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/19808
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Belt-Tightening Greeks: In October, WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY Greece’s largest health insurance provider announced, in a letter to a diabetes foundation, that it would no longer pay for the special footwear that diabetics need for reducing pain but suggested it would pay instead for amputation, which is less expensive. The decision, which the foundation said is not supported by the international scientific literature, was published in the prominent Athens newspaper To Vima (The Tribune) and reported by the U.S. news site DailyCaller. com. [Daily Caller, 10-11-10] The Entrepreneurial Spirit A shop in Santa Cruz, Calif., opened in September selling ice cream infused with extract of marijuana. Customers with “medical marijuana” prescriptions can buy Creme De Canna, Bananabis Foster or Straw-Mari Cheesecake, at $15 a half-pint (with one bite supposedly equal to five puffs of “really good” weed, according to the proprietor). [San Jose Mercury News, 9-15-10] Spotted outside subway stations in Nanjing, China, in October: vending machines selling live Shanghai Hairy Crabs, in plastic containers chilled to 5 degrees C (41 degrees F), for the equivalent of $1.50 to $7, depending on size. [ninemsn.com (Sydney), 10-22-10] Good News for Frisky Married Muslims: Abdelaziz Aouragh’s recently opened Internet site sells Shariah-compliant aids to promote the “sexual health” of married couples, mostly lubricants, lotions and herbal pills, with lingerie coming soon (but no videos or toys). (All products have been cleared by Saudi religious scholars.) He says he aspires to open actual storefronts soon. [CNN, 9-7-10] Ms. Khadija Ahmed, attending to customers while dressed in flowing robe and head scarf, is already open for business in Manama, Bahrain, offering, since 2008, lingerie, orgasm-delaying creams and even some sex toys. (“Vibrators” are “against Islam,” she said, because they are intended as replications of a body part, but “vibration rings” are permitted.) Bahrain, obviously, is among the most liberal countries in the Persian Gulf region, but Ahmed is considering expanding to Dubai and Lebanon. [Reuters, 6-9-10] Shareholder James Solakian filed a lawsuit in October against the board of directors of Bible.com, on the ground that the website address — a potential “goldmine,” he says — was not being properly exploited financially. Although the company’s business plan was, explicitly, to become “very, very profitable,” it also vowed, according to a Reuters report, to be governed by “Christian business principles.” [Reuters, 10-21-10] Signs of the Times: A 24-year-old Muslim woman was strangled in Newcastle, Australia, in April when the bottom of her burqa became tangled in the wheels as she was driving playfully at a go-cart track. [Daily Mail, 4-8-10] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM ARIES (March 21-April 19) Modifi cations will be necessary. Be careful not to interpret this as a failure on your part. The important thing is that you keep going. As long as you are making a new plan and getting up and going at it again, you are winning. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Humans need other humans to survive. That’s why one of our most primitive fears is the fear of being separated from our caretakers, whether it’s family, loved ones or society at large. By Friday, you have new rules about when to be independent and when to reach out. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) The mark of a true leader is someone who can lead himself. Your standards are high, and you don’t need anyone else to monitor you and make sure you stay on track. You’ll remain vigilant when all others have backed off. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Your attitude is stellar, and you make money with your winning ways. You’ll soon be developing and selling a different product, so work the current package with gusto. Then you’ll be able to look back knowing that you did your very best. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You’ll have to work hard to create opportunities. But your rewards will be sweeter for the effort. This week, focus on overcoming your weaknesses — not all of them at once, though. Create one positive habit at a time, and you will be transformed. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Decide what will make your heart race, and do it. Is it bungee jumping, or calling that intimidating potential date or client? This is not an act you’ll do pure- ly for the momentary adrenaline rush. Rather, it’s a symbolic leap of faith that reminds you of your own vitality and connects you to the essence of who you are. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 2) Sooner or later you’ll need to scale the mountain or jump off the cliff. Even if you lived in a place as fl at as Kansas, you would still have tornados to worry about. Since there are no safe guarantees, your will- ingness to take a risk will come in handy. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Relax. There’s nothing to fear, especially when you take into consideration that most of the changes in your life do not happen dramatically. This week, you’ll inch along on your way to improvement. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You love your people, but you also have to admit that they have steered you wrong before If you’re going to get this show on the road, you’ll have to ignore some of the noise from the peanut gallery. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You are a note in the song of the universe. Be aware of your ability to pleasantly harmonize with the chord that’s going on around you, or to create tension, interest and confl ict with the way you play along. Both ways are good — it’s just a choice. It all depends on what kind of music you want to make. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) What is the point of traveling if you’re not going to em- brace what’s unfamiliar about the new place? When you venture out, you’ll steer clear of the chain restaurants you’re familiar with and the activities you can do just as well at home. Your adventuresome attitude will rub off on those around you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Are you lacking motivation? Maybe your goal just isn’t compel- ling. If nothing tantalizes you to take action, go back to the drawing board. Brainstorm about what you really want from this life. Choose a destination that excites you enough to motivate you along the path. ADVICE GODDESS Plain and Suffering Guys pay a lot of attention to my drop-dead gorgeous friend when we go out. So, what can you do if you’re her not-as- pretty sidekick? I can honestly say I’m cute, especially when I’m all dressed up. I’m told I have a great personality, but I know I lack a certain confi dence many women have, and maybe that’s making things harder when we’re in bars and clubs. — Pretty Unsure Of Myself In a 37-country study on mate preferences by evolutionary psychologist David Buss, kindness was the most desired trait in a partner for both women and men, but no man runs his car off the road turning to look at a woman because she volunteers at a children’s hospital. “Beautiful on the inside” isn’t what gets guys sending free drinks across the room. Even if a guy comes over, that great personality of yours probably can’t help but crawl under a barstool when the guy’s talking to you but his eyeballs are on a walking tour of your modelicious friend. Your friend is probably one of those women for whom being beautiful involves rolling out of bed and existing. For the rest of us, being a By Holiday Mathis Amy Alkon thing of beauty isn’t so much a joy forever as a job forever. We can either accept the effort involved to look our best or accept the opportunity costs of going ungroomed. We could also take a lesson from French women, who don’t let not being classically pretty get in the way of feeling beautiful. The French have this concept, “jolie laide,” which roughly translates to “ugly-pretty.” It describes women who aren’t conventionally beautiful but manage to be alluring nonetheless; for example, a woman with a big hook nose who, instead of trying to draw attention away from it, wears bright lipstick, pulls her hair back, and walks proud. Big honking beak and all, somehow, the sum total of her look is beauty, and a good bit of it comes from within. Unfortunately, embracing ugly-pretty will take you only so far. The truth is, beauty is often relative. Take America Ferrera, who plays Ugly Betty on TV. She’s actually only Hollywood-ugly, which means she looks, well, mortal when standing next to Angelina Jolie. In Greeley, Colorado, she’s stunningly beautiful. Accordingly, you’re a cute girl when you go out boyhunting with other merely cute girls. Sure, you “should” be able to go out with any friend you have, but in the cold light of how things work in the real world, if you’re a six, you’ll probably do much better if you’re fl anked by a couple of 4fours. This doesn’t mean that you dump your friend because she’s too pretty. Work on boosting your confi dence, and until you do, try to do things together that won’t have you competing with her for male attention — say, dinner and movie … at your place … after you tent it for termites, board up the windows, and pull down all the blinds. (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. NOVEMBER 17-23, 2010 UCW 27