A couple of guys apparently purchased an entire animated animal setup from Showiz Pizza and then reprogrammed it to an Usher song.
The result...
EPIC!!
-Cliff
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Anger
What fuels anger?
Why is it that all too often our first reaction is to have a sharp word at someone?
Why do we rage...on the road...in the air...at insignificant crap?
We are selfish, more specifically I am selfish. It is easy to get caught in the trap that you are the star of the show, and that everyone else is supporting cast. It is this belief that our stuff is most significant, that drives anger when others do not think so. When people step out of the boundaries we create for them, then we get mad. In the end it is about control, and honestly our sense of what we control is wrong.
The truth is that everyone is the star in their own production, and therefore none of us are stars. We need each other, we need community, and we have to forgive instead of snipe. We have to accept, instead of nitpick.
You are forgiven, and I am forgiven. Why then do we find it hard to forgive?
You are accepted and I am accepted. Then we need to accept.
The battles we fight are battles of the spirit and of the will. We cannot fight these battles on our own. When we do, we fail, and our adversary advances his position in our lives. God's power over us is more than enough to fight. When we toss it aside it is useless to us, and we get ravaged, and bloodied.
With that power we are capable of extraordinary patience and forgiveness. Without it, we can be jerks.
If you want to hear the kind of forgiveness humans can be capable of, with a nice history lesson thrown in go here: Forgivness
If anything I have said here makes sense or connects, that is great. Honestly though, It is 12:10 at night, I am not sleepy (even though I'm tired), and this is all talking to the mirror.
Back to the silliness later on in the week. :)
-Cliff
Why is it that all too often our first reaction is to have a sharp word at someone?
Why do we rage...on the road...in the air...at insignificant crap?
We are selfish, more specifically I am selfish. It is easy to get caught in the trap that you are the star of the show, and that everyone else is supporting cast. It is this belief that our stuff is most significant, that drives anger when others do not think so. When people step out of the boundaries we create for them, then we get mad. In the end it is about control, and honestly our sense of what we control is wrong.
The truth is that everyone is the star in their own production, and therefore none of us are stars. We need each other, we need community, and we have to forgive instead of snipe. We have to accept, instead of nitpick.
You are forgiven, and I am forgiven. Why then do we find it hard to forgive?
You are accepted and I am accepted. Then we need to accept.
The battles we fight are battles of the spirit and of the will. We cannot fight these battles on our own. When we do, we fail, and our adversary advances his position in our lives. God's power over us is more than enough to fight. When we toss it aside it is useless to us, and we get ravaged, and bloodied.
With that power we are capable of extraordinary patience and forgiveness. Without it, we can be jerks.
If you want to hear the kind of forgiveness humans can be capable of, with a nice history lesson thrown in go here: Forgivness
If anything I have said here makes sense or connects, that is great. Honestly though, It is 12:10 at night, I am not sleepy (even though I'm tired), and this is all talking to the mirror.
Back to the silliness later on in the week. :)
-Cliff
New Guns N' Roses
There were three new Guns N' Roses Songs leaked to the 'net last week. This is my favorite of the three. Have a listen:
-Cliff
-Cliff
Monday, June 16, 2008
Father's Day @ Six Flags
It may seem counterintuitive to some, but I wanted to spend Father's Day at a place for kids. That is why, after church we went to Six Flags.
Six Flags is great, but once they get you past the gate, let the serious price gouging begin. I won't go into it (because we did have a lot of fun) but ask me about it the next time you talk to me.
There were many fun things that we did, but the highlight was Hannah riding the Mindbender with me. The Mindbender is a roller coaster with two loops and a twist. Hannah rode the whole way with her hands in the air. The best part is that it was her first looping roller coaster. The special part is that the Mindbender was also MY first looping roller coaster. The first time I rode it was with my dad. We also took Emily on her first roller coaster (size appropriate of course) and she loved it as well.
All in all, we walked a lot, got VERY wet (especially Mary) on a couple of rides, had relatively short lines,rode on Thomas the tank engine and I got to relive memories from my childhood and teen years with my kids.
And really what more could you want on Father's Day.
A-bde-bde-bde That's All Folks!!!
-Cliff
Six Flags is great, but once they get you past the gate, let the serious price gouging begin. I won't go into it (because we did have a lot of fun) but ask me about it the next time you talk to me.
There were many fun things that we did, but the highlight was Hannah riding the Mindbender with me. The Mindbender is a roller coaster with two loops and a twist. Hannah rode the whole way with her hands in the air. The best part is that it was her first looping roller coaster. The special part is that the Mindbender was also MY first looping roller coaster. The first time I rode it was with my dad. We also took Emily on her first roller coaster (size appropriate of course) and she loved it as well.
All in all, we walked a lot, got VERY wet (especially Mary) on a couple of rides, had relatively short lines,rode on Thomas the tank engine and I got to relive memories from my childhood and teen years with my kids.
And really what more could you want on Father's Day.
A-bde-bde-bde That's All Folks!!!
-Cliff
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
No Comments Required...
This is EPIC and spot on...
It says everything I think about this situation.
Just....just...wow
-Cliff
It says everything I think about this situation.
Just....just...wow
-Cliff
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Clairvoyant...or Claire Huxtable
This is from in Living Color...
I referenced this in a wedding toast at Bailey's Wedding. See previous blog entries for more on Bailey. Also, Bailey and I will be switching blogs for a day coming up soon.
Keep watching.
-Cliff
I referenced this in a wedding toast at Bailey's Wedding. See previous blog entries for more on Bailey. Also, Bailey and I will be switching blogs for a day coming up soon.
Keep watching.
-Cliff
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Reunited with an old friend
I love swimming....
I always have, and I probably always will.
Back when I was 5 I took swimming lessons for the first time. From then until I was 15 I spent anywhere from 5 - 7 days a week at the Williston Country Club in Williston, SC at the pool.
Back in the day it was amazing. There was a slide, a diving board. The deep end was 9 feet deep, and there were always 25 or so people there. Unless it was raining or thundering, I was one of them.
My mom (a teacher at the time) and I would go every day. She would sit out and talk with her friends, and I would swim until I was very tired and very sunburnt. At 15, the time had come that they just gave me a job. I was a Lifeguard for the next 3 summers.
As the years wore on, insurance worries killed the diving board, I think the sliding board may be gone as well, and after that...things were just not the same. I still went though.
After my freshman year @ Clemson, I lived on Cape Cod for a summer. I worked at Camp Good News, and was recertified as a Lifeguard and certified as a swimming instructor. After that time (1993), I swam only very intermittently. I got moved a lot, I got married, I had kids. Life goes on...
Now we live in Atlanta, and when we moved here I was happy to learn that our neighborhood has a pool. What I was not prepared for, was for my love of the water to become a significant part of my life again. We went on the second day the neighborhood pool opened up for the season, and have not looked back. Hannah and Emily beg to go to the pool everyday, and many days they get what they want. Hannah took swimming lessons last year, but this year she takes two weeks worth. She also (unlike last year) has a place to practice. (not that she is not doing well already). So now Hannah at 5 (almost 6) is taking swimming lessons and wants to go to the pool everyday. You can bet I am going with her.
Our stories are in many ways generational. In good ways and bad ways, we relive the patterns of our parents, and pass on our patterns to our kids. The trick is to break the negative cycles, and replace them with new positive ones. Look at your parents, and your kids. Realize the good things you want to pass on and root out the things that you want to end.
Have a good week...
-Cliff
I always have, and I probably always will.
Back when I was 5 I took swimming lessons for the first time. From then until I was 15 I spent anywhere from 5 - 7 days a week at the Williston Country Club in Williston, SC at the pool.
Back in the day it was amazing. There was a slide, a diving board. The deep end was 9 feet deep, and there were always 25 or so people there. Unless it was raining or thundering, I was one of them.
My mom (a teacher at the time) and I would go every day. She would sit out and talk with her friends, and I would swim until I was very tired and very sunburnt. At 15, the time had come that they just gave me a job. I was a Lifeguard for the next 3 summers.
As the years wore on, insurance worries killed the diving board, I think the sliding board may be gone as well, and after that...things were just not the same. I still went though.
After my freshman year @ Clemson, I lived on Cape Cod for a summer. I worked at Camp Good News, and was recertified as a Lifeguard and certified as a swimming instructor. After that time (1993), I swam only very intermittently. I got moved a lot, I got married, I had kids. Life goes on...
Now we live in Atlanta, and when we moved here I was happy to learn that our neighborhood has a pool. What I was not prepared for, was for my love of the water to become a significant part of my life again. We went on the second day the neighborhood pool opened up for the season, and have not looked back. Hannah and Emily beg to go to the pool everyday, and many days they get what they want. Hannah took swimming lessons last year, but this year she takes two weeks worth. She also (unlike last year) has a place to practice. (not that she is not doing well already). So now Hannah at 5 (almost 6) is taking swimming lessons and wants to go to the pool everyday. You can bet I am going with her.
Our stories are in many ways generational. In good ways and bad ways, we relive the patterns of our parents, and pass on our patterns to our kids. The trick is to break the negative cycles, and replace them with new positive ones. Look at your parents, and your kids. Realize the good things you want to pass on and root out the things that you want to end.
Have a good week...
-Cliff
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Favorite Viral Videos
The Internet is great because it creates things that take on a life of their own. Over the past several years this has most often taken the form of videos that become popular and are then referenced in the culture. I thought I would share some of my favorite videos with everyone this evening. Understand, there is no theme, there is consistency, and there is no overarching story to what you are about to see. Turn off logic, and enjoy:
First up...The Star Wars Kid:
The premise is simple:
Of course then it takes on a life of its own, and the special effects artists step in:
I can't get enough of this...
Next Up... Chocolate Rain:
This guy named Tay Zonday recorded this song named Chocolate Rain...
This is for real...
That gave me a fever...and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL...
and while we are talking about SNL..Lazy Sunday
and last but not least...IT"S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!!!
Never heard of this???...the folks at Family Guy have:
Oh well...have fun....
-Cliff
First up...The Star Wars Kid:
The premise is simple:
- Kid has the school's video camera
- Kid likes Star Wars
- Kid forgets to erase the tape
Of course then it takes on a life of its own, and the special effects artists step in:
I can't get enough of this...
Next Up... Chocolate Rain:
This guy named Tay Zonday recorded this song named Chocolate Rain...
This is for real...
That gave me a fever...and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL...
and while we are talking about SNL..Lazy Sunday
and last but not least...IT"S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!!!
Never heard of this???...the folks at Family Guy have:
Oh well...have fun....
-Cliff
Monday, June 2, 2008
Emily's Birthday Part 2
This past Saturday, the Emily birthday extravaganza continued...
My parents came in to town and brought my grandmother with them. Four generations of Mansfields had a good time eating and celebrating Emily turning 3.
Here are a few pics...
Firing up the grill:
Emily pumped about her cake:
Opening her presents:
Too many presents:
Daddy and Flick had too much excitement as well:
I hope everyone is having a good week.
-Cliff
My parents came in to town and brought my grandmother with them. Four generations of Mansfields had a good time eating and celebrating Emily turning 3.
Here are a few pics...
Firing up the grill:
Emily pumped about her cake:
Opening her presents:
Too many presents:
Daddy and Flick had too much excitement as well:
I hope everyone is having a good week.
-Cliff
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