Look what I found

hahaha..

Weird food.

My last blog on food! Today, I want to blog about EXOTIC food. In Montreal, we don't have any restaurant where they serve weird stuff. We used to have la maison hantee in Montreal, but it got shut down, because the building was falling apart. I've never been there, but apparently, you dine on a coffin and drink out of a skeleton-head-shaped jug.

Another cool place to visit in Montreal will be O'Noir. You want to experience food without lights on? Yeah, of course you can do this at home. However, what's special at O'Noir, you are served by visually impaired individuals (cook, waiter, etc).

I was googling weird food the other day, and look what i found.
http://www.myinterestingfiles.com/2008/10/the-penis-restaurant.html

yeah...

Alright, that's it.
Peace.

Not Bad.

This song, I like.

Strike! Strike! Strike!

Students have been protesting against tuition hikes for weeks already. Today, it was their main event. Around 300,000 people were marching on the main streets of Montreal (Sherbrooke, St-Catherine, etc) for at least a few hours. They were mainly students all over Quebec, but I saw a couple of teachers and school employees too.

Here is a picture taken from Bronfman Building (Thanks to Jessica Chan)

I have nothing against students protesting. 

However, if you're going to protest, don't block the bridge! http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Students+fined+Champlain+bridge+blockade+criminal+charges+laid/6329169/story.html#ixzz1pfuDO4rV

Alright, I'm not going to comment further on this matter. So, take care!

Being HOMELESS for five days

Last week, I was involved in a campaign called "Five days of the Homeless". Basically, we lived outside "in the streets" for five days. We weren't allowed to shower, nor carry any electronics. Food can be eaten only if it's donated. The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness and raise donations for charitable organizations (Dans La Rue) which are helping homeless and at risk youth across Canada.

For more information : http://www.5days.ca/region/

The overall experience was memorable. I guess the worst part of being homeless is finding a warm and safe place to shelter for one night, especially during winter. Equipped with only a sleeping bag, and a few layers of clothes, I can tell you; I did not have much sleep. At night, it gets so cold, I can't even feel my feet. During the day, because my body spent so much energy trying to keep me warm, I am unable to focus and be awake in class. Imagine a real homeless dude who lives through these rigorous conditions every single day.

Did you know : There is over 30,000 homeless people living in Montreal.

Among the 30,000 people, many are young adults around my age. (25-)

Regardless of their precedents or reasons, every homeless person deserves a second chance, and be re-integrated into society.

Who to believe?

Yesterday, a viral video appeared on my Facebook newsfeeds. The last time I checked it, the youtube video had only 5k views. In one night, it has reached over a MILLION views. Basically, the content is about Joseph Kony, the leader of an Ugandan guerilla group called the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). The creator behind this broadcast, Jason Russell, is raising a campaign in order to arrest Joseph Kony for his cruel doings (such as abducting children to be soldiers, rape, prostitution, etc). The campaign video is about 30 minutes long. The narrator (Jason Russell) first introduced a series of shocking images and ended it with an inspirational message. No wonder it was able to capture my attention, since the video-maker of KONY 2012 (name of the video) was able to leverage human psychology to affect us, viewers, emotionally. Foolishly followed the social trend, I shared the link. However, today, someone showed me another website which exposed the real motives of the whole campaign, and made me realize how stupid it is to believe something without doing any research.

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/qln68/am_i_the_only_one_who_is_suspicious_about/

As I mentioned earlier, KONY 2012 has a sole purpose to make Joseph Kony "famous" so that the US Government will consider the "severity" of the situation and conduct a mission to arrest the man, who supposedly should be in Uganda. However, many other sources are saying that Joseph Kony no longer lives in Uganda and even speculate that he is DEAD already.

Okay, this blog post is getting long. Key learning from this experience...

Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see - Benjamin Franklin

General Tao chicken is OVERRATED!

If you're tired of eating General Tao chicken erreday, and want to get some REAL Chinese food, you should try these restaurants. What's cool about these places, they are all located in Montreal Chinatown!

1. Keung Kee Restaurant
70, Rue de la Gauchetiere

2. Mon Nan Village
43, Rue de la Gauchetiere

3. Restaurant La Maison Kam Fung
1111, Rue Saint-Urbain

4. Patisserie La Legende
68, Rue de la Gauchetiere

What's YOUR favourite?

Dubstep Reggae? Interesting..

First time listening to Cris Cab and I got hooked by his musical talent ever since. I find that this is his best single from his album Echo Boom.

Rihanna's Gun :

If you don't like mainstream-ish reggae, then try this one. It's a very relaxing-chillin' cover of Pumped Up Kicks. Very creative I find.

Alright that's it for today, Peace!

Cool vegetarian's hangout spot

Hi! Today's blog post will be related to food, sort of. Since I've deprived myself from juicy savory meat for 8 years, I decided to blog about my top 3 vegetarian restaurants in Montreal. Being a vegetarian isn't an easy task, and it is especially hard to sustain such lifestyle if you don't know how to cook, or what to cook. So, from time to time, I would try out restaurant to free myself from my mom's monotonous cooking.

Here are my top 3 :

1. Aux Vivres

If you ever step foot in this restaurant, you HAVE TO try out their so-called DRAGON BOWL! Trust me, satisfaction guaranteed.

2. Chu Chai

Ever tried a FAKE duck? Yes you heard me. This restaurant brings vegetarianism to a whole new level, using creative methods to imitate the texture and taste of meat. 

3. Restaurant Yuan

Owned by a Taiwanese family, this restaurant is also known for its creative cuisine. But what's fun about this place is that they have a "all you can eat" menu. Basically you can eat whatever you want, as much as you want, for a fair price of 17.99$. Their general tao chicken are the best!

So tell me, what's YOUR top 3? Please leave a comment :) !

Are you sleeping well?

Today I had a hard time keeping myself awake. I realized that it is due to my accumulated sleep deprivation for the past week. In fact, I had insomnia last night. Which is why I decided to blog about this rising concern that has been affecting A LOT of people, especially teenagers.

Sleep is needed to regenerate certain parts of the body, especially the brain. But what happens if you don't sleep or lack sleep? For the first three days, you may feel extreme fatigue, poor coordination and low focus. But if it continues, you may start hallucinating and things start getting weird... I suggest you go see a doctor, since sleep deprivation can sometimes result in fatal death! 

Apparently, there is a correlation between electronics use and insomnia in teens.  A study from the Journal of Pediatrics published a survey of Philadelphia-area teens. It was found that two-thirds had a television in their bedroom, one third had a computer, 90% had their own cell phone and 79% had a personal music device.  "These technological devices activate the mind. It's like having a stressful work conversation just before getting into bed," said Dr. Jonathan Pletcher, at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.  (http://www.nutritionbreakthroughs.com/html/insomnia_in_teenagers__studies.html)

So, if you want to sleep better, shut down all your electronic devices!

Here are some general tips to sleep well:

1 - Keep a regular sleep schedule

2 - Naturally regulate your sleep-wake cycle (increase light exposure during the day, shut down electronics at night)

3 - Create a relaxing bedtime routine

4 - Eat right (lots of calcium!) and get regular exercises

Alright, that's it for today. Thank you for reading, and please comment!

PS: Did you know an average person will spend 25 years asleep

FIRST blog post!

Hi. This should be my first blog post ever. Through this online platform, I will talk about ANYTHING! So, keep reading me, you might find interesting stuff!

J.