Night Owl Cards

The latest card release news is that Topps has resurrected its Total brand from around the turn of the century but has turned it into an online product that is distributed in stages, so they can hook collectors throughout the year. I am steering very clear of this reboot because even though 2019 Total contains the same vast checklist and a comprehensive view of each team, the cost aspect that helped make Total Total is not there. It appears that the new version will cost you a buck a card. That's too much for me for this set. Honestly, the look of Total has always been a drawback for me and it's enough to ignore it. Many collectors who bought packs of Total during its first appearances (when I was not collecting at all), pine for the days of Total and the very appearance of Total's dull, dull, dull, dull, duuuullll design throws them into fits of nostalgia. I appreciate the original Total's mission and its low cost, but, I am superficial when it comes to card...

When we bought our first home, my wife changed a lot of things that the previous owner had in the house. I was all for it. I support my wife. Also, I'm not one of those weird guys that you see in the home decorating shows who have to have an opinion on the chair rail in the foyer. I have no opinion on that stuff. And neither should you. Even the women reading this. Why do I know what a chair rail is, then? Well, to keep the peace. The TV can't be tuned to the MLB Network all the time. Anyway, the previous owner had style. But it was not our style. Out the door it went. Especially those lion planters on the front porch. Even I had an opinion on those. One thing that took a long time to remove -- because it permeated the house -- was the stenciling on the walls. My wife did not like this at all. I had never seen it before, so I thought it was sort of cool, until I was informed that I was never to think that again. Apparently, stenciling became popular in the late 1980...

I have fallen hopelessly behind in just about every area of my life. March does that to me every year. But it seems even more pronounced this year. There's really no use in trying to catch up. I'm never going to do it. I'm even slacking in the blog arena, which is usually the only area that escapes neglect in times of frenzy. But people are holding contests and box breaks all over the place and not only do I not have the time or the cash to join them, but I can't even keep track of which ones are which. At the risk of getting this all wrong, Offy's Sports Site is holding a contest, Nachos Grande is holding a box break, Crawford Cards and Sewing Machine Cards is holding some joint monthly box break thing, Mojo and Beardy are asking people both to pick winners in the NCAA Tournament and RAP FOR CARDS , while madding is just asking for people to pick winners in the NCAA Tournament . Damn, I'm winded. You guys have to do all of this in MARCH? (Yes, I know...

(Some synonyms for "appreciation" include "gratitude" and "tribute." Hmmm, "Cardboard Tribute," I can see. But "Cardboard Gratitude" sounds a bit desperate. I'll stick with Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 55th in a series): I received this super fancy Kaz Ishii card from reader Robert, who has sent me cards before. He needs to let me know what I can send him, so I can repay his kindness. The reason I'm featuring this card on Cardboard Appreciation is because it reminded me of how little I play with my cards these days. Oh, I sort them, and file them, and scan them, and read the backs. I call that "play," but it's only "play" in the very adult form of the word. A kid would never consider that play. When I was a kid, we flipped our cards. We made card houses out of our cards. We lined them up from one end of the room to the other. We rolled dice over them. We scribbled on a few of them.  We PLA...