Irene will be one of the costliest hurricanes

Irene will be one of the costliest hurricanes

Hurricane Irene will be one of the costliest in nation’s history. Most damage has been done by flooding and won’t be covered by insurance. The estimated cost of Irene will be between $7 billion and $10 billion which is huge. Also the hurricane caused many power breakdowns, people could not go to work, airports were closed,…

Now there are about 260 roads partly closed due to flooding and rivers like the Connecticut are still rising today.

The event will possibly have a negative influence on the crisis now that governments are broke, and people can’t get loans from banks. Of course the cleaning up and the recovery will create roughly 42,000 jobs but there will be losses too.

Rupert Grint wears T-shirt for Tom Felton

Rupert Grint wears T-shirt for Tom Felton

Rupert Grint (Ron Weasly in Harry Potter) showed up at the premiere of “Rise of the planet of the apes” to support Tom Felton. Rupert was wearing a white T-shirt that said “I <3 Tom Felton”. Together they posed for many pictures as the T-shirt had a lot of success. Tom joked: "I've had a crush on him for years and finally he's coming out, this is great!".

Although I wasn’t convinced about the rest of Rupert’s outfit everybody else seems to like it. Because of the success of the shirt some people even speculated it’s could be sold in stores.

Maybe someone can make one for my blog?

Youtube sensation: Fragrance community

Youtube sensation: Fragrance community

Now there are a lot of video’s on youtube and so there are a lot of communities. You all know I am into fragrances so I wanted to let you guys know that there are many reviewers on youtube. Some describe a fragrance into detail and some make short general information video’s. It’s up to you what you like most but I watch them all. There’s more than meets the eye with fragrances. Some fragrances smell linear(Don’t change during the day) and some do a 180 very 2 hours. In the past I didn’t know this stuff but by checking these video’s out you’ll learn everything.

 It all started when I bought my first fragrance which was “acqua di gio”. I started looking for some reviews online and suddenly I stumbled on a video on youtube. This guy named Tim Swetcoff did such a nice job reviewing the fragrance that I made a youtube account and subscribed to him. For several months I looked for some other reviewers but only found one named “Cformosa”. He was actually the first one to make video’s about fragrances but I found him several months later because of Tims shout out. Chris (cformosa) makes short video’s explaining what the fragrance is about. These video’s are for the people that don’t have a lot of time or people that just want to know some general information. So now I had 2 reviewers to watch.

But then came our fragranceGURU. His youtube name is “robes08”. Marc (robes08) has a collection of fragrances that is incredible(he made some video’s of his whole collection so if you have a day of, or maybe a week, you should check them out). Marc explains the fragrance in details so his video’s are a bit longer, but at the end of every video there is some kind of rating system which is very useful. After Marc became very popular more and more people showed up doing reviews and so the fragrance community was born. I’m not subscribed to all of them because I don’t even know half of them but if I spot one I subscribe immediately. Unfortunately Tim stopped making video’s a while ago which is a shame but I’m convinced he will return eventually.

Here I will post some reviewers I’m subscribed to so far: 

Robes08 aka Marc:   http://www.youtube.com/user/robes08

Marc is the fragrance Guru of youtube. He explains every fragrance in depth. He tests  fragrances out for more than a year before making a review on youtube to be sure he didn’t miss anything. His collection is huge so we will be expecting much more from him. Marc does not only make reviews but also discusses different parfumiers, brands, etc..

Cformosa aka Cubby (Chris):  http://www.youtube.com/user/cformosa4 (http://fragrancetalk.com/)

Cubby was the first reviewer on youtube. His first video “Don’t wear Axe” was uploaded about 3 years ago. He’s very known in the fragrance community for his short reviews. Cubby’s video’s are perfect for people who don’t have a lot of time to watch an extended in depth review but just want to know some basic information. He also has a site called “FragranceTalk” where you can see his videos and buy decants of all fragrances available to him which is very interesting.

Hiroyoruzuka aka Miguel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/hiroyoruzuka

Miguel is a funny guy. When I saw his first video I thought he was some kind of an Asian rapper. But the more video’s I saw the more I liked him. He’s a top reviewer and his video’s are fun to watch. He has a very distinct taste and his top 10 lists are one of the best on youtube.

Smell Extra fly!!

959lover aka Ashkan:  http://www.youtube.com/user/959lover

Ashkan called himself “The sultan of scent”, and he is. He started of reviewing fragrances but is now best known for his splits. Ashkan buys large bottles of niche fragrances such as creed, le labo, etc.. and then split them into smaller bottles so people can buy them for much cheaper. Though he doesn’t make many reviews he still is pretty active.

Kerosenetrewthe:  http://www.youtube.com/user/Kerosenetrewthe

Kerosene is a nice guy. Once he actually bought some other reviewers a fragrance (Cubby and Marc made a video of it). Kerosene makes quality reviews but the best part of his video’s is at the end. After each review there is a short clip of him doing something hilarious and I must say that is my favourite part.

Tswetcoff:   http://www.youtube.com/user/tswetcoff

Like I said before Tim is the reason I started to collect fragrances. I saw his video about “acqua di gio” and went straight away to the mall to buy it (which I sometimes regret). You can still check his reviews out but he doesn’t make any new ones anymore which is a shame. I hope he’ll return eventually and join his colleague reviewers

Other reviewers:  There are many more fragrance reviewers on youtube. I apologize to everyone I didn’t mention . As this is a blog I can’t discuss them every reviewer but when you subscribe to the guys above you will know them all pretty fast.

Game review: Uncharted2: Among Thieves

Game review:  Uncharted2: Among Thieves

Platform: PS3

Genre: Adventure third-person

I got this game for free when I bought my ps3 but this is a gem. Uncharted2 is a modern take on Indiana Jones. The story is about finding the Cintamani Stone. Of course Drake (The main character) isn’t the only one who is looking after the stone. Zoran Lazarevic wants the Stone to find the three of life which gives him immense powers and makes him nearly invincible. During the whole game you have to deal with Lazarevics men.

The gameplay is very fluent, the graphics are high end and the camera angles are easy to control. The story telling is the best part in the game. When you play the game you’re having the feeling that you are in an actual movie which is very rare.

The multiplayer isn’t that great. It’s not bad but also not groundbreaking. You have the standard matches. For example: Deathmatch, Capture the flag, elimination,… These are very fun to play but after a while you’ll get bored of it.

In short: When you like a good singleplayer with some in depth story telling this one is a must have. If you just want a great game to play online I would pass on this one.

Books: Temeraire

Books: Temeraire

Some months ago I went to the library to pick up a book. Now you must know I'm not a big reader so I looked for something light. I went to the fantasy section and there I saw a whole series of books with dragons on it. First I thought “hmm I think I'm in the children’s division”, but I wasn't. Tempted by the dragons on the cover I picked up the book and took it home. Later that day I started reading. Now normally I stop reading after one hour and never open the book again but that day I read about 2 hours and when I looked at the time I was literally shocked that it was already midnight.
The story is set at the time when Napoleon tried to conquer the world. Now in these stories dragons aren’t kept a secret and everyone knows about their existence. They even fight against Napoleon. The series is about one dragon in particular: Temeraire. This dragon was born on a navy ship that belonged to Laurence. Together they fight against Napoleon's army and conquer various objects and situations. Today there are 6 books available and a 7th is coming in 2012. 
The series is pretty popular and there are even fan sites. Some people think that this series will be filmed and become a successor of the Harry Potter franchise.
In short: When you are tired of reading the Harry Potter books and you want to read something different but still set in a fantasy world then I recommend to pick up these books. But not only Harry Potter fans can read this because the world is a mixture of real history and the participation of dragons.

Link: http://www.temeraire.org/temeraire/ 

Lifestyle: Watches

Lifestyle: Watches

Nowadays watches are bought by everyone. But for a different purpose: Fashion. People don’t buy them anymore because they just need the time. Watches are one of my favorite items. I do have only one though because I’m going to college and I just don’t have to money to buy a new time piece every few months.

Now when I bought mine I thought I would lose a lot of money but I was wrong. When you look around I’ll see that there are some nice watches available for an affordable price. I looked at these brands: Diesel, emporio Armani, fossil, festina, rodania. I really liked the Diesel watches because they’re fun to wear everyday but you can dress them up for more formal events. So I bought one. When I saw the price I was pleasantly surprised. It was only 100 euro which isn’t a lot for a nice watch. Also women like wearing watches but I find that a nice women’s watch is a bit more expensive but I saw some for about 200 euro.

In short: Watches are fun to wear and nowadays it’s really a piece of fashion which can be as expensive as you want it to be.

Fragrance review: The Dreamer by Versace

Fragrance review: The Dreamer by Versace

The Dreamer is a very complex fragrance and is well known in the fragrance community. It really suits its name. This one can be used in winter during the day or evening but also on a summer night if it’s not too hot. When you first spray this you won’t like this. The top notes are very harsh and they beat up your nose. They start up very spicy and sharp (a little too sharp) and you can’t smell any of the tobacco.  But if you can get past the first hour or so this scent will reveal its true image. The scent becomes more subtle and close to the skin, the tobacco leaves show up and makes it a bit unique. But what I get of it in the dry down is very wonderful. The harsh scent becomes a fabric softener type of feeling, which is light and very appropriate for summer nights. The longevity on this fragrance is very good. I get at least 8 hours from this one. The projection is moderate. The first 2-3 hours it projects like a beast but then it subtles down to a more close to the skin scent. I got many compliments on this scent when they smelt the dry down.

In short: this one is not for the average man but more for the fragrance lovers like myself. I recommend it to everyone but you have to get past the first 1-2 hours which can be very harsh. The longer the scent stays on the skin, the nicer it becomes.

Game review: League of Legends (LoL)

Game review: League of Legends (LoL)

Platform: PC
Genre: Moba style

This game is a gem! It’s F2P(Free to Play) with some micro transactions. The game is a moba style game which I will explain later. LoL is focused on PVP. You can play 3vs3, 5vs5 or a custom match which you create yourself. The purpose of the game is to destroy the base of the other team. You can choose between many champions to play the game. Each champion has his or her own specifications that are all useful in battle. When the game starts your champion is lvl1 and the goal is to level him up to 18. The beautiful thing about this game is that you can buy items to customize your champion. For example: Some items make you more powerful, some make you faster, etc… These items only last for one match. All champions have 4 skills which can be upgraded by leveling up.

The game itself is pretty easy to pick up and there are some nice tutorials out there that help you a lot. The graphics are cartoony which I like very much because it makes the game more unique. The gameplay is very smooth and very fun.

The LoL community is very big and most people are friendly and supportive but sometimes there are people who leave in the middle of a match and that is very frustrating.(Once I played a 5vs5 and there were 3 people AFK!!).

In short: This game is a must have for every pc gamer that wants to play a quality game for free. Players who pay for micro transactions have no advantage over the free players so everyone is equal. One negative thing is that you can’t buy skins (these can be used to dress your champion) with in-game money.

Movie review: Fast Five

Movie review: Fast Five

This movie is the latest in the “The fast and the furious” franchise. In this movie they use the actors that played in the first four releases which I thought was pretty nice. The beginning of the movie follows up the ending of the fourth when Dominique(Vin Diesel) escapes from jail.

Now when people say “The fast and the furious” they think “Drag racing”, “Tuning”, etc… But in this latest release it’s not at all about that. It’s not only about racing and see what car is the fastest, but there is an actual story. The storytelling reminds me a bit of “The Italian Job”. The story is simple: Trying to steal all of the money of a mafia boss that runs Brazil.

Although I like there’s a nice story I also miss the racing part. There aren’t many tuned cars anymore and the races are reduced to a minimum. The movie isn’t bad though and I must say that the actors did a nice job.

In short: The fast five is a nice movie which will not only attract the franchise fans but also many other people. What I hope though is that there will be a nice balance between racing, tuning and storytelling in the next one because this one lacked a bit of the first.

Games: Why pay for them?

Games: Why pay for them?

As people may know games are pretty expensive these days. When first released some games cost about 60 euro. Now when you are a pc gamer there are other options. F2P games (Free to play) are games that only require to download them and you can play for free. Some games require a registration. Now these days more and more games are F2P. Some of them where P2P(pay to play) in the past. Now these games are mostly not completely free because some do micro transactions which can be used to buy some items but that choice is up to you. I almost completely play F2P games on my pc and I take this is the future. It is also proven that F2P games make more money with their micro transactions than P2P games so it’s a win win situation.

Here are some good F2P games:

-          League of legends

-          Dungeons and dragons online

-          Lord of the rings online

-          Combat arms

-          Age of empires online

Fragrance review: Chanel Allure Homme Sport

Fragrance review: Chanel Allure Homme Sport

First I have to say that I love fragrances. I have a bunch of them and I'm still buying new ones regularly. I think fragrances make you more confident or bring up memories. But the main reason to wear fragrances is to smell nice. Now I like to wear something that others don't have so I smell unique and not like everyone else.

Now about this fragrance. This one isn't very unique but it's one that everyone should have. It can be worn everyday, every season, on every occasion. It starts of with a lemony smell, a bit syntethic. Not a bad syntethic though. Its projects very well and everyone will notice it. After about 1 hour it's starts to settle down a bit and it becomes a bit creamy. Not a thick vanilla creamy but really soft. This stays throughout the whole fragrance until it dries down to a watery smell which is very nice but it's also very close to the skin.
Allure homme Sport lasts about 8 hours on my skin and it project well for the first 3-4 hours.
The prices can be a drawback for this one as it is about 58 euro for the 50 ml but it's worth the money.
In short: A very nice fragrance that gets alot of compliments and can be worn everyday. But many people have this one so you wont be that unique guy that smells different.

Movie review: Friends with benefits

 Movie review: Friends with benefits

Previously I saw this one. At first I thought"Ow God this will be another chickflick like there are thousands". Well it was ... Kinda. Though this movie has a happy ending and there are a bunch of this movies coming out every year, it wasn't bad at all. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are starring in this one and I must say they werent to bad. Jamie (Mila Kunis) played a woman who is busy with her carreer (she reminded me of Eva Mendes in "The hitch" ). She recruited Dylan to work for a magazine in New York. Now they just want to have sex and no relationship because they're sick of committing to other people. This works out in the beginning but then they fall in love... Kinda.
I'm not gonna spoil the details before you guys see the movie so that is all you get.

The best thing about the movie is that there is some pretty good humor in it that I didn't expect at all from those 2 "actors" and I must say it was nice to watch eventhough I am a guy. In short: This movie is for the people who just want to have a casual film to watch when they have some time to kill. Nothing groundbreaking but still pretty good.