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/18939
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD David Winkelman, 48, was arrested in Davenport, Iowa, in September on a misdemeanor warrant, still sporting “The Tattoo.” In late 2000, Winkelman, reacting to a radio “contest,” had his forehead inked with the logo of radio station KORB, “93 Rock,” because he had heard on-air personalities “offer” $100,000 to anyone who would do it. Winkelman had the tattoo done before checking, however, and the disk jockeys later informed him that the “contest” was a joke. (Winkelman filed a lawsuit against the station, but it was dismissed. Ten years later, the “93 Rock” format has expired, but Winkelman’s forehead remains busily tattooed.) [The Smoking Gun, 9-27-10] Government in Action! For most of 2010, California’s dysfunctional legislature could find no acceptable tax increases or spending cuts to keep the state from going broke, and only in October did it manage to cobble together enough pie-in-the-sky bookkeeping tricks to create the illusion of a balanced budget. Nonetheless, the legislature has been busy. It created a “Motorcycle Awareness Month” and a “Cuss Free Week,” considered changing the official state rock, and made it illegal to use non-California cows in the state’s marketing materials (a decision that entailed five committee votes and exhausted eight legislative analyses, according to a September Wall Street Journal report). [Wall Street Journal, 9-28-10] At a U.S. Senate committee grilling in September, the head of enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission admitted that not a single agency staff member has been fired or demoted over the multiple missed signals handed to them in some cases 11 years before the Ponzi schemes of Bernard Madoff and R. Allen Stanford were uncovered. Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut said it appeared that “one side of the agency was screaming that there was a fire,” but the other side of the agency demurred because putting it out would have been hard work. [St. Petersburg Times-AP, 9-23-10] The Prudential Financial corporation, holder of life insurance contracts on U.S. troops, modified the standard payout method in 1999 — by encouraging beneficiaries to take not lump sums but “checking accounts” on which survivors could draw down proceeds “as needed.” Though this arrangement obviously benefited Prudential, it was unclear to Bloomberg News (which broke the story in September 2010) why the Department of Veterans Affairs had endorsed it — implicitly in 1999 and then in writing in September 2009. [New York Times- Bloomberg News, 9-14-10] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) It’s good to know on whom you can depend and who you’ll let depend on you. One friend in particular comes to mind. This week, you will be either a bor- rower or a lender to this person, and either way, all will be well. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) You’ll make a breakthrough in a relationship this week. This will be a subtle but unmistakable step to the next level. One caution: Talking about it with the other person will spoil the magic. Just affi rm the current state silently to yourself. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Loved ones will tend to agree with you on most matters this week, making this an excellent time to forward your agenda. If you don’t think you have an agenda, consider this: There are things you want, and you need the help and support of your loved ones to make these things happen. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Relationships work best when you take turns leading and following. If the issue is important to a loved one, you back off and let him or her take over. It gives you no pleasure to cross anyone on purpose. It’s a winning style, and loved ones appreciate you. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Mostly, you have no problem speaking your heart. Your natural tendency to be effusive and enthusiastic allows you to open the gates of your emotions and let the words fl y. This week, there will be some reason why you can’t exactly say all that’s on your mind – perhaps to protect another person’s feelings. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) The more pre- pared you are the more confi dent you’ll be. Others will notice your confi dence and will be drawn in by it. It all happens because you take the time to prepare for the events of your life. ADVICE GODDESS Settle Sore LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 2) Life is like an amuse- ment park that has too many rides to cover in a 12-hour period. Your best bet is to learn to narrow your focus to one activity and be happy with your choice for as long as it takes to complete the action.. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) It’s hard for some people to be vulnerable enough to speak from the heart, but it’s easy for you. This week is lucky for you when you take advan- tage of the skill often. Tell your loved ones how much you care for them. It’s something everyone needs to hear once in a while, and you’ll be much appreciated. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You’re very attractive, and everyone seems to need your attention. The more you try to do things alone the more they call. Take measures to protect your sleep from interruption. Playing nature sounds while you sleep could help. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) If someone close to you has a jealous impulse regarding you, you might fi nd it fl attering. But when it’s you who is feeling jealous, the whole dynamic is uncomfortable. Luckily, you are able to attain a level of detachment this week so that you can get ahold of your emotions and make them work for you. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You love it when a person shows social savvy, is a whiz in the kitchen or has a way with children. Because you appreciate different ways in which people exhibit I.Q., you may be the smartest of them all. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) There’s an internal argument going on regarding your work, your personal life and fi nding a comfort- able balance between the two. You may even consider combining two parts of your life in an interesting new confi guration. solutions. By Holiday Mathis I’m a 23-year-old law student with a boyfriend who attends grad school 16 hours away. We’re both swamped at school, so we visit once a month. I’ve only been with one other guy, but I hate the dating scene. Still, maybe I need to date around to make sure he’s the right person. Then again, since you date to fi nd someone you love, why would you leave someone you love so you can date? I’m pretty sure he’ll propose when we both graduate, and he’s theoretically everything I want, but it frustrates me that he has grand plans and never follows through. Also, he’s willing to move thousands of miles to be with me; I can’t say I’d do the same. I do love him, but I once read that once you doubt the love, you’ve stopped loving that person forever. — Hung Jury Because most people change a great deal between 20 and 30, pledging to spend the rest of your life with somebody at 23 is like asking a 6-year-old what she wants to be when she grows up, and holding her to it. Your 20s should be your “Who am I?” years. Until you get that answered reasonably well, you Amy Alkon shouldn’t be moving ahead in any serious way to “Who am I with?” — not even if you fi nd dating only somewhat more enjoyable than having all your toes pulled off with white-hot pliers. Dating to fi nd somebody you love is what you do after you’ve dated enough to get a handle on all the stuff you hate. Falling in love is easy; staying in love takes some doing. Only when you take stock of somebody’s worst qualities, and decide you can live with them, are you ready to commit. Get married without doing that, and maybe you aren’t really saying “I do,” but “You’ll do.” At this point, a wiser approach would be a more Amish one — and no, I don’t mean tossing all your lightbulbs, donning a bonnet and churning butter. They have this practice called “Rumspringa” — a “running around” period for Amish teens to dabble in modern culture: smoke, drink, date, and wear zippers. Experiencing what’s out there helps them make an informed decision — whether to stay modern or go back and live Amish. You, likewise, might propose a period of time where you both date around so you can get a better sense of whether you’re with him because you’ve been with him or whether you’re actually choosing him over a bunch of others. If you keep seeing him, avoid pledging to be together forever until you’re reasonably sure you’ll still want to be together at 27 — tempting as it is to respond to “Will you marry me?” with something a little more romantic than “Um, uhhh…look! A UFO!” (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. NOVEMBER 3-9, 2010 UCW 27