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/22485
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD The Cabral Chrysler dealership in Manteca, Calif., was so desperate for a sale in October that one of its employees picked up potential customer Donald Davis, 67, at his nursing home, brought the pajamas-and-slippers-clad, dementia-suffering resident in to sign papers, handed him the keys to his new pickup truck (with the requested chrome wheels!), and sent him on his way (even tossing Davis’ wheelchair into the truck’s bed as Davis sped away). Shortly afterward, Davis led police on a high-speed chase 50 miles from Manteca. He was stopped and detained (but at a hospital the next morning, he passed away from heart failure). The Cabral salesman said Davis had called him twice the day before, insisting on buying a new truck. [KXTV (Sacramento), 11-1-10] Cultural Diversity At an out-of-the-way Iranian cemetery on the border with Turkmenistan lies an ancient burial ground guarded by a majestic tower and marked with headstones, some of which resemble penises and some of which resemble breasts, supposedly in honor of the prophet Khalid Nabi, who was born a Christian but who became a hero of Islam when his daughter visited the Prophet Muhammad and converted her father. The site is growing in popularity among young Iranians, but officials struggle to embrace it fully as a tourist destination. [Global Post, 11-12-10] It sounds like a “demonstration” sport showcased from time to time at international games, but kabaddi is highly competitive — featured at the recent Asian Games and usually dominated by south Asian teams. According to a November Agence France-Presse dispatch, teams “(join) hands, holding their breath and raiding opponents, chanting ‘kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi’ as they do so.” Players tout the sport’s benefits to health and happiness (the breath-holding, under stress), claiming it will add years to one’s life. India and Iran played for the championship at the Asian Games this year (but the result seems not to have been widely reported). [Agence France- Presse, 11-25-10] Though the death and injury rates for motorbikers in Nigeria are high, compliance with a helmet law is notoriously bad — because so many riders fear “juju,” which is the presence of supernatural spirits inside head coverings. Juju supposedly captures a person’s brain and takes it away, leading most riders to “comply” with the helmet law by wearing only a thin cloth hat that spiritualists assure them will not allow “juju” to take hold (such as Ralph Ibuzo’s Original Lapa Guard, which, in addition to preventing brain disappearance also supposedly prevents disease). [Wall Street Journal, 11-19-10] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD 22 UCW JANUARY 5-11, 2011 WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) You’re in a mirth- ful, chatty mood for most of the week, and you will spread fun wherever you go. You’ll be of- fered more choices than you had last year — so many more, in fact, that it will be diffi cult for you to decide what to do next. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) You are daring enough to take on the big jobs in the new year. One thing that gives you courage is knowing that the big jobs are really just a well-planned series of small jobs. By the end of the week, you’ll have a huge feeling of accomplishment. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) You’ll double your effectiveness this week by applying the 80/20 rule: Certain actions produce 80 percent of the results you’re after, and they only take 20 per- cent of your time. Know which actions those are, and execute them. CANCER (June 22-July 22) There is some- thing going on in the periphery of your life that keeps drawing your mind away from what’s going on around you. In order for you to completely invest your thoughts and energy in the task at hand, you must fi rst resolve the issue that is stealing so much of your focus. Thursday brings a breakthrough. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Pay attention to the signals someone is sending as they execute tasks as simple as taking a phone call, lining up to buy groceries or eating a meal. Your obser- vations will add up to a deep knowledge of this person’s character. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) One approach is to go forward, even when everything around you seems to be pulling you back. Another approach is to fl ow with the tides, keeping your intention intact as you wait for the right op- portunity. Both ways have their merits. ADVICE GODDESS LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You have earned the loyalty and trust of your friends and will continue to do so because you do what you say you’re going to do. To you, it’s all so simple: You keep your word, honor your plans and show up on time. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) What would your scene look like if you looked back on it from 100 years from now? What would it look like if you could go back in time 100 years and peek into the future at your life? You’re cre- ative, and you’ll come up with brilliant answers. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Your mind, body and emotions are in balance no matter what else is going on around you. You’re like an ultra-productive machine — that is, until Thursday, when you’ll be wild, unpredictable and a whole lot of fun. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The atoms that make up our cells are mostly space; there- fore, we are mostly space. Echo this theme of space in your home environment by reducing the number of personal possessions you keep. Paradoxically, spaciousness brings fulfi llment. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Many people are seeing the same thing but no one dares to point it out. There’s a good reason for this: It would be insensitive or even dangerous to point to the proverbial “elephant in the room.” You will fi nd answers and solace by expressing your insights in a journal. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) This week you will be acutely aware of the vast sea of informa- tion in the world and also of how you couldn’t possibly absorb it all in one lifetime. Luckily, the things you really need to know about have a certain irresistible appeal. You can’t help but be drawn in, and the study is effortless. By Holiday Mathis I’ll Have The Scrimp Cocktail! I’d love your take on a bizarre fi rst date. I suggested happy hour drinks, but he wanted to take me to dinner, and picked a really nice restaurant. When we were ordering, he suggested we play “a fun game,” which entailed closing our eyes and picking a number (the entrees were numbered). I said okay, then he said I couldn’t pick numbers between 20 and 25 because those entrees were expensive. Completely disenchanted, I opened my eyes and chose something cheap. Later, the bill came, and sat and sat. He fi nally picked it up, muttered audibly about who had what, and eventually put his card out. Obviously, I turned down his request for a second date. — Not Into “Games” Just think of the “fun game” he had in store for date two — probably something like “Close your eyes, Babe, and pretend we aren’t under a Amy Alkon bridge waiting in line for free soup.” It’s a tough economy, and people Authentic Italian Cuisine Brick Fired NY Pizza are increasingly worried that they’ll be dining on Fancy Feast casserole at 80 (or 45). More than ever, men need to be wary of gold diggers. But, this guy had good intel that you aren’t one of them. The girl who suggests happy hour drinks is not the girl who orders the lobster dinner — and then adds, “Oh, and can I get another one of those to go?” A world away from ordinary Sky Lounge @ 217 Pierro’s We invite you to explore our extensive martini menu that will satisfy the traditional and contemporary taste. vite you to explore o One of the area’s largest wine collections with over 400 bottles in stock. Wide selection for the discriminating palate, available by the glass. 678-8885 822-3590 He’s the one who chose to up the price tag of getting to know you. The reasonable assumption would be that he was inviting you, not you and your Visa card. Assuming he didn’t lose his job between “Pick you up at 8?” and appetizers, he’s either a pathological cheapskate trying to pass himself off as Mr. Big Spender or is convinced that all women are out to milk ‘n’ bilk him. Either way, a date with him seems like a twist on “L’Oreal — because you’re worth it.” His motto: “Don’t even think of incurring the $2 substitution fee for onion rings — because you’re not.” The ironic thing is, even if you’d picked one of the pricier entrees, how much more would it have cost him … $10 plus tip? He ended up spending a whole bunch of money on a girl who now never wants to see him again — charming as some may fi nd it when a guy mutters over the check, “Let’s see, you had that extra packet of ketchup — that’s probably two cents right there…” (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM