This Doesn't Bode Well

 In for the second of the 5 packs from the 2022 WWE NXT 2.0 Panini blaster, and I will say - 15 cards in a pack is a nice number. I mean, these days you are lucky to get more than 8, so it's a nice throwback to when you would regularly get that many in the late 80s or early 90s.

If I said, the above were the new base for me, would that surprise you for just the second pack in? The below, are all dupes, again, in just my SECOND PACK.

Now, I will give Panini a hard time because they are lazy and use the same picture on the back as used on the front. I will do this all day, but I will also complain that, the logo for NXT / NXT UK could have been much smaller and given more room for the write up. Would look much better. The photo is almost pointless since it's the same as the front.

The inserts...

I really like Gigi, and not just for the red hair (which is TOTALLY natural, right?). I think she gets her character and can play it well. Will be interesting to see how she will do on the main roster, hopefully not being lost in the shuffle.

The green parallel stands out a bit more than the silver, but also no SN on it, so not sure how much they are printed and pull rates, but that's fine.

I can't believe the collation is this bad, just after two packs. Here I thought I might get over the half way mark - heck - 65 of 125 base cards if they are all unique in the packs I open, but doesn't look like it will go that way.

Starting In NXT

 Today, onto a wrestling blaster box to start sharing...

I picked up two of these off Amazon because they were on sale for about $25 CDN, and given there are 90 cards, that's not too bad a deal these days unfortunately. Today we start with the first blaster and I am starting with 1 of 125 base cards already in my collection, so plenty of chance for this to be a solid box opening. First up, pulling a pack for the unopened pack collection, but let's look at one front and back for show...

Both the cover and the pack have the same photo work - not a surprise from Panini who seem to like reusing photos as much as possible. Bron is now on the main roster while Mandy, who had an amazing run in 2021-2022 in NXT is gone from the company which, from all accounts has to do with her desire to move forward with her OnlyFans and social media endeavors. Unfortunate from a wrestling standpoint as she had really sunk her teeth into the second NXT run and done really well for herself.

Now, Panini being Panini, they don't really give per pack odds, so I am going to have to do a bit of best guess work on my scoring, but I'll figure that out as I go. For now, to the cards!

A solid base card design. I can see how the use of the border colours can be used for multiple parallels, and then of course there is also the ability to change up the foil too. We start with getting Bron, one of the faces of the brand at the time, with his rookie card. Cora Jade's a good pick up too. I know of the UK guys a bit, but never followed the UK brand too closely - there are only so many hours in the day and Raw, SMackdown, and NXT provide enough for me to try and keep up with.

THe back part of the base set has a sub set for essentially all-time NXT stars, and we get Otis from the section here. Otis has done pretty well for himself overall on the main roster. He hasn't been a main event guy really, but solid mid-carder at times.

We have a couple inserts, as promised. An NXT Gold insert with Asuka who had an amazing run on the brand, and a silver parallel (not SN'd) of Sarray. I am going to, from my looking up of other breaks online, say the silver parallels are about every 3 packs and the NXT Gold about event 5, so will use those for scoring.

I will say, that posed photo of Asuke looks right on for how I remember her in her heights on NXT - definitely a lot more show on her main roster look with the added face paint and wardrobe.

Magic Catch Up

 Before the next opening...maybe something wrestling...a share of some Magic cards from 401games which are from a few relatively newer-ish sets and The List 

I do enjoy my "un" sets and plenty from Unstable and Unfinity that I still need  I will say that the galaxy foil cards in Unfinity look really good in hand.

The Celestial Prism from the 30th Anniversary set is the third artifact card from the expensive set, though the three I have are all cheap.

Then, a whole bunch of cards from The List 

The List is a group of cards, rotated in and out over time, which reprints cards in their original design, just adding a Planeswalk symbol in the bottom. Left corner. Happy to add all these, though I do have the original prints as well, they are definitely different cards to me.

Besides, any chance to get another Fodder Cannon into my collection works for me 

Three Short

 Here we are - end of the 2001 Silly CDs box, and what do we have?

- A completed 33 card base set

- 9 of 11 sticker inserts

- 35 pf 36 puzzle insert cards

Not sure how Barney has any friends when he is throwing up all over them, but here he is in sticker form. At least we had no dupes in the stickers, so just ended a couple short. As for the puzzles, all done except...

One last missing piece.

I checked out TCDB and may be able to get one of the three cards at least, but the two stickers seem to be not so easy to find for cheap and given the box as a whole was $10, I don't feel like spending $10 on the two missing stickers, so we will see if/when I get them.

Where does this leave me on 2024 new product openings this year?

No surprise it is 3rd out of three, and likely to dip down further. All good though, I did get a complete set so could have been worse!

Base Set - Check!

 Second to last day of cards from this box, and we get the base set completed.

Michael Jackson and the knock off of the Bad cover is the last card from the 33 card base set I needed. The puzzle cards finish off another one of the puzzle insert sets as well...

Nice. At least the song choices have a theme to them.

It took my until today in going through these cards to realize - CDs aren't really a thing anymore. I mean, it was a "yeah, okay, CDs" moment in seeing the cards, but kids now don't have CDs which is still foreign to me. I don't play them really either but I am sitting with about 100 CDs beside me - the collections from my wife and I with nothing newer than 25 years ago in the bunch, but we still have them!

I guess for those reasons alo0ne, we wouldn't see something like this again...for better or worse.

Another Two Bite The Dust

 A few more packs of 2011 Silly CDS today, and just the keepers as the dupes start running a bit rampant.

Okay, they did a good job on the Mariah card, I'll give them credit, even if again, we go right to the toilet humour. Dr. Dre, definitely worthy of a card, and we get the sticker version of Ozzy along with a few puzzle pieces, which are nice enough to complete a couple puzzles. Actually, on the base set, we are down to one more card now which is the Michael Jackson knockoff, so I guess we end with the king of pop...assuming we do get it in this box.

J-Lo, large and in charge version and...

Same for Suntana. Just a couple left to get!

Just A Few Left

 Not a surp[rise that the base set for this is rounding out fairly nicely. I think the puzzle inserts are going to be done or close to it as well. The stickers - unless something picks up, I may be one or two short which is annoying. I don't want to have to collect this set, but I am going to feel the need to complete a master set if I am just a card or two short...but time will tell.

The potty humour is big with this Bruce Stinkyjeans indeed. I don't mind 498 degrees, and it is another sticker off the checklist. At least there hasn't been any dupes on the sticker front.

Not a surprise the keep rate is dropping, so may bump up the number of packs to share each day from the three I have been doing to maybe six to keep there being some news cards.\

I am thinking I may be near complete on a second base set and a bit on the puzzles, if anyone is interested in a started set!

We're All Stars Now...

 Another solid day of pick ups for the 2001 Silly CDs set...

Well....I don't even know what to say about some of these. I mean, BLT....okay I guess, just shows what goes for humour even not so long ago in the early 2000s, which I think would probably have issue taken with now. Careless Suntana, I mean, I did really like the collab from Santana and Matchbox 20 front man Rob Thomas.

These provide the final pieces for another insert puzzle which we will get to, but first the few dupes...

As for the completed puzzle...

The Dope Show was, an interesting song and even more interesting music video at the time. Marilyn knew how to draw attention, good or bad.

If you are still here, a quick PWE trade with TCDB member BLWinbord 40:

It leaves me just 2 short on my Jays base set with Vladdy and Bo outstanding from this 2021 set. One of the better Gypsy Queen designs in my opinion. Appreciate the trade!

The Chicks

 We continue our way through the box of 2001 Silly CD cards and finally get one of the puzzle inserts completed, as well as getting a few more missing base cards.

No Doubt was probably one of the first real music bad/acts that I got into after Barenaked Ladies, who being a band out of my home town (a couple of the guys actually went to the same high school as I did, just a few years before me). I was slower to really get into music as a teen. I remember consciously recognizing the popularity in music and the interest that other peers had, and "not getting it", and staying away from it in grades 7-8, but turning that around in grade 9 with the start of high school.

I started watching MuchMusic (Canada's MTV), and specifically the weekly countdown, and it went from there. Music then became a big part of those high school years. Most of the music I really like now is from those years, with a bit into university, but essentially 1994 - 1999 for highschool and into about 2003 for the university period as well.

I kept pretty eclectic with tastes, and everything from the songs I "suffered" through listing to as a kid in the card with my mom and grandparents, through everything MuchMusic ended up having to offer from metal to rap to Electric Circus's show and dance music, to pop and alternative - I have songs I enjoy in most every genre.

A bit disappointing that the insert puzzles are just larger versions of base cards. I mean, having them be a few new ones even, would have been a much better choice.

To be honest, I enjoyed the Dixie Chicks while they were still the Dixie Chicks, and in showing that being "woke" isn't something all that new, the connotation around the word "Dixie" had the band change the name in the early 2000s to just "The Chicks".

The Chicks may also be remembered outside of music for comments made by lead singer Natalie Maines against George W. Bush regarding the Iraq invasion back in 2003, which she then had to apologize for and then rescinded the apology a few years afterwards (in 2006). Whether you agree with them or not, the impact that a popular entertainment act can have on society is there - similar to how Taylor Swift could impact something like the current US election by being vocal one way or the other. Whether that SHOULD be the case or not, is another matter, but I think it can't be overlooked that there is an impact.

As for the cards - a handful of dupes here to end (I remember the Howard Stern movie being a thing, but never did watch it). I expect more dupes will be coming sooner than later as we start to fill up the base set now.

Buffalo Wings

Before getting to the cards today - looks like Cavan Biggio is out of Toronto, traded to the Dodgers. As a Jays fan, and a fan of second generation players, it's sad to see him go, but he has been struggling and the change will hopefully be a good one for both sides.

As for today and the Silly packs...in looking at the bunch of new base cards from the 2001 Sill CD's set, buffalo wings is the only thing that comes to mind.

We finally get the *NSYNC card which is what the cover box shows, and of course the Backstreet Boys card isn't far behind.

498 Degrees makes me think of member Nick Lachey who at one time was married to Jessica SImpson (which lasted about 4 years). Jessica was famously filmed - scripted or not - finding out that Buffalo Wings do not come from Buffalo. Oh the things that bring my mind back to the late 90s and early 2000s.

Still no puzzle duplicates, but more Madonna and Cher below!

Toilet Humour

 I guess it isn't surprising that these 2001 Silly CD cards boil right down to toilet humour. I mean, it's still funny, but low hanging fruit.

Rocky Martin, J-Lo, Marilyn Manson, Shania Twain and Christina Aguilera. At least we are talking quality acts here. Whether you are a fan of Livin' La Vid Loca, If You Had My Love, The Dope Show, I'm Outta Here or Beautiful, all represented here.

I was a big Shania fan. As a teen, she was definitely one that I really liked. I mean, the music was great and she was (and still is) beautiful. Wasn't every really into the 

Christina/Britney/Justin/NSync/Backstreet stuff. I'd listen to it, and knew it, but wasn't something I followed.

In university, one of the guys I lived on the same floor of talked about having interviewed Marilyn Manson not long before. I remember the discussion well, because, though I wasn't surprised by the answer, it was one of the first times I really though about presentation. He said, the Marilyn that is put forth is just a small piece of the person, just blown up to be extreme, but the man (at the time) wasn't any different from anyone else really. I always talked about wrestlers this way, that the best were ones that took a piece of themselves and blew it up to an extreme - Stone Cold Steve Austin being a perfect example, just hadn't thought about it being as widespread in the entertainment industry, but makes sense.

Still no dupes on the puzzle pieces, but a few base dupes below...

If anyone by chance is interested in dupes from this set, let me know.

Silly Indeed

 So, on one of my pick ups from Pastime Sports & Games out in BC, I picked up a couple sale items just because they were unique and cheap. Well, that included this box...

I picked it up for less than $10 and I figured it would be cute and off beat from the usual fare, so why not. Gives me a chance to look at some Garbage Pail Kids adjacent cards and from musical acts of my teen years, give or take.

The base set is 33 cards, the puzzled add another 36 cards and there are 11 stickers. Given the box contains 5 cards per pack and 36 packs, unless collation sucks - which is entirely possible - I should end up with a master set....which probably is still worth less than the 10 bucks, but let's have fun getting there!

For those who were curious, here are the front and back of the pack - all look alike, and I have no interest in keeping any, so let's start with a few and go from there.

Three base cards and two puzzle piece cards per pack, so those would still work to let me get a full set from the box. Let's see how good we can figure these out, though pretty obvious so far - Ozzy, Madonna, and Cher. I'll show the puzzles as I complete them, but from the names, looks like Dixie Chicks and Marilyn Manson from the names.

Personal taste in music - I like at lease a few songs from each of these acts and know them all well enough.

Well, a dupe in the second pack doesn't bode well, but not totally surprising given the small set size. We have kids music represented with Barney and the first of the 11 sticker inserts show up with Snoop Dogg parody card "Poop Dogg". I am guessing on the name - Kidney Stones would be the Rolling Stones.

So...Spice Girls, Elvis and Britney Spears - again, listened to all of them, like songs from each of them. If you are wondering, the backs don't have much other than info on where you can get the cards and more (see the website, which is long gone).

At least the fronts do try and play on a number of the song titles with decent enough effectiveness I guess, for what these are.

Overall, with no real "hits", this will be a low scoring box, but it's more for the fun of opening a product I would never have otherwise considered buying. More tomorrow.

The Wild West

 A quick MTG update today as a recent set based on the wild west came out about a month ago 

Those are the pack keepers and definitely show the wild west vides. I picked up some of the singles too, but mostly the "cheap" ones.

Okay, so I guess with some of this we are going more for the Wild West / technology vibe from the Will Smith movie instead of old times Clint Eastwood wild west.

I'm starting to really miss the old make of the cards themselves. I swear they are feeling more plastic list with the film they put on the cards whereas the old ones were much like a deck of playing cards. These slide around a lot more!

I love collecting still, but with the constant barrage of cards and sets, I doubt t I would want to keep up with the changes to play on anything more than a "for fun with friends" format.