Let's Do The News! (April 25, 2015)

- Japanese authorities arrested a man suspected of landing a drone on the rooftop of the Office of the Prime Minister in Tokyo. The unidentified 40-year-old male turned himself to the authorities in Obama City, Fukui Prefecture at around 2000 hours Japan time last night. He told the cops that he landed the drone as an anti-nuclear act and he put sand from Fukushima in the container.

- The military chief of North Korea threatened a nuclear attack in response to joint military exercises conducted by South Korean and American troops. It is feared that they might carry out further provocation by firing a ballistic missile on the day of the army's founding anniversary.

- Australia and New Zealand are remembering their troops during the Battle of Gallipoli in World War One. Events throughout Saturday mark the centenary of Anzacs at Gallipoli on Anzac Day.

- Sabeen Mehmud, a Pakistani human rights activist has been killed in a drive-by shooting in the city of Karachi, moments after hosting a talk on allegations of torture in Balochistan.

- Little did you know that boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is preparing himself for the big fight in May, bought 100 cars in a dealership in Las Vegas.

- The next installment in The Fast & The Furious movie series will be showing in April 2017. This was announced by actor Vin Diesel himself.

- Lovelivers in the world, rejoice! Love Live! The School Idol Movie, which will be showing in Japanese cinemas this June 13, will have its global theatrical release! Select US cities, Hong Kong, South Korea, Oceania, select ASEAN countries, and Taiwan will be joining the fun with the μ's big screen debut!

TTFN!!!

Bubble Gang goes to Caramoan

For their 2015 Summer Special, Bubble Gang goes to the beautiful island of Caramoan and no. They're not here to go wet and wild, they're here to cause some more mischief and fun under the sun. For their first half of their annual summer special, let's see what are they up to...

- IKAW AT ANG INA takes on...taking selfies in the beach!

- Beach gags!

- He's caught "red-handed"!

- Where am I? What am I doing here?!

- Istambay, Istambay sa Pasyalan, Ang Bida, Guillermo ang Pangalan, Pari Yata S'ya ng Kalungkutan, Ayaw sumama Kahit...KUWENTUHAN!

- A sandy proposal for a very special someone...

- Antonietta ruins a reality show!

- Availing some summer promos, eh? No thanks...

- IyoTube in Uptown Funk

- Phone calls from the heat stroke victim's untrusted people are not helping you.

- Tips to find wi-fi on your beach vacation.

- Tata Lino offers advice to the beach goers.

...and that's it for Part 1! Join them next week on Part 2 for more trouble in Caramoan!

Let's Do The News! (April 24, 2015)

- A few days ago, a Hong Kong government official named Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee made racist remarks against "Filipino domestic workers" working in HK, causing outrage from the Filipino community and lawmakers in the Philippines take a stab on the HK politician over her racist remarks. Now, the lawmaker apologised to those who were offended by her article but she insisted the comments were not sexist nor racist.

- Memorial services are underway in the European nation of Armenia to mark the centenary of the start of "mass killings" by Ottoman Turks. In 1915, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Turks, whose empire was dissolving. Most of the victims were deported to barren desert region  where they died of starvation and thirst while some were killed in massacres. Over 1.5 million people were killed according to Armenian officials while Turkey says the number of deaths was smaller than what Armenians claimed. Turkey strongly opposes the genocide term to describe the killings and the dispute created tensions between Turkey and Armenia.

- The Battle of Gallipoli, one of the most gruesome events during World War One, were remembered as events are due to take place to commemorate the centenary of one of WWI's bloodiest campaigns ever told. Prince Charles and Prince Harry will be one of the attendees of the memorial services at the site of the battle at Cape Helles.

- Onto the drone investigation in Tokyo, police officials say that the drone they found on the roof of the Prime Minister's Office may have been controlled by someone up to 1.2km away. They suspect someone was intentionally flying the drone over the building, as it was carrying a bottle filled with cesium.

- Meanwhile, another drone was found into the compound of a British Embassy in Tokyo, only this time it was flown by one of Tokyo's TV networks, namely TOKYO MX. The Tv station flew the drone on Wednesday evening from its HQ to shoot footage for a program, and then it went missing after flying toward the embassy. No one was injured.

- The Japanese government will invite Philippine president Benigno Aquino III this June.

- As the countdown to the ultimate battle approaches, tickets for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight will be released anytime now. Meanwhile, boxer Shane Mosley, the one who fought the two boxing superstars in the past, believes that this fight will end in a knockout.

- Japanese school swimsuits are going to look as boring as hell thanks to some Japanese swimsuit designer creating a new look for those traditional school swimsuits. Although a two-piece swimwear, these new swimwear can be taken off easily and long enough to ensure no skin is exposed even when sitting by the pool.

- More details about the 2016 Acura NSX hybrid engine-wielding supercar have been confirmed by the officials. It will be the first to use a multimaterial space frame consists of high-strength steel and aluminum, ablation technology where the ultra-rigid castings to be used within the crush zones, and the engine that powers it will be a 3.5L twin-turbo V6 engine mounted in the middle and connected with electric motors.

TTFN!!!

James May resigns from Top Gear

James May

On his interview with The Guardian, it seems that James May has officially resigned from his duties as presenter of BBC's hit motoring TV show, Top Gear, moments after the termination of Jeremy Clarkson due to some "fracas" with one of the show's producers.

He states that having a replacement for Clarkson is not going to work and it would be lame for that to happen. Despite his resignation, he wanted to continue working for the BBC, although no further information has been given.

He also said that the BBC didn't technically sacked Clarkson, he didn't renewed his contract for a moment and the BBC are more than welcome to have their doors open for Clarkson's return.

Moments after talks about May's resignation, TG executive producer Andy Wilman has officially exited the long-running show. It was confirmed by the BBC according to reports.

Report: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/04/23/james-may-officialy-quits-top-gear-clarkson/

Meeting Bruce Lee's grave

Several days ago, me and my sister's family went to a cemetery, which is a few miles away from Downtown Seattle, and in that cemetery lies a grave from one of the most iconic martial artists in history, Bruce Lee.

It's not just the legend who rests his soul in the cemetery known as the Lake View Cemetery, but also his son named Brandon Lee as well.

Seattle's Lake View Cemetery is just over nine miles away from my home in South Graham Street and for first timers, the only way to find Bruce and Brandon Lee's grave is the colors red and black of their graves. Once you found it, congrats, you just found a potential tourist spot.

Bruce Lee's grave is colored red while his son's grave is colored black. Although I never know about his son, I knew little about the famed martial artist known for his timeless, buttkicking, moves.

I didn't realized he was buried in this Seattle-based cemetery but it seems that the city of Seattle pays a lot of tribute for Bruce Lee's contributions.

If you see his grave as well as his son, don't forget to pay respects from them and for a memorabilia, take a picture with yourself or your mates alongside them. Bruce and Brandon Lee's grave is a great place when you're traveling in Seattle.

Watta!!!

Bruce and Brandon Lee's grave is at Seattle's Lake View Cemetery, located at:
1554 15th Ave E
Seattle WA 98112

Open from 9:00AM to dusk daily. In winter, it closes by 4:15PM. In Spring/Fall, it closes at 6:00PM. And in Summer, it closes to 8:00PM.

Let's Do The News! (April 23, 2015)

- Returning to the recent migrant tragedy, European leaders are holding an emergency summit on tackling against the rise of migrants risking their lives by crossing through the Mediterranean. Draft proposals include offering 5,000 places for resettlement for migrants "qualifying for protection" under their first project.

- According to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, authorities in France have foiled five terror attacks in recent months. The latest was a French-Algerian man who was arrested over a planned attack on churches in the Paris suburb of Villejuif, after he shot himself by accident and called an ambulance.

- Authorities in Tokyo began investigating a drone found on top of the office of Japan PM Shinzo Abe, saying nobody had been up there for the last month. They're busy checking CCTVs in the vicinity to find out when the drone landed and analyzing contents of a container mounted on the device, which contained cesium.

- The first-ever Original Savory restaurant in Manila caught fire on a late Thursday morning. It broke out at around 1102 hours Philippine time and it was put out at around 1358 hours Philippine Time according to the Fire Rescue PH Twitter account. That burned restaurant was the first ever branch when Original Savory opened as a small panciteria in Quiapo in 1950, later expanded, and made famous for their fried chicken recipe.

- A World War II bomb was found under Camp Crame, Quezon City. This 155mm bomb was dug by workers while installing water pipes in front of the Directorate for Police Community Relations office around 1330 hours Philippine Time. It could explode in case this bomb initiates with friction heat and other elements and as what Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sinda said, this vintage bomb has to be transported and detonated in the Crow Valley Range in Capas, Tarlac.

- What could this mystery Peugeot concept car be?

- Because he got nothing else to do ever since Top Gear went off the air following the fracas that cost Jeremy Clarkson's job and the show itself, Richard Hammond is working on a car-related short film just to keep his time running.

- Good Smile Company announced a brand new figure straight from The iDOLM@STER anime series and it's, yes, Makoto Kikuchi. Recreating her pose from the anime DVD/Blu-Ray covers just like the others, this is one heck of a collectible iM@S fans should have and it costs 8,400 Yen plus tax when it arrives this September. Your checkbooks will feel sorry for this, petrolheads.

Makoto Kikuchi

- The president and the co-founder of the video-sharing company FC2 were arrested on charges of obscenity as the company itself is under investigation. The FC2 video-sharing website is the 4th most accessed video-sharing website in Japan as of March and this site allegedly allowed users to shar and access obscene content.

- The Donkervoort D8 GTO track-day road car has unveiled its another special edition and this time, it's the Bare Naked Carbon Edition, and as the name implies, this special model has its entire car wrapped in carbon fiber, meaning it's several kilos lighter than the normal D8 GTO. It still comes with the same 2.5L TFSi Audi engine as the original.

Donkervoort D8 GTO Bare Naked Carbon Edition

TTFN!!!

Honda StepWGN - Fifth Generation (RP3/RP4)

2016 Honda StepWGN

2016 Honda StepWGN Spada

There is no further explanation why the StepWGN reached its fifth generation but there is a main reason why they've regenerated Honda's family-oriented minivan suitable for the typical Asian family. Well, this is more than just a preparation for the StepWGN's 20th birthday next year since the first one came in 1996, the same year when the world introduced us to games where we catch monsters or survive a zombie-infested mansion, but the main points of the new model is the introduction of a very clever rear door and the first for a Honda vehicle; a VTEC Turbo engine. More for that later on but first, the design.

In the previous version, the StepWGN looked a bit too dowdy and awful like wearing your tighty-whities on your face for awful reasons and when you take it on the road, people begin to think you came from a home where you didn't remove the weeds in your garden, your room gets hoarded like grandma's house, and your bathroom has some poop all over the floor. For the brand new version, the design is becoming more promising than ever thanks to Honda's "EXCITING H DESIGN!!!" language. From the normal StepWGN to the rather rakish StepWGN Spada, taking them out from a drive to school or to work has never felt so civilized because, with this new look, people think you're more of a harried hard worker rather than a hoarder.

2016 Honda StepWGN interior

2016 Honda StepWGN Spada interior

Inside, the new StepWGN looks more decent than ever, although it still comes with the typical new Honda interior like you get in most modern Hondas built from 2013 and present like for example, the Honda Fit, but because this is much bigger than your average Fit, it's more than enough to fit seven or eight people inside with ample legroom even the pickiest of the passengers like me have no problem when someone asked them to sit at the back for some reasons.

Being the family-oriented Honda minivan ever made, the new StepWGN also comes with some available features such as a tray where you can place your meals and some other stuff, a rolled sunshade that you can roll it up or down in case of harsh sunlight hits you on traffic, climate control, a rear entertainment system where you can watch some movies while stuck at traffic, and many many others.

Here's the kicker for this new model, the StepWGN features a new type of rear door that no other minivan will ever have in their own life. It's called the "Wakuwaku door" and although it names like that furball I once watched on TV, this works in both ways; it can be lifted up for cargo purposes or by opening the half door to access the third-row seating when one of the seats is folded. That's a very clever door mechanism and how come no other carmaker has ever done it? This is the Honda way and this "wakuwaku door" is a StepWGN exclusive feature, you won't find this anywhere else.

2016 Honda StepWGN Spada

2016 Honda StepWGN

Another new kicker for the new StepWGN is the first-ever VTEC Turbo engine from Honda. Yes, finally, what we have here is a VTEC engine unlike any other VTEC engine known to speedo boys of many and it's a turbocharged version of every speedo boys' favorite engine. It's a 1.5L engine, designated as L15B, and it produces 150PS of power output and 203Nm. Fuel economy, depending on the variant, could be from 15 to 17km/L by JC08 Mode standards.

Yes, we do get the joy of driving the first-ever turbocharged VTEC engine from Honda so might expect this engine can kick in like every VTEC should but sadly in this new model, especially with the CVT gearbox, it can't. This VTEC will never kick in because this is a minivan carrying a turbocharged VTEC engine and being minivans just ruin your manhood and inverts you to fatherhood because you are married, you got kids, you got work, and that's it. All work, no play. You won't find this turbocharged minivan to be very rewarding even in the corners because of its size. Even though it's now more relaxing and more comfortable than the normal version, it's still not quite a fun car for your night out. Yes, they can make better cars to carry your mates for a shopping trip but because of so much seriousness, you can't find the fun in this people carrier, not much.

And while taking caution in case of the world's most imperfect drivers, the new StepWGN comes ready with the available Honda Sensing suite of safety features such as Collision Mitigation Braking, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Keeping Assist, and Adaptive Cruise Control.

The new StepWGN starts at 2,288,000 Japanese Yen and that sounds quite a lot when you compare it with the likes of the Nissan Serena, Toyota Noah, Voxy, and Esquire, and the Mazda Biante, but remember, it has everything that no other rivals had. It has a turbocharged engine, a clever rear door, and a much roomier interior.

With the Golden Week fast approaching, looks like this new model could be one of the most suitable vehicles you can buy if you're planning a Golden Week vacation but because of the pricing, it's going to be quite an issue for this one.

Available colors: Premium Spice Purple Pearl, Premium Sparkle Black Pearl, Milk Glass Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl, White Orchid Pearl, Super Platinum Metallic, Modern Steel Metallic, Cobalt Blue Pearl, and Premium Deep Rosso Pearl.

Photo: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.