Antiquity is the in- thing. Is this true?

ANTIQUE STYLE ENGAGEMENT RINGS

Old is indeed gold if the extraordinary fascination for antique things is anything to go by. With the increasing obsession to look unique and cultivate individual tastes, people are going back through time in search of splendid pieces that can best adorn them. The jewelry market is currently a jumble of all sorts of beauty accessory products, that for those who price authenticity and high aesthetic values, the risk of ending up with an expensive imitation is all too apparent but very detestable. That is why to such people whose tastes are refined and delicate, antique style engagement rings are the items of choice.

Remember that even though a wedding is a once in a life time event, hundreds of personal details associated with the wedding often remain a subject of nostalgic passionate recall for several generations and life times. So whatever else you are capable of, the only thing you must not dare do is to give your bride a cheap, unromantic and almost worthless engagement ring. Every couple wishes to possess amazing and gorgeous antique style rings that look like no other. Give your fiancé or fiancée a ring that will make him or her feel adored, adorable, special and revered for the rest of their life. An antique style engagement ring has the rare quality of bringing forth a blossom of everlasting joy undiluted happiness in the heart of your beloved.

You can chose such a ring from wonderful collections of vintage antique engagement rings that date from as early 1910, or exclusive replicas of the original engagement rings from the Edwardian period. Add sparkle and brilliance to your engagement by giving that someone special in your life an antique style ring of their dream that will always take their breath away. You can order such a ring to specification from skilled designers who can change different stone weights, quality or sizes; and different metals to fit your pocket. When it comes to engagement rings, Art Nouveau or Art Deco designs are undeniably lovely and eye-catching. Revive your past by going for heirloom quality antique engagement rings that have the power to give your wedding, when the day finally comes, a magical touch.

One would be at a loss to point out the difference between a genuine antique and an antique style ring because of the fine workmanship that defines the sleek finish lines of the latter. These rings are incomparable in the realms of fine jewelry and due to their popular demand are often times available in limited editions. Do not be a clueless clown who doesn’t know from where to start looking for a stunningly beautiful ring. The perfect place to start and the best choice to make would be in an antique engagement ring. Why don’t you fill your beloved with endless moments of ecstasy by buying a trendy and attractive antique style engagement ring? Brighten your future and eliminate unnecessary anxiety by getting a fairly priced but precious ring that will exceed the wildest expectations of your Romeo or Juliet.

Reasons Why You Must Take Out A Whole Life Insurance Policy

Is Life Insurance Tax Deductible?

The driving force behind all insurance policies is to acquire indemnification for loss, liability, or death. This principle applies to a greater extent to Whole Life Insurance. In this particular case the insurer intends the beneficiaries to benefit after his/her death. And therefore the question whether life insurance is tax deductible or not deserves close examination. This is a question that anyone who intends to draw out a life insurance policy must answer.

Before purchasing a policy one must ascertain the terms and conditions stipulated in the policy in terms of premiums. Terms do vary from one insurance company to the other, or from one country to the other.  Some conditions might negate the very act of financially empowering the beneficiaries after the death of the insured. But generally speaking, it is common practice that the higher the premium, the greater the benefits. However, the pillar in any life policy is the cause of death because if it can be proven that fraud is involved due to either intentional death or concealed illness during application, the insurer can lawfully reject the claim.

So, is life insurance tax deductible or not? In general practice it is not, except under special circumstances. Even though both insurance and tax laws are as capricious as a tropical typhoon, the relationship between life insurance and taxes is invariably the same. In case of Whole Life Insurance, there are inherent tax advantages but not deductions. In the US, for example, a comprehensive policy guarantees freedom from income tax if the proceeds come in form of monthly payments or a lump sum. This is designed to protect the recipient(s) from unnecessary financial obligations to the state.

While the policy is in force (active), there are cash values such as accumulated dividends and interests that the policy attracts free of income tax. This frees the policy owner from the burden of extra taxes. However, there is one situation in which taxes can apply. The cash values on a life policy empowers one to take out a loan which is easily repaid over a period within certain limits in the policy. If a person dies before such a loan is fully repaid, the impending balance is usually deducted out of the death benefits. Such a situation definitely has tax consequences for the beneficiary(ies). It is clear then that life insurance is not tax deductible as a general practice. But when other circumstances intrude, then conditions that give rise to taxation might obtain.

Beyond the Horizon

BEYOND THE HORIZON

Prologue

To the passersby, nothing seemed unusual about the ceremony taking place in the farthest corner of the sprawling cemetery. Their lack of interest suggested what was in progress could have been just another ordinary and harmless event. Some of them even made jokes about the grave posturing of the attendant standing a little bit farther away from the crowd, not knowing that to him this wasn’t just a burial; but a reminder that nature had once more acted defiantly, handing out another painful token of finality.

He raised his head and slowly surveyed the mourners, trying to dissect the intense sorrow he thought he sensed was concealed beneath each calm face, but he found nothing. His searching gaze then wandered beyond the gathering, and as if for the first time, traversed across an enchanting and peaceful mile upon mile of dazzling white stones. His eyes watered; he thought he could see infinity.

Not that there is a noisy graveyard any where in the world, the man reflected…. But here is the only place where I find serenity and comforting thoughts that make my solitary existence bearable. It will soon be 2000 A.D- `after death,’ he wryly mused. All my kith and kin are dead… at least the two words will now have an appropriate meaning, a new significance that will elevate them above the mere historical signpost that they have been…

The cemetery attendant, Vic, as he was known by anyone who cared to take notice of him, thought about the two words and the `deaths’ with a bitter sense of irony that went beyond a simple acknowledgement of the inevitable… so many deaths in so many slow, wretched years of lost dreams; lost friends and lost loves… a sordid spell of grim challenges and vain expectations; a time of lost opportunities and abandoned hopes…terrible years of confidences and betrayals that rather than kill our spirits provided the flint that sparked off our fiery determination to live on, endure, sacrifice, fight and win despite all the odds that we faced.

But shall we really win…? Will there be something- anything at all apart from this vast field of cultivated concrete that will give testimony to our desires, struggles, and frustrations? Is there any legacy by which posterity will acknowledge that what they have does not belong to them, that what they do is not new but a repetition? Will they know that no matter how much they think they can achieve, in the end those will be nothing but a minor installment of the great debt humanity must repay time! Will there really be anything at the end of time? Vic deeply pondered over these great questions.

In the yard, there were far too many graves. Straining his eyes, Vic idly started counting again. He always counted the headstones as a pass-time. But despite knowing that he would never finish the count- even if the fates were to grant him a fresh mandate of another lifetime- this had become a favorite ritual in which he liked indulging his bitterness. He always stood at the same place, the very spot where he was standing at the moment, and would begin to count in a slowly widening circle, for in that way, he reasoned, he would never ever risk counting the same grave twice. Vic’s field of enumeration had not at any one time increased in size because he always counted only as far as his eyes could see- which wasn’t far enough.

For the time he’d been working here, he’d developed a special liking to a few graves which he’d come to associate with certain individuals from his past. He thought he knew these graves so intimately well that the bond with them had come to supersede any sense of attachment he might still feel to a fellow human being… after all, were these not the only people who’d mattered to me in that other life…? The ones who’d provided me with the family I had never had, the family I had cried for, craved for… almost killed for.

Vic had never had any family to speak of until he met these people… they were the only ones who’d extended a welcoming hand and accepted me as one of them when I ‘d had no where to turn to: no friends, no relatives… no one with whom to share my thoughts, fears and disappointments.

DREAM CAGE- POETRY

I know you must be wondering why I am in a dream cage? It is because I am a writer and poet whose works have never seen the light of day. For starters, you can sample this poem. Dream cage one, will be the story behing this poem


COLOUR OF VOICES
Voices abrasive, voices soft;
Voices loud, voices coloured:
Some as colourful as flowers,
Some as comforting as showers,
Others as coarse as
Ground stoney and sandy-
But one as sweet as drops of honey
Lifts up my soul,
Like a thousand fireflies
Dancing to the tunes of warm dark nights
Beneath starry light skies.

A voice blue and sunny,
In a multicoloured tapestry
Of meanings funny;
Each coloured strand,
Irridescent with a new
Emotional brand,
Arching a rainbow of passions
Over the tomb of my dead heart.

But that voice has many hues,
And still wonders I;
Are violets truly blue
Like the dome of a bright sky?
Or
Is the voice a sonorous song
Whispering chimes of mystic beauty?
Please dear, tell but gently- what is the colour of your voice?

DREAM CAGE

Hi,

Welcome to my dream cage. Surprised thats all I have for you today! Don't be fooled. Just ask yourself this: How many people are condemned, or have condemned themselves to spending the rest of their lives in a dream cage?