McCain’s Shocking V.P. Pick
August 30, 2008
In a shocking development, John McCain chose Tina Fey as his running mate. Hey, it could have been worse- he could have chosen Dennis Miller.
Actually, that’s Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska… see, I called it! I mentioned Alaska in my last blog. But even I can’t steal McCain’s thunder on this one. Is the maverick back, or did he just concede one of his biggest arguments- the one on experience?
A lot of attention has been paid to the youthful Palin and the thought of her assuming the White House should the worst case scenario occur. McCain is the oldest guy to run for the office, but I’m not worried about his mortality. That’s because I’m convinced that Cheney has died at least five times while serving as Vice President, revived back to life each time by a contraption that probably looks like this…
Positively Yours,
Shawn
“Vital signs are up… Cheney is going to be alright.”
Obama Accepts Nomination
August 29, 2008
In a stunning development, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic party’s nomination of him for president last night in Denver.
OK, so it wasn’t stunning. As he walked out, what was stunning was a producer/event coordinator’s decision to wash out the cheers of over 80,000 people with some seriously cheesy inspirational music… I mean, the tune was bad. And loud. If Obama loses, it’s because that song caused millions of independent voters to turn the channel.
The blunder, as bad is it was, still didn’t compare to the infamous “Balloons” moment of the 2004 convention. How can you trust a man to lead if his team can’t even release the balloons properly?
Fortunately, Barack Obama took to the mic and pulled this particular moment out of the shit basket, refusing to allow the Democratic instinct to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory to prevail. As the terrible, terrible song faded, you could hear the cheers of the people just before Obama began.
Next week- and beyond- the Republican party will say don’t vote for Obama because he is popular, in an attempt to discredit their opponent. It’s a strategy that could only come from a party with a sitting President with a less than 20% approval rating.
To make an analogy to the cause that has defined my own life, sex education and condoms, the only way I can sum up how I feel about this election is this: Barack Obama is fresh. The air bubble has not been punctured, and he hasn’t been carried in the wallet of special interests long after his expiration date has passed. McCain, on the other hand, is the equivilent of taking the old ideas of the current administration, turning them inside and giving them a shake- then expecting everything to turn out OK.
As I wrote that somewhat tasteless line, Chris Matthews just said on TV: “That was what we call, in politics, “a lowball”.
In terms of McCain, his moment to lead the country came and went in 2000. Back when he was too independent for the Republican party to back him and his campaign was derailed in South Carolina by rumors that he’d fathered a child whose skintone resembles that of Barack Obama’s.
So, all things considered, as those kinds of forces begin to line up behind John McCain instead of in front of him, I think a little hardball, or lowball, is warranted.
Someone else who gave a great speech tonight was Vietnam war vet Al Gore. Which makes me even more worried than I was earlier this week about Obama’s chances. I really don’t want to be blogging like this in eight years, writing about how well the 2008 Democratic losing candidate Barack Obama did in introducing some upstart Albino senator from Alaska.
I say it’s time to buy a big box of condoms- er, ideas, at a deeply discounted rate.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
The Democratic Convention
August 27, 2008
I’ll admit, I’m having a hard time keeping up as of late. International AIDS Conferences, the Olympics, the CAMPUSPORT drama and now the Democratic National Convention.
Last night, Hillary delivered her highly anticipated whopper of a speech while Michelle Obama looked tight-jawed and pensive. Was she upset, unable to control her real feelings for the Clintons? Or could it just be her Default Face?
I have a friend who constantly bemoans the fact that her own Default Face, the expression your face naturally takes, is one of Disgust and Disapproval. This pal can be listening to you talk, feeling great things and in harmony with the universe, but if she isn’t focused on how she appears feelings are usually hurt.She has the advantage of having friends who understand, and is also lucky that her unfortunate Default Face isn’t being broadcast to billions of people around the world. Of course, if it wasn’t a Default Face situation for Michelle, then she needs to at least act happy to see a Clinton from here on out.
Now, I’m not suggesting that Michelle Obama go Simple Jack everytime one enters the room. But the primary drama means these moments of reconciliation- no matter how staged or forced- need to seem genuine. Giving anyone ammunition not to buy into these mind-felt sentiments seems like a bad idea…
But who knows? Maybe she’s just saving the good stuff for that charmer, Bill Clinton, who speaks tomorrow night.
I guess I’m just nervous. The country is deeply divided, but I couldn’t feel more comfortable supporting Obama, who has a real shot in November. In terms of the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic, he’d be much better than McCain, who isn’t sure if condoms prevent the spread of HIV.
That’s kind of a big issue for me.
One of the interesting nuggets about this election year is that McCain’s honorable service to this country in uniform is being touted as an advantage, when in the last four elections War vets have gone 0-4. This string of bad luck started I 1992 with George Sr., then befell Dole in 1996 followed by Gore (Yes, he went to Vietnam) and John Kerry. Hell, Dukakis probably lost in 1988 because people mistakenly thought he was an actual soldier when those shots of him in the tank got out.
What do these men have in common? They were losers. (Of elections.)
With Hillary’s rousing speech resonating in my thinblooded heart, I really won’t feel any better about Obama’s chances until I talk to my Mom: a proud Hillraiser. Or, as Hillary said, a member of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Suit”.
It’s all very interesting.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
The Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics
August 25, 2008
The Olympics are over and I am spent from having watched. TiVo, God bless his heart, was pushed to his limits, recording up to three six-hour plus blocks of badminton, boxing and my new favorite: BMX.
The Closing Ceremonies blew the final whistle on the event. There was dancing. Flying. Fire. And Smiling. They say that the reason for the big gala is to bring all the athletes together as human beings and not competitors. Here’s a photo from the jaw-dropping spectacle:
I think the closing ceremonies has more to do with warding off an alien invasion than anything else. Is it completely out there to think that could be the entire reason for the games themselves? What other ways are there to show other planets how much ass we can kick? Perhaps the multi-million dollar closer is just to show that we are not only a planet of gifted athletes, but unhinged weirdos as well.
Something to think about…
Positively Yours,
Shawn
San Bernardino With You
August 21, 2008
Am about to hop a redeye back home in a few hours, but wanted to post about this afternoon’s orientation talk at Cal State San Bernardino: it totally rocked!
The students were great, very attentive and, as is always the case whenever I speak without Gwenn, they were very curious about Gwenn. Near the end, after so much about this Gwenn character, one girl asked. “Where is Gwenn right now?” (I said she’s busy managing a rock band, which is true.)
At the end, I got a couple of pics with my cell phone. This is only half the room- the other half didn’t turn out. It was funny, just as I snapped it this whole gang of students came in, just in time to raise their hands and shout out victoriously.
The class of 2012, a classy group of students. 
I sent the picture to Gwenn, who shot back a photo of her own and a nice message that the pic made her day. Her photo- and the great reception from Cal State San Bernardino- made mine.
(Notice the signed, framed Depeche Mode record in the background. Relevant to next paragraph.)
One of the most surprising moments of the talk was when I spoke about meeting Depeche Mode through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. There was a pop of approval from the audience at the mention of their name, and a sizeable pocket of impressed students smiled widely after the cheer died down. Later, during Q&A, I was asked what it was like meeting Depeche Mode. (Have I mentioned how damn cool the Class of 2012 is?) I talked more about the 2nd time I got to meet them, with Gwenn in 2001 thanks to Poz Magazine.
Of course, I was brief in talking about the guys who brought us “Master & Servant”, since it was a talk on sexual responsibility, but I did hit upon the reasons why that second encounter was even possible: my access to HIV medications when I got really sick in ‘99.
The real “Master & Servant” video, featuring Depeche Mode.
A tribute video featuring awesome dudes. God I love people.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Check out my memoir, My Pet Virus, and click to read a sample. Video of reviews.
Give a listen to “Sign”, one of my songs from Synthetic Division’s Get with the Programs (co-written with Kyle Wiggins):
Get the song here on iTunes!
Be sure to visit ShawnandGwenn.com, where you can see clips of our educational work at colleges and universities, as well as media clips from MTV safe sex programming and a Dr. Drew talk show. 2006 video of me and Gwenn, when I was finishing up My Pet Virus.Haven’t seen a real blog in a day or so? Follow my cellphone micro-blogging at Twitter.com.
The Secret World of Campusport
August 19, 2008
Was enjoying one of my favorite things today- an iced mocha- when the phone rang. It was a call I have been dreading for months.
Incoming Call: Campuspeak
As I mentioned previously, after 8 years with the speaker’s bureau, Campuspeak, Gwenn and I have decided to fly solo. The relationship ended amicably, we love those guys and enjoyed the partnership and everything we learned not only from them, but the incredible people who have worked for them as employees, interns and speakers.
One thing I didn’t write about, however, was CAMPUSPORT.
An off-shoot of Campuspeak, CAMPUSPORT represented a dark side of the speakers. During conferences and other events that brought us together, we’d sneak off to a bowling alley to compete for the trophy. Mental health issues advocate, Ross Szabo, is the only other human being to ever hold the beloved trophy. But for the last couple of years, I and I alone have ruled the lanes.
FUN FACT: Ethan Zohn, winner of Survivor Africa, was too scared to bowl Shawn.
The controversial logo of Campusport was never made public, until now.
As my cell rang today, I thought the gig was up: that Campuspeak was reclaiming my trophy. See, one of the requirements to be Campusport champion is that you must be with Campuspeak.
“Hello?” I answered, tentatively.
“Can you fill in for a speaker?”
Apparently something fell through for Thursday, and I’m flying across the country tomorrow morning to pitch in for another speaker. Is it because I am a good person? A team player?
No. It is because I can use this as an excuse to hold onto my beloved Campusport Trophy for one more semester. From my cold, dead hands…
Positively Yours,
Shawn
PS… I’ll be blogging from the air and road on this trip via my cellphone. So through Friday, you can read about my adventures on my Twitter.com micro-blog.
McCain’s Cone of Silence
August 18, 2008
I haven’t written about politics in a bit, but I had lunch with my parents this weekend and the topic came up.
See, I like Obama. And my parents were/are big “HillCats”, as Mom says. Or “HillRaisers”, as she screams. They love ‘em some Clintons, and I can respect that. What kind of stinks is that they really are having a hard time warming up to Obama, even though they are lifelong Democrats.
And really, they aren’t alone. To many people, the “It takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush” slogan really struck a chord. My problem with it is that I really didn’t want to hear, “It takes a Bush to clean up after a Clinton” in eight years. And also believe that, in America, there’s gotta more than two families capable of running the entire friggin’ world.
Now, I’m not adding the Deckers to that mix. We can barely run a family reunion.
I missed the Obama/McCain chat with Rick Warren, who promised that he would ask both candidates the same questions. Obama lost a coin toss that wasn’t televised or recorded, so he had to go first. Can you imagine a football game where the viewer didn’t see the coin toss?
Anyway, McCain was supposed to be in a “Cone of Silence”, as not to get an unfair advantage. Obama’s camp agreed, unaware of the fact that the “Cone of Silence” would be McCain’s motorcade. I guess he was running late.
Not Rick Warren’s “Cone of Silence”
Naturally, when McCain knocked every question out of the ballpark, eyebrows were raised. Now I’m not suggesting a politician would cheat. I just think that you’d want to avoid that kind of speculation and arrive at such an important event on time.
And who knows what they were watching on the ride over? My guess is that McCain’s camp was glued to Olympic badminton just like the rest of us. Either way, if McCain does pull out this election by convincing folks like my parents to vote for him, let’s hope he doesn’t belatedly take Rick Warren up on that Cone of Silence offer when it comes to the topic of HIV/AIDS in America.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Check out my memoir, My Pet Virus, and click to read a sample. Video of reviews.
Give a listen to "Sign", one of my songs from Synthetic Division’s Get with the Programs (co-written with Kyle Wiggins):
Get the song here on iTunes!
Be sure to visit ShawnandGwenn.com, where you can see clips of our educational work at colleges and universities, as well as media clips from MTV safe sex programming and a Dr. Drew talk show. 2006 video of me and Gwenn, when I was finishing up My Pet Virus.
Haven’t seen a real blog in a day or so? Follow my cellphone micro-blogging at Twitter.com.
The American Athlete of the Week
August 18, 2008
Gwenn and I have been Tivo’ing and consuming the Olympics at a record pace, which should be an Olympic sport in and of itself. We don’t waste time on water polo, basketball, baseball or runs that last longer than 30 seconds.
Among our favorite sports? The trampoline, swimming, women’s beach volleyball, the man-made white water rafting (waiting for King’s Dominion to get that) and gymnastics. “That’s an Olympic sport?”, is a common phrase, and the more random the better. As much as I love writing and HIV education, I have to admit that if they ever give Bocce Ball the greenlight I may be forced to rededicate my life.
It’s been fun watching, and so much has happened in the last seven days; historic events and incredible displays of physical prowess. Inspired by the spirit of the games, I felt the urge to give an Athlete of the Week honor to the one person whom I thought shined the brightest.
Of course the obvious- Michael Phelps- is out. He won a lot of Gold, I’ll give him that, but the media created a monster by cutting from the Gold medal swimming victories of his buddies to a shot of Phelps receiving an ass massage… Really happened!
It’s not his fault. He seems like a good kid and he is a phenom, but all the attention cost him this bragging right.
Aside from the disqualified Phelps, there’s the gymnastic dynamo, Nastia Liukin, who won a Gold in the All-Around Competition with ice in her veins and fire in her eyes. And then there’s Daria Torres, the Silver medalist who defied the odds by competing at the highest levels at the age of 41. Still, as bright as all the Olypians accomplishments were, one man stood head, hat and shoulders above the rest.
None other than The Undertaker.
No stranger to Gold himself, the six-time World Champion, The Undertaker returned to professional wrestling after a three month hiatus yesterday at SummerSlam where competed against former WWE Champion and chief rival/antagonist, Edge. After taking no less than 5 steel chair shots to the head, The Undertaker prevailed in the Hell-in-a-Cell cage match, delivering his icon finishing maneuver, the Tombstone piledriver.
It was an incredible comeback for the only man to go 16-0 at the yearly event, Wrestlemania, a feat that will be remembered long after that flash-in-the-pan kid in the pool from Beijing has been forgotten.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Check out my memoir, My Pet Virus, and click to read a sample. Video of reviews.
Give a listen to "Sign", one of my songs from Synthetic Division’s Get with the Programs (co-written with Kyle Wiggins):
Get the song here on iTunes!
Be sure to visit ShawnandGwenn.com, where you can see clips of our educational work at colleges and universities, as well as media clips from MTV safe sex programming and a Dr. Drew talk show. 2006 video of me and Gwenn, when I was finishing up My Pet Virus.
Haven’t seen a real blog in a day or so? Follow my cellphone micro-blogging at Twitter.com.
Hemo2Homo Connection: The Dark Knight Review
August 15, 2008
Homo: Hemo, since it’s taken you three weeks to see the movie, I’d like to elaborate on why I went on opening weekend. (And yes, reader, hemo is the reason this is so late).
Homo: Exactly. So, I’m amazed at how good The Dark Knight is on every level. Heath Ledger’s Joker has already become iconic. I still live with the vivid image of him in that nurse’s outfit, dancing in the parking lot of the hospital, pushing those buttons. It’s indelible.
Homo: Are you kidding? I’d PAY to see that. And the relief is that his actual death has nothing to do with the enjoyment of his performance, assuming one can truly “enjoy” watching a complete psychopath. He’s so different from “Brokeback” where he was so totally authentic as a tight-jawed cowboy.
Patient adherence under Dr. Joker rose by 317%
Homo: A wrestler? You sat through this entire movie and the only thing that caught your attention was some old wrestler from 1989 who once starred in a movie with Hulk Hogan?
I really think they are setting him up as the next super villain. Zeus was only a nice guy in The Dark Knight to lull the audience into a false sense of security for the next time. It’s a classic wrestling swerve-job, Homo.
Homo: Well, the first thing I’d like you to do is to do what normal movie reviewers do. See the movie early enough that you’re one of the first to be talking about it.
Homo: Either way it doesn’t matter: everyone has talked it to death, even the sorta “bad” parts, like Batman’s raspy voice processing or the way The Joker managed to attract hordes of followers even though he killed everyone who ever worked for him.
Hemo: What? What??
Homo: As much as it pains me, I just realized that you’re a genius. By focusing on Zeus, we’re the only reviewers to introduce a totally unique perspective on the movie!
The Hemo2Homo Connection are Shawn Decker and Steve Schalchlin.
The Hemo2Homo Connection’s creators met online in 1996, and posted their first movie review in 1998. Both have been living with HIV for over twenty years, and have annoyed their friends and loved ones for longer than that.
Steve Schalchlin resides in Los Angeles, CA. He is an award-winning musician, singer and songwriter. Shawn Decker lives in Charlottesville, VA. He is an HIV/AIDS educator and the author of My Pet Virus.
Paging Dr. Larry Kramer
August 14, 2008
Am trying to catch up on everything that happened at the International AIDS Conference last week while staying on top of Olympic badminton… man, those guys are fast.
In regard to HIV/AIDS, I noticed an article written by Tim Horn, which addresses why a lot of positoids are afraid to start meds. A chief concern? The fear of side effects.
Reading Tim’s article took me back. A few years before I started on HIV meds in 1999, I felt the same way. The HIV-related fatigue I could deal with, I’d lived with it for so long and managed to enjoy life with subpar energy levels. When I got really sick, however, there was no longer a choice in the matter, and the medications saved my ass by raising my t-cells from 30 back up to over 200 and knocking my viral load from 800,000 to under 100 copies.
However once I was on the pills my fear of side effects merely increased.
It must be noted that one of my starter drugs was Viracept, which is known to be harsh. When I switched to Sustiva, I enjoyed a honeymoon period until I realized the side effects had not gone away, they’d merely switched from physical to mental. And speaking of going mental, shortly after starting HIV meds, I saw Larry Kramer speak at my friend Stephen’s memorial service in New York… HIV meds may have saved my ass, but Larry railed that they had taken his away.
Literally.
“I have to wear overalls because I have no ass now!” He was upset and was going off- not off of his meds, but going off on the pharmaceautical companies. He suggested that positoids should stick it to them by taking our meds half the time. “Half the profits!” Larry yelled.
He was angry. But I was thankful. Thankful to be alive, in large part because I got sick when HIV medications were in existence and available to me as a middle class American.
As I left the memorial service, I couldn’t believe that someone would advocate such a risky move in regard to HIV treatment. A couple of years later, and a few more hundreds of pills down the hatch, however, my perspective began to change. After reading an article on Structured Treatment Interruptions, and acknowledging my own growing fears of long-term side effects (particularly with my liver), I spoke with my doctor about giving it a go. If lab results suggested that my HIV levels were on the rise, I’d just go back to taking my pills all the time.
That was in 2002, and it was among the best decisions of my positoid life.
I haven’t written about a central part of my positoid life- my life on HIV meds- in some time, and felt the need to put it out there. I’m not so bold as to suggest that this would be right for everyone, but I’m not naive in thinking that I’ve simply lucked out.
Here’s an article on where the medical community stands on Structured Treatment Interruptions. There’s a brief mention of week on/week off near the end, how one small study was promising but conflicted with a similar study’s results in Thailand. Here’s a whole list of information on treatment interruptions.
In the beginning, there was the hope that these interruptions would teach the body to manage HIV on its own. When that hope wasn’t realized, and studies came back with mixed results, the scientific community moved on faster than those Olympic badminton fellows.
Still, as HIV medications get better, I hope that the theory that less-could-be-more can be revisited. Because, whether someone is newly diagnosed or a longterm survivor, quality of life issues should not be ignored. And as wonderful as these drugs have been, the side effects can be as unbearable for the longterm survivor as the thought of beginning treatment is for the newly diagnosed.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
PS… tomorrow, the Hemo2Homo Connection review of The Dark Knight!
Check out my memoir, My Pet Virus, and click to read a sample. Video of reviews.
Give a listen to "Sign", one of my songs from Synthetic Division’s Get with the Programs (co-written with Kyle Wiggins):
Get the song here on iTunes!
Be sure to visit ShawnandGwenn.com, where you can see clips of our educational work at colleges and universities, as well as media clips from MTV safe sex programming and a Dr. Drew talk show. 2006 video of me and Gwenn, when I was finishing up My Pet Virus.
Haven’t seen a real blog in a day or so? Follow my cellphone micro-blogging at Twitter.com.