Colours, Sights & Patterns At Kampong Glam

In the 19th century, Kampong Glam was essentially an ethnic district with a strong Malay-Arab influence. It was a place where locals patronized for their Arab-Muslim traditional foodstuff and merchandise...

Immersive 4K HDR Viewing Experience With Sony Projectors

Sony’s latest innovative laser light source projector is High Dynamic Range (HDR) compatible with native 4K resolution, creating an amazling clear lifelike experience, as if you are there yourself…

Back 30 Years To Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre

Iconic along this stretch of road is the rectangular block of a nondescript beige-tiled building. The facade of this building is blocked by an overhead bridge. And this is the front entrance to a shopping centre - the Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre… (USSC).

Monti - Singapore's Longest Brunch Every Sunday

Enjoy brunch by the bay concept, complete with stunning views of the Marina Bay and its surroundings, and a fabulous menu and music programme to match at Monti…

Where Freemasons Convene

In 1886, the Masonic Club was established to support Singapore freemasonry. Guess who was the first Freemason in modern Singapore?

Microsoft Surface 3 & Lumia 640 and 640 XL Now Available in Singapore

3:05 AM  , , ,  

Singapore
April 2015

Merlion Wayfarer was recently at the launch of Microsoft Surface 3 & Lumia 640 and 640 XL.


Bruce Howe, General Manager, Microsoft Mobile Devices Sales for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, gives an introduction on how Microsoft helps you - the student, the mobile office worker, the busy entrepreneur, or the trendy yuppie - be on-the-go yet productive, and how a wholesome Microsoft experience can extend beyond a single device - whether that device is on the iOS, Android or Windows platform...

Surface Pro 3

Ian shows the Surface Pro 3's three-position Kickstand and its easy snap-on Type Cover...

Powerpacked features at only 622g in weight with a 10-hour battery life...

Retailing at a retail price of S$748, Microsoft Surface 3 accessories include the Surface 3 Type Cover (265g, S$199), the Surface Pen (S$733), and the Surface 3 Docking Station (S$288).


Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL

Microsoft today announced the availability of the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL in Singapore for only S$299 and S$429 respectively. The latest devices to join the Lumia portfolio, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL offer more personal computing and increased productivity through seamlessly integrated Microsoft Office experiences, OneDrive storage and fast 4G connectivity. Both devices will upgrade to and benefit from Windows 10 as it becomes available in late 2015.

Patrick demonstrates the ease of use of the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL with a live demo and an introduction to its many lifestyle apps...

Here are some of Lumia's exciting features...
  • Smoothly and quickly access important documents or run all of your favorite websites, apps and games with the on-board 1GB of memory and powerful quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
       
  • View photos and watch videos on the Lumia 640’s crisp 5” HD display and the Lumia 640 XL’s larger 5.7” HD display
       
  • Power through the work day and enjoy almost a day’s of talk time, thanks to the Lumia 640’s long-lasting 2500 mAh battery and the Lumia 640 XL’s 3000 mAh battery
      
  • Capture detail rich photos even in low light, thanks to the 8 MP camera on the Lumia 640 with LED flash and 13 MP camera ZEISS Optics on the Lumia 640 XL with LED flash and Lumia Camera right out of the box

Both the Lumia 640 and 640 XL will be available in Singapore at Microsoft Authorized Mobile Reseller in Funan DigitaLife Mall and GadgetWorld, 3Mobile and Handphoneshop outlets from 18 April, Saturday. All 3 local operators and A-Mobile will also be retailing the device with attractive data plans. The Lumia 640 will be available in glossy cyan, orange, white and matte black, and the Lumia 640 XL will be available in matte cyan, orange, black, and white.

From now to 30 June 2015, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL comes with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which includes the latest Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote) on the Lumia as well as on one PC or Mac and one tablet. With the Office 365 Personal installed, users will receive an additional 1TB of OneDrive storage, and 60 Skype world minutes. To redeem the offer, download the Office 365 gift app from the Windows Phone Store by 30 June and activate it by 14 August 2015.

“People are looking for a device which brings them more flexibility to switch easily between work and play, without breaking the bank, With the long lasting battery and full range of Microsoft experiences – including Office and OneDrive – the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL are the perfect enablers of productivity for consumers.”
-- Bruce Howe, General Manager,
Microsoft Mobile Devices Sales for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei



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Tanjong Pagar Railway Station - Revisiting On Good Friday

1:11 PM  , , , , ,  

Tanjong Pagar
South, Singapore
April 2015

Following an agreement between the governments of Malaysia and Singapore on 24 May 2010, railway operations at the Tanjong Pagar (Singapore) Railway Station ceased from 1 July 2011. It was gazetted in the same year as a national monument in recognition of its architectural and social significance.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) announced in February 2015 that the station would be open to the public on all public holidays, starting from the second day of the Chinese New Year. During Good Friday, more than 6,000 people visited Tanjong Pagar Railway Station yesterday when it opened its doors to the public. Merlion Wayfarer was one of them.

The signboards for the old food outlets are still around...

By the back gate and in from the side entrance, that's another way of entering the station...

Back In Time

Singapore was envisioned to be the starting and ending point of a rail network which would stretch West to Calais in France, North to Hankou in China and onwards to the Trans-Siberian network. This gave impetus to create a main railway station worthy of its role as a gateway to Asia.

Opened on 2 May 1932 by then Governor of Singapore,Sir Cecil Clementi, the Tanjong Pagar (Singapore) Railway Station is a fine example of Modern Architecture with Neo-Classical and Art-Deco influences and, an integration of public art and local design motifs.

The Waiting Hall

The Station's key feature is the 21.6 m high vaulted space above the main waiting hall (equivalent to 3 storeys), creating an airy interior suitable for Singapore's tropical climate. Inside the main public hall, the walls bear panels with scenes depicting economic activities that were historically significant in Malaya: rice planting, rubber tapping, shipping activities, bullock cart transport, copra (coconut) growing and tin mining. These panels and the original floor slabs were manufactured locally, using rubber to deaden noise.


On The Tracks...

As the day's visitors retraced the path of yesteryear's passengers, the tracks and platform was a hive of activity...

Enter the platform through these grilled iron gates.
In the afternoon sun, the patterns on these diamond-shaped grilles 
cast a flickering shadow on the ceiling as the visitors pass by...


The original tracks are there, interlaced with the gravel that helped
absorbed the noise and vibration of the train...

Exhibiting curiousity over the fixtures, 
many shutter bugs angle themselves to create unique angles for photos...

But then, maybe some are just waiting for some to shoot them...

Kids zipping by on their scooters with supervising parents afar, 
oblivious to the danger posed to incoming people in front of them...

Sometimes, the best position may be just to sit and watch all the action in front of you...

The station is left just as it is, with its weeds, darkened walls, and cracks on the floor
- unspoilt in its classic originality...
 

Spacious platforms now empty except for these visitors...

The passport clearing booths in the immigration section...

The office of the Ministry of Tourism & Culture (Malay: Kementerian Pelancongan)...

The Station can now be rented for private functions...

The next opening date...

The Exterior...

On the exterior of its front facade stand four reliefs of white marble representing the four sources of wealth of Singapore and Malaya - Agriculture, Commerce, Transport and Industry. They are works by Rudolfo Nolli.



Named after the then recently formed Federated Malay States in 1896 and founded five years after the formation of the federation, the company acquired various railways that were developed separately in various parts of Malaya, and oversaw the largest expansion and integration of the colonies' rail network encompassing the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States (except Trengganu) and the Straits Settlements, with lines spanning from Singapore to the south to Padang Besar (near the border with Siam) to the north.

Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR), the name of the railway operator running this line...

The family of snails that did not survive the recent spate of hot weather...

The front facade of the railway station amidst the bright blue sky 
reflected off a car bonnet, with a Remembering LKY ribbon...

Amidst the glory of the past, life goes on...


Sources

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Fast & Furious 7 - Vengeance Hits Home

7:01 AM  ,  


With bated breath, the movie starts with the demolished aftermath of a visit to the hospital. Total chaos and absolute viciousness as the character leaves, downing anyone still alive in his exit path. With the suave and cool demeanor of a yakuza with his billowing shirt tails.

We are introduced to Deckhard Shaw (Jason Statham), brother of the same Owen Shaw who destroyed half of London. With a house-leveling parcel bomb directed at his family, Deckhard incurs the wrath of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel).

True to the form, each main character in the movie is paired with a compatible nemesis. The plot also thickens with the introduction of more characters with a loosely-developed storyline.

At the Azerbaijan heist to rescue the hacker with all-incredible God's Eye, the handsome Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) takes on the pugilistic Kiet (played by Tony Jaa). Kiet continues on Brian's trail halfway round the world in a helicopter into an abandoned building in downtown LA...

Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) takes on a blond security guard with dress-tearing splits...

The exception perhaps is Tej Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) 
who meets a worthy ally in the unlikely hacker, Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel)...

Normally preferring handsome hunks to chunks of metal, Merlion Wayfarer was intrigued by the HUGE number of cars, both real, part and CGI-ed in the show.

According to Telegraph, 230 cars were harmed in the making of Fast & Furious 7. They were raced off ramps, parachuted from planes and driven head-first into each other.

What's incredible is that each car is also matched to the character's personality.

The streetsmart Brian paired with a sleek and elegant blue Subaru Imprezza
 and a sleeker 2012 Nissan GTR...

Letty drives a 2011 Dodge Challenger, "partner car" to Dom's 1970 Dodge Charger,
a classic that belonged to his father...

Cool guy Roman Pearce drives the smooth 2011 Bugatti Veyron,
a mid-engined sports car with a top speed of 431.072 km/h...

A powerful and solid Deckard Shaw drives the 2014 Maserati Ghibli,
a revival 1966 classic complete with an eight-speed automatic transmission... 

A Tribute...

In the wake of the tragic passing of lead actor Paul Walker during a break in filming, finishing the project took an emotional toll on Director James Wan, the cast and the crew. In the days after the incident, no one was sure they wanted to continue. When they visited the crash site, and saw all the fans who came, they realized they had to finish this movie.

"The Fast & Furious saga is about family. The characters are connected by the bond of family,
and it is how all of us who have worked together for more than thirteen years feel about each other." - A note on the movie's official Facebook -


With this, Paul’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, were welcomed into the Fast family to film most of Paul’s unfinished scenes. When combined with CGI, carefully-chosen camera angles and the right lighting, the results are indistinguishable.

At a fork in life, the road ends here for Brian O’Conner. Fast & Furious has lost a beloved character, but it was much more about losing a beloved family member in Paul Walker. Yet, life goes on for the rest - Dom, Letty, Mia... Caleb and Cody - Family bonds closer together after one passes on...


For Paul.

Sources


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