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        Today I went grocery shopping and got to watch quite a few families go by with their grocery carts or checking out in front of me. Let me tell you — not only was I stunned at the reality of the “standard American diet” (SAD for an ironic acronym), but just how dangerous our stores have become — simply by carrying foods designed to kill us.
        The scenario — not uncommon at all as most everyone I saw here shops the same way, unfolds with a family and their two children checking out in front of me. All of them had some measure of dangerous weight problems but the cart was laden with frozen foods, sweets, soda and two giant bottles of Hawaiian Punch. The only real food was a small bunch of bananas. Everything was full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated fats! All addictive and all poison to our body.{mosimage}
        Summer is probably one of the most crucial seasons for healthy eating. Why you might ask? Well, for starters, we are finally out of the multiple holiday seasons that bombard us with sugars and fats. We are all thinking about the pool or beach as well as swim suits and have more skin exposed (making us self-conscious).
        This means that with the increased activity — and increased heat — our body is going to demand more water and good fuel to make it through the day. If we don’t give it that, we are making our bodies work on nothing but sugar and bad fats — we are actually starting to force it to break down.
        A great way to face this is just like our finances. What we are really doing is writing checks our body can’t cash (yes, I remember the old saying). We’re going into health bankruptcy. The difference is there’s no starting over — you HAVE to make changes or ultimately the body breaks down to a point of no return. As our state of health declines, we go further into debt — sometimes even financially as now we have to pay for medications.
        So to start reversing this, we need to look at two things: exercise and nutrition. Let’s start with exercise. JUST START MOVING! It’s that simple when you are starting out. All you need to do is carve out two 20-minute periods during the week where you make yourself move. In the beginning, it might be simply walking, which is fine until it becomes easy (once it’s easy, walking is no longer an exercise. Sorry, but it’s true). However, what you must add to your walk is some body weight squatting (I’ll have an article on that soon), push-ups and shoulder presses. Let’s make our workouts improve our lives, not just work up a sweat in some air conditioned gym. By that, it needs to be functional and those exercises will improve every aspect of your physical activity. Mix them up — walk for two minutes and then do 10 repetitions of each exercise. Do that repeatedly until 10 to 20 minutes are up. For many of us, that’s more than we’ve ever done before.
        Nutrition? CrossFit founder Greg Glassman, recommends meat (protein), vegetables (low-glycemic carbs), nuts and seeds (good healthy fats), some fruit (more good carbs), and NO SUGAR. It really is that easy. The problem is we are conditioned to eat sugar laden starches which our bodies are not capable of readily metabolizing. Yes, I know what the food pyramid tells us, but how well is it working? Take a look around. Next, eat several times a day consisting of small quantities of the good foods above, starting with breakfast. That truly is the best way to rev up the metabolism. From there, make sure you’re getting in all three nutrients — protein, fat and carbohydrates — at every setting, regardless of snack or meal.
        Remember though, as the metabolism slows down and the body stores more and more fat, it will take time to lose the weight in a healthy manner. STICK WITH IT! Let’s start making “aggressive” health deposits in the bank and get ourselves out of health and wellness bankruptcy.
        E-mail your questions to John Velandra at: designsinfitness@att.net. Or call him at (910) 306-3142. John is a certified personal trainer and the owner of CrossFit Cape Fear and Designs In Fitness Personal Training Services in Fayetteville. You can visit online at www.designsinfitness.net or www.crossfitcapefear.com

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        In the Bible, we see a man who did it all. A man with great riches, great houses, great women and great wisdom…but in the end he questioned its meaning. Solomon was both wealthy and famous. In Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 (NIV), he writes, “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’ What does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?”
         Solomon claimed at least four areas were “utterly meaningless.” First, wisdom is meaningless. In 1:13, Solomon says “I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven…all of them are meaningless.” Wisdom (by itself) is meaningless.
         Secondly, pleasure is meaningless. He tried to find meaning in everything from fine wine to laughter, from large homes to sex (having 700 wives and 300 concubines). Solomon said, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure…everything was meaningless” (2:10-11).{mosimage}
         Third, work is meaningless. He poured his efforts into hard labor. Even as king, he did not find meaning and purpose in life. Solomon said, “a man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work…but this too is meaningless.” (2:26).
         Fourth, money is meaningless. He turns to earning the almighty dollar. Solomon said, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income,” only to say, “This too is meaningless” (5:10).
         Will you be known for your wealth, wisdom or wishes? When it is all over…what will you have done for eternity? King Solomon, having tried it all, said, “Here is the conclusion of the matter; Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (12:13, emphasis added).
         A Danish fable tells of a spider which descended on a single thread from the loft of a barn. It attached the thread to a corner of the barn and there began to weave its web. The spider began to prosper as the bugs were caught in its web. Then one day, the spider looked up at that single thread leading to the unseen loft and forgot why it was there. In an instant, the spider reached up, clipped the thread, and the web came crashing down.
         There was a time in Solomon’s life, when he had a vital link with heaven. But when he was prosperous, Solomon reached up and clipped that relationship with heaven…and when he did, his whole world came crashing to the ground. In the end, Solomon finally realized that it was all meaningless apart from God.
         Solomon asks, “What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” If all we have at the end of our life is what we did “under the sun,” we have missed it. We must decide to live for what is “above the sun.” Are you living life under the sun…or are you living life for what is above the sun…for Jesus?

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        {mosimage}On Monday, June 9, Dr. William C. Harrison, superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, was named the eighth recipient of the Jay Robinson Leadership Award given by the Public School Forum of North Carolina. The award honors the extraordinary leadership and service of Dr. Jay Robinson, former school superintendent, vice president of the University System and Chair of the State Board of Education.
        Dr. Harrison has served as a public school educator in North Carolina for more than 30 years. State Board of Education Chair Howard Lee said of Dr. Harrison in his endorsement letter, “Dr. Harrison’s dedication to education has extended beyond the school setting and into professional organizations, universities and public service. His service to each of these settings has been in the best interest of the rights of all children to a quality education. He has had a very public opportunity to demonstrate his courage while serving as superintendent of Hoke County Schools by supporting the filing of the now famous Leandro case (originally known as the Hoke County Lawsuit). Knowing the implications of such a suit regardless of the outcome, he never backed down from the position that all children need a level playing field to have an equal chance at success.” Dr. Randy Bridges, nominator, worked under Bill Harrison in two school systems and said of him, “Dr. Harrison is dedicated to all students and is a man of integrity and commitment.”
        Former Representative Gene Arnold, chair of the Jay Robinson Leadership Award Committee, commented that Dr. Harrison, like Jay Robinson, was deeply committed to helping all children achieve higher levels of performance. He said of Dr. Harrison, “Bill has persevered as Jay would have done to see that all children have equal opportunities and that resources, both instructional and financial, are provided to assist them as they strive to do their best. Having served as a mentor to Bill, Jay would have been very proud of him.”
        Outgoing Chair of the Forum Board, Senator Katie Dorsett added, “Dr. Harrison has remained singly focused on very ambitious instructional goals for all students in every district that he has been in. He has also been a role model and mentor to numerous other educators on their leadership journeys.” 
        In addition to Dr. Harrison, the other finalists for this year’s award were William R. McNeal Jr., and William A. Shore. McNeal is currently executive director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators. Prior to this position, McNeal was Wake County Schools Superintendent and the Regional, State, and National Superintendent of the Year. Under his leadership, Wake County became known as a school system of exceptionally high standards. William A. Shore, director of U.S. Community Partnerships for GlaxoSmithKline, was for many years the manager of administrative services with the company. The award was created to honor Dr. Jay Robinson, a distinguished educator, University of North Carolina vice-president, and former chairman of the State Board of Education, best remembered as the architect of the state’s ABCs accountability plan. Previous award winners include Laura Bilbro-Berry, 2000 N.C. Teacher of the Year, a N.C. Teaching Fellow and currently coordinator of the Northeast Consortium for the Wachovia Partnership East at East Carolina University; Dr. Tom McNeel, former superintendent of Caldwell County Schools, now retired; Dr. Jim Causby, former superintendent of Johnston County Schools, executive director of the NCASA and currently executive director of the N.C .School             Superintendents’ Association; Dr. Bob Bridges, former superintendent of Wake County Schools and former chair of the Closing the Achievement Gap Commission, now retired; Judge Howard E. Manning, Jr., Wake County Superior Court Judge presiding over the Leandro case; Dr. Ann Denlinger, former superintendent of Durham Public Schools, now president of the Wake Education Partnership; and Phillip J. Kirk Jr., former president of NCCBI and now vice-president for External Relations for Catawba College.

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        On Monday, June 9, Dr. William C. Harrison, superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, was named the eighth recipient of the Jay Robinson Leadership Award given by the Public School Forum of North Carolina. The award honors the extraordinary leadership and service of Dr. Jay Robinson, former school superintendent, vice president of the University System and Chair of the State Board of Education.
        {mosimage}Dr. Harrison has served as a public school educator in North Carolina for more than 30 years. State Board of Education Chair Howard Lee said of Dr. Harrison in his endorsement letter, "Dr. Harrison’s dedication to education has extended beyond the school setting and into professional organizations, universities and public service. His service to each of these settings has been in the best interest of the rights of all children to a quality education. He has had a very public opportunity to demonstrate his courage while serving as superintendent of Hoke County Schools by supporting the filing of the now famous Leandro case (originally known as the Hoke County Lawsuit). Knowing the implications of such a suit regardless of the outcome, he never backed down from the position that all children need a level playing field to have an equal chance at success." Dr. Randy Bridges, nominator, worked under Bill Harrison in two school systems and said of him, "Dr. Harrison is dedicated to all students and is a man of integrity and commitment."
        Former Representative Gene Arnold, chair of the Jay Robinson Leadership Award Committee, commented that Dr. Harrison, like Jay Robinson, was deeply committed to helping all children achieve higher levels of performance. He said of Dr. Harrison, "Bill has persevered as Jay would have done to see that all children have equal opportunities and that resources, both instructional and financial, are provided to assist them as they strive to do their best. Having served as a mentor to Bill, Jay would have been very proud of him."
        Outgoing Chair of the Forum Board, Senator Katie Dorsett added, "Dr. Harrison has remained singly focused on very ambitious instructional goals for all students in every district that he has been in. He has also been a role model and mentor to numerous other educators on their leadership journeys."
        In addition to Dr. Harrison, the other finalists for this year’s award were William R. McNeal Jr., and William A. Shore. McNeal is currently executive director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators. Prior to this position, McNeal was Wake County Schools Superintendent and the Regional, State, and National Superintendent of the Year. Under his leadership, Wake County became known as a school system of exceptionally high standards. William A. Shore, director of U.S. Community Partnerships for GlaxoSmithKline, was for many years the manager of administrative services with the company. The award was created to honor Dr. Jay Robinson, a distinguished educator, University of North Carolina vice-president, and former chairman of the State Board of Education, best remembered as the architect of the state’s ABCs accountability plan. Previous award winners include Laura Bilbro-Berry, 2000 N.C. Teacher of the Year, a N.C. Teaching Fellow and currently coordinator of the Northeast Consortium for the Wachovia Partnership East at East Carolina University; Dr. Tom McNeel, former superintendent of Caldwell County Schools, now retired; Dr. Jim Causby, former superintendent of Johnston County Schools, executive director of the NCASA and currently executive director of the N.C .School Superintendents’ Association; Dr. Bob Bridges, former superintendent of Wake County Schools and former chair of the Closing the Achievement Gap Commission, now retired; Judge Howard E. Manning, Jr., Wake County Superior Court Judge presiding over the Leandro case; Dr. Ann Denlinger, former superintendent of Durham Public Schools, now president of the Wake Education Partnership; and Phillip J. Kirk Jr., former president of NCCBI and now vice-president for External Relations for Catawba College.

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        Fayetteville is a city on the move. Everywhere you look people are on the move, and in a lot of cases, they are using their feet to get where they are going. Being the home to oen of the United States Army’s premier fighting forces, it stands to reason that a lot of those people are on the run. And, as Fayetteville is also known as a city where art lives, combining running and art seems to be a match made in heaven. Or so, that’s what the Fayetteville Museum of Art thought when it started the Museum Miles 5K.{mosimage}
        On Saturday, June 21, runners will again hit the streets to celebrate art and health – all in support of the museum. Since its inception, the quarterly run/walk has drawn quite a following. Some runners come for the T-shirts, some come for the prizes, but most come for either their love or running or their love of the arts.
    “This is our fourth run, and the event has really picked up a lot of steam,” said Erica Gilbert, of the museum staff. “We’ve garnered quite a following.”
        Gilbert said runners in the event are not only from Fayetteville, but come from areas surrounding our city. She noted that quite a few of the runners come from Fayetteville. The run averages about 100 people, but she hopes that number will increase with Saturday’s run. She noted that the last run had only 60 runners, but added that it was extremely cold.
        The first run was held at the Cape Fear River Trail, but the size of the run forced the museum to move it to its current home at Honeycutt Park. The run begins at 8 a.m., and will wind through the rolling hills of Skye Drive and the Summertime neighborhood. There will be a turn around point, with a watering station at the 1.55     mile marker.
    Gilbert said the run is a way for the museum to not only raise money, but also showcase what it has to offer to those who may not have visited the museum yet. It’s a way to introduce people to the FMA. “It’s a great event that allows us to reach out to everyone in the community,” she said.
        Gilbert noted that while Fayetteville is a community of runners, not everyone who hits the pavement will be running. “People can either walk or run,” she said. “We have some very serious runners who go full speed; but we also have some people who come out and walk the route just to support the museum.”
        Funds raised from the run go directly into the museum’s operating funds and help to pay for programs and events. Participants in the run will receive T-shirts, goodie bags and prizes. Registration fee is $20.
        For more information, visit the museum Web site at  “http://www.fayettevillemuseumofart.org” www.fayettevillemuseumofart.org, or call 485-5121.

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        When Bo Thorp decided to pull an all-star lineup together for the final show of the Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s 2007-2008 season, she knew what she was doing. The ensemble cast in "Company" is stellar. The production is a fitting end to a successful season.
        "Company," on stage at the CFRT through July, is a sophisticated, witty tale of relationships. The good, the bad and the ugly. The cast tells those tales through a series of vignettes and songs — all from the perspective of Bobby, a single 30-something guy with commitment issues. Don’t we all know a Bobby?{mosimage}
        In this instance, Bobby is brought to life by Greg King. King’s portrayal of Bobby was both comical and thought provoking. On the night we saw the play, he was in fine voice, his comedic timing was on the money and his connection with the character and the rest of the cast flowed easily from laughter, to despair to hope without missing a beat.
        I have to say it was odd watching a play that didn’t move from one sequence to another. The whole story is told from Bobby’s perspective, all during the few moments before he blows out the candles on his birthday cake. After each vignette, we wind up in his living room waiting for the candles to be blown out. For some the idea might be hard to follow, but just remembers — it’s non-linear. You aren’t going from A to B. Keep that in mind and you won’t get lost.
    While there is a chance that Bobby could have come off smug and egotistical, King brought his humanity to lifesize. We saw, through King’s eyes, Bobby’s desire to belong to someone. We saw his loyalty to his friends, his need for their acceptance. We saw a tenderness that keeps Bobby just this side of being a jerk. And King nailed it.
    His friends, a group of married couples whose one overarching theme is their desire to see Bobby happy, are played beautifully by another group of veterans of the CFRT. This cast is a veritable who’s who of local theatre, and it was a delight to see them all on stage at one time.
        One performer who literally grew up on the CFRT stage, Jenny Beaver, has a special place in our hearts at "Up and Coming Weekly." Beaver spent a summer at the paper as an intern. We were delighted to see her put another of her many talents to use in this play. Her comedic timing was flawless, and her connection with her on stage spouse was priceless.
        The audience was delighted with her portrayal of the wife who is obsessed with food, but who won’t eat it; who spends her days in the gym — and later demonstrates her skills in an impromptu wrestling match with her husband. Physical comedy can be bit difficult, but she managed it in fine style.
        Cassandra Vallery, has brought a special light to the stage in several shows this season: "Oliver!," "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" and "Good ‘Ol Girls," were among some of her finest work. In "Company," Vallery plays a self-described "square," and when the square decides to let her hair down by smoking a little wacky weed — you can’t help but laugh.
        Of all of the performances in the show, and this is a hard call to make, I have to say that Libby Seymour’s performance as Bobby’s boozy, multi-divorced, wise-cracking friend stole the show. Seymour is a force of nature in this production. Her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" was dramatic and poignant. If you go to the play for no other reason than this, it is well worth the price of your ticket. She brought the house down.
    Company has an all-star cast, and in this case all the stars shone bright.

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        Take a ride with me now on the Wayback Machine to the late ‘70s: a time of platform shoes and mood rings and the Fonz; a time when bands such as Foreigner and Boston and Cheap Trick ruled the FM airwaves; and a time when a little old band from North Carolina called Nantucket launched itself onto the charts and into the national consciousness with a song called Heartbreaker — a rock monster that rumbled through the God-awful age of disco like a sledgehammer smashing a mirror ball.
        Well, squeeze into those bell bottoms and dust off the Pet Rock, because Nantucket is coming to Fayetteville on June 19 for the Fayetteville After Five series of free performances held at Festival Park.{mosimage}
        And before you head to festival Park, make sure you leave behind your visons of potbellied old rockers attempting to relive the glory of their past by stumbling out of retirement with maybe one or two members of the original lineup, shuffling across the stage as if sleepwalking and spitting out rock oldies to former groupies who recently signed up with AARP — this is the original Nantucket, rocking out with the same spirit of ‘78, albeit with a few new twists.
        "It’s still fun and we still kick ass," said Mike Uzzell, the band’s manager and keyboardist. "It’s great to look into the faces of our fans and watch them remember the old days. You know, they say you can’t go back in time, but when we’re playing and I look out into the audience, I see all these people suddenly going back 25 years to when they were in high school listening to Heartbreaker on the eight-track."
        Despite their past glories, Nantucket won’t just be performing 20 different versions of Heartbreaker and Born in a Honky Tonk. The band — which has toured with such rock heavyweights as AC/DC, Ted Nugent and the Atlanta Rhythm Section —  adds a new, often humorous angles to some old standards.
        "We do a very popular takeoff on Rocky Top called Hawgater Top, as in halter top," said Uzzell. “And since we have such an outstanding saxophone player (Eddie Blair) we do a cover of Junior Walker and the All-Stars’ Shotgun which just knocks people out. Folks who have never heard a saxophone come up to Eddie after the shows and tell him how impressed they are with his playing."
        And it’s not just the old guard — the 40- and 50-somethings — who come to the shows and root on one of the best rock bands to ever hail from the Tar Heel state; Uzzell says the band is also popular with a younger crowd that is rediscovering why Nantucket was so popular in the ‘70s and early ‘80s.
        Known for their dynamic live shows, Nantucket is fronted by lead singer and brother of Mike Uzzell, Larry Uzzell, who also plays the harmonica and trombone. Back in the band’s heyday, he also played the heartstrings of female fans as a true, long-maned rock ‘n’ roll heartthrob. He was the face of Nantucket when it was featured in countless newspaper and magazine article, including such iconic publications from the ‘70’s and ‘80s as Hit Parader, Grooves and Rock Scene.
        Other band members include the aforementioned Blair on sax; Mark Downing and Tommy Redd on guitar; Thumbs Johnson on bass; and Kenny Soule on drums. Soule, who joined Nantucket in 1972, is nationally known for his chops: in 2000, Soule was invited to participate in the Experience Music Project in Seattle as part of the museum’s first Innovator’s Series — a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. There, he played alongside such notable musicians as Johnny Reznick (Goo Goo Dolls), Kenny Wayne Shepard, and Double Trouble. Soule left Nantucket in 1981 to form the legendary rock trio PKM, which was a top attraction at North Carolina clubs in the early ‘80s, and went on to tour with Blue Oyster Cult and Ozzy Osbourne before the band sparkled out and faded away in 1988.
    While some of the sparkle may be missing, the old magic hasn’t completely faded away from Nantucket — the members just a grew a little older, a little wiser, and took day jobs.
        "We don’t tour nationwide like we used to," said Mike Uzzell. "We do maybe 15-16 select shows a year. We don’t really leave the state much, except for a show in South Carolina now and then, because we all have regular jobs and business interests. One of our members is a realtor in Raleigh, and my brother Larry and me run a cable business. Besides, it’s pretty tough standing on stage for an hour and 45 minutes."
        Though Nantucket has released just a handful of albums — the last being 1995’s "Still Live After All These Years" — you can order the band’s recordings, including a Nantucket box set, from the Myspace page, www.myspace.com/nantucketband. You can also book the band for a performance at this site and purchase Nantucket T-shirts with the famous lobster album cover from their first LP, as well as posters and even a Nantucket calendar magnet — the latter especially appropriate for a band that takes its listeners back in time.
    Fayetteville After Five is a free event held at Festival Park, starting at 5:30 p.m. and ending at about 9:30 p.m. It is a fund-raiser for the Fayetteville Museum of Art.

    Tim Wilkins, Associate Editor
    COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 105 or tim@upandcomingweekly.com

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        If you’re a fan of the piano but have a pair of left hands when it comes to tickling the ivories, ride on over to Festival Park for a free show on Saturday, June 21, and watch how the experts do it as a pair of pianists from The Keys Piano Bar in downtown Fayetteville perform as part of the free concert series sponsored by the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Reed-Lallier Chevrolet and the City of Fayetteville.
        {mosimage}Tim Buie, house pianist at The Keys Piano Bar will perform along with fellow pianist Craig Kerr; they will be accomnied by a drummer and saxophonist, playing music guaranteed to keep you boogying.
        "It’s all upbeat stuff they’ll be performing," said Chrissie Tanner, who opened the piano bar six months ago. "It’s pretty much what we have here at our regular shows — classic rock, beach music, party music. We’re extremely excited about this — it’s a great opportunity for us."
        The concert series is designed to introduce local art novices to the Fayetteville scene, as well as entertaining certified arts and music lovers.
        While the show is free, money from concessions goes to the Arts Council, some of which is passed down to the  Cape Fear Regional Theater, which is helping host the June 21 show.
        Leslie Roraback-Flom, marketing director for the CFRT, says she expects a great show and it’s all for a great cause. In addition to the musicians from The Keys Piano Bar, the cast of the CFRT musical “Company” will show up at Festival Park after its performance to sing selections from the play and other standards.
        "The cast from 'Company' will have an early show at 7 p.m. so they can make it out to Festival Park," said Roraback-Flom. "They’ll also be encouraging audience participation when they sing, which should be lots of fun. This is really a great way for you to go out and support the local arts, as well as hear some great music."
        The show begins at 8 p.m. Blankets and lawn chairs are allowed, but no coolers and no pets.

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        In what would be a new modern record for the lapse of time between a death and its notice, neighbors found the mummified body of a Croatian woman in her Zagreb apartment in May, and police said no one remembered seeing her alive after 1973. (A Croatian news organization said the last sighting was in 1967.) She missed no maintenance payments because her building, which was state-owned when she was last seen, has since become a cooperative, and aggregate charges were paid for collectively by the other residents.

        News of the Weird informed you in 2007 of camel beauty pageants in Saudi Arabia, but the obsession with the animal runs deeper, based in part on nostalgia for the days when camels were important for transportation. Breeders cuddle and nuzzle them, and at the country’s largest camel market near Riyadh in March 2008, they bought and sold based, one breeder told The New York Times, on the standards of “judging a beautiful girl. You look for big eyes, long lashes and a long neck.” Said another, “See this one? She isn’t married yet, this one. She’s still a virgin. Look at the black eyes, the soft fur.... Just like a girl going to a party.” He added (after kissing the camel on the mouth), “My camels are like my children, my family.” (In January, a prominent cleric issued a decree condemning the pride people take in their camels.)

        March is the season for Shinto religious fertility festivals in Japan at which symbolic phalluses are offered to the gods for business fortune as well as good sexual and marital luck. In the small town of Komaki, a 2-meter-long phallus is carried through town every year and presented to the local temple. The best-known celebration is the Kanamara Matsuri (“Festival of the Iron Penis”) in Kawasaki, where colorful phallus floats abound and delight the children of all ages who line the streets.

        Because Japan’s suicide rate is so high, there is sometimes collateral damage. In April 2007, News of the Weird reported yet another instance in which a despondent person leaped off of a building (a nine-story edifice in Tokyo), only to land on someone else (a 60-year-old man, who was only bruised). These days, chemical ingestion is the trendy method, and in May 2008, a despondent farmer drank a chlorine solution and was rushed to Kumamoto’s Red Cross Hospital, but as doctors tried unsuccessfully to save him, he vomited, and the fumes sickened 54 workers, including 10 who had to be hospitalized.

        With rising prices paid for scrap metal come the increased threat of theft, and metal dealers are on alert, as well as power companies, which use valuable copper wire. However, as the number of thieves increases, so does the number of clumsy ones who fail to respect that electrical substations are live. In May, at least three men were killed and three others badly injured in attempts to steal wire from substations in Lancaster County, Pa., Somerset County, Pa., Savannah, Ga., Chicago and Edmonton, Alberta.

        There was yet another fight in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre this past Easter (celebrated in mid-April by Orthodox Christians). This time, Armenians (one of the six Christian branches that share management of the holy site) believed that a Greek Orthodox priest had encroached on their part of the church and tried to eject him, leading to a brawl in which some in attendance used Palm Sunday fronds as weapons. It usually falls on Jerusalem’s Muslim police officers to restore order.

    COPYRIGHT 2008 CHUCK SHEPHERD

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        It took me two years to get a divorce from my husband, a jerk I was married to for only 13 months, after knowing him for just nine weeks. (I was 38 and increasingly desperate to get married and have a baby.) I basically gave up on “equitable distribution” because I ran out of steam, but he agreed in our divorce decree and in court, under oath, to give me $7,000 of his retirement monies. Two years and numerous legal letters later, he has yet to comply. Meanwhile, he just published his first novel and is doing readings at local bookstores. I’d like to show up at the last one, and when he’s done, stand up and ask when he plans to pay me. So...out of curiosity, what would you do? Looking forward to a pithy response!
        —Plotting

        Oh, are you?
        Let’s start by talking about my writing process. Much as I’d like it to involve afternoons spent in a silk dressing gown in a canopy bed dotting witticisms on vellum with a big quill pen, the reality is rather different: long sweaty hours crawling under furniture looking for better verbs — when I’m not too busy trying to unzip my skin and run away screaming. 
        This guy just wrote his first novel, a feat on par with climbing Mt. Everest in a motorized wheelchair. I don’t care if he snacks on kittens, if you’re looking for justice, you have 8,758 other hours in the year to make your case. Of course, if this really was about getting what you’re owed, you’d go about it in the most pragmatic way: dragging him back to court and garnishing his wages or bringing in a collection agency. Instead, you’re about to make him hate you so completely that he’ll probably do anything to avoid paying you, including ditching fiction writing (an endeavor typically less lucrative than picking lettuce) for a career in the fast-paced world of haiku.
        As for your plan to hijack his reading, will you just be reciting your grievances, or should the bookstore put out a table for you so his friends, relatives and groupies can line up to have you autograph copies of your divorce decree? If you weren’t so deluded with rage, you might see that the person who’s likely to come out of this the worst is you. At the moment, he’s yet another first-time novelist clamoring for shelf space. Cue the cut-rate Heather Mills McCartney (that would be you), and he and his book might even make front-page news. Meanwhile, you’ll have established a permanent resume for yourself as a vindictive, mouth-foaming shrew — possibly endangering your current source of employment, almost certainly impairing yourself in gaining future employment, and surely making you the last woman any guy with Google will ever date.
        “Equitable distribution” after 13 months and no kids? To me, it’s a wave goodbye. But, he signed off on giving you that $7K, so he should pony up. And sure, try to get it, but factor in how much that’s costing you, and maybe shift your focus to having a future of your own instead of destroying his. If you ever loved him, how do you behave this way? For real resolution, look to yourself: If he’s such a bad guy, why did you marry him? What did you refuse to see? Hmmm, perhaps that the correct answer to “How do I love thee?” isn’t “I’m 38 and increasingly desperate to get married and have a baby.”

        Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA  90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)
    (c)2008, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

  • Details
        I grew up in East Tennessee. It is a beautiful place and a draw for  motorcyclist. It has recently become famous for the Snake. The start of the run, the Snake’s eyes, is located in Shady Valley in the northeast portion of the state. This is where U.S. 421 and Hwy. 91 cross and Hwy. 133 intersect. There is only an intersection and no red light. There are three stores, one of which is geared to motorcyclists.
        The Snake consists of 489 curves in 12 miles. Hwy. 91 goes east and west from Elizabethton, Tenn., and onto Hwy. 133 Damascus, Va. U.S. 421 goes from Boone, through Mountain City Tenn., towards Bristol, Tenn. Everyone seems to find some part of the road suited for their particular riding style. The road conditions are well maintained surfaces. Beware, there is some loose gravel from gravel roads that connect to the Snake. This is also a commercial vehicle road so it is possible to go around a corner and encounter an 18-wheeler hogging the entire road. Wildlife is another concern.{mosimage}
        There is little room for error here. You will find mountain on one side and a 100-foot drop on the other. There are guard rails on some parts of the road but this serves to be a “Vegematic,” slicing and dicing motorcyclists with no mercy. Keep focused on your drive, because the drops are unforgiving.
    The highway is heavily patrolled by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. I was there recently and counted three patrolman in a very short time.
        The road from Mountain City to Shady Valley is the curviest. The average posted speed is 20 mph. To me this is the most enjoyable part of the ride because I like sharp curves going uphill. The most scenic part is the ride from Shady Valley to Damascus
        Along the way is Backbone Rock, a beautiful area in the Cherokee National Forest and a good place to stop and enjoy the mystic peacefulness on a hot summer day. In the town of Damascus you will find a lot of little shops, restaurants and coffee shops. You will see many hiking shops because the Appalachian Trail passes through the town.
        From Shady Valley north towards Bristol is South Holston Lake. Not far after the lake the road turns into a four-lane highway without much scenery. However, if you cut off and go over to the South Holston Dam, you’ll find a great experience. At the dam, you will find spectacular views as you drive across the 1,600-foot top and look down 285 feet into the beautiful blue green, ice-cold waters of South Fork Holston River.
        From Shady Valley west towards Elizabethton is a nice curvy road over Iron Mountain. If you are looking for a quick hike and swim you can visit the Blue Hole. After the road flattens out, continue down into Stoney Creek until you see the brown sign on the road which will have you turn up toward Holston Mountain. About a couple miles up you will find a gravel parking lot to the left. The trail is less than a mile long to a beautiful waterfall and nice swimming hole which constitute the Blue Hole. There is plenty of nice riding in this area, so take some time and go on an adventure.

  • Details
        Don’t let the pedigree fool you. Even though critical darling Judd Apatow receives a writing credit, he hasn’t put pen to paper for You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (113 minutes) since 2000. Unfortunately for the viewing audience, Apatow’s absence left Adam Sandler and Robert Smigel to muddle through material that was just a tad out of their reach. Neither man is noted for subtly or sensitivity. The idea is funny enough, and maybe eight years ago when Sandler and company first began working on it, he could have pulled it off.             However, watching Sandler limp through this material with his scary dead eyes, massive codpiece, and tired expression is next to painful. Sure, it’s an amusing concept for a Saturday Night Live sketch, but the laughs are few and far between, and the joke wears thin before the movie is even half over. Die hard Sandler fans will love it, but everyone else should consider themselves fairly warned. {mosimage}
        Zohan (Adam Sandler) is living the good life on an Israeli beach, hacky-sacking and discoing, until the Israeli army comes to claim him for a special mission. He heads out to capture a Palestinian terrorist (John Turturro, and what was he thinking?). During the ensuing Matrix-inspired slugfest, Zohan quits it all to go on the lam in New York, where he will fulfill his lifelong dream of cutting and styling hair.
        Bored yet? At this point, I sure was. As Zohan struggles to find his styling niche, he has relations with many older women, including Gail (Lainie Kazan). It is about this time that Zohan meets his true love, Dhalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a sweet window ornament who doesn’t get a lot to do in the movie beyond looking gorgeous. Did I mention the revoltingly simplistic subplot about the evil developer who wants to destroy the neighborhood in favor of big business? It’s like the writers saw Be Kind, Rewind and thought padding out their bad movie with some bits and pieces of an original movie would help somehow.
        Amidst all this unremarkable dreck enters Rob Schneider, playing a Palestinian cab driver named Salim, and Mariah Carey playing an aging, botoxed, self-centered singer named Mariah Carey. 
        If you want to see a movie that intelligently uses racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes to make a political statement, go see Borator Blazing Saddles. Do not look to Zohan for sly political quips — every joke in the movie is just malicious and mean spirited. The entire script is homophobic, (and, after seeing Chuck and Larry, one supposes that Sandler is as well). Women are objectified, mocked, and as much as I love to think that Mrs. Garret (Charlotte Rae from Facts of Life in a cameo) is still out there, the slaps she delivers to Zohan after the midway point were well deserved. The character of Zohan, and many of the bit players are walking talking stereotypes…and nobody is laughing.
        P.S.  If you are looking for clear signs of the Apocalypse, the trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua is attached to Zohan.   

  • Details
        {mosimage}Morgan Spurlock’s 30 Days (Tuesday, 10 p.m., FX) invites participants to immerse themselves in a world very different from their own. It’s a daring social experiment that delves into topical issues, sometimes with painful results.
        In this week’s episode, a conservative religious woman named Kati spends 30 days with Tom and Dennis, two gay men raising adopted sons. To understand where they’re coming from, she’s required to work for a same-sex-parents advocacy group and attend meetings of a lesbian-mothers networking group. Will the experience soften her militant opposition to gay and lesbian adoption?
        The episode offers fascinating insight into the homophobic brain. At every turn, Kati is confronted with evidence that Tom and Dennis are a model couple and caring parents for former foster kids who otherwise wouldn’t have a home. She is forced to admit as much, but she refuses to let the truth get in the way of her conclusions. “My belief is that the gay and lesbian lifestyle is not correct,” she keeps saying, with no proof other than that it’s “her belief.” When gays and lesbians gently ask her why she would deny them their humanity, she screams, cries or stomps away rather than offering a rationale. She accuses them of disrespecting her rights — in other words, her right to deprive them of their rights.
        Clearly, 30 days are not enough to open such a locked-tight mind as hers. Maybe if Spurlock produced a series called “1,000 Years….”

    My Boys
    Thursday, 9:30 p.m. (TBS)
        Other critics liked this sitcom more than I did, so I thought I’d give its new season a chance. But My Boys didn’t seem any better this time around, with its dud jokes and humor-challenged cast. The wafer-thin premise finds a Chicago singleton (Jordana Spiro) hanging out with a group of guy friends. That means we have to hang out with them too — an unappetizing prospect, given that they’re horny, boozy, grungy, lazy and stupid. And not in a good way.
        I was struck by the lack of a laugh track, until it occurred to me that there might actually be one and even it doesn’t find My Boys funny.

    Camp Rock
    Friday, 8 pm (Disney Channel). Saturday, 8 pm (ABC). Sunday, 8 p.m. (ABC Family)
        Teenybopper heartthrobs the Jonas Brothers star in a TV movie set at a summer music camp for aspiring young artists. The only way poor girl Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) can afford the camp is if she earns her keep in the kitchen. A troubled superstar happens to hear her singing and absolutely must find out who she is. She helps him rediscover his passion for music, while he helps her believe in herself.
        You’re sure to enjoy Camp Rock — that is, unless you turn from 11 to 12 just before the airdate.

    I Survived A Japanese Game Show
    Tuesday, 9 p.m. (ABC)
        In this reality series, 10 Americans travel to Japan and compete in one of their nutty game shows. They must eat food attached to someone’s head while he’s running on a fast-moving treadmill. They must collect stuffed animals while dangling from a crane operated by a blindfolded teammate. And they must smash huge goo-filled eggs with their butts while wearing a chicken suit.
        Now you know why the series isn’t titled I Survived a Japanese Game Show With My Dignity Intact.

  • Details
        For those about to rock, the Rock Shop salutes you... and for free, no less.
    One of the best kept secrets in town is the free concerts offered during the work week by the nightclub located at 106 S. Eastern Blvd., in downtown Fayetteville.
        Founded about a year and a half ago by Shawn Adkins and then business partner Dave Johnston, owner of the Huske Hardware House, the duo opened the club to meet a demand for a live rock facility.
        “I was doing shows all over Fayetteville, and I was renting out places to throw bands and the turnout was so good that Dave approached me and was like, ‘You know man, you could open a club.’ And I was like, if you want to go in with me, let’s do it,” said Adkins. “And the next day we were looking at this building and it happened that fast. I bought him out seven months into it. He helped me out tremendously.”
        Shawn says business has been gangbusters on the weekend, drawing in nationally known acts as well as top local bands, such as Gasoline, Scarred for Life and Falling in Two.
        “We do have incredible local bands; we do have touring bands coming in all the time,” said Adkins. “Weekday shows are always touring bands. Some of the best shows I’ve ever seen in my life are these free shows. People are just mind-boggled at how good these bands are and they keep coming and coming.”
        Adkins adds that the Rock Shop is gaining quite a reputation nationally, as he receives mountains of tapes and requests to play the club from all across the country — many of whom will wind up playing the free shows.
        {mosimage}And to further increase the interest in the free shows, Wednesday features $3 for any drink and “the cheapest beer prices in town,” said Adkins.
        In a more intangible shot at increasing the quantity and quality of it’s audience, the Rock Shop is trying to create a “good vibe” for live music — a term Adkins uses so often that the theme song for the club should be the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.”
        “We have a very artistic vibe,” said Adkins. As if to prove his point, kids with spiked hair and blue hair, all covered in menacing black leather and chains, traipsed peacefully and good-naturedly through the Rock Shop, awaiting punk band Private Radio, one of the four free bands playing that night.
        “We’re really trying to bring a good vibe to Fayetteville, it’s not all about making money, we just want to bring a good vibe to Fayetteville,” said Adkins. “If you walk through the door trying to be all hard, you don’t belong here. We want stand for it. You need to just be yourself. And also, good music brings culture to Fayetteville.”
        While Adkins admits the Fayetteville music scene is dominated by metal and hard rock — the night of this interview featured punk metal — he does want to bring diversity to the club. He wants artists from all genres: bluegrass, blues, rockabilly, country, rock.
        Some of this diversity will be on display June 20, which will be a night of rockabilly and straight-ahead rock when the Bo Stevens and Tater make the scene.
        “Good music is good music, no matter what the genre,” said Adkins.
        In the meantime, Adkins hopes music fans of all ages and tastes will visit the Rock Shop for one of its weekday live shows. Upcoming free shows include back-to-back performances on June 26 and June 27, featuring Endway and The Future Kings of Nowhere, respectively.
        “It’s really some of the best live music you will see,” said Adkins. “And you can’t beat the price.
        The Rock Shop is located at 106 S. Eastern Blvd. You can check out what bands are playing when at www.therockshoplive.com, or www.myspace.com/huskehardware.

  • Details
        Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that the DEET used in most mosquito repellents is toxic? If so what problems does it cause? And what are some non-toxic alternatives for keeping mosquitoes at bay?     
    — Tom Pollack, Oakland, Calif.

        DEET is commonly known as the king of mosquito repellents, though not everyone is keen to slather it on their skin. A study conducted in the late 1980s on Everglades National Park employees to determine the effects of DEET found that a full one-quarter of the subjects studied experienced negative health effects that they blamed on exposure to the chemical. Effects included rashes, skin irritation, numb or burning lips, nausea, headaches, dizziness and difficulty concentrating.
        Duke University pharmacologist Mohamed Abou-Donia, in studies on rats, found that frequent and prolonged DEET exposure led to diffuse brain cell death and behavioral changes, and concluded that humans should stay away from products containing it. But other studies have shown that while a few people have sensitivity to DEET applications, most are unaffected when they use DEET products on a sporadic basis according to the instructions on the label.
        The upside of DEET is that it is very effective. A 2002 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that DEET-based repellents provided the most complete and longest lasting protection against mosquitoes. Researchers found that a formulation containing 23.8 percent DEET completely protected study participants for upwards of 300 minutes, while a soybean-oil-based product only worked for 95 minutes. The effectiveness of several other botanical-based repellents lasted less than 20 minutes.
        {mosimage}But a number of new concentrations of botanical repellents that have hit the market since are reportedly better than ever. In 2005, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) granted approval to two healthier alternatives to DEET — picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus — for protection from mosquitoes. Picaridin, long used to repel mosquitoes in other parts of the world, is now available in the U.S. under the Cutter Advanced brand name. Oil of lemon eucalyptus, which is derived from eucalyptus leaves and is the only plant-based active ingredient for insect repellents approved by the CDC, is available in several different forms, including Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, OFF! Botanicals, and Fight Bite Plant-Based Insect Repellent.
        Some other good choices, according to the nonprofit National Coalition against the Misuse of Pesticides, include products containing geraniol (MosquitoGuard or Bite Stop), citronella (Natrapel), herbal extracts (Beat It Bug Buster) or essential oils (All Terrain). The group also gives high marks to oil of lemon eucalyptus, such as that found in Repel’s Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent.
        Another leading nonprofit, Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), likes Herbal Armor, Buzz Away and Green Ban, each containing citronella and peppermint as well as various essential oils (cedar wood, lemongrass, etc.). PANNA also lauds Bite Blocker, a blend of soybeans and coconut oils that provides four to eight hours of protection and, unlike many other brands, is safe to use on kids.

        CONTACTS: “Comparative Efficacy of Insect Repellents against Mosquito Bites,” http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/347/1/13; National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP), www.beyondpesticides.org; Pesticide Action Network North America, www.panna.org.

        GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

  • Details
        I was reminded last week of the importance of scripts in public life. Much of what passes for political discourse these days turns out, upon reflection, to be little more than dramatic (or comedic) set-pieces in which political actors dutifully mouth some familiar lines and lazily follow the stage directions of productions that closed years or decades ago. We watch it (or perform ourselves). We feel comfortable and validated. We clap. Then we leave the theater for a while to get refreshments or relieve ourselves before taking in another pointless, predictable show.{mosimage}
        Last week’s occasion to witness political scripting came when I debated someone representing the University of North Carolina on the issue of taxpayer funding for public broadcasting. Without public TV, my adversary intoned solemnly, viewers could not possibly find high-quality programming on history, culture and the arts. Children wouldn’t see Big Bird. Citizens wouldn’t get the respected news coverage they craved. Survivor and Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers would be shown 24 hours a day on a continuous loop on every channel.
        OK, maybe I’m not remembering that last one verbatim, but you get the point. He was making the same arguments that defenders of public-broadcasting subsidies were making 10, 20 or 30 years ago. If ever valid, they certainly lack little relevance to the debate today, which is occurring at a time when most American households have cable or satellite television and high-quality programming, both fiction and nonfiction, has never been more available to more people.
        Another example of just following the script has been the way that UNC-Chapel Hill officials have responded to controversies about a freshman reading assignment begun several years ago. Chancellor James Moeser and others are bound and determined to make the dispute into some kind of book-burning episode involving Joe McCarthy, returned from the dead by a bizarre religious rite performed by Taliban-like Christian evangelicals. They view any criticism of their judgment as an attack on their “academic freedom,” and pretend that it is they who are interested in exposing students to a wide variety of people and ideas.
        So, for example, Moeser told the Herald-Sun recently that he expects protests and controversy to come from the school’s 2005 selection of a book by Timothy Tyson called Blood Done Sign My Name. It deals with a racially motivated murder in Oxford, and the violent response of the black community there. “The book may rip scabs off of wounds people may think healed long ago,” Moeser said. He apparently believes that incoming freshmen at what he often calls the finest public university in the nation are unfamiliar with the troubled racial history of the South, and that politicians and conservatives outside of Chapel Hill don’t want students to find out about it.
        It’s past time for UNC officials to, well, grow up. I don’t know any other way to put it. It is they who are living in a fantasy world, who brook little dissent or real intellectual diversity, and whose perceptions are shaped by their lack of experience with people who don’t think the way they do. The 2002 and 2003 controversies about the UNC reading assignment centered on the choice of the book, not the subject matter. It made sense for students after 9/11 to learn more about Islam and how it informs the war on terrorism. But the book UNC selected carefully left out the passages of the Qur’an that the Islamofascists distort into their divine commandment to kill, so it was unsuitable to the educational goal (though compatible with less praiseworthy ones). And in 2003, the problem wasn’t that students were examining poverty in America, but that the choice of book was a one-sided, socialist screed that provided little real insight into why poverty persists and what policymakers might do to alleviate it.
        I have no problem at all with Tyson’s book, or more generally with students learning about North Carolina’s sordid racist past. I also don’t expect it to come as a major shock to incoming UNC freshmen that segregation existed, that racism had real and tragic victims and that its legacy remains.
        Ladies and gentlemen, how about less reading from the script, more independent thought, and, most important of all, more listening.

  • Details
        I would like to take you on a trip to one of North Carolina’s too often overlooked charming little mountain towns, Saluda. It’s a few miles south of Asheville, just off I-26 and not far from the South Carolina line.{mosimage}
    Even if you live a long way from the mountains, you can still go with me, thanks to UNC-TV’s Our State program that premiered on Thursday, June 5 at 8 p.m., (with repeats at various times during the month).
        Maybe I shouldn’t tell you about why I first came to visit Saluda. Politics. I was running for statewide office. My friend George Couch was determined to help me win his home county, Polk, where Saluda is located. He arranged a campaign stop in Saluda with an overnight at the Orchard Inn. The innkeepers, it turned out, were old friends, Kathy and Bob Thompson. They took such good care of me, and the folks in Saluda were so nice that I kept coming back there to campaign, even though only a few hundred voters live there.
        By the way, although I lost the statewide election big-time, I won in Polk County by a comfortable margin.
        I returned to Saluda a few years later in search of a “home-cooking” restaurant to include in Interstate Eateries, my book about family-owned eating-places near the interstate highways. I found Ward’s Grill, which was part of a family business that had been on Saluda’s Main Street from the early 1900s. The breakfast sausages and the lunchtime hamburgers were extra tasty because they came fresh from the adjoining meat market and general store owned by the same man, Charlie Ward.
        As I learned on my recent visit with UNC-TV, Ward recently sold his business to Larry and Debra Jackson, who maintain the tradition. Larry told me, “People come in and ask for Charlie’s Sausage. I have to tell them that it is Larry’s Sausage made with Charlie’s recipe.”
        Just up Main Street from Ward’s is the M.A. Pace store. It, too, has been operating for 100 years at the same location. The Paces have been in the Saluda area since the 1700s. In fact, the Saluda community was first known as Pace’s Gap. Robert Pace has owned this store for as long as anybody can remember. He runs it much the same way his father did for many years before. The result is the opportunity for visitors to go back in time to the early 1900s and experience a general store like the one where their great-grandparents traded.
        There is a problem, though. Mr. Pace sells all kinds of hardware, groceries and local handmade items that his modern customers need. But you cannot buy some of the stock he has on display, like shoes from the 1920s or corsets from an even earlier time. “I’ve got a lot of things in here that I don’t sell,” Mr. Pace told me, “and maybe more than what I have for sale.”
        Main Street is only a few blocks long, but it is packed with local shops and good places to eat. All around are reminders of the railroad boom times in the early part of the last century. Saluda sits at the high point of the steepest railroad grade in the eastern part of the country. As a result, it was the first stopping point for trains coming from the south. Lots of visitors from South Carolina decided to spend every summer in the area.
        The railroad tracks still run through the middle of town along Main Street, and even though the trains stopped running a few years ago, some Saluda old timers still look down the tracks towards the steep grade, remembering fondly the huffing and puffing of the two engines it took to push the loaded cars up to and through their treasured town.
        They would not mind a bit if you joined them.

  • Details
        The inner monologue.
        Everyone has one, although not everyone chooses to use it. The inner monologue is that bit inside of each of us that plays a running commentary about what is going on around and inside us. It’s that voice that silently whispers, “Wow, you’re too stupid to breathe,” when one encounters someone who in fact is too stupid to breathe. Most of us have control over that inner monologue, and what happens inside our head stays there.
        In Company, the newest offering by the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, the inner monologue not only fuels the action of the play, it drives it. Opening Friday, June 13, Company brings together some of the CFRT’s favorite local performers for an all-star performance of a witty, sophisticated, thought-provoking play about relationships and marriage.
        Directing the performance is Fredrick J. Rubeck, the chair of the performing arts department at Elon University. Rubeck, who has directed nearly 100 performances throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, is a newcomer to the CFRT, but it’s something he has wanted to do for quite a while. “I serve on the N.C. Conference of Directors with Bo (CFRT artistic director Bo Thorp) and there’s an ongoing thing where everybody starts sentences with ‘When I did this play with Bo’ or, ‘I worked with Bo,’” he explained. “So when I introduced myself, I said, ‘I’m the one person who has never worked with Bo,’ she got the subtle hint and called me this spring.”
        He said he was excited when he got the call, having seen the play numerous times, he already had ideas about what he wanted and what his expectations were for the crew. “I hope I’m living up to their expectations,” he said. “A director can do a lot with this show — it’s nonlinear and you get to figure out how to make it work. There are a lot of ways to play with it and give the play a different angle. I saw a couple of bad productions, and knew I could do it right.”
        The play revolves around the life of Bobby, a 30-something single guy, who is constantly surrounded by married couples and his girlfriends. They all want to know when Bobby is going to settle down — a question he’s trying to answer himself. Bringing the role of Bobby to life is veteran CFRT performer Greg King. King explains that Company is very “Seinfeld-ish” in its comedic take and its look at life. “It’s very quirky. It’s everyday kind of life,” he said. “Aren’t we all a little like Bobby?”
        While the play itself is exciting to King, he’s even more excited about the cast. He explained that the the play was really put together as a vehicle for a group of veteran CFRT performers. “There’s a group of us who live here, work here and do theater here,” explained King. “We all get together to do theater and it’s a lot of fun.”
        That group includes theater veterans like Cassandra Vallerey, Michael Brocki, Nicki Hart, Libby Seymour, Ken Griggs and Jenny Beaver, among others.
        “This play is really built for this group that has done so much for theater in our community,” said King. “It’s all ensembles, and the play showcases a lot of what everybody does well.”{mosimage}
        The musical comedy Company opens on Friday, June 13, and runs through Sunday, June 29. Tickets range in price from $12 to $23. For times and dates, visit the CFRT Web site at www.CFRT.org or call the CFRT Box Office at 323-4233.

  • Details

        {mosimage}In preparation for the thousands of troops making their way to Fort Bragg due to BRAC reassignment, Fayetteville/Cumberland County is demonstrating its commitment to the military by creating an army of volunteer civilians known as the Army’s Army. The Army’s Army is the world’s only volunteer organization of citizens and businesses who’ve pledged their moral, physical and spiritual support to those in the military. Specifically, they’ll do everything they can to make soldiers and their families feel welcome, appreciated and safe in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
    {mosimage}As part of a Memorial Day celebration launching the initiative, Brig. Gen. Arthur Bartell thanked the citizens who volunteered for the Army’s Army. "They stay here because you open your hearts to the soldiers and family members of Fort Bragg and also Pope Air Force Base," said Bartell. "We call that, in the Army, selfless service."
        As members of the Army’s Army, volunteers will act as ambassadors to military families around the globe. Members can participate in various activities, such as answering e-mails and phone calls from soldiers and their families interested in finding out more about the community. Participating businesses, such as restaurants, may offer special discounts or have a table reserved at all times for the military. Bumper stickers on cars and posters in local community windows will serve as a constant reminder that the citizens of Fayetteville/Cumberland County support, appreciate and welcome soldiers.
        For more information about the Army’s Army, visit the Web site at www.armysarmy.com.

    Breastfeeding Coalition seeks info
        The Breastfeeding Coalition of Cumberland County is requesting nominations for “breastfeeding friendly” places of business, restaurants, public facilities or faith-based organizations. This could be a workplace that provides time and a place for a breastfeeding employee to pump and store expressed milk, it could be a business with a written breastfeeding policy, a restaurant or store that is accommodating to breastfeeding moms, or any business, faith-based or public facility that has welcomed a mother and her nursing baby.
    Nomination forms may be requested by calling (910) 484-8570 or via email to  HYPERLINK mailto:BfCoalitionofCC@gmail.com BfCoalitionofCC@gmail.com. Deadline for submissions is July 15, 2008.
        Presentation of certificates of recognition to selected establishments will be during World Breastfeeding Week, the first week in August.

    Cape Fear Valley Call for Art
        Calling all artists! Cape Fear Valley Health System will host a juried art exhibit to acquire original works of art by talented local and regional artists.
        The art exhibit will be during Fourth Friday on July 25 at the Arts Council headquarters in downtown Fayetteville. Up to 15-20 of the winning entries will be purchased by Cape Fear Valley Health System and displayed inside the new Valley Pavilion at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.
        The competition is open to all artists 18 years and older from North and South Carolina. A maximum of four, two-dimensional original works are allowed per entrant and must be submitted electronically by Wednesday, June 18. Initial judging of all entries will be done through JPEG submissions submitted on CD, DVD or USB jump drive. There is a $20 entry fee ($15 for Arts Council members) for two entries and $5 for each additional entry.
    Works chosen for the juried exhibition will be accepted Monday, July 14, through Thursday, July 17, and on Saturday, July 19, at the Arts Council headquarters. The Fourth Friday juried exhibition and reception is Friday, July 25, from 7-9 p.m.
        To download an entry form visit the Web site HYPERLINK “http://www.theartscouncil.com/” www.theartscouncil.com. Then get your creative juices flowing.

  • Details
    "Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it 'creative observation.' 'Creative viewing.'"
                                                                                                                                    — William Burroughs

    One of the oldest sayings in our lexicon is, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
    One might also ask, "If an artist produces a piece of art no one sees, is it really art?"
    While we here at Up and Coming Weekly can only shake our collective head at the first riddle, we’re going to tackle the second one straight up by sponsoring a trio of sculptures by Wilmington-based artist Paul Hill at our own Gallery 208, beginning June 26.
    The sculptures, which will be on display at Gallery 208 for a year, will give the public a chance to see first-rate art that might have otherwise been unknown to them, or secreted away in a private collection or art museum — works that are truly “art for the people,” says Michele Horn, assistant director/curator for the Fayetteville Museum of Art.
    "This allows access to sculpture for those who might feel intimidated by an art museum," said Horn. "This is art they can walk by and see, or even drive by in their car and see."
    While we’d rather you come into Gallery 208 to view the exhibit, a drive-by is fine, though anathema to the subject matter of one of the three pieces — "Insatiable." This particular piece, which is a medium of steel and collage, shows America’s gluttony — as the title implies — for fuel. The sculpture includes a metallic goat wearing a collage of articles about the rising cost of oil while standing atop a 50-gallon oil drum and an old oil pump. If you look inside the barrel, you’ll find a makeshift oil valve, which artist Hill says represents “the oil is coming out of the ground, but not out of the well.”
    {mosimage}"I typically don’t make a social commentary with my art," said Hill, a 61-year-old native of Texas. "But this subject seems to be so much in the news and on just about everybody’s worried mind."
    Hill, who spent most of his career as an illustrator, took up sculpture just eight years ago, helped along by friends who gave him a crash course in welding.
    "Learning the welding wasn’t that difficult," said Hill. "It’s coming up with the ideas and executing them that takes time."
    For Hill, "executing" a piece from sketch to completion usually takes about two months. Sometimes, he stretches out the completion date by adding on to a piece that looks like a finished product. Such is the case with Natural Progression, a steel sculpture that will also be on display at Gallery 208.
    Natural Progression is an elongated, nearly life-sized — at 11 feet tall — representation of a mother giraffe and her child. Hill says the piece is a direct reflection of how he sketches.
    "'Natural Progression' comes closest to what one of my initial sketches of a project looks like," said Hill. “And it’s not finished. I plan to add the father, who will be larger than the mother, to create an archway between the two sculptures.”
    Animals are a central theme in Hill’s work. If you check out his many art works at www.absolutearts.com, you’ll find a veritable menagerie of creatures great and small.
    “I find animals to be so graceful,” said Hill. “It’s a serenity I feel akin to.”
    Hill’s third piece that will be on display at Gallery 208 is also animal-related, a mixed-media sculpture of a fish entitled "Once Too Often." Crafted out of an amalgam of aluminum, stainless steel, copper and bronze, "Once Too Often" is also an amalgam of sea life.
    "Living here in Wilmington, fish are part of the landscape, what with fishing boats and deep sea charters," said Hill. "I didn’t model this after one particular type of fish — it’s an imaginary fish made up in my head."
    Hill says the theme of "Once Too Often" is that of “ruling the roost,” as the fish is rising upward off its base, with the head topped by a rooster-like crown.
    And visiting this display at Gallery 208 might just allow you to “rule the roost” among your friends when discussing the merit of public displays of art.
    The exhibition officially begins June 26 with a premiere party at Gallery 208 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

  • Details
    As a principal of a Cumberland County School, I am aware of the importance of educating and providing opportunities for our youth. It is important that we mold, nurture and treat every child as though he or she were our own.    Tuesday, June 24, is the Jimmy Raye Foundation Day. The foundation, in its sixth year, was started with the help of Coach Raye’s late friend, Ronald “Chase” Chalmers, who also worked to help the community. Coach Raye grew up on Murchison Road and attended E. E. Smith High School. He was the second African-American to get drafted and play quarterback in Division One at Michigan State and is currently the running back coach for the New York Jets.
    The foundation was started to benefit the youth of Fayetteville.
    {mosimage}“We started it as a means to give back to the community,” said Coach Raye.
    The mission is to provide progressive educational opportunities to identified at-risk adolescents that will enhance their ability to successfully function in society and positively impact the social and physical environment in which they live. The funds are used to provide scholarships for local students and registration fees.
    “We don’t want any kids to be denied an opportunity to participate because of registration funding,” said Coach Raye. 
    This year’s event will be similar to previous events, kicking off with a luncheon at Smith Recreation Center at noon. The lunch will include a free football clinic. The purpose of the luncheon is to raise money for community youths while enjoying lunch with NFL pros. The culminating activity is the free Kids’ Football Clinic that will be held on the E. E. Smith High School football field at 3 p.m., where several current and retired NFL players and coaches will facilitate the clinic.   
     “The event has grown through the help of the Tyler Nelson Chiropractor team and other sponsors,” said Coach Raye. “Hopefully, we will be able to raise enough money to pay the full registration fee for every youngster in the community.”   
    Seating packages for the event include premier seating with sponsorship recognition for $1,500, midfield seating is $800, backfield seating is $400 and bleacher seating costs $200. Individual tickets are also available for purchase. Speakers from previous luncheons have included such past and former NFL greats as Erick Dickerson, Curtis Martin, Joe Horn and Chad Pennington.
    This year’s speaker is Jamie Dukes. Dukes played 10 seasons in the NFL as a guard and center for the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals. He is an analyst on “NFL Total Access” and hosts a 30-minute opinion-based talk show entitled “Put Up Your Dukes.” 
     “Our goal is to sell the event and have as many kids as we can at the free football clinic,” said Jeff Harris, JMH marketing agent. “It’s all about one free day for the kids.”
    All kids must be registered. Forms will be at the football clinic. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For more information and to purchase tickets call 482-8865.

  • Details
        For the second time in as many weeks, the Fayetteville City Council discussed the formation of a new committee to vet volunteers for the city’s numerous boards and commissions. And, following a great deal of discussion, and assurances that the council would remain in ultimate control of the process, the council approved changes to the process.
        The new process was part of  a comprehensive overhaul of the system, which, in the past, left the council little time to adequately review the applicant’s qualifications and interests. The plan calls for a three prong process: Recruitment, Selection and Appointment and Training, Retention and Recognition.
        Under the Recruitment section of the plan was a call for a comprehensive marketing plan to make citizens aware of the roles boards and commissions play in local government, with an ultimate goal of creating a larger pool of volunteers. The Training, Retention and Recognition segment of the plan would ensure that volunteers understand their duties and the rules and regulations governing their actions. {mosimage}
        At contention was the formation of an Appointments Committee. The committee comprised of four members of the council, representatives from the city manager’s office, the city attorney’s office and the city clerk, would review all applications to ensure they meet the requirements for service on the boards and commissions on a bi-annual basis, and then make recommendations to the council.
        Council members noted that they had citizens questioning the process and whether it would affect their ability to continue to serve if the process was changed. Assistant City Manager Doug Hewitt explained that the process has, in fact, not changed. He explained that the committee would only ensure that the citizens who had applied for a board or commission lived in the city, did not serve on any other board or commission and if needed, met the professional requirements for service on a particular board.
        He noted that certain boards require a specific make-up. For instance, the Historic Resources Commission calls for membership to include an architect and an attorney.
        He added that in the past, people who live outside of the city or who did not hold the professional qualifications needed for service on a particular board had come up for a vote by the council. He said the Appointment Committee would ensure that that did not happen, adding, "Council still has the opportunity to look at the applications and decide the appointments," he said.
        Councilman Charles Evans questioned the need for the committee. "We’re selecting a committee for people who are volunteering their service. I’m really trying to understand why we are selecting this committee. Do we think people are not going to be truthful or are not capable of committing to what they are asking for appointment?" questioned Evans.
        Hewett noted that the committee would be in place simply to make sure any issues related to appointment were made prior to the appointments being brought to the council.
        Councilman Bates said that the new plan would inform the community of the boards and commissions and ensure that the citizens understand fully what they are getting into.
        The council passed the recommendation, with Evans the lone vote in opposition.

  • Details
        We Americans, whatever our partisan inclinations and affiliations, have endured and resolved another long and bruising presidential primary season.
        Both Democrats and Republicans have settled upon candidates for president. Both John McCain and Barack Obama are now pondering and vetting various vice-presidential possibilities.
        In every way, 2008 is shaping up as the year of historic political firsts: The first woman to run a viable campaign for president.
        The first person of color to win his party’s nomination for president.
        The first person over the age of 70 to win his party’s nomination for president.
        One of these "firsts" will be our next president, and we now know it will not be the first woman. Hillary Clinton ran a competitive campaign but bowed out because she did not have the numbers.
        Do you see the next woman coming who will be both willing and able to mount and sustain a campaign for president? Where, oh where, can she be?
        Perhaps she is in Congress or will be. But the Congressional women who have achieved national name recognition, Senators Dianne Feinstein, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Patty Murray and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, are more toward the ends of their careers than the beginnings. Maybe she is in Congress, and we do not know her yet. The numbers are not huge, 16 percent of the House members are women and 16 of 100 Senators, but maybe she is among the younger ranks of these women. The reality is, though, that more of our presidents have come from state offices rather than from Congress, so perhaps she is serving in a state office.
        {mosimage}A recent piece in the New York Times by Kate Zernike notes that women currently make up about a quarter of state legislators and statewide elected officials. Look at our own state’s slate of candidates this year. A woman has an excellent chance of becoming our next governor, and we will absolutely elect a woman to the United States Senate as both parties’ nominees are women. Perhaps she is one of my colleagues now.
        A significant number of our presidents have, in fact, been governors, so maybe she is among those ranks or will be. Names that are being bandied about now include Governors Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, and Sarah Palin of Alaska.
        Or perhaps we haven’t heard of her yet. Perhaps our first woman president is so far into our nation’s future that she has not been born. Even though we do not see her face yet, or perhaps because we do not, speculation abounds, both published and over water coolers throughout the nation.
        Here is how Zernike of the Times put it.
    "That woman will come from the South, or west of the Mississippi. She will be a Democrat who has won in a red state, or a Republican who has emerged from the private sector to run for governor. She will have executive experience, and have served in a job like attorney general, where she will have proven herself to be 'a fighter' (a caring one, of course).
        "She will be young enough to qualify as post feminist (in the way Senator Barack Obama has come off as post racial), unencumbered by the battles of the past. She will be married with children, but not young children. She will be emphasizing her experience, and, yes, wearing pantsuits."
        I certainly have never read any speculation like that about a male candidate for any office, which brings up another topic.
        Because she was first, Hillary Clinton was on the receiving end of media unlike that of her male counterparts. Remember when she teared up on the campaign trail? That was reported time and time again as showing her "feminine side," her "humanity," a "tender Hillary." Do you know any human being, man or woman, who has never wept over something?
        Then there were the jokes, some truly cruel. That Hillary Clinton would never get the male vote because men look at her and see their ex-wives — and then there was David Letterman’s wisecrack that when Clinton needed to raise more campaign funds she should enter a "wet pantsuit" contest.
        Did you hear that kind of thing about any other presidential candidate?
        Our first woman president may or may not be out there somewhere in America listening to all of this, and if she is, it may or may not give her pause in her own political ambitions.
        I think when the dust settles on the 2008 presidential race with all its "firsts," we are going to see and acknowledge that for whatever reasons, female candidates at the highest level are still treated and viewed differently than male candidates of whatever race, even though that may not be the case in state and local races.
        I do not see our first woman president coming yet, and she may not arrive during my lifetime. But please let me know if you get a glimpse of her striding across America toward the White House.
       

  • Details
        When individuals speak against accepted truths, they often find themselves in hot water. Folks in Europe thought Columbus was pretty crazy when he said the world was round. Councilwoman Val Applewhite drew the ire of local leaders recently when she suggested that there was more to Fayetteville than downtown. GASP! Heresy! But, I, along with a lot of people, happen to agree with her.
        {mosimage}Fayetteville’s downtown is a wonderful asset to our city. I have noted numerous times in this very space how much my family and I enjoy our afternoons in the city center. But we enjoy a lot of our time in other areas of the city as well. We love Lake Rim Park. Yeah, I know those of you who think the city drops off at the end of the city center, are asking yourselves, “Lake Rim Park? I thought the only park we had was Festival Park.” But it’s not. We enjoy shopping at the mall (don’t start your bonfire yet), just as we enjoy the shops downtown. Over the years, we’ve found some unique restaurants all over the city — that doesn’t take away from the joy we have in dining downtown. It just is.
        And Applewhite, one of the newbies on the council, has yet to learn that you don’t go around yelling “the emperor has no clothes.” She has taken to heart her charge to represent the people who elected her. And they don’t live and breathe and have their being downtown. They live in west Fayetteville.
        You know, the folks who came kicking and screaming into the city limits. They are the folks who are paying for services they don’t get — for water and sewer that won’t be their way for a number of years, for buses that come nowhere near their neighborhoods. You remember those people, don’t you?
        So when Applewhite spoke in opposition to the hiring of a downtown manager, she wasn’t doing it because she didn’t understand how important the downtown is to economic development — she did it because she saw the need in her district. She saw a sector of the city that’s getting left in the cold, but asked to pay the heating bill. And she stood up.
        Local businessman John Malzone recently took her to task for her comments at the city council public forum. Malzone is a champion of downtown, and we salute him for that. But Applewhite is a champion for the people and that carries a lot of weight. She wasn’t, and we aren’t, suggesting the city abandon downtown or investigate its needs. But what she was saying, and we can agree with, is that if our community is to grow and prosper, then all areas of the community must grow and prosper.
        She understands that if the emperor has new clothes, but the rest of the city is shoeless and in rags, we haven’t really achieved anything.

  • Details
        Earlier this year, Fortune magazine published a long — and I thought — remarkable profile of Melinda Gates.
        There is a bit of jockeying for the world’s richest person position, but her husband, Bill, is always in the Top Five, which is to say, as F. Scott Fitzgerald did, that “the rich are not like you and me.” If Fortune is right though, Melinda Gates has her own feet anchored firmly on the ground.
        Bill Gates’ story is well-known. He grew up an all-American nerd in a privileged family in Seattle, became Harvard’s most famous dropout, founded Microsoft and the rest is history. Melinda French grew up in Dallas, one of four children of a hardworking engineer father and a stay-at-home mother. At her all-girls Catholic high school, she realized that getting ahead meant being tops in her class. She emerged as a valedictorian fascinated by computers and earned both a B.A. and an M.B.A. in five years at Duke University.
        {mosimage}Melinda French, 22, and still into computers, went to work at a fledgling young company, Microsoft, where she met and eventually married the driven and still nerdy CEO. She moved, albeit reluctantly, into his gigantic techno-mansion where they are raising their three children under as “normal” circumstances as possible.
        And in the strangest twist of fate life has tossed Melinda French Gates’ way — she now presides alongside her husband over the world’s largest philanthropic foundation with assets of more than $37 billion. Together, the Gates plan to give away 95 percent of their wealth during their lifetimes.
        All this from a Texas girl who nearly two decades ago as a high school student set one goal for herself — one goal each and every day.
        Gates seemed to pooh-pooh her goal-setting, telling Fortune her targets were modest, “The goals were run a mile, learn a new word, that sort of thing.”
        I am fascinated by the concept.
        Many of us do this every day without really thinking about it. We tell ourselves, “Today I will be at work on time, go to the grocery store, make sure the children do all their homework.” These too are goals, and we may feel disappointed in ourselves if we do not achieve them, however mundane they may be.
        But to set a daily goal for conscious self-improvement is another thing altogether. It is promising oneself that whatever we may accomplish today — do our jobs, run our households, raise our children — we will also do one thing to make ourselves better in our own eyes. Melinda French’s seemingly modest goals as a high school girl — run a mile and learn a new word — surely helped mold her into the woman whose focus and determination are exerting profound and positive effects on the world’s most basic and most troubling issues, including education and Third World human health.
    What seems most remarkable to me is that this clearly smart and thoughtful woman is partnering with her husband to devote most of their time and talents to helping people far less fortunate than they all over the world. What apparently began as a self-driven, self-imposed self-improvement plan has exploded into a global improvement plan.
        The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has tackled such intransigent world health issues as malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis in the globe’s poorest countries. They offer small or “micro” loans and insurance to people who could never start a business or operate a farm without them. They fund green projects in places where subsistence is far more important than conservation. They invest in the issues that dog our nation’s public schools. Their funding handiwork can be seen in our own community at the Fuller Performance Learning Center. Here, students who have dropped out of high school for whatever reason are back in school online, fulfilling their course requirements and earning their high school diplomas.
    Melinda Gates told Fortune that her youthful goal-setting was modest, but her mind was clearly already on a much larger picture. In her valedictory address, she told her fellow graduates this: “If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.”
        None of us can do what the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is doing around the world, and doing so well; in fact, mega-investor Warren Buffett is giving the foundation controlled by the Gates the bulk of his fortune for philanthropic purposes as well. What we can do though, is be mindful of what we want to accomplish in our lives for ourselves and for others. A life lived without thought and direction cannot possibly have as much meaning as one lived with goals and with generosity of both money and spirit.
    The lesson of Melinda French Gates is to set goals, however modest or private, and to go for them.
        One a day.
       

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