Mario Savio Speech

 

 

Put Your Body on The Gears

Yesterday I was given a copy of this speech given in Berkeley, California atop an automobile on December 2, 1964. The old, Grey Revolutionary/activist who gave it to me was there when Mario Savio delivered this historic call to action. 

Greys around the country have been re-activated and reanimated thanks to the Trump administration. He hopes young people today are as inspired by this speech as he continues to be. He strongly encourages everyone, young and old, to take part in protesting to prevent injustice by those in power.

I dedicate this post to all those Greys who are still coming out to lead and fight the good fight against injustice everywhere. We Salute You!

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

Warriors sss!

Steph Curry leads the comeback win | Golden State Of Mind

Only two games into this NBA season and I'm already thinking Championship for the Golden State Warriors. Main reason being their depth and resilience. 

Dictionary

re·sil·ience

/rəˈzilēən(t)s/

noun

1. 1.

   the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

   "the remarkable resilience of so many institutions"
2. 2.

   the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.

   "nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience"

Last night's overtime win over the Denver Nuggets saw the Warriors overcome a 50-pt outburst by Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, who I believe set some type of record in going 11 for 13 on three-point shooting.

The Warriors coming off a takedown of the L.A. Lakers Tuesday night, started the game on a 10-0 run. But Denver seemed to easily and quickly come back to tie then commandingly take the lead. It looked to me throughout almost three quarters that the Nuggets were just a step ahead of the Warriors in shooting and defense. They held Steph Curry to something like 7-pts in the first half which ended with the Warriors trailing 71-59.

The second half saw Warriors defense and an overall synchronicity take hold of the team as they battled and were defensively able to compete with the Nuggets. Then with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Steph makes the first two of his fifteen points in the quarter to get the game to overtime. And it was at this moment, the end of the fourth quarter, every Warriors fan in Chase Arena as well as us watching at home knew our team has recaptured the fire and passion that has seen them become a championship dynasty. 

It took an all-around cast playing clutch, championship style basketball down the stretch to put this surging Denver Nuggets team to bed. Steph Curry (42pts) makes ridiculous clutch shots, always has. But when you see the likes of other Warriors stepping up their games in crunch time, it sends a huge message to the league as well as fans watching. 

Jimmy Butler

Al Horford

Jonathan Kuminga

Draymond Green

Buddy Hield

Will Richard *(upcoming rookie)

The message says they're hungry and will battle until the final game buzzer goes off. It says they are never out of a game regardless of the opponent, as long as they band together as a team, knowing that their biggest nemesis is a breakdown in trust, communication and commitment toward one another. It says their back to being Warriors and have their eyes on the 2025-26 prize.

Can You Dig It!!!!

Final Score (OT)

Nuggets 131

Warriors 137

Stephen Curry Scores 42 Points, Willing Warriors to Overtime Win in Thrilling Home Opener

Luang Prabang, Laos

Tak Bat – Morning Alms in Luang Prabang, Laos - Heritage Line

At the break of dawn every morning, a truly captivating phenomenon takes place all across the streets of Luang Prabang. Clad in saffron-tinged robes and with collection bowls strapped around the shoulder, hundreds of monks line up to collect morning alms from local Buddhists. This enlightening ceremony, known as Tak Bat (or Sai Bat), is conducted in total silence as a form of meditation.

Just as significant to Tak Bat as the monks are the local almsgivers. It should be noted that offering daily sustenance is not the same as charity, as a westerner would view it – but rather religious dedication. And to the faithful, giving alms is a form of cleansing the soul through spiritual redemption.

Theravada - Wikipedia

Fascinating Facts about the Land of a Million Elephants

2025 Fogless San Francisco (Paradise)

 

"No-No Boy" by John Okada : Book Review

What had happened to him and the others who faced the judge and said: You can't make me go in the army because I'm not an American or you wouldn't have plucked me and mine from a life that was good and real and meaningful and fenced me in the desert like they do the Jews in Germany and it is a puzzle why you haven't started to liquidate us though you might as well since everything else has been destroyed.

And some said: You, Mr. Judge, who supposedly represent justice, was it a just thing to ruin a hundred thousand lives and homes and farms and businesses and dreams and hopes because the hundred thousand were a hundred thousand Japanese and you couldn't have loyal Japanese when Japan is the country you're fighting and, if so, how about the Germans and Italians that must be just as questionable as the Japanese or we wouldn't be fighting Germany and Italy? Round them up. Take away their homes and cars and beer and spaghetti and throw them in a camp and what do you think they'll say when you try to draft them into your army of the country that is for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

If you think we're the same kind  of rotten Japanese that dropped the bombs on Pearl Harbor, and it's plain that you do or I wouldn't be here having to explain to you why it is that I won't go and protect sons-of-bitches like you, I say you're right and banzai three times and we'll sit the war out in a nice cell, thank you. 

pgs. 31-32 (excerpt from No-No Boy by John Okada)

I must say, after a somewhat depressing start, the 1957 novel "No-No Boy" by John Okada drew me into the peoples, places, and recovering/reconstruction era that was post-WWII Seattle. It took time to allow this story about the different effects detention center internment had on two separate generations of Japanese (Issei and Nisei) to unfold. The author did a wonderful job in putting together the main character, Ichiro, and all that he sees, feels and experiences throughout the book. 

Ichiro is a young American-born Japanese (Nisei), who after being released from serving a two-year prison term for refusing to fight for America against Japan during WWII, has matured to question everything about culture, war, nationalism, and society as a whole. He was interned at an American internment camp for Japanese two years prior to his conviction as a "traitor." But we see him after his release struggling with the shame and ostracism of returning home as a "No-No Boy." To be shunned not just by white Americans but also Japanese-Americans he grew up around in Seattle. 

The complexity of what he did and why, leaves him broken, trying to put together a reasonable understanding of it all. He tries but is unable to relate to or get answers from his parents who are Japanese Immigrants (Issei), struggling with their own misconceptions and challenges. Ichiro is a young man on the verge of losing all hope in life, a dangerous place for any young, angry and confused individual to find oneself.

As with any good fictional character in a novel, it is the impact and influence of change that brings about their thoughts and actions moving forward. To follow Ichiro through this story as it develops, plays out and concludes is to witness a post-WWII Japanese-American citizen returning to find his place in society, four years after being stripped of all freedoms and rights as a citizen.

Ichiro is no different from anyone, fictional or real. He must decide who he wants to be, where he wants to be and how he wants to live his life moving forward. His dilemma is in what his country will or won't allow him to be based on his race and being branded a "No-No Boy;" a good for nothing traitor jap. Can he make the adjustment within himself to live free.

I was surprised at not only how much I learned about the mental and emotional effects internment had on Japanese Americans, but also the divisiveness it had on Japanese-American communities. I come away from this book with great admiration and appreciation for all that author John Okada put into making this story come alive. It truly ranks as an American historical document in my eyes. It's a shame Mr. Okada, God bless his soul, died believing that Asian America had rejected his work.

The Bright Future and Long Shadow of John Okada’s No-No Boy – Asian American Writers' Workshop

Alabama Penal Code 1865-66

The Penal Code of Alabama; Prepared by G W Stone and J W Shepherd.. | Alabama, Geo W. Stone, J. W Shepherd

 57.    Living in adultery or fornication.

    If any man and woman live together in adultery, or fornication, each of them must, on the first conviction of the offense, be fined not less than one hundred dollars and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than six month; on the second conviction for the offense, with the same person, the offender must be fined not less than three hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than twelve months; and on a third, or any subsequent conviction, with the same person, must be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for two years.

58.    Bigamy.

    If any person, having a former wife or husband living, marries another, or continues to cohabit with such second husband or wife in this State, he or she must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than five years.

59.    Same; exception.

    The provisions of the last preceding section do not apply to any person, who, prior to such second marriage, had procured a decree, from a court of competent jurisdiction, dissolving his or her former marriage, and allowing him or her the privilege of marrying again; nor to any person who, at the time of such second marriage, did not know that his or her former husband or wife was living, and whose former husband or wife had remained absent from him or her for the last five years preceding such second marriage.

60.    Incest.

    If any man and woman, being within the degree of consanguinity of relationship within which marriages are declared by law to be incestuous and void, and knowing of such consanguinity or relationship, intermarry, or live together in adultery, each of them must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than seven years.

61.    Marriages between white persons and negroes.

    If any white person and any negro, or the descendant of any negro, to the third generation inclusive, though one ancestor of each generation was a white person, intermarry, or live in adultery or fornication with each other, each of them must on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than seven years.

62.    Same; officer issuing license or performing marriage ceremony.

    Any probate judge, who issues a license for the marriage of any persons who are prohibited by the last preceding section from intermarrying, knowing that they are within the provisions of that section; and any justice of the peace, minister of the gospel, or other person by law authorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony, who performs a marriage ceremony for such persons, knowing that they are within the provisions of said section, must, each on conviction, be fined not less than one hundred, nor more than one thousand dollars; and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than six months.

63.    Crime against nature.

    Any person who commits the crime against nature, either with mankind, or with any beast, must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than ten years.

64.    Attempts to procure abortion.

Any person who willfully administers to any pregnant woman any drug or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means to procure her miscarriage, unless the same is necessary to preserve her life, and done for that purpose, must, on conviction, be fined not more than five hundred dollars, and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced  to hard labor for the county, for not less than three, nor more than twelve months.