Sports, Survivor, and the World in General

Been an awful start for both Lehigh (0 -5) and the New York Football Giants (0 – 4).  Looking at the bright side, things can only get better.   For Lehigh, they start Patriot League play this Saturday against Colgate.   Since the winner of the Patriot League gets an automatic bid to the BCS Play-Offs,  If the Mountain Hawks are still alive and just need to win all their league games.   For the Giants, they just need to take things one game at a time.  While they have not played good football, they have not been awful.  A win against a 0 – 4 Chargers team this week would be a start to try and get back towards .500 and then you go from there.    They need to put all this Odel Beckham stuff and other distractions behind them, and just play so football.

Enjoying another season of Survivor.   Hard to get a read on anyone after just 2 weeks, as nobody has really stood out to me.   I do have some rooting interest in Chrissy Hofbeck as she is from my hometown.   I have heard here kids are in the same schools as my daugher was in (they are a few years younger).  Also from the great state of New Jersey is Ryan Ulrich.

Over the years, three other New Jersey contestants, Michele Fitzgerald of Freehold, Natalie Anderson of Edgewater and Tony Vlachos of Jersey City took first place in their respective seasons.

Survivor Season 35 – New Jersey

Been a strange week starting with the shooting in Las Vegas, followed by the death of Rock Legend Tom Petty.   Both hit me in different ways.

I just felt numb as I read about Las Vegas.   I found it hard to imagine what it must of been like to be there.  Just the sheer terror as things unfolded.   I feel sad for all those people directly affected and wish them the best as they go through their recovery.   The thing I thought about was what it would be like in the police / FBI headquarters.    I imagined somebody standing up and saying “You will not sleep for awhile,  I want to know everything about this guy, every place he’s been, every person he’s talked to, every meal he’s ate for the past few months”  and then seeing people start running to gather information.

As far as Tom Petty,   as the news broke and people started naming their favorite songs, It really hit me of how many hit songs he had.    No wonder he had his own channel on SiriusXm.    I do feel a bit older as the artists of my youth die.  Want to give a shout out to Walter Becker of Steely Dan as well.    Been a sad few years and while the music of all who have passed will live on, and bring happines and joy to people for years to come, they will be missed.

On the bright side this week, I made my way into Washington Square Park in NY City on Sunday to catch the live start of The Amazing Race Season 30.   Saw a message on Facebook about this on Saturday, and showed it to my daugher.  She said we had to go as we missed it the last time they started in NY (Was in Time Square at 3:00 AM).  This time it was in the middle of the day (12:00 PM) so there were no excuses.   It was a lot of fun as we got to see Phil  up close – We were right next to him as he signed the bottom of a Travelocity Gnome that a lad had brought with her.  As far as the contestants, most people were there to see Cody and Jessica from Big Brother.  Other than them (who I had heard ahead of time were going to be on the race)  we got to see Tim Janus and Joey Chestnut (Competitive Eaters), and 2 basketball players (who I looked up and saw were NBA players Shawn Marion and Cedric Ceballos).   Was a lot of fun, and looking forward to watching The Amazing Race when it premiers in the spring.

 

And finally, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released its nominees for the Class of 2018

Rock Hall 2018 Nominees

Be sure to check them out and cast your votes

Here is my ballot:   Bon Jovi, The Cars, Dire Straits, Eurythmics and Judas Priest

Have a few things planned for this weekend and will share them with you next time I write (which hopefully will be sooner or later)

Posted in Amazing Race, Lehigh, Music, NY Giants, Reality Shows, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, SiriusXM, Sports, Survivor, Television, Volume 106 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quick Update

Big games this weekend for both the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (Home against Penn) and the NY Football Giants (at Philadelphia).   Both teams desperately need a win or their seasons may be over before we even get to October.

I went to see E.T. The Extra Terrestrial on the big screen on Wednesday which was presented by Fathom Events  – They present classic films and other types of entertainment in theaters.

E.T – The Extra Terrestrial (IMDB)

After 35 years, the movie still stands up and really is a great movie.  Was very interesting to see how much the music was a big part of the film.   And I forgot how great Henry Thomas was as Elliot.   If you haven’t seen E. T. recently, I highly recommend you find a way (TV, On-Demand, Blue Ray) to watch it again and appreciate how good it is

Fathom Events – Classics on the Big Screen

I finished reading Curtis Armstrong’s autobiography and will be starting a new book soon.   Will update the site as soon as I find my next book.   Going to try and read more if I can find the time

And finally,  most TV shows return next week with new episodes, including Season 35 of Survivor.    As always looking forward to another great season

Survivor Season 35 : Heroes-vs-Healers-vs-Hustlers

Enjoy your weekend everybody

 

 

 

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Big Brother 19 is in the books

Big Brother 19 wrapped up on Wednesday, and while this wasn’t one of the best seasons (according to a lot of critics and fans) it was one of the most interesting as far as game play was concerned.  As the season progressed, it became apparent that Paul was playing the best game.  He came in with a plan and stuck with it all the way to the final 2.   He played brilliantly, manipulating people to vote out who he wanted when he wanted them to.  It looked like it was his game to win.   Except he made 2 miscalculations that mattered far more than all the good things he did.

The 1st was that he misused his goodby messages,  while the winner Josh used them strategically to influence the jury. Each time Paul successfully got who he wanted voted out, voted out, he continued his charade in his goodby messages.   But Josh used the goodbye messages to let the voted out person know what was really going on.   This made each jury member madder at Paul.   If Paul has simply stated that he was sorry, but he had other alliances that he felt would get him further,  he may have been able to make the person voted out feel better about their game and appreciate his game, rather than feel bitter toward him.

The 2nd thing Paul did wrong was to misread the jury.    I saw several articles about this and agree with them in that the jury was simply bitter against Paul, and were going to vote against him no matter what.  Paul was banking on the fact that the jury would rise above their feelings and simply see that he played the best game and vote for him.   But as been seen on several seasons of Survivor,  sometimes the jury members just get in there mind that they will not vote for somebody no matter what and that is what happened here.  The two couples (Mark and Elena, and Jason and Alex) were so stung by Paul and how he voted them off, that they voted for Josh just so they didn’t have to for him.   Had Paul won the final HoH challenge and taken Christmas to the finals, he still would’ve lost.   There were 5 votes (the couples plus Cody) who were never going to vote for Paul.

Fascinating stuff and something that should be studied to see why some people can put their feeling aside when making decisions,  while others hold grudges and make decisions strictly based on feelings.

I admit I was rooting for Paul once it became apparent that he was able to manipulate everybody and would most likely voted for him if I was one of the jury members, but I was not, and that’s what makes shows like Big Brother and Survivor so fascinating to watch.

More to come

 

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Tough Start

Tough Start for both the NY Giants (0 -1 after losing to the Dallas Cowboys) and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (0 – 2 after losses to Villanova and Monmouth).  Hopefully both team turn things around this weekend

Been strange not paying attention to the NY Mets in September as their season completely imploded and they were never able to get anything going.

In other baseball news – Have to give credit to the Cleveland Indians for winning 22 games in a row.    Truly an incredible feat.   And a cool things is that TOPPS Now has been putting out cards each day for this.

Have a good weekend

Andy

 

 

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30 Days hath September

Hard to believe it’s already September (where did the summer go?)

It been a bit different this year for me as the NY Mets never got things going and have we basically out of the playoff picture after the All-Star Game in July.   The past few years were spent watching (or at least listening) to most Met games on a nightly basis, as they were a good and exciting team fighting for and making it to the play-offs.   This year they have been hard (if not impossible) to watch.   These things go in cycles so hopefully it will not be to loon before they get things straightened out.   I think they do need to let Terry Collins go.  If it was me, I would have done it already.  If you’re going to get rid of him when the season ends anyway, why wait.  The team just doesn’t have any life or spark and some of that has to be on the manager.   Also the owners and GM need to take some blame for basically getting rid of anybody who had a attitude and replacing them with bland average players.   But this has been the way the Mets have been run lately.  If your fun or rock the boat, you are probably gone (regardless of the talent level).   Say what you will, but the fans liked Murphy, Duda, Granderson, Reed.

As the calendar changes to September, and baseball an afterthought, it time for some Football.  On the college side, The Lehigh Mountain Hawks open the 2017 season tomorrow against Villanova (quick shout out on the passing of Rollie Massimino – Sad to hear – Coaching legend Rollie Massimino dies at 82 ).   Hopefully Lehigh can build off last years success and return to the FCS Playoffs for a 2nd straight year  ( 2017 Bowl Subdivision Playoffs).   Looking forward to another great season,  finishing up at home for the 153 Meeting between Lehigh and Lafayette (College Football’s most played rivalry)

Then the following week the NY Football Giants start their 2017 Season on Monday night Football.    There is lots of hype and talk of how good the team is this year.  I try to avoid all the take and just want the games to begin and will see how things go.

Switching gears to Television, it’s getting near the end of another season of Big Brother.  I have been enjoying the season as usual.   Been fun watching with my daughter (who somehow has became a bigger fan than me).   Looking forward to see if Paul can pull off the win this season after coming in 2nd last year – He is definitely climbing the ladder of all time Big Brother players and has become one of my favorites

September brings  a lot of Series and Season premieres  and there are quite a few shows that I am looking forward to.

Survivor, Star Trek Discovery, Kevin Can Wait, Big Bang Theory (and the spin off Young Sheldon),  This is Us, the final season of The Middle (which will be missed), and Modern Family to name a few.  Im sure there will be a few disappointments, as well as some surprise hits not even on my radar.

Sad to hear of the passing of Richard Anderson (Oscar Goldman from the 6 Million Dollar Man) –  Was a big fan of the show back in the day.  There was even some card sets released by Rittenhouse Archives, including autograph cards.

sixmilliondollarman

Richard Anderson

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, just want to mention the passing of my uncle Robert Adam of Toms River, New Jersey.  He was a great man, and always very friendly to me and my family.   Prayers go out to my Aunt Sandy, as well as my cousins Bobby, Alex and Marc.  I will alway remember my uncle working as a delivery man for Charlie Chips years ago and having tins of chips and pretzels around

Charlie Chips

That’s it for now.  Sorry I haven’t written in a while, and will definitely try to find some time going forward.   Have lots to say on a variety of subjects and hope you find what I have to say insterding

Enjoy the long Labor Day Weekend – Make sure to spend some time with family and friends and will talk to you soon

Andy

 

 

Posted in Announcement, Baseball, Big Brother, Holiday Weekend, Lehigh, Lehigh University, NY Giants, NY Mets, Sports, Survivor, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jackie Earle Haley

Cool video on Jackie Earle Haley on IMDB

Jackie Earle Haley on IMDB

Was Kelly Leak in “Bad News Bears” and Moocher in “Breaking Away”, two of my all time favorite films.  Glad to see he’s still relevant today

 

 

Andy

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Sorry – been busy

Been busy lately at work and have not had much time to write.  And when I thought I had some time, things kept popping up.

It’s been an interesting summer so far.   I have seen a few concerts (Iron Maiden, U2 Foreigner with Cheap Trick).   Iron Maiden put on a great show, but they do play the same songs every time during each tour, so you are not going to see anything special on a given night.    U2 was fantastic.   Had floor tickets (the way to go at when bands play big outdoor stadiums.   Floor tickets are usually cheaper (which helps with the current cost of tickets), and you get to get up close instead of playing more to sit far away and spend most of the show watching the band on the giant video screens.    Was able to get free tickets to Foreigner / Cheap Trick though Ticketmaster and the ongoing class action lawsuit.    I have a bunch of vouchers good for certain shows.    Free tickets are for the lawn area, and the show was good except for the fact it rained for most of the show, and by the end I was soaked to the bone.

I also got to see the Broadway show “Dear Evan Hansen” which I highly recommend.  We actually got tickets back in March when my daughter got into the show (before it won the Tony for Best Play of 2017).  If you get the chance, check it out.   The music is great and Ben Platt is truly amazing.

Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway

As far was TV,   I have been watching “Twin Peaks”, which despite the fact that it is one of the strangest things I have seen, it’s actually entertaining and I am enjoying it.   I am also enjoying the show “Salvation” on CBS.    Didn’t think I would like it – Another stupid summer series to fill up some time, but after watching the 1st few episodes, I got into it and will stick it out to the end

My daughter (and now me and my wife) are big fans of Beat Shazam on FOX with the great Jamie Fox as host.   It kind of reminds me of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in that it’s a simple concept and there aren’t all these crazy rules and stunts that a lot of game shows try these days.    Its interesting to see how certain songs and types of music seem to cross all groups and generations.   Would be interesting to study this and analyze why some songs become universally known, while others remain in their own small niche.

I have also been keeping up with Big Brother as usual.    Don’t know why I keep coming back but it is the perfect summer show.    Been a strange season,  and some of this years players are just plain weird, but It should be full to watch as we get down to the last few players.

Haven’t had the chance to go to the movies some far this summer.   There are some movies out there that I would like to see, but just haven’t been able to find the time (or it’s been to nice outside to waist sitting in a theater).

Will try to write some more in depth thought when I get some more time

Andy

 

Posted in Big Brother, Broadway, Cheap Trick, Dear Evan Hansen, Iron Maiden, Music, Reality Shows, Television, U2 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Curtis Armstrong

Just heard a fantastic interview with Curtis Armstrong on SiriusXM Volume 106.

He has a new book out which I will definitely be checking out

He has been around a long time and appeared is such classics as Revenge of the Nerds, Risky Business, and Better Of Dead.   Besides movies he has also appeared on several TV Shows.    He is a true legend

Curtis Armstrong IMDB


So if you get a chance, check out a Curtis Armstrong movie this weekend.   It will make you laugh and just feel good

Andy

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Anthony Michael Hall

Saw this video on Yahoo with Anthony Michael Hall.   For those of you who remember hiv from movies such as National Lampoons Vacation, 16 Candles and Weird Science, it was a fun trip down memory lane – Glad to see he’s still acting and doing well

http://www.yahoo.com/news/national-lampoons-vacation-war-machine-135107470.html

Anthony Michael Hall – IMDB

Andy

 

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Happy July 4th

Looking forward to a well needed 4 day weekend (Have next Monday and Tuesday off for July 4th).    Hard to believe that last year at this time I was on my way to San Francisco / Los Angeles for vacation.  This year will be spent at home getting some much needed rest, and resetting my batteries as we start the 2nd half of 2017

Attended the U2 Concert on Wednesday  (30 Anniversary of the Joshua Tree).   Was a fantastic show.   It amazing how well the songs have remained fresh and relevant from when the album was originally release in  1987.   This is the 8th or 9th time seeing U2 and one of the best shows I’ve seen.   The giant video screen wall was amazing and the way they worked in different pictures and videos was a site to see.   Got floor seats and was able to get pretty close to the stage area where they started the show.

Here is the set list from the show

U2 – June 28th 2017 – MetLife Stadium

Big Brother Season 19 stared on Wednesday, but since I was at the U2 Show, I DVRd it and watched it last night.   Don’t know why I still enjoy the show after all these years, but I do

Don’t want to spoil things, but getting evicted after only 12 hours would be the worst.   Kind of like finally making it onto Survivor, and then being the 1st one voted off.

Knowing the shows as much as I do, there are certain things in Survivor (Making it to the merger, winning an individual immunity award, the family visits)  and Big Brother (Winning HOH and getting letters from home, Getting roasted by Zingbot, and playing in some the the famous challenges like OTEV) that I would be upset about if I missed out on them.  It’s no longer just about making it to the show, but also getting the full experience.

Getting voted off or evicted early would be a huge let down and would really suck.

Few random thoughts

Saw this a few weeks back and thought how does one become the official sponsor for professional Sports teams.   And does it make a difference?   (Note – I did not by these official Cheese Puffs of the Mets, just took the picture)

img_3283

Thinking of the Mets, I will give them the next 9 game before the All Star break (3 at home against the Phillies and then 3 on the road against the Nationals and Cardinals) to see if this season can be salvaged.   They need to go 7 – 2 with 0 or 1 loss to the Nats.  That would put them at 43 – 44 and at least give them a shot.   Anything less, and I will have some free weeks until Giants preseason Football.

And Wimbledon starts on Monday.   Should be an interesting tournament this year with 5 legitimate contenders (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, and Wawrinka).  Should be fun to watch and would be great if all were to make it far.   Looking forward to my strawberries and cream for breakfast on Sunday, 16th.

And finally – Congratulations to Dear Evan Hansen for winning the Tony for best new musical in 2017.  My daughter was a big fan from the beginning and has been playing the soundtrack nonstop for the past few months.   We were able to score tickets for August and am actually looking forward to the show.  Should be a lot of fun

Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway

Happy 4th of July  – Spend some time with friends and family and looking forward to a great 2nd half of 2017

Andy

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