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I like to jump in right away to things near, dear and relevant like today’s mentioning Rutgers University but before delving, here’s a bit of a blog subject explanation.
Recently I became a contributing writer for Only Good News/ Hoopla Ha, an amazing website now in beta test, and launching next week. Here’s their mantra: “Think…Relate…Smile…That’s what we’re all about. Visit us daily for an instant dose of happy, feel good inspiration. Make every day… a Hoopla Ha Day!” Here’s the link to the beta test: http://beta.hooplaha.com/. And thanks to Hoopla Ha for allowing me to post my article on my blog; they paid for it.
Marx Brothers. soup or something like that.
From Meatballs. It just doesn't matter. A nice mantra.
As my world continues to evolve into more journalistic pursuits with NJ Discover TV and with Hoopla Ha, I still need to inject my blog at vichywater.net with effusive and topical material; this article is perfect. Blog wise, I was torn between this article and drifting into the world of football, college and super and taking it into my streams of consciousness, depositing it in a fictional country similar to what the Marx Brothers elaborated. So maybe next week; I’ve even got a name already for the University where academics battle athletics in the fields of dreams with cannons and bow and arrows and recriminations. I have reliably computed that in the past two weeks, 67% of all local programming in New York and New Jersey has concentrated on the Super Bowl not a possible war in April in the Mid-East. I suppose leave the stock market alone at a three year high. I want to scream if I hear about one more Super Bowl recipe for slider hamburgers with toppings from an obscure town near the Arctic Circle. “It just doesn’t matter,” I want to yell as Bill Murray did in Meatballs. I don’t eat red meat; you should all know that by now. America has an obesity epidemic. This 67% is mostly about food intake. So I’ll close now with a loud resounding cheer, “Go New Jersey Giants, Beat New England and Go Rutgers, with a top 25 recruiting class coming in September.” Now my article:
Father and son at Rutgers football stadium pre game warm up
Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston in 1964. I was 3 minutes late and missed it.
Fatherhood: A Journey to ‘The Apprentice’
Since fatherhood caught up to me when I turned 40, a few abstract thoughts came to mind like being forever young, living to 150 years; basically notions of finding ways to keep up with my son as he gets older (maybe I won’t). When he was ten years old (16 years ago), I took him to his first college football game at Rutgers to do some father-son bonding. The following year we got season tickets for all the major sports at Rutgers and we’re still going strong. Of course there is more to the institution of fatherhood for me. I’ve been working hard at it for reasons like the essence of this article.
college beer pong. i have long arms. helps my play.
a keg stand. that's me in mid air. another college thing to do.
Six years ago my son was a college sophomore; living in the dorm and had just become a member of a fraternity (the same one I joined a few weeks after Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston to win boxing’s Heavyweight Championship in 1964). One Wednesday, my son called and asked what I was doing Saturday night and if I wasn’t busy, I should come down to the fraternity house and hang with him and the guys. There was no hesitation. “What time? Should I come straight to the frat house?” I instantaneously knew what my son’s invitation meant to me and our relationship since the day he was born. I also thought about meeting real life movie ‘Animal House’ characters and I did. Third floor beer pong was going on when I arrived. My son and I teamed-up but I managed not to drink beer; visions of my making the cover of Time or Newsweek danced in my head as being a father who endorsed under-age college drinking; there’s something positive about partial conservatism and vibrant visuals.
Randall Pinkett who won The Apprentice (an undergrad at Rutgers) and Mr. Trump(do I have to call him that if I didn't get picked?)
Cut to a few months later. Rutgers University, Donald Trump (‘The Apprentice’) Randall Pinkett, who actually won ‘The Apprentice’ and was an undergraduate at Rutgers, endorsed a program reaching out to the Rutgers community to get them involved in the audition process for an upcoming season of ‘The Apprentice.’ Normally laborious long lines of waiting to audition were waived for a select group of Rutgers people. Without hesitation, even at 60 years old and far removed from only 20 and 30 somethings, I became one of the 125 people who auditioned on Rutgers College Avenue campus student center. Prior to sitting with Randall Pinkett and telling him why I’d make a great contestant (I could probably beat every one of the contestants in singles tennis or around the world basketball), I filled out forms and wrote five essays. One essay asked “What is Your Most Impressive Work or School Achievement.” Without hesitation, I wrote about my son calling and asking me to come down to the frat house and hang out. This was my most impressive achievement. In a public discourse like I’m doing right now, I’d venture to say no one from the world of ‘The Apprentice’ had any idea what I was talking about.
But I know that I’ve prioritized life, put my son and our relationship where it should be, ahead of any class of business pursuit; so when he grows up to be a young beer pong playing fraternity guy, he’d be comfortable and secure enough with me and our relationship to want me to hang out with him and his frat brothers; indeed my most impressive accomplishment and achievement. I figured that no one at ‘The Apprentice’ would understand or appreciate the depth of my essay answer and it would probably wind-up on the cutting room floor.
As they say on Broadway, I’m still waiting for the call back. Funny thing; I had a connection that could’ve placed my application and essays on Donald’s desk. However, this particular edition of ‘The Apprentice’ was shot in Los Angles for the summer (taking me away from my beloved New Jersey) and if you lost that week’s segment, the on screen television punishment was sleeping in a tent. I did that once my freshman year and woke up with a frog in my sleeping bag. I resolved no more tents in my life so I declined to have my application appear on Donald Trump’s desk. I hope that didn’t show my age.
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One Important note. Here’s a wonderful music video to listen/watch on You Tube featuring Linda Chorney, right from here in New Jersey, Grammy nominated for Best Americana Album.
Also a great article about Linda Chorney from her blog:
http://lindachorney.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/thanks-n-j-discover-a-blog-of-blogs-and-some-babbling/
Linda Chorney
Also a very worthwhile cause to read up on:
Butterfly Circle of Friends. http://www.butterflycircleoffriends.org/
MY CONTACT INFORMATION
website: http://vichywater.net
Facebook: Cal Schwartz
Twitter: Earthood
Email: earthood@gmail.com
book trailer. hey its 65 seconds long
Vichy Water book trailer 65 seconds long 
IMPORTANT LINKS
If on Facebook check out this NJ Discover site:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000125711074
OR www.njdiscover.com 
ARE you in search of another blog that is also outspoken, unique BUT refreshingly, topically unbridled which means uninhibited ???? Meet LINDA CHORNEY:
http://lindachorney.wordpress.com/
Immortality Institute (which represents advocacy and research for unlimited lifespan)
http://www.imminst.org/
LINKS TO VIDEOS. Please Watch.
1. ZOMBIE WALK October 22, 2011
2. VETERANS DAY NJ VIETNAM MEMORIAL
Nov 11, 2011
Veterans Day at NJ Vietnam War Memorial
3. RANDALL HAYWOOD & VICTOR JONES JAZZ CONCERT
Nov 19, 2011
Randall Haywood and Victor Jones Interview from Chico’s House of Jazz Asbury Park
Randall Haywood and Victor Jones Interview from Chico’s House of Jazz Asbury Park
Linda Chorney’s Album
