Simply lovely - Eva Cassidy sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Who knew this song would become so meaningful to me? …”filling us, changing us, giving us the strength to say”…. 

lyrics and music by Michael Ward

An unexpected collaboration (at least for me) - Alejandro Sanz (he has such a beautiful, ugly voice) and Tony Bennett. 

Happy music to inspire happy summertime thoughts!

Going through some files and found some old travel mementos… makes me miss the days when the passport was more frequently stamped. A thermometer tells me I have travel fever (again). 

Location of photos: Seven Star Crag in Zhaoqing, Guandong, China

It would seem reasonable that by now there could be a common understanding that terminology does matter. Most of the time, however, dissecting of and inquisition into phraseology thrown in one’s way each day is non-existent. One clear and very important example is the phrase “illegal alien”. I am in no way saying this is a misuse of the definition of either word, but I am concerned that this term was specifically coined to maintain notions of nativism and discourage inclusion of anyone who may be considered even slightly different from the “norm”. Alien. The word first congers images of lime green creatures with countless eyes in extraterrestrial orbit. Dictionary.com also includes the telling “a person who has been estranged or excluded”. I agree. Illegal. My biggest battle with this term is how it could be used to define - absolutely define - a human being. Crossing an international border without proper authorization is agreeably an offense. So is petty larceny, drug dealing, fraud and failure to pay taxes. These actions may all eventually result in imprisonment, but even then one is not then termed as being “illegal” even though their actions obviously were. This article entitled “Drop the I-Word” emphasizes this point beautifully: http://www.arc.org/content/view/2256/. photo cred:frontpagemag.com

It would seem reasonable that by now there could be a common understanding that terminology does matter. Most of the time, however, dissecting of and inquisition into phraseology thrown in one’s way each day is non-existent. One clear and very important example is the phrase “illegal alien”. I am in no way saying this is a misuse of the definition of either word, but I am concerned that this term was specifically coined to maintain notions of nativism and discourage inclusion of anyone who may be considered even slightly different from the “norm”.

Alien. The word first congers images of lime green creatures with countless eyes in extraterrestrial orbit. Dictionary.com also includes the telling “a person who has been estranged or excluded”. I agree.

Illegal. My biggest battle with this term is how it could be used to define - absolutely define - a human being. Crossing an international border without proper authorization is agreeably an offense. So is petty larceny, drug dealing, fraud and failure to pay taxes. These actions may all eventually result in imprisonment, but even then one is not then termed as being “illegal” even though their actions obviously were.

This article entitled “Drop the I-Word” emphasizes this point beautifully: http://www.arc.org/content/view/2256/.

photo cred:frontpagemag.com

What I’m listening to right now…