The National Baseball Hall Of Fame

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Cooperstown, NY
I've wanted to visit Cooperstown since I was six years old.  The entire city is heaven for baseball fans, and the centerpiece, of course, is the Baseball Hall of Fame.  I must have taken a million photos, and I could have taken a million more, but my digital camera isn't great, especially in low light settings.  Here are some photos of the museum and some of my favorite player plaques from when they were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

This is the front entrance of the museum.  You can see these doors in the middle of the postcard at the top.

This plaque is on the outside of the building.

It started raining, so this photo was taken from a window in the museum. I didn't get to read what the plaque says, but this is a statue of former Phillies coach Johnny Podres when he pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

This is the hallway in the middle of the plaques for the players who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The entrance to the section where the first inductees of the Hall of Fame are honored.

The first players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame: Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Walter Johnson.

Phillies Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn (left) and Jim Bunning (right).  Negro Leagues Hall of Famer Leon Day (center).

The rest of the photos are plaques of players who have spent some or all of their career with the Phillies, and a few others who are my favorite non-Phillies to ever play the game:

Mike Schmidt (3B)

Steve Carlton (LHP)

Chuck Klein (OF)

Joe Morgan (2B)

Ferguson Jenkins (RHP)

Pat Gillick (general manager)

Nolan Ryan (RHP)

Rickey Henderson (OF)

Hank Aaron (OF)

Jackie Robinson (OF)

Willie Mays (OF)

Joe DiMaggio (OF)

Cool Papa Bell (OF)

Yogi Berra (C)

Bill Veeck... as in Wreck (team owner)

Best Town By A Dam Site

Downsville, NY
We passed through this little town on Route 206 as we drove from Bethel to Cooperstown.  It's very small town on the Delaware River with a population of just over 600.  Their slogan refers to a dam that was built in the 50's which is responsible for roughly 25% of the drinking water supplied to New York City.

A Surprise Meeting

Rich Hering
WWE Vice President
Mr. G's Grille - Liberty, NY
We stopped at a restaurant on Sullivan Ave for dinner.  It was a nice place that had a sports bar vibe.  I ordered the Cowboy Burger, which is topped with bacon, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce.  It was very tasty!

While we were eating, I noticed that they had a WWE memorabilia display that included an old winged eagle WWF championship belt and the current WWE championship belt.  I wanted to take a picture of them, but they were hanging on a wall behind a table that a family was sitting at for their dinner, so we waited for a bit until they finished.  When the waitress noticed that I was interested in the display, she told me that the owner of the restaurant was one of the WWE Vice Presidents, Rich Hering.  She said he was in the back and offered to ask him to come out.  Before I could say "no, you don't have to do that", she was halfway to the kitchen.

Mr. Hering came out a minute later with the waitress, who was carrying an authentic WWE championship belt.  He very kindly took a photo with me and let me hold the belt.  It was a very pleasant surprise for the first day of our vacation.

A Cartoonist's Advice

A Cartoonist’s Advice (2013)
Artwork by Gavin Aung Than (ZenPencils.com)
Words by Bill Watterson (Kenyon College graduation speech - 1990)

Burrito Friday

Friday is Burrito Day on Team CBI.

Happy Birthday MJ

Michael Jackson stickers
Topps (1984)

Michael Jackson was one of the greatest singers and entertainers who ever lived, and he passed away far too soon.  He would have been 55 years old today.

There was a ton of MJ memorabilia released when I was growing up in the 80's.  I had some of his records and a few different things of his when I was a kid, including one of the stickers from this set.  I found this pack of them at a flea market when I was in college and couldn't resist bringing them home.

Save The Laurel Drive-In

The first movie that I ever remember seeing on the big screen was at the Laurel Drive-In in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.  My dad took me to see The Karate Kid Part II, and I've been back there many times in the years since.  This poster was hanging in the snack bar when went tonight to see The Conjuring and Pacific Rim last night, and it's leading me to believe that this place might not be around for very much longer.

The movie industry is discontinuing the use of 35mm film after this season, so theaters that don't use a digital projector are in danger of closing.  According to the poster, the necessary upgrades cost $75,000 which is completely out of reach for a small town drive in theater like ours.  Thankfully, Honda has swooped in to save the day by donating five digital projectors to five lucky drive-in theaters.  You can vote for the Laurel Drive-In to receive one of these projectors by visiting ProjectDriveIn.com/vote_35.

The Greatest Achievement in the History of Gaming

Tetris sprint world record
40 lines cleared in 19.68 seconds
Tetris Grand Master Keroco was the first player to clear 40 lines in under 20 seconds.  Fellow Tetris champion Ben Mullen referred to this by saying "Let me humbly submit that this may be the greatest achievement in the history of gaming..."  More info can be found on Mental Floss.

Goodbye, Uncle Charlie

The greatest manager in franchise history was fired by the worst general manager in baseball.  We're going to miss you, Charlie.

Photo by: Chris Szagola

These Need To Have Beta-carotene, Brother

Hulk Hogan Multi-Vitamins (1991)
The Hulkster turned 60 years old today.  He's spent a good part of the year feuding with Bubba Ray Dudley in TNA, but back in the early 90's, Hulkamania was still running wild.  Between battles with the Iraqi sympathizing Sgt. Slaughter, he found time to drop the big leg on Fred Flintstone to become the new champion of children's chewables.  That must have been an interesting title belt.

Crispety, Crunchety, Cartoony

Who Laid A Finger On Bart's Butterfinger
I love that the edge of the wrapper makes up Bart Simpson's hair.

The Emporium Is For Sale

Emporium Of Curious Goods
Jim Thorpe, PA
This is one of my favorite places to stop when I'm in Jim Thorpe, but I was surprised to find this sign hanging up in the shop when we were in town yesterday.  I hope that whoever does end up buying the place doesn't change a thing because this place is a treasure.