Last night I witnessed Vin Scully's second great funny of the season. (Not counting the time he said "boner" on the air.) The Mets had just lost a game in which they committed five errors, the last of which gave the Dodgers the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. In the top of the 11th, the Mets had the go ahead run taken off the board when their baserunner failed to touch third base as he came around to score. I think that was the first time I've ever seen an appeal at third base result in an out.
Anyways... Mr. Scully usually ends each broadcast with a cheerful "Goodnight everybody!" But last night, having witnessed such a sloppy game, with perfect comic timing and mock disgust in his voice, he said, "GooooodNIGHT everybody."
Late last year, my Netflix queue was getting small and I decided that I would finish it off and cancel my subscription. That plan changed when, in January, I found Netflix had added more Pinoy movies to their catalog. (I've since put my Netflix account on hold until July due to an upcoming 2 week trip to the Philippines, the arrival of baseball season, and to catch up on my reading list.)
Learning about a country through its cinema is difficult at best, but I watch Pinoy movies to see the people, villages, and landscape, and to hear the languages. The movies themselves are ok. I've found at least one that was magnificent, but I've only scratched the surface. Critic After Dark reveals many more titles that I want to watch. When I am in the Philippines I hope to acquire some of these. Non-pirated versions, of course.
I'll also be on the lookout for some classic Pinoy rock CDs, such as the Juan de la Cruz Band. Vinyl would be preferred, but I recently saw some of these rare LPs sell for more than $300. Like...uh...Steely Dan, there isn't anyone actually named Juan de la Cruz in the band. A sure sign of a great band. "Juan de la Cruz" is the name of the Filipino every-man. And their carabao head logo is great.
If I get kidnapped by terrorists in Mindanao...please, don't pay the ransom.
Charming little video, reminding me of when I used to collect baseball cards as a kid. The video sums up why I don't collect anymore. In 2001, I briefly started collecting again, focusing on 1956 Topps and the 2001 Topps Heritage set. The Heritage packs were the only ones that still had bubble gum, but it wasn't nearly as crunchy and yummy as the gum back in the 80s, so I gave up on that. The 1956 cards were fun to collect. Slightly larger dimensions than modern cards, and sturdy cardboard. I gathered a nice condition complete set of Brooklyn Dodgers players: Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, etc....all those boys of summer, fresh off Brooklyn's first and only World Series title.
I also purchased beat-up cards from that set...pin holes, devil goatee and horns drawn on the portrait, heavy fraying and creasing, White-Out applied to the corners, etc. Probably some genuine spoke thumpers, too. Fun stuff, and it was the only way to get those old cards at reasonable prices. My rule was that I wouldn't pay more than 56 cents per beat up card. I eventually had more than 100 or so of these beat-up cards before the Ebay market for them heated up and my 56 cent rule was impossible, so that was the end of that. I would revel in sifting through those cards, reading the biographic comics on back, not caring at all if I dinged the corners.
A few years ago, unemployed, I sold all those beat-up for around $1 each. It was a worthwhile investment at least, but I wish I still had them.
I kept one of them for fun: Johnny Groth, outfielder for the Kansas City A's. It was "wallet worthy" and I carried it there for a couple years. Now it is pinned to my cubicle wall at work. I added a couple extra pin holes to Johnny's pupils for added effect.
Occasionally I get the idea to start collecting old baseball cards again. Someday I'll buy a wax box of 1981 Fleer or something. Get a Fernando Valenzuela rookie card. See what 28 year old bubble gum looks and/or tastes like.
Last night I witnessed Vin Scully's second great funny of the season. (Not counting the time he said "boner" on the air.) The Mets had just lost a game in which they committed five errors, the last of which gave the Dodgers the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. In the top of the 11th, the Mets had the go ahead run taken off the board when their baserunner failed to touch third base as he came around to score. I think that was the first time I've ever seen an appeal at third base result in an out.
