Let's Do The News! (July 18, 2013)

(cheers and applause)

JC: Hang on...hang on...Did you just said "Spirit Animal"

JM: Yeah. I said it... Literally, I don't know what a "spirit animal" is...

(audience laughing)

RH: Ok...what is a spirit animal anyway?

JM: Well, I don't know. Whenever I hear someone saying "Mabel is my spirit animal", "BMO is my spirit animal", "Karen Gillan is my spirit animal", "Perry is my spirit animal" blah blah blah... I'm really really confused because I really really don't know what that is.

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, you know what else is confusing?

JM: What?

JC: Us doing the news!

(audience laughing)

RH: Yeah and yesterday we talked about how adorable BMO was and yes, Adventure Time's trusty little gizmo was definitely one of the cutest cartoon characters as seen on TV.

JC: Yes I know. BMO is super cute for an all-purpose gizmo. Anyway, I just saw something in the internet that PBS' Idea Channel posted a video about what if BMO is expressive of feminism. Oh come on, BMO is neither a little living boy or a real baby girl, even though its talking to itself at the mirror. Anyway, here's the clip that sums it up...



(audience laughing)

JC: He said "her"! So that means...BMO's a girl! (laughing)

JM: Yeah right...(laughing) Wait a minute! What do you mean BMO's a girl? Oh come on, you know BMO doesn't had a gender like most machines and things do. So, why is there an article about feminism and BMO? You know BMO was just a...machine. A robot! A video game machine! A gadget! Whatever!

(audience laughing)

JC: Yeah. That clip doesn't make any sense. What does BMO had to do with feminism? This what the same thing what if Doctor Who is a religion but never mind about that. Let's move on...

(audience laughing)

RH: To what? Should I play "Little Brothers" again or do we really move on?

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, summer means more conventions and this week sees one of the biggest conventions of the year. Yep, it's San Diego Comic Con and this year means more because this year packs more and more for the geeks who are willing to attend the convention. There's also SDCC 2013 exclusive merchandises from one of their sponsors like for example...

RH: Well, there's a BMO plushie available exclusively at this event, you know. You might really wanna go there for that...

(audience laughing)

JC: Possibly but aside from that, there's loads and loads of other exclusive merchandises, especially from Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Orphan Black. Interested in those?

(yes!)

RH: My oh my! I can see some wide audience here! YEAHUH!

JM: Ow! Why you...

(punch!)

RH: Whoa!!!!

(bang!)

RH: Ugh!!!!

(audience laughing)

RH: Ow...that's even more painful than Regular Show's Rigby getting punched in the game of punchies...

(audience laughing)

JM: Punchies?

RH: Yeah. Punchies! And that hurts...a lot!

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, enough of the punchies stuff or things get messy around here. Okay, does anyone around here still remember a classic cartoon from the last decade called Cardcaptor Sakura? It's one of CLAMP's creations and it's one of my childhood anime crush that caused me some headlines...

(audience laughing)

RH: Yeah right. It's that anime that caused us trouble.  It's the one where everyone around us calling us names and embarrass us on front.

JM: Yeah and we hate them.

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, at the upcoming Comiket 84, which will be held at the Tokyo Big Sight from August 10 to 12, 2013, a merchandise company will offer some new merchandise from that classic CLAMP masterpiece we all love to hate because of our childhood trauma...

(audience laughing)

JC: They said that they'll be offering a paper bag, two clear file folders, two IC card stickers, a tumbler mug, a "jumbo" fan, and a bath poster for 3,000 yen (about US$30). Also, they'll be offering a B2-size Card Captor Sakura tapestry featuring a new image for 4,000 yen (US$40). So, if you were on that event, would you take the risk?

(audience laughing)

JM: Nope. Afraid not. I have had it with that late 90's magical girl anime show with the theme song that goes "na na na na na na na, na na na na na na, na na na na na na na...."

(audience laughing)

FPV GT

JC: Oh wait! I picked up some bad news! And this time it's another bad news from Ford of Australia. Remember the time when Ford announced to stop Australian production as well as the Falcon in 2016 and move on importing Ford models to the upside down country? Well, there's some more bad news because FPV, which Ford is what Holden is to HSV, will be closing its doors for good next year.

JM: Wait...FPV? Ford Performance Vehicles? Never heard of it...

JC: Yeah James, it's because it's an Australian thing, like the Vauxhall VXR8 thing we had which is Australian-made. Anyway, says here that if the final generation Ford Falcon will be launched next year, it will be the end of the FPV brand for good. So...um...do you remember the FPV cars, guys? Guys?

(audience laughing)

RH: Oh wait! Sorry about that. I don't know more about FPV. I only know about the VXR8 thingy because it's a Holden HSV. We had no further knowledge about Aussie Fords.

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, with Ford stopping Australian production, it seems that Ford's Aussie range will be filled with the Taurus, Explorer, and the next generation Mustang, which means, the lineup's too American than being Aussie, if you know what I mean?

(audience laughing)

JC: And that is the end of they news!

Turbo

Turbo

You think all snails move slower than what you think? You think they're dull? Boring? Well, you might as well think twice because say hello to a snail unlike any other.

Meet Turbo (played by actor Ryan Reynolds). He's just your average garden snail but he has a big dream; to be at the Indy 500 race so he can be just like his hero, Guy Gagné. Every morning, he practices to be fast but it's tough accepting life that he's just a snail and what a snail goes, a snail goes. One night, the strangest thing was happened to Turbo's life. First, the moving truck swept him away from the highway and then he got landed on a modified car. When the driver kicked in, Turbo got suck into the engine and then, the nitrous from the car absorbed through Turbo's body.

After such a freak event, Turbo noticed something. His eyes flashes like a car light, he can trigger a car alarm sound in case of something Turbo bumps into and amazingly...SLO NO MO! He gained the power of speed, meaning he is as fast as an indy car! Later on, he was caught by a man named Tito. Tito and his pals race snails for fun but Turbo blew them away. Turbo's superspeed benefited Tito and now, he wants Turbo to be at the Indy 500. With the competition including his lifelong hero Guy on his sights, can Turbo's superspeed blow them away up to his last drop?

Well, this family movie is definitely one of the most unique of any other Dreamworks cartoon movies such as Madagascar and HTTYD and it really packs a star studded cast of Ryan Reynolds as Theo/Turbo, Paul Giamatti as Chet, Samuel L. Jackson as Whiplash, Snoop Dogg as Smoove Move, Maya Rudolph as Burn,  Ben Schwartz as Skidmark, Mike Bell as White Shadow, Michael Peña as Tito, Luis Guzman as Angelo, Bill Hader as Guy Gagne, Ken Jeong as Kim Ly and Michelle Rodriguez as Paz. If any ten year olds willing to watch this movie for the whole summer, best to consider this because what the kids really want for the movie is a cute character that redefines himself in the name of speed, well almost because this is a kids movie. Those kids really want to ask their parents to be with them while watching Turbo.

Anyway, the storyline is not quite bad but sadly, it doesn't had the thrills that most viewers consider nor is the ideal chemistry between cute and cool because here at Turbo, they just don't value the meaning of cute. It's all about being a speed freak. If those little tikes watched Turbo, they would go "WOW! TURBO IS COOL!" but it's not just how it makes it cool, it's what it makes it quick.

It maybe not quite a family-friendly substitute to any Fast and Furious movies but this isn't about fast machines. Turbo is all about a fast snail and his new friends willing to help him fulfill his dream to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Although, Turbo may not quite as good as any other kids movies of 2013 but it sure leaves some moral lessons at the end and hopefully after you watched the whole film, heh, hope you'll be inspired by Turbo. Remember that, kids. If you want to be Turbo good, there's nothing too big or too small for you to dream. Very soon, Turbo the snail can become your spirit animal to the very end...Yep, he's your perfect spirit animal like everyone else whose their spirit animals can be their favorite characters.

Let's Do The News! (July 17, 2013)

JM: Now, let's do...THE NEWS!

RH: Yeah, the news and oh! Next week, there's the must have ADVENTURE TIME ENCYCLOPAEDIA coming and it's going to be a must for every AT fan worldwide. Here's the cover...

The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia

(oohh)

RH: Yep, next week, it's going to be at your nearest bookstore and it has everything you need to know about your favorite AT characters. From Finn the Human, Jake the Dog, Princess Bubblegum, Ice King, LSP, Lady Rainicorn, Marceline, BMO, they had them all. They even explain about the destinations and things to do in the fantasy land of Ooo...

JC: Yeah, that's a lot to read for an Adventure Time fan and the one thing that amuses me a lot is when I saw a sneak preview of the upcoming AT Encyclopaedia, there's something about an instruction manual about BMO. Yep. The BMO instruction manual is in this book and take a look...

JM: Uh-huh, that's the instructional manual for BMO.

RH: Yeah but why would a super adorable...um...robot...machine...video game...thingy had a manual we didn't notice?

JC: That's the point and it says here (Ahem) "CONGRATULATIONS! You are now the proud owner of a cutting-edge, handheld, mash-up, multi-user gaming device with individual simultaneous computron controllers and Vectrex reverse-prefix modulators". And what bothers me the most on the intro was those writings I can't understand what it is...

JM: Uh, actually the ones below were...(whisper) Korean. They're hangul letters on it which translates to the one you just said.

JC: Exactly, and also there was this procedures about assembling a BMO...

(audience laughing)

JM: These are the assembling instructions?!

JC: Exactly and what I didn't notice that I can see some taekwondo references on it and wait a minute. Do you really have to resort to some martial arts to assemble a machine you've newly bought?

(audience laughing)

JC: I mean look at the instructions. It's so WIBBLY WOBBLY TIMEY WIMEY! I can't understand what it just said! It goes...Zip! Whir! Buzz! And look at it...it says that BMO is more than just a video game machine...it's a mobile friend-simulator which became part of Finn and Jake's daily lives!

(audience laughing)

JM: Yeah, Jeremy. But despite all of these, BMO's one of my favorites. Although, we'd never know what was it's gender. We don't know if its a boy or a girl because like most machines, it doesn't have a gender...

JC: James May, have you seen the graybles episode? The first one? There was that part that BMO's talking to itself by the mirror and then BMO said (ahem) (imitates BMO) "I'm a little living boy!"

(audience laughing)

JC: Here's a short clip...

(audience laughing)

RH: Oh, how cute BMO just said...Peeing! I can't believe I'm so fell in love with this talking gizmo! I just wanna hug BMO so bad! I mean, can we see that again?

JC: What? The whole clip?

RH: No! The peeing part!

Peeing!

(audience saying awwww)

RH: HOW CUTE BMO IS!!! That's it! I'm so in love with BMO.

JC: Yeah...That makes me wonder...When BMO just said "I'm a little living boy", that made me puzzled. Is BMO wished to be a real boy?

JM: Uh no. Sadly, BMO's turned into a little living girl by the name of Candy from the Gravity Falls TV show, who was one of Mabel's friends.

(audience laughing)

JC: You know...I kinda felt sorry about that BMO character throughout the whole season. With its innocent smile, feels like my heart's warming.

(ooohh)

JM: What are you talking about, Jeremy?

JC: It seems that when the first time I saw Adventure Time, I thought, my oh my! Isn't BMO one of the cutest characters of the show? Although BMO, like any other machines, is incapable of all emotions, BMO does had a lot of emotions. Whenever I see BMO in most AT episodes, I sometimes got squealed over BMO's cuteness. I mean look at BMO...

BMO

JC: For a toy like BMO, it's more than that. BMO's more cuter than a swarm of Adipose and best of all, if there was a BMO stuff toy, I would be glad to hug one just for once. You know what...I wonder...

("Little Brothers" playing)

♫

Little Brother, 

I remember when you first came home

then came another...little brother of our own.

Even when you break my toys,

You will always be my

Little brothers cause you're younger,

We're related and you're boys.

Even when you're making too much noise,

You will always be my

little brothers cause you're younger,

We're related and you're boys.

♫

RH: ♫ Little Brothers....Little Brothers...♫

JC: Uh, Hammond? You kinda bumming me out with the song there...and hey! Who put this bowl of onions here?

(audience laughing)

RH: You know, I got to say, I really like BMO because it's cute but I disagree because the only character I know to be more cuter than Adventure Time's BMO...was Phineas and Ferb's Fireside Girl Isabella!

(audience laughing)

JC: Wait...what?

RH: Yep. I just bought an Isabella plushie at the Disney Store and pretty soon, it's going to be like the good old thermite experiment from Brainiac.

JC: Let me guess, you want to show if Isabella's cuteness can outcute any cute character especially the Adipose from Doctor Who and BMO from Adventure Time. Hmmm...

RH: Anyway, I'm gonna see who's adorable...ah ah...atchoo!

JM: Aw! You sneezed like a kitten!

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, while on the subject about the Asiana crash at San Francisco, there's one article I find it to be noticing because there was a news report about the names of the pilots from the Asiana flight 214 crash and the names were...

JC: Wha...those aren't names! Their racist remarks! I mean, are you sure these are the names of the pilots from the Asiana crash at San Fran?! Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Lo, Ho Lee Fuk, Bang Ding Ow. Are those names? They're racist remarks! What kind of a news report was that?

JM: Well maybe when the NTSB confirmed those, it turns out it's nothing more of a prank done by some unpaid intern. Besides, Asiana is an Korean airline and those fake names were...Chinese. Anyway, while the TV network from San Fran behind this report is issuing an apology, I just heard that Asiana's suing that network for racial slur. Talk about a chain reaction there...

JC: Oh...(bleep) them...

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, there's a brand new S63 AMG coming and it's based on the new model. Look...

2014 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG

JC: It has a 5.5L V8 turbo engine, develops 585HP of power and 900Nm of torque. It's more powerful than the supercharged Jaguar XJR so, got any remarks for this new model?

JM: Ho Lee (bleep)

RH: Bang! Ding! Ow!

(audience laughing)

JC: Yep. I heard you loud and clear. And that's the end of the news!

2014 Suzuki Swift

2014 Suzuki Swift

2014 Suzuki Swift interior

Suzuki's Swift hatchback is now on its 2014 Model Year and for this updated version, we'd expect a revised front bumper, L-shaped LED daytime running lights on the foglamp housings, fresh 16-inch wheels, LED-type high-level brake lamp, and get this...

Dual Jet Engine

The 2014 Suzuki Swift features Suzuki's newly developed DUAL JET ENGINE which balances performance and economy, Suzuki claims. Well, what's it all about Suzuki's new DUAL JET ENGINE? Suzuki implemented the dual injection system on its 1.2L petrol engine and it works by increasing vaporization, making combustion more efficient. It channels fuel to two intake ports instead of only one per cylinder.

Aside from that, Suzuki's ENE-CHARGE system and ECO-COOL was also implemented for the 2014 Suzuki Swift. In case you're new here...

ENE-CHARGE provides a regenerative braking system that converts kinetic energy during deceleration into electricity stored from its lithium-ion battery, which is used to power the vehicle's electrical components while ECO-COOL is an air-conditioning system that keeps cool air flowing even when the engine was shut off by its idling stop system, relying on the fan that blows air over a cold sink in the aircon's evaporator into the cabin.

With the DUAL JET ENGINE and the ENE-CHARGE, fuel economy is now up to 26.4kmpl, making it the most fuel-efficient of the 1.2L class.

Oh yeah, Swift models using the DUAL JET ENGINE and ENE-CHARGE can be distinguished by the DJE suffix after the grade names XG, XL, and XS. Also, DJE models can expect a speedometer similar to the current Honda CR-V as well.

The 2014 Suzuki Swift starts from 1,279,950 to 1,787,100 Japanese Yen.

So, what do you think about the DUAL JET Swift?

Scoop: http://carview.yahoo.co.jp/news/newmodel/188367/

URL: http://www.suzuki.co.jp/car/swift/index.html

Happy 20th birthday, Suzuki Wagon R!

It was September 3, 1993 when the first generation Suzuki Wagon R went on sale in Japan and I can't hardly believe that for 20 years, the Suzuki Wagon R gained five generations. Just look at all the regenerations Japan's no.1 kei car had gained...

First generation Wagon R (1993-1998)

Second generation Wagon R (1998-2003)

Third generation Wagon R (2003-2008)

Fourth generation Wagon R (2008-2012)

Fifth Generation Suzuki Wagon R (2012-present)

To celebrate Suzuki Wagon R's 20th anniversary, a special edition Wagon R 20th Anniversary Special was offered and for this special model, the exterior features a special front grille plated in black and comes with specially designed 15-inch aluminum wheels. A special "20th Anniversary" badge is located on the side view as well. On the interior, they've added a special front armrest box and mech inside door handle to make it a bit unique.

Suzuki Wagon R 20th Anniversary Special Model

Oh yeah, starting now, the fuel economy of the Wagon R, with its ENE-CHARGE and ECO-COOL, has now improved to 30kmpl and how's that possible for the fuel economy upgrade? There's an answer: a reduction of frictional resistance of the engine as well as the reduction of air resistance! That's right! Also new is the new feature that you will notice: a new Radar Brake Support system with a clever system that can automatically brake the car in a near-collision scenario. This isn't a first time a kei car had that clever safety feature because last year, the facelifted fifth-generation Daihatsu Move, it's target rival remember, has that kind of feature.

So, with the Wagon R's fuel economy now updated to 30kmpl, that means, that's even better than the facelifted Move's 29kmpl fuel economy! Wow, seems that both Suzuki and Daihatsu are throwing everything they got in the name of fuel economy. It seems that both Suzuki and Daihatsu are in the fuel-economy war right now...

But still, this was the Wagon R's birthday wish; to be more fuel efficient than the facelifted Daihatsu Move as well as the new Mitsubishi eK Wagon. Really? Let's compare:

2013MY Suzuki Wagon R - 28.8kmpl
2013MY Daihatsu Move - 29.0kmpl
2014MY Mitsubishi ek Wagon - 29.2kmpl
2014MY Suzuki Wagon R - 30.0kmpl

So, by a long margin. the updated version trounced both the Move and the eK Wagon in its class. Now that's how the Wagon R's 20th birthday wish supposed to be.

Happy 20th birthday, Suzuki Wagon R!

Let's Do The News! (July 16, 2013)

River's Diary

Okay, River's Diary, tell me what's going on around here...I'm bored as a fudge...

- The return of the Datsun brand kicks off with the maiden model of Nissan's low cost brand, called the Datsun GO, which will go on sale in India next year. First glance, it was based on the Nissan March and it has the same 1.2L engine from the March while mated with a 5-speed gearbox.

2015 Datsun GO

- Hmmm...While I don't know what's going on with the staff behind the upcoming Mad Max Fury Road film, I just heard that the famed Mad Max movie franchise gets its first ever video game for next year.

- Mercedes-Benz teased an upcoming AMG model based on the new S-Class W222.

- Skoda revealed a new member of the Skoda Rapid range, called the Spaceback and it is essentially a hatchback version of the new Skoda Rapid low-cost sedan.

2014 Skoda Rapid Spaceback

- Texas-based tuner, Hennessey Performance, are planning to upgrade the 2014 Corvette Stingray by giving its LT1 engine some supercharged boost up to 700bhp. They're also working on a 1000hp variant as well.

- I'd never realized that Toyota USA collaborated with Nickelodeon for a special SpongeBob concept SUV based on the...um...something that is not available in Japan, it's a 10-letter name, starts with H and ends with the R. (What was it again? I can't tell you that) Anyway, it was unveiled on July 13, during SpongeBob Day at the Padres vs. Giants game in San Diego, California and the Japanese carmaker says that it will "hit the road for a 'Happy Driving!' promotional tour throughout the U.S., bringing SpongeBob’s special brand of fun to seven locations across the country"

TTFN!

Suzuki -Third Generation- MR Wagon (MF33S) Wit

It's been two years since Suzuki launched the third-generation MR Wagon, which I think it's the geekiest of the kei cars targeted for the geeks. Although, the front view looks kinda disappointing to me because it kinda looks like it's been in the state of panic, what's redeeming to me is the fancy gizmo on the interior called the TOUCH PANEL AUDIO in which I can do the swiping on the touch panel.

Wait a minute, if the face of the current MR Wagon wasn't quite stylish, how about adding a different kind of cocktail for the current MR Wagon? Yep, it's time to welcoming back the stylish version of the MR Wagon called the MR Wagon Wit.

2014 Suzuki MR Wagon Wit

Well, for the new MR Wagon Wit, it seems that the disappointing front view as seen on the standard model has been wiped out from its misery and now it kinda looks like an...uh...honey I shrunk the Nissan Elgrand. Really, this new MR Wagon Wit now looks like a mini-Elgrand to us? Yep, it really looks like a Nissan Elgrand to us and it seems that the new front view really wants us to play some optical illusion tricks to us. Feels like we're living in the fun house without the house prefix...and the fun. Sorry.

2014 Suzuki MR Wagon Wit

So, implementing for the 2014 model year, both the normal MR Wagon and the brand new Wit model gained Suzuki's ENE-CHARGE and ECO-COOL as implemented on last year's new Wagon R. In case you are wondering how ENE-CHARGE and ECO-COOL works, do you want me to sound like James May? If not, you know the drill. If yes, let's make it shorter, okay?

Suzuki's ENE-CHARGE provides a regenerative braking system that converts kinetic energy during deceleration into electricity stored from its lithium-ion battery, which is used to power the vehicle's electrical components while ECO-COOL is an air-conditioning system that keeps cool air flowing even when the engine was shut off by its idling stop system, relying on the fan that blows air over a cold sink in the aircon's evaporator into the cabin. Get it now? Good.

Anyway, thanks to the ENE-CHARGE and ECO-COOL, both the normal MR Wagon and the MR Wagon Wit can accumulate a fuel consumption based on JC08 Mode standards of 30kmpl. I repeat, 30KMPL. 3-0-K-M-P-L. Surprisingly, that matches the fuel consumption of the current Wagon R with ENE-CHARGE and that's not all because starting now, a turbocharged 660C DOHC VVT engine is now an exclusivity for the Wit and with the promising 27kmpl, the turbocharged Wit is about 1kmpl more than the turbocharged Spacia Custom. You heard that right.

2014 Suzuki MR Wagon Wit interior

2014 Suzuki MR Wagon Wit interior

Of course, on the interior, you can still expect the same peripherals from the standard model as well as the available Touch Panel Audio which I find this gizmo to be my favorite until the Peugeot 208's touch screen struck me through but for the new Wit, having learned its lesson from its big sister, the Alto Lapin Chocolat, the interior is now sporting a two-tone color for both the seats and the panel so you can expect a fair bit of class and glamour lurking through the new Wit.

So, if the normal MR Wagon's not quite perky for the geeks, would you consider one? Well, because of all of that Holy Guacamole around here, the new MR Wagon Wit starts at around 1,290,450 Japanese Yen. Simple as that,

Photo: Suzuki Motor Corporation