Posted on 06/11/2021 11:51:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
At 563 carats, the Star of India is the world’s largest gem-quality blue star sapphire, and is approximately 2 billion years old. (Image credit: D. Finnin/Copyright AMNH)
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What does the legendary Star of India — a 563-carat star sapphire the size of a golf ball — have in common with a 35-million-year-old petrified redwood slab; a massive cluster of sword-like crystals that looks like it came from "Game of Thrones;" and a 5-ton (4.5-metric ton) stone pillar that can "sing?"
You can see all of them, along with 5,000 other amazing stones, in the newly renovated Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, which is reopening after a four-year closure on Saturday (June 12). There, one-of-a-kind precious gems appear alongside odd-looking rocks — some of which date to billions of years ago — that have been uniquely warped and twisted by extreme temperatures and pressures.
Individually and together, these objects tell a story of the diverse geologic processes that shape minerals on Earth's surface and deep inside our planet, beginning when the world was young and continuing to this day, museum representatives told Live Science.
Related: 13 mysterious and cursed gemstones
The Star of India, which formed about a billion years ago, was discovered in Sri Lanka in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known gems in the world, in part because it was famously and brazenly stolen from AMNH in 1964, along with several more of the museum's prized stones, by a pair of thieves named Jack "Murf the Surf" Murphy and Allan Kuhn, Smithsonian reported in 2014, on the heist's 50th anniversary. (The one-of-a-kind sapphire was recovered and went back on display in 1965).
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
The LDS chapels always have good acoustics. The larger ones (called Stake Centers) have more elaborate sound systems than smaller ones, but they’re all good.
I normally like going early on Sundays, just to listen to the prelude music and let my heart and mind get into that “Sunday softness” that’s always appealed to me.
This weekend is our Stake Conference. A Stake consists of four to eight Wards, and every six months there are a series of conferences. We start with the Ward Conference, where just the individual Wards meet on a Sunday, then the Stake Conference where as many people from the Wards go (Zoom makes this much easier!) to two sessions, a Saturday evening and a Sunday morning, and then finally, the General Conferences, consisting of five two-hour meetings over Saturday and Sunday, where one must have tickets (one session, no charge) to attend in person, but which have been broadcast since 1923.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that the acoustics are good because the music and the speakers need to be heard by everyone in attendance, even in the “overflow, or multi-purpose” area.
I remember one person who was a worship leader (these are common in non-denominational churches) saying that everyone feels qualified to criticize the music.
On the other hand, I know my mother’s uncle was the organist in his church long after his fingers were able to work as nimbly as they once had. But he’d been the organist for so long nobody wanted to say anything to him.
And, considering how some of the people around me sang (and maybe I was just as bad) the organ was actually quite normal.
She’s got some anxiety problems, so no one dares to approach her for fear of setting her off. I think some visitors must have approached the bishop about it because she’s no longer at the piano for the prelude music.
Said music has a dual purpose — to limber up the organist’s fingers and feet and to set the mood for the sacredness of the setting. She tries, but she’s just got some problems. I’m glad she’s not at the piano any more, though. My CFIDS-sensitive ears were in pain.
My view on those who aren’t happy with their church music is that they can volunteer to do it themselves, if they want to.
That’s not to say that we aren’t aware when a song hasn’t gone well, or that we don’t take suggestions, or that a person can’t say, “I liked the first song better than the second one.”
I’m pretty much the same way, but CFIDS makes the PWC (Person With CFIDS) super sensitive to sounds, light and odors, so my tolerance levels always depend on where I am in the disease. In remission, I can tolerate them better. In relapse, not so much and sometimes, not at all.
I’m not much fun to be around and my only friends are the ones I have online. But just like a dog or a cat, I try “not to be sick” when people can see me.
Sharon wants me to be her friend, but only if I conform to her belief of what I SHOULD be like. So I’m only her friend on her terms, not the terms of the disease.
I’m back from nap. My back doesn’t hurt where they cut whatever off my skin, so maybe it’s not going to. Or maybe it will be later.
Sort of a “will you be my friend” becoming a “can I take ownership of your life” kind of a thing?
Epic Fail Lawn Service is trying to figure out the replacement string for the weed eater, so we can go to the hardware store and get it. Why does everything have to be so difficult?
Yup, that’s pretty much it. She told me yesterday I just “need to push” myself. The WORST thing one can do with CFIDS is what she wants me to do. If I hadn’t pushed myself when I first came down with the disease, I might have been able to work part time at something, instead of being forced to quit completely and watch my life dissolve around me.
So when I run into people with her expectations, I have a tendency to really back away. She may have heard my talk almost two weeks ago, but she most certainly didn’t listen to it. All I can do is forgive her and move on.
I’m so sorry! I forgot today was the day! I hope it just plain doesn’t hurt! Ever!
Crikey. Online: Weed eater name and model; replacement string; where to buy. Epic Fail.
Problem solved. We found the correct kind of string, and it was in stock at Walmart.
And now, I’m off for the night. I hope you both have good evenings and that you sleep well.
I still have Scripture study to do, so I won’t be sleeping until about 2000 EDT.
Best wishes for a productive study period and a good night!
Because nobody earned a dime leaving it simple.
Good point.
Kitteh want to know why everyone is up so early this morning.
Good morning. Did you sleep well with your new pillow? Or did Jake appropriate it?
How is your back?
I was having some very disturbing dreams but I can’t tell you what they were, and it’s just as well. They might be bad omens if I remembered them!
My Real Brother celebrated another birthday yesterday, but I don’t recall which one it was, and he sounded as good as he ever did. Still very much on the go and dragging his cute little wife with him whenever she’s up to it. They had a full day planned, going out to breakfast, then shopping ‘til they were dropping, then Kid Visits in the evening.
It’s 63° this morning and we’re looking at a high of 86°. I hate the cold.
Good morning. I’m almost always up early, compared to everyone but you, relatively.
My back feels fine, just a little itchy under the bandage. I’ll have to change it later today.
I was out until almost 11:00 at a meeting for Envirothon parents. (Why is it always mothers? These children have fathers!) I’m a good soldier, though, so I didn’t scream, even the 7th time Brenda said, “We’ll just go over this really fast.”
There was a major storm, high water, downed limbs, power out, but at our house we just had rain.
63/86 sounds really nice to me!
Who knows what the difference will be once I get moved? I’ll still be getting up around 0400 (MAYBE 0500 if I can convince my body to stay awake past 1900!) because I love sunrise.
Oh my goodness! 2300 is late, even for you! Early nap with Jake today, then? You’re so much more polite than I would have been. But then, my politeness would have kicked in even while trying to find a way to tell Brenda “How about if, in the future, you only go over things once, really slowly, to make sure we all took notes and got it right?”
Chuck must be on vacation because he hasn’t responded to my note of a few days ago and I haven’t seen his car.
The shower felt pretty good this morning, and I had the heat lamp on the whole time. I didn’t turn that off and the vent on until I was almost ready to leave. Heat!!! Living 30+ years in Las Vegas Valley has made me a lizard on a rock in the heat.
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