kbobam

Not quite as bad as it sounds. Pretty much the closest part of WV to me. And as you're getting close you cross over big rivers with big rocks, and there're huge mountains on all sides. It was just crazy beautiful country. ( :

The nearest work I could find today was in West Virginia. Unfortunately there was no time for anything 'marble'. Just got back, with a comfortable 5 minutes to spare!

To be honest, I had to look up 'clambroth'. Wherever it was I found a definition, it was mentioned that most have a milky base, but that some rarer ones can be colored transparent. Figured your photo was one of those.

I'd probably put lemon butter all over them. People would be appalled. I like it!

I don't usually have titles, but of course this one was "In Vitro".

I always enjoy the old advertisements. Although the pricing can really get you going on a daydream where you go back in time and buy lots of stuff. ( :

Another thanks for the link! And the 'relativity' of the Golden Rebel was interesting too. That's always been my go-to marble if I want to refer to a rare one. Might have to re-think that! ( :

♪ Do the Flip-Flop! ♪ Now we must dance! I also appreciate the explanation here. ( :

If I die from laughing in the next few minutes, I won't mind! As great as Stefan's last 'juxtaposition' was, Steph will have to come up with a new adjective for this one! ( :

Have to assume that Gnome Punter is referring to the 'respected' Bob and not me. Almost not worth mentioning, but since I've already appeared in this forum and the Bob who really knows marbles hasn't, I just wanted to say it. I like the 'written in stone' concept. It wouldn't prevent people from pushing it to the limit, and probably beyond, but at least there would be a basis from which arguments could be more efficient.

Absolutely "a little more special"! And a perfect excuse to find a 'Raelynbo' done in the traditional manner! (If you don't already have one) You have to have one to show people the distinction!

Thanks! This shot is an old bottle spewing marbles. I don't know why. But maybe that's a good thing.

OMG! (And I don't use teenage terminology lightly!) I recently said that a marble posted here was the greatest marble I've ever seen. I stand corrected. This one is just too much. I'm having massive flash-backs now of all the great art I saw as a young boy in the late 60's and early 70's. And just look closely at the second picture! This marble is so in-tune with 'cosmic forces' that it actually made the reflections of the lights appear to have 'have a nice day' smiley faces in them! (That may be a coincidence, but seriously, the marble is blowing my mind.)

Please let me know if I'm wrong, but even with no knowledge of this type of marble, I'm having a problem with the original auction. I'm looking at twelve pictures, and I don't see how it's physically possible for all of them to be the same marble.

Because of the light reflections, these look like 'smileys' to me. #1 doesn't really work. But: #2 is definitely angry and/or dissapointed, and #3 and #4 are happy and possibly drunk. ( :

Hey, Mark! I've always liked your auctions. The fact that you worry about them is probably a big part of why they're good. So if you really want to pick nits, the only thing I can think of is that the focus could be adjusted a little in the close-ups of single marbles. (It's not bad, but it sounds like you 'strive for perfection'!) If you look at the 'weave' of your background material, you can see that the perfect focus is just a little bit behind the marble. Since the center of the marble is technically the closest thing to your camera, what you want to see is a section of the weave in perfect focus just in front of the marble. This will look like it's below the marble in the photo. The first thing to try in this situation is to back-up from the marble a little bit. You'll have to crop the photo a little more, but it'll be worth it. There are other approaches too, but I don't want to bore you and everyone else unless you particularly want to hear them. Close-ups put you in a very strange world. The only rule is that there are no rules!

I'm assuming zaboo is serious about the tin. Although I utilized it in making an overall joke about the auction, I really like it too. (You have to scroll down to see the good pictures of it.) To me the graphics have a sort of 'secret society' look to them. Very neat. ( :

Thanks Winnie! Great marble. The second view looks like there's a another blue and white marble inside an orange-striped one! I was wondering something about Steph's Akro last night, but wasn't quite sure what it was. Think I have it now. Want to know if that marble in-hand would look pretty much like it does in the photo. There's something about the colors that's both 'bold' and 'pastel' at the same time. It made me wonder if 'cranking up the contrast' would make it less or more accurate. Maybe the way this one is making my brain waves go back and forth is exactly what makes it special. ( :

Holy cow. That's a real jaw-dropper!

I don't have a lot of personal experience with this, but another tidbit I thought of later relating to some of this pronunciation stuff is 'amen'. I'm thinking in most formal church situations the 'ah' sound is used, but in your 'livelier' congregations and almost everyone's day to day talk, it's the 'ay' sound. I'm convinced however things are done in the 'house' you're in is the right way! ( : ♪ And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right Where I belong I'm right Where I belong. ♪

Talk about 'calm, cool, and collected'!

Huh! Good point about so-called synonyms. 'It's all Greek snow to me!' doesn't mean that other people don't recognize important distinctions.

This is completely insane! I'm very impressed!