Shark Week - a little late, but still great!

A couple weeks ago some friends and I made this video in honor of Discovery Channel's Shark Week!

Fiesta Bowl 2010 Live Coverage

Colin and Dennis Mansfield: bringing you Fiesta Bowl LIVE updates and color commentary via Ustream!

Check my facebook and twitter to see when we're live. You'll know we're broadcasting when a large play button appears in the window below.
Feel free to use the chat window below to talk to me, ask questions, etc. when we're live! Also, feel free to watch past recordings by clicking on them in the window below.

Thanks, and GO BSU!



Live TV : Ustream


*Note* Apparently you need a Ustream Account in order to interact via the chat box above. Feel free to create one here. Or, if you prefer, interact via twitter.

Separation of Church and State? Try this on for size.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.


And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.


While we're on the subject of politics, check out this video my dad and I threw together on screenr.

Low Rider, Donny...Donny, Low Rider

When I think of getting pumped for an event, I think of this.

........Ok, let's ride.


Reblogged from DennisMansfield.com

A Walk With a Fisherman

Listen to this, leave a comment with what you think.

Changing politics, 5 minutes at a time

Screenr. If you tweet, you should check it out.

Watch this video my dad and I made:

The Mansfields visit Niagra Falls

Everybody, please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. Now, brace yourselves!

My dad, the man who knows everyone

My dad is an amazing man of God. I admire his witty sense of humor, his ability to connect people and projects, and his awesome problem solving ability. Something else about my dad that has always fascinated me is his ability, no matter where we are, to know someone. I've been in the most obscure of places, only to be delayed by my father stopping to talk to that guy he met back in whatchamacallit doing that thing with that dude.

So, yesterday we decided to test this theory: does my dad indeed know people no matter where we are? The test location designated was the Buffalo, NY airport.



Colin

Pelham 123: Hairspray and Remember the Titans? Not so much.

Saw 'The Taking of Pelham 123' tonight. Go check http://Twitter.com/ColinMansfield for my 140 character review (or even http://facebook.com/ColinMansfield). Read on for the whole enchilada.

I believe every movie that is worth seeing has one thing in common. They suspend your disbelief; they make you forget your in a cold dark room watching a 20ft screen. Some of the best ways films do this, I believe, is by appealing to the underdog, by relating to the normal joe. Not everyone can dress up in tights and fight crime, but nearly everyone will, at some point, face a moral or ethical dilemma. Good movies often capitalize on this fact (think Die Hard or any Disney Sports flick.)

Pelham 123 had a simple enough set up (I





think it was a remake, actually.) Bad guy (John Travolta) hijacks a New York subway and demands hostage money. Rather than speaking to police, however, he insists on talking to the subway controler who first answered his radio (Denzel Washington). The movie is well written, well acted, and well executed.

Going back to my earlier thought, Pelham did a fantastic job of giving the Average Bob the spotlight- and man does he shine! Each moment-by-moment decision gives his character room to grow; so much so that by the end of it I felt as though I was making the decisions.







Was this movie perfect? No, not even near it. I could have done without the swearing, that's for sure. That being said, it's hard to spot blemishes when something moves as fast as Pelham 123. Might take a few more viewings ;-)

Overall: go see it! If you can sit through cussing, you'll be more than entertained!

Colin

-- Posted from my iPhone --

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God is -- Part 2

This post is continued from Part 1: God is.

Today at school we had a follow up discussion of what was talked about last time regarding our views of God. We watched the same video to refresh our thought process. I made sure to make a mental note of the video's name this time around. Check it out.





Interesting, huh?

After re-watching the video, my devotions class had a discussion. Rather then specific people sharing their viewpoints and opinions on God (as was the case last time) the floor was kept open for anyone and everyone that wanted to share. Although few shared, both sides of the spectrum seemed to be represented with viewpoints.
The owners of these beliefs will be kept anonymous. The viewpoints are the point here, not the people.


On one hand, the belief was shared that God does what he does because it's best for us. If he needs to punish us, he will. If he needs to be there for us, he will. If he needs to love us, he will.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the belief was put forth that to this particular person, the Trinity plays different roles in his life. This person sees Jesus like a buddy figure, or possibly a father. The Holy Spirit, he said, was more in the motherly role- caring for him, surrounding him with love. God, as he put it, was the encourager and the role-model. "The type of guy I would see in the stands at my baseball game cheering for me."

Granted, the way I just wrote those two different viewpoints was probably slanted. I am more inclined to the latter, and in fact I see the former as almost a jail or prison cell- lacking freedom of any kind. But to this person, the thought that God is an almighty "authority" was truth.
As my teacher put it today, view points on God have changed from generation to generation. My question in response to that, however, would be "but does that mean God has ever changed?"

What do you think?

Colin

The Humans are Dead

After a couple requests, and finally grabbing the time needed, I have decided to actually do a new post! Amazing, right?

Anyways, just to do a brief recap of my last couple weeks:

• Connecticut was AMAZING. Check out WWIIhelmet.blogspot.com for full details
• School's like walking through thick mud.
• This weekend I saw Taken and Slumdog Millionaire. Both are AMAZING films- I would recommend them both.

Ok, enough recap.
I'm in a humorous mood :) Because of that, this post will contain youtube videos I find entertaining. I hope you will too!











Perhaps later I'll do a "deeper" post :)
Colin