kbobam

Hey Michael! Good combination of Reg'lar Fellers, mentioned here earlier, and the 'Picture' marbles mentioned in Hansel's other post. I'm really enjoying getting historical facts about these, although I don't really expect to ever own any. There's just something about them that makes you want to know 'what's the story?' Hansel! Nice buckle, and terrific lighting and everything else in the photo! Amazing detail and almost 3D depth. Same with the Reg'lar Fellers pin/medal, but it's confusing me visually/optically. Is that 'open air' around the stars-and-stripes shield, or is it a textured gray area that looks similar to your background? Also wondering if the stripes are painted or glass. Thanks!

Oh geesh! Guess we're not the same at all! Not a hint of green in mine. And the blue isn't transparent. Didn't see the transparency in yours, which is totally my fault. Just wasn't looking closely enough. Going to blame my interpretation of the green on 'brain function' and 'circumstances', though. I ignored the green and assumed you had pure white, because of the many green marbles in the photo. It would make sense that there could be a green cast bouncing around if this was a single photograph of all these marbles in a group. Instinctive reaction. Of course with hindsight I can see now that this was not the case. Unless you have one heck of a boulder to go along with the 5/8!

Where's Paul? [Wait a minute! With my current schedule, this is like late Saturday night for me. And that just seemed like such a boring question! So I hope you'll indulge me and let me try it again in a hopefully slightly more entertaining fashion! Picture a European television commercial. Probably advertising a high-end men's fragrance, or a very fancy wine. Shot in a dreamy looking black & white, we bounce from cafe to cafe. And everywhere we go, all we see are beautiful women whispering to each other "Where eez Paul? Where eez Paul?" Yeah! That's it.] Is yours a shooter too? ( :

I don't know a single thing about this seller. But as an objective observer, it seems to me that it would be reasonable to inquire about the need for a name-change.

Thanks! This thing was about half an inch around, so the one photo is a good example of the fun of getting really up close and seeing more detail than you could otherwise. ( :

Guess this one comes under "other critters". I've always enjoyed the 'California Cows'. ( : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQfU9IYK2_c

Thanks! You're right about 'shooter' (15/16), even though the photo doesn't really give a clue. Did they not make smaller ones? Boy, I'm really glad those Rosenfeldt marbles were a gift and you're not obligated to part with them! They're just brilliant. ( :

Slightly out of round, with extended pontil.

So it looks like zaboo and Paul both have one of these too. (Page 1, posts 5 & 11) We all vary a tiny bit, but I hope I'm right in assuming that they're essentially the same. I asked about this one years ago, but I'm having brain gas, and would appreciate it if anyone would like to comment on it. I think it was Steve (a la psia-boy) who mentioned that I'd probably see some golden yellow (obvious in Paul's mib) in the black if I could get close enough. Forgot to do that, so I'm going to go 'beau-coup macro' on this sucker real soon. Will post the shot if it's halfway interesting. ( :

The silvery base is a stand-out, but with this group I don't think I'd ever be able to pick a favorite! ( :

I like the sound too, and neat video! The topic reminded me of something unusual I learned about a while back. Has anyone here heard of ASMR? Apparently a small percentage of us are capable of having what some refer to as a 'brain orgasm', just by listening to certain sounds. I'd suggest looking it up, since it's pretty interesting in a bizarre kind of way. There are piles of videos on the 'tube' for the benefit of people who can do this. I gave quite a few of these my best shot, but apparently I don't have what it takes. One thing that seemed to happen in a number of these videos was the sound of long fingernails lightly tapping on a hard surface. This seemed similar to the sound of marbles clicking, so I searched for 'asmr marbles', and sure enough, marbles seem to work for these people! (Although I think Stefan's '1000 Marble' machine would probably be a bit too much!) Here's a sample video. It's pretty much the exact same thing for 15 minutes, so don't feel like you'll be missing anything if you shut it off quickly. On the other hand, if you start feeling very relaxed, maybe you should go for it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XxK5s4TAYQ

I don't have a clue what a 'Speed Ring' is, and it's still incredibly cool! And of course the salesman box is magnificent. 'Mottled' seems like a pretty boring name for those extra flashy marbles! I think I like the 'Bisque Grays' the best. They look like some kind of exotic bird egg. ( :

I'd like to start with the disclaimer that I don't feel particularly strongly about this. But I thought I'd post some thoughts while they're fresh in my not so fresh mind. Noticed today that a 'test' post was displayed in the 'Recent Topics' area at the upper right of the opening screen. That didn't seem right somehow. I've recently come to appreciate that prominent little piece of real estate, since it's lead me to some interesting posts that I might have otherwise missed. But I sort of think the test forum should stay way down there at the bottom of the list, where it's hardly noticed. And its posts should stay there too, and be 'deleted often'. I'm grateful to have a test area, and have used it more than once. It's a nice way to make sure that your post will work the way you want it to on this particular board. But I don't want any attention called to my 'experiments', or to have a message 'broadcast' before I'm ready to post it in its proper place. What would really be great would be to have a 'nuclear delete' button for that one forum, so a person could do his test and then wipe it off the face of the earth!

Mibstified! Good point about the 'thousand words'! Kind of like a great painting or other type of art. There doesn't need to be a clean-cut message intended by the artist which you need to understand perfectly. If it gets you really thinking in any direction, it's done its job!

Could be! I did have a feeling of having seen this one before, but not quite. (Yay! Friday night! Everything I say is so crystal clear and logical!) Wait a minute. It just came back to me. I was about to ask you to tell me where the other photo was, but I'm pretty sure I remember it now. Was it in so-called 'landscape format'? The white flowers. That was magnificent! I hope I said something nice. I was very impressed by the flowers I'd never seen before, and might not have been thinking in 100% photographic terms. Unusual for me!

Paul, that's just beautiful with the perfectly placed limited area of focus. (Did you shoot that with the 400?) Overall, it looks very Japanesey to me, if that makes any sense. Mibstified's burning hot marble is, to my way of looking at things, taking more of a 'fire down below' approach to V-day. Which is another great way to see it! I remember once when I was younger and had a job delivering food, that I got kind of confused wondering why so many people were coming to their door in their bathrobes. Later that night when I figured out it was Valentine's day and put two and two together I was pretty embarrassed. ( :

Here's another nice pair of JABO Aces. One of them has been slightly modified. ( :

Thanks for the responses. I'm hoping that the "(and nicely done)" means that I don't have to feel like a total idiot. For whatever reason, I've always tended toward machine-mades. Although obviously there are ridiculously beautiful hand-mades out there. If anyone's interested, I'd like to put a vote in for a 'Pontils for Dummies' contribution. From the little I've seen about them, I guess I'm wondering: *How they come to be *One versus two *Ground or not *How a particular pontil situation affects 'perceived value' Thanks again!

O... M... G! I think I'm going to be sick. But I asked for it. Thanks! ( : Like the 'proof is in the pudding' original advertisement!

The photo below is not one of mine, but it fits the mood. Does anyone have any 'heart' marbles? A Special Bit Of Advice For The Guys: (Ladies! I'm assuming that in good faith you'll read no further!) Okay, let's be real here. Look at yourself! To put it kindly, you have your faults. (Of course I'm including myself.) The fact that your beautiful wife or partner continues to see your good points enough to want to continue to be with you makes you the luckiest guy in the world. So here's the kicker. If you actually say something like this at some point, you just might be able to get away with that gift you got at the gas station around the corner and not sleep on the couch.

Nice one! Hope it kicks butt! Have to ask one of my 'permanent newbie' questions. If savage-28's observations are correct, both the colors and the pattern are inconsistent with a hand-made. And there aren't any pontils as far as my untrained eye can see. So I'm ass-uming that the large size is what automatically puts it into the hand-made category. If this is the case, I'd like to ask everyone where they'd put the 'threshold'. What's the smallest sized marble that wouldn't even be considered as a possible machine-made? As Bartles & Jaymes used to say, thank you for your support!

Just for the sake of torturing myself, does anyone have any idea how much Hansel's beautiful box set would have gone for originally? Edit: Now that I think about it, 'how much now?' would be interesting too. ( :