Anglais

‘It’s as if we’re not supposed to ski in the city,’ Toronto urban skier says

Published

5 années ago

janvier 31, 2019

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There’s freedom during a city blizzard. If you have skis, that is.

During Monday’s snowstorm I slogged my way home like every other straphanger in this city, first jammed on transit followed by a slow and plodding walk, climbing over snow drifts and windrows.

Shawn Micallef takes to his skis in an alleyway in the College and Dufferin area Wednesday. As the city was at a standstill in Monday’s snowstorm, Micallef was free to roam, using the King St. pilot and Queen St. sidewalks among other downtown locations as his ski trail. (Richard Lautens / Toronto Star)

However, once home I took out my cross-country skies and those barriers were transformed into opportunity. While my initial thought was to head to High Park, so much snow had fallen that I realized I could slide anywhere so I clipped into my skis and set off from the west side towards the centre of Toronto.

I skied the Dundas St. sidewalks and through the deep snow of Trinity Bellwoods Park, where some snowboarders were using the mostly buried Garrison Creek ravine remnants for short runs. Continuing to Queen St., previously shovelled sidewalks had been covered with a layer of new snow and were fast, like the groomed trails found at ski resorts. At Bathurst they had been salted so I took to the near-empty street and then the alleyways, skiing all the way to Osgoode and city hall, with a quick diversion up to Grange Park.

From there I skied down Yonge St., then west along King St. where the streetcar pilot project also made for an excellent, if inadvertent, skiway. Zigzagging through skyscraper plazas to the Gardiner, I followed it to Fort York then on to home. Over the course of three hours I travelled 15.5 kilometres and didn’t once have to take off my skies and “portage,” as I call it, across salted or cleared areas.

What’s most remarkable about a snowstorm in the city is how quiet it is. The snow sucks up all the sound like an acoustically engineered recording studio. One musician friend told me he, too, loves the snow as it is “so unnatural sounding, even more dry than a studio.” The word he used to describe it is “anechoic,” meaning free from echo. Go out in the next thick snowfall and listen for yourself: it’s a uniquely muffled sensation.

A big snowstorm is a wonderful time in the city because of the way it brings people together. As snow is unpleasant for many, it’s a funny thing to happily ski through it and the reactions from people are telling. There’s surprise, sometimes a “yeah!” or “you’ve got the right idea, buddy!” and lots of picture taking. The attention is curious because if I was doing this an hour north of the city, somewhere in the Greenbelt, it would be absolutely unremarkable. It’s as if we’re not supposed to ski in the city. Yet we can.

Urban skiing and snowshoeing has liberated winter for me. It’s a time to go out rather than stay in, and has me wishing for more snow. During more modest snowfalls, the kind we usually get in Toronto, I’ll head to a ravine, park or the waterfront to ski, but the challenge of skiing the more urban parts of the city, finding just enough snow to pass through, patch by patch, is fun, too. Sometimes just a dozen centimetres of snow along a sidewalk are enough to get by and, in the older city, the salt-free and unplowed alleyways are the skier’s secret friend.

High Park is a favourite destination as it’s easily accessible, with its own subway stop at the top, the 501 streetcar at the bottom and the end of the 506 College streetcar just about depositing riders directly into it at the High Park loop.

Carrying skies on the subway, especially at rush hour, gets some funny looks but I hope it’ll give more people “permission” to ski their city. The only reason to leave the city to ski is if there’s no snow here. Wherever the TTC or GO networks intersect with a ravine, park or lakeshore, there’s opportunity to ski. If you’re not comfortable doing it alone, try to find some friends who want to join you.

I’ve got a very simple pair of basic all-around waxless skies. Relatively affordable, they aren’t precious, as they will get scratched up during urban skiing. You can always rent skies, but owning them means being able to get out right when the snow falls.

While I felt total freedom during Monday’s blizzard, the flip side is wherever I could ski anybody with a mobility issue would either have a very hard time or total inability to getting through. Certainly during a blizzard it’s impossible for snow-clearing crews to keep up with the snow, but even a day or two after the big storm there were blocked sidewalks, especially at crosswalks.

The roads, of course, had long been passable to cars, but if you’re on foot or if you need other kinds of wheels, “good luck to you” says this city with its obsession keeping taxes low.

You might almost think facilitating urban skiing adventures is official city policy, but no: Toronto is just cheap.

Shawn Micallef is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @shawnmicallef

Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

Published

3 années ago

août 10, 2021

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline.

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors.

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity.

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement.

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level.

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet.

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

admin

In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

admin

MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.