Trade #9: I mean trade # yes

Nice quick trade with los Dimwit. The man needed Gypsy Queen. And who can deny such a pretty face as his of those that which he desires (waxing poetically, I am).

The better part was he had GQ he needed to part with, and I have a GQ list that is not quite green enough (the color I choose to highlight what I possess). So a couple emails and bam - we be traded. The link above will show you what I sent, and here is what I requested (and received):

Tasty. Not on that scan are the matching minis to the glove story and moonshot. Dig all them old timers. The photo filter on the old timers works better than when it's used on current or recent players, but maybe that's me. Anyway - visit the Dimwit's site. He's got quite the needs for GQ and you know you can help him out.

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BTW - still pimping my big ask. Visit the trade bait page up top for more info.

Sacrifing it all...

Ok - here goes. I'll admit, up front, this is not so much a post about baseball cards. Ok - let me make it about baseball somewhat.

Type, tap, cut, paste, edit, save, upload. 

There - how ya like my custom card? First rule - save often. I had to make it twice when my graphics program locked. Anyway - where was I? Oh yeah - not so much about cards. Now, I will be talking cards. But mostly, I am going to talk about the girl on that custom card, and I will make an ask. Two asks, actually. My first is that if you started reading - read to the end, would ya? Even if you don't take part, please give it a good thought. And ask two? Well, let's get to it.

That is my daughter. I'm genetically attractive. That picture is from 2011 in Haiti of my daughter with an orphan named Rony. Ceri loves to love people. She has a heart and a passion for it. Ceri went to New Orleans in 2009 and 2010 to help rebuild, and to just be with kids and entertain them. Last year, she went to Haiti and spent a week in an orphanage. In a little over a month she is heading back to spend more time with the kids that either lost their parents in the earth quake, or were given up because the parents just couldn't make ends meet and provide. The week gives the orphans a good time with young adults. The young adults, however, end up changed more through the experiences.

So my ask? My daughter could use more donations to help her make the trip. She is constantly trying to raise funds. We have given all we can, and other donations have come in, but she's still somewhat short of her full goal. Like any parent, I would do anything and everything I can for my kids, so I am having a blow out "sale", so to speak. You all can see my trade bait page link up top. These are cards I have that I am more than willing to trade out to anyone that would enjoy them more than me. But I am going to add to that trade bait, and for the next month or so, items on the page can be traded for  donations to the Haiti trip. I have gone through everything I enjoy, and hope you might enjoy, and put just about everything in my collection up for "sale" (no Pierces - sorry). On the trade bait page is now a link to a doc that gives a quick description of the cards I have. If you want a scan of anything you see, ask. If you think of something I might have - ask. What I hope is that should you see something(s) you want, you will make a donation for my daughter's trip. Email me what you want, and you can have it. Give what you think the card is worth, but better yet - give beyond. Give sacrificially. If you think it's worth $5, I would love if you would give $10. Or more. Every penny donated is tax deductible. Email me with what card or cards you desire, and I will pack them up and get them out to you. It's that simple.

If you wish to help out, donating is quick and painless:

1) Go to The Global Orphan Project donation page.
2) Fill out your information. In the field that says "Please specify where you'd like this to be used", you need to type Cera Wilk JUNE Go Trip.
3) That's it. When you submit you will have helped make a difference in my daughter's life, and in the lives of kids in Haiti.

If you prefer to mail a check, hit me up with an email (click my profile on the right) and I'll give you further information on who to pay to and where to send it. 

Let me give you a couple more links. If you would like more information about the group that plans the trips and works with the children in Haiti, visit The Global Orphan Project. If you care to read the blog of the group my daughter is going with, you can read the StuCo Haiti team blog.

If you are reading these last sentences, thank you. Thank you for your time to read and learn just what I am trying to do. Let me know if you have any questions. If you are unable to contribute, no worries. I know my ask is huge, and many may not be in a position to give. If you can give, though, I thank you in advance. I hope this ask doesn't upset or turn anyone off from reading the future stupidity I will write here. This idea came to mind, and I had to follow through. Even if no one is able to help, I appreciate your interest in this concept.

Sunday SIL: revealing a dark secret

Before I start, I was hoping to get more on my little tease from a couple days ago. Nothing yet, but I am working at it and should talk more about my ideas and plan later in this week. All dependent on one person - I hope they don't screw it up! :)

So instead, let's talk about our past. We are who we are based on what we have experienced, what we have done (or failed to do) and how we have interacted with people, and the planet for that matter, along the way. We have the ones we love, that know all about us - the ups and downs, the bright and the dark. We have our friends, who know much, but may not know the whole story, if they even knew the tale. And we all have that hidden secret. For it to be revealed could be the end of us.

In that same token, the dark secret could be a "really, you hyped this post up for a paragraph and that is your big frigging secret? What site's next on the blog roll?" confession. And I guess, that's actually what this is. I can play it all I want, it's really just a great, proud part of my life that looked really awesome on my resùme for a few years.

That little piece of laminated paper is about the exact size of a baseball card. It is just what it reads - it's an official's pass into the old Chicago Stadium.  The date is accurate; it is 27 years old. And no, they did not misspell my name. See, for 7 1/2 years, I was a mascot for a professional sports team. I was Stanley Sting.

Stanley was a 6' 6" tall bumble bee that supported the 1981 and 1984 Soccer Bowl champion Chicago Sting. I was paid $35 bucks for a game or a public appearance. When I think about it, though, I was paid to act like an idiot. It was the greatest 7.5 years of my LIFE! The professional players I met and hung with. The celebrities that I had my picture with. The autographs I signed. Interviews in paper and magazine. Love from fans old and young. Season tickets, as well as comp tickets if I wanted a couple. It was the life of Riley. BTW - that isn't me in the suit above. No, this is 16 year old me with the suit (hey - that hairstyle was in.....shut up!!!)

Hey baby....let's pollinate!

There you have it - my big secret. What's yours?

Big promo coming

Hope this is a tease enough to get you to come back and see what in the world I am talking about. Besides coming back because of my incredible blog writing skills, of course! I have an idea of something I want to try. When I announce it, I hope you will read about it and then decide if you want to take part.

Great and wonderful? Heck, I don't know. Just trying to change the world. More information coming, hopefully this weekend. Until then....

This would make for a great collection!

Would that not be the SWEETEST card in a binder? Few more "vintage" photoshops can be seen here. Pay close attention to the Joey Ramone and the Patti Smith.

Royalty - Queens and Princes

Had to go to the store. Had to swing through the card aisle. Had to buy a rack pack of GQ. Had to get a nice pull.

While the scan kind of "beiges" out the swatch, I can tell you it is not very white. That is a piece of a uniform that the clubhouse boss needed to add a little Kaboom to get out the dirt stains. Shows Fielder as a Brewer, but let's honor him with a song released a month after the Tigger's last WS win (1984).

Sunday SIL: hit the ice

Today's SIL leaves the diamond and heads onto the frozen pond. Now, I am a Blackhawks fan, but can appreciate most of hockey (except Tim Thomas, most of the Canucks and the entire history of the Dead Wings minus Howe and Yzerman). Hockey cards are difficult to come by as really only Upper Deck is still in the hockey business, and that's probably just cuz of Topps exclusive baseball contract.

This Brian Gionta jersey card came from a blaster of Artifacts last year. Gotta give props to the Montreal franchise. All the championships - none of the jerkness of the Yankees (for the most part). If you look at the card, you can see le Canadians 100th anniversary patch on Gionta's right shoulder. Montreal wore 5 different throwbacks during the 2008-09 and 09-10 season, along with their standard sweater depicted on the card photo. But if you look close, that swatch is not from the standard jersey. Nowhere on their regular uni does blue and red touch. So this is a swatch from one of the throwbacks. And this is not a "no specific event" swatch but game used. A quick look at the link, and a little comparison, we come to the conclusion that this is a piece of the barber pole unis worn just three times. However, Gionta was a Devil at the end of the 2008-09 season, so the only game of the three when he was a Hab when this jersey was on the ice was Oct 31st, 2009. And look - here is a picture of Brian in the uniform pre cut up (I'd post that here, but I don't need Getty getting all upset, so I'll link). Somewhere, on his body, is this particular area of material.

All those Encyclopedia Brown books I read as a kid paid off on that bit of sleuthing.