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/234603
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Redneck Geek: Edward Teller, the famous theoretical physicist known as the "father of the hydrogen bomb" for his work on the World War II-era Manhattan Project, died in 2003, but his daughter Rene told The Free Press of Kinston, N.C., in November that she had recently discovered two of her father's precious mementos at a thrift shop near Kinston during a road trip to visit relatives. "(Father's) work was so demanding" she said, that he needed "recreational activities" and tried "the things you'd suspect," like chess. However, the two mementos were awards Teller had won at tractor pull competitions. "He'd show up Chuck Sheppard at major tractor pulls" riding just a Cub Cadet mower, Rene said, and "leave the competition in the dust." (Teller's secret, she said, was using "nuclear fusion-based engines," which sponsors ultimately had to ban.) [Kinston Free Press, 11-12-2013] The Entrepreneurial Spirit "It will be sort of my unique factor," said indulgent customer Lucy Luckayanko, describing her then-upcoming $3,000 eyeball jewelry implant from New York City's Park Avenue Laser Vision — the insertion of a piece of platinum between the sclera (the white part) and the clear conjunctiva. Actually, said the shop's medical director, Dr. Emil Chynn, to WNEW-TV in November, it's "pretty safe." [WNEW-TV (New York City, 1120-2013] Restaurant Startups: (1) Japan's "cat cafes" allow the pet-starved to relax while dining by caressing house kittens that roam the facilities, but similar eateries have opened recently featuring owls (the Fukurou Sabou in Tokyo, Owl Family in Osaka). (The owls are not caressable and easily spooked by excessive noise.) (2) Liu Pengfei's Five Loaves and Two Fish restaurant in Fuzhou, China, is losing money rapidly despite overflow dining crowds, according to a December China Daily report, because he allows customers to pay only what they wish. (They must also wash out their bowls.) "I want to continue," he said, "as I believe the feeling of trust is contagious." [News Limited (Sydney), 11-5-2013] [China Daily, 12-4-2013] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY For the Week of January 1, 2013 ARIES (March 21-April 19) Two great things could happen to you today. The first is that you get what you want. The second is that you don't. Rejection is the universe's protection. Later, you'll look back and say, "Whew! That was close!" LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Not usually one to have a narrow view of things, you might still get hung up on the details. A few key words from the lips of someone you care about require further investigation. There seem to be many shades of "true." TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Small talk? Don't have time. Artistry and style? After the dishes are done! Try not to be militaristic in areas that require a more nuanced approach, like romance, or you could wind up hurting feelings. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Wherever you go, you'll make friends — especially if you share your inherent kookiness. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Purchases from the Internet, wholesalers, discount stores, etc. are winners. And it's not so much about the actual money you'll save. It's more that you get a sense of pride from realizing how financially capable you are. CANCER (June 22-July 22) YFortuitous meetings are featured in the p.m. Something that starts out all business turns into riot LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Your planets bode for an upside-down experience. You may as well dream by day, because your subconscious is busy being logical by night. You have an especially comfortable time relating to a Taurus person. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Friends urge you to disclose the scintillating details of recent goings-on. Some facts about your life are no one's business but your own! The secret you keep inside grows in power, giving you fuel for what you must do next. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) The atmosphere hums with surprises and opportunity. Just because something didn't work out in the past doesn't mean it can't in the future. All relationships are picking up momentum, especially love relationships. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) If it's artificial, it won't satisfy you. You're on a mission to find purity — raw foods, straight truth and paper instead of plastic. Tonight, you demand and get the bottom line. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Your exceptional work makes you the talk around the office. Don't worry. You can live up to your legacy. Time spent alone is personally rewarding tonight — but the next best thing is time spent with an Aries person. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Someone you've been trying to impress is also trying to impress you. The planetary spotlight is on quality, longevity and durability. See the big picture, and let the details work themselves out for now. 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 Took the Wind Out of Her Zales Around Valentine's Day, my beloved boyfriend of a year kept hinting about a big surprise. He'd been talking about moving in with me, and I was expecting a proposal and a ring. I got a fondue pot. I have two children and, apparently, the idea that a man should put a ring on a woman's finger before moving in with her and her kids. He said he'd propose when he was ready. Then, by accident (I think), he left his Amazon.com page open on my computer, showing the tackiest, cheapest ring in the world and a pocketknife for himself (which Amy Alkon cost more than the ring). I told him to move in and forget the ring. I bought myself a ring, but that didn't work. I felt unvalued and ashamed. We fought often, and he ended up moving out. He wants me back, but I don't want to live with him without the stupid ring. We're both too needy to live apart. Can we salvage this? — Heartbroken Mama The man you love did give you a shiny object that you could show off to the girls at the office, even if the admiring remarks you were hoping for weren't "Look at that thing! It's twice the size of Miranda's Crock-Pot!" Engagement rings can seem like a completely stupid thing to want. They're absurdly expensive and hard to tell from lab-created rings available at a fraction of the cost. And what good are they, really? Well, the answer is that men can walk away after sex and women may walk away with a bunch of little mouths to drag around and feed, so women evolved to seek reliable signs that a man has access to resources and a willingness to provide them. The most reliable signs of commitment are those economists call "costly signals," meaning that they require substantial effort or financial investment and are therefore difficult to fake. That's why buying yourself a ring didn't work and why you felt "unvalued and ashamed" when your boyfriend got down on one knee, but only so he could plug in a moderately-priced kitchen appliance and propose, "How 'bout we put stale bread cubes on sticks and dunk 'em in melted cheese?" Being too needy to live alone is reason to get a dog or paste a face on your robot vacuum cleaner, not rush into a lifelong commitment. The way to figure this out is by spending time together without living together until he's ready to commit or you're ready to throw in the towel. But pick a date to take stock of whether progress is being made so you aren't hanging on endlessly. As they say in the fondue world, there comes a time when a guy needs to either dip or get off the pot. Amy Alkon all rights reserved JANUARY 1-7, 2014 UCW 19