Tuesday, October 17, 2017

How to dress as Aikatsu characters (Part 3)

It's the Aikatsu franchise's 5th anniversary so let's celebrate by teaching you how to be as one of your favorite Aikatsu idols but because we have the original Aikatsu and the latest Aikatsu Stars, let's focus first on the original just for nostalgia purposes.



The final season of the Aikatsu anime series, dubbed the Akari Generation, centers on Akari Ozora as the main character of the series and with Akari replacing Ichigo as the main character of the final season, Akari's accompanied by her new friends Sumire and Hinaki on their journey to become the academy's top idols, no matter what lays ahead of them.

The Akari Generation arc of the Aikatsu introduces new and unique characters and how to recreate as them can be either easy or hard, depending on which character you want to be. So, without further ado, let's begin. And oh, kids, ask your parents first before doing so.

As Akari Ozora: Akari, now being the main character in the final season of Aikatsu, is more than just being matured enough to become an idol. In fact, her look has changed since we first met her in an earlier season. For her look, you should need a semi-long orange hair and a midsize pink ribbon to complete the look. If you have a ribbon, try making her left tail of her hair using it but be sure the ribbon's just the right size. When finished, the outfits are up to you.

As Sumire Hikami: Sumire is one of Akari's friends whose hobby is fortune-telling. To be her, you'll need a long light purple hair and a blue ribbon to your right and that's it. Then, you are in charge on the outfits of your desire.

As Hinaki Shinjo: Hinaki's one of Akari's friends who has interests over fashionable Aikatsu cards. A short blond hair would do the job well but what you should be worrying about is her front right braid that takes about a fortnight.

As Juri Kurebayashi: Juri is a second-year student of the Starlight Academy and her dad is Spanish who works as a culinary chef, that's why where she got her Spanish tongue from. Juri's one of the trickiest Aikatsu characters to recreate with because her red hair takes some extreme curling to recreate her look and then some hair ornament to complete her look. Once done, you can pick whatever outfits you want. Spanish lessons optional. Enchendes? Bueno.

As Rin Kurosawa: A street dancer turned idol, Rin is the bearer of the Dance Fusion brand. Now, I should talk about how to pull Rin's hairstyle off and if you need to recreate her look, trying picturing...well, let's cut to the chase...Harley Quinn. Just kidding, her hair is whitish with some red bit on her right and she has a blue ribbon headband that takes about a fortnight.

As Madoka Amahane: Madoka's hairstyle is colored pink with twintails on it but what you should be worrying about is her angel wing hair accessory so a little DIY is necessary to recreate her hair accessory. Once done, feel free to select an outfit for this cosplay.

As Nono Daichi: Nono is one of the two idols of the academy who hails from Hokkaido and uses the Dolly Devil brand. To recreate her hairstyle, first you need to find a long hair with light brown color and then work with the twintails. Once done, start working on the outfits of your choosing.

As Risa Shirakaba: Like Nono, Risa is hailed from Hokkaido before she got transferred to the Starlight Gakuin and bear the Dolly Devil brand like her compatriot. If you managed to maintain that long black hair of yours, just disregard this advice, except you need to work on her purplish ribbon headband accessory. Once done, feel free to choose which outfits you want to wear.

As Miyabi Fujiwara: Miyabi's originally from Kyoto and while she has a Kansai dialect, she is the bearer of the ultra-mysterious Sakurairo Kaden brand. To be Miyabi, first you need a long dark brown hair to begin with. Then, work with those pigtails on the front and her signature hair accessories, and presto! Miyabi cosplay! Wait, if you're done replicating her look, the outfits are up to you.

As Kokone Kurisu: Kokone was a transfer student from the Etoile Academy to begin her life anew at Starlight Gakuin. To be Kokone, you first need some orange hairdo that is big enough to recreate her big ponytail and then finish it with a big lime green ribbon. Once done, the outfits are up to you.

As Nina Dojima: Nina's an Osaka girl who studying idol courses from a distant school but you can't really resist her unique personality. Be careful though that unlike any Aikatsu character, recreating Nina will be extremely difficult because it's hard to make a hairdo with a sky blue-pink gradient on it and with some roundy bits on the top. If you're skilled enough to recreate her hairstyle, you should have a star...on your right cheek.

And that's the rest of the stars of the Aikatsu anime series you can recreate as for your next cosplay plans. Next time, let's shift gears on the stars of the current Aikatsu Stars anime series where I'll explain to you how to be like Yume, Rola, and the others! Until then, gracias minna, ciao.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Seoul, Washington confirms Nov. 7 bilateral summit



South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump will sit down for an official bilateral meeting in Seoul on November 7 to discuss ways to further boost their alliances and bolster joint efforts amid rising tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

President Trump's Seoul trip, confirmed by both South Korean Presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, the Blue House, and the White House on Monday, will be the first for the US president since he took office last January and will make him the first foreign head of state to visit South Korea since President Moon took office last May.

In a statement, the Blue House said President Moon will hold a one-on-one with his visiting US counterpart which will be followed by a joint press event and host a state dinner for President Trump on the seventh of November, During his Seoul visit, the US leader will also speak at the National Assembly becoming the first US president to do so in two and a half decades.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (October 17, 2017)



- Military experts warned that the recent slay of the two top leaders of the ISIS-linked terrorist group that overran Marawi City could make their followers more violent.

- The new Immigration Act, meant to augment the ranks of immigration officers that have dwindled due to overtime pay issues, could be passed before Christmas. According to reports, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said that the bill is currently "under the legislative process of both houses of Congress" but the Justice department hopes it will be passed "before the next adjournment."

- The low-pressure area over the Pacific Ocean has intensified into a storm and was forecast to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility under the name Paolo. The storm was spotted at 1,040 kilometers east of the Visayas as of 3 p.m. yesterday. It packed winds of 80 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 95 kph.

- US President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with President Rodrigo Duterte and other leaders as he visits Manila next month, which is part of his Asian trip from November 3 to 14. The American leader is expected to arrive in Manila on November 12 to attend the special gala celebration dinner for the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

- Recently, the lawsuit filed from grassroots activist group Common Cause against the North Carolina state legislature to overturn their gerrymandered districts goes to court hearings.

- Donald Trump Jr., the son of the US President Donald Trump, is expected to make a fundraising appearance for Kris Kobach’s campaign next month in Johnson County, marking the Trump family’s entrance into a packed 2018 race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

- According to the Motorsport Industry Association, there could be a new insurance law that could threaten European motorsports.

- Audi will unveil the second-generation A7 on the 19th of October.

- Check out the latest THE IDOLM@STER Stella Stage info, including the actress who will voice rival idol Shiika in the game.



TTFN!!!

Fate/stay night Heaven's Feel I. presage flower

The first Fate/stay night TV anime series centers on Shiro and Saber's perspective in their life-and-death struggle to overcome all odds to survive the Holy Grail War. Then, the Unlimited Blade Works film and TV series puts the perspective on Rin Tohsaka during her life-and-death trials alongside her Archer servant. Now, Fate/stay night returns with a brand new compilation film trilogy that centers on the eyes of an ordinary girl named Sakura Matou.

Fate/stay night Heaven's Feel
I. presage flower

Heaven's Feel is one of the Fate/stay night arcs that focuses solely on an ordinary girl named Sakura Matou, whose Shiro promises to stay her out of harm's way during the brutal war for the Holy Grail and how her involvement would forever change the tide of the story we are familiar with. This is the first of the compilation film trilogy, titled presage flower, and in the beginning of this film trilogy, we get to witness Sakura Matou's point of view in the middle of the Holy Grail war that invoked so much brutal murders across Fuyuki City ever since Shiro's promise to keep her safe from harm.

While we get to see some of the familiar faces from the Fate/stay night TV series, this different perspective, which is different from the original and UBW, adds some dramatic taste to the story we are familiar with and just by putting so much emotion and emphasis, the first Heaven's Feel film is rather good and we can expect more to happen in the next two films. The feel of this film is what keeps the fans' hearts pumping with emotion, making them impossible to think about the rest of the story and since this is the first film, it really is impossible to think what's next in Sakura's perspective of the Holy Grail War so best to be prepare for the next installments while making do with the first film that adds drama to the story we know and love.

My rating: 4.1 out of 5.

2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup - Alabama 500

Ah, Talladega Superspeedway, the Alabama 500 race of the 2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup stirs the Round of 8 into intense levels and when spectators witnessed "the big one" out on the oval, all that trackside-induced chaos is what made NASCAR great again. Sorry. Anyway, let's sum what's going on in this chaotic Talladega race and see who made it in the playoffs.


In Lap 26, the #33 car and the #1 got damaged in a middle of a messy collision. In Lap 49, a restart is triggered and at the end of the restart, Brad Keselowski nabbed his Stage One win of the race. In Lap 67, the right rear of the #48 sustained damage. In Lap 110, Ryan Blaney obtained his Stage Two win. In Lap 155, the big one occurred as two cars triggered a catastrophic pileup no one saw it coming.

After a chaotic Talladega battle, Brad Keselowski wins the race and secured his top spot in the playoffs.

The playoffs continue in Kansas for the Hollywood Casino 400 on the 22nd.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Forza Motorsport 7: Dom's Demon



When the Dodge Challenger Demon unveiled to the world, everyone's cowered in fear over the most powerful production car in the world. With its 840HP from its 6.2L HEMI V8 and the fastest 0-60mph time of any production sportscar, 2.3 seconds to be precise, no wonder every supercar in the world got choked by the Demon's incredible straight line speed and as Forza fans, we wanted to see the most powerful V8 car in the world to be there. However, we got this instead...





Yes, this is still the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon we are familiar with, the one that made Europe tremble in fear because of its monstrous power output that upsets almost every supercar in the world but don't be fooled because this particular Dodge Demon belongs to, well let's cut to the chase, Dom Toretto.

This is Dom's Demon and you can now play it on FM7 via The Fate of The Furious car pack. While Dom's Ice Charger overshadowed the Demon when it comes to star appeal, this demon of a machine should not be overlooked because this is the muscle car well known to break every world record in history, especially the fact that being the first production car in the world that can do the longest wheelie as verified by Guinness Book of World Records and because of The Fate of The Furious, every Mopar fanatic wants to have one in their collection and as a matter of fact, it's the numbers they should be worrying about because the Demon is strictly a limited-edition Challenger available only in the US and Canada and because it starts at 84,995 US Dollars, it's the most expensive Dodge to buy, although cheaper to buy than those European exotics the Demon sets its pitchforks at.

The Americans are as ballsy as the fat man in charge of the nation who wanted to build more nukes against his enemies but for a Dodge Demon, this is a definitive point how Americans are capable of, building stuff that are astronomical enough to crush their rivals into dust to show everyone that they are the greatest people in the world. I'm impressed to think that with all 840HP unleashed from its V8 engine, the Demon has evolved from muscle car into exotic in its own right and it's time for me to prove that theory.



Here we are at the Top Gear Test Track just to see if the Demon has grown into a proper supercar that can eat almost everyone, even in its compatriots like the Corvette and the Ford GT. Of course, with no one ever turned up to the party because I suspect, they've got intimidated by the Demon's power output, and instead someone popped up bravely.





Yes, this is the Dodge Viper ACR, the most hardcore Viper ever made and even though this is the last of the Vipers before its demise, probably because the Hellcats already devoured it like Titans in the forest, its GTS-R-inspired dynamics is what made the ACR a road-legal racecar and it lapped round the Top Gear Test Track in 1:15.1.

Time to get some beer and nachos because this will be the most interesting comparo of them all as the Viper ACR goes up against Dom Toretto's Demon from F8. Time to get this show rolling...


And now the results...

1:14.945 - Viper ACR
1:24.267 - Dom's Demon

And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen. Even though the Demon is over 200HP more than the Viper, it couldn't beat the Viper in a lap round the track and I think there's a clear reason for that. One, it's heavier than the ACR, and second, drag tires don't usually work on track days. Sure, it can be a blast to drive on the drag straights but on the track, it's very challenging indeed and looks like the Viper ACR, despite its demise, finally teached the Demon a very painful lesson on the track.



For me, it's been an honor to drive Dom's Demon on Forza Motorsport 7. Even though it's not as quick as the Viper ACR, this car makes me want to go Vin Diesel all the way because of its appearance in The Fate of The Furious. Those who saw the Dodge Demon would make them think that's the car Dom Toretto drove in the film and this Vin Diesel-approved muscle car is just one of the main reasons why we're into cars like these. The crazier they get, the awesomer they become and the Demon is just one of the Fast and Furious cars that get the job done. Now that's Fast & Furious to you.

How to dress as Aikatsu characters (Part 2)

It's the Aikatsu franchise's 5th anniversary so let's celebrate by teaching you how to be as one of your favorite Aikatsu idols but because we have the original Aikatsu and the latest Aikatsu Stars, let's focus first on the original just for nostalgia purposes.


Last time, I already tackled how to dress as characters like Ichigo Hoshimiya, Aoi Kiriya, Ran Shibuki, and the others. Now, let's focus on the 2nd year arc where Starlight Gakuin faces a stiff competition against the best and the brightest from the prestigious Dream Academy.

Time to pick up where we left off as I will explain to you how to be as the other Aikatsu stars during the 2nd year arc and when I say "how to be", I mean mimicking their hairstyles because the outfits are too random for me to explain and these outfits are up to you. By the way, little kids, ask your parents first before doing so.

As Seira Otoshiro: Seira is one of the Dream Academy students who made a courtesy visit to Starlight Gakuin just to put some pressure on Ichigo and the pals, especially Akari Ozora, who was a newcomer back then. Because of her taste for Rock N' Roll, she represents the Swing Rock brand. Okay, being Seira, first get a very long red hair to start with, then put a big ponytail and a ribbon to finish it off. Once done, it's up to you to decide the outfits.

As Sora Kazesawa: Sora is one of the Dream Academy students who undergoes designer courses. She represents the Bohemian Sky brand. Getting a long blue hair is a start because Sora's hair has some purple gradient below so this should be tricky for color-blind cosplayers like me. If you get the gradient all sorted out, feel free to pick the outfits for your cosplay; either her Dream Academy uniform or one of her Bohemian Sky outfits onstage.

As Kii Saegusa: Kii is one of the Dream Academy students who undergoes producer courses and she's known for her love for a special cider known as the Aikatsu Drink. Getting a long blond hair is an easy task but the hard task is to recreate Kii's puffy twintails and with all that puff in Kii's twintails, this may take a fortnight.

As Maria Himesato: Maria's one of the Dream Academy students who is very skilled at makeup and nails. Maria's not quite the trickiest to recreate, especially when her hair is somewhat peach-colored and she has some floral stuff in front of her hair.

As Mikuru Natsuki: Mikuru is one-half of the newly established WM idol duo comprising of her and the once veteran idol of Starlight Gakuin, Mizuki Kanzaki. Recreating Mikuru's look is no problem. You just need a long beige-colored hairdo and some pigtails to do this and once you're done recreating Mikuru's look, feel free to choose whatever outfits you like.

Next time, let's focus on the characters introduced in the final season of the Aikatsu anime, also known as the Akari Generation where Akari Ozora became the main character of this final season before Aikatsu Stars took over the telly. Watch for it.