Wildman talks with comedian Michael Jr., for crosswalk.com

He's been on Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, and Comedy Central. And my chance to interview Michael Jr. nearly ended as soon as it began.


"Hey, Michael Jr.! Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk to me."
"No problem, man."
"So, I figured we'd just chat about you and your new DVD."
"Yeah. Well. The DVD's coming out on the 4th. And I like doing comedy. So...bye."
"Umm...."
"Just kiddin', bro. You just left that wide open for me right there."


The joke was clearly on me. But I was interviewing a stand-up comic, so what was I to expect? Luckily, he decided to keep the conversation going and the result is my latest article for crosswalk.com.


He's a great guy, and he's a Christian comedian who's actually funny. Shocker, I know....


When you read the interview, be sure to give it 5 stars! =)
    

ConFession Friday: I watched a dog eat a kid's kite and laughed

I laughed so hard I fell on the ground, lay back on the grass, and roared.

It's the end of the week and you've probably got something you need to get off your chest. Here's mine:


So we were at the park in Austin this weekend hanging out Sarah's brother and his friend. Tossing around a frisbee and enjoying the nice weather. A playful, athletic yellow-lab mix runs over to us and starts barking at the frisbee. The dog rips the disc out of Julie's hand and makes a dash across the grass. No owner in sight.

It was a friendly dog. Just a little over-zealous.


Josh finally manages to get the lab to release the plastic frisbee, which is now nicely decorated with several puncture holes from the dog's teeth. Our game of catch is now over.


The dog is not finished playing. He comes back over to us (still no owner in sight). We finally shoo him away and he trots off, looking for more entertainment. He starts rolling in a puddle of mud. That's when he spots the boy.


On four muddy paws, the lab bounds over to the kid and his family who are watching the father try to get the boy's kite in the air. The kite is twirling and spinning, struggling to stay aloft in the light breeze. It's just out of reach of the lab, who is launching himself upward with all four feet coming off the ground as he snaps at the tail of the fluttering kite.


The wind fails. The kite falls. The yellow lab mauls the boy's kite using his forepaws to pin it to the ground as he rips shred after shred of red fabric from the frame.


And I laughed. I laughed so hard I fell on the ground, lay back on the grass, and roared. I sat up and watched the dog drag the remains of the kite back to the mud puddle. The boy's face looked like he was watching the murder of his pet rabbit.


And I laughed. We were too far away for the family to hear us. But...


We all laughed at the yellow lab who was having fun in the park at our expense.


OK. There's my Friday ConFession. I feel so much better. Anything you'd like to 'Fess? You'll feel better if you do....


  

Wildman Nails Deployment Prediction, Obama Furious

As a sign of his obvious anger and disgust, Obama has ignored my multiple facebook friend requests. Apparently my message, "Yes, we can be friends" has been met with an emphatic "No, we can't."

According to a CBS News report, President Obama has decided on a "new strategy" in Afghanistan, planning to "send a lot more troops...and keep them there long term." Coincidentally, his strategy sounds sounds similar to Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for 40,000 new combat troops in Afghanistan. 


The US will deploy a total of 100,000 troops to sunny Central Asia by the end of next year.


No doubt, the President is anticipating backlash from voters and political entities across the spectrum. Democrats will accuse him of following in the footsteps of George Bush II. Republicans will accuse him of following in the footsteps of George Bush II. George Bush II will accuse Obama of making fun of his idea, then stealing his idea and not giving him any credit for it. 


King Solomon will likely use the opportunity to promote his new book, "Ecclesiastes," citing his work on "there's nothing new under the sun" and "everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind" as especially relevant to the discussion.


Obama could see all that coming. But there's one startling source of critique that has blindsided him like a freight train at full-speed loaded with the lead of truth -- my facebook page.

Exactly two weeks ago, I posted this prediction about the outcome of his "long and careful deliberation" about the deployment of more troops to Afghanistan (Props to Kelly for the election timing nuance.):

Obama was so shocked and angered that I, a seasoned political analyst, could see where his "new strategy" was headed two weeks before it was announced that he refused to comment on my status update.

As a sign of his obvious anger and disgust, Obama has ignored my multiple facebook friend requests. Apparently my message, "Yes, we can be friends" has been met with an emphatic "No, we can't." 


It seems that the White House has been ordered to not follow my twitter feed.

Don't worry, America. This freight train of truth will keep rolling. Being shunned by our Commander in Chief is a price I'm willing to pay for my insightful  140 character political commentaries.

Working with ChristianWorks

Over the last several weeks, I've had the chance to learn about an outstanding organization called ChristianWorks. ChristianWorks offers professional counseling free of charge to people who are struggling through the tough stuff of life -- like a death in the family, illness, and marriage troubles. Their professional counselors work with people of all ages from their top-notch facility in Dallas. It's quality work done from a biblical perspective.


You can check out their wide range of services on their website: www.christian-works.org. It's a good thing to put in your back pocket for the future. Maybe for you, maybe for a friend.


ChristianWorks also has an adoption service that helps connect qualified couples with expectant mothers who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy. I put together a series of videos for their website -- real life stories of how they're helping people. Here's an example...



The Erwins' Adoption Story - AdoptionWorks from ChristianWorks for Children on Vimeo.


Click on the video for more stories....


It's so encouraging to see some believers who get it, and put faith to action.

Sarah released, diagnosis uncertain

Good news. The doctor released Sarah from the hospital at about 1pm -- after 12 hours of tests and multiple injections of antihistamines and steroids.

Unfortunately, the steroids were not of the performance enhancing variety, so her running speed and her muscle bulk will not improve. However, the medication eventually had the desired effect on her swollen tongue so her ability to breathe, swallow, and talk are near normal. You might call that performance enhancing.

The medication treated the symptoms, but has not revealed any ideas about the cause - or the cure - for Sarah's health troubles. Her allergic reaction isn't necessarily to food; it could be environmental, airborne, or even hereditary. So, we'll continue to monitor her from home and schedule more tests in the near future.

In the meanwhile, we'll keep a supply of ready-made anti-inflammatory injections on hand in case we need to self-administer a treatment in the case of another flare up.

Thanks again for your prayers and concerns....it means a lot to her to know her friends are standing with her.

Sarah admitted to hospital, status improving.

We just wanted to pass along an update on Sarah's health status.

Sarah appears to have experienced a severe allergic reaction late yesterday evening called angioedema that caused her tongue to swell to such an extent that it was endangering her ability to breathe. I took her to the ER at Baylor Medical Center here in Frisco at about 1am, where she was given several shots to reduce the inflammation.  When she did not respond to these initial doses of medication, the hospital staff decided to admit her for further treatment and testing.

Overnight, Sarah's status has improved dramatically. She was able to eat breakfast, and the swelling is largely subsided.  The cause of the problem remains a mystery, but her doctor expects her to be released from the hospital after lunch today.

There's no cause for alarm at this point, but the condition could have been potentially life-threatening if we had not acted in time. Once Sarah is released, we're going to have a battery of allergy tests conducted to try to find a root cause for her condition.

Again, Sarah is fine and her spirits are high - after all, she has me for entertainment.

Thanks for your prayers and concern!