On yesterday's PyeongChang games, Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Luge, Snowboard, and Speed Skating are the focus of that day and let's jot down who are the winners of the day.
Men's Downhill sees a one-two finish for Team Norway as Aksel Lund Svindal and Kjetil Jansrud won gold and silver respectively. Mikaela Shiffrin of USA wins the Ladies' Giant Slalom, Hanna Oeberg of Sweden wins the Women's 15km Individual, another win for Norway as Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the Men's 20km Individual, Ragnhild Haga for the Ladies' 10km Free, the German duo of Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot wins the Pair Skating, Germany wins the Team Relay Competition, Pierre Vaultier of France wins the Men's Snowboard Cross, and Ted-Jan Bloemen of Canada wins the Men's 10,000m speed skating. Looks like the Norse are something to fear with in the PyeongChang Games.
What we have here is something we, the movie-loving Filipinos, never had for several years, a steamy, sexy, and savage bold movie from Star Cinema that wants to capture the heydays of our Seiko Films fantasy. Well, you get the point but since Sin Island is Star Cinema's offering for the month of February, it's hard to describe what their first bold movie in decades feels like.
Sin Island
Starring Coleen Garcia, Nathalie Hart, and Xian Lim, Sin Island highlights on the story of David and Kanika who are happily married until Kanika's adultery ruined their relationship, causing David to make an affair with a woman named Tasha.
Being a typical Pinoy bold movie, it kind of feels like you're in a middle of a Seiko Films bold movie but this isn't a Seiko Film junk, this is a Star Cinema creation and it's directed by Gino M. Santos and because this film is as steamy, sexy, and savage as a Seiko Film movie, looking away might be the ideal bet because the scenes on this film are too intense even for mature viewing audiences. All that sexual depictions, all that savagery, and all that boldness, it's hard to fathom why they resurrect the Pinoy bold movie genre with Sin Island and that's just the bottom of the story.
- The Malacanang rejected the actions of China after it named several undersea features belonging to the West Philippine Sea. According to the Presidential Spokesperson, Harry Roque, the Philippine embassy in Beijing have already raised the concern to China and are likewise considering a recommendation to officially notify the Chair of the International Hydrographic Organization – Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans Sub-Committee on Undersea Feature Names.
- Department of Transportation Undersecretary for Rails Timothy Jon Batan promises that they will be able to raise the MRT-3 from near-death to more active existence.
- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu said he is weighing the possibility of implementing a moratorium on the construction of new buildings and establishment in Boracay in a bid to give a solution on the islands “overcrowding problem, following President Rodrigo Duterte's "cesspool" comments.
- Recalling what happened on US Politics, Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's attorney, admitted that he made the $130,000 payment of apparent hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Then, Senator Elizabeth Warren made a very important speech regarding her "Pocahontas" problem, which not only explained that her mother is descended from Native Americans but also used the speech to tell the story of Pocahontas and of Native Americans, making an important promise to Native Americans. And lastly, President Trump announced yesterday his controversial infrastructure plan that would bring jobs, roads, and bridges to communities in need, which critics believe he does the opposite and he will use the $237 billion cut to Medicaid to fund his infrastructure plan.
- 17 killed in a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, according to authorities. The suspect behind the shooting was now under police custody.
- Kuala Lumpur will abolish open car parks in the next twenty years, according to reports.
- Vietnamese jumpstart carmaker, Vinfast, named Pininfarina for the development of the nation's first sedan and SUV models. They're aiming 500k units within 2025, top in the ASEAN market.
- BMW unveiled the second-generation G02 X4 prior to its Geneva Motor Show next month, with the range topping M40i and M40d added on the range.
2019 BMW X4
- A certain report posted the first half of the multi-article report about manga piracy websites, which includes comments from Ashita no Joe creatory Tetsuya Chiba and a statement from the Japan Cartoonists Association he chairs.
February 14, 2018 is Valentines Day. For Koreans, this is the Korean Lunar New Year. For the religious, it's Ash Wednesday. But in PyeongChang, the athletes are business as usual as the only thing that burns the hearts of many is the incredible performance athletes delivered especially when they compete in medal events such as Luge, Nordic Combined, Snowboard, and Speed Skating.
Germany makes headlines at the Doubles Luge with Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt wins the Gold medal while the Austrian pair of Peter Penz and Georg Fischler wins the Silver medal and another German pair, Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken, wins the Bronze medal. In the Individual Gundersen NH 10km Cross Country, another German wins big with Eric Frenzel wins the match followed by Akito Watabe from Japan and Lukas Klapfer from Austria. Snowboarding superstar of Team USA Shaun White wins the Men's Halfpipe followed by Japan's Ayumu Hirano and Austria's Scotty James. And finally, at the Ladies' 1000km Speed Skating, Dutch Jorien Ter Mors beaten two Japanese athletes Nao Kodaira and Miho Takagi for the Gold medal.
The TV anime adaptation of Bandai Namco's IDOLISH7 highlights the tale of seven male idols under the caring hands of a young manager, who happens to be the daughter of the president of the talent agency the idols set their foot on. Despite hardships, these seven young men showed their unique blend of determination to rise themselves to the top of their stardom, even though they're feeling the heat from a world-renowned trio known as TRIGGER.
So, while fans of Bandai Namco's cross-media project are still catching up on all the latest developments from the i7 anime series, at last, the theme song of the TV series has arrived. Not only we get to listen to the theme song of the TV series, which is titled WISH VOYAGE of course, but also the one as heard from the sixth episode of the series, titled Dancing∞BEAT!! Also, for limited quantities, there's a ticket for a fan meeting featuring the stars of IDOLISH7.
Keep watching IDOLISH7 for more of what's happening with your favorite unsung idols vying to reach the top.
In honor of the Aikatsu franchise's 5th anniversary since its 2012 launch, the impending grand finale of Aikatsu Stars, and the final concert for the AIKATSU☆STARS! and STAR☆ANIS groups at the end of this month, their biggest thank you present for the fans is a special drama CD highlighting five years of Aikatsu in the words of your favorite Aikatsu stars from Ichigo, Akari, to Yume.
TV Anime/Data Carddass Aikatsu Stars! and Aikatsu! Special Drama CD
Of course, this is got to be the biggest "thank you" present an Aikatsu fan would die for because it delivers an all-star cast heard throughout the rest of the Aikatsu franchise since the beginning. This drama part kicks off with the Aikatsu story starting from the very beginning when Ichigo Hoshimiya pursues her dream to become the top idol of the Starlight School, surpassing the likes of the school's elite idol, Mizuki Kanzaki. Also, we get to know more about the Akari Generation of the story in the words of Akari Ozora who does her very best to follow Ichigo's footsteps with a little help of her friends.
After that, we get to the Aikatsu Stars part of the drama CD where we get to listen to the tale of Yume Nijino, about how she enters the Yotsuboshi Gakuin on her goal to become part of the S4 and how does she defend the honor of her alma mater and her position as one of the S4 upon the arrival of the Venus Ark as well as Elza Forte herself.
It all ends with the grand finale of this special drama CD, the brand new song to end all Aikatsu songs titled AIKATSU GENERATION, performed by the AIKATSU☆STARS! and STAR☆ANIS groups and this is something you'd better listen to before saying goodbye to the two groups that give life to the songs heard throughout the Aikatsu franchise.
What a swan song this special drama CD is and we can look forward for the future of the Aikatsu franchise as we are welcoming the arrival of the newest generation of Aikatsu, titled Aikatsu Friends!, coming this April 2018.
- Jeepney operators across the Philippines will launch a nationwide protest this Monday, February 19, to denounce the government's "Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok" drive. Piston president George San Mateo clarified on Monday that the focal point of the protest, a march at noon from Welcome Rotunda in Quezon City, to Mendiola in Manila, was not meant to paralyze jeepney routes.
- The Office of the Ombudsman has terminated the case filed against President Rodrigo Duterte with regards to his alleged ill-gotten wealth.
- Meanwhile, President Duterte greeted some 150 OFWs who enlisted in the government's repatriation program from Kuwait. Speaking to the Filipino workers, Duterte expressed the government’s willingness to give land to those interested in agriculture as well as opening the Department of Labor and Employment’s livelihood program for the OFWs.
- The United States described Myanmar denials of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims as "preposterous" as it called on the U.N. Security Council to hold the military accountable and pressure leader Aung San Suu Kyi “to acknowledge these horrific acts that are taking place in her country.”
- The US Senate is finally expected to begin the debate on the immigration bill this week as over 80 percent of the Americans support an immigration law with a clear path to citizenship for DREAMers.
- Subaru teases their VIZIV Tourer Concept ahead of its Geneva Motor Show premiere next month.
- Rolls-Royce confirms their upcoming SUV will be called Cullinan.
- The Mercedes-Benz W205 C-Class gains a minor change for the 2019 model year featuring safety tech inspired from the S-Class and new engine choices.
- The all-new Mercedes-AMG G63 was unveiled prior to its Geneva Motor Show appearance next month, featuring a 4.0L V8 BiTurbo engine producing 585HP of power and 850Nm of Torque.
- Popular art-focused social networking service Pixiv surpasses over 30 million users over the past decade.
- 20th Century Fox reportedly delayed the live-action Alita: Battle Angel film to December 2018.
In case you missed it, the fourth day of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics puts the focus on Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Luge, Short Track Speed Skating, Snowboard, and Speed Skating.
And now, the winners of that day. Marcel Hirscher of Austria wins the Men's Alpine Combined Slalom, Stina Nilsson of Sweden for the Ladies' Sprint Classic, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway for the Men's Sprint Classic, Team Canada for the Mixed Doubles Curling, Germany scored a 1-2 finish at the Women's Singles with Natalie Geisenberger gone gold and Dajana Eitberger with the silver medal, Ariana Fontana of Italy wins the Ladies' 500m, Chloe Kim of Team USA for the Ladies' Halfpipe, and Holland scored a 1-2 finish at the Men's 1,500m with Kjeld Nuis as the victor and Patrick Roest tasted second place.
The United States has appear to endorse post-Olympic engagement between North and South Korea that could lead to direct U.S. talks, but has agreed with Seoul that sanctions must be intensified to push Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.
Vice President Mike Pence said in a newspaper interview that Washington and Seoul had agreed, in discussions on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, on the basic terms to guide future diplomatic contacts with North Korea.
Pence also said Washington would step up its “maximum pressure campaign” against Pyongyang but at the same time would be open to talks without pre-conditions.
- The Senate is mulling about summoning alleged gambling lord Bong Pineda in its next hearing on the controversies surrounding the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. According to Senator Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Committee on Games and Amusement, Pineda needs to explain himself amid accusations that he operates 11 Small Town Lotteries in 11 provinces.
- The Philippine government will issue different color plates to Grab, Uber, and other transport network vehicle service, according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. At present, TNVS have black on white license plates similar to private vehicles. Taxis and other public utility vehicles have black on yellow.
- Opposition leader Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has been in the US for the past week, attending the national prayer breakfast and a roundtable at the Institute for Policy Studies before visiting with several Filipino American communities.
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will hear whether his legal bid to halt action against him for breaching bail has been successful, in a ruling that could pave the way for him to leave the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
- Ukrainian opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili was deported to Poland on Monday, the Ukrainian border service said, after he was detained in a Kiev restaurant by law enforcement agents in camouflage.
- The African National Congress party executive committee has decided to oust South African leader Jacob Zuma as head of state after a half-day meeting of the party's top leadership. The 75-year-old Zuma has been South Africa’s most controversial president since the end of white-minority rule in 1994, overseeing a tumultuous nine years marked by economic decline and numerous allegations of corruption.
- Watch as the new Range Rover Sport PHEV take on China's Heaven's Gate.
- Toyota teases their racing concept ahead of Geneva Motor Show reveal.
- The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class was updated for 2018 ahead of its Geneva premiere, featuring a more distinguishable grille design and many other improvements.
- ICYMI: Bandai Namco Holdings merges Lantis with Bandai Visual for their new subsidiary as well as the launch of its Bandai Spirits toy/hobby subsidiary.
- Luther actor Idris Elba proposes to his girlfriend in front of the crowd.
Lotus pioneered the sports car realm with the philosophy of "simplify and add lightness", valuing aerodynamics over power and that kind of philosophy won the hearts of many hardcore car enthusiasts looking for something that is free from the distractions that hinder their joy of driving, especially those concessions of comfort that are deemed unnecessary for sportscars. However, what happens when Lotus turns the other way around? You get with the Elise GT1, of course.
I picked this ultra-rare Lotus from Forza Motorsport 7's Totino's Car Pack and while this car brings me back to the corner of my childhood, there's a lot of explaining to do about this ultra-rare, ultra-hardcore take on the Lotus Elise. The Lotus Elise has spawned three competition versions and the first was the Elise GT1.
The Elise GT1 features a carbon fiber bodywork nested to its bonded-aluminum backbone chassis modified to accomodate the 3.5L V8 twin turbo engine from the Esprit. In its road-legal state, it produces 350HP of power but in race tune, it produces over 550HP of power - in a car that weighs less than 2,000 lbs.
Apart from that, the Elise GT1 features a full competition suspension and 14-inch disc brakes with 6-piston calipers for dramatic stopping power.
This Elise is a massive flop to Lotus. Ever since they compete in the FIA GT Championship, Lotus are looking for a suitable replacement to the aging Esprit in their racing portfolio and they've chosen the Elise as their next race car for the job. Due to financial reasons, they only built one road-going car that is unavailable for public. Lotus made seven Elise GT1 race chassis were built and while most of them never made it to the finish line due to mechanical issues, only a few made it to the end of the race. Due to such lackluster results, Lotus and parent company Proton decided to axe the program.
It's a shame that Lotus wasted a lot of money for such a lackluster performance with the Elise GT1 but since I'm driving the only road-legal in its existence, what's like the drive it? In my experience, you'll get the feeling that you're driving a Hennessey Venom before it was cool but this is not the Venom, it's actually an Elise beefed up with the engine of the Esprit and it's not as intimidating as it looks. Because it was set to 350HP of power, which is the road-legal mode of course, you don't get scared pretty easily and despite its intimidating looks, it handles pretty much like what a Lotus should be, making it a proper track toy as I shall now prove with a lap round the Top Gear Track.
This car really is quick by modern standards and because of such performance, let's take the beastly Lotus to another part of Britain which is...
...Silverstone, of course.
Ah, the venue of the British Grand Prix, this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the Lotus at its best and with that, it's time to see if this ultimate flop has the guts to be called a hardcore Lotus compared to the most hardcore of all...
This is the Lotus 3-Eleven, the fastest and the most hardcore Lotus ever made and it was the fastest Lotus to lap round the Nurburgring to lap the sub-seven minute mark. Since both of these machines are set to road-legal use, it's quite questionable to see which is which on the track but since I got all of the ingredients here, it's time to see which of the hardcore Lotuses is the most hardcore of them all.
And now, the results...
3-Eleven - 2:21.204
Elise GT1 - 2:24.821
It's true what Lotus said, the Elise GT1 was a complete disaster for the company but look at this way, despite being a total flop, it became an inspiration for Hennessey to create the Venom GT because if it weren't for the Elise GT1, the Texans wouldn't made the car that shattered world speed records in a pinch. It really is a Venom GT before it was cool and while it wasn't as hardcore as I hoped for, this car really takes me back to the time when I first introduced myself to the world of Lotus Cars from the Elan, the Esprit, and most famously, the Elise.
The third day of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics highlights on Biathlon, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skating, Ski Jumping, Snowboard, and Speed Skating.
Laura Dahlmeier of Germany is the victor of the Women's 10km Pursuit while Frenchman Martin Fourcade is the winner of the Men's 12.5km Pursuit. At the Team Event Ice Dance Free Dance, Canada wins the Gold Medal and for another win on Team Canada, Mikael Kingsbury wins the Men's Moguls. Norwegian Maren Lundby wins the Ski Jumping, USA Jamie Anderson wins Ladies' Slopestyle, and Ireen Wust wins the Ladies' 1,500mm speed skating.
