by Jeckyl Suicide

A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups.

This week, Jeckyl Suicide gives us an exclusive peak inside SG’s innermost sanctum, the super private SG Lounge.

Members: 2,916 / Comments: 330,432

WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: It’s given me the opportunity to meet and get to know some of my fellow SG sisters. It’s a relaxed and open space where we can all just be ourselves and be open and supportive. There’s a lot of love in that group.

DISCUSSION TIP: Anything goes. The more random the better. We pretty much discuss everything under the sun.

BEST RANDOM QUOTE: “SG is a place where we can make friends or acquaintances with girls from all over the world who share our interests.”

MOST HEATED DISCUSSION THREAD: What? SG’s never fight or argue. EVER. +cough+

WHO’S WELCOME TO JOIN?: The place for SuicideGirls to talk amongst ourselves. Private; SuicideGirls only.

[..]

by A.J. Focht

The New Year is off to a good start as nerd rage scores one over the film industry. After the massive amount of complaints surrounding Bane’s voice in The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. has cracked and made it easier to understand in the audio mix. While Christopher Nolan had no intentions of changing the voice, the studio’s fear of the fan outrage won out.

That wasn’t the only news from The Dark Knight Rises to break last week. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Anne Hathaway released some previously unknown details about scenes in the film. As if that wasn’t enough, the forty second montage from the prologue was leaked last week, and promptly removed.

Marvel Studios has released a new movie poster for The Avengers. The poster taps into the recent fad for classic looking movie posters. While the art style rather interesting, the poster is just about what you would have expected.

After five years of legal wrangling, the courts have made a decision as to the proper owners of Ghost Rider. No shocker, but Marvel will retain the rights. The case was brought to the court by Gary Friedrich, the modern re-creator of Ghost Rider. Marvel commissioned him to update their original Ghost Rider, a cowboy, and he delivered with the well-known skeleton motorcycle rider. Unfortunately for Mr. Friedrich, he signed over all rights of his character to Marvel, twice. It was on this grounds that the court decided that Marvel would keep all rights, and Friedrich, whose complaint stemmed from being cut out of the profits from the first movie, won’t be seeing profits from the upcoming sequel either. Just a good reminder to all artists to make sure they keep track of their intellectual rights.

Some more legal bullshitting coming out of Marvel; their lawyers are now proposing the case that the X-Men are not human. While the Mutant versus Human status has long been an issue in the comics, this time it’s being used in the real world for capitalistic gain. Certain countries tax less on figures that are not human, and thus, Marvel must insist that the X-Men are not humans. Perhaps these countries should change the wording to ‘humanoid’ to avoid confusion.

The largest scale model of Serenity has been found in the depths of the Universal Archives. The replica builders at Quantum Mechanix came across the model used in the Firefly series and had a chance to take several photos. Someone really should consider rescuing this piece and putting it some sort of science fiction museum, lest it disappears again into the depths, never to be seen again.

One last bit of news, Netflix has released a three minute trailer for their first original series Lilyhammer. It follows the story of an ex-mobster who enters the witness protection program. Sopranos veteran Steven Van Zandt plays the role of the protagonist, Frank ‘The Fixer’ Tagliano. This is the debut original series to come from Netflix, but they have several others in the works, including the final season of Arrested Development.

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: I’ve never really ever written to one of these before but…yea…I’ve been single for the last eight months, since my ex dumped me (I later found out the she was cheating on me). Ever since I’ve been living the single life, which is a life that i absolutely hate. Despite looking, I have been unable to find a girlfriend, and it’s becoming increasingly more frustrating.

Thanks.

A: I always feel for people who have difficulty enjoying being single. I strongly advocate single time as freedom time, meaning you have the freedom to do what you enjoy 100% of the time. I hope you find ways to take advantage of this. This might not be what you want to hear, but I think you should consciously spend a bit more time living the single life, but from now on focusing on enjoying your life for what it is and using your free time for you.

Why not join a sports team, take up a new hobby, or volunteer for a project at work? Not only will you be busier and have less time to dwell on past relationships or your single status, but hopefully your confidence will grow as your life does. When you meet your next girlfriend or even your next date, you will be happy with yourself and full of confidence.

As for the girl at college, unless you get to know her better, you’ll never know her reasons for turning down the date. She may indeed find you attractive, but if she feels strongly about not dating during school and has a busy life already, those reasons may be more important to her than her attraction to you or any other potential date. Do keep in mind this is likely not personal if she’s focusing on her education above all else or not dating for other reasons.

Also remember that you are also still in college, with plenty going on already in your life. Being in a relationship is great, but you have a long life ahead of you and if you’re not in one right now, who’s to say you won’t be by the time you graduate or shortly thereafter? I know some people meet their long-term partners in college or even high school, but most don’t. Try to stop focusing on having a girlfriend and just enjoy dating and meeting new people.

– Yulia

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

by Blogbot

Every week we ask the ladies and gentlemen of the web to show us their finest ink in celebration of #TattooTuesday.

Our favorite submission from Twitter wins a free 3 month membership to SuicideGirls.com.

Last week’s winners is @beautiful_chaos.

Enter this week’s competition by replying to this tweet with a pic of your fav tattoo and the #tattootuesday hashtag.

Good luck!

A few things to remember:

• You have to be 18 to qualify.
• The tattoo has to be yours…that means permanently etched on your body.
• On Twitter we search for your entries by looking up the hashtag #TattooTuesday, so make sure you include it in your tweet!

Check out the Tattoo Tuesday winners of weeks past!

by Zach Roberts

There are many different kinds of press that cover OWS: the citizen journalist (personal blog, CNN ireporter/scab), the streamer (Livestream, Ustream, etc.), the social media micro-blogger/tweeter, and the pros who make their living from it. This may be one of the first large stories that all four types have worked together on for the most part with a common goal – getting the word out. It’s tough, there’s many factors working against all of us – the weather, the time of day, and the biggest problem – the police. Whatever your level, I’ve compiled a list of equipment that’ll keep you and what you’re witnessing covered.

1. Like the OWS protestor, Occupy journalists are at risk from pepper spray and tear gas – but we need to keep on working through it. A face mask with full facepiece that has a large unobstructed viewing area is therefore a great accessory to have on hand.

2. Come rain or shine journalists need to be there – and so does our gear. Pics or it didn’t happen – that’s the mantra. So you’ll need some rain covers. There are more expensive ones out there, but they take up room in your bag and once they’re wet you can’t put them back in your bag. The great thing about these is once the sun is shining again you can just chuck them in the trash – or hang them to dry if you’re a hippy.

3. Whether you’re a social journo or a pro, you’ll need to be tweeting/texting your followers/editors. And unless you work off a Blackberry (I mean, really who does?), you’ll need to be able to touch your screen. If you’re covering OWS in NYC, Chi-town, Boston or Anchorage (yes there is a OWS in Alaska), it gets cold out there – so you’ll need special touchscreen compatable gloves.

4. Speaking of phones, you’re gonna need something like the Samsung Vibrant with 5 MP camera / HD 720p camcorder and GPS. And, unless you’re grandfathered in on AT&T plan like I am, you won’t have unlimited bandwidth on your phone – unless you’re on the T-Mobile network. The streamers on the ground at #OWS tell me it’s the only way to go. Also the 4G speed will give you the quickest streaming and uploads for Twitpics. Make sure you get the Ustream and Tweetdeck apps.

5. The Nikon D7000 camera body is pricey – but when compared to the rigs the big pro’s use it’s a deal. It’s what I use to get shots like these. For a pro-sumer level camera, it’s built like a tank – but most importantly it shoots photos in the dark. No, not Blair Witch Project-style with green eyes, but with real colors that are almost better than what the human eye sees. To take full advantage of the camera’s sensor though you’ll want to pick up a lens with a wide 1.4 aperture – like this excellent Sigma 30mm 1.4 lens. It’s what I used to shoot video with down at Zuccotti Park.

6. Finally you’ll need some inspiration when you get hit with a bad case of writers block. For me it’s Laurie Penny’s book Penny Red. Hands down the best protest journalism I’ve read since…well, I’m not really sure when I’ve read better.

Related Posts

#D17 – Sitting on the Group W Bench – Arrested for Committing Journalism

Occupy Wall Street: The Cleansing of Zuccotti Park

Zach Roberts is a photojournalist for SuicideGirls, Greg Palast, and The Mudflats. His work on #OWS has appeared on The Guardian Online, in Portfolio, and now in a new book out by Alternet called The 99%: How the Occupy Wall Street Movement Is Changing America.

For more visit his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

by Blogbot

SuicideGirls’ team of Bloggers and Agony Aunts share their suggestions on how you can give 2012 a kick-ass kick start.

1. There’s someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time. Too long. You fear by now you’ve procrastinated so long that it’s lame to reach out, so you’ve effectively paralyzed a valuable friendship that could easily re-blossom with a single call. You’re not paralyzed, it’s just a head trip. Guilt is useless. Make that call. Say Hi. Apologize. Laugh. Love. Life’s too short. Do it right now. “Happy New Year! I suck” is a great way to start a conversation! – Steve Altman

2. Cut off deadwood! Start by defriending, hiding or blocking the toxic individuals from your Facebook and Twitter feeds. – Dalila Suicide

3. Spend time with people that make you feel taller, brighter, and more capable than you did before. – Darrah de jour

4. Try dating someone you wouldn’t ordinarily date. Like, say, maybe an introverted writer-type that contributes to your favorite alt-beauty blog. Or an evangelical Christian. Those are your only two choices though: the writer or the evangelical. Choose wisely. – Matt Dunbar

5. Spend some time with a niece, nephew or cousin who are growing up and could use your advice. – Atlea Suicide

6. Talk to someone from your Facebook list face-to-face. – CoyoteMike

7. Come to terms with the fact that you mom has a Facebook. – Shotgun Suicide

8. Eating vegetarian style meals reduces the green house gas production. Try to incorporate this in to your lifestyle one day a week. It’s good for you and the earth. – Aadie Suicide

9. Eat lots and lots of cupcakes!!!! What? They’re epic and always put a smile on my face! – Kraven Suicide

10. Unfuck your habitat! There’s nothing like vastly improving your quality of life by having a clean, organized living space. Need tips and/or motivation? Visit unfuckyourhabitat.tumblr.com/, because “no matter what our situations are, we deserve better than to live in filth.” – Perdita Suicide

11. Clean your car and your house through and through. – Atlea Suicide

12. Rearrange a room to get a fresh perspective on life. – Rambo Suicide

13. Go through all your clothes and decide if someone could make better use of some of them. Drop the excess baggage off at a shelter or contributing organization in your area. – Atlea Suicide

14. Donate those holiday presents that you don’t like. – Shotgun Suicide

15. Shop local whenever possible. – Salome Suicide

16. Eat at your favorite mom & pop restaurant, before it goes bankrupt too. – Shotgun Suicide

17. Set up a computer backup plan. Be ready for World Backup Day. – Bob Suicide

18. Start and finish a project you’ve had in mind for a long time. Renovations, painting a vase, knitting, really anything. – Atlea Suicide

19. Set a stupid goal and accomplish it, to prove to yourself that you can. – Darrah de jour

20. Quit saying you will do something and actually do it. When tasks, errands, and commitments are followed through with you feel much more productive. – Kraven Suicide

21. Take a risk. – Darrah de jour

22. Spend an hour with a happy dog, scratching his or her ears. – CoyoteMike

23. Try to go outside each day. Go for a walk. Make sure you have at least 20 minutes of “me” time. This way you’re incorporating self-thought and exercise. It’s very important to get to know yourself. You could be pleasantly surprised. – Aadie Suicide

24. Learn a new skill: baking, crocheting, taxidermy, etc. – Rambo Suicide

25. Take a college class that you want to take, not one that you need. – Shotgun Suicide

26. Find a hobby you can dedicate some time to. Something you love and have passion for. It keeps us young at heart and sane when we can lose our selves in something. – Kraven Suicide

27. Splurge on some really fancy underwear. – Rambo Suicide

28. Add a little color to your life however you see fit. A colorful world is so much better than a black and white one. – Kraven Suicide

29. Make time for yourself. Seriously. Put it in your calendar. Whether it is daily, weekly or monthly, schedule some time and don’t cut out on it for anyone. You’re the only one looking out for you. – Smythe Suicide

30. Treat yourself to an energy renewal weekend, be it at the spa or simply just by unplugging the phone and reading a book. – Atlea Suicide

31. Set up an automatic transfer of money into a savings account each month. – Salome Suicide

32. Watch Fight Club. – Darrah de jour

33. Listen to Valleyheart by She Wants Revenge – Nicole Powers

34. Read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (snag a free copy here) – EisMC2 and JackalAnon

35. See more live comedy and live music. – Squee Suicide

36. Support non-profit journalism – American Independent News Network, Truthout, GregPalast.com, BradBlog.com are all 501c3’s – donate to support the news that you read for free. Oh, and it’s tax deductible. – ZDRoberts

37. Protest the NDAA, unless you don’t care to plead the 5th. – Shotgun Suicide

38. Join the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) if you care about stopping SOPA. If you spend any time online, you should do. (For that matter, if you’re breathing, you should do!) – Nicole Powers

39. Protect your vote. The election is less than a year away, and you’ll need to start working now to make sure your vote actually counts. Find out why and how by downloading Steal Back Your Vote for free. SuicideGirls helped promote the project so you know it’s awesome and worth a read. – ZDRoberts

40. Get to know your presidential candidates. Look beyond the big social issues like abortion, and research their tax plans, health care ideas, and how they’ve voted in the past. You might find out they aren’t who you thought they were based on a few Facebook posts and Twitter campaigns. The election is coming soon. – Damon Martin

41. Stop by and say hi to your local Occupy. Shake someone’s hand and say “Thank you.” You’d be surprised how much it means to them. Oh, and give them a pair of mittens, it gets cold out there. – ZDRoberts

42. Write “Thank You” notes and post them to people who have helped you get through 2011. – Atlea Suicide

43. Send a letter to a friend, the kind with a stamp. – Shotgun Suicide

44. Create good karma. Treat others as you would want to be treated. In this day in age too many people are being hurtful towards one another in many forms. From anonymous hating via the internet, to being rude to a stranger just because your day didn’t go so well, to physical acts of hate out of spite, jealousy or lack of confidence. Think about how you can be a positive impact on others around you, from your family, friends, neighbors and strangers. Small gestures of kindness can go a long ways and karma will make its way back to you. – Dorsal Suicide

45. Pay for the next person in line at the coffee shop. – CoyoteMike

46. Find joy in the small things. It will help you appreciate the big things so much more. – Kraven Suicide

47. Make today count, because one day you will be nostalgic for it. – Shotgun Suicide

48. Spend more time living in the moment, and less time worrying about the past and the future. Neither of these exist – so live in the present! – Fabrizia Suicide

49. The past is over. Now move your ass. Welcome to 2012. – Darrah de jour

50. Have no regrets. It’s a New Year and that means progress. Do not look back, only forward to the happiness ahead! – Kraven Suicide

by Yashar Ali

Every election season, I ask myself the same question: Why aren’t more women running for public office?

Over the past ten years, I have been hopeful for the prospect and rise of women political candidates. While I never studied the numbers, I felt like we were heading in the right direction.

I couldn’t be more wrong.

Reporter Kate Linthicum’s brilliant Los Angeles Times article sheds light on the City of Los Angeles’ problem with proper female representation on the city council. The fifteen-member council, which had five female members eleven years ago, currently has just one, Jan Perry.

Current statistics about women holding federal office are equally dismal: women hold fewer than 20 percent of House and Senate seats. The House faced its first decline in 30 years with respect to women members.

Women hold fewer than 25 percent of seats in state legislatures. This sort of decline has not been seen in decades.

Why are we slipping back after so many years of slow but steady progress?

There exists real obstacles for prospective women politicians: media bias, lack of financial support, mediocre recruitment efforts, underfunded organizations built to help women run for public office.

I want to introduce a not-so-prominent problem: the serious deficiency of women in senior positions on political campaigns. With the exception of political fundraisers, you find very few women running campaigns or serving in top management spots.

The absence of women operating behind the scenes of political campaigns has been largely ignored. This is made clear by the complete absence of studies tracking the numbers of women working in politics. Open your newspaper and turn on your TV. You usually hear a senior-level male staffer speaking for candidates.

This isn’t just about my ideology. This is personal for me.

For the past two and half years, I worked for California Lieutenant Governor and former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. In my last position with him, I managed his 2010 race for Lieutenant Governor.

Lieutenant Governor Newsom and his wife, actress and documentary filmmaker, Jennifer Siebel Newsom (who made a brilliant documentary about women’s under-representation in positions of power and the limited and often disparaging portrayal of women in the media – see SG interview) expressed in this campaign their frustration and concern about the lack of women working on his campaigns.

Lieutenant Governor Newsom always asked, when we made hiring decisions, whether we could fill these posts with qualified women. This was not just a question for him. In his first year as mayor, he appointed San Francisco’s first female police chief and fire chief. He was also the first mayor to initiate gender analysis of budget cuts.

But I couldn’t find available and qualified women to take senior positions in his campaign. The few women I did know were already working on other campaigns.

Shawnda Westly, Executive Director of the California Democratic Party, saw a need to fix this problem in California. She, along with her colleague Robin Swanson, put their money where their mouth is, and launched a website called Political Women California.

Political Women California delivers a simple, but powerful mission: to give women working in politics a place to post their resumes so employers can find and hire them for campaigns, elections and political positions throughout California — and across the country.

Their site has been flooded with postings from women already working in politics in California. Even though I am not in the business of managing campaigns anymore, it helped me realize how many women are trying to work in politics.

Usually, people run for office after being exposed to a political campaign in one way or another. So the question is: how do we expect young women to motivate themselves to run for public office when all the people running campaigns are men?

This issue is not limited to Democrats. We need more women working on campaigns and in elective office across the political spectrum. Both parties should see the benefit of female leadership. But drawing from my personal experience, I want to speak to Democrats: There is no excuse. How can we demand equality for women in the workplace and fair wage laws, when we can’t manage to hire women for the campaigns professing these issues?

I spent the better part of two years working tirelessly for Hillary Clinton in her bid to be the 44th President of the United States. My passion for her candidacy was primarily based on my belief that she was the most qualified candidate for president. I felt her unique combination of experiences would serve our country incredibly well.

But there was another strong factor for my motivation. One I will not apologize for. I really wanted a woman president.

The dream I have for a woman president is not dead. However, if we don’t make conscious efforts to hire more women on political campaigns, we are not only limiting our talent pool, but we will also face an epidemic shortage of women running for office.

We must demand that candidates we support value diversity in their hiring practices. So, my message is for two people: the candidate and the campaign manager.

Next time you are walking through your campaign headquarters, take a look at the young woman who shows up everyday after her classes to volunteer. The same one who always pays her own way on public transportation to make phone calls and to help knock on doors. The same one that you are impressed by and think is better than half your paid staff. And probably the same one you take for granted. She could be president one day…if you give her a chance.

Yashar Ali is a Los Angeles-based columnist, commentator, and political veteran whose writings about women, gender inequality, political heroism, and society are showcased on his website, The Current Conscience. Please follow him on Twitter and join him on Facebook.

He will be soon releasing our first short e-book, entitled, A Message To Women From A Man: You Are Not Crazy — How We Teach Men That Women Are Crazy and How We Convince Women To Ignore Their Instincts. If you are interested and want to be notified when the book is released, please click here to sign-up.

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