Writers Wanted!

MINIONS!

Your favourite magazine is expanding by leaps and bounds and The Headquarters officially was more amazing music to review than we can reasonably keep up with SO consider this your call to arms (or in fact, pens) -- if any of you, anywhere in the world, regardless of age or experience want to get involved with The Antagonist as writers (or in any other capacity), email me at primaryantagonist@gmail.com.

Given how long it takes to actually put the magazine out, we're going to start calling it *quarterly* and put all of our time-sensitive reviews and things on the website, which, believe it or not, is actually getting a glasses and ponytail makeover as we speak. So be patient, and while you're waiting, write me something!

It's not only music writers we're looking for -- if you want to get involved, we can always use more features, literature, and the random stuff that makes the zine great. Cheerleaders are always welcome, too. So send me stuff, tell your friends to send me stuff, and have fun with it, because that's the whole point.



In other news, Babe #1 and multi-talented genius Kitty Moran is making excellent progress with her horror movie, Boobs in Blood! She has a fast-paced, genre-defying script with a compelling ensemble of characters and a lesbian protagonist who may or may not get the girl (if they can survive the night)! Everyone involved with the movie is Welsh-born or affiliated, and it is crowd-funded by horror fans ready for something new. If you want to be a part of it, you can donate any amount of money here or email me and I'll put you in touch with Kitty for other ways you can get involved.

Props to the Babes + Issue 7 Preview

MINIONS!

Long time no whitter!

It's been a crazy couple of months here at the Headquarters, what with finishing the calendar and putting together The Epic Issue 7 -- Issue 7 will from this day forward always be referred to as The Epic Issue 7 because it is going to be an incredible 60 advert-free pages -- as well as maintaining a very sensible "normal person" job and catching two kinds of flu, we are plum tuckered out!

So how on earth are we going to manage to fill 60 pages without publishing a single advertisement? Well, there's going to be a little of this...



and this...



and some of this...



a disproportionate amount of this...



as well as a buttload of reviews of some amazing new releases from Fat Wreck, Alternative Tentacles, and some other folks we love to hear from AND all of the regular features you know and love. We've got a completely thrilling interview with Austin Lucas, an introduction to Craig Jeffrey, The Exposed, 10 Minutes with Alexis from rockin' bespoke retailers Smarmy Clothes, and the long-awaited interview with the BWB calendar's Ms. March, musician, model, and all-around awesome chick, EnglanE.

*takes breath*

Wow!

Speaking of sexy things, thank you so much to all of you who helped with the 2011 Babes with Brains Calendar! We managed to raise £100 for Women's Aid, and given that this is our first calendar and we had no real publicity outside of the old FB, that's not too shabby. We're already getting volunteers to model for 2012 and I cannot WAIT to get started.

In other news, congratulations go out to our COTC columnist Jen Johnson and arch villain Keiran for getting married -- they had an awesomely weird, cupcake-filled, Rick-rolled (yes, really) wedding, and good times were had by all.

And we're also very sorry to have to extend condolences to the very same Jen (and her family) for the loss of her mother this week. We love you, dude.

And then there's Arizona. We've been glued to the newspapers all week since we heard about the shooting in Tucson and although it didn't directly affect anyone at the Headquarters or our vast network of contributors (as far as we know), we're thinking of the victims and wishing good things & fast recoveries for the wounded. Although it's true that it might not be completely fair to blame the actions of one obviously disturbed individual on anyone or anything, we sincerely hope that everybody (regardless of political persuasion) takes this as an opportunity to take a step back and stop being horrible to each other. Obama is not ruining the world, and all Republicans do not share the sentiments of Glenn Beck. Sometimes you've got to turn off Fox or MSNBC or whatever and just be nice to people. Is that too much to ask?

Probably.

Nevertheless, Fox news is issuing a "challenge" to all Americans via Glenn Beck to renounce all violence. Nice move. Too bad for them that, contrary to popular belief, not all Americans listen to Glenn Beck. If they really wanted to get through to people, they'd put it on the Simpsons.

Cardiff is relatively unaffected. It feels crazy to me that I'm here while all America continues to experience these crises. It's the kind of feeling you get when you don't personally experience a huge change but know that it happened -- did it really happen? If I go back, will everything be different?

Probably not. People don't change.

It's kind of comforting in a way.

Feeling inadequate?

Here's a flyer-y thing I made for the calendar from a picture of Kylie sitting on a cannon on Cardiff Bay. Pass it on!

Babes with Brains Calendar for Women's Aid

Have just updated the website with a pre-order link and a preview of our Babes with Brains Calendar for Women's aid. We have Women's Aid's official blessing and thank you, so we're good to go!

Our models have been chosen (the seven published cover girls and the next five) and we're trying to arrange another few photoshoots to get some new pictures for the occasion.

I'm going to re-post the info I posted to the website here, because it's important, and I'm just going to tell you the same thing, so:

Villains, Minions, Virgins of the Undead! The Antagonist is thrilled silly to present our 2011 Babes With Brains Calendar!

It's twelve months of full-colour, spiral-bound glory featuring twelve (and just maybe a top secret lucky #13) beautiful women chosen for their considerable intelligence and kindness of disposition!

All proceeds will be donated to Women's Aid to help them in their quest to end domestic violence.


Babes with Brains

Babes with Brains: a tongue-in-cheek title for an overdue concept. For those of you just joining us, the models featured on the covers and throughout the issues of The Antagonist are the Babes, women of all ages and walks of life chosen for their intelligence over their dress size, lovingly photographed in places and situations that are personal as they are playful. This project is attempting to show, one issue at a time, that all women are beautiful and that there is nothing sexier than a woman who can crush you with her mind (as if anyone needed convincing).

We've had the honour of photographing some incredible women over the past year and half, and now we're bringing them all together in a series of new pictures for a cause: to raise money for Women's Aid.

Domestic Violence is a serious problem that affects women, children, and men all over the world. One in four women in the UK alone will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Women's Aid is a charity that strives to put an end to the violence, raising awareness and protecting the affected, saving countless lives in the process.

It's an important cause, and that's why we're donating all of the proceeds of the calendar to help them in their mission.

Some of the models you know, and some of them will be new to you. We have stunning previously unpublished photos of Kitty Moran, Elizabeth T, Jen Sheehan, Lisa Ray, Emily V, and Ophelia from Issues 1 - 6, as well as some new faces including the lovely Liz Wride, Kylie R of Issue 7, and a special guest appearance from our personal rock star, Englane Read (see above).

The calendars are full-colour, spiral bound, designed from scratch by the Editor and include noteable dates (Pagan, Christian, and Antagonistic!) all year round. They are available by pre-order only, and you must place your order by midnight GMT on the 5th of December. They will be shipped to you anywhere in the world from the Headquarters, hot off the presses, in time for Christmas (or Yule). You can get them on the website or from our Squid Shop.

For more on Women's Aid, click here.

We'd like to remember those affected by domestic violence in the calendar. If you have anyone you'd like mentioned, please contact us.

48 Pages and Counting

Just a quick note to assure you all that although Issue 6 is taking its time, it is still coming, and the reason why it's so late is that the week it was due out, we got a fantastic interview with Mojo Nixon (!!!!) and a pile of other excellent submissions at the Headquarters. Instead of saving these things for Issue 7, I've decided to extend Issue 6 and just chuck everything in there unabridged.

And you know what? It's going to be GREAT.

I should know. I get to look at it everyday. Ha!

To add further oddness to life here at the Headquarters, the Facebook mob have demanded that Your Editor by numbered among the Babes With Brains (aw, shucks) and we're starting to take pictures. Although I've been on the cover more than anybody else (I've still got a ways to go to compete with Oprah's appearances on the cover of O), I still find it incredibly awkward to be photographed in any serious capacity. So they're probably going to be ridiculous. At least the ones I'll admit to. Jen's taken a few. Here's another one:



In other news, we here at the Headquarters are planning something very special for our ten year anniversary next year. We've been going for nine years next month, and next year for number 10, we're going to put together a super long magazine (or book) full of all of our favourite stuff of the past decade. That's right -- most the interviews, the features, the rants, the fake adverts, and the covers since high school, and maybe some new stuff, too.

Does that sparkle with you?

We've been getting some fantastic submissions this month and we now have even more readers in weirder places, but still we want more! More, Minions! Send anything and everything to primaryantagonist@gmail.com.

Record Store Day and Visual Diabetes

Let's just stop pretending there's anything good about tumblr. As far as these things go, it sucks. It's not easy to use in the slightest, it's just like mega twitter, and I haven't quite worked out the appeal of twitter, either. So screw you, tumblr, i'm posting all of my ramblings on blogspot.



Have had an amazing weekend. Went to Spillers for Record Store Day and had a nice chat with Nick here. For those of you not familiar with it, Spillers is the oldest record shop in the world and is currently under threat by the rising rent prices resulting from the new St Davids 2 shopping mall that's opened up across the way. We here at the Headquarters are big fans of Spillers, and they even stock your favourite magazine. What's not to like? Support independence! Visit Spillers in Cardiff or online here.



Oh, and we met this lovely little rat. Isn't he cute?

We ditched Bullet For My Valentine's record signing for a £10 of jelly beans before heading to the Castle Arcade for Part I of Kylie's epic 2-Day photoshoot of awesomeness. I could say that we actually shrunk Kylie and stuck her in a dollhouse (because we have been watching Harvey Birdman ALL weekend), but that would take away from the awesomeness that this place actually exists. And you can buy cheese in it.



Today we walked down to the Bay and took a boat out to Penarth where we wandered around aimlessly for an hour, passing a surprising number of derlict apartment buildings on our quest for soda pop. Eventually we ended up back at the Bay and grabbed some ice cream before getting on the carousel. I wanted to ride backwards with my camera, but settled for side sadle and we ended up with my favourite picture from the weekend. We call this one "Visual Diabetes."



Mmm mmm good.

In other news, The Antagonist will be appearing at the London Zine Symposium at the Rag Factory on Saturday, 29th May, so come out and see us! We'll have plenty of back issues on sale and we might even bring a few more t-shirts. Good stuff!

Donate to Kitty and Save a Cat!

You knew she was hot, but soon she'll be literally aflame! Big-hearted Babe #1 Kitty Moran is participating in a firewalk for Cats Protection and you can sponsor her through justgiving.com. Donate to Kitty and save a cat!



In other news, the new T-Shirts are here and they're fabulous! There are still a few left, so if you want one, you can order one through the website. They're £10, which is more than we were hoping, but still pretty good given the fact that each one has an awesome SQUID in a TOP HAT on it! Big thanks for Neil Austin for the amazing artwork!

Best Day Ever

February 17th was the greatest and best day for The Antagonist in recent memory.

First of all, Issue 4 is out now and it's a free download (get yours here). It's shorter, yes, but that's because all of my writers went on vacation and because it's hard to put together a magazine with minor content gaps when you've been working as much as I have (I'm doing office work for a charity now, but that's beside the point). Nevertheless, Issue 4 turned out awesome thanks in large part to a few great pieces (you know who you are), a trip to Bristol, a hot girl in red fishnets, and a fantastic interview with Niki Lee.

This leads me to Part 2 of why this day was so magical. Niki loved her article, and we love Niki, so Niki is going to write for us. For real. She's going to be writing a column all the way from West Hollywood and we could not be happier.



Disregarding what I just said, Part 3 actually makes us even happier still. Neil Austin sent us our new mascot at random (see above). He's perfection. We adore him, and we are hell-bent on getting some t-shirts ordered as soon as humanly possible. Who wants one?

Part 4 is that we're looking into collaborating with Grievous Jones for some form of future project. We don't have to tell you how cool Grievous Jones is, and we're also holding high hopes for a regular column from Grievous himself. Very exciting.

Part 5 (these just keep going) is that The Antagonist has applied to exhibit at the London Zine Symposium this May. Won't hear back until next month, but the fact that such a thing exists is a big Win and we'd love to be a part of it.

Part 6 is that the printing company got in touch with us with some excellent rates for our limited edition issues, and

Part 7 is that two new Babes with Brains (Theresa and Kylie) have been scheduled for photoshoots in the near future.

All things considered, best day ever.

Marvellous.

Also, I'm giving away free downloads of Issues 1 - 3 for the rest of the weekend on the website. If you missed one, this is your chance. Go now!

Babes with Brains #5-7

Yesterday's photoshoots went really well. We had three of them back to back in Swansea and it took about eight hours. Each turned out completely different, and I love them all! Here are my favourites...

#5: Emily V



For Emily we wanted to do a Madmen-style pin up set. I did her hair with hot rollers, but all the clothes are hers, she did her own makeup, and the natural light was perfect. This has been the easiest set yet, and I'm thrilled with the way they've turned out.

#6: Sammie R.



For Sammie we went for the '20s look and took the photos in her back yard, which is half-constructed and overlooks the sea and a block of patios, sheds, and garages. The final result looks like Clara Bow in an apocalyptic wasteland. I taught her the Charleston and she did it for a few minutes, much to the delight of her neighbours. I did her hair and makeup, and the clothes and back yard are hers.

#7: Jen J.



Jen wanted to go for a steampunky look with her corset, striped shirt, and utility belt. The theme isn't overly obvious, though, and the set is really a classic Antagonist-style white background kind of thing. I always used to take the cover photos against blank walls to make the designing easier (it's difficult to make the title stand out over varied backgrounds in mono), so that's what we did here. I did Jen's makeup, she did her own hair, the clothes are hers, and so is the wall. :)

So that was fun! Still looking for a few more to complete my collection and then I'm going to put them all in my underwater "garden" (three points to whoever knows what Judd Nelson film that's from).

People are starting to ask what the next series is going to be after Babes with Brains and I have no idea. I'd love to do something with guys but there aren't exactly dozens of volunteers. There's no concept yet at all, so if any of you have any ideas for photos you'd like to see or people you'd like to see in them, you know where to find me!

Real Women (and Men) vs. Intolerance and TV

Here's some recent silliness. Experimented with the timer on my camera and some Christmas lights the other night and wound up with some pretty fun shots. This one's my favourite.

It looks like I'm going to be appearing in Square Magazine this month as a poet -- I know, right? -- and I've been invited to be a feature at the magazine's launch/reading next month. Exciting stuff! Have been feeling appropriately creative lately, although not in a particularly useful way. Planning to hit the canvas sale at the Pen & Paper on pay day & busting out the acrylics this weekend. I'm having trouble communicating thought in a coherent way, so it looks like I'll be giving the non-fiction a rest and resorting to beat poetry and finger painting.

Hey, it's always worked before.

In other news, have gathered quotes for calendar, and although we could get a few printed reasonably cheaply, it would probably lose us money unless each and every one of them sold for more than £5, which I'm not willing to count on. So unless plans change within the next week, Babes With Brains will be published as a series on the website.

Keep you posted.

So I just saw on BBC News they interviewed some guy from InStyle about this German women's fashion magazine that's banned super-skinny supermodels, and he said something as to the effect of, "When women read fashion magazines they don't want to see real women, they want to see beautiful women." Excuse me? Did he say that real women aren't beautiful? And why does he care? It's not like he's seen one in recent memory. The reaction from the female anchor was priceless. I think she was going to rip him a new one before the male anchor laughed nervously and moved the conversation along, the interviewee laughing bashfully like he'd gotten away with something.

Interestingly enough, surveys have shown that average men prefer healthy women sizes 8 - 16(+) over their rail-thin counterparts. I'm not bashing skinny women here, I'm just pointing out that when women strive to be super thin, it's not for men. It's never for men; men don't like it, and any man worth his salt would prefer a healthy woman to a skeleton.

Really.

This whole "fattist" thing the western world seems to have launched upon itself makes me upset. At first it really pissed me off, and now it just makes me despair at the state of things. I hate the implication that what you look like is anybody's business but your own. I also find the "no fat chicks" mantra pretty rich coming from the kind of men brash enough to repeat it. Where are the "no redneck assholes" bumper stickers?

I just don't know where people get off interfering with other people's lives. It's not only "fat" people (and who says what's "fat" anyway? It's down to perception. ) -- it's the disabled, the desperate, the downtrodden, the mildly unattractive and the somewhat untalented. You only have to flip through the TV guide for a veritable parade of glorified freakshows. Fat Teens in Love makes me particularly angry. Of course there's also I Hate My Bald Head, Hairy Women, 3 Fat Brides, 1 Thin Dress, Octomom, More to Love, Freaky Eaters, and makeover programmes like The Swan, and it extends to watching people humiliate themselves on shows like American Idol, X-Factor, and now, Grease: The School Musical. This morbid fascination is a disease. These shows are patronising, insulting, transparent, and disposable; they do not provide entertainment and they are not human interest -- there's nothing human about them.

This weird hatred isn't limited to TV. I was walking to work today through the St David's shopping centre in Cardiff. I was walking behind this guy in a leather jacket and skinny jeans with a scarf in his gorgeous long black hair. Do I have your attention? Anyway, this random big guy (wearing rainbow from head to toe, no less) sees the guy in leather and starts barking insults at him until he ducked into a store to get away from him. What? What made that guy think he had the right to comment on this guy's appearance? Why do people think it's any of their goddamned business? How fucked up would you have to be to aggressively attack another person without provocation on the basis of something so superficial? There is clearly something wrong.

I'm not blaming the Media, Hollywood, or the Fashion Industry -- Media reflects the world, Hollywood polishes it, and the fashion industry gives it something to blow its money on -- but it's something much bigger and darker than that: it's self-hatred, jealousy, insecurity, intolerance, and all of the worst things from the darkest corners of human failure.

Thing is, it's not natural and it's not inevitable. I don't feel the need to humiliate people, and I'm sure you don't, either. If I saw somebody committing a heinous fashion crime, yeah, I'd notice, but I wouldn't dream of criticising them because a) it's cruel, b) it's subjective, and c) I don't care. Who does?

So what I'm trying to do with The Antagonist and the Babes with Brains is to provide an alternative entertainment source, to reassure you that not everybody on Earth is baying at quasi-celebrities, to embrace your inner freak, and to share our soap box with you when you feel like screaming at people.

Oh, and we also want to redefine the popular perception of beauty by taking pictures of people we think are really, really, terribly hot, regardless of size, age, gender, etc, etc, because it is not a style or a predetermined set of proportions that makes you a hottie.

It's your brain.