Let's Do The News! (July 1, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- LAST CHANCE! Now is your last chance to win limited-edition goodies in Family Guy The Quest for Stuff's Peter Griffin and the Kingdom of Full Moon special event! This is your last chance to unlock Cleveland Brown, who was recently returned from Family Guy a few weeks ago, as well as his 80's outfit! It's your last chance to score some limited edition goods as well as an original character that your can #party #rage #thrash #repeat all you want. You got until the 1st of July at 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time to score some booty! Tell your party-obsessed mummy friends!

- REBOOTED: After moments of hiatus, Head Squeeze, the educational YouTube channel from the BBC is back! Here's the announcement video:



- The fastest machine to lap round last week's 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed is the Peugeot 208 T16. Although it couldn't match the all-time record set by Nick Heidfeld but the lap time of 44.6 is this year's quickest.



- The General Motors recall drama continues as the American carmaker recalls over 8.4 million cars while 90% are related to ignition problems.

- With Angel Locsin set to reprise her role as Darna in the upcoming ABS-CBN TV series coming very soon, next year sees her reprising the role of one of the Philippines' famed superheroes based on the works of Mars Ravelo.

- Students from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde gave invalid information on which fraternity was responsible for the hazing that killed a student.

- According to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, the deployment of FA-50s will help boost the aerial defense of the Philippines.

- A video showing a man who can put on his pants without using his hands goes viral! CAN YOU DO THAT?!



- A million-dollar Ferrari LaFerrari got totalled by a VW Golf in Monaco.

- We all heard of Chinese drivers smashing their cars for its poor quality and bad servicing but for this latest news from China, some Chinese guy smashed his Tesla Model S to protest against the American electric carmaker's "arrogance".

TTFN!!!

Forza Motorsport 5: IS装着

The IS naming in the Lexus IS car stands for "intelligent sports" but if you drank too much sake and ended in a massive hangover, you will probably mistaken the naming for "Infinite Stratos", apparently. If the name "Stratos" really does ring a bell...then most car enthusiast think of that name as the legendary Lancia Stratos, the rally legend powered by a Ferrari Dino engine in the middle and won three World Rally Championships from 1974 to 1976.

This has got to be one of the most absurd comparisons ever done in the history of Forza Motorsport 5 but because this is science, the Lexus IS, in IS F trim with the 5.0L V8 engine and the 8-speed SPDS gearbox mated on it, wanted to know if the S in the IS naming stands for Stratos but first...




Both the ISF and the Stratos are taking their rehearsals at the world-renowned, as-seen-on-TV, Top Gear Test Track, located at the Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey, United Kingdom.



Based on the data gathered during their rehearsals, it seems that the Lancia Stratos, despite it's almost four times less power than the ISF, performed very well in the handling stakes thanks to the fact that it weighs 1,619 lbs less than the Lexus saloon car and its almost-perfect weight distribution, meaning that for every turn, the Lancia does very well like proper handwriting. The Lexus maybe more powerful than the Stratos but because with so much torque, even a gentle touch would send its rear wheels spin, giving you a hard time to send it to the tight corners with maximum effort. I know Lexus cars are made for those who want to spend their time at the country club like most luxury cars do but for the ISF, that is so out of character for a Japanese luxury car.

With all that, looks like the ISF and the Stratos flew all the way to Long Beach, California, and they're all set to answer the burning question that every student from the IS Academy, well mostly female students, asks. So, can the S in the IS really means Stratos?!






At the Long Beach circuit, the Lexus did it in 1:45.482 while the Lancia did it in 1:53.095, almost eight seconds slower. Well, conclusive proof that the S in the Lexus IS naming really means Stratos...although this is very absurd and whoa! Am I spending too much time drinking alcohol and watching too much Infinite Stratos just to spring this massively absurd idea?! Oh dear... Looks like I'm kinda offending little Miss Houki... He he he...

The Geekdom's Guide To: Friend Fiction

Image: FOX

A fan fiction is when a fan is making his or her own made-up story from one of his or her favorite show or band or whatever means necessary from his or her fandom but in a Bob's Burgers' episode called Bad Tina, Tina Belcher wrote her "erotic friend fiction" using people at school and zombies.

That episode gave us thinking...can we make our own friend fiction using people we know? Of course, perhaps the reason why it's called FRIEND FICTION is because you're making a made-up story using real people in a made-up situation you've created. It's just like that female character from Inception who played by Ellen Page...minus the inception...and the Ellen Page. Well, you get the idea but how to make a friend fiction?

To make a friend fiction, first all you need is some brainstorming before the inception of your own friend fiction. Picture your old school you've been since elementary or high school or whatever, then try to remember the real people you've recognized from your past. Let's say your old classmate, then your math teacher, or your science teacher, or whatever you know. With the location and the people in set, try to make up your own scenario of your own choosing but remember...try not to make it TOO FUNNY or you'll ruin it on your friends who wanted to read your friend fiction.

With all the right ingredients, it's like sugar, spice, and everything nice but accidentally added a chemical concoction called Chemical X and WHAM! BAM! POW! Your friend fiction is done! Of course, there are gazillion ways to create a friend fiction using real people and real places of your choosing but when it's done, be careful on the target audience because you have to rely on the people you trust more. If backstabbers try to blackmail you, it's like that Bob's Burgers episode you saw and you have to fight "friend fiction" with "friend fiction" that is way more weirder than your last one.

So there you go, if you want to make a friend fiction of your own just like Tina, don't hesitate to do it because it's just for fun.

And that concludes The Geekdom's Guide to Friend Fiction...

Citroen C1 II

2015 Citroen C1

The Peugeot 108 has its own twin rival and even though they look different on the outside terms, the new Citroen C1 feels technically the same as the Peugeot 108 as examined before. As a matter of fact, both the Peugeot 108 and the new Citroen C1 were part of the Toyota-PSA triplets born from Kolin, Czech Republic, since the first ones. It's kinda more of a Japanese-French collaboration, don't you think?

Like the Peugeot 108, the Citroen C1 can be offered on either a three-door or five-door and can be fitted with a 1.0L e-VTi 68 Airdream or the 1.2L VTi 82 PureTech petrol engine. You can even opt in for the Airscape model, which comes with a canvas roof at the top as similar to the Peugeot 108's TOP variant.

2015 Citroen C1 interior

2015 Citroen C1 interior

Like the Peugeot 108, the Citroen C1 still comes with the same quality like you expect from budget compacts but it can be configurable by request. You can even have it with the 7-inch screen featuring Mirror Screen where our satnav will serve as the mirror of the compatible smartphone connected. I should warn you that when people go for the Airscape variant, because this is one of the city cars to drive in the summer holiday in Europe,  even when you close the roof off, you can expect some few winds slip through or the noise from within. Yes, that sounds way too familiar to you when you read anyone's first impressions because first impressions don't usually come impressed but when you get used to it, this city car deserves a lot of respect and a lot of love love love.

2015 Citroen C1

The 1.0L e-VTi 68 Airdream engine on the new C1 develops 68PS of power output and it's mated with a 5-speed manual. Even though it's not quite as quicker as the competition, it's one of the most fuel-efficient cars ever made because 26.3km/L is usually plenty for its fuel economy, although actual fuel mileage can vary, depending on your driving style.

As for the 1.2L VTi 82 PureTech petrol engine, developed by PSA Peugeot Citroen, this engine develops 82PS of power output, 23.3km/L of fuel economy, and 99g/km of CO2 emissions. That sounds a lot for a city car but even though these engines are not powerful enough to sneeze your way home, its pseudo McPherson front axle and a deformable rear beam can really add some smile all day long...unless if you're Grumpy and you know it.

2015 Citroen C1

In terms of pricing, the new C1 is more affordable than the 108 because while it starts at 10,150 Euros, the new Citroen C1 costs 9,950 Euros so can anyone hardly explain why this Citroen is way cheaper than its 108 twin? Anyone? Nope? Nope. No comment but surprisingly, the new model is now 200 Euros lower than the old C1.

So there it is, it's very difficult to distinguish which to choose these French city car twins because while the 108 is a high-quality city compact in its own right when well-equipped, the new C1 is much more of an affordable alternative and with so many choices to choose from, it takes guts to determine the winner.

Photo: PSA Peugeot Citroen

Transformers: Age of Extinction

We all love enjoying the Transformers franchise from the range of toys made by Hasbro, the cartoons, and the movies since the first one in 2007 but for the fourth Transformers movie, called Age of Extinction, is this really the best Transformers experience we ever had? Let's see...

The latest installment sees a new male protagonist, played by actor Mark Wahlberg, as well as a new storyline that is way different from the previous installments. In this movie after the Autobots saved the world from the brink of destruction, humanity cleans up the remains from the war torn Earth. Wahlberg plays the role of a mechanic where he and his daughter discovered a deadly conspiracy that will wipe out the Transformers while an ancient powerful opposition has been awakened to bring Earth down to its knees. With the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, joined forces with their new human allies, the war between good and evil has been blurred and the Autobots are ready to expect the unexpected.

Yes, this is now a plethora of automotive mayhem because there are numerous cars featured in the film including the Pagani Huayra, the Lamborghini Aventador, the Chevrolet Sonic, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, the new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, and so much more. Bumblebee, as a Chevy Camaro, gets two versions; one as a first generation and the other one is a latest fifth-generation facelift which doesn't look so right after its previous installments. Those new machines really edged out the luster from the human casts which also includes Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Li Bingbing, T. J. Miller, Han Geng and many others.

Now I know the cast is now way different from the previous ones but the storyline never felt so good, in true Michael Bay fashion, as the battle for Earth's survival spans across the globe made this installment one of the most thrilling Transformers experience yet to offer this Summer. It really turns skeptics into believers and it will leave them hanging for more. Has our faith in Michael Bay restored? Yes...but only just.

Although Age of Extinction maybe a departure to the Transformers movies we know but this movie never fails to impress us...if the producers were very careful about making this movie feature a million dollars worth of cars. It's quite of an overload if you asked.

My rating: 3.9 out of 5

FIFA World Cup 2014 - Round of 16 (Part Two)

In the second day of the FIFA WORLD CUP Brasil Round of 16 match, Holland and Costa Rica were emerged as the winners on this match. In the Holland vs. Mexico match, the Dutch gave everything they've got to secure their spot to the semi-finals and they've won the match against the Mexicans at the score of 2-1. Meanwhile in the Costa Rica vs. Greece, the 1-1 tie lead to a penalty match where at the score of 5-3, Costa Rica advanced to the semi-finals.

Tomorrow, it's two European nations against two African nations as France takes on Nigeria while Germany takes on Algeria. Obrigado!

Let's Do The News! (June 30, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- Motorcyclist Bobby Goodin was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident during this year's Pikes Peak Hill Climb after crossing the finish line at the top of Pikes Peak.

- There's still more innovative firsts to be introduced on the all new 2015 Ford Mustang as the next generation pony car will introduce Sync 911, which includes sending a report to the local authorities how you crashed and if you were belted.

2015 Ford Mustang

- IN WEIRD NEWS: The Anime Expo committee stuffed over 4 tons of Nature Valley Granola bars into attendee goodie bags, in preparation for next week's event.

- In celebration of Love Live! School idol project's 5th anniversary, since its inception in 2010 as a self-described "ultimate user-participation project", the Season 2 finale announced that they're working on a Love Live movie! We're all pleased, the μ's are pleased, even Honoka Kosaka is pleased.

- Bradley Steven Perry (Gabe from Good Luck Charlie and Kaz from Disney XD's Mighty Med) will star in an upcoming Disney XD original movie, titled Pants On Fire, where he plays as a teenage boy who never stops lying until his made-up friend Mikey (played from Tyrel Jackson Williams who played Leo from Lab Rats) came true and most of his lies turned into reality. It's Kaz meets Leo in the upcoming Disney XD original movie and it's all set later this year.

- Sabrina Carpenter, who played Maya Hart from the recently added Disney Channel series, Girl Meets World, covers Imagine Dragons' Radioactive in a Disney Playlist-featured clip.

- A student from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde was killed from hazing, with three others injured.

- They say marijuana is a drug highly prohibited by the law while some parts of the world are legal. Guess what? The CBCP states that this prohibited drug is fine for cancer patients. Is the CBCP's statement true or is it just a cover-up to state that weed is okay to everyone?

- Manila mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada believes that the case against Jinggoy Estrada is "very very weak".

- An offshoot from the global terrorist network, al-Qaeda, declared the seized territories in Iraq and Syria an Islamic "caliphate" and summoned global factions to pledge their allegiance.

TTFN!!!

Wow Mali! - June 29, 2014

On the June 29, 2014 episode of Wow Mali!

- NAWAWALANG BANGKAY - This grave's going to take you to the grave!

- ULILANG BIIK - A detective tries to investigate the death of the piglet's mom.

- STAR DANCER - Lady needs a lift to get her money...turns out she's just a dancer.

- COMMERCIALS FU - HABA NG HAIR - In the new segment, Commercials Fu, Mr. Fu combines commercial spoofs with some classic Wow Mali good time. On this episode...this portion is brought to you by RICHOICE!

- NAKITA NYO SYA? - Excuse me but...have you seen my kid?

- ISA NA LANG, TATAKBO NA - Room for one more? Because we're moving! Not the jeep! Us!

- EMOTE CONTROL - ANG DRAMA MO - On this episode's Emote Control, a celebrity takes a dramatic stance seriously.

Forza Motorsport 5: Power vs. Grip

When choosing a track toy, do you need a track toy that is focused on power or focused more on grip? To find out, I went to Mount Panorama, which is located at New South Wales, Australia, to find out.



Here is the venue and here are the cars prepped for this comparison:

The KTM X-BOW R. The track toy armed with the super sports car technology for the 21st century. It comes with the Audi 2.0L TFSi engine producing 295HP of power and 295lb-ft of torque. It only weighs around 1,786lbs.



And then, the Caterham Superlight R500. Top Gear's 2008 Car of the Year. It maybe 32HP less than the X-BOW R but it weighs 670lbs less than the X-BOW R so despite that power difference, its lightweight bodywork is worth the gripping capable enough to classify itself as a track toy.



There's a saying that goes "Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere". That was the word from Lotus founder Colin Chapman because some car companies value aerodynamics over engine.

So, while the X-BOW R is 60% more on power and 40% focused on weight loss, and the Caterham is more on weight loss and a little care less on the power despite the fact that it has better power-to-weight ratio than the Bugatti Veyron; guess it's time for me to grab the bull by the horns, bite the bullets, and literally put these track toys to the test at the home of the Bathurst 1000.



So there it goes. The X-BOW did it in 2:29.627 while the Caterham R500 did it in 2:29.215, meaning the lightweight R500 beaten the powerful X-BOW by about 1/3rd of the second, proving that subtracting weight is better than adding power. Maybe that's why there are some wanted to lose weight rather than add power to create a track-focused high-performance vehicle.

FIFA World Cup 2014 - Round of 16 (Part One)

The Round of 16 match on the FIFA WORLD CUP Brasil has begun and the remaining 16 countries are slugging against each other to vie for the semi-finals.

First, there's the match between hosting nation Brazil and Chile. In this match, they've tied at the end, leading the game to a penalty match where Brazil wins at the score of 3-2. Then, the match between Colombia and Uruguay ended with Colombia wins the match at the score of 2-0.

Tomorrow on the Round of 16 match, it's Holland taking on Mexico and Costa Rica slugging against the Greeks.

Let's Do The News! (June 28, 2014)

Things we learned today...

- Enjoyed the premiere episode of Girl Meets World? Yes. We do love that new show starring new tween sensations Rowan Blanchard as Riley and Sabrina Carpenter as Maya. Two BFFs trying to take on the world. Well, the next episode isn't due until July 11th but for verified users of the WATCH Disney Channel app, available on the App Store, you can get an early access on the next episode! Verify to watch the next episode!



- Aston Martin's official entry to Gran Turismo 6's Vision GT concepts, the DP-100, has finally revealed on Goodwood and it's set for next month's update!

Aston Martin DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo

- Four new recalls have been announced by the embattled General Motors and over 507k units were heavily affected.

- The sinkhole in the National Corvette Museum at Bowling Green, Kentucky, drawn 60% of the visitors and the committee decided to keep it. Let's consider that as a blessing from the unexpected.

- AM I A GOOD MAN? Season 8 of Doctor Who, starring 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman as companion Clara, are all set this 23rd of August on BBC One and BBC One HD!

- The US Navy began their 20th Annual CARAT Exercise at Subic Bay. CARAT Philippines is part of the broader bilateral exercise series the US Navy conducts with nine partner nations from Asia to address maritime problems, especially those from the South China Sea.

- Philippine lawmakers want investigation on malpractices done from emission-testing centers, mostly the "ghost-testing" of vehicles.

- Actress Marian Rivera defended her crown as one of the sexiest women according to FHM Philippines.

- US Astronauts shaved their heads while in the space station after losing a bet over a FIFA World Cup match.

TTFN!!!

BMW M3 (F80) and M4 (F82)

2015 BMW M3 and 2015 BMW M4

For many years, the BMW M3 has been the German muscle of our generation. From its humble beginnings since the E30, its numerous regenerations, new breakthroughs, involvement in the motorsport world, the 3-Series with the muscle is one of the most iconic high-performance German machines in the history of mankind and here we are, the new chapter of M3 is finally unfold and this is not like any other M3s we remembered because starting now, the M3 is now available exclusively as a sedan while its coupe version now gets a new name...M4.

This is all part of BMW's revised naming strategy of using odd numbers for saloons and even numbers for coupes with some minor exceptions to the rule. If the naming is least of our problems, the chassis codes now come with a plot twist that we never expect to happen. 3-Series models bear the F30 code while 4-Series models bear the F32 code but the new M3 now bear the F80 code while it's F82 for the M4. Why? Anyway, there has been some conspiracy theories going on about why the chassis code for the new M3 and M4 are way different than the regular 3-Series sedan and 4-Series coupe. Some say...it's different in uses of various materials as the regular F3x models are made of steel while F8x features a combination of high-strength steel and carbon composites. Other possible theories state that this ludicrously new codes reflect the change on how the corporate office manages the finance books on those models. This is still a conspiracy but we'll let that one on the running. Anyway, the car...

2015 BMW M3 and 2015 BMW M4

By the looks of it, they're look identical to each other but the only main difference are the doors themselves. The M3 opens four doors while the M4 opens only two doors. Simple as that. What's also change is the fun factor because the previous model's V8 engine sounds more baritone, a bit more muscle car in the noise stakes. For those new models, the magnificent V8 engine has been thrown away to the trash can and replaced by the 3.0L straight-six twin turbo engine. When you listen to that, it sounds like your average sportscar and I'm not quite down to the big upset because there's the same stuff you find on the current M5: something that fires a synthesized exhaust note from the speakers. Sinister but cheating.

Although the new straight-six engine maybe a bit of a problem for us but there's an upside to this one; this engine produces 431PS of power output and 550Nm of torque, that's plenty than the old model's V8 engine. With the 7-speed DCT equipped, both the M3 and the M4 can do 0-100kph in 4.1 seconds and top speed normally limited to 250kph or 280kph with the available M driver pack. Plus it's now more economical than ever because both of these can accumulate 12.05km/L of combined fuel economy and CO2 emission of 194g/km. This engine is Euro 6-compliant.

Thanks to the use of high-strength steel and carbon components, they've managed to shave off 83kg of weight, resulting to a perfect weight distribution and a little reminiscent from the E46 days. As for handling, it's not quite bad even though these two now come with power steering for the first time. I'm not a fan of power steering though because they feel less communicative when cornered. Be warned though because while it maybe a good car to thrash about, commuting in one of these can be very drastic thanks to the fact that the suspension has been stiffened. Despite setting this one to the comfort setting, it doesn't feel as comfortable as your parents' van on a turnaround part where it leads you all the way to the top of the parking area.

2014 BMW M3 interior

2015 BMW M4 interior

Should you buy it? Well, let's calculate their starting price first because the M4 will cost you 72,200 Euros while the M3 costs 71,500 Euros, a 700 Euro difference. Even though the new M3 sedan is cheaper than its M4 coupe equivalent, they're still very expensive to own unless you have enough funds to invest in these Bimmers. If there's something I would love about these two; it's all in the styling, interior, the handling that you can really thrash around when the timing's just right, and being light on weight. Things I hate would be the lack of throttle response, redundant straight-six noise, power steering and wait for it...the pricing. But still I hate the M4 more than the Corvette C7 Stingray.

Why I hate the new BMW M4? Well, remember the whole thing happened to the Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray? Well, I'm proven wrong many times by those idiots and just when I though that the C7 Corvette's going to be Gran Turismo-exclusive, looks like someone done a little extortion to feature it on another racing game because they're just too jealous to feature. Jealousy forces them to steal what is supposed to be Gran Turismo exclusive and here I am, traumatized by that situation when some of the Gran Turismo exclusives got trafficked to other video games like human trafficking.

2015 BMW M3 and 2015 BMW M4

If there's one thing you need to know for those in charge of racing video games, you'd better not to lay a finger on the BMW M4 because of its Gran Turismo exclusivity and it wishes that it should not end up on the same mistake as what happened to the Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray. I would repeat this once and only once that the BMW M4 is Gran Turismo-exclusive and no other game should lay their hands to extort it for the sole purpose of featuring it on another racing video game. That means you Forza. Feature this and let Sony sue Microsoft for unfair competition on showing a Gran Turismo-exclusive car. Guess I'll just leave this one in the running while our new M3 friend is awaiting its own verdict from the driving gods.

The BMW M4 should stay with the other rest of the Gran Turismo exclusives like the Autobianchi, the Deltawing, the Dome Zero, Tommykaira ZZ-S, Group C Le Mans from Toyota and Nissan, and any other cars I've mentioned that are Gran Turismo exclusive. That's a direct order and that is the end of it.

Photo: BMW A.G.