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