by Steven Whitney (image) Today, July 14th, marks the 223rd anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, the event that sparked the French Revolution. While there were only seven prisoners – all freed – incarcerated at the time, the fortress was perhaps the most visible and most accessible... more

by Steven Whitney



Today, July 14th, marks the 223rd anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, the event that sparked the French Revolution.

While there were only seven prisoners – all freed – incarcerated at the time, the fortress was perhaps the most visible and most accessible symbol of a repressive royal authority that represented only the top 2% of the country. The other 98% were bound in an economic enslavement with a regressive tax system, meaning the richer one was, the less one paid.

Does any of that sound familiar?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen – alongside our own Declaration of Independence one of the greatest documents of democratic principles – arose from the camaraderie and solidarity shown by the vanishing middle class and poor of Paris who fought back with a vengeance on this single day that changed the course of history.

Now celebrated as Bastille Day, it is to France what Independence Day is to America.

Happy Anniversary!

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by Lee Camp (video) Hopefully you've heard mentions of the LIBOR scandal - the biggest banking scandal in years. I need to tell you two things about it. 1) It's not as complicated as it sounds. 2) It does not stand for "Ladies Intimately Bending Over, Rearview." If it did, you would... more

by Lee Camp



Hopefully you've heard mentions of the LIBOR scandal - the biggest banking scandal in years. I need to tell you two things about it. 1) It's not as complicated as it sounds. 2) It does not stand for "Ladies Intimately Bending Over, Rearview." If it did, you would see a lot more coverage of it on the mainstream media.

- Lee Camp, July 2012

***
Lee Camp is a stand-up comedian, writer, and activist. He's a contributor to The Onion and has performed stand-up comedy at events featuring Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore. He was recently on Showtime's series The Green Room with Paul Provenza. He's done comedic commentary on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, BBC's Newsnight, PBS, E! network, SpikeTV, MTV, and ABC's Good Morning America. He's featured in the new bestseller Satiristas! with the likes of George Carlin, Bill Maher, and Stephen Colbert. Lee also provided a catharsis for millions of people when he went live on Fox News and called the network a "parade of propaganda and a festival of ignorance." His first album, Chaos for the Weary, was listed as one of the Top 5 stand-up comedy albums of 2011. His new book, Moment of Clarity, and album, Pepper Spray The Tears Away, are in stores now. Lee will be bringing his comedy show West to the Fake Gallery in Los Angeles this Saturday, July 14. For tickets click HERE. For more information visit LeeCamp.net.

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by Nahp Suicide A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups. (image) [Leandra in Breathless] This week Leandra explains why SG’s Horror Group gets her adrenalin pumping… Members: 2,236 / Comments: 30,515 WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: I love this group because I love horror! Pure and simple. more

by Nahp Suicide

A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups.


[Leandra in Breathless]

This week Leandra explains why SG’s Horror Group gets her adrenalin pumping…

Members: 2,236 / Comments: 30,515

WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: I love this group because I love horror! Pure and simple. I love to be scared. I also love film, and horror is my favorite genre. Oh, and there's a "Dexter" discussion!

DISCUSSION TIP: Anything horror goes! The supernatural and paranormal, evil dolls, clowns, sharks – whatever your twisted mind can think of.

BEST RANDOM QUOTE: "I'm just perpetually afraid there’s sharks. Sharks. Everywhere" - Annasthesia Suicide on the movie Jaws. I am so with her on this!

MOST HEATED DISCUSSION THREAD: I would say "Scariest horror movie ever?" is the most active thread with lots of varied opinions and movie ideas. It doesn't really get heated though, it’s just a great place to discuss opinions and thoughts on horror.

WHO’S WELCOME TO JOIN?: Everyone is welcome! Anyone who likes to be scared and wants to hear about horror movies they may not have heard of. Some of them are total gems!


***
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by Milloux The Pre Comic Con Party this past Saturday at Meltdown Comics was a super awesome preview of what's to come this Comic Con, and I must say that I'm nothing short of stoked. It seems costumes get more creative every year! And there were so many babes (Kemper, Pandie, Ackley, Moxi,... more

by Milloux

The Pre Comic Con Party this past Saturday at Meltdown Comics was a super awesome preview of what's to come this Comic Con, and I must say that I'm nothing short of stoked. It seems costumes get more creative every year! And there were so many babes (Kemper, Pandie, Ackley, Moxi, LaneyChantal and Sash) in cosplay – that's just as cool as it is sexy.
- Milloux, XOX























For more images from the night see our gallery on SuicideGirls.com.

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by Lee Camp (video) My latest Moment of Clarity rant could easily have been entitled "Distractions Will Be The Death Of Us" because we are allowing the distractions to take us away from the important conversations. Some would argue that this is hypocritical of me, since I myself am a comedian. more

by Lee Camp



My latest Moment of Clarity rant could easily have been entitled "Distractions Will Be The Death Of Us" because we are allowing the distractions to take us away from the important conversations. Some would argue that this is hypocritical of me, since I myself am a comedian. However, I hope my comedy can act as a gateway drug to the important topics. I try to bridge the deadly canyons between distraction and crucial issues...You can decide if I succeed.

- Lee Camp, July 2012

***
Lee Camp is a stand-up comedian, writer, and activist. He's a contributor to The Onion and has performed stand-up comedy at events featuring Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore. He was recently on Showtime's series The Green Room with Paul Provenza. He's done comedic commentary on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, BBC's Newsnight, PBS, E! network, SpikeTV, MTV, and ABC's Good Morning America. He's featured in the new bestseller Satiristas! with the likes of George Carlin, Bill Maher, and Stephen Colbert. Lee also provided a catharsis for millions of people when he went live on Fox News and called the network a "parade of propaganda and a festival of ignorance." His first album, Chaos for the Weary, was listed as one of the Top 5 stand-up comedy albums of 2011. His new book, Moment of Clarity, and album, Pepper Spray The Tears Away, are in stores now. Lee will be bringing his comedy show West to the Fake Gallery in Los Angeles this Saturday, July 14. For tickets click HERE. For more information visit LeeCamp.net.

by Brad Warner (image) Lots of people think the question "What happens after you die?" is one of the most urgent in all of philosophy. So they invent concepts like rebirth and reincarnation to try to deal with their anxiety over it. But the problem is that the question makes no sense. The question... more

by Brad Warner



Lots of people think the question "What happens after you die?" is one of the most urgent in all of philosophy. So they invent concepts like rebirth and reincarnation to try to deal with their anxiety over it. But the problem is that the question makes no sense.

The question is based on several assumptions that are not true. It's based foremost on the idea that there is something called "me" that belongs to us as individuals and that this something is subject to birth and death. Now I could sit here at my laptop and type out a series of logical thoughts to try and lead you to the conclusion that this belief in a personal self isn't true. But I'm not sure that would be very helpful. If you want that sort of thing there are thousands of other places to find it. Most of these explanations are produced by people who can write better than me, who have more impressive credentials than I do, and who look better in flowing ochre robes than I ever will. So I will leave the explaining to them.

What I can tell you is this. When you learn to see life as it actually is and not through ways that umpteen thousands of years of human thought has conditioned you to look at them, the idea of the existence of a personal self starts to look incredibly absurd. It takes a good deal of time and a considerable degree of effort to do this. It will not happen in a few hours or a few days or even a few years. Remember that you're trying to cut through perhaps as much as 200,000 years of human conditioning (going by the most reliable scientific estimates of how long our species has been around). This isn't easy to do. But it's a lot easier than it ought to be, given how thoroughly we have been conditioned to see life in terms of a personal self.

You don't die or get reborn because there is no you to die or get reborn in the first place.

You can see this for yourself if you are willing to put in the time and effort to do so. Notice, though, that I am forced to phrase that sentence in tens of "you." This is how pervasive the concept of a personal self is. There is no way to make a coherent English sentence regarding this subject without having to use the idea of a personal self to put it across. Our thinking is forced by language to flow through certain channels. We are so deeply conditioned to see things in terms of self that we cannot think our way out of it.

The key is to transcend all thought. This may sound like a big deal. But it's really not. We transcend all thought all the time. There's an old Zen story about a guy who realizes the essential truth of the universe when he stubs his toe. When you stub your toe really hard, thought disappears completely. At the moment of toe-stubbing, there can be no thought and no personal self. Later on thought can come along and explain what happened in terms of "me" and "my toe." But that's just an explanation. That's not what happened. This sort of thing goes on constantly throughout our lives.

Meditation is just the practice of sitting with what actually is until we learn how not to ignore what actually is.

***

Brad Warner is the author of Sex, Sin and Zen: A Buddhist Exploration of Sex from Celibacy to Polyamory and Everything in Between as well as Hardcore Zen, Sit Down and Shut Up! and Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate. He maintains a blog about Buddhist stuff that you can click here to see. You can also buy T-shirts and hoodies based on his books, and the new CD by his band Zero Defex now!


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by Steven Whitney (image) [Last week, the "Fighting Back" series began with a simple question: given their minority status for most of the last 80 years, why is the GOP not only still viable but so successful at winning elections? Over the next several weeks, we’ll examine answers in a myriad... more

by Steven Whitney



[Last week, the "Fighting Back" series began with a simple question: given their minority status for most of the last 80 years, why is the GOP not only still viable but so successful at winning elections? Over the next several weeks, we’ll examine answers in a myriad fields, some obvious and others more subtle, and then offer solutions aimed at turning the tables on the party that favors corporations and the 1% over the vast majority of Americans. The series is intended to be a discussion, not a monologue – so in the spirit of participatory democracy, feel free to share your ideas in the comments section as we move from topic to topic.]

With the death of the Lee Atwater in 1991, the GOP lost their most effective election strategist in decades – the “bad cop” who miraculously overcame a mid-summer 41% polling deficit and, many observers believe, single-handedly pushed “good cop” George H.W. Bush (President #41) into the White House via a mixture of mendacious tactics and Machiavellian strategies. Without Atwater, Bush lost badly (370-168 electoral votes) to Bill Clinton in his 1992 re-election bid – even as Republicans gained seats in the Democratically controlled House and Senate.

Spotting opportunity, Karl Rove – a crafty political “advisor” who had been biding his time, waiting in the wings for more than a decade after his involvement with the Watergate scandal – made his move. Although little known outside of Texas, he had already cultivated a nationwide network of GOP operatives and, more importantly, had long ties to the Bush family. Amping up Atwater’s dirty tricks, “take-no-prisoners,” and “divide and conquer” playbook, Rove ran the dirtiest, most negative, and most successful campaigns in anyone’s memory, electing hardline right-wingers Senator Phil Gramm, Senator John Ashcroft, Agricultural Commissioner Rick Perry, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and, of course, Governor George W. Bush, the incurious son of the former President. (Anyone still not aware of the many sins of Karl Rove – too numerous to list in this or any other post – should read selected posts of the late Molly Ivins here and here, and/or watch the fine documentary Bush’s Brain).

During this string of unprecedented wins, Rove slowly gained invisible control of the Republican National Committee and successfully courted Fox News, Fortune 500 corporations, and individuals like the Koch brothers, bringing them into the Big Money Tent of the GOP. So when it came time for the puppet-master to run “W” for President, he had all the tools – lies, smears, dirty tricks, misdirection, and the money to implement them – and resources needed to run an Atwater Times Ten campaign, including the advocacy of James Baker (who later admitted to fixing the election), the Supreme Court, Florida Governor Jeb Bush (W’s brother) and his cohort Kathryn Harris, who carried out voter suppression while introducing the now infamous butterfly ballots to the Sunshine State. The election was literally stolen from Al Gore, marking the first time in a hundred years that a President was elected without winning the popular vote.

But it was during his years as Senior Advisor and then as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bush (#43), that Rove actually reconfigured the GOP, transforming it from a conservative bloc that generally venerated the values that fuel democratic politics – pragmatism, bipartisanship, mutual respect, the twin arts of negotiation and compromise, and at least a semblance of civility – to a hard line, far-right party intolerant of and punitive to even the smallest form of dissent or rank breaking.

Once in the White House and in possession of real power, Rove continually mimicked and reinforced a career trajectory not dissimilar to that of Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda of Germany’s Third Reich from 1933 to 1945 and almost universally considered the “father of modern political propaganda.”

After living through World War II and witnessing first-hand the disastrous effects of Goebbels’ stunning misuse of language for political ends, George Orwell wrote the 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language,” in which he newly defined the agitprop of Goebbels’ Ministry: “Much political language – by means of circumlocution, euphemism and other doctorings, was designed to make lies sound truthful.”

That sentence became the basis of Newspeak – a language Orwell created to illustrate the power of words and phrases to control the thoughts and actions of the people – in his classic novel, 1984, published in 1948. And Newspeak – the seductively reassuring “branding” of party policy combined with the outrageously false and incendiary defining of any alternative views – was and is a central foundation for both Goebbels and Rove.

Let’s be clear - I am not calling Rove a Nazi – excrementous, yes; a Nazi, no. I am merely pointing out that Rove has employed almost exactly the same tactics – updated for the electronic age and streamlined for contemporary American culture – as did Goebbels.

Curiously, there are a few personal similarities between them as well. Both men first ascended to power as acolytes in the service of, and instrumental to, their masters’ political success. Both chose to travel the lowest campaign roads imaginable and, perhaps because of that, both men were – despite their obvious intelligence, skills, and success – vehemently disliked by almost everyone with whom they came into contact. George W. Bush, the greatest beneficiary of Rove’s political acumen, even nicknamed him “turd blossom” (it is lost to history if Hitler ever called Goebbels scheisskopf).

In politics especially, every single study of voting habits shows that emotion trumps reason in almost every election. For that reason, almost all propaganda targets emotion rather than intellect. So, like Goebbels, the focus for Rove is on often imaginary or contrived wedge issues (fear, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, racism, and false patriotism) that negatively arouse strong and even hysterical emotions rather than on real political concerns that require positively-charged and reasoned responses.

Using emotions like fear as their cornerstones, both Goebbels and Rove created horrendously effective propaganda factories built on the dogma of Indoctrination, Intimidation and Revenge, and Distraction and Disinformation, coupled with Divide and Conquer strategies.

By institutionalizing these immoral agendas, both men created the most divisive and destructive societies in their nations’ histories – and drove a great percentage of their fellow citizens absolutely batshit crazy.

In 1945, with Soviet troops advancing on Berlin, Joseph Goebbels had the very good sense to kill himself. Since Karl Rove will probably not grace us with such a similarly joyful outcome, it’s mandatory to deconstruct his schemes so we can figure out how to successfully overcome his shameless but effective brand of politics without ourselves becoming indecent.

This, I’ll tackle in my next column, Fighting Fire With Fire.

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(image) by Blogbot (image) This year for Comic Con we’re cooking up an extra-special cosplay wardrobe, with a little help from clothing manufacturer and retailer American Apparel, pop-culture designers and event planners Bubble Punch, and our fave Sunset Strip geek emporium, Meltdown Comics. Comic chic... more

by Blogbot



This year for Comic Con we’re cooking up an extra-special cosplay wardrobe, with a little help from clothing manufacturer and retailer American Apparel, pop-culture designers and event planners Bubble Punch, and our fave Sunset Strip geek emporium, Meltdown Comics.

Comic chic chicks Chubby Bunny and Yume Ninja of Bubble Punch have designed three different sexy cosplay themed outfits for our ladies to wear while they man our Comic-Con booth. Each of the outfits was made using basics available at your local American Apparel store.



Above is the third in our series of three cosplay videos. This one is a tutorial showing you how to recreate the Dalek costumes our ladies will be exterminating the competition in at Comic Con. Talking of competitions, we'll be hosting a cosplay competition at a party at 4th & B on Friday July 13th, which will feature performances by Andrew W.K., Peanut Butter Wolf, Hottub, Alexander Spit, and Franki Chan.

You can also catch our ladies in their cosplay outfits at booth #1730 of Comic Con San Diego 2012. If you’re planning on attending the convention on more than one day, be sure to come back and visit us again, since our team of sexy booth girls will be cosplaying new outfits each day!

We'll have a veritable army of Suicide Girls on hand at the booth, which will include Venom, Severen, Seizure, Brewin, Dice, Elea, Alicee, Phecda, Sash, Zell, Chad, Ridley, Sid, Buellher, Parish, Pandie, Tita, Atlas, Kemper, LaneyChantal, Bob, Spliff, Tristyn, Ackley, Bradley, Haydin, Rambo, Callioppe, Thanatogenous, Milloux, Radeo, Dali, Lolana, Dimples, Murphie, Katherine, and Rlei. So be sure to stop by, say hi, take some pix, pick up some merch, and get your SG books and comics signed.

See you in San Diego!
XOX



Images of Ackley Suicide as a Dalek by Milloux


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Luke Chueh studied graphic design and worked as a designer for many years, but he made his name as a painter. Chueh emerged from the Los Angeles art scene as one of the major painters of his generation and a major player in the contemporary lowbrow art movement. His use of simple characters and minimal... more

Luke Chueh studied graphic design and worked as a designer for many years, but he made his name as a painter. Chueh emerged from the Los Angeles art scene as one of the major painters of his generation and a major player in the contemporary lowbrow art movement. His use of simple characters and minimal color schemes may make what he does look easy, but his imagery and the emotions they evoke are incredibly complex. Few artists are able to make something look simple and cute at a distance, but upon closer inspection reveal itself to be a deeply disturbing scenario.

People may know him from the underground art show Cannibal Flower or Gallery 1988 where he’s been a major exhibitor. Chueh’s work has been transformed into vinyl figures and he created the album art for Fall Out Boy's album “Folie à Deux.” Chueh also regularly posts his new work on his website lukechueh.com. His newest project is “The Art of Luke Chueh,” published by Titan Books in association with Gallery 1988 and Chueh spoke with SG about his approach, the artwork he loves and hints at a few possibilities for the future.


ALEX DUEBEN: When did you first know that you wanted to be an artist?

LUKE CHUEH: I think I knew I wanted to be involved with the visual arts when I was a child. I remember telling my family that I wanted to illustrate comics.

AD: I know that you went to art school. To what degree was that helpful?

LC: I received my formal arts education in school of graphic design from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I found the education invaluable. My understanding of color and composition came from that school along with my general style of illustration.

AD: What is it about painting as opposed to a different medium that you find so interesting?

LC: Painting has the potential of expressing with a single gesture. It captures that movement for as long as the painting exists. It's also one of the oldest forms of communication that still has relevancy today.

AD: What first inspired you to use animals in your work and why you continue to use them?

LC: Though I have a degree in Graphic Design, I'm pretty much a self taught painter. And the reason I started with animal characters was because it was, at the time, the limit of my abilities as a painter. I also came to believe that using anthropomorphized animals was the easiest way of illustrating the ideas I had while reaching a wider audience. Human beings are inherently biased and these characters allow me to communicate without the potential hangups that come with racism, sexism, and ageism. I think my audience would react very differently if I replaced my bears and rabbits with a 20-30 year old Asian male character, or in contrast, a older black female.

AD: What do you think people love about bears and rabbits?

LC: I believe we are conditioned to empathize with animal characters. They were the toys we loved and played with–teddy bears–and the cartoons we watched and were inspired by–Disney and Hannah Barbara.

AD: How has your work evolved since you started creating seriously? Both in terms of your process and what you think about the finished process?

LC: When I think of my evolution as an artist, I see me growing technically as a painter. It's funny, when I look back at my paintings from before 2006, I used to use pencil to help me shade. It wasn't till 2007–three years after started painting full time–did buckle down and teach myself how create lighting effects in paint.

As far as conceptually, I feel that there's a certain strategy that's required when "evolving", and that is you want your audience to feel like they're growing with you. The way I do that is by holding on to the popular elements in my work while restructuring my concepts methodically. For instance, in 2010 I had a show I called “Contemptorary Art.” The show was my attempt at crossing the line between “contemporary” art and the kind of work I create. I explored painting styles from across the ages–Renaissance to cubism to pixelation, incorporated the typographic styling of Barbara Kreuger, and experimented with colorfield painting, while using my bear as the anchor between me and all of these paintings.

AD: How personal do you think your work is?

LC: My work is extremely personal. The characters I create are metaphors for myself. This is the reason why I think my work has the ability to reach and connect to my audience. There's a lot of art out there that employs cute characters as the basis of the image. But most of it is simply a cute character on a canvas. My paintings attempt to illustrate what I'm going through internally, and this is something most people can relate to in one way or another.

AD: You touched on this a little in the book, but I was curious if you could talk a little about the challenge of becoming known for motifs and imagery and then trying to break out of that by doing something different.

LC: It's difficult for me to elaborate on the act of breaking away from my visual style since it's something that I still struggle with. My upcoming shows will feature new characters and new ideas, but these aren't exactly me breaking away from my known "motif's and imagery". Lately I've been participating in group shows, and I've been using these venues to create images that don't feature the 3 or 4 characters I'm known for. I guess look at this as an attempt to expand on my visual style.

AD: What’s it like seeing your work become figures and does it ever tempt you to create sculpture?

LC: When I started painting full time, I discovered the KidRobot website (www.kidrobot.com). At the time their site featured a gallery of designer toys, and I would spend hours pouring through it. I truly believe that this research shaped the way I approached painting and character design. When I was contacted to create a toy, it was like a dream come true.

As far as sculpture is concerned, it's something I definitely have ambitions for. Whenever I go to events Art Basel, art shows in general, or museums, it's usually sculpture that makes the most immediate impression on me. I'm planning on working on something big and sculptural in the very near future,

AD: Now one question I always loathe asking people is how they describe their work, but I am curious about how you think about it. When I first came across your work at Gallery 1988 a few years ago, I remember thinking that it really felt like something that came out of the lowbrow school but it felt very specific to my generation cause we’re about the same age.

LC: When I think of this scene, I look at it in terms of "generations". I think of the first generation as artists like Robert Williams, Anthony Ausgang, The Pizz, etc. The second would be artists like Gary Baseman, Mark Ryden, Tim Biskup, and Camille Rose Garcia. And the third would be myself, Audrey Kawasaki, Craola, and Alex Pardee. As far as the work communicating to a specific age group, that make sense since you said it yourself. We belong to a similar age group, therefore we find ourselves concerned about similar events and are effected by certain trends.

AD: What was the challenge of assembling this book?

LC: I'm not sure if I would say the book making process was challenging, but it definitely requires discipline and patience. When I started painting full time, I scanned in almost every single painting I created. I did so with the immediate intention of showing the work online, but I also held onto the hopes that one day I would have a book. I still have to pinch myself when I realize that it's finally here.

AD: What about Los Angeles do you like and why do you think it’s become arguably, the center of the art world?

LC: Los Angeles has been great to me and I don't think I would have this career if I didn't move here. However, I don't think I would feel right calling it the center of the art world. I would that it's the capital city for the kind of art I create. There are shows almost every weekend and the level of work is across the board in quality.

AD: What kind of contemporary artwork do you enjoy?

LC: I absolutely love Japanese Pop Art–Superflat: Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Chiho Aoshima, Mr., Makoto Aida, etc. I'm also in love with the recent works of Jeff Koons, and Chris Burden. As long as the work is fun. I loved Damien Hirst's taxidermy stuff, but his poke-dots don't don't do it for me.

But let's not dismisses the fact that what is coming out of LA is also contemporary art, though contemporary art critics haven't seemed to figure it out yet.

AD: Final question: Do you have any advice for the younger you?

LC: I think the best advice I have for young artists is to create things that make you happy. Create art that you would be excited to see on a wall–that isn't a copy of another artists work. Also, it's important to get out into your community, go to shows, and keep an open eye and mind.

I think there's lot of different ways to go about a career in the arts, but what I've noticed in myself and my friends is there a three attributes you need: Talent, Discipline, and Luck–not necessarily in that order. With that, you can do just about anything you want.

(image) There's no better day to "party hard" at Comic Con than Friday 13th – especially when cosplay's involved. We'll be rockin' our horror, sci-fi, and superhero outfits with the Spin and iHeartComix crew. The event, which kicks off at 9 PM at 4th & B, will feature... more

There's no better day to "party hard" at Comic Con than Friday 13th – especially when cosplay's involved. We'll be rockin' our horror, sci-fi, and superhero outfits with the Spin and iHeartComix crew. The event, which kicks off at 9 PM at 4th & B, will feature performances by Andrew W.K., Peanut Butter Wolf, Hottub, Alexander Spit, and Franki Chan. We'll also be hosting a cosplay contest with our friends from Bubble Punch and Meltdown, so be sure to come suitably (un)dressed!

Tix are $22 and can be purchased here. For more details visit the Facebook event page.

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SuicideGirls Team With Bubble Punch And Meltdown To Transform American Apparel Basics Into Sexy Cosplay Outfits For SG’s Comic-Con Crew
Dirty Laundry: Cosplay 4 Comic Con

by Bob Suicide (image) It's crunch time. You know, that crispy-coating that surrounds the ooey-gooey center that is the 5 geek-tastic days of ComicCon. These last few days leading up to the start of the convention involve making lists, checking them twice, re-checking them a third time, packing,... more

by Bob Suicide



It's crunch time. You know, that crispy-coating that surrounds the ooey-gooey center that is the 5 geek-tastic days of ComicCon. These last few days leading up to the start of the convention involve making lists, checking them twice, re-checking them a third time, packing, hyperventilating into a bag, and obsessively refreshing that online check-in for your flight. Or, is that all just me?

Regardless of your preparation ritual, there's something behind the scenes you may not know when you walk up to booth #1730 (a.k.a. the SuicideGirls’ booth) and that's how much time and effort all of the Suicide Girls put into this exciting event.

So, here's a list of the things the girls wanted to highlight to make sure you're just as prepared as we are for next week!

Make Sure You've Got ALL Of Your Costume!

For each of the days, SuicideGirls will be wearing different outfits: Star Wars, Dr. Who, Battle Royale, and even a wild-card day where girls can dress up as whatever they choose. Some girls have even made up their very own superheros! Consequently there has been tons of glueing, sewing, and well, spandex-ing in preparation for each day.

No one wants to get to San Diego only to find out their perfectly crafted pair of N7 armor pants aren’t anywhere to be found in their suitcase. Well, someone might enjoy it – but that's a whole different con. It's really difficult to find anything in San Diego during convention time – even seemingly simple things like the bathroom or toothpaste! And if you do, there’s always a long line for it. So it's best to make sure you've packed all the essentials before you get there. You don't want to waste precious time that could be spent in the Hasbro line for an exclusive (MY PRECIOUS!) at the mall picking out replacement pants.

For bonus points: make sure your costume is Con-appropriate. SuicideGirls is all about teh sexy, but the con is all-ages and we know that zero-suit Samus doesn't mean you can walk around without pants on. Keep the Con classy!

Pack Comfy Shoes

You've seen every booth babe in mile-high heels that make their legs look fantastic – but SGs aren't booth babes. We're hardcore fans who are at The Con for the long haul. As a result, even if our cosplay calls for it, we generally know better than to don anything with an incline. If you've got to dash from panel to panel, the only thing heels are good for is to defend yourself against the hoard between you and that front-row seat.

Protip: Don't actually shank anyone with a high heel.

Bring Hand-Sanitizer

But don't be Hayden Panettiere about it. It's a large group of people from all over the universe; there's bound to be some germs. And, if you haven't heard, there's a zombie outbreak going on! It's better to be prepared and lightly lemon-scented, than undead during the five greatest days of the year. There's a difference between protecting yourself from the H1Nerd1 that plagued Penny Arcade's PAX not so long ago and hating the soft touch of your fellow nerds...SuicideGirls definitely love the personal touch! Be sure to stop by the booth and give us a hug and a high-five.

For bonus points: bring some deodorant too. Sometimes you're out late at an event and up early to get in line for a panel. Q little stick can go a long way to freshen up the day.

Have Fun

I may joke about hyperventilating into a bag before ComicCon because of all the stress of prepping and planning, but it's best to look at the upcoming days as part of the ComicCon adventure. Find fun ways to take the stress out of the preparation and make your to-do list into a ta-da list! Make a fun countdown, get together with your friends and have a pack and prep party where you help make sure everyone's prepared whilst screening some geektastic movies. Or maybe, just take a couple moments to relax and breathe before the whirlwind (and your plane) touches down in San Diego.

Lizz Winstead is one of the bravest comedians around today. She talks about abortion with a rare candor, as is a staunch supporter of Planned Parenthood. Her work raising awareness and funds (over a million dollars to date!) for the organization has not surprisingly raised the ire of the religious right,... more

Lizz Winstead is one of the bravest comedians around today. She talks about abortion with a rare candor, as is a staunch supporter of Planned Parenthood. Her work raising awareness and funds (over a million dollars to date!) for the organization has not surprisingly raised the ire of the religious right, but she stands firm, fighting for women’s reproductive rights at a time when in recent history they’ve never been more in peril.

In her new book, Lizz Free Or Die, she devotes a chapter to her own experience as a frightened and bewildered teenager who discovered she was pregnant, and who was even more frightened and bewildered by the reactions of the adults she trusted to give her honest advice, help, and support.

The book also features essays, which are poignant and hilarious in equal parts, on her upbringing in a conservative Catholic family, her coming of age as a stand up comedian in Minneapolis, the roots of The Daily Show which she co-created, and the rise and fall of Air America which she co-founded.

We caught up with Lizz by phone. Though the native Minnesotan currently calls New York home, she spoke to us from Texas where she’d just done one of her numerous Planned Parenthood stand up fundraising shows. This particular one raised money for a clinic that had recently lost every penny of its state funding for essential community services such as teen pregnancy testing and health care.

Nicole Powers: I’m such an admirer of your work with Planned Parenthood and that fact that you are so honest and open about the fact that you had an abortion.

Lizz Winstead: Well I want ladies to not feel ashamed of that. It just feels crazy at this point.

NP: In the book there’s a chapter, All Knocked Up, in which you talk about your experiences as a pregnant teenager. How old were you at the time?

LW: I was seventeen. It was the first time I ever had sex to top it all off.

NP: It’s this horrific tale; You’re lost and confused about what to do and you go to a “Kare Klinic” where the staff tell you that you have two choices: “mommy or murder.”

LW: Right. It’s so interesting, because when I wrote this story it didn’t even occur to me to write about actually having an abortion. Because having an abortion wasn’t the thing that permeated with me. The thing that permeated with me was being in trouble…and finding a place that masked itself as being some place that would help me, and having it be this place that was shaming and damning, and that tried to shape me as a person. To me, that was a story that women encounter everyday.

People kept saying to me, “Why didn’t you write about having an abortion?” [And I’d say,] “Because that isn’t the point at all. That was actually freeing to me.” That was the part that actually let me take a breath and allowed me to pursue what would be the best thing for me, which wasn’t motherhood. To this day I know that I never want to be a mother. At 17 I didn’t, at eight I didn’t, and at 50 I don’t, and so, thank god, you know.

NP: So what was more traumatic than the actual abortion was people’s reaction to it, and the reaction of people that you looked up to and trusted.

LW: They put themselves out there to be people who care about you and look out for your best interests, and they don’t. They are masquerading as doctors and people of god.

NP: This was over 30 years ago, but since then, with the current War on Women, it seems like we’ve gone backwards, which is the really scary thing.

LW: It’s true. I’m in Austin, Texas right now. I just did this fundraiser last night. Texas is one of the states that has been hit harder than anybody. Every place I have gone – and I’ve done 21 or 22 of these benefits in the past year – they said that they’d never seen it this bad since pre-Roe [v. Wade]. It’s just glaring, the shocking nature of how they’re twisting the truth and how they’re manipulating legislation. People don’t even really understand what’s in these bills. They twist it and they have all these ad dollars and they make it all about abortion. They don’t understand that it means in vitro fertilization. When people say there is a personhood amendment, that means you can’t freeze your eggs, you can’t have in vitro or artificial insemination. You can’t do all of this stuff. It’s kind of astounding.

NP: What worries me beyond personhood for fetuses (and zygotes!), and the whole abortion is murder push from a legal perspective, is that in some states they are giving doctors permission to lie to women about their health if they think that telling the truth will result in the mother seeking an abortion. To me, that is the potential murder of the mother, because a woman is not being allowed to make an informed choice about her own health. It’s putting the health of a clump of cells above the health of an actual human being. If doctors are being allowed to do that, in essence you are legislating for the murder of the mother.

LW: That’s exactly right. When you are saying the worth of a fertilized egg is the same as a full-fledged woman with dreams and ideals and hopes and families and goals – it’s society gone mad quite frankly.

NP: Also, the right pretend that they are pro-life, but if you’re really pro-life and are going to force women to have children, you have to be willing to feed and take care of them until they are able to do so themselves.

LW: And then we watch them cutting the CHIP program and any kind of pre-school food program and any wellness care programs for single mothers.

NP: Even food stamps.

LW: There’s one Republican who says that single motherhood is like a crime…They say motherhood is the hardest job in the world, which I agree with, then why are we demanding or requiring a 13-year old who happened to get pregnant to do it? We don’t even let 13-year olds drive or do anything by themselves. You can’t have it both ways.

NP: I’m just appalled that we as a society are even having these kind of debates in this day and age. It’s so backward that I feel betrayed by the left for even being tolerant of these utterly hateful, uninformed, and barbaric opinions.

LW: The problem is we don’t have the same infrastructure of media to battle these things. The right have Fox News and then the Fox News talking points get reported on Breitbart and Red State and Daily Caller. We just don’t have that infrastructure where something interesting on Rachel Maddow is the talking point on all these strong places that are fully funded. These amazing lefty blogs are constantly begging for money and struggling and trying to get funding. They just don’t have the financial backing the way the right does. That’s the part that frustrates me. I wish that people on the left who have the money to put into messaging would understand how and where they need to support.

I don’t know if you feel like this, but I do, that so much of what we do is combating the lies rather than being able to talk about what’s happening and what Planned Parenthood does, or whatever it is that they are trying to cut and the good that it does. We are just saying, no that’s not true, that’s not true, and then all of a sudden, before you know it, show over.

NP: The disinformation has reached epidemic proportions. People can’t recognize the truth even if they are slapped in the face with it.

LW: That’s right. When we do take to it, with Susan G. Komen or with this War on Women, with these battles now, we’re actually winning in some states. Planned Parenthood is seeing their funding dollars going up because people recognize what Planned Parenthood does. And whether women want to privately or publicly go forward, they know that they have used the services of these places, they know…I just wish that more faces could be put on it, and that more women would stand up and say “I used Planned Parenthood.” I wish we would defend it the way that we embrace it as this amazing community service. They are a national treasure to me.

NP: That’s right, you’re not just defunding abortions, when you defund Planned Parenthood, you’re defunding mammograms and cervical cancer screenings too.

LW: That’s exactly right. And birth control. When it boils down to it, why are we giving any credence to anybody who says “I would like to reduce the number of abortions and the way that I want to do that is to remove all access to birth control.” Anybody who says that should just be removed from a sane conversation. It shouldn’t be listened to. And they’re being elected and stuff. It’s like, oh my god, really?

NP: Their definition of where life begins is when the egg is fertilized…

LW: …And it’s not even implanted! So basically there’s this weird, oh wait, I’m pregnant before I’m pregnant? Is that what you’re saying?

NP: It’s just so frustrating, and like you say, there isn’t the left wing media to combat the right wing crazy. My fear is that there will never be because of the nature of money and where it flows from. The right supports the capitalist agenda, so it supports the mainstream news media that serves as their propaganda machine. You’re never going to get the mainstream media really discussing Citizens United and the like because for them it’s the goose that laid the golden egg. It’s the source of unprecedented amounts of advertising money that is going to be spent on TV and radio in the run up to the election. This is at a time when many companies can’t afford marketing spends, so it’s like manna from heaven.

LW: And most people don’t even know what Citizens United is. What people don’t know is astounding…Thirty percent of my audience — I was kind of doing this little internal poll — haven’t even heard of the Mitt Romney with the dog on top of the car story. And these are people who are knowledgeable.

It is astounding how people don’t know what ALEC is, they don’t know what Citizens United is, they don’t know who the Koch brothers are. If we could do some fun campaign where we are explaining it, in a way almost like School of Rock if you will, to try to just enlighten people about who is actually running their “democracy” and that they don’t really have one. We pretend we have a democracy, but let’s be honest, Citizens United has just destroyed it. We don’t have one anymore.

NP: One of the reasons that women’s rights in particular are getting so pummeled is because of our lack of representation in politics.

LW: That’s exactly right. That’s why for me, doing this Planned Parenthood tour, I do my stand up show and then at the end I read that essay from my book – to inspire women to tell their stories. Because if we don’t tell our own stories, they are going to tell our stories for us – that’s just not acceptable to me. I will not allow someone to tell my story. I just won’t. More women [need to] come forward and start telling their stories, and demand to sit at that table, that’s what we need to do.

NP: But you can understand why they don’t when you get young students who tell their stories about the difficulty they experienced getting birth control being lambasted as “sluts” and “prostitutes.”.

LW: Yes, that’s exactly right.

NP: The fact that Rush Limbaugh still has a job is just astounding to me.

LW: I completely agree. It is shocking. So every woman that uses birth control is a whore? Then we’re all whores. Yay whores!

NP: By the same token, is every man that’s ever used a condom a man-whore? Probably not.

LW: Isn’t that amazing? What I find so interesting is that the uterus is the only non-vital organ that society has deemed if you have one you are somehow intrinsically predisposed to want to use it…I’m actually a woman who never wanted kids, and yet when you say that, the right will demonize you as being woman hating, and mother hating, and all this stuff. It is maddening. The more we tell our stories, the more they have to look at all of us as individuals, and the more their crazy belief system they’ve put in place is invalidated – with every single voice that speaks out. I hope women realize that this falls in our lap. It’s women, and the men who support us, who need to start speaking out.

NP: What’s worrying as well is that in the current climate politicians feel comfortable in saying this outrageously hateful shit. It’s like we’ve somehow moved the moral compass of what’s acceptable to say; It seems like more normal people are now saying more outrageous shit and thinking it’s okay because our politicians are doing it. For example, Adam Carolla thinking that it’s okay to say “dudes are funnier than chicks” when talking about his fellow professional comics and comedians

LW: I worked for him, and so I took personal offence at that. It was like, I worked for you, you hired me to make your show funnier, and you’re saying that I was one of the less funny people. Were you forced to hire me? I worked on your show as a producer; Are you just saying this because you have a book out and it’ll trend on Twitter and you’ll sell more books? Is it worth it for you to sell out women? Do you really believe that or do you not? Either way it’s sort of shitty. I feel really bad about that. I can’t believe it actually…

Do men really want their sexual partners to feel shame and guilt about being sexual beings? Because that doesn’t really add to a healthy relationship or a good sex life or anything. Men should be really mad that they are also going to be affected by women having to reassess their sexual freedom. That’s the part that’s crazy. It’s like, do you guys not understand that this is about you too?

NP: I feel like women are getting betrayed by the right, and one might expect that, but they are also being betrayed by the left who know better. Because the left’s voices are in no way shouting as loud as this level of hate speak towards a group warrants.

LW: I do hear a backlash, but it’s like yelling into a hurricane, like trying to have a conversation in a crowded bar – that’s what we’re up against. It’s like if Metallica was on stage at a bar that accommodates 30 people and they’re just playing really loudly, and you’re trying to have a conversation, you’re just drowned out…The cacophony of people who are championing this whole War on Women have so much invested in making sure that women’s voices are silenced that they are going to shout louder. It’s coming so fast and furious I don’t know how we win this game of Wack-Em-All, because once we hit one, four more pop up. I think that it’s not that there are people who aren’t fighting back, it’s that they are just so much more organized and invested in keeping us down that they’re just the loudest. We need to change that.

NP: It’s so hard because women’s voices are the minority in politics, as they are in comedy. There’s so much for so few people to do.

LW: Right, I know, exactly. You’re one person. I basically made a decision to selectively really focus my time on reproductive health issues. That in and of itself is so all-consuming that I have let other parts of my life almost go by the wayside…It’s gotten so overwhelming.

When you come to these towns, the people who work at these clinics have been so beaten down. Every day when they go to work there are protesters demonizing them. They are so thankful that someone has come to their town that is merely celebrating them. It’s heartbreaking. It makes me feel completely warm and fuzzy inside that I can say, “There’s people out here trying to fight with you and for you.”

I really hope that women are going to understand that in this war, the people who are providing the healthcare, they can’t defend themselves and provide the health care, and do everything. We need to say, I have used your services, you have helped me, and I am here for you. I’ve got your back. That needs to be a priority that I hope more and more women will understand, because that’s what we’re talking about.

NP: Right. There are so many women that organizations like Planned Parenthood have helped that have been able to have careers that they may not have otherwise been able to have, but they are shamed into remaining silent. On an individual level you can understand that, because admitting you’ve had an abortion does potentially impact your career.

LW: That’s exactly right. People still demonize you if you come out and say you’re pro-choice or for Planned Parenthood. They rally the advertisers and say don’t hire that person on your TV show because that person is an advocate for abortion and we’re going to boycott your show. That has been the way it has been for the civil rights movement, and all the other movements. At some point you have to say, if we have enough people who are involved in the movement and say “I stand with you,” then they can’t boycott individuals because there’s too many of us giving them power.

NP: Have you had many incidents like that in your own life?

LW: I changed the names of some of my best friends who are not in the public sphere, and are just my dear friends, because those people do get people’s numbers and call up and scream at them and harass them. They have kids and they have lives and they don’t need that shit. I had this woman, Lila Rose, who is somebody everyone needs to know because she’s the woman doing those Planned Parenthood things, re-editing tapes and demonizing everybody, her website tried to compare me with Michael Vick because I was raising money for Planned Parenthood. [They said] why did Michael Vick go to jail for his dog fighting ring when I was doing something worse which is raising money for murder.

I was just like really? You’ve made that leap? That’s where you’re at? I get a lot of emails, and I get people posting on Twitter, and writing blog posts about me and my hatred of women and babies and everything else. I turn 51 this year, and I feel like I’m a fully formed human, and nothing they do can phase me at this point. Because what I’ve done I’m proud of in my career. I’m not afraid of what happens to me because of them. Hopefully other women will get there.

But bring it on. Bring it on. I don’t give a shit. I really don’t. I really just don’t give a shit. Because the bottom line is if you call yourself a progressive or you call yourself a radical or a liberal, they just assume you spend your days with babies on a stick dancing around anyway, so you might as well just tell your story because they are going to demonize you nine ways to Sunday.

NP: I really, absolutely applaud you for what you are doing. There’s just so few people in this climate who are willing to stand up for Planned Parenthood in such an honest and personal way.

LW: Well, I’m glad that I can do it because they helped me. Because Planned Parenthood existed, I was allowed to pursue what I believe was my destiny. Everyone should have that option to succeed and fail on their own terms. Hopefully by doing it, more people will jump on board and do it…

For me, it was easier to just go it alone because all I need is somebody’s couch to sleep on or a crappy hotel and a couple of music stands and a microphone and a glass of water, and then a whole bunch of people who are willing to get as many people as possible to come out and see a show that is going to raise money…

You know, when you have three or four hundred people together sitting around in a room and they’re seeing your comedy show, it’s much bigger than that. The [audience] looks around and they go, “Wow! That woman lives across the street from me. I didn’t know she was into this.” Or, “I work with that woman.” All of a sudden there is a community of people who pick up the reigns and talk to each other, and plot and scheme long after you’ve left. That’s the part that is super cool. It might be a bit of a slower process, but people do get really devoted and they do care…It’s really fulfilling and rewarding.

NP: Well, I for one am incredibly grateful that you were able to follow your path in your career because you have helped me keep my sanity. That’s what The Daily Show does for me, and obviously you co-created not just the show, but that comedy genre.

LW: It’s kind of crazy that somebody let me do it. The thing that is so awesome about it is that when Jon [Stewart] and his team came in, they brought it to a level that was utterly brilliant. You could never have imagined that it could have become such a juggernaut. Conversely, you could never have imagined that the media could become so derelict that a show like that could thrive. Because that show, it gets better and better as the media gets worse and worse somehow.

NP: What saddens me is that you never got to work on the show with Jon. I know he was your first choice and that you had a preexisting relationship with him. I would have loved to have seen what you guys could have done together.

LW: He asked me to come back a couple of different times and I was so flattered. But I just looked at him and I thought, you got this. Shouldn’t I be trying to do more stuff like this to get more stuff out in the world? That was my big plan, but after 9/11, it just shut down. People were [of a mindset that dictated] we do not challenge the government, we support the mission, we were attacked, we’re a united nation. But there was so much stuff to talk about. We need to always – no matter what happens – make sure that we keep our government and our media accountable. There was a real radio silence on doing all that.

NP: What you call the “satire blackout” in your book.

LW: Exactly. So when Air America called it was like, oh my god, thank you. Because there was an astounding chasm between right wing talk radio and any kind of progressive left talk radio. I can’t remember the statistics, I think it was 93 percent conservative to 7 percent liberal or progressive…The information is just staggeringly one-sided. I have never understood how people like Rush still have their job and still have advertisers; that these people who say just horrible shit that’s A) not true and B) that’s just hateful, are rewarded by advertising dollars, and that Air America – when speaking truth and power – was struggling every day just to get advertisers. It was just maddening.

NP: Air America has lived on in that so many of its voices continue to be heard. Obviously Rachel Maddow is one of Air America’s greatest success stories, and you played a huge part in discovering and launching her…

LW: Yeah, and that’s the thing, the story about Air America that’s always told is liberal radio doesn’t work, nobody wants to hear the message. And it’s like, you know what? Every single person that was on that initial network is very successful. Marc Maron has the number one podcast. And there’s Rachel, Randi Rhodes has a very successful talk show, Sam Seder has an amazing podcasting radio show and he’s on Ring of Fire and that’s doing quite well, and [urlhttp://alfranken.com/]Al Franken is a United States senator. It wasn’t about the talent or the message, it was just about the fact that we had people that ran that place who were not honest about the money they had. Once you start getting into a big financial hole it’s hard to get out. You need capital to be able to have a strong message, it’s the nature of the world we live in.

NP: Also, they say that people don’t want to listen to liberal talk radio; People want to listen, but the advertisers don’t want to pay – that’s a different thing altogether.

LW: Yep, that’s exactly right. People want it, but when you rely on a corporate structure it gets really tough. It’s much easier to fund a message that doesn’t require anything of the advertisers, [for them] to change or do anything.

NP: In England we have the benefit of well funded state media. I know our mutual friend Greg Palast has a problem even with NPR and PBS because the likes of BP are some of their biggest sponsors, which is advertising by another name. These public stations therefore have to play softball when it comes to the effects of pollution in the Gulf for example.

LW: Right. So where are our truth tellers? They are just silenced by the people who sponsor the programs and that seems very calculated doesn’t it?

NP: It does. That’s why people like you, going out and doing stand up where there’s no agenda in a medium where you can just speak unadulterated truth to power is so important. And it’s important to encourage more people to go out and look for that, rather than just expecting that the truth will come to them. Lies will just come to them because they’re being paid for. If you want the truth, you have to go out and seek it.

LW: Right. Exactly.

NP: What’s next for you?

LW: That’s an interesting question because I’ve been one of these people my whole life — I’ve never had a plan. I’ve never had a career path…Whatever happens next will probably just roll out eventually out of what I’m doing now. I don’t know what that is. I might be doing a documentary on the state of women’s health in the country. Hopefully I’ll write another book. I’ll be doing stand up. I’m going to be doing a column in The Guardian…I’m really excited about that. They have been massively supportive of my messaging, and who I am, and it’s just been incredibly encouraging. Hopefully I’ll be challenging shit that I see that’s wrong in whatever form that takes. I’m kind of willing to go there so long as I have that ability. So that is the non-planned plan.


For more from Lizz Winstead visit her website, and for information on her stand up shows visit this page. Her book, Lizz Free Or Die, is out now.

by SG's Team Agony feat. Rydell Let us answer life's questions - because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls. (image) [Rydell in Changing Seasons] Q: My girlfriend of seven years left me recently and it devastated me. We lived together for most of that time, and I was... more

by SG's Team Agony feat. Rydell

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


[Rydell in Changing Seasons]

Q: My girlfriend of seven years left me recently and it devastated me. We lived together for most of that time, and I was ready to marry her. After she landed a new job in a salon, our communication broke down starting a downward spiral. We never really fought about anything of importance, and we're incredibly happy and good together up to the end. She left saying it was because she felt under appreciated/loved and that we were growing apart. I know I fell into a 'funk' and became less outwardly affectionate towards the end, but the feelings I have only grew, not subsided. It's been two months and haven't had any contact, and I want nothing more than the chance to see if she was right about growing apart and see where that takes us. What can I do to try and get her to see that I'm a changed man that understands what went wrong, and that I was a chance to start over and date her again?

---A sad and optimistic guy in the South Bay

A: If you are looking to "reconnect" with her, contact her and see where her head is. Maybe she is in the same mind set or maybe she isn't. All you can do is ask. If she feels that enough time hasn't past or really just wants to move on and away from the relationship you had, then really all you can do is respect it and try something new in your life.

Try dating someone else when you feel your heart is healed enough and take things slow. I am sure it will feel weird at first, but in time maybe you will see more "little things" that maybe weren't so right with your past relationship.

Getting a little perspective with time and space, will help you realize the things you don’t want in a current relationship, and also recognize the things that were good that you would like to carry over to a new one.

Like I say, talk to each other and see if a reconciliation is possible. if not, have a Plan B and start there. Maybe in time she’ll realize what she wants is what she already had, and maybe she won’t. Who know, by then you may have something even better anyways.

Good luck.

by Bradley Suicide (image) [Above: Bradley Suicide in Sugar Kitty] When I go out, things tend to be completely insane, and not always in a good way. When I look back on my nights out, I am not always proud of my antics, but they do always provide for an interesting story – my life is never boring. In... more

by Bradley Suicide


[Above: Bradley Suicide in Sugar Kitty]

When I go out, things tend to be completely insane, and not always in a good way. When I look back on my nights out, I am not always proud of my antics, but they do always provide for an interesting story – my life is never boring. In true Bradley fashion, last weekend did not disappoint…

Saturday:
Milloux calls me to tell me about an epic bar party that is going down. I am freaking stoked. So excited I could jump through my skin. This bar happens to be in Redondo Beach and it is their three-year anniversary. Not only are they having a party of epic proportions on Saturday night, they are having a white trash pool themed event the next day. I Google the bar, The Gasser Lounge. It looks like my kind of place. A complete party spot. I am now so excited that I am counting down the minutes until I get out of work. It’s been a long ass week and I need a release for sure.

I get off of work at 7.30 PM, and rush home to change, asking my roommates for their opinions on outfits. My final choice ends up being a Guns ‘N’ Roses top and tiny, tiny white shorts. I curl my hair, throw on some makeup, put on some ridiculously high heelsm and I am out the door, Redondo Beach bound. I’m seriously juiced by this point. Adrenaline pumping through me as I give my liver a pep talk about what it’s in for while I drive up the 405.

I get to the bar at about 10.15 PM and link up with my friends. As I walk in I eye-fuck the shit out of the hot bouncer outside. This is a great start to my night and I’m feeling pretty on point.

The place is jam packed. A live band is playing some old school Cash. We go to the bar to order our first drinks. I ask for my usual, a Greyhound and a shot of Fernet Branca. As the bartender (who looks just like Rob Zombie) gets my shot I realize that the Fernet is on tap. I promptly lose my shit at this revelation. This bar was made for me.

I take my shot and down my drink, we are laughing, drinking, partying, and having a grand ol’ time. I am starting to get my drunk on and all of a sudden remember bouncer sexy pants outside. I ask Milloux to come outside with me, light up a cigarette, and promptly work my hot girl magic.

Two minutes from the time we step outside that gorgeous piece of dude is all over me like white on rice. Within 5 minutes he is getting me shots. Within a half an hour he is pushing me up against the wall for a good make out sesh in the dark breezeway between the front door and the bar. I always get my mark.

Before you know it, it’s last call, and the crew and I are ready to go to Denny’s. Bouncer sexy pants gets my number and triple checks that I am going to be at the white trash pool party the next day. I assure him that I will be there and we bounce.

We leave and head to Denny’s. I have never seen a Denny’s so packed during the daytime, let alone at 3 AM. My mind is promptly blown. It’s at this point that bouncer sexy pants starts blowing up my phone. I am not interested in hanging out with him right away because I am going to have to see him the next day at the white trash pool party. I want to keep the cat and mouse going a little longer, knowing what the ending to this is going to be anyways, or so I think, and I want the build up the suspense to keep going. I tell him I will see him the next day and to sleep tight. We all head back to our friends place and pass out.

Sunday:
I wake up cuddling with an insanely hot SuicideGirl. Life doesn’t suck. Any morning when that happens is awesome. We get our day going slowly, heading to her place to get changed and to get some food in our bellies. We grab some amazing empanadas and mack on them while we get our white trash outfits together. I am also drinking rum and coke out of a wine glass at this point – gotta keep it classy.

I change into a skull and confederate flag bikini, the remnants of some blue jeans that now function as shorts, and a white wife beater. The hair is backcombed to the max and in pigtails with a rolled up bandana. Jaime Pressly ain’t got shit on me.

We trek it over to Redondo Beach. As we walk up to the bar my eyes get as big as saucers. They have enclosed the parking lot with an open roof tent so that though it’s still sunny inside, no one on the street can see the debauchery going down. Its like a giant makeshift patio. We walk into this ghetto rigged tent of awesomeness and there is a huge blow up pool, a “lifeguard” tower, a menagerie of blow up animal rafts, and babes everywhere. I’m in heaven.

We beeline it straight for the bar. The whole time keeping my eyes peeled for bouncer sexy pants. Milloux tells me that he is standing pretty close behind me so I promptly lose my wife beater so I am in my bikini top and cutoffs. My timing is perfect. His jaw hits the floor. He comes over and starts giving us drinks.

Now that I’m a little buzzed we venture outside to the makeshift pool area again. Bouncer sexy pants is in true bro form, threatening to throw me in the pool. I end up manning up, doing the shimmy out of my little shorts, and hop in. We all continue drinking and partying.

Bouncer sexy pants then announces that he has go home, shower, nap and change since he has to be back at the bar by 7 because he is bartending that night. He then asks if I would like to join him. I’m hammered but I say yes anyways. You can guess the rest of this part of the story.

We head back to the bar. I continue drinking with my crew. We are all obliterated. We decide to head out at this point, I say goodbye to bouncer sexy pants. I trip walking down the street in my flips flops (this is hearsay, I don’t remember it, but I have the bloody and scraped knees to prove that it happened). We get back to the house and I pass out from exhaustion. Drinking in the sun all day is damn tiring.

My phone starts going off like crazy. Milloux wakes me up after the third missed call from bouncer sexy pants. I also see a couple texts from him. He is straight up begging me to come back to the bar. He is offering to pay for a cab to come and get me from wherever I am to get me back to the bar. He’s asking me to stay with him overnight in Redondo and then promising to take me back to my car in the morning, etc., etc. Is this guy for real? I put up a good fight because, honestly, I was not feelin’ like doing much of anything at this point. I was tired and semi drunk still. After a good half an hour of his badgering I relent and get dropped back at the bar while everyone else heads home.

Please note. From this point on, Bouncer Sexy Pants will be being referred to as Bouncer McNutsack. This next part of the story is a blow to my ego, but it needs to be told…

Bouncer Mc Nutsack got me a drink and we sat and chatted. He was bartending with one other dude. I sat at the bar and chilled, it was pretty dead inside, just a handful of people. Around 1.30 PM I started to notice that Bouncer McNutsack had been spending a grip of time at the end of the bar with an extremely plain looking chick and her friend. I began to feel some irritation building up but I pushed it aside. After all, he made such a huge deal about me coming back to the bar to see me again anyways.

About 15 minutes later I see him go into this bathroom with this chick. “Are you fucking kidding me?” is all that I can think. I sat there in shock for a good minute – jaw on the floor. I calmly got up and walked out. Still wearing his hat that I had borrowed earlier in the day at the pool party (and he is not getting it back, ha!). I was fuming at this point. Who does that? Homey was in the clear, I was gone, I was not coming back to the bar until he called me incessantly and begged me to come back. If you are going to hook up with some plain Jane why drag me back to the bar at all? My ego was more than bruised.

Still confused I trek it back to my car, which is a couple of blocks away. I am smart enough that I know that driving is not an option, so I turn on my seat warmer, curl up, and sleep it off in my bug.

I wake up the next morning, cold, tired, and still a little buzzed. I go to turn on my car – uh oh! I guess I forgot in my drunken pissed off stupor that turning on my seat warmer would drain my car battery. Woops! I am a little freaked out at this point since I am a good half an hour away from Huntington, where I live, and I don’t know anyone in Redondo Beach. I muster up my strength and walk to one of the nearby houses. These poor people open their door to a girl in cutoffs, yesterdays smeared makeup, and a confederate flag bikini asking for a jump start. They were the sweetest, kindest people and gladly help me out, just asking me to pay it forward – proof that there still are some really amazing people in this world. Sadly my car battery is so dead that even a jump won’t help.

I call my friend Justin from my work. I have no clue what else to do. I am still pretty limited down in SoCal at this point and don’t know a ton of people. If I wasn’t still slightly buzzed I probably would have been in tears. Justin drives a good half hour to come and rescue me. When he pulls up he sees me sitting on the curb and immediately asks what in the hell happened to me knees. I look down and see that they are all torn up and bloody. I have no recollection of falling down but tell him that that’s what I assume happened. He just smiles and shakes his head, looking at me like with a “how do you get yourself into these messes?” look, which I know all too well.

We charge up my car battery for a good half an hour. Sitting, talking, BSing about work and life. He’s a good guy. Good head on his shoulders and a heart of gold. The kind of guy who would give me the shirt off his back if I needed it, the kind of guy who would drive a half an hour out of his away after doing inventory the whole night before to sit with a blonde hot mess with scraped knees while her car battery charges. I try to turn the key and miraculously it starts. I let out an audible gasp of excitement and Justin starts laughing as he sees my face light up and gives me the best hug on the planet.

By the time all is said and done we are both beat, me from the above outlined escapades, and him from being up until 4 AM doing inventory. We decide to head back to my place in Huntington and to lay out by the pool. He picks up a of couple beers on the way back. We bathe in the SoCal sun, smoke a little, and drink a couple of Chimays.

All of a sudden, as we sit, laughing, smiling and telling stories I realize something: maybe what I am wanting is right in front of me. I don’t really know and am scared to take the chance, but could this work for me? Time will tell I guess. But I do know one thing, I have butterflies.

Xoxo
Bradley


Ps. I have not spoken with Bouncer McNutsack since these events occurred. For curiosities sake though, I would like to know what in the hell went down. So Bouncer McNutsack, you know who you are, if you happen to be reading this – what in the hell was that all about? Not only did you fuck me (or not as the case may be), but you also screwed the bartender you were working with who was forced to do all of your closing work while you man-whored it up in the dirty ass bathroom. Seriously? WTF?


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Patton Oswalt braved a very rough cell phone connection to give a phone interview for his latest film. He stuck to funny one liners to keep it safe when the questions were breaking up, so it was kind of a free 10 minute standup set from a major comedian. Even his polite refusal of a Suicide Girls membership... more

Patton Oswalt braved a very rough cell phone connection to give a phone interview for his latest film. He stuck to funny one liners to keep it safe when the questions were breaking up, so it was kind of a free 10 minute standup set from a major comedian. Even his polite refusal of a Suicide Girls membership was funny.

There’s only one scene with Patton Oswalt in the new movie Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. He plays Roache, a neighbor Dodge (Steve Carell) runs into at an end of the world party. Since an approaching asteroid gives earth only three weeks before destruction, people are living up their last days.

Roache explains to Dodge how he’s been using the end of the world to get laid. It turns out 8s and 10s lower their standards when they don’t have any time to wait for someone better. Oswalt gives a funny monologue in a memorable scene from the movie, and he gave us some time in support of the film.

Suicide Girls: This interview is for Suicide Girls.
Patton Oswalt: Oh cool.
SG: Are you familiar with our work?
PO: I know of the website, yes. I’ve been interviewed a few times in the past.
SG: Can we count you as a member?
PO: You know, I never had a membership there. I think they sent me a free one and I never used the password and then I got a whole new internet thing so I just kind of never was a member.
SG: We’ll have to fix that.
PO: Oh, I’m good, but thank you. That’s very kind. I’m okay.
SG: Whenever I see an end of the world movie, I always think, “Where would I go to find supplies?” Do you think about that?
PO: I mean, in the case of a movie like this where you know the whole world is going to be wiped up, I think it becomes a moot point. I would try to find enough alcohol and DVDs to get me through it.
SG: I think so too! I would collect the entertainment.
PO: Okay, yeah, me too.
SG: Would you go for the full out debauchery like your character does?
PO: Maybe for a few days but I bet the hangover would be too brutal to enjoy it for very long.
SG: Is it kind of amazing that they’re still civil enough to have a party?
PO: It is nice. It speaks well for humanity.
SG: Did you improvise anything in your scene?
PO: A couple lines here and there but the script was pretty great. I didn’t have to add all that much stuff.
SG: As a standup performer, you memorize your whole act, so is it easy to memorize a long monologue for a movie?
PO: Yeah, you always get a couple runs at it so definitely it’s way easier on film where you can do it again and again. Most of my stuff as a standup is more riffing out on stage, so there’s not that much memorization involved.
SG: As a movie fan yourself, what can we do about the texting in theaters?
PO: I have no idea and theaters don’t seem to be that concerned with stopping it. I would do what they do in India which is click devices that block cell phones in most movie theaters. Go ahead and take them out. They don’t work.
SG: Is it frustrating that it seems like people don’t want to watch movies? They’d rather sit there and text.
PO: Apparently. I mean, as much as they don’t care, I care less and less about getting angry at them and just block them out and make it my own experience.
SG: You have such a strong presence on Twitter. Do you ever start a tweet and then think, “No, I’ll save that for my act?”
PO: No, because my Twitter feed is more self contained one liners and that’s not what I do as a comedian.
SG: As a comic book fan, what are your thoughts and expectations for the Amazing Spider-Man reboot coming out this month?
PO: I can’t say. I can’t get a grip on this one from the trailers. I’m going to have to wait to see it. I just don’t know. I won’t know ‘til I see it. I just learned not to just movies by their trailers anymore.
SG: Where did you fall in the greats organic webshooters versus mechanical webshooters debate?
PO: I never really thought about it either way. Whatever’s going to make the thing work in the movie I guess. I mean, it didn’t bother me in the first movie. It’s all just different versions of storytelling I guess.
SG: Is The Dark Knight Rises a big one on your radar?
PO: Yeah, it looks like it’s going to be great. I’m very excited and I hope it’s great. I loved The Dark Knight so we’ll see what happens.
SG: Do you think there’s still room for Batman after The Avengers?
PO: I think there’s always room for good movies. It doesn’t really matter. As long as you make a good movie, people will go see it.
SG: Were you a fan of The Avengers?
PO: Oh yeah, I thought it was great. I thought it was amazing.
SG: I was pleased you mentioned the great video store Erol’s in a blog post on your site. What are your fond memories of Erol’s Video?
PO: Oh yeah. Not really anything specific. It was just a part of my childhood.
SG: Did you ever imagine when you were growing up that you would one day have a platform for all your ideas and opinions?
PO: No, I don't think any of us did. There was no way to predict the kind of future that we’re living in and there’s no way to predict what’s probably coming down the pipe now. God knows what’s next so we’ll see.
SG: But even that you’d be a performer and say what you want and people would listen?
PO: It’s nice! It was a nice dream and now it’s come true so I can’t complain.
SG: Once you’ve had albums and sold out comedy shows, how does that change your perspective when you know you have a platform?
PO: Well, everything in your life changes your perspective so I can’t really think of it in terms of that. It doesn’t make me doublethink everything that I do. I always try my best to be as true to whatever I feel in the moment. I’m not like oh, now more people listen to me, I’ve got to do this.
SG: When did you realize you had your own unique point of view?
PO: It’s hard to put a finger on that. Again, it’s a thing that just happens. It just happens without you realizing it and then you kind of end up looking at it in the rearview mirror.
SG: How do you stay current?
PO: I’m more like staying true is way more important than staying current.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is now playing.