Friday, August 22, 2014

Let's Do The News (August 22, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- Last Tuesday, seven tourism students from the Bulacan State University were died after being drowned to death by a flash flood at the Madlum River while taking part of the field trip. On Friday, students of the BSU will be wearing black to mourn the death of the seven tourism students.

- 51 Overseas Filipino Workers from Libya have finally returned back to the Philippines. The OWWA will strive to give support from the government to those OFWs fleeing from a war-struck Libya.

- A Filipino seaman from Togo, West Africa, undergoes Ebola tests.

- BRAINIACS TAKE NOTICE: Can you drift a car while being electrocuted by a taser?! The Hoonigan sent Chris Forsberg to do the job as he tries to drift a car while being tasered.



- The Court of Appeals put a stop on the refunds for overpriced text messages from telecoms such as Smart and Globe.

- Good Smile Company's Phat Company subdivision revealed a brand new iDOLM@STER scale figure and it's Miki Hoshii! The folks trying to replicate the 765 Productions idols' posing from their anime DVD/Blu-Ray cover just like you saw from Yayoi, Hibiki, and Iori. This is the fourth addition to their lineup. Available early next year, she's priced at 7,400 Yen (plus tax).

Phat! Company scale-figure Miki Hoshii

- Porsche reportedly prioritizing a 200,000-unit sales target rather than just limiting their production numbers for exclusivity reasons.

- BMW shows off their F15 X5 Security armored luxury utility vehicle at this year's Moscow Motor Show. Based on the X5 F15, this armored model meets the VR6 standard of ballistic protection, perfect enough to survive war zones...well, as a theory.

BMW X5 Security Plus
BMW X5 Security

- Despite air strikes launched by the US Government, the Iraqi government is struggling to have their own air force. US President Barack Obama told Reuters that he don't want the nation's military to become Iraq's air force but there's a little alternative for this.

- SweetyHigh's SweetBeatTV takes us for an interview with Heffron Drive's Kendall Schmidt and Dustin Belt as they talk about their upcoming debut album titled Happy Mistakes!

- The Bravest Warriors Catbug's Treasure Book is now available! Published by VIZ Media;s Perfect Square imprint, this 108-page book takes us to the world in Catbug's own eyes.

Catbug's Treasure Book

TTFN!!!

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Let's Do The News! (August 21, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- The final draft of the Bangsamoro Bill is finally submitted to the Philippine President, Benigno Aquino III.

- The Malacanang Palace has told to the Armed Forces to the Philippines in accordance to the former president Fidel V Ramos' statement that there are a hundred Filipino Muslims training at the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to become jihadists. However, the information remained unverified...

- The PS3-exclusive free-to-play flight shooting game, Ace Combat Infinity, has been updated recently. Expect a brand new mission on the Campaign Mode called "Area B7R", a brand new Special Raid Mission on the Online Co-op called "Stonehenge Returns", new aircrafts including the ASF-X Shinden-II, the fan favorite Su-37 Terminator, and many others, and other many improvements to this game!

- Volkswagen Brasil has unveiled a brand new Fox for the Brazilian market.

2015 Volkswagen Fox

- The person responsible for the death threats against the creator of Kuroko's Basketball will be sentenced to four-and-a-half years of imprisonment.

- Celeb Derek Ramsay is filing a counter-affidavit against a complaint in accordance to R.A. No. 9262

- Movie legend Jackie Chan felt ashamed upon his son was arrested in a drug bust. His son, Jaycee, and his actor friend, Kai, were detained by HK authorities last week after over 3.5oz of marijuana was discovered at Jaycee's home.

- Back at the Gaza Strip: There was an Israeli air strike happened on a house in Gaza where three senior Hamas military commanders were killed.

- A US top-secret military mission has tried to rescue reporter James Foley as well as other American hostages in Syria, but failed.

- There's been a brand new internet craze going on around here right now. I really don't know what in the world wide web is that but some say, it's called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. What is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Although it remains shrouded in mystery, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a method to spread awareness towards the ALS disease or Lou Gehrig's Disease, a muscular degenerative disorder that affects the body's muscle neurons, rendering them immobilized, vital organ failure, and possibly fatal.

This challenge pits ordinary people filming themselves while getting spilled by a bucket full of ice cold water. Then, they nominate random people to do it in less than 24 hours or donate to the ALS foundation.

Check out the rampant clips of people doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: http://www.kzone.com.ph/blog/?p=12393

If you really want to do it, why not give it a try for a change?!

TTFN!!!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Forza Motorsport 5: For the first time, a Rolls-Royce!!!

At Forza Motorsport 5, we always love to push the limits with the cars of our dreams. Whether if its American Muscle Cars, Street Tuners, ultra-expensive exotics, hot hatches, we love to play with them and experiment with different tastes, helping us to shift the tides from the opponents. Now, there's a whole new twist that will surely leave them questioning what in the world is that thing doing here...

wraith_7

Hmmm? What's this? Some kind of luxury grand tourer perhaps? Is that a Rolls-Royce?! I don't know but...

wraith

Oh my goodness! Do my eyes deceive me? It is a Rolls-Royce! What's a Rolls-Royce doing in a racing game?! For the first time in video game racing history since the advent of racing video games, Rolls-Royce finally stepped into the racing game spotlight after numerous negotiations, starting with the latest Rolls-Royce masterpiece called the Wraith.

wraith_2

Unlike most cars that were assembled by robots, the Wraith is a handcrafted beauty that is truly made by human hands. At the hands of a skilled artisan, the Wraith can be considered a beautiful masterpiece with a golden ratio fit enough to be called "beautiful". On the inside, the seats are well-tailored to suit its customer individuality and I never knew several cows of the world were ritually sacrificed for the good of leather. It's kinda like choosing your favorite Haagen-Dazs flavor at your nearest convenient store but it's not all about that, the Wraith is all about fancy living and its ultra-expensive pricing made it even more exclusive, so exclusive that only a few wealthy people can be part of it.

wraith_3

When it comes to comfort, the Wraith, despite its two-door coupe look, is a proper saloon tailored to be the boss on the road and when you're riding on one of it, the Wraith makes you look special in so many ways. If they see you in one of these, they might think your a politician or a celebrity or a sheikh or something high-profile. It could be the envy of anyone in the world right now...

wraith_4

However, this is Forza Motorsport 5, and I'm investigating why the Wraith was part of the Forza Motorsport 5 car list and how does it perform on the track. The main reason why the Wraith is part of the Forza Motorsport 5 is this...

wraith_5

Combining the trademark premium luxury that most Rolls-Royces adorned with the sheer performance, the Wraith is powered by its 6.6L V12 twin-turbo engine producing 624HP of power output and over 800Nm of torque while mated with a ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox. Because this V12 engine packs a devastatingly high torque for a super-heavy premium coupe, even gently pushing the throttle can be somewhat devastating for an unskilled driver but with all that torque and power, the Wraith can be total hooligan for the Brainiacs.

wraith_6

Because of being too heavy and too much on the powerband for its twin-turbo V12 engine, it can be somewhat too difficult to corner even at a low speed but with precision and talent, trying to survive the catastrophic handling of the Wraith is no slouch. If you are enjoying with the Wraith, it can be worth respecting for but if you're driving like an idiot, the Wraith can be a total idiot and it can result into a bigger mess.



wraith_8wraith_9

After spending the day at the Top Gear Test Track with the Wraith, all I can say is...it's good to have a Rolls-Royce on the video game! After several years of not being in video games for real, looks like various negotiations really made it possible to be part of video game history with the Rolls-Royce Wraith and thanks to the Rolls-Royce Wraith, this ultra-expensive two-door saloon for the rich and famous can be played at Forza Motorsport 5 for the masses.

It may not be a sharp-handling car but for me, the Wraith is by no means one of the most enjoyable cars to drive only on Forza Motorsport 5. Try it!

Let's Do The News! (August 20, 2014)

Things we learned today...

- Newly-appointed Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza vows to be humble on the public interest rather than the appointing authority on his mandate.

- The Senate leaders clarified that they should not talk about charter change as well as the issue of Benigno Aquino III's re-election this 2016.

- Once started as a fan-made creation via 3D printing but that fan-made planter that resembles Bulbasaur from PokeMon caused The Pokemon Company to get upset, so upset that they've sent a "cease and desist" to a certain 3D printer design sales website where the planter in question is sold.

- The second video of the SweetyHigh's new G. Nails summer web series featuring Dog With a Blog's G. Hannelius is streaming and this time, she'll be showing us how to make some Dog With a Blog-inspired nail art!



- Skoda gives a sneak preview on the next generation Fabia compact hatchback.

2015 Skoda Fabia

- Max Verstappen will be the youngest Formula One driver in history as he will be driving for Toro Rosso team at the 2015 season.

- JOIN THE REBELLION! Star Wars Rebels will be airing this 13th of October on Disney XD! A special short titled "Spark of Rebellion" will be on the WATCH Disney XD app on the 29th of September, giving Star Wars fans the chance to witness how it all started.

- Actor and former WWE superstar Dwayne "The Rock Johnson will be playing as a villain in an upcoming adaptation of a DC Comics masterpiece.

- Let's find out what if Americans react when they eat Filipino snacks.



TTFN!!!

Laugh Three tips to get through traffic violations!

On the August 19, 2014's Banana Nite's LAUGH THREE segment, here are the LAUGH THREE tips to get through numerous traffic violations!

- When caught beating the red light, use reverse psychology!

- When caught speeding, try to worsen the situation!

- To avoid ticketing, talk something gibberish!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Let's Do The News! (August 19, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- Philippine President Benigno Aquino III told his officials not to think about the 2016 elections for a while, even if Charter Change is one of his top agenda for his possible re-election.

- After his 5-day visit to South Korea, Pope Francis stated that his term will last for around two to three years.

- PHIVOLCS Director Renato Solidum clarified to the public that there is no such thing as an "eruption pattern" on the recently erupted Mayon Volcano, debunking rumors that strong eruptions happen every centennial. It varies by the quantity of magma climbing out from the crater.

- A one-off Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse was unveiled during the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Called "1of1", this one-off Veyron, sold to a Singaporean buyer, revives the brand's traditional colors.

Bugatti Veyron GSV 1of1

- Tesla Motors officially announced that they'll be offering "infinite mile warranty" for Model S customers. Probably another one of their tactics from the world's most ambitious EV maker. Meh...

Tesla Model S
Tesla Model S

- Saleen has introduced a tuned Tesla Model S called the Saleen FourSixteen. This Saleen-tuned Tesla Model S features upgraded aerodynamics, four full-bucket seats, and a three-phase, four-pole AC induction motor.

Saleen works on Tesla Model S to create high-performance EV
Saleen FourSixteen

- The Lamborghini Huracan is ready for Super Trofeo duty as the Huracan Super Trofeo race car was unveiled at this year's Pebble Beach Concours. It was developed in collaboration with Dallara and it develops an additional 10HP from its V10 engine.
TTFN!!!

Monday, August 18, 2014

Forza Motorsport 5: Be a Star...in a Reasonably Priced Car!

astra

After eight months of void, looks like everyone's wish came true as the latest Top Gear Reasonably Priced Car, the Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Tech Line, has finally arrived and with this, everyone can be a Star In A Reasonably Priced Car any time at the Top Gear Test Track on Forza Motorsport 5!


astra_2

It's about time this car showed up on Forza Motorsport 5. Everyone in the world begged to have the latest reasonably priced car to be here because of Forza Motorsport's longtime partnership with BBC Top Gear. Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul's been there, even Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch, especially that Loki dude from Thor named Tom Hiddleston. Those celebs, new and returning alike, really know how to take on the Vauxhall Astra round the Top Gear track to find out how fast are they and now, it's our turn to be the star in this reasonably priced car and see how we stack up with the celebs' lap times.

astra_3

Before that, let's have a little experiment, shall we? Just how fast is the current Reasonably Priced Car against the former? Well, let's get this thing straight first. The former Reasonably Priced Car, the Kia cee-apostrophe-d, has the same 1.6L petrol engine as the current Reasonably Priced Car, the Vauxhall Astra Tech Line, except the cee-apostrophe-d is 9HP more. Torque? Both of them have 114lb-ft. Weight? Well, the cee-apostrophe-d is 320lbs lighter.

So, even though the latest has some disadvantages than the former in terms of power and weight, has the folks from Top Gear did the right thing to replace the cee-apostrophe-d with the Astra? Let's find out...

  ceed

First up, it's the former Reasonably Priced Car, the Kia cee-apostrophe-d. I took it round the Top Gear Track to see how fast I performed at this car...



I posted a 1:46.040 lap time on the Kia cee-apostrophe-d, meaning that I'm between Boris Becker and Andy Garcia. Good try...

astra_4

...but now it's the turn of the latest Reasonably Priced Car, the Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Tech Line! Let's see how fast can I go with this machine...



The time? 1:45.600! Which means, I'm in the same spot as Jimmy Carr's. Still, I was quicker than Sherlock Holmes or Loki but slower than Breaking Bad's Jesse. He he he...

Better still, despite the power and weight disadvantage, the Vauxhall Astra did well than the Kia cee-apostrophe-d thanks to its superior handling via FlexRide suspension system. Well, I'm glad I clear that up...