Night Owl Cards

  I made it to the monthly show across town today. It was the first time I was able to get there since January, having missed the last two because of poorly-timed weather.   This is good because the big Syracuse show is in a week and I'm probably not going to be there due to the lack of a vehicle.     The monthly show is definitely not the Syracuse show. I was reminded again by the ever-pervasive fantasy card tables that you can ignore at the Syracuse show because there is so much regular card show goodness. Today's show featured two tables that got my money. There were probably four tables total that offered the cards that interest me -- i.e. sports cards not encased in plastic.   But all things considered in the hobby (*waves hands at everything*), I'll take it.   This show will not be long for my world if one particular dealer decides it's not worth it (two of his seller buddies who used to accompany him at the monthly show have ditched it for Syrac...

  I finally received a sportlots order today. It's my second order of the year from the site and this time I went with the box shipment to save myself some money.   I was questioning myself for doing it while waiting because gosh does it take awhile. It was only a month, it turns out, but it certainly seemed longer. I know I've been through this before (and written about it) but the saving sometimes don't seem worth it during the wait.   I usually reserve sportlots orders for plugging a few team set needs or set needs in general, but not for super-vintage cards in most cases. Sportlots isn't great for knowing what the cards look like when you buy them (it seems to have cut back even more on the pictures in fact). So stuff like Kellogg's cards is out.   I don't know how much these arrivals will interest people but who cares? This blog thing is here for showing my cards, nobody else needs to like them but me.   Here we go, I mean, why all the 2021 Stadium Club Ch...

  Wow, not off to the greatest start for Year 18 with this blog. Posting is likely to be a bit sporadic the next couple weeks. Nothing unfortunate, just one of those life whirlwinds where a bunch of disconnected things come together to conspire against my hobby.   Just as this busy period got started, I was getting my lunch on Saturday when my wife dropped the mail on the counter. The October/November Beckett Vintage Collector jumped right out to me. "Here already?" I said.   I turned the pages and there was the second article I wrote for them this past spring.     I did not expect to see this issue until early October. That was about the time the August-September issue arrived (early August) and -- wham -- a month later I'm discussing my latest article. I'm not used to the magazine world moving so fast! Isn't this "old media"?   The cover teases to my story this time, always a little thrill in itself.   And speaking of thrills, yes, this article was i...

  I'm sure some set-collectors can relate this: I purposely avoid collecting certain sets that I like, even love.   It's mostly a means to keep myself in check -- I have only so much money, so much time and space, and an increasingly confused brain.   So it is with 1959 Topps, a set that I think is one of the greatest of the 1950s, a set I'm on record as really enjoying , but almost always avoid any time I come across a readily available '59 card.   Why is that, specifically? Let's explore (this is more a "me" exercise, sorry):   1. I know my lack of willpower. If I add a certain number of cards from a set -- not really sure how many, let's say 30 or 40 -- I'm going to automatically want to collect it. If I find it appealing, all those cards together are going to break down whatever walls I put up.   2. I need a break. I'm one card away from finishing 1969 Topps. I've been aware since I was probably 100 cards away from finishing that set ...

  It hit 90 degrees today. I'm not someone who is bothered by the heat, but once it's 90 I take notice. It's not super rare around here -- I'd say we're in the 90s about 5 times a year -- but I was still tempted to stay inside.   Fortunately I didn't.   I was in a yank to get to the monthly card show. I've been frustrated lately by the lagging arrival of my online card purchases the last couple of weeks. I don't know if this is a traditional July thing (sellers and postal workers on vacation), but shipments are not appearing on the days I was told. Also, I have received back-to-back postage-due slips on orders, which seems a little outrageous.   So it was one of those times where I thought "I can't get anyone to send me my cards, I'm going to go get them myself ." Crank the AC, I'm coming for you, show!   I had no expectations for this show. With just five 1969 Topps cards needed, and none of them available the last time I visited, ...