Some Notes

Some things I'm looking forward to for the coming year:

Topps Heritage '59
I've seen the sell sheets and I've watched the documentary Helvetica about the rise of the now-ubiquitous typeface (and prominent feature of the 1959 design) in preparation. But mostly I've been pining for this set for almost five years (since the release of Heritage '54 in 2003). I will go for the master set (as in 2003), and this time next year will make every argument against Topps Heritage continuing in 2009 and beyond, ransacking its cache of Sixties designs.

Card Trade Magazine
How did I get approved to receive this magazine? It's true, I applied to receive it. It's not that I'm complaining; far from it. I'm just a little shocked that I was approved. I'm also completely amazed that Kelnhofer and SCD give absolutely no mention of O'Keeffe and Thompson's The Card in any of their publications: Sports Collector's Digest, Tuff Stuff, or Card Trade. You'd think that dealers would like to know how an inflammatory text like that might affect their business. Guess not.

Eisner's Plans to Expand Topps' Footprint Overseas
In my review of Allen & Ginter earlier this year, I wrote that I thought Topps dropped the ball in not including David Beckham in the set, and proposed a Garfield Sobers World Champions card for A&G 2008. Well, it seems that Eisner kind of agreed (loosely). It looks like he wants to expand into Europe with cards for English Premier League football. Here's hoping they can get the license. Excuse me, licence. But why stop there? I think they should go for the world's largest sports audience and start sweet-talking the International Cricket Council.

Other Stuff
I plan on continuing (and finishing) the 1990s countdown. I also have a tentative plan to release a book in pdf form sometime this spring, not to mention the many other half-baked ideas on how to further expand The Baseball Card Blog empire.