12 Decent Dollars

Years ago, when I was laid off from my job, the fill in until I found a better paycheck was working as a security guard. Excitement. My duty was in a warehouse guarding suits. Men's suits. Seriously.

Protecting you ladies from my hotness.

I would get locked in about 5:30 and at the top of each hour make a trip through the warehouse turning a key in a fire box. The job was to make sure there wasn't a fire. These were really expensive suits. A grand or more each. I would roam around in there when I was bored and once saw a suite with the tag "Digger Phelps" on it.

Yeah - I left a note in the pocket praising Norte Dame. No idea if he ever got it.

Anyway, this was at the time where the wee hours of the night was not infomercials but old black and white movies on the TV. I snuck in a little portable television to keep me awake, and it was through that I found an appreciation for the older cinema, musicals, etc. I recall it was one night on either WGN or WFLD I saw "12 Angry Men". And if none of you have watched it, what the hell is wrong with you? Just do it. It's not currently streaming on Netflix or Prime, but you can find it. Or just rent it.

So where am I going with this? Two weeks ago I had jury duty. You are summoned for a week in Illinois, and have to call in twice a day to see if you need to report. I only got called to the court one day - Wednesday. Within 15 minutes, my number along with 30 or so others got called for jury selection. A civil case. So instead of reading my book, I was sitting while the lawyers questioned potential jurors. When we broke for lunch (with only half of us questioned), I went out to find food. Where I stopped was just in front of a Walmart, so why not a little trip to the card aisle in the front of the store. While the Walmart near my house seems to get pretty picked through, this particular store must not have a lot of card shoppers. I can usually find some decent stuff.

This was one of those days, finding a discounted blaster of 2016 Archives for just under $12 bucks. How did I do before I had to go back for my round of questioning?

For starters, this was a great box for a Sox fan. Here are all the ChiSox within. I just missed the Sox in the 1979 section of the set. Still - good haul.

Speaking of 1979 (sorry Night Owl - didn't pull any you needed), this was the only card in the blaster that had a card in the original set. Funny they moved Sutter to the Cardinals in 2016 when he was a Cub in the original. And thank goodness they did, since the Cardinals have sooooooo few cards in the set (14, for those that care).

There's that Eaton again. These were all potential binder cards, except that I already have them in the binders from other packs, blasters or blogger generosity. Into the set build they all shall go. BTW - love the 50th year patch on Scooter's sleeve.

Inserts. Later folks - I'm retiring on that Bryant. YEAH!

There is my guaranteed Bull Durham card. Dupe, as I have Millie already. The Father and Son card is a dupe too. But that Burroughs auto was a hell of a nice pull. I swear that's the player name, even if you cannot see pale orange on pale gray. Good call, Topps. But funny they put Jeff on a design that is the year PRIOR to his rookie card.

Might not have gotten the full $12 worth, but it was a fun rip and I got some good set filler.

And I wasn't selected for the trial. Makes me one for two on juries.

2016 Archives...musically

It's back. Time for the third annual look at Topps Archives from the music of the era. You can view the 2014 and 2015 posts, and we'll take a look at the 2016 release. Like last year, 2016 Archives is just three years - 1953, 1979 and 1991. Like past years, I am going to ignore the insert sets (1969 Topps Super and 1985 Father-Son) and only focus on the three main sets being honored.

1953.

When you listened to the radio in 1953, there was no rock 'n roll. While the musical genre was just starting out, the airwaves were still filled with the likes of Patti Page puppy shopping, June Valli getting stood up at the alter, Eddie Fisher telling his lover how a body part will do so much for her, and Julius LaRosa (who just passed away a month ago) trying to launch a jam session.

You could find some nice music, though, over the air and on vinyl. Eartha Kitt purred in French, Tony Bennett got himself out of the gutter, and Nat King Cole wanted us to daydream. While Dean Martin sang about love, Hank Williams sang about the painful side of love. Les Paul and Mary Ford wished you goodbye, and The Four Lads gave everyone a geography lesson. Lastly, Ray Charles told people to dance with his first big hit. Best hit from the year, though, goes to a song covered by many people, but few match the power of the original by Big Momma Thornton.

1979.

1979 was a transitional year in music. Disco was extremely popular, and rock was recovering from the psychedelic phase that transitioned into soft rock. So AM radio played Anne Murray and Barbara Streisand. Kenny Rogers sung about a wimp and Dolly ruined a Beatles classic. Rupert Holmes wanted to Escape, maybe with the help of The Village People's Navy. A couple of right wing a-holes also could be heard on the radio. And being this is my blog, I'm listing these in the bad music section: Ted Nugent and Charlie Daniels.

Thankfully, there was some really good music in '79. Record debuts came out from The Knack, Joe Jackson, The B-52's, Pat Benatar and U2. The first rap song hit the airwaves in 1979 from Sugarhill Gang. New Wave showed up from The Boomtown Rats, The Cars and Gary Numan. Hard rock was alive and well thanks to Cheap Trick, Bad Company, and Led Zeppelin. Elvis Costello sung about mistakes, Supertramp sung about Mr. Spock and Styx song about the clock. M and Donna Summer kept folks dancing, and Prince, Van Halen and Frank Zappa were all on varying places along that dancing spectrum. Davie Bowie and Foreigner had different takes on boys. Madness felt a single step was plenty, but Michael Jackson wanted us to keep on going until you got enough. The album of 1979, though, is a no brainer. One of the three albums I would take to a desert island (along with The Joshua Tree and Syncronicity) was released right at the end of 1979 - The Clash's London Calling. Great from start to finish, it would be hard to pick just one song, but track 9 has always been a personal favorite.

1991.

1991. 25 years ago. The set released the year I got married. FOr the start of the year, my future wife and I were living in Fort Myers, FL. Then came back home in August. Rock music changed in 1991, as you will see. But plenty of junk was still out there. Roxette wanted to take you for a ride (no thanks). Paula Abdul wanted us to dance (no thanks). Michael Bolton loved women (no thanks). The Spin Doctors got WAY overplayed. And while I do have some respect for what she did, Natalie Cole still wrecked a great song dueting with her daddy.

As I mentioned, music changes in 1991. Grunge came into fashion, so Smashinig Pumpkins, Blur, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana ruled the airwaves. NWA were the first hard core rap group to score a number 1 album. 2Pac debuted, Hammer was 2Legit, and Heavy D was 2confused about sex. A few future actors released songs in 1991, including The Fresh Prince, Ice Cube and Mark "Marky Mark" Walberg. Both Van Halen and Crowded House were baking. R.E.M. went meta, Tom Petty went to flight school and The Smithereens went to the top. The Chili Peppers wanted us to give it away, but not sexually. Prince and The Divinyls, though, were very obvious in what they meant. Michael Jackson had a color problem, U2 had a bug problem, Guns N' Roses had a weather problem and The Godfathers had a problem with the whole planet. If there was one big issue with the rise of grunge was other great music was forgotten. Material Issue released their debut International Pop Overthrow and were set to hit it big. But their style didn't fit the growing sound on the radio and they never received the recognition they deserved.

2015 Archives...musically

I did a post just like this on the 2014 Archives. It was fun for me to put together, and I got some decent response. So what the hell - let's do it again.

As you know, Topps Archives this year is only three years - 1957, 1976 & 1983. As I did in the past, let's look at those years in the music scene. Now, I know there are insert sets that honor 1968 and 1990 - I'm ignoring those. We are simply looking at the three main sets used for base. Also, this is not an opinion on the design, how true it is to the original or any of that. More than enough blogs have looked into those factors far more eloquently than I ever will. We are only hitting the airwaves with the three card designs.

1957.

Topps reached way back for the first year, hitting a design only 8 years into it's run. The radio in 1957 had been getting competition from television with many stars of the radio getting comedy shows on the tube. Rock and roll was still in diapers, so it was common to find so older music on the radio while the adults of the decade dealt with this hoodlums. Pat Boone was still a heart throb, Andy Williams was 5 years from having a show on television, Mel Tormè was singing Irish tunes, and Dick Haymes was....well, being Dick Haymes. Frank Sinatra had a classic from a movie soundtrack, Nat King Cole was still releasing hit after hit and Johnny Mathis was getting some recognition from his sophomore effort.

There was plenty of other good stuff to be found on the AM dial. Little Richard was confusing the masses, Chuck Berry recorded a classic in Chicago in May and Elvis went to prison (on the silver screen). Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong had a 2nd successful partnership on vinyl while Patsy Cline sung sorrowfully on the country charts. The biggest deal for 1957 may be some of the music super stars that debuted that year. You have Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Ricky Nelson and the smooth voice of Sam Cooke. But probably the biggest star to put out his first album in this year was the man in black, Johnny Cash.

1976.

The radio in 1976 was a mess. Rock and roll was a shell of itself after morphing out of the psychedelic phase into ....whatever the early 70's were. Disco was coming on strong as well. So we were stuck listening to stuff like solo Diana Ross, a dancing Leo Sayer and former bath house musician Barry Manilow. I am also putting the 2nd release from this jagoff in the crap pile because he is a right wing nutjob and I frankly don't like him, even if a couple of his songs are not too bad.

Thankfully, other stuff saved the airwaves. Peter Frampton asked how we felt from the biggest selling live album while Boston said it was more than just a feeling. My home city of Chicago got some props on the dial with releases from Styx, REO Speedwagon and Chicago. The Eagles were staying in Hotel California while Thin Lizzy was trying to be anywhere but where they were. Queen was into bondage, KISS was vocal about something and Rose Royce just wanted to clean your car. The fantastic 2112 album from Rush came out in 1976. And say what you want about these two groups, but I have a secret love of ABBA and the wonderful voice of The Carpenters. Artists that had their first albums released in 1976 include Heart, Tom Petty and the pioneers, The Ramones. And as amazing as The Ramones are, I am going to give the video posting the the great Stevie Wonder, who released his super album Songs In the Key of Life with this huge hit and personal favorite.

1983.

Hey - 1983. It's the year I graduated high school. What you kids call "alternative" was "new wave" when I was a teenager. FM radio was hitting it's stride. That's not to say '83 was great. Still had to deal with Spandau Ballet, and debuts from Wham! and Kajagoogoo. Know who else debuted in 1983? The queen of "look at me - no, look at ME", Madonna. Plus Night Ranger tagged themselves with a song they probably wished they never recorded.

But 1983 was a good year tune wise. As I mentioned new wave, you had Eurythmics and their dreams, Oingo Boingo waking them up and The Fixx saying they were both connected somehow. Donna Summer needed money, and may have used a body part ZZ Top appreciated to obtain it. It was a Big Country, and even bigger when the wall fell down around John Cougar Mellencamp. Huey Lewis wanted a different way to alter his mind. David Bowie wanted to get down, but Re-Flex tried to make it political. Duran Duran indirectly supported David, or the other side. The newest music stars to release their first album in 1983 ranged from the Violent Femmes to Weird Al. College radio favorite R.E.M also released their first album (or cassette). And before they passed the mantle of rock gods to U2, The Police left the industry with easily the greatest album ever made. It's one of the three discs I would want with me on a deserted island.

So there you have it. I am sure I missed a lot of songs, but you can't link to everything.

2014 Archives...musically

So Archives has been out now about a month. Everyone has had their say about it. I don't get into Archives very much. I think the idea is lacking substance, and the cardboard quality is dreadful. However, I did want to try looking at Archives in a different fashion, just for the fun of it. So let's look at the years in the set from the musical side of the states during those years. All the songs linked (and I will be linking hard in this post) were on albums released during the particular year. Also, these are my personal choices - feel free to voice your opinion on what I picked or what I left out. But I hope you hang around, and even click on a few links, if only to get the song stuck in your head, forcing you to click on another to get that song out.

I'm cruel like that.

1973.

1973 was a rough year in music. The psychedelic years were over, disco was on the horizon, and the airwaves were...well, had a lot of junk on it. Before we could hear the good stuff on AM radio (FM didn't really get big until the late 70's), we had to deal with stuff like Tony Orlando & Dawn, Vicki Lawrence, Helen Reddy, and Maureen McGovern.

It was rough riding in the rumble seat at the back of the station wagon and hearing that crap. Luckily, there was some great music too. For real rock we had Deep Purple putting out a classic (if not totally plagiarized), Alice Cooper trying to get into government and Queen just getting on the music scene. My hometown bands Chicago keep the sound of a strong horn section alive and REO Speedwagon tried to be safe in a snow storm,. Frank Zappa was, well, Frank Zappa. And Johnny Cash was the man in black, as always. What really saved the 70's was rhythm and blues, funk and the Motown sound. Great releases from the amazing voice of Al Green and soulful groups like The O'Jays and The Spinners were on the charts. However, if I was picking a best song for 1973, it this brilliant piece from The Temptations.

1980.

Ahhh, the start of the 80's. I was in high school and I think I really started to appreciate music. It helped to be in a racially and economically diverse high school. I saw all ends of the musical spectrum. That's not to say 1980 was pure joy. I couldn't turn off songs by Captain & Tennille, Air Supply, Rupert Holmes or Dolly Parton fast enough.

But man, the 1980s were great. Alternative music broke out with songs by Blondie, synth master Gary Numan, pioneers Devo, girl fav Adam & the Ants, and English import Split Enz. The kings of puck The Ramones released their 2nd album, along with hits from other rockers like Journey and The Pretenders. Pete Townshend went solo as did Peter Gabriel. Blues made a commercial splash thanks to the Blues Brothers Soundtrack, and the US got it's first taste of U2. For me, though, the band that I got turned on to in 1980, and still really enjoy, released their first album in 1980 - Oingo Boingo.

1986.

The third entry of 2014 Archives comes from 1986. I am out of high school, and I was in a few college courses in community college, but '86 was the 2nd term of The Great Communicator Ronald Reagan (insert eye roll), so I had to drop out and get a full time job. Somehow, trickle down just wasn't trickling down. The radio had garbage like Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, and Phil Collins. And 1986 was the year Eddie Murphy thought he was a singer (no - you weren't).

Thankfully, other stuff played on better radio stations. Women really started to show up, bolstered by MTV. You had The Bangles, Bananarama with a remake, Belinda Carlisle going solo,goofy Stacey Q, and the amazing, needs-to-be-in-the-RnR-Hall-of-Fame Pat Benatar. Women were also strong in the rap and hip hop genres with the debut of Salt N Peppa (don't forget Spinerella) and Janet Jackson growing up.  Plenty of rock offerings with anthem rockers GTR, Stevie Ray Vaughn's lil' brother in The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Van Halen getting a new lead singer, and Robert Palmer creating one of the most iconic music videos. 1986 spanned the whole scale of music, from Cameo to Crowded House to Weird Al. And while I didn't get into this band until the 90s, best song I can think from 1986 came off the debut of TMBG - They Might Be Giants.

1989.

Let's finish off Archives while we finish off the 80's in 1989. This is the year I met the woman that would become my wife (foolish girl). The following year, I would be packing up and heading down to Florida for a year while she had a job in a school district down there. But before we left, we were hitting the scan button on the radio whenever crap came on like Will To Power, lip syncing Milli Vanilli, boy band New Kids On The Block and cute, but annoying, Debbie Gibson.

Fortunately, the first year with my future spouse also had some great songs to put into our memories. College favorite Smithereens started getting the airplay they deserved, as did The Replacements. Rap and hip hop went mainstream thanks to Technotronic, Young MC telling us to move, and Tone Loc selling an aphrodisiac. Rock was well served with the Red Hot Chili Peppers putting out a great remake of a Stevie Wonder song, Eric Clapton kicking the bottle and rocking out, Faith No More being grunge before grunge, Janet Jackson getting in on the hard rock act, and Extreme (before More Than Words) just being insane with a song from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (seriously - watch that video at about 4:15). Bobby Brown felt it was his prerogative to go to the B-52's love shack. However, one song that I find greatest over all is what I feel is Michael Jackson's best song. Talk about Thriller all you want - he nailed it with this tune. 

 

Tis the season: Who won, and then the big one

Well, the holiday giving season here at 2x3 Heroes is winding down. I hope you all had fun. I hope the winners enjoy their cards, though I still gotta hit the post office - busy week here in my household, but I promise I will get stuff out very soon. For those they have yet to score anything, don't worry, because your chance is about to come.

But first, let's gives away two boxes of stuff I plain didn't like this year - 2012 Archives and 2012 Heritage. I am guess many of you didn't care, or didn't need, because the entries were less than the Allen and Ginter. No worries, I am just glad to get these out of my boxes. So, who are the lucky winners? Well, let's reveal the serial numbers.

And for a little bit of zoomage...

We have the Howard at #1052/1962 with the Braun at #915/1963. Can you believe it - just one person won both boxes?! Chunter is the winner, guessing 777 for the Howard (just guessing over DominicFDNY) and 1026 beating out...DominicFDNY. Dom, when I get Chunter's address, maybe you can convince me to forward it on so you can have a little talk with him, if you know what I mean. Chunter, I'll be in touch to get your mailing address. Congrats on guesses well made.

Alright folks, here's the big one. The idea for this was borrowed from another blog, and I can't remember who, but you know who you are and thank you for the idea. 2x3 Heroes is going to give away cards to those that ask for them - it's that simple. I have scanned 100 cards, which I hope many of you would enjoy to have. Pick 2. Pick 2 cards & leave a comment with the card numbers. I will reply to your comment that I noted your choices. Email me at 2x3heroesATgmailDOTcom with your picks by number as well as your mailing address. I will PWE your cards to you with enough protection they should survive whatever your mail carrier can do to the envelope.

This giveaway will last until a) the cards run out or b) 2013 arrives. So yes - Dec 31st 2012 at 11:59pm CST is the last day to make a comment and get a couple free cards.

If you are not sure about what a card is, just click on the image. You will get a bigger view, as well as a very short description of the card. Remember, put the image number in your comment below. You can put the player's name or description, but you MUST put the number down. Sound good? Well, let's stop the banter. Click on Santa to be taken to the Flickr set with all the cards. Happy shopping!

Ebay can you see

Been hitting up eBay a bit lately. When almost nightly you are forces to see Pirate Treasure Room's finds, Plaschke's Getzlaf collection, My Sports Obsession's free ebays, 30 Year Old's epic Dawson collection.... I could go on, but I think you get the point. The point is I am jealous. Not that I want those specific things (though I will make an exception on Jeff's White Sox cards) - I want stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuff. So I got some stuff. Wanna see?

That's two from the Archives White Sox autographs, and we have the Kittle on the way. Badda-bing. Badda-boom - done. That blue framed Duke....that is just too gorgeous, and only 101 pennies. I saw it and I had to make it mine, being a old timer fan. I believe, with shipping, there is $13 in that picture.

This is one thick card. Seriously....it weighs a good ounce. 4+ cards thick. Crazy, I tell ya. But a nice on card auto from someone that is slowly developing into a good second defensive pair member. This baby ran me $3.50 with shipping. Less than a blaster - 3 autos and a serialed. SWEET!

A blaster of Archives

So from what I read, the Bryce Harper card in 12 Archives is a super-duper short print...

I guess, after further review, that blaster didn't suck as much as I thought it did.

Obligatory 2012 Topps Archives post

Blah blah blah Walmart. Blah blah blah 2 packs. Blah blah $3.19? Blah blah blah 4 styles.

Blah blah blah different years. Blah blah shots. Blah blah blah card stock. Blah blah....

Blah blah archive reprint. Blah blah blah 3D. Blah Lineage. Blah blah blah relic. Blah blah blah blah, blah okay. Maybe blah blah blah, blah depends blah blah money.

(I think this is my best writing EVER!)