Night Owl Cards

  Life is still too busy and full of upheaval, even with getting some tasks out of the way. I just finished and filed my Beckett magazine story so hopefully I'm done with that (and hopefully it reads well). But there is still far too much happening.   That doesn't mean I'm not collecting. Cards still come to the house ("stuff I need to blog" is really stacking up). Today the weird Topps High Numbers "Team Quads" insert of the Dodgers arrived. These are a riff on the 1975 rookie stars cards except the title here should be "Team's Four Most Marketable Players".   I also found time for the monthly card show today. I skipped it last month after going to shows on back-to-back weeks in April.   I was in a casual mood and you could tell shoppers were getting into summer mode as it was rather light (still people bopping you with their pelican case things). I hoped that I could find a Hank Aaron or Steve Carlton for my 1969 Topps chase, but no luck ...

  On Friday, I published post number 5,750 on Night Owl Cards.   It's not a number as nice-and-round as others, but it prompted me to do something I haven't done for the previous milestone posts. Every time I reach a round-number total and write about it here, someone always comments that the total is actually larger because of the various set blogs I've run. So I decided this time, for the first time, to total them all up.   Including this post, it comes to 8,268 total when adding the 1971, 1975, 1985 Topps and 1993 Upper Deck blog totals. I've got some posts on "A Pack To Be Named Later" but I'm not sure how many and I don't have time to search them out and add them.   Which brings me to the point of this post. You've probably noticed I have slowly decreased the number of times I post in a week/month. That's been going on for awhile but has noticeable decreased since last summer. That is completely due the increased workload at my job, in whi...

  A little more than two months ago I added this 1952 Topps Duke Snider to my collection during a card show.   That apparently woke me up out of my indifference over the 1952 set. No, I'm not attempting to collect it. I'm not even looking to add all of the Dodgers in the set.   But at some point after getting the Snider, I decided to see what I could do about getting the rest of the low-number Dodgers.   Just the other day one of those cards arrived.    This is such an odd card. Jim Russell had not played for the Braves for three years when this card was issued. He was with Brooklyn in 1950 and 1951, and in '51 he appeared in just 18 games with the Dodgers, spending most of the season with Triple A Montreal. He wouldn't appear in another major league game.   His obvious Braves hat and uniform is also the reason that it was one of the last '52 Dodgers I looked to get. He doesn't look like a Dodger at all!   Condition is not a requirement with addin...

  Yesterday my vehicle received four brand-new tires. It was long overdue. I hadn't changed them since I bought it four years ago, and it had been hovering over my head for awhile now.   You know how it goes. Tires are expensive -- everything is. And people who aren't made of cash are always pushing it. But I don't like the chaos in my brain of the multitude of unfinished tasks, and when something is accomplished -- even something as mundane as new tires -- I feel that endorphin rush, that rush of "Done!" Finally, something I can cross of The Massive List.   This is something that translates easily to the hobby, especially if you are some sort of completist, as I am. I like finishing sets, large flagship sets in particular, but also team sets, and sometimes a mini insert set, when I need a fix fast.   There is no better feeling in the hobby for me than finishing a set, yelling "Done!" in the privacy of my own home as I slip the final card into the binder...

In general, I try to avoid cards with flaws. I'm not into grading so I'm not obsessed with centering, etc., but I do like cards with as few flaws as possible.   I definitely try to skip cards with creases or ones that are written on or drawn upon. Any card that has been altered by something other than good old wear, I try to avoid. But there is one well-known flaw that really doesn't bother me that much. In fact, when I realize a card has it -- because sometimes it's tough to tell -- I get a fuzzy nostalgic feeling.     This card has it. Do you know what it is? I was going through my 1979 Topps football extras to send to Cardboard Junkie in a deal when a slight touch of the card gave me that rush. If you look carefully at Steve DeBerg's back elbow, the arm holding the football, you can spot it.   It's the gum stain. For me, it's the most innocent card stain there is. Normally, me and stains on cards are mortal enemies. I can't stand seeing them, I've...

  My first COMC order of the year came in today. I've settled into averaging out to two COMC orders a year. It used to be more than that, but there are more options now and also COMC prices have been unreasonable in many cases for several years, so I've been forced to comparison shop.   My first order of the year is usually smaller than the one that often shows up in the fall. But both orders usually show how scattered my interests are. I read stories about collectors working on some super-focused, often highly unattainable pursuit and only that pursuit . Every time, I am filled with feelings of admiration/envy (wish I could do that) mixed with feelings of relief (glad I chase more than one thing!).   This order is very much this-and-that. It took almost exactly a month to show up, which is fine, though I was expecting earlier based on the lightening speed from several months ago.     One of the first items I put in my cart were the last two Dodgers I needed fro...