Design professor Amandine Alessandra has created the fanciful typeface Placoter based on architectural forms and details around town. The La Presse piece also mentions Neue Montreal from Mathieu Desjardins’ Pangram Pangram foundry, a sober Swiss‑style sans, and notes in passing the use of Univers on the black bands on our metro platforms, an ageless feature that hasn’t changed since 1966.
Updates from April, 2022 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
A young woman who had her phone and cards stolen in an Outremont café was able to get the security video and make the incident go viral. Even so, the perpetrator has not been identified or arrested – this is where the face mask works to his benefit.
This city’s not a hotbed of crime but this isn’t the first report I’ve seen of thefts after a bag or coat was slung on the back of a chair in a restaurant or café. It’s behind you, you’re not paying attention, and an alert thief takes advantage.
Meezly
Fascinating to see the thief’s entire process documented on video. While he’s waiting for the espresso, he can scope out his target. He’s also older than I thought – for some reason, I envision pickpockets as quick skinny youths, not schlumpy middle aged men. Hopefully this’ll help people be more careful.
This exact thing happened to me many years ago at Bily Kun. I stupidly hung my unzipped bag on my chair after I took out $100 at the ATM. What was interesting was instead of throwing my wallet into the trash, he dropped it into a mailbox. A few weeks later, my emptied wallet was mailed back to me with my driver’s license. Of course, I had already replaced all my cards, but getting my wallet back and personal items like loyalty cards was something at least.
In any case, I made sure to never get pickpocketed again after that experience.
MarcG
It’s crazy how obvious it seems when you’re watching the video – what the hell is he doing futzing around with his jacket all the time? I guess we make excuses and assume the best.
dhomas
My wife had her bag stolen from her shopping cart at IKEA. It can happen anywhere.
Kate
MarcG, except people do fuss with their jackets, looking for things in their own pockets, putting things away. You don’t tend to notice this, within reason, at a café. There’s an invisible social wall that goes up – you don’t stare. Thieves count on it.
Blork
That “going through your own sleeve” trick is well known and documented. Yet I am aghast at how many people are oblivious to things like this and just leave their stuff laying around, out of eyesight, just waiting to be exploited. I have occasionally pointed this out to people, but the reaction is usually along the lines of “mind your own business” or an accusation of mansplaining, so f*ck you very much I don’t care if your shit gets stolen.
Blork
BTW, she didn’t “lose” her phone and cards; she had them stolen.
mare
When I came to Montreal I looked at things with European eyes and was shocked (shocked!) how nonchalant people were with their valuables. People in busy metros carrying unzipped handbags with phones and wallets in plain view, people not locking their door, the terrible state of house locks in general.
Still surprised that European thieves and pickpockets don’t come to Montreal for a work/pleasure holiday and make in a day what they make there in weeks, and then use the money to vacation a bit. But then, maybe they do, and we just don’t know.
Never lost my own wallet here but have been pickpocketed and burgled a few times in Europe, and so have been almost all my friends.
In contrast, two Montrealers I know have had their wallet/bags returned through their mail slot with everything still in it, including cash. I myself once forgot my brand new Mac laptop in a Tim Horton’s, and it was returned a week later, to the same location. (15 years ago when laptops were very expensive and before the ‘Find my’ feature). Not a scratch, and no obvious signs of hacking or data theft.
Canadians are in general just very honest.
Uatu
I know someone who had their wallet stolen. It was found later in a bathroom stall in a nearby fast food joint. They were lucky because the only thing missing was the cash which meant it was probably a drug addict looking for cash for a quick fix.
dwgs
Meezly, I can almost guarantee that the thief was not the one who dropped your wallet in a mailbox. He dropped it at the earliest opportunity and a decent person found it and dropped it in the post.
The first time I ever took the Metro in Paris I had a window seat as we stopped at a station. As a passenger exited the train into the waiting crowd I saw his wallet get pickpocketed and then watched as it was passed from one thief to the next to the next to the next… It changed hands at least four times in as many seconds, it was like watching Ocean’s 11.Meezly
@dwgs, of course, that was likely what happened. Like duh, Meezly!
Kate
Blork, I changed my phrasing on that. Thanks.
When I lived in the Plateau on Drolet, I once found a wallet someone had clearly heaved over our back fence – cards but no cash – and I brought it to the cop station on Rachel. Cop made a show of suspecting me of stealing it. Bright boy.
Ian
Same here, I lived in Little Burgundy and found a handbag with some assorted makeup. & an empty wallet. Took it to the nearest police station and they started getting all weird about it too. The only thing about dropping it in a mailbox is there has to be something with an address in there, which is why I figured I’d bring it to the cops in case it was reported stolen. Learned my lesson, never did that again.
JaneyB
@mare – We are mostly an honest bunch I guess. I’ve had a purse returned with everything in it and another time, my wallet was returned (they called my emergency number). I’ve returned things too: wallets, transit passes, birth certificates, probably 4 iphones, groceries lost on the metro (admittedly more elaborate) etc. One thing I do not understand is people leaving their apartments unlocked; it is incredible to me. Also, oblivious walkers with snatchable phones.
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Kate
Shots were fired late Friday in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve but no victims turned up.
A teenager was stabbed Friday afternoon in Lasalle, by another teenager, without receiving a serious injury. Nobody was arrested.
A driver collided his vehicle with another on Autoroute 25 in Anjou. The vehicle rolled over and he ended up in hospital. Cops think he was drunk.
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Kate
A group called Collages Féminicides Montréal has been postering to bring attention to femicides, typically the murder of a woman by her domestic partner or recent ex. They’ve been fined for their postering but have raised funds on social media to pay them.
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Kate
As observed below in a comment, a surprising number of people turned out Friday for the procession du Chemin de croix from Old Montreal to the cathedral. Not to be left out, headline writers got in their moment to write about Jean Charest’s way of the cross and the way of the cross at the Bell Centre Friday evening, Carey Price’s return to work, in which the Canadiens were blanked 3‑0 by the Islanders.
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Kate
The high winds we had overnight knocked out power in southern Quebec including some in the Montreal area. TVA’s report shows that some who hadn’t taken down their Tempos yet may wish they had.
dhomas
My parents live in Ahuntsic and had no power yesterday evening all the way into the wee hours of the morning.
By law, Tempos must be taken down by April 15th. So, yesterday was the limit. My neighbour’s is still up and got a little “magané” overnight. I’m just happy it didn’t smash into my car (our driveways touch).Kate
A friend in the West Island says his power was also out for hours.
The Flying Tempo, a new Quebec movie?
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Kate
Radio-Canada’s Roman Schué talked with four young Ukrainian women being offered shelter and support by the Université de Montréal. Although happy to be safe, they don’t want to have to be here too long – and it’s impossible to guess whether they will be able to go home anytime soon.
Le Devoir talks about individuals welcoming Ukrainians into their homes without knowing how long it will be, and without much support for helping traumatized victims of war. The overall impression is that it would be generous but possibly foolhardy to do so.
The Gazette talked to people preparing to welcome war refugees mentioning none of the reasonable questions raised by Le Devoir.
SMD 21:21 on 2022-04-16 Permalink
There’s also a basic typeface inspired by the old Simcha’s grocery sign on Boul Saint-Laurent, but I can’t find it online. I think Matt Soar at Concordia would know where to find it.
Nicolas 07:00 on 2022-04-17 Permalink
I want a typeface with the various styles of numbers from old-school address number plates!
Kate 08:54 on 2022-04-17 Permalink
SMD, I heard about that one a long time ago, but have never found it. The guy who made the Simcha sign used to do lettering all over that part of the Main in the same style. I’d love to have a copy.
Nicolas, the French firm that makes replica address plates must have something like that, although who knows if it’s a proper font, or only a set of tracings. I will inquire.
Hmm. On this page there are several numbering styles which you’ll still see around town.
Nicolas 10:24 on 2022-04-18 Permalink
Yeah that’s just what I was thinking of! I’d love a proper font file to be able to use these numbers on a website or something. Maybe someday I’ll do what they did and trace over a bunch of photos 🙂 There are a few different styles of numbers, some are curvier than others.
I think it would be neat to have a watch face with these as numbers. Maybe I can make an Apple Watch face like that sometime.