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 Pro-nationalism English Defence League activists seemed to be itching for a street brawl to break up a scheduled antinationalist demonstration in downtown Birmingham, England, on July 18, causing the city to mobilize more than 1,000 police — when officials arrived at a solution. Police shepherded "hundreds" of rowdy EDL operatives into the popular Bar Risa pub at 11 a.m., confining them for three hours, until the anti-EDL rally had dissipated. (Given British habits, many EDLers decided to enjoy their confinement with a brew.) As a result, police reported only sporadic street scuffling. (Bar Risa, perturbed by police pressure to host alleged "fascists," donated its profits to the Midlands Air Ambulance service.) [Birmingham Mail, 7-182013, 7-23-2013] Cultural Diversity For "beach season" in Qingdao, China, Chuck Sheppard recently, middle-aged ladies returned to the shore of the Yellow Sea sporting their relatively revealing (though age-appropriate) bathing suits — but wearing distinctive cloth hoods with tiny holes only for the eyes, nose and mouth. To many in China, dark skin still signals laborers and fair skin the indoor "leisure" class, according to a July report on the business website Quartz. [Quartz (qz. com), 7-5-2013] In Shenzhen, China, one of the country's richest cities, services are being openly advertised by wet nurses to supply adults with breast milk, either directly from the source or after pumping (and purchased by either the infirm or just rich people overconcerned with nourishment). These milk "suppliers" can earn at least four times the average personal income, with healthy, attractive women earning even more, of course, according to a July Agence FrancePresse dispatch. Comments on China's social media ranged from "It's just a business" to "People become perverts when they are too rich and tire of other forms of entertainment." [Agence France-Presse via Google News, 7-4-2013] Because Zimbabwe is reputedly among the world's most corrupt countries, bribery is normal and makes the news only when innovators go above and beyond. The anti-poverty organization Transparency International reported in July that one hospital in Harare had recently been imposing a $5 charge on mothers each time they screamed during childbirth (in addition to the $50 delivery fee). Furthermore, it has long been rumored that hospitals in Zimbabwe (and other countries) may detain mothers and their children at the hospital if they cannot pay the fees. (Transparency International reported several days later, after finally obtaining a meeting with a government official, that the per-scream charge will be lifted.) [Washington Post, 7-11-2013] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES by holiday For the Week of August 18, 2013 ARIES (March 21-April 19) Romance and melodrama are dramatic constructs that don't have a lot to do with real life, except that they have entertained people for centuries. Be careful in your choices. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) You like to pick and choose your sources for information. You want to be privy to what the insiders know. You prefer your news to come in thoughtful trickles, not floods. Your media wishes will be fulfilled this week. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) The gift of feeling will color your world, and you'll sense every color differently. The pinks and browns will especially grab you, suggesting that some things are extremely light and airy while others are based in the realism of dirt and the solidity of mountain rock. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Competing with digital information is just annoying, and you should tell the other person that competing with people who are not even in the vicinity is simply too much to ask and certainly unacceptable. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Your awareness of energy and how it flows through people, environments and the natural world will be deeper and broader than usual. You'll be so attuned to vibes and body language that you won't even need to see a person's face to know what he or she is thinking. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) You have many irresistible qualities, but you may have forgotten what they are. Once you remember your strengths, you can play to them in this week's negotiations. Try different combinations until you unlock the "yes" you're trying to get. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Those who expect you to behave in a certain way will get a surprise this week. You live by your own internal code of values. In some ways, it's more stringent than societal norms, and in other ways, it's totally different. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)The remarkable thing about weeds is that they are the hardiest of plants. You'll have a weedyequivalent in your world this week, and you'll react to it thoughtfully. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Let people give to you. They probably won't know how, and they're likely to mess it up, but it's important that you let them try. Eventually, you can teach people how to best show their affection for you. But for now, accept and appreciate the gifts of others. It keeps you in the flow of generosity. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You're on task this week, putting all of your energy into seeing a vision through. You'll command respect and influence others, mostly because you couldn't care less what they think of you. Your mission is too important to waste time worrying about petty things. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Don't let the scope of your endeavor intimidate you. Resolve to stick with it. Know that this is not about just you. Your tenacity is moving to others. People you don't even know are cheering for you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You'll correctly surmise the intentions of others. It's this talent for reading between the lines that makes you very attractive this week. Note: Some Pisces will be dealing with matters of inheritance. You know what they say: Where there's a will, there's a relative. By Holiday Mathis ION! ATTENTal Loc es s Busines SPEC EDITI IAL ON Advertise and Promote Your Business All Year in UP & COMING WEEKLY'S 2013 "Best of Fayetteville" • Special Edition • Coming Sept. 18, 2013 Advertise, market and promote your business in the most popular and most read edition of the year! Published, Distributed and Online in the Fayetteville, Ft. Bragg and Cumberland County area all year long. Be among the "best of the best" when this popular and valuable edition and reflection of our community hits the streets on Sept. 18th. RESERVE YOUR SPACE TODAY! For more information, rates and deadlines call (910) 484-6200 or visit our website at www.upandcomingweekly.com. ADVICE GODDESS Wuss it Good for Her? I've been on three dates with a gorgeous, funny, kind and successful woman. Two weeks ago, we met for drinks with a group of my friends, and a guy in our crowd who's in the habit of saying crass things showed up. He ended up insulting her by making a rude, totally vulgar sexual remark about her. He was trying to be funny, but I could see she was offended. I was so taken aback that I didn't say anything. Shortly afterward, she said that she had to leave. I walked her out and apologized for him, and I have since apologized by email and in three voicemails. I've tried to set up another date so I can apologize in person, but she keeps getting off the phone really quickly. Would sending flowers to her work be appreciated or seem creepy? — Friend's Foot In My Mouth Life sometimes presents you with a chance to show a woman what you're made of, like when some creep aggressively disrespects her in your presence. Your response told this woman a lot about you. Sure, you did say you were sorry … and email her that Amy Alkon you were sorry and leave her multiple voicemails saying that you were sorry and then flap your lips some more and try to ask her out to say you're sorry in person. Unfortunately, there's a difference between a meaningful apology and regret-flavored borderline stalking. Sending flowers — immediately — might have been wise. But no amount of flora will solve what I suspect is the real problem here: She probably now sees you as a passive wimp who responds to even a minor challenge by folding like a sheet of typing paper. (If you have a favorite blood sport, it's probably crocheting.) You didn't have to challenge the guy to a parking lot duel. You just needed to say something — perhaps just a stern, "Dude, you're really out of line." Even women who can defend themselves just fine want a man who'll stand up for them. Being a stand-up guy comes not out of memorizing a list of the right things to do but from becoming a person who can't help but do them. This, in turn, comes out of personal standards for courage, generosity, fairness and integrity. Of course, in order to assert these standards, you'll need self-respect. If that's a problem area for you, pick up The Assertiveness Workbook, by Dr. Randy J. Paterson, and No More Mr. Nice Guy, by Dr. Robert Glover. Put in a year manning up, and if happy hour again becomes insulting hour, you'll take action — and it won't be scurrying to the nearest florist to ask, "Excuse me, but which color roses say 'I'm a man who will rise to the occasion instead of hiding under the table'?" Amy Alkon all rights reserved. AUGUST 14-20, 2013 UCW 23