Night Owl Cards

OK, the box is ordered, the Gint -a-Cuffs entry form is filled out and mailed, the binder is prepared. All that's left is the agonizing wait. It's Allen & Ginter month. This is the second year that I will be collecting the Allen & Ginter set, but all of the excitement of last year remains. I cannot wait to get my hands on some 2009 cards. And because of that, I ordered up a hobby box for the first time since returning to card collecting. This is the best set of the year. Easily. It's well-thought-out. It has character. It's quirky. It's amusing. It's artistic. It's well-made. It's difficult to complete, but not exceptionally so. If I were to set out to make a baseball card set, I would like to think that this is something that I would produce. It's something I'd aim for anyway. I hear people say it's getting stale, that it needs to be altered or even scrapped. I don't know where that comes from. There are plenty of col...

It turns out I seriously bollocksed just about everything having to do with Sunday's "card show that never was." First of all, I should have made an attempt to drive through the lake-effect storm. I talked to someone today who drove the same route, and he said that you couldn't see for maybe 5 miles. He settled behind a tractor trailer for a little bit and before he knew it, the sun was out. I've driven through worse for longer to get to places I didn't even want to be. Secondly, since I didn't end up going to the show, I should have exhibited a little patience and done some online card buying instead of hitting the card shop and Target. But given my state of agony, I was in the mood for nothing but instant cardification. And I paid for it with a load of dupes. So, the highlights aren't nearly as numerous as they would be if I reached the card show or went on an eBay spree. And there isn't a vintage card in the lot that I'm about to show, whic...

First things first: SamDaMan, where are ya? Want your free cards? As a contest winner , you have the right to them. Please email me your address so I can send you your winnings. You have until Friday. If I don't hear from you by then, the cards are headed to the runner-up, Dan from Saints of the Cheap Seats. OK, the card I'm featuring is a 2008 Topps Heritage Ichiro Suzuki (yeah, he has a last name, and I'm always using it). I received it from Zach of Autographed Cards because he knows I'm on a never-ending quest to complete this set. This card is a black back. Zach noted that I was collecting the black back set, too, and commented on how difficult that would be. He's right. I don't really expect to complete the black backs, but I hope to, just like I hope to be a millionaire one day and buy my daughter a stable-full of pink ponies. Perhaps when I complete the entire set, regardless of whether they're green or black backs, I'll give up on the notio...