Fuji Forwards Four Football Fabrics: a Trade Post

It's hard not to pull for the Saints down here in NOLA.  We have a tough road ahead what with the road games and going through Carolina and all that, but we are hopeful and loaded with talent.

Fuji from The Chronicles of Fuji and I have been swapping cardboard for a little while now.  I recently got a relic-laden trade envelope from him.  Here they are in order of Saintliness:

 

Donte moved on to several other teams after his stint with the 'aints.  The last thing I remember hearing about him is that he killed someone while drunk driving and more or less got away with it.  I hope that's not the case.

Aaron Brooks was our first somewhat legitimate quarterback, but everyone was going bananas about Ricky Williams and (sigh) Mike Ditka, so people forget that he held the record for most TD's by a Saints QB until Drew Brees came along.

Devery was an LSU Tiger, and a good one.  He caught the "Bluegrass Miracle" pass that allowed LSU to edge out Kentucky.  Devery performed similar feats with the Saints - the guy had great hands.  I remain a big supporter of this guy.

A fan favorite, Deuce was a fullback's fullback.  I've seen him push a ball or two (hee hee) through a wall of defenders on many occasions. There are still plenty of Deuce jerseys floating around the Dome on gameday despite his being plagued by injury in later years.

Thanks for all the amazing relics, Fuji!  I'll be showing these puppies off to my beer-swilling football friends.

One more thing: When I was a teenager, this guy tipped me a ten dollar bill.  Please enjoy my favorite version of this song:

Two Contests, One Weekend

Two great bloggers/trading partners are holding contests that commence this weekend.  You should participate in them very much.

First is the inimitable Jim at garvey cey russell lopes who is having a giveaway for Steve Garvey's birthday on Sunday.  Who can wish Steve a Happy Birthday the awesomest?  You better believe I'm going to try.  Go check it out here.

There's also the irreplaceable Kerry at Cards on Cards who is having a contest that's all about your college football knowledge.  It's a Bowl game pick 'em, and if you've never done one, it's easy and fun.  Plus I'm going to beat you horribly.  You can view the contest here.

Now please enjoy this picture of a panda on a slide:

The Best Stuff of My 2013

I say “my 2013” because this is not necessarily anything that came out in 2013 so much as what defined 2013 for me.  Please forgive this completely non-baseball card related post.

Album: Tame Impala - Lonerism - I found myself playing this 2012 album all year long.  It’s just so catchy, and the entire album is solid as opposed to just a handful of songs.  Everyone I play it for seems to love it (My wife still needs a little convincing when it comes to track 1, but I guarantee you that the next time she’s had a few drinks and I play it, she’ll go nuts).  Honorable mentions in this category are Bloom by Beach House, Koi No Yokan by Deftones, and Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming by M83.

Song: Arcade Fire - Awful Sound - This is something that did come out in 2013.  It’s the best new song I’ve heard in years, too, and definitely the crown jewel of the new album.

Food: Frozen yogurt - My wife and I have been rocking the frozen yogurt like mad all year.  I like it tart, tangy, and fruity while my wife seems to prefer the sweeter, more decadent flavors.  I don’t even mind being the only grown man in the store, though it can get a little weird being completely surrounded by high school sophomores on dates.

Movie: Ender’s Game - My wife and I are huge fans of this book series, and since they filmed it in New Orleans we’ve been hearing stories about the film’s production all year.  By opening day we were chomping at the bit.  I’ve heard that a lot of fans of the book were let down by the movie, but I don’t know what those folks were expecting.  They did a pretty decent job of depicting every key scene almost exactly as I had imagined while reading it.  And the digital effects weren’t cheesy (thank goodness).

Book: 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke - I’ve slowly been working through the list of the top 100 science fiction books of all time.  While I absolutely love the Kubrick film of the same name (check it out on Blu-ray if you haven’t), the book is far less…um…abstract.  I also found it more disturbing than the film and one of the only books I read this year I got really excited about.  Honorable mentions: Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick and 1984 by George Orwell.

TV Show: Breaking Bad - Certainly among the greatest television series of all time.  The final season was excellent.

Art: Banksy in New York - I haven’t been buying much art this year as baseball cards have taken up more of my time and budget.  Plus my walls are full.  Still, I did manage to keep up on all the latest Banksy installations during his stay in New York City.  Check it out if you haven’t already.  

Website: Blogger.com - for obvious reasons.  Definitely my most visited site this year.

Gadget: Keurig One-Cup Coffee Maker - I was a huge skeptic.  I used to think this was just another silly, flash-in-the-pan gizmo that everyone trying to keep up with the Jones’ just had to have, but this thing has changed our lives more than any other device.  I’m completely sold.  Honorable mention goes to the Bluetooth speaker that I use all the time.

App: Ruzzle - A simple Boggle-esque word-finding game you can play with your friends.  Honorable mentions go to Shazam (yep, still amazed by this and use it all the time), You Don’t Know Jack, Giant Boulder of Death, and Hill Climb.

Concert: Yo La Tengo at Tipitina’s May 1st 2013 - Saw them from every vantage including the front row, heard plenty of old favorites, got to make a live request (I asked for “Moby Octopad”), landed the set list and got it signed.  This show was everything you could ask for.  Honorable mention to Sigur Ros, They Might Be Giants, and The Eric Andre Show Live (I would have included Father John Misty in this list, but I didn’t make it to the show because my car got towed outside of a downtown sushi restaurant.  Pre-bought tickets and everything).

Video Game: Grand Theft Auto V - Wow.  I’m still amazed by the scale of this game.  I beat the story mode weeks ago and still find something new to do whenever I play.

Non-video Game: Cards Against Humanity - This game is an experience.  Highly recommended.

Beer: Magic Hat #9 - I almost said Sweetwater here as we just started getting it here in NOLA and are very excited, but the truth is that we’ve been drinking #9 all year long.  It’s one of the few that my wife really loves, and since she buys most of the pitchers….

 

Liquor: D’Aristi Guanabana Liqueur - Maybe I’m getting old, and that’s why I’m listing a fruity dessert beverage here as opposed to a smooth sipping whiskey or a nice 15-year single malt.  While in Mexico earlier this year we bought four bottles of this stuff made from the guanabana fruit, and it is seriously tasty.  We’re down to one bottle.  :-(

It's fun making lists!

Get Your Charity On

There's a massive 10-box group break to benefit the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.  The whole thing's being run by Chris over at View from the Skybox.

I've been through several hurricanes living in New Orleans, none which come remotely close to what the Philippines has gone through.  Still, I remember how much just a few MRE's, some bottled water, or even a hot meal helped us out after Katrina.  These folks need a whole lot more than that.  That's where we come in.

You may already have donated, but I bet you didn't get any cardboard for doing it.  So let's fill this group break up!

Griffey would want you to do it.....

Look in your heart, guy.

December Card Show Booty!

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of The Junior Junkie, and what better way to celebrate this milestone than to go to the monthly card show?  It was providence that the show happened on the same day as my blog's birthday, so I just had so go see what fate had in store.

One of the sellers had a dollar box and a big quarter box I spent a lot of time with.  There were so many cards I even sat in a chair to look through them.  I know this sounds like it's not a big deal, but quantity boxes are not a common thing here.  I have yet to see a real dime box in person.  The dealer ended up being really accommodating with the discounts, too.  Here's all the fun stuff I pulled:

These are the mascots for our local AAA baseball team, the Zephyrs.  There were two whole Zephyrs team sets in that box, and I ended up buying every card of each for a lot less than a quarter per card.  Here are a few cards from the other set:

I had no idea Sandy Alomar ever played ball just a few blocks from my house.  It seems my card collecting/baseball-watching hiatus cost me an opportunity to see him play in the sunset of his career. 

It's hard to find Will Clark in an Orioles uniform, and that is also my first A-Rod Rangers card. 

 
Phylicia Rashad, aka Claire Huxtable) on a card!  Couldn't pass it up.

I found a new card brand, too: Topps 75th Anniversary.  It's a non-sports product; but it advertised three autographs per box, so I took a chance on a pack.

Up your nose with a rubber hose!

These are all up for trade except for the Lincoln card and possibly the Welcome Back, Kotter card which I kind of want to hold on to.

This is Jose Hernandez's autograph on a 3x5 index card.  The dealer I bought the most stuff from threw it in with my purchase.

These were cheap, and I couldn't pass them up.  Can you believe that Javy Lopez SP rookie wasn't listed in the dealer's price guide?  The guy's one of my favorite catchers.  I was glad to scoop it up for only a buck.

My Griffey guy was not at the show this month which means I got off cheap but also didn't score many new Griffeys.  Here are the ones I was able to nab, all of them nice and cheap:

 

No fancy relics or parallels.  Just a nice bunch of salt-of-the-earth base cards and subsets.

Wanna hear something weird?  The dealer and I were talking cards while I was looking through his boxes, and I was telling him what players I collect.  When I mentioned Vida Blue, he pulls these out:

Finally!

 

Of course I ended up bringing both of these home.  It was not that far-fetched that he had these as Mr. Blue is a Louisiana native.  The weird part is when I mentioned that I also collect Ron Kittle, and he proceeded to pull this out:

What are the odds?  He only had a stack of a dozen or so autographs, and one of them is Ron Kittle?  I had no choice but to buy it from him.  What a long shot.

It was a great show despite the limited Griffeys.  I probably should have skipped it was I just spent so much on my mystery Griffey Holy Grail, but I knew there would be something there I couldn't not have in the collection.  I was right - welcome home, Kittle!

One Year a Blogger, Forever a Junkie

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of The Junior Junkie.  It all started with this post about the 1989 Donruss rookie card that was my original muse.  The blog has evolved quite a bit over the past year.  Here are a few things that have changed since that first post:

Philosophy: The original plan was to show one card per post, but it became apparent a few posts in that such a plan would take forever (at one post per day, it would take over 7 years).  Now I post by set.

Post titles: These started out as just the name of the set or specific cards the post was about.  It was boring.  It’s a lot more fun to think up a fun post title.

Accuracy: Sorting standards and disciplined organization have helped make me keep the Griffey collection up-to-date and on track.  I’m also getting better at organizing my non-Griffeys and trade fodder.  Still ironing things out, but on the right track.

The Griffey collection began with two binders.  A few months into blogging I decided to upgrade to this:

I've since had to add two more binders while also removing many pages of dupes.  I also went all artsy-craftsy with the labels.  Here's what the collection looks like now:

Trades: I’ve now completed trades with a few dozen different bloggers, and I like it.  I don’t get around to mailing out cardboard as often as I’d like, but I’m working on it.

COMC: Now I have an easy way to convert my non-Griffeys of consequence into new Griffeys of my own choosing for next to nothing.  Every penny I make off my submitted cards goes towards expanding the Griffey collection.  Very excited about the prospects here.

Features: I started a few features, the most popular being Design Timelines: the Griffey Base Card Project.  I’m just one card away (2001 Finest #90) from the complete Topps Finest Timeline.  I’ve also just scratched the surface on the new A Junior for All Seasons feature which shows Griffey on vintage Topps designs by decade.  These are a blast to put together.

Set Building: I never thought I would be this kind of collector as it takes a lot of time, space, and patience; but I’ve now completed 2013 Topps Series 1 and 2, and I’m only a few cards short of knocking out Update.  These are the first sets I’ve even considered completing since ’89 Donruss when I was a kid searching for old #33.  I’ve even moved on to ’95 Leaf and several years of Donruss puzzles.  I now have over a dozen completed large-scale sets with several more close to being finished. 

Blogger Pals: I've had a lot of fun trading and communicating with many of you via e-mail and blog posts and comments and such.  Maybe one day we can have a card blogger convention and talk about cardboard over drinks.  I officially volunteer my house for this.

I hope you've enjoyed reading TJJ nearly as much as I've enjoyed writing it.  Thanks to everyone who has supported this thing, and here's to another year of using my passion for Griffeys as an excuse for a creative outlet.

Oh, and big news!  

To celebrate reaching the one-year mark I've made a major acquisition: a single card that is to be the crown jewel of my collection.  A Holy Grail of sorts among Griffey collectors.  I've already said too much, but when it arrives it'll get its own post.  Be ready...

Gratuitous Card Bragging

I've gotten a few great cards recently, and with no unifying theme to pull them all together I'm just going to throw them all at you at once.

First, I pulled my very first Topps camo parallel:

I pulled this from a hangar box of Update.   Now that I get a good look at one, I see that it's less camo and more Rorschach.  See the middle?  The pattern is a mirror-image of itself.

Now I don't buy packs for hits to sell - I bought this particular box because I'm working on completing the base set - but I may end up eBaying this one and using the proceeds for Griffeys. 

By the way, I'm still looking for #'s 40, 46, 50, 87, 99, 100, 120, 133, 136, 138, 150, 168, 237, 264, 267, 313, 321, 326, and 330 from the Update set.

I've got two words for you: Ron Freakin' Kittle.  This is a little Christmas gift I gave myself.  It's from the Leaf Buyback series, and as you can see it's hand-numbered out of only 42 of which this is card #1.  That makes it my first "eBay 1/1." It will not end up on eBay.

These next few cards I landed for only a dollar each:

Edge-on this card looks like somebody simply glued two cards together.  Great picture.
 

This is a signed Shawon Dunston rookie card - totally worth a dollar if you ask me.  Gotta love Billy's Mary Catherine Gallagher crossed arms here.

This guy has the name I would choose if I were a secret agent or porn star.  I've also always been fascinated with how other T.J.'s sign their names.  Mr. Steele uses the classic "boomerang" J which I've been known to employ on occasion.  

Jim was Griffey's first MLB manager with the '89 Mariners.  Pronouncing his name correctly will win you a car in some countries.  Deciphering his handwriting, two cars.

I'd never seen this card before coming across it in the dollar box.  I keep finding more and more reasons to love '86 Donruss.  Er, Leaf.

Last but not least, these came from a nice, cheap eBay auction.  When I see reasonably priced Topps Tek Griffey lots, I pounce.  There are so many versions that I don't even check to see if they're ones I already have.  Not that I have many to begin with.

That's it for my gratuitous card bragging.  Happy Friday!