took place in March, May and October of last year.

See also:

• October 31, 2007 — Metro party tonight
• May 21, 2007 — Success is in the eyes of the flashmobber
• May 17, 2007 — Metro party this weekend (but…)

When one person does that, it’s annoying and/or funny. When dozens do it, it’s a scene and/or pathetic.

Like the freeze in February, this one will take place around the big puck at the mezzanine level of Berri-UQAM metro.

Sadly I won’t be there because I’m working.

Event details on Facebook Event details here

See also:

• June 23, 2008 — Oh no! He’s packing finger!
• June 19, 2008 — Bang!
• December 20, 2007 — Snowball fight tonight at 7

This supposedly happened today at Central Station.

UPDATE: Another video of the event, which also involved a freeze in the food court of Place Ville-Marie. And another one, which shows CTV’s Paul Karwatsky, making it abundantly clear to everyone that this is an organized event, and another one.

UPDATE (April 15): Don’t ask me why they waited more than a week, but CFCF finally has a report on the freeze from Karwatsky in his “My Generation” segment.

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Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day by Bowser and Blue (whom I introduced to you previously)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, folks. Time for that 1/16th of me that’s Irish to come out and … drink, I guess.

See also:

• November 19, 2007 — Bowser and Blue: YouTube stars?

Sunday, March 16th, 11:00 AM, at René Lévesque & Crescent.

For those of you new to the idea, I’ll explain (by excerpting my first ever article for The Gazette, printed almost two years ago):

Manhunt is essentially hide-and-seek with a twist: once players are caught, they become hunters. As more and more are assimilated, it gets harder to tell if another player is predator or prey.

“We encourage deception,” said organizer Philip Paynter, a political science and economics student at Concordia University.

Paranoia is part of the fun. Hunters pretend to be prey to create a false sense of security, and the prey in turn try to fool hunters by pretending they’ve already been caught.

Players wear bright orange armbands to distinguish them from pedestrians, and are required to keep inside the eight-block boundary. Players must also stay outside and on public property.

After 30 minutes, anyone who hasn’t been caught is declared a winner, and invited to brag about it.

Sadly I won’t be able to make it as I’ll be helping out with the parade itself. But I’m looking forward to the fun running around outside that Manhunt brings on a biweekly basis during the summer.

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• No related posts

Rather than explain what happened in boring text though, let’s do it in video form:

There’s also a video of just the time-lapse part, for those who don’t want to hear me speak.

See also:

• July 9, 2008 — Strange crosswalk
• February 24, 2008 — Frozen at Berri-UQAM
• February 22, 2008 — Flashmob freeze planned for Saturday

The Improv-Everywhere-style freeze today at Berri-UQAM metro I told you about was a crazy success (much to my surprise). About 50-60 people showed up, then entered the metro station and gathered in the area around the puck on the mezzanine. For five minutes, they all stood frozen, quiet, as regular travellers passed them by.

There’s talk on the Facebook page of organizing a second one some time in March, or perhaps other IE-inspired activities. I’ll keep you updated, of course.

I’ll have more to write (and show) about this later. In the meantime, here’s the first video that’s been uploaded showing what happened. In it, you can hear the loud, spontaneous applause that took place among participants just as the freeze came to an end.

Also see this video, this compilation video,
this “warm-up” freeze and this photo gallery.

UPDATE: Journal de Montréal article

See also:

• July 9, 2008 — Strange crosswalk
• March 1, 2008 — TWIM: Frozen at Berri
• February 22, 2008 — Flashmob freeze planned for Saturday

The usual caveats apply: It’s being loosely organized by random people, publicized almost entirely through social networks, and with very little notice. It might be wildly successful with hundreds of participants, or there might be three people there who decide it’s not worth it embarrassing themselves alone.

Nevertheless, here’s the skinny:

Saturday, February 23, 5:30pm at Parc Émilie-Gamelin (a.k.a. Berri Square, at Berri and Ste-Catherine, just outside the Ste-Catherine exit to Berri-UQAM). A re-enactment of the Grand Central freeze, in which participants suddenly stop in mid-step (or mid-kiss, mid-puff, mid-fall, etc.) for a few minutes, attracting the curious glares of passers-by.

(Since this would be the first such event for most of the participants, I imagine they won’t be as strict about having people hide their cameras, which means passers-by will quickly conclude it’s some sort of public exhibition.)

For more details, see the Facebook group page or the Improv Everywhere social network forum.

See also:

• July 9, 2008 — Strange crosswalk
• March 1, 2008 — TWIM: Frozen at Berri
• February 24, 2008 — Frozen at Berri-UQAM

I have to admit, part of me totally expected last weekend’s underground city scavenger hunt to be a complete dud. It’s happened before with these organized-on-Facebook just-for-fun events. Facebook had 35 people attending, but those numbers are always hyperinflated due to the way Facebook works.

As it turns out, there were 39 participants, and that was way more than was needed to have fun.

For my article in today’s Gazette, I spoke to organizer Robin Friedman while boyfriend-and-co-organizer Jody McIntyre was registering people. I then followed a team through the two-hour hunt.

Photos, the list and more after the jump below.

I got to the designated meeting place a few minutes early to find a small crowd had already gathered. Slowly it ballooned to about 40 people, enough to get security to come by and ask what we were doing there. I figured at that point they’d put the kibosh on the whole event and demand that everyone leave. Surprisingly, they let it go on (though they kept a close eye on it and had the real cops monitor the situation as well).

That’s not to say security was the nicest in the world. They wouldn’t let me take pictures, saying I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in the mall. (Excuse me? Since when? And what about everyone else taking pictures in this mall?) The guy wouldn’t answer me when I asked him why not, so not wanting trouble I put my camera away until he was gone.

Oh, and it’s also apparently forbidden to sit on the floor at the Eaton Centre. Just FYI.

For the race itself, I quickly found Kristin Donovan and Alex Dowgailenko, who agreed to let me follow them around and write about their experience. They ended up about the middle of the pack, mainly because they stuck together for half of it, and the items Alex collected during the second half were disqualified because he arrived at the finish line two minutes late.

(Judge Jody McIntyre inspects Kristin’s self-serve sweets bag… if ya know what I mean)

The list

• A spa treatment pamphlet
• 4 cups from 4 different coffee/resto chains (must have establishment logos on them): 2 points plus 2 bonus if all are the same size and material
• Passport application
• Store credit card application
• Pen with a business name on it (2 points)
• Packaging with writing that’s not English, French, or Spanish
• A full matchbook
• Beer coaster (2 points)
• Mall directory (any mall)
• Self-serve sweets bag (plus 1 bonus if it has coke bottle gummy candy in it)
• Train schedule
• Pharmacy flyer
• Movie stub (1 bonus if it’s an Imax movie)
• Hour, Ici, Voir or Mirror magazine from January 31 or earlier (2 points)
• SAQ wine/liquor guide
• Cell phone coverage map
• 3 different perfume samples
• Banking services brochure from 3 different banks (2 points)
• Something Easter related
• Product guide from a beauty store
• Something that smells like strawberry
• Last night’s Super 7 lottery numbers
• Bus schedule for a single-digit route (2 points)
• A Popmedia postcard (2 points)
• BONUS: A photo of the pink plastic forest (5 points)

Some were easy (like the mall directory), some were surprisingly hard (the beer coaster, since there aren’t many bars in the underground city, and the old weekly newspapers, since it had already been more than a week and there aren’t many distribution points underground), and some, like the cups and movie stub, involved dumpster-diving unless you wanted to pay for them. Some just became more difficult because this was a Saturday afternoon and businesses and banks were closed.

Keep in mind, these items had to be found in the underground city alone. Participants couldn’t go outside or take the metro.

(One half of) the winner: Team Batman. The jealousy from others was dripping.

At the end, I noticed a lot of negotiation going on. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that people would get doubles of hard-to-find objects and trade them to boost their collections. Nothing in the rules prohibited this.

More?

I asked Robin if she was planning an encore, and she seemed game:

I am hoping for a “next time”, probably starting in a different location where security guards will be less of a problem. Not sure when yet, Ideally when it’s still winter-y out. I don’t want to do it too soon, otherwise i fear the novelty will wear off quickly. But if I wait too long it’s Manhunt season, or final exams, or too nice outdoors to look for stuff indoors.

A difficulty is finding a whole second list of stuff that can be found in the underground city.

Elsewhere:

• Green514’s blog post
  
• Flickr photo set from Glenn Grant

See also:

• February 9, 2008 — REMINDER: Scavenger hunt today at 3
• February 2, 2008 — Flashmobbing is cool