Maniolas

Land Rover’s trio of Defender Limited Editions: Land Rover has launched three ‘farewell’ editions of the car for 2015. ©Land Rover (Relaxnews) – The original rugged off-roader, one of the most iconic and recognizable vehicles in the world, was meant to be heading out to pasture at the end of 2015 after a job well done. The company had even built three celebratory models to highlight the car’s glorious past as a last hurrah, before turning its attention to a replacement model. However, according to a report in the Birmingham Post, the regional newspaper published in Solihull where the final Land Rovers are being assembled, a plant worker is quoted as saying: “It is going to be extended until at least the end of February [2016].” The same source also suggests that production could in fact continue until April. Following the initial story, Land Rover issued a statement neither confirming nor completely denying the reports. The company said that that it does not production to continue past the end of January but accepted that no confirmed termination date has been set. The Land Rover (called the Defender since 1989) has been in constant production since 1948 and has changed so little in terms of chassis and underpinnings in all that time that as legislation surrounding engine emissions and passenger and driver safety continue to tighten, it is no longer cost effective and in some cases, even possible, to adapt the vehicle to keep it in production in its current form. It’s Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by outgoing officer-in-charge and Deputy Director General Espina, troops the line to signal the start of the PNP change of command ceremony and retirement honors for P/DDG Leonardo Espina in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Thursday (July 16, 2015). The Commander-in-Chief has appointed Police Director Ricardo Marquez as the new PNP Chief replacing Espina following the latter’s retirement. (MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Saturday made another pitch for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in the wake of a new Social Weather Stations survey showing 43 percent of Filipinos do not see much “real” improvement in the situation of Muslims in the Philippines. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the SWS survey result confirmed the need for a “comprehensive” solution to peace, order and security in Mindanao. “I think this only confirms the resolve why we need to have a comprehensive solution when it comes to peace, order and security in Mindanao,” she said on state-run dzRB radio. “Naniniwala pa rin (tayo na) magandang solusyon ang pagpasa ng BBL para ma-address hindi lang political na pangangailangan pero pangangailangan sa peace (at pangangailangan sa) security at magkaroon ng magandang pamayanan para tumulong sa kanilang mga buhay,” she added. She had been asked to comment on the SWS survey’s finding that 43 percent of Filipinos do not see much “real” improvement in the situation of Muslims in the Philippines, according to a new survey by Social Weather Stations. The SWS survey noted such a Read More …

CRISTINA Gonzales (MNS photo) CRISTINA Gonzales is making a movie comeback in “Yolanda,” a drama about three women affected by the killer typhoon that hit Tacloban on November 8, 2013. It’ll be directed by U.S.-based filmmaker Gregorio Vicuna. She revealed this to us when we visited Tacloban for their annual Sangyaw Festival in honor of the fiesta of the Sto. Niño de Tacloban. “I will play the mom of a teenage girl na semi-retarded,” she says. “She’ll go missing during the typhoon and I will search for her. The other two women are played by Kate Coseteng (a councilor in Valenzuela) and Gwen Pang (Philippine Red Cross secretary). We’ll start shooting next month but magwo-workshop muna kami. I’m excited but kinakabahan kasi matagal na kong hindi umarte. My last movie was in 1987 pa, ‘Bakit Iisa ang Pag-ibig’, with the late Mark Gil and director Danny Zialcita. Ang tagal na. I agreed to do it because it’s set and will be shot in Tacloban. And also it offers an intimate look at what the people experience because of Yolanda.” A year and a half after Yolanda, Tacloban is back on its feet. There are still tell tales of destruction in some ruined houses and buildings  that were not repaired, but as a whole, most of the edifices have been renovated and repainted. It was Tacloban’s town fiesta on June 30 and they decided to celebrate it this year, unlike last year when everything was so simple as the people are Read More …

By Hannah De Castro-Abinuman action craft paper Have you ever noticed how your gadgets have become an integral part of your daily routine? Whether it’s a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a game console, these gadgets are being used daily by people of all ages, and have become so detrimental to one’s way of life, that it seems rather impossible to even survive without it. Even among children, gadgets have been a staple in playing their games, and sometimes even considered as a status symbol! But whatever happened to using one’s imagination? Whatever happened to being able to interact with your playmates, friends and parents or actually use your hands to create or build something? ActionCraft Paper Toy Workshop for Parents and Children, held at the Glendale Adult Center. Although there is nothing wrong with using technology, James Ronald Lo, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Taktyl Studios LLC, noticed that kids nowadays can be too engaged in gadgets. So he thought of a way to use these digital devices and yet still encourage social interaction, creativity and imagination. Recently launched via a Kickstarter campaign, Taktyl Studios introduces a digital app called, “ActionCraft Toy Box,” which is an arts and crafts digital/mobile application that provides users with tools to design and customize their own paper toy action figure.  Users can choose from a variety of templates in order to customize their very own action figure or paper toy. Once the user is satisfied with the look of his character, Read More …

The average road trip is 1300 miles.©Dudarev Mikhail/shutterstock.com (Relaxnews) – According to research from Bridgestone Tires and from Harris Poll, almost nine in 10 US adults will be taking a road trip in excess of 50 miles over the summer and 71% are planning on traveling much further. That’s because the average US road trip, whether it be to visit friends, arrive at a specific destination or is in itself the vacation, is some 1,300 miles. And the idea of being stuck in a car, potentially in a traffic jam for hours on end is most appealing to the Millennial generation. In other words those that only a few years previously were sitting in the back of a vehicle asking their parents “are we there, yet?” every ten minutes. Yet, more than three quarters (79%) of young adults said that they are planning at least one road trip this summer compared with 64% of Generation X respondents and 68% of Baby Boomers. But whatever the age of the respondent, those with children at home were the most likely of all polled to be taking to the road – 82% compared with 66% of respondents without dependent kids. As for the idea that vacationing by car is a way of saving money, Bridgestone found that of the 2000 adults it surveyed, those that said they were hitting the road also aim to save up as much as $1000 per person before the trip starts. When asked, respondents ranked the car as Read More …