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/93329
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD "Coming Up Next! The Resurrection! Live!": "If the Messiah descends from the Mount of Olives as foretold in the Bible," wrote the Los Angeles Times in an October dispatch from Jerusalem, the two largest Christian television networks in the U.S. promise to cover the arrival live from a hilltop in the city. Daystar Television has already been beaming a 24/7 webcam view, and Trinity Broadcasting Network bought the building next door to Daystar's in September and has already begun staging live and pre-recorded programs using the broad expanse of the Holy Land city as background. [Los Angeles Times, 10-1-2012] Once again, in September, the upscale Standard Hotel, in New York City's lower Manhattan, made headlines for the views it provides to amazed pedestrians. In 2009, it was the hotel's floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing amorous couples at play (unless the guests knew to draw the curtains), especially delighting out-of-towners seeking inexpensive entertainment. Now, a September 2012 report in the New York Daily News revealed that the restrooms at the hotel's Boom-Boom Room restaurant posed a bigger problem: no curtains at all. One restroom user, from Australia, said, "Sitting on the royal throne, you don't expect a public viewing." [New York Daily News, 9-11-2012] Valerie Spruill, 60, of Doylestown, Ohio, disclosed publicly in September that she had unknowingly married her own father following the dissolution of her first marriage, which had produced three children. Percy Spruill, a "nice man," she said, died in 1998, and Valerie told the Akron Beacon Journal that she had heard family rumors after that but only confirmed the parentage in 2004 (with DNA from an old hairbrush). After eight years of silence, from embarrassment, she went public, she said, as an example to help other women who come from tumultuous childhoods in which many men are in their mothers' lives. [Akron Beacon Journal, 9-8-2012] Earlier this year, the National Football League suspended some New Orleans Saints players and the head coach for having a reward system that paid players for purposely injuring opponents. In September, coach Darren Crawford of the Tustin (Calif.) Pee Wee Red Cobras team was suspended when former players reported that the coach ran an apparently similar scheme among his 10- and 11-year-olds, using a cash reward of up to $50 for the "hit of the game" (with last year's top prize going to the boy who left an opposing running back with a mild concussion). At press time, the investigation was ongoing, and no charges had been filed. [Orange County Register, 9-27-2012] Can't Possibly Be True COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Chuck Sheppard WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY For the Week of November 18, 2012 ARIES (March 21-April 19) Think of the vast stretch of time before and after this lifetime. You're in the sweet spot now, the blip of a moment in which you can experience and infl uence all that life has to offer. This is not something to take for granted. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Avoidance tactics can be extremely useful unless the thing you are avoiding is also the thing that would make your life better, easier and more satisfying. Get fi rm with yourself if you're to stay on track and be accountable for everything you want to do. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) "Class" is: being able to take pride in who you are while simulta- neously accepting other cultures and tradi- tions. Because you don't go out of your way to compare or compete with others, you will be accepted in interesting and exclusive situations. CANCER (June 22-July 22) You are as emo- tionally fl uid as water. You feel a responsibility to nurture everyone around you, even those who are supposedly in charge. You sense that you are an important part of this planet's heal- ing process. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) There's a special spark of energy inside you that's ready to light up the world. Lately, you've been choosy about how and where to release it, or if you even should. But this week something happens, and you feel you have no choice. The perfect chemical con- ditions will occur, and the tiny spark will ignite. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Feeling unpre- pared is common for overachievers like you. The truth is, you have more going for you than you think. And whatever you lack, you can make up the difference with your charm. Much depends on a confi dent delivery. ADVICE GODDESS The Way of the Nail Gun LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) What some people don't understand is that empathy is not some- thing you try to do. You're part of the human family. Your empathy is an extension of that. You're just doing what comes naturally to you. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Your love life might seem quiet but not altogether nonex- istent. For instance, the way a certain person looks at you will make you feel marvelous. Quiet is much preferred to the drama and hub- bub you've experienced at other times. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You know someone who has one single all-important ambi- tion and is driving toward it. Though you admire this person, you still prefer not to put all of your eggs in one basket. You want to have fun as you strive for success, and this week fun and diversity go hand in hand. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) What's stopping you from asking for what you want? Maybe you're avoiding being straightforward with someone because you don't want to hurt their feelings. Keep in mind that it's not what you say but how you say it that will matter. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You'll fi nd that you're suddenly closer to the one with whom you've been spending time. All the signs are there; the laughter and teasing tell you there's something special between you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) There's some- thing in you that wants to entertain people and make them smile. You have an inkling that you could create a special experience. You don't want to be admired for making an excellent impression; you just want to know that others experienced a bit of magic. By Holiday Mathis The Holiday Season A time to express Thank-You and love to family, friends and co-workers. nd co-workers. wonderful man who makes me incredibly happy. He was there for me throughout my breast cancer, making me feel sexy, beautiful, and loved. I'm 43, divorced fi ve years. He's 41, never married, and his longest relationship was with a train wreck of an alcoholic on house arrest (I know, red fl ag). Six months ago, he moved in with his dad (45 minutes away) after his dad asked him to help renovate a house he bought to fl ip. We text daily and sometimes talk on the phone for 10 minutes, but I only see him every two weeks for a weekend. I'm lonely every day. I miss the day-to-day of coming home to the person who loves you, cooking together, working through life together. Realizing the renovation will take more than another two years, I asked him whether he'd ever consider moving in with me. He said he's already unpacked and it would be a pain to move again. Couples marry and have babies in the time we've been dating! He says they'll all be divorced in fi ve years and we'll still be together, which could be true. I just don't know how to get past wanting more. — Empty House My boyfriend of four years is a stuffers and year-end awards! Visit us for your stocking Two Great Businesses Under One Roof! Hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. M-F www.trophyhouseinc.com 3006 Bragg Blvd. 910.323.1791 man you love to be around to cook dinner with you isn't exactly a freakish sexual fetish. Still, he isn't a bad person if he doesn't want that — just a bad person for you. But, consider that his relocation to Home Sweet Home Depot might stem from some emotional itchiness on his part. Maybe it's overwhelming when a woman just needs him because she loves him and not because she can't get to the liquor store herself while wearing her state-supplied ankle jewelry or because she's too weak to hitchhike to chemo. Whatever your boyfriend's problem, it's making your happiness come a distant second to his dad's need to reface the cabinets. This isn't entirely his fault. It might be worth it to him to work through his commitment heebie- jeebies or whatever, but you can't just hint at what's bothering you (asking whether he'd "ever consider moving in"). You need to tell him fl at-out that you're miserable without somebody there day to day. This tells him he'd better come through, or he'll lose you. (Spell that out if it needs spelling.) As for your priorities, you emailed me some wise words from your oncologist: "You deserve to be happy. You only get one life, and you worked really hard to keep yours." This suggests that the right guy for you will be there for you because you're there and alive and you want to be with him; you won't need to dress up as a leaky faucet to get his attention. Amy Alkon all rights reserved. Wanting the Amy Alkon NOVEMBER 14-20, 2012 UCW 23