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

- Greece is now a step closer to the bailout deal as the parliament approved the second set of reforms. Which means that the negotiations on the 86 billion Euro bailout can commence.

- Sandra Bland, the black American woman who died in police custody after being arrested, told the guard that she previously attempted suicide, according to the sheriff in Texas. Reports state that Bland hanged herself but her family doubt this.

- The Soyuz spacecraft carrying Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and two others from Russia and the USA has docked with the International Space Station.

- Russia is planning to deploy mid-range bombers capable of carrying nuclear warheads in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Russia has annexed it last year. Reports state that a squadron of Tu-22M3 bombers will be stationed in Crimea in the near future and its deployment is one of several measures taken in response to the installation of an American missile base in Romania.

- The Ombudsman has cleared President Benigno Aquino III's liability in the death of 44 PNP Special Action Forces in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, last January, and insisted that former PNP Chief Director General Alan Purisima, former SAF Commander Getulio Napenas, and nine others are liable on what happened during the clash.

- The Department of Public Works and Highways announced that the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, known as the Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road, will be opened this Friday, July 24, and this 4km, four-lane toll road will connect Bacoor, Cavite, to SLEX.

- R&B singer Chris Brown cannot leave the Philippines because of the pending clearance from the Department of Justice. 

- As everyone in Japan is waiting for the much-anticipated live-action, two-part, Attack on Titan, films, some might feel disappointed as the writer for the upcoming films warns of possible changes such as the films has been given a more Japanese feel rather than what expected from the anime, and for the annoyance of many, the removal of character Levi.

- Latest trailer for the upcoming 007: Spectre film highlights James Bond's DB10 as well as car chases and so much more in store for the upcoming Bond flick hitting in theaters this autumn.

TTFN!!!

Let's Do The News! (July 22, 2015)

- Greek PMs are preparing for Wednesday's vote on a second set of reforms needed to secure its bailout deal. If they approve, Greece will be able to move on with the negotiations for an 86 billion Euro bailout from its creditors.

- A video of the arrest of Sandra Bland, a black woman who died three days later in custody, was uncovered by Texas law enforcers. The video in question highlights the July 10 arrest as Sandra Bland's car being pulled over for failing to signal and then an ensuing confrontation with the officer. State officials and the FBI are both investigating how did she died.

- Back at the recent scandal with Toshiba Corporation, the Japanese electronics giant is scrambling to form a new management following the resignation of President Hisao Tanaka and his predecessors, who were accused over their involvement in an accounting scandal.

- Construction for Japan's national stadium, which will serve as the venue for the 2020 Olympics, will commence in early 2016. Based on the plan, the government will take necessary steps including competitive bidding procedures for design and construction.

- In yesterday's oral argument on the Torre De Manila, the Supreme Court said that the petition filed by the Knights of Rizal to demolish the controversial condo has no legal weight if they based its arguments on the guidelines set by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. At the beginning, Justice Francis Jardeleza questioned KOR's claims that the Rizal Monument in Luneta should have visual dominance over its surroundings. KOR wants the said condo to be demolished because it ruins the site of the monument honoring the national hero.

- Fans of classic anime shows, rejoice! There's a figma of Cardcaptor Sakura's titular character, Sakura Kinomoto, in her school uniform! Arriving this January 2016, this figma costs 5,370 Yen plus tax and what you get apart from her figma is her rollerskating gear and a backpack.

- As promised, the Tekken 7 IDOLM@STER collaboration has arrived and up until August 19, 2015, players can enjoy their favorite Tekken females donning their IDOLM@STER OFA Check My Note outfits. Starting with Asuka Kazama as Haruka Amami, Lucky Chloe as Miki Hoshii, Kazumi Mishima as Chihaya Kisaragi, Alisa as Yukiho Hagiwara, Xiaoyu as Yayoi Takatsuki, Lili as Iori Minase, Katarina as Takane Shijou, and Josie Rizal as Hibiki Ganaha. Sounds inappropriate for a fighting game but this will be an enjoyable treat for Tekken and iM@S fans too many.

- Last weekend during the premiere of the latest Pokemon movie, Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, in Japan, TOHO cinemas will no longer selling promotional popcorn boxes due to a bug infestation in the products. After some further investigation, bug-infested boxes were spotted during inspection of this month's shipments, though no such problems were found in earlier shipments.

- Comedian and TV presenter Vice Ganda explains his #NoToSuicide Instagram post alongside Angeline Quinto following his success of his concert last Sunday. He states that his post addresses these issues for the youth. He posted this following the tragic death of Oh My G's teen actress Julia Louise Buencamino, two weeks ago.

TTFN!!!

Forza Horizon 2: Driving the Audi S1

See this one? That is the Audi S1, one of the cars you can drive in Forza Horizon 2's IGN Car Pack, on sale now, and notably one of the hottest hot hatches you can buy today. So, what is it then?

Back in the old days, there was the almighty Audi Sport Quattro S1, which is famed for dominating the World Rally Championship in 1982 and 1984. Now, the S1 name from the legendary rally car was been reborn, this time as a pocket rocket equivalent of the Audi A1.

It has a 2.0L TFSi engine producing 228HP of power output while mated with a 6-speed manual gearbox, that sounds like more enjoyable to have than the Renault Clio RS EDC I drove months ago. Because it has four-wheel drive, most of the power has been distributed to all four wheels if necessary but unlike the normal A1, the S1's rear suspension features a four-link setup rather than the torsion beam, resulting to a redesign to the entire rear end of the car.

You may remember back in 2014's Top Gear original video, The Perfect Road Trip 2, Jeremy Clarkson tries to make full use of the Audi S1's dynamics while racing through the Campo in Siena, Italy but as it turned out, the S1 is a lot bouncy to drive in Dynamic mode and a lot bland to drive in Auto mode. As stated, the S1 maybe a small hot hatchback but it doesn't feel any faster than any other hatchback, and that's quite a downfall for Audi's smallest hot hatch....or is it?

To find out, I pit this one to a championship made exclusively for hi-po hot hatches like these but first...



Some internal improvements have been made to make it faster and sharper than in stock form and if you might think that it's wearing a Finnish flag, no way. The design I made is heavily inspired by Ace Combat Zero's Indigo Team, just to add some flamboyant taste to its small size. With preparations complete, my S1 is ready to take on Montellino against the best hot hatches.



Hmmm, even with some improvements, the S1 doesn't feel sharp for that size and that's very odd for such small hot hatch but despite the S1's all wrong, it still managed to win a championship and its day job here at Forza Horizon 2 is done. Job done for Audi but it needs to keep up next time.

Let's Do The News! (July 21, 2015)

- Young African footballers, as young as aged 14, have been trafficked to Asia and forced to sign contracts. Six minors are will with Champasak United of Laos, after importing 23 underaged players from West Africa to an unregistered football academy last February. There is a regulation from FIFA that prohibits the movement of players to a foreign club or academy until they've reached the age of 18.

- Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu vowed to increase security along the nation's border with Syria, following the bomb attack in Suruc. Investigators believed to be the work of a female suicide bomber from the Islamic State.

- Hisao Tanaka, the president of Toshiba Corporation, is stepping down alongside his predecessor Norio Sasaki from his vice chairman post and Atsutoshi Nishida, who served as Sasaki's predecessor, as advisor. They'll be taking responsibility for the accounting fiascos at the firm following the third-party panel report accusing the company's top management of systematic involvement in irregularities on the company's balance sheet.

- A Japanese defensive report warns of China's increased maritime activities in the South and East China Seas, calling them dangerous.

- Philippine Army troopers seized a New People's Army camp in Leyte and Samar Provinces. Belated reports reaching Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, states that the encounters occurred on the 18th of June, 2015.

- The Tesla Model S electric saloon gets a "Ludicrous" upgrade, resulting to a improved 0-100kph time of 2.8 seconds and costs $10,000 more but existing owners of the top-spec P85D can get the Ludicrous pack for $5,000 plus installation labor, for the next six months. They're also offering an upgrade to a 90-kWh battery pack for $3,000. An entry-level 70 model, with a single motor in it, is announced and it will start at $70,000.

- Production of the Land Rover Defender offroader is reportedly extended until the first quarter of 2016.

- Aviation defense company Lockheed Martin acquires helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky in a nine-billion dollar deal. Sikorsky's known for manufacturing the UH-60 Black Hawk and the CH-53 Sea Stallion. Lockheed's often been on the headlines over their littoral combat ship and their multirole F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.

- Zeonic Toyota's back as the collaboration between Toyota and the Gundam series returns to create two Toyota Auris concepts themed after baddie Char Aznable and the Zaku robots as seen from the Gundam series!

- Following John "VJ" Yambao's proposal to actress and MARS presenter Camille Prats, last Saturday at Balete, Batangas, they'll planning a wedding within the next two years.

TTFN!!!

Challenge: Genderbent Haruka Amami cosplay

With IDOLM@STER's 10th anniversary is proven to be a success, it's time for me to fire up my birthday present...

Well, not exactly what it is. Yes, this is me cross-playing as my favorite character, Haruka Amami. Although very embarassing to pull off for a guy like me, my first attempt as cross-dressing as my favorite im@s character is an honor because I'm somewhat of a clumsy person, that's what I think of...

The venue is Seattle's Chinatown where I am taking part of the annual Seafair Chinatown Parade as part of the Team Sakura-Con cosplayers. Couple of problems, no one knows my outfit is but it doesn't really matter to me because I'm here to have fun.

Me and the gal dressed as Pokemon XY's Braixen.

Sadly, the arrival of certain Lovelivers made my Haruka cosplay look easy and I concede by taking a pic with a gal dressed as Honoka. Hmmm...

Also another one dressed as Nico.

After several hours of meeting with the other cosplayers, the parade commences...

The parade stretches to certain parts of Seattle's Chinatown International District and all we ever did was waving hands to the thousands watching the parade.

After the parade, I got exhausted. Although my outfit needs a little work, it still is a brilliant outfit. I can't believe I managed to pull one off in the bag about the genderbent Haruka idea

And yet, sadly, it's time to end the story.

Looking back 10 years of iM@S, you ever have been other idol stuff that can steal its crown. You know, like Love Live, Aikatsu!, Pripara, any other idol stuff you know and remembered, but I don't think anyone has done this much to bring out the idol's character, to make them personalities in their own rights. Basically, I don't think anyone has better talents than the iM@S people; to give idols a place in the otaku hall of fame.

Thanks for reading, and goodbye.

F1 driver Jules Bianchi passed away

Jules Bianchi

Jules Bianchi, the 25-year-old Marussia F1 driver, has passed away following severe injuries he inflicted during a crash at last year's Japanese GP at Suzuka Circuit. His passing has been confirmed by his family members via a Facebook statement.

Bianchi started out in life as a test driver for Ferrari and Sahara Force India before landing to become a Marussia F1 driver where he finished ninth at last year's F1 Monaco GP. In the F1 2014 Japanese GP, he crashed into a recovery vehicle that was aiding Adrian Sutil's stricken racer and inflicted major injuries to his head. He had begun rehabilitation at the end of 2014, despite being unconscious.

Our hearts and thoughts belong to those close to Jules Bianchi.

Reports: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/07/17/breaking-marussia-f1-driver-jules-bianchi-dead-25/

Things we learned from the iM@S 10th concert

July 18, 2015 was a big day for fans of THE IDOLM@STER series because them lucky ones rushed through the Seibu Prince Dome to attend the biggest IM@S concert of all time; the 10th anniversary concert known as THE IDOLM@STER M@STERS OF IDOL WORLD!! 2015. The first day of the concert sees the appearance of selected seiyuus behind members of the 765 PRO ALL-STARS while on the second day gets joined by the seiyuus behind the girls from the CINDERELLA GIRLS and MILLION LIVE.

It was an all-out performance, right until to the part where big announcements have been made. First off, and obviously a bad news to purists, the next IM@S game is heading to the PS4 very soon. Ps are skeptical about that move but a special clip shown to the audience shows that the next IM@S game will be even more better than the previous ones. Some say, the graphics are now 3D rendered and the art style's heavily improved. That's a lot of thought goes into that. Oh, and you can expect heavy changes to your favorite idols, including the series' poster girl, Haruka Amami, as well.

Another announcement that some IDOLM@STER outfits are heading to the Tekken games soon. No sure if it's Tekken 7 but we're hoping it is. Yes, we're still waiting when will Tekken 7 be ported for next-gen console use but our wishes to see our favorite female fighters dressed in iM@S outfits come true. It's like Asuka Kazama dressed as Makoto, Lili dressed as Miki, Xiaoyu dressed as Yayoi, yes! Our biggest fantasies came true!

Last, and but not the least, there's a new IM@S rhythm game coming, for the first time, on the PlayStation Vita and it features 10 years of IM@S songs to master in the new THE IDOLM@STER MUST SONGS, coming this winter.

With all these announcements, the immediate future of THE IDOLM@STER series is bright...and red. Very very red as Haruka Amami's ribbons!