May 4,2005________________________________________ __
il?1 Jîortlanb (D bserüer____ _______________________ PageB3
Focus
‘Olit o f A frica9 Concert? Musicians to perform in NAACP benefit
A concert o f A frican and A frican-A m erican
com posers takes place on Sunday, M ay 15 at
3 p.m. at St. Joseph Church, 400 S. A ndresen
Road in V ancouver.
The ‘O ut o f A frica” perform ance is pre­
sented by T he Bravo! V ancouver C oncert
Series, featuring the 60-voice Bravo! C horale,
and guest artist and pianist W illiam C hapm an
N yaho. Proceeds w ill support N A A C P pro­
gram s in V ancouver.
N yaho is an expert on the m usic o f Africa.
He will perform a w ide range o f piano m usic
by A fric a n c o m p o se rs, in c lu d in g R ob ert
N athaniel D ett’s “ In the B ottom s Piano Suite ”
and unhingements o f traditional spirituals.
This music, like jazz, and
blues, is a uniquely American
art form, and is part of a
diverse culture and heritage.
- M a r i a Manzo, Brava!
dozen traditional N egro spirituals by A frican A m eri­
can com posers.
"T his m usic, like jazz and blues, is a uniquely
A m erican art form , and is part o f a diverse culture and
heritage,” said M aria M anzo, Brava! C horale music
director. "M any o f these songs will be fam iliar to
people who have sung in high school or college
choirs. But although they are a joy to sing and hear,
spirituals are deceptively difficult to sing— it’s all
A native o f G hana, W est A frica, N yaho has
perform ed concerts in E urope, A frica, the
C aribbean and across the U nited States includ­
ing W ashington D .C .’s K ennedy Center. He
has been featured on radio and T V broadcasts
in G hana, Sw itzerland and on N ational Public
Radio, and recently released a recording on the
C entaur Label called “A aron C opland: M usic
for T w o Pianos.”
The Bravo! Chorale opens the concert’s
second h alf and will perform m ore than a
about style, ju st like ja z z and blues.”
T ickets are $15 for reserved seating and are
available at w w w .bravoconcerts.com . T ickets are
also available at the Bravo! Infoline at 360-906-0441
and T icketsW est at 503-224-8499. T o purchase
N A A C P tickets, call 360-896-9649.
William Chapman Nyaho will perform Sunday,
May 15 in a special performance to support
NAACP programs In Vancouver.
B.B. King Monument Approved
Ice Cube a Refreshing Proxy
(AP) - The Arkansas Legislature has approved a $5,000 expendi­
ture to build a monument honoring bluesman B.B. King in the tiny
Delta town of Twist.
More than 50 years ago, Ki ng's famed guitar Lucille earned its name
after adanee hall brawl in Twist. King's trademark Gibson guitars have
been called Lucille ever since.
“B.B.putTwist, Ark., on the map," Allan Hammons, interim director
of the planned B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Miss., said. "I think
it’s very important that the state of Arkansas took the opportunity to
memorialize that great American story.”
State Sen. Steve Bryles said that he pushed the funding through
for the monument because too little is known of K ing's connection
to the state. Bryles also hopes the marker will draw tourists to the area.
Shines as ‘XXX’ operative in sequel
( AP) — Ice Cube tills in for Vin
Diesel in “XXX: State of the Union,”
the next installment in the franchise
about a National Security Agency
program to recruit the baddest of
bad boys for the baddest of assign­
ments.
The new movie is as preposter­
ously plotted and outrageously
combustible as the 2002 original, so
action fans will come away with
their fire-and-brimstone quotient
well sated.
And those tired of Diesel fumes
will find Ice Cube a refreshing proxy.
Not that the sequel is anything
close to a good movie, but Cube is
a more personable presence and
better actor than Diesel, while still
retaining the smoldering stoicism
the world has come to expect of its
“XXX” operatives.
Samuel L. Jackson's return in a
beefed-up role as puppetm asterof
the “ X X X ” brand and W illem
D afoe's recruitment as a traitor in­
tent on taking over the presidency
theoretically gussy up the sequel.
Neither character has enough depth
for the actors to dig in and make
much dramatic impact, though.
XXX: State of the Union,” re­
leased by Sony’s Colum bia’s Pic­
tures release, is rated P G -13 for se­
quences of intense action violence
and some language. Running time:
101 minutes. One and a half stars
out o f four.
Darius Stone (Ice Cube)
is coerced into becoming
a super field agent under
their new “XXX” program
in “XXX: State o f the
Union." (AP photo)
Poetry Lifeline, Inc.
2005 Young Writers
Summer Institute
June 20-July 15
held at Concordia University Campus
New Abstracts
at Firehouse
Teen Stars as Super Hero
Tajja Isen portrays the cartoon super hero
Atomic Betty, a sweet and intelligent little girl
who is basically your average 12-year-old; she
has crushes on classmates, is a good student,
and has a strong feeling of loathing for the family
cat.
In real life, Isen is a 13-year-old African-
American girl known as an accomplished singer
"and voice-over actress who embodies the same
'energy and excitement of her animated charac­
ter.
In her new role, she is set apart from the rest
by her secret identity as Galactic Guardian De­
fender of the Cosmos.
While the citizens of Earth carry on with their
every day lives, Atomic Betty zips across the
galaxy on daring and valiant missions, from
saving a race o f space monkeys from a giant
caterpillar invasion to rescuing a kidnapped
ambassador from a ruthless king. She's a hero
to the universe, but on her home planet Earth,
Betty's just one of the gang. But that’s the way
The impressive young talent Tajja Isen
lends her voice to "Atomic Betty. ”
she likes it - if her Mom and Dad knew she was
out zooming through the cosmos without a
license, she'd be grounded for sure.
Atomic Betty airs On Cartoon Network on
Sundays at 8:30 p.m., with repeats Fridays at 9:30
p.m. and Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Artists from two different sides of the
world are being featured at Interstate
Firehouse Cultural C enter's galleries be­
ginning Thursday, May 5, with a First
Thursday reception from 5:30p.m. to7:30
p.m.
Junko lijima, featured in the main gal­
lery, immigrated to the United States when
she was 17 years old from Japan. Her
talents are best classified as that of an
object maker, a creator, and producer of
objects that have always been a large part
of her life.
Katherine Pappas Parks, featured in
the entry gallery, has enjoyed a large part
of her career as an established artist and
professor in Chicago and Detroit. She has
lived in Portland for the last six years and
has exhibited her work while teaching
painting as an adjunct associate profes­
sor at Portland State University.
Park’s paintings have been described
as magical realism.
Northeast Alberta Street has a
new farmers’ market coming each
Saturday starting May 21 and con­
tinuing into late November.
Local farmers will supply the
Alberta Farmers market on the cor­
ner of Northeast 15* Avenue and
Alberta with affordable and deli­
cious fresh produce. Look for sea­
sonal fruits and vegetables, wild
mushrooms, fresh eggs, hot food,
plants and live music.
The goal of market is to serve a
diverse and vibrant northeast com ­
munity with fresh, affordable and
delicious produce while creating a
community hubcomplete with mu­
sic For more information, call Sarah,
the market manager, at 503-OR-
GANIC.
Jason W. Ruecker L o a n O ffic e r
My first
priority is your
best interest!
5 0 3 .2 2 3 .2 1 6 2
FAX:
5 0 3 .2 2 3 .2 1 6 3
Toll Free:
8 0 0 .2 8 0 .4 1 8 7
Cell:
5 0 3 .8 0 3 .5 1 7 7
926 NW 13" Avenue. Ste. 140. Portland. OR 97209
Jason. ruecker@f(a<»tar. com
COM^tUS
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• Once Upon a Time— W riting the next best am erican novel
• PoRAPtry— C o m bining hip hop and spoken w ord into a
fascinating new genre! E ach youth w ill c reate and show ­
case th e ir p ro fessionall pro d u ced C D at a “ new release
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____________ THE____________
F L J W S T B A A N K H
Farmers Market
Coming May 21
O pp o rtu n ity fo r youth to ex p lo re the creativ e process and
en h an ce artistic d e v eleo p m en t.
An ongoing senes of questions and answers about America's natural healing profession
Part 6. HEADACHES: Why Chiropractic is
nature’s long-lasting pain reliever.
:lal ways seem to he plagued nerve-related and therefore, stand W hat’s more, drugs have seri­
with headaches. They come a very good chance of being re­ ous side effects. The only side
lieved by Chiropractic.
effects of C hiropractic are relief
up over my head and seem to stop
from pain and a healing o f the
at my eye. What can Chiropractic
: Why should / go through a cause o f pain. To find out how
possibly do to help me?
full course o f Chiropractic Chiropractic could help relieve
. About 70% of all people
when drugs often relieve my head­
your headaches or for answ ers
experience headaches of
to any questions you might have
one sort or another. The type you
aches?
Q
Q
A
describe is quite typical. The pain
can range anywhere from moder­
ate to nauseating. The top three
nerves in the neck go up over the
back of the skull in a very similar
pattern to what you describe. Any
type of pressure or irritation on
these nerves can cause extreme
pain. Your problems could be
I
: Dnigs work primarily on re­ about your health, please call us
lieving pain, but not on treat­ at the telephone num ber listed
directly below.
ing the cause of the headache.
A
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
2124 N.E. Hancock Street
Portland, Oregon 97212
Phone: (503) 287-5504