365 T-shirts - the reasoning

This blog should be sub-titled: a journal of my life in geek.

I get my geek on with things about which I am geeky: comic books, Baseball, Ultimate, science fiction, my favorite bands, books I have read and loved, and Jungian psychology to name some of the most frequently traversed subjects.

I began this project simply as a way to count my T-shirts. I own a lot of T-shirts. But how many do I have? Do I have 365? We shall find out.

When I started this blog, I thought about how each T-shirt means something to me. I bought it for a reason, after all. I set myself the task to post an entry about a new T-shirt every day as a way to simply write something every day, a warm up for writing fiction, which is my passion. Writing is like exercise. Warm ups are good for exercise. But after completing a month of blogging about T-shirts, I have learned that this blog serves as a journal; it documents my life in geek, sort of a tour of my interests in pop culture. The blog serves as a tool for self-inventory, for assessment and analysis of self and the origins of self, for stepping through the process of individuation in catalogues, lists, and ranks.

The blog also made me aware that I have some serious gaps in my T-shirt ownership, and I am in the process of collecting some new T-shirts for several of the great popular culture icons that I truly love. Stay tuned.

I was also a bit surprised that people checked out my blog and continue to check it, read it, and even comment on it. I am very appreciative of this readership. Please feel free to share your thoughts in my comments section. I will respond.

Also, please note that I have moved the original introductory text to the side bar. And now, I present to you the most recent entry of 365 T-shirts: a journal of my life in geek. Thank you for reading.
(Second Update - 1310.24. First Update - 1306.05 Originally Posted - 1304.25.)

Thursday, December 5, 2013

T-shirt #259 - The First Chicago Cubs Shirt


T-shirt #259 - The First Chicago Cubs Shirt

Cubs fandom. This may seem blasphemous for a Detroit Tigers fan. But I feel I am allowed to love more than one team, especially with two teams that compete in separate leagues and rarely play each other.

This is my first Cubs shirt, and it must be about 30 years old. As you can see it has seen better days. It is close to being either pajamas or a "dead" t-shirt. Not quite yet, though I had to unearth from the back of a secondary closet.

Though I own several Chicago Cubs shirts, so far I have only featured one, T-shirt #115, in which I created a loving tribute to Ron Santo. Expect more Cubs and Baseball content to come, though I was hoping to forestall much of it until February and March.

I am still rolling a bit content light for the week as I try to work ahead.

And at the moment, I do not have any pressing news or content to share about the Chicago Cubs. So far, their off season activity has been very quiet.

Unlike the Detroit Tigers, who traded Price Fielder to Texas for Ian Kinsler, traded Doug Fister to Washington for two bullpen arms and a utility man, and are close to singing free agent closer Joe Nathan. But is it right for me to discuss Detroit Tigers content in a post dedicated to the Chicago Cubs?

FIELDER-KINSLER TRADE

TIGERS FANS PANICKING ABOUT FISTER TRADE

TIGERS SIGN JOE NATHAN

I like what the Tigers are doing. In other news, I am shocked that Jacoby Ellsbury is a Yankee.

In an instance of pure serendipity, there is Chicago Cubs content in the Sports Weekly, which arrived in my in box yesterday, after I had written the previous text (I am working a day ahead right now and hoping to expand the lead). Sports Weekly discussed major prospects on the horizon for the Cubs in top outfielder Albert Almora, shortstop Javier Baez, third baseman Kris Bryant, and another outfielder Jorge Soler. Bryant had the best overall season last year and was MVP of the Arizona Fall League. Baez who might move to outfield or third hit for power but needs work on plate discipline.

A nice article on the team makes the case that the Cubs will not seek a quick fix via free agency but will instead rely on the farm system and prospects to pay off starting in 2015 and thereafter. So, though the Cubs may improve marginally from a dreadful 2013 season, I would not bet money on too much improvement. New manager Rick Renteria hopes to turn around the trend as the Cubs have 90+ losses in the last three seasons, but is it realistic that the Cubs even break even let alone contend? Not yet.

So what else is there to say right now?

Besides, this is my content light week of semi-hiatus.

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 106 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1312.05 - 9:28