ann

I aspire to operate on the same level AS cats.

One of the things that really puzzles me is how any of the Joker "experts" identified this as some kind of "transitional" marble. I have a half-decent knowledge of what's usually called "transitional," and this is not even in the same universe, as far as I can tell . . . And isn't this seller usually OK? I too would think he would know better . . .

Hi Cal! I heard Dave say that he thought the "it's too small" excuse might work if Beri asked him why he wasn't wearing it . . .

Thank you David . . .

Looked at a fair number of latticinios and never seen a brown lat . . . although I have an alternating red and white latticinio in which the red looks "muddy" (brownish) in halogen (flashlight) light, but true red in daylight. Go figure . . . Anyway, I'd say yours is rare, for sure --

There's something terribly wrong with Edna's camera. I'm not that fat. Really.

Keep 'em coming! Welcome back! Did I say keep 'em coming? Such a treat to see what you have -- amazing, those sealed Nestles boxes. More, please, anytime, any kind!

My hair's on fire. I think my eyeballs are going to explode. MORE!

Blood Viper it is!

Wouldn't be interested in parting with it, wouldya?

Nice joseph's coat!

The ones I've seen vary wildly -- from a fattish taffy-like piece that can fill most of the marble (kind of like a partial Akro auger) to a shoelace-sized string hanging in space, or a fragment touching the side of the marble with the rest of the marble clear. Have never seen one that could be mistaken for a wirepull, or vice-versa, if that's what you're thinking of . . . But I ain't seen all of them, or even a lot of them . . .

OK, one last digression and then I'LL quit . . . when I was a newbie it looked to me that a particular color combination -- not a particular manufacturer -- was associated with a name, and it all made perfect sense. Of course a black-and-white-striped marble was a zebra, a black-and-yellow one a bumblebee. Of course a blue, red, and yellow one was a Superman, and a green-and-yellow one a John Deer. I only got confused when people started saying NO that's not a Superman because it isn't a Peltier. I think the association of names with color combos instead of makers is instinctual . . . and I still think of them that way (yea, I have a nice honking Akro Superman corkscrew, no matter what you guys call it. I'm just not gonna call it that around you!) Is everybody that locked in to such color-based names being welded to a manufacturer? Dunno about the shape-based names, either . . . although yes, I'd prefer a new version of the cyclone to be called a tornado instead. Henceforth, I will call my Jabo cyclones/cobras tornados . . . (and sorry, even if I had a working camera, I don't have a CAC cobra/cyclone to take a picture of . . .)

If you haven't guessed already -- heads up, I'm one of these three people : I don't think they always thought it through . . . For instance, next time you see a depiction of "The Last Supper," the stuff on the table (plates, cups, knives, etc.) will be what the people were using when the picture was painted . . . not what would have been used in the first few decades A.D. in the Palestine area . . . it was also the custom there then to recline on couches to dine, Roman style, instead of sitting in chairs at a table. I've only seen one "Last Supper" that depicted it that way, and it's just an ink sketch on paper from around 1600, when artists were first getting interested in stuff from the ancient world. So . . . navels and apples. OT!

Nice nines! And stuff!

Congrats, Bubba!

Well, OK, the bells have to be glass, and you have to be real careful about what they're "on," but so far . . .

Yup. Apples didn't even grow in the Near East back then. Translation confusion; earliest texts just say "fruit" of the tree . . . confusion developed with the later (Roman period) use of the word "malus," which is Latin for both "apple" and "an evil." Hey, whaddaya expect?? How often do you think an art historian gets to chime in with one of her interesting but useless bits of information, huh?? Huh??? Not that often, I can tell ya . . . I think we're gonna enjoy each other's company, sissydear!

Got my plane ticket and my bells on!

Pretty! Wouldn't that be one of the Pennsylvania Dutch types? Never seen one in hand (too big for my self-imposed size restrictions -- thank god)

Dug out my handful (6) and all are the swirly type, opaque, fairly dark, and obviously glittery. Got them a few years ago as a group, and as "unknown." I had no idea the Alley aventurine swirls had once been identified as Peltier. Were they IDed as Peltier back when because Peltier was then thought to be the only company regularly using aventurine? Now I have to go home and compare their aventurine to the solid aventurine mibs . . . but if memory serves (and it might not!) I don't know that they're going to be significantly similar . . .

Texas marble show next week, too - - - I'm goin' . . .

Great peace offering. I'm in.