Shapes and styles of finger rings

by Luke

Various ring shapes and styles exist. The following are but a few.

* Flat wedding bands are the simplest form of ring that can be made. A flat wedding band basically consists of a strip of metal that is bent around into a loop and joined where the ends meet.
* Half-round rings, also called D-shape rings, are flat wedding bands that are filed half-round on the outside.
* Sleeve rings are rings that consist of a thin inner ring or sleeve, with several other rings stacked onto it to form one solid ring. The rings can either be soldered onto the sleeve or the ends of the sleeve can be upset (like a tube rivet) to keep them all together. A little of both can also be done.
* Solitaire rings are rings with a single large stone as a centrepiece, usually a diamond.
* Eternity rings are rings with stones, usually diamonds, of the same cut and size, set in one row all around the ring. The stones are usually round or square, and the setting is usually either claws or a channel setting. When the stones do not continue around the entire ring, but stop halfway around the finger, it is called a half-eternity ring.
* Trinity rings are three rings to be worn at one time.
* Cluster rings are rings with a group of stones in a cluster setting, forming the focal point of the ring. The cluster setting usually consists of one large stone (usually round or oval) in the center surrounded with several smaller stones.

categoriaPosted in Ring commentoNo Comments dataJanuary 8th, 2010

When Do I Think Of You

by Luke

When Do I Think Of You?
                     By Joe Fazio (best of)

I think of you in the peace
Solitude and stillness of the early a.m., for
You are tranquillity.

I think of you on an ocean's front,
For you are the roar of the waves,
The power of the sea, and the salt in the air.

I think of you amidst a crowd
And the chorus of city sounds
...for that is my song, and you are the music.

You are my first thought of each new day,
And the last image I glimpse, as my eyes are
Closed upon a feathered pillow.

In that secret place called sleep, it is you that
I search for, through shades of darkness and
Clouds of cotton.

When do I think of you? Every moment
Of my life. And, when the final sleep does come
And if there is thought...
It will be of you.

categoriaPosted in Article commentoNo Comments dataDecember 31st, 2009

I think that I'm a chicken

by Luke

Psychiatrist: What's your problem?

Patient: I think I'm a chicken.

Psychiatrist: How long has this been going on?

Patient: Ever since I was an egg!

categoriaPosted in Article commentoNo Comments dataDecember 25th, 2009

Say "I Love you" In Different Languages

by Luke

English: I Love You

Danish: Jeg elsker dig

Dutch: Ik hou van jou

Esperanto: Mi amas vin

French: Je t'aime

German: Ich liebe Dich

Indonesian: Saya cinta kamu

Italian: Ti amo

Japanese: Aishite imasu

Latin: Te amo

Polish: Kocham cie

Romanian: Te iu besc

Russian: Ya vas liubliu

Spanish: Te amo

Swedish: Jag alskar dig

Turkish: Seni seviyorum

categoriaPosted in Article commentoNo Comments dataDecember 18th, 2009

Rush

by Luke

    Swallows may have gone, but there is a time of return; willow trees may have died back, but there is a time of regreening; peach blossoms may have fallen, but they will bloom again. Now, you the wise, tell me, why should our days leave us, never to return? - If they had been stolen by someone, who could it be? Where could he hide them? If they had made the escape themselves, then where could they stay at the moment?
  I don't know how many days I have been given to spend, but I do feel my hands are getting empty. Taking stock silently, I find that more than eight thousand days have already slid away from me. Like a drop of water from the point of a needle disappearing into the ocean, my days are dripping into the stream of time, soundless, traceless. Already sweat is starting on my forehead, and tears welling up in my eyes.

  Those that have gone have gone for good, those to come keep coming; yet in between, how swift is the shift, in such a rush? When I get up in the morning, the slanting sun marks its presence in my small room in two or three oblongs. The sun has feet, look, he is treading on, lightly and furtively; and I am caught, blankly, in his revolution. Thus--the day flows away through the sink when I wash my hands, wears off in the bowl when I eat my meal, and passes away before my day-dreaming gaze as reflect in silence. I can feel his haste now, so I reach out my hands to hold him back, but he keeps flowing past my withholding hands. In the evening, as I lie in bed, he strides over my body, glides past my feet, in his agile way. The moment I open my eyes and meet the sun again, one whole day has gone. I bury my face in my hands and heave a sigh. But the new day begins to flash past in the sigh.

  What can I do, in this bustling world, with my days flying in their escape? Nothing but to hesitate, to rush. What have I been doing in that eight-thousand-day rush, apart from hesitating? Those bygone days have been dispersed as smoke by a light wind, or evaporated as mist by the morning sun. What traces have I left behind me? Have I ever left behind any gossamer traces at all? I have come to the world, stark naked; am I to go back, in a blink, in the same stark nakedness? It is not fair though: why should I have made such a trip for nothing!

  You the wise, tell me, why should our days leave us, never to return?

categoriaPosted in Article commentoNo Comments dataDecember 9th, 2009

Thanks For Everything

by Luke

In our life, we have rarely expressed our gratitude to the one who’d lived those years with us. In fact, we don’t have to wait for anniversaries to thank the ones closet to us—the ones so easily overlooked. If I have learned anything about giving thanks, it is this: give it now! while your feeling of appreciation is alive and sincere, act on it. Saying thanks is such an easy way to add to the world’s happiness.

Saying thanks not only brightens someone else’s world, it brightens yours. If you’re feeling left out, unloved or unappreciated, try reaching out to others. It may be just the medicine you need.

Of course, there are times when you can’t express gratitude immediately. In that case don’t let embarrassment sink you into silence-speak up the first time you have the chance.

Once a young minister, Mark Brian, was sent to a remote parish of Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia. The Indians, he had been told, did not have a word for thank you. But Brian soon found that these people had exceptional generosity. Instead of saying thanks, it is their custom to return every favor with a favor of their own, and every kindness with an equal or superior kindness. They do their thanks.

I wonder if we had no words in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a better job of communicating our gratitude? Would we be more responsive, more sensitive, more caring?

Thankfulness sets in motion a chain reaction that transforms people all around us—including ourselves. For no one ever misunderstands the melody of a grateful heart. Its message is universal; its lyrics transcend all earthly barriers; its music touches the heavens.

categoriaPosted in Article commentoNo Comments dataDecember 4th, 2009

Like A Rolling Stone

by bokezu

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you ?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but know you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?
You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
But you'd better take your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

categoriaPosted in Article commentoNo Comments dataNovember 24th, 2009

Love

by Luke

I love you not because of who you are,but because of who I am when I am with you.
No man or woman is worth your tears,and the one who is ,won't make you cry.
The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can't have them.
Never frown,even when you are sad,because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.
To the world you may be one person,but to one person you may be the world.
Don't waste your time on a man/woman,who isn't willing to waste their time on you.
Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to,doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
Don't try to hard,the best things come when you least expect them to.
Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one,so that when we finally meet the person,we will know how to be grateful.
Don't cry because it is over,smile because it happened.

categoriaPosted in Article commentoNo Comments dataNovember 18th, 2009

The Spirit Carries On

by Luke

Where did we come from?
Why are we here?
Where do we go when we die?
What lies beyond
And what lay before?
Is anything certain in life?
They say, Life is too short,
The here and the now
And You're only given one shot
But could there be more,
Have I lived before,
Or could this be all that we've got?
If I die tomorrow
I'd be all right
Because I believe
That after we're gone
The spirit carries on
I used to be frightened of dying
I used to think death was the end
But that was before
I'm not scared anymore
I know that my soul will transcend
I may never find all the answers
I may never understand why
I may never prove
What I know to be true
But I know that I still have to try
If I die tomorrow
I'd be all right
Because I believe
That after we're gone
The spirit carries on
Move on, be brave
Don't weep at my grave
Because I am no longer here
But please never let
Your memory of me disappear
Safe in the light that surrounds me
Free of the fear and the pain
My questioning mind
Has helped me to find
The meaning in my life again
Victoria's real
I finally feel
At peace with the girl in my dreams
And now that I'm here
It's perfectly clear
I found out what all of this means
If I die tomorrow
I'd be all right
Because I believe
That after we're gone
The spirit carries on

categoriaPosted in Poetry commentoNo Comments dataNovember 16th, 2009

Love Like Morning Sun

by Luke

sunshine

So often, when I'm alone with my thoughts,

I feel your presence enter me

like the morning sun's early light,

filling my memories and dreams of us

with a warm and clear radiance.

You have become my love, my life,

and together we have shaped our world

until it seems now as natural as breathing.

But I remember when it wasn't always so -

times when peace and happiness seemed more

like intruders in my life than

the familiar companions they are today;

times when we struggled to know each other,

but always smoothing out those rough spots

until we came to share ourselves completely.

We can never rid our lives entirely

of sadness and difficult times

but we

can understand them together, and grow

stronger as individuals and as a loving couple.

If I don't tell you as often as I'd like,

it's because I could never tell you enough -

that I'm grateful for you

sharing your life with mine,

and that my love for you will live forever.

categoriaPosted in Poetry commentoNo Comments dataNovember 13th, 2009