Sumatran Agate

Indonesia is made up of islands, lots of them, in fact, over 17000 islands. The origins of these islands vary from coral atolls, continental masses or slivers, accreted oceanic wedges and volcanoes rising from the sea floor. All told, it's a great place to hunt rocks formed by hot volcanic fluids circulating thru a multitude of differing geology.

Ornamental jaspers, agates and thunder-eggs are common across the country. Indonesians love natural stone with graphic beauty. There is a big following for picture stones across the country. I have seen agates from Timor, Irian Jaya, Kalimantan, Java and Sumatra. I am sure there are many more locations than I’ll ever have time to see.

The stone markets in Surabaya and Jakarta have a constant flow of new materials. Yet of all the Indonesian agates I have seen to date, none exhibit more variety of color and complexity than the Sumatran Agate (Photos #1 & #2).

   

Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, and Scarlett Johansson Have an Older-Man Problem

Emma Stone is a mere 26 years old, but in the last cinematic year, she’s had four onscreen love-interests who were over 40, including two male characters who were impotent. Jennifer Lawrence is Hollywood’s most in-demand young actress, but ever since she won her Oscar, it’s hard for her to find a screen lover who isn’t approaching middle age. And Scarlett Johansson has been paired with older actors so often that when she romanced Mark Ruffalo in this summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, their 17-year age difference was the least nitpicked aspect of their union. These three young, smoky-voiced actresses are often referred to as wise beyond their years, and in 2015, they’ve all got the graying love-interests to match that perception. It isn’t news that Hollywood likes to pair its older men with younger women, but as these charts will show, there’s surely something unusual going on when the three hottest actresses in the 30-and-under bracket are routinely steered toward men of a certain age.

Lightning's third line making life tough for Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- Had you told Cedric Paquette back in training camp that he would score two goals in the opening three games of the Stanley Cup finals nine months later, the Tampa Bay Lightning rookie definitely wouldn't have believed it.
"I would have said that he’s crazy," Paquette said in French on Monday night after scoring the game-winner. "I really couldn’t have predicted that."

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Cristiano Ronaldo kisses Marcelo after he's humiliated by a nutmeg in Real Madrid training

Another day, another Real Madrid star humiliated in training. This time, Ronaldo really made Marcelo feel silly about his embarrassment - and we know why

As a Real Madrid player, getting to train with some of the world's most skilful footballers every day must be brilliant.

Unfortunately, it's also massively dangerous - you are constantly at risk of being nutmegged. Last week, the cameras at Real Madrid training caught Cristiano Ronaldousing a backheeled nutmeg to make young Marcos Llorente feel approximately two feet tall.

Now, as you can see above, it's the turn of a more senior member of the squad to suffer the ultimate embarrassment: Marcelo.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron

When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth's Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for a global adventure.

One Direction statement

After five incredible years Zayn Malik has decided to leave One Direction. Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis will continue as a four-piece and look forward to the forthcoming concerts of their world tour and recording their fifth album, due to be released later this year.