FINISHING UP 2023 BY FINISHING UP A SET

 HEPPY NOO YEER EVERYONE. AS HAPPY AS IT CAN GET WITH *WAVES ARMS AROUND* ALL THIS HAPPENING. MAYBE TURN OFF THE NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIAS AND GO TO YOUR HAPPY ROOM AND LOCK THE DOOR A LOT THIS YEAR TO INCREASE THE HAPPY. GO STARE AT A COOL BASEBALL CARD UNTIL YOUR EYES GO CROSSED AND DEFOCUS AND NOW YOU HAVE TWO BASEBALL CARDS! THAT'S SOME HAPPINESS RIGHT? DO WHAT YA GOTTA DO BUDDY, WE'LL ALL GET THROUGH THIS MADNESS TOGETHER

THIS POST ISN'T ABOUT THE NEW YEAR, IT'S ABOUT THE OLD YEAR WHICH IS DEAD, DEAD DEAD! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! SUCK IT 2023! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME BUT YOU DIDN'T! AND I HAVE MORE BASEBALL CARDS NOW! TOO MANY PROBABLY, I KEEP TRIPPING ON THEM*. MAYBE I SHOULD CLEAN UP A LITTLE. BUT FIRST! HERE'S A TALE ABOUT THE LAST BASEBALL TYPE CARD I GOT IN 2023. I WON'T GET IT IN MY ACTUAL GRUBBY HANDS FOR SEVERAL MONTHS BECAUSE I'M WAITING UNTIL I HAVE MORE CARDS TO REQUEST SHIPPING. THAT'S RIGHT! I MADE A LAST MINUTE COMC PURCHASE. IT WASN'T EVEN BLACK FRIDAY!** I AM GOING TO SHOW OFF THE CARDS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THEY ARE MY CARDS, THEY JUST LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE RIGHT NOW AND I CAN SIMPLY GANK THE PHOTOS OFF COMC. PLUS I ALREADY HAVE THIRTY-NINE BLACK FRIDAY COMC POSTS QUEUED UP FOR THIS YEAR AND I DON'T WANT TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT NOVEMBER TO TALK ABOUT THESE

SO HOW DID MY DUMB BRAIN FINALLY FIGURE OUT I AM ALLOWED TO BUY CARDS ON COMC WHEN IT'S NOT BLACK FRIDAY? MY NEW FOCUS ON COMPLETING SETS HELPED. I WAS DOWN TO NEEDING ONE SINGLE CARD TO COMPLETE A HUGE SET FOR ME, AND A TRIP TO THE CARD SHOW CLUED ME IN TO THE FACT THAT I WAS NOT GOING TO FIND THAT CARD FOR LESS MONEY THAN I COULD GET IT ONLINE. I SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE THE TIME OR MONEY TO HIT EVERY CARD SHOP IN THE STATE AND GO TO EVERY SHOW ANYMORE TO FIND THAT ELUSIVE BARGAIN. THEN SOMEONE POSTED A LINK TO SOME CHEAP 1955 TOPPS RAILS AND SAILS CARDS ON COMC. THAT IS A VINTAGE NON-SPORT SET I HAVEN'T PICKED UP A CARD FROM YET AND IT OCCURED TO ME THAT IF I HAD SOME FUNDS I COULD PICK UP A CARD OR TWO. FINALLY I SHOWED OFF SOME CARDS FROM SETS I COMPLETED IN 2023 ON TWITTER AND I GOT A COMMENT ON HOW GOOD THE STUDIO CARDS LOOKED. IN THE CONVERSATION I MENTIONED THAT STUDIO WAS ALSO AN INSERT SET IN RECENT DONRUSS SETS AND LINKED TO COMC TO SHOW THEM OFF. THAT'S WHERE I SAW THIS CARD

2015 DONRUSS JOSE ALTUVE STUDIO PRESS PROOF INSERT

I HAVE EXPRESSED MY LOVE FOR ALTUVE ON THIS SITE MANY TIMES SO THERE'S NO NEED TO GO INTO THAT AGAIN. I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE JOSE WAS IN THE SET, I BOUGHT A TON OF DONRUSS THAT YEAR AND PULLED SEVERAL STUDIO INSERTS BUT I DID NOT RECALL GETTING AN ALTUVE. I WAS ALSO VERY SURPRISED TO SEE THAT PRESS PROOF AND SERIAL NUMBER STAMP ON THE CARD. I GOT A PRESS PROOF OUT OF A PACK (JORGE SOLER, YAY!) BACK IN THE DAY SO I RECOGNIZED THE PARALLEL RIGHT AWAY. I'VE SEEN PARALLEL CARDS GET LISTED WITH THE BASE ON COMC A FEW TIMES INCLUDING THIS AJ GRIFFIN CARD FROM MY 2022 BINGE. I GUESS PEOPLE JUST DON'T CARE ABOUT DONRUSS PARALLELS?? NOW IF IT WAS A RUSNEY CASTILLO OR MATT SHOEMAKER PRESS PROOF I WOULD HAVE JUST CHUCKLED AND MOVED ON BUT I ACTUALLY COLLECT ALTUVE! MAN, IT WOULD BE COOL TO GET THAT CARD

THEN MY BRAIN DID IT. "HEY STUPID, JUST BUY THE CARD, YOU HAVE THE MONEY". OH YEAH! I CAN JUST BUY THE CARD ON THE WEBSITE THAT EXISTS TO SELL TRADING CARDS! OR BETTER YET, ADD SOME MONEY TO MY ACCOUNT SO I CAN PICK UP COOL STUFF ON SALE WHEN I SEE IT POP UP! I ADDED TEN BUCKS TO THE ACCOUNT BECAUSE I'M A CHEAPSKATE AND BOUGHT THE CARD. NOW I HAVE A COOL CARD AND MONEY TO GET COOL CARDS IN THE FUTURE. THE FUTURE WAS ABOUT A COUPLE HOURS. IT WAS THE LAST DAY OF AN EXCRUCIATINGLY LONG WORK WEEK SO I STARTED CLICKING AROUND THE NON-SPORTS SECTION TO SEE IF I COULD FIND ANYTHING FUN. I FOUND A CHEAP CARD FROM THE 1970 DONRUSS ODDER ODD RODS SET AND TOOK A LOOK AT WHAT OTHERS THEY HAD FOR SALE. I MISSED OUT ON A SIMILAR CARD ON BASEBALLCARDSTORE DOT CA LAST YEAR BECAUSE SOMEONE CLICKED THE BUY CARD BUTTON FASTER THAN ME AND I THOUGHT MAYBE I'D FIND A GOOD ONE CHEAP. I SAW THIS AND I HAVE NEVER HIT THE BUY BUTTON FASTER IN MY ENTIRE LIFE

1970 DONRUSS ODDER ODD RODS MUSTANG

Y'ALL KNOW I LOVE THE HORSIES. THE FORD MUSTANG IS ALSO MY FAVORITE CARD TO THE POINT I BOUGHT THE SAME LIME ROCK MUSTANG CARD TWICE. AND I ALSO LOVE THE BIG DADDY ROTH STYLE OF ART WHERE FREAKS DRIVE FUNNY CARS. THIS CARD IS ALL THREE AND IT BLEW MY MIND. IT'S THE WEIRD NON-SPORTS CARD EQUIVALENT TO THE 1966 NL BATTING LEADERS CARD. THERE ARE FOUR DIFFERENT SERIES OF ODD RODS CARDS PLUS A COUPLE 'BEST OF' REPRINTS FROM THE EARLY 70S AND THEY'RE ALL PRETTY COOL. THE ART IS DONE BY B.K. TAYLOR WHO DID COVERS AND COMICS FOR SICK, MAD AND NATIONAL LAMPOON MAGAZINES AND CREATED OTHER TRADING CARD SETS INCLUDING 1983 DONRUSS ZERO HEROES AND 1988 LEAF BASEBALL'S GREATEST GROSSOUTS. THIS CARD IS FRIGGIN FANTASTIC AND IMMEDIATELY GOES INTO MY TOP 100 FAVORITE CARDS LIST. THE CARD IS GREAT AND NOW I HAVE A NEW NON-SPORTS SET TO OBSESS ABOUT

SO I GOT TWO GREAT CARDS AND SOME MONEY IN MY ACCOUNT TO SAVE FOR LATER. LATER WAS TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER.

SO HERE'S THIS FUCKIN' GUY. I DON'T REMEMBER MY EXACT 2023 COLLECTING GOALS BUT COMPLETING THE 1976 SET WAS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. I NEEDED FOUR CARDS AND I GRABBED THREE OF THEM RIGHT AWAY WITHOUT EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT. PULLED UP THE CARD FROM MY WANTLIST, PICKED THE CHEAPEST AND MOVED TO THE NEXT ONE. I GOT TO PETE AND... DIDN'T CLICK. THERE WAS ONE FOR FOUR BUCKS AND I HAD FORTY IN CREDIT BUT... DIDN'T CLICK. THIS WASN'T A JAMAAL WILKES SITUATION FROM 2022 WHERE IT WASN'T ON SALE, I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO SPEND FOUR BUCKS FOR A PETE ROSE CARD NO MATTER HOW MUCH I NEEDED IT. I KEPT GOING BACK TO THE TAB AND WHEN THE FOUR DOLLAR CARD GOT BOUGHT OUT FROM UNDER ME I GAVE UP AND DECIDED TO LOOK FOR HIM AT THE CARD SHOW AND AS I SAID BEFORE, THAT WASN'T HAPPENING. SO IT WAS NEW YEAR'S EVE AND I WAS BORED AND I LOOKED AGAIN AT THIS DUMB CARD. ROWS UPON ROWS OF ROSE, ALL STARING AT ME WITH THIS LOOK LIKE HE KNOWS THE FUTURE. THERE WAS A CARD ON SALE FOR $4.10. UGH. I STILL DIDN'T WANT TO BUY THIS DUMB CARD! BUT IF I DIDN'T MY 1976 SET WOULDN'T BE COMPLETE AND THAT DUMBASS WOULD KEEP STARING INTO MY SOUL EVERY TIME I THOUGHT ABOUT IT! AAARGH! BUYING CARDS SHOULD BE FUN, THIS SUCKS

I WENT ON DISCORD AND ASKED SOMEONE TO ORDER ME TO BUY THIS ROTTEN CARD SO I COULD FINISH THE SET. ANDY FROM ALLTIMEBREWERS REMINDED ME THAT HATE-BUYING CARDS JUST SO I DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THEM EVER AGAIN IS A VALID STRATEGY. THIS WAS STARTING TO CONVINCE ME  WHEN THE SHLABOTNIK REPORT YELLED AT ME TO FINISH THE DAMN SET ALREADY.  I KNEW I HAD TO BUY THE DAMN CARD NOW, BUT I WAS LAMENTING THE FACT I COULD BUY FOUR OTHER COOL CARDS I FOUND FOR THE SAME PRICE. THEN I REALIZED: I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR ALL FIVE CARDS! I COULD REWARD MYSELF FOR FINISHING THE 1976 SET! SO I DID

1978 SWEDISH SAMLARSAKER AGNETHA o ANNIFRID

I DON'T KNOW WHAT A SAMLARSAKAR IS BUT GOOGLE TRANSLATES IT AS COLLECTIBLES SO I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS REALLY. ALL I KNOW IS IT'S A PRETTY BIG SET OF TRADING CARDS OF LATE 70'S ROCK, FILM AND POP STARS WITH A HEAVY DOSE OF ABBA. HERE'S WHAT A PACK OF THESE THINGS LOOK LIKE, MORE LIKE SOMETHING YOU'D FIND IN A TOY STORE THAN A TRADITIONAL PACK OF CARDS. I RANDOMLY FOUND THEM LOOKING FOR BEATLES CARDS I THINK AND WAS IMPRESSED BY SIZE OF THE SET AND THE VARIETY OF CELEBRITIES. ELVIS, DOLLY PARTON, THE ROLLING STONES AND KISS? DANG RANDOM SWEDISH NOVELTY SET, WHY YOU GO SO HARD. I WAS A TINY LITTLE KID IN THE LATE 70S AND I FUCKIN LOVED ABBA. DANCING QUEEN IS MY JAM. THIS EXTREME CLOSEUP OF AGNETHA AND ANNIFRID CAUGHT MY EYE DUE TO HOW WEIRDLY HOT IT IS AND BECAUSE IT WAS ONLY FIFTY CENTS, MUCH CHEAPER THAN THE OTHER ABBA CARDS. I FLIPPED IT OVER AND FOUND THIS:

ADDED VALUE! THE ONLY WORD I CAN DECIPHER HERE IS TELEFON SO MY BEST GUESS IS CLAUS HERE TRIED TO GIVE SOME GIRL HIS DIGITS ON THE BACK OF A SEXY ABBA CARD. JUST THE MYSTERY HERE IS WELL WORTH THE 50 CENTS. CAN YOU SEE NOW WHY I'M SO HESITANT TO SPEND ACTUAL MONEY ON PETE ROSE CARDS WHEN THERE'S AMAZING STUFF LIKE THIS OUT THERE???

1984 EYDER SUPER MUSICAL GRACE JONES

HERE'S ANOTHER FOREIGN POP SET I KNOW EVEN LESS ABOUT. I THINK IT'S SPANISH?? I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THIS AT ALL, BUT TCDB HAS A FULL GALLERY OF THE FRONTS AND HOLY SHIT, THE CHECKLIST MIGHT BE BETTER THAN THE SWEDISH SET, ESPECIALLY FOR FANS OF 80S MUSIC. THERE'S ALREADY ONE CARD IN THERE I HAVE TARGETED FOR THE NEXT TIME I ADD SOME CASH TO MY ACCOUNT. GRACE JONES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A VERY FORMATIVE EVENT IN MY LIFE WHEN I SAW THE COVER TO ISLAND LIFE AND MY EYES POPPED OUT AND TONGUE ROLLED OUT ONTO THE FLOOR LIKE A TEX AVERY CARTOON. SHE'S ALSO ONE OF MY FAVORITE JAMES BOND BAD GUYS SO THIS CARD FITS INTO MY MUSICAL COLLECTION AND MY VILLAINS AND MONSTERS COLLECTION. THIS WAS ALSO JUST FIFTY FIVE CENTS, ONE-EIGHTH OF THAT UGLY MUG UP THERE. YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN YET THO, HERE'S SOME REAL MONSTERS

1974 YAMAKATSU GODZILLA ANTHOLOGY MECHAGODZILLA VS GODZILLA AND KING CAESAR

HOLY SHIT LOOK AT THIS CARD. THE THIRD STRAIGHT SET I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BUT IS COOL AS HELL. WHAT I DO KNOW: GODDAMN THIS LOOKS AMAZING. THIS WAS LISTED AS MECHAGODZILLA, GODZILLA AND KING CAESAR BUT MECHAGODZILLA IS THE ONLY ONE I CAN MAKE OUT ON HERE. THE ORIGINAL FIGHT SCENE IS PRETTY CHAOTIC SO THAT MIGHT BE GODZILLA AND KING CAESAR IN A PILE ON THE LEFT GETTING THEIR ASSES KICKED BY MECHAGODZILLA'S DOUBLE ZAP BEAMS. WHO CARES, THIS CARD COST UNDER A BUCK AND ALL GODZILLA CARDS NEED TO BE IN MY COLLECTION. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL AND THE NEXT CARD MIGHT BE THE BEST

1975 TOPPS REGGIE JACKSON BALTAMORE TRADED VARIATION

WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY ABOUT THIS CARD??? THIS IS STUPENDOUS. TAPED CORNERS, SCRIBBLED A'S, BALT A MORE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THIS IS GOING IN MY 1975 SET, I MIGHT FRAME IT AND HANG IT ON THE WALL. MY TWO 1975 REGGIES (THANKS FOR THE MINI NIGHTOWL) ARE NOW BOTH DELICIOUSLY TRASHY. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. MY REACTION TO MY NEW YEAR'S EVE PICKUPS:

I'M SURE I WILL BE MUCH MORE GEEKED UP FOR THAT ROSE CARD WHEN I EVENTUALLY HAVE IT SHIPPED AND PUT IT INTO THE BINDER BUT FOR NOW I'M JUST HAPPY TO NOT HAVE TO THINK ABOUT PETE GLARING AT ME ASKING WHEN THE HELL I'M GOING TO BUY HIS CARD 

STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT I'M DONE WITH YOU! GO AWAY! NOW THAT 1976 TOPPS (AND A BUNCH OF OTHER SETS) ARE FINISHED IT'S TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO FOCUS ON NEXT. JANUARY FIRST IS CARD GOALS RESET TIME! MAYBE THAT'LL BE A POST SOON SO I CAN REMEMBER WHAT THEY EVEN WERE THIS TIME NEXT YEAR. THE NUMBER ONE GOAL FOR 2024 IS DEFINITELY BUY MORE WEIRD CARDS! IT'S SUPER FUN Y'ALL!

*DON'T GET ANY IDEAS 2024, YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN HAVING ME TRIP ON A BINDER OF 1977 TOPPS AND BREAKING MY NECK TO TAKE ME OUT

**ONE TELLTALE SIGN OF BAD WRITING*** IS PUTTING WAY TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS IN! YOU CAN SEE THIS A LOT IN CHEAP COMEDY MAGAZINES AND NOVELIZATIONS OF MOVIES. THE WRITER CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SPICE SOMETHING UP THAT IS INCREDIBLY BORING SO JUST THROW IN A FEW !!! TO MAKE IT LOOK EXCITING! SEE HOW WELL IT WORKS! IT'S VERY EFFECTIVE BUT YOUR WRITING ENDS UP LOOKING LIKE AN ISSUE OF CRACKED FROM THE 70S!!

***ANOTHER ONE IS THROWING IN CHEAP JOKES IN FOOTNOTES. YOU'RE NOT DAVID FOSTER WALLACE YOU HACK