Night Owl Cards

  I feel sorry for early readers of Night Owl Cards. Back then, I'd get to Christmas and all I had to show for it as far as gifts was socks. And then they'd have to read me whine about socks . How about that for content? No wonder the views were so low. Over the years, the holiday gifts have gradually become more card-like. And the last couple of years the card-gifting has gone into hyperdrive. Last year I received an entire complete set from the year, a common Christmas gift for young collectors going back to leafing through the Sears Wish Book. But 2021 was the first time I ever experienced that. Now we're at 2022. Jackpot.   Between my wife and her sister, I landed three different blasters of current cards and what, I guess, is now a Christmas tradition of a complete set for the year! Note to self: do not open too many 2023 packs.   The key part of this is 2022 Topps is actually a set I like, unlike last year's.   Also, I specified what kind of 2022 cards I might ...

  Living in a small city, that is not near any larger city, means you're going to end up in Walmart near Christmas at some point. I can say all I want, "I don't go to Walmart," and most of the time that's true. Ordering online has helped me hold to that motto, but sometimes you need something quickly, especially at this time of year, and the only damn place --- damn, damn, damn -- that you know it's going to be, is Walmart. So I planned it out, as I often have to do for an evil Walmart trip. I got up extra early and made sure I was there by 9 a.m. It was still too busy for my taste, but at least the aisles weren't clogged with the plague of cart-leaning people like they are for 90 percent of my visits there. Things were clear enough for me to actually check out the card kiosk area (which is really a "knickknacks you don't need to have" area) for the first time in forever. And, shockingly, there were some cards there. Yeah, most of it was Pani...

I've got a couple Target gift cards to spend, which means finding a modern card product that will be a satisfactory rip without annoying me too much.   Scrolling through the available options, obviously I discounted the many Panini products available -- there was annoyance just looking at those boxes on the screen. I also scrapped any Topps flagship and that includes Update, just nothing there that's exciting. The possibility of trade bait is pretty low, too. I narrowed it down to two choices very quickly: Allen & Ginter and Archives. Now, I have enough for two blasters. So I could select one of each. It's my first time opening either of them, so I'd find enjoyment in both. But maybe I should buy two of one and scrap the other. I can find good reasons for doing that, too. So I'm asking you to help me decide. Get one of each? Get two A&G boxes? Get two Archives boxes? Here are the plusses and minuses of each product according to my box-opening emotions: ALLEN...

  I spend a lot of time on this blog pointing out what I find odd about cards or in life. But if I'm keeping it real, I'm not so normal myself. Other people would think me odd and probably do. I'm not social, I don't engage in the mindless pleasantries that were determined ages ago (probably by extroverts) as signs of being a well-adjusted and all-around groovy guy. Most of my neighbors and co-workers know little about me. I prefer it that way, but they likely think it's odd. I drive the speed limit, or slightly above. The countless drivers who whiz past me think that's odd, maybe even infuriating. I like anchovies, coconut and blue cheese. I've known people who think that's odd.   I have odd tastes in music. Four of my all-time favorite female singers are: Bjork, Kate Bush, Siouxsie Sioux and Fiona Apple. Their music has been called odd. They have been called odd. What can I say? I like odd. I like being in the house alone. This would terrify half the p...

  Three weeks ago I won a card giveaway from The Diamond King. The winnings were a selection of random Albert Pujols cards in celebration of his recent retirement. The vast majority of cards were from his Cardinals and Angels days, where he spent the overwhelming amount of his baseball toiling. There were also three Dodgers cards, and ... one of them I needed. That's it. And that was all it took for me to enter. I won this card, and a whole bunch of non-Dodger cards. Some maybe wondered why I entered the contest. I'm not a player collector, and I am known for having very few good feelings for the Cardinals and the Angels. What was the point? The note that arrived with my winnings, alluded to these cards that seemingly didn't fit in my collection. Thank you, I shall. So, yes, obviously there isn't a lot here that I collect. But all that means is it's time to work the phone lines! The first thing I did was check the Pujols cards against Cards On Cards' want lists...