Chaos and Kanji is the blog where I write about my adventures through Japan!

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Thursday, July 5, 2018

Just Twenty Cards #2: Flower Girl

Twenty more cards for your viewing pleasure. Tuesday's group could be called "Focus on the Past" while I suppose today's could be named "Mostly Cards Nobody Will Remember".
 I recently added three players to my player collection. Adrian Beltre is one of those - he's just too much fun to watch.
 Ah, Panini Prism. Here's a set that always seemed so close to being good. Donruss Optic is much better, if you ask me. It's much more colorful which really makes the shiny shine.

 That's all that comes to mind when I see this set name.
 Heh. Chairman of the Board. There's another music joke there.
Live in Tokyo!
 Speaking of Donruss... earlier... um, here are some parallels from this year's Donruss set.
 I wasn't too impressed with this design, though I get the homage to 1984. the Long Ball Leaders card looks pretty cool, though!
 People talk a lot about all the parallels Panini and Topps stuffs in their sets. But look at some Pacific's sets from around 2000 - they passed a dozen more than once.
 Interesting to think that these players were supposed to be good. Do you even remember their names today?
 Marlon Anderson. Mark Grudzielanek. Two players not going to the Hall of Fame.
 Which name is worse? Grudzielanek or Schwindenhammer? Oh, look, Mike Pizza. I'll take a Pepperoni. (Yes. I know. Piazza. But I'm tired. And I think it's moderately humorous.)
I once dated a girl named Shirley Poppy. If I plant this card will she grow from the ground?

No, not really. I never dated anyone named Shirley. How cool would that be, though? Or cliched? "Here are poppies for my Poppy." I guess a girl could do that for her father? Either way, this is a cool card.

But now, I'll spend the next hour watching videos of old music performances inspired by that Sinatra clip.

See you next time!

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Just Twenty Cards #1

I'm in a hotel this week. Actually, almost all this year I've spent my weekdays "on the road", living in an apartment on the other side of Tokyo from my home apartment. So moving from a "borrowed" apartment to a hotel isn't much of a change, though it does mean I'll have clean towels and a made-up bed every day. It also means no cooking, so I might have more time to post. I want to clear out my scan folder, and there are about 100 cards I got from that card show back in July to share. There is no common theme, so instead I give you 20 cards with no real purpose!
 I love the original Topps Archives sets, simply because I don't have the original vintage cards. One of these days, I might actually try to build a 1950s Topps set. I doubt it, though - there are plenty of other cards in the stacks that I want more.
 1952 Topps is over-rated though. Yes, it was the first real Topps baseball card set. Yes, it has amazing names and some other great things in it. But the lighted marquee sign is dated, just like many of the 1990s card sets (Pacific Online? www.batterz.com?!). And the 1953-1956 sets have much better images.
 Don't get me started on the 1960s, either. Actually, these zoom-and-enhance rookie star cards aren't as good as the original multi-player issues.
 What would people say about designs like the Mazeroski, Bench, and Williams cards today? "Boring." "Simplistic." "Lazy." But they were clean and left lots of space for the photos.
 Topps was practicing leaving lots of space for relics even back in the 1960s, apparently.
 Rookie Cup, before and after. I wonder if baseball players used the trophies for MnMs or keys and loose change.
 I love Golden Age. There aren't many baseball players in it but there are some fun, obscure names. I can't remember the last time I saw Eddie Gaedel on a card. Rocky Colavito... well, give it a few minutes.
 Don't worry, there'll be some more newer cards coming up in a post or two. Here are two nice refractors to get you started.
But we'll finish the day with two more oddball-ish cards. I had the chance to buy a box of 2013 USA Champions for about $35 last weekend. I didn't do it - it's a great set but I have pretty much everything I want from the release already. But what I really love is that Ted Williams set. I think it was just ahead of its time - if a set like that came out today I bet collectors would jump all over it. Logos, retired local heroes, and lots of interesting topical subsets and inserts.