Let's Do The News! (June 26, 2017)

- Senator Leila de Lima insists that the Philippine National Railways should have better service due to the fare increase next month. According to her, the Php 5 fare increase should be enough for the maintenance of the trains.

- In observance of Eid’l Fitr, the final day of the Muslim holy month or Ramadan, President Rodrigo Duterte insists that "faith will see us through". In the meantime, the battle between government troops and the Maute terrorists resume in Marawi after the truce ends while five residents in Marawi residents were rescued during the truce.

- DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana dared an unnamed leftist group to show evidence in relation to report that Marawi women are scared of soldiers allegedly raping them amid the military operation against the Maute Group. The DND Chief stressed that soldiers underwent a series of gender sensitivity training through Gender and Development Program.

- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed support for Qatar in its confrontation with Saudi Arabia and its allies, labeling it "unacceptable". Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of support for Islamist militants, an allegation Qatar denies.

- Pakistani hospitals are struggling to treat badly burned victims of a a fuel tanker explosion that killed at least 146 people, as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flew back from an overseas trip to visit the injured. Over 118 people were badly hurt in the explosion in the eastern province of Punjab, which came as people gathered to collect leaking fuel after the tanker overturned on Sunday, government officials and rescue workers said.

- Polling stations opened across Mongolia as nearly two million residents were asked to choose a new president amid worries about corruption and the state of the resource-dominated economy. Voters are expecting a close race between the ruling Mongolian People's Party candidate Miyeegombo Enkhbold and former martial arts star and resource nationalist Khaltmaa Battulga of the opposition Democratic Party.

- Walt Disney's "presentation map" for his pitch for his iconic Disneyland theme park was sold for $708,000 at an auction of Disney memorabilia on Sunday. The price set a record for a Disney map and was among the highest ever paid for a piece of Disney ephemera at auction, organizers said. Still, it fell short of the predicted $900,000.

- Level 5's Snack World video game for the Nintendo 3DS delayed to August 10 while its smartphone versions also delayed to 2018.

- In case you missed it, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE lapped the Nurburgring in under 7 minutes and 16 seconds, making it the fastest Camaro ever lapped the Ring.



TTFN!!!

F1 2017 - Azerbaijan GP

The Azerbaijan GP of the F1 2017 season promises to be even more exciting than last year but all that excitement has been replaced with a certain vengeful intentional crash that is worth controversial than enjoyable.

How did that happen? After Sebastian Vettel run lightly into the back of his Briton rival, Lewis Hamilton, leading up to the re-start on lap 18, he was given a 10-second stop-go penalty for dangerous driving after what seems to be a retaliatory contact with Hamilton's vehicle. Hamilton called Vettel's intentional collision disgraceful by side-swiping him behind the safety car, saying it's unfitting for a four-time world champion. Vettel, who finished a place ahead of Hamilton in fourth, fires back saying that Hamilton accused of brake-testing him.

Behind the Vettel-Hamilton quagmire, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo is named the winner of this race while Valtteri Bottas' in 2nd place and Stroll's in 3rd place, his first podium finish.

After that whole incident in Baku, Hamilton dropped to 14 points behind Vettel in the overall rankings of this season.

The next race will be on Austria on the 9th of July.

Doctor Who S10E11

The first half of the two-part Season 10 finale of Doctor Who is a revelation fans braced themselves for because it's not just a classic variant of a robotic fiend that's making a comeback, someone is and man, what a kicker the first part is.

Doctor Who S10E11

Titled "World Enough and Time", The Doctor and his pals, including Missy, emerged on a colony ship until Bill Potts was shot dead by a ship crewman and some mysterious personnel took her to bring her back to life. Revived but transplanted with a mysterious object, while remembering The Doctor's words "Wait for Me", Bill tries to find out what's going on in this mysterious medical facility nestled below the colony ship while The Doctor tries to figure out how to get there.

Spoiler alert! The mysterious bearded person who helped Bill but later lured her to the trap to become a Mondasian Cyberman? Yep, it's the man who used to be Harold Saxon a decade ago. It's The Master (played by John Simm) emerged from the darkness again. With The Master risen from the dead and The Doctor's imminent death fast approaching, next week's finale will be the most unforgiving experience yet.

But in the meantime, executive producer Brian Minchin has his say in the recent DW Fan Show webcast.

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW:

Driving Music Vol. 79

It's the weekends again and this calls for another road trip and if by road trip, this calls for another set of Driving Musics you need to stock up before the trip! Ready?

1) Polovtsian Dance - from the Daewoo Arcadia commercial

2) Riding In My Car (Car Song) by Woody Guthrie - from a Toyota NZ Corolla commercial

3) Look In My Eyes by The Chantels - from a VW Golf commercial

4) Unstoppable by Corleone - from a VW Golf commercial

5) Lightning Bolt by Jake Bugg - from a Mini Countryman commercial

6) Fools Rhythm by Two Fingers - from an Audi Q5 commercial

7) Amazing by Alex Lloyd - from a Ford Australia Territory commercial

8) Feeling Good by Nina Simone - from a Toyota Australia Avalon commercial

9) なんてったってアイドル by 小泉今日子 - from a Subaru Stella commercial

10) EVERYTHING WILL BE ALLRIGHT by 20世紀Jr. - from an Autozam Carol commercial

Driving Music from Leopaul's Blog is the segment where solves every car enthusiasts' questions about the title of the song of car commercials...with the risk of MATCHED THIRD PARTY CONTENT on their status. It's your jam. Drive to the Music You Love.

Bubble Gang - June 23, 2017 #BGAnnulment

In the June 23, 2017 episode of Bubble Gang...

- Hostage gags

- Have we agreed on this annulment?

- A woman's secret to draw attention

- A chance encounter with the most generous man in the world

- Istambay, Istambay Sa Looban, May Bagong Nauuso Sa Bayan, Makinig Dito Sa 'Ting Kantahan, Para Di Ka Napag-i...IWANAN?!

- Today's Patikim Ni Kim recipe is...Fried Chicken

- Welcome to Half Tiyan Restaurant

- A male in his period.

- Basa-basa-pik!

Forza Horizon 3: Everything or Nothing

Here it is, my new and shiny second-generation Porsche Cayenne Turbo SUV that I picked it up after doing a very difficult task at this weekend's Forzathon event and now that I got it, let's see if this modern take on Porsche's first ever SUV can do more than just being a SUV built for hauling people from one place to another.

Although purists dislike the Porsche Cayenne for being a treason to its sports car heritage, it was proven to set a performance benchmark for sport utility vehicles, thus nicknaming it the Porsche 911 of the Sport Utility Vehicle regime. For this variant, it comes with a 4.8L V8 turbo engine producing 500HP of power output and with the 7-speed PDK, it does 0-100kph in around four seconds and onwards at 278km/h, making it one of the fastest SUVs money can buy. Anyway, enough blabbity about the Cayenne because it's time to do something special with this heavyweight now that I got my hands on it...

Of course, for an SUV of this size, you might think that there's no way an SUV can survive the twists and turns in the fantasy world of Hot Wheels Thrilltopia and it should go back being a soccer mom car made for picking up kids at school and go grocery shopping rather than enjoying a rollercoaster moment here. In this case, let's see who has the last laugh.

Who's laughing now, ladies and gentlemen? It maybe a soccer mom car but it's still a Porsche. It's an SUV made for the driver who has everything or nothing at all and it makes them feel as interesting as...hmmm...The Most Interesting Man In The World. I don't usually drive Porsches but when I do, they're extraordinary. Wait, why did I said that line? Anyway, you got this weekend only to get the Porsche Cayenne while you still can, my friends.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: NBC monitors Korea tensions as it preps for Winter Games

US broadcaster NBC is monitoring the situation on North Korea and so far does not expect to change its plans to send a more than 2,000 person workforce to the Winter Games in South Korea.

Tension has been high for months over North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, and due to fears it will conduct a sixth nuclear test and more ballistic missile launches in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Next year's Winter Games see South Korea’s alpine town of Pyeongchang and the coastal city of Gangneung host thousands of athletes and officials when the Games start in February.

NBC, a Comcast-owned network, is the exclusive broadcaster for the Olympics, and it usually uses the games to host its best advertisers and clients on site. However, NBC would not be inviting guests to the Games in South Korea and would instead be hosting them in the U.S. ski town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, according to NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel.

Source: Reuters

Let's Do The News! (June 23, 2017)

- Government troops confirmed that six members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters responsible for the attack in a school in North Cotabato, were killed. Meanwhile life in Brgy. Malagakit is back to normal after residents were evacuated due to the clash between the military and BIFF.

- Ahead of next week's vote, Senate Republicans made their healthcare bill public, which if approved, would repeal most of Obamacare once and for all. This 142-page Senate health care bill cuts health care spending for low-income and middle-income Americans and uses the savings to finance large tax cuts for the wealthy and the medical industry.

- A strong magnitude 6.8 quake rattled off the coast of Guatemala on Thursday, damaging buildings and downing trees as well as causing powerful tremors in neighboring El Salvador. There were no reports of casualties.

- Following the Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed 79 people, the government is urgently conducting safety checks on an estimated 600 high-rise buildings in England which have exterior cladding panels.

- Peruvian leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said that it was time to evaluate pardoning the country’s imprisoned former leader Alberto Fujimori, an apparent bid to placate the powerful opposition party led by Fujimori’s daughter.

- Nissan showcased another teaser of their next-generation Nissan Leaf, this time it's the steering wheel with the ProPilot button on it, confirming its autonomous tech.



- The FIA announced its inaugural Intercontinental Drifting Cup at the fifth FIA Sport Conference in Geneva. Setting unified world regulations for drifting, it will be held in Daiba, Tokyo, Japan from September 30 to October 1, 2017.

- Shooting for the 25th series of BBC Top Gear has commenced as presenters Matt LeBlanc and Chris Harris are in Norway.

- Shooting for a movie adaptation of Downton Abbey will commence this summer of 2018, according to NBCUniversal.

TTFN!!!

Let's Do The News! (June 22, 2017)

- Weeks after the tragedy, Resorts World Manila is investing billions of pesos for the resume of its operation. The casino's operation was halted after gunman Jessie Carlos attacked where it took several lives.

- A collision of seven vehicles caused heavy traffic on Thursday morning at the southbound lane of the North Luzon Expressway near Camachile, Quezon City.

- Over five million children are in urgent need of aid in Iraq, according to UNICEF, describing the war on Islamic State as "one of the most brutal" in modern history.

- Australia would resume air strikes into Syria, ending a two-day suspension implemented after the downing of a Syrian military aircraft triggered a Russian threat against Washington-led coalition planes.

- Kim Kardashian said to have hired a surrogate to carry their third child after a doctor advised the reality star against another high-risk pregnancy. Reports told that the couple paid the surrogate over $113,000 to carry a child.

- In case you really missed it; Sir Daniel Day-Lewis will retire from acting after his next film directed by There Will Be Blood's Paul Thomas Anderson.

- All 1000 units of the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS were sold out following its surprise announcement at the E3 2017.

- Jaguar teases their next crossover addition to the range and it's officially named as the E-Pace. It will be unveiled this July 13.

Jaguar E-Pace teaser

- Ford Motor Company announced that production of their next-generation Focus hatchback will be shifted to and sourced from China instead of Mexico with production starting in the second half of 2019. The Michigan Assembly Plant, which produces the current Focus until mid-2018 will be converted to build the Ranger and the Bronco.

- The winners of this year's International Engine of the Year are Ferrari's 3.9L biturbo V8 engine, Porsche 2.0L six-cylinder turbo, BMW 1.5L 3-cylinder electric-gasoline hybrid, Audi 2.5L five-cylinder turbo, Tesla powertrain, PSA 1.2L three-cylinder turbo, Porsche 2.0L turbo, and the Ferrari 6.3L V12 engine.

TTFN!!!

2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup - FireKeepers Casino 400

Michigan, the US state that gave birth to the American motoring industry, and it's the perfect venue for the FireKeepers Casino 400 leg of the 2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup series, and because this venue was held on Father's Day, this is the race dads will be remembered for, especially NASCAR drivers who are fathers to their families.

In this race, Kyle Larson's perfect restarts resulted him to his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race win of the of the season. Following his disastrous results in Dover last week, seems that Larson's efforts taught by Jimmie Johnson payed off and his win calls for a victory donut. What way to honor Father's Day with a win.

Next race is on Sonoma on the 25th of June.

The Lives of Captain Jack

Captain Jack Harkness; time agent, con man, Torchwood agent, and overall gay man we all love about him. He's a man of many mysteries but for some, he's a dead man walking with his problems, but for most, he's Captain Jack Harkness and he's one of the most famous Doctor Who characters ever remembered and Big Finish Productions brought in some of the best writers to compile four untold stories from Captain Jack Harkness, each connects to the events of past Doctor Who episodes.

The Lives of Captain Jack

John Barrowman reprises his role of Captain Jack Harkness in four new chapters highlighting the life and times of one of of our favorite homosexual characters from the world of Doctor Who and because it's already here in the time of the pride, that makes The Lives of Captain Jack a wonderful character study on the character we are strongly familiar with. 

The first chapter is titled "The Year After I Died" and following the events of the Series 1 finale, The Parting of Ways, after he was killed by the Daleks and later revived by the power of the Bad Wolf (thus leaving him stuck with his immortality ability), Captain Jack emerges for the biggest fight for his life as he tries to save Earth from a familiar enemy.

In the second chapter titled "Wednesdays For Beginners", Captain Jack teams up with Rose's mother, Jackie (played by Camille Coduri) to save the Powell Estate from a threat Jackie Tyler must not be named.

In "One Enchanted Evening", after the dramatic events from The End of Time Part 2, this is where a new kind of love story kicks in after a chance encounter between him and Alonso Frame (played by Russell Tovey) at a bar after being introduced by The Doctor before he left. What is the reason why The Doctor want them to be together? It's a tough question out there and it's going to be one heck of a typical love story out there.

And finally, "Month 25", and this is how Captain Jack Harkness became part of the Time Agency and works his way through the ranks but the ranks weren't very grateful to him or are they?

These four new stories are sure enough to whet our appetite and our love over our favorite Time Agent who tries to deal with different kinds of situations no matter how many times he got killed and revived and it doesn't take a considerable amount of cheap and nasty time travel to understand the man we are familiar with. With the best writers and cast collaborated with Big Finish Productions, this compilation of stories is a fitting tribute to Captain Jack Harkness himself and we have to owe them major gratitude.

Transformers: The Last Knight

Summer is already here and what better way to kick off summer by witnessing the ultimate Transformers experience in the cinemas and with The Last Knight, the Transformers adventure has come full circle as the so-called "final" installment of the Transformers films, directed by Michael Bay, promises to be the most explosive send-off to the Transformers films to date.

Transformers: The Last Knight

Picking up after the events of Age of Extinction three years ago, The Last Knight is a much darker installment where we get to see Optimus Prime transformed into a powerful enemy bent on destroying the world while the war between humans and Transformers are enraging like wildfire. With Prime aligned with darkness, Cade Yeager (played by Mark Wahlberg) and Autobot Bumblebee joined forces with a university professor (played by John Anthony Hopkins) to unlock the hidden truth of the Transformers defending Earth, thus this is the only key to end the battle once and for all.

While this film features a much darker storytelling where Prime became a villain while the main character races against time in the UK in search for answers to end the war, The Last Knight is a real kicker in the summer blockbuster season because while this was billed to be the "final chapter" of the Transformers movie saga, it promises heroic car chases, metal-shredding robot action, and explosions you'd always get from a Michael Bay-directed movie. 

In addition, The Last Knight welcomes some of the new and returning favorites. We get to see the rebirth of Decepticon Barricade in the form of the sixth-generation Ford Mustang, the new Bumblebee in the form of the sixth-gen Chevrolet Camaro, oh, there are new additions such as Drift (which is a Mercedes-AMG GT R), Hot Rod (which is a Lamborghini Centenario), Hound (which is based on the MB Unimog), the merciless Combaticon leader Onslaught, and so much more. These metallic beasts in this film are sure know how to upset this year's car-related films such as The Fate of the Furious and Cars 3 in so many ways and in a big way, it overshadows the human cast of characters by a long shot.

Although some of the machines never trace back to its cartoon roots, much like Bumblebee which is always stuck as a Camaro when the first film emerged ten years ago, its dynamism is what keep these metal monsters in this film alive and kicking and until the endgame reaches, you can really tell why we really love the Transformers back in our youth and this whole "More Than Meets The Eye" really is MORE Than Meets The Eye.

It seems a shame then that with The Last Knight, we're going to wave goodbye to the epic war of the machines for the planet Earth that was very exciting from start to finish but also very pointless. However, the people of Paramount thinks that while Michael Bay coined The Last Knight as his final film, there will be more for the Transformers franchise as a Bumblebee spinoff movie will come very soon as well as another one just to keep it alive for future generations. Now that is the future we're looking forward to for our love of Transformers.

My rating: 4 out of 5