Thursday, October 29, 2015

Let's Do The News! (October 29, 2015)



- The Japanese government resumed coastal land in Okinawa, proceeding the plan to relocate a US base despite fierce opposition from the city's governor. The local bureau of Japan's Defense Ministry began work in the compound of a US base adjacent to the landfill site in Henoko, Nago City. Heavy machinery were used to lay gravel at the proposed site of a storage yard.

- According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, a three-way summit between Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, South Korean president Park Geun-hye, and Chinese Premier Li Kequiang, will commence in Seoul this November 1st. It will be the first since three years ago.

- The top officials supporting Syrian rebels as well as government troops are mulling a conference in Vienna on Thursday and Friday, discussing ways to put an end to the prolonging civil war.

- Office of Civil Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazime and NDRRMC executive director Alexander Pama, tasked all necessary government agencies to be prepared as the Philippines remember their dearly departed this UNDAS 2015.
- Senators Grace Poe and Francis Escudero unveiled the complete list of their senatorial lineup for the May 2016 elections. The list includes Atty. Lorna Kapunan, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, Manila vice Mayor Isko Moreno and ACT-CIS Rep. Atty. Samuel Pagdilao. Veteran senators Tito Sotto, Ralph Recto, Migs Zubiri, and Richard Gordon, are joining the lineup as well.

- PDP-Laban standard bearer Martin Diño announced that he's withdrawing from the presidential race for next year's elections and named Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, despite repeatedly stated that he's not running, as his substitute candidate.

- In case you missed the latest Eat Bulaga kalyeserye, it's AlDub's 15th weeksary and following Alden's retrieval of the key to Lola Nidora which will lead them to the mysterious house as Lola Nidora's diary of secret foretold this Halloween, the address of the so-called "Bahay Ni Lola" is revealed. It's 1886 Kababalaghan St., Brgy. Pugot Ulo, Pangmayaman Subd.

- In a weird way, the famous Michelangelo statue of David has spawned a figma toy courtesy of Good Smile Company.


- Nintendo will launch their first-ever smartphone app game this next year as well as detailing new account system as well as their new "My Nintendo" global membership service.

- Onto the issue of Filipinos shining out on foreign reality singing shows; a Fil-Aussie crooner Cyrus Villanueva made it to the Top 6 of the seventh season of X Factor Australia while Fil-Am singer Amy Vachal is part of Team Adam Levine on the ninth season of NBC's The Voice.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

HEART TO HEART!

HEART TO HEART!

The latest update on the ever-popular Love Live! School Idol Festival app game (at least in Japan) featured a brand new song from the now-legendary school idol unit μ's. Titled HEART TO HEART!, School Idol Festival players tried so hard to master this latest of the School Idol Festival-original songs and after you spent several days getting an S Rank Full Combo at this song in all difficulty settings, why not take a break by listening to μ's latest single featuring the titular song (the extended version never before heard).

The latest single features two songs, HEART TO HEART! and 嵐のなかの恋だから, as heard on the School Idol Festival game and for a limited time only, there's a serial code that can unlock a Super Rare μ's idol for use in the School Idol Festival game.

TRACK LISTINGS:

01. HEART to HEART!
02. 嵐のなかの恋だから
03. HEART to HEART!(Off Vocal)
04. 嵐のなかの恋だから(Off Vocal)

Let's Do The News! (October 28, 2015)



- A US defense official says that they will continue navigating their naval vessels in waters off Chinese-made islands in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Yesterday, the US government confirmed that their destroyer passed within 12 nautical miles of the Subi Reef, one of the seven reefs reclaimed by China.

- Last Monday, a powerful M7.5 quake struck Afghanistan, killing less than 300 people and injured over 1,600, according to the Pakistani government. The quake struck not just in northern Afghanistan but also wide areas in countries including Pakistan, India, and Uzbekistan. Right now, emergency workers are conducting SAR operations in affected areas. The Taliban is also conducting SAR as well.

- According to a nationwide poll in the US, business tycoon Donald Trump has fallen from the top spot in the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, beaten by former neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

- According to the head of the International Olympic Committee, refugee athletes are more than welcome to take on next year's Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Until now, qualified refugee athletes weren't able to participate in Olympics because they couldn't represent their home country and its national Olympic committee, but the IOC decided to allow refugee athletes to participate and live in the Olympic Village alongside the other athletes, and march with the Olympic flag in the opening ceremony.

- Senator Grace Poe apologized the public over her perception that she dropped former Senator Ping Lacson from her senatorial slate in next year's elections.

- Rugby organizations unveiled the official logo for the 2019 World Rugby Cup in Japan.

- Tekken 7 is coming on the Playstation4 and PlaystationVR! This was announced during the Paris Games Week's PlayStation conference. Finally! Reunited with its rightful console with new and exciting ways to bring the latest installment in Bandai Namco's hard-hitting fighting franchise to everyone.



- Gran Turismo Sport is announced and it's coming to the Playstation4 with a beta access coming this 2016. GT Sport features a new step in the fastest-selling racing simulator franchise with partnership with FIA, turning this game into a competitive sport in its own right. Players can represent their home nations or represent their favorite car manufacturer.



- The title of the upcoming Sherlock special episode is titled "The Abominable Bride" and, for the first time ever, it will be aired on the same day on BBC One in the UK, and on PBS in the US, New Year's Day 2016.

TTFN!!!

007: SPECTRE

007: SPECTRE

This is by no means one of the most aggressive Bond films to date and Daniel Craig gave everything he got to show that his tenure as James Bond is on his ultimate peak in this 24th installment of Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 films.

Set in events after 2012's SKYFALL, a cryptic message sends Bond on a path to a confrontation with the sinister organization known as SPECTRE. This organization was known for threatening global stability so memorably in past Bond films like Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice, and for this film, viewers have a glimpse to check out the hidden world of the evil organization Bond's after. Thing is, they're nothing more of a cult bent on using the art of ethnic cleansing to rid of everything that stand in their own way...which is kinda villainous.

In addition to returning cast such as Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as Q, SPECTRE introduces two Bond girls in the films such as Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci as well as Bond villains such as Christoph Waltz and former WWE superstar Dave Bautista, among many others in store. Looks like the cast is like a mixture of brains, beauties, and brawns but nothing is more so than the cars featured in the film.

Aston Martin DB10

Jaguar C-X75 Bond Concept

Back in 2002, in Pierce Brosnan's final Bond film, Die Another Day, there was an epic car chase between the Aston Martin Vanquish and the Jaguar XKR, driven by a North Korean spy Zao (Rick Yune), on a frozen lake in Iceland. Fast forward 13 years to now and the battle between the two British carmakers in the world of Bond is back and this time, in the form of two one-off machines on a nighttime chase in Rome. There was this Aston Martin made exclusively for the film, the DB10, and then the Jaguar C-X75 Concept, with some modifications suited for Dave Bautista's character in the film, Hinx. Ain't Bond cars grand? That epic car chase between the two will keep cinemagoers hanging until the part where the Aston burns the Jag. That's one thing kids might remember and doing it at home until their mama caught them and telling them to head straight to the toilets.

Anyway, the film's storyline pushes to its aggressiveness and so is Craig's because most of the classic Bond moments cinemagoers want are all blended in with some interrogation, some torture, some escape plans, some suggestive themes, and the suspense that keeps on building until the keystone pops. Although, there are some few kinks that need to be worked out, the Bond formula is all in to bring SPECTRE a burning desire to put all spy films of 2015 into shambles but not most of it.

As for the music, well, we love the opening theme "Writing's On The Wall" by Sam Smith because it sounds so dramatic as every good opening Bond theme should be but it's the BGMs in the film that some might feel pleased because it matches the tone to every scene of the film very perfectly and acoustically tuned for perfection.

SPECTRE may not be one of the best films of 2015 but it's definitely one of the best action films of the year and with all that explosive stuff going on, I'd expect that every action junkie who saw that film head back home and start making some noises similar to the film until his mama come here and send him straight to the toilets. Sorry, personal experiences, but this is definitely a must-watch Bond movie before your mama send you to the toilets.

My rating: 5 out of 5. 

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

FIA Formula E 2015-2016 - Beijing



The second season of the FIA Formula E kicked off in Beijing, China. Looks like the new season promises to be more exciting than ever with improved powertrains, more locations than before, new and returning teams, and many more in store for the 2015-2016 season.

At the end of the first round of this new season, Sebastien Buemi from e.dams placed first followed by ABT Schaeffler's Lucas di Grassi, who placed 2nd, and Nick Heidfeld from Mahindra, who placed 3rd.

Race highlights:



The next race is set at Putrajaya, Malaysia, on the 7th of November, 2015.

F1 2015: US GP

Image: Getty Images

It was a wet and wild action happening at Austin, Texas, probably because of the rainy weather due to the weakened Hurricane Patricia, but that rainy weather is one heck of a equalizer for the best of Formula One racers gunning to the top podium at this season's US Grand Prix.

In the end, Mercedes'  Lewis Hamilton scored ten wins for this season after placing first in the race, followed by his teammate Nico Rosberg, who placed 2nd, and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who placed 3rd. Among the other racers survived and finished are Daniil Kvyat, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel (despite a ten-spot grid penalty given for using a fifth engine and dropped to 13th), Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg from Force India, Felipe Massa from Williams, Max Verstappen from Toro Rosso, Fernando Alonso from McLaren, and Romain Grosjean from Lotus.

Onto the overall standings, Hamilton's first place lead improved with 327 points followed by Vettel with 251 points and Rosberg with 247 points.

Only three races remaining for this season and the next race will be in Mexico on the 1st of November.

Report: Toyota may not sell new RAV4 to Japan at all

Japan won't be getting this latest-generation RAV4 at all...

When the fourth-generation Toyota RAV4 was sold in the world market, we have kept wondering why this latest-generation model isn't sold in Japan, even though its latest facelifted model offered a hybrid model fit for the Japanese consumers. Sadly though, looks like Japan won't be getting this latest-generation RAV4 at all because there's a report told that Toyota will stop selling the RAV4 to the Japanese market this Spring. Take note that only the third-generation RAV4 was still available in Japan as of now.

It is expected that it will be replaced by a new compact crossover derived from the C-HR Concept in a few months' time.