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/30175
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Laney Wallace, 16, won the beauty contest at the 53rd Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas, in March and the next day fulfilled the first duty of her reign: to behead and skin a western diamondback. “You have to make sure you don’t pop the bladder,” the 2011 Miss Snake Charmer said shortly after taking a few swipes with a machete. “That (would be) a huge mess.” (Three years ago, News of the Weird informed readers of the annual beauty-contest/muskrat-skinning festival in Maryland’s Eastern Shore region, in which the “beauty” part and the “skinning” part are separate — but in which that year, two teenage girls entered both, with Dakota Abbott edging out Samantha Phillips for the crown.) [Austin American-Statesman, 3-13- 2011] [Daily Mail (London), 3-13-2011.] [Washington Post, 3-1-2008] Compelling Explanations Record companies have enjoyed recent successes in court by suing individuals who have shared music by trading files through specialized websites that avoid paying copyright licensing fees, including Lime Wire (which shut down last year). Thirteen record companies won a summary judgment last year, and, applying a formula they believe was set out in federal law, the companies demanded that Lime Wire pay damages of up to $75 trillion — an amount more than five times the entire national debt. In March 2011, a federal judge said the companies should modify the formula and lower their expectations. [The American Lawyer, 3-15-2011] Waterloo, Iowa, schoolteacher Larry Twigg was arrested for “lascivious conduct” with a teenager, a crime that requires proof of “sexual motivation.” Though Twigg allegedly had a teenage boy strip, take a chocolate syrup “bath,” make a “snow angel” while in his underwear, and play a video game nude, his lawyer said in March that the court-appointed psychiatrist would testify that Twigg had no sexual motivation. [Waterloo Courier, 3-1-2011] Convicted heinous Minnesota sex offender John Rydberg, 69 and still detained after having served his sentence because he is still a “danger,” exhibited an upbeat demeanor for a three-judge panel in March, hoping for release. He said his number of victims was far fewer than the “94” he previously admitted to, explaining that he offered a purposely high number because he was afraid underplaying his crimes might make it appear that he was lying. “What can I say?” offered Rydberg. “I’m a work in progress.” [Star Tribune, 3-4-2011] Ironies On March 30, several hours before addressing the nation on TV about Libya, President Obama received a prestigious open-records award presented by five freedom-of-information advocate organizations for running a commendably “transparent,” accessible administration. However, news about this award came about only because the presenters leaked it to the press. As noted by The Washington Post the next day, there was no White House notice to the press; the presentation was not on the president’s calendar; no photos or transcript were available; and the award was not mentioned on the White House website. [Washington Post, 3-31-2011] COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) You love chal- lenge, but you also recognize that not all challenges are a good fi t for you. Focus on what’s right for you and not what’s impressive to others. Don’t make your move until you are absolutely sure that it’s what you want to do. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Two or more minds on a problem will bring about a favor- able outcome, especially if one of the minds is yours. You’ll think big when others are think- ing small, or small when others are thinking big. Both modes of thought will be necessary and helpful. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Some people have a fantasy of parachuting out of a plane. You can think of different ways to get a rush — ways that require an equal amount of courage, but have a different kind of payoff. This is your week to actually go through with such an activ- ity, or at least get the plan in motion. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Just because you’re doing the same thing as others and at the same time, too, doesn’t automatically make you feel connected. You know well the feeling of being simultaneously together and separate, and you can be comfortable with it. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Take another look at that potential future you consider to be a fantasy or wishful thinking. It is actually well within the realm of possibility for you. Seek mentorship. This could start in the form of books and articles for now, but soon a teacher will guide you in person. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You don’t need to ask others how they feel about you. This is partly because you are astutely observant and can already tell what those feelings might be, and partly because you know it’s none of your business. You’ll attract equally confi dent people. ADVICE GODDESS Will You Still Shove Me Tomorrow? LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Though you realize that you are dependent on your people and they are dependent on you, some of the attachments could be strengthened through a greater degree of autonomy. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Everyone ap- plies his or her brainpower differently. You’ll appreciate the differences when you stand back and observe the way people around you interact on Thursday and Friday. Saturday features a hot date. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) There’s nothing wrong with challenging others. In fact, they will enjoy the kinds of games you encour- age and look forward to your proposals of daring excitement. There’s also a time to make things easy and fun. You have an excellent sense of which way you should go from one moment to the next. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) There will be intense moments of self-doubt to overcome. In the past, you were misled to believe that you don’t measure up — a falsehood created to benefi t one weaker than you. Find someone you trust, and talk about your hopes and wishes, which are, by the way, well within your abilities. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) It is human nature to voice a melody or chant a rhythmic sound to ease the burden of work. Like a sailor singing a shanty with his crew, you’ll unite with your colleagues through language and noise — perhaps not exactly music, but the effect is the same. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Some people operate under the bogus assumption that what’s good for them is good for everyone else. You’ll point out the ways in which you are different. You’ll be a spokesperson for the rest of the group and lead them from oppression. By Holiday Mathis I’m in a relationship that feels like it could last, but I’m afraid of ending up like my parents: constantly bickering over minutiae, snarling at each other from other rooms, and slamming doors. The thing is, my boyfriend and I are already starting to fi ght over the stupidest stuff! — Worried Womack Army Medical Center is proud to announce the opening of two community-based clinics on March 10. Being annoying is the human condition. But, the partner who will be most annoying is one you only fi nd halfway hot — somebody you have the hots for physically but whose character fl aws and incompatibilities you ignore. You basically need to have a crush on a partner as a human being (have deep respect and even admiration for who he is and how he goes about life). Being human, he’ll do things that would annoy a Buddhist monk who could relax for an afternoon in a tank of fi re ants. If you have the hots for him all around, it’s far less likely that the things you dream of doing to him in bed will involve strangling or blunt force trauma. You should also make sure your partner isn’t your second greatest love, after your love of being right. Approaching problems as “ours” rather than “mine vs. yours” takes what researcher John Gottman calls “deep friendship,” where overwhelming positive feelings about each other and the relationship really suck the life out of any negative ones. The more relationship research I read, the more essential an overall positive sentiment seems. For example, researcher Shelly Gable found that the happiest relationships involve partners who make sacrifi ces for each other — because they love and want to support their partner, and not as some sort of investment to avoid confl ict or keep from losing them. Amy Alkon Each time you snap at each other, you hack a little chunk out of your relationship. Before long, snapping becomes the culture of your relationship, and you become your snarly parents. It helps to make a pact that you won’t act like you’ve forgotten you love each other. Of course, there will probably be times you slip and get nasty. What’s important is not letting yourselves stay nasty. Not for a minute. Not even for 30 seconds. If you do have a “deep friendship,” Hope Mills Medical Home Millstone Town Center, Hope Mills Fayetteville Medical Home Clinic Woodland Center, Raeford Rd., Fayetteville The clinics, part of a new ini a ve to bring care into the community, are open to ac ve-duty family members who are currently enrolled in TRICARE Prime or Network. For more information, please call 910-643-2264. Womack Army Medical Center “Committed to those we serve” there’s a good chance you’ll vault yourselves out of the feel-bad situation with what Gottman calls “the secret weapon of emotionally intelligent couples” — “the repair attempt.” This is something you say or do, maybe even something silly like making a face you know will crack your partner up, that defuses the tension and keeps the argument from getting out of hand. This is essential, since Gottman has found that a couple’s success in preventing negativity from escalating when they argue is one of the primary factors in whether a marriage lasts — and not in the sense that your parents’ has: “Please help us celebrate our 30 years — of nonstop screaming, door slamming, and vicious putdowns. Dinner and character assassination, followed by dancing.” Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2011 UCW 19