In Memory of... Paul Walker (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013)

Paul William Walker IV, was born on September 12, 1973 and passed away on November 30, 2013.  Paul was an American actor. He became famous in 1999 after his role in the hit film Varsity Blues, but later garnered fame as Brian O'Conner in The Fast and the Furious film series. His other films include Eight Below, Into the Blue, She's All That and Takers.

 

 

Paul began acting when he was very young, appearing in many TV commercials. In 1987 he played Prof. Bennet in Monster in the Closet. Paul then starred in the television series, Throb. He also made guest appearances on several television shows including Charles in Charge, Highway to Heaven, Who's the Boss? and Diff'rent Strokes. Paul also had a role in the soap opera The Young and the Restless.

 

Death

On November 30, 2013, at approximately 3:30 p.m. Paul along with Roger Rodas left an event for Walker's charity Reach Out Worldwide for victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Shortly after leaving in Rodas' red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, the driver lost control. The car crashed into a light pole and tree in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, and the vehicle burst into flames.

 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department declared the two dead at the scene. Roger Rodas was believed to be driving the car. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office stated that speed was a factor in the crash. Police initially investigated if drag racing played a role, but were unable to find evidence of a second car's involvement.

 

Roger Rodas and Paul Walker became friends after meeting at a race track. Roger became Paul's financial advisor in 2007 and helped to establish Reach Out Worldwide. Roger was the CEO of Always Evolving, a Valencia high-end vehicle performance shop owned by Paul Walker.

Numerous friends have posted tributes to Paul on social media.

Ludacris "Your humble spirit was felt from the start, wherever you blessed your presence you always left a mark, we were like brothers & our birthdays are only 1 day apart, now You will forever hold a place in all of our hearts @paulwalker legacy will live on forever. R.I.P."

Tyrese: "My heart is hurting so bad no one can make me believe this is real Father God I pray that you send clarity over this cause I just don't understand My heart hurts it's broken no one can convince me that this is real.... Prayer warriors please pray real hard for his only child, his daughter and family... #HeartOfAnAngel13YrsFamilyForeverWeJustCelebreatedYour40thBirthday..... My God... My God... I can't believe I'm writing this"

Michelle Rodriguez: "I'm gonna carry this torch for you brother, with a forced smile on my face and I'm gonna open my heart just cause your telling me to."

Laz Alonso: "My prayers are with @RealPaulWalker family and friends. Down 2 earth & real as they come. #RIP"

Adam Shankman: "#rippaulwalker i was blessed to call you friend and a beautiful light in the world just went out. I love you paul"

Ellen DeGeneres: "Paul Walker's passing is so sad. I'm thinking of his family. Keep the people you love close to you."

Lindsay Lohan: "Life is truly precious. #RIPPaulWalker and Roger Rodas. Bless ur beautiful families. Guys pls donate to their charity @ReachOutWW"

Chloë Grace Moretz: "My thoughts and prayers go out to Paul Walker and especially his wife and little girl #RIPPaulWalker"

Usher: "RIP Paul Walker...our prayers go out to his family and friends #gone2soon"

Elizabeth Banks: "Going to bed with a heavy heart about Paul Walker. May his friends and family find peace and grace. A reminder of life's frangibleness."

 

Trivia

·         Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful Persons in the world in 2001.

·         He didn't like to watch himself on screen and would only watch his own movies once

·         Was considered for the role of Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four (2005).

·         He was set to star in S.W.A.T. (2003) as Jim Street but backed out. Colin Farrell was cast instead.

·         Was good friends with actor/singer Tyrese Gibson.

Mumbai Fashion Week 2013

 Mumbai Fashion Week

with Shantanu Goenka

 

Obama embodies King's dream and his struggle

Obama embodies King's dream and his struggle

By: Suzanne Gamboa AP

Photos courtesy of (REUTERS / Larry Downing)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will lead the civil rights pioneers of today and two of his presidential predecessors Wednesday in a celebrative but solemn commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech of yesteryear, saluting his fight for equal opportunity.

Photos courtesy of (REUTERS / James Lawler Duggan)

Large crowds thronged to the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial where King, with a soaring, rhythmic oratory and a steely countenance, pleaded with Americans to come together to stomp out racism and create a land of opportunity for all.

Slate-gray skies and a light drizzle greeted the earliest arrivals for an observance that seemed likely to take on a more formal, serious tone, than a commemorative rally last Saturday. People eager to get a close-up view of Obama and former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton clustered at a security checkpoint. And National Guard troops were arrayed along fence lines encircling the Mall from the World War II Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial.

Photos courtesy of (REUTERS / James Lawler Duggan)

The scheduled appearance later Wednesday of Obama, the first African-American president, was certain to embody the fulfilled dreams of hundreds of thousands who rallied there in 1963. Obama has not often talked publicly about racial issues in the time he has been president. He did, however, talk at some length about the challenges he faced as a young black male as he discussed the case of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen-ager killed in a confrontation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.


When Obama took office in January 2009, he had broken through barriers that many before him could only approach. But his presidency has been marred by racist backlash and his administration has found itself still taking on battles thought won, such as ensuring equal access to the voting booth.


Obama's speech was set to follow an organized ringing of church bells at mid-afternoon, about the same time of day that King, his jaw squared and his turning, delivered his clarion call for equal rights. Obama was being joined at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by Carter and Clinton. Other luminaries include Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, daughter of President Lyndon Johnson, who signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a longtime leader in the civil rights battles.


At an interfaith service, the Rev. Bernice King opened the celebration. King said that her father is often remembered as a freedom fighter for equal rights and human rights. But she said he was most importantly a man of faith.

Photos courtesy of (REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque)

"He was a pastor, he was a prophet, he was a faith leader," she said. "It was that faith and the spirit of God that infused that movement."

King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, said blacks can rightfully celebrate his father's life and work but much more work lies ahead.

He bemoaned "staggering unemployment" among black males age 18 to 30 and said he fears too many blacks still "are first judged by t heir color and then the content of their character."

Preceding the speeches was a march featuring a replica of a transit bus that civil rights leader Rosa Parks rode when she refused to give up her seat to a white man in 1955.

Obama considers the 1963 march a "seminal event" and part of his generation's "formative memory." A half-century after the march, he said, is a good time to reflect on how far the country has come and how far it still has to go. In an interview Tuesday on Tom Joyner's radio show, Obama said he imagines that King "would be amazed in many ways about the progress that we've made." He listed advances such as equal rights before the law, an accessible judicial system, thousands of African-American elected officials, African-American CEOs and the doors that the civil rights movement opened for Latinos, women and gays.

"I think he would say it was a glorious thing," he said.

But Obama noted that King's speech was also about jobs and justice.

"When it comes to the economy, when it comes to inequality, when it comes to wealth, when it comes to the challenges that inner cities experience, he would say that we have not made as much progress as the civil and social progress that we've made, and that it's not enough just to have a black president, it's not enough just to have a black syndicated radio show host," the president said.

Photos courtesy of (REUTERS / Larry Downing)

King's son was interviewed on NBC's "Today" show.


http://news.yahoo.com/obama-embodies-kings-dream-struggle-070620427.html

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

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Follow Suzanne Gamboa on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APsgamboa