For A Truly Exclusive Gift - How About A Custom Bronze Scultpure?

18 July 2010

Bronze has been one of the most popular metals on the planet for hundreds if not thousands of years. The metal is lightweight, strong, and easy to work with, as well as abundant with an attractive appearance that doesn’t succumb to the elements as easily as other metals. This is why using bronze for sculptures has always been so popular.

Sculptors found long ago that bronze was ideal due to the actual chemistry of the metal. Of course, sculpting a metal statue or figure isn’t like woodwork. You cannot simply whittle away the material with a sharp utensil. Instead, a mold must be made and the metal must be poured in. Bronze expands before it sets, allowing every last detail to be seen in the finished product.

For individuals looking to purchase an original gift for themselves or their family or friends, a personal bronze portrait sculpture makes for the ultimate gift. Not only is a personal sculpture wholly gratifying, lifelike and lavish, but it’s also an affluent gift. Bronze is not a cheap metal. It’s an alloy consisting of 90% copper and 10% tin.

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Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships - Munich 2010

07 March 2010

Some sports of the world are just too wild to comprehend unless you actually see them. A cross between ice hockey, boardercross and downhill skiing, the Red Bull Crashed Ice races are more like something you might see Arnold Schwarzengegger starring in rather than a legitimate sport. This fast and fantastic sport is real, however, and it leaves spectators floored.

The Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship took place in Munich, Germany earlier this year, and the city was absolutely enthralled to see the action.

Much like a science fiction, futuristic dream sequence, ramps, jumps and other obstacles were built overtop of the citys streets. The fans lined up alongside to watch the racers compete up close.

The Olympic Park, famed for Munichs 1972 Olympic Games, was literally transformed into a winter wonderland for the race. The track was designed to be easy enough to navigate to prevent any untimely crashes, but still steep enough to propel skaters to speeds of over 50 kilometers per hour before jumping or turning.

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The Old Course at St Andrews - The Home of Golf

24 February 2010

The Old Course at St. Andrews Links is said to be the oldest golf course in the world. The Old Course itself has a great deal of history to it and no one knows for sure when golf was first played on these grounds. There is a great deal of conflicting evidence regarding this, however it is clear that golfers have played on this course for over 600 years, with the exception of a 45 year period when golf was banned from 1457 to 1502.

The Old Course is located in Fife, Scotland and is one of seven golf courses on the Links. The Links itself is the largest European public golf complex; each course in the complex provides its own set of challenges.

There are many special rules and traditions with The Old Course including the fact that on Sundays the course is closed in order to give the grass time to rest. On this day the course is opened up to the people of Fife to use as a park. The only exceptions to the Sunday rule are when the Open Championships, Dunhill Links Championships, Ricoh Womens Championships, or St Andrews Links Trophy and the St Rule Trophy are being played.

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What are your lucky numbers?

27 August 2008

As soon as man stood up and walked, he started to count. Before the idea of "numbers" became part of our basic logic set, objects were just objects. It’s a little hard to imagine that if you had two rocks in front of you, you wouldn’t refer to them as "two rocks." The two had no significance. But numberless life didn’t last for long. As soon as humans got a handle on numbers, they started to give them significant meanings.

Over time, numbers evolved to something more than a counting table. Numbers became mystical. The ancient Chinese are thought to be among the first to give numbers the label of "lucky." In Chinese culture, some numbers are believed to be fortunate or unfortunate. Primarily, odd numbers are thought to be unlucky in Chinese culture, leaving the even numbers to be the luckier. The Chinese believe that good luck comes in pairs.

Almost every culture holds some numbers to a lucky standard. The number 7 has been considered to be lucky for centuries. Though its origins are up for debate, there are many instances throughout history that reference the number 7 and its lucky nature. The Pythagoreans referred to 7 as the "perfect number," stating that 3 and 4, the triangle and the square, were the perfect figures.

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How diamonds are mined

25 August 2008

Diamonds are forever, a girls best friend, and downright expensive. In order to put that diamond ring on your finger, someone has to mine, ship, process, inspect, polish, set, and ultimately sell that diamond. With all of these various steps, it’s no wonder why diamonds are among the world’s most expensive items. Of every diamond mined throughout the world every year, far less than half will be gem quality. What happens to the rest of the diamonds?

They’re put into two other categories: Near-gem quality, and industrial quality. In order to be stamped as gem quality, diamonds must display the highest standard of excellence. Trained eyes painstakingly seek out any flaws. If a diamond isn’t up to par, it never will be. It’s hit or miss in the diamond industry. But before they can be professionally graded, the diamonds must be mined.

Diamonds are mined throughout the world, most notably in Africa where the diamond trade has been the root of many evils. In order to mine the gems, two methods are used: Pipe mining or alluvial mining. The first, pipe mining, refers to the extraction of diamonds from volcanic pipes. This is a lengthy process which covers tremendous ground. On average, 250 tons of ore must be mined before a one-carat gem quality diamond is produced.

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So where did the traditional tuxedo originate from

09 July 2008

The tuxedo is perhaps the most elegant form of fashion for a man. It can be semi, or full-on formal as with black tie events, and is a favorite way to dress for millions of men worldwide. A traditional tuxedo jacket is woolen and single-breasted.

The jacket has peaked, shawl, notch, or trick lapels, traditionally covered with satin, and modern styles are trimmed in grosgrain or wool. The tuxedo is worn when black tie attire is specified. In recent years, the American tuxedo has distanced itself from the English dinner jacket and other black tie conventions.

Various styles of tuxedos exist now, and they’re popular among men from all walks of life. The easy-to-make style ensures that a tux will be available for any size, and in any fashion.

A man dressing up for formal affairs is nothing new. In fact, the European opera houses of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries wouldn’t let a man in unless he was appropriately dressed.

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