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

- A powerful M8.3 quake struck off near the central parts of Chile and as of now, about four people reportedly died and 16 others injured. The quake occurred at 1954 hours Chilean Time and it was originated 233 kilometers north-northwest of the capital Santiago. Reports told that a quake-triggered tsunami 4.6 meters high was observed in the town of Coquimbo. Three minutes later, a wave 1.6 meters high hit Valparaiso.

- US President Barack Obama warned the People's Republic of China that they're fully prepared to take action if the problem of cybersecurity is not solved. Cybersecurity will be a major issue when he will be meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on the 25th of September.

- Syrian president Bashar al-Assad blamed the Western nations for the responsibility of the refugee crisis and he said that they were supporting terrorism ever since the start of the Syrian uprising during his interview with Russian television.

- Philippine President Benigno Aquino III revealed that the alternative version of the evidence from the Mamasapano clash last January are false and showing the photo evidences that one of the Special Action Force members cutting off the finger of terrorist Marwan for DNA testing.

- The recently-bid presidential and vice presidential candidates Senators Grace Poe and Chiz Escudero vowed that when elected, they will lead the nation's government with compassion during Chiz' vice presidential bid announcement.

- Fans of Rin Hoshizora from Love Live! School Idol Project are in for a treat because coming this January, a Nendoroid of her in her training outfit, which costs you 3,241 Yen plus tax, while for March, a figma of her which costs you 5,370 Yen plus tax.

- For the men who sold the world; a Nendoroid figure of Punished "Venom" Snake in his Sneaking Suit from the recently released Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which is available this April for 5,093 Yen plus tax.

- The third-generation Honda Fit hatchback has been given an update for 2016 model featuring a mild refresh on its front view. On the hybrid models, two new colors have been added such as Premium Blue Opal Metallic, and Midnight Blue Beam Metallic.

- OBJECTION! The popular Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) video game franchise will spawn a TV anime coming this Spring of 2016. We can't wait to see everyone's favorite Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright bring justice to the TV viewers with his usual courtroom antics.

- Working on the upcoming sequel to 2013's Pacific Rim robot movie have been put to hiatus, according to reports.

- Actor Cesar Montano replaces Robin Padilla in an upcoming horror movie featuring popular Japanese adult video actress Maria Ozawa.

- Believe it or not, Adventure Time's Jeremy Shada, the man behind the voice of Finn the Human, along with his members of the band Make Out Monday, arrived in the Philippines to attend the 2015 Asia Pop Comic Con, held at the WTC Pasay City from now up to September 20, 2015. Other guests include Paul Bettany from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Nathalie Emmanuel from Game of Thrones, Chad Michael Murray from One Tree Hill, Colton Haynes of Teen Wolf, and many others.

TTFN!!!

Let's Do The News! (September 16, 2015)

- Sources say that China appears to be building three airstrips in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. They once made a 3,000 meter long area on the Subi Reef, and there's a possibility of building a second airstrip there. Now, the Chinese government are mulling a third airfield on Michief Reef, where walls surround a 3,000 meter loing area of reclaimed land.

- The Thai Police say that a certain human trafficking network for the ethnic Uygur minority carried out last month's Bangkok bomb attacks because it was angry at a police crackdown.

- The South Korean officials warned that the launch of a long-range ICBM by North Korea would be a grave provocation and blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning the nation's missile tests. As of now, the North Koreans have reached the final phase of developing a new military satellite.

- The Department of Education National Capital Region declared that there will be no classes on almost all schools from Metro Manila from November 17 to 20 amid the scheduled APEC Summit.

- The Philippine National Police is set to conduct a separate investigation  about what happened during the Mamasapano clash last January that killed 44 SAF members on their manhunt against the terrorist Marwan.

- Aston Martin confirms the DB11 grand tourer coming this 2016. This new machine will serve as the replacement to the DB9 and will incorporate Aston's new design language.

- Shocking news during the Frankfurt Motor Show press days as the CEO of BMW, Harald Kruger, fainted about five minutes into the BMW press conference. Looks like he had a difficult start at his first Frankfurt Motor Show press conference.

- Yes! AlDub is hitting the big screen as the inevitable duo of actor Alden Richards and Dubsmash queen Maine "Yaya Dub" Mendoza will star in the movie My Pabebe Love, which serves as the entry for this year's Metro Manila Film Festival.

- Eat Bulaga presenter Joey de Leon posted some cryptic messages about copying although his tweets never once mentioned about rival ABS-CBN show, It's Showtime, featured an internet sensation called Pastillas Girl looking for a new boyfriend via Twitter and some say she could be the equivalent of EB's famed AlDub duo.

TTFN!!!

Forza Motorsport 6: My first car!

Yes, we are back! Back to the racetrack where we can spend track days racing each other and share with the mates about how we're doing on the track. There are some trying to get their track-day swagger on, and there are others evaluating each others' cars in the way how they're connected to each other both man and machine.

Here we are, Forza Motorsport 6, the biggest birthday present in honor of the Forza franchise's 10th anniversary. Looks like 10 is the lucky number for 2015, right? So many stuff had their tens happened but enough for that. Let's kick off with the starter car I've chose at the start of Forza Motorsport 6.



And here it is...well, this is obviously familiar to most Forza fans too many. Yes, this is a Toyota 86 and the main reason that I chose this car at the start of the game is because this is by no means one of the most enjoyable cars to drive even a rookie would try to handle this car with ease.

At first, you may find this car prone to oversteering because this car's rear wheel drive but because it doesn't have much power as the other starter cars, it's accessible and very popular among players who recently started their FM6 or got it few days ago thanks to Ultimate Edition early access.



For my opening salvo, I decided to lap this car round the Top Gear Test Track and hold on. Haven't I done this before since FM5? Who cares? It's like an encore performance for me but because this is Forza Motorsport 6, I am seeing improvements happening...nearly.



As I lapped this 86 round the Top Gear track, it had set its first power lap time of my very own Forza 6 Top Gear power lap time of 1:34.472. Not as quick as what Stig set from the TV series but this is how it all begins for me. This is the beginning of a wonderful journey here at FM6.

Forza Motorsport 6

Forza Motorsport 6

For over 10 years since the first Forza Motorsport game came out in the spring of 2005, the Forza franchise never stop evolving into new and exciting ways while delivering the fans greater promises to drive some of the finest sportscars and make them unique thanks to community-created contents. In celebration of Forza Motorsport 's 10th anniversary, Forza Motorsport 6 is their birthday present for the fans delivering the most realistic Forza experience rookies and veterans will never forget.

At the start, you are welcomed by the brand new 2017 Ford GT supercar, a legend reborn, at the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and as you are driving your way through the finish line, you are officially welcomed to the world of Forza Motorsport 6 and you've been given a choice of a Mazda RX-7 FD, Toyota GT86, Golf VII R, or a Honda S2000, while taking on a qualifying series to jumpstart your road to Forza.

Forza Motorsport 6 promises to be the most realistic Forza to date because for the very first time in Forza history, players can race on rainy weather or nighttime, depending on the track. A couple of things to consider about the new changes while racing; while driving on a wet lap, cars are becoming more slippery when wet and be on the lookout for puddles because going faster will cause the car to go aquaplaning, losing the traction and making it difficult to turn, so exercise extreme caution while driving on a wet track. In nighttime, visibility is poor due to darkness of the track as well as the cooling of track temperature in nighttime so stay focus if you're looking for the perfect driving line while surviving the darkness. With these time and weather changes applied in FM6, players are expected heavy challenges while racing but because they've been through a lot of racing games, they're very confident in their abilities on track no matter the time or weather changes.

With some returning tracks from FM5 such as Prague, Nurburgring, Long Beach, Bathurst, and some others as well as the famed Top Gear Test Track, FM6 introduces new tracks to master such as Monza, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Brands Hatch, Circuit of the Americas, Daytona, and Rio de Janeiro. Depending on the tracks, they're are different layouts as well as time and weather to choose from, and every track is a challenge to them.

Cars are the driving force of the Forza franchise and for FM6, we can expect returning favorites from past games as well as new additions such as the 2017 Ford GT, the new Ford F-150 Raptor, the new GT350R, the Golf VII R, Formula E machines as seen from the 2014-2015 season, the #3 Corvette C7.R, and many others. You can expect more cars to be added via DLC over the coming months and some surprises in store for later. In Forza tradition, players can make their car unique by tuning and designing just the way they want and share it to the world to gain funds.

In Career mode, players will take on the Stories of Motorsport, a five-chapter tale where players take on series of championships developed for specific cars and if they're not in the mood for those, there's showcase events where a series of special challenges are offered. They provide the car and the challenge, you'l do the rest. Simple as that.

There's also new to FM6 as well and that's the Mods feature, which allows them to help you win races or risk everything for higher rewards. Mods are categorized into three types; a Crew Mod which you can use as many times as you want that can help you with your car's performance, a single-use, a single-use Boost Mod that can change the tide of the race such as bonus XP or credits or making your car faster than ever, and then there's a Dare Mod where you will risk everything for bigger rewards like a decrease in power, view is locked in cockpit view, or start at last place. There are so many mods to collect depending on its rarity and you can collect them by either winning one on your free spin after levelling up or purchase them with credits.

There's so many things to do in the world of Forza Motorsport 6 and thanks to the addition of rain and nighttime racing, the desire for hard realism is becoming a reality for Forza faithfuls and if they want more from this game, this game is always ready for tomorrow thanks to additional contents coming your way soon.

If you have Forza Motorsport 6 for the very first time today, you can opt in for a Car Pass for just 29.99 dollars and that entitles you to six months of DLC Cars coming your way.

You can also avail for a VIP membership for 19.99 dollars and not only you'll receive five exclusive VIP cars, including the 2013 Ferrari 458 Speciale, 2012 Aston Martin V12 Zagato, 2013 Lamborghini Veneno, 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R, and the 1997 McLaren F1, but can expect VIP-only challenges as well as surprises in store for members over the coming weeks.

Lastly, there's the first DLC Pack called the Fast and Furious Car Pack featuring the best ten cars as seen from the Fast and Furious franchise. Yours for 9.99 dollars but it is included in the Deluxe and Ultimate Edition digital bundles of Forza Motorsport 6, if you've already preordered it days before its release.

Welcome to the world of Forza Motorsport 6, racers!

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

- North Korea is staging a possible long-range ICBM launch on the 70th anniversary of the nation's ruling party next month. According to intel, the director of the National Aerospace Development Administration is advancing the final stage of the development of a so-called observation satellite for weather forecasts. Rockets used to launch satellites can also be used as long-range ICBMs.

- All of the 15 Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture, residents that were missing due to the heavy rainfall that battered most of the city are found safe on Tuesday. Most of the city was inundated on Thursday when heavy rainfall flooded Kinugawa River, causing it to burst its bank.

- A boat carrying 130 refugees and migrants capsized off the remote island of Farmakonisi in the Aegean Sea on its way from Turkey to Greece on Sunday, killing 34 people on board. The site is about 20km from Turkey. Nearly 100 people were rescued by Greek coast guard.

- Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said that the Philippines is ready to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit.

- Former senator Francis Pangilinan has resigned as presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization.

- A brand new chapter to the Pokemon XY saga is coming to Japan late next month. Here's your briefing, trainers: Airing this late October is a new chapter called Pokemon XY & Z on TV Tokyo and on this latest chapter, while Ash is continuing his quest for the Kalos League as well as Serena continuing her road to become Kalos Queen, we can expect the mysteries of the legendary Order Pokemon Zygarde as well as a different look of Ash's Greninja in the coming episodes. Also coming in the latest chapter is the saga of the villainous Team Flare, the ruthless organization bent on taking over the Kalos region. All will be revealed on the latest chapter of the XY saga next month.

- In case you missed the latest Eat Bulaga, it is confirmed that Yaya Dub won the wildcard round and advances to the grand finals of Bulaga Pa More Dabarkads Pa More. It's been a long week since these two dueled each other following with the kidnappings that kept the viewers shocked with awe but now with Yaya Dub is advancing to the grand finals of Dabarkads Pa More, do we expect more thrills for the AlDub tale?

- Hyundai joins the Gran Turismo 6's Vision Gran Turismo family with the unveiling of their N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo Concept racecar, set for 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show unveiling and coming soon to GT6 this fall.

- The first-ever Jaguar F-Pace crossover is fully unveiled in time for its 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show debut.

- The cast of Marvel's Jessica Jones, a Netflix-original series, will be making their appearances on next month's New York Comic Con.

TTFN!!!

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

- On early Monday morning, Mt. Aso on Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu has erupted at around 0943 hours Japan time. The Meteorological Agency raised its alert level on three, meaning no one should approach the volcanoes.

-  Okinawa governor Takeshi Onaga announced the revoking of an approval for landfill work in an area where the central government plans to relocate a US military base, saying it is the first step in stopping the construction of the base in Henoko district in Nago city, with all means necessary.

- Investigators believed that this is the work of an Uygur group behind last month's Bangkok bomb attacks. Investigators arrested two foreigners for their alleged role in the explosion that killed 20 people and injured over 120.

- Philippine President Benigno Aquino III spearheaded the inauguration of the controversial 700-million peso Iloilo Convention Center, located on a 1.7 hectare lot in Iloilo Business Park, Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

- The Department of Labor and Employment secretary Rosalinda Baldoz warned overseas Filipino workers and their families against loan scams circulating the internet using the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration name and logo to make the false document appear legitimate.

- A classic 1971 Toyota Celica sportscar is this week's Jay Leno's Garage feature.

- Ready for Doctor Who this Saturday on BBC One? Check out the exclusive scene from the prologue of the first episode of the latest series starring Peter Capaldi as The Doctor.



- Announced at the end of the final episode of the Death Note live-action TV drama, there's going to be a "forbidden sequel" to 2006's Death Note films from the first one to The Last Note. Yes, you heard that right. There's a new Death Note movie coming next year featuring descendants of Kira and L.

- Check out the Aston Martin DB10, made for the upcoming 007: Spectre movie coming this autumn, in action.



TTFN!!!

GMA's Startalk ends their almost 20 year run on TV

For almost 20 years since its run in 1995, GMA's Startalk has been the longest-running weekly entertainment news and talk show that has been branded as the only showbiz authority in Philippine TV.

From past presenters such as Boy Abunda, Kris Aquino, Dawn Zulueta, Lorna Tolentino, Heart Evangelista, and Rosanna Roces, to present-day presenters such as Joey De Leon, Butch Francisco, Tito Ricky, and longtime presenter Lolit Solis, they have kept the show running for two decades by delivering non-stop and senseful showbiz news to everyone around the world.

Yesterday, their 1024th episode signalled the end of the Philippines' only showbiz authority where the presenters answered every viewers' questions from the world of Philippine showbizness as well as how past presenters recalled their moments.

It has been one heck of a ride for us, getting the latest showbiz news from generations after generations and there's never been a showbiz programme that lasts long as Startalk.

Thank you, Startalk.