THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: SK-US joint drills begin Monday

The South Korean and US navies on Monday begun their massive combined drills off the coast of the Korean Peninsula amid heightened tensions. The allies plan to continue the Maritime Counter Special Operations Exercise through Friday in the East Sea and the Yellow Sea, also known as the West Sea.

The carrier strike group will train with South Korean warships and other defense aircrafts in the East Sea. Military officials in Seoul have reported movement of mobile missile launchers in North Korea, and remain on alert for any provocations.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is set to promise South Korea and Japan the protection of America's nuclear umbrella against North Korea in next month's speech. According to reports, President Trump will make the speech in Seoul during his 12-day visit to Asian nations.

Trump also suggested on Friday that negotiations with Pyongyang might still be possible, but that they remain ready for numerous possibilities.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (October 16, 2017)

- Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that the slay of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute is a clear sign that they will finally put an end to the ongoing Marawi Siege anytime soon. Lorenzana confirmed early Monday that the two surviving leaders of the Marawi siege have been killed in an operation conducted by government troops.

- A recent PulseAsia survey confirmed that the majority of the Filipinos are supporting the Duterte administration's brutal campaign against drugs despite their belief that extrajudicial killings happen.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II yesterday contested the report of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee censuring him for supposedly ignoring the case involving the 6.4 million peso shabu shipment seized last May.

- French president Emmanuel Macron challenges US President Donald Trump's hardline stance on Iran, vowed to revoke Harvey Weinstein's Legion of Honor award and insisted that "France is back" in the world arena.

- Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro says in a newly released video that Venezuelans should vote in yesterday's gubernatorial elections to show the nation has a "vigorous democracy." Polls indicate the opposition has a chance to gain the majority of governorships for the first time in nearly two decades of socialist government. But Maduro says they'll still be subordinate to a pro-government assembly that is re-writing the constitution.

- The Norwegian government is planning to restructure its tax breaks for electric vehicles, which has thus far given the country the world's highest percentage of EV ownership.

- In Game 2 of the 2017 PBA Governor's Cup, Barangay Ginebra leads the game with two wins after defeating Meralco Bolts at the score of 86-76.

- Uber lodged a court appeal to overturn the Transport for London's decision to refuse renewals of their private hire operator license.

- Nissan will be replacing Renault in Formula E by 2019, according to reports.

- According to reports, Tesla sacked hundreds of employees in a week, including associates, team leaders, and supervisors. The staff firing is result of a company-wide annual review.

TTFN!!!

Second-generation Jaguar XF Sportbrake

Like its saloon equivalent, the all-new Jaguar XF Sportbrake promises to be quite a worthy contender with everything at its disposal such as style, performance, and technology, not to mention the added space for a luxury wagon of this size that is ideal for their next weekend trips at the great outdoors.

2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake

Billed as an ideal competitor against the likes of wagon versions of BMW's 5-Series, Audi's A6, or even the Mercedes E-Class, the new XF Sportbrake offers the same aspects as its saloon equivalent, only with the added space at the back so you'll have plenty of reasons to enjoy it.

Although it has the same styling as the saloon version, the Sportbrake's sideline has the ideal expression of "I'm sexy and you know it" and that's a plus for Jaguar there. With the witty combination of the XE-styled nose, F-Type-styled rear lamps, and the wagon body, this new Sportbrake really is an improvement compared to the old XF Sportbrake of yesteryears and who can blame them but the designers themselves just to show everyone what they're capable of.

While the inside functions the same as its saloon equivalent from the air conditioning, the touch-screen sat nav, everything, the Sportbrake offers more practicality than its German rivals apart from the 555-litre boot space. There's this hands-free gesture control feature that allows drivers to use gestures to operate not just the tailgate but also the sunroof as well. Scary but amazing by Jaguar standards. Apart from the gesture control that will surprise most owners, the new Sportbrake comes with the Intelligent Tailgate that can be adjusted in an event of height restrictions, a versatile 40:20:40 split-fold set-up on the rear seats, and so much more. This wagon is all about being prepared to be extra prepared because you never know when you are having a big day.

Just like the saloon variant, the new XF Sportbrake is lighter than the previous model because of extensive use of aluminium, and thanks to their reworked dynamics as applied on the saloon such as adaptive damping, front double wishbone and rear Integral Link suspension systems, the result is a wagon that handles like a sportscar, even though the electric power steering is a bruising experience.

What's even more amazing in the new Sportbrake is its intelligent AWD system with the added, wait for it, Intelligent Driveline Dynamics that comes with Dynamic Stability Control and torque vectoring. Torque vectoring! That means the new Sportbrake's AWD system can behave like the Ford Focus RS. Wait, this all-wheel drive is reminiscent of the ones as applied on the F-Type and the F-Pace crossover so it shouldn't be a problem to get intoxicated over its clever and amazing all-wheel drive system that can adapt through driving conditions with ease as well as the way you drive this thing.

Choice of engines? Well, the XF Sportbrake is offered with a wide variety of engines such as the highly-recommended Ingenium engine range that balances efficiency and performance at the same pace, and the 3.0L V6 diesel engine, which is the most powerful engine offered in the Sportbrake, with 300PS of power and 700Nm of torque. With so much torque, it has a towing capacity of up to 2,000kg. That V6 diesel sounds raunchy and nice but the Ingenium engines are a best best because they're very light and well-balanced.

As for safety, the Sportbrake, like the saloon equivalent, comes with a wide array of driver assist features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control with Queue Assist, Blind Spot Monitor and Reverse Traffic Detection, and of course, Park Assist. With features like these, nothing says being prepared than having a Sportbrake that is prepared for almost everything.

Price? The new Sportbrake starts at 34,910 GBP, which is two grand more than the saloon equivalent but that prices rather well to the competition. To sum this thing up; the new Sportbrake may be slightly expensive than the saloon variant and it doesn't have the F-Type sourced V6 petrol that the saloon has but with a wide array of safety tech, relatively superior handling, and a healthy engine lineup, the new Sportbrake shows the Germans what they're capable of and that kind of perfection would not go unnoticed.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

How to dress as Aikatsu characters (Part 1)

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.

Of course, because Aikatsu is primarily a children's franchise, if you are going for tips to dress as your favorite Aikatsu characters in time for Halloween, best to have parents' supervision first before starting to dress as your favorite Aikatsu characters. Parents, take note if your little girl wants to dress as her favorite Aikatsu character, but if you're a seasoned cosplayer, feel free to take my advice anytime.

With so many outfits to choose from, you have been given free rein to dress whatever outfit you like as seen from Aikatsu, from their uniforms to on-stage co-ordes. Because of that, let's shift on the hairstyles per Aikatsu star because this is help determine whose Aikatsu star you're going to be at.

Okay, so let's get cracking beginning with this one...

As Ichigo Hoshimiya: It's simple being Ichigo Hoshimiya, really. You just need a long blond hair and a ribbon headband and voila! But make sure the ribbon in the ribbon headband I mentioned is as big as Ichigo's.

As Aoi Kiriya: The quiet one of the bunch, Aoi's hair, hence the name, is colored blue but the tail of her hair is facing on her left so take your time.

As Ran Shibuki: The easy part? A long brownish hair. The hard part? Your free rein to choose whatever outfit that suits this cosplay best.

As Mizuki Kanzaki: As the top dog of the Starlight Gakuin, Mizuki's hair is long and purplish but I'd recommend putting a tiara because that reflects her status of being the academy's top ace respected by many.

As Otome Arisugawa: This is the tricky one because while her hair color is a bit light brown-ish, the twintails are a trickiest to pull one off because her twintails have the shape of a baguette. If you're going to recreate Otome's twintails, better picture a baguette while doing so because this is very challenging indeed.

As Yurika Todo: Yurika is an idol who's into the gothic trend and her vampire instincts is what really terrified you down, especially when she has a pet bat named Alan. Being Yurika, you're going to need a long white hair to begin with, then there's the tricky part. Her spiraling twintails would require some extreme curling to recreate Yurika's look before setting off to find something to wear for your Yurika Todo cosplay.

As Sakura Kitaoji: Sakura's hairstyle is a short pink hair with some flowery hair accessory that takes about a fortnight to deal with. If you're happy replicating Sakura's hairstyle, feel free to pick whatever outfit you want for this cosplay.

As Kaede Ichinose: Kaede's the energetic top idol of the academy who was transferred from America and she's part of the Tristar posse consisting of her, Yurika, and Mizuki. If you're feeling as energetic as Kaede, her short red hair would work rather well and if you're happy with the short red hair, you have free rein over which outfits you want to wear, preferably either her uniform or any of her Magical Toy outfits onstage.

Next time on Part 2 of "How to dress as Aikatsu characters", let's focus on the characters introduced during the 2nd Year arc of the anime, including those from Dream Academy. Watch for it.

Fun at KawaiiWeen

Ah, autumn in Seattle, and with Halloween's just a few weeks away from now, there are a handful of Eager McBeavers are throwing in some pre-Halloween treats just to keep the festive spirit rolling. One such thing is the event called KawaiiWeen. Catered by the friendly folks from Kawaii In Seattle and Mahouto Market, this event is listed as one of The Stranger's Things to Do list and I am curious to see what is what.

KawaiiWeen, hence the name, it's a one-day celebration of all things creepy and cute and this event, held at the Nagomi Tea House just a walk from Uwajimaya, showcases some of the new and returning artists that showcase their coolest drawings dedicated to all things TV, anime, cartoon, video game, any kind of pop culture you can think of. Apart from the Artists' Alley, there are free candy, a Jack-o-Lantern coloring contest, and not to mention cosplays, which is big in this event, as long as they're in tune with the creepy-cute mantra.

Check out some of my pics...

URL: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1522501064510153.1073742209.119605654799708&type=1&l=562b852f12

Seven Sundays

Veteran director Cathy Garcia-Molina is back for her latest masterpiece from Star Cinema; a family-valued drama movie that centers on a group of siblings trying to patch things up because of the inevitable occurred on their everyday lives.

Seven Sundays

Starring Ronaldo Valdez, Aga Muhlach, Dingdong Dantes, Cristine Reyes, Enrique Gil, and many other well-known celebrities in the industry, Seven Sundays is about the Bonifacio children who are reunited when they heard the news that their father is diagnosed with cancer. While being aware with their father's fatal condition, the children must learn to put their bitter differences aside and reconcile with each other before its too late.

At long last, after months of too much raunchy hot girls, absurd horror, redundant rom-coms, and other stuff we saw throughout 2017, they finally given us a very sensual family-oriented movie with sensual family values that is very ethical for the modern Filipino families. Because of the values this film has, Seven Sundays really warms the hearts of many moviegoers with some common sense and life lessons we can all learn from this movie. Just by watching this movie, you will realize that all the family values you will learn from this film are all part of your slice of life for the rest of your life and this film really sums it up to show the real value of family values for everyone to witness.

My rating: 4 out of 5.

Bubble Gang - October 13, 2017 #BGUmuwingLasing

On the October 13, 2017 episode of Bubble Gang...

- Umuwing lasing gags

- LeBrown James returns for another press conference.

- The judgmental waiter

- Bea Bangenge's talking about her fancy massage therapist

- Today's Balitang Ina topic is "Cookie ni Ina!"

- A soldier's reverse psychology turns ugly

- Ngetflix presents Pangets of the Caribbean.

- The mayor's feast keeps the guests guessing...

- Basa-basa pik!

Let's Do The News! (October 14, 2017)

- In Game 1 of the 2017 PBA Governor's Cup, Ginebra San Miguel scored their first win of the match after beating Meralco Bolts at the score of 102-87.

- In his latest tirade against the media over "fake news", US President Donald Trump threatened NBC to revoke their broadcasting franchise renewals. Few hours ago, on an unrelated note, the American firebrand leader threatened to end critical payments to health insurers that help millions of lower-income Americans afford coverage after his tried-and-failed efforts against the Affordable Care Act.

- With their carriage agreement set to expire on Sunday, Viacom and Charter Communications are still at odds heading into the weekend. If the deal isn't set, Spectrum will lose most of the Viacom channels including Nick, MTV, and Comedy Central.

- Aston Martin unveiled the new DB11 Volante, an open-top version of the British sportscar company's latest grand tourer. Unlike its hardtop equivalent, it's powered only by a 4.0L V8 BiTurbo engine from Mercedes-AMG.

2019 Aston Martin DB11 Volante

- Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton will serve as the official instructor for the upcoming Gran Turismo Sport PS4 game via their newest collaboration.

TTFN!!!

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: South Korea and China agree to extend currency swap agreement

At the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Washington D.C., Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon informed reporters that Seoul and Beijing signed an agreement to extend currency swap deal for another three years. The agreement accounts for some 46% of Korea's total value of currency swap deals that it has with foreign countries.

The deal had already been expanded to the current 56 billion dollars and extended twice since 2009.

Meanwhile, in a statement from the UAE's foreign ministry on Thursday local time, North Korea's ambassador has been told to leave the country and Dubai will also recall its own envoy from North Korea. On the same day, Malaysia said it is considering a shutdown of its embassy in Pyongyang.

Relations between the two nations have soured following the Kim Jong-nam murder case earlier this year at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (October 13, 2017)

- A task force on cybersecurity will meet on Monday to investigate the hacking of emails of opposition senators' staff, according to a Department of Information and Communications Technology official. This comes after the senators, on Thursday, said that  several emails accounts of their staff were hacked, including “official email addresses for releasing media statements of Sen. Pangilinan and the Liberal Party.”

- After being designated the sole agency in charge of the ongoing war on drugs, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency vowed that the anti-narcotics campaign would be less bloody. Meanwhile, Amnesty International said that President Duterte's decision to shift the responsibility to PDEA for his ongoing drug war was just a "PR" move and Human Rights Watch said that Duterte's "finally feeling the heat".

- Senate President Koko Pimentel defended President Duterte's profanity-laced attack on EU ambassadors, saying it was a defense of "Filipino values" and sovereignty. However, despite Duterte's ultimatum on the ambassador, a Malacanang Palace official says there is no directive to kick out diplomats of the European Union from the Philippines.

- Democrats cried foul over EPA's decision to reverse clean water safeguards, allowing a mining company to set up a mine in the salmon-rich Bristol Bay in Alaska. Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell said in her statement that the EPA's plan to reverse clean water safeguards is "egregious and inconsistent with science and frankly, inconsistent with basic logic." The public has until October 17 to comment on the EPA's proposed withdrawal of a move under the Obama administration to protect the Bristol Bay watershed from potential mining activities.

- Tobu Zoo's Humboldt penguin, Grape-kun, has passed away Thursday at the elder age of 21, a late age for Humboldt penguins that typically live approximately 25 years. This elder penguin won the hearts of Kemono Friends fans many and placed a cardboard cutout of the show's character Hululu in his environment.

- The Netherlands is joining the list of EU nations to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles beginning in the next two decades.

- Production of the Volkswagen Scirocco hatchback has ended after nine years.

- Nissan's Infiniti luxury brand will unveil the next-generation QX80 full-size SUV at next month's Dubai Motor Show.



- Toyota's Lexus brand announced that the next-generation ES will be sold in Japan in the autumn of next year as the replacement for the lackluster HS250h.

- Rotom Dex says "NEW POKEMON ULTRA SUN & MOON INFO ON THE RADAR!" Today's info puts the spotlight on Legendary Pokemons' brand new Z-moves such as Searing Sunraze Smash for Solgaleo/Dusk Mane Necrozma and Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom for Lunala/Dawn Wings Necrozma. Also, Rotom Dex says he's got upgraded with new features such as Roto Loto where you can get special power-ups such as added prize money, Exp. points, added capture rate, and so much more. Later, Rotom Dex can grant you the new "Rotom's Z-Power" feature which allows you to use your Pokemon's Z-move again!



TTFN!!!

Forza Motorsport 7: Driving the M2

The BMW M2 can be easily criticized by some for not being a proper M car because it has an ordinary BMW engine, basically a turbocharged 3.0L l6 engine on the front, but thanks to its back-to-basics approach, it can be easily regarded as one of the best M cars ever made, which is very exaggerating to think that the baby M car is the best car to live with. Despite being slower than any other M cars of today, the M2 is all about bringing driving back to the drivers and that really is perfection on so few levels.



It's hard to say why I am falling in love with the M2 not because of being small but because it has a unique characteristic I had fallen in love since I first set off with this thing back in Down Under years ago. Why? Because it's enjoyable at so many levels, which is unheard of for a baby M car powered by an ordinary turbocharged BMW engine.



Yes, I know that this car can get a bit twitchy and can be a real pain in the corner in the event of the understeer but with so much character on it, this is exactly why I am starting to fall in love with the M2 more than its M4 big brother, in fact, there's so much to tell about it.



So, the M2, 3.0L straight-6, turbocharged, 365HP, stronger and lighter wheel carriers, improved suspension components, and locking differential from the M3, this M car is all about getting familiar with this car, and even though it's not the fastest M car around, it's still one of the most enjoyable M cars to drive even though you are new to this. No wonder Top Gear host Chris Harris likened it to the old M3s of the last century but he mostly preferred its 1-Series M Coupe predecessor. Speaking of which, who wants to see the M2 round the Top Gear Track? Basically, the prime target was the BMW 1M's 1:25 lap time and let's see if I can do better with its successor. Ready? Cue the tape...



After a lap around the Top Gear track, which took me a fortnight, it did it in 1:24.932, which is amazingly similar to the 1M's lap time. Not bad, even though it wasn't a quick car to do the job rather nicely.

I'm already in love with this M2 because while this isn't the fastest despite its size, this is the car that you can spend a lot of time with until you had enough of it, and no matter how hard I try, it often left me with a rather nice impression at the very end.

Toyota Corolla Axio and Corolla Fielder (E160) - 2018MY Minor Change

The eleventh-generation Toyota Corolla has been around in the market for five years now and with the latest minor change for the 2018 model year, the new Corolla in two different models, the Axio sedan and the Fielder wagon, are now the safest Corolla ever made with the addition of new safety features capable of tackling through the Tokyo rush hour with ease. So, what's new on the 2018MY Corolla?

2018 Toyota Corolla Axio

2018 Toyota Corolla Fielder

When Toyota first facelifted these Corollas years ago, the bland styling has been replaced with an even more sleeker taste to make sure these two commoners' cars are back in business. However, a single facelift wasn't enough so the folks from Toyota redesigned the eleventh-generation model once more and the result is a sporty and fine design thanks to its new front bumper and grille. On the inside, there are plating decoration on the passenger side instrumental panel for added texture as well as new black sheet color.

2018 Toyota Corolla Axio interior

2018 Toyota Corolla Fielder interior

In the hybrid variants, the 1.5L 1NZ-FXE VVT-i engine with the 1LM electric motor has been slightly improved and because of the slightly improved control of engines, motors, inverters, and so on, the fuel economy by JC08 Mode standards is now up to 34.4km/L. Of course, if the hybrid variant wasn't your thing, there is a normal 1.5L petrol with idling stop available in CVT and 5-speed manual gearbox (which is nice if you're an UBER driver using this car for ride-sharing purposes). Of course, nothing special done with what's under the car, meaning they still behave pretty much the same as the others.

For safety purposes, the 2018MY Corolla lineup comes with standard Toyota Safety Sense C- which features Lane Departure Alert, Automatic High Beams, and a Pre-Collision System, all of which can help prevent or mitigate collisions in a wide range of vehicle speeds. Apart from that, these models come with the Intelligent Clearance Sonar, smart entry and start system, and a new Cruise Control setting that allows constant speed running without stepping on the gas pedal. Now that's science get it right, again.

Price? The new 2018MY Corolla range starts from 1,550,520 Yen for the Axio saloon and 1,614,000 Yen for the Fielder wagon. It maybe a fair price hike but they remain one of the most reasonably priced cars offered in the Japanese market and with the added safety features, it's as Japanese as it ever gets for the world's best-selling car in history.

Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation