Let's Do The News! (July 5, 2016)

- A typhoon named Butchoy has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility Tuesday afternoon. Although not expected to make landfall, the typhoon is expected to enhance due to habagat in the next few days. The eye of the typhoon, according to PAGASA, was located at 1,440km east of Baler, Aurora.

- President Rodrigo Duterte named the five high-ranking officials from the Philippine National Police allegedly involved in illegal drugs. During his speech at the Philippine Air Force's 69th anniversary, Duterte warned officials involved in illegal drugs and named PNP Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo Jr., former NCR Police Office chief Director Joel Pagdilao, Western Visayas regional director Chief Superintendent Bernardo Diaz, Quezon City Police District director Chief Superintendent Edgardo Tinio, and retired police general Vic Loot.

- Vice President Leni Robredo, meanwhile, will hold a leadership position in the Liberal Party as stated by the rules of the political party. Robredo said the LP has yet to meet formally after President Duterte's first SONA on the 25th this month.

- Onto the Brexit aftermath, UKIP leader Nigel Farage, one of the spearheaders of the successful campaign to leave the European Union in the referendum last month, says he is stepping down from his position. Farage told reporters that he has done his bit, and couldn't possibly achieve more than he did in the referendum. He will remain as a member of the European Parliament and continues to work with other European lawmakers skeptical of the EU.

- Onto the Istanbul airport attack, Turkish authorities suspect a network of former Soviet extremists may be behind the attack. Reports told that the organizer behind the attack was Akhmed Chatayev from Chechnya, southern Russia. He is believed to be a leader in the Islamic State group.

- People across the United States of America have celebrated Independence Day under maximum security against potential attacks. Traditional festivities such as fireworks displays and parades are held every year on the 4th of July in honor of America's independence from British tyranny from 1776.

- The iconic Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst will be having a second layout to the Eastern part of the track soon. The Bathurst Regional Council has secured the land needed to make the proposal. The project is expected to cost 50 million dollars, not including the cost of securing the 32-hectare plot of land.

- Cardcaptor Sakura's 20th anniversary celebration continues with two new Nendoroid Co-de variants of Sakura Kinomoto, They're both available to order for 2,778 Yen plus tax and arrives this November.

- Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu from Osomatsu-san joins the Nendoroid range. They're now available to order starting at 3,241 Yen plus tax and deliveries will start this November.

TTFN!!!

The Cute Wall (Volume Fourteen)

Now, the moment of truth is time because it's now time to do...THE CUTE WALL!



It's back, ladies and gents, and today's CUTE WALL is a very special one.

What special?

What? Don't know anything?

No. What is it?

Because of this!

Wait...are these Aqours?!

Aqours it is and who saw the pilot episode of the new Love Live Sunshine anime? Raise your hands...

(audience raising hands)

That's a lot because almost anyone around here watched the new show and I think they're getting warmed up for the Aqours craze.

Yeah, the same way what...μ's did five years ago. So, whose Aqours member should we go first? Chika Takami?

Correct. Chika Takami it is. So, any thoughts about her?

Chika is...um...what can you say about her anyway?

For me, Chika is like Honoka but with a million times more manageable, in my mind.

(audience laughing)

Like Honoka, do you really think Chika's going to be the cutest of the Aqours members?

For me, yes. And I know where to put our new favorite school idol girl in this wall.

Where? Is it...NAKAKA...

Nailed it. It's NAKAKAGIGIL.

(audience laughing, then applause)

All righty, then. So, who's next?

Riko Sakurauchi. The former Tokyo girl who now resides to Uchiura and you can really tell that she used to reside from Tokyo is on her...

(static)

~MINOR TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. PLEASE STAND BY...~

I see. But did you notice more about her when Chika saw her took her clothes off?

(audience murmuring)

Hey. What's up with them?

When Riko took her clothes off and showed off her...um...swimsuit, the fans got their pants wet during bedtime. No. That's only the first episode because pretty soon, there's one Aqours members that will surely wet their pants once and for all during bedtime and that someone really is You.

Me?!

Not you, You Watanabe. The diver of a swim club. If you see You wearing her speedo, that's where the fans' reactions really kicked in as they'll going to wet themselves in bed upon remembering her. Believe it or not, You Watanabe in her speedo is a million times more bedwetting than...(ahem)

Kanan Matsuura in her wet suit?

(audience laughing)

I know that sounds disgusting but she's kinda cute in a normal sort of way while she's not in her speedo.

Same thing goes to Kanan, right?

Not sure about that but oh well.

Hey. Now that we mentioned Riko, You, and Kanan, care to guess where we should put them?

Riko? Well, I'll put her on...NOT CUTE.

(audience laughing)

Seriously?

Uh-huh. You? CUTE for her.  As for Kanan, CUTE!

(audience laughing)

Who's next?

Dia. Dia Kurosawa.

And who is she?

She's the student council president, just like my beloved Elichika.

(audience laughing)

Sadly, unlike Eli Ayase, Dia's quite an aggressive person that you couldn't count on even when she's part of Aqours for one main reason that I can't tell you about it and believe it or not, she has a sister named...

Ruby?

Correct. Ruby is...ahem, a rather opposite of her big sister Dia. She may be timid but she's very reluctant to take things seriously. She's a great friend of Hanamaru Kunikida, a member of a choir band.

Hanamaru looks kinda friendly and nice, by the way, and I agree with the chemistry between Hanamaru and Ruby because they look kinda cute when they're together.

For freshmen students like them, they're quite admirable, I'll give you that.

So, where will you put them?

It's a CUTE for Ruby and Hanamaru. As for Dia...NOT CUTE.

(audience laughing)

NOT CUTE?!

I don't like Dia's personality. Her aggressive demeanor is not well suited enough to be called cute so it's a NOT CUTE for me.

Who's next?

The rich girl. Mari Ohara.

Mari Ohara?

Yes. She's a rich girl whose father is a foreigner and runs a hotel business. You can really tell Mari's the rich girl just by noticing her personal mode of transport.

Judging by her appearance, I'm glad Aqours had a member who is a rich girl just like Maki Nishikino.

Yes, but Maki and Mari are typically different because Mari's got...class. She's classy and elegant, unlike Maki Nishikino, who often gets her hand sweaty on different situations.

(audience laughing)

But whatever the heck Mari is, let's seal her fate in the CUTE spot just in case. So, with eight of the Aqours members had their spots on the wall, that leaves us with...oh no.

What's wrong?

Our worst nightmare.

What is it?

Yoshiko Tsushima.

(audience laughing)

Oh my...

(audience murmuring)

What's wrong with them?

These guys noticed just how scary Yoshiko...er...Yohanne is and why we called her Yohanne because she wanted to be called Yohanne the little devil rather than her real name because some say, she's the walking disaster.

More like a walking time bomb if you ask?

Shhh....You're trying to make it worse. Ever seen her hand pose when they do jankenpon? That's not paper that Yohanne did...that's just...I can't tell what's what but it's got to be scary.

(audience laughing)

Shhh... (whispering) Where should we put this demon in the wall?

(Whispering) Tell you what. To avoid any mishaps that this little devil's going to cause on us, we have to seal her in...the SERIOUSLY NOT CUTE position.

(Whispering) Okay.

TIME FOR THE RECAP!

SERIOUSLY NOT CUTE:

Raichu

Whisper

Minion

Nico Yazawa

Takane Shijou

Azusa Miura

Makoto Kikuchi

Anzu Futaba

Croagunk

Touma Amagase

Shota Mitarai

Hokuto Ijuin

Teru Tendo

Kaoru Sakuraba

Tsubasa Kashikawa

Kyouji Takajou

Minori Watanabe

Kyosuke Aoi

Yusuke Aoi

Shiki Iseya

Haruna Wakazato

Hayato Akiyama

Jun Fuyumi

Natsuki Sakaki

Rui Maita

Chio Hazama

Jiro Yamashita

Treecko

Jill Valentine

Rebecca Chambers

Claire Redfield

Ada Wong

Ashley Graham

Sheva Alomar

Helena Harper

Sherry Birkin

Moira Burton

Natalia Korda

Osomatsu

Karamatsu

Choromatsu

Ichimatsu

Jyuushimatsu

Todomatsu

Miyabi Fujiwara

Risa Shirakaba

Rin Kurosawa

Mia Fey

Rayfa Padma Khura'in

Buttercup

*Yoshiko Tsushima

NOT CUTE:

Dopey

Kwazii

Minion

Amethyst

Rin Hoshizora

Hibiki Ganaha

Minami Nitta

Ranko Kanzaki

Miku Maekawa

Kion

Fuli

Beshte

Bunga

Ono

Pierre

Scraggy

Bulbasaur

Squirtle

Cyndaquil

Turtwig

Sumire Hikami

Juri Kurebayashi

Nono Daichi

Hime Shiratori

Tsubasa Kisaragi

Yuzu Nikaido

Yozora Kasumi

Maya Fey

Pearl Fey

Ema Skye

Trucy Wright

Kay Faraday

Athena Cykes

Blossom

Mirai Kasuga

Shizuka Mogami

Tsubasa Ibuki

Shiho Kitazawa

Umi Kousaka

Julia

Megumi Tokoro

Yuriko Nanao

Serika Hakozaki

Anna Mochizuki

Kana Yabuki

Nao Yokoyama

*Riko Sakurauchi

*Dia Kurosawa

CUTE:

Pichu

Plusle

Minun

Pachirisu

Emolga

Dedenne

Mokona

Mog

Catbug

Bashful

Froakie

Fennekin

Harukasan

Stuffy

Tunip the Vegimal

Minccino

Piplup

Sylveon

Queen Delightful

Axew

Jibanyan

Minion

Serena's Pancham

Umi Sonoda

Eli Ayase

Hanayo Koizumi

Maki Nishikino

Nozomi Tojo

Miki Hoshii

Yukiho Hagiwara

Iori Minase

Ritsuko Akizuki

Anastasia

Kanako Mimura

Chieri Ogata

Miria Akagi

Rika Jougasaki

Kirari Moroboshi

Riina Tada

Rin Shibuya

Mio Honda

Komasan

Komajiro

Grizz

Panda

Ice Bear

Clefairy

Jigglypuff

Chansey

Eevee

Tepig

Snivy

Chikorita

Charmander

Totodile

Torchic

Mudkip

Chimchar

Hinaki Shinjo

Madoka Amahana

Kokone Kurisu

Nina Dojima

Yume Njino

Rola Sakuraba

Laala Manaka

Bubbles

*You Watanabe

*Kanan Matsuura

*Ruby Kurosawa

*Hanamaru Kunikida

*Mari Ohara

NAKAKAGIGIL!!!:

Pikachu

BMO

Bijou

Poof

George

Happy

Chespin

Doc McStuffins

Mabel Pines

Sofia

Cottonee

Minion

Oshawott

Star Butterfly

Honoka Kousaka

Kotori Minami

Haruka Amami

Yayoi Takatsuki

Chihaya Kisaragi

Ami Futami

Mami Futami

Uzuki Shimamura

Noibat

Togepi

Squishy

Ichigo Hoshimiya

Aoi Kiriya

Ran Shibuki

Akari Ozora

Braixen

*Chika Takami

Independence Day Resurgence

The year 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of Independence Day, the movie that crafted the sci-fi disaster flick by storm and who can ever forget the iconic scene when an alien ship destroyed the White House with a powerful beam as well as Will Smith's iconic role as one of the pilots who bravely resisted the alien invasion? In honor of the film's 20th anniversary since the movie premiered in 1996, a brand new Independence Day film has arrived but is it worth waiting?

Independence Day Resurgence

Independence Day Resurgence brings back familiar faces from the 1996 film such as Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, and Vivica A. Fox, as well as new ones such as Liam Hemsworth, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Maika Monroe, Joey King, Jessie Usher, and Sela Ward. Sadly though, Will Smith was not present in this sequel, which makes us very sad. Anyway, in this film, while Earth was reeling from the massive alien attack 20 years ago, the planet has been invaded once again by aliens, only this time, they're getting more and more powerful and growing in numbers that can outnumber Earth's forces. Thanks to newly recovered alien weaponry, world leaders initiated a multiscale defense effort to save Earth but nothing can prepare us for the massive extraterrestrial onslaught and only a handful of heroes can repeat the victory that liberated Earth from its invaders 20 years ago.

Although this movie is more of a 20th anniversary offering to the 1996 flick, Resurgence feels somewhat lacking compared to the original. Even with returning favorites as well as disaster flick master Roland Emmerich directed it and the endless use of special effects to make this movie as awesome as any sci-fi flick we know, it still won't make the cut to bring the magic that the 1996 Independence Day flick had. The lack of Will Smith means that the sequel feels somewhat odd, a bit tad old-fashioned, and a bit tasteless like sipping a cup of water. However, in terms of getting glued till the end of the movie, Resurgence remains its thrilling feel as the original and with some massive earth-shaking moments and cool space-age dogfights in store, this is just enough to blow a cake to Independence Day's 20th birthday.

To conclude, although the sequel lacks the original's formula, it still capable enough to blow anyone who got glued watching it until the film's ending.

My rating: 3.1 out of 5.

Top Gear S23 Finale

The Series 23 finale of "brand new" Top Gear gives a fresh send-off to the revamped show with cars, cars, and cars, starting with Chris Harris tries out the new Honda NSX and then handed to The Stig to set a 1:17.6 lap time round the Top Gear track. Then, Rory Reid checks out the brand new Ford Mustang. Meanwhile, Matt LeBlanc tries out Porsche's hardcore 911R with enthusiasm. And lastly, Chris Evans tastes nostalgia with restored and modernized MGB vintage sports car.

In Star In A Rallycross car, comedian Greg Davies and racing driver Patrick Dempsey lapped round the track in 2:27.1 and 2:12, all in wet conditions.

Because this is the season finale, the finale ends with the presenters trying to leap the rallycross Mini the longest in tve high-jump part of the rallycross section of the track.

Well, after six episodes aired, it's hard to say whether the "brand new" Top Gear is acceptable than the old one but due to Chris Evans' "unacceptable" behavior, feels like the future is shady for BBC's hit motoring show but with Rory Reid and Chris Harris spicing up the show and a plethora of cool cars shown, the new Top Gear feels not so bad to look at but not good enough to be patched from Evans' behavior.

Good thing is that after the show, Chris Evans announced that he's leaving Top Gear for good, meaning that with Evans out of the picture, the future looks bright for the "brand new" Top Gear for the next few terms but for how long? Only time will tell...

28th Annual Pacific Northwest Historics Vintage Races

The roar of nostalgic past has swept through the Independence Day weekend at the Pacific Raceway in Kent, Washington, for the 28th annual Pacific Northwest Historics VINTAGE RACES, which was presented by BMW Northwest dealership. It was held from the 1st and 3rd of July, 2016, and in this event, they've honored the 50th anniversary of Corvette Racing as well as the 70th anniversary reunion of the legendary Cooper Racing Cars.

Anyway, I managed to take some snapshots during the event just to have the fun of it...



Full Gallery: https://www.flickr.com/gp/leopauldelr/rr0D4L

My video:

Let's Do The News! (July 4, 2016)

- President Rodrigo Duterte's first Executive Order was issued on Monday in which seeks to reengineer the Office of the President. Duterte cited Presidential Decree 1416 which provides that the president shall have continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the national government. The 12 agencies are tasked to evaluate existing poverty reduction programs and formulate project that seek to improve people's lives of the most important sectors of the society.

- Vice President Leni Robredo made a courtesy visit to President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacanang Palace on Monday afternoon. This is the second time the two new top officials met together since the AFP turnover ceremony last week.

- The Federal Bureau of Investigation have interviewed presumptive Democratic presidentiable Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State. The 3-and-a-half hour interview took place on Saturday at the FBI HQ in Washington. Later, in a telephone interview with US media, Clinton is welcomed to do the FBI interview, which her side described as voluntary,

- The terrorist attack at a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is drawing condemnation from the international community. Last Friday, an armed group attacked the restaurant and about 20 bodies were found at the site, including seven Japanese people, nine Italians, an American, and an Indian, reports told. An organization claiming as an affiliate of ISIS claimed responsibility.

- French police have used an explosive to blow up a car parked illegally near a stadium where France and Iceland met for the Euro 2016 quarterfinals. The officers searched the car after the blast but nothing found. The blast near Paris caused jitters among fans arriving at the Stade de France stadium for the key game on Sunday.

- Turkish authorities have decided to hold 13 suspects in connection with the Istanbul airport attack last week. The suspects include three foreigners, who were among the 29 people captured after the bombing and shooting that killed 44.

- 125 people died at a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq. The bomb exploded on Sunday morning in the Karrada district, where many Shia Muslims live. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

- Russia's Olympic Committee has appealed a ban on its athletics team from the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Olympics over doping. The legal department head of the committee told Russia's state-run news agency on Sunday that her organization and 68 athletes filed the appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

- 2013's hit anime series, Attack on Titan, returns for a brand new season this Spring 2017.

- D3Publisher announced a new and rather bizarre game titled Idol Death Game TV. Why not? Because this PSVita game, slated for its October 20 release, is an action adventure game about idols ended on a battle royale for the center position.

TTFN!!!

Disney's The BFG

Forged by the collaborative efforts of Roald Dahl, Walt Disney, and Steven Spielberg, the classic tale of "The BFG" has come to life in this whimsical mix of live-action and CGI effects that will captivate the whole family in the long summer weekend.

Disney's The BFG

Starring Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, and Rebecca Hall, The BFG is about a little orphan girl named Sophie who had a chance encounter with a giant and then set off to an adventure that is far beyond our imagination. Throughout their adventure, their newly found friendship are tested when she heard that giants like him are flush-bunking off to her world to devour a few nice children and it's up to the unlikely duo to stop them once and for all.

Because The BFG is based on the works of children's books author Roald Dahl, the man behind other fantasy greats like James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Matilda, fantasy is the forte of this film as this film wants to capture young children with some unforgettable moments that will touch the hearts of many. It's like they're living in a fairy tale but it's beyond a grander scale for the whole family to witness it. With the combination of Disney and Steven Spielberg, this one-of-a-kind collaborative movie brings "movie magic" to a whole new meaning and The BFG never fails to impress as a family-friendly movie big enough to become one of the most heart-warming family movies of the summer. Watch this film until the very end and you will never deny just how beautiful this fantasy movie is.

Thanks to such a unique collaboration, Disney's The BFG is going to be an instant classic for those who have witnessed the story of a little girl and a big friendly giant setting off to humongous adventures big enough to be captivated by kids and by kids once upon a time.

My rating: 4.3 out of 5.