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?

OMY-Panasonic Cooking Workshop : Homemade Kaya On The Softest White Bread

Singapore
June 2015

Merlion Wayfarer recently attended a Panasonic Cooking workshop organized by OMY. Hosted by Panasonic's inhouse chef, Mdm Wong, the session showcased a selection of different recipes, all easily made with home appliances.

Kaya


Eggs, sugar, coconut milk, pandan juice and pandan essence were mixed and handwhisked till the sugar dissolved...

The recipe was blended with Panasonic's Hand Blender (MX-SS1 or MX-GS1) and cooked with Panasonic's Bread Maker (SD-P104).

Panasonic's Bread Maker (SD-P104) with its easy-to-clean internal surface and easy-to-use control panel with icons...

The mixture after some blending using the Cake option...

Potato Starch is added in the last 1-2 minutes of the baking...

After the addition of the Pandan essence, the mixture looks a more palatable green...

To smoothen the lumpy texture, use the Hand Blender...

Thick, rich fragrant kaya served on a platter with the softest homemade white bread...


Here's the selection of other delicious food prepared during the workshop...

Yam & Pumpkin Kueh


The Rest...

Mixed Wheat Raisin Bread...

Herbal Emperor Chicken...

Kueh Kosui...

And a thoughtful gift from the organizers...


Thank you, OMY and Panasonic...

OMY-Panasonic Beauty Workshop With Bryan Gan

Singapore
June 2015

Merlion Wayfarer recently attended Bryan Gan's beauty workshop organized by OMY and Panasonic.


Bryan Gan, a former engineer, pursued a career in beauty and alternative healing after leaving his job in the government sector. He is a regular on popular TV programmes like Lady First (女人我最大), and shares home beauty DIY tips, food cures and acu-pressure for anti-ageing in his blogs.

Fresh Air

Bryan shared on the 4-7-8 breathing exercise for better sleep. Pioneered by Arizona-based Dr Andrew Weil, this simple method "takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere".

  1. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
      
  2. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of 4.
      
  3. Hold your breath for a count of 7.
      
  4. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of 8.
This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle two more times for a total of three breaths. This simple exercise should be performed at least once every morning after waking up and once more every evening before bedtime.

"Practicing regular, mindful breathing can be calming and energizing and can even help with stress-related health problems ranging from panic attacks to digestive disorders."
- Dr Andrew Weil -


For a more detailed explanation, visit Dr Weil's page on "Breathing: Three Exercises".

According to Bryan, our lung capacity decreases as we age. Lung  health governs hair and skin. Hence the importance of good breathing techniques to be practiced daily.

Porcelain Skin

White fungus is good for skin. As this comes in many types, he recommends spending a bit more for the expensive range, costing around S$11 per box. For skin allergies, he demonstrates a clapping and "hammering" exercise to activate the acupoint just above the knee cap (when in a sitting position).

He also uses the Facial Roller to demonstrate several techniques to better skin, stress relief and greater relaxation.

Roll from mouth up to eye about 10-15 times to tighten skin...

To help clear the lympathic system, he shows where the tension can build up along the jawline and along the neck and shoulders...

This is where to massage for relaxation -
Draw an imaginary line from between the 4th-5th finger down to the wrist...

Demonstrating the massage at one go...

He proves his techniques by showing the difference between one side of the face (with the massage) and the other side of the face...

Added with the Compact Facial Steamer, he recommends usage at least once weekly, about 20 cm above the steamer to prevent burns. Splashing with cold water will seal the facial pores and improve circulation and absorption.


Detox The Natural Way

The body accumulates water through a high salt diet and alcohol consumption. Bryan recommends the use of corn silk to remove water retention. Boil the corn silk in water for ten minutes and drink once to twice a week to detox and reduce inflammation.


Some of the other remedies he recommends include:

  • When lying down, place your thumb just above the naval. Press down 6 seconds and release. This removes excess water in the digestive system.
      
  • Boil yellow chrysanthemum flowers for headaches and white for eyes. Baby bud chrysanthemums (胎菊花) are for detoxification while wild chrysanthemums (野菊花) serve the same purpose, but may be too cooling for some.
        
  • Yellow Thai longans are the dessert variety. For insomnia, skin radiance and stagnant blood around the eyes, he recommends taking 3-4 dried black longans and boiling them with red dates.

Panasonic Promotion

For those interested to purchase Panasonic beauty products, here's how you can own one:

Big crowd of ladies waiting to try out the Panasonic beauty products...

The following beauty products are on promotion:
  1. Cool Putter EH-SQ10
    Readers' Price: S$109 (including delivery and GST)
    [Usual RRP: S$129]
      
  2. Facial roller EH-SP32
    Readers' Price: $159 (including delivery and GST)
    [Usual RRP: S$189]
      
  3. Compact Facial Steamer EH-SA31
    Readers' Price: $174 (including delivery and GST)
    [Usual RRP: S$199]

To order the above, 
  1. Email to hanwei.chew01@sg.panasonic.com with subject: "Blog readers' promo - Panasonic Beauty (omy.sg)"
  2. In the email, indicate the product name, model, and quantity of items you wish to purchase.
  3. Indicate:
    -  Your name
    -  Contact number
    -  My blog's URL (MerlionWayfarer.blogspot.sg)
Panasonic Singapore will reply to the emails directly with the payment and delivery details. 

The above promo is valid till 05 July 2015 only, while stocks last.

Simple finger food to end the session...

Thank you, OMY and Panasonic...

Sources



San Andreas - Movie With A Fault

Singapore
June 2015
    
San Andreas is a 2015 American 3D disaster film directed by Brad Peyton. Now showing at major cinemas in Singapore, it stars Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson and Paul Giamatti.
    
(Source:  Masti Movie)
   
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) seismologist Lawrence Hayes (Giamatti) discovers the accuracy of his earthquake prediction model when an unknown fault ruptures near the Hoover Dam, starting a series of earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault. Johnson plays Ray, a Los Angeles Fire Department helicopter rescue pilot whose family is caught in the series of earthquakes in downtown San Francisco.
 
(Source:  Free Press Journal)

San Andreas Fault

This is real.
 
Aerial photo of the San Andreas Fault in the Carrizo Plain, a large enclosed grassland plain,
San Luis Obispo County, 160 km northwest of Los Angeles...
(Source:  Wikipedia)
 
The San Andreas Fault, the major fault line running through California, is a continental transform fault that extends roughly 1300 km (810 miles) through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The fault divides into three segments, each with different characteristics and a different degree of earthquake risk, the most significant being the southern segment, which passes within about 56 km of Los Angeles.
 
The San Andreas Fault is expected to be the source for the "Big One". It has on average a major earthquake every 150 years, but the southernmost segment has not had one since 1680, over 300 years ago. This is why seismologists believe that a major earthquake is overdue.
 
 
The central segment of the San Andreas fault runs in a northwestern direction from Parkfield to Hollister. While the southern section of the fault and the parts through Parkfield experience earthquakes, the rest of the central section of the fault exhibits a phenomenon called aseismic creep, where the fault slips continuously without causing earthquakes.
 
That is mainly because the creeping section slowly and continuously moves, while the locked Northern and Southern sections remain locked. These stuck sections of the fault store energy like springs, slowly building up strain. When they suddenly unzip and slide past one another, a massive earthquake occurs.
 

What Are Plates?

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle, the rocky inner layer above the core. The plates act like a hard and rigid shell compared to Earth's mantle. This strong outer layer is called the lithosphere. From the deepest ocean trench to the tallest mountain, plate tectonics explains the features and movement of Earth's surface in the present and the past.
 
(Source:  Wikipedia)
  
Plates at our planet’s surface move because of the intense heat in the Earth’s core that causes molten rock in the mantle layer to move. It moves in a pattern called a convection cell that forms when warm material rises, cools, and eventually sink down. As the cooled material sinks down, it is warmed and rises again.
 
Most geologic activity stems from the interplay where the plates meet or divide. The movement of the plates creates three types of tectonic boundaries: convergent, where plates move into one another; divergent, where plates move apart; and transform, where plates move sideways in relation to each other.
 
(Source:  Ocean Explorer)

Divergent Boundaries

A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, lava spews from long fissures and geysers spurt super-heated water. Frequent earthquakes strike along the rift. Beneath the rift, magma - molten rock - rises from the mantle. It oozes up into the gap and hardens into solid rock, forming new crust on the torn edges of the plates. Magma from the mantle solidifies into basalt, a dark, dense rock that underlies the ocean floor. With this, oceanic crust, made of basalt, is created at divergent boundaries.
 
On land, giant troughs such as the Great Rift Valley in Africa form where plates are tugged apart. If the plates there continue to diverge, millions of years from now eastern Africa will split from the continent to form a new landmass. A mid-ocean ridge would then mark the boundary between the plates.
 
(Source:  msafiri)

Convergent Boundaries

At a convergent boundary, the impact of the two colliding plates buckles the edge of one or both plates up into a rugged mountain range, and sometimes bends the other down into a deep seafloor trench. A chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to the boundary, to the mountain range, and to the trench. Powerful earthquakes shake a wide area on both sides of the boundary.
 
If one of the colliding plates is topped with oceanic crust, it is forced down into the mantle where it begins to melt. Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into new crust. Magma formed from melting plates solidifies into granite, a light colored, low-density rock that makes up the continents, forming continental crust made of granite, while at the same time, destroying oceanic crust.
 
An example of a convergent boundary is when India and Asia crashed about 55 million years ago, slowly giving rise to the Himalayas, the highest mountain system on Earth. At ocean-ocean convergences, where one plate usually dives beneath the other, deep trenches like the Mariana Trench in the North Pacific Ocean, the deepest point on Earth, are formed. These types of collisions can also lead to underwater volcanoes that eventually build up into island arcs like Japan.
 
(Source:  Wikipedia)

Transform Boundaries

A transform plate boundary when two plates slide past each other. Rocks that line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along, creating a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. As the plates alternately jam and jump against each other, earthquakes rattle through a wide boundary zone. In contrast to convergent and divergent boundaries, no magma is formed. Thus, crust is cracked and broken at transform margins, but is not created or destroyed.
 
The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a transform boundary, where two plates grind past each other along what are called strike-slip faults. These boundaries do not produce spectacular features like mountains or oceans, but the halting motion often triggers large earthquakes, such as the 1906 one that devastated San Francisco.
 
(Source:  Wikipedia)