One Eck of an Advent Calender Closer

Hope all of you had a very merry Christmas.  Mine was filled with family, food, football... with some presents sprinkled in between.

Today's post will cover the final four days of Ryan's (aka SumoMenkoMan) annual advent calendar. 

Day #22:  Super Heat Packs

Back in 2011, Super Heat released a collectible card game for skate fans.  I picked some of these up over the years... most recently back in October and have been slowly working on the set for a decade.  I'm down to needing only twenty-four cards.  Hopefully I will pull a few from these six packs and one starter deck.

However I want to try and publish this post.  If I have some free time, I'll open these packs up when I'm finished and let you know if I'm any closer to finishing the set.

Update:  Pulled six cards from the six packs and the starter deck that I needed for my set build:

Here's what I still need:

I cannot confirm this... but I'm starting to think that all of these cards on my list are rares, because the six I crossed off my list were gold foil cards that were issued one per pack.

Day #23:  Seven Servings of Mt. Fuji

I've never been to Japan... but if I ever make it across the Pacific... Mount Fuji is on a long list of places I'd love to visit.  In the meantime... I enjoy collecting things related to the active volcano.  Ryan gave this collection a huge boost with the following six items:

Decorative Fan

Puzzle

Magnets

Phone Card #1

Phone Card #2

Eraser

Three of the items have been added to the Papa Fuji display:

Can you spot them?

Day #24:  Historic Autograph

When it comes to the sport of sumo wrestling, Ryan is the guy I turn to when it comes to knowledge of the sport... especially in regards to trading cards.  So I was very happy to see this signed 8x10 photograph of Konishiki Yasokichi show up on the 24th day.

At first, I thought this guy was the WWE wrestler known as Rikishi... but after some research I discovered that he was the first non-Japanese born sumo wrestler to reach the rank of Ōzeki... which is the second highest in the sport.  After he retired from wrestling, he released a hip-hop album in 2000 titled, KMS.  This appears to be a promotional photo for that album.

Konishiki was born and raised on Oahu... so this is a really nice addition to my Hawaii PC.

Day #25:  One Heckuva Closer

And rounding out this year's advent calendar that was custom created by SumoMenkoMan is this gorgeous on-card Dennis Eckersley autograph:

2022 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary

Aqua Refractor Auto #CPA-DE (#'d 115/150)

If he wanted to close out this calendar with one of the best closers in MLB history... then mission accomplished.

Thank you Ryan for another year of an awesome entertainment and goodies for my collection.  I truly appreciate all of the time, effort, and energy you put into these gifts.  I'm grateful to be able to call you a friend.

As for everyone else who has come along for the 2024 advent calendar ride... thank you for joining me and taking the time to read these posts.

And if you happened to miss any of them, feel free to check them out.  Here are the links:

Day #1 through #7: The Annual Advent Calendar

Day #8 through #14:  Round 2

Day #15 through #21:  Highs and Lows

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

A Quick Trip to the Islands

Over Veteran's Day weekend... I traveled 2,400 miles across the Pacific Ocean for Papa Fuji's celebration of life.

Ala Wai Canal

I've mentioned it a few times on the blog, but in case you missed it... both of my parents were born and raised on Oahu.  But they didn't meet there.  They met in Wisconsin while attending college... and spent the rest of their lives together on the mainland.  Earlier in the year, my father returned to Oahu and was laid to rest in our family's plot.

He didn't want to have a service, but thought it would be nice if we could get both sides of the family together for a small luncheon.  My siblings and I were blown away by the number of people interested in attending.  It ended up being a family reunion and an opportunity for many of us to reconnect and catch up.

One of the coolest things was seeing my mother's side of the family interact with my father's side.  It's such a small world.  One of my cousins (on my mom's side) discovered he lives just a block over from another cousin (on my dad's side).

I'm guessing that a lot of them could easily play the "six degrees" game considering the majority have lived their entire lives on the same island.

Personally... I hadn't been back in fifteen years.  It was a quick trip... but I made sure to eat saimin at Zippy's, malassadas from Leonard's, and shave ice from Shimazu's:

Here's a wallet card shot from my hotel room:

Ala Moana Hotel

Although most of the conversations at the party involved reminiscing and family related stuff... baseball made its way into a few of them.

One of my cousins asked me if I was going to continue supporting the A's after their move to Sacramento/Las Vegas.

1977 Hostess #52

I explained that I've been a fan since the 70's... so ultimately I would continue rooting for them wherever they played.

2020 Topps Chrome Refractor #160

I was also reminded that the Dodgers have a huge following in Hawaii.  I spoke with three cousins who were excited about their recent World Series win... and all three are big fans of this guy:

2024 Topps Now #1

All three of these cards were part of a PWE I received from Jim over at cards as i see them.  Thank you Jim!  Looking forward to getting together again for some burgers the next time you're in the Bay Area.

I'd also like to thank Nick over at njwv for inspiring me to purchase this card:

1893 Arbuckle's Coffee #27

Nick and I are both interested in collecting cards related to the Hawaiian Islands and the Bay Area.  Although his photography is much more artistic than mine.

Well that wraps up today's post.  The past few weeks have been really busy with this recent trip and parent/teacher conferences.  However this Saturday kicks off my Thanksgiving Break.  Although I'll be spending some time with family... the plan is to spend at least two or three quality days in the office catching up with care packages, two boxes from Sportlots, and my latest COMC shipment.

Until then... 

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Planes, Pineapples, and my Pops

Today's post focuses on some recent additions to a small collection dedicated to my father... who has been a role model and someone I've admired and looked up to my entire life.

The first card features a plane my father worked on back in mid to late 60's:

2023 Historic Autographs Flight #52

Due to the classified nature of the project, he didn't really open up about the specifics of his job.  Even my mom had no idea what he was up to.  Years later, a lot of the information regarding the plane became declassified and he was able to tell us his group focused on the INS (inertial navigation system).

I've been interested in this plane ever since... and enjoy collecting anything and everything related to it.  Back in December, Billy over at Cardboard History showed off some singles from his box of 2023 Historic Autographs Flight which features birds, planes, rockets, and drones.

After doing some research, I discovered this card was one of the short prints in the set.  I immediately headed over to eBay and picked up a few copies for a buck each.

Two weeks earlier, Nick over at n j w v wrote a post on the 1928 Players Cigarettes Products of the World set.  This card really caught my eye and motivated me to purchase a complete set:

1928 Players Products of the World #27 

Pineapples were a big part of my dad's childhood.  He grew up on a plantation and his first job was working at Dole when he was thirteen.

On one of our last trips to Costco together while he was still living in Las Vegas, they had a crate of pineapples.  That was the day he taught me how to pick a sweet one (look for the heavier ones that are golden in color and have a sweet smell on the bottom).

Happy Father's Day Pops... and to all of the other fathers out there.  Hope you enjoyed your special day.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

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!