My Year in Hobbies 2019: May!

I didn’t forget y’all! Just had some other business to tend to.

May 2019:

Visited NJ in May, hit my old local, and got a little closer to finishing ’72 Topps.

Two 1972 Topps baseball cards, one of Johnny Bench In Action (a white man wearing a grey uniform and red catching gear trying to catch a baseball with another player in the background, framed by red, yellow, and white borders), and one of Ted Williams (a white man in a red baseball cap, a blue wind breaker jacket and a white shirt, with his name written below him and "RANGERS" written about him, bordered by a yellow frame and a white outer border).
Two 1972 Topps baseball cards, one of Johnny Bench In Action (a white man wearing a grey uniform and red catching gear trying to catch a baseball with another player in the background, framed by red, yellow, and white borders), and one of Ted Williams (a white man in a red baseball cap, a blue wind breaker jacket and a white shirt, with his name written below him and “RANGERS” written about him, bordered by a yellow frame and a white outer border).

Added to my DC Direct collection a fair deal this month.

A picture of approximately 25-30 action figures of DC Comics super-hero characters.
A picture of approximately 25-30 action figures of DC Comics super-hero characters, mostly by DC Direct, with some DC . Visible in picture: Batwoman II, Vigilante II, Batwoman I, Batgirl II, The Question I, Black Manta, Batgirl I, Hawkwoman, Blue Beetle, The Phantom Stranger, Bat-Mite, Ace the Bat-Hound, Eclipso, Killer Moth I, Captain Marvel (Fawcett Comics), Catwoman, Catwoman’s black cat, Changeling, Adam Strange, Red Tornado, Hawkman II, IB’Wana Beast, Metamorpho, Changeling (in green monkey form), Kid Flash (Kingdom Come), Hourman I, Wildcat I, Atom I (second costume), Robin (Carrie Kelly), Atom I (first costume).

Oh, and I made it to the top 500 in May.

A screenshot of multiplayer wins statistics from MobilityWare Solitaire for iOS, showing that the author is in 500th place overall.
A screenshot of multiplayer wins statistics from MobilityWare Solitaire for iOS, showing that the author is in 500th place overall.

June soon, as May was quiet.

The Last Card of 2019, and the First Card of 2020!

Hopefully, this ends up summing up the transition between years pretty well…

Here’s how 2019 ended, the last card I pulled from a box I got from Marc at Remember The Astrodome right at the end of the year…the rest of the really generous trade was MUCH more exciting (Thanks again, Marc!), and I’ll very likely circle back to some of it soon, but sets gotta get finished, even goofy ol’ 1989 Bowman (I never seem to find those $5 factory sets when I have money to burn on 1989 Bowman), and sometimes, you just gotta take your Wally Joyners where you can get ’em. He was the last face that emerged from the box, so he gets the honors for 2019.

1989 Bowman baseball card of Wally Joyner.
A 1989 Bowman baseball card of Wally Joyner. Against the backdrop of a blue sky, Angels 1st baseman Wally Joyner (center), a smiling man with white skin and brown hair in a blue, red, white and grey baseball uniform, swings a barely-visible baseball bat behind his back. A fascimile autograph of Wally Joyner’s appears across the bottom third of the card. The card has a white outer border, a red inner border, and a Bowman logo that resembles a baseball field (green field, brown outfield warning track) with a red B in the middle of it, with “Bowman” written in black letters around the edge of the outfield.

As the year began, I got another really awesome box of cards from Kerry at Cards on Cards, and this was the top card in the package, when I opened it.

A 2019 Panini Rookies baseball card of Vladimir Guerrero, Jr..
A 2019 Panini Rookies baseball card of Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.. Against a leathery textured brown, denim blue and beige background, Blue Jays 3rd baseman Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (center), a man with black skin and blonde dreadlocks, wearing a blue and grey uniform, swings a beige baseball bat.

Kerry got me pretty covered on ’19 Vlad Juniors and a bunch of other stuff, so thanks again, Kerry!

My Year in Hobbies 2019: April!

April 2019:

Screenshot of someone getting the "To Live Forever" Trophy in the video game No Man's Sky. A faint, greyish-green sunburst in the center of a black screen, with the "Trophy earned!" Playstation Network icon at top left.
Screenshot of someone getting the “To Live Forever” Trophy in the video game No Man’s Sky. A faint, greyish-green sunburst in the center of a black screen, with the “Trophy earned!” Playstation Network icon at top left.

As I mentioned, I did hit 100% on No Man’s Sky’s trophy achievements in April. I had a lot of help on the “Reach the center of the universe in Permadeath mode” part. I found someone who had been alive in that instance for over 2 years, and had a base built 1 warp from the center of the universe, and they sent me an invite to their game after friending me. Before that, I had probably invested over 100 hours in my various attempts (though I’d probably be able to do it again, and more efficiently, if I tried now), and got close a few times.

Interior screenshot of Second Life nightclub Heck. A human with white skin and black hair, in black clothing (front and center), is seen at a DJ booth from behind. The building has black walls, accented by purple furnishings and green arrows that function as the club's teleport buttons. Photographs hang on the left and right hand wall. A tip jar sits on the stage to the left of the DJ booth.
Interior screenshot of Second Life nightclub Heck. A human with white skin and black hair, in black clothing (front and center), is seen at a DJ booth from behind. The building has black walls, accented by purple furnishings and green arrows that function as the club’s teleport buttons. Photographs hang on the left and right hand wall. A tip jar sits on the stage to the left of the DJ booth.

I returned to Second Life after a fairly extended hiatus in April, wrote about it in May, and events, if sporadic, continued at my club there, Heck, throughout the year, and will continue in 2020. I’ve also been DJing periodically at Vegetal Planet and The Velvet, and DJed at SL16B, Second Life’s 16th birthday party, on June 25th.

A Marvel Legends Black Knight action figure stands on a wooden window sill, with green foliage in a window behind it. Human figure in a blue tunic with a red insignia and red trim, blue, gold and grey armor, a brown utility belt, and blue boots and gloves, holding a large black sword with a gold hilt.
A Marvel Legends Black Knight action figure (a human figure with white skin in a blue tunic with a red insignia and red trim, blue, gold and grey armor, a brown utility belt, and blue boots and gloves, holding a large black sword with a gold hilt) stands on a wooden window sill, with green foliage in a window behind it.

I don’t buy a lot of Marvel Legends, but I couldn’t pass on The Black Knight.

An empty glass display case, center of picture, rests up against maroon walls, with some white boxes on a black shelf to its left.
An empty glass display case, center of picture, rests up against maroon walls, with some white boxes on a black shelf to its left.

Picked up an IKEA DETOLF display case for a corner of what we call “the study” in my house. Fit perfectly, and helps me display some more things like this…

Various toys and sculptures sit on a shelf: Ideal's KRUSHER doll, a green monster with orange trim; ROM The Spaceknight, a grey robot with red trim; Hugo, the Man of a Thousand Faces, a bald puppet with white skin wearing a blue denim shirt; a statue of a vampire version of comic book character The Joker; a green, pink and white ceramic statue of a sad looking dog with large green and black eyes; A green duck wearing a pink cowboy hat, being ridden by a pink cowboy.
Various toys and sculptures sit on a shelf: Ideal’s KRUSHER doll, a green monster with orange trim; ROM The Spaceknight, a grey robot with red trim; Hugo, the Man of a Thousand Faces, a bald puppet with white skin wearing a blue denim shirt; a statue of a vampire version of comic book character The Joker; a green, pink and white ceramic statue of a sad looking dog with large green and black eyes; A green duck wearing a pink cowboy hat, being ridden by a pink cowboy.

From left to right, bottom row: ceramic dog bank that’s been photographed and used as Heck’s mascot since it opened; Zimot Industries cowboy riding a duck sculpture.

From left to right, top row: Krusher The Gruesome Growing Reptile; ROM The Spaceknight; Hugo, Man of a Thousand Faces; Joker vampire sculpture by Eli Livingston.

Not a bad first shelf.

An overhead shot of the basketball courts of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. approximately 15 people play basketball near a number of basketball hoops, in a circular basketball gym with pictures of famous basketball players off in the distance.
An overhead shot of the basketball courts of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. approximately 15 people play basketball near a number of basketball hoops, in a circular basketball gym with pictures of famous basketball players off in the distance.

Finally made it to the Basketball Hall of Fame with some visiting friends in April. The museum was mid-renovation, which I didn’t know at the time, and it seemed like a significant section was closed off, but we still had fun…

The Michael Jordan display case in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. A Chicago Bulls #23 jersey, white with red trim, once worn by Michael Jordan, a red and white Nike Air Jordan sneaker, and several inscribed basketballs are visible in the case in this picture.
The Michael Jordan display case in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. A Chicago Bulls #23 jersey, white with red trim, once worn by Michael Jordan, a red and white Nike Air Jordan sneaker, and several inscribed basketballs are visible in the case in this picture.

…and I got to see some other old friends.

The Julius Erving display case at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. A University of Massachusetts maroon and white basketball jersey, an inscribed red, white and blue basketball, and a white Converse basketball sneaker with red trim are visible in the case, along with a placard that is not legible.
The Julius Erving display case at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. A University of Massachusetts maroon and white basketball jersey, an inscribed red, white and blue basketball, and a white Converse basketball sneaker with red trim are visible in the case, along with a placard that is not legible.

First-run movies watched in April 2019 (1): Avengers: Endgame (I have really mixed feelings about the story directions and deviations of course they chose for various characters, to put it mildly, but I still think it’s amazing to see live action, George Perez-level super-hero crossover events done well. (I haven’t watched the Berlanti-verse Crisis On Infinite Earths yet, so I can’t speak from a position of authority on that one, but obviously the budgets are very different there.)

Comic books cancelled or ending in April 2019 (1): West Coast Avengers (Marvel Comics). This was another great series that I really wish more people had picked up on. Lots of fun, a great new take on a few older concepts, and I wish it had more time. Jeff the Shark forever!

My Year in Hobbies 2019: March!

March 2019:

Cover of The Green Lantern Volume 1 trade paperback. Green Lantern Hal Jordan, center, a white man with brown hair, wearing a green mask that covers his eyes and nose, in a green and black bodysuit with white gloves, holding a green lantern, pointing a glowing green ring at "The Green Lantern" logo, stands in front of an outerspace background, with various yellow stars and planets in the distance. Artwork by Liam Sharp.
Cover of The Green Lantern Volume 1 trade paperback. Green Lantern Hal Jordan, center, a white man with brown hair, wearing a green mask that covers his eyes and nose, in a green and black bodysuit with white gloves, holding a green lantern, pointing a glowing green ring at “The Green Lantern” logo, stands in front of an outerspace background, with various yellow stars and planets in the distance. Artwork by Liam Sharp.

I was a little late to this party, and had to track down some back issues in a hurry, but The Green Lantern (I linked to DC’s site, but c’mon, go buy it at your local comic shop) is both the best Green Lantern comic book and the best Grant Morrison comic book in ages. Liam Sharp’s art, kinda intense ideas about human anatomy aside, is terrific, as well. It’s basically like Judge Dredd in outer space with Hal Jordan instead of Judge Dredd. I got in on it in February of this year. The first 12 issue, 1 annual “season” is done, and is collected in 2 trade paperbacks if you can’t find the individual issues, and they’re finishing up a three issue interlude series, Green Lantern: Blackstars this coming month, before going into Season Two #1 in February.

A selection of TSR Marvel Super-Heroes role-playing game handbooks, fanned out to the left, and a white legal pad with a pen and a large array of 10-sided dice to the right, on a brown table.
A selection of TSR Marvel Super-Heroes role-playing game handbooks, fanned out to the left, and a white legal pad with a pen and a large array of 10-sided dice to the right, on a brown table.

I actually got out the TSR Marvel RPG stuff in March, and rolled up 4 characters (creating them near-entirely from cues my dice rolls gave me, and taking few if any mulligans) that I have done nothing with since. I should go back and look to see if there’s anything good there. I also need to find people to play Marvel with me, as it’s still my favorite RPG system of all time. Is anyone here interested in trying to navigate an online Marvel game on Roll20, assuming their data breach didn’t scare you off?

A ceramic sculpture of a neon green duck wearing a neon pink cowboy hat, with a neon pink cowboy riding it, his fist raised triumphantly.
A ceramic sculpture of a neon green duck wearing a neon pink cowboy hat, with a neon pink cowboy riding it, his fist raised triumphantly.

I got some art in 2019. This is one of the earliest pieces from the current iteration of Zimot Industries, though I own a few other pieces of theirs. As fantastic as this sculpture is (and it is truly one of my favorite things that I own), it was just the beginning for Zimot. Just go look, and buy some stuff.

1989-1990 Topps Senior League baseball card of Dock Ellis, pictured in the center of the card, a man with brown skin and a black beard, wearing a red St. Petersburg Pelicans hat and warm-up jacket. Card has a woodgrain border, and logos from Senior League Baseball at top left, Topps at top right, and the St. Petersburg Pelicans at bottom left, with Docks name and abbreviation for his position, P for pitcher, at bottom right.
1989-1990 Topps Senior League baseball card of Dock Ellis, pictured in the center of the card, a man with brown skin and a black beard, wearing a red St. Petersburg Pelicans hat and warm-up jacket. Card has a woodgrain border, and logos from Senior League Baseball at top left, Topps at top right, and the St. Petersburg Pelicans at bottom left, with Docks name and abbreviation for his position, P for pitcher, at bottom right.

I posted about the 1989-1990 Topps Senior League Baseball set back when I got it in March, but it was one of the highlights of my card collecting year, so here’s the Dock Ellis card again.

Sometimes, in the dead of winter, weird stuff happens…

A Mego Tootie action figure from The Facts of Life series, a teenaged looking female doll with black hair and brown skin in a maroon and white private school uniform, drinking a mug of beer.
A Mego Tootie action figure from The Facts of Life series, a teenaged looking female doll with black hair and brown skin in a maroon and white private school uniform, drinking a mug of beer.
A Mego Jo action figure from The Facts of Life series, a teenaged looking female action figure with white skin and brown hair in a maroon and white private school uniform, drinking a mug of beer.
A Mego Jo action figure from The Facts of Life series, a teenaged looking female action figure with white skin and brown hair in a maroon and white private school uniform, drinking a mug of beer.

First-run movies watched in March 2019 (1): Captain Marvel (I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to more.)

Television seasons binge-watched in March 2019 (1): Punisher Season 2 (I also enjoyed this, but I’m sad that it’s over. Hopefully, Disney rethinks the cancellation of the Marvel Netflix stuff and puts it on Hulu or something.)

My Year in Hobbies 2019: February!

February 2019:

As some of you will remember, I collect Mego action figures, and got a bunch of them in 2018, after the company relaunched. Finding Megos in the second half of 2019 would prove to be tough (I got beat out on a bunch of pre-orders because I didn’t have the money handy to grab certain things in time), but I had some nice successes in the first half of the year.

A Mego Joe Namath 8" action figure in its original package rests on top of a red and white bag. Football player Joe Namath, a smiling white man with brown hair, in a white uniform with green trim, with helmet and football. On the package's card, to the left of the figure, there is a picture of Joe Namath in a green uniform with white trim, holding a football.
A Mego Joe Namath 8″ action figure in its original package rests on top of a red and white bag. Football player Joe Namath, a smiling white man with brown hair, in a white uniform with green trim, with helmet and football. On the package’s card, to the left of the figure, there is a picture of Joe Namath in a green uniform with white trim, holding a football.
A packaged Mego 8" action figure of boxer Muhammad Ali, a man with brown skin and black hair, wearing a white and red robe, with red boxing gloves and red, white, blue and gold championship belt, rests in a red shopping cart. A picture of Muhammad Ali, right arm raised, is on the card of the package, to the left of the figure.
A packaged Mego 8″ action figure of boxer Muhammad Ali, a man with brown skin and black hair, wearing a white and red robe, with red boxing gloves and red, white, blue and gold championship belt, rests in a red shopping cart. A picture of Muhammad Ali, right arm raised, is on the card of the package, to the left of the figure.
Mego 8" action figures. Top row: Planet of the Apes character Dr. Zaius, humanoid orangutan with orange hair in beige and brown outfit in front, with a number of other figures behind and next to him.
Mego action figures stand on a worn white cardboard box against a beige background, with grey molding to the right of the figures in the shot. Top row: Planet of the Apes character Dr. Zaius, humanoid orangutan with orange hair and beige skin, in beige and brown outfit in front, with The Lizard, Spider-Man, Aquaman, The Falcon, Mr. Spock, Mr. Fantastic and Superman behind him. Bottom row: The Gorn.

…and, from the vintage side of things, Dr. Zaius! My first Ape!

A screenshot of multiplayer wins statistics from MobilityWare Solitaire for iOS, showing that the author is in 600th place overall.
A screenshot of multiplayer wins statistics from MobilityWare Solitaire for iOS, showing that the author is in 600th place overall.

I hit 600th place in February…

A screenshot of multiplayer wins statistics from MobilityWare Solitaire for iOS, showing that the author has 5,000 overall wins.
A screenshot of multiplayer wins statistics from MobilityWare Solitaire for iOS, showing that the author has 5,000 overall wins.

…and got my 5000th win not long after.

Comic books cancelled or ending in February 2019 (1): Mage: The Hero Denied (Image). 2019 saw the finish of several stories in fiction that I’ve been following for most of my life. I started reading Mage as a kid who didn’t get half of it in 1984, but wow, was it cool. It was supposed to be a trilogy of 15 issue story arcs that finished up probably around 1990. For one reason or another, it took Matt Wagner almost 3 extra decades to get to the finish line. From the perspective of a person who hasn’t read the first 2 arcs in 20 years, the ending was satisfying, but not extremely satisfying. The first arc was always going to be a lot to live up to, and that was kind of the case with the second arc as well, but it was really nice to spend time in the world of the characters again. I have a lot of things that I actually haven’t read yet ahead of doing this, but I want to sit down and read the entire story sometime soon, and see how I feel about it all after doing that.

Matt and his son Brennan are doing a nice job with Matt’s character Grendel at the moment (though I come at it from a different perspective than most other people reading it, because I’m actually not super-familiar with Grendel; one of the things ahead of a re-read of Mage in my reading queue is the pile of early Grendel stories I’m starting to find in my travels), and I recommend that book.