by Nicole Powers

With her idiosyncratic style, DIY aesthetic, and kick-ass attitude, Tank Girl, who made her debut in Deadline in 1988, is without question a proto-SG. I was therefore jolly chuffed to receive a spiffy, glossy bound copy of her latest adventure, Skidmarks. Written by Tank Girl co-creator Alan Martin and drawn by the awesomely awesome* Rufus Dayglo, the gzillion thrills a minute plot is basically Wacky Races for an audience with a penchant for punk rock, smelly chicks (Tankie rolls with a pungent aroma), on-fire farts (see previous) and esoteric references.

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by Nahp Suicide

Coca-Cola brings unexpected happiness with a vending machine that, when deployed and engaged, dispenses way more than a bottle of fun-tastic flavored corn syrup and water. After slipping in a buck, or however much it costs to sate your thirst these days, unwitting users on a college campus were deluged by Coke bottles, which they proceeded to share with their peers. Others got bouquets of flowers or balloon animals from seemingly disembodied hands, and somehow a 20-foot sub even appeared out of the 18-inch deep machine.

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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 AJ Focht

School is back in session and this is your chance to grab that nerdy guy (or geeky girl) that you missed out on last year. But before you rush in head first there are a few things you should know.

While Bob Suicide has been helping all you geeks get down with the right look (and smell!), I thought I would go a step further and offer tips for those of you who are perhaps contemplating dating a nerd for the first time. First of all, bear in mind the rules and rituals of geek bonding are very different from those that apply when you’re dating a member of the general population. Nerds tend to be a bit more, let’s admit it, eccentric than, well, normal people. What makes us nerds so great is that we fully commit ourselves to a project, or video game, or whatever – in the extreme. This can also be a drawback if you are not well versed in the ways of nerdom. Some of our habits, hobbies, and even speech can come off wrong if you are not privy to the way of the nerd.

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by Lisa Brady

Thanks to a new wave of reality TV shows like MTV’s Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, and ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager, the issue of teen pregnancy is out in the open (and apparently a source of endless entertainment). But does anyone else find it incredibly ironic that ABC Family is showing a series about teen pregnancy?

In the past it was considered a grievous mistake to get pregnant before getting married. These days, with the 50% divorce rate and the prevalence of one-night stands (and unprotected copulation), it’s very common to have a single parent situation. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If Gilmore Girls has taught us anything, its that single mom’s (or dad’s) rock – and can be super hot. And with the likes US Weekly and People rewarding teenage moms with magazine covers, it’s almost as if the mainstream media is actively encouraging the phenomenon.

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by Luisa Mateus

“He did not know how long she has been looking at him, but for perhaps as much as five minutes, and it was possible that his features had not been perfectly under control. It was terribly dangerous to let you thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away… to wear an improper expression on your face was itself a punishable offence. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called.” – George Orwell, 1984

Google’s Eric Schmidt made a quip last week about young people’s flippant attitude to so much personal information being available online He indicated that it might be appropriate for young people to change their names in the future to escape past online activity.

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by Christine Dinh

Jennifer Love Hewitt may have starred in my favorite workout video as a child, but she is no friend of mine. I’m going to blame our culture’s frenzy with accessorizing our vaginas on her. Honey, we didn’t need to know that Jamie Kennedy loves your lady bits bedazzled.

We all know that having a vagina gives you power. Not only can it get you penis (or vagina), it can now get you that raise. High five, vagina! But we’re women. Heavens forbid we show up to the same shindig in the same outfit, let alone the same hoohah.

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