50 Cities of the World #13 Moscow

I advise you to pack some warm cloths for the next stop in our 50 Cities of the World Tour.

Lets stop at Moscow this time.

Looking at the card it seems  like there is plenty of sun there. Well it might be and it seems they have warm Summers there but when I think of Moscow I can only picture, and almost feel, the cold!

Well, I think we all know that Moscow is the capital of Russia. It's a tiny little point in the wilderness that is the Russian territory.

And for not letting me down this is stated in wikipedia:

"Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth, the most populous city in Europe, and the 8th largest city proper in the world, as well as the largest amongst high income economies. "

Which is almost the same as some centuries ago like stated in the card back.

It plays like the eastern end of Europe.

You can see on the picture the Moskva River and I think that those buildings up on the left are the Saint Basil's Cathedral.

Those are the thing I always think first when talking about Moscow. The architecture really made something different there. The design and the colours are unique.

It is right in the Red Square where it seems everything happens in Russian.

At Moscow I also can identify the Bolshoi Theatre which is one of the most important around the world.

One thing I saw on wikipedia and didn't quite get it was this:

"In addition Moscow has cooperation agreements with: Lisbon, Portugal"

I assure you I don't know what this means. But ok.

Moscow also was an important point during the WWII. If the Germans would have march through it and maybe the history could have been other.



For more information visit Moscow wiki page.

2012 Panini Cooperstown - lets visit the HoF 3

Hello look who's back!

And keeping with the traveling trend lets get back to Cooperstown for an other walk.

I recognize both top and bottom on the left: Larkin and Carter.

I must say that thanks to catchers wearing the helmets that way is quite easy to get a good photo of them in these cards. Love seeing them wearing the catchers gear...

They say it's all about the uniform.

Ron Santo I also know from seeing some of his cards on some blogs. But I confess that the rest are truly from the Museum to me.

I apologize for the not great scanning pictures, but still learning how to deal with the scanner and only now I found that the scanning program in windows 8 scans fast but with the lowest resolution possible...buhhh Not using that next time but the proper scanner scanning program to do it properly.

There is this time traveling from the card's front to the card's back because some players are younger in one side and quite old on the other.

Not telling that some look great in one side and the other side is...better not saying.

But I appreciate King Kelly's mustache evolution.

And look at Ed Delahanty. On the front he looks like a family boy and on the back he looks like some outlaw! How cool is that!

And finally Hugh Duffy seems like a maestro commanding his orchestra but with a but.


Enjoying these cards more and more each passing days.

The game of Wallet Card - Flu

Nasty bug I have here!

I'm more used to catching software bugs but this time around the bloody flu bug caught me.

So here it is my fellow J.T. making me some company while I get better.

So that's why I've been out of the blog lately, both posting and reading.

Hope to be back soon.

The game of Wallet Card - Scanner

2012 Panini Cooperstown - lets visit the HoF 2

Sutton  I know!

I wouldn't say that the person on the front is the same as the one on the back.

And Keeler look more like a mechanic than a ball player.

This card is like a journey into the future.

A young Spalding and an old Spalding.

But what I like most is the way too big jacket.

This set even features a bunt card!

 The glove...It change so much.

Getting Clement in base set and one of his inserts. Good good.

Can you see Sisler bat!? That is huge! How could he swing it!?

Great great card! And to add +10 it's horizontal.

Sorry for my not so PG-13 mind but every time I see Hornsby name...

This is probably the first card I see a bit of a 'need-to-cut-his-head-off' design. But it's just a slight sensation.

2012 Panini Cooperstown - lets visit the HoF

It was for this I wanted the Panini Cooperstown cards so much.

You get the feeling of really be walking in the museum.

The design is not very intrusive and even helps when in need of hiding the MLB logos without seeming too much that they had to cut the head off.

The photos help the good effect because some caps don't show the logo and in other cases there is no cap but a top hat.

 The black and white choice was good and I think suits very well the meaning of this set.

Of course it is a bit funny seeing a black and white photo of a player we always saw at 'technicolor'.

 There is a line of career statistics but lots of trivia.

This is the right set for me. That's why, for the first since I bought the first cards, that I decided I truly, really, want to complete a set! Even if it is just the base cards. I want them all! It also helps they are only 170 in total. Including already the 'technicolor' SPs (if we may call those cards SPs...).

50 Cities of the World #12 St. Petersburgh

Traveling today to Saint Petersburgh. Can you feel the love for words that are no longer written in that old fashion?

It was Petrograd then Leningrad and finally  St. Petersburg.

You can almost feel the wet and cold just by looking at the card.

St. Petersburg is probably the most occidental Russian city. It is located near Finland. But none the same it is a Russian city.

As the card back states is located near Neva river (transporting lots and lots of pure water!).

The river's name is quite fun and appropriate if you spoke Portuguese. You see, 'neva' in Portuguese is 'snowing/snows'. 'Neva tanto nesta cidade' - 'It snows so much in this town'.

And yep. It is freezing cold in St. Petersburg! (just check it at http://www.accuweather.com/)

In the card back it also mentions the numerous scientific societies in the city. Which I imagine as being grand like any building in Russia.

What I know best about St. Petersburg is Zenit, one of the football clubs. They did defeat my Benfica this year in the European Champs so I don't like them that much...




Ohhhhhhh well! If you want to get a bit cold and see magnificent buildings just visit old St. Peter wiki page to know a bit more.

The game of Wallet Card - Dragon Ball, Turtles and some Java

Somehow I've traveled to Cooperstown!

I bought, back in November 24 2012 Panini Cooperstown rack packs.

I've made the impossible to hold myself and keep them safe to only open on Christmas.

I was such a good girl that after opening all the gifts I almost forget to open these packs (and the hockey ones too).

As you might notice in the blog's top menu bar I haded a page with the '2012 Panini Cooperstown - base cards wantlist'.

Since the first moment I saw this set I wanted badly to have it. So finally I got the packs for a reasonable price and finally get them.

I thought that in 24 packs I might get almost the entire base set complete (170 cards is quite manageable). I was not quite right because I got more dups than I was expecting.

But what made me a bit sad was how difficult it was to get inserts.

I know the inserts are called that because the sets have less cards than the base set and the cards are more difficult to get.

But you all at Panini could have made it a bit less difficult!

And what bothered me even most was that I got dups for inserts! So they are less and even when I get one is the same I got 10 packs before!? That's a big no-no...

Or, as I usually say, the cardboard gods don't like me that much =(

But lets see, none the same, what I got.

Starting with one of my favourite and truly want-it-badly insert.

The card on the post top is one example of a great ballpark card. I have some of this from the Phill Rizzuto's pastime set which is the first thing that came to my mind when I saw Panini had similar cards in Coopertown.

This is also one of the examples for a dup card. So if you need it to complete the set or simply want it. Let me know and we'll trade.

Next I got the Field Generals card, doubled again!

Again it comes to my mind an other set I've seen before: Masked Marauders from 1998 Collector's Choice Upper Deck.

It's just me or I cannot figure out to where Ray Shalk is looking at in the photo on the right of the front?

I'm already with 4 insert cards but only half counts.

I knew Clemente was a great player but I confess I didn't know the tragic way, and how soon, he died.

I also didn't know that they could pass the 5 year waiting and simply honour Clemente into the HoF.

That's why I prefer and love so much more having (useful and historical) trivia in card's back.

(Have you read that Topps!?)

High Praise insert is way cool!

I like the quote on the front.

I only got horizontal cards but I'm not sure if they are all like this but I think so. If that's true is a +10 for the insert set. Even more because my binders are 8 pockets in horizontal manner. So these cards look even better in the binder without the need to turn the neck to see them.

And I've never had a card with such a young Nolan Ryan.

A baseball card with no photo/picture is something always 'danger'.

In a set like this is not that danger but might be questionable. A small player photo on the card, even if it was only on the back, could've been possible.

But I'm ok with it.

Just wonder why Clemente has (Walker) written that way?

But after the Credentials set why do we need the Induction set? Or vice-versa?

To me it seems a bit redundant.

And here, in the Induction set they have a photo. But they seem to have the lozenge hanging by their heads!

Like those hangers to put on the door saying 'Do not disturb!'.

And the photo on the back (not talking of it being a crop from the one in the front instead of a different one) looks like they wanted to hide the cap because of the missing license to show MLB symbols but...ohhhhhh wait...They don't have caps!

So, I think I prefer the Credentials set to this Induction set.

And last, but by no means the least, I got a Village insert.

It's James Fenimore Cooper Statue card. I like the back in Post Card format. Are all of them like this?



I was hoping of getting Museum Pieces or a With Honors insert and that disappointed me a bit. But it's ok.

And it seems the Credentials insert odds are 2 per box? I got 3. Ok again. Shame for the dups but then again, dups are not that bad because I can trade them to someone.

Just trying to see the positive side of it.


I liked Panini Cooperstown set not quite because of the inserts (exception for the Ballparks) but mainly for the base set: concise and well implemented (being black and white and the hiding MLB logos thing).

But the inserts are ok and add more 'juice' to the collection.