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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NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD “Why are you still alive?” is the question doctors ask Ozzy Osbourne, the hard-rock singer and reality-TV star, who says he is now clean and sober after a lifetime of almost unimaginably bad habits. In June, he started two new ventures: undergoing the three-month process of genetic mapping (to help doctors learn why, indeed) and becoming a “health advice” columnist for London’s Sunday Times. At various points in his life, the now-cholesterol-conscious, vegetarian Osbourne said he drank four bottles of cognac a day, smoked cigars like they were cigarettes, took 42 prescribed medications and many more “backstage” drugs that he could not even identify. Osbourne also has a Parkinson’s-like genetic tremor, was once in a medically induced coma after an accident, and endured anti-rabies shots after famously biting into a bat on stage (“I thought it was a rubber toy”). [Sunday Times, 6-6-10] IRONIES An intense lightning storm on June 14 around Monroe, Ohio, destroyed the iconic 62-foot-high statue of Jesus (the “King of Kings” structure of the Solid Rock Church) alongside Interstate 75. While townspeople mourned, it was also noteworthy what the lightning bolts completely missed: the large billboard, on the other side of the road, advertising the nearby Hustler Hollywood pornography store. [Springfi eld News-Sun, 6-15-10] Despite a scary moment in May, Massachusetts state Rep. Mike Moran said he still supports “comprehensive” immigration reform (taken to mean that restrictions on illegal immigrants be tempered with a special “path to citizenship” for those already here). Rep. Moran’s car was rear-ended (though he was not seriously hurt) by illegal immigrant Isaias Naranjo, who was charged with DUI and speeding. According to police, Naranjo, 27, who was dressed in a Mexican party costume, laughed when told of the charges, informing offi cers that they could do nothing to him since he had already made plans to return to Mexico. (Furthermore, Massachusetts is forbidden by state law from even notifying U.S. Immigration offi cials of Naranjo’s case.) [WFXT-TV (Boston), 5-31-10] Over the years, according to a June Chicago Sun-Times report, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois has freely used “swagger and braggadocio in talking about his 21 years of military service” as qualifi cation for offi ce. When one contrary fact after another about his record was pointed out by reporters, Kirk explained, “I simply misremembered it wrong.” He admitted that, contrary to his numerous public statements, he was not actually “in” the Iraq Desert Storm war; did not actually “command the Pentagon War Room” when he was assigned there as a Navy Reservist; and was not actually once Naval “Intelligence Offi cer of the Year.” He is now vying for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Barack Obama. [Chicago Sun- Times, 6-4-10] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Cumberland d County Library Presents The Big Read ar d Fayetteville Futures Downtown Developments Darden & Miranda FTCC INSIDE C WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) Just as the sky ac- cepts the clouds that pass through its atmosphere, you’ll accept the thoughts that drift through your mind. It’s not the sky’s fault that some of the clouds aren’t so pretty. And it’s not your fault about the thoughts, either. Be like the sky and just let them pass. Let them drift away and disappear. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) The metaphor that applies best: You can’t be born without going through birth. You like an easy transition, but it doesn’t always benefi t you to have things so easy. Whatever diffi culties you encounter, these are just part of your initiation into a new state. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Being separated from a loved one temporarily will be healthy for both parties. And this, compared with what some go through, is very minor. Loving your dear one from afar will strengthen your commitment. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Getting the details of your life together will help you get the big pic- ture on track. Mundane activities will be reward- ing. Gazing at a freshly mowed yard or opening drawers fi lled with clothes that are laundered and pressed — these results give you a surge of confi - dence. You are the master of your domain. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) It may feel like your heart is not your own, like it’s being housed in someone else’s body and you can only hope the person will care for it — and for themselves — in a way that keeps your love strong. It feels this way, but there is still much you can do to bring happy energy into both of your worlds. Focus there. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Wrestling with fate is exhausting work. You know because you watch people do it all the time. You’ve even done it yourself. But this week, your preference is to go with the fl ow, harnessing existing energies to help you along. A powerful blast of positive energy will come at the best possible time. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You’ll march forward with a meaningful project. Challenges are inevitable, but you will dwell on them just long enough to solve the problem and go forward. By Saturday, you’ve arrived at a resting place. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) In the spirit of helping out, you will deliver a bit of news. You can’t control how others react to it, but you can say your piece gently and with discretion. The weekend shows you at the center of the social swirl again. The party will be better for your contribution. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Whatever the problem is, there are several solutions that will work. Thinking there is only one right way will put too much pressure on the situation. With a winning attitude, you will solve this in the best way for you. A forward-thinking Aquarius will help. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Make your list of requirements — not because making the list will ensure that you get what you want, but because making the list will help you realize that some of your expectations are a little much. The realization will help you to let go, open your mind and let life come rushing forward to embrace you. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) So many people believe they are pawns in the game of life. But you know better. You can move in fancy ways or simple ways, whichever will suit the moment. You have your eyes open to the possibilities this week, and your moves will be winning. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) The storm is only a mess if you are standing inside it. Through the windowpane, the mess is once removed, almost entertaining. That’s how it is for your friend’s current storm. You’re not out in it; you can only watch it. And the best you can do is offer a towel and a hot drink. By Holiday Mathis ADVICE GODDESS Hannah and Her Scissors My wife’s a hairstylist, and I recently learned that she continues to cut the hair of a guy she had a fl ing with seven years ago. We’re newlyweds but dated for three years. She’s always been truthful and forthright, so I was dumbfounded that she kept this from me. She claims they’re “just friends,” insists the past is the past, and won’t discuss anything. I had trust issues with my ex-wife and have abandonment issues (thanks, Mom), but had ZERO insecurities about my wife until this. She honored my request and told the guy he needs to get haircuts elsewhere, but I know her other male clients occasionally discuss their sexual escapades. Inappropriate! I think marriage comes with boundaries. I’ve been working hard to rid my mind of visions of her with others before me, but fi nd myself prying into her past for details, which only increases my anxiety. —Love Stinks Yes, your wife had sex with other men before you — because she was prob- ably raised in some suburb in America, not locked away by her sultan father Amy Alkon until you could buy her from him for a Lamborghini and a really nice herd of goats. JANUARY 20-26, 2010 VOLUME 15 ISSUE 3 UME 15 ISSUE 3 MARCH 31-APRIL 6, 2010 VOLUME 15 ISSUE 13 Art of the Masters: A Survey of African-American Images 1980 - 2000 Community Concerts Presents Paul Anka Peter Pan Opens at FTCC Downtown Developments Darden & Miranda INSIDE Call Steve Rogers and let him help grow your business! h 484-6200 www.upandcomingweekly.com Instead of spending your eve- nings giving your wife something to smile about the next morning at work, you’re giving this seven-year- old fl ing of hers more late-night reruns than Godfather II. You’re right that marriage comes with boundaries — and it’s time you started respecting your wife’s. You’re her husband, not her owner, so you don’t get to give her a list of accept- able topics of conversation: 1. “Nice weather we’re having.” 2. “Still nice weather we’re having.” Since you’re also not her boss, she doesn’t have to ask you if she’s allowed to do her job. What stinks isn’t love, but being a guy who’s never bothered to put his mommy issues and ex-wife trust issues on a leash and walk them to a therapist’s offi ce. Instead, you take them out on a woman you describe as “always…truthful and forthright.” To have a woman make you her one and only by choice, do your best to make her happy and strive to live in the moment — instead of that moment in 1990 when she failed to pop up from her prom date’s back seat and say, “I can’t. Twenty years from now, I might have a really jeal- ous husband.” (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. JULY 28-AUGUST 3, 2010 UCW 23 Update Inside UPDATE INSIDE Inside