TIDBITS 06/04/06

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We encourage you to forward this email to friends and colleagues. ====================================== If any of you want Tidbits emailed directly, let me know and I'll take care of it. Tidbits may be reprinted without charge -- with attribution. Additionally, if you know of anyone who you think would enjoy Tidbits, please make them aware of us. URL

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We encourage you to forward this email to friends and colleagues. ====================================== The Year of the Dragon So here it is ... another one of those major facts of life which elude most of us due to our inability to recognize truth when it stares us in the face. I am here to rectify this slight failing ... and become ... for want of a better word a marriage advisor of sorts ... a council for those about to embark upon the great ship Matrimony and sail the tempestuous sea of Wedlock ... located--for those who need to know these things--just a tad North by Northwest of the land of Conjugality. For those of you wondering how the devil this is going to segue into jewelry ... to you I say ... never fear ... Benjamin is here.

Let us say you were born in 1928, or 1940, or even 1952. If this were the case ... then you would have been born in the Year of the Dragon. Ta-dum! Or is it spelled Ta-Dumb? I don't know. Help me on this. In any case ... you were born in the Year of the Dragon ... and it's time to get married. Who to wed ... that is the question. Perhaps someone born in the Year of the Ox ... or Rabbit? Yes? Nay nay. A Dragon-er born to an Ox-er or a Rabbit-er is the worst case scenario possible. Ideally ... you would want a Year of the Rat person. Or a Year of the Monkey person.

Here's my offer to you dear reader ... before I go into the jewelry aspect of this. You tell me the year you were born ... and I'll tell you if the year you were born in is that of a Monkey or a Rat or a Dragon. I'll also throw in one of your best choices and one of your worst. Tell me the year your mate was born in ... and I'll tell you if you done good. A quick disclaimer folks. Not responsible for breakups and alimony disputes. More important ... not responsible for unions!

And now for Le Grand Segue. Ojime. Japanese art at its peak. The adherence that function should be beautiful and beauty should be functional. I find this thinking very true to the point of things and admire it greatly. And as it turns out there was once a great 19th century artist named Kaigyokusai. I will show you one zodiac animal carved from ivory and incredible in detail and craftsmanship ... signed by one Masatoshi Nakamura ... a contemporary artist who worked in the style of Kaigyokusai.

I would almost venture to say there only a few around who can do this kind of work ... one is a chap in England named David Hensel ... a sculptor of the highest caliber--I am a fan and admirer--whose work is worth looking at.

For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may I direct you to my home page at

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where you will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says Current Tidbits ... and then click on it in order to view a piece of Japanese Ojime representing the Year of the Dragon.

And there ya have it. That's it for this week folks. Catch you all next week. Benjamin Mark