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...

(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...