Let's Do The News! (January 19, 2015)

Welcome back. Here is your current sitrep:

- In Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, the Alaska Aces leveled the score at 3 wins each against the San Miguel Beermen after their 87-76 win, forcing them to the final game of the finals. Game 7 will find out who wins the title this Wednesday.

- The Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will be playing at this year's Super Bowl XLIX!

- Chad sent its forces at the request of Cameroon for a joint ops against the Islamist group Boko Haram.

- Chinese authorities detained over 1,200 people since last May in an operation to prevent illegal exists from the country. A majority of them are believed to be ethnic Uygurs.

- Japan PM Shinzo Abe says that his country will play an important role to achieve peace in the Middle East. He was speaking at a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday and he also said he wants to offer candid advice to both Israelis and Palestinians as a true friends. He's planning to visit the Palestinian territories on Tuesday.

- The European Union urges broad alliance against terrorism following the three days of Paris attacks caused by Islamists especially the Charlie Hebdo attack and the uncovered plot from Belgium to spread terrorism throughout Europe.

- Investigators believed that the crash of AirAsia QZ8501 was not likely due to terrorism after numerous analysis on the cockpit's voice recorder but there are signs that it was caused by bad weather.

- If you missed the livestreaming special featuring the an exclusive preview of Top Gear Series 22, that is set to air globally after UK airing next week, watch here:



- In case you missed it: Shooting for the upcoming Series 9 of Doctor Who has commenced. The upcoming series of BBC's hit TV show which stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman returns this late 2015.

TTFN!!!

Pope Francis in PH - Conclusion

Photo: BBC

January 18, 2015

Over six million Filipinos have been gathered at the beautiful Rizal Park last Sunday just to attend the biggest open-air mass held by Pope Francis. That is a million more than how many Filipinos gathered for Blessed John Pope II's visit in the Philippines back in 1995. The biggest mass in Filipino history is Pope Francis' last full day in the Philippines and despite the heavy rain pouring on the nation's capital due to Tropical Storm Mekhala/Amang, those six million devotees became very defiant enough to see the Pope for one final time. It was even seen on national television as well for those who couldn't make it to the venue.

And here the curtain falls on Pope Francis' Philippine tour but that does not mean that our experiences during the papal visit will end. The moments we learned during his arrival will always be remembered for generations to come.

Further reading: 

1) http://m.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30869019

2) http://news.yahoo.com/filipinos-flock-hear-pope-offer-hope-consolation-poor-060734345.html

Pope Francis in PH - Part Three

Photo: Interaksyon/TV5

January 17, 2015

It is the third day of Pope Francis' PH tour and despite strong winds and pouring rain because of the imminent Typhoon Mekhala/Amang, not to mentioned a plane carrying officials made an emergency landing at Tacloban airport, he managed to get through the city that was heavily devastated by Superstorm Haiyan/Yolanda in 2013. The worshippers are so defiant, they've braved the harsh weather just to say hi to the Pope. Because his stay at the Visayas region was cut short due to Typhoon Mekhala/Amang, the Pope apologized the public, especially those in Leyte, because he..."had something prepared especially for them".

There was a report about one woman killed after the mass, when one of the scaffolding near the stage collapsed.

With his Visayas leg cut short due to the tropical storm, the Pope is heading back to the capital to stage a mass held at the Rizal Park where ten thousands of crowds will be gathered.

Further reading:

1) http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/dearpopefrancis-day-3-netizens-ask-the-holy-father-not-to-leave

2) http://www.dw.de/pope-francis-meets-haiyan-survivors-in-the-philippines/a-18197370

3) http://news.yahoo.com/pope-heading-philippines-where-adoring-crowds-await-064259265.html

4) http://m.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30859609

American Sniper (2015 film)

NAVY Seal Chris Kyle (1974-2013) has been feared and respected as the most lethal sniper in US military history. From 1999 to 2009, he has the most number of sniper kills in history and the Pentagon confirmed that he scored over 150 kills, exceeding the average American record of 109 kills, although declined to have it verified to the public. He was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze stars with Valor, and numerous accolades for his outstanding military records.

Based on the best selling novel according to the New York Times and directed by the masterful Clint Eastwood, American Sniper is a powerful biopic which stars Bradley Cooper as NAVY Seal Chris Kyle as moviegoers are going to capture the life and times of a soldier that inspires both fear and admiration from his enemies and allies. From his humble past up to his decade-long career as a soldier, American Sniper delivers a powerful feel that no other war movies in history could possess.

Every time this movie progresses, we're starting to getting to know more about this feared sniper everyone's been talking about from the US military. If the man in question has survived, he would have felt a slight smile in his face upon witnessing his memoir come to life, although we weren't able to meet the NAVY Seal behind this story. Actually, it's questionable if he ever did exist.

Although mixed in reactions, whether this film is either good or bad, this war movie is the main reason why we all want to go to the movies. People who witnessed it want to burn his image to their own memories and they weren't the only ones around here who witnessed it. Last year's war memoirs like Lone Survivor and Unbroken done a pretty good job delivering an unforgettable tale about how they lived to tell the tale about their experiences during the war but for American Sniper, this has been one of the most powerful war memoirs ever experienced because it delivers a "first look", "first shoot", and "first kill" experience moviegoers looking forward to. With the drama, action, and suspense, blended together, this biopic can be a great recipe of success.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Driving Music (What is the name of the song on car commercial?) Vol. 65

Report from AWACS:

Radar has detected presence of music thieves from our search radar. They're apparently aiming at their nearest DL sites due to the music's presence at a certain car commercial. The content is as follows:

audi a3 cabriolet commercial song

nissan innovation that excites commercial song

renault twingo advert song 2014

Apparently efforts of trying to decode these messages are far from complete and they've been given a "Matched Third Part Content" warning. Your mission, provide another set of 10 Driving Musics on this segment. This is a very dangerous mission but there's no other way to do it.

Launch!

10) Sexx Laws by Beck - Renault Twingo Advert Song 2014

9) 動く霊峰～勇者のためのマーチ～最終決戦 - from the Toyota Aqua X-URBAN Commercial

8) 冒険の旅 - Toyota Aqua 2014 Commercial

7) Rainy Days and Mondays by The Carpenters - 2015 Chevrolet Colorado "Theme Song" ad

6) Back in Black by AC/DC - 2015 Chevrolet Colorado "Theme Song" ad

5) Beware of the Dog by Jamelia - 2014 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Korean commercial

4) Boys & Girls by Sadistic Mika Band - 1989 Mazda Familia Japanese commercial

3) Here Comes The Wizard by LCTRISC - 2014 Skoda Fabia commercial

2) You Win Again by Bee Gees - Asia Rocsta Korean commercial

1) Place of Fire - The BONEZ - 2015 Nissan X-Trail commercial

Driving Music from Leopaul's Blog is the segment where solves every car enthusiasts' questions about the title of the song of car commercials...with the risk of MATCHED THIRD PARTY CONTENT on their status. Acknowledge or dispute, it's your choice.

Let's Do The News! (January 17, 2015)

Welcome back. Here is your current sitrep:

- In Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, the San Miguel Beermen gained ahead against the Alaska Aces at the score of 93-88, in favor of the Beermen. The SMB is now 3-2 lead against the Aces.

- The Japanese Emperor and Empress attended a ceremony in Kobe, Japan, earlier to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Kobe earthquake, which is known to be one of the most tragic events in Japanese history.

- Japanese PM Shinzo Abe met up with Egyptian PM Ibrahim Mehlib in the hopes that he will boost the ties of the two nations at various levels. He arrived at the Egyptian capital Cairo on his first leg of his Middle East tour.

- Following the Belgian policemen shot down two members of a terrorist group and arrested 15 others on a raid across 12 locations related to a certain terrorist organization, Belgium began tightening security after debunking a large-scale terrorist plot. Authorities suspect members of the group planned to kill police officers on the street or at police stations. During the raid, four AK-47 rifles, pistols, ammo, and police uniforms were discovered, spreading fear of terrorist attacks in this European country.

- The US government announced that they will send several soldiers to train with the Syrian rebels in the continuing battle against the Islamic State. According to the Defense Department spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby, the training personnel will be sent to countries near Syria within the next 4-6 weeks.

- The Nissan Fuga Y51 will be getting a facelift this February and following what just happened on the latest-generation Nissan Skyline V37, the latest minor change on the Fuga, which is essentially a JDM version of the Infiniti Q70 (formerly the Infiniti M), will have Infiniti badges all over it while carrying a revised exterior design.

2015 Nissan Fuga

- BMW revealed the facelifted version of the second-generation 1-Series hatchback.

2016 BMW 1-Series

- McLaren is preparing an even more hardcore P1 GTR track car at this year's Geneva Motor Show.

- To celebrate the launch of Nick Jr.'s brand new show, Blaze and The Monster Machines, there is now an educational app available on iTunes which is based on the new Nick Jr. show. Blaze and The Monster Machines follows on the adventures of a monster truck named Blaze and his best pal AJ. It encourages preschoolers about science, technology, engineering, and math as they follow along with their new preschool show. In this app, preschoolers can build tracks and race around their built tracks as they learn about acceleration, trajectory, force, and other forms of STEM. It's now available at iTunes fo $3.99. Ask your parents first.

TTFN!!!

Pope Francis in PH - Part Two

Photo: Interaksyon/TV5

January 16, 2015

On the second day of Pope Francis' Philippine tour, the Filipino crowd's been gathered on the streets around the Malacanang Palace, the Manila Cathedral, the Mall of Asia Arena, to the Apostolic Nunciature, just to say hello to the Pope.

While he was there, the Pope made a surprise visit with the street children at the Blessed Charles de Foucauld shelter in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. He stayed there for a few minutes while watching the street children smiled because of his presence. They never knew he was that kind of friendly among the street children and he believes that "they are not garbage" when he look upon the underprivileged youth.

Although the Pope didn't mentioned about last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, France, mostly the Charlie Hebdo attack, he warned the public that even "free speech" has its limits to follow and that killing "in the name of God" is not just wrong but provoking other people's beliefs is also wrong.

"One cannot make war (or) kill in the name of one's own religion" he said. "...To kill in the name of God is an aberration."

In the midst of the imminent wrath of Typhoon Amang/Mekhala, Pope Francis also warned the public that humans are responsible for climate change. He doesn't know if human activities caused this phenomenon but to him, "it was man that slapped nature in the face." They claimed that the Pope used science to inform his opinions about climate change.

Further reading:

1) http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/dearpopefrancis-day-2-filipinos-post-close-encounters-with-the-pontiff

2) http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pope-francis-visit-manila-shelter-amazes-filipino-street-kids-n287451

3) http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/14/asia/philippines-pope-francis-visit/

4) http://m.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2015/01/pope-francis-climate-change

Pope Francis in PH - Part One

Image: AFP

January 15, 2015

After his trip to Sri Lanka, which is part of his Asian trip, Pope Francis arrived in the Philippines, a nation which is home to Asia's largest Catholic population. Millions of Filipinos have been gathered at the Villamor Airbase to meet up with the papal during his five day stay in the Philippines, although he was greeted with a gale blew away his papal skullcap but that didn't bothered his rapturous welcome to the Filipino public.

The Pope said that his encounter with the Filipino public was "very impressive, important and daunting".

The papal visit includes meetings, masses, and speeches in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, as well as his arrival in Tacloban, which was heavily hit by Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan two years ago.

When in Manila, Pope Francis prefers to have a lowered security stance just so he can get close to his Filipino followers, but that meant risking his life. The Popemobile he rode during his Manila leg is based on an Isuzu pickup popularized by Filipinos and it's an open-sided vehicle with no bulletproof means on it. On regular trips, he was chauffeured by a VW minivan while escorted by a police motorcade.

There has been a rumor about authorities caged street children to clean up before the papal visit but the Department of Social Welfare denied the report about street children caged in detention centers for the pope's visit as the government doesn't cage children and they play a role in the papal visit.

During the papal visit, PAGASA reports that Tropical Storm Amang/Mekkhala has gained strength and is expected to make landfall in the capital this Sunday, when the Pope plans an open-air mass for the Filipino public. The Filipinos are very defiant that they will brave the harsh conditions just to see the Pope during his stay.

If that wasn't enough, signal interference during the papal visit turned harsh, meaning social media during Pope Francis' stay in the Philippines is not like a walk in the park. That's because Globe Telecom and Smart Communications disrupted their services in accordance of the National Telecommunications Commission and they're working on this situation during the papal visit.

With the first day done, the Pope's looking forward during his four remaining days on his PH visit.

Further reading:
1) http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DISPATCHB-4261
2) http://www.interaksyon.com/article/103095/pope-on-pinoys--1st-encounter-was-very-impressive-important-and-daunting
3) http://abcnews.go.com/International/pope-francis-loses-hat-philippines-arrival/story?id=28240319

Let's Do The News! (January 15, 2015)

Welcome back. Here is your current sitrep:

- In Game 4 of the PBA Finals, the San Miguel Beermen leveled the score at two wins each against the Alaska Aces after the score of 88-70, in favor of the Beermen.

- Funerals have been held for four Charlie Hebdo cartoonists who were killed in last week's attacks by Islamists. Relatives and friends of the fallen cartoonists paid fast respects as well as a columnist and a policeman,

- Part of the US-Cuba ties, US citizens travelling to Cuba allowed bringing their credit cards and for US businesses to export some technologies. These are one of the new travel and trade rules between the US and Cuba that will take place on Friday, according to officials.

- The recently declassified 1965 Okinawa speech made 50 years ago by the late Japanese PM Eisaku Sato was revised under US demand to stress the important role of the Japanese island's important role and the region's security.

- Another trailer for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron hits the web! Check it out!

 

- After months of rumors, it's finally official! The 720th Pokemon that will set to star on 2015's Pokemon XY movie is named Hoopa, the Mischief Pokemon and the title of the 2015 movie is 光輪（リング）の超魔神 フーパ. It's coming soon to ORAS as well! Yes, please!

光輪（リング）の超魔神 フーパ

- In addition, The Pokemon Company announced a free-to-play PokeToru (Pokemon Shuffle) 3DS downloadable game coming this February.

- The Top Gear presenters turned themselves into LEGO in this latest Season 22 trailer!

TTFN!!!

Let's Do The News! (January 14, 2015)

Welcome back. Here is your current sitrep:

- There has been a massive line of people in France who can't get their hands on the latest edition of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine featuring the Prophet Mohammad holding a placard saying"Je Suis Charlie". Over three million copies of this issue are printed, a week after the Paris attacks done by Islamic gunmen who killed eight journalists and four other people in the French capital.

- The Japanese government approved the 4.98 trillion yen budget for defence spending, despite long-maritime tensions with China. Gen Nakatani, the new defence minster, said this record-high defence budget is needed to deal with the nation's changing situation. The spending on the defence budget includes 20 maritime patrol aircraft, five crossover aircraft, and six stealth fighters. They're also planning to purchase 30 amphibious vehicles and an early-warning aircraft that can detect vessels and other aircraft within a long range.

- A new video came from the Islamic State militant group showcased a boy executing two men with a gun. The video released yesterday shows a man who claimed to be an IS fighter and a boy holding a gun, standing behind 2 defenseless men who turned out to be Russian spies. It seems that they're now using children as part of strengthen the aggressor group.

- The Communist Party-run newspaper reportedly detained nine ethnic Uygurs by Shanghai authorities who tried to escape the nation using fake Turkish passports. Not only that, two other Chinese and 10 Turkish nationals were reportedly detained two months ago and they're allegedly helped the Uygurs.

- A soldier from Nueva Ecija became a winner of a 160 million pesos jackpot price of the 6/49 lotto draw last January 11, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

- Bob Arum, the boss of Top Rank Promotions, said that Manny Pacquiao has agreed to terms to fight against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. this spring and the only way to keep this long-delayed fight happen is by Mayweather's approval.

- Good Smile Company unveiled a Max Factory 1/7 scale figure of Chitoge Kirisaki from Nisekoi! Arriving this June, this figure costs 10,926 Yen (before tax). Time to get our checkbooks ready.

Max Factory CHitoge Kirisaki

- Yet another Kancolle figure prepared for its sortie on the battlefield courtesy of Good Smile Company as Nendoroid Haruna is now ready for deployment this May for 4,630 Yen (before tax).

Nendoroid Haruna

- Meet the fastest SUV to lap the Nurburgring and no. It's no longer the upcoming Range Rover Sport SVR now. It's the facelifted version of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. Unveiled at the recent 2015 NAIAS, the improved Cayenne Turbo S sees an addition 20HP increase to its 4.8L twin-turbo V8 engine as well as its Dynamic Chassis Control. Such improvement had made the improved version lapped the Nurburgring in 7:59.74, quicker than the RR Sport SVR. This makes us super jealous to have one.

2015 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S

TTFN!!!

Ssangyong Tivoli

2015 Ssangyong Tivoli

This is Ssangyong's first all-new vehicle since its takeover by India's Mahindra & Mahindra four years ago and it's called the Tivoli. A crossover that took its name from a confectionary we remember when we were kids. Sounds sweet but is Ssangyong's compact SUV as sweeter as the confection where its name took it from? Uh...not quite as you imagine it.

The Tivoli is essentially a production version of two XIV concepts and it's built on the X100 platform. Although a concept turned reality, the design of the Tivoli looks questionable. On the front, it looks like an MG3 but on the back, the rear lamps are kinda like they took from the Jaguar XJ. Ssangyong wanted to be somewhat as European as the European compact crossovers but even if you get too far away, you will have fewer chances to know that it is a Ssangyong on the road and not an MG, unless you're wearing specs.

2015 Ssangyong Tivoli interior

2015 Ssangyong Tivoli interior

The interior of the Tivoli is not half bad considering everything that you expect from an everyday car is in order. There's seating for five, there's climate control, there's a steering wheel, and everything that a car should have is right here. There is a dial that can change into different colors at the touch of a button and that looks cool. It's like a miniature nightclub from your childhood toybox. And there's more because depending on the variant, the seats are heated and if you're on the chilly Seoul afternoon, you can turn the heated seats on so you can keep yourselves warmer.

The rear seats can be folded down for luggage purposes but sadly, being a compact car, the things you won't fit in are a king-sized mattress or a horizontally-shaped cabinet you bought from the thrift store. Still, it's good enough to store heaps of shopping bags on the go, though.

There was one downside on the inside and this sat-nav system feels more Made In China as those cheap gadgets made by companies you never heard of before. It kinda feels cheap, isn't it?

2015 Ssangyong Tivoli

The Tivoli is powered by an e-XGi160 1.6L engine that develops 126PS of power and 16kg-m of torque. That's a lot more than what you get from the Nissan Juke's 1.5L engine and there's more because while the Juke is available with the rather shoddy CVT gearbox, the Tivoli is mated with either a 6-speed manual gearbox (which is quite good) and a 6-speed automatic sourced from AISIN, a Japanese transmission company. Sadly, though, unlike the Juke, the Tivoli has a smaller fuel tank because while the Juke's tank carries 52 liters, the Tivoli carries 47 liters so...that's a downside for Ssangyong there.

In terms of driving experience, the Tivoli is beyond average. Not too good but not too bad. It even has three driving modes such as Comfort which make it softer, Normal for average, and Sport which makes the suspension firmed up to handle with precision. Sadly though, even in Sport mode, the Tivoli doesn't feel its sporty character at all. And there's another downside as well because despite being an SUV, the Tivoli is available only in front-wheel drive so you might be thinking why would Ssangyong make an SUV that is cheaper than the Korando C but offered only with a commoner drivetrain that we can't take it on a day to day use and only limited to urban driving? The whole story is still shrouded in mystery for the Tivoli though.

Should you buy one? The Tivoli is priced at 16,350,000 up to 23,470,000 Korean Won (around $15,000 to $21,500) so that's more reasonably priced than the Nissan Juke so it's somewhat of a bargain for first-time buyers.

Available Colors: Grand White, Silent Silver, Flaming Red, Dandy Blue, Space Grey, Ice Cap Blue, and Techno Grey.

Photo: Ssangyong Motor Company

Let's Do The News! (January 13, 2015)

Welcome back. Here is your current sitrep:

- This week's edition of Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine that was attacked by Islamic terrorists last week, will showcase a sketch depicting the Prophet Muhammad holding a "Je suis Charlie" sign while the words above the sketch are "All is forgiven".

- The cockpit voice recorder from the crashed AirAsia QZ8501 flight was finally recovered a day after the retrieval of the first piece of the black box flight recorder. With these two devices recovered from the crash site, they will now be able to find out what caused the disappearance of 162 people on board last month.

- Despite North Korea demanded Washington to cancel bilateral drills with South Korea planned for this year in exchange of halting nuclear tests, the US State Department says that they will not cancel their annual joint military exercise with South Korea. State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said that the North's statement inappropriately links the routine exercises to the possibility of another nuclear test and an imminent threat.

- Reports told that the Popemobile will be prepared for the imminent arrival of Pope Francis in the Philippines on the 15th to 19th of January will be based on a popular Isuzu pickup truck and will be assembled by Gencars Inc. The Isuzu-based Popemobile will be reportedly be used by Pope Francis in the calamity-stricken Tacloban, while a jeepney-based Popemobile is said to be used for Manila visit.

Back in 1995, a defunct Philippine car company called Francisco Motors Corporation built a Popemobile based on the Anfra AUV during Blessed Pope John Paul II's visit to the Philippines.

- A trio of high-performance vehicles from Ford Motor Company was finally unveiled at the 2015 NAIAS. The 2017 Ford GT supercar, the 2016 Mustang GT350R, and the 2017 Ford SVT Raptor, are Ford's star cars that stole the crowd. The GT350R maybe a hardcore version of the GT350 Mustang with reduced weight and added dynamics while the new GT and new SVT Raptor are heavily armed with the most powerful EcoBoost V6 turbo engines to date. And it gets better because...

- ...following the announcement of the three new hi-po Ford vehicles, Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios announced Forza Motorsport 6 coming exclusively on the XBOX One console at late 2015. Not only these three became playable for the gaming public but the 2017 Ford GT became the hero car of the upcoming game that celebrates 10 years of Forza Motorsport history. The year 2015 will be the biggest year for the Forza franchise yet!

Forza Motorsport 6

- The production-version Honda/Acura NSX has finally unveiled at the 2015 NAIAS! It's about time the real deal showed up!

2016 Acura NSX

- The all-new, second-generation, Lincoln MKX, has been officially revealed during the 2015 NAIAS. Now ready to take on the world, the new MKX offers a sleek crossover design, high-tech features, and an advanced 2.7L EcoBoost turbo engine that develops more power than the 3.7L V6 engine offered on this new generation.

2016 Lincoln MKX

- Bentley officially announced that their upcoming SUV, due 2016, will be named Bentayga.

TTFN!!!