■
MiiaMBWiBî * Ìlm fì
T he P ortland O bserver
• Ji
ly
,4 «-•»U
3, 1996
P age
“The
m P rof . Mt
kisi
B i ri
Folks in the ‘hood used to employ
a highly descriptive epithet whenev
er a temper-shortening issue would
stir up a hornet’s nest o f controversy;
“Up jum ped the devil”, they would
say.
If that still holds true, then ‘Dante’s
Inferno’ had no more forked-tail in
habitants than were stirred up by
Albert M urray’s book on the ‘blues’.
By phone, fax or personal encoun
ter I’ve heard some rather heated
commentary (as if I didn’t know you
cared). Some folks who already had
the book took the author to task for a
“super-sophisticated analysis o f in
digenous soul stuff." These accused
the author o f being a "poseur”, stat
ing that no African American cultur
lue Devils Of Nada” Conclusion
al genre would yield to the "Europe
an sty le o f c r itiq u e ” (T h e
Scandinavians come closest), Mr
Murray left me adrift when I discov
ered that there was no mention any
where in his book o f “Mr Blues-
personified, B.B. King. This is the
man o f whom it has been said, “H e'll
pass up a dozen notes to nail the
perfect one!" You know that’s right,
if y ou’ve ever looked over a hazy
night club and watched the body
language when the King is on the
stand caressing his faithful “Lucille”
(that’s anywhere in the world). We
often could have put it to that sway
ing, finger-popping ‘congregation’;
“are you read y-as ifyou didn’t know
exactly what he’s going to do to you?
And as he’s done for generations, we
could count on "M r B.B.” to lead
them all to a precipice o f anticipa
tion—toying with them before "nail
ing that perfect note.”
And then, having spent the
proper am ount o f tim e on a rh y th
mic narrative o f A frican A m eri
can loves, trium phs and the u n re
q u ite d , our eb o n y p ie d p ip e r
w ould make that b a d ’ m o v e -
releasin g m any a tense body and
mind from a paroxysm al em o
tio n a l e x c ite m e n t, “ M r. B .B ,
baby, please!"
I’ll tell you how I feel about it, Mr.
Albert Murray. I’ve nothing against
Ernes, H em ingw ay-he’s a good (ex
cellent) writer and I have read just
about everything he has written. I
am, o f course, in agreement with
that, “fundamental Hemingway prin
ciple; the one that requires good writ
ers and musicians to know what they
really feel, rather than what they are
supposed to feel or have been taught
to feel ”
Under these circumstances, sir, it
is difficult to understand why you
would not have presented Mr B.B.
King himselfas your Blues Model’.
A reader suggests that this omission
“pulls the covers off Murray” and his
discomfort with certain ‘slings and
arrows’ to which he may have been
subjected as an African American
attempting intellectual discourse.
The reader refers to several quotes
I made from Murray's book last week
In particular, the one about whites
feeling “brownskin” writers have
nothing to say unless "they are moan
ing about injustice." And his state
ment “they find it much easier to
praise such writers tor being angry
than for being innovative or insight
ful. ” Mr. Murray , we are certain that
you meet both standards and again,
yours is a very, very' good book. this.
"The Blue Devils of Nada,” Panthe
on 1996
Another group o f readers remind
me that, about a decade ago I wrote
about an African blues venue’ or
literature o f over 4000 years ago
(African Literature and Poetry: I he
Birth of the Blues). I pointed out that
in Egypt between 2181 B.C. and
2050 B .C .-the chaotic area between
the end of the Old Kingdom and the
beginning o f the First Intermediate
Period -- a vast "literature o f alien
ation" was produced.
I he modern school o f spiritual
nihilism called "existentialism", led
by its principle disciples, Sartre and
Keierkgaard took a good look at the
modern European world and declared
"God Is Dead!" “ We see no hope for
the predicament o f Western man."
These philosophers and religionists
ot defeatism borrowed very heavily
from African literature, the first blues
(ot course, the Hebrews did as well,
even before the sojourn in Egypt).
See almost verbatim translations
of blues literature produced in a cul
tural crisis: "Ancient Egyptian Liter
ature, 3 vol." Miriam l.ichtheim,
1976, Un. o f Calif. Press. Covers all
three kingdoms.
Chinook Winds Opens Casino
Continued from front
▲
redeem for prizes, such as stuffed
animals. Playland has a snack bar
for kids with an appetite, serving
popcorn, pretzels, hot dogs, chips,
nachos, fruit, soda and juice.
Charge for daycare is $4.95 for 4
hours and $ 1.95 for each additional
hour, with a maximum o f 6 hours.
Operating hours are Sunday through
Thursday 9 am -10 pm and Friday
and Saturday 9 am-12:30 pm. The
«1
i'l '
.
, .
,
,
casino also offers theme birthday
n
a r k n o p c as
» a
a part
m rr
packages
o f their services.
In a news conference with the
press, Delores Piggley, Chair o f the
Confederated Tribes o f the Siletz,
stated that, “The opening o f the fa
cility sets the tone for the future o f
the tribe in terms o f economic devel
opm ent.”
“ We have reached several mile
stones this year,., and I think the
first one was the opening o f our
administrative building in Siletz. It
brought the tribal i programs
under
f
one roof... Then last week, we com-
„ j . , . the
. o :, Siletz
. . , Indian
— Dance House
pleted
art re p re se n ts S ile tz b a sk e try
on a cultural site that was designated
by the tribal council. We have had
our very first winter solstice on the
reservation. And this week is the
openingofthe Chinook Winds Gam
ing Center."
The G am ing C e n te r’s shape is
in the form o f a tra d itio n a l P a c if
ic N orthw est Indian long house
and a drum. It in co rp o rates both
G litz and P acific N orthw est In
dian m otifs
in its design, l most
* J
I lU J l
notably on the e x te rio r w here the
designs and G litz designs in the
n eo n-illum inated gam e room.
I he S iletz T ribe has been su c
cessful in g en eratin g revenue for
tribal m em bers and creatin g jo b s
where unem ploym ent am ong trib
al m em bers is low.
Although the particulars have not
been worked out yet, all revenue
from the casino will go to better the
welfare o f tribal members, probably
III
in IIIC
the (II
areas of health, education and
housing.
Martin Luther King Median Generates Heat Again
Continued from Metro
▲
posed any changes on the street that
would “result in additional traffic on
residential streets.”
Nor were traffic and parking the
only bones o f contention. Commer
cial developer and North-Northeast
Business Association President Bill
Leigh com plained that by zoning
some land on the street strictly for
high-density, housing the city was
retarding development. “ We need to
encourage business and job develop
ment, not subsidized housing,” he
said. He compared the blue color for
high-density housing on city zoning
maps to seas in which developers and
property owners are “drowning.”
Sheila Holden o f the Portland
Economic D evelopm ent Alliance
agreed, and noted that two recent
major housing developments are oc
curring on land zoned EXD, intend
ed in the Albina Plan for business
development. She suggested that the
city either rezone housing land to
compensate, or do something to make
business development more compet
itive in the EXD zone.
In contrast, Aviva Groner o f the
Eliot Association said that ifon-street
parking is returned to the avenue, the
business zones should be narrowed
and the land behind them “returned
to the neighorhood” for lower-densi
ty housing development.
Despite the differences, a recur
ring theme from most who spoke was
a need for change on the street, and a
need to modify its design as a way of
getting it.
Veteran activist Charles Ford com
plained, “ W e’ve studied, studied and
studied. Now let’s moveexpeditious-
Weekly Unemployment Payment Increase
Beginning June 30, the maximum
amount paid to Oregonians filing for
state unemployment insurance will
increase slightly. According to the
Oregon Employment Department, the
state agency that administers the un
employment program, the maximum
weekly payment will rise to $314,
while the minimum amount will be
$73.
Under Oregon law, each year the
Employment Department recalcu
lates the maximum and minimum
amounts paid weekly to those filing
for unemployment insurance. The
amounts are set as percentages ofthe
average weekly wage earned by O r
egonians. In 1995, this average week-
ly wage was $4 9 1.74. The minimum
unemployment figure is 15% o f av
erage weekly wage, and the maxi
mum amount is 64%. Both dollars
amounts are rounded down to the
nearest dollar as required under law.
The new payment amounts are up
slightly from those paid over the past
year.
Iy. I’m an old man, and I want to see
something happen before I move on.”
St. Michael’s
Lutheran
Pre-School
NE Christian
Pre-School
Has Openings
For Youngsters 3 & 4
years old
8:45 to 11 AM
’ NE 29th and Dekum
Enroll Now For Fall
Call: 282-0000
Chinook W inds weekend beach conceits.
Williams & Ree June 29
7pm & 10pm
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band July 12 & 13
7pm & 10pm _
Jose Feliciano July 26 & 27
7pm & 10pm
Lou Rawls July 5th & 6th
June 28th is the Grand Opening of Oregon's premiere gaming & convention center,
Chinook Winds. Discover Las Vegas style entertainment and the most exciting
casino experience in the Northwest. Early shows begins at 7pm and the later
show starts at 10pm. So, expect week after week of the best headliner
entertainment available. Then, enjoy over 800 video slot machines,
no, Poker, Blackjack, Bingo and Off-track Betting.
Call for tickets 1-888-Main-Aet (1-888 624-6228)
C hinook W inds
SILETZ TRIBAL GAMING
CONVENTION CENTEP
1 755 NW 44th, Lincoln City, OR.
äec :;?
A3
Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.