Back in 2024, I set a goal to go on more walks. During those walks, I encountered quite a bit of detritus and ephemera from daily life. Because I’m a sucker for such things, I brought many of those items homes, collecting them in a document box (and then another (and then another)), unintentionally establishing a collection of assorted found items (one man’s trash, etc.). This collection of miscellany includes—you guessed it—playing (and adjacent) cards.
Currently, my collection consists of 65 individual cards made up of five different genres of cards: traditional playing cards, collectible/trading card game cards, cards from party games and family game night games, spiritual cards, and athlete trading cards.
Traditional playing cards make up the bulk of my current collection, with 41 cards from four different decks.
I found most of the cards in my collection on the ground, including this trio of tarot cards that were waiting for me outside of my car after my first-ever field trip through Memory Den—and that definitely weren’t there about an hour earlier when I walked into the store.
Some—the Rider-Waite Six of Cups tarot card, the purple “Faith” card, the “the chart of your own divine self” prayer card (found only two days ago!), and the pack of cards from That Sound Game—I found on utility poles.
The Sasquatch Joker from the Landmark deck is my favorite of the bunch. My favorite cards to find are the spiritual ones. Each time I happen upon one (or three), I get a little burst of excitement and a feeling of good fortune.
Before seeing the Reddit post that inspired this one, I hadn’t realized that collecting found playing cards in general or that collecting them with the specific intent to build a complete deck of 52 unique cards were even hobbies, let alone such popular ones (this, despite my own humble—and less focused—collection of found cards). But of course they are. The internet is full of people who collect cards—mostly traditional playing cards—they find on the street. If you have a brain like mine, be careful when googling. It’s a quick decent into a bottomless rabbit hole. A few favorites:
I appreciate Graham mentioning in his post the act of paying attention to the time in between finding each card, and how the project of constructing a full deck entirely from found cards is a classic example of the coupon collector’s problem, which is a roadblock I’ve been up against since 2018 in my pursuit to find Series 1990 or earlier $50 and $100 bills to add to my collection of pre-color, pre-enlarged heads American bills.
The Reddit post that inspired this one has also inspired me to be more intentional about my found-card collecting. I like the unexpectedness and slowness of the process (the thrill of the hunt, some might say), and I think it’ll be fun and rewarding to build a deck from found cards, with each card originating from a different deck, and to expand my current collection of found cards, made up of different types of cards, not just playing cards. Who knows what other adventures, curiosities, and side quests will pop up along the way.
Who else remembers last June when I shared a little bit about my family’s most enduring holiday tradition along with a peak inside the mini album I’ve slowly, surely been making to document it and also a little bit about my process for the project and then ended the post basically promising that I’d be back in November with an update?
The update: There are still two small things that need to be done. (1) I still haven’t figured out the title page. My idea—which I outlined in the first post about this project—is to type up a brief blurb about the tradition on white textured cardstock. I’ve sat down to draft said blurb a billion times and haven’t yet found the arrangement of words I’m looking for that all fit on the page. (2) I’ve also yet to decide what I’m going to do about the date stamp issue for the first two years/photos. Aside from those two things, I’m caught up with this project.
The delay: Despite it being obvious from the outset that I didn’t have enough to do so, I was dead set—and I mean inflexibly, stubbornly dead set—on using only scraps of gift wrap from Christmases past as backing for every photo. I went through the first four stages of grief several times before finally progressing to stage five and letting that idea go. Then, I became dead set on using only holiday-themed gift wrap. I figured I’d just buy enough individual sheets and/or rolls of wrapping papers that I liked during the 2025 holiday season to use as backing for the 10 photos that still needed it. Turns out, I either didn’t like the options at any of the stores I went to, or the scale of the patterns wouldn’t work well when sized down to 3×4. In June of this year, I decided it was more important to me to make progress on this project than to let it stall out, and ended up using holiday-themed digital scrapbooking papers that I printed at home onto thin cardstock to back the remaining photos.
Here’s a look inside at most of the pages.
That first “page” is a Photo Flip pocket that I filled with a few pinches of Build-A-Bear stuffing, a Build-A-Bear heart, some red and gold star confetti, and some strings of gold thread. I cut off the top and sewed it shut using gold thread. I think it’s so cute, I love it so much. The patterned paper is a letterpress greeting card that I cut to size. I’m genuinely sorry to report that in the course of writing this post I learned the Photo Flips have been discontinued.
In 2019, our group grew by one with the addition of my kids’ step-sister.
2020—the last year we were all in the same place for the holidays, unbeknownst to us at the time. In the years since, we’ve spread across the U.S. and the five of us (my three kids, their step-sister, and myself) are now in three different states.
In 2021, my oldest came to visit me in Portland for Thanksgiving. Because it was our only chance to do so together that year, we went to Build-A-Bear during her visit.
The following month, I flew back to D.C.-ish to spend Christmas with my two youngest and their step-sister and we did Build-A-Bear while I was there. It felt weird to split it up, and I’m so grateful we found a way to keep the tradition alive.
In 2022, spread amongst three states over the holidays for the first time, we all went to our local Build-A-Bear on the same day and shared photos with each other afterward. This was the first year I didn’t get my standard from-behind shot of any of the kids, and the first year that my oldest began bringing a friend. It felt even weirder this year than it did the year before, and also I’m very grateful we again found a way to keep the tradition going.
In early 2022, my youngest and his step-sister (and my co-parents) moved to a place without a Build-A-Bear (sad!). Since then, every year I FaceTime during our visit here so they can pick out what they want, and then I ship them their stuffed animals and whatever accessories, if any, they choose. My oldest (and whichever friend she brings that year) continues to go to her local Build-A-Bear on the same day that my middle child and I go here, and we share photos with each other afterward. The tradition continues to evolve.
This year’s photos will begin here. Fingers crossed that whichever one is first pairs well with the “ho ho ho” paper.
The final “page” you see here is one of the many gift cards we’ve purchased at half price over the years, slipped into a 3×4 Photo Flips (RIP) with the top cut off.
(For every $25 you spend during any given Build-A-Bear purchase, you can buy a $10 gift card for $5 (I think this applies only to in-person purchases). We usually spend around $100 each year, sometimes a little more, so each year we walk away with $40 or $50 of gift cards for $20 or $25. I use the gift cards to fund basically half of the following year’s purchase. For the first years of this tradition, Costco sold $100 worth of Build-A-Bear gift cards for, depending whether they were on sale, $70 or $80. I’d also buy these, for a little extra savings.)
* * *
The backs of the first 10 photos are mostly wrapping paper from Christmases past. A few are scrapbooking papers from my stash (both digital and physical) that are no longer available.
The next 10 papers are all digital scrapbooking papers that I printed at home. Most of them are still available.
*Papers with an asterisk are part of the same paper pack. If you’re new to digital scrapbooking supplies, that means you pay a flat price ($5 in this case) for multiple .jpgs of various different patterned and/or solid papers. The two paper packs linked above that are sold by Hey Scrapper offer variants with different colors for some of the patterned papers included in the pack; these color variants are not shown in the product photos on the website (for example, the red and white floral pattern (third option in the top row in the photo above) is included in the linked pack but is not shown in the product photo).
If you print your digital scrapbooking papers at home, a benefit is you can play with the scale of the pattern to suit your preferences and the project’s dimensions. You also have infinite access to digital papers you purchase—you can print them over and over, for use in as many projects as you want, forever. A drawback is that, unless you have a professional printing setup, the paper quality and color vibrancy won’t be on par with professionally printed gift wrap or scrapbooking paper. You can see this in the two photos above: in the first, every paper is professionally printed and the patterns look brighter and sharper; in the second, every paper was printed at home onto cheap cardstock by a basic inkjet photo printer and look a bit muted and less crisp.
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Where to find physical holiday-themed scrapbooking papers: Aside from your local craft supply store and Michaels (and the like), you can find a large selection of physical holiday-themed scrapbooking papers at Scrapbook.com in both individual sheets and paper packs. Often, their individual sheets are double-sided, with a different print/pattern/color on each side.
Where to find digital holiday-themed scrapbooking papers: I think your best bet for digital holiday-themed papers are Hey Scrapper, The Lilypad, and, of course, Ali Edwards’ December Daily product line, which offers both physical and digital options.
A few ways to adapt this project concept: If Christmas isn’t your thing, you might instead use this project concept to document Halloween costumes. Or first-day-of-school outfits. Or birthdays. There are plenty of Halloween-themed and birthday-themed scrapbooking papers out there, and you can pair first-day-of-school outfit photos with so, so many different paper colors, prints, and patterns.
Since she arrived, I’ve been carrying her around my apartment with me like a baby; reading and re-reading all the front matter and supplemental information throughout; asking everyone I know to guess what the last word listed in her is; and having my kids and my friends make a series of choices to arrive at their own personal Word of the Day. Everyone is so sick of me!!!
I’m also using the occasion to once again evangelize about a few of my favorite books about books and words. Ywfms 🫡
Kory is a lexicographer who worked at Merriam-Webster for more than a decade, helping to write the dictionary. This book, which came out in 2017, and which I of course preordered months before its publication, is such a fun read. I truly wish I’d known when I was younger that working with words in this particular way is a job I could have pursued.
Studying Early Printed Books, 1450-1800: A Practical Guide by librarian, book historian, and bibliographer Sarah Werner. My autism is on full display with this recommendation, which is more academic than the other titles on this list. I don’t think it’s dry or overly technical, and I also know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
Earlier this summer, something in the street caught my eye while I was walking to the library and when I went over to check it out I was so charmed by what I saw.
A pothole filled to look like the beloved PDX carpet of yesteryear (#RIP, #neverforget)!!! HOW FUN!!! I snapped a few photos, texted them to a couple friends, made note of the friendship bracelet beads that spell out “BUFFALO POTHOLE BANDIT,” and went on my way. I thought nothing more of it until the other week when I came across another Buffalo Pothole Bandit installation while running an errand in Montavilla.
And then another.
And another.
And another.
And another.
And another.
At first, I was simply charmed. Now, I was also intrigued: Who is this person? When did they start making art of the city’s potholes? Why? Are there more of these little installations throughout the city?
The Buffalo Pothole Bandit is a street artist from Buffalo, New York, who began turning potholes into mini art installations in their hometown four years ago: “Since 2022—when they nearly twisted their ankle in front of Breadhive—the Buffalo Pothole Bandit has been turning local roads into public art. ‘I bought a bag of cold patch for $20 because I didn’t want to twist my ankle again.'”
In addition to Buffalo and Portland, they’ve made pothole art in Ithaca, Burlington, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Columbus and Cleveland, New Orleans; and Warren, Pennsylvania. There’s a map of all of their installations; it lists 156 as of this post.
From the map, I learned there are TWENTY Buffalo Pothole Bandit installations on the stretch of street in Montavilla, which means I spotted only about a third of them. There are also a handful of others throughout the city. Once I learned this, I decided to go on a side quest one morning last week to find them all.
First, I went back to Montavilla and hunted down the 14 I missed the first time around. All 20 are in the span of only two blocks and still it took me several passes to find them all. Some of them are so tiny!!
Then, I headed up to the two locations on the map in North Portland, across the river to the two locations on the map in SW, then back across the river to the two locations on the map in SE.
Before heading home, I stopped at the PDX carpet installation to get a couple close-up photos.
With the exception of the two-block stretch in Montavilla that’s home to 20 BPHB installations, all the other locations on the map have one or two—I think. I’m not sure. In all, I found 29 of the 30 in Portland. In theory, it’s possible one of the locations has three. One of these days, I’ll figure it out.
At the end of July, a friend and I took a day trip to Seattle to visit a store we learned about via an Instagram reel in April. It was my first time traveling (“traveling”) in years and I loved it. It was so much fun!! I want to go back!! For longer!!
We didn’t stay for long, we didn’t do a whole lot, and I didn’t take many photos. And yet!! We had a great time. The few things we did do: walked up and down the waterfront (which had me missing the boardwalks of the Mid-Atlantic so bad), took a Seattle Underground walking tour (you get a paper ticket!!!), had pizza with the best dough/crust either of us have ever had for lunch, killed some extra time between lunch and a ferry ride at the Klondike Gold Rush museum (no photos), took the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back (another paper ticket!!!), shared a Jimothy’s Trash Bandit Sundae from Molly Moon’s, and, finally, headed to Big Whale Consignment, which was the original purpose of our drive up.
Although we didn’t stay long, do much, or take many photos, it was a great day and the trip was a success. The weather was perfect, the activities were fun, I LOVED being near the water (I miss it beyond words), and I cannot wait to go back and spend a long weekend doing all of the touristy things.
Here are the scraps of ephemera I saved in June, a solid third of which are related to a dental disaster I endured that spanned nearly every single day in June.
Top row
Packaging from the Kroger-brand Orajel
Tag from NASA Rise plushie
Packaging from the water at the oral surgeon’s office
Second row
Packaging from the red and white twine I used to package my Lonely Hearts Club Postcards
Packaging from my new eyelash curler
Portion of the medication guide that came with my Tylenol 3 prescription from the dentist
Third row
Underwear packaging
Various packaging for items related to my dental disaster
Packaging from my Persnickety Prints order
Bottom row
Shipping label from my long-lost Ulta order (an absolute fucking nightmare, I will never order from them again)
Piece of the KFC box my Michael Jackson Memorial Lunch came in
Packaging from yet another protein pancake mix I tested out
First and foremost: I MISS MICHAEL!!! Michael Jackson was my very first autistic hyperfocus, which means I’ve been blessed with being a fan for roughly 34 of my 40 years on this planet. (Somewhere in a box in a garage on the other side of the country there’s a Polaroid of a 10-ish-year-old me proudly posed on my knees next to our fireplace, surrounded by my carefully arranged Jackson 5, the Jacksons, and Michael Jackson CDs and records.)
A mini memorial for Michael that I left in the theater on June 25, the 17th anniversary of his death.
The amount of both joy and grief that I—and many, many others—have been experiencing since the release of Michael is overwhelming. What the world did to that man is unforgivable. It makes me profoundly sad and angry.
I’ve seen the movie 50 times in the theater and every single time I leave feeling both heartbroken and inspired. It’s like pressing a bruise to feel both pleasure and pain. Since the movie came out, every day I’ve tried to be more like Michael; every day I’ve looked for every opportunity to bring more love, joy, and kindness into the world.
To have been alive during the same time as him, and to have been old enough to “get it,” is the great privilege of my life. (When I was growing up, it pained me—an actual physical ache—to not be closer in age to Michael. I wanted so badly to have been his peer, especially during the Jackson 5 era, which was my first favorite Jackson era. I would cry and cry over the unfairness and indignity of having to be 10 years old in 1996 and not twenty. For reasons I still cannot explain, I felt deeply connected to him. I still do.)
Orange juice and Oranges. Given Michael’s love for orange juice, learning, and reading—and for reading nonfiction in particular—I wonder if he ever read John McPhee’s Oranges, a book about oranges and orange juice. It’s such a fun, funny, interesting, informative, engrossing, and charming read. It’s also a quick read, partly because of how enjoyable it is and partly because it’s only 146 pages. I love it so much. It’s one of the very few books I’ve read multiple times, it’s the book I most often suggest to others, and it’s the book I most often gift to others (and everyone I’ve suggested it or gifted it to has had only positive things to say about it). I NEED to know whether he read it and if so what he thought about it.
If you’re not familiar with Michael and orange juice, even the most cursory of google image searches will quickly acquaint you with the topic.
I love that the film includes his love for orange juice. You see glasses of it in several scenes: on the coffee table in the 1971 scene at Quincy’s home; on the table in front of him during the 1981 meeting during which he meets Branca; in his hand while working on “Beat It” in his home studio; on the floor next to a bowl of popcorn during the transition from “Beat It” to “Thriller”; on a coffee table in his room at the very end of the “Now, I’m gonna call Don King and tell him you’re doing the tour” scene; during the first hospital scene when the doctor is discussing his injury with him; and on the tray of food Bill brings into his hospital room in a subsequent hospital scene. And, finally, during both the Victory and Bad tour scenes, you see on the drummer’s riser squeeze water bottles filled with orange juice.
Two of my favorite MJ x OJ memes that’ve come out of the current Michaelmania:
We need more cultural MJ paraphernalia. Specifically:
A series of Michael Jackson postage stamps, each including photos of him during and iconography of his different eras
Michael Jackson emojis representing his different eras
An entire universe of Michael Jackson LEGO sets of, for example, his different eras, his signature poses/silhouettes, iconic performances, him with various animals, and the grounds of both Hayvenhurst and Neverland Ranch
Bring back physical ephemera!!! Stop with this receipt-paper-as-movie-ticket-stubs bullshit!!! No one wants it!!! We want well-designed, quality-crafted movie ticket stubs (and other physical ephemera), especially for special cultural events, like a huge movie release. They’re fun and make the experience more special. Look at these specially designed, collectible Michael tickets in South Korea and Argentina. American theaters, studios, and distributors: get your shit together!!!
Seriously, enough with this flimsy, fading receipt paper bullshit!!!
Fan screenings. To no one’s surprise, America also shit the bed re: fan screenings. I can’t tell you how many videos I’ve seen online of theaters in other countries hosting special fan screenings where moviegoers were encouraged to dress up, and to sing and dance along during the performance scenes. Some also hosted karaoke of Michael’s songs before the movie played. Once again, we American fans were robbed. (I reached out to a local theater that hosts similar fun film-related events to ask if, since the movie is now streaming on digital, they have plans to host such an event for this particular movie, or would consider it. They said no.)
Exhibit A: China
We held a #MichaelMovie special fan screening on Saturday in Shanghai, China, at the biggest screening hall, which can accommodate more than 1,000 people. This is fabulous! An event Michael deserves! #MichaelJacksonpic.twitter.com/iBTbTyB1ZM
This is it! The celebration in China and around the world for #MichaelJackson!! Our special recap video for all of you, all of us! #MichaelMovie , the biggest music biopic of all time!! #TheYearofMichael Hope you love it!! Thank you MJUHD for creating this amazing, exciting and… pic.twitter.com/2E6f56ZVoE
Movie theaters aren’t freezing cold anymore. At least, not the big box ones. When I’m indoors in a space where I don’t have control over the thermostat, which is basically everywhere, I am almost always freezing cold, even if it’s 100 degrees outside. Like, I routinely carry a sweatshirt, socks, and gloves with me year-round because it’s more likely than un- that I’ll be that cold inside whatever establishment I enter.
While I don’t have many memories of movie theaters—not only is Michael the only movie I’ve seen in theaters more than once, the number of times I’ve seen this particular movie in the theaters is greater than the total number of movies I’ve seen in a movie theater throughout my entire life—every pre-Michael memory of a movie theater I have involves being freezing cold. I’m happy to report that wasn’t my experience at any of the theaters I watched Michael at.
Can you believe I didn’t need socks or gloves or even long sleeves or pants at any of the showings? That shorts and a tank top and Birks with no socks were just fine? And that multiple times I had to take off the sweatshirt I brought with me because it was too warm to wear inside the theater? This was not my experience at the independent and historical theaters I visited during the Portland Movie Theater Project, which were cold enough to require layers.
Affirmations and manifestation. It’s well known that Michael was a master of affirmations and manifestation, and I appreciate that the movie included this aspect of him and his life. I’m curious to know when and how and by whom he was introduced to the concepts and practices of both, and whether he had to overcome any resistance to the idea of either.
Movie theater etiquette. What in the fuck happened to movie theater etiquette??? Back when I was doing the Portland Movie Theater Project, the erosion of movie theater etiquette was the discourse of the day several different times on Twitter. I almost said so in my post about the project. I didn’t because I never once experienced anything but what you’d expect to encounter at the movies: people being quiet and watching the movie without distractions or disruptions. Not so with Michael!
A sampling of offenses I encountered, most of them more than a few times, too many of them in nearly every showing:
Vaping. VAPING!!!
People having full-on conversations throughout the entire movie. Shut!!! Up!!!
Screaming young children and babies whose adults who brought them did not remove them from the theater; they just let them scream through the movie. Ditto to running up and down aisles and in and out of the theater.
People not silencing their phones, even after they ring during the movie. In one instance, a person fully answered their phone during the movie and carried on a conversation right there in their seat???
Flash photography??? In one showing, a person in the literal front row took flash photos on a digital camera during every single performance scene. That’s basically the entire movie. Absolutely unhinged behavior. I understand taking a cell phone photo or video here and there—I did so myself. I do not understand taking FLASH PHOTOS FROM THE FRONT ROW for most of the movie???
Compulsive phone usage. And with the brightness turned all the way up!!! So many people spent so much of the movie checking and scrolling their phone that it legitimately concerns me. No one has an attention span!!!
Laughing at inappropriate times, like the nose scenes and the belt scene.
What’s the point of paying to go to the movies if you’re not going to actually watch the movie??? Why are you there if all you’re doing is fucking around on your phone—with the brightness on full blast!!!—or talking the entire time or wandering in and out of the theater a bunch of times??? Shut up and sit down or stay home!!!
To clarify: I would have LOVED if my fellow moviegoers were into the music and sang or danced along. It would’ve been so thrilling to feel that connection with other fans (unfortunately, all of the screenings I attended were full of people who didn’t even bop their damn heads during any of the performances). What I don’t love is people having conversations about fuck-all during the movie.
Too many trailers. Thirty literal entire minutes of trailers before the main feature is ridiculous. You can show me three 90-second trailers max. There is no acceptable reason a movie should begin thirty or more minutes after its advertised start time.
Seeming contradictions of Michael’s life. There are several seeming contradictions of Michael’s life repeatedly portrayed in the film. The three I can’t get out of my head:
His assertions (dare I say, insistence) in young adulthood that he’s “not a little kid anymore” and no longer “a boy in a kid band” and “not a child anymore” while also shown engaging in things often associated with being a child: living at home, watching cartoons, surrounding himself with toys and games, etc.
His desire to be mysterious and the deep pain of loneliness and not being known (like, as a person, in personal relationships).
His oft-repeated messages of love and non-violence and his signature style, which was heavily inspired by military dress—the military obviously being an inherently violent institution.
I also keep thinking about the four lines from Joe toward the very end that are dubbed over visuals of the Jackson brothers stepping onto stage for the last night of the Victory Tour: “I told you what to think” and “you think you’re better than me?” and “you’re not like everybody else” and “nobody outside this family will understand you.” How confusing and isolating and demoralizing those mixed messages must have been. (I do realize the real Joe Jackson likely didn’t say those exact words to Michael. I believe the underlying sentiment communicated by those lines of dialogue in the movie was a theme in Michael’s real life.)
Michael Jackson is every generation’s Michael Jackson. There will never be another Michael Jackson. No one will ever come close. He is a once-in-humanity soul. I’m so grateful to and proud of everyone who made this movie happen. I cannot wait for it to break its final record and cross that $1 billion mark (we’re about two weeks away), and I hope to see the American film industry properly recognize and award the cast and crew for their incredible work.
Only a few puzzles to share this update. This hobby has taken a back seat for the last year or so while other creative pursuits have captured my attention and bank account.
First up, a puzzle I had made by a local puzzle company from a photo I took of a large mural on the side of Portland business circa 2021 and cropped to make the image more dense. I love how bright the colors came out.
This second one was a Portland Puzzle Exchange find and I’m sorry to say I don’t know the brand and I don’t remember the piece count. I do, however, remember that it was a pain in the ass to put together because so many of the solid-colored pieces seemed interchangeable until you realized they’re not.
Unknown.
Obsessed with this puzzle, which I found via Twitter when its creator announced the launch of her online puzzle shop. The title is so perfect.
Look how cute and fun this one is!! I found it at Always Here Bookstore while visiting the mutual aid lockers. I accidentally ordered photos of the wrong size for this one, which: oops. I was very annoyed with myself about this—I’d delayed placing my order for many months until I had enough photos in my cart to make the shipping feel worth it. Oh well. The good news is, I can just order the correct size the next time I place a Persnickety order.
