Up & Coming Weekly

NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD In April, a high offi cial of the European Union called for member- nations to subsidize vacations for seniors, the disabled and those too poor to afford one. Said Commissioner (for enterprise and industry) Antonio Tajani, “Traveling for tourism today is a right.” [National Post (Toronto)-Times (of London), 4-19-10] In April, the town of Olathe, Kan., became the second city in two years to settle lawsuits fi led by citizens who were arrested for fl ashing their middle fi ngers at police offi cers, thus appearing to acknowledge that fl ipping the bird contemptuously at a cop is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. (Philadelphia paid out $50,000; Olathe, one-sixteenth the size, paid out $5,000.) [KSHB-TV (Kansas City), 4-16-10] Can’t Possibly Be True The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., famously pickets targets around the country with explicit anti- homosexuality signs and recently chose as venues the funerals of deceased U.S. soldiers and Marines (calling such deaths God’s punishment for America’s acceptance of gays and lesbians). One grieving Marine family in York, Pa., fi led a lawsuit accusing Westboro of “intentional infl iction of emotional distress” by picketing their son’s 2006 funeral, but a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in March that such protests are protected by the First Amendment. Piling on, the Court added that the grieving family must also pay Westboro $16,510 to cover its costs in having to defend the lawsuit. [Baltimore Sun, 3-29-10] Michelle Taylor, 34, was sentenced in Elko, Nev., in April to life in prison, solely for the crime of forcing a 13-year- old boy to touch her breasts, twice. The sentence was mandatory under a certain state law, but, said her lawyer, “She is getting a greater penalty ... than if she killed (the boy).” (She could be eligible for parole after 10 years.) [Elko Valley Daily Press, 4-14-10] Inexplicable Baltimore County (Md.) Judge Darrell Russell Jr., presiding over a March domestic violence case in which the woman obviously had changed her mind about blaming the boyfriend, performed the couple’s marriage ceremony in his chambers after temporarily halting the boyfriend’s trial. Earlier, Judge Russell had informed the woman that she could not refuse to testify based on “marital privilege” because she and the boyfriend were not married. Consequently, as the trial started, she asked the judge to marry them. After the ceremony, she was then granted the “marital privilege,” and the judge dismissed the charge for lack of evidence. (Russell has now been reassigned to less important cases.) [Baltimore Sun, 3-18-10] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Jazz washes away the dust of every day life. ~ Art Blakey Tune into WFSS 91.9 FM for the finest jazz in Fayetteville! Listen & Pledge online anytime at http A Title III funded project ://www.wfss .org WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) One of the unique things about you is that you can never rest until you succeed. If you experience a momentary setback, you relentlessly imagine ways around, through or over the problem. This is a habit for success and is likely to win you a signifi cant promotion by week’s end. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) You have some charming friends, but this week you’ll be the most charming of them all. You will fi nd an opportunity to exercise this with a new acquaintance and net an unexpected reward. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Remember a past success. At the beginning of the process, it seemed the journey would take forever. But all of a sudden, you found yourself halfway there. And then before you knew it, you were crossing the fi nish line. Ap- ply the faith and lessons of that past experience to your present one. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Successful com- munication hinges on your ability to read the response of your listeners. You will gather clues as to people’s interests and opinions. You’ll also real- ize when you’re barking up the wrong tree and will make adjustments accordingly. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) With the ever-increasing number of distractions around, this waning talent is becoming quite rare. You already have what it takes to be highly observant and intuitive. Practice listening. Opportunity springs from this talent. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Here’s one reason why fi rst impressions are so important. People determine how interested they are in one another at this meeting. And with most people, the inter- est rate will drop over time. So you want to make sure to set yours high to begin with. This week you’ll spend time polishing your image. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You have compassion for those who are going through strange times. Then again, there are those who are always going through strange times. They’ll try to ensnarl you in their world. It’s simply too much drama. Steer clear. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) You have an instinct for managing people this week. The rules and warnings of higher-ups will sound like a car alarm, loud and annoying but in a rhythm and tone so common that no one takes much notice. It all gives you an idea. Develop your strategy. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Humor is power. If you can make someone laugh, you have won this person over to your side, if only in some small way. You simply see life in a different way, and your astute observations will amuse, espe- cially if you express them in brief terms. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Someone will say (perhaps only with their facial expression) that your idea about what your future holds is far- fetched. But it just so happens that this far-fetched idea of yours is perhaps the most sound and reasonable thing that could happen. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You’ve been on other people’s teams for a while, so it will be a fun turn for you this week when you discover that there are many people on your team, too. All you have to do is say the word and friends come to your assistance. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Animals will en- chant you. They are not thinking about how they come across. They are not worried about whether they are dressed appropriately, and they are not concerned about whether they make enough money or have the right friends. Natural intel- ligence is awe-inspiring. Observing it gets you in touch with your essence. By Holiday Mathis ADVICE GODDESS The Power of Positive Sinking How do you know whether a guy is worth staying with, or if you’re on a slowly sinking ship? My boyfriend of three and a half years treats me well, but he suffers bouts of depression and his divorce six years ago has hung a shadow over our relationship. He’s never told me he loves me, which I need at this point. His divorce also left him financially scarred, and he’s taken a roommate, who happens to be female, to stave off foreclosure. It turns out she was raped some time ago. Soon after moving in, she told my boyfriend she was uncomfortable with others in the house having sex. She doesn’t have a job now, so even afternoon trysts are out. I think it’s terrible what happened to her, but I also find it awfully presumptuous of her to dictate this aspect of our lives. We can’t have sex at my place, except when my kids can stay at my mom’s. I needed more from my boyfriend even before the roommate came, but too often now, there’s only that seven-minute exhausted call at 11:45 at night. I’m disturbed that he’d basically sell out our relationship for some rent money. — Sexless In The City It’s terrible, what happened to his roommate, but moving into somebody’s place and then announcing, “Oh, by the way, I’m traumatized by people having sex…” is like saying, “Did I mention that I’m deathly allergic to cats? Not to worry, I hear they don’t feel a thing when they get put down.” Of course, a guy who wants to have sex with his girlfriend but takes in a roommate who’s “uncomfortable” with it passes on the bad news: that he’ll be giving said roommate time to pack, not that he’ll be sleeping with the girlfriend from 11:45 to 12:02, but only over the phone, and he really does mean sleeping. If you were boyfriend-shopping right now, imagine answering this ad: “Emotionally and financially devastated divorced man with deeply troubled roommate seeks girlfriend: no pets, no sex, no ‘I love you.’” Chances are, you succumbed to what economists call the sunk cost fallacy — investing more and more time in this relationship because you’ve already invested so much time. You should instead be looking at what the guy currently has to offer: basically, seven minutes a night for you to work on convincing him “If you really loved me, you’d be living out of your car.” Is it possible he’ll change? Sure it is — if he wins the lottery and meets a good witch who’ll wave her magic wand over him, instantly curing his depression, or if you can invent a time machine so he can go back and stay in bed with a hangover on the day he met his now ex-wife. On the bright side, you should find it easier to coax him into saying “I love you”… at gunpoint, or by attaching jumper cables to his nipples. Amy Alkon (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. MAY 26-JUNE 1, 2010 UCW 23

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