Category Archives: Reviews and Rants

I Missed the Best City in the World: Montreal

Reviews and Rants, Travel

I got back from my vacation last Sunday (August 19th) and wasn’t happier to be home. I seriously missed my friends and the city of Montreal.

Small review of the trip: it was awesome. I visited Denmark, Sweden and Norway in 18 days. Not a lot of time, but any more would have killed me, as I get homesick within 2 weeks. I saw quite possibly the most beautiful places on earth… the mountains of Norway are breathtaking, no lie. Stockholm in Sweden was such a nice, clean city; I found it equivalent to Montreal but more “European” and well-maintained. Definitely a place I would consider moving to, as their living conditions are superb. All I need to do now is pick up Swedish and I’m set. 🙂

Speaking of languages, I have decided to learn German at Concordia. During the trip, I spoke with the tour guide (whom I’ll never forget) that inspired me to learn. She knows six (6) languages! How crazy is that? English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. Hopefully I’ll stick around Concordia for more than six weeks this semester.

My tour group was overall pretty fun to hang out with. Everyone was always in a good mood and respectful towards others. The hotels were decent, except two of them were crap. One didn’t have A/C (it is common in Scandinavian countries, as they don’t usually get continuous hot weather) and the other hotel was a bit ghetto overall (broken hair dryer, missing sink knobs, awkward room design, etc.). The food outside and inside the hotels were terrific, but extremely expensive. A can of Coke was equivalent to 10$ CDN. The Scandinavian countries’ minimum wages are much higher than North Americans I believe, hence the high prices. I got to check out some cool tech and gadgets though; the Sony Ericsson W880i phone was one of ’em. If it was quad-band, I would have bought it in a heartbeat (and quite possibly have buyer’s remorse right after, since I already have a perfectly working phone!).

One thing I found particularly cool was that a lot of people in Copenhagen use bicycles as a means of everyday travel. They have dedicated bike paths alongside cars; that’s how popular the transportation is. Of course, you still have your buses, trains and metro systems which work very well. The bicycles really keep everyone fit there… you sure as hell don’t see obese people around… which brings me to say the girls in Europe are HOT. 🙂

Viktor Destin – July 2007 Promo Release

Music, Reviews and Rants

My good friend Viktor released his July promo last week and I only recently was able to listen to it. For anyone who’s into EDM (notably minimal/house) then they should definitely listen to the set (cuesheet). Compared to last year’s promo set in July, Viktor has been killing it; he improved his style tenfold. Quality dance floor tracks all over the place.

The tracklist is as follows:

  1. Dusty Kid – Milk
  2. Tommy Four Seven – Click Ball
  3. Nick Miur – I Feel Real (Chopstick Remix)
  4. Leroy Styles – Jus Bounce (Original mix)
  5. Kolombo vs Nemio – Skalpy
  6. Mon, DJ Nexus – Acid Summer (Damon Jee Remix)
  7. Olivier Giacomotto – Gail In The O (John Acquaviva & Damon Jee remix)
  8. DJ F.E.X. & DJ Prinz – Urbaniac (Da Fresh Remix)
  9. Blake – Rock Over You (Paolo Martini Remix)
  10. Gui Boratto – Mr. Decay (Robert Babicz Universum Disco Mix)
  11. Oxia – Not Sure

Listen to it now!

Cuba 2007

Nightlife, Ramblings, Reviews and Rants

Last week, I came back from Varadero, Cuba. I went with 8 other friends and had a blast. This is the fourth time I visit Cuba and only the second time where I got to experience its nightlife. Now, by all means, Varadero’s nightlive does not compare to Montreal, but it’s still an entertaining scene. I have to admit, I felt mentally and physically refreshed after I came back from the trip. I managed to get some work done and my stress levels have dropped tremendously. I wish I could do this every 6 months!

During the day, my time was spent on the beach. Actually, most of it was spent in the ocean and getting a nice tan on the face. The Cuban beach and ocean do wonders to the body. I notice all my cuticles had disappeared and my nails were super clean. Not that I manicure my nails, but having nice hands like that really do catch the eye.

At night, it was all party (mostly drinking). Some of the clubs we visited included The Pirate’s Cave, The Beach Club/Bar, and International (or Continental) . The first two clubs were fantastic, the first one literally being held in a freshly cooled cave. The second bar was an outdoor (but covered) terrass next to the wonderful Cuban beach. The third club, however, was a flop as there was no air conditioning and the place was packed to the max. The wait times at the bar was also a total disaster: it took me about 15 minutes to purchase a rum and coke! I have to say, I had a lot of fun simply hanging out at the local hotel bar with my buddies and drinking the night away (with some nice Cuban cigars being smoked too). I look forward to those nights everyday now after coming home.

Controlled Labs’ Green Bulge Review (Final Take)

Reviews and Rants, Supplements

Last month (or two?) I mentioned about reviewing Green Bulge by Controlled Labs. I never got around to it, so here’s my final take on the supplement.

First, it works. After a week went by when I stopped taking Green Bulge, I immediately lost the “pump” in my body. I didn’t feel as strong as I used to when I was on the pills. In the end, I had to drop by 10-20 lbs on my exercises as they became a bit too difficult for me… but after 2 weeks of training, I came back to my previous strength, albeit not as strong. The supplements DO work, but you need to be taking this stuff often if you want to see improvements in your training. I, for one, will not be taking Creatine supplements again because I find they are not worth my money. I believe proper nutrition can wholly replace all supplements out there and so far I have proved it: I started eating a bit more cleaner than usual and bumped up the protein intake in my body. I noticed results right away… but not as significant when I was taking the Creatine, sadly. Now, I must admit that there is a place for supplements, but they should be supplemented with your existing diet and not substitute it. You cannot simply rely on chemicals to help you out with your diet or solely depend on them thinking they’re all you need. A lot people simply chug down a protein shake thinking it’s a replacement for a meal. Unfortunately those are the people who end up quitting their training when they don’t see anymore results. Anyway, that’s my take on it for now.