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What Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Means to the FGC
Date Published: 14 December, 2017
As we near the end of 2017, it is without a doubt that we know the current state of Capcom's Street Fighter V. The latest iteration of the beloved fighting game franchise had a rocky launch, and seemingly has failed to shake off the cobwebs ever since.
However, despite making multiple mistakes with regards to communication with its dedicated audience, bizarre consumer content decisions, and countless of PR mishaps, Capcom is potentially facing a crucial turning point that could change both the current culture of the Fighting Game Community (FGC), as well as set a precedent for the future.
As someone who has tuned out just about everything that involves Street Fighter V (SFV) for the last year, I personally was surprised at my level of excitement to both the Sakura character introduction trailer, as well as Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition's (SFV:AE) new cinematic opening which was revealed at the end of Capcom Cup 2017.
Breaking down Sakura's trailer first, I was happy to see that Capcom has given a legacy character that is endeared by many, myself included, the appropriate treatment with regards to both her visual aesthetic, as well as staying true to her unique playstyle.
All in all, Sakura's reveal trailer can be seen as a home run by Capcom, as they have finally shown the attention to detail fans have been clamoring for, evident by not only the character chosen for the game, but her nostalgic stage as well.
In addition to an excellent character reveal, Capcom's decision to show off the new cinematic opening of SFV:AE, was just as wise of a PR decision as it was to include a fan favorite character like Sakura it the game.
The trailer, although just cinematic by nature, felt like a return to days of old, a feeling I believe is necessary for recapturing the attention of many fans who have unfortunately enough were left with no choice but to leave the game behind.
Seeing familiar faces once again in characters like Sagat, Blanka, and Cody, all while also debuting new characters with interesting styles, like the mysterious character known as G, and a potential new female villain in Falke, was an instrumental step in the right direction for Capcom.
However, it is without saying that while Season 3 of the DLC and launch of SFV:AE is trending in the right direction and is seen in a positive light for the first time in a long while, Capcom still has a long way to go with regards to regaining the trust of the fanbase it lost.
Currently, the game is still suffering from performance issues, somewhat unstable gameplay mechanics, and simply has lost cache with its core audience. Though, by introducing favorable characters, continuing to communicate properly, and show steady improvement, it will just be a matter of time until fans will feel inclined to perhaps give Capcom a second chance.
Personally, while I saw glimpses of Capcom attempting to correct their shortcoming with reveals of characters like Menat, and attempting to expand gameplay by implementing additional V-Triggers, I still did not feel compelled enough to return to SFV, despite being encouraged by Capcom's progress.
Additionally, regardless of how much I enjoy characters like Sagat and Sakura, I do not see myself returning to the scene with SFV:AE, however, an opportunity for a significant culture change towards Capcom is there for the taking, if SFV:AE is handled correctly.
It wouldn't be entirely inaccurate to believe that had SFV not alienated a large portion of its fans, other fighting games like King of Fighters XIV, Tekken 7, BlazBlue: Central Fiction and many others would not have seen the same number of newcomers they have experienced compared to previous iterations of those games.
The divide that Capcom had generated within the FGC, oddly enough could pay dividends in the end, as those who have gone to experience other fighting games for the first time upon leaving SFV, could return with more of an open mindset, after seeing a cultural change that comes from within Capcom.
Nevertheless, If SFV:AE succeeds in giving its fans what they want, even if it may not result in recapturing the entirety of its lost fanbase, Capcom can take those lessons learned and set the precedent for the future of the Street Fighter series.
It may take some time, perhaps even until the arrival of Street Fighter VI, however I do believe that while there are many quality fighting games out this generation, with just as promising ones on the horizon, Capcom being seen in a good light is overall a good thing for FGC, and could be a step in unifying fighting games once again.


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Last week, I went back and forth several times with a commenter who offered the below statements (and my responses) to this piece I posted back on October 24, 2006. It is indicative of and mirrors the argument that U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton used as one of the central assertions to convict former border patrol agents, and currently interred federal inmates, Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos and Jose Compean.
First reader comment:
The officers shot at a man they knew was unarmed and had committed no wrong doing that they knew about at that point other than refusing to stop his van and then fleeing back toward the Mexican border. The officers knew he was without a weapon and that there was absolutely no threat to their lives. The man held up his hands in surrender yet he was fired at. Not only that but they attempted to cover up their mistakes and failed to report the incident; a clear case of obstruction of justice. How could anyone reasonably call these men heroes?
My response:
The central issue I have with your comment is your statement that Ramos and Compean knew the illegal alien didn't have a weapon. How do you know that? They claim they thought he had a gun in their testimony.
The lawyers for the illegal would like you to believe that the officers shot wily-nily knowing he didn't have a gun, but they can't prove what someone believes, in this case, whether the officer in question believed the alien had a weapon and was going to use it against him. Testimony during the trial stated the officers believed the alien might have had a weapon in his hand, and that he was turning to use it. What would you do in that situation? Wait to see if what he had expelled a bullet in your direction? I would not.
His response to my response:
They said that they believed he had a gun but other than their testimony that he appeared to be reaching back for a weapon, absolutely nothing indicated that he was armed. The evidence suggests that the officers knew there was no gun: [U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton] …questioned the agents' claim that they thought the smuggler had a gun. "The evidence reflects something completely different," he said. "The agents did not take cover and did not tell other agents to Get down. Someone has a gun.'" If they truly thought he had a gun they would have properly responded by hitting the ground or taking cover.
The fact that agents attempted to collect all of the shells fired and did not report the incident gives further creedence to the idea that they knew they had acted rashly because the man was unarmed.
I'm just shocked that so many people are defending these guys. Not only did these men make a mistake but they attempted to cover it up as well and filed a false report.
Their sentence, by federal law, must be 10 years at least. I would hope that they could at least be kept in partial isolation away from other prisoners to avoid harm coming to them in that manner, but frankly, they don't deserve a full pardon. Their actions were beyond incompetent; they were deliberately deceitful.
And my final response to his response to my response to his comment:
Your statement is an almost identical quote of Sutton's interview last week on a San Diego radio station. Of course, the concept that 'absolutely nothing indicated that he [Davila] was armed' is what the prosecution wanted everyone to believe as part of their case, but you simply cannot tell the border agent that the alien did not have a gun if he, the agent, felt otherwise. Period.
I do not discount the fact that the agents acted improperly by collecting shells and filing false paperwork, but any amount of jail time for a paperwork violation is preposterous. At the most, these men should simply have lost their jobs for their dishonesty (sort of like what should have happened to President Bush for lying to the American people in order to get us into Iraq–unfortunately, Bush is still our President.) The fact of the matter remains that Davila did not ship that particular van-load of drugs because of the efforts of Ramos and Compean. Thank god for their diligence.
The only part of my last response I would change is the statement that Ramos and Compean at most should have lost their jobs due to their perceived cover-up by collecting shells and not filling a proper report. I now believe they should only have been given possible suspensions. Even losing their jobs is too harsh a punishment for the supposed crime they committed, as will be discussed by Jerome Corsi more eloquently and in more detail via the World Net Daily story below.
Stampeding forward on "conspiracy" violations, as Sutton has explained ad nauseum in dozens of interviews–at the root, the agents picking up shells, and not filing proper paperwork–has been discovered, in actuality, a falsehood. Ramos and Compean did in fact provide an oral report to their commanding officer. The border patrol manual states agents are not required to de facto file physical paperwork as long as they provide an accurate oral report of the incident in question, which is what Ramos and Compean did, even disclosing the shooting of Davila. Unfortunately, their supervising officer did not submit a written report based upon the statements provided to him by the two border agents. Too bad for them.
So all those who view Johnny Sutton as the beacon of truth and justice in the case against Ramos and Compean should here realize that Sutton himself is the one who is lying, at least concerning the accusations of false reporting and false paperwork. The agents conducted themselves properly in this matter according to border patrol policies. Sutton, on the other hand, seems to have conducted himself rather inappropriately. The fact that Sutton in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security are stonewalling the release of investigative documents that could markedly assist Ramos and Compean in their case is quite telling–they are hiding something
But what about the shooting of illegal alien drug-smuggler Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila? Isn't that the axial reason for putting Ramos and Compean behind bars? Yes. Didn't they act malapropos by firing their gun and shooting Davila? No.
The former agents did not act unreasonably nor did they mishandle the confrontation with the illegal alien drug-smuggler by discharging their weapons at him and subsquently striking him in the ass. The law used to try Ramos and Compean was apparently either misconstrued by Sutton and his team, or it was intentionally perverted in order to ensure two men and their families would be destroyed–guaranteed maximum jail time for the former agents. The border agents were charged with 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) which states the following:
Whoever, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime (including a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime which provides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which he may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, uses or carries a firearm, shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, be sentenced to imprisonment for five years, and if the firearm is a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or semiautomatic assault weapon, to imprisonment for ten years, and if the firearm is a machinegun, or a destructive device, or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, to imprisonment for thirty years. In the case of his second or subsequent conviction under this subsection, such person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for twenty years, and if the firearm is a machinegun, or a destructive device, or is equipped with a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, to life imprisonment without release. (FOOTNOTE 1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall not place on probation or suspend the sentence of any person convicted of a violation of this subsection, nor shall the term of imprisonment imposed under this subsection run concurrently with any other term of imprisonment including that imposed for the crime of violence or drug trafficking crime in which the firearm was used or carried.
This statute was erroneously used to convict Ramos and Compean for discharging their weapons against the illegal alien drug-smuggler, Davila. While this statute applies to criminals who use weapons whilst committing a crime, it only applies to officers of the law if they use their service weapons in the process of committing a crime (robbery, rape, murder, etc.) Since Ramos and Compean were simply performing their job with no extraneous outrageous actions on their part, 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) cannot be applied to their particular case, and Sutton's continued, parrot-like ramblings that the law applies equally all the time is false.
Regardless, we are at day nine of the Ramos/Compean political imprisonment. Their straight-to-jail railroading to me, is a clear message from Bush and his administration (of whom Sutton was a member, including the White House transitional team, when Bush was governor of Texas, even though Bush has claimed he doesn't know Sutton.) The President wants to eradicate any willingness on border agents to do their job. He has ensured that Ramos and Compean would be the poster-boys for the border patrol–do your job and you will see serious jail time, but let the illegals flow over the border unfettered, and you will be fine.
If this comes back on Sutton though, which could happen, he could see some serious charges brought against him.
Wrong law used to convict Border agents
Posted: January 22, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
What crime is committed when two Border Patrol agents shoot in the buttocks a fleeing drug smuggler who has abandoned a van containing 743 pounds of marijuana?
Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., has on record a letter written to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Oct.11, 2006, charging that Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were charged under a statute that did not apply to the facts of the case. As previously reported by WND, the interview I conducted on Friday, Jan. 17, 2007 with the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, adds strong support to Rep. Jones's contention.
Jones notes that Ramos and Compean were convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c). This statute was written to increase the penalties when a violent criminal, such as a drug trafficker or a rapist, carries or uses a weapon during the commission of the crime. Law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol agents, are issued weapons by the Border Patrol to carry in the normal pursuit of their duties.
Ironically, Ramos and Compean were trying to apprehend an escaping suspect who was a drug smuggler. How is it that a law meant to punish armed drug smugglers is applied to prosecute the two Border Patrol agents who attempted to apprehend a person U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton properly characterizes as a drug-dealing "dirt-bag?"
Jones notes that 18 U.S.C. Section 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) has only been applied to law enforcement officers who themselves commit heinous crimes, such as sexual assault, outside the scope of their official duties. As Jones writes, "Ramos and Compean were within the scope of their official duties when they fired at an illegal drug smuggler they believe to be armed and dangerous."
Besides, Sutton never argues that Ramos and Compean were committing a crime they aggravated by discharging weapons. Sutton's contention is that Ramos and Compean's crime was that they discharged weapons at all. This is a distinct fact situation from the one 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) was passed to involve.
Consider this exchange from my interview with Sutton:
WND: But one of the things here is that the law was passed, as I understand it, to basically punish criminals who in the process of committing crimes also fire weapons. The law was never intended to punish law enforcement officers who may have fired their weapons inappropriately when somebody else was committing a crime.
Sutton: The law applies to everyone. And there is no exception for law enforcement officers made.
Sutton misses the point. Sure, 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) applies to law enforcement officers, but only when law enforcement officers themselves smuggle drugs or commit rapes and carry a firearm in the commission of those crimes. 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) was never written to define the rights and responsibilities of officers who carry weapons in the normal course of their law enforcement duties and decide to discharge those weapons at fleeing drug dealers.
Again, let's examine the next exchange in the interview with Sutton:
WND: But the original intent of that law, as I understand it, was to increase the punishment for criminals who when perpetrating their crimes discharge weapons. Is that not correct?
Sutton: I can't speak to what the Congressional intent was. All I can speak to is what the law says and the law says what it says, and it doesn't make any exception for law enforcement officers. It says that if you commit a crime of violence and you use a firearm during a crime of violence, it's ten year mandatory minimum stacked on top of what time you already have. No exception is made for law enforcement officers. The judge applied the law and if people want to change the law, then you can talk to their representatives.
What crime were Ramos and Compean committing, during which they decided to fire their weapons? Surely, Sutton does not consider it a crime for Border Patrol agents to stop and seek to arrest a person they suspect of smuggling drugs across the border.
As Jones rightly concludes, "The application of Section 924(c) in this case is overly broad, setting a dangerous precedent of application to law enforcement officers trying to act within the scope of their official duties." Jones is correct. On appeal, the convictions should be dismissed because the prosecutor charged these Border Patrol agents under a law whose scope was clearly misapplied.
The real issue in this case should have been whether Ramos and Compean had justification for discharging their weapons in this situation. The applicable law would seem to first involve the INS Firearms Policy. In that policy, there appears to be the following.
Section 7(A). Discharging a firearm shall be done only with the intent of stopping a person or animal from continuing the threatening behavior which justifies the use of deadly force. When deadly force is justified, an officer may use any level of force necessary up to and including deadly force.
Section 7(B). Firearms may be discharged under the following circumstances:
(1) When the officer reasonably believes that the person at whom the firearm is to be discharged possesses the means, the intent, and the opportunity of causing death or grievous bodily harm upon the officer or another person.
Again, my interview with Sutton was informative. In explaining why agent Compean discharged 14 rounds and failed to hit the fleeing suspect, Sutton explained that agent Compean was experiencing a heightened physiological reaction that is commonly identified as a normal physical response to a perceived sense of imminent danger:
WND: So, Compean shot 14 times and missed everybody, but Ramos shot one time and hit the drug dealer in the buttocks?
Sutton: That's correct.
WND: Is Ramos that much better a shot than Compean?
Sutton: Ramos is a marksman.
WND: And Compean doesn't seem very competent?
Sutton: Well, get your adrenalin pumping some day and go to the target range one day and try to hit the target. It's sometimes harder than you think.
If the Border Patrol agents experienced adrenalin pumping, it is reasonable to conclude that they felt the drug smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, was armed and dangerous. The pumping adrenalin that Sutton admits impaired the aim of agent Compean should be prima facie evidence that agent Compean was experiencing an emotional response that could reasonably be associated with fear that the fleeing suspect yet possessed a weapon.
Moreover, in the interview, Sutton repeats almost as a litany a series of faults he has with the Border Patrol agents' conduct, including Sutton's conclusion that since Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila had his arms up at one point in the exchange, evidently wanting to surrender, the suspect must have been unarmed. Yet, when agent Compean slips in the mud, Aldrete-Davila takes off trying to escape. Simply because Aldrete-Davila did not fire a weapon back at the agents does not allow us to conclude that he did not have a concealed weapon at the time.
Maybe Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila had a concealed weapon he decided not to use, thinking that he only had a brief window where he could flee the scene and it would be better to keep running than to stop so he could shoot back at the agents.
Maybe Aldrete-Davila judged that if he had stayed to engage in a gun battle with the Border Patrol, he might have been himself killed or injured in the gun fire.
Certainly, Aldrete-Davila had reason to fear he was going to prison if he got apprehended. Sutton himself accepts this conclusion as evidenced by the interview:
Question: Why did Aldrete-Davila run?
Sutton: I'm sure he ran because he didn't want to go to jail. He's like all these other dirt-bag drug dealers; they don't want to get caught. We catch them every day and they know that when we catch them, they're going to go to prison.
How much time in the dirt and bush on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande did Aldrete-Davila feel he had before other Border Patrol agents would have an increased opportunity to apprehend him? Maybe it was simply better to keep running than to take the time to shot back at the agents.
An additional indisputable conclusion we must finalize is this: Since Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila managed to run away and escape back into Mexico across the border and was never apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol, truthfully nobody will ever know if he did or did not have a concealed weapon on him at the time.
From that conclusion follows this corollary: Because Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila got away, there is no argument the government can make that would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Aldrete-Davila was unarmed.
If Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean had properly been prosecuted under the relevant provisions of the INS Firearms Policy, the issue before the jury would have been limited to an investigation of the reasonableness of their firing at a fleeing suspect they had reason to believe was an armed drug dealer. Let's face it – how many drug dealers smuggle drugs unarmed?
The trial testimony shows that electronic sensors had warned Compean that Aldrete-Davila's van had crossed the Rio Grande illegally and was headed into the United States. Why was Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila driving a suspicious van on a route the Border Patrol agents knew from previous experience was a route routinely used by drug smugglers along our largely wide-open border with Mexico?
Next, why did Aldrete-Davila turn his vehicle around after Border Patrol Agent Oscar Juarez began pursuing him if his goal wasn't to try to escape back to Mexico on the dirt farm roads that headed back to the river?
How many job-seeking illegal aliens drive their cars into the U.S., only to turn and lead a wild pursuit along back roads in a desperate attempt to get across the Rio Grande before they're arrested?
Instead of presuming that Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean were guilty of criminal behavior, as the indictment suggested, the inquiry at the trial should have focused on how reasonable their assumption was that they were pursuing an armed and dangerous drug smuggler who had tried to escape first in his van, then on foot.
Clearly, this was not the case where experienced Border Patrol agents such as Ramos and Compean would have thought they were dealing with an obviously unarmed Mexican who crossed the Rio Grande illegally only because he wanted to get work to feed his starving family. Yet, from the trial record, this preposterous theory was what the government wanted the jury to presuppose. The government dared to suggest to the jury with a straight face that Aldrete-Davila might have been a harmless, unarmed Mexican who crossed the Rio Grande merely to find work. Moreover, the prosecution proposed that in running from the vicious Border Patrol, all Aldrete-Davila wanted to do was to go back home to his poor family. As ridiculous as these assertions seem, there are statements in the trial where the prosecutors asserted exactly this, virtually word for word. Too bad for the prosecutors that Aldrete-Davila just happened to run away from and leave behind a van with the 743 pounds of dope packed inside, instead of newspapers with "Help Wanted" ads circled.
The U.S. Army doctor who removed the bullet testified at the trial that the drug smuggler was not shot from behind, but that he removed the bullet from the side, with the bullet piercing the left side of his left buttock and traveled to his right groin. The doctor stated that Aldrete-Davila was in a running position when he was shot, consistent with pointing back toward the agents with his left arm and hand when the bullet hit him in the rear end. This is consistent with the testimony of the agents that they saw Aldrete-Davila pointing something back at them which they believed to be a gun.
Moreover, why would Ramos or Compean have any reason to believe Aldrete-Davila was hit by any of their shots? From the testimony at the trial, Aldrete-Davila got across the Rio Grande and disappeared into the tall, thick brush along the river. A short time later, Border Patrol agents observed Aldrete-Davila running across the dry river bed where he jumped into a waiting vehicle with two other suspects.
Yet, from the get-go, Sutton cleverly reframed the issue to bias the trial in the government's favor. This was the point of charging Ramos and Compean inappropriately under 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c). The statute presumes those charged, namely Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean, were involved in the commission of a crime when they fired their weapons. This is totally inaccurate and misleading given the facts of the case. Yet, the presumption of 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) – that criminal behavior was already being conducted by the accused – appears precisely suited to the impression Sutton wanted to create. The criminals here, according to Sutton, are the law enforcement officers. Every presumption Sutton made was sympathetic to the drug dealer in this case.
If any criminal action were ever to be brought in this issue, an unbiased prosecutor would have brought charges accusing the Border Patrol defendants of discharging their weapons inappropriately under the provisions of the INS Firearms Policy, not for violating 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c). The suggestion in the indictment itself was that the Border Patrol agents were somehow already criminals when they fired their weapons.
By charging the agents under an inappropriate statute, prosecutor Sutton focused the inquiry on the supposed criminal behavior of the agents, rather than on the narrow issue of whether the Border Patrol agents had reasonable cause to believe the fleeing suspect was a drug-smuggling criminal who most likely did have a concealed weapon on his person.
There is a long and involved body of law that has evolved over decades concerning whether law enforcement agents are justified in discharging their weapons at fleeing suspects. The limits of credibility are stretched in this case to believe that Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean acted in a criminally inappropriate manner, especially when the fleeing perpetrator (described now by the prosecutor as "scum") was found to have driven a van with 743 pounds of marijuana across our border with Mexico.
There is nothing in this case, except the subtle presumption framed by the indictment, to suggest that Aldrete-Davila was anything but a criminal perpetrator. How can anyone fail to notice that the U.S. Attorney's office has in this case managed to transform a drug-smuggling perpetrator into the victim?
We should also note that one reason the prison terms of 11 and 12 years served up to Ramos and Compean respectively seem excessively harsh is because 10 years is the mandatory prison term attached to violations of 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c), as my interview with Sutton also made clear. This is the added penalty which the legislators who wrote 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) felt anyone already committing a serious crime, such as drug smuggling or rape, should have to pay as an add-on for the additional offense of carrying or discharging a firearm in the omission of the drug smuggling offense or rape. In other words, the excessive jail terms given Ramos and Compean is additional evidence that prosecutor Sutton brought the indictments under an inappropriate statute.
Sutton had the option of investigating in Mexico to find the perpetrator, even if the evidence on the scene was minimal. Again, a section of the interview with Sutton is relevant.
Question: People are going to say that 700 pounds of marijuana is a serious offense.
Sutton: Absolutely. This is what my office is dedicated to. We think smuggling drugs into this country is a serious crime. We prosecute those cases every day. We are one of the highest producing U.S. Attorneys offices in the United States, if not the highest for drug prosecutions. We are very aggressive. We prosecute drug smugglers every day. I'd much prefer to be having that discussion, but unfortunately, the criminal behavior of these two agents brought us to this point.
Earlier in the interview, Sutton had mentioned in passing during the interview that Department of Homeland Security investigators were involved with Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila's family. We are separately told that Homeland Security's Christopher Sanchez was in Mexico investigating Aldrete-Davila when the U.S. Attorney's office decided it was best to give him immunity. What was that all about?
Clearly, the drug cartels knew who Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila was. Where did Aldrete-Davila get the drugs in the first place? We can imagine that a different prosecutor who was totally focused on stopping drug trafficking from Mexico could have used the facts of this case to begin a sweeping investigation into the Mexican drug traffic. But U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton chose not to go that route.
That Sutton was drawn to the presumption that the Border Patrol agents in this case were the bad guys weighs heavily upon the credibility of the Bush administration to be serious about protecting U.S. citizens by securing our border. We strongly believe that with Ramos and Compean in prison, U.S. Attorney Sutton has given Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila the upper hand in suing the Border Patrol for $4 million for violating his civil rights.
If Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, a drug smuggling "dirt bag" from Mexico, ends up being rewarded $4 million while Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean are in federal prison, we believe President George W. Bush will once and for all lose the sympathy and credibility of the American people on the issue of border security.
We will then rightly conclude that George W. Bush has always had only one intention and that is to do anything necessary to force another "guest-worker amnesty" down the throat of the American people. This is the bill the Bush administration supported in the 109th Congress and it is the bill we suspect the Bush administration will force once more in the 110th Congress.
Meanwhile, the clever attorneys for Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila will be preparing to collect by calling the U.S. Attorney's office forward to testify as they pursue their client's claim for damages against the imprisoned Border Patrol agents.
Johnny Sutton
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

subset: commoncrawl


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Healthcare Improvement Scotland Hits The Headlines
Thursday, December 12th, 2013
on behalf of Healthcare Improvement Scotland
A retired teacher's mission to promote equality in healthcare across Scotland through her work with a world-renowned Scottish organisation has featured in the local press.
Margo Biggs, inspired by both her academic interest in health and social issues and personal experience of the NHS, ensures the voice of the patient is heard in her role as a key member of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN).
And such is the importance of her position, that Margo – who used to teach at Stirling High School and now lives in Falkirk – was invited to take a leading part in the 20th anniversary celebrations of SIGN. For more details on her work visit the original press release.
The story of her valuable work was picked up by The Falkirk Herald.
The coverage was achieved as part of an ongoing PR campaign for Healthcare Improvement Scotland. If you would like to find out how targeted, high quality, public relations can help benefit your business or organisation get in touch today.
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Cultural appropriation is often a hot button topic these days in paganism, and certainly it is an issue that deserves discussion. Generally speaking I try to focus this blog more on specific topics relating to Irish-American witchcraft, fairylore, and the like but in this specific case I'm making a bit of an exception for one particular thing that touches a bit on these areas. For a while now I've run across people using the term or idea of 'elf-locks' or 'fairy-locks' to justify people of Celtic descent wearing dreadlocks in their hair. I've always personally found this odd, given the cultural associations of elf-locks, so I wanted to take a look at that here today.
also called fairy-locks or witches-locks are inexplicable* tangles or mats in a person's hair that appear overnight while the person is sleeping and are believed to be caused by the fairies (or in some cases witches). They also happens to animals, particularly horses. Although some modern stories try to give them a twee backstory of fairies playing in the hair older folklore attributes them to either the person or animal being ridden at night by the fairies or else intentional knotting by fairies apparently as a punishment of some sort, possibly for laziness or dirtiness. As Shakespeare put it when describing the activity of Queen Mab: "That plaits the manes of horses in the night; And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish [slovenly] hairs". An essay in The Good People: New Fairylore Essays discusses an anecdote wherein a man talks about the Lutin [French fairies] harassing his mare by tangling her mane at night, tangles he could not undo no matter how he tried.
Shakespeare is the oldest English language reference to elf-locks and even his use of the term implies hair that is ill-kept and possible a person of questionable sanity. In King Lear the character Edward, after being declared an outlaw and fleeing to the woods, says: "My face I'll grime with filth; Blanket my loins; Elf my hair in knots", planning to pass as a madman while in hiding. A footnote in Shakespeare's Works, volume 5 which defines elflocks as matted or knotted hair that is the result of neglect or disease also quotes a 1596 work by Lodge which says: "His hairs are curled and full of elves' locks, and nitty for want of combing". Both of these reinforce the connection between elf-locks and lack of grooming as well as possible madness, something which itself was often attributed to fairies' displeasure with a person.
Ill Luck:
A sign of supernatural attention, it was very unlucky to have elf-locks but also unlucky to untangle them. There are some divided opinions about whether it was bad luck to brush them out but allowable to work them out with the fingers. Most often they must be cut out, as they could be both painful and distracting. People experiencing elf-locks are usually advised to sleep with protective measures, particularly iron, at hand to ward off the fairies and prevent further such attention. I have never yet read about or talked to anyone in a culture for whom elf-locks are a belief who see them as anything but an ill omen or something to be prevented as much as possible. Even people like myself who make a habit of working with and connecting to the fairies see elf-locks as a bad omen, a sign of fairy attention in the night with malicious overtones.
Although it has become more common in modern views disconnected from actual folklore to see fairies as small pleasant little beings who are helpful and kind, or as nature spirits, fairies in folklore – even the 'good' ones – are dangerous, mercurial beings who can help or harm. Traditional fairies, the ones associated with elf-locks in the past, might torment people for their own amusement or punish human transgressions with illness, madness, or even death. All fairies were not necessarily malicious, but should they be tangling your hair in your sleep the belief was that their intention was not kind. People who had elf-locks might be viewed as having been fairy ridden the night before, especially if they woke up exhausted or aching, or as being influenced by the fairies in dangerous ways. As Shakespeare alludes to in King Lear, elf-locks when left to run rampant were associated with madness.
Historic Irish Hairstyles:In Celtic belief the head is the seat of personal power. The heads of enemies or rivals who were defeated in battle could be taken as trophies, symbolizing the taking of that person's power. Related to that a defeated enemy's hair might be cut short to represent their loss of power; short hair was considered shameful. Matted hair when it appears in descriptions in mythology and folklore is associated with madness and wild people; in contrast clean, neatly combed hair was a sign of nobility. In Ireland both men and women wore their hair long and loose, and women with long hair were considered particularly beautiful. Bathing was, ideally, done daily or at least as often as possible and combing out the hair was a daily practice. As Joyce tells us in his book 'A Smaller Social History of Ireland' hairstyles were often complex and carefully worked out, involving both curling the hair as well as plaiting it; the hair was often arranged in elaborate styles that involved dividing it into multiple sections in both front and back. The references to such complex hairstyles are supported by various depictions of the same in statuary and illustrations.
I'd gently point out that people who may suggest that 'elf-locks' or 'fairy-locks' was a term used by the Celts and/or Irish for intentionally matted or tangled hair are in error. Firstly the terms as they stand now are English language terms and date no further back than the 16th century. There is no directly correlating term in Old or Middle Irish, the closest term in older forms of Irish that I know of is "fa chochlaibh a ciabh" [under a hood of his hair, i.e. matted hair] involves a Latin loan word and translate to a 'hood of hair' or 'cowl of hair'; in no way does this term involve the Good People. Secondly such fey attention to one's head would never be seen as anything but ill luck, and something to be warded against. Thirdly all indications are that the Celts/Irish pagans were extremely proud of their appearance and hair which was carefully combed out and styled daily. Applying the term elf-locks to a deliberate hairstyle is a misuse of the term which was only ever meant to be used for tangled hair with no earthly explanation. The current and on-going debate about the appropriation of dreadlocks has directly led to this crossover with fairylore in some areas, something that I believe is compounding one issue with another. However much one might want to find a cultural link here when we look to historic Irish hairstyles we see no intentional matting of hair – just the opposite in fact – and when we look to fairylore we see nothing but negative associations there. To call any modern intentional matting of hair 'elf-locks' is, in its own way, appropriating that term from its own rightful context.
Don't get me wrong I'm not telling anyone what to do with their hair. Do what you want, it's your hair. Just be realistic about the history and associations, and don't try to twist a folkloric expression around to justify a hairstyle you want to wear – accept that some people will call you out for cultural appropriation of an ethnicity, whether you agree with that judgment or not. I would strongly urge anyone considering using elf-locks as a term for what would otherwise be called dreadlocks to seriously think about the folklore implications of that, as elf-locks have nothing but negative connotations. As we discussed historically elf-locks have two particularly negative associations: it was used as a term for the hair of people or animals knotted overnight by fairies, which was not a good thing to have happen; also as we see in Shakespeare's use of it, it was associated with insanity (possibly caused by fairies) and dirtiness. This is in stark contrast to the history and cultural associations of dreadlocks in various other cultures. Conflating the two is highly problematic. If you want to wear dreadlocks, call them what they are, and embrace their history for what it is.
Ultimately we cannot look to Irish culture or fairylore for a way to feel better about wearing this hairstyle.
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet & King Lear
electronic Dictionary of the Celtic Language
Narvaez, The Good People: New Fairylore Essays
Irish Fireside All about that Celtic hair. http://irishfireside.com/2011/08/25/all-about-that-celtic-hair/
Joyce, P. A smaller social history of Ireland. http://www.alia.ie/tirnanog/sochis/xviiia.html
*obviously none of this applies if you know why the hair is tangling or simply have hair that naturally does so. The point of elf-locks is that they are unexplainable by other means.


text: Arts Creative Handpicked Man Peoples Thread Portrait Of Justin Timberlake By This Ukrainian Thread Artist Is Creating Waves Online By Deepak Mehla on Friday, May 10, 2019 What is fascinating about art is it can use a variety of mediums and materials, since creativity knows no bounds. Meet Zenyk Palagniuk, a Ukranian artist based in Dallas, USA, who's enthralling all with nails and stretched thread. Continue Reading 0


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I've been thinking for a long time how times have been changing and this post via 'Ramblings from a Writer's Mind' came up today. It says a lot about what I've been thinking about.
Drastic action by writer's to giveaway their books in the hope that readers will want to read another from them doesn't work. I've tried it and it always grieved me. All that work, years in some cases, to be given away for nothing, No other trade would dream of doing this, would they?
Authors are stuck in their ways, just as this article suggests, and too many drop and go links land in various Facebook groups, so much so that it has almost become spam. Who reads them anyway?
What people do want, and enjoy is proper content. Something interesting they can read and be entertained by, not hard sell right in their faces.
This is what I'm trying to do now with any posts I make, yes it is taking a lot more time but I am a writer afterall, as they say, Rome was not built in a day. We have to build up again from scratch and find new ways to do things. Make books valuable again.
One of the ways I am also doing it, is exactly what is mentioned in this article. A new an innovative marketing brand that is aimed at helping authors and providing readers with something special
It is called Electric Eclectic Books, and I'm proud to have belonged to this since the beginning. It is also good to see how it is changing with the market and always taking on new opportunies.
Writing is a lonely job and hard work on your own. That is changing because being part of a team, part of something global is the best thing that ever happened to me. Read this article and give it careful consideration – but don't take too long to think about it!
via Good news, for (a few) authors.


text: Ingredients: 2 15 oz cans of black beans 1/4 cup vegetable broth (or water) 1 large roma tomato 2 green onions, sliced 2 tablespoons cilantro 1 clove of garlic 1 lime, juice Pinch of salt 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon coriander 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 avocado (optional) Step One (2 min) Drain both cans of black beans, but do not rinse. Using a fork, loosely mash 2/3 of the beans, reserving about 1/3 cup unmashed. Combine both the whole and mashed beans in a saucepan with 1/4 cup water or vegetable broth and a squeeze of lime juice. Begin warming over medium-high heat. Meanwhile… Step Two (5 min) Dice the roma tomato, mince a clove of garlic, slice the green onions, and chop the cilantro. Add all of this to the saucepan (reserving a few green onion slices for garnish). Then, add spices to taste – the combo of cumin, coriander, and cayenne is perfect. If the beans weren't salted, add a little salt as well. Give the soup a taste and adjust any spices as needed. Let this simmer for a few minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together. Step Three (1 min) Pour the soup into serving bowls and top with avocado slices and the reserved green onions. You can serve with a side of avo toast to make everyone happier. Variation Before I modified this recipe into a soup, it was originally a bean dip that I created in a pinch… All I had was a can of beans and some spices, so I mashed the beans, added the spices, and ate with tortilla chips. That variation is just as delicious. To make a bean dip, prepare as instructed above, simply omit the vegetable broth to create a thicker consistency. Serve with chips or as a burrito filling.


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Do the Psychological Effects of Ongoing Adversity in a Natural Context Accumulate or Lessen over Time? The Case of the Canterbury Earthquakes (2012)
Type of ContentTheses / Dissertations
UC Permalinkhttp://hdl.handle.net/10092/7397
Thesis DisciplinePsychology
Degree NameMaster of Arts
PublisherUniversity of Canterbury. Department of Psychology
AuthorsRenouf, Charlotte Aliciashow all
The current study examined the psychological effects of recurring earthquake aftershocks in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, which began in September 2010. Although it has been identified that exposure to ongoing adverse events such as continuing terrorist attacks generally leads to the development of increasing symptomology over time, differences in perceived controllability and blame between man-made and natural adverse events may contribute to differences in symptom trajectories. Residents of two Christchurch suburbs differentially affected by the earthquakes (N = 128) were assessed on measures of acute stress disorder, generalised anxiety, and depression, at two time points approximately 4-5 months apart, in order to determine whether symptoms intensified or declined over time in the face of ongoing aftershocks. At time 1, clinically significant levels of acute stress were identified in both suburbs, whereas clinical elevations in depression and anxiety were only evident in the most affected suburb. By time 2, both suburbs had fallen below the clinical range on all three symptom types, identifying a pattern of habituation to the aftershocks. Acute stress symptoms at time 2 were the most highly associated with the aftershocks, compared to symptoms of generalised anxiety and depression which were identified by participant reports to be more likely associated with other earthquake-related factors, such as insurance troubles and less frequent socialisation. The finding that exposure to ongoing earthquake aftershocks leads to a decline in symptoms over time may have important implications for the assessment of traumatic stress-related disorders, and provision of services following natural, as compared to man-made, adverse events.


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- Home
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- John Keene
John Keene
Teaches Violin, Viola, Cello
Violin, Viola, Cello
About John Keene
Hello! My name is John Keene. I currently teach violin at Music & Arts. I have been playing violin since 8 years of age, and now 15 years later I am teaching students new to the instrument! I like to make lessons fun and something to look forward to, and I feel that with my age I am able to relate to and help students that are young, as well as high-school students that are getting ready for college.
I have had the privilege of playing for famous groups, such as the Orlando Philharmonic and the Charlottesville University Orchestra at the University of Virginia. I attended UVA as well as Rollins College, a private school in Florida, where I majored in Music and Computer Science.
My teaching style will be the same as I was taught: the Suzuki method. I find that this teaching method is very crucial for students wanting to broaden their musical horizon as well as master their instrument. I hope to be seeing you or your children up here at Music & Arts, and it would be my pleasure to be your or their teacher!


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Welcome to My Secondlife page.
Secondlife is an online virtual world home to thousands of residents who all build an environment to live and play virtually. My Avatar know and Loki Eliot owns four islands where he spends his days making gadgets and designer clothes to sell to others.
Loki is the founder of the Goonies gang for adventurous boys and also an officer in the biggest virtual kids community in Secondlife. He ALSO does a live DJ show every thursday at 10pm (2pmSLT) at the Vortex Virtual Night Club.
Everyone he meets seem to think Loki is kool, so here on this blog you can see what he gets up to and what adventures are played out in the crazy online world of Secondlife.


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Factor VII deficiency
Alternative names
Extrinsic factor deficiency
Factor VII deficiency is an inherited disorder that causes abnormal blood clotting (coagulation), resulting from a deficiency of the plasma protein factor VII.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
This disorder is caused by an inherited deficiency of factor VII, an important clotting protein. Normal blood coagulation is a complex process involving as many as 20 different plasma proteins, which are known as blood coagulation factors. A series of complex chemical reactions using these factors takes place very rapidly to form an insoluble protein called fibrin that stops bleeding.
When certain coagulation factors are deficient or missing, the chain reaction does not take place normally. In this disorder, bleeding can vary from mild to severe within the same person over time. A history of bleeding may occur in infancy or childhood. Gastrointestinal and central nervous system bleeding can occur.
The risk factor is a family history of bleeding. The incidence is 1 in 500,000.
- Bleeding of mucous membranes
- Nosebleeds
- Excessive bruising
- Excessive menstrual bleeding
- Bleeding into muscles
- Bleeding into joints
Signs and tests
- Prolonged prothrombin time
- Normal partial thromboplastin time
- Decreased plasma factor VII activity
Bleeding episodes can be controlled with normal plasma, concentrates containing factor VII, or recombinant factor VII. During bleeding episodes, frequent treatment is needed because the life span of factor VII is short. Menstrual bleeding can be controlled by the use of oral contraceptives.
Support Groups
The stress of illness can often be helped by joining a support group where members share common experiences and problems. See hemophilia - resources.
Expectations (prognosis)
The probable outcome is good with proper treatment.
- Hemorrhage
- Stroke or other neurological problems related to central nervous system bleeding
- Joint deformities may develop in severe cases due to recurrent bleeds
Calling your health care provider
Go to the emergency room or call the local emergency number (such as 911) if you have severe, unexplained bleeding.
This is an inherited disorder. There is no known prevention.
by Dave R. Roger, M.D.
Medical Encyclopedia
All ArmMed Media material is provided for information only and is neither advice nor a substitute for proper medical care. Consult a qualified healthcare professional who understands your particular history for individual concerns.


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Sunday, January 4, 2009
Welcome To 2009
Hello Everybody,
Happy New Year and very best wishes from FBC!
I don't really know what to tell you ... except I hope you and I will have and keep our jobs in 2009, that you and I will be in good health, surrounded by friends and loved ones, that your projects will be fruitful, the art will be good and the senseless violence will cease. It doesn't matter who started it first, people. Please just stop killing and hurting each others, OK?
I also hope you will keep reading books and newspapers in print, and will make sure you don't deprive other people from their livelihood by trying to appropriate their work/jobs/possessions/pirate downloads/whatever is unethical and dishonest, but also help the needy and deprived by helping them find jobs, donating to charity and voting for people who are not vultures (the last one is tough, I know).
Be good, be kind, be well and prosper. This is all the evil FBC! wishes you.
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Posts Tagged '#sexualassault'
A Duggar Girls Defense
Posted June 8, 2015on:
Jessa Seewald and Jill Dillard, two of the victim sisters of Josh Duggar, broke their silence on The Kelly File Friday night. I watched, intently, to see how they spoke about their abuse, and how they reacted to personal questions regarding said abuse. And, do you know what I saw?
I saw tears, too, but not where I expected them.
I expected the girls to break down when they were asked about what their brother did. I expected them to react like I did — like so many of us do when we recount our abuse — with tears, anger, and yes, some bitterness that Josh Duggar stole something precious from them — their innocence.
But, they didn't.
Their body language was relaxed. They looked at ease through most of the interview. They smiled, laughed, and comfortably spoke about what took place in their home. It wasn't until the subject of the media was brought up that, at least, Jill's body language changed. She stiffened up and began to cry as she gave her personal feelings about the release of their sealed report. Jill recalled calling her husband on that day, over two weeks ago, when In Touch Magazine posted the police report for all the world to see.
"We're victims," Jill Duggar Dillard exclaimed. "How can they do that to us?"
Jill continued to fight back her emotions as she explained how they felt they were being re-victimized "a thousand times worse" than the original offense. She, and sister Jessa, both said multiple times, "We had already dealt with it, we moved on. Josh confessed to us, we forgave him; we moved on."
So, why can't America let it go?
Is it because we are disgusted with this kind of "sin"? As well we should be. As one who has endured years of childhood sexual abuse, I can say first hand that molestation is disgusting. It is vile. It is reprehensible. Repulsive. Repugnant. Vicious. Nasty. Shocking. Appalling. And, yes, contemptible. A lot of the posts I have seen over the past few weeks express those very words. Some would like nothing better than to take Josh Duggar out behind the woodshed and execute him. We have no problem understanding, or accepting, the words that express our disgust of Josh's actions. We applaud those words. We exhort those words. But, there is another word we've heard that makes us just as mad as Josh Duggars actions against his sisters and baby sitter. A word that infuriates us and enrages us, and causes us to strike out in shock and disbelief that such a word could even be muttered over such a reprobate .
WHAT? Forgiven? How could anyone forgive what he has done? He's a pig. A worm. He doesn't deserve to live. I've seen the words written all over the internet, newspaper sites, blog posts, Facebook statuses, Twitter feeds… they've all basically said the same thing. "Josh Duggar is a vile human being, and therefore must be punished in a manner that is acceptable to us."
But, we don't get to make that call, do we?
Josh didn't molest us, he molested his sisters and baby sitter, and they are the only ones who get to determine whether or not he is forgiven. Period. And they chose to forgive him.
Deal with it, America.
I was very impressed by Jill and Jessa. They have given us a peek into something holy. A humble, beautiful example of Agape Love. True love that covers a multitude of sin (1 Peter 4:8). Along with a heart of love, they have given us a clear example of what true forgiveness looks like. A perfect example of how our LORD, Jesus Christ, treats every one of us who repent and turn from our sin to follow him.
The Duggar girls aren't angry. The don't exhibit signs of bitterness. They aren't bashing their brother. Instead, their words toward him are seasoned with grace and mercy. They have said they have dealt with it, they have forgiven him, and they have moved on.
I believe them.
Is it possible, the reason we are so outraged is because we just expect the Duggar girls to feel the same way we do over our own abuses (or how we feel over a family member/friend who was abused)? And, because they don't we think there must be something wrong with them?
I mean, who does that?
Victims forgive.
Because forgiveness doesn't release the offender from the responsibility of his or her actions, rather, it releases the victim from the prison of emotional upheaval and life altering issues caused by the offenders actions.
The Duggar girls understand this.
They don't need our help. No matter how much we think our two cents (even this blog post) is spot on, they don't need our help. They've got it covered. And, they don't need the internet counseling sessions. Their family dealt with Josh's abuse. DCFS cleared the parents, and even complimented them on how they handled the situation. And, certainly, the girls don't need our criticism for their right to forgive their brother.
These girls have suffered twice now.
It's time to allow them the dignity to live their own lives with their own convictions.
Tell Me About Your Childhood
Posted December 3, 2014on:
I was 28 years old with two children, ages one and two, and five months pregnant with my third when I met with a counselor. I needed courage to leave my abusive husband and thought I could find some there.
Counselor: "Tell me about your childhood."
Me: (Thinking what does my childhood have to do with anything?) "Well, it was a childhood. You know… normal."
Counselor: "It was happy??
Me: "I don't know. It was… norm… (a dam of memories breaks open in my mind)… wait, no, that's not right."
Counselor: "What isn't right"?
Me: "My childhood. It wasn't normal. I was mo… (there is a flood of emotions rising to the surface)… I was mol… (I am having trouble saying the word. My throat is closing off my words. Tears are choking me). I was molested"!
As that realization tumbled to the forefront of my mind, I felt as though my life shattered into a million tiny pieces. Each shard stabbing me with it's truth. As the details began spilling out, my soul felt like it was being ripped apart. The pain was excruciating. Unbearable.
I don't know how long I cried, but when I calmed down he asked…
Counselor: "How have you handled all of that"?
The truth is, most of us don't know how to "handle" what we've been through. We've turned to food, sex, drugs, alcohol, self harm — other avenues to dull the pain. We don't want to feel that kind of pain so we stuff it further and further down by any other thing that makes us feel better.
The other part of the truth is, this: We can't heal unless we allow the reality of abuse, and the pain, to rise to the surface. To be validated. To be known. To be released.
No matter how painful it is, facing our past needs to be done in order to heal. Mine pounced on me while looking for an ounce of courage. I'm glad it did because today, the pain is no more.
What God has done for me, he WILL do for you!
Whispers in the Dark
Posted November 17, 2014on:
Many nights, throughout my life, were filled with deep sorrow, hours of shed tears, and my mouth open in silent screams. I didn't know how to verbalize what I felt inside. Dead. Betrayed. Hurt. Shattered. Alone. Desperate. Needy. Just tears and silent screams. I don't remember saying too much, except, "Oh, God." But, God still heard me, and understood. It was during this time I wrote the following:
Whispers in the Dark
The darkest, quietness of night
In stillness as you lay;
The only sound or rhythm heard
Are words your mouth can't say.
The tears that burn your sleepy eyes
A fist in anger clenched;
The cry that asks "Why me, Oh Lord?"
The soul, in anguish drenched.
And though it can't be verbalized
Into a single word;
A whisper's heard with every beat
Your heart is being heard.
God hears you, Beloved. Even though you think he has ignored you. Even when you think he doesn't care. But wait, if you listen long enough, you can hear it. In the stillest, quietness of night, the heart will whisper the tale of its journey to its Creator. And, there in the darkness…God is whispering back.
Excerpt from, "Whispers From My Heart – Emotional and Spiritual Healing from Childhood Sexual Assault.
On January 28th, Casting Crowns will release their newest album, #Thrive (See video below).
As I watch the promotion of their album, and the "month of giving" on their Facebook Page (here), I began to wonder, "How can we thrive in life if we live in brokenness"?
We all face brokenness at one time or another in our lives, but for those who have lived through childhood sexual assault, brokenness becomes a way of life. The norm. Many times, just the thought of living outside the realm of "broken" is scary. It's all we know. But, if we choose to move forward, is it possible to actually thrive while still in the state of brokenness?
I believe so.
Thrive is defined as:
to grow strongly and vigorously, to do well; prosper.
Growing Stronger:
In order to grow stronger one must be willing to seek healing. As long as the past continues to control the present, becoming strong isn't possible.
When I first began my journey to healing, I could barely speak of my rape and molestation without breaking down. My past would suffocate my words and choke them off in my throat. As I allowed God into those broken areas, something marvelous began to happen. The intensity of the pain began to lessen. I could talk about my past easier than before. Today, as I look back, my past does not hold the same emotions it once did. I am able to speak to a group of women without breaking down. Oh sure, I still get choked up every now and again, but it does not cripple me. I have grown much stronger than I was on day one.
Growing stronger doesn't mean you aren't going to have bad days. You will. Growing stronger means, on those bad days, you work through the emotions — cry, journal, pray, talk with your counselor, etc. You aren't content to stay and wallow in your pain.
During the early period of my healing it was tough. My emotions were out of whack, to the point I could barely function. I viewed myself as an empty shell then. My counselor encouraged me to begin writing down what I felt. She told me to be honest; don't hold back but to write down everything that came to mind about my abuse (she also encouraged me to find a hiding place so my thoughts were kept private — I encourage you to do the same). I followed her advice. One look at my old journals will tell you what stage I was in. There are a lot of angry entries. Hateful entries. "Why me?" entries. But, there are entries that show improvement. Entries of forgiveness… hope… encouragement. Growing stronger meant, I didn't remain in my anger, or hatred. I worked through them to forgiveness. I worked through "Why me?" to hope. And finally, to encouragement.
To Do Well:
Part of healing is being broken. Broken enough to allow those emotions to come forward. To seek God, and seek wholeness from him.
This journey to healing isn't a quick trip. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen. Time and a willingness to continue forward is a sign of doing well. Sure, you'll have setbacks, everyone does, but those setbacks don't hold us back.
Do you remember this quote?
it doesn't matter how many times you fall .. what matters is how many times you stand up, shake it off, and moving forward .- Unknown
It's true.
You can hit the dust 1,000 times, but as long as you get back up, dust off, and take another step forward, you are doing well. You are moving forward. God isn't looking at how many times you've stepped backwards. He isn't worried that you fell. He is interested in you getting up… He's cheering you on. He is beside you, whispering in your ear, You can do it! I believe in you!
3 John 1:2 says,
Our beloved, I pray for you that you will prosper in all things and be well, just as your soul prospers (ABPE).
God wants us to do well. He wants us to thrive.
In order to thrive, we need to know who we are in Christ Jesus. We can't understand who God says we are if we aren't reading his word. Our soul prospers as the word permeates our insides and changes us. Changes our hearts, our minds, our thought process, and our actions.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Cris Corzine, counsels sexual abuse survivors every day. She believes in teaching her clients about their spiritual identity."Because knowing who we are in Christ is the key to victorious living." "My favorite scripture for all time" Cris relates, "is 2 Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (NIV)."
We are righteous because of Christ. Accept it. Embrace it.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Each time we allow God into those areas of our heart that are wounded and hurting, we heal. As we heal, we grow. As we grow, we get stronger. As we get stronger we begin to #Thrive…
Purchase Whispers From My Heart Here:
Award winning poet and author, Cheryl A. Thompson, has been a single mother to Trey, Charlie and Brett since October of 1989. Through the trials of her childhood, and the struggles of single-parenthood, Cheryl has learned the importance of a heart attitude toward life and God, and how that attitude impacts a person's soul and their relationship with God. She is a 1983 graduate of Christ For the Nations, Institute, in Dallas, Texas, and a 2012 graduate of Mid-Continent University in Mayfield, Kentucky. Cheryl has been published in the FaithWriters quarterly book, FaithWriters online magazine, and a contributing writer for the Christ For the Nations—60 Years of Service coffee table book released in October of 2009. She has published articles in Heart Magazine 2012 and WHOA Women Magazine 2013. Her first book, Whispers From My Heart – Emotional and Spiritual Healing from Childhood Sexual Assault, was published in November 2009.
It's In the Past; Get Over It.
Posted January 14, 2014on:
"It's in the past, get over it."
How many times have you heard that?
Exactly what is meant by "get over it"?
Do they mean:
Stop being so needy?
Quit crying?
Act normal?
Quit being a drama queen.
Stop rehashing the same old story?
Throughout my journey to heal people quoted that exact phrase to me. People, who did not understand the process of healing. Well meaning people who didn't understand why I couldn't let go the past. They didn't understand the underlying issues associated with sexual abuse. I was accused of being a drama queen. Of loving attention. I heard, "It happened such a long time ago, Cheryl, you just need to let it go now."
They were well-meaning, but they were wrong.
Most of the time, when I heard those words, I became angry. Angry because, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't "get over" what happened. I couldn't flip a switch to turn off the internal roller coaster. I tried to get better by reading self-help books– I devoured them. I tried talking to myself positively and ended up berating myself for not believing. I did bible studies only to believe God must intend pain and suffering for my life. I did everything I knew in order to "get over" the years of rape and molestation. Yet, my pain and anguish of yesterday still ruled my today's.
I couldn't "Get Over It."
For the longest time I felt as though something was mentally wrong with me. I thought, "I must have some kind of psychological problem, and that is why I can't "get over" my abuse." How many times have we told ourselves that very thing? That has to be the reason, right? Otherwise, I would be strong enough to overcome… wouldn't I?
Isn't that what we are taught?
Ignore it, it will go away.
The past doesn't matter, it's over.
Don't talk about it, it just brings up bad memories.
The past is just that; past. It's over, don't dwell on it.
Those phrases almost sound like good logic. And there are plenty who talk a good game, but you know what? The past doesn't stay in the past. It resurrects itself in the present. The past creates problems now. It oozes into your relationships, and spills out into every aspect of your life. In reality, your childhood trauma not only affects you, but it affects everyone around you. Maybe that is the real reason we're told to "get over it." If Childhood Sexual Assault stayed in the past, where it belonged, those of us who have been abused would lead happier, more productive lives. But the past doesn't stay buried, does it? The pain of childhood rape and molestation does not understand it should not show up in the here and now.
You can't just "Get Over It."
Childhood Sexual Assault is not an illness one recovers from quickly. There isn't a prescription we can take to clear it up. We can't wash it away with a few scented baths. We can't talk ourselves out of the pain. We can mask it, we can cover it over and think we have healed, but unless we experience true healing, our past will continue to affect us. It isn't easy to just "Get Over It." It takes real healing, not to "get over it," but to overcome every single issue of Childhood Sexual Assault.
Healing is a journey — a series of small steps — lasting years. A journey designed to uncover every issue affecting our lives, and one that must be walked out day by day. One step at a time. One issue at a time. One layer at a time. Peeling back each layer and inviting God to deal with the wound.
My hope, through the things I post here on Whispers, is that those who have never been assaulted at any time in your life, will find an understanding into the heart of the one who has. Maybe a post will help you understand your sister, your mother, your friend, your neighbor or your co-worker. Maybe you will have more patience when you hear their story for the one thousandth time. Maybe, by reading this blog, you will find more compassion for the struggles and set backs those who are overcoming sexual abuse face. If nothing else, maybe the words, "It's in the past, get over it," will never be said again.
Cheryl Thompson is an award-winning poet, and author, and single mom to Trey, Charlie, and Brett, and "Gammy" to Dillinger. She's got a few degrees, but most of her learning came from very difficult seasons in her childhood, and adulthood. Through it all, Cheryl learned an importance for keeping a heart tender for God. She is a freelance writer and blogger, who has been published in the FaithWriters quarterly book, FaithWriters online magazine, the 2009 Christ For the Nations—60 Years of Service coffee table book. She has published articles in Heart Magazine 2012 and WHOA Women Magazine 2013. Cheryl's first book, Whispers From My Heart – Emotional and Spiritual Healing from Childhood Sexual Assault, was published in November 2009 and awarded the Christian Choice Book Award 2010.
You can follow Cheryl on Facebook here: and Twitter here:
You can purchase Whispers From My Heart here:
The Judge and the Pedophile.
Posted December 20, 2013on:
I was on a rampage last night.
I had read an article stating the American Psychiatric Association was going to re-define pedophilia as a sexual orientation.
I saw red.
I wanted to blast the APA.
Then today I read this:
"APA stands firmly behind efforts to criminally prosecute those who sexually abuse and exploit children and adolescents. We also support continued efforts to develop treatments for those with pedophilic disorder with the goal of preventing future acts of abuse."
You can read the entire article here:
I made a huge mistake.
I let my emotions take over instead of researching it totally.
I let my anger rise up and wanted to lash out.
Especially when I read things like this: An Italian Appeals court reverses a 5-year prison sentence against a 60-year old pedophile because the 11-year old girl professes to love him. They were found in bed together, naked, at his seaside cottage. What makes this worse is, the child is from a disadvantaged background and the man, who works for social services took her in.
The Italian court will further victimize this girl if they allow this man to go free.
Then I read this: Where a convicted pedophile has YET to serve out one day of his 43-year sentence due to a rare bond that allows him to remain free while the case is tried on appeal, which could take years. Meanwhile, the victim lives in fear and the father anguishes.
And then there is this one: where a judge gives such a lenient sentence for a convicted pedophile, even after the judge heard letters from the girls and how the abuse affected them.
I don't understand this.
It boggles my mind.
Not to mention what it does to those kids who were brave enough to break the silence in spite of their fear.
What kind of message do we send the victims when Judges are lenient? Or worse, when they ignore the abuse altogether?
I know eventually there will be a judgement seat where all sins are judged righteously. There will be no political correctness; no media spins; no threats, just God requiring of every man and woman an account of their lives. Then true justice will be served.
Until then we must speak up.
We need to take the power away from those who abuse little children.
The silence must be broken.
You can follow me on Twitter
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He Saw My Days Before The Pain
Posted December 10, 2013on:
(Courtesy 123RF)
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed Psalm 139:16 (NIV).
It was a struggle for me to understand.
Before I was ever born, God knew what would take place in my life… and he let it happen. He knew what those men would do to me, even before they were ever born… and he allowed them to be born. He allowed them to grow into men who would sexually abuse little girls.
That question plagued me for years. It was the source of my discontent with God. The wall that separated us.
Why? God seemed distant. Cold. Uncaring.
Why became the reason of disbelief.
Why? You must not love me. If God loved me, he wouldn't have let this happen. He would have protected me. He would have answered my pleas for help.
Why became my reason for rebellion.
Why? If you don't love me enough to keep me safe, then I won't love you. God doesn't deserve my devotion. I will live my life for myself. I will do what I want to do. I will use men the way they used me.
Why became self preservation and protection.
Why? Since you don't love me enough to protect me, then I will live for myself. No one will get close enough to hurt me that way, ever again. I will keep relationships at an arms length. I won't be vulnerable again.
Why became the fuel for my anger.
Why? You don't care! God doesn't care, so why should I? God doesn't protect people, he is a distant, angry, uncaring deity that doesn't deserve me. In fact, I hate him! If I could, I would slap him in the face for tricking me into thinking he did care about me.
Funny, even in my anger I didn't deny God existed…
It's hard to reconcile a loving, caring, personal God with the bad taking place our lives. One who knew everything there is to know before we even existed. We associate love and protection together. We love our own children and we protect them… or, we love our brother, sister, spouse and we protect them. We do everything we can to make sure they do not suffer. So, when bad things happen to good people (especially) we can't wrap our minds around it. It is almost unfathomable to us that an All-Powerful God, who certainly has the ability to stop bad things from taking place, doesn't.
It's taken me the majority of my life to come to terms with it. Why? no longer haunts me. Sure, I still have questions, but those questions don't stand in a gulf between God and me. God really doesn't mind the questions.
In all of the days God saw for me, before even one of them began, just as our verse states, some one else was making plans. Someone who did not have my best interest at heart. Someone whose plan was to destroy my life with God before that relationship ever had a chance to begin.
The scriptures tell us, in 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan is the god of this world.
Look at what I John 3:7 & 8 says:
GOD'S WORD® Translation
Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you. Whoever does what God approves of has God's approval as Christ has God's approval. The person who lives a sinful life belongs to the devil, because the devil has been committing sin since the beginning. The reason that the Son of God appeared was to destroy what the devil does.
By his Word, we know those who are not following God — obeying his commands — follow Satan, whether they accept it or not. Those men and women under Satan's power are influenced to behave as he would have them behave, to accomplish his end. He [Satan] used those men, in their sin, to create havoc in my life. The ultimate purpose was to destroy my relationship with God (See John 10:10). To thwart the good plans God had for me (See Jer. 29:11).
God gave those men in my past a choice. They chose to sin against God by disobeying his command. And, they chose to sin against me by giving into their sin. Their choices had no bearing whatsoever on God's intention for me and my life. Not then, and not ever.
Does that make sense?
One of the greatest things God gave us, other than his Son dying for our salvation, is the ability to make choices. We aren't robots. We have a conscience that should help control our actions. But, when sin has such a grip on us — and child molesters are definitely held in the grip of that sin — personal control may or may not be that easy.
In my opinion — and this is just my opinion, I haven't done any research to back this up… yet — Sexual sins are harder to control because of the physical pleasures they produce. The chemicals exploding in our bodies during sexual pleasures are very intimate and personal, and once they begin, are hard to get back under control. This is how I view my rapist, and my molesters. Men, so deeply trapped in their sexual sin, unable to resist the urges that plague their minds and their bodies.
Even though I understand what happened back then, it neither excuses their behavior, nor does it absolve them. I believe, with every fiber of my being they will be held accountable, and if the blood of Jesus has not covered their sin, that particular sin of rape and molestation will be the nails securing the lids on their coffins. They will have to stand before the Living God and answer to him.
Yes, God saw every one of my days, including the ones where terror and pain existed, before even one of them ever came into being. He saw them and provided the way in which those days could be overcome.
Isaiah 61:1 Jubilee Bible 2000
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good tidings unto those who are cast down; to bind up the wounds of the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound;
That is the message today. God saw every one of your days, before they ever began. He knew the pain and terror that would fill some of those days, and he provided the way for you to overcome. He provided Jesus, not only as salvation for your soul, but as healer for your heart.
Be Blessed and #WalkInTruthToday


text:
The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce has launched a new initiative to encourage large companies and institutions to direct more of their substantial purchasing dollars to local minority-owned enterprises.
The Pacesetter program, modeled after the Minority Business Accelerator program of the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, encourages companies to commit not only to increasing their contracts with suppliers of color and participating in Chamber-sponsored matchmaking and networking events, but to measure and report their increased spending with MBEs and share best practices on economic inclusion.
"Economic inequality is closely tied to racial inequality," said Sheena Collier, the Chamber's director of economic opportunity, speaking to a full room of attendees at a Jan. 17 reception to celebrate the program launch. "The Chamber recognizes that we must show leadership, both as a civic obligation and a business imperative."
Collier explained that the initiative was crafted over the past year by the Chamber's Committee on Economic Opportunity, led by Steve Wright, a partner with the law firm Holland & Knight, and Bob Rivers, chairman and CEO of Eastern Bank, together with a group of prominent Greater Boston businesses that are Chamber members and span a range of sectors.
The 10 initial Pacesetter firms are the Boston Red Sox, Comcast, Eastern Bank, Gilbane Building Company, John Hancock, Northeastern University, P&G Gillette, Partners HealthCare, Tufts Health Plan and the Chamber of Commerce itself.
"These are organizations that get it," said Chamber President and CEO Jim Rooney. "They are stepping up and saying this is important. They will serve as a model to the entire business community."
Rooney described Pacesetter program objectives as channeling
the collective purchasing power of large companies to support local MBEs; helping to address significant racial wealth inequalities and build generational wealth; and making the Chamber of Commerce more relevant and helpful to local businesses of color.
Win-win situation
Partners HealthCare has had a supplier diversity program in place since 2004, but participating in the Pacesetter program will help the organization reach new suppliers they may not have located on their own, said Ingrid Beckles, manager of minority business enterprise for Partners. "And more suppliers who understand what it takes to handle
"What the Chamber of Commerce is offering is, they will coach and mentor the suppliers in order to increase the chances of their being able to supply companies like Partners," she told the Banner.
For any large organization, contracting with smaller suppliers can pose challenges for both the small businesses, who may not be ready to keep up with the large and time-sensitive demands of larger contracts, and the large company, for whom new suppliers can mean more work and risk.
"As we look for suppliers, we need to be assured that they can supply the services or products when needed," Beckles said.
"Maybe they don't have the warehousing space. For instance, we use millions of gloves, so it may make sense for Partners to look for a larger distributor — but sometimes there's an opportunity to carve out a smaller niche in one of the community hospitals."
Examples of services and products MBE suppliers have been able to provide for Partners include home care temporary staffing, lab equipment and data destruction services, according to Beckles.
And what's in it for Partners?
Beckles said finding new local suppliers taps into increased competition and can bring rewards on many fronts. Partners could find lower prices or the same price but a chance to support a local business; local businesses obviously benefit from increased revenue; and as businesses grow, they often hire from the local community.
"I look at it as three pillars," she said. "The community, the supplier and Partners all benefit."
Reinier Moquete, who founded Advoqt Technology Group in 2012, said major companies that stick with one established supplier to reduce risk may miss out on better prices and fast-moving innovations.
"Small companies are doing the cutting edge work and are more nimble," he pointed out. "They can respond faster and more cost-effectively. It's a win-win."
Breaking through
Moquete said he already is in discussions with some of the Pacesetter companies about contracts for Advoqt's technology products and services.
"These are very large companies with difficult structures to penetrate," he said. "Often they only engage with the largest suppliers. Seeing them willing to engage with small businesses is very encouraging."
Moquete framed the issue also in larger economic justice terms.
"The purchasing power of communities of color has increased dramatically in the last 30 years, and yet the greatest beneficiaries of that is corporations," he said. "And then those corporations often do not spend money in communities of color in return. We need to recognize those companies that are taking a proactive stance on this."
Read this article on BayStateBanner.com


text:
CatalunyaCasa: Browse through this site or look at the CatalunyaCasa TEN STEPS PLAN
House of the month
Second house in Catalunya
Catalan mortgage
Estate agents
(Catalan or British)
Direct of seller
(for administration)
Public notary
(option/ down-payment) Various mortgages
Income statements
Resident or not
Fiscal registration number (N.I.E. of N.I.F.)
Taxation treaty
(UK - Catalunya)
Taxation 1
(for house owners)
The deal
(private or
legally binding)
Council taxes
Gas, water and electricity
(house owners
(bring or buy)
Bringing a car into Catalunya
Building it yourself
Last will and testament
Taxation 2
(when selling)
Much reported nonsense!
House for sale in Tossa de Mar (340.000 euro)
Catalan forum
Startpagina Tossa de Mar
Startmenus.nl Catalunya starts here
Foreign estate agents
Top List
Gateway to Catalunya
Who doesn't fancy a free and careless old age? That's certainly possible in the UK and many other countries for that matter. As for us we're mad about Catalunya.
Taking out a Catalan mortgage is quit different as opposed to lending money for buying a house in Great Britain. Our purpose is to show you how it's done!
Living a carefree life is wonderful but not laid out for everybody. What is possible for many however, is a cottage on the Iberian peninsula, on the coast or further inland. Your pension
or disability payments can often be collected while living abroad. This is easier for older
folks of course but for many younger people quite possible as well.
In Catalunya this wonderful villa came to market. Visit the website VILLA NOORD SPANJE
You can try 'winging it,' following your own bearings, or benefit from the experience of those who have gone before you. There are plenty of sites on the web where information is exchanged but apparently not when it comes to Catalan estate agents, the Catalan mortgage or the kind and amount of taxes that are involved when either buying or selling a house.
What are you to look out for when choosing a location and what are the average costs per sq. meter? Are there different rules for Spaniards, for those who are residents as opposed to those who keep their main address in Great Britain or some other country.
This site may not be complete and have all the answers but at we do offer the possibility to ask questions. We maintain contact with various estate agents, brokers and financial institutions. The experience we have obtained in selling and buying real estate in Catalunya could save you a lot of heartache and frustration, things 'we' had to learn the hard (expensive) way.
All's well that ends well, but how long is the road well traveled? And then there's always the risks of being taken for a ride as apparently expatriates are not afraid to defraud either.
What's most important is that you let yourself be accompanied by someone fluent in both Catalan and English. That's also a requirement when you sign the contract, that is, when your command of Catalan is insufficient. A decent notary will ask you if you need the assistance of a translator and will help you call upon one when you did not take this into account.
Another thing is knowing who you are dealing with, are the salesperson and the estate agent reliable, of good report? Do a little local investigation, ask around, ask which brokers and estate agents have good reputations and which do not. If the ones you're dealing with do, you're ready to take the next step.
When you know what you're buying and from who, the chance of you being taken to the cleaners will be significantly reduced. If you're in need of a mortgage the financing party will always have a taxation of the property performed, but be careful, a rejection or taxation lower than the agreed upon price does not mean that you can just walk away from the deal as is the case in the UK and possibly other nations as well!
Make sure you're aware of all the 'ins and outs'. This site can help you on your way but if you do get stuck with questions don't hesitate to mail us, we'll do our best to provide you with the right answer. This site does not yet provide all the information needed but will at the end of November.
Please visit us again, don't be a stranger!
CatalunyaCasa will enable you to look before you leap and save you from expensive mishaps!
Contact page


text: Matthew Dillon wrote: When using a free OS as a router or firewall the main issue tends not to be the OS itself but the box you are running it on. To really be useful as a black box router it needs to be a small, fanless PC, preferably booted off a flash drive instead of a hard drive. -Matt Something like pcengines.ch or soekris.com. You can build a fanless wireless router for under 150 EUR that runs *BSD and that doesn't take much power (max 12W). Those boxes are quite powerful. 500 MHz Geode, 128 MB main memory. You could also plug a hard disk via USB... Regards, Michael


text:
Rheinhessen, Palatinate, Mosel – anyone naming German wine-growing regions will mention these. But another region better known as the home of soccer legend Lothar Mathäus and for the locals' seeming inability to properly articulate their Ts and Ps is, however, seriously underappreciated: Franconia and its Silvaner grape.
We met with a young winemaker, Andreas Weigand from Iphofen/Würzburg, to sound him out about what he does at his Weigand vineyard and why the Silvaner gets so little love.
Journalist: Hello Andreas, it's great that you can tell us a bit about Franconian wine. Let's start with a simple question: What kind of wine do you make in Franconia?
A.: If you look at how vineyards are distributed in Germany, you immediately notice that Franconia lies somewhat outside of the large regions of the Palatinate, Rheinhessen, Nahe, Mosel, Ahr, and Baden, which are all connected. The world of wine does often talk about Franconia; we are somehow on the radar, but nobody really knows anything about Franconia.
Yet Franconia as a region is wonderful. There are three different soil formations on the small area we farm here (6,000 hectares, compared to total Germany 100,000 hectares and France with 1,000,000 hectares). Steigerwald, where I come from, has Keuper soil, which makes the wines spicier and more herbaceous. The Main Triangle in the corner around Würzburg is distinguished by shell limestone, which gives a somewhat floral and bloomy flavor to wine. The Main Rectangle, Bürgstadt and toward Aschaffenburg, is marked by mottled sandstone and lets excellent Pinot Noirs flourish. Franconia is distinguished by the outstanding and, in my opinion, underestimated grape variety Silvaner.
Journalist: Interesting! What is it that makes the Silvaner and you Franconians so special?
A.: Since I dedicated my Bachelor thesis to this grape variety and grow over 65% of it myself in our vineyard, I can report quite positive experiences. First of all, Silvaner was the most grown grape variety in Germany until about 1965. A change in customer tastes toward fruitiness and sweetness, attributed to the American influence and to the benefit of Rieslings, pushed Silvaners aside, currently leaving them with only 5% of total vineyard area. Today Silvaner is grown primarily in Franconia (over 25% of Franconian vineyard area) and in Rheinhessen, but there only as a small and marginal grape variety.
The reserved aroma of Silvaner is ideal for producing multi-layered wines. It is less fruity than, for instance, a Riesling and more authentically reflects the soil in which it grows. Silvaners from Steigerwald, like ours, are always edgier and spicier than Silvaners from Würzburg. Silvaner is not always Silvaner.
Journalist: What else do you grow in your region?
A.: In addition to Silvaner, in particular Scheurebe, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noirs are also grown. And from years past, lots of Müller-Thurgau, considered a bread-and-butter wine, yielding much without much work. But this grape variety is being suppressed by the Silvaner, which we don't mind. In addition to Silvaner, it is nice to have the grape varieties mentioned above since they all bring something special to the table.
Journalist: Your bottles are very different from those of other regions; What is the story behind that?
A.: Yes, our Bocksbeutel canteen bottle. It is actually something special to have such a bottle. As mentioned, we are a small region and as such the only ones in the world who can use the Bocksbeutel. Previously a sign of quality, today unfortunately no longer a major player due to the mass wines of the 1990s. Meanwhile, some things have happened in regard to bottle design and perhaps some good wines will help restore the image of the Bocksbeutel. But what's much more important is the content of the bottle – often forgotten with the Bocksbeutel, since the shape of the bottle is often more discussed than the wine.
Anyone perusing the wine shelves and who likes fresh, lively wines, should reach for a Silvaner. Because the Franconian wines are indeed underestimated.
Thank you Andreas of Weingut Weigand for your time and knowledge.