Look at "Cincinnati" and the "38" on Latos' jersey. That's some prime early 2010's photoshop right there. It looks so artificial and fake that it looks like a promo picture for a card in an upcoming product.
The red lines on the jersey. The tinted red cap that's obviously not a real Reds hat, like not even remotely.
If you're numb to these lousy photoshop jobs then you probably have a good stomach for this. In a way this is a card I'd put into the very very niche category of "so bad it's good". That's right, this is the card equivalent of The Room (Dir. Tommy Wiseau). It's trying to be a regular, ordinary thing and it fails to because the main component that's supposed to hold it all together can't suspend your disbelief at all.
So in summation, that Latos card isn't just ugly. It's so ugly it's beautiful. I'd recommend more collectors apply that label to cards, it'll expand your horizons when collecting baseball cards in no time.
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
So the post where I talked about my 2013-to-current CD/album collection got more responses than I was expecting. A lot of it centering on how "diverse" my listening preferences are. When I was still finding myself (I say as though I did find myself, which I haven't) in high school I wanted my identity to be the guy people could talk about music with (bad idea kids, it's way better to be known as the one with a car and the ability to drive). I had two very close friends who both loved music as much as I did and we'd often swap... recommendations.
One of those two friends was/still is basically my best friend. Dude's basically got the same upbringing I had (born in America to Japanese parents), only he was born and raised in Hawaii and got into New York-based East Coast hip hop. Meanwhile I was born and raised a little outside New York City and I got into Los Angeles-based West Coast hip hop lol. I remember how our first discussion ever about music was about Timbaland's newest album (Shock Value) at the time, which was perfect because Timbaland didn't represent the East or West (phew!), he was fun in general.
The other was a friend I unfortunately lost contact with a long time ago. They're the Pitchfork reading indie rock listener I was talking about in my last CD post. Even though they liked rock music they also liked expanding their horizons and I appreciated them giving me all sorts of weird recommendations to help me expand mine too. And since Pitchfork always gave pretty glowing reviews to hip hop/R&B music he was well versed there too.
I appreciate both of them for taking the time to introduce me to so many artists over the years. Some left big positive impressions on me as a listener. Others did not. But that's the fun of exploring.
Strap in because this list is LOOOOONG. So long that I had to split it into two parts!
Muse's Absolution, Black Holes and Revelations, Origin of Symmetry, Showbiz & The Resistance
Might as well start with the ONLY band I've ever seen live, with the Pitchfork reading friend at that.
Muse's album The Resistance was the newest one to hit the market and they were touring Japan at the time. So my friend asked if I'd go with him and we did. Later we found out that two other classmates were at the same concert but none of us knew (they found out about Muse after their song was used in the Twilight movie, don't laugh you've discovered bands using lame methods too, also the Twilight soundtrack is AMAZING, I stand by that take).
For the longest time I kind of identified Muse as basically Coldplay with a pulse and with more of a conspiracy theory vibe. Although that was largely colored by the newest album at the time. The rest of their discography seems to deal with different narratives as each album has it's own storyline and a key theme between the songs. Loneliness, depression, technophobia, the apocalypse, it's all there. I still like them even though having songs named "MK Ultra" tell me a lot more about them than I'd care to know. Still, I liked them enough to see them live didn't I? For the record, I've yet to go to another concert since and I don't plan to unless it's for The Hives.
Bone Thugs n Harmony's E. 1999 Eternal & Greatest Hits
Before there was Eminem there was basically one hip hop act that people cared about from the Midwest and they were a wonderful quartet (technically a quintet) from Cleveland, Bone Thugs n Harmony. Signed to the legendary Ruthless Records, the same record label that brought the world N.W.A, The D.O.C. and The Black Eyed Peas (then known as the Atban Klann). You might know Bone Thugs for the smash hit "Tha Crossroads". One of the best tracks in general from the 90's. Of course they had other notable tracks and collaborations with a lot of hip hop demi-Gods like 2Pac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.
This is one of those universally beloved albums that could bring all three of us together.
In the mid 2000's a lot of the popular rap songs were coming from the south (primarily Atlanta). A lot of those were also very terrible. Therefore my dumb teenage mind thought that the south could only produce bad hip hop while good hip hop was limited to the coasts. Well this album sure put those dumb thoughts to bed. I learned really quickly that you can never doubt Andre 3000, and that Big Boy isn't to be messed with either.
Favorite Song on Speakerboxxx: War
Favorite Song on The Love Below: Roses
Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Shouldn't be too hard to tell which friend told me about this though.
This was probably one of the first indie records I'd listened to that was pretty out there compared to what I was accustomed to listening to. At first listen, I didn't get this album. But over time it grew on me and at least showed me how creative the world of indie rock could be. Not as catchy or pretentious as I like my indie rock, but certainly very good.
LCD Soundsystem's LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver & This Is Happening
For the longest time I kind of figured that LCD Soundsystem got as much prestige as they did because they made songs that were tailor made for critics to fall in love with. Not that that meant they were bad or anything, but for a while I had no idea what I was supposed to do with that as an ordinary consumer. Regardless, these are pretty interesting listens and I'd recommend them.
Favorite Song on LCD Soundsystem: Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
Favorite Song on Sound of Silver: TBD
Favorite Song on This Is Happening: TBD
Big L's Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous
The late Big L's debut album is considered a classic in hip hop circles, and for good reason. Big L's lyricism and wordplay are vibrant, raw and fierce. This album features some guest performances from guys like Jay-Z and Cam'Ron and Big L just raps circles around all of them. I think even Nas once said he was afraid of having to compete with Big L. Tragically he was killed and his second album The Big Picture was released posthumously. The Harlem native has a mural in his honor in Harlem to this day.
Another indie darling that Pitchfork gave great reviews to.
At the time I thought this was the quietest rock album I had ever listened to. But it's got some bops and solid songs that I've come to appreciate a whole lot. Believe the hype folks.
Another album that brought the three of us together. Mad Villain is a hip hop duo consisting of legendary MC, MF Doom and DJ, Madlib. MF Doom is known for his theatricality and storytelling, while Madlib is known for making songs using the weirdest samples ever to create the strangest but yet awesomest beats ever. As you'd expect the critics were pretty kind to this album and boy did it deserve it. It's fantastic. It's weird in all the best ways. It's over the top. It's a great album.
Out of all of the albums the Pitchfork reading friend told me about, this was my absolute favorite. I listened to the shit out of this album. I listened to it for an entire month in high school and got sick of it. But since then I've grown to love it again and it's great. Love this album.
Favorite Song on Stars of CCTV: They're all great
Primal Scream's Evil Heat, Screamadelica, Vanishing Point & Xtrmntr
Here's a band I knew absolutely nothing about and kinda put off listening to for a long time because of it. I guess they're a rock band but if you listen to them across four albums you kind of notice that they're mixing in so many sounds and influences that you're never going to be able to describe them. Works for me a lot of the time, but not always in this particular case.
Favorite Song on Evil Heat: Detroit
Favorite Song on Screamadelica: TBD
Favorite Song on Vanishing Point: TBD
Favorite Song on Xtrmntr: Accelerator
Hoobastank's The Reason
This was/is very likely the "poppiest" album here. The best known song on this is very likely "The Reason". A song that I liked but gradually came to be kinda down on. That kind of applies to this whole album to be honest. Their songwriting is kinda weak and I find them annoying to listen to for more than two minutes.
It's funny, my friend gave me this CD after he declared this band was a waste of time and "the poor man's The Hives". I don't disagree with that second statement because every rock band ever is technically "the poor man's The Hives", but I thought this album was pretty good. Gloria alone is a bonafide bop and way better than anything that awful piss poor bands like Jet have ever made.
Travis' The Man Who, 12 Memories, The Boy With No Name, Singles & The Invisible Band
Travis is the type of band that makes music that either makes me feel like I'm taking a nice walk in the park in autumn or makes me fall asleep on the bus ride home. I like them a lot in spite of that kinda bad writeup. They're very earnest and they're clearly Oasis wannabes, but being earnest Oasis wannabes isn't the worst thing in the world. They have solid songs in their discography and I stand by those songs.
Favorite Song on The Man Who: Writing to Reach You
Favorite Song on 12 Memories: TBD
Favorite Song on The Boy With No Name: TBD
Favorite Song on Singles: Walking In The Sun
Favorite Song on The Invisible Band: TBD
Depeche Mode's Violator, Songs of Faith and Devotion, Playing The Angel & Funk Man
To this day I don't have too many thoughts on Depeche Mode. I don't think they're good or bad or anywhere in between. I think they exist and that's about it. Listening to four of their albums has only solidified that opinion. Wish them the best regardless though I guess.
Favorite Song on Violator: Don't have one
Favorite Song on Songs of Faith & Devotion: Don't have one
Favorite Song on Playing The Angel: Don't have one
Favorite Song on Funk Man: Don't have one
Panda Bear's Person Pitch
Panda Bear is the solo project of Animal Collective member Noah Lennox. I'll be honest, I find the stuff he's done as Panda Bear to be very boring. Somewhat inspired, but boring. I didn't even like the song he did with Daft Punk (Doin' It Right) on Random Access Memories, and I'm on the record for saying that I love that album. Which I do. But I hate slow droning and unfortunately this album has a lot of that. Pass.
Favorite Song on Person Pitch: Don't have one
De La Soul's 3 Feet High And Rising
Saved the fourth best for last.
De La Soul are so much fun. None of their albums are trash in anyway, certainly not this one. This is a classic and everyone should listen to it. Nice upbeat way to cap off this post.
Favorite Song on 3 Feet High and Rising: Me, Myself and I
Alright, gonna end it here for now. Expect a second part to this along with some recommendations I got back in the day from friends who weren't talking with me all the time about music.
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
So in the CD/album post I did a while back, I forgot to mention a few albums I bought digitally on iTunes. A lot of them slipped my mind even though most of them are songs I have in HEAVY rotation. So here's a little follow-up.
After this expect a post on the albums my friends in high school recommended to me.
Crystal Castle's (II)
Crystal Castles' is an electronic duo from Canada that originally consisted of Alice Glass and Ethan Kath. I love this album especially so it gets top billing. They're a nice chaotic mix of Alice Glass screaming her lungs out over catchy poppy electronica beats. This is extremely my shit.
Unfortunately they're not really a thing anymore because Ethan "allegedly" and probably sexually harassed Glass among other serious abuse charges. He even had allegations brought against him from Crystal Castles' second vocalist after Glass left, Edith Frances. Kath was, as recently as 2017, under investigation by the Sex Crimes unit in Toronto. So yeah, fuck him.
Even with that in mind, this album is basically all about Alice Glass since her vocals are the only ones we ever hear anyway. So it doesn't ruin this album for me too much. Looking forward to her solo work and even Edith's next music gig (if any surface) going forward. Wish them both the best.
Favorite Song on (II): Baptism (really this whole album is great)
The Killers' Sam's Town
Oh boy, the album that people unnecessarily gave The Killers way too much shit for.
For the longest time I kind of stayed away from this album because people said it was bad. But then I realized that The Killers are one of my favorite bands and I should check it out regardless of what strangers tell me. I did and found that it wasn't that bad at all. I'm not entirely sure what all of the vitriol was about but if I had to guess people probably wanted another Hot Fuss but were disappointed when they didn't get it. Personally I really appreciate acts that evolve with every step they take and I enjoyed this album a lot. At times you can still hear the band that made Mr. Brightside, but at times it's a very simple offering speaking honestly about some uncle named Jonny. This is good for what it is and I stand by that stance.
I See Stars is a electronicore band, meaning they're a mix of metalcore (punk and metal together) but also electronica. I like this sound because it doesn't make for boring droning songs when the band feels they need to slow things down a notch. Those practically can't exist. Fine with me.
Here's a real indie release by a short lived Irish band named Funeral Suits. Those of you who enjoyed Lord Huron might have some use for this too. Although expect a lot less folk and country. I still like Colour Fade a lot though. It's still in my playlist even though not much else on the album managed to make it.
Imagine Dragons are known nowadays as the only rock band that could be out-rocked by Nickelback so no wonder I forgot about them. This was their debut album so it features a few songs back when they actually had a purpose and weren't making background tracks to offers for car ownership deals at 20% APR financing. Not a whole lot of those songs mind you, I'm pretty sure most of the songs were used for some movie trailer or ad at some point. Good on them for finding their niche in an era that has been very unkind to musicians though I guess.
Speaking of ad-jingle indie rock, here's Echosmith's debut EP and debut album.
Echosmith aren't anywhere near as lame as Imagine Dragons but they are dangerously close to being another band where when I hear them I don't associate their songs with love or insecurities or any of the major themes in their songs, I think that the Samsung Galaxy tablet is available for sale. I mean that's not fair to Echosmith, who by all accounts are a band I should like since they're only three years younger than me and grew up on similar favorite artists. And I do like them a lot. But yet, they are one of my go-to examples for how one of the worst repercussions from the record industry falling apart is that artists have to rely on ad play to feed themselves.
Anyway, in spite of all of that, these are very good releases and those of you who enjoyed Eisley may enjoy them too.
Oh shit, prepare to get hyphy in here. Clyde Carson is an Oakland based rapper and is one of the members of Bay Area based hip hop group The Team. Terrible group name I know, but despite that they have some pretty decent albums with gems like "Hyphy Juice" and "It's Gettin' Hot".
Carson's been a well known among people who listen to strictly westcoast based hip hop for a while thanks to his short stint as a rapper signed to The Game's Black Wall Street label. This was his third ever EP and a pretty decent one. I won't lie, I expect my Bay Area music to slap a lot more and this one, well this one seemed more of a throwback to old school Bay Area hip hop. Which isn't bad but kind of explains why I forgot about this the first time.
I didn't buy this album, this was that free U2 album that iTunes downloaded onto everyone's computer for free and without their users' consent. But it was a "free" U2 album so I went along with it. No it's not as good as their best known work but it's serviceable.
Hmm, forgot that I downloaded this. Honestly I still like J. Cole a lot, but I've long since accepted that everything he's releasing appeals to me less than his really early mixtapes did. That's not to say this album (or K.O.D.) are bad. They're pretty great. He's just one of the few acts I haven't been able to vibe with since he switched up his sound and his direction as an artist. This album still has a few gems worth checking out though.
Favorite Song on 2014 Forest Hills Drive: Wet Dreamz
Taking Back Sunday's Louder Now
Emo rock in the 2000's went through three stages. The first were in the early 2000's where it was a bit more whiny, then in the mid 2000's it got really theatrical and over the top, then in the late 2000's when it tried mixing in other genres. Taking Back Sunday is an act I associate with early 2000's era emo rock even though they've switched up their sound (for the better I might add) a few times. Louder Now is my favorite release by them even though none of the songs on it are my favorite by them (that still goes to Cute Without The E).
Back to back emo bands. Brand New had a big feud with Taking Back Sunday back in the day that's been on-and-off for the past decade+. This was my first foray into the world of rock beefs. Not a whole lot of diss tracks like in hip hop beefs, but enough drama to keep the alternative rock scene interested in the two of them. As for this album I quite like it. I consider this the lead up to when emo rock was going to be changed forever with the rise of subsequent bands like Fall Out Boy.
Another "free" iTunes offering, only this one wasn't forced onto people. This is a collaboration album between trumpeter Donnie Trumpet (now known as Nico Segal) as well as with Chance The Rapper, and three other people. I guess this is technically hip hop but the overall vibe I got from it was neo-soul. It features a lot of uncredited contributions from other rappers and singers, adding to the allure and mystery of it. A lot of the critics were kind to this and I can see why, it's a nice album to just have in the background.
So earlier I said that emo music in the 2000's went through three stages. Here's a band I associate with the third stage, We Came As Romans. They're described a lot as being post-hardcore or screamo or whatever but I associate them with late 2000's emo more than anything. Unfortunately they often end up in the dead zone where every song they release sounds the same. There aren't too many standout tracks on this album. Some songs sound the same only they end up with diminishing returns after each listen. I will say this though, I'm impressed that a band waited until they were four albums into their career to release a self titled album. Most bands do it for their debut or never at all.
Finishing this post on a weak note with Daft Punk's forgotten soundtrack. Daft Punk and Disney's unlimited resources crafting a soundtrack for the much anticipated Tron sequel? What could go wrong?!
Well the movie being mediocre was one, this soundtrack being as mediocre as that movie didn't help. I love Daft Punk but this doesn't really sound like a Daft Punk release. There's only 2.5 songs where it sounds like Daft Punk played a part in the making of this. That's not to say this is bad. As soundtracks go this is very standard. But Discovery this is not. For a time it looked like this was going to derail their career until Random Access Memories came out and put them back on the right track. And we're all better for it.
The Vaccines' What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
Okay nevermind, there was no way I was going to let this post finish with two stinkers. Here's my second favorite album (behind Crystal Castles) in this post. It's so very good. Lots of fuzz guitar. Lots of stories that sound real and yet surreal. If you're a rock guy this is something I'd recommend highly.
Favorite Song on What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?: Post Break-Up Sex in particular is great but the whole album is a 5+ from me.
Okay, glad I was able to tie up this loose end. Got a whole slew of music content lined up for people who likely don't even want it.
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
I did it again. I willingly took part in America's rampant cycle of consumerism. I feel so ashamed.
Consoling me are some cards I picked up, because satisfaction from ownership is one of the few hallmarks this hobby (and this system in general) has to offer.
Normally I stay away from Black Friday deals but a few got into my line of vision (and more importantly I needed to stock up on gifts for friends overseas in future trades). Stuff I've been eyeing forever, other things I've wanted for a while, others I just didn't want to pass up. Damn you collecting addiction.
Starting off with my 17th different Bowman Chrome base autograph of Luis Torrens. My ideal price point for a BoChro auto of LUIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS is under $2 (shipped). Like $2 + $3.50 S/H is a no go. It has to be part of a large bulk purchase or free shipping. This met the first criteria.
So since Filip Chytil has graduated from stud Rangers prospect to stud Rangers youngster, I've been looking into other prospects to root for that are still developing in the minors. A lot of the really top tier Rangers prospects don't have cards yet so in the meantime here's an interesting guy in Ty Ronning. Ronning has a lot of talent for someone who was drafted kinda low (in the crapshoot rounds basically). So far he's exceeded expectations and whether he can keep that going in the NHL itself remains to be seen but boy has it been a fun ride so far. Sidenote, with this I have a TTM and certified autograph. All I need now is an in person autograph and I'll have the trifecta.
Here's something I wasn't going to originally get but it was priced at like $1.30 so I swooped in on this Kevin Shattenkirk autograph numbered out of 149 copies. The only bad thing about this (and a lot of hockey autographs really) is that this is a thick card. This is about as thick as a regular boring jersey card you'd pull in a hobby box of Topps Update. That'd be fine if this were some relic-autograph combo card but this is just a sticker autograph. Why is this card so thick? I can't store it in my binder like this, it'll warp the pages.
First a Bowman Chrome Prospect Autograph and now a Young Guns rookie card? This post is all about the investments!
Brett Howden in the early going was basically the Rangers' best forward and that's saying something considering how this was his first ever NHL callup since making the team out of camp (although that was more so Lias Andersson could get extra development time in Hartford without fear of blocking another centre prospect). He's crashed down to Earth but he did so well in the early going that sellers are still charging insane prices for this Howden. Luckily I got it at a pretty fair price. So good so far overall for one of the prospects the Rangers got back in the J.T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh trade during their firesale of 2017-18.
And the rest of the 2018-19 Upper Deck Rangers team set. Featuring another member of the aforementioned Howden trade, Vladislav Namestnikov.
Consumerism and investment culture in one post. Great, *fart noise* :P.
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
What do you expect to get in trade packages or surprise packages? Cards. But you know what else usually accompanies those cards?
Letters.
Letters from the sender that's usually some variation of "here's some stuff for you that I wanted out of my house".
In that envelope is every letter I received from a fellow trader. Some are even from my time as an active trader on message boards and predate this blog by a good two years.
Maybe it's because I just appreciate the time people took to write letters. Maybe it's because I'd just feel bad if I just threw them away like they were taped up toploaders. But for whatever reason I keep them around.
Of course in some instances they're kept because they're a different kind of cool. The Lost Collector spent a lot of time (I'm sure) working on the Luis Torrens mural there and his reward is having the bubble mailer he drew it on be used to store letters and brief notes I've gotten back from players I've sent TTM requests to.
I'll admit though, I often do feel bad at how some people take the time to write medium length letters that were thoughtfully written while I usually just send people a sticky note that says "You've Been Zippy/Mini Zapped!" instead. It's short, to-the-point, and (hopefully) saving a few trees but every now and then I do wonder if I should write out a full letter.
I can't even be bothered to print out my customs anymore (although granted that's due to my printer dying on me and my replacement printer needing color ink that costs quadruple what the old one used).
Some of my favorite letters (if I had to pick favorites) would probably be from P-Town Tom. He takes the time to write a letter, and as a teacher he's got great penmanship. Plus for the past two (at least?) years he's written letters on the backs of old discarded baseball themed calendar pages. So he gets a point for writing a letter, another point for recycling, and two extra points for using paper related to baseball. Sometimes there's even bits of fun trivia left on the pieces he sends, so consider that a fifth point/extra credit.
Of course in the end all of these letters are pretty nice. It makes me appreciate the nice people I've come to interact with over the years. Even back in my forum days I met about three people I'd still trade with in an instant if our paths ever crossed again.
Before I end this post I do want to make a quick PSA. Recently Sumomenkoman and I underwent our first trade. It was very nice and they really went the extra mile by adding chocolates.
Let me just state right now that I appreciate people sending me food, but I'd really prefer that they didn't. It's probably just me being weird but I have never eaten food that was sent to me along with cards. A few years ago some Japanese friends of mine sent me Star Wars chocolates and candies from Japan. I appreciated their kindheartedness but never ate them and threw them out (although in one instance I sent them to Gavin because I wanted him to throw out the wafers and keep the stickers while still giving him the wrapper opening experience). I know this is wasteful and a dick move, but I don't like the idea of food coming my way through the mail, let alone actually eating it. Plus ever since Gavin said he ate those very wafers I stopped passing off the few food items sent to me to other friends. I know it's common for people to order food and drinks this way, but I don't and I want to keep it that way. I don't even have pizza delivered to me, I just pick it up.
So yeah, SMM, I appreciate the chocolates, but they're not going to be used for their intended purpose. Sorry. I will keep your note though.
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
My first return this period came from top D-Backs prospect, Jon Duplantier.
Duplantier was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the third round of the 2016 MLB Player Draft. Armed with a low 90's fastball, slider, changeup and curveball, Duplantier has the potential to be a really good top of the rotation starter. A really solid number two starter, possibly even an ace on a bad D-Backs team. Duplantier's climb up the ladder has been marred by a few injuries and time missed due to fatigue, but he's flashed glimpses of brilliance in the time he has been on the mound. If he can stay on the diamond he might just become one of the best pitchers in the NL West.
Received On: 11/05/2018
Next up is a return from Red Wings defenseman, Joe Hicketts.
Hicketts was signed by the Detroit Red Wings as a non-drafted free agent after going undrafted in the 2014 NHL Player Draft. The young defenseman made enough of an impression on Detroit's front office that they decided to bring him on board. After that he spent a few years in the minors hustling his way to a NHL callup in 2018. He made his NHL debut earlier this year in January and managed to get in five games. For the 2018-19 season he started the season with the Red Wings but was reassigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins last week. Tough break for now but hopefully he can make it back up again soon. He's accomplished so much as a non-drafted free agent and it'd be a shame if his story ended here.
Received On: 11/05/2018
Here's my first NFL return since 2013. Courtesy of wide receiver Trey Quinn.
Quinn was drafted by the Washington NFL club with the 256th pick of the 2018 NFL draft. That pick was the very last pick of the draft, making him the newest "Mr. Irrelevant". Quinn played in one regular season game before going down with an ankle injury during that game and went on the injured reserve list. Whether or not he returns this season remains to be seen. Early in November Jay Gruden suggested that he would return to practice soon. Hopefully he recovers soon.
Received On: 11/05/2018
Here's the signed photograph of the entire Detroit Lions cheerleading squad again.
Once again thanks to Alexandria, Alexis, Alexis P., Alie, Alison, Amber (Captain), Angela, Austin, Autumn, Ashley, Brittany B., Brittany C., Caity, Courtney, Courtney, Danielle, Dianne, Holly (Captain), Jazzmine, Jenna, Karoline, Kathryn, Lauren, Lexi, Lindsey, Mary (Captain), Micah, Nicole (Captain), Paige, Peyton, Sammi, Savannah, Shelby, Tianna, Veronica and Zarah for taking the time to sign this behemoth.
Received On: 11/09/2018
Here are a couple of returns from Cleveland prospect Tyler Freeman.
Freeman was drafted by the Cleveland baseball club in the second round of the 2017 MLB Player Draft. Drafted out of high school, Freeman passed on a college scholarship and jumped to pro ball where he had (by most measures) a successful first full calendar year. Earning NYPL All Star honors this season and making it onto most Cleveland-centered top prospect lists. The shortstop/second baseman projects to be a solid up the middle defender with a good enough bat to play as an everyday regular or be a really good bench guy. For a second rounder that's good value if he can deliver on his promise, that's as good a high floor can get when it comes to high school draftee's too. Good luck Tyler!
Received On: 11/14/2018
Next up is a return from Panthers rookie Maxim Mamin.
Mamin hails from Russia and was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Player Draft. After getting a lot of seasoning in the KHL (the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia) he made it stateside in 2017-18 and made his NHL debut the same year. The forward (primarily centre) is one of the Panthers' top prospects and projects to be a key supporting player of the Panthers' next good team. He's a really solid center if you're playing him on the third or fourth line and he's definitely worth longer looks as time goes on.
Received On: 11/19/2018
Here's a return from Golden Knights winger, Reilly Smith.
The Canadian Smith was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars in the third round of the 2009 NHL Player Draft. After a few seasons in the minors Smith made his NHL debut in the 2011-12 season. Smith was with the Stars for one more season before being traded to the Boston Bruins as part of the Tyler Seguin trade. Smith managed to turn into a pretty good player with the Bruins but was traded to the Panthers and signed a five year deal with them. After that he was traded to the Las Vegas Golden Knights as the Panthers ran out of salary cap space. He's been with the Knights since.
Received On: 11/24/2018
Here's a return from Wyatt Mills.
Mills was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the third round of the 2017 MLB Player Draft. Drafted out of Gonzaga, Mills made it as high as double-A in his first full year of pro ball this year. Mills is a reliever who projects to contribute to the big league club sooner rather than later. Armed with a low-to-mid 90's fastball, and a slider, he projects to be a really solid reliever for the big league club. Considering how the Mariners are in a bit of rebuild they're going to need every prospect that can pan out even a little bit. So good luck to Mills, hopefully he can take advantage and force his way to a MLB callup soon.
Received On: 11/30/2018
Hark my second NFL return! Courtesy of my favorite player in the NFL, Aldrick Rosas.
Rosas is a kicker who played both soccer and football growing up but by the time he graduated high school was a full time kicker. He went to play for Southern Oregon University (which is not part of the NCAA) and an ACL injury really jeopardized his chances of being recognized by an NFL team. Dan Duggan of NJ.com had a really great piece on his journey to being an NFL kicker so you can read his journey from the injured kicker to the guy who got his first big break with the Tennessee Titans here. He went undrafted in the 2016 NFL player draft but the Titans signed him as a free agent based off of his potential with his kicking leg. Despite having a pretty good preseason for the Titans he ended up getting cut early, but then the New York Giants swooped in and nabbed him. He won a job with the Giants in 2017 and made his NFL debut on September 10th against the Dallas Cowboys. He made a field goal and scored the only three points the Giants managed to put up that day. After that his rookie season was a bit rocky and in the world of kickers there is virtually zero job security, so his career looked like it was in jeopardy again. But here in 2018 he's rebounded nicely. As of the time this writeup was written he'd made 23-of-24 field goals (6-of-7 from beyond 50 yards). If you've watched the Giants at all this season you'll notice that the offense has basically been Saquon Barkley and Rosas. Just them. Anyway hopefully Rosas can keep this momentum going and carve out a nice career for himself. He became a father on the day he made his NFL debut, he made some buzz by watching the birth over FaceTime so he's got mouths to feed in one of the most cutthroat professions in football. I'm a fan and I'm rooting for him. Good luck Aldrick!
Received On: 12/01/2018
My last return this month was a big one from the one and only CC Sabathia.
CC Sabathia was originally drafted by the Clevelands in the first round of the 1998 MLB Player Draft. Sabathia made his MLB debut in 2001 and went on to enjoy a very lengthly career that featured several All Star Game appearances, a Cy Young and a World Series ring. He was an absolute workhorse for most of his career up until 2013 when injuries and ineffectiveness started doing him in. Even with a risky ankle he's still good for 130-ish innings and at age 38, he's looking for one last shot at another ring before hanging up his spikes following the 2019 season. Good luck CC!
And those were my returns during this past period. Big thanks to Ms. Alexandria, Alexis, Alexis P., Alie, Alison, Amber, Angela, Austin, Autumn, Ashley, Brittany B., Brittany C., Caity, Courtney, Courtney, Danielle, Dianne, Holly, Jazzmine, Jenna, Karoline, Kathryn, Lauren, Lexi, Lindsey, Mary, Micah, Nicole, Paige, Peyton, Sammi, Savannah, Shelby, Tianna, Veronica and Zarah as well as Mr. Duplantier, Hicketts, Quinn, Freeman, Mamin, Smith, Mills, Rosas and Sabathia for the awesome autographs.
And as always thank you (the readers) for stopping by :).
Over the last calendar year I've experimented with non-baseball sports. Mainly because focusing on baseball alone is a great way to burn myself out on it. You've all seen me dabble in hockey, that one time I talked about football, and here's my first basketball post.
Yesterday I went to a semi-local Westchester Knicks game. They're a G-League/minor league basketball team and as you'd imagine, they're the Knick's farm team.
The minor leagues in the basketball world have an interesting dynamic. If you look at the way the rosters are constructed you'll find that not all of the players on it are part of the Knicks organization even though the team is called the Knicks and they're definitely an affiliate for the New York Knicks.
To be sure, most of the guys there are in the Knicks org but there are also a few who aren't and are basically up for grabs if any other team really wants them. I'm still not 100% sure how it works, but I do know that there is a draft for the G-league itself so that the teams can be constructed. Also in a lot of cases you'll find a lot of former NBA prospects who got waived or recent draftees on their first or second year contract playing on these teams. Even a few guys who got on through local tryouts.
I'm pretty sure I botched that entire explainer. When I get a better grasp on it I'll try and restate it in a way that makes sense. The point is that not everyone is a Knicks prospect but the ones worth keeping an eye on are.
As for the game itself it was great. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my first live basketball game ever but it's definitely the first one I actually remember. The Knicks took on the Windy City Bulls, the Chicago Bulls affiliate. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but what I found was that the atmosphere was pretty nice. Plus it's basketball so you know the game is going to go a lot quicker than if it were baseball or even football or hockey.
Also no autographs this time. Then again I wasn't exactly trying. I was still racking my brains about how the assignment system works, and I didn't even bother looking to see if the players had any cards (some might but not all of them I'm guessing). All I really knew that I was supposed to keep an eye on Isaiah Hicks and Luke Kornet. Both had pretty nice games. In the end the Knicks won against the Bulls (it feels weird to write that), 91-72.
All in all I'm glad I got to see a minor league basketball game. Now to see if I'll ever be able to watch every other sport ever live.
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
For the better part of the past 30+ years, the world (read: western world) has made fun of the big charity song, We Are the World. We've all seen the "Fucking Ben Affleck"s (boy does that title not work here in 2018) and the millions of other parodies roasting it at one point in our lives.
I always knew the original WAtW existed but didn't really care to seek it out until the remix came out in 2010. The original from 1985 was made to raise money to combat starvation in Africa, while the 2010 version was made to raise money to help millions of people in Haiti who had just suffered one of the worst Earthquake disasters ever. Both issues are still major ongoing issues (in their same locations no less) today, so I do applaud the people involved for at least trying to do a good deed and at least trying to make a difference.
At the same time I do get why people shit on them so much. Given how self indulgent this all is when the song needs to make this about "us" and "our children" and "saving our own lives" in order to actually help others. It also doesn't help that these tend to be very busy, very long and not something you'd listen to by choice. Admit it, you've never listened to these songs during your morning commute to work or school and never will.
In spite of how this is all just a bunch of celebrities from western civilization flaunting how they - and by extension westerners - are going to fix everything because the rest of world apparently can't (although to be fair, no one can), I've often given it a pass. I mean look, I don't want to be a cold heartless bastard who hates people doing right things even if I don't necessarily like the means. Good will like donating and charity work are great and I encourage everyone who can afford to do it to actually do it.
My cynicism towards this song probably reflects a part of the American part me. I grew up in the 2000's which means that I have some sense of irony (a leftover from the 90's) but also some sense of sincerity in wanting/hoping things get better (the 2000's have yet to be defined by any attitude other than fear and paranoia, but work with me here), and boy do they go at odds with each other when I try to be a critical thinker about anything. Also in this instance I have some 2010's attitude/reality mixed in where ultimately "I wish I could help but I'm broke, blame the Lehman Brothers".
In turn, my idealism towards this song might probably be the Japanese reflection of me. It's funny, I remember when the Haiti version came out in 2010 the music critics I read that were based in America/Europe trashed it for being as gaudy and pretentious as the last one, while the Japanese music-focused media I read/followed tended to be a lot more favorable to it. "Those daring Americans are at it again", they'd write. Of course even here the "I wish I could help but I'm broke, blame the Lehman Brothers" attitude still wins. Yeah the subprime loan mortgage crisis screwed everyone over, not just America.
So yeah no, I won't be listening to either WAtW or putting them on my iPod anytime soon, but I do un-ironically like and appreciate the song for what it is. If nothing else the way the original song has Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Michael Jackson, and Bob Dylan together on one track is amazing in concept. Even if you may disagree with the execution (admit it though, the second chorus on the original is pretty sweet).
As always thanks for stopping by and rest assured that those mofo's on Wall Street will probably cause another economic recession during our lifetimes and none of them will get prosecuted for it (again!).
The most TTM returns I've had in one day was probably 10 back in 2015. I remember bragging to telling The Lost Collector about it. Well just this Monday, I got 40 in one day.
Yes, 40. Quadruple my best record, and probably even more than my IP auto record in a single sitting.
Three of those 40 were of the sports card variety. A return from a baseball player, a return from a hockey player and a return from a football player. Those three will be shown in my month-end wrap up post.
But that's only three returns, where did the other 37 come from?
From this.
That is a big poster for the 2018 Detroit Lions cheerleading squad. Signed by all 37 members to boot.
The best/kinda tragic thing about this is that I'm sure that these signatures are legit. The way Caity's signature got kind of smudged on the lower left is pretty much proof that these were signed by legit pens at one point. At least it is to me until someone shows me that all of these are like this.
The back looks like this. With all 37 members represented with the four captains in the middle along with Rebecca Smoker and Jordan Haag (the cheer squad's director and coordinator respectively) in the middle.
Along with a sweet little message on the upper left.
Big props to the Lions cheerleaders and the various people involved for this awesome gesture.
Not bad for my first NFL TTM return in over two years eh?
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
Even though I consumed thousands of hours of TV as a kid, the amount of TV I've watched since turning into a young adult has dwindled. A lot of that has to do with how I don't have cable anymore and I only bother watching Netflix. Even then I can go months without renewing my service and be just fine.
But every now and then a show I want to watch slips through the cracks. Enter Stranger Things.
Stranger Things is Netflix's most popular original show to date. The show itself is set in the 80's and is basically everything you loved about Spielberg movies and the overall style of the decade. In true 80's fashion, it even got a card set released by Topps.
Topps is a bit late as this set is about season one of Stranger Things. The season was released back in 2017. This set was released just last week on the first. Guess it took a while for them to work out a licensing agreement?
Granted when I say that this was released last week, I only meant the retail version. The hobby version of this won't be coming out until around Thanksgiving. Works for me. I don't necessarily care for the relics or autographs, and I was a bit intrigued by what the special patch cards could be. So I picked up two blaster boxes. Something I don't do too often for any product.
The blaster boxes for these are pretty unique. Right off the bat you can tell that they're meant to be opened different from other blaster boxes.
Once you open it you're greeted by the pack with the patch card, 10 retail packs, and some styrofoam to help fill up the box bloat. I don't know if it's because of the card stock, wrapper material, ink or the Styrofoam, but there's a strong odor that protrudes from these the minute you open these. The kind that makes me think "is this some old crummy 80's garbage from a swap meat?". Luckily it's not.
There are 100 base cards in the base set. I managed to get 88 of the 100 cards between my two blasters. They all commemorate notable moments of season one.
The cardstocks are reminiscent of older card stocks of the 80's. So much so that I'm kind of sad there's no gum or wax wrappers. The backs offer short blurbs about what was going on in the scene on the front of the card.
The inserts feature one regular subset printed on regular cardstock, and two subsets of stickers. The former being these "Character Cards". I only pulled six here and need 14 more to go.
The first sticker set is an assortment of character stickers. Most of the stickers I pulled in my two blasters were dupes so I only got nine out of the 20 total character stickers.
The second sticker set is a set of "Scene Stickers". I got four out of the 10 total scene stickers.
As far as the patches go I managed to get a Shepard - Hawkins National Laboratory patch.
As well as a Nancy Wheeler - Hawkins High School patch.
If you've been paying attention you can probably tell that this break was heavy on Nancy. That's because one of the blaster was basically a Nancy hot-box. No complaints, but I wanted more Steve and Eleven.
As far as I can tell the hobby version is going to have guaranteed hits like relics (of course) and autographs. Chances are you have better odds of pulling stuff like the "upside down parallel" or printing plates. Neither of which showed up in my break. Apparently you can also pull 1/1 sketch cards. A staple in the non-sport world.
Given how I'm THIS close to completing the base set I will complete it at some point. Maybe after the hobby version comes out and the singles can be had for far cheaper. The inserts might be a bit tougher though.
If you look at my sidebar you'll notice that I've put up a new section for pages called "Projects". These are all long term projects I'm working on. Right now only the ST set is there, but expect some other page to join it in the near future.
As for the set build, hopefully it goes a lot smoother and quicker than my Star Wars Rebels build did. As far as the "big hits" go, I don't see myself going after much beyond Natalia Dyer or Joe Keery autographs (assuming there are any). Nancy + Steve 4eva.
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
