A gemstone or gem (also called a precious or semi-precious stone, a fine gem, or jewel) is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli) and organic materials (such as amber or jet) are not minerals, but are still used for jewelry, and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone. Apart from jewelry, from earliest antiquity until the 19th century engraved gems and hardstone carvings such as cups were major luxury art forms; the carvings of Carl Fabergé were the last significant works in this tradition.
Marie Antoinette ( /məˈriː æntwəˈnɛt/ or /æntwɑːˈnɛt/; French pronunciation: [maʁi ɑ̃twanɛt]; baptised Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna (or Maria Antonia Josephina Johanna); 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I.
In April 1770, on the day of her marriage to Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France, she subsequently became Dauphine of France. Marie Antoinette assumed the title of Queen of France and of Navarre when her husband, Louis XVI of France, ascended the throne upon the death of Louis XV in May 1774. After seven years of marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, the first of four children.
Initially charmed by her personality and beauty, the French people generally came to dislike her, accusing "L'Autre-chienne" (a pun in French playing with the words "Autrichienne" meaning Austrian (woman) and "Autre-chienne" meaning Other bitch) of being profligate and promiscuous, and of harboring sympathies for France's enemies, particularly Austria, her country of origin.
Gina Lollobrigida (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒiːna lolloˈbriːdʒida]; born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist and sculptress. She was one of the most popular European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was also an iconic sex symbol of the 1950s. Today, she remains an active supporter of Italian and Italian American causes, particularly the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). In 2008, she received the NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Foundation's Anniversary Gala.
Born Luigina Lollobrigida in Subiaco, Italy, she was one of four daughters of a furniture manufacturer (her sisters are Giuliana, Maria and Fernanda). She spent her youth in a picturesque mountain village. In her youth, Gina did some modelling, and from there she went to participate successfully in several beauty contests. At around this time, she began appearing in Italian language films. In 1945, she played a part in the comedy Santarellina by Eduardo Scarpetta at the Teatro della Concordia of Monte Castello di Vibio, the smallest theatre all'italiana in the world. In 1947, Gina entered the Miss Italia pageant and came in 3rd place. The contest was won by Lucia Bosé and second place was Gianna Maria Canale – they would both go on to be actresses, though neither would come near Lollobrigida's success.
George Balanchine, born Giorgi Balanchivadze (Georgian: გიორგი ბალანჩივაძე, Russian: Георгий Мелитонович Баланчивадзе) (January 22 [O.S. January 9] 1904 – April 30, 1983), was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States and the co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet. He was a choreographer known for his musicality; he expressed music with dance and worked extensively with Igor Stravinsky. Thirty-nine of his more than four hundred ballets were choreographed to music by Stravinsky.
Balanchine was born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother. Balanchine's family comprised largely composers and soldiers. His father was a noted Georgian composer Meliton Balanchivadze (1862–1937), one of the initiators of the Georgian Opera, while his mother was a Russian ballet aficionado. George's brother, Andria Balanchivadze (1906–1992), became a well-known Georgian composer. As a child, Balanchine was not particularly interested in ballet but his mother loved the arts and had the young Giorgi audition with his sister, who shared her mother's passion for ballet.
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. She is also head of state of the Crown Dependencies.
Elizabeth was born in London, and educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. On the death of her father in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. Today, in addition to the first four aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
When He cometh, when He cometh
To take up his jewels
All his jewels, precious jewels
His Loved and His own
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
They will shine in their beauty
Bright jems for his crown
He will gather, He will gather
The jems for His kingdom
All the pure ones, all the bright ones
His loved and His own
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
They will shine in their beauty
Bright jems for his crown
Little children, little children
O love their Redeemer
All the jewels, precious jewels
His loved and His own
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
They will shine in their beauty
kimi no kureta haru no hibi wa
kaori wa sono mama de mawaru yo
ienai kotoba wo oite
shizuka ni yasashiku yorisoi futari dake no houseki wo miteta
kokoro wa doushite itande nakushita mono bakari hoshigaru?
aishikata mo shirazu ni tada kimi wo kizutsuke
dore dake no imi wo boku wa naseru darou
kimi no soba de kimi no soba de uta wo utawasete kurenai ka
yozora no gosenfu no ue
hikari sae mo oto de sae mo kimi ni todoku you na ki ga shite
kioku wo kanadete yuku yo
ano toki ienai kotoba wa doko e itte kaetta no darou
dokoka de waratte kuretara sore de ii to omoeru ima wa
kono harukana daichi ni okizari ni shita kotoba
te wo hiki, yuku yo iki wo kirashi asu e
hitomi tojite kimi no kureta SPADE no piasu wo nigitta
kono mama yami ni ochite yuku
hikari sae mo oto de sae mo kimi ni todoku you na ki ga shite
kioku wa kanaderu towa ni
kimi no soba de kimi no soba de uta wo utawasete kurenai ka
yozora no gosenfu no ue
hikari sae mo oto de sae mo kimi ni todoku you na ki ga shite
kioku wo kanadete yuku yo
hikari wa maru de houseki no you ni
ikue no omoi wo utsushita
kimi no kureta haru no hibi wa
ima mo boku no mune de kagayaku
When He cometh, when He cometh
To make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.
He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom,
All the pure ones, all the bright ones,
His loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.
Little children, little children,
Who love their Redeemer,
Are the jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
now she's gonna fall
now she's gonna crawl
now she's gonna call
i'm gonna breathe blood into my jewels
gonna bleed twice for all the fools
who wish me death
now she's gonna scream
now she's gonna dream
moonbeam nightmare not allowed
now she's gonna miss
now there'll be no kiss
now at last it's come to this
someone's strange kitten's in the flames
she disappears to change
then reappears the same
so i'm gonna breathe blood into my jewels
gonna bleed twice for all the fools
who wish me death