F1 2016: British GP

Photo: Getty Images

Despite a drizzly rainy weather down at Silverstone, that didn't stop the knife-edge rivalry between the aces of Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, from fighting each other to the finish line, where in the end, Hamilton wins the race. That was a great day for a homegrown hero but another star in the race is Red Bull rookie Max Verstappen, who struggles to keep up against Rosberg even with transmission problems that hindered the German ace but ended on third place due to a ten-second penalty post-race.

Onto the total standings; the gap between Rosberg, who still leads with 168 points, and Hamilton, second place with 167 points, is now decreased to just one point, meaning it's too close to call for these two. Kimi Raikkonen from Ferrari, meanwhile, is now placed 3rd with 106 points.

The next race is set at Hungary on the 24th

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Seongju as THAAD site

South Korea and the United States picked the mountainous southern town of Seongju as the site for the THAAD deployment. The Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that "South Korea and the US' joint working group have proposed the Seongju area in Gyeongsangbukdo province and that the countries' defense ministers have approved it." The ministry said the placement of the THAAD system in Seongju would help more firmly secure the safety of South Koreans in one half to two third of the South Korean territory while dramatically increasing the capacity to defend key state facilities as well as the alliance forces. It said in selecting the final location, the joint working group considered military effectiveness and resident safety as top priorities and conducted comparative studies, on-site inspections and simulations. The latest decision came after the allies announced their decision to deploy the THAAD system in South Korea by the end of next year at the latest.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (July 13, 2016)

- Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario, who spearheaded the arbitration case against China, hailed the ruling of the United Nations' Permanent Court of Arbitration. Earlier this year, Del Rosario retired from his post. He released a statement Tuesday evening as a private Filipino citizen following the international tribunal's ruling which favors the Philippines over China to the West Philippine Sea.

- The Malacanang on Wednesday welcomed the results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey which showed that eight out of ten Filipinos have much trust to President Rodrigo Duterte. The nationwide survey conducted from June 24 to 27 showed that 84% of the 1,200 respondents had faith on Duterte.

- China warned other countries Wednesday against threatening its interests in the South China Sea while at the same time extending an olive branch to the new Philippine government, after the tribunal that heavily favored the Philippines by stating China has no legal basis for its expansive claims there.

- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders officially endorses presumptive Democratic presidentiable Hillary Clinton during a joint rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Sanders concede his defeat in the Democratic nomination race and he described Clinton as the best candidate to fix the country's problems and stop Donald Trump in the November 8th elections.

- US President Barack Obama has called for unity in his country as he attended a memorial service in Dallas, Texas where a black male killed five police officers. Obama said the events have left people angry and hurt. He said it is as if the deepest fault lines of US democracy have suddenly been exposed.

- Two passenger trains crashed head-on in southern Italy on Tuesday. Local media reports say over 20 people were dead. The crash occurred on a single-track line in the Puglia region.

- Forza Motorsport 6's Turn 10 Select Car Pack, now available to download at the XBOX Live marketplace, features two of franchise's first; a semi-truck called a 2015 Mercedes-Benz #24 Tankpool24 Racing Truck and the tiny 1957 BMW Isetta 300 Export, among many others picked by the producers.

- The brand new Nissan Serena minivan was unveiled and its set to be available this late August 2016. The new model will be the first to use an autonomous driving feature called "ProPilot", which works similar to Tesla's Autopilot.

2017 Nissan Serena

- The MTRCB summoned execs from noontime show Eat Bulaga over Senator Tito Sotto's "victim-shaming" on the July 9 episode's "Juan For All, All For Juan" segment where netizens bashed him over the female winner in the segment's Sugod Bahay.

TTFN!!!

Imagine You & Me

To celebrate the imminent first anniversary of AlDub, the romantic movie that starred the phenomenal TV couple that gave birth to millions of fans from around the globe and record-breaking tweets has arrived and this film is the "ultimate" AlDub experience die-hard fans have waited for.

Imagine You & Me

Imagine You & Me maybe more than just being a long-awaited film that stars Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza as Andrew and Gara but this film is considered to be the perfect present for AlDub's 1st Anniversary. In fact, because this film is so romantic for the AlDub nations too many, this film was shot entirely from Italy.

Why Italy you may ask? Because Italy is home of the many scenic spots in this country such as Venice, Rome, the Vatican City, Tuscani, even the Amalfi. For AlDub, it's a golden opportunity to have this film shot at it and showcase their unique love story while they're at it. The producers we're very pleased by it.

As AlDub aficionados step inside the theater to watch this film, there are three things to expect in this film; laughter, romance, and tears. Those are the three and as a rule, best to watch the whole movie because one single bathroom break will ruin your once-in-a-lifetime experience to watch this movie you've been desperate to watch it and if you did, sorry. If you want to take a bathroom break, wait after the ending and if by ending, fans are starting to guess what kind of ending this movie will be and there is a very high chance that this film has the ending Lola Nidora never wanted to see but a dream come true for fans, I presume. No one knows what but best to watch the whole movie for the big answer on what would AlDub do at the end of the film.

To conclude, this film is a long-awaited present to the AlDub Nations across the Philippines and here's hoping that this film will be distributed worldwide for #TeamAbroad. We now have the movie but the AlDub Week isn't over yet because we still have 52nd weeksary of AlDub tomorrow and by Saturday, time to celebrate AlDub's 1st Anniversary. Are you ready?

My rating: 5 out of 5!

Gyakuten Saiban 6 Original Soundtrack

Gyakuten Saiban 6 Original Soundtrack now added to the court record.

Gyakuten Saiban 6 Original Soundtrack

Launched since June 9, 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS, Gyakuten Saiban 6 (known as Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice) is the long-awaited installment of CAPCOM's hit franchise and it's part of honoring the Gyakuten Saiban franchise's 15th anniversary since the first one launched on the GBA in the autumn of 2001. In this new installment, Ryuichi Naruhodo (Phoenix Wright) ventures on a whole new trial in the Kingdom of Khura'in while Housuke Odoroki (Apollo Justice) tries to defend the honor of the law agency he and Naruhodo rest their hands on, whatever it takes. In addition to returning favorites, new characters mixed in with them including the Royal Priestess Rayfa Padma Khura'in. Fans ventured through different episodes on this installment such as Naruhodo's arrival at the Kingdom of Khura'in, a magic show where Minuki (Trucy) performs ended in disaster, a reunion with Mayoi Ayasato (Maya Fey) turns ugly, and it all leads to the biggest plot twist ever turned around. There was even an extra episode involves "marriage" and "time travel" as well as featuring the return of Masashi Yahari (Larry Butz) and Reiji Mitsurugi (Miles Edgeworth).

The original soundtrack, provided by CAPCOM's Suleputer label, based on the latest Gyakuten Saiban game has arrived and this two disc compilation features all of the background musics heard in the game as well as 2016 arranged versions of popular BGMs known to many Gyakuten Saiban fans, such as the highly recognizable "成歩堂龍一 ～異議あり!" tune. It covers the entire episodes of the game as well as the extra episode so fans can relive their favorite Gyakuten Saiban 6 moments at the comfort of their ears.

Present this evidence for those who already played Gyakuten Saiban 6? Take That!

The definitive AlDub playlist

Photo: Official Eat Bulaga Facebook

Yep, the AlDub Week still roars on in honor of not just their upcoming movie, Imagine You & Me, but also the 1st anniversary of AlDub. Now, let's shift gears on the songs that these two love to Dubsmash each other since their first split-screen encounter. For over fifty weeks, we've seen Alden and Main Dubsmashing songs like Fantastic Baby, Thinking Out Loud, God Gave Me You, and any other song commonly heard in the Kalyeserye universe.

Check out the definitive playlist of songs inspired from AlDub's Kalyeserye antics...

The AlDub Week continues and don't miss Imagine You and Me, in theaters TOMORROW!!!

Let's Do The News! (July 12, 2016)

- The United Nations Arbitral Tribunal has decided that the Philippines has exclusive sovereign right to West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea and that China's nine-dash line is invalid. The Tribunal issued its Award Tuesday after several months of hearings and submission of documents. China was absent throughout the proceedings, refusing to recognize the case. The Tribunal also said that China has violated Philippine sovereign rights.

- Meanwhile, China denounced the Hague's tribunal judgment over the West Philippine Sea, according to the foreign ministry. China has repeatedly denied the tribunal's authority to rule on the dispute with the Philippines over the strategically vital region, claiming that the court's actions are illegal and biased against it.

- The two leaders of South Sudan, President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar have ordered their rival forces for a ceasefire. Violence in the capital, Juba, reportedly subsided after the two leaders ordered them to stop fighting on Monday, but the situation remains tense, since truces have been repeatedly breached in the past.

- UK Home Secretary Theresa May will assume the post of Britain's prime minister-designate on Wednesday. British PM David Cameron said on Monday that he will resign by Wednesday and hand over the job to May. Cameron said a prolonged period of transition is not vital and he will chair his last Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and attend the House of Commons for Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. He will then offer his resignation to the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

- The Court of Arbitration for Sport has suspended an expected ruling for tennis player Maria Sharapova's appeal of her two-year ban for doping. The Russian tennis star reportedly tested positive for the banned performance enhancing drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January.

- Police in O'Fallon, Missouri, arrested four teenagers suspected of using Pokemon GO app game to lure players into armed robbery on Sunday. They've posted a press release on Facebook explaining that police had responded to a report of armed robbery found the suspect in a car and recovered a pistol. It further explained that suspects targeted their victims through the app.

- Mazda Motor Corporation and Isuzu will collaborate on a next-generation pickup truck, meaning that the last of the Ford-Mazda tie-up has finally ended with this new partnership.

- Famed Porsche tuner, RUF, enters the Great Britain market.

- John Barrowman's role of Malcolm Merlyn from The CW's TV series Arrow could now appear in other TV adaptation of DC Comics superheroes such as The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow (which has Doctor Who's Arthur Darvill on it), and Supergirl.

TTFN!!!

The best of AlDub commercials

AlDub in TNT commercial

Continuing on the AlDub Week in celebration of their upcoming movie, Imagine You and Me, and their 1st anniversary of AlDub, time to shift our focus on the commercials they have endorsed. Because of the love team's popularity that has the same magnitude as Love Live's μ's, AlDub has scored more TV commercials than any other celebs within half a year, first from a food chain, then sardines, bleach, insurance, cellphone, anything that will make AlDub Nations buy whatever the heck AlDub endorsed.

Here, take a look at some of the commercials AlDub has ever appeared...

The AlDub Week continues and don't miss Imagine You and Me, in theaters July 13, 2016.

Let's Do The News! (July 11, 2016)

- Vice President Leni Robredo attended her first Cabinet meeting under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday. Duterte recently appointed Robredo to lead the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and asked her to attend the Cabinet meeting on Malacanang. 

- Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte pushed anew for the revival of the death penalty in a private meeting with lawmakers at his favorite hangout, the After Dark piano bar, late Saturday, until yesterday morning. Duterte returned home to Davao for the weekend. He arrived at his favorite hangout at 2145 hours local time on Saturday and went home at around 0500 hours Sunday. He spent six hours lamenting to his guests how some local government officials have been involved in the illegal drug trade, aside from police generals he earlier identified as protectors of drug lords.

- Returning on the Dallas shootout, the suspect behind the fatal shooting of policemen during a protest is likely to have planned a larger attack, according to a certain Dallas policeman. According to some sources, investigators found explosive materials when they searched the home of gunman Micah Johnson. The amount of materials was enough to have a devastating effect on Dallas.

- Clashes between South Sudan's government troops and opposition forces are fueling concerns that the country may slip back into a civil war. Gunfights have erupted between government troops of President Salva Kiir and opposition forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar in the South Sudanese capital, Juba. About 272 people have been killed, including 33 civilians.

- Russia's defense ministry says a Syrian military helicopter was shot down by Islamic State militants in central Syria. Two Russian pilots were confirmed dead. An Mi-25 helicopter was shot down on Friday. Russian forces entered the conflict at the end of last year to support the Syrian government.

- Amid security concerns, Portugal defeated hosting country France in the Euro 2016 finals at the score of 1-0, bagging their first major trophy in Portugal's history in the tournament.

- "Prince" Albert Pagara faced his first career loss after being KO-ed by Mexican Cesar Juarez at the eighth round of the "Fists of the Future" match last Saturday night.

- Four years have passed since the death of famed Filipino comedian Dolphy and actress Zsa Zsa Padilla posted on Instagram a photo of a young Dolphy inside a simple floral arrangement.

- Following Chris Evans' resignation, the BBC are making major changes to the motoring program, Top Gear, as they're posting job openings for the show's new executive producer.

TTFN!!!

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: THAAD necessary for protecting SoKor from NoKor threats

South Korean president Park Geun-hye explained why South Korea needs to have the US missile defense system deployed here. Chairing a monthly meeting of her senior secretaries, President Park underscored that the decision to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea is only for the nation's self-defense to deal with growing threats from North Korea. After five months of negotiations, the two countries on Friday have agreed to deployed a THAAD system in South Korea.  Calling on the South Korean people to unite against North Korea's provocations, President Park asked for the nation's support, adding that THAAD's location will be selected with residents' safety and health issues in mind. In the meantime, marking South Korea's 71st independence next month, President Park also announced a special pardon to give hope and another chance to the people.

Meanwhile, North Korea responded to South Korea and US's plan to deploy the THAAD to South Korea, warning that the North will take "physical action" against the two countries. State-run media reports that the North's military is ready to strike Seoul and Washington, threatening it will turn them into a "sea of fire". In response, South Korea's defense ministry countered the North's threat, saying North Korea needs to clearly see who is responsible for putting the Korean Peninsula's peace and security at risk before criticizing the THAAD deployment decision. If North Korea continues its groundless claims and rash actions in defiance of the South's warnings, it will have to face Seoul's military's stringent retaliation.

Source: Arirang News

Toyota celebrates 50 years of Corolla with a special model

The first-generation Toyota Corolla was launched since the 5th of November, 1966 as a two-door saloon. The year 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the longest-running compact car that became a household name in the automotive industry worldwide. To commemorate the Toyota Corolla's 50th anniversary, a special anniversary model was launched.

Toyota Corolla Axio Hybrid "50 Limited"

Called the "50 Limited", it was based on the 4-door Axio Hybrid saloon and this special model features an emblem at the back as seen on the first-generation Corolla as well as special cosmetic upgrades and a red-and-black themed interior, an ode to the first-generation Toyota Corolla KE10 when it was first launched in Japan five decades ago. Two exterior colors are available such as White Pearl Crystal Shine and Black Mica and it's priced at 2.4 million Japanese Yen (around 1,111,000 Philippine Pesos). This model is available to order exclusively for the Japanese market up until September 1st, 2016, with up to 500 units made.

The Toyota Corolla has been around with us for five decades, spanning eleven generations with different variations from Asia, America, and Europe, and as time goes by, the Toyota Corolla stays, knowing that this car believes in forever for the motoring masses.

50 Years of Toyota Corolla

Happy 50th birthday to the Toyota Corolla.

URL: http://carview.yahoo.co.jp/news/newmodel/20160711-10247974-carview/

My favorite Star vs. the Forces of Evil moments

The new season of Disney XD's hit TV show, Star vs. the Forces of Evil kicks off tomorrow morning and it's great to see the universe's ridiculously ugly (but downright funny) magical girl from the Kingdom of Mewni, Star Butterfly, and her best friend from Earth, Marco Diaz, back for more adventures. In honor of the show's new season tomorrow, time to jot down my favorite Star moments; the good, the bad, and the downright ugly (just like Star herself).

1) Star Butterfly is a wayward princess from the Kingdom of Mewni who loves adventures and kicking monsters' butts. On her 14th birthday, her parents, the king and queen of Mewni, gave her the magic wand and promised her to take full responsibility...which she didn't. Because of the fiasco, her parents exiled her to the Earth dimension...which she find this dimension rather amusing. Upon encountering with a high school boy named Marco, things get spiraled out of control until an evil baddie named Ludo and his henchmen plotting to steal Star's magic wand to take control of the universe. Can't say whatever the heck's going on but we had fun watching the first episode where a partnership between a mischief-making princess and a buttkicking Earth boy are forged for many endeavors to come.

2) To compensate from Star's poor grade from the exams, she plays matchmaker to Ms. Skullnick, until she turned her into a monstrous troll, which wowed the crowd. Unknown by them, Ludo and his henchmen take advantage of the situation and attack Star for the wand. While the gang busy buttkicking Ludo's henchmen, one of them fell in love with Ms. Skullnick. Well, you get the idea but it's ridiculously funny to see, especially when we want to "feel the love".

3) Afraid that when Star's magic wand loses all her power, all of the wand's magic will be disappeared forever, she and Marco warped to a dimensional shop called Quest Buy to buy a new charger for her wand. However, they've been tailed by Ludo and the chase is on for the wand's new charger. Wow, for a magical girl like her, she can be very absent-minded when she realized that her wand's charger got sucked by a vacuum cleaner that Marco used at the end of the episode.

4) It's Marco's parents' anniversary and the gang tries to find a perfect present for them. Despite Star's parents warned that she should not leave Earth indefinitely, she took the whole Diaz family to a trip to her home kingdom, Mewni. During their little tour, Star didn't realized that her dad is here and she had to keep themselves down or else her dad catches her red-handed. As the Diaz family vacation's getting more and more risky, it's up to the gang to save the day until she got caught by her dad, who embraces his wild side. What the two didn't realized that they're both have monster butt-kicking genes and decided to keep it a secret between them. Talk about parental bond, if you know what I mean?

5) The Mewberty episode takes the puberty to a whole new meaning as when Star undergoes "Mewberty", she goes boy-crazy, even Marco. Unable to cope up with Star's uncontrollable situation, Marco tries to find her book of spells and negotiates with Glossaryck of Terms on how to deal with Star's uncontrollable situation. Sadly, Glossaryck's not helping and Marco's bracing the aftermath of Star's Mewberty. Looks like the ugly one gets even more uglier for Star.

6) After one interdimensional prank call, Star found out that her magic mirror's out of credits and the only way to reload her mirror is to enter Pixtopia to pay the bill. Unprepared, Star and the gang got caught up on a one-sided battle against pixies until one of them fell in love with...the pixie queen. Pixies...they're so aggressive on humans, especially other-dimensional ones like Star.

7) The Blood Moon Ball episode is the turning point of the show and when Star's demon ex-boyfriend, Tom, invites her to the Blood Moon Ball, Marco's unaware that this once-in-667-years-phenomenon was a moment that was destined for each other. Desperate, Marco rushes to the Underworld in his Dia de los Muertos costume, stealing Star on the floor, and when the blood moon (or total lunar eclipse) shines, the two dance each other until the secret's out for Star. Are Star and Marco destined to be each other? Sounds romantic by best to keep it to the viewers themselves.

8) It's Pony Head's birthday and with Star and Marco heard that Pony Head's life is in danger, the two are entering their biggest fear of their lives, St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses. As Star disguised as one of the guards and Marco disguised as a wayward princess, the two infiltrated the reform school to save Pony Head...only to realized they were too late. With Pony Head getting all "mannered", the two are trying to bring her waywardness back while still on the run by the reform school guards and the headmistress,

9) When Star heard about a commercial for a "banagic wand", she and Marco set off to "a better store" near them. Sadly, Marco has some karate lessons, meaning Star will have to set off alone to "a better store" while facing disastrous troubles all in the name to get...(whispers) the banagic wand.

10) When Marco got kidnapped by an evildoer named Toffee, Star made an unlikely alliance with her arch nemesis Ludo to "storm the castle". This season finale is definitely the biggest turning point for Star Butterfly as in order to stop Toffee, sacrifices has to be done and when she done that...whispering spell, everything starting to unfold and with Toffee defeated, Star's wand is gone until...her wand found out to be upgraded with a major twist. Half of the wand's crystal is missing and where could that be?

Looks like the race is on as the new season of Star vs. the Forces of Evil kicks off tomorrow, July 11, 2016, at 10:30 AM Pacific Time on Disney XD. Check local listings.

Image: Disney