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For the second straight Monday, I hopped on my favorite train, NJ Transit Coastline, ‘ipodded’ my way back to the 60’s, discovered new smoke stacks and mysterious deposits of  driftwood by the Raritan bay outside my window. I’m trying to figure out how to get to the driftwood by car and perhaps open up a driftwood ‘artsy’ shop in South Amboy. When the train landed in Penn Station, I was purposefully the last to alight; I had an hour before my second meditation class at IMeditateNY( http://iMeditateNY.org ) on Fifth Avenue. I like that prestigious street address and like gathering in an oval floor formation in a large dimly lit room with 22 beautifully diverse people; most (not me) were sitting with legs crossed; blankets kept extremities warm. A small candle on a table below a picture of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar created a warm glow of wondrous anticipation. For twenty five minutes, I drifted like driftwood into a wonderful meditative state for the second week in a row; there’s something about Manhattan ambience and group inhalations and exhalations that facilitate depths of self realization. I love when my cerebral activity is empty, blank and desolate; all I did was concentrate on my chest going in and out while blood pressure precipitously dropped. I wonder if attempting to ‘drift’ when I’m home alone in central Jersey could be as fulfilling. And I’ve just had an epiphany. I need to get to Sweden to hike, explore and absorb every molecule that I can.

A few minutes ago I heard a ‘Subway’ commercial for a foot long sub sandwich, smothered in cheese and nitrated meat, when it hit me, that years ago, ‘Subway’ slithered into our sensibilities when ‘Jared Fogel’ lost all that dramatic weight by eating a super lean ‘Subway’ sub every day. I guess there’s more money to be made by hopping on the obesity subway train these days. If you do have to eat meat, take note: A new study shows that marinating meats in lemon juice — or vinegar — can help greatly reduce the production of harmful compounds linked to aging and chronic disease. All foods — but especially ones derived from animals — contain varying levels of compounds called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These compounds are known to cause inflammation and may open the door to faster aging. Cooking — especially high-heat methods — increases formation of AGEs. New research suggests that marinating foods in an acidic, low-pH liquid — like lemon juice or vinegar — may help slow that formation down significantly. My last red meat meal was 1975. Try this to get off red meat: There’s scientific evidence that making a fist and squeezing may help boost your willpower. In a recent study, squeezing muscles at the moment of decision seemed to help people make healthier food choices. NSS.

Just in: John Travolta is set to play mobster John Gotti and I can’t wait to see it; brilliant casting.

all that cheese and meat

Last night I met a few Rutgers buddies for dinner (they had cheese steaks and I had a Greek salad, hold the olives) then to Livingston Campus Student Center for a lecture on civility (tolerance, understanding and living together without bullying). Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti gave an amazing articulate lecture on how much is involved with maintaining civility in college sports. For me, in the wake of the most horrendous example of un-civility in American college basketball history, two weeks ago, this was a meaningful lecture. To refresh memories (my conspiracy theory); two weeks ago, 3 referees and the head of the Big East conference might’ve decided that it was more important for Syracuse to play St Johns in the Big East tournament than Rutgers (not expected to beat St. Johns) so when Rutgers was poised to upset St. Johns, and the opportunity presented itself, the referees failed to make 7 flagrant no-calls near the end of the game (even walking off the court with time still left) disabling Rutgers upset victory.Video link is last minute of Rutgers-St.Johns game. Please watch.

the last minute of the Rutgers-St. Johns game. Please watch

the 4 'players' in all the no calls against Rutgers

I’ve been watching college basketball for 50 years and I’ve never seen anything so egregious and obvious; no plausible possibility of human error. I wonder if the above could’ve happened to UConn, Duke or Syracuse?  Two days later, at least one ref was back refereeing a Big Ten game. If it was seven bodacious ‘mistakes’ by all 3 refs, it should’ve resulted in their suspensions for a year.  But humans forget and move on and the refs, NCAA and the head of NCAA officials count on that. Besides there’s nobody watching/overseeing the NCAA. I can’t move on.

I was so disgusted with the NCAA and their “blessing” of the Rutgers-St. Johns game; I had to learn more. Grab on to your seats. It’s going to be a bumpy read. My premise/dream going forth: don’t we need congressional investigations (plural) of the NCAA or an overhaul of ‘amateur’ college sports. Too much money is involved. Is the media in bed with the NCAA? If so, the media would never participate in exposing their NCAA meal ticket.  Much of NCAA’s revenue comes from the basketball tournament and do mid-level NCAA executives earn over $400,000/year?(on the  books). NCAA officials usually refuse/decline to reply/comment or be interviewed. Is there a face to the NCAA?  Does the head of the Sugar Bowl earn over $600,000/year?  “Goodness gracious sakes alive,” John Wooden, one of the greatest coaches, used to say this as an expletive. The most he ever earned was $32,000 even with ten national championships.

John Wooden

I heard a commentator say the NCAA is like a plantation. College players (football and basketball) are encouraged to ‘stay eligible’ and just take courses. Are players just useful to play and make lots of money for the NCAA? On a positive note, Rutgers University ranked first in America in APR (academic progress rate) which tracks the academic progress of each student athlete. With all that money coming into the NCAA, do they ever try to develop kids before hand to pursue their education? Back in the 90’s, players were actually going to revolt during the NCAA tournament and just sit down at mid court and not play. Did they feel they’re only an object for the NCAA to make money and they get nothing but rules? I think the NCAA system is corrupt. The Rutgers-St Johns game taught me.

There are rumblings across the land. Eleven former college football and basketball players have joined the former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon in a class-action lawsuit that argues that NCAA should compensate former athletes for the use of their images and likenesses. The lawsuit argues that the NCAA, athletic conferences and member institutions violate federal antitrust laws by usurping the rights of former players to earn royalties when their likenesses and images are licensed by the NCAA for use in television advertisements, video games, apparel and other products. Amateurism rules prevent current college players from earning money from their names or likenesses, but lawyers for O’Bannon and the other plaintiffs have argued that those rules should not apply to former athletes. It’s all about NCAA’s money and power monopoly. The NCAA even makes the kids, when they first come to school to play, sign a release to use their likenesses on clothing, games, anything the NCAA wants(and the kids get  nothing forever). The term length of that contract is “forever and anywhere in the universe.” So a kid twenty years later can see his likeness in a video game and get nothing for it while the NCAA laughs all the way to the bank and their $425,000/year salaries. There’s something really wrong here.

By the way, the rule book the NCAA uses is about four inches thick and talks about amateurism and recruiting. What a crock. The whole athletic world knows about ‘money handshakes’ when alumni of ‘big’ football universities shake hands with high school recruits and slip $500 and say how much they want them to come to his school. The same guys shake hands with the enrolled student-athlete and slips $1000/quarterback sack if it’s a big rival game. What about all the ‘street agents’ floating around, promising to deliver star high school athletes to planned campus visits for lots of cash( that rich alumni come up with)?  The NCAA represents colleges. Who represents players? It seems to me all the NCAA rules are to increase profits. They only have 44 people involved in enforcement; a skeletal crew. There are 1281 institutions. Gosh would I love to see the hidden skeletons. Would I love to know one day an investigation found wrong doing in the Rutgers-St Johns game and justice was served?   Some years ago, in a social setting, a coach told me about a player who transferred down south because his mother was made principal in an elementary school near the campus and the father became ‘involved’ in a fast food franchise. NCAA scrutiny? No!  NCAA money making and going with the flow that allows invisible fat cats to make $425,000 a year with nobody looking down from anywhere. Where’s a good Congressperson or Senator when you need them? Now to segue away from this.

Segue.

As I write, the movie ‘Hoosiers’ is on. I’ve seen it enough; what powerful transporting and flawless movie making (the colorization and sets make you believe you’re back during Eisenhower’s administration). When I’m in mood to escape, ‘Hoosiers’ is a location. I like when a barbershop and luncheonette is in the middle of town, autumn leaves blow around  as a car passes and a lone kid shoots a basketball at the side of a barn.  In the early fifties, the world is bittersweet, innocent and impossible dreams can come true; a small high school of 74 students can win a state championship. Butler University plays in the Final Four on Saturday for a spot in the NCAA title game; coincidentally the last scene in ‘Hoosiers’ takes place at Butler field house. I just mentioned Eisenhower; he may’ve saved us all. In 1956, during the Hungarian freedom uprising against the Russians, he was advised to intervene and help the freedom fighters. If he did, there would’ve been a war with Russia.

Bittersweet and innocent is a bit of a theme of this blog; I long for the innocent days of barbershop quartets, milkmen (I hate running to inconvenience stores at midnight) and rabbit ears on black and white televisions. I don’t want to know there’s been a breach at Fukushima in Japan and we’ve got uncontrollable release of radiation into our environment.  Unit three is supposed to have this breach and it contains plutonium, the most toxic substance on this good earth. A millionth of a gram of plutonium ingested can cause cancer. I want to be back to when six men wearing Texaco hats ran to service my car while it’s filled up with 15 cent/ gallon gas. I can’t find a place for myself these last days; a piece of my cardiac muscular tissue must’ve drifted over to Japan. I can’t conceive; three meltdowns and hydrogen gas explosions. I love when ‘they’ say the west coast radiation levels bear watching. And what if? Is someone going to call ‘Ghostbusters?’ Where are 31 million Californians going? The ocean water radiation by Fukushima is 4300 times past minimum danger level. Did I hear they found radiation in west coast meat and milk?  I love denials of nuke plant dangers by executives of our nuclear plant companies. “It’s strictly business Sonny, It’s not personal.”  Here’s a list which nuclear power plants are located in the most dangerous physical locations, have the weakest relative operating conditions, and would affect the greatest number of people should an unforeseeable emergency occur? And we learned from Forest Gump. ‘Stuff happens.’

#1 Indian Point (24 miles from NYC) 17 million people within 50 miles and built on the Ramapo fault. #2 San Onofre. San Clemente, California(Nixon’s old home) 10 million people within 50 miles. #3 Limerick, Penna. (8 million people and not very safe) #4 Dresden, Illinois(8 million people and was there a leak there for the past 16 years that was ignored?) #5 Diablo Canyon, Calif.(only 1/2 million people within 50 miles) #6 Salem, South Jersey(6 million) “Hey Stella; I’ve got four nuke plants almost in my backyard.” “There’s still time brother.” I feel like ‘Waltzing Matilda” now. #7 Watts Bar, Tennessee( 1 million people)

More innocence: The Mid-eastern world is exploding, bullets loading; so much we’ll never know what goes on behind closed verticals and how power people puppet and marionette things near and dear. Back in innocent days, politicians campaigned from the back of trains. I was playing tennis last night and heard a sad droning train whistle which helped me drift away; the yellow ball whizzed by and I lost an innocent point. I wanted desperately to run off the court, grab a knap sack from my trunk and hop on that freight train going so fast and far away from today; maybe have my grandmother sing “Hobo’s Lullabye” while fanning me with a Newark Evening News newspaper because we were too poor to buy a real fan.

three mile island in the distance. March 30, 1979

Gosh I’ve jumped around. Plutonium. NCAA. Sometimes I wonder where all this ‘blogging’ energy comes from. I can tell you, that much of it is spiritual but too involved and complicated for right now. But part of my energy may be a report published in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, that found that college students who had ADHD scored higher on tests measuring creativity than other students. Experts say ADHD symptoms like distraction may be a challenge in normal learning environments, but it may also leave students open to new ideas–a factor that is usually linked to creativity. I come from a time before ADHD was documented or studied. I never knew why I ran to the pantry, played with the dog and bit my cuticles instead of studying biology; perhaps the same reason I run back and forth now to see what’s happening on CNN with Japan and Libya as I grab a handful of whole grain snacks from a different pantry. Whether ADHD or not, some of this blog creativity is a passion, caring, humanity and having the good fortune to occasionally peek at the future (from a few sources). Now I’m waiting to inhale. “The future will be like the present…only longer.”

Contact info. website:   http://vichywater.net

Facebook:  Cal Schwartz

Twitter:  Earthood

E-mail:  earthood@gmail.com

Book Trailer:            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj2ko9gcC_M

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