Audio
Kode9 vs Badawi – Den of drumz – ROIR
Hugh Mundell – Blackman's foundation – Makasound
Junior Murvin – Think twice – Greensleeves
Johnny Clarke / King Tubby – Peace & love in the ghetto – Moll-Selekta
Trinity vs Dillinger – Starsky & Hutch – Bushranger
The Meditations – Carpenter rebuild – Greensleeves
The Meditations – Play I – Makasound
Sugar Minott – Informer – Wackies
Sugar Minott – Informount – Wackies
Mykal Rose – Shout out – mp3
Cedric Im Brooks and the Divine Light – Hop merry hop – 17 North Parade
Ernest Ranglin – Hail Count Ossie – Arco
Steel an' Skin – Afro Punk Reggae (Dub) Em Records
Winston Scotland - Swing & Sway
Version Swinging – Sounds Of Muzik 7"
Wedding Present - El Rey - Vibrant Records
Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonley -
Pure Sound - My Wife doesn't undertsand Me - Euphonium
Beat Herder in the studio
Misty in Roots - Ghetto of the City
Evil Nine - Restless - Finger Lickin'
Captain Hot Knives - Are you into Bread -
The Williams Fairy Brass Band - What Time is Love? - Blast First
Ash Grunwald - Serious - Delta Groove
B12 - 32 Lineup - B12 Records
5/30 8 PM EDT
Its now 9 AM (5/31) local time in Korea. I got here this morning at 6 AM on the red-eye from Singapore. I hardly slept. I'm exhausted and just trying to stay awake at the moment. I'm sitting at Incheon Airport waiting to find out if I managed to get a standby seat on the 10 AM flight to Atlanta. If not, I'll be here — Korea, not the airport I hope — until 6 PM tonight. I'm hoping like crazy that I'm not here all day, it will make an already long trip that much longer. I should know in 20 minutes whether or not luck is working in my favor today. If not, I can't complain. I accepted the 12 hour layover here originally because it was the least expensive business class fare I could get ($6000 round trip), fitting within my budget for this engagement. Now I'm thinking about what a fool I was. Ooops. Lesson learned. I should have spent the night in Singapore instead.
(A cute, but strange, Japanese girl just sat next to me to practice her English. We exchange pleasantries and she asks me where I am from, so I tell her the US. Then she tells me she is some kind of student, something unintelligible, followed by "peace student". I flashed her a peace sign and asked her if that's what she means and she says yes. She then shows me something god oriented and starts explaining... I shooed her away. She didn't get the concept of atheism, but I didn't try that hard to explain. Perhaps now that I am alone again the deaf gentleman will come back and pester me for money for the third time...)
In the airport there is paid WiFi. But you have to have a Windows machine since the online purchasing requires an ActiveX control that won't run without Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to run with Internet Explorer all that well either! I did find an open AP and I have been using it off and on to check email and call Steph to let her know of my progress. Obviously, its how I managed to write this, as well. For a world class airport, one ranked best in the world along with Singapore's Changi, this is pretty pathetic. Come to think of it, I had the same issue last night at Changi, but I wasn't sitting there for innumerable hours, bored to tears. *sigh*
Off to check and see if I got on the flight...
5/30 9 PM EDT
W00t! I got on the flight. Its Korean Air, which has less comfy business class seats the the Delta flight I took to Shanghai, but it gets me home at 10 AM today (i.e. I leave here at 10 AM 5/31 local time, arrive in ATL at around 10 AM 5/31 local time) instead of 7 PM on Saturday. 14 hours of flying, no puking. At least one can hope. ;-)
5/31 6:21 AM
En route to Atlanta right now, we're just coming off of the Pacific ocean near the British Columbia/Washington border. Almost home.
Earlier in the flight I watched the season finale of Desperate Housewives, an episode of Everest: Beyond The Limit, ate a bowl of bibimbap and passed out (chemically enhanced by Ambien, but no alcohol and no puking). 5 hours of relaxing sleep later, we just had "breakfast", some kind of beef soup, noodles, rice and Korean pickles. They make pretty decent food on Korean Air, I'd fly them again. Now I am watching The Bucket List and staring at the monitor watching the plane creep ever so slowly across North America. I'll be seeing my Maya Papaya in a few hours! I think she's been a bit of a pain in the butt to Steph lately, their drive to and from Florida was apparently less than stellar. Maybe she just needs some daddy time. I certainly need some of that myself.
The past few weeks have been really hard. Everyone told me that I would stop traveling after Maya arrived. I didn't, and I don't wish I had. But when it rains, it pours, and the travel has been crazy lately. Since Maya's birth I have done trips to NJ, TX, central GA, and Singapore. In the next few weeks I will be in Boston, NYC, Baltimore and Chicago. And that's just before the end of June! So I clearly have not stopped traveling, but the trips are different now. I'm traveling too much, and feeling guilty that I am missing Maya as she "grows up". I know that she has a long way to grow, but she changes every time I see her. When I call or come home after I a trip I find out that she is making new noises, smiling more, etc. Will I miss her first time crawling? First word? On the other hand, I work from home when I am not on the road. So I get to spend more time with Maya during those weeks than most of the dads I know who don't travel, but spend their lives at work.
I don't want to miss these one time events in Maya's life, but this is my job. I love the job, and the opportunities it provides and my wife and daughter. Can one be put above the other? My job allows us the very nice and comfortable life that we live, both in material things like houses, and experiences like traveling around the world (vacation, not work), putting money away for Maya to attend the school of her choice someday and (hopefully) early retirement for Steph and I. We have no needs that go unfulfilled and want for nothing. (Well, I'd love a convertible, but I hardly drive any miles these days, so its a total waste of money.)
Are the tradeoffs worthwhile? Will I some day look back and wish I had made a different choice? I just don't know. I do know I am greatly looking forward to giving her a big kiss when I see her soon. I'm not quite looking forward to cleaning a poopy diaper, but I have to take the good with the bad and relieve Steph of her duties (doodies?) with Maya.
1:10 PM 5/31
I am finally in the house with Steph, Maya and the dogs. It is good to be home!
Some of the great ones from last weekend. If you want to check out the whole set hit my flickr up. A lot of drinking was going on but hey Memorial Day weekend wouldn't be the same with out a few hundred drinks...........
"The present era is rampant with the five forms of degeneration, in particular the red ideology (....)
These were the words of Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet, spoken two years before his death in 1931 (pictured above). With the exception of the demise of the Dalai Lama himself (the 'triumphant Father), all that he stated has come to pass. The scope and power of the prophecy culminated in 1995, when at the age of 6, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was kidnapped by the Chinese government mere days after being recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet (i.e. the 'son' and second most important leader in Tibetan culture). Nobody has seen him, nor his parents, since.
"In future, this system will certainly be forced either from within or without on this land that cherished the joint spiritual and temporal system. If in such an event we fail to defend our land, the holy lamas, including the "triumphant father and son" will be eliminated without a trace of their names remaining; the properties of the incarnate lamas and of the monasteries along with the endowments for religious services will all be seized. Moreover, our political system will be reduced to an empty name; my officials, deprived of their patrimony and property, will be subjugated like slaves by the enemy; and my people, subjected to fear and miseries, will be unable to endure day or night. Such an era will certainly come!"
I am writing now from Dharamsala, India - home of the current Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile - where the lead up to the Olympics, the complete lack of tangible support from other governments, and the combined weight of 59 years of Chinese atrocities are the central issues of daily life for the town's Tibetan population.
Since China's invasion in 1949, an estimated 1.2 million people have lost their lives through murder, starvation and disease. Six thousand monasteries were destroyed and the Chinese have continued with an unabated policy that seeks the destruction of Tibetan culture ever since.
It is against that historical backdrop that the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2008 Summer Games to China. The move is sometimes compared to the 1936 Games in Nazi Germany; however, Germany was awarded those games in 1933 prior to Nazi control of government, and the games were held prior to the Nazi invasion of Austria and prior to their systematic extermination of Jews. By comparison, China was granted the games after being the demonstrable perpetrator of an invasion against an independent nation and the systemic annihilation of a culture.
In the 59 years since the Chinese invasion the western response and characterization of China's policy has become increasingly miasmic. It is enlightening to return for a moment to 1960, when a report by the International Commission of Jurists called the Chinese invasion and actions in Tibet what they always have been - genocide. To quote:
"According to the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December, 1948, human groups against which genocide is recognized as a crime in international law are national, racial, ethnic and religious. The committee found that acts of genocide had been committed in Tibet in an attempt to destroy the Tibetans as a religious group..."
Further, we often hear about "human rights abuses" committed by China. That is a television friendly phrase that sheds little light on what has been perpetrated against the Tibetan people. Again, the Jurists' report leaves little room for speculation,
"The Committee came to the conclusion that the Chinese authorities in Tibet had violated the following human rights,
Article 3 - the right to life, liberty and security of person was violated by acts of murder, rape and arbitrary imprisonment.
Article 5 - Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment were inflicted on the Tibetans on a large scale.
Article 12 - Rights of privacy, of home and family life were persistently violated by the forcible transfer of members of the family and by indoctrination turning children against their parents. Children from infancy upwards were removed contrary to the wishes of the parents.
Article 16 - The voluntary nature of marriage was denied by forcing monks and lamas to marry. (Allow me to paraphrase so as to ensure we are being crystal clear here. Buddhist monks and nuns who had taken voluntary and spiritual vows of celibacy were forced to fuck, sometimes each other, by Chinese authorities.)
Article 18 - Freedom of thought, conscience and religion were denied by acts of genocide against Buddhists in Tibet and by other systematic acts designed to eradicate religious beliefs in Tibet.
Article 26 - The right to liberal education primarily in accordance with the choice of parents was denied by compulsory indoctrination, sometimes after deportation (see Article 12), in communist philosophy.
Article 27 - The Tibetans were not allowed to participate in the cultural life of their own community, a culture which the Chinese have set out to destroy."
I could go on. Those were merely the most harrowing of the 16 human rights violations China was found guilty of.
Since that time, they have been condemned by other nations and NGOs for subjecting Tibetan women to forced sterilization and abortions and for systematically denying employment, health care and education to Tibetan citizens. Those who have escaped to India tell more graphic tales of torture including crucifixion, vivisection, disemboweling, dismemberment and burning. Women have been electrocuted on breasts and in their mouths and vaginas while other individuals were buried alive.
On August 8th, the nation that perpetrated these crimes, and that continues to engage in wide spread human rights abuses, will be hosting the world in the 29th Olympiad, an event that supposedly honours "universal fundamental ethical principles". The Beijing games are an offense that strikes the very core of these human values.
Having granted China the games, the IOC will do nothing to oppose them. Nor will there be a boycott from any of the 200 nations slated to compete in them. Action on this issue rests with us.
So in keeping with the themes I began several weeks ago in Generosity, Non-Violence and Non-Cooperation, here are a few meaningful actions that you can take in protest of the Beijing Games.
Athletes - You are the key individuals in the games. Without you there are no games. Given that governments will not boycott you can do so yourself. The higher profile you are, the bigger news it will be, and the more attention it will draw to the Tibetan cause. This legitimately may not be possible in light of corporate sponsorship deals. In this case, compete, and if you win a medal leave it behind on the podium or do not show up to accept it. Academy Awards have been refused. You can do the same with your medals.
In addition to dreams of victory, you may also have dreams of bringing home the medal itself, of displaying it proudly in your home, or making it an heirloom for you children. If so, know that the gold, silver or bronze of your victory was mined through the deforestation, pollution the destruction of the Tibetan environment while the Tibetan people received little to no economic benefit. Is this the heirloom you would leave your children? Or want around your neck?
Viewers - You are the second most important group of people. Through the sale of television rights the IOC has generated $2.5 billion in revenue. That is money networks anticipate getting back in spades through the sale of advertising time. But that is only a smart investment if people actually watch.
You are directly responsible for the profits that are realized by television networks from the games. Do not watch them. Don't watch an event, don't even watch the highlights. If you see your favorite newspaper, or magazine, with a cover story on the outcome of an event do not buy it.
If you think this sacrifices too much of your entertainment time, then I ask you 'what do you value in your life'? What values do you intend to communicate to your children? How important is this single entertainment event when you live in a world brimming with entertainment opportunities? Will you play your part in generating profits in an Olympics being held within a regime condemned for acts of genocide? Will you let your children watch that event? Is entertainment more important than the future of a peaceful culture and the lives of 6 million people? You can also ask yourself how much you remember from the last games, or better still the ones before that. Probably not much.
I am an avid sports fan and have followed every Olympics since 1984. I will not watch a minute of these games.
Shoppers - Olympic memorabilia and authentic Olympic sporting goods will be plugged mercilessly from now through Christmas. There is a fully functional and equivalent alternative available through competing brands for whatever equipment you need. Choose the alternative. Especially if it is a gift for your child. It is a chance to show them how their actions impact the lives and survival of others in the human family.
After your purchase, send a note along with the sales receipt to your National Olympic Committee (links available through the map here), and your national TV network, explaining why you didn't watch the games and why you are not supporting them as a consumer. If you are feeling extra motivation, send another copy to your Minister of Sport, Prime Minister or President.
Pass it on - individual action accumulates weight and effectiveness with numbers. Share these actions with friends, family, fellow students or workmates. If you are taking part in protests or actions, make these actions a part of your communications efforts. A two hour protest will leave little impact unless each individual who attends is empowered to take meaningful action in their own lives.
Most importantly, add your own ideas to the list above. These are only the actions that came immediately to mind and is by know means exhaustive.
Finally, if you feel that your actions do not matter, or won't amount to anything, then I leave you with the words of His Holiness the current Dalai Lama,
"It is therefore part of our responsibility towards others to ensure that the world we pass on is as healthy, if not healthier, than when we found it. This is not quite such as difficult proposition as it might sound. For although there is a limit to what we as individuals can do, there is no limit to what a universal response might achieve. It is up to us as individuals to do what we can, however little that may be. Just because (our action) seems inconsequential, it does not mean that we should not do it."
postscript - Incidentally, in light of recent protests do you know the history of the Olympic torch relay? It has no precedent in ancient Greece. It was introduced as a propaganda stunt to embrace other nations around the totalitarian ideology of, you guessed it, Nazi Germany.
To read
• Head over to Slate.com to read Darren Rovell's piece on the glory that is the '89 Upper Deck Ken Griffey.
• Start reading Sportscards Uncensored if you don't already. The writer has a voice that should definitely be heard. Also, as the title suggests, he likes to swear. A lot.
• Read Adam McFarland's Sports Lizard Rant. He's much more eloquent than I'll ever hope to be.
To monitor
• The general consensus is that Toppstown is going to be stupid. But let me say this: if and when I start buying Topps Series 2, I'm going to start entering codes, if only to see if I can find the secret hatch that makes the thing disappear. (By the way, if Toppstown is a hit, that probably means The Upper Deck ain't too far behind. Also, an enterprising card blogger would get him or herself in there on the ground floor and start the Toppstown alternative weekly. Call it something like The Michigan Test-Wax Tribune and I might have my anthropomorphic baseball cards read it.)
I'm sitting in th executive lounge of my hotel in Singapore, looking out over SunTec City and the city beyond while I wait for my flight. This has been an interesting trip, no doubt, but I'm happy to be headed home. Will I be back? Probably. Will I eat my way through the city again? Absolutely. Will I be a bit more touristy? Sure, why not! I might even check out the Night Safari if I get the chance. Unfortunately, too much work and too little time left little time for me to explore the city after last weekend.
Things to do next time I am back:
- Check out more hawker centers for lunch and or dinner. Visit Lau Pa Sat on the weekend for satay again.
- Eat more chili crab. And white pepper crab. And any other crab I can get my grubby hands on.
- Go back to Muthu's Curry for dinner. I had lunch at the outlet in SunTec City Mall today and it was amazingly good. And super spicy, in a good way.
- Find some chicken rice. I know its the local specialty and I was supposed to eat it during my stay. Somehow I screwed that up.
- Eat more laksa.
- Drink more Guinness Foreign Extra Stout while avoiding the local craptacular brewpubs. (Oh, Brewerkz was OK, but The Pump Room was total shit.)
- Shop less. I don't want to visit another damn mall anytime soon.
- Take more pictures. I failed on this count.
- Drink a Singapore Sling. Yes, I managed to not have any whilst staying here.
Our journey to where we are now (that is, quite in love with New Zealand) has involved a large number of conversations with fellow immigrants. After the usual "How long have you been in New Zealand? Are you enjoying it?" platitudes and a discussion about the wonderfully diffent nature of this land at the bottom of the world, the laws of immigrant conversational phsyics take a turn towards the
My time here is coming to an end. It has been fun, but I've been gone a long time (7 days) and won't make it home until Saturday night around 8 PM. I'm totally missing Maya and Steph right now.
I felt like my jet lag got better through the week, but tonight I'm just absolutely spent. Its 7 PM and the gin and tonic I had in the lounge has totally knocked me out. I was hoping to go out for one last nice Singaporean meal tonight, but I fear I am probably going to stick close to the hotel due to the incoming storms and my sleepiness. Teaching all week definitely takes its toll...
Last night I met a local for dinner. While I forget where we went for dinner, we ate an amazingly large amount and variety of Chinese food. Celeste would probably correct me and tell me it was Cantonese or Haianese or something else, but at the moment I forget what it is exactly. No matter, it was all good stuff that I would never find at home. Admittedly, I felt like a bit odd eating with Celeste since there are some significant cultural differences between how we eat. For instance, in Singapore people eat with a fork and spoon, using the fork to push food on to the spoon. No knife. I was totally klutzy trying this. I am sure I was even less graceful with my chopsticks, making a fool of myself. Do I pick the bowl of rice/soup up toward my mouth when eating or is that rude? I'm such a clueless American. But I'm learning!
However, it was a good time overall. I learned a bit of Singaporean culture and world view while sharing some American culture with her. I learned about SPGs (Sarong Party Girls), the fact that women (men?) can't rent an apartment until they are 35 or married, and the concept of a 3 room or 4 room (apartment with 3 or 4 rooms + kitchen) and the fact that Singapore is a "fine" country (in other words, you get fined for anything and everything possible). This is a bit of an odd country. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore...
Its time for dinner, then I need to pack my bags. I'm leaving after class tomorrow on a 10:50 PM flight to Seoul. I'll spend Saturday in Seoul before heading home to Atlanta to see my beautiful wife and daughter. And those crazy dogs, too...
Dear Reader,
I've decided that 2008 will be my last year at the helm of The Baseball Card Blog.
It's taken over too much of my life and the only way to save the both of us is if I bring in other writers or simply shut the site down. I've thought about this long and hard. It was not an easy decision to make.
When I started writing back in January of 2006, The Baseball Card Blog was the lone active card blog (Chris Harris' stellar Stale Gum was up but not active). 500 posts later and we're in the middle of a sports card blog renaissance. With so many good sites out there (Cardboard Junkie and Wax Heaven, to name just two), there's simply no need for me to continue to make frequent posts.
I thank you one and all for the attention–positive and negative–you've bestowed on this blog. As I said at the top, I will continue through the end of the year, then I will diminish my role as sole writer for 2009 and beyond.
Regards,
Ben
PS: I came to this decision a few months ago. Of course, I may change my mind as the year progresses.
Some heavy stuff 'round here lately, eh? Seems the hobby might not be as rosy-tinted as I'd like to believe. Lucky for me, the card companies are in an arms race for who can make the craziest bullshit cards. This has been going on for decades, but only now does it seem to be really out of control.
A few years ago I did an interview for Midweek's Take One where I said that I was waiting for a card of Johnny Damon's beard shavings from when he left the Red Sox to join the facial hair-less Yankees. And if not that, then a sweat-drenched card of anyone in particular, as that was the way things were going circa early 2006. So don't you love it when life answers your prayers?
First Topps included a strand of George Washington's favorite powdered wig. And now Upper Deck is taking it a step further: The Hair Cut Signatures series, to be released over at least two products (SP Legendary Baseball and Piece of History Baseball). You got your Babe Ruth, your George Washington, an Andrew Jackson, Abe Lincoln and Alexander Hamilton. What, no Chester A. Arthur?
Each card will include a strand of hair and a cut signature. See, I'd be more impressed if Upper Deck had built a time machine and sent a sunglasses-clad Richard McWilliam with Sharpie in hand back to get Hamilton et al to sign on the card. Also, it would be interesting to see if McWilliam's actions in the past changed the present enough to make Upper Deck disappear.
Cartoon for the Dutch Nu.nl news website, about the Dutch introduction of the Apple iPhone.
More at Sevensheaven.nl
Let me be the first to say it: I didn’t realize that so many people feel the same way I do about the meaningless-ness of prices listed in Beckett and Tuff Stuff. Very interesting stuff.
Let me also be the first to say that I didn’t realize just how big an issue this assessment really is. There are lots of thoughts out there about how the apparent demise of the price guide affects collectors, ranging from very much (count me among this lot) to not at all.
In the last post on this topic, I brought up the idea of price guides as hobby infrastructure and claimed that without their consultation the hobby would be thrown into chaos. Tonight I would like to take this a step further. Tonight I want to examine…
A World Without Baseball Card Shops
Here’s the situation. The list prices in price guides have been deemed useless on such a massive scale that Beckett and FW have ceased their publication. With no widely available prices, the majority of collectors now consult eBay for accurate card prices.
Dealers do the same. And after they view the umpteenth autographed patch 1/1 card go for less than $20–pulled from a box that dealers paid a premium on to sell–they stop ordering high-end products from the manufacturers. The dealers understand that if they’re seeing these auctions on eBay, their potential customers are winning them.
So many dealers stop ordering these cards that the manufacturers have a difficult decision to make: finally listen to dealers and put more value in each box of product, or dismiss dealers altogether and work exclusively with big box stores like Target, Kmart and Wal-Mart. It comes as no surprise when the manufacturers go with the latter choice.
Because the majority of shops deal primarily in new cards, they start to close. Collectors don’t notice right away, as most of them are tuned to eBay. And besides, the hobby’s gone through this before and survived, so what’s the big deal? Also, everybody’s got a Wal-Mart near them, so who cares if one more shop goes out of business? Shops sell off their inventory and shutter.
Dealers at baseball card shows don’t feel the same pressure right away, though many of them do feel their brethren’s plight. Instead, without book prices to consult on every transaction, desperate, frenetic dealers result to using their best judgment. Collectors, fully aware of the situation dealers are in, refuse to be charged “judgment call prices.” Many dealers, citing lack of meaningful sales at shows, stop booking booths. What few shows remain shrink in attendance until they cease to exist. The National is the lone exception, chugging away, though it’s a magnet for news media to lament the hobby crisis. “Ain’t in the Card$,” is the New York Post headline.
Without dealers, the manufacturers are no longer in the dominant bargaining position. They’re at the whim of the big box stores. Product’s gonna be late? OK, we’re diminishing your shelf space. The manufacturers are not used to their role as ‘just another product.’ What happened to all those dealers they used to push around?
If I haven’t given my critics enough fodder already, here’s some more:
• The future of the hobby most certainly will not play out the way I’ve got it, though certain aspects of it are very close to happening now.
• No matter how much we distrust the prices within price guides, they’re essential to the well being of the hobby. If you’ve got a plan for injecting realistic card values into the hobby without killing hobby shops and show dealers off, please, I’m all ears.
• One last thing: I wanted to work graded cards into this somehow, but never found a good spot. If raw singles aren’t really worth their book value, what about graded cards? I know that entire price guides cater to graded specimen, but will/should these prices be combined with prices for unslabbed cards? Or would that negate the values assigned to those that have been slabbed? Also, why does it feel to me that dealing in graded cards is going to be what saves shop owners and show dealers?
My weekly cartoon in morningpaper nrc.next.
It says: f*ck everything! ('I'm shitting on everything' in Dutch)
and than: for sale: direction indicator lights, hardly ever used.
Just a figure, inspired by Boris, the assistant of Frankenstein.
More at Sevensheaven.nl
This post was inspired by an email from Reader Paul in Ottawa:
In 1966, an early checklist listed card 115 as Warren Spahn. This was corrected on later issues as Bill Henry and it is in fact the Henry card that is in circulation...but it begs the question, is there a 1966 Spahn card out there? Clearly Topps was expecting him to return to the Giants for the 1966 season, and it it also clear that his retirement created the switch...but if it was so late that SOME CHECKLISTS LISTED HIM AS THE CARD, is it possible that Topps has a stash of cards made that they didn't release into circulation? It is obvious that at least they would have had a plate for this card.
Anyone out there ever heard of such a card?
While I'm not sure what the answer is to this question, it made me think of other instances that I've dubbed Cardboard Mysteries.
• Where's Steve Carlton in the 1966 Topps set?
• What was the real reason Bowman almost released Ted Williams as card #66 in its 1954 set?
• How did Fleer get so many big names for their 1963 set? Or can we chalk it up to an especially talkative Jimmy Piersall?
• Topps has made at least five cards that are either post career-ending accident or 'In Memoriam' cards, including: Ken Hubbs (1964), Cory Lidle (2006), A. Bartlett Giamatti (1990), Roberto Clemente (1973) and Roy Campanella's 'Symbol of Courage' (1959). So why didn't they do one for Thurman Munson in 1980 Topps?
• Also regarding Munson, Thurman's 1971 Topps card is his second-year card, yet it's more expensive than his rookie. Are there other instances where this occurs?
Jet lag sucks.
I thought I was doing OK, but around 7 PM last night I was completely zonked. I grabbed some dinner, called Steph around 9 PM and then, magically, I was awake again. I finally went to bed around 11 PM. I woke up at 1 AM and tossed and turned with some really freaky dreams until 3 AM. And then I was up for the rest of the morning. Tonight I'm going back to the Ambien, I need my beauty rest.
After a full morning of running around Little India I'm spent. Its time for a nap.
Audio
LV - Dream Cargo - Hyperdub
Disrupt - Kozure Okami - Jahtari
MRK1 - Electronic - Contagious
Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma - XL
Hayman, Watkins, Trout & Lee - Jam-eater Blues - Fortuna Pop
Mr. Scruff - Donkey Ride - Ninja Tunes
South San Gabriel/Centromatic - Kept on the Sky - Cooking Vinyl
The Wailin' Jennys - Glory Bound - Red House
The Duke Spirit - My Drunken Treasure -
Bon Iver - Flume - 4AD
The Monkees - Last Train to Clarksville
Mark Stewart - Radio Freedom - Crippled
The Winston Scotland Showcase
Peter Tosh – Maga Dog – Pressure Beat 7"
Bunny Flip - Skanky Dog
Joe Gibbs & The Now Generation – Boney Dog – Pressure Beat 7"
Winston Scotland – Scar Face – Joe Gibbs Record Globe 7"
Winston Scotland - Prophesy Rock
Tafari All Stars – Dub It Up – Tafari 7"
Joe White – Victory Dance – Mor Well Esq 7"
Zion Fever – Winston Scotland – Tafari 7"
Winston Scotland – Buttercup
Roland Wilson - I Care – High School 7"
Winston Scotland – Keep On Skanking – High School 7"
Winston Scotland - My Little Filly
Bunny Brown – My Girl – High School 7"
Winston Scotland – Power Skank – High School 7"
Winston Scotland – Quick & Slick – High School 7"
Roland Alphonso & The Bunny Lee All Stars – 1000 Tons Of Megaton – Unity 7"
Winston Scotland - On The Track
Lennox Brown – High School Serenade – High School 7"
Tony Aiken & Winston Scotland - Love Is Not A Toy Version – Pirate Records 7"
The Fiddlers - Violin Rock
Part Two – Sounds Of Muzik 7"
Selected by Harry Hawke
I almost forgot to mention this!
As I was flying into Singapore, I flipped through a copy of Atlanta Sports & Fitness Magazine. I ran across this article and thought the pictures looked familiar.
Of course they look familiar, I took them! Too bad I didn't get credit, but these were all taken by me during the 2007 Hike For Discovery season. (The hard copy has a few more images, but John Donaghy, who is shown in the picture coming up the switchbacks on the approach to Half Dome, spent a lot of "quality" time with me that day. You know what I'm talking about, John.)
So its my first full day here in Singapore. Some initial thoughts:
The city is clean. Really clean. The only foul smells anywhere are from some of the stalls selling raw fish or other dried fish products that have that have a funky, fish out in the open on a hot as balls day smell to them.
It is hot. Damn hot. I walked around from ~8 AM until 11:30 AM and I am just dripping with sweat. Hot and humid, two great tastes that go great together. Bugis and the Arab district (Arab St, Hajj Lane) were the destinations of the morning. Mostly aimless wandering and some photos now and again as I orient myself. I did some shopping on Arab St. and found a nice present for Steph and some potential batik fabrics which we could hang in our entry way. Gotta check with the boss first and see if she approves before buying them.
Eating here is quite fun. First I ran into a fruit stand with some cut open dragon fruit, something I had never tried. So I bought a piece, it reminded me of a firm, purple kiwi, but not as tart. The hawker also convinced me to try some jackfruit, it was nothing special. I walked around the hawker food stalls in Bugis and sat down with some seafood laksa (seafood coconut milk soup, yum! I'm sure this was much better than what was featured on Top Chef last week), a Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and then a cool glass of soya milk to soothe my burning tongue. That laksa was seriously spicy but so very good. And cheap! All in I spent about US $6.
No signs of jet lag yet. I slept about 6 hours last night (1 AM - 7 AM, thanks Ambien!). Since the middle of the day is the hottest, I'm going to chill at the hotel for a bit before exploring a bit more tonight, possibly in Little India. I'll be poking around Wikitravel further to see if there is anything else that I need to see on my 2 days off here before work begin
The Cook Strait is the body of water lying between the North Island and South Island of New Zealand. It is legendary for its temperamental behaviour, choppy conditions, and ripping currents. Consequently, you might think that a three-hour ferry ride across it might not be a great idea. Some days, you'd be right: On other days, it is spectacular. We were particularly lucky: in the space of
Some random notes from today's 24 hours of travel...
5/22/08 2:21 PM EDT
Here I am on Delta from Atlanta to Shanghai in Seat 1A as I travel the first leg of my trip to Singapore. We’re just northwest of Wabamun, Alberta and headed on a northwesterly course toward the Canadian Rockies. I’m well fed — yes, the airline food was surprisingly good in Business Elite, though not the Chik-fil-A chicken biscuit I wanted — tired of working and ready to catch some sleep to stave off the inevitable jet lag. A glass of bourbon and Ambien were both consumed 90 minutes ago. The cabin lights are down, ear plugs shoved into my ears to block out the cabin noise and my eye shade pulled over my eyes.
I’m wide awake. My well intentioned plan to force myself to sleep on Singaporean time (exactly 12 hours ahead of Atlanta) to stave off some of the inevitable jet lag is not working. Sure, I’m yawning a bit and I think I did nap for 15 or 20 minutes but real sleep is escaping me right now. With 9+ hours to go until we land in Shanghai, this is going to be one long flight if this keeps up. Perhaps after a little more work and a movie or two things will change. However, with an estimated arrival in Shanghai at 1:50 PM Friday (1:50 AM EDT) and a two hour layover before my next leg to Singapore, things are not looking so hot right now.
5/22 4:58 PM EDT
I've been sneezing my head off for 90 minutes. So glad I dumped my normal cache of cold meds based on horror stories about heading into Singapore. Still no sleep, but I did finish the report that was hanging over my head. We're over Alaska now, due north of Anchorage. 8.5 hours of flying time to go. Yes, it seems like it should be less, but for some reason the landing time keeps changing.
Ambien, take 2: Double bourbon on the rocks and 10 mg of Ambien. With any luck this will knock me out for the remainder of this leg. Until that sets in, I'm going to watch some bad TV...
5/23 2:59 AM EDT
About an hour outside of Shanghai at the moment. For the past hour or so I have been feeling pretty crappy, swinging between hot and cold. I was brought food which I couldn't manage to eat. As my stomach began giving me a hint that something was not right I walked to the front lavatory. Full. Turned around to go to the back lavatory. Full.
Turned around again and I puked in the middle of the aisle in business class. All over the floor, my shirt, everything. The good news: The mess I made is significantly far back in business class where I don't have to smell it until we get off this plane. But I think the flight attendant who came upon me in my puking glory is not so happy. Glad I had a change of clothes in my carry-on luggage.
I can't wait to get off this flight for a bit so I can stretch out and put some simple food in my belly.
5/23 7 AM (EDT)
After a layover in Shanghai, where I ate some good noodles and dumplings in soup along with some green tea to soothe my stomach, I'm on the way to Singapore. While in Shanghai I learned that I forgot to enable international roaming on my cell phone. Oops. I tried to call AT&T via Skype, but it was too early in the morning for that to have worked. Of course Steph and Maya will be awake and awaiting my call when I arrive in Singapore, they will have to wait until I reach the hotel.
Sitting on the plane I have my Singaporean immigration card in front of me. In BIG RED LETTERS it reads "WARNING DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKERS UNDER SINGAPORE LAW". They take their laws seriously, too. Of course, I have had a stuffy nose for hours and would love to have some Dayquil about now, but I dumped it all on my desk at home lest I be considered trafficking in Dayquil.
This flight is nice, quiet and very clean. The flight attendants are all beautiful Chinese women who are unfailingly polite, even when their English is a bit shaky. I passed out when we took off, catching about 2 hours of much needed sleep. When I woke I was immediately asked if I wanted dinner. Sure, why not? So dinner is brought to me — mostly not worth eating, IMHO — and she asked if I'd like a beer.
Would I like a beer? Uh, lady, HELL YES! Before I get the chance to find out what kind of beer she might offer me she is gone. In a flash she's back and has poured something out of a silver can with a mix of Chinese and English. Its yellow. Its fizzy. Its BUD ICE! Was she being stereotypical and giving the nice, sleepy eyed American gentleman what he would drink at home? I took a sip. Yuck. <snark>I love beers with no flavor to speak of other than cooked corn. </snark> So I ask her if she has anything else. Tsingtao and Lan Cang River (LCR) Beer. Who am I to pass up on the chance to try yet another disappointingly bad beer? I was right, it was no better than the icy silver bullet that came before it. I'll stick to water for now.
I am completely over sitting my ass in a plane and staring at the map of where we have been and where we are going. At least this time its in both English and Chinese, ensuring that I learn the symbols set of our soon to be overlords. We're off the east coast of Vietnam at the moment (all I can think of is Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam as Adrian Kronauer singing "Follow the Ho Chi Minh Trail!" as if he were a munchkin from Oz. Or, seeing Da Nang on the map. In the movie he fakes the weather report from Da Nang. "How hot is it?" "It's so damn hot I saw one of those little men in the orange robes burst into flames! It's that hot, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout?"). In 2 more hours we should be landing in Singapore.
The next question is one of jet lag. I'm surprisingly awake. I have slept, perhaps 6 or 8 hours in the past 20 hours since I left Atlanta. But when I actually go to put my head on the pillow tonight, what's going to happen? Anyone's guess at this moment. Though I think I may avoid the Ambien and bourbon routine, that didn't seem to work out so well on the last flight and may have been the reason I blew chunks.
5/23 11:22 AM EDT
I'm in my hotel. I have no need for sleep. But I do need food. Jet lag is going to suck.
Today I walked down to the supermarket and for the hell of it bought the new Tuff Stuff– excuse me, the new Tuff Stuff's Sports Collectors Monthly. And while it was fun to flip through it, scan the ads and learn about cards from the Dark Ages of the hobby (1996 - 2005), I got to the point where I felt like I was deluding myself if I actually believed what was printed in the magazine's price guides. I found myself agreeing with the anonymous commenter on the "Toppstown" post: a conventional price guide has become the string quartet on the Titanic.
I'll admit, that's a dire read on today's hobby, but let's examine the situation. The hobby doesn't need price guides to exist, and yet would be chaotic without them. Beckett and FW Publications (publisher of Tuff Stuff) provide infrastructure for the secondary market. Dealers consult them when setting prices. You want to see a world without the consultation of book prices? Look no further than eBay.
With its low prices and open-source approach to assigning realistic value to cards and memorabilia, it's the new face of the hobby. It's slowly killing independent in-shop dealers. It's taken the bottom out of the value of game-used, relic, auto and other seemingly hard-to-find cards. That Poley Walnuts insert of the squirrel at Yankee Stadium from last year's Topps? Tuff Stuff has it at $40. Here are two eBay auctions: one's at $1.25, the other at $0.99.
I know I'm not the first person to bring this up, but have you really thought about what the hobby will look like in the next five years? I think it's fair to say that both Beckett Publications and FW have enough money to continue publishing their respective fleets, but what will be in those magazines? Or, more appropriately, what will be on their websites? Will there still be price guides? And if yes, will the prices they hold mean anything?
Ebay's not going anywhere. Beckett.com has a large community forum on the site, as does TuffStuff.com. Beckett's got guest columnists, Tuff Stuff's got bloggers...
With realistic pricing coming from a relatively unexpected third party, is original content the infrastructure of the future? Or can the Becketts and the Tuff Stuffs reclaim their relevancy in a traditional role in the hobby? And what about all the dealers who got into the industry only to watch their roles in it disintegrate?
Thanks to those who offered their assistance. I'll be in touch.
I didn't receive a VPRO-Gids myself yet, but somebody sent me a picture, so it's out there all right. I'll put a larger image in my portfolio later today.
This new device gives you movies and TV episodes in your living room, instantly. It’s just $99.99 and it works with any Netflix plan that includes unlimited instant watching.
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We’re very excited about the simplicity and cost of this device. It lets you use the full power of the Netflix website to find movies for your instant Queue, then quickly and easily choose from those movies on the player. We think that’s a major improvement over the clutter of trying to choose from 10,000 titles on the TV.
Get yours now at http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer
Brent.
The first Platform for kids was a great success. We had over 240 people. The performance and art was really amazing to see. This picture turned out really great. Not much digital work just made the background a little darker.
Stylized 3D illustration about the participants council of pension funds, who keep an eye on a correct pension payment.
More at Sevensheaven.nl
Audio
The Deathset - Distressed (Bonde De Role Remix) - Counter Records - countcd016p
The Kingsize Five - I am missle - Little Genius Recordings -
Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights of America - Hassle
Cancer Bats - Hail Destroyer - Hassle
Johnny Foreigner - Eyes wide terrified - Best Before Records
The Accidental - I can hear your voice - Full Time Hobby
Nice Peter
Seckou Keita Sko - Blimo - SKQ
Jimmy Radway / Fe Me Time / Special
Errol Dunkley - Keep The Pressure Down –
Desmond Young - Warning -
Big Youth - Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (version one) –
Negusa Nagast Band - Chapter Two – Negusa Nagast 7" (Big Youth prod.)
Big Youth - Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (version two) – - Trojan 7" (Big Youth prod.)
The Caribs - Warning (version one) – Fe Me Time 7"
The Caribs - Warning (version two) – Fe Me Time 7"
I Roy - Full Warning –
Fe Me Time All Stars - Full Warning Version – Fe Me Time 7"
Leroy Smart - Mother Liza –
Bobby ElliS - Mr. Ellis –
Fe Me Time All Stars - Mother Liza (version) – Fe Me Time 7"
I Roy - Sound Education –
Fe Me Time All Stars - Sound Education Version – Fe Me Time 7"
Errol Dunkley - Black Cinderella –
Big Youth - The Best Big Youth –
Augustus Pablo - Cinderella In Black –
Fe Me Time All Stars - Cinderella Version Four – Fe Me Time 7"
Fe Me Time All Stars - Black Cinderella Version – - Fe Me Time 7"
Hortense Ellis - Hell & Sorrow –
Big Youth - Tribulation –
Leroy Smart - Happiness Is My Desire –
The Micron Steppers - Dub Is My Desire – – Capricorn Rising 7"
Leroy Smart - Mr. Smart –
Fi Mi Time All Stars - Smart Version – Fi Mi Time 7"
Vin Gordon - Tina May –
Leroy Smart - Mirror Mirror –
Fi Mi Time All Stars - Mirror Version – Fi Me Time 7"
Scatty Bell - Black I Am –
Tommy McCook - The Great Tommy McCook – Jaguar 7"
Selected by Harry Hawke
We left Pak n Save and drove to Ruby Bay, to find the place we were to stay in for the remaining two nights on the South Island. The power of google had brought us to possibly the best holiday home in the universe: it promised sea views, a beach frontage, interesting high-quality decor, organic chicken eggs laid fresh every morning by the local flock, and an olive grove.As the sun was beginning
A statement against an almost totalitarian police action in the Netherlands, involving a police raid, house-search, seizure and imprisonment of a Dutch cartoonist.
Although a cartoonist may create questionable work, a democratic state should not arrest and imprison someone who has only expressed his vision, no matter how provocative. Intimidating people in such a way is the kind of repressive, censoring gesture that belongs to a dictatorship.
2nd Place: Mike Krukow (48 votes)
Your mission is to add a sticker once a week to your local sign. I wish one of these stickers never made it on my sign but hey once its filled up I wont have to see it anymore.
Group A WINNER (11 votes)
Group B WINNER (13 votes)
Showdown coming!
I added a few packs of Polaroid to my stash. 46 packs. I hit 4 Wal-Marts. $12.14 a pack. The best deal came in Auburndale, they had the double packs for $19.00. Its still hard to figure out whats going on with Polaroid. Time is closing in.......
Rest of Group J
Rest of Group H
Rest of Group G
Rest of Group F
