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Read Vibe Check №7 A digital scan of the cover of the journals I used during July, 2025. The first is a custom MIKIE NOTES 'The Original Beef of Chicagoland' edition, featuring an image of a the interior of The Beef, a fictional restaurant from the TV show The Bear. The second is a custom MIKIE NOTES 'Save Ferris edition, featuring a scene of Matthew Broderick and Mia Sara taking in some fine art at the Art Institute of Chicago from the 1985 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Vibe Check №7

Notes from July 2025

TL;DR

I took a trip to La Belle Province, went to my first concert in the post-pandemic era, and took my talents to a new streaming service.

Bienvenue à Montréal

Finally took a proper vacation. Visited Montréal for the first time. Rode the Megabus on a $60 ticket with front-row seats. Got dripped on by the leaky roof. Checked into our hotel and marveled at the view.

The view from the front-row of the Megabus as we departed on the highway from Scarborough, Ontario to Montréal, Quebec. The sun's rays through the clouds seemed like a good omen.
The view from the 25th floor of the Marriott Chateau Champlain in downtown Montréal, overlooking a park and domed cathedral.

Made the pilgrimmage to Schwartz’ Deli and waited in line to eat an admittedly overrated sandwich the size of my head. Instantly fell in love strolling around Mile End. Went to Bernie Beigne for donuts and they sold out as we approached the counter. Stopped by Cafe Olympico for some Caffe Crema while reminiscing with my stepmother over Facetime, whose uncle used to own the joint. Got confused by the multiple Saint-Viateur locations on the same street within a half-block of each other. Eventually found the flagship store, and walked out with a half-dozen bagels. Only half of them made it back to the hotel. Eventually found the Metro succesfully navigated home. Unironically one of my favourite parts of the trip.

The exterior of the world-famous Schwartz' Deli, with a line on the sidewalk to get in.
The interior of Cafe Olympico, with multiple patrons waiting on their coffee at the bar.
The exterior of the flagship St. Viateur Bagel Shop location. Bags of flour are seen stacked high in the window.

Took an Uber up the mountain, soaked in the sunset views and tried to figure out where the hell my hotel was. Got back in the Uber to make a final stop at the Orange Julep. Checked out the motorcycles while sipping on their famous orange drink.

The downtown Montréal skyline from the Kondiaronk Belvedere lookout at sunset.
The Gibeau Orange Julep, a 1950's style drive-up diner in the shape of an orange.
A Neon sign for the Gibeau Orange Julep, featuring a juicy orange slice on top.

Woke up the next day and headed out to the most beautiful coffee shop I think I’ll ever visit in Old Montréal. Got confronted by security, who was mad I had the audacity to take a photo. Explained I couldn’t speak french and he told me (in english) that he didn’t speak english. Enjoyed my iced coffee and took some more photos. Didn’t check the schedule so we stood in line for a few hours at the Montréal Comiccon before the doors finally opened. Marvelled at both the cosplay and amount of vendor booths on display. Scored a few single issues I was looking for. Had a few pints on a terrasse before heading back to my hotel room for a well-deserved siesta.

The european architecture of Old Montreal.
The interior of Crew Collective, an old bank building turned into a coffee shop. A large chadelier hands from an ornamental vaulted ceiling, with large windows filling the space with natural light.
A life-size Gundam on display at the Montréal Comiccon.

Got hungry so we headed back out to find the G-Spot. Had to compare their smoked meat sandwich, and found it much better Schwartz’. Made a final stop at the old Forum to see F1 on the big screen. Am I an F1 guy now?

Another example of the european architecture of downtown Montreal.
The exterior of the Greenspot Diner at sunset.

Played it by ear the next morning and ended up at the Biodome after a short subway ride. Saw some parrots, monkeys, capybaras, beavers, all sorts of fish, and even some penguins. Was more impressed by the architecture than anything. Made a stop at Toy Snowman to do a little shopping. Finally got my hands on some donuts and panicked at the counter, ordering way too many to realistically eat in the remaining 24 hours. Ended up leaving 2/3rds of them for housekeeping. Had some Pizza Toni back at the hotel before hopping in the Uber to Laval.

The exterior of the Montréal Biodome, an old-velodrome olympic venue turned into an educational zoo with four different environments. Montréals infamous Olympic stadium is visible in the background.
The rainforest habitat inside the Biodome. Lush plants and trees rise 30 feet inside a greenhouse.

Sat in traffic for an hour listening to our driver’s tantric meditation music. Eventually made it to the House of Pain for some good old Canadian wrasslin. Found our seats, got some beers, then had to move to the opposite end of the aisle because they had completely fucked up seat numbering. Had a blast though, with a hell of a view from the third row. Watched a 57-year old dive 20 feet off a ladder through a table to cap it off.

A packed house inside Colisée de Laval for a Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling show.
My view of ringside from the third row.
Québec legend PCO received a warm welcome from the hometown crowd.

Didn’t have much time on the last morning to do much more than grab a quick coffee before heading to the train station. Boarded the VIA Rail in business class, expecting to end on a high-note with a comfortable, fast trip home. Then the A/C stopped working in the first hour. Then we hit delay after delay to extend our trip by another 2 hours, trapped among the rich folk at the front of the train in the heat, like some fucked-up reverse-Snowpiercer fever dream. Kissed the ground when I stepped off the train in Oshawa. Took our final Uber to get the rest of the way home. Everything seemed a little foreign on return. Greeted the cats as I unpacked.

Started planning my next trip to Montréal.

Doing 180 on the Don Valley Parkway

Toronto’s finest took to the streets for six nights of Megacity Madness, and I was lucky enough to score some balcony seats to the last show at History on July 19. It was both my first time at History, and my first concert since pre-Pandemic days (if you can believe that).

PUP has been a long-time favourite of mine going all the way back to Canadian Music Week 2012, where I saw them at Rancho Relaxo under their old name of ‘Topanga’. To have watched their continual growth over the last 10+ years has been really inspiring, and that all culminated in this week-long love letter to Toronto.
Tears were shed.

I became an instant fan of NOBRO after their opening set, and it was so awesome to see Jeff Rosenstock make a cameo appearance for a few songs as well. PUP’s 90-minute set featured a great mix of new bops and old favourites. I didn’t have much of a voice by the end of the night.

I’m a little bummed that I totally missed out on the Stone Cold Steve Austin-coded camo hats after multiple attempts of waiting in the merch line, but I did come home with a sweet poster, so it’s not all bad.

Switching Back to Spotify

As much as I like the Apple Music UI, I just can’t seem to stick with them for more than 2 years at a time. This must be the third time I’ve switched back to using Spotify from Apple Music in the past decade.

It’s only been a week now and I swear I’ve already found more new music I actually enjoy listening to than I had in the past six months. The CEO might be a less charismatic Lux Luthor, but the recommendation algorithm remains undefeated.

Highlights

Here’s all the stuff I’ve been into this month:

Movies

F1 2025

  • Directed by Joseph Kosinski
  • Loved
  • `4.5/10`
  • Watched on July 3, 2025

Driven by a banger of a soundtrack, and some tight editing, I was actually quite floored with how much I enjoyed this. Worth seeing on as big a screen & as loud a sound system as possible. Much in the vein of the Dudes Rock™ Top Gun: Maverick Summer Blockbuster mold, and I appreciate the hell out of that. A movie so good it makes F1 (a sport I ranked only slightly higher than Golf) seem… kinda cool?

Also, minus not using Van Halen, it’s basically the end from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie.

TV

The Studio 2025

Season 1

  • Created by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
  • Loved
  • `4.5/10`
  • Watched on July 13, 2025

A little late jumping on this train, but this has been one of the best new shows of 2025, including my favourite episode of TV this year. Love the settings, love the cameos, and I especially love the long takes.

Favourite Episode: S01E04, “The Missing Reel”

Books

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2020

The Last Ronin

  • Written by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz
  • Loved
  • `5/10`
  • Read on July 16, 2025

I’d heard a lot about this miniseries and finally got around to picking it up. Naturally, I was thrilled to learn the identity behind the Last Ronin. I’ve gotta immerse myself more into the recent comics but this was hands down the best TMNT-related story I’ve ever consumed, in any media.

Music

This Movie Sucks 2025

by Durry

  • Loved
  • `4/10`

I guess when I’m dead, that’s just the ending that I get. No ride into the sunset. There’s no bloopers at the end.

I discovered this band via YouTube Shorts, thank you Algorithm Gods!

Favourite Track: “This Movie Sucks”

YouTube
I fucking hate beige.

I enjoyed these other videos, and you might too:

Purchases

A pair of Nike Dunk Low sneakers in a white and orange colorway.

The Nikes on my feet keep my cipher complete.

I’m not nearly as sneaker obsessed as I used to be, but one of the the local shops had these Nike Dunk Lows on sale for like $100 – how could I say no? They’ve inspired me to slim down my collection, either donate or sell pairs I haven’t worn in years (which to be honest, is most of them).

A list of the other impulsive purchases I made this month that I don’t totally regret:

A self-portrait photograph of the author holding an SLR camera viewfinder to his eye, obsuring this face.
Mike Mali (@mikie.zip)

If you're reading this, it's too late please let me know any thoughts, ideas, questions, comments, concerns, or corrections at howdy@mikie.zip. It would literally make my day to hear from you. 🤠