Birthday Beauties - February

Recently inspired by Baseball Card Breakdown's custom A&G insert set, and 2016 Topps First Pitch inserts, (particularly #14 - watch for her in April, and maybe 6 & 18 so far), and my annual birthday post, I had an idea to start a series of posts that pay tribute to two gorgeous celebrity women whose birthdays fall in the current month (and shamelessly drive 20x more traffic to my site).  I think what I'll try to do is post each gal seperately on their day instead of pairing them up in the middle somewhere.  But I may fluctuate since my posting volume is what it is.
I've mapped out my list for the year.  Georgia May's has passed already, so here are the first two together...

Georgia May Foote - February 11

This British stunner starred in a BBC series called Coronation Street, and an earlier school drama Grange Hill.  I'd say they can hold a coronation to crown her the queen of Brit TV Beauties for sure.  You just can't beat blue-eyed brunettes in my book.

 

Jessica Jane Clement - February 24

Even though they're both actually British TV personalities, I'm more familiar with JJ's work in men's magazines like FHM and Nuts.  Jessica Jane apparently starred in a show called The Real Hustle.  She is much more edgy and badass than Georgia May.  Her modeling work is a lot closer to NSFW, but never quite over the line.  Another blue-eyed, raven haired vixen...

OK, I really gotta start coming up with more posts about cards.  This could get outta control....

Happy Birthday to Me, Kate and Nina!

This is actually being posted on Monday, but here is my annual birthday post.  But it's really just so I can post pics of these two lovely women.  My reads increase by about 5000% when these go up...

First, the Duchess...

And young Nina...

Super Bowl Contest - Enter NOW

Enter Now!  Deadline is my birthday, Saturday, Jan. 9 at 4PM.  Enter here.

Otherwise, stay tuned for my annual birthday posting, which is basically an excuse to post pictures of Kate Middleton and Nina Dobrev....

It's Officially Over...so SHUT UP!

A grateful Thank you to the New York Jets for finally ending the Dallas Cowboys' playoff hopes, and quieting the Dallas Hype Machine for hopefully the rest of the season.  It's been painful to listen to ESPN, the NFL Network, and other sports outlets continually beat the dead horse of Dallas playoff chances for weeks and weeks.  As Michael Irvin was quick to say on Saturday night after the 'boys 19-16 loss, it's been over for quite a while.  But you wouldn't know it by the stories every day leading up to the Jets game.  They've been pitiful for several games, but it's still "What do the Cowboys need to do to win?"  blah blah blah....
Why is it such a crisis that the Cowboys are missing the playoffs?  Because Jerrah paid for more air time?  Or for the Cowboys to play in playoff games this year?  What other 4-10 teams are these channels advocating?  None!  Where are the stories about the Chargers, Titans, Browns, 49ers?  Nowhere.   Now I know Skip Bayless, Deion Sanders, Jimmy Johnson, and Michael Irvin are big Dallas fans, but come on, do they pick all the featured topics for their channels?
God forbid that "America's Team" doesn't maintain TV ratings for the last couple weeks of the season, or don't keep selling Dez Bryant jerseys into Week 17.  It's OK, though the Patriots are still winning,  the Giants still have somewhat of a chance, and the Steelers are still in the mix.  They have the biggest revenue sources - I mean fan bases - in the league.  You would think I would mention Carolina at 14-0, but their market share is inferior and therefore irrelevant to the mass media. Want to hear about the battle for the division between KC and Denver?  Good luck.  How about the dominance of Arizona or Cincinnati this year?  Not gonna happen.  All you'll hear is more rehashing of "Tom Brady is God", Big Ben leading Steeler Nation, and how bad the NFC East is this year because Dallas and New York probably won't make it, so you can't give any respect to Washington for being in first place.

Postseason t-shirt - Cynical version

Saw the original shirt in an ad to the side of the MLB Post-Season site.  This idea came to me immediately, since I've been seeing more and more bias towards the major market teams.

Original

 

Closer to reality

I can just hear them doing that stupid chant...."Let's go Met-ros" clap clap clap-clap-clap.  Makes it even worse when the team name is only one syllable.

SET!!!

My 1959 Topps regular set is DONE!

Found three card dealers in the Amish flea market around the corner from where my pool team was shooting in the playoffs for eight ball in Dundalk, MD.  One guy had the Mantle All-Star.  Had to hit the ATM before they closed at 3PM, but I pulled it off.  Now all I need for a Master Set of '59 are some of the variations - the "no Traded" lines on the back, etc.

I'll have to fabricate a post about the purchase of the Yankees team card.  Don't remember exactly where and when that was...

In Hand!!

Now, on to 1960....!

It's Pull Tab Awareness Week!

Prevent Frag Tape!  Use Pull Tabs traders!

Go here to find out how!

 

IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!!

New custom card - 2014 Absolute Idiot Teammates to Inmates #1

Aaron Hernandez, went from a sixteen million dollar guaranteed contract (just under $40M total) playing for the Patriots, to serving a life term without the possibility of parole for first degree murder.

The sixteen million he gave up is why the card is serial numbered to 16.  Figured it had to be a low number, so that's what each card in the theoretical series would use to set the numbering.  I thought about putting a notation on the front for the money and the sentence, but I figure it will have to go on the back (which I won't attempt to mock up).

I would also make a Gridiron Gangsta for Hernandez (to continue the series started with Plaxico Burress in 2011), but I couldn't find Aaron's actual mug shot in several online searches, just pics from his indictment and trial.

I like the little touch of the Patriots and Mass Dept. of Corrections logos, and the notations below the swatches - it's always fun to come up with the scandalous "event" where the pieces supposedly come from.  I've had "concert worn leather", affair worn lingerie", and now "indictment worn shirt".

Would have liked to have done more with the background behind the pictures, but I always have trouble with the purely graphical type stuff.  I guess I'd be hired at Topps, but turned down from Upper Deck.  They usually had higher level graphics through the years.  This card design was derived from a Panini Spectra Teammates Combo Jerseys.  Unfortuately, there weren't any with Patriots on eBay at the moment.

Next in this series, Ray McDonald of the 49ers.

1959 Topps - status update - down to TWO!

Went to a show in Ephrata, PA a couple weeks ago and got my Kaline and Pierce All-Stars.  That leaves the Yanks and the Mick!

 

Free the knees!

It's spreading.

At least it seems to me it is.  The trend / tendency / craze / obsession / delusion that I thought was just confined to hipster high school students.  It's now moved on to older folks as well.

No, it's not Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, or the latest smart phone app.  It's the notion that no matter what the temperature outside, they MUST WEAR SHORTS!!

I don't know if it came from marketing, or is a derivative of the "coats aren't cool" concept, but I've observed for months now that more and more people, at least in my area in Western Maryland, appear on the streets in shorts during the cold weather.  Most of them are guys.  (I suppose I wouldn't complain nearly as much if it were mostly girls). 

I've come to the conclusion that the threshold is about 40° F.  Any time the outside temp goes to or above that level, the uncovered knees appear.  The strangest ones to me are those that come out in a full winter coat, hat, and maybe gloves, but still sporting the jogging shorts.  But the majority are dudes with hoodies or warmup jackets and athletic shorts, low socks and sneakers running around in the dead of winter.  Now, I give a pass to the guys just coming off the basketball court in the local gym, but you can usually tell if that's the case.

My theory is that they're either just running a higher metabolism, or hopped up on energy drinks or coffee, or they have some new ailment that makes their knees 20° warmer than the rest of their bodies. 

I was trying to think of what to call it.  Steamy knees?  Swelter shins?  Parched Pants?  Tropical Trousers?  Baking Britches?  I could go on...

Down to four

My 1959 set is almost complete.  With a recent eBay purchase of the Casey Stengel All-Star card, I'm down to four cards for the complete set (not counting the variations).  I need the Yankees team (#510), Al Kaline AS (#562), Mantle AS (#564) and Pierce AS, the last card in the set (#572).

I'll probably get them at the next shows, especially the Mantle.  They're too high dollar to trade for.  At some point, I'll find the other variations too - the "no traded line on back" ones.  Can't wait til the last one is in hand.  This is my favorite set of all time.

Happy Birthday to Me and Kate (and Nina!)

Shucks, I missed doing a 2014 post for my birthday that I share with the Duchess of Cambridge.  It's pretty much just a good excuse to put up her picture.
Also found another cutie that was also born January 9 - actress Nina Dobrev. 
So since I'm behind a year, here's a double shot of two beautiful women!

Trade with One Man's Junk (Wax)

Nope, I haven't dropped dead, just my posting level.  Readership has never been anything anyway, so this is pretty much for my own entertainment.

Sent a stack of 2014 Topps and some bonus Dallas Cowboys to Jeff at One Man's Junk (Wax) blog.  In return, I got two white envelope "sheet strip specials" as I call them, full of 1992 Topps baseball.  He had sent another envelope full of older Redskins a couple weeks ago.

This is our second trade.  The first time he sent me a Stephen Pearcy autograph in exchange for two Angels gamers.   Hope we keep going, though now he says he jinxed the Cowboys by trading with the enemy ~ me!

The End of the Rainbow

With my most recent order to COMC, I finally completed the full rainbow for 2004 Leaf Rookies and Stars Longevity of Priest Holmes.  Got the Gold and True Blue Parallels to finsh out the eleven card group, including nine parallels and two jersey cards.  Had to look them up on Beckett again to make sure I had 'em all.  Sure looks good in the binder.  I pulled the Regular R&S card (that lives in the page before) and the two jerseys from my GU/auto box to scan them all together.

You have (l to r from top) Regular Rookies & Stars, Emerald jersey /40, Black jersey (patch) /25, Longevity, Longevity parallel /125, Ruby /250, True Blue /249, Sapphire /199, Gold /150, Emerald /99, Holofoil /75, and Black /75.

At some point I want to recount and calculate what percentage of Priest's cards and GU/autos I currently have.  Don't think I've reached supercollector status...yet.

Tale of the tape

 Was just reading Play At The Plate blog and came across an older post about packaging cards.  Check it out here.  He outlines two of the most important things you can do as a trader to protect your cards as well as your fellow trader's sanity.  First up is using the proper tape to secure top loaders. 

 

 Please don't ever use that self-fragmenting brittle clear scotch type tape!!  Blue painters (or regular masking type) tape is much more acceptable.  It is a lot easier to remove and doesn't gum up the top loaders, which leaves them actually usable for storage and display.

But if you must use clear tape, do this:

 

Make a pull tage by folding over the end of the strip, creating a handle.  This is so much better than having to claw for an edge or snip through a piece of tape and leaving it stuck to the top loader or snap box.

Farewell 42

Mariano Rivera closed out his All-Star appearances last night.  I won't repeat what has been well documented about the game.  Didn't actually see it except at a distance.  I figure I made out OK since I missed Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Gotta respect a guy who pitches with such consistency and longevity, even for a Yankee.  Bonus points for rockin out to Metallica when he enters a game.

1949 Bowman Ken Venturi

Geez, nothing like posting every six months or so....

Anyway, I was just watching the Feherty show with the late great Ken Venturi, who had a short ten year PGA golf career (1956-1967), and was the revered broadcaster for CBS for so long before his retirement in 2002.  Venturi passed away on May 17 of this year.
At one point in the interview, Venturi mentioned he had been offered a contract by Lefty O'Doul of the New York Yankees in 1949 at the age of 18.  He turned them down when he “ found out they live a lot better at country clubs than they do in dugouts.”

That gave me the inspiration for the card above.  What might his card have looked like had he forsaken golf for baseball?  I merged an old picture of Ken and Phil Rizzuto.  Then colorized the face and cropped it to size.  Had to cull the nameplate and PSA label name from a few different cards.

Tribute to 1965 Topps tall boys

I've had most of the pieces for this one for a good while, just never finished it.  Since Topps revived this design for a mini set in their 2012 offering, I figured it's a timely choice.  I actually considered using it before the set came out.  Simple enough design.  Just have to find two cards with all the right letters and then crop and blot out the background of a good photo, which was hard to find in Priest's case.  Not a lot of helmetless pics of him out there.  Solid background makes this one real easy.  Just had to raise him up so he was closer to the team name and extend the jersey down a little....

Happy Birthday Dutchess and me! 2013

Happy Birthday to (pregnant) Kate Middleton!  As I mark my 46th year, along with Bart Starr, Jimmy Page, Bob Denver, Crystal Gayle, Richard Nixon, Dave Matthews, Chad "formerly Ocho Cinco" Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Dick Enberg and Muggsy Bogues.

2012 Topps series 2 inserts tweaked

Four posts (and six months) ago, I took the Panini inspired designs of the Topps flagship inserts and tweaked them to look like they were meant to be normal cards instead of relic autos missing the swatches and signatures.  Here's my take on series 2.

The Mound Dominance inserts aren't bad.  The logos could use a bit of growth or something, but I guess they were intended to hit the center of the strike zone.

A Cut Above inserts are actually that - a step above most of the lackluster stuff that came with this set.  Nice die-cut shape and full pictures with text that's just the right size.

Career Days are not so lucky.  There's a big team colored area on half the photo that just basically throws the balance of the whole composition off.  They look like this:

Sorry, no sig for you!  Looks like there was a gunfight just between home plate and the on-deck circle that they couldn't clean up by game time.

Why not just make a properly balanced card like this?  Now I know the photo may not be from that particular game, but what guarantee do we have that the one above IS?   I will admit that I like the daytime photo better for the lighting and contrast behind the logos, but it's the layout that's got to go.

Oh, and did you see DiMaggios?  It's the same photo that was used in Gypsy Queen and Marquee.