Portland Parents

Are you ready for the new year?

Instead of making a resolution (or five), how about selecting a single word that you’ll be trying to emulate. Some good suggestions are “Focus,” “Relax,” and, my favorite, “Chocolate.”

Ninety percent of resolutions do not last to the end of January. One thing that helps you stick with them is to write them down. For some reason, writing down a goal and looking at it ferquently helps solidify it in your plans. If your “resolution” is a single word, it’s easier and faster to write, and it has various nuances of meaning that apply to different situations.

Give it a try!

Iron Jaw and Hummingbird by Chris Roberson is good. Not great, somewhat better than average.

Mars is controlled by the Chinese, who call their civilization the Celestial Empire. But for teenagers Gamine and Huang, it is anything but heavenly. Gamine was taken off the street by an aristocrat, schooled as a fine young lady—then abandoned at her patron’s whim and forced to make her living as a grifter. Huang’s army career is cut short by a bandit ambush. When the two meet, Gamine —“Iron Jaw”—is the leader of a sham religious movement, and Huang, or “Hummingbird,” is the bandits’ chief tactician. They join forces to bring down the corrupt government that has determined their lives. Iron Jaw and Hummingbird offers a planet’s worth of adventure!

Roberson’s stories of Chinese Mars could be an engrossing story of alternative future. If you’re a fan of his other stories set here, then you probably want to pick it up, but there’s not enough Martian flavor to make this solidly science fiction. It doesn’t treat the relationships between the characters very deeply either. It’s not a surprise that Gamine and Huang become romantically entwined, and this is presented as a fait accomplait.

It’s difficult to decide what this story is actually about; it’s not two people falling in love, it’s not the Chinese flavor on Mars. It’s not huge battles of bandits / rebels against an empire. In fact, most of the story is oddly turned in the last few chapters, as the story winds to a close.

All of this sounds like it was a bad book, but it was not.. The story is interesting, there are some expected plot devices that did not fail to go through. The use of airships on Mars is interesting, and where Roberson skims over the science of the “terraforming” of Mars. It’s a good kid book. I’d recommend it for a younger teen who’s not so entranced by “magic.” It’d also be a good book to open a discussion with your kid about death, religion, revenge and revolution.

You may think of “science” as the cold hard facts that make up the body of our knowledge. However, science is more than that. Learning about science includes data, but also ethics, peculiar personalities, hunches, obsession, and perhaps the most important trait for a human to possess.

Curiosity

OMSI educators and local scientists will lead four different series of book discussions at four different neighborhood libraries.

Get more information and enroll.

No, not with the green food coloring or easter egg dye, but that’d make a cute hulk-oriented or st-patrick’s-day oriented scrapbook page, wouldn’t it?

It’s a class at OHSU.

Growing Baby Green is both safe and simple. Discover easy tips and tricks to promote and protect your familie’s health, and home environment. Learn safe techniques to manage pests, simple solutions to clean your home, shopping tips to ensure nutritious eating habits and how to be wise with plastics. Come join us to learn how to create non-toxic products and take home your own green cleaner and baby wipes.

It’s February 17th from 6-9pm, it’s $50 per couple. You can register online at the above link or call 504 418 4508.

This is an email I received and am forwarding it on to all the members of the Portland Moms group because it’s something I really believe in. Having had my first child when I still lived in Canada I had a full year off work, paid. When I heard that 6 weeks (unpaid) in the U.S. is the norm it made me really sad since so many mothers would love to spend more time at home but can’t afford to.

Hi Brigitte, I’m a member of the Portland Moms Facebook group and have a favor to ask. I am part of a local grassroots group called Parents for Paid Leave and we’re really gearing up our grassroots effort to pass a bill this leg session, which starts today. It’d be *great* if we could somehow reach the group’s 600 members with a request to join our Facebook group and learn how they can be involved in this effort if they are interested. Even joining the Facebook group is a way for us to tally the number of parents who want this, which helps convince legislators. The group is here: group. Thanks so much for considering it, Lisa

Wait, what? A Portland Moms Facebook Group? Yup- If you’re on facebook, and you’re in Portland, and you’re a parent (they’re nondiscriminatory), you should join us!

And if you believe that leaving work in order to care for chronically ill family or for newborns is a good thing, also join the group of parents for paid leave.

The Queen writes in with a great book suggestion. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice series is about a 15 year old girl who meets up with a retired Sherlock Holmes. It’s a riveting read! Check it out!

Are you an artist? Is your kid? Does your family enjoy the Summer Reading Program? How would you like your artwork to be seen by teens across the county?

Illustrate the cover of the 2009 Teen Summer Reading gameboard. The winning artist will receive a $50 gift certificate to Art Media. The winner and honorable mentions will be featured in an online gallery on the Library’s website.

The Summer Reading theme this year is “Be Creative @ Your Library”. Deadline for submission is Friday, February 27th.

Download the Template!

The Jazz Festival is February 13-22

Numerous Education Opportunities Highlighting Portland and Northwest Artists Alaska Airlines & Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival presented by The Oregonian A&E will present numerous educational workshops, jazz conversations, panel discussions and free concerts at the PDX Jazz Pavilion @
Pioneer Courthouse Square throughout the festival schedule, February 13-22. Whether you or your child are a budding singer, jazz guitarist or looking to launch the next vision or version of a recording label on par with Blue Note Records, the 2009 Festival Education Outreach Schedule has something for you.
Nearly all events are all ages, free, and open to the public, with the exception of two singing workshops.
The first weekend of the Festival offers families numerous daytime, free live performances at Pioneer Courthouse Square in the PDX Jazz Pavilion, a 6,000 sq. ft. heated tent. So bring the kids out rain or shine to see such incredible local talent as the Portland State University Jazz Band, Metropolitan Youth
Symphony Jazz Ensemble, Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra, and the Beaumont Middle School Jazz Ambassadors, plus plenty of other great quartets and quintets. Pack your snacks and lunches or grab something in Portland’s living room.

Each weekend offers free instrumental educational classes by renowned jazz educators. Head over the Portland Center for the Performing Arts Brunish Hall for instruction on the saxophone, trombone or to work on your rhythm. Classes are available to all ages and are open to the public. Following a theme of Somethin’ Else: Blue Note Records @ 70, celebrating the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records, all Portland Jazz Festival ticketed concerts will feature current and past Blue Note artists. The package of Blue Note anniversary events will include performances, plus Jazz Conversations with Blue Note officials and artists, panel discussions with jazz writers and journalists, and archival Blue Note film screenings. Current BlueNote artists, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, sax man Joe Lovano, pianist Gonzalo
Rubalcaba, and vocalists Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, and Patricia Barber, will headline the 10-day event, which will also feature Blue Note heritage artists McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson, Lou Donaldson, and Pat Martino. The Jazz Conversations offer behind the scene insights into how music is performed,
created, and marketed. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear these legendary artists and producers share their insider secrets.

In all, there will be over 150 jazz events presented over 10 days by Portland Jazz Festival. For tickets to Portland Jazz Festival ticketed concerts, the full schedule of events or for more information visit www.pdxjazz.com!

The Power of ‘With’

Presented by Ginni Sackett, Director of Primary Training

Too often, parenting is thought of as something we do ‘to’ or ‘for’ our children. This series brought to you by the Montessori Institute Northwest explores how we can fulfill our expectations as parents while living ‘with’ our children in a mutually beneficial and mutually responsible relationship.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:30-8:30pm
De-constructing the Relationship

We all bring expectations, goals, assumptions and fears to our parenting. The first step to living ‘with’ our children is sorting out which of these attitudes support and which thwart our very real responsibilities as parents.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 6:30-8:30pm
Re-constructing the Relationship

Once we identify attitudes that support successful parenting, we will explore how you can create and nurture habits of living ‘with’ our children that bring harmony to both sides of the relationship.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 6:30-8:30pm
Parenting ‘with’: The Long View

Whatever age the child, our ultimate goal is to assist our child in becoming a happy, fulfilled, independent and self-disciplined adult. Explore how you can fashion a relationship that balances the parenting our child needs today with the long-term goals of human development.

Jeff Wright is the tournament director at the Oregon Golf Club.

They’ve been hosting fundraising golf tournaments for many years and are reaching out during this economic crisis, offering to help raise assistance. He’d like to talk to you about what they can do for you.

You can reach him at membership(at)oregongc.com.