Cardboard links of the week
October 22, 2009I recently got a chance to meet Jere Smith, coauthor of the Red Sox-themed mystery novel Dirty Water and creator of the Red Sox Fan from Pinstripes Territory blog, and he gave me a great handmade gift: a two-sided refrigerator magnet made out of 1977 baseball cards (Pete Redfern on one side and Buzz Capra on the other). Check out his page on Etsy, where you can buy a two-sided baseball card magnet to order. You want to pin your parking tickets and fingerpainting efforts to the fridge with the help of Bob Apodaca and Biff Pocoroba? Just ask him. You want a magnet to reflect the war inside you between the divine and the satanic, with Jim Gott on one side and Tim Teufel on the other? He can make that happen, too (I think). And for cheap. (Just don’t ask for any Yankees.)
And while we’re talking about buying stuff, I have to mention something else that’s got me really excited: the introduction into the Strat-O-Matic universe of a set of cards reflecting the abilities of Negro League stars. Baseball historian Scott Simkus, the brains and elbow grease behind the prodigious effort it took to commit an accurate representation of these players in the alternate baseball universe so many of us know and love, talks on his blog about the factors that allowed him to bring his dream to life. I for one can’t wait to start using the new cards in combination with other cards from bygone days (e.g., Lefty Grove, meet Josh Gibson) to envision a game that should have been. A better game.
And finally, in honor of yesterday’s fortieth anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s passing, here’s the man reading a poem about a fellow genius of joy gone too soon:
Cardboard Gods 
i’m currently editing a children’s picture book about effa manley, the co-owner of the newark eagles who was so instrumental in getting many of the negro leaguer stars elected into the baseball hall of fame. very interesting woman: http://audreyvernick.com/sheloved.html.
whoops, this link should work: http://audreyvernick.com/sheloved.html
Strat rocks!
I need to check out that magnet page. Looks like it would be fun.
Thanks for the link, Josh. If anyone wants a magnet and wants to bypass my Etsy site (or if you don’t have PayPal), go ahead and e-mail me (Two2067 at aol.com) and let me know what you want, and I’ll make it for you.)
One good poem deserves another, no?
http://www.cosmicbaseball.com/jcba21_corso.html