“Tatou – Honor Role.”
Rugby News, Hollywood Calif – Ko nga mea katoa e kitea e tou ringa kia mahia, kia puta tou uaua ki te mahi; kahore hoki he mahi, kahore he tikanga, kahore he matauranga, kahore he whakaaro nui i te reinga, i te wahi ka haere atu na koe ki reira. Whatever you set your hands to do, do it with all your might –King Solomon.
We see fideliter. It anchors us consistently. We hold to our school ideal, of serving faithfully–WBHS Fideliter Moniker, School Song.
We are waiting on prophecy–Moana Maniapoto, song: Prophecy
Surrender to the sky. Over snow-mountain shine, upon the upland road, ride easy–James K. Baxter — poet-seer.
With rugby football and haka in hand, we carve our narrative across green of paddock. Our spirit’s dream expressed as talented physicality driving us forward as relentless sporting passion, forming “our rough-hewn story”.–filmmaker Rudall Hayward, The Te Kooti Trail
Kimihia te kahurangi;. ki te piko tōu matenga, ki te maunga teitei. If you bow your head. Let it be only. To a great mountain–Maori proverb of the ancients, a favorite of Ta Witi Ihimaera, author of Pounamu, Pounamu, a literary collection taught at WBHS when I was in high school.
“We have a good story to tell”–Prime Minister John Key
In Hollywood tonight, the City of Angels, (namely me, oh- and Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon rugby fans of Invictus the rugby leadership movie, maybe just a little bit too, & Ye Old King’s Head Tavern rugby supporters in Santa Monica too!) we celebrate the sporting selection of Sonny Bill Williams joining Samuel and George Whitelock in the announced new team of the New Zealand All Blacks for 2010/11.
New Zealand is the host nation in 2011, of the fiercely contested, gladiatorial sporting world’s, elite Rugby World Cup.
Get to it if you can. Awesomery sporting action. Gladiatorial sporting action. The supporters of the sport are one of the most fun aspects of the game of rugby football. Another reason to get there, just be a part of them all. Bloody good people.
As culturally correct, in sending these lads on their haerenga (journey) towards greatness, we celebrate this with the haka of Te Rauparaha, a Chief who overcame death from enemies in hot pursuit of his life. Te Rauparaha took refuge in a kumara (sweet potato) pit, beneath a Chiefly and noble woman who sat above him wearing chiefly woven cloaks that covered her and him. When he arose from the pit unscathed - he celebrated with these words of the haka (Maori warrior’s war dance), an artform of masculine ferocity and cool, an expression of strength of a man’s inner spirit, distinct and indigenous to Aotearoa/ New Zealand. Centuries later, this same haka, is the offiical haka of New Zealand rugby lads.
Two hakas go up to be beamed out today from L.A. The first a haka from All Blacks rugby football sporting history performed before a match against South Africa, the current holders of The William Webb Ellis Cup.
The second haka, is the haka of Ngapuhi school boys in one high school - from the entire school of Whangarei Boys High School, brown and white lads (and fellow awesome redheaded like fire et al Kiwis too) performing in unison in the Maori language, in a city that is in the tribal region of NgapuhiTonuNui, one of my two Maori tribes by blood.
In doing so, WBHS send a challenge throughout all high schools in their nation, to match them and do the same with their ferocity – in unity as a collective school expressing Maori culture, language and heritage arts together with pride as a norm and forefront expression of their identity.
Back in my day, the school haka we wrote and performed under Wiki Harding‘s tutelege when I was the High School Maori Cultural captain, when performed – went on to win that year at the Te Taitokerau High Schools Maori Cultural (Kapa Haka) Festival - A haka that won the cup. Which is why, I’m posting this school’s haka in Hollywood today. It is like prophesy that “the best is yet to come.” This haka featured is a new and updated version. Ka pai. It is good to see culture strong and evolving.
Ngapuhi is the largest Maori tribe by population, in the world. A good effort of leadership from WBHS! Interwoven community strength of participators actively creating and performing culture (like Hollywood movie stars do in film), being the star. Of course WBHS, you’re doing this today. 120+ years of being together as a school, looks good. Mauri Ora from Hollywood. :)
What a fine effort. A reminder that in sport and culture we are all united and are black too in New Zealand. And because we are, I acknowledge, see, affirm, give expression to and visibility to: your ihi, wehi, mana as young men of importance and value as leaders of the modern world in your own right, already. Btw: I am adding all of you lads to Hollywood’s Maori (& Kool Kiwis) Honor Role today. We are on a roll. :)
This image of Horiwood aka Sam Cruickshank (yawn! me – sorry), graduate of Whangarei Boys High School, CR Theology College (woooot!), Te Whare Waanaga a Aotearoa and Auckland University, with Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black to encourage both sporting achievement, entertainment excellence and academic achievement of all young people in New Zealand, on the rugby field and in lecture theater rooms and science labs too and on cultural/ theater stages, on sets and in cinemas. If you endure, dream, find strength within, always look up not down, and believe and give expression to your belief, your voice can be heard in the world too. Even against great odds, as you and Sonny Bill Williams and Samuel W, show as a rugby and haka nation of men who love to perform and entertain.
Good stuff fellahs! Louder - I still can’t quite hear you. :) And – go Rugby World cup players, supporters, followers and entourage of rugby mad babes too, like the smart and sporty Yale Women’s Rugby Team here in the US - for 2011. Kia Kaha Koutou- May great strength be yours.
[Top image - Samuel Whitelock scores a try breaking the tackle from Richard Buckman via Zimbio. All Blacks Rugby Football Team coach Graham Henry rolls out with his latest football appointment, Sonny B Williams, today. Image via Zimbio. Dustin Lance Black and Horiwood appear for Robert Ellis, an author for World Peace in the Middle East. Box office star and Oscar winning Maori-Kiwi-Aussie, Russell Crowe's Hollywood star, Hollywood Walk of Fame, California - The Te-Ika-A-Maui version.]
This post also dedicated to Ngapuhi rugby sporting greats, Zinzan Brooke and brother Robin Brooke of Warkworth; to my family’s childhood friend, world rugby great, Michael Jones and family and extended family of friends and allied Oak Ridge whanau a Whale Pasifika, along with youngsters and entertainers and sporting greats in the making Freedom Kahanui, Oscar Brooke, Louis Henry III, Taylor Thomas Thorp and Bailey Reign.
Universal of California are broadcasting The Rugby World Cup within America, 2011. Go Universal Sports and Warner Bros Studios for promoting rugby football as sporting entertainment in the USA.
When visiting California, Universal CityWalk Theme Park is a great place to visit when in Hollywood.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 10.18.10~
RECOVERY IS THE ART OF AMERICAN REDEMPTION
~The way of the wise is to make whoopi Peace~
~Today’s hero is anyone who is actively recovering from a lite affliction or oppression and who has the audacity/ courage to be transparent and honest about it. Hot.~
[Image courtesy of Soccer Live]
For Eminem and Nelson Mandela from ‘Mother Theresa’s bedside 2010: Recovery is to make peace with your demons, by calling them what they are without fear of judgement–in order to rebuild lives and better systems that serve more noble purposes for all people into the world–Horiwood, June 2010.
A fairy tale of Peace from World Politics and Hip Hop Music’s King: Once upon a time, one man was locked in a jail because he possessed courage of spirit and his conscience led him to fight death systems that had been created in his own country. Namely, apartheid.
Although this man was deemed an insubordinate criminal with criminal intentions by the finest judges in the land, (he perhaps just couldn’t pretend to be sub enough), he had diamonds on the soles of his shoes as a noble freedom fighter against oppression of his people’s better futures.
When the bullying sickness of greed in his country, had passed–blindness fell off the eyes of his countrymen.
They realized that their nation’s recovery and healing from this glaringly obvious sickness, was to release this man from jail–because in his soul that had endured suffering within an unfair justice system, were all the keys to free his country from a psychological hell guised as an artificial oasis–they had once created to gain an advantage for select few people–while marginalizing a majority.
This man is a man of Peace. His life story mirrors that of Joseph whose life was once cast in ancient Egypt. His name is Nelson Mandela. His life is a witness, that recovery rhetoric–is always a Peace rhetoric and that making Peace is the art of recovery for the world.
Music by Africa Black Mambatu and the dazzling poetic words of Paul Simon today. Commentary on the art of recovery follows:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by horiwood on June 26, 2010 in Africa, World News, Leadership, World Peace, Hip Hop Community, Wisdom, Politics, Wisdoms Buffet, South Africa, Poetry, Equality, Nelsen Mandela, Dance, Human Rights, America, Economy, Eminem, Life, Mother Theresa, Soccer, Like A Prayer, Israel, Liberty, Aspergers, Nelson Mandela
Tags: Africa, World Peace, Mother Theresa, Hip Hop Community, World News, Eminem, Soccer, Wisdoms Buffet, Liberty, Israel, Politics, Poetry, Dance, America, Nelson Mandela, Life, Leadership, Like A Prayer, Wisdom, Human Rights, Equality, South Africa, Economy, Nelsen Mandela, Aspergers, Light, Live Music Artists, Pop Culture Commentary, Aunt Elvira, Bullying, Merata Mita, Generation Joseph, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Apartheid, Joseph