Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2017

Posted on October 18, 2016 by AverageAndy

The nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2017 were released this morning. Always interesting to go through the nominees and think of who I would vote for if I had a vote.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

I am a big fan of all types of music (excluding most RAP – Not that its bad, I just don’t get it), and most country music – (Probably due to living in the North East where both Country Music and NASCAR are just not popular).

I also have now problem with artists such as Neil Diamond and Madonna making the Hall of Fame (I would have voted for both).    I do have an issue on them not giving enough consideration to Heavy Metal acts such as Iron Maiden, Scorpions, and Judas Priest, and Arena Rock acts such as Boston, Foreigner and Styx.   Was happy to see Journey making the list and hopefully this will open the doors a bit for other similar acts to follow.

And while I agree that things such as actual record sales, and ticket sales should not be the determining factor,  it should count for something.   By ignoring these,  you start to alienate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from the people who keep the music industry alive.   It also makes the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committee seem a bit elitist.   Like they know what is really good music, and most of the fans just don’t understand.   Kind of like movie reviewers who think all big budget action movies are junk and only like small are house films.   There is room for both and each should be celebrated.

As for who Average Andy would vote for for 2017

Joan Baez – Just because

Journey – They were one of the early pioneers of Arena Rock.

Pearl Jam – Not the biggest fan, but they deserve the credit for creating the grunge movement of 1990’s

The Cars – Their debut album “The Cars” does not have a bad song on it

Yes – Pioneers of progressive Rock

Most of the other nominees are well deserving, and its really tough to leave bands such as Depeche Mode, ELO and J. Giles off.

I’m sure there will be much discussion over the next few weeks until the final list is reviled.  Best of luck to all

Andy

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Survivor Gen X vs Millennials

Posted on October 14, 2016 by AverageAndy

Really enjoying this season of Survivor (as if that’s something new).   Been there for every season since the summer of 2000.   In fact, I was even a Survivor fan before it ever premiered when I saw the following on the slash dot web page and thought this is the coolest thing.

Survivor on Slash Dot (1999)

I have loved how Jeff Probst and the rest of the Survivor crew have constantly tried new things to keep the show interesting and relevant.

I have applied to the show over the years, from filling out the multiple page applications they used to post on the CBS website, to sending in VHS Tapes and DVDs, to the current way of uploading my application video directly.   Hopefully somewhere along the way, I was able to portray to the casting department that I would be a great contestant and bring a lot to the show and the Television audience.

The last few times I tried to apply, I got a message that “my application was already on file”.    Did some searching to see how often the application process resets, and found suggestions to use a different e-mail address to apply.   Doing this, I was able to upload my latest application so now the waiting starts.

As far as this season,  I like the idea of Gen X vs Millennials.    It really is amazing how much the world in general has changed in the past 20+ years, and to see it played out in Survivor make you realize this even more.   Will be fascinating to see which philosophy (the Gen X way – work hard, more structured way of doing things, or the  Millennials way – just go with the flow, and things will work out) is better suited for the game of Survivor.

It will be very interesting to see how things play out going forward after the two tribes switch, and then when the two tribes merge.   Will the 2 Generations be able to co-exist, or will each generation remain solid with there own no matter what.

Survivor Gen X vs Millennials Cast

As for who I am rooting for, even though I fall into the Gen X side, I am rooting for some of the Millennials to do well.    Will try to break things down in the coming weeks an let you know who I think will win.

 

Will be attending the 65th Annual Philly NonSport Show (as well as the always fun and informative Card Talk Breakfast Sunday morning) this weekend in Allentown PA.

65 Philly Non-Sports Card Show

Hopefully will be able to pick up a few promos needed and will post what I am able to get

Big week for the NY Football Giants at home against the Baltimore Ravens.    Need to pick up a win before heading across the pond to take on the LA Rams in London the following week.

And hopefully the Lehigh Mountain Hawks can keep things going and go 2 -0 in the Patriot League against Georgetown

And finally,  during my daily commute, I have come up with something that makes me happy.   After every song I hear on the radio (I’m one of the few who still enjoys listening to local radio), I think of the 1st person that comes to mind and wish them a happy day.  No thinking, just the 1st person that pops into my mind.

Wishing everybody a great weekend and will write again soon

Average Andy

 

 

 

 

 

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Still Alive (and doing well)

Posted on October 7, 2016 by AverageAndy

It’s been a while since I have had the time, (and the motivation) to write something for all you out there.   Sorry for the delay.

We will start with sports.   The NY Mets overcame injures to many of there key players (both hitters and pitchers) and managed to make the play-offs as the 1st wild card team. Unfortunately they ran into the San Francisco Giants and their ace pitcher Madison Bumgarner who pitched a brilliant game in shutting the Mets out 3 – 0.    Cant put all the blame on Met’s closer Jeurys Familia, who was unable to follow up on his regular season and allowed a 3 run home-run which was the difference in the game.   Combine this with the home run he gave up to Alex Gordon in last years World Series, and you have to at least question his makeup in a big spot.   While I will gladly go into next season with him as the closer, I do not want to hear any thing about his saves next season.  He could save all 162 games next year, but until he can retire the side in the play-offs, he will have to deal with the criticism thrown at him.    It’s going to be an interesting off-season with a lot of questions to answer.   I would love to see the Met’s sign Yoenis Céspedes to a long term deal as he has become the face of the franchise.  Hopefully all of there pitchers will be healthy and ready to go next season so should be another fun year.  All in all it was a fun year and and cant wait to do it all again.  Winning and Play-Off baseball is fun and I want to keep experiencing it year after year.

The New York Football Giants continue to frustrate me (and all of there fans).  They should be better than they are, but for some reason, they are missing that killer instinct to put away teams when the have the opportunities.  They should never have lost to the Redskins but instead have allowed them to stay in the mix.   I still believe in Eli Manning  (Us Giants fans don’t realize how lucky we are to have him start every game year after year) and once Odell Beckham Jr. gets straitened out (which he will), hopefully the Giants can get on a roll and win some games.

Lehigh Football got off to a slow start loosing their first 2 games to Monmouth and Villanova.  But since then, they have won 3 in a row while putting up insane offensive numbers.  Hopefully they can keep it up this weekend at home against Colgate as they start  Patriot League play.   Would be nice to see them have a good year and compete for the league title an an automatic play-off bid.

Switching gears —

Was another good season of Big Brother and congratulations to Nicole for taking home the grand prize.   I was rooting for Paul and wad glad he made it to the end.  Glad to see hes doing well for himself after the show

Paul Abrahamian – Big Brother 18

The show sucks me in every year.   I still find it a fascinating study of people

I did not sign up for CBS All Access to watch the Web Season.  I already pay form enough TV services (Comcast, NetFlix, Amazon Prime).   Will be interesting on how it works out for CBS and if it helps or hurts them when the new Star Trek Series arrives in 2017.

And finally Survive is back for its 33rd Season.  Subtitled Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X
it pits generation against generation.

More to come….

 

 

 

Posted in Baseball, Big Brother, Football, Lehigh, NY Giants, NY Mets, Reality Shows, Survivor, Television | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

RIP Gene Wilder (Mr Willy Wonka)

Posted on August 29, 2016 by AverageAndy

Very sad day as Gene Wilder passed away at the age of 82.    He was in some of the all time classic moves like “Young Frankenstein” and “Blazing Saddles” but stared in countless other movies that shaped my childhood.  I remember watching “Silver Streak” and “Stir Crazy” with him and Richard Pryor countless times on HBO.   And I laughed every time I saw “The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother ”

 

But it was his magnificent  portrayal as Mr. Willy Wonka in one of my all time favorite movies of all time “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory“.    I have tears in my eyes as I remember watching it during Thanksgiving at my cousins house years ago.  It has stuck with me ever since (the sign of a great movie) and I try to watch it ever so often.   So many times I will quote scenes from the movie (or have people quote thins to me)  (another sign of a great movie and actor)

And how many times has everybody thought of winning a Golden Ticket when opening a letter or package  – One of my friends once had a party and the invitations were actual chocolate bars with Wonk Wrappers and a Golden Ticket as the invite – pure genius

There is no words for the sadness I feel

Rest in Piece Mr. Wilder – You me laugh and forget about my problems for a while and  for that I thank you

 

 

Average Andy

 

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Bad New Bears

Posted on August 19, 2016 by AverageAndy

“The Bad News Bears”, and “The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training” are 2 of my favorite movies while growing up.   While in elementary school, I though Tanner Boyle (Christopher Barnes) was the coolest  kid.   Any always liked Kelly Leak (the great Jackie Earl Haley), who also was in “Breaking Away”, another one of my favorites

I was thrilled a few years back when Panini put out a Bad News Bears Subset as part of their Golden Age Card Set, which included autograph cards of some of the Bears.   I have been slowly adding them to my collection, with only a few more to go.

Panini – Bad News Bears (Golden-Age-Baseball)

Was sad that Tanner Boyle was not included, but not shocked as after the Bad News Bears movies, Christopher Barns stopped acting, and basically disappeared.   Over the years, I have tried to see if there was any way to contact him and thank him and  let him know how his character has stuck with me for over 40 years.

If anybody has any idea how to contact him, please let me know, it would really be appreciated.

Here is a fantastic article from this past April about the movie.   A great read for fans of the Bears.

Bad News Bears 40th Anniversary Article

And finally, here is a clip from one of my favorite scenes of all time.

 

Later

AverageAndy

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F.E.A.R

Posted on August 12, 2016 by AverageAndy

The new Marillion Album F.E.A.R  (Fuck Everyone And Run) will be released this September.

This is the bands 18th Studio album and they continue to evolve and create great music.

Have my tickets to their US show at the PlayStation Theater in New York City in November.

Try to see them if you get a chance as they always put on an awesome show.

Marillion 2016 Tour Dates

Andy

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Been a while

Posted on July 29, 2016 by AverageAndy

Sorry I haven’t written in a long time.   Lots has happened over the past 2 months.  Spent a week on vacation in San Francisco and Los Angeles with the family.  Great time was had.  Stayed at an Air B&B in San Francisco and really got the feel of local living.   Then drove to Sequoia National Park for a night and then on to LA where we got to see my wife’s brother and his family.   The highlight as a trip to Disney Land where they are celebrating Star Wars.

Here is a video my daughter put together of the trip (My wife and daughter actually spent some time in Idaho before I met them in San Francisco)


Been busy at work.  They did some re-organization and laid off one of my team members.  Was a great guy and kept the mood fresh at work.   Hopefully hes able to find a new (and better) job.   We are now down to 2 people on the team (and between us we I have to train the new people on what we do).

Going to hold judgement on the NY Mets until after the next weeks games against the NY Yankees.   After last years run to the World Series, this year feels a bit of letdown, but they actually have a better record then they did at this time.   Hopefully something clicks and they can go on a nice run to end the season.   They have a solid team, just need to put together a week of well played and well pitched games.

Really enjoying another season of Big Brother.   Don’t know why, but the show continues to suck me in year after year after year.

If you listen to Pod Casts, check out Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcome Gladwell- revisionisthistory

I really like his view on thing

Felt good to write this update and will defiantly write again soon

AverageAndy

 

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Quick Update

Posted on June 15, 2016 by AverageAndy

Just want to share a link to a story that I read years ago and always remembered

Frederic Brown – “The Weapon”

Find it very timely with the discussions going on about guns

Andy

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Seasons End

Posted on May 20, 2016 by AverageAndy

Both The Amazing Race and Survivor ended there seasons this past week.  Both had enjoyable seasons and I am already looking forward to the fall when they start again

I really enjoyed the Amazing Race this season.  Was a little apprehensive when it was announced that the contestants would consist of team known for their on-line presence (You Tubers, and other On-Line video creators).   As mentioned before, I am never a big fan of Celebrity versions of any shows (was what ruined Who Wants to be a Millionaire), and feel the shows are at their best with average everyday people.   But was surprised how down to earth and normal this seasons famous contestants were.   Found myself really rooting for the them all.   Was a bit upset that Dana and Matt won, as I was rooting for the other 2 teams in the final 3 ahead of them.   But they ran a great race and deserved to win.

The final was a bit anticlimactic due to the challenge where they needed to jump off a building and grab the clue that was suspends in front of them.  I liked the challenge, but felt if separated the teams to much as only one team could go at a time, and once you missed it took a long time to try again.  Basically once Matt grabbed the clue, and both Korey and Sheri missed, the race was over.  There was no way for the other teams to catch up.  Add to that that the teams are now really smart and plan for the final challenge of remembering all the places that have been, and it lost some of the excitement.

Still, its such a fun show to watch as it shows the world in ways not usually portrayed in school or the media.  I really believe kids in school (and older folks as well) should be made to watch and be exposed to places that they have hopefully heard of but probably never seen, or have a set perception of.   The world is an amazing place and I thank all involved in The Amazing Race (The producers, the crew, the cast, and of course Phil Keoghan) for showing me the the wonders of the world each season

As for Survivor, it was a good, but a bit slow season.  Nobody really hit me as a great or memorable contestant.   Tai started off strong, but kind of got old to me.  Winner Michele Fitzgerald  (Congratulations to another winner from the great state of New Jersey- joining Tony Vlachos and Natalie Anderson) started off slow, and was basically a after though until the last few episodes.   If I had to vote on the final 3, I probably would have voted for Aubry, as I felt she played the best game, always being aware of what was going on, and making moves and decisions that helped her get the the end.  And she was one tough competitor, fighting in every challenge.

I didn’t really like the surprise twits of giving one of the final 3 a chance to vote out one of the jury members.  I felt is changed the core of the game (Being able to vote off your tribe mates,  while convincing them to vote for you to win).   I like when they change the game up (Tribal switches, Exile Island, and even the super idol this season).   These things keep the contestants from getting to comfortable with the same patterns at philosophy’s each season.    But changing the core of the game seems like a desperate move to create drama that doesn’t need to created.   I know Jeff Probst says they review each season for what works and what doesn’t.  Hopefully they see that this twist has more down sides than upsides and is not used in future episodes.

Speaking of Jeff Probst, he continues to  be one of the best Reality TV hosts, and does a great job with the live Reunion Show.   I shiver every time I think of the early seasons when CBS threw Btyant Gumbal out there whit no real connection to the show, and how they made a great decision on letting Jeff become the host for Season 5

Survivor Reunion Show Wiki

Looking forward to next season, and like the idea of pitting Older Generation X  Contestants (1961 – 1981, where Average Andy fits) against younger Millennials (1980 – 2000).   Should be interesting to see which group is better suited for the setting and challenges of Survivor.

Back to writing about other things in the next few weeks, including my take on Matt Harvey and what the Mets need to do with him.   Its more mental than anything.   He needs to get rid of Scott Boros, who has messed him up by convincing him he will be the highest paid pitcher of all time and putting to much pressure on him.  I think now every time Harvey gives up a run, or loses a game, his main concern is not the Mets, but that he just loss some bargaining power and a few million dollars of his big free agent contract.

He needs to step back and just have fun pitching.  He has the talent, and his big payday will come if he pitches like he is capable of.

Pictures of some of the cards I picked up at the Philly Non Sports Card Show next week to come as I am finishing up opening a few boxes of the Star Trek 50th set, and sorting through some of the free prom cards I picked up.   It was a fun show as usual

Andy

 

Posted in Amazing Race, Baseball, Jeff Probst, Non-Sports Cards, NY Mets, Star Trek, Survivor | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Lots going on

Posted on May 13, 2016 by AverageAndy

Tonight is the Season Finale of The Amazing Race.   I have really enjoyed this season.   Of the 3 teams left, I’m routing for Tyler and Korey to win, but would not mind if Cole and Sheri were to win.   I love Cole’s attitude;  he is always positive and having a good time.  His comment about it not mattering if they got eliminated because he had the opportunity to ride those scooters in China is what the Amazing Race is really about.   I have always felt that the experience is worth more than the Million Dollars

As a show note, last week was one of the 1st times where they actually fooled me with the editing.   It felt like Burnie and Ashley were way ahead of Cole and Sheri, and I was shocked when they showed Cole and Sheri come up the stairs.

On Survivor, another contestant was medically eliminated from the game.  That was the 3rd person this season (and 2nd on the Jury) to leave and not be officially voted off.  Its not like the challenges have been super hard or dangerous.   Now its down to the final 4, with the finale next Wednesday.  My vote would be for Michele.   Mainly because I don’t really like Aubry or Cydney, and Tai has become annoying.    Nobody in the final 4 really played a super game this year. (Aubry probably played the game the most).    And with all the excitement of the Super Idol, the Idols in general did not have a big impact on the game.  And the advantage of the extra vote again was not utilized.   Just like the last few seasons, It has never been used to change anything.   Need to reevaluate it.  Maybe the advantage should be you get to stop somebody from voting.   That would be fun to see.

As mentioned last post, will be heading out the Allentown PA for the Philly Non Sport Show this weekend.  Will also be attending the Card Talk gathering on Sunday.  Will be discussion the recent acquisition of Non Sport Update by Beckett Media.  Will be interesting to see there vision for the magazine going forward.

The NY Mets are doing what they need to do on a long west coast trip.   Much more enjoyable the past few years then in the past where they would go 2 – 9 and limp back to CitiField.   It would be great if they could take 2 of 3 in Colorado, and have a 6 -5 road trip before taking on the Nationals next Tuesday.   Should be a good test an a lot of fun

Finishing up the books I’m reading / listening to and will try to write a review when Im done.

Was not able to listen to all of Journeys’ Albums as planned as the last 2 albums were released exclusively  by Wall Mart and are not available for streaming on Apple Music or other streaming services.  I did enjoy listening to the rest of the albums.   Going to start with a new artist next week.   Was thinking about trying Fleetwood Mac.   Will keep you updated.

Hope  everybody has a great weekend

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

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