Night Owl Cards

  Last week I bought a blaster of 2024 Topps with the cash that I didn't spend at the card show that I went to at the start of the month.  That doesn't sound like the smartest of moves -- save that cash for something vintage you want! -- but I've been living my card-purchasing life online for the last month-plus and it's getting tired. I needed to buy in person.   I had planned to add some Heritage but it wasn't there. I could have missed it because there were two guys dominating the space talking about their next Magic thingy and I had to squeeze past them. But I was happy with the '24 Topps.     Some of the highlights, there were others that I needed, too. There were also many, many dupes, so I won't be getting any more retail. It's all about Heritage now anyway. (If I was MLB commish, I would reinstate real extra innings first and ban public displays of unnecessary ballplayer yelling next). I did pull my first autograph of the year. This was appropria

  I've already mentioned a couple times how April has been a pretty poor month for me buying cards in person. From missing three easily attended card shows to not coordinating my trips with the random hours of the card shop in town, April's been filled with blown opportunities. I'd say thank goodness the month is coming to an end, but I've been dreading Responsibilities May ever since the year started so I don't expect a lot of card goodness happening next month either.   Fortunately, other card collectors don't seem to be having the same problem. And, I'm rather humbled (and a bit sheepish) that they are remembering me in the process of finding cards that I should be finding.   The latest example is from Cardboard Catastrophes . Everything he sent in an envelope is exactly what I am hunting for when I'm actually getting myself to a show or shop. In other words: 1970s ODDBALLS!!!!   Crikey. This is what I need to be getting off my butt for -- Hostess car

  A couple of weeks ago I added the first 2024 card to my night card binder. It's this Reds card, which I slipped into the No. 133 slot. It reminded me that I've planned to show off my night card binder on this blog for a couple of years now. I'm not sure how exciting that is to readers, but it has a two-fold purpose; it helps catalog what I need to fill holes in the binder -- there are a lot of holes. It also might spark me to add cards more often as the binder's been stagnating lately. I don't expect anyone out there to spot a night card and then turn it over to the back to look at the number to see if night owl needs it. But I've seen stranger things on this blog, so why not.   I'm going to show the first 12 pages in the binder. I'll pick up the rest of the pages here and there as part of a random continuing series for you to ignore at your leisure.   Page 1 starts now:   This is as rock-solid of a page that I could produce. It contains all kinds of f

  One of the technological improvements of our era that may not really be an improvement is the constant notifications about your purchase. If you've ordered online, you know what's coming: a deluge of updates about the status of your order. It often goes something like this: Thank you for your purchase! Order confirmed/received Order packaged Order shipped! (Long pause, that lasts anywhere from three days to three weeks or more) Order out for delivery Order delivered As a veteran of requesting things through the mail -- I've been doing this since the method was cutting order forms from cardboard cereal boxes -- I don't need nearly that many updates. In fact, it gives me slight anxiety to get all those. And the times when I'm informed that the order has been delivered and it has not, well, is there anything equally inconsequential that's better at putting you in a foul mood for the day?   I've periodically longed for the days of waiting four-to-six-to-eight

(I am vacationing this week, which usually means more time for blog posts. But all that extra time makes me feel like avoiding blog posts. Why is that? It's time for Cardboard Appreciation, but it's going to be a short one. This is the 338th in a series): I received a two-card envelope from The Collective Mind a short time ago. Both cards were Dodgers of the vintage type, both former want list material. I did own the 1961 Post Maury Wills card already but this one is unmarked, whereas the other one I received 12 years ago had some updates. At the time of receiving the "updated" card, I mentioned that I appreciated this kind of an update. Wills had an exceptional 1962 season and whoever owned this card absolutely had to get that season down in writing and where better than on the man's own card. It's all there in ballpoint pen -- games played, at-bats, hits, home runs, RBIs and batting average -- from the fabled 1962 season (nothing about his then-record 104 s

  Well ... not exactly. Cards are always on my mind, even if I'm not physically present with them or writing about them. I traded cardboard success for family bonding success over the weekend. That's an even swap but you don't want to read about ducks and piggies. So I'll reveal the ugly card details and show some shoulder-shrug cards before getting out of here and refocused on hobby things.   I managed to skip not one but two large card shows near me over the weekend. This isn't my fault or anyone else's except for whoever decided that schools in this area would get this week off instead the first week in April like what usually happens (my personal vacations are often tied to school vacations -- and I cannot wait until that's no longer a thing).   To compensate, I stopped by a hobby shop in a nearby mall where I was staying and then a flea market on the way home. I managed two cards for my collection, one from each place. Two Panini-themed Dodgers, which i