by David Seaman (video) SG Political Contributor David Seaman sits down with investigative journalist and author Greg Palast to find out what's not so super about the unprecedented amount of funding being poured into politics by corporations and private individuals via the new breed of political... more

by David Seaman



SG Political Contributor David Seaman sits down with investigative journalist and author Greg Palast to find out what's not so super about the unprecedented amount of funding being poured into politics by corporations and private individuals via the new breed of political action committees (PACs) created following the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. Palast has made it his raison d'être to expose the vultures who prey on our political system for their own gain at the expense of the masses it's supposed to serve. Here he explains why talk of corporate personhood is taking the focus off an aspect of campaign finance that could potentially be even more troubling. - Nicole Powers, SG Ed.

Check back here for Parts 2 and 3 of David's interview with Greg tomorrow and Monday.

Producer: Lindsey Miller


***

About Greg Palast
Greg Palast’s reports can be seen on BBC Television’s Newsnight. He is a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow for investigative reporting, and is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Armed Madhouse.

His latest book, Vultures' Picnic: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates and High-Finance Predators, which he describes as “a tale of oil, sex, shoes, radiation and investigative reporting,” is available now. Visit GregPalast.com and VulturesPicnic.com for more info.

Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are the co-authors of a comic-style voter guide called Steal Back Your Vote. You can download a free copy of it here.

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Stick Your Damn Hand In It: 20th Birthday of the Exxon Valdez Lie
Obama is a two-faced liar. Aw-RIGHT!
Why An Asshole Is Always In Charge
The Steal You Won't See
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SuicideGirls Steal Back Your Vote

***

About David Seaman:
David Seaman is an independent journalist. He has been a lively guest on CNN Headline News, FOX News, ABC News Digital, among others, and is the host of The DL Show. Some say he was recently censored by a certain large media corporation for posting a little too much truth... For more, find him on G+ and Twitter.

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(image) This Sunday (Feb 26) on SuicideGirls Radio we have an outrageously awesome and bodaciously badass music lineup. SG Radio hosts Nicole Powers (SG’s Managing Editor) and Lacey Conner (our resident recovering reality TV star from VH1′s Rock of Love and Charm School) will be joined in-studio by... more

This Sunday (Feb 26) on SuicideGirls Radio we have an outrageously awesome and bodaciously badass music lineup. SG Radio hosts Nicole Powers (SG’s Managing Editor) and Lacey Conner (our resident recovering reality TV star from VH1′s Rock of Love and Charm School) will be joined in-studio by industrial-pop princess Porcelain Black, wax ‘n’ Webslinger 4th Pyramid, and raucous hip-hop reprobate Mickey Avalon.

Tune in to the world’s leading naked radio show for two hours of totally awesome tunes and extreme conversation – and don’t let yo momma listen in!

Listen to SG Radio live Sunday night from 10 PM til Midnight on suicidegirlsradio.indie1031.com/

Got questions? Then dial our studio hotline digits this Sunday between 10 PM and midnight PST: 323-900-6012

And follow us on Twitter because we like cyberstalkers.




_About Porcelain Black

"Everything that I do is a mix of light and dark," says Porcelain Black. "The contrast represents my music, my hair, my personality." Fusing hard-hitting rock roots with the sticky, pulsating beats of 2101 label head and producer RedOne (Usher, U2, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Lady Gaga), Black has created a sound she likens to the would-be offspring of Marilyn Manson and Britney Spears. "It's industrial, dark, danceable pop," she says. "Bad ass and positive."

While visiting RedOne's studio in November 2009 Black's vibe and epic vocals made an instant impact. "I wanted to sign her on the spot," RedOne recalls. "She reminded me of Joan Jett. She's got it all: the attitude, the talent, the look. She can scream and do things with her voice that nobody can do. She is uncompromising in pursuing her own creative vision. She's taking everything that's old and making it futuristic and bringing rock and roll back in her own way."

Now, signed to 2101 Records via a joint venture with Universal Republic Records, Black has just released her second single, “Naughty Naughty.” The song follows her successful first single "This Is What Rock N Roll Looks Like" Feat. Lil Wayne. Both tracks fuse roaring guitars with thunderous dance-pop, a vibe maintained throughout most of her daring, not-yet-titled debut. "Rock & roll is about attitude," says the heavily tattooed singer, who was once asked by Courtney Love to sing backup when the alt rocker found her on MySpace under Porcelain and the Tramps. "We're the kids that belong to the night, but just because you're a badass doesn't mean you're a bad person. Rock & roll is about embracing people."

porcelainblack.net
facebook.com/porcelainblackmusic
twitter.com/porcelainblack
youtube.com/porcelainblackmusic




_About 4th Pyramid

4th Pyramid is a MC/Producer/Songwriter from Toronto, Canada. Coming up the ranks as a producer and engineer, 4th Pyramid has quietly stacked credits for the Black Eyed Peas, members of Wu-Tang Clan, MF Doom, and Pete Rock, while licensing his own tunes with Sprite, Scion, and various feature films. Pyramid is also one-half of the DJ/production team The Sheen Bros, along with Cosmo Baker, and together the duo released their 2011 EP through Scion's A/V label. In December 2011, Pyramid launched his own imprint, Silk Ivory, a boutique label that was quickly signed to Universal Music. 4th Pyramid will release his debut solo album, The Pyramid Scheme, on March 6, 2012.

4thpyramid.com/
facebook.com/4thPyramid
twitter.com/4thpyramid
youtube.com/4thpyramid




_About Mickey Avalon

Mickey Avalon’s back-story begins on the streets of Hollywood, California. Raised by his heroin-addicted father, he began selling pot at a young age, a trade he acquired from his mother. In an attempt to clean up his act, Mickey converted to Orthodox Judaism in his late teens, an effort that didn’t last due to constant family tragedy.

After the deaths of both his father and sister, Mickey decided that he wanted more out of life. Having hit rock bottom after the breakup of his marriage, Avalon moved from Portland back to Los Angeles, and chose to make one final attempt to clean up his act. Shortly after his return, Mickey was befriended by ex-MTV VJ Simon Rex (aka Dirt Nasty), who encouraged Avalon to pursue his passion of hip-hop and even collaborated with him on some tracks. At the time, Avalon was staying in a sober living facility and had a strict curfew, so Dirt Nasty began passing out Mickey’s demo at Hollywood clubs, which helped Mickey develop a following among fans of the Los Angeles nightclub scene.

As Mickey’s popularity grew, he began to sell out clubs throughout California with his legendary live show. Soon after Interscope Records took notice of the guerilla promotions tactics and signed Avalon to the label. Through Interscope, Avalon released his now classic self-titled debut album, which showcased his unique rhyming style and indulgent lyrics. Inspired by his experiences on the streets with drugs and prostitution, the raw honesty of his songs immediately resonated with audiences. Fan favorites "Jane Fonda," "Mr. Right" and "My Dick" quickly spread across the internet and mainstream radio, turning Mickey Avalon into a household name.

After years spent confined by industry red tape, Mickey Avalon has returned with a brand new album Loaded, which takes fans on a journey through the seedy streets of Hollywood. It is the soundtrack to one the most debauched tales of rock & roll. Filled with excess and exploding with sexual energy, Avalon’s music embraces decadence and celebrates its hedonistic glory. Mickey Avalon simply appeals to voyeuristic side of all of us that want to indulge, let loose and get Loaded.

mickeyavalon.com/
facebook.com/MickeyAvalon
twitter.com/mickeyave
mickeyavalon.com/#9b4/youtube

Some SuicideGirls have been modeling for the site for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or even 10 years. We thought it would be fun to show you a look back and some of the SuicideGirls throughout the years. This week we bring you Radeo! Radeo has been a SuicideGirl since 2008. She has 22 photo sets and has gained quite... more

Some SuicideGirls have been modeling for the site for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or even 10 years. We thought it would be fun to show you a look back and some of the SuicideGirls throughout the years.

This week we bring you Radeo!

Radeo has been a SuicideGirl since 2008. She has 22 photo sets and has gained quite a lot of tattoos since then. Enjoy this look back at the beautiful Radeo...

From her first photoset Rusty shot by Alissa from 2008:







From her first two girl photoset Going South with Bully shot by Alissa:





From 2008 Bettie shot by Alissa:






A.M. shot by Alissa:





Venus in Furs shot by Alissa:







From her tribute to Thriller shot by Cherry:







From 2009's sext set The Heat shot by: Cherry





From 2009 Sweetheart shot by Alissa:





From 2009's multi from Pillow Fight shot by Shazzy: and featured in the movie SuicideGirls: Guide To Living





From 2009 The Prisoner shot by Zoetica:





From Nocturna Artificiala shot by Cherry:








From her multi girl set with Rambo, California Vacation shot by Sean:





From 2010 Sweet Disposition shot by Zoetica:






From Tune Your Stations shot by Alissa:





From Semantics shot by Alissa:





From 2011's My AIm Is True shot by Sean:





From Heliotrope shot by Cherry:





Hope you enjoyed the beautiful look back at classic SuicideGirl Radeo! Be sure to keep an eye out for a new set coming soon to member review!

Become a member TODAY for only $4 a month (if you sign up for a year) to see all 22 nude pin-up photo sets of Radeo - http://suicidegirls.com/join/

(image) by Blogbot (image) Artist / SG Member Name: Lil Tuffy Mission Statement: Tuffy doesn't really do the mission statement thing. That's why he left the corporate world. He says his mission is to never work in a cubicle again. Medium: Screen-print/mixed-media. (image) Aesthetic: Although... more

by Blogbot



Artist / SG Member Name: Lil Tuffy

Mission Statement: Tuffy doesn't really do the mission statement thing. That's why he left the corporate world. He says his mission is to never work in a cubicle again.

Medium: Screen-print/mixed-media.



Aesthetic: Although his aesthetic changes frequently, there is always a cohesive style that's makes a piece unmistakably his. He's generally known for his use of found imagery, typography, minimal use of colors and negative space.

Notable Achievements: CBGB's 30th Anniversary poster, work included in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame archives. Just released 500th gig poster. About to release limited edition line of messenger bags and T-shirts for Chrome Bags.



Why We Should Care: Tuffy is the perfect example of "do what you love and success will follow." What started as a hobby 10 years ago is now a full-time career designing entire poster series for bands like Pavement and St. Vincent. His artwork and gig posters are exhibited all over the world with shows scheduled in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, London, Barcelona, Hamburg and more in 2012.

I Want Me Some: Visit: liltuffy.bigcartel.com, society6.com/LilTuffy, and tuffingtonpost.tumblr.com/







***

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I really can`t judge whether a general longing for a thread like this exists, but in order to keep the Candids Thread candid, it might be appropriate. For example: Fatality (image) Persephone (image) Vivid (image) And yes, myself as well, because I gasp in please at what Elena produces: (image) more

I really can`t judge whether a general longing for a thread like this exists, but in order to keep the Candids Thread candid, it might be appropriate.

For example:

Fatality



Persephone



Vivid



And yes, myself as well, because I gasp in please at what Elena produces:

Kevin Smith is used to working a crowd. His forte career-wise is really as a public speaker at his live Q&A shows. His movies made him a name and he still makes them. Well, at least he’s making one more. But his bread and butter has been live shows. He can take a question and spin it into a 20 minute... more

Kevin Smith is used to working a crowd. His forte career-wise is really as a public speaker at his live Q&A shows. His movies made him a name and he still makes them. Well, at least he’s making one more. But his bread and butter has been live shows. He can take a question and spin it into a 20 minute anecdote and keep the crowd laughing along the way.

The Television Critics Association could have been a tough room for Smith. An organization of veteran critics from the print days of newspapers, they gather twice a year to work, not to humor performers. So when Smith had a new AMC television series to present to the TCA, he took the mic and answered questions. He joked about how he’s enjoying talking to the TV press, because they don’t hate him yet like the film press do.

It has been a tumultuous year for Smith in the film world. He premiered Red State at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011, and then auctioned the film off to himself to take the film on the road and self-distribute. After saying on Twitter that he would not do press or screen the film for press, many of Smith’s loyal followers began lashing out, even more so after the “auction.” Yet Smith has been on the road with Red State, giving Q&As at sold out shows and the film is now available on VOD, Netflix and DVD/Blu-ray.

Comic Book Men is a reality series set in Smith’s New Jersey comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. The dialogue between the staffers behind the counter may feel very similar to Smith’s movie Clerks, but he’s not writing any of it. It’s all real. After his TCA session, I found Smith in the hall of the Langham Hotel in Pasadena and I asked him for a follow-up interview. We ended up doing a full interview, ironic for someone who threatened to stop doing press. Our talk veered away from the TV show as a follow-up on his new distribution venture lead to spiritual life lessons, which only underscores the point that a conversation with Smith can really be about anything and go anywhere. It all ties into the voice that is making his final film, Hit Somebody, and launched the new TV venture Comic Book Men.

SG: You joked about how the movie press hates you, and the ones that do are harping on this idea that you said you weren’t going to do press anymore. You have NOT stopped doing press, because here we are.

KS: I know, I know. I remember I talked about in advance of Sundance last year, I said, “I don’t even think I’m going to do press for Red State.” And I didn’t at the end of the day. I wound up doing a Rolling Stone interview but we never city by city did anything.

SG: But in the entire year since, you have still talked to press.

KS: But all I do is talk to the press, man. Just not about that anymore. I guess I was done talking about the movies.

SG: And they harped on the word auction, like “You said you were going to have an auction and there was no auction.”

KS: They were so angry about something that didn’t involve them. That’s what I thought was weird. It’s like if I did have an auction, were you going to bet? Were you going to buy the movie? No, so what are you upset about? But whatever. They had their moment and then I had the rest of the year

SG: There were a lot of haters and naysayers after you announced your self-distribution roadshow plan. Has the last year been a success after all?

KS: Yeah. Look, it was for me. Financially it was a success, spiritually it was a success. The last two years I was all about going after fears, eradicating all my fears and shit. Critics were a big fear and I certainly eradicated that fear. So it’s all about conquering the shit that would hold me back. Now this year lately it’s been a little bit different, not about conquering fears as much as let’s just see where this goes. Let’s see how far one can travel with this. Let’s just see if this develops because things have happened really organically lately. Just making decisions not based on what’s good for the career or what’s good for this but just is this fun? Do I like this?

SG: It’s a spiritual perspective. Once you start thinking on the right path, more stuff comes to you.

KS: It is and it’s crazy. I hate saying that because I like to think I’m a practical no nonsense guy but it’s fuckin' true, man. The moment you start honoring yourself... The thing that frustrates me is I knew that. I knew all these things. This job, film particularly, is like well, I’ve never done it. I’ve been around Jason Mewes for long enough. It’s like heroine. Once you get it into your system, you can’t easily stop. Think about the lifestyle that working in film has afforded me for nearly 20 fuckin’ years.

I came from a lower, lower, lower middle class government cheese eating family. I have a house in the Hollywood Hills, bigger house than fuckin’ anyone in my family’s ever had combined, put all their houses together. They don’t give you that money unless you give ‘em something back and you get used to that relationship, man, real quick. For a while I got to do my thing within their thing, using the framework and what not and telling the stories I wanted to tell. Yeah, people take Jersey Girl to task and what not but I still maintain yes, it’s very predictable, you’ve seen that movie before but this is my version of it. For a while that’s what I tried to do, career manage. Try to make View Askew movies out of the movies that were getting made. What was going to get greenlit and can I bring my sensibility to it so I can comfortably balance art and commerce?

SG: Even Cop Out?

KS: Well, Cop Out was more important. Cop Out was about I want to work with Bruce Willis and what an important life lesson. But the great Cop Out story is as much as the whole time I was like oh my God, that’s literally getting two days into a movie and finding out not this isn’t going to be easy, but this is going to be hell, this dude doesn’t want to be here. When I sat down with one of the investors for Red State, we were talking, I was like, “Did you read the script yet?” He goes, “No. I don’t have to read your script.” Really, why? “Because I saw a movie with Bruce Willis in it, had your name on it as a director so I know you know what you’re doing.” He wrote me a two and a half million dollar check. So I was like that’s why I did Cop Out I guess, to eventually get Red State made. But this is the year about being not lazy. Oddly enough podcasts were a big influence because in podcasting I got to exercise the chatty muscle. So when it came to the movie, suddenly I was like I’m all chatted out so let’s work with pictures. It also helped with editing. It was insane. For a year of cutting podcasts, I’m used to standing on stage for years now talking, I know how to self edit. When I started sitting down with people that don’t ever talk, sometimes they’re brilliant and sometimes they say boring sh*t. So I’d go in and start cutting out all the boring sh*t and it’s all based on listening.

You’re just going, “Okay, that don’t sound right, I’ll pull that.” You look for smooth edits and make it seamless to the conversation, still all make sense, it doesn’t feel like you pulled anything out. That’s just editorial. By the time I sat down to cut Red State picture cut, I’d been ninja training for a year on just audio. So man, I hit the deck. It was magic, dude. It was crazy. It was like that line in The Hunt for Red October. “You give me a stopwatch and a map and I can fly a plane with no windows through the Andes.” Same kind of thing. You just get into a zone and you’re like, “Oh, this makes sense. “And when you’re the director it’s even easier to be the editor because you’re cutting the movie even before you shoot it. Then you’re cutting the movie in your head while you shoot it so that when you hit the deck, the actual cutting you’re doing, you’ve already kind of made an EDL list in your head, an Edit Decision List. So by the time you hit the deck, it’s just hands operating, executing what you know, what you see in your head. So that’s why we were able, Red State we started shooting so late, we weren’t even supposed to go to Sundance. We were going to go to Cannes. So we were like, “We start shooting in September, there’s no way we’re going to be ready for f***in’ January.” But I was cutting while we were shooting and the editorial process went like this [SNAPS] because I was only shooting what I needed really. I didn’t overshoot. Michael Parks did that f***in’ long monologue one time, the first take. That was it. It was spellbinding and I was like, “That’s great. Michael, do you want to go again?” He goes, “Why?” I was like, “You’re absolutely right. Let’s move on.”

SG: I thought Red State still came from the same voice that wrote Dogma.

KS: I agree with you there. I’d say it’s kind of like the dark twin of Dogma, dark cousin. Honestly I think Red State came from the same voice that wrote Clerks. To me, those movies are a good double bill because one shows pure passion of a dude with no means, the other shows pure passion of a dude with limited means and both are kind of made in the same spirit and sensibility. Like I don’t give a fuck. I just need to do this.

SG: Are all your investors even for Red State?

KS: Yeah, they’re even. We took care of those motherfuckers, and I don’t mean motherfuckers like they’re bad guys, I say that with affection. They were wonderful in letting us go out and tour, but we got them paid back, the moment we struck our deal with Lionsgate for DVD and VOD and Netflix, boom, they were in the clear.

SG: So far you’re still the only one going out on the road like that, but wouldn’t it be great if movies became events again instead of just one weekend and out?

KS: That was the nice thing about Red State was we took what would’ve just been a screening and turned it into an event. Every screening was like a film festival screening. You don’t normally get that with flicks. You watch the flick and then you go write about it online and stuff. You don’t interact with the filmmaker, you don’t hear about why, you don’t spend more time talking after the movie than watching the movie. As long as you can make it worth it for those folks to leave the house, it’s harder to fucking convince people to leave the house. Especially when they’re like, “If I wait fucking a month I can just watch it on Blu-ray.” Or shit, dude, let’s be honest, “If I wait 10 minutes I’ll bomb it off usenet.” So getting them to come out, you’ve got to give them something they’re not going to get anyplace else. If they just want to watch the movie, they can watch that on their TV. But if you give ‘em a little something extra, like hey, I’m going to be there after the movie and we’re going to fucking record it so you can be part of that and hear it later on for posterity, suddenly there’s more of a reason to leave the house. Still, you’re not going to necessarily get everybody, but the people that are on the fence will be like, “All right, that’s worth getting a babysitter for.” I’ve got to consider that because a lot of my fanbase has kids at this point. They grew up watching our stuff and now they’ve got families of their own. It’s not as easy for them to get out. So if you’re going to ask them to leave, be there. That’s our new philosophy. That’s why if you look at that Silent Bob Speaks blog that I put up right before the end of the year, it just lists every appearance we did, all the road stuff, every tour date we had. We spent a lotta time on the fuckin’ road because the philosophy now is “go to them.”

Anybody can make a movie, dude, and put it on fuckin’ 2000 screens. Anybody, because I’ve done it. I’m the bottom of the barrel so if I can do it, anybody can do it. Not anybody can get 2600 people to show up to Carnegie Hall and sell the place out. That’s magic. And you’re more in touch with the audience. It’s one thing you make a movie and they screen it. If you’re not in the room, you’re not part of that experience. It’s another thing when you make a flick and then fuckin’ afterwards you’re communing with the same audience that shelled out good money to see it which means something. Especially with us, because it wasn’t like hey, pay 10 bucks to see a movie. They were paying the same price they pay to see me stand there and do Q&A or do Jay and Silent Bob Get Old. That’s the crazy thing. Some people were like, “$50 to watch a movie, you’re out of your mind.” People were paying $65 to watch me and Mewes sit there and talk to one another without a movie. That’s why I didn’t understand the people that attacked it. I was just like how could you feel it would’ve failed based on the fact that I’m on the road all the time anyway. It was a hedged bet at best in terms of me going, “I’m going to take the movie out on tour, why would I do it unless I could f***in’ hedge it.” I knew I’m going out on tour in the f***in’ winter anyway. I know people are going to show up like they did the previous season. If I go with the movie and then just donate all the money to the f***in’ movie, ta da. But boy oh boy, some people got out of their sorts about it.

Comic Book Men premieres February 12 at 10 p.m. on AMC.

by Rourke Suicide A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups. (image) [Rourke Suicide in Croft] This week Rourke takes a shot at explaining why she loves SG's Girl Gamers group. Members: 838 / Comments: 3,402 WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: A less testosterone-filled, but still sometimes... more

by Rourke Suicide

A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups.



[Rourke Suicide in Croft]

This week Rourke takes a shot at explaining why she loves SG's Girl Gamers group.

Members: 838 / Comments: 3,402

WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: A less testosterone-filled, but still sometimes competitive, take on the world of gaming. It's always great to see what others are playing, share opinions, and get stoked for new releases with other ladies. Also, breaking the stereotype of nerdy boy gamers and proving that talented and knowledgeable gamers can be fun, sexy, badass, and female!



Also, on a side note, Oogie recently started a new blog called Teek's Gitties for pictures of all us nerdy gamer gals to post sexy pics with our gaming gear! You can find the thread here.

DISCUSSION TIP: Firstly, use your spoilers! No one wants parts or the ending of a game they've been working hard on and/or enjoying ruined for them. Also, remember that everyone has their favorite type of game, so bring respect and don’t be overly competitive.



BEST RANDOM QUOTE: "[Store Harassment] Have any of ya'll ladies ever experienced this? When you step into a game retailer and for some reason guys think it's okay to start holla-ing at you like they've never seen a girl before?"



MOST HEATED DISCUSSION THREAD: "Best Zelda Game Ever?" - Who can really decide?!



WHO’S WELCOME TO JOIN?: Girls (only) gamers (obviously)!



***
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SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Katherine on Aerial Dance
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Tarion on Zombie Hunters
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Rachelle on All Boobs Great And Small
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Oogie on Fan Art
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Jensen on Online Dating
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Gallows on Pen Pals
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Satya on Hip-Hop
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Tovi on Veggie


SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Aadie on Suicide Boys
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Haydin on Ballet
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy – Psyche on Slut Pride
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy – Thistle on Yuppie Scum
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy – Eden on Tattoo
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy – Damsel on Dreadlocks


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SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Tarion on Atheists
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Rambo on Photography
SuicideGirls' Group Therapy - Thistle on Vamos Gigantes

(image) by Nahp Suicide (image) [SG Photographer DarrylDarko] (image) [Rambo in A Day With A Suicide Girl.] (image) [Carrina in A Day With A Suicide Girl.] DarrylDarko has been a photographer for SuicideGirls since 2009. He lives in San Jose, California and has been working on an interesting SG side project... more

by Nahp Suicide


[SG Photographer DarrylDarko]


[Rambo in A Day With A Suicide Girl.]


[Carrina in A Day With A Suicide Girl.]

DarrylDarko has been a photographer for SuicideGirls since 2009. He lives in San Jose, California and has been working on an interesting SG side project called "A Day With A Suicide Girl." So far he’s shot Rambo and Carrina for this series.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

I had known about SuicideGirls for a really long time, and the site has always drawn me in one way or another, but I didn't get involved with the site until I found Saint, on Model Mayhem. I had never really thought about seriously shooting for the site until I met her and after a first initial test shoot we decided to shoot a set. That set, luckily was bought and kind of started my road down the SuicideGirls path. However, it would be awhile though before things really got rolling.

What's your background photography-wise?

I'm almost completely self-taught, other than taking a few courses from some community colleges. I had been shooting for a while already, and they were basic courses I kinda felt I would benefit from to kind of put a bit of structure to all the information I already knew. Looking back, I kind of wish I had gone to something a bit more interactive and challenging than just those courses, but something about art school classes was off-putting.


[You Never Forget Your First...Published Photo]

What was the first photo you had published?

I had entered the Crossroads Trading Company fashion contest with this shot. It won an “Honorable Mention” and they bought the rights to it. At some point in the future after that happened, one of my friends told me to that they were using it at Crossroads stores in Portland as a poster so that was pretty cool at the time.

How would you describe your style?

It's funny how shooting for the site has changed my style. I used to be more into outlandish ideas and wanting to really shoot stuff that was just “different.” With SG sets, I do like the idea of trying to capture the girl as naturally as possible, that's why I kinda stay away from pinup-ish poses because that's not the girl, that would be more of an act they're doing. I'm trying to find a happy balance between the two. I'm still working on that.

What gear do you use?

I used to use a Canon 5D, but have switched to the 7D for the time being. I use 35mm, 50mm, and 24-105mm lenses. I want to go back to full-frame badly.

How important is Photoshop in your final images?

Fairly important. I'm able to give photos an extra punch and screw with the colors to make them stand out more, plus smooth out whatever flaws the picture may have, but I try to stay away from making things look fake.

What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

I'd say some of the biggest inspirations are found on the site itself. Before I started shooting for the site Cymagen's personal work was a big factor in getting me to shoot more. Since I've been on site, Cherry, Sean and Vermelho were bigger influences. I also had a lot of inspiration from movies and music videos. What I really want to work on more is having a narrative to sets so they're not just 'a girl getting naked' so I've been looking to more editorial shoots and photographers who specialize in that lately.


[Silvi in Silvi Strikes Back]

What is your favorite image?

[Above.] I don't think I could narrow it down to just one but this one of Silvi is one of my favorites.

Tell us why it's your fave and how you achieved it?

It's one of my favorites because as an image it just seems so perfect. The light wraps around her body really nicely giving it this comforting “bathed in light” feel. This shot was achieved by light coming through the window in the front, but also there was light coming through a window on the left-hand side but it bounced off the ground, which was hard wood and gave it that nice side lighting. Some minor Photoshop enhancements and that’s what you get. The funny story about shooting this set was that when we arrived at the location I found that my camera’s battery was dead, despite me charging it the night before. Luckily my friend’s roomate had a Rebel and I was able to use that camera with one of my lenses. Everything worked out in the end.

Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven't? (And tell us why)

Yes, I have an entire list of girls on site that I'd love to shoot someday. I'll just list three:

- 1. Patton - because she defines 'blonde bombshell' perfectly. I've been told I have a thing for blondes though...

- 2. Radeo - because she's Radeo.

- 3. GoGo - she has this awesome presence in photos and is the perfect mix of a supermodel and SuicideGirl.


[Carrina in 100 Degrees]

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by SG's Team Agony feat. Seizure Let us answer life's questions - because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls. (image) [Seizure in Mirror Mirror] Q. I've been with my boyfriend for over six months now. I love him, and he's great to/for me. But he talks about... more

by SG's Team Agony feat. Seizure

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


[Seizure in Mirror Mirror]

Q. I've been with my boyfriend for over six months now. I love him, and he's great to/for me. But he talks about marriage and spending our lives together. I know that doesn't have to be right away, but even thinking about it gives me terrible butterflies in my stomach, and not the good kind. I'm almost 19 and I've never even thought about getting married, let alone at such a young age. The thing is, I can move past the marriage talk, but there's something else in the way too. I'm enjoying every moment we spend together - the sex is good and he's a total sweetheart who means extremely well - but I don't see myself with him for a while. I'm not a cheater. I will remain faithful. But I can't help flirting with other guys. It's just in my nature to flirt. I can't stop doing it even if I'm with someone. I really want to be with someone else sexually, but I won't do it while I'm with my boyfriend. I guess what I'm saying is I want to have my cake and eat it too. What should I do?

A: My advice to you would be not to look too deeply in to his talks about marriage. Chances are that he's just trying to let you know that he is serious about being with you. Maybe the fact that you are flirty with other guys is what's making him want to let you know that he's so serious about you. As you said, you are still young and so many people get in to relationships too early.

Honestly, if you are flirting with other guys and feel like you want to be with other guys sexually, the fact that you are questioning yourself means that you know that what you are doing is (at least a little) wrong.
 You shouldn't 'have your cake and eat it' unless you are in agreement with your boyfriend that you are both able to have a 'piece of the cake.'
 In short, if you are going to act on your impulses to be with other guys, let him know that you don't want to be with him. Or, let him know that you want this and suggest an open relationship. Most importantly, be honest with him and yourself.



Good luck!

Seizure

***

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

True Blood’s Carrie Preston directed a film that played at The Sundance Film Festival this year. Her husband, Lost star Michael Emerson, was even in the audience to support her. The Sundance rep who introduced the film called it a “pussy comedy.” That’s What She Said is a raunchy girls comedy. more

True Blood’s Carrie Preston directed a film that played at The Sundance Film Festival this year. Her husband, Lost star Michael Emerson, was even in the audience to support her. The Sundance rep who introduced the film called it a “pussy comedy.” That’s What She Said is a raunchy girls comedy. Dee Dee (Anne Heche) is a bitter divorcee who chain smokes, drinks in the afternoon and is happy to call other ladies cunts. Bebe (Marcia DeBonis) is a perennial optimist even though it seems like her dream guy is a married man who’s standing her up. They meet Clementine (Alia Shawkat) in a coffee shop and find she is an emotional wreck with sexual issues.

The day gets worse and worse for this trio of ladies in a misadventure that should appeal to the Bridesmaids audience. Certainly that’s what a studio should be thinking when they consider buying the indie film. When I compared her film to the hit Kristen Wiig movie, I became Preston’s BFF.

Preston’s fabulous True Blood red hair certainly shone against the white snow of Park City, UT. Two days after her premiere, Preston and her cast were partying at the festival and Preston would stay for a full week. We chatted in a warm loft off Main Street about naughty jokes and Arlene on that vampire show.

SG: Can this be an audience participation movie where we call out “That’s what she said” after every joke?

CP: [Laughs] I would love that. You could only imagine the “That’s what she said” jokes that were going on when we were shooting the film. “How’s it going? Well, it’s been long and hard but we went all night. That’s what she said!” People just making things up but then it got to be ridiculous, like, “Go stand on your mark. That’s what she said!” Stuff that didn’t even really make sense.

SG: That’s why it’s funny, because you’re thinking, “Well, could that make sense?”

CP: Yeah, could that work? Yeah, I guess it could.

SG: We could start writing an audience participation script to go along with the film.

CP: Sure, you can. Like a Rocky Horror kind of thing. Right on. Let’s do that.

SG: Are you grateful that Steve Carell brought that immature joke back into popularity?

CP: You know what, it’s funny because we thought that title would work on two levels. It would be a nod to those dude kind of movies, a nod to men who use that phrase with each other in relation to any kind of sophomoric sexual innuendo and kind of reclaim it for the chicks. And then also on a second level it is a movie about women talking. So it is literally that’s what she said. You could say any of the three women being the she. So I liked how it had two different levels.

SG: Do you really call this a pussy comedy?

CP: I don’t call it a pussy comedy. I call it a chick flick that’s not for pussies.

SG: So the person who introduced the film said it wrong.

CP: He did but I didn’t want to correct him because I adore him. Whatever, if he wants to use the word pussy, he can. But a chick flick that’s not for pussies I think is a little more [accurate].

SG: Because you’re not afraid to let the women really be bad.

CP: I’m not afraid to let them be bad. I’m not afraid for the audience to be uncomfortable and see things that they’ve not seen before. We have as audiences metaphorically been watching men grab their crotches since the beginning of film. I think it’s time to watch a woman do it.

SG: Is it frustrating that so many of the supposedly raunchy women movies are still so tame and watered down?

CP: I think we’ve turned the corner a little bit. I think that definitely the audiences are ready to see things that are a little grittier and a little more real with women, what they say and their behavior. So I feel like our film, even though we’ve been working on this film, Kellie Overbey who wrote it started almost eight years ago, we were creating this script all along the way when it was a little more subversive. But it couldn’t be better timing to come out at a time when audiences I think are a little more ready for it.

SG: Is that because of Bridesmaids?

CP: I think Bridesmaids has helped. Yeah, I think it’s helped. You know, women have been having sex for a long time so there are bound to be different points of view about that.

SG: Is it your or Kellie’s idea to have the C word in the movie?

CP: That’s Kellie. Again, reclaiming that word, not being afraid of it. Also it’s right in line with the character that Anne Heche plays. Dee Dee would use that word. Bebe would not. Clementine would not. So it’s not like we’re saying that everyone should say that word. It is specific to that character.

SG: Yet as raunchy as it is, was it important to have a loving element with the flashbacks to Dee Dee’s marriage?

CP: Yes, I wanted to make sure I know Kellie did too that the film was not a male hating film, it wasn’t a film that was in any way dismissive of men and their behavior. The film is about women and how we relate to each other by talking about relationships, by talking about men, talking about women. So the men are peripheral to that. They’re secondary to that primary relationship and that’s why I intentionally shot them from behind or profile or sort of out of focus, because they aren’t the focus of this particular story that we’re telling.

SG: Did you take out a scene where all of the girls sing into hairbrushes?

CP: [Laughs] There was no such sequence.

SG: I’m glad you know what I’m talking about though.

CP: There were no such scenes. No, there are no high fashion singings where people are living in huge apartments

that don’t exist.

SG: How did those become our movie clichés? Who looks at a hairbrush and goes…?

CP: I’ve got to sing into it. I don't know. Have you ever done that?

SG: No.

CP: Me neither.

SG: I would sing for real, but not pretend something else is a microphone.

CP: I know, exactly. But I did have a montage in there. I had a little nod to the montage with the girlfriends going through the city. But they’re having a shitty time as they’re doing it. It was a fun montage but they’re having a rough day, so it’s kind of a little wink to that formula too.

SG: How did you help Anne Heche get as far as she goes in this movie?

CP: You know, Anne is an extraordinary actor. When she read the script, she was on board immediately. She knew what a great role it was and she wasn’t afraid of it. You need to have an actor like that to play that role. We all knew that Anne was funny, but we didn’t know how funny. She was literally balls to the wall and you have to be with that character, because if you pull back too much, it doesn’t work because the journey that the character [goes through], where she ends up at the end, she has to be pushed there. So we would talk about that, she and I, about everything being a setup for that last scene.

SG: Was it important that there be a lesbian couple, and it’s not a big deal?

CP: Kellie really wanted that to be in there. Yes, exactly, not make a big deal out of it at all because that’s just part of New York City certainly, and part of the world that these women would live in. Also my production company, Daisy 3 Pictures, we make gay films you can take your mother to and women’s films with a broad appeal. She wanted to have a little nod to those films that we make too, so she wanted to make sure we had a gay couple in there.

SG: What is your life as a filmmaker like compatibly or separate from your life as an actor?

CP: You know, I find that they really complement each other because I learn a lot in front of the camera about what to do behind the camera. I certainly have more respect now for what does go on behind the camera, what the director is trying to accomplish, why things take as long as they do, why continuity is important. All those things that then I can try to apply when I’m in front of the camera. And I am on a TV show now that has such a huge cast that we’re in all the episodes but we don’t work every day. So I have the luxury of having a steady paycheck right now, which is always rare for an actor, which affords me time to work on my film projects so they definitely complement each other in that way.

SG: Have you ever directed an episode of True Blood?

CP: No, I have not.

SG: Would you go there?

CP: I don't know if True Blood is the kind of thing that I would be naturally good for. That said, I would love to shadow one of the directors. In other words, be by his or her side from the minute they come on to when the episode is locked because I’ve not experienced that whole process. I only just come on set as the actor. I know it’s different from features so I would love to do something like that and I intend to talk to them about that and see if they wouldn’t mind me doing that.

SG: How nice is it to have a partner who’s also an artist and gets it?

CP: I don't know how I would have made this movie if I wasn’t married to Michael Emerson because I sat him down about two or three months before I went into preproduction. I said, “I have something I want to talk to you about. I’m not going to do this until you’re okay with it” because when you’re making a film you’re basically not there. You are completely unavailable to the other person. I said, “How would you feel if I finally make this movie happen?” And he said, “I’m with you all the way. I believe in it and I believe in you.” So he just totally supported me through the whole thing and I’m so grateful for that. He would literally take care of the house, take care of the dog. He would come by the set and make sure I was okay. He’s a good man. We do that for each other. When he was in Hawaii, I was constantly going over there and being with him while he was working on Lost. It’s just what you do. You support each other.

SG: Are you both in New York now?

CP: He’s in New York on Person of Interest. True Blood shoots in L.A. So we are having to be back and forth.

SG: At the same time, or does it at least alternate schedules?

CP: We have some overlap so right now we’re in overlap, so we’re both working. He’ll finish in April and then I will work until July.

SG: Are you working on the new season now?

CP: We are. Yeah, we started right around Thanksgiving. Season five.

SG: What sorts of things are you looking forward to getting to do this year?

CP: You know, I just put myself in the hands of the writers. I don't know how they are able to have so many balls in the air and juggle all of them and give all the storylines their due, but they do. I just go along for the ride.

SG: As it’s expanded, how has that impacted you?

CP: I have less. I have less to do because there are so many characters, but the thing that I’ve learned about the show and those writers is, even if you have less to do, it still packs a punch. So I just am grateful that my character is still alive and still there and that they still want and the audiences still want Arlene, because I think she adds a lot of spice to the show.

SG: Alive and still human.

CP: And still human, true. That’s saying something, isn’t it?

SG: So when they do cut back to Merlott’s it’s really important.

CP: Well, I think what made the show really work at the beginning was how it was grounded in a reality, albeit a fictitious depiction of reality but still it was grounded in this small town. So you really need to have the characters like Arlene and Terry and Andy Bellefleur, the characters that are representative of the human race.

SG: Would you normally keep your hair fabulously red if it weren’t for True Blood?

CP: No I wouldn’t but I certainly am glad for it because I really like being a redhead. It takes a little
maintenance but I like it.

SG: What interaction do you have with True Blood fans?

CP: I do have some wonderful, wonderful Twitter followers and I love to interact with them and I retweet and comment and talk to them. They are very devoted and that’s so fun because who would have thought you could reach 37,000 fans with one sentence? It’s extraordinary.

SG: Have you been meeting with buyers at Sundance?

CP: No meetings but I know that they’ve been seeing the film and we have our fingers crossed that we’ll be able to get a good partnership there.

SG: What is it like to be directly involved with that side of things at the festival?

CP: Yeah, you might actually meet personally with them and I feel like there’s an audience for this film. I could feel it in the screenings that we’ve had that people are really into it. I’m assuming that somebody’s going to also pick up on that and want to keep it going.

Look for That's What She Said in theater later this year. You read about it here first!

by Darrah de jour (image) Unless you live under a rock, or were raised in a Big Love-type compound, then you’ve probably heard of adult film star, sex positive activist, author, hottie, feminist, and nurse, Nina Hartley (or at least fawned over her ass, unknowingly). She was a guest on SuicideGirls... more

by Darrah de jour



Unless you live under a rock, or were raised in a Big Love-type compound, then you’ve probably heard of adult film star, sex positive activist, author, hottie, feminist, and nurse, Nina Hartley (or at least fawned over her ass, unknowingly). She was a guest on SuicideGirls Radio earthier this month, and was so astoundingly on-point about sex and sensuality, that I couldn’t help but probe her some more. She’s been in hundreds of adult films, played William H. Macy's wife in heat in Boogie Nights, and appeared on Oprah in defense of blue movies; but what stands out most is her eloquence. Listen in as Hartley describes open relationships, commodifying oneself in the name of success, and where Jenna Jameson may have gone wrong.

Darrah de jour: I read that you said, when you got into the adult business, you were blessed with two popular fetish items: "Big, baby-blue eyes and that round butt with a high, small waist." Your butt become your trademark – one of my career goals, I can’t fail to mention! But what caught me, was your use of the word “items.” How much do you have to commodify yourself when marketing you in the adult industry (not unlike show biz)? Are you detached or disembodied ever during performances?

Nina Hartley: No more or less than any other entertainer. It’s helpful to understand one’s impact on the target audience. In my case that was going to be heterosexual men. I understood that eyes are the feature that men notice first and I’ve long known that “big baby blues” are considered a positive, feminine feature to possess. I went blonde because our culture views blondes as “the prettiest,” and I wanted to stack the deck. If I had had big, brown eyes I’d have gone for a dark auburn color. I didn’t have to commodify my ass, as that’s done for me by men’s unbidden reaction to seeing it displayed nicely. I find it sweet and cute, as they seem to regress to teenagers around it, and I have compassion for all those frustrated young men. Like any woman I can find “fault” with this or that aspect of my physical appearance but I also know that others don’t share my issues. So, if I just shut up about it they never notice. It’s been a good lesson.

Ddj: Jenna Jameson co-authored a book, How To Make Love Like A Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale. Subsequently, during an interview with Anderson Cooper, Jenna said that if her daughter wanted to be in porn, she would “tie her in the closet. Only because this is such a hard industry for a woman to get ahead and get the respect that she deserves. I fought tooth and nail to get to where I am, and it's not something that I would want my daughter to go through. It's not something that any parent would choose for their child.” I understand you didn’t have an interest in having children, but can you sympathize with what Jameson is saying?

NH: Absolutely! The life of an entertainer is very hard, and the life of an erotic entertainer even more so, as there’s no social benefit to that career choice. Jenna is, financially, the most successful woman ever to make adult movies and it came at a very high cost, both public and private. It’s a stigma that never leaves you and her kids will have to deal with it. It will make their adolescence very challenging, though they’ll come through it enough to appreciate her in the long run. I make porn because I’m queer, which Jenna is not, and because I have a bigger message about sex that I needed to disseminate, which Jenna never did. She wanted to be famous and she got it, but I don’t know if it made her happy or not.

Ddj: Jameson wrote in her book, “I was willing to do anything to be someone who everyone loved. Looking back on it, it was just a new type of insecurity replacing the old one, and I was giving myself away to the needs and expectations of the public instead of the needs and expectations of the men in my life. It was just a new form of dependence developing. And it was equally detrimental to any sort of emotional stability.” Do you think sex work can be an addiction?

NH: I don’t believe anyone can be “addicted” to something that is not chemical. I know it’s unfashionable to say so, but I come from an older, medical model. So, no, I don’t think sex, or sex work, can be an addiction. That doesn’t mean it can’t be dreadfully harmful to those who do it.

I think any behavior can be used to avoid or ignore deeper emotional crises or conflicts. Work, drugs, drink, shopping, exercise, eating disorders, compulsive (fill in the blank), and, yes, sex, can, and are, used to stuff feelings, avoid responsibility, do self-harm, be an acting out of deep emotional issues of anger, alienation, rebellion, loneliness, etc.
When one’s life is out of control it doesn’t matter about the what. It does matter about the how and the why.

Ddj: Jameson also wrote, “I never take the time to feel the effects of my choices. Maybe it’s because I would be ashamed, maybe afraid. I realize I have avoided my pain for as long as I can remember. As life goes racing by me, all the while my soul goes on with sickness. Yes, sickness. It feels like it’s ailing. Because the one that should be nursing it is too busy trying to succeed and be accepted. I’m certainly scared that if I try to fix what has broken in me, so long ago, I may not succeed. So I go on faking that I am whole, proud, and strong…” Do you feel like you came into the adult industry feeling healthy and strong? Do you think that wholeness can be fostered there or is hard won?

NH: I did come into the industry feeling healthy and strong. Don’t forget, I was a full seven years older than she was when she started. I came from an intact family. I grew up in a time (the ‘60s and ‘70s) and place (Berkeley, California) that gave rise to second wave feminism so I had exposure to those ideas, as well as the new thinking about sex, sexuality, and sexual expression. I had a college education, as had my parents and my grandparents. I was never beaten. I did well in school and never missed a day. You get the picture. I was more self-aware than most who stumble into porn by accident. My low self-esteem was manifested by my unhealthy relationship off camera. On camera and on set I was strong. It was only when I went home that my life was BS.

Ddj: How serious is substance abuse in the adult film world?

NH: No more than the entertainment industry as a whole. Some are sober. Some are casual users and some have problems with over-use.

Ddj: Despite Sharon Mitchell’s valiant efforts with the now defunct AIM, before it closed, there were several HIV scares, one as recent as 2011. How much anxiety did you have going into the industry, and at various times in your career about the risk of contracting an STD?

NH: I didn’t have a lot of anxiety about STDs, as I know that they’re a risk for any sexually active person. I was sexually active before I got on camera and would have remained so if I had never made a movie. As a nurse and a practical person I believe in the risk-reduction/harm mitigation approach to sex work. There is probability and possibility and I decided, in 1984, given how porn is shot, that the risk of contracting HIV on a set was acceptable to me. I just made sure I didn’t engage in known high-risk behaviors: letting men ejaculate inside of me, doing needle drugs or having sex with those who did, working with gay or bisexual men, refraining from anal sex, making sure I didn’t work if I had vaginal abrasions, etc. If I had been super-scared about STDs I’d not have made movies in the first place. STDs are a risk for any sexually active person and I accept that. I mitigate my risk in other areas by not smoking, making sure to wear seat belts, not drunk driving, not sun tanning, eating healthfully, etc. In the end, we’re all going to die. My favorite bumper sticker: “Life: Sexually Transmitted and 100% Fatal.”

Ddj: Adult film crossover star Sasha Grey stated that her guest starring role on HBO’s Entourage was not wholly unlike filming on a porn set. There was just more blocking. Let’s talk about your role in Boogie Nights. How was that experience for you in general, and how was it similar or different from making an adult film?

NH: Ms. Grey is correct. A movie shoot is a movie shoot is a movie shoot. It’s simply a matter of budget. When I did Boogie Nights we sometimes had as many as 15 takes of one scene. In porn we’re lucky if we get three. We have a snack table, Hollywood has multiple catering stations, etc. Even the micro-budget movies, where the stars do their own makeup, etc., still have two to three weeks to film. The average full-plot feature (as differentiated from gonzo or scene-by-scene shooting) is still only two to three day’s worth of shooting.

Ddj: I’ve noticed that a lot of adult film stars – Sasha Grey being one of them – are devoutly atheist. On the SG Radio show, you said that you are atheist as well, and I wonder, do you think somebody could be in the adult industry – in any facet – and be spiritual or religious?

NH: Many adult performers are believing Christians. I know some company owners are members of their church or temple, and many are raising their kids within a religious tradition. I’m not quite sure how the Christians mentally balance the monogamous/adultery aspect of making movies, but the one couple I know who publicly claim their faith manage the mental gymnastics by saying that work is not love, and that they only love their wife/husband. OK, if you say so. There are lots of performers who claim to be “spiritual” though. Lots of them do yoga, etc.

Ddj: You are openly bisexual – yay, so am I And you’re in a polyamorous marriage. I am very interested in how you’ve negotiated this with your husband Ira Levine?

NH: His nom de porn is Ernest Greene, just so you know. We just both knew that, when we got together, that being open was part of it. We met in 1989 when he was the assistant director (AD) to Sharon Cain. I liked him right away, for many reasons. We had an affair from ’91 to ’92, when I broke it off to go back and “work on my marriage.” I already knew it was dead but wasn’t ready to face that fact and break it off. If I had to do it over again I’d have gone home the first day I met him and given notice to my exes. Oy.

Ira’s and my first sexual encounter was as part of a threesome. He was politely watching Ms. Cain and me fool around on the living room floor (very unusual for Ms. Cain, as she preferred gay men). I saw him discretely masturbating and said, “Would you like a blowjob?” Being no fool he said yes, and we enjoyed ourselves very much.

What makes Ira perfect for me is that he has a complete lack of jealousy or sexual possessiveness. Our having an open relationship was a prerequisite for becoming a couple, as I had decided that I’d be single for life and have cats and lovers before I’d ever mate again with a jealous person.

I don’t think I own my partner’s genitals and I can’t have as a partner anyone who thinks s/he owns mine. We’re one of those very rare couples that play together with others as well as having solo play dates with our friends. I know his romantic life is with me but there’s a lot more to his inner life than romance and it’s important that all of his sexual nature get to come out and play, even if it’s with someone else. The sex we have alone when he’s been with someone else previously is smokin’.

Ddj: You had a really funny quote that you are now working with women younger than your breast implants. How are you treated differently now that you are in the MILF category versus ingénue?

NH: If I’m treated differently it’s because I’m a veteran of many years standing. I usually work with young men and women because the genre likes playing with extremes and contrasts: skin color, age, size, etc.

Ddj: Has your sex drive waned over the years, or remained strong?

NH: Since most of my sex drive is in my head, it’s as strong as ever. I’ve rarely, in my life, been genitally horny. When I’m alone I rarely masturbate but if I have a potential partner who wants to get sexual, I’m interested right away.

Ddj: When did you have your sexual peak?

NH: For the past 28 years, I suppose. One reason porn has been good for me is that I don’t fit into any box that society has for me: Woman, wife, young, middle-aged, monogamous, etc. I guess I was most active between 25-40, when I did movies, stripping, and went to a lot of swinger conventions.

Ddj: Earlier this year The Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance requiring condoms to be used in all permitted adult films shot within their city limits. Adult actress Lorelei Lee has called this a “mistake” and a “misguided” decision. Many speculate that the West Valley, my old hood, also known as Porn Valley, will simply lose its porn hub status, being replaced by New Hampshire (the only other state where filming porn is legal) or go further underground. What do you think of the condom-mandatory ruling?

NH: It’s a politically motivated disaster. Unenforceable. Driven by greed, hubris and megalomania on the part of Michael Weinstein, of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Condoms should be voluntary, with no one losing work because they prefer to use condoms. That, unfortunately, is not usually the case. Most performers strongly prefer bareback scenes with a tested partner and external ejaculation. It’s the long history of external ejaculation that has kept HIV out of the porn and swinger populations for the past 30 years. The two confirmed cases on on-set transmission both resulted from anal “cream pie” scenes, where the male performer ejaculates inside the receptive partner, the highest risk act that there is in porn. Let me ask this: given a choice would you prefer to do a condom scene with a partner who was HIV+ or whose HIV status was unknown to you, or with a tested partner who ejaculated on your breasts? I thought so.

Ddj: I interviewed Tristan Taormino last year. She is active in the poly community and you two worked together on The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women. She considers herself a feminist pornographer. What is different for you about feminist porn versus regular porn?

NH: As a general rule “feminist” porn tries to create a good work environment for the performers. As well, it seeks to portray sex, even rougher sex, as consensual, not to portray the women as bimbos or sluts, etc. Some of it has more involved story lines. Some of it includes GLBTQ performers (“straight” porn is notoriously gay-phobic) who don’t conform to mainstream notions of what “sexy,” “masculine,” “feminine” are supposed to mean or look like. Feminist porn is made by those men and women who have strong ideas about sex, sexuality, and sexual expression, and who want to get their ideas out there into the wider marketplace. Feminist porn tries very hard not to dehumanize or overly objectify the performers, not to insult the intelligence or integrity of the consumer.

Ddj: Do you think porn teaches boys and men bad sex habits and false ideas around intimacy and women’s orgasms? For example, in many films a woman comes two minutes into cunnilingus. The average women comes after about 16-24 minutes, according to my internet research, ahem.

NH: If all of the information about “how sex works” is garnered from commercial porn, then, yes, it showcases bad habits and promotes unrealistic ideas about female pleasure (male pleasure, too, as most men can’t last 40 minutes). If a person can’t/doesn’t/won’t pay attention to his or her actual, live partner, then porn isn’t going to make it worse. The cunnilingus they do show is bogus and lame, as real cunnilingus doesn’t show much of the vulva or clitoris, as that’s all happening under the lips. This is a MOVIE, folks. Your mileage may vary.

Our whole system does a piss-poor job of teaching our young people about healthy sexuality. It’s sad that people are reduced to looking at an entertainment medium for nuggets of usable information. My teaching tapes address this directly, if a viewer learns something useful from most movies, it’s almost an accident.

Having said that, I always used my time on screen to role model good sexual behavior, as well as effective techniques for oral and hand sex. Why? Because I knew people were using porn to try to learn about sexual behavior – this was before I started my educational series with Adam&Eve.

Ddj: You played Hillary Rodham Clinton in Who’s Nailin’ Paylin?, a porn parody. How do you feel about Sarah Palin? Should she be feared by liberals?

NH: I think she’s a poor excuse for a politician, though she seems to be a very savvy self-promoter who was able to tap into the anti-liberal zeitgeist. She’s not smart or educated enough to be president, though she has a native cunning about her, I dare say. She’s ambitious, and Americans have always been uncomfortable with naked female ambition.

Ddj: Tyra Banks is very vocal about her anti-sex work ideology and Dr. Drew has said sex addicts are attracted to and stuck in sex work. You appeared on Oprah in defense of porn. Would you appear on national TV again? And, if so, what would you say to detractors like Drew and Banks?

NH: I’d ask them to please stop painting all of us with the same old, tired stereotyped brush. The notion that sex work is always bad, and that sex workers are always unhappy/abuse survivors/victims is simply old puritanical ideology about “proper” female behavior/desires/roles gussied up in modern, feminist language. I find Dr. Drew annoying, condescending, judgmental, very vanilla in his outlook – non-traditional sexual expression skeeves him out – and fairly ignorant of the lives of most sex workers. If all the sex workers he meets find their way to him because of addiction issues, why does he ridiculously extrapolate that small sample to be representative of the experiences of all sex workers? Has he ever bothered to talk to a control group of sex workers who, gasp, like their jobs and find them fulfilling? Oops. That would be a negative.

Tyra Banks is just another woman who is also skeeved out by “sluts,” and “skanks,” and thinks she knows how to save them from themselves. I find her “analysis” to be shallow, based in assumptions and judgment, and insulting on the face of it. Sex workers are a varied population and each worker has his/her own reasons for doing the job. Some like their job most days, some hate it most days, and some wish they could find a way out. So, help those who want out to get out,if you can do so without shaming them – hard to do for the mainstream culture. And help those who like their jobs to do it more safely. The best thing to do for sex workers, if people really wanted to help, would be to decriminalize consensual sex work. It would free up a lot of legal space to actually go after sexual predators and criminals, and would let women work together for safety.

Ddj: You’ve won more accolades, I think, than any adult film star. Is there any category that you haven’t won in that you are still hoping to land a golden trophy for?

NH: I haven’t won an award in many years. Community Service would be good, but my husband deserves that much sooner, as he was one of the founders of AIM [a clinic which was set up to test adult performers for STDs] and has been completely overlooked by the powers that hand out such things. I doubt I’ll get an award for MILF of the Year, but I’m OK with that.

Ddj: There are many men that will hypocritically get off to porn, but then call the women who are in the videos “sluts” and “whores”. What is your feeling about this Madonna-whore complex that seems inherent in many men?

NH: On one hand, fuck ‘em. On the other hand, it’s such a deep part of the culture that one can hardly blame them for absorbing the rhetoric about it. If a man disses a woman for having sexual knowledge, then she should show him the door without apology, and then hold out for a man who appreciates her skill and understanding.

I don’t know what it would take for this to be rooted out. We have a religiously based legal system that assumes that women are pure and sexless, guardians of home and hearth, and that men are bestial and primitive. For many years prostitution was promoted as a way for men to express their baser urges on fallen women, so they wouldn’t subject their delicate wives to the ugly male desire.

Ddj: Should women be as responsible as men are for their orgasms? How do we claim our orgasm’s equal importance after a man has achieved his?

NH: No one gives any one an orgasm. All we can do is to assist our partners in finding their own. If he finishes first and she still needs more she can: kick him out, claiming an early day and then masturbate alone; she can recline in his lap so he can play with her boobs while she masturbates to a finish; she can masturbate during sex so she can have an orgasm before him. I always come after my partner, as my orgasm is very hard to achieve, and trying too hard during intercourse just takes me away from the moment. I can come whenever I want, so not coming during sex is not a big deal to me.

Ddj: How much of a problem is unwanted pregnancy resulting from adult film work?

NH: More than you’d think, as many women aren’t on birth control! I’ve heard of at least four pregnancies during the course of my career, and I’m always flabbergasted that a woman would fuck men without using birth control.

Ddj: Are there any sexual fantasies that you haven’t fulfilled yet?

NH: Well, there are the various celebrities that I think are hot, fucking in zero gravity, fucking underwater, as a mermaid, not in a scuba mask, fucking on the 50-yard line during halftime with the action being displayed on the JumboTron. That kind of thing.

Ddj: Who are your heroes?

NH: Maya Angelou, Margaret Sanger, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Betty Dodson, Carol Queen, Robert Lawrence, Annie Sprinkle, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, to name a few. I’m sure there are plenty more.

Ddj: What’s next for you?

NH: More writing, developing myself as a pundit and public speaker, spoken word performance, making my website more profitable, leading workshops on sex, sexuality and sexual expression, being a great-aunt to my amazing great-nieces and nephews, continuing my role as educator.

Ddj: Last, your most famous quote (and one I’ve pasted to my fridge) is: “Sex isn’t something men do to you. It isn’t something men get out of you. Sex is something you dive into with gusto and like it every bit as much as he does.” Have you always loved sex?

NH: I’ve always loved the idea of sex. It took me many years to actually love it in real life. It took a lot of practice and experience in order for me to say, now, “I never have bad sex any more.” I love sex as an idea, an activity, an expression of desire and passion, as political speech. I loved sex long before I ever even kissed a person. It just always was the most compelling thing to me.

Need more Nina? Visit, Nina.com/ and follow her on Twitter.

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Post-feminist sex and sensuality expert Darrah de jour is a freelance journalist who lives in LA with her doggie Oscar Wilde. Her writing has appeared in Marie Claire, Esquire and W. In her Red, White and Femme: Strapped With A Brain - And A Vagina columns for SuicideGirls, Darrah takes a fresh look at females in America. Twice a month, she also co-hosts SG Radio on Indie1031.com. Subscribe to her blog at Darrahdejour.com/, friend her on Facebook, and Listen to her wax sensual at WingGirlMethod.com/.



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