The Pong show

The organizers of the Open Source exhibit for the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma want you to play Pong until it hurts. From October 13–26 at the Just for Laughs Museum (2111 St-Laurent), different versions of the legendary 1972 video game will be on display, including the German-designed Painstation, which delivers shocks, burns and even lashings to any player not quick enough with their paddle. “I was thinking maybe I should ask people to sign a letter, warning them they might lose their hands,” jokes Julien Taib, director of programming for Open Source events.

Paris Pong might not give horrendous scars, but it does attempt to bridge the gap between cinema and gaming. The game synchronizes with the Jean-Claude Mocik film Paris Solo version Dix sur Dix.

It’s all free of charge and there will be a Rockstar Table Tennis tournament with the game’s designer, Dave Kim, on Oct. 22. For more info see www.nouveaucinema.ca —Erik Leijon

Griffintown ghosts

Karilee Fuglem’s artworks often deal with the barely visible; in the past, she’s made drawings using only water on paper and woven transparent installations similar to spiders’ webs. Her latest piece, made from nylon threads and bits of clear plastic, effectively conjures up the ghosts of those who formerly occupied the area west of Old Montreal, aka Griffintown. Clear threads stretch from the floor to the ceiling, entirely filling the cavernous space of the Darling Foundry (745 Ottawa). They sparkle here and there as the light catches them, and the installation is worth visiting both in daylight and at night as the effect is quite different. Using old maps and historical quotes, Fuglem leads the viewer around the foundry and back in time. We encounter Jeanne Mance and the Huron chief Kondiaronk, who was also called le Rat. The city burns around us in 1734 and Marie-Joseph Angélique is hung for the crime. As time passes, Marguerite d’Youville, Louis Riel and Thomas McCord pass by, a child is found frozen in the river, typhus hits, murder happens and the Bonaventure autoroute is built. A beautiful installation, don’t miss it. My Darling runs until Nov. 19, info: 392-1554. —Christine Redfern

Poetry blitz

There’s a headspinning amount of wordy fun this week, starting tonight with the Perpetual Motion Roadshow at Bibliographe / Toc Toc (6091 Parc), 8 p.m., with recovering San Fran slam poet Elliot Harmon and zine-making Chicagoan punk Dave Fried, among others.

On Friday, Oct. 20 Poets Against the War kicks off the PeaceQuebecPaix Peace Conference at McGill, at the MacIntyre Martin Theatre, 8:30 p.m., $5. Sunday sees a launch with Angela Carr, Tanya Chapman, Nathalie Stephens, Zoe Whittall—Snare and Coach House authors all—at the Green Room (5386 St-Laurent), on Sunday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m., free.

And Wednesday sees the triumphant return of Luna Allison from her month-long tour. She’s performing with Ian Ferrier, Taqralik Partridge, Erin May and Stéphanie Bénéteau at Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent). October 25, 9 p.m., $5. Phew! —Vincent Tinguely

Dance me outside

Choreographer Paul-André Fortier says he thrives on unpredictability. So three years ago, he decided to give himself a challenge. “I wanted to dance outside for a long period of time no matter what the weather would be,” says Fortier, explaining the impetus behind SOLO 30X30. Since March, the 58-year-old has danced in hail, gusting winds and extreme heat and humidity with this site-specific, half-hour choreography that runs for 30 consecutive days in a chosen city.

Fortier has already churned out 120 free performances in England, France, Japan and Ottawa, but this week returns to Montreal for the final chapter. From Oct. 20 to Nov. 18, he’ll be dressed in layers and working the street—rain or shine—at12:15 p.m. amidst a handful of sex shops, bustling pedestrian traffic and an unpredictable soundtrack on the corner of Ste-Catherine W. and Clark. Keep on top of it all at http://fortierdanse.blogspot.com. —Marites Carino

Is it Art?

Getting your foot in the Hollywood door just got easier with the publication of The Official Movie Plot Generator, by screenwriters Jason and Justin Heimberg (the writers behind the still-in-development Ace Ventura 3 and Kingpin 2—make of those credentials what you will). The book consists of three flaps (“subject,” “action,” and “location or suprise twist”), which eager would-be writers can combine to concoct an endless variety of movie ideas, like “An adorable panda bear cub comes out of the closet to save the local synagogue,” or “three naughty nurses fight crime with a mischievous orangutan.” Eat your heart out, Robert Towne. See www.movieplotgenerator.com for details and samples.

ArtsHole

FEAR FACTOR: Local group the Parnell Art Collective, self-described “renegade pop surrealist artists,” bring the scares in their Halloween-themed show, Parnell en Hell, featuring works by Peter Ricq, E. Bond, Mark Unterberger, Krista Bursey and others. The show runs at Madame Edgar (6370 St-Hubert) through November 24. • CASINO CLICKS: Legendary German photographer Germaine Krull (1897–1985) lived (and shot) through the tumult of the 20th century. The Monte Carlo Years is a new exhibit of 155 of her photographs, all taken between 1936 and 1940 on the Côte d’Azur; it shows at the Museum of Fine Arts (1380 Sherbrooke W.) through January 7, 2007.

ARTISTAT: Number of years McGill’s Tuesday Night Café Theatre (www.tnctheatre.com), currently in the midst of its 2006–2007 season with The Ends of the Earth, has been showcasing student-produced theatre: 30

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