Wednesday, September 07, 2016

Bruce Springsteen Serenades Young Couple During Epic Onstage Marriage Proposal

Rock legend Bruce Springsteen created a memory that will last a lifetime when he stopped his encore performance of "Jersey Girl" to invite a young couple onstage for an unforgettable marriage proposal.

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Michael McCloskey had waited all evening for Springsteen to perform that special song because he knew it would be the perfect time to propose to his Jersey Girl, Jillian Rabadan. Nearly four hours into the concert, it was finally McCloskey's moment to go down on one knee and present Rabadan with a diamond ring.

The surprised girlfriend said "Yes" and the concertgoers in their section screamed their approval.

Springsteen and the East Street Band were halfway through a beautiful rendition of the Tom Waits' classic song when The Boss noticed the commotion in the pit near the front of the stage.

"What's going on down there?" Springsteen asked.

Band member Stevie Van Zandt pointed to his ring finger, signaling to Springsteen that the couple had just gotten engaged.

"You need to come up here and do it," Springsteen said.

As the couple found their way over the barricade and onto the stage, Springsteen announced, "Love is in the room tonight."

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Springsteen handed the microphone to McCloskey, who told the crowd of 55,000 that he and Jill had been dating for eight years. "We've been to a ton of shows together and this is by far the highlight of them all," he said.

McCloskey then turned to his girlfriend and said, “Jill, you’re my best friend. I love you more than anyone else in the world. I love you more than music itself. Hell, I love you more than Bruce. Sorry, Bruce! I’m so happy you said yes, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

The couple embraced and the sold-out stadium went crazy.

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Springsteen then encouraged McCloskey to dance with his new fiancĂ©e while Springsteen and the band segued into the final verse "Jersey Girl."

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Springsteen sang, "'Cause down the shore everything's all right / You and your baby on a Saturday night / Nothing matters in this whole wide world / When you're in love with a Jersey girl."

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The song and concert came to a rousing conclusion with an impressive display of fireworks in the night sky.

“Bruce was amazing,” Rabadan told a local CBS affiliate. “He was so nice, and I can’t believe he did that for us."

Said McCloskey, “He could have just given us a shout-out or a wave, but he invited us up on stage. He gave us a serenade and a slow dance and a memory that’ll last a lifetime.”

See the videos of how the scene played out at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey...

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com/Compumom226; YouTube.com/pointblank482000.

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Latest in Wearable Tech: This Ring Lets You See and Feel Your Lover's Heartbeat in Real Time

The latest wearable technology — the HB Ring — allows you see and feel your lover's heartbeat in real time. Conceived by a company called TheTouch, the rings have the ability to link up with each other from across town or across the planet.

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To see and feel the real-time heartbeat of one's partner, the user simply double taps on the HB Ring. A red stripe that's visible through the ring's sapphire body flashes a single time to confirm the request was sent. A few seconds later — after making a connection with the companion's ring — the red stripe flashes with the real-time heartbeat of the partner. The user can also feel a vibration from the ring that matches the heartbeat rhythm.

To protect one's privacy, the responding ring shows no indication that it is transmitting a real-time heartbeat.

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The ring, which seems simple but actually houses 100 individual components, captures the heartbeat using a sensor.

Available in stainless steel or rose gold, the rings feature a unibody sapphire crystal surface that is virtually unscratchable. The HB Rings are 3.9mm thick, 12.1mm wide and available in six sizes.

Even though the rings include electronic components, they can withstand short exposures to water, such as hand washing. The rings are not designed to be submerged for long periods of time, so swimming with the ring or taking it into a hot tub is definitely out of the question.

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The HB Rings are the result of 2.5 years of product development that utilized the expertise of Czech, Swiss, German and Japanese engineers and manufacturers.

The rings are connected to a smartphone app via Bluetooth and will function as long as they are charged and the users have access to data or Wi-Fi. With typical usage (about 10 to 15 touches per day), the monthly data consumption will be about 300KB to 450KB, according to the company.

The rings are priced at $599 per pair for the stainless steel version and range up to $2,990 for the rose gold pair. The rings come with two single chargers and one double charger. The rings are currently powered up via a USB connection, but TheTouch is reportedly working on a wireless charging option.

The products are now in the pre-order stage. The rose gold rings will start shipping in November 2016, with the stainless versions following a month later.

Credits: Images via Facebook.com/thetouchx.

Monday, September 05, 2016

Birthstone of the Month: 423-Carat Logan Sapphire Has Ties to the Guggenheim Family and an Indian Maharajah

In honor of September’s official birthstone, we shine our spotlight on the “Logan Sapphire,” the second-largest faceted gem-quality blue sapphire in the world at 422.99 carats. Now part of the National Gem Collection, the sapphire is a top attraction at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

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The vibrant medium-blue gem boasts a provenance that links one of America's most prominent families with Indian royalty. The beautiful brooch had been given to Rebecca Pollard Guggenheim as a Christmas/anniversary gift in 1952 by her then-husband Col. M. Robert Guggenheim. The Guggenheims had amassed one of the world's largest fortunes through their mining and smelting businesses, and later became equally famous for their philanthropy.

Rebecca donated the magnificent gem to the Smithsonian in 1960 but kept it in her possession until 1971. Col. M. Robert Guggenheim passed away in 1959 and Rebecca remarried three years later, becoming Mrs. John A. Logan in 1962. This is where the Logan Sapphire gets its name. The gem finally went on display in Washington, D.C., in June of 1971.

Col. M. Robert Guggenheim reportedly purchased the gem from Sir Ellice Victor Sassoon (1881-1961), the third Baronet of Bombay. The Sassoon family had acquired the gem from a maharajah in India.

Set in a silver-and-gold brooch and framed by 20 round brilliant diamonds weighing approximately 16 carats, the cushion-cut Logan Sapphire claims the distinction of being the heaviest mounted gem in the National Gem Collection. It was cut from a crystal mined in Sri Lanka in the mid-1800s and possesses a beautiful blue color with slight violet overtones.

The impressive color led skeptics to question whether the gem had been heated or treated in any way. The Gemological Institute of America put those doubts to rest after studying the gem and stating in a report dated June 1997 that the Logan Sapphire was completely natural.

Historically, the finest and most vibrant gem-quality sapphires have come from Sri Lanka, Burma and the Kashmir region of India. According to the Smithsonian, sapphires from Sri Lanka are typically light to medium blue and are commonly referred to as "Ceylon Sapphires."

Interestingly, all sapphires are made of the mineral corundum (crystalline aluminum oxide). In its pure state, the corundum is colorless, but when trace elements are naturally introduced to the chemical composition all the magic happens. Blue sapphires occur, for instance, when aluminum atoms are displaced with those of titanium and iron in the gem’s crystal lattice structure.

Sapphires are seen in many colors, including pink, purple, green, orange and yellow. Ruby is the red variety of corundum.

Credit: Photo by Chip Clark/Smithsonian Institution.