by AJ Focht

The military uses virtual simulations to help train their soldiers but are you getting similar training when you ‘pwn noobz’ from home? Well maybe not the exact same training but there are many benefits you might not know about (especially since the mainstream media has such a low opinion of gamers and gaming they’re unlikely to highlight them). How can playing an hour of video games each day help your development? Gaming friends, please read on:

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Milky Suicide in Freak 80s

• INTO: Photography, different people, cooking, animals, art, hairdressing, make-up, body mods, travel, music, dance, and pin-ups.
• MAKES ME HAPPY: A smile, a good meal, the sun, walking on high heels.
• MAKES ME SAD: The rain.
• HOBBIES: Being a model, horse riding, playing with my dog, listening music, and messing around with make-up.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Sleeping with my “Eeyore,” chocolate and candy, make-up, and my lovely dog.
• VICES: Greed and lust..

Get to know Milky better over at SuicideGirls.com!

by Alex Dueben

Dan Goldman is best known for “Shooting War,” a comic written by Anthony Lappe which he illustrated. It first appeared online at Smith Magazine before being collected into a book in 2007. Since then Goldman, a member of the online comic collective Act-i-vate, has crafted a number of comics for print and the web.

“Red Light Properties” is a project Goldman has been developing for years and since January he’s been serializing the book on Tor.com. It’s the story of a small Miami Beach real estate firm – with a specialty – taking on haunted properties and exorcising the ghosts before selling them on. This isn’t ghostbusters, though. The plot’s a lot stranger and more complex, as are the characters.

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Akito Suicide in In And Out

• INTO: Tattoos, partying, make up, shoes, parks, drinking, and singing.
• NOT INTO: Wet hands, rainy days, children, fat people, and hangovers.
• MAKES ME HAPPY: Sunshine, kittens, cupcakes, sleep, creating stuff with my hands, and my friends.
• MAKES ME SAD: Rude stupid people.
• HOBBIES: Making plush toys.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Lipstick, mp3 player.

Get to know Akito better over at SuicideGirls.com!

by Brett Warner

As far as pieces of paper go, this one isn’t especially impressive. At 14 x 11 inches, it won’t fit in any common sized frame. Thick and off-white, its menacing black ink still glistens slightly in the light. The stamped, indecipherable signatures of the Provost, President, and the Dean rest at the bottom; My name sits in the exact center, in the same archaic font as the university and school title. “In witness whereof we have caused this diploma to be signed by the duly authorized officers of the University and sealed with our corporate seal…” No frill, no frou-frou flourishes – just cold, dead language. At $158,298.25, this boring piece of paper is the most expensive thing I may ever own. I keep it in a box underneath the basement pool table.

NPR reports that in June of this year, student loan debt in the United States exceeded credit card debt for the first time, peaking this summer at $830 billion. Public and private tuition continues to skyrocket each year, out-escalating inflation and household incomes. In the 2008, the percentage of student loan defaults rose from 6.7 to 7 percent in a single year. In the case of for-profit colleges that number rises to 11.6 percent (according to Bloomberg). Extended repayment plans of up to 25 or 30 years have become commonplace, and an entire generation of college graduates have found themselves dependent on high-paying jobs for their very survival – jobs that may or, most likely, may not be waiting for them. Had I the foresight to know how bad the job market would eventually get, or even just exactly how much money I would owe, I might have made some very different choices. But as it stands, this author is one of thousands with a very costly piece of paper gathering dust. Standing for hours on end behind a cash register five days a week, it’s very easy to wonder, “What was the point of all this?”

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by Fred Topel

Pat Tillman was a safety for the Arizona Cardinals. In 2002, instead of renewing his NFL contract, he decided to enlist in the Army. As a Ranger, he served tours in Afghanistan, where he was killed in 2004. Early reports said he died taking enemy fire, but further investigation showed that it was actually a friendly fire incident. This would simply be a tragedy if the facts came out. But the military tried to spin a different story which resulted in a now exposed cover-up.

The Tillman Story is a documentary that shows what we were told about Pat Tillman, what actually happened to Pat Tillman, and why the government lied. Director Amir Bar-Lev follows Danni Tillman, Pat’s mom, and Kevin Tillman, his brother who also enlisted, as they piece together the truth and bring it to light.

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Trinidad Suicide in Tart

• INTO: Literature, photography, vegan cooking, art house films, poetry, good art, bikes, and cute dogs.
• NOT INTO: Misogyny, from either men or lesbians.
• MAKES ME HAPPY: Sunny days.
• MAKES ME SAD: Meat eaters, consumerism, ignorance.
• HOBBIES: Cooking, taking pictures, writing.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Camera, vibrator, notebook, lip gloss, and cupcakes.
• VICES: Forgetfulness.

Get to know Trinidad better over at SuicideGirls.com!