Let's Do The News! (June 7, 2014)

20-8-5 2-9-7 19-3-15-15-16 20-15-4-1-25... (sorry, too much GF stuff because of secret messages at the credits. Anyway...)

- The traffic-violation penalties and fines were revised by the DOTC and this means "serious consequences" for the violators are the fines are now sharply raised. Check out the PDF copy of the DOTC's complete revised schedules on the fines and penalties at the DOTC website.

- Adrian Peterson from the Minnesota Vikings will be guesting on Monday's episode of Disney XD's action comedy series Mighty Meds.

- These are the teaser shots that Disney provided for the upcoming Phineas and Ferb special titled Phineas and Ferb Save Summer. This special will air on June 9th, Monday, on Disney XD as part of the AnimaCation summer lineup airing throughout the whole summer season. Check local listings.

- Check out their latest trailer for the upcoming anime adaptation of the Rail Wars novels where the cast has been announced.

- The Buick Verano compact sedan has its manual gearbox removed for the 2015 model year.

2015 Buick Verano

- The Never Ending, an up-and-coming band spearheaded by Debby Ryan from Disney's Jessie, launched their first debut album titled Mulholland Drive. It's set for its June 24th on-sale date.

SAMPLE:

- END OF AN ERA: The Mandarin Oriental Manila will be closing its doors this year after being around for almost four decades. The closure will pave way for a new hotel due to be opened next decade.

- New Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko called in his inaugural speech to put the end of the standoff that occurred in the eastern part of the country as well as the Ukraine vs. Russia issues. 48-year-old Poroshenko was elected late last month after his predecessor, Viktor Yanukovich, was ousted by Ukrainians three months ago.

TTFN!

Bubble Gang - June 6, 2014

On the June 6, 2014 episode of Bubble Gang...

- Classroom gags

- Istambay, Istambay sa Looban, May gulo na naman sa tambayan, may babaeng pumuwesto sa tindahan, lahat ng lalaki'y tini...TINGNAN?!

- IKAW AT ANG INA takes on...liking a status of someone who's sick!

- Can you keep his secrets safe? No one knows what he did earlier...

- An interview with a dude who allegedly steal someone's endorsements.

- Aling Mary still infuriates the people waiting in line...

- IyoTube in Dati by Sam Conception and Tippy Dos Santos and Quest

- You won't believe what sort of diagnosis this dude has!

Forza Motorsport 5: 2012 Jaguar XKR-S at the Top Gear Test Track

For my free time, I decided to give Jaguar's ultimate version of the XK coupe, the XKR-S, for a spin round the famous Top Gear Test Track in Dunsfold, Surrey, UK. Although, my skills are not enough to match the lap time Stig set from this car on this track, it's still fun to experience the outer limits of Jaguar's finest sports coupe that is capable enough to reach over 300kph. It may not be as fast as any other Italian exotics but the XKR-S really turned a gentleman's club into a half-decent supercar bulging all in the right places.

Let's Do The News! (June 6, 2014)

WKH ELJ VFRRS WRGDB...

- So, San Antonio Spurs kickstarts the 2014 NBA Finals after a 110-95 win against Miami Heat. Spurs won the first game of the finals. Game 2 occurs on Sunday (that's Monday for Asian residents).

- Bravest Warriors Season 2's penultimate episode, Season of the Worm, is now streaming. This is the first of the two-part season ender and how far can our heroes go to hunt down those hamster foes? Watch it and find out...



- In the not-too-distant past, there were two Fionna and Cake episodes of Adventure Time; those special episodes showcased what its like when there's a female feline version of Jake the Dog and a female version of Finn the Human.  Due to inconsistent public demand, Fionna the Human Girl and Cake the Cat returns in The Prince Who Wanted Everything coming late June 2014 to Cartoon Network.

- The F56 Mini has spawned a five-door version of the regular hatchback! Wait, what?!

MINI Hatch 5-door

- The second-generation BMW X6 is revealed officially.

2015 BMW X6

- Earlier, there was a shooting occurred at Seattle Pacific University. The suspect was armed with a shotgun and a knife and causing heavy fire in the campus, injuring a person until a student subdued him with a pepper spray.

- The upcoming 2015 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Z06, set for early 2015 release, is now helmed as the most powerful car General Motors made thanks to the SAE-certified 650HP power output, dethroning the old C6 ZR1.

- The ignition switch recall problem caused General Motors to fire 15 people.

- There's a new Nissan coming to Gran Turismo 6 and it's coming next week, in time for E3 2014, but what is it? Is it Nissan's Vision GT concept? Let's hope so...

- There was a video aired from Vietnam showing Chinese vessel ramming down a fishing boat. This is just one of the developing news regarding China vs. Vietnam in the island stakes.

- Celeb Krista Miller was identified as one of the visitors of convicted drug lord Ricardo Camata during his hospital stay.

- The new 2015 Subaru WRX STi (not yet available in Japan until the 3rd quarter, I think), recorded a new Isle of Man TT time of 19 minutes and 26 seconds, almost 30 seconds quicker than the old one!

TTFN!!!

The Cars of 2014 GTi Meeting

In case someone really missed the 2014 GTi Meeting last week, let's meet the cars as seen from this annual show hosted by the Volkswagen Group, showcasing how cool these VW group-derived machines are;

1. Audi A3 Clubsport Quattro Concept - This hyper concept sedan uses the A3 sedan as its basis and it features an unbelievable 5-cylinder TFSi engine developing a supercar-like 525HP of power output.

2. Seat Ibiza Cupster Concept - this concept convertible celebrates the Seat Ibiza's 30th anniversary and it uses the Ibiza CUPRA as its basis as well as rigged with a 180PS TSi engine and a DSG gearbox.

3. Skoda CitiJet Concept - This concept car uses the CitiGo minicar and it has no roof on it. It's now turned into a two-seater convertible for those who like to make an effort.

4. Skoda Yeti Extreme - Ain't no ordinary Skoda Yeti here but the Extreme concept shows how off-road worthy this SUV is by adding some rally-inspired looks that represents its tough character

5. Volkswagen Amarok Power Concept - This concept pickup based on the VW Amarok comes with its own party piece in the bed; a host of stereos and some DJ equipment that turns it into a mobile DJ for the party goers who like to throw a party without letting the neighbors know they're making some noise.

6. Volkswagen Golf GTi Wolfsburg Edition - This Golf VII GTi was tweaked by interns and it produces 380PS of power output.

7. VW Golf Variant Youngster 5000 - A group of six interns worked together to create a modified version of the Golf VII Variant straight from VW's Zwickau plant.

8. VW GTi Roadster Vision Gran Turismo - This is the star attraction of the show; Volkswagen's entry to GT6's Vision Gran Turismo concepts. It will be featured on Gran Turismo 6 this mid-June.

Top Gear USA: American Muscle

A new episode of Top Gear USA went on air last night on HISTORY and it starts with American vintage street muscles restored and modified to go faster than they were ever was. Tanner chose a 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500 while Rut's on the 1972 Dodge Charger SE and Adam chose a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. Three muscle cars from Detroit's big three have gathered to settle their differences and only two will take part in the Gatornationals drag race.

The first challenge took place at an airstrip where they put their cars' reaction speed to the test. Get it wrong and they'll get jolted with a nasty shock. At the end of the challenge, even though Rut got shocked numerous times, he wins that round.

Second challenge involves cones...and a box full of insects inside! That serves as the test for the driver's concentration. Lowest BPM wins. While Tanner and Adam panicked while driving, Rut takes things calmly, prompting him to win this challenge.

On the final challenge, the drivers will dare to make their cars some noise so loud enough, civilian vehicles will sound their alarms but they have to act fast though because...people are watching and only Adam and Tanner will face. After Tanner made several car alarms blaring, only Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust will take on the NHRA Gatornationals.

For the Gatornationals event, the Dodge Challenger Drag Pack and the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet are provided for Rut and Tanner. Tanner goes for the Cobra Jet while Rut goes for the Mopar Challenger and they'll take on a best-of-3 match at the drag strip but first, these two are trying to figure out how to use these drag monsters.

After hours of warm up, it's showtime. Tanner and Rut in a best-of-3 duel and they'll have to give everything they got to prove who's the fastest. In the first round, the Challenger Drag Pack's high torque caused it to lift high, prompting Tanner and the Cobra Jet to win. In the second round, Rut and the Challenger got things right and won the race against Tanner.

In the final round, you won't believe what Rut did to the Challenger! He send this Dodge flying high! Awesome but it's a disaster for Rut as Tanner Foust won the drag race by a huge margin! That's it! Another Tuesday night, another Top Gear USA awesomeness.

Metro Manila free Wi-Fi reportedly possible?

There is a report going on that there is a high possibility that Metro Manila will soon get free wi-fi according to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). According to the agency, it's possible to turn Metro Manila into a free wi-fi zone but there's a catch; it will take about a billion pesos worth of government money and a year to sort things out. Even if Metro Manila is now a wi-fi zone, the Philippine government must pay attention for various cyber crimes possible such in the case of cyber bullying, online piracy, cyber pornography, and many other cybercrime stuff.

Report: http://n5e.interaksyon.com/top/DC5D125149054E8/1001/free-wi-fi-sa-metro-manila-puwede-na-dost

Forza Motorsport 5: 2014 Corvette Stingray vs 2012 Vanquish at Long Beach

While I'm very impressed about taking a spin on the brand new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray on Forza Motorsport 5 via the Bondurant Car Pack, I guess I would like for this machine to take on some of the finest machines of its class so what it's like for this car to take on a car that is so different, it will make comparisons a little more exciting...

 

This Aston Martin Vanquish should do the trick because both of these machines are categorized in the Class A category of cars and this should be a perfect sparring partner for the C7 Corvette.



Remember, the Vanquish has a four-cylinders more than the C7 Corvette and its a hundred horsepower more as well but the C7 Corvette is about 400lbs less than the Vanquish so it should have the upper hand on how fast can it get round the corners. Of course, since both of them are rear-wheel drive, I might expect some oversteering woes but mostly, it's the C7 Corvette that slides back while the Vanquish has little signs of oversteering.

In this technical place like Long Beach, both these machines will have to work through the tightest corners if they need to achieve the fastest time possible but at least the city backdrop makes it a nice touch to these modern grand tourers.



After their session at Long Beach, California, I had the result;

1:42.270 - Corvette C7 SR
1:42.828 - AM Vanquish '12

Here in this beautiful Long Beach track, looks like American engineering defeated the British revolution by a 1/4th of a second!

Impul gives Nissan's Cima Y51 hybrid saloon a workout

The Cima Y51, which is a long-wheelbased version of the Nissan Fuga (formerly Infiniti M, now called Infiniti Q70), received some styling upgrades courtesy of Nissan specialist, Impul. Although it is a luxury hybrid saloon that is well focused on being a luxury saloon, this Impul-modified version makes it more of a luxury saloon...minus the luxury...on the outside.

The front bumper comes with some LED lighting on it and it costs 165,000 Japanese Yen for it while a rear bumper costs 105,000 Yen, a rear spoiler costs 60,000 Yen, and a set of sports ducts costs 48,000 Yen. Aside from the aero kit, Impul will provide available bespoke rims, suspension upgrades, mufflers, and other accessories for reasonable prices.

URL: http://www.impul.co.jp/products/model/HGY51_CIMA.html

Let's Do The News! (June 3, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- IN CASE YOU REALLY REALLY MISSED IT: After Chevin and Axel, the next person to be evicted from the Pinoy Big Brother house is none other than the Cutie Crooner ng Paranaque, Jacob Benedicto.

- PETER GRIFFIN NEEDS YOUR HELP! There's a special limited-time event on Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff app game going on and in this special event, a mysterious pyramid unexpectedly appeared on Quahog and only you can find out what's inside that pyramid! Unlock limited edition goods, his old pal Cleveland (our favorite black pal, isn't Stoolbend good enough for you anymore?), and a special outfit for Peter! Collect "moon idols" for some limited-time stuff! Isn't it more fun than having Peter humming the opening chase scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?

- It's Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs...again as these two teams meet again to take on the best-of-7 match of the NBA Finals. Game 1 starts at Thursday at 9PM Eastern on ABC. It's on!

- After over five decades, the traditional American pastime of Saturday morning cartoons is now sadly extinct as the Vortexx programming block on The CW will be replaced by One Magnificent Morning block which features educational and inspirational shows targeted for youth and parents, beginning September 2014.

- Actor Blakdyak was arrested...for the "nth" time.

- Most netizens are condemning against Erika Padilla's Pinay tattoo on her thighs as seen on the FHM magazine. What's going on here...you'll find out by clicking here. Be warned. This stuff is SPG.

- Embattled businessman and fugitive Cedric Lee warned that there could be someone raped by Vhong Navarro. Let's find out what's going on...

- Peter Sunde, the co-founder of the notorious Pirate Bay file-sharing site, was arrested in Sweden last week after hiding from the law for two years. Sunder has been on the Interpol's watchlist since he was sentenced for copyright infringement two years ago.

- CHECK IT OUT: Here is the official music video of Call It Whatever, the latest song from former Shake It Up lead actress Bella Thorne.

 

- The Audi RS7 Sportback  has been updated for the 2015 model year, new look...same old RS7.

2015 Audi RS7 Sportback

- A NEW WORLD, A NEW HORIZON: Turn 10 Studios announced Forza Horizon 2 coming late 2014 for the XBOX 360 and XBOX One. The sequel will feature the new Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 as the hero car as you'll be taking on the south of Europe in speed and style.

Forza Horizon 2

TTFN!!!

Disney's Maleficent

The villain from a Disney classic Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent, is notorious for being the most fearsome of all the Disney villains and she really demanded fear and respect from fans alike. Because of her reputation as the most feared Disney villain of all time, the folks from Disney wanted to make a live-action movie uncovering the secret origin of Maleficent, about what's the purpose on putting the curse on Princess Aurora that puts her to an eternal slumber. Let's find out.

Maleficent

For a Disney villain that demands fear and respect from fans for her unrivaled originality, the latest Disney movie, titled Maleficent, takes us the hidden world of Sleeping Beauty. This demon of a movie will make you her prisoner on your first encounter out and with actress Angelina Jolie portraying the role of Disney's most feared villain, that is Maleficent, and Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora, you can see that from every angle of the film will make you tremble with fear and get enchanted with the wondrous fantasy familiar to every Disney fans many.

Of course, by discovering the secret origin of Maleficent, she was once a kind woman who live in a forest kingdom until an invading army threatens her land. Now, her kind heart transformed into a cold-blooded enemy who seeks vengeance to the kingdom that threatened her and she's taking on against the king's successor by putting an evil curse on the newborn Princess Aurora. As years pass by, Maleficent knows that only Princess Aurora is the key to bring harmony back to the kingdom as well as regaining her former self.

One of the reasons why Disney's Maleficent is so special is its compelling storyline and although it has bits from the classic Sleeping Beauty, this movie rediscovers what lurks behind Maleficent and Princess Aurora. Then, there's the special effects which is kinda okay for us but it feels so overrated when it comes to show off its monstrous side of the film. Lastly, it's the background music which really connects to what happens on the film.

Disney fans never watched this kind of movie which is as astonishing as this or as well contrasted. It's simple, elegant, and in every fantasizing way, this is better than any other live-action Disney fantasy movies but there's something missing. Something that can't be measured, something that can't put your finger on. There's no...joy and soul. There's nothing wrong with it but there's no heart. You get the sense that with was written by a sophisticated few and styled by those who has the sense of fashion, which it probably was.

My rating would be a 3.9 out of 5.

Gran Turismo 6: Mitsubishi's XR-PHEV Evo

After Mercedes-Benz and BMW revealed their Vision Gran Turismo concepts, and while we're still waiting for the VW GTi Roadster concept to arrive by mid-June, it seems that Japanese carmaker, Mitsubishi Motors, revealed their entry to the list Vision Gran Turismo cars you can find on Gran Turismo 6. What could that be? Let's find out...



This Concept XR-PHEV Evolution Vision Gran Turismo incorporates Mitsubishi Motors' involvement in the world of motorsports while utilizing their PHEV know-how to create a rally monster that has its performance and efficiency in perfect harmony. Well, that's Mitsubishi's claim by the way.



This Vision GT concept is heavily based on the XR-PHEV concept car as seen from the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. The XR-PHEV is Mitsubishi's prediction to what is rumored to be the next-generation RVR compact SUV and it incorporates Mitsubishi's PHEV breakthrough with a downsized 1.1 GDi MIVEC turbo engine. For this Evo version, you can't really tell what improvements this compact rally mongrel had but based on the preliminary sketches...it's powered by a 3.0L V6 Twin Turbo MIVEC engine connected to a high-powered electric motor and an 8-speed DCT. It comes with Mitsubishi's Super All Wheel Control system as applied on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X as well as its ultra-light and aerodynamic body that weighs to a featherweight 1,350kg, over 200kg lighter than the LanEvo X.

To find out how good this XR-PHEV Evo is, I took on a special challenge where you can keep Mitsubishi's Vision GT concept as a prize just by participating and set a lap time regardless of whether the lap time was valid or not. The venue is Matterhorn Rotenboden and what I am going to do is aim for the Gold target time of 1:34.000.



The Rotenboden segment of the Matterhorn is by no means one of the most challenging tracks in GT6 because of its terrifying elevation where in the downhill part of the track requires an adequate footwork to survive the downfall or face a messy consequence. Upon driving the XR-PHEV Evo, it feels like it's a mashup between a rally-car and a track toy thanks to its 4WD powertrain and its incredibly light bodywork. I believe that this is one of the best handling concept cars I have ever tried on GT6 and I have to say, such lightness comes with a price if you're not paying attention.

As I spent numerous laps round and round this challenging track, I finally managed to beat the Gold target time and I did it in 1:32.721. Not the best so far but this is how I demonstrated how good the XR-PHEV Evo is.



Now for my impressions; although this is more of a hyper crossover that is shaped like a running shoe, the athletic stance of the XR-PHEV Evo really behaves like any other Mitsubishi rally machines from the past and even though Mitsubishi no longer part of the rally community, not to mention that RALLIART scaled down their operations four years ago, this machine still evokes the "Spirit of Competition" both on and off the road. Speaking of offroad...



Yes, the XR-PHEV Evo still making the rounds on dirt courses because this concept car still has the roots from Mitsubishi's rallying past from WRC to Paris-Dakar. You can have so much fun playing dirty in such a very compact car just like playing a game of Snap with a shaolin monk and you win. Like a shaolin monk, the XR-PHEV Evo's reaction times are second to none but it's up to the skill of the driver to brave through its uncanny agility of this bite-sized chunk.

The Mitsubishi XR-PHEV Evo VGT is available on the Version 1.08 Update of Gran Turismo 6 on the Playstation3 so best to update now to get this machine!

MITSUBISHI CONCEPT XR-PHEV EVOLUTION VISION GRAN TURISMO

Make: Mitsubishi Motors
Country of Origin: Japan

Drivetrain: 4WD
Max Power: ???
Max Torque: ???
Weight: 1,350kg

Corporate General Manager Executive Officer Design Office:
Tsunehiro Kunimoto

General Manager/Styline Director Design Department:
Masaki Matsuhara

Senior Expert Public Relations Department:
Hiroshi Masuoka

General Manager Public Relations Department:
Manabu Yamanishi

Expert Public Relations Department:
Takashi Kiuchi

Manager Strategic Management Office:
Shigeru Tsuyuki

Expert Technology Policy Planning Department:
Yasuo Tanaka

Expert Aerodynamic Engineering Development Group:
Masahiro Yoshida

Assistant Manager Strategic Management Office:
Kunitoshi Itagaki

Public Relations Department:
Nobuhiro Kudo

Expert Design Department:
Norihiko Yoshimine

Expert Styling CAD Design Department:
Yuichi Ishikawa
Keiji Takebayashi

Assistant Manager Design Department:
Shusaku Kumagai

Assistant Manager Modeling Design Promotion Department:
Taichi Kawasaki
Junji Nakajima

Design Department:
Shuichiro Yamamoto
Yuichiro Ishizuka

Styling CAD Design Promotion Department:
Atsushi Osada
Masataka Nakamura
Hiroyuki Mashima

Coloring Design Department:
Nozomi Ohkubo



Stay tuned on GT6 for the visit of another Vision GT concept!