A Holly Jolly Post

Merry Christmas to all of the fellow collectors and bloggers who happen to stumble across this post.  I hope each and everyone of you are surrounded by family, loved ones, or at the very least some beloved trading cards.  As luck would have it... I was blessed with all three.

It's been awhile since I've written a blog post, but that's been more about a busy schedule than lack of cards.  I actually have close to 1,000 cards from five or six care packages sitting in stacks scattered around my office.  The plan is to highlight some of those cards in future posts throughout the new year.

However today's post focuses on some Christmas gifts sent to me by fellow and former bloggers.  First up, SumoMenkoMan sent me another custom advent calendar this year.  There was a ton of interesting and cool items that I'll be sharing with all of you later in the week.  In the meantime, here are three Christmas related items he sent...

The first present in Ryan's advent calendar was this awesome pocket calendar from 1898.  Ironically... this calendar matches the 2022 calendar:

Yesterday's present was a sheet of celebrity Christmas post cards that included this:

Check out those bell bottoms that Bruce Lee is rocking!  Now that's a sharp dressed man.

And today's present was a complete set of Japanese women bowlers that included an autographed card.  Here's the one I pulled:

2015 BBM P League Very Merry Xmas Autograph #NNO

I don't actively follow Japanese female bowlers... but I'm stoked to add a set of their trading cards and this autograph to my collection.  If you want to see Ms. Nishimura in action, click here.

Next up are a pair of customs created by Gavin over at Baseball Card Breakdown...

If you were wondering what Benito has been up to after he retired from baseball... now you know.

And by now, I'm sure you're familiar with Gavin's 1991 Fleer cream colored customs that he's been sharing with collectors around the blogosphere.  I was blessed with this new Rickey for my collection:

There's Rickey stealing the star from someone's Christmas tree... and a Blue Jay (possibly Tony Fernandez) holding onto a giant candy cane.

Both of these will go into my Sports Card Smorgasbord binder with all of the other custom cards Gavin has sent me over the years.

Last, but certainly not least was this custom Christmas card from Wes (of Area 40):

One of the best things about the holiday season is reconnecting with people from our past.  Over the past two weeks, I've hung out with an old high school buddy, received a text message from an old neighbor from my childhood that I hadn't spoken to in over ten years, and received this signed Christmas card from a former blogger who was best known for being the most generous Jay Barker Fan in the hobby.

Thank you Ryan, Gavin, and Wes!  And merry Christmas to all... and to all a good night.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Future of the Blog

Long time, no write.  I've been thinking a lot about the future of the blog, but before I get into that... let's look at some cards...

1985 AGI Rock Star Concert Cards #8

I was driving home from Starbucks this weekend when I heard on the radio that a bunch of musicians from my childhood were going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Pat Benatar (and her husband) stood out the most and was the inspiration for this post.

In addition to making cassette mix tapes of my favorite songs back in the 80's, I spent some time creating music video mix tapes.  Benatar's Shadows of the Night was on one of them.  Have no idea the numbers, but I watched and rewatched that video a lot.  Forty years later, I still know most of the lyrics.

She's one of my favorite musicians of all-time and I'm kind of surprised it took this long for her to be inducted.

Duran Duran was the other name that stood out when I heard the list of inductees...

J2 New Wave #11

They were one of my favorite groups when I was in elementary school.  I remember asking my mom to rent the Girls on Film video at the video store and inviting my buddies over to watch it.

That was probably right around the same time I purchased my first Duran Duran album: Seven and the Ragged Tiger.  The Reflex was a memorable video with the waterfall pouring onto the crowd.  It ended up being the group's first #1 single.

According to Wikipedia, the song reached #1 on June 23, 1984.  That would have been the start of my summer break (before junior high)... which means there's a chance I was listening to this song while sitting around opening up packs of 1984 Topps baseball cards.

I never came close to completing the set back in 1984... but thanks to a fellow collector who reads this blog... I managed to complete the set build that started back in 2018.

The plan is to one day slide this set into 9-pocket pages, so I can flip through this awesome set from my childhood.  Until then, it's home will be in a traditional 800ct. box:

Thank you Regan for sending me the final forty-seven cards I needed for this set.  And thank you for checking in with me and the blog over the years.  It's much appreciated.

I also would like to take a few seconds to thank all of you who took the time to read this post.  I'm not really sure what the future holds for this blog.

The past few months have been extremely busy for me, but that's only half of the story.  The other half is that I haven't been motivated to write.  I'm hoping the passion for writing returns soon, because I haven't stopped collecting and there are plenty of cards sitting around the office waiting to be written about.

Until then... here's one more card related to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2022:

1990 Bill Pucko Utica Blue Sox #27

Morgana wasn't part of this year's class, but Dolly Parton was.

Unfortunately I don't have any of Dolly's trading cards, so I went with someone with a similar body type.

Thanks again to all of you for supporting the blog.  I will see you around the blogosphere.  Just because I'm not motivated to write doesn't mean I'm not motivated to read and comment on your posts.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara for now!

Still Alive

I'm still alive and so are the San Diego Padres.

Same story as before.  Things are hectic around here... but I actually made it a priority to watch Game 3 of the Mets and Padres series.  I didn't catch the entire game, but I watched most of it.

1999 Decipher Austin Powers CCG #138

I'm pretty stoked about the Southern California showdown... although I doubt I'll be able to watch Tuesday or Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.  I'll be checking the box scores on a regular basis though.  The Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the Padres during the regular season... winning 14 out of 19 games.  But hopefully the Padres can build on their one game win streak... and give the best team in baseball a run for their money.

It's unlikely... but a fan can dream.

As for me... I have a few posts in the works.  One is a flea market haul.  The other is a post recapping a hangout involving a Dodger fan.   I'm also hoping to write a post based on this pack of cards sent to me by Reader X: 

1999 Decipher Austin Powers CCG

He actually sent me two packs.  One went into my unopened pack collection.  The other will eventually be covered over on A Pack To Be Named Later.  Thanks Xavier!

Until my next post... let's go Padres!

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Cropped and Colorful

There is no shortage of awesome looking Nolan Ryan trading cards.  Grab ten of his base cards and there's guaranteed to be at least one card that'll catch your eye.  Today is the 41st anniversary of Ryan's 5th no-hitter... which happened to be the only no-hitter he threw while with the Houston Astros.

I figured today would be the perfect time to show off a card that's been sitting in my draft folder for over a year now...

1982 Topps #90

The rainbow uniform is the first thing that caught my eye.  But it's the well-cropped action shot that sealed the deal for me.  I knew right away that I wanted to add it to my Classic Card Collection.

I ended up landing this card on COMC back in July of 2020 for $11.56.  I know graded cards aren't everyone's cup of tea, but it's a prerequisite for that particular collection.  These days with budget cuts and inflated prices, I don't even bother hunting down new cards for this collection.  Thankfully prices have started to settle, but as a bargain hunter... I don't have any problem waiting a little longer.

Getting back to his 5th no-hitter... he threw it against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Astrodome.  Did you know that the Dodgers have been involved with the most no-hitters in MLB history?  Their pitchers have thrown 26 no-hitters (an MLB record), while their hitters have been held hitless 20 times (another MLB record)*.

*This is a prescheduled post that was written over Spring Break a few months ago, so the no-hitter facts about the Dodgers may or may not be up to date.

Here is today's question of the day...

What are your favorite Nolan Ryan base cards?

My personal favorite is one of Ryan's classic cards from the 70's...  

1971 Topps #513 

I love the well-cropped action shot with the RC Cola ad in the background.  I don't own too many cards of his, but if I could only keep one... this would probably be it.

Looking forward to hearing about your favorites.  Happy Monday and sayonara!

Tranquility & Calmness

Being an educator has a lot of perks.  One that often gets brought up by friends and family are the numerous breaks and holidays.  I typically use them to recharge the batteries and embrace a little tranquility and calmness.  Unfortunately there's nine week stretch between Labor Day and Veteran's Day where there is all work and no rest.

It's a good thing I have a few hobbies which help take my mind off of things after hours.  Obviously collecting cards is one of those things and we'll get to a couple of those later in this post.  Right now here's another hobby I began playing around with a few years ago:

Lego #10281

When I need it the most... Lego sets have provided me with tranquility and calmness.  This bonsai tree distracted me from the real world for about an hour and a half.  The best part about toying with Legos is they make great display pieces when you finish.  This set sits in my family room right next to my mom's photo.  The pair bring a smile to my face on a daily basis.

I built a few Lego sets over the past few months, but I chose to show this one off because it's related to a postcard I recently received in a care package from Reader X:

Not sure if bonsai trees and black bears have anything in common, but on the back of this postcard there's a really cool Forever stamp:

Here's a closer look:

The USPS released a set of Forever stamps in 2012 that feature five different bonsai trees.  Thanks to Xavier, I'm actively trying to hunt down one of these stamp sheets.

He's actually sent a few different care packages over the past few years.  Last year he sent me several eTopps.  Two of them feature Tim Lincecum:

2010 eTopps #6

2011 eTopps 206 #NNO

Timmy has been known to use another type of vegetation in his search for tranquility and calmness.  That's not really my thing... but these shiny cards sure are.

I'll just stick to collecting cards and building Lego sets.  I've also made plans to meet up with my friend's nephew to play 9 holes this afternoon.  Assuming my balls are flying reasonably straight... this will also help me find tranquility and calmness.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!