Fr. Armand @ 55

It was Fr. Armand's 55th birthday today, and Cecile and I, together with Grace Feliciano, my friend from the Ateneo "unwinders" attended this celebration. Photo shows Grace, Fr. Armand, Cecile and myself. More than a hundred of Fr. Armand's closest family (including his mom) and friends (from SMC, UPCP, Yuppeace, CodeRED Magazine, etc.) were present for an evening of inspiring words and music.

The invitation read:

“A new leaf emerges in time for Fr. Armand’s 55th birthday. Join us for thanksgiving as we celebrate and nurture the tree of life.

6pm, Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Joy Center, Don Bosco Makati
In lieu of gifts, donations are welcome.”

And there was a letter with his words, and I quote, “I dream for you and for me meaningful lives of Pinoy kagandahang-loob. This is compassionate leadership. It is non-violent. It is the leadership style of Jesus Christ. Together, let us invest our faith on our task of nation-building.

I dream of varied and effective educating initiatives to shape the minds and hearts of the young. I need your support for CodeRED, the family leadership magazine on character and competence. I dream of enriching the lives of our youth leaders with seminars, fora, gigs and more creative strategies. Here is your chance to share your talent, time and treasure. Photo shows Fr. Armand, Carol San Pedro (editor of CodeRED Magazine) and my wife, Cecile Gabutina-Velez. Both Carol and Cecile used to work for J. Walter Thompson.

I dream of a CodeRED Society where individual lives of kagandahang loob, out faith-politics of compassion, our servant leadership magazine as our mouthpiece, with our various servant leadership activities converge with each other to nurture the tree of leadership for our people. Come and journey with me and many others as we gather together the little we could share, and build a future for our children here in our country.

Let us dream for our country. And you know what, it starts in your heart."

Hector and Rene

Will write about my dad, Hector Velez and my ninong, Rene Velez.

Daet Presence

Coming soon.

Pacino and De Niro

Coming soon the combined presence of Al Pacino and Robert de Niro in the movie "The Righteous Kill." Photo from Overture Films by Ken Regan.

Jackie Chan and Jet Li together

This Saturday afternoon, after coffee and chocolate cake at Figaro Coffee at Greenbelt 3, we caught the The Forbidden Kingdom at Cinema 2.

This is the latest martial arts-adventure film directed by Rob Minkoff and is the first time, Jackie Chan (as Lu Yan / Lu Dongbin) and Jet Li (as The Silent Monk / Sun Wukong), appear together as foe and friends in the screen. Yup, both actors had dual roles.

Must admit that the movie brings back memories of other martial arts films like Drunken Master, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and even the Karate Kid, where Ralph Macchio learns kung-fu from Pat Morita. Now, Jackie Chan and Jet Li teach the young American various moves and steps.

The action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping and the fight scene between Chan and Li is more than enough to keep the audience glued to their seats. I think each had equal hits and blocks, falls and slides, jumps and leaps, and to think that Chan’s character was drunk. Remember Drunken Master? And did you know that Woo-ping also did the scenes from "The Matrix."

According to news reports, when Chan and Li did film action scenes together for the first time, they both expressed how easy it was to work with one another. Jackie Chan says, “ I have not worked with someone whom I’m comfortable with, in terms of movements, rhythm and natural reactions, in the last 10 years. I have done many fight scenes with others but there were usually more than 10 takes, which is a waste of time as the person may forget his moves and unnecessary injuries. When I fought with Li, our actions were quick. We also didn’t have to do the same stunt over 20 times.”

After the movie, I quickly texted Bob Novales to bring his boys to catch the movie. And I might watch it again it Miguel.

Yes, it is worth your pesos! Catch the movie soon and enjoy the presence of two of filmdom’s most respected and admired martial arts actors, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Plus Liu Yi Fei as Golden Sparrow is cute! That would be another blog! All the four heroes are seen in the above picture as they prepare to fight the warlord's army.

Check out the movie website at http://www.forbiddenkingdommovie.com/

Photos of fight scenes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li and movie poster courtesy of Liongate Films.

Varian Fry's Presence

Last Tuesday night, Chief and I just stayed at our Greenhome after a working day. It was our first day back to work after the long weekend.

I stumbled into the Hallmark Network and caught an image of marching German soldiers into Marsielles. This was a scene from “Varian’s War.” We both found these images interesting and we stayed on to finish the movie.

Now, who is Varian Fry? And what was his war?

I quickly “googled” his name and found out from Wikipedia that Varian Fry is America’s Schindler. You probably remember that Steven Spielberg movie about a man who helps Jews escape Germany. Images from www.showtime.com

Varian Mackey Fry was an educated American journalist who helped around 2,000 to 4,000 anti-Nazi and Jewish refugees to escape Germany and the Holocaust.

In that scene in the movie, we saw Varian Fry (played by William Hurt) witnessing how the Nazis where persecuting the Jews. As a foreign correspondent for the American journal, “The Living Age,” he was in Berlin in 1935

Returning to the States, he helped raise money through the Emergency Rescue Committee. In the movie, Fry gives an inspiring speech during a fund-raising party to help persons flee the Nazis.

Fry developed a short list of refugees that including intellectuals, from artists to teachers. By August 1940, he was in Marsielle where hundreds fall in seeking any chance to escape France. The movie show Fry with the intellectuals taking a train and walking through the forest to reach the Spanish border.

He actually helped more than 2,200 people cross the border to neutral Portugal. Others escaped abroad ships leaving Marseille for the French colony of Martinique.

Fry had a lot of help from Miriam Davenport (played by Julia Ormond) She is described as a former art student at the Sorbonne, and a lover of the arts. She easily talks about her sex life in the movie but is rejected by Fry as she offers to sleep with him.


In the movie, Fry is surprised that Hiram Bingham IV, the American Vice Consul in Marseille was actually supportive of his cause. He was personally responsible for issuing thousands of visas, both legal and illegal. In the movie, he “housed” a few of the intellectuals in Fry’s list.

After the war, Fry published in 1945 Surrender on Demand about book about his time in France and also wrote and spoke extensively about the fate of Jews in Europe. Image of Fry and Davenport from Wikipedia

After the war, his cause and efforts were recognized. He received the Legion of Honor from France in 1967.

In the States, he is known as The American Schindler and in 1995 became the first United States citizen to be listed in the Righteous Among the Nations at Israel's national Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem. Image shows William Hurt as Varian Fry.

The square in front of the Consulate in Marsielle was renamed Place Varian Fry. Even a street in the newly reconstructed East/West Berlin Wall area was named Varian-Fry-Strasse .

“Varian’s War” was written and directed by Lionel Chetwynd co-produced by Barbra Streisand. Varian Fry is definitely another person whose presence created a long-lasting impact on the lives of thousands across the world!

Presence of a King

40 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated by James Earl Ray at balcony of room 306 of the Lorraine Motel, in Memphis. His life and death raised the consciousness of many Americans on the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Photo from Wikipedia.

His “I Have a Dream” speech during the 1963 March to Washington continues to resonate in the minds and hearts of many Americans. He has been quoted by candidates for the Oval Office in Washingston.

I was still a young kid in 1968 and didn’t really know who Dr. King was until my college years in UST.

Today, am watching a special feature on Dr. King at the “Today” Show at NBC. Al Roker is talking to Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and other leading African-American leaders about what the 40th anniversary means.

For me, his life and death is a continuing example of how one’s presence can continue to change lines. His is a rare man whose iconic presence inspires men and women, regardless of race, color or creed, to do good for others!

Hi son, Martin Luther King III mentioned on the “Today” Show that his dad was advocating for economic equality. His quoted figures of how many Americans live below the poverty line and how these needs have to be addressed and resolved by three candidates (Obama, Clinton and McCain).

Now, whether any of the candidates translate King’s dream and vision for economic equality after November 2008, remains to be seen and realized.



!