Let's Do The News! (July 29, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- Ever wonder why William Shatner appeared at the 2014 SDCC in a wheelchair? The 83-year-old actor said, "I wrecked my leg on a horse".

- Actress Sandra Bullock celebrated her 50th birthday in Wyoming. She maybe middle-aged but her beauty as an actress is still ageless.

- Yesterday's SONA from Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has met with mixed reviews. Some are praised while others remained skeptical and some were dismayed. One of the biggest questions left untold is the concern of the Freedom of Information.

- A new road warrior is born as the latest trailer of the upcoming post-nuclear survival action flick, Mad Max Fury Road, shows up with the new Mad Max actor, Tom Hardy.



- The 2014 Pokemon World Championships is happening on the 15th to 17th of August, 2014, at Washington, D.C., and visitors can get their very own Lv. 50 Aegislash armed with an egg move called Wide Guard. A Pokemon X or Pokemon Y 3DS game is required to claim this royal sword Ghost-and-Steel-type Pokemon.

- SOME SAY: Toyota's Scion brand will be making a major overhaul as the Corolla Rumion-based xB and the iQ mini hatch will be removed from the lineup and in place, an Auris-based model and a new model based on the fourth-generation Mazda Demio. The FR-S is due for its regeneration in 2017.

Scion FR-S

- The US Government warned that the Russian Government has violated the missile treaty.

- The Israeli Government warns of a "prolonged" war conflicts on the Gaza Strip.

.- Along with the 2014MY Falcon XR8, Ford Australia is giving their Australian-made Territory SUV a final hurrah by presenting its 2014MY update. The Falcon G6E model is announced.

2014 Ford Territory

TTFN!!!

Car Town services to end this late August

Car Town services on Facebook ends on the 29th of August

Since its launch on the summer of 2010, Car Town, the social game on Facebook allows car enthusiasts to create garages, do jobs, collect and build cars, race against friends, and go on adventures. In its four year lifespan, Car Town's roster of cars; from JDM tuners, offroaders, American muscles, European exotics, service vehicles, and many others has been growing and it has partnered with Universal (for Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, and The Fast and The Furious franchises), BBC (for Top Gear), IndyCar, NASCAR, NHRA, Sony Pictures (for Ghostbusters) and so much more. The game's fan base keeps on growing thanks to the feature where players can create their own templates and show off their work on the global scale. 

Sadly, the game's developer, Cie Games, announced that on the 29th of August, 2014, Car Town will be shutting down.

As the countdown to Car Town's end unfolds, Cie Games announced that most of the limited-time cars will be for sale so players can complete their collections or obtaining the one gamers been longing for.

An end of an era for one of the fan-based games we all enjoyed for the last 4 years.

Source: http://forums.cartown.com/showthread.php?80798-Important-Announcement&p=472120#post472120

The 25th Annual Pista sa Nayon at Seward Park

It was once sunny afternoon down at Seattle's Seward Park, where me and my sister Cecille attended the annual Pista sa Nayon, on its 25th year. The Pista sa Nayon is the celebration of Filipino cultural heritage in Pacific Northwest and for this year, the Pista sa Nayon has gotten even better with numerous hangouts, numerous performances, and the mantra of all about having fun knowing your Filipino roots.

I have some pics from the venue while the whole of it can be viewed at https://www.flickr.com/photos/leopauldelr/sets/72157645575440949/

F1 2014: Hungary GP

Alas, the newbie of the Red Bull Racing, Daniel Ricciardo, snagged himself a first place podium at the Hungaroring on this season's Hungary GP, and while this first-timer snagged a win, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton is 3rd place and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso placed 2nd. Looks like the drizzle didn't slow the rookie down for his win, eh?

In the overall rankings, Rosberg's still in the lead at 202 points while Hamilton's 2nd place at 191 points.

Report: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2014/7/16175.html

Next race is at Spa-Francorchamps this August 24th.

Image: BBC Sport

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

Things we learned so far...

- Yesterday, Iglesia ni Cristo celebrated its 100th anniversary. Known as the "religion in the world" INC scored 8 record titles in the Guinness World Records. At the centennial anniversary, INC recently gained two world records for largest mixed-use indoor theater in the world and the largest gospel choir.

- Things we learned at SDCC 2014: Well, at the recently concluded San Diego Comic Con, there's been a stream of announcements such as Avengers: Age of Ultron, Superman V Batman, LEGO Batman 3 video game, SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, the upcoming Star Wars Rebels TV series coming on Disney XD this autumn, Marvel's Ant-Man, the final installment of The Hobbit trilogy titled The Battle of the Five Armies, and so much more.

- Opel and Vauxhall denied rumors about dropping off their Ampera PHEV from their lineup as development for its regeneration is underway.

Opel Ampera

- The unsung carmaker known as Youabian Puma Automobiles is threatening websites and journalists for putting libelous themes against their machine.

- President Benigno Aquino III is going to deliver his 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) today as he and his administration are facing unresolved issues from the Disbursement Acceleration Program, the territorial disputes vs. China, the PDAF scam, poverty, traffic problems, agricultural problems, crime, the impending power crisis, and more.

- Check out this clip where the Disney Channel stars sang "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" from the movie Frozen!



- Pikachu takes over Yokohama's Minato Mirai! The Pokemon Company announced what it's called "The Great Pikachu Outbreak", which takes place this 9th to the 17th of August, 2014. A swarm of Pikachus are lurking around Yokohama and if you're living on that area, be sure to stop by! Oh, and there's a special Pikachu present for those who are playing Pokemon X and Pokemon Y from the Nintendo 3DS. The Pikachu's nicknamed "ランドマーク" and it's in Level 10. The special event Pikachu learns Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Surf, and Holding Hands. It even comes with the Event Ribbon commemorating this said event. You can claim one at the Yokohama Landmark Tower during this event!

The Great Pikachu Outbreak at
Yokohama Minato Mirai

- Marussia F1 Team has recruited American-born racing driver, Alexander Rossi.

- The People's Republic of China government are investigating German carmakers over the supply of spare parts.

TTFN!!!

Wow Mali! - July 27, 2014

Highlights from the July 27, 2014 episode of WOW MALI

- TURO-TURO - Don't mind getting pointed by this snotty-fingered man asking for directions!

- ANGEL VS. DEVIL  - Which of these two beings should you trust? Best to trust neither of these two...

- MAY LAMOK! - Bzzzz....bzzzz....SLAP! In your face!

- COMMERCIALS FU - On this episode's COMMERCIALS FU, this portion is brought to you by...LI-BREEZE!

- 'PARAMDAM KA NAMAN - This lady's crying because there's someone scaring you!

- Someone's talking on camera. Do what the cameraman told you if you don't wanna get caught...or not. WE CAN SEE YOU FROM HERE!!!

- EMOTE CONTROL - On this episode's EMOTE CONTROL, celebrity guest Arlene Mulach warned the end is near at the convenience store!

Gran Turismo 6: CONCEPT 2020 vs. DP-100

Two new Vision Gran Turismo cars have joined the fray in Gran Turismo 6! The Nissan CONCEPT 2020 and the Aston Martin DP-100 has arrived and these two concept cars know how to dogfight on the virtual racing battlefield!



One that represents innovation that excites while the other one represents POWER, BEAUTY, and SOUL. Pit these two together and you got yourself an appetite of exhilaration when you try both of these newborn beauties only on Gran Turismo 6 for the Playstation3.



So, how does these two stack against each other in the racing dogfight? To find out, let's start with the Nissan first.



Although it's more than just celebrating Nissan Motor Company's 80th anniversary, the Concept 2020 serves as a not-too-distant preview to the future of Nissan sports cars. It was styled by the designers in Nissan Design Europe in London and while they didn't use the clay modelling, the folks go ahead with the virtualization using numerous man hours to stylize, renderize, and perfecting the future of Nissan sports cars. While it was aerodynamically designed to behave like a racing car, its powertrain comes with a high-performance hybrid FR-4WD system with the V6 twin turbo engine connected with three electric motors, each producing instant and powerful acceleration under any condition. Its torque vectoring and the active suspension allows this concept to corner with surgical and clinical precision.



The Aston Martin DP-100 is all in the basics when it comes to performance but from spending numerous hours perfecting this concept car, the DP-100 is the ultimate representation of Aston Martin's mantra; POWER, BEAUTY, and SOUL. It has the most powerful twin-turbo V12 engine bolted in the middle, it has the most beautiful looks for an Aston Martin, and it has the soul to become a capable track weapon in the Gran Turismo environment. The folks have spent six months for this project at the Aston Martin HQ in Gaydon, Warwickshire, UK.

So, now we know the cars, let's compare these two and to find out, I head back to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. I've gone for the full circuit of the track and I sent these two machines to duke against each other, finding out which is the best.



Both of these concepts are working beautifully and even though they have different powertrains, their track capabilities are evenly matched in a one-on-one dogfight that determines who rules. The CONCEPT 2020 from Nissan is looking good but the Aston Martin DP-100 is eating up the miles and it blasts ahead from the Nissan everytime when they went through corner after corner after corner. This is gonna be one-sided.

At the end of the lap, here's the result of this experiment;

1:30.449 - CONCEPT 2020
1:28.879 - DP-100

Well, even though I have big respects to these two concepts, I believe that the Aston Martin has got what it takes to become one of the best even though the Nissan has the potential to take on the world since the Z and the GT-R. Better still, these two deserve to cut the mustard but it seems that in the end, the Aston Martin DP-100 is the clear winner.



The DP-100 and the CONCEPT 2020 are joining the ranks of the Vision Gran Turismo cars and there's more to come! Expect more Vision GT cars heading your way on GT6!

Let's Do The News! (July 26, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- Republican representative Sarah Palin caught speeding in Alaska last week, but as she told to TMZ, she even put some NASCAR references on her "speeding" issue.

- Back at the Ukraine stand-off, there's a report stating that Pro-Russian rebels took credit for shooting down two Ukrainian mercenary fighter jets over Donetsk.

- Jaguar Land Rover has purchase a garage full of 130 Jaguars from the 543-car collection of Dr. James Hull.

- McLaren's track-only P1 GTR has been teased in sketches before its debut at the Pebble Beach Concours.

P1 GTR Teaser Sketch

- Volkswagen Group confirms that there's a new Bugatti coming this 2016 but what could this be? The world will never know...

- Aston Martin released their teaser sketch for their upcoming flagship 4-door premium sedan to be sold exclusively to the Middle East.

A teaser for Aston Martin's Arab-exclusive saloon

- In 2015, expect 9 long weekends in the Philippines!

- Since 2009, Foursquare was launched as an app where people can check in on places where they're on and most travel buggies loved this nifty little check-in app. This 2014, there's going to be big changes in the world of Foursquare. As officially announced by the staff, most of the check-ins are now moved to their new app, Swarm. Most of their past check-ins will retain as well as the user's friends and pics. And yes, there's a new Foursquare coming up...

- This will be the last Ford Falcon they'll ever make as the Australian-made 4-door saloon has been given its final minor change and for this final minor change, the XR8 name has returned.

2014 Ford Falcon XR8

TTFN!!!

"Love's ultimate solution to lighten stubborn dark spots"

On the July 25, 2014 episode of Bubble Gang...

- "Wag Tayo Aalis" gags

- The Spoiled Wife

- Lala Ytera meddles with the ladies.

- Godfather Don Cantoni tries to please his new men at the dinner meeting but something's not right.

- IKAW AT ANG INA takes on...nonsense pics with nonsense captions!!!

- Bubble Gang does Dove Ultimate White Deodorant by spoofing this commercial as LOVE ULTIMATE WHITE DEODORANT! Love's ultimate solution to lighten stubborn dark spots.

- Istambay, Istambay sa Looban, Ready na ba kayo sa kuwentuhan, May bagong karakter sa tambayan, Dati siya sa kanyang...KAPRANINGAN?!

- Sorry Mr. Waiter, but your rival cafe's way better than yours...or is it?!

- Say hello to Mr. Matapobre! Defender of the rich, offender against the poor!

- IyoTube in Miley Cyrus' We Can't Stop

Citroen C4 Cactus

The Citroen C4 range once has a hatchback, the Picasso minivans, and the Aircross compact SUV. Now, the C4 family has expanded with a new member and what's this? C4 Cactus? The Cactus is a crossover, just like the Aircross, but there's more to this story than that.

2015 Citroen C4 Cactus

You see the Citroen C4 Cactus isn't more of a crossover nor a compact in its own right. It was made for those who can't really afford a regular C4 hatchback because when you look at their prices, the C4 Cactus starts at 13,950 Euros TTC, which is 5,250 Euros less than the normal C4 hatchback. That's a good merit for the Cactus, but what can you expect from the C4's lesser sibling?

Judging by its looks, it can be somewhat too cheeky in design terms. The front face looks as if it has the headlamps of the new Jeep Cherokee while the paneling on the side view feels like when steel and chocolate got accidentally fused. Oh my goodness. It looks like a mutated chocolate bar on wheels and if anyone has a craving for chocolates, look away now because you've just chased a moving piece of chocolate bar. Ha ha ha...

2015 Citroen C4 Cactus interior

2015 Citroen C4 Cactus interior

What about the interior? Well, I was expecting good things and it is but only just. When fully equipped, you can enjoy what's inside the Cactus and you'll get the same experience as you would expect from a cheap girl's car from Japan. Yes, Toyota Passo reference. But this isn't a Toyota Passo for some unknown reasons. This is a budget car loaded with some premium stuff such as a digital instrumental panel, touch screen for climate control, navigation, radio, and some thingamabobs, and for the first time, the airbag was displaced to the roof. Sounds clever but what about driving.

It behaves like a normal and civilized car. There's no complicated wizardry involved and driving one of these is incredibly easy, although you might be experiencing some understeering but never mind about that. The C4 Cactus is a simple car made for novice of drivers because thanks to its low cost of ownership, almost everyone can afford this simple machine made of simple stuff.

For a car so simple, the Cactus is available with the choice of three petrol engines and two diesel engines. The top-of-the-line is the one with the BlueHDi 100 engine mated with a 5-speed manual gearbox. It will do 0-100kph in 10.7 seconds and a top speed of 184kph. It's not what you call quick but as a city car, the Cactus tries to be content with what it has but is the car content even though it doesn't have a split-fold rear seat or a wind-down back windows? Even though it doesn't have those like you would expect in a typical Citroen, it's natural.

2015 Citroen C4 Cactus

So would you buy one? Even though it costs less than a normal C4, you should go for it if you're new to the world of motoring but if you want something even more affordable than the C4 Cactus but sacrifice its sizing for something else, get yourself a new C1.

Photo: PSA Peugeot Citroen

Let's Do The News! (July 25, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- You may remember that yesterday, Air Algerie lost contact with one of their planes nearly an hour after takeoff from Burkina Faso to Algiers. Now, there's a new report stating that the Air Algerie flight AH5017, which carried 116 passengers inside, was likely crashed in the city of Mali. Reports stating that this flight asked to adjust its route due to the typhoon.

- AWESOME! The Bat Tumbler from The Dark Knight trilogy films has spawned a buildable LEGO version! The LEGO Bat Tumbler will go on sale this September at a very expensive $199 and it has 1,869 pieces for LEGO enthusiasts to build it themselves.

LEGO Bat Tumbler

- SUPER HEROES! SWEATY NERDS! AN EPIC BATTLE! There's a new special event going on now on the Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff app! On this special event, there's a Quahog Comic Con happening now and Peter Griffin can't wait to see celebrities guesting on this convention. Only problem is that nerds are infesting his day! Get a chance to score superhero-ish prizes as well as superhero costumes for Peter, Chris, Lois, and Quagmire. Not only that, you can also win special celebrities to use in-game such as Patrick Stewart, Ron Perlman, Felicia Day, Stan Lee, and our very own Mr. Sulu himself, George Takei! Get going! Oh, and tell those geeks and nerds to back off before you'll EXTERMINATE them. POW!

- Rainbow Rocks, the sequel to last year's My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, is hitting participating theaters this September 27, 2014!

- Subaru teases their brand new sports sedan, the WRX S4, coming this late August 2014. It comes with the same features as the LEVORG sports tourer. It has the 2.0L "Blue Boxer" DIT engine, Sport Lineartronic CVT, and Eyesight Ver. 3.

WRX S4

As you may know, the WRX S4 they're referring from Subaru is this...

2015 Subaru WRX

Just to let you know...

- Dog With A Blog's G Hannelius has a brand new single titled "4:45". This digital single is now available on iTunes!

4:45

- Since its launch last month, Daihatsu's revived Copen kei roadster has scored over 4,000 orders. Over 5 times more than the 700 monthly unit target.

- Team RWBY returns as the first episode of RWBY Chapter 2 is now streaming on CrunchyRoll! In the first episode, the girls are back for their second semester at Beacon. Enjoy watching the first episode of the latest chapter of the popular RWBY web series now on CrunchyRoll.

- A 5.4M quake jolted Southern Leyte.

- When the next time you and your family are enjoying a movie time on cinemas, trailers of violent movies will no longer be present in theaters that show movies with the General Audience rating or those approved for young audiences, according to the MTRCB.

TTFN!!!

Let's Do The News! (July 24, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- During the onslaught of Typhoon Glenda, about 28 houses were destroyed by this deadly typhoon that ravaged the Philippines last week.

- Air Algerie lost contact with one of their planes nearly an hour after takeoff from Burkina Faso to Algiers. This is just another one of air travel problems moments after a SAM shot at a Malaysian Airlines plane in Ukraine.

- Cupcakes, rainbows, and murder?! If this could turn into a Robot Chicken sketch, I'm sold because recently, publisher Harper Collins pulled out most of the Hello Kitty Dictionary inventories after a complaint from a British mum regarding a "murderous description". The word in question from the Hello Kitty Dictionary is "necklace".

necklace noun (1) a piece of jewellery which a woman wears around her neck (2) In South Africa, a name for a tyre filled with petrol which is placed round a person's neck and set on fire in order to kill that person

Uh-oh...Looks like with that murderous description about the "necklace" word, it seems this dictionary is too inappropriate for the little girls.

- The Nissan Note E12 now comes with the NISMO model for the first time! Apart from the base NISMO model which comes with the 1.2L DIG-S engine and a CVT, there's the NISMO S model which uses the same 1.5L engine from the March K13 NISMO and it's mated with a 5-speed manual gearbox. It's coming this autumn 2014 exclusively to the Japanese market.

2015 Nissan Note NISMO

- IT'S THE NEW PORSCHE CAYENNE! Sort of... The facelifted second-generation Cayenne is now available with the Cayenne S E-Hybrid, which is the first plug-in hybrid in the premium SUV segment.

2015 Porsche Cayenne

- The third DLC catalog for the PS3-exclusive THE iDOLM@STER ONE FOR ALL has finally announced and it's available this 29th of July on the PlaystationStore. For this third DLC, experience an all new scenario known as ７６５プロ、常夏の島へ行く, which features a quintet performance from the song as heard from THE iDOLM@STER MOVIE called ラムネ色 青春 while most of your idols are now donned in their brand new outfit known as "Sea Bloom Curtain".

Also in the catalog is the special appearance of Ai, Eri, and Ryo from iM@S Dearly Stars. Then, new outfits to try on such as Abyssal Majesty, 765 Color Glitter, Sailor Swimsuit, Princess Melody, 765 Academy Jersey, Burning Performer, and Cyber Starship. And finally, additional songs such as 待ち受けプリンス, 神SUMMER!!, 七彩ボタン, and ポジティブ！

- The first 100 out of the 200 cars in the upcoming Forza Horizon 2 video game on the XBOX consoles are announced! On the first 100, there are new additions to the Forza series such as the Renault Alpine A110, Jeep Willys MB, and the Volkswagen Type 2 De Luxe (otherwise known as the SambaBus).

- Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is offering everyone a PhP1,000,000 reward for those who can give information on the killers behind the murder of racing car driver Enzo Pastor.

- America's biggest fast food chains got dragged as the toxic food scandal in China lingers.

TTFN!!!