Up & Coming Weekly

NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD American families from certain AsianWEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY and African cultures continue to ritually “circumcise” their young daughters, though the practice is illegal in the U.S. and most of the world. In May, the bioethics committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics changed its policy from absolutely banning such surgery to one which would sanction a minor “pinprick” on girls’ genitals (comparable, it said, to ear-piercing), with the hope of satisfying parents so they would not opt to send the girls to the home countries for full genital “mutilation.” U.S. anti- female-circumcision support groups were outraged. Said one advocate, “We don’t let (husbands) beat their wives a little bit” just because their cultures permit wife-beating. (On May 26, following that storm of criticism, the academy rescinded the policy change.) [New York Times, 5-6-10] Government in Action! The local government of Bolton, England, responding in March to a citizen’s report of a discarded mattress on the side of a road, sent an offi cial to assess the scene. He wrote a work order for four men (a driver, an assistant and two supervisors) and a 1.7-ton construction vehicle, and the pickup was scheduled for the following week, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. (When a Bolton councilman saw the schedule, he, with the help of a friend, drove a council van to the scene and hauled the mattress to a dump site.) [Daily Telegraph, 3-30-10] A Hollywood, Fla., leukemia patient on Medicaid had endured six months of grueling chemotherapy in order to be healthy enough for a long-awaited bone marrow transplant when, in March, a Social Security Administration caseworker called her up out of the blue to inform her that her son was eligible for disability payments, which the woman immediately signed up for. However, almost as immediately, Medicaid removed her from its rolls because the disability check raised her income beyond the qualifying maximum, and her transplant was, life- threateningly, canceled. (In April, the hospital persuaded Medicaid to cover the transplant.) [WFOR-TV (Miami), 4-12-2010] In April, offi cials in Hudson, N.Y., proudly unveiled their state-of-the-art water fountain for the disabled in the county courthouse, a fi xture whose installation was agreed to in a 2003 settlement with federal offi cials enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, the fountain was installed on the courthouse’s second fl oor, which is accessible only by stairway. In defense, county offi cials said the fountain had several features for handicapped people other than those in wheelchairs. [Register-Star (Hudson), 4-28-10] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM ARIES (March 21-April 19) You may feel uncharacteristically shy this week. It might help you to know that you’re not expected to have the answers or be anyone you’re not. Just being available with a nice attitude and a listening ear is probably enough. You’re loveable. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Your choices are likely to be confusing. There are many seductive but wrong routes, as well as an overwhelming number of mediocre options. Luckily, you already know the perfect route for you. And all you have to do is get internally quiet and then command your mind to show you the way. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) You like a person because of who that person is, and for no other reason. This person cannot further your agenda in any way, and that makes him or her all the more loveable to you. Having many people like this around you will be lucky for you this week, helping you regularly practice a higher kind of love. CANCER (June 22-July 22) If you don’t know what the competition is doing, you’ll be at a disad- vantage. If you obsess about what the competition is doing, you won’t have time for your own work. If you try, this week you will succeed in striking the perfect balance between being informed and minding your own business. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Awkward stages are a necessary part of growth. The in-between stages of life are actually beautiful to some people, as we are at our most vulnerable and real at these junctures. Have compassion for yourself and others who are riding out a transitional phase in the journey. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) It will be challenging to focus on your work. It may even feel as though ev- ery single person currently living on the planet is do- ing something more interesting than what is in front of you. Hunker down and dive in as though this is the only task and the only moment that matters. ADVICE GODDESS Sperm Wail LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You’ll make music with people who invigorate you. As it is with most songs, it’s the melody that people will remember. And in your case, the “melody” comes from the overall feeling of a relationship — the particular give and take and the chemistry that creates. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) There are those around who are very grand and who seem to see themselves as glowingly and obviously above everyone else. We are all equal, and this is made even more apparent by those who think they are superior. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) There will be waves in a relationship. So blame it on the moon, and then fi gure out how to get up on your boards and ride this out. In fact, if you can get over this one, in time you will come to think of it as one of the high points of your experience together. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) There is no group to be a part of, only a bunch of individuals with some things in common and most things not. You, like most people, may assume that everyone else is connected and you are on the outside. If everyone feels like an outsider from time to time, then there really are no insiders. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You have a stamp of approval, and this has carried you through tough times. Perhaps you shouldn’t need the validation — you are worthy without it, too. You’ll get the chance to give the same kind of boost to someone else. Your vote of confi dence will be more meaningful than you can imagine. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) There’s not a lot that will be given to you freely this week. It’s because you can’t possibly appreciate what is handed to you. And you won’t know what you really want until you fi nd the gumption inside to reach up and take it. Grab on. By Holiday Mathis I’m 26, and I’ve been looking at my stepsister’s dating life with a measure of worry. She’s 36, and wants children, but still hasn’t found “the one.” She’s gone from being ultra-picky to swearing she’ll just marry the next guy who doesn’t pick his nose at the dinner table. Wow. Is that what it comes down to for women — eventually having to give up and settle for a guy you’re less than on fire for? It horrifies me to think of being her at some point. — A Decade To Go Women in their 20s are quick to rule a man out for deep character flaws like wearing Dockers, not knowing that you’re supposed to hate Nickelback, and buying vegetables grown by multinational conglomerates instead of two aging hippies. Some women in their 30s, especially those who wake up with baby rabies at 35, continue to maintain high standards: demanding that a man be straight, single, and paroled. Ideally, that is. At 39, they’ll pretty much consider anything with a paycheck and human sperm. Most women seem to get their priorities in order well before they come up against the “enjoy by” date on their eggs. But, as Jessica Grose Amy Alkon Rhythm ... Melody ... Harmony ... Improv The legends ... Today’s top bands ... Promising new talent Saturdays at 6:00 P.M. Every week on JazzSet 91.9 FM Your NPR News and Jazz Station quipped on Slate, “…Nobody ever went broke underestimating the anxiety women feel about getting married.” Grose is referring to the bestselling Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough, by Lori Gottlieb. Of course, that’s easier to say if you don’t want kids. Gottlieb’s advice to women who do? “Settle!” Forget looking for love, passion, or intense connection (aka “zing”); look to set up “infrastructure” for a family, and quick-quick, find a dependable guy with a nice fat salary to be your tool. (Oh, the paycheckstasy!) “Zing” isn’t everything, but you’ll probably have a pretty grim time staying married without it (especially if you have to stick it out for all those years from delivery room to dorm room). Sure, zing fades — you’re probably not going to light up like you did on the first date the 30,000th time he walks into the living room — but having a base of love, attraction, affection and connection is what helps you not hate him when he’s being so annoying it makes your fillings hurt. A Title III funded project Beyond all the love stuff, you shouldn’t get together with any man you don’t respect and admire; meaning you need to have the hots for a man not just physically but as a human being. If you want kids, do your best to make that happen, but accept that it might not, and develop yourself, your friendships and your life. If you feel complete without a man, men are more likely to feel incomplete without you. You, in turn, might not have to force yourself into that Gottlieb-style bliss of going from demanding that a guy have hair to demanding that a guy have a head. (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. JUNE 9-15, 2010 UCW 23

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