newest thoughts and rants!

I have been doing a fair amount of thinking since I started my blog, most of my thoughts have been on what on earth am I too blog about.  When I was on the outside looking in I always figured that I had plenty to say, cause I do and I am usually quite the loud mouth.  But once you get close to time to hit that “publish” button suddenly a terror hits, “is what i am about to talk about really that important that I need to publish it so that the whole world has an opportunity to read it?”  I asked one of my friends who is a blogger and he said, when asked what I should blog about, “Everything.” was his quick and very enthuesiastic reply.  He went on to explain what he meant but really that is what you write about. No subject, no thought, no discovery not even the newest commercial is off limits in this no holds bar world of blogging.  Instantly after I discovered that I wanted my blog to not fit the mold of everyone eles’s I wanted it to be very disctinctly me.  That is why at times it looks like I am writing for the local sports section.  Sports are a passio of mine so I am certian while I have written about them a few times there will be more.  This blog however may and should be very interesting I have a few things I want to rant about, a few things I want to rave about and I am sure there are some topics some where in between. 

Rant- I am tired of the “Christian” thoughts that no other religion holds any merrit or any amount of truth or value.  Tell me what the world be like if we had the patiance of Ghandi, the Devotion of the muslims, the work ethic of the mormans (giving up two years of their lives for their missions)?  I tell you one thing I can’t imagine we would be in the world we are now, i would be willing to guess that many things would be changed.  “Oh no, is he talking about tolerance?”  Call me a blasphemer, call me a heretic I don’t care what you call me, I have been called worse I promise you (Don’t forget dear reader I am in the Corps!) 

Rave:  Anderson the Spyder Sylva, is the best fighter in the world POUND FOR POUND.  I don’t care what class he fights in he is un-beatable when he fights his type of fight.

Not Even A Question:

I picked up my bible this evening and after a thorough dusting I was finally able to read my name engraved in gold on the front.  The reason I picked up my bible is in all reality lost on me, I am unsure why I did, I have not read it in quite some time.  But I suddenly had this strong desire to read about Abraham and his being tested by God.  You may or may not be aware of the story it goes like this:  (this is my paraphrase)

 

God:  Hey Abraham

Abraham: Sup

God: Take your kid, you know the one that you legitimately had with Sara, not the one you had with the slave broad.  Ha Ha, boy that will be a mistake.  I want you to go on a journey with him, and when you get there I want you to kill him in my name.

 

In my bible there is no response so I imagine it to be so:

 

Abraham: (ROTFL) You are one funny guy, I finally have the kid you promise me and now you want to him to die, and you not only want him to die, but you want me to kill him for you.  Oh! Wait, you’re serious? Get tha… …seriously?

 

The next day he gets up and gets his donkey, some servants and his son and goes.  But can you imagine the conversation that had to have happened between him and Sarah (this also is inferred, there is no recording of any conversation taking place):

 

Sarah: Morning my dear, what do you have on your plate today?

Abraham: Oh, what, umm… …Oh yes, I have to feed the camels, check on the sheep, sacrifice our son, plant some corn…

Sarah: WHAT!? Go back a couple things, you have to do what?

Abraham: Check on sheep

Sarah: no after that

Abraham: plant corn

Sarah: No in between those two!

Abraham: OH, sacrifice our son, yeah, no worries God told me to, it’s cool! (Insert nervous chuckle)

Sarah:  Abraham, no only is he our only son, I am friggin like a thousand years old!  I can’t have any more babies, and I don’t want to!  

Abraham: No, don’t worry, God and I have an understanding, I do this and he some how saves the day, don’t worry, seriously.

 

Now he goes and gets his son, his two servants and they begin there trek to where ever they are going.  I am pretty sure it was far away and I have a feeling this was on purpose.  Here is my imagined conversation:

 

Isaac: so uh, where we going pops?  

Abraham: You will see it is a surprise

Isaac: Are we there yet?

Abraham: no, and stop asking, that is the seventh time you have asked and we have been on the road about two hours.

Three hours later

 

Isaac: Seriously, this better be cool, are we there yet? I am hungry and I have to go to the bathroom

Abraham: Look we just stopped ten minutes ago because the slaves had to go the bathroom why didn’t you go then?

Isaac: I didn’t have to go then, but I have to go now

Abraham:  We will be there soon just hold it (under his breath) thank goodness I have to kill you when we get there

Isaac: what was that?

Abraham: Nothing

 

Finally they get there and Abraham loads Isaac down with all the wood needed to build the alter for the sacrifice and he grabs the knife and the fire and they start heading up to the spot.  Abraham smartly leaves the witnesses (the slaves) to watch over the donkey.  I think by this point Isaac is starting to figure out something is strange and he asks where the sacrifice is, Abraham quickly says God will provide and they say nothing more.  They are now ready to make the sacrifice Abraham ties Isaac up, which did Isaac just let him? Was it a game they played?  Then Abraham lays Isaac on the alter and begins to plunge the knife down when God calls from heaven:

 

God:  You are one crazy man, obedient, but certainly crazy!  Look over in that bush there is a ram there, he got stuck this morning and his pretty tired now, had you not taken so many bathroom breaks on the way up here he would have been fresh.  However, take him instead.

 

That is pretty much the whole story, Abraham names the mountain “The Lord will Provide” and then they went to the nearest city, town or village.  

 

Now that we are caught up on the story I have a few questions.  One, how messed up was Isaac after that?  Honestly, think about it, if your dad had tied you up and put a gun to your head and said, “God told me to kill you.” Would you not think he was insane? Would you not question the God that he served?  Secondly, what was Abraham thinking? Did he at least question? The bible makes it seem as if it was a great thing.  If Abraham loved Isaac so much don’t you think he would have at least offered everything his household had to God in exchange for his child’s life?  For those of you that have children can you imagine God telling you to go and kill your most loved child?  Your only child? And you complying to it with out a moments hesitation?  Doesn’t that strike anyone else as a bit extremist? And then we wonder why the Muslim culture is extreme, look at the example Abraham set to Ishmael.  If any one has any answers to these questions feel free to respond.  My goal was not to offend anyone who read this; however, it was to put a little humor into the topic.

 

These were just some of my musings as I read that passage.

Last couple of weeks

I figured it was time for me to update you all on my life or at least the parts of it that I can.

For starters and most exciting to me, I am still with my amazing girlfriend.  She puts up with me and my absence as well as any could ask or hope for.  I only wish she could truly understand how much I appreciate that sacrifice.  Something that is not given as much thought these days is it should be is that it is the woman of the men serving (or in some cases the man of the woman serving) that truely sacrifice just as much if not more then the serviceman or woman.  In the spartan community it was the spartan woman that were held in such high esteem.  It was normal for a man to go to battle but for a mother or wife to watch as her son moves to that battle and then continue life as normal with a strong dignified face to help keep the younger woman steady, that is the sacrifice. 

Last week I got to do some training with the MV-22 Ospry.  Basically we were testing some of it’s insertion and exiltration abilities.  We did some spie rigging (highlight the links that I give and copy and paste them in order to actually see them- sorry still haven’t fixed that problem)

none of that is me, but I wanted you all to have a visual of what it is to spie rig.  Then we did something called helo casting  

Again not me but another visual.  it was a pretty good time except when the birds’ altimeter was showing that it was 15 ft from the water when it was actually 2 (keep in mind we had 3-4 ft swells that day!) 

It was an adventure and I hope to get to do it some more. 

This week as been somewhat slower, but I am sure the more exciting stuff will come.  What I can post and relay to you all I will! 

Out!

What a Night of Fights

I watched the most amazing fight I have ever seen tonight.  UFC 86’s title fight will go down as one of the greatest contests in history.  If you didn’t see it you need to youtube it if you can, or find some way to watch it because that is what the UFC is all about.  It is not about eeking out a decision win (although the fight did go to decision) it is about two fighters letting it all hang out, swinging for the fences, going after submissions, being cut and bruised, being knocked down and bouncing back to land some punches and submission attempts of your own.  What many people do not realize is that Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is not just about fighting, punching and submitting it is the ultimate chess match.  You are using your jabs and straight punches as pawns so you can maneuver your opponent so that your knights and bishops (Crosses, Elbows and knees) can assail him and push him farther into a trap so your queen and rooks (your submissions and knockouts) can finish him all the while protecting your King (you not being submitted or knocked out) so that he doesn’t do the same.  Some see the sport as brutish and barbaric and maybe it has some of those tendencies, but there is a beauty in all the blood and violence.  The looks of focus, determination, the heart and will to never succumb no matter how much the pain, no matter how little air is getting in you will not tap.  The inner struggle that you go through with your body saying tap, quit and give up you lost all ready, but your heart screaming, yelling and at times whispering, you still have a chance.  This is why I watch those fights, this is why I aspire to be near those that are willing,  for it is those with the courage to face any opponent better, bigger, stronger and faster and believe, train and will themselves to victory.  I saw it tonight during the Title fight of UFC 86.  What a brawl, what a fight, what chess match!  Both men went in, Rampage the Heavy favorite (as he should have been) forest the rocky balboa.  Both men laid it out in that Octagon and both were rewarded if not by the giant purse, by the sheer fact that they went and know a little more about themselves.  If you missed the fight, go find it, you must see it!