Music Friday: 'Love Is More Than What It Seems' So Tremolo's Justin Dillon Wears a 'Promise Ring'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you awesome songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Tremolo frontman Justin Dillon sings about a treasured piece of jewelry in the group's 2005 release, "Promise Ring."

Dillon believes that beyond being a symbol of the bond between him and his girlfriend, the promise ring will protect them from "the bitter tide."

He sings, "Long ago, I drew a line into the sand / Jumped across and held your hand / Band of gold protect us from the bitter tide / That comes to wash away our words with time / Hello you, Hello me / Hello hello, can't you see / Love is more than what it seems / So I wear your promise ring."

Described by one reviewer as being "ethereal and catchy," "Promise Ring" is the fifth track from the San Francisco-based band's first full-length album, Love Is The Greatest Revenge. The album is a collection of songs written and recorded by the band during 2003 and 2004.

Trivia: An early demo version of "Promise Ring" was used in the 2003 Mandy Moore flick, How to Deal.

When the album came out in August of 2005, Tremolo announced that 50% of their profits would be dedicated to the "Love>Revenge Fund." Interestingly, the fund allowed fans to determine which organizations would benefit. At the time, the fund's website described Tremolo's debut album as “an auto-biographical social commentating post-deconstructionist protest record” that asks “what if love was the greatest revenge” and “music could change the world?”

In an interview with last.fm, Dillon described Tremolo’s music as “one hand holding onto the roots of the grass and one hand reaching to the stars in the sky."

"I’m looking for this 'otherliness,' this transcendence. That’s the reason I think music is here," he said. "I want to be part of touching something that is greater than the sum of its parts."

In 2011, Dillon founded the award-winning website Slavery Footprint in conjunction with the U.S. State Department. The site, which asks the question, “How Many Slaves Work For You?” allows consumers to visualize how their consumption habits are connected to modern-day slavery.

Please check out the audio track of "Promise Ring." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Promise Ring"
Written by Justin Dillon. Performed by Tremolo.

Long ago, I drew a line into the sand
Jumped across and held your hand
Band of gold protect us from the bitter tide
That comes to wash away our words with time

Hello you, Hello me
Hello hello, can't you see
Love is more than what it seems
So I wear your promise ring

Promises made under the rite of spring
Heavy under summer's sting
Say you know,
I'd run to where the spaceships land
A million miles between my mouth and hand

Hello you, Hello me
Hello hello, can't you see
Love is more than what it seems
So I wear your promise ring

Love labors through the night
It bleeds and never fights
And like a seed it lives because it dies

So don't forget, just like cash
I walk the line
Like a soldier guarding what is mine

Hello you, Hello me
Hello hello, can't you see
Love is more than what it seems
So I wear your promise ring

Credit: Promotional image via myspace.com/tremolomusic.

Mili The Giraffe Helps Missouri Man With Surprise Marriage Proposal at Dickerson Park Zoo

Mili the Giraffe, one of the most popular attractions at Dickerson Park Zoo, literally stuck her neck out to help a Missouri man with a surprise marriage proposal.

Cody Hall had arranged for him and his girlfriend, Makayla Blankey, to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo in Springfield, Mo. The special access would give the couple an intimate look at how the zookeepers feed and train the friendly 15-foot-tall giraffe.

What Blankey didn't know was that Hall had conspired with zoo spokesperson Joey Powell to enlist Mili as the central figure in a unique and truly unforgettable marriage proposal. The animal would be fitted with a lanyard necklace, and dangling from the necklace would be the engagement ring.

The zoo had always been a place of wonder for Hall and he dreamed of proposing to Blankey at the zoo since the day he realized that she was the one.

"They showed us the training exercise, getting Mili to point at a big tennis ball with her nose," Hall said. "Then they gave Makayla a tree branch to feed the giraffe, and when it craned its neck out, the ring was hanging."

Hall detached the ring from the lanyard and got down one knee to pop the question. Mili seemed to be enjoying the romantic moment as she dipped her head toward the couple.

"Marriage was something we had talked about, so I knew she'd say, 'Yes,'" Hall told the Springfield News-Leader. "But it's a different feeling when you ask the question and she says, 'Yes.' It's still surreal."

Hall and Blankey, both from Willard, Mo., are planning a spring 2018 wedding.

Zoo officials joked that Mili should be part of that special day.

"Congrats to Cody and Makayla," noted a photo caption on the zoo's official Facebook page. "We think Mili should be your honorary ring bearer on your big day."

On her Facebook page, Blankey posted a photo of her and her boyfriend embracing at the entrance of the Dickerson Park Zoo. Her caption read: "I'm so in love." She also posted a group shot with Mili posing in the background.

In a gracious thank-you note on the zoo's Facebook page, Hall wrote, "The zoo was a place of wonder and special to me before, but now Dickerson Park Zoo, you all hold a very dear and special place in my life which I'll never forget. I can't thank you all enough."

"I dreamt of this as soon as I knew that Makayla was the one for me," he added. "You turned my dream into a reality and your generosity touched me in such an unexplainable way. I cannot wait until the future when we can bring our own family to the zoo and share the wonder, knowledge and kindness you all have shown us.

Credits: Images via Facebook.com/DPZoo; Facebook.com/makayla.blakey.

163-Carat D-Flawless Diamond Is the Largest Ever to Appear at Auction

On November 14, Christie's Geneva will offer for sale the largest D-flawless diamond to ever hit the auction block. The 163.41-carat emerald-cut diamond was cut from a 404.20-carat rough named “4 de Fevereiro," which was discovered at Angola's Lulo mine in February 2016.

It was bought by de Grisogono founder Fawaz Gruosi and unveiled to clients at the company’s annual party during the 2016 Cannes film festival in May, according to Town & Country.

The rough diamond was studied in Antwerp and cut in New York. There, a team of 10 diamond-cutting specialists pooled their talents to map, plot, cleave, laser-cut and polish the gem into a stunning 163.41 carat emerald-cut stone.

The transformation began on June, 29, 2016, when an 80-year-old master diamond cleaver, Ben Green, performed a cut along a grain line. After 11 months of work, the polished stone was ready to be sent to the Gemological Institute of America, where it earned its D-flawless, Type IIa grade. Type IIa diamonds are the purest of all diamonds because they are composed solely of carbon with virtually no trace elements in the crystal lattice.

The diamond is now the centerpiece of an asymmetrical necklace, featuring cascading pear-shaped emeralds on the left side and cool, white emerald-cut diamonds down the right. The company chose to use emeralds in the design because the green color symbolizes good luck. The final concept, named "The Art of de Grisogono," was one of 50 proposed by the firm's design team and took more than 1,700 hours to complete.

“I never thought I would work with a 163.41-carat diamond of this quality,” Gruosi noted in a Christie’s press release. “I have never had a problem finding creative ideas, but this time there was the immense pressure of ‘dressing’ such an amazing diamond. I couldn’t do something very simple or that has already been seen. I needed a design that is outside-the-box.”

Added Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Christie’s Jewels, “Over our 251-year history, Christie’s has had the privilege of handling the world’s rarest and most historic diamonds. The sensational 163.41-carat perfect diamond suspended from an elegant emerald and diamond necklace propels de Grisogono into a class of their own.”

“4 de Fevereiro" means February 4th in Portuguese, and the name is associated with an Angolan national holiday marking the start of an armed struggle for independence in 1961. The 404.20-carat rough is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered in Angola.

The fabulous necklace will embark on an exhibition tour, with stops in Hong Kong, London, Dubai, New York and Geneva. The auction is set for November 14 at 7pm GMT at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva.

Credits: Images via PRNewsfoto/de GRISOGONO; Christie's.