Dr. Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, a 61 year-old Puerto Rican, is claiming to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. Get real. A recovering heroine addict and an ex-con? Seriously?

Despite his outlandish claims that millions of followers and 30 countries acknowledge him as god, only 100,000 followers can be verified by the press. But do the numbers really matter? Sure, a number in the millions would be more likely to cause some people to pause and consider why so many have believed. But this guy is far from the image of the Son of God. It’s more than laughable. It’s “Springer does religion”.

I heard a televised statement made by Miranda this morning. His exact words were: “Jesus of Nazareth, on a scale of 1 to 10, he’s a 2. I’ve performed many many more miracles.”

Wonderfully unfounded and unproven. And honestly, even if he people were healed around him, that is no verification of godhood.

Scripturally speaking, this is just a case of yet another false christ. He tries to undo the Scriptures and start from scratch.

God is not mocked. Wait and see what happens.

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Call it spiritual… call it religious… call it whatever you like. The truth is, a weblog not set apart as faith-based from the beginning will usually take a massive reduction in traffic for writing about religion. People want the cool, bleeding edge news and gossip and technology without the morals or the history of the Church.

At CultureFeast, we’re not afraid to discuss our religious views. Anyone who doesn’t want to read what is written here doesn’t have to return. We’d love you to have you back, though.

This site will continue to confound those who demand a theme-based blog. Sorry, random thoughts is how we roll. One day it’s sports, then mortgage, then spirituality, then it’s talking about the next bastard politician.

Stick around! We want your feedback. Disagree with us. Argue with us. It doesn’t matter. Just keep it respectable.

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There is no way around it: the Dallas Mavericks experienced a colossal collapse during round one against the Golden State Warriors. And after listening to Randy Galloway on ESPN Radio and some moron on The Ticket, it sounds like the commentators have rebounded rather quickly. They don’t sound shocked. Dallas was expected to win the championship. They had 67 wins in an 82 game season. Dirk was/is the front runner for the MVP award this year. Avery Johnson should have been considered for Coach of the Year again. The Mavs had the seventh best season record in the history of the game. Jason Terry had an excellent shooting year. Josh Howard really seemed to come into his own.

So why, please tell us all, did the Mavs crumble under the first sign of playoff pressure?

The answer is so simple, and some fans have already picked up on it (to the consternation of the idiot press):

Dirk is not a winner. That’s the bottom line. Dirk doesn’t act like a winner. He doesn’t play like a winner. He plays with skill and talent, but HE HAS NO ATTITUDE. Dirk’s mentality is fine for pick-up games. But in the NBA playoffs, you absolutely MUST have attitude.

Just look at Steve Nash. He didn’t quite have the attitude in Dallas. But after his move to Phoenix, Nash had two things going for him that Dirk did not:

1. He had something to prove to the Mavericks and to himself

2. He joined a team of players with attitude

What Steve didn’t possess naturally, he gained through his teammates. Attitude rubs off on others, to some degree. It builds confidence. Playing with a beast like Amare Stoudamire injected some attitude into Steve’s game. He drank the koolaid since arriving in Phoenix, and you can tell that he expects to win.

Some schmoe calling in to a radio show after work on Friday summed it up nicely. He said that the problem for Dirk is that he’s German. It’s a completely different culture there. During Nowitski’s childhood, he didn’t face the same basketball culture that our kids face here. Basketball has become completely ego-centric on the blacktop and in rec centers around the country. Boys watch the NBA stars showboat and they idolize the ones with flair and attitude. If you pay close enough attention, you’ll notice that the biggest idols around the country are the players with attitude. Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Baron Davis, Tim Duncan, Shaq, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwayne Wade, and Jason Kidd all have that spark - that killer instinct.

American basketball players tend to have a chip on their shoulder. They’ve had to prove themselves every day of their lives against everyone else who acts like a star. It doesn’t always make for the best team mentality, but you want someone who knows the pressure of “Do I have what it takes?” to handle the ball when the playoffs are on the line. You want a Baron Davis, as Golden State has proven, to handle the ball and make miracles happen in the most unlikely circumstances.

And DirK? Well, Dirk is a nice guy. He’s had it too good here, and he’s soft. Forget his skill. That doesn’t even matter when we’re talking playoffs. If he can’t muster up the attitude to compete, trade him, and trade him now. As Golden State proved, you don’t need an MVP candidate on your team to beat the #1 seed. You need speed, accuracy, and attitude. It will be interesting to see how the Warriors match up with the next team. If they play Utah, lookout. That could be an adrenaline pumping series. If they play Houston, I give the edge to the Warriors because of their amazing speed.

I know that some of you will call the trade of Dirk Nowitski as an extreme overreaction. I get that. You’re loyal. You drank the koolaid. I get it. But those of us who are still objective realize that Dirk will probably be a winner, but he’ll be a winner somewhere else. If he’s going to have a chance at a championship, Dirk needs to be traded and feel like he has something to prove, just like his buddy Nash (who, consequently, never won MVP until he moved away from Dallas).

I loved the Mavs for the very reason that they can’t win a championship: they’re a nice team. They’re nice guys. They’re polite, and humble. I love that attitude. But they don’t act like they’re better than anyone else. They don’t ooze confidence. They’re like teenage boys still unsure and hoping someone else will validate them. So make some trades now, Dallas, if you want to keep your fans from jumping ship.

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My parents recently moved back into the Dallas / Fort Worth area. It’s great for me and my wife, but the circumstances of their move was more than a little stressful. I talked to them almost daily by phone throughout the whole ordeal, simply because their lives were at the moment more exciting than my own.

Here’s what happened: Hertz Corp. laid off something like 92 people from their office in Oklahoma City. That left my dad with no job and a few weeks severance. There weren’t any other COBOL / DB2 jobs available nearby, so they finally agreed to return to DFW.

With only a few weeks severance, my dad had to both hunt for a job and a home at the same time. My parents didn’t know what to expect from a mortgage lender considering the circumstances. They had already learned the valuable lesson of how to consolidate debt, which meant lower interest rates and payments on existing loans. They needed one of those instant approvals without verification of income.

They actually found a mortgage lender to approve them for a home loan even before they had jobs in the area. That’s ridiculous! It’s these types of loans that encourage people (not my parents, but others) to be irresponsible and take unnecessary risks.

Then again, had they actually needed to use it, I suppose it would have been “convenient” to have a loan and buy a house during all the confusion of relocating. But does anyone seriously want a must pay $1K+ bill before they can guarantee the finances to cover it?

A bad credit loan make sense to a degree. Some people have valid reasons for their bad credit history. There are also some who choose to reform and need a fresh start.

An unsecured loan, however, is a bad idea. There’s only one type of person you can expect to pay back an unsecured loan, and that’s someone with impeccable moral standards. Those people are rare, though they do exist. I know someone who is in the situation to pay back an unsecured credit loan and he’s one of the few people I can actually see following through with it.

On the whole, the stakes should be raised again. Regardless of what your holy Visa card has taught you, you are not entitled to credit. It is not a Constitutional Amendment. If you are going to own something (with the possible exception of a house), it should cost you money up front every time. Spending real cash is the only way you have a vested interest in taking care of the property. A person who receives products with no down payment will often naturally see the item as free and then resent the necessity of paying the bill later. Loans should be respected, since someone is footing the bill up front for you. You are receiving something without having met the criteria for possession. Take your freedoms seriously.

*this is a sponsored post

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In Radiology News, Medicexchange.com announced that their directory of medical imaging software is expanding to include radiology software from various companies. The continued creation and accessibility of medical imaging software provides doctor’s with the ability to provide better care for patients. Medicexchange is contributing to this endeavor with the further expansion of its medical software directory to include radiology-related products. Free trial downloads are available, allowing doctors the ability to sample software before making a purchase.

In the past, radiologists had very limited options for software and prices were outrageously high. A medical imaging software directory like the one at medicexchange.com levels the playing field and makes affordable software options more accessible. Potential benefits for the public include more thorough patient care and less overhead for doctors to build into pricing. Here’s the official press release:
Medicexchange Announces Expansion of Radiology Product Directory

Radiologists’ need for greater choice in medical imaging software continues to be met by Medicexchange with the recent expansion of the exclusive Medicexchange digitally-downloadable medical imaging product directory.

Medicexchange is adding new imaging software weekly and the product directory now includes leading radiology software such as Orthocrat’s TraumaCAD allowing surgeons to develop a pre-operative surgery plan via clinical manipulation of digital orthopedic images, Confirma CADstream software to improve efficiency, access, standardization and compatibility in breast MRI, through to the latest version of eFilm Workstation, the powerful desktop diagnostic imaging software.

It is now possible to browse products by specialty, modality or software type and each product page now includes a wealth of supporting product and clinical information and related radiology news. The product directory now covers modalities from CT to ultrasound, across specialties from cardiac to musculoskeletal, making it easy for imaging professionals to find exactly what they are looking for.

The product directory also contains free trial downloads of many products to allow radiologists to try before they buy on Medicexchange. To ensure radiologists are given the best service possible, all users of Medicexchange are provided with free support.

A radiologist puts the case for the new product directory clearly in a recent Foster & Sullivan report: “What OEMs charge us for software is out of this world - thousands of pounds for one piece of software that can only be used on one terminal - so to have it available on the internet would be great. You’d have more freedom of choice and I’m sure prices wouldn’t be so extraordinarily high.”

“One-stop-shop (online) access to multiple software solutions offered at cost-effective pricing is increasingly perceived by radiologists to answer their rapidly-evolving software needs,” suggests the White Paper’s authors.

About Medicexchange:

Medicexchange.com is an online sales and information channel providing diagnostic, treatment and surgery planning solutions for breast, cardiac, musculoskeletal, abdominal-pelvic, thoracic and neuro imaging from a range of medical software companies. The site provides these solutions in a low-cost, on-demand and digitally-downloadable format for medical imaging professionals, providing access to information and products that are traditionally difficult to access.

Medicexchange.com is owned and operated by Medicexchange Plc. Medicexchange Plc is a subsidiary company of MGT Capital Investments, Inc. Product and company information can be found on www.mgtci.com. Stock symbol: MGT.

* This is a sponsored post

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For those of you looking at CultureFeast, wondering, How much traffic does this site really get? What kind of ROI can I expect from advertising on this blog?

Whether you’re interested in advertising or not, here’s the skinny:

Traffic is way up. The site saw 3,766 visitors and 5,505 page views in the past 18 days (April 13th to April 30th). May 1st saw 245 visitors in one day. That’s small beans to megastars like Copyblogger and Problogger, but it’s good news for us.

Posting has been slow lately, due to busy schedules. I’m even more amazed at our traffic since we’re currently getting more new content daily from Papaya Clothing Company fans’ comments than actual blog posts.

I have a list of topics to cover in the near future, so keep checkin’ in and drop us a note whenever you can.

Oh, and I want to recognize Sarah Kuglin. She’s been a friend for ten years, and she’s one of the first to create a MyBlogLog account. The rest of you need to get off your duffs and setup your profiles. Since most of my friends are technology illiterate, one of my next posts may be a list of communities and websites everyone should join…. Yeah… that’s a good idea.

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You shouldn’t care this much about a stupid game. No one should. But when the #1 team in the country happens to be your home team and they are about to be eliminated from the first round of the playoffs, it’s easy to get emotional.

The game just ended. Dallas defeated Golden State 118-112 due to two 3 pointers and several free throws by Dirk Nowitski at the end of the game. The most notable player, in my opinion, was DeSagana Diop, the seven foot backbone of the team. Diop had the best scoring game of his career, and his rebounds and defense helped a slow footed Mavericks team stay alive to the end.

I gotta tell you, though, I’m tired. Watching this game wore me out. As each free throw was taken in the last three minutes of the game, I felt that I would somehow jinx the team by wanting it too badly. I know. Still, I tried to distance myself emotionally so that the team stood a chance. I don’t think it worked, even though they won. Sadly, tonight’s game only reinforced the painful truth that I do not affect the Mavericks’ game. They win or lose because they rock or suck. That simple.

I guess the only remaining question is, does anyone really believe the Dallas Mavericks can last two more games to win the series? With the lack of motivation I’ve seen so far, it would seem that they don’t care much until they’re on the brink of extinction. That mentality doesn’t win championships.

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