Forza Motorsport 7: Group C champs you can drive

It's officially Le Mans weekend and yet, here I am, playing Forza Motorsport 7 to get to know about the Le Mans greats while everybody's preparing for the best race weekends of their lives, ditching big soccer plans for this one. Anyway, while you folks are prepared to see some epic endurance races at Le Mans, I did a little digging with our guests for the day.





Joining me now are our old Group C friends from the late '80s; the Mercedes C9 and the Porsche 962. I know what you're thinking but the main reason why I called these two is plain simple because while these Group C greats are proven so legendary, a handful managed to make road-legal replicas of those. A South African man made a C9 replica while a man from Japan managed to keep a 962 in his garage and made it road legal. Pretty sweet, huh? But let's get to know about these cars first.





We are already familiar with the stories behind these machines ever since you and I set off in these Group C greats you can drive. The C9 won the 1989 Le Mans race with Jochen Mass, Manual Reuter, and Stanley Dickens behind the wheel and during its qualifying run with its 5.0L V8 Turbo engine armed, it went straight through the Mulsanne in 400kph. It scored a pole position in the first round of the 1988 World Sports Car Championship and went on to win five out of 12 races that year. It racked 21 races participated, 13 races won, 7 pole positions, and 5 fastest lap times.

The 962 is basically a rebuilt version of the 956 due to complicating restrictions both the IMSA GTP of America and European Group C had but ever since its 1984 Daytona debut, the 962 scored 21 constructors' championships, making it one of the most dominant cars in motorsport in the spirit of its prize-winning predecessors and it became popular among private teams.

Upon driving these two for some sighting laps, the Sauber-Mercedes C9 feels so nice to drive even at intimidating speeds and this is the kind of early prototype racer you wouldn't really let go until you are satisfied with its almost generous dynamics you can't get enough of. The 962, meanwhile, because of its aerodynamics, was proven to be quite a tricky car to drive and downright menacing but in the interest of getting to know Porsche's Group C Le Mans hero, I stuck with it and I had a blast with it.

With my impressions over, it's time to pit these two Group C champs you can drive for a lap around modern-day Le Mans track. Ready, set, go!



And now, the results...

#63 C9 - 3:42.632
#17 962C - 3:36.250

It's a shocking result. Although the 962 is short on power, its uncanny aerodynamics managed to beat the C9 by a huge margin, meaning Porsche really is a dominant carmaker in the world of Le Mans...well, sort of.



These Group C champs you can drive like the C9 and the 962, it's amazing seeing these two machines come to life on the road after their legendary statuses propelled them to become all-time greats and as times change, rest assured that these Group C heroes' efforts will never go in vain in the history of motorsport. They really are that phenomenal, don't you agree?

Although, it may had lead me to some lumpy throats, but this is no time for tears because with Le Mans is now here, it's time for them to make history, just as their spiritual predecessors did in their time.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Former spy chiefs jailed for bribing Park Geun-hye

Three former South Korean spy chiefs were jailed for bribing disgraced ex-president Park Geun-hye with millions of dollars from the country’s intelligence agency.

The trio were convicted of funneling a total of 3.5 billion won ($3.2 million) to Park while they each served as head of the National Intelligence Service under the then-president between 2013 and 2016.

“Special activities funds of the NIS should be spent on collecting intelligence”, the Seoul Central District Court said in a statement.

Of the three ex-NIS heads, Lee Byung-kee and Lee Byung-ho were thrown behind bars for three and a half years each.

The third, Nam Jae-Joon, was sentenced to three years in jail. Nam is already in prison after being given 42 months in May for obstructing prosecutors investigating meddling by the NIS into the 2012 presidential election.

Prosecutors on Thursday also demanded 12 more years in prison for Park for accepting the NIS funds as bribes.

She is currently serving 24 years in jail and has been fined millions of dollars for bribery and abuse of power in a massive corruption case which led to her downfall.

Source: AFP

Let's Do The News! (June 15, 2018)

- The remains of the slain Nueva Ecija priest, Rev. Fr. Richmond Nilo is now being laid to rest at the St. Nicholas of Tolentine Cathedral. Meanwhile the primary suspect in the killing of of Rev. Fr. Nilo earlier this week has finally been arrested, and he is known to be a drug surrenderer and alleged member of a gun-for-hire syndicate, according to the PNP.'

- President Rodrigo Duterte allowed rallies to happen in the middle of his annual SONA, scheduled this July, as long as they are peaceful.

- The International Monetary Fund warned that the Trump administration's fiscal and trade polices could create risks to the global economy.

- A message from the late Stephen Hawking will be beamed towards the nearest black hole as his remains are laid to rest in London’s Westminster Abbey on Friday. As the ashes of the British theoretical physicist are interred, a specially-written composition featuring his famous synthesized voice will be beamed into space by the European Space Agency.

- Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Friday touted a three-day cease-fire with the Taliban in an address to the nation heralding the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

- The Ford Mustang GT350 gets upgraded for 2019 model year with chassis and aerodynamics improvements.

2019 Ford Mustang GT350

- RemetzCar had transformed a Tesla Model S into a bespoke shooting brake.

RemetzCar's Telsa Model S Shooting Brake

- A group of students from the Skoda Secondary Vocational School in Mlada Boleslav have created a Sunroq Concept car.

Skoda Sunroq Concept

- Frederator announced a second season of Bee and Puppycat, sub-titled Lazy in Space, which will be coming next year and be co-animated by Japan's OLM.\

- A crew actor who worked for tokusatsu shows such as the Kamen Rider shows and last year's Kyuuranger was killed after a jumping incident from the hotel's fifth floor onto air mattress.

- The Wake Up, Girls! bids farewell as they announced that they will be disbanded in March 2019.

- 2018 marks 5 years of Yo-Kai Watch and Level 5 will announce a new game later this month. In addition, this year's Yo-Kai Watch movie was announced and it will be titled Forever Friends. The new film is set in the 1960's (set years after the events from the first film) and it's about an orphaned boy and a Yo-Kai friend.

TTFN!!!

FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 - June 14, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018

The FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 has finally begun and within a month's course, teams from across the globe are gathered in Russia's biggest football stadiums to compete and become the FIFA World Cup champion in due course.

The opening match involves hosting nation Russia up against Saudi Arabia, and although there's a lot of questions that need to be answered at the end of this match, the world shocked as the hosting nation, Russia, left the Saudis scoreless after defeating them with just five points.

Iury Gazinsky scored the first goal of the match before Denis Cheryshev, who replaced the injured Alan Dzagoev, nicked another goal until the halftime and later, the combined efforts of Artem Dzyuba, Cheryshev, and Aleksandr Golovin led the hosting nation the first win of the championship. The world's not kind of surprised by Russia's win after the game.

REPORT: https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/match/300331503/#match-summary

The next match, due June 15, will have three matches; one is Egypt vs. Uruguay at the Ekaterinburg Arena on 1700 hours local time, Morocco vs. Iran at St. Petersburg on 1800 hours local time, and Portugal vs. Spain at Sochi's Fisht Stadium on 2100 hours local time.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Pompeo meets President Moon

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with President Moon Jae-in to brief the results of Tuesday's historic US-North Korea summit. Pompeo is currently meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts.

Mike Pompeo met with President Moon starting at 0900 hours local time and the meeting lasted for about an hour. According to reports from the Cheong Wa Dae, President Moon congratulated the US for the successful summit with North Korea while greeting Pompeo, who himself played a key role in making that meeting happen with his trips to Pyongyang.

The joint press conference came right after a trilateral session at the Foreign Ministry, between the top diplomats of South Korea, the US, and Japan, where Pompeo briefed South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese Foreign Minster Taro Kono on the details of the recent summit in Singapore.

The three countries agreed to continue their joint efforts in dealing with North Korea to achieve denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (June 14, 2018)

- In their 0700 hour bulletin, PAGASA issued an Orange Rainfall warning up over Metro Manila, Bataan, Batangas, and Cavite, with flooding still threatening. Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, and Rizal are now under Yellow Rainfall warning with flooding expected in low lying areas.

- The Department of Justice is set to conclude next week its preliminary investigation on the 133 million peso tax evasion complaint against online news site Rappler. Assistant State Prosecutor Zenamar Machacon-Caparros, who is conducting the preliminary investigation, made this assurance after the respondents in the case have submitted their respective rejoinders on Wednesday as part of their continued response to the allegations against them.

- President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Philippine National Police to prevent the militant group Kadamay from controlling government housing units in Rizal.

- Californians will face a choice this November of whether to divide the Golden State into three, an effort that would radically shake up not only the West Coast but the entire nation. The “Cal 3” initiative is driven by venture capitalist Tim Draper, who has tried and failed in the past to place an effort to break up California on the ballot, including a bid in 2016 to create six separate states. Backers of the measure argue California has become “ungovernable” because of its economic and geographic diversity as well as its population approaching 40 million people.

- The Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that they will scrap another plant in Fukushima that dodged the March 11, 2011 disaster.

- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that soldiers who flew a Nazi flag over their fighting vehicle in Afghanistan over a decade ago were "wrong" and punished at the time. The flag was “briefly raised” above the vehicle in Afghanistan in 2007, Australia’s defense department said in a statement.

- The aftermath of the AT&T-Time Warner merger approval by court means more big deals, diminishing the prospects for a major antitrust action against Big Tech firms. While an appeal remains possible, the companies said they expect to close the merger by June 20.

- Comcast outbids Disney with $65 billion offer for key film and television assets of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox. The deal, if approved, would merge Comcast-owned Universal Studios and the NBC television network with Hollywood rival 20th Century Fox, Fox’s cable entertainment networks, and international TV businesses.

- The United States, Canada, and Mexico are named hosting nations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The announcement came at the eve of the FIFA World Cup Russia.

- Volvo will unveil the new S60 sedan this June 20th.

- Volkswagen has been fined one billion euros over diesel emissions from the company's cars, according to reports. The fine was imposed by the public prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany for organisational deficiencies which failed to prevent “impermissible software functions” from being installed in cars between 2007 and 2015, the report said. The report comes following the recall of 238,000 Daimler vehicles earlier this week as part of a larger, Euro-wide recall of 774,000 vehicles, and the German transport minister also threatened to sue Daimler for 3.75 billion euros should it be found to have used defeat devices in its diesel vehicles.

TTFN!!!

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Original Soundtrack

Ever since the Cardcaptor Sakura TV series aired on NHK in 1998, it made the CLAMP masterpiece into an all-time classic, propelling this magical girl anime into mainstream pop culture and the entertainment the world's talking about and in January of 2018, Sakura Kinomoto returned in Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card, the sequel to the hit classic. Ran for 22 episodes, viewers returned to the tale of Sakura Kinomoto, now aged 13 and entering middle school, as she thought this is going to be the best day of her life now that Li Syaoran returned from Hong Kong. But that's not what she was hoping it to be because a mysterious threat emerges from her dreams, turning all of her Sakura Cards blank and mysterious phenomenon are threatening the peaceful town of Tomoeda once again. Wielding the power of the Dream Wand, the legendary Cardcaptor Sakura returns to seal new Clear Cards and unmask the mysterious threat.

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Original Soundtrack

After watching all 22 episodes from the time Sakura unleashed the Dream Wand all the way to the shocking finale that left viewers questioning what might have been, the original television soundtrack has finally arrived. With series scorer Takayuki Negishi returned for new background music as heard throughout the series, this soundtrack is all about something new, something old, something borrowed, something clear from start to finish and apart from that, there are TV-sized versions of the opening and closing theme songs such as CLEAR, Jewelry, Rocket Beat, and Rewind, and as a bonus, songs performed by Junko Iwao (who played Tomoyo in the TV series) as heard in the Prologue OVA and some episodes throughout the show.

This soundtrack is a HOEEEE-worthy souvenir for watching the entire Clear Card series from start to finish and although with so many questions left unanswered post-finale, best to clear yourselves from it by listening to all of the background musics from the TV series and this is the one thing you'll SECURE and RELEASE it anytime you want.

TRACK LISTING:

01 透明な未来 1:11

02 CLEAR ～TVサイズ～ 1:30

03 今日から中学生 1:50

04 クリアカード出現! 1:40

05 さくらの新生活 1:25

06 UkiUki♡おでかけ 1:45

07 とまどい 1:09

08 謎の力 1:42

09 予測できない! 1:33

10 わたしを動かす力 1:42

11 揺れる気持ち 1:12

12 空は見ているよ 3:55

13 夕焼けに誓った 1:08

14 家路 1:16

15 On The Special Day 1:35

16 なかよしフレンズ 1:14

17 まだ遠くにいる 1:14

18 朧月夜 2:08

19 魔術師 1:22

20 暴れるカード 1:27

21 絶対、負けない! 1:37

22 セキュア! 1:44

23 妄想大爆発! 1:04

24 明日がいい日であるように 1:28

25 ロケットビート -TVサイズ- 1:29

26 安らぎの家 1:56

27 DOGI-MAGI 1:08

28 ここに来て 3:01

29 Kung-fu Action! 1:44

30 異世界への扉 1:16

31 おれが守る! 2:21

32 つかのまの平和 2:06

33 リワインド -TVサイズ- 1:29

34 恋してる 1:45

35 時間をあやつる男 1:46

36 発動された魔力 2:13

37 空だって飛べる 2:37

38 守るべきもの 1:29

39 約束の空 4:12

40 Jewelry (TV EDIT) 1:31