Trying new things

I guess it's fitting that this will be another movie-related post while the Oscars are on. (Not that I'm actually watching it.) I don't know what it is with me and movies these past few days, but I've found they make great tie-ins with cards.


When it comes to my baseball cards, I can get kind of anal-retentive.

I haven't changed how my cards are organized since I started collecting baseball cards again back around 2006. Still the same. If I were to change it now, it would throw me all out of whack, so I don't see a time in the future where I'll ever do a mass reorganization.

My binders are grouped by teams, each one filled with players that I've personally hand-picked. It's not really based on anything specific. It's just who I like, pretty much.

Ever since I re-started my baseball card collection, I haven't made a lot of new additions to the "binders". It's pretty much been the same guys from when I first started collecting. New additions are rare. (We'll get to that Matt Morre card later on in this post.)

I've found that it's pretty much the same with my taste in movies.

Sometimes I think that I've seen every good movie out there. Until this weekend, the last non-newly released movie I can remember really enjoying was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". We watched it in my high school psychology class one day.

I thought to myself, "Why haven't I seen this movie before?" I love psychology (I'm even planning on changing my major to psychology in the near future), and it's a classic film. I'm even planning on writing a paper later this semester for my current psychology class on that film.

This weekend, I've watched two movies that I've never seen before. And both were fantastic.

I can't remember the last time that happened.

As I've mentioned before, there haven't been a lot of new movies that I've been dying to see in the last few years.

On Friday, I saw the newly-released movie "Goon". It came out "On Demand" on Friday, over a month before it comes out in theaters.

Even though I don't collect the cards anymore, I'm still a hockey fan. "Goon" is pretty much what you'd expect it to be about, a guy who gets into hockey because he's got a newfound talent for beating people to a pulp. (It's actually based off a true story.)

I was expecting the movie to be pretty good, but it blew me away. It was that good. It had one of the best final scenes of any movie I've seen in a really long time.

I'll probably go see it again when it gets released in theaters.

Last night, I saw another movie I haven't seen before. However, this movie has been around for quite some time now, and I was surprised it took me until yesterday to see it.

After my dad read my post about how much I enjoyed a simple dinner with a few of my friends, he recommended that I see "Diner".

"The Baseball Card Snob" also left a comment on that post saying that I might enjoy this movie, so I figured it was at least worth a watch.

I'm glad I did.

See, unlike a lot of people my age, I'm a big fan of dialogue-based movies. I don't like movies with something exciting happening every second or movies with twenty different plot twists. I just want good conversations that would seem like something you or I would talk about with our friends. (It's a big reason why I love the movie "Clerks" so much.)

"Diner" is a fantastic movie, filled with tons of great dialogue. (I especially liked the argument over the roast beef sandwich.) It had a great soundtrack to boot, since it's set in 1959.

I've been thinking lately that I should expand my horizons a bit with my movie choices. Maybe try out some movies I wouldn't have ever thought to watch before.

"Diner" only strengthened those thoughts.

I've been having similar thoughts when it comes to my baseball cards as well.

Until about a year ago, I hadn't welcomed any new guys into the "binders" for quite some time. I figured it was about time I changed things up a bit.

Matt Moore is the newest addition to the binders. I'm a big Rays fan, and it looks like he might be one of their key pieces for the future.

Next to the Cubs, the Angels are my favorite team. If Mike Trout lives up to his potential, then baseball could have a new superstar on its hands.

It's hard to believe that he's only about a year older than I am.

I have to admit, the "liquorfractors" have been growing on me lately. I like the Gold Sparkles from 2012 Topps, but I find myself wishing for the diamond parallels from last year more and more.

I originally put this card up for trade after I pulled it, but I decided that I wouldn't be able to part with it. The throwback Angels uniform that Trout is sporting on this card is just too cool.

So I decided Mike Trout would be a nice addition to the binders.

I've found that I'm a little more lenient when it comes to letting rookies into the binder. I'm not trying to do any "prospecting" by any means.

These are just a few guys I like who happen to be prospects.

Josh Collmenter was one of the starters when I went up to Milwaukee to see a Brewers-D'Backs game this past summer.

His delivery is even crazier to watch in person.

Paul Goldschmidt is one of the biggest ballplayers I've ever seen. The grand slam he hit in the NLDS last year cemented his spot in the hallowed "binders".

New additions aren't just limited to prospects, however.

I recently decided to begin collecting cards of Ryan Dempster.

To tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure why I didn't already collect him. He's an easy-going guy, he's a prankster, and he's a Cub.

What else do I need?

Night Owl isn't going to like this one, but I also decided to start collecting Brian Wilson recently.

He seems like a good guy. I'd much rather have a Wilson-like "character" than a Manny Ramirez-type "character" any day.

I was looking for him in the crowd of players during that Phillies-Giants brawl last year.

If there's one guy you wouldn't want to get into a fight with, it's probably Brian Wilson.

Heath Bell seems like one of the nicest guys in baseball right now.

Not to mention that he's one of the finest closers in the game. I look forward to seeing what he's going to do in Miami this year.

Now I've just got to find a card of him on the Mets...

Carlos Pena is the one who triggered this whole change in my collection.

I finally decided to break down and let a new player into my binder about a year ago. That player was Pena.

I've got over a hundred cards of his now. I don't know how I did it, though.

I'm sure all of our collections have changed in the last few years or so. As collectors, it keeps us motivated. Most of all, it keeps us interested. A little change never hurts.

I've found that with baseball cards, as in life, change can be a good thing.