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/27198
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Tombstone, Ariz., which was the site of the legendary 1881 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (made into a 1957 movie), is about 70 miles from the Tucson shopping center where a U.S. congresswoman, a federal judge and others were shot in January. A Los Angeles Times dispatch later that month noted that the “Wild West” of 1881 Tombstone had far stricter gun control than present-day Arizona. The historic gunfight occurred when the marshal (Virgil Earp, brother of Wyatt) tried to enforce the town’s no-carry law against local thugs. Today, however, with few restrictions and no licenses required, virtually any Arizonan 18 or older can carry a handgun openly, and those 21 or older can carry one concealed. [Los Angeles Times, 1-23-2011] Leading Economic Indicator The government of Romania, attempting both to make amends for historical persecution of fortune-telling “witches” and to collect more tax revenue, amended its labor law recently to legalize the profession. However, “queen witch” Bratara Buzea, apparently speaking for many in the soothsaying business, told the Associated Press in February that official recognition might make witches legally responsible for future events that are beyond their control. Already, witches are said to be fighting back against the government with curses — hurling poisonous mandrake plants into the Danube River and casting a special spell involving cat dung and a dead dog. [BBC News 1-6- 2011; USA Today-AP, 2-8-2011] Compelling Explanations British loyalist Michael Stone still claims it was all a misunderstanding — that he did not intend to assassinate Irish Republican Army political leaders in 2006, despite being arrested at the Northern Ireland legislature carrying knives, an ax, a garotte, and a bag of explosives that included flammable liquids, gas canisters and fuses. He was later convicted, based on his having detonated one explosive in the foyer and then carrying the other devices into the hall to confront the leaders, but he continued to insist that he was merely engaged in “performance art.” (In January 2011, the Northern Ireland court of appeal rejected his claim.) [The Guardian (London), 1-6-2011] Phyllis Stevens, 59, said she had no idea she had embezzled nearly $6 million until her employer, Aviva USA, of Des Moines, Iowa, showed her the evidence. She said it must have been done by the “hundreds” of personalities created by her dissociative identity disorder (including “Robin,” who was caught trying to spend Stevens’ remaining money in Las Vegas just hours after the showdown with Aviva). Stevens and her spouse had been spending lavishly, buying properties, and contributing generously to political causes. As the “core person,” Stevens said she will accept responsibility but asked a federal judge for leniency. (The prosecutor said Stevens is simply a thief.) [Des Moines Register, 1-21-2011] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD 26 UCW MARCH 16-22, 2011 WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) There are those in your midst who require a great deal of reassur- ance and security. But to you, playing it safe is just dull. You are who you are. If others accept this, great. If not, you won’t sweat it. You’ll just move on. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Work puts you into a situation that you would never fi nd your- self in otherwise, and with people you normally wouldn’t know. Because you have a vested in- terest in doing business together, you will learn quickly how to fi t in, speak the same language and make a deal that is mutually advantageous. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) You will realize how far you have come in life — not in a mate- rial way, but having to do with your emotional development and maturity. You could even connect with someone you once considered to be “toxic” and realize that maybe this person is merely prickly. CANCER (June 22-July 22) The upside is that your intuition will be extremely strong this week. Some solitude will be a buffer for you, but don’t hibernate for too long or let your sensory defensiveness limit your participation in life’s pleasures. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You get the feeling that you’ll soon have to fi ght for what’s yours. This is the nature of ownership.You will have friends on your side, too, who realize that you are the rightful owner of all that is yours. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Your relationships are in solid standing because you have one key element fi rmly in place: trust. You have a fair idea of how others will act and react, and they have come to expect a certain outcome from you, as well. You will reap sweet rewards, rewards that are coming to you because you have lived honestly. ADVICE GODDESS Can You Here Me Now? LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You are not keeping track of who owes whom, and yet as the week goes on, it will begin to feel as though there is an imbalance of giving and taking. If you have been doing more taking, then fi nd a way to give and give big. And if you have been doing more giving, then take. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Mistakes will be made, and that’s to be expected. Apolo- gies will be offered, followed by discussion. In some ways, everyone gets closer than before because of having to come to a new understanding. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You and your close loved ones are not likely to agree on the best way to navigate the week. Scheduling choices are particularly diffi cult to sort out. Focus on that about which you do agree. Give your attention to common interests and you’ll fall into harmony. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You are becoming masterful at discerning the needs and wants of others through careful observation. The fi rst person you examine is yourself. When you can see the truth in you, you will be able to see the truth in others, as well. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You wish you could give all of your energy to every single relationship. If you spend too much time on those outside of your circle, your loved ones will feel slighted. Make certain you give the best and most of yourself to your nearest and dearest. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You don’t need to have the best things in order to make the best of things. The result of your work will impress your friends, delight your aesthetic sense and fulfi ll a practical need, to boot.will be applauded. By Holiday Mathis Pre-Season Party! I have an online dating issue. When a man and I are going to have our fi rst phone chat, I set up a specifi c day and time so we don’t have to play phone tag. This allows me to schedule around it and be prepared and at my computer viewing his profi le when we talk. I take the man’s number and call him, because I’m not comfortable giving out mine right away. During my several years of online dating, the percentage of guys who aren’t there at the planned time has been about 90. Many never contact me again, even to explain or apologize. — Feeling Very Stood Up A woman can be a little premature in setting up who wears the ball gag in the relationship. Telling somebody they need to talk to you at a specifi c time might work fi ne in business, but because men tend to be wary of controlling women, it’s a risky tactic when you’re vying to maybe become a guy’s girlfriend, not his supervisor. But, here you are, not only setting the call time but informing a guy that he’ll be doing the waiting and you’ll be doing the calling. Very possibly, there’s more in your e-mails that suggests you’re bossy and controlling. If so, for a guy, this can foreshadow a lot of being ordered around by you: “Sit. Stay. Repeat after me, ‘I’d love nothing more than to turn off the playoffs and join you in watching Valerie Bertinelli kill her abusive husband with a shovel in the Lifetime Movie Of The Week.’” Amy Alkon The dynamic of Internet dating SATURDAY March 26, 2011 1-4 p.m. 3006 Bragg Blvd. • 910.323.1791 www.trophyhouseinc.com FREE Games, Food, Prizes and Fun for the Entire Family! Coaches Clinic with Darrell Handelsman 2-3 p.m Special appearances by: & Pre-Season SALE thru April 30th 25% OFF All Bats & Gloves • 15% OFF All Cleats probably plays a part in your 90 percent no-show rate. Instead of connecting human to human in some chance meeting, it’s the dating equivalent of clicking a box on drugstore.com to add Q-tips to your “basket.” You’re not so much a person as you are a picture of a person, and whether you’ll actually resemble the person pictured remains to be seen. No, you swear, you really are 5’8” and 127 pounds … on Mars. (Here on Earth you’re 317 — if you weigh yourself fi rst thing and don’t put on socks.) Now, maybe you have a peculiar attraction to rude men, but more than likely, you just need to try something new: Relax a little. Give out your number. Not your home number, connected to your address, but the number to your cell or one of those pay-as-you-go phones that isn’t traceable to you. Should you start getting unwanted calls, put the thing on silent or give it to some wino and tell him to answer it by breathing heavy and asking, “Are you wearing crotchless panties?” Instead of trying to wring every bit of uncertainty out of your life, accept that there might be a little phone tag. When you do get on the phone with a guy, step away from the computer and your spreadsheet of questions. Your goal shouldn’t be vacuuming him for data; it should be having fun getting to know him. If you’re having fun, you’ll be more likely to sound like fun -- like the sort of woman who keeps the spark in a relationship (and not by tasing the guy whenever he’s a little slow to take out the trash). (c)2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Featuring the Mizuno Van with the Glove Steamer Game-Ready Ball Gloves in 5 Minutes!