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 Sri Lanka has, as an "unwritten symbol of pride and culture," the world's highest per-capita rate for eye-donation, according to a January Associated Press dispatch from Colombo. Underpinning this national purpose is the country's Buddhist tradition that celebrates afterlives. "He's dead," said a relative of an eye recipient about the donor, "but he's still alive. His eye can still see the world." Doctors even report instances in which Sri Lankans consider giving up an eyeball while still alive, as a measure of virtue. A new state-of-the- art clinic, funded by Singaporean donors, is expected to nearly double Sri Lanka's eyeball exports. [Associated Press via Daily Mail (London), 1-23-2012] The Way the World Works Melissa Torres was a passenger in an April 2011 auto accident in Texas City, Texas, in which the five people involved were reported "uninjured" by police, and indeed, Torres was released from the Mainland Medical Center emergency room after a routine evaluation (for which she was billed $4,850). In fact, records from April 2011 until September showed her balance as $4,850. However, in December, Mainland learned that Torres had made an insurance claim against the driver and settled it for $30,000. The hospital quickly "updated" her balance to $20,211 and filed a claim against the settlement. [Daily News (Galveston), 1-9-2012] A November Comtel airlines charter Chuck Sheppard flight from India to Birmingham, England, stopped in Vienna, Austria, to refuel, but the pilots learned that Comtel's account was overdrawn and that the airport required the equivalent of about $31,000 for refueling and take- off charges, and thus, if the passengers were in a hurry, they needed to come up with the cash. After a six-hour standoff, many of the 180 passengers were let off the plane, one by one, to visit an ATM, and eventually a settlement was reached. [Associated Press via MSNBC, 11-17-2011] Paul Rothschild, 40, was facing a Dec. 9 court date in Lake County, Ill., on a charge of indecent solicitation of a minor — a charge that could have sent him to prison for five years. Apparently oblivious of the imminent danger, Rothschild was arrested on Dec. 7 after a months-long campaign to entice another minor girl to engage in sex. [Chicago Tribune (Highland Park), 1-5-2012] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY For the Week of March 4, 2012 ARIES (March 21-April 19) You know that the refl ection of you in the mirror is not you, because you are the person looking into the mirror. This week, you'll graduate to an even deeper level of understanding, becoming aware of the illusory nature of the world. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Everyone makes mistakes. You're apt to forgive and forget when the mistake is someone else's. Forgive yourself, too, so that you can go back to believing whole- heartedly in your own goodness. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) You're usually so fl exible when it comes to working with others. Adaptability is one of your strong suits. So it's a little strange when you feel like all would be better if your colleagues and loved ones would adopt your plan and do it your way. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Power can present itself in numerous guises. Even a gracious, soft-spoken person exerts power in some way. This is an excellent week to notice what you do to become more powerful in your world and determine whether or not it's working for you. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Long projects need more planning than short ones, and life itself is a long project, indeed. Though you're optimis- tically uncertain about what the future might bring, you should still create a plan. You may not follow it exactly — or at all — but you'll be better off for having it. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Wishing for a dif- ferent emotional makeup is silly. You feel how you feel, and you really can't do much about it. Also, you can't help your basic temperament. You were born with it. The best way forward is to embrace who you are and recognize the many gifts that come along with that. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You're mighty creative this week, and sometimes this makes relatively easy tasks such as getting dressed or making a sandwich seem diffi cult. You turn things around and around in your mind, asking new questions and drawing fresh conclusions. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) You have en- tered special rooms before and felt the healing, uplifting energy of them bouncing back and forth between the walls. This week, go to a place where the energy can revive your spirit, or create a sanctuary of your own. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Just because you're in the creative fl ow doesn't mean things will work out perfectly. Something you've done with good intentions can now unquestionably be considered a mistake. Don't despair. It can be fi xed. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Though you like to save and reuse items as much as possible, your storage might be too full to accommodate all you want to hold on to. This is an excellent week for letting go of what you will not, in all likelihood, put to good use anytime soon. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You might be accused of bouncing around from one thing to the next without seeing the fi rst thing through to its conclusion. Explain that you thrive when there's a variety of infl uences around you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You've changed and may doubt that the change is for the better. Of course it is. You are always doing your best. Childhood memories and people you used to know will play a key role in your reaction to what's going on in your life. You'll honor a bit of your past and then release it, making way for a new adventure. By Holiday Mathis Take Marketing Matters Into Your Own Hands We can help market your business right and put it at the fingertips of customers in two ways. In print and online! www.upandcomingweekly.com. Look for it online now at ADVICE GODDESS Have a Peasant Day Your answer to "Roseless," the woman bemoaning her boyfriend's lack of "romantic ambition," hit a nerve with me. My wife of 19 years and I shared equally in raising our three children. She only sort of "works" now, but I do the home chores and all the cooking — while running a very stressful business that keeps her shopping habit afl oat. She can buy all the expensive shoes she wants; however, like Roseless, she complains that I don't buy her fl owers … enough. I don't write cute Post-it notes. When I have grudgingly bought fl owers or left a note that I'm at the gym and drawn a heart on it, I've been amazed at how appreciative she's been. Well, I resent this. I'll cook a gourmet meal or be under the sink changing the garbage disposal, and I make enough money to put us in the 1 percent, but all that comes up short. — Workhorse Your wife's longing for romantic Connecting a Community 208 Rowan St. 910.484.6200 trinketry can be explained by a quote from evolutionary psychologist Dr. David Barash: "Sperm are cheap. Eggs are expensive." This is shorthand for the physiological differences between men and women and the differing male and female psychologies that evolved out of them. As I wrote to "Roseless," women evolved to seek commitment cues from men — signs they're emotionally attached. Bringing home the bacon (and gourmet cooking it, too) is important, but what's essential to many women are all those sweetiepookiewookie shows of affection. You'd like to point out that your chore wheel is not a Ferris wheel. Or is it? You mention that you're in "the 1 percent." If I were even in the 5 percent, I'd hire people to do just about everything for me except get out of bed. But, maybe you're secretly into feeling superior. The need to be right tends to be a stumbling block to being happy. Your marriage would probably be happier if you treated your problem wife like a problem employee (assuming you'd explain how he needs to improve, not throw fl owers on his desk and storm out of his offi ce in a huff). Take her to dinner and tell her you love her but have been feeling a little hurt. Tell her what you need: regular notice of and thanks for all you do to keep your life together running. Once you're feeling more appreciated, maybe you can ditch some of your John of Arc routine. You're rich! Hire a handyman! Spend Saturday having sexy time together in a swank hotel instead of feeling morally superior that she's out shoe shopping and you're under the sink snaking gunk out of the drain. Amy Alkon Amy Alkon all rights reserved. FEB. 29 - MARCH 6, 2012 UCW 23