Mo Mack and the Peacemakers

I received a number of questions about whether we are still doing our Thursday night gigs, and the answer is YES! Only two performances left!

1st and 3rd Thursdays
7:30 - 9:30
May 3 & 10

Star E Rose Cafe
NE 24th and Alberta

Free and open to the public. Come to hear us sing folk/peace music, and come to sing along!

Moving to Japan, fer Sure

Mmkay, I've signed the papers. I am leaving the country August 3 to teach in Japan with the JET Program. http://www.jetprogramme.org/ "The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme aims to promote grass roots internationalisation at the local level by inviting young overseas graduates to assist in international exchange and foreign language education in local governments, boards of education and elementary, junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. It seeks to foster ties between Japanese citizens (mainly youth) and JET participants at the person-to-person level."

This program is the most well-known, well-connected of all the programs we've researched in Japan. It was extremely difficult to get in: there were over 16,000 applicants this year and they only chose a couple thousand. The application was 60+ pages long, no kidding. The interview was challenging. They asked accusatory questions like "Do you drink?" to which I replied "Yes! I am likely a little older than many other applicants and over that college phase of binge-drinking. . . But I am aware that I'll be expected to drink with my Japanese coworkers. I like sake and wine and am passionate about beers. So, yes, but not too much." They liked my answer. I hear that my Japanese friends will drink me under the table, and I'm okay with that. :) In the interview they also asked what I will do when/if my principal expects me to make tea for everyone, because in Japan women are expected to serve men. I'm not sure whether I'll make really bad tea (so that I'm not asked again), learn to make good tea (an excellent skill!), or invite/insist my male coworkers help me (cultural exchange goes two ways!). . .

Sometime in May, we will hear the location of our placement in Japan. I was able to request certain regional preferences (Nick and I prefer a rural location) but have no idea where we'll go. Disconcerting, scary. Once we are notified of placement, Nick will apply for schools/programs in that same town.

Everything is coming together and we trust that the Universe will provide!

Oregon Bounty: another thing I'll miss

This past year, rather unexpectly, I started to LOVE the kitchen. I made a serious amount of food: jams, muffins, pies, curries, breads, cookies. . .

But take this as a cautionary tale: canning is not for the faint-of-heart. Those who Can should be compared to mad chemists in the lab, rather than sweet ladies near the hearth. Canning involves sharp knives, boiling concoctions, and crazed cooks.


We made use of the 5 fruiting apple trees next to my apartment. I made pies, muffins, crisps. . . and multiple quarts of apple butter.

N and I spent many weekends picking fruit and making berry jams: strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry-rhubarb, marionberry, blackberry, etc. On one occasion she and I pickled 20 pounds of cucumbers. Insanity.

In the winter my apple-butter friends gathered again and made 4 different types of cookies, batches doubled. OMG yum.

This is the super-cute apron my Grandma Isabel made for me.

Oregon is a bountiful place of salmon-filled rivers, mountain-fed watersheds, and fertile land. Hazelnuts, apples, pears, and blackberries abound. Come visit!

Change of Plans: "Seeing the Whites of Their Eyes"

Okay, maybe we're not moving to Japan as quickly as we planned.
The school who "officially" offered us teaching positions, Griff, has now rescinded. It seems that one of their former teachers unexpectedly showed up on their doorstep and asked for his old job back; they said yes to him and now Griff only has ONE job opening to offer us. No thanks. Good thing we didn't buy the tickets.
We're disappointed but undaunted. We'll find something.

Public Transportation: something about that 'love your neighbor' stuff

With an excess in environmental idealism and a lacking in money, my move to Portland seven years ago allowed me to learn the pleasures and pain of public transportation. As an AmericCorps Volunteer fresh out of college, I was exposed to many of the beauties of this fine city via the bus lines. And here, you can see a lot. www.trimet.org

Even now that I don't NEED to take the bus, I still think it's a great thing. The environmental reasons are obvious and monumental. But my morning ride also allows me quiet time to journal. My afternoon MAX ride exposes me to a mixture of working people and 'the salt of the earth'. And being out there in the world, with the people (not plugged into an iPod) enables me to know how we're doing. I'd rather not be sheltered and numbed to our pain. Some of us our poor and terrified. Some are tweaking out on drugs. Some are quiet and observant. Some are absorbed in our books. Some are laughing with friends. We're livin it. Travel with us!



Pictured here are Trimet's shining examples: Bus (often powered by biodiesel), MAX light rail, and Streetcar.

So here's my pitch for using public transportation: Encourage (demand!) your city fund it. Pay for it. Use it. And enjoy it!


Portland's newest cool thing, the beautiful Tram!

And what lovely views from the top of "Pill Hill" (where Oregon Health and Science University resides). Below is a shot of East Portland at Mount Hood. This volcano, 50-something miles from Portland, could blow at ANY TIME. (teaches you to savor the moments, eh?)


Below is a pic of Mount St. Helen's and the lovely Willamette River. This volcano is also 50-something miles from Portland, and when it erupted in 1982 they say that many windows blew out in our city. Portland was covered with inches of ash. Wow.

Intergenerational Friendships

You know what I like about my life in Portland right now? My friends.

Last week my friend Alianna, who is 10ish, was skating around the church basement in her super-cool shoe/skates. I am TOTALLY jealous of this generation of kids because they have shoes that light up, or shoes that have wheels on the bottom. I told Alianna how sad I am that I didn't have shoes like that when I was younger, and she said that I could probably get some, as they make them up to size eight. Ali is the best saleswoman ever and I'm considering a new purchase.

Today I called my friend RCA, who is in his 70's, to get some info. He answered: "Sup?" Isn't that great!? Who, at the age of 70something, says that?!

Help the Vets

It seems our government is not prepared, not able, perhaps not even willing to help the men and women who were sent to war. The following post is written by Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell, minister of First Unitarian Church in Portland Oregon.
http://www.marilynsewell.com/Reflections/2007/03/psychological-casualties-of-war.html

PLEASE share the following information with your family and friends. Do you know someone who is a veteran? Who has a family member returning from war?

In good news, the Universe provides. There is help. At a meeting of the People of Faith for Peace, we were introduced to an organization that is offering free counseling to the veterans and families of those involved in the war in Iraq/Afghanistan. http://www.returningveterans.com/

"Mission Statement:
Returning Veterans Resource Project NW is a nonprofit organization comprised of politically unaffiliated and independent mental health professionals who offer free and confidential* counseling to veterans and their families of past and current Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. We believe it is our collective responsibility to offer education, support, and healing for the short and long-term repercussions of military combat on veterans and their families."

Blessings to all of you. Peace to your hearts. tk

My favorite place! Mama Pacific

As many of you know, while living in Oregon I have frequently made trips out to the coast for a little 'retreat' time. There is a great HHI hostel in Seaside. http://www.2oregonhostels.com/ss_home.htm Many of my friends have been invited (dragged?) along for the ride. Something about that big expanse of water that really helps this firey grrrl cool off.

Most of these pics are from Cannon Beach, Oregon. You might recognize Haystack Rock (behind me) from such venerable films as "Goonies".

Hooray for my favorite seafood spot, Ecola Seafoods. The spring's first harvests of salmon and halibut are happening right now!

Logging

The area in Japan we are moving to, similar to the Pacific Northwest, is logged. I will be interested to learn what the laws are there. What is the public perception of logging? Is there much of an environmental movement (from what I've read, no). Yet I do understand that part of the Japanese Shinto religion is about respecting the environment as god. How do they balance preservation, respect, and human consumption?


Do the remaining few trees feel lonely and exposed? Are the animals terrified? Is the soil rushing headlong into the ocean? Are we ALL suffering in our souls, as a result? (My theology rejects the idea of 'dominion' and focuses more on 'stewardship'.)





On this post I'll attach some photos of clear-cutting in Oregon. Here, folks, is your toilet paper, paper plates, extra copies, excessive packaging. . .

Cascadia

Last week Nick and I had a grand time pretending we were tourists in the Pacific Nortwest. We managed to obtain some nice pics and I thought I should share.


The first photos are of us in the 'Tualatin Mountains' of Forest Park in northwest Portland. Balch Creek behind Nick provides (or used to provide) much of the water for my neighborhood. I should mention that the locations of all of these photos are withing walking distance of my condo, which is within walking distance of downtown Portland.

Also some lovely pics of old-growth trees in Forest/Washington park. An injured owl at the Audubon Society. A salamander in a pond near the old-growth. Cherry blossoms and douglas fir. Wood violets and trillium blooming.

Enjoy!

We're moving to Japan!

In June Nick and I are moving to Japan! We will be teaching English at Griff School in Numata City, in Gunma Prefecture. Numata is north-west of Tokyo in the mountains. We will be surrounded by mountains on three sides, with many nearby ski slopes, hot springs and wetlands to explore. The kanji character for Numata approximately mean "boggy field."

Here is the link to the Prefecture (like a state) website: http://www.pref.gunma.jp/english/index.htm

And to the city webpage: http://www.city.numata.gunma.jp/english/outline.html

Come visit! Seriously! (c'mon, when else will you be able to travel to Japan so inexpensively and comfortably as when you have two charming and good-looking hosts to show you around?!)