Technological World for January 20: Samsung Galaxy S21 smartphones, cooking with Calgary chefs, spend an evening with Bruce Campbell, the Scott Pilgrim video game is back

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This week, supporting Calgary restaurants by cooking with a chef, watching Evil Dead with Bruce Campbell, and brawling in Toronto streets as Scott Pilgrim. But first, details of Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 handsets.

Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 smartphones are available for preorder

Late last week, as the Consumer Electronics Show was coming to a close, Samsung held an online “Galaxy Unpacked” to show off the next generation Galaxy S21 handsets.

There are three models coming to Canada, all of which are available to preorder now for delivery on January 29.

They are all 5G devices and they all sport a new design that incorporates the camera bump into the metal housing.

The S21 and S21 Plus (respectively: 6.2-inch screen starting at $1,130 and 6.7-inch screen starting at $1,400).

The S21 Ultra, meanwhile, is the premium model, with a 6.8-inch screen with an adaptive refresh rate (starting at $1,650 and up to $1,890). It’s got an extra lens in the camera array and is compatible with Samsung’s S Pen.

Pre-ordering a Galaxy S21 Ultra and you get a set of Galaxy Buds Pro and a Galaxy SmartTag, which were also announced at the Samsung event.

The cost for a S21 is actually cheaper – by almost $200 – than the Galaxy S20 handsets released last year. Samsung found some play in the price by reducing the screen resolution on the S21 and S21 Plus, and by reducing the base amount of memory from 12 GB RAM to 8 GB.

Samsung is also packaging the S21 smartphones without earbuds or a wall charger.

Cook with a Chef supports Calgary restaurateurs

Here’s an interesting concept: take a cooking lesson from a renowned chef.

That’s what you get with Cook with a chef, a program connecting the chefs of Calgary’s restaurant scene with people who wish they could visit.

The initiative comes from Julie Van Rosendaal, a Calgary-based cookbook author and journalist.

The recipe and ingredient list – as well as wine pairing suggestions – are sent to participants in advance of the online cooking class.

And you only need one ticket per household, so you and your housemates, or significant others, or families, can all take part in the fun.

The classes with Jenny B from Jane Bond BBQ and with Chris Wong from Gorilla Whale are already sold out, but there are six others starting January 27 and running through February that you can still get in on.

They include Colin Metcalfe from Sidewalk Citizen, Judy Wood from the Lougheed House and Meez Cuisine, Paul Rogalski and Dean Fast from Rouge, Merritt Gordon from Dandy Brewing, and Andy Fennell from Cafe Gravity.

Watch Evil Dead with Bruce Campbell

Evil Dead, the 1981 film directed by Sam Raimi, produced by Rob Tapert, and starring Bruce Campbell, has a storied reputation in indie film.

This Saturday, January 23, you can watch the film online with Campbell hosting a viewing party in which he will “share memories, behind the scenes stories, [and] anecdotes from the film.”

Campbell was also a co-executive producer of the film, which sparked careers for Raimi, who would go on to direct a series of Spider-Man films, Tapert, who would produce the TV show, Xena Warrior Princess, and Campbell himself.

Tickets are $25 USD per device, so you can gather your household bubble to scream – and laugh – and the horror film that changed perceptions of what a horror film could be.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World video game re-release brings brawling back to Toronto streets

Gamers were thrilled last year to learn that Ubisoft would re-release the video game adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game, Complete Edition is now available for Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Stadia, Windows, and Xbox One/Series X. It includes the add-on content that lets you play as Knives Chau and Wallace Wells.

The side-scrolling brawler’s 10th anniversary was last year, and it’s just as charming as it was back in 2010. You can battle as Scott or as other characters including Ramona Flowers, Kim Pine, and Stephen Stills, and each character has distinct attacks and supers.

You can upgrade the skills of these characters as you play, and visit stores and shops in the environment to get boosts from things that you buy with money you pick up along the way. These items include all the things interesting to a twenty-something finding their way in the big city, like concert t-shirts and nachos.

As with the original comic by Canadian Bryan Lee O’Malley and the film adaptation directed by Edgar Wright and starring Michael Cera, the story of Scott Pilgrim is set in Toronto, and the city circa 2010 is honestly represented in the game with locations that include TTC underground platforms and stand-ins for venues like Lee’s Palace and Sneaky Dee’s.

This game is almost as popular because of its soundtrack by Anamanaguchi, the pop band that incorporates video game hardware into their instrumentation to create music that’s referred to as “chiptune” or “bitpop” because of its pixellated sound.

Anamanaguchi’s energetic music is perfect for the game, providing the perfect syncopation for beating up all the nasties that get in your way.

You can play with up to three friends, locally or online, and this is how the game is best enjoyed. More than a nostalgia trip, Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game, Complete Edition is twitchy brawling fun.

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