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.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/80536
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD First Amendment Blues: (1) A bar in Horry County, S.C., named the Suck Bang Blow filed a lawsuit in May challenging the county's new ordinance prohibiting motorcyclists' "burnouts" (engine- revving with back-tire-spinning, creating smoke — and enormous noise). The bar claims that burnouts are important expressions of its customers' "manliness and macho" and as such are protected by the First Amendment. (2) Luigi Bellavite complained to reporters in Mountain View, Colo., in July that the theft of his "Vote Satan" yard sign ought to be prosecuted as a "hate crime" under state law — as he is a member of the Church of Satan. Police called it an ordinary theft. [Sun News (Myrtle Beach), 6-10- 2012] [KMGH-TV (Denver), 7-2-2012] Government in Action! Miniature golf is remarkably simple to play, requiring neither experience nor much exertion, and even toddlers can negotiate their own brand of fun on the course. However, in March, a set of "accessible design" standards went into effect, under the Americans With Disabilities Act, governing such things as the "slope" of courses (maximum 1:4 rise on some holes), the maximum length of the blades if artificial turf is used, and the minimum area of the "tee- off" landing (48 inches by 60 inches, with a slope not steeper than 1:48). [CNS News, 6-26-2012] The only unlimited-issue U.S. visa allowing fast-lane entrance for certain foreign workers is the O-1, available to those (e.g., scientists, technology engineers) who, in the opinion of the State Department, demonstrate "extraordinary ability." Reuters reported in June that an O-1 recently went to British journalist Piers Morgan, whose extraordinariness seems limited to replacing Larry King on his CNN interview program, and another to Shera Bechard, Playboy's Miss November 2010, whose other accomplishment seems to be the creation of an online photo- sharing experience called "Frisky Friday." [Reuters, 6-29-2012] Canadian rap singer Manu Militari was, until earlier this year, sufficiently patriotic to have received more than $100,000 in government grants that originated with the Canadian Heritage department. However, a June video released ahead of his new album "L'Attente" portrayed Afghan Taliban fighters targeting a convoy of Canadian soldiers, planting a roadside bomb and aiming their rifles at the Canadians' heads. Over 150 Canadian soldiers have died fighting the Taliban and their insurgent allies. [National Post, 6-29-2012] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY For the Week of September 2, 2012 ARIES (March 21-April 19)If you share what's on your mind, you'll soon discover that you're not the only one wondering about a certain something. Wondering together is more fun — plus, you'll generate more answers as a team. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) The more creative a person is the better that person is at culling from disparate infl uences to build something remarkable. You are such a person this week; ordinary solutions hold no interest. Your imagi- nation will ignite as you learn about different vocations and cultures. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) Sometimes you have the stuff fi rst, and you look for the right container to keep it in. Other times, the con- tainer will come fi rst, and you get to decide what to put in it. This week brings the latter situation. You'll be inspired by empty boxes, blank pages and blocks of unscheduled time. Chuck Sheppard CANCER (June 22-July 22) Doing what every- one else is doing will foster a sense of belonging that feels appropriate right now as you recover from a period of isolation. Don't worry about coming across as just another face in the crowd. You could never be generic, even if you tried. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Putting the cart before the horse is a mistake. Pros know that when you have a good enough horse, you don't even need a cart; it's just extra baggage that will slow you down. This year you'll get where you're going quickly because you travel light. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Shortly after alight- ing on the best idea ever, you'll speculate about all of the reasons it's really not. You're not being pessimistic; you're just being practical. Skepti- cism is a key part of the process. By putting your ideas to the test, you'll hone them to true greatness. WE'RE ALL ADVICE GODDESS Bride and Zoom LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You recognize that people gain tremendous self-worth from being able to do things for themselves, and you don't want to take away that benefi t by making some- one dependent on you. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Though you sometimes feel like you don't have options, this is silly. You have people, lot's of people, and space to create your life. Remind yourself of the many choices available to you to avoid taking them for granted. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Sometimes you have to leave to really appreciate home. Sometimes you have to leave to see what's wrong with it. Either way, travel always changes things for you. That's why you crave the excite- ment of distant places this week. You're ready for a change! CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The right pen is an extension of your brain. It doesn't make you work to record you thoughts. It is instead a vessel through which you can smoothly pour your thoughts. Update the tools you use most in daily life. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) The best work you do will appear to have required no effort at all. So don't be surprised, or take it too person- ally, if people undervalue it. You know. That's what's most important. And don't worry. You'll get your due. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Keeping track of yourself isn't diffi cult once it's part of your routine. It's a habit worth establishing because of its tremendous value to your mental health. There will be a time when you'll want to re- member what you said, spent and did and with whom. An activity log will be your touchstone in the future. By Holiday Mathis marrying the man of my dreams. We've only known each other for two months, but we're in the Peace Corps. You really see the core of a person when conditions are not so comfy. We're planning on traveling home to get married on our next monthly break. (We get two days off.) Afterward, we'll have a big celebration back here with all our local friends. My best friend's begging me to slow down, but my parents married two weeks after meeting, and that worked out. Marrying now feels very romantic and like the most right thing I've ever wanted to do. What's wrong with saying yes to romance? — Excited I'm in love, and I just said yes to You say you're in love, but it's the part of love that can't be trusted — the infatuation stage. Anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher and her colleagues found that infatuation correlates with a surge in the neurotransmitter dopamine, and Fisher told Psychology Today that infatuation shares elements of a cocaine high — "sleeplessness, loss of a sense of time, Amy Alkon absolute focus on love to the detriment of all around you." In other words, getting married now is like signing a binding lifetime contract while on an extended coke bender. EARS 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. is like a grabby toddler, prone to go for immediate rewards without weighing the consequences. Later, it comes back around and does the adult job of justifying all of its unwise choices. For you, even the absurdity of marrying somebody you barely know becomes a justifi cation: "I'm not an idiot; in fact, I'm bright! So marrying somebody I just met isn't idiotic; it's romantic!" You also turn your parents' marital impulsivity into precedent. Guess what: They were dumb — and lucky. They turned out to be compatible, as you two may — or may not — two years from now, once you're back in the land where chicken is something sold in shrink-wrap, not something that hops across your head at night. Waiting to get married doesn't It doesn't help that the human brain 208 Rowan St. Fayetteville, NC 28301 910.484.6200 preclude you from throwing a party. Use those two days back home to invite your friends to celebrate with you, to witness you experiencing the joys so many of us take for granted — hot showers, doing laundry in a washing machine, and encountering enormous bugs, but only the kind that come with a three-year/36,000- mile warranty. Amy Alkon all rights reserved. AUG. 29 - SEPT. 4, 2012 UCW 23 www.upandcomingweekly.com