Forever in our hearts

This is how I like to think of the World Trade Center -- gleaming against a flawless sky.

The Towers have been gone 10 long years now, along with all of those whose lives were cut short. So much promise and opportunity lost.

The people who worked there were regular folks who only wanted to provide for their families: accountants, maintenance, cafeteria workers, clerks, insurance agents, people who answered phones. The kind of people who'd see the back page of your NY Post and strike up a conversation on the elevator. You think Bernie has a shot at the Hall of Fame?

I understand the desire for memorial services honoring the 10th anniversary of the attack. However, for people who were there, not a day passes where there isn't some remembrance. Sometimes it's a dull ache. Sometimes it's a sharp pain. Most often, it's a whisper in the wind... a sad remembrance of a long lost friend.

I won't be watching any of the ceremonies today. My wife and I spent the morning helping the victims of flooding due to Hurricane Irene. This afternoon I'll enjoy the kids and settle in with a cold beer and a Yankee game.

But it's hard not to drift back. Think about how it could have been me gone for 10 years now. Think about their last terrible moments. The last thoughts that crossed their minds. They just wanted to go home one more time.

Worst Mickey Mantle signed item. Ever.

I laughed when I saw this on eBay recently.

Real signature, yet totally undesirable. With all due respect to the man in the photo, who would ever want this except for him? I suppose it could be used for a cut if it was cheap enough.

And why does it look like a photo from the mid-60s instead of the mid-70s?

After a six year wait for B.B. King, this is what I get...

I sent this photo with an autograph request to B.B. King in April 2005.

Imagine my surprise when I recently opened the envelope -- a long-lost request that had been out for over six years!

Now, imagine my sadness when I discover it is a rubber stamp signature.

Why would it take six years to get back a rubber stamp signature? Is B.B. applying the rubber stamp himself?

Looking at the "g," it appears that someone "fixed up" the weak area of the stamp by hand.

This is what a Mariano Rivera forgery looks like

This especially rancid forgery is courtesy of eBay seller big.johnsreds.

Note the very slooowwwwly drawn signature with many stops and starts.

The seller claims to have obtained it in-person, however, the photo he uses for proof was stolen from another auction that ran a few weeks ago.

Jeter should have given fan big check for 3,000th hit

Phil Mushnick wrote an interesting article in the NY Post.

Jeter should have given fan big check for 3,000th hit - NYPOST.com

Jeter will probably make more in one month than Christian Lopez will make in his lifetime. Should he have accepted the ball for free? What say you?

Neil Armstrong: Still not signing autographs

Here's an interview with UACC Vice President, Anthony Pizzitola regarding Neil Armstrong's autograph policy. Kudos to Anthony for getting a great interview to plug the UACC Study, Neil Armstrong: The Quest for His Autograph.

Two of the images used in the graphics are items from my collection!

Spotting Real Armstrong in Sea of Phonies: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

James Arness, 1923 - 2011

Gunsmoke is still one of my all-time favorite shows --  a gritty morality tale centered around an iconic American pillar of strength, fortitude and ethics.

Thanks for many, many hours of great entertainment, Mr. Arness.

To a real saddle bum...

Get out of Dodge...

New UACC Signature Study - Neil Armstrong: The Quest for His Autograph

The UACC has released a comprehensive new signature study on Neil Armstrong. Run -- don't walk -- to get your copy today at Amazon.com.

I will first admit that I am not completely unbiased as I contributed one chapter to this study.

The study -- commissioned by the Universal Autograph Collectors' Club (UACC) - is quite comprehensive and includes contributions from a wide range of respected figures in the autograph collecting hobby. It has a multitude of authentic signature examples and will be helpful to any collector looking to learn, authenticate or purchase a Neil Armstrong autograph. It also includes a good deal of narrative and biographical information on Armstrong.

And it is a real "book," not a flimsy pamphlet. I highly recommend this as it belongs on the reference shelf of any serious space or autograph collector.

Charlton Heston signature study update

Top: Obtained through-the-mail
Bottom: Obtained in-person by Mike Sibley in 1999

I've updated my previous study with a few reputable in-person signed photographs obtained by UK collector, Mike Sibley. Thanks to Mike for helping me round out the study.

To date, there has not been any credible evidence of an in-person signature that clearly matches what I have proposed is the secretarial style.

I suspect there will always be a few who do not agree with the theory for various reasons, however, I believe the collecting community in general has accepted these findings. The evidence is pretty stark.

Mickey Mantle signed ball: A minor grail obtained

For the past 10 years or so, I've been under the impression that I had two signed Mickey Mantle photos in my collection. Unfortunately, I recently learned they are both fakes. Well executed and deceptive fakes, but forgeries none-the-less.

Thankfully, one was purchased from a reputable dealer who issued a refund 10 years later!

So, I used the money from the refund, plus a little more, and obtained an undoubtably authentic Mantle signed baseball.

Although, this time around, I didn't wait 10 years to get it authenticated! Top-notch authenticator Richard Simon gave the ball a thumbs-up.

Famous 500 Home Run sheet with fake Babe Ruth

HaulsOfShame.com - Recommended Link

Here is a fascinating analysis of so-called super-collector Barry Halper's 500 Home Run signed sheet. It appears the Babe Ruth and Jimmy Foxx signatures may be fakes.

In recent years, many items in Halper's legendary collection have been revealed to be fakes, including material he sold to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Due to conflicting accounts from Halper himself, some have speculated that Halper was not unwitting and must have known some items were fakes. In death, Halper has gone from super-collector to possible super-scammer.

On the 500 home run page, it's interesting -- yet not surprising -- that Willie Mays signed over a portion of Ruth's [supposed] signature.

GAI Mantle, Williams, DiMaggio, Mays & Jeter Forgeries on eBay

Another informative video from the forgery terminator, TomTresh2.