by Nicole Powers

The perfect presents for the #99Percenters that #Occupy a special place in your heart.

1. V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes Mask ($5.40)

Gotta start with the basics, and at this price it makes for a great stocking stuffer!

2. Israeli Civilian Gas Mask w/ Nato Filter ($20.25)
…And for the kids: Israeli Civilian Children’s Gas Mask w/ Nato Filter ($16.42)

For those situations when a Guy Fawkes mask won’t cut it. This anti-gas gear was issued to Israeli civilians to face off against Saddam Hussein and his BFF Chemical Ali, so should be up to the job if you find yourself in the vicinity of Pepper Spray Cop. They provide NBC (neuclear, biological, chemical) protection, have a water intake port (for hydration without tears), and come with one sealed filter.

3. OWS Bandana ($16.50)

A super stylish, multi-purpose, pocket-sized anonymizer / accessory that’s “perfect for protecting yourself from sudden dust storms and outbreaks of authoritarianism.”

4. Marmot Limelight 2P ($199.00)

Quick to set up and take down, this lightweight tent is ideal for those unexpected 3 AM evictions!

5. Get Out Of Jail Free Card ($0-$5,000.00+ depending on DA and/or judge)

Nothing says “I Love You” like bailing someone out of jail. Print this card out and give it to the person you’d like to take liberties with, or become a Secret Santa and donate to your local Occupy Bail Fund.

6. ReVIVE Series Solar ReStore External Battery Pack with Universal USB Charging Port ($27.99)

The only thing worse than being arrested is having your smartphone die while it’s happening. With this device, you can make sure you’re fully charged (while keeping it green), so you don’t miss capturing those special moments.

7. Parrot AR.Drone ($299.95)

Whose drone? Our drone! This quadricopter comes complete with an onboard video camera and can be controlled via iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, making it ideal for getting a bird’s eye view up on your Livestream. Though the price may be a little steep for most 99 percenters, it’s still a hell of a lot cheaper than the drone our military lost behind enemy lines recently – and at this price you won’t need to suffer the indignity of asking for it back!

8. Civil Unrest Lego Set

Occupying Lego Land is a great way for the 99% to express themselves this holiday season. Though Slate.com’s Legotti Park-inspired prototype “Civil Unrest” Lego sets haven’t quite hit stores yet, you can order the Mobile Police Unit and Earth Defense HQ as featured in their “Arab Spring” and “O.W.S. Riot Brigade” packages direct from Lego.com/.

9. Vultures’ Picnic: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates, and High-Finance Carnivores by Greg Palast ($17.79) and Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life by Neil Strauss ($11.55)

Vultures’ Picnic is an eye-opening crash course on why we #Occupy, while Emergency serves as a primer on how to keep yourself safe while doing it. And if the NDAA passes, and an unlimited stay in Guantanamo Bay or at your local FEMA camp doesn’t appeal, it also offers some great tips on how to break free from handcuffs and get out of dodge.

10. Tyranny Has a Witness by Shepard Fairey / Obey ($75.00)

Based on a photo taken by Yuri Kozyrev/ NOOR for Time Magaine, this powerful 18 x 24 inch screen print is signed and numbered (being a limited edition of 450). It’s also a gift that keeps on giving, since a portion of the proceeds will go to Human Rights Watch.

Thanks to JackalAnon, EisMC2, Colinism, OakFoSho and ZDRoberts for assisting with this list. XOX

[..]

by Laurelin

Winter is coming. Maybe I have been way too involved in reading the Game of Thrones series, but that phrase has been running the show these past few months. Winter is coming, cold weather, boyfriend season. It’s time to stockpile your nuts in anticipation of frozen ground, time to find some people to hibernate with, someone to snuggle with to save money on that heat bill. Whatever the reason, winter IS coming… and so far I think my stockroom is looking alright.

My best friend looked at me the other day and cautiously asked if she could tell me something. I said of course, and she slowly said, “I don’t think you’re over your ex-boyfriend.”

I laughed. “What was your first clue?” I said.

“Thank God,” she replied. “Well, you never came out and said it, so I didn’t want to bring it up.”

She’s right, although I feel like I always bring it up. For some reason lately his name has never been far from my mind, and even now, months later, I feel almost worse off than when it had just happened. It doesn’t make sense to me; it’s not like we had this incredible connection that I felt left a hole in my life. I have managed to maintain a normal work relationship with him, I have managed to keep calm when I need to and to keep a smile on my face. But I guess I never really had that healing ‘out of sight out of mind’ time period, and for some reason my mind is starting to play tricks on me, making me think I made a mistake. Making me wish that things hadn’t ended.

It’s not like I haven’t been dating and trying to move on. I went on a coffee date with a stranger, I’ve marched into the bar across the street and given my number to a bartender that I’ve always thought was cute. He called, and we’ve been meeting for drinks here and there, but in the back of my mind I think I’m doing it just for the challenge. When I go out with any of these guys I truly am looking for a connection. I don’t want to randomly hook up. I don’t even mean to stockpile for winter, it’s not nice. But all of a sudden I’m feeling wishy-washy, and for whatever reason on the first date we’re holding hands, and I’m smiling sweetly but really, I’m screaming, “WHO DOES THAT? GET ME OUTTA HERE!”

The other night after getting drinks with one guy (and a ride home from another) I decided to return a phone call from a far off ex-boyfriend, he had been calling during the date and I kept pushing him to voicemail.

“How was your date?” he asked.

“It was alright,” I say. “I miss you,” and I mean it. This guy and I are strictly friends now, and he moved to Los Angeles recently. We talk on the phone often, but he is greatly missed.

“Get in a cab and come to the Park Plaza hotel,” he says. “I’m in Boston.” Two minutes later I am back in a cab and heading downtown at two a.m., certain the cab driver thinks I’m a hooker. I pull up outside the hotel and walk through the doors into the most beautiful lobby I have ever seen. Crystal chandeliers hang from cathedral ceilings and music plays softly, drifting around the biggest Christmas tree I have ever seen. I walk to the tree and look around until I hear him call my name, and we just hug for a few minutes. I feel like I’m in a movie, a good holiday heartwarming moment. He was someone who left a hole in my life when he left, and sometimes a hug from a friend at two a.m. in front of a fancy hotel Christmas tree is just what you need to feel whole again.

I spend the night, but we just talk and fall asleep. I laugh to myself going over the day in my head, a full shift at work, a burlesque ballet performance, drinks with one guy, a lift home from another, back in a cab to meet another at a hotel at three a.m. My best friend’s words echo in my head and I say them out loud to my friend and he nods knowingly. I’m not over my ex. I feel like I’m taking a huge step backwards. I shouldn’t have gone out with any of these guys, it’s not fair to them. I’m not really giving them a chance, I’m just trying to fill a space where something is missing. I sigh and snuggle up, the hotel room is cold, and winter is coming.

[..]

By Nicole Powers

Screenwriter Diablo Cody’s greatest achievement with her latest project, Young Adult, is to bring her audience to a point where they sympathize and empathize with the film’s in many ways distinctly unlikable central character. Mavis Gary (played by Charlize Theron) is the seemingly successful author of a series of young adult novels, who on the page has everything going for her. Yet, despite being blessed in both the looks and career department, happiness eludes her.

When an invitation arrives in her inbox to the christening of the daughter of her high school sweetheart, Buddy (Patrick Wilson), Mavis decides to return to her hometown to reclaim her former glory – and her former boyfriend. Blinded by her own narcissism, Mavis chooses to ignore the fact that Buddy is now happily married as she obsessively engages in the shameless pursuit of her unavailable ex.

A chance meeting with a former classmate she barely remembers, Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), provides Mavis with a drinking buddy, and a voice of reason. However, despite forming an unlikely bond with Matt, who in the wake of a high school beating is left as physically challenged as she is mentally, Mavis is unwilling and unable to retreat from the comfort of her self-delusions to see her world as it really is.

As with Cody’s Academy Award-winning screenplay for Juno, Young Adult combines subtle storytelling with unconventional choices. An exercise in nuance and tone, which sees Cody reunited with her Juno cohort, director Jason Reitman (Up In The Air), the film features award-worthy performances from both Theron and Oswalt that – as with the script – are remarkable for their realness.

SuicideGirls sat down with Cody in New York to talk about the film.

Read our exclusive interview with Diablo Cody on SuicideGirls.com.

Soya Suicide in Is A Panda

• INTO: My kittens, pandas, pizza, vinyl, dresses, smoothies, tea, walking, teal, purple, white, healthy snacks, hugs, being picked up, nerds, hula hoops, Game of Thrones, baking, Phoebe.
• NOT INTO: White rice/bread, people who swear too much, pants, meat, one-armed hugs, coffee, the top sheet, haters.
• HOBBIES: I really don’t like the word “hobby.: It’s not my thing.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Love, kitties, sneezing, technology, vital organs.
• VICES: Maneater.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Naked and California dreamin’.

Get to know Soya better over at SuicideGirls.com!