Berryb

Just re-watched the show." Last Week Tonight" is sponsoring the Jelles marble racing tournament and is donating 5k in the name of the winner of each of the 16 weekly races to a food bank in the name of the winning team plus 20k to an international relief organization in the name of the overall winner at the end. Thanks Bruce

John Oliver- crude, foul mouthed, smart, Hilarious, Is going to sponsor a marble racing league. The league already exists but he is putting up prize money in the form of grants to food banks etc. could be interesting. I'm gonna hafta watch the show again to get the details. Thanks Bruce

Not a candy dish but a rock, Some friends of mine picked it up on the Washington coast, up on the northwest corner. They thought it would be good for marbles. they were right except it is so rough that can't put really nice ones on it. Thanks Bruce

Any idea what kind of gas is in the bubbles? Thanks Bruce

Sadly most of the good ones are in pretty rough shape, But just having new marbles to pick through is a treat. It's been a while. Thanks Bruce

I got a phone call yesterday. The lady at the junk store in Paradise had some marbles, so I went today and made a deal. Lotsa junk but a few good 'uns at least in the preliminary go through. I guess for me the best is the big ol' hand cut aggie, possibly dyed. Oddly I only had a couple of Marble Kings, now I have about 20 more. Thanks Bruce

So Pelt used opalescent glass. Only in Rainbos or can opalescent glass be found in NLRs or Perfect patches or slags. Thanks Bruce

I realize I may have opened a can of worms here (see photo of opened can), but could these be Kokomo? They look like Pelts except they are all kind of drab, until backlit then they are all opalescent to varying degrees. A couple don't do much, but most have real fire. I tried a search both here and webwide, the results were inconclusive at best. I would not have started this but I saw the full name for the Co. was Kokomo Opalescent Glass. Then the wheels started turnin'.

Any way of restoring the photos in this article? Bruce

First; my go to Vacor characteristic is an orange peel texture. So I have these, The one on the left is a 31/32nds pelt Rainbo except it is really orange-peely. The other one says Vacor, colors, oily sheen, but no orange peel that I could find even with magnification. Are these what they appear to be? Thanks Bruce

The videos keep getting better. I used to ignore anything that was not from the 2 Christiansens, Akro, or Pelt, what a fool I've been. Good job Stephen. Thanks Bruce

wish I had that problem. no new marbles in a long time. Just a guess but is the middle one a ravenswood? Bruce

arrrgh just when I think I have those pesky Vacors figured out... Although the camera did pick up some orange peel texture in the last photo that I didn't notice (or didn't look for) before. thanks Bruce

I've had these for many years. They incorporate my favorite marble color, pistachio. Actually they're a bit pale but they're in the spectrum. Bruce

I think this is the view you wanted. The crease is more defined in the photo than in reality. It is barely detectable with my thumbnail ( my go to crease detector, and crud remover). Thanks Bruce

Steph; view 1 is the polar opposite of view 3. I have the marble in hand but the camera (phone) is in Missoula with Mary Jo, so I can't do more pix for awhile. Thanks Bruce

Bumblebee; I'm just a couple of hours south in Superior (the name says it all). We're in the Flathead quite a lot. PM me, or try an e-mail. Bruce

In my recent foray into my junk jar I found the 2 marbles on the left. Then on page 2 of the Alley Agate thread in "Steph's Study Hall" I saw 3 labeled "Blue Sky" that looked a lot like them. I read that Alley Bought at least one Machine from Christiansen Agate Co. which leads me to the question: could the one on the right be CAC?( Brighter color, better definition etc.) or is it Alley as well? Or one Alley and sumpthin' else? Or all sumpthin' else? The mind reels. Thanks Bruce

Lucky Boys? Bruce

OK I'll bite, how do you know it's a Pelt, or hand gathered for that matter. Thanks Bruce

I was taking a break from gardening today when I saw a Rufous Hummingbird takin' a bath in the fountain. If you are not familiar, take my word for it , they are beautiful little creatures. Anyway it reminded me of a marble I have, so I decided to share it. It's an 11/16ths cork that's the exact same color as a hummingbird. Thanks Bruce

I have never understood why cats just naturally assume they can do puzzles. Always the same story; they march in, plonk down, then get bored and give up before adding one piece. Buce

I guess I should try to explain why I picked the mibs in the 2nd page. The 1st is a rainbo I think with lots of fractures in it, that should get it eliminated, but the cracks are all kind of scalloped, not straight like glass should break. The cracks don't show up too well in the photo. The next one is kind of drab but the base glass is kinda' parchment white and the only one I've ever seen of that color. The next is a blue snake with lots of bubbles and 2 paralell lines of white no big deal except I'm a sucker for corkscrews and I like it. The last is 2 rainbos with pistachio base glass and somewhere between coral and red on the surface. Pistachio may be my favorite marble color and not too common in rainbos. Steph; " master marble cloudy" suits. I have never heard the term but it fits. Thanks Bruce

a couple more. The top photo is big ones, the yellow cat's eye is almost 1&1/4th. also there is a beautiful Vitro (never thought I would say that). The clearies; one is too large for a game piece, but a nice lavender, the other is just a touch over 1/2 inch and shell pink opalescent glass. The top left cat's eye is the worst one I let through, about a 1/64th fleabite, but too beautiful to reject- hey it's my game I make the rules.

..yesterday so I didn't work in the garden. I went thru my junk jars and set myself a challenge. I tried to be as critical as possible and reject anything that was not ex+ or better. These are not real world beaters, they were in the junk jar after all. Lotsa Rainbos and corks and a few others. A lot of nice marbles got rejected for a flea bite. Here are some photos of some of the ones that passed.