THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2017 FEATURES Newsworthy or not? Dear Annie: I’m a writer is newsworthy and would be of and photographer for a interest to your readers. If deep regional magazine. In my down you know the answer is town, there’s a local celebrity yes, put aside your own feel- whom I think has gotten a big ings and feature him. If the career on not-so-big talent. He answer really is no, then stop gets press coverage worrying about being DEAR everywhere for almost perceived as petty. By the way, these everything he does — ANNIE except in my little cor- days, people with mediocre talent can ner of culture writ- exceed if they’re ing. I have not pitched savvy at self-promo- any articles about him tion, and that’s really and instead cover less- not your local celeb- er-known people. In rity’s fault; it’s simply my mind, I’m lend- Lane the times we’re living ing credence to the Annie Creators Syndicate Inc. in, for better or worse. those who have actu- Dear Annie: There ally worked hard and don’t just market themselves are renters who recently moved well, but I worry that my petti- into our neighborhood. They ness is apparent and will limit have two children around the me career-wise. Which way age of 8 who help with chores should I go? — Rolling My and seem very well-man- nered. Lately, a neighborhood Eyes Dear Rolling My Eyes: boy around the same age has If almost every other publica- become a frequent visitor at tion is covering this man, then the house and constant play- surely no one misses him when mate. The boy, whom I’ll call he’s not in your magazine. “Johnny,” is well-known ... Still, I’d encourage you to and not for good reasons. He drop your angle and consider, has vandalized property, pur- as objectively as possible, posely walks out in front of whether whatever he is doing cars, uses bad language and defies authority. Johnny used to hang out at another house in the neigh- borhood but is no longer wel- come there because the father decided he was “a bad influ- ence.” I feel for Johnny. He is being raised by elderly grand- parents who are in bad health and offer little oversight. How- ever, I also wonder if I should warn the neighbor’s parents about Johnny’s history. What do you think? — Concerned in Georgia Dear Concerned: Your intentions are good, but you know what they say about good intentions. Keep your thoughts to yourself for now. Your new neighbor’s chil- dren sound wonderful, and it’s two well-behaved children with one not-so-well-behaved child. They might end up influencing Johnny for the bet- ter, setting him on the straight- and-narrow. Regardless, with whom your neighbor children spend time is completely up to their parents. If their parents should come to you with ques- tions about Johnny, then offer up your two cents. 5A TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You don’t necessar- ily want to be the leader. You don’t desire more power and influence than you already have. And yet, you will still model the attitudes and behav- iors you want to see in others. This is the heart of leadership. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Of course you prefer pleasant emotions. Who doesn’t? You also have the courage and patience to accept whatever feelings come up. Laughter and joy are as essential to being human as are frustration and tears. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Agree to deal with people as they are. More importantly, deal with yourself as you are. Personality traits are easier to enhance, shape or highlight than they are to shed. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Grand ges- tures are punctuation marks in the sentence of a love story. They are not the the story itself. The small, specific gestures that only the two of you understand bring greater proof of love than the big events. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Greed is boring. Those who are interested only in the sale miss the fun of the game. So while a driven person is more attractive to you than an idle one, a person who is only driven by his own self-interest is the least attractive of all. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Making a good impression and helping others feel good about themselves (and you) is serious business. There is nothing casual, hasty or accidental in your approach to this today. It matters to you — a lot. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). When you like some- thing, you immerse yourself in it. Because you take on your subjects of interest with gusto, you’ll be able to present a case for them that’s lively, challenging and convincing. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). One of the many positive things about social media is that it nudg- es us to celebrate the minutiae of daily life. The voice inside that asks, “Is this worth sharing?” has us more aware of the merits in a coffee cup or a sandwich. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Opportunities are gifts. To seize the opportunity and run with it is a living, breathing thank-you note. Such interplay will unfold beautifully today and you’ll show impressive grace in the exchange. FRANK AND ERNEST BLONDIE THATABABY SALLY FORTH PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN B.C. LOLA DILBERT SIX CHIX BIZARRO MUTTS NON SEQUITUR BABY BLUES WIZARD OF ID ZITS ROSE IS ROSE CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). It is difficult to track your progress when your pursuits are varied and many. Focus in on one goal. What is the measurement that will prove you’ve made it? Keeping record of this will help you stick to the plan and carry on. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You can’t help but be influenced by the people you spend the most time with. You’re either already like them or you’ll become like them. Even a very slight change in your social lineup will make a big difference. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Life is a balance. Part of that balance is being unbalanced from time to time. Today you’ll see quick progress precisely because you focus all of your energy in one direction. TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 2). This solar return you will endeavor to create special expe- riences for people and be mightily effective. The next 10 weeks show you getting healthier. Sep- tember’s hard work will be delayed but ample pay. In 2018 you’ll hit it off with new friends like a candle and a match, softly, warmly illuminating each other’s lives. Capricorn and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 12, 18, 33, 31 and 27.