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/192798
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD American Exceptionalism: Which is more characteristically American — that a Texas company could invent an ordinary rifle that mimics a machine gun or that America's incomparable legal minds could find a loophole in existing antimachine-gun laws to permit it to be manufactured and sold? The Slide Fire company's weapon can spray bullets "like a fire hose" from a legal, semiautomatic gun by simple application of muscle, yet an official opinion of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives acknowledges that the agency is powerless to regulate it because of the wording in 1934 and 1986 legislation that otherwise restricts private ownership of machine guns. One gun shop owner told London's Daily Mail in September that the Slide Fire rifle is "not as easy" to use as a machine gun, but still, "(I)t's fairly idiot-proof." [Daily Mail, 9-13-2013] Fine Points of the Law In July, a New York City judge tossed out Joseph Lozito's lawsuit against the police Chuck Sheppard — even though two officers had stood by in February 2011, out of harm's way, while a man attacked Lozito as part of a four-murder crime spree. The judge ruled that it was not clear enough that Lozito was in danger when the officers began to ignore him (while they were inside a subway motorman's booth). In September, a federal jury in New York City upheld an employment agency worker's claim that she (an African-American) was racially harassed by her boss. The supervisor, Rob Carmona, had insisted that he could not be liable for race-based harassment because, he, too, is AfricanAmerican and thus entitled to use the "n-word." [New York Daily News, 7-262013] [New York Post, 9-3-2013] The Continuing Crisis Busy Being Superheroes: In separate incidents on successive September days, people dressed as Batman and Captain America rescued a cat from a burning house in Milton, W.Va., and Superman came to the aid of Wonder Woman in Hollywood, Calif. (The West Virginia pair were performing at a function when they noticed nearby smoke, and Superman and Wonder Woman were posing for tourists' tips when a passerby got belligerent.) In July, another Superman tackled a shoplifter on the streets of Sheffield, England, where he was appearing at a fundraiser. (However, less elegantly, two Captain Americas and a Spider-Man brawled briefly in May over access to a contested, lucrative Hollywood street corner.) [WCHS-TV (Charleston, 9-8-2013] [KABC-TV (Los Angeles), 9-6-2013] [Daily Telegraph (London), 7-4-2013] [KCBS-TV (Los Angeles), 5-302013] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY For the Week of October 20, 2013 ARIES (March 21-April 19) You may be a limited person trying to make the best of things in an imperfect world, but you're undaunted by the odds this week. Your limitations only serve to help you define your style and identify your strengths. TAURUS (April 20-May 20)You may not be inclined to express everything that you're feeling this week, or perhaps you're just waiting for the exact right moment to make your feelings known. Either way, you appreciate that timing can make or break a relationship. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) It's true that the relentlessly positive people make things happen. But it's the more critical people who will be the guardians of quality and taste. So don't write off those who are less pleasant to be around because they don't always say and do the nice thing. CANCER (June 22-July 22) There are points in the week when you are extremely sensitive. During these times, you'll be at your best in a controlled environment. The successful outcome of a project will depend on your being in a comfortable, cool and quiet place. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Charge a fair if not substantial rate for your work this week, and then stand behind it. If you undervalue what you do, so will others. More importantly, they need to feel like they are getting the kind of special life experience that requires a personal investment. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Is it a bit much to ask a brain that has been wired to keep you safe by noting what might go wrong to "think positively"? Somehow you manage to be extremely upbeat while navigating dangerous waters. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Some people are opportunistic by nature. Watch out for these types this week because they don't appreciate what is given to them. Only give your service, attention and products to people who will truly value them. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Your moods will be varied and numerous. If you're feeling negative, don't put anything in writing, and avoid text and email in particular. There's no going back after you push "send." LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) The best way to figure out what it takes to open a certain door is to stand by and watch people opening it. Is it their approach that matters or their strength? Is there a password or a key? AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You will raise your status within a certain group. Your efforts to fine tune your image and pay more attention to your own needs and wishes will raise your self-esteem, and this attracts the respect you desire. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You have ambitious aims. Your mental game will be key to the physical execution of your plans. There's something you need to rehearse in your mind over and over until you get comfortable with it. Once you can wrap your head around it, you'll find it easier to approach it in real life. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Your strongly empathetic nature makes it easy for you to see from another person's point of view. This will help you in sales and other circumstances in which you would like to influence others. By Holiday Mathis Good Morning Fayetteville with Goldy & Jim W Weekday Mornings 6-10 a.m. Talk Line: 910-864-6400 Local News, Weather, Traffic & Sports ADVICE GODDESS Tease for Two I'm dating a wonderful guy I'm totally in love with. He's always looked up to his older brother, a very attractive guy who's a real lady's man. I've found myself behaving in some unsettling ways when we hang out with his brother, like fixing myself up beforehand like I've got a big date. I realized that I want his brother to want me. I get a very naughty feeling when he looks me up and down, and I love it. To be clear, I don't want him in any real or threatening way, and I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with my boyfriend. Perhaps I'm motivated by knowing that my boyfriend has never been envied by his brother, and now I get to make that happen. — Puzzled One explanation for your behavior is that you aren't just yourself; you're also what two researchers call your subselves. It's long been believed that we each have one consistent self, with stable preferences, leading us to make consistent choices from situation to Amy Alkon situation. That actually isn't the case. Psychologists Douglas Kenrick and Vladas Griskevicius, authors of The Rational Animal: How Evolution Made Us Smarter Than We Think, find evidence for our having seven subselves driving our choices, each corresponding to a different evolutionary challenge our ancestors faced. These challenges include: 1. Evading physical harm. 2. Avoiding disease. 3. Making friends. 4. Gaining status. 5. Caring for family. 6. Attracting a mate. 7. Keeping that mate. Although we like to think of ourselves as driven by rational thought, environmental triggers can prime a particular subself to grab the controls. For example, seeing a scary movie or a crime report primes our harm-evading subself to take charge, amping up our loss aversion. And although you're in a happy relationship, real or imagined potential mates on the horizon prime your mate attraction subself. The complicated truth is, if your boyfriend notices his brother's eyeballs bouncing after you like puppies, you may be priming his mate-retention subself by reminding him that you have other options. To keep him from suspecting you're interested in other options, prime your own mate-retention subself. Look at cute pictures of the two of you and run through reasons you're grateful for him and for your relationship. This, in turn, should help you refrain from saving your sexiest looks and moves for when you two are hanging out with his brother. Amy Alkon all rights reserved OCTOBER 16-22, 2013 UCW 27