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Check out this tribute to Adam, from Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet, describing the one time he met Adam Yauch. It was in 2002, during a heated debate in a Tibet-China conference at Harvard. The Chinese academics had been claiming that Communist China’s intentions to “liberate the Tibetans” were borne from kindness…

They were describing Tibet in a language that betrayed their Han chauvinism, and every Tibetan in the room was visibly distraught. But most of us were tongue-tied, understandably intimidated by the heavy use of political terminology by professors and researchers who hid the ultimate weakness of their arguments behind the cloak of academic jargon. One of the Chinese academics had a deep, commanding voice that made up for his thick accent. He seemed to be aware of the impact his voice was having on his audience, as he continued to lecture the Tibetans about how much Chinese leaders truly respected the wishes of the Tibetan people…

At that point, Adam stood up and said, in a soft but firm voice, “If the Chinese authorities respected the Tibetan people’s wishes so much, then why wouldn’t they just pack up and leave Tibet? Because that’s clearly what the Tibetans want.”

Silence fell upon all. The academic had no answer, because the question was direct, simple and honest. It pierced right through all the pretension, and illuminated everything in an instant. This, in essence, represents the monumental impact Adam had on the Tibetan freedom struggle. His compassion, action and creativity illuminated to the whole world the truth of China’s oppression of Tibetans."

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In 1995, Yauch published this little vignette in Grand Royal Magazine, in which he describes an encounter with songwriter Paul Williams…

In the illustrations, done by Evan Bernard, you may notice that Williams appears as an orangutan. That’s ‘cause Williams portrayed, Virgil, the genius orangutan in the 1973 film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes…

The Dalai Lama admits that he has yet to achieve a fully awakened mind, but he still works toward that goal. Like everyone else, he, too, experiences counterproductive emotions such as anger, jealousy, and competitiveness. With familiarity comes stability, and “the qualities of the mind can be developed limitlessly. The mind is like a fire, which, if you continually feed it, will grow further. There is nothing that does not get easier with familiarity.” Due to repeated familiarity, The Dalai Lama feels that he is moving closer to the awakening mind. –Excerpted from In My Own Words by His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2008)

The Awakening Mind

In this song, Adam recognizes having found himself on a similar path…

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Adam Yauch was in fact born and bred in the NYC borough of Brooklyn.

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If you’re feeling down, cue up the Beastie Boys, and they’ll help you work through your shit so you can start to feel better…

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Those who doubted Yauch or dismissed his sincerity are now suffering – drowning, metaphorically (since he would never wish actual harm on another)…

After college and five years of working for Lollapalooza (publicist/magazine publisher, etc.), Felicia Villarreal spent 3 years as the executive/personal assistant to none other than Michael Diamond. She helped him run Grand Royal Records, G-Son Studios, and Beastie Boys–merchandise, tour promotional materials, packaging designs, y más…

In 2000, she joined SAM (Silva Artist Management), “handling all day-to-day management for Beastie Boys, and assisting John Cutcliffe with tour support for SAM clients (Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Sonic Youth, AFI, The Mars Volta, Ryan Adams, etc.) and was responsible for all aspects of merchandising…” Ms. Villarreal was involved with several of the Beastie Boys' Tibetan Freedom Concerts and helped orchestrate the 2001 New Yorkers Against Violence Concert. In April 2003, Beastie Boys headlined the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Japan; just 6 days later, they flew to Vegas to rock the Jam Master Jay Benefit. {Under Felicia’s leadership, all 1800 tickets sold out in 24.8 seconds & the proceeds went to JMJ’s family.}

For a decade, she was instrumental to Beastie Boys' intergalactic domination; in 2005, Felicia took a well-deserved leave of absence to start her family. Throughout her tour of duty, when leaving voicemail, she was known for her cheerful default message: “Hey, ______. It’s Felicia.” She lives and works in LA with her husband, Paul Villarreal, and their two boys, Jayden & Jake…

Look how deferential the caller is being, earnestly voicing her dismay at hearing this nationally syndicated, and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist bring shame to an otherwise worthy profession…

And still, Jade gives Dr. Laura the opportunity to backtrack. Up until now, Dr. Laura has surely erred, but she could politely apologize for offending anyone, and ABORT! Instead, she condescends the caller, as only Dr. Laura can – warming up to let her ignorant hate-speech fly completely off the rails…

How is that humorous, Dr. Laura? You’re citing the title of an iconic film – one that had been ingrained in pop culture for nearly 20 years. There’s nothing remotely fresh about it. And you’re taking the innocence of an opportunity for human beings to have some fun, and injecting a racially-charged comment – one that isn’t even true…

From time to time, everyone says dumb shit they wish they could take back. Who among us is perfect? But the worst part is how you retold this basketball story, including your ill-advised comment. And you were proud of it, even declaring it “funny” on a national broadcast. That suggests more than just cluelessness, but rather, a sense of entitlement to say whatever the fuck you want, regardless of who it offends. As a “mental health professional,” with a long history of inflammatory comments, when are you going to learn to keep your nasty mouth shut?