DennisMansfield.com

Bill and Ted's (Most) Excellent "Inception"

You may have caught my recent post on the hit flick, "Inception".

I must have been in a dream, within a dream when I wrote the previous blog posting because my good friend, Curtis Barrett, brought to my attention the REAL film "Inception"...and it's EXCELLENT....and BODACIOUS.

I should have asked my friend and "bidness" partner, Larry Kelly, since he worked on this film with Keanu Reeves. So sorry, Larry....

So, join me, if you will, in viewing the non-dreamlike Trailer of this film.

Indeed, strange things are a-foot at the Circle K, Ted.

Dennis "Rufus" Mansfield

Am I asleep in the light? Are you?

 In light of today's 28-28-28 message, I want you to hear my heart. Keith Green impacted me more than any other person, during my early years of wrestling with God.

And these are the most impactful lyrics that Keith Green ever wrote...and performed.

The lyrics fit then in 1982.

They fit today.

May I never be asleep in the light. And you?

Den

Asleep In The Light

Do you see, do you see, all the people sinking down,

Don't you care, don't you care, are you gonna let them drown,

How can you be so numb, not to care if they come,

You close your eyes and pretend the job's done.

 

Oh Bless me Lord, bless me Lord, you know it's all I ever hear,

No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear,

But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds, and He cares for your needs,

And you just lay back and keep soaking it in, oh, can't you see it's such sin?

Political Peter Pans

Yesterday I had the honor of being a guest on The Austin Hill Show.

Austin is on vacation and his guest host was IdahoConservativeBlogger.com. (ICB's identity remains anonymous, so that the message he provides on his blog and when he's on the air, is the main thing - not him.) He's not about developing a following, as so many political folks hope for.

The show went well and the hour and a half whisked by....

Then, last night and this morning I began to think about so many of the politicians and talking heads of both parties that ICB and I discussed on the show yesterday: Rep. Charley Rangel, my friend Rep. David Dreier, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, President Obama, Bill O'Reilly, Rep. Barney Franks, etc....

They simply do not leave the stage.

They LIVE for a following. Like the Pan living on the island of the Lost Boys, they jerk about looking tough at one moment and fearfully fleeing away at the next...wanting to be helped or liked.

And the very act of them wanting us to "like" them began to seem even more insane as I pondered the process overnight.

American political leaders/speakers wanting to spend, spend, spend or to berate, berate, berate...all the while FAILING to solve the very practical problems that you and I are facing: the percentage of our income being taxed, the financial irresponsibility by the D's and the R's and the Viet Nam war-like loss of life that has become all too common place for most exhausted citizens.

No REAL limiting of their terms in office. They never go away. It's like  a boat full of animated characters from a film. Scripted, positioned and doing "things"....but it's not real. Always there....

Clever speeches by foolish little boy-men dressed up in what they think are their fathers' suits of clothes. Little women-politios trying to have certain men knock the chip off their female shoulders, so they can be she-males of gargantuan proportion. Social agendas that most people in Omaha, Boise or El Paso couldn't care less about. These odd-people seem to be actors on a stage in front of an audience that can't believe how terrible the plot and their acting REALLY is.

As I said on the air yesterday, the whole thing reeks of goofy theatrics from  a sort-of "Bad High School"...and these people are leading us: conservative AND liberal.

Worse than that, these people are Peter Pans, never wanting to grow up and do what real live adults do.

At times, Rush Limbaugh may indeed be "a big fat idiot", as now-Senator Al Fanken entitled his anti-Rush book, years ago...but look at Franken. His failure to stand up against a miserable Harry Reid is unconscionable - if in fact he came to DC to "stand up".

Who's the big fat idiot now?

Blah, blah, blah.

Look, America is good because its people are generally good. Yet, only 11% of the people of America believe in their Congressional leaders, according to a recent poll.

And...?

The most pro-new born child film I've ever seen.

Take a few minutes out of your day today and revisit the film "Children of Men". Enjoy the music of Angelicus....it is hauntingly beautiful.

Especially take notice of the scene at the end of the video collage (3:21) where the main character played by Clive Owen escorts the new mother out of an ambush.

The British soldiers stop, the terrorists stop. The world stops.

All for the sake of a baby, whose precious life signifies hope.

This dark and foreboding film from 2007 about the value of a child born to a mother is strangely the single most pro-newborn film I've seen.

Den

28-28-28 The Numbers of Keith Green, this week. Webcast this Wednesday night.

Melody Green asked many of us in the blogosphere to alert folks who may have an interest in the celebration of her late husband's life and impact on many of us.....as well as to acknowledge his tragic "home-going".

It happened 28 years ago.

He was 28 years old at the time.

It occurred on the 28th of this month.

Hence the 28-28-28

I'll have the link to the live webast on my blog ready to go for those who wish to watch this week on the 28th.

Won't you come join us?

Den

Here's what Melody wanted us to post - 

"Remembering the Life of Jesus in Keith Green" a LIVE Web-stream Event at KeithGreen.com

by Aimee Herd/Melody Green : Jul 15, 2010 : KeithGreen.com

"We want it to motivate, challenge and inspire all who watch, to a deeper walk with Jesus, giving a time of personal response at the end."

A very special look back at the life and ministry of Keith Green is going to happen LIVE on the web on Wednesday, July 28th 2010 at 6:30 pm CST.

Twenty-eight years ago, on July 28th, Keith Green went home to Jesus, and he was just 28. Therefore the live event has been titled: "Keith Green 28/28/28." Among those taking part will be Keith's widow, Melody Green. Here are a few words from Melody about the event.

From Melody Green:
During Keith's seven years of following Jesus, he made a powerful impact still strongly felt today. Was he perfect? Of course not… But, his willingness to "go for it with God" and "obey no matter the cost" left a treasure of music and messages—that are needed now more than ever. 

Please Help Get the Word Out 
The idea for this event came from a prayer-leader in CA that I'd never met, Dai Sup Han of Prayer Surge Now! He wanted Keith's friends, John Dawson, Loren and Darlene Cunningham, and me to take part. It seemed impossible but I realized God was in it as it began to fall together almost miraculously.

Keith would like nothing better than to know that today his voice might help fill your churches, training centers, missions bases, works of justice and mercy, and prayer rooms, etc. 

We are using this day as a "divine excuse" for the Lord to grip the hearts of believers of all ages, everywhere, in all denominations. And hopefully bring many prodigals home, too.

The MEN....who SANG Liberty Valance

I've mentioned for years how much I enjoy the film "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", John Ford's masterpiece starring John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin.

The song, itself, is equally as special.

So, today, I offer you different men (and McGuire Sisters, too) who sang the song.

Your beloved "Pilgrim" and "Dude" (to quote Lee Marvin from the film),

Den

Even before Gene Pitney imprinted the tune into the minds of western film fans, the song was recorded by:

(Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance - Richard Maltby (#14 - 1956)
(Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance - Elmer Bernstein (#16 - 1956)
(Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance - Dick Jacobs (#22 - 1956)
(Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance - The McGuire Sisters (#37 - 1956) 

ICB - The Best Social Conservative Communication Vehicle in 20 years (since the Idaho Family Forum)

Idaho Conservative Blogger will soon be celebrating his site's 1st Anniversary on the web.

August 9th, I believe is the date. 

(How interesting...any of you political junkies know the significance of that date? I'll explain at the end of this post.)

And I'd like to call attention to his work, even as he desires to remain a "faceless voice"....

 The many interviews with top Federal and State leaders have given ICB a tremendous boost away from traditional news journalists and columnists. The list of interviewees is impressive for ANY blogger or journalist...but for an organization that is only 1 year old, it's spectacular. Dan Popkey's recent blurb on ICB acknowledge the impact.

"Impact" is important.

And I should know.

Almost 19+ years ago I had the honor of founding a group called "The Idaho Family Forum". 

I paddled out into the warm political waters of this state with my surfboard, turned the tip towards land, looked back over my shoulder and saw a tsunami coming. The waves were HUGE, the ride was WILD, the impact was AMAZING. 

Whether a person liked IFF, me or the things we did, the impact of the then-newly launched voter guides ultimately gave us Prop. 1, Governor Phil Batt, Congressman Helen Chenoweth, Rep. Mike Moyle, Sen. Russ Fulcher, Sen. Shirley Mckague, Rep. Henry Kulczyk, Charter Schools, Pro-life legislation and much more. Promise Keepers was regionally launched from IFF, too. It caught on nationally due to Idaho.

I left the group over a decade ago and the time and the season for IFF expired shortly thereafter.

Others came center stage to present themselves as vehicles to communicate conservative values.

They sputtered and then left the stage, one after another. 

 ICB, however, chose a different and "new" course to impact public opinion and therefore public policy: he went online and went anonymous.

There is no cult of personality with ICB. To quote an old line by Walter Brennan in the ancient TV Show "The Guns of Will Sonnet" - ICB is: "No Brag, Just Fact".

Congrats as the site begins its second year. How appropriate that ICB will be hosting Austin Hill's KIDO talk radio show this week, in anticipation of the celebration.

I will be a guest of his this Tuesday at 4:30 pm on KIDO. You can catch it on the internet or listen in locally, for those in Idaho.

May these next nine years follow well and give us the "Decade of ICB".

And on the economic level may Idaho Freedom Foundation have the impact this year that jettisons them forward like ICB.

Den

PS:(Political Junkie explanation time) August 9th changed the course of history in 1974. Because of it, our first unelected President was sworn in, then a peanut farmer from GA gained otherwise impossible credibility to defeat him, which allowed a twice failed Presidential candidate name Reagan, to defeat him, which gave us Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and Obama. None of these men would have been selected without the resignation of Richard M. Nixon on August 9th.

Time is on our side? Heaven, HG Wells and Hunches.

 Portions of the last two evenings have been spent in front of our entertainment center's HD screen watching Hollywood's two attempts at capturing HG Wells' futuristic book, entitled "The Time Machine".

I've been interested in the elastic nature of time - first having read Einstein's thoughts as a college student and then, in my 20's having read the New Testament accounts of Jesus' post-resurrection travels, disappearances and reappearance's. He walked through time and space. Wow...think of it.

HG Wells's provocative writing (and the 2 adaptations to film in 1960 and 2006 - plus one to TV in 1978) provide a picture of a creator-less creation. Jesus' now-provocative explanations of what Heaven and the "after-life" will be cause a rift deeper than we can imagine. It's become science at the throat of faith...

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Science discoveries are just that: Discoveries. Like the north american shoreline to european sailors of long ago, the land was always there. The sailors stumbled across it...so are the "ah-ha moments" of you and I discovering truths that await our "land ho" calls....

 Since my son's death, my fascination with how the New Testament describes the timelessness of eternity is amazing to me. I am captivated by the bigger picture of life and death and life. I suppose we all are at some time, aren't we? 

We just happen to be on that trail right now.

Our companion book on these "travels" has been Randy Alcorn's tome, "Heaven". It is painfully long and all-too-short, at the same time. Don't misunderstand me - it is THE book on heaven. And as I read it, I had to take it in bite-size amounts, chew on them and then move on to the next. Each small segment forced me to take time on it....and I'm 16 months into the book - marking the start of the time period from the death of my son, Nate.

And along comes The Time Machine - 1960 and 2006. I saw the first flick in the theaters, as a child. The next version I saw as an adult... and it came in a disappointing second place. Both versions, though, reflected HG Wells' disability of acknowledging a creator and an eternity.

        
 
 
 
So what? Well, I've got a good hunch....

 If Jesus is accurate about time...and the fact that He said when we die and leave time and space, we will travel in marvelous ways, then why do we often spend so little time even discussing it - let alone studying it in the Bible?

Equally importantly, His post-death appearances, as recorded in the NT, stand as examples as to how we will travel, once we pass through the veil of life to new life - then the best is yet to come!!

And HG Wells may stand foolishly on the sidelines of time and space, wishing he had not spent his life climbing to the top, up a ladder that was leaning on the wrong building.

Am I doing that? Are you?

Food for thought.

Den

PS: Here's the trailer from 1960. Kinda fun.

The raw edge of blogging - suing the living, defaming the dead.

Yesterday's Post on Clayton Cramer's decision to end his blog, due to potential legal actions gives all of us the opportunity to see how raw the world of blogging can be.

"Facts are stubborn things", John Adams often stated.

And yet, what about Opinions? Are they equally as stubborn?

They can be. Many would say that their own opinions outweigh supposed facts. Hmm.

In May of this year, I introduced two very solid friends of mine to each other. They knew OF each other, but had never actually met. They're both from CdA, Idaho and are both in the people/fact/opinion business: Tim Remington is in ministry and Dave Oliveria is in newspapering (Spokesman Review)

 

At a Starbucks that morning I said, "Tim meet Dave - and Dave meet Tim." 

Tim's the Senior Pastor at The Altar Church and Dave is the Editor of Huckleberries - the most read Blog in Idaho.

Tim shepherds a church of several hundred people - many of who are ex-addicts and ex-inmates. He has an ex-addict program that touches thousands. He's been my mentor for the years of my working with people coming out of addiction, jail and prison.

He is a prolific writer, though he does not have a Blog.

Dave, on the other hand is THE Blogger...award winning & trend-setting with an audience of over 12,000 plus each day who go to Huckleberries for their daily "read" of events in the pacific northwest.

It was Dave's blog that made me aware of the demise of Clayton's blog.

Tim stood with me throughout the years of addiction recovery attempts with my son, Nate. When my son died, Tim flew down to stand with me during Nater's funeral.

So, when I got up today and reviewed my own Blog for any comments, I read a very long and vitriolic posting by someone who deeply hated my son....obviously from the same addict community, it would appear.

NFL Newbie, Tim Tebow's fans - "almost theological"?

Thanks to the Idaho Statesman for carrying this Denver Post article by journalist Dave Krieger yesterday.

Not sure that you're a big Sports Pages fan, but I tend to skim them every so often. Did so yesterday and found this article on Tim Tebow, newly drafted QB with the Denver Boncos.

This past February I accidently attended a breakfast with Tebow, while I was in Washington DC, as a guest of Walt Minnick's, with President and Mrs. Obama. "Accidently", because I had no idea he was invited. I didn't know what to expect. he had just weathered the media storm about his pro-life Super Bowl ad and I was interested to see if this young man could still stand tall & unflinching.

He did.

His love for Christ is real. His outreach to people is honest. His playing ability, unmatched. He is a genuinely nice guy.

In a sense, the hype of the President of the US being "the most powerful man in the world" made me chuckle at the breakfast. Tim Tebow's power and magnetic attraction shone because of his love for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel...and because of his unswerving faithfulness to live that love out loud, as a follower of "Yeshua". He was a college football player and had no "power", though he truly did....

With politicians in DC at an all-time low of 11% popularity, it is refreshing to see Tim Tebow written about in the following manner.

Den

DAVE KRIEGER

Krieger: Tebow boosts Broncomania before first snap

By Dave Krieger
Denver Post Columnist

POSTED: 07/18/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

UPDATED: 07/18/2010 01:59:47 AM MDT

Denver Bronco's newest quarterback Tim Tebow is getting a Nike shoe deal. It was reported that Tebow unveiled his Florida Gators themed Nike Trainer 1.2. The shoe is a collaboration with EA Sports. The shoe is a limited edition. (Photo courtesy of Nike)

He already led the NFL in offseason jersey sales. Now Tim Tebow has his own shoe.

Nice shoe too, based on the publicity shot. Not a football shoe, which tends to be useful only when you're playing football, what with the cleats and all. This is your basic trainer, Florida blue and orange in the picture.

We've all seen pre-performance hype for highly touted NFL rookies — from John Elway to Bo Jackson to Reggie Bush — but it has always been focused on top draft picks almost unanimously expected to be pro stars.

Tebow was the 25th player picked in the April draft amid widely disparate scouting reports and yet the most publicized. He has to be the lowest-drafted player ever to lead the league in jersey sales before his first game.

So what's it all about? For every fan who believes Tebow's athleticism and personal attributes will drive him to professional success, another wonders whether his passing skills are up to NFL standards. But Tebow's popularity is about more than football. His fan base believes in him almost theologically.