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.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/134728
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD The Department of Agriculture reported recently that in four of America's largest cities New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Denver — nearly one home out of 100 keeps chickens either for a fresh egg supply or as pets, giving rise to chicken services such as Backyard Poultry magazine, MyPetChicken.com and Julie Baker's Pampered Poultry store. Among the most popular products are strap-on cloth diapers for the occasions when owners bring their darlings indoors, i.e., cuddle their "lap chickens." Also popular are "saddles" for roosters, to spare hens mating injuries — owing to roosters' brutal horniness, sometimes costing hens most or all of their back feathers from a single encounter. [NPR, 5-1-2013] Government in Action "Consider all the ways we're taxed," wrote Maryland's community Gazette in April — when we're born, die, earn income, spend it, own property, sell it, attend entertainment venues, operate vehicles and pass wealth along after death, among others. Maryland has now added a tax on rain. To reduce stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake Bay, the Environmental Protection Agency assessed the state $14.8 billion, which the state will collect starting in July by Chuck Sheppard taxing "impervious surfaces" —any land area in its 10 largest counties that cannot directly absorb rainwater, such as roofs, driveways, patios and sidewalks. [Gazette. net (Gaithersburg, Md.), 4-5-2013] The Washington Post reported in April that the federal government is due to spend $890,000 this year to safeguard ... nothing. The amount is the total fees for maintaining more than 13,000 shortterm bank accounts the government owns but which have no money in them and never again will. Closing the accounts is easier said than done, according to the watchdog Citizens Against Government Waste, because the accounts each housed separate government grants, and Congress has required that, before the accounts are closed, the grants must be formally audited — something bureaucrats are rarely motivated to do, at least within the 180 days set by law (though there is no penalty for missing the deadline). [Washington Post, 4-24-2013] It's good to be the county administrator of Alameda County, Calif. (on San Francisco Bay, south of Oakland). The San Francisco Chronicle revealed in March that somehow, Susan Muranishi negotiated a contract that pays her $301,000 a year, plus "equity pay" of $24,000 a year so that she makes at least 10 percent more than the next highest paid official, plus "longevity" pay of $54,000 a year, plus a car allowance — and that she will be paid that total amount per year as her pension for life (in addition to a private pension of $46,000 a year that the county purchased for her). [San Francisco Chronicle, 3-25-2013] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ADVICE GODDESS ARIES (March 21-April 19) To take advantage of all that your current scene has to offer, avoid gazing at the supposedly greener grass on the other side of the fence. Stay focused on your own backyard. My girlfriend and I love each other, but we feel we're becoming numb to hearing it from each other. We've been together three years, so I assume that time is what's put a damper on the "three little words." I suggested that when we are about to say "I love you," we come up with something more personal and meaningful. This, sadly, was difficult and lasted about a day. Now we're back to expressing affection the rote way. Yes, we could have a bigger problem, but beneath this is a bigger worry — that the relationship will get old, too. — Same-Old, Same-Old For the Week of June 8, 2013 TAURUS (April 20-May 20) What some people call "lazy" other people call "doing what I want to do." Just because you don't feel motivated to conform to what people expect of you doesn't mean you lack motivation in general. Your own projects are important, too! LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) There's more out there that you could know and do. Soak up the information even if it's not presented in the way you'd prefer. This week provides endless opportunities to set aside your ego and be a student of life. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) People you know will be involved in intriguing activities that may have you thinking, "I want to do that." Mentally factor in the considerable amount of time and energy involved. Be sure you're really excited about it before you embark. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Even though you think it's smart to say what people want you to say, a surge of confidence coupled with a strong creative streak will prevent you from doing so this week. Instead, you'll talk off the cuff about what's really on your mind and make some rather astute comments along the way. . SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Should the schoolteacher tell the students what will be on the test? Or should the students pay attention and try to learn everything being taught in the class and not just the bits that will be graded? Life will be like a classroom situation this week, and your "teacher" isn't going to point out what's on the test. CANCER (June 22-July 22) You are willing to suspend your disbelief to entertain fantasies of other worlds. Therefore, the week will take on an element of bizarre, fantastic and dream-like energy. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) People are really listening to you now, so seize the opportunity to put your main message across. Keep it simple. You're better off communicating in your own way. If you don't know the real meaning, don't say it. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Act because it feels right, not because you have something to prove. Also, note that an achievement doesn't have to be a record-breaking accomplishment in order to be meaningful, significant and worthy of celebration. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You have a strong intuitive sense of what people are likely to do; therefore, you are able to predict the probable outcome of events. Act on your instincts, and you'll be free of trouble and worry. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You strive to go peacefully with the cosmic flow of things, and yet this week you will feel at times like you are swimming upstream. As in the case of the determined salmon, sometimes you have to fight the currents to fulfill your life's mission. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Compassion guides your choices. Your natural powers of empathy kick in, and it's like you know what another person is going through, even though you couldn't possibly. You're self-educated in this regard, and you picked the right school. By Holiday Mathis Ennui Go! The first time you heard "I love you" from your girlfriend, you probably thought, "Wow, she loves me! Hot damn!" But once a relationship gets going, sometimes "I love you!" wells up from the bottom of the heart and sometimes from the need to say something a little more feel-good. Sometimes, one partner is needy and says it constantly so they can hear it back constantly. (If not Amy Alkon for somebody being there in their life to respond, they'd be standing for days on end yelling it into the Grand Canyon.) So, yes, it's probably time for a little rationing of "I love you" if it's become shorthand for everything short of "pass the salt." But there's actually research by Dr. Sara Algoe and others showing that expressions of appreciation seem to keep a relationship alive, keeping partners from taking each other for granted and feeling taken for granted. This doesn't necessarily require blithering on in detail about your partner's great qualities, especially not when you both know what you're really saying with a laughing "I love you!" is "You are simply the greatest for coming over and resting your boobs on my head while I'm stuck writing these boring reports." Of course, one of the best ways to make "I love you" more meaningful is by showing it — ideally, at least once a day — just by thinking about what would make each other happier and less stressed and doing it. This could involve small kindnesses like getting up to refill your girlfriend's drink when you're eating dinner or somewhat bigger (and ickier) kindnesses like telling her to stay put while you clean up after her puking cat. Any guy can go through the romantic motions — say "I love you" on Valentine's Day with $50 worth of chocolate truffles and a suspiciously funerary flower arrangement — but it takes a truly loving guy to say it on a random Tuesday with a rag full of cat vomit. Amy Alkon all rights reserved. JUNE 5-11, 2013 UCW 23