by Daniel Robert Epstein

“It hits me as a filmmaker because when you are allowed to make a film with a lot of control it’’s a very intimate experience.”
– Alexander Payne

Alexander Payne is the handsome young director of the films Citizen Ruth, Election and About Schmidt. His latest picture is Sideways, starring Paul Giamatti and Payne’’s wife Sandra Oh.

Sideways is the story of Miles Raymond [Paul Giamatti], a failed writer who teaches junior high school English. He takes his best friend, former hot actor Jack [Thomas Haden Church] on a weeklong drive up to wine country in California. There they explore the nature of their failures and question their relationships. Jack, who’s about to get married, has an affair and wonders whether he should call it off. Miles, recently divorced, questions whether or not he made the right choice.

Read our interview with Alexander Payne on SuicideGirls.com.

by SG’s Team Agony feat. Yulia

Let us answer life’s questions – because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls.

Q: Last summer my wife and I split up simply because she felt lonely, which is my fault completely. We did end up getting back together, but my problem is sex, which was once great has died away. She never feels like having it any more. She doesn’t even want oral sex either. Sex is not the most important thing to me, but I feel it is definitely hurting the relationship. I have tried everything in and out of the book, but have come up empty and am having thoughts about exploring my options. Is there anything I can do to restart my sex life back with my wife? I miss the fun we had.

A: Kudos to you for recognizing that your past behavior may have caused or contributed to your current situation. It’s also very brave of you both to give your relationship a second chance. This shows you each recognized a strong connection and believe it’s worth saving.

Since you say you’re not having much sex anymore, I’m going to assume you had sex more regularly pre-breakup. Your wife may be concerned that renewing your sex life together will begin a slippery slope back down to the loneliness she felt before your time apart. I don’t know how long you two have been back together, but even if it’s been months, you may still be rebuilding trust. Because sex is the most intimate act, it can be easy to assume that just because you’re sleeping with someone you know them well and are spending quality time together. And you are, but it’s often not enough. I have friends I’ve never kissed that I know more deeply than people I have slept with. It’s likely that this is the level of connection that your wife wants, and she may be trying hard to build a strong foundation first before she will let loose.

You need to make your wife feel special and special to YOU, like you want her and not just sex, period. But don’t just treat her to the traditional stuff (flowers, and restaurants), try branching out and giving her quality time where you can enjoy each other’s company as well as each other’s bodies.

Most of all, be patient. Your wife wouldn’t have gotten back together with you if she didn’t hope to rekindle the old fire. She might just be trying a different method this time to see if the bond will be stronger.

Best of luck.

Yulia

Got Problems? Let SuicideGirls’ team of Agony Aunts provide solutions. Email questions to: gotproblems@suicidegirls.com

by Daniel Robert Epstein

“As long as we enjoy playing music together, then that’s what I want to do.”
– Gary Powell

The Libertines have had a tough time during the past couple of years. After breaking out with their first song, “What a Waster,” they quickly descended into a Behind the Music-like hell when their frontman Pete Doherty became a heavy drug addict, nearly causing the breakup of the band.

But that’s all behind them now; They’’re releasing their latest self-titled album and it’’s their best one yet. I got a chance to talk with Libertines drummer Gary Powell.

Read our interview with Gary Powell on SuicideGirls.com.

by Nahp

A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups.

This week Yesenia tells us why she gets the warm and fuzzies with Cute Overload.

Members: 1,200 / Comments: 7,459

WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: I can always count on the posts in this group to make my day better. It is impossible for me not to smile, giggle, and have my heart melt when I browse the threads in Cute Overload. It is packed with cute photos and videos of animals, kids, and other cute things. There is a video someone posted of a blind kitten playing with its first toy, a jingly ball, and it nearly made me tear because it was so cute! There is a sticky thread dedicated to posting photos of your own pets, and another for posting baby pictures of yourself. Many members start their own threads to discuss a particular cute video they found online.

DISCUSSION TIP: Post anything cute! It can be something you saw online, or something you took a photo/video of yourself. The cuter the better!!

MOST HEATED DISCUSSION THREAD:
I don’t think there are any heated threads. I would be surprised if I found one.

BEST RANDOM QUOTE: Pretty much anything a child says, and there are plenty of those videos in the group.

WHO’S WELCOME TO JOIN?: Anyone is welcome to join, and once you do, The cutest thing I saw today… is always a good place to start.

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A.J. Focht

CW’s show Arrow based on the Green Arrow from DC comics will be premiering next week on October 10. Before it premiers, catch a first look at the story of Oliver Queen’s return after five years exiled on an island. There is also a first look at Kelly Hu as China White. Jessica de Gouw, who is playing The Huntress, talked about the difficulties with the role, citing she researched the comics for her role.

Thor is Marvel’s premier fantasy based title. The movie blended the fantasy element with reality, and the sequel, Thor: The Dark World, is set to delve even deeper into the fantasy side. It has recently been announced the film will take place across all nine realms, not just Earth and Asgard. Producer Kevin Fiege hopes the studio’s choice to go with Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor will pay off in bring out the fantasy element. Thor: The Dark World is scheduled for November 8, 2012.

Superman is returning to the silver screen on June 14, 2013 in Man of Steel. “What Christopher Nolan and I have done with Superman is try to bring the same naturalistic approach that we adopted for the Batman trilogy. We always had a naturalistic approach, we want our stories to be rooted in reality, like they could happen in the same world we live in. It’s not that easy with Superman, and actually this doesn’t necessarily mean we will make a dark movie. But working on this reboot we are thinking about what would happen if a story like this one actually happened. How would people react to this? What impact would the presence of Superman in the real world have?” – Collider

A few months back, I reported there were talks of remaking The Munsters into a new show called Mockingbird Lane. It’s sad news with Halloween around the corner, but it looks like the series will not happen after all. The pilot was directed by Bryan Singer and starred Jerry O’Connel, Portia de Rossi, and Eddie Izzard as the Grandpa. NBC axed the show reportedly due to its ‘high-concept premise.’

On a final note, Stan Lee, in an effort to be more like Tony Stark, has had an electronic pacemaker put in. Lee took a short break from his convention schedules last week, and announced the news on Twitter. Lee comments that the pacemaker is “to insure that he’ll be able to lead thee for another 90 years.” I for one am glad the Generalissimo is doing well, and hope that whatever incidents that led to this (besides wanting to emulate Tony Stark) are now all fixed.

by Greg Palast

What the hell happened? Did Barack have a fight with Michelle? Was it nicotine withdrawal? Do really rich guys just scare you, Mr. Obama?

Dear Mr. President: As a journalist I don’t take partisan sides, but I do take America’s side. And as Commander-in-Chief, you simply cannot fall asleep in the saddle.

I mean Commander-in-Chief in the Class War. The war of the billionaires against the rest of us.

You were asked, “What is the role of government?”

You seemed stumped. Lost…

When Mr. PBS Bumblebrain asked you the difference between your views and Gov. Romney’s on Social Security, you said, “You know, I suspect that, on Social Security, we’ve got a somewhat similar position.”

Really, Mr. President, REALLY?

Romney says that if you’re 38 or 54, it doesn’t matter that you’ve paid into Medicare and Social Security all your life, you don’t get the insurance you paid for. You get some stinking voucher, some coupon that says, “Here’s a hundred bucks kid, go buy a gold watch.”

Who exactly is going to take a voucher to provide health insurance to a 72-year-old with asthma, in a walker and prostate problems?

Governor Romney said, with that smirky, smarmy grin, “I’d assume I’d rather have a private [health] plan.” Gee, Mr. Romney, could you give me the number of your insurance company and tell them to take my “voucher”?

Mr. President, you gabbled on about the Cleveland Medical Clinic and its “best practices.” Who the hell cares, Mr. President? There are people bleeding out here, LITERALLY BLEEDING, who now can get health coverage because of ObamaCare. For all its failings, it saves lives, saves homes from foreclosure caused by insane medical bills – only recently, the number one cause of foreclosures in America.

Can’t you even defend the one thing that’s worth a damn and has your name on it?

Romney’s wife has MS. That’s sad. But what’s tragic is that there are millions in America with MS who couldn’t get insurance because they have this prior condition—and are not married to an investment banker demi-billionaire.

I don’t care that you couldn’t seem to defend yourself tonight, Mr. President. That’s a Democratic Party headache. What I resent, what gets me furious and angry, is that you didn’t defend ME. Me and my family.

When Romney says he defends small business, let me tell you, I have a small business. I don’t need a tax break – hell, like most small businesses, we don’t make money. We need health insurance. We need government loans.

When Romney says government never does anything cheaper than the private sector, Mr. President, don’t you know that it was government mortgage agencies that funded America’s middle class homeownership? That’s what government did – and licked Hitler to boot.

When mortgages were privatized, we were thrown at the mercy of the Banksters.

(And why the hell did you, Mr. Obama, bring up that right-wing canard that banks just gave out mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them – blaming sub-prime predatory mortgage crimes on the victims. Sounds like you agree that 47% of Americans are leeches.)

Maybe it’s true that you, Mr. President, are actually just a hollow man, a creation of PR consultants and rich donors, a Ken-doll of repeating lines about “Hope,” “change” and “this country thrives when the middle class thrives.”

The truth is, you were ready to raise the retirement age for Social Security and cut back-room deals with drug companies. Maybe in the end, progressive policies are just a marketing niche you’ve found to cover aimless ambition and a yearning to compromise.

If someone drilled a hole in you, could we blow in and play you like a flute? Or is there some substance, some hard core of principal that couldn’t break out tonight because it was imprisoned by advisors who told you to play it safe, play it in a coma?

Mr. President, if you can’t explain why you are the Commander-in-Chief in this class war against the billionaire bandits attempting to seize our government, then get off the horse and let someone in the saddle who can ride.

A version of this story originally appeared on the The Mudflats.

Greg Palast is the author of the recently published New York Times Top 10 Bestseller Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps, which is available via Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Indie Bound. Author’s proceeds from the book go to the not-for-profit Palast Investigative Fund for reporting on voter protection issues.

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by Lee Camp

Okay, if you don’t watch this video because you’re curious how the world will end, then maybe you’ll at least watch it to learn the ins-and-outs of butt chugging. I wish I were kidding…I so very much wish I were kidding.

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