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/25224
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Those Ingenious Western Spies! In January, Saudi offi cials detained a vulture from Tel Aviv University (part of endangered-species research), calling it a spy and alarming its Israeli handlers that the bird might face a gruesome execution as an espionage agent. Then, a day later, Iran reportedly detained an Arab-American woman crossing its border from Armenia — after discovering a “spy microphone” in her teeth. (A week later, she was allowed to travel to Turkey.) In December, after an Egyptian woman was killed by a shark at a Red Sea resort, the local governor in Egypt accused Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, of releasing “attack sharks” in order to stifl e tourism. [BBC News, 1-5-2011] [BBC News, 1-6-2011] [BBC News, 12-7-2010] Cultural Diversity A supposedly centuries-old Korean health treatment — the vaginal steam bath — has become a popular fad recently in Southern California, according to a December Los Angeles Times report. As the client squats on an open-seated stool, vapors of herbs such as wormwood supposedly fi ght stress, infections, hemorrhoids, infertility and irregular menstrual periods. Thirty minutes’ treatment runs $20 to $50, and according to a prominent Beverly Hills gynecologist, the procedure actually could be benefi cial. [Los Angeles Times, 12-20-2010] Among the don’t-miss tourist attractions in Thailand, according to author Jim Algie’s recent guide (Bizarre Thailand): the monkey hospital in Lopbun, where terminal patients are treated with utmost respect (pending, of course, their imminent reincarnation); “Tortoise Town” in Khon Kaen province, where those critters outnumber humans by 4-to-1 and dominate the streets with shell-butting mating-rights competitions; and the Buffalo Head Temple near Bangkok, where the abbot’s pagoda, for some reason, is made of 6,000 water buffalo skulls. [CNN, 12-10-2010] China’s dynamic economy has created Western-style insecurities, including young women’s anxieties about beauty and self- improvement as they search for employment. Consequently, China has become the world’s third-largest consumer of plastic surgery services — with demand that perhaps challenges the supply of skilled surgeons. Women typically want wider eyes, “sliced” eyelids, narrower noses and jaws, and smaller chins, and both men and women seek height by attempting the painful (and usually unsuccessful) “heel implant” procedure. (A currently popular, less invasive remedy for immediate body streamlining — as when preparing for a job interview — involves ingesting eggs of the ringworm, so that the worm devours food before the stomach can digest it.) [Washington Post, 12-22-2010] [Daily Mail (London), 12-31-2010] Every Dec. 24 in Sweden, at 3 p.m., a third to a half of all Swedes sit down to watch the same traditional television program that has marked Christmas for the last 50 years: a lineup of historic Donald Duck cartoons. According to a December report on Slate.com, the show is insinuated in the national psyche because it was the fi rst big holiday program when Swedes began to acquire television sets in 1959. Entire families still watch together, repeating their favorite lines. [Slate, 12-22-2010] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) One way to make sure you have an excellent reputation is to tell people what to say about you. Give some thought as to how you’d like to be perceived, and work on promoting this aspect of yourself in all of your dealings this week. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) You will become happier and more effi cient this week simply be- cause you question the purposefulness of your own actions. By asking “What is the purpose of this?” you become mindful of the bottom line. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Beware of bored people who either have not yet learned to en- gage in life, or who are for some reason cutting themselves off from the fascinating reality that is all around us. You can still have compassion for the uninspired, but keep your distance, as the numbness of boredom is contagious. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Children want what they want without thinking about whether they have earned it. In your mature state of mind, you put fi rst things fi rst. It’s more important that you become who you want to be than that you get the prize when you want it. It will be easy for you to get the prize when you’ve earned it. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Something you wanted suddenly doesn’t seem like that great of an idea. Perhaps you realize the work involved and no longer think the end result is worth it. Since your imagination is so strong this week, it’s the perfect time to brainstorm on the topic of what to pursue instead. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) This week you continue to learn how to separate yourself from troublesome thought processes and embrace helpful patterns. You will realize that what goes on in your mind doesn’t always refl ect who you really are. ADVICE GODDESS LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You’ll feel as though you are coming into your own — you are! You still need help, though, and the road won’t be perfectly smooth. Loved ones will go out of their way to assist you, partly because you are warm, open and appreciative every time they do. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) It is easy for you to make decisions, because most of the time you are engaged in the act of fulfilling commitments you’ve already made. Your high level of responsibility makes everything simple and brings you fantastic luck, too. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) This week you will spend many hours helping others, and with every interaction, you hone your skills. You may have to psych yourself up to get interested in attending Friday’s events, but defi nitely go. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You may not walk around with a perpetual smile on your face, but there’s still a happy mood emanat- ing from you this week. That’s why people you don’t know will come up and introduce themselves. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) There’s some- thing you want out of a situation, but you’re not quite ready to make your sales pitch. Your instinct to wait is smart. You’ll succeed when you make meeting people and getting to know them your No. 1 priority. You’ll need plenty of rest over the weekend. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) This week a door opens and you walk in. You may feel uncom- fortable at fi rst as you step into a new territory, but this changes as you learn what to expect and what is expected of you. Prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed, and you’ll do great. I By Holiday Mathis M A Menopause in the Heterosexuality I’m a 56-year-old married woman, and as far as I can tell, I’ve been happily heterosexual all my life — until recently. For the past year, I’ve been thinking about a woman until I can no longer think about anything else. I have such powerful and authentic sexual feelings that I feel compelled to reveal myself to her, but I think she’d probably knock me out. We’re both married to men, and she’s a pretty prominent member in our community whom I’ve long respected, so there are also elements of danger and hero worship here. There are other reasons to leave this alone, but I’m having a hard time doing it. I just want her so desperately. I should add that I haven’t been in an intimate relationship for a long time, as my husband was an alcoholic who’s now recovering. But, when my desire returned, it wasn’t for him; it was all for her! I have no idea what’s happening. ARGGGH! I think I love her! Amy Alkon — Uh-Oh! Every time you moon over this woman, you’re giving your brain’s motivation and reward centers a hit of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. Anthropologist Helen Fisher explains in Why We Love: “When a reward is delayed, dopamine-producing cells in the brain increase their work, pumping out more of this natural stimulant to energize the brain, focus attention, and drive the pursuer to strive even harder to acquire a reward.” You get out of a habit the same way you get in: through repetition. Every time you don’t let yourself think about this woman, it’ll be a little easier to not think about her the next time. Of course, you can’t just say “I’m not going to think about her.” Have a substitute program at the ready: Recite the Cyrillic alphabet, run through the 50 states and their capitals, and move on to Canada if need be. This brain retraining will be really hard at fi rst, and seem stupid and futile, but it should eventually take if you keep at it. And you do need to keep at it. Now, maybe you are a lesbian late All Kids 12 & Under - $5.00 • Tickets Still Available Saturday, February 19th Your FireAntz Are Back In Action! • Brought to you by Cadillac of Fayetteville • Also featuring Fayetteville Cumberland Parks & Recreation Players will be visiting several parks & recreation facilities this week Come out and see SPHL’s leading scorer, Chris Leveille, during this weekend’s only home game! For more information visit: www.fireantzhockey.com 910.321.0123 PUCK DROPS AT 7:30 P.M. bloomer, bi-curious, or just bored-curious. But, it’s possible that you’re simply angry and resentful and maybe worried that your husband will go back on the sauce. While men can have sex without an emotional connection, women generally need to feel emotionally close to their partner fi rst. You won’t fi gure out what your deal is by chasing this woman around the hors d’oeuvres table but by taking a hard look at the man and the marriage you still have. You may need to forgive him in order to want him again. You may need more proof that he won’t rekindle his affair with Jack Daniel and Mr. Cuervo. Or, you may need him to be a chick. In which case … sayonara. As successful as many people are in going to A.A. meetings and “humbly asking God to remove their shortcomings,” it’s best if those shortcomings are things like impulsivity and anger issues — not testicles. (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. FEBRUARY 16-22, 2011 UCW 19 ! t F n u e , n m A n i f a t o f E e bl YL F , re d r tn a