Robert Duvall, Robert Carradine, and Survivor 50

Posted on March 3, 2026 by AverageAndy

Need to mention the passing of two great actors, who starred in a bunch of movies that were huge hits when I was growing up

Robert Duvall (1931-2026)

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)

An all-time great, and he will be missed

**********

Robert Carradine (1954 – 2026)

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

ContestantOpening ThoughtsRank (out of 10)
Angelina KeeleyVaguely remember her5
Aubry BraccoLike her, but she can be a bit annoying7
Benjamin “Coach” WadeCoach is the Man10
Charlie DavisKind of bland5
Chrissy HofbeckWas robbed the 1st time she played8
Christian HubickiVery interesting character9
Cirie FieldsLike here, but she’s been on a lot5
Colby DonaldsonOne of the Ogs7
Dee ValladaresTake her or leave her4
Emily FlippenShe has lots of spink9
Genevieve MushalukShe’s OK I guess6
Jenna Lewis-DoughertyVoted Out #1N/A
Joe HunterNo, never really liked him4
Jonathan YoungNeed to wait and see5
Kamilla KarthigesuKind of bland5
Kyle FraserMedically Eliminated #2N/A
Mike WhiteCool Interesting character8
Ozzy LusthAlways liked Ozzy and rooting for him8
Q BurdetteHoping he does well7
Rick DevensAverage Guy like me – bonus points7
Rizo VelovicRizzGod – Let’s see what he’s got this time7
Savannah Louie A bit too cocky for me5
Stephenie LaGrossa KendrickI like her, but can not  root for her3
Tiffany ErvinAnother one who is kind of bland4

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

AverageAndy

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PEACE

Marillion – A Better Way of Life

#28
#Yes
#Please

Posted in Angelina Keeley, Aubry Bracco, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Charlie Davis, Christian Hubicki, Christine Hofbeck, Cirie Fields, Colby Donaldson, Dalton Ross, Dee Valladares, Deep Impact, Emily Flippen, Genevieve Mushaluk, Jeff Probst, Jeff Probst - Forged By Fire, Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, Jesse Tannenbaum, Jonathan Young, Joseph Hunter, Kamilla Karthigesu, Kyle Fraser, Marillion, Mark Burnett, Mike White, Ozzy Lusth, Q Burdette, Reality Shows, Revenge of the Nerds, Rick Devens, Rizo Velovic, Savannah Louie, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Steve Hogarth, Steve Rothery, Survivor, The Godfather, Tiffany Ervin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Found the NJ Idol

Posted on February 17, 2026 by AverageAndy

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

More to come on a bunch of things soon

AverageAndy out

#Survivor50
#Survivor50IdolChallange
#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PEACE

Posted in Cirie Fields, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Lindsay Dolashewich, Mark Burnett, Mike Turner, Reality Shows, Survivor, Survivor 50 Idol Hunt, Teeny Chirichillo, Tony Vlachos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Survivor 50 Idol Hunt, and some random thoughts

Posted on February 3, 2026 by AverageAndy

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.

Survivor 50 Idol Hunt

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.


More soon

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#survivor50idolhunt

#PEACE

Marillion – A Better Way of Life

28

Andy

Posted in 2026 Winter Olympics - Italy, Books, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Jia Jiang, Jia Jiang - Rejection Therapy, Job Searching, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor, Survivor 50 Idol Hunt | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Few New YouTube Channels I have been watching

Posted on January 20, 2026 by AverageAndy

Been trying to expand my knowledge of things, so have been trying out some new YouTube channels

Here are a few that I like and recommend.

Take a look and Subscripe if interested


Vinh Giang

Evan Edinger

Linus Tech Tips

Richard J Murphy

Isaac Brown

Thats all for today — Happy Watching

AverageAndy

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PEACE
#survivoridolhunt50

#TheresTreasureInside

Marillion – A Better Way Of Life

Posted in Evan Edinger, Isaac Brown, Linus Tech Tips, Reality Shows, Richard J Murphy, Survivor, Vinh Giang | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Short but sweet

Posted on January 15, 2026 by AverageAndy

Topics of interest to me over the past few days


NY Giants to sign John Harbaugh as new coach – OK with this (as long as PPP Trump is not involved)

MY Mets are looking to sign Kyle Tucker – Good player, but doesn’t do much for me as far as a fan (and $50,000 / year) is a bit steep even if it is only for 3 years)

Stephen King’s 11.22.1963 – Great book. Mini series now streaming on Netflix – OK (6 out of 10)

Play-Off Fantasy Football League – Not a good showing for my team (56/57) after the first week – Ooph

Survivor50 – Bringing back the Live Reunion Show — Good that they are going back to this.

Survivor50 Idol Hunt – Registered and ready to go – Starts on January 30th

Culture Club / Boy George – Released 2 new songs, excellent

Job Searching – Very Frustrating, but fighting through, and hopefully something happens soon

Politics – All I have to say is “I’m not crazy – They are.”

New Book – Dan Brown “The Secrets of Secrets”. – I’m a fan of the Robert Langston stories

Beast Games (Strong vs Smart) on Netflix – Watched Episode 1 and enjoyed it. Episode 2 tonight

Marillion – Listened for a while yesterday on Apple Music (One of the better mix of songs) – Great Stuff

AI – Going to destroy the world in ways not expected. When you can’t trust anyone or anything you see or hear, we become less social and more prone to paranoia. Not a good way to live.

Now for some hashtags

#SurvivorCBS
#Survivor50
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum
#Survivor50IdolSearch
#DaltonRoss
#MikeBloom

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PleaseGiveMeACall

#Marillion (A Better Way of Life)
#IronMaiden (Up the Irons)

#Starbucks

Remember — “We are all just Sugar Mice in the Rain.” – Fish


And finally just want to wish everybody a great day

AverageAndy

#PEACE

Probst then concluded by giving some remarks and words of warning to prospective players. “If you imagined how you would deal with Bhanu–Q tried to coach him, Kenzie tried to comfort him, Tiff offered to teach him a good move from a bad move–then you probably have the skills to play this game, and you’ll probably be pretty good. But if you found yourself only critiquing Bhanu, and making fun of his emotional outbursts and his desire to win a million hearts when there’s a million dollars on the line, and you found yourself asking, ‘How did this guy get on the show when I can’t get on the show?’ Well, you have your answer. You’re just not self-aware enough to see it.”

Posted in Adam Klein, Beast Games, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Books, Boston Rob, Christian Hubicki, Christine Hofbeck, Cirie Fields, Colby Donaldson, Dalton Ross, Dan Brown - The Secrets of Secrets, Drew Basile, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, Jonny Fairplay, Kellyn Bechtold, Marillion, Mark Burnett, Mike Gabler, Mr. Beast, Music, NY Giants, NY Mets, Ozzy Lusth, Parvati Shallow, Q Burdette, Reality Shows, Richard Hatch, Rick Devens, Rob Cesternino, Sports, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Steve Hogarth, Steve Rothery, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

First post of 2026

Posted on January 6, 2026 by AverageAndy

Hope everybody out there had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hope you had the opportunity to spend some time with family and friends and reflect (good or bad) on 2025. Now it’s time to put 2025 to bed and look forward to 2026 and what it has to offer.

It was a strange year for me. After getting laid off in October 2024, it’s crazy to look back and think I spent the entire 2025 unemployed and looking for a new opportunity. There were highs and lows, ups and downs, good interviews, and scam attempts, but I survived. I am now focusing on what I did right and wrong in 2025 and what I need to improve on going forward. 2026 will be the year of AverageAndy

Before moving forward, here is a list of things I did/completed at the end of 2025

Books – I read the following books during the year

The Sequel (The Book Series, #2): Jean Hanff Korelitz
Familiaris” David Wroblewski
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1): Kawaguchi Toshikazu
Missing in Flight: Audrey J. Cole
Sunrise on the Reaping: Suzanne Collins
The Boomerang: Robert Baily
The Algorithm: Hilke Schellmann
Never Flinch (Holly Gibney, #4): Stephen King
Burn this City (Burn this City, #1): Brenda Poppy
The 5 Second Rule: Mel Robbins
Broken Lines (EMP Survival in a Powerless World, #1): James Hunt
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Mark Twain

Movies / TV – I watched the following movies and TV shows recently

Movies

Bagonia
One Battle after Another
Threesome
Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
Bullet Train
The Family Stone
About My Father
Kingsman: Secret Service


Television

Stranger Things Season 5
Down Cemetery Road
The Copenhagen Test
Ripple
Plurabus


Music – New and Interesting music I have listened to lately

Peter Gabrial (I/O)
Robert Plant (Saving Grace)
Tommy Howell (Dammed Good Man)
Marillion (All Albums)
Helloween (Giants & Monsters)
Guns N’ Roses (New singles – Nothin’, Atlas)
Metal Church


The New York Football Giants won their last two games to end the season at 4 – 13. I was torn whether it was better to win than to lose (and possibly end up with a better draft pick). Looking at things, I am actually glad they played hard and won the last two games. Winning always feels better than losing, and beating the Dallas Cowboys at home let everybody end the season on a positive note. Now they need to hire a new head coach who can bring in a new and refreshing attitude (Unlike the horrible Brian Dabol, who just seemed to suck out any energy and positiveness the team had)

Not sure what the New York Mets are thinking. I know they wanted to shake things up after the team did not live up to expectations the past few years. I realize that the owner, Steve Cohen, did spend a lot of money (some good, but most bad), and the Mets players did not play up to their potential, but not sure if getting rid of everybody is the correct way to go. Teams (and companies) that have constant turnover at kep positions, and place the blame on the employees more than on their management, usually don’t end up performing better. They end up in a constant state of mediocrity.

We will see when spring training starts in a few months if the NY Mets can assemble a team that can compete against the best, or if they slip back towards the middle of the pack

Lehigh Basketball is off to a rough start in Patriot League play. Hopefully, they can get it together and go on a much-needed run before the Patriot League Tournament. It would be fun to continue the winning ways of the 2025 Football team

Over the past year or so, I have been posting the individual person voted off each season of Survivor on Twitter (X). It’s been a fun way to go back and relive each season as we get ready for Season 50 in February. Most of the people I do have a memory of, but there are some that I have no recollection of. I try to tag/follow them on X, as well as add the following HashTags to each post

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PEACE

I recently typed #NeverTooOldForSurvivor into Google just to see what came up, and was surprised to see that the hashtag is actually associated with me and my quest to get on Survivor. Not sure who looks at hashtags these days, but it can’t hurt.

Would appreciate it if anyone who reads this would give me some love and pass the word around that AverageAndy is the perfect contestant for an upcoming season of Survivor

That’s all for now

AverageAndy

#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum
#SurvivorCasting

#SurvivorCBS
#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PEACE

Marillion – A better way of life

Posted in Baseball, Books, Elon Musk, Football, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Mark Burnett, Mark Cuban, Movies, Mr. Beast, Music, NY Giants, NY Mets, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Survivor 49 – Thats a Wrap

Posted on December 18, 2025 by AverageAndy

Congratulations to Savannah Louie for winning Survivor 49 and taking home the $1,000,000.00 grand prize. She played a solid game and was able to sway the jury to vote for her to win. The vote was a slight deviation from the past few results. It seemed that they did value the fact that Savannah won 4 individual immunity challenges (Tying the record for women in a season). Previously, the jury seemed to value game play and the players’ social game over challenge wins. Savannah was even able to win despite having trouble naming any of the jurors’ family members or significant others when answering a tough but telling question asked by Kristina.

Still not a fan of the fire-making challenge at the final 4, as it relies too much on luck, as well as putting the final immunity challenge winner in a tough spot.

Overall, it was an interesting but entertaining season, as the players are becoming smarter at predicting the game. The producers even tried to mix things up more than usual this season by having multiple tribe swaps before the merge, and what seemed like trying to scale back the amount of advantages (This could have just been bad luck, and a result of Rizo holding on to his immunity idol for 9 tribal councils, so no new idols could be introduced). I read, and agree, that the motivation of many contestants have changed over the years, and they now treat the game as more of a fun adventure, over a contest for a million dollars. Too many contestants seem OK with getting voted off, as long as they enjoyed there time and made some friends.

I think about how I would feel if after getting voted off after dreaming of getting on the show for the last 35 years. Hopefully, I would win and never experience getting my torch snuffed, but if it did, I think I would be more upset, mad, and angry than some of the newer contestants. Another reason why the producers need to look at older folks like me, who, as time goes by, get more and more consumed by all aspects of the game, and would make riveting TV.

Got a few months to relax before Survivor 50 premieres in February. Really looking forward to see how things play out. Will do my best to try and avoid seeing or reading as much as I can about the season. As an old timer, I like to be surprised each episode and get upset with people who post spoilers.

*** NOTE ***

Thought it was great when Jeff compared Sophi B. to “The Bad News Bears” during the final tribal. One of my all-time favorite movies growing up, I am a big fan, and as a non-sport card collector, one of my holy grail cards to get is a Jackie Earl Haley (Kelly Leak) autograph card produced by Panini. Here is the card, along with an AI-created card I created of Sophi B. I think it’s pretty funny

**********

Here is a quick rundown of things as promised

TV Shows I watched and recommend

The Lazarus Project (Netflix) – Very well done, with a great use of time travel. Sad that the 3rd season was cancelled

The Beast In Me (Netflix) – Claire Danes was excellent, and did a great job of showing real emotions

IT: Welcome to Derry (HBOMax) – Great mix of Horror and Humor.

Stranger Things Season 5 Part 2 (Netflix) – Took a little bit to get comfortable with the fact that the kids have aged, but the date the story is in was the same. After that, all good.

Plaurabus (Apple TV) – Always like shows that can make you think and surprise you at the same time.

Books I read/am reading

Finished “The Sequel” by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Great sequel to “The Plot” and did a great job of making you feel for the lead character, even if she was the villain of the story.

Started “What She Saw” by Mary Burton. I haven’t read her stuff before, but so far I am enjoying this one

I did read “There’s Treasure Inside” by Jon Collins-Black a while back. As far as I can tell, the treasure boxes that were hidden by the author have not been found. Been fun following people’s attempts to find a box.

Recommended Music

Decided to take a break from the television on Tuesday, and relax and listen to some music. Put on my headphones and let the songs take me on a ride

Marillion — Listened to a few live tracks from their Christmas albums

The Firm — Listened to songs of the 1st album (really good stuff that has been overlooked)

Robert Plant — Big Log and In the Mood are great songs

Robert Plant — Saving Grace – Didn’t realize he had a new album out in 2025. Its very mellow but very good. Highly recommended

John Denver — “Calypso” – Something in Robert Plant’s songs reminded me of this song (Go figure)

Joan Beaz — “Diamonds and Rust”

**********


That’s it for now.

Thanks for taking the time to read my rumblings. I hope they are enjoyable

Have a Merry Merry Christmas Holiday and Happy New Year

I’m Off to do some job searching/applying – Hopefully something comes my way soon

AvergeAndy

#Survivor49
#Survivor50
#Survivor51

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#PEACE

Posted in Aubry Bracco, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Books, Card Collecting, Christian Hubicki, Christine Hofbeck, Cirie Fields, Colby Donaldson, Dalton Ross, Dee Valladares, Emily Flippen, Fun and Games, Genevieve Mushaluk, Holiday Weekend, IT: Welcome to Derry, Jean Hanff Korelitz - The Sequel, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, John Denver, Jon Collins-Black - There's Treasure Inside, Marillion, Mark Burnett, Music, Ozzy Lusth, Q Burdette, Reality Shows, Richard Hatch, Robert Plant, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Stranger Things, Survivor, The Beast In Me, The Firm, The Lazarus Project | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RIP Rob Reiner to end a horrible weekend

Posted on December 16, 2025 by AverageAndy

Very sad news about Rob Reiner and his wife being stabbed and killed by their son. Their son did have a history of addiction and mental health issues. Still, its incredibly sad to se this and I wouldn’t wish something like this on anybody.

Besides being a TV star (we played Archie Bunkers son in-law on the classic “All In The Family”, he directed some of the best known films of the 1980s and 1990s. I can remember when I first saw most of these movies and the impact they had on me at the time. (Born in 1966, these movies were right in the sweet spot of my youth). The man was a genius and he and his wife will be greatly missed

🎬 Rob Reiner Films (1980s, 1990s)

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
A groundbreaking mockumentary about a fictional heavy metal band.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/

The Sure Thing (1985)
A romantic comedy about a college student traveling cross-country.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090103/

Stand by Me (1986)
A coming-of-age classic based on a Stephen King novella.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092005/

The Princess Bride (1987)
Fantasy adventure and romantic comedy; now a cultural icon.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Influential romantic comedy exploring love and friendship.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098635/

Misery (1990)
Psychological thriller adapted from Stephen King’s novel.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100157/

A Few Good Men (1992)
Courtroom drama centered on military justice.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104257/

North (1994)
Fantasy comedy about a boy who divorces his parents.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110687/

The American President (1995)
Romantic drama involving a widowed U.S. president.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112346/

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Historical drama about the Medgar Evers murder trial.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116410/

The Story of Us (1999)
Drama about a long-married couple facing divorce.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160916/

In other sad news this weekend, there was a shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and 9 more injured. The two students killed were identified as Ella Cook, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. Consolences go out to their family in these crazy times (#PEACE)

As of today (Tuesday, December 16th), the suspect is still at large, and police are actively looking. Hopefully, they will apprehend him soon and determine his motive for this cowardly act

And in some more sad and upsetting news, A father and son opened fire on people enjoying a day at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. The shooting killed 15 people and injured many more. Local police are calling it a terrorist attack, and say Islamic State flags were found in the suspect’s car after the shooting.

Hard to imagine what was going through these two people’s minds. What made them decide to open fire on unarmed individuals, trying to kill as many as they could? Luckily (and thankfully), there were a few heroes who put their own lives on the line and intervened and slowed down the shooters until police arrived on the scene. There is a video of the entire event available that you can seek out and watch if you want.

Immediately afterwards, as there always is after a mass shooting, people started up with the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” and “If people were allowed to be armed, they would have fought back”. returicct. I always laugh at this. While it is the people who shoot the guns that actually cause the harm, it is the ownership and access to firearms that play a bigger part. It has been proven that the more guns are available, the more there are shootings. When the USA banned assault rifles from 1994 to 2004, the number of fatalities decreased, and when the ban was not renewed in 2024, the number of fatalities began to rise.

Australia has very strict gun control laws, and is looking into doing even more after these events. They are treating this as an important issue and taking the steps to stop or slow it down. In the USA, we do not treat this as an important enough issue. People hid behind the 2nd Amendment, and think the best solution is to produce more guns and arm the “good people” since it’s the “bad people” who do the shooting and mass killing would stop because the “bad people” will be scared of the ‘good people.”

Would it have ended better if, as the 2 men in Australia started shooting the people on the beach, they all pulled out their own guns and started shooting back like a gunfight at the OK Corall? You really expect a young mother or father relaxing with their kids will suddenly turn into a military marksman?

***********

This wasn’t what I wanted to be writing about today. I was going to write about the book I just finished (“The Sequel” by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which was really, really good), the 2 shows I finished (“The Lazarus Project”, and “The Beast in Me”, both of which were very enjoyable and highly recommended)

Also, tomorrow is the final of Survivor 49. There are 5 players left, and it will be interesting to see who ends up winning. There were some curious decisions at last week’s tribal council, and it will be interesting to see if any of them end up helping to determine the winner.

***NOTES***

Congratulations to MLB player Jeff Kent for getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jeff was the 8th voted out, and 2nd jury member of Survivor: Philippines. He was one of the many former professional athletes to be a contestant on Survivor

Come back on Thursday, when I will give my thoughts on Survivor 49 and any new info that they release on Survivor 50. Will also list some additional shows, movies, books, and music that I am enjoying as we work are way towards Christmas and New Years

AverageAndy

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#CBSSurvivor
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum

#StandByMe
#AFewGoodMen

Marillion – A Better Way of Life
Iron Maiden – Up the Irons

Have a great day












Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lehigh Football / NY Mets Baseball

Posted on December 11, 2025 by AverageAndy

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks decided to play one of their worst games in the past two seasons and fell at home by a score of 7 – 14 against Villanova in the 2nd round of the FCS Play-Offs (After getting a first-round bye). They fumbled the ball twice (after not losing a fumble all season), the 2nd one coming with under 2 minutes left on the Villanova 20 yard-line. They were unable to do anything with the passing game and failed to make a stop on defence when they really needed one.

I went back to the game and met up with an old classmate and his son. Despite it being a chilly afternoon, the Lehigh side of the stadium was completely packed. The crowd was loud and into the game. Even with the loss, it ended up being a fun day, and I am already looking forward to next season

Note – Lehigh extended its Head Football Coach Kevin Cahill to s multi-year extension, so the future looks bright

———————————————

The New York Mets have decided to completely rebuild the team this offseason and have made a bunch of moves/decisions

Among them, so far, they have:

Traded outfielder Brandon Nimmo to Texas for second baseman Marcus Semien
Failed to resign Pete Alonso (He signed with the Baltimore Orioles)
Failed to resign closer Edwin Díaz (He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers)

These were 3 of the more popular players, and even though they did not really live up to the expectations of the past few years, they were still solid players who the fans really connected with.

There were thoughts that Mets General Manager David Stearns (who previously was the General Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers), and was brought in by owner Steve Cohen, has been wanting to build the team similar to the Brewers (who were very good when he was there). This is relying more on analytics and metrics, and bringing in lesser players, and hoping to get the best of them. He did have some success with the pitching in 2024, but the strength turned into a weakness in 2025 as the pitchers failed to pitch up to expectations.

I know it’s a tough call — While I would have loved for the players traded away and the ones who signed with other teams to stay with the Mets, I understand that sports is a business, and moves need to be made. But it’s getting harder and harder as a fan to root for different players as they come and go.

I’ve always wondered what it felt like to be a Miami Marlins fan in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They won two World Series (1997, 2003), but traded away everybody after each one, and were pretty bad all other years. Would they have rather not won, but had players they liked stay on the team for longer times, or did they not care who was on the team as long as they won the World Series?

I wonder would a NY Yankees fan be happier if Aaron Judge had left and signed with the San Francisco Giants a few years back, but the Yankees went on to beat the LA Dodgers and win the WS without him?

I may be in the minority, but I think I would be happier if the Mets tried it a few more years with the team they had (besides signing or trading for 1 or 2 players to help them win), than what they are doing now by getting rid of many of the popular players. I will still root for the Mets and hope they do well, but it will take some time to get used to not seeing the same players from last year

————————————————-

More to come

#GoLehighFootball
#GoNYMets

#NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#PEACE

Average Andy

Posted in Baseball, Football, Lehigh, NY Mets, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stranger Things 5 / Guns and Roses / Survivor 49

Posted on December 5, 2025 by AverageAndy

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. Starting with my Birthday last Wednesday, the 26th, it was kind of a whirlwind. Started by meeting some friends out for our annual Night Before Thanksgiving. Came home and watched the 1st two episodes of Stranger Things 5 with my daughter (who was home for the holiday). The next day, we hosted Thanksgiving at our house (a small gathering of my wife’s side of the family). On Friday, relaxed a bit and ended up watching “Weapons,” which was interesting but different than what I expected. On Saturday, met a work friend for breakfast and got stuff done around the house. Went to breakfast with my daughter on Sunday morning, then met my wife at her work, before seeing my daughter off on the train. With no NY Football Giants game on Sunday (They played Monday Night and got embarrassed by the New England Patriots), I was able to relax before starting another week of job searching.

Stranger Things 5

After watching the 1st two episodes of Stranger Things 5 during Thanksgiving with my daughter, I then finished the remaining 2 episodes (of part 1) on Tuesday. As a fan of the show from the beginning, it was nice to reconnect with the characters after a long break. I like how Netflix has broken things up into 3 parts (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s). Usually, the entire season is released at once, and after watching it all, I almost feel let down that it’s over so fast. There is something about the old way of releasing episodes weekly (Which HBO and Apple TV still do) to build up momentum. I am glad that they at least broke it up a bit with the way they are releasing Stranger Things.

I really enjoyed the first 4 episodes, and thought they have done a great job of keeping the story moving forward, while not adding too much fluff and extra stuff just to fill the time. It did take me a bit to engage with the characters as they have aged faster in real life than on the show, so they looked a bit out of place, but the story and the action got me over that, and I am really looking forward to where things go.

Guns’ N Roses

Saw a post that Guns’ N Roses were releasing 2 new songs yesterday. I have been a fan of the band from the beginning, but I admit, it’s been a while since I really thought (or cared) about them releasing a new song. Something just felt different this time. So I checked the new songs out, and I’m really liking them. Both have a kind of retro feel, and helped me to realize how good the band was and is still is.

Here are videos of both songs. Remove any preconceived feeling, and give them a listen.

Survivor 49

Only 2 more episodes of Survivor 49, where they crown a winner, and then everybody (CBS, Past Players, Super Fans) all start the countdown to Survivor 50, which premieres in February 2026. It’s crazy how fast it seems to go from the final 6 to the end. It’s been an uneven season with highs and lows. I do agree with most of what I have seen and read, where all contestants seem to be super fans, and have analyzed the show and come up with what they feel is the best way to play. Seems similar to analytics in sports. Relying on past strategies and outcomes to determine what moves to make. While the way the game has changed over the years, and the producers have tried their hardest to try to stay out in front of things, the contestants are just “Too Good” at coming up with “so-called better” ways to play. Fans now build the challenges and puzzles at home, and rewatch old seasons to study how past winners played. This has made the game very predictable, which then comes across as structured and boring.

There are some very interesting people, but they seem trapped between playing a fun game and playing a boring structured game. And similar to analytics is sports, even with all the information out there, there is not much of a correlation to playing based on statistics and actually winning. Plenty of sports teams have made decisions to sign or cut players based on statistics, and not on how the players actually played/performed. Predicting that a player will hit more home runs because we will work with him to change his swing to an uppercut of 3% , is just wishful thinking. There are way more things at play

As for the remaining 6 players in Survivor 49, here are my feelings on each

Sophie – Feel she has played a great game, getting to the final 6 after starting out on an awful tribe
Rizzo – Like him and his spunk, but it might come back to hurt him in the end
Sage – Not sure if she is playing a good game or is just lucky
Kristina – Give her credit for giving it here all and being resourceful
Savanna – A little too high on herself, but very aware of the game
Stephen – Started slow, but is coming on strong. I like him more and more

It should be interesting to see how things play out. Sophie has her “Knowledge of Power” advantage. Wondering what will happen if she plays it on Stephen – He has to declare he is playing his “Block a Vote” before tribal council, so he would have nothing for her to steal. I would love here to play it on Rizzo and take his immunity idol to save herself and get to the final 4.

Lots more to write. about, but still struggling with writer’s block. Have some thoughts and ideas, and will try to put them in place starting next week

Finally, I am heading back to Goodman Stadium tomorrow for the Lehigh / Villanova Play-Off Game. Hopefully, the Engineers / Brown and White / Mountain Hawks can continue their undefeated season and move on to the next round. Lehigh has a really good team, and it should be a lot of fun

Average Andy

# NeverTooOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#PEACE

#JeffProbst
#JesseTannenbaum
#WaitingForMyCall

#Lehigh
#LehighFootball

http://www.marillion.com – A Better Way of Life

#28PerfectNumber

Posted in Dalton Ross, Football, Friends, Fun and Games, Guns' N Roses, Holiday Weekend, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Marillion, Reality Shows, Sports, Stranger Things, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment