Multiple Intelligences

On the third day of school, my students and I took a multiple intelligence assessment.  It's basically is a survey to help people gauge their strengths and interests among different intelligences.  Most of my results were spot on.  I scored low in the "musical & rhythmic" intelligence... which makes sense since I can't carry a tune and have never learned to play any musical instruments.  My strengths were "interpersonal" and "logical & mathematical" intelligences.  In other words, I tend to be good at solving "personal conflicts" and "logic problems".

The one category I scored higher than expected was "visual & spatial" intelligence.  According to the handout we used... people who score high in this category have a high capacity for "conceptualization" and "spatial reasoning"... and might be interested in pursuing careers along the lines of engineers, artists, pilots, surgeons, fashion designers, or architects.

There was a time in my life when I thought I'd be an engineer, but anyone who knows me on a personal level knows that the other careers listed are not even in the same realm of my interests... or strengths.

Someone told me when I was young that I was too short to ever become a pilot, so that idea was squashed early.  Surgeon?  No way.  Not a fan of blood, nor could I live with that kind of pressure.  Fashion designer?  Uhh... I wear t-shirts, cargo shorts, and flip flops 95% of the year.

And although I have a deep appreciation for art... that subject area has never been a strength of mine.

That's why I'm always a little jealous when bloggers show off their custom card making skills.  Not only do I lack the creative ability to pull off such creations... I also lack the computer skills.

Luckily... two of these bloggers have shared their creations with me several times over the years.  Recently I was a recipient of a few more.

Let's start off with a pair of "bubble" cards created by Gavin over at Baseball Card Breakdown.  They feature my two favorite baseball players of all-time:

2022 Bubble Gum Baseball #4

First up is Mr. Padre.  Gwynn was known for using chewing tobacco... but this card captures him blowing a bubble on the bases.  

Gavin doesn't mess around.  He did his homework and discovered exactly where and when the bubble was blown.

Rickey is next...

2022 Bubble Gum Baseball #2

This photo depicts Rickey at the plate as a New York Yankee on May 14, 1989.

It's always hard to see him as a Yankee... but Gavin mentions he was traded back to the Oakland A's less than a month later... where he went on to help them win a World Series title.

He also tossed in these two customs:

2022 Wthballs Series 10 #145

2022 Wthballs Series 10 #149

These were actually created by Gio over at When Topps Had Balls.  He produces, prints, and sells his customs over on his blog.  I'm guessing Gavin bought some and these two Athletics didn't fit his collection.

Love that Bando!  And I never would have known that Morgan was drafted by or played for the A's had I not seen that card.

There's one more card from Gavin that I want to show off.  But before I do, check out this gorgeous custom that Gregory over at Nine Pockets sent me:

2022 Nine Pockets Battle of the Bands #4

Okay.  If you're not familiar with the story behind this card and the other cards he produced... then do yourself a favor and click here.  Seriously.  You won't be disappointed.

Over the summer Gregory had a series of Battle of the Bands posts... where he took 4 rock bands from the United States and 4 from the United Kingdom... and had them battle each other until one band remained.

The creative writing was just as impressive as this Van Halen trading card that's based on the 1974-75 Topps basketball team leader cards.  If you are a fan of 70's rock, I'm encouraging you to take a few minutes out of your schedule to check it out.  Just make sure to come back, because there's one more awesome card I want to share...

Baseball Card Breakdown Sketch Card 1/1

Fan-f'n-tastic.  The talent behind this sketch card and the unique canvas just blows my mind.

Thank you Gavin... and thank you Gregory for showing off your mad skills and sharing your fantastic creations with the community.

If you ever need help solving a logic problem or an issue between some people, hit me up.  I make zero guarantees.  But according to the multiple intelligence assessment I took... I might be of assistance.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Revised an Old Challenge

Four years ago, Daniel over at It's like having my own Card Shop introduced the blogosphere to the Five Minute Post.  He'd set a timer on his phone for five minutes and hit publish when the timer was up.

I knew right away that there would need to be some modifications to the rules if I were to come close to completing this task.

1st:  Five minutes is not enough.  Fifteen is much more realistic, but still a huge challenge.

2nd:  Scanning, uploading, and arrangement of any images would not be included in the time.

3rd:  The time it takes to research, write, edit, revise, and format any text will be included.

Everyone writes at different paces.  Personally... most of my posts take 30 to 120 minutes from start to finish.  Heck... the introduction alone has taken me close to 20 minutes to write.  Obviously I won't be counting these minutes as part of today's challenge.

Okay... enough chit chat.  Timer set.  Let's write...

Gavin over at Baseball Card Breakdown sent me a package last week with a few different cards.  One of them I plan to write about this Thanksgiving.  The other five were customs I'll share in a future post.  Which left this insert from the mid 2000's:

2004 Donruss Elite Career Best #CB23 (#'d 0707/1000)

This shiny insert celebrates Giambi becoming the fastest player in Oakland history to reach 100 RBI's in a season.  He accomplished the feat on 8/12/2000.  After a quick peek on Baseball Reference, I discovered that reached that mark in his 115th game of the season.

That got me wondering... how does that compare to this season's RBI leaders?  Aaron Judge was the first person to drive in 100 runs this season.  He accomplished the feat on 8/12/2022... exactly twenty-two years after Giambi did it.  The key difference is it only took him 109 games to do it.

By the way... Pete Alonso was the second player to reach the century mark.  He did it last Friday in his 120th game.

Okay... I'm already at the 11 minute mark... and I'm guessing it'll take me more than 4 minutes to format the text.  So I'll wrap things up here.

Thanks Gavin for the care package.  I'll show off the rest of the goodies in future posts.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

By the way... I failed to write this post in 15 minutes or less.  But I was close.  The time above included all of this:

It didn't include the introduction (where I wrote the guidelines) or this brief writeup.  Overall... this post took a little under an hour to write.  The good news is the next time I attempt this challenge, I can just copy and paste the explanation to this challenge and the guidelines.

And just a heads up... with my hectic schedule, fifteen minute posts are probably going to be more common than not.

Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono

The Hawaiian Islands will always be special to me.  It's where my parents were born and raised.  And it's where dozens of family vacations were spent during my childhood.  Every now and then we'd visit Maui, Kauai, or the Big Island... but the bulk of the trips involved Oahu.  That's where most of my relatives live and that's where most of my memories are from.

Sixty-three years ago, Hawaii joined the Union and became the 50th state.  In celebration of this special day, I thought it'd be cool to write about five items in the collection that are related to Hawaii.

#1:  1959 Hawaii Statehood 7¢ Stamp

This stamp was part of a care package that Steve at 1975 Baseball Cards sent to me back in 2018.  Figured this was the perfect item to kick off this post.

#2:  2000 Upper Deck Hawaii Trade Conference Hawaiian Worn Shirt #KY

Nothing says Hawaii... like a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt.  As for the guy featured on the card... that's Kit Young.  Who's Kit Young?  Uhh... not really sure, but he has a website with a card catalog.

#3:  1989 Longs Drugs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors #7

Aloha Mr. Elam.  Kickers need love too.

#4:  1982 TCMA Hawaii Islanders #10

Did you really think this card wouldn't be a part of this post?

#5:  2009 Topps American Heritage #121

I probably should have led off with this card, but I thought the stamp had more visual appeal.

Anyways... this card celebrates the same thing this post is celebrating.

Here's one more card related to Hawaii:

1974 Topps #408

This Hough arrived in my mailbox back in July.  Elliptical Man routinely sends me cards for my Damaged Card PC.  There were two other damaged cards in the PWE, but this card is the only one I added to the binder.

I'm a big fan of miscut cards.  The more miscut, the better.  But that's not the only reason this card is binder-worthy.

Hough spent twenty-five seasons in the MLB.  He had 216 career wins (and 216 career losses) and struck out 2,362 guys.  He was the first starting pitcher in Florida Marlin's franchise history and was the last active player born during the 1940's.  In other words, he's not your average common.

And while examining this card I noticed that Mr. Hough was born in Honolulu... just like my parents.  The funny thing is... when he was born, Hawaii was still eleven years away from becoming a state. and eleven years away from them adopting the motto,  "Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono" which means "the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness".

Aloha Elliptical Man!  Thank you for the Hough!  Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Candid, Action, and Posed

Whether or not it's a beautiful sunset, puppies in action, abandoned barns, or vintage sports cards... photography has always brought a smile to my face.  That's why when it comes to favorite cards, one of the first things I consider is the photograph.

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #1

In a perfect world, I'd be showing off my favorite cards from the 2020 Stadium Club set... which is loaded with beautiful photography.  But over two years after its release, I still haven't been able to track down a reasonably priced set on eBay.  So the 1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbos will be filling in.

The oversized set (3.5" x 5.25") contains 48 cards and came in its very own storage box.  I have no idea where or when I purchased this set, but after taking a quick peek inside (and seeing that Griffey)... I was very pleased with the discovery.

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #43

The set is broken down into two parts.  The first 42 player cards utilize Walter Iooss Jr. photography, while the final six cards commemorate historic baseball events dating back to the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings.

The majority of his photographs are zoomed in portrait shots like the Ripken and Bonds:

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #15

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #35

That's not necessarily a bad thing, because Iooss has a way of making them come off as artistic.  Plus the card backs feature an additional photograph:

I love this "Endor" card of Bonds running to his spot out in left field.  Here's a closer look:

There are also posed shots, like Gwynn sitting in the dugout...

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #17

And candid shots like The Big Unit on the phone...

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #20

Or Kirby showing off his trademark smile...

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #14

There's even a bat rack photograph for the handful of bloggers with mini collections...

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #24

Anyone familiar with me... knows my favorite photographs are well-cropped action shots like the David Justice...

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #33

But the coolest Iooss photo in this set is on the back of Mike Piazza's card:

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #31

Here's a closer look...

Now that's a sensational sunset card if I've ever seen one.  Looking at photography as beautiful as this makes me as giddy as Ramon hanging out with his bro...

1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbo #32

So if you enjoy photography as much as me, you might want to consider picking up a copy of this set.  They're way more affordable than 2020 Stadium Club sets.  But just remember... they aren't your standard sized cards (for those who dislike oversized cards).

Happy World Photography Day and sayonara!