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2010 has seen many new whiskies released on to the market. We have sampled and reviewed a number of these over the last year at Whisky For Everyone, so we have decided to choose our top 10 favourites of these new releases. A similar Top 10 that we published this time last year has proved to be one of our most popular ever and we hope that this one is enjoyed as much. Please let us know what you think of our choices by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post.
Such Top 10s are always subjective and therefore contentious as a result - everyone has differing opinions at the end of the day. We have tried to select our Top 10 on a ratio of quality, value for money and availability to the public. To this end, there are not really any single cask or independent bottlings included, despite some excellent ones being sampled throughout the year. However, some are limited edition bottlings that are still available to purchase.
We have split our Top 10 in to two parts – to read the first part, released last week and containing numbers 6-10, click here. Numbers 1-5 and our 'Whisky of the Year' can be found below. So, drum roll please! Our top five is …
1 > Bowmore Tempest
The Tempest is a small batch bottling that is released approximately twice a year – Batch 1 (of which our sample is from) was released in early 2010, with Batch 2 coming in mid 2010 and the next batch penciled in for release in early 2011. This was matured in specially selected first fill ex-bourbon casks and is bottled at 10 years of age. The nose is a wonderful combination of sweet and smoky aromas - caramel, butterscotch, marshmallow, malty cereals, dark dried fruit and damp, earthy moss. The palate feels creamy and rich with sweet butterscotch, vanilla, toffee, honey, tangy citrus, mossy smoke, wood spice and a hint of salt. The finish is very long and smoky, with bitter iodine adding further complexity to the many other notes. This is an exceptional whisky that offers incredible complexity and balance. It was our unanimous choice as our favourite whisky of 2010. We can't wait to try the forthcoming version of the Tempest!
Click here to read our original post about Bowmore Tempest.
2 > Balvenie 14 years old Golden Cask
The whisky is bottled at 14 years of age and has been part matured in Caribbean rum casks, hence the name Golden Cask. It was released last February and is one of Balvenie's exclusive Duty Free/travel retail bottlings. The nose is fresh, perfumed and vibrant with plenty of captivating aromas - the combination is excellent and tempting, making you want to just sit and sniff the whisky forever. The palate is fresh, juicy, sweet and intense. There is vanilla, oak, cereal grains, sweet honey, orange zest, sandalwood, nutmeg and crumbly brown sugar. The finish is again intense and begins sweetly before becoming much drier and spicier. This is a delicious whisky and one that mixes its more obvious sweeter notes with the understated subtle ones. Great value for money – grab a bottle next time you go through an airport.
Click here for our original post about Balvenie Golden Cask.
3 > Laphroaig Triple Wood
Another Duty Free/travel retail exclusive whisky. Triple Wood has been matured in three different types of cask - ex-bourbon cask, then quarter cask and then ex-Oloroso sherry casks. The whisky is only produced in small batches, the latest of which was released last Summer. The nose is expressive with intense earthy peat and bitter iodine, before these mellow to allow other notes through to create an intense combination - caramel, raisins, prunes, honey, vanilla and oatcakes. The palate is softer than expected. Rich peat smoke mixes with caramel, almonds, honey, dried fruit, brine and bitter iodine. The finish is long, with peat smoke burning away for ages. This Laphroaig is a lovely dram and a very good example of a peaty, smoky whisky. A wonderfully crafted, expressive and complex dram.
Click here for our original post about Laphroaig Triple Wood.
4 > Double Single by Compass Box
This bottling was released as part of the Compass Box 10th anniversary celebrations. It is made from just one cask of single malt and one cask of grain whisky and is a limited edition of just 876 bottles. The nose is fresh, vibrant and very promising with a complex combination of aromas - vanilla, green apple, nuts, oak, fresh coconut, dried grass, cereals and kiwi fruit. The palate is delicious, juicy, tangy and fresh with many of those notes from the nose present. The finish is short and vibrant with sweet vanilla and honey notes. This is a cracking whisky. It offers an insight in to how good and complex a lighter whisky can be if sympathetically matured and blended. Double Single also confirms that Compass box whiskies are all unique and of a consistently high quality.
Click here for our original post about Double Single from Compass Box.
5 > Bladnoch 20 years old
This whisky was released last April and has been matured in ex-bourbon casks and is the oldest Bladnoch currently available from the Lowland distillery. The nose is enticing and becomes even more so with time in the glass. It has a mix of vanilla, honey, stewed apple and cereal notes, plus zesty lemon, honeysuckle and dried grass. The palate is light, fresh and vibrant, reflecting the order of the nose. However, it is remarkably complex and packed with subtle notes. The finish is long, fresh and very enjoyable with honey and vanilla combining well with cereals and dried grass notes. This is a lovely dram. The quality of the spirit shines through, as does the sympathetic use of good ex-bourbon casks. This would be an ideal light, fresh summer dram or as an aperitif.
Click here for our original post about Bladnoch 20 years old.
In order to complete the Top 10, here are numbers 6-10 as shown in Part 1. Click here to read the full reviews of the five whiskies.
6 > Glenfiddich 14 years old Rich Oak
7 > Arran 14 years old
8 > Balblair 2000
9 > Connemara Turf Mór
10 > Bruichladdich Organic
Monday, January 10, 2011
2 comments:
- Gal Granov said...
thanks for the lovely post.
i have sampled all but the 20 year old.
i have to agree, though on the #1 i differ... ;)
I have the tempest, and it is ok, but not one of my favs. the balvenie golden cask is great, and so is the single dounble i had the privilege of tasting (thanks chris!)
it's really hard for me to try and pick my top 5. i need to think about it.
M&K, may this year be a better whisky year than the 2010.
Gal. - January 11, 2011 at 7:47 AM
Yes, I can confirm the Bladnoch 20yo is superb, as are their OBs. DavidUK
- January 11, 2011 at 10:44 PM
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Bluegrass Great Tony Rice Dead at 69
Bluegrass great Tony Rice died on Christmas Day (Dec. 25). The lauded singer, songwriter and guitarist was 69 years old.
According to a statement from the International Bluegrass Music Association, released on Saturday (Dec. 26), Rice was at home in Reidsville, N.C., when he died. A cause of death was not given, though a Facebook post from Ricky Skaggs on behalf of Rice's family reports that his death occurred "sometime during Christmas morning while making his coffee."
"Not only was Tony a brilliant guitar player but he was also one of the most stylistic lead vocalist (sic) in bluegrass music history ...," reflects Skaggs, who was part of the New South with Rice in the mid-1970s and later recorded a duets album with Rice. "Rest In Peace dear brother. Thank you for your great talent and the music that will continue to inspire more and more generations to come."
Born David Anthony Rice on June 8, 1951, in Danville, Va., Tony Rice grew up in Los Angeles, Calif. His father, Herb Rice, introduced all four of his sons to LA's bluegrass and country scene, with Clarence White of the Kentucky Colonels, specifically, becoming a major influence in Rice's career.
After moving to Louisville, Ky., Rice joined the Bluegrass Alliance, and then J.D. Crowe's New South in the early '70s. He'd later move back to California after meeting mandolin player David Grisman to join his David Grisman Quintet, an instrumental band whose 1977-released debut is widely considered to be one of the premier acoustic string band albums.
Throughout the 1980s and early '90s, Rice was a co-founding member of the Bluegrass Album Band with, among others, Doyle Lawson. His other projects included the Tony Rice Unit (Alison Krauss played with that group for about a year); recordings with his three brothers; four albums with Bela Fleck; work with Jerry Garcia and Norman Blake; and three albums as Rice, Hillman & Pedersen with his brother Larry Rice, Herb Pedersen and ex-Flying Burrito Brothers and Byrds member Chris Hillman, along with a number of solo projects.
Rice is a Grammy Awards winner (Best Country Instrumental Performance with the New South) and a 10-time International Bluegrass Music Association Awards winner. He was named Instrumental Performer of the Year -- Guitar by the latter organization six times.
Rice had been suffering from muscle-tension dysphonia, a vocal cord condition that made singing live impossible, since 1994. In 2014, he was diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis (more commonly known as "tennis elbow"), which made playing guitar painful. Though neither disease is fatal, they both made performing impossible for Rice, whose last public performance was for his Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame induction in 2013.
Rice is survived by his wife Pam and their daughter India, as well as his brothers Wyatt and Ronnie (his third brother, Larry Rice, died in 2006). Funeral details are not available at this time.

subset: commoncrawl


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Of all the commentary I've read on Notre Dame's decision to invite President Obama to receive an honorary doctorate of laws as the university's 2009 commencement speaker, the most disturbing came from Father Kenneth Himes of the Boston College theology department. In a Boston Globe story about Professor Mary Ann Glendon's courageous (and correct) decision to decline Notre Dame's Laetare Medal because the university had defied the U.S. bishops' policy barring honors for pro-abortion politicians at Catholic events, Father Himes said this:
"There are some well-meaning people who think Notre Dame has given away its Catholic identity, because they have been caught up in the gamesmanship of American higher education, bringing in a star commencement speaker even if that means sacrificing their values, and that accounts for some of this …. But one also has to say that there is a political game going on here, and part of that is that you demonize the people who disagree with you, you question their integrity, you challenge their character, and you brand these people as moral poison. Some people have simply reduced Catholicism to the abortion issue, and, consequently, they have simply launched a crusade to bar anything from Catholic institutions that smacks of any sort of open conversation."
I trust Father Himes is not referring here to Professor Glendon, or William McGurn of the Wall Street Journal, or Father Wilson Miscamble, CSC, of the Notre Dame faculty, or me, or other serious critics of Notre Dame's decision. For if Father Himes is suggesting that any of us has demonized the president, branded him "moral poison," reduced Catholicism to the abortion issue, or summoned a crusade to eliminate debate at Catholic colleges and universities, he is perilously close to committing calumny. Yes, there are self-serving nuts in the forest, some of whom have seized the Obama/Notre Dame issue for their own purposes. By why does Father Himes waste time bashing fringe crazies? Why not engage the arguments of the serious critics? Why not attempt a theologically coherent defense of what seems an incomprehensible decision—awarding an honorary doctorate of laws to a man determined to enshrine in law something the Catholic Church regards as a gross violation of justice?
Another colleague (and Notre Dame grad), Professor Russell Hittinger, who holds the William K. Warren Chair in Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa, clarified one key facet of this controversy in an e-mail. Notre Dame, he suggested, has adopted a "purely American low-church position of [institutional] autonomy," by acting as if the local bishop, John D'Arcy, has nothing to say to which the university must pay serious attention—although Bishop D'Arcy, a longtime Notre Dame booster, was speaking for the settled position of the American episcopate in asking the university's president, Father John Jenkins, CSC, to reconsider his decision to honor Obama. As Professor Hittinger continued, this fracas "has nothing to do with academic freedom nor with ecclesiastical supervision of routine academic procedures and judgments. It is ecclesiological all the way down—what Church is Notre Dame 'in,' if any?… . Notre Dame is speaking and acting as though it were not a member of the local Church, let alone Rome."
That's exactly right. There's also a high-stakes "political game" here, though not the one Father Himes suggests. The Obama administration is full of very smart political operators. Reading last November's electoral entrails, they've sensed the possibility of driving a wedge through the Catholic community in America, dividing Catholics from their bishops and thus securing the majority Catholic vote Obama received in 2008. And they've shrewdly judged that the soft underbelly of Catholic resistance to the Obama administration's radical agenda on the life issues is composed of Catholic intellectuals, their prestige institutions (like Notre Dame and Georgetown), and their opinion journals—the very people and opinion centers who claimed last year that Obama was the true pro-life candidate. It's a clever move on the political chessboard, and barring extraordinary actions from the bishops, it will likely meet with considerable success.
Politics aside, though, the crucial question remains this: just what Church are Notre Dame and its supporters "in," anyway?


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Matthew 7:15 - "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
Matthew 24:11 - "…and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."
Saturday, April 19, 2008
First Baptist Academy: New School in a Hotbed of Legalism
Here is a link to the school's website: http://www.fbcjaxacademy.com/
You might be interested in knowing that the pastor of First Baptist Jacksonville, Mac Brunson, the founder of this school, said the following about his church, which will operate the school as a ministry to Jacksonville as a part of our desire to spread the gospel:
"Down in Jacksonville, I'm in a hotbed of legalism. Everybody has a list of rules, and they all seem to have no real relationship with Jesus Christ."
If I were a parent looking for a Christian school, I would be very concerned about sending my kid to a school where the church operating the school is a "hotbed of legalism" according to the pastor. I also would be concerned if the pastor things "everybody has a list of rules", and that no one "has a real relationship with Jesus Christ". I don't think we want our kids indoctrinated by legalists, do we?
To be fair, here are the links where you can hear the words of the First Baptist Academy of Jacksonville founder. These were spoken by Mac Brunson on April 7th, 2008, while preaching in North Carolina at a pastor's conference.
"I'm in a hotbed of legalism" - the short version
"I'm in a hotbed of legalism" - the longer, more "in context" version.
Buyer beware. You might want to contact Mac Brunson for some clarification on what he meant if you are concerned.
33 comments:
It looks like you've found something that you can agree with Dr. Brunson about. I know that you are being facetious. But that is not a good thing, especially following your previous post, because WORDS DO HAVE MEANING!!!!!!
My advice, move on and follow Acts 5:38-39 "So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; BUT if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God." (emphasis mine)
"Let God be found true, and every man a liar..." (Rom.3:4) - April 19, 2008 at 1:10 PM
one thing that dr. vines told the deacons before he left was that we were an ideal church to pastor.what in the world has happened?some people might consider front hugs vs. side hugs to be legalistic,too. didn't smyrl preach on that? just stirrin' the pot bloggers.
- April 19, 2008 at 2:09 PM
After listening to Mac speak, I am angry all over again. If there were a place for us to speak believe me, he would have some accountability required for his actions. What I find difficult is the Zombie like compromise of our church.
We have been so conditioned to follow the pastor, that we are now following him off the cliff. If FBC wants a successful school then they must remove the cloud over the church. A school will be very challenging. We cannot afford to have a pastor at odds with the church.
This is the first time in many years that I have felt the pastor really didn't like us very much. Mac is the one that is legalistic as evidenced in his decisions, in his preaching, and general attitude. If Mac thinks we are legalistic, I would suggest he remove the mote in his eye. Maybe this will enable him to see us in a different light. I don't know why we have to beg a preacher that we have treated well to like us. - April 19, 2008 at 4:40 PM
Its funny how far this blog has come. I remember some earlier blogs that only wanted to ask some questions since the pastor refused to respond to anonymous emails. Had he just simply chosen to respond to one or two anon emails, the blogging would have never started. But it seems his legalism (refusing to interact with with anon emails out of personal conviction) has opened a can of worms that can never be closed. Only his apology and humility on this huge miscalculation lends any hope to ever getting this blog stopped. I mean, why blog about anything if you knew you could email the pastor anonymously and he or one of the staff would get back to you?
You have to admire his sticking to his conviction on not responding to anon emails, no matter the price it is costing him and the church. But you also have to question his wisdom? Then again, woman DO have more sensitivity to the Spirit according to Mac.
Blog on Watchdog. Your blog is a help and blessing to so many. - April 19, 2008 at 8:12 PM
Thanks Watchdog - I have two little girls, one 6 and one 8 that I currently have in a Christian school close to my home. I was considering FBC Jax Academy, but I am concerned about the lack of land for sports fields as well as the distance downtown to drop them off and then pick them up. Also, with the city bus stop on one side, and the Hemming Plaza where the homeless are on the other side, as well as the Trinity Rescue mission on still another side, I was not feeling safe about the neighborhood. I know there is plenty of security, with even roads closed on Sundays, but would they have that 6 days a week now?
And with gas being so high, and the tuition being so high, I doubted I would be able to afford to send my kids. Now, your post is the final straw for me. I feel like it is a final Word from God on this. I will not be sending my kids there. The school they are at is already conservative enough and I do not want to expose them to legalism. It can kill a child's beliefs just as dead as liberalism can.
Thanks for the good information. I will keep checking your site for more helpful information.
OP Soccer mom - Shelly R. - April 19, 2008 at 8:19 PM
1:10 pm
This blog is not an insurrection, such as referred to in Acts chapter 5. This blog is a forum where legitimate concerns and questions can be asked. Also, where ideas can be expressed. Your example is not applicable to this blog.
Please do not confuse the context of this chapter that these men who were apostles and had walked with Jesus personally (which no has done in over 1900 years) relates or compares with whats going on in this blog.
The leader and about 400 men were slain or scattered (it was an insurrection) vs. 36 and in vs 37 another man perished and the people who followed him (another insurrection). I have not read anywhere that persons here are fighting against God or are desirous of an insurrection.
This is not a biblical doctrine otherwise everything done by any pastor would be right in his own eyes and the congregants should just simply trust and obey. This was the sad ending of those that died in Jonestown and in Waco.Present day example Tx and Utah dealing with self appointed Messiahs.
Additionally, the pastor(if this is who you refer to) in accordance with your suggestion could never do a wrong or make a mistake.
Pastors just like anyone else do make mistakes and when they are told or shown by someone who knows better, some see the light. True, some do not, and unfortunatley the church pays for it, whether it is a small thing or a big thing.
There are many pastors that have not kept faith with their churches. Which would lead one to question whether they are truly called or not. I am not referencing Dr Brunson. But you did choose Acts 5 incorrectly.
Should one take your position on Acts 5 then church members of self called preachers would be at risk, being led by a pretender to the pastorate. We are Baptist not a denomination thats obeys the head of a church "no questions asked".
My statements are in no way an indictment of anyone in particular. I speak as to the general position of trust that is given a pastor in any church. - April 19, 2008 at 8:59 PM
Watchdog - this post, with audio, undercuts your criticism. It is clear from the clip that Mac is referring to squabbling preachers, who are "irreconcilable talk show hosts," rigid and legalistic in their own opinions. You might want to listen to the clips more critically and carefully before you post them in support of your specious attacks.
- April 19, 2008 at 10:14 PM
- FBC Jax Watchdog said...
His comments were not limited to preachers. He was talking about people in the church primarily, and then he threw in "pastors even". But his remarks were generally speaking how mean everybody is...and of course his remarks about "hotbed of legalism" and "everyone having a list" were not directed at pastors.
- April 19, 2008 at 10:43 PM
You are now being vindictive. This post does not ask questions, it does not inform. You know and everyone that reads this knows you are just trying to hurt the church, trying to harm the school to harm Mac Brunson. You need to consider how your words are harming good people.
- April 20, 2008 at 7:53 AM
No there may not be an insurrection at First Baptist, but it is evident that some of you (not you particularly) are at least wanting a bloodless coup, If Dr Brunson does not meet your requirements! - April 20, 2008 at 9:23 AM
9:23 a.m.
To use a well known "spoken political phrase" lets ask this question. Are we better off in any venue now than we were before Brunson got here. I believe that would be a resounding NO!
A coup no. A pastor accountable to the church yes. Especially a church that has always had a history of loving and trusting their pastor. It would be nice if the church felt THEY are the reason the pastor came and not just a job opportunity.
The reference of 8:59 p.m, I believe upon reading it was addressed to the incorrect usage of Acts chapter 5. Or does rightly dividing the Word not mean anything anymore? - April 20, 2008 at 1:52 PM
WD,we have been for a long time. Think about it, we were rewarding ALL our students with trips for disciplship. Forcing them into youth chiors at camps. I can remember one year during Operation Andrew members were PAID $50 for a first time visitor. You've been here for sometime, right (I guess, who knows who you are....hehe oh wait, I forgot, I know who you are.)My point is for the last 15 years at least, if you did everything on our list you were in God's will and we rewarded you for it. And just how many cars did we give away over the years? Do you not remember any of this? Where were you then?
- April 20, 2008 at 3:37 PM
- FBC Jax Watchdog said...
Anon 3:37 - reward trips is not legalism. There may be plenty wrong with reward trips, even enough perhaps to do away with them, I don't know. But to equate the practice of encouraging young people in the disciplines of faith by rewarding them with a trip is, well, its encouraging them in the disciplines of the faith. Never, ever did our church tell young people - "do what's on this list and you're OK with God and go on this trip, else you're bad and you stay home."
Cars? How many cars did we give away? I only know of 1, and that was a Caddy on a long-time staff members retirement.
I don't know about giving $50 for every visitor in Operation Andrew. Again, maybe a really bad practice, but not quite sure that is legalism, if indeed FBC Jax ever did that.
Mac called our church a "hotbed of legalism". He can make light of his words like he did today "When I open my mouth, who knows what is going to come out." or something to that effect. What kind of example is that for younger Christians for the pastor to say that? He can say he loves us from his pulpit, but his actions and words demonstrate otherwise. - April 20, 2008 at 4:02 PM
Anon 3:37
Let's assume your right that what you are telling us about in the past is legalism. Aren't you living in the past? That is in years long gone, so why bring that up now?
Furthermore Mac Brunson did not say that we WERE legalistic in the past, or that in years gone by we did things in a legalistic fashion.
He said he was, currently is, now, as in today, is in a hotbed of legalism. Are we still legalistic then? If so, he's been here 2 years, and we're still a hotbed of legalism? - April 20, 2008 at 6:03 PM
The Pope was just here. Does anyone know if he was given a $307,000 piece of land for "love and affection." Those Catholics are so gullible you know. They treat the Pope as if he is God's man here on earth. Wouldn't surprise me one bit to see someone give him such a thing.
- April 20, 2008 at 7:50 PM
WD: Great Smyrl sermon - I love to hear bible preachers every now and then when they by chance fill the pulpit when our preacher isn't able to preach. But I don't think Smyrl got the memo. We are a hotbed of legalism so he needs to tone down those messages that call for total obedience to specific things in the Bible. And his swipe at the Catholics was uncalled for, that also might be viewed as "legalistic". Come on guys, get on the same page, will ya?
- April 20, 2008 at 8:06 PM
Re: Legalism:
Didn't we just give Mac & Debbie a check for an ....again (undisclosed amount) to celebrate their second anniversary. Just like we did in the old "hotbed of legalism" past.
The beat goes on. - April 20, 2008 at 9:02 PM
What's going on with this horrible guitar music we heard in the morning service? Not to mention the teenage drama in the evening service. You maybe trying to reach the youth but you are losing the older faithful members with this stuff. Please understand that this type of activity prior to the service is not conducive to putting one in a Godly frame of mind.
The whole direction of the church is becoming very immature. - April 20, 2008 at 9:10 PM
Geez, you bloggers can really get some mileage out of one quote.
Steve W - April 21, 2008 at 2:17 PM
Who says every service has to have funeral, I mean organ music.
Live a little.
Who says everyone likes your style of music? I watch other churches.
FBC is in the stone ages as far as music goes. - April 21, 2008 at 3:43 PM
- FBC Jax Watchdog said...
I enjoyed the group yesterday in the am service; yes, having guitars and drums from a special music performer is different, but I thought they were good and weren't crossing a line that might be too much for our older saints. They were quite good I thought, and they were missionaries, unlike some of the hotshot Christian groups that make the circuit of mega churches demanding huge fees to "perform" at church. I'd much rather have a group like that come in than _________ (deleting name that everyone would recognize) that would demand $5000 or more to even pick up a mike.
- April 21, 2008 at 5:01 PM
- FBC Jax Watchdog said...
Anon 3:43 - is that you Paul Z still lurking?
- April 21, 2008 at 5:03 PM
- FBC Jax Watchdog said...
Steve W - one quote yes, but just another example Steve in a long series of careless blunders, arrogant actions, for which Mac will never ever apologize or explain or clarify because his ego is larger than the airspace of the worship auditorium. I've never in SBC circles seen an ego like Mac's where he thinks he can say whatever he likes in whatever way he wants, do whatever he wants without explanation, and never be held accountable or explain to the people whom he is charged to lead as pastor. The things Mac does and says I might expect from Benny Hinn or Creflo Dollar, but not from a SBC pastor leading a conservative SBC church like FBC Jax that has always loved and followed their pastor. His words and actions continue to demonstrate that he is abusing us, taking advantage of our tendency to love and follow our pastor.
"Mileage out of quote" Steve?
No, its another example of an arrogant pastor's two-year long abuse of his congregation.
And his quote yesterday of "you never know what's going to come out of my mouth" and "if what I say offends you, you ought to hear what I don't say" might be cute coming from someone who is a bit more humble, but when an arrogant man like Mac says it, who the prior week just told a group of pastors about his church: "I'm in a hotbed of legalism. Everybody has their own list of rules, and they seem to have no real relationship with Jesus Christ" - well, its just an example of the brazenness of Mac Brunson. Its enough to make one's stomach turn to see such raw arrogance on display toward the people he is supposed to love and lead. - April 21, 2008 at 5:32 PM
dear anon 9:10,welcome to the wonderful world of contemporary christian worship aka worshitainment. someone once preached that we were not going to be the rock and roll church.if that wasn't rock being played during that skit,what was it? oh btw,if you want to see the beatles just go to the 1st grade assembly room,there they are dressed in their sgt. pepper outfits on the wall.just "imagine" that.
- April 21, 2008 at 6:59 PM
Honestly....I agree with Dr. Brunson. Legalism is very apparent in Jacksonville & even more apparent in the church. Legalism, in its truest form, is someone taking their views, beliefs & opinions and then cutting someone else down because they differ in those views & beliefs....is that not what this blog does? Yes. the creators of this blog have their ideas of how the pastor should do his job and how the church should be run, and because he doesn't agree with you....you create a blog in an effort to rally others against him, which you cloak in the lie of being "informative". In fact, my post will be criticized because I differ from some by supporting what the pastor says & does.
I am a parent and when the school opens, ill be first in line to sign my child up because I want him to be under teaching that shows him the problems & shows him the reality that those problems exist, not just in the world, but even more so in the church. I want him under teaching that isn't afraid to be bold, and I want him not to be afraid to stand on his beliefs, knowing full well that even the church will attack him.
Dr. Brunson, KEEP PREACHING! This blog doesnt represent the views of the church but of a small handful of upset & offended! - April 21, 2008 at 7:25 PM
- FBC Jax Watchdog said...
Anon - I'm not going to criticize you for defending your pastor, but I am going to try to persuade you that you're wrong in your assessment of legalism.
Your definition of legalism is incorrect. Though you might have a misunderstanding of what legalism is, I'm quite certain that Mac Brunson DOES know what it is and so do the preachers he was preaching to in North Carolina, and that's what makes his words so damaging when he says we are "legalistic".
Legalism is much more sinister than "putting someone down because of their beliefs or views" as you say (if that is what it is, then Mac and Jim Smyrl would be legalistic because they have put down those who prefer ties, and more traditional worship - those are their "beliefs and views"). It is a teaching that says to gain God's favor you have to adhere to a set of rules, or you have to worship in a certain manner, or you have to adhere strictly to a list of dos and don'ts. Even Dr. Lindsay and Dr. Vines who preached hard on certain sins were not legalistic as they preached against them as a matter of conviction not as a requirement for salvation - and Dr. Vines always taught us about "legalism" and "liberalism" and how to identify them and the importance of avoiding them. Liberalism is really distorting the gospel and placing a burdensome yoke on people.
Mac Brunson knows that. And I'm certain that he knows we are NOT and NEVER HAVE BEEN a legalistic church. He's trying to modernize the church, to move us in a direction that he thinks best to reach people for Christ, and for that I commend him. However, any pastor knows that when you go down this road you will face opposition from those who are more traditional and that even fear change. So instead of lovingly explaining, and guiding, and teaching, and being patient yet persistent in telling us what we are changing and why we are changing and all of the other things that a loving leader does to get his people to change from things they are comfortable with - he instead is resorting to making slanderous claims and complaining and making himself to be a victim: that we are worshipping the past, that we are worshipping previous pastors, that we are "comfortable in our sin and in our compromise" if we don't go along with him.
Mac can't have it both ways. He can't tell us about a school for 1 year, tell us we will be holding a vote on it at some point, then lo and behold call an UNANNOUNCED business meeting at which the vote is taken and the vote is couched as a motion to take 1/2 million dollars from the church to start the school....then turn around a few weeks later and go to North Carolina and whine that he's "in a hotbed of legalism" at FBC Jax. Sure, take 1/2 million from the church for a school with our church's name on it...but whatever you do Mac don't slander the name of the church to people in North Carolina and NOT think its going to affect people's view of the school. This is what makes me so angry...instead of him going up there and bragging about how our church did vote and affirm the 1/2 million for the school showing that we ARE following his leadership in this area...he instead complains about a hotbed of legalism.
And don't think either Mac that slamming our church behind our backs won't affect those who might come to your pastor's conference. We'll make sure that we keep your "hotbed of legalism" quote front and center, until such time you apologize or explain it. - April 21, 2008 at 7:59 PM
Voice of Reason says to anon 7:25 p.m. and others who seem to miss the point of this blog: - I am not going to criticize you for your views in support of your pastor and church. Thanks for sharing them. I will just say that I have no problem with WHAT he is doing, it is just with HOW he is doing it. He could continue to do everything he is doing as far as I am concerned, but he MUST be open and honest about them or he will forever be dogged by people who have questions and concerns. He needs to explain himself from the pulpit, or at least respond to anon emails that voice some concern over these issues:
For example: he can go ahead and accept a gift of $307k from a member only two weeks after he arrives. That is not really my concern if he paid the proper taxes. But to not even tell his congregation about it and by not even explaining why it was offered and why it was accepted and why the timing of it...well that makes us wonder about his motives for coming, his relocation package, what the search committee knew about it and many other concerns.
Another example...if you are going to spend the church's money to publish a bulletin, and then use that bulletin to promote trips you are hosting the very week you arrive at the church, go ahead and do that. But just let us know if you are profiting personally from it based on how many members sign up to go with you. And if you want to start another school in the city downtown, go ahead. But please don't tell us we NEED it to reach people for Christ because "no one is home anymore." And don't have a fundraiser for a Jewish hospital that performs abortions and that is tied in to private business ventures with "prominent deacons" because "Jesus was a Jew."
Does this make sense? Sure, he was called here to lead, not me! I understand that! But to make by-law changes, hire his family, remodel the children's building for his own secluded luxury office suites, to live rent free in an oceanfront condo for a year, to accept the huge land gift, to be out of the pulpit sporadically with no explanation, to bash his congregation, and to promote a local builder that just happens to be the same ones that gave him the land gift...well he can do all that, but his ability to lead out is severely hampered and his motives are called into question. And as long as that continues, I would encourage people not to give another dime to his "family business" and to hold him accountable in that manner.
And finally, there is no reason to tell him "KEEP PREACHING" since #1 he does not read this blog, and #2 he WILL keep preaching no doubt as long as he can continue the above personal wealth building and branding himself at our expense. Every time someone puts a dollar in that offering, they are in essence saying "keep preaching." - April 21, 2008 at 10:16 PM
10:16 p.m. Voice of Reason:
THIS IS EXACTLY WHY THE BLOG IS HERE. IF PEOPLE CAN'T SEE THIS THEY CAN'T SEE ANYTHING. - April 22, 2008 at 7:38 AM
"worshitainment" posted by 6:59
Surley this venue is digressing even more! Watchdog could you please be a better WATCHDOG for your site. I can't imagine this falling under your proclaimed categories of demading accountability. However, it does make apparent the hearts of those who are participating and following your lead.
Shame. - April 22, 2008 at 4:59 PM
If Mac was speaking to those who use this blog to demand certain things of the pastor, so he can be recognized a pastor in their eyes, He was correct about the legalism.
I don't expect too many here to recognize the application.
Rules, rules, have we got rules for our pastor... - April 25, 2008 at 11:18 AM
- April 25, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Really! Move on - you need to find something to occupy your time, er, life. Quit filing lawsuits and realize that you brought any problems on by putting yourself out on a PUBLIC forum. Once you do that - you "out" yourself. You are probably only after money anyway. So sorry for your family.
- April 28, 2009 at 8:59 AM
FBC JAX IS a hotbed of legalism. Dr. Vines devolved it to that before he left. Of course, you worship Dr. Vines, so you blame Dr. Brunson. I think you're a hypocrite.
- December 4, 2009 at 3:43 PM


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SAN ANTONIO, Texas/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Texas Democrat Julian Castro, a former San Antonio mayor and top U.S. housing official, formally launched his White House bid on Saturday, entering as a dark horse candidate in a likely crowded field vying to challenge President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.
Castro, 44, the grandson of a Mexican immigrant who would be the first Hispanic elected president, served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development under former President Barack Obama and has long been viewed as a rising star in the party. He will seek to position himself as a political outsider with liberal credentials.
"I'm running for president because it's time for new leadership. Because it's time for new energy," Castro said, launching his campaign. "And it's time for a new commitment to make sure that the opportunities I've had are available for every American."
One of Castro's first stops as a candidate will take place on Monday in Puerto Rico, where he will attend an event hosted by the liberal Latino Victory Fund.
He made his announcement at Plaza Guadalupe, a landmark in San Antonio's sprawling west side Mexican-American barrio, a neighborhood of neat, brightly painted wood framed homes, many on tiny lots and festooned with white plaster Catholic statues.
In summarizing his political positions, Castro endorsed "Medicare for all," which would in effect create a national healthcare plan by allowing anyone to join the public healthcare system. That policy point is likely to divide Democrats in the primary, with more moderate candidates favoring a less drastic approach.
He used his launch to repeat support of the Black Lives Matter movement. He spoke about the need to address climate change.
Castro, whose grandmother was born in Mexico, has sought to use his family's personal story to criticize Trump's border policies – including criticizing the president by name in his launch speech.
"Yes, we must have border security, but there is a smart and humane way to do it. And there is no way in hell that caging children is keeping us safe," Castro said.
Castro is the second candidate to formally launch a campaign. Former U.S. Representative John Delaney has been running for more than a year. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has formed an exploratory committee and Representative Tulsi Gabbard said Friday that she will run for president.
More than a dozen potential Democratic candidates are exploring a possible run for president in 2020. Moderates and progressives in the party have been debating about how to best challenge Trump, the likely Republican nominee.
Some Democrats believe an establishment figure who can appeal to centrist voters is the way to win back the White House. Others contend a fresh face is needed to energize the party's increasingly left-leaning base.
Castro, who was considered on the short list to be Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 election, has been out of the political spotlight for the past two years, at a time when politics has become all-consuming across America.
Mark Jones, a political analyst at Rice University in Houston, who has followed Castro's career, says despite this, his chances of securing the nomination in what is certain to be a crowded field are slim at best.
"Julian Castro shouldn't be counted out completely," Jones said. "That said, his star is definitely not rising anymore, and the sun may be setting on the presidential ambitions of Julian Castro."


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What do you want to be when you grow up? I'm sure you were asked this question at least once when you were a youngster. When asked the question, did you have an answer at the ready, or did you need a few minutes to think about it? We all had dreams of becoming something great, like a fireman, a teacher, or a rock star, just to name a few. Well, how did you do? Maybe you never aspired to be what you set out to be or said that you would become. But then again, things change. The older we get, our tastes change, our view of the world changes, even our goals change.
One of the most important lessons I've learned during my career path is to do something you love to do. Why is this important? I feel that if you enjoy what you make a living at, you end up being happy in more ways than one. Life itself becomes much more interesting and fun. You find yourself speaking passionately to others about your work. The experiences you have along the way become much more rewarding, and enrich your life in many ways. You meet fascinating people. I know people who have turned favorite hobbies into small businesses, and have succeeded. Sure, they may have had to sacrifice a steady paycheck for their happiness, but not one of them either turned back or gave up. Their passion carried them through to success.
While no job or business is perfect, the important thing is to enjoy it, even learn from it. If you are unhappy in your current situation, why not take steps now to change it? Somewhere out there is a job or business that is perfect for you. If you are already there, I applaud you. If not, realize that it may take some time to figure out what you really want to do, and even more time to actually get there. That's all right! I can tell you from experience that finding and doing what you love is absolutely worth it, every step of the way. All of the research, training, and hands-on experience has made me a stronger, happier person. Feeling in charge of my own destiny…well, there just is no greater feeling.
Do what you love, and love what you do, whatever that may be. You'll be happier for it, trust me. I promise you will never look back.


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5 Restaurants With Views to Dine For
Lush, tropical landscapes. Gorgeous city skylines. Tempting mountain vistas. These are the reasons why we go on vacation, right? That, and being able to relax and let someone else do the cooking for a change. But why not have both? Hotels with top-notch restaurants know that pulling in diners is about more than just the grub. A destination restaurant has to have both killer cuisine and a view to dine for [Ed. Note: See what we did there?] in order to pull vacationers away from their lounge chairs. We've seen some of the most unique and breathtaking vistas, all while dining on the freshest cuisine, at these five scrumptious hotel properties.
Restaurant #1: Mango Reef at the Alexandra Resort and Spa, Turks and Caicos
Specializing in fresh seafood and Caribbean flavors, the Alexandra Resort and Spa's Mango Reef is known for its beachside dining. Not only is it one of the most recommended restaurants in Turks and Caicos, but its plates are surprisingly affordable in an otherwise pricey destination. The menu is as extensive as the view is expansive, offering delicious eats both familiar and unique to the islands.
Oyster's Menu Pick: While Turks and Caicos is best known foodie-wise for its conch dishes (both the fritters and conch salad here are delicious), the fish fillets at Mango Reef are prepared to perfection. Try the char-grilled grouper; marinated with garlic, sweet basil and lemon juice; the flavors are simple and satisfying.
Restaurant #2: Terrazza Brunelleschi Restaurant at the Grand Hotel Baglioni, Florence
With a breathtaking view of the Duomo, Terrazza Brunelleschi at the Grand Hotel Baglioni is worth a visit if just for the photo-op. But the traditional Florentine cuisine makes this spot a great dinner destination as well. Outdoor seating is available when it's nice out and we highly recommend it. Al fresco diners can enjoy views of gorgeous Tuscan architecture and picturesque countryside. Meals are pricey, but worth every cent.
Oyster's Menu Pick: The veal cheek, served alongside creamy potatoes with olives and Brussels sprouts, is a deliciously rich meal. The veal melts in your mouth, while the natural sweetness of the potatoes isn't overpowered by the olives. The Brussels sprouts add a refreshing crunch.
Restaurant #3: Six Peaks Grille at the Resort at Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe
Beautiful vistas are abundant at the Resort at Squaw Creek. There are gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains and valley from nearly every point of the property, but we'd argue that the best spot for soaking it all in is at Six Peaks Grille. The fine dining establishment offers unique culinary creations, craft cocktails and breathtaking views of the scenery.
Oyster's Menu Pick: We love the halibut with baby bok choy, coconut risotto, and ginger-yuzu froth. The delicate flavors in this dish require a careful hand so that one does not overpower the others, but Six Peaks passes the test with flying colors.
Restaurant #4: Jade Cuisine at the Jade Mountain Resort, St. Lucia
Overlooking St. Lucia's pristine mountains and crystal blue waters, the Jade Mountain Resort is known for its startlingly beautiful architecture and dedicated service — qualities that only enhance the awe-inspiring view at its main restaurant, Jade Cuisine. James Beard Award-winning Chef Allen Susser is the culinary genius behind the menu, which fuses bold island flavors with European cooking techniques.
Oyster's Menu Pick: Tarragon Roasted Wahoo is a must-try. This scrumptious — and filling — meal comes with chorizo crab stuffed hearts of palm and shrimp bisque. The flavors pair well together, while the spice of the chorizo and creaminess of the bisque balance the wahoo's light, slightly aromatic preparation.
Restaurant #5: Restaurant Petrus at the Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong
Perched high above the city with breathtaking views of Victoria Harbour, the Michelin-starred Restaurant Petrus at the Island Shangri-La offers haute French cuisine and one of the most extensive wine lists in Asia. Chef Frederic Chabbert has created a menu that both speaks to its opulent surroundings and features fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Oyster's Menu Pick: No meal is complete without dessert, and Chabbert's Dark Chocolate Sphere is a masterful creation that no sweet tooth will be able to deny. Served with mascarpone, orange zest, and cinnamon milk, this dish is crisp and creamy, tangy and sweet.
You can't return a bad vacation. That's why Oyster.com, "The Hotel Tell-All," and partner of The Travel Channel, comprehensively visits, photographs, reviews and rates each hotel we feature. Basically, we uncover the truth, before it's "uh-oh" time.


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Harvard historian Caroline Light grew up with guns. Her family lived in Southwestern Virginia, and her parents regularly enjoyed hunting and shooting skeet (clay targets). They used guns on a recreational basis, not for what Light calls "do-it-yourself self-defense."
Yet that's precisely what millions of Americans are doing — arming themselves with guns on the off chance that they will need them. Several versions of "stand your ground laws," which allow individuals to use lethal force if they fear for their lives, have grown exponentially in the past few decades. The law's premise stems from a "kill-or-be-killed" philosophy, Light says, that has become "an ideology, and ideal, that's been rapidly spreading throughout the United States for a while."
Light's new book, Stand Your Ground: A History of America's Love Affair With Lethal Self-Defense, looks at how stand your ground descended from 17th century English common law. The so-called Castle Doctrine decreed that a man (women and children were considered property then) had the right to protect himself if an intruder breached the privacy of his home. That doctrine would later be applied in the English colonies across the sea, even before there was a United States.
But it wasn't for everyone. From this country's earliest beginnings, Light says, the right to kill a dangerous intruder or enemy was reserved for white, property-owning males. Settlers could kill native people who objected to the appropriation of their lands, but they'd face little, if any, retribution.
The reverse wasn't true for native peoples. "Native Americans who wanted to defend their homes from colonization had no legal grounds to stand on," Light notes. Nor did slaves or freedmen. During and well after the civil war, stand your ground was used to protect white men's homes and possessions — including wives and daughters — from the mostly imaginary threat of non-white predators.
Many former Confederate states did not allow blacks to own guns for decades. Despite that, many black households kept them quietly, for hunting and for protection from white vigilantes, and at times local officials. During the civil rights movement, many leaders, especially those in isolated rural areas, kept guns to protect their families.
In places where guns were legal, some blacks decided eventually to test the system. In Oakland, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense monitored the police — while armed. They explained they were not interested in interfering with officers' duties as they performed them — but neither were they planning to allow Oakland's police force to continue their notorious brutalization of the city's black neighborhoods.
The Panthers pushed the envelope even more when they openly carried guns into California's state capitol building in 1967; they pointed out that loaded guns, openly carried, were allowed.
Responding to the possibility of armed black men facing off with police forces in the state, California Representative Don Mulford had already introduced a bill that would ban loaded open-carry in public places. The bill was crafted to make it almost impossible for anyone to carry loaded guns anywhere in any California city and was being debated during the Panthers' visit. Shortly after the Panthers paraded through the state capitol, the legislature passed the bill, and it was approved by then-governor Ronald Reagan (who'd actually been at the capitol that day).
Armed black folks, whether during Reconstruction or 150 years later, tend to get attention. Philadelphia activist Maj Touré, the Founder of Black Guns Matter, sees no issue there. He travels through inner-city neighborhoods teaching gun safety and Second-Amendment rights to people whose streets are often plagued by violence, sometimes from the police. Touré has armed himself because, as he said, "I'm not going to be anybody's hashtag. I'm going to exercise my human right to defend myself, and I'm not gonna be a victim to somebody that doesn't want to respect my human rights."
Philip Smith began learning about and using guns after he moved from Northern California to the Atlanta area, where he found guns were very much part of the local culture. He founded the National African American Gun Association to, as its site says, "expose, educate, and motivate as many African American men and women to go out and purchase a firearm for self- defense and to take training on proper gun use." Smith believes in being licensed, competent and ready.
"We don't want to bother anyone," Smith said, "but we're not gonna let anyone come and break into our house at two in the morning and sit there and wait for the police to come, and get killed in the interim. We're gonna protect ourselves."
That belief seems to be gaining traction: According to a 2014 Pew Research study, the number of African Americans who believe gun ownership does more to protect people than endanger them nearly doubled in two years. And even as it urged its members to exercise their rights to keep "the thugs, gang bangers, illegal immigrants, the terrorists" at bay, the NRA broadened its outreach to ethnic communities. One of its spokesmen is lawyer and gun rights activist Colion Noir, who has become well-known for his appearances on NRATV.
Even if it's legal to carry a gun, if you're black, does having a gun actually make you safer? Stand Your Ground author Caroline Light isn't so sure. "When you look at what really happens out in the world," she said, "and the way that, especially, African-American men are treated when they're armed, already the deck is stacked against people who are judged or perceived to be a threat. Particularly people of color," she said. "Particularly men of color in the United States."
After Trayvon Martin's death in 2012, the Tampa Bay Times conducted an investigation in which it noted almost 200 stand-your-ground cases, and cited their outcomes. In addition to finding that such cases are on the rise "largely because defense attorneys are using 'stand your ground' in ways states never envisioned," the paper noted that defendants claiming stand your ground "are more likely to prevail if the victim is black." Blacks who use stand your ground are almost 15 percent more likely to face a penalty for doing so than their white peers.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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As with our Ubuntu wishlist, we can't actually tell everyone contributing to Google's open source Android mobile phone software what to do. All we can do is suggest five things that would make its smartphones even smarter.
A better keyboard
A good handful of developers and handset makers have taken steps to improve Android's stock virtual keyboard. Some have suggested it's really an issue with hardware responsiveness. Either way, Lukas Mathis does a masterful job explaining exactly what's wrong with Android's keyboard, as compared to the iPhone, which has had a few years to mature and iterate:
Typing on the iPhone ... works perfectly well, perhaps better than on a physical keyboard. Doing the same thing on an HTC Magic is often annoying and wrought with errors.
We'll leave the physical keyboard debate out of this. The virtual keyboard is the route more handset makers that aren't BlackBerry seem to be taking. What's more, for a device that's supposed to give you premiere mobile access to Google searches and information, having a device punish you for trying to type with one hand is off-putting. Handset makers need to widen the screens, and Android's developers need to learn how to better anticipate what a user is trying to type.
A web-based Market with great search
When you think about Google's origins and mission of providing good information to the masses, it's hard to square that against how the Android Market is organized. On the phone itself, everything is an App or Game, broken into a few sub-categories. On the web version, you can browse the Featured, Top Paid, and Top Free sections, or browse the hopelessly stuffed sub-categories—without any search function.
In actually using the phone, people search with a tag and functionality mindset. "I need a highly-rated free Twitter client," or "I need a screen widget that shows a calendar." As it stands, you can search descriptions from the phone, but you have to scroll lots of results on a tiny screen, with no sorting tools. You can sometimes find an app's "QR code" on the web and point your camera's phone, with a Barcode Scanner app running, to link to the right spot on the market, and—wait, no, this is ridiculous, and we're in CueCat territory.
In other words, Google needs to forge a smarter link between a great web-based Market and individual phones, and improve the search and sort abilities on Android phones themselves.
A serious hardware contender
Even the best-reviewed Android phone out right now, the HTC Hero, suffers from the same middling processor and laggy operation as its predecessors. That's not to say it isn't perhaps more functional and fun than many other web-enabled phones out there, but we haven't seen what Android can really do when it's allowed to move into the passing lane.
Not to be lazy, but writer of things Mac and design John Gruber already pointed out what Android device makers can do to make users happy, get attention, and even push Apple as a real competitor. Simply put, build a top-shelf device, don't be afraid to charge for it, and don't try to eat from the same piece of pie as the iPhone:
Consider trade-offs that Apple is unlikely to make, like, say, device thickness. Beef your phone up with a bigger (and, yes, slightly thicker) battery than the iPhone's and then make battery life a major selling point. Something along the lines of, "The iPhone's battery life is fine for casual users, but serious users need more than just a few hours.
A syncing, Chrome-powered browser
Android's built-in browser is based off the same WebKit roots as Google Chrome (and Safari), but it doesn't move one-fifth as fast, even on a Wi-Fi connection. That might be a hardware issue, and so may improve soon. One thing it doesn't do, though, is allow you to import bookmarks from a file, or otherwise match them to another browser you've already filled with your web preferences.
The most exciting part of our interview with Mozilla Mobile VP Jay Sullivan was when he mentioned how Fennec, a Firefox-based mobile browser (that might land on Android someday), will give Firefox users the ability to sync browser history, passwords, bookmarks, or even the last set of tabs opened. Google can likely go beyond these basics, and should. The only thing better than a fast and snappy browser is one that's a simple extension of your already-snappy desktop browser.
Open up, or just be nice, to modders
Earlier this month, Google sent a cease-and-desist letter to the coder behind CyanogenMod, a totally unofficial, but pretty awesome, custom ROM. It offered features from the next build of Android, much-needed speed optimizations, a few cool secret abilities, and generally made nerdy, tech-savvy Android owners excited to have their phones. It also copied a few of Google's proprietary apps to make the phone fully functional. It seems like the issue has settled down, and Cyanogen is even getting help from Android developers in forging his next project, and that's pretty encouraging.
Know who some of the most enthusiastic, and evangelical, Xbox owners are? Those who manage their entire home entertainment lives with Xbox Media Center. Before the app store, and, to a lesser extent, after it, the iPhone cultivated a similarly dedicated group of "jailbreakers." Most of the folks who would dare to "flash" a phone, or even get that far into the process, know the risks of doing so, and take their lumps when things go wrong. At worst, they do little to no harm to the average customer who sticks with the system and updates provided by their carrier. At best, their enthusiasm and unofficial discoveries generate a good deal of publicity and bragging rights for the platform. It seems like Google's taken a soft stance on modders so far—let's hope it continues.
What needs to be changed or added on the Android platform, not just an individual phone, to make it truly great? Give us your own wishlist in the comments.


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Revised and Expanded Edition - Includes CD-ROM with Custom Design Software
For the past ten years The Passive Solar House has offered proven techniques for building homes that heat and cool themselves, using readily available materials and methods familiar to all building contractors and many do-it-yourself homeowners.
True to this innovative, straightforward approach, the new edition of this best-selling guide includes CSOL passive solar design software, making it easier than ever to heat your home with the power of the sun. Since The Passive Solar House was first published, passive solar construction expert James Kachadorian has perfected user-friendly, Windows-compatible software to supplement the design process explained in the book by allowing homeowners/designers to enter the specifications of their design and see how changing a variable will affect its energy efficiency.
This is the building book for a world of climbing energy costs. Applicable to diverse regions, climates, budgets, and styles of architecture, Kachadorian's techniques translate the essentials of timeless solar design into practical wisdom for today's solar builders. Profiles of successful passive solar design, construction, and retrofit projects from readers of the first edition provide inspiration to first-time homebuilders and renovators alike.


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Proving that the motor industry can work for real people
Our unique way of working will see your scrap vehicle turned into funding for social value projects
Although cars are our passion, it's actually social value initiatives and community charity work that's at the heart of what we do.
After helping you to find a great price from a scrap car yard or vehicle recycler in Chadderton, a portion of the funds that your car helps us to generate will mean we can provide financial backing for a number of important causes, including:
- HMP Academies: Helping to reduce reoffending rates
- Supported living services: Reducing dependency on social housing
- Food redistribution networks: Creating meals for those experiencing poverty
While these initiatives have a direct impact on the people who use them, the benefits are often felt much more widely. The charity projects we support have been proved to ease the huge demands put on taxpayer-funded services - including the police, local healthcare, the courts, offender management services – and many more.
You can help us make a difference
Effective recycling of cars isn't just a positive thing for the environment – it can have a life-changing impact on real people in local communities.


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Earlier today, while doing some last-minute grocery shopping, my friend Isa retweeted this:
REMINDER: you don't have to have 2016 all figured out by the time the ball drops tomorrow night. #fireandwindco
— Stephanie Kay Sharp (@stephkaysharp) Disyembre 31, 2015
And I thought, Yes, this.
I admit that I have been putting off this 2015 recap for the past few days and was intent on doing other things (like writing) because I wasn't sure how to go about this. I mean, 15 is a pretty big number to fill (maybe I should quit doing this numbers thing for my recaps), and I guess a part of me is a bit in denial that this year is ending now.
And perhaps there's a bit of dread coming in, unlike the previous years, and it felt a little disconcerting because I love the New Year. I love it because it meant so many things: new beginnings, new goals, new everything – even if really, not all of them are new. Everything's fresh and just brimming with possibilities, and I like to make January 1 always awesome so I could carry it for the rest of the year.
But the ending of 2015 and the start of 2016 is a little bit different. I admit that it's also probably because I've been on vacation, and I am loving the fact that I didn't have much to do nor work to think of and the new year coming meant I'm closer to going back to the office again. Haha. I guess another factor is that I'm turning thirty next year and how about that for some growing-up anxiety.
I mean, thirty. Friends who are already past that age tell me that it isn't a big deal afterwards, but I bet you were also freaking out slightly when you were approaching that age. :P But really, I guess there's that feeling that I should have a grasp of my life better now that I'm reaching a new decade. Like I should have this and that, like I should have a plan and an answer to some of the questions that I had back when I was 20, or 24, or something.
But you know what? Those are lies. No one has all the answers and no one has things figured out right now. And Stephanie Kay Sharp's tweet reminded me that it's okay not to be completely 100% ready for 2016 by the time this day ends, because who's completely ready, anyway? I don't think anyone really is. The best I can do now is reflect, be thankful, and pray for what 2016 has in store for me, for us.
Because 2015 is all about FAITH: being assured of what is hoped for; being certain of what we cannot see.Â
Now that I've got that word vomit out (I just watched Mean Girls the other night, haha), I've decided not to the 15 things, because really, 15 is not enough, and also already daunting for this Tita to remember everything. ;) I think I'm the only one pressuring myself to do the same things I did in the past years. So, instead, an unnumbered list.


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(What is RSS?)
29th Int. Conference on Software Engineering® 20 - 26 May 2007
ICSE is the premier forum for researchers to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, results, experiences and concerns in the field of software engineering.
The theme of ICSE 2007 is Developing Dependable Software, with which we acknowledge the increasingly crucial role the engineering of software plays in business, healthcare, government and society at-large. The theme also highlights the growing responsibility our profession and its members are expected to assume. As such, an important goal of this meeting will be to reach out to other engineering and scientific disciplines that have an impact upon or benefit from software engineering know-how.
We invite high quality submissions of technical papers describing original and unpublished results of theoretical, empirical, conceptual, and experimental software engineering research. Incremental improvements over previously published work should have been evaluated through systematic empirical or experimental evaluation. Submissions of papers describing groundbreaking approaches to emerging problems will be considered based on timeliness and potential impact. Topics of interest for ICSE include, but are not limited to:


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World Psychology: Psychology by Country · Psychology of Displaced Persons
Hispanic (Template:Lang-es) is a term that historically denoted relation to the ancient Hispania (geographically coinciding with the Iberian Peninsula). During the Modern Era, it took on a more limited meaning relating to the contemporary nation of Spain.
Still more recently, the term is used to describe the culture and people of countries formerly ruled by Spanish Empire usually with a majority population of substantial Spanish heritage and speaking the Spanish language. These include Mexico and most Central and South American countries, most of the Greater Antilles, and the African nations of Equatorial Guinea[1] and Western Sahara. There is also much Spanish influence in the cultures of the Asia-Pacific nations and territories of the Philippines, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.[2]
The term Hispanic is derived from Hispanicus, which derived from Hispania (Iberian Peninsula), both of them Latin terms. Hispania may in turn derive from Latin Hispanus (Spaniard), or from Greek Hispania (Spain) and Hispanos (Spanish, a Spaniard), probably from Celtiberian.[3] The words Spain, Spanish, and Spaniard are of the same etymology as Hispanic, ultimately.[3]
Hispanus was the Latin name given to a person from Hispania during Roman rule. In English the term Hispano-Roman is sometimes used.[4] The Hispano-Romans were composed of people from many different tribes.[5] Some famous Hispani (plural of Hispanus) were Seneca the Elder, Seneca the Younger, Lucan, Martial, Prudentius, the Roman Emperors Trajan and Theodosius I, and also Magnus Maximus and Maximus of Hispania.
Here follows a comparison of several terms related to Hispanic:
- Hispano-Roman is used to refer to the culture and people of Hispania, ancestors of the Portuguese and Spanish peoples.[6][7]
- Hispania was known as Iberia to the Greeks, while the native land of the Hispano-Romans later became a province of the Roman Empire, and even later became known as Gothland to the Visigoths, and Al-Andalus to Muslim occupiers which heavily influenced the development of the Andalusian civilization.[8]
- Hispanic is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas.[9][10]
- Spanish is used to refer to both to the Spanish language itself and to the culture and the people of Spain
- Spaniard is used to refer to the people of Spain
Prior to the marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469, the four Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, namely the Kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Aragon, the Crown of Castile, and the Kingdom of Navarre, were collectively referred to as Hispania, the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. This usage in medieval times appears to have originated in Provençal and appears to be first documented at the end of the 11th century. In the Council of Constance, the four kingdoms shared one vote.
Portugal adopted the word "Lusitanic",[11] or "Lusitanian" to refer to its culture and people, in reference to the Lusitanians, one of the first Indo-European tribes to settle in Europe. From this tribe's name had derived the name of the Roman province of Lusitania, which was a part of Roman province of Hispania, and Lusitania remains Portugal's name in Latin.
The expansion of the Spanish Empire between 1492 and 1898 brought thousands of Spanish migrants to the conquered lands, creating a large settlement that stretches all over the world and producing several multiracial populations. The term Hispanic is sometimes applied to the populations of these places. This is not necessarily so for people of Portuguese ancestry. For instance, Portuguese Americans are not considered "Hispanic" by the United States Census Bureau.
Definitions in the United States[]
The terms Hispanic and Latino tend to be used interchangeably in the United States for people with origins in Spanish–speaking countries. Latino, from American Spanish, is used in some cases as an abbreviation for latinoamericano, "Latin American".[12] In some Hispanophone countries, Hispanic and Latino are not commonly used.
The 1970 Census was the first time that a "Hispanic" identifier was used and data collected with the question. The definition of "Hispanic" has been modified in each successive census. The 2000 Census asked if the person was "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino".[13]
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget currently defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race".[14] This definition excludes people of Portuguese origins, such as Portuguese Americans and Brazilian Americans. However, they are included in some government agencies' definitions. For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation defines Hispanic to include, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or others Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race."[15] This definition has been adopted by the Small Business Administration as well as many federal, state, and municipal agencies for the purposes of awarding government contracts to minority owned businesses. Still other government agencies adopt definitions that exclude people from Spain. Some others include people from Brazil, but not Spain or Portugal.
- Further information: Racial demographics of the United States and Race and ethnicity in the United States Census and History of Latinos and Hispanics in the United States
Hispanization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture.[16][17][18] Modern hispanization of a place, namely in the United States, is illustrated by, but not limited to, Spanish language newspapers, radio stations, churches, as well as Latin restaurants, tortilla factories, panaderias (bakeries), taquerias (taco restaurants) and specialty music stores, clothing stores, and nightclubs. Hispanization of a person is illustrated by, but not limited to, speaking Spanish, making and eating Latin food, listening to Spanish language music, dressing in Santa Fe style or other Hispanic styles, and participating in Hispanic festivals and holidays. Hispanization is the opposite of assimilation. Assimilation is the process by which a minority culture absorbs characteristics of the dominant society and culture. In the United States Anglo culture has long been the dominant culture and, historically, U.S. immigrants have assimilated by the third generation. For example, by the third generation most Ukrainian-Americans have lost the ability to speak Ukrainian, make Ukrainian easter eggs, cook Ukrainian food, play Ukrainian music, or dance like a Cossack. A few immigrant groups to the U.S. have been slow to assimilate--Greeks, Chinese, and especially Hispanics.
One of the reasons why the assimilation of Hispanics in the U.S. is not comparable to that of other cultural groups is that Hispanics have been living in some parts of North America for centuries, in many cases well before the Anglo culture became dominant. For example, California, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico(1598), Arizona, Nevada and Florida have been home to Hispanic peoples since the 17th century, even before the U.S. gained independence from Great Britain. These and other Spanish-speaking territories were part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and later Mexico, before these regions joined or were taken by the United States in 1848. Some cities in the U.S. were founded by Spanish settlers in the 17th century, prior to the creation of the Thirteen Colonies. For example, Pensacola and St. Augustine, Florida were founded in 1559 and 1565 respectively, Santa Fe, New Mexico was Founded in 1604, and Alburquerque, New Mexico was established in 1660. Therefore, in some parts of the U.S. the Hispanic cultural legacy is older than the Anglo-Saxon origin. For this reason many generations of U.S. Hispanics have largely maintained their cultural traditions and Spanish language.
Language retention is a common index to assimilation, and according to the 2000 census, about 75 percent of all Hispanics spoke Spanish in the home — even many Hispanics who can trace their ancestry to the original Spanish settlement of the U.S. Southwest between 1598 and 1769. Spanish language retention rates vary geographically; parts of Texas and New Mexico have language retention rates over 90 percent, whereas parts of Colorado and California have retention rates lower than 30 percent.
Hispanic retention rates are so high in parts of Texas and New Mexico and along the border because the percentage of Hispanics living there is also very high. Laredo, Texas; Chimayo, New Mexico; Nogales, Arizona and Coachella, California, for example, all have Hispanic populations greater than 90 percent. In these pockets, Hispanics have always been the majority population. These communities are known within the Hispanic community as "continuous communities" because Hispanics have continuously been the majority population since they were settled in the 16th or 17th centuries. Interestingly, Anglo Americans moving into these communities often Hispanicize, creating a situation where assimilation and Hispanization are one and the same.
Spanish Speaking Countries and Regions[]
During the Spanish colonial period between 1492 to 1898, many people migrated from Spain to the new lands they conquered. The Spaniards brought with them their language, culture and religion, seeking to assimilate the peoples they had conquered and enslaved, and in the process, created a large empire that spanned the globe while producing several multiracial populations. Unfortunately, they also brought disease and genocide to the indigenous populations; however, the diaspora of survivors are reflected through the descendants of those that were colonized by the Spanish, and in addition to the motherland of Spain, are found throughout their former colonies in the continents and countries shown in the table below. |
Continent/Region | Country/Territory | Languages Spoken [19] | Ethnic Groups [20] | Picture | Statistics References |
Europe | Spain | Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%, are official regionally | composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types | File:ValladolidAyto 20-4-03.JPG | [21] |
Central America | Belize | Spanish 43%, Creole 37%, Mayan dialects 7.8%, English 5.6% (official), German 3.2%, Garifuna 2%, other 1.5% | mestizo 34%, Creole 25%, Spanish 15%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 11% (2000 census) | File:Belmopan Parliament.jpg | [22] |
Costa Rica | Spanish (official), English | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | File:4- Vue San Jose.jpg | [23] | |
El Salvador | Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) | mestizo 90%, white 9%, Amerindian 1% | File:San Salvador downtown.jpg | [24] | |
Guatemala | Spanish 70%, Amerindian languages 30% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) | Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1% (2001 census) | File:Catedral Metropolitana, Guatemala City.jpg | [25] | |
Honduras | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | File:TEGUZ---Plaza-Central-450.jpg | [26] | |
Nicaragua | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
Note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | File:Grana gF.JPG | [27] | |
Panama | Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% | File:Balboa Avenue.JPG | [28] | |
South America | Argentina | Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3% | File:Palacio Legislativo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires Diagonal Julio A. Roca.jpg | [29] |
Bolivia | Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census) | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% | File:Plaza del Estudiante La Paz Bolivia.jpg | [30] | |
Chile | Spanish (official), Mapudungun, German, English | white and white-Amerindian 95.4%, Mapuche 4%, other indigenous groups 0.6% (2002 census) | File:Centre-ville Santiago.jpg | [31] | |
Colombia | Spanish | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% | File:La Candelaria.JPG | [32] | |
Ecuador | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% | File:Guayaquil 1.jpg | [33] | |
Paraguay | Spanish (official), Guarani (official) | mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%, other 5% | File:CDE Vista Aerea.JPG | [34] | |
Peru | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages | Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3% | File:Casa de Osambela y otras.JPG | [35] | |
Uruguay | Spanish, Portuñol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent) | File:Playa Pocitos.jpg | [36] | |
Venezuela | Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects | Mestizos (mixed Amerindian and white), White, Africans and Amerindians. | File:Panteon nacional.JPG | [37] | |
Caribbean Islands | Cuba | Spanish | white 65.1%, mulatto and mestizo 24.8%, black 10.1% (2002 census) | File:Capitolio havana.jpg | [38] |
Dominican Republic | Spanish | mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11% | File:Parque Colon1.jpg | [39] | |
Puerto Rico (territory of the U.S. with commonwealth status) | Spanish, English | white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed 4.2%, other 6.7% (2000 census) | File:San Juan architecture.jpg | [40] | |
North America | Mexico | Spanish 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005) | mestizo (European-Amerindian) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 25%, White 14%, other 1% | File:Zocalo cathedral.jpg | [41] |
The United States | English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
Note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii. Note: While the U.S. is an English speaking country, the large influx of immigrants from Spanish speaking countries in recent years[42] has grown a population where 10% speak Spanish.[43] Although, it's too early to know what percentage of these Spanish speakers are legal residents or citizens as there has been an unprecedented rise in both legal and illegal migration into the United States where the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that the unauthorized population could be upwards of 12 million people as of March 2006 (where 78% were from Spanish speaking countries, 56% from Mexico and 22% from the rest of Latin America, primarily Central America).[44] However, Spanish is not reflected in the common culture of the U.S. nor has it changed the status of English as a global language or the world's common business language.[45] |
white 79.96%, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate)
Note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic |
[43] | ||
Africa | Equatorial Guinea | Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census) Note: Equatorial Guinea was the only Spanish colony in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census) | File:Malabo a 13-oct-01.jpg | [46] |
Western Sahara | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic Note: While Spain did have a colonial presence in Western Sahara, there seems to be an absence of any quality documentation online that a Spanish speaking population remains in this country despite a number of Wikipedia pages making such claims without any authentic citations. |
Arab, Berber | [47] | ||
Morocco (northern coastal region) |
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy. Note: Spanish is probably minimal and not mentioned in the CIA World Factbook.[48] "Spanish presence in Morocco...was short lived and left little visible imprint on Moroccan cultural life."[49] |
Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2% | [50] | ||
Asia and Oceania | Easter Island Territory of Chile | Spanish (official), Rapanui |
Rapanui | File:AhuTongariki.JPG | [51] |
Note: | Although the Philippines, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau, have some Spanish elements in their culture and traditions due to 3 centuries of Spanish colonial rule, they are no longer Spanish speaking countries/territories. The two official languages of the Philippines are Tagalog and English with no significant percentage of a Spanish speaking population. Although, Chavacano, a Spanish Creole language spoken in the Philippines is spoken by more than 800,000 people, and is part of the Latin language family. [52] In the case of Guam (a U.S. territory) and the Northern Mariana Islands (a commonwealth in political union with the U.S.), a native language called Chamorro is spoken, which numerous Spanish loanwords and words with Spanish etymological origins. However, unlike Chabacano, Chamorro is not a Spanish Creole. Chamorro is classified as part of the Malayo-Polynesian languages. It uses Spanish words in the style of Micronesian languages (eg: bumobola "playing ball" from bola "ball, play ball" with verbalizing infix -um- and reduplication of first syllable of root). Furthermore, the use of Chamorro is in decline by younger generations opting for English. The predominant languages used in Guam are English, Chamorro and Philippine languages. The top four languages used in the Northern Mariana Islands are Philippine languages, Chinese, Chamorro and English.[53][54] Meanwhile, Micronesia's official language is English althought native languages such as Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi are also prominent.[55] Palau, on the other hand, no longer use Spanish and instead use their own language Palauan. Other native langages such as Anguar, Sonsoralese, and Tobi are also official. Of the non-native languages present in Palau, English and Japanese ar official while Philippine languages, Carolinian, and Chinese are used extensively.[56] | ||||
The CIA World Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[57] |
- Main article: Music of Spain
Folk and popular dance and music also varies greatly among Hispanics. For instance, the music from Spain is a lot different from the Hispanic American, although there is a high grade of exchange between both continents. In addition, due to the high national development of the diverse identities of Spain, there is a lot of music in the different languages the Peninsula (Catalan and Basque, mainly). See, for instance, Music of Catalonia or Rock català.
On the other side, Latin America is home to a wide variety of music, instead it's usual to speak about "Latin" music as a single genre. Hispanic Caribbean music tends to favor complex polyrhythms of African origin. Mexican music shows combined influences of mostly Spanish and Native American origin, while traditional Northern Mexican music — norteño and banda — is more influenced by country-and-western music and the polka, brought by Central European settlers to Mexico. The music of Hispanic Americans — such as tejano music — has influences in rock, jazz, R&B, pop, and country music as well as traditional Mexican music such as Mariachi. Meanwhile, native Andean sounds and melodies are the backbone of Peruvian and Bolivian music, but also play a significant role in the popular music of most South American countries and are heavily incorporated into the folk music of Ecuador and Chile and the tunes of Colombia, and again in Chile where they play a fundamental role in the form of the greatly followed nueva canción. In US communities of immigrants from these countries it is common to hear these styles. Latin pop, Rock en Español, Latin hip-hop, Salsa, Freestyle/Dance, and Reggaeton styles tend to appeal to the broader Hispanic population, and varieties of Cuban music are popular with many Hispanics of all backgrounds.
- Main article: Hispanic literature
There is a huge variety of literature from US Hispanics and the Hispanic countries. Of the most recognized writers are Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Gabriel García Márquez, Romulo Gallegos, Rubén Darío, Mario Vargas Llosa, Giannina Braschi, Cristina Peri Rossi, Luisa Valenzuela, Julio Cortázar, Pablo Neruda, Jorge Luis Borges, and Ernesto Sabato, amongst others.
Religious diversity[]
With regard to religious affiliation among Hispanics, Christianity — specifically Roman Catholicism — is usually the first religious tradition that comes to mind. Indeed, the Spaniards took the Roman Catholic faith to Latin America, and Roman Catholicism continues to be the overwhelmingly predominant, but not the only, religious denomination amongst most Hispanics. A small but growing number of Hispanics belong to a Protestant denomination.
There are also Hispanic Jews, of which most are the descendants of Ashkenazi Jews who migrated from Europe (German Jews, Russian Jews, Polish Jews, etc.) to Latin America, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Cuba (Argentina is host to the third largest Jewish population in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States and Canada)[58][59] in the 19th century and during and following World War II. Some Hispanic Jews may also originate from the small communities of reconverted descendants of anusim — those whose Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi Jewish ancestors long ago hid their Jewish ancestry and beliefs in fear of persecution by the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition in the Iberian peninsula and Latin America. There are also the now Catholic-professing descendants of marranos and the Hispano crypto-Jews believed to exist in the once Spanish-held Southwestern United States and scattered through Latin America. Additionally, there are Sephardic Jews who are descendants of those Jews who fled Spain to Turkey, Syria, and North Africa, some of who have now migrated to Latin America, holding on to some Spanish/Sephardic customs, such as the Ladino language which mixes Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic and others, though written with Hebrew characters.[60] Though, it should be noted, that Ladinos were also African slaves captive in Spain held prior to the colonial period in the Americas. (See also History of the Jews in Latin America and List of Latin American Jews.)
Among the Hispanic Catholics, most communities celebrate their homeland's patron saint, dedicating a day for this purpose with festivals and religious services. Some Hispanics syncretize Roman Catholicism and African or Native American rituals and beliefs. Such is the case of Santería, popular with Afro Cubans and which combines old African beliefs in the form of Roman Catholic saints and rituals. Other syncretistic beliefs include Spiritism and Curanderismo.
While a tiny minority, there are some Hispanic Muslims in Latin America and the US.
In the United States some 70% of U.S. Hispanics report themselves Catholic, and 23% Protestant, with 6% having no affiliation.[61] A minority among the Roman Catholics, about one in five, are charismatics. Among the Protestant, 85% are "Born-again Christians" and belong to Evangelical or Pentecostal churches. Among the smallest groups, less than 4%, are U.S. Hispanic Jews and U.S. Hispanic Muslims. Most U.S. Hispanic Muslims are recent converts. [How to reference and link to summary or text]
- ↑ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/7221.htm
- ↑ Joaquin, Nick. 1988. Culture and History: Occasional Notes on the Process of Philippine Becoming. Solar Publishing, Metro Manila
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harper, Douglas Online Etymology Dictionary; Hispanic. URL accessed on 2009-02-10. Also: etymology of "Spain", on the same site.
- ↑ Pohl, Walter; Helmut Reimitz (1998). Strategies of Distinction: The Construction of Ethnic Communities, 300-800, 117, BRILL.
- ↑ Povos Pré-Romanos da Península Ibérica A map showing the various Pre-Roman peoples of Iberia.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ Population History and the Islamization of the Iberian Peninsula: Skeletal Evidence from the Lower Alentejo of Portugal
- ↑ Ask Oxford
- ↑ Merriam Webster Online
- ↑ MorDebe. uma Base de Dados Morfológica de Português
- ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary Latino/Latinoamericano
- ↑ http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0075/twps0075.html#f1 Aruthur R. Crese, Audrey Dianne Schmidley and Roberto R. Ramirez. Identification of Hispanic Ethnicity in Census 2000: Analysis of Data Quality for the Question on Hispanic Origin, Population Division Working Paper No. 75, U.S. Census Bureau, July 27, 2004 [Revised July 9, 2008].
- ↑ OMB, Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (1997)
- ↑ http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/faq.htm U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Civil Rights, What is a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise(DBE)?
- ↑ Hispanic Spaces, Latino Places: Community and Cultural Diversity in Contemporary America, 2004. Edited by Dan Arreola, found in Chapter 14 "Hispanization of Hereford, Texas"
- ↑ US Bureau of the Census, 2004 (see page 10).
- ↑ Hispanic Community Types and Assimilation in Mex-America 1998. Haverluk, Terrence W. The Professional Geographer, 50(4) pages 465-480.
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Language Notes
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Ethnicity Notes
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Spain
- ↑ (2000). Belize 2000 Housing and Population Census. Belize Central Statistical Office. URL accessed on 2008-10-11.
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Costa Rica
- ↑ CIA World Factbook El Salvador
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Guatemala
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Honduras
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Nicaragua
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Panama
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Argentina
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Bolivia
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Chile
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Colombia
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Ecuador
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Paraguay
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Peru
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Uruguay
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Venezuela
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Cuba
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Dominican Republic
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Puerto Rico
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Mexico
- ↑ Pew Hispanic Center Growing Share of Immigrants Choosing Naturalization
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 CIA World Factbook The United States
- ↑ Pew Hispanic Center The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.
- ↑ BBC News English 'world language' forecast
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Equatorial Guinea
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Western Sahara
- ↑ Consonantal Variation of Spanish in Northern Morocco by Ruth Scipione and Lotfi Sayahi
- ↑ Spanish Orientalism: Uses of the Past in Spain's Colonization in Africa by Ignacio Tofiño-Quesada
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Morocco
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Chile (includes Easter Island)
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Philippines
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Northern Mariana Islands
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Guam
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Palau
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Palau
- ↑ CIA World Factbook Copyright notice
- ↑ The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute; Annual Assessment, 2007
- ↑ United Jewish Communities; Global Jewish Populations
- ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary Ladino
- ↑ Espinosa, Gastón. Hispanic Churches in American Public Life: Summary of Findings. (PDF) URL accessed on 2006-12-27.
- De la Garza, Rodolfo O., and Louis Desipio. Ethnic Ironies: Latino Politics in the 1992 Elections (1996)
- What is a Hispanic? Legal Definition vs. Racist Definition.Montalban-Anderssen. (1996)
- What is a Hispanic? Legal Definition vs. Racist Definition. Romero Anton Montalban-Anderssen. Large file with footnotes (1996)
- Price, M., Cooper, C., Competing Visions, Shifting Boundaries: The Construction of Latin America as a World Region
See also[]
External links[]
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