These are the champions

Oakland, still waiting for a verdict. Where r´ u´ Los Angeles?

If you are interested in what i call the waiting time after police brutality in Oakland last year, take a look at this article in the San Francisco Chronicle. It would helps you to understand what is this issue all about. This photo is spread all over the city. Even in Berkeley University, where i took it the other day.

And here is the article.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/02/MN0P1E83RA.DTL

And here we are, still waiting. We hope (everybody here in Berkeley does) there will be a peaceful reaction to the final verdict from the jury in LA. But who knows my friend??????? Justice, what a lovely word and what difficult to get it.

PD. Perhaps to serious today????? Could be, but it is worst for the family, don´t you think so guys?

AMERICAN DREAM

 

Martin Luther King in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (1963) rooted the civil rights movement in the black quest for the American dream:

"We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. . . . when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."

Oakland and the last time with Michel (Such a night II)

Just an appetizer (to start something when you are eating, e.g.) And i don´t know a better way than music, do you?



Perhaps the other day you were expecting something about that incredible night. We had fun together in Oakland. There was a special party (more than a party, i have to say) goin´on in Murmur (Oakland): musicians playing in the streets, art galleries open till late at night, clubs, music from the 50´s and girls and boys dancing in the streets surronded with lots of old Cadillacs and Harleys Davidsons. Sorry, i have no photos of that night. I beg your pardon. I only took my cell phone with me and i can´t download them. So, sorry again. It can´t happen twice, i promise.

You know guys, it was a really pleasure to take a hamburger (the first one for me in California these days) there. Look at this: they were playing discs. Yeahhhhhhh¡¡¡¡¡¡ Little DISCS. Incredible. I´m not talkin´ about Lps, no no no. What i´m talkin´about is what we call in the Basque Country (Spain) "sencillos". Difficult to find them in our country, but the dj had loads of them. Do you remember the music of the 50´s. Oh come on¡¡¡, of course you can.
We were there till 3 am and of course we closed all the pubs in the area. Very romantic ja j aj aj aja.

That was too the last night with Michel, a boy from Canada who was improving his english in my school. He works in the Cirque du Soleil. A great guy, very friendly, always prepared to begin an interesting conversation. And this way we did that night too. We -and he, i can assure you- is now a little bit sad because he is not any longer in Berkeley. He had to go back to Montreal to "work hard". A nice person. And i have a little present for you, Michel.
I know you love The Beatles, Michel. Do you -all of you- know one thing?, he was with Macca, Ringo, Yoko Ono, Harrison´s wife and the great George Martin of course when all of them were preparing the show that the Cirque du Soleil has done about the Beatles´ music. AWESOME. You can see in Las Vegas because it is still going on there. Don´t miss it if you can.

That is four you, Michel:



And Oakland will burn in a few days (I hope it wont). I´m talkin´g about police brutality, a black young man murder in the streets a year ago, a judge. They have to move the case to LA (Los Angeles) because of the pressure. Everybody here is waiting for the veredict. Keep in touch with this blog and you will be the first to know. I´ll promise. Now, i have to do my homework. Not too much, but homework.

Keep on writing, i´m very happy with all of you.

PD Tomorrow Spain-Germany. Everything can happen, but yes we really played bad the other day (Saturday). I was in San Francisco watching the macht. And last but not least, another photo from the last weekend. Before the fireworks, a band playing Bob Marley´s music with those strange instruments in the streets. It was cool and we were dancing with the rest of the people there. Even better than the fireworks.

Such a Night, baby. Oakland will burn¡¡¡

Here we are again. I´ve just come back from San Francisco. Do you know one thing: they (the people from Frisco don´t want even to hear anything like Frisco), well this is what i´ve been told from Ann, you know the elder lady I´m living with. In any case, Miguel, Mabel and Angel have just gone from Berkeley To Yosemite National Park. The Bears are waitin´ there to eat them. I hope, they don´t. But they are very hungry. This three guys have been studying very hard in the University of Berkeley. You don´t believe me. Here is the photo.

Frisco was great with them. But on the 4th of july -you know, the national festivity here- we wen to Sonoma, the wine´s paradise with Napa Valley too. And we tasted wine in the winnerys. You want yo see it too? Here it is:

And in the city of Sonoma we did good friends too. Ohhhh Californian girls.

And we eat hot dogs and we do more things -we have a swim too in a river called Russian River in Sebastopol, wich is an area in the North of Sonoma´s County. Later we went back to San Francisco to see the fireworks. To tell you the thruth it was almost impossible to see them because of the fog. And it was freezing too, so in the end we went to a italian restaurant to eat and taste another bottle of wine, a Chianti for a change. Not bad but it could be better. The one we drank in Sonoma city was pretty good indeed. But in any case, we did it well.

The last picture for all of you.

PD. Thanks Guzmi, the person from Turkey -by the way, who is that guy? Has anybody gone to Turkey this summer?-, and Scott too, my english teacher in Bilbao. I guess one of the comments is yours if i´m not wrong. It´s perfect. And everybody for your writings. Keep on rocking in the free world, Almirant´s wife (we call her Blanquita, me and Amalia). I know AC&DC was awesome and brutal as ever, Guzmi. Enjoy in Bilbao you too. I´m doing my best here in Berkeley. Kssss for everybody.

Coffee, Vacklava and Zurbaran´s people

Hi everybody again¡

My last class is now over and i have time to enjoy now in a coffee, Cafe Milano, opposite to the University of Berkeley. Sun is shining, as usually here in Berkeley (San Francisco is a little bit colder, and when the fog comes is even worst. You´d better go away of the Bay) I´ve been watching you tube because a friend of mine in Bilbao told me about a new group that is now on the ball there. They are called Zurbaran´s People. Ja ja ja ja ja ja. Thanks great almirant Jesus to post it on Internet. That was a really good idea  (Don´t think twice, Arantxa, it´s allright).

Well, i´ve got here some photos from the last parade and i´m goin´ to upload too a photo of my room in my new house in the South of  Berkeley, 45 minutes walkin´ from the school, which is great.

Just one photo today, because this wi-fi here in Milano goes really slowly. My room is very comfortable and huge; what you see in the photo is just one part of it. In the other part of the room, i have a table to study and a private restroom. So i´m very happy with my homestay. But this is not the best, the most importan thing for me is the people that are living there, the owners. Ann is a lovely person, we speak everyday during breakfast and after my classes and her part-time job too. So i´m really happy with her. I can improve my speakin´ -i have to do it- in that way. Her husband, as i told you the other day, is right now fishing in Canada and he will be back in Berkeley next saturday.
She speaks very very slowly, very different from one´s of my teacher at school, who is very funny (good sense of humor, his name is Steve). But here, you have to deal with all the new situations, as you may suppose. And that is good.

Well, tomorrow is my first exam so i think i´m gonna go to study a little bit.

PD. We´ve been eatin in a Turkish restaurant and Vacklava -or something like that- is a special dessert from Turkey. Fantastic. Tomorrow too is a special day cos we are goin´ to Ackland to have fun there.
I´ll tell you. Hugs, kissss and love for everybody. Keep in touch and enjoy your holidays too.

Back to work, back to reality

I can tell you something: i´ve been studying very hard during the last three days. Perhaps you think I´ve been on the streets of San Francisco having fun for the last days….. GREAT ERROR. That was three days ago; and it was awesome, I can tell you. People from Bilbao probably can understand what i´m goin´ to say (write) know: last weekend, Market Street-one of the main streets in SF- was like the Arenal in Aste Nagusia (for foreigners, Aste Nagusia is the great festivity in Bilbao, that is to say worldwide and i´m not kidding about the last part of the statement, ja ja ja ja ja).


And The Castro was incredible too. I´m going to post some photos. By the way, I didn´t get any permission from anybody, so……….. But if you go naked like that in the streets is because you are proud of it. Proud of your freedom to do in that way, probably proud of your body (which is really good) and saying to the world: “Hi everybody, I´m Lesbian, Gay, Transexual o Bisexual and it´s fabulous!”.

But that was three days ago. Now, i´m writing this at home, in Berkeley. Ann is watching the tv close to me and she is weavering. She is the grandmother of the family. Dean, her husband, is right now in Canada, fishing. He is very found of fishing and he will be back next Saturday. Because you may know that on Sunday, people from the States celebrate the 4th of July. But that will be another story. Keep in touch and be good my friends.

Come out, wherever you are!!!!!

"Everyday do one thing that scares you........." This stament is printed in a wall near the City Hall of SF. Can you dig it?

GAY PRIDE WEEKEND (Tomorrow (Sunday) the Parade on Market Street). But today, ohhhhh... no time to lose, not a second to waste. Just a few minutes to have a bath in the hotel in Chinatow and again back to the streets.

Today Frisco has all colours from the rainbow. Yeah!!!!! You´ve got it. It´s Pride day and time for all lesbians, gays, trans... (LGBT) all over the world. This year SF commemorates the 40 years of this event. And how can I tell you, the streets are full of freedom. This is the first time I have seen this festivity in California (USA) and i´m not exaggerating: is AWESOME, INCREDIBLE, even CUTE.
I give you an example. What photo do you prefer this one?:

Or THIS ONE:

I know the answer, yes; I know it. Can you imagine? Of course you can. This is freedom, all over the city and in particular all around the City Hall. As Harvey Milk (first gay supervisor in SF) said long time ago "If i do a good job, people won´t care if i am green or have three head".

"Hope will never be silent". And Sara Paling (Alaska girl) is goin´ crazy as we know it. Oh my God!


A GORGEOUS DAY IN SF. STREETS.

And today too, USA (i´m talkin´about soccer now) faided off with Ghana. Soccer is only one half of the coin. So insert another, please. And don´t forget the tips.

PD. Thanks Jon for your supporting (and for your english, man), and the rest too: Jesus, Karmele, what a lovely plan a week in London (England) with your teenager, mr Josu. Keep on that way, honey! Thanks all of you. Amalia..... Good morning from America!

I´ll go to the streets again.

Here i am, Frisco

The fog is everywhere right now in Frisco. It´s 21.55 pm (local time), there in Bilbao nine hours less. Well this advventure has just begun. And i´ve been in so many places in almost 24 hours that is incredible. By the way, i´m writing from my hotel in Chinatown and in my laptop is singing Miss li,, which is not a girl from Asia or something like that is a recommendation from a good friend of mine, mss June Fernández, a follower of this blog. Thanks a lot, June. This girl -Linda Carlsson had been a singer her whole life, exploring everything from rock to blues, jazz, Broadway, even opera and metal, and performing in a variety of shows and bands, but it wasn't until 2006 that the then-24-year-old Swede launched her career in earnest, transforming herself into Miss Li and embarking on a string of releases that was notably prolific and not a little precocious (thanks Sopotify- sounds great and awesome. Yes, she is swedish, not chinese. I´ll recommend to all of you her album "Dancing the whole way home", with all her hits, yeah!!!!

And Frisco is great too. Just 24 hours and i´ve been in so many places as all of you can imagine. Yes, takin´ photos to the Cablecars, hanging around in Castro, High Ashbury, Chinatown. And tasting a glass of wine in Francis F.Coppola´s restaurant and later a concert in a small pub near chinatown with live music: a bit of blues with a singer (not too young) that sounds a bit as if Janis Joplin hadn´t passed away.

And this year San Francisco celebrates 40 years of hope, remembering Harvey Milk (i´ve told you about this man in this blog). It´s gonna be this weekend (26th and 27th), because next 28th is Gay´s movement Day worldwide. Enjoy it, even if you are heterosexual or metrosexual. It doesnt matter, i´m talkin´about rights, wich is very important nowedays. Don´t you think so? This is Harvey Milk:

Zurbarango People (This is not Castro-Frisco)

It´s been a nice weekend with all my friends. Ortzirale´s Friends (in capital letters, yeah). Da you think Elvis is Dead? Wrong, you´re totally wrong. Do you think Village People are disbanded? Wrong, totally wrong again. Oh my God, this people from Zurbaran, they are the best. I´m gonna miss all of you, guys (I say guys... but it could be gays too jajajajajaj: policemen, indians, workers, cowboys, the almirant too..... and Fidel (What a lovely tiny horse!)
This is how a feel when i see this photograph. I´m in heaven. Singing "Cheek to cheek"... heaven, i´m in heaven as Fred Astaire. Do you know one thing....... we are thinking of our next gig. Do you want to see it? Come to Bilbao-Zurbaran (Basque Country) in 2011.

And here is our tribe. Remember: Ortzirale People. don´t miss it. It´s worth seeing. Believe me.

PD. Yes Karmele, you´ve got it! Keep on writing, baby