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 Britain's ITV1 television network announced plans in April to accept "prop placements" to blend into production of its new reality talent show in which actors compete for the lead role in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. The network said, for example, that it was seeking coffee machines, which piqued the interest of the De'Longhi brand manager, who offered its top-of- the-line Magnifica ESAM4200 and, according to its public relations firm, suggested perhaps interrupting the play's climactic song "The Crucifixion" while Jesus savors a cup brewed from the Magnifica. An April report in London's The Independent noted that the opera's composer, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, was on board with the idea, but that the original lyricist, Sir Tim Rice, called it "tasteless" and "tacky." [The Independent, 4-10-2012] What Goes Around NOTE: From time to time, News of WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY For the Week of June 3, 2012 ARIES (March 21-April 19) There are certain survival skills everyone should know how to do — like build a fi re or perform CPR. You may never need these skills in your lifetime, but knowing how to execute tasks such as these gives you an inner confi dence that translates into other areas of your life. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Truth is not always factual, especially in the realm of art. Artistic truth has to do with consistency and resonance. In other words, there's an authen- ticity to it, and it adheres to its own rules. You'll be moved by the truth this week, but you should note that the facts might not be 100 percent accurate. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) You make a promise this week. You might not say "I promise," but something about what you say or how you say it suggests that you will deliver entertainment, safety or special treatment to another person. Chuck Sheppard CANCER (June 22-July 22) Anyone who takes vitamins, flosses or makes the bed in the morning inherently realizes the differ- ence that a few minutes a day can make in the long term of a life. This is a prime week to adopt a daily habit that takes less than 30 minutes but adds health, well-being, happi- ness and possibly years to your life. the Weird reminds readers that bizarre human adventures repeat themselves again and again. Here are some choice selections of previous themes recently coming around again (plus a couple of updates on earlier stories): Each spring in Dongyang, China, the aroma of urine is in the air— specifically, the town's specialty of eggs boiled in the discharge of young boys (under age 10, typically gathered "fresh" from toilets at local schools). Townspeople have believed for centuries that the eggs, properly cooked, bring health and prosperity. "By eating these eggs," one shopper told a Reuters reporter in March, "we will not have any pain in our waists, legs and joints. Also, you will have more energy when you work." In fact, Dongyang officials have proudly proclaimed "virgin boy eggs" as an "intangible cultural heritage." [Reuters, 3-29-2012] LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) When you were small, you outgrew toys in a matter of months or years. Still, you recognize that there's a cycle for everything. What you once found tempting is no longer interesting to you. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You'll draw a benefi t from the freshness of positive situations. It's not, as they say, "all good," though. Accepting a nega- tive element within and around you is the fi rst step to overcoming it. ADVICE GODDESS Wedding Her Whistle LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You may feel stuck this week, but you can be sure that on some level you are wiggling free of limitations. Your feelings, perceptions, ideas and consciousness form a larger identity. All of the elements of you are constantly changing. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) The route to your destination won't be a direct fl ight. You could blame timing or economic and logistical factors, but more than likely the winding path is a function of destiny's intent for you to learn more than you wanted to know. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Real friends don't ask you to change who you are in order to suit their needs and purposes. They may make requests of you, but those requests don't include "be someone else." You'll ap- preciate your true friends this week. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Each encounter is an opportunity. You may feel as though you are bound by a routine, but this is an illusion. Recognize the currents of newness and excitement fl owing through your life this week, and take advantage of them. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Your internal GPS system is not entirely updated with the maps for this new frontier you're exploring. You'll fi ll in the blanks by turning down mys- terious roads to see where they lead. It doesn't matter which road you choose, as long as you continue the momentum, wind in your hair. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Because you're so multifaceted, you sometimes forget who you are. This week the forgetfulness will benefi t you, as you won't worry so much about wheth- er what you're doing is "really you." Instead, you'll do what you're drawn toward, what feels like fun and what makes your heart sing. By Holiday Mathis your TEAM PLAYERS... Those who improved • Those who shined Those who simply enjoyed the time! Now it's time to award I just turned 26, and I'm ready to be married. My previous two boyfriends dragged their feet and then said the blood-boiling line: "I will marry you … someday." I met a guy online, and we initiated a relationship on the basis that he was ready for marriage. Four months after our fi rst kiss, I broke up with him after he, too, expressed hesitation about marriage. He insisted that he loves me but is hesitating because I have a drinking problem and PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder). Once a month, I take everything that I love and tear it to shreds — as if in a werewolf state. I come to, devastated by my actions. I need structure and commitment from a loving partner for strength, and an engagement now would help me transcend my conditions. He wants me to do it alone and wants to see improvement before he commits. I want to make him realize how cruel he was in insisting in his profi le that he was ready for marriage and not following through. — Unwed You don't marry a guy because your hormones turn you into a werewolf once a month and you need somebody to bolt the exits Amy Alkon so no sheep or cattle go missing. Per psychiatrist Dr. Emily Deans in one of my previous columns, biochemical options for dialing down turbo PMS include the 24-day or three-month birth control pill; the antidepressant bupropion; magnesium malate supplementation (500 milligrams at bedtime); and cycling from a low-carb diet to a higher-carb, low- protein diet three days to a week before your period starts. Addiction treatment specialist Dr. And once again this spring, the Chinese marked the Qingming holiday with celebrations honoring the dead by making offerings to their deceased relatives. At the "tomb-sweeping" festival, people present paper replicas of items their ancestors are believed to need in the afterlife. Uncreative relatives give play money, but the offerings can be elaborate, such as shoes, cars and TV sets, or this year's hot item — paper iPads, which were selling in Hong Kong for the equivalent of about $3. [The Register (London), 3-29-2012] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Ask about our FREE Coaches Award Two Great Businesses Under One Roof! www.trophyhouseinc.com 3006 Bragg Blvd. 910.323.1791 Frederick Woolverton writes in his very helpful book, Unhooked, that at the heart of any addiction is avoidance of suffering. Instead of feeling uncomfortable feelings and dealing with them, you hold their little heads down and drown them in a pond of cheap gin. And instead of doing the grown-up thing and working to overcome your addiction, you decide that the "power greater than yourself" will be the groom. But, only when you don't need a man to feel whole are you healthy enough to choose one for the right reasons. Then you see, over time (a year, at the very least), whether you and he make sense together. Marriage is a lifetime commitment, not a lifeboat to rescue you from your troubles already in progress: "Do you take this woman… to have and to hold, and to hold her hair back as she's driving the porcelain bus? Okay then! You may now detox the bride!" Amy Alkon all rights reserved. MAY 30 - JUNE 5, 2012 UCW 23