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/39424
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD A More Reputable Career: Thomas Heathfield was a well-paid banking consultant with a promising career in Maidenhead, England, but gave it up this year to move to South Africa and endure rigorous training as a "sangoma" ("witch doctor"). After five months of studying siSwati language, sleeping in the bush, hunting for animal parts, vomiting up goats' blood and learning native dances, Heathfield, 32, was given a new name, Gogo Mndawe, and is now qualified to read bones and prescribe herbal cures (among the skills expected of sangomas by the roughly 50 percent of South Africa's population that reveres them). He admitted concern about his acceptance as a white man calling out African spirits, "but when (the people) see (me) dance, perhaps those questions go away." [Daily Telegraph (London), 7-2-2011] Cultural Diversity "Hundreds" of blondes paraded through Riga, Latvia, on May 28 at the third annual "March of the Blondes" festival designed to lift the country's spirits following a rough stretch for the economy. More than 500 blondes registered, including 15 from New Zealand, seven from Finland and 32 from Lithuania, according to a woman who told Agence France-Presse that she was the head of the Latvian Association of Blondes. Money collected during the event goes to local charities. [The Independent (London)-AFP, 5-31-2011] Snakes on a Train! A clumsy smuggler (who managed to get away) failed to contain the dozens of king cobras and other snakes he was transporting from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to Hanoi (probably to be sold illegally to restaurants). After panic broke out on the train and police were called, the snakes were collected and turned over to a sanctuary. (Upscale restaurants can charge as much as the equivalent of $500 for a meal of king cobra, beginning with the selection of the snake, and having it killed at tableside, on to a serving of a snake's-blood appetizer. In one survey, 84 percent of Hanoi's restaurants were serving illegal wild animals of some sort, including weasel, monitor lizard and porcupine.) [Sky News (London), 5-30-2011] Latest Religious Messages The Envy of U.S. Televangelists: In July, after India's Supreme Court ordered an inventory, a Hindu temple in Trivandrum was found to contain at least $22 billion worth of gold, diamonds and jeweled statues given as offerings to the deity by worshippers over several centuries. The wealth was until now believed to be the property of India's royal family, but the Supreme Court ruling turns it over to India's people. Authorities believe the "$22 billion" figure is conservative. [Christian Science Monitor, 7-5-2011] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) While the world around you will seem blind to what's going on, you will have the vision to recognize these mo- ments for what they are: fl ashes of rare beauty, opportunities to be seized, vital plot points in the story of your life. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Part of you wants to wake up for an early morning jog before you scurry off to work. The other part of you wants to comfortably slumber in your warm cocoon of a bed. You'll do a good job of appeasing both sides. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) The energy of striving and trying too hard could actually be preventing you from getting what you want. You are enough. Give yourself credit for the past and present, and the future will start to shape up with a lot less effort on your part. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Scientifi c studies suggest that self-control is an exhaustible re- source. Make adjustments to your environment so you won't need as much willpower in order to fulfi ll your expectations of yourself. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You cannot be totally free unless you give total freedom to those around you. You realize just how futile it is to require that people react to you in a certain way. People do what they do, and you accept it. You will feel liberated by this. The end of the week brings a bonus that makes you smile. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Expecting to feel happy all the time is a sure way to experience disappointment. You are willing to let your feelings fl ow naturally and take the good, bad and ugly as it comes. Your maturity will attract those who need help and those who have help to give. You will ultimately be empowered by your strong feelings. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) There will be a few black holes to navigate around this week. They will come in the form of people, thought patterns or situations that are too dangerous to risk going anywhere near, lest their irresistible forces suck you in. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Looking back connects you to emotions you didn't under- stand and only half-felt at the time. You had to be guarded going through the moment. Now time acts as a buffer, making it safe for you to fully feel what was stifl ed back then. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Someone will share his or her exciting news. You may not be as enthusiastic about this development, but you'll try to keep up a happy appearance for the other person. You're emotionally bigger than the circumstance. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Whatever seems readily available is perceived as less valuable — a complexity of human nature that you can use to your advantage now. You'll be less available and more mysterious. You'll get people to compete for your attention. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You genuinely want to serve humanity, though you don't nec- essarily think in those terms as you go about your daily business. All you want is a fair shake. You give to others and enjoy the benefi ts of be- ing a contributing member of society. You give with a smile, and your enjoyment triples. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) It gets harder to be your best when you've spent your reserves of energy on dealing with your own pain and stress. That's why whatever you can do to al- leviate your problems will improve the fates of your loved ones, colleagues and perhaps even the general public. Take care of yourself. By Holiday Mathis RAPHA PRIMARY CARE Welcomes Dr. Graham S. Meyer, MD Dr. Meyer brings over 25 years of experience in Emergency Medicine to Rapha Primary Care. He is patient focused and attentively administers care to each of his patients, from pediatric to geriatric. We hope you don't need emergency care, but if you do, please visit Dr. Meyer at Rapha Primary Care. OFFICE HOURS Mon - Thurs 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Fri 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sat 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. URGENT & EMERGENCY CARE Family and Internal Medicine Sports Medicine, Dermatology 1905 Skibo Road (at Morganton Road) • Fayetteville 910.864.HELP ADVICE GODDESS Piece Treaty Recently, you published a letter from a married man complaining about his wife's letting their two young children sleep in their marital bed with them. They'd gone from being a couple who didn't have much sex to a nearly sexless one. You seemed to suggest that the guy bargain for sex from his wife: "Talk about how much sex you'd like, and how much she's willing to provide, and work out a compromise." My question is, "Why bother?" Since they're married, it's unlikely he's a sex object or love object to her. It seems more likely that he's just a trapped meal ticket. If that's the case, he should get his wife to sign an OK for extramarital activity. Life is too short to put up with people who don't appreciate you. — Take My Advice Yes, life is too short to put up with someone who doesn't appreciate you — until you and that someone say to each other, "Wouldn't it be totally cute if we made little people who look just like us?!" Divorce eats children and only seems to be the step to take if the parents' marriage is chronically and intensely ugly. In reviewing the body of research on divorce, Dr. Paul R. Amato found that children of divorced parents "score lower … on measures of academic success, conduct, psychological adjustment, self-concept, social competence and long- term health." On the bright side, they're usually able to play their parents against each other so they can get more sugary snacks and much cooler toys. Amy Alkon Of course, on a pure fairness level, you don't get to be married to somebody and be all "I'm retiring from sexual activity." Fairness aside, sending the husband out to shop elsewhere for nookie is a bad idea. Sex between people in a relationship isn't just a day in naked Disneyland but a way they cleave to each other emotionally and even biochemically and maintain a relationship that goes deeper than a roommate situation with a lifetime lease. Was I suggesting that they haggle over sex like it's a scarf in a bazaar? Well, yes, but it sounds better when you call it "coming to a marital compromise." By talking about how often he'd like to have sex and how often she's willing to put out, they may stem the resentment that builds up when needs go ignored and fi nd out whether there's anything she needs that he isn't providing. I wrote recently about Dr. Rosemary Basson's breakthrough work on female sexual desire — how women in long-term relationships sometimes have to start fooling around for desire to come. Even if these two don't know that, if they start scheduling sex dates, they're likely to fi nd out. In the process, they should develop confl ict resolution skills beyond simply refusing to put up with anyone who doesn't appreciate them. That idea's great in concept, but take it to its inevitable conclusion and, well, who's going to take care of the millions of children who get dropped off at the fi re station with a bag lunch and a note? Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. AUGUST 17-23, 2011 UCW 19