New DreamPower Fundraiser Sept. 14: Pony Up for Dreams!

Pony Up for Dreams is a new friendraiser/fundraiser at DreamPower Horsemanship.  It will be Saturday, Sept. 14 from 4-7 pm at DreamPower (located at WoodMyst Farm, 7460 Crews Road, Gilroy, CA).  You will enjoy: Dinner at the ranch on a beautiful fall evening A tour of the ranch facility The Parade of Horses (from big Chief to tiny Trigger you can meet them all) The "Just Picked String Band" (a GREAT bluegrass band) The Cowboy/Cowgirl Fun Zone (for children) Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Tickets must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be available at the door.Tickets can be purchased here via PayPal.  All veterans of the U.S. armed forces and their immediate family members are invited as DreamPower's guests. Veterans' guest tickets must be reserved in advance by emailing dreampowerhorsemanship@hotmail.com. No guest tickets will be available at the door.

Come and learn about DreamPower's programs, horses and volunteer opportunities. Please share this email with anyone who would enjoy a beautiful fall day at the ranch and learning more about how DreamPower Horsemanship is helping our community.

Netflix SN #4 - "Hawaii 5-0 (1968-1980) Favorites"

Any Hawaii 5-0 fans out there?  No, not the current interpretation, but the 1968-1980 Jack Lord “Book ‘em Danno” version?  If so, I’d like to recommend my five favorite episodes, all of which are available on Netflix Instant view, along with the other 275 episodes during the series 12-year run.

The first two episodes feature the same star playing the same role but in two different seasons. In both episodes, veteran character actor Hume Cronyn (“Cocoon”) plays the likeable thief/disguise artist Lewis Avery Filer, who repeatedly teases and taunts McGarrett and the 5-0 crew with notes and clues that sends them on wild goose chases and into dead ends. This clears the road for Filer to rob local establishments, frequently donning some sort of disguise or costume. Needless to say, in both episodes, the 5-0 team finally catches on, but up to that point it’s fun watching the cat-and-mouse games both play.  McGarrett actually develops a fondness and respect for Filo, even though he is breaking the law.

The first episode featuring Lewis Filer is called “Over 50? Steal” and is the 11^th show in season 3.  The second, in which Filer escapes from prison following his season 3 arrest, is called “Odd Man In” and is the 14^th episode in season 4. Filer doesn’t appear again during the final six seasons of Hawaii 5-0, unfortunately, so I guess McGarrett took him a little more seriously the second time around. Good, light-hearted entertainment, which isn’t the norm for this rendition of Hawaii 5-0. Check out the soundtrack too. Pretty fun.

My second recommendation is actually a three-part trilogy called “V for Vashon”.  The story pits McGarrett  against the Vashon’s, a “mob” family that has been manipulating Oahu for decades while successfully avoiding the police.  The first episode, called “V for Vashon: the Son” features the youngest Vashon, a spoiled brat old who’s bored, resents his father, and is looking for some excitement. So what does every 20-something year old bored rich boy do?  Rob hotels of course!  And not any hotel, but hotels owned by his family!  Unfortunately for him, McGarrett catches him in the act on one of his exploits....with fatal results. Enter the father.

Part two, called “V for Vashon:  the Father” focuses on the boy’s grieving father and the plot he devises to get even with McGarrett.  McGarrett obviously foils the attempt, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some good drama to be had.  When this plot fails, it’s grandpa’s turn. 

Part three is called “V for Vashon:  the Patriarch”. With both his son and grandson put out of action by 5-0,  the ticked off grandfather, and current leader of the Vashon family,  sets out to ruin McGarrett.  His plot is actually quite imaginative, and he nearly gets away with it.  But seeing that Hawaii 5-0 went on another five seasons, he obviously didn’t. 

Anyhow, I thought the trilogy was very entertaining and some of my favorite TV ever from that era.  Worth checking out on some upcoming rainy night.  “V for Vashon” appears in the fifth season on episodes 9 through 11.

Netflix SN #3 - "Margin Call"

"Margin Call" is a gem released in 2011 that unfortunately snuck under most people's radar, although it did receive an Academy Award nomination for "Best Original Screenplay".  Although well written, the cast is what really stood out to me.  Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker and Zachary (Mr. Spock) Quinto lead the top notch cast, all of who give first class performances.

"Margin Call" basically follows the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of a financial crisis.  The movie opens showing many of the bank's employee's being layed off as a result of a downsizing plan. One of these employees is risk management division head Eric Dale (Tucci) who was working on a major analysis when notified of his fate. As he is being escorted out of the building, Dale gives the work he's started to one of his reports, Peter Sullivan (Quinto), who completes the study late into the night. What Sullivan discovers is a situation that could ruin the bank. The remainder of the movie then focuses on the next several hours where senior management (Spacey, Irons, Baker) discuss and plan what to do to avoid the mess and limit the inevitable impact on their company.  The eventual strategy decided upon, was, to say the least, a bit mischievous. That's all I'll say about it!

As I said earlier, the acting was phenomenal. Spacey, Irons and Tucci have been favorites of mine for a long time, so watching them together was a  a real pleasure for me. Particularly watch for the scene where all of the key characters meet in a board room with CEO John Tuld (Irons) a recent arrival via helicopter. The strategy session that ensues is ensemble acting at its best. Particularly between Irons and Spacey.

Ironically, the CEO's name, John Tuld, rhymes with the name of the ex-CEO of the now-defunct investment bank Lehman Brothers, Richard S. Fuld. Lehman Brothers, like the firm in this film, found themselves catastrophically over-leveraged in mortgage-backed-securities in the financial crisis of 2008. Coincidence? We'll never know, as the movie never claims to based on any actual events or people.

I will admit, and should warn you, that the subject matter is a bit dry and gets pretty technical at times. I've seen the movie twice and still don't understand some of what was discussed! "Margin Call" is one of those movies you really have to pay attention to in order to follow what's going on.  But to me, the film takes a fascinating look at what could go on behind the scenes, both good and bad, of a major investment bank, led by a top-notch cast.

Miscellaneous C.S. Lewis Quotes

A few months ago I posted a six-part blog covering various topics from the C.S. Lewis book "Mere Christianity" that I had been reading. (If you haven't read them, they are still available in "Books" under "Blog Type" on the right side of the blog).

Anyhow, I thought I'd share a few more short C.S. Lewis quotes from the book that really stood out to me.  Hopefully they'll have some meaning for you as well: 

“The difference between a Christian and a worldly man is that the worldly man treats certain people kindly because he ‘likes’ them; the Christian, trying to treat everyone kindly, finds himself liking more and more people as he goes on-including people he could not even have imagined liking at the beginning.”

“That is why the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or, if they think there is not, at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”

“Human beings judge one another by their external actions. God judges them by their moral choices."

“Christians are told not to judge. We see only the results which a man’s choices make out of his raw material. But God does not judge him on the raw material at all, but on what he has done with it.”

“’Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Because in Christian morals ‘thy neighbor’ includes ‘thy enemy’, and so we come up against this terrible duty of forgiving our enemies.”

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive. And then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger.”

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did."

“But whenever we do good to another self, we shall have learned to love it a little more or, at least, to dislike it less.”

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good."

“If you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones – bad, muddled, out-of-date.”