Palantiri.
 
'Those that watch from afar'. According to Tolkien's lore, the seven seeing stones were brought to Middle Earth by Elendil and his sons, to keep watch & communicate across the lands. Ultimately, they proved very troublesome in deed. However, not all seeing stones have such romantic or troubled history; this 'stone' was blown with detergent by a child. Yet look inside, and you will still see figures in distant places. Photo details: Canon 350D, ISO 400, 1/320th second exposure with a Canon EF 70-200mm IS USM lens @ f-3.5.

Image taken October 11th 2008