All welcome

"What would we be willing to give up... what would we gain in return?"

The purpose of this workshop is to view the documentary film ‘Occupied Cascadia’ to inspire transformative thoughts and discussions in relationship to our bioregion with specific attention to the mining threats to our beloved Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). A discussion with the directors of the film as well as mining and BWCA interest groups will take place immediately after the viewing.

Schedule
5:30 PM - Open discussion
6:30 PM - Screening of 'Occupied Cascadia'
(see the trailer at http://vimeo.com/38078416)
8:30 PM - Panel Discussion until 10:00 PM

***
‘Occupied Cascadia’ is a documentary film exploring the evolving concept of bioregionalism across this land base. Historically, the diverse voices throughout this land have paved the way for many movements. The directors of this film feel that they have captured an essence of this evolving culture. So, what defines the people of this region? Are the people of this region forging a new path?

With resource wars upon us, governments are more oppressive than ever, global economies are destabilizing, corporations and media are continually dividing us and most seem to have some notion of an imminent collapse on the horizon. Are we capable of coming together, and if so, where do our commonalities lie?

The people of Cascadia are diverse in opinions, stories and backgrounds and much like the larger nations we are a part of, we are divided by fundamentalism. What changes must we really make in order to provide for future generations, including the natural world? Explore these concepts and more.

This film was Co-directed and Co-produced by Devin Hess and Mel Sweet, self-taught photographers now transitioning to independent film making.

All music was recorded and produced by Hassan Ali Estakhrian at hassanalimusic.com.

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Learn Spanish!

This is a beginning-level course in Spanish which emphasizes listening and oral communication in a variety of topics at a basic level. It covers only that grammar and structure absolutely necessary for speaking. We will mainly focus on commonly used vocabulary with a little grammar, and basic phrases used in every day conversation.

Some of the topics we will cover: greetings!, the house, school, the market, and the city and more depending student's requests.

Each week we will introduce new vocabulary, however we will review the previous weeks lessons. It is recommended that you attend all 7 classes, however, I am not super duper strict! This is for your benefit! :)

We will use a multi-learning approach: Emphasis is on the development of basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.
I teach in English and Spanish, however, the course is intended for students with no previous knowledge of the Spanish language.

like to keep things Interesting, Easy and Practical by using materials such as: visuals, audio, repeating, 1 on 1 conversation practice and songs! I will give a CD and prescribe work-book pages, providing you with a little something to help you practice at home!

I encourage everyone to be themselves and be comfortable. I am friendly and like to provide a space where you can feel at ease trying out something new! Be prepared to speak! Don't worry, I won't force you to speak in front of everyone if you're not comfortable, however, be willing to speak as a group and/or in 1 on 1 breakup sessions!

Upon completion, students should be able to comprehend and recite basic vocabulary and be able to introduce themselves.

:) Feel free to give me an email if you have any questions.

Location

All of us have too many things to do (or things we want to do) and not enough hours in our days and weeks to get everything done. Many of us are stressed out and tired, feeling like we are overburdened and behind "schedule." Many of us are frustrated. On the other hand, some of us seem to get things done - house cleaning, childcare, jobs, hobbies - and still manage to wake up smiling and full of energy; ready for taking on new tasks or to just lay in the hammock all day.

Time Management 101 consists of a 4 formal class sessions and provides you with a pragmatic strategy for getting a start on organizing your life and moving ahead with a plan. We start the class by defining exactly where our time is going and what we are doing. Then, we move to defining, in a perfect world, what do we want to accomplish and how do we want to spend our days. Finally, we move to making the abstract "wanna do" list into a concrete set of tasks, milestones, and timelines.

We'll figure out a schedule for revisiting our plans on a regular basis and how to coherently revise our plan as time goes by. The facilitator is not perfect at managing his own life but has found his T.I.M.E. system (Task Identification, Management, and Evaluation) to work consistently when he applies it to personal and professional goals.

Join us! Find new ways to get things done and have more fun!

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Join this facilitated reading group to discuss some really interesting new work by women writers, particularly women writers of color, focusing on race, labor and embodiment. We'll read some short stories and novel excerpts by Nisi Shawl, Andrea Hairston, L. Timmel Duchamp, Aliette De Bodard, Ekaterina Sedia and Octavia Butler (who isn't recent, but whose work informs so much recent feminist SF). We can also read material suggested by class members and/or critical writing about feminist science fiction. We will build our discussion around how race is written, how embodiment is written, how work is written. What meaning do these stories have for us as radicals? How do these stories fit within science fiction as a whole? How do they fit within feminist science fiction?

I also suggest that the group talk about our positions as readers of these stories - where are we in terms of class, race, gender, lived experience? How do these works speak to us? How shall we speak about them? On a personal level, as a white person I'd like to talk about being an accountable reader and an accountable speaker about science fiction by women of color. What does it mean, for example, that a white person is suggesting this class? How can I organize a reading group but avoid using the work of writers of color to make myself seem cultured/knowing/fashionable? In what ways can I read respectfully and honestly, recognizing my whiteness and how I profit from white supremacy?

Meetings will focus on your interests, attendees - we'll do various kinds of small group discussion, paired discussion, brainstorming, maybe even some art, collage, etc. I'll provide some plans for each class meeting so we can start generating ideas (and I'll nudge the group a little so that we keep moving), but I won't be lecturing – I’d much rather just participate in small group work and gently facilitate the class from the sidelines.

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