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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DECEMBER 30 - JANUARY 5, 2016 UCW 19 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM ADVICE GODDESS The Platonic Plague My girlfriend's "best friend" is a straight guy. I trust that she THINKS he's just her friend. However, as a guy, I know that if he could hit it, he would. FYI, I'm not really a jealous or insecure person, and my guy friends complain about this same scenario, so this can't just be my stuff. — Annoyed Sorry to be less-than-reassuring, but you and your guy friends are right: For many men, the friend zone is a holding area where they wait to Mr. Sneaky back- massage their way into the sexfriend zone. In a study of 88 opposite-sex friendships by evolutionary psychologist April Bleske-Rechek, men were more attracted to their female friend than vice versa and more likely to assume she also had the hots for them — a belief bearing little correspondence to how the woman actually felt. Women, on the other hand, tended to assume their male friend had only platonic intentions. Bleske-Rechek's findings align with research by evolutionary psychologists Martie Haselton and David Buss suggesting that we evolved to make protective mistakes in perception — erring in favor of whatever assumption would be least costly to our mating and survival interests. Men tend to overestimate women's attraction to them because they lose more by missing a possible mating opportunity than by making asses of themselves hitting on a woman who isn't interested (and, in fact, would eat a live pigeon to avoid having sex with them). Women, however, tend to underestimate men's interest, because they have a lot to lose from believing a cad will stick around to be a dad. You aren't without options here, though it's probably best to refrain from dusting off the old flintlock and challenging the guy to a duel at dawn. Showing jealousy suggests you have reason to feel threatened (like maybe he really is all that). Instead, simply be the better deal. Consistently show your girlfriend that you've got what women evolved to prioritize in men — a willingness to invest time, energy, and resources — like by really listening when she talks instead of uh-huhing her while blowing up alien invaders on your phone. Do this stuff not because you're afraid of losing her (which stinks of desperation) but because you haven't forgotten that you love her. And as a show of how secure you are, maybe even encourage her to hang with him — that is, whenever she's all "Golly, it's been months since I spent the better part of an hour at the mall trying to decide between two slightly different vanilla-scented candles." Copyright Amy Alkon WEEKLY HOROSCOPES NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD As if 2015 weren't bad enough for the Department of Homeland Security (e.g., in June, internal DHS tests revealed that its Transportation Security Administration failed to stop 67 of 70 guns passing through airport screeners), a U.S. congressman revealed in December that, based on a congressional staff investigation, 72 DHS employees currently appear on the FBI's terrorist watch list. He admitted to Boston Public Radio that DHS's record makes him squeamish about our ability to vet Syrian refugees. (Being on the FBI list is not a prohibited category for buying guns, either, and in fact, the Government Accountability Office reported that 91 percent of listees' attempts to purchase guns in the last 10 years succeeded.) [WGBH Radio (Boston), 12-6- 2015] [Washington Post, 11-16-2015] The Continuing Crisis The vice president of human resources at The Washington Post issued a formal memo in December to reassure female employees in its sleek new office building that people in the seveth floor's central "hub" could definitely not see up their skirts as they walked on the indoor eighth-floor balcony overhang, even through the clear glass barriers. The memo cited HR's "multiple" futile attempts, from many viewing angles, to see no-no's, and thus concluded that the ladies are safe. Nonetheless, the memo encouraged all employees, when in the seventh floor "hub," not to look up. [Washingtonian, 12-9-2015] Leading Economic Indicators Dr. Raymond Schinazi was a federal government employee when he led the team that discovered sofosbuvir, which completely cures hepatitis C patients with an 84-pill regimen, but, as he recently told CBS News, he only worked for the government "7/8th's" of the time — and, conveniently, it was during the other 1/8th that he found sofosbuvir. He admits now that he made $400 million selling his sofosbuvir company in 2012 to Gilead Sciences, which famously set sofosbuvir's price for 84 pills to $84,000. Now, the Department of Veterans Affairs, with 233,000 war vets with hep-C, tells Congress that it needs much more money, even though Gilead has "cut" the VA's price in half (to $42,000 per treatment, or $9.66 billion). (In a 2013 medical journal, Dr. Schinazi revealed that sofosbuvir could be manufactured for about $17 a pill, or $1,400 for an entire treatment.) [CBS News, 12-1-2015] 2015 COPYRIGHT CHUCK SHEPPARD ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, you are familiar with the expression, "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach." This week you have bitten off a project that is just too much to chew. Enlist some help. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, you are on a roll, and now it is only a matter of maintaining momentum for a few more days. Don't let anyone slow you down this week. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, you may not know where your path is taking you, but you are fully aware that an adventure is in store. Take some time to prepare for the unknown that lies ahead. CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22 Learning from your mistakes can help you to grow, Cancer. Accept a challenge presented to you this week, even if it scares you. You may find it's not so challenging after all. LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23 Leo, many opportunities are within reach, but you are just not sure which way to go. Seek advice from Pisces when you get a spare moment. VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22 Virgo, no one will know what you're like deep inside unless you share a few secrets. You don't have to give everything away, but let some information slip out. LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23 Some can see straight past your protective facade, Libra. So why not take it off and simply let others see the real you? You won't be disappointed, and neither will they. SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22 Now is not a time to drag your feet, Scorpio. You have a full slate of tasks to tackle, and it seems like the hours will slip away quickly. Recharge and refocus. SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21 Sagittarius, you never shy away from a challenge, but you also know when to pick your battles. If something arises this week that seems a waste of time, pass it by. CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20 Capricorn, when a past conflict pops up this week, push it aside. It is better to focus on the positive things that are in store for you rather than problems from the past. AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18 Don't let anyone tell you that you can't accomplish something, Aquarius. As you have proven time and again, you simply need to set a goal in your sights to get things done. PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20 Pisces, when you love someone, it can be difficult to step aside and let that person make his or her own mistakes. Be patient. Amy Alkon Chuck Sheppard Kids will spend 22 minutes watching stuff like this on TV. How about two minutes to brush their teeth? Brushing for two minutes now can save your child from severe tooth pain later. Two minutes, twice a day. They have the time. For fun, 2-minute videos to watch while brushing, go to 2min2x.org. ©2012 Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives T:7" T:10"