Monday, June 25, 2018

2018 Verizon IndyCar Series - KOHLER Grand Prix

Elkhart's Road America comes alive at the KOHLER Grand Prix leg of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series as the world's best drivers are trying to navigate through the complex turns of Road America before charging themselves to the straight where every second matters in this race.


This year's KOHLER Grand Prix of Road America turned into a dirty race as some drivers off-track runs, which is unheard in INDYCAR standards. Robert Wickens settled to shove himself off-track because of the space occupied by Alexander Rossi while at Turn 6 while in later laps saw Takuma Sato nudged off-track during a heated battle with Wickens and Rossi. While some drivers faced mechanical issues during pit-stops, especially for Will Power, the climax sees Josef Newgarden, the Nashville-born hero of Team Penske, defended his lead against Ryan Hunter-Reay, who placed 2nd place, and Scott Dixon, who placed 3rd.

After a dirty Road America thriller, the overall standings saw Scott Dixon leading with 393 points while Ryan Hunter-Reay's tied with Rossi with 45 points behind Dixon's.

URL: https://www.indycar.com/Videos/2018/06/06-24-Road-America-Race-Highlights

The next race is at Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 300 on the 8th of July.

F1 2018: French GP

After a decade-long hiatus, the French Grand Prix has returned at the F1 2018 season with Circuit Paul Ricard as its battleground. Because of the bizarre track layout the Paul Ricard track possessed, drivers are having a lot of hard time finding the right spot or in some cases, some drivers turned it into a "joker lap" from a certain motorsport. Crazy the Paul Ricard's layout maybe, there are only a handful of drivers survived the complex string.


Thanks to his pole position, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton managed to win the French Grand Prix without a scratch. Max Verstappen of Red Bull placed 2nd place while Kimi Rakkonen of Ferrari placed 3rd. The opening laps were a disaster at Paul Ricard as Sebastian Vettel crashed through Valterri Bottas, nudging the Mercedes driver out of action while Gasly and Ocon are out of the race after crashing. Fernando Alonso, who won Le Mans last week, got spun following the opening lap disaster and became the last to finish.

With the French Grand Prix settled, Hamilton's back on top with 145 points, six points ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo's in 3rd with 96 points.

The next race is at Austria on the 1st of July.

Sunday, June 24, 2018

2018 Radio Disney Music Awards



Los Angeles' Dolby Theater comes alive with the annual Radio Disney Music Awards, where the freshest and the loudest names in music come together to vie for the ARDYs as well as some spectacular performances this awards night delivers. No one come prepared to such intensity of excitement.

So, in case you missed all the excitement from the recent awards night, here is the list of this year's winners;

MASHUP! - It Ain't Me by Kygo and Selena Gomez
XOXO - Perfect by Ed Sheeran
STUCK IN OUR HEADS - New Rules by Dua Lipa
YOU KNOW YOU LOVE THEM - BTS
SO HAPPY - BTS
WHEN THE BEAT DROPS - BTS
#SQUADGOALS - #BTSARMY
THE ONE - Shawn Mendes
THE BESTEST! - Kelsea Ballerini, Camila Cabello
THE BUZZ - Camila Cabelo
Icon Award - Kelly Clarkson
THE FRESHEST - Carly Pearce
DOUBLE TAP! - Max and Harvey
Impact Award - Janet Jackson

Looks like the K-Pop boy band BTS scored big at this year's RDMA by taking home four awards! Impressive! Anyway, congratulations to all the winners of this year's RDMA! See you next year!

FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 - June 23, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018
Belgium taking on Tunisia at Moscow's Spartak Stadium while South Korea takes on Mexico at the Rostov Arena and the Germans are taking on the Swedes at Fisht Stadium. That's 10th day of the FIFA World Cup Russia.

Starting at Spartak, Belgium massively defeated Tunisia at the score of 5-2 and Eden Hazard, who scored two goals that game and four shots, delivered a show-stopper to the entire crowd. Meanwhile in Rostov, looks like South Korea's in the brink of doom thanks to the Vela-Hernandez combo that made Mexico triumphant at the score of 2-1. And in Fisht Stadium, a last-minute crusher by Toni Kroos led the Germans to a victory against Sweden at the score of 2-1.

The next match will see England taking on Panama at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium while Japan takes on Senegal at Ekaterinburg and Poland takes on Colombia at Kazan.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Bubble Gang - June 22, 2018

On the June 22, 2018 episode of Bubble Gang...

- Motel gags

- A talented flirter

- The gay mob boss

- Hearing test

- Tough times

- Today's Balitang Ina topic is...Baklitang Ina.



- A well-sorted goodnight prayer


- Join the group of hardened women

- It's c-c-c-contagious.

- Basa-basa pik!

FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 - June 22, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018

Brazil taking on Costa Rica at St. Petersburg while Nigeria takes on Iceland at Volgograd and the Serbians are taking on the Swiss at Kaliningrad. That's day nine of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

Beginning at St. Petersburg, a finishing two-point blow by Brazil knocked Costa Rica out of the tourney. In Volgograd, meanwhile, Nigeria roars back against Icelandic debutantes at the score of two points, all thanks to Ahmed Musa's show-stopping performance. And finally in Kaliningrad, a 2-1 finish ups Switzerland to second place in Group E while Serbia lands on the Round of 16.

The next match will see Belgium taking on Tunisia at Moscow's Spartak Stadium while South Korea takes on Mexico at the Rostov Arena and the Germans are taking on the Swedes at Fisht Stadium. Will these teams make it or fall from the World Cup? Stay tuned.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Third-generation Toyota Century (UWG60)

The Toyota Century has been the flagship saloon that served not just the Japanese royal family since the late Emperor Hirohito but also the high-ranking Diet men and other wealthy clientele who want to experience the true Japanese craftsmanship spent in the making of this car. Now in its third generation, the Toyota Century ushers in the next era of Japanese history with the design, interior, drivetrain, and technology that demonstrates the future of Japanese motoring at its very best.

2019 Toyota Century
Demonstrating over 50 years of catering to wealthy clientele with first-class luxury comfort that will upset expensive European imports, the Toyota Century has been given its long-awaited full model change in over two decades, and with this third-generation, the new Century is ready to turn the page to a new era like preparing your Hobonichi Techo for a new year. Beginning with the design, the Century now features a more modern look while tracing its roots from the previous Century generations since the first one in 1967 and by blending the past, present, and future, the new Century is still worthy of donning the emblem of a mythical bird that shines for many centuries to come.

2019 Toyota Century interior
2019 Toyota Century interior

Putting emphasis on its handcrafted interior, you will notice how many hours they spent perfecting the ideal Century interior of the next era in Japanese history, something that the next Japanese emperor will get acquainted with. On the driver's side, the driver will be greeted with the heated steering wheel, tilted and telescopic steering wheel, 10-way power seat, 7-inch TFT color multi-information display, and many others in store for the driver. On the rear-seat side, that's where the Century's royal piece comes into play because the clientele can treat the Century's rear space like a private room because it's got all of the nooks and crannies a good limousine possesses such as an air-conditioning, massage on the rear seats, a rear-seat entertainment system with a Blu-Ray Player and SD Card Slot below the screen, 20 speakers, a 100V AC outlet, and a writing table, among many others. At the back, the Century carries 484 liters of boot space, capable of carrying a 9.5-inch golf back and others for trips to the country club or a five-star hotel for an important meeting with a certain delegate. Of all the luxury cars you've encountered, the new Century fits the bill of being a chauffeur-driven car targeted for Japan's rich and powerful people, especially the next emperor.

2019 Toyota Century

Because the third-generation Toyota Century is a representation of the next era in Japanese history, Toyota took some drastic measures to accommodate the winds of change. For instance, the glorious V12 engine from the past model has been thrown away for good, and in return, it now comes with a 5.0L V8 engine coupled with a 1KM electric motor and a nickel-metal battery, generating a total output of 431PS of power. That is the same hybrid powertrain used in the old Lexus LS600h and today's Lexus LS500h no longer bears a V8 hybrid because it's now a V6 Multi-Stage Hybrid instead, this powertrain is now unique to the Century. It's like finding a new home after a massive hit that changed their lives and because of its hybrid powertrain along with its CVT, the fuel economy based on JC08 Mode standards is 13.6km/L.

Toyota has spent countless hours making the Century quieter and more comfortable like a premium sedan should and that is why it comes with Active Noise Control, multi-link suspension on all sides, and Adaptive Variable Suspension system. When set to Normal or ECO, the new Century works brilliantly as a comfortable cruiser fit for getting out from the countryside and into the Diet building without breaking a sweat. However, when things get rough like for instance, some unknown assailant trying to chase you down, put it in SPORT S+, and things can get a little tricky for a luxury saloon. That's defensive driving to you.

Anyway, part of representing the future is the safety tech and the new Century is prepared with Toyota Safety Sense featuring a Pre-Crash Safety system, Lane Departure Alert, Radar Cruise Control, Adaptive High-beam System, Blind Spot Monitor, Parking Support Alert, many others. Utilizing these safety techs, the new Century promises peace of mind for its occupants and that's something this ultra-expensive JDM saloon can do in its time.

Speaking of ultra-expensive, it really is and it starts at 19,600,000 Japanese Yen, making this the most expensive Toyota ever made, unless if you are part of the Diet or the Japanese royal family to get the most out of it. Anyway, since the Century is all about serving wealthy clients with its high level of luxuriousness on the inside, the implementation of the hybrid powertrain can be either refreshing or revolting but still, this is what the new Century really wants to represent, representing a new era on the road ahead and this is how it begins.

Available colors: Kamui Eternal Black, Mashuu Shrine Blue Mica, Asuka Blackish Red Mica, and Seika Radiant Silver Metallic.

Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation