Deaths

Many people say they will change the world.  Few actually do it.

The obituaries continue in 2009. Patrick Swayze died yesterday after a long and courageous fight with cancer. He was unique because he had the natural ability to portray characters that had tough exteriors and gentle souls.

Bodhi from the movie Point break is one the more likeable bad guys in cinema history and both he and Keanu Reeves made that film the cult classic that it is. From The Outsiders to Road House. From Uncommon Valor to Ghost, Patrick Swayze more than proved he had the chops and the range as an actor. In Dirty Dancing he proved he was a complete performer.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Rest in peace to a true class act.

I know i’m getting a bit redundant here with tributes but I can’t let the passing of film maker JOHN HUGHES go by without a mention.

It’s an under statement to say that his films are quintessential to so many when it comes to growing up in the eighties. His work related especially to young people whose lives and emotions were often taken for granted. Hughes portrayed youth for all it’s turbulence and awkwardness but at the heart of it all was something inherently sincere, and for all of us who had been overwhelmed with teen angst knew it was right on.

And what about memorable characters? Well, he was a genius at creating those too. What would we do without the likes of Ducky, or The Geek, Clark Griswold, Ferris Bueller or Uncle Buck?

John Hughes filmography on IMDB
Actress MOLLY RINGWALD remembers John Hughes via an Op-Ed piece

I‘ve made it a point not to discuss politics in this blog but today is an exception. In 1986 my brothers and I were part of the popular uprising in Manila which brought about the ouster of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and help install a revolutionary government headed by Corazon Aquino.

Millions of filipinos crowded the streets and formed human barricades where a breakaway faction of the military had holed up in defiance of Marcos, who had just won a systematically rigged election. The people had had enough of twenty six years of dictatorship and did something about it behind Mrs. Aquino who united the opposition and was carrying the fight after her husband, Senator Benigno Aquino was assasinated presumably by Marcos as he returned from exile in the U.S.

We were there as history unfolded before our eyes. In the ultimate act of defiance, she was inaugurated as president in a non-descript conference hall while Marcos could only watch as his grip on power slowly slipped away.

Mrs. Aquino had a tumultous presidency yet her legacy was secure. She had symbolized hope for many and that was enough to get the Philippines out of the dark. She showed courage and strength when the masses felt low and downtrodden. From housewife to President, she showed the world that change can come without violence. She showed even more when she fought hard battling colon cancer.

I join filipinos everywhere in mourning her passing. May she truly rest in peace.

Corazon Aquino and The Philippine Revolution of 1986 on Wikipedia.

It’s sad but more and more of my childhood icons are slowly dying off.  There was Dom and now David Carradine has passed away at the age of 72 in Thailand. Star of the classic TV show Kung Fu and of course Kill Bill, he was predominantly known for roles in campy flicks and B movies but what’s lost in it all is that he was a very good, underrated actor.