Let's Do The News! (January 18, 2014)

Things We Learned This Week:

1) Dove Cameron and Olivia Holt are my picks for the night

Image source: Radio Disney Tumblr

Disney Channel aired not one, not two, but three cool stuff earlier that night. There was a latest episode of Liv and Maddie where the twins switch places, then there's a new DCOM titled Cloud 9 which stars Dove Cameron as Kayla Morgan and newbie Luke Benward as Will Cloud. It's extreme at its best...literally. After that, Girl Vs. Monster's Olivia Holt returns and stars in a brand new show titled I Didn't Do It! This show...it's all about five misfits get into all sorts of trouble and when bad things happened, there's only one answer: I DIDN'T DO IT!!! Hope you guys enjoyed it.

2) Typhoon Agaton

Typhoon Agaton, the first storm of the year, killed 37 people and injured 65 people as of last night. Yesterday at 4:00PM, Agaton spotted 165km northeast of Surigao del Sur with 55kph of winds near the center. So far, signal no. 1 is placed in 9 provinces.

3) Cyberporn is Philippine's no. 1 crime

Forget snatching, kidnapping, and corruption. The number one crime in the Philippines involved cyberpornography because this crime is prevalent throughout the country that law enforces considered it the worst crime of the nation, more menacing than illegal drug trade. Such criminal activities put the Philippines one of the top ten nations where cyberpornography is common.

4) The Oscars 2014 Nominations

There's the list of the nominations for the 2014 Golden Globe Awards, where the winners will be announced on the 2nd of March, 2014. Here are the full list of nominees:

Best Picture

American Hustle

Nebraska

Captain Phillips

Philomena

Dallas Buyers Club

12 Years a Slave

Gravity

The Wolf of Wall Street

Her

Actor in a Leading Role

Christian Bale, American Hustle

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street

Actress in a Leading Role

Amy Adams, American Hustle

Judi Dench, Philomena

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

Actress in a Supporting Role

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

June Squibb, Nebraska

Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave

Animated Feature Film

The Croods

Frozen

Despicable Me 2

The Wind Rises

Ernest & Celestine

Directing

David O. Russell, American Hustle

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity

Alexander Payne, Nebraska

Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

Cinematography

The Grandmaster

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Prisoners

Costume Design

American Hustle

The Grandmaster

The Great Gatsby

The Invisible Woman

12 Years a Slave

Foreign Language Film

The Broken Circle Breakdown

The Great Beauty

The Hunt

The Missing Picture

Omar

Documentary Feature

The Act Of Killing

Cutie And The Boxer

Dirty Wars

The Square

20 Feet From Stardom

Documentary Short Subject

CaveDigger

Facing Fear

Karama Has No Walls

The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

Film Editing

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

12 Years a Slave

Makeup and Hairstyling

Dallas Buyers Club

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

The Lone Ranger

Original Score

The Book Thief

Gravity

Her

Philomena

Saving Mr. Banks

 Original Song

“Alone Yet Not Alone” from Alone Yet Not Alone

“Happy” from Despicable Me 2

“Let It Go” from Frozen

“The Moon Song” from Her

“Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Production Design

American Hustle

Gravity

The Great Gatsby

Her

12 Years a Slave

Short Film, Animated

Feral

Get a Horse!

Mr. Hublot

Possessions

Room on the Broom

Short Film, Live Action

Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)

Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)

Helium

Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)

The Voorman Problem

Sound Editing

All Is Lost

Captain Phillips

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Lone Survivor

Sound Mixing

Captain Phillips

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Inside Llewyn Davis

Lone Survivor

Visual Effects

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

The Lone Ranger

Star Trek Into Darkness

Original Screenplay

American Hustle

Blue Jasmine

Dallas Buyers Club

Her

Nebraska

Adapted Screenplay

Before Midnight

Captain Phillips

Philomena

12 Years a Slave

The Wolf of Wall Street

5) Bugatti boss warns that there will be no powerful Veyron or Galiber

The president of Bugatti, Wolfgang Scheiber, warned that there won't be a more powerful Veyron or a production version of the four-door Galiber concept. It stated from an exclusive interview from Top Gear but the Bugatti boss says that the Veyron successor will redefine the benchmarks.

6) Why I'm so enjoying the Japanese version of Let It Go?

We all enjoy the Frozen theme song titled Let It Go but...am I the only one enjoying the Japanese version of this song? JPop singer May J. did the Japanese version of Let It Go, in case you never heard of it. Frozen (日本名：アナと雪の女王) hits Japanese theaters this March 2014.

7) Hamburg wants to be CAR-FREE within the next two decades

The German city of Hamburg hates cars and according to a report, this city wants to get rid of cars on the roads once and for all in two decades time. Hamburg spokeswoman Angelika Fritsch said that this city will offer people opportunities to hike, swim, do water sports, enjoy picnics, restaurants, and other stuff in the city more than driving. Hmmm...

8) R.I.P. Roger Lloyd Pack

Veteran British actor Roger Lloyd-Pack died at the age of 69 from pancreatic cancer.

TTFN!!!

Boy Abunda, IHAW NA!

For the first time, on the January 17, 2014's Banana Nite's IHAW NA segment, Boy Abunda is the guest. You could commonly see him everyday; Bandila on Weeknights, Bottomline on Saturday, and Buzz ng Bayan on Sunday. This guy bares all in the name of being a self-styled king of talk.

"mabu-tiyan"

On the January 17, 2014 episode of Bubble Gang...

- Treasure Hunt gags

- We check out what would a Rich Kid and a Poor Kid do in stuff like meeting with friends, treats, and got his phone snatched.

- IKAW AT ANG INA acknowledges...too much makeup!!!

- Mag-out na si Junior!

- Bubble Gang does Yakult by spoofing this commercial as JKULT! Mabu-tiyan.

- Tata Lino is always here to help you...

- Treating him like a dog...literally.

- The Dingga Rap!

- Average people...with star potentials.

- A night at a museum with a guard and two statues.

Lexus CT200h Minor Change

2014 Lexus CT200h

So, Toyota Motor Corporation kicks off the year 2014 with a new model launch and for a start, it's a facelifted Lexus CT200h hybrid hatchback. Although it's not as sharp-dressed as any other rivals from Europe, the CT is positioned as the cheapest Lexus money can buy so, for this 2014 minor change, how about a little 47 second science?

2014 Lexus CT200h

For its 2014 minor change, the CT now gains the Japanese luxury brand's signature Spindle Grille, first applied on the Lexus GS two years ago. It maybe sounds more predatory but the new face always in tune with the times of today's trends.

2014 Lexus CT200h interior

2014 Lexus CT200h interior

On the interior, there's not much to see of a change except some minor adjustments and tweaks on the software. However, there are over 80 variations of the selection patter of the interior color and seat upholstery. The seat upholstery now adopts L tex, don't know what it is, and depending on the variant, there are numerous seat colors to choose, sure enough to make it yours and unique.

What about performance? Well, not much of change here on the 2ZR-FXE 1.8L engine connected to a 3JM electric motor and the conventional nickel metal battery. Running on engine alone, it produces 99PS of power and 142Nm of torque while running on electric motor alone, it produces 82PS of power and 207Nm of torque. However, the biggest change here is its fuel economy and the base model will have a JC08 mode-calculated fuel economy of 30.4kmpl while higher-end models get around 26.6kmpl of fuel economy.

Steering wise, it still comes with the rack and pinion power steering while the suspension system relies on MacPherson struts on the front and double wishbones at the back. Not quite surprising but when you discover the Drive Mode Selector, you can select to three modes such as ECO for economical driving, NORMAL for well-balanced, and SPORT which makes the suspension get even harder for tight cornering.

2014 Lexus CT200h F-Sport

There's even an F-SPORT model as well and in this model, it comes with a rear-spoiler, a scary-looking front face, rear bumper, 17-inch aluminum wheels, and a black roof while on the inside, it comes with a new Dark Rose Leather, Dark Rose and Black, slate gray and black fabric. Don't get too comfy on this one because the F-Sport comes with a track-tuned suspension which some say it's made for even tighter cornering and emotional driving feel. Not quite sure but when it gets understeer, it really wasn't their fault.

The 2014 CT200h starts at 3,560,000 Japanese Yen up to 4,480,000 Yen, including consumption tax.

Available colors: White Pearl Crystal Shine, Mercury Grey Mica, Platinum Silver Metallic, Black, Black Opal Mica, Red Mica Crystal Shine, Mader Red, Fire Agate Mica Metallic, Flare Yellow Mica Metallic, Exceed Blue Metallic, and White Nova Glass Flake.

Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation

Kim Chiu, IHAW NA!

On the January 15, 2014's Banana Nite's IHAW NA segment, the guest of the day is none other than the lovely Kim Chiu. A Chinese-Filipina born from Cebu, Kim Chiu's big break dates back when she was a housemate from Pinoy Big Brother, alongside Gerald Anderson. Life after PBB, Kim Chiu has been featured in several TV dramas, movies, and commercials. She used to have a love team alongside Gerald Anderson but now, she's moved on to Xian Lim since My Binondo Girl and the movie adaptation of a best-seller novel "Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?"

Meanwhile, we check out what does a SINGLE, IN A RELATIONSHIP, and IT'S COMPLICATED do in stuff like...weightlifting, and paying bills at a restaurant.

Let's Do The News! (January 15, 2014)

The big scoop today...

OFW Caregiver is Israeli X-Factor champ

This is one of the most trending topics spiralled on the net recently as a Filipina caregiver in Israel, Rose Fostanes, became the winner of X Factor Israel. Having working as a caregiver in Israel for two decades, Rose ever dreamt about being a singer and the Israeli version of The X Factor gave it a shot of her life. At first glance, she might feared that most Israelis will ignore her because she's a foreigner competing in a reality show for Israeli talents but the tables are turned when her take on Lady Gaga's "You and I" shook the competition into standing ovation, receiving the most votes via text messages and the show's website, and risen to celebrity status. In the eyes of Israeli talents, they see to her as what Susan Boyle does to Britain's Got Talent five years ago.

Report: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/343866/pinoyabroad/pinoyachievers/filipina-caregiver-rose-fostanes-is-surprise-star-of-x-factor-israel

John Button, Jenson's dad, passed away

John Button is known to be a rallycross racer in the 70's and well known as the dad of F1 racer Jenson Button. Sadly, Jenson's dad passed away because of a suspected heart attack. He died at the South of France last Sunday.

Report: http://www.topgear.com.ph/news/racing-news/john-button-father-of-formula-1-champion-jenson-passes-away

Britain's first pay-as-you-go cafe

Somewhere in Shoreditch, London, there is a cafe where you can pay-as-you-go to use their internet. The food, beverages, and internet access are free but you have to pay 1.80 GBP per hour or 3 pence per minute for your stay. It's called the Ziferblat cafe, and it's located at 388 Old Street. It's the first UK branch of a Russian chain as there are 11 branches in Russia with the first opening in Moscow in 2011.

Report: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/01/u-k-s-first-pay-go-cafe/

US Court rejected Net Neutrality rules

Well, that doesn't sound right to us, netizens, because recently, the US Appeals Court rejected federal guidelines that stated that ISPs must treat all internet traffic equally. This decision provides the groundwork for broadband providers and carriers to charge extra fees for faster internet access to certain services or sites. This is the second time courts ruled against net neutrality as the first one happened four years ago.

Report: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-01-14/u.s-appeals-court-strikes-down-net-neutrality-rules

TTFN!!!

Cars GT6 Should Put (Volume 20)

In a galaxy far far away, just off our backyard, lies Leopaul's Blog; boldly pushing the boundaries of car culture because there's some CARS GT6 SHOULD PUT.



Cars like...

1) Marussia B2 '10

Made in the communist nation of Russia, the Marussia is definitely the communist car we all like not only because this is by no means the most unique supercar ever made, but it's also one of the best cornering supercars in existence. The top-spec version is powered by a 2.8L Cosworth V6 turbo engine developing 420HP of power and 600Nm of torque. It can do 0-60mph in under four seconds and top speed over 150mph.



2) Subaru Levorg 2.0 GT-S EyeSight '14

Unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, the new Levorg is a new-generation "real sports tourer" that takes on a new spin on station wagons in its class. The name Levorg is a portmanteau of the words Legacy, Revolution, and Touring. It has the similar sizing of the current Legacy Touring Wagon but available engines offered are turbocharged and connected with Subaru's Lineartronic CVT gearbox. It comes with the 1.6L DIT engine producing 170PS of power and the 2.0L DIT engine producing 300PS of power. Although its CVT is going to be the issue for us, I just want to see if the Levorg stacks up with the other station wagons offered on Gran Turismo 6.



3) Suzuki Hustler 660 X Turbo '14

This is one of the most bizarre-looking kei cars offered by Suzuki...as well as the name itself. The Hustler is as marketed as the first-ever kei-crossover but despite its crossover looks, it's still a kei car and not much else. It was showcased at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, went on sale in January 2014, and it's offered with a 660cc engine, normal or turbocharged, mated with either a CVT or a 5MT. Did I also mention that the Hustler also comes with an optional 4WD system? Even though the Hustler is not my type, I just want to have one in my Gran Turismo 6 garage to see what it's like.



4) Pagani Zonda Revolucion '13

With only five of these track-only models made, the Zonda Revolucion succeeds where the Zonda R left off. The 6.0L V12 sourced from AMG now churns out a mighty 800HP of power and 730Nm torque. Because of its lightweight processes, the Revolucion has a stronger power-to-weight ratio than the Bugatti Veyron, so it's got to be mighty fast in the straights and in the corners. This is truly a must have for every GT players should this Zonda Revolucion find its way here.

5) HKS Racing Performer (ZN6)

The HKS-tuned Toyota 86 is Nobuteru Taniguchi's machine for the D1GP 2013. The FA20 engine has been tweaked and enlarged to 2.2L and with HKS' blend of supercharging, Nobu's 86 now produces 580PS of power output. Aside from that, HKS spent a lot of time gearing this 86 up with their signature transmission, clutch, and suspension as well as a wide array of HKS parts. It runs on ADVAN NEOVA AD08 tires. What amazed me that this 86 is one of the quickest tuned 86's to lap round the Tsukuba Circuit in 0:58.808 respectively. Quite a record set by Nobu but we sure want one if GT6 wishes to add it!

The results please? So when one of these cars showed up in future updates on GT6, you can't say I have a little bit to do with that.

Take that to Kaz Yamauchi!