By Blogbot
Cory Doctorow reads an excerpt from his “optimistic disaster novel” Walkaway at the Buena Vista Branch Library in Burbank, CA on Thursday, August 10, 2017.
For more on Cory and Walkaway, read our interview here.
For the past three years, writer, standup comic, and former SuicideGirls’ political correspondent Dave Anthony (aka SG member FearTheReaper of Asshole Fuckface Roundup fame) has been educating his friend and fellow comic Gareth Reynolds — and an increasingly large audience — on some amazing historical characters and events your teacher somehow omitted to tell you about in class. Turns out there’s a lot of epically awesome history that didn’t make the official curriculum.
Dave and Gareth’s podcast, The Dollop, was first launched in April, 2014. The premise is simple: Each episode, Dave, a strange history junkie, regales Gareth with a spectacularly stupid yet true story from America’s past, and Gareth reacts with appropriate (and inappropriate!) shock, awe, and witticisms. The Dollop formula was an instant hit, and three years on it’s been perfectly condensed into a book, The United States of Absurdity. Illustrated by James Fosdike, with a forward by Patton Oswalt, the book features 29 stories found down the back of history’s dirty, messy, and rather sticky sofa.
Some of the stuff Dave uncovers is just plain hilarious, while other inglorious passages from our past vividly illustrate how things a lot of the best minds at the time thought were top notch and the bee’s knees, were in fact — with the benefit of hindsight and a little perspective — indisputably batshit crazy. (Performing lobotomies through the eye socket with an ice pick, using electroshock therapy as an anesthetic, and “curing” a president with a fever by relieving him of 7.9 pints of blood, for example.) And there’s the rub. The Dollop isn’t just enlightening in terms of mood and history, it also subtly edifies us on the fact that many of today’s newsworthy episodes, with the benefit of time and distance, will similarly seem obviously and utterly insane — if we survive long enough to see them in the rear view mirror!
SuicideGirls caught up with Dave to find out more about what we’ve been missing in the 8 years since his funny-as-fuck sociopolitical musings graced our site thrice weekly. Read the full interview on SuicideGirls.com/.
The United States of Absurdity will be available where all good books are sold on May 09, 2017. You can find The Dollop on iTunes, Podbean, Podbay, Soundcloud, and Libsyn . If you like what you hear, please support Dave and Gareth’s hilarious history project on Patreon.
By Blogbot
This Wednesday Nicole Powers and Moxi and Bradley Suicide are celebrating May 4th, the most important date in the geek calendar — aka International Star Wars Day (May The 4th Be With You!) — with our favorite sci-fi author and game developer Steven-Elliot Altman. (Check out his dystopian novel, The Killswitch Review, which was serialized on SuicideGirls here.)
**UPDATE**
Want to learn more about Pearl’s Peril and Ancient Aliens — and why Moxi wants to have alien sex?!? Watch last night’s show feat. Steven-Elliot Altman here or via the player below.
Suicide Girls Interview: Game Developer Steven-Elliot Altman 05.04.2017 from Steve Altman on Vimeo.
You can listen – and watch – the world’s leading BYOB radio show live on Wednesday nights from 8 til 9 PM at our state-of-the-art all digital, 100% Hollywood home: ZHollywood.tv
If you have questions for the SG Radio crew or our guests, you can call in during the live broadcast at: 1-855-TRV-inLA (1-855-878-4652)
For updates on all things SG Radio-related, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
About Steven-Elliot Altman
Steven-Elliot Altman is a bestselling science fiction author, film and television screenwriter, graphic novelist, and videogame developer. His games include Acclaim’s multiple award-winning title 9Dragons and Wooga’s Facebook sensation Pearl’s Peril. Steve’s novels include Captain America Is Dead, Zen In The Art Of Slaying Vampires, Batman: Fear Itself, The Killswitch Review, The Irregulars, and Deprivers. He’s also the editor of the critically-acclaimed anthology The Touch and a contributor to Shadows Over Baker Street, a Hugo Award Winning anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories. Steve’s also a proud member of SFWA and the current Vice-Chairman of the steering committee of the Writers Guild of America’s Videogame Division. Steve is presently writing the videogame Ancient Aliens, based on the History Channels’ hit television series, and is overseeing the development of his own science fiction series for MarVista Entertainment based upon his novel Deprivers.
To cyber-stalk Steven-Elliot Altman, visit his Twitter.
Calling All SuicideGirl Videogame Fans!
Steven-Elliot Altman and the History Channel cordially invite you to check out the beta test of AncientAliens: The Game on Facebook (coming to mobile next week). Help ancient astronaut theorists uncover the truth about alien visitations in our remote past as you abduct humans, alter their DNA and build the pyramids.
Go here: https://apps.facebook.com/playancientaliens
Enter the password: “letsplayancientaliens” to be one of the first to experience the game and ask Steve any questions you may have.
The World’s Leading BYOB Radio Show Is Sponsored By Mangria
“As a nightly consumer of red wine, I was shocked one evening to find I had just half a glass left in the bottle. So I did what any decent alcoholic, ex-con, American would do… I went to the fridge and the liquor cabinet, then poured, mixed and measured. Thus Mangria was born.” — Adam Carolla
For more info visit Carolla Drink’s website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
by Blogbot
This Thursday, August 1st on SuicideGirls Radio host Nicole Powers will be joined in studio by dating expert Marni Kinrys of The Wing Girl Method and podcaster and online personality Vince In The Bay. Though they occupy very different worlds, they have much in common. As a mainstay of the Pick Up Artist scene, Marni teaches Social Engineering skills to men who want to improve their love life, and as the host of a popular Blog Talk Radio show which is beloved by hackers, trolls and Twitter tricksters, Vince is surrounded by denizens of the internet who are experts at SE. This week’s panel will be completed by VICE contributor Dell Cameron, and special guest co-hosts Moon and Brewin Suicide.
You can listen – and watch – the world’s leading naked radio show live on Thursday nights from 6 til 8 PM at our new state-of-the-art all digital home: TradioV.com/LA.
You’ll also be able to listen to our podcasts via Stitcher – download the app now!
If you have questions for the SG Radio crew or our guests, you can call in during the live broadcast at: 1-855-TRV-inLA (1-855-878-4652)
For updates on all things SG Radio-related, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
About Marni Kinrys | @WingGirlMethod
Educated at University of Western Ontario (Canada) with a BA in psychology, Marni Kinrys is the ultimate Wing Girl. A woman who puts her insider knowledge to good use for the betterment of all men by telling them what women really want, not what they say they want. Over the past eight years, Marni has collaborated with the top male attraction experts, sharing expertise and advice to help men find their ideal partners. She has worked with thousands of men all over the world to help them understand women so they can attract, date, seduce and get any woman they want without being a jerk. Her method is based on the key principle that: You gotta turn yourself on first before any woman will ever be attracted to you. Marni was recently awarded “World’s Best Female Pick-Up Artist” from the World Pick Up Artist Summit in Hollywood, CA and was honored as the “World’s Best Wing Girl” at the 2010 Global Pick-Up Conference. For more on Marni and her dating technique visit: winggirlmethod.com
About Vince In The Bay | @VinceintheBay
Vince is a podcaster, filmmaker, cyber criminal and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Vince’s short films have screened at various film festivals and his short documentary “A Subway Siren” was broadcast on PBS. He has shot/produced music videos for artists such as The Coup, Atari Teenage Riot, Galactic, and Black Sheep. As an activist, Vince has participated in campaigns against The Federal Reserve (End The Fed) and BART Police (Operation BART). Presently he is host of “Disorderly Conduct”, an Internet radio call-in show covering current events, digital activism, cyber crime, technology, politics, music, sexuality and featuring calls from some of the Internet’s most mentally challenged characters. Listen here: blogtalkradio.com/vinceinthebay
**UPDATE**
ICYMI: Here’s our August 1st pre-DefCon show featuring Marni Kinrys (Wing Girl), Vince In The Bay (Blog Talk Radio), Dell Cameron (VICE), and Brewin and Moon Suicide. Interweb trouble has a habit of following Vince around and this show was no exception. Though it was perhaps fitting that on the eve of our trip to the hacker-fest that was DefCon 21 in Las Vegas, our show got DDoSed and pizza bombed, and one of our girls got d0xed, all in the space of two short hours!
by Blogbot
This Thursday June 27th on SuicideGirls Radio hosts Nicole Powers and Juturna Suicide will be joined by activist Kevin M. Gallagher (Free Barrett Brown), academic and author Gabriella Coleman, and journalist Dell Cameron (VICE). We’ll be talking about the strange case of writer and security researcher Barrett Brown and the connections between his “ProjectPM” research and the more recent NSA surveillance revelations exposed by Edward Snowden.
You can listen – and watch – the world’s leading naked radio show live on Thursday nights from 6 til 8 PM at our new state-of-the-art all digital home: TradioV.com/LA.
You’ll also be able to listen to our podcasts via Stitcher – download the app now!
If you have questions for the SG Radio crew or our guests, you can call in during the live broadcast at: 1-855-TRV-inLA (1-855-878-4652)
For updates on all things SG Radio-related, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
About Dell Cameron (@DellCam)
Dell Cameron contributes articles to VICE.com on national security, human rights and online activism. He is also project manager of the upcoming news website Muckraker.com. Some of his recent articles have followed the rise and expansion of the U.S. government’s surveillance programs, such as PRISM and CALEA (the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act).
About Kevin M. Gallagher (@FreeBarrett_ & @ageis)
Kevin M. Gallagher is a writer, musician and systems administrator based in western Massachusetts. He graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He’s currently pursuing activism on issues related to digital rights: freedom of information, privacy, and copyright; while also taking an interest in information security. He is the director of Free Barrett Brown, which is a support network, non-profit advocacy organization and legal defense fund formed for the purpose of assisting a prominent journalist and internet activist, for which he is in charge of all fundraising, public relations, social media and outreach.You can contribute to Barrett Brown’s defense fund here.
About Gabriella Coleman (@biellaColeman)
Gabriella (Biella) Coleman is the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy in the Art History and Communication Studies Department at McGill University. Trained as an anthropologist, she researches, writes, and teaches on hackers and digital activism. Her first book on Free Software, Coding Freedom: The Aesthetics and the Ethics of Hacking has been published with Princeton University Press. She is currently working on a new book on Anonymous and digital media under contract with Verso. She has given numerous talks on hackers, digital activism, open source production and intellectual property law. For more info visit gabriellacoleman.org/.
**UPDATE**
ICYMI: This week’s show on the surveillance state and the criminalization of those who report on it featuring activist Kevin M. Gallagher (Free Barrett Brown), academic and author Gabriella Coleman, and journalist Dell Cameron (VICE).
by D.S. Wood
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says to media, May 24, “I do not use crack cocaine.”
He says, “Nor am I an addict of crack cocaine.”
He says, “I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist.”
He chalks it up to being judged by the media without any evidence. He calls it nonsense, a comment not far removed from the last time he addressed allegations against him, eight days ago now, when he called it ridiculous.
Eight days now into the “Holy God, the Mayor of Toronto clearly smokes crack because three folks say they seen video of it, seen it real good” scandal, yet there is still no video we can watch.
Latecomers, the night of May 16, Gawker’s John Cook said he saw video of Mayor Evil Chris Farley smoking crack.
The same night, the Toronto Star’s Kevin Donovan and Robyn Doolittle said they saw the same video.
Neither party obtained a copy of said video to show you, mind you. But that didn’t stop them from writing it up, hoping no one would ask for… you know… proof.
Eight days later, stuff’s happened — is happening.
None of said stuff is the alleged video surfacing.
Most of said stuff amounts to one large, lit sign we’re probably not going to see a video. Ever.
Gawker’s efforts to get its hands on the alleged video involve a crowdfunding campaign it calls a crackstarter — which currently stands around $25K shy of the $200K they claim the shady Somali drug dealers in possession of the alleged video are demanding.
However, there’s a snag. John Cook, folks:
“The last time we established contact with the people who are in possession of the video was this past Sunday, and we have not been able to reach them since.
“As we mentioned when we launched the campaign, folks who are involved in the crack trade tend not to be the most reliable people in the world. This has proven to be the case when it comes to the owner of the video of Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine.”
So who bet on, “Deal with dealers proves problematic” as the most likely possible outcome? Anybody?
It’s either that or the crackstarter hits its goal, and someone gets on a plane with $200K to be delivered to shady Somali drug dealers, and I’m not quite sure why it would be figured — by anyone, like, ever — that could possibly work out for the better.
The “this past Sunday” Cook spoke of was seven days ago now, by the way. The video — if there is a video — is likely gone, because the person trying to unload it probably wanted to do so before it became monologue-fodder for late-night television comedians.
Gawker and the Star blew their loads much too early and much too loudly.
And if this is all real and is indeed a thing, well, exactly how many crack dealers do we figure a person has? Just saying.
There is no one who wants to be that guy right now. Least of all that guy.
None of this is to say that even without proof this video exists there hasn’t been damage done. There has.
Ford told at least one lie at that press conference, May 24.
Everyone figures it was, “I do not use crack cocaine nor am I an addict of crack cocaine.”
And… you know… maybe.
But the one we know for sure is, “It’s business as usual at city hall.”
It’s not.
Ford has been a ghost this past week, leaving others to cover in his absence.
He was fired as volunteer football coach for Don Brosco Catholic high and he fired his chief of staff Mark Towhey in some form of fit — media outlets say it’s because Towhey tried to make him go to rehab and he said… well, you know.
Half of his council is screaming for his head. The other half is concerned where his head is at.
And coverage of news that cannot be proven to be news continues.
Professional spectator and deadline artist, D.S. Wood (@maddesperado) is a Canuck journalist and, on occasion, also a writer of Other Things.
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by D.S. Wood
Who in the hell didn’t already believe Rob Ford was on crack anyway?
I’m not sure it would even make the Top 10 Most Ridiculous Things Toronto’s Mayor, Evil Chris Farley, Has Done. It’d explain some of them, maybe…
But an allegation made based on a video nobody has been able to produce to date does not, necessarily, a crackhead mayor make.
Late May 16, New York City-based news blog Gawker, posts the story, “For Sale: A Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Smoking Crack Cocaine.”
In the story, John Cook writes about flying to Toronto to hang out with shady Somali drug dealers who showed him cell-phone-shot video footage of, apparently, Rob Ford huffing on a crack pipe. Cook did not return with the video, but said shady types wanted six figures for it.
So he wrote about what he saw. He doesn’t say it could be Ford in this video he cannot produce, instead he asserts it categorically is:
“The man in the video is Rob Ford. It is well-lit, clear. Ford is seated, in a room in a house. In one hand is a clear, glass pipe. The kind with a big globe and two glass cylinders sticking out of it. In the other hand is a lighter. A slurred voice off-camera is ranting about Canadian politics in what sounds like an attempt to goad Ford.
“‘Pierre Trudeau was a faggot!’ is the one phrase the lodges in my mind. Ford, pipe in one hand and lighter in the other, is laughing, and mildly protesting at the sacrilege. He seems to keep trying to light the pipe, but keeps stopping to laugh. He is red-faced and sweaty, heaving with each breath.
“Finally, he finds his moment and lights up. He inhales.”
Later late May 16, the Toronto Star posts breaking news, reporting Gawker reported the story.
Later still, late May 16, the Star posts new breaking news, stating two of their reporters — Kevin Donovan and Robyn Doolittle — have seen the video. Two and a half weeks earlier, in fact.
They don’t have the video either.
So they write about what they saw. They play the accusation a little safer. It could be Ford, sure looks like him:
“It appears to show Ford in a room, sitting in a chair, wearing a white shirt, top buttons open, inhaling from what appears to be a glass crack pipe. Ford is incoherent, trading jibes with an off-camera speaker who goads the clearly impaired mayor by raising topics including Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and the Don Bosco high school football team Ford coaches…
“…Throughout the video Ford’s eyes are half-closed. He lolls back in his chair, sometimes waving his arms around erratically. He raises a lighter in his hand at several points and moves it in a circle motion beneath the glass bowl of the pipe, then inhales deeply.
“The reporters were allowed to watch and listen to the video three times. After, both reporters separately made written notes of what they saw and heard. Both reporters, prior to watching the video, studied numerous city-hall-related videos of Ford and, to the best of the reporter’s abilities, they separately concluded the man in the video was Ford.”
To recap:
Gawker basically runs with “Can’t prove it but he done it — I seen it!”
Meanwhile, the Star basically retorts: “Samesies. But first!”
Later than later still, late May 16, folks from Gawker and the Star and concerned Pajama People on behalf of both argue who should or shouldn’t be calling the story exclusive — basically, who saw harder this thing neither party can produce.
Also. They agree to disagree on which Trudeau “is a faggot.”
The Star went ahead and ran it front page, morning of May 17. A story about a video they do not have.
Then ran react stories all day May 17, asking important folks what they think about a video they haven’t seen.
End of day, the Star’s website has an entire section dedicated to its dozens of stories about this video scandal they can’t prove.
Given the Star’s folks claim they saw the video May 3 and Gawker’s guy says he started his hunt a week and a half later it seems likely the Star was sitting on it until proof they could present presented itself.
When someone else suddenly made the story public it seems likely they panicked and unloaded what they had.
Other news outlets play chase, writing about the video they not only don’t have, but also haven’t seen.
Meanwhile, Gawker is trying to crowdfund six figures to buy the video. They call it a crackstarter.
Pride in journalism.
It’s not that I do not believe there’s a video of Rob Ford smoking crack — it strikes me as entirely plausible there’s a video of Rob Ford smoking crack.
Oh, to be the man to top the Toronto mayor who used his mayoral might to declare war on the weather, hung out with biker gangs for photo ops and once expressed to reporters his fear Kenyans would turn him into soup.
(Note: See Mad Mel Lastman)
Ford is that man. That silly, silly and well-documented man. And writing it’s because he might be a crackhead and calling it news is not much different than writing about snow in winter and calling it news.
No, it’s not that. We do that.
It’s that professional media outlets are now the better bit of a week in, reporting the video exists without the ability to prove the video exists. Yeah, it’s relevant, and on Day One, sure, I will take a person entrusted with the truth at their word. Day Three or Day Six or Day Nine? I’ll need a little more than pinky swears.
The further removed from Day One we become, still having no video, the less credible the people claiming there is a video seem.
The Star knew that — I would assume that’s why they were sitting on the story until Gawker threw down.
They wanted the video. Or something that proves the existence of the video.
Because there needs to be a video.
Otherwise it’s shoddy journalism — there’s little point pulling the trigger before the gun’s loaded. Reporters ask Ford for comment first thing, May 17. Ford calls the story “ridiculous,” says it is just the Star attacking him, as is their rep to do, gets into his car and is gone.
That’s all he has to do, because there is no video — not one that matters.
The only video that matters is the one that can be produced, and that video does not yet exist — it might never exist.
Unless, of course, Gawker’s crackstarter hits $200K.
And then, then all of those dollars have to be delivered to shady Somali drug dealers and I’m sure that’ll go smashingly well and we’ll see a video of Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack straight away.
Professional spectator and deadline artist, D.S. Wood (@maddesperado) is a Canuck journalist and, on occasion, also a writer of Other Things.
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