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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30 UCW APRIL 6-12, 2016 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM ADVICE GODDESS Slight Of Hand - My boyfriend mistakenly sent me a text meant for somebody else — a real estate agent with my same first name who's showing him apartments. This made me feel like I'm unimportant — easily confused with just anybody — and I got really upset. Of course, I know that he was just busy and multitasking. And despite knowing that he really loves me, I blow up like this a lot. — Overreactor Your boyfriend's mix-up was the sleep- eating version of texted communication. You ultimately know that, but no sooner did you get that text than your feelings started hammering on you. Because fear comes up fast and there's all this energy behind it, it's easy to believe it's telling you something you need to hear — and follow. But it helps to understand what neuroscience has discovered — that emotions are automatic reactions to something in your environment. They rise up (out of a sea of biochemicals) without your doing a thing. (It's not like you have to nag, "Hey, life-sucking depression, you never visit anymore.") Rational thought, however, takes work. You have to coax it up and give it an assignment, and then (lazy bastard) it right away starts pushing for a nap. It is possible to pull reason into the mix before your emotions drag your boyfriend off for a beating. This takes preplanning — and the use, in the moment, of a technique called "cognitive reappraisal," which involves reinterpreting your emotion-driven view of a situation in less emotional terms. Basically, you explore the boring alternatives. Say your boyfriend's slow in texting you back. So…lack of respect (boohoo!) — or lack of phone, because the dodohead dropped it in the toilet again? This isn't to say your alternate explanation is correct. But the immediate goal of cognitive reappraisal is not judging the truth, the whole truth, blah, blah, blah. Through your considering alternate possibilities, cognitive neuroscientist Jason Buhle and his colleagues find that you divert the action in your brain from the stress and anxiety department (Freakout Central) to the thinky parts — like the prefrontal cortex. This allows reason to put on its Coke-bottle glasses and have a closer look at what's really going on. This, in turn, will keep you from contributing to the notion many men have that we women are operating on one flickering bar of rationality. The way they see it, we have our marching orders — and we get them from outer space, via our hair accessories. Copyright Amy Alkon WEEKLY HOROSCOPES NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD In March, U. S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of t he House Rules Commit tee, int roduced a resolut ion to recognize "magic" as one of America's "nat ional t reasure(s)," backed by a 711-word paean urging all to "suppor t and protect " t he storied craf t — which needs to be "understood and promulgated," especially given t hat, according to Sessions, it "requires only t he capacit y to dream." Sessions made no link of magic to resolv ing ot her congressional business (such as, for inst ance, ending t he st ring of 64 consecut ive failed votes to repeal t he A f fordable Care Act). [Polit ico, 3-15-2016] [H.Res. 642] Leading Economic Indicators People Wit h Too Much Money: Resident s on London's swank iest st reet (Kensing ton Palace Gardens), st y mied in ef for t s to build upward on t heir relat ively small lot s, instead plan elaborate " basement s"— ex tending as far as f ive stories dow n, w it h elevators, sw imming pools, g y ms, climbing walls and one even w it h a "Ferris wheel" for dialing up t he resident 's daily choice among his several cars. However, embassies are located on t he st reet and have challenged t he const ruct ion chaos as of fending t heir sovereignt y under internat ional law. Recent rest rict ions limit t he basement s to one stor y dow n, but billionaire ent repreneur Jon Hunt 's f ive stories are grandfat hered in (t hough his "Ferris wheel" appears to have been shelved). [Washington Post, 3-4-2016] New World Order Myster y f ict ion has always been a popular genre, but now, readers who prefer t hat t heir crimes be solved by cat s have several series of brilliant felines to choose f rom. A s The Wall Street Journal repor ted in Februar y, t he major cont roversy sw irling at "cat f ic t ion" convent ions is whet her t he clever k it t ies should advance t he plot by speak ing. " We all t alk to our pet s," noted one best- selling aut hor, "and most of us imagine t he ot her side of t he dialog ue." (Among t he set s boast ing more t han a million copies are t he Joe Greys, t he Klepto Cats, t he Cat Shout for Joy suite, and t he recent ly concluded, 29-volume run of Cat Who book s, e.g., The Cat Who Could Read Back wards.) [ Wall Street Journal, 2-29-2016] COPYRIGHT CHUCK SHEPPARD ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, you are ready to get moving and have a lot of momentum behind you. This is an ideal time to reach your goals. Don't let your confidence waver. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, this week it is better to trust your heart instead of your head. Sometimes you have to let your emotions guide your actions, and your gut could be telling you something. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, you have good news to share and you are eager to reconnect with some friends or coworkers. Just complete prior commitments before you begin making plans to socialize. CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22 Cancer, things in your life seem to be growing more challenging by the day. Make a list and tackle things as they come up so you don't start to feel overwhelmed. LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23 A few possibilities intrigue you, Leo, but you don't yet know just where you are going to direct your creative energy. Think it through a little longer. VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22 Virgo, you may feel like you can ignore your responsibilities this week, but you cannot. Although you have plenty of free time coming up, you have lots to do before then. LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23 Libra, someone close to you isn't on board with your point of view. You can't please everyone all of the time. Stay the course if you feel it is right. SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22 Scorpio, something is on your mind you need to share your feelings. Resist the urge to hold your tongue. Honesty is the best policy in your book. SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21 Sagittarius, you are having a lot of fun now that you made it through a rather extensive to- do list. You can finally rest and breathe a little easier. Make some time for yourself. CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20 Capricorn, a busy schedule is proving problematic because so many people are demanding some face time and you want to help them all. However, you will have to pick and choose. AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18 Your amicable nature and willingness to let go of your own personal agenda makes it relatively easy for you to interact with a lot of people this week, Aquarius. PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20 Pisces, think of ways to increase your income this week. Explore all of your options, even if they mean going out of your comfort zone. Amy Alkon FREE Community Papers Because sometimes the world is... ...right where you live. "74.4% of Community Paper Readers Make Their Buying Decisions from Free Paper Advertising and Editorial Content." Paper Name Address Phone Connecting a Community CSCSG www.upandcomingweekly.com 910.484.6200 FREE Community Papers Because sometimes the world is... ...right where you live. "74.4% of Community Paper Readers Make Their Buying Decisions from Free Paper Advertising and Editorial Content." Paper Name Address Phone Connecting a Community CSCSG