RIP James Earl Jones and Ed Kranepool

Posted on September 13, 2024 by AverageAndy

We lost two people who had a significant influence on me when growing up in the 1970s and 198s. James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was the voice of Darth Vader, one of the first and best villains in movie history. Right from the beginning of “Star Wars” his presence and voice changed movies forever. I remember, as a young kid, going to the Mall to actually see and meet Darth Vader after Star Wars came out, and thought it was the coolest thing. I still have the poster I got (this was years before conventions and autograph signings became big business)

Darth Vader

James Earl Jones appeared in several classic movies besides Star Wars — Besides popular films like “Conan The Barbarian” “Coming to America” and “Soul Man”, “Field of Dreams” and “Sneakers” are two of my all-time favorite movies. He was also the voice of Mufasa in Disney’s “Lion King”.

Also a talented stage actor, he was one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). Rest in Peace, James Earl Jones. One of the greatest and will be missed

Field of Dreams
Sneakers

Ed Kranepool (November 8, 1944 – September 8, 2024) was the original Mr. Met. Joining the expansion MY Mets as a 17-year-old, he played his entire career with them, and by the time he retired in 1979, he had become the last remaining Met from their inaugural 1962 season and from the Miracle Mets World Championship team of 1969 I remember watching him as a young kid, and he was the player that got me to become a Mets fan. The Mets were terrible in the 1970s, but I loved rooting for the Mets and Number 7. He is a part of my childhood and will be dearly missed

Quick Follow Up from last Post

Lehigh Football — Good home win over Wagner — Next up a road game against LIU on Saturday

NY Mets — Still hanging in the playoff race after taking 2 of 3 from the Blue Jays. Big weekend series with the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend.

NY Giants — Nothing to say — Hoping for a better effort against the Washington Commanders on Sunday

Only 5 Days until Survivor 47 premiers on CBS. Really getting excited about this season. Even my wife is interested (She’s a big fan of the Pod Save America Podcast and is looking forward to seeing Jon Lovett, who is one of the contestants this season)

More on Survivor, Big Brother, and other stuff coming next week

Have a great weekend

#PEACE

Andy

#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

Posted in Baseball, Big Brother, Dalton Ross, Field of Dreams, Football, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Mark Burnett, Movies, NY Giants, NY Mets, Podcasts, Reality Shows, Sneakers, Sports, Star Wars, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lets Go Mets / Giants / Mountain Hawks

Posted on September 6, 2024 by AverageAndy

Playing around with Artificial Intelligence — Pretty cool what it can come up with

Mets with a series against the Cincinnati Reds — Hope to keep on rolling

Lehigh with their home opener against Wagener — Hoping for a home win

Giants open their season against the Minnesota Vikings — Looking forward to seeing how explosive the offense can be — Hopefully they open things up and score some points

The cast of contestants for Survivor 47 was released the other day. Season 47 Premiers on CBS on Wednesday, September 18th

Due to this, I will do my best to avoid social media for the next few weeks, as I like to go into each season with a fresh perspective and see people for the 1st time rather than know all about them.

I will be submitting my application next week. Hopefully, this is the one that gets casting director #JesseTannenbaum’s attention. #NeverToOldForSurvivor #GiveMeAChance

Finally, here is an oldie but a goodie (Crazy to think is 14 years old)

Hope everybody enjoys their weekend and I will be back next week with a recap of the baseball and football games

#AverageAndy

#PEACE

Posted in Baseball, Dalton Ross, Football, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Mark Burnett, NY Giants, NY Mets, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Random Update

Posted on August 30, 2024 by AverageAndy

Here are a few things going on in the world of AverageAndy

I’m still watching and enjoying Big Brother. I don’t know why, but I just find the show exciting and entertaining. Every season, I tell myself I can’t watch another season of this, and every season, here I am watching every episode. (Thank God I never got into watching the live feeds. I checked them out way back when, but it just didn’t do anything for me.)

I’m currently listening to the #RoadToReality podcast hosted by #thekellynb and really enjoying the behind the scene interviews. It’s very interesting to hear past Survivor contestants talk about their lives before and after they were on the show. Gives you a different perspective on things. It reminds me of the Ponderosa videos that used to be posted of players after they were voted off. Their guards came down, and they had real-life conversations. Plus, Kellyn is a good interviewer and keeps me engaged in the conversation

The Mets lost a brutal game to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday when Edwin Diaz gave up a two-out Grand Slam in the bottom of the 8th after walking the bases loaded. This was after he had given up a walk-off home run in his previous appearance against San Diego. But to their credit, as they have done much of this season, they bounced back with a solid win on Thursday with Diaz coming in to get the save. With a 3 game series against the truly awful White Sox this weekend, now it’s the time to start stringing some wins together and too battle for a wild card spot.

#FranciscoLindorForMVP
#LETS GO METS

Lehigh opens their 2024 Football Season tonight against Army in West Point. Hopefully, they can rebound from last season’s 2 – 9 record and put together a decent season.

Lehigh Football 2024 (141st Season)

The NY Football Giants open their 2024 season next Sunday, September 9th at home against the Minnesota Vikings. Hopefully, the Giants (especially Head Coach Brian Daboll) got the memo that in today’s NFL, you need to score points. This team has struggled the last few years to score points. Last year, they scored a dismal 266 points (good for 30th in the league) while giving up 407 (a dreadful -141). Both Dabol and GM Joe Schoen have said they are all in with Daniel Jones, and even passed up drafting a new QB to draft a superstar receiver in Malik Nabers Hopefully, they let Jones throw the ball down the field rather than the dinking and dunking they have done the past few seasons

I have read some good books lately and hopefully can find the time to continue reading

Camino Ghosts (Camino Island, #3) — Very enjoyable series from John Grisham.

Last Man Standing (The Earthburst Saga, #1) –I Really enjoyed it, but I will probably stop after just the first book in the series. Though the book was a complete story and no need to read more

These Silent Woods — A very good book, something I usually would not read but gave it a try (Free Kindle Books)

Not much new with TV shows. Waiting for some the series I enjoy to come back for their next season

Severance, Shrinking, Silo on Apple TV
Last of US – HBO

Finally, I want to thank Jia Jiang for taking the time to have a Zoom call with me last week. I had written to him on his web page that I really enjoyed his Ted Talk and book about Rejection Theory and asked for some suggestions on how to move forward when you do not get any feedback (The Survivor application process). He was very generous and encouraging and gave me great ideas and advice. Will be using this as I complete my next Survivor Audition video and again apply to be a contestant

You can watch some videos that my daughter made regarding Survivor and Non-Sport Card Collecting at the following links.

Average Andy (by Katherine)


That’s all for now. Enjoy the long weekend (Labor Day Holiday), and will be back soon

#PEACE
#JOY
#SMILE
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#Fish
#We are all just Sugar Mice in the Rain

Average Andy

Posted in Big Brother, Books, Card Collecting, Football, Fun and Games, Holiday Weekend, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Grisham, Lehigh University, Mark Burnett, Non-Sports Cards, NY Giants, NY Mets, Podcasts, Reality Shows, Shrinking, Silo, Sports, Survivor, Ted Talks, Television, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jia Jiang and Mike Cubbage

Posted on August 12, 2024 by AverageAndy

Been a fan of Jia Jiang since his Ted Talk about Rejection

Jia Jiang – What I learned from 100 Days of Rejection

Here is is latest video “Jia Jiang Speaking Reel 2024” about his rise and his passion for Rejection Therapy. Very well done

Very sad to hear of the passing of Mike Cubbage at the age of 74. He played for the NY Mets for 1 year, and was also their Manager. Don’t know why, but he is one of those players that I just remember growing up as a Mets Fan in the 80s. RIP Mike Cubbage Thanks for the memories

#PEACE

Average Andy

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

Some thoughts on things

Posted on August 9, 2024 by AverageAndy

I have been enjoying watching the 2024 Summer Olympics. Is kind of cool to see views of Paris, considering I was just there with my family is June. I do wish I had found more time to watch some of the lesser sports like Volleyball, Handball, and Water Polo. Due to the time difference, most of the events were live in the middle of the day (Here on the East Coast). They did have the Olympics on a few TVs, and I did watch a few events on my phone, but it’s just a little strange to watch are work. Part of it is that for whatever reason, most people at work just don’t seem to care at all about the Olympics, (or sports in general, or TV or music), or at least they do not show any interest. It is a little strange.

Speaking of sports, the Mets are hanging around. They have been able to avoid any long losing streaks, and are right in the middle of the hunt for a Wild Card berth. I would like to see them take at least 2 of 3 from Seattle this weekend, before coming home to face the A’s and Marlins. Now is the time to make their move

Will be heading to Las Vegas next week for my nieces’ wedding. (Its the 3rd destination wedding we have attended this year). Will be a small gathering but looking forward to seeing my sister and her kids and having a good time. Going to try and get the the Sphere Las Vegas. No musical acts scheduled, but they do have a tour / experience that looks like it might be fun.

I am really enjoying “Camino Ghosts” by John Grisham. Its the 3rd book in the series and it is really interesting. I do like how stories from the 1st two books are referenced and entwined with this story

I tried to quit, but Big Brother sucked me in again. Don’t know why, but I really do enjoy it, and continue to watch year after year. Like always, they tried some things that just fell flat, but its still an interesting look at how people interact in a confined space with different personalities

#Survivor47 premiers on September 18th on #CBS and I am looking forward to another season. Also auditions have opened up again, so I will be working to get my application submitted soon. I have tired all kinds of different things throughout the years, and hopefully I will find the right conversation that will catch the eye of #JessieTannenbaum #JeffProbst and any others at #SurvivorCBS in charge of casting . If anybody reading this has any tips or suggestions or possibly any contacts, send them my way. I would be appreciated

#GiveMeAChance
#NeverToOldForSurvivor

#thedaltonross
#survivoradam
#thekellynb

#PEACE

#SMILE

Average Andy

Posted in 2024 Summer Olympics, 2024 Summer Olympics - Paris, Adam Klein, Christian Hubicki, Christine Hofbeck, Dalton Ross, Drew Basile, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Cochran, John Grisham, Mark Burnett, Mike Gabler, NY Mets, Parvati Shallow, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2024 Commencement Address by Roger Federer

Posted on July 22, 2024 by AverageAndy

Came across a video or Roger Federer giving the 2024 commencement address at Dartmouth. I thought he did a great job, and found it very inspiring. I hope the students listened and appreciated having Roger give them words of wisdom as they start the next chapter of the lives.


My commencement speaker (Lehigh University Class of 1989) was Sanford N. McDonnell. I have to admit I do not remember anything about this speech.

On an entirely different note:

I saw that they recently opened a Big Chicken near where I work, so I gave it a try for lunch. I got the buffalo chicken sandwich and really enjoyed it. I will definitely be going back to try some of the other sandwiches on the menu. 👍👍

Chicken sandwich franchise backed by Shaq opening first NJ location.

That’s it for today

#PEACE

Average Andy

Posted in Announcement, Big Chicken | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

And so it continues

Posted on July 19, 2024 by AverageAndy

Very sad to see that Actor / Comedian Bob Newhart passed away at the age of 94. He was a master at his craft and had a great career — From classic sitcoms “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart” and newer sitcoms like “The Big Bang Theory”, to movies such as Papa Elf in “Elf” and the the voice of Bernard in the Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under. A true comedic genius, he will be missed

I guess it’s time to realize that their are a lot of famous people from my youth, especially from entertainment (Movies / Music / TV) who are getting older and are starting to pass away. Time doesn’t stop for anybody. Nothing we can do, and will just have to remember them and celebrate the joy they brought to the world.

Baseball is back tonight after time off for the HR Derby and the All-Star Game. The Mets start the 2nd half with a 4 game set in Miami. Hoping they continue playing good baseball and would like to see them take at least 3 or the 4

I have watched Hard Knocks Off Season with the New York Giants. Some of it is interesting, but I can’t help but feel it’s going to have some effect the team. I am surprised by the number of people in some of the meetings, all giving General Manager Joe Schoen information about players. Add to that that he has TVs in his office tuned to sports talk shows and it just seems that there is too much outside noise. It’s been said that too many people involved in making decisions usually leads to bad decisions.

It also makes me sad thinking about how sports have become so much more than just entertainment. With Sports Radio, TV Talk Shows, and PodCasts constantly dissecting, analyzing, and predicting all aspects of all teams, it’s just becoming background noise. I know I am old school, but I don’t care much about any of this. I mostly don’t watch pre-game or post-game shows, or any of the discussion panel shows. I don’t listen to sports podcasts or follow any of the hundred of mock drafts. I just want to sit down and watch the NY Mets or the NY Giants or any of the other pro and college teams I like.

Need to clear my head this weekend and will be back next week with some more upbeat thoughts (including my take on the Big Brother 2 day premier)

#PEACE

AverageAndy

Posted in 101.9 WFAN, Baseball, Big Brother, ESPN, Football, Mad Dog Sports Radio, Mike and the Mad Dog, Movies, NY Giants, NY Mets, Radio, Reality Shows | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Was a Strange and Wacky Weekend

Posted on July 15, 2024 by AverageAndy

Was sad to see the passing of Dr. Ruth Westheimer at the age of 96 (June 4, 1928 – July 12, 2024) and Richard Simmons at the age of 76 (July 12, 1948 – July 13, 2024). Seems like both were around forever and both left a legacy that will not be forgotten.

Then I was supper sad to see the passing of Shannen Doherty at the way to young age of 53 (April 12, 1971 – July 13, 2024) Best known for playing Brenda Walsh in the TV Series Beverly Hills, 90210. This was one of the 1st TV series I really got into, and could not wait to see what happened each episode. (Before NetFlix and binge watching, you had to wait for a new episode to come out each week). Before 90201, she stared in a lot of TV shows, as well as classic movies like “Heathers” and “Mallrats”

Shannen is the 2nd lead star of 90210 to pass away – Luke Perry who played Dylan McKay passed away in March of 2019 at the age of 52

Shannen made the world a better place, and will be missed. RIP Shannen Doherty

Also need to mention the passing of Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones at the age of 40, and actor James B. Sikking at the age of 90.

Sunday, was an big day in Sports —

Congratulations to Carlos Alcaraz for defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets (6-2, 6-2, 7-6) to win his 2nd consecutive Wimbledon Championship. At the age of 21, he has now won 4 Grand Slam singles titles.

Congratulations to Spain for winning the EURO 2024 Cup for the 4th time with a 2 – 1 victory over England

And congratulations to Argentina for winning the COPA 2024 Cup over Columbia (after a delayed start as thousands of Columbia fans broke down barriers and rushed into Hard Rock Stadium before the match. Was a crazy scene as people were climbing through vents to try and get in,

In baseball- both the Mets and Yankees lost their final game before the All-Star break. The teams are now off for the HR Contests tonight and the All Star Game tomorrow. The Mets have been playing solid baseball the past month, and despite the loss, things are looking up for them in the 2nd half

In the world of TV

Big Brother Season 26 will have a special two-night premiere on Wednesday, July 17 and Thursday, July 18, according to CBS. Im sure I will give it a shot, and then get sucked in as always and end up watching it to the end

Survivor – 47 will premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 8:00 p.m on CBS. I am starting to put together my next audition video and hope to have it ready for submission in August.

I have started rewatching LOST from the beginning on NetFlix. It’s a total different feeling then watching it when it aired from 2004 – 2010. But I find myself still engaged, and trying to remember what happened to certain characters in future episodes, and when other characters join the cast.

.

Thanks for checking out http://www.averageandy.com Come back again

#PEACE

AverageAndy

Posted in 90210, Adam Klein, Baseball, Big Brother, Dalton Ross, Dan Gheesling, Heathers, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Cochran, LOST, Mike Gabler, NY Mets, Parvati Shallow, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thoughts for a Fridaty

Posted on July 5, 2024 by AverageAndy

The NY Mets are hovering around the .500 mark as we move towards the MLB App-Star Game on July 16th. They have played well recently, and have showed signs of breaking out and making a run to the play-offs. But they have had to many steps backwards (mostly by the bullpen) to really get going. They play a pivottable 4 game series starting tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I would settle for a split, but would much prefer they take 3 out of 4

Watched Dune – Part 2 and really have nothing to say about it. The production was good, but I had a hard time following the story. Got confused a bunch of times on what was going on. And the riding on the worms just didn’t do it for me — The visual effects looked bad, and they completely ignored any actual aspect ratios making things look way out of proportion. Really strange because I liked Dune – Part 1 and was looking forward to Part 2. Off course it just ended and there will be a Dune – Part 3 in 2025

The 2024 Summer Olympics start on July 26th and run for 2 weeks. I always enjoy the olympics and looking forward to watching. Should be really interesting since the games are in Paris (where I was on vacation just a few weeks back). Will be cool to see the Eiffel Tower on TV after going to the top in person. Looking forward to the track and field events — Always likes watching the runners. They make is look so easy. I know NBC has made some changes in the way they will be broadcasting the games. Will be interesting to watch.

Saw a list of bands that are currently not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I know things are very subjective, and a band I think is great, somebody else might think is terrible. But there seems to be a disconnect between the voting committee and mainstream music fans. The so called ‘Corporate Rock Bands” that have been around for a long time and still bring in large crowds (such as Styx, Poison, and Scorpions) barely get any support, while bands like A Tribe Called Quest or the MC5 get gushed about and bascily shoved into the Hall. I’m all for diversity (I think both John Denver and Garth Brooks should be in the Hall), but looking at the list of bands not included (75+ bands listed), there were probably 25 – 30 that just made no sense. The sad part is, most of the people in bands I think should be put in are getting up and age. Hopefully they can get the recognition they deserve before they are no longer with us

#PEACE

AverageAndy

Posted in 2024 Summer Olympics, 2024 Summer Olympics - Paris, Baseball, Dune2, France (2024), Movies, Poison, Scorpions, Styx | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pictures from our trip to France (June 2024)

Posted on June 28, 2024 by AverageAndy

Had a fabulous time with my wife and daughter on a trip to France. After flying from Newark NJ to Charles de Gaulle airport, we took a bullet train to the city of Strasbourg where we spent 6 days in a AIR B&B right in the center of the town. Every day we would simply walk out of our place and explore the city and all it had to offer. We took a boat ride on the canal that circles the city — Was a lot of fun, and we even got to go through a lock system. We walked up 330 stone steps to the top of the Strasburg Cathedral, saw a lot of old architecture, and even went to a park and saw some storks.

We took a few day trips a well — One day we took a train to the city of Colmar, where we went to the Choco Story Museum. Was really interesting to see the history of chocolate. The town was very pretty and had some great secular and religious architectural landmarks

We were able to meet up with a friend of my wifes (who she has not seen in 30+ years who happens to live in Strasbourg) One day, here and her husband drove us around to see some historic castles. We drove in to Germany in the morning to see Schloss Staufenberg Castle. It was up on a hill side with some great views. We then headed back to France to see the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg. We were able to walk in and around this old castle and get a feeling of what it was like to work and live there.

After our great stay in Stasburg, we took the train back to Paris for our last day. We saw the Arc de Triomphe and then walked the Eiffel Tower where we took the elevator all the way to the top. Was very cool and the view was amazing. We did see a bunch of signs and banners for the upcoming Summer Olympics which just by coincidence will be held in Paris in July. Was cool to see the Olympic rings on the side of the Eiffel Tower, as well as the grandstands they were building to host some of the events.

After a week, it was time to head back to the airport, and then back to New Jersey, USA. I am truly blessed to be able to take this trip with my wife and daughter. We will all have great stories and memories to share.

Below are some of the many pictures I took during our trip (in no particular order)

Map of Paris
Top of the Srtasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg
Chocolate Museum in Colmar
Colmar
France
French Beer
Great Pizza in Paris
Beer Expo
Eiffel Tower with Olympic Rings
Top of the Eiffel Tower
Schloss Staufenberg Castle
Strasbourg
Arc de Triomphe
Strasbourg
Chocolate Museum in Colmar
Eiffel Tower
Vineyards at Schloss Staufenberg Castle
Paris
Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Inside the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg
Local Artist at Schloss Staufenberg Castle
Schloss Staufenberg Castle
Eiffel Tower
Paris (2024 Olympics)
Starsbourg Canal

Just a few other things

Big congratulations to former Survivor 45 contestant Drew Basile who is currently a seven day Jeopardy Champion with winnings of $129,601 – Great job Drew

Drew Basile
Jon Heder

Big series this weekend for the NY Mets against the Houston Astros. Both teams have clawed back to .500 after awful starts. Lets see if the Mets can keep things rolling

Thats if for now

#PEACE

#Smile

Average Andy

Posted in Drew Basile, France (2024), NY Mets, Sports, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment