Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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DECEMBER 28 - JANUARY 3, 2016 UCW 23 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPE ADVICE GODDESS Rump For Joy I am a curvy girl with a big butt. I hate it. I have a small waist, and it makes my butt look even bigger. I'd like to lose weight in that area. However, my boyfriend LOVES my butt and told me there's research that says girls with bigger butts are smarter and healthier. Is that true? That can't be true. — Tushy Galore Epidemiologist William Lassek and anthropologist Steven Gaulin find that being voluptuous in the way you are is associated with both being a bit smarter and having smarter children. To understand why starts with understanding "parent-offspring conflict," evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers' term for how it's in each child's genetic interest to suck as much in the way of resources out of their parent as they can. Lassek and Gaulin note that this competition for resources is especially rough on teen mommies, whose own brains are still developing. Both the teen mother-to-be and her child are prone to having their cognitive development "impaired" — irreversibly diminished from what it could be — when she's forced to compete for a limited supply of nutrients with the fast-growing fetus. However, Lassek and Gaulin find that women with bodies like yours seem to be cushioned against this cognitive impairment, apparently because the butt and hip area serves as a supplemental food storage locker for the developing fetus. There's a special kind of fat that gets deposited in this area — gluteofemoral fat. This booty fat is different from and healthier than belly fat. It's loaded with omega-3 fatty acids — especially DHA, docosahexaenoic acid — which we can only get from things we ingest, like seafood, walnuts, cooked spinach, and krill oil supplements. DHA is essential for day-to- day cognitive functioning in all people. And, Gaulin emphasized to me, it's "the most important brain building resource" for little fetus people. He and Lassek controlled for things like parents' income and education and the number of dollars spent per student and found mothers' higher DHA to be the strongest predictor of kids scoring significantly higher on tests in math, reading, and science. Gluteofemoral fat is extremely resistant to weight loss. But to lose weight overall — while feeding your brain and protecting it from cognitive decline — consider this from Lassek. and Gaulin's book, Why Women Need Fat: "The single dietary factor most strongly related to women's weight gain was the amount of omega-6 linoleic acid in their diet." A major source of omega-6 is factory Frankenstein oils — polyunsaturated, heat- processed seed oils like soybean, sunflower, corn, and canola. (Extra-virgin olive oil is healthy — an omega-3 source.) And, surprise! Eating fish cooked in these omega-6-packed Franken-oils makes us "unlikely to retain the valuable omega-3 present in the fish." NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD A News of the Weird Classic An estimated 3.2 million kids ages 5-12 take mixed-martial-arts classes, training to administer beatdowns modeled after the adults' Ultimate Fighting Championships, according to a January (2013) report in ESPN magazine, which profiled the swaggering, Mohawked Derek "Crazy" Rayfield, 11, and the meek, doll-clutching fighting machine, Regina "The Black Widow" Awana, 7. Kids under age 12 fight each other without regard to gender, and blows above the collarbone, and on the groin, kidneys and back are prohibited. "Crazy" delivered merciless forearm chest smashes before the referee intervened, and the Black Widow won her match in less than a minute via arm-bar submission. Parental involvement is said to be either "fear" of their child's getting hurt or "encouragement" to be meaner. [ESPN The Magazine, 1-7-2013] Suspicions Confirmed Evolution, according to scientists, likely explains why some "prey" develop defense mechanisms to avoid "predators," i.e., the prey who fail to develop them are unable to procreate (because they're dead). But a team of scientists from Sweden and Australia recently concluded that something similar happens in a species of fish in which males mate basically by huge-appendaged rape. Growing nine generations of the species in the lab, the researchers concluded that the females who can avoid the "rapist" evolve larger brains than those who fall victim. (Researchers, loosely speaking, thus concluded that as males grow bigger penises, females grow bigger brains to outsmart them.) [National Post (Toronto), 11-24- 2016] Recurring Themes Whistleblower goes to jail; responsible industry executives make millions. Long-time Mississippi environmental activist Tennie White is 27 months into a 40-month sentence (for "falsifying" three $150 tests in her laboratory), but high- ranking executives at the Kerr-McGee chemical conglomerate made millions on the case White helped expose: leakage of cancer-causing creosote into communities, including White's Columbus, Mississippi, neighborhood. A detailed investigation by TheIntercept.com in November noted the executives' brilliant response to the 25,000 creosote lawsuits nationwide: put all the liability into one outlying company (eventually going bankrupt) but selling off, highly profitably, the rest of the firm. [The Intercept, 11-25-2016] Copyright Chuck Sheppard ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, someone is interested in what you have to say, especially with regard to a personal issue. You're not quite sure if you're ready to reveal all that much to others. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, plans go well for you this week and you will follow through with the tasks you need to tackle. You may need to tweak a few things in the days to come, however. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, you may not see eye-to-eye with a few close friends this week, but you can push past this and your friendship will endure. Try to find some common ground. CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22 A series of new ideas might make you everyone's best friend this week, Cancer. Your brain is working overtime, and you may be shocked at what you can accomplish. LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23 Try something new this week, Leo. Make it something as simple as taking a new route to work or school or trying a new recipe in the kitchen. New experiences may surprise you. VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22 Virgo, you have a strong sense of pride and don't like to give up on things prematurely. But this week you have to respect another's perspective and concede a point. LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23 Libra, navigate a sticky situation as carefully as possible. Many may come to you for advice, but try not to get too involved in a conflict that has nothing to do with you. SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22 You will be full of energy this week and ready to handle just about anything that comes your way, Scorpio. You may gain some admirers after your even-keeled handling of a situation. SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21 Big plans this week does not mean you can pass up on your existing responsibilities, Sagittarius. Try to make time for everything, and delegate any tasks that you can. CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20 Keep listening when others around you are talking, Capricorn. You can learn valuable lessons just by sitting back and listening to what others have to say. AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18 Aquarius, others' charitable spirits prove contagious this week. Explore the volunteer opportunities available to you and don't be afraid to try something new. PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20 You may crave change this week, Pisces. Even small changes can make a difference. Try to incorporate new experiences into your days. Amy Alkon Chuck Sheppard Your opinion is something we always want to hear. Call or email us your feedback. WE'RE ALL EARS Questions? Comments? Story Ideas? Let us know how we're doing. 208 Rowan St. Fayetteville, NC 28301 910.484.6200 www.upandcomingweekly.com