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.
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NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Daniel Vilca, 26, was ordered to prison for the rest of his life (without possibility of parole) following his conviction in Naples, Fla., in November for having pornographic photos of children on his computer. He had no previous criminal record, nor was there evidence of any contact with children. The judge computed the sentence by multiplying a fi ve-year term by the 454 photos police found. [New York Times, 11-4- 2011] A week earlier, a judge in Dayton, Ohio, sentenced former CEO Michael Peppel, 44, for defrauding his shareholders by overstating revenue WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY For the Week of Jan. 8 ARIES (March 21-April 19) Slow and deliber- ate action will take you far. Take a moment to decide which of the options available to you are likely to be the most powerful choices. Acting on one or two stellar opportunities will bring you more success than if you were to pursue every good lead. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Your fi rst instinct is to create your own niche instead of adapting to the circumstances that others have laid out for you. After all, what do they really know about you? Those circumstances were designed to serve their interests, not yours. Chuck Sheppard in a company that went on to lose $298 million and cost 1,300 employees their jobs. Sentencing guidelines recommended an 8- to 10-year term, but federal judge Sandra Beckwith ordered Peppel to jail for seven days. [Dayton Daily News, 10-29-2011] Dog walker Kimberly Zakrzewski was found not guilty in October of violating the poop-scooping ordinance of Fairfax County, Va., despite photographic "evidence" of dog piles submitted by neighbors Virginia and Christine Cornell (who had previously been feuding with Zakrzewski). The jury chose to give greater weight to testimony by the dog's owner that the photographed piles were bigger than anything she had ever seen from "Baxter." The owner also revealed that she had brought to court one of Baxter's actual piles but decided to leave it in her car. [Washington Post, 10-25-2011] An 85-year-old man was shot in the face in Augusta, Ga., in September; a female acquaintance thought she was shooting at an opossum. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution-AP, 9-19-2011] A 20-year-old woman was shot in Vilas County, Wis., in July; deputy sheriff Ty Peterson (a relative) thought he was shooting at a cougar. [WJFW-TV (Rhinelander, Wis.), 7-27-2011] The Pervo-American Community Can't Stop Himself: Convicted child- sex offender Charlie Price, 57, was arrested in Pittsfi eld, Mass., in October, but only for disturbing the peace — because the "victim" was merely made of cardboard. Price, spotting a sunglasses display in a Rite-Aid pharmacy, had begun kissing and licking the face of the pictured model, and groping her. [The Berkshire Eagle, 10-26-2011] Crime in the F State Two men outfi tted as zombies were arrested for assault at a Halloween party at a nudist resort in Pasco County, Fla. (One bit a security guard, but he was not infected.) [St. Petersburg Times, 11-7-2011] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD 22 UCW JANUARY 4-10, 2012 GEMINI (May 21-June 21) You'll be meeting with people who would like to join your cause but don't know how they can effectively fi t into what you've already got going. Find out what they need and want. There's a way this can work, but it will take creative problem solving to fi gure out exactly how. CANCER (June 22-July 22) You'll be a kind of poet. You won't actually write poetry, per se, but you'll present things that people already know in a way that they have never heard before, helping them form new neural pathways and emotional connections. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) As much as you value loyalty and are impressed by unbridled enthusiasm, you usually behave more like a cat than a dog. You are independent, discerning and graceful in your approach. Others will get the impression that they must prove themselves before you'll let them into your world. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You'll get the chance to follow one of your more unusual in- terests. Not everyone will understand why this pleases you so. What's important is that you give yourself opportunities to joyfully express your unique spirit. WE'RE ALL LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You will craftily manage your impulses and appetites. To avoid disempowering feelings of being deprived or overwhelmed, give yourself a little of what you want. If you have trouble stopping after just a little, then try to divert your attention to other things you enjoy. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) You have been so focused on tending to the maintenance of relationships and possessions that you've hardly had a minute to think about what you want. You'll have the opportunity to step into a new role, take stock of what you have, assess what's missing and make requests. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) There's no shame in desiring more than you can ac- complish. It's one reason you attain such lofty achievements. Focus yourself on something other than the underlying current of defeat inherent in impossible goals. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Give yourself a break from thinking about the future. It may seem as though that's where you're going to spend the rest of your life. But the reality is that the future never comes. The only moment that can really be lived is this one. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) This week brings opportunities for you to grow wiser. Your sign mate the comedian George Burns, who lived to be 100 and worked until very shortly before his death, said, "You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old." PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) What you own becomes a time-consuming issue, and in all likelihood, the hours passed in maintaining and/or fi ghting for your possessions won't be among the most pleasant of the week. Consider relieving yourself of dead-weight assets. By Holiday Mathis ADVICE GODDESS Epic Frail I've had a crush on a guy who's been fl irting with me at my neighborhood coffeehouse. Today, he sat by the door, watching as four elderly people struggled to go out — a couple pushing walkers and, about fi ve minutes later, a couple who were all hunched over and using canes. I was seated in the back, but when I saw nobody was helping them, I ran over and held the door. Is his behavior a clear sign that he'd be bad boyfriend material? — Door Closing Sometimes it's hard to know what to do when you see somebody in need. In assessing people, I tend to go with F. Scott Fitzgerald's notion: "Action is character." Amy Alkon Or, in this case, inaction. I personally don't know how you sit back and enjoy the view as a parade of infi rm elderly people struggle out a door, but I do know that things aren't always as they seem. Maybe he has a cranky, independent granny who sees any help as an insult. If you end up going out with him, do what you should with any guy you date: Look closely at his behavior, especially when he thinks nobody's watching. Be honest with yourself if it seems a fundamental lack of empathy kept him in his seat. If the Shoo Fits EARS Through no one's fault but my own, I am a rather pathetic, washed-up character — a man approaching 40, slaving away for $10/hour, and getting around on my bike after having to sell my car. Yet, I'm ever driven by my wants — for pretty ladies in their early 20s. Do I have any hope? — Seeking Questions? Comments? Story Ideas? Let us know how we're doing. Your opinion is something we always want to hear. Call or email us your feedback. 208 Rowan St. Fayetteville, NC 28301 910.484.6200 It's tough attracting the ladies when you have transportation issues. Unfortunately, most hot young chickies willing to date a guy cresting 40 expect him to have achieved some status and position, and not a position paying slightly better than fast food. Still, if you can't substantially increase your income, you might increase your status by making a difference. You could start and run a humanitarian organization (like Robert Werner, who started BC Digital Divide, refurbishing donated computers and giving them to the needy). But, if you do this solely to get chicks, they'll surely see through it. Ultimately, this mostly has to be about a passion to help others, and not just to help others who are 23 and hot out of their clothes. Amy Alkon all rights reserved. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM www.upandcomingweekly.com