Some people travel to experience cities, peoples, check out old relics and view new worlds. Have people considered taking a vacation for music? Japan has a very distinct musical world. In much of their tradition of incorporating western ideas and then making them into strange, almost cartoonish Japanese versions, western music has been modified and played with by the Japanese in ways westerners could never imagine. What if Devo played Beatles covers? What if New Order composed video game scores? What if Fifty Cent rapped about samurais? Without further ado, from the land of indoor sky hills, ninjas, tentacles and low grade steel comes the future of music.

Polysics - I My Me Mine

Now there is a common stereotype in the west that whenever the Japanese get a hold of something they mutate it into a strange alien creation. When you’ve lost a world war, been stripped of your empire, been basically treated as a protectorate by the United States for so many years you become a little weird. It is not uncommon to see grown men reading hardcore pornography in public spaces (mainly the subway). There are vending machines that sell used/soiled women’s panties. There are social networks devoted to dressing up like dolls. There is a cult that follows Anne of Green Gables. Would it be unfair at this point to say that Japan has a strange mentality that is perfect for creating mutant strains of popular music? Still not convinced? Watch this next video.

Yellow Magic Orchestra - Computer Games

As the Wu-tang Clan was obsessed with old kung-fu and samurai movies, Japanese teens have become enamored with the Wu-tang Clan and rap. Shing02 is a great example of this.
Shing02 - Battlecry

The bilingual melodic punk band Nicotine was formed in 1993 just across the bay from Tokyo in the city of Chiba. With successive performances in both 2001 and 2002 as part of the Vans Warped Tour, Nicotine continues to expand on their popularity as international punk rock icons.

Nicotine - Black Flys

Japan has very few natural resources but it has a people that are so far past the brink that they can accomplish nearly anything. If they build a giant robot, I’m sure it would be blasting this kind of stuff as it rampages through a massive city fighting a dinosaur or something. So if you’re on vacation in Japan and you want to explore their bizarre and fantastic adaptations of Western music, you can find many of these bands and their upcoming shows at Japan Visitor.

Both John McCain and Hillary Clinton support suspending the 18.4 cent per gallon gas tax for the summer. The goal is to let people enjoy their summer more, maybe take a vacation, and stimulate the economy. Citing the experts, Obama claims the average gain will be about $30, criticizing the plan as having only a marginal benefit and therefore ultimately ineffective. GOPers have retaliated, calling him elitist and out of touch, since maybe $30 couldn’t cover one of his “luxury trips to the Virgin Islands”, but it could mean another tank to get to Grandma’s for a cup o’ lemonade. Does finding $30 insignificant merit his trips being called “Obama’s Elitist Vacations”? This article about the matter links to a discussion forum, where angry Republicans sling mud in Obama’s general direction. Here are a few gems:

“Well Obama, if the $30.00 is so insignificant why not let the peasents have it?”

“That $30. or more that Obama thinks is meaningless could make the difference in many peoples lives. Just because it is a pittance to him, doesn’t mean it is to others less fortunate than he is.”

“Just one more bit of evidence that Obama is out of touch with the world. $25.00 could be the diference of milk and bread on the table of some of his constituants.”

Ya! Don’t take away my dinner-and-a-movie holiday!

“We had the race issue behind us or at least to the point it was dying out , I really enjoyed being able to converse with my black neighbors with out fear of being tabbed a racist ,and now we are back to square one with Wright and his wonderful speeches he gave and the fact that Obama has sat there over twenty years and claims he never heard those words and then he said he did and now he didn’t again .”

Man, Obama, you had to pick the ONE black person in America who didn’t put that old “race issue” behind him to be your preacher. Pick up the next issue of Vibe and get with the times. We were all McMaster and James, McNulty and Bunk, Riggs and Murtaugh - until you got here.

“However, his comments in San Francisco, the Wright issue, and now this are a clarion call to most Americans that this man is big government socialist - or perhaps even - dare I say it - a COMMUNIST. My parents lived in a communist country and that is precisely what they call Obama.”

Clearly, the Reds have infiltrated Chicago, with Barack Obama’s first major acts of rabid socialism perpetrated through his work as a “community organizer”. COMMunity? COMMie traitor?

“Osamabama and his racially motivated spouse has no true interest in this Nation or its people. He is just another of the domestic terrorist occupying a seat in the U.S. Congress and his true agenda for this Nation, should he get the nomination and the Presidency, is his own private corner of the coming Islamic take over of the entire world. they had the bulk of the known world at one time, now their, and his agenda is the entire world and future plans to encompass the universe in the name of Allah, the false representation of The God of Abraham by Mohammed the Prince of Darkness and Deceit.
Be wary of one who speaks with no passion and smiles like a cheshire cat, they are most often the worst nightmare you will ever have to deal with, due to the ulterior motives behind the smile and the gift of oratory.”

“Obama Hussein Mohammed Barack: you can have my $30 if it will help take you far far away from the U.S., where you might find folks who agree with your and your wife’s anti-Middle America mentality.”

Indeed. Watch out for that man who, with his words, can summon the hope of a nation to improve healthcare and conditions for the poor. He’s probably a knight of evil, bent on world domination and the skewering of infidel skulls.

“While the Dems moan and complain about ‘excess’ profits made by oil companies, the real winner is the government. Oil companies may have profited by $600-billion in the past few years but government has raked in $1.3-trillion and it has not only failed to produce a drop of oil, it actively thwarts the effots of others to do so.”

Yeah – the government’s raking it in for these “social services”, none of which help me at the pump. Either stick a high school on an off-shore rig, or I don’t want my kids learning, you hear me?! At least the oil companies, taking a *pffth* paltry sum of just $600 billion, got me from A to B, you fossil fools.

“The arrogant elitism of this man is mind-boggling….
and yet he is still harping on how hard he had it as a child…and that Clinton and McCain had more privileges than he did….cause his Mama was on food stamps…yada, yada, yada
Spare me….elitism is a State of Mind….and you Mr.Obama have chosen to be a SNOB!”

“Poor, downtrodden Barak and Michelle Obama. They can’t afford a Caribbean Vacation on the rebate of 18½ cents per gallon on fuel. What a rough life they lead, with an annual income of roughly ½ million dollars per year. Boo-hoo-hoo.”

At least Bush spent the majority of his record-breaking number of vacation days on a good ol’ American ranch. Clearly, Obama’s an order of snob chicken with elite sauce.

Edit:  Just to be clear, to call Obama elitist over the $30 is nuts, as far as I’m concerned. Above is a listing and mockery of some shocking Republican reactions to his actually honest and reasonable position, to expose some of the worst of how people are discussing this issue. Hope the humour came across, and wasn’t misinterpreted (which would make me sound, well, nuts)

Nothing shifts a vacation into fifth gear like a high-intensity hook up with a beautiful stranger. Your stresses and inhibitions are left at home, exotic drinks with tiny umbrellas are flowing, and all too aware of your limited time together, you are both having the time of your lives.

The goal here is to help you transform your international fling fantasy into a reality, and the first step is to put the odds in your favor by choosing the right setting. Following are some of the pros and cons associated with popular holiday pickup locations.

The Beach

Unless you were cast as a Spartan soldier in the film 300, you should forget about trying to pick up at the beach. People generally go to the beach for 4 reasons:

1. To tan their chiseled bodies.
2. To show off their chiseled bodies by throwing various beach objects like Frisbees, footballs, or nerds.
3. To stare at the people with chiseled bodies.
4. To place bets on who can throw the nerd the furthest.

So if you’re the type who doesn’t so much tan as you do catch on fire, and who usually relies on archaic techniques like conversation, charm, and sense of humor to make your first impressions, then you’d be better off waiting for the sun to go down and the beer lights to go up, putting on your best money-shirt and hitting the dance clubs or the hotel bars. Now women might actually listen you what you have to say as opposed to wishing your belly keg looked more like a six-pack.

Cruise Ships

A cruise vacation can either be an incredibly romantic experience, or a horrifying floating prison sentence, depending on your pick-up objectives. Meeting someone on a cruise is never the problem. Packed with casinos, dance clubs,restaurants, and even rock climbing walls, your chances for bumping into someone who shares your love for peanut M&Ms and reruns of Family Guy are extremely high. Once the connection has been made and the sparks have flown, a cruise ship suddenly transforms into the ultimate dating extravaganza with exciting activities and romantic settings from sunrise to sunset. Perfect for someone looking for an action-packed one week relationship.

However….and this is a big however, what happens when you’re more of a Baskin Robbins, likes to explore 31 different flavors type of guy? Well, suppose you manage to score big one night with Miss Right at the beginning of your oceanic adventure. Now suppose the tequila shooters eventually wear off and you find yourself in bed with Miss Pirates of the Caribbean. Suddenly the classic “I’ll-call-you-later”-then-disappear-forever-into-a-cloud-of ninja-smoke maneuver becomes a mission impossible. Unless you consider walking the plank, stealing a life raft, or sprinting off into the jungle as soon as the ship docks as options, there’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

You’re probably thinking “But the boat is huge, she can’t be everywhere at the same time.” True, but women have a GPS tracking system in their brains that starts beeping as soon as you come within three feet of another woman. She will find you. Besides, the whole point of a vacation is to relax, do you really want to spend yours tip-toeing around, looking over your shoulder every second like a deer during hunting season? Of course not.

So what’s the moral of this story? Keep away from tequila shooters.

Hostels

Whether you’re backpacking through Europe or simply saving your vacation cash for more important things like cosmopolitans for the cute blonde at the bar, youth hostels are great locations for meeting single women from all over the planet. Now if you’re extremely lucky, like lottery-winning-caliber lucky, then you might end up sharing a room with a gorgeous Ukrainian dancer named Svetlana. But in reality you should invest in a pair of good ear plugs, you’ll need them to drown out the thunderous snores of Borislav, the eccentric shoemaker from Bulgaria.

Thankfully most hostels have common kitchens and living rooms which serve as excellent breeding grounds for ice-breakers like: “Where are you from?”, “What’s a good bar around here?” and “How about we ditch Borislav and go to that good bar you just mentioned?” Things might become tricky when arriving at the “my place or yours” chapter of the evening, with both of you sharing your rooms with several strangers, and unless you are willing to distribute earplugs to everybody, discretion is next to impossible. In this case you both should combine money you saved from the hostel, and spend the night in an actual hotel.

Traveling to a foreign country is always an exhilarating experience. The sights, sounds, tastes and smells expand our minds and broaden our cultural horizons. We try to absorb as much as we can by taking the tours, visiting all the hot spots, cramming our days with activities and then we try to bring it all home in our digital cameras. Why not absorb the experience into our bodies, literally? When planning your vacation’s activities, why not give some good ol’ hand to hand combat a try? You can learn a lot about a culture by the martial art practiced by its people, as it shares a symbiotic relationship with the country’s history, its religion, its survival.

When we hear the words “martial arts” countries like China, Japan, Thailand usually come to mind. But all countries have had to defend themselves at one point or another, and as a result have developed their own unique styles and weapons. Martial art schools are generally friendly, welcoming to visitors, and much less expensive than snorkeling or parasailing. The following are some vacation destinations with some lesser known fighting styles definitely worth sneaking into your itinerary.

India - Kalaripayattu

Whether it’s a spiritual journey to the Himalayan mountains or to visit the white marbled wonder of the world, Taj Mahal, India awe-inspires with its natural beauty and structural magnificence. Home of the oldest major religion still in practice on earth, Indian masters can also teach you the world’s oldest martial art, kalaripayattu. With origins tracing back 3000 years, kalaripayattu incorporates strikes, grappling, weaponry, martial dance and massage. The system draws strength from animal forms such as lions, tigers, elephants, snakes and crocodiles, oh my. Once learned you can move onto wooden weapons, and eventually onto metal swords, spears and shields. Fervent believers in health and healing, training sessions begin and end with massages, using oils and incense to calm the mind and improve flexibility.

To find a school in India, click here

France - Savate

Relatively low-key among martial arts, the kickboxing style of savate isn’t the first thing you think of when you think of France. But providing you’re not on honeymoon, a visit to the land of typically less violent passions can be a great opportunity to learn a new fighting style. Savate is named after the French word for “old shoe”, highlighting the peculiar fact that it is fought actually wearing shoes, unlike most martial arts. This graceful kickboxing style was formalized in France early in the 19th century, having evolved from street-fighting origins. It’s partially known for its particular weapon specialization, a type of cane.

Videos of savate in action:
Savate Training and Execution

The Eminem playing over this next clip is a bit lame, but the match shows the flavor of the savate style.

More reading about savate here

Find savate schools in France here and here
Knowing French would help…

Russia - Systema

An ancient country whose history is as rich as its culture, Russia is the birthplace for one of the most effective and devastating martial arts on the planet today. Unlike the rigid forms and animal stances of many Asian martial arts, systema emphasizes fluid and natural human movement. Understanding that combat is a state of chaos carrying with it an infinite number of challenges and opportunities, the Russians developed a system of defense adaptable to any situation. Outside the schools practitioners train in the woods, in the water, in the snow, in a car, anywhere, learning how to avoid and counter-attack all forms of strikes, kicks, holds, chokes, anything. They learn how to disarm knives, guns, sticks, as well as how to become deadly with improvised weaponry such as pens, magazines, and shot glasses (if you don’t think pens or magazines can be dangerous, please see The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy).

Don’t let the cheesy music and slippery movements fool you, systema is taught to the Spetsnaz, the most elite special force in the Russian military.

Read more about systema here

To locate a school in Russia click here

Brazil - Capoeira

Brazilians know how to celebrate, and the martial art of capoeira literally embodies the celebratory spirit. Add martial spice to your visit to Brazil, and at least try to see some of the style in action. You can’t miss it – it’s a hybrid of traditional fighting techniques and dance-like moves. It began to take shape in the 16th century with the mass influx of West African slaves into Brazil. While there is certainty that there are African elements, there is no pre-slavery evidence of a capoeira fighting style in Africa.

The art, which is considered a kind of play, was developed as a cultural pastime for entertainment and fun, but also potentially as a means for slaves to practice defending themselves against their owners. Either way, the dance element could have a powerful psychological effect on an opponent during a fight.

Capoeira clips:
Peculiar music, but a nice clip of capoeira sparring.

An impressive demonstration of the acrobatic ability of the capoeira adept.

Keep learning about capoeira here and here

Find Brazilian capoeira schools here

Philippines - Eskrima

Known for stunning beaches and hospitality, the Philippines have always been a great spot to visit. An extremely favourable currency exchange means the possibility of an extended stay, perfect for the learning and cultivation of the local martial art, eskrima. Likely developed from a mix of Chinese, Indonesian, and Malaysian styles, eskrima differs from many mainstream martial arts in that students typically learn to fight with a weapon first, then move to open hand techniques. It is a strongly weapons-based style, specifically those that can be dual-wielded, like short sticks and daggers. Outside the Philippines, it is often referred to as Kali.

Here are some great eskrima videos:
The basics.

Eskrima skills display.

To read more about eskrima, click here and here

Finding Schools in the Philippines:
It’s actually quite difficult to find schools online. The best bet is to search around FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) Forums like this, or post a thread asking for help finding a school near wherever you are or plan to be.

So that’s it. Unfortunately, there’s no specific fighting style associated with Mont Tremblant!

Stephen King wrote books about them, Hollywood produced films based on them, millions of tourists seek them out each year in attempts to creepify their next vacation. Haunted Hotels are more popular than ever, especially since the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Ghost Hunters” aired thermographic video footage of what appears to be a full-sized paranormal apparition, in the basement of the Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs Arkansas. In other words, a ghost caught on tape!

All “haunted” hotels have their ghost stories: the spirit of the heart-broken bride who hung herself in the shower; the angry voices of children who were murdered in room 217; the disgruntled bellhop who threw himself out the 13th floor window etc…. But many of the ghosts and ghouls who flutter about “America’s most haunted hotel” had one thing in common while they were alive: cancer.

If you stayed at the hotel anywhere between 1937 and 1940 you would not have been considered a “guest” per se. You would have been a cancer patient under the care of Norman Baker, and chances are, you would have died. Without one day of medical training in his life, Norman Baker transformed the facilities into a hospital where he offered patients his aggressively advertized “miracle cure”. Turns out there is nothing miraculous about mixing watermelon seed, brown corn silk, alcohol, and carbonic acid. His horrible injections only succeeded in decreasing patients’ bank accounts while increasing their suffering as they approached the end. No wonder so many came back to haunt the hallways, they were robbed by a money-hungry quack!

Redrum anyone?

Thousands of people have visited and even slept in the hotel basement, also known as “the Morgue”, where the ghostly thermal image was captured by investigators. Complete with autopsy table the morgue is where Baker conducted his human experiments (remember: without one day of medical training), and a walk-in fridge where he kept many body parts in jars of formaldehyde. He was eventually convicted of mail fraud and was sentenced to a mere four years in prison. After the ruling there were reports of Baker’s victims actually spinning in their graves!

Is the man in the morgue the clearest image of a paranormal presence ever captured? Or a mere symptom of low camera batteries? The best suggestion is to check it out for yourself. So if you’re hunting for ghosts and you happen to own a $3000 thermographic video camera, there is a good chance that you are single. This will make things a lot cheaper when booking a room in your next haunted hotel. Fortunately, none of the hotels in Mont Tremblant are haunted - as far as we know!

Planning your next vacation? Fantasizing about going toe-to-toe with a wild animal other than Mike Tyson? Why not do both? Forget the boring all-inclusive beach resorts and inject your next getaway with some good ‘ole fight or flight adrenaline. Here are some of the world’s most beautiful destinations, as well as the homes for some of the planet’s deadliest animals. They’ll do more than just bite your ear off.

Surfing Hawaii

Aloha! Nothing beats catching the perfect wave. For a shark however nothing beats catching a fresh seal for lunch, which is exactly what you look like when paddling out on your board. Shark attacks are responsible for over 100 fatalities a year.

Scuba-diving in Papua New Guinea

Were you trembling with fear when Marlin and Dory were surrounded by jellyfish in Finding Nemo? I hope not ’cause that’s pretty lame. Nonetheless, jellyfish are extremely dangerous and kill as many people as sharks do in a year.

And if the jellyfish don’t kill ya, the humiliation of someone peeing on you to relieve the sting from their tentacles will.

African safari, visiting the Victoria Falls

They’re not called “hungry hungry hippos” for nothing. Despite their sleepy, sluggish appearance, hippos are renown for attacking boats, chomping through canoes, and killing over 150 people per year.

India, Taj Mahal

Okay so maybe you won’t find any in the Taj Mahal itself, but stray too far in any direction and you’re sure to bump into an elephant. With adults weighing up to 6 tons (approximately the same weight as a Smart Car dealership), elephants are the largest mammals on land. These unpredictable giants cause up to 500 fatalities per year, a tiny number when you consider how many pianos exist in the world.

Cambodia, Angkor Wat

Make sure to get your shots when visiting this natural Wonder of the World. While a mosquito bite won’t kill you directly, diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and the West Nile virus will. 3 million lives are taken each year by mosquitos, making these annoying little blood-suckers the world’s number one killer of humans, proving once again that size doesn’t always matter.

Happy trails! Or just come to Tremblant where it’s safe heh.

Si vous n’avez pas eu l’occasion de manger au Restaurant Patrick Bermand à Mont Tremblant (ancien village), vous devez le mettre à votre agenda lors de votre prochaine visite à Tremblant. Au menu vous aurez le choix entre poisson frais (bar, thon saumon), fruits de mer (homard, crevettes, escargots) et viande de première qualité (agneau, veau, bœuf). On vous propose une table d’hôte à partir de $24.95/personne et également un menu pour enfants.

Mon expérience personnelle…

Fin janvier 2008. Dimanche soir, 18h j’entre pour la première fois au restaurant Patrick Bermand avec ceux qui me l’avaient recommandé et ma première impression est le sentiment de venir souper chez des amis dans un chalet bois rond. L’ambiance est chaleureuse et sympathique et on vous accueille avec beaucoup de respect.

Nous ne prenons pas d’apéritif mais commandons plutôt du vin rouge. On nous suggère un vin portugais qui accompagnait parfaitement les plats que nous avions commandés, une excellente suggestion. En entrée, nous avons mangé une succulente crème de légumes avec de petits pains chauds tout frais et comme plat de résistance, je choisis une entrecôte accompagnée de crevettes (surf and turf) le tout cuit à la perfection et servi avec beaucoup d’attention et de jovialité. Au dessert nous avons eu droit à une trilogie de dessert à rendre jaloux le meilleur des pâtissiers.

Manger au restaurant Patrick Bermand fût une expérience fantastique non seulement gustative mais qui rejoint le cœur avec sa convivialité et son amabilité.

Une expérience à renouveler encore et encore… surtout après une belle journée de ski et un après-ski avec une atmosphère de chalet Tremblant!

Here are some really useful tips for efficiently packing luggage for when you plan to travel in Mont Tremblant (or anywhere else, really!) It’s not necessarily easy to pack a lot of stuff for a week trip in a trendy hotel, so you might benefit from Alejandra’s advice.

Here’s a quick guide for you and your children, to get the most out of your next vacation.

Learn about the area

It’s always a good idea to learn about the history, the geography and any other information you can gather about the place you’re about to visit. With the right background knowledge, your experience of the attractions will be much richer. There are a lot of good books and websites available to help you find information about events, weather, and food, as well as historical and cultural overviews. Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia, is a good place to start your search on the web.

Explore the web

When planning travel, it’s always a good idea to scout local web sites to get a insider’s point of view. If you plan a trip in the Quebec Laurentians at Mont Tremblant, here are some good websites to help guide you:

Wikipedia page about Mont Tremblant

Condos in Mont Tremblant

Mont Tremblant Weather