Columbia High School Class of 1983 actor Johnny Tiersten passed away at the age of 60. Best known for his role as Ricky Thomas in the 1983 cult slasher film Sleepaway Camp. He is among a group of famous actors who graduated from Columbia High School, including Roy Scheider (JAWS), Elizabeth Shue (The Karate Kid), Ahmed Best (Star Wars), Zach Braff (Scrubs), and Andrew Shue (Melrose Place). Although I never really knew him, being in a movie made him a big deal at the time. He did go on to form a band and was the director of tennis for the township of Maplewood, New Jersey
RIP Johnny Tiersten, you will be missed
——-
Been a crazy few days, and for some reason, I keep thinking of, or coming across, video clips of random things. Here are a few of them (in no particular order)
“Clarence Beeks”
Steve Austin – The Six Million Dollar Man
How Many Licks ….
Triumph – “Fight the Good Fight” – US Festival, 1983
Veritasium – How crystals we all rely on can disappear forever
Star Trek Trading CardsSaw this vulture while on a walkI’m going to snap my Fingers and jump for joy. I got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy1st time seeing a Hawaii license plate in New JerseyLet’s go, Mountain Hawks
That’s all for now. I will be back tomorrow with a recap of Survivor and some other thoughts
Getting closer to the end of Survivor 50. Even with the so-called “In the Hands of the Fans” theme of the season being a non-factor (It seems that a lot of things are just not clicking or playing a major role in the game), it’s been a mostly enjoyable season. As I mentioned in the comments on Dalton Ross’s Entertainment Weekly Survivor round-ups, I have no problem with the celebrity visits (Zac Brown, Mr. Beast), or crazy idol names (Bille Ilish Boomerang Idol). I also didn’t mind the Jimmy Fallon Twist. It’s Season 50, and the game has been constantly evolving. Most players are aware that there will be some things that appear to be (or actually are) unfair, and that their game can be affected and even ended by something they could not control. Do I always agree with things? “No”. Do I think sometimes it comes down to luck? “No”. But would I prefer they continued to try things, then just keep things the same, season after season? “No, as well”.
I think there are some players who have studied the game too much and get thrown off when things don’t go as they expected. Reminds me of college, where the fraternity house had access to past years’ tests and quizzes. Was great until the professors realized this and would completely switch things up. Was it fair? Yes, and it actually was helpful as it made you study more things to be sure you weren’t completely blindsided.
Here is an update of who is left and a brief description of each. Looking forward to seeing where things go, and if Jeff Probs and Company switch things up with the final 4 fire challenge, or the final tribal (going back to a final 2)
Contestant
Thoughts through 4 episodes
Rank (out of 10)
Angelina Keeley
Voted Out #5
N/A
Aubry Bracco
Moving into my top 3
8
Benjamin “Coach” Wade
Voted Out #12 (Jury #3)
N/A
Charlie Davis
Voted Out #6
N/A
Chrissy Hofbeck
Voted Out #11 (Jury #2)
N/A
Christian Hubicki
Voted Out #13 (Jury #4)
N/A
Cirie Fields
Moving into Boston Rob territory for the way shes controlling things
8
Colby Donaldson
Voted Out #9
N/A
Dee Valladares
Voted Out #10 (Jury #1)
N/A
Emily Flippen
Top 3
9
Genevieve Mushaluk
Voted Out #8
N/A
Jenna Lewis-Dougherty
Voted Out #1
N/A
Joe Hunter
No No No, and No
2
Jonathan Young
Moving down the list
5
Kamilla Karthigesu
Voted Out #7
N/A
Kyle Fraser
Medically Eliminated #2
N/A
Mike White
Voted Out #4
N/A
Ozzy Lusth
Like to see him get to the end
8
Q Burdette
Voted Out #3
N/A
Rick Devens
Like how he is having fun
7
Rizo Velovic
RizzGod – He’s doing something right.
8
Savannah Louie
Voted Out #2
N/A
Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick
Voted Out #14 (Jury #5)
N/A
Tiffany Ervin
No No No
2
The New York Mets are a mess. From the General Manager, to the Head Coach to the players, they seem like a bunch of individuals with no sense of what’s going on, and no plan going forward. Something needs to change before it’s too late. The Mets seem stuck in the past, thinking you can simply buy your way to the playoffs. Add to that that teams (and fans) in general seem to put too much correlation on what player is paid, and how good they actually are. The more they make, the better they must be. No true. There are plenty of mid-range players who are statistically better than those making the most money, something the Mets GM seems to overlook.
Also, it’s no secret that the Mets GM did not like / value Pete Alonso and did not want him on the team. That’s his right, but to say things like Pete is a below-average fielder, Pete is too old, Pete is not the best in the clubhouse, just to justify your feelings is not the way to go about things. I also think Mets management made a mistake by keeping the manager while firing all of his staff. Either fire everybody, or let the Manager keep his staff that he put together.
The Mets play the Nationals this afternoon, before heading out west for the 3rd time already this season for a 9 game road trip. When they return home to play Detroit, they will have played 40 games (1/4 of the season), and at that point, we will have a good feeling of whether things have improved at all or if Citi Field will be a ghost town for the summer
And one more thing
I would call both the Phillies and the Angels and offer them Juan Soto for Bryce Harper or Mike Trout and some prospects. No denying that Juan Soto is a great player, but sometimes you need to look at things other than statistics and ask yourself if you are better off with Soto for 13 more years or making a drastic change now to try and get this ship back on course
——–
As an older fella, every so often, I like to take a few minutes here or there to reflect on the past, and one of the best ways is to watch videos like this, where the host shows what was on TV (CBS, NBC, ABC) in the late 70s, and early 80s.
Sorry to see both Chrissy Hofbeck and Benjamin “Coach” Wade get voted off on the last episode of Survivor. Crazy that Chrissy again got voted off due to a new twist in the game, where the contestants voted for a team of 2 players to both be voted off. (Not as bad as when they blindsided Chrissy and the remaining 4 contestants by adding a firemaking twist that allowed Ben Driebergen to avoid elimination and eventually win the season.) In this case, the contestants were told to form groups of 2, and she teamed up with Coach. While Chrissy and Coach were allies (and were part of a majority alliance), teaming up together made them an easy target since other teams could vote for a group with two people they wanted to get out. Other teams comprised of people who were not aligned were in a better position, since if you had a team with somebody you wanted to keep, and somebody you wanted out, you would have had to make a hard decision
I think that is why both Chrissy and Coach were OK with how things played out. The twist still allowed for good gameplay without it being unfair.
As we pass the halfway point (11 of 24 contestants still remain), it will be interesting to see how the game shifts. Starting with 24 players, the early strategy seemed to be just not to do something to put a big target on your back and just survive day to day. Now you can start to look at numbers and form alliances that give you a true advantage
Here are some updated thoughts on the players who are still left
Contestant
Thoughts through 4 episodes
Rank (out of 10)
Angelina Keeley
Voted Out #5
N/A
Aubry Bracco
Always liked Aubry, and starting to root for her to go far
8
Benjamin “Coach” Wade
Voted Out #12 (Jury #3)
N/A
Charlie Davis
Voted Out #6
N/A
Chrissy Hofbeck
Voted Out #11 (Jury #2)
N/A
Christian Hubicki
Up and Down, hope he stays longer
8
Cirie Fields
Cant help but to give her credit for the way she plays
8
Colby Donaldson
Voted Out #9
N/A
Dee Valladares
Voted Out #10 (Jury #1)
N/A
Emily Flippen
Like her spunk
9
Genevieve Mushaluk
Voted Out #8
N/A
Jenna Lewis-Dougherty
Voted Out #1
N/A
Joe Hunter
No No No
2
Jonathan Young
Still dont care on way or another
5
Kamilla Karthigesu
Voted Out #7
N/A
Kyle Fraser
Medically Eliminated #2
N/A
Mike White
Voted Out #4
N/A
Ozzy Lusth
Won’t complain if he wins
8
Q Burdette
Voted Out #3
N/A
Rick Devens
Still on the fence, but do like him
7
Rizo Velovic
RizzGod – He’s doing something right.
8
Savannah Louie
Voted Out #2
N/A
Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick
Do like her, but still cannot vote for her to win
4
Tiffany Ervin
No No No
2
Was able to make it to the 84th Philly Non-Sports Card Show and dinner this past weekend. Enjoyed walking around and seeing all the different cards and sets available. Also, while it’s not really my thing, I was glad to see a lot of Pokémon dealers, along with a lot of younger kids. Anything to keep the card-collecting hobby alive.
Was able to pick up a bunch of promo cards to add to my collection. There were free promo packs given out each day with admission, special promo cards handed out at the Saturday night dinner, as well as cards from manufacturers (Rittenhouse Archives, Cryptozoic, RRParks). I also found a few rarer promos I needed and was able to pick them up for a reasonable price.
Was also glad to see that Todd Jordan’s Promo Card Encyclopedia webpage is now up and running. A long time in the making, it lists thousands of promo cards (with pictures). Going to spend some time using it as a reference against my collection.
Here are a few of the cards I was able to pick up at the show
Cryptozoic Promo Card EncyclopediaPromo Card EncyclopediaSidekick CardsRittenhouse ArchivesCryptozoicArnolds (Saturday Dinner)Sunday Promo PackSaturday Promo PackMetal Version Saturday Dinner)CryptozoicPhilly Red Border
Will post some more after I get them all in binders and update my records
———–
The NY Mets have lost 11 games in a row for the first time since 2002, and look like an uninspired and confused team. Not sure what they need to do to get things back on track. I go back and forth on firing the manager, thinking something needs to change, but then I think, will changing things automatically make things better? I’m leaning towards replacing the manager, just because a lot of issues seem to be mental mistakes, as well as uninspired at-bats. As I have said in the past regarding CEO’s of companies, attitudes and processes start at the top and move down the chain. A CEO may take over a company and state that things will stay the same, but they never do. In this case, the owner, Steve Cohen, is not going anywhere, and he has put all his faith in the General Manager. The next in line would be the manager, so replacing him would be a start in changing the attitude of the team. It will also show if the General Manager’s plan is something that can work in a big market city like New York.
Remember Clippy
Clippy (officially “Clippit”) was a famously divisive animated Office Assistant introduced in Microsoft Office 97 and phased out by 2007. Designed by Kevan Atteberry based on research into social computing, it was meant to make software more accessible. Instead, its intrusive, unsolicited tips often frustrated users, leading to its reputation as one of tech’s worst inventions.
While it is remembered as a disaster, Microsoft did realize this and phased it out. They then moved on to better things. Sometimes you need to admit things are not working, and make changes, rather than sitting back and hoping things will change by themselves
——————————–
Finally, one of my favorite authors and speakers, Jia Jiang is coming out with a new book this summer. Titled “Easy Discipline” It is available for pre-order wherever you buy your books. He is trying to get 10,000 pre-orders in the 100 days before the book is released, so if you want to help out, head on over to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible, and pick up a copy. All pre-orders will also get your name enshrined on his wall of fame.
Ghost Barn: A Dave Gurney Novel (#9) by John Verdon coming this September
—————
Saw some questions regarding a fielding /base running question in the NY Yankees / Tampa Bay Rays game the other night
With one out in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th, and runners on 1st and 3rd in the bottom of the ninth, Jonathan Aranda of the Rays hit a slow ground ball to the 2nd baseman Jazz Chisolm. After bobbling the ball, Chisolm throws late to 1st as the winning run scores. The question was, if he had fielded the ball cleanly, would he be better off trying to turn a double play, or throw to 1st and then try and get the out at 2nd (tag play).
Official rule 5.08(a) states: “A run is not scored if the runner advances to home base during a play in which the third out is made […] by any runner being forced out”.
If the Yankees were able to turn a double play, the inning would be over (regardless if the runner of 3rd races home and crosses the plate before the 2nd out is made). But if they tried to turn a 4 – 3 – 6 double play, got the out at 1st, and tagged the runner out at 2nd, the run would count if the runner at 3rd raced home and scored before the runner was tagged out at 2nd.
The most famous play regarding this rule goes back to 1908, when Fred Merkel failed to touch 2nd base on a game-winning single
The NY Mets need to pick things up as they head west to play the Dodgers after a 5-game losing streak (at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the surging Sacramento A’s. Right now, they just don’t seem to have an identity, and nobody is stepping up as a leader with Juan Soto on the IL. Its to early to panic, but they need to show some more passion and urgency and not allow the season to start spiraling the wrong way
Questions: What is the significance of the elephant being part of the team logo of the A’s?
Answer: The Oakland Athletics have an elephant on their logo because New York Giants manager John McGraw insulted them in 1902 by calling the team a “white elephant” (a costly, useless possession). A’s owner Connie Mack took pride in the insult, adopting the elephant as a rallying cry, mascot, and logo, turning a jab into a lasting franchise mascot.
More to come as I try to get into the habit of writing more often
Hard to believe, but 50 years ago on April 7th, 1976, “The Bad News Bears” was released in theaters. I can remember seeing it in the theater, and the 10-year-old me has been a fan ever since. The Bad News Bears and its sequel, “The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training,” are among the best films about baseball ever made. With its great characters and great dialogue (especially the original, unedited version), the film takes me on an emotional rollercoaster every time I watch it.
I remember a classmate of mine in 6th grade telling me that they knew somebody who knew Chris Barnes (Tanner Boyle), and they could introduce me to him. I was so excited, but alas it never happened (and I never found out if this was even true), but its still a memory I hold to)
I have posted in the past about looking for any contact information for him, as I would love to get his autograph, as he was not one of the 6 autographs in the Panini set
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary, it would be great if the team could reunite for a tour, or convention, like Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, and Wil Wheaton are doing for ‘Stand By Me”
Lehigh Basketball fell to Prairie View A&M University 55-67 in the NCAA Play-In game, ending an exciting season. Congratulations to Coach Reed for winning the Patriot League Tournament and getting an automatic NCAA bid. Did see that junior guard and star player Nasir Whitlock has entered the NCAA Transfer portal. The days of players playing multiple years at the same school are over, as players bounce around to find better deals.
Sad to see that Jennifer Runyon, who had a brief role in the original Ghostbusters, passed away at 65. Besides Ghostbusters, I remember her filling in for Eve Plum and playing Cindy Brady in A Very Brady Christmas.
Action Hero Chuck Norris also passed away. Between his movies, TV shows, and Infomercials, he has a long and rewarding career. For some reason, I remember winning free tickets on the radio to the 1980 film “The Octagon.” I think I still have an invite somewhere and will post it if I can find it.
Only ays until the 84th Philly Non-Sports Card Show, held at The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA – Hall D. I have been attending the show for well over 20 years and always look forward to seeing friends and fellow card collectors. Here are some of the Free Philly Show Promos that are given out at each show. I have most of them, and a lot I got signed while at the shows. A big thanks to the Toser Family (Roxanne, Marlon, and Harris) for helping me out in finding some of the older promos, as well as hooking me up with blanks to get signed
Now for my thoughts on Survivor 50 as we hit the Jury stage. It’s been an interesting but uninspiring season so far. I think they missed the boat on “In the Hand of the Fans”, as there has really been nothing special that can be attributed to the fan vote held last year. Honestly, I forgot the things that I voted for. When Jeff stated that the latest Immunity Idol was what the fans voted for, my first thought was, “Was that one of the things we voted on, and is it the one I chose?” As far as the number of immunity idols, I couldn’t tell you if there were more or fewer than in the past.
Looks like I am in the minority on the Zac Brown visit. I enjoyed it and thought it was a fun watch. I agree there may have been a little too much time devoted to him, but it was entertaining. Also, who cares what the Imunity Idol is called? Calling it the Billy Ilesh Boomarang Immunity Idol is fun and doesn’t really change anything. I heard that Mr. Beast will be on an upcoming episode. I actually liked the Survivor Episode on Beast Games, and am looking forward to seeing what they have planned.
I think my issue is that I really don’t feel any real connections to a lot of the season’s players. They just are not that interesting or charismatic. It makes it worse that these are returning players, who I didn’t really care for in their earlier seasons. Players like Kamila, Joe, and Charlie did nothing for me the 1st time they played, and did nothing to change my opinion of them.
The season also seems to be a bit to relient on luck. I have no problem mixing things up now and then, and sending people on journeys, but there doesn’t seem to be any real purpose for some things. Will be interesting to see the reaction of Ozzy and R-I-Z-Z-GOD when they return to find out 3 people were voted out while they were gone.
There were some rummblings about the season being a bit to male oriented, and I can see that. Players like Christian, Ozzy, Charlie, and Joe have received more airtime and confessionals than all the women combined. At one point, they showed Tiffinay, and I was like, “She’s on this season?” Chrissy (Shout out to Hunterdon County, NJ) was barely seen or heard from until recently. Looks like the producers got stuck on how to cover 24 players, which is the most of any season.
There are now seven men and 7 women left. For me, take away Joe (Not a fan) and Tiff (Haven’t seen enough), and the remaining 12 players do look like a pretty solid group.
Here are some updated thoughts on the players who are left
Contestant
Thoughts through 4 episodes
Rank (out of 10)
Angelina Keeley
Voted Out #5
N/A
Aubry Bracco
Actually, I always liked Aubry
7
Benjamin “Coach” Wade
Maybe now we will see more of him
9
Charlie Davis
Voted Out #6
N/A
Chrissy Hofbeck
Starting to become relevent
8
Christian Hubicki
Seeing a bit too much of him
8
Cirie Fields
Got to give it up for Cirie. She’s doing something right
7
Colby Donaldson
Voted Out #9
N/A
Dee Valladares
Starting to grow on me as a former winner
5
Emily Flippen
Something about her makes me want to see her keep going
9
Genevieve Mushaluk
Voted Out #8
N/A
Jenna Lewis-Dougherty
Voted Out #1
N/A
Joe Hunter
No
2
Jonathan Young
It will be interesting to see what side he ends up on
5
Kamilla Karthigesu
Voted Out #7
N/A
Kyle Fraser
Medically Eliminated #2
N/A
Mike White
Voted Out #4
N/A
Ozzy Lusth
Cant help but root for him
8
Q Burdette
Voted Out #3
N/A
Rick Devens
He needs to make a big move
6
Rizo Velovic
RizzGod – Something interesting about him
7
Savannah Louie
Voted Out #2
N/A
Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick
Do like her, but still cannot vote for her to win
3
Tiffany Ervin
Yawn, is she still here?
2
One last thing. Went for a walk yesterday on the Columbia Trail. First time I have walked along the trail in a while. Hate to blame it on the weather, but we did get a lot of snow, and it has been bitterly cold for most of the winter.
I decided to mix things up a bit and listen to a podcast. Looks and saw that there was a relatively new season of “Rob Tells Tales,” which I had not listened to. If you are looking for a quick escape, take a listen. Each episode is around 10 minutes long, and I find a lot of them fascinating. Between the way Rob talks and the subjects he talks about, it is a great listen
Took a trip to St. Petersburg, FL, last week to see some friends. We went to an NHL Game (Florida Lightning), as well as an MLB Spring Training game (Pittsburgh / Baltimore). But the highlight of the trip was finding a sports bar and watching the Lehigh Mountain Hawks men’s basketball team beat Boston University in the Patriot League final to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
As for the NCAA draw, Lehigh received a 16 seed and will take on Prairie View A&M University in the 16/16 Play-In game in Dayton, OH, on Wednesday Night (3/18/2026). The winner will face the #1 seed Florida in the South Region on Friday. Let’s Go Mountain Hawks.
As for Survivor, I stayed off social media enough to watch the latest episode once I returned without knowing the outcome. I don’t like knowing anything before watching, as it ruins some of the drama. I don’t even like seeing the scenes for the following episode.
To me, it’s been a good, but a bit uneven season so far. I didn’t have any connections/thoughts on many of the returning contestants, and none of them has done anything to change my mind. Another thing is that with 24 contestants, the producers needed to edit it in a way that most people get at least some airtime. This has made for some choppy and hard-to-follow story lines.
Contestant
Thoughts through 4 episodes
Rank (out of 10)
Angelina Keeley
She is growing on me
7
Aubry Bracco
She hasn’t done much so far
7
Benjamin “Coach” Wade
Need to see a bit more from him
9
Charlie Davis
Bland and boring
4
Chrissy Hofbeck
Still rooting for her, but she needs to get her act together
8
Christian Hubicki
What an interesting dude.
9
Cirie Fields
Can’t no like Cerie
6
Colby Donaldson
Wish we would see more of him.
7
Dee Valladares
Nothing new to see
4
Emily Flippen
Love Emily Flippen
9
Genevieve Mushaluk
She is still OK but beginning to grow on me
6
Jenna Lewis-Dougherty
Voted Out #1
N/A
Joe Hunter
Still don’t really like him
4
Jonathan Young
Need to see more
5
Kamilla Karthigesu
Bland / Bland / Bland
5
Kyle Fraser
Medically Eliminated #2
N/A
Mike White
Easy to root for. Lets Go Mike
8
Ozzy Lusth
Still find him very likable
8
Q Burdette
Voted Out #4
N/A
Rick Devens
Interesting to see how his gameplay will work out
7
Rizo Velovic
RizzGod – Something interesting about him
7
Savannah Louie
Voted Out #3
N/A
Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick
Do like her, but still cannot vote for her to win
3
Tiffany Ervin
Is she still here?
2
Lots of 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s.
Will be interesting to see how things start to play out. They will need to do some double evictions at some point, as there are still too many players left. Once things thin out, hopefully, we will see some of the remaining new school players make some moves. If not, it will be a long season with a very predictable (Colby, Cirie, Ozzy, Coach) final 4
Besides starring in all-time classics like “The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, he had a good run of movies throughout his career. One of my favorites was his role as Captain Spurgeon “Fish” Tanner in Deep Impact (The better of the 2 Astoride Movies of the late 1990s). He starred in many other classics, including winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for Tender Mercies (1983)
When it came to 1980 comedies, 1984’s Revenge of the Nerds is up there with the likes of Airplane and Porky’s. Movies that shaped a generation and are still considered classics today. Robert Carradine played Nerd Lewis Skolnick, part of a group of socially awkward students who form their own fraternity to counter ongoing harassment from the dominant Alpha Beta fraternity and its sister sorority, Pi Delta Pi. Many of the cast members have gone on to have very solid careers in both TV and Movies. Rover Carradine teamed up with fellow Nerd Curtis Armstrong to host the TV Show King of the Nerds , which was inspired by the Revenge of the Nerds films.
Another all-time great, and he will also be missed
******
Survivor 50 Premiere
I enjoyed the Survivor 50 Premier and am looking forward to seeing how the season plays out. Even trying to avoid any kind of spoilers, I found out the cast before the episode premiered, and while there are a lot of former players I would like to have seen, I’m OK with who they chose. I would have liked a few more winners, players from earlier seasons, before the new ERA. Also, some of the most recent players, while they played a good game, I was not left thinking they were among the all-time greats.
Really liked the opening montage of all the seasons leading up to Season 50. Thought there could even have been some more old clips. Its facinating to see how things (players, locations, and strategies) have evolved over the past 25 years
Here is a list of the 24 players, and my initial impression of who I am rooting for, who I like to see do well, and who I am impartial about
Contestant
Opening Thoughts
Rank (out of 10)
Angelina Keeley
Vaguely remember her
5
Aubry Bracco
Like her, but she can be a bit annoying
7
Benjamin “Coach” Wade
Coach is the Man
10
Charlie Davis
Kind of bland
5
Chrissy Hofbeck
Was robbed the 1st time she played
8
Christian Hubicki
Very interesting character
9
Cirie Fields
Like here, but she’s been on a lot
5
Colby Donaldson
One of the Ogs
7
Dee Valladares
Take her or leave her
4
Emily Flippen
She has lots of spink
9
Genevieve Mushaluk
She’s OK I guess
6
Jenna Lewis-Dougherty
Voted Out #1
N/A
Joe Hunter
No, never really liked him
4
Jonathan Young
Need to wait and see
5
Kamilla Karthigesu
Kind of bland
5
Kyle Fraser
Medically Eliminated #2
N/A
Mike White
Cool Interesting character
8
Ozzy Lusth
Always liked Ozzy and rooting for him
8
Q Burdette
Hoping he does well
7
Rick Devens
Average Guy like me – bonus points
7
Rizo Velovic
RizzGod – Let’s see what he’s got this time
7
Savannah Louie
A bit too cocky for me
5
Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick
I like her, but can not root for her
3
Tiffany Ervin
Another one who is kind of bland
4
Finally, I received a late Christmas gift from my daughter. Way back in November 2026, she had ordered Jeff Probst’s Survivor 50 book as a Christmas gift. Well, it was finally published and shipped at the end of February, and I received my autograph copy. It’s a really cool book, mostly pictures, and gives you a real feel of Survivor from all points of view. Going to spend some time going through it and really absorb all the pictures
More to come after Wednesday’s episode of Survivor
Took the trip down to Asbury Park last Saturday as part of the Survivor 50 Idol Hunt. Location was given as the following clue on the official Survivor50challenge website.
Solving the riddle pointed to the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey
From my place to the Stone Pony is about a 1 1/2 hour drive, so I got up bright and early and drove to the location, getting there around 7:45 AM. At that point, I was around 50th in line. People were also gathering at the Asbury Park Convention Center since that was the building pictured in the clue. Everybody was a bit confused, but the Survivor Staff were nice and friendly and told us we were in the right spot. While waiting, the staff kept things fun by filming and interviewing people online,
Around 9:30 AM, former Survivor Contestants Mike Turner (Runner-up, Season 42) and Teeny Chirichillo (4th place, Survivor 47) arrived and could not have been nicer. They walked along the line, signing autographs and taking selfies with all of us while we waited
Mike Turner (Season 42)Teeny Chirichillo (Survivor 47)
At 9:30 AM, the Survivor Staff put up our next clue and wished us good luck. The clue told us to make our way to the Asbury Park Convention Center, where we would find the idol. After a short walk along the Jersey Shore boardwalk, we ended up in another line until it was time to go in. When it was time, we entered the Convention Center and were led to the Survivor display, and got our pictures taken standing with the Idol display. Before leaving, I was also able to take a closeup phote of the idol itself.
Lastly, we needed to scan the QR Code that gave everybody an entry into a drawing for the New Jersey grand prize. a trip to the Survivor 50 Live Finally later this year.
There were other Survivor Legends around. Two-Time winner Tony Vlachos, and Five-Time Player Cirie Fields. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to see them as I was on my way home when they showed up. On a positive note, I did get to take a selfie with Survivor 42 contestant Lindsay Dolashewich (who is from Asbury Park)
I found the NJ Idol Lindsay Dolashewich (Survivor 42)
I think the folks at Survivor did a fantastic job with this challenge. By the number of people I have seen on the Survivor 50 Idol Search – Clues & Updates Public group, along with groups for each state, it looks like this was a great success.
I personally had a great time, and I look forward to more of these types of events in the future
Only 8 days left until the premiere of Survivor 50 (Wednesday, February 25th, on CBS)
Looking forward to seeing some all-time players, and some fan favorites outwit, outlast, and outplay each other for the utimate tilte of Sole Survivor Champion
Been a crazy few weeks, so this is all for now. Wanted to at least get this done
In preparation for the February 25th premiere of Survivor 50, CBS/Survivor has set up a contest where everybody has a chance to go on a treasure hunt and find a hidden immunity idol.
They have hidden an idol in each of the 50 US States, and will be releasing clues on the website that will lead you to the idol. You need to complete the challenge at the time and date listed, and once completed, you get to take a picture with the idol and scan a QR code to be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a trip to the Survivor 50 Live Reunion Show. Each state will have its own contest, so there will be 50 winners. (Technically 51, as there is an option to enter online without having to physically go idol hunting)
So far, 6 states have been completed, with the rest being released in the coming weeks
I will be heading to the New Jersey location (clue drops on 02/12/26), and possibly the Delaware location (clue drops on 02/14/26) (depending on the exact time and date). So far in the states that went live, it looks like people have been having a great time, meeting up with other Survivor fans and competing in some fun-looking challenges.
I will keep you updated
Super Bowl LX is set, and we will be watching on NBC, where the Seattle Seahawks take on the New England Patriots on Sunday, February 8th. If I had to choose, I would like to see the Seahawks win, but just hoping it’s an entertaining game. Besides the Super Bowl, NBC will also air the Winter Olympics for two weeks, starting with the opening ceremony on Friday, February 6th. I enjoy watching the Olympics, and will definitely be checking things out during the broadcast.
Some of my favorites are the Bobsled, the Luge, Ski Jumping, and short-track speed skating
Heading off on a tangent, the Olympics remind me of this video by Jia Jiang, which was followed by a hugely successful TED Talk, and really helped me mentally and emotionally when I saw it. His blog , book, and videos still motivate me today
Getting sick and annoyed at these new AI-generated videos that show a person interacting with various actors and actresses from famous movies and television sets, as well as the ones where they show cast members from the past and then morph them into the present day (and cringingly add angel wings to those who are deceased). There really is no purpose to these other than showing how close we are to having AI ruin films and TV shows.
And now I am seeing AI-generated scenes from old movies, showing what happened between the actual shots. Saw a Star Wars scene that showed the time between when Han Solo, Princes Lea, Chewbaca and, R2D2, and C3PO escape from the Empire and head to the Cloud City, and eventually meet up with Lando Calrissian, who turns them over to Darth Vader. The AI-generated scene shows Darth Vader and his battalion, along with Boba Fett and other bounty hunters, showing up and taking over Cloud City. Then we see Vader talking to Lando about how we will need to turn over Han Solo and friends to him. The AI was OK (You could definitely tell it was all AI), but the acting and voices were not very good, and the whole thing seemed fake.
There is another one that shows how Uncle Owen and Aunt Baru were killed on Tatooine while Luke was learning about the Force with Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is not something we were missing from the movie. Part of filmmaking is not showing every single detail of everything that goes on. You need to leave things up to people’s own imagination
We will see, but as time goes by, the novelty of these AI Clips will wear off as something new comes along, and we get more things to discuss.
AverageAndy 