Let's Do The News! (November 28, 2014)

Welcome back. Here is your current sitrep:

- A Maserati Ghibli sedan driven by the motorist who beaten up an MMDA officer has been spotted by an homeowner who took pictures on this car that doesn't have license plate. It has a conduction sticker QQ0057.



- The DPWH will once again commence road repairs in Quezon City from today to December 1st. Expect heavy traffic when you're out there.

- The Japan Self Defense Force will transport aid to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Defense Minister Akinori Eto issued this order at a meeting with senior officials as the international community is working hard to stop the outbreak from spreading worldwide. The JASDF will transport about 20,000 sets of protective clothing to Ghana.

- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency postpones the launch of their asteroid probe due to bad weather.

- DILG Secretary Mar Roxas told that cellphone jammers would be used to prevent illegal drug operations and carjacking in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

- F1 driver Jean-Eric Vergne will not be part of the Toro Rosso F1 team for next year's season.

- Mercedes-Benz will launch a brand new "AMG Sport" model on next year's Detroit Auto Show. This new lineup bridges the gap between normal Mercedes models and high-performance AMG models and it could be their answer to BMW's M Performance Automobiles. The first AMG Sport model will be based on the recently-launched C-Class while the other one will be a crossover model that will be the replacement for the M-Class due to Mercedes-Benz's new naming strategy.

Mercedes-AMG Sport teaser

- Lexus received over 2,600 orders for their new RC sport coupe models in Japan on its first month.

2015 Lexus RC

- Nissan issues a recall on most Serena, X-Trail, and Juke models with direct-injected petrol engines over two separate problems in the engines' fuel system.

- Following the Pokemon XY Mega Evolution TV Special Act II that was aired earlier this month, The Pokemon Company announced Act III of the Mega Evolution TV Special airing on TV Tokyo this Spring 2015!

TTFN!!!

Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor/The Time of The Doctor OST

Doctor Who:
The Day of The Doctor/The Time of The Doctor OST

2013 was a big year for Doctor Who because right after the end of the seventh season, there has been not one but two TV specials that made the Whovians squealed for joy. First, there was the 50th anniversary special titled The Day of The Doctor where the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor joined forces with a mysterious Doctor and work together to save history. Then, the 2013 Christmas Special, The Time of The Doctor, sees a fond farewell to Matt Smith as he inherits his Doctor role to Peter Capaldi.

To commemorate last year's double specials, there's an original soundtrack which covers both TV specials and once again, Murray Gold, the person in charge of the show's BGMs, was very pleased by this as you can now listen the background musics as heard from the twin specials. The first disc covers the 50th anniversary special while the second disc covers the 2013 Christmas Special, which is known as the Eleventh Doctor's final journey. As with the others, these DW songs heard from the specials are a work of art by Ben Foster, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Crouch End Festival Chorus so take time to listen to those BGMs and you can be very sure that this two-disc compilation can make an excellent addition to your DW soundtrack collection.

DISC ONE - The Day of The Doctor:

1) I.M Foreman

2) Will There be Cocktails?

3) It's Him (The Majestic Tale)

4) He Was There

5) No More

6) The War Room

7) Footprints in the Sand

8) Who Are You?

9) England 1562

10) Nice Horse

11) The Fez and Portal

12) Two Doctors

13) Three Doctors

14) Somewhere to Hide

15) Rescue the Doctor

16) 2.47 Billion

17) Zygon in the Painting

18) Man and Wife

19) We Don't Need to Land

20) We are the Doctors

21) The Moment Has Come

22) This Time There's Three of Us

23) Song for Four / Home

DISC TWO - The Time of The Doctor

1) The Message

2) Handles

3) The Dance of the Naked Doctor

4) You Saved It

5) Papal Mainframe

6) Tasha Lemm

7) Bedroom Talk

8) The Mission

9) Christmas

10) The Crack

11) Rhapsody of War

12) Back to Christmas

13) Snow Over Trenzalore

14) Beginning of the End

15) This is How it Ends

16) Never Tell Me the Rules

17) Trenzalore / The Long Song

18) Hello Twelve

Let's Do The News! (November 27, 2014)

Welcome back. Here is your current sitrep:

- The top safety regulators from the USA have ordered a nationwide recall of Takata airbags. NHTSA officials want car companies like Honda, Mazda, Ford, Chrysler, and BMW, to initiate a nationwide recall next week or charge them that fail to comply.

- A Japanese journalist, Tatsuya Kato (who is the ex-Seoul bureau chief of Sankei Shimbun) who is indicted for the libel of South Korean president Park Geun-hye is facing his first trial hearing held at a district court in Seoul today. He denied charges of defaming the SoKor president.

- Australian batsman Phil Hughes died at the age of 25. He was carried off on a stretcher at the Sydney Cricket Ground after a short-pitched delivery stroke his head with his helmet missing.

- The governor of Missouri denied calls for another grand jury to decide whether to charge policeman Darren Wilson for the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown. But violent protests begin to wind down two days later.

- Tropical Depression Queenie crossed the landmass of Negros provinces and it's now heading straight to the Panay Gulf on midday.

- An owner of a certain luxury car reportedly beaten up an MMDA traffic enforcer for taking a picture of him making an illegal turn in the streets of Quezon City.

- LET IT GO. Queen Elsa from Disney's Frozen gets her very own Nendoroid courtesy of Good Smile Company. She's ready to freeze your hearts on May 2015 and she's priced at 3,889 Japanese Yen plus tax.

Nendoroid Elsa

- The F56 Mini Cooper is named as Car Awards Group Inc. 2014-2015 Car of the Year in the Philippines.

2015 Mini hatch

- Honda revealed their upcoming addition to the N-BOX family called the N-BOX Slash. Set for its debut next month, the N-BOX Slash is a chopped-top version of the N-BOX tall kei car which features a lower roof line than the normal N-BOX.

2015 Honda N-BOX Slash

TTFN!!!

Subaru Impreza Sport and G4 - 2015 minor change

2015 Subaru Impreza G4

2015 Subaru Impreza Sport

The Subaru Impreza, currently on its fourth-generation state, has been mildly facelifted for the 2015 model year and for this minor change, both the Sport hatchback and the G4 sedan are now more technologically advanced than ever thanks to the application of Subaru's Eyesight Ver. 3 first seen on the Levorg tourer, which is based on this model. Let's explain about what's new for this 2015 minor change.

2015 Subaru Impreza G4

2015 Subaru Impreza Sport

The first thing you'll notice about this latest facelift is the front end that has been refreshed with a new lower fascia while we can expect good-looking foglamps for high-end models. There's not much change occurred on the back though. On the inside, it's now heavily revised with an available infotainment system with a seven-inch color touchscreen. On the instrumental panel. there's a new LCD color display in the middle as well as updated dials.

2015 Subaru Impreza G4 interior

2015 Subaru Impreza Sport interior

For 2015, both the Impreza Sport and G4 now come with Subaru's breakthrough Eyesight Ver. 3 found in the Levorg. Eyesight Ver. 3 integrates Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre-Collision Braking and Vehicle Lane Departure Warning, among many others. You can also expect heavily revised interiors as well, slightly enhanced powertrain, and some of it.

Under the hood, they still come with the same 2.0L and 1.6L boxer four-cylinder engine as before. The 1.6L engine develops 115PS of power, 148NM of torque, and can be mated with either a 5-speed manual or a Lineartronic CVT gearbox. With the CVT gearbox and idling stop at hand, fuel economy is 17.6 km/L based on Japan's JC08 Mode standards. The 2.0L engine, on the other hand, produces 150PS of power, 196Nm of torque, and it's available only with the CVT gearbox. As for fuel economy, Subaru states that it can achieve the same 17.6km/L fuel economy as the smaller 1.6L one although your actual fuel mileage can vary so don't ask.

The Sport model starts at 1,958,400 Japanese Yen (around $20,000) while the G4 model starts at the same price as the Sport hatch so it's a fair value for money if you were given a choice to buy one of these.

Photo: Fuji Heavy Industries

Let's Do The News! (November 26, 2014)

Welcome back. Here is your current sitrep:

- Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, revealed his €315bn investment plan that will stabilize the European economy as part of his five-year agenda.

- Meanwhile in Hong Kong, police officers arrested student leaders who are involved at pro-democracy protests.

- Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that last year's Upper House elections were unconstitutional due to disparities in the value of individual votes. About the summer of last year, a vote in the least populated constituency was worth 4.77 times more than a vote from a populous one. Despite disparity, general elections will go ahead next month.

- Tropical Depression Queenie makes landfall in Surigao del Sur Wednesday afternoon.

- About 12,245 out of 28,187 examinees passed the October 2014 Criminologist Licensure Examination.

- Lack of evidence prompted the government prosecutors to drop charges against 60 suspects involved last year's Zamboanga siege.

- The first trailer of the upcoming Jurassic World movie hits the interwebs! Check out the first look of the latest installment of the Jurassic Park franchise!



- The folks from Top Gear showcased their first teaser image of their upcoming two-part Patagonia Special coming soon to BBC Two and BBC Two HD.

Top Gear Patagonia Special

- Here we go again. Your first look at the upcoming KanColle KAI PSVita game that will hit Japanese game stores this Spring.

- Teen actress Kathryn Bernardo will launch her own self-titled debut album which one of the songs will feature her own song "Nasa 'Yo Din Pala", which is kinda more of a response to Daniel Padilla's hit song "Nasa 'Yo Na Ang Lahat".

TTFN!!!

Nissan Juke NISMO RS

Last year, the Nissan Juke crossover gained a hot NISMO variant and even though the NISMO model comes with the improved performance, it still feels as hard as making Meccanos in your home even though it has 4WD on it.

2015 Nissan Juke NISMO RS

Following the launch of the facelifted Nissan Juke a few months ago, the Juke NISMO has been upgraded and it's now more capable of doing its beginner's luck than last time. See? This is the new Juke NISMO RS.

2015 Nissan Juke NISMO RS

2015 Nissan Juke NISMO RS interior

2015 Nissan Juke NISMO RS interior

At first glance, it still looks like the facelifted Juke only this time with some NISMO-themed upgrades to keep this crossover more sports-oriented in mind. Even though this car looks more refreshed than before, it still looks like a clown to the eyes of observers judging from the red side mirrors and the black, white, and silver exterior paint. Looks like this boyoyong clown still has the rounds to make kids cry during a cheap birthday party.

The former Juke NISMO has 200PS of power from its Nismo-tuned MR16DDT DIG TURBO while mated with the XTRONIC CVT-M7 but for the new NISMO RS model, that engine is now recalibrated to  214PS thanks to the ECU tuning and as for the gearbox, NISMO recalibrated it so now it can engage to 8-speed manual mode via paddle shifters. That sounds wonderful but to me, it feels like cheap old birthday parties from your neighbors with the added boyoyong clown to make it look dull. Hmmm...

Handling-wise, the Juke NISMO RS features updated driving dynamics to keep it more hot hatch-ish than the last time and this car promises the motorsport DNA Nismo deserves having spent several man-hours getting involved in motorsports, even the Super GT. To me, feels like the handling's slightly improved, and looks like the Meccano image has been shaken away and to be replaced by the image of...Bondying. What? It feels like a Bondying? Give me a break but for a bulky car with such dynamics, the Juke NISMO RS might be more than enough to give a rookie on a track day a slight smile on his or her face.

Like the previous Juke NISMO, the new RS model still comes with All-Mode 4x4-i system which not only feels milder on the track but also a good all-weather vehicle when you're taking a break.

Should you buy one? The new Juke NISMO RS starts at 3,434,400 Japanese Yen, which is more expensive than the previous model but because of its turbocharged engine and updated driving dynamics, this will be a good car for a track day. I wouldn't mind one because of that feeling that feels like a boyoyong clown is messing up your birthday party.

Photo: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Forza Horizon 2: Barn Find #09: Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2

A ninth barn find is detected through the vicinity of Saint-Martin in France. It is believed that the barn find in question is a vintage Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2 racing machine, one of Alfa Romeo's all time greats and one of the best designed cars by the legendary coachbuilder Zagato. Upon my observation, this barn find is about 2.5 miles away from the Sisteron Horizon Hub or about 1.5 miles away from the Saint-Martin Car Meet. Without further ado, I began my search and rescue op for the barn find that makes me obsessed to have one.

Here it is. Good as new. Those classic car aficionados will be proud to see this legendary machine take its first steps in the world of Forza because this car is new here and it wants to be pampered in every way.

Known to be the updated version of the first TZ, the Giulia TZ2, unveiled in 1965, features and updated fibreglass bodywork for reduced drag and weight. It was made for racing purposes and it's rigged with a 1.5L 4-cylinder DOHC twin plug engine producing 170bhp of power and it's capable of reaching 152mph. That sounds quick even at modern standards. Only 12 of these machines were built, which is what the 12th man expected for.

Even though I'm no 12th man in FH2 but since there's a road trip spanning to San Giovanni, because upon clearing the last championship with my Mustang and the Vette, looks like I decided to give this classic TZ2 a try but be warned. This car needs to go like Nina Needs To Go. Ahhh.... I'd never thought I've been given a chance to drive such a legendary Alfa on this game.