Let's Do The News! (July 21, 2013)

River's Diary

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

- Announced on San Diego Comic-Con 2013, it's the Man of Steel vs. The Dark Knight because director Jack Snyder announced that he'll be making a "Superman and Batman" film, due this 2015. While both Superman and Batman are superheroes in the DC universe, they are arch-rivals in DC's "Dark Knight" comics. So, Man of Steel or The Dark Knight? Whose side are you on?

- Season 4 of The Walking Dead is coming this October...but on the meantime, The Walking Dead collaborated with Hyundai Motor Company for the special Walking Dead Chop Shop app. This special app brings fans to create their own Zombie Survival Machine using either the Veloster, the Genesis Coupe, or the Maxcruz (Santa Fe LWB) as their basis. BUILD. DEFEND. SURVIVE. Find out at http://walkingdeadchopshop.com/

- The final piece of the Kia Motors x DC Comics collaboration as part of the WE CAN BE HEROES campaign is the Kia Sorento Justice League edition. It was showcased at this year's San Diego Comic Con.

Kia Sorento Justice League edition

- Watch what happens when Matt Smith arrived on this year's San Diego Comic Con in a Bart Simpson mask...

- Just arrived in the mailbox: It's that Isabella plushie I just ordered. Cute isn't it?

Whatcha doin?

...now we'll see who's adorable...(sneeze like a kitten)

- Just a word of advice: OTAKON, the convention of the otaku generation: by fans, for fans, returns at the Baltimore Convention Center this August 9 to 11, 2013. Are you ready?

TTFN!

Mercedes-Benz S-Class W222

The song that goes "The World Is All One", it really states that this world is yours for the taking and do whatever you want. The poser phrase YOLO or You Only Live Once, it's true because as humans only had one life, there's no second chances...almost. We have make the most out of our lives. SWAG...is somewhat the poser phrase that was best describe to brag everyone with something you had, making everyone jealous.

If the SWAG term is made to make the envy of everyone, can you brag this kind of swag?

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Welcome everyone to the brand new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, it's the newest incarnation of Mercedes' flagship 4-door saloon car that promises to be better than the best. Yep, the best Mercedes-Benz saloon ever made, now made even better...but really? Did they made it better? Well, let's make it boring first, a bit more James May-ish for the explanation of this brand new model.

Anyway, for this new model, the design is getting a bit noticed, a bit more orthodox, and a bit more...2020-ish because what this looks like...a car from the future, today! Yes, it looks a bit more like the CLS-Class except bigger and then the rear lamps look similar from the soon-to-be-axed CL-Class. Seems that when it comes to designing this car, it supposed to inspire from its rivals from Audi or BMW or the Hyundai Equus, or the Jaguar XJ or the Lexus LS. It's a good thing it wasn't quite as Asian as an Equus or the LS because from every angle, it looks striking to uphold. I'm sensing...Henry Sy taking a break at the Solaire with the competition like poker pets. Poker pets, huh? Haven't seen a painting of dogs playing poker? Huh?

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class interior

Whereas the interior of the Jaguar XJ draws some inspiration from a South of France yacht, the new interior looks more heavily inspired from a private jet. This is like a private jet minus the jet and it's not made to fly. He he he... Anyway. when it's on, it's about as futuristic as a spaceship. You feel like Jean Luc Picard in command while cruising this car on the city or on the highway. Travelling from the country club or the five-star hotel or the five-star restaurant or everything that rich people tend to hang out, this car doesn't fail to impress everyone, especially in the back because hey! This new model's longer than the previous model because from now, being long is the basis and that's fine if you live in Asian countries like Brunei or Malaysia or Singapore or Thailand or Japan or South Korea or the Philippines or in China because for this new model, space in the back matters most than anything else. In Europe and North America, most S-Class models are used to be driven whereas in Asia, it's a chauffeur-driven car so what Mercedes-Benz did to the new model is focused on the LWB model (V222) than the standard-wheelbase model (W222)

It's a first-class jetliner for the world-class people because for this new S-Class, you feel like a boss in every turn and this is one kind of swag you would reconsider for. Yeah, check out that swag...He he he...It's going to be a trouble when you see one parking to your college and that's going to be a cheesy situation, thinking that there's a wealthy student studying here...

Brilliant I should say but for this new model, Mercedes-Benz set standards in the comfort genre because the new model comes with AIRMATIC suspension because not only it does ride beautifully on the city streets but it's as sportier as a hundred thousand pound exotic on the open roads. This is getting a bit too personal for me but it seems that with this new kind of suspension system, Mercedes-Benz really pulled it off, making the best premium saloon car made even better. You would wanna tell that to your "world's best boss" unless someone's had the "world's best boss" mug in his possession. He he...

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

For everything that makes it "best", there are some things that aren't the best because by the time it's available, the new S-Class comes with the host of engine choices like the 3.0L diesel V6 engine, a 3.5L V6 Hybrid engine which is a bit dreary for the seasoned ones but effective for the eco-mentalists, and then there's the 4.7L V8 engine, all mated with a 7G-Tronic Plus gearbox. I'm afraid that both the engines and the gearbox haven’t yet caught up with the rest of it but that's not the least of the problems here because in the future, a 9-speed gearbox will be planted to this next year and that's going to be a total overload. It's like what's the difference of shifting the normal way, shifting the FnF way, or shifting the drunk way. Well, the FnF way is too much. He he he...

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Anyway, despite all the "buts", the new model did set the benchmarks when it comes to refinement, safety, technology, passenger comfort and driver appeal. It's like when you had this cute little green boxy gimzo thingy does all the stuff for you and oh, just don't leave it alone, okay? It does some weird stuff around here.

For the pricing, the new S-Class starts at 79,790 Euros, that's about nearer to the V6 diesel-powered Jaguar XJ's pricing and wow, what to expect? Well, doesn't matter though. With such benchmarks set, the all new S-Class, in standard or LWB form, is what makes Mercedes-Benz great. Remember, das beste oder nicht. That's the slogan of the Mercedes-Benz brand. Don't forget that. Well, even though the performance was the demerits, I still find the new S-Class to be more of a sovereignty rather than being a casual premium sedan. This is probably one of the best premium sedans of the year and it's on my book.

Available colors: schwarz, anthrazitblau metallic, cavansitblau metallic, diamantsilber metallic, diamantweiß metallic BRIGHT, iridiumsilber metallic, magnetitschwarz metallic, obsidianschwarz metallic, palladiumsilber, peridotbraun metallic, and rubinschwarz metallic.

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Let's Do The News! (July 20, 2013)

JM: Now let's do the news and...ahem...GREAT NEWS!

JC: What?

JM: The Dacia Duster...

(audience laughing)

JM: The Dacia Duster...get's a special edition Goodwood Festival of Speed Special Black Edition!!!

JC: Great...

(audience laughing hysterically)

JC: Anyway, there's so much madness going on around this year's San Diego Comic Con. Particularly, the BBC's doing big stuff for this year's Comic Con because of Sherlock, Doctor Who, and Orphan Black. I was wondering, how big are those shows when it comes to popularity? I mean come on, both Sherlock and Doctor Who are cult classics but the newcomer Orphan Black, which stars Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning and the Clone Club...hmmm...No wonder this new show which aired the whole Spring became an instant cult phenomenon since...um...Copper.

RH: Well, when it comes to fandoms, they think big. Very big. Big as a lolly...

(audience laughing)

RH: Oh and since this is Matt Smith's final appearance to this year's Comic Con before his regeneration this Christmas, I was getting skeptical about his new look. I mean look at him now...

Matt Smith

(audience laughing)

RH: Who is he? That's not Matt Smith! That's some...um...

JC: Calm down Hammond. That's Matt Smith. The Eleventh Doctor. For the final time. During the press conference, it seems that fans have getting a bit saddened about his departure but well, since there's a saying that "when you gotta go, you gotta go". Matt's moving on to bigger and brighter things and hey, just wanna say "hi" though...

(audience laughing)

JC: Oh, yeah! You know who else are present? Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue, and Mark Gatiss at the Sherlock/Doctor Who BBC America booth. Also, David Bradley's present thanks to the upcoming biopic titled Adventures in Space and Time, which was directed by Sherlock's Mark Gatiss, and David Bradley's playing the role as William Hartnell, the first Doctor Who in the history of television. So um...looking forward?

(yes!)

JC: Ooh! I can see a fangirl fangirling!

(audience laughing)

RH: Hey! Guess what? Look what I had in my iPhone!

JC: What is it Richie?

(audience laughing)

RH: Richie? Why are you calling me Richie? Anyway look at my new app!

It's BMO time!

JC: (spits) Wha? You got a BMO app?

RH: Yeah! Looks like with an app like that, I finally had myself a BMO! I even set an alarm clock when I want to wake myself up and look at it...so cute! I just wanna poke and tickle BMO so many times! Ohhh... (baby talk)

(audience laughing)

JM: Anyway, enough baby talking to your BMO app. I was just wondering...what did I tell you about haul videos?

RH: Wha...what do you mean? I didn't do something about "haul" stuff...

JM: Then...how can you explain that?

(audience laughing)

RH: Wha...

JC: Don't lie. I saw you holding a stuff toy of both Phineas and Ferb. You're making a "haul" video out of it. You know that...

(audience laughing)

JM: Oh and Richard...I heard that your Isabella plushie you've just ordered...do you think it's coming next week or so?

RH: Uh...I don't know. I'm busy tracking down the delivery like what we did when we race the mail with the Porsche a few years ago.

JC: Yeah and since your Isabella plushie's the cutest...are you doing some...Brainiac stuff with that?

(audience laughing)

JM: Yeah, Richard. I'm guess you want to use her cuteness to outcute any other cute characters, much like the thermite stuff from Brainiac.

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, while on the subject about Phineas and Ferb, although we're still waiting for their first ever crossover between them, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Spider-Man, I'd just picked up from the PAF staff that they're planning a Phineas and Ferb Star Wars special!

(huh)

JC: No joke! This is real. They're planning to make on and set to be aired...next year!

RH: Wha...oh wait. Disney now owns LucasFilm last year. So, how come Phineas and Ferb joining the fray of well, let's just say...spoofing Star Wars?

(audience laughing)

JM: He's right, Jeremy. Phineas and Ferb are...jedi warriors?

(audience laughing)

JM: Or what if...Isabella can be...um...Princess Leia?

(audience laughing)

JC: Guys, your speculations bested me but let's just find out next year, okay? Anyway, it's not just a spoof, it's a tribute to the Star Wars franchise that thanks to Disney, they're back. Yep. Star Wars is back. Happy?

(yeah)

JC: Good. Oh! You know what else for next year?

RH: Uh...what?

JC: Family Guy vs. The Simpsons in a special crossover event! Anyone heard of it?

(audience murmuring)

RH: Well, not quite an audience as such but they got the memo. It's Homer Simpson vs. Peter Griffin for next year.

(audience laughing)

JC: Oh, some terrible news. You know Detroit? Yep. Detroit. The city famed for making cars. It's the city that garnered the nickname "Motor City". Anyway, the terrible news is that Detroit is now the biggest US city in history to file for bankruptcy. You know what this means?

RH: No more money for Motown?

JM: They're broke?

JC: Yes! Detroit's officially bust!

(huh)

JM: But but but...what's going to happen. I mean, the General Motors HQ were located on this city...and what's gonna happen for next year's NAIAS?

JC: Nah, no response yet from them but still if that city's filed for bankruptcy. It's already game over. Goodbye Detroit. We will remember most of your cars ever made...

(awwww)

RH: You're not too sensitive, aren't you?

(audience laughing)

JC: Hey, has everyone seen the new Honda Fit?

2014 Honda Fit

JC: Well, what do you think?

RH: Well, it looks like an old Honda Civic Euro in a fat suit to me...

(audience laughing)

JC: Oh and there's another sad news and this time, it's the long-running Initial D manga.

JM: Oh wait. Initial D? Isn't that the one with the AE86 drifting and challenging against other racers in different mountain roads? Man, I like that franchise. Manga, anime, movies, collectibles, I like it. Especially the cars featured.

JC: Yeah but sadly, the franchise has came to a spiraling end. Word from the creator, who is Mr. Shigeno himself, that the Initial D manga will cross to its finish line on July 29, 2013. You know what that means right?

JM: It's the end of the AE86 as we know it?

JC: Precisely and that's definitely a bombshell worth noting. Anyway, that is the end of the news.

Cars GT6 Should Put (Volume 1)

Everyone knows that more and more car gamers everywhere are willing to prefer the upcoming Gran Turismo 6, coming this winter exclusively on the Playstation3 console, than the upcoming Forza Motorsport 5, coming this autumn exclusively on the new XBOX One console.

Sure, it may have a 1200-car lineup; some are new while most came from GT5, but for me, I think it's not quite enough because for the upcoming GT6, they don't know what "quality over quantity" means, the whole "Standard" and "Premium" tier car lineup is a stupid idea, the worst car physics because they've been partnering with Yokohama, one of the worst tire makers in the world because no other supercars of today wear those, the lack of community-made content such as livery editing and the feature to upload replays, less partnerships, and everything but why would most idiots want to have a go for it rather than the completely perfect Forza? I mean come on, you would wanna go old-fashioned rather than modern, well good luck with that. I hope whatever's missing would be your lesson.

However, if those weren't a concern. my biggest concern would be the cars and since while other racing game franchises such as Forza, NFS, Grid, and others features the latest and the hottest machines than Gran Turismo, it's going to be a total pain for me if this don't go exactly as planned. To address the issue to Mr. Kaz Yamauchi and the rest of Polyphony Digital, I made myself a special segment I called...

CARS GT6 SHOULD PUT! Lovely. This is a brand new segment starting from now up until the game comes out this winter 2013, I'm going to provide five different cars that Gran Turismo 6 should put. It's going to be every week so every week, I'll be posting more of the cars that GT6 should put so by the time it arrives, it shouldn't be a rot and keeps every players happy.

Are you ready? Here goes...

For this week's CARS GT6 SHOULD PUT, here are the cars that Gran Turismo 6 should put. (No Porsches, please. You know the rules...):

1) Ferrari F12berlinetta '13

WHY: This is Ferrari's most powerful road car right before the hybrid hypercar LaFerrari showed up on the flesh. It showed up at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and based on its press releases, it lapped round the Fiorano quicker than the Enzo or the 599 GTO (which Gran Turismo had no plans for that). The engine is a 6.3L V12 engine, the same thing as seen on the FF, but it's been uprated to produce 740PS of power, that's more than the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, and 690Nm of torque.

I believe that Gran Turismo 6 should put this because this can be a very nice addition to the game's Ferrari lineup and it's one of the most enjoyable cars I have ever witnessed in ages. May not quite be an alternative to its Lambo rival but my gosh, it's still a thoroughbred with a throaty V12 engine.

2) Aston Martin Vanquish '13

WHY: This is Aston Martin's newest flagship grand tourer. It serves as a replacement to the outgoing DBS and it inspired its design from the now sold out One-77 hypercar. Although it may not quite as good as the other hardcore Astons but it's still a beauty worth enjoyable to drive. James May drove that on a Series 19 episode of BBC Top Gear and shortly, XTM's Top Gear Korea had its host Kim Jim Pyo drove one round the BBC Top Gear Test Track in one episode.

Since the Willow Springs is included on GT6 and with the LFA returning and the SRT Viper announced, I bet this can be worth the ticket to recreate the Aerial Laser Tag scene from Top Gear Series 19 Episode 2. Please make it possible to add the new Vanquish on GT6. I'm begging you...

3) Lancia Rally 037 '82

WHY: Replacing the Stratos in the world of rally, the 037 became the only Group B rally machine to defeat the might Audi Quattro. A lot of Gran Turismo fans are begging to have this classic rally car featured on GT6 and since the rally-spec version of the Quattro is added, this car makes it quite the perfect treat to initiate the duel between the Quattro and the 037. Mathematical!

4) Fiat 500 Abarth Esseesse '09

WHY: Because the standard Fiat 500's not good enough to tickle my fancies. Why is Gran Turismo ignoring this silly little Abarth anyway? Anyway, the Fiat 500 Abarth is one cool car to handle and imagine if I can take it for a spin on Rome Circuit, it should be a breeze. Come on, Kaz. This hot Abarth 500 needs to be on GT6.

5) Land Rover Range Rover Evoque '11

WHY: That reminds me, why is Polophony don't consider having Range Rovers in the world of Gran Turismo. Oh come on, I don't really like the Range Stormer concept you'd just offered because having a one-car lineup is not good enough. We really need more Range Rovers. Hmmm.... How about this Range Rover Evoque. When used in dirt and snow, the Evoque really behaves like a Range Rover even though in its crossover sizing.

Please make it happen for us...

The results please? So, if Polyphony's still on the rethinking process whether these cars I've mentioned will be featured on Gran Turismo 6, whether in game or as a DLC, you can't say that I didn't had a bit to do with that.

Take that to Kaz Yamauchi!

"Ang hilig ko sa mga malalamig..."

On the July 19, 2013 episode of Bubble Gang...

- "May naiwan ako" gags

- Bubble Gang Telebabaw presents...Munggo Mo'y Akin.

- Mr. Assimo vs. the vampire!

Mr. Assimo

- Even when climbing on the mountain...you can get hold-upped.

- Before...your if mommy's make-up rans out, it's her daughter's fault. Now, if, mommy's make-up rans out, it's junior's fault!

- Ang hilig ko sa mga malalamig...Bubble Gang does Sensodyne by spoofing this commercial as SANSUDYNE! 9 out of 10 dentists recommend Sansudyne for Pangingilo.

Bubble Gang does Sensodyne

- Hyper or chill? What would you prefer?

Hyper

Chill

- Guess who's back? Yes, it's ALING MARY!!!

Aling Mary

- The benefits of giving a simangot to others.

- Before, bagets are wearing small shorts. Now, ugly people are wearing small shorts.

- Wait a minute...we don't know who you guys are...

- My boyfriend's a tree...literally.

Threats from North Korea - A Week in Review (July 20, 2013)

And now, the week in review of what's what at the Korean peninsula...

July 15, 2013

- Two Koreas ended talks of the normalization of an inter-Korean complex without reaching agreement.

- A resolution to the conflict over just what former SoKor president Roh Moo-Hyun said to former NoKor leader Kim Jong-il regarding the Northern Limit Line back in 2007 may be near.

July 16, 2013

- The Park Geun-hye administration has set up a presidential youth committee that will focus on creating high-quality jobs for young people.

- The Korean government says it is highly likely that North Korea's behind the cyber attacks back in June 25th.

July 17, 2013

- The fourth round of working-level talks between North Korea and South Korea ended without an agreement today.

- It's the 65th anniversary of Korea's Constitution and to mark the occasion, key figures from the legislative, executive and judicial branches came together at the National Assembly.

July 18, 2013

- Two more containers of weapons were discovered aboard the North Korean vessel that was seized in Panama, according to officials.

- The National Archives of Korea has acknowledge that it does not keep a much-wanted transcript of South Korea's 2007 summit with North Korea, confirming a mysterious disappearance of the top-secret file.

- The second round of negotiations between Korea, China, and Japan over a FTA will kick off later this month.

July 19, 2013

- The United Nations says it will send a team of inspectors to Panama next month to investigate whether North Korea violated UN sanctions with its attempted arms shipment.

- US Vice President Joe Biden says Washington will only resume dialogue with Pyongyang if it is serious about engaging in "genuine negotiations".

- Prosecutors have started combing through the evidence they collected from the homes and offices of former president Chun Doo-hwan and his family members.

What's in our Car Town garage today? (July 20, 2013)

What's in our Car Town garage today?

2013 Honda N-ONE

A year after the launch of the Honda N BOX kei car and months after the launch of the "+" version of the N BOX, Honda launched the N-ONE, the third addition of the Honda N-series range of kei cars. The N naming stands for NEW NEXT NIPPON NORIMONO, marking this a new chapter in Honda's kei car story. Although it is an entirely new model, the N-ONE traces back to its roots from the legendary N360, Honda's first kei car ever made from the late 60's.

2013 Honda N-ONE

1969 Toyota 2000GT

Dubbed as Japan's first supercar, the 2000GT from Toyota is one of the most historical cars ever made in the history of Toyota Motor Corporation. Back at the Yatabe, the 2000GT set a top speed of 220kph, which is a little by modern standards but it's worth a crushing against the little compacts of today. Popularity aside, there has been an open-top version driven by Aki from the Bond film You Only Live Twice. Reason why the 2000GT's top removed for the film is because of Sean Connery's height can't accommodate the inside of the car. Only 300 units were made and back in the 60's, it costs 2.38 million yen, but now, it's a collector's item in the game of high-price auctions.

1969 Toyota 2000GT

1970 Datsun 240Z

The Nissan Z-Car story began when Yutaka Katayama (then-president of Nissan USA) and his people began developing the 240Z project and by the October of 1969, the Z-car was born. The S30 Z-car is the first of its kind and for the Japan-spec model, it was powered by a SOHC L20A inline-6 engine which develops 130PS of power. The US-spec model, however, features a 24L engine which develops more power than the Japan-spec one. Popularity aside, the S30 propelled the starring role of the Devil Z from the Wangan Midnight manga franchise.

1970 Datsun 240Z