Friday, November 18, 2016

The "sudden" burial of Ferdinand E. Marcos

Ferdinand E. Marcos

November 18, 2016 - The remains of the late Filipino dictator, Ferdinand E. Marcos, were buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in a "surprise" ceremony despite petitions rooting against the decision to bury the late dictator to the said cemetery following his crimes in human rights.

The sudden burial comes following the Supreme Court decision dismissing petitions asking for it to be blocked for being illegal and for being an insult to the victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos administration.

Once a soldier who served for the Philippine Army during the Second World War with controversial reports about his awards and accolades during his service, Marcos made more schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, and other infrastructure than any other former president, long before his infamous martial law of 1972. In the aftermath of Martial Law, the Philippine's GNP was four times greater than 1972 and made one of the most indebted countries in Asia by 1986. Following the 1986 People Power Revolution, Marcos was ousted from power by Corazon Aquino.

Today's Philippine President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte vowed during the election campaign that he would have Marcos buried at the military cemetery and that decision to bury Marcos did not violate international laws or go beyond his authority by ordering the burial.

Following the "sudden" burial of Ferdinand E. Marcos, most Filipinos have condemned the surprise burial at the LNMB, in fact they are so disgusted from what happened today, although there are a few people who believed that the Marcos burial is the only way to unify the deeply divided country or so they thought. Whatever that is, witnessing a dictator's sudden burial maybe the first to happen here but this isn't the first to happened on a global scale.

If you look at social studies, you can see that even the world's most infamous strongmen in history, no matter how many crimes they committed during their rule, can still get buried because, while this is an excuse made up by some, no matter how powerful they are, no matter how gruesome their rule are, they are still human.

The trauma the people who lived during the Marcos era they felt, after witnessing the sudden burial, is very troublesome and while they are adamantly resisting the sudden Marcos burial, rest assured that how the Filipinos react over the Marcos burial is anyone's guess but I'm sure that even the youngest of Filipinos, whose relatives have survived the brutal 21-year-rule of Marcos, are refusing the results and are adamantly resisting. Whatever that is, it's just one of the many ways why history in the Philippines is becoming louder than it gets and so is the world affairs its getting. Of course, it's a loud, loud, loud, loud history after all.

Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon

The Pocket Monsters (PokéMon) franchise is now on its 20th anniversary since the launch of the first Red and Green games in Japan since 1996 and fans from around the world done many ways to honor the hit franchise's 20th anniversary as a whole. From the games, the TV show, the movies, spin-offs, and merchandising rights, fans have endless ways to honor PokéMon's 20th anniversary and here it is, the ultimate birthday present to the franchise we all know and love has arrived and the all-new PokéMon Sun and Moon games for the 3DS are here to usher us to the next generation of the hit franchise.

Pocket Monsters Sun
Pocket Monsters Moon

So, here we are, twenty years of PokéMon and it goes now as in this brand new installment, players are ready to step on the tropical Alola Region as they are ready to take on new trials, capture new PokéMon, battle the best trainers in the region, avert an imminent threat, and discover the secrets of the Alola Region. Because this is an all-new game with all new PokéMon in store for them, you are introduced with three brand new starters to begin your Alolan quest. First, there's the Grass-and-Flying-type Rowlet, then there's the Fire-type Litten, and finally, there's the Water-type Popplio.

As you progress further, you will encounter more and more new Pokemon around this new region such as Grubbin, Pikipek, Togedemaru, Yungoos, Stufful, Type: Null, and others. Also, keep an eye out of Alolan versions of familiar PokéMon such as Exeggutor, Meowth, Dugtrio, Sandshrew, Vulpix, and others. They may look similar to the ones you remember back when you are kids but they're different in terms of type and their new brand of firepower in store for them. Oh, and if you see an Alolan Grimer and Alolan Muk, please hide the kids. They might be having nightmares about them.

Firepower aside, Pokemon Sun and Moon welcomes players to a whole new way of unleashing devastating attacks to the opposition. Called Z-Moves, a Pokemon must have the same variety of Z-Crystal he/she equipped on the Z-Ring in order to unleash it. There are different kinds of Z-Crystals to collect (depending on the version). Some are applicable to the PokéMon's type (like for example: Bloom Doom for Grass-types, Inferno Overdrive for Fire-types, Hydro Vortex for Water-types, and Gigavolt Havoc for Electric-types) and some are signature Z-moves for a specific PokéMon (like for example: Decidueye's Sinister Arrow Raid, Incineroar's Malicious Moonsault, Primarima's Oceanic Operetta, and Pikachu's Catastropika). 

Did you know that Z-Power can add special effects on status moves? That's right because with a Z-Power and a status move mixed in with them, you'll be gaining an upper advantage on battles. One inate example will be the worthless Splash attack. At first, nothing happened, but if you mixed in with a specific Z-Crystal, the result will be a triple boost to the Attack stat. Looks like who gets the last laugh now, huh? There are so many status moves that can be mixed from a Z-Power. Try it out! Who knows what's in store with those status moves you're familiar with.

The storyline of Sun and Moon is what critics called it "sacrilege" because instead of the usual gym battles and league battles, the new games are focused on trials where players have to complete specific tasks in order to proceed and then battle against the island's Kahunas. Since the Alola Region is comprised with four islands, there are four Kahunas to take on if you're good enough. Defeat the Kahuna and you can proceed to the next island. Be warned though that these new kind of challenges are not going to be easy so stay sharp because there might be surprises in store for you. Later on, you will be encountering more challenges such as collecting Zygarde cells and cores in order to unleash the legendary Order PokéMon Zygarde with three different forms.

Somewhere in the Alola Region, there are powerful entities that pose a huge threat to both mankind and PokéMon. They are known as "Ultra Beasts" and their relentless firepower are second to none. Worse, your capturing methods against these beasts are useless. What holds the mystery of these Ultra Beasts lies on a mysterious organization called the "Aether Foundation" and this organization could be the key to uncover the Ultra Beasts and how to face off with these along with its brutal firepower.

If you need to take a break from the game, you can always check out the new Festival Plaza feature, which is unlockable after you progress through the game. The Festival Plaza feature allows players to trade, battle, do favors, go co-op, shop, and more. There are so many ways to enjoy in the Festival Plaza.

If you have captured PokéMon stored in the PC, don't worry because these PokéMon will not go to waste because of the brand new Poké Pelago feature. With this new feature, PokéMon stored in the PC can go exploring, play, and enjoy other activities. You can even get PokéMon as well. The more PokéMon on the PC you send to the Poké Pelago, the more facilities can be expanded and you will be able to do extra stuff such as finding rare items, raising PokéMon on the go, and more. Isn't science convenient?

Stuff you are familiar back from the Kalos quest of XY are back on Sun and Moon such as personalizing your trainer with various outfits and accessories. Personalization will make your trainer look unique as you show it to the others. The PokéMonAmie from XY has now been upgraded and it's now called PokéMon Refresh. In here, you can tidy up your PokéMon after a battle, heal status conditions, feed Poké Beans, and more, just to boost your PokéMon's friendliness. Simple as that.

There are different ways to search for PokéMon throughout the Alola Region. First, there's the Poké Finder feature on your Rotom PokéDex. Using Rotom PokéDex's camera, you can take photos of PokéMon you find. The better your shots, the better chances this feature will be upgraded such as the zoom in feature. Later, you will be able to use the brand new QR Scanner feature, which allows players to scan specific QR codes to meet new PokéMon.

In the past, trainers rely on using Hidden Machines to their PokéMon to do specific tasks, but here in Sun and Moon, there's a brand new Poké Ride feature which allows users to summon certain PokéMon to get through hard to reach areas by land, air, or sea. Convenient, isn't it? Beats HMs of the past by a long shot so feel free to summon them when you need it.

PokéMon Trainer battles usually comprised of Single, Double, or Triple battles, among many other ways to battle, but here in Sun and Moon, there's a new battle feature called Battle Royal and by far this new battle format will be the most unpredictable format ever because you never know who will strike first and telling the difference between a friend and a foe. But still, it's everyone's game so take some time to learn and master this difficult battle format by yourself or with your mates.

Also new in Sun and Moon is the brand new Hyper Training. In the past, PokéMon grew stronger by increasing their levels and their base stats but their stats are affected by the individual strengths. With Hyper Training, any PokéMon that reached the max level will be able to train their specific strengths beyond limits. All you need is a Bottle Cap and bring it to a specific someone who can train your PokéMon beyond limits with Hyper Training. Be warned though that results might not be typical to your averaged maxed-out PokéMon.

Since this new installment is comprised with two different versions, you can expect differences between the two games, Of course, the legendary Solgaleo is exclusive to Sun while the legendary Lunala is for Moon, apart from the 12-hour differences, there are PokéMon exclusive to each version, especially the Ultra Beasts you will encounter later on. One bizarre difference is how Rockruff evolves into Lycanroc and that's because in Pokemon Sun, Rockruff evolves to Lycanroc in its Midday Forme, while in Pokemon Moon, Rockruff evolves to Lycanroc, this time in Midnight Forme. So, because there are differences between the two versions, one major way to complete the Alola (and later National) Pokédex is by trading, either here or online via the GTS.

In honor of the launch of the two games, there are three special PokéMon in store for the fans. First, there's the pre-order bonus Munchlax which comes with a Snorilum Z crystal. Once evolved to Snorlax, you can unleash Snorlax's signature Z-move, Pulverizing Pancake. Second, there's the mythical PokéMon Magearna, the star from last summer's PokéMon The Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel. If you're in Japan and if you got a special Magearna card for use in the PokéMon Ga-ole arcade game, use the QR Scanner (when unlocked post-game) on the card's QR code to get the mythical PokéMon. For international users, wait for further instructions on how to get Magearna via QR code. And lastly, there's Ash-Greninja from the recently concluded PokéMon The Series XYZ TV show. First played on the special demo, it can now be transferred to the main game. Ash's Greninja comes with a signature Battle Bond ability. When Greninja knocks out the enemy PokéMon, it transforms into Ash-Greninja and its Water Shuriken attack's becoming more powerful. Just be sure to have the cleared Special Demo data in your 3DS in order to do so.

Next year, the PokéMon Bank app will be upgraded and the PokéMon you worked so hard to train on XY and ORAS can now be transferred to Sun and Moon. Which means, its time to complete the National PokéDex once again! Who's up for the challenge? Well, don't rush though because while this is a new game, take your time to fill up the PokéDex while training them to be battle-ready.

So, I think that's all to say about the new installment and I didn't realized it was that long to tell you about Sun and Moon. Because this is the biggest birthday gift for the PokéMon franchise's 20th anniversary, this is more than enough to celebrate two decades of catching them all. From trading, battling, and sharing their favorite PokéMon moments, these moments have been the hallmark of the PokéMon franchise and with PokéMon Sun and Moon, a new chapter is about to be written to the history books as twenty years of PokéMon payed off to deliver a brand new experience for fans, veterans and newcomers alike.

Say Aloha to your next PokéMon adventure to the Alola Region. Everyone's waiting for you.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER Take me☆Take you

There's a brand new CINDERELLA MASTER CD inspired from the popular THE IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls sub-franchise and following the success from previous CINDERELLA MASTER CDs, the latest installment, titled "Take me☆Take you", is a clear reminder why we all love the Cinderella Girls even more.

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER
Take me☆Take you

The cover girls of the latest CINDERELLA MASTER album are Kaede Takagaki (CV: Saori Hayami), Miyu Mifune (CV: Sayaka Harata), Nono Morikubo (CV: Karin Takahashi), Uzuki Shimamura (CV: Ayaka Ohashi), Nana Abe (CV: Marie Miyake), Miku Maekawa (CV: Natsumi Takamori), Yoshino Yorita (CV: Yuuki Takada), Mio Honda (CV: Sayuri Hara), and Shin Sato (CV: Yumiri Hanamori). In this installment, two brand new tracks are featured such as the titular song as well as キミのそばでずっと. There's also a drama part starring the cover girls of this CD in their new adventure unheard in the world of Cinderella Girls, buying you some time to enjoy their latest idol adventures behind the stage.

Experience the latest installment of the CINDERELLA MASTER range at the comfort at your living room because once you get in, you can't stop enjoying it as much as the other installments inspired from the hit sub-franchise of THE IDOLM@STER.

TRACK LISTINGS:
01 Take me☆Take you
02 キミのそばでずっと
03 ドラマ「シャイニーナンバーズ 特別編」
04 Take me☆Take you オリジナル・カラオケ
05 キミのそばでずっと オリジナル・カラオケ

Let's Do The News! (November 17, 2016)


- The Sandiganbayan cleared the charges on former Makati City Mayor Elenita Binay, the wife of the former VP Jejomar Binay, and two others in the 13.2 million peso graft case over the purchase of allegedly overpriced furniture for city hall.

- Recent Social Weather Stations survey showed that Filipinos rated the Duterte administration a "very good" net satisfaction rating as giving the government's war on drugs an "excellent" rating.

- The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo said that defeated VP candidate and former senator Bongbong Marcos has previously failed to establish his case over electoral fraud against the COMELEC and should stop. According to Robredo's lawyer, Marcos' complaint filed at the Manila Prosecutor's Office was earlier dismissed due to lack of evidence.

- Actor Robin Padilla has been given by President Duterte an absolute and unconditional pardon, according to Palace officials. Which means that the action star is now able to run for any public office as well as his right to vote.

- The Department of Health wants e-cigarettes and vapes to be covered by the government's campaign against smoking, meaning that they could be included in the public smoking ban.

- Believe it or not, Mazda once made an open-top "parade car" based on the current-generation Mazda Atenza/6 used on the parade for the Hiroshima Carps baseball team.

Mazda Atenza parade car

- The second Love Live Sunshine Nendoroid is finally revealed, this time it's You Watanabe! This Nendoroid based on a character who appeared from the hit TV series is available to order starting at 3,241 Yen plus tax and delivers this May.

Nendoroid You Watanabe

- If you're a fan of THE IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls, you'll going to love Max Factory's offering. This Halloween Nightmare figure of Koume Shirasaka can be yours to order starting at 14,815 Yen plus tax and will be delivered this September 2017.

Koume Shirasaka
Halloween Nightmare Ver.

TTFN!!!

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Let's Do The News! (November 16, 2016)


- President Rodrigo Duterte has congratulated US President-Elect Donald Trump for a "well-deserved victory" and says he's very excited to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the upcoming APEC summit in Peru.

- Senator Antonio Trillanes IV reacted to President Duterte's statement that martial law is a "contingency to meet widespread violence". He condemned Duterte for failing to curb the drug problem which he promised to fulfill within three to six months in office.

- Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said that the testimonies Ronnie Dayan and Kerwin Espinosa will make the case against Senator Leila de Lima airtight but also said the cause is strong as it is.

- Retirees will receive an additional 2,000 pesos to their monthly Social Security System pension on a staggered basis - the first half in January 2017 and the second tranche in 2020. The committee approved the reported regarding the pension hike.

- Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is seen as the favorable pick for the next US Secretary of State in the imminent Trump administration, according to a senior official.

- ICYMI: the massive sinkhole that struck the roads of downtown Fukuoka, Japan, has been fixed a week later and was later reopened.

- The second-generation Mazda CX-5 crossover has been unveiled before this month's LA Auto Show premiere. New looks aside, it still retains the SKYACTIV Technology knowhow from the previous model.

2017 Mazda CX-5

- The Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet was unveiled before its LA Auto Show premiere and it's expected to be sold next year. The luxurious open-top grand tourer is powered by a 6.0L V12 engine producing 630HP of power, while mated with a 7G-TRONIC gearbox.

2017 Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet


- Aston Martin unveiled the Vanquish S, a facelifted Vanquish with an improved 6.0L V12 engine producing 600PS of power while mated with a 8-speed gearbox and other improvements to its dynamics.

2017 Aston Martin Vanquish S
- What's comedian Conan O'Brien's take on the upcoming Final Fantasy XV game? Take a look...



TTFN!!!

15 Years of XBOX

The 14th of November, 2001, a year after Sony launched the PS2, 10 months since then-President George W. Bush took office in the White House, and two months after series of attacks on American soil. Microsoft's CEO Bill Gates thrown the gauntlet as he told the gaming world that Microsoft accepted their challenge to create their very own gaming console we know as the XBOX. The year 2016 marks the 15th anniversary of the XBOX console gaming as a whole and with the XBOX spawned three different generations from the first one, to the XBOX 360 of 2005, up to 2013's XBOX One, 15 years of progress have shown that Microsoft accomplished their goal to create a gaming console to up the ante in the console gaming revolution.


So, 15 years of XBOX, and as the world honors the XBOX's 15th anniversary with loads of memories of their favorite XBOX hits such as HALO, Forza Motorsport, Gears of War, Project Gotham Racing, and many others, rest assured that the original XBOX cannot be forgotten and let's investigate Microsoft's entry to the console gaming revolution, back in the time when the Dreamcast is fading away while the Gamecube and PS2 are surging like a power surge.

It all began with a project involving numerous laptops disintegrated into pieces following Microsoft's cooperation with SEGA to support Windows CE on the Dreamcast. After its cooperation with SEGA in terms of network connectivity to a short-lived console, the XBOX was born and its innovative features set a template to future gaming consoles to come.

Although the Sega Dreamcast is the first console to provide online connectivity, the XBOX pushed online connectivity further with a fee-based XBOX Live service launched a year later, allowing its subscribers to play multiplayer games and download new content via broadband connection. It was the first to offer an 8GB or 10GB HDD, which eliminates the dependent use of memory cards like what the PS2, the Dreamcast, and the GameCube do. Whereas the Dreamcast failed, the XBOX rose to prominence and such success was carried out to its successors such as 2005's XBOX 360 and 2013's XBOX One.


For the past fifteen years, the XBOX garnered 222,468,423 players, 100,539,390,670 total gaming hours, 29,000,304,183 total multiplayer hours, 32,667,582,157 achievements unlocked, 572,605,554,587 Gamerscores (with the highest gamerscore is a legendary 1,416,465), and 4,233,891,482 friends made. With hit XBOX greats like HALO and Forza Motorsport, there's more to celebrate 15 years of XBOX by whatever means necessary.

Cheers, XBOX! And here's for another 15 more years!

Forza Horizon 3: Tricolore







The Lamborghini Aventador, the Pagani Huayra, and the Ferrari F12. They are the three kings of the Italian exotic hierarchy and when these three Italian V12 kings face each other, they can all see their true selves. When it comes to measure its styling, performance, and how a driver behaves, it's everyone's guess because while these cars reign the supercar realm by its iron fist approach, what they differ is how they perform as a car made for the elite few.

Of course, I did record a little message about something regarding these three kings of the exotic realm. Shall I play the tape for your understanding? Time for a message playback on what I said about these three from a distant past.

(clicks button)

The F12 maybe the most powerful of the three but because the F12 is a class apart from these two, apart from the fact that both the Lambo and the Huayra are mid-engined royalties, it can't just storm in recklessly because despite its power advantage, its drivetrain is what confuses these two. Although the Aventador and the Huayra's V12 engine produces the similar power output, the Aventador is the most fun car to drive because its ancient engine sounds so natural to our ears (because it's naturally aspirated), its gearbox is so fun to shift than double clutches, and overall, it's so generous to drive even if you're not paying attention. The Huayra, though, even though it's a rear-wheel drive scaremonger, is just plain serious. Serious about getting the best lap times with its capabilities as a track weapon and a grand tourer in its own right.

Okay, now that you get the idea, let's translate these words into action and since this is FH3, a certain area from the Outback that was onced used for street racing purposes in mind was made to see how good these three are. As always, fastest time wins so let's hit these three kings on the outback roads.



And now, the results...

F12 - 2:29.383
Aventador - 2:25.779
Huayra - 2:23.577







It's amazing that even though the rivalry between the prancing horse and the raging bull is still as hot as Vesuvius, the outsider from Modena that is Pagani is still reigning as hard as a gladiator in a Roman coliseum, beating both the horses and the bulls. Sounds rhetorical but because no Italian supercar maker does it better than the hands of Pagani, the Huayra is a clear example why an exquisite underdog like Pagani can outlash the likes of the more established ones like Lamborghini and Ferrari. This battle between these three maybe over...







...but the so-called Holy Trinity of Italian supercar hierarchy got something special in store. So, what's it going to be? You'll find out later.