UFC 100

Mir vs Lesnar, GSP vs Alves, and Henderson vs Bisping: How do you call it?

Mir vs Lesnar: Personally, I hope Mir makes Lesnar look like the amateur he really is. As a matter of fact, I'd love to see Lesnar lose three straight and be forced to either start over or move on altogether. The ONLY thing Lesnar has is his size/strength. If Mir can manage that, Lesnar is toast. Maybe I'm being too hard on Lesnar. But if he had actually earned his right to fight by working his way up through the ranks, I'd be OK. Instead, he had it put in his lap because a bunch of WWE fans want to see him fight. I'm cheering for anyone and everyone to knock him back down to the minor leagues where he belongs.

GSP vs Alves: Alves is a tough kid, and his been pretty impressive in his last two fights. But I think the only way he can beat GSP is by brute strength. GSP is smarter, faster and has way too many tools. As long as GSP avoids Alves' power, it's gonna be a long night for the newcomer. Which, in my opinion, is a good thing. I think I good whooping by a superior opponent could help Alves get that champion heart and attitude that he seems to be missing.

Henderson vs Bisping: As for the TUF-match, Bisping is a good fighter, but I have not seen him demonstrate the same skill level and mental toughness that Henderson has. Honestly, I was pretty disappointed in Bisping's attitude throughout this season of TUF. He doesn't seem to have grown any in the mental category, and I think that will hurt him against guys like Dan Henderson. I see Hendo getting him down and pounding him out in the third.

Mir, GSP and Hendo, FTW.

Who are your picks and why?

Obama, Fatherhood and a Presidential "Break"

I saw this on Leonard Sweet's Twitter stream the other day (which he repeated on his Facebook profile):

Leonard Sweet M. Obama's 1line smash of stereotypes-"If he cares half as much about the country as he does about his own children, we're going to be fine"

Let me say, I love Sweet's writings and think he's one of the best minds in the body of Christ. But, in my usually snarky style, I posted a reply. I knew it would stir the pot a bit, but couldn't resist the urge to point out the obvious:

Eric Wilbanks at 5:11pm June 11

So does that mean he's driving up is own personal debt the way he's doing with America? Just sayin...

Surprisingly, Len replied to me (I say surprisingly because the guy has cazillions of followers):

Leonard Sweet at 10:10pm June 11

I tweated this partly as a Father's Day quote for preachers, as the whole stereotype of the absent black father is smashed by this one quote. You can be Republican or Democrat or Libertarian or Independent and still be able to say, "Thank God for this model of a caring, urbane, compassionate father in the White House." That's all. I didn't intend to frame the quote in political terms.

Then another FB'er chimed in:

Gail Wilson at 11:47pm June 11

Thank you Leonard for the quote.. It seems some can not give our president a break!!

If you know me, you know I couldn't let this one slide:

Eric Wilbanks at 11:43am June 12
Leonard...I understood completely what you were attempting to do. But let's be honest about a few things. First, I have no idea what kind of father Obama is, and neither do the rest of us. Those who know him personally can give thanks. The rest of us are better off not judging (yay or nay) what is not apparent. That said, I hope he's an exemplary dad. I am passionate about parenthood and can only hope he demonstrates over time that he is also. Second, one quote will not shatter any stereotypes. Stereotypes cannot be shattered...they erode slowly over the course of time with repeated examples that testify otherwise. When Obama starts proving by his actions that he honors the family, marriage and life and makes it part of his administration's legacy, then I'll give thanks.

As for giving "our president a break," I'd love to.The first decision he makes that shows he cares about the opinions and values of the 46% of Americans who did not vote for him, I'll be the first to clap.

Finally,as my wife so brilliantly pointed out, people love to say that the Obamas look like "such a happy family," but "looking" like a happy family means nothing. We've counseled with lots of families who look happy but who tear one another to shreds in private. I am not suggesting that the Obamas are not happy by any means. I sincerely hope they are a model family and hope it radiates into America and begins to erode the stereotypes which Len Sweet addressed. But for now, we can only judge Obama by his policies, not his fatherhood. And his policies are saying (in my very subjective opinion) that he doesn't really care a whole lot about the future of this country or the values and principles upon which it was founded...by our forefathers who literally gave their lives to make America what she is.

How to "Add Value" with Twitter and Status Updates

Today is my one year anniversary with Twitter.

(Not sure of your "Twitterversary" date? Go to http://twitter.com/users/show/yourusernamehere.xml. Scroll down through the xml file and look for the "created_at" tag to find your exact anniversary date, including the time.)

Even though I had heard about the service much earlier, I rejected it as a frivolous waste of time. My opinion was the same as all other "non-Twitter-ers." It wasn't until I watched Lee LeFevre's brilliant "Twitter in Plain English" that I actually began to see the potential value of this service. If you are still on the fence about Twitter, that video is a great place to start.

Over the course of the year I've "tweeted" 1,104 times and read 10s of thousands of Tweets from the 102 folks whom I "follow" (and that's just in my personal account). In that time, I developed an opinion about which posts (tweets and other "status updates") I feel "add value" to my life and which ones do not. This is a very personal list and may not be the list you would make. If you feel I've left out an important category, add it in the comments.

First, let me get the "medicine" out of the way. I have great distaste for posts which are...

1. Routine. I really don't need to know when you are driving to work every morning at 7:50 a.m. Or that you are headed to the gym every M/W/F at 5:30 p.m. If it's something you do every day or very often, it is of little or no value to the rest of us. Sorry.
2. Abrasive/Caustic. I am as capable as anyone on the planet of being mean and nasty, but I can only assume you don't want to hear it. I don't even want to hear myself succumbing to those impulses. So, disagree. State your opinion. Even rant. But be civilized about it.
   
3. Pity-Posting. My drill seargants were always fond of saying, "Save the drama for your mama, private!"I agree. Most normal people don't sit aorund watching those trashy day-time talk shows where everyone airs their dirty laundry and sob stories. For heaven's sake, find a counselor or close friend to talk to in private and leave the rest of us out of it.
   

Okay, enough of that. On to the "valuable" stuff. I have a great appreciation for posts which are...

1. Humorous and/or Clever. This is most certainly a reflection of my own odd sense of humor, but I love a good one-liner. If you can make me grin in 140 characters, then I will "love you long time, soldier." I find it curiously appropriate that you can't spell tWITter without WIT.
2. Thought-provoking. This is vague, I know, but if it makes you go "hmmmm" then it will most likely make someone else do the same. That's a good thing.
   
3. Questions. Most people will happily provide feedback if they feel they have knowledge or experience to contribute. Questions get conversations flowing. Status updates can even serve as your own informal survey mechanism.
4. Interesting Observations. This is probably a bit tougher to do. Jerry Seinfeld has made a career of making interesting (and humorous) observations. "Just saw a green frog," is not interesting. "Just saw a frog riding a dog's back" would be very interesting. Trivial, but interesting nonetheless.
5. Breaking News. Let's face it, we are all "news" junkies of some sort. Local, global, personal, or even genre-specific (entertainment, sports, product-related, etc.). Even if I have never met you, breaking news of your personal experiences are always interesting if I can identify with those experiences (births, weddings, graduations, etc).
6. Points of Interest. Twitter is a micro-blog. Blog is short for "web log." As you "log" your experience around the web, making note of sites, articles, videos, etc that meet any of the above-mentioned criteria, share those things with your audience.
7. (Relevant) Conversations wth Context. I've noticed more and more folks using Twitter as a personal IM service. They either forget or don't recognize that there are a lot of other people listening to the conversation in random fashion. If you are going to reply back and forth, please leave room for context. "Okay, thanks," is a horrible post. "You're going to loan me your mower? Okay thanks," would be better, but is irrelevant for the majority of your followers. "LOST has been moved to 9:30 tonight?! Okay, thanks," is a conversation upon which others may be eager to eavesdrop. For those one-on-one conversations, send a direct message, please.

Even though Twitter was originally designed with "Whatcha doing?" in mind, I've found "Whatcha thinking?" to be eminently more valuable under normal circumstances. Most of us lead fairly routine lives. Often, it's our random thoughts about those routines that make for interesting reading to others.

Hopefully, the above suggestions will contribute to making Twitter and other micro-blogging tools more "valuable" for us all. If so, please consider sharing this post with your friends, family and Twitter followers!

Divine Design

Think About It—God’s word is the key to answered prayer.

Read About It—John 15:1-7

I love to play around on computers. My laptop, a beloved and monstrous Sony Vaio, has served me well. But before my Vaio, my personal computer wasn’t anything to rave about. It got the job done, but it was very basic. I was constantly having to delete files and programs in order to save valuable hard drive space and give my overworked CPU a rest.

One day, I got so frustrated with all of the problems I was having that I decided to “re-format” my hard drive. In case you’re not quite sure what that means, it’s deleting everything and starting over. The goal of course is to have a better organized, cleaner system when you’re done. It’s kind of like erasing that sentence 50 times and then finally chunking the thing and grabbing a new sheet of paper. So that’s what I did. I had no idea what I was doing.

When you erase your hard drive and try to start over, a funny thing happens. Unless you know how to re-format the thing, then you’ve got yourself a very large and expensive paper weight. Without the operating system (in my case, MS Windows), you can’t do anything! You’re computer doesn’t just have amnesia, it has no brain. Have you ever noticed how poorly people function without a brain? I did what any intelligent person would do—I panicked, complained and then took the doorstop to someone who could turn it back into a computer!

In a spiritual sense, you and I are like super-computers. Our souls are like the operating systems. If you’re soul is full of bugs or burdened down by excess programming and residual lines of code, you are in for a bumpy and frustrating ride. But then the Master Programmer comes along and gives you a new and improved operating system! It’s called the Word of God! Now everything runs smooth. And as long as you keep this operating system running at all times, obeying it’s code, the Programmer is happy! Every request that your system makes, He will gladly supply! Why? Because it’s part of your programming; programming that He designed!

Okay, go back and read John 15:1-7 one more time.

Now for the REAL stretch—Disciples of Christ…

Know God—In what way did God reveal Himself to you as you read His Word?

Live for God—What one lifestyle change is God calling you to make?

Love Others—In what way is God calling you to minister to someone in need?

Bear Fruit—In what ways will you set the example and the standard for others to follow?

Watch out, Brutus!

Think About It—God’s Word gives life and strength to those who hear it!

Read About It—Matthew 4:1-11

As a kid, I used to love watching Popeye cartoons! Hey, don’t laugh! I’m being honest, here. You know, baring my soul, and all that jazz. You probably have some pretty funny “kid memories” yourself, so back off.

Anyway, I used to come home from school everyday and watch Popeye! Man, he was really groovy. I always wondered how his forearms got so big. And then there were all the rest of the characters. Olive Oil (I guess that’s how you spell it), now that was one slim girl. Why is it that, even though she seemed to have a thing with Popeye, she always had a few dates with Brutus every so often? Of course, to double-O’s credit, some of those dates were kind of a one-way deal. That Brutus was one mean bully. He didn’t take “No” very well: Upset him a little when he got rejected. Then he would start on this “I’m wounded and mad at world and everyone is gonna pay” kick. Popeye was almost always the target of this repressed anger. So, for the next five minutes or so, Popeye would wind up getting his clock cleaned by Brutus. But the time would finally come when Popeye was fed up with being pulvarized and out would come the can of spinach. One squeeze from those powerful forearms and the spinach can would burst open, sending a large blob of spinach sailing into Popeye’s mouth. A little chewing, a large swallow and Popeye was instantly transformed into the world’s strongest man! Yeah, baby! Watch out Brutus! I remember thinking that eating spinach would also make me instantly strong. I’d hold my nose and scarf it down, then run off and test my newly acquired strength! Never quite worked for me the way that it did for Popeye.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this same kind of thing in the Bible! Jesus gets worn down by hunger, heat and loneliness for 40 days. Then Brutus the devil comes along and tries to beat up on Him with temptation. But Jesus had a secret that the devil didn’t know about! Forget spinach and dinner rolls, Jesus had the Word! Yeah, baby! Watch out devil, cause the Word of God gives the child of God new life and supernatural strength!

Okay, go back and read Matthew 4:1-11 one more time.

Now for the REAL stretch—Disciples of Christ…

Know God—In what way did God reveal Himself to you as you read His Word?

Live for God—What one lifestyle change is God calling you to make?

Love Others—In what way is God calling you to minister to someone in need?

Bear Fruit—In what ways will you set the example and the standard for others to follow?

American Idol Rejects?

Not sure what season of AI this is, but I have actually watched four different episodes this year -- which is twice as many as I've watched of all previous seasons combined. I'm more of an Ultimate Fighter fan. But I digress.

The most interesting thing I've noticed about AI is that they have really nailed their niche...and I'm not it. While I'll be the first to admit that the singers all have talent, most of them just don't appeal to me. They're boring. Pop, divas, blah, blah, blah. Their vocal styles seem so cookie-cutter. That got me thinking: Which vocalist do I most admire, and would they even stand a chance on AI or would they get booted right away?

So, here's a list of my all-time favorite vocalists (in alphabetical order by first name). Whether you also like these artists or not, I think you'll agree that they represent some very unique and identifiable vocals. I'll let you decide whether you think they would end up as AI rejects. Keep in mind that this is not necessarily my list of favorite bands/artists, which is why there aren't a lot of "new" artists on the list. I feel like most of today's artist have fairly forgettable vocal styles (my personal-and-mostly-irrelevant opinion). If you feel so inclined, name your fav crooners (i.e., NOT band/artist) in the comments.

1. Bing Crosby
2. Bryan Duncan
3. Charlie Peacock
4. Chris Padgett (Scarecrow and Tinmen)
5. Crystal Lewis
6. David Lee Roth (Van Halen)
7. Fred Hammond (Commissioned)
8. Gavin DeGraw
9. Geddy Lee (Rush)
   
10. Greg Volz (Petra)
11. Howard Hewett
12. John Schlitt (Petra)
13. Jon Gibson
14. Jonny Lang
15. Klaus Meine (Scorpions)
16. Louis Armstrong
17. Ozzy Osbourne
18. Ric Ocasek (The Cars)
19. Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
20. Troy Johnson

Mmmm, Tastey!

Think About It—God’s word tastes great!

Read About It—Psalm 19:7-11

Hold on to your cookies, this is not going to be pretty.

I like to watch “learning” shows. They have some of the wildest programs anywhere. For example, one time I saw this documentary about a small group of eccentrics that were looking for an interesting meal. They traveled to some far-off restaurant out in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but wild animals for company and scenery. This group (two men and two women, if I remember correctly) sat down at the table to be waited on. The pre-dinner snacks were interesting, but they were nothing compared to the main course. The table had a small hole in the center of it. The waiter brought out the main course and strapped it into the hole. One of the guests took a small mallet and gave the dinner a whack. A knife carved open the top and the guests cautiously dug in. What were they eating? Well, if you must know, it was fresh monkey brains. (I tried to warn you.) It was pretty disgusting. Mind you, this is true. Where do you think Indiana Jones got the idea from?

Another time I saw a documentary narrated by an entymologist (a guy who studies bugs). The show was about the different bugs that people all around the world consider delicacies. First they ate bowls of larvae soup—yum, yum. Lots of protein. Then they were fed a nice big salad, with dried bugs as the croutons. Crunch, crunch. You don’t want to know about the main course. This guy said that Americans are some of the only people in the world that don’t eat bugs! (Then he added that we do eat bugs, we just don’t realize it because they get blended so well with the foods we do eat!) Hey, John the Baptist ate locusts! Talking about leaving a bad taste in your mouth! Na-esty! Thank you very much, but I will stick to things that actually taste good. Is it any wonder that the Word is said to be “sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb”? Who can resist such an awesome flavor? Certainly better than the disgusting lies the world is serving up!

Okay, go back and read Psalm 19:7-11 one more time.

Now for the REAL stretch—Disciples of Christ…

Know God—In what way did God reveal Himself to you as you read His Word?

Live for God—What one lifestyle change is God calling you to make?

Love Others—In what way is God calling you to minister to someone in need?

Bear Fruit—In what ways will you set the example and the standard for others to follow?