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?!)

Good news today!

Our voices are finally being heard. Some more encouraging NYT articles:

WASHINGTON March 28, 2007 Senate Supports a Pullout Date in Iraq War Bill
By JEFF ZELENY and CARL HULSE

And a hip, hip, hooray for Oregon and Nebraska, represented in this article:

"The outcome of the Senate vote took both parties by surprise. Republicans were stung by the defection of Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who has not supported a timetable for withdrawal before although he is his party’s most outspoken critic of the war in Congress.
“There will not be a military solution to Iraq,” Mr. Hagel declared. “Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there. It doesn’t belong to the United States. Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost.”
The Democrats also gained the vote of Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, who voted against a withdrawal date just two weeks ago.
“People want our troops home,” Mr. Nelson said.
The two other senators who crossed party lines were Gordon H. Smith, an Oregon Republican, who supported the withdrawal date. . ."



BUSINESS March 28, 2007 Burger King Shifts Policy on Animals
By ANDREW MARTIN Animal welfare advocates called the chain’s shift to more humane egg and meat production a “historic advance.”

A way to help offset Global Poverty

March 27, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist www.nytimes.com

You, Too, Can Be a Banker to the Poor

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
KABUL, Afghanistan

For those readers who ask me what they can do to help fight poverty, one option is to sit down at your computer and become a microfinancier.

That’s what I did recently. From my laptop in New York, I lent $25 each to the owner of a TV repair shop in Afghanistan, a baker in Afghanistan, and a single mother running a clothing shop in the Dominican Republic. I did this through http://www.kiva.org/, a Web site that provides information about entrepreneurs in poor countries — their photos, loan proposals and credit history — and allows people to make direct loans to them.

So on my arrival here in Afghanistan, I visited my new business partners to see how they were doing.

On a muddy street in Kabul, Abdul Satar, a bushy-bearded man of 64, was sitting in the window of his bakery selling loaves for 12 cents each. He was astonished when I introduced myself as his banker, but he allowed me to analyze his business plan by sampling his bread: It was delicious.
Mr. Abdul Satar had borrowed a total of $425 from a variety of lenders on Kiva.org, who besides me included Nathan in San Francisco, David in Rochester, N.Y., Sarah in Waltham, Mass., Nate in Fort Collins, Colo.; Cindy in Houston, and “Emily’s family” in Santa Barbara, Calif.
With the loan, Mr. Abdul Satar opened a second bakery nearby, with four employees, and he now benefits from economies of scale when he buys flour and firewood for his oven. “If you come back in 10 years, maybe I will have six more bakeries,” he said.
Mr. Abdul Satar said he didn’t know what the Internet was, and he had certainly never been online. But Kiva works with a local lender affiliated with Mercy Corps, and that group finds borrowers and vets them.

The local group, Ariana Financial Services, has only Afghan employees and is run by Storai Sadat, a dynamic young woman who was in her second year of medical school when the Taliban came to power and ended education for women. She ended up working for Mercy Corps and becoming a first-rate financier; some day she may take over Citigroup.

“Being a finance person is better than being a doctor,” Ms. Sadat said. “You can cure the whole family, not just one person. And it’s good medicine — you can see them get better day by day.”
Small loans to entrepreneurs are now widely recognized as an important tool against poverty. Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his pioneering work with microfinance in Bangladesh.

In poor countries, commercial money lenders routinely charge interest rates of several hundred percent per year. Thus people tend to borrow for health emergencies rather than to finance a new business. And partly because poor people tend to have no access to banks, they also often can’t save money securely.

Microfinance institutions typically focusing on lending to women, to give them more status and more opportunities. Ms. Sadat’s group does lend mostly to women, but it’s been difficult to connect some female borrowers with donors on Kiva — because many Afghans would be horrified at the thought of taking a woman’s photograph, let alone posting on the Internet.
My other partner in Kabul is Abdul Saboor, who runs a small TV repair business. He used the loan to open a second shop, employing two people, and to increase his inventory of spare parts. “I used to have to go to the market every day to buy parts,” he said, adding that it was a two-and-a-half-hour round trip. “Now I go once every two weeks.”

Web sites like Kiva are useful partly because they connect the donor directly to the beneficiary, without going through a bureaucratic and expensive layer of aid groups in between. Another terrific Web site in this area is http://www.globalgiving.com/, which connects donors to would-be recipients. The main difference is that GlobalGiving is for donations, while Kiva is for loans.
A young American couple, Matthew and Jessica Flannery, founded Kiva after they worked in Africa and realized that a major impediment to economic development was the unavailability of credit at any reasonable cost.

“I believe the real solutions to poverty alleviation hinge on bringing capitalism and business to areas where there wasn’t business or where it wasn’t efficient,” Mr. Flannery said. He added: “This doesn’t have to be charity. You can partner with someone who’s halfway around the world.”

Fast Food Chain Seeks Papal Blessing to Forgo Killing Hormonal Poultry

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/16779099.htm
For you Catholics seeking a snack on Friday night. . . look no further.



And for those of you who care about the health of our planet (the birds, bees, fishies of the sea), here's a great website to help you make choices about what fish to eat (pollock) and what to avoid (tuna).
http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp

Be Aware of Your Surroundings

This past weekend my friend and I went on a grand adventure into the Columbia River Gorge to attend the 50th anniversary commemoration of the coverup of Celilo Falls. I'd previously visited the Bonneville Power Administration's museum, told from the perspective of the Army Corps of Engineers. I wanted another perspective.

Some info:

http://www.critfc.org/

"For centuries, the roar of the great waterfall Celilo Falls echoed from the canyon walls near the start of the Columbia Gorge. Celilo Falls made visible the power and majesty of the Columbia River. In these tumultuous waters, Indians caught the giant Chinook and other salmon that struggled to make their way upstream through the rocky barrier of tumbling waters and swift, narrow channels. The ancient ones left a record in the ashes of campfires and buried sanctuaries of their dead. They left tools and weapons, items of adornment, and samples of their art. Celilo Falls was one of the longest occupied sites in North America.
"That world came to an end on the morning of March 10, 1957. Massive steel and concrete gates of The Dalles Dam closed, choking back the unimaginable force of the mighty Columbia River. Six hours later and eight miles upstream, Celilo Falls, the age-old Indian salmon fishery was under water.
"That was 50 years ago. Most of the leaders have since passed on. But the spirit of Celilo still lives in the traditions and religions, indeed the very souls of Columbia River Indian people.
"Today the Columbia River flows silently past this ancient fishing site. The falls' rugged rock outcrops and turbulent waters are out of sight; its deafening roar silences, buried under the waters of Lake Celilo. But the memory of Celilo will always be held in solemnity by the Salmon People of the Columbia River."

http://www.ecotrust.org/community/recalling_celilo.html
http://www.ccrh.org/comm/river/celilo2.htm
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/1172820329105940.xml&coll=7

So my grrl and I decided to attend some of the events on Saturday, and although it was a chore to haul ourselves out of town we're so glad we did. Most of the folks attending were Native American, despite the extensive coverage the event was given by the Oregonian prior to the weekend. Once we reached the salmon feast we became engaged in conversation with some folks who live on the Yakima reservation in Washington. They were fun and extremely hospitable, and gracious enough to hang out with us for the rest of the day.

My friend and I pondered: Why were were there? To learn another side to the history of the event? To gawk at the Indigenous people and their run-down village? To apologize for the Fed's mistreatment, on behalf of white people? To differentiate ourselves from so many uninterested, privileged white folks down river? Out of a desire to change our personal relationship with the mighty Columbia who gives us our region with food, commerce, energy, life?

Something to consider: your language

I'm reading CUNT by Inga Musico. The title of the book raises a few eyebrows, but DO READ (all you men and womyn). The book is refreshing and beautiful and powerful; I feel awakend and renewed.

A related story: I recently had an argument at a restaurant. My good friend, an evolved and women-loving man, used the word 'pussy' to refer to someone who was weak, and I told him that word is offensive when used in that way.
I think we all need to take responsibility for our words, even if historically they were considered socially acceptable. Some words are no longer are ok. For example, I'm really trying to break the habit of using the word 'lame', in consideration of less-able-bodied people. It is painful to challenge myself in this way. It also takes courage to identify and admit how the negative aspects of our culture penetrate even the most open-minded, women-loving of people. It takes courage to be responsible for the words that come out of MY mouth, whether or not others acknowledge them as oppressive.

Soapbox: It is not okay to insult someone by calling them a girl, or saying that they have bad girl parts. Just because everybody does it doesn't make it right.

That being said, I'm wondering how I can challenge my friends, my culture, in ways that inspire (rather than forcibly insist upon) positive change. I like that I am opinionated and intentional with my words/actions; at the same time I don't want my expression of opinions to be oppressive to those around me. Judge not!

On the Journey

My time, my mind is filled with the possibilities of my journey. This year will be remarkable; whether it will be *good* is yet to be seen. I'm applying for schools in the Netherlands, in order to possibly live with/near my best grrl Amber and her beefy/smartypants husband Adam. We're also applying to multiple programs and schools to teach English: Japan, Thailand, Middle-East, who-knows-where. Nick (my beefy/smartypants boyfriend) and I are busy each day in communication with various schools or teachers in Asia. Some days I feel drunk, my head swimming with the possibilities.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, I'm busy resigning from my Portland activities: Unitarian Universalist Service Committee http://www.uusc.org/, UU Connections Committee, UU Chamber Choir, my little folk music group 'Mo Mack & the Peacemakers', Hands to Hearts International http://www.handstohearts.org/, TND, and my job http://www.edgelink.com/. Goodbyes are exhausting and sad. Just over 2 months till take-off!

And oh! The trees are glorious this week. Each a goddess, dressed in her pink or white ballgown, her lovely perfume wafting down to those who pause to smell her gift. Spring is such a joy. First come daphne bushes with their unassuming blossoms and their sweet orange-ginger scent. Daphne is my favorite flower to give me Hope in this long grey Pacific winter. Next are crocuses, which in the Midwest can be seen poking through snowdrifts at the end of a long winter. Shortly after are the daffodils, cherry blossoms, green grasses, blue skies, suntans. . .

I've been intending to get on the bandwagon and blog for some time now. Lord knows I have some soapboxing (is that a verb?) to do. My goals for this blog: 1) to be in communication with friends/family while we travel. 2) to reflect what it means to be Woman - Midwestern - American - Western, while I explore other ways of being. 3) to improve my writing voice. Yikes. 4) this one tagged on at the end: to be more tech-savvy. How the hell do I post the photos so they are in the right spot on the page?!