I believe the children are our future...

The new year is just around the corner and I'm looking forward to a positive, happy, and productive 2013.  Because truth be told... 2012 was emotionally one of the roughest years of my life.  But thankfully, I had three great outlets that helped me get through the year:  friends/family, this hobby & blogworld, and my job.

I'm a middle school teacher and I can't imagine having a better job.  I teach a class the focuses on building character and motivating students to become productive members in our society.  And I have to say, that for the most part... my students have great attitudes and are bound for greatness.

One of my students recently won our district art contest and during his free time in class, he drew this sketch for me:

What's insane is the amount of time it took him to draw it.  He started it last Friday and gave it to me on Tuesday.  However, he spent less than 30 minutes on the actual drawing.  It's truly amazing the talent some people are blessed with.

It's amazing how artistic some of these students are.  Here are two more pieces that were given to me by students in the past year:

Some people were born to write.  Others were born to play sports.  I'm not sure if any of the above students will become famous authors or athletes, but if they decided to focus on art... sky's the limit.

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Blog Trade #25: Coot Veal and the Vealtones

If the world is coming to an end today, then I want to hurry up and thank Dhoff over at Coot Veal and the Vealtones for being a great trader.  Earlier this month, he approached me about a 2008 SPx "Winning Trios" memorabilia card of Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen, and Ivan Rodriguez that had been sitting in my trade bait.  

A few emails later, we finalized a deal where I sent that card along with a few Detroit Tigers & Cal Ripken Jr. oddballs for the following:

2005 Upper Deck "Classic Moments Jersey" #TG

This is the 42nd memorabilia card of my favorite baseball player of all-time.

2001 Upper Deck Decade "1970's Game Bat" #BRH

I had never heard of Ron Hunt until I saw this card in Dhoff's trade bait, but knew I wanted it because it was a cool looking memorabilia card of a old school Expos player.  Hunt played for the Expos from 1971 to 1974 and was known for getting hit by pitches.

In addition to these two cards, Dhoff threw in a huge stack of cards that fit into several PC's:  Munson, Carlton, Maddux, Gwynn, Jordan, Suzuki, Surfers, and Oakland Athletics.  

Here are some of my personal favorites:

Thanks for the trade Dhoff.  Assuming we survive the end of the world, I look forward to future trades with you.

Happy Friday and sayonara!

"The World's Best Bobble Head"

My name is Fuji and I'm a bobbleholic.

Do you suffer from this disorder too?  Well if you have ever purchased a bobble head of Mr. Mint and he's not a relative or family friend, then the answer is definitely "yes".

If you're not familiar with Alan "Mr. Mint" Rosen, then I encourage you look him up on the internet.  No spare time?  No problem.  I'll summarize him in twenty-two words.  He's the card industry's version of a used car salesman, who is the self proclaimed most recognized figure in the (card) industry.

Personally... I'm not a fan of arrogance, nor am I a fan of Mr. Mint.  So why the heck would I buy a bobble head of him?  Let me repeat myself... I'm a bobbleholic.

A few weeks ago, I found it for $6.25 (free delivery) online and for the price... had to have it.

From what I've read on the internet and on the box, these were given out by Mr. Mint himself at his table in 2002 at The National in Chicago.

As a bonus, he even autographed the box.  Well... at least I assume it's his autograph.  And if that wasn't enough, there was even one of his baseball cards inserted inside of the box:

Not bad right?  Especially when it's supposedly:

Maybe I should start proclaiming myself as the author of The World's Best Chubby, Japanese-American Sports Card Blogger in the Bay Area Who Owns The World's Best Bobble Head.  Nah... who am I kidding?

The real question is...

If you owned a bobble head of this guy, what would you do with it?

Blow it up?  Use it as a paperweight?  Draw tattoos on his head?

Seriously... I have no idea what I'm going to do with it.  But one thing is for sure... I have no buyer's remorse, because my name is Fuji and I'm a bobbleholic.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Little Orphan Dickey

What happens when you're a pitcher who has his breakout season at the age of thirty-eight and ends up winning the NL Cy Young Award?  Well a few things happen.  You get shipped off to Canada where you'll be playing for a contender in 2013.  And... people start checking their commons boxes to see if they own your rookie card.

That's exactly where I found this:

It's R.A. Dickey's 1997 Bowman Chrome International parallel.  I know it's not his rookie card, but I've always been one of those collectors who actually likes rookie card parallels.

There's not a lot of upside in terms of value for this card, since he's at the tail-end of his career.  But... who cares?  For years, it was crammed into a box with thousands of other commons... unprotected and forgotten.

Now it has a new home that includes a penny sleeve, a toploader, and a team bag for protection.  As the proud owner, I promise to treasure it and never leave it feeling neglected again.

What are some of your famous common card box finds?

Happy Monday and sayonara!

It's not always rainbows & butterflies...

Here are a pair of records I'm sure Dickey doesn't want:

Most Wild Pitches (Inning) - 4 (5th Inning on 8/17/08)

Most Home Runs Allowed (Game) - 6 (4/06/06 vs. the Detroit Tigers)

And since I'm being a Negative Nancy, what's up with Pete Carroll in Seattle... what are you trying to do buddy?  Do you want the Seahawks to be America's Most Hated Team?  You're up by 30 in the 4th quarter and you decide to run a fake punt?  Not cool.  At least you sort of apologized.

Then there's Mason Crosby missing two more field goals yesterday.  Eight consecutive games.  You've missed a field goal in eight consecutive games?  That has to be some kind of record... right?

I know I'm just a spectator who doesn't have a clue what it takes to be an NFL coach or player... but I'm also a fan who buys your memorabilia and like most fans wants to watch good football.

Okay... enough ranting... looks like somebody is moody and needs a nap.  Sayonara!

Nifty 90's Nostalgia #10: 30th Anniversary Spider-Man Comics

On August 10th, 1962 Spider-Man made his first comic book appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15.  Thirty years later, Marvel celebrated his 30th Anniversary by producing four special hologram covers for collectors to chase.

Like a lot of collectibles in the 90's, these comic books were massed produced... which means they're still very affordable.  I was able to build the set for under $5.  

It started earlier this year, when I found 3 of the 4 comics at the flea market for a dollar each.  Last month, I won the final comic in an eBay auction for $1.95 shipped.

So without further adieu... I introduce to you my 30th Anniversary Spider-Man hologram cover set:

Spider-Man #26

Web Of Spider-Man #90

The Spectacular Spider-Man #189

The Amazing Spider-Man #365

Unfortunately, I haven't read any of these... so I can't comment on their storylines.  However, I personally think this is a must have if you're a fan of holograms and cool comic book covers from the 90's.

Happy Anniversary Spider-Man!  Here's to another 50 years.

I hope all of you have a great weekend.  Happy Saturday and sayonara!