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/17716
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Ingrid Paulicivic filed a lawsuit in September against Laguna Beach, Calif., gynecologist Red Alinsod over leg burns she bafflingly acquired during her 2009 hysterectomy — a procedure that was topped off by the doctor’s nearly gratuitous name-”branding” of her uterus with his electrocautery tool. Dr. Alinsod explained that he carved “Ingrid” in inch-high letters on the organ only after he had removed it and that such labeling helps in the event a woman requests the return of the uterus as a souvenir. He called the branding just a “friendly gesture” and said he did not know how the burns on Paulicivic’s leg occurred. [The Smoking Gun, 9-13-10] Cultural Diversity Spousal violence continues to plague India, especially in lower-income areas of Uttar Pradesh state, but four years ago, Ms. Sampat Pal Devi, then 36, formed a vigilante group of females to fight back and has made notable progress, according to a July report on Slate.com. Members of Pal’s group (“gulabis” — literally, “gangs for justice”) travel in numbers, wearing “hot pink” saris and carrying bamboo sticks, and try to reason with abusive husbands to improve their behavior. Originally, Pal imagined a temporary team, in place until women acquired greater electoral power, but the experience in Uttar Pradesh has been disheartening in that, often, the women elected as officials have been just as corruptible and male-centered as the men they replaced. [Slate.com, 7-19-10] U.S. and NATO forces in southern Afghanistan have reported feelings of revulsion at the number and ostentatiousness of local Pashtun men who publicly flaunt the 9- to 15-year- old boys that they’ve acquired as lovers. The boys dress (and use makeup) like girls, dance, hold the men’s hands, and show off in front of others of their age. According to an August San Francisco Chronicle dispatch from Kandahar, locals explain the practice as partly regional tradition and partly a response to Islamic and tribal customs that make young females off-limits to men until marriage (Local saying: “Women are for children; boys are for pleasure”). (The more fundamentalist Pashtun also point out that boys are “cleaner,” in that they never menstruate.) [San Francisco Chronicle, 8-29-10] A 1997 election law in Brazil makes it illegal to “degrade or ridicule” political candidates or their parties, making that country’s election season not nearly as lively as the U.S.’s. However, in August, one week after a protest in Rio de Janeiro by Brazilian comedians, the vice president of the Supreme Court acquiesced and suspended the law as unconstitutional. [Brazzil Magazine, 8-29-10] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) You’re still not totally sure about your next move, so don’t make one! Let this phase play out for as long as it takes to form a plan you are 100 percent certain about and can really stand behind. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Go often to the one who is an endless source of positive energy. This person will buoy you when you get tired, refuel you when you’ve used your resources and, most importantly, make you laugh at yourself when you get overly serious. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) You have your own agenda. So if someone makes an unusual number of demands on you, you’ll likely react poorly, unless that person happens to be charming, beautiful and humorous. Then you’ll gladly change your plans in order to do his or her bidding. As driven as you are, you also need to be entertained! CANCER (June 22-July 22) Love has worked in different ways throughout your life. You were loved by someone else before you knew how to love yourself. Later, you loved yourself fi rst and others followed suit. This week, you’ll be re-creating relationships and learning new ways to give and take. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You can’t put your fi n- ger on the exact reason why one person seems credible and another does not. It has to do with micro-expressions you read and intangible things you just know. You don’t have to be able to explain it, but do follow those instincts — they are right on. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) There are always those around who are blessed with such out- standing abilities it almost doesn’t seem fair. What you have is pretty great and very work- able. In fact, it’s all you’ll ever need in order to succeed. Find people to help you use your talent effectively. n dia n LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 2 Jumping to conclu- sions will prove unwise. People will surprise you. Loved ones who usually act one way will take an unexpected tone. And you have a couple of tricks up your sleeve, too. So it’s just best not to make any assumptions. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) People who think they know quite a lot about a certain world will give you an earful of information. You’ll defi nitely learn something from what you hear, but you shouldn’t take it as gospel. There are many ways to accomplish what you’re try- ing to do. Your way is as good as anyone else’s. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You’ll be working with one you know well this week. Though the two of you are mutually supportive and understanding, this relationship is still a lot of work. With the right attitude, you’ll be able to turn a challenge into your next great victory. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Friends encourage you, but enemies motivate you like crazy. There are certain people who bring out your competitive edge and light a fi re in your belly. You just want to show them once and for all how good you can really be. Channel the natural rivalry in a positive direction by letting it spur you to new heights. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Neglecting your own work to focus on others might seem like a minor sacrifi ce now, but it will become a major issue later. Take care of all of your responsibili- ties fi rst, especially the ones that have to do with only you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You’re so intui- tive now that you could have confl icts with the more logical-minded people you know. They might even make you think you’re wrong. Make it easy on yourself — continue to follow your gut. By Holiday Mathis ADVICE GODDESS Pier Pressure I got laid off when my company relocated. I was unemployed for 10 months while I tried unsuccessfully to fi nd a job. During this time, my wife resented that she was working and I was “off.” She’d criticize the housework I did, saying I never dusted or swept well enough. She also complained that all her friends are going on vacations and cruises, and not us. I reminded her that, in this economy, many people who are fi nancially strapped take “staycations.” She said that doesn’t make her feel better, and that she took more cruises and trips before she got married. I fi nally found a temporary but very stressful managerial job, and she now complains that I don’t have as much time for her. Is there hope for us? — Can’t Win There you are, pounding the pavement looking for work for 10 months, and in case that isn’t emasculating enough, by the way, you’re also dusting wrong. Acting all lovey dovey comes easy on the Lido deck, where the big question is “More Dom, darling?” To see how much love you actually have, raise glasses of tap water to an improved economy while sitting in your candle-lit living room (candle-lit till Amy Alkon you cobble together the deposit to get the lights turned back on). Because women evolved to go for providers, having a partner who’s out of a job can push a woman’s buttons. So, it is possible your wife loves you, and it’s just her fear and anxiety talking. Fear: “What if I never see another ice sculpture?!” Anxiety: “Hey! I went on more cruises before we were married!” And then there’s you, the voice of restraint, in that you don’t snap back, “Feel free to up the number again after we’re divorced!” *Lunch Buffet M-S 11-3 Closed Sunday b Fine Dining Mon - Sat 5-10 Full Service Bar • Large Parties • Catering • Take Out Reservations Accepted “Exquisite Indian cuisine prepared by a world renowned chef.” 3401-A Raeford Rd. (Formerly Pierro’s) Next to All American Freeway 433-4351 • shalimarfaync@yahoo.com I suggest doing what therapist Nathaniel Branden calls “an experiment in intimacy.” Spend 12 hours together in a hotel room: no books, TV, phone calls, naps, or walks outside. Except for bathroom breaks, you remain together at all times. You can sit in silence if you want, but you’re free to talk about anything, provided it’s personal (no talk of work, kids’ schoolwork, redecorating, etc.). Branden’s premise is that when all avenues of escape are closed off, couples experience real breakthroughs in communication. He says that only three times in 20 years did couples break up after the 12-hour session. Now, you two might end up Branden’s breakup number 4. Or, maybe your wife will decide that she has much to be grateful for — you, for starters, and all you’re doing to ensure that you’re only taking “staycations,” not foreclosurecations. (That’s when you permanently vacate your home and take up residence in a parking lot in your as-of-yet unrepo’d car.) You can have a lovely view of the ocean — whenever you sneak through the framed picture aisle at Walmart on your way to the john. (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. OCTOBER 13-19, 2010 UCW 27 A i W r e o px lr E d e Cl nis Vegetarian & Non-Vegeta egetarian eget a s *Items Change Daily! NOW OPEN ms Cha g D ily ms C ms Ch Daily! Halal Meat ria C I ui s e n c e