2010 Bowman:When Worlds Collide

Bought a few Jumbos of 2010 Bowman, I had some luck. no golden ticket here, and I did NOT pay 20bucks for these jumbos, that would be stupid no matter who is in the set. I have seen the jumbo boxes going for well over 200 on eBay alone. I don't even want to check any of the retailers. The Shop I got them from was only opening one hobby and one jumbo box for pack sales. All of the other boxes were now sealed $100 and $220 lottery tickets for people with more money than brains.

I am pumped that the lame blue parallel that I got was of a Brewer, and that I got all the big guys, except for Harper (but Cardboard Problem has more on that). I got a great looking Blue refractor, Dustin Ackley chrome, and a peculiarly poular ($20+) Jose Iglesias auto.
The auto pull is tight. It's nice to be happy with a pull from any of several teams, a nice thing about moving every 3.4 years.

I will not have to buy any more of this product, and will hope to trade for the base I want. Then I got the "sorta flashback to fleerUltra" inserts of two of the biggest stories in baseball including the kid who will be pitching for the geographically closest baseball team to my heart. (to say nothing of my growing enthusiasm for the team) Oh, and a cubs guy. do not want.

that title is extremely dramatic. Save for the design, which I love because I am a simpleton when it comes to cards, 2010 Bowman has caused just such drama. It is all alot of us have to write about. I am still wishing someone else would help me out with HertChrome, but now this set of "epic" proportions is upon us. It is nice to see people and writers lose feathers over this one, and the stir has gone nationwide and mainstream and all that.

CardWeblogger Fact # 342: Non-refractor chrome cards scan like crap. Refractor chrome cards look gorgeous.

Best improvement: silver signature overlay (so sick, but I bet I'll get sick of it) worst "improvement": continuing the "base rookie auto"...that is some bullshit. I just want a real Heyward RC in chrome dammit. (and still making those "gold" cards in every pack...that is just plain stupid)

Verdict:
Still beats the shit out of everything 2010 Topps has to offer save for TMCG.
If you have 2010 topps needs, I am your man, I am keeping about zero of those cards. (not ONE made it into my top 100 best-looking cards. The auto above is automatically in my top 60 or so favorite autos and that Cody wheeler easily cracked the top 40 best-looking chrome cards.

BIG TIME: Marty Marion

First off, let me sing the praises of this set design. I am a huge fan of "less is more" mentality for cards (plus, let's keep it classy, man). This is an exemplary specimen of a great set with tons of great players. I have ONE base card from this set. Ozzie Smith*. No auto. I want more.
That being said, on to the auto. Martin Whiteford Marion is one of the original BIG TIME sigs. He can barely keep it on the sticker...but manages to hold on in this example. Major emphasis on the tall Ms and the big t-cross line. If these signs weren't enough to intimate a slight inferiority complex (I hear that's normal in baseball) the guy dots his "i" with a f*****g circle! I mean, who does that? He might as well have drawn tiny little seams on the damn thing and try for a Mark Sanchez-type "logo" attempt.
Sanchez-Way to brand yourself bro, we're all hella impressed. Especially us Packers fans from back east who get to watch our team in the playoffs. (that is an attempt at a football right?) We'll get back to that, because I hate the jets and the USC quarterbacks.

*You would be surprised how long it took me to realize that I was a SS lover in a 1B world....

Evolution = change/time

I would like this to be a blog that makes people get up in the morning, drink coffee and change their lives, but it is not. I just post scans and pictures of Autographs and then either provide somekind of commentary on the design, signature, significance or the always popular, nothin'. Auto-matic for the People has it down for formatting the exhibition of auto cards, and I try not to bite others' steez.
From now until I make another shift due to pressures unknown, I will be organizing photos and scans in my "blogger" file in "recurring themes". some of the themes I have "brainworked" to date:
The Joy of Symmetry/Repetition
self-explanatory...

Controlled Chaos
What moves the pen...the mind or the hand?

Gentlemen
Percieved anachronisms

Then and Now
Classic, and with a market this big, how could I not?

Craftsmen
Taking Pride in your signature is a sign of confidence (or arrogance).

BIG TIME
Gotta be makin' a statement there pal.

Really!
That's how you're going to be immortalized?

Ones that speak to me.
I can have reasons or not have reasons all day long...

By My Hand
Autographs that I attained myself one way or another.

I think that this will at least give this blog some kind of structure. I jumped in with nothing but passion and basic computer skills. I think evident from all December posts. Also I love the feel of a subset. The categories mentioned above remind me of subsets that I might actually like to see exist.
others for consideration pending storage folder initiation:
Doh!
Cut and Run
Just a bit outside...
Fake as s***.

suggestions and submissions are, as always, welcome.

Peterson

Repeated Chaos That Speaks to Me: Derek Jeter

Now, most of the AUTOs I have seen by my friend and yours, Mr. Derek Jeter have been near identical while still lacking any significant symmetry or legibility. I wonder how hard he has to concentrate while signing. That many penstrokes is a rare find among modern athletes. Oh wait, that's right, he only signs but so many a year...he must just take his time.
Whether it says "Derek Sanderson Jeter" or "Ladies love cool DJ" is a matter of subjective objectivism.

Either way, is this not a most pleasing presentation of an intricate, and some may say convoluted, signature? the centering is boffo, and it's hand-numbered (I kind of want that job). Again with the stripes everywhere, but at least they are toned down compared to the Yanks' Joltin Joe I complained about.