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/23740
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD A now-10-year-old church in Denver ministers to (as contemplated by 1 Corinthians 4:11-13) the homeless, the reviled, and the persecuted and formally named itself after the actual words in verse 13, the “Scum of the Earth” Church. The congregation touts nonjudgmental Christianity; owns an elegant, aging building (but holds services elsewhere because of fire code violations); and is a rough mix of anarchists, punk rockers, environmentalists and disaffected teens perhaps mainly keen on angering their parents. “Scum” (as church members matter-of-factly call themselves) tilt mildly philosophically conservative (though not nearly evangelical), connected only by the common belief that “God is love,” according to a December report in Denver’s Westword. [Westword, 12-23-2010] Great Art! Among the recent works funded by Arts Council England was a “painting” consisting of a blank canvas, for which artist Agnieszka Kurant was paid the equivalent of about $2,300 and on which she intends to paint something in the future. Rounding out her exhibition were a “sculpture” that was not really present and a “movie” that had been shot with no film in the camera. [The Sun (London), 12-2-2010] In October, borrowing from the U.S. Air Guitar Championship (which honors self-made guitar “heroes” playing wild rock ‘n’ roll as if they were holding real guitars), the second annual Air Sex Championship was held in the Music Hall in Brooklyn, N.Y., and eventually won by Lady C. (whose performance could not easily be described). Each contestant (solo only) had two minutes to cover “all the bases”: “meeting, seduction, foreplay, intercourse, and, if successful, afterglow,” and exposing body parts was not allowed. [The Brooklyn Paper, 9-9-2010] Questionable Judgments: The New Jersey Government Record Council ruled in December that the town of Somerset had overcharged Tom Coulter in 2008 by $4.04 on the $5 it collected for a compact disc of a council meeting and must issue a refund. The town estimates that it spent about $17,000 fighting Coulter’s appeals (and paying his attorney’s fees). [Courier News of Bridgewater, 12-22-2010] Brandi Jo Winkelman, 17, was charged in September in Juneau, Wis., with violating the state’s child abuse law after a schoolyard fight and risks a maximum of six years in prison. Authorities charged Winkelman even though her “victim” was a classmate older than Winkelman. [Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee)-AP, 9-9-2010] Police in Hyderabad, Pakistan, recently arrested a doctor for the increasingly suspect crime of insulting Islam — after he merely tossed away the business card of a man who happened to have the last name “Muhammad.” According to a December Associated Press dispatch, “dozens” of Pakistanis are sentenced to death each year for such tangential references to the holy name of Muhammad, but the government fears that trying to repeal the law might incite Muslim extremism. [San Francisco Chronicle-AP, 12-12-2010] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) You will have a situation in which you’re not sure whether or not you really need help. Reach out anyway. You have friends who will accommodate you at the drop of a hat. You do not usually call on them to do this, and that is one of the reasons why they are eager to help whenever you ask. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) To attach the appropriate signifi cance to events is a skill. Leave your ego out of the decision and you’ll do great. For instance, if you don’t make the sale, it doesn’t mean you’re no good at sales. A wonderful reward comes Wednesday evening. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Stick with the schedule and with habits that have been work- ing for you. If you forgo your usual routine, you can still show up on time where you need to be, but you’ll be less awake and aware of what’s going on around you. In order to be at your best this week, you’ll need to pay extra attention to your mental and physical states. CANCER (June 22-July 22) It will be diffi cult to get the attention, let alone the affection, of overly pressured and busy people. You will cap- ture the imagination of someone whose life has enough leisure and ease to allow for a strong focus on you. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You’ll be playing a big game this week. Notice more details of your environment than you normally would. Get present and connect with people. You can’t infl uence anyone if you’re not completely in the room. Stay in the game. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Though you know some people who are lucky when it comes to money, you usually have to make your own fi nancial luck through long hours and sweat. There will be a turn of events that makes you feel undeniably fortunate. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You try to live your life in accordance with certain axioms, but some aren’t making as much sense to you now as they once did. You could change the rules this week or give them a twist. For instance, instead of treating others how you want to be treated, treat them how they want to be treated. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) You are a student of human nature, and your studies will teach you something interesting this week. You’ll take excellent care of yourself this week, and you will gain respect and love in the process. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You would consider it foolish to criticize or take a jab at the boss. However, when it’s your turn to be in charge, you may learn that others don’t share your values and wisdom. You may catch heat from an underling. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) This is no time to be meek, modest and small. If you are somewhat deserving and mostly qualifi ed to have the thing you want, ask for it. If you don’t get it, demand it. There is a high probability it will work. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You are not naturally inclined to boast or draw too much attention to yourself. However, if you’re going to get anywhere with your project this week, you will need to talk about what you’ve done. Practice and experiment until you fi nd the perfect words and tone to frame your out- standing accomplishments. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Because this week is fi lled with distractions and fast changes, you could opt out of certain parts of your routine. Letting too many of your good habits slide at once will knock you off balance. Stick with the behaviors that have helped you get this far. ADVICE GODDESS You Make Loving Fund My wife and I have been married four months after dating a year. She’s 40; I’m 34. Before we married, we agreed (because of our values) that the man pays the daily living expenses (rent/mortgage, bills, taxes, groceries). She said I should never rely on her for money, but said she’d help me if I needed it. I’m buying us a home, and I’m overwhelmed by bills. She wants a $3,000 mattress and a high-end bedroom set, and I asked her to help pay for them. She said she would, but I’d have to pay her back. What? Aren’t a husband and wife supposed to Amy Alkon support each other? She works full time as a manager and banks her earnings or spends money on herself. Before we married, we could compromise. Now she cuts me down and wants everything her way. And she could ask me how my day was once in a while. When I mentioned that, she said I was acting like a girl. She’s very beautiful — a former model — but I’ve always told her I love her for who she is, not her beauty. I still love her and don’t want to end our marriage. —Strapped Four months into wedded bills, uh, bliss, By Holiday Mathis you’re walking around muttering, “Aren’t a husband and wife supposed to support each other?” Well, yes, unless they start their marriage by making other arrangements. Absurdly, you agreed to the family values fi nancial plan — the husband takes care of all the expenses. Typically, the husband does this because the wife is taking care of their home, their dogs, their ferrets, and their three overscheduled children. But, hey, at least your wife’s got your back. Your back pocket, that is — the one where you keep your wallet. What spouses put into a marriage doesn’t always work out to 50/50, but there should at least be the spirit of 50/50. If you saw that in any way from your wife, you might have hope for a loving marriage. What you have instead seems like a marriage made in pragmatism. Chances are, she saw age 40 on fi nal approach and fi gured she’d better lock in a funding source (you were conveniently located). Chances are, you realized she was out of your league, but fi gured you could bribe her into marrying you. You perhaps assumed that marriage would inspire her to act wifelike; as in, like a partner not a prostitute with a decorating budget. You claim you don’t want to end your marriage. You also claim to love your wife — not for her stunning exterior, but for who she is on the inside (um, greedy, selfi sh, narcissistic, and snippy?). Come on. Surely what you love is preserving your ego — telling yourself whatever it takes to avoid admitting, “Gee, was I ever gullible.” Hey, whatever makes you happy, but it won’t change who you’re with — a woman who sees you as her $chmoopie, her moneybunny, her blank checkiepoo. That aside, you can’t help but admire the lady for being a go-getter (why wait for the divorce to take a guy for all he’s worth?). (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. JAN. 26 - FEB. 1, 2011 UCW 23